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smoking

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·December 28, 2020·4 min read

Light Smokers May Not Escape Nicotine Addiction

Those who consider themselves to be light smokers, in that they smoke between one to four cigarettes a day, meet the criteria for nicotine addiction.

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·June 23, 2020·3 min read

Social and behavioral factors most commonly associated with death identified

Fifty-seven social and behavioral factors have been identified as the top contributors to increased mortality. Of those, smoking, divorce, and alcohol abuse are the top factors that are associated with a reduced lifespan.

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·May 29, 2020·3 min read

Age, sex and smoking influence opioid receptor function in the brain

Age, sex, and gender influence the organization of the brain's opioid system. Findings shed light on why there are significant differences between the opioid system on an individual level, and why some are more prone to developing opioid-linked pathologies than others.

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·May 18, 2020·3 min read

Smokers more likely to express ACE2 protein that coronavirus uses to enter human cells

Smoking increases the gene expression of ACE2, a protein that binds to SARS-CoV-2, increasing the risk of coronavirus infection. Findings suggest long-term smokers could have an increase of ACE2 in the lungs, leading to higher rates of morbidity in COVID-19 patients.

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·April 29, 2020·2 min read

Tobacco smoking increases lung entry points for COVID-19

Smoking remodels the gene expression of lung cells so that the ACE2 gene is more highly expressed in goblet cells. The effects of smoking on ACE2 pulmonary expression indicates an increase in the overall entry points for coronavirus and increases the risk for viral binding and entry of COVID-19 into the lungs.

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·March 30, 2020·3 min read

Gene involved in nicotine addiction identified

Study implicated the Slit3 gene in nicotine addiction.

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·January 9, 2020·6 min read

Link between emotion and addictive substance use explained

Sadness, but not all negative emotions, heighten cravings to smoke and increases the likelihood of relapse.

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·January 4, 2020·3 min read

The best way to ditch bad habits: what science can teach us

Was your New Year's resolution to ditch a bad habit? Researchers explore the best ways to curb your withdrawal and explain why relapse isn't always such a bad thing.

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·December 2, 2019·3 min read

Smoking may cause white scars on the brain

Smoking causes white matter scarring in the brain, and the effects do more harm than previously believed.

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·November 6, 2019·3 min read

Tobacco smoking increases risk of depression and schizophrenia

The link between smoking, depression, and schizophrenia is due, in part, to a causal effect of tobacco use. Findings reveal that smoking increased the risk of schizophrenia and depression. Additionally, depression and schizophrenia increased the likelihood of a person becoming nicotine dependent.

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·November 2, 2019·4 min read

Heavy smoking can have a damaging effect on facial aging

In addition to being detrimental to general health, heavy smoking has a causal effect on facial aging. Heavy smoking affects facial attractiveness and spurs earlier and increased skin wrinkling.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·October 28, 2019·3 min read

Direct relationship between depression and inflammation called into question

Disputing other findings, researchers report there is no direct link between inflammation and depression. The study reports depression may only have a link to inflammation as a result of specific lifestyle features, such as smoking or obesity.