We all have a certain way of acting under the influence of any given drug, but there are also certain things that are sure to take place. I know for instance that a good deal of you will be much more inclined to eat Ramen noodles or Cheese-Itz while having just inhaled a bit of the sticky-icky. Well here are a few more things you might find yourself doing if you partake in these various “extra-curricular” activities.
Babies who watch TV are more likely to have delayed cognitive development and language at 14 months, especially if they’re watching programs intended for adults and older children. We probably knew that 24 and Grey’s Anatomy don’t really qualify as educational content, but it’s surprising that TV-watching made a difference at such a tender age.
Babies who watched 60 minutes of TV daily had developmental scores one-third lower at 14 months than babies who weren’t watching that much TV. Though their developmental scores were still in the normal range, the discrepancy may be due to the fact that when kids and parents are watching TV, they’re missing out on talking, playing, and interactions that are essential to learning and development.
Furious student protesters attacked a car carrying Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, vandalized buildings and battled riot police Thursday as a controversial hike in university fees triggered Britain’s worst political violence in years.
In a major security breach, demonstrators set upon the heir to the throne’s Rolls Royce as it drove through London’s busy West End on its way to a theater. A group of up to 20 struck it with fists, sticks and bottles, breaking a window and splattering the gleaming black vehicle with paint.
In the frenzy, some chanted “off with their heads!”
Researchers studied the brains of male and female rats, focusing on two regions known to play a role in learning and stress: the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. The amygdala, a small almond-shaped structure located deep within the brain, senses stressful situations. The prefrontal cortex, in the front of the brain, is necessary for higher cognitive functions.
“These two structures are intimately connected to one another,” says Tracey Shors, a professor of psychology at Rutgers, who is lead author of the study reported in the Journal of Neuroscience. “Therefore, we examined whether they communicate with one another to influence learning after stress.”
Fortunata Kasege was just 22 years old when she arrived in this country 13 years ago from Tanzania. A newlywed with a baby on the way. She knew her life was about to change. What she didn’t know was how much. A visit to a prenatal clinic in Houston, Texas, revealed that she was HIV positive.
“I was horrified,” she remembers. “I felt dizzy–and fell out of my chair. And then I started to cry. I thought about my unborn baby and I cried for her. How would she survive?”
China on Thursday awarded a newly created “peace prize” to a man who had no intention of accepting it one day before a Chinese professor was to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for trying to bring democracy to the communist dictatorship.
The awarding of the Confucius Peace Prize comes amid a campaign by China to vilify the dissident who was awarded the Nobel and delegitimize the Norwegian prize itself. Dissident Liu Xiaobo, a literary critic imprisoned in a Chinese jail, will not be allowed to appear in Oslo today to accept the Nobel.
