Intranasal insulin boosts memory in women

A new study has found that insulin administered intranasally, severely decreases food intake in men but not women and moreover, the compound boosts memory function in women but not men.

Researchers at the University of Lubeck in Germany said their findings signify that gender is a decisive factor in brain insulin signalling that affects both food intake and cognitive functions.

“They further suggest that intranasal insulin may be helpful in the treatment of cognitive and metabolic disorders like Alzheimer’s disease and obesity that are assumed to derive at least in part from malfunctions of central nervous insulin signalling,” said lead author Christian Benedict.

Previous studies have shown that insulin plays a key role in the regulation of central nervous functions such as energy metabolism and memory processing.

According to Benedict, they conducted the study to assess the effects of a single dose of intranasal insulin on these functions and to find out any gender differences. The nasal spray device used in this study atomises the insulin solution before inhalation so that it penetrates the nasal cavities more effectively.

The pancreatic hormone insulin plays a pivotal role in the regulation of central nervous functions such as the
neuroendocrine control of energy metabolism and memory processing.

Antioxidants have no effect

A new study has cited that providing antioxidants and nutrients to children suffering from Down’s syndrome does not result in any kind of improvement in their condition. The study was done by UK researchers on 156 babies under seven months old with Down’s syndrome over an 18-month period, in order to examine the effect of giving them this dietary supplement.

Down’s syndrome is one of the most common genetic causes of learning disability and influences a large number of the population in many countries.

The studies done earlier aimed at determining the possibility that giving folate, antioxidants, or both may result in any kind of improvement in the effects of Down’s syndrome, especially language and psychomotor development.

Mobile phone affects skin

Cellphone use is already linked to an increased risk of brain tumour. Now, a new study claims that radiation from
mobiles affects human skin too.

A team of researchers in Finland has carried out the study and found that living tissue responds to mobile phone
radiation which alters protein expression in people.

In the study, a small area of forearm’s skin in ten volunteers was exposed to GSM signal for one hour. After that, skin biopsies were collected from exposed and non-exposed areas of skin and all extractable proteins were examined.

After the analysis of nearly 580 proteins, the researchers identified eight proteins which were statistically significantly affected.

A bout of depression helps

Depression is common but it’s not a sign of weakness. In fact, experiencing the condition for a brief
period can actually benefit you.

A leading psychiatrist has claimed that a bout of depression could be good for the soul — it may bring misery to its sufferers, but it can also leave them tougher and more resilient.

“We see it as a defect — often patients see themselves as broken in some way — whereas I think of it as a defence mechanism. It has simply adapted in the human species to give us long term benefits,” Paul Keedwell of Institute of Psychiatry in London said.

According to him, depression, which has played a key role in evolution, can also spark creativity. However, Keedwell warned that the condition in severe form can be terrible and life threatening, unless treated. “But for many it is a short term painful episode,” he explained.

The study came just days after researchers in Canada claimed to have found that depression could double a coronary artery disease patient’s chances of repeated heart ailments.

Tests on Shroud of Turin

The Shroud of Turin, a centuries old linen cloth bearing the hidden image of a crucified man that millions believe to be Jesus of Nazareth, was declared a medieval forgery two decades back.

Now, scientists at the University of Oxford are investigating claims that the carbon dating tests it carried out on the Christendom’s most famous relic were wrong.

Director of the Oxford University’s Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit Christopher Ramsey said he was treating seriously a new theory suggesting that contamination had skewed the test results in 1988. The original carbon dating had concluded the shroud was created between 1260 and 1390, and was therefore likely to be a fake.

Even the then Cardinal of Turin, Anastasio Alberto Ballestrero, had conceded that the relic was probably a hoax.