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Home > UC Science Today > The weekly roundup - December 9th
Podcast: UC Science Today
Episode:

The weekly roundup - December 9th
Category: Science & Medicine
Duration: 00:02:05
Publish Date: 2016-12-10 03:05:39
Description: It’s time for the weekly roundup again. This week we spoke to a research scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory about how the amount of carbon dioxide that trees and plants have been grabbing from the atmosphere has increased over the years. Trevor Keenan says explains that plants have been ‘inhaling’ more carbon dioxide through photosynthesis but they did not ‘exhale’ more CO2 into the atmosphere through respiration. "So, this is called the CO2 fertilization effect, a well-known and widely-studied effect of how CO2 affects plants. During the last decade, CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere continue to go up and this means that plants have more CO2 to use." And while this sounds like a good thing, Keenan warns that the threat of global warming is still there and this study underscores the value of protecting vital ecosystems. Next up, we find out that economic hardship can actually shape the way our brain works. Psychiatrist Kristine Yaffe of UC San Francisco explains that poverty affects cognitive function due to a concept called ‘cognitive reserve’. "And what that means is the more you grow your brain, the more you have education, the more it is simulated, the more complex your occupation is, the more complex your lifestyle activities are, your leisure activities." By understanding this, Yaffe hopes researchers can help prevent cognitive diseases later in life. And speaking of issues later in life, we really enjoyed our time with Dilip Jeste, a geriatric neuropsychiatrist at UC San Diego. He told us that the mental health of older adults actually improves with time, even in those with physical ailments. "We wanted to look at, not only the physical illnesses and cognitive problem, but also the positive characteristics. Things like resilience, optimism, social engagement, compassion, wisdom. So, we got a much more comprehensive understanding of aging that many of the studies do." To hear these episodes and more like them, subscribe to Science Today on iTunes. You can also follow us on Soundcloud or Facebook. Thanks for listening…until next time, I’m Larissa Branin. Subscribe to Science Today: iTunes: apple.co/1TQBewD Stitcher: www.stitcher.com/podcast/science-today Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ucsciencetoday Stories mentioned in this roundup: https://soundcloud.com/sciencetoday/plants_carbon https://soundcloud.com/sciencetoday/brain_poverty https://soundcloud.com/sciencetoday/aging_happy
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