February 28, 2017
Scientist have been rubbing their foreheads in frustration over dyslexia, trying to find the underlying cause for dyslexics’ reading difficulties. But it’s not just dysfunction with reading that individuals with dyslexia present, they also frequently show behavioural deficits in perceptual adaptation. Or what neuroscientists call ‘rapid neural adaption’. However, a recent study by neuroscientist from MIT and Boston University may have made the first breakthrough in understanding the sensory processing path specific to people with dyslexia. Part of the dyslexia/reading issue that neuroscience has struggled with, is that the brain doesn’t have any specific area that is connected to reading. […]
February 21, 2017
You would be hard pressed to meet someone who has not been affected by breast cancer either personally or through association. It’s an insidious disease that is ranked second in all new cancer cases worldwide. It is the leading cause of cancer death in women. And it’s showing no sign of abating. Instead it’s been growing by 2% a year. There is no doubt that surgery; chemotherapy, radiotherapy and endocrine therapy have reduced the rate of death from breast cancer. But we are all very much aware of the side effects too. Most anti-cancer drugs are cytotoxic and the […]
February 21, 2017
Epigenetics is the study of biological mechanisms that switch inherited genes on and off. The theory is that our own personal life experiences, or for that matter, those of our parents and our parent’s parents, are passed onto subsequent generations. Studies done on survivors from traumatic events, particularly events as catastrophic as ones such as the Holocaust have shown that exposure to stress have a follow-on effect on subsequent generations1. That is, the memory of these events is lived on through our progeny. Their DNA is impacted by the trauma as much as if they’d experienced it themselves. But […]
February 21, 2017
In our last article we discussed the nature of adrenal exhaustion and the different stages leading up to it. Fortunately this state can be reversed once adrenal health is regulated and normalised. It is estimated that up to 80 per cent of people in the world suffer from adrenal fatigue. What we want to be careful about is failing to recognise the symptoms in the early stages. Body aches, trouble concentrating, racing thoughts, irritability and moodiness, tired all the time, overwhelmed, hormonal imbalance and cravings for stimulants to help increase our energy levels are all symptoms of adrenal exhaustion and […]
February 16, 2017
Unless you’ve been sequestered to mars over the last five years, you’ve heard about it. Adrenal Exhaustion. It’s the by-product of our busy, non stop, super-productive, incredibly overwhelming lives. Like most big issues facing our time, it’s the light bulb’s fault. Before we had 24 hour availability to light, we used to go to bed early, get up early and pretty much eat our veggies and keep a circadian rhythm in tune with the cows. Not so much now. In fact, not very much at all now. Our lives are driven by our mental ability to keep pushing ourselves forward, irrespective of […]
February 14, 2017
We are all familiar with the giddy rush of a new romance. The butterflies. The racing heart. The passionate embraces. But what happens to people in long-term relationships and is it possible to keep the passion alive? Is there a secret tip we can employ to keep the flames of desire burning? Or is it simply potluck if you still fancy your lover later down the track? A new study recently published by the team at Chapman University have been studying what keeps sexual passion alive in long term relationships1. It’s one of the largest scientific studies to date examining […]
February 14, 2017
Over 2.5 million Australian women use some form of contraception. The pill, or the oral contraceptive pill (OCP) remains the most popular method of choice. But with IUD’s and hormonal implant popularity on the rise, the ‘set and forget’ method is proving a popular choice amongst younger women and older women alike. This new found popularity may be as simple as the IUD’s and implants ease of use. Once the doctor has inserted the devise that’s about as high maintenance as it gets. It’s quite a different experience from having to remember to take a pill every day. Hormonal […]
February 9, 2017
“The highly intelligent and healthy baby mammal is capable of instinctively breastfeeding with only the gentle assistance of its mother,” says Dr Robyn Thompson. You see this everywhere you look in nature. No forceful or complicated techniques are required. Just instinct. This observation leads to a very poignant question though: Why do so many women struggle with the practice of breastfeeding? Many a new mother has battled with breastfeeding; something they feel should come naturally. The complications can be many and varied – from nipple trauma and upper back and wrist pain to engorgement issues and mastitis problems. This says […]
February 7, 2017
If you’ve ever thought arguing is no good for you, you’re right. A newly published study in the journal Emotion1, shows how couples fight is linked with either cardio-vascular issues or back pain. If you’re one to blow up in anger, you can look forward to heart issues later. And if you’re more the silent treatment type, get ready for back pain issues. It’s enough to drive a person to therapy! The researchers from the University of California, Berkeley and Northwestern University1 have been studying the same couples for over 20 years. That’s a lot of arguments! Lead by Alice […]
February 7, 2017
An emerging area of study spiking interest across the globe is the brain and how it constructs reality. How does the brain, essentially a lump of tissue in the body, construct meaning, ponder the wonders of the universe, learn, manage the functions of the body and communicate with the world around us? Some time ago, researchers in Italy discovered a group of neurons in the frontal lobe called mirror neurons. As research advances in this area, the discovery is shedding light on how skills are developed and how empathy works on a neuronal level. Mirror neurons are essentially a subset […]
February 2, 2017
Some of us know the chances of carrying on a phone call and getting an email out are fairly slim, let alone likely to be coherent. Others of us feel we were given the multitasking gene, born to be damn good at doing several things at once. Not only good at multitasking, but the more tasks we multiply the better our performance gets. Well as turns out, there’s no such thing as being good at multitasking. Even for those people who think they’ve got it in the bag. People who believe they are very good at multitasking do worse than […]
January 31, 2017
We all have those days where we size up our reflection in the mirror, sucking in our bellies and pulling back our shoulders to improve the way we look. But a recent study has shown that they way we feel about ourselves doesn’t have much to do with the mirror at all. Instead, it’s all about our level of life satisfaction. In a recent study published in the journal Body Image1, researchers surveyed 1200 participants about their beliefs on self-esteem, television viewing, personal characteristics and romantic relationships. For women, satisfaction with their overall appearance was the third strongest predictor of […]
January 31, 2017
The team at the New Zealand College of Chiropractic have done it again! A new study looking at whether chiropractic adjustments lead to changes in the way the brain controls muscles was recently accepted for publication in the Journal ‘Brain Sciences.’ The study was made possible by funding from the Australian Spinal Research Foundation, the Hamblin Chiropractic Research Fund Trust, the New Zealand College of Chiropractic and Koç University in Istanbul, Turkey. This latest piece adds to an important body of evidence surrounding chiropractic care, and examines whether changes in muscle drive occurred at a brain or spinal cord level. […]
January 26, 2017
We’ve all heard the saying about apples but there may be more truth in the expression than first suspected. Women who eat fruit during their pregnancy have been shown to have smarter kids. Who knew by scoffing back a few extra bananas you could have such a positive affect? The study recently published in the journal EbioMedicine has found that mothers who eat more fruit give birth to children who perform better on developmental testing at one years old. Associate Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Alberta, Piush Mandhane, found the link by reviewing the data from the Canadian […]
January 24, 2017
Coffee, why is it that some people can take it or leave it? And others couldn’t imagine the start of their day without it? That ubiquitous, espresso brew has people world over obsessed with it. As it turns out, it may not simply be a love affair of the heart; it may be in your genes. Researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh and Trieste, from the Burlo Garofolo Paediatric Institute in Italy1 have made an interesting discovery. It’s called the PDSS2 gene. People with a DNA variation in this gene tend to drink fewer cups of coffee. The researchers looked […]
January 24, 2017
“If you want to avoid repeating history, its best not to try and learn from it [1].” That might seem like a counterintuitive statement, but as researchers look into the cognitive science behind why we repeat mistakes, it seems to be the conclusion they are arriving at. There appears to be three key elements that play into the repetition of mistakes: post error slowing, mistake pathways in the brain, and the old feel-good hormone dopamine. The latter is an easy correlation to explain: if there was an element of reward or enjoyment tied up with your mistake, then it’s likely […]
January 19, 2017
Garlic, love it or hate it, has been around since the dawn of time. People have been using it in varying capacities, from warding off Vampires to adding it to Nona’s spaghetti sauce. First found in the Egyptian Pyramids and later Greek Temples, garlic has been a source of both medicinal and culinary use. In terms of scientific research however, garlic has long been known for it’s anti-oxidant properties. That is its ability to provide protection against free radical damage in the body. In a study1, a team of researchers from the Cardiovascular Research Centre at the University of Connecticut […]
January 19, 2017
Countless tired parents across the globe know the story. Walking around for hours on end, patting their over tired baby, trying to get them off to sleep. Then ever so gently lowering them into the cot only for them to open their eyes, wide-awake to start crying again! Ahh the sheer frustration! What researchers1 have discovered is that your little one may not be some devious wee creature with aims to take over the whole household. Instead it’s a biological and physical response to being carried. When they’re carried they fall asleep and when you stop walking with them, well, […]