ScienceDaily: Living Well News

Creative genius driven by distraction Posted: 03 Mar 2015 12:32 PM PST The literary great Marcel Proust wore ear-stoppers because he was unable to filter out irrelevant noise -- and lined his bedroom with cork to attenuate sound. Now new research suggests why the inability to shut out competing sensory information while focusing on the creative project at hand might have been so acute for geniuses such as Proust, Franz Kafka, Charles Darwin, Anton Chekhov and many others.

Air pollution linked to slower cognitive development in children Posted: 03 Mar 2015 12:32 PM PST Attendance at schools exposed to high levels of traffic-related air pollution is linked to slower cognitive development among 7- to 10-year-old children in Barcelona, according to a new study.

Adults only really catch flu about twice a decade, suggests study Posted: 03 Mar 2015 11:15 AM PST Adults over the age of 30 only catch flu about twice a decade, a new study suggests. So, while it may feel like more, flu-like illness can be caused by many pathogens, making it difficult to assess how often people are infected by influenza.

Understanding electric car 'range anxiety' could be key to wider acceptance Posted: 03 Mar 2015 09:39 AM PST Drivers have been slow to adopt electric vehicles due to 'range anxiety,' the fear of becoming stranded with an empty battery. This phenomenon was recently addressed in a study that aims to explain range anxiety and determine whether hands-on experience can reduce drivers' stress.

Divorce fuels kids' sugary beverage consumption, study finds Posted: 03 Mar 2015 09:39 AM PST Children of recently separated or divorced families are likelier to drink sugar-sweetened beverages than children in families where the parents are married, putting them at higher risk for obesity later in life, according to a new study. Maintaining family routines such as eating a regular dinner or carving out time to talk each day, however, can protect children during divorce against developing unhealthy eating habits.

High-salt diet could protect against invading microbes Posted: 03 Mar 2015 09:38 AM PST Most people consume more salt than they need and therefore have a higher risk of heart disease and stroke, which are the two leading causes of death worldwide. But a new study reveals that dietary salt could have a biological advantage: Defending the body against invading microbes. A high-salt diet increased sodium accumulation in the skin of mice, thereby boosting their immune response to a skin-infecting parasite.

Marijuana: The allergen you never knew existed Posted: 03 Mar 2015 09:37 AM PST As marijuana’s legal status throughout the country continues to change, people should know it can cause allergic reactions.

Pregnant women with asthma need to curb urge to ask for antibiotics Posted: 03 Mar 2015 09:37 AM PST Twice as many children born to mothers who took antibiotics during pregnancy were diagnosed with asthma by age 3 than children born to mothers who didn’t take prenatal antibiotics, a new study has shown.

Advisory about not feeding peanuts to infants and young children at risk for peanut allergy Posted: 03 Mar 2015 09:36 AM PST Pediatric otolaryngologists and surgeons are concerned with parents getting the wrong message regarding the safety/desirability of letting babies and young children eat peanuts to prevent them from developing peanut allergies.

Nice to sniff you: Handshakes may engage our sense of smell Posted: 03 Mar 2015 07:59 AM PST Why do people shake hands? A new study suggests one of the reasons for this ancient custom may be to check out each other's odors. Even if we are not consciously aware of this, handshaking may provide people with a socially acceptable way of communicating via the sense of smell. People sniff their hands twice as much after a handshake.

Educating college students on drinking risks can help lessen drinking behaviors, but only temporarily, study finds Posted: 03 Mar 2015 06:57 AM PST Briefly counseling college students on the dangers of binge drinking is effective in lowering heavy drinking levels among many students, but only temporarily. Three out of four will be right back where they started a year later, according to new research.

The more friends you drink with ... the more you drink Posted: 03 Mar 2015 04:54 AM PST Alcohol consumption of individuals appears to increase with the number of friends in their drinking group. A new study used internet-based questionnaires that study participants completed on their own smartphones to survey almost 200 young adult drinkers in Switzerland every hour while they were drinking in real-life situations, asking them to report the number of friends present and number of drinks they had consumed.

When I'm 64 -- I'll still have hot flashes? Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:33 AM PST Some 40 percent of women 60 to 65 years old still have hot flashes. For many, the hot flashes are occasional and mild, but for some, they remain really troublesome. Sexual symptoms also remain a problem for more than half these older women. Furthermore, women bothered by these symptoms are often not getting treatment, even though treatments are available, experts say.