Thursday 23 May 2019

Reading with toddlers reduces harsh parenting, enhances child behavior

People who regularly read with their toddlers are less likely to engage in harsh parenting and the children are less likely to be hyperactive or disruptive, a Rutgers-led study finds.

* This article was originally published here

Obsessive-compulsive disorder research needs more focus on patients, new study asserts

For people living with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), scientific research into their condition is not an abstract concept; it can have profound real-life implications.

* This article was originally published here

Virtual reality can spot navigation problems in early Alzheimer's disease

Virtual reality (VR) can identify early Alzheimer's disease more accurately than 'gold standard' cognitive tests currently in use, suggests new research from the University of Cambridge.

* This article was originally published here

Senate passes bill meant to combat robocalls

The U.S. Senate has passed a bill that aims to combat the illegal robocalls torturing Americans .

* This article was originally published here

Research reveals how personality affects susceptibility to persuasion

Researchers at Edge Hill University in England have helped identify personality traits which make people more (or less) susceptible to persuasion than others.

* This article was originally published here

Prevent illness by preventing tick bites

Ready or not, ticks are out. Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne illness, but it's not the only concern, says Dr. Bobbi Pritt, a parasitic diseases expert at Mayo Clinic.

* This article was originally published here

Exposure to air pollution before and after birth may affect fundamental cognitive abilities

A growing body of research suggests that exposure to air pollution in the earliest stages of life is associated with negative effects on cognitive abilities. A new study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by "la Caixa," has provided new data: exposure to particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) during pregnancy and the first years of life is associated with a reduction in fundamental cognitive abilities, such as working memory and executive attention.

* This article was originally published here

With a hop, a skip and a jump, high-flying robot leaps over obstacles with ease

Topping out at less than a foot, Salto the robot looks like a Star Wars imperial walker in miniature. But don't be fooled by its size—this little robot has a mighty spring in its step. Salto can vault over three times its height in a single bound.

* This article was originally published here

Artificial atomic scale materials: Discovering how electrons fatten

A single and isolated electron has a clear electrical charge, magnetic moment and mass, and its free movement can be precisely predicted. Spanish scientists fabricated a nanoscale artificial material manipulating atoms one after the other and discovered that electrons can become heavier. Heavy electrons are promising particles which endow new functionalities to novel materials. This study is the result of an international collaboration lead by the Instituto de Nanociencia de Aragón and the Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Aragón (ICMA), in which scientists at CIC nanoGUNE participated, together with members of the Centro de Física de Materiales (CFM) in San Sebastian, and the Charles University and Czech Academy of Sciences, in the Czech Republic.

* This article was originally published here

Eating to reach health goals

(HealthDay)—What and when you eat certain foods can boost how you feel at different times during the day. When it comes to meal planning, timing is everything.

* This article was originally published here

A Finnish study proves the presence of oral bacteria in cerebral emboli

Researchers at Tampere University have shown for the first time that the cerebral emboli of stroke patients contain DNA from oral pathogens. The research article has been published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

* This article was originally published here

Mitral regurgitation: more precise classification of severity now possible

For years, cardiology experts have been arguing about how to determine the degree of severity in patients with functional mitral regurgitation and, hence, to assess when it is necessary to operate on the valve. It is all about how much blood "should be allowed" to flow back through the leaky valve: Currently, surgery is only performed in the U.S. at 60 ml but at 30 ml in Europe, according to Philipp Bartko and Georg Goliasch (Department of Medicine II). In a study performed by cardiologists at MedUni Vienna and Vienna General Hospital, they have now shown the exact relationship between the amount of refluxing blood and patient survival, thereby establishing a new limit for optimal classification with a view to valve surgery.

* This article was originally published here

Researchers develop new flying / driving robot

The first experimental robot drone that flies like a typical quadcopter, drives on tough terrain and squeezes into tight spaces using the same motors, has been developed by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers.

* This article was originally published here