When smiling isn’t happiness
When human and chimpanzee infants are dozing, they sometimes show facial movements that resemble smiles. These facial expressions — called spontaneous smiles — are considered the evolutionary origin of real smiles and laughter. Researchers at Kyoto University’s Primate Research Institute, Japan, show in a study that this not only happens to higher-order primates like humans and chimpanzees but also in newborn Japanese macaques, which are more distant relatives in the evolutionary tree. Some researchers have argued that infants’ spontaneous smiles exist to make parents feel that their children are adorable and to enhance parent-child communication. On the other hand, this study suggests that spontaneous smiles don’t express feelings of pleasure in chimpanzees and Japanese monkeys; rather, the smiles are more similar to submissive signals (grimaces) rather than smiles (play faces). Spontaneous smiles facilitate the development of cheek muscles, enabling humans, chimpanzees, and Japanese monkeys to produce smiles, laughs, and grimaces, the team hypothesises. — Science Daily
Battery-free patch to monitor vitals
An international team of researchers has developed a battery-free, wireless health monitoring patch that laminates onto the skin. It can be used to monitor heart rate, blood oxygen level, ultraviolet radiation exposure, and changes in skin colour. The battery-free operation allows the thin circuit to be engineered in a much thinner, lighter, and more wearable format than similar devices that do the same job. The ultra-thin, stretchable electronic circuit — described in the journal Science Advances — adheres to the skin like a temporary tattoo. Instead of relying on batteries for power, the device works using wirelessly transmitted power from an external device. This specific type of wireless scheme, known as near-field communication, is similar to that used for wireless payments (such as Apple and Android Pay), making the device compatible with smartphones, tablets and other consumer electronics. Once wirelessly powered, optoelectric sensors in the device are activated, causing LEDs to illuminate the underlying skin.
Obesity signs and the brain
From middle age, the brains of obese individuals display differences in white matter similar to those in lean individuals 10 years their senior, according to new research led by the University of Cambridge. White matter is the tissue that connects areas of the brain and allows for information to be communicated between regions. Our brains naturally shrink with age, but scientists are increasingly recognising that obesity — already linked to conditions such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease — may also affect the onset and progression of brain ageing. In a cross-sectional study — in other words, a study that looks at data from individuals at one point in time — researchers looked at the impact of obesity on the brain structure across the adult lifespan to investigate whether obesity was associated with brain changes characteristic of ageing. In their report in the journal Neurobiology of Aging , the researchers found striking differences in the volume of white matter in the brains of overweight individuals when compared with those of their leaner counterparts. Overweight individuals had a widespread reduction in white matter when compared to lean people. Strikingly, however, the researchers only observed these differences from middle- age onwards, suggesting that our brains may be particularly vulnerable during this period of ageing. — Science Daily
It’s healthy to be fidgety
Previous research has shown that sitting for an extended period of time at a computer or during a long airline flight reduces blood flow to the legs, which may contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease. Now, researchers from the University of Missouri, U.S., have found that fidgeting while sitting can protect the arteries in legs and potentially help prevent arterial disease. During the study, the researchers compared the leg vascular function of 11 healthy young men and women before and after three hours of sitting. While sitting, the participants were asked to fidget one leg intermittently, tapping one foot for one minute and then resting it for four minutes, while the other leg remained still throughout. On average, the participants moved their feet 250 times per minute. The researchers then measured the blood flow of the popliteal — an artery in the lower leg — and found that the fidgeting leg had a significant increase in blood flow, as expected, while the stationary leg experienced a reduction in blood flow. Increased flow, according to previous studies, is important for vascular health. This however, isn’t a substitute for exercise, they added. — University of Missouri
What is ‘Earth Overshoot Day’? ‘Earth Overshoot Day’, falling on August 8 this year, marks the date when humanity’s annual demand on nature exceeds what earth can regenerate in that year. This occurs because we emit more carbon dioxide than our oceans and atmosphere can absorb and we deplete fisheries and forests more quickly than they can reproduce and replenish. The estimated level of resources and ecosystem services required to support all forms of human activity today is just over 1.6 earths, fast moving to becoming 2 earths by 2030. As the global population has grown and consumption has increased — particularly with respect to carbon emissions — ‘Earth Overshoot Day’ has moved from late September in 2000 to August this year. On a positive note, the rate at which the day has moved up on the calendar has slowed to less than one day a year on average in the past five years, compared to an average of three days a year since the overshoot began in the early 1970s. The day was previously known as ‘Ecological Debt Day’. — WWF |
