HEALTH, SCIENCE AND NATURE BRIEFS
VEXED BY VACCINES
Inaccurate media information about the HPV vaccine saw the vaccination rate halve in Denmark between 2013 and 2106. And according to a study in Vaccine, the percentage of girls having the vaccine – which helps prevent cervical cancer – is still lower than it was before 2013, despite a subsequent education campaign by Danish health authorities. The researchers say this shows how difficult it is to undo the damage caused by unproven vaccine safety scares.
LASTING NEGLECT EFFECT
The extreme deprivation experienced by children in Romanian orphanages during the communist regime has had a lasting effect on their brain size, according to a UK study comparing the brains of young Romanian adoptees with those of English adoptees who were not institutionalised. The study found that the brains of the Romanians were 8.6% smaller. They were also more likely to have lower IQs and to suffer from ADHD.
TREAT THAT HEAD KNOCK
The sooner you get clinical treatment for concussion, the sooner you will recover from it. That’s the conclusion of a US study in JAMA Neurology that looked at 162 athletes who had experienced concussion – a mild traumatic brain injury caused by a jolt to the head or body. Clinical treatment includes behavioural management intervention and targeted exercise, as well as rehabilitation activities to reduce dizziness.
NOT SO PALEO
Researchers have found evidence of humans roasting vegetables at least 170,000 years ago, 50,000 years earlier than previously thought. Charred remains of root vegetables were found in an ancient fire pit in a South African cave. Archaeologist Lyn Wadley says our prehistoric ancestors were eating a balanced diet, contrary to popular belief. “I’m afraid the paleo diet is really a misnomer.”
PARTICULARLY BAD
Dunedin had New Zealand’s worst air-quality day last year, with fine particle concentrations reaching 96mcg/m3 in July. The US Environmental Protection Authority defines “good” air quality as 12mcg/ m3. Fine particulates are estimated to have caused 4.5 million deaths in 2015, mostly in East and South Asia where pollution levels have since worsened. Air quality in Canberra was officially “off the scale” early this month.
ELECTRIC IMPULSE
Japanese scientists have discovered the body’s soft tissue makes electricity when stressed. The Achilles tendon and the heart valve produce a small electric voltage when squeezed, a reaction known as the piezoelectric effect. The scientists hope the discovery could help to detect fibrosis in the
future.