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Do remote work and video meetings actually tax our brain more than in-person work? According to Microsoft, due to high levels of sustained concentration, the brain fatigue begins to set in 30-40 minutes into a video meeting. Moreover, those who work from remote locations for a longer time, it becomes actually difficult for them to adapt to office settings afterwards, according to the company. As millions of people work remotely, video conferences and online events have become a norm but this has taken a definite toll on people's minds. According to Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President for  Microsoft  365, a commonly discussed pain point of remote work is that it can feel more challenging or tiring than in-person collaboration. "Researchers from our 'Human Factors Labs' recently set out to understand this phenomenon. Do remote work and video meetings actually tax our brain more than in-person work? The brain science suggests, yes," said ...

Business Standard : Bones of children born in the most recent century reach full maturity earlier than it used to before, a new study has found. Today's children have bones that reach full maturity earlier - by nearly 10 months in girls and nearly seven months in boys, the study suggests. "Our findings show there is a "new normal" for timing when kids' skeletons will reach full maturity," said Dana Duren, lead author of the research. As part of the study published in the Journal of Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, the research team, led by Duren, assessed the radiographs of more than 1,000 children born between 1915 and 2006. The team evaluated radiographs of the bones in the hands and wrists to determine the precise timing of the beginning and end of a developmental process called epiphyseal fusion. "We focused on epiphyseal fusion because it signals the end of the growth of the bone. It begins when the growth plate, whi...

Business Standard : According to a new research, inhibiting a protein within blood vessels can stimulate their growth, resulting in healthier fat tissue and lower blood sugar levels. A research conducted at the York University gave insights on improving blood vessel growth and showed how to mitigate serious health problems that arise with obesity, such as diabetes. The findings of the study are published in the journal ELife . The researchers investigated a process of the vascular system called angiogenesis and whether inhibiting FoxO1 protein would stimulate adipose angiogenesis. Angiogenesis is the formation of tiny blood vessels called capillaries. It helps to maintain normal healthy functions in tissue, particularly when that tissue enlarges. However, when the tissue expands as it stores excess fat, angiogenesis is repressed and new capillaries fail to grow. This results in unhealthy adipose tissue , which increases the risk of developing diabetes and cardiovasc...

Business Standard : According to a medical study, dry eyes condition in humans can significantly reduce the rate of reading and may cause disruption in daily tasks that require visual concentration for long periods. The chronic dry eye is a common disease in which natural tears fail to adequately lubricate the eyes, thus drastically affecting its functioning. The study was conducted on 186 adults and was published in Journal Optometry and Vision Science. Dry eye specialists at Johns Hopkins Medicine mentioned that chronic dry eye condition can slow down a person's reading speed by as much as 10 percent and can make it difficult to read for more than an average of 30 minutes. According to researchers, dry eye affects millions of adults , primarily those in the age group of 50 and older. It causes ocular discomfort and visual problems. "Many of my patients have perfect vision on standard eye tests but complain they cannot drive at nighttime or in unfamiliar areas, read...

A new research has suggested that higher-level brain functions play a major role in losing weight . In the study among 24 participants at a weight-loss clinic, those who achieved the greatest success in terms of weight loss demonstrated more activity in the brain regions of the lateral prefrontal cortex associated with self-control. The results of the study were published in the Journal of Cell Metabolism. "What we found is that in humans, the control of body weight is dependent largely on the areas of the brain involved in self-control and self-regulation. That area of the brain has the ability to take into account long-term information, such as the desire to be healthy, in order to control immediate desires," said Alain Dagher of the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital in Canada. Two hormones, leptin and ghrelin, are known to trigger the body to eat in a weight-loss setting. Previous research confirms that these hormone levels change rapidly when ...

Exercising your legs is necessary for a healthy brain and nervous system, said a new study that showed that neurological health depends on signals sent by leg muscles to the brain and vice versa. The results gave doctors new clues as to why patients with motor neuron disease, multiple sclerosis, spinal muscular atrophy and other neurological diseases often rapidly decline when their movement becomes limited. Reducing exercise makes it difficult for the body to produce new nerve cells -- some of the very building blocks that allows one to adapt to stress and challenges in life. "Our study supports the notion that people who are unable to do load-bearing exercises -- such as patients who are bed-ridden, or even astronauts on extended travel -- not only lose muscle mass, but their body chemistry is altered at the cellular level and even their nervous system is adversely impacted," said Raffaella Adami from the University of Milan, in Italy. During the study,...