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Chewed and Rolled: How Cats Make the Most of Their Catnip High

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Chewed and Rolled: How Cats Make the Most of Their Catnip High

Cats, so usually, are a thriller, even to people who know them finest. Why do they sleep a lot? Why do they need your full consideration one minute, none the subsequent? How can they discover their method again dwelling after being stranded miles away for years? The author Haruki Murakami, who is thought for placing cats in his novels and essays, as soon as confessed to not figuring out why he does so; a cat “type of naturally slips in,” he mentioned.

One other thriller: Why do cats love catnip? When uncovered to the plant, which is expounded to mint, the vast majority of home cats will lick it, rub towards it, chew it and roll round in it. They brim with euphoria, getting excessive off the stuff. In addition they go wild for different vegetation, notably silver vine, which isn’t intently associated to catnip however elicits the identical response from felines, together with large cats like jaguars and tigers.

For years, this habits was simply one other cat-related enigma. However a brand new research, printed Tuesday within the journal iScience, means that the response to catnip and silver vine may be defined by the bug repellent impact of iridoids, the chemical substances within the vegetation that induce the excessive.

Researchers, led by Masao Miyazaki, an animal habits scientist at Iwate College in Japan, discovered that the quantity of those iridoids launched by the plant elevated by greater than 2,000 p.c when the plant was broken by cats. So maybe kitty’s excessive confers an evolutionary benefit: protecting bloodsucking bugs at bay.

Kristyn Vitale, a cat habits professional at Unity Faculty who was not related to the analysis, famous that the research constructed on sturdy earlier work. Final yr, the identical lab printed a research that discovered that cats would attempt their finest to coat themselves in DEET-like iridoids, whether or not by rolling on the chemical substances or by rising as much as nuzzle them with their cheeks. “This means there could also be a profit to the cat bodily putting the compounds on their physique,” Dr. Vitale mentioned.

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Carlo Siracusa, an animal behaviorist on the College of Pennsylvania who additionally was not concerned within the analysis, concurred. “The proof exhibits that they wish to impregnate their physique with the odor,” he mentioned. However, he added, “remember that a large chunk of cats don’t present this habits. So why would they’ve been chosen on this method?”

As an evolutionary adaptation, bug-repellent iridoids in all probability do extra to guard vegetation from herbivorous bugs than to assist cats keep away from bug bites. Crops usually launch irritants when broken, which helps to keep off attackers, they usually emit different chemical substances that talk hazard to their neighbors. “Crops are masters of chemical warfare,” mentioned Marco Gallio, a neurobiologist at Northwestern College who was not affiliated with the brand new research.

Final yr, Dr. Gallio and his colleagues printed a report that linked the first bug repellent in catnip, nepetalactone, to a receptor protein that triggers irritation in mosquitoes and associated bugs. The receptor, which can be current in people and cats, might be set off by tear gasoline. However Dr. Gallio discovered that though nepetalactone had no detrimental impact on people and despatched felines into spasms of ecstasy, it did activate this explicit receptor (referred to as TRPA1) in lots of bugs — an added bonus for cats rolling round of their drug of alternative.

Of their most up-to-date research, Dr. Miyazaki and his associates measured the chemical composition of the air instantly above leaves — each intact and broken — of catnip and silver vine. Then they measured the iridoid ranges within the leaves themselves. They discovered that catnip leaves mangled by cats launched at the least 20 instances extra nepetalactone than intact leaves did, whereas broken silver vine leaves launched at the least eight instances the quantity of comparable iridoids than did intact leaves. The cats’ interactions with silver vine additionally modified the composition of the plant’s bug-repelling cocktail, making it much more potent.

After rubbing their faces and our bodies towards the vegetation, cats are certain to be coated in a sturdy layer of Pest Begone.

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This discovering, paired with Dr. Miyazaki and his crew’s earlier analysis, helps nascent claims that at the least a part of the advantage of the kitty catnip craze is to stave off mosquitoes and flies. Such habits, referred to as “self-anointing,” wouldn’t be the primary of its variety within the animal kingdom. Mexican spider monkeys have been identified to smear themselves with completely different sorts of leaves, in all probability to serve a social or sexual goal, and hedgehogs usually rub toxins onto their spines.

Nonetheless, there are lots of questions left to be answered, together with why seemingly solely felines exhibit a euphoric response to catnip and silver vine, and why solely a few of these felines achieve this. Dr. Gallio, whereas enthusiastic concerning the new research, provided a cautious strategy. “What do I do know?” he mentioned. “I wasn’t there to see evolution occur.”

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Words and game of Scrabble keep married couple in wedded bliss for decades

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Words and game of Scrabble keep married couple in wedded bliss for decades

A married couple who have long enjoyed the game of Scrabble both together and separately before they even met are never at a loss for words — and attribute their wedded bliss in part to their love of the nostalgic game.

They’re still playing in tournaments built around the game decades after they began doing so.

Graham Harding and his wife Helen Harding, both in their 60s, have been married for over 20 years.

WATCHING GAME SHOWS LIKE ‘JEOPARDY!’ AND ‘WHEEL OF FORTUNE’ CAN BOOST COGNITIVE HEALTH, SAY EXPERTS

They met in the 1990s at Scrabble tournaments, as news agency SWNS reported.

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But it was a “special match” in 2000 that brought the couple together — and has kept them together now.

Graham and Helen Harding on their wedding day. They’ve been playing in Scrabble tournaments for some 30 years.  (Courtesy Graham and Helen Harding via SWNS)

Graham Harding is from the East Berkshire Scrabble Club, while his wife Helen is from the Leicester Scrabble Club in the U.K.

They have been taking part in the UK Open Scrabble Championship in Reading this week.

“The more words you know, the more ammunition you’ve got.”

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“Scrabble is all about having a good vocabulary,” said Graham Harding, SWNS noted.

7 HEALTHY LIFESTYLE CHANGES THAT COULD HELP REDUCE RISK OF DEPRESSION, SAYS STUDY: ‘ENORMOUS BENEFITS’

“But it is a Scrabble vocabulary — not necessarily everyday English.”

Added Helen Harding, “The more words you know, the more ammunition you’ve got.”

Graham and Helen Harding at their wedding.

Graham and Helen Harding’s wedding cake. They bonded over their love of Scrabble – and are still playing in tournaments together.  (Courtesy Graham and Helen Harding via SWNS)

The couple said they were “vague acquaintances” for about five years after they first met.

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Then they got together after a special match in Swindon.

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They maintained a long-distance relationship before they got married in 2004.

The couple even brought their Scrabble board to their wedding. 

Graham and Helen Harding at their wedding.

The couple likely have played thousands of games between them.  (Courtesy Graham and Helen Harding via SWNS)

It featured a message with Scrabble pieces that said, “Congratulations on your wedding day” — while their wedding cake said, in Scrabble letters, “Helen and Graham.”

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They each took up the hobby early in life well before they met each other. 

The tournament that’s been taking place this week is the first since the COVID pandemic after a five-year break — and the couple has played some two dozen games in it as of Friday, SWNS reported. 

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Deep sleep can keep two big health problems at bay, new studies suggest

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Deep sleep can keep two big health problems at bay, new studies suggest

It might be worth working a little bit harder to get that much-desired, but often elusive, good night’s sleep.

Deep sleep clears the mind of waste just as a “dishwasher” cleans dirty plates and glasses, just-published research suggests — and there’s more.

The findings also offer insights into how sleeping pills may disrupt the “brainwashing” system — potentially affecting cognitive function for people over the long run.

ANOTHER REASON TO GET MORE SLEEP AND THIS ONE MIGHT SURPRISE YOU

Study senior author professor Maiken Nedergaard of the University of Rochester and the University of Copenhagen said norepinephrine (a neurotransmitter and hormone) triggers blood vessels to contract — generating slow pulsations that create a rhythmic flow in the surrounding fluid to carry away waste, news agency SWNS noted.

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Said Nedergaard, “It’s like turning on the dishwasher before you go to bed and waking up with a clean brain. . . . We’re essentially asking what drives this process and trying to define restorative sleep based on” this “glymphatic clearance.”

“It’s like turning on the dishwasher before you go to bed and waking up with a clean brain.” (iStock)

The brain has a built-in waste removal process – the glymphatic system – that circulates fluid in the brain and spinal cord to clear out waste, according to the scientists. 

The process helps remove toxic proteins that form sticky plaques linked to neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

But the scientists indicated that what drives the system was unclear until now, according to the study.

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Is all sleep created equal? The researchers wanted to find out.

To find clues, Nedergaard and her team looked into what happens in mice when their brains sleep, as SWNS reported of the study. The team focused on the relationship between norepinephrine and blood flow during deep sleep.

TRUMP’S DAYLIGHT SAVING PLAN AND SLEEP: WHAT YOU MUST KNOW

They found that norepinephrine waves correlate to variations in brain blood volume — suggesting that norepinephrine triggers a rhythmic pulsation in the blood vessels. The researchers then compared the changes in blood volume to brain fluid flow.

The brain fluid flow fluctuates in correspondence to blood volume changes, suggesting the vessels act as pumps to propel the surrounding brain fluid to flush out waste.

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Senior couple sleeping

During deep sleep, toxic proteins that form sticky plaques linked to neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease are removed, scientists say in a new study.  (iStock)

Natalie Hauglund of the University of Copenhagen and the University of Oxford, the study’s lead author, said, “You can view norepinephrine as [the] conductor of an orchestra.” 

She added, “There’s a harmony in the constriction and dilation of the arteries, which then drives the cerebrospinal fluid through the brain to remove the waste products.”  

‘I CAN’T SLEEP BECAUSE OF RACING THOUGHTS AT NIGHT — HOW CAN I STOP THEM?’: ASK A DOCTOR

Hauglund said she wanted to understand whether all sleep is created equal. 

To find out, the research team administered zolpidem, a common drug to aid sleep, to mice.

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“If people aren’t getting the full benefits of sleep, they should be aware of that, so they can make informed decisions.” 

They found that the norepinephrine waves during deep sleep were 50% lower in zolpidem-treated mice than in naturally sleeping mice. 

Although the zolpidem-treated mice fell asleep more quickly — fluid transport into the brain dropped more than 30%, as SWNS reported.

man sleeps in bed

Two new studies indicate the importance of getting a good night’s sleep — with one study saying a lack of sleep may be sabotaging the brain’s ability to keep intrusive thoughts at bay. (iStock)

The researchers say their findings, published in the journal Cell, suggest that the sleeping aid may disrupt the norepinephrine-driven waste clearance during sleep.

Hauglund said, “More and more people are using sleep medication, and it’s really important to know if that’s healthy sleep. If people aren’t getting the full benefits of sleep, they should be aware of that, so they can make informed decisions.” 

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The research team said the findings likely apply to humans, who also have a glymphatic system, although it requires further testing.

Nedergaard added, “Now we know norepinephrine is driving the cleaning of the brain, we may figure out how to get people a long and restorative sleep.”

For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health

Meanwhile, a lack of sleep may be doing more damage than just making people groggy.

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It could be sabotaging the brain’s ability to keep intrusive thoughts at bay.

young woman asleep

Anyone who suffers from sleep deprivation may find that the brain’s defense against unwanted memories is weakened, say experts. (iStock)

Another new study, this one published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that sleep deprivation weakens the brain’s defense against unwanted memories, allowing them to flood the mind, according to the New York Post. 

“We show that sleep deprivation disrupts prefrontal inhibition of memory retrieval, and that the overnight restoration of this inhibitory mechanism is associated with time spent in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep,” the scientists said.

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How Kathy Bates Lost 100 Lbs—Plus Her Tips for Sustainable Weight Loss

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How Kathy Bates Lost 100 Lbs—Plus Her Tips for Sustainable Weight Loss


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Kathy Bates Weight Loss: Tips That Helped Her Lose 100 Lbs | Woman’s World




















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