This research may be extremely useful for predicting the risk of developing metabolic, immunological or reproductive disorders and neurological diseases caused by this chemical.
Researchers have invented a new technique for measuring how quickly drugs interact with their molecular targets. The discovery provides scientists with a new way to investigate the effectiveness of drug candidates that might otherwise have been overlooked.
Science continues to peel away layers of the skin microbiome to reveal its protective properties. Researchers now report on a potential new role for some bacteria on the skin: protecting against cancer.
Now, researchers have found that social media use has no significant negative effect on social interactions or social well-being.
If the sense of smell disappears, this can indicate a disease such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. However, unlike previously assumed, general degenerations in the nervous system do not play a leading role in the loss of the sense of smell with increasing age, but individual nerve cells or classes of nerves are decisive.
Researchers measured cortisol levels in the saliva of male undergraduate students as an indicator of HPA axis activity. They discovered that ‘dominance’ smiles, which challenge social standing and signal disapproval, were associated with higher HPA axis activity, such as increases in heart rate and salivary cortisol. Individuals perceiving 'dominance’ smiles also took longer to return to their baseline cortisol levels after the stressful event. These physical responses to 'dominance’ smiles mirror the influences of negative verbal feedback.
Dutch adventurer Wim Hof is known as ‘The Iceman’ for good reason. Hof established several world records for prolonged resistance to cold exposure, an ability he attributes to a self-developed set of techniques of breathing and meditation – known as the Wim Hof Method. Yet, how his brain responds during cold exposure and what brain mechanisms may endow him with this resistance have not been studied – until now.
