Knowledge Update

​New York, June 16 (IANS) Wearing a specifically designed compression collar around the neck may prevent or reduce the devastating effects of head collisions in sports, researchers have found.

Inspired by woodpeckers and bighorn sheep, the neck device, called a Q-Collar, is designed to press gently on the jugular vein to slow blood outflow increasing the brain's blood volume.

The resulting effect of the increased blood volume helps the brain fit tighter within the skull cavity, reducing the energy absorbed by the brain during collisions.

The analysis of neurophysiological and neuroanatomical data from the brain showed athletes in the non-collar wearing group had significant functional and structural changes to white matter regions of the brain but these changes were not evident in those who did wear the Q-Collar during play, findings from two studies showed.

"White matter of the brain essentially connects all the pathways including structure and function,” explained lead author of both studies Greg Myer, director of sports medicine research at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Ohio, US.

In the preliminary study published in Frontiers in Neurology, 15 high school hockey players took part. 

Half wore the collar for the hockey season and the other half did not. 

Each of the helmets for the athletes was outfitted with an accelerometer to measure every head impact. 

Results from the imaging and electrophysiological testing indicated that athletes in the non-collar wearing group had a disruption of microstructure and functional performance of the brain. 

Athletes wearing the collar did not show a significant difference despite similar head impacts.

In a follow-up study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, 42 football players from two Greater Cincinnati high schools participated. 

While half of the participants wore the collar, the other half did not. 

The results of this larger study showed similar protective effects of collar wear during the football season.

"The results of the studies demonstrate a potential approach to protecting the brain from changes sustained within a competitive football and hockey season, as evidenced by brain imaging," Myer said. 

New York, June 15 (IANS) Older people struggle to remember important details because their brains cannot resist the irrelevant "stuff" they soak up subconsciously, thereby making them less confident in their memories, a study says.

Using bio-sensors to look at brain activity, the researchers saw that older participants wandered into a brief "mental time travel" when trying to recall details. 

This journey into their subconscious veered them into a cluttered space that was filled with both relevant and irrelevant information. 

This clutter led to less confidence, even when their recollections were correct, the study said.

Cluttering of the brain is one reason older people are more susceptible to manipulation, the researchers said. 

"This memory clutter that's causing low confidence could be a reason why older adults are often victims of financial scams, which typically occur when someone tries to trick them about prior conversations that didn't take place at all," said lead researcher Audrey Duarte, associate professor of psychology at Georgia Institute of Technology in the US.

The findings appeared online in the journal Neuropsychologia.

For the study, the researchers showed that older adults (60 years and up) and college students a series of pictures of everyday objects while electroencephalography (EEG) sensors were connected to their heads. 

Each photo was accompanied by a colour and scene. Participants were told to focus on one and ignore the other. An hour later, they were asked if the object was new or old, and if it matched the colour and the scene.

Neither age group was very good at recalling what they were told to ignore. Both did well remembering the object and what they were supposed to focus on.

"But when we asked if they were sure, older people backed off their answers a bit. They weren't as sure," Duarte said.

The researchers noticed differences in brain activity between the young and old. Older adults' brains spent more time and effort trying to reconstruct their memories.

"While trying to remember, their brains would spend more time going back in time in an attempt to piece together what was previously seen," she said. 

"But not just what they were focused on -- some of what they were told to ignore got stuck in their minds," Duarte said.​

​Canberra, June 15 (IANS) Australia's Parkes Observatory telescope has discovered a molecule which displays key attributes associated with life, in a breakthrough set to help scientists solve the mystery of biology in space.

Chirality, or "handedness" is a key attribute related closely with life, but homochirality, or being exclusively either "left or right handed", has never been discovered outside of Earth, until the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation's (CSIRO's) Parkes telescope found the 'handed' molecule propylene oxide.

Dr John Reynolds, Director of Operations at CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, said the discovery will give scientists the chance to further research how the Universe can contribute to sustaining life, Xinhua reported.

"This discovery gives us a window into how an incredibly important type of molecule is made in space, and gives us the chance to understand the impact that process may have on life in the universe," Reynolds said in a statement on Wednesday.

Typically, many molecules exist in forms that are mirror images of each other, but molecules associated with life, such as proteins, enzymes, amino acids and sugars are found to be made up of a single handedness.

Propylene oxide is a common homochiral compound used in making polyurethane plastics, and was discovered by the radio telescope in an interstellar cloud near the center of the Milky Way.

The cloud, known as Sagittarius B2, is actively forming stars, and Reynolds said scientists would follow the developments in the region to see if the Universe divulges any further secrets about the potential of life in outer space.

"Understanding how this came about is a major puzzle in biology, " he said.​

​Washington, June 15 (IANS) For the first time, an instrument onboard an orbiting NASA spacecraft has measured the methane emissions from a single, specific leaking facility on the Earth’s surface, the US space agency has said.

The observation -- by the Hyperion spectrometer on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) -- is an important breakthrough in our ability to eventually measure and monitor emissions of this potent greenhouse gas from space.

"This is the first time the methane emissions from a single facility have been observed from space,” said one of the researchers, David Thompson from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.

In a new paper accepted for publication in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, a research team detailed the observation, which occurred over Aliso Canyon, near Porter Ranch, California. 

The Hyperion instrument successfully detected the methane leak on three separate overpasses during the winter of 2015-16. 

The research was part of an investigation of the large accidental Aliso Canyon methane release last fall and winter.

The orbital observations from Hyperion were consistent with airborne measurements made by NASA’s Airborne/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) imager flying onboard a NASA ER-2 aircraft.​

Canberra/Washington, June 15 (IANS) In a first, a team of scientists using highly sensitive radio telescopes has discovered the first complex organic “chiral” molecule in interstellar space near the centre of our galaxy.

Like a pair of human hands, certain organic molecules have mirror-image versions of themselves, a chemical property known as chirality.

These so-called "handed" molecules are essential for biology and have intriguingly been found in meteorites that have hit the Earth and comets in our solar system.

The molecule, propylene oxide (CH3CHOCH2), was found in an enormous star-forming cloud of dust and gas known as Sagittarius B2 (Sgr B2).

“This is the first molecule detected in interstellar space that has the property of chirality, making it a pioneering leap forward in our understanding of how prebiotic molecules are made in the universe and the effects they may have on the origins of life," explained Brett McGuire, Jansky post-doctoral Fellow with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Charlottesville, Virginia.

"Propylene oxide is among the most complex and structurally intricate molecules detected so far in space," added Brandon Carroll, chemistry graduate student at the California Institute of Technology.

Detecting this molecule opens the door for further experiments determining how and where molecular handedness emerges and why one form may be slightly more abundant than the other.

Complex organic molecules form in interstellar clouds like Sgr B2 in several ways.

The most basic pathway is through gas-phase chemistry, in which particles collide and merge to produce ever more complex molecules.

To form more complex molecules like propylene oxide, astronomers believe thin mantles of ice on dust grains help link small molecules into longer and larger structures.

These molecules can then evaporate from the surface of the grains and further react in the gas of the surrounding cloud.

To date, more than 180 smaller molecules have been detected in space.

“Meteorites in our solar system contain chiral molecules that predate the Earth itself, and chiral molecules have recently been discovered in comets," noted Carroll. "Such small bodies may be what pushed life to the handedness we see today."

"By discovering a chiral molecule in space, we finally have a way to study where and how these molecules form before they find their way into meteorites and comets, and to understand the role they play in the origins of homochirality and life," McGuire said in a paper published in the journal Science.

The research was undertaken with the National Science Foundation's Green Bank Telescope (GBT) in West Virginia as part of the Prebiotic Interstellar Molecular Survey. Additional supporting observations were taken with the Parkes radio telescope in Australia.​

London, June 13 (IANS) A combination of text messages and individual counselling sessions help motivate patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), resulting in improved patient-reported clinical outcomes, finds a study.

"The findings support the introduction of behavioural approaches as an effective way to improve the health of rheumatoid arthritis patients which may also be applicable in other populations with chronic disease and limited mobility," said Tanja Thomsen from the Copenhagen Centre for Arthritis Research in Denmark. 

According to the researchers, RA patients tend to be more sedentary than the general population that can have serious health consequences, including an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death. 

In the study, 75 adult RA patients underwent a 16-week intervention that included three individual motivational counselling sessions with a health professional and regular text messages aimed at improving motivation to reduce daily sitting time and replacing it with light intensity physical activity.

A control group of 75 healthy adult patients matched for other characteristics was encouraged to maintain their usual lifestyle. Daily sitting time was recorded using a wearable activity monitor.

The researchers found that after 16 weeks, there was a significant between-group difference in average daily sitting time in favour of the intervention group. 

Secondary outcomes that were also in favour of the intervention group included self-assessment scores of pain, fatigue, physical function and blood measurements of total cholesterol. 

The study was recently presented at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress 2016 in London.​

New York, June 14 (IANS) Physical activity builds stronger bones in children, even for those who carry genetic variants that predispose them to bone weakness, new research has found.

"While we have known for decades that physical activity during childhood builds up bone and confers lifelong benefits, we did not know whether the effects of activity depend on genetic risks for bone fragility," said study first author Jonathan Mitchell from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in the US.

The study, published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, showed that physical activity can counteract the negative effects of genetic variants that associate with bone fragility in childhood.

For the study, the researchers analysed a cohort of 918 children and adolescents, from five to 19 years old.

The researchers used questionnaires in which study participants estimated their amount and type of physical activity during childhood. 

The study team also measured the participants' bone density and genotyped their DNA for over 60 genetic variants known to be associated with bone density.

The researchers found that across the board, children had higher bone density scores if they had higher levels of physical activity. 

This even applied to those with a higher genetic risk for bone fragility. Importantly, the benefits of activity were driven entirely by high-impact, weight-bearing activity, such as gymnastics and soccer, which involve sprinting, turning or jumping actions.

Their findings underscore that genetics does not necessarily equate to destiny, and reinforce the importance of physical activity as a key factor to improve the bone health of children in the present and into later life.​

London, June 14 (IANS) Consuming peanuts products during early infancy can have zero effect on the growth of a child and on his or her nutrition, confirms a study.

The findings showed that peanut consumption in infancy can have no negative effect on a child's growth as well as nutrition.

"The results reassured that peanut consumption did not affect the duration of breastfeeding, thus countering concerns that introduction of solid foods before six months of age could reduce breastfeeding duration," said led author Mary Feeney from King's College London.

The research, published online in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, aimed at determining the adverse effects on child growth and nutrition as a result of taking high peanut products during early infancy along with the ones who avoid it. 

"These findings indicate that early-life introduction of peanut-containing foods as a strategy to prevent the subsequent development of peanut allergy is both feasible and nutritionally safe, even at high levels of peanut consumption," said Marshall Plaut from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in the US.

The results of an earlier clinical trial showed that introducing peanut products as a part of the dietary foods for infants lead to an 81 per cent relative reduction of allergies in comparison to products that avoided peanut altogether.

For the study, the investigators randomly assigned 640 infants aged four to 11 months, which continued till the age of five, to either consume at least two grams of peanut protein three times a week or to avoid peanut entirely.​

​New York, June 14 (IANS) In 2015, charitable giving among Americans hit a record $373.3 billion with individuals donating over two-thirds of the amount, according to the annual report by the Giving USA Foundation.

Donations from foundations, corporations, estates and individuals rose four per cent last year, that was “record-setting whether measured in current or inflation-adjusted dollars,” the report says.

The figure was lower than the 6.1 per cent inflation-adjusted growth reported in 2014, but the unceasing climb indicates philanthropic giving especially by individuals is growing.

“It's heartening that people really do want to make a difference, and they're supporting the causes that matter to them,” said W. Keith Curtis, chairman of the Giving USA Foundation, adding that Americans are embracing philanthropy at a higher level than ever before.

According to the report, $264.6 billion came from individuals, 3.8 per cent more compared to 2014. Foundations donated $58.6 billion, up 6.5 percent. Corporate giving was $18.45 billion up 3.9 percent, with charitable bequests lifted 2.1 per cent to $31.76 billion.

The largest share of the donations - $119.3 billion went to religious organisations, with education and human services receiving $57.48 and $45.21 billion, according to the report.

The least was contributed to the environment and animals - $10.68 billion, as well as international affairs - $15.75 billion.

The only segment that suffered a decline last year was giving to foundations, which fell by four percent when inflation-adjusted, to $42.3 billion.

The data revealed in the report was researched by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.​

Beijing, June 14 (IANS) If you are less than attractive, it is likely that a child may not trust you, says a new study, suggesting that for kids an individual's trustworthiness is linked to how attractive they find him or her.

The findings showed that the ability to make the judgement about one's trustworthiness develops as one grows older. 

Also, girls proved to be better at trustworthiness judgement than boys.

In addition, the children were also found to look to a person's attractiveness as an indication of their character.

People use facial cues to make judgements on a person's character -- and this ability to infer social traits is a crucial part of social functioning and development, the researchers said. 

Although well researched in babies and adults, the development of this ability in children was not previously known, they added.

The study adds to a growing body of work showing that attractiveness is a universal language when it comes to that all-important first impression, said Fengling Ma from Zhejiang Sci-Tech University in China. 

For the study, the team assessed 138 participants -- groups of children aged eight, 10 and 12 years old and compared them to a group of adults. 

They used a face generation programme (FaceGen) to produce 200 images of male faces -- all with a neutral expression and direct gaze. 

In the first of two sessions, each participant was shown each face, and asked to rate how trustworthy they thought that person was. 

A second session followed a month later where participants repeated the exercise, this time rating the attractiveness of the same faces. 

The researchers looked first at the ratings of trustworthiness, and level of agreement of the ratings within and between the groups. Next, they looked at the ratings of trustworthiness and attractiveness given to each face. 

They found a strong, direct relationship between the two traits -- the faces deemed more trustworthy were also considered to be more attractive. 

This relationship also strengthened with age, and shows that like adults, children also look to a person's attractiveness as an indication of their character. ​