April Snow in London ( snap shot of our back yard)

Testosterone, money and risk taking

Money doesn't make the world go round: it's testosterone. The more that traders have, the richer they'll become - up to a point.

John Coates, who used to manage a trading floor at Deutsche Bank on Wall Street but is now at the Judge Business School at Cambridge University, and Professor Joe Herbert, a neuroscientist, set out to study the brains of City traders to discover what makes them tick.
They measured levels of testosterone and cortisol (a stress hormone) in 17 traders at a City of London bank for eight consecutive business days. They found that those traders with higher testosterone levels in the morning were most likely to make money on the day's trading. One trader hit a six-day "winning streak" during which he made more than double his daily profit. During that time his testosterone levels went up 74%. The team also found that cortisol levels among the traders increased when their takings became more volatile and the market generally was less stable. The results were published yesterday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Testosterone is produced mainly by the testes in men and the ovaries in women, as well as by the adrenal gland. Levels in women are much lower. It is an anabolic steroid that is responsible for the male growth spurt at puberty and for maintaining muscle mass and strength. Testosterone also influences adam's apple growth and body hair growth during puberty.
The testosterone levels that foetuses experience appear to have a strong influence on their personality. High levels lead to slower social development in children. As an adult, higher testosterone levels are associated with higher libido, aggression and baldness. But levels decline with age and lower levels in older men seem to make them more at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

Lost land, makes you drink. At least that's what absolut thought in Mexico.

Here goes a recomendation: The Guardian cartoons