Neat News - Neat things do happen

Scientists studied why we feel exhausted after thinking hard and found that there is some physiological cause: The synapses of the brain's prefrontal cortex have a higher level of glutamate, which is eliminated again during sleep.

related: #thinking #glutamate

Leisure activities reduce the dementia risk, a new study finds. Mental activities such as reading/writing, playing games or musical instruments, or using a computer by 23 percent; physical activities such as walking, swimming, yoga, or dancing by 17 percent; and social activities such as joining a social club, volunteering, or visiting friends by 7 percent.

related: #dementia #activity

Using a mobile phone app, tinnitus sufferers were exposed to white noise. About two thirds of the patients reported an improvement of their tinnitus. It is assumed that the sound leads to a rewiring of the brain so that the sound of the tinnitus is reclassified as irrelevant.

related: #tinnitus #white_noise

In tests with 20 people, most of whom had lost their sight because of a disease of the cornea, the transparent front part of the eye, sight was restored by implanting a bioengineered cornea. This method may offer for many patients an alternative to the transplantation of a donated human cornea.

related: #cornea #sight

Studying tiny zircon crystals from Western Australia, scientists find evidence that the continents were formed some three and a half billion years ago by the impact of a gigantic meteorite.

related: #continent #meteorite

When babies feel uncomfortable they cry, whether it is a mild discomfort or strong pain. In a new study it has been found that adults can learn to distinguish from the crying the type of the discomfort.

related: #baby #crying

There was the question where the horses on the island of Assateague, off Maryland and Virginia, come from. The theory that they descend from horses coming to land after a shipwreck of a Spanish galleon is now supported by a gene analysis comparing their genes to a 16th century tooth.

related: #Assateague #horse

Inflammation helps healing. However, it can lead to problems such as type 2 diabetes, heart problems, and autoimmune diseases, when it is chronic. A new study finds a connection between low levels of vitamin D and high levels of inflammation.

related: #vitamin_D #inflammation

Music can relieve acute pain. A new study finds that people who have the impression that they can control the music they hear have a greater benefit in pain relief than others.

related: #music #pain_relief

In Wuppertal, Germany, there is a sanctuary for hedgehogs, which looks after sick and injured hedgehogs. It provides shelter for 400 to 500 hedgehogs every year until they have recovered.

related: #hedgehog

A new study finds that Alzheimer's disease may be triggered - at least in some cases - by two common viruses. The varicella zoster virus, the virus responsible for chickenpox and shingles, triggers a dormant herpes simplex virus, which then leads to an accumulation of Alzheimer's linked proteins.

related: #Alzheimer #chickenpox #herpes

A so-called monoclonal antibody injection proved highly protective and safe for 6 to 12 months in a clinical study. In the study volunteers were bitten by mosquitoes carrying the malaria parasite. 15 of 17 were fully protected, whereas all participants in a control group became infected.

related: #malaria #monoclonal_antibody

Uruguay is a role model in the usage of renewable energies. 97 percent of its electricity is produced by renewables (wind, sun, water). The country has become an exporter of energy this way.

related: #Uruguay #renewable_energy

Sepsis can kill patients after an operation within hours. Using machine learning algorithms, doctors have managed to reduce the mortality rate by 18 percent by detecting the complication on average two hours earlier.

related: #sepsis #mortality_reduction

A new study finds that replacing meat in the food is good for environment and health. The approach is more successful than advocating vegan food, since people are more likely to do it. As an example, plant-based burgers lead to 98 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than beef burgers.

related: #vegetarian