But, who was the poor PhD candidate who had to use the satellite images to measure green space around the test subjects' home? I always think what a glamorous job being a scientist must be, but then I think about this kind of thing... analyzing and measuring the same thing day after day. Now, I am only speculating here... I don't have any lab experience... What about the PhD candidate analyzing the fecal samples from the American Gut Project? (I am not sure I have posted on the American Gut Project, but Dr. Martin Blaser is involved in it, and we talked about him here.) How about opening all those test tubes with swabs loaded with shit? I guess you get used to it after a while... like a parent changing a dirty diaper...
I got this from the July 3rd print edition of the Week Magazine.
Exposure to nature is good for kids’ brains, a new study has found. During a 12-month study of 2,593 second- through fourth-graders in Barcelona, researchers used satellite images to assess the amount of “green space” around the children’s homes and schools—grassy fields, trees, and plants. They also measured local levels of traffic-related air pollution. Cognitive tests revealed the kids exposed to more green spaces, particularly at school, experienced a 5 percent increase in working memory and a 1 percent drop in inattentiveness, The Washington Post reports. Why? Scientists theorize that trees and shrubbery help absorb air pollution and cut down on noise; natural environments also improve cognitive development by allowing children to make more discoveries and feel a sense of wonder. “I think it’s also some kind of direct effect,” says study author Mark Nieuwenhuijsen. “You see quite a beneficial effect of green space on mental health.”
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