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Papal Inspiration for Showbiz With the Sing-Along Saint

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Audience in Rome enjoy the flourish of theater shows about Pope John Paul II's musical biography, revealing the life of the former playwright and future saint, just before his canonization on Sunday. Highlights like his famous meeting with his would-be assassin Ali Agca in 1983 and his famous phrase "Be not afraid!" have become modern dance numbers and jaunty tunes in an unusual cocktail of piety and showbiz. Nuns and priests were out in force at a performance ...

Link Between Down Syndrome and Leukemia Uncovered by Dana-Farber Researchers

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Doctors have known that people with Down Syndrome have a higher risk of developing acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) during childhood, but they have not yet been able to explain the reason. Now, a team of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators has uncovered a connection between the two conditions. In a study posted online today by the journal iNature Genetics/i, the researchers track the genetic chain of events that links a chromosomal abnormality in Down ...

Construction Slows Due to Conflict and C. Africa 'Sandfishers' Fear for Livelihood

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Months of conflict have brought near despair in Central African Republic, shattering hopes of Sinclair and his comrades who have long dived deep into the Oubangui river to dig up sand for the building industry. "We're in a state of war now, the time of destruction," the brawny young man said on the bank of the river that flows past the capital Bangui, which has been abandoned by many residents for fear of attacks. "But we live off construction. So business is slow, ...

Ivory Coast Cuisine Changed Due to West Africa's Ebola Outbreak

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The outbreak of Ebola fever in West Africa came as bad news for gourmets in Ivory Coast, as it brings respite from the hunter to species sought out for tasty meat, but feared to carry the disease. Late in March, Health Minister Raymonde Goudou Coffie called for her compatriots to stop eating porcupines and agoutis, which look like large river-rats, "until we can be sure there are no risks". Bushmeat is known to be a vector of Ebola, the alarming haemorrhagic ...

Image Like That of Jesus Appears on Pancake in California Cafe

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When the bakers of a cafe in Norco, California, were trying to make a Mickey Mouse pancake on Good Friday, it ended up looking like the image of Jesus Christ, said the owner of the cafe. Gary Hendrickson, the co-owner of Cowgirl Cafe said that the night before, his wife decided to pray about something and the next day on Good Friday they got this pancake, ABC News reported. He added that to them it looked like a picture of Jesus looking down, like he ...

Courtney Love Reveals That Her Gay Pals Helped Her Become a Rock Star

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Courtney Love attributes her rock-stardom to her gay friends, and revealed that she is a gay icon. She said that her homosexual pals helped her learn how to dress well and have a commanding presence when she entered a room. Kurt Cobain's widow told Gay Times magazine that when she was a kid she was certainly what one would call a hag because that's how she learned to dress and be extrovert and walk into a room, the Mirror reported. When ...

After UAE Nurse Scare of MERS, Philippines Boosts MERS Monitoring

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The Philippines announced Saturday that it was stepping up its defenses against the MERS virus, as there are large numbers of Filipino workers in the Middle East, and are seen as potential carriers. "It is important that families, friends and members of their local communities fully understand all that must be known about the MERS coronavirus," Health Secretary Enrique Ona told a news conference. A male Filipino nurse who had tested positive for the ...

Lost Stem Cells are Replaced by Non-stem Cells: Study

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When a certain type of stem cell is killed off for experimental purposes, a group of non-stem cells can come out of retirement and replace them, found in a new study. Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered the unexpected phenomenon in the organs that produce sperm in fruit flies. The discovery sheds light on the tiny "environments" that stem cells occupy in animal bodies and may help explain how stem cells in tumors replenish themselves, the researchers ...

Ovarian Pain

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Ovarian pain is caused due to various conditions like ovarian cysts, ovarian tumors, endometriosis, pelvic inflammatory diseases, ovarian remnant syndrome and Mittelschmerz.

'Swarms' of Robots to Carry Out Tasks Without Using Memory

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Researchers are aiming to develop hundreds - or even thousands - of tiny robots cluster that will carry out tasks without using any memory or processing power. The team, working in the Sheffield Centre for Robotics (SCentRo), in the University's Faculty of Engineering, has programmed extremely simple robots that are able to form a dense cluster without the need for complex computation, in a similar way to how a swarm of bees or a flock of birds is able to carry ...

Smoking Seen on TV Shows can Trigger Adult Tobacco Use

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Smoking on US television shows appears far less frequently than it used to, but a new study suggests that the portrayal of smoking may still be triggering the urge in adult smokers. Researchers reviewed patterns in TV smoking over more than 50 years and found that they tracked with changes in adult tobacco use, suggesting that even established smokers are influenced to light up by seeing it done on the small screen, Fox News reported. Lead study author ...

Nuclear Plants on Floating Platforms can Withstand Tsunamis

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Nuclear plants built on floating platforms, a new design, can help avoid destruction due to disasters like Fukushima. Such floating plants would be designed to be automatically cooled by the surrounding seawater in a worst-case scenario, which would indefinitely prevent any melting of fuel rods, or escape of radioactive material. The concept is being presented this week at the Small Modular Reactors Symposium, hosted by the American Society of Mechanical ...

'Chaperone' Compounds Could Help Treat Alzheimer's Disease: Study

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Chaperons also known as retromer protein complex could help treat Alzheimer's disease, say researchers. Retromer plays a vital role in neurons, steering amyloid precursor protein (APP) away from a region of the cell where APP is cleaved, creating the potentially toxic byproduct amyloid-beta, which is thought to contribute to the development of Alzheimer's. Using computer-based virtual screening, the researchers identified a new class of compounds, ...

Source of Most Cases of Invasive Bladder Cancer Discovered

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Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have discovered a single type of cell in the lining of the bladder that is responsible for most cases of invasive bladder cancer. Their study, conducted in mice, is the first to pinpoint the normal cell type that can give rise to invasive bladder cancers. It's also the first to show that most bladder cancers and their associated precancerous lesions arise from just one cell, and explains why many human bladder ...

Cyclothon Organised in New Delhi to Create Awareness on Road Safety

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A 'cyclothon' was organised in New Delhi, in a bid to create awareness on road safety among cyclists and pedestrians. Olympic silver-medalist wrestler Sushil Kumar flagged off the cycle rally and told people to follow safety rules while driving. The rally was also attended by Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi and former Indian cricketer, Ajay Jadeja. People, especially children, took part in the cyclothon with great enthusiasm and queued ...

China's Desire for Luxury Cars Undimmed by Domestic Troubles

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China's desire for luxury cars remains undimmed by political austerity drive and an economic slowdown as China's growing band of wealthy motorists set their sights on high-end wheels. In a lavish event off Tiananmen Square, ahead of the opening of the Beijing Auto Show on Sunday, bejewelled models dressed in haute-couture graced the unveiling of Rolls-Royce's Pinnacle Travel Phantom. The new edition of its flagship luxury sedan, which comes in a two-tone ...

Female Lawmakers Fight for Women's Rights in Iraq Campaign

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Prospective female lawmakers are determined to push women's issues to the fore of campaigning for this month's elections, with fears that women's rights are being eroded in Iraq. Despite a constitutional requirement that a quarter of all MPs be women, Iraq lags on key indicators such as female employment and literacy, and there is a bill before parliament that opponents say dramatically curtails women's rights. Also at issue ahead of April 30 elections ...

After Landmark Ruling, Indian Transgender Stands for Office

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Just days after the country's highest court recognized "third gender" people, a pioneering Indian transgender is campaigning in her southern hometown for a seat in parliament. Describing the Supreme Court judge's ruling as a "milestone", 53-year-old Bharathi Kannamma hopes to build on the momentum and overturn prejudices against India's several million transgenders. Running as an independent candidate in the city of Madurai in Tamil Nadu state, she is ...

12 New Cases of MERS Reported in UAE

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Around 12 new cases of infection by the MERS coronavirus has been confirmed by Health authorities in the United Arab Emirates, who also insisted the patients would be cured within two weeks. The health ministry said the cases were discovered during "routine checks" on people who had contact with infected individuals, according to a statement published late Saturday by WAM state news agency. Those infected by the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome are kept ...

Prince William Addicted to Hobbit, Lord of the Rings: Martin Freeman

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Prince William was hooked to movies like 'Hobbit' and 'Lord of the Rings' and the classic -stories that inspired them, reveals Martin Freeman. The 'Hobbit' star who met the Duke of Cambridge at the premier of the first film of the trilogy asserted that he was a nice guy and he was the biggest royal fan and they had fans everywhere as it was a very beloved book, the Mirror reported. The 42-year-old actor said that the Duke wanted to be there at premiere ...

Huge Desert Solar Park to Fight Energy Crisis Planned in Pakistan

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The Pakistani government plans to harness the sun's ferocious heat to help tackle the country's chronic energy crisis. In a corner of the Cholistan desert in Punjab province, power transmission lines, water pipes and a pristine new road cross 10,000 acres (4,000 hectares) of parched, sandy land. The provincial government has spent (Dollar) 5 million to put in place the infrastructure as it seeks to transform the desolate area into one of the world's largest ...

Researchers Find New MRSA Superbug in Brazilian Patient

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An international research team has identified a new superbug that caused a bloodstream infection in a Brazilian patient. The team was led by Cesar A. Arias, M.D., Ph.D., at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). The new superbug is part of a class of highly-resistant bacteria known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA, which is a major cause of hospital and community-associated infections. The superbug ...

Depression Runs in Dolly Parton's Family

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Singer Dolly Parton has revealed that depression runs in her family on both sides and she has to be wary. The 'Last Thing on my Mind' Dolly said that it was usually brought on by something that was going on in the family and if there were problems sometimes it was a lot for one little person to carry, the Mirror reported. The American country singer said that people always said to her that she was happy all the time, but she said that nobody can be ...

Nearly One Fifth of China's Soil Contaminated: Environmental Protection Ministry

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In China, nearly one fifth of the soil is reportedly contaminated, an official study released by the country's Environmental Protection Ministry has revealed. The study, conducted between 2005-2013, found that 16.1 percent of China's soil and 19.4 percent of its arable land showed contamination, the BBC reported. The conclusion was made after sampling an area of 6.3 million square kilometres, which accounts for two-third of China's land area. The ...

Intentional Breeding, Genetic Isolation Not as Significant as Traditionally Thought

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New research on the domestication of donkeys, camelids (dromedaries, Bactrian camels, llamas, alpacas) pigs, cattle, sheep and goats suggests that neither intentional breeding nor genetic isolation were as significant as traditionally thought. Together with Keith Dobney, PhD, of the University of Aberdeen in Scotland; Tim Denham, PhD, of the Australian National University; and Jose Capriles, PhD, of the Universidad de Tarapaca in Chile, Fiona Marshall, PhD, professor ...

Food Shortage may Become Critical World Issue by Next 40 Years

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Within the next 40 years, food shortage may start to bear serious implications for people and governments. According to a top scientist at the U.S. Agency for International Development, food production will be limited on a global scale by the availability of land, water and energy and food issues could become as politically destabilizing by 2050 as energy issues are today. Dr. Fred Davies, senior science advisor for the agency's bureau of food security ...

Brown Fat may be the 'Holy Grail' of Weight Loss: Study

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To aid the fight against diabetes and obesity, the first MRI scan to show 'brown fat' in a living adult could pave way towards a new wave of therapies. Researchers from Warwick Medical School and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust used a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based method to identify and confirm the presence of brown adipose tissue in a living adult. Brown fat has become a hot topic for scientists due its ability to ...

Dummy Google Glass Sets for Free in Your Home

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Google has launched an 'in-home-try-on' program in which customer can get free dummy Google Glass for checking how they will look on them. According to TechCrunch, these Glasses are just for demonstration purpose, they look same as the real ones, but do not work. This facility was reportedly offered to the potential buyers, who showed interest in the product, but anyone can sign up for the program to get a free one, the report added. The ...

Ancient Tundra Landscape Found Under Greenland Ice Sheet

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Scientists were greatly surprised to discover an ancient tundra landscape below two miles of ice, preserved under the Greenland Ice Sheet. "We found organic soil that has been frozen to the bottom of the ice sheet for 2.7 million years," University of Vermont geologist Paul Bierman said. This discovery provides strong evidence that the Greenland Ice Sheet has persisted much longer than previously known, enduring through many past periods of global warming. ...

Parents' Online Antics Embarrass One in Four Kids

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A new survey has found that more than 29 per cent British kids feel humiliated by their parents online. The survey, commissioned by mobile phone company Three, found that about 30 per cent of 18 to 34-year-olds have blocked or deleted their parents from Facebook after getting embarrassed by their antics, Daily Expres reported. The poll also found that moms embarrass their children a little less (28 per cent of the time) than fathers who manage to embarrass ...

Oldest Artworks in Danger of Disappearing in Philippines

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Enigmatic carvings on a small rock wall, which is a short drive from the Philippine capital; believed to date back 5,000 years are in danger of disappearing before their mysteries can be solved. The 127 engravings of people, animals and geometric shapes are the Southeast Asian nation's oldest known artworks, but encroaching urbanisation, vandals and the ravages of nature are growing threats. "Eventually they will disappear... preservation is out of the ...

Homes Converted into Take-Away Restaurants Via Danish Website

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Private homes are being turned into take-away restaurants by a Danish website, which is letting users advertise what they are cooking, when and for what price. "Sometimes I only put one serving up for sale, sometimes up to 20. It depends on what I'm making and how much time I have," said Ana Teresa Salas, a 32-year-old consultant from Copenhagen. The website, Dinnersurfer.dk, is sometimes described as a restaurant version of the popular lodging site ...

25th Anniversary for Nintendo's Trailblazing Game Boy

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Monday is the 25th anniversary for Nintendo's trailblazing Game Boy, with the portable device's legacy living on in the era of cutting-edge smartphone games. The Japanese firm released its 8-bit Game Boy on April 21, 1989 -- the same year Soviet troops pulled out of Afghanistan, the Chinese army violently cracked down on protesters in Tiananmen Square and the Berlin Wall fell. Billed as a "handy game machine", few knew it would turn the console-based ...

Twitter Used by Researchers to Predict Crime

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New research indicates that hidden in the Twittersphere are nuggets of information that could prove useful to crime fighters even before a crime has been committed. Researchers at the University of Virginia demonstrated tweets could predict certain kinds of crimes if the correct analysis is applied. A research paper published in the scientific journal Decision Support Systems last month said the analysis of geo-tagged tweets can be useful in predicting ...

Older Women More Likely to be Compassionate Towards Strangers

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Older women, plucky individuals and those who have suffered a recent major loss are more likely to be compassionate toward strangers than other older adults, suggest researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. The study is published in this month's issue of the iInternational Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry/i. Because compassionate behaviors are associated with better health and well-being as we age, the research findings ...

Bacterial Superinfections Reviewed in Nature Reviews Microbiology

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On invitation, Le Bonheur Children's Hospital Pediatrician-in-Chief Jon McCullers, MD, has submitted a review in the April issue of iNature Reviews Microbiology/i, one of the world's foremost scientific publications. Dr. McCullers, a world-renowned infectious disease specialist, and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, analyzed the epidemiology and microbiology of co-infections during the 1918, 1957 and ...

Distinct Alterations of Subcellular Glutathione Potentials Revealed Via Live Cell Imaging

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A recent work on subcellular redox homeostasis is described in the April issue of iExperimental Biology and Medicine/i by a multidisciplinary research team led by Drs. Rex Gaskins and Paul Kenis in the Institute of Genomic Biology (IGB) on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Intracellular reduction-oxidation reactions underlie a variety of cell functions including energy metabolism, signaling, and transcriptional processes. Due to these ...

Prenatal Risk Factors Increase Risk of Kidney Disease in Children

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A study appearing in an upcoming issue of the iJournal of the American Society of Nephrology/i (JASN) suggests that certain prenatal risk factors are associated with the development of chronic kidney disease in children. Future studies should investigate whether modifying these factors could help protect children''s kidney health. Risks for certain types of kidney disease may arise before birth, and researchers suspect that the development of chronic ...

Historic Mass in Turkish-held North Held by Greek Cypriots

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Greek Cypriots have thronged a church in the Turkish-held north for a Good Friday mass amid a drive to reunify the Mediterranean island for the first time in 60 years The church of St George Exorinos in Famagusta on the east coast was packed with crowds of worshippers for the historic mass. Those who could not find place inside the 14th century Greek Orthodox church filled the gardens and listened to the service through a loudspeaker. Foreign ...

Historic Mass in North Cyprus Looks Miraculous

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The glimmer of devotional candles and the flash of smartphone cameras are evident in the nighttime procession hosted by a church for its first Easter mass in 60 years. Hundreds of Greek Cypriots crossed the Green Line to attend the ceremony at Famagusta's church of St George Exorinos, in the part of the Mediterranean island occupied by Turkish forces since 1974. Bishop Vassilis, wearing robes embroidered with gold and white and accompanied by a top ...

Porous Membrane 100,000 Times Thinner Than Human Hair Developed!

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A stable porous membrane that is around 100,000 times thinner than the diameter of a human hair has now been successfully developed by a team of researchers. The membrane consists of two layers of the much exalted "super material" graphene, a two-dimensional film made of carbon atoms, on which the team of researchers, led by Professor Hyung Gyu Park at the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering at ETH Zurich, etched tiny pores of a precisely defined ...

Two Foreigners Die of MERS in Jeddah

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Fear is rising over the spread of the dreaded respiratory virus as two foreigners have died of the MERS virus in the Saudi city of Jeddah. The ministry said five more people were infected with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in the western city, including two foreign medics aged 54. The latest deaths of a 64-year-old and 44-year-old, whose nationalities were undisclosed, bring to 76 the overall number of people to have died of MERS in Saudi Arabia, ...

From Hokey to Hipster: Stag Trophies in Germany Get a New Look

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Self-respecting young urbanites in Germany would have turned their backs if they spotted a deer head or a set of antlers in a bar sometime back. In the sometimes subtle language of taste and demographics, taxidermy in Germany screamed old fashioned, tacky and even a bit right-wing. Whereas in Britain, for example, mounted animals might conjure up stately homes and quaint rural pubs, Germans would be more likely to have faint echoes of the Bavarian backwoods ...

Popular Lies That Parents Tell Their Children

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We tend to believe the lies that parents tell us as we are growing up. But even while telling these lies, parents have a hidden agenda, especially when it comes to protecting the child's innocence. The Guardian has compiled a list of the lies that we believed to be the truth. Some of them are: 1. When you die you go to heaven 2. Mummy and Daddy are not having an argument, they are just having a disagreement 3. Mother/Father ...

Gospel Music may Benefit Mental Health of Older People

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A decrease in anxiety about death and increase in life satisfaction and self esteem was noted among older individuals listening to religious music. In particular, listening to gospel music is associated with a decrease in anxiety about death and an increase in sense of control. These associations are similar for blacks and whites, women and men, and individuals of both low- and high-socioeconomic status. The article, titled 'Listening to ...

Roller Derby Gains Popularity Abroad

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"SF1"-- a tatoo celebrating Scare Force One, a tribe of women on roller skates, can be seen as Adrienne Schreiber curls down her lower lip When they get together, they push, shove and -- above all -- win. Bureaucrats, teachers and scientists, the women who compete in roller derby -- an American game that is quickly gaining traction abroad -- come from all walks of life. But to take part is not merely to don skates and score points. On ...

People Get Health Conscious Early in the Week

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A recurring pattern in health-related Google searches has now been revealed by a new study that could be helpful in improving public health strategies. Investigators from San Diego State University, the Santa Fe Institute, Johns Hopkins University, and the Monday Campaigns, analyzed "healthy" Google searches (searches that included the term healthy and were indeed health-related, e.g., "healthy diet") originating in the U.S. from 2005 to 2012. They found that on average, ...

6-layer Pizza Cake in Canada

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Research Finds Weight Gain in Children Occurs After Tonsil Removal

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New research suggests that weight gain in children after they have their tonsils removed occurs primarily in children who are smaller and younger at the time of the surgery. However, weight gain was not linked with increased rates of obesity. About 500,000 children in the United States have their tonsils removed each year. The childhood obesity rate prompted reevaluation of the question of weight gain after adenotonsillectomy. The authors reviewed medical ...

Probiotics Ineffective in Reducing Symptoms of Infant Colic

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Previous research has shown that colic affects about one in five infants in the United States annually. It also accounts for numerous pediatric visits during the first several months after birth. Research into probiotic use for reduction of colic symptoms was showing promise; however, the April 1, 2014 issue of the iBritish Medical Journal/i (BMJ2014;348:g2107; Sung, Valerie) reported on a study, "Probiotics and Infant Colic," concluding that the use of the ...

Scientists Examine Whether Parkinson's is an Autoimmune Disease

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A new study suggests that neurons may be mistaken for foreign invaders and killed by the person's own immune system in Parkinson's disease. This is similar to the way autoimmune diseases like type I diabetes, celiac disease, and multiple sclerosis attack the body's cells. The study was published April 16, 2014, in iNature Communications/i. "This is a new, and likely controversial, idea in Parkinson's disease; but if true, it could lead to new ways to prevent ...

Treatment Technique Improvement for Advanced Abdominal Cancer Highlighted in 2 Decades of Data

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An analysis by physicians at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center has found that long-term survival is possible for selected patients suffering from advanced cancer of the abdomen when treated with cytoreductive surgery with Hyperthermic IntraPeritoneal Chemotherapy, or HIPEC. Wake Forest Baptist has the largest reported, single-center experience with cytoreductive surgery and HIPEC, said lead author Edward A. Levine, M.D., and analysis of 20 years' worth of patient ...

Stress Susceptibility may be Reversed by Boosting Natural Resilience

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Out-of-balance electrical activity inside neurons of the brain's reward circuit is responsible for vulnerability to depression-like behaviors in mice, say scientists, who have experimentally reversed this vulnerbility. Instead of suppressing it, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health boosted runaway neuronal activity even further, eventually triggering a compensatory self-stabilizing response. Once electrical balance was restored, previously susceptible ...

Public Perceptions Around Newborn Testing Examined by Researcher

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A new study says that 94 per cent of Canadians surveyed said they would participate in public health programs that screen newborns for a specific number of genetic conditions. However, only 80 per cent said they would be willing to participate in screening that would sequence their newborns' genomes. Most newborns in North America have a "heel prick test" in their first day or two of life in which a tiny amount of blood is taken from their heels and tested for about ...

Adrenaline may Not Increase Patient's Survival After Cardiac Arrest

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New research conducted at St. Michael's Hospital suggests that giving patients adrenaline after they suffer a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital does not increase their prospects of long-term survival. "The vast number of patients who have a cardiac arrest get adrenaline, which has been the drug recommended in treating cardiac arrest for decades," said Dr. Steve Lin, an emergency physician and trauma team leader at St. Michael's. "Yet, despite advances in medical ...

One Bottle Wine a Day Keeps the Doctor Away, Reveal Scientists

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A bottle of wine is not bad for the health and abstaining is worse than drinking, say scientists. Former World Health Organisation expert has claimed that alcohol is only harmful when it is consumed 13 units in a day, the Independent reported. Kari Poikolainen, who has analysed decades of research into the effects of alcohol on the human body, revealed that drinking more than the current recommended daily intake may in fact be healthier than being ...