Gizmorama - July 16, 2014

Good Morning,

Scientists claim that taking a whiff of passed gas may benefit your health - maybe even preventing cancer and other diseases. Personally, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Learn about this and more interesting stories from the scientific community in today's issue.

Until Next Time,
Erin

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*-- Brain scans offer clues about sex addiction --*
CAMBRIDGE, England (UPI) - This is your brain on drugs, as the saying goes. And this your brain addicted to sex.

The two brains look a lot alike. Scientists say that's because the brains of sex addicts and drug addicts respond in to their pleasure fix (sex and drugs) in similar ways.

Researchers recently demonstrated the similarities by showing self-admitted sex addicts pornographic imagery and then observing their brains using fMRI scans, or function magnetic imaging -- a technique which measures blood oxygen levels in the brain.

The results showed that parts of the participants' brains that lit up when they witnessed pornographic videos were the same brain regions shown to be exceptionally active in drug addicts.

One in 25 adults are affected by sex addiction, or compulsive sexual behavior.

Though the researchers said the new study -- published this week in the journal PLOS ONE -- isn't proof that sex is addictive, it is further proof that sex addicts are affected by the problem in ways similar to drug addicts.

"The key features are that a person has to be using their addiction excessively, more so in an uncontrolled manner," said lead author Valerie Voon, a researcher at the University of Cambridge. "They feel they want to stop it, but they are unable to do so. The second component is it has a functional impact on their lives and causes significant distress."

"Studies like [this one] may be seen as another step towards our understanding [of] the similarities between excessive engagement in sex and excessive engagement in drug abuse," said study co-author Marc Potenza, a psychiatrist at the Yale School of Medicine.


*-- Study: Smelling passed gas may prevent cancer and other diseases --*
EXETER, England (UPI) - When people pass gas, most bystanders scatter and hold their breath, but researchers at the University of Exeter in England suggest sticking around and inhaling through the nostrils.

Scientists say savoring the noxious gas hydrogen sulfide -- a byproduct of the body's work breaking down food -- could help stave off the development of cancer.

"Although hydrogen sulfide gas is well known as a pungent, foul-smelling gas in rotten eggs and flatulence, it is naturally produced in the body and could in fact be a healthcare hero with significant implications for future therapies for a variety of diseases," said Dr. Mark Wood, a researcher at Exeter.

In a new study, Wood and his colleagues suggest small doses of hydrogen sulfide can help reverse mitochondrial damage. The mitochondria are the "powerhouse" of the body's cells, driving energy production in blood vessel cells.

Protecting the mitochondria is a key strategy for preventing stroke, heart failure, diabetes, arthritis and dementia. The health of the mitochondria goes a long way toward determining whether cells live or die, and strong mitochondria help control inflammation.

In clinical trials, detailed this week in the journal Medicinal Chemistry Communications, manmade hydrogen sulfide helped protect mitochondria under unforgiving biological circumstances.

"We have exploited this natural process by making a compound, called AP39, which slowly delivers very small amounts of this gas specifically to the mitochondria," explained study author Professor Matt Whiteman -- that way patients won't need to sniff foul odors to get the health benefits of hydrogen sulfide.

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