Wednesday May 13, 2009

Natural Vitamin E Slashes Lung Cancer Risk by 55 Percent

David Gutierrez, NaturalNews.com   May 11, 2009

(NaturalNews) A higher intake of vitamin E can cut the risk of lung cancer by more than half, researchers from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center has found.

In a new study published in the International Journal of Cancer, researchers used the National Cancer Institute's Health Habits and History Questionnaire and Food Frequency Questionnaire to assess the dietary intakes of 1,088 lung cancer patients and 1,414 healthy participants. Participants were further surveyed about various lifestyle factors, including smoking.

The average age of the healthy participants was 60.8, while the average age of the lung cancer participants was 61.7.

Vitamin E occurs in two main groups, the tocopherols and tocotrienols. Each of these groups, in turn, contains four varieties, named alpha, beta, gamma and delta. For the current study, the researchers analyzed participants' dietary tocopherol intake, dividing it up based on which form it occurred in.

"To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to compare dietary intakes of the different forms of tocopherols (alpha-, beta-, gamma and delta-tocopherol) and lung cancer risk," the researchers wrote.

The researchers divided participants into groups based on intake of tocopherols in general and the four different varieties individually, then compared the rate of lung cancer between the groups.

Participants with the highest tocopherol intake were found to have a 55 percent lower risk of lung cancer than participants with the lowest intakes. The average intakes of the two groups were more than 12.95 milligrams per day and less than 6.68 milligrams per day, respectively.

A powerful protective correlation also showed up for alpha-tocopherol, with those consuming the most having a 53 percent lower risk of lung cancer than those with the lowest intake. The highest alpha-tocopherol intake averaged more than 7.73 milligrams per day, while the lowest averaged less than 4.13 milligrams per day.

Higher consumption of beta-, gamma- or delta-tocopherol alone, however, appeared to have no influence on cancer risk.

"We found consistent independent associations for increased dietary alpha-tocopherol intake and risk reduction but did not find independent associations for gamma-, beta- and delta-tocopherol in lung cancer risk," the researchers wrote.

The European diet typically contains vitamin E in the form of alpha-tocopherol, while the U.S. diet tends to contain it in the form of gamma-tocopherol. Vitamin pills contain mostly alpha-tocopherol.

The study was not designed to analyze by what mechanism tocopherols in general or alpha-tocopherol in particular might act to reduce cancer risk.

"Our data should be useful in stimulating additional epidemiologic and basic science research in the relationship of different forms of vitamin E and cancer," the researchers wrote.

Foods high in vitamin E include asparagus, avocado, green leafy vegetables, nuts, olives, seeds and wheat germ. A variety of vegetable oils, including canola, corn, cottonseed, red palm, sunflower and soybean are also high in the vitamin.

The new study is not the first to link vitamin E with cancer protection. The vitamin is well known to function as an antioxidant, meaning that it plays an important role in removing particles known as free radicals from the body. These electrically charged molecules are believed to be responsible for some of the cell damage that leads to cancer, other diseases, and the symptoms of aging.

Research has also suggested that vitamin E may help prevent or slow age-related decline. Elderly people with higher blood levels of the vitamin tend to be in better physical shape, while another study found that taking a vitamin E pill with a high-fat meal can stave off the memory decline that such foods tend to trigger in older adults.

Lung cancer is the world's most common cancer, and is responsible for more deaths than any other kind. In the Western world, it is the second most common cancer, but still the deadliest. Only 25 percent of cancer patients are still alive a year after diagnosis.
http://www.naturalnews.com/026242.html

Breastfeeding Halves SIDS Risk

David Gutierrez, NaturalNews.com  May 11, 2009

(NaturalNews) Babies who are breastfed for at least six months are significantly less likely to die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) than those who are formula fed, according to a study conducted by researchers from the German Study of Sudden Infant Death Study Group and the University of Munster, Germany, and published in the journal Pediatrics.

The study adds "to the body of evidence showing that breastfeeding reduces the risk of SIDS, and that this protection continues as long as the infant is breastfed," the researchers wrote.

The researchers compared breastfeeding rates among 333 infants who died of SIDS and 998 children of similar age who did not die. They found that while 83 percent of surviving infants were being breastfed at two weeks of age, only 50 percent of those who died of SIDS were. The rate of breastfeeding at one month was 72 percent among surviving children and only 40 percent among those who died of SIDS. This corresponded to a 50 percent lower risk of SIDS among children who were exclusively breastfed at the age of one month.

"In the last 20 years, the prevention campaigns to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome were very successful," the researchers wrote. "In some countries the advice to breastfeed is included in the campaigns' messages, but in other countries it is not."

Women should be encouraged to breastfeed exclusively until their children are at least six months old, the researchers said.

"In our study, 73 percent of the infants died before six months of age," they wrote. "The implication of our findings is that breastfeeding should be continued until the infant is six months of age and the risk of SIDS is low. Because breastfeeding rates are low in the socially deprived sections of our population, there should be special programs to encourage mothers of low socioeconomic status to breastfeed their infants not only for the established benefits of breastfeeding for the mother and infant but also to reduce the risk of SIDS in their infants."
http://www.naturalnews.com/026239.html

Pollution Causes Genetic Changes that Lead to Asthma

David Gutierrez, NaturalNews.com  May 9, 2009

(NaturalNews) Prenatal exposure to air pollution appears to cause genetic changes that predispose unborn infants to asthma later in life, according to a new study conducted by researchers from the Center for Environmental Genetics a the University of Cincinnati and published in the journal PLoS ONE.

"Our data support the concept that environmental exposures can interact with genes during key developmental periods to trigger disease onset later in life, and that tissues are being reprogrammed to become abnormal later," lead researcher Shuk-mei Ho said.

Researchers had pregnant women wear backpack air monitors that analyzed the women's exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a type of pollution produced by combustion that is characteristic of the air in high-traffic areas. The researchers also examined the expression of the ACSL3 gene in their unborn children.

High maternal exposure to PAHs was significantly associated with chemical changes in the fetus related to the expression of ASCL3. At the age of five, children who had exhibited these changes in the womb were significantly more likely to have asthma than children who had not. The researchers believe that air pollution induces changes in gene expression without actually changing the structure of the gene itself, as in a mutation.

"We know that children living in polluted areas have a higher incidence of asthma but what we didn't know was it was affecting a gene," said Keith Prowse, vice-president of the British Lung Foundation. "If you look at cord blood and you find the gene has been modified you know the child is more likely to get asthma so you can treat them early."

Scientists know that ASCL3 is expressed in the lung, and believe that it plays a role in setting or maintaining the structure of cell membranes. They do not yet know exactly how expression of the gene contributes to the development of asthma.
http://www.naturalnews.com/026235.html

Future Climate Change Likely To Cause More Respiratory Problems In Young Children

ScienceDaily (May 4, 2009) — More children will end up hospitalized over the next decade because of respiratory problems as a result of projected climate change, according to a new study from Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
The lead author of this research is Perry Elizabeth Sheffield, MD, Pediatric Environmental Health Fellow in the Department of Community and Preventive Medicine and the Department of Pediatrics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.* Mount Sinai worked with Natural Resources Defense Council and the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health on this eye-opening research that finds a direct connection between air pollution and the health of children.
Ozone has many known negative respiratory health effects to which children are particularly vulnerable. An important projected consequence of climate change is the increase in ground-level ozone. Urban areas such as the New York City metropolitan area are at a higher risk of increasing temperature compared to rural areas
For this study, Dr. Sheffield and her colleagues created a model describing future projected rates of respiratory hospitalizations for children less than two years of age using baseline NYC metropolitan area hospitalization rates from publicly available corresponding state Department of Health databases. These hospitalization rates were then compared to a previously developed dose-response relationship between ozone levels and pediatric respiratory hospitalizations, and the expected New York City eight-hour daily maximum ozone levels for the 2020s, as projected by a regional climate model created by the NY Climate and Health Project, supported by a grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency. Two separate future scenarios were used. The two scenarios differed by the amount of projected ozone precursor emissions (chemicals that are converted to ozone by light and heat).
In both scenarios, ozone levels rise by 2020. The study found that by 2020, respiratory hospitalizations are projected to rise between four and seven percent for children under two years old because of projected air pollution (ozone) increases. The scenario with increased ozone precursors showed less of an overall increase in hospital admissions because of a paradoxical reduction in ozone due to the effects of air pollutant interactions, sometimes referred to as the scavenger molecule effect. These are likely conservative estimates because population was held constant, a single dose response function was used for the entire area, and most counties were not weighted by race and ethnicity.
“These significant changes in children's hospitalizations from respiratory illnesses would be a direct result of projected climate-change effects on ground-level ozone concentrations,” said Dr. Sheffield. “This research is important because it shows that we as a country need to implement policies that both improve air quality and also prevent climate change because this could improve health in the present and prevent worsening respiratory illness in the future.”
“Our study supports the necessity of improving air pollution around the world. We need to begin to make these improvements through industry emission controls, traffic reduction policies, and increased enforcement of traffic regulations,” said study co-author Dr. Philip Landrigan, Professor and Chair of Community and Preventive Medicine, and Director of the Children's Environmental Health Center, at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
*The abstract was presented on May 3, 2009 at the Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090504205108.htm

Hot Flashes Linked To Lower Bone Density In Women

ScienceDaily (May 11, 2009) — UCLA researchers and colleagues analyzed data for 2,213 women between the ages of 42 and 52 who participated in the bone sub-study of the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation to determine whether women with vasomotor symptoms (VMS) — which include hot flashes and night sweats — had lower bone mineral density.
The researchers found that postmenopausal women with VMS had lower lumbar and total hip bone mineral density than those without VMS. Premenopausal women and early perimenopausal women who had VMS were found to have lower femoral neck bone mineral density than those without VMS.
UCLA study co-authors Dr. Carolyn J. Crandall, associate clinical professor of general internal medicine and health services research; Gail A. Greendale, professor of medicine in geriatrics; and Yan Zheng, of the division of general internal medicine and health services research, are available for interviews.
The research appeared in the March/April 2009 issue of the journal Menopause.The National Institute on Aging, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Nursing Research, and the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health supported this study.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090506094220.htm

Calorie Restriction Causes Temporal Changes In Liver Metabolism

ScienceDaily (May 10, 2009) — Moderate calorie restriction causes temporal changes in the liver and skeletal muscle metabolism, whereas moderate weight loss affects muscle, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute. In addition, researchers found that short-term calorie restriction (CR) with a low-carbohydrate diet caused a greater change in liver fat content and metabolic function than short-term CR with a high-carbohydrate diet.
Insulin resistance is the most common metabolic complication associated with obesity and is associated with an increased risk of developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and type 2 diabetes. Although an energy-deficit diet is the cornerstone of therapy for obesity, the most appropriate macronutrient composition of diet therapy needed to improve metabolic health remains controversial.
"Our data underscore the complexity of the metabolic effects of calorie restricition with diets that differ in macronutrient composition, and demonstrate differences among organ systems in the response to calorie restriction and subsequent weight loss," said Samuel Klein, MD, of the Washington University School of Medicine and lead author of the study. "Our findings help explain the rapid improvement in glucose levels observed after low-calorie diet therapy and bariatric surgery," he added.
In the present study, 22 obese patients were randomized to a high-carbohydrate or low-carbohydrate energy-deficit diet. A euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp, muscle biopsies and magnetic resonance spectroscopy were used to determine insulin action, cellular insulin signaling and intrahepatic triglyceride (IHTG) content before, after 48 hours and after ~11 wks (7 percent weight loss) of diet therapy. An euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp is a widely used experimental procedure for the determination of insulin sensitivity.
Researchers found that short-term CR caused a rapid decrease in IHTG content, an increase in hepatic insulin sensitivity and a decrease in endogenous glucose production rate, whereas longer-term CR and a moderate 7 percent weight loss improved skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity in conjunction with an increase in cellular insulin signaling. The effect of moderate CR in obese patients with either a low-fat or low-carbohydrate diet on metabolic function is a continuum, with differential effects on specific organ systems.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090504161659.htm

Red Fungus Turned Orange May Help Tackle Vitamin Deficiency

ScienceDaily (May 10, 2009) — The edible fungus Monascus purpureus imparts a distinct flavor and red color when added to fermented rice dishes such as those served in Asia. Now, with "a helping hand" from science, the fungus could offer a way to address a major public health concern: vitamin A deficiency (VAD).
Vitamin A deficiency is especially acute in Africa and Southeast Asia, according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) geneticist Daniel Skinner, who is studying Monascus. In malnourished children, for example, VAD is a leading cause of preventable blindness and increases the risk of illness and death from severe infections such as diarrheal disease.
Monascus' popularity in fermented rice, noodles and other dishes—especially those eaten in poor, rural areas of Asia—gave Skinner an idea. Why not replace the fungus' pigment-producing genes with two from another species that makes beta-carotene, which the human body readily converts to vitamin A? If such a feat could be accomplished, he reasoned, perhaps a beta-carotene-producing strain of Monascus could be substituted for the one now used in Asian foods, thus offering a way to address VAD in people en masse.
In studies at the ARS Wheat Genetics, Quality, Physiology and Disease Research Unit in Pullman, Wash., Skinner and his colleagues used equipment popularly called a gene gun to fire two copies of beta-carotene genes from the fungus Blakeslea trispora into the DNA of Monascus, enabling it to make the orange-colored pigment. Cheryl Vahling, an ARS molecular biologist at Pullman, and Kamolnan Taweeyanyongkul of Mission College in Saraburi, Thailand, collaborated with Skinner.
The researchers believe the modified Monascus can produce about as much beta-carotene as a carrot, under the right growth conditions. Skinner began researching the strategy in 2002 as part of a broader program to improve wheat's productivity and quality for domestic food use and export.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090510101752.htm

Meditate Your Way To Better Bladder Health

ScienceDaily (May 9, 2009) — After nine years of suffering in silence and living in fear of leaving the house, Anna Raisor, 53, turned to physicians at Loyola University Health System (LUHS) for alternative measures to treat the embarrassing side effects of incontinence.
LUHS physicians enrolled Raisor in a clinical trial using cognitive therapy to manage her overactive bladder. Cognitive therapy employs deep-breathing and guided-imagery exercises that train the brain to control the bladder without medication or surgery.
Findings from this study, which were presented May 4 at the American Urological Association's Annual Meeting in Chicago, Ill, revealed that cognitive therapy is an effective management strategy for urge incontinence. These results also were published in the latest issue of the Journal of Urology.
"The mind-body connection has proven to be particularly valuable for women suffering from incontinence," said study investigator Aaron Michelfelder, MD, vice chair, division of family medicine, Loyola University Health System, and associate professor, department of family medicine, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. "Cognitive therapy is effective with these women, because they are motivated to make a change and regain control over their body."
Michelfelder's patients attend an initial office visit where he introduces them to cognitive therapy. They then listen to an audio recording with a series of relaxation and visualization exercises at home twice a day for two weeks. Patients track the number of incontinence episodes that they experience in a pre- and post-therapy diary. The majority of patients, including Raisor, experienced a substantial improvement in symptoms.
The study evaluated a subset of 10 patients with a mean age of 62. Patients were eligible to participate in this study, if they had a diagnosis of overactive bladder (OAB), which is the sudden and unstoppable need to urinate. They also had to be stable on all OAB treatments for the past three months before entering the study. The data revealed that the average number of urge incontinence episodes per week decreased from 38 to 12.
"Nearly one in four women suffers from a pelvic floor disorder, which includes incontinence," said study investigator Mary Pat FitzGerald, MD, urogynecologist, Loyola University Health System, and associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. "Cognitive therapy may play a vital role in a comprehensive approach to treating this disorder."
Study investigators FitzGerald and fellow Shameem Abbasy, MD, are part of a team of LUHS urogynecologists who are combining the expertise of urologists and gynecologists to transform the way women with incontinence and other pelvic floor disorders are managed. Loyola University Health System's Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery Center was the first of its kind in greater Chicago. It is still one of the few centers in the country that offers a single location for the diagnosis and treatment of women with pelvic floor disorders.
In addition to using cognitive therapy to treat incontinence, LUHS urogynecologists have been using the robotic da VinciTM surgical system with positive outcomes for nearly two years. LUHS was one of the first groups in Chicago to offer this type of minimally invasive robotic surgery.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090504161657.htm

Hypothyroidism In Women Associated With Liver Cancer
ScienceDaily (May 8, 2009) —
Women with a history of hypothyroidism face a significantly higher risk of developing liver cancer, according to a new study.
Hypothyroidism is the most common thyroid disorder among U.S. adults, affecting between 8 and 12 percent of the U.S. population, and more women than men. The condition can cause hyperlipidemia and weight gain and may play a role in the development of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis which can progress to more severe liver disease. Studies have also suggested a clinical association between hypothyroidism and hepatitis C, which is contributing to the country’s rising rate of liver cancer.
 Researchers, led by Manal Hassan of Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas, designed a case-control study to better understand the association between hypothyroidism and the development of liver cancer, also known as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), in the U.S.
 They included 420 patients with liver cancer and 1,104 healthy controls. From each subject, the researchers gathered demographic data and information about liver cancer risk factors, like smoking, alcohol consumption and family cancer history. The participants were also asked about their history of thyroid conditions and obesity. They provided blood samples that were tested for hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
 About 15 percent of the liver cancer patients had a history of thyroid disease, compared to about 12 percent of the healthy controls. Subjects with a history of hypothyroidism had twice the risk of liver cancer; however the relationship was only significant for females.
 Women who had a prior history of hypothyroidism for more than 10 years had a threefold higher risk of liver cancer compared to women without a history of thyroid disorders. Adjusting for obesity did not change the association.
 “Whether and why hypothyroidism causes HCC is not clear,” the authors write. “However, the association between hypothyroidism and NASH can be explained by the underlying hyperlipidemia, decreased fatty acid oxidation insulin resistance and lipid peroxidation in patients with hypothyroidism.” And these conditions may make the patient susceptible to HCC development.
 “Further studies among different populations are warranted to confirm the association between hypothyroidism and HCC and to identify the underlying biological mechanisms and the genetic predisposition factors that may contribute to susceptibility to HCC development in the presence of thyroid disorders,” the authors conclude.
Hassan, Manal; Kaseb, Ahmed; Li, Donghui; Patt, Yehuda; Vauthey, Jean-Nicolas; Thomas, Melanie; Curley, Steven A.; Spitz, Margaret; Sherman, Steven; Abdalla, Eddie; Davila, Marta; Lozano, Richard; Hassan, Deena; Chan, Wenyaw; Brown, Thomas; Abbruzzese, James. Association Between Hypothyroidism and Hepatocellular Carcinoma: USA Case-Control Study. Hepatology, May 2009
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090504122115.htm

Will the economic crisis lead to major societal changes?

University of California – Los Angeles,  May 8, 2009

Professor's theory describes how values, behavior are shaped by societies

Why are former business executives and attorneys volunteering more time to help their communities? Why do the children of immigrants assume values very different from those of their parents? Why has the size of Japanese families declined substantially? A new theory of social change and development by UCLA distinguished professor of psychology Patricia Greenfield answers these and other questions and offers insights into the future.
A large number of immigrants came to Southern California in the 1980s and '90s from agricultural communities in Mexico and Asia, where they lived in poor, homogenous, rural villages made up of extended families and people who knew one another well, Greenfield said. In Southern California, they found culturally heterogeneous cities full of strangers and nuclear-family households. They were transplanted from environments in which a large part of learning takes place within the family to environments where most learning occurs in school.
The children of these immigrants, some of whom later became Greenfield's students, were thus exposed to two sets of values — those of their parents and those of their teachers — resulting in a move away from their parents' values and toward their teachers' values, which are more individualistic, Greenfield said.
Greenfield's theory, the first predictive theory in cultural psychology, explains these shifts in values and behaviors in terms of adaptation to these two very different types of environments.
"A number of students have said, 'Now I understand why I had fights with my parents; I understand my parents' point of view and the way they were brought up. I grew up here and developed a different value system, and we were in conflict,'" Greenfield said. "The children want to choose their own friends and go out with their friends — peer influence versus family influence.
"The immigrant students say, 'You've explained my life. Now I understand my mother much better. One Korean student said, 'I also understand my mother doesn't have the tools to understand me the way I can understand her.'"
Greenfield is working with immigrant adolescents and their parents to help parents understand the value system their children are exposed to in school and society "that is telling them to be independent and speak up, versus their parents, who are telling them to be interdependent with the family and to be respectful." And she is helping the adolescents see these two ways of being raised.
Greenfield's theory is based on concepts developed by the 19th-century German sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies, who distinguished between two social systems: Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft. (Greenfield still uses Tönnies' German words because they have a more specific connotation than their English translations).
Gemeinschaft ("community") refers to a small, rural, low-technology, face-to-face community that is relatively poor and based on informal education at home. Gesellschaft ("society") refers to a large, urban, heterogeneous, high-technology society that relies on electronic communication and formal, school-based education.
Greenfield's major theoretical contribution is to apply these concepts to construct a theory of social change and human development.
The world has been moving in a Gesellschaft direction, Greenfield says, with immigrants generally moving from poorer rural areas to richer urban cities.
One of Greenfield's additions to the theory is the idea that a Gemeinschaft society can become more Gesellschaft over time; there is no end-point. Cities in the U.S., she said, have become more Gesellschaft — more urbanized, richer and more high-tech.
Greenfield's theory predicts that the immigrants to Southern California would bring child-rearing values more adapted to a Gemeinschaft world into a Gesellschaft society. This sets the stage for conflicting socialization and developmental priorities between Los Angeles teachers and Latino immigrant parents. The same dynamic often applies to other immigrant groups, she said.
"We predicted, and found, an intergenerational difference," said Greenfield, director of the Children's Digital Media Center, Los Angeles. "Across generations, children's developmental trajectory is going in the direction of values adaptive in a Gesellschaft world."
Japan, Greenfield noted, has changed dramatically from its rural, agrarian roots before World War II; Japan's young people have become more individualistic as the country has become richer, more urban and more high-tech, with an increase in formal education and more Japanese women pursuing careers.
"It's a worldwide trend," she said. "The world has been moving in the Gesellschaft direction.
"Japan, for instance, was transformed after World War II from a primarily agricultural society through massive industrialization and urbanization; that's a basic Gemeinschaft-to-Gesellschaft shift. The wife and mother's role changed in adaptation to the new conditions. Women in Japan marry later and have children later, or not at all. As women get more education, they want careers. Japanese mothers have become more ambivalent toward parenting and have more frustration in not being able to pursue personal achievement in a chosen career; they have a sense that the social value of child-rearing is declining, that mothers get less respect as mothers.
"These sociodemographic changes altered the child's learning environment," Greenfield said. "Family size decreased from approximately five children per family in the 1920s to 1.46 per family in 1993. When family size decreases, each child gets more individual attention. In large families, one sibling takes care of another sibling — a collectivistic approach that decreases when families are smaller. More focus on the child is an adaptation to a Gesellschaft environment. School becomes more important in a Gesellschaft environment. The isolation of a nuclear family from the extended family increases; the family unit is smaller. The collective nature of the family declines."
As new generations of young adults are raised under these child-centered conditions, women's roles are determined much more by choice than ascribed by birth as daughter, wife and mother, Greenfield said. The tension between the old and new values produces conflict.
"Personal pleasure and women's personal achievement often replace social responsibility as values," she said. "However, change does not happen easily; conflict can arise between generations and between the way things used to be done and the new conditions. That happened in the United States from the 1950s to the 1980s, and one result has been a tremendous decline in respect for the role of mother."
However, the current worldwide financial crisis may reverse — at least temporarily — the direction of modern societies.
"In the United States and in other parts of the world, we are now moving in the other direction," Greenfield said. "I see signs of people becoming more community-minded as people are getting poorer. For example, former executives who are out of work are doing much more volunteering for nonprofit organizations, moving toward a focus on the common good. Lawyers and bankers are becoming teachers.
"I see this shift even in the election of Barack Obama at a time when we were all becoming poorer; he talks about community, and was a community organizer. There are already signs of more volunteering for community service projects, more time spent with family, more cooperation within families and less concern with material goods. Sharing with the extended family is central in a Gemeinschaft environment. If economic conditions continue to get more severe, I think we'll have more of a communitarian value system. However, these changes will only slightly reverse hundreds of years of movement in the other direction; we're still going to be relatively Gesellschaft in our psychological adaptations."
She predicts that more young people will be focused on helping their families and the community, especially as they get poorer.
Greenfield's theory was published in the March issue of Developmental Psychology, a journal of the American Psychological Association.
"My theory has to do with the idea that there are behavioral and socialization adaptations to a Gemeinschaft environment and to a Gesellschaft environment — and different adaptations, different behaviors and socialization are adapted to thrive and survive in each environment," Greenfield said. "These environments are made up of variables — such as urbanization, technology, formal education — and as these variables move in the Gesellschaft direction, behaviors, socialization and goals for development also move toward those that are more adapted to the Gesellschaft environment. If, as now, you have movement of the environment in the other direction, then my theory predicts movement of behavior, socialization, developmental goals in the other direction.
"As your environment changes, for example, by becoming poorer, then your value system will also shift. However, it takes a couple of generations to produce a dramatic change in society.
"We have become more Gesellschaft — more urbanized, richer, more high-tech, more formal education — over time. That long-term trend has been temporarily reversed, at least in the variables of wealth and commerce. I believe that people are beginning to adapt to that social change by socializing an altered course of human development."
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-05/uoc--wte050809.php

African tribe colonized world 70,000 yrs ago
TIMES OF INDIA,  11 May 2009,

A single tribe of around 200 people which crossed the Red Sea 70,000 years ago is responsible for the existence of the entire human race outside Africa, a new study has found.

Research by geneticists and archaeologists has allowed them to trace the origins of modern homo sapiens back to a single group of people who managed to cross from the Horn of Africa and into Arabia. From there they went on to colonise the rest of the world.

While there are 14 ancestral populations in Africa itself, just one seems to have survived outside of the continent, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The latest genetic research has shown that it was not until around 70,000 years ago that humans were able to take advantage of falling sea levels to cross into Arabia at the mouth of the Red Sea, which is now known as the Gate of Grief.

At the time the 18 mile gap between the continents would have dropped to just 8 miles. It is not clear how they might have made such a journey but once a cross, the humans were able to spread along the Arabian coast where fresh water springs helped support them.

It has long been assumed that humans success in spreading around the world was due to their adaptability and hunting skills. The latest research, however, suggests that the very early human pioneers who ventured out of Africa owe far more of their success to luck and favourable changes in climate change than had previously been realised.

Stephen Oppenheimer, a geneticist at Oxford University, said: “What you can see from the DNA of all non-Africans is that they all belong to one tiny African branch that came across the Red Sea. If it was easy to get out of Africa we would have seen multiple African lineages in the DNA of non-Africans but that there was only one successful exit suggests it must have been very tough to get out”.