HEALTH ISSUE: SHORT CUTS

SHORT CUTS Even an hour of listening to iPod can damage hearing    Cranking up your iPod or MP3 player even for an hour daily can cause irreparable damange to your hearing, a new study has claimed. Scientists in Europe have shown that listening to music on headphones for an hour can have a temporary impact on people's hearing because of the damage caused to the hair cells in the outer ear, Participants in the study had their hearing tested and were then asked to listen to pop or rock music for six one-hour-long sessions using two different types of headphones and at varying, preset volumes, the Daily Telegraph reported, After each session, the scientists measured the responses of the 21 men and women aged between 19 and 28 to a very short sound and then two sounds of different frequencies to see how clearly participants could hear the tones. 'Chimps are ruthless killers':       If you think chimpanzees are cuddly, think again, for researchers claim that the mankind's closest cousins in the animal world are ruthless killers with a taste for gang warfare, A new study of wild chimpanzees found that gangs of the apes routinely attack rival chimps to seize their land and massacre their young, preserving their cominanc, the Daily Mail reported.

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News: Find that Why brown-eyed men appear more dominant

Why brown-eyed men appear more dominant Washington: Faces of brown eyed white men make them appear more dominant than their blue-eyed counterparts even when the former's eye colour is changed, a new Czech study reveals.        For the research, a group of 62 people were asked to look at photos of 80 faces - 40 men and 40 women - and rate them for dominance. Thereafter, the researchers Photo shopped the faces replacing the brown eyes with blue ones and vice versa.         Now another group of participants were made to rate the altered images for dominance. Surprisingly, results were the same in both cases - faces of brown-eyed men were rated more dominant than those of blue-eyed men, even when their eyes weren't brown.        The effect, which didn't hold for female faces, may have something to do with the shape of brown-eyed men's faces, according to study researcher Karel Kleisner of Charles University in Prague. On average, brown-eyed men had broader chins and mouths, larger noses, more colsely spaced eyes and larger eyebrows than blue-eyed men. More mysterious is why eye colour would be so closely associated with facial type, the researchers say."It's really quite a surprising finding and certainly not one I would necessarily [have] expected," Live Science quoted psychologist Benedict Jones of the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, who was not involved in the study, as saying. Jones of the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, who was not involved in the study, as saying. Jones emphasisied on the importance of further researcher to investigate the link to be sure it isn't" an idiosyncrasy of this particular sample of face images.        Kleiner said the "most elegant" explanation would be that children are treated differently dependingon their eye colour, and this treatment leaves a lasting effect on their bodies. He and his colleagues said: "It is possible that subjects with blue eyes are treated as [small children] for a longer period than brown eyed children." The study appears in the July issue of the journal Personality and Individual Differences.

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Health Issue: New Software cuts down CT radiation

New software cuts down CT radiation dose by half Chicago: A new software program that enhances the quality of CT images allowed doctors to cut in half the radiation dose needed for a colon scan and still produce clear images, US researchers said.         Recent studies has suggested that computed tomography or CT scans can increase a person's lifetime risk of cancer, especially younger people who have multiple scans. "This new technique allows us to use far less radiation than even a typical abdominal CT scan with out compromising image quality," said Daniel Johnson of Mayo Clinic in Arizona, whose study appears in American Journal of Roentgenology.

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HEalth Issue: It's 1st Time Plastic antibodies

In a 1st, experts create plastic antibodies to fight antigens  Washington: In a breakthrough study, researchers at UC Irvine have developed the first "plastic antibodies" and successfully introduced them into the blood of mice to halt the spread of deadly bee venom.         Researchers from the University of California at Irvine who worked on the project along with scientists from Stanford University and Japan's University of Shizuoka, created nanoparticle-size plastic polymers to encase melittin, a toxic peptide in bee venom that causes cells to rupture. Large quantities of melittin can lead to organ failure and death. They injected one group of mice with a lethal dose of melittin, and then injected them with the plastic antibodies.          The nanoparticles succeeded in "capturing" the antigens before they could disperse, thus reducing deaths among the mice, which also fared well in the weeks following the jab, according to UCI professor Kenneth Shea. Mice in a control group injected with the toxin but not the antibodies did not survive.         "Never before have synthetic antibodies been shown to effectively function in the bloodstream of living animals, " Shea said. "This tecnique could be utilized to make plastic nanoparticles designed to fight more lethal toxins and pathogens." Antibodies are the proteins produced by the immune system to neutralize foreign threats like infection, allergens, viruses and bacteria. In the case of allergies our immune systems can be unequipped to deal with certain antigens.         To counter these shortcomings, the experts took plastic nanoparticles that had shown the ability to mimic antobodies. They used molecular imprinting to stamp the shape of the antigen melittin, the primary toxin in bee venom, onto the antibody. By imprinting tiny antigen-shaped craters into the individual particles, the plastic antibodies were then finely tuned to attach themselves to those antigens in the blood.

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Health Issue: Asthma and Hay fever Allergic

In 4 years, single shot for an allergies Jab Will Protect Against Number Of Complaints, Including Asthma And Hay Fever London: Scientists have developed a "One size fits all" jab to cure allergies, including hay fever and asthma, which they claim would be available in market in just four years.          The team behind the injection claims it would be the "holy grail" of vaccines as a single dose would protect against a number of allergies and ward off reactions to cat fur, dust and peanuts. Wolfgang Renner, from Cytos Biotechnology, which developed the jab, said. "We think it is a one size fits all mechanism. We are very excited about it."         At the jab's heart are pieces of synthetic DNA similar to those found in the bug that causes tuberculosis or TB, The DNA fools the body into thinking it is under attack from a dangerous bug, kick starting a multi-pronged immune response.         Recent trials showed the jab was as effective as taking steroids when used to fight asthma. It found that when comparing 63 asthma sufferers who were given the jab or a fake drug over two or three months, the new vaccine slashed asthma attacks by a third, the Daily Express reported.         In another trial, the drug - CYT003-QbG10-was given as a jab once a week for sixweeks, The scientists found this cut runny noses and weepy eyes-symptoms caused by an allergic reaction to house dust mites and reliance on other medicines - by 39%.         The jab also boosted quality of life by 42% according to Renner who said larger trials could start next year and the vaccine could be on sale within four years.         Experts have welcomed the jab. An allergy UK spokesman said. "It does sound a very promising treatment, giving hope for those with severe asthma/allery symptoms for whom the usual treatments aren't enough but there is still a long way to go before it will be available,"         Leanne Metcalfe, director of research for Asthma UK, added. "We are excited about the potential of this vaccine to make a real difference." Britain's NHS currently estimates around ten miullion people suffer symptoms of hayfever - such as sneezing, runny nose and Itchy dyes - in the spring and summer as grasses and trees release their pollen into the air. But that number could reach 30 million within 20 years as city living, pollution and climate change exacerbate symptoms.

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Asia Cup Cricket - @ Sri Lanka

Maharoof hat-trick helps Sri Lanka thump India Dambulla: Farveez Maharoof bagged a sensational hat-trick to destroy the Indian batting and helped Sri Lanka coast to a resounding seven-wicket win in the Asia Cup on Tuesday.         When the lanky allrounder came to bowl the 39th over, just after Indian skipper MS Dhoni was run out, India were in a rather strong position at 189 for five. But when he completed it. India were close to the end of their innings. India made 209, the last five wickets yielding just 20 runs.In reply, Sri Lanka romkped home iwth 75 balls to spare, The teams will meet again in the final on Thursday.        Kumar Sangakkara (73 off 82 balls, 10x4 1x6) gave himself good match practice ahead of the final. He and Mahela Jayawardene (53 not out), put on 104 runs for the third wicket. The Indian bowlers, in contrast, were all at sea.        Maharoof, who became the third Sri lankian bowler to get a hat-trick after Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga, completed his extraordinary effort by dismissing Ravindra Jadeja, Praveen Kumar and Zaheer Khan in that order.        Maharoof, a surprise selection for the Asia Cup, started an excellent over by taking out Jadeja, who was expected to hand in there to support Rohit Sharma. Bu the left-hander moved across the stumps and a straight ball rapped his pads, Praveen edged an incoming ball on to his stumps and then Zaheer edged an angled delivery to Kumar Sangakkara behind the stumps.        Earlier, Sri Lanka opted to field first. In the dress rehearsal to the final, the hosts preferred to field first considering the fact that they might be needed to bat second in the title clash.       The Indians got a rude shock and now will have to come up with a special effort on Thursday, Only Rohit looked determined to stay at the crease. His crafty 69 was the saving grace in the Indian innings along with skipper Mahendr4a Singh Dhoni's 41. They added 79 runs for the fifth wicket.

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