Split personality, split brain

New research shows that people who have “split personalities,” also known as multiple personality disorder or dissociative identity disorder, have different regions of their brain devoted to their different personalities. Each personality uses its own network of nerves and thus has its own set of memories. People who develop multiple personality disorder tend to have suffered extreme trauma in childhood, and it is suggested that they create the separate network of memories so the trauma seems to have happened to somebody else. The study was done by scanning the brains of people with split personalities while they listened to stories about themselves while in the two different personality states.

Source: Nature
-Zoe Cormier

Miscarriages now predictable

Scientists may have found a way to predict if a pregnancy will fail, weeks before the miscarriage will happen. About half of all pregnancies miscarry before the woman even knows she is pregnant, and between 10 and 15 percent of all known pregnancies fail. Until now it was not possible to tell if a pregnancy would be successful or not, but researchers recently found that levels of the immune system protein M1C1 drop drastically around three weeks before miscarriage. The finding could lead to a test for failing pregnancies, and even to drugs that would prevent miscarriage.

Source: Nature
-Z.C.

Deodorant may cause breast cancer

An analysis of breast cancer tumours found traces of a chemical group known as parabens, found in deodorants and other cosmetics, in 18 of 20 tumours examined. The chemical signature of the parabens they found indicates that they came from something applied directly to the skin. Researchers say this finding may explain why 60 per cent of all breast tumours are found in the area closest to the underarm. Parabens can mimic estrogen, which is known to play a crucial role in the development of breast cancer. These results lend support to a long-standing theory that anti-perspirants and deodorants cause breast cancer. Breast cancer is currently the largest killer of women.

Source: New Scientist
-Z.C.