What the scientists are saying…
Take honey for a sore throat
Honey is a more effective treatment for coughs and sore throats than many over-the-counter syrups and painkillers, according to a new Oxford University study. Indeed, the researchers found that the traditional remedy was so good at relieving symptoms, they have suggested it could be prescribed by doctors, as an alternative to antibiotics. Antibiotics rarely have an impact on upper respiratory tract infections as the vast majority are caused by viruses – but are often prescribed all the same, in response to patient demand. “Honey is a frequently used lay remedy that is well known to patients,” they said, in the journal BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine. “It is also cheap, easy to access and has limited harms.” The researchers reviewed the results of 14 studies that had compared patients who’d taken honey with a drink or in a herbal syrup with those treated with the “usual care alternatives” such as antihistamines, cough medicines and painkillers. They found consistent evidence that honey was more effective at relieving symptoms, but note that as only two of the studies involved placebos, double-blind trials would be required to confirm the findings.
The plastic in the Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean may contain more than ten times as much plastic as previously thought. A study of samples of seawater, taken between the UK and the Falklands, indicates that just the top 200 metres of the ocean contain as much as 21 million tonnes of plastic waste, well above previous estimates for the entire body of water (which is 1.8 miles deep on average). “It would seem our estimates of how much is dumped into the ocean have been massively underestimated,” said
Professor Richard Lampitt of the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, which conducted the study. The discrepancy may be down to previous studies straining the water with nets that had a larger mesh, he said. The nets used by his team enabled them to identify microplastics as small as 30 microns, or about half the width of a human hair. Separately, a team at Arizona State University announced that they have developed a new spectroscopic technique for detecting microplastic particles in human tissues. They say the method could lead to a better understanding of how plastic accumulates in the body and how it might affect our health.
An in-built genetic match-maker
The risks of inbreeding have been a concern for centuries. In the 19th century, Charles Darwin fretted that his children’s poor health was down to the fact that he’d married his first cousin, and social customs have grown up to stop us making a poor genetic choice of partner. Now, though, it seems that during procreation, a woman’s body carries out its own test of genetic compatibility, and sabotages sperm that are not a good match. For a study at the University of Eastern Finland, researchers took samples of sperm from eight men, and cervical mucus from nine women, then put them together in all the possible combinations to examine how well the sperm performed. The team then compared the sperm’s swimming success with the genotypes of the parties involved. They found that sperm most dissimilar from the egg genetically had proved better swimmers – increasing the chance of fertilisation, and of producing an offspring with a diverse set of immune-fighting genes, and a correspondingly strong immune system.
Meditation is not for everyone
A number of studies have found that meditation has beneficial effects, but according to the first systematic review of the evidence, it can, in a minority of people, have a negative impact on mental health. “For most people it works fine but it has undoubtedly been overhyped and it’s not universally benevolent,” said Dr Miguel Farias of Coventry University. He and his team analysed the results of 55 studies on the effectiveness of mindfulness and other such techniques, and found that one in 12 people who tried them experienced unwanted effects including an increase in anxiety and panic attacks. In some, it led to an onset of those conditions. However, psychologist Katie Sparks told New Scientist it’s possible that those were people with undiagnosed mental illness trying meditation for the first time.