Q. Ever been out to a meal with friends and ended up trying to work out how much everyone should contribute to the tip?
A. Google has a tip calculator - just type in those two words and you'll get a pop-up box into which you can type the amount of the bill, a percentage for the tip and the number of people. Google then works out the total tip per person and the total proportion of the bill.
Phil Bradley in CILIP Update Dec/Jan 2014
Friday, 10 July 2015
Wednesday, 8 July 2015
Bottled Water Facts
Today we buy more bottled water than ever before - the average Brit will spend £25,000 on bottled water and drinks in their lifetime. But there are other costs too.
Dr Stuart Farrimond feature in The Wiltshire Times 13 March 2015
- Bottled water typically travels 1,000 km from bottling plant to house and the majority end up in landfill.
- In UK supermarkets, 30% of all bottled water sold is actually tap water.
- Big companies make big money out of reprocessing tap water. Some simply distill tap water (look out for 'purified' on the label) before artificially adding the minerals that have been lost in the purification process.
- Only about 20% of plastic bottles are recycled in the UK; the rest are sent to landfill.
- Bottled water may be more harmful than tap water. Some bottled waters have been found to contain potentially dangerous levels of bacteria - far more than would ever be allowed in tap water.
- UK regulations for tap water are among the strictest in the world. Contrary to popular belief, tap water is not re-cycled waste water. What comes out of your tap originally came from streams, springs and resevoirs - which sounds remarkably similar to what you pay for in a plastic bottle.
- It is an urban myth that single-use plastic bottles release 'cancer-causing' chemicals (e.g. BPA, DHEA and dioxins) since none of these substances exist in today's bottles. But some scientists have recently detected low levels of chemicals in bottled water that can act on the body like the female hormone oestrogen; more research is needed on whether they are harmful.
Dr Stuart Farrimond feature in The Wiltshire Times 13 March 2015
Monday, 6 July 2015
Spoof and Fake Websites
Spoof or fake websites can be obvious, but not always. Phil Bradley put together a couple of pages on his website listing some 50 spoof and fake websites. (But since this clipping is dated 2007, there will be many more out there).
Scientific and commercial sites are at www.philb.com/fakesites.htm
Social, political and religious examples are at www.philb.com/fakesites2.htm
Phil Bradley in CILIP Update Jan/Feb 2007
Scientific and commercial sites are at www.philb.com/fakesites.htm
Social, political and religious examples are at www.philb.com/fakesites2.htm
Phil Bradley in CILIP Update Jan/Feb 2007
Friday, 3 July 2015
Dandruff
A dry, scaly scalp and flakes affect at least half of us at some point.
Feature in Good Housekeeping October 2014
- Dandruff is not caused by having unclean hair - in many cases a yeast called malassezia is to blame. It's often worse in Winter, as sunlight inhibits the yeast, and it thrives in the sweaty environment under a hat. Natural bacteria on your scalp can protect agains the yeast but hair dyes can destroy them, so avoid dyeing if possible.
- Dandruff shampoos that contain selenium sufide or zinc (check the small print on the bottle) are active against malassezia yeast. Leave them on for three to five minutes before rinsing.
- The anti-fungal shampoo Ketoconazole is the most effective way to get rid of the yeast. Leave it on for three to five minutes before rinsing. Use it twice a week for two weeks, then once a fortnight to keep the yeast at bay.
- For a natural alternative, tea tree oil was found in one study to reduce dandruff by almost half.
- The skin condition psoriasis can affect just your scalp, causing red patches covered in silvery, flaky scales and it can be itchy or uncomfortable. If you suspect you might be affected, see your doctor.
Feature in Good Housekeeping October 2014
Wednesday, 1 July 2015
Good and Evil
Over many years British neuroscientist Prof Adrian Raine and his team scanned the brains
of numerous murderers; nearly all showed similar brain changes. There
was reduced activity in the pre-frontal cortex, the area of the brain
which controls emotional impulses, and over activation of the amygdala,
the area which generates our emotions. So it seems that murderers have brains that make them more
prone to rage and anger, while at the same time making them less able to
control themselves.
Raine's studies suggest that part of the reason may be childhood abuse, which can cause physical damage to the brain. The pre-frontal cortex is especially vulnerable. But only a small proportion of those who have a terrible childhood grow up to become murderers.
A breakthrough came in 1993 with a family in the Netherlands where all the men had a history of violence. Fifteen years of painstaking research revealed that they all lacked the same gene - one which produces an enzyme called MAOA, which regulates the levels of neurotransmitters involved in impulse control. It turns out that if you lack the MAOA gene or have the low-activity variant you are predisposed to violence. This variant became known as the warrior gene.
About 30% of men have this so-called warrior gene, but whether the gene is triggered or not depends crucially on what happens to you in childhood. Jim Fallon, professor of psychiatry at the University of California, has a particularly personal interest in this research. After discovering a surprisingly large number of murderers in his family tree he had himself genetically tested and discovered he had an awful lot of genes that have been linked to violent psychopathic behaviour. But Jim isn't a murderer - he's a respected professor.
His explanation is that he was protected from a potentially violent legacy by a happy childhood. "If you've the high-risk form of the gene and you were abused early on in life, your chances of a life of crime are much higher. If you have the high-risk gene but you weren't abused, then there really wasn't much risk. So just a gene by itself, the variant doesn't really dramatically affect behaviour, but under certain environmental conditions there is a big difference".
So it seems that a genetic tendency towards violence, together with an abusive childhood, are literally a killer combination - murderers are both born and made. Research is focusing on ways to reduce violent behaviour and there is good evidence that teaching families who are at risk positive parenting skills is effective at improving impulse control. The hope is that now we know so much more about the causes of murderous behaviour we can spot the early warning signs and intervene before it's too late.
BBC Horizon programmes Are you good or evil? and The mystery of murder, 9 March 2015 and article by Dr Michael Mosley on BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-31714853
Raine's studies suggest that part of the reason may be childhood abuse, which can cause physical damage to the brain. The pre-frontal cortex is especially vulnerable. But only a small proportion of those who have a terrible childhood grow up to become murderers.
A breakthrough came in 1993 with a family in the Netherlands where all the men had a history of violence. Fifteen years of painstaking research revealed that they all lacked the same gene - one which produces an enzyme called MAOA, which regulates the levels of neurotransmitters involved in impulse control. It turns out that if you lack the MAOA gene or have the low-activity variant you are predisposed to violence. This variant became known as the warrior gene.
About 30% of men have this so-called warrior gene, but whether the gene is triggered or not depends crucially on what happens to you in childhood. Jim Fallon, professor of psychiatry at the University of California, has a particularly personal interest in this research. After discovering a surprisingly large number of murderers in his family tree he had himself genetically tested and discovered he had an awful lot of genes that have been linked to violent psychopathic behaviour. But Jim isn't a murderer - he's a respected professor.
His explanation is that he was protected from a potentially violent legacy by a happy childhood. "If you've the high-risk form of the gene and you were abused early on in life, your chances of a life of crime are much higher. If you have the high-risk gene but you weren't abused, then there really wasn't much risk. So just a gene by itself, the variant doesn't really dramatically affect behaviour, but under certain environmental conditions there is a big difference".
So it seems that a genetic tendency towards violence, together with an abusive childhood, are literally a killer combination - murderers are both born and made. Research is focusing on ways to reduce violent behaviour and there is good evidence that teaching families who are at risk positive parenting skills is effective at improving impulse control. The hope is that now we know so much more about the causes of murderous behaviour we can spot the early warning signs and intervene before it's too late.
BBC Horizon programmes Are you good or evil? and The mystery of murder, 9 March 2015 and article by Dr Michael Mosley on BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-31714853
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