India / All Themes
Crucial UNPA meet today over Indo-US nuclear deal
03.07.2008 05:28
b4uindia.com
Leaders of the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) will meet here today to decide the future of the third front, and also which way the Samajwadi Party (SP) would go in the event of voting in the Parliament over the Indo-US nuclear deal. National Security Adviser MK Narayanan had met SP leader Amar Singh yesterday to brief him on the technicalities of the Indo-US nuclear deal. Singh said that a final decision (about the future of the third front) would be taken only after today’s UNPA meet. He said that BJP leader Jaswant Singh, who called on him yesterday, suggested that the Left parties, SP and BSP should along with BJP form a block and vote against the Government on the deal. He quoted the BJP leader as saying that the line of Left parties and the BJP was one and the same, but, he added, the SP's line was different as it felt that communalism was a bigger danger. The standoff over the nuclear deal between the Congress-led UPA government and the Left parties continues amid speculations that the UPA Government might go in for voting over the nuclear deal in the parliament. The developments over the past few days have given enough hints that the UPA is on the lookout for a replacement of its Left allies, who have been threatening to withdraw support if it moves ahead with the deal. The Communists are opposing the deal, saying it "compromises India's sovereignty and security" and have threatened to withdraw vital support from the ruling coalition if the government moved ahead with it. (ANI)
India
Social Life
INTACH to sign MoU with Delhi Government to develop a World Heritage City
03.07.2008 05:28
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Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), a nationwide non-profit organization founded to protect the common national heritage, will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Delhi Government’s tourism department on Thursday. “The MoU is a very significant step in the beginning of a partnership with the Delhi Government in the field of heritage. The first step is that we will be working towards the long term plan for getting Delhi declared as the World Heritage City,” said S.K.Misra, Chairman of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage. He elaborated that the process involves a lot of exercise in various areas like Research. And, when it finally reaches the UNESCO to decide, it is to be shown what is being done. “On the ground, we have this project for getting the areas from Humanyun’s Tomb to Red Fort and area from Nizamuddin to Safdarjung and Qutub Minar all around to develop it as Heritage Tourism Circuit where it is properly designed in an integrated manner i.e the signages, furniture, billboard, small restaurants and also heritage buses. Presently, Delhi is not seen as a heritage city but as a taking off point for other cities,” Misra said. INTACH has been privileged to be offered to sign a MoU with Prince Charles by mid-July in London to work on certain projects to be carried out in India. “Yes, Prince Charles has invited me to London. He wants to collaborate with INTACH on certain projects in India, where he will try to arrange for funds from the corporate and others. They have seen what INTACH has done and capable of. And, they feel that it will be beneficial for both the sides to join hands. So I’m going to sign MoU with Charles when I will be there during July 14 to 17. I will be having meeting with him and visiting various institutes run by him,” Misra informed. According to Professor A. G. Krishna Menon, Convenor of the INTACH Delhi chapter, making Delhi city a Heritage city is a established protocol of UNESCO. “We have to make an application and show decisions what is the reason we want to make a World Heritage City. But significance to make a city a world heritage has to be defined and we will be defining that,” Prof. Menon said. ”Instead of saying there are certain monuments here or there in the city, we have to show how it is important for us. That’s why this development of heritage route is an important element. By connecting certain monuments by designing a road from Red Fort to Humanyun’s Tomb and Safdarjung to Qutab Minar, we want to make people to recognize that they are going around a heritage area,” he said. “We have approached the Delhi Government with the idea what we would like to do. The first thing we did was to list them. We persuaded the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to make it a part of the Master Plan. Now we have approached the Delhi Govt. saying it should be made real and it is possible if the environment is designed accordingly,” Prof. Menon said. He elaborated that basically, it is urban design, landscape design, lighting, furniture design, landscape design, lighting and furniture design. “All this is existing in the city but it if you orient it in a particular way, it will be recognized even by the citizens. It is regretful most of the people in Delhi don’t recognize that they are living in a heritage city.” He also talked about the big misconception that conservation of heritage is anti-development. “We believe that these are two sides of the same coin, not against each other. Heritage can be development focused and vice versa. So with these projects we are trying to show by developing these projects, we are going to make a more beautiful city, we make it a more usable city and in this process we will make monuments more accessible in the city,” said Prof. Krishna Menon. The INTACH, which was founded by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1984, is contributing to that endeavour by working to protect the common national heritage. INTACH has been organized into 140 Chapters nation-wide with members who have over the years responded to threats to their local heritage in dramatic, imaginative and committed ways. It addresses issues of local importance and alert their members to local conservation needs. (ANI)
India
Social Life
Arjun Singh to inaugurate HUNUR project today
03.07.2008 05:28
b4uindia.com
Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh will today inaugurate a new project ‘HUNUR’ for providing vocational training to Muslim girls in Bihar. HUNUR is a collaborative project of the Union Human Resource Development Ministry and the Government of Bihar. Under it, the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) will provide free skill training to about 12,000 girls studying in different schools in Bihar. The seven courses, which have prepared for the training, include gram sakhi, jute production, cutting and tailoring, early childhood care and education, basic technology and beauty culture. This scheme will be implemented through Maktabs, Madarsas and Darul-uloom, Under this scheme, NIOS has made provisions for providing concessions related to infrastructure, fee as well as number of students at study centres. The most significant aspect of this scheme is the provision of relaxation of norms for accreditation for traditional educationally backward institutions especially Madarsas and Maktabs. It is envisaged that the skill training of the girls will help them in their future areas of work. NIOS will provide them free course material under this programme. The scheme for providing free education to Scheduled Castes (SC)/Scheduled Tribes (ST) learners through NIOS will also be inaugurated. NIOS as per government policy has been giving fee concession to SC/ST learners. Now, the Government of Bihar has taken the decision to give total freeship to SC/ST learners of Bihar, both girls and boys. The funds of Government of India (Under SSA through NGEPEL), Government of Bihar, Bihar Education Project will be utilized for this purpose. This initiative will vastly improve their access to school level education being provided by NIOS and will open the path for all other governments also to take up this initiative with NIOS. The Minister will also inaugurate the extended facility for on line admissions are being conducted through the Ni-on project of NIOS from this academic session. Students from far-flung areas of the country will be able to have greater education access through this scheme. It is hoped that these programmes will help the traditional backward communities to take benefit of the programmes of NIOS. The ceremony will be presided over by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Several dignitaries including M.A.A. Fatmi, Minister of State (SEL), Hari Narayan Singh, Education Minister Government of Bihar as well as representatives from grass root level organizations such as Imarat-e-Sharia and Rahmani Foundation are expected to participate. (ANI)
India
Social Life
INTACH to sign MoU with Delhi Government to develop a World Heritage City
03.07.2008 05:27
b4uindia.com
Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), a nationwide non-profit organization founded to protect the common national heritage, will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Delhi Government’s tourism department on Thursday. “The MoU is a very significant step in the beginning of a partnership with the Delhi Government in the field of heritage. The first step is that we will be working towards the long term plan for getting Delhi declared as the World Heritage City,” said S.K.Misra, Chairman of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage. He elaborated that the process involves a lot of exercise in various areas like Research. And, when it finally reaches the UNESCO to decide, it is to be shown what is being done. “On the ground, we have this project for getting the areas from Humanyun’s Tomb to Red Fort and area from Nizamuddin to Safdarjung and Qutub Minar all around to develop it as Heritage Tourism Circuit where it is properly designed in an integrated manner i.e the signages, furniture, billboard, small restaurants and also heritage buses. Presently, Delhi is not seen as a heritage city but as a taking off point for other cities,” Misra said. INTACH has been privileged to be offered to sign a MoU with Prince Charles by mid-July in London to work on certain projects to be carried out in India. “Yes, Prince Charles has invited me to London. He wants to collaborate with INTACH on certain projects in India, where he will try to arrange for funds from the corporate and others. They have seen what INTACH has done and capable of. And, they feel that it will be beneficial for both the sides to join hands. So I’m going to sign MoU with Charles when I will be there during July 14 to 17. I will be having meeting with him and visiting various institutes run by him,” Misra informed. According to Professor A. G. Krishna Menon, Convenor of the INTACH Delhi chapter, making Delhi city a Heritage city is a established protocol of UNESCO. “We have to make an application and show decisions what is the reason we want to make a World Heritage City. But significance to make a city a world heritage has to be defined and we will be defining that,” Prof. Menon said. ”Instead of saying there are certain monuments here or there in the city, we have to show how it is important for us. That’s why this development of heritage route is an important element. By connecting certain monuments by designing a road from Red Fort to Humanyun’s Tomb and Safdarjung to Qutab Minar, we want to make people to recognize that they are going around a heritage area,” he said. “We have approached the Delhi Government with the idea what we would like to do. The first thing we did was to list them. We persuaded the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to make it a part of the Master Plan. Now we have approached the Delhi Govt. saying it should be made real and it is possible if the environment is designed accordingly,” Prof. Menon said. He elaborated that basically, it is urban design, landscape design, lighting, furniture design, landscape design, lighting and furniture design. “All this is existing in the city but it if you orient it in a particular way, it will be recognized even by the citizens. It is regretful most of the people in Delhi don’t recognize that they are living in a heritage city.” He also talked about the big misconception that conservation of heritage is anti-development. “We believe that these are two sides of the same coin, not against each other. Heritage can be development focused and vice versa. So with these projects we are trying to show by developing these projects, we are going to make a more beautiful city, we make it a more usable city and in this process we will make monuments more accessible in the city,” said Prof. Krishna Menon. The INTACH, which was founded by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1984, is contributing to that endeavour by working to protect the common national heritage. INTACH has been organized into 140 Chapters nation-wide with members who have over the years responded to threats to their local heritage in dramatic, imaginative and committed ways. It addresses issues of local importance and alert their members to local conservation needs. (ANI)
India
Social Life
Narayanan briefs Amar Singh on nuclear deal
03.07.2008 05:27
b4uindia.com
National Security Adviser M. K. Narayanan met Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh here today and briefed him on the technicalities of the Indo-US nuclear deal. Addressing the reporters, Singh said that a final decision would be taken only after the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) meet on July 3. He added, "More than the deal, we are worried about intentions of communal forces of turning UP into a laboratory of Hindu extremism." "Keeping in the mind the sensitivities in view of the fact that Agra, Mathura, Kashi are in UP and the statement by a fundamentalist leader of the BJP that UP will become the next Gujarat, we do not want innocent Muslims to be killed like in Gujarat post Godhra," he added. He said BJP leader Jaswant Singh came and met him today and suggested that the Left parties, SP and BSP should along with BJP form a block and vote against the Government on the deal. He also quoted the BJP leader as saying that the line of Left parties and the BJP was one and the same, but he added that the SP's line was different as it felt that communalism was a bigger danger. (ANI)
India
Social Life
Narayanan briefs Amar Singh on nuclear deal
03.07.2008 05:27
b4uindia.com
National Security Adviser M. K. Narayanan met Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh here today and briefed him on the technicalities of the Indo-US nuclear deal. Addressing the reporters, Singh said that a final decision would be taken only after the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) meet on July 3. He added, "More than the deal, we are worried about intentions of communal forces of turning UP into a laboratory of Hindu extremism." "Keeping in the mind the sensitivities in view of the fact that Agra, Mathura, Kashi are in UP and the statement by a fundamentalist leader of the BJP that UP will become the next Gujarat, we do not want innocent Muslims to be killed like in Gujarat post Godhra," he added. He said BJP leader Jaswant Singh came and met him today and suggested that the Left parties, SP and BSP should along with BJP form a block and vote against the Government on the deal. He also quoted the BJP leader as saying that the line of Left parties and the BJP was one and the same, but he added that the SP's line was different as it felt that communalism was a bigger danger. (ANI)
India
Social Life
Yoga, meditation improve health by switching off stress genes
03.07.2008 05:27
b4uindia.com
Scientists have achieved a significant breakthrough in understanding how relaxation techniques like yoga, meditation, and prayer improve health. Research collaborators from the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind/Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Genomics Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) say that such relaxation techniques work by changing patterns of gene activity that affect how the body responds to stress. The changes were seen in long-term practitioners as well as in newer recruits during the study, published the open-access journal PLoS. "It's not all in your head. What we have found is that when you evoke the relaxation response, the very genes that are turned on or off by stress are turned the other way. The mind can actively turn on and turn off genes. The mind is not separated from the body," Live Science quoted Dr. Herbert Benson, president emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind/Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, as saying. Dr. Gerry Leisman, director of the F.R. Carrick Institute for Clinical Ergonomics, Rehabilitation and Applied Neuroscience at Leeds Metropolitan University in the U.K., agreed: "It's sort of like reverse thinking: If you can wreak havoc on yourself with lifestyle choices, for example, [in a way that] causes expression of latent genetic manifestations in the negative, then the reverse should hold true." Leisman added: "Biology is not entirely our destiny, so while there are things that give us risk factors, there's a lot of 'wiggle' in this. This paper is pointing that there is a technique that allows us to play with the wiggle." Benson, a pioneer in the field of mind-body medicine, first described the relaxation response 35 years ago. Mind-body approaches that elicit the response include meditation, repetitive prayer, yoga, tai chi, breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, biofeedback, guided imagery and Qi Gong. "Previously, we had noted that there were scores of diseases that could be treated by eliciting the relaxation response -- everything from different kinds of pain, infertility, rheumatoid arthritis, insomnia," Benson said. During the study, Benson and his colleagues compared gene-expression patterns in 19 long-term practitioners, 19 healthy controls, and 20 newcomers who underwent eight weeks of relaxation-response training. The researchers observed that over 2,200 genes were activated differently in the long-time practitioners relative to the controls, and 1,561 genes in the short-timers compared to the long-time practitioners. They also found that some 433 of the differently activated genes were shared among short-term and long-term practitioners. Upon further genetic analysis, the researchers saw observed changes in cellular metabolism, response to oxidative stress and other processes in both short- and long-term practitioners. All such processes might contribute to cellular damage stemming from chronic stress. Robert Schwartz, director of the Texas A&M Health Science Center's Institute of Biosciences and Technology in Houston, said that the study was relatively small. He, however, added that the study was "unique and very exciting. It demonstrates that all these techniques of relaxation response have a biofeedback mechanism that alters gene expression." He pointed out that the researchers looked at blood cells, which consist largely of immune cells. "You're getting the response most probably in the immune cell population," he said. "We all are under stress and have many manifestations of that stress. To adequately protect ourselves against stress, we should use an approach and a technique that we believe evokes the relaxation response 20 minutes, once a day," Benson added. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Yoga, meditation improve health by switching off stress genes
03.07.2008 05:27
b4uindia.com
Scientists have achieved a significant breakthrough in understanding how relaxation techniques like yoga, meditation, and prayer improve health. Research collaborators from the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind/Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the Genomics Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) say that such relaxation techniques work by changing patterns of gene activity that affect how the body responds to stress. The changes were seen in long-term practitioners as well as in newer recruits during the study, published the open-access journal PLoS. "It's not all in your head. What we have found is that when you evoke the relaxation response, the very genes that are turned on or off by stress are turned the other way. The mind can actively turn on and turn off genes. The mind is not separated from the body," Live Science quoted Dr. Herbert Benson, president emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind/Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, as saying. Dr. Gerry Leisman, director of the F.R. Carrick Institute for Clinical Ergonomics, Rehabilitation and Applied Neuroscience at Leeds Metropolitan University in the U.K., agreed: "It's sort of like reverse thinking: If you can wreak havoc on yourself with lifestyle choices, for example, [in a way that] causes expression of latent genetic manifestations in the negative, then the reverse should hold true." Leisman added: "Biology is not entirely our destiny, so while there are things that give us risk factors, there's a lot of 'wiggle' in this. This paper is pointing that there is a technique that allows us to play with the wiggle." Benson, a pioneer in the field of mind-body medicine, first described the relaxation response 35 years ago. Mind-body approaches that elicit the response include meditation, repetitive prayer, yoga, tai chi, breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, biofeedback, guided imagery and Qi Gong. "Previously, we had noted that there were scores of diseases that could be treated by eliciting the relaxation response -- everything from different kinds of pain, infertility, rheumatoid arthritis, insomnia," Benson said. During the study, Benson and his colleagues compared gene-expression patterns in 19 long-term practitioners, 19 healthy controls, and 20 newcomers who underwent eight weeks of relaxation-response training. The researchers observed that over 2,200 genes were activated differently in the long-time practitioners relative to the controls, and 1,561 genes in the short-timers compared to the long-time practitioners. They also found that some 433 of the differently activated genes were shared among short-term and long-term practitioners. Upon further genetic analysis, the researchers saw observed changes in cellular metabolism, response to oxidative stress and other processes in both short- and long-term practitioners. All such processes might contribute to cellular damage stemming from chronic stress. Robert Schwartz, director of the Texas A&M Health Science Center's Institute of Biosciences and Technology in Houston, said that the study was relatively small. He, however, added that the study was "unique and very exciting. It demonstrates that all these techniques of relaxation response have a biofeedback mechanism that alters gene expression." He pointed out that the researchers looked at blood cells, which consist largely of immune cells. "You're getting the response most probably in the immune cell population," he said. "We all are under stress and have many manifestations of that stress. To adequately protect ourselves against stress, we should use an approach and a technique that we believe evokes the relaxation response 20 minutes, once a day," Benson added. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Having sex thrice a week halves erectile dysfunction risk in men
03.07.2008 05:27
b4uindia.com
A new study has revealed that frequent intercourse can cut erectile dysfunction (ED) risk in men. Researchers from Finland have revealed that men who had intercourse more often were less likely to develop ED. Over the period of five years, the team studied 989 men between 55 to 75 years from Pirkanmaa, Finland. They found that men who had intercourse less than once per week were twice as likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction. Further, the risk of erectile dysfunction was inversely related to the frequency of intercourse. Out of 1000 cases, 79 cases had men, who had sexual intercourse less than once per week, which dropped to 32 cases per 1000 in men having intercourse once per week The number further dropped to 16 per 1000 in those reporting intercourse 3 or more times per week. In addition, the frequency of morning erections predicted the development of complete erectile dysfunction, with an approximate 2.5-fold risk among those with less than 1 morning erection per week compared with 2 to 3 morning erections per week. "Regular intercourse has an important role in preserving erectile function among elderly men, whereas morning erection does not exert a similar effect,” said Dr Juha Koskimäki, PhD, Tampere University Hospital, Department of Urology, Tampere, Finland. “Continued sexual activity decreases the incidence of erectile dysfunction in direct proportion to coital frequency," Koskimäki added. The study indicates that regular intercourse protects men from the development of erectile dysfunction, which may, in turn, impact general health and quality of life. The study is published in the July 2008 issue of The American Journal of Medicine. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Having sex thrice a week halves erectile dysfunction risk in men
03.07.2008 05:27
b4uindia.com
A new study has revealed that frequent intercourse can cut erectile dysfunction (ED) risk in men. Researchers from Finland have revealed that men who had intercourse more often were less likely to develop ED. Over the period of five years, the team studied 989 men between 55 to 75 years from Pirkanmaa, Finland. They found that men who had intercourse less than once per week were twice as likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction. Further, the risk of erectile dysfunction was inversely related to the frequency of intercourse. Out of 1000 cases, 79 cases had men, who had sexual intercourse less than once per week, which dropped to 32 cases per 1000 in men having intercourse once per week The number further dropped to 16 per 1000 in those reporting intercourse 3 or more times per week. In addition, the frequency of morning erections predicted the development of complete erectile dysfunction, with an approximate 2.5-fold risk among those with less than 1 morning erection per week compared with 2 to 3 morning erections per week. "Regular intercourse has an important role in preserving erectile function among elderly men, whereas morning erection does not exert a similar effect,” said Dr Juha Koskimäki, PhD, Tampere University Hospital, Department of Urology, Tampere, Finland. “Continued sexual activity decreases the incidence of erectile dysfunction in direct proportion to coital frequency," Koskimäki added. The study indicates that regular intercourse protects men from the development of erectile dysfunction, which may, in turn, impact general health and quality of life. The study is published in the July 2008 issue of The American Journal of Medicine. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Women over 90 more prone to dementia than men
03.07.2008 05:27
b4uindia.com
Women, who make it to their 90s are more likely than men to suffer from dementia, say researchers. The team led by researchers from University of California, Irvin, studied 911 people enrolled in the 90+ Study. They found that 45 percent of the women had dementia, compared to 28 percent of the men. "Our findings show that more will need to be done to provide adequate resources to care for the increasing number of very old people with dementia," said Maria Corrada, a UC Irvine epidemiologist and study corresponding author. The study also found that likelihood of having dementia doubled every five years in women after reaching 90, but not in men. Moreover, women with a higher education appeared to be as much as 45 percent less likely to have dementia compared to women with less education. The incidence of dementia increases from 65 to 85 years in both men and women. The frequency of dementia increases with age from less than 2 percent for the 65-69-year-olds, to 5 percent for the 75-79-year-olds and to more than 20 percent for the 85-89-year-olds. "Our findings provide valuable information toward further inquiries into dementia, such as if oldest-old men can live as long with dementia as oldest-old women do, or whether in this age group women develop dementia at a higher rate than men," Corrada added. The study appears in the July 2 online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Women over 90 more prone to dementia than men
03.07.2008 05:27
b4uindia.com
Women, who make it to their 90s are more likely than men to suffer from dementia, say researchers. The team led by researchers from University of California, Irvin, studied 911 people enrolled in the 90+ Study. They found that 45 percent of the women had dementia, compared to 28 percent of the men. "Our findings show that more will need to be done to provide adequate resources to care for the increasing number of very old people with dementia," said Maria Corrada, a UC Irvine epidemiologist and study corresponding author. The study also found that likelihood of having dementia doubled every five years in women after reaching 90, but not in men. Moreover, women with a higher education appeared to be as much as 45 percent less likely to have dementia compared to women with less education. The incidence of dementia increases from 65 to 85 years in both men and women. The frequency of dementia increases with age from less than 2 percent for the 65-69-year-olds, to 5 percent for the 75-79-year-olds and to more than 20 percent for the 85-89-year-olds. "Our findings provide valuable information toward further inquiries into dementia, such as if oldest-old men can live as long with dementia as oldest-old women do, or whether in this age group women develop dementia at a higher rate than men," Corrada added. The study appears in the July 2 online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Diet sized snack packs actually make you eat more
03.07.2008 05:27
b4uindia.com
The small, diet-friendly packages of snacks –cookies, chips, and the like –– might be designed to help you control the waistline, but according to a new research, the mini packs may actually encourage people to eat more. Research from the Netherlands has found that small “diet packs” of lollies, biscuits or chips could be encouraging people to drop their guard and eat more than they usually would. Those who eat the mini portions feel they don't need to exercise self-control because it is a pre-portioned pack, and they end up eating several of them. To reach their conclusions, scientists gave different sized bags of potato crisps, divided into small and large packets to 140 students recruited for what they were told was an experiment on advertising and television. Each of the volunteers was given either two 200-gram bags of crisps or nine 45-gram bags, to munch as they watched TV. The group was asked a series of questions and was weighed in front of a mirror to trigger a diet "mindset". The findings, published today in New Scientist magazine, show that students who were worried about their weight ate twice as many crisps if they came in small packets rather than large packets. The group was also more likely to open the crisps and start eating them if they came in smaller bags. Almost 60 per cent of those with small bags opened them and started eating, compared with only a quarter of those who were assigned large bags. Smaller bags did not appear to curb the appetite of students without weight concerns either. Those students ate the same amount of crisps from small as large bags. However, those with the smaller packets were again more likely to open them. Three quarters of the group with small bags opened theirs while only half of those with large bags started eating the crisps. The researchers behind the study believe that the size of small bags could encourage dieters to drop their guard. Rik Pieters, a professor of marketing who led the study, said there could be a range of reasons why companies continue to sell smaller sized products if they make people eat more. "Some may truly want to help consumers (with these products) – although our results suggest they won't," the Telegraph quoted Pieters, as saying. He added: "Some may want to prevent lawsuits by showing it's not their fault consumers are overweight. Or they may know this happens, and want to look good while selling more of their products, at a higher profit." (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Diet sized snack packs actually make you eat more
03.07.2008 05:27
b4uindia.com
The small, diet-friendly packages of snacks –cookies, chips, and the like –– might be designed to help you control the waistline, but according to a new research, the mini packs may actually encourage people to eat more. Research from the Netherlands has found that small “diet packs” of lollies, biscuits or chips could be encouraging people to drop their guard and eat more than they usually would. Those who eat the mini portions feel they don't need to exercise self-control because it is a pre-portioned pack, and they end up eating several of them. To reach their conclusions, scientists gave different sized bags of potato crisps, divided into small and large packets to 140 students recruited for what they were told was an experiment on advertising and television. Each of the volunteers was given either two 200-gram bags of crisps or nine 45-gram bags, to munch as they watched TV. The group was asked a series of questions and was weighed in front of a mirror to trigger a diet "mindset". The findings, published today in New Scientist magazine, show that students who were worried about their weight ate twice as many crisps if they came in small packets rather than large packets. The group was also more likely to open the crisps and start eating them if they came in smaller bags. Almost 60 per cent of those with small bags opened them and started eating, compared with only a quarter of those who were assigned large bags. Smaller bags did not appear to curb the appetite of students without weight concerns either. Those students ate the same amount of crisps from small as large bags. However, those with the smaller packets were again more likely to open them. Three quarters of the group with small bags opened theirs while only half of those with large bags started eating the crisps. The researchers behind the study believe that the size of small bags could encourage dieters to drop their guard. Rik Pieters, a professor of marketing who led the study, said there could be a range of reasons why companies continue to sell smaller sized products if they make people eat more. "Some may truly want to help consumers (with these products) – although our results suggest they won't," the Telegraph quoted Pieters, as saying. He added: "Some may want to prevent lawsuits by showing it's not their fault consumers are overweight. Or they may know this happens, and want to look good while selling more of their products, at a higher profit." (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Scientists find herpes virus’ Achilles Heel
03.07.2008 05:26
b4uindia.com
A virologist at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, says that it is possible to bring herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) out of its hiding place inside the body, which can help attack it with drugs. Bryan Cullen said that his team had found clues to how a gene called LAT, switched on by the herpes virus, works. Describing HSV-1 as a docile beast, the researcher pointed out that it could snooze inside a person’s neurons, secluded from drugs and the immune system. He said that scientists had for long suspected that LAT was the key to herpes' ability to remain dormant inside nerve cells, but no-one knew how it did so. To unravel this mystery, the researchers infected mice with HSV-1, and waited for the virus to retreat to nerve cells and go silent. The group later scoured the cells for traces of sliced RNA that matched that from LAT. Cullen revealed that the team found several microRNAs, a recently-discovered kind of molecule that cells use to dial down the levels of proteins. While four microRNAs came from cut-up LAT, the fifth came from a previously unknown chunk of RNA, which suggests LAT was not the only viral DNA molecule involved in latency. Many microRNAs play a role in maladies such as cancer and heart disease, and some viruses even make microRNAs to stymie cell defences. The researchers, however, observed that HSV-1's microRNAs latched onto viral mRNA molecules, and blocked cells from cranking out two virus proteins (ICP0 and ICP4) essential for escaping dormancy. Cullen is of the opinion that viruses may be coaxed out of hiding by blocking such microRNAs, and then to treat patients with drugs that stamp out herpes in epithelial cells, such as acyclovir. "Every virus that pops out gets killed," New Scientist magazine quoted Cullen as saying in a study report published in the journal Nature. However, Patricia Spear, a virologist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, thinks that this approach may prove troublesome because waking a virus seems to sacrifice the infected nerve cell "You would be inducing replication of virus in the neuron and the question is how many neurons you want to kill off," she says. (ANI)
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