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.