Emotion and scent `create lasting memories`

Emotion and scent create lasting memories even in a sleeping brain, a new study has suggested. A team at the Duke University has found that the part of the brain that processes scents is indeed a key component of forming long-term memories, especially involving other individuals, a science journal reported. "We can all relate to the experience of walking into a room and smelling something that sparks a vivid, emotional memory about a family member from years or even decades ago. This research sought to understand that phenomenon on a cellular level," lead author Stephen Shea said. In their study, the researchers examined how strong memories are formed by creating new memories in the minds of mice while under sedation and monitoring their response to a memory-inducing stimulus afterwards, when they were awake. They created memories by stimulating the release of noradrenaline, a chemical present in the body during strong emotional events ranging from excitement to fear. The team then administered anaesthesia to a mouse and stimulated the release of noradrenaline with an electrode while wafting the scent of either food or the urine of another mouse under the nose. "In essence, we recreated the chemical reaction that would occur when the mouse experiences a social event, such as giving birth," Shea said.

A spy software to identify online paedophiles

A computer programme that can identify paedophiles, who pretend to be children on the Internet, is being developed by scientists at Lancaster University. By analysing language and syntax used online, the new technology can reveal if an adult is masquerading as a child as part of the victim "grooming" process. The scheme, known as Project Isis, will also be able to keep track of secret code words used by paedophiles as file names for child pornography. "The main technique is something called authorship attribution. Research has been done which indicates that there are differences in how people of a particular age group write," the Telegraph quoted Professor Awais Rashid, of Lancaster University, as saying. "You can distinguish when someone is 25 when they are claiming to be 14, for example. "The project uses a lot of artificial intelligence and a lot of algorithms. We are using language analysis tools to identify someone who is masquerading as a child, and therefore identify people who may be a risk to children. "We are looking at being able to monitor traffic in file-sharing networks to try to identify core distributors, who are of interest to law enforcement agencies because they have access to children and are preparing photographs of these children in abusive situations. "Paedophiles use very specific ways of marking these files and searching for them. "To the untrained eye they can look like innocent searches but with our analysis you can isolate them and study how they change," Rashid added. A first prototype system has already being devised and is being tested on non-sensitive data. The next step of the three-year project will be to use the software on real-life paedophile material provided by police and other agencies. If it proves effective, Project Isis could raise Internet privacy concerns. For it to work in practice, it would require a wide range of Internet sites such as chat rooms and peer-to-peer networks to be monitored for tell-tale paedophile language. "We are setting up a stakeholder ethics group of internet service providers, users and other groups who may have concerns about the ethics of monitoring," Rashid said.

Coffee can shrink the size of boobs

Here’s some bad news for ladies who can't get through the day without their coffee fix: the caffeine-fuelled drink can shrink the size of women’s boobs, a shocking new research has revealed. The beverage, which is best known for keeping people alert and sobering up drunks, has caused a stir by suggesting women who drink more than three cups a day could see their bra size drop. Tests by cancer researchers found half of all women have a gene linking breast size to coffee intake. Nearly 300 women were quizzed but Helena Jernstroem, of Lund University, said women should not worry too much. “Coffee-drinking women do not have to worry their breasts will shrink to nothing overnight. They will get smaller, but the breasts aren’t just going to disappear,” the Daily Star quoted her, as saying. “Anyone who thinks they can tell which women are coffee drinkers just from their bra measurements will be disappointed. “There are two measurements for a bra – the cup size and the girth, so you wouldn’t be able to tell,” she added. While caffeine may shrink women’s breasts, the reaction is the reverse for coffee-slurping blokes – it can make their “boobs” swell. On the plus side, the study showed regular hits of caffeine reduce the risk of women developing breast cancer.