COULD THIS BE THE END TO DAILY INSULIN INJECTION FOR PATIENTS WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES?

Millions of people with Type 1 diabetes may be freed from injecting themselves with insulin every day after a breakthrough discovery.

Scientists have found that injecting billions of immune cells into the body restores the production of the hormone, which breaks down sugar in the blood.

Experts said the treatment, which laster for a year, could be a 'game-changer' for people with diabetes mellitus.

Diabetes is a life-long health condition where there is too much glucose in the blood because the body cannot use it properly.

Insulin is the hormone secreted by cells in the pancreas which breaks down sugar in the blood.

Healthy people have millions of 'T-reg' cells which stop the body's immune system attacking these insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.

However, people with Type 1 diabetes do not have enough T-re cells to protect the pancreas, and so it is attacked and stops making enough insulin.

Everyone diagnosed with Type 1 is treated with insulin and the majority inject themselves with insulin multiple times daily.

Now, Californian researchers have found that T-reg cells can be removed from the body and increased by 1,500 times in a laboratory, the Telegraph reports.

Then, they can be put back into the bloodstream and will function normally to protect the insulin-producing cells.

A trial of 14 people found the treatment is safe - and lasts up to 12 months.

The people in the study were aged between 18 and 43 and had recently been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

Doctors removed around two cups of blood containing two to four million T-reg cells.

These were separated from other cells and allowed to replicate in a laboratory, before being infused back into the blood.

A quarter were found to be there after 12 months, and they were able to protect the pancreas so it could continue to produce insulin.

The therapy could stop the need for regular insulin injections. It could also stop the disease from progressing, leading to organ damage, blindness, limp amputations and other complications from diabetes.

MEN ARE MORE LIKELY TO DIE FROM DIABETES

The likelihood of men dying from diabetes is more than in women because men act as tough guys to follow strict treatment plans, researchers have declared.

Women given specific recommendations about diet and exercise were 30 per cent less likely to die from diabetes-related causes than those given routine care, Danish scientists found.

But the same strict advice given to men had no impact on their mortality.

Dr Marlene Krag, from the University of Copenhagen, said structure personal diabetes care could provide women with significant attention and support - thereby helping them to stick to treatment plans.

She said: 'Women accept disease and implement disease management more easily, which might affect long-term outcomes.'

In a trial done, of those patients receiving structured treatment, there was a difference at the end of the trial - women had lower blood glucose levels.

In the latest study, the authors followed the participants of the original study for 13 years until 2008.

Of the 970 patients from the original 1,381 who survived, 478 women and 492 men were re-examined.

The results showed women given personal care plans were 26 per cent less likely to die of any cause and 30 per cent less likely to die of a diabetes-related cause than women given routine care.

They were also 41 per cent less likely to suffer a stroke, and 35 per cent less like to experience any diabetes-related end-point such as amputation or blindness.

However none of these differences were seen between the men who received personal care or routine car, but the differences between the sexes were only statistically significant for all-cause mortality and diabetes-related death.

The authors concluded: "We propose that the improved outcomes in women may be explained by complex social and cultural issues of gender.'

They added there was now a need to re-think the way care was provided to men and women, 'so that both sexes benefit from intensified treatment efforts'.

WOMAN FOUND $1.4 TRILLION IN HER BANK ACCOUNT

Imagine opening your account and finding a balance for $1.4 trillion. Angela Kwong knew the bank had made an error on her account, or at least she hoped they would see it that way.

The woman from Oahu, Hawaii, said it was lucky she checked  her bank account when she did, or else she would have been dealing with an outstanding balance that would keep several countries going for a bit.

Angela said she was shocked when she logged into her bank account statement Tuesday morning only to find an outstanding balance of $710 billion - twice.

Local news station KHON2 say she immediately got in touch with he bank.

"I was shocked, and I couldn't believe it. The first time I saw it, I had to go to my bathroom and get my glasses on to make sure it wasn't just because of my bad eyes."

The news station said the bank initially told her their hands were tied.
Angela said:

"I called the customer service line and they said their system was down and my number was down and surprisingly, they said they couldn't take the number down and was unable to return my phone call. They said there was nothing they could do."

"It's kind of funny when you look at it, but it's also kind of scary, because if the number was a little bit more normal, then I may have sort of overlooked it.

"I'll definitely keep my eye on my phone and my computer and my bank statements."

Kwong's case was due to a technical glitch that the bank finally managed to sort out, but would not say where the demand came from.

It said:

"First Hawaiian Bank's online banking platform experienced a glitch where customers viewing their accounts online were temporarily shown an incorrect balance. Within minutes of discovering the glitch, we were able to resolve the issue.

"No actual customer Information of balances were affected or compromised, the glitch was limited to the view shown in the online banking environment. We want to sincerely apologize to our customers for any inconvenience this may have caused and we are glad that this was resolved very quickly"

TEN PEOPLE KILLED IN HELICOPTER CRASH IN SIBERIA

Ten people on board a Mi-8 helicopter, including employees of Russia's state oil company Rosneft, died when the aircraft crashed in the Krasnoyarsk region in Siberia on Thursday.

There were 25 people on board. It was earlier said that 15 out of 26 people on board died.

The civilian helicopter was carrying workers to an oil production site at Vankor, an oil field belonging to Rosneft.

According to a Rosneft statement, there were three crew members and 22 passengers on board. It said that 10 people, including three crew members died.

"The cause of the incident is being investigated," Rosneft said in the statement.


Source: Kyivpost

DYNAMO KIEV PUNISHED FOR THEIR RACIST FANS ATTACKING BLACK FANS

UEFA has ordered Dynamo Kiev to play their next three European home games in an empty stadium as punishment for offences including racist behaviour by fans during the Champions League match against Chelsea last month.

Football's European anti-discrimination body Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE) passed footage to UEFA of an apparent attack on four black fans at the match in Ukraine on October 20 which ended 0-0. Charges were brought against Dynamo for racist behaviour, crowd disturbances and blocked stairways.

The club has also been fined 100,000 Euros, and the order of closed doors for the third match  will be suspended for three years and only applied if further offences are committed.

A UEFA statement read: "Dynamo Kiev has been ordered to play their next three UEFA competition matches as host club behind closed doors. The third match is suspended for a probationary period of three years.'

FARE's executive director, Piara Powar, said last month: 'Usually we do not go public with these sort of reports - but we thought the footage was so serious that it should be shared with the media.'

THOSE PAINFUL SORES YOU GET IN YOUR MOUTH

Ulcers are usually the sign of physical injury - bashing your gums with your toothbrush, say, or ill-fitting dentures. While they can make it painful to eat, drink or talk normally, they usually clear up on their own within days.

But some of us suffers from recurrent bouts of mouth ulcers which often have no obvious cause.

Persistent ulcers can be a sign that somewhere in your body something is not functioning as well as it should.

Conditions such as Crohn's disease, Iron deficiency anaemia and vitamin B12 deficiency anaemia can all cause lingering ulcers that won't easily heal.

The key is not what each ulcer looks like, but how long it takes to heal. Any ulcer that stays unhealed longer than three weeks need referral for investigations, as there could be an underlying medical problem.

Some things that could cause mouth ulcers are:

1. Sensitivity to chocolates and coffees.
2. Stress or Menstruation .
3. Hard toothbrush.
4. Gastrointestinal diseases.
5. Pain-reliever (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs).
6. Oral Cancer.
7. Quiting smoking.

So how do we treat them?

1. Avoid hard and acidic foods (chips and citrus fruits and vinegar)

2. Use a gel before bed (over the counter gels such as Bonjela or gel containing anaesthetics such as Lidocane

3. Take a steroid (topical corticosteroids such as hydrocortisone buccal tablets)

DRUNK DOCTOR AT WORK

Kiev, Ukraine. An Emergency doctor came on call to a street named Marina Tsvitayevoyi to treat a 3-year-old child with high fever. The press service of the National Police of Ukraine said - When the doctor started to examine the child, the father noticed that the doctor was extremely drunk, and called the police. "The doctor told the patrol that he didn't consume any alcohol, but only took some sedatives. Police called the emergency services to find out who is responsible, they switched from one controller to another and eventually, one of them called representatives of the Department of Health"

The patrol police conducted a test for alcohol intoxication, which showed that the alcohol level in his blood was very high. After this, the police drew up a protocol for drinking alcohol at work.

According to the Patrol police, the doctor tried to negotiate with them, but was warned about criminal liability for giving bribe. "Meanwhile, another ambulance crew came to the concerned father and gave the child the necessary assistance." - said the police.

OVERUSE OF ANTIBIOTICS CAUSING A BIG THREAT TO OUR SURVIVAL!!!

Superbugs are threatening to unleash a global epidemic of untreatable infections after breaching the last line of antibiotic defences, scientists announced last night.

Polymyxins - a group of drugs classed as critical to human medicine - were until now the only group of antibiotics that worked when all others had failed.

But experts have identified the first germs to become resistant to the drugs. They warned of the inevitable spread of uncontrollable superbugs that attack the blood and lungs.

The discovery was made by Chinese doctors working with UK experts from Bristol and Cardiff Universities.

Bacteria resistance to antibiotics is fast increasing in the world today and this is going to be a big problem if infected people can't be treated again because of the resistance.

And the more the antibiotics we use, the easier it is for bacteria to evolve to become resistant to them. So it will be wise if we don't just pop antibiotic pills anytime we think we need it.

There are absolute indications for taking antibiotics and we should consult our Doctors before taking them.

BEING BILINGUAL BEATS STROKES!!!

New research have shown that stroke patients are more likely to regain their cognitive functions if they speak more than one language.

A study of more than 600 stroke patients found 40.5% of those who are multilingual had normal mental functions afterwards, compared to 19.6% of patients who only speak one language.

The study was carried out by a team from the University of Edinburgh together withe Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad - with the Indian city chosen as the location for the study because its multi-cultural nature means many languages are commonly spoken.

Researchers took into account other factor such as smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes and age to ensure results could not be attributed to having a healthier lifestyle.
The study published in the American Heart Association journal Stroke, found 'results support the notion of a protective role of bilingualism in the development of post-stroke cognitive impairment'.

It is the first time a study has been done looking at the relation ship between the number of languages spoken and a patients' cognitive outcome after stroke.

'The percentage of patients with intact cognitive functions post-stroke was more than twice as high in bilinguals than in monolinguals,' the paper said.

'In contrast, patients with cognitive impairment were more common in monolinguals.'

Researchers believe the study, which has funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research, suggests the mental challenge of speaking multiple languages can boot cognitive reserve - an improved ability of the brain to cope with damaging influences such as stroke or dementia.

Source: dailymail

WHY THE INSIDE OF APPLES TURN BROWN WHEN EXPOSED TO AIR

The insides of apples turn brown exposed to air because of the built in defense mechanism against bacteria and fungus. The trigger for this is damage to the cells, such as when you cut the apple, which then results in certain enzymes within the cells being exposed to oxygen. When this happens, the enzymes react to the oxygen creating an oxidized layer that provides some protection against foreign bodies.

Technically, an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase (tyrosinase), which is composed to monophenol oxidase and catechol oxidase enzymes, when exposed to oxygen will result in phenolic compounds in the apple turning into ortho-quinones or "o-quinones." O-quinones are what is providing the protection from bacteria and fungi as they form a natural antiseptic. The o-quinones themselves have no colour, but they further react with amino acids and oxygen to produce melanin, which is how we get the brown colour on a cut apple.

Placing the apple in the refrigerator if you want to keep a cut apple from going brown quickly. This will drastically slow the chemical reactions and thus reduce the oxidation process. You can also, of course, limit the apple's exposure to air by sealing it in an airtight bag.

If you don't mind lemon flavour, spray the exposed part in lemon or pineapple juice. This will stop the poltphenol oxidase from reacting to oxygen due to acidity of the juices which denature the browning enzymes.

LEXUS EXPLODES IN KIEV

In Kiev, Ukraine. A Lexus car exploded while driving. The car exploded as soon as the driver pressed the brake pedal. It happened this morning in the capital Kiev. The incident happen at about 8:30 local time - reported in a statement by the Main Directorate of the National Police of Ukraine in Kiev.

In other news, also in Kiev, there was a head-on collision between two cars but the driver survived with a fractured leg. The Metropolitan Police confirmed the incident, but the details are still withheld. According to the injured 35-year-old resident of Kiev. Police are investigating charges of premeditated murder.

MOTHER OF FOUR TURNS TO ROBBERY TO SURVIVE

In Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. A woman who robbed drunken men at ATMs was arrested. It was reported by the Polices' Department of Communication in Dnepropetrovsk region that "the  woman monitored drunken men when they try to withdraw money from the ATM, Once they entered their PIN, the woman pushed them while the card is still inside the machine and takes all their money".

According to the police, the robber repeatedly took advantage of this method of raising money. Also noted that the victims did not report to the right authorities.

But on November 11 at 19:00, the woman again returned to do the same thing she has been doing, after she shoved the drunken man away and withdrew around $80 from the man account, only this time she failed because numerous witnesses were able to stop the woman and detained till the arrival of the police.

As it turns out the woman is a 24-year-old local resident, a mother of four children. All the stolen money she spent on the purchase of drugs. Currently she faces from 4 to 6 years of imprisonment.

WILL SITTING TOO CLOSE TO THE TV DAMAGE YOUR VISION???

Contrary to popular beliefs, sitting too close to a television will not damage your vision.

The myth started back in the 1960s, Specifically in 1967 when General Electric sold some new-fangled color TV  sets that emitted excessive amounts of radiation - as much as 100,000 times more than federal health officials considered safe. GE quickly recalled and repaired the faulty TVs, but the myth continues to this day.

However, mums around the world ever since felt it was bad for their kids to sit too close to the TV, even though that is no longer the case at all. Dr. Lee Duffner of the American Academy of Ophthalmology isn't concerned, maintaining that watching television screens -close up or otherwise- "won't cause any physical damage to your eyes." He added, however, that a lot of TV watching can surely cause eye strain and fatigue, particularly for those sitting very close and/or watching from odd angles. But there is an easy cure for eye strain and fatigue: turning off the TV and getting some rest. With a good night's sleep, tired eyes should quickly return to normal.

Parents should just try to limit the duration of time their children sit in front of the television to avoid straining and fatigue of the eyes.

While it may be inevitable that your kids will watch TV, the key, experts say, is moderation. Limit kids’ exposure to screens of any kind, and monitor what they are allowed to watch. As Kids Health points out, parents should teach their kids that the TV is “for occasional entertainment, not for constant escapism.”

DID YOU KNOW MOST PEOPLE ONLY BREATHE THROUGH ONE NOSTRIL AT A TIME?

Around 80% of human only breath through one nostril at a time, most people don't notice this, they may simply think we use both at the same time or one of them is there to help the other one when it is blocked by a nasty cold.

Your two nostrils shift their workload back and forth in a delicate manner called the NASAL CYCLE. At any moment, most of the air you breath in travels through just one nostril, while a much smaller amount pass through the other. At some point, the nasal cycle reverses course and the workload is shifted to the other nostril.

The duration of time between nostril switching varies, depending on the individual and various other factors, but each cycle usually lasts from 40 minutes to 4 hours or so. That is why you have intervals of easy breathing even when your nose is block by a nasty cold.

It is thought that the nasal cycle could be the reason that whenever we sleep on our side, we will often switch sides throughout the night, even when we are in a comfortable position. It could just be that our body needs to switch which nostril it is breathing out of, so you feel the urge to roll over to your other side while asleep.

WHY YOUR STOMACH GROWL WHEN YOU ARE HUNGRY

Generally speaking stomach growling, or as the Doctors call it today "borborygmi", is the noise created during a series of  muscle contractions in your stomach and small intestine.

The digestive system is one big long tube that begin from your mouth to your butt. Food gets through this long tube via waves of muscle contractions, called peristalsis. These waves of muscle contraction also help to mix and grind foods, liquid, and digestive juices together. The resulting cocktail is called chyme.

The sound you hear when you stomach and intestines make noise is the result of these muscular contractions mixing and moving the chyme down the tube, as well as pushing any resultant air through your system.

The reason your stomach growl more when you are hungry is that, when your stomach and intestines are empty, it triggers a reflexive generation of contraction waves, even though there is nothing in your stomach that needs to move down. These are meant to clear out all of your stomach contents, including the mucus, any remaining food, bacteria, etc. It's your body's way of cleaning and making sure no food or other things accumulates anywhere along your stomach or intestines.

The movement happens almost at all times, but you don't hear it when the stomach is full. So the less content in the stomach the louder the noise is heard.

In order to avoid stomach growling, one just needs to eat.

A wife accidentally broke her husband's penis by rolling off him while they were having sex - so she could do some online shopping on her phone.

The accident happened as the woman, from Chongqing in China's southern Sichuan Province, abruptly moved to turn off a alarm she had set on her phone at midnight.

But in her rush to pick up bargains at the start of China's biggest online shopping event, Singles Day, she fractured her husband's penis prompting him to cry out in pain.

According to Shanghaiist, the pair checked for signs of damage but could not find any evidence he had been injured.

He later underwent an operation and was told that he would suffer 'no permanent damage'.
Singles Day is held every year on November 11, and is considered the biggest online shopping event in the world.

This year, the e-commer firm Alibaba reportedly earned a $1bn in the first eight minutes of the shopping bonanza, which is also referred to as Double Eleven because of its date.

Source: Dailymail.com

WHY WE SAY "O CLOCK"

Before the invention of the clock, people told time a variety of means, depending on where they were and what references were available.

Generally, the Sun was used as a reference point, with solar time time being slightly different than clock time. Clocks divide time evenly, whereas, by solar time, hour lengths vary somewhat based on a variety of factors, like what season it is.

Thus, to differentiate the fact that one was referencing a clock's time, rather than something like a sun time, as early as the fourteenth century one would say something like, "It is seven of the clock,," which later got slurred down to "seven o' clock" sometime around the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries. In those centuries, it was also somewhat common to just omit the "o" altogether and just say something like "seven clock".

While today with people using clock nowadays to tell time, it isn't necessary in most cases to specify we are referencing time from clocks, but the practice of saying "o'clock" has stuck anyway.

Source: Today found out.

WHY ONIONS MAKE YOUR EYES WATER

Onions when growing absorb sulfur from the soil. When you cut an onion you break up their cells, releasing the content of the cell (enzymes). These enzymes then react with the sulfur, creating amino acid sulfoxides. These, then create the highly unstable propanethiol S-oxide, a volatile sulfur compound which in gaseous state move upwards towards your eyes. When it comes in contact with the moisture in your eyes, it forms Sulfuric acid which causes a burning sensation stimulating your eyes (lacrimal gland) to release more tears to wash away the irritant.

Cooking the onion inactivates the enzyme, so while the smell of cooked onions may be strong, it does not burn your eyes. Also you can keep yourself from crying by refrigerating your onion before cutting it (changes the chemistry inside the onion thereby slowing the reactions) or by cutting it under water.

Sources: Today found out
               About

ROBBERY IN CENTER OF KIEV

In the center of Kiev, Ukraine, a driver of an SUV was attacked and shoot at by four men who stole his 300,000 UAH ($13,000) . The Chief Directorate of the National Police of Ukraine in Kiev Alexander Tereshchuk said: "The event occurred near a bank branch. The attackers blocked his car and took his bag of money, about 300,000 UAH". According Tereshchuk, the attackers fired a gun and the victim was wounded. Moreover, it became clear that the attackers fled the crime scene in a Grey Skoda car. Police are trying to find the culprits.

WHY GETTING KICKED IN THE BALL CAUSES ABDOMINAL PAIN

The testes originally form in the abdomen near the stomach and kidneys. The nerves and blood vessels remain attached in that region, even after the balls drop. So when a guy gets kicked in the balls, the pain involved travels up from each testicle into abdominal cavity, via the spermatic plexus, which is the primary nerve of each testicle, and then to the spine.

In addition to the pain in the stomach area, many men also experience nausea. This is thought to be caused by a huge rush of sympathetic nervous system discharge. So the body's tolerance level for that rush determines whether that person will be someone susceptible to actually vomit when kicked in the nuts.

In other words, getting kicked in the balls results in severe pain in testicles, abdomen, nausea and possibly vomiting.

WHY MOSQUITO BITES ITCH

When female mosquitoes insert their proboscis through your skin to suck some of your blood to be later used to make eggs, they inject you with some of their saliva. Their saliva helps them to drink your blood more quickly, because it has anticoagulant effect (for your blood not to clot). Once the female mosquito is full up of your blood or is disturbed by slapping yourself, they fly away, leaving some of their saliva behind. Your body responds by producing antibodies which bind to the antigens in the mosquito's saliva. This then triggers  the release of histamine.

Histamine is a nitrogen compound that, among other things, triggers an inflammatory response. It also help white blood cells and other proteins to engage invaders (antigens) in your body by making the capillaries of these cells more permeable. So, the histamine ends up making the blood vessels near the bite site swell up. This produce a itchy bump where the mosquito bite you.

Scratching the bump only makes this worse because it causes more irritation and inflammation of the sight, resulting in your immune system thinking it needs more antibodies to get rid of the foreign protein. So the more you scratch, the more it swells and the itchier it gets.

*Only female mosquitoes feed on blood, a male mosquitoes feeds on flower nectar or sweet juices.

WHY IT IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO TICKLE YOURSELF

It's very hard to tickle yourself because your brain anticipates things going on around you in order to help speed up response times. More technically, the cerebellum monitors body movements and can also distinguish between expected sensations and unexpected ones, generally resulting in diminishing or completely discarding expected sensations, while paying much more attention to unexpected ones

So your brain is actively anticipating touch sensations. When it is doing this, it is also actively discarding sensation that it deems unimportant, like when you are typing and it significantly dulls the touch sensation in your fingertips so that you don't really notice it unless you consciously think about it. This same type of thing happens when you try to tickle yourself.

So in a nutshell, you can't usually tickle yourself because there is no element of surprise.

WHY MINT TASTE COLD

There is a chemical in mint, menthol, which is deceiving the brain into thinking that the area the menthol is applied to is cold; even though in fact, it's the same as it was before. More specifically, menthol binds with cold-sensitive receptors in your skin; there receptors contain things called "ion channels", in this case TRPM8. The menthol makes these much more sensitive than normal, so they trigger and you feel a cold sensation, even though everything is more or less the same temperature as before.

This extra sensitivity is why when you eat peppermint, which has a relatively high level of menthol, and then you breathe in deeply through your mouth, your mouth feels extra cold. Your cold receptors are reacting much more strongly than they normally would to the air which is cooler than the inside of your mouth.

Menthol is a compound classically obtained from various mint plants, though now is oftern synthetically made due to the extreme high demand for menthol in a variety of products. Menthol is a waxy, crystalline substance that is somewhat clear or white. Interestingly, it is actually solid at room temperature and melts just a few degrees above room temperature.

WHY BLACK CATS ARE CONSIDERED BAD LUCK

The genesis of the superstitions surrounding black cats including why a black cat crossing your path is considered bad luck.

Black Cats were not always the butt of superstitions, feared, or even considered bad luck. In fact, in early Egyptian times, dating back as fas as 3000 BC, cats (including the black ones) were the rock stars of the animal world, held in high esteem; to kill one was considered a capital offence. It wasn't until the middle-ages in Europe that the black cat's rock star status started to decline as they began to be associated with so-called witches. The hysteria of witches practicing black magic had just hit Europe and alley cats were often cared for and fed by the poor lonely old ladies who were later accused of witchery.

Their cat companions, some of which were black ones, were deemed guilty of witchery by association. This belief was taken up a notch when a folklore involving a father and son in Lincolnshire in the 1560's started making rounds. The pair were said to have been traveling one moonless night when a black cat crossed their  path and dove into a crawl space. Because of the folklore, they threw rocks at the black cat until the weak injured creature ran out into a woman's house, who at the time was suspected of being a witch. The next day, the father and son came across the same woman and noticed she was limping and bruised and believed that to be more than just a coincidence. From that day on in Lincolnshire, it was thought that witches could turn into black cats at night.

The belief of witches transforming themselves into black cats in order to prowl streets unobserved became a central belief in America during the Salem with hunts. Even today the association of black cats and witches holds strong during Halloween celebrations, despite the holiday's religious beginnings. Thus, an animal once looked on with recognition became a symbol of evil omens in some parts of the World.

However, in some cultures, the black cat is still respected and a symbol of good luck even today. The Scottish believe that a strange black cat's arrival to the home signifies prosperity, while Pirates of the 19th century believed if a black cat walks towards you, it's a sign of bad luck, but it's good luck if it walks away from you. In the English Midlands, a black cat as a wedding present is thought to bring good luck to the bride.

WHY DO CRABS, LOBSTERS, CRAYFISH, SHRIMP TURN RED WHEN COOKED?

Most of the time, the exoskeleton of most crustaceans has a blue-green to graying colour and sometimes they appear a brown or olive green, with just a hint of red; with a few exceptions like the blue and yellow lobsters and crabs. The exoskeletons of such creatures are made up of several pigments, one of which is a carotenoid called astaxanthin, which provides its reddish colouring (astaxanthin is the same carotene that gives salmon its color).

At normal temperatures and when alive (when they are not yet dumped in boiling water or grilled), the astaxanthin pigments are hidden because they are covered with other protein chains that give their shells the bluish-gray or brownish-green colour we see.

Exposure to heat destroys this protein coating, while the carotenoid pigment, astaxanthin still remains stable. So when you cook a crab or lobster or its other tasty crustacean friends and family for your scrumptious meal, the heat breaks down all the other pigments except for astaxanthin; thus, causing the bright red colour we see in cooked lobsters, crabs, and crayfish or the reddish-orange colour of cooked shrimp.

All lobsters eventually turns red when cooked except of the albino crab and lobster. For the obvious reason that they don't have pigments so therefore, they remain the same colour even when cook.

Source: Today found out.

WHY CRACKERS HAVE HOLES

Surprisingly, it turns out the holes are there for a reason, it is not just for decoration or for convenience in some manufacturing process, as you might expect. In fact, without these holes, crackers wouldn't bake correctly. The holes allow steam to escape during baking. This keeps the crackers flat, instead of rising a bit like normal biscuit as the steam tries to escape; these holes also help to proper crisp the crackers.

When crackers are made, dough is rolled flat in sheets. These sheets then travel under a mechanism containing "docker" pins that end up putting the holes in the dough. The hole's positioning and number varies depending on the size and shape of the cracker. If the holes are too close together, the cracker will end up being extra dry and hard, due to too much steam escaping. If the holes end up being too far apart, parts of the cracker will rise a bit forming little bubbles on the surface of the cracker, which is undesirable in most types of crackers.

Source: Today found out.

Viagra Overdose!!!

A 74 year old man almost had an attack after he too 2 tablets of Viagra. He took the pills because he wanted to impress a woman almost 50 years younger than he is.

Retired hairdresser Ray Boddington, 74, had picked up the pills from a friend in his local pub after scoring with the 27-year-old woman, but as he left her apartment after a night of getting it on with the younger woman, He took ill at a bus stop with major heart palpitations and an ambulance had to be called.

As he lay in the back of the ambulance a paramedic treating the father of six told him 'its coming down" and then added "I'm talking about your blood pressure'.

Test showed Ray had a high blood pressure reading of 157/88 - a normal reading shouldn't be above 140/90. His heart rate was 102 beats per minute - above the normal 60-100 beats.

The pensioner, from Salford, Greater Manchester - was allowed to stay in the vehicle until his heart rate went back to normal. He did not require any hospital treatment over the incident on October 25.

Ray said: "The paramedics told me you shouldn't take two and I want to pass on that warning that it can make you ill, it can make your blood pressure go sky high or you could have a heart attack. It was only two hours after taking the tablets when I began to feel faint. I could hear my heart pounding in my chest and the blood rushing from my head. I thought I was having a heart attack and I was going to die"

"Imaging if someone dies because no one has spoken about the dangers. People shy away from the subject. It took around 24 hours for things to go back to normal."

EVER WONDERED WHAT THOSE SMELLY YELLOWISH CHUNK THAT SOMETIMES COMES OUT OF YOUR THROAT ARE???

Well, the bad smelling, small yellowish chunks that comes into your mouth or you feel at the back of your throat are called Tonsilloliths or Tonsil Stones.

Tonsilloliths are stinky globs of calcified mucus, dead cells, debris and bacteria that form in the tonsil crypts (small pockets or divots that is in everybody's tonsils). They are composed of calcium, but may contain other minerals such as phosphorus and magnesium, as well as ammonia and carbonate.

Tonsilloliths are one of the causes of Halitosis (bad breath). They usually apear as tiny little chunks in the shape of cauliflower and smell very bad. True tonsillar stones are rare, small areas of calcification or concretions are relatively common.

Tonsil stones sizes can range from a small peppercorn to a larger size causing throat discomfort and in some cases uncomfortable side effects including sore throat, ear pain or tonsillitis. It has been recorded weighing from 0.3g to 42g.

They are common in both adult and children. However, they often occur mostly in people who suffer from chronic inflammation of their tonsils or recurrent tonsillitis. Studies have shown that people who have had their tonsils removed, under most circumstances, almost never experience tonsil stones (well because they don't have tonsils).

Often no treatment is needed, as few stones
produce symptoms. Some people are able to remove tonsil stones using the tip of the tongue. Oral irrigators are also simple yet effective and will thoroughly clean the tonsil crypts.

More simply still, gargling with warm, salty water may help alleviate the discomfort of tonsillitis, which often accompanies tonsil stones. Vigorous gargling each morning can also keep the tonsil crypts clear of all but the most persistent tonsilloliths.

Also Curretages, Laser and Tonsillectomy (removal of tonsils) can also be done. But, tonsillectomy is not the best option because with tonsillectomy, you stand a chance of developing recurrent mouth infection as the Tonsils are part of the the immune system and function like nets and trap incoming bacterias and viruses passing through your throat.

German woman spontaneously combusted while sitting on park bench

A woman is fighting for her life in a German hospital after appearing to spontaneously combust while sitting on a park bench. Flames sprouted from her as a horrified passerby rushed to her and used his jacket to beat out the fire. But she was severely burned over most of her body.

The incident occurred in Flensburg, in the north of Germany, on Monday evening. The victim is in her  40's and comes from Mauritius.

Eye witnesses told local media that the woman didn't make a sound as the flames engulfed her.

Spontaneous human combustion (SHC) is the term used when a human body goes up in flames without an apparent external source of ignition.

Forensic investigations have attempted to analyze reported instances of SHC and have resulted in theories regarding potential causes.

These include victim behaviour and habits, alcohol consumption and proximity to potential sources of ignition, as well as the behaviour of fires that consume melted fats.

In the flensburg case prosecutor Stahlmann-Liebelt said investigators had not yet ruled out wheter the woman had actually set alight to herself in a suicide attempt.

Eye witnesses told local media that the woman didn't make a sound as the flames engulfed her.

Spontaneous human combustion (SHC) is the term used when a human body goes up in flames without an apparent external source of ignition.

Enough is Enough!!!

This is what happens when they get tired of killing them and feeding on them for a long time.

Attacks on black fans show tide of fan racism in Ukraine

Instead of being one of the biggest sports events of the year in troubled Ukraine, Dynamo Kiev's game against Chelsea in the Champions League turned into a public display of the country's struggle to contain violent racists.

Echoing past decades of European football violence, at least eight people were brutally beaten at the game, including a 21-year-old African student.

While clashes between rival fans are comparatively common at Ukrainian League games, racist attacks on such a large scale are rare.

"Around the 25th minute, I started to take photographs on my phone, when I picked up the phone to look at the photographs I'd taken, I was hit. I fell down some stairs and felt almost as if I had lost consciousness."

The Congolese student, spent almost a week in hospital with a head injuries to his nos which required surgery, and due to fear cannot face to go to the stadium again.

"For me If I go to a game another time, it would be as if I didn't get the hint," he says.

UEFA sent its security chief Mark Timmer to Kiev on Monday, where he criticized Ukrainian officials over the attitude of security personnel at the game and the federation's outdated safety procedures, according to an account of the meeting posted by the Ukrainian Football Federation, whose executive director Volodymyr Heninson said the case was Ukrainian football's "last yellow card" before serious sanctions.

It is far from Ukraine's first case of football racism. In March, UEFA punished Dynamo with a fine and partial stadium closure over racist fan attitute in a game against Everton, while FIFA punished the Ukrainian national team in 2013 over racist chanting at a World Cup Qualifier against San Marino.

Over the course of approximately 15 minutes in the first half of Dynamo Kiev's Champions League game against Chelsea on October 20, hooligans launched a wave of attacks in one corner of the Olympic Stadium.

Most of the victims were black, while three were white, some attacked after trying to protect black victims. There is no evidence that the victims had been supporting Chelsea.

Their attackers hunted in packs, sending some members around to cut off their victims' escape route, says Mykhaylo Smolovoy, a Ukrainian fan who witnessed the attacks.

Anti-discrimination group Fare, which sends observers to monitor racism at major European games, captured video of four black men being chased through the crowd. They try to escape but some are caught and beaten, as are white men who try to assist them. Stadium security did not intervene.

Such videos have become evidence in an investigation by UEFA, which could force Dynamo to play future home games in an empty stadium or deduct points from the team.

The club has been charged with fan racism and crowd disturbances, offenses which typically lead to a UEFA judgment within days, but in a rare step, UEFA appointed an inspector for a detailed investigation.

Kiev police are carrying out a criminal inquiry into the stadium attacks under the criminal offense of hooliganism, which carries a penalty of up to four years in prison.

Tension rises in German village as influx of migrants increases

As 100 migrants arrive in a small German village, Sumte and more are still expected to come, Tension rises as local villagers of which are only 102 in population and a Neo-Nazi official who happens to be the councillor has warned crime will increase and the continued influx of migrants will increase 700 per cent in the next coming days.

      'There will be crime in this village, just like there was in the town nearby after they opened a         refugee centre.

      'There are three million people without jobs in Germany and 300,000 homeless but the government is only interested in helping these people. And most of them are not even refugees.

      'The others - from the Balkans, Africa and Asia - are just exploiting the situation in Syria to come to Germany. '