Michaelangelo's David Returned Back To Italy After His Sponsored Trip To the USA

Soy foods 'reduce sperm numbers'

A group of US researchers have found a potential link between high
levels of soya in the diet and low sperm concentration. The findings were
reported in the journal Human Reproduction.
Dr Jorge Chavarro led the study at the Department of Nutrition at
Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, which looked at 99 men who had
visited a fertility treatment clinic for fertility evaluation between 2000
and 2006. They were asked how often and how much soy-based food they had
eaten in three months, including tofu or soy sausages, bacon and mince, soy
milk, cheese and yoghurt.
The men were divided into four groups according to their intake of soy
foods and, after adjusting for other factors such as age, BMI, alcohol and
caffeine intake and smoking, Chavarro found that men in the highest intake
category had on average 41 million sperm per millilitre less than men who
did not consume soy products. The 'normal' sperm concentration is between 80
and 120 million sperm per millilitre.
The study 'suggests that soy foods could have some deleterious effect on
the reproductive system and especially on sperm production', said Chavarro.
The correlation was also exacerbated in men who were overweight or obese.
The findings do not explain why soy foods have this effect on sperm
concentration, but Chavarro speculates that it could be because of the
levels of 'isoflavones'; plant-derived compounds with oestrogenic effects,
something that may affect sperm production by interfering with hormonal
signals. Obese men have higher levels of natural oestrogen in their body,
further supporting the theory of a hormonal role.
In other parts of the world such as Asia, however, the normal intake of
soya is much higher than in the study, and there is no evidence of higher
levels of infertility in these areas. Chavarro said that this study is not
sufficient to draw firm conclusions and further larger studies would be
needed to determine whether soy intake has implications in infertility.

The Deck at LaVaSa

In architecture, a deck is a flat surface capable of supporting weight, similar to a floor, but typically constructed outdoors, often elevated from the ground, and usually connected to a building. The term is a generalization of decks as found on ships. The Deck at Lavasa is special. It talks to the clouds & is friends with the pristine mountain air and the early morning fragrant mist from the Mose valley! Maybe I have this Obsessive Compulsive Disorder about Lavasa and the deck at Lavasa! Let me educate you all about Lavasa. Lavasa, free India’s largest Hill Station, embodies the spirit of human nature to Live, Work, Learn and Play.Nature trails that zigzag across the hills, offer a perfect recreational activity for nature lovers.

Imagine a home nestled in a picturesque valley, where the tranquil old world blends seamlessly with the cosmopolitan way of life. Lavasa offers a vibrant, self-contained world which is part of 25,000 acres of land (almost 1/4th the size of Mumbai) declared as Hill Station with an extensive Master Plan covering half that area. The rest of the region is left untouched to preserve the natural beauty. Cradled in the heart of mystic Sahyadri mountain range, Lavasa is well connected to both Pune and Mumbai.
Envisioned as a complete Hill Station offering a balanced life in harmony with nature, Lavasa is an aspirational destination for lifestyle seekers. 
Lavasa is located at an altitude of 2000-3000 feet above sea level, with state-of-the-art roads, robust infrastructure and a salubrious climate all year round. It is the largest Hill Station to be planned and developed using the Geographical Information System (GIS).An exhaustive GIS architecture has been designed which would integrate into other systems such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Document Management Systems (DMS) and Customer Relationship Management System (CRM). Through GIS, accurate information will be provided to its facility managers anywhere in the world regarding the status of the Hill Station. Lavasa is located on a hilly terrain, which was one of the basic reasons for the development of a digital elevation model. Nature trails have been mapped with GPS and points of interest are described. A significant contribution has been made towards trail guides highlighting the rich diversity of flora and fauna at Lavasa. I could go on and on about the technology embedded into this Indian hill-station , which will be a show-case to the world. Move over first world, the new India beckons!

Coming back to the Deck. This is my favorite haunt with an unopposed view of the swelling Warasgaon lake & the Mose Valley. The pristine green valley overlooking the placid lake is a perfect setting to rejuvenate and refresh your mind, body and spirit. Lavasa is home to the Karvi flower also called the blue bloom, which blooms only once in 7 years- 2007 was the year of the bloom. The Malabar Whistiling Thrush, the singer bird of Lavasa is popularly called the "whistling Schoolboy". This deck with the view,crops out from the multicuisine restarant that serves World cuisine. Sushi, Beer & roasted almonds & the Whistling Schoolboy alongwith with 50 inches of rain last Saturday made the "deck" a semi-permanent home for this writer. The Lavasa deck would beat any "Deck of The Month" hollow! Check them out on http://www.decks.com/DeckOfMonth.aspx

The Deck introduces you to nature & the clouds. Nature is at its best in the monsoons in this part of the world. Standing on the Deck and bathing with the rolling moisture laden clouds that almost caress you is a sublime experience that causes a neural crackling & hyperactivity in the satiety centers in the human brain. You are numbed and be-numbed time and again thinking that just three hours out of Mumbai and you get a fresh lease of life on the Deck! Just look at the photographs and admire the deck changing its appearance with the different hours of the day - almost like the four seasons of mother nature! The Walk in the Clouds just got better!

I doff my hat and salute the people with the vision to make a new India & Lavasa! Jai Hind & Jai Maharashtra!

Angelina Jolie's Twins Conceived Through In Vitro

Angelina Jolie's new born twins Knox and Vivienne were conceived through in vitro (IVF) treatment, it has been revealed.

According to American magazine US Weekly, Jolie, 33, turned to fertility treatments in order to conceive quicker.

A source tells the publication, "They conceived through in vitro fertilization

"They both desperately wanted more babies soon."

The chance of having fraternal twins naturally at Angelina's age is under 1 percent; with in vitro, the chances are 25 percent. Says Dr. Arthur Wisot of L.A.'s Reproductive Medical Group (who did not treat the couple), "We live in an era of reproductive freedom, so anybody can do anything they want within legal limits."

The oldest patient reported to deliver after IVF was Omkari Panwar, a 70 year old woman from India who delivered a set of twins in 2008.

The Tomb Raider star chose the procedure -- which can cost around $12,000-a-time -- so "she wouldn't have to deal with the stress of trying to get pregnant," the source said. "She could just knock it out."

Jolie -- who also has three adopted children, Maddox, Pax, and Zahara, as well as her eldest biological child, Shiloh, with partner Brad Pitt -- recently spoke of her desire to have a large family at a young age.

She told Elle U.K., "If we're going to have 10 kids, we'd like to raise them while we're young."

A source adds, "They were too impatient."

TAKING THE DOG FOR A WALK!

A friend just sent me this "you-will-definitely-laugh" email:) I christened it the Monday Morning Scorcher & want to share this with you. Smile.

"A little girl asked her Mom, 'Mom, may I take the dog for a walk around the block?'

Mom replies, 'No, because she is in heat.'

'What's that mean?' asked the child.

'Go ask your father. I think he's in the garage.'

The little girl goes to the garage and says, 'Dad, may I take Belle for a walk around the block?

I asked Mom, but she said the dog was in heat, and to come to you.'

Dad said, 'Bring Belle over here.'

He took a rag, soaked it with gasoline, and scrubbed the dog's backside with it to disguise the scent, and said 'OK, you can go now, but keep Belle on the leash and only go one time round the block.'

The little girl left and returned a few minutes later with no dog on the leash.

Surprised, Dad asked, 'Where's Belle?'

(YOU'RE GONNA LOVE THIS!!!!!!!!! )

The little girl said, 'She ran out of gas about halfway down the block, so another dog is pushing her home.'

If you ain't laughing'....You ain't livin'...

The Last Three Decades

The Next Three Decades

Not Everybody Pays

A little old lady was walking down the street dragging two large plastic garbage bags behind her. One of the bags rips, and every once in a while a $20 bill falls out onto the sidewalk. Noticing this, a policeman stops her, and says, 'Ma'am, there are $20 bills falling out of your bag.'

'Oh, really? Darn!' said the little old lady. 'I'd better go back, and see if I can find them. Thanks for telling me.'

'Well, now, not so fast,' says the cop. 'How did you get all that money? 'You didn't steal it, did you?'

'Oh, no', said the little old lady. 'You see, my back yard is right next to the football stadium parking lot. On game days, a lot of fans come and pee through the fence into my flower garden. So, I stand behind the fence with my hedge clippers. Each time some guy sticks this thing through the fence, I say, '$20 or off it comes'.'

'Well, that seems only fair' laughs the cop. 'OK. Good luck! Oh, by the way, what's in the other bag?'

'Well, you know', said the little old lady, 'not everybody pays'.

The Next Three Decades

The Louise Brown Birthday

A quarter-century on, and the clamour surrounding "test tube baby" Louise Brown has barely died down. It is hard to imagine how it must feel for your whole public image to have been shaped by the manner of your conception. The pioneering achievements of Steptoe and Edwards have pursued Louise relentlessly, the press interest hardly slackening for a moment.
On the 25th anniversary, Louise is doing her bit for the fertility "community", guest starring at a grand party at Bourn Hall clinic for hundreds of babies who followed in her footsteps. She remains proud to have been the first of well over a million worldwide.

However, the number of interviewers she is prepared to put up with is dropping. These days Louise is working as a postal worker in the Bristol area, an occupation lending itself to puns about "deliveries" - just as her previous job as a nursery nurse proved useful to writers and reporters. She had, at last reports, a fiance and a place of her own. Previous interviews have revealed a liking for swimming, the pub and even darts, and indeed, coupled with a general zest for life.

Every child is told he or she is special, and Louise was four before her parents told her exactly why that was true in her case.
She was shown the famous video taken in the operating theatre at Oldham General Hospital in 1978 as she took her first breaths. Her fame led to a barrage of questions from schoolmates, each of whom needed to be told that she was not actually born in the laboratory.

To her, there were a few extra "uncles" who remained precious both to her and her parents. Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards kept a close interest in her progress, and the Browns still visit Professor Edwards at his home near Cambridge.

Louise Brown, however, has ended up as the perfect advert for IVF in the face of critics and sceptics - a picture of health and level-headed normality.

I Come From A Land Of A Billion Sparks

Inaugural Speech for the new batch at the Symbiosis BBA program 2008

© Chetan Bhagat

Good Morning everyone and thank you for giving me this chance to speak to you. This day is about you. You, who have come to this college, leaving the comfort of your homes (or in some cases discomfort), to become something in your life. I am sure you are excited. There are few days in human life when one is truly elated. The first day in college is one of them. When you were getting ready today, you felt a tingling in your stomach. What would the auditorium be like, what would the teachers be like, who are my new classmates - there is so much to be curious about.

I call this excitement, the spark within you that makes you feel truly alive today. Today I am going to talk about keeping the spark shining. Or to put it another way, how to be happy most, if not all the time.

Where do these sparks start? I think we are born with them. My 3-year old twin boys have a million sparks. A little Spiderman toy can make them jump on the bed. They get thrills from creaky swings in the park. A story from daddy gets them excited. They do a daily countdown for birthday party – several months in advance – just for the day they will cut their own birthday cake.

I see students like you, and I still see some sparks. But when I see older people, the spark is difficult to find. That means as we age, the spark fades. People whose spark has faded too much are dull, dejected, aimless and bitter. Remember Kareena in the first half of Jab We Met vs the second half? That is what happens when the spark is lost. So how to save the spark?

Imagine the spark to be a lamp's flame. The first aspect is nurturing - to give your spark the fuel, continuously. The second is to guard against storms.

To nurture, ALWAYS HAVE GOALS. It is human nature to strive, improve and ACHIEVE FULL POTENTIAL. In fact, that is success. It is what is possible for you. It isn't any external measure - a certain cost to company pay package, a particular car or house. Most of us are from middle class families. To us, having material landmarks is success and rightly so. When you have grown up where money constraints force everyday choices, financial freedom is a big achievement. But it isn't the purpose of life. If that was the case, Mr Ambani would not show up for work. Shah Rukh Khan would stay at home and not dance anymore. Steve Jobs won't be working hard to make a better iPhone, as he sold Pixar for billions of dollars already. Why do they do it? What makes them come to work everyday?

They do it because it makes them happy. They do it because it makes them feel alive. Just getting better from current levels feels good. If you study hard, you can improve your rank. If you make an effort to interact with people, you will do better in interviews. If you practice, your cricket will get better. You may also know that you cannot become Tendulkar, yet. But you can get to the next level. Striving for that next level is important. Nature designed a random set of genes and circumstances in which we were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and make the most of nature's design. Are you happy?

Goals will help you do that.

I must add, don't just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order. There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.

You must have read some quotes - Life is a tough race, it is a marathon or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those races in nursery school. Where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.

One last thing about nurturing the spark - don't take life seriously. One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga practice. The teacher said - don't be serious, be sincere. This quote has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism. If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It's ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.

I've told you three things till now- reasonable goals, balance and not taking it too seriously that will nurture the spark.

However, there are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame. These must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration, unfairness and loneliness of purpose.

1.Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the expected return. If things don't go as planned or if you face failure. Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but what did this failure teach me? is the question you will need to ask. You will feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I wanted to when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians kill themselves over low grades – how silly is that? But that is how much failure can hurt you. But it's life. If challenges could always be overcome, they would cease to be a challenge.

2.Disappointment's cousin is frustration, the second storm. Have you ever been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. This is especially relevant in India. From traffic jams to getting that job you deserve, sometimes things take so long that you don't know if you chose the right goal. After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywood, as I thought they needed writers. I am called extremely lucky, but it took me five years to get close to a release. Frustration saps excitement, and turns your initial energy into something negative, making you a bitter person. How did I deal with it? A realistic assessment of the time involved – movies take a long time to make even though they are watched quickly, seeking a certain enjoyment in the process rather than the end result – at least I was learning how to write scripts , having a side plan – I had my third book to write and even something as simple as pleasurable distractions in your life - friends, food, travel can help you overcome it. Remember, nothing is to be taken seriously. Frustration is a sign that somewhere you took it too seriously.

3.Unfairness - this is hardest to deal with, but unfortunately that is how our country works. People with connections, rich dads, beautiful faces, pedigree find it easier to make it – not just in Bollywood, but everywhere. And sometimes it is just plain luck. There are so few opportunities in India, so many stars need to be aligned for you to make it happen. Merit and hard work is not always linked to achievement in the short term, but the long term correlation is high, and ultimately things do work out. But realize, there will be some people luckier than you. In fact, to have an opportunity to go to college and understand this speech in English means you are pretty darn lucky by Indian standards. Let's be grateful for what we have and get the strength to accept what we don't. I have so much love from my readers that other writers cannot even imagine it. However, I don't get literary praise. It's ok. I don't look like Aishwarya Rai, but I have two boys who I think are more beautiful than her. It's ok. Don't let unfairness kill your spark.

4.Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is isolation. As you grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, all kids want Ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you still are a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize you are unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel, may be different from even the people closest to you. This can create conflict as your goals may not match with others. . And you may drop some of them. Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing basketball by the time they have their second child. They give up something that meant so much to them. They do it for their family. But in doing that, the spark dies. Never, ever make that compromise. Love yourself first, and then others.

There you go. I've told you the four thunderstorms - disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation. You cannot avoid them, as like the monsoon they will come into your life at regular intervals. You just need to keep the raincoat handy to not let the spark die.

I welcome you again to the most wonderful years of your life. If someone gave me the choice to go back in time, I will surely choose college. But I also hope that ten years later as well, you eyes will shine the same way as they do today. That you will Keep the Spark alive, not only through college, but through the next 2,500 weekends. And I hope not just you, but my whole country will keep that spark alive, as we really need it now more than any moment in history. And there is something cool about saying - I come from the land of a billion sparks.

The Next Three Decades

The Next Three Decades

No IVF please, we're British

An overwhelming majority of infertility patients in the UK said they would contemplate travelling abroad for fertility treatment, according to the first comprehensive study on the strength and motivations behind the fertility tourism industry. Among the 339 infertile patients who responded to an online poll conducted by Infertility Network UK, 76 per cent stated they would be willing to seek fertility treatment outside the UK with 70 per cent citing their reasons would be to avoid higher costs and long wait-lists at UK clinics. Infertility Network UK performed the survey for this year’s National Infertility Day on Saturday, 19 July 2008, when it announced its findings at a conference in central London.
Other popular reasons provided by the patients for why they might prefer to receive fertility treatment abroad were high success rates (61 per cent) and the greater availability of donor eggs and sperm (54 per cent). The UK has suffered a decline in the number of egg and sperm donors since removing donor anonymity by law in 2005. The 24 per cent opposed to treatment in overseas clinics were commonly concerned about lower standards, lack of regulation and language-barrier difficulties.
Clare Brown, Chief Executive of Infertility Network UK, blames the current ‘appalling’ difficulties - such as ‘postcode lottery’ arbitrary provision - that infertile couples face in Britain in order to access fertility assistance: ‘If the NHS funded three full cycles of treatment as recommended by NICE, many couples would not be forced to consider going abroad for treatment’, she said. She warned that regulations can be totally different for foreign fertility clinics and it is ‘absolutely vital’ for individuals to do ‘thorough research beforehand’.
Yet the study revealed an 88 per cent level of satisfaction from those who received treatment abroad, reportedly not only due to lower costs, shorter waiting-lists and successful pregnancy rates but also due to general staff attitude, atmosphere and state of the facilities. Clare Brown added that she hopes ‘that clinics in the UK take into account the findings of this survey and learn from the good experiences many couples have had at clinics abroad’.
Among those who were dissatisfied, 47 per cent experienced problems due to language and communication difficulties and 37 per cent due to unregulated practice. Prime Minister Gordon Brown stated, ‘The Government is working directly with Infertility Network UK, as well as experts in the NHS to ensure the needs of people with fertility problems are recognised and addressed’.
This Friday, 25 July, marks the birthday of Louise Brown, who was the world’s first IVF-conceived child born in England. Thirty years onward, roughly 3.5 million IVF-assisted babies have been born worldwide, averaging at least 200,000 annually. However, infertile individuals in the UK are among the least likely in the developed world to receive IVF with one of the lowest annual IVF performance rates in Europe - under 700 per million Britons. In 2005 just 1.6 per cent of total births were assisted pregnancies compared with rates of 3-3.5 per cent in Scandinavia.
A special-focus Economist article attributed the low statistics to the lack of public funding available and the low-priority ascribed to infertility as a medical condition in the UK. Only nine out of the 152 local primary-care trusts provide the three recommended IVF cycles. In 2005, two-thirds of the IVF cycles performed in Britain were privately funded.

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Increased Fertility Problems For Men Over 40

Scientists have found further evidence to suggest that, like women, fertility drops in men as they age, heard delegates at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. The research, led by Dr Stephanie Belloc of the Eylau Centre for Assisted Reproduction in Paris, France, said that the results - the first to show such a strong paternal effect on pregnancy and miscarriage rates - will have important implications for couples wanting to start a family.
'I think it's important to consider not only the woman, but both members of the couple in natural conception but also in assisted reproduction', Belloc told the Times, adding: 'We believe that the use of IVF should be suggested to infertile patients where either party is over 35 years of age'.
The researchers recorded rates of pregnancy, miscarriage and birth in 12,000 couples undergoing fertility treatment in the form of intrauterine inseminations (IUI), where sperm is injected into the woman's uterus while she is ovulating. They also examined the quality and quantity of the sperm, including their ability to swim, size and shape.
The results showed that, independent of the woman's age, the chances of miscarriage rose from 16.7 per cent if the man was 30-35 years old, to 32.5 per cent if he was over 40. Although the impact of the female 'biological clock' on fertility has been widely studied, this is the first time that such a strong paternal effect on reproductive outcome has been shown, said Belloc. 'Some recent studies have established a relationship between the results of IUI and DNA damage, which is also correlated with is also correlated with a man's age, suggesting that it might be an important factor, but until now there was no clinical proof', she said.

Costa Rica Scalp Syndrome?

Rs 9000 IVF in African Countries

Plans for an affordable and universally accessible IVF programme, which will be rolled out to tackle infertility in developing countries, were announced at a press conference at the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology annual meeting today. Dr Willem Ombelet, who heads up the ESHRE special task force on ‘Infertility and Developing Countries’, said that the scheme, now being piloted in Khartoum and Cape Town (and shortly in Arusha, Tanzania), aims to provide one IVF cycle for less than $200.
The UN Population Division estimates that 186 million women of reproductive age in developing countries (excluding China) are infertile, with more than 30 per cent in many African countries unable to conceive a second child. Without feasible treatment options, many of these woman become subject to the social and cultural realities of these countries, facing disinheritance, ostracisation, accusations of witchcraft, abuse by local healers, separation from their spouse or abandonment to a second-class life in a polygamous marriage, highlighted Professor Oluwole Akande, from University Hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria.
While a single IVF cycle in Europe or the USA can cost anything from $5000 - $10,000, the new scheme will cut costs by simplifying procedures and customising services to ensure that patients are only given the minimum level of treatment that they need for their particular condition, said Professor Gianaroli, from the SISMER Reproductive Medicine Unit in Italy. ‘We will not be able to treat every type of infertility, but many women with tubal damage as a result of infection can be helped’, he told the press, highlighting that tubal damage resulting from disease or substandard abortions are thought to be a primary cause of infertility in developing countries.
Ombelet emphasised the need to educate the public about infertility and create an infrastructure capable of delivering the service effectively. ‘A universally accessible treatment service is impossible in most developing countries,’ he acknowledged. ‘ But a start can be made by integrating low cost treatments into existing family health services, where opportunities exist for contraception, health education, maternity and childcare, prevention and treatment of STDs and HIV. We have to make a start, and this is how we’re doing it,’ he said.
The full proceedings of an expert meeting on these issues, held in December 2007 in Arusha, Tanzania, is published this month by the journal Human Reproduction.

Donor Children Doing Emotionally Well

Researchers from the Centre for Family Research at Cambridge University in the UK say that families created by the use of sperm donation, egg donation and surrogacy are doing well, particularly in terms of their psychological well-being.
The data, presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, come from the fourth phase of a longitudinal study in which 43 donor insemination families, 46 egg donation families and 39 surrogacy families have participated, along with a control group of 70 families where the children were naturally conceived. The first data on these families was taken when the children were nine months old - they are now seven years old.
Mothers, fathers and teachers were each independently given questionnaires to assess the child’s wellbeing, as well as give individual scores on things like behavioural problems and emotional difficulties. Mothers and fathers were also separately interviewed about their relationship with their children. Children were asked to fill in a blank ‘map’ of concentric circles, assessing their relationship with family members and friends, placing the name of those with whom they believed they are closest in the innermost circle, and so on.
In terms of the psychological well-being of the parents, the quality of parent-child relationships and the psychological adjustment of the children concerned, more similarities than differences were found among the three assisted conception groups, said Polly Casey, who presented the research to the conference. Children from all family types placed their mother or father in the closest circle with the same frequency. However, there was some difference shown in the perception of emotional difficulties in the children, as reported by parents and teachers, with parents reporting no significant difficulties, but teachers (who did not know whether or not a child was born using assisted conception) indicating that children born from assisted conception having some more emotional difficulties than the control group.
Miss Casey also told the conference that only 29 per cent of donor insemination parents, 39 per cent of egg donation parents and 89 per cent of surrogacy parents had told their children how they were conceived by the time they reached the age of seven. All of these figures were markedly less than the numbers who said they would tell their child of its origins in the first phase of the study. When the results on psychological well-being and parent-child relationships were broken down by those children who had been told of their origins and those who had not, some differences emerged. ‘Those mothers who had told their children about their conception showed higher levels of sensitivity to the child and, although there was no statistical difference, we also found that fathers in disclosing families tended to show greater warmth towards their children’, she said.
In the groups who had been open with their children, mothers also reported greater ‘marital satisfaction’ and, furthermore, teachers reported lower levels of emotional and behavioural difficulties among the children who had been told of their origins. ‘We were particularly interested to find that, according to teachers, those children who had been told of their origins tended to do slightly better emotionally than those who had not’, said Miss Casey, adding that ‘of course this may simply be due to better communication within the family generally’.

Tofu 'may raise risk of dementia'

Tofu is a widely eaten soy product. Eating high levels of some soy products - including tofu - may raise the risk of memory loss, research suggests. The study focused on 719 elderly Indonesians living in urban and rural regions of Java. The researchers found high tofu consumption - at least once a day - was associated with worse memory, particularly among the over-68s. The Loughborough University-led study features in the journal Dementias and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders.
Soy products are a major alternative protein source to meat for many people in the developing world. But soy consumption is also on the increase in the west, where it is often promoted as a "superfood". Soy products are rich in micronutrients called phytoestrogens, which mimic the impact of the female sex hormone oestrogen. There is some evidence that they may protect the brains of younger and middle-aged people from damage - but their effect on the ageing brain is less clear.
The latest study suggests phytoestrogens - in high quantity - may actually heighten the risk of dementia. Lead researcher Professor Eef Hogervorst said previous research had linked oestrogen therapy to a doubling of dementia risk in the over-65s.
She said oestrogens - and probably phytoestrogens - tended to promote growth among cells, not necessarily a good thing in the ageing brain. Alternatively, high doses of oestrogens might promote the damage caused to cells by particles known as free radicals. A third theory is that damage is caused not by the tofu, but by formaldehyde, which is sometimes used in Indonesia as a preservative. The researchers admit that more research is required to ascertain whether the same effects are found in other ethnic groups. However, previous research has also linked high tofu consumption to an increased risk of dementia in older Japanese American men.
Professor David Smith, of the University of Oxford, said tofu was a complex food with many ingredients which might have an impact. However, he said: "There seems to be something happening in the brain as we age which makes it react to oestrogens in the opposite way to what we would expect." The latest study also found that eating tempe, a fermented soy product made from the whole soy bean, was associated with better memory. Professor Hogervorst said the beneficial effect of tempe might be related to the fact that it contains high levels of the vitamin folate, which is known to reduce dementia risk. "It may be that that the interaction between high levels of both folate and phytoestrogens protects against cognitive impairment." She also stressed that there was no suggestion that eating tofu in moderation posed a problem. Rebecca Wood, of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, which funded the study, said more research was needed to pin down the potential risks and benefits of so-called superfoods. However, she said: "This kind of research into the causes of Alzheimer's could lead scientists to new ways of preventing this devastating disease. "As over half a million people have Alzheimer's in the UK today, there is a desperate need to find a new prevention or cure."

Kolkata Beggar now Bank Account Holder

A bank in the Indian city of Calcutta has opened an account for a beggar who deposited 91kg of coins in one of the bank's branches. Laxmi Das says she has been saving the coins since she started begging more than 40 years ago as a disabled child because of an early attack of polio.

"I saved for the days when I cannot beg," she said.

"I knew one day I would grow old and have diseases, so I was prudent and saved for my pension."

Now the fruits of her labour from a busy traffic intersection in north Calcutta have been realised.

"She can be projected as a role model to encourage people to begin saving," said TK Haldar, manager of the Central Bank of India's Maniktola branch.

Ms Das says that she has been prudent and saved

"Her efforts show that you can save even if you earn a pittance."

Mr Haldar said Ms Das now has a bank account and those who want to help her can send in account payee cheques in her name to his bank branch.

Several people have written to the BBC News website offering financial help to Ms Das after her story first appeared earlier this week.

Ms Das began begging aged 16 and saved coins in iron buckets at her home in a shanty town near the crossing.

In all, she collected four buckets of coins of all denominations. Some were minted as far back as 1961 and were clearly out of date. But bank officials said they would still accept them as legal tender.

It took staff - more used to counting notes - three days to count all the coins.

"But be it a billionaire or a beggar, our doors are open for all," said bank spokesman Shantanu Neogy.

Ms Das was encouraged to deposit the money by police who feared it could have been stolen from her home.

She chose to ignore - or did not know about - a thriving racket in this part of the world in which old Indian coins are smuggled and melted down in Bangladesh to make razor blades that sell for up to seven times their value as coins.

The practice has caused an acute coin shortage in eastern India, forcing government mints to cut down on the amount of metal they use to make the coins.

Tata Motors to introduce Air Car - Is it the next big thing?

Tata Motors is taking giant strides and making history for itself. First the Landrover-Jaguar deal, then the world's cheapest car and now it is also set to introduce the car that runs on air, compressed air to be specific.With fuel prices touching nearly $150 per barrel, it is about time we heard some breakthrough!

India's largest automaker Tata Motors is set to start producing the world's first commercial air-powered vehicle. The Air Car, developed by ex-Formula One engineer Guy Nègre for Luxembourg-based MDI, uses compressed air, as opposed to the gas-and-oxygen explosions of internal-combustion models, to push its engine's pistons. Some 6000 zero-emissions Air Cars are scheduled to hit Indian streets in August of 2008.

The Air Car, called the MiniCAT could cost around Rs. 3,50,000 ($ 8177) in India and would have a range of around 300 km between refuels.

The cost of a refill would be about Rs. 85 ($ 2). Tata motors also plans to launch the world's cheapest car, Tata Nano priced famously at One lakh rupees by October.

The MiniCAT which is a simple, light urban car, with a tubular chassis that is glued not welded and a body of fiberglass powered by compressed air. Microcontrollers are used in every device in the car, so one tiny radio transmitter sends instructions to the lights, indicators etc.
There are no keys - just an access card which can be read by the car from your pocket. According to the designers, it costs less than 50 rupees per 100Km (about a tenth that of a petrol car). Its mileage is about double that of the most advanced electric car (200 to 300 km or 10 hours of driving), a factor which makes a perfect choice in cities where the 80% of motorists drive at less than 60Km. The car has a top speed of 105 kmph. Refilling the car will, once the market develops, take place at adapted petrol stations to administer compressed air. In two or three minutes, and at a cost of approximately 100 rupees, the car will be ready to go another 200-300 kilometers.

As a viable alternative, the car carries a small compressor which can be connected to the mains (220V or 380V) and refill the tank in 3-4 hours. Due to the absence of combustion and, consequently, of residues, changing the oil (1 litre of vegetable oil) is necessary only every 50,000Km.] The temperature of the clean air expelled by the exhaust pipe is between 0-15 degrees below zero, which makes it suitable for use by the internal air conditioning system with no need for gases or loss of power.

Indian Guinness IVF Mom at 70

A 70-year-old woman in India is reportedly the world’s oldest woman to give birth, when she had twins last week. The girl and boy babies were delivered one month early by emergency caesarean section but are reportedly alive and well after being transferred to specialist neonatal care at Jaswant Roy Speciality Hospital.
Omkari Panwar and her 77-year-old husband, Charan Singh Panwar, have two grown daughters and five grandchildren but wanted a male heir and sought IVF assistance, according to newspaper reports. ‘The treatment cost me a fortune but the birth of a son makes it all worthwhile. I can die a happy man and a proud father,’ said Charan, a retired farmer, who told reporters that he mortgaged his land, spent his life savings, sold his buffalos and obtained a credit card loan to afford the IVF treatment costing INR 350,000.
Journalists were unable to verify Omkari Panwar’s age because she does not have a birth certificate and does not know her birth-date. Instead, her recollection that she was nine years old at the time of Indian independence in 1947 has been used to determine her age to be 70. If accurate, then Omkari is four years older than the 66-year-old Romanian woman, Adriana Iliescu, who previously was believed to be the oldest woman to give birth when she had a daughter in 2005. Britain’s oldest mother is Patricia Rashbrook, who gave birth to a son in 2006 aged 62, after paying INR 800,000 for IVF treatment in Russia.
Omkari dismissed any awareness of the record and fails to see its ‘benefit’: ‘If I am the world’s oldest mother it means nothing to me. I just want to see my new babies and care for them while I am still able’. Critics of post-menopausal motherhood say that they should not be allowed to receive fertility treatment because of increased health risks to mother and child. Others question the ability of geriatric parents to cope with young children and the harm of early parental bereavement.

Pre-birth apples 'benefit babies'

Children of mothers who eat plenty of apples during pregnancy are less likely to develop asthma, research suggests. The University of Aberdeen project quizzed 2,000 mothers-to-be on their eating habits, then looked at their child's health over five years. They found that those who ate four or more apples a week were half as likely to have an asthmatic child compared with those who ate one or fewer. The study was presented at the American Thoracic Society conference.
This study suggests a simple modification that can be made to a pregnant mother's diet which may help protect her child from developing asthma. The researchers also found a link between eating more fish in pregnancy, and a lower chance of their child developing the allergic skin condition eczema. Women who ate one or more portions of any type of fish during pregnancy weekly had almost half the chance of having a child diagnosed with eczema within the first five years.There are no firm clues as to why apples and fish might be able to produce this benefit - no other foodstuffs were linked to decreases in asthma or eczema. However, apples are already linked to better lung health when taken by adults, perhaps due to their antioxidant properties, and oily fish in particular contain Omega-3 oils, which, it has been suggested, offer health benefits.

It is, however, notoriously difficult to uncover links between maternal diet and child health, given the numerous other factors which may be involved in the development of diseases such as asthma and eczema. The Aberdeen team has a group of 2,000 women, who, more than five years ago, monitored their food intake during pregnancy, and then allowed researchers to see what happened to their children. The project, funded by the charity Asthma UK, has previously revealed links between vitamin consumption in pregnancy and lower levels of asthma. This time, they feel that while the apparently strong link between apples and asthma does not prove that eating the fruit is the cause of lower asthma rates in children, it does offer a strong argument for a balanced diet during pregnancy. Dr Graham Devereux, one of the lead researchers, said: "There may well be another factor in the lifestyles of women who eat lots of apples that is influencing this result. "But it is certainly a clear association, and it is certainly less controversial to encourage women to eat more fruit during pregnancy rather than to take extra vitamins."

Dr Victoria King, Research Development Manager at Asthma UK says: 'This study suggests a simple modification that can be made to a pregnant mother's diet which may help protect her child from developing asthma before the age of five.

"The study supports our advice to pregnant mothers to eat a healthy, balanced diet.

"One in ten children in the UK has asthma so it is vital to continue funding research that could reduce the incidence of childhood asthma.'