Knowledge Update

​New Delhi, June 26 (IANS) Excessive use of electronic gadgets, including mobile phones and tablets, can cause "tech neck" that leads to early signs of ageing, health experts have warned.

According to experts, "tech neck", which leads to sagging skin, dropping jowls, and creases above the clavicle, seriously affects facial looks of the person by causing frown lines, undereye bags, and horizontal lines on the neck along with fat prominences.

"People who bend down constantly for long hours while using any handheld electronic device, like smartphones, tablet or computers, are more likely to get wrinkles. The bending position while texting on mobile phones can cause neck, back and shoulder pain, apart from headache, numbness, tingling in the upper limb and pain in hands, arm, elbows and wrists," said Vinod Vij, Cosmetic Surgeon, at Mumbai-based Fortis Hospital.

A recent report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) had revealed that the number of mobile internet users in the country was expected to reach 371 million by June 2016. As much as 40 per cent of the users consist of youngsters between the age group of 19-30.

Experts have said that the frequent forward flexion causes changes in the cervical spine, curve, supporting ligaments, tendons and musculature, as well as the bony segments, commonly causing postural change.

Mohan Thomas, Senior Cosmetic Surgeon, Cosmetic Surgery Institute, said: "As people do not realise the negativity they are causing to their neck bone and the skin, tech obsessed people should take necessary steps to avoid the overuse of the electronic gadgets."

He said the overuse of smart phones causes shortening of the neck muscles.

"Apart from shortening of the neck muscle it also increases the gravitational pull on the skin. Ultimately, this results in sagging skin, double chin, marionette lines (vertical lines from lips to chin) and loose jowls (drooping jawline). All these signs have been collectively labelled medically as "smartphone face," he said.​

​New Delhi, June 28 (IANS) Besides following a hydrating and high fibre diet that will help to stay cool, also indulge in power-packed foods to stay energised, says an expert.

Dolly Kumar, health expert, founder and Director at health brand GAIA, shares how:

* Most of us like to enjoy light and healthy meals during summer since they are easy to digest and don’t leave us feeling bloated, uncomfortable and lazy. A healthy quick fix is to start the day with muesli along with skimmed milk and fresh fruits for breakfast. Rich in dietary fibre, proteins, iron and anti-oxidants, this power-food is extremely healthy. 

* Summer is also the time to indulge in cooling beverages which keep us energised and refreshed all day. Green tea is a wonderful beverage to drink early in the morning or even late evenings. Green tea is packed with anti-oxidants and is known to strengthen the immune system and improve memory. Along with its aroma and pleasant taste, your body is bound to stay hydrated and fresh all summer. Add a dash of honey and squeeze a lemon in your cup of green tea and add some tanginess and zest to your day.

* Munch on healthy sweet and salty snacks regularly. Trail mix is a wonderful snack that will help you regain that lost energy. High on proteins and good fats, most trail mixes are packed with the goodness of assorted nuts, dried fruits and crunchy seeds. The mix provides instant energy from the proteins, dietary fibres and good fats found in its ingredients. ​

​Tokyo, June 29 (IANS) Japanese tech giant Sony announced on Wednesday that it was working on developing a robot which can connect emotionally with people, and expects to launch it soon.

​Colombo, June 28 (IANS) The Sri Lankan government on Tuesday said it will focus more on Asia, particularly India and China, to boost the local economy after Britain, in a historic referendum, decided to pull out from the European Union.

​Beijing, June 28 (IANS) A continental market with China, Russia and India as key stakeholders can be formed to reshape the global energy sector, a Chinese expert has said.

The three countries can also insist on an Asian pricing system, Xinhua news agency quoted Ren Zhihong of the Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences as saying.

​New York, June 28 (IANS) Ever surprised by finding a person whose face you remember but not the name until the "People you may know" feature on Facebook told you about him/her? This is probably because Facebook stalked you and used your phone's location to suggest new people you could befriend.

​New York, June 29 (IANS) Computer scientists have developed a video privacy software that helps prevent inadvertent disclosure of trade secrets and other restricted information within a camera's field of view by letting users specify what others can see.

​London, June 28 (IANS) A team of researchers has developed a new approach to find natural researves of helium -- a key element in MRI scanners, welding, industrial leak detection and nuclear energy -- the known reserves of which are quickly running out.

The first use of this method, developed by scientists at Oxford and Durham universities, has resulted in the discovery of a world-class helium gas field in Tanzania.

Until now helium has never been found intentionally -- being accidentally discovered in small quantities during oil and gas drilling. 

The study, presented recently at the Goldschmidt geochemistry conference in Yokohama, Japan, shows that volcanic activity provides the intense heat necessary to release the gas from ancient, helium-bearing rocks.

"We show that volcanoes play an important role in the formation of viable helium reserves. Volcanic activity likely provides the heat necessary to release the helium accumulated in ancient crustal rocks," said Diveena Danabalan of Durham University.

"However, if gas traps are located too close to a given volcano, they run the risk of helium being heavily diluted by volcanic gases such as carbon dioxide, just as we see in thermal springs from the region (Tanzanian East African Rift Valley)," she added.

Danabalan and her team are now working to identify the "goldilocks-zone" between the ancient crust and the modern volcanoes where the balance between helium release and volcanic dilution is "just right".

The discovery of helium gas field in Tanzania using the new approach is being considered as a game changer for the future security of society's helium needs.

​New York, June 28 (IANS) Scientists have built a "bionic" cardiac patch that could act similarly to a pacemaker and monitor as well as respond to cardiac problems.

The researchers from Harvard University constructed nanoscale electronic scaffolds that can be seeded with cardiac cells to produce a bionic cardiac patch -- the engineered heart tissue with ability to replace heart muscle damaged during a heart attack. 

"I think one of the biggest impacts would ultimately be in the area that involves replaced of damaged cardiac tissue with pre-formed tissue patches," said Charles Lieber, who along with colleagues described the work in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.

"Rather than simply implanting an engineered patch built on a passive scaffold, our works suggests it will be possible to surgically implant an innervated patch that would now be able to monitor and subtly adjust its performance," he added.

Once implanted, the "bionic" patch could act similarly to a pacemaker -- delivering electrical shocks to correct arrhythmia.

Unlike traditional pacemakers, the "bionic" patch -- because its electronic components are integrated throughout the tissue -- can detect arrhythmia far sooner, and operate at far lower voltages.

"Even before a person started to go into large-scale arrhythmia that frequently causes irreversible damage or other heart problems, this could detect the early-stage instabilities and intervene sooner," Lieber said. "It can also continuously monitor the feedback from the tissue and actively respond," he added.

The patch might also find use as a tool to monitor the responses under cardiac drugs, or to help pharmaceutical companies to screen the effectiveness of drugs under development.

​Beijing, June 28 (IANS) A new study has pinned down an overlooked source of outdoor pollution in Beijing -- residential cooking and heating -- which according to scientists contributes more to the city's choking smog than do the transportation sector and power plants combined.

"Coal and other dirty solid fuels are frequently used in homes for cooking and heating," said Denise Mauzerall from Princeton University who was part of the research team. 

"Because these emissions are essentially uncontrolled they emit a disproportionately large amount of air pollutants which contribute substantially to smog in Beijing and surrounding regions," she added.

According to the team from Princeton, the University of California-Berkeley, Peking University and Tsinghua University, households account for about 18 per cent of total energy use in the Beijing region but produce 50 per cent of black carbon emissions and 69 per cent of organic carbon emissions. 

In the Beijing area, households contribute more pollutants in the form of small soot particles (which are particularly hazardous to human health) than the transportation sector and power plants combined. In the winter heating season, households also contribute more small particles than do industrial sources.

The high levels of air pollutant emissions are due to the use of coal and other dirty fuels in small stoves and heaters that lack the pollution controls in place in power plants, vehicles and at some factories, according to the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The region in the study included the cities of Beijing and the surrounding Tianjin and Hebei provinces.​