If you desire to have a good wife, then settle for a Brunette
October 31, 2008
Looking for a girlfriend? Then opt for blondes who are more suitable. But if you wish to settle down, and are looking for a bride, dark-haired women are considered the best long term option, suggests a study.
The study found brunettes were perceived as more dependable by males. Thus the research has supported the old adage that gentlemen prefer blondes, but not when it comes to choosing a wife.
According to the Daily Express, in a poll of about 3,000 men it was discovered that men think blondes are preferable as girlfriends, but when it comes to choosing a life partner – in other words marriage – 52 percent would rather wed a dark-haired woman as they are considered as more dependable. A mere 18 percent, of the men questioned thought a blonde would make a good wife.
Hairdresser Andrew Collinge, whose company commissioned the poll, was quoted as saying;
“This shows just how much men judge women by their hair colour.”
The result also showed that 33 percent of males have a particular hair shade they always go for, however 44 percent say they are more attracted to brunettes.
Over one million older people feel lonely
October 31, 2008
Over one million older people reveal that they always or often feel lonely, a Help the Aged report suggests. The charity found over a third of older people in the country, comprising half of women over 65, now lived alone. Almost half a million pensioners in the UK leave their houses just once a week; a further 300,000 are wholly housebound, the report states.
The charity wants more assistance for older people and added many only get to talk to delivery people. Paul Bates, the Help the Aged spokesman, said:
“Many older people interact only with their postman on a day-to-day basis.
The report has blamed a variety of factors for them to get isolated like the absence of opportunities to pursue their hobbies, a lack of local services like post offices, and low incomes. Amongst its pertinent recommendations, it states the government should make sure that the state pension is at a level that allows older people to be comfortable and stable.
An improved design of most public areas, greater provision of bereavement support and better healthcare are other issues that need to be tackled, it says.
There is a very thin dividing line between love and hate
October 31, 2008
People in love are often less critical about their partner but at the same time you need to maintain your focus when dealing with a hated rival. When someone hates a person, the hater may act to exercise judgment resulting in fulfilling ones wish to cause harm.
As per Semir Zeki and John Paul Romaya of University College London’s report;
“Brain scans of people shown images of individuals they hated revealed a pattern of brain activity that partly occurs in areas also activated by romantic love.” The researchers wrote in the Public Library of Science journal PLOS One: “This linkage may account for why love and hate are so closely linked to each other in life. Our results show that there is a unique pattern of activity in the brain in the context of hate.”
Seventeen men and women were shown pictures of someone the volunteers hated along with three familiar neutral faces. Except for one politician, the hated individuals were from all walks of life; former lovers or work rivals “Hate circuit” switched on when people saw faces they despised. The so called hate circuit includes structures in the cortex and the sub-cortex and represented a pattern distinct from emotions such as fear, threat and danger, revealed Zeki in an interview.
Redknapp pulls a fast one: two last minute goals
October 31, 2008
As far as Tottenham fans are concerned, Harry Redknapp Tottenham’s new manager, might as well be the famous Harry Potter. His new side achieved the near impossible magic feat of securing a 4-4 draw away to Arsenal in the north London derby despite trailing by two goals, the final whistle just one minute away.
Into the 89th minute, it seemed it was the end and the game was up when Arsenal led 4-2. But fate had other thing in store for the New Tottenham side. Goals from Jermaine Jenas and Aaron Lennon were responsible for a remarkable share of the spoils. The game ended 4-4.
Tottenham led in the 13th minute when in a spectacular fashion, from fully 40 yards out, England midfielder David Bentley flicked the ball up and lobbed a whirling volley over the head of Manuel Alumunia. On either side of the half-time, headed goals from French central defenders Mikael Silvestre and William Gallas, surged Arsenal in front. Before Darren Bent scored Spur’s second goal, Emmanuel made it 3-1. Last minute Jenas and Lennon’s goals turned the match on its head.
Foreign students wishing to study in UK will face stricter rules
October 31, 2008
With the aim to clamp down on bogus students as well as protect the labour market and ensuring that only those who benefit Britain can continue to come, Britain has announced stricter rules for foreign students wishing to study in the country.
So far the Australian-style points system has not been introduced in England. The home office has confirmed that the student tier of the Australia-style points system will be introduced from March 2009. Earlier this year, Britain introduced a new point-based immigration system for non-European Union migrants in a major overhaul of its immigration system.
The points based system consists of five tiers – highly skilled migrants come under the first tier, Tier 2 is for skilled workers with a job offer, Tier 3 is for low-skilled workers, Tier 4 covers students, and Tier 5 is meant for temporary workers like musicians, sports persons and actors.
Foreign student’s contribution to the UK economy is about £2.5 billion annually by way of fees alone, while the overall estimated contribution is £8.5 billion every year, as per the official estimates. Now foreign students are allowed to work in UK for two years once they have achieved their degrees, for work experience.
The new rules will probably achieve the stated aims. All colleges, universities and any educational institutions which aim to recruit students from outside the European Economic Area are duty bound to be registered.
Magnetic cure: Non-invasive brain stimulator for depression
October 30, 2008
A device that sends magnetic pulses through the skull- the first noninvasive stimulator to treat depression has been approved by the government. It may sound like science-fiction; the woodpecker-like pulses trigger small electrical charges that spark the brain cells to fire. It is comparatively less risky and safer than surgically implanted electrodes or the treatment of last resort, shock therapy.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved NeuroStar’s TMS or Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation therapy specifically for patients who had no relief from their first antidepressant, offering them a different option than rather gulping pill after pill.
Mark George of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, who helped pioneer use of TMS in depression said:
“We’re opening up a whole new area of medicine. There’s a whole field now that’s moving forward of noninvasive electrical stimulation of the brain.”
This probably may meet the big need for innovative approaches as at least one in five depression patients is treatment-resistant. The question is, just how much benefit can TMS offer.
A clear image would appear when results of the National Institutes of Health’s independent study of 260 patients will be out early next year. According to Philip Janicak of Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago, who aided the NeuroStar study,
“Quantifying the benefit is key, considering the price tag. TMS is expected to cost $6,000
to $10,000, depending on how many treatments a patient needs.”
Even though, it seems far more expensive than medication, yet it is thousands of dollars cheaper than invasive depression devices.
InterHeart study blames salt rich food and fried diets for 35% of heart attacks globally
October 30, 2008
The study involved 16,000 heart attack patients between 1999 and 2003 in countries on every continent, a shift from previous studies which focused only on the developed world.
Diets rich in salt and fried items, increase heart attack risk, while satisfying your appetite by eating lots of fruits, leafy greens and other vegetables reduces the risk considerably.
The study covered dietary preferences based on 19 food groups of each country, the patients and controls filled in a “dietary risk score”. The researcher found that people who eat a diet high in fried foods, salty snacks, eggs and meat-the-“Western Diet- had 35 percent higher risk of having a heart attack than people who consumed little or completely avoided fried foods or meat, irrespective of where they lived.
People who enjoyed and ate a “prudent diet”- high in leafy green vegetables, other raw and cooked vegetables and fruits- had a 30 percent lower risk of heart attack than those who ate little or no fruits and vegetables.
However, the third dietary practice, which is traditionally followed in Asian societies, the “oriental diet” consisting of foods such as tofu and soy sauce, was found to have negligible impact on heart attack risk. This is probably due to the fact that protective properties too have a high salt content which negate the benefits.
Yusuf, head of the Population Health Research Institute at Hamilton Health Sciences in Ontario said: “This study indicates that the same relationships that are observed in western countries exist in different regions of the world.”
Taking stock of house prices
October 27, 2008
With signs of the financial crisis turning into a full-blown economic crisis coupled with falling household incomes and rising unemployment, we could witness house price drops starting to accelerate again, a BBC NEWS report states.
House prices are not likely to get back to the levels that they had peaked at last year until the year 2013, according to a prediction by CEBR (Centre for Economics and Business Research).
The centre has also predicted that prices would fall further in value (by 25%) from their peak level to a trough, at the end next year. It would mean about 2.5 million UK homeowners could be staring at negative equity. The group also made a few other forecasts. The predictions regarding house price falls are quite similar to those made by the Nationwide Building Society chief executive, Graham Beale, only last month.
The price fall has been welcomed by those who argue many priced out of the market when house prices rocketed would be in a position to buy. If proved right, the CEBR prediction would mean the average home value would have fallen to £157,058 by the 2009 end.
The Queen Elizabeth 2 on its last trans-Atlantic sojourn
October 27, 2008
It was one last salute to the State of Liberty, one last ceremonial escort by spraying fireboats and pleasure boaters on the occasion ‘one last rendezvous’ in the harbour. Twelve hours after arriving in the predawn darkness, the Queen Elizabeth2 sailed out in the twilight, at about 6 p.m. on October 12, steaming out of New York Harbour on its 806th and last trans-Atlantic crossing after nearly 40 years as the fastest ocean liner in service.
The ship’s captain for the last five years, Ian McNaught, 54, was also nostalgic when he said: “When we leave tonight I am sure there will be a few tears shed on the shore and in the ship itself”
Next year, the captain will be taking command of Cunard Line’s newest liner, the Queen Victoria. A new Queen Elizabeth is being built, and will be probably launched in 2010, according to the on going plans.
The venerable liner was joined from its American home port in Brooklyn, by the 4-year-old Queen Marry, the latest flagship of the Cunard fleet and a throwback to a golden age of ocean travel before jets. The two queens, new one dwarfing the old, are staging an unusual tandem six-day crossing to Southampton, England.
AT Battery Park City, several hundred people, some waving small Union Jacks, Union Jacks, cheered as the Queen Elizabeth2, trailed by the Queen 2 passed Lady Liberty, as bagpipers wheezed a musical tribute.
In November, the Queen Elizabeth 2 will be undertaking the final voyage to the resting place in Dubai, the oil-rich Persian Gulf sheikdom. Investors have invested whooping $100 million and are intended to make it a permanently moored hotel, entertainment complex and museum at the Palm Jumeriah, billed as the world’s largest man made island and beach resort.
The UK supermarkets are greening
October 27, 2008
With electricity bills shooting fast and regulators turning up the heat on firms to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, superstores in the UK are acting fast. But many experts claim that the very notion of an eco-superstore is a contradiction in terms and concepts.
“While green technology sure can improve the environmental footprint of a structure, this is just a small part of a supermarket’s impact that includes emissions from food freight and customer visit to stores,” said campaigner for Friends of the Earth, Helen Rimmer.
The mantle of the UK’s greenest supermarket gets changed almost monthly. Sainsbury’s opened in August what it claimed was the ‘greenest store’ in Dartmouth, Devon, with a promise to cut emissions by 40%; Asda states its Bootle will curtail energy usage and emissions by close to half. Tesco claims to have a 60% cut at Shrewsbury.
John Ashford, the head of engineering for Sainsbury’s, said, “We have seen a dramatic upturn in price that has changed the energy environment in the UK … that is driving a totally different set of behaviours than was the case say, two years ago.”
However, the tension between price-profit ethos and sustainability has raised doubts about how long indeed supermarket greening is going to last.
