New Research

Fathers’ mental health problems harmful for kids:
Fathers’ mental health problems could be harmful for their kids, a new study warns. Researchers at the University of Oxford said such kids are more likely to have psychiatric or behavioural disorders. Paternal depression during the postnatal period, measured at eight weeks after birth, has been linked to increasing the chance of the child subsequently developing behavioural and emotional problems from 10% to 20%. The study found that teenage offspring of depressed fathers also have an increased risk of various psychological problems, including depression and suicidal behaviour.

‘French are the top sleepers, eaters’:
True to their reputation as leisure-loving gourmets, the French spend more time sleeping and eating than anyone else among the world’s wealthy nations, says a new study. The average French person sleeps almost nine hours every night, more than an hour longer than the average Japanese and Korean. Moreover, the French still spend more than two hours a day eating, more than any other nation surveyed.

Nanotech may help fight HIV:
Biomedical engineers at Yale have found a new method that may help stop HIV infection in future — a safe way to deliver therapeutic RNAs into vaginal cells. Using nanoparticles made of a biodegradable polymer known as PLGA, the researchers created a stable “time release” vehicle for delivery of siRNAs (molecules that silence genes for treatment of STDs) to sensitive mucosal tissue like that of the vagina. The technique can be used to make creams containing anti-HIV RNAs.

Late mothers live longer:
Women who have babies in their forties and fifties tend to live longer than other women, a new study has found. The Utah-based study shows their brothers also live longer, suggesting that the same genes prolong lifespan and fertility more than other factors.