British | SilverScorpio.Com

San Francisco Fun Seekers About to Get a BC Experience

April 3, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Olympic Gold Medalists Shani Davis and Ashleigh McIvor Join British Columbia and
Ziptrek Ecotours, Aboriginal Dance Group and More Coming to Justin Herman Plaza
in April
VANCOUVER, British Columbia–(Business Wire)–
One of the most popular public activities during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and
Paralympic Winter Games is coming to San Francisco as part of The British
Columbia Experience, an 11 day celebration kicking off on April 8th.

Ziptrek Ecotours are used to taking tourists soaring through mountain treetops
in British Columbia but starting in April, they will be giving San Franciscans a
chance to experience their own free urban zipline that will bring them flying
over 600 feet across Embarcadero Square. This unique event will let visitors
experience the thrill and exhilaration of ziplining – brought to prominence in
North America by Ziptrek Ecotours` flagship operation in Whistler, British
Columbia. During the Winter Olympics, thousands of visitors enjoyed a similar
urban zipline in downtown Vancouver.

The zipline is just one element of The British Columbia Experience, an event
taking place in Justin Herman Plaza from April 8th until April 18th. The event
will also feature free public dance performances by the world-renowned
Aboriginal dance group the Le-La-La Dancers, an interactive video display, a 3D
art installation, and more.

To help launch The British Columbia Experience two gold medal winning Olympians,
US Speed Skater Shani Davis and Canadian Ski Cross Racer Ashleigh McIvor will be
among the first to try out the zipline and participate in a public autograph
signing on April 8th.

When: Thursday, April 8 – Sunday, April 18th
10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

What: The British Columbia Experience, featuring:
– Free 600 ft. Urban Zipline: Open to the Public
Note: There are no age restrictions, but guests must weigh more than 65 pounds and no more than a maximum of 275 pounds. The ride will be free of charge.
– Interactive Video Display, 3D Art Installation and more

Who: – Launch event on April 8th from 12:30-2:00 featuring a public meet and greet with 2010 Olympic Gold Medalists Shani Davis (US Speed Skating Team) and Ashleigh McIvor (Canadian Freestyle Team – Ski Cross)
– Performances by the world renowned Aboriginal dance group the Le-La-La Dancers (April 8th – April 11th at 12:00pm and 5:00pm)

Where: Justin Herman Plaza at Embarcadero Square, San Francisco, California

Optimum Public Relations, Vancouver
Paul Marr, 778-231-1256
paul.marr@cossette.com

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Aboriginal Dance, Art Installation, Ashleigh Mcivor, British, British Columbia Business, Canadian Ski, celebration, dance, Downtown Vancouver, Justin Herman Plaza, Olympic Gold Medalists, Paralympic Winter Games, Public Dance, San Franciscans, Shani Davis, Ski Cross, Speed Skater, vancouver, Vancouver 2010 Olympic, Vancouver British Columbia, whistler british columbia, Winter Olympics, zipline, Ziptrek Ecotours

UK commander says dialogue with Taliban insurgents necessary to end Afghan war

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kabul, Sep 18(ANI): In an ambitious aim to help bring an end to the eight-year war in Afghanistan by persuading the Taliban to lay down their arms, British Army Lt. Gen Sir Graeme Lamb said that many Taliban activists have “done nothing wrong”, rather they have taken to arms as “they have anger and grievances, which have not been addressed”.

While addressing a gathering at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) headquarters in Kabul, Lamb insisted that a dialogue with the Taliban insurgents is necessary to end the cold war.

“We need to take a good look at the people we consider to be our enemies. A lot of young men fighting us have not done anything wrong. They have anger and grievances, which have not been addressed. The better life they expected has not materialized, these are the people we must talk to, but we must make sure we have something to offer them,” The Independent quoted Lamb, as saying.

Lamb further highlighted that the NATO and British forces where not in Afghanistan to give up people’s freedom, and said: “What we do have to do is combine new culture and old culture and work out something that works. We will be listening to what our Afghan colleagues say. I will work very closely with them and let them set conditions.”

Lamb also said that their primary motive is to bring those Afghanistan citizens back into the society, who have been forced out of their society for no fault of their own.

“Judge us by not just what we say, the promises we make, but what we do, what we deliver at the end,” Lamb said. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: activists, afghan war, Afghanistan, Afghanistan people, aim, Ambitious Aim, anger, ANI, anything, army, army lt, atlantic, atlantic treaty organization, better life, British, british army, Cold-War, commander, culture, dialogue, end, enemies, fault, Freedom, gathering, grievances, headquarters, independent, insurgents, judge, kabul, lamb, life, look, lot, Lt. Gen Sir Graeme Lamb, motive, NATO, Nato Headquarters, north, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, nothing, organization, Sep, society, something, Taliban, treaty, U.K, war, war in afghanistan, work, young men

Brit men having moob jobs on the rise

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep 18 (ANI): It has emerged that more and more Brit men are having cosmetic surgery to get rid of their “moobs”.

According to the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS), there has been a 44 per cent year-on-year rise in the number of men wanting to get rid of their ‘man boobs’.

The AGM of BAAPS in Cardiff heard that the procedure is now the fifth most popular cosmetic op for men, with more than 1,000 men forking out more than 2,000 pounds to get rid of their flabby breasts in the last 12 months.

Delegates were told over the past five years the numbers of men losing their moobs have shot up by an amazing 1,000 per cent.

“We are seeing men of all ages coming in to have their breasts made smaller,” the Sun quoted plastic surgeon Douglas McGeorge as saying.

“They are losing their inhibitions about the operation and deciding to undergo an operation which previously was a women’s operation,” he said.

McGeorge, who is based in Chester, revealed that a recent patient, who had never taken his shirt off, was typical of the men queuing up for the op.

“It was a grandfather who had never taken off his T-shirt in his life because he was so embarrassed about the size of his breasts,” he said.

“He had never been able to strip to the waist on the beach in front of his own children – but was determined not to be in the same position with his grandchildren,” he stated.

The moob jobs pushed out facelifts to become the fifth most popular plastic surgery for British men after nose jobs, eyelifts, ear corrections, and liposuction.

“Reasons for the upsurge include men being more open now about their physique than years ago,” plastic surgeon Fazel Fatah said.

“And they can get more and more information about it from internet sites which encourage them to have the op,” he added. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: aesthetic, agm, ANI, association, BAAPS, beach, breasts, brit, British, british men, Cardiff, cent, chester, cosmetic surgery, delegates, Douglas McGeorge, ear, Facelifts, fatah, Fazel, flabby, front, grandchildren, grandfather, information, inhibitions, internet, Internet Sites, life, liposuction, London, man, Man Boobs, Mcgeorge, moob, Moobs, nose, Nose Jobs, number, operation, patient, physique, plastic, plastic surgeon, plastic surgery, position, procedure, rise, Sep, shirt, size, Sun, surgeon, surgeons, surgery, t-shirt, upsurge, waist

JRR Tolkien ‘trained as British spy’

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sept 17 (ANI): Lord Of The Rings author JRR Tolkien secretly trained as a British Government spy in the run up to the Second World War, it has emerged.

Tolkien, an Oxford University professor who also wrote The Hobbit, was “earmarked” to crack Nazi codes in 1939.

According to newly released documents, Tolkien was one of 50 intellectuals specially chosen for secret training, reports The Sun.

Tolkien’s involvement with the war effort was revealed for the first time in a new exhibition at GCHQ, the new name for GCCS, the Government’s spy base in Cheltenham, Glos.

The display includes a number of previously unseen exhibits relating to Bletchley Park’s war preparations.

The word “keen” is written on Tolkien’s training file, and it is believed he passed the training course with flying colours.

But he rejected the offer of a job at the famous Bletchley Park code-breaking centre.

A GCHQ historian said: “We simply don’t know why he didn’t join. Perhaps it was because we declared war on Germany and not Mordor.” (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ANI, author, base, Bletchley Park, British, British government, British Spy, centre, cheltenham, course, display, effort, exhibition, exhibits, file, Flying Colours, GCCS, gchq, Germany, glos, Government, historian, Hobbit, intellectuals, involvement, job, JRR, jrr tolkien, keen, London, Lord Of, lord of the rings, lord of the rings author, Mordor, name, number, offer, Oxford, oxford university, professor, rings, run, Second, second world war, Sept, spy, Spy Base, Sun, time, Tolkien, training, University, university professor, war, war effort, War Preparations, word, world

British troops far from defeating Taliban, says Brit Defence Secretary

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep.16 (ANI): British troops are a long way from winning the battle against a resilient Taliban in Afghanistan, and the conflict in the country could lead to “major shifts” in military spending, said British Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth.

“We are facing a resilient enemy which we are far from succeeding against yet,” he told an audience of defence experts at King’s College London.

“I reject the proposition we are not making progress. I also reject the proposition a reduced military presence will lead to less Taliban success,” The Telegraph quoted Ainsworth, as saying further.

A leading thinktank warned earlier that the presence of large numbers of foreign troops in Afghanistan made it harder to achieve a political settlement to the conflict.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies said western forces in Afghanistan needed a “more cunning” strategy if they were to achieve their aims.

Ainsworth said a military failure in Afghanistan would have “profound consequences for our national security” and “undermine the Nato alliance”.

He also called for an open debate about future defence policy and how money for the military should be spent before the government publishes a defence review green paper in advance of next year’s general election. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: advance, Afghanistan, alliance, ANI, audience, battle, bob ainsworth, brit, British, British Defence Secretary, british troops, college, college london, conflict, country, Cunning Strategy, debate, defence, defence experts, Defence Policy, Election, enemy, failure, Government, institute, international, International Institute For Strategic Studies, king, London, military, Military Failure, military presence, military spending, MONEY, NATO, NATO alliance, open debate, paper, policy, political settlement, presence, Profound Consequences, progress, proposition, review, s college, Secretary Bob Ainsworth, security, Sep, settlement, spending, strategic, strategy, success, Taliban, Taliban Afghanistan, Taliban in Afghanistan, Telegraph, Thinktank, troops in afghanistan, way, year

Exercise beats shockwaves for chronic shoulder pain

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sept 16 (ANI): Supervised exercise helps ease chronic shoulder pain better than sound shockwave treatment, a new study suggests.

In the study, published in the online British Medical Journal, team of researchers based in Oslo, Norway compared the effectiveness of radial extracorporeal shockwave treatment (low to medium energy impulses delivered into the tissue) with supervised exercises in patients with shoulder pain.

The research involved 104 men and women aged between 18 and 70 years.

Participants were randomised to receive either radial extracorporeal shockwave treatment (one session weekly for four to six weeks) or supervised exercises (two 45 minute sessions weekly for up to 12 weeks).

Both groups were similar at the start of the study with regard to age, education, dominant arm affected and pain duration.

All patients were monitored at six, 12 and 18 weeks and were advised not to have any additional treatment except analgesics (including anti-inflammatory drugs) during the follow-up period. Pain and disability were measured using a recognised scoring index.

After 18 weeks, 32 of patients in the exercise group achieved a reduction in shoulder pain and disability scores compared with 18 in the shockwave treatment group.

More patients in the exercise group returned to work, while more patients in the shockwave treatment group had additional treatment after 12 weeks, suggesting that they were less satisfied.

The authors conclude: “Supervised exercises were more effective than radial extracorporeal shockwave treatment for short term improvement in patients with subacromial shoulder pain.” (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: age, Age Education, ANI, anti inflammatory drugs, arm, British, British Medical Journal, disability, Disability Scores, duration, Education, effectiveness, energy, exercise, exercise group, exercises, extracorporeal, Extracorporeal Shockwave Treatment, group, improvement, impulses, index, journal, London, medical, medium, Medium Energy, men and women, minute, minute sessions, Norway, Online, oslo, oslo norway, pain, period, Period Pain, radial, reduction, regard, Research, Sept, session, shockwave, shoulder, shoulder pain, six weeks, sound, start, study, subacromial, Supervised, supervised exercise, team, term, Term Improvement, tissue, treatment, treatment group

Rachel Stevens wins ‘Rear Of The Year’ award

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, September 16 (ANI): British Singer Rachel Stevens has been named this year’s winner of the Rear Of The Year award.

The ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ star was voted as the favourite for the cheeky title, while tenor Russell Watson topped the men’s category.

“I’m very flattered and I’m now going to insure each cheek for a considerable sum of money,” the Daily Star quoted her as saying.

Watson also said: “For the past 10 years it’s always been about The Voice but, for the first time, I’m delighted to say it’s about my rear.”

Award organiser Tony Edwards said: “They’ve both been high on the list of contenders for the past few years but this year broke through with amazing support. This is the era of the well-toned rear when people are taking care of their bodies with work-outs, jogging, and aerobics. Rachel and Russell typify the look.” (ANI)

Filed Under: Entertainment News Tagged With: 10 years, Aerobics, ANI, award, British, british singer, care, category, cheek, contenders, daily, Daily Star, dancing, era, favourite, jogging, list, London, look, MONEY, organiser, people, rachel, rachel stevens, rear, Rear Of The Year, Rear Of The Year Award, russell, Russell Watson, September, september 16, singer, star, sum, sum of money, support, tenor, the, time, title, Tony Edwards, typify, voice, watson, winner, wins, Work Outs, year

Antarctica’s secret water network far more dynamic than believed

September 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, September 15 (ANI): The first complete map of the lakes beneath Antarctica’s ice sheets reveals the continent’s secret water network is far more dynamic than we thought, and could be acting as a powerful lubricant beneath glaciers, contributing to sea level rise.

According to a report in New Scientist, Ian Joughin at the University of Washington in Seattle and colleagues developed the map.

Unlike previous lake maps, which are confined to small regions, Joughin and colleagues mapped 124 subglacial lakes across Antarctica using lasers on NASA’s ICESat satellite.

The team also observed the lakes draining and filling.

While interior lakes tended to be static, many coastal lakes changed significantly. Some even appear to be connected by channels under the ice hundreds of kilometres long.

For instance, when upstream lakes under the Recovery glacier drained 3 cubic kilometres of water, lakes downstream gained a similar amount.

Water flowing under glaciers can act as a lubricant, causing land ice to accelerate into the sea and add to rising sea levels.

“The implications for the flow of ice are potentially quite significant,” said Andy Smith of the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge, UK.

“Those lakes with no clear drainage channels are of particular interest because they could be spreading a thin film of lubricating water under glaciers,” he added. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: amount, Andy Smith, ANI, antarctic, antarctica, British, British Antarctic Survey, cambridge, Cambridge Uk, Coastal Lakes, continent, cubic kilometres, drainage, Drainage Channels, film, flow, glacier, glaciers, Ian Joughin, ice, icesat, instance, interest, Interior Lakes, Joughin, lake, Lake Maps, land, Land Ice, level, London, lubricant, map, NASA, Nasa Satellite, network, New, New Scientist, recovery, report, rise, rising sea levels, satellite, scientist, sea, sea level rise, seattle, Secret Water, September, subglacial, survey, team, thin film, U.K, University, Washington, water, Water Lakes, water network

Second child within a year ‘increases breast cancer risk’

September 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sept 14 (ANI): Having a second child within a year of the first birth can increase a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer, finds a new study.

The research, involving 30,000 women each of whom had produced five or more children, has shown that those with a gap of less than 12 month were 5.2 times more likely to develop the advanced ductal breast cancer than women who had a gap of three or more years.

Although it is unclear that why the risk increases, researchers believe hormones might be involved.

Alternatively, other risk factors may have influenced the results, including being overweight, and whether or not the mother chooses to breast-feed.

“Women who had their first two births close together should not be worried by these findings because the study’s results are not conclusive,” the Telegraph quoted Josephine Querido, senior science information officer at Cancer Research UK, as saying.

“The researchers looked at a very specific group of women – those who had a specific type of breast cancer, who had advanced tumours, who were under 50, and who had at least five children. In studies like this, dividing the group of people you’re looking at into lots of smaller groups makes it likely that you’ll find a positive result in one of the subgroups just by chance.

“For all women, it’s important to go to the GP if they spot any unusual changes in their breast, and to go for screening when invited,” Querido added.

The study appears in the British Journal of Cancer. (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: ANI, being overweight, birth, breast, breast cancer, breast cancer risk, Breast Feed, British, british journal of cancer, cancer, Cancer research uk, chance, child, ductal, Ductal Breast Cancer, gap, group, group of women, having a second child, hormones, information, information officer, josephine, Josephine Querido, journal, London, month, mother, officer, overweight, Research, result, risk, risk factors, risk increases, Science, science information, screening, senior science, Sept, Specific Group, spot, study, Subgroups, Telegraph, tumours, type, Type Of Breast Cancer, U.K, woman, Women, year

Olympians should face tests for hidden heart problems

September 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep 14 (ANI): Athletes who participate in worldwide sports events like the Olympics should be screened for hidden heart problems – and potential disqualification if any are detected, claims a collection of studies, one of which was conducted by an Indian origin researcher.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) ordered to conduct the studies into the practicality and effectiveness of such tests.

There have been a number of seemingly healthy athletes, who have dropped dead from “sudden cardiac death”, including the Spanish footballer Antonio Puerta two years ago and British rower Scott Rennie in March this year.

Many of the heart problems that trigger such deaths can be detected through physical examination, electrocardiograms and by taking a medical history, as laid out in the “Lausanne recommendations” created under the auspices of the European Society of Cardiology.

The new studies have indicated that implementing these recommendations can help save lives.

In one such study, researchers applied the protocol to 371 Dutch athletes aged 12 to 35 over two years.

Of the 55 who were referred for additional testing, 10 had an underlying cardiovascular problem, and three were restricted from further participation in sport

“Everybody who plays sports needs to be aware that there are certain conditions that may be silent, that could result in a fatality,” New Scientist quoted Sanjay Sharma, a cardiologist at King’s College Hospital in London, who led one of the studies, as saying.

The study has been published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. (ANI)

Filed Under: Sports News Tagged With: ANI, Antonio Puerta, athletes, British, british journal of sports medicine, cardiologist, Cardiology, collection, college, committee, death, disqualification, Dutch Athletes, effectiveness, electrocardiograms, European, everybody, examination, fatality, footballer, heart, heart problems, Hidden Heart, history, hospital, indian origin, international, international olympic committee, ioc, journal, journal of sports medicine, king, lausanne, London, March, medicine, New, New Scientist, number, Olympians, olympic, origin, participation, practicality, problem, protocol, Rennie, researcher, rower, s college, sanjay, sanjay sharma, scientist, Scott Rennie, Sep, society, Sport, Sports, sports medicine, study, study researchers, sudden cardiac death, testing, worldwide, Worldwide Sports Events, year

MI5 warns that young Brits heading for terrorist training Somalia soaring

September 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep.13 (ANI): British intelligence chiefs have targeted war-torn Somalia as the next major challenge to their efforts to repel Islamic terrorism, after receiving reports of scores of youths leaving the UK for “jihad training” in that failed African state.

According to The Independent, MI5 bosses have warned ministers that the number of young Britons travelling to Somalia to fight in a “holy war”, or train in terror training camps, has soared in recent years as the country has emerged as an alternative base for radical Islamic groups.

The number of young Britons following the trail every year has more than quadrupled to at least 100 since 2004 – and analysts warn that the true figure (which would include those who enter the country overland) will be much higher.

However, the British authorities are particularly concerned about the number of people with no direct family connection to Somalia who are travelling to fight and train there.

The diversity suggests Somalia is flourishing as a training ground for radical British Muslims, who could join the local terrorist militia al-Shabaab (“the youth”), go on to join conflicts including the Afghan campaign, or return home to pose a security threat to the UK. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Afghan Campaign, al, ANI, base, British, British authorities, British Intelligence, britons, brits, campaign, challenge, chiefs, conflicts, connection, country, diversity, family, figure, ground, heading, holy war, home, independent, intelligence, Islamic, islamic terrorism, jihad, London, mi5, militia, muslims, number, overland, Radical Islamic Groups, return, security, security threat, Sep, shabaab, Somalia, state, terror, terrorism, threat, trail, train, training, training camps, True Figure, U.K, war, year, youth

Asian-origin RAF medic sues British Military for “Paki” and “terrorist” jibe cover up

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep. 11 (ANI): An Asian origin Royal Air Force medic, who was racially abused and assaulted by senior colleagues, has claimed that British military investigators tried to cover up his complaints.

The British-born medic told an employment tribunal in central London that he was called a “Paki” and “terrorist”, was grabbed around the throat and threatened with a beating while he was serving in Afghanistan in 2007.

The man, referred to as AB, also blamed the military for not dealing with his complaints properly.

The Independent quoted his legal representative Jude Bunting as saying that members of the Army’s Special Investigation Branch had purposely dragged their feet when dealing with the complaints.

However, Captain Gary Ward, who worked on the AB investigation, said the allegations were “absolutely ridiculous”.

The hearing continues, the paper reports. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Afghanistan, air, allegations, ANI, army, Asian Origin, beating, branch, British, British Military, Bunting, Captain Gary, Captain Gary Ward, central London, colleagues, cover, employment, Employment Tribunal, force, hearing, independent, investigation, jibe, jude, legal representative, London, man, medic, military, military investigators, origin, Paki, paper, raf, representative, royal, royal air force, Sep, Sep 11, special investigation branch, terrorist, throat, tribunal

Why diet drugs work

September 12, 2009 By admin 1 Comment

London, Sept 11 (ANI): Diet drugs work because they make people eat more healthily, claim psychologists.

In the study, presented at the British Psychological Society’s Division of Health Psychology conference in Birmingham, researchers found that dieters who lost the most weight on the drugs had also reduced the amount of fatty junk food they ate.

However, some people reacted differently to starting the drugs, taking them as a license to eat more unhealthy food such as crisps, reports The Telegraph.

To reach the conclusion, researchers analysed data of 572 people who had been prescribed the diet drug orlistat by their doctor.

The drug works by reducing the amount of fat absorbed by the body.However, this fat is them eliminated in bowel movements, which can cause disagreeable side effects.

Amelia Hollywood, a PHD student at the University of Surrey and one of the researchers who carried out the study, said: “Our findings support the idea that orlistat works not only on a physical level, but also psychologically – as it encourages people to see their diet as a cause of their weight problem.

“In addition, the side effects are so unpleasant that people avoid bad eating fatty foods and therefore lose weight.

“However, the way in which some people responded to orlistat was surprising.

“Some participants in this study reported that their eating behaviour became significantly unhealthier over the six month period.”

She added: “People also told us that they were not adhering to the medication as they should. It seemed that these people were taking orlistat as a lifestyle drug – choosing to take it when they were eating foods higher in fat to reduce any weight gain or not taking it when going on holiday or out for a meal as they didn’t want to experience the consequences of eating fatty foods.”

The preliminary findings found that on average those taking the diet pills lost almost 10lb over six months. (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: ''cause, addition, Amelia Hollywood, amount, ANI, behaviour, birmingham, body, bowel, bowel movements, British, british psychological society, claim, conclusion, conference, crisps, diet, diet drug, Diet Drugs, diet pills, dieters, division, doctor, drug, eating, Eating Fatty Foods, fat, fatty, food, gain, Going On Holiday, Health, Health Psychology, holiday, idea, junk, junk food, level, license, Lifestyle, Lifestyle Drug, London, meal, medication., month, orlistat, period, PhD, phd student, problem, psychological, psychologists, psychology, Psychology Conference, Sept, Sept 11, side, society, student, study, Surrey, Telegraph, unhealthier, unhealthy food, University, University Of Surrey, way, weight, weight gain

Men’s sweat ‘boosts their attractiveness in the eyes of women’

September 12, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sept 11 (ANI): A naturally present chemical in men’s sweat may act as a primitive love potion that increases their attractiveness in women’s eyes, says a new study.

The substance is derived from the male sex hormone testosterone.

To reach the conclusion, Tamsin Saxton of the University of St Andrews studied the influence of androstadienone by dabbling a drop of it on the upper lip of 50 women who took part in the evening trial before they “dated” a series of men.

From analyses, researchers found that women of all ages rated the men slightly higher on a scale of attractiveness when given the substance, compared to water or clove oil, but the effect was greatest in younger women aged between 18 and 22, reports The Independent.

“For some of the women we gave them androstadienone and we put it in clove oil solution so they just smelt clove oil. Some of the women had clove oil alone, and the third group had just water so there was no odour at all,” she told the British Science Festival.

“We got the women to mark how attractive they thought the men were on a one to seven scale after they interacted with each man,” she said.

“We found that the women given androstadienone had given slightly higher ratings of attractiveness to the men. That suggested this constituent of sweat does seem to have some kind of impact on attraction,” she told the festival.

“Some people don’t seem to be able to smell it all, some people say it smells OK or a bit sweaty, whereas others say it smells really awful, like babies’ nappies,” Saxton said.

According to the expert, one hypothesis is that it could be a “pheromone”, or chemical messenger that acts between individuals in much the same way that hormones act as messengers within the body.

“It’s something that people investigate on the topic of pheromones. When you talk of animal pheromones, they are involved in very specific reactions,” Saxton said.

“People do value somebody’s natural skin smell and it’s worth bearing in mind that this may be part of your appeal – how you smell naturally,” she told the festival. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: andrews, androstadienone, ANI, animal, appeal, attraction, attractiveness, bearing, bit, body, British, British Science, chemical, chemical messenger, clove, Clove Oil, conclusion, constituent, drop, effect, evening, expert, festival, group, hormone, hormones, impact, independent, influence, kind, lip, London, love, Love Potion, male sex hormone, man, Men, messenger, Messengers, mind, Natural Skin, odour, oil, part, pheromone, pheromones, potion, saxton, scale, Science, science festival, Sept, series, Sex, skin, smell, solution, somebody, something, study, substance, sweat, talk, Tamsin Saxton, testosterone, third group, topic, trial, University, University of St. Andrews, upper lip, water, way, Younger Women

New ‘Taliban killer’ sights for British troopers on Afghanistan frontier

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sep 9(ANI): After reports of British soldiers facing weapons’ shortage in the Afghanistan frontier, a range of new thermal weapons’ sights has been launched to enable soldiers to dominate the battlefield in Afghanistan.

According to reports, the British Ministry of Defence will buy almost 11,000 new sights for 150 million pounds, allowing the Army to equip 95 infantry companies of more than 100 men.

As part of the Ministry of Defence’s Future Integrated Soldier Technology (Fist) programme troops have been issued with a small glass prism-like sight, which project a red laser dot. It would help a soldier to quickly align the red dot on an enemy who is very close and hit him with guaranteed accuracy.

“This means the infantryman can pick up the enemy coming in. At night the enemy’s field craft has to be pretty adept because he has to remain in dead ground all the way up to your position and that is hard yards. This will allow us to dominate the night,” The Telegraph quoted Col Bill Pointing, a former battalion commander in charge of the project, as saying.

“This will allow the infantry to operate quicker, better, at longer range, at night and in difficult weather conditions,” he added.

It will provide improved protection, day and night surveillance and target acquisition, and assistance with navigation, command and control and battle preparation.

The new thermal weapons’ sights would also allow soldiers to conduct surveillance and engage targets in all weather and light levels, including zero light where normal night sights would be rendered ineffective.

“There is a considerable improvement in terms of us infantry engaging the Taliban at very close quarters in the villages of Afghanistan, especially at night time. It will help us to put very effective fire into them,” said Cpl Ciaran Hanna of the Irish Guards. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: accuracy, acquisition, Afghanistan, ANI, army, assistance, battalion, Battalion Commander, battle, battlefield, British, british ministry of defence, british soldiers, charge, Ciaran Hanna, close quarters, Col Bill Pointing, command, commander, control, Cpl, craft, day, defence, Difficult Weather, enemy, field, Field Craft, fire, fist, frontier, future, glass, Glass Prism, ground, hanna, improvement, infantry, Infantry Companies, infantryman, Integrated, irish, Irish Guards, killer, laser, laser dot, London, ministry, ministry of defence, navigation, New, night, Night Surveillance, night time, part, position, preparation, programme, project, protection, range, red dot, Sep, shortage, sight, soldier, surveillance, Taliban, target, target acquisition, Technology, Telegraph, time, way, weather, weather conditions

Kidnapped British journalist rescued by US special forces in Afghanistan

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Kunduz (Afghanistan), Sep 9(ANI): British journalist Stephen Farrell, who was working for the New York Times when he was kidnapped in Afghanistan four days ago, has been rescued by a team of US special forces.

Farrell and his colleague Sultan Munadi went missing on Saturday from Afghanistan’s Kunduz province.

“Last night in a US special forces operation in Chardara district, they managed to free Stephen Farrell, but the Afghan journalist Sultan Mohammad [Munadi] was killed by Taliban during the operation,” The Telegraph quoted Mohammad Omar, Kunduz Governor, as saying.

Farrell was rescued after a fierce firefight between the commandos and his captors.

“We were all in a room, the Talibs all ran, it was obviously a raid. We thought they would kill us. We thought should we go out,” Farrell said.

“There were bullets all around us. I could hear British and Afghan voices,” he added.

Further referring to Munadi’s death, Farrell said: “He was so close, he was just two feet in front of me when he dropped.”

The British Ministry of Defence refused to confirm whether British special forces were involved in the operation.

“We do not comment on special forces. All we can say is that it was a Nato operation,” a spokeswoman said. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Afghanistan, ANI, British, british journalist, british ministry of defence, british special forces, bullets, Chardara, colleague, commandos, death, defence, district, Farrell, firefight, front, governor, journalist, kidnapped, Kunduz, Kunduz Province, ministry, ministry of defence, Mohammad Omar, NATO, Nato Operation, New, New York Times, night, operation, province, raid, room, Saturday, Sep, spokeswoman, Stephen Farrell, Sultan Mohammad, Sultan Munadi, Taliban, Talibs, team, Telegraph, times, two feet, US, voices, york

Sleeping with partner could be bad for health and relationship

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sept 9 (ANI): The secret to a long, healthy and happy marriage might lie in having separate beds, claims a sleep expert.

A research has found that sharing a bed often led to poor quality sleep as people were regularly disturbed by their loved ones during the night.

Speaking at a special seminar on sleep at the British Science Festival, Dr Neil Stanley, a sleep expert at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, said: “A normal double bed is 4ft 6inches wide. That means you have up to nine inches less per person in a double bed than a child has in a single bed.

“Add to this another person who kicks, punches, snores and gets up to go to the loo and is it any wonder that we are not getting a good night’s sleep?

“To save your marriage and your health you should have a discussion about your sleep.”

However, despite the detrimental effects of snoring, teeth grinding and tossing and turning, people tolerated it because culturally sleeping together is considered a sign of intimacy, reports The Telegraph.

Stanley, who follows his own advice and sleeps in a different room to his wife, said that double beds are just not conducive to a good night’s sleep.

He said the tradition of the marital bed began with the industrial revolution, when people moved into cities and found themselves short of living space. Before the Victorian era it was not uncommon for married couples to sleep apart.

“Intimacy is good for emotional health but good sleep is good for physical and mental health,” he said.

Stanley, who set up the Sleep Lab at the University of Surrey, said: “Sleep is a selfish thing to do. No one can share your sleep. If you know that your partner is next to you, then you are awake. If you are sleeping together and it is all right then carry on. If not then you should do something about it, not just tolerate it. Getting a good night’s sleep is as important as diet and exercise.”

The expert also suggested various ways through which couples could improve their sleep, if sleeping in separate beds was too much of a leap.

They included buying a bigger bed, having separate duvets and having darker curtains. (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: advice, ANI, bed, British, British Science, child, detrimental effects, diet, discussion, Double Beds, dr neil, Dr Neil Stanley, Emotional Health, era, exercise, expert, festival, good sleep, Happy Marriage, Health, hospital, industrial revolution, intimacy, lab, leap, living space, London, loo, marriage, married couples, night, norfolk, norwich, Norwich University, One, partner, person, poor quality, quality, relationship, Research, revolution, right, room, Science, science festival, secret, seminar, Separate Beds, Sept, sign, single bed, sleep, Sleep Lab, Snores, something, space, Stanley, Surrey, Telegraph, thing, tradition, University, University Of Surrey, wife

Researchers make bacteria to produce useful proteins

September 7, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep 7 (ANI): Researchers at the University of British Columbia have turned the bacterium Caulobacter crescentus into a protein production factory by adapting a single protein on its surface, thus making useful proteins that can act as vaccines and drugs.

C. crescentus is a harmless bacterium that has a single protein layer on its surface.

Led by Dr. John Smit, the researchers adapted the system that secretes this protein, which self-assembles into a structure called the “S-layer”, to secrete instead many proteins that are useful for vaccines and other therapeutic purposes.

In other words, by keeping the S-layer protein intact and genetically inserting new things inside it, they produce a very dense display of useful proteins on the cell surface.

The researchers are now hoping to use the entire bacterium in a therapeutic application.

Bacteria are commonly used in biotechnology to produce useful protein products.

If the bacteria secrete the protein rather than keep it contained within the cell, purification costs are greatly lowered.

The researchers have developed a commercially available kit based on this technology, which could be especially useful in developing countries as it might be used to manufacture HIV-blocking agents very cheaply and with little specialist expertise.

“This S-layer system is very efficient at producing and secreting proteins – we can make the bacterium into a protein pump, secreting over half of all the protein it makes as engineered S-layer protein,” said Smit.

He added: “Applications of S-layer display that we are currently developing include anti-cancer vaccines, an HIV infection blocker and agents to treat Crohn’s and colitis, and diarrhoea in malnourished populations”.

Smit presented the findings at the Society for General Microbiology’s meeting at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: ANI, application, bacteria, bacterium, Biotechnology, blocker, British, Cancer Vaccines, Caulobacter, cell, Cell Purification, Cell Surface, Columbia, Crohn, diarrhoea, display, dr john, Dr. John Smit, edinburgh, expertise, factory, general microbiology, half, Heriot, heriot watt university, heriot watt university edinburgh, HIV, hiv blocking, hiv infection, infection, Kit, layer, meeting, production, protein, Protein Layer, protein production, Protein Products, proteins, pump, purification, secrete, Sep, society, specialist, Specialist Expertise, structure, surface, system, Technology, Therapeutic Application, therapeutic purposes, University, university of british columbia, Washington, watt, watt university edinburgh

Chocolate, relaxation rooms can help beat exam stress

September 6, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Sept 6 (ANI): In an attempt to beat exam stress, some schools in the UK are offering pupils chocolate and access to relaxation rooms, academics told an education conference.

Researchers at Edge Hill and Manchester universities have urged that parents and teachers are putting the wrong kind of pressure on teenagers to succeed.

The study has been presented at the British Educational Research Association (BERA) conference in Manchester.

It analysed the link between teacher and parent behaviour and the anxiety levels of 175 sixth form students. The researchers also examined the stress levels of 224 GCSE pupils and compared them with their exam results, reports The Scotsman.

The study found that higher anxiety usually leads to lower scores.

Lead researcher Dr Dave Putwain said: “I know of one school that gives anxious children chocolate and a pat on the head immediately before an exam.

“Pupils at another school I have visited can spend some time in a relaxation room that has soft lighting, comfortable furniture and soothing sounds.” (ANI)

Filed Under: Health News Tagged With: academics, access, ANI, anxiety, Anxiety Levels, Anxious Children, association, attempt, behaviour, BERA, British, chocolate, conference, Dr Dave, Dr Dave Putwain, Edge Hill, Education, Education Conference, educational, Educational Research Association, exam, exam results, Exam Stress, form, furniture, gcse, Gcse Pupils, head, kind, lighting, link, London, manchester, Manchester Universities, parent, parents and teachers, pat, pressure, pupils, relaxation, Relaxation Room, Research, researcher, room, school, scotsman, Sept, Sixth Form, Soft Lighting, Soothing Sounds, stress, stress levels, study, teacher, time, U.K

Obama’s team found Brown “dour and depressing”, Cameron “dynamic”

September 5, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Wellington, Sep. 5 (ANI): US President Barack Obama’s team thinks British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is rather “dour and depressing,” it has been claimed.

Richard Wolffe, a former Newsweek White House correspondent, who travelled with Obama on his election campaign, made this revelation.

The Daily Express quoted Wolffe as saying that Obama team’s views were formed after the 48-year-old president-elect met the Brown, 58.

“They found the experience faintly depressing, a sort of end-of-regime feel about the whole thing,” he said.

However, the US President’s team was impressed by Tory leader David Cameron ‘s “energy, verve and dynamism”.

“He was really taken with Cameron. He and his aides thought that he had energy and verve, a dynamism that suggested he was a good candidate. Brown on the other hand, really they found very lack-lustre, his mood and his dourness. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: aides, ANI, barack, Barack Obama, British, british prime minister, british prime minister gordon brown, brown, campaign, candidate, correspondent, daily, daily express, David Cameron, dour, dynamism, Election, election campaign, energy, experience, Express, Gordon Brown, hand, house, leader, Lustre, mood, Newsweek, Obama, president, president-elect, prime minister gordon brown, regime, revelation, Richard Wolffe, Sep, sort, team, thing, Tory, tory leader, US, Verve, Wellington, white, White House, White House Correspondent

San Francisco Fun Seekers About to Get a BC Experience

UK commander says dialogue with Taliban insurgents necessary to end Afghan war

Brit men having moob jobs on the rise

JRR Tolkien ‘trained as British spy’

British troops far from defeating Taliban, says Brit Defence Secretary

Antarctica’s secret water network far more dynamic than believed

Olympians should face tests for hidden heart problems

MI5 warns that young Brits heading for terrorist training Somalia soaring

Asian-origin RAF medic sues British Military for “Paki” and “terrorist” jibe cover up

Why diet drugs work

New ‘Taliban killer’ sights for British troopers on Afghanistan frontier

Kidnapped British journalist rescued by US special forces in Afghanistan

Sleeping with partner could be bad for health and relationship

Researchers make bacteria to produce useful proteins

Chocolate, relaxation rooms can help beat exam stress

Obama’s team found Brown “dour and depressing”, Cameron “dynamic”

Search More News

Technology News

Ads