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New York, April 11 (IANS) Although children are thought of being deficient in many skills when compared to adults, a new study has shown that this limitation in kids can actually be their strength as they can see what adults tend to miss.

"We often think of children as deficient in many skills when compared to adults. But some times what seems like a deficiency can actually be an advantage," said Vladimir Sloutsky, Professor at the Ohio State University in the US.

The findings revealed that while adults are very good at remembering information they are told to focus on, they tend to ignore the rest. 

Conversely, 4- to 5-year-olds tend to pay attention to all the information that was presented to them -- even when they were told to focus on one particular item. 

Thus, children noticed things that adults did not catch because of the grownups' selective attention.

Children are extremely curious and they tend to explore everything, which means their attention is spread out and they end up noticing and remembering more than the adults, Sloutsky noted, in the paper published in the journal Psychological Science.

However, the ability of adults to focus their attention helps them to sit in two-hour meetings and maintain long conversations, while ignoring distractions. 

"But young children's use of distributed attention allows them to learn more in new and unfamiliar settings by taking in a lot of information," Sloutsky explained.

The fact that children don't always do as well at focusing attention also shows the importance of designing the right learning environment in classrooms.

"Children can't handle a lot of distractions. They are always taking in information, even if it is not what you're trying to teach them. We need to make sure that we are aware of that and design our classrooms, textbooks and educational materials to help students succeed," Sloutsky said.

London, April 10 (IANS) The first China-bound freight train carrying British products left London on a 12,000-km journey on Monday, adding another terminal to the rail freight between China and Europe.

London, April 11 (IANS) People with higher scores on life skills -- such as emotional stability, determination, control, optimism and conscientiousness -- are more likely to experience a broad range of health benefits and positive social outcomes in their old age, a study suggests.

The findings showed that people who have more life skills enjoy a range of benefits, including greater financial stability, less depression, low social isolation, better health and fewer chronic diseases.

"No single attribute was more important than others. Rather, the effects depended on the accumulation of life skills," said Andrew Steptoe, Professor at the University College London.

In the study, published in the journal PNAS, the academics looked at the impact of these attributes in over 8,000 men and women aged 52 and older.

People with more life skills benefitted from favourable objective biomarkers in the blood, including lower levels of cholesterol and of C-reactive protein -- a marker of inflammation relevant to a number of different diseases. 

They had smaller waistlines, where fat accumulation is particularly relevant to metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, than people with a few life skills.

People with more skills also walked significantly faster than those with fewer -- walking speed is an objective measure predicting future mortality in older population samples, the researchers said.

"We were surprised by the range of processes -- economic, social, psychological, biological, and health and disability related -- that seem to be related to these life skills. Our research suggests that fostering and maintaining these skills in adult life may be relevant to health and well-being at older ages," Steptoe said.

​China has emerged as one of the fastest-growing sources of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India -- it was 17th largest in 2016, up from the 28th rank in 2014 and 35th in 2011.

​New Delhi, April 10 (IANS) Samsung, Intex and Rising Star are the top three Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in India, market research firm CyberMedia Research (CMR) said on Monday.

Bangalore, April 10 (IANS) E-commerce major Flipkart on Monday said it has raised a total of $1.4 billion from Tencent, eBay and Microsoft.

The latest funding round, at a post-transaction valuation of $11.6 billion, is the largest in Flipkart's 10-year history as well as in the Indian internet sector and comes as Flipkart

​New York, April 10 (IANS) If you have been wondering whether it is better to eat or fast before a workout, researchers now have an answer. A new study has found that exercise on empty stomach is better for your health in the long term. The study analysed effects of eating versus fasting on gene expression in adipose (fat) tissue in response to exercise. After eating, adipose tissue "is busy responding to the meal and a bout of exercise at this time will not stimulate the same (beneficial) changes in adipose tissue", explained corresponding author of the study Dylan Thompson from University of Bath in Britain. "This means that exercise in a fasted state might provoke more favourable changes in adipose tissue, and this could be beneficial for health in the long term," Thompson added. "We propose that feeding is likely to blunt long-term adipose tissue adaptation to regular exercise," the researchers noted in the study published in the American Journal of Physiology -- Endocrinology and Metabolism. The study participants were a group of overweight males who walked for 60 minutes at 60 per cent maximum oxygen consumption on an empty stomach and, on another occasion, two hours after consuming a high-calorie carbohydrate-rich breakfast. The research team took multiple blood samples after eating or fasting and after exercising. The researchers also collected fat tissue samples immediately before and one hour after walking. Gene expression in the adipose tissue differed significantly in the two trials. The expression of two genes, PDK4 and HSL, increased when the men fasted and exercised and decreased when they ate before exercising. The rise in PDK4 likely indicates that stored fat was used to fuel metabolism during exercise instead of carbohydrates from the recent meal. HSL typically increases when adipose tissue uses stored energy to support increased activity, such as during exercise, Thompson said. These results reinforce the view that "adipose tissue often faces competing challenges," Thompson wrote. "This is the first study to show that feeding prior to acute exercise affects post-exercise adipose tissue gene expression," the study said.

​New Delhi, April 10 (IANS) Yahoo India on Monday unveiled Yahoo Storytellers -- a new content marketing solution to help brands and agencies in India meet high expectations and drive engagement among consumers. It will bring Yahoo's editorial expertise, extensive data and native advertising through Yahoo Gemini -- a marketplace for mobile and native ads. "With Yahoo Storytellers, we're offering a better way for brands to create powerful content that's informed by data and engages the right audience." said Gurmit Singh, Vice President and Managing Director, Yahoo India. Yahoo Storytellers will help brands build content consulting services, development of premium video, a full range of editorial content and influencer activations across social platforms. In India, Yahoo has partnered with multiple brands to help them create successful campaigns, including Accenture, Amazon, Madhya Pradesh Tourism and Tourism Australia, among others.

San Francisco, April 10 (IANS) California-based semiconductor firm Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) on Monday announced it has acquired intellectual property (IP) and key engineering talent from Austin-based Nitero to enable the next generations of wireless Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) headsets.

Sydney, April 10 (IANS) A pioneering anaesthesia technique that makes surgery safer for patients with obstructed airways has helped save at least one life already, doctors in Australia said on Monday.

"An adult patient with an infected epiglottis was in danger of having his airway blocked by rapid swelling, and this technique enabled us to safely control his airway without surgery," said Anton Booth, Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia.

"It is also making a difference to quality of life for those people who may previously have been unsuitable for surgery," Booth said in a university news release.

In a study conducted at Australia's Princess Alexandra Hospital, the team combined two relatively new techniques.

"Traditionally with anaesthesia we expect patients to stop breathing, as we are putting them into a state resembling a medically-induced coma," Booth said.

"Our job as anaesthetists is to take over breathing for the patient to keep them oxygenated, often through intubation. In patients undergoing surgery for narrowed airways we can't insert a tube into the trachea where the surgeons are trying to operate," he said.

"Instead we implemented a way to keep the patient breathing spontaneously during anaesthesia," Booth added.

The team supplemented that approach by adding high-flow nasal oxygen supply, previously used in intensive care and respiratory units.

"Through this combination we have been able to manage anaesthesia for patients with very challenging airway narrowing," he said.

"We have been able to achieve quite spectacular improvements in oxygen levels while patients are in deep anaesthesia. This is a modern alternative to traditional techniques and has great potential to be used in many other scenarios," Booth said.

The technique, known as STRIVE Hi, was detailed in the British Journal of Anaesthesia.