There is a relationship between teen pregnancies and TV programs

November 8, 2008

Recent research indicates that the rates of teen pregnancies are higher among those who watch programs with some sexual content. One of the programs used in the investigation was the series “Sex and the City”, known for its high sexual content.

It turned out that teenagers who watched programs with high sexual content had been twice as likely to become pregnant during the next three years in comparison with those who watched ‘sexually neutral’ programs.

Previous research conducted by the same group of scientists has shown that watching many sex programs on TV can promote early involvement into sexual activities.

Programs that highlight the positive aspects of sex can bring adolescents to unprotected sex.

Researchers are convinced that television has a strong relationship with teen pregnancies in comparison with other factors, such as educational, family structure and the education of parents.

However, the study did not address adequately other issues, such as self-esteem, values and family income, said Elizabeth Schroeder, Executive Director of the program of sex education for adolescents the University of Rutgers University.

The brain rate begins to reduce a the age of 40

Slowing down our rhythm as our age advances, we are used to blame painful joints. But actually ageing has to do with the brain: its mobility begins to reduce at the age of 40 years.

The speed with which we can throw a ball, run or rotate the car wheel depends on the speed with which cells send the signal to the muscles. And this speed depends on a good isolation of the connections.

A new research suggests that even healthy middle-aged people begin to lose part of that isolation in the sector of the brain that controls movement, while its speed decreases slightly.

This helps to explain why it is difficult to be an athlete of the global scale after 40 years.

However, there is no reason to lose heart. This discovery gives a reason to keep physically and mentally active: mental exercise can detect the deterioration in isolation more quickly and order their restoration to the cells.

The brain can be likened to the Internet. Its speed depends on the length of bandwidth, which in the brain is myelin, a kind of oily sheath of nerve fibers. Healthy myelin allows rapid driving of electrical signals with which the brain sends its orders. The scientists have found that the peak of myelin activity is 39 years, after this age it is deteriorating. That is why the significance of staying mentally active grows with age.