Having fun? Time flies! Bored to tears? Time crawls by! The concept of time and how we perceive it is intriguing. Now, scientists have a new theory as to why we experience the passing of time differently and how it’s connected to our emotions.

The answer may lie in an area of the brain called the substantia nigra pars compacta, where dopamine-releasing neurons are located. Dopamine, a chemical and neurotransmitter associated with pleasure, is involved in the brain’s “reward center” and affects motivation, addiction, learning, and other functions. Damage to the substantia nigra pars compacta is associated with neurological conditions that affect time perception.

In recent animal study, a team of neuroscientists trained mice to perform a task that involved timing—to determine whether the interval between two tones was longer or shorter than 1 ½ seconds—and measured the activity of dopamine neurons in the animals’ brains. According to researchers, study results showed a correlation between levels of neural activity and time judgment—a larger increase in activity resulted in an underestimate of time, while a smaller increase resulted in an overestimate.

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Sourced from: MNT

A recent report by the U.S. surgeon general citing the dangers of e-cigarette use in young people has drawn criticism from those who claim e-cigarettes can help smokers quit. According to the report, e-cigarettes are now the most common form of tobacco product used by young people, who are more vulnerable to the harmful effects of nicotine. Recommendations made by the surgeon general include incorporating e-cigarettes into existing smoke-free policies and imposing taxes on vaping products to discourage young people from buying them.

The report also states that, while there is no evidence supporting the claims that e-cigarettes help people quit smoking, there’s also no evidence to show that young people who vape are more likely to move on to smoke cigarettes. According to the CDC, e-cigarette use in high school students increased from 1.5 percent in 2011 to 16 percent in 2015, while smoking rates decreased from 15.8 to 9.3 percent over the same period of time.

There isn’t any research about the long-term use of e-cigarettes—in adults or adolescents. Therefore, the surgeon general’s report is largely precautionary—supporting “intervention to avoid possible health risks when the potential risks remain uncertain and have been, as yet, partially defined.”

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Sourced from: Reuters

After 40 years of improvements against the country’s leading cause of death—cardiovascular disease—death rates from heart disease and stroke in the U.S. increased 0.9 percent and three percent respectively in 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overall, life expectancy dropped one-tenth of one percentage point to 78.8 years.

Although cardiovascular disease has been the number one cause of death in the U.S. for more than 100 years, death rates from heart disease have declined about 70 percent since 1969. According to the CDC, the recent increase in deaths related to cardiovascular disease is associated with rising rates of obesity and diabetes.

Several studies have shown that the overall decline in heart-related deaths began to slow in 2011. At that time, cancer was expected to overtake cardiovascular disease as the leading cause of death in the U.S.

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Sourced from: FOX News