Do you doodle?

Good news, doodlers: the next time you are caught scribbling away in a meeting or lecture, explain that you are imporving your concentration.
A study by a UK psychology professor has shown that people who doodle have better recall. Professor Jackie Andrade asked 40 people to listen to a very dull message and write down names of people mentioned. Half were told to doodle naturally while others simply sat and listened. Lo and behold, the doodlers were better at concentrating and recalled more information. The reason, she says, is because doodling stops daydreaming and helps people pay attention. “We know that daydreaming takes a lot of mental energy,” she says. “The best thing is to concentrate on a single task, but otherwise try doodling to stop your mind wandering.”

"Bouncing back"

Problems at school, hassles with parents, relationship trouble - teenagers have many reasons to view life as being full of setbacks. Jeffrey Derevensky, a psychology professor at McGill University, says it's normal to feel down or hopeless at times. But here are some ways to start feeling better:

- Talk it over. Open up to people you trust.

- Take charge. ''Sometimes, big changes are hard, so do something that makes you feel in control,'' says Ester Cole, a psychologist who works with youth. It could be as simple as wearing clothes that make you feel confident.

- Get expert advice. Seek out your guid­ance coun­sellor or, to stay anonymous, call a helpline or crisis line.

- Do something you're good at. Draw, shoot baskets, play a musical instrument – whatever reminds you that you're capable, says Cole.

- Take it one day at a time. Don't worry about the long-term con­se­quences. ''You could be fighting with your best friend,'' says Derevensky, ''and the next day, you've forgotten what the fight was even about.''

- Laugh. Watch a funny show or joke with friends: Laughter is a great stress reliever.

Massage for Concentration Dips

We all have “dips” in concentration at one time or another during the workday. You may find that your attention starts to wander just before and after lunch, for example. Try this sequence to restore mental alertness and help you stay sharp. The routine takes less than five minutes but can make a big difference to your concentration level.



1. Make loose fists with both hands and gently beat all over your head using a drumming action. Make sure you use the flats of your fingers and heels of your hands – not the knuckles.

2. Continue this beating movement down the back of your neck and across the tops of your shoulders. You may find it more comfortable to use one hand to work the opposite side of your body. Support your working arm with your free hand.

3. Starting from the same position as the previous move, rub across your shoulders with the flat of your hand. Use a light brisk rubbing action as far as you can reach across your upper back, up your neck, and over your chest. Repeat on the other side.

4. Move your hands to your ears and gently rotate them forward and then backward. Now place your hands on your forehead and gently rake them up and down, working from the centre outwards.

5. Close your eyes and lightly tap all over your face with the pads of your fingertips.

6. When you’ve covered your whole face, raise your eyebrows and open your eyes wide. Finally, blink a few times.

Sleep tight no matter your age

Just as sleep is crucial to the health of adults, new research suggests that lack of sleep may affect teens' health too.



Ohio researchers found that otherwise healthy teens who slept less than 6.5 hours a night were 2.5 times more likely than those who slept longer to have elevated blood pressure.The study, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, also revealed that the systolic blood pressure of teens with "low sleep efficiency"-a measure of sleep quality defined as "having trouble falling or staying asleep"- was,on average, four points higher than that of teens who slept well.And the sleep-deprived were 3.5 times more likely to have prehypertension or hypertension. Although further study is needed, researchers caution that untreated hypertension can increase the risk of stroke and other cardiovascular diseases later in life.

The hunt for new species

Every year, scientists from International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE) scour the world's ecosystems to reveal new species from the plant and animal kingdoms. "most people don;t realize just how incomplete our knowledge of earth's species is, or the steady rate at which taxonomists are exploring that diversity," says Quentin Wheeler, director of IISE.

2010 top 10 of new species

Name: Nepenthes attenboroughii
It is a charismatic plant species and produces one of the largest pitchers known at 30x16 cm, comparable in size to an American football. It is also carnivorous, feeding on insects trapped by the fluid contained in the pitchers. Endemic to the island of Palawan, Philippines, it is known only from a single locality and the authors suggest it be Red Listed as Critically Endangered.


Name: Swima bombiviridis
Common Name: Green bombers
This deep-sea annelid is a “bomb”-bearing species. It has modified gills that can be cast off from an individual. These "bombs" illuminate for several seconds with green bioluminescence. It is thought that this is a defensive mechanism rather than reproductive, as it is seen in both mature and juvenile individuals.


Name: Dioscorea orangeana
Common Name: Angona (Also used for other yam species of northern Madagascar)
Dioscorea orangeana is a new species of edible yam found in Madagascar. Its tuber morphology is uncharacteristic of Malagasy yams exhibiting several digitate lobes instead of just one. Although newly described, the authors suggest that it should be Red Listed as Critically Endangered, since it's heavily harvested and growing in unprotected habitat.


Name: Aiteng ater
Common Name: Aiteng
Its discovery has resulted in a new family, Aitengidae. Although it shares nearly all characteristics with sacoglossans, it exhibits unusual eating habits. This sea slug eats insects, whereas nearly all sacoglossans eat algae and a few specialize in gastropod eggs.


Name: Histiophryne psychedelica
Common Name: Psychedelic frogfish
It has an unusual psychedelic pattern and is unique among frogfishes in being flat-faced.


Name: Nephila komaci
Common Name: Komac's golden orb spider
It is the first species of Nephila to be described since 1879 and it is the largest Nephila to date. Orb-weaving spiders exhibit extreme sexual size dimorphism: female paratype of this species has a body length of 39.7mm and a male has a body length of 8.7mm. Nephila has the distinction of spinning the largest webs known, often greater than 1m in diameter. Although the web of this new species has not been observed, it is likely to be large.


Name: Phallus drewesii
This two inch mushroom was named in honor of Dr. Robert Drewes and was the subject of the June 20, 2009 segment, "Bluff the Listener," on the NPR quiz Show, "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me." Click here to listen to the segment.


Name: Danionella dracula
Common Name: Dracula minnow
Males of this species have canine-like fangs for sparring with other males. This is the first record of oral teeth-like structures being found in the Cyprinidae, the largest family of freshwater fishes.



Name: Gymnotus omarorum
Common Name: Omars' banded knifefish
This species has been locally exploited and used for several decades, "as a model species for understanding electric organ physiology and electrocommunication" (Richer-de-Forges et al. 2009). Neurophysiologists at the Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable in Montevideo, Uruguay have mistakenly referred to this species in literature as Gymnotus carapo or G. cf. carapo. This and other species (until recently) have been lumped into G. carapo. This highlights how little we know about biodiversity when, "a model organism" can remain undescribed for 30 years.


Name: Chondrocladia (Meliiderma) turbiformis
The person who nominated this species stated, "Fifteen years ago, the discovery that a deep-sea sponge family, the Cladorhizidae, was carnivorous greatly surprised the world of Zoology. Carnivorous sponges in fact display very high diversity in the deep ocean, especially in the Pacific where most of the collected specimens appear as undescribed taxa. Among these, Chondrocladia turbiformis displays a special type of spicule for which the new term “trochirhabd” has been coined. Similar spicules were known from fossil strata of the Early Jurassic, suggesting that carnivorous sponges were already present in the Mesozoic. The name turbiformis derives from the spindle or whirl-shaped form of the characteristic trochirhabds (Latin, turbo, spinning top, disc)."