Watching Too Much Television Increases Risk of Asthma

Again, parenting tips for fellow parents. Please watch the hours your child spends in front of television. British study published in the journal Thorax, shows that children who watch tv for more than 2 hours a day double their risk of developing asthma.

The study suggests the link between breathing patterns and sedentary behaviour, resulting in developmental changes in the lungs and wheezing illnesses in children.

If your children do suffer from asthma, allow them to swim more. Swimming is a particularly good form of exercise for children with asthma as it is less likely to trigger asthma symptoms than other forms of exercise. In fact, regular swimming can increase the volume of the lungs and help develop good breathing techniques.

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For reference
Journal Thorax : http://thorax.bmj.com/

Cause of Cot Death Finally Known

It has been long unknown the cause of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) or cot death.

Thanks to a recent study conducted by Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, as their study has shown that the SIDS can be caused by bacteria infection, i.e. Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli.

Further study should be conducted on how to prevent the bacteria infection.

Fight Against Cancer With Broccoli

Good news for all of us who like to eat broccoli, well even those of you who do not like it, we all should start taking in more broccoli into our diet.

A study by Institute of Food Research in England has shown that broccoli can affect hundreds of genetic changes. To name a few: to strengthen genes that could fight against cancer, and to eliminate genes that could promote tumor.

Besides having isothiocyanate, broccoli also contain sulforaphane which yield extra immunity to fight against cancer.

Linking Testosterone and Financial Market Performance

I bet each of you are questioning what's with the title.

This derives from the latest findings from a British study. The study has found that finance desk jockeys with high levels of testosterone are more likely to have a profitable day. The study involves sampling the naturally occurring steroid levels of 17 traders at a big bank in the city of London. The conclusion was that the more testosterone a trader had in the morning, the more money they made for their bank. Thus, the testosterone level may be a biological explanation for the recent twist and turns on global financial markets.

However, the researchers also believe that the downturn may be contributed by another hormone, cortisol, which is a stress hormone. Cortisol responds really strongly if you put an animal or a human in a situation of uncertainty, novelty or uncontrollability. The researchers believe cortisol may cloud the judgement of people in charge.

The big hypothesis is that extreme levels of testosterone exaggerate financial market bubbles, and extreme levels of cortisol exaggerate a financial market crash. Therefore, the testosterone and cortisol levels might be the biological explanation for what happens when the markets become so volatile.