LONDON — A new research by Dutch fscientists has found that a pill of folic acid a day can improve brain function and memory of people over 50. The findings are the result of the largest trial of its kind, that was conducted following a study which showed that folic acid decreases the chances of developing the debilitating disease Alzheimer`s. As a part of the study, which appears in The Lancet medical journal, the researchers gave 800mcg of folic acid daily or a dummy pill to 818 people aged 50 for a period of three years. The researchers found that taking the pill daily improved cognitive functions such as memory, as well as the speed at which information is processes, reports the Daily Mail. Folic acid is the synthetic form of folate, a B vitamin that occurs naturally in dark green vegetables, cereals and fruit, and which is often destroyed by cooking or processing. Folate is necessary for the production and maintenance of new cells. This is especially important during periods of rapid cell division and growth such as infancy and pregnancy. Folate is needed to make DNA and RNA, the building blocks of […]
Although it is common knowledge that Oprah Winfrey was among the richest women in entertainment, Forbes made a list of their own, with Oprah atop of course. Known as the queen of talk shows, ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ host topped the Top 20 Richest Women in Entertainment list compiled by Forbes magazine, with an estimated fortune of $1.5 billion, placing J.K Rowling, the ‘Harry Potter’ author on the second spot with just $1 billion. However, the 37-year-old writer is the wealthiest woman in her own country, which sounds reasonable enough. Martha Stewart landed on the third position with $638 million, followed by Madonna’s $325 million fortune and singer Celine Dion’s $250 million. The following spots were taken by Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson with fortunes ranging between $225 million and $150 million, leaving Julia Roberts who used to be Hollywood’s highest paid actress in the past, on the 7th place with $140 million. Currently the most expensive actress in Hollywood, Nicole Kidman barely made it in the top with $60 million. These women got their fortunes by diversifying, like Winfrey with her magazine and production business, and Britney Spears, who has endorsement income and […]
CLEVELAND — Three county elections workers conspired to avoid a more thorough recount of ballots in the 2004 presidential election, a prosecutor told jurors during opening statements of their trial Thursday. Witnesses testified that, two days before a planned recount, selected ballots were counted so the result would be determined. ‘The evidence will show that this recount was rigged, maybe not for political reasons, but rigged nonetheless,’ Prosecutor Kevin Baxter said. ‘They did this so they could spend a day rather than weeks or months’ on the recount, he said. Elections have fallen under greater scrutiny since the 2000 presidential election when recounts of paper ballots in Florida dragged on for weeks and the U.S. Supreme Court became involved. Defense attorneys said in their opening statements that the workers in Cuyahoga County didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. ‘They just were doing it the way they were always doing it,’ said defense attorney Roger Synenberg, representing Kathleen Dreamer, a ballot manager. Charged with various counts each of election misconduct or interference are Jacqueline Maiden, the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections’ coordinator, who was the board’s third-highest ranking employee when she was indicted last […]
If it were up to you to decide what has been the greatest medical advance of the past 150 years, what would you choose? That’s exactly the challenge the prestigious British Medical Journal posed to a small group of experts and the many thousands of their readers, mostly doctors. Well, almost exactly. They actually were looking for the greatest medical advance of the past 167 years, back to 1840, the year the journal was founded. What comes to mind? In 1840, we didn’t yet know about viruses and bacteria. Louis Pasteur established the germ theory in the 1860s, but it didn’t really catch on until almost 1880. Germ theory is pretty important, and a good contender. Florence Nightingale is credited with establishing standardized training for nurses, but she did not open her school until 1860. Anyone who has ever had a bone heal after wearing a cast may owe a debt to an X-ray. William Roentgen invented those in 1895. According to legend, we owe antibiotics to some moldy bread and the insight of Dr. Alexander Fleming. Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928 and it was first used to treat human infection in 1941. Antibiotics […]
A second straight year of declining cancer deaths announced Wednesday marks the beginning of what is expected to be a long-term drop as the success of anti-smoking campaigns launched decades ago accelerates progress against the biggest cancer killer – lung cancer. The American Cancer Society reported that cancer deaths in 2004 dropped by 3,014 – nearly eight times the number during the previous year – driven by sharp declines in colorectal cancer fatalities, which totaled 53,380 in 2004. But the biggest declines in the coming years are expected to be in tobacco-driven tumors in women. Lung cancer kills about 160,000 men and women in the U.S. each year. Previous drops in cancer death rates have been fueled by steep declines in smoking among men, but women have lagged nearly two decades behind them in heeding the call to quit. Lung cancer rates among women have begun to plateau and are expected to begin falling soon, mirroring the pattern observed in men 15 years ago. ‘What we are seeing now is the peak of the lung cancer epidemic in women,’ said epidemiologist Elizabeth Ward, one of the authors of the new report. ‘We would anticipate that […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
