It was a good year for medical science as a team at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center reported that the Epstein-Barr virus could be linked to seven serious diseases. Best known for causing mononucleosis, it was also found to play a role in systemic lupus, erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease and type 1 diabetes.
And a team with members from the University of Milan and the University of Pavia found that leg exercise is critical to brain and nervous system health. In their study with mice, the researchers found that restricting movement for a period of 28 days led to a reduced number of neural stem cells by 70 percent, and neurons did not fully mature.
A team at the University of Reading found that bilingual children who spoke their native language at home had higher intelligence than did those who spoke only one language. They found that Turkish children who spoke one language at school and another at home scored better on IQ tests.
And a team at the Stanford University School of Medicine announced that they had developed a cancer ‘vaccine’ that eliminated tumors in mice. Injecting small amounts of immune-stimulating agents directly into solid tumors caused the immune system to attack the tumors, resulting in the elimination of all traces of them—including distant cells that had metastasized.
Also, a combined team of researchers from the University of Aberdeen and the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced that fat consumption is the only cause of weight gain. In their study with mice, they found that sugar and carbohydrates did not lead to weight gain no matter how much was consumed.
And a team with members from South Africa and Germany found that footwear habits influenced child and adolescent motor skill development. In studying children in South Africa, they found that children who went mostly barefoot from age six to 10 developed better motor skills. They found going shoeless improved balance and made them better jumpers.
Also, a study led by Eric Brewe of Drexel University showed that new parts of the brain become active after students learn physics. They found that a part of the brain not normally associated with learning science became active when students worked on physics problems. Their study using fMRI showed that learning physics activated the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex.
And a team at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine found that a ritual for orthodox Jewish men may offer heart benefits. They found that the practice of wearing tefillin during daily prayers could offer some cardiovascular benefits. Tefillin involves tightly wrapping the non-dominant arm with a strap, which could be protective against acute ischemic reperfusion injury.
Another team of researchers made headlines this past year when they announced that most popular vitamin and mineral supplements provide no health benefits. The group with members from St. Michael’s Hospital and the University of Toronto conducted a systematic review of popular vitamins and supplements over the years 2012 to 2017 and found the majority offered no positive benefits whatsoever.
Also, a team at UC Davis unveiled human images from the world’s first total-body scanner. Called EXPLORER, the imaging system captures 3-D imagery of the entire human body all at once. The images can be viewed as a rotating figure with internal organs on display. The researchers combined PET and CT scanners to create the new system and reports that image captures take just a few seconds.
And a team at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences found that the brains of jazz and classical pianists work differently. Thirty professional musicians engaged in piano exercises while the researchers studied their brainwaves using EEG sensors attached to their heads. The researchers found that different musical genres require musicians to take different approaches to planning and weighing the steps involved in playing the piano.
Also, a team at the Medical College of Georgia found a link between probiotic use and brain fogginess and severe bloating. They found that patients taking probiotics had large colonies of bacteria breeding in their small intestines, which led to severe bloating and the production of D-lactic as a byproduct of fermentation. Prior research has shown that D-lactic can lead to problems with cognition, thinking and the perception of time.
And a pair of researchers with the Ragnar Frisch Centre for Economic Research in Norway found that IQ scores have been dropping since the 1970s. In their study of 730,000 men entering the national service between the years 1970 to 2009, Bernt Bratsberg and Ole Rogeberg found that volunteer scores had dropped by an average of seven points per generation.
Also, a team led by Sebastian Dieguez of the University of Fribourg, found that a core thinking error underlies beliefs in creati