Well-Being Is Related to Having Less Small Talk and More Substantive Conversations

Is a happy life filled with trivial chatter or reflective and profound conversations? Psychological scientists Matthias R. Mehl, Shannon E. Holleran, and C. Shelby Clark from the University of Arizona, along with Simine Vazire of Washington University in St. Louis investigated whether happy and unhappy people differ in the types of conversations they tend to engage in.

Volunteers wore an unobtrusive recording device called the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR) over four days. This device periodically records snippets of sounds as participants go about their lives. 

iPhone 4 - Reviewed by Steve Jobs

Apple's New iPhone Faces High Expectations

Many details of Apple Inc.'s new iPhone are already widely known, but expectations are high for the fourth-generation smartphone's official unveiling this week at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference.

As he has in the past, Chief Executive Steve Jobs will be kicking off the annual event with a keynote talk on Monday. But unlike in previous years, attendees already know at least part of what to expect, thanks to a report in April by Gawker Media LLC's Gizmodo blog, which published photos and descriptions of a next-generation iPhone found in a Silicon Valley bar.

'Sexsomnia' More Common Than Previously Thought

Canadian scientists discovered sexsomnia, the disorder that causes people to engage in sexual acts while they are asleep, is more common than previously thought, the Toronto Star newspaper reported Monday.

Researchers at the Sleep Research Laboratory at the University Health Network’s Toronto Western Hospital, found one in 12 patients reported engaging in sexual activity while sleeping.

The research was due to be presented Monday in San Antonio at the SLEEP 2010 conference — an annual meeting of clinicians and scientists in the field of sleep medicine and sleep research.

Sexsomniacs may complain of not feeling rested, but do not know that they had sex while sleeping. The review found it was more common in men than in women — about 11 percent versus 4 percent.

Research: Cash Payments might Help in Weight Loss

According to a research, offering overweight people cash imbursements to get rid of extra pounds can result in considerable weight loss.

An NHS-funded plan has shelled out tens of thousands of Pounds in "air miles for dieters" in an offer to deal with the obesity calamity.

Now, a lot of people are being hired to the programme that gives up to £3,000 for those with the most to drop.

Under the Weight Wins scheme, obese people enroll themselves for a slimming programme and have monthly weigh-ins at their GP surgery, pharmacy or health centre.

They get cash imbursements for every pound that they lose, whilst dieting followed by a 50% "bonus" if they are successful in keeping the weight off for some months.

Sleep is the key to kids' intelligence

Children who go to bed at the same time every night are said to improve their intelligence.

Research says youngsters who have regular bedtimes are better at languages, reading and maths than those who do not.

Those who go to bed earlier than most are also more likely to pick things up quicker.

Pre-school children who have less than the recommended 11 hours of sleep a night run the risk of falling behind.

The research, at SRI International research institute in California, looked at the development of four-year-olds.

Researcher Dr Erika Gaylor said: "Getting parents to set bedtime routines can be an important way to make a significant impact on children's emergent literacy and language skills."

www.mirror.co.uk

'People become immune to coffee boost', experts believe

Using coffee for a pick-me-up may be pointless if you drink it all the time, researchers believe. 

Experts say they have discovered that people who drink a lot of caffeine develop a tolerance to its stimulatory effects. 

While caffeine can give people a buzz, raising alertness, the effect only works in those unused to the drink, they tell Neuropsychopharmacology journal.

They base their assumptions on the results of an experiment that they carried out on 379 volunteers. 

Cold turkey

To put coffee to the test, the scientists from the UK and Germany asked all of the trial participants to abstain from the beverage for 16 hours. 

Half of these were medium to heavy coffee drinkers who consumed at least one and up to six cups a day, and half were non or low drinkers. 

Smart clothes offer emotional aid

Smart clothes could soon be helping their wearers cope with the stresses of modern life. 

The prototype garments monitor physiological states including temperature and heart rate. 

The clothes are connected to a database that analyses the data to work out a person's emotional state. 

Media, including songs, words and images, are then piped to the display and speakers in the clothes to calm a wearer or offer support. 

Created as part of an artistic project called Wearable Absence the clothes are made from textiles woven with different sorts of wireless sensors. These can track a wide variety of tell-tale biological markers including temperature, heart rate, breathing and galvanic skin response. 

Data is gathered passively and used to trigger a response from a web-based database previously created by the wearer. The clothes connect to the web via a smartphone. 

When the wearer is detected as being in a particular emotional state, the database will send media to the clothes to help try to change a person's mood
To accomplish this, the clothes are fitted with display made of LEDs and have speakers built in to the hood. The display can show scrolling text or simple images and the speakers can replay music, sounds or pre-recorded messages from friends or family. 



Developed by Barbara Layne from Concordia University in Canada and Janis Jefferies from Goldsmiths College's Digital Studios, the prototype garments were shown at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences held in Montreal from 28 May - 3 June. 

Earlier work by Professor Layne created jackets that knew when their owners were touching and changed the messages being displayed on the LED displays sewn into them. 

news.bbc.co.uk

Woman jailed for testicle attack

A woman who ripped off her ex-boyfriend's testicle with her bare hands has been sent to prison.

 

Amanda Monti, 24, flew into a rage when Geoffrey Jones, 37, rejected her advances at the end of a house party, Liverpool Crown Court heard. 

She pulled off his left testicle and tried to swallow it, before spitting it out. A friend handed it back to Mr Jones saying: "That's yours."Monti admitted wounding and was jailed for two-and-a-half years. 

'Pulled hard'

Sentencing Monti, Judge Charles James said it was "a very serious injury" and that Monti was not acting in self-defence. The court heard that Mr Jones had ended his long-term but "open relationship" with Monti towards the end of May last year. 

The pair remained on good terms and on 30 May she picked him up from a party in Crosby and went back for drinks with friends at Mr Jones's house.

An argument ensued and Mr Jones said there was a struggle between them.

In his statement, Mr Jones said she grabbed his genitals and "pulled hard". 

He added: "That caused my underpants to come off and I found I was completely naked and in excruciating pain." 

The court heard that a friend saw Monti put Mr Jones's testicle into her mouth and try to swallow it. 

She choked and spat it back into her hand before the friend grabbed it and gave it back to Mr Jones. Doctors were unable to re-attach the organ.

In a letter to the court, Monti said she was sorry for what she had done.

She said: "It was never my intention to cause harm to Geoff and the fact that I have caused him injury will live with me forever. I am in no way a violent person." 

The letter added: "I have challenged myself to explain what has happened but still I just cannot remember. This has caused much anguish to me and will do for the rest of my life."

news.bbc.co.uk

Low-lying Pacific islands 'growing not sinking'

A new geological study has shown that many low-lying Pacific islands are growing, not sinking.

The islands of Tuvalu, Kiribati and the Federated States of Micronesia are among those which have grown, because of coral debris and sediment.

The study, published in the magazine the New Scientist, predicts that the islands will still be there in 100 years' time.

However it is still unsure whether many of them will be inhabitable.

Prognosis 'incorrect'

In recent times, the inhabitants of many low-lying Pacific islands have come to fear their homelands being wiped off the map because of rising sea levels.

But this study of 27 islands over the last 60 years suggests that most have remained stable, while some have actually grown.

Using historical photographs and satellite imaging, the geologists found that 80% of the islands had either remained the same or got larger - in some cases, dramatically so.

They say it is due to the build-up of coral debris and sediment, and to land reclamation.

Associate Professor Paul Kench of Auckland University, who took part in the study, says the islands are not in immediate danger of extinction.

"That rather gloomy prognosis for these nations is incorrect," he said.

"We have now got the evidence to suggest that the physical foundation of these countries will still be there in 100 years, so they perhaps do not need to flee their country."

But although these islands might not be submerged under the waves in the short-term, it does not mean they will be inhabitable in the long-term, and the scientists believe further rises in sea levels pose a significant danger to the livelihoods of people living in Tuvalu, Kiribati and the Federated States of Micronesia.

One scientist in Kiribati said that people should not be lulled into thinking that inundation and coastal erosion were not a major threat.

 

news.bbc.co.uk

The Maldives, Barbados? No, Avatar's Pandora is our must-have holiday destination

Avatar's Pandora is our top holiday spot

THE planet of Pandora, from the film Avatar, has been voted the fictional place we’d most like to jet off to on holiday.

In a poll inspired by the new mythical Clash of the Titans movie, which was filmed in Tenerife, a total of 1,739 people revealed which made up land they’re dying to visit on holiday.

Avatar’s Pandora was closely followed by Hogwarts, JK Rowling’s mythical school of witchcraft and wizardry from the Harry Potter series.

A whopping 54 per cent of people claimed they would book a trip to the school, if it were a real place.

Old favourite Narnia was third on the list of imaginary locations we’d most like to be tourists in - 48 per cent, admitted they would book a break there.

Other illusory places respondents said they would stopover at were Neverland with 45 per cent and El Dorado, the mythical city of gold, with 39 per cent.

Chris Brown, co-founder of tenerife.co.uk said: “It’s quite endearing to see the large number of people who have obviously fallen for these fictional places from films - Avatar especially seemed to grab the viewers’ attention with the stunning setting that is Pandora.”

He continued: “On another of our sites, we are able to look carefully at the destinations people are searching for and I must say, it’s not uncommon for us to receive a search or two for ‘Atlantis’ and even ‘El Dorado’”.

The top ten list of fictional places tourists would most like to visit are:

1.              Pandora, Avatar – 67%
2.              Hogwarts, Harry Potter – 54%
3.              Narnia, The Chronicles of Narnia – 48%
4.              Neverland, Hook – 45%
5.              El Dorado – 39%
6.              The Shire, Lord of the Rings – 31%
7.              Camelot – 26%
8.              Oz, The Wizard of Oz – 22%
9.              Wonderland, Alice in Wonderland – 17%
10.            Naboo, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones - 11% 

www.ok.co.uk