Health Issue: CHEMISTRY OF VIOLENCE

Hormone that triggers love can also lead to war   The so-called love hormone - oxytocin - that spurs mothers to protect their offspring may also trigger a sense of self-sacrifice and lead to aggression among warriors.         Researchers have found that in the heat of battle they have the same chemicals running through their blood streams as protective mothers, meaning they develop incredibly strong bonds with each other but become extremely aggressive to outsiders, reports the Telegraph.         The effect revolves around the hormone oxytocin which is released at times of stress and when people socialize with each other. But the scientists have found that this chemical, often referred to as the love or bonding formone, also makes them like mothers incredibly aggressive to outsiders.         Using a computer simulation game they found that volunteers given a spray of oxytocin bonded more quickly and deeply with their own group but became much more hostile to outsiders.         lead researcher Carsten De Dreu, of the University of Amsterdam, said the phenomenon was known as "parochial altruism" or "tend and defend". This means high oxytocin levels produce "in-group love" and "out-group aggression".        "Oxytocin is a double edged sword. It makes you kinder to your group but more aggressive to those outside," the Telegraph quoted De Dreu as saying. Ttudy has been publoished in journal Science. De Dreu thinks the production of oxytocin, which increases at times of stress and in new mothers, has evolved since hunter gathering times when food was scarce and groups had to compete to survive.

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Health Issue: SIZING 'EM UP? Men take a woman

Men take milliseconds to fall for pretty women London: Blame it on their genes, but men take just a fraction of a second to judge a woman on her looks and whether she will be a potential partner or not.          They weigh up potential partners based on their appearance because their "ancient" genetic preference for attractive mates leads them to, experts claim.         Men take a woman with an attractive face to be fertile and able to continue the family line, which appeals to their survival instincts. with an attractive face to be fertile and able to continue the family line, say researchers        On the other hand, women take longer to decide their feelings for a man because they need to weigh up whether he will be a committed partner who will provide for them well - part of their survival programming.         Mark van Vugt and Johanna van Hooff, from the University of Amsterdam, and Helen Crawford from the University of Kent tested men and women's bias towards looks by conducting a series of tests on 20 women and 20 men, making them performing the task, the subjects were shown photos of faces of the opposite sex. ranging from attractive to ugly. Men were easily distracted when they saw a pretty face but women stuck to the task. "Men have the more wandering eye because they have evolved to pay attention to cues of fertility and one of thgose cues is facial beauty - it's not that men are shallow," van Vugt said.

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Health Issue: TV Watching kids get too close

Smart TV blurs if kids get too close London: Worried that your kids will end up with poor eyesight by sitting too close to the TV? Now you can relax, for a new super-smart TV will turn fuzzy if it senses a kid is too close to the screen. And it won't go back to normal until the child moves away to a safe distance.          The LX 3D model from Sony hits the shops in the UK next month. The TV set uses a type of face recognition technology to distinguish children from adults and can work out how far they are from the set and whether they risk damage to their eyes.        It senses whether someone is watching TV alone, and can give advice based on viewing habits. It can also tell if a viewer has left the room and can switch itself off to save energy. "We're aiming this TV at family-orientated consumers, so this function is important," said Christian Brown, Sony's senior marketing manager for home entertainment.

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Suhasini Mani Ratnam

'Not directing Aishwarya Rai'        Suhasini Mani Ratnam is thrilled that her next Sandalwood outing, Eradane Maduve,  will have her doing what she loves best - comedy. "People who are close to me know I have a funny side. Vishnu (the late Vishnuvardhan) was one of those people. He was also great at comedy," says Suhasini.           And though she owrked on several films with Sahasa Simha Vishnu, she regrets the one project they didn't get around to doing together. "Vishnu wnated me to direct a Kannada film, which he was supposed to produce. He wanted me to e in London for a 60-day shoot, but I couldn't do it at that time. Turning down that offer is something I still regret," says the actress.           Suhasini recently penned the dialogues for Raavanan and, as a result, has got very close to Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The grapevine has it that she will be directing a film starring Ash. "I've known Aishwarya since Iruvar because I was her dialogue coach for the film. I've heard reports about me directing a film with her, but they're not true. I haven't even given it a thought because i'm very busy with my NGO work," she explains.

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DAPPER: Suriya and A R Murugadoss

THE TALES OF 7AM ARIVU         Here's the latest we have on the suriya Shruti Hassan starrer 7am Aruivu. Some media reports suggest that the filmis loosely based on the English flick Inception, directed by ace filmmaker Chritopher Nolan of The Dark Knight fame. However, when we quizzed director A R Maurugadoss about this, this is what he had to say. "This is such a follish claim. How can I get inspired by a film that has not even released interantionally? Where do I get a DVD of it?"        According to Internet reports. Inception, starring Leanardo Di Caprio in the lead role. will only release on July 16. Well, that leaves us wondering if the makers had a special screening of the film exclusively for A R Murugadoss!         The film, produced by Udhayanidhi Stalin, marks the comeback of the superhit Ghajini combination of Suriya and Murugadoss. It's also the first time that Suriya will pair up with Shruti Haasan, who has, interestingly, sung the superhit Adiye Kolluthey... number in the actor's Vaaranam Aayiram.

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Sanjay Dutt Still from Lamhaa

Courting danger       The team of Bunty Walia's Lamhaa just can't stop gushing about the beauty of Kashmir valley. The beautiful landscape, which has not really been explored by Bollywood, has come into the limelight once again in Lamhaa that's been directed by Rahul Dholakia.         The film isabout Vikram (Sanjay Dutt), who is sent to investigate a highly-confidential mission, and assumes the identity of Gul Jehangir, The day he lands in the valley. Haji, a top separatist leader, survives a blast. To slove this conundrum, Vikram teams up with Aziza (Bipasha Basu), Haji's young, aggressive and outspoken protege. The intensity of their beliefs and their will to survive against all odds creates a special bond between them.          The film crew chose to explore the valley and even shoot at places that no other crew has visited before. The Jama Masjid, for example, is one such location. The crew reveals that one isn't supposed to get scared if they hear the sound of an AK-47 firing as it is considered to be a sound of jubilation here. Apart from the Jama Masjid, the crew also shot at places like Lal Chowk and Hazaratbal. Not just that, they even shot during a real curfew, which has been used in the movie.           Speacking about the shoot, Jamie Fowlds, the director of photography for the film, says, "We spent quite a few days shooting in restricted / high - security areas of Kashmir. It was certainly a guerilla style of shoot. On occasions, we had the camera and crew all squeezed into a very small van with blankets covering us, and we would try and take shots as per the director's requirements."          Of course, shooting such scenes meant that the crew had to face many tough situations. Fowlds adds, "One day, when we were driving and shooting scenic spots, through the zoom lens, I noticed an armoured vehicle with a gun pointing directly at us, as our van had the very suspicious-looking missile launcher-sized movie camera. The troops stopped us and surrounded our van. I noticed that they all had one finger on the triggers of their guns. It was very scary for a moment! Luckily, they realised we were only a film crew.          There were many such incidents during our schedule, mostly with positive outcomes. The shooting in Kashmir was challenging, but the locals looked after us very well, they made the overall experience beautiful and memorable." The film stars Sanjay Dutt, Bipasha Basu and Kunal Kappor, and will release worldwide on July 16.

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PRETTY AND PERFECT: Tamannaah

Vying for the Lady in Black! Actress Tamannaah is excited to be nominated in two languages...         Her Thillalangadi  is awaiting release, but Tamannaah already has reasons to smile. That's because the pretty actress has been nominated in the Best actor in a Leading Role (Female) category in both Tamil and Telugyu for the 57th Idea Filmfare Awards 2009 (South) that'll be held in the city on August 7.         "It's such a great honour," gushes the actress, who has been nominated for Kandein Kadhalai (Tamil) and Koncham Istam Koncham Kastam (Telugu), "It's great when talent in the cinema industry is recognised, I'm looking forward to the awards; am sure it'll be a wonderful night."         Who, according toher, has been her best co-star till date? "As cliched as it may sound, every actor that I've worked had unique individual traits," states the actress, who worked with Karthi in Paiyaa,Suriya in Ayan and Jayam Ravi in Thillanlangadi, "All I can say that it's been wonderful to share screen space and work with such talented people in the industry."         So, how does she manage to deliver hit after hit at the box office? "If anybody knew that, there';; be just hit films all along!For me, things just happened. All I cansay is that I've been very lucky."        With several big projects lined up, it looks like up is the only way to go for Tamannaah who has managed to shine even in commercial scripts.        How important in a heroine in Tamil commercial cinema? "Most Indian films have a love angle in them, and well, that can not happen without a firl. If there's no heroine in the film, who will the guy fall in love with?"

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Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz

Tom - Cameron get thumbs up ! Film buffs eagerly wait to see their chemistry on screen                   He is 48, she's 38! But for Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz these numbers don't mean much. It's not too different for their fans either. They are just as excited about seeing the two stars on screen today as they were back in the 80s and 90s respectively when a sprightly Tom made an impact with Cocktail and Top Gun  and when Diaz stole the thunder as The Mosk's ladylove and then in subsequent comedies including My Best Friend's Wedding and There's Something About Mary, And if anything, the years have only catapulted them to superstar dom and added to their appeal.        A fact confirmed by a survey conducted by us that revealed that despite their ages, Cameron and Tom continue to rank high among Hollywood's sexiest stars. And one can still expect fireworks as they team up for Fox Star Studio's action comedy blockbuster Knight and Day that releases today in English and Hindi - and is promising to be a complete entertainer. In our survey, we asked readers to rate the two stars on their sex appeal and star status alongside the other stars. While 92 per cent thought Tom was the sexiest star, 81 per cent voted for Diaz. 93 Per cent felt that their chemistry would be something they would want to watch on screen.         Together, they make a hot couple and vouching for this is the Bollywood brigade too. Taliking abouty her childhood crush, B-town hottie Priyanka Chopra says, "I simply fell inlove with Tom Crusie in Top Gun. For me that image of him in his aviators is what comes up when I think of him."          Bollywood's sexy lady Bipasha Basu too admits to being a Tom Cruise fan. "I think Tom Cruise is definitely one good-looking guy. but what's more appealing to me about him is that he has a great bodyof work to show apart from his good looks,"          Vivek Oberoi too is excited about watching Tom-Cameron sizzle in Knight and Day. "Diaz is very quirky, funny and spontaneous and all of this ups her oomph factor, She has always been someone to watch o0ut for!" he says.         Milind Soman too is all praise for Cameron. "Age has got nothing to do with your sexiness. I think Cameron's just as attractive today as she was years back. She still looks just as fit and fab."

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THRILLER TIME: Chaya Singh

'I don't watch Tamil serials' ...but that didn't stop Chaya Singh from acting in famous serial director Naga's upcoming thriller flick           Actress Chaya Singh will be in the city today to gauge audience reaction to her Anandhapurathy Veedu, which hits the screen today. This willbe her first release in the last two years, but the actress doesn't seem perturbed. "After Thiruda Thirudi, I was offered only glamorous roles or dance numbers in films. But I wanted to act. So, i chose roles that gave me opportunities to hone my acting skills. I did several movies in Malayalam, Kanada and Bengali. My last release in Tamil, Aallamai Thaaraayo, was a hit and it established me as a talented actress. And now, I'm sure Anandhapurathu Veedu will raise my bar as an actress," she says.         So, how did ananddha purathu Veedu happen? "Director Naga had seen my photo in a magazine and called me up. He narrated the script and told me the wanted to start the schedule immediately. I loved his narration ans jumped on board without having any second thought," she smiles.         Apparently, Chaya didn't have a clue about Naga before starting his project. "As I don't watch Tamil serials, I didn't know anything about Naga. But I enquired and found that all his serials were received well by the Tamil audience and that he was quite popular! And when I met him on sets, I was bowled over by his knowledge. He's such a calm person and is always helpful. He's a powerhouse of talent," she says.          Chaya is all praise for her so-star, Nandaa. "He is so subtle when it comes to delivering a performance that I sometimes feel I over react! He also helped me with pronouncing Tamil words," she says.         The film, Chaya says, is a supernatural thriller. "The movie will keep you on the edge of your seat, There are no gory scenes and blood curdling screams. But it will work on the psychology of the audience," she says.         So, does she believe in ghosts and supernatural existence? "Yes, I firmly believe that there's good and evil in the world. As I believe in God, I also believe in ghosts," she states matter-of-factly.

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