Yes, science has done it again: Heavy marijuana use can mess with a teen's brain. The study, detailed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that of the 1,000 New Zealanders followed, those who started using pot as teenagers and used it for years afterward lost some of their smarts; more specifically, they had an average decline in IQ of 8 points, between age 13 and age 38.
"The simple message is that substance use is not healthy for kids," study researcher Avshalom Caspi, a psychologist at Duke University and the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, said in a statement. "That's true for tobacco, alcohol, and apparently for cannabis."
10. Driving when drunk is unsafe
Drinking and driving really is dangerous. A study out this year showed that as a person's blood-alcohol level increased so did their risk of being killed or involved in a fatal crash, regardless of their age. For instance, compared with sober drivers of the same age, individuals who were ages 16 to 20 with a blood alcohol between 0.02 and 0.05 were nearly three times as likely to be involved in a fatal crash. The study, detailed in May in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, also found that more underage females who have been drinking alcohol are at risk for being in a fatal car crash compared with 2007. The researchers aren't sure what's behind the increase, but speculate girls are taking more risks nowadays.
11. High heels are bad for your feet
Cramming your feet into tight-fitting shoes with inches-long heels on the bottom can hurt your feet. The new finding out this year? High heel-wearing is linked to ingrown toenails. So who would've guessed that wearing tight-fitting shoes with a steep slope down is one of the most common causes a foot problem in which the toes get compressed so much that the big toenail grows into the skin? But seriously, while often an ingrown nail is just an annoyance, it can get infected and even require surgical removal of the entire nail.
To avoid the pesky podiatry problem, Rodney Stuck, a professor of podiatry at the Loyola University Health System, recommended buying less-tight-fitting heels (yes), and ditching the fashion statements on days when you plan to do a lot of walking and standing.
12. Screaming at your child is harmful to your child
Psychological child abuse, such as belittling, terrorizing, exploiting and neglecting emotionally, can damage a kid's health.
"We are talking about extremes and the likelihood of harm, or risk of harm, resulting from the kinds of behavior that make a child feel worthless, unloved or unwanted," Dr. Harriet MacMillan of McMaster University said in a statement. MacMillan added that examples would include a mother leaving her infant alone in a crib all day or a father pulling his teen into his own drug habit. Such abuse can be as harmful to children as physical harm, the researchers reported in August in the journal Pediatrics.
- 50 Sultry Facts About Sex
- The 10 Weirdest Animal Discoveries of 2012
- Trippy Tales: The History of 8 Hallucinogens
Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
See what we're tweeting about
14 Comments
Add CommentMy favorite is #9; #9; #9.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGee, I thought this was a real science magazine, not "Science for Dummies". None of these items are even remotely new or interesting for anyone into science.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisthats why its called "12 Obvious Science Findings of 2012"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisits tongue in cheek. maybe you could use "English for Dummies"
"None of these items are even remotely new or interesting for anyone into science."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnd yet they were all subject to scientific study by people that get paid to do science this year. Perhaps #13 should be, "despite thousands of years of evolution and being the smartest animal on the planet there is still no point that doesn't go way over at least one person's head"?
Is there a study on the existance of "common sense"?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI can´t believe this has been posted. It is really way below a relevant level of information and novelty
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt is not clear to me that calling an ambulance in Turkey would necessarily result in faster treatment than getting a friend to drive you to the hospital. I'm not saying that it wouldn't, just that it is not necessarily true.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis study supports the notion that in Turkey as elsewhere calling an ambulance is the better choice. The fact that the majority of Turks do not use ambulances suggest that this proficiency may be a new development.
Interesting study.
While I am aware that exercise is good for me it is nice to have documented studies to show that regular participation in organized sports is good for the mental health of teens.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSuch studies can be useful when applied in discussions of choices to be made in cutback to school programs. I.E. keep a sports program to help the general mental health or retain specialist counselors to deal with aftermath of lack of physical activity.
What an odd choice of photo to use for this story. And it's my photo of my pet duck, no less. What is the point of this photo for this story? Random.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWell, Duh.....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCommon sense is still a very rare commodity
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA great mind once said that 'There are two thing that are infinite. The Universe & human stupidity'
30 lives lost every day, by PEOPLE shooting guns.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is a very biased short sighted view & and a misdirection.
What about the number of people killed by cars ?
Oh! i'm sorry cars don't kill people IT'S THE IDIOT DRIVERS WHO DO !!!
As was written (tongue in cheek?) in a recent article in the Toronto Star by Susan Delacourt, "Cigarettes don't kill people, people who smoke cigarettes kill people.".
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe article was "We could learn a lot about gun control from the war on smoking" and can be read here:
bit.ly/UsQLWy
The rising time of the sun and moon are still measured. You can never know too much about anything. And despite the obviousness of the titles, we don'tknow that much about the topics (otherwise I'd be out with a hottie each Friday!)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this