"Five-second rule" - a myth!

"It would be much better if the people who hold the" Rules of five seconds, "follow the rule of" Damage - throw away "- said Dr. George Parada, head of programs for the prevention and control of infectious diseases, Loyola University, Maywood, Illinois, the (' five-second rule "- the American idiom, means something like" what is quickly raised, is not considered fallen "- approx. per.).
... Once fallen thing for dirty surfaces, it collects on itself all the surrounding bacteria.

Parade cautions that, once fallen thing for dirty surfaces, it collects on itself all the surrounding bacteria: "Fallen object immediately contaminated and no longer subject to further complete disinfection. The quantitative and qualitative composition of contaminating microorganisms depends on the object and uronennogo place where he fell. " The scientist added that if the object is washed with water, you can remove some of the bacteria, but completely clear it is hardly possible.

By clearing the fallen stuff in any case does not mean it licks, which is a bad habit of some individuals. "Thus, to apply double damage - said the parade - you are exposed to the bacteria in the first place itself, plus everything you add to the fallen object is and its bacteria. From such carelessness nobody will win. "

However, Parade notes that there are different levels of bacterial contamination. Much depends on the specific circumstances. For example, potato chips, which fell on a relatively clean table and immediately raised, collect fewer germs on themselves, as if he had fallen on the floor and lain there for a while.

Some objects can accumulate to a large amount of bacteria. "For example, the fallen candy is less susceptible to contamination than a piece of cheese," - said the parade, which, incidentally, is also a professor in the School of Medicine of Loyola.
Some people believe that in the microbial contamination has its advantages: it allows a person to improve their immune system.

Some people believe that in the microbial contamination has its advantages: it allows a person to improve their immune system. In this thesis, of course, there is a robust grain, but Parade advises not to expose themselves to unnecessary risk, "Yes, conducted research supporting the value of the impact of bacteria on the body of the child in the most important period of its development. But it concerned microbial contamination typical of everyday life (the air you breathe, mother's arms, etc.), and was not related to the conscious infected themselves known microbes. This may not be an option of forming the protective systems of the organism. Since you want to take care of yourself and put a barrier to disease, spurring the immune system, the best choice - proper nutrition, physical activity and sleep. And do not forget to immunizations. "

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Blood type influences the risk of developing heart disease

Harvard researchers suggest that the risk of heart disease, blood group guided by an individual. Of their study showed that individuals with the II-nd, III-IV-and her second blood groups have a higher risk of developing heart disease, rather than the owners of I-th group of blood. However, experts say that each of us can resist this genetic predisposition, if prefer a healthy lifestyle that includes a balanced diet, adequate physical activity, careful monitoring of blood pressure levels and cholesterol, and body mass.

Said senior researcher, assistant professor of nutrition Dr. Lu Qi: "Our findings about the importance of blood as one of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease will be very useful for doctors. While we continue to recommend a healthy life to all, but persons with "risky" blood group should pay more attention to their health, so that reduce the risks. "

Research reports were published on 14 August in the current issue of the journal "Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology." In fairness it should be noted that, despite the existence of a definite connection between blood type and the risk of heart disease, It is a cause and effect relationship has not yet been established.

For the research of Qi Lu and colleagues selected data on 60,000 women who took part in a famous study on the health of nurses, as well as the 17,000 people who took part in such a large-scale study on the health of health workers. All participants were aged 30 to 75 years. In total, their observation was conducted over more than 20 years.

The researchers found that the risk of heart disease in patients with IV-oh - nairedchayshey - blood group by 23% compared with people with I-th blood type. In patients with II-nd group of blood that risk was higher by 11%, from the III-rd - 5%.

For the record: IV-th group of blood are only 7% of Americans, while the I-th - the most common - about 43%.

For reasons of clarity the researchers separately account for the effect on the risk of cardiovascular disease factors such as diet, age, sex, race, smoking, menopause, and history of other diseases. Participants in the study belonged mostly to the white race, so do not know whether you can use the results of the study in relation to other races.

Experts noted that the study proved the link between II-nd group of blood and a higher level of low density lipoprotein (so-called "bad" cholesterol). A nd I-blood group includes factors that contribute to optimizing blood flow and prevents thrombosis.

Dr. Greg Fonarou, professor of cardiology at the University of California nothing surprised: "The relationship between the risk of developing heart disease and II-IV blood groups was observed in the past. This connection can be realized through a variety of mechanisms. Key factors for thrombosis and a higher level of cholesterol are characteristic of people with different I-oh blood groups. The severity of inflammation and immune responses also vary depending on the blood group. " However, according to the scientist, much more to the risk of cardiovascular disease than the blood, to make such factors as age, blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, and other traditional factors, on which it is necessary first of all to focus medics .

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Discovered a new component of Earth's atmosphere, influence climate and human health

The international team of scientists from the University of Colorado and the Helsinki opened a new amazing chemical compound, part of the Earth's atmosphere. It is able to chemically react with sulfur dioxide to form sulfuric acid, which is known to have a significant effect on climate and human health, according to the website ScienceDaily.

This compound is a representative of the carbonyl group. It is formed by the interaction of ozone contained in the atmosphere, with alkenes (unsaturated hydrocarbons), which can be both natural and artificial nature. Thus, he found a new pathway for the formation of sulfuric acid, whose influence on the atmosphere of a very, very negative: it is acid rain and pollution of air inhaled by man. Acid rain in turn detrimental to the earth's flora and fauna.

Says Roy "Lee" Mauldin III (Roy «Lee» Mauldin II), University of Colorado researcher and lead author of the study: "Usually, the formation of sulfuric acid in the atmosphere is by reaction of sulfur dioxide and the hydroxyl radical OH, which consists of hydrogen and oxygen atoms with unpaired electrons, making them a high level. A catalyst for the chemical reaction of sulfuric acid is sunlight, which acts like a match, starting the process. " First suspicions on another method of formation of sulfuric acid, the scientists were born, when they began to discover in the atmosphere sulfuric acid at night, that is, in the absence of sunlight. According to Mauldin, they became massively identify sulfuric acid in the forests of Finland (where much of the research was conducted), which could not but encourage scientists to the question: where does it come from?

Scientists literally closed in the laboratory and were combined in a mass spectrometer (gas analyzer) ozone with sulfur dioxide and various alkenes. At some stage, the mass spectrometer recorded the formation of large amounts of sulfuric acid. Because the researchers wanted to make sure that the hydroxyl radical is not involved in the formation of sulfuric acid, they added to the analyzer special substance to completely bind and remove even traces of it from there. Later, one of the scientists decided to experiment: he held over the tube of the mass spectrometer has just broken branch of pine. As you know, in a pine tree contains isoprene and alfapinen - alkenes, giving it a distinctive pine scent. Then the concentration of sulfuric acid went up sharply. As then recognized scientists, they have never seen anything like it, as, in fact, no one else.

According to Mauldin, this newly discovered pathway for the formation of sulfuric acid will be of scientific interest to researchers of climate change: given the ever-increasing amount of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere, a new discovery will affect the atmospheric sulfur cycle.

According to the Office for the Environment (USA) about 90% of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere - a consequence of emission combustion of fossil fuels in power plants and other industrial facilities. Other sources of sulfur - even volcanoes and oceanic phytoplankton.

Airborne particles of sulfuric acid, which can be of different sizes, play a major role in the formation of clouds, which have a cooling effect on the atmosphere. Smaller particles, which are closer to the surface of the Earth, can cause respiratory problems in humans.

Over the last century the climate south-eastern United States was slightly colder. Mauldin relates this fact is a newly discovered chemical - natural oxidant. According to him, the particles of sulfuric acid over the pine forests constitute more clouds, which reflect sunlight back into space, cooling the thus located beneath the region.

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Normal parasite can bring to suicide

The parasite, which was considered a relatively safe and is found in a large number of people, in fact, cause subtle changes in the brain that contribute to the manifestation of suicidal tendencies.

A new study linking infectious parasite Toxoplasma gondii invasion of suicidal behavior, was published in the August issue of the American journal "Clinical Psychiatry". One of the leaders of the study was an employee of the Michigan State University Lena Brundin.

"Approximately 10-20% of the U.S. population are infected with toxoplasmosis, but the scientific community has always been assumed that toxoplasmosis in humans - an intermediate host - behaves inactive" - ​​says Brundin, Associate Professor of Experimental Psychiatry, University of Michigan. The research is based on the premise that, entering the human body, the parasite causes a "long-playing" inflammation, in which noxious metabolites that damage brain cells.

Brundin said that the discovery of symptoms of inflammation of the brain in suicide victims and those suffering from depression, was observed in previous studies, that is, the relationship between Toxoplasma gondii and suicide attempts is not a revelation to scientists, "But now we have a specific statistical information, that if a person is found toxoplasma, it is 7 times more prone to suicide. "

Job Brundin and her colleagues were the first in which the special assessment by suicidal scale analyzed suicidal tendencies among people infected with the parasite.


Toxoplasma gondii

The results showed that the infected person toxoplasmosis were more prone to suicide, and the greater the degree of contamination, the more they were placed on a scale, which means high risk of suicide attempts in the future. In this Brundin said that most infected nothing will not commit suicide, "Some people have certain psychological characteristics that make them more prone to suicide. Suicidality - a global problem of modern health care and society in general. Thus, in the United States in 2009 committed suicide 36,909 people, or someone take his own life every 14 minutes. At the same time, 90% of these individuals had any mental illness. Thus, the ability to identify suicide in the early stages by screening for toxoplasmosis will identify potential risk suicidal subjects. "

Toxoplasma gondii - an intracellular parasite, the ultimate owner of which are cats. Man he passed along with water or food containing eggs of the parasite. Since, in addition to human, the parasite can be found in other mammals, there is a chance of infection and the consumption of undercooked raw meat.

Brundin studied the link between depression and the presence of inflammation in the brain for over 10 years, starting with her own scientific work on Parkinson's disease. A typical group of drugs used in depressive states are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. These drugs increase the concentration in the brain neurotransmitter serotonin, but at the same time to have any effect on their administration reached only half of the patients. Brundin study indicates that reducing the concentration of serotonin may be a symptom, not the root cause of depression. Inflammation localized in the brain, caused, perhaps, Toxoplasma causes disruptions in biochemical processes, and under certain circumstances, cause suicidal thoughts.

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Neuroscientists have studied the phenomenon of deja vu

Perhaps the most well-known phenomenon of the human mind is a deja vu - a manifestation of the false memory associated with feelings of recurring events that do not have a real basis. Because of the difficulty of the mental state of play, it remained, by and large, unexplored. Scientists from the University of Western Ontario (University of Western Ontario) in their study shed light on the origin of this mental state.

They succeeded thanks to the observation of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy, for which the deja vu is a possible symptom of impending attack. To study the mechanisms that explain psychic phenomenon, the researchers have made tests for the identification of feelings familiar - the emotional state that appears when the recognition of the event or experience that is characteristic of deja vu. For example, one of the tasks of different types of conflict provoked memories of the subject.

The results showed that in the human brain, which is experiencing déjà vu as a symptom, there are characteristic differences. Only in patients with documented cases investigated state before the onset of a seizure memory impairment were associated specifically with a sense of familiarity, while the subjects in the control group due to epilepsy similar problems were much more varied.

Grätzel is valuable not only because it helps to better explain the laws of manifestation of mental phenomenon psychological and neural levels, but also has clinical significance in the surgical treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy. More results of the survey can be found in the online edition of the journal Neuropsychologia.

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