ScienceDaily: Living Well News

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• How we form habits, change existing ones
• What does 'diversity' mean to you? The answer may depend on your race
• Lipids boost the brain, study finds
• Phthalate compounds contaminating your glass of wine
• Best way to brush teeth? Even dentists, dental associations don't agree
• Parents part of problem in distracted teen driving, study finds
• Musical training offsets some academic achievement gaps, research says

How we form habits, change existing ones Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:19 AM PDT About 40 percent of people's daily activities are performed each day in almost the same situations, studies show. Habits emerge through associative learning. 'We find patterns of behavior that allow us to reach goals. We repeat what works, and when actions are repeated in a stable context, we form associations between cues and response,' a researcher explains.

What does 'diversity' mean to you? The answer may depend on your race Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:17 AM PDT Researchers have studied how whites, Asian-Americans, and African-Americans evaluate diversity. The research included three studies, and participants were asked to rate the diversity of various groups of people that were presented as a team at work.

Lipids boost the brain, study finds Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:08 AM PDT Consuming oils with high polyunsaturated fatty acid content, in particular those containing omega-3s, is beneficial for the health. But the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are poorly known. Researchers have investigated the effect of lipids bearing polyunsaturated chains when they are integrated into cell membranes. Their work shows that the presence of these lipids makes the membranes more malleable and therefore more sensitive to deformation and fission by proteins.

Phthalate compounds contaminating your glass of wine Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:07 AM PDT Alcohol may be even more damaging to your health then you first thought, researchers report. Phthalate compounds are extremely widespread in our environment, and have major potential as hormone disruptors. The use of phthalates is regulated on an international level and includes those likely to come into contact with food and drink packaging. A study has analysed phthalate concentrations in a variety of French wines and spirits.

Best way to brush teeth? Even dentists, dental associations don't agree Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:07 AM PDT Advice on how we should brush our teeth from dental associations and toothpaste companies is 'unacceptably inconsistent', finds new research. "The public needs to have sound information on the best method to brush their teeth," says the senior author of the study. "If people hear one thing from a dental association, another from a toothbrush company and something else from their dentist, no wonder they are confused about how to brush. In this study we found an unacceptably inconsistent array of advice from different sources.

Parents part of problem in distracted teen driving, study finds Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:00 AM PDT Parents play a direct role in distracted teen driving, with more than half of teens talking on cellphones with their mother or father while driving, according to new research. "Teens said parents expect to be able to reach them, that parents get mad if they don't answer their phone and they have to tell parents where they are," said one investigator.

Musical training offsets some academic achievement gaps, research says Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:00 AM PDT Learning to play a musical instrument or to sing can help disadvantaged children strengthen their reading and language skills, according to research. The findings, which involved hundreds of kids participating in musical training programs, highlight the role learning music can have on the brains of youth in impoverished areas.

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