Fructose, a commonly used sweetener in sugary drinks, cakes, ice cream, and biscuits, seems to up the risk of deadly liver disease in children.

Researchers found that the sweetener can lead to a fatty liver disease in children, even though this disease is commonly associated with alcoholism. Past studies have confirmed fructose is the most dangerous type of sugar, but new research suggests it can be far more damaging than previously estimated.

The fructose-associated liver disease can trigger cancer, heart issues, and strokes later in life.

In the U.S., the problem is even more serious as 25 percent of youngsters are deemed obese before age 15 and being overweight has often been associated with the fatty liver disease. However, in obese people, the disease usually leads to inflammation and cancer in decades. In the case of teens consuming fructose, they can develop cancer and other major health problems in several years.

Children At Higher Risk than Adults

Children are also more likely to consume the sweetener than adults as they crave sweets more often. High-fructose corn syrup in sodas and a wide range of prepackaged foods has been modified to trigger an instant sugar rush which may explain why laboratory animals fed on fructose developed more severe metabolic conditions than the animals given glucose, another type of sugar.

The recent findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

During the trial, laboratory mice were put on a high fat diet and drank water, or a liquid containing fructose or glucose. After nearly 3 months, none of the lab animals in the control group was diagnosed with insulin resistance, which is a risk factor for diabetes.

Both groups that consumed sugar gained weight, but there were some differences between the fructose and the glucose groups respectively. The research team found a statistically significant link between fructose and more severe negative metabolic outcomes.
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Children are often subjected to all kinds of aggressive treatments coming from their peers, and these can seriously damage their mental well-being. However, it seems than not only individual children have to suffer from this. A recent study revealed that victimization in all its forms can degrade the whole school environment.

Many children are victims of bullying

Children are likely to be the victims of many toxic behaviors both during middle school and during high school. Among these behavior, there is the classic bullying, or harassment. Since technology has taken such a huge leap forward, cyberbullying has also become more widespread. All of them are gathered under a single umbrella term, polyvictimization.

Researchers decided to analyze these behaviors in schools, and developed a study published in the Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma. They measured the impact victimization had on the general school climate, and found out it makes children feel less secure in that environment.

The study looked at the 2015-2016 schoolyear, and used the data collected during the Pilot Climate Survey on middle and high schools in Vermont. During that precise schoolyear, 43 percent of kids reported of experiencing victimization.

Victimization affects the entire school climate

When analyzing each form of victimization, the percentage was highest when it came to bullying, namely 32 percent. Then, another 21 percent were victims of cyberbullying, and 16.4 percent of harassment. This latter behavior implied children being the subject of adverse behavior because of their ethnicity, skin color, disability, or sexual identity.

Researchers suggested that school officials shouldn’t concentrate only on the bullied victims, but on the problem of bullying itself. Those who subject others to such behaviors should be taught the destructive effects of their acts. In case they are not willing to stop, then they should receive the appropriate punishment, so that the problem should be cut off from its root.
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A group of researchers from MIT and Harvard Medical School came up with an effective method to monitor different health conditions, while conforming to society’s beauty standards. Their idea involves keeping a close eye on one’s blood sugar or dehydration levels through biosensitive tattoos. These tattoos have a special ink which changes color when something’s wrong.

Biosensitive tattoos are better health monitors

This project is called Dermal Abyss, and consists of using special biosensitive ink when making tattoos. This ink contains special sensors which can detects the levels of sugar, sodium, or hydrogen in the fluids of the skin. When these levels change, the ink changes color, or turns more fluorescent.

These biosensitive tattoos can already make use of two different kinds of ink. Both of them are green, but one of them turns brown if blood glucose increases. The other one, when put under blue light, increases its intensity if the body increases its sodium levels. Researchers tested the ink on pig skin.

The biosensitive tattoos still need some improvements before they can be used as a full monitoring technique, but can still be more effective than most wearables. Since they are not battery-powered and don’t need a wireless connection to work, they are the best solution for people who need to be in constant watch of their health.

The changes are visible only in blue light

This is a great solution for athletes, who need to know every time when some change occurs in their body, or for astronauts, who also need to closely monitor their health. Also, they are most useful for diabetic people, as they can immediately see if they suffer sudden changes in their blood sugar levels.

Some people might think biosensitive tattoos are a bit intrusive if they display color changes in front of everyone. Researchers thought about this as well, and made the ink changes visible only in special blue light issued by a smartphone.
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If you’re worried about your child’s grades, it might be time to make some changes in his room. Ditch the TV, as it keeps from performing useful activities. Instead of learning, doing homework, or even sleeping, kids tend to spend more time in front of the TV if it’s right there in their bedroom. Also, it encourages them to become sedentary, increasing the obesity risk, or might get them addicted.

A team of researchers from Iowa State University developed one of the first studies which looked at the effects of a TV of gaming system kept in a child’s room. They discovered a clear difference between children who slept with a TV in their room, and those who went in the living room to play or watch cartoons.

Too much TV leads to more bad grades

If the TV and video games are more accessible for the child, he tends to get engaged in such activities too much. This is not good for the other things he should do, such as reading and learning. A TV in their room is bad for their sleep as well, as they tend to keep it turned on even past their bed time. This became visible in their grades.

Moreover, having media sources in their own room can lead to many other consequences. These children are often found to be watching more violent programs, since their parents are not always there to check on them. Such a situation often contributed to their behavior, as they became more aggressive.

The study, published in the journal Developmental Psychology, monitored children’s screen time, as well as the effects a prolonged screen time might have. It discovered how the number keeps increasing, as the average time per week has almost reached 60 hours.

Also, more than 40 percent of kids between 4 and 6 years old, and most children aged 8 or older have a TV in their room. Most of the time, parents think they do something good for their kids, but often fail to assess the risk associated with it.
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Researchers have discovered the shape of one’s face can work as an effective tool to predict the person’s behavior or psychological traits. People might soon use this trick to test the fidelity of their partners, as it seems the face shape can be used to tell if a person is likely to cheat or not, and to determine their sex drive.

What does face shape have to do with sex drive?

The researchers from Nipissing University, Canada, regard the face shape as an important psychological factor. More precisely, the width to height ratio of a face can be used to measure a person’s sex drive, choice of partners, or the possibility of being unfaithful. To reach this conclusion, researchers performed two analyses on different categories of people.

The first one involves 145 heterosexual undergraduates who, when the study was performed, were in a stable relationship. They all had to answer several questions about their sexual appetite and behavior and, then, researchers assessed their face shape and measured their width to height ratio. This is how they observed face shape and sexual behavior were related.

Square and wider faces correlate with a higher libido

For the second analysis, researchers questioned 314 people who were slightly older. They answered similar questions, and sent photos of them. However, this time, more diverse traits were included, such as a tendency to be unfaithful or sociosexuality.

A uniform result was present across the two studies. People who have a square, wide, and short face are more likely to cheat on their partners, so face shape can really determine sex drive. However, the research came with its limitations. First of all, it was observational, and judged from a smaller sample of people. Also, the participants were young, and such people usually have a higher sex drive.

Therefore, researchers wish to develop more studies on the subject, and find more relevant results. The assessment of the two analyses has been published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior.
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A surprising new study found that sleep deprivation can offer a short-term alleviation of depression symptoms. Researchers at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine found that half of the study participants diagnosed with the disorder benefited from sleep deprivation.

Scientists couldn’t say why exactly sleep deprivation can have such a huge impact on a person’s mood. The team noticed that a significant change in one person’s sleep patterns seems to reboot the internal circadian clock.

However, the research revealed that depression makes a comeback as soon as the person goes to sleep.

Sleep deprivation acted as a natural antidepressant in half of surveyed cases despite the severity of the condition and medication. A researcher called the effects of sleep deprivation on depression patients ‘bizarre’.

Sleep Deprivation Benefits the Brain

However, the benefits of sleep deprivation were first documented in the 19^th Century. Over the last three decades, around 75 studies altered patients’ sleep schedules to treat depression. Yet, no one reviewed those studies and we did not know how conclusive they were.

Researchers warn that sleep deprivation does not work for everybody. In extreme cases, it can lead to cardiovascular conditions, suicidal thoughts, and even more depression.

Study authors found that being sleep deprived a single night does not benefit the patient in the long run, but it does seem to help some of those with depression reset and rewire.

The research team thinks that the unexpected benefits may have something to do with the circadian rhythms, which are severely disturbed in depressed people. So, forgoing a sleep cycle seems to reboot those rhythms, which apparently helps in fixing those disturbances.

The brain can rewire and reset itself due to neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to build new connections, which was proven to last well into the old age.
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If you are struggling with relationship problems, the surest way to find relief is among your family and friends, a recent study says. If you have an intense social activity while arguing with your partner, you are less likely to develop the typical health problems which arise with the stress of these issues. Therefore, make sure you keep your friends and family close.

Relationship problems might lead to increased health risks

Having relationship problems is not easy for anyone, and some people might take it harder than others. This means they are confronting with a lot of stress, which might lead to unwanted physiological effects. However, this new research suggests that these effects are less visible in people who spend more time with their family and friends, and who can always ask them for psychological support.

Unfortunately, many couples nowadays live far away from their family and friends. Even so, it is important for them to maintain a strong relationship in spite of the distance. Having emotional support from a close one if you have relationship problems can reduce the many health risks associated with them. These health problems which might arise include depression, insomnia, weight gain, or even heart disease.

Any kind of meaningful social connection can help people experience less emotional stress

For the study, researchers monitored 105 couples who had to answer daily questionnaires regarding their relationship problems, as well as their connections with friends and family. Besides, they also had to give saliva samples, and have their cortisol levels measured. This hormone shows the levels of stress suffered by a person during the day.

Researchers also noticed something interesting. A high number of friends and social connections didn’t have as much value if the relationships weren’t of good quality. Therefore, having meaningful relationships is more important than having plenty of superficial friendships. Also, anything outside the couple can help with relationship problems. Even those people with few friends had lower levels of stress-related health problems than those who had no connections outside the marriage.
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Nowadays, many people spend most of their day sitting down, as they have to work in an office and at a desk. There’s no secret that being sedentary can be dangerous for one’s health, but new research suggests sitting down many hours in a row is bad even for those who exercise afterwards. A solution to prolong your life would be to stand up once every 30 minutes.

People spent a lot of time sitting down

A sedentary lifestyle puts our life in danger, but this new study found a direct connection between sitting down and not performing any active movement, and a higher risk of death. Researchers looked at the connection between this acute sedentarism and an all-cause mortality (or mortality from any kind of causes), and found it exists.

Since there is an all-cause mortality, researchers couldn’t tell why it is directly related with sitting down. However, after analyzing around 8,000 participants aged 45 or older, they found evidence of some clear correlations. The study has been published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

Previously, researchers had participants answer questionnaires, and assess their levels of activity on their own. This time, they decided to measure these levels themselves, by having the participants wear accelerometers. The results were alarming, as researchers found people spent 12,3 hours sitting down on average.

One way to minimize the risk would be to stand up once every half an hour

The study lasted for about four years, and 340 of the participants died until the end. This is how researchers identified the connection between sitting down and the death risk. Therefore, the more time you spend being inactive, the more at risk you are to die an early death.

Also, they observed how this correlation is present regardless of any other factors which might be involved. This means that, even if participants spent time exercising after sitting down for many hours, the risk was still present. However, there is one solution to minimize this risk. Those people who stood up once every 30 minutes or even less had the smallest risk.
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A report released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed a Salmonella outbreak which swept up 13 states. After detailed investigations, officials discovered pet turtles had been responsible with spreading the disease. The outbreak has already lasted for several months, and the authorities decided to take action against it.

Pet turtles are responsible for spreading Salmonella

CDC developed an advisory in which it monitored all the Salmonella cases registered since March, and up until August. The officials identified 37 cases of the disease, with 16 of the infected people ending up in the hospital. Most cases were present in New York, with 11 people suffering from Salmonella.

CDC interviewed 33 of the 37 people who were victims of the outbreak. Fifteen of these people reported having played with pet turtles before getting infected. This is how the health officials came to the conclusion that the animals put people at risk. However, people are not aware of it and, as they keep interacting with pet turtles, they might continue getting sick.

Salmonella is especially dangerous for kids and older people

All kinds of pet turtles are expected to carry the Salmonella bacteria. Therefore, parents should be careful, and not allow their children to play with the animals. Salmonella can be especially dangerous for infants, so people shouldn’t keep their pet turtles in the same house as children younger than five. Also, Salmonella can be riskier for people older than 65, those who have a weaker immune system, or pregnant women.

This is not the first time when pet turtles have been linked to a Salmonella outbreak. In 2015, CDC reported 133 cases in 26 states and, in 2013, they discovered 473 cases in 43 states. Each state has different policies regarding the possession of turtles, but retailers are not allowed to sell turtles with shells smaller than 4 inches.
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A woman from California issued a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and claimed using their baby powder led to her developing terminal ovarian cancer. The jury ruled in favor of the woman, and awarded her $417 million, but scientists are a bit skeptical in declaring talcum powder can directly cause cancer.

Can talcum powder cause ovarian cancer? Juries say yes

Eva Echeverria was diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer, and she blamed Johnson & Johnson for it. She admitted using Johnson’s Baby Powder in the perineal area for several decades, and blamed it for her disease. Therefore, she took legal action in the sense.

On Monday, a jury ruled in favor of Echeverria, and awarded her $417 million. However, this was not the first time when a jury ruled against the company, and many other cases are still pending. This makes us wonder if talcum powder can really cause cancer.

Scientists are a little more skeptical

Scientists admitted that it could be dangerous. Talc, the mineral present in talcum powder, can put women at risk, as it might lead to the development of ovarian cancer. By using talc products for their personal hygiene, they increase their general cancer risk by 33 percent.

People observed a possible link between ovarian cancer and talc in the 1980s. Before that, they also noticed some similarities between this type of cancer and exposure to asbestos, a popular carcinogen. Actually, asbestos and talc are often mined together, and the former has often been found in talc products.

However, the National Cancer Institute supports companies like Johnson & Johnson. The evidence they managed to gather didn’t find any link between ovarian cancer risk and the genital and perineal use of talcum powder. However, they will keep performing more trials and look for more results.

Talc can, indeed, be risky, scientists agreed upon that. However, this is not conclusive enough for a final verdict. Also, they sometimes blame the women themselves. They should be aware talcum powder is associated with an increased cancer risk. If they want to avoid it, they should stop using it in areas which allow it to enter their reproductive system.
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