Could listening to Miley Cyrus make you more INTELLIGENT? Scientist claims certain pop songs can make you smarter

No research details given.  I'm guessing it was not very rigorous

A British scientist has claimed that listening to songs by Miley Cyrus or Justin Timberlake while studying has a calming effect on the mind that aids logical thought.

Despite not being perhaps the most obvious choice of relaxing tracks, the clinical psychologist believes pop songs with 50 to 80 beats per minute allow the brain to learn and remember new facts more easily.

Dr Emma Gray, who specialises in cognitive behavioural therapy at The British CBT and Counselling Service in London, said emotive pop and rock songs including Katy Perry's 'Firework' song can produce a heightened state of excitement that is likely to enhance creative performance in subjects such as English, Drama and Art.

She believes students who listen to classical music while they study, do better in maths exams, while listening to music while revising makes students smarter.

Dr Gray's research, which was commissioned by music streaming service Spotify to investigate the effect music has on studying, found it is important to choose the right music for the topic a person is studying as it stimulates learning and can enhance concentration.

She said students who listen to classical music with 60 to 70 beats per minute while they study, score on average 12 per cent more in their Maths exams - the equivalent of climbing a whole grade.

This is because the melody and tone range in classical music, such as Beethoven’s Fur Elise, help students to study for longer and retain more information.

Dr Gray explained the left side of the brain is used to process factual information and solve problems, which are key skills in Science, Humanities and Languages.

The research found songs like 'We Can't Stop' by Miley Cyrus or 'Mirrors' by Justin Timberlake fostered logical thoughts and helped students to learn and recall new facts.

Dr Gray said: 'Music has a positive effect on the mind and listening to the right type of music can actually improve studying and learning.

'Music can put you in a better frame of mind to learn - and indeed, students who listen to music can actually do better than those who don’t.

'For logical subjects, like Maths, music should calm the mind and help concentration, whereas for creative subjects, the music should reflect the emotion that the student is trying to express.'

Angela Watts, vice president of global communications at Spotify, said: 'With millions of students streaming music on Spotify, it’s great to see the positive effect it could have on their studies.'

The music streaming service with the help of Dr Gray has created playlists to help students study effectively.

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Diabetes pills costing just 2p each could give men's love lives a lift  -- if you are a rat

Tablets costing just 2p each could be a new treatment for men with erection problems. New research suggests the medicine, called metformin, could boost a man's performance in the bedroom.

The drug has been widely used on the NHS for many years to treat patients with type 2 diabetes.

But now scientists think it may also work as an alternative to anti-impotence drugs such as Viagra or Cialis.

Laboratory tests at the Georgia Health Sciences University in the U.S. show the diabetes drug boosts erectile function by relaxing blood vessels in the genital  area, allowing blood to flow more freely  into the penis.

Although it has yet to be tested in humans, it could quickly emerge as a new treatment because it is readily available, extremely  cheap and has an excellent  safety record.

Although drugs such as Viagra, Cialis and Levitra have revolutionised treatment in the last ten years, around 30 per cent of men who take them experience no improvement.

For these men, the only other options are to inject drugs straight into the penis, or use a pump that manually increases blood supply to the organ. Neither is very popular.

Metformin has been attracting a great deal of attention from researchers in recent years, mostly because it seems to hold promise as a potentially powerful new weapon against certain cancers, such as prostate, breast and ovarian tumours.

The drug belongs to a class of medicines known as biguanides, which have been used for decades to treat type 2 diabetes - the form of the disease  that normally affects obese people and those over 40.

Taken twice a day, it works by reducing the amount of glucose produced by the liver and helping cells mop up sugar that is circulating in the bloodstream. This prevents damage from excessive blood sugar levels. It can also decrease appetite and lower dangerous blood-fat levels.

The latest research, published online in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, showed the drug may also increase the amount of the naturally occurring chemical nitric oxide.  This makes blood vessels flexible and dilated - and can increase blood flow to the genitals.

Commenting on the study, Dr David Edwards, a GP who runs a male sexual health clinic at the White House Surgery in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, said: 'Metformin is an old, cheap, well-tried and tested drug which is usually well tolerated.

'But it was only used for 28 days, which is a short time, and just in rats. Many diabetics are already on metformin and yet erectile dysfunction is very common in this group.

'It may be that their problems might be worse if they were not on the drug.'

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