Sunday, January 21, 2007
Puppies Better Than Kitties
It's old news that having pets makes you healthier and happier. They provide companionship, which has health benefits of its own, and petting them releases anti-stress hormones on both human and pet. But what's the best pet to have? A dog! British researchers have found that dog owners have lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and other better health measures, than the general population, and than cat owners. So dogs are healthier than cats.
The result seems to result from a combination of dogs' need to be walked (increasing owners' exercise), dogs' generally more affectionate nature (stress relief) and, in what will bug cat owners most, dogs' neediness actually seems to make them more beneficial companions, especially for older people.
Not that cats aren't great, but give me a dog any day. Particularly one as awesome as Winston (pictured).
Labels: cats, dogs, health, pets
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Headin' South
I had to bribe the puppies with toys (in Scooter Mae's case) and something to kill (a rawhide bone in Winston's case) so that they would let me leave.
They figured it out yesterday, and were super-clingey, but today they pretty much did all they could to impede my movement towards the car. So cute, how can I leave them?!?!?
They figured it out yesterday, and were super-clingey, but today they pretty much did all they could to impede my movement towards the car. So cute, how can I leave them?!?!?
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Back in DC - A Roundup, with Superheroes.
So I'm finally done with finals, and back in DC for the winter. Questions as to my sanity vis. moving *north* for this season aside, here I am. And really, what better way to return to the District than with a lawsuit? The DC government has joined a number of states in suing to force the EPA to adjust its soot-emission guidelines to jibe with the EPA's own scientific assessments on the subject. See? Good things could come from (a) a lawsuit and (b) the DC government! I've missed quite a bit over the last few days, so here's a quick-fire of what's up:
It's also a pretty good day for people who drink alcohol. Not that any of them write on this blog, no sir... Researchers have foud evidence that alcoholism-related briain damage may be reversable - subjects displayed significant increases in brain volume after only a few weeks abstinence. Needless to say, brain volume is not necessarily a measure of regrowth (let alone functional improvement), but coupled with improvements on cognitive test scores, this is hopeful research.
On the good side of alcohol consumption, a preliminary Swedish study of mice has found that moderate alcohol consumtpion may help stave off arthritis. Awesome!
Back on the bad-for-your-brains topic, it seems that younger siblings may be more than just annoying: having too many could increase your risk of a brain tumor! I find this result a little bit baffling, so I do hope we hear more soon.
Rats appear to have visual dreams, just like us! We already knew that they used some sort of memory replay in sleep, to help with consolidation just like in humans, but this is the first evidence of something much more like dreams. Granted, this isn't a big shock to me, as one of my dogs is plagued by nightmares (the other one is very good at comforting her after these), but it is nice to have confirmation of my anthropomorphizing tendency!
Speaking of dogs, you might not need that bloodhound afterall: just hire a Berkeley grad student. The researchers had students track the scent of chocolate across a field with one nostril or two, and found that, not only could they do it (like a bloodhound), but also that two nostrils was best for time and accuracy. Cool!
And now, the superheroes. Forget Batman - could the batfish really save the Great Barrier Reef? Unrelatedly, NIH researchers have come upon a potential malaria vaccine which could, if successful, help eliminate that ancient nemesis.
It's also a pretty good day for people who drink alcohol. Not that any of them write on this blog, no sir... Researchers have foud evidence that alcoholism-related briain damage may be reversable - subjects displayed significant increases in brain volume after only a few weeks abstinence. Needless to say, brain volume is not necessarily a measure of regrowth (let alone functional improvement), but coupled with improvements on cognitive test scores, this is hopeful research.
On the good side of alcohol consumption, a preliminary Swedish study of mice has found that moderate alcohol consumtpion may help stave off arthritis. Awesome!
Back on the bad-for-your-brains topic, it seems that younger siblings may be more than just annoying: having too many could increase your risk of a brain tumor! I find this result a little bit baffling, so I do hope we hear more soon.
Rats appear to have visual dreams, just like us! We already knew that they used some sort of memory replay in sleep, to help with consolidation just like in humans, but this is the first evidence of something much more like dreams. Granted, this isn't a big shock to me, as one of my dogs is plagued by nightmares (the other one is very good at comforting her after these), but it is nice to have confirmation of my anthropomorphizing tendency!
Speaking of dogs, you might not need that bloodhound afterall: just hire a Berkeley grad student. The researchers had students track the scent of chocolate across a field with one nostril or two, and found that, not only could they do it (like a bloodhound), but also that two nostrils was best for time and accuracy. Cool!
And now, the superheroes. Forget Batman - could the batfish really save the Great Barrier Reef? Unrelatedly, NIH researchers have come upon a potential malaria vaccine which could, if successful, help eliminate that ancient nemesis.
Labels: alcohol, arthritis, batfish, batman, brains, chocolate, coral, DC, dogs, dreams, emissions, EPA, lawsuits, malaria, memory, rats, science, soot, vaccine
Friday, December 01, 2006
Living Well, Passing it On
Parents generally want their kids to be healthy and happy. Kids often want pets. The two, it turns out, seem to go hand in hand: Cincinnati researchers have found that infants raised in households with two or more dogs seem to have lower rates of wheezing disorders.The press release is a bit self-contradictory, so I can't tell what the group's actual findings were in regards to allergy risk, but it would make sense that protective effects against wheezing would suggest protection from allergy development, right?
Something else that may have unexpected benefits is mifepristone (aka RU-486). A UC-Irvine study suggests that the 'abortion pill' may block breast and ovarian cancers in mice.
They examined mice with the BRCA1 mutation, known to predispose for cancer; those treated with the progesterone-blocking drug developed fewer tumors than controls. Probably not a treatment for humans, but a nice suggestion of future steps.
Speaking of breeding, it seems that alpha-male stags are more likely to produce male offspring. The idea that parents health or status can really influence (besides chance) in mammals is pretty amazing.
Labels: abortion pill, Allergies, BRCA1, breast cancer, dogs, offspring, progesterone, RU-486, sex, Winston
