Researchers tap into NRIs’ genome

Despite the fact that the people of India constitute more than one-sixth of the world’s entire population, they have been under represented in studies related to genetic diseases. In response to this, researchers from the University of Southern California and the University of Michigan have conducted genetic analysis of India-born individuals in the US. For their study, the researchers analysed 1,200 genome-wide polymorphisms collected from 432 individuals representing 15 different Indian populations. The researchers found that populations from India, and more generally South Asia, make up one of the major human ancestry groups, with relatively little genetic differentiation among Indian populations. The study was published online in the journal PLoS Genetics.

Unbelted passengers deadly

New research shows that unbelted backseat passengers risk injury or death to themselves and the driver in the event of a head-on crash, according to researchers at the University of Buffalo. Automobile sled tests simulating head-on crashes between two vehicles and using crash-test dummies have demonstrated the likelihood of severe head and chest traumas for driver and passenger caused by an unbelted passenger slamming into the seat of a belted driver. The risk of severe injury was not evident during sled tests involving driver and passenger dummies restrained by seat belts, according to the researchers. The research was published in the Journal of Trauma.

Psychology relief to back pain

Psychological interventions for chronic low back pain are effective, a new review of studies has found. Not only do these approaches improve psychological outcomes such as depression and health-related quality of life, they also reduce patients’ experience of pain, according to the review published in the journal Health Psychology. “Because this analysis was both more inclusive and more conservative than previous reviews, we have the best evidence to date that these interventions are helpful,” says psychologist and review lead author Robert Kerns of the VA Connecticut Healthcare System.

Smell makes a wine expert

You don’t need to sign up for pricey wine appreciation classes to parse the subtle difference between vintage wines. Just pour yourself a couple glasses and sniff. Your brain will quickly help you become a modest oenophile, according to the journal Neuron. A study by Northwestern University researchers shows that the brain learns to differentiate between similar smells simply through passive experience.