People Are Talking About: The Week In Health News
Published 6:54 pm Saturday, September 28, 2013
There’s something about that new baby smell. A small study at the University of Montreal’s Department of Psychology has evidence as to why mothers can’t get enough of babies — it’s the new baby smell.
“The olfactory — thus non-verbal and nonvisual — chemical signals for communication between mother and child are intense,” said Johannes Frasnelli, a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the University of Montreal’s Department of Psychology in a press release.
“What we have shown for the first time is that the odor of newborns, which is part of these signals, activates the neurological reward circuit in mothers. These circuits may especially be activated when you eat while being very hungry, but also in a craving addict receiving his drug. It is in fact the sating of desire.”
Study: Shark blood antibodies may hold the cue to treating breast cancer. Researchers at the University of Aberdeen in the United Kingdom believe antibodies from shark blood may be beneficial in the treatment of breast cancer. These antibodies will be used to target HER cancers, a type of protein that grows rapidly. It represents about 25 percent of all breast cancer. In their studies, they are hoping that potential treatments can help patients who are resistant to Herceptin, an antibody that stops an HER receptor from working.