When people say “I feel your pain,” they do not mean it literally, but certain people really do feel something that appears to be an extreme form of empathy, UK researchers said.
They said watching someone being touched triggers the same part of the brain as actual touch, and this connection helps explain how we understand what other people are feeling.
People who experience a tactile sense of touch when they see another person being touched — something called mirror-touch synesthesia — was first studied in 2005 in one person.
But researchers at University College London have now studied 10 people with the same condition. “It suggests there is a link between certain aspects of the tactile system and empathy,” said Michael Banissy of the university’s department of psychology, whose work appears in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
Banissy and colleagues first did a series of experiments to authenticate peoples’ claims that they felt something when they saw someone else being touched. read more.....
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Monday, June 18, 2007
Friday, June 08, 2007
Laptops giving chronic back pain to millions
Booming sales of laptops have led to a surge in the number of computer users with back and muscle problems, experts have warned. Girls as young as 12 are being diagnosed with nerve damage caused by slouching over screens, a group of leading chiropractors said.
Millions of others are at risk of “irretrievable damage” to their spines, necks and shoulders because of poor posture when using laptops, it was claimed. Back specialists say as many as four in five patients have chronic nerve damage caused by working on portable PCs.
The problem is being driven by falling prices and the increasing availability of wireless technology, which makes portable computers more attractive. Laptop sales in PC World went up by more than 25% last year.
In addition, laptops used at work are not subject to the same health and safety regulations as desktop computers. This makes it more likely they will be used incorrectly. A common problem is perching a laptop on the legs so users stare down at the screen and put strain on their necks, spines and legs.
London-based chiropractor Michael Durntall was among those calling for more research into the issue. He said he had seen dozens of Xrays showing signs of degeneration in the joints of regular laptop users. Durntall added: “Mothers bring in their 12-year-old daughters suffering back pain and when they arrive I can see their slumped posture straight away.
“I also see many people in their twenties and thirties with a dowager’s hump — a rounding at the base of the neck — after only a few years of looking down at a small screen while sitting slumped on a chair for long periods.”
Rishi Loatey, a chiropractor from Wembley, North-West London, said he often treated back and neck pain caused by using a laptop on the move, such as on a train.
Nicola Hunter, a physiotherapist and occupational health specialist, said that hand and arm pain similar to repetitive strain injury was easily induced by resting wrists against the edge of a laptop.
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Millions of others are at risk of “irretrievable damage” to their spines, necks and shoulders because of poor posture when using laptops, it was claimed. Back specialists say as many as four in five patients have chronic nerve damage caused by working on portable PCs.
The problem is being driven by falling prices and the increasing availability of wireless technology, which makes portable computers more attractive. Laptop sales in PC World went up by more than 25% last year.
In addition, laptops used at work are not subject to the same health and safety regulations as desktop computers. This makes it more likely they will be used incorrectly. A common problem is perching a laptop on the legs so users stare down at the screen and put strain on their necks, spines and legs.
London-based chiropractor Michael Durntall was among those calling for more research into the issue. He said he had seen dozens of Xrays showing signs of degeneration in the joints of regular laptop users. Durntall added: “Mothers bring in their 12-year-old daughters suffering back pain and when they arrive I can see their slumped posture straight away.
“I also see many people in their twenties and thirties with a dowager’s hump — a rounding at the base of the neck — after only a few years of looking down at a small screen while sitting slumped on a chair for long periods.”
Rishi Loatey, a chiropractor from Wembley, North-West London, said he often treated back and neck pain caused by using a laptop on the move, such as on a train.
Nicola Hunter, a physiotherapist and occupational health specialist, said that hand and arm pain similar to repetitive strain injury was easily induced by resting wrists against the edge of a laptop.
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Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Almost lost: over 900 bird species
A COMBINATION of climate change and habitat destruction will significantly threaten 400 to 900 bird species by 2050, according to researchers who have carried out a global analysis of the effects of human activities on land-dwelling birds.
By the end of the century, the list will be roughly twice as long.
The birds at risk are those which the researchers predict will lose at least half of their habitat range. They said that although the effects of climate change are significant, they are dwarfed by damage to the birds' habitat due to, for example, logging to convert forest to farmland.
The analysis used data from the UN's Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) a five-year project begun in 2001 involving more than 1,300 experts worldwide, which aimed to provide a state-of-the-art appraisal of the world's ecosystems, the services they provide and how to conserve them.
The team used global political scenarios developed by the MEA to project what would happen to habitats over the next century.
Even with the most optimistic assumptions about global action on climate change and efforts to slow habitat destruction in the tropics, large numbers of the 8,750 land bird species were endangered. read more........
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By the end of the century, the list will be roughly twice as long.
The birds at risk are those which the researchers predict will lose at least half of their habitat range. They said that although the effects of climate change are significant, they are dwarfed by damage to the birds' habitat due to, for example, logging to convert forest to farmland.
The analysis used data from the UN's Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) a five-year project begun in 2001 involving more than 1,300 experts worldwide, which aimed to provide a state-of-the-art appraisal of the world's ecosystems, the services they provide and how to conserve them.
The team used global political scenarios developed by the MEA to project what would happen to habitats over the next century.
Even with the most optimistic assumptions about global action on climate change and efforts to slow habitat destruction in the tropics, large numbers of the 8,750 land bird species were endangered. read more........
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Monday, May 21, 2007
Twenty key inventions of the last 25 years
Cellphones
Car phones were around in the 1970s, but it wasn't until 1983 that Motorola introduced the first widely available handheld cellphone, the DynaTAC 8000x.
Laptop computers
The 28-pound Compaq Portable - Compaq Computer's very first product - was the first portable IBM-compatible PC on the market.
BlackBerries
A Canadian pager company, Research In Motion, shortened attention spans around the world with the launch of the BlackBerry mobile e-mail device in 1999.
Debit cards
Ka-ching! Who needs cash when you've got a debit card? They took off after visa launched its check card in 1995.
Caller ID
Bill collectors are easy to ignore with this invention introduced by BellSouth in 1984 in Orlando.
DVDs
Americans traded all those hours rewinding video cassettes for hours with the introduction of digital video discs in 1995. Lithium rechargeable batteries How many AAs does it take to power a laptop? Almost no one knows, thanks to the durable rechargeable battery Sony brought to market in 1991.
iPods
Walking down the sidewalk hasn't been the same.since November 2001, when Apple introduced its iconic portable digital music player. read more.....
For more details on Key inventions visit www.halfvalue.com and www.halfvalue.co.uk
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Car phones were around in the 1970s, but it wasn't until 1983 that Motorola introduced the first widely available handheld cellphone, the DynaTAC 8000x.
Laptop computers
The 28-pound Compaq Portable - Compaq Computer's very first product - was the first portable IBM-compatible PC on the market.
BlackBerries
A Canadian pager company, Research In Motion, shortened attention spans around the world with the launch of the BlackBerry mobile e-mail device in 1999.
Debit cards
Ka-ching! Who needs cash when you've got a debit card? They took off after visa launched its check card in 1995.
Caller ID
Bill collectors are easy to ignore with this invention introduced by BellSouth in 1984 in Orlando.
DVDs
Americans traded all those hours rewinding video cassettes for hours with the introduction of digital video discs in 1995. Lithium rechargeable batteries How many AAs does it take to power a laptop? Almost no one knows, thanks to the durable rechargeable battery Sony brought to market in 1991.
iPods
Walking down the sidewalk hasn't been the same.since November 2001, when Apple introduced its iconic portable digital music player. read more.....
For more details on Key inventions visit www.halfvalue.com and www.halfvalue.co.uk
For more information on books visit www.Lookbookstores.com
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Tips to click fine Pictures
Proper handling of the camera itself can reduce the number of retakes, helping to make your day easier by decreasing the number of times you need to repeat the dreaded "hold on, I need to take one more". Taking better quality pictures means taking fewer pictures overall since you’re taking fewer bad shots due to bad mechanics.
Holding the Camera
Hold the camera solidly in your hand to prevent the camera from shuddering or shifting too much when pressing on the shutter button, and watch your spare fingers so that they don’t interfere with the lens. One trick is to wrap the camera strap around your fingers so that you will be more conscious of where they are.
Another tip, especially with smaller cameras, is to hold your eye up to the optical viewfinder to capture the image, rather than the electronic viewfinder – this will not only help you see exactly what your capturing, but will also help to stabilize the shot between your hands and your face for less 'camera shake'.
Focusing
As digital cameras have a tendency to take slightly longer to focus than film camera, an important tip is to half-depress the shutter button until the camera has had time to lock the focus, and then completely press the button to take the actual shot - this can often make the difference between blurry, out-of-focus shots, and clear pictures.
Also, with normal picture-taking, shutter speeds are fast enough that a small amount of shake won’t affect the resulting image much, however, there are times when you’d want to use a tripod to compensate: when taking pictures in low light, where the shutter speed will slow down enough to potentially make drag lines, and when using a long zoom, where distant objects are susceptible to blur. In each case, the tripod will settle the image and let you forget about shaking the image and focus on capturing.
Preview
One of the main advantages of a digital camera is being able to preview the pictures after you’ve taken them. If you are trying to capture a specific scene, you can review the shot and see if it looks the way you wanted – if it doesn’t, you can delete the shot and retake it to get it right. Why keep a picture if it’s blurry, or someone’s eyes are closed, or a person is obstructing part of the view?
Archiving
Taking that one step further, there is no worse feeling than seeing the perfect kiss, smile or sunset, reaching for your camera and clicking the button, only to realize that your storage is full and you’ve missed your chance. It’s happened to everyone, but still, you can prevent it by clearing off your old pictures monthly. Bring a second memory card/stick with you when you go on a trip, even if your primary card/stick is large, just in case you need the extra space.
Find more about Click fine Pictures visit www.halfvalue.com and www.halfvalue.co.uk
For more details on Books at www.lookbookstores.com
Holding the Camera
Hold the camera solidly in your hand to prevent the camera from shuddering or shifting too much when pressing on the shutter button, and watch your spare fingers so that they don’t interfere with the lens. One trick is to wrap the camera strap around your fingers so that you will be more conscious of where they are.
Another tip, especially with smaller cameras, is to hold your eye up to the optical viewfinder to capture the image, rather than the electronic viewfinder – this will not only help you see exactly what your capturing, but will also help to stabilize the shot between your hands and your face for less 'camera shake'.
Focusing
As digital cameras have a tendency to take slightly longer to focus than film camera, an important tip is to half-depress the shutter button until the camera has had time to lock the focus, and then completely press the button to take the actual shot - this can often make the difference between blurry, out-of-focus shots, and clear pictures.
Also, with normal picture-taking, shutter speeds are fast enough that a small amount of shake won’t affect the resulting image much, however, there are times when you’d want to use a tripod to compensate: when taking pictures in low light, where the shutter speed will slow down enough to potentially make drag lines, and when using a long zoom, where distant objects are susceptible to blur. In each case, the tripod will settle the image and let you forget about shaking the image and focus on capturing.
Preview
One of the main advantages of a digital camera is being able to preview the pictures after you’ve taken them. If you are trying to capture a specific scene, you can review the shot and see if it looks the way you wanted – if it doesn’t, you can delete the shot and retake it to get it right. Why keep a picture if it’s blurry, or someone’s eyes are closed, or a person is obstructing part of the view?
Archiving
Taking that one step further, there is no worse feeling than seeing the perfect kiss, smile or sunset, reaching for your camera and clicking the button, only to realize that your storage is full and you’ve missed your chance. It’s happened to everyone, but still, you can prevent it by clearing off your old pictures monthly. Bring a second memory card/stick with you when you go on a trip, even if your primary card/stick is large, just in case you need the extra space.
Find more about Click fine Pictures visit www.halfvalue.com and www.halfvalue.co.uk
For more details on Books at www.lookbookstores.com
Monday, May 14, 2007
Steel King: Laxmi Mittal
Laxmi Nivas Mittal (born June 15, 1950) is a London-based Indian billionaire industrialist, born in Sadulpur, in Churu district of Rajasthan, India, and residing in Kensington, London. He was listed in the Forbes List of Billionaires (2006) as the 5th richest man and the richest Indian in the world with an estimated fortune of $23.5 billion and, according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2006, is the richest in the UK, with a net worth of £14.8 billion. The Financial Times named Mittal its 2006 Person of the Year.
The foreign operations of the family business were passed on to Laxmi Narayan Mittal at an early age. Starting from Ispat Indo in Indonesia, Mittal has become the steel king of the world. By his vision and hard work, Mittal has built the moderate business of his family into a global steel giant, which spans across many countries. The companies of the LNM Ispat group include Ispat international NV, Ispat Karmet and Indo Ispat. From the core business of steel manufacturing, his group is now diversifying into shipping, coal, power and oil enterprises. The most fascinating thing about this man is that he is said to have a knack of buying sick and rusted steel companies and turning them into gold! read more…
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The foreign operations of the family business were passed on to Laxmi Narayan Mittal at an early age. Starting from Ispat Indo in Indonesia, Mittal has become the steel king of the world. By his vision and hard work, Mittal has built the moderate business of his family into a global steel giant, which spans across many countries. The companies of the LNM Ispat group include Ispat international NV, Ispat Karmet and Indo Ispat. From the core business of steel manufacturing, his group is now diversifying into shipping, coal, power and oil enterprises. The most fascinating thing about this man is that he is said to have a knack of buying sick and rusted steel companies and turning them into gold! read more…
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Tuesday, May 08, 2007
ESPN
ESPN (which formerly stood for the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American cable television network dedicated to broadcasting sports-related programming 24 hours a day. It was founded by Scott Rasmussen and his father Bill Rasmussen, and launched on September 7, 1979 under the direction of Chet Simmons, who was the network's first President and CEO (and the United States Football League's (USFL) first commissioner). The current president, since November 19, 1998, of ESPN is George Bodenheimer. Bodenheimer is also the current head of ESPN on ABC, having been named to that position on March 3, 2003. Its signature telecast, SportsCenter, debuted with the network and aired its 50,000th episode on February 11, 2007. ESPN broadcasts primarily out of its studios in Bristol, Connecticut; it also operates offices out of Charlotte, San Francisco, and Los Angeles which will open in 2009. Available in over 100 million homes in the United States and over 150 countries and territories via ESPN International. The name of the sport company was lengthened to "ESPN Inc." in February 1985. read more…
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Find more about ESPN visit www.halfvalue.com and www.halfvalue.co.uk
For more details on Books at www.lookbookstores.com
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