ScienceDaily: Living Well News

---

• Green tea could reduce pancreatic cancer risk: Study explains how
• Eating prunes can help weight loss, study shows
• Can narcissists be moved to show empathy?
• Standard approaches to menopause symptoms discount non-Western experiences
• Girls' social connections affect math learning
• Pleasant smells increase facial attractiveness
• Mode of transportation affects how we feel, study finds
• Stress degrades sperm quality, study shows
• Spruce up your selfie: A new algorithm could transfer acclaimed photographers' signature styles to cellphone photos
• Zinc deficiency before conception disrupts fetal development
• Having children is contagious among high school friends during early adulthood
• Some consumers confuse 'local' with 'organic' food
• Keeping active pays off even in your 70s, 80s
• Why are girl babies winning in the battle for survival?
• Scientists map the worst times of day for people allergic to grass pollen
• E-cigarettes: Not a healthy alternative to smoking; Allergists warn e-smokers of unknown risks

Green tea could reduce pancreatic cancer risk: Study explains how Posted: 30 May 2014 10:32 AM PDT A new study explains how green tea changed the metabolism of pancreatic cancer cells, opening a new area in cancer-fighting research. Green tea and its extracts have been widely touted as potential treatments for cancer, as well as several other diseases. But scientists have struggled to explain how the green tea and its extracts may work to reduce the risk of cancer or to slow the growth of cancer cells.

Eating prunes can help weight loss, study shows Posted: 30 May 2014 09:43 AM PDT Eating prunes as part of a weight control diet can improve weight loss, research shows. Consumption of dried fruit is not readily recommended during weight loss despite evidence it enhances feelings of fullness. However, a study of 100 overweight and obese low fiber consumers tested whether eating prunes as part of a weight loss diet helped or hindered weight control over a 12-week period. The results were promising.

Can narcissists be moved to show empathy? Posted: 30 May 2014 09:43 AM PDT Researchers have investigated whether narcissists can elicit empathy for another person's suffering. It has been well documented that narcissists lack empathy, but why is that the case, and do they have the capacity to change that behavior? New research suggests that with the right focus, people with narcissistic tendencies can feel empathy for another person's suffering.

Standard approaches to menopause symptoms discount non-Western experiences Posted: 30 May 2014 09:43 AM PDT Understanding menopausal symptoms through a simple checklist has serious limitations, particularly within different ethnic groups or populations, according to a new study of British Pakistani women's beliefs about and experiences of menopause. The research concludes that the symptom experience of non-Western groups has not had the opportunity to inform theoretical developments around menopause symptoms in the same way that the experience of Western groups has.

Girls' social connections affect math learning Posted: 29 May 2014 03:16 PM PDT Social connections among African American girls influence their participation and recognition in math class, according to a researcher who found that students who are more socially connected tend to enjoy more access to learning opportunities. Socially peripheral and isolated students had less support, but not all were equally affected. Those who valued social status often participated less, while those who were indifferent to social status participated more and worked alone by choice.

Pleasant smells increase facial attractiveness Posted: 29 May 2014 03:16 PM PDT Women's faces are rated as more attractive in the presence of pleasant odors, according to new research. In contrast, odor pleasantness had less effect on age evaluation. The findings suggest that perfumes and scented products may, to some extent, alter how people perceive one another.

Mode of transportation affects how we feel, study finds Posted: 29 May 2014 11:23 AM PDT People are in the best mood while they are bicycling compared to any other mode of transportation, a new study has found. Researchers investigated how emotions like happiness, pain, stress, sadness and fatigue vary during travel and by travel mode. After bicyclists, the next happiest are car passengers and then car drivers. Bus and train riders experience the most negative emotions, though a small part of this can be attributed to the fact that mass transit is disproportionately used for commuting to and from work, according to the researchers.

Stress degrades sperm quality, study shows Posted: 29 May 2014 07:07 AM PDT Psychological stress is harmful to sperm and semen quality, affecting its concentration, appearance, and ability to fertilize an egg, according to a study. It is not fully understood how stress affects semen quality. It may trigger the release of steroid hormones called glucocorticoids, which in turn could blunt levels of testosterone and sperm production. Another possibility is oxidative stress, which has been shown to affect semen quality and fertility.

Spruce up your selfie: A new algorithm could transfer acclaimed photographers' signature styles to cellphone photos Posted: 29 May 2014 06:28 AM PDT Celebrated portrait photographers like Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus, and Martin Schoeller made their reputations with distinctive visual styles that sometimes required the careful control of lighting possible only in the studio. Now researchers have developed an algorithm that could allow you to transfer those distinctive styles to your own cellphone photos.

Zinc deficiency before conception disrupts fetal development Posted: 29 May 2014 06:28 AM PDT Female mice deprived of dietary zinc for a relatively short time before conception experienced fertility and pregnancy problems more than mice that ingested zinc during the same times, according to researchers. Zinc deficiency caused a high incidence of pregnancy loss, and embryos from the zinc-deficient diet group were an average of 38 percent smaller than those from the control group. Preconception zinc deficiency also caused approximately half of embryos to exhibit delayed or aberrant development.

Having children is contagious among high school friends during early adulthood Posted: 29 May 2014 06:22 AM PDT A new study suggests that having children is contagious among female high school friends during early adulthood. The fact that the likelihood of a woman having a child increases after a high school friend gives birth, reaches a peak approximately two years later, and then decreases makes sense, according to the researchers.

Some consumers confuse 'local' with 'organic' food Posted: 28 May 2014 08:41 AM PDT Even though the organic food industry has spent millions on branding, nearly one in five consumers still don't know the difference between "local" and "organic" food. "If consumers can distinguish between local and organic, then by buying organic, they will be able to reduce their exposure to synthetic pesticides," said one author. Locally produced food may not be the most sustainable choice, if same or better quality produce can be grown and transported less expensively from elsewhere.

Keeping active pays off even in your 70s, 80s Posted: 27 May 2014 03:53 PM PDT Older people who undertake at least 25 minutes of moderate or vigorous exercise everyday need fewer prescriptions and are less likely to be admitted to hospital in an emergency, new research has revealed. Those in the study who carried out less than 25 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day -- such as walking quickly, cycling or swimming -- received 50 per cent more prescriptions over the following four to five years than those who were more active.

Why are girl babies winning in the battle for survival? Posted: 27 May 2014 09:35 AM PDT Sexual inequality between boys and girls starts as early as in the mother's womb, but how and why this occurs could be a key to preventing higher rates of preterm birth, stillbirth and neonatal death among boys. "Our results suggest that there is a distinct sex bias in the regulation of genes in the human placenta," says the lead author of a new study, adding that the findings "may be important to help guide future sex-specific therapeutics for pregnant women and for babies in the neonatal nursery."

Scientists map the worst times of day for people allergic to grass pollen Posted: 27 May 2014 07:12 AM PDT The grass pollen season is not just one seven to nine week period of agony for people allergic to grass pollen. The concentration of pollen in the air varies not only with the weather. According to a new study, the flowering season can be divided into three different periods with different daily patterns. Based on this, the researchers provide new advices to allergy sufferers.

E-cigarettes: Not a healthy alternative to smoking; Allergists warn e-smokers of unknown risks Posted: 27 May 2014 07:06 AM PDT A new study examines the risks of e-cigarettes, and concludes that they are not a healthy alternative to smoking. A new article examines the idea that one of the initial "health benefits" proposed by e-cigarettes makers was that it would help those who smoke cigarettes cut back. The authors say that theory hasn't been proven, and there's no evidence to support the claims.

You are subscribed to email updates from Living Well News -- ScienceDaily To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610