Newsy bits: Science of Sex, Drugs, and ... food

[danaeris]

"For the past 50 years, it's been assumed that differences in male and female brains are generated by the doses of sex hormones they get before birth and throughout life. Now scientists have fingered a gene on the Y chromosome that they say directly molds the brain and behavior independent of the action of hormones."
-http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2006/221/1

"Cranking up the music can exacerbate the club drug ecstasy's deleterious effects on the brain, according to a new study. When scientists simulated a dance party for rats in the lab, the rodents suffered from reduced brain activity 5 times longer than their counterparts who took the drug in peace and quiet. The findings suggest environment may play a significant role in the harmful effects of the drug among humans."
-http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2006/216/2

"When wheat is highly processed, the body converts its starches into sugar, potentially contributing to obesity and diabetes. Now a team of researchers has engineered a new variety of the grain that avoids those drawbacks by holding onto its starch as fiber."
-http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2006/228/4

Comments

[badoingdoing.livejournal.com]

I think there's probably a difference between how the brain treats white noise and music to which one is accustomed.