HealthLine

Music may boost drug abuse

According to a recent report in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, one-third of all songs teenagers are exposed to explicitly refer to abuse of drugs or alcohol.

Conducted by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, the study was based on 279 of the most popular songs of 2005, as listed by Billboard magazine. The study further states that on average, adolescents are exposed to over 30,000 references to substance abuse via music each year.

Behavioral studies have shown that images of substance abuse in film have a large impact on adolescent viewers — increasing the likelihood of addiction.

While these studies have yet to be conducted for music, scientists consider the possibility of similar results significant.

Source: The New York Times

Obesity is more nature than nurture

According to a study led by Jane Wardle, director of Cancer Research UK’s Health Behavior Centre, obesity is due largely to genetic factors, rather than diet and upbringing.

The study was carried out on over 5000 pairs of twins and conclusively determined that genetic factors were far more prevalent in determining future obesity of children.Statistical analyses showed that obesity is 77 percent due to genetic factors and 23 due to lifestyle and environment.

Researchers said that while this does not mean that children with obesity genes will certainly become overweight, it does give them a significantly higher chance of gaining more weight than children without family histories.

Source: Reuters

Men addicted to video games

The territorial instinct of males is to blame for their addiction to video games, say Stanford scientists.

In a study recently published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, scientists suggest that much greater activity takes place in the mesocorticolimbic area of the male brain while playing a territorial-based game than in the female brain. The mesocorticolimbic region is largely associated with addiction and reward in human beings.

The study also suggested that when playing a non-territorial-based game, male and female brain patterns are similar.

Source: www.healthfinder.gov

Vacuum cleaners save heart patients

New research into blood clotting has shown that use of a mini-vacuum to suck out blood clots leads to fewer complications for patients with blocked arteries, as opposed to conventional methods.

Conventional methods of clearing blood vessels such as angioplasty, which involves inflation of a balloon within the blood vessel to clear out blockage, have been shown to potentially break off pieces of blood clots, which may then obstruct smaller blood vessels.

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine last Thursday, shows that using the mini-vacuum to clear out the blockage has been shown to significantly lower the risks of serious complications.

Source: CNN