Dec. – 16: AROUND THE WORLD
USA
How you fight with your spouse may affect different body parts
Emotions are known to influence health, especially when they are negative or intense. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have been studying marital conflict conversations in couples since 1980s. This study is done on the same set of couples every five years.
The recent study found that partners who fumed with anger while arguing were more likely to later report symptoms of cardiac problems, like chest pain or high blood pressure, reports Emotion. This may be because anger raises pulse rates and causes other biological reactions that impact the heart. Calmer spouses were more prone to develop muscular problems, like back or neck pain.
 UK
Toothpaste that repairs teeth while you sleep
A new toothpaste has been formulated to replace minerals lost from tooth enamel which works while the user sleeps. Developed by the Queen Mary University of London, the toothpaste aims to tackle dental decay through a slow release of calcium, phosphate and fluoride ions.
While normal toothpastes wear off after only a couple of hours, BioMinF paste works for 8-12 hours after brushing. Fluoride, which is resistant to acid, forms a protective layer over the enamel. The calcium and phosphate work with the saliva in the mouth to form a new mineral that is able to strengthen and rebuild the tooth structure.
GERMANY
Night-time light pollution covers nearly 80% of the globe
The world never sleeps. This may be true based on recent findings published in Sciences Advances which states that 80% of the world’s population is living under light pollution. Artificial lights cause light-polluted sky which can mostly be observed in Singapore, Kuwait and Qatar. Experts say that the sources of artificial light vary like streetlights, lights from homes and businesses, headlights of cars and illuminated billboards.
Light pollution affects the behaviour of nocturnal animals and also causes sleep disorders in human beings. It is suggested that lights that are shielded or can dim while not being used could help in reducing light pollution.
CHINA
Even children judge people based on their looks
Frontiers in Psychology reports that researchers have found that as children, how we perceive someone’s trustworthiness is linked to how attractive we find them. Researchers at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, assessed 138 participants — groups of children aged 8, 10 and 12 years old, and compared them to a group of adults. They were asked to rate faces with a neutral expression on how trustworthy they thought that person was. A month later the participants were to rate the attractiveness of the same faces.
They found a strong relation between the two traits — the faces deemed more trustworthy were also considered to be more attractive. Although the link is well researched in babies and adults, the development of this ability in children was not previously known.
NORWAY
Video game addiction linked to ADHD
Video game addiction is associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression, says Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. Researchers at University of Bergen (UiB) studied more than 20,000 participants who answered questions related to video game addiction.
Results showed that addiction related to video games and computer activities shows sex differences. Men seem more likely to become addicted to online gaming, gambling, and cyber-pornography, while women to social media, texting and online shopping. Excessively engaging in gaming may function as an escape mechanism for, or coping with, underlying psychiatric disorders and to calm restless bodies.Â
