A recent review of 30 studies conducted by several researchers in the past few decades and published now by The Cochrane Library has shown that Vitamin C, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t really help guard the common man against cold. Vitamin C, they concluded, is really effective only when used by people who are used to activities that result in a high degree of physical strain such as marathon runners or avid trekkers. For people falling under this bracket, taking Vitamin C helped reduce the chances of catching a cold by a whopping 50%.

In almost everyone else who popped the pill daily, and who were not subject to such high degree of physical stress, the effects of Vitamin C in helping to thwart colds and reduce its duration were practically negligible. According to medical correspondent of The Early Show Dr. Emily Senay, it appears now that it’s hardly worth the cost and effort in taking Vitamin C pills to prevent the common cold. However, she cautions that this study should not be taken to mean that Vitamin C is useless for the human body. The vitamin is essential in ensuring the normal growth and repair of tissues, and acts as an antioxidant. So don’t discard this vital vitamin from your nutritional diet, Senay warns.

So, are researchers any closer to finding a cure for the common cold? Senay says that instead of a cure common sense methods such as washing our hands often would go a long way in preventing colds.

Via: CBS

Mayo Clinic has introduced a new ‘vertical workstation’ that would enable really busy workaholics to ensure that they get the required exercise that they need. Researchers have fitted a desk over a standard treadmill and estimate that if obese people use this machine all day, they would stand to lose a massive 66 pounds a year!

The study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, observed 15 obese people who used the treadmill as their workstation. They found that on an average, they burned around 100 calories an hour just by walking slowly on the treadmill. James Levine and Jennifer Miller wrote in the journal that:

If obese individuals were to replace time spent sitting at the computer with walking computer time by 2 to 3 hours a day, and if other components of energy balance were constant, a weight loss of 20 to 30 kg a year could occur.

The new-fangled desk is not cheap and costs around US$1,600. But the researchers believe that the long-term benefits of exercising will more than cover up the high cost. Increasing work hours, extreme work pressure and lack of time to exercise are resulting in an adult population that is losing the battle against fitness and succumbing to the stress of 21st century existence. Perhaps, this new treadmill might be the only way to get people to work.

Via: Yahoo News

In a surprising revelation, researchers from a healthcare organization called Kaiser Permanente based in California have discovered that women over the age of 50 who regularly supplement their diet with calcium not only reduce the risk of osteoporosis but are also less likely to gain weight.

The study, which has been published in the Archives of Internal Medicine journal, claims that calcium’s influence in reducing weight gain is linked to its ability to break down fat cells and increase the production of leptin.

Researchers studied 36,282 women who were in the age group of 50 to 79 and well past the menopausal phase. Some of the women in this group were given daily supplements of calcium amounting to around 1,000mg as well as adequate Vitamin D while others were given a placebo during this period. Scientists monitored their weight annually for seven years. It was found that all those who had been on a daily diet of calcium and Vitamin D were on an average, 0.28 pounds lighter than those who had been given a dummy pill. The effect of calcium was markedly more pronounced on those who had previously been leading a diet deficient on calcium with these women weighing on an average 0.42 pounds lesser.

Nutritionists from the study now recommend that older women significantly enhance their calcium intake, noting that it might very well be the key to reducing obesity among post-menopausal women:

Because weight loss or prevention of weight gain is likely to have significant health benefits for middle-aged women, early to middle menopause may be a critical period of life in which to slow the trajectory of weight gain.

Via: Daily Mail

This extraordinary achievement is now published in Nature and Genome Research journal and is part of a three-year project to decode the genetic origins of marsupials. Led by Kerstin Lindblad-Toh of the Broad Institute at the famed Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the paper proposes that almost 180 million years ago both humans and opossums had the same ancestor.

The findings of the paper could have wide-ranging benefits. Known scientifically as the Monodelphis domestica, the opossum genome has around 18,000 to 20,000 protein-coding genes, which places it almost in the same range as humans. This means that not only does the opossum become interesting for the anthropologist but the marsupial could hold the key towards future treatments of skin cancer. The opossum is the only known lab animal that suffers skin cancer as a result of exposure to ultraviolet or UV rays.

Scientists also remain excited by the revelation that the young ones of the opossum have the remarkable ability to re-grow their spinal cord after it has been severed. Further research could provide fresh insights into the nature of paralysis and finding ways to heal damaged spinal tissue. Who knows? In the future, a cure for spinal paralysis might very well be traced to this tiny unsung marsupial.

Via: Discovery

Whispers about widespread friction between erstwhile Australian coach Greg Chappell and seniors in the Indian team have been doing the rounds for quite some time now.

However, current Indian manager Ravi Shastri had sought to dispel such rumors pointing out that the camaraderie in the team was unbelievable. But in the sting operation, national selectors, Ranjib Biswal, Bhupinder Singh, Venkatapathy Raju and Sanjay Jagdale, were shown to be expressing their displeasure not just with Chappell but also noting the widespread divisions in the team.

Stunningly, Bhupinder Singh says that there were times when Chappell would go for days not talking to senior players such as Tendulkar, Harbajan Singh or Sehwag. Biswal concurred terming Chappell more as a ’schoolmaster than a friend.’

On more a disturbing note for the Indian cricket fans, the operation revealed that both Tendulkar and Ganguly did not support captain Dravid 100%, nursing as they were on their own captaincy aspirations. Interestingly, Jagdale, who was India’s tour manager on the ill-fated World Cup misadventure, admitted that there were definitely ‘personal problems’ in the team.

The vexed endorsement issue was also brought to the fore again with Board secretary Niranjan Shah stressing on the need for just three endorsements per player. And what does the BCCI have to say for all this? It seems to have adopted a ‘wait-and-watch’ approach. An unnamed official told Cricinfo:

In these sting operations video and audio can sometimes be doctored so we have to wait and see whether these are authentic or not.

If only Shakespeare would wake up and show the way. The literary world, it seems, is in a tizzy, trying to find out the Bard’s real works amidst all the versions floating around. Now, the latest revision of Shakespeare’s editions - the elaborately-named ‘RSC Shakespeare Complete Works’ claims that there are significant changes made to Shakespeare’s actors as well as major themes of his plays.

Among the more interesting changes in the ‘Works,’ is the premise that Lady Macbeth, for so long reviled in the literary world, may not be so vindictive, after all. According to The Peninsula, Lady Macbeth loses her title in the new edition, and is simply known as the wife of Macbeth. Readers might well wonder at the confusion. Surely, isn’t there one text that could solve Shakespeare’s mysteries once and for all? Sadly, there isn’t. Most of the recent editions to the Bard’s plays stake their claim from two versions - known in literature as the Quarto and the Folio. The Quarto, it is believed, is not so reliable, consisting as it did of a number of pirated versions of Shakespeare’s works.

The new Works claims that they use Shakespeare’s First Folio of 1623, which is the version that was used by the famed writer’s actors: John Hemings and Henry Condell. Newer interpretations in the Works present a more brutalized and harsher tone in ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ and old King Lear was not worried about the loss of his kingdom but his own old age. Othello, often portrayed as a narcissist, is shown to have a more tender side when he expresses horror at killing his wife. In the end, with this new edition Shakespeare scholars will find that they might have to reconsider centuries-old theories and theses on the writer’s greatest works.

Via: The Peninsula, Playfuls

Imagine a baby born so fragile that breathing might break its ribs. Imagine a baby so fragile that even changing its nappy might result in a fracture. Imagine a baby passing through 50 operations, and around 50 blood transfusions and still somehow cling to life and someday live to tell the tale? Impossible as that sounds, Kaven was born in May last year, when his mother, Victoria Simmonds went into labour just 24 weeks into her pregnancy.

Doctors initially gave Kaven no chance to live through the night even. But Victoria believes that her baby boy was made of sterner stuff.

When he put his tiny hand on to mine, I knew he was going to be all right. He is such a little fighter.

Fighter he certainly seems. Kaven hung on through that first night but within five days was diagnosed with a deadly flesh-eating bug called Necrotising-Fasciitis that required surgery to remove the infected part of his bowel. Further operations included surgery to close a heart valve, and laser surgery to give him sight.

The long fight is still not over for Kaven. He remains extremely fragile and underweight compared to other babies his age. Although ten months old now, he can only fit into clothes made for three-month old babies. Doctors opine that he would need physiotherapy at least till the age of five. But for now, Victoria Simmonds isn’t complaining. Her baby has shown the heart of a champion, battled through odds that would frighten an adult and proven many a doctor wrong.

Via: Daily Mail

All Madonna fans can now give their frantically anticipating minds a rest - a book, by Madonna’s nanny, named Live to Tell, has been turned down by Crown Publishing.

Melissa Dumas, who claims to be Madge’s former nanny, had brought out a memoir of the singer’s life and had threatened to spill all about the Ritchie household. Obviously, the babysitter had crossed the borderline and had displeased the singer enough for her to put her lawyers into action. Although Crown remains mum on the sudden change of decision, rumors abound that it was Madge’s lawyers who pressurized the company into turning their back to the deal.

The book, which apparently contained confessions on various aspects of Madonna’s life from her commitment to Kabbalah to the controversial adoption of her son David from Malawi, was reported to have been sold to Crown for a phenomenal $5 million.

Agent Sharlene Martin said in a terse statement that she deeply regrets that ‘Crown decided not to move forward in publishing (the nanny’s) book,’ but refused to answer any further questions on the issue.

There hasn’t been any word from Madonna’s agents either or her so-called mouthpiece, Liz Rosenberg, over the reason for squashing the nanny book. However, Madonna hasn’t taken too kindly in the past for similar tell-all ventures and it is no surprise that Dumas’ book was torn apart before a single word was printed. Small wonder that Madonna is called Her Madgesty by her fans - what the Queen disapproves, no other can dare approve.

Via: Celebrity Rumors

First Britney Spears. Now Eddie Van Halen. It seems that the world of superstardom is slowly crumbling under the constant pressure and stress that occupies it.

Eddie Van Halen, who used to perform as the lead guitarist for the popular Van Halen band, said that he has decided to check into rehab in order to ‘work on himself’ and to deliver his best to his fans in an open letter addressed to them:

I have always and will always feel a responsibility to give you my best. At the moment I do not feel that I can give you my best. That’s why I have decided to enter a rehabilitation facility to work on myself, so that in the future I can deliver the 110 percent that I feel I owe you and want to give you.

One of the immediate implications of his decision to check into rehab could be that it might very well signal the end of any possible reconciliation and reunion with former Van Halen band member David Lee Roth. The two were scheduled to perform together this year but that appears to be a distinct impossibility given that Eddie admitted that some of the tour dates might very well be changed or canceled.

Van Halen as a group has not released an album in the past nine years although they churned out some of the biggest hits of the 80s era, including such classics like ‘Hot for Teacher’ and ‘Panama.’ The new-look Van Halen team that Eddie has assembled includes his son Wolfgang and brother Alex Van Halen apart from David. Bass player Michael Anthony also recently left the band. For ardent fans of Van Halen, all this drama can only mean that the wait for their next album might be a very long wait...

Via: Reuters, People Magazine