*Large-scale study finds soy may alleviate hot flashes in menopause*
In the most comprehensive study to date to examine the effects of soy on menopause, researchers have found that two daily servings of soy can reduce the frequency and severity of hot flashes by up to 26 percent, compared to a placebo.
The findings, published in Menopause: The Journal of the North American Menopause Association, reviewed 19 previous studies that examined more than 1,200 women. (more…)
Modeling biological systems can provide key insights for scientists and medical researchers, but periodic cycles that repeat themselves – so-called oscillatory systems – pose some key challenges. Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a new method for estimating the parameters used in such models – which may advance modeling in research areas ranging from cancer to fertility. (more…)
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Men may think about sex more often than women do, but a new study suggests that men also think about other biological needs, such as eating and sleep, more frequently than women do, as well.
And the research discredits the persistent stereotype that men think about sex every seven seconds, which would amount to more than 8,000 thoughts about sex in 16 waking hours. In the study, the median number of young men’s thought about sex stood at almost 19 times per day. Young women in the study reported a median of nearly 10 thoughts about sex per day. (more…)
The brain learns through changes in the strength of its synapses — the connections between neurons — in response to stimuli.
Now, in a discovery that challenges conventional wisdom on the brain mechanisms of learning, UCLA neuro-physicists have found there is an optimal brain “rhythm,” or frequency, for changing synaptic strength. And further, like stations on a radio dial, each synapse is tuned to a different optimal frequency for learning.
The findings, which provide a grand-unified theory of the mechanisms that underlie learning in the brain, may lead to possible new therapies for treating learning disabilities. (more…)
A branch of the World Health Organization announced Tuesday cell phones are “possible carcinogens” — a statement that was met with skepticism from many American cancer experts.
The statement came from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which convened 30 international experts in Lyon, France, this past week to sort through data on cell phone safety, reports Lancaster Eagle Gazette. (more…)
