Author: dispatchtimes news

A small UK-focused study has found that men with metabolic syndrome who confined all daily meals to an eight-hour window between 8am and 4pm for a month performed better on memory tests and showed slightly younger brain-age estimates on MRI. The participants also shed weight and displayed improvements in blood sugar and insulin sensitivity, with increases in grey matter in several deep brain structures on the left side, including the hippocampus and thalamus. Metabolic syndrome comprises a cluster of risk factors that raise the likelihood of heart disease, stroke and diabetes, and is linked to faster brain aging and memory…

A global study of more than 12,000 people across 100 cultures has redefined collectivism as “responsibilism,” a duty-based approach that concentrates on binding obligations within close relationships rather than broad warmth toward everyone. The findings, published in Nature Human Behaviour, show striking East Asian–Western differences and demonstrate that this new measure aligns closely with real-world behaviours—from multigenerational living to how people donate blood. Traditionally, collectivism is described as a cultural system in which people see themselves as interdependent with others and prioritise group obligations over personal desires, contrasting with individualism. When massive self‑report surveys swept the globe in the 1990s,…

A study published in Politics and the Life Sciences argues that continuous gender identity—the way people perceive their own masculinity or femininity—can predict political engagement and ideological leanings more reliably than traditional male and female categories. The research is led by Claire Gothreau of Lebanon Valley College and Amanda Friesen of the University of Western Ontario, who advocate measuring gender as a continuum rather than a binary label. Gothreau and Friesen contend that treating gender as a layered, subjective identity reveals substantial variation within men and within women, which in turn shapes political attitudes and participation. They describe a shift…

A cross‑European survey led by Tahir Abbas at Aston University in the United Kingdom finds that perceived social exclusion is linked to a higher likelihood of endorsing political violence, with the strength of that link shaped by how people experience political alienation. The study analysed 5,501 participants from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway and has been published in Psychology of Violence. Perceived social exclusion refers to the sense that one’s group is unfairly treated, disrespected, or denied full participation in society. Researchers say this grievance can foster a sense of injustice that makes violence seem more justifiable…

A comprehensive atlas of tiny, previously uncatalogued proteins in the human brain has been created, revealing that many microproteins are altered in Alzheimer’s disease. The study, published in Nature Aging, maps thousands of these short molecules in the frontal cortex and links them to cellular energy production and genetic regulation. Researchers say traditional gene databases may capture only a fraction of the brain’s functional proteins. Microproteins are typically fewer than 150 amino acids long and arise from small open reading frames embedded within or near larger, well-known genes. Because of their brief length, they have long been difficult to detect…

A new longitudinal study indicates that the amount of dried cannabis flower consumed by naturally cycling individuals with premenstrual symptoms fluctuates across the menstrual cycle—peaking in the days just before menstruation and rising again around ovulation. The research, published in Addictive Behaviors, found these premenstrual increases in cannabis use were especially pronounced on days when individuals reported worse emotional sensitivity or greater interpersonal conflict. The study situates these findings within the broader biology of the menstrual cycle, noting that ovarian hormones—primarily estradiol and progesterone—drive the cycle’s two main phases: the follicular phase, from the start of bleeding to ovulation, and…

A new study published in Political Research Quarterly finds that Asian American voters who supported Donald Trump in the 2024 election tended to hold particular economic outlooks alongside specific racial and anti-immigrant attitudes, mirroring patterns observed in other racial groups and offering insight into the evolving political landscape of a fast-growing segment of the American electorate. Asian Americans are the fastest-growing single-race group in the United States. The researchers framed their inquiry around how economic and identity factors interact in voting decisions across three recent cycles, aiming to understand the shifting patterns among Asian Americans from 2016 to 2024. Using…

New research suggests that women in the United States rarely talk about sex with their close female friends, even though many would like those conversations to happen more often and see them as beneficial. The study, published in The Journal of Sex Research, reveals a clear gap between how often women actually discuss sex topics and how often they would like to discuss them within their circles. The researchers argue that social norms and fears of negative reactions shape these talks, even among trusted friends. They describe peer sexual communication as conversations about topics ranging from contraception and sexually transmitted…

A team of UK-based researchers has concluded that there is no universal mathematical blueprint for the ideal breast. In a scoping review led by Pegah Damavandi of Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, with Zhen Yu Wong from Morriston Hospital in Wales and Ryan Faderani of the Royal Free Hospital in London, the study finds that rigid formulas fail to capture how beauty is perceived across diverse populations. The work is published in the Aesthetic Surgery Journal and urges surgeons to prioritise individual patient goals over fixed measurements. The research underscores that breast surgery serves a range of medical and personal…