Video game Players Are More Creative and A New Effective Treatment for Cystic Fibrosis

So at last we all know that all Video games are not bad….

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Both boys and girls who play video games tend to be more creative, regardless of whether the games are violent or nonviolent, according to new research by Michigan State University scholars.A study of nearly 500 12-year-olds found that the more kids played video games, the more creative they were in tasks such as drawing pictures and writing stories. In contrast, use of cell phones, the Internet and computers (other than for video games) was unrelated to creativity, the study found.

Linda Jackson, professor of psychology and lead researcher on the project, said the study appears to be the first evidence-based demonstration of a relationship between technology use and creativity. About 72 percent of U.S. households play video or computer games, according to the Entertainment Software Association.The MSU findings should motivate game designers to identify the aspects of video game activity that are responsible for the creative effects, Jackson said.“Once they do that, video games can be designed to optimize the development of creativity while retaining their entertainment values such that a new generation of video games will blur the distinction between education and entertainment,” Jackson said. The researchers surveyed 491 middle-school students as part of MSU’s Children and Technology Project, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. The survey assessed how often the students used different forms of technology and gauged their creativity with the widely used Torrance Test of Creativity-Figural.The Torrance test involved tasks such as drawing an “interesting and exciting” picture from a curved shape, giving the picture a title and then writing a story about it.In addition, the study found that boys played video games more than girls, and that boys favored games of violence and sports while girls favored games involving interaction with others (human or nonhuman).

Yet, regardless of gender, race or type of game played by the students, the study found a relation between video game playing and greater creativity. (Source: Computers in Human Behavior).

New And Effective Treatment for Cystic Fibrosis (ivacaftor (VX-770)

This drug is good hope for people suffering from Cystic Fibrosis…

A new study has confirmed that the drug, ivacaftor (VX-770), significantly improves lung function in some people with cystic fibrosis (CF). The results of the phase III clinical trial study, “A CFTR Potentiator in Patients with Cystic Fibrosis and the G551D Mutation,” led by Bonnie W. Ramsey, MD of Seattle Children’s Research Institute and the University of Washington, were published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.Ivacaftor, also known as VX-770, was developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals with financial support from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The oral medicine targets the defective protein produced by the gene mutation called G551D that causes CF.  Researchers found that patients carrying G551D – approximately four per cent of all CF patients – who were treated with VX-770 showed a 17 per cent relative improvement in lung function that was sustained over the course of 48 weeks.Additionally, patients with G551D treated with VX-770 showed improvements in other areas critically important to the health of people with CF. Study participants experienced significant reductions in sweat chloride levels indicating an improvement in the body’s ability to carry salt in and out of cells – a process which when defective leads to CF. They also experienced decreased respiratory distress symptoms and improved weight gain.  Those who received VX-770 gained on average seven pounds compared to those in the placebo group who gained approximately one pound. This is significant because many people with CF have difficulty gaining and maintaining weight due to reduced lung function and chronic infection.

“Our study shows that we are now able to improve the quality of life for cystic fibrosis patients with the G551D mutation with the administration of VX-770,” said Dr. Ramsey, director of the Center for Clinical and Translational Research at Seattle Children’s Research Institute and endowed chair in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine.Dr. Ramsey and co-investigators evaluated lung function in patients 12 years or older who carry at least one copy of the G551D mutation. The study included 161 patients at multiple healthcare centers who received at least one dose of VX-770 or placebo. The study is the third and final in a series designed to assess VX-770’s effectiveness and safety before it is approved for public use.Dr. Ramsey and co-investigators evaluated lung function in patients 12 years or older who carry at least one copy of the G551D mutation. The study included 161 patients at multiple healthcare centers who received at least one dose of VX-770 or placebo. The study is the third and final in a series designed to assess VX-770’s effectiveness and safety before it is approved for public use.  (Source-New England Journal of Medicine)