Sunday, September 28, 2008

China spacecraft returns to Earth

I have read an article regarding the China's Shenzhou VII space capsule has returned to Earth after a successful mission orbiting the planet. The space capsule touched the ground of Mongolian dessert after three days launched to the space. The China's Shenzhou VII spacecraft was soared into orbit on a Long March II-F rocket from Jiuquan spaceport in north-west China on 25 September.

China is now the only third nation after the United States and Russia which had independently put a man in space when Yang Liwei, an astronaut, went into orbit on the Shenzhou V mission in October 2003. China has successful did an EVA (spacewalk) this time. During the spacewalk, Mr Zhai (mission leader) stayed outside the capsule for 15 minutes while his two fellow astronauts stayed inside. I do not enjoy reading this article because it is not related to me. However, i hope Malaysia will be like China in one day that send her citizens to the space independently soon.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7640301.stm

Loneliness 'makes you cold'

Recently, there is an article on the research has been done by the University of Toronto team , which is published on BBC news website, regarding the social isolation does make people feel cold. Those scientists ran their research in this way, they firstly divided 65 students into two groups. Then, one group recalled a personal experience in which they had been socially excluded and felt isolated or lonely; the other group recalled an experience in which they had been accepted. What the scientists found when they asked those students to estimate the room temperature, those who had thought about an isolating experience giving lower estimates of the temperature.

Besides, those students were asked to rate the desirability of hot coffee, crackers, soft-drinks, an apple, or hot soup. The result found is those who is being excluded prefer warm drinks compared to those being accepted. According to the researchers, their preference for warm food and drinks resulted from physically feeling cold as a result of being excluded. I found this article interesting shows there are physiological correlates to emotions. Therefore, i enjoyed reading it.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7635423.stm

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Men with sexist views 'earn more'

According to an article published on BBC news website that i have read recently, those men with sexist views earn more than those who do not.

You may sometimes think that men who grow up thinking women should stay at home may be labelled "old-fashioned" in this modern community - but could end up well ahead in the salary stakes. According to Dr Magdalena Zawisza, a psychologist from Winchester University, said that it could be that more traditionally-minded men are interested in power, both in terms of access to resources - money in this case. Hence, they earn more. I do not enjoyed reading this article because in my opinion, there are also a lot of men who have gained good positions and are not sexist.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7625173.stm

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Benefit of Coffee : Boosts male fertility


I have read an article written by Ania Lichtarowicz which published on BBC news site on 14 October 2003 regarding coffee boosts male fertility. The finding was came out by Brazilian scientists in United State of America.

According to those scientists, drinking coffee makes sperm swim faster and could improve male fertility, as well as the chances of pregnancy. Therefore, caffeine appears to be the only drug that is good for sperm. I do not enjoyed reading this article because it is not related to me. However, it seems to be a good news for those who plan to be fathers.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3189224.stm

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Soya 'medicine' for breast cancer

There is an article published on BBC news website which mentioned that soya could be medicine for breast cancer. Dr Karen James, from the University of Portsmouth, is investigating ways of using natural hormone, isoflavones, from soya to develop a new medicine. He also found that Far Eastern women who ate a lot of soya products, had lower rates of cancer than western women. However, this natural isoflavones are rapidly metabolised in the body and are not effective. Scientists are now searching a way to make this plant hormones stay in the body longer, while still retaining their beneficial properties. I enjoyed reading this article because it is quite useful to me and i will eat more soya products to prevent breast cancer.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/3707088.stm

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Have you heard of Drawer Kitchen?




Recently, I have read an article on Treehugger website. It is all about the most creative design 2008 Electrolux design contest - the Kitchen Drawer. The designer of this mobile drawer kitchen is Nojae Park. It is specially designed for the internet generation, who is always looking for something mobile and advance.

There are four main parts to this product; a stainless plate for meal preparation and warming, an electric stove for cooking, a dish drawer for storage, and a mini-fridge. What is interesting here is users can always select proper size of heat according to their pot size. I enjoyed reading this article because it introduced me a creative design. I would like t have it when it is available in Malaysia.

Source:http://www.yankodesign.com/2008/09/12/kitchen-on-wheels-natch/

Sunday, September 14, 2008

'Rare' mammoth skull discovered

There is an article published on BBC news website regarding an "extremely rare" fossilised skull of a steppe mammoth has been found in southern France.Palaeontologists Frederic Lacombat and Dick Mol describe this skull specimen as being well preserved. They believed that it belongs to a male steppe mammoth (scientific name: Mammuthus trogontherii) that lived about 400,000 years ago, during Middle Pleistocene times. What a great discover!

Based on researchers, the steppe mammoth is of vital importance for understanding mammoth evolution. It is because it represents the transitional phase between an ancient species known as the southern mammoth and the more recent woolly mammoth. Furthermore, they do not know much about Mammuthus trogontherii species and Middle Pleistocene. I enjoyed reading this article because it lets me know that how importance the fossils are in the study which is regarding the animals evolution.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7592317.stm

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Optimists live longer

There is an article written on BBC news website stating that optimists have a longer life-span than pessimists. Researchers has found that people with a positive outlook live, on average, 19% longer than those who are miserable.

According to Dr Toshihiko Maruta, a psychiatrist at the clinic, our mind and body are linked and that attitude has an impact on the final outcome, death. He said he could not say that happy people's immune systems being stronger. Yet, he believed that optimists live longer as they are more likely to seek medical help when they become ill. Optimists were less likely to suffer depression and helplessness and were less fatalistic about their health chances.

I enjoyed reading this article because the passage is easy to understand and examples are given to compare between optimists and pessimists.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/635292.stm

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Vitamin may pretend memory loss?

Recently, i have read an article which is regarding that a vitamin found in meat, fish and milk may help stave off memory loss in old age. A study has been done by a group of the researchers from the University of Oxford and suggested that older people with lower than average vitamin B12 levels were more than six times more likely to experience brain shrinkage. In that particular study, which is lasted for five years on 107 apparently healthy volunteers, found that 2 out of the 5 volunteers were lacked of vitamin and likely to show signs of brain shrinkage.

Another experiment is now carried out by Professor David Smith from the University of Oxford to test the effects of vitamin B in the elderly to see if taking them could slow brain shrinkage. In my opinion, the only way to prevent memory loss and diseases is to have a balanced diet and always keep ourselves fit through exercises. I enjoyed reading this article because it raise my awareness on the importance of the balanced diet in our daily lives.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7595423.stm

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Backing for folic acid in bread



I have read an article published on BBC news website which discussed about the bread should be fortified with folic acid to reduce birth defects such as spina bifida. Spina bifida here is a developmental birth defect involving the neural tube (incomplete closure of the embryonic neural tube results in an incompletely formed spinal cord). Researchers in UK has found that folic acid cuts the risk of neural tube defects, which affect hundreds of pregnancies a year. However, this folic acid could harm some elderly patients, as it could cause a deficiency in B12 vitamin. Folic acid is a substance that could find in vegetables like broccoli, peas, chickpeas, brown rice and fruit.

Besides, women are urged to eat extra folic acid when trying to get pregnant as it is important for the development of the spine in the first stages of pregnancy. In my opinion, it may be useful to increase the amount of folic acid in people's diet through fortification. It will be even better if the products with the fortified folic acid to be labelled so that the consumers in different ages could choose the products that bring benefits to them. I enjoyed reading this article because i gained new knowledge after reading it.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6665109.stm

Monday, September 8, 2008

Bamboo Notebook



Recently, i have read an article at the site green.yahoo.com. The article is all about Asus company has came out with a bamboo notebook that is made of some sustainable wood product. This kind of laptop is now available in 12.1” and 11.1” models. The bamboo series laptops are not just environmental friendly but also using energy-efficient Super Hybrid Engine technology to extend battery life by 35-70% of other similar laptop. Furthermore, the best advantage of this laptop is that it can reduce carbon dioxide emissions as its computer system can adjust its power levels intelligently and automatically.

I enjoyed reading this article because i think it is a great and creative idea for a company to come out a notebook that combines a wonderful earthy look with efficient power usage. I would like to have this kind of laptop if it is available in Malaysia.

Source: http://green.yahoo.com/blog/ecogeek/737/bamboo-notebook-is-more-than-just-pretty.html
(written by Jaymi Heimbuch)

Friday, September 5, 2008

Bioplastic grown in grass



Recently, a Massachusetts based company, Metabolix has figured out how to grow plastic in the plant. I am shocked with this finding. Metabolix mix the genes of a few different species and coax switch the grass to grow its bioplastic in its leaves.

The bioplastic, which is given name as PHA, can be used in manufacturing everything from credit cards to packaging materials. All the chemical processes of forming plastic polymer are done within the grass leaves. The only thing the scientists need to do to collect the plastic is to cut the grass and get rid of the plant matter. Metabolix's aim is to get the plastic into commercial production by 2012. I really enjoyed reading this article because it shows a fantastic finding in the biotechnology field. I hope Metabolix can successfully commercialise its plastic by 2012. All the best.

Source: http://green.yahoo.com/blog/ecogeek/709/bioplastic-grown-in-grass.html

Monday, September 1, 2008

Leeching therapy



There is an interesting article in MYC! News malaysian college magazine about the leeching therapy. (September 2008, page 10). Leeches is now used for beauty treatment in Austria. Leeches are trained to be used in plastic and re constructive surgery. Enzyme that are released from them when they bite us will make us bleed quite a lot and this helps in detoxifying our blood. Thus, leeching therapy can be said to be a part of cleansing treatment. Leeches not only improve our blood circulation but also help in getting rid of poisons in blood, overcoming migraine, make us more alert after the removal of toxic blood.

How does the leeching therapy go on? First we need to shave as leeches will not bite on the skin surface which is not smooth. Then, the person who do the therapy will need to immersed herself in the turpentine before she fed to leeches. Normally, the leeches beauty treatment will take 20 minutes to 2 hours. I enjoyed reading this article because it is quite interesting. If there is a kind of beauty treatment like this in Malaysia, I might go and try it.