HEALTH NOTES: Pill that boosts women’s sex drive could also help them lose weight
A pill that boosts women’s sex drive could also help weight loss. Flibanserin, dubbed the ‘female Viagra’, can help women shed up to five per cent of body weight.
In a study, a quarter of post-menopausal women taking the drug lost weight – three times as many as those in a placebo group.
Scientists from George Washington University said: ‘Appetite for sexual desire and food are regulated by common neural pathways.
‘It may be that sexual fulfilment triggers a decrease in wanting, decreasing the drive for food.’
A pill that boosts women’s sex drive could also help weight loss. Flibanserin, dubbed the ‘female Viagra’, can help women shed up to five per cent of body weight. (Stock image)
Weather doesn’t just affect your mood, it may determine how you vote too.
Scientists from the University of Basel analysed six decades of election results and found rain decreased ‘risky’ voting, meaning people stuck with the party in power.
They said that rain appeared to trigger a ‘negative emotional state’ that made people afraid of change.
Scientists from the University of Basel analysed six decades of election results and found rain decreased ‘risky’ voting, meaning people stuck with the party in power. (File photo)
Alert over ‘shrinkage’ of diabetics’ hearts
Diabetes shrinks the heart years before the onset of cardiac symptoms, say scientists at Queen Mary University of London.
MRI scans were used to look at the hearts of almost 4,000 people, comparing diabetics to healthy individuals.
Shrinkage was seen in all four chambers of those with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, with their hearts, on average, able to hold roughly four teaspoons less blood than healthy hearts.
When sugar builds up in the blood, the vessels that serve the heart can become damaged, starving it of oxygen and nutrients. The study shows that this can happen years before patients are affected.
Study author Professor Steffen Petersen said: ‘We hope this can be used to detect heart damage early so those with diabetes can be given appropriate medical treatment.’
Try rubbing a cold bottle of water against your neck if you cannot stop yawning. (File photo)
A cool way to prevent yawning
Can’t stop yawning?
Rubbing a cold bottle of water against your neck could help.
In a study, tired participants were twice as likely to resist yawning when a gel chilled to 4C was pressed against their neck, compared to when it was at room temperature.
The researchers say we yawn to cool the brain, and by cooling the carotid artery in the neck – which supplies blood to the brain – cranial temperature is reduced, stopping the urge.
Source: Read Full Article