A SNAPPY DRESSER FROM THE ICE AGE

Why tall means Tory Scientists have discovered that being tall increases a person’s likelihood of voting Conservative – especially if they’re a man. Each additional inch of height raised a man’s chances of supporting the Tories by 0.8%, the Ohio State University researchers found; for women, the equivalent spike was 0.4%. The team used data from the 2006 British Household Panel Study, which includes information on the height and political beliefs of around 10,000 adults. Professor Sara Watson, co-author of the study, which was published in the British Journal of Political Science, said the results weren’t as strange as they initially seemed: other studies have suggested that tall people generally earn more than short people, and that income plays a part in shaping political beliefs – with people’s views becoming more conservative the higher up the income scale they are.

How pollutants enter our water Harmful chemicals present in our water system could well be getting there via our washing machines. Scientists have long been puzzled as to exactly how phthalates (used to make plastic more flexible), flame-retardants and other chemicals end up in lakes and rivers. But now researchers at the University of Toronto think they’ve found the answer: the pollutants become trapped in our clothing after being released into the air from everyday objects, before being swept into the sewage system when the clothes are washed. As wastewater plants extract only about 20% of the pollutants, most make their way into rivers and lakes – and, potentially, into our food and tap water. In the study, a range of fabrics were exposed to an ordinary office environment. Natural fibres such as cotton picked up considerably more pollutants than polyester garments, the researchers found. When the fabrics were subsequently laundered, significant quantities of the chemicals leached out into the wash water. “These results support the hypothesis that clothing ng acts as an efficient conveyor of [chemicals] from indoors to outdoors,” said Dr Miriam Diamond, lead author of the study. Phthalates and flame-retardants have been linked to a host of problems, including declining fertility, thyroid disorders, diabetes and premature puberty.

Diet link to ADHD If a mother eats high quantities of fat and sugar while pregnant, it may increase her child’s chances of developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), scientists have found. The study, led by researchers from King’s College London and the University of Bristol, examined the effect of maternal nutrition on IGF2, a gene involved in the development of the cerebellum and hippocampus – parts of the brain implicated in ADHD. The researchers found that mothers who ate a lot of processed food and confectionery during pregnancy were more likely to give birth to children with modified IGF2 – and there was evidence to suggest that those children were then more likely to develop ADHD symptoms between the ages of 7 and 13. However, co-author Dr Edward Barker said that parents whose children had ADHD shouldn’t blame themselves, as the condition was “multi-determined”. “Diet could be an important factor but it’s going to be important alongside a host of other risks,” he added.

The leather-loving iceman N New research on Ötzi the Iceman – a naturally mummified, 5,300-year-old corpse found trapped in the ice of the Italian Alps in 1991 – has revealed him to have been a “picky” and “sophisticated” dresser, reports The Guardian. When he was discovered, the iceman was decked out in an array of leather garments, but their poor condition meant that it was unclear which animals they came from. Now researchers from Ireland and Italy have determined their source by analysing a type of genetic material, known as mitochondrial DNA, extracted from six of the garments. The iceman, it transpired, created his clothes from five species: his loincloth was sheepskin, his shoelaces cow leather and his leggings goat hide. More exotically, his cap came from a brown bear and he fashioned his quiver from the skin of a roe deer. Niall O’sullivan, one of the researchers, said that Ötzi had been “opportunistic and resourceful” in using the “scarce resources” available to him in a “very harsh environment”.