Heena Sharma Blog

A new study now finds that the quality of a person's marriage could be affected by their genes. The study was conducted at at Binghamton University, State University of New York. A research team, led by Richard Mattson evaluated whether different genotypes of the Oxytocin Receptor gene (OXTR) influenced how partners support one another, which is a key determinant of overall marital quality. OXTR was targeted because it is related to the regulation and release of oxytocin, which is a hormone associated with feeling love and attachment. Oxytocin also appears to be relevant to social cognition and a wide range of social behaviour. Speaking about the study, Mattson said that while prior research has hinted that marital quality is, at least partially, impacted by genetic factors, and that oxytocin may be relevant to social support -- a critical aspect of intimate partnerships, his study is the first to provide evidence that variation on specific genes related to oxyto...

Analysing the DNA may help predict whether a person will live longer or die sooner than average, according to a study. Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in the UK analysed the combined effect of genetic variations that influence lifespan to produce a scoring system. People who score in the top 10 per cent of the population might expect to live up to five years longer than those who score in the lowest 10 per cent, they said. The findings, published in the journal eLife, also revealed fresh insights into diseases and the biological mechanisms involved in ageing. "If we take 100 people at birth, or later, and use our lifespan score to divide them into ten groups, the top group will live five years longer than the bottom on average," said Peter Joshi from the University of Edinburgh's Usher Institute. Read More Business Standard

Whether you’re a morning person or love burning the midnight oil, we’re all controlled by so-called “body clocks.” These body clocks (which regulate your circadian rhythms) are inside almost every cell in the body and control when we feel awake and tired during a 24-hour period. But as it turns out, our latest study found that our body clocks have a much bigger impact on us than we previously realised. In fact, our body clocks actually effect how well a person performs on both mental and physical tasks . Our circadian rhythms are controlled by the brain’s suprachiasmatic nucleus, which detects light. When cells in your eyes register that it’s dark outside, they send these signals to the suprachiasmatic nucleus. It then releases the hormone melatonin, which makes you feel tired. Your chronotype is another factor that determines how your biological clocks affect your daily behaviours. For example early chronotypes (“morning larks”) rise early and are most active in the mornin...

Science will be one of the focal points at the upcoming Jaipur Literature Festival (JLF) with a line-up of sessions on topics like artificial intelligence, genetics, post-human future, cli-fi (climate change fiction). As the curtains on the 12th edition of JLF went up Monday evening, co-director Namita Gokhale told PTI that this year the literary extravaganza would lay greater emphasis on "science", something they would "want to develop even further in future years". "Our world is changing so fast... this year we have sessions on artificial intelligence, genetics and what the future holds for our planet. There is a new term now -- cli-fi. We have a beautiful session on cli-fi, on what would happen if bees disappear. "I feel at this moment in our country it is very very important to give impetus to empirical thinking," the author of "Paro: Dreams of Passion" said. Nobel Laureate Venki Ramakrishnan will speak on the ...