Weird Science: Xmas wine a migraine-maker

A study from the Netherlands has shown that 36 per cent of people with migraines believe that drinking alcohol can trigger a migraine. Photo / 123RF

If you're prone to migraines, you might want to reconsider that Chrissy tipple.

That's because a study from the Netherlands has shown that 36 per cent of people with migraines believe that drinking alcohol can trigger a migraine.

The study found that the majority of people with migraines believe that wine, especially red wine, is the most common culprit, although red wine consistently led to an attack in only 8.8 per cent of participants.

Additionally, more than 25 per cent of migraine patients who had stopped consuming or never consumed alcoholic beverages did so because of presumed trigger effects.

The migraines usually started less than three hours after drinking, suggesting a different mechanism than a normal hangover.

The researchers say it is still up for debate as to whether alcohol is actually a trigger or if it is more about people's beliefs.

The authors noted that it could be debated if alcohol was a factual or a presumed trigger.

Meanwhile, another study has revealed how the risk of heart attack peaks at around 10pm on Christmas Eve, particularly for older and sicker people, most likely due to heightened emotional stress.

The risk was also higher during New Year's and mid-summer holidays, and on Monday mornings, but not during the Easter holiday or major sports events.

The Swedish researchers behind the study looked at the timing of more than 280,000 heart attacks over 16 years and found Christmas was linked to a 15 per cent higher heart attack risk overall and a 37 per cent higher risk on Christmas Eve.

Trump's slimy new namesake

Global firm EnviroBuild paid $25,000 at auction to secure the naming rights of the species of limbless caecilian, discovered in Panama, and then dubbed it Dermophis donaldtrumpi. Photo / EnviroBuild

A blind amphibian that burrows its head underground has been named after Donald Trump, as a swipe at the US President's dismal stance on climate change.

Global firm EnviroBuild paid $25,000 at auction to secure the naming rights of the species of limbless caecilian, discovered in Panama, and then dubbed it Dermophis donaldtrumpi.

"The amphibians live almost entirely underground, believed to have lost their limbs at least 60 million years ago, as an adaptation to burrowing," the company wrote in a blog post.

"Burrowing his head underground helps Donald Trump when avoiding scientific consensus on anthropomorphic climate change and appointing energy lobbyists to the Environment Agency, where their job is to regulate the energy industry."

No one thought to ask, however, how the creature might have felt about being given its unfortunate title.

How Neanderthal are you?

This image shows that one of the features that distinguishes modern humans (right) from Neanderthals (left) is a globular shape of the braincase. Photo / Philipp Gunz

Speaking of Neanderthals, German researchers have discovered those of us who carry particular fragments of Neanderthal DNA have slightly less rounded heads than people without them.

The scientists say this variation in skull shape gives clues to the evolution of our brains and how they work.

But they stress that the effects of carrying these rare Neanderthal fragments are subtle and only detectable in a very large sample size.

"The Neanderthal variants lead to small changes in gene activity and only push people slightly towards a less globular brain shape," said Simon Fisher, a geneticist at the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics.

"This is just our first glimpse of the molecular underpinnings of this phenotype, which is likely to involve many other genes."

The researchers are preparing to scale up their approach and apply it to tens of thousands of people. That will enable them to carry out a genome-wide screen to reveal additional genes associated with cranial roundness and other biological characteristics.