Life Experience Helps Develop Brain

A study released this week is shedding some light on the development of the human brain through the early years of life. We have known for quite some time that the brain develops quickly early on but what scientists discovered is that life experiences that can be tied to memories help develop the brain quickly and accurately in both humans and chimpanzees.

Obviously humans and chimpanzees are often studied together in order to find similarities and links between the two species but researchers say it was quite astonishing to find such an interesting link. More importantly researchers were surprised to find that children that interacted with others and experienced many things in the early few years of life had quicker and more pronounced brain development. This means that once again science has found a way to hopefully help increase the intelligence of the average population by encouraging parents to educate their children immediately after birth.

A follow up study is being planned right now in order to pinpoint exactly what kind of interactions help develop children’s brains the quickest but either way researchers are simply happy to have found this information. Each and every day more and more is being discovered about the human brain and through research like this more things are constantly being discovered about the brain; some time in the future this could be used as a major indicator of intelligence or other important features.

Mothers of Twins Live Longer

Frequently people express sympathy towards mothers of twins due to the extreme amount of work they’re presented with but now it seems having twins may actually be a benefit when it comes to long term health and overall life expectancy.

The study was conducted using a variety of mothers who had given birth to individual children or twins and the results were quite solid according to doctors. Mothers who had given birth to twins were in fact significantly likely to live longer, healthier lives for a variety of reasons.

The research team says they originally did not believe the results but through extensive investigation they were able to confirm that the results were correct. Mothers who gave birth to twins were consistently living longer lives.

The reasoning behind this is twofold according to doctors. The most obvious reason for longer lives is that mothers of twins were generally physically and mentally stronger due to the trouble of raising two children at one time. Mothers of twins are reportedly genetically and biologically stronger as well according to researchers which would explain why mothers of twins see a benefit from having twins even decades after their twins have grown. Astonishingly doctors think it may actually be possible to recreate the biological chemical that makes mothers of twins so much stronger and eventually turn it into some sort of commercial available medicine; though at this time much more research is needed before anything like this could be possible.

A children’s and family health magazine published a weight loss study this week that shows children that eat meals with their family consistently are much less likely to become overweight. This is good news according to many doctors because it is a very effective way to at least reduce the chances of obesity developing.

The study also confirmed that children and adolescents that share a family meal at least 3 times per week are significantly less likely to develop eating disorders in the future. The more frequently children eat with their families the more that risk goes down as well.

As a result of this study doctors are obviously recommending that families form some sort of eating routine during the week. Obviously everyone is incredibly busy with a variety of things going on but health experts say finding as much time as possible each week for family meals is a critical step in helping children avoid obesity.

One final discovery is that setting a consistent meal time is also beneficial to children’s health development. By setting a routine children are reportedly less likely to eat at random times which eventually leads to overconsumption which can and often does lead to weight gain. Doctors say that the more of these things parents can make happen for their children the less likely children are to become overweight or obese in the future. As a result doctors recommend doing anything possible to ensure some sort of schedule is established early in a child’s life.

For years doctors and researchers have been working to find some type of screening or test procedure that works well for detecting autism in young children and it seems the most recent screening procedure is the most effective so far. Researchers say that the new screening procedure is nearly 100% accurate in children as young as 1 year old.

Amazingly researchers say that this new screening method is more successful because it doesn’t rely on medicine or medical testing; it relies on parents experience and general observation. The list of over 20 simple questions was created for parents and in general the questions are very easy to answer; by the end of the screening most parents are able to say for sure if their child does or does not have signs of autism.

Of course there is still plenty of research being conducted according to leading doctors. No simple screening is enough according to most doctors though they do say it is a great way to get a basic idea. Further research is also being conducted to potentially find a cause or cure for autism though at this time it is difficult to say when a breakthrough may be found.

Doctors recommend that parents use this new checklist screening method with their young children frequently. Obviously this will not prevent or affect the development of autism at all but as always it is important to detect any type of problem early with children and that is what this screening is for.