Smoking Toddler !!!!!!

See the video of the Smoking Baby!!!!!!!!!!

Jakarta, Indonesia (CNN) -- Two-year-old Aldi yanked on his mother's hair and squirmed in her arms.

Tears formed a small pool in the folds of his double chin.

"He's crying because he wants a cigarette," said Diana, his mother, who like many Indonesians goes by only one name.

We caught up with Aldi, who is nearly twice the weight of other babies his age (20 kilograms or 44 pounds), and his mother at Jakarta's airport.

Video of him plopped on a brightly-colored toy truck inhaling deeply and happily blowing smoke rings had circulated on the Internet last week, turning him into a local celebrity.

As we spoke to his mother, a crowd gathered and a man taunted Aldi with a cigarette, blowing smoke in his direction.

"Smoking has been a part of our culture for so long it isn't perceived as being hazardous, as causing illness, as poisonous," said Seto Mulyadi, chairman of Indonesia's National Commission for Child Protection. "A lot of adults who are around children will smoke. They will carry a baby in one hand and a cigarette in another. Even mothers don't understand that they are poisoning their children."

Mulyadi met with Aldi in Jakarta, where his mother brought him for help. He said Aldi was a bright boy, quicker than most children his age.

He also said Aldi was a victim of his environment.

Mulyadi told Diana that she needed to find other things to occupy the boy's time.

But he told us what was disturbing was that the parents motivation to get Aldi to quit wasn't stemming primarily from an understanding of the risk to his health, but more from the cost of spending four dollars a day -- Aldi smokes an average of 40 cigarettes daily.

"Well, I don't want to give him cigarettes, but what I am I supposed to do? I am confused," his mother said. "I didn't let him smoke, I even forbade him from smoking, but I was trying to stop him from getting sick."

She showed us a scar on Aldi's head, where she said he smashed his head into a wall during one of his tantrums. She said he also vomits when he can't satisfy his addiction.

"I was smoking when I was pregnant, but after I gave birth I quit," she said. "I don't remember when, but we went to the market and then suddenly he had a cigarette in his hand. Even when he was a baby and he would smell smoke he would be happy."

Both she and her husband have quit smoking. She said that Aldi had cut down his habit in Jakarta and hopefully he will soon quit.

"For us, it's not shocking at all, but it's very, very sad," Mulyadi said. "What we know about this phenomenon is only the tip of the iceberg."

He said ignorance about the dangers of smoking is compounded by aggressive advertising by tobacco companies.

Nearly 170 nations have signed a treaty calling for health warnings and other anti-smoking measures. Indonesia, however, is the only country in the Asia-Pacific region not to have ratified the World Health Organization's framework on tobacco control. Legislation has been stuck in parliament for years.

The spokesman for the Ministry of Health, Tritarayati, said: "We're still discussing it."

A study by the child protection commission shows that between 2001 and 2007, the number of children smoking between the ages of five and nine jumped 400 percent. That is tens of thousands of cases and does not take into account children like Aldi, who are under the age of five.

Mulyadi believes the number is significantly higher and child smokers are getting younger.

A few months ago, video of a four-year-old Indonesian boy smoking also appeared online. An adult male voice prompts him off camera and laughs as the child blows smoke rings calling himself a "bad boy."

That child was also helped by the National Commission for Child Protection and is now smoke free, Mulyadi said.

"We are fighting to remind the country that we really need to protect our children," Mulyadi said.

Aldi's mother asked to end to the interview after she had spoken with us for a few minutes. She said she was tired.

"I learned that I can't use force to stop him, but I need to be gentle and try to distract him."

We asked her what she had learned about her child and smoking: "I learned that my kid is smart and he doesn't have any illnesses," she said.

Diana seemed uncomfortable with the attention and the questions. Cheeks wet, Aldi waved a chubby arm goodbye to the watching crowd.

Did you Know!

The parachute was invented by DiVinci in 1515.

9/11 link to rise in male foetal death rate, study says

The stress caused by the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center may have led to an increase in miscarriages of male foetuses, US researchers say.

A study in BMC Public Health found 12% more male babies were lost in September 2001 after the 20th week of pregnancy than in a "normal" September.

Data says fewer boys were born in all states three to four months after 9/11.

The review by the University of California, Irvine, is said to support the theory of "communal bereavement".

This is defined as acute mental distress related to a major national event, like 9/11, even if there is no direct connection to those who died or were involved in these events.

Pregnant mothers are thought to be particularly prone to this experience, as are unborn baby boys.

In order to analyse male foetal death rates, the researchers gathered data for the years 1996-2002.

When they analysed the data, they found that the average number of reported male foetal deaths per month in the US for that period was 995. Female foetal deaths numbered 871 on average per month.

In September 2001, however, their research showed an additional 120 male foetal losses, equivalent to a 12% increase.

Dr Tim Bruckner, who led the research at the University of California, Irvine, said that miscarriages were grossly under-reported in the US and that the real figure of male foetal losses was likely to be much higher.

Explaining the findings he said: "Across many species, stressful times reportedly reduce the male birth rate.

"This is commonly thought to reflect some mechanism conserved by natural selection to improve the mother's overall reproductive success."

However, by studying birth rates nine months after the 11 September attacks, researchers say there was no evidence that the conception of male babies was affected.

Almost 3,000 people lost their lives after two hijacked passenger jets were flown into the 110-storey World Trade Center Twin Towers, causing both to collapse.

On Duty

Love can do much, but duty more.

- Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von

Super Foods for Men and Women

By Maureen Callahan

Foods for Men

1. Tomato Sauce. Men who eat a lot of tomatoes, tomato sauce, or pizza smothered with the stuff may be giving themselves a hedge against prostate cancer. So say researchers at Harvard, who studied the eating habits of more than 47,000 male health professionals. They found that men who ate tomato sauce two to four times per week had a 35 percent lower risk of developing prostate cancer than men who ate none. A carotenoid called lycopene, which tomatoes contain in abundance, appeared to be responsible. But scientists were puzzled: tomato juice didn't seem to have a protective effect. Other research showed why. For best absorption, lycopene should be cooked with some kind of fat. So pizza may be just what the doctor ordered.



2. Oysters. Myth has it that oysters are the food of love. Science may agree. Just two to three oysters deliver a full day's supply of zinc, a mineral critical for normal functioning of the male reproductive system. Scientists are divided over reports that sperm counts have declined over the last 50 years and that environmental factors are to blame. Nutritional deficiencies do seem to be the cause of certain cases of low testosterone. Getting adequate zinc is sometimes the answer (11 mg per day is recommended for men; more than 40 mg can pose risks). In one trial, 22 men with low testosterone levels and sperm counts were given zinc every day for 45 to 50 days. Testosterone levels and sperm counts rose.



3. Broccoli. A recent Harvard study finds that cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli, may protect against bladder cancer. It's one of the most common cancers in this country, and affects two to three times as many men as women. Scientists analyzed the diets of nearly 50,000 men and discovered that those who ate five servings or more per week of cruciferous veggies were half as likely to develop bladder cancer over a ten-year period as men who rarely ate them. And broccoli and cabbage were singled out as the most protective foods.






4. Peanut Butter. If you want a healthy heart, spread your morning toast with peanut butter. Heart disease is the leading killer of men and women, but men fall victim at an earlier age. Researchers from Pennsylvania State University compared the cholesterol-lowering effect of the American Heart Association's Step II Diet with a higher-fat diet based on peanuts. The AHA plan included more carbohydrates. The peanut regimen was 36 percent fat. After 24 days both diets lowered "bad" LDL cholesterol. But the peanut plan also caused a drop in blood fats called triglycerides and did not decrease HDL, the "good" cholesterol. The AHA diet raised levels of triglycerides and lowered levels of HDL.

"Peanut butter is a little higher in fat," says Penny Kris-Etherton, Ph.D., the lead author of the Penn State study. "But it's the type that's good for you -- monounsaturated fat." Researchers have predicted that the peanut diet could reduce heart-disease risk even more than could the AHA diet. Just don't go nutty plastering on the tasty spread, since it is high in calories.

5. Watermelon. Until the age of 55, more men suffer from high blood pressure than do women. Research suggests that foods rich in potassium can reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke. The evidence is so convincing that the Food and Drug Administration recently allowed food labels to bear a health claim about the connection between potassium-rich foods and blood pressure. "There isn't a dietary requirement for potassium," says Kathleen Cappellano, nutrition-information manager at Tufts University in Boston. "But a good goal is about 2000 milligrams or more a day." Watermelon, a rich source of this mineral, has more potassium -- 664 mg -- in one large slice than the amount found in a banana or a cup of orange juice. So cut yourself another slice and enjoy the taste of summer.

Foods for Women

1. Papaya. This tropical fruit packs about twice the vitamin C of an orange. Add it to your arsenal against gallbladder disease, which afflicts twice as many women as men.

After analyzing the blood of over 13,000 people, scientists from the University of California, San Francisco, found that women who had lower levels of vitamin C were more likely to have gallbladder illnesses. One medium papaya (about ten ounces), with its 188 mg of vitamin C and a mere 119 calories, is a refreshing source of the vitamin. The once exotic fruit now can be found in most supermarkets.







2. Flaxseed. Bakers use this nutty-flavored seed mainly to add flavor and fiber. But scientists see the tiny reddish-brown seed, rich in estrogenlike compounds called lignans, as a potential weapon against breast cancer. An exciting report at last year's San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium showed that adding flaxseed to the diet of women with breast cancer effectively slowed tumor growth. You can flavor your muffins with flaxseed, but the easiest way to get the beneficial lignans is to sprinkle a few tablespoons of ground flaxseed on your morning cereal. Look for the seeds in health food stores or in supermarkets on the flour aisle. They're easy to grind in a blender or coffee grinder. But get seeds -- there are no lignans in the oil.

3. Tofu. Foods high in soy protein can lower cholesterol and may minimize menopausal hot flashes and strengthen bone. Isoflavones, plant chemicals in soybeans that have a structure similar to estrogen, may be the reason. Though animal studies form the bulk of the evidence, a human study found that 90 mg of isoflavones was beneficial to bone (specifically the spine). And two other studies suggest that 50 to 76 mg of isoflavones a day may offer some relief from hot flashes. A half-cup of tofu contains about 25 to 35 mg of isoflavones.





4. Buffalo Meat. Due largely to menstruation, women tend to be anemic more than men. And low iron levels in blood can cause severe fatigue. To get a good dose of iron, try bison. Bison, or buffalo, meat is lean and has what diet-conscious women want -- lots of iron and less fat than most cuts of beef. "The iron content is about 3 milligrams in a 3 1/2-ounce uncooked portion," says Marty Marchello, Ph.D., at North Dakota State University. "That portion contains less than 3 grams of fat." Buffalo meat can help boost energy and lower weight.

5. Collard Greens. This humble vegetable may help fight osteoporosis, which afflicts many women late in life. In addition to getting adequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D, some studies suggest that vitamin K may have a bone-protective effect as well. Based on data from one of the largest studies of women, the Nurses' Health Study, researchers discovered that women who ate enough vitamin K-rich foods (at least 109 micrograms of the vitamin daily) were 30 percent less likely to suffer a hip fracture during ten years of follow-up than women who ate less. Researchers point out that dark-green leafy vegetables -- Brussels sprouts, spinach, broccoli -- are all good sources of the vitamin. But collard greens, with about 375 micrograms per half-cup, are among the best.

There you have it: five great foods for women and for men that can keep both of you well fed and healthy too.

Robot conducts Japanese wedding

Your wedding is a special day that you'll remember forever – and what could be more romantic that having the ceremony officiated by a four foot robot called I-Fairy?

Yes, a robot has led a wedding ceremony for the first time ever, and it seems like the big day went without a hitch.

The wedding took place at a restaurant in Hibiya Park in central Tokyo, where the I-Fairy wore a wreath of flowers and directed a rooftop ceremony. Wires led out from beneath it to a black curtain a few feet away, where a man crouched and clicked commands into a computer.

Japan has one of the most advanced robotics industries in the world. Industrial models in factories are now standard, but recently Japanese companies are making a push to inject robots into everyday life.

"This was a lot of fun," said the bride, Satoko Inoue, who works at manufacturer Koroko, who made the robot.

'It would be nice if the robot was a bit more clever, but she is very good at expressing herself," said the groom, Tomohiro Shibata, who is a professor of robotics at the Nara Institute of Science and Technology in central Japan.

The I-Fairy sells for about £47,000, just in case you fancy getting hold of one for your big day.

Or you could wait and treat yourself to a walking, child-shaped robot instead.

Any takers?

Would you like to have a robot officiating at your wedding?

Mums-to-be rate mothers' wisdom

Mothers-to-be think their own mothers know better than the medical profession when it comes to health advice, researchers say.

A University of London team talked to women who gave birth in the 1970s, 1980s and the 2000s.

Modern women were more likely to take a mixture of advice - but were still more likely to follow family wisdom.

One baby charity said family tips were useful, but medical advice should be sought if mothers-to-be had worries.

The researchers talked about pregnancy and childbirth advice to seven women who gave birth in the 1970s and 12 of their daughters who had babies in the 2000s.

They then also analysed interviews on the same topic which had been carried out with 24 women in the 1980s.

The 1970s women were most likely to take advice from family members.

But researchers found that women who had babies between 2000 and 2010 had to evaluate a wide range of information from doctors, midwives, books, magazines and, latterly, the internet - as well as that from their families.

In these women, it tended to be family advice that won out - particularly if a mother-to-be was dealing with a specific symptom.

One woman, Hetty, from the 2000s generation, said she had tried to stop drinking tea because she had read on the internet that caffeine could cause miscarriages in the first few weeks of pregnancy.

But she then added she had taken her grandmother's advice that tea could help relieve morning sickness.

"She just used to stay in bed and have a cup of tea. And that did help actually."

'Strike a balance'

Professor Paula Nicolson from Royal Holloway, University of London, who led the study, said: "When it comes to the crunch - if women feel sick for example - they will take their mother's or their grandmother's advice.

"They wouldn't necessarily recognise how important it was to them, but it would override the science."

She added: "Taking all the guidelines too seriously leads to anxieties. Lack of self-confidence also can lead to worry about 'doing the wrong thing' which is potentially more harmful than taking the odd glass of wine or eating soft cheese."

Jane Brewin, chief executive of baby charity Tommy's, said women had to "strike a balance" about what advice they took.

"It's only natural to want to talk about the significant changes that happen to a woman's body and how she feels; mums and close friends often have first-hand experience and tips that are helpful.

"However we always stress that if any mum-to-be is worried about anything during their pregnancy they should seek medical advice without delay."

Source :BBC

10 Bad Habits that Destruct Brain

It’s good if you re-examine the little habits that you think is simple but have negative impact on your brain, those habits are:

1. Do Not Want Breakfast

Many people underestimate the breakfast. And do not consume anything in the morning and caused the decline in blood sugar levels. This resulted in a lack of input of nutrients to the brain which finally ended in the decline of the brain. The best breakfast in the morning is not a heavy foods such as special burger, but a glass of water and a glass of fresh fruit juice is enough. Compact and useful for the body!

2. Most Eat. 

Too much to eat harden the blood verssel of the brain that usually leads to the decline of mental powers. So eat a normal portion. Familiarize yourself with how to help stop eating before you’re stuffed.

3. Smoking

If the cigarette has a lot of bad effects, everyone would already know. And there’s one more bad effects of cigarettes that were uncovered here. Smoking was very frightening effect on the brain! Imagine, the human brain can gradually shrink and eventually loses its functions as diligent suck it smoky. No doubt the old time when even young ones, we are prone to Alzheimer (Alzheimer is a dementia disease).









4. Consuming Too Much Sugar



Too much sugar intake will prevent the absorption of protein and nutrients that makes the body get malnutrition and disrupted brain development. Therefore, reduce the consumption of your favorite sweets.

 5. Air Pollution

The brain is part of the body absorbs the most air. Too long in the environment by polluting the air makes the brain works inefficiently.

6. Sleep Deprivation

Sleep gives the brain a chance to rest. Often neglect to sleep makes the brain cells to die from exhaustion. But do not get too much sleep because it can make you become lazy and slow. Should sleep 6-8 hours a day for healthy and fit.

7. Covering one’s head during sleep

Sleeping with the head covered is a bad habit that is very dangerous because the carbon dioxide produced during sleep makes the brain concentrated with pollutant. Do not be surprised if over time the brain becomes damaged.

8. Thinking Too Hard When sick

Working hard or studying when the body condition is not fit also makes the ineffectiveness of the brain. Already know You are not healthy, you should rest and not impose your brain.

9. Lack of Brain Stimulation

Thinking is the best way to train the brain works. Less thought would make the brain shrink and ultimately does not work optimally. Diligent reading, listening to music and playing (chess, Scrabble, etc.) will make your brain used to think actively and creatively.

10. Rarely Talk 

Intellectual conversations usually take a good effect on the brain. So do not be too proud to be quiet. Quality Chat is very good for your health.

Is your computer keeping you awake?

 (CNN) -- J.D. Moyer decided recently to conduct a little experiment with artificial light and his sleep cycle.

The sleep-deprived Oakland, California, resident had read that strong light -- whether it's beaming down from the sun or up from the screens of personal electronics -- can reset a person's internal sleep clock.

So, for one month, whenever the sun set, he turned off all the gadgets and lights in his house -- from the bulb hidden in his refrigerator to his laptop computer.

It worked. Instead of falling asleep at midnight, Moyer's head was hitting the pillow as early as 9 p.m. He felt so well-rested during the test, he said, that friends remarked on his unexpected morning perkiness.

"I had the experience, a number of times, just feeling kind of unreasonably happy for no reason. And it was the sleep," he said. "Sure, you can get by with six or seven hours, but sleeping eight or nine hours -- it's a different state of mind."

Moyer may be onto something.

More than ever, consumer electronics -- particularly laptops, smartphones and Apple's new iPad -- are shining bright light into our eyes until just moments before we doze off.

Now there's growing concern that these glowing gadgets may actually fool our brains into thinking it's daytime. Exposure can disturb sleep patterns and exacerbate insomnia, some sleep researchers said in interviews.

"Potentially, yes, if you're using [the iPad or a laptop] close to bedtime ... that light can be sufficiently stimulating to the brain to make it more awake and delay your ability to sleep," said Phyllis Zee, a neuroscience professor at Northwestern University and director of the school's Center for Sleep & Circadian Biology.

"And I think more importantly, it could also be sufficient to affect your circadian rhythm. This is the clock in your brain that determines when you sleep and when you wake up."

Such concerns are not entirely new: One sleep researcher said Thomas Edison created these problems when he invented the light bulb. But they've been revived by the popularity of Apple's new slate computer, the iPad, which many consumers say is good for reading at night in bed, when the brain thinks the environment should be dark.

Unlike paper books or e-book readers like the Amazon Kindle, which does not emit its own light, the iPad's screen shines light directly into the reader's eyes from a relatively close distance.

That makes the iPad and laptops more likely to disrupt sleep patterns than, say, a television sitting across the bedroom or a lamp that illuminates a paper book, both of which shoot far less light straight into the eye, researchers said.

"I wish people would just take a boring book -- an old-fashioned book -- and [read] by a lamp. Make sure that it's not too bright -- just so you can read," said Alon Avidan, associate director of the Sleep Disorders Center at UCLA. "And if they do that, I think they'll feel a lot better and they'll be able to relax."

These concerns stem from the fact that people are biologically wired to be awake when the sun is out.

When receptors in our eyes are hit with bright light for an extended period of time, they send a message to the brain saying it's time to be awake. The brain, in turn, stops secreting a hormone called melatonin, which makes people sleepy and helps regulate the internal sleep clock.

Normally, our brains start giving us that hormonal sleep aid at about 9 or 10 p.m. But if bright lights are shining in our eyes, that may not happen as planned. That's what worries some sleep researchers.

To make matters worse, our eyes are particularly sensitive to blue light, which is common during the day, but is less so in the evening. The fact that computer screens and phones tend to put out a lot of blue light could intensify the screen's awakening effects, even if the light isn't all that bright.

There's no exact formula for determining how much light is needed to reset a person's internal clock. Several factors are at play, including how bright the light is, what hues are present, how large the light source is, how far it is from the person's eyes and what that person tends to do during the day.

A farmer who is exposed to sunlight all day long would likely be less sensitive to artificial light at night than a person who works in a dimmer office environment, said Mariana Figueiro, an assistant professor and director of the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.

While there has been research to show that light -- even artificial light -- can affect human melatonin production, no research has been done specifically on whether the iPad and laptops disrupt sleep cycles.

Some researchers are skeptical of the link.

"I don't think it's an area of concern. I think it's an area of personal preference," said Mary Lou Jackson, director of vision rehabilitation at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, which is affiliated with Harvard Medical School.

People shouldn't be concerned about reading on backlit electronic devices at night unless they're experiencing insomnia, in which case they should dim the screen, Jackson said.

Several iPad owners contacted by CNN said they enjoy reading on the device before bed and haven't noticed sleep problems.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment on this story.

George Brainard, director of the Light Research Program at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, said it's more important for people to turn off their computers and gadgets at night -- so they have a dark sleeping environment -- than to worry about reading in bright conditions before bed.

Electronics with glowing screens may create problems for people who are susceptible to insomnia, he said, but that research hasn't shown the link yet.

"Can we jump from [the available research] to an iPad? Not quite yet," he said. "But you can begin to see the potential is there for low levels of light to potentially have a biological effect."

Avidian, from UCLA, said several factors play into how well a person sleeps. It's possible iPads and laptops, when used late at night, may delay sleep because they require more focus and provide more potential distractions than books, he said.

Still, the possible relationship between reading at night on backlit screens and insomnia has led some sleep doctors to prescribe zany solutions for patients.

Figueiro, the professor at RPI, prescribes sunglasses with orange lenses.

"Wearing these orange glasses definitely will take away any of the [blue] light that the circadian system is sensitive to," she said. "Your circadian system would basically be blind."

Zee, the Northwestern doctor, said she has recommended the same. She also says people who have trouble sleeping should keep iPads and laptops out of the bedroom. It's best to stop using them one or two hours before going to bed, she said.

Changing your computer or iPad's screen settings to make the display dimmer or take blue hues out of the display at night may also help, researchers said.

A free, downloadable program called F.lux will automatically adjust the hues on your computer screen to eliminate blues when the sun starts setting -- and then replace them when it rises again.

The program, which was developed by a computer programmer and an artist, is not scientific. Sleep researchers said they are unsure of its actual impact.

Moyer, the Oakland resident who turned off all of his gadgets and lights at sundown for a month in 2009, said he hasn't kept up the rigid routine.

But he has applied some lessons from his lights-off-at-night experiment.

For one, he uses the computer less at night. And when he needs to use it, he employs F.lux to make the screen more red and less blue.

Fish has transparent head

Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute recently solved the half-century-old mystery of
a fish with tubular eyes and a transparent head. Ever since the "barreleye" fish Macropinna microstoma was first described in 1939, marine biologists have known that its tubular eyes are very good at collecting light. However, the eyes were believed to be fixed in place and seemed to provide only a "tunnel-vision" view of whatever was directly above the fish's head.


A new paper by Bruce Robison and Kim Reisenbichler shows that these unusual eyes can rotate within a transparent shield that covers the fish's head. This allows the barreleye to peer up at potential prey or focus forward to see what it is eating.

Deep-sea fish have adapted to their pitch-black environment in a variety of amazing ways. Several species of deep-water fishes in the family Opisthoproctidae are called "barreleyes" because their eyes are tubular in shape. Barreleyes typically live near the depth where sunlight from the surface fades to complete blackness. They use their ultra-sensitive tubular eyes to search for the faint silhouettes of prey overhead.

Although such tubular eyes are very good at collecting light, they have a very narrow field of view. Furthermore, until now, most marine biologists believed that barreleye's eyes were fixed in their heads, which would allow them to only look upward. This would make it impossible for the fishes to see what was directly in front of them, and very difficult for them to capture prey with their small, pointed mouths.

Robison and Reisenbichler used video from MBARI's remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to study barreleyes in the deep waters just offshore of Central California. At depths of 600 to 800 meters (2,000 to 2,600 feet) below the surface, the ROV cameras typically showed these fish hanging motionless in the water, their eyes glowing a vivid green in the ROV's bright lights. The ROV video also revealed a previously undescribed feature of these fish--its eyes are surrounded by a transparent, fluid-filled shield that covers the top of the fish's head.

Most existing descriptions and illustrations of this fish do not show its fluid-filled shield, probably because this fragile structure was destroyed when the fish were brought up from the deep in nets. However, Robison and Reisenbichler were extremely fortunate--they were able to bring a net-caught barreleye to the surface alive, where it survived for several hours in a ship-board aquarium. Within this controlled environment, the researchers were able to confirm what they had seen in the ROV video--the fish rotated its tubular eyes as it turned its body from a horizontal to a vertical position.

In addition to their amazing "headgear," barreleyes have a variety of other interesting adaptations to deep-sea life. Their large, flat fins allow them to remain nearly motionless in the water, and to maneuver very precisely (much like MBARI's ROVs). Their small mouths suggest that they can be very precise and selective in capturing small prey. On the other hand, their digestive systems are very large, which suggests that they can eat a variety of small drifting animals as well as jellies. In fact, the stomachs of the two net-caught fish contained fragments of jellies.

After documenting and studying the barreleye's unique adaptations, Robison and Reisenbichler developed a working hypothesis about how this animal makes a living. Most of the time, the fish hangs motionless in the water, with its body in a horizontal position and its eyes looking upward. The green pigments in its eyes may filter out sunlight coming directly from the sea surface, helping the barreleye spot the bioluminescent glow of jellies or other animals directly overhead. When it spots prey (such as a drifting jelly), the fish rotates its eyes forward and swims upward, in feeding mode.

Barreleyes share their deep-sea environment with many different types of jellies. Some of the most common are siphonophores (colonial jellies) in the genus Apolemia. These siphonophores grow to over 10 meters (33 feet) long. Like living drift nets, they trail thousands of stinging tentacles, which capture copepods and other small animals. The researchers speculate that barreleyes may maneuver carefully among the siphonophore's tentacles, picking off the captured organisms. The fish's eyes would rotate to help the fish keep its "eyes on the prize," while its transparent shield would protect the fish's eyes from the siphonophore's stinging cells.

Robison and Reisenbichler hope to do further research to find out if their discoveries about Macropinna microstoma also apply to other deep-sea fish with tubular eyes. The bizarre physiological adaptations of the barreleyes have puzzled oceanographers for generations. It is only with the advent of modern underwater robots that scientists have been able to observe such animals in their native environment, and thus to fully understand how these physical adaptations help them survive.

The ten most spectacular waterfalls in the world

Waterfalls are certainly one of the many wonders of attractive and frightening to give us God. It is, in fact, a scene shows the power and greatness of the Creator, there are many beautiful and stunning waterfalls in the world, but in this list we will only natural waterfalls.

10- Huangguoshu Falls  - China 

Is the most famous waterfalls China has undisputed. Where that what distinguishes it is surrounded by dense green trees, and what is so impressive about this waterfall, which is currently up to 81 meters and 74 meters high and is allegedly one of the largest waterfalls Asia.

9 -Angel Falls  - Venezuela

  
One of the highest waterfalls on earth where height of up to 979 meters

8-Yosemite Falls  - United States of America

Another scene from the very cool and amazing high, rising up to this waterfall 739 meters and much like his Venezuelan counterpart.


7 -Jlphus Falls Gullfoss - Iceland

Relation to the size of Iceland it contains cascades in the magic and beauty with a height of 32 meters.

6-Shoshone Falls  - United States of America 

The height of this waterfall 64 meters and 274 meters introduced.

5 -Jog Falls  - India

Shimoga is located in the southern state of Karnataka, India, with an elevation of 273 meters to 472 meters and offer increased strength of this waterfall during the monsoon.

4- Falls Detyvos Dettifoss - Iceland 

Of the most powerful waterfalls in Europe a height of 100 meters.

 3- Victoria Falls  - Zambia / Zimbabwe 

A width of 1700 meters and a height of 104 meters and is the largest waterfall on earth in terms of area of water falling. This is called the waterfall locally as Musa - UA - Tanya, which means smoke thunders. And forms the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

2-Niagara Falls -  Canada / United States of America

And this is the most famous waterfall in the world, with a height of 53 meters and forms the border between the United States of America and Canada.

1- Iguazu Falls -Argentina /Brazil 

Called or the Cascades, where is this waterfall as a symbol of the beauty of nature and a symbol owes and power and Shoumoukh and what distinguishes this waterfall terrible fit on a series of waterfalls on top of each other, where the height of each of them between 82 meters to 64 meters. And is this waterfall border between Argentina and Brazil.

Lack of sleep 'linked to early death'

Getting less than six hours sleep a night can lead to an early grave, UK and Italian researchers have warned.


They said people regularly having such little sleep were 12% more likely to die over a 25-year period than those who got an "ideal" six to eight hours.



They also found an association between sleeping for more than nine hours and early death, although that much sleep may merely be a marker of ill health.

journal reports the findings, based on 1.5m people in 16 studies.

The study looked at the relationship between sleep and mortality by reviewing earlier studies from the UK, US and European and East Asian countries.

Premature death from all causes was linked to getting either too little or too much sleep outside of the "ideal" six to eight hours per night.

But while a lack of sleep may be a direct cause of ill health, ultimately leading to an earlier death, too much sleep may merely be a marker of ill health already, the UK and Italian researchers believe.

Time pressures

Professor Francesco Cappuccio, leader of the Sleep, Health and Society Programme at the UK's University of Warwick, said: "Modern society has seen a gradual reduction in the average amount of sleep people take and this pattern is more common amongst full-time workers, suggesting that it may be due to societal pressures for longer working hours and more shift-work.

"On the other hand, the deterioration of our health status is often accompanied by an extension of our sleeping time."


If the link between a lack of sleep and death is truly causal, it would equate to over 6.3 million attributable deaths in the UK in people over 16 years of age.

Prof Cappuccio said more work was needed to understand exactly why sleep seemed to be so important for good health.

Professor Jim Horne, of the Loughborough Sleep Research Centre, said other factors may be involved rather than sleep per se.

"Sleep is just a litmus paper to physical and mental health. Sleep is affected by many diseases and conditions, including depression," he said.

And getting improved sleep may not make someone better or live longer, he said.

"But having less than five hours a night suggests something is probably not right.

"Five hours is insufficient for most people and being drowsy in the day increases your risk of having an accident if driving or operating dangerous machinery."

Rare subterranean fish rediscovered in Brazil

By Matt Walker
Editor, Earth News

Stygichthys typhlops reemerges from the dark

An incredibly rare blind fish that lives underground in Brazil has been rediscovered by scientists.

A number of individual fish have been found almost 50 years after the only known specimen was collected and then described by American experts.

Biologists cannot be sure, but they suspect the fish may be a living relict that has survived deep under the ground while its relatives above went extinct.

Details of the discovery are published in the Journal of Fish Biology.

A team of Brazil-based researchers led by ichthyologist Dr Cristiano Moreira of the University of Sao Paulo undertook an expedition to rediscover the fish, named Stygichthys typhlops.

The first and only known specimen was caught in 1962 from a communal water well used by inhabitants of the city of Jaiba, in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The fish was taken to American ecologist Dr Joseph Tosi Jr who was in the region at the time, and then described by specialists back in the US.

"This was the most enigmatic species of the order Characiformes, a group of freshwater fishes that includes piranhas and tetras," says Dr Moreira.


Not only did the fish come from underground, but it was blind, whereas most characiforms live above ground and have good eyesight.

"Because it was never collected since, it was assumed that is was an endangered species. However, no one knew. There was no information of its distribution, abundance, anything."

To find the fish, the expedition team interviewed local people around Jaiba, who reported they had seen the fish swimming in open wells.

But because the region is so dry, the people there rely heavily on underground water.

That has caused water levels in most aquifiers to drop considerbly since the 1980s.
"This was one of the problems we encountered to find this fish, since most of the open wells we could access to collect or put traps were dry," Dr Moreira told the BBC.

Eventually, the team found two wet wells. In both, they could see fish swimming, which turned out to be the elusive S. typhlops.

Overall, the team collected 34 specimens, which have allowed them to find out more about this strange species.

As well as being blind, the fish lacks pigmentation, a common trait in organisms that live underground where there is little or no light.

However, "morphologically, Stygichthys is very different from any species in the group, so much so that we are still not able to say to which species it is more related," says Dr Moreira.

One another characiform fish lives underground, a blind tetra called Astyanax fasciatus.

But only some of the species have reduced eyes and pigmentation and live underground in caves.

Other populations of the same species continue to live above ground, without these adaptations.

But that does not appear to be the case for S. typhlops.

"It could represent the last remaining fish of an extinct group in the Characiformes, what we would call a relict species," says Dr Moreira.

"The surface species of this group could have gone through extinction, while Stygichthys because of its habitat was spared. But this is only speculation."

What is certain is that the fish's survival is threatened.

"This species seems to be the most threatened underground fish species in Brazil," says Dr Moreira.

It appears to be restricted to a specific 25km-long aquifier that runs underground in the region.

"The fact that most of the wells in the region are drying is very worrying.

"The excess withdrawal of water from that aquifier will certainly lead to the extinction of the species."

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