Being frozen ‘to death’ saved this man’s life. It could save others,’ too. In February 2015, Justin Smith was found face down in minus-4 degree weather. Doctors initially thought he was dead, but it turned out being frozen solid actually saved his life. (Lehigh Valley Health Network) Don Smith saw the boots first, just the toes, peeking out from a drift of snow along the side of the empty road. He brought his car to a stop, clambered out into the early-morning chill and peered through the half-light, searching for a sign of his son. “I looked over and there was Justin laying there,” Smith recalled Monday to Pennsylvania TV station WNEP. The 25-year-old had been lying in the cold for nearly 12 hours. When emergency personnel arrived, they couldn’t find signs of life either. Except, he wasn’t. “My clinical thought is very simple: You have to be warm to be dead,” Coleman told the Hazelton, Pa. Coleman ordered paramedics to start performing CPR on a man who had no pulse, no blood pressure and by all appearances had taken his last breath half a day before.
'Losing Yourself' In A Fictional Character Can Affect Your Real Life - Ohio State Research and Innovation Communications COLUMBUS, Ohio - When you “lose yourself” inside the world of a fictional character while reading a story, you may actually end up changing your own behavior and thoughts to match that of the character, a new study suggests. Researchers at Ohio State University examined what happened to people who, while reading a fictional story, found themselves feeling the emotions, thoughts, beliefs and internal responses of one of the characters as if they were their own - a phenomenon the researchers call “experience-taking.” They found that, in the right situations, experience-taking may lead to real changes, if only temporary, in the lives of readers. In one experiment, for example, the researchers found that people who strongly identified with a fictional character who overcame obstacles to vote were significantly more likely to vote in a real election several days later. There are many ways experience-taking can affect readers. Experience-taking doesn’t happen all the time.
Early antibiotic use 'may predispose children to weight gain and asthma' | So... The use of antibiotics in young children may alter the natural populations of gut microbes in a way that leaves them predisposed to weight gain and asthma in later childhood, according to new research. The study of 236 children aged between two and seven, with a median age of five, backs earlier research on mice and children indicating the negative consequences of early antibiotic use. Antibiotics are the most commonly used drugs in childhood populations of western countries. Researchers at the university of Helsinki said the use of antibiotics is associated with a long-lasting shift in microbiota – clusters of bacteria from different regions of the body – and metabolism. Humans and other animals are home to vast populations of microbes that live on the skin and in the gut. Previous research on mice suggested that antibiotics are not directly to blame for weight gain later in life. The Finnish researchers said their results confirm corresponding patterns in human children:
Brain scans show compulsive gamers have hyperconnected neural networks Brain scans from nearly 200 adolescent boys provide evidence that the brains of compulsive video game players are wired differently. Chronic video game play is associated with hyperconnectivity between several pairs of brain networks. Some of the changes are predicted to help game players respond to new information. Other changes are associated with distractibility and poor impulse control. The research, a collaboration between the University of Utah School of Medicine, and Chung-Ang University in South Korea, was published online in Addiction Biology on Dec. 22, 2015. “Most of the differences we see could be considered beneficial. Those with Internet gaming disorder are obsessed with video games, often to the extent that they give up eating and sleeping to play. The job of the salience network is to focus attention on important events, poising that person to take action. “Having these networks be too connected may increase distractibility,” says Anderson.
'Cancer cells simply melt away': Miracle drug amazes Australian researchers a... Cancer patients are finally catching a break, as Australian researchers have tested a miracle drug that leads to big improvement in a majority of cases, and total recovery in some. The drug targets a specific protein that helps cancer cells survive. The Melbourne-based trial took place over four years and tested 116 patients. It was shown by researchers at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre that the drug Venetoclax can greatly reduce cancer blood cells. Positive results were seen in 79 percent of cases involving patients suffering from chronic lymphocytic leukemia. This is indeed historic news, as it marks the first trial of a medicine that is the result of three decades of research. Read more "This is a completely new class of drugs and there is no other drug or medicine previously available that has had the ability to inhibit this BCL-2 protein," he said, adding that the drug’s benefits also spread to other forms of cancer and leukemia than those tested.
RevMedx XStat device FDA approved to seal wounds for civilians XStat RevMedx The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just approved a pocket-sized invention that has been used for about a year and a half on the battlefield, but now may one day save your life at home. The invention, called XStat, is a syringe-like device that can plug a life-threatening wound — think a deep wound, such as a gunshot or stabbing lesion — by injecting it with a collection of tiny, super-absorbent sponges. RevMedxA wound before and after being sealed using XStat. The sponges expand inside the cavity, creating pressure that can block bleeding and life-threatening hemorrhage in 20 seconds or less. "By the time you even put a bandage over the wound, the bleeding has already stopped," former US Army Special Operations medic John Steinbaugh told Popular Science, who first covered XStat. The device is made by Oregon-based medical device company RevMedx, and was initially approved for military use — to plug severe wounds on the battlefield — in April 2014. RevMedX
Scientists have discovered how to 'delete' unwanted memories "We understand only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to human memory" André Fenton, a prominent neuroscientist "For much of human history, memory has been seen as a tape recorder that faithfully registers information and replays it intact," say the film's makers. "But now, researchers are discovering that memory is far more malleable, always being written and rewritten, not just by us but by others. We are discovering the precise mechanisms that can explain and even control our memories." Among the documentary's subjects is Jake Hausler, a 12-year-old boy from St. Jake Hausler Jake is the youngest ever person to be diagnosed with Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory, which makes it difficult for him to distinguish between trivial and important events from his past. “Forgetting is probably one of the most important things that brains will do,” says André Fenton, a prominent neuroscientist who is currently working on a technique to erase painful memories. • How to wipe a bad memory
After years in solitary, a woman struggles to carry on NEW YORK (AP) — Six weeks after her arrival at Rikers Island, an argument over who should clean a jailhouse shower sent Candie Hailey to solitary confinement — known as "the bing." It was the first time, but it would not be the last. A month later, records show, she cursed and spit at a guard and resisted when she was put in a hold. Ninety-five days in the bing. She later got 70 days for cursing at an officer, splashing the guard with toilet water and refusing to stop. Among other infractions: fighting (40 days), disrespect of staff (30 days) and blocking her cell window (15 days). Of her first 29 months in jail, Hailey served about 27 alone in a 6-by-10-foot cell, with a bed, a toilet and a few books to pass the time. Hailey could not abide solitary confinement. Candie Hailey's wretched stay at Rikers — detailed in official documents and hours of interviews — is a case study in solitary confinement and its consequences. "I would take the feces and I put it all over me," she recalls.
First language wires brain for later language-learning | Newsroom Research also demonstrates brain's plasticity and ability to adapt to new language environments You may believe that you have forgotten the Chinese you spoke as a child, but your brain hasn’t. Moreover, that “forgotten” first language may well influence what goes on in your brain when you speak English or French today. In a paper published today in Nature Communications, researchers from McGill University and the Montreal Neurological Institute describe their discovery that even brief, early exposure to a language influences how the brain processes sounds from a second language later in life. Even when the first language learned is no longer spoken. It is an important finding because this research tells scientists both about how the brain becomes wired for language, but also about how that hardwiring can change and adapt over time in response to new language environments. Using nonsense words to test brain functions Early language sounds leave traces in brain
Zika outbreak: What you need to know Image copyright AP The World Health Organization has declared the Zika virus a global public health emergency. The infection has been linked to thousands of babies being born with underdeveloped brains. Some areas have declared a state of emergency, doctors have described it as "a pandemic in progress" and some are even advising women in affected countries to delay getting pregnant. But there is much we do not know. What are the symptoms of Zika? Deaths are rare and only one-in-five people infected is thought to develop symptoms. These include: mild feverconjunctivitis (red, sore eyes)headachejoint paina rash A rare nervous system disorder, Guillain-Barré syndrome, that can cause temporary paralysis has been linked to the infection. There is no vaccine or drug treatment so patients are advised to rest and drink plenty of fluids. But the biggest concern is the impact it could have on babies developing in the womb and the surge in microcephaly. What is microcephaly? Is it safe to try for a baby?
Bionic fingertip gives sense of touch to amputee newrepublic "Great works are often born on the street-corner or in a restaurant’s revolving door,” said Albert Camus, and a recent study shows that he was on to something. The revolving door is not just the accidental setting for inspiration—it is the site of complex meanings all its own. The way you move through a revolving door with a friend might reveal something about your relationship. First—the obvious challenges: the awkward business of figuring out who’s going first; the calibration of the door’s spaciousness—is it a one-at-a-time situation? Researchers caution that a miscalculation can result in “comic struggles.” But what’s really at stake, according to this study, is the cohesiveness of social groups—the difficulty of staying together when a revolving door temporarily chops up a pair or a larger group. But what if you don’t?