School iris-scanned students without telling parents

A Florida school admits that it made several mistakes when it allowed a security company to install iris scanners without telling parents -- and without even having a contract with the company.

The eyes have it? Or the eyes were had?

(Credit: Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)

There's a quaint concept that seemingly every technology company dismisses as outdated.

It's called opting in.

Should you not be familiar with it, it's the notion that you ought to choose before, say, all the people in your address book are contacted by a company they've never heard of.

And wouldn't it be lovely to have a choice over whether your kids should have their irises scanned, as they get on their school bus?

The parents of around 750 kids in several Florida schools never got that choice -- because of what might be politely termed a series of errors and less politely as "what the hell is going on around here?"

Here was what one parent, April Serrano, told the The Ledger when she found out that her 8-year-old son had been made to stare into a blue light until it changed color when he got on a bus: "Just repeating that story makes my skin crawl."

Peculiarly, no one at the schools district seems entirely sure how a security company called Stanley Convergent Security Solutions was allowed to install and operate the scanners without parents being told. Or, indeed, without a contract being signed.

Rob Davis, a Polk County district administrator, admitted to the Ledger that several mistakes were made. He said that he had no idea who (if anyone) had ultimately authorized Stanley Convergent to insert the iris scanners, which the company says have an accuracy rate of 200 times that of fingerprints.

He said that his secretary had sent letters to school principals explaining the idea (and offering merely an "opt-out" option), only after it had started. There seems no clear explanation of why this might be.

What is alleged, though, is that Stanley Convergent appeared on three East Polk campuses without any legal agreement in place.

The final decision ought to have been that of interim school superintendent John Stewart. Oddly, he seems also not to have been informed -- another piece of communication that either was late in arriving or was never sent.

The Ledger quotes Ann Marshall, a safe schools specialist who seems to have been responsible for the iris scan scheduling, as saying: "It's just a busy place. And unless you have an appointment to move something ahead, it's not like you have an opportunity to chitchat. It's not that anyone didn't want to tell him (Stewart)."

It seems as if not one school lawyer looked through the proposed contract and approved it.

This has left some parents suspicious. Connie Turlington, parent of an 11-year-old, told The Ledger: "It sounds like a simple case of it's better to ask forgiveness than permission."

Some might find it touching that a concept seemingly born in Silicon Valley has made it all the way to Polk County, Fla.

You might remember Polk County. This is the same place where 16-year-old Kiera Wilmot was expelled for putting toilet cleaner and tin foil in a water bottle and watching it go "pop."

Could it be that the very same Polk County Schools District tried to conduct a scientific experiment of its own?

I have contacted Stanley Convergent to ask whether it is normal to install iris scanners before the signing of a contract. E-mails obtained by The Ledger under a public records request reportedly show that the company tried to get a contract signed.

However, these e-mails also show that Lum Thornhill, assistant director of operations at the schools district, had allegedly been told by Stanley Convergent that it could "do the registration and keep the files on a computer until we get the clearance."

The schools district now admits that its enthusiasm for any biometric security has somewhat waned.

Davis told the Ledger: "We learned a valuable lesson here, to say the least. It was truly not to fast track or invade anyone's privacy."

I am sure that many parents won't feel quite so grateful for the learning experience, even though Stanley Convergent has said the scanning information has been deleted.

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Lego makes beautiful music with the Sydney Opera House

As part of its Creator Expert range of sets, Lego will debut a massive Sydney Opera House model in September.

(Credit: Lego)

We've seen an official Lego Sydney Opera House set before as part of the toy company's Architecture range, but let's be honest: an awful lot of detail got lost in the model's tiny size.

Lego's about to do something about that, though. On September 1, Lego fanatics will be able to get their hands on an insanely detailed 2,989-piece model of the iconic building designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon in the 1950s. And, at 11 inches by 25 inches by 15 inches, it's going to be huge.

The model is offering a few neat perks for Lego brick collectors: rare dark-tan Lego bricks, tiles, and sloped bricks, as well as the company's first-ever 48x48 stud baseplate in blue -- and the curved white pieces that form the Opera House's sails.

The Sydney Opera House will be joining other iconic buildings, like India's Taj Mahal, France's Eiffel Tower, and England's Tower Bridge as part of the Creator Expert range of oversize models. It will retail for $380.

We dare Lego to do the Sydney Harbour Bridge next.

(Source: Crave Australia)

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Obama: NSA spying doesn't mean 'abandoning freedom'

In an interview with Charlie Rose, the president maintains that the top-secret NSA spying programs were within the bounds of the law and were intended to protect U.S. citizens.

President Barack Obama.

(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)

News about the National Security Agency's classified surveillance programs has been abundant the past few days, and to top it off, President Obama is now giving a 45-minute interview about the issue with Charlie Rose on Monday evening.

Buzzfeed published a partial transcript of the interview before tonight's airing of the show. While Obama goes over the topics of the two NSA spying programs with more detail, it appears he's reiterating much of the same when it comes to the White House's stance on the programs and document leaks. Essentially, it did nothing wrong.

"What I've said, and I continue to believe, is that we don't have to sacrifice our freedom in order to achieve security. That's a false choice. That doesn't mean that there are not tradeoffs involved in any given program, in any given action that we take," Obama told Rose. "To say there's a tradeoff doesn't mean somehow that we've abandoned freedom."

The NSA is one of the biggest surveillance and eavesdropping agencies in the U.S. and was where former CIA employee and whistleblower Edward Snowden was working when he decided to leak some of the agency's top-secret documents to the press a couple of weeks ago.

This document leak has led to the public finding out that the government has been working to spy on people via metadata from Internet companies and cellular records in two programs -- 2015 Program and PRISM. The NSA and the Obama administration have said the goal of the surveillance programs were to track down foreign terrorists and terrorist threats.

"The way I view it, my job is both to protect the American people and to protect the American way of life, which includes our privacy," Obama said. "And so every program that we engage in, what I've said is 'Let's examine and make sure that we're making the right tradeoffs.'"

The White House has maintained that the secret surveillance programs were legal. In the case of the 2015 Program, which looks at phone records, Obama said that the phone numbers aren't connected to any names or database content -- they're simply "number pairs." And, in the case of PRISM, he said that the program mainly targets foreign nationals and only goes after U.S. citizens when officials have a warrant.

"What I can say unequivocally is that if you are a U.S. person, the NSA cannot listen to your telephone calls, and the NSA cannot target your e-mails... and have not. They cannot and have not, by law and by rule, and unless they -- and usually it wouldn't be 'they,' it'd be the FBI -- go to a court, and obtain a warrant, and seek probable cause," Obama told Rose. "So point number one, if you're a U.S. person, then NSA is not listening to your phone calls and it's not targeting your emails unless it's getting an individualized court order. That's the existing rule."

Rose asked Obama whether the system should be more transparent and the president maintained it is since his administration, a federal court (FISA), and Congress oversee the program. Obama said what the NSA is doing is different than former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney's wiretapping program.

"Some people say, 'Well, you know, Obama was this raving liberal before. Now he's, you know, Dick Cheney,'" Obama told Rose. "My concern has always been not that we shouldn't do intelligence gathering to prevent terrorism, but rather are we setting up a system of checks and balances?"

Obama defended the NSA surveillance programs two weeks ago with many of the same arguments. But since then, many politicians and tech leaders have come out opposing the secret program, while digital rights advocacy groups have questioned the full legality of PRISM and 2015.

The whistleblower Snowden has recently taken his accusations against the U.S. government a step further. In an interview with the Guardian on Monday, he said that even though a warrant is required for surveillance on U.S. citizens, the NSA is looking at information from domestic phone calls without warrants.

"Americans' communications are collected and viewed on a daily basis on the certification of an analyst rather than a warrant," Snowden said. Intelligence analysts at the NSA, CIA, FBI, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and other similar arms of the government who have access to raw data can "enter and get results for anything they want," he said.

Obama's full interview with Charlie Rose airs Monday evening on PBS.

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Japanese robots make a stink about bad breath, body odor

Kaori-chan, a female robot, can smell your breath and responds based on a four point scale (Photo: Asashi Shimbun)

Have you got a case of dog breath? How about smelly feet? Friends and family may not tell you, but a couple of new robots will. Built by the Kitakyushu National College of Technology and a group of inventive pranksters calling itself CrazyLabo, the pair of odor-detecting robots are giving people a lesson in hygiene and a few chuckles.

Kaori-chan, a decapitated mannequin head that sits atop a pink box, is the one that smells your breath. Simply blow into her face and don't expect her to spare your feelings if you could use a mint or two. Responses range from the blunt, “Yuck, you have bad breath!” to an embarrassing, “Emergency! There's an emergency taking place! That’s beyond the limit of patience!”

The foot-sniffing dog, Shuntaro-kun, is a bit less eloquent but just as clear with his responses. He'll cuddle up to you if you smell ok, but if you stink he'll bark, fall down and growl, or play dead. Both robots get their sense of smell from a commercially available odor sensor and grade your aroma on a four point scale.

The idea came when CrazyLabo president Kennosuke Tsutsumi visited the Tohoku region, which was hit by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11th, 2011. Wanting to create something that could cheer people up, he collaborated with a team at the Kitakyushu National College of Technology to collect odor samples and program the robots. Ten students wore the same pair of socks for two days, and ate foods with stinky ingredients like garlic, to iron out the robots' four point scale.

Now the group is planning on touring the quake-affected areas with the robots, and may lease or exhibit them to the public. “I want to continue to produce things that make people laugh and create a good atmosphere,” Tsutsumi said. You can see a video of the robots doing their thing via the Asahi Shimbun source link below.

Source: CrazyLabo (Japanese) via Asahi Shimbun (Japanese)

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Cruise terminal replaces Hong Kong's legendary Kai Tak Airport

Berthing area for the terminal (Image: Foster + Partners)

Flying into Hong Kong was once an aerial adventure as gigantic passenger planes made alarmingly steep descents over the harbor and then low over crowded high rises to runway 13. Those adrenalin-filled landings ended when the new Hong Kong International Airport to the west opened in 1998, however, the site of those dramatic flights has now been repurposed as the new Kai Tak Cruise Terminal. It was formally opened on June 12 as the Commissioner for Tourism, Mr Philip Yung, welcomed the inaugural berthing of the cruise ship Mariner of the Seas.

Hong Kong is a popular cruise ship destination, but has long been notorious for inadequate berthing facilities. Until Kai Tak opened, many had to moor in the harbor, which made nautical visits to the city a bit inconvenient. Designed by London-based firm Fosters + Partners to accommodate the next generation of cruise ships, the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal is located on a reclaimed peninsula of land in Kowloon extending into Kowloon Bay. It was built at an estimated cost of 2.4 billion HKD (US$309 million) and has the capacity to berth two large 360 m (1,181 ft) cruise ships carrying more than 4,000 passengers and over 2,000 crew.

Since Kai Tak not only enjoys spectacular views of the harbor, but also sits conspicuously on the water at the end of old runway 31, the opposite end of the infamous 13, Foster + Partners paid as much attention to aesthetics as to the practical amenities. According to the firm, it’s designed to be light and airy with wide bays to let in sunlight and an open roof park for formal and informal dining. It’s all built around a linear arrangement with levels linked by pedestrian walkways and a waterfront promenade.

It’s also meant to be green with such innovations as using recycled rain water for cooling the building and irrigating the gardens, windows made of heat-proof double glazing to reduce the load on the air conditioning system, extensive use of natural lighting and ventilation, energy-saving lights, and photovoltaic systems to provide supplementary power.

Kai Tak’s facilities are flexible and designed to be used all year and during downtime. Waiting areas can be easily repurposed into exhibition spaces, art galleries, banquet facilities, party facilities, and performance areas supported by a variety of restaurants and shops. Outside, there is a heliport and a rooftop garden.

The old Hong Kong International Airport operated from 1925 until 1998, before being closed and renamed Kai Tak Airport when the new Hong Kong International Airport opened. The name came from the Kai Tak Investment Company, which began reclamation of the land in the 1920s. Work began on the cruise terminal in 2011.

The video below highlight some of the features of the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal.

Sources: Government of Hong Kong, Foster + Partners via Gadling

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Thomas Penfield Jackson, judge in DOJ-Microsoft case, dies at 76

Judge Jackson ruled in 2000 that the tech titan was a monopoly that should be split in two before his removal from the case for "seriously tainting" proceedings.

Thomas Penfield Jackson

(Credit: Beverly Rezneck/U.S. Disrict courts)

Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, the former U.S. District court judge who ruled in 2000 that Microsoft was a monopoly that should be broken up before his decision was overruled, died Saturday at age 76.

Jackson died at his home in Compton, Md., from complications of transitional cell cancer, his wife, Patricia King Jackson, told The New York Times.

Unusually vocal in his public and private criticisms of Microsoft, Jackson ruled in June 2000 that tech titan should be split into two companies: one that would sell office software and the browser, and another that would be responsible for everything else. Jackson likened Microsoft executives to gangland killers and stubborn mules who should be walloped with a 2-by-4.

Mindful that the government's antitrust case against IBM took 13 years, Jackson limited each side to 12 witnesses and two surprise rebuttal witnesses. Testimony in the case concluded after 76 days.

However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit was most concerned by Jackson's habit of inviting reporters into his chambers for private conversations that involved criticizing the world's most famous antitrust defendant while court proceedings were under way. "The system would be a sham if all judges went around doing this," Chief Judge Harry Edwards warned at the time.

As a result, Jackson was removed from the case. The D.C. Circuit Court ruled unanimously that Jackson "seriously tainted the proceedings," and a new judge, Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, was appointed. The appeals court also overruled Jackson's decision to divide Microsoft, which led to the case being settled in November 2001.

A graduate of Harvard Law School, Jackson saw a fair share of controversy since his first appointment to the bench in 1982 by President Ronald Reagan. He fined former Reagan aide Michael Deaver $100,000 in 1988 for lying under oath about lobbying activities.

In 1990, he sentenced District of Columbia Mayor Marion Barry to a maximum sentence of six months for a misdemeanor drug conviction. After Jackson commented that he had "never seen a stronger government" criminal case, Barry's attorneys filed motions to have Jackson removed from the case, which was on appeal.

In 2000, he found Iran liable for $300 million in punitive damage over the kidnapping of reporter Terry Anderson, who was held captive from 1985 to 1991.

In later years, he still defended his decision to break up the software behemoth as the right thing to do.

"Windows is an operating system monopoly, and the company's business strategy was to leverage Windows to achieve a comparable dominion of all software markets," Jackson said in a speech in 2005. "Nothing has changed, to my observation, in the five years that have elapsed since my decision...Microsoft has won the browser war in the United States."

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NSA leaked documents reveal U.S. spied on Russian president

Hours after President Obama met with then Russian president Dmitry Medvedev in 2009, U.S. spies reportedly intercepted top-secret communications between Medvedev and his delegation.

Whistleblower Edward Snowden leaked NSA documents to the press.

(Credit: Screengrab via The Guardian)

In addition to targeting suspected terrorists, it appears the National Security Agency also spent time spying on foreign heads of state.

A leaked document from the explosive NSA document deluge shows that the U.S. government was spying on former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during the London G20 summit in 2009, according to the Guardian.

Apparently, the NSA document shows that U.S. spies got their hands on top-secret communications between Medvedev and his delegation and then shared the information with government officials from the U.K., Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

The NSA document, titled "Russian Leadership Communications in support of President Dmitry Medvedev at the G20 summit in London -- Intercept at Menwith Hill station," says that agency believes it possibly discovered "a change in the way Russian leadership signals have been normally transmitted."

According to the Guardian, the document intercept came just hours after Medvedev met with President Obama at the summit and the two world leaders talked about working together on world issues, like nuclear disarmament.

The NSA is one of the biggest surveillance and eavesdropping agencies in the U.S. and was where former CIA employee and whistleblower Edward Snowden was working when he decided to leak some of the agency's top-secret documents to the press last week.

While much of the news about the leak has centered around the NSA spying on people via tech companies and wireless carriers, the agency also apparently spied on foreign governments in its classified surveillance program called PRISM. Snowden said last week that the U.S. government has also hacked into computers in both Hong Kong and China for years.

The NSA has said that the reason it carried out the secretive eavesdropping program was to track down foreign terrorists. In an unclassified document that circulated on Saturday, the U.S. government said that such surveillance has allowed officials to thwart terrorist plots in the U.S. and in more than 20 other countries.

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Man finds rock by river (it's a piece of space station Mir)

A Massachusetts man discovers a strange-looking green rock on the banks of the Merrimack River. He later discovers there's a reason it looks a bit unusual.

Green and his green rock.

(Credit: CBS Boston Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk)

Walks by the river can clear your head, open your eyes, and soothe your inner flow.

It's possible that you even espy unusual things along the banks -- peculiar voles, moles, or holes that conjure stories in your head.

Phil Green was wandering along the Merrimack River in Massachusetts when he discovered a piece of rock that didn't seem like it was from around his parts.

He told CBS Boston: "There she was just sitting there, sticking up like that, and I said heck what is this. It just didn't belong."

Yes, greenish rocks tend not to belong. Unless they're on the finger of someone you adore so much you might even marry them.

Green is a curious man, but not too curious. So he put his green rock in the Green garden and left it there for six years.

When a friend finally asked about it, Green thought he'd finally investigate.

It was his good fortune that his sister-in-law had a friend who worked at NASA.

Many of us wish we had a friend there too. There are several objects and beings I would happily have examined for their provenance.

In this case, the green rock did actually fall from the sky. NASA has determined it is a piece of the Russian space station Mir.

Mir first went up to the beyond in 1986. It was decommissioned and thrust back down to Earth in 2001.

Most of it landed in the South Pacific. This rogue piece -- and who knows how many more there might be -- decided that Massachusetts was a better resting place.

Not everyone can claim they have a piece of a space station, or indeed anything from up there.

A couple of years ago, a grandmother complained bitterly that NASA had forced her to return a piece of moon rock. She claimed Neil Armstrong had given it to her husband.

One can only hope that two large men with Russian accents don't appear at Green's door, asking very politely for their piece of space station back.

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Glowing eels may help save human lives

A glowing Japanese freshwater eel – it's more than just tasty

Just about any sushi-lover knows what unagi is – it’s eel, or more specifically, the Japanese freshwater eel Anguilla japonica. What those people might not know, however, is that the eel glows green in the dark. Now, it looks like the protein that allows the fish to do so could also help doctors to assess human liver function.

Led by Drs. Atsushi Miyawaki and Akiko Kumagai, a team at Japan’s Riken Brain Science Institute have dubbed the protein UnaG, standing for Unagi Green protein. The first known fluorescent protein to be found in a vertebrate, UnaG only fluoresces when combined with naturally-occurring bilirubin present in the eels’ muscles.

A fluorescence image of a transverse section of a preserved Anguilla japonica

In humans, bilirubin is produced by the breakdown of blood hemoglobin. If too much of it is present in the bloodstream (due to a problem with the liver) it can be toxic, leading to conditions such as jaundice. The measurement of bilirubin levels in the blood is commonly used to assess the condition of the liver, and also to detect the loss of red blood cells due to anemia.

In order to develop a highly sensitive, accurate and fast method of testing for bilirubin in blood samples, the RIKEN scientists started by cloning the fluorescing gene from UnaG. Having studied the process by which it’s activated, they proceeded to create a system in which UnaG binds with any bilirubin present in a sample, causing it to glow. They now hope that once perfected, that system could find wide use, particularly in developing nations.

As a side benefit, the scientists also hope that this new value for Anguilla japonica will prompt more conservation efforts – the eel currently endangered in Japan.

A paper on the research was recently published in the journal Cell.

Source: Riken

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Royal Institute of British Architects 2013 Awards winners

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced this year's winners of its annual National Awards and EU Awards. The competitions offer an excellent opportunity to look at some of Europe's most interesting new architecture. This year's UK winners include a variety of building types, and most of the country is well-represented (except Wales, which didn't snag a single win). A chapel in a back garden in Edinburgh, a visitor museum in Northern Ireland's Giant's Causeway, and a commercial building on London's Regent Street all attest to the range of buildings which took the judge's fancy. However, educational facilities were the big winners this year, with a full third of the winners dedicated to learning.

The standout offering from mainland Europe, meanwhile, must be the striking Enzo Ferrari Museum in Italy, which sports a 3,300 sq m (35,000 sq ft) yellow sculpted aluminum roof. The roof comes complete with functioning air intake vents that offer additional ventilation to the building.

"Risk-taking is not for the faint-hearted in recessionary times, but amongst this year’s crop of truly exceptional buildings, I am delighted to see such a variety of projects doing just that," says RIBA President Angela Brady. "From Jesmond Gardens, an open-plan primary school in Hartlepool with rooms divided simply by acoustic curtains, and the mould-breaking North London day-care hospice modeled on an over-sized house to appeal sensitively to its patients, to the Hive in Worcester, the first library for shared use by both the public and a University."

All 43 UK-based National Awards winners and nine winning entries from the EU Awards now qualify for a chance at winning the RIBA Stirling Prize competition. RIBA will whittle down the entries to announce a shortlist in July, before announcing the winner at Central Saint Martins in London on September 26.

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White House petition seeks to ban men from driving

More than 12,000 people have already signed the call to President Obama to prevent all straight men from driving in a world full of tank-top-wearing distractions.

Behold, the true menace behind the wheel.

(Credit: Continental)

Forget texting or driving with Google Glass. A petition on the WhiteHouse.gov "We The People" site is going after the true menace behind the wheel -- men.

Full disclosure: I'm also a man, and have been for nearly 15 years in the eyes of the law (although according to certain cultural traditions, I've got more like 13 years of official manhood under my belt, and folks who know me well tell me I'll never actually achieve the title).

The official demand of the petition is to "Prohibit Straight Men From Driving," although there's also a reference to include "men of other sexual orientations who are attracted to women" under the proposed ban.

The tongue-in-cheek (I hope?) petition draws a parallel between school dress codes designed to prevent potential distractions for male students and the common sight of sexually suggestive billboards, tank tops, and short shorts near roadways:

If straight men (and men of other sexual orientations who are attracted to women) can be distracted by the mere sight of a woman's thigh, then it is a public safety hazard to allow them to operate vehicles that weigh thousands of pounds at up to 75 mph past these inevitable distractions.

I detect a bit of sexism in this petition. Just hours ago, I witnessed a female driver stop in the middle of a crowded intersection to ask another woman in the crosswalk where she bought her dress. Isn't this just as dangerous as traditional ogling by straight men? To be fair, I'd probably perform the same dangerous mid-intersection maneuver if I saw some dude cross an intersection rocking an Android Vertu.

So while the petition has already secured more than 12,000 signatures of the required 100,000 to guarantee a response from the White House, I'd like to suggest an amendment: it seems clear the best course of action is to require that self-driving cars, as soon as they're available, be the only "drivers" allowed on the road.

What do you think? Is it possible not to be a distracted driver in some sense these days? Let us know in the comments.

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Man jailed in China for making rubber alien

How Mr. Li presented his frozen find to the Shangdong Evening News.

(Credit: Screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)

The world tends not to reward initiative as often as it should. Somehow, creating something new or presenting something different rouses many into fear mode, causing them to suppress with jerking knees.

This phenomenon might well have befallen a Chinese man called Mr. Li, who has been tossed into the clink for creating a stink.

Mister Li presented a mystery. He claimed to have caught an an alien in a rabbit trap and slipped it into his large freezer. He explained that there had been five aliens that descended upon his land. They allegedly came from a UFO.

The Shangdong farmer insisted that this alien -- which, for all the world looked like it was made of rubber -- was the real thing.

He posted images to the Web that even the Weekly World News would have thought twice about publishing. (Yes, that is a joke.)

You might imagine that Webizens were amused at his efforts. You might think he became a minor celebrity.

Sadly, this close encounter had him rendered into a closer encounter with men who might call him by a girl's name. For the Telegraph is reporting that Mr. Li has been sent to jail for five whole days.

The charges were that his rubber "fabrications" had a disturbing effect on the public peace.

He was forced to admit his fakery to the Shangdong Evening News: "After the police interrogated me, I confessed I was a fan of UFOs and the alien was a fake. I just wanted other people to believe that aliens existed."

He is not alone.

The mere existence of aliens might broaden our horizons and make us less narcissistic.

Especially if those aliens have cooler phones than we do.

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10 foods that can give you a cleaner and whiter smile

Brushing regularly is not the only way to maintain healthy teeth. The following foods can also help give you a cleaner and whiter smile!

1. Celery

Celery is rich in fiber, and chewing on celery roots can help clean your teeth. Chewing also enhances salivation, which helps balance pH levels inside your mouth and prevents tooth decay.

2. Fruits that are rich in vitamin C

Vitamin C is an important nutrient that helps maintain healthy gums. Those who do not consume enough vitamin C on a daily basis may experience swelling and bleeding of the gums, and can also cause teeth to become looser and weaker.

3. Yogurt

Calcium and phosphates in yogurt can help balance the pH levels in your mouth to prevent cavities. Yogurt is also a rich source of calcium, which helps maintain healthy bones and teeth.

4. Green tea

Antioxidants in green tea can help prevent many different types of cancer. Those who drink green tea on a regular basis experience lower risks of cardiovascular diseases. Catechins in green tea can also help reduce cavity risk.

5. Black tea

Polyphenols in black tea can suppress the activity of bacteria in oral cavities and help prevent tooth decay and other oral diseases.

6. Onions

Sulfur compounds in onions are strong antibacterial substances. They can help eliminate many bacteria, including ones that lead to the formation of cavities. It's best to eat fresh and raw onions to help prevent cavities.

7. Shitake mushrooms

Mushrooms are great for a healthy immune system, and they are also good for our teeth. Lentinans in shitake mushrooms can suppress the formation of plaque.

8. Wasabi

Studies have shown that isothiocyannates in wasabi can help prevent the spread of bacteria which causes tooth decay.

9. Water

The easiest way to protect our teeth is to drink plenty of water. Drinking water helps to moisturize our gums and promote salivation. It can also wash away food residue on the surface of our teeth and help create an oral environment unsuitable for the spread of bacteria.

10. Sugarless gum

Chewing sugarless gum can enhance salivation, neutralize acidity in cavities and prevent tooth decay. 

SOURCE: China Daily

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Egg whites may help lower blood pressure: study

Egg whites could lower blood pressure in the same way as medication, new research has found.
A key component found in the whites was found to have the same blood pressure lowering properties as Captopril, a high blood-pressure drug.
Dr Zhipeng Yu, who led the research at China's Jilin University, said: 'Our research suggests that there may be another reason to call it 'the incredible, edible egg'.

A component found eggs whites has been found to have the same blood pressure lowering properties as some medication

'We have evidence from the laboratory that a substance in egg white - it's a peptide, one of the building blocks of proteins - reduces blood pressure about as much as a low dose of Captopril, a high-blood-pressure drug.'

Dr Yu and his colleagues studied a peptide found in egg white called RVPSL.

This has a powerful ability to inhibit or block the action of ACE, a substance produced in the body that raises blood pressure.

Experiments with rats showed RVPSL had no toxic effects and lowered the blood pressure.

The findings were presented to the National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS) in New Orleans.

Dr Yu said: 'Our results support and enhance previous findings on this topic.

'They were promising enough to move ahead with further research on the effects of the egg white peptide on human health.'

Dr Yu said he believed that egg white peptides, either in eggs or as a supplement, could become useful as an adjunct to high-blood-pressure medication.

The substance in egg white has a powerful ability to inhibit or block the action of ACE, a substance produced in the body that raises blood pressure

In 2009, scientists at the University of Alberta in Canada found that eggs produce proteins that mimic the action of powerful blood pressure-lowering drugs. 

They too found that eggs may lower blood pressure in the same way as Ace inhibitors.

The drugs lower blood pressure by stopping the hormone angiotensin narrowing the body's blood vessels.
The researchers found that when eggs come in contact with stomach enzymes, they produce a protein that acts in the same way.
Last month researchers at the University of Missouri reported that a high protein breakfast of eggs is the best way to control appetite and stop dieters snacking at night.

Experts at have found that a breakfast rich in protein significantly improves appetite control and reduces unhealthy snacking on high-fat or high-sugar foods in the evening.

SOURCE: dailymail.co.uk

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Red wine could help extend lifespan and provides energy

A 'miracle ingredient' found in red wine, called reservatrol, has been found to increase the lifespan of worms by up to 60%. Reservatrol is found in plants such as the Japanese knotweed. The findings, from scientists at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, were published in the Nature journal. They think similar results could be seen in humans

It is the perfect excuse to raise a glass to a long and active life.

Scientists from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in France have shown that resveratrol, the ‘miracle ingredient’ in red wine, extends lifespan and provides an infusion of energy.

In this case, worms were the beneficiaries but it is thought that a similar technique could help people live longer.

And with treated worms more energetic, it might be that we can also look forward to sprightly old age.
Researcher Professor Johan Auwerx said: ‘You don’t want to live longer and just sit in front of the television. We want to have active lives.’

The Swiss researchers began by searching for genes involved in the ageing process.

By studying mice that live for different lengths of time, they hit upon three genes whose activity was key to lifespan.

When the genes only worked at half-power, the animals eight months longer, the journal Nature reports.

Professor Auwerx then showed that the genes also regulate longevity in worms.
There the results were even more astonishing – tinkering with the worms’ genes increasing lifespan by up to 80 per cent.
The genes make a protein that, when pumped out in high quantities, cuts lifespan.

With this in mind, Professor Auwerx turned to two widely used antibiotics that block the production of such proteins.

Given to worms, they increased lifespan by an average of 60%.
Importantly, the worms were also more active, had greater endurance and healthier muscles.
This allowed them to continue to wriggle fiercely when untreated worms had become weary.

At 13-days-old, the onset of adulthood, they moved twice as much as others.

And a week later, when the untreated worms were beginning to show their age, the difference was even more pronounced.

A final set of experiments showed that resveratrol, the ‘miracle ingredient’ in red wine uses the same mechanism to extend life.

However, the effect wasn’t as dramatic.

Professor Auwerx, of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, said: ‘This research gives us hope not only for increasing longevity, but also for lengthening the period of adult vitality, and doing this with simple drugs as antibiotics.’

While neither long-term antibiotic use or heavy drinking advisable, the key will be to find a safe drug that is just as effective.

The professor said that it may be that such a pill would only need to be taken during a key period of life, such as puberty.

Should it ever hit the market, he believes ‘everyone will be tempted to take it’.
Other potential ‘fountains of youth’ being researched around the world include a drug that made old mice young again.

And a modern, and it is believed, safer, version of thalidomide has shown promise in boosting the odds of a healthy old age.

Some experts say the science is moving so quickly that it will soon be possible to prevent many of ills of old age.

If lives were healthier as well as longer, people could work for longer – or simply make the most of their retirement.

Increasing the number of years of healthy life would also greatly ease health service costs and reduce the burden on families of caring for sick relatives.

SOURCE: Daily Mail

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Babies fed fish less likely to develop allergies

Babies regularly fed fish in their first year of life are much less likely to develop common allergies when they get older, new research shows.

Scientists who monitored babies' diets found many of those that ate plenty of fish early in life were much more likely to still be free of allergies 12 years later, when the study ended.
Their chances of developing eczema dropped by 22 per cent, and hay fever by 26 per cent.

Babies fed fish regularly during their first year are less likely to develop allergies later in life - eating fish just twice a month could be enough to make a difference

The findings, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggest giving fish to infants as little as two or three times a month may be enough to substantially reduce their risks.
Eczema affects an estimated one in eight children in the UK.
It can cause red, itchy skin condition that can be very distressing and there are few very effective treatments.

In the worst cases, children have to be bandaged with cotton dressings from head to foot.
Hay fever, meanwhile, is thought to affect up to one in five youngsters.
Both conditions are also linked with an increased risk of asthma.

Although previous research has suggested early exposure to fish in the diet could have a protective effect up to the age of four, researchers wanted to see if the benefits lasted even longer.
Experts at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, tracked 3,285 babies to study their dietary intake at the ages of one, two, four, eight and 12.
They also looked at how many went on to develop allergies.
The results showed fish plays a big part in dietary patterns among Swedish infants, with 80 per cent consuming it at least twice a month.
Among these children, the risk of allergies dropped significantly compared to others that rarely or never ate fish.
However, the study did not examine exactly which type of fish had the most potent affect.
In a report on their findings researchers said: 'Regular fish consumption in infancy may reduce the risk of allergic disease up to the age of 12.'

SOURCE: dailymail.co.uk

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33 foods that can help you lose weight without dieting

Most people diet to lose weight when instead all they really need to do is cut fat.
Researchers who reviewed over three dozen trials involving 73,589 people in America, Europe and New Zealand say the results prove for the first time that people can lose weight without trying to. How, you may ask? By simply cutting fat, not dieting.
According to the researchers, choosing low fat foods helped people lose approximately 3.5 pounds, slim down their waste-lines and cut bad cholesterol - all without dieting.

"The weight reduction…when people ate less fat was remarkably consistent. We saw it in almost every trial, those who cut down more on fat lost more weight," said lead researcher, Lee Hooper, from the University of East Anglia medical school.
"The effect isn't dramatic, like going on a diet," Hooper said, adding that the research specifically looked at people who were cutting down on fat, but didn't aim to lose weight; thus, they were still consuming the same amount of food.
"What surprised us was that they did lose weight, their BMI (body mass index) decreased and their waists became slimmer," Hooper said. Those who ate lower fat foods also kept the weight they lost off for at least seven years.
The researchers study was commissioned by the Nutrition Guidance Expert Advisory Group (NUGAG), which is part of the World Health Organization (WHO). The study was prompted by a request for the organization to update its fat intake guidelines.
According to WHO, being overweight or obese increases the risk of many illnesses, including cancer, heart disease and stroke – which, combined, are the biggest killers worldwide, claiming over 17 million lives a year.
Of the three countries the researchers reviewed, Europe had the highest rate of obesity, with more than half of Europeans being obese or overweight. In America, they found that over 35 percent of adults and nearly 17 percent of children were obese.
For the study, published in the British Medical Journal, researchers analyzed the diets of the 73,500 men, women and children participating in the trials they reviewed. They then compared those who ate less fat than usual with those who ate their usual amount of fat, measuring the effect the two different diets had on each group’s weight and waistline after at least six months.
The results showed that eating less fat reduced body weight by 1.6 kg (3 pounds, 8.4383 ounces), cut BMI by 0.56 kg/m² (1 pound, 3.7534 ounces) and reduced waist circumference by 0.5 cm (0.5 inches).
Researchers also found that reductions in total fat intake were also linked with statistically significant reductions in cholesterol and blood pressure, which suggests that a lower fat diet could potentially reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.
One of the co-leaders of the study, Carolyn Summerbell of Durham University, said the trick to slimming down and staying that way was to "find a way to eat what you can stick to” for life.
"Cutting down on fat will help," she said.

When choosing low fat foods, it helps to read food labels, using the following good rule of thumb:

For every 100 calories, if the product has 3 grams of fat or less, it's a low fat product. In other words, choose foods with a fat content of 30% or less. See the following list for some good low-fat foods to choose from:

Dairy and dairy-like products

• Low-fat (1%), or fat-free (skim) yogurt, cottage cheese, or low-fat milk
• Sorbet, sherbet, gelatin ices, and low-fat or fat-free frozen yogurt
• Neufchatel or "light" cream cheese or fat-free cream cheese
• Fat-free American cheese or other types of fat-free cheeses

Fish, meat, and poultry

• Egg whites or egg substitutes
• Crab, white fish, shrimp, and light tuna (packed in water)
• Veal, chicken and turkey breast (without skin), and lean cuts of other meats (look for "loin" in the name) - braise, roast or cook them without added fats
• Extra lean ground beef such as ground round or ground turkey breast (check the labels)
• Garden veggie burgers

Grains, cereals, and pastas

• Hot (oatmeal or grits) and cold cereals (except granola types)
• Rice or noodles (watch out for fat in sauces you may add)
• Bagels, pita bread, or English muffins
• Low-fat crackers
• Soft tortillas--corn or whole wheat
• Toast, English muffins, or bagels with jelly or honey (no butter)
• Pretzels, soda crackers, plain breads

Fruits and vegetables

• Fruits and fruit juices, applesauce
• Vegetables and vegetable juices (again, watch out for fat in sauces you may add)

Snacks and sweets

• Danish pudding and fruit pie fillings
• Vanilla wafers, ginger snap cookies
• Gelatin
• Angel food cake
• Puddings made with skim milk
• Baked chips, tortilla or potato
• Low-fat microwave popcorn
• Hard and jelly candies

Other foods

• Broth type soups with a vegetable base
• Sauces, pudding, or shakes made with skim milk
• Salsa
• Light margarine and mayonnaise
• Mustard
• Reduced-calorie or fat-free salad dressings
• Non-stick cooking spray

SOURCE: emaxhealth.com

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Vegetarians less likely to die due to lower blood pressure: research

Vegetarians live longer because of their diet - with men reaping the most benefits, claim researchers.

They found a cut in death rates for people eating vegetarian diets compared with non-vegetarians in a study of more than 70,000 people.

Over a six-year period, vegetarians were 12 per cent less likely to die from any cause, says a report published Online First by JAMA Internal Medicine.

It is thought the benefits come from lower blood pressure and improved cholesterol levels in people eating low-fat diets based on vegetables, whole grains and fruit.

The health benefits of eating low-fat diets based on vegetables, whole grains and fruit include lower blood pressure and improved cholesterol levels

The research shows vegetarians are less likely to die because of their dietary choices

Vegetarian diets have been linked to lower risk for several chronic diseases, including high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, diabetes and heart disease.

An estimated three million Britons, around five per cent, are vegetarian and never eat meat or fish, including superstar musician Paul McCartney and his fashion designer daughter Stella McCartney.

Dr Michael Orlich, of Loma Linda University in California, and colleagues examined all-cause and cause-specific death rates in a group of 73,308 men and women Seventh-day Adventists.

Researchers assessed dietary patients using a questionnaire that classified them into five groups: nonvegetarian, semi-vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian (includes seafood), lacto-ovo-vegetarian (includes dairy and egg products) and vegan (excludes all animal products).

The study said vegetarian groups tended to be older, more highly educated and more likely to be married, to drink less alcohol, to smoke less, to exercise more and to be thinner.

Previous research has suggested vegetarian diets may extend life expectancy compared with meat-eating, but many of the studies have been small.

In the latest study there were 2,570 deaths among the study participants during an average follow-up time of almost six years.

There was a 12 per cent lower risk of dying from any cause for vegetarians compared with non-vegetarians.

Men fared better, as they benefited from a significant reduction in deaths from cardiovascular disease and ischaemic heart disease.

In women, there were no significant cuts in these categories of deaths.

The report said ‘These results demonstrate an overall association of vegetarian dietary patterns with lower mortality compared with the non-vegetarian dietary pattern.

'They also demonstrate some associations with lower mortality of the pesco-vegetarian, vegan and lacto-ovo-vegetarian diets specifically compared with the non-vegetarian diet.’

The main reason for the difference is thought to be the effect of a low-fat vegetarian diet on cholesterol and blood pressure, partly through avoidance of red meat and also from higher consumption of vegetables.

Red meat, especially processed meat, contains ingredients that have been linked to increased risk of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer.

These include heme iron, saturated fat, sodium, nitrites, and certain carcinogens that are formed during cooking.

Eating more vegetables and fruit may also help through their antioxidant effects, combating harmful naturally occurring chemicals in the body.

Official advice from the Department of Health in 2010 said cutting down on red meat could reduce the risk of bowel cancer.

Liz O’Neill, head of communications at the Vegetarian Society said ‘With higher intakes of fresh vegetables, pulses and other plant-foods, it seems obvious to many that balanced vegetarian diets are healthier than those reliant on meat, but we do not need to rely on gut instinct with so much hard evidence of that health advantage, both in the UK and abroad.

'This new American study is significant because the nature of the community studied (Seventh Day Adventists) means that even the meat eaters included were leading a relatively health-conscious lifestyle.

'The reported 12 per cent reduction in mortality was directly associated with being vegetarian, rather than having a healthy balanced diet.

'Similarly UK studies indicate that vegetarians have lower rates of cancer and significantly lower (32 per cent less) rates of heart disease which are major causes of death in Britain.’

Findings from the largest British study of 45,000 Britons earlier this year found vegetarians have healthier hearts than people who eat meat or fish.

They were one-third less likely to need hospital treatment for heart disease or die from it.

SOURCE: dailymail.co.uk

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3 litres of water a day can help prevent kidney stones: research

Thousands of new cases of kidney stones every year are caused by ignorance or denial of the need to drink three litres of water a day, according to a leading doctor.

Bhaskar Somani, a consultant urological surgeon at Southampton General Hospital, said a lack of awareness about the dangers of dehydration was responsible for an annual increase in renal stone admissions, including among young people in their twenties.
'The number of people admitted to hospital suffering severe pain and discomfort due to kidney stones is increasing by between 5 per cent and 10 per cent every year,' he said.

The British population's ignorance of the need to drink three litres of water a day is leading to more cases of kidney stones, says a leading doctor

'Over the past decade, the number of hospital admissions for renal stones in the UK rose by 63 per cent to more than 80,000 and there is no sign of these numbers letting up.'

Kidney stones develop when crystals of salt gather into lumps and are not flushed out of the body due to a lack of adequate hydration, often lodging in the urinary system's tubes.
They can cause severe abdominal and groin pain which, in many cases, can only be corrected through surgery.
The condition affects about 10 to 20 per cent of men and 3 to 5 per cent of women between the ages of 30 and 60.

At Southampton General Hospital, the number of patients admitted to hospital every month has almost doubled - a trend Mr Somani said would continue without intervention.

'The only way to drive this down is to drive home the message that healthy lifestyle, diet and fluid intake is the best way to prevent the development and recurrence of stones,' he said.
'With evidence that 50 per cent of patients treated are likely to have a recurrence within ten years, largely due to complacency around hydration within a few years of having surgery, we know we face an uphill battle to change the national mindset, but we must make a start.'

Mr Somani said all adults should aim to drink between two to three litres of water a day, while former stone patients should maintain a daily intake upwards of three litres to avoid recurrence.

He has also called for the introduction of a screening programme for all high risk patients - those with diabetes, gout or inflammatory bowel disease - and regular monitoring of people who suffered their first incidence of stones under the age of 25.

SOURCE: dailymail.co.uk

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