Obesity is one of the greatest health problems in the world. The latest researches demonstrate that fat reaches our waist just three hours after having a meal. According to scientific studies weight gain happens faster than we thought. Experts from the Oxford University shed light on the fact that food is turned into tissue around the most delicate sections of the body within no more than 3 hours.

In large meals which contain about 30g of fat about 2-3 teaspoons of the nutrients will be stored in fat around out waist. Then if we keep eating the fat will target the rear, hips and thighs. Fredrik Karpe and Keith Frayne discovered that fat enters the bloodstream about 1 hour after the consumption of the meal.

According to the interview from Telegraph.co.uk, “By the time three or four hours has passed, they found, most of it had been incorporated into the adipose tissue, much of which lies in the short-term fat stores in the waist.”. Previously nutritional experts though that the process of weight gain is much slower and fat storing happens gradually. However, this research reveals that fat doesn’t circulate in the body instead, it is trapped in various sections of the body. Fredrik Karpe claimed that, “The process is very fast. The cells in the adipose tissue around the waist catch the fat droplets as the blood carries them and incorporates them into the cells for storage. [...]If you eat too much, you don’t get into this phase of starting to mobilise it. There will just be constant accumulation and you will start to put on weight.”.

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The latest news reports claim that falling birth rates show that Japan will not have any kids under 15 by 3011. The results of the stunning study also reveal that the population of Japan could disappear in no less than 1,000 years. In the present the number of children under 14 is 16.6 million but it is decreasing rapidly. Hiroshi Yoshida, an economics professor at Tohoku University,’ told AFP that, “If the rate of decline continues, we will be able to celebrate the Children’s Day public holiday on May 5, 3011 as there will be one child,”. He also added that, “But 100 seconds later there will be no children left,[...]The overall trend is towards extinction, which started in 1975 when Japan’s fertility rate fell below two.”.

According to scientific reports the number of older people increases constantly. Japan struggles with the problem of pensioners and the decreasing number of workers who could support these sums. According to DailyMail.co.uk “Life expectancy – already the highest in the world – is expected to rise from 86.39 years in 2010 to 90.93 years in 2060 for women and from 79.64 years to 84.19 years for men.”.

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The first drug shown to prevent HIV infection among high risk groups is on the way to be approved as a panel of federal advisers endorsed it on Thursday. FDA panel advisers recommended approval of the  Truvada  drug which has been marketed by Gilead Sciences Inc since 2004 as a treatment for people infected with the virus.

Truvada is a combination of Emtriva and Viread, two older HIV drugs which are part of the cocktail doctors prescribe for suppressing the virus. The drug is recommended for daily use by people who are at a high risk of contracting the virus such as gay and bisexual men and heterosexual couples with one HIV-positive partner.

A three year study found that the drug was more effective in protecting men than women. During the study, it was discovered that daily doses cut the risk of infection in healthy gay and bisexual men by 42 percent, when accompanied by condoms and counseling. More impressive results were found last year when it was discovered that the drug reduced infection by 75 percent in heterosexual couples in which one partner was infected with HIV.

Concerns about the drug have already began to emerge despite the fact that a final decision will only be made on June 15. Most concerns are related to the fact that the pill needs to be taken daily to have an effect and following through with this recommendation might prove unrealistic.

With all the efforts on reducing our dependency of conventional energy sources, the alternative technologies are in the spotlight on a regular basis. The high cost of the possible answers to the burning problems are undoubtedly a cause of concern particularly as far as solar panels are concerned. And, while government subsidies are part of the solution, encouraging cheaper alternative is also highly recommended.

A possible cheaper solution can be  dye-sensitised solar cells (DSCs) which aim to make solar energy more available without needing government subsidies or other financial incentives. In a DSC the solar energy is absorbed and then it extracts electrons from dye molecules in a layer beneath the coating, thus generating a flow of electrons and producing a current, ScienceDaily reports. The costs are definitely the thing that might seem like the biggest advantage but proponents of the new technology also point out the advantages in manufacturing.

The new technology isn’t subjected to clean-room manufacturing like photovoltaic cells which means there’s no need for complex resources, which in turn make the process of manufacturing easier and cheaper.  Jongyun Moon and his colleges who wrote in the International Journal of Technology, Policy and Management this month even point out the priorities and choices might change once the DSCs become more efficient and comparable with silicone devices.

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Just when you thought  nothing more can be invented as far as lingerie goes, designers shock you with their imagination as one of the latest inventions in the domain, signed by renowned label Triumph has been unveiled in Tokio. The brand’s new Super Cool Bra is definitely one of the label’s most bizarre inventions as the bra is designed to help women cool off during the hot summer season.

Apparently the new bra, which is available in two color variations, comes complete with two gel pads which can be removed and introduced into the freezer for up to two hours and then placed back in special pockets of the cup, to provide women with a cool and refreshing sensation during the scorching summer heat.

The design of the bra is as unconventional as the idea behind the new bra as the cups are designed to look like fishbowls with fish and seaweed patterns imprinted on the fabric. If these details didn’t impress you, the label fitted the bra with a miniature bamboo ladle or a fan, you can use to cool down. To bling-up the design a bit more, the bra was also adorned with mint and miniature wind chime to enchant your senses at the same time.

However, the design will not be marketed as it was only designed to encourage Japanese citizens to reduce the use of air conditioning due to the energy problems that followed the Fukushima nuclear power disaster in 2011.

Image courtesy of Triumph Japan

The identity of the notorious serial killer known as ‘Jack The Ripper’ has remained a mystery despite all the efforts deposited into discovering the cruel attacker. Various suspects and numerous theories revolved around Jack The Ripper’s true identity, and now another theory has surfaced, in a book which claims that the notorious killer was actually a woman.

John Morris, 62, is the author of the new book  ‘Jack The Ripper: The Hand Of A Woman’ which claims that it was Lizzie Williams, the wife of royal physician Sir John Williams who was the prime suspect of the horrific killings in other theories, the person responsible for the killings. The book suggests that Lizzie could not have children, reason for which the victims had their wombs removed.

According to the new book, which has caused a stir and which is not very popular among other Jack The Ripper experts, Lizzie Williams killed prostitute Mary Kelly, who was basically mutilated, because she was ‘having an affair with her husband’.

The book also brings into attention the fact that none of the victims had been sexually assaulted, which could yet again indicate that the killer was a woman and the fact that Annie Chapman, the killer’s second victim has her personal items laid at her feet in a very ‘feminine manner’.

This is the first time that a woman has been taken into consideration as a suspect for the 1888 killings, but so far no irrefutable proof has been brought to attribute an identity or gender to the legendary killer, meaning the enigma surrounding Jack The Ripper’s identity has not been unriddled.

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Big news everyone! According to a recent study made by psychologists from the University of Bergen in Norway women are more likely to become addicted to Facebook. How is this possible? Well, the team of researchers studied 423 students for signs of addictive behavior in the way they used and felt about Facebook. The result? Just like people addicted to drugs, alcohol and other chemical substances, some participants to the test showed some clear signs of ‘Facebook addiction’.

Besides women, younger people and those suffering from anxiety or social insecurity are at great risk to be dependent on Facebook. Moreover, it seems that extroverted people “were more likely to be addicted to Facebook, while people who were well organized and ambitious were less at risk, using the website primarily for work or networking purposes.”

The study, published in the Psychological Reports journal, was developed using the “Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale”, a new list of six criteria for each of which a person is given a score from one (“very rarely”) to five (“very often”). And according to the findings, scoring “often” or “very often” on at least four of the criteria suggests you may be addicted to Facebook. Categories contain feeling an urge to use Facebook an increasing amount, trying and failing to limit your use of the website, and feeling unsettled if you are denied access to your account. Symptoms anyone?

The latest scientific researches revealed the presence of GPS brain cells within pigeon brain. According to experts the 53 cells can respond to the strength and direction of the Earth’s magnetic field. Numerous experiments were conducted to see whether these birds use magnetic fields to improve their navigation skills. The latest studies shed light on the way these specific ‘GPS neurons’ illustrate how “magnetic information is represented in birds’ brains” (BBC News).

David Dickman of the Baylor College of Medicine in the US conducted an experiment in which these birds were held in the same spot and experts changed the magnetic field around them. Other experts like Prof Dickman and his colleague Le-Qing Wu claimed that the 53 ‘GPS neurons’ act like real sensors so they measured the signals from each cell as the direction and strength of the field was changed. According to the report of BBC News experts revealed that, “Every neuron had its own characteristic response to the magnetic field, with each giving a sort of 3-D compass reading along the familiar north-south directions as well as pointing directly upward or downward.[...]And just like a compass, the neurons had opposite responses to different field “polarity” – the magnetic north and south of a field, which surprised the researchers most of all.”.

There were numerous theories related to this subject Prof Dickman claims that, “That’s what makes this whole field exciting, because there are these competing ideas out there and now, since we’ve discovered regions in the brain that are actually responding to the magnetic field, it intensifies our search for the receptor and how it might work.”.

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According to the latest international news reports there will be a new cannabis cafe law in The Netherlands. According to a judge tourists should be banned from entering into these ‘coffeeshops’. Authorities are concerned that foreign visitors are in the country only to purchase and sell soft drugs. The new law will be implemented next month in three southern provinces. Till the end of this year the ban will go nationwide.

The response to this new law came pretty quick. According to BBC News, “A group of cafe owners argued at The Hague district court that the ban was discriminatory against foreigners.”. Dutch residents will have the right to enter these cafes to purchase soft drugs but only if they have a valid ID or passport. In The Netherlands there are no less than 700 similar coffee shops. Michael Veling, a spokesman for the Dutch Cannabis Retailers Association is among those who protest against the implementation of the new law. The activist told BBC World Service “It is going to cost me 90% of my turnover,[...]That is a very good reason for anyone to oppose any plan. Second it puts our customers in a very difficult spot, because why do you have to register to buy a substance that is still illegal?”.

Moreover, we find out that even the Mayor of Amsterdam, Eberhard van der Laan is challenging the new law because the majority of tourists who visit the capital want to smoke cannabis and use soft drugs in these coffeeshops. Back in “November the city of Maastricht brought a coffee shop ban for foreign tourists from all countries, except Belgium and Germany, from where the majority of foreign customers come.” (BBC News)

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The long waiting list when it comes to receiving new organs can be extremely demoralizing and transplant failure means missing a chance to help someone in need since the unsuitable organ is thrown away. But this might all change if unsuitable organs undergo a recycling process. The seemingly unusual idea might become a more frequent procedure in the future saving countless of lives in the process.

While  cases where organs  from failed transplants are used for someone else in need have been done before, all of these implied the first recipient dying up until now. In a U.S  medical  first,  a kidney that was rejected by the first recipient was transplanted to another patient while the new donor was still alive.  Thew new recipient was surgeon who understood the risks and the benefits the procedure implied and his decision proved to be a ticket to a normal life.

Though the surgery was a success, since this is believed to be the first time the procedure was performed, there is very little data on the long term effects of the procedure. And then, it’s always the problem of ethics and ensuring both the donor and the recipient understand the risks involved and neither is coerced into making the decision.