Young, Single Men Are More Likely To Tell Lies

Young, unmarried men who have low levels of education and exhibit signs of road rage are likely to tell most lies, according to new research that showed how to accurately pick a serial liar based on a few factors. In the study, researchers at Curtin University in Australia found that 13% of people told 58% of total lies. Another likely group of ‘big liars’ was young, married women with low levels of education who managed to get a high income. So that might be women who have married into money.

Eating Saturated Fat Could Actually Be Good For You

Consuming saturated fat may actually be good for you, claims a new study that challenges the long-held belief that dietary fat is unhealthy for most people. In a randomized controlled trial conducted by researchers at the University of Bergen in Norway, 38 men with abdominal obesity followed a dietary pattern high in either carbohydrates or fat, of which about half was saturated. Fat mass in the abdominal region, liver and heart was measured with accurate analyses, along with a number of key risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The very high intake of total and saturated fat did not increase the calculated risk of cardiovascular diseases. Participants on the very high fat diet also had substantial improvements in important cardio metabolic risk factors, such as ectopic fat storage, blood pressure, blood lipids (triglycerides), insulin and blood sugar. Both groups had similar intakes of energy, proteins, polyunsaturated fatty acids; the food types were the same, varied mainly in quantity, while the intake of added sugar was minimized. These findings indicated that the overriding principle of a healthy diet is not the quantity of the foods we eat.

To Live Long, Pick Up A Racquet

Regularly playing racquet sports such as squash, badminton and tennis could help stave off death the longest, a new study suggests. Scientists have narrowed down the sports and types of exercise that are linked to significantly lower odds of dying before those who do not do those activities. Racquet sports, swimming, aerobics and cycling seem to be the best for prolonging life, the research concluded. The study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, examined more than 80,000 adults across England and Scotland who took part in national health surveys between 1994 and 2008. Only 44% were getting the recommended amount of weekly exercise. Researchers also tracked participants’ survival for an average of nine years following completion of the survey – 8,790 of them died from all causes including 1,909 from cardiovascular diseases. After taking into account influential factors, the authors of the paper identified which sport or exercise seemed to be the most beneficial. Compared with the participants who said they had not done a given sport, they found that risk of death from any cause was 47% lower among those who played racket sports; 28% lower among swimmers; 27% lower among those who took part in aerobics classes; and 15% lower among cyclists. No such associations were seen for runners or joggers and those who played football.

Why Saying 'Boogie' Is Not 'Rad' Anymore

The popularity of a word tends to oscillate over 14 year periods, according to scientists who analyzed data obtained from millions of books. Most people who live very long come to see that some words become popular and then fall out of use again. Words such as “rad” or “boogie” that come into existence during certain periods might disappear, never to be heard again. However, most common nouns tend to have a cyclical popularity, the researchers said. They are yet to understand why this cycle repeats over 14 year periods. Researchers from University of Manchester, UK, and National Council for Scientific and Technical Research, Argentina, wrote scripts that were used to dig through almost five million books digitized and stored in a Google database. The scripts counted every noun encountered, which allowed the users to rank them by popularity year by year. While tracking how the rankings changed over time, they found a pattern, ‘Phys.org’ reported. Some groups of nouns, such as those that referenced royalty, tended to rise and fall together in synced cycles. Other cycles tended to be connected with worldwide events such as wars or the Olympics, the researchers said.

Coffee Could Keep Alzheimer's Away

Drinking three to five cups of coffee a day may provide protection against age-related cognitive decline and other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, a new report claims. The report by the institute of Scientific Information on Coffee, a not for profit organization devoted to the study and disclosure of science related to coffee and health, highlights the potential role of coffee consumption in reducing the risk of cognitive decline. The report concludes that a moderate intake of coffee (three to five cups per day) may provide protection against age-related cognitive decline and other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. According to the report, research published this year suggests that moderate coffee consumption can reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s by up to 27%. Research has suggested that it is regular, long-term coffee drinking that is key to helping to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, the report said. The association between coffee consumption and cognitive decline is illustrated by a ‘U-shaped’ pattern in recent meta-analyses, with the greatest protection seen at an intake of about three to five cups of coffee per day. Although the precise mechanisms of action behind the suggested association between coffee and age-related cognitive decline are unknown, caffeine is likely to be involved.

Women, Men See Faces Differently

Women and men look at faces and absorb visual information in different ways, according to a new study which suggests that there is a gender difference in understanding visual cues. Researchers from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) in the UK used an eye tracking device on almost 500 participants over a five-week period to monitor and judge how much eye contact they felt comfortable with while looking at a face on a computer screen. They found that women looked more at the left-hand side of faces and had a strong left eye bias, but that they also explored the face much more than men. They observed that it was possible to tell the gender of the participant based on the scanning pattern of how they looked at the face with nearly 80% accuracy. This study is the first demonstration of a clear gender difference in how men and women look at faces. They are able to establish the gender of the participant based on how they scan the actor’s face, and can eliminate that it is not based on the culture of the participant as nearly 60 nationalities have been tested. They can also eliminate any other observable characteristics like perceived attractiveness or trustworthiness. The participants were asked to judge how comfortable the amount of eye contact they made was with the actor in a Skype like scenario. Each participant saw the same actor during the testing period, which was around 15 minutes.

Comparison With FB Pals Can Depress You

Comparing yourself with Facebook friends is more likely to lead to feelings of depression than making social comparisons offline. Researchers from UK’s Lancaster University examined studies from 14 countries with 35,000 participants aged between 15 and 88. They found that the relationship between online social networking and depression may be very complex and associated with factors like age and gender. In cases where there is a significant association with depression, this is because comparing yourself with others can lead to “rumination” or over thinking. Negative comparison with others when using Facebook was found to predict depression via increased rumination. Researchers said frequent posting on Facebook was associated with depression via rumination. However, the frequency, quality and type of online social networking is also important. Facebook users were more at risk of depression when they felt envy triggered by observing others or accepted former partners as Facebook friends. The risks are high if the users make negative social comparisons or make frequent negative status updates.