Working night shifts and the risk of Parkinson's disease

link to news report
link to abstract

Gasp! Night shifts might be protective against Parkinson's? That's what the study is suggesting although the authors and I would be cautious about taking this too far. (in fact I didn't believe it and searched for the scientific journal to be sure). One possibility is that "habitual longer sleep duration may be an earlier marker of Parkinson's disease" going through the other literature apparently sleep disorders are associated with Parkinson's. Although when one considers that smoking might have a protective effect against Parkinson's it might be possible that certain areas of the brain are stimulated(possibly the dopaminergic neurons) and therefore provide protection against this disease.

Mother’s Presence Can Override Fear in Rat Pups

Link to SCIAM
"At the tender age of 10 days or so young rats first venture outside the nest, leaving the comforting presence of their mother. The world outside is full of perils and promise and the pups must learn the difference. But the presence or absence of their mother may make all the difference in determining which is which, according to new research published online yesterday in Nature Neuroscience"

intriguing!!!

Climate Change May Not Benefit Crops

link to sciam

"Increasing levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide may not be as helpful to crops as previously thought, according to a new study. As global temperatures rise, soil moisture levels fall. Laboratory experiments suggested that the crop losses resulting from this loss of moisture would be offset by a boost in fertilization from rising levels of carbon dioxide. Now field studies show that carbon dioxide's beneficial effects are not nearly as strong in real crop-growing environments."

Darn and I thought maybe plants will right the balance somehow. though I suspect the experiment would be hard to do you need to create an enclosure to get balance of light for both control and experiment plants and only vary the CO2