The Science of Believing in Santa

Ho ho, here's the study of the week: What can science tell us about belief in Santa, and how it affects our kids? Find out. Also...

• Remember how I said to go ahead and have that sip of wine? Well, another study says not so fast.
• Genetic testing for ... prowess on the football field? "Snake oil," says one expert.
  
• This week's food allergy article, courtesy of the Gray Lady. There's some fascinating research going on comparing American and Chinese families.
  
• A 70-year-old gives birth!
• A follow-up to last week's story about autism, mental disorders and genetics. There's likely more at play.
• A family's lifestyle--e.g. television and eating habits--helps determine whether people grow up to be overweight. Duh!
• The lessening of teens smoking weed is, er, lessening.
• Autumn babies have a 30 percent greater risk of asthma than babies born during the other three seasons.
• And finally: The latest in the question of whether breastfeeding helps women lose weight: Yes. Woo hoo!

This is Your Brain on Poverty (And More Stories)

I'm trying the weekly digest format this week. This is striking: A new study shows that brains of high-income children function differently than those of low-income children. So differently, in fact, that for the poorer kids, according to one psychologist, "it is a similar pattern to what's seen in patients with strokes that have led to lesions in their prefrontal cortex"--prefrontal cortex being the part of the brain related to problem solving. Also:

• Imagine a tug-of-war between genes. On one side: autism and related conditions. On the other: mental disorders like schizophrenia. A must-read.

• In a massive survey, a whopping 64 percent of high school students admitted to cheating on a test, and 30 percent to shoplifting.

• See how scientists are working to genetically engineer peanuts that don't cause fatal allergic reactions.

Go Ahead, Turn on the Tube

Now this is news: Television might be good for your kids. That's right. A recent study has shown that it may help boost test scores, especially in disadvantaged homes. And it isn't even the first to dispel the popular notion that the boob tube is the root of all evil. One scientist jokes that she can summarize her 25 years of research about television in one sentence: "It's the content that matters."
PS - After I wrote this I stumbled onto another article that says the opposite. The take-home message of a review of 173 studies of media consumption is that kids who spend a lot of time with TV, movies, music, and video games are more likely to smoke, do drugs, get low grades and reach unhealthy weights. Ouch.
Actually I think these both back up my approach to TV and computer at home: Good content in moderation.

Why Some Teens Don't Use Condoms

I like the idea presented in this blog to get some marketing gurus to work their magic on condoms. This follows a study of 1400 sexual active young people--all of whom reported having had unprotected sex in the preceding 90 days. The study suggests that young people avoid condoms because they think condoms detract from pleasure and because they worry that their partners will disapprove. And condom use does not necessarily increase with age or education level. I've already written that I think comprehensive sex ed is key, but of course there are no simple answers here.

CDC Confirms Growth in Childhood Food Allergies

I'll be going back to a few stories I didn't get to cover in October, and this is one I think is so important, if not surprising: The number of children with food allergies grew 18 percent in a decade, from 1997 to 2007, according to a study by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In real numbers, that's 3 million kids in 2007. Wow. I hope we see the growth in allergy research match the growth in allergies themselves so we can start answering the "why" question.

Trace Melamine in US Infant Formula

Not good: U.S. Food and Drug Administration screeners have discovered trace amounts of the chemical melamine in major brands of baby formula sold in the United States. Although the FDA has assured people that the formula is safe, it previously said that no amount of melamine is safe for babies. Which is it? Melamine can cause kidney and bladder stones, and, in extreme cases, kidney failure and death. At least four babies died earlier this year after Chinese manufacturers added melamine to infant formula to make it appear more protein-rich. In the U.S. formula, all signs point to the melamine being introduced via the manufacturing process and not through deliberate addition or tampering. And no U.S. illnesses have been linked to melamine consumption. That won't stop many U.S. parents from being disturbed by this news.