THE FIRST VALENTINE

Saint Valentine is a widely recognized third-century Roman saint who is celebrated in many countries around the world on the February 14 each year as Valentine's day.

There are several stories associated with him as a priest and as a physician; the most popular version of Saint Valentine’s life is that during the third century in Rome, Emperor Claudius II concluded that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, so he proscribed marriage for young men.

Valentine in defiance of the order of the Emperor was performing marriages in secret for young lovers. Eventually, he was caught and arrested, and Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Another legend suggests that Valentine was martyred for helping Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were beaten and tortured.

One common feature of the two versions is that he was the one who sent the first valentine, to the jailer's daughter whom he fell in love with while he was  in prison awaiting his execution.

The jailer's daughter had been blind since birth, one day during their prayer time she was miraculously healed of her blindness.

The night before he was beheaded, he sent a  love note  to her, asking her to always remain near to God and continually thankful for her healing. The message was signed:

                                                       "From Your Valentine." 

Two parents better than one

A team of researchers at the University of Calgary’s Hotchkiss Brain Institute have discovered that adult brain cell production might be determined, in part, by the early parental environment. The study suggests that dual parenting may be more beneficial than single parenting.

Scientists studied mouse pups that were raised by either dual or single parents and found that adult cell production in the brain might be triggered by early life experiences. The scientists also found that the increased adult brain cell production varied based on gender. Specifically, female pups raised by two parents had enhanced white matter production as adults, increasing motor coordination and sociability. Male pups raised by dual parents displayed more grey matter production as an adult, which improves learning and memory.

“Our new work adds to a growing body of knowledge, which indicates that early, supportive experiences have long lasting, positive impact on adult brain function,” says Samuel Weiss, PhD, senior author of the study and director of the HBI.

Surprisingly, the advantages of dual parenting were also passed along when these two groups reproduced, even if their offspring were raised by one female. The advantages of dual parenting were thus passed along to the next generation.

To conduct the study, scientists divided mice into three groups i) pups raised to adulthood by one female ii) pups raised to adulthood by one female and one male and iii) pups raised to adulthood by two females. Researchers then waited for the offspring to reach adulthood to find out if there was any impact on brain cell production.

Scientists say that this research provides evidence that, in the mouse model, parenting and the environment directly impact adult brain cell production. While it’s not known at this point, it is possible that similar effects could be seen in other mammals, such as humans.

The study is published in the May 1 edition of PLOS ONE. It was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

 Source: Science Daily