What is obesity?
---------------------
Excess accumulation of fats (Resulting in increased weight)
In today's technology dominated world, physical activity has
decreased resulting in accumulation of fats. Obesity may become
reason for various other diseases. Obesity is physical, mental
and emotional.
Obesity Symptoms:-
------------------------
Obesity increases weight, reduces physical movements, and also
brings in slowness in emotional and mental activities. Food
intake increases. Obesity can result in frustration.Laziness
increases, reducing overall efficiency. Sometimes obesity can
create obstruction to breathing process. Obesity may result in
heart problems, diabetes or blood pressure.
Yoga and Obesity
----------------------
Yoga has considered all aspects of Obesity (physical, emotional
and mental) Regular practice of Yoga and controlled life style
reduces obesity (weight is reduced). Yoga makes human being
agile, efficient and slim. Yoga is suitable for people in any
age group. Yoga helps to achieve control over mind and behavior
(one can easily control food habits and change life style to
reduce the obesity.)
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Business Management Skills
- Business Analysis:
Apply industry standard technique of business modeling and data modeling.
Design robust reliable and relevant systems that meet the needs of your users.
Identify opportunities and problem areas within a business environment.
Model and assess the impact the impact of any proposed changes to a business system.
Optimize the storage and processing of information within a business system - Project Management:
Clarify project objectives and build realistic schedule and cost predictions.
Develop detailed plans incorporating PERT charts and critical path analysis.
Build an effective project team and address the conflicting demands placed on it.
Implement effective reporting quality and change regimes for each project initiative.
Apply proven techniques including variance and EVA to measure project progress. - Time Management:
Select the management system best suited to your personality and your job.
Prioritize your goals and create more time for effective decision making.
Empower others by using the five key principles of delegation.
Regain control by actively managing interruptions phone calls and email.
Optimize team workflow using activity networks float and critical path analysis. - Successful Meetings:
Develop and use an agenda to lead discussions of the meetings key objectives
Understand the politics of meeting with subordinates peers or superiors
Identify personality types and target your own message for maximum impact
Encourage participation so that all decisions made are owned by the group.
Tactfully prevent others from taking control or holding up progress. - Successful Negotiating:
Maximize your advantage before negotiations even begin.
Make the best possible opening one that is both tough and credible.
Become expert in the use of bargaining tactics and concession trading
Master the win / win and distributive approaches to get the best deal possible.
Deal effectively with last minute tactical maneuvers and close the deal. - Presentation and Public speaking:
Identify the key points tat will communicate your message most effectively.
Profile your audience in advance, allowing you to fine tune your delivery.
Adopt a positive attitude, control your nerves and present with confidence.
Use high-impact visual aids to clarify and reinforce your key points.
Handle awkward questions and deal effectively with a hostile audience. - Performance Management:
Learn how to measure business success. Understand what to measure and how to measure it.
Learn to create specific, performance management criteria for your business.
Discover how to set realistic, stretching goals and learn how to motivate your team to achieve them.
Use "real world" tools to manage and improve the performance in your company. - Planning & Organising:
Learn how to plan and organise for maximum effectiveness and maximum motivation.
Discover tools to unlock productivity and quality Improvement.
Learn how to create work flowcharts and how to analyse your processes.
Use real "world tools" to get you and your team working together-to, improve the overall effectiveness and profitability of your business. - Motivation & Teamwork:
Learn about what motivates people to strive for excellence and just as importantly, what stops them
Identify what style of team pest suits your organisation.
Discover how to turn your people into a high performing team.
Use "real world" tools to increase the motivation and teamwork in your business.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Sex Really Does Get Better With Age
— An increasing number of 70 year olds are having good sex and more often, and women in this age group are particularly satisfied with their sex lives, according to a study published on the British Medical Journal website.
Knowledge about sexual behaviour in older people (70 year olds) is limited and mainly focuses on sexual problems, less is known about "normal" sexual behaviour in this age group.
Nils Beckman and colleagues from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, studied attitudes to sex in later life among four representative population samples of 70 year olds in Sweden, who they interviewed in 1971-2, 1976-7, 1992-3, and 2000-1. In total, over 1 500 people aged 70 years were interviewed about different aspects of their sex lives including sexual dysfunctions, marital satisfaction and sexual activity.
The authors found that over the thirty year period the number of 70 year olds of both sexes reporting sexual intercourse increased: married men from 52% to 68%, married women from 38% to 56%, unmarried men from 30% to 54%, and unmarried women from 0.8% to 12%.
In addition, the number of women reporting high sexual satisfaction increased, more women reported having an orgasm during sex and fewer reported never having had an orgasm.
While the proportion of women reporting low satisfaction with their sex lives decreased, the proportion of men reporting low satisfaction increased. The authors suggest that this might be because it is now more acceptable for men to admit "failure" in sexual matters.
They also note that the number of men reporting erectile dysfunction deceased, whereas the proportion reporting ejaculation dysfunction increased, but the proportion reporting premature ejaculation did not change.
Interestingly, both men and women blame men when sexual intercourse stops between them. This finding replicates the results of other studies in the 1950s and 2005-06.
"Our study...shows that most elderly people consider sexual activity and associated feelings a natural part of later life", they conclude.
These findings emphasise the important and positive part sex plays in the lives of 70 year olds and is a welcome contribution to the limited literature about sexual behaviour in older people, writes Professor Peggy Kleinplatz from the University of Ottawa in Canada.
It will hopefully highlight the need for doctors to be trained to ask all patients, regardless of age, about their sexual concerns, she adds.
Knowledge about sexual behaviour in older people (70 year olds) is limited and mainly focuses on sexual problems, less is known about "normal" sexual behaviour in this age group.
Nils Beckman and colleagues from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, studied attitudes to sex in later life among four representative population samples of 70 year olds in Sweden, who they interviewed in 1971-2, 1976-7, 1992-3, and 2000-1. In total, over 1 500 people aged 70 years were interviewed about different aspects of their sex lives including sexual dysfunctions, marital satisfaction and sexual activity.
The authors found that over the thirty year period the number of 70 year olds of both sexes reporting sexual intercourse increased: married men from 52% to 68%, married women from 38% to 56%, unmarried men from 30% to 54%, and unmarried women from 0.8% to 12%.
In addition, the number of women reporting high sexual satisfaction increased, more women reported having an orgasm during sex and fewer reported never having had an orgasm.
While the proportion of women reporting low satisfaction with their sex lives decreased, the proportion of men reporting low satisfaction increased. The authors suggest that this might be because it is now more acceptable for men to admit "failure" in sexual matters.
They also note that the number of men reporting erectile dysfunction deceased, whereas the proportion reporting ejaculation dysfunction increased, but the proportion reporting premature ejaculation did not change.
Interestingly, both men and women blame men when sexual intercourse stops between them. This finding replicates the results of other studies in the 1950s and 2005-06.
"Our study...shows that most elderly people consider sexual activity and associated feelings a natural part of later life", they conclude.
These findings emphasise the important and positive part sex plays in the lives of 70 year olds and is a welcome contribution to the limited literature about sexual behaviour in older people, writes Professor Peggy Kleinplatz from the University of Ottawa in Canada.
It will hopefully highlight the need for doctors to be trained to ask all patients, regardless of age, about their sexual concerns, she adds.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
World's smallest state aims to become the first smoke-free paradise island
It is the world's smallest self-governing state, with a population of just 1,400 and few resources other than fish and coconuts. But the South Pacific island of Niue believes it can set an example by becoming the first country in the world to go smoke-free.There are about 250 smokers on Niue, a speck of coral with a GDP of barely NZ$6,000 (£2,280) per person, and local officials say the cost of treating smoking-related illnesses is placing a heavy strain on the health budget.
Sitaleki Finau, Niue's director of health, is backing a bill to prohibit smoking and the sale of tobacco in public areas and private homes. The bill has been presented to parliament, but the government has not yet signed up to it. Dr Finau said he expected a ban to face stiff opposition from the tobacco industry and other commercial interests. But he urged MPs to be bold and vote for it.
"Small countries are allowed to be ambitious," he said yesterday. "If a small country can do this, then big countries will start thinking. Imagine what that means." The government would lose revenue from tobacco taxes but that would be more than offset by savings in the health budget, he said.
Like many countries, Niue – which translates as "behold the coconut" – has banned smoking in government offices and public buildings. But outlawing tobacco would be a radical step – particularly on an island so relaxed that, according to one saying, the dogs chase the cats at walking pace.
One village, Tuapa, has already declared itself smoke-free. Tobacco is not sold there, and villagers refrain from smoking in public and during ceremonies.
Dr Finau said the government would have to consider whether a ban infringed smokers' rights. "There has been mixed reaction," he said. "It's one of those difficult political issues, because there are commercial interests against it, and the government has to look at it in relation to tax. A tobacco-free country sounds pretty straightforward and simple, but there are some complex issues involved."
No date has been set for a vote, which could be two years away. Niue, 1,375 miles north-east of Auckland and 312 miles from Tonga, its nearest neighbour, is a former British protectorate. Britain gave it to New Zealand as a reward for the latter's contribution to the Anglo-Boer War, but since 1974 it has been independent "in free association" with Wellington.
Those who live on the island, 100 miles square, regard it as a South Pacific paradise. Beaches are heavenly, crime is non-existent, and the plentiful seafood includes crabs so large that people walk them on leashes. The locals serenade each other on guitars while watching tropical sunsets.
Niue's problem is that, despite all that, everyone is leaving. The population is in steep decline, and some believe it has dropped below a sustainable level.
When Niue was granted independence, its people were given New Zealand citizenship and the chance to emigrate – an offer that now threatens Niue's survival. There are 20,000 Niueans in New Zealand, and those left behind intermittently debate whether the island should rejoin its former colonial ruler.
Successive governments have failed to lure expatriate Niueans home. The island's isolation and lack of resources make for a fragile economy and Niue is heavily dependent on New Zealand aid and foreign remittances. Its main export is taro, a root vegetable. The capital, Alofi, has two shops.
If Niue becomes smoke-free, it may lose another 250 residents. New Zealand's anti-smoking laws are not quite so draconian.
By Kathy Marks
Birthday Wishes - in 161 Languages
Here is how to say "Happy Birthday" in 161 different languages of the world. So next time one of your friends have a birthday and speak another language you can wish them in their own language. Wouldn't that be fun! Enjoy.
Language
How to say "Happy Birthday"
Afrikaans
Veels geluk met jou verjaarsdag!
Albanian
Urime ditelindjen!
Alsatian
Gueter geburtsdaa!
Amharic
Melkam lidet!
Arabic
Eid milaad saeed! or Kul sana wa inta/i tayeb/a! (masculine/feminine)
Armenian
Taredartzet shnorhavor! or Tsenund shnorhavor!
Assyrian
Eida D'moladukh Hawee Brikha!
Austrian-Viennese
Ois guade winsch i dia zum Gbuadsdog!
Aymara (Bolivia)
Suma Urupnaya Cchuru Uromankja!
Azerbaijani
Ad gununuz mubarek! -- for people older than you
Ad gunun mubarek! -- for people younger than you
Basque
Zorionak!
Belauan-Micronesian
Ungil el cherellem!
Bengali (Bangladesh/India)
Shuvo Jonmodin!
Bicol (Philippines)
Maogmang Pagkamundag!
Bislama (Vanuatu)
Hapi betde! or Yumi selebretem de blong bon blong yu!
Brazil
ParabŽns a voc !ParabŽns a voc , nesta data querida muitas felicidades e muitos anos de vida.
Breton
Deiz-ha-bloaz laouen deoc'h!
Bulgarian
Chestit Rojden Den!
Cambodian
Som owie nek mein aryouk yrinyu!
Catalan
Per molts anys! or Bon aniversari! or Moltes Felicitats!
Chamorro
Biba Kumplianos!
Chinese-Cantonese
Sun Yat Fai Lok!
Chinese Fuzhou
San Ni Kuai Lo!
Chiness-Hakka
Sang Ngit Fai Lok!
Chinese-Mandarin
qu ni sheng er kuai le
Chinese-Shanghaiese
San ruit kua lok!
Chinese-Tiociu
Se Jit khuai lak!
Chronia Polla
NA ZHSHS
Croatian
Sretan Rodendan!
Czech
Vsechno nejlepsi k Tvym narozeninam!!
Danish
Tillykke med fodselsdagen!
Dutch-Antwerps
Ne gelukkege verjoardach!
Dutch-Bilzers
Ne geleukkege verjoardoag!
Dutch-Drents
Fellisiteert!
Dutch-Flemish
Gelukkige verjaardag! or Prettige verjaardag!
Dutch-Frisian
Fan herte lokwinske!
Dutch-Limburgs
Proficiat! or Perfisia!
Dutch-Spouwers
Ne geleukkege verjeurdoag!
Dutch-Twents
Gefeliciteard met oen'n verjoardag!
Dutch
Hartelijk gefeliciteerd! or Van harte gefeliciteerd met je verjaardag!
English
Happy Birthday!
Esperanto
Felichan Naskightagon!
Estonian
Palju onne sunnipaevaks!
Euskera
Zorionak zure urtebetetze egunean!
Faroes ( Faroe island )
Tillukku vid fodingardegnum!
Farsi
Tavalodet Mobarak!
Finnish
Hyvaa syntymapaivaa!
French (Canada)
Bonne Fete!
French
Joyeux Anniversaire!
Frisian
Lokkiche jierdei!
Gaelic (Irish)
L‡ breithe mhaith agat!
Gaelic (Scottish)
Co` latha breith sona dhuibh!
Galician (Spain)
Ledicia no teu cumpreanos!
Georgian
Gilotcav dabadebis dges!
German-Badisch
Allis Guedi zu dim Fescht!
German-Bavarian
Ois Guade zu Deim Geburdstog!
German-Berlinisch
Allet Jute ooch zum Jeburtstach! or Ick wuensch da allet Jute zum Jeburtstach!
German-Bernese
Es Muentschi zum Geburri!
German-Camelottisch
Ewllews Gewtew zewm Gewbewrtstewg. Mew!
German-Frankonian
Allmecht! Iich wuensch Dir aan guuadn Gebuardsdooch!
German-Lichtenstein
Haerzliche Glueckwuensche zum Geburtstag!
German-Moselfraenkisch
Haezzlische Glickwunsch zem Gebordsdach!
German-Plattdeutsch
Ick wuensch Di allns Gode ton Geburtsdach!
German-Rhoihessisch
Ich gratelier Dir aach zum Geburtstag!
German-Ruhr
Allet Gute zum Gebuatstach!
German-Saarlaendisch
Alles Gudde for dei Gebordsdaach!
German-Saechsisch
Herzlischen Gliggwunsch zum Geburdsdaach!
German-Schwaebisch
Aelles Guade zom Gebordzdag!
German-Wienerisch
Ois Guade zum Geburdsdog!
German
Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!
Greek
Eytyxismena Genethlia! or Chronia Pola!
Greenlandic
Inuuinni pilluarit!
Gronings (Netherlands)
Fielsteerd mit joen verjoardag!
Gujarati (India)
Janma Divas Mubarak!
Gujrati (Pakistan)
Saal Mubarak!
Guarani (Paraguay Indian)]
Vy-Apave Nde Arambotyre!
Hawaiian
Hau`oli la hanau!
Hebrew
Yom Huledet Same'ach!
Hiligaynon (Philippines)
Masadya gid nga adlaw sa imo pagkatawo!
Hindi (India)
Janam Din ki badhai! or Janam Din ki shubkamnaayein!
Hungarian
Boldog szuletesnapot! or Isten eltessen!
Icelandic
Til hamingju med afmaelisdaginn!
Indonesian
Selamat Ulang Tahun!
Irish-gaelic
La-breithe mhaith agat! or Co` latha breith sona dhut! Or Breithla Shona Dhuit!
Italian
Buon Compleanno!
Italian (Piedmont)
Bun Cumpleani!
Italian (Romagna)
At faz tent avguri ad bon cumplean!
Japanese
Otanjou-bi Omedetou Gozaimasu!
Javaans-Indonesia
Slamet Ulang Taunmoe!
Jerriais
Bouon Anniversaithe!
Kannada (India)
Huttida Habba Subashayagalu!
Kapangpangan (Philippines)
Mayap a Kebaitan
Kashmiri (India)
Voharvod Mubarak Chuy!
Kazakh (Kazakstan)
Tughan kuninmen!
Klingon
Quchjaj qoSlIj!
Korean
Saeng il chuk ha ham ni da!
Kurdish
Rojbun a te piroz be!
Kyrgyz
Tulgan kunum menen!
Latin
Fortuna dies natalis!
Latvian
Daudz laimes dzimsanas diena!
Lithuanian
Sveikinu su gimtadieniu! or Geriausi linkejimaigimtadienio progal
Luganda
Nkwagaliza amazalibwa go amalungi!
Luxembourgeois
Vill Gleck fir daei Geburtsdaag!
Macedonian
Sreken roden den!
Malayalam (India)
Pirannal Aasamsakal! or Janmadinasamsakal!
Malaysian
Selamat Hari Jadi!
Maltese
Nifrahlek ghal gheluq sninek!
Maori
Kia huritau ki a koe!
Marathi (India)
Wadhdiwasachya Shubhechha!
Mauritian Kreol
mo swet u en bonlaniverser!
Mbula (Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea)
Leleng ambai pa mbeng ku taipet i!
Mongolian
Torson odriin mend hurgee!
Navajo
bil hoozho bi'dizhchi-neeji' 'aneilkaah!
Niederdeutsch (North Germany)
Ick gratuleer di scheun!
Nepali
Janma dhin ko Subha kamana!
Norwegian
Gratulerer med dagen!
Oriya (India)
Janmadina Abhinandan!
Papiamento (lower Dutch Antilles)
Masha Pabien I hopi aña mas!
Pashto (Afganistan)
Padayish rawaz day unbaraksha!
Persian
Tavalodet Mobarak!
Pinoy (Philippines)
Maligayang kaarawan sa iyo!
Polish
Wszystkiego Najlepszego! or Wszystkiego najlepszego zokazji urodzin! wszystkiego najlepszego z
okazji urodzin
Portuguese (Brazil)
Parabens pelo seu aniversario! or Parabenspara voce! or Parabens e muitas felicidades!
Portuguese
Feliz Aniversario! or Parabens!
Punjabi (India)
Janam din diyan wadhayian!
Rajasthani (India)
Janam ghaanth ri badhai, khoob jeeyo!
Romanian
La Multi Ani!
Rosarino Basico (Argentina)
Feneligiz Cunumplegeanagonos!
Russian
S dniom razhdjenia! or Pazdravliayu s dniom razhdjenia!
Sami/Lappish
Lihkos Riegadanbeaivvis!
Samoan
Manuia lou aso fanau!
Sanskrit (India)
Ravihi janmadinam aacharati!
Sardinian (Italy)
Achent'annos! Achent'annos!
Schwyzerduetsch (Swiss German)
Vill Glück zum Geburri!
Serbian
Srecan Rodjendan!
Slovak
Vsetko najlepsie k narodeninam!
Slovene
Vse najboljse za rojstni dan!
Sotho
Masego motsatsing la psalo!
Spanish
Feliz Cumplea–os!
Sri Lankan
Suba Upan dinayak vewa!
Sundanese
Wilujeng Tepang Taun!
Surinamese
Mi fresteri ju!
Swahili
Hongera! or Heri ya Siku kuu!
Swedish
Grattis pŒ fšdelsedagen
Syriac
Tahnyotho or brigo!
Tagalog (Philippines)
Maligayang Bati Sa Iyong Kaarawan!
Taiwanese
San leaz quiet lo!
Tamil (India)
Piranda naal vaazhthukkal!
Telugu (India)
Janmadina subha kankshalu!
Telugu
Puttina Roju Shubakanksalu!
Thai
Suk San Wan Keut!
Tibetan
Droonkher Tashi Delek!
Tulu(Karnataka - India)
Putudina dina saukhya!
Turkish
Dogum gunun kutlu olsun!
Ukrainian
Mnohiya lita! or Z dnem narodjennia!
Urdu (India)
Janam Din Mubarak
Urdu (Pakistan)
Saalgirah Mubarak!
Vietnamese
Chuc Mung Sinh Nhat!
Visayan (Philippines)
Malipayong adlaw nga natawhan!
Welsh
Penblwydd Hapus i Chi!
Xhosa (South Afican)
Imini emandi kuwe!
Yiddish
A Freilekhn Gebortstog!
Yoruba (Nigeria)
Eku Ojobi!
Zulu (South Afican)
Ilanga elimndandi kuwe!
Language
How to say "Happy Birthday"
Afrikaans
Veels geluk met jou verjaarsdag!
Albanian
Urime ditelindjen!
Alsatian
Gueter geburtsdaa!
Amharic
Melkam lidet!
Arabic
Eid milaad saeed! or Kul sana wa inta/i tayeb/a! (masculine/feminine)
Armenian
Taredartzet shnorhavor! or Tsenund shnorhavor!
Assyrian
Eida D'moladukh Hawee Brikha!
Austrian-Viennese
Ois guade winsch i dia zum Gbuadsdog!
Aymara (Bolivia)
Suma Urupnaya Cchuru Uromankja!
Azerbaijani
Ad gununuz mubarek! -- for people older than you
Ad gunun mubarek! -- for people younger than you
Basque
Zorionak!
Belauan-Micronesian
Ungil el cherellem!
Bengali (Bangladesh/India)
Shuvo Jonmodin!
Bicol (Philippines)
Maogmang Pagkamundag!
Bislama (Vanuatu)
Hapi betde! or Yumi selebretem de blong bon blong yu!
Brazil
ParabŽns a voc !ParabŽns a voc , nesta data querida muitas felicidades e muitos anos de vida.
Breton
Deiz-ha-bloaz laouen deoc'h!
Bulgarian
Chestit Rojden Den!
Cambodian
Som owie nek mein aryouk yrinyu!
Catalan
Per molts anys! or Bon aniversari! or Moltes Felicitats!
Chamorro
Biba Kumplianos!
Chinese-Cantonese
Sun Yat Fai Lok!
Chinese Fuzhou
San Ni Kuai Lo!
Chiness-Hakka
Sang Ngit Fai Lok!
Chinese-Mandarin
qu ni sheng er kuai le
Chinese-Shanghaiese
San ruit kua lok!
Chinese-Tiociu
Se Jit khuai lak!
Chronia Polla
NA ZHSHS
Croatian
Sretan Rodendan!
Czech
Vsechno nejlepsi k Tvym narozeninam!!
Danish
Tillykke med fodselsdagen!
Dutch-Antwerps
Ne gelukkege verjoardach!
Dutch-Bilzers
Ne geleukkege verjoardoag!
Dutch-Drents
Fellisiteert!
Dutch-Flemish
Gelukkige verjaardag! or Prettige verjaardag!
Dutch-Frisian
Fan herte lokwinske!
Dutch-Limburgs
Proficiat! or Perfisia!
Dutch-Spouwers
Ne geleukkege verjeurdoag!
Dutch-Twents
Gefeliciteard met oen'n verjoardag!
Dutch
Hartelijk gefeliciteerd! or Van harte gefeliciteerd met je verjaardag!
English
Happy Birthday!
Esperanto
Felichan Naskightagon!
Estonian
Palju onne sunnipaevaks!
Euskera
Zorionak zure urtebetetze egunean!
Faroes ( Faroe island )
Tillukku vid fodingardegnum!
Farsi
Tavalodet Mobarak!
Finnish
Hyvaa syntymapaivaa!
French (Canada)
Bonne Fete!
French
Joyeux Anniversaire!
Frisian
Lokkiche jierdei!
Gaelic (Irish)
L‡ breithe mhaith agat!
Gaelic (Scottish)
Co` latha breith sona dhuibh!
Galician (Spain)
Ledicia no teu cumpreanos!
Georgian
Gilotcav dabadebis dges!
German-Badisch
Allis Guedi zu dim Fescht!
German-Bavarian
Ois Guade zu Deim Geburdstog!
German-Berlinisch
Allet Jute ooch zum Jeburtstach! or Ick wuensch da allet Jute zum Jeburtstach!
German-Bernese
Es Muentschi zum Geburri!
German-Camelottisch
Ewllews Gewtew zewm Gewbewrtstewg. Mew!
German-Frankonian
Allmecht! Iich wuensch Dir aan guuadn Gebuardsdooch!
German-Lichtenstein
Haerzliche Glueckwuensche zum Geburtstag!
German-Moselfraenkisch
Haezzlische Glickwunsch zem Gebordsdach!
German-Plattdeutsch
Ick wuensch Di allns Gode ton Geburtsdach!
German-Rhoihessisch
Ich gratelier Dir aach zum Geburtstag!
German-Ruhr
Allet Gute zum Gebuatstach!
German-Saarlaendisch
Alles Gudde for dei Gebordsdaach!
German-Saechsisch
Herzlischen Gliggwunsch zum Geburdsdaach!
German-Schwaebisch
Aelles Guade zom Gebordzdag!
German-Wienerisch
Ois Guade zum Geburdsdog!
German
Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!
Greek
Eytyxismena Genethlia! or Chronia Pola!
Greenlandic
Inuuinni pilluarit!
Gronings (Netherlands)
Fielsteerd mit joen verjoardag!
Gujarati (India)
Janma Divas Mubarak!
Gujrati (Pakistan)
Saal Mubarak!
Guarani (Paraguay Indian)]
Vy-Apave Nde Arambotyre!
Hawaiian
Hau`oli la hanau!
Hebrew
Yom Huledet Same'ach!
Hiligaynon (Philippines)
Masadya gid nga adlaw sa imo pagkatawo!
Hindi (India)
Janam Din ki badhai! or Janam Din ki shubkamnaayein!
Hungarian
Boldog szuletesnapot! or Isten eltessen!
Icelandic
Til hamingju med afmaelisdaginn!
Indonesian
Selamat Ulang Tahun!
Irish-gaelic
La-breithe mhaith agat! or Co` latha breith sona dhut! Or Breithla Shona Dhuit!
Italian
Buon Compleanno!
Italian (Piedmont)
Bun Cumpleani!
Italian (Romagna)
At faz tent avguri ad bon cumplean!
Japanese
Otanjou-bi Omedetou Gozaimasu!
Javaans-Indonesia
Slamet Ulang Taunmoe!
Jerriais
Bouon Anniversaithe!
Kannada (India)
Huttida Habba Subashayagalu!
Kapangpangan (Philippines)
Mayap a Kebaitan
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Voharvod Mubarak Chuy!
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Tughan kuninmen!
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Quchjaj qoSlIj!
Korean
Saeng il chuk ha ham ni da!
Kurdish
Rojbun a te piroz be!
Kyrgyz
Tulgan kunum menen!
Latin
Fortuna dies natalis!
Latvian
Daudz laimes dzimsanas diena!
Lithuanian
Sveikinu su gimtadieniu! or Geriausi linkejimaigimtadienio progal
Luganda
Nkwagaliza amazalibwa go amalungi!
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Vill Gleck fir daei Geburtsdaag!
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Sreken roden den!
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Pirannal Aasamsakal! or Janmadinasamsakal!
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Selamat Hari Jadi!
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Nifrahlek ghal gheluq sninek!
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Kia huritau ki a koe!
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Wadhdiwasachya Shubhechha!
Mauritian Kreol
mo swet u en bonlaniverser!
Mbula (Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea)
Leleng ambai pa mbeng ku taipet i!
Mongolian
Torson odriin mend hurgee!
Navajo
bil hoozho bi'dizhchi-neeji' 'aneilkaah!
Niederdeutsch (North Germany)
Ick gratuleer di scheun!
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Janma dhin ko Subha kamana!
Norwegian
Gratulerer med dagen!
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Janmadina Abhinandan!
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Masha Pabien I hopi aña mas!
Pashto (Afganistan)
Padayish rawaz day unbaraksha!
Persian
Tavalodet Mobarak!
Pinoy (Philippines)
Maligayang kaarawan sa iyo!
Polish
Wszystkiego Najlepszego! or Wszystkiego najlepszego zokazji urodzin! wszystkiego najlepszego z
okazji urodzin
Portuguese (Brazil)
Parabens pelo seu aniversario! or Parabenspara voce! or Parabens e muitas felicidades!
Portuguese
Feliz Aniversario! or Parabens!
Punjabi (India)
Janam din diyan wadhayian!
Rajasthani (India)
Janam ghaanth ri badhai, khoob jeeyo!
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La Multi Ani!
Rosarino Basico (Argentina)
Feneligiz Cunumplegeanagonos!
Russian
S dniom razhdjenia! or Pazdravliayu s dniom razhdjenia!
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Lihkos Riegadanbeaivvis!
Samoan
Manuia lou aso fanau!
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Ravihi janmadinam aacharati!
Sardinian (Italy)
Achent'annos! Achent'annos!
Schwyzerduetsch (Swiss German)
Vill Glück zum Geburri!
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Srecan Rodjendan!
Slovak
Vsetko najlepsie k narodeninam!
Slovene
Vse najboljse za rojstni dan!
Sotho
Masego motsatsing la psalo!
Spanish
Feliz Cumplea–os!
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Suba Upan dinayak vewa!
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Wilujeng Tepang Taun!
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Mi fresteri ju!
Swahili
Hongera! or Heri ya Siku kuu!
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Grattis pŒ fšdelsedagen
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Tahnyotho or brigo!
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Maligayang Bati Sa Iyong Kaarawan!
Taiwanese
San leaz quiet lo!
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Piranda naal vaazhthukkal!
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Janmadina subha kankshalu!
Telugu
Puttina Roju Shubakanksalu!
Thai
Suk San Wan Keut!
Tibetan
Droonkher Tashi Delek!
Tulu(Karnataka - India)
Putudina dina saukhya!
Turkish
Dogum gunun kutlu olsun!
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Mnohiya lita! or Z dnem narodjennia!
Urdu (India)
Janam Din Mubarak
Urdu (Pakistan)
Saalgirah Mubarak!
Vietnamese
Chuc Mung Sinh Nhat!
Visayan (Philippines)
Malipayong adlaw nga natawhan!
Welsh
Penblwydd Hapus i Chi!
Xhosa (South Afican)
Imini emandi kuwe!
Yiddish
A Freilekhn Gebortstog!
Yoruba (Nigeria)
Eku Ojobi!
Zulu (South Afican)
Ilanga elimndandi kuwe!
Live Longer: The One Anti-Aging Trick That Works
While the quest for the proverbial Fountain of Youth is endless and typically fruitless, one method known to extend the human lifespan by up to five years has quietly become accepted among leading researchers.
The formula is simple: Eat less. It could add years to your life, several experts now say. And done in moderation, it could at least help you live a more healthy life.
The only question is: Will the average person do it?
While little short of a nip-and-tuck will make you look younger, calorie restriction, as it is called, is as close to a real Fountain of Youth as any known technique comes. Even scientists who are cautious about anti-aging hype say it works, both by cutting risks for some diseases and by allowing all body cells, somehow, to hang in there longer.
"There is plenty of evidence that calorie restriction can reduce your risks for many common diseases including cancer, diabetes and heart disease," says Saint Louis University researcher Edward Weiss, who last week announced a new study that brings fresh understanding to how it works. "And you may live to be substantially older."
The numbers
Here's a rough rule of thumb that many experts generally agree on now: Eat 15 percent less starting at age 25 and you might add 4.5 years to your life, says Eric Ravussin, who studies human health and performance at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana.
One important caveat: Ravussin's estimate is based mostly on studies of other animals and only preliminary research in humans. But the work by Weiss and others is unlocking the mysteries of aging and suggesting the animal studies apply to humans.
"There is absolutely no reason to think it won't work," Ravussin told LiveScience.
Perhaps even more promising, though in early stages of research, are drugs designed on the basis of what's been learned from calorie-restriction studies. Those drugs would target human cells to deliver the same benefits, turning off bad things and turning on good things to extend cell life in general, or offer new therapies and cures to vexing diseases like Alzheimer's and cancer.
If you can hang in there until these promising new drug therapies are developed, you may live in a world where lifespan increases by 10 to 15 years, researchers say.
Don't plan on living to be 200, Ravussin said, "but I think we're going to gain quite a few years."
Mysteries remain
Scientists aren't sure exactly why calorie restriction slows aging. But they're on the verge of a firm understanding. In a nutshell, it is thought to lower metabolic rate and cause the body to generate fewer damaging "free radicals."
One hypothesis is that it decreases a thyroid hormone, triiodothyronine (T3), which then slows metabolism and tissue aging.
Weiss and colleagues studied men and women, aged 50 to 60, who did not smoke, were not obese and were in good health. The volunteers were split into three groups - a calorie-restriction group, an exercise group, or a control group - and followed for one year. The calorie-restriction group cut back by 300 to 500 calories per day. (A typical healthy adult diet should include about 2,000 calories.) Volunteers in the exercise group maintained their regular diet and exercised regularly.
While both the calorie-restriction and exercise groups experienced similar changes of body fat mass, only those in the calorie restriction group also experienced lower levels of the thyroid hormone. A longer-term study is still needed to pin down whether reducing T3 levels through calorie restriction indeed slows the aging process as suspected, the scientists say.
The results were published in the June issue of the journal Rejuvenation Research.
Step-by-step
Weiss' work advances the body of anti-aging knowledge, said Christy Carter, an aging researcher and assistant professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine.
"The more that scientists can demonstrate similar biological profiles between rodents and humans with regards to calorie restriction, the greater the possibility that lifespan extension will translate to human as well," Carter said.
Weiss figured it's sensible to take steps now. You can cut 300 to 500 calories by simply skipping dessert or substituting a turkey sandwich for fast food. A nutritional diet and exercise are important to any weight-loss effort, Weiss and others caution.
"Our research provides evidence that calorie restriction does work in humans like it has been shown to work in animals," Weiss said. "The next step is to determine if this in fact slows age-related tissue deterioration. The only way to be certain, though, is to do a long-term study."
Others agree: more research is needed.
"I think that they've documented a real and interesting effect of caloric restriction in humans," said UCLA evolutionary biologist Jay Phelan. "But they are still a long way from demonstrating that it changes human lifespan at all."
Proven in animals
Evidence that calorie restriction boosts lifespans in rodents is solid. Christiaan Leeuwenburgh of the University of Florida's Institute on Aging showed in 2006 that eating just 8 percent less and exercising a little more over a lifespan can reduce or even reverse aging-related cell and organ damage in rats.
Various studies have shown that cutting calories by 20 to 40 percent significantly both extends life and, with a little exercise, leaves old animals in better shape.
Eating fewer calories also reduces age-related chronic diseases such as cancers, heart disease, and stroke in rodents. That's important because it suggests ways to not just make us live longer, but to allow us to age more gracefully, healthwise.
Research last year found that rats on a restricted diet are more physically fit in old age, apparently slowing the typical onset of physical disability. The rodents also looked and probably felt better: "Rats that ate a normal diet lost a significant amount of lean muscle mass and acquired more fat, while calorie-restricted rats maintained lean muscle mass as they aged," said lead researcher Tongjian You from the University of Buffalo. The finding was published in the October issue of the Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences.
Rodents are thought to be good analogues to humans. Dogs are even better.
A 14-year study of 48 Labrador Retrievers found restricting their diets by 25 percent starting at 8 weeks of age extended their lives by an average of 1.8 years. For a creature that typically never gets beyond its early teens, that's a big number. The findings were published back in 2002 in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
"The study also showed that lean body conformation forestalls some chronic illnesses, most notably osteoarthritis," said University of Pennsylvania researcher Gail K. Smith, who worked on the dog study. Ailments typically struck the lean dogs 2.1 years later than the others.
Probably works in humans
Convincing humans to eat less, and then studying the effects over a lifetime, is considerably more challenging. But mounting research suggests that what works for rats and dogs seems to apply to people.
Studies are under way with monkeys, which have lifespans of around 25 to 30 years, and early indications are promising, Ravussin said.
A study of humans last year found that cutting calories in human test subjects reduced oxidative damage in muscle cells. In the journal PLoS Medicine, the researchers speculated that the effect might translate into longer life.
Researchers caution, however, that longer lifespans does not mean immortality. The vast majority of mainstream researchers envision lifespans extending a few years.
"My estimate would be that 40 years of caloric restriction would give a 3 to 7 percent increase in longevity, so an optimistic estimate would be an additional four years or so," said Phelan, the UCLA researcher.
But researchers are quick to point out that human nature is not conducive to life-long calorie-restriction diets. "It's going to be limited to a few people who are going to try to do that," Ravussin said.
Seeking balance
"Suffering years of misery to remain super-skinny is not going to have a big payoff in terms of a longer life," Phelan said back in 2005 when the idea of "living forever" was particularly hyped in the media. "I once heard someone say caloric restriction may not make you live forever, but it sure would seem like it. Try to maintain a healthy body weight, but don't deprive yourself of all pleasure. Moderation appears to be a more sensible solution."
Phelan uses rodents as an example of why caution is warranted:
Mice will live longer if their diet is restricted by 10 percent, he said in 2005. "If you restrict their intake by 20 percent, they live even longer, and restrict them to 50 percent, they live longer still. But restrict their intake by 60 percent and they starve to death."
In an email interview the other day, Phelan said he stands by this assessment.
And Phelan now thinks there is "nothing" on the research horizon "that would extend lifespan in a significant amount, on the order of 10 or more years."
Big promise?
Other experts are optimistic that research into calorie restriction will lead to greater things.
Scientists are investigating what they call CR mimetics, or compounds that mimic the effects of calorie restriction. "This includes naturally occurring compounds and pharmaceuticals," explained Carter, the University of Florida researcher. "One that has received much attention lately is a compound called resveratrol, found in red wine."
Researchers have long pondered the French paradox: The French eat high-fat diets but live relatively long lives. Resveratrol and other compounds in red wine are thought by many to contribute to that good life. But testing any anti-aging drug or therapy sets up another tricky paradox: Nobody wants to invest in a 70-year test, and the Food and Drug Administration won't approve a chemical's use without thorough testing. There's a potential shortcut: Researchers are testing compounds thought to thwart aging on Alzheimer's patients to see if they slow the degradation of neurons. And similar human trials will begin soon on diabetes patients.
"However, many of these studies are still in the development phase, still being tested in rodent models," Carter said. "I expect that this field will begin to explode in the next few years. Caution is still merited given the need for extensive study of these compounds as to their efficacy and long-term safety."
Eventually, Ravussin thinks the combined efforts of all these research angles could extend lifespans by 15 years later this century.
In a society where lifespan has already increased significantly in recent decades, many people are at least as concerned with aging well as they are with living long.
"Many researchers are focusing on the effects of CR on health-span as opposed lifespan," Carter said. "We know that small reductions in caloric intake, even as little as 8 percent, result in improvements in health related outcomes."
- Robert Roy Britt
LiveScience Managing Editor
LiveScience.com
The formula is simple: Eat less. It could add years to your life, several experts now say. And done in moderation, it could at least help you live a more healthy life.
The only question is: Will the average person do it?
While little short of a nip-and-tuck will make you look younger, calorie restriction, as it is called, is as close to a real Fountain of Youth as any known technique comes. Even scientists who are cautious about anti-aging hype say it works, both by cutting risks for some diseases and by allowing all body cells, somehow, to hang in there longer.
"There is plenty of evidence that calorie restriction can reduce your risks for many common diseases including cancer, diabetes and heart disease," says Saint Louis University researcher Edward Weiss, who last week announced a new study that brings fresh understanding to how it works. "And you may live to be substantially older."
The numbers
Here's a rough rule of thumb that many experts generally agree on now: Eat 15 percent less starting at age 25 and you might add 4.5 years to your life, says Eric Ravussin, who studies human health and performance at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana.
One important caveat: Ravussin's estimate is based mostly on studies of other animals and only preliminary research in humans. But the work by Weiss and others is unlocking the mysteries of aging and suggesting the animal studies apply to humans.
"There is absolutely no reason to think it won't work," Ravussin told LiveScience.
Perhaps even more promising, though in early stages of research, are drugs designed on the basis of what's been learned from calorie-restriction studies. Those drugs would target human cells to deliver the same benefits, turning off bad things and turning on good things to extend cell life in general, or offer new therapies and cures to vexing diseases like Alzheimer's and cancer.
If you can hang in there until these promising new drug therapies are developed, you may live in a world where lifespan increases by 10 to 15 years, researchers say.
Don't plan on living to be 200, Ravussin said, "but I think we're going to gain quite a few years."
Mysteries remain
Scientists aren't sure exactly why calorie restriction slows aging. But they're on the verge of a firm understanding. In a nutshell, it is thought to lower metabolic rate and cause the body to generate fewer damaging "free radicals."
One hypothesis is that it decreases a thyroid hormone, triiodothyronine (T3), which then slows metabolism and tissue aging.
Weiss and colleagues studied men and women, aged 50 to 60, who did not smoke, were not obese and were in good health. The volunteers were split into three groups - a calorie-restriction group, an exercise group, or a control group - and followed for one year. The calorie-restriction group cut back by 300 to 500 calories per day. (A typical healthy adult diet should include about 2,000 calories.) Volunteers in the exercise group maintained their regular diet and exercised regularly.
While both the calorie-restriction and exercise groups experienced similar changes of body fat mass, only those in the calorie restriction group also experienced lower levels of the thyroid hormone. A longer-term study is still needed to pin down whether reducing T3 levels through calorie restriction indeed slows the aging process as suspected, the scientists say.
The results were published in the June issue of the journal Rejuvenation Research.
Step-by-step
Weiss' work advances the body of anti-aging knowledge, said Christy Carter, an aging researcher and assistant professor at the University of Florida College of Medicine.
"The more that scientists can demonstrate similar biological profiles between rodents and humans with regards to calorie restriction, the greater the possibility that lifespan extension will translate to human as well," Carter said.
Weiss figured it's sensible to take steps now. You can cut 300 to 500 calories by simply skipping dessert or substituting a turkey sandwich for fast food. A nutritional diet and exercise are important to any weight-loss effort, Weiss and others caution.
"Our research provides evidence that calorie restriction does work in humans like it has been shown to work in animals," Weiss said. "The next step is to determine if this in fact slows age-related tissue deterioration. The only way to be certain, though, is to do a long-term study."
Others agree: more research is needed.
"I think that they've documented a real and interesting effect of caloric restriction in humans," said UCLA evolutionary biologist Jay Phelan. "But they are still a long way from demonstrating that it changes human lifespan at all."
Proven in animals
Evidence that calorie restriction boosts lifespans in rodents is solid. Christiaan Leeuwenburgh of the University of Florida's Institute on Aging showed in 2006 that eating just 8 percent less and exercising a little more over a lifespan can reduce or even reverse aging-related cell and organ damage in rats.
Various studies have shown that cutting calories by 20 to 40 percent significantly both extends life and, with a little exercise, leaves old animals in better shape.
Eating fewer calories also reduces age-related chronic diseases such as cancers, heart disease, and stroke in rodents. That's important because it suggests ways to not just make us live longer, but to allow us to age more gracefully, healthwise.
Research last year found that rats on a restricted diet are more physically fit in old age, apparently slowing the typical onset of physical disability. The rodents also looked and probably felt better: "Rats that ate a normal diet lost a significant amount of lean muscle mass and acquired more fat, while calorie-restricted rats maintained lean muscle mass as they aged," said lead researcher Tongjian You from the University of Buffalo. The finding was published in the October issue of the Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences.
Rodents are thought to be good analogues to humans. Dogs are even better.
A 14-year study of 48 Labrador Retrievers found restricting their diets by 25 percent starting at 8 weeks of age extended their lives by an average of 1.8 years. For a creature that typically never gets beyond its early teens, that's a big number. The findings were published back in 2002 in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
"The study also showed that lean body conformation forestalls some chronic illnesses, most notably osteoarthritis," said University of Pennsylvania researcher Gail K. Smith, who worked on the dog study. Ailments typically struck the lean dogs 2.1 years later than the others.
Probably works in humans
Convincing humans to eat less, and then studying the effects over a lifetime, is considerably more challenging. But mounting research suggests that what works for rats and dogs seems to apply to people.
Studies are under way with monkeys, which have lifespans of around 25 to 30 years, and early indications are promising, Ravussin said.
A study of humans last year found that cutting calories in human test subjects reduced oxidative damage in muscle cells. In the journal PLoS Medicine, the researchers speculated that the effect might translate into longer life.
Researchers caution, however, that longer lifespans does not mean immortality. The vast majority of mainstream researchers envision lifespans extending a few years.
"My estimate would be that 40 years of caloric restriction would give a 3 to 7 percent increase in longevity, so an optimistic estimate would be an additional four years or so," said Phelan, the UCLA researcher.
But researchers are quick to point out that human nature is not conducive to life-long calorie-restriction diets. "It's going to be limited to a few people who are going to try to do that," Ravussin said.
Seeking balance
"Suffering years of misery to remain super-skinny is not going to have a big payoff in terms of a longer life," Phelan said back in 2005 when the idea of "living forever" was particularly hyped in the media. "I once heard someone say caloric restriction may not make you live forever, but it sure would seem like it. Try to maintain a healthy body weight, but don't deprive yourself of all pleasure. Moderation appears to be a more sensible solution."
Phelan uses rodents as an example of why caution is warranted:
Mice will live longer if their diet is restricted by 10 percent, he said in 2005. "If you restrict their intake by 20 percent, they live even longer, and restrict them to 50 percent, they live longer still. But restrict their intake by 60 percent and they starve to death."
In an email interview the other day, Phelan said he stands by this assessment.
And Phelan now thinks there is "nothing" on the research horizon "that would extend lifespan in a significant amount, on the order of 10 or more years."
Big promise?
Other experts are optimistic that research into calorie restriction will lead to greater things.
Scientists are investigating what they call CR mimetics, or compounds that mimic the effects of calorie restriction. "This includes naturally occurring compounds and pharmaceuticals," explained Carter, the University of Florida researcher. "One that has received much attention lately is a compound called resveratrol, found in red wine."
Researchers have long pondered the French paradox: The French eat high-fat diets but live relatively long lives. Resveratrol and other compounds in red wine are thought by many to contribute to that good life. But testing any anti-aging drug or therapy sets up another tricky paradox: Nobody wants to invest in a 70-year test, and the Food and Drug Administration won't approve a chemical's use without thorough testing. There's a potential shortcut: Researchers are testing compounds thought to thwart aging on Alzheimer's patients to see if they slow the degradation of neurons. And similar human trials will begin soon on diabetes patients.
"However, many of these studies are still in the development phase, still being tested in rodent models," Carter said. "I expect that this field will begin to explode in the next few years. Caution is still merited given the need for extensive study of these compounds as to their efficacy and long-term safety."
Eventually, Ravussin thinks the combined efforts of all these research angles could extend lifespans by 15 years later this century.
In a society where lifespan has already increased significantly in recent decades, many people are at least as concerned with aging well as they are with living long.
"Many researchers are focusing on the effects of CR on health-span as opposed lifespan," Carter said. "We know that small reductions in caloric intake, even as little as 8 percent, result in improvements in health related outcomes."
- Robert Roy Britt
LiveScience Managing Editor
LiveScience.com
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Blocking Sun Not Feasible Warming Solution, Says Study
July 7, 2008 -- A proposal to reverse climate change by placing mirrors in the sky to reflect sunlight away from Earth won't give us back the same climate we had before we started emitting so much carbon dioxide, says a new study.
Researchers at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom applied state-of-the-art global climate models to predict the effect of using reflective sunshades to send a fraction of the sunlight that enters Earth's atmosphere back into space before it can heat things up.
They compared two futures with four times the pre-industrial level of CO2: one where nothing was done, and another where the sunlight intensity was reduced to a level that achieved the lower, pre-industrial global average temperature, despite the higher CO2 levels.
The second case simulated the use of enough sunshades to drop the average temperature to pre-industrial levels, which turned out to be a reduction in sunlight of about 4.2 percent.
"Although we managed to cancel out warming on a global average, what you end up with is some areas that warm up and some that cool down," said Dan Lunt, who led the study, published in Geophysical Research Letters.
"We found warming in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, and a cooling in the equatorial regions," Lunt said. "We got a decrease in rainfall a lot of places in the world, decreases in sea ice, and some changes in the El Nino phenomenon."
These changes resulted because the mirrors reduce sunlight more at the equators than near the poles, while CO2 has a warming effect that's more equally distributed, Lunt said.
The sunshades also do nothing to prevent changes caused by increased CO2, such as ocean acidification or changes to plant growth.
Although the sunshade approach won't bring back the same climate as reducing CO2 emissions, "it is highly successful compared to doing nothing," Lunt adds.
Lunt's team's work was not the first to try to understand the effects of sunshades using a climate model. Work by Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution in Stanford, Calif., also modeled a "sunshade world," but with a less complex model that did not include complete accounting for ocean circulation and sea ice.
"The study confirms our earlier findings with a better model," Caldeira said.
Although Lunt's model suggests sunshades are better than nothing, he would rather see efforts focused elsewhere.
"My personal opinion is that we should be focusing our time and money on actually reducing emissions," he said, "rather than some manmade monstrosity in space."
"The biggest problem I have with geoengineering discussions now is that the prospect of it working will reduce efforts to mitigate the problem by reducing fossil fuel emissions," agreed climatologist Alan Robock of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J.
"The solution to the climate problem is mitigation, not geoengineering," he added. "These things are not perfect and there's the potential for unintended consequences."
- Jessica Marshall, Discovery News
Ignite your passion for business
Running a business is extremely demanding. It's constantly on your mind whether you are actually at work or not. This obviously increases our stress levels, which can lead to tiredness and lack of motivation. Even the most enthusiastic business owner or business professional can have their "down" days. This is the time for you to recharge your batteries and return to your business refreshed and excited, otherwise you run the risk of passing on your lack of motivation to your staff and colleagues.Tips to help you keep motivated and inspired:
> Attend a personal development seminar. Discover an area in your business or personal life that you would like to improve. There are training programs, night courses, and even weekend seminars that can boost your energy levels and get you re-focused.
> Join a business networking event. Meeting with other business people can help you see your business in a different light. It gives you the opportunity to talk about all the great things your business has to offer. Talking with a new business contact is interesting, informative and inspiring. The energy in the room at a networking event is uplifting and stimulating. Just what you need to perk you up!
> Take a break. With mobile technology being so accessible we think that we should also work a little while on vacation. However, the only true way to come back to work with renewed energy is to give your mind & body a total break. There is plenty of time to catch up on emails etc when you get back. So unplug yourself completely and enjoy a break every few months!
> Exercise. Regular exercise helps your body work more effectively and efficiently. Many people think about their work or business while exercising and solutions usually come more easily with blood pumping through your veins. Give it a go. Even a walk around the block at lunchtime can get the creative juices flowing.
> Listen to a motivational CD. Try listening to a motivational or inspiring CD in your car on the way to work instead of listening to the radio. That way you will arrive at work motivated and ready to get on with business rather than feeling depressed about the daily news bulletin!
> Surround yourself with positive people. Positive and optimistic people will uplift your spirits and help keep you motivated. They give you energy and focus rather than draining it from you.
The scientific method to being "sexy"
Allure's new sex issue is out, and I love, love, love all the juicy details. My favorite piece is called "The Laws of Attraction," in which they ask different experts to define "What is sexy?" according to the fields they work in, which are, anthropology, scent, science and acting. You'll have to buy the magazine to get the whole story, but here's the gist of what they're saying:
The Anthropologist:
"...large breasts, a small waist, and wide hips. This is a holdover from times when women with wider hips were more likely to survive childbirth...full, red lips and a clear complexion..."
The bottom line: So basically, Angelina Jolie.
The Scent Expert:
"Research tells us that our body odor plays a role in whether we're truly attracted to someone...we've heard accounts from thousands of men and women who say that they were attracted to their partner because they just smelled right."
The bottom line: Spicy perfume may smell like seduction, but at the end of the day, it's all about your natural scent.
The Scientist:
"Women are beginning to understand there's no such thing as 'normal'...the kind of behavior we know for sure leads to a satisfying sex life is mixing in other activities that bring you pleasure--whether it's listening to music during sex, or eating certain foods beforehand."
The bottom line: In other words, be yourself. And celebrate your late night Ben & Jerry's addiction.
The Acting Coach:
"In Hollywood, physical beauty is everywhere, but sexiness is not...voice is extremely important...Today, many young actresses talk like little girls, and there is nothing sensual or attractive about that...Women are supposed to grow up--only then can they truly captivate.
"The bottom line: Don't be afraid to be a woman. Grr...
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Stem cells from female genital track: Scientists
Mumbai: Kolhapur-based senior gynaecologist Dr Satish Patki and senior Scientist at National Centre for Cell Science, Pune, Dr Ramesh Bhonde on Tuesday claimed that they have successfully created heart cells from the lining of uterus. They also demonstrated stem cells isolated from fallopian tubes and ovaries, and endometrium -- the entire female genital track -- were differentiated from heart, liver, bone, kidney, fat and pancreas cells. The scientists claimed that the medical fraternity could do autologous (stem cells from the patient) transplantation and thus revolutionise the entire science of obstetrics and gynaecology. This study will bring about tremendous impact in the various disorders like pregnancy induced hypertension and cases of recurrent abortions, Patki and Bhonde told media on Tuesday at Kolhapur. Clinical trials on these multi-potent cells for all gynaecological related problems are expected to start within six months, the scientists said. Apart from its human application, the present research will be useful for studying the effects of various drugs on the cells cultured in the laboratory. Similar techniques will also be useful for increasing the population of various endangered animal species like tigers or pandas by using various fertility enhancing techniques, based on this research, Bhonde said. The differentiated heart cells, myotubules, were shown beating, which can be directly used for therapeutics, Pitke told PTI from Kolhapur. Talking about the versatile nature of the uterus Pitke an IVF (test tube baby) specialist said, the lining of the uterus (endometrium) was obtained from the uterus by a simple non-surgical technique and it showed presence of a large number of stem cells. The stem cells obtained from fallopian tubes and ovaries were documented to be mesenchymal stem cells by the presence of various markers on their surface detected by the equipment called flow cytometry. The uterus is the only organ in human beings which undergoes cycles of shedding of its entire lining called endometrium and again its rapid repair over a period of one menstrual cycle. It is observed that usually 500 such cycles of shedding and repair occur in a life of a woman. Another peculiar observation in the uterine behaviour is its extreme capacity to expand in pregnancy and later again to return to its original size after delivery. The uterus weighs only 70 grams during non-pregnant status while it weighs about 1100 grams at full term pregnancy. Similarly, the volume of the uterus increases from hardly two ml to 5000 ml from non-pregnant to full term pregnant stage respectively. Such extremes of variation in size are not possible in any other human organ, Pitke said. One more interesting finding which stimulated the research by Patki and Bhonde was the immunological versatility shown by the uterus. This is the first of its kind research in the world literature, which has been accepted for publication by US based International 'Journal of Medical hypothesis', the researchers said, adding that they had applied for patent for their original work. |
US lab develops a quicker way to catch a thief
Federal researchers say they've developed a human identification test that's faster and possibly cheaper than DNA testing. It would be a handy new weapon in the arsenal for detectives, forensic experts and the military, though no one expects it to replace DNA analysis — and its promoters say it is not intended to. The new method analyses antibodies. Each person has a unique antibody bar code that can be gleaned from blood, saliva or other bodily fluids. Antibodies are proteins used by the body to fend off viruses or perform routine physiological housekeeping. "DNA is a physical code that describes you ... and in many ways so are your antibodies," said Dr. Vicki Thompson, a chemical engineer at the Idaho National Laboratory who's been working with other researchers to perfect the test for the past 10 years. The scientists say an antibody profile can yield results faster and more cheaply and be performed in the field with minimal training. National lab administrators have licensed the technology exclusively to Identity Sciences LLC in Alpharetta, Ga. The Georgia startup plans to begin rolling out test kits and training to law enforcement, the military and forensic and medical labs around the globe by fall of 2009. Ken Haas, vice president of marketing, says the test is not intended to supplant DNA testing, the recognized gold standard in human identification. But Haas says the value of antibody profiling is as a screening tool to help make sense of a crime scene, sort out the blood trails or spatter from multiple victims or more quickly identify body parts on a battlefield or at the scene of a disaster like the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. It may also reduce the number of DNA tests required in an investigation, potentially saving time and money and easing the growing backlog, he said. Results from tests on blood serum or dried blood can be ready in two hours, a fraction of the time it takes to run similar tests for DNA matches. However, a major drawback for now is the lack of a national antibody database. That's one of the reasons antibody testing is not likely to be used at the outset of an investigation to link suspects to crimes or establish probable cause to justify issuing an arrest warrant. Company officials say beta testing by forensic scientists at simulated crime scenes at seven locations across the country has produced positive results and reinforced the notion that an eager market awaits. The company declined to say where the testing occurred, citing nondisclosure agreements with participants. The company has not yet put a price tag on the field kits. But executives say their product will be significantly cheaper than DNA analysis, which can run anywhere from $500 to $3,000 per sample because it requires sophisticated equipment and lab time. "We don't see this yet as a product to take to court," said Gene Venesky, vice president of Identity Sciences. "But we do see this as a way to get the case moving forward toward a final, legal resolution." Still, some forensics experts say that kind of scrutiny may be unavoidable, especially if the test takes on a bigger crime-fighting role. "There is a lot of potential here," said Lawrence Kobilinsky, a DNA expert and chairman of the Department of Forensic Science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. "Any time you can develop a quick and easy screen for something ... that is a good thing." But Kobilinsky and others caution that it takes time for any new forensic test to gain acceptance where it matters most — state and federal courthouses. If the new tests begin appearing in police reports, defense attorneys can be expected to challenge their validity. "If these tests are going to get to the courtroom, which I think is inevitable, they are not going to be admissible as evidence until they can be proven reliable, accurate" and trustworthy, Kobilinsky said. "My bet is that a crime scene unit is going to be very careful about using this if it's not going to be of any benefit in litigation." |
Happiness is rising worldwide
Washington: Happiness levels have increased worldwide, thanks to greater economic growth, democratisation and social tolerance, according to new World Values Survey data released in the July issue of the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science.
The latest wave of World Values Surveys shows happiness has increased worldwide from 1981 to 2007.
The surveys also provides a ranking of 97 nations containing 90 per cent of the world's population. The results indicate that Denmark is the happiest nation in the world and Zimbabwe the unhappiest. The United States ranks 16th on the list, immediately after New Zealand.
The World Values Survey (WVS) is the work of a global network of social scientists who perform periodic surveys addressing a number of issues.
The latest surveys, taken in the United States and in several developing countries, showed increased happiness from 1981 to 2007 in 45 of 52 countries for which substantial time series data was available.
Researchers responsible for the analysis, from the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research (ISR) in Ann Arbour, say the overall rise in reported happiness is due to greater economic growth, democratisation and social tolerance.
Denmark tops the list of surveyed nations, along with Puerto Rico and Colombia. A dozen other countries, including Ireland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada and Sweden also rank above the United States, which maintains about the same relative position as it did in WVS's 2000 survey.
Researchers measured happiness by simply asking people how happy they were, and how satisfied they were with their lives as a whole.
Ninety-seven per cent of respondents – an exceptionally high response rate – gave answers that strongly correlated with how satisfied they were with various aspects of life such as gender equality and tolerance of minorities.
Interestingly, countries whose respondents reported high levels of happiness were much likelier to be democracies than were countries that rank lower in terms of their citizens' happiness.
Three of the world's poorer countries with long histories of repressive government – Moldova, Armenia and Zimbabwe – are at the bottom of the happiness list. Virtually all of the lowest ranking nations struggle with legacies of authoritarian rule and widespread poverty.
The World Values Survey has measured happiness since 1981. Its researchers have interviewed more than 350,000 people. |
Go for watermelons - Nature's Viagra
Washington: If you thought watermelon is just a fruit that refreshes parched throats, here is something you should know: the juicy fruit has ingredients that deliver Viagra-like effects to the body and blood vessels and may even increase libido. The finding results from a study led by an Indian researcher in the US. "We've always known that watermelon is good for you, but the list of its very important healthful benefits grows longer with each study," he added. Beneficial ingredients in watermelon and other fruits and vegetables are known as phyto-nutrients, naturally occurring compounds that are bioactive, or able to react with the human body to trigger healthy reactions, Patil said. In watermelons, these include lycopene, beta carotene and the rising star among its phyto-nutrients 'citrulline' whose beneficial functions are now being unraveled. Among them is the ability to relax blood vessels, much like Viagra does. Scientists know that when watermelon is consumed, citrulline is converted to arginine through certain enzymes. Arginine is an amino acid that works wonders on the heart and circulation system and maintains a good immune system, Patil said. "The citrulline-arginine relationship helps heart health, the immune system and may prove to be very helpful for those who suffer from obesity and type 2 diabetes," said Patil. "Arginine boosts nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels, the same basic effect that Viagra has, to treat erectile dysfunction and maybe even prevent it," he added. While there are many psychological and physiological problems that can cause impotence, extra nitric oxide could help those who need increased blood flow, which would also help treat angina, high blood pressure and other cardiovascular problems. "Watermelon may not be as organ specific as Viagra, but it%u2019s a great way to relax blood vessels without any drug side-effects," Patil said. The benefits of watermelon don't end there, he said. Arginine also helps the urea cycle by removing ammonia and other toxic compounds from our bodies. Citrulline, the precursor to arginine, is found in higher concentrations in the rind of watermelons than the flesh. |
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