The Use Of Fish Oil:- Not As You Think

Most of these were large well-designed clinical trials, which are few and far between in the world of dietary supplements.

• Heart disease: In a Dutch study of people who had already had a heart attack, omega-3 fish oil supplements did not reduce the risk of cardiovascular events over a 40-month period. This conflicts with some prior studies that did find a protective effect, and with advice from the American Heart Association that heart attack patients should take omega-3s. But unlike the older research, this New England Journal of Medicine study included mainly people on "state-of-the-art" medication, such as statins and blood pressure drugs, which could help explain the lack of effect of the supplements.

• Atrial fibrillation: In a study of people with this heart rhythm abnormality, high-dose omega-3 fish oil supplements did not reduce the risk of recurrence over a six-month period. It has been theorized that one way omega-3s from fish or supplements may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease is by preventing heart rhythm problems, and some previous studies have suggested this. This study, in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), was the largest clinical trial to test this theory.

• Pregnancy: Though pregnant women are often advised to take omega-3 supplements (DHA, in particular, the main omega-3 fat in the brain) to boost their children's mental development and prevent postpartum depression, DHA capsules have neither effect, according to a large Australian clinical trial in JAMA.

• Alzheimer's disease: Omega-3 fish oil supplements do not help slow the progression of the disease, according to a study (also in JAMA) of Alzheimer's patients in Oregon, who took either DHA or a placebo for 18 months. Some previous observational studies suggested that high intakes of DHA can help prevent or slow dementia, including Alzheimer's.

• Cognitive decline: In contrast, another placebo-controlled study, in Alzheimer's & Dementia, found that DHA supple­ments, taken for 24 weeks, helped improve memory and brain function in people over 55 with mild cognitive impairment. This suggests that, to help the brain, the supplements need to be started early, before mental decline progresses too much.

• Gum disease: A Harvard study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that people who consumed moderate amounts of fish oil omega-3s had a lower risk of developing periodontitis, an inflammatory disease that causes gum recession and tooth loss. Omega-3s have anti-inflammatory effects.

Source...
http://www.berkeleywellnessalerts.com

Man Killed By Train, Sued After His Flying Body Parts Injured Woman

Dead men tell no tales -- but they can be sued.

A state appeals court ruled that a dead man can be held responsible for the injuries his body parts caused after he was struck by a train.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the court found it was "reasonably foreseeable" that the Amtrak train would kill 18-year-old Hiroyuki Joho, sending his body parts flying.

In 2008, Joho was killed while running to catch a train in the pouring rain, the Tribune reports. His estate is being sued by Gayane Zokhrabov, whose leg and wrist were broken after the collision.

Zokhrabov's lawyer, Leslie Rosen, argued that the case should be treated like a regular negligence case, "no different than if a train passenger had been injured after the engineer hit the brakes," according to the Tribune.

Gawker writes that the ruling should serve as a warning to people who are killed in train crashes.

"If you die in a horrific train accident, be sure to aim your severed body away from any bystanders," writes Adrian Chen.

Complex blogger Tanya Ghahremani writes that the court's ruling offers proof that "not even death can prevent the system from biting you in the ass."

Joho isn't the only dead person to be sued for causing injury. In 2010 the New York Post reported that a cop involved in the fatal shooting of Sean Bell filed a lawsuit against his estate claiming that Bell injured him with his car.

Source...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com

Horror! David Dean Smith, Allegedly Spread HIV To Over 3000 Victims of both Sexes

A health alert warning residents of northern Michigan's Kent County that "possibly hundreds of people have been exposed to HIV" was issued Tuesday after the arrest of David Dean Smith, a 51-year-old HIV-positive man who told police he was on a mission to infect as many people as possible.

Smith allegedly told Grand Rapids police last week that over the past three years, he had engaged in unprotected sex with as many partners as he could -- a number he estimated to be in the "thousands" -- in an effort to infect them with HIV and kill them.

Police arrested Smith Friday on sexual offence charges and he is currently in Kent County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bond with preliminary hearings scheduled for Jan. 4 and Jan. 9. When asked to comment on the case, Smith's attorney Richard E. Zambon told MSBNC that he is "concerned about his mental health" and is planning on "exploring all options" for defending Smith.

According to documents filed with Grand Rapids 61st District Court, Smith targeted Michigan residents as well as those living many states away, whom he contacted via Yahoo! Personals.

That was the method Smith used to contact one of the two victims that have already come forward. This woman agreed to be interviewed by Grand Rapids news station WOOD-TV on the condition of anonymity, telling reporters that she contracted HIV in 2008 and knew immediately that Smith was the person who had infected her.

Right before his arrest, she said, he allegedly sent her a text message that read "Turning myself into the law, my life is over. Take care. Always love you."

It's unclear why Smith chose to alert authorities of his behavior at this time, but court documents suggest he has a history of mental illness which includes a recent admission to Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services for threatening suicide. According to Michigan Live, hospital records say that Smith is "sexually aroused by causing pain to females."

How many people Smith directly infected over the past three years is difficult to determine, but the victim who spoke to WOOD-TV said Smith claimed to have had sex with as many as 3,000 people of both genders.

The Kent County Health Department is encouraging anyone who believes they may have been infected by Smith to come forward.
Source...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com

V Tea Party Calls for Assassination of Obama Family

Failed Tea Party politician Jules Manson appears to be better at attracting attention from the Secret Service than he was at attracting votes in his bid for a city council seat in California. In a Facebook rant sparked by President Obama's support of a revised military authorization bill, Manson called for the assassination of the president and his "monkey children," reports the New York Daily News.

Manson later removed the rant, but left a post defending his right to make it. "Once you have taken the position that anyone should be imprisoned for careless emotionally driven remarks that had no real substance, you deserve what your government has become," he wrote. Manson—who says he decided to run for office because of high taxes and rising lease rates at his trailer park—was a frequent poster on Ron Paul's website and Facebook page, but his posts have now been scrubbed.

Source...
http://m.newser.com

Booie, The Smoking Chimpanzee, Dies At 44

LOS ANGELES -- A chimpanzee that kicked a smoking habit and used sign language to beg for candy has died at a California animal refuge.

Martine Colette of the Wildlife WayStation says Booie (BOO'-ee) was being treated for a heart condition when he died Saturday at 44. The chimp had been living at the animal sanctuary near Los Angeles since 1995, after he retired from a research lab.

Colette says she turned Booie into a non-smoker but couldn't fix his sweet tooth. She says he would use his skill to panhandle by signing: "Booie see sweet in pocket."

Booie's death is a serious blow to the financially troubled refuge because he was one of its best fundraisers. Martine says he had fans around the world because of his TV appearances.

Source....
http://humanitariannews.org

Tragedy! 20 Yrs Old Boy Killed Father Over Groundnut

A 20-year-old reprimanded for stealing groundnut kills his father with an axe
WHEN his wife, Fatsuma, was delivered of a baby boy some 20 years ago in the sleepy hamlet of Larabawa, in Gwaram Local Council of Jigawa State, Mamman Dan Alhaji, the proud father, celebrated.
Neighbours had trooped in to grace the naming ceremony as they rejoiced with Mamman who was very happy he had an heir that would carry on the family name and continue his groundnut business later.
However, that bundle of joy has turned into a bundle of regrets, tears and sorrow for his mother, as the boy, who was named Yusuf, has allegedly snuffed life out of his own father for reprimanding him over theft of the groundnut.
A weeping Fatsuma, told The Guardian: “Please, tell the authorities not to allow him come back alive.”
She continued: “I can’t describe the misfortune that has befallen me. I don’t know what came over my son whom I carried in my womb for nine months.
“ On that fateful day, he went to the market after his father left home and I thought he had some business to do.
“He returned around noon with a shiny axe, which he held as he sat on the stone in the middle of the compound and was still sharpening it.
“After sharpening the axe, he put it in a bag and became restless, walking up and down, without talking to anybody.
“I went to him and asked him what the matter was and why he was still sharpening an axe that he already took to the market to sharpen, pointing out too that he looked restless.
But, he said he was alright.”
Meanwhile, Yusuf on Wednesday morning had sent his wife home to her parents without his parents’ knowledge.
It was when Fatsuma called her daughter-in-law that Yusuf told his mother he had sent her home to her parents.
“At a point, he came and sat down in front of his father’s door with the axe and stick. I called my mate and told her that this boy was up to something but she advised we should leave him alone.
“At about 4.00 p.m. I left the house to see his father and to tell him not to come home because his son was up to something sinister.”
She said when her son noticed she was out of the compound he ran and caught up with her and demanded to know whether she was going to the market to see his father for which she answered in the affirmative.
According to her, he immediately started pleading that she should come back home because he was all right.
She recalled that her husband arrived around 9.00 p.m. and shortly after, tragedy struck.
“When our husband returned, Yusuf refused to greet him. After he took his meal, I told him how his son had been acting strangely since morning, walking about with axe and stick.
“The father came out and asked why he was doing that but he rudely replied he was waiting for the police he threatened to arrest him with.
“ At this point, his father stood up and took his stick to scare him to go inside his room but Yusuf dodged but started hacking his father with the axe.
“When we heard our husband shouting: ‘Yusuf, why are you killing me? Is it because I reprimanded you?’ we rushed outside only to see Yusuf running after his fleeing father and continuing to hack him with the now-bloody axe.
“We were shouting and crying but before the neighbours came, Yusuf had killed his father.”
The neighbours were shocked that a grown-up like Yusuf, who was expected to give his father a helping hand in his business, would resort to stealing his groundnuts.
They had seen Mamman Dan Alhaji that Wednesday morning as he prepared for the market not knowing that would be his last.
For sometime, Mamman Dan Alhaji had been unhappy that his son was not turning out as he had hoped.
The previous day, he had reprimanded Yusuf for stealing his groundnuts and had threatened to report him to the police if he did not stop. Little did he know that his son would kill him for that?
Now in police custody, Yusuf has not shown any remorse.
He claimed that his father also meant to kill him but gave thanks to God that he was the one who killed his father first.
The late Mamman ’s second wife, Abou told The Guardian their husband reprimanded Yusuf on Tuesday for stealing his groundnuts from the barn.
“His father’s threat to arrest Yusuf was just to scare him because he was tired of his groundnuts being stolen.
We never knew that that would cost the life of our breadwinner.
“Here we are with 10 children and our breadwinner gone.
We don’t have any other source of livelihood.
“The money in the house has been used for transporting the corpse from here to police and back and for transporting Yusuf to Dutse and all that. We need help,” she pleaded.
The Mai Angwan Larabawa, Alhaji Abdul Ali expressed shock over the incident.
“ Never before in my entire life had I witnessed or seen a thing like this.
“A neighbour rushed here to inform us of what was happening. I quickly mobilized other neighbours around 9:30p.m. and we rushed there. To our greatest surprise, this boy didn’t run away.
“He was standing on the corpse of his father with blood dripping from the axe. His father was wriggling in his own blood.
In shock, I asked him: ‘Did you do this?’ and he said ‘Yes’ and that he had no regret.
“He said if his father had the opportunity he would have killed him but he thanked God that he was the one who killed his father first.
“He said anything we wanted to do to him we should go ahead and do it.
“I was speechless. He almost removed his father’s limbs.
“He cut his father’s throat, neck, mouth and shoulder.
“It was a horrible sight nobody could stand without crying.
“The boy has no mental case. He is just a stubborn boy, period.”
Yusuf’s grandfather, Malam Dan Alhaji told The Guardian he hopes his grandson would be hanged.
“I am over 70 years old and I have never seen a son hacking down his own father like an animal. Even an animal does not deserve this type of death.
“I will leave a will behind that if I die and they allow this boy to go free, my people should hunt him down and kill him. If I am alive, he will have to kill me too. I am old. How do I take care of 10 young children? Government should help me,” he pleaded.

Source...... http://www.ngrguardiannews.com

Mugging Mrs Geraghty's Handbag: Man Arrested for her Death

Mrs Geraghty had carried her husband Frank's ashes with her since his death 17 years ago

Police have arrested a suspect over the killing of a 79-year-old widow, who died after her handbag containing her husband's ashes was stolen.

Nellie Geraghty was found in an Oldham alleyway with serious head injuries on November 24.

Her handbag, in which she kept her husband Frank's ashes, was missing - and the strap was still in Mrs Geraghty's hand.

The former school cleaner and cotton mill worker later died at Royal Oldham Hospital.


Police in Manchester have now arrested a 37-year-old man on suspicion of murder and he is currently in custody.

Mrs Geraghty died at Royal Oldham Hospital following the mugging

The suspect was also arrested in relation to a robbery that occurred on Yorkshire Street, Rochdale, on December 9, the force said.

Earlier, Mrs Geraghty paid tribute to her in a statement - describing her as "the best mum in the world".

"Nellie is much-loved and will always be remembered by all her friends and family," they said.

"We have lost the best mum in the world, the best sister, grandmother, auntie and friend a person could ever have.

"The world would be a better place if there were more people like you. Heaven will be blessed with your presence. Our sad loss is heaven's gain."

Mr Geraghty's ashes have still not been recovered.

Source....
Sky News.

500 Million Ancient super-predator eyes found in Australia

Australian scientists on Thursday hailed the discovery of a pair of insect-like eyes belonging to a freakish prehistoric super-predator which trawled the seas more than 500 million years ago.

Measuring three centimetres (1.2 inches) across and with a whopping 16,000 individual lenses the fossilised eyes, from a huge shellfish-type creature called anomalocaris, were found in rocks on Australia's Kangaroo Island.

A University of Adelaide illustration shows an artist's impression of an Anomalocaris …

Anomalocaris could grow up to one metre long and were considered the "great white shark" of the Cambrian era, topping the ancient marine food chain, according to lead researcher John Paterson.

Modern-day houseflies have about 3,000 lenses in their eyes, while dragonflies have about 30,000 -- the only creature known to have more lenses than anomalocaris.

Paterson said the discovery showed that anomalocaris had lived in well-lit, clear waters and had developed sophisticated vision extremely rapidly, likely triggering an evolutionary "arms race" among other creatures.

Spines, poison glands and other defence mechanisms had probably erupted among creatures eager to escape detection by its huge eyes, which protruded from the side of its head on stalks.

"When you look at the animal itself it's quite an alien-looking beast," Paterson, from Australia's University of New England, told AFP.

Aside from its protuberant eyes, anomalocaris had formidable claws lined with spines which it used to catch its prey and a "gnarly-looking circular mouth with teeth-like serrations inside".

"Those serrations were either used for shredding or chomping up its prey, so it was a pretty nasty-looking creature," Paterson said.

The fact that anomalocaris had been found to have compound eyes also confirmed it was an ancestor of modern arthopods, which include insects and shellfish, said Paterson, whose study was published in Nature.

When the specimen was originally trapped in seafloor mud about 500 million years ago Australia, then part of the Gondwana supercontinent, was in tropical waters straddling the equator, Paterson said.

The fossil had been pushed from the sea floor at about the same speed human fingernails grow and eventually ended up on Kangaroo Island -- now a hotbed of Cambrian artefacts -- off Adelaide in South Australia.

Paterson said the site was riddled with "a variety of fairly enigmatic" specimens that remained a mystery to science and were difficult to classify because they were from a very early period in animal evolution.

"The body plans of animals that we're familiar with today were still kind of being tinkered with in the Cambrian," he said.

"Sometimes they have features that are completely foreign to what you would see in a modern organism."

Though anomalocaris specimens had been found before in Canada and China, Kangaroo Island was the first place an intact eye had been discovered, due to the unique shale rock it was trapped in, which had once been "zero oxygen" mud.

"Within the mud or within the sediment there's essentially no oxygen to allow for microbes to start to break down soft tissues," Paterson said.

"What we've seen in the Emu Bay shale at Kangaroo Island is a much better picture of what was living there at the time than you would otherwise get in a conventional fossil deposit."

Source....
http://news.yahoo.com

Sleep Apnea: When a Snore is More Than Just a Snore

Snoring is usually a minor affair, except for those who have to listen to it. But heavy snoring can be a symptom of sleep apnea, thought to affect at least 10 percent of adults, mostly men.

Sleep apnea can keep you from getting a restful night's sleep. What happens is that you stop breathing (for anywhere from 10 seconds to more than a minute), then emit a choking, explosive sound as you struggle to recover—a pattern that may be repeated hundreds of times a night. Besides causing fatigue, daytime drowsiness and headaches, sleep apnea has been linked to heart attacks, strokes, hypertension, diabetes and depression.

If you think you have sleep apnea, it makes sense to get help. Being overweight is not only a risk factor for sleep apnea, but also makes it more likely that you'll develop medical problems as a result. Sleeping pills of all kinds may also promote sleep apnea. Your doctor may refer you to an ear, nose and throat specialist or to a sleep disorders center, the most reliable place to have sleep apnea diagnosed.

Fortunately, there are effective treatments for sleep apnea, including practical steps like losing weight and limiting alcohol. Or you may be fitted for an air pump, called CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure), which is attached to a mask or nasal tube and can maintain a reliable flow of air while you sleep. Custom-made mouth devices that pull the tongue and jaw forward may also help.

Sleep disorders centers, usually attached to hospitals, can be found in most states in developed countries. Physicians and technicians in these centers have the training and equipment to diagnose a wide range of sleep problems, including sleep apnea. You may be required to stay overnight so that your sleep patterns can be observed and recorded. Alternatively, you may be able to perform sleep apnea testing at home, after being evaluated by a doctor who is board-certified in sleep medicine. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine accredits centers; its website can help you locate the nearest accredited center
. 
Source...
http://www.berkeleywellnessalerts.com

At Last, (NCC) Barks and Bites as It files Criminal Charges against a Bookseller

Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), has filed a three-count criminal charge of copyright infringement against a Lagos bookseller, Mr. Peter Umah and his company, Peterson Bookshops Limited. In the said criminal charge number FHC/L/423c/10 filed before a Federal High Court in Lagos by the NCC prosecuting counsel, Douglas Najime, it was alleged that Peterson Bookshop Nigeria Limited, being a company registered under the laws of Nigeria with head office at 10/11, Baale Street, Ajegunle and Peter Umah, with the same address, on 1 October, 2006, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, made for the purposes of sale, 36 copies of assorted infringed literary works/book in which copyright subsists in favour of Lantern Nigeria Limited, Macmillan Nigeria Publishers and Spectrum Books Limited, without the consent and authorisation of the copyright owners. The accused bookseller and his company, same time and place, were also accused of being in possession of 924 copies of assorted infringed literary works other than for domestic use but for the purpose of trade or business without the consent of their rightful owners. Najime stated further that the offences allegedly committed by the accused and his company are contrary to and punishable under Section 20 (1) (a ) of the Copyright Act Cap C 28 laws of the Federation, 2004. The accused who was not in court on Monday when the case was mentioned, will be arraigned next month as the court has adjourned.

http://naijabreakingnews.com

Over 17 Tons of Marijuana passed through tunnel into USA, Seized.


The investigation into the largest marijuana bust at a cross-border tunnel followed a familiar timeline. It began in May and ended in November.

The secret passage linking warehouses in San Diego and Tijuana - equipped with a hydraulic lift, electric rail carts and a wooden staircase - highlights an emerging seasonal trend. For three years, authorities have found sophisticated tunnels on the U.S.-Mexico border shortly before the winter holidays in what officials speculate is an attempt by drug smugglers to take advantage of Mexico's fall marijuana harvest.

Two weeks ago, authorities seized 17 tons of marijuana in connection with a tunnel linking warehouses in San Diego and Tijuana. Authorities began investigating that passage in June, according to court filings.

Tuesday's find netted more than 32 tons of marijuana - nearly 17 tons at a warehouse in San Diego's Otay Mesa area, about 11 tons inside a truck in the Los Angeles area and 4 tons in Mexico. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, it ranks as the second-largest pot bust in U.S. history if the drugs found on the Mexican side of the tunnel are counted and the third-largest without the Mexican stash.

As U.S. authorities heighten enforcement on land, tunnels have become an increasingly common way to smuggle enormous loads of marijuana. More than 70 passages have been found on the border since October 2008, surpassing the number of discoveries in the previous six years

Raids last November on two tunnels linking San Diego and Tijuana netted a combined 52 tons of marijuana on both sides of the border. In early December 2009, authorities found an incomplete tunnel that stretched nearly 900 feet into San Diego from Tijuana, equipped with an elevator at the Mexican entrance.

Authorities say central Mexico's marijuana harvest in early October presents drug cartels with a familiar challenge for any farmer: how to quickly get products to consumers.

"It's a significant amount of inventory that the cartels need to move and they need to move it in the most expeditious and efficient way," said Derek Benner, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's special agent in charge of investigations in San Diego. "It's like any other business. You've got a pile of inventory that you need to get moving and generate profits."

William Sherman, the DEA's acting special agent in charge in San Diego, said drug traffickers also may go on a pre-Christmas smuggling push to give themselves a "little bit of hiatus" over the holidays to visit family in Mexico. DEA wiretaps tend to go quiet during the holidays, he said.

It's unclear whether cartels are building the tunnels in time for the winter holidays or if that's when authorities just happen to find them.

Some U.S. authorities are inclined to think the cartels are timing construction for the fall harvest, based on their belief that this year's two major finds in San Diego and one last year in San Diego were discovered shortly after they were completed. Heightened activity around building and operating the tunnels drew suspicion and exposed smugglers to getting caught.

It takes roughly six months to a year to build a tunnel, authorities say. Workers use shovels and pickaxes to slowly dig through the soil, sleeping in the warehouse until the job is done. Sometimes they use pneumatic tools.

The tunnel discovered Tuesday was about 40 feet deep, 4 feet wide and 4 feet high. It featured a wooden staircase at the U.S. entrance, located inside a large, white building with a long line of trucking docks.

The Mexican warehouse was on the same block as a federal police office and sits next to a runway at Tijuana's main airport. It featured a hydraulic lift at the tunnel entrance that dropped about 30 feet. Its carpeted floors were found littered with garbage and dirty linen. The kitchen was stocked with tortillas and oranges, with a window painted black.

Six men were charged in federal courts in Southern California with conspiracy to distribute marijuana. No arrests were made in Mexico.

U.S. authorities linked last November's find to Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, led by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, that country's most-wanted drug lord. U.S. and Mexican authorities declined to link Tuesday's discovery to a specific cartel.

Source...
http://hosted.ap.org