How long are your fingers ?????

LONDON (Reuters) - The length of a girl's ring finger could be an indicator of her future sporting potential, researchers at King's College London said on Thursday.

In the largest study of its kind, hand measurements of 607 female twins aged 25-79 from the UK were compared with the women's lifetime sporting achievements.
The findings, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found that women with ring fingers longer than their index fingers had performed better at running and associated running sports such as soccer and tennis.
In women the ring finger is commonly shorter or the same length as the index finger, while in men the ring finger is generally longer.
The report said detection of sporting potential by examining the ratio between the index and ring fingers "could help identify talented individuals at a pre-competitive stage."
The reasons for the findings were unclear, said one of the report's authors, Professor Tim Spector from the Twins Research Unit at King's College, who said he was originally sceptical about the link to sporting ability.
"Previous studies have suggested the change in finger length was due to changes in testosterone levels in the womb", he said.
But he said the unit had found in a separate study of twins that finger length was largely inherited, possibly explaining why sporting parents often have sporting children.
"We found that finger length was 70 percent heritable with little influence of the womb environment," he said.
"This suggests that genes are the main factor and that finger length is a marker of your genes."
He said no specific candidate genes had been identified for the link and that multiple genes were probably responsible.
Previous studies looking at the link between finger length and sporting ability have mainly focussed on men.
A study published in 2001 of 304 English professional soccer players found they had a significantly larger ring-to-index-finger ratio than a control group of 533 other men.
Other studies in men have shown the ratio of the ring finger to the index finger can be associated with varied traits such as sexuality, musical ability and vulnerability to certain diseases.

Born Ohne Fingerprints

Two rare and related diseases leave their sufferers with no fingerprints. Now scientists may have cracked the genetic code behind the inherited ailments.
Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa and Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia report that defects in the protein keratin 14 may be responsible for both diseases, known as Naegeli syndrome and dermatopathia pigmentosa reticularis (DPR).
The lack of fingerprints can cause vexing social problems, which are magnified because few people have heard of the condition.
Cheryl Maynard of Fairfax, Virginia, is part of the fifth generation of her family to have inherited DPR from her mother's side.
"My father was in the military and he had top-secret clearances," she recalled.
"We moved a lot, and everywhere we went they'd say, What do you mean your wife doesn't have fingerprints? What do you mean that you have kids without fingerprints?"
Maynard has personally experienced many fingerprint-related snafus, often related to employment.
She works as a flight attendant and noted that a standard background check by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which took about 2 weeks for most of her peers, took 14 weeks in her case.
"I applied for work at a jail facility, and they were naturally fingerprinting people who were going to be employees," she said.
"I kept hearing, Of course you have fingerprints. And five or six different technicians were telling one another, You're doing this wrong, let me do this. I have to tell them I was born without them."
"Things like that are a problem," Maynard said. "It has delayed me [from] getting jobs."
For the handful of people without fingerprints the physical impacts are few.
Maynard has normal feeling in her fingers, though the lack of fingerprints deprives her of some grip, which makes dealing cards or turning pages more difficult.
But the lack of fingerprints is not the diseases' only, or even most serious, impact.
Patients also experience thickening of their palms and soles of their feet. They suffer from anomalies in the development of their teeth, hair, and skin, where pigmentation can appear patchy and uneven.
Most dangerously, they have skin issues that can inhibit their ability to sweat normally.
"That's the only really serious manifestation as far as potential harm," said professor Eli Sprecher of the Technion-Israel Institute. Sprecher is co-author of the study that discusses the conditions in the October issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics.
"Because they cannot evacuate heat, they can develop heat stroke."
Maynard added that this problem has always made sports a trial.
"I swam competitively as a kid, but some parents would always ask why I was sitting on the side of the pool. My mom would have to tell them, Even though the water is cold, she's overheated from swimming."
As an adult Maynard is careful to stay hydrated, keep ice packs handy, and use air conditioning for most of the year.
Link to "Suicidal Cells," Cancer?
Unfortunately for those who suffer such ailments, a cure is not at hand.
But the protein culprit, first identified by Technion graduate student Jennie Lugassy, could be the clue to cracking more common and dangerous diseases.
According to Gabriele Richard, study co-author and geneticist at Thomas Jefferson University, "Apparently keratin 14 is very important for developing skin in the fetus and creating the fingerprints."
Researchers are also pondering the protein's connection with programmed cell death—information that could someday help with many skin disorders.
Programmed cell death, a form of cellular suicide, is the way that cells typically expire when the useful phase of their existence is complete. The process is often disabled in cancer cells, allowing them to live and proliferate.
"It looks as if the disease is associated with the inability of the cell to produce normal levels of keratin 14," said Sprecher.
"It would be interesting to determine if keratin 14 has a role in cell death."

Brian Handwerk
for National Geographic News
September 22, 2006

EURO ENGLISH

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby
English will be the official language of the European Union rather
than German, which was the other possibility. As part of the
negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling
had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5-year phase-in
plan
that would become known as "Euro-English" .

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this
will
make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped
in
favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan
have
one less letter.

There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the
troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words
like
fotograf 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be
expekted
to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible.
Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have
always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the
horibl mes of the silent "e" in the language is disgrasful and it
should go away.

By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as
replasing "th"
with "z" and "w" with "v".

During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords
kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensibl
riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil
find
it ezi tu
understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.

Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted
in
ze forst plas.

PS: Just for fun stuff

cAffEine

Caffeine is a xanthine alkaloid compound that acts as a stimulant in humans. Caffeine is sometimes called guaranine when found in guarana, mateine when found in mate, and theine when found in tea. It is found in the leaves and beans of the coffee plant, in tea, yerba mate, guarana berries, and in small quantities in cocoa, the kola nut and the Yaupon Holly. Overall, caffeine is found in the beans, leaves, and fruit of over 60 plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding upon them. Its name is derived from the Italian caffè ("coffee") plus the alkaloid suffix -ine.

Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant, having the effect of warding off drowsiness and restoring alertness. Beverages containing caffeine, such as coffee, tea, soft drinks and energy drinks, enjoy popularity great enough to make caffeine the world's most widely consumed psychoactive substance. In North America, 90% of adults consume caffeine daily.

Caffeine is a plant alkaloid, found in numerous plant species, where it acts as a natural pesticide that paralyzes and kills certain insects feeding upon them. The most commonly used caffeine-containing plants are coffee, tea, and to some extent cocoa. Other, less commonly used, sources of caffeine include the yerba mate and guarana plants, which are sometimes used in the preparation of teas and energy drinks. Two of caffeine's alternative names, mateine and guaranine, are derived from the names of these plants.
The world's primary source of caffeine is the coffee bean (the seed of the coffee plant), from which coffee is brewed. Caffeine content in coffee varies widely depending on the type of coffee bean and the method of preparation used; even beans within a given bush can show variations in concentration. In general one serving of coffee ranges from about 40 milligrams for a single shot (30 milliliters) of arabica-variety espresse to about 100 milligrams for strong drip coffee. Generally, dark-roast coffee has less caffeine than lighter roasts because the roasting process reduces the bean's caffeine content. Arabica coffee normally contains less caffeine than the robusta variety. Coffee also contains trace amounts of theophylline, but no theobromine.

Tea is another common source of caffeine. Tea usually contains about half as much caffeine per serving as coffee, depending on the strength of the brew. Certain types of tea, such as black and oolong, contain somewhat more caffeine than most other teas. Tea contains small amounts of theobromine and slightly higher levels of theophylline than coffee. Preparation has a significant impact on tea, and color is a very poor indicator of caffeine content. Teas like the green Japanese gyokuro, for example, contain far more caffeine than much darker teas like lapsang souchong, which has very little.

Caffeine is a central nervous system and metabolic stimulant, and is used both recreationally and medically to reduce physical fatigue and restore mental alertness when unusual weakness or drowsiness occurs. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system first at the higher levels, resulting in increased alertness and wakefulness, faster and clearer flow of thought, increased focus, and better general body coordination, and later at the spinal cord level at higher doses. The precise amount of caffeine necessary to produce effects varies from person to person depending on body size and degree of tolerance to caffeine. It takes less than an hour for caffeine to begin affecting the body and a mild dose wears off in three to four hours. Consumption of caffeine does not eliminate the need for sleep: it only temporarily reduces the sensation of being tired.

Interesting to read

A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age.

The ultimate inspiration is the deadline.

There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there.

A man explained inflation to his wife thus:
'When we married, you measured 36-24-36. Now you're 42-42-42. There's more of you, but you are not worth as much.'

A guy at work went in for a competition and won a trip to China. He's out there now...trying to win a trip back!

Have you noticed that all the people in favour of birth control are already born?

The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's
There to appreciate it.

We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain
The success of those we don't like?

It matters not whether you win or lose; what
Matters is whether I win or lose.

Help a man when he is in trouble and he will
Remember you when he is
In trouble again.

Complex problems have simple, easy to understand
Wrong answers.

Forgive your enemies but remember their names.

The number of people watching you is directly
Proportional to the stupidity of your action.

Urlaub to moon

(1) The heavy-lift Ares 5 rocket blasts off from Earth carrying a lunar lander and a "departure stage"
(2) Several days later, astronauts launch on an Ares 1 rocket inside their Orion vehicle (CEV)
(3) The Orion docks with the lander and departure stage in Earth orbit and then heads to the Moon
(4) Having done its job of boosting the Orion and lunar lander on their way, the departure stage is jettisoned
(5) At the Moon, the astronauts leave the Orion and enter the lander for the trip to the lunar surface
(6) After exploring the lunar landscape for seven days, the crew blasts off in a portion of the lander
(7) In Moon orbit, they re-join the waiting robot-minded Orion and begin the journey back to Earth
(8) On the way, the service component of the Orion is jettisoned. This leaves just the crew capsule to enter the atmosphere
(9) A heatshield protects the capsule; parachutes bring it down on dry land, probably in California