School success can be predicted just FIVE minutes after a child is born, scientists claim

That nature versus nurture argument just won't ever go away. The latest is a health test given to babies minutes after they are born which,  it has been claimed, could reveal how well they will do in secondary school. 

A study of 877,000 Swedish teenagers compared school exam results with their Apgar scores after birth. The Apgar is a test which rates the newborn's health on a scale of one to ten and how much medical attention the child needs.

Researchers found a link between an Apgar score of below seven and lower intelligence in later life. It is thought that looking more closely at early problems could help address a child's needs as they grow up. Dr. Andrea Stuart, an obstetrician at Central Hospital in Helsingborg, Sweden, told Msnbc: 'It is not the Apgar score in itself that leads to lower cognitive abilities.

'It is the reasons leading to a low Apgar score (including asphyxiation, preterm delivery, maternal drug use, infections) that might have an impact on future brain function.' The study appears in next month's issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.

 

WHAT IS THE APGAR TEST?

The Apgar test is given between one and five minutes after birth. It evaluates an infant's heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, skin colour and reflex irritability (sneezing or coughing) on a scale of one to ten. Scores of eight and above are considered to be signs of good health. The test was developed by Dr Virginia Apgar in 1952 and has been a simple and effective way of testing a baby's health since. Researchers also made the point that only one in 44 newborns with a low Apgar score went on to need special education, so mothers of babies who had low scores did not have cause for concern.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2017387/School-success-predicted-just-FIVE-minutes-child-born-scientists-claim.html#ixzz1Y6iRrDqp

Eyelid marks warn of heart attack

It's amazing what science throws up every now and then. The latest is that yellow markings on the eyelids are a sign of increased risk of heart attack and other illnesses, say researchers in Denmark.

A study published on the BMJ website showed patients with xanthelasmata were 48% more likely to have a heart attack. Xanthelasmata, which are mostly made up of cholesterol, could be a sign of other fatty build-ups in the body.

Cardiologists said the findings could be used by doctors to help diagnose at-risk patients.
The research team at the Herlev Hospital in Denmark started following 12,745 people in the 1970s. At the start of the study, 4.4% of patients had xanthelasmata.

Thirty three years later, 1,872 had had a heart attack, 3,699 had developed heart disease and 8,507 had died - and the data showed that those with the yellow markings around the eyes were at greatest risk. Those with the markings were 48% more likely to have a heart attack, 39% more likely to have developed heart disease and 14% more likely to have died during the study.

The authors believe patients with xanthelasmata may be more likely to deposit cholesterol around the body. A build up of fatty material in the walls of arteries - known as atherosclerosis - leads to stroke and heart attack.

Now you know!

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14928217

Facial expressions such as smiling or crying develop before birth, new study shows

We all knew that babies develop a considerable amount of their personality and basic facial features while still in the womb but didn't know to what extent they aready arrived with aspects like facial expressions. 

Now scientists have discovered that facial expressions develop while babies are still in the womb. Babies develop a range of facial movements that can actually be identified as smiling or crying. A team of researchers have for the first time been able to show that as a pregnancy moves from 24 to 36 weeks gestation, fetal facial movements become increasingly complex.

The researchers examined video-taped fetal facial movements obtained by 4D ultrasound machines in the later stages of pregnancy. After the fetuses had been found to be healthy at their 20 week scan, the group recorded the same fetuses several times between 24 and 36 weeks of gestation.

Fetuses at 24 weeks, the first stage of observation, were able to move one muscle in their face at a time.They could open their mouth, for example, or stretch their lips. By 35 weeks gestational age, fetuses combined a number of facial muscle movements. They could stretch their lip, lower their eyebrows and deepening the nasolabial furrow all at the same time. Isolated movements are turned into recognisable and increasingly complex expressions, Science Daily reports. Now that's pretty amazing! 

Read more:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2038025/Facial-expressions-smiling-crying-develop-birth-new-study-shows.html#ixzz1Y5Zz1xOg

Holiday terror as passenger attempts to open plane doors at 36,000ft while screaming 'We are just on a flight simulator'

There are a lot of very unstable people out there as the following story demonstrates. A holidaymaker who tried to open the doors of an aircraft at 36,000ft while shouting 'It's OK we are just on a flight simulator' has been arrested. 

The 22-year-old man had to be restrained by air hostesses and passengers before being tied down with seatbelts.Travellers aboard Thomson flight TOM1269 from Majorca to Newcastle were left terrified when the man, of Ashington, Northumberland, tried to throw open one of the emergency doors. 

What would you do if this happened  to you? I didn't think it was even possible for one person to have the wherewithal and strength to open an aircraft door mid flight.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2037731/Passenger-tries-open-plane-doors-36-000ft-screams-flight-simulator.html#ixzz1Y2J3J2i9

University Challenge contestant got 'offensive' remarks

Why is it that we judge attractive women using a different criteria? It does seem at times that men can be both good looking and handsome but not women. A number of former University Challenge contestants have reportedly fallen victim to unwanted attention after being on the television quiz show. One of them, Marine Debray, told BBC Breakfast she was not expecting to see the amount of offensive remarks about her that subsequently appeared on internet forums.

Why then is she held to a different and probably higher standard than say a male counterpart? Could it be that despite the 35-40 years of Feminism, men still cannot get their heads around the fact that a woman can actually compete with them intellectually and in fact should by all accounts be instead at home washing their dishes and ironing their clothes? "Ug ug" said the man in the cave!!


http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/email/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14850777

Re: Furnished condo for rent - LPN, Soi Onnuch (77) - 36.67 sq mtrs - baht 9,000/month

If anyone's looking for a nice, well-maintained condo in the heart of Bangkok, here are some pics and the full ad:

Re: Furnished condo for rent - LPN, Soi Onnuch - 36.67 sq mtrs - 9,000/month Condo for rent - LPN Soi Onnuch Facilities: • 1 bedroom • 1 living room • 1 kitchen • 1 bathroom • car park space • electronic car park/condo entrance swipe card • hot water heater + shower rail + curtain • air con • refrigerator • colour TV • microwave • bed & mattress • wardrobe • sofa • lamp • coffee table

A motorcycle ride gets you to BTS Onnuch in 3 mins. TESCO is opposite the BTS station. There's food shops, cafes, dry cleaning and laundry, a massage shop, two convenience stores (both 24 hours), two gyms, a pool, all within the LPN complex. From the condo, you can walk to Big C in 5 mins and there's a fresh food market directly across the road from Big C along with many other shops. The LPN complex has its own WiFi at additional cost. 1-year let - 2 months + 1 month down If interested, leave a message on this blog and I'll get back to you. Thanks

Definitely "man's best friend"!

At a time when officials in Thailand have just received 14 million baht for the unfortunate dogs who were caught in terrible conditions being sent to slaughter in Vietnam, its great to hear a good news or "shaggy dog" story! Dogs, while they cannot speak, have an ability to communicate a selfless sense of comfort, understanding and well-being. They are the most underestimated social animals out there.

A report in Arab News says German scientists have been experimenting with sniffer dogs and found they can accurately detect lung cancer by smelling breath samples. In a study carried out by researchers from Schillerhoehe Hospital in Germany, the dogs were able to correctly detect lung tumors in 71 percent of patients, suggesting a similar technique could be used for early detection in future.

“In the breath of patients with lung cancer, there are likely to be different chemicals to normal breath samples and the dogs’ keen sense of smell can detect this difference at an early stage of the disease,” said Thorsten Walles, who led the study and published its findings in the European Respiratory Journal on Thursday.

Lung cancer, mostly linked to smoking, is the second most common form of cancer in men and women across Europe and causes more than 340,000 deaths per year. It is also the most common cause of death from cancer worldwide.

The disease is notoriously hard to detect in its early stages and scientists have been working on using breath tests for possible future screening programs. The sniffing method relies on identifying so-called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are linked to the presence of cancer.

I wrote another blog on dogs and their ability to sniff different forms of cancer. I'll look for it and post the link here.

It's great to know that these pooches are getting the respect they deserve!