Knowledge Update

​New York, May 13 (IANS) A sixth sense can keep a driver safe even when he or she is absent-minded or emotionally-charged but not when they text while on the wheels, a team of US researchers has found.

The researchers from University of Houston (UH) and the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) said that in all three interventions, the drivers' handling of the wheel became jittery with respect to normal driving but
texting while driving is too dangerous.

While this jittery handling resulted in significant lane deviations and unsafe driving in the case of texting distractions, in the case of absent-minded and emotionally charged distractions, jittery steering resulted in straighter trajectories with respect to a normal drive and safer driving.

"A likely explanation for this paradox is the function performed by a part of the brain called the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) -- known to automatically intervene as an error corrector when there is conflict," said Ioannis Pavlidis from University of Houston.

"In this case, the conflict comes from the cognitive, emotional and sensorimotor, or texting, stressors. This raises the levels of physiological stress, funneling 'fight or flight' energy to the driver's arms, resulting in jittery handling of the steering wheel," Pavlidis added in a university statement.

According to him, brain's ACC automatically counterbalances any strong jitter to the left with an instant equally strong jitter to the right and vice versa.

For ACC to perform this corrective function, it needs support from the driver's eye-hand coordination loop. 

"The driver's mind can wander and his or her feelings may boil but a sixth sense keeps a person safe at least in terms of veering off course," Pavlidis noted. 

What makes texting so dangerous is that it wreaks havoc into this sixth sense. 

"Self-driving cars may bypass this and other problems, but the moral of the story is that humans have their own auto systems that work wonders, until they break," the authors noted.

The work was funded, in part, by the Toyota Class Action Settlement Safety Research and Education Programme.​

Toronto, May 13 (IANS) Opening doors to development of new drugs to control weight gain and obesity, researchers have identified brain cells that play a crucial role in appetite control.

Although these cells -- known as NG2-glia cells -- exist within different parts of the brain, it is those found in a specific brain structure called the median eminence that are crucial to weight control, the findings showed.

"About 20 years ago there was a big step forward in our understanding of obesity when researchers discovered that our appetite is controlled by a key molecule called leptin. Leptin is a hormone which is produced by our fat cells, and is delivered by the blood to the brain to signal the brain that we are full and can stop eating," explained one of the researchers Maia Kokoeva from McGill University in Monthreal, Canada.

"But even though receptors for leptin were discovered soon after in the hypothalamus, a brain area that regulates food intake and body weight, it has remained unclear how exactly leptin is detected," Kokoeva noted.

So the researchers set out to explore which brain cells might play a role in the process of leptin sensing and weight gain. 

The answer, it turns out according to the new research, lies in the NG2-glia cells in median eminence.

The median eminence is a brain structure at the base of the hypothalamus. It is a bit like a busy hub or market place through which hormones and molecules of various kinds travel in both directions between the brain and the bloodstream to ensure that the body functions smoothly.

The research team discovered that without a particular group of cells (NG2-glia cells) in place in the median eminence, the leptin receptors in the brain never receive the messages from the body telling it that it is sated.

The findings were published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

The researchers are hopeful that the identification of these cells in the median eminence as crucial elements in body weight and appetite control will pave the way to new targeted anti-obesity approaches directed towards maintaining or raising the NG2-glia population in the median eminence.​

New York, May 13 (IANS) A faint blue galaxy situated about 30 million light years from the Earth and located in the constellation "Leo Minor" can shed new light on birth of the universe.

Astronomers from Indiana University (IU) found that a galaxy nicknamed Leoncino or “little lion” contains the lowest level of heavy chemical elements or “metals” ever observed in a gravitationally bound system of stars.

“Finding the most metal-poor galaxy ever is exciting since it can help contribute to a quantitative test of the Big Bang," said professor John J. Salzer from IU's Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences.

There are relatively few ways to explore conditions at the birth of the universe, but low-metal galaxies are among the most promising.

This is because the current accepted model of the start of the universe makes clear predictions about the amount of helium and hydrogen present during the Big Bang.

The ratio of these atoms in metal-poor galaxies provides a direct test of the model.

To find these low-metal galaxies, however, astronomers must look far from home. 

Our own Milky Way galaxy is a poor source of data due to the high level of heavier elements created over time by “stellar processing,” in which stars churn out heavier elements.

“Low metal abundance is essentially a sign that very little stellar activity has taken place compared to most galaxies,” added Alec S Hirschauer, graduate student in a paper appeared the Astrophysical Journal. 

Leoncino is considered a member of the “local universe,” a region of space within about one billion light years from Earth and estimated to contain several million galaxies.

Aside from low levels of heavier elements, Leoncino is unique in several other ways. 

A so-called “dwarf galaxy,” it's only about 1,000 light years in diameter and composed of several million stars. 

The Milky Way, by comparison, contains an estimated 200 billion to 400 billion stars. 

“We're eager to continue to explore this mysterious galaxy," Salzer noted.​

Abu Dhabi, May 13 (IANS/WAM) A UAE researcher has contributed to the discovery of a new species of ant, according to a paper published in the Journal of Natural History.

The study, led by Mostafa R. Sharaf of the College of Food and Agriculture Sciences at Saudi Arabia's King Saud University, describes the ant species, whose scientific name is Lepisiota omanensis, as being remarkable because of "its exceptionally long, acute and strongly curved propodeal spines".

The paper describes the new species on the basis of five specimens, one of which was collected in Oman in 2012, two of which were collected in Ain Al Waal in UAE in 2014, and two in Oman in March this year.

The UAE researcher, Huw Roberts, from the Emirates University, said: "I have so far recorded well over 400 species of insects, most of which have been identified from specimens by specialists from around the world."

"This discovery shows that we still have much to learn about the wildlife and biodiversity of the UAE," he added.​

​London, May 13 (IANS) British researchers have designed a smartphone app that can help people manage their problems -- anxiety and depression -- based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

The 'Catch It' app uses psychological approaches to mental health and well-being through CBT -- a therapy that can help individuals manage problems by changing the way one thinks and behaves. 

'Catch It' helps the user identify thoughts and thinking styles associated with a shift in mood or a particular emotion and takes the users through a process referred to as "Catch it, Check it, Change it".

The app helps users better understand their moods through use of an ongoing diary.

"Our research examined the uptake and usage rates of this application along with the faithfulness of user responses to CBT principles and their impact on reported negative and positive moods," said Peter Kinderman, professor at University of Liverpool in Britain.

The findings of the initial trial, published in the British Journal of Psych Open, showed that there were statistically significant reductions in negative mood intensity and increases in positive mood intensity among participants.

"This type of therapy cannot remove problems, but it can help people deal with them in a more positive way. It is based on the concept that your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and actions are interconnected, and that negative thoughts and feelings can trap you in a vicious cycle," Kinderman added.

"Smartphone apps have potential beneficial effects in mental health through the application of basic CBT principles. More research with randomised controlled trial designs should be conducted," Kinderman suggested.​

London, May 14 (IANS) Kids, especially boys, who start walking, running and jumping early at 18 months of age are more likely to have stronger bones later in adulthood, a study has found.

These movements in toddlers place a stress on the bones, causing them to become wider and thicker, thereby making them stronger than those in children who may not be moving as much, the study said.

The findings from the study may help to identify who is at a greater risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures in later life.

"The findings are intriguing as they provide a link which wasn't previously understood, primarily that how we move as a young child can have ramifications for our bone strength even 16 years later,” said lead researcher Alex Ireland from Manchester Metropolitan University in Britain.

"Being more active gives you stronger muscles which can then apply bigger forces to the bones as we walk, run or jump, helping to strengthen bones as we grow older," he added in the paper published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

The team analysed 2,327 participants from children born in the early 1990s. 

Their movement was assessed at 18 months, and hip and shin bone size, shape and mineral density was measured at 17 years of age for both males and females, by scanning with X-ray absorptiometry and peripheral computed tomography. 

The findings showed the effect was more pronounced in males than in females, suggesting early movement plays less of a role in female bone strength. 

"Importantly, the results could have implications for later life by helping medical practitioners to anticipate and detect those who are at a greater risk of osteoporosis or fractures, thus helping them to devise prevention and coping strategies,” Ireland stated.​

New York, May 14 (IANS) Consuming foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids is likely to reduce extreme aggression in children within a short period especially its more impulsive and emotional form, says a new research.

Omega-3 fatty acids are naturally found in fatty fish, such as tuna, seafood and some nuts and seeds.

The findings showed that incorporating Omega-3 vitamins and mineral supplements into the diets of children can decrease their aggressive and antisocial behaviour.

Also, the participants getting the combination of cognitive behavioural therapy and Omega-3s reported less aggression than the control group and the therapy-only group.

"Immediately after three months of the nutritional intervention rich in Omega-3s, we found a decrease in the children's reporting of their aggressive behaviour," said Therese Richmond from the University Of Pennsylvania, US.

For the study, published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, the randomised trial included 290 children who were aged between 11-12 year olds with a history of violence.

They were divided into four groups. The first received Omega-3 in the form of juice, as well as multivitamins and calcium for three months. 

The second group participated in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) which focused on the links between thoughts, feelings and behaviours and also practicing alternative actions the children could take to deal with difficult situations rather than to emotionally react to something. 

The third group took the supplements and participated in CBT, and the fourth received resources and information targeted at reducing aggressive behaviour. 

Blood samples at the experiment's start and conclusion measured Omega-3 levels in each child.​

​Beijing, May 13 (IANS) US tech giant Apple on Friday announced that it will invest $1 billion in Chinese ride-hailing platform, Didi Chuxing.

"We decided to make the investment for a number of strategic reasons, including the chance to learn more about certain segments of the China market. We see lots of

​New York, May 13 (IANS) A team of US researchers has developed a new technology that can safely and precisely drive robot arms, giving them the delicacy necessary to pick up an egg without breaking it.

​Beijing, May 12 (IANS) China has opened its first deep-sea research institute which experts said will be meaningful for resource exploitation and improvements to naval technology.

The Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering (IDSSE) located in Sanya, Hainan province passed an acceptance inspection and began official operations on Tuesday, authorities said on Wednesday.

The IDSSE is the first scientific research base for study of the deep seas and is also China's first public platform for deep-sea research and technological experiments.

"The deep sea has a wealth of resources including mineral, biotic and petroleum resources, and there are more than 40 billion tonnes of petroleum in the South China Sea alone. Therefore, it is necessary to enhance scientific research capabilities there," Gao Shu, director of the School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences at Nanjing University, told the Global Times.

Since 2012, Chinese scientists have participated in several research projects related to the South China Sea, including scientific voyages in the area.

Deep-sea research will also have military uses, as studies on complex marine environments can help improve naval technology, which is usually the most advanced military technology in a country.

The mother ship for a new deep-sea submersible was delivered to the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Guangzhou, Guangdong province on May 5. 

The 94-metre Tansuo 1 has a fully loaded displacement of 6,250 tonnes, and the submersible can reach a depth of 4,500 metres. It is expected to dive to the Mariana Trench for a research mission in the near future.​