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Issue 70
May 2008

Welcome to the 70th edition of Flash, our bi-weekly alert for science, health and medical journalists. Flash is a courtesy service with access to ScienceDirect, Elsevier’s online platform, providing full text access to some 2,000 scientific, technical and medical journals.

If you report a story, we would ask that you credit Elsevier’s journal as the source.

Please use your Flash login and password to access each article’s full text on ScienceDirect. For a new password, forgotten passwords or if you have any feedback, please contact Anna Hogrebe at newsroom@elsevier.com or at +31 20 485 3269.

ARTICLES

1. HOW ATTRACTIVE IS YOUR PARTNER TO YOU?

How do you rate your partner when it comes to physical attractiveness? Do you see them like everyone else, or do you place them on a pedestal?

New research featured in Elsevier’s Body Image takes a closer look at these questions, interviewing 93 heterosexual couples with a mean relationship length of 14 years. The couples provided ratings of both their own and their partner’s physical attractiveness, and findings supported the theory that individuals hold positive illusions about their partner’s physical state. Simply put, individuals tended to rate their partner’s physical attractiveness higher than the mate perceived him or herself.

These positive illusions illustrate a partner’s tendency to idealise a romantic partner. It also shines light on the fact that people tend to be more self-critical about their appearance than they need to be, at least when it comes to their partner. Women typically believe that men prefer a female shape that is thinner and large-busted, and men assume that women want a heavier, more muscular physique. It turns out both sexes can probably cut themselves a little slack since they’ll likely find a mate who sees them as beautiful – flaws and all.

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2. POP CULTURE IN MYSPACE AND FACEBOOK – WHAT DOES YOUR ONLINE IDENTITY SAY ABOUT YOU?

Social networks such as MySpace and Facebook are everywhere and more and more, people – especially young people – are turning to the internet to express themselves and network with friends. But if a stranger viewed your page, what impression would they get from the references and content you display?

By interviewing university students and studying their personal web pages, a study in Elsevier’s latest Computers and Composition has assessed pop culture references, online literacy practices and how individuals represent themselves on the Internet.

Key findings show that students largely rely on popular content and references to compose their identities and when reading the identities of others. By using popular icons, catch phrases, music, text and film clips, the students create a glimpse of what they like and hate. However, it was also found that a stranger viewing the site may not always get a true sense of the individual’s personality. For example, does a picture of Johnny Depp mean you love his movies, have a crush on him, or agree with him politically? It’s hard to say judging solely from their MySpace page. The intertextual layers of meaning in popular culture texts can undermine, or at least be read far differently than the writers’ intentions.

Although in general, the students said they did not think about how the popular culture content on a page might work as a complete text, they did talk about their concerns about how their pages might be read by both friends and strangers. Overall, this paper provides a glimpse as to how students use pop culture references to create their online identity.

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3. ENQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW: HOW KIDS ARE USING THE WEB TO SEEK OUT HEALTH INFORMATION

It may surprise you to know that your kids are doing more than just fooling around on the internet. Recent surveys in the US report that almost as many young people (73 to 75 percent) as adults (79 to 84 percent) use the internet to find health information. More young people have searched for health information than have used the internet to play games, download music or check sports scores.

A new study in Elsevier’s Patient Education and Counseling has analysed UK website Children First for Health (which currently receives about 60,000 page visits per month) to examine how young people use the web for sourcing health information. Among other things, the site allows visitors to submit requests for health information anonymously or via e-mail.

The most common topic requests were psychosocial and physical development issues (i.e. puberty and menstruation). Findings suggest other information sources may lack sufficient detail on these topics, or perhaps adolescents simply feel more comfortable seeking information about embarrassing, sensitive or personal topics in a more private manner.

The study concludes that as children and young people continue to expand their internet use, the healthcare professions must improve the availability and usability of health information. Additionally, while some of these topics can be embarrassing to discuss, professionals and parents should continue to seek out opportunities to engage in face-to-face discussions.

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4. PURPLE PASSION FRUIT PEEL – COULD IT BE THE CURE FOR ASTHMA?

With asthma affecting as many as 400 million individuals worldwide, it’s no wonder scientists continue to seek out new and innovative treatments to control the disease’s ailing symptoms of wheezing, coughing and struggling for air.

In Elsevier’s latest Nutrition Research, researchers examine a new treatment – specifically the efficacy of the purple passion fruit peel (PFP) extract. Patients were studied over a four-week period with roughly half receiving a placebo and half receiving an oral administration of the extract.

Results show that the oral administration of the PFP extract significantly improved the symptoms of asthma after only four weeks of supplementation. Patients experienced less wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath compared to the placebo group.

This clinical study indicates that the PFP extract may be a valuable nutriceutical supplement in the management of chronic asthma, and could perhaps replace standard anti-asthmatic drugs. The study concludes that a natural dietary supplement, such as PFP, with low or no toxicity could be an attractive candidate for further development.

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The Scirus tool bar makes it easier than ever to find scientific, technical and medical information on the Web and is quick and easy to install. After installing, the Scirus toolbar conveniently appears below your Internet Explorer address bar, meaning you have scientific searches at your fingertips, wherever you are on the Web. Link to Scirus: http://www.scirus.com/toolbar. If your browser does not support HTML, you may need to copy the links below and paste them into your browser to access the articles:

1. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2007.07.004
2. doi:10.1016/j.compcom.2007.09.005
3. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2008.02.014
4. doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2008.01.003