ScienceDaily: Living Well News

Add nature, art and religion to life's best anti-inflammatories Posted: 03 Feb 2015 10:32 AM PST Taking in such spine-tingling wonders as the Grand Canyon, Sistine Chapel ceiling or Schubert's 'Ave Maria' may give a boost to the body's defense system. Researchers have linked positive emotions -- especially the awe we feel when touched by the beauty of nature, art and spirituality -- with lower levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

If Facebook use causes envy, depression could follow Posted: 03 Feb 2015 09:34 AM PST Facebook use can lead to symptoms of depression if the social networking site triggers feelings of envy among its users, research shows. "Facebook can be a fun and healthy activity if users take advantage of the site to stay connected with family and old friends and to share interesting and important aspects of their lives," an author said. "However, if Facebook is used to see how well an acquaintance is doing financially or how happy an old friend is in his relationship--things that cause envy among users--use of the site can lead to feelings of depression."

Power psychs people up about... themselves Posted: 03 Feb 2015 08:21 AM PST We all know the type -- people who can talk on and on about their latest adventures, seemingly unaware that those around them may not be interested. They also get really psyched up about their own experiences. A new paper suggests that what separates such people from the rest of us is their perceived sense of power: Powerful people, researchers found, draw inspiration from themselves rather than others.

Sparing hope for the future: Preserving fertility in cancer patients Posted: 03 Feb 2015 08:21 AM PST While families around the world delay childbearing to later in life, cancer diagnoses are affecting people ever earlier in life. When these lifestyle trends collide, we see an increasing number of young women rendered infertile by cancer or cancer treatments. What can be done about it? What do doctors need to know? And does a cancer diagnosis mean that a patient can never have children?

Non-invasive first trimester blood test reliably detects Down's syndrome Posted: 03 Feb 2015 07:41 AM PST Cell-free fetal DNA testing, which measures the relative amount of free fetal DNA in a pregnant woman's blood, is a new screening test that indicates the risk of Down syndrome (trisomy 21), researchers report.

Birth method, gestation duration may alter infants' gut microbiota Posted: 03 Feb 2015 07:40 AM PST Environmental factors like mode of delivery and duration of gestation may affect how infants' gut bacteria mature, and that rate could help predict later body fat, international researchers have found.

Early childhood programs found to significantly lower likelihood of special education placements in third grade Posted: 03 Feb 2015 07:29 AM PST Access to state-supported early childhood programs significantly reduces the likelihood that children will be placed in special education in the third grade, academically benefiting students and resulting in considerable cost savings to school districts, according to new research.

Simple strategies used by parents lead to improvements in one-year-olds at risk for autism spectrum disorder Posted: 03 Feb 2015 07:29 AM PST A collection of simple strategies used by parents can lead to significant improvements in one-year-olds at risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), researchers have found. The study followed 18 families with a one-year-old child at risk for ASD. Researchers compared the effects of a parent-coaching, home-based intervention called "Adapted Responsive Teaching" (ART) versus referral to early intervention and monitoring.

Decreases in short-term memory, IQ, and altered brain metabolic ratios in urban apolipoprotein ?4 children exposed to air pollution Posted: 03 Feb 2015 06:41 AM PST A new study heightens concerns over the detrimental impact of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ?4 allele -- the most prevalent genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease -- upon cognition, olfaction, and metabolic brain indices in healthy urban children and teens.

New study postulates the role of dietary advanced glycation end products in the risk of Alzheimer's disease Posted: 03 Feb 2015 06:41 AM PST Evidence that cooking foods at high temperatures increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease has been gained through a new study. This study looked at the content of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in national diets and clinical studies comparing and compared total AGEs to Alzheimer's disease rates.