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SCIENCE BLOG CONTENTS
(Click one of the following)1 The Hidden Consequences of Hearing Loss 6 Oct 2011
2 What's Happening to our Greenfinches and Chaffinches? 28 Oct 2011
3 New Hope for Arthritis Sufferers? 2 November 2011
4 Why the Fuss about Something Going Faster than the Speed of Light? 23 Nov 2011
5 Using Physical Activity to Boost Your Brain Power 13 Dec 2011, Updated 19 Jan 2012
6 Using Cues and a Buddy to Achieve Your Goals 19 Jan 2012
Using Cues and a Buddy to Achieve Your Goals
Combining action cues with help from a buddy will help you achieve a new behaviour.
New research funded by the UK's Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) has found that partnering up to do something new, or planning a new activity with someone, can really boost your likelihood of achieving new goals. This finding suggests that 'buddy schemes' could make a big difference to people following dieting plans and health programmes.
The important thing, however, is to start with something called 'implementation intentions'. These explains Professor Mark Conner from the Institute of Psychological Science at the University of Leeds are where you "Set up cues that prompt your planned behaviour - 'if I walk to work on Monday, then I will jog home', 'if I feel hungry before lunch then I will eat an apple, not a chocolate bar.' "
Research by Professor Conner and his colleagues Drs Prestwich and Lawton has now demonstrated that this effect can be made even stronger if you get other people - friends, family or colleagues involved too.
The team worked with employees from 15 councils who volunteered to participate in two studies attempting to increase their levels of exercise or improve their diet. Some employees were just left to do it on their own; others were asked to recruit a partner. A third group were encouraged to develop 'if...then...' plans, and a fourth group was told to makes these 'if...then' plans with a partner.
In the follow-up programme it was clear that the most effective method is for you and a buddy to diet together, or you and a buddy to work out together. Sharing your plans with a buddy, but without getting them to actually do it with you was almost as effective.
However, Professor Conner warns that roping in a buddy is not a guarantee for success, "The real power is in matching your 'ifs' and 'thens' so that you have powerful cues for your new behaviour. When all else is equal, forming exercise plans with a partner will increase your chances of actually sticking to them."
Could this be just what you need to finally make that breakthrough and achieve the new you?
Reference:
A. Prestwich, M. Conner, R. Lawton, J. Ward, K. Ayres and R. McEachan. Collaborative Implementation Intentions and Physical Activity. Randomized controlled trial of collaborative implementation intentions targeting working adults' physical activity. Accepted for publication in Health Psychology on December, 30, 2011.
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Using Physical Activity to Boost Your Brain Power
The suprising effects of using physical activity to boost the brain power of children and adults.
I've been looking back at some of the recent reports on the subject of brain function and memory efficiency. These range from work on how best to develop the brains of young children through to ways in which older people can keep their memory and brain function at optimum level. In the process I noticed that there seemed to be a common factor that is particularly effective in helping to boost and maintain the brain's efficiency. That common factor is physical activity!
Physical activity and exercise (along with a healthy diet of course) can work wonders for our general well-being and mental performance by enhancing the supply and delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the brain. Physical exercise has also been shown to delay the onset of dementia. According to the NHS Choices website "Scientists think that being active can help improve wellbeing because it brings about a sense of greater self-esteem, self-control and the ability to rise to a challenge." Other studies show that exercise can improve functions like planning, organizing and multitasking.
A recent study in the US by the Oregon State University has confirmed that those who take about two and a half hours exercise per week sleep significantly better and are more mentally alert during the day. The sample comprised more than 2,600 men and women, aged 18-85. So if you haven't yet made a New Year's Resolution to take more exercise, the knowledge that exercise can boost your brain power, and help you sleep, might just be the encouragement you need.
Meditation is a less physical activity, but one that nevertheless requires the physical act of sitting still in a chair or on the floor in a comfortable position. From studying those who meditate, scientists have established that regular meditation can improve brain performance, reduce stress, boost confidence, improve creativity, improve problem solving and enhance reasoning skills. If exercise and physical activity doesn't appeal to you, how about taking up meditation to boost your brain power?
If you are a smoker, here is a worrying fact. Séverine Sabia, M.Sc., of the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Villejuif, France, and colleagues analyzed data from 10,308 London-based civil servants age 35 to 55 and found that, among other things, smoking can seriously harm your memory and therefore your thinking and learning ability.
However, the good news is that research carried out by the Alcohol Research Group at Northumbria University in the UK has shown that giving up smoking can restore a smoker's poor memory almost back to normal. To quote Dr Tom Hefferman on the research team: "This is the first time that a study has set out to examine whether giving up smoking has an impact on memory. We already know that giving up smoking has huge health benefits for the body but this study also shows how stopping smoking can have knock-on benefits for cognitive function too.'' So if you stop smoking you can have a better memory and you will learn new things faster; quite an incentive given all the other health and cost benefits.
Parents and grandparents among you might also resolve to spend more time playing with your young children, given the benefits reported by Temple University and The University of Chicago in the United States. Working on studies into brain development of young children, they have both convincingly shown that physically playing with blocks and assembly games can develop a child's abstract spatial concepts. These are regarded as important for success in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (known as the STEM disciplines).
Children who play with blocks and building toys alongside their parents or grandparents hear words such as 'around', 'over', 'under',' through' and 'besides'. These words are important for a child's development of spatial ability and awareness of the world about them. "When parents use spatial language, they draw attention to spatial concepts," said Nora Newcombe, co-director of Temple's Infant Lab. "The development of a spatial vocabulary is critical for developing spatial ability and awareness." The study was led by Katrina Ferrara Playing with building blocks and assembly toys interactively with adults can be of enormous benefit in enhancing their spatial, mental and abstract skills, all of which can equip them for a rich and full life.
In research led by Doctor Amika Singh of the VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, it was found that the academic performance of school children is significantly improved among those who are physically active. Dr Singh's work was for the University's EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research and was carried out following concern that attempts to improve students' academic performance was requiring more classroom time and less time for physical activity.
The paper published by Dr Singh's team states that there is a strong belief that regular participation in physical activity is linked to enhancement of brain function and cognition, thereby positively influencing academic performance. There are several theories as to why exercise is beneficial for cognition, including: (1) increased blood and oxygen flow to the brain; (2) increased levels of norepinephrine and endorphins, resulting in a reduction of stress and an improvement of mood; and (3) increased growth factors that help to create new nerve cells and support synaptic plasticity. Besides these suggested physiological effects, regular participation in sport activities may improve children's behaviour in the classroom, increasing the odds of better concentration on the academic content of these lessons.
The team set out to investigate these ideas. Their research was carried out by reviewing previous studies: 12 were performed in the United States, one in Canada and one in South Africa. The sample size ranged from 53 participants to approximately 12 000 participants, aged from six through to 18 years of age. Follow-up conducted on these studies ranged in duration from eight weeks to more than five years.
The conclusion drawn from this research by Dr Singh and her team is that clear evidence exists of a significant positive relationship between physical activity and the academic performance of children. They also recommend more research on this important subject. So, if there was any doubt of the benefits of physical exercise for our children, these should be finally dispelled when you take into consideration the added benefits of improved concentration and academic performance.
Finally, it seems there is bad news for anyone with an electronic brain trainer such as the Nintendo DS. A number of studies show that these devices do not improve your brain power or memory any more than actually getting out of your chair and physically and mentally engaging with the world around you.
References:
NHS Choice website (2011) Get active for mental wellbeing. [Online] Available from: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/mental-wellbeing/Pages/get-active-mental-wellbeing.aspx [Accessed 18th November 2011]
NHS Choices website (2011) Does meditation reduce stress? [Online] Available from: http://www.nhs.uk/news/2007/october/pages/meditationreducesstressandimprovesmood.aspx [Accessed 18th November 2011]
JAMA and Archives Journals (2008, June 9) Midlife Smokers May Have Worse Memory Than Non-smokers. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 16, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/06/080609162105.htm
Heffernan, T.M., et al., Smoking-related prospective memory defcits in a real-world task. Drug Alcohol Dependence (2011), DOI:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2011.06.010
Nora S Newcombe, Andrea Frick (2010) Early Education for Spatial Intelligence: Why, What and How. Mind Brain and Education Vol 4 No 3
Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center website (2011) Spatial Language During Block Play [Online] Available from http://spatiallearning.org/index.php/showcase/144-showcase-october-2011-spatial-language-during-block-play. [Accessed 18th November 2011]
University of Chicago website (2011) Learning spatial terms improves children's spatial skills. [Online] Available from: http://news.uchicago.edu/article/2011/11/09/learning-spatial-terms-improves-childrens-spatial-skills [Accessed 18th November 2011]
Oregon State University website (2011) Study: Physical Activity Impacts Overall Quality of Sleep [Online]Available from http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2011/nov/study-physical-activity-impacts-overall-quality-sleep [Accessed 23 November 2011]
A. Singh, L. Uijtdewilligen, J. W. R. Twisk, W. van Mechelen, M. J. M. Chinapaw. Physical Activity and Performance at School: A Systematic Review of the Literature Including a Methodological Quality Assessment. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine 2012; 166 (1): 49 DOI: 10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.716
BBC News website (2011) Does Brain Training Really Work? [Online] Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8237945.stm [Accessed 19th November 2011]
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Why the Fuss about Something Going Faster than Light?
CERN, home of the Large Hadron Collider, recently announced that it had seen nuclear particles called neutrinos apparently travelling faster than light. What does that mean and is it important?
Perhaps for a start we should deal with a couple of obvious questions: what are neutrinos and does it matter if they can travel faster than the speed of light?
Neutrinos are incredibly small atomic particles that are able to pass through almost anything unimpeded and at close to the speed of light while doing so. Nothing seems able to slow them down. Neutrinos are created in vast quantities by certain types of radioactive decay, typically in the nuclear reactions of the Sun, nuclear power plants and exploding supernovae. They are also created when cosmic rays hit atoms in our atmosphere and can be found in the residue of the Big Bang that created our universe.
Currently there are a number of scientific experiments that will enable us to learn more about neutrinos, for example: OPERA at CERN in Switzerland, MINOS at Fermilab in the United States and T2K in Japan. Neutrinos are of particular interest to scientists because they interact so weakly with other things. This means that they can be used to examine places where light or radio waves cannot penetrate or reach us (remember that most of our cosmic research uses radio wave or light-collecting telescopes).
For example, looking into the core of the Sun is impossible with conventional light or radio telescopes but collecting neutrinos from the Sun may give us useful information. The same applies to the parts of the universe, as well as the centre of our galaxy, that are obscured by dense gas, debris, radiation or large objects. If neutrino telescopes can be built these hidden areas may well become accessible. Neutrinos, then, have great potential to help us learn more about our universe, both at the cosmic and atomic level.
Now let's deal with the second question about the speed of light and whether it matters if it is exceeded. According to Einstein's theory of special relativity nothing can travel faster than light, and all of the evidence seen to date proves this to be correct. Such evidence comes from our use of satellite navigation systems, communication systems, observations of objects in our universe, and so on. The speed of light is also the constant 'c' in Einstein's famous E=mc2 equation.
The reason that nothing can travel faster than light is that as an object's speed increases its mass also increases. This might not be a problem except for the fact that as the speed approaches the speed of light (186,000 miles per second or a billion kilometres per hour) its mass increases to almost infinity. Therefore, the amount of energy required to accelerate an object to the speed of light is infinite. (For the record an infinite amount of energy is not possible.)
However, if we had a powerful enough energy source it might be possible one day to reach close to the speed of light, but not beyond it. The speed of light is therefore the foundation of computing, communication, cosmology, etc; it is also a cornerstone of the way in which our universe works. To find it was not correct or that it could be something different under certain conditions would rock the world of science, not to mention requiring the reprinting of millions of science and technical reference books.
So what happened at CERN's OPERA experiment? (OPERA stands for Oscillation Project with Emulsion-tRacking Apparatus.) The purpose of OPERA is to study neutrinos, this is achieved by firing protons from CERN's Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator in Geneva into a graphite block and magnetic focussing system from which a beam of neutrinos emerge and travel the 454 miles (730 kilometres) underground to the OPERA detector in Gran Sasso, Italy. The detector comprises 150,000 photographic film sheets interleaved with the same number of lead plates, the whole weighing 1300 tons. Added to this are electronic detectors and control equipment.
After some 16,000 events in which neutrinos interacted with the photographic films it was noted that the 2.44 millisecond journey (two and half thousandths of a second) was actually taking 60 nanoseconds (60 billionths of a second) less time than expected. In other words the neutrinos were apparently travelling faster than the speed of light by 6 kilometres per second (which in this context is a lot).
Not believing what they were seeing, the CERN scientists spent six months re-examining the previous results, re-measuring the distance between the source and the detector and inviting other experts to look over everything to see if they could find any reason for these amazing findings. After all that and even allowing for the slightest possible error or miscalculation the result so far is holding up: the CERN neutrinos do appear to be travelling faster than the speed of light.
Work is underway right now to get to the bottom of this mystery and scientists around the world wait eagerly for the results. Firstly the OPERA experiment is to be repeated using a different timing method, results should be available some time after November 2011 when the new test run is finished. Both the US MINOS experiment and Japan's T2K experiment are also looking back over the previous results of their own research programmes to see if they missed anything similar, however, results of these investigations are not likely to be available for many months.
So what everyday effect will all this have on you and me? Not much probably but then that is the very nature of science and scientific research. Some discoveries hardly affect our daily routine but they do extend our knowledge of the universe in which we live. Other discoveries may at first seem highly esoteric but soon become part of our lives as the new knowledge filters down into everyday applications in energy, genetics, medicine, communication, computing and so on.
Probably one of the most interesting ideas that might bear weight if the CERN findings are found to be true is that the neutrinos have taken a 'short cut' by jumping out of our universe and into a parallel universe and then back into ours. If this is the case then it could be the first evidence of string theory's higher dimensional multiverse containing our universe, alongside many other parallel universes.
Updates: November and December 2011
On the 18th November CERN issued a press release describing how one possible anomaly in the findings had been resolved by making more precise measurements of the neutrino beam pulses. This test confirms the accuracy of OPERA's timing, ruling out a possible timing error, meaning that the initial conclusion about neutrinos travelling faster than light remains. Other work continues to independently repeat CERN's findings.
Other researches have since proposed reasons why the neutrinos have not travelled faster than light (ref: [10] & [11]) but at the time of writing this blog, CERN had not issued information confirming or rejecting these ideas. Their work continues in collaboration with others in an attempt to arrive at a conclusive answer.
References:
OPERA (2011) The Neutrino beam [Online]. Available from: http://operaweb.lngs.infn.it/spip.php?rubrique41 [Accessed: 27 October 2011] OPERA (2011)
The OPERA Detector [Online]. Available from: http://operaweb.lngs.infn.it/spip.php?rubrique39 [Accessed: 27 October 2011]
CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research (2011) SPS - the Super Proton Synchrotron [Online]. Available from: http://public.web.cern.ch/public/en/Research/SPS-en.html [Accessed 27 October 2011]
CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research (2011) CNGS - CERN neutrinos to Gran Sasso [Online]. Available from: http://public.web.cern.ch/public/en/Research/CNGS-en.html [Accessed 27 October 2011]
The MINOS Experiment and NuMI Beamline (2011) MINOS for the Public [Online]. Available from: http://www-numi.fnal.gov/PublicInfo/index.html [Accessed 28 October 2011]
The MINOS Experiment and NuMI Beamline (2011) MINOS for the Public: About Neutrinos Tour [Online]. Available from: http://www-numi.fnal.gov/PublicInfo/publictour/index.html
The OPERA Collaboration: T. Adam, N. Agafonova, A. Aleksadrov, O. Atinok, P. Avarez Sanchez, et al (22 September 2011). Measurement of the neutrino velocity with OPERA detector in the CNGS beam. arXiv:1109.4897v1 [hep-ex]
Wikipedea (2011) Neutrino [Online]. Available from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutrino [Accessed 28 October 2011]
CERN Press Release (2011) OPERA experiment reports anomaly in flight time of neutrinos from CERN to Gran Sasso Update 18 November 2011 [Online]. Available from http://press.web.cern.ch/press/PressReleases/Releases2011/PR19.11E.html [Accessed 23 November 2011]
Washington University in St. Louis. "Are superluminal neutrinos possible? Pions don't want to decay into faster-than-light neutrinos, study finds." [Online]. Available from ScienceDaily, 23 Dec. 2011. [Accessed 3 Jan. 2012]
Cohen A G and Glasow S L (2011) New Constraints on Neutrino Velocities. Physics Department, Boston University, Boston MA. September 30, 2011
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New Hope for Arthritis Sufferers?
A drug used to treat osteoporosis has been found to rebuild cartilage around joints and therefore has the potential to treat millions of people with osteoarthritis In the United States, a study carried out by the University of Rochester Medical Center has discovered that medication currently used to treat osteoporosis also appears to build cartilage around joints and could therefore help millions of people suffering from osteoarthritis.
In an investigation carried out by Dr Michael Zuscik and Dr Randy Rosier of the University's Department of Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation it was noticed that in some patients who suffer from both osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, the symptoms of arthritis improved after taking the osteoporosis drug Forteo (known as Forsteo in the United Kingdom).
To find out what was happening, the University's osteoporosis research team used mice to demonstrate that where knee arthritis had occurred, taking the drug Forteo daily for one month resulted in damaged knee cartilage (the connective tissue in the knee joint) increasing in thickness by up to 32 percent. This was achieved by enhanced cartilage cell production and the suppression of molecules associated with the degeneration of cartilage. Put simply, a block was put on the cause of connective tissue reduction and a boost was given to connective tissue production.
Arthritis is major cause of disability and in the UK it affects over 8½ million people. In the US it is rated as the leading cause of disability by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Osteoarthritis is a painful condition in which the joint cartilage slowly wastes away with the result that bones at joints rub together. This is particularly common in the hands, knees, hips and spine. Normally it occurs in people over 50 years of age but it can develop at any time as a result of injury or over-use of joints as in the case of highly active sports people or those doing heavy physical work. The cause of arthritis is not really known but there is a belief that it is genetically inherited, meaning that if one or other of your parents has it, then they may have passed it on to you.
At present there is no cure for osteoarthritis but there are treatments that can slow down its progress and there are a number pain-killer and anti-inflammatory drugs that help to relieve the painful symptoms. However, if these initial laboratory experiments can be proven in a full study there is the hope for millions of arthritis sufferers that it can be stopped and reversed. "Given that Forteo is already FDA approved," says Dr Zuscick "our experimental findings make a compelling case for further clinical study of this drug in the context of arthritis." Let us hope that all this is will eventually be good news for arthritis sufferers here in the UK.
When asked for a comment on these developments, Lilly UK, the British arm of Eli Lilly & Company in the US and manufacturer of Forsteo replied "There is no Lilly clinical programme for Forsteo in osteoarthritis and given there is no UK license for osteoarthritis we cannot comment further on these data due to regulatory guidelines." Notwithstanding this lack of confirmation, let us hope that trials continue in the US and that new hope for arthritis sufferers really is on the horizon.
In the meanwhile there is positive news for overweight arthritis suffers who fear that taking exercise will only make their arthritis worse. New research carried out by Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina, USA confirms that physical activity really does improve arthritis symptoms and it doesn't matter if you are overweight, you still get the benefits without making things worse. "What's surprising is that exercise, without substantial weight loss, can be beneficial to the joints," says Farshid Guilak, PhD, professor of orthopaedic surgery at the University and senior author of the study. "Ideally, it would be best to be fit and lose a little weight, but this shows that exercise alone can improve the health of your joints."
Many people mistakenly believe that being overweight puts a greater load on arthritic joints and as a result they become less active and avoid taking physical, load-bearing exercise. However, it seems that the additional weight we might be carrying is not the problem as it doesn't really add to the load on our joints or make a joint more painful. The harm is caused by not taking exercise and not keeping the joint moving. To make matters worse, the combination of obesity and lack of exercise can lead to chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
So exercise is extremely important, it strengthens bones, builds muscle and provides a myriad of other benefits that we all know about and are well aware off. But what does it do for the arthritis sufferer? Well, for a start, stronger muscles give better support to the limbs which means that pressure is reduced at arthritic joints. That in itself should be a good enough incentive to keep up the exercise programme, but the new research in mice shows that moderate aerobic exercise actually reduces inflammation even in those who are overweight. Even modest improvements could have a major impact if the findings are borne out in the tests that are now underway in people. All being well the results will be published in six months.
If dietary changes are also made then the benefits of combined weight loss and moderate exercise can be truly significant. As Dr Guilak says, "This shows that if you are obese, it's better to exercise, sometimes pain can be a barrier to starting exercise, but if you overcome it, in the long term, it's better."
References:
University of Rochester Medical Center (2011). URMC Research could extend life of arthritic joints.NHS Choices (2011). Arthritis. [Online]. Available from: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Arthritis. [Accessed: 5th October 2011].
Timothy M Griffin, Janet L Huebner, Virginia B Kraus, Zhen Yan and Farshid Guilak. (2011) Induction of Osteoarthritis and Metabolic Inflammation by a Very High Fat Diet in Mice: Effects of Short-term Exercise.
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What's Happening to our Greenfinches and Chaffinches?
Recent stories in the press and on TV warn about a hidden killer in bird feeders and on bird tables. How serious is it and can we do anything to protect our garden birds? What is killing two of our favourite garden birds? The greenfinch, that wonderful bright green visitor to our gardens and the chaffinch, one of our most colourful birds, are both being killed by a disease that jumped the species barrier from pigeons to finches in 2005. With the tricky to pronounce name of Trichomonosis, this nasty disease has reduced the UK's population of greenfinches by 35% and chaffinches by 21%. The worry is that while finches seem to be most affected, other birds such as sparrows, goldfinch, siskin and dunnock may be at risk.
Trichomonosis is caused by a single-celled parasite with tentacle-like appendages that it uses to hold onto the wall of a bird's throat or gullet. Birds that are infected are easily identified as they appear generally lethargic, have fluffed up plumage, they drool saliva and have difficulty swallowing. Sadly they can suffer over a number of days and even weeks before dying as damage to the throat makes it increasingly difficult for them to swallow or breathe. Death usually comes from starvation or choking. To make things worse, the disease is easily spread to other birds, not only in the breeding season when parent birds are feeding young with regurgitated food, but also by contamination of bird feeders and bird tables with saliva or droppings.
Unfortunately, like many bird diseases, this one seems to travel easily from one area to another. It was first noticed in western England and Wales where there was a major outbreak in the autumn of 2006. After that it spread to eastern England in 2007 and has now spread through bird migration to the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden and Finland, first appearing there in 2008. Peak times for outbreaks are right now, the late summer and autumn months.
While it is very bad news for our garden birds, fortunately there is no risk to humans or animals such as cats or dogs. There is a risk to captive poultry or pet birds but these can be treated with suitable medicines from your vet. However, garden birds often carry Salmonella, Campylobacter and E.coli bacteria that can seriously affect us and our pets. So to avoid any infection from bird tables and feeders, the Garden Bird Health initiative makes a number of recommendations that will protect both us and our pets, and the birds that visit our feeding stations. The first thing to do is keep feeding stations clean by regular cleaning with a weak solution of domestic bleach or a special bird feeder cleaning solution available from good pet shops or online from Amazon.
A feeder cleaning brush is also essential to do the job properly. Afterwards, rinse the feeders thoroughly and allow them to fully dry before refilling with seed. Brushes and equipment for cleaning should not be stored in the house and should not be used for any other purpose. It is also a good idea to wear rubber gloves while cleaning feeders and afterwards wash your hands and forearms thoroughly with soap and water. Finally ensure that your birds are given a regular supply of clean water and fresh bird food from an approved source.
If you find dead or sick birds in your garden do not handle them directly. If you think you have a problem with Trichomonosis, there are two courses of recommended action. One is to leave bird baths empty and dry for a while and perhaps reduce the amount of food you are putting out so that not so many birds congregate. You can also move bird feeders around to different places in your garden to stop infection below the feeders where seed, saliva or droppings build up. In serious cases it is best to stop feeding for up to two months so that the birds disperse and new visitors to the garden can't be infected. Gradually start feeding again but keep an eye open for evidence of the infection returning.
You can help to monitor the disease by reporting dead garden birds or signs of the disease to the Garden Bird Health initiative on 020 7449 6685.
References:
UFAW (2011). Garden Bird Health initiative - Trichomonosis.
International Association for Ecology and Health (2011). Evidence of Spread of the Emerging Infectious Disease, Finch Trichomonosis, by Migrating Bird. (DOI: 10.1007/S10393-011-0696-8).
Robinson RA, Lawson B, Toms MP, Peck KM, Kirkwood JK, et al. (2010) Emerging Infectious Disease Leads to Rapid Population Declines of Common British Birds. PLos ONE 5(8): e12215. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012215.
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The Hidden Consequences of Hearing Loss
Research shows that hearing loss in both young and old adults can have unsuspected adverse results on brain function and size While most of us accept that part of growing older might result in some hearing loss, how many realize that hearing loss can start to happen in our 20s or 30s and that such loss can impair our brain's ability to process speech. Latest research shows that as our hearing deteriorates, those areas of the brain that process speech are used less and less with the result that, like a muscle that doesn't get used often enough, these key areas of grey matter literally wither and shrink.
Age-related loss of hearing is common in both men and women over the age of 40, with men strangely enough being more likely to suffer than women. Common causes of deafness among older people include normal deterioration of the inner ear, the side-effects of medication, some medical conditions such as acoustic neuroma and Meniere's disease, and temporary conditions such as earwax or infection. For younger people hearing loss can come from listening to excessively loud music and sound tracks, as well as earwax or infection.
Fortunately most temporary or medical causes of deafness can be treated and anyone suffering from sudden or unexpected hearing loss should go and see their doctor without delay. However, many people who are gradually losing their hearing are reluctant to do anything about it, either because it means admitting that they are getting older, or they find the prospect of wearing a hearing aid too embarrassing. For many the easy way out includes turning up the volume of the television or radio, missing out on conversations with friends, or not participating in social activities. None of which are satisfactory solutions.
But now there is an additional downside to age-related hearing loss. Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States have discovered that a decline in hearing ability can bring about a deterioration of the brain's auditory regions with the result that processing speech becomes even harder. "As hearing ability declines with age, interventions such as hearing aids should be considered not only to improve hearing but to preserve the brain," said lead author Jonathan Peelle, PhD, research associate in the Department of Neurology. "People hear differently, and those with even moderate hearing loss may have to work harder to understand complex sentences."
To carry out this investigation the research team used functional magnetic resonance imaging (an fMRI scanner) to monitor the brain activity in volunteers who were listening to both simple and complex sentences. Their level of brain activity was measured and for those who had difficulty understanding complex instructions or language, it became apparent that the auditory parts of the brain were less active.
A further study showed that the auditory parts of the brain had also shrunk in size, probably due to a lessening of speech processing activity. In summary when it comes to the brain's ability to understanding speech, "use it or lose it" is a very important message. Although the university's research was carried out on people in the 60 plus age group, the results are also valid for younger adults, especially those who listen to music or sound at loud volumes.
The message is clear, whatever your age, if your hearing is not as good as it could be, do something about it. Your social life will benefit, as will your brain. Perhaps the last word should be given to Dr Peelle, "Your hearing ability directly affects how the brain processes sounds, including speech," he says. "Preserving your hearing doesn't only protect your ears, but also helps your brain perform at its best."
References:
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Mild hearing loss linked to brain atrophy in older adults; Early intervention could prevent slide toward speech comprehension difficulties. ScienceDaily, 30 Aug. 2011. Web. 21 Sep. 2011.
Journal of Neuroscience (2011). J. E. Peelle, V. Troiani, M. Grossman, A. Wingfield. Hearing Loss in Older Adults Affects Neural Systems Supporting Speech Comprehension. [Online]. Available from http://www.jneurosci.org/content/31/35/12638. [Accessed: 22nd September 2011].
BBC Health (2011). Physical Health. Deafness and Hearing. [Online]. Available from: http http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/physical_health/conditions/deafness1.shtml. [Accessed: 22nd September 2011].
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Disclaimer: The content of this science blog is derived from the sources listed in the references at the end of each article. In interpreting these sources I have used my best endeavours to ensure accuracy and the avoidance of misleading information. Any advice or recommendations are given in good faith but it is the reader's responsibility to check their safety and suitability before implementing or applying them.
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All material © Peter Finch 2012