The brain’s “sense of adventure” has been identified by scientists, and it explains why we succumb to advertising.

They discovered that humans are programmed to try new things, such as a familiar product in an unfamiliar package or one that claims a new formula.

Scientists in London found that we all possess the key brain region, which acts on the same pleasure pathways that make drugs addictive.

The region is activated when we choose unfamiliar options, suggesting that having an adventurous spirit and trying new things helped our ancestors to survive.

However, while rewarding the brain for trying new things may prove advantageous, it also means we become suckers for advertising.

“I might have my own favorite choice of chocolate bar, but if I see a different bar repackaged, advertising its ‘new, improved flavor,’ my search for novel experiences may encourage me to move away from my usual choice,” a spokeswoman at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at University College London, Dr. Bianca Wittmann. said.

Rewarding the brain for novel choices may have a more serious side-effect, argued Professor Nathaniel Daw, who also worked on the study published in the journal Neuron.

“The novelty bonus may be useful in helping us make complex, uncertain decisions, but it clearly has a downside,” Mr. Daw said. “In humans, increased novelty-seeking may play a role in gambling and drug addiction.”

The find was made using a type of brain scanner that measures blood flow in the brain to highlight which areas are most active.

Fruit Juice May Encourage A Pot Belly

Drinking fruit juices could be bad for you because they encourage the development of a pot belly, a Californian study suggests.

Researchers found that fruit sugars, known as fructose, are more likely than other types of sugar to cause fat around the middle, which is known to increase the risk of heart disease and diabetes.

The findings, highlighted by New Scientist magazine, could explain the prevalence of some conditions in recent decades.

Fructose is found in fresh fruit, fruit juice, and jams, but also in large quantities in soft drinks, which are often made with high-fructose corn syrup.

Scientists put 33 overweight and obese adults on a “normal” diet for 10 weeks, followed by another 10 weeks in which half the group received a quarter of their calories from fructose. The other half received the same amount of calories from glucose.

They found that both groups put on the same amount of weight — about 3 pounds — but those on the high fructose diet put on fat around the middle, while in the glucose group the extra weight was spread across the body. Peter Havel, from the University of California, Davis, who led the study, said more research was needed to establish the exact link between fructose and obesity.

However, he recommended that those who suffer from metabolic syndrome — a range of conditions that raise the risk of diabetes and heart disease — cut down on soft drinks containing fructose.

Omega-3 Gives Girls A Bigger Boost Than Boys

Girls benefit more than boys from the intelligence-boosting power of Omega-3 fatty acids, an American-led study shows.

The acids, found in oily fish, have previously been linked to increased intelligence. Scientists now believe that they could have a much more powerful effect in women than in men.

Researchers looked at the scores of almost 4,000 IQ tests taken by children aged between six and 16.

They found that when other factors such as education and genetics were removed, girls who ate enough Omega-3 scored an average of 1% more than those who did not.

However, the impact that the fatty acids had on boys was much less — about half that seen in girls — the study reported in New Scientist magazine, shows.

Scientists believe that the difference could be explained by girls storing more Omega-3 on their hips and thighs in preparation for child bearing.

William Lassek, from the University of Pittsburgh, who led the study and presented it at a meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society in Kyoto, Japan, said that body fat in those areas was “like a bank” into which deposits were made.

The study also showed that girls tests levels dropped if they took in high levels of another fatty acid, omega-6, which is found in sunflower, corn, and soy oils.