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Nature or nurture? Turns out we're a little of both. Recently scientists decided to see if who we really are is more what's inside us or what happens to us outside in the world.  Guess what?  Both. As someone who is prone to pessimism, I was long ago counseled to change the way I looked at things rather than bumping my head up against things I cannot control.  It took a very long time but finally I began to see that not winning a statewide writing award didn't mean I was a bad writer, just that, this particular time, people wrote articles and essays that were better than mine. Then, when it turned out I did win, I had almost forgotten about it.  (I won first place.) Of course, it's not easy to look at the dark side of life and be optimistic.  But I wouldn't call trying to hold on to perspective -- because that's what it is -- a bad thing. I remember in fourth grade, when my son didn't get the "star" teacher and I was convinced that his ...

Did you know being happier could lead to a healthier environment? Well, it's not quite that simple.  But a new study has found that the pursuit of true happiness can lead people to lifestyles that will not only be satisfying but will be better for the environment,according to newswise.com. "For decades, consumerism has been on a collision course with the environment, with consumer appetites draining the planet of natural resources and accelerating global warming. One view is that we need to change consumption in order to save the planet,”Miriam Tatzel, PhD, of Empire State College, tells newswise.com. “But what if we approached it from the other way around? What if what’s good for the consumer meets what’s good for the environment?”  Positive psychology, or the study of happiness, well-being and quality of life, provides the answers to what really brings happiness to consumers, Tatzel said. Several studies have determined that people’s basic psychological need...

A while back I was intrigued by a new area of research that delved into what effect the environment of the womb had on a fetus.  It had an unusual name, fetal origins , and it was built around how the first nine months of a fetus' life -- and its interactions with its mother before it's born -- has a huge impact on its life. I didn't hear much more about it until today, when I came across a story at newswise.com about how hair from a newborn can tell a lot about what went on in the womb, while it was "hatching." " It can tell if a person recently used drugs or an athlete was doping. It can provide information about hormones and expose environmental toxins," the Web site reports. "It  can also reveal the womb environment in which an infant formed." Why care?  As I found out earlier, a mother's uterus affects which genes are turned on in the fetus, and how the first nine months of your life shape the rest of it is now becoming more an...

Could it possibly be true?  Could they have found a cause for autism? A new study could have important implications for ASD detection and prevention. A new study says so.  According to newswise.com, "Problems with a key group of enzymes called topoisomerases can have profound effects on the genetic machinery behind brain development and potentially lead to autism spectrum disorder (ASD)." The Web site attributed the significant advance in the hunt for environmental factors behind autism to scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, who made this finding which lends new insights into the disorder’s genetic causes. "Our study shows the magnitude of what can happen if topoisomerases are impaired,” said senior study author Mark Zylka, PhD, associate professor in the Neuroscience Center and the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology at UNC. “Inhibiting these enzymes has the potential to profoundly affect neurodevelopment — perhaps even more so...