Weight Loss Surgery Could Cure 50% of Type-2 Diabetes

According to a new study published in The Lancet, weight loss surgery could put half of patients with type-2 diabetes in remission for at least five years. The trial of 60 patients - of which 53 continued to the end - was carried out by an international team from King's College London and the Università Cattolica in Rome. The surgery was able to improve symptoms both through weight loss and by changing the way the gut functions. Back in 2009, the team randomly assigned the 60 patients to receive one of three treatments. One group would receive a type of weight loss surgery called a gastric bypass, and another would have another type of operation known as a biliopancreatic diversion. The final group would continue on with their regular medicinal treatment and wouldn't receive any surgery. Professor Francesco Rubino is one of the authors of the study and the surgeon who operated on the patients. He explained that half of the patients who were operated on had their blood levels return to non-diabetic levels for about five years. On top of this, a whopping 80% of the operated-on participants were able to achieve "optimal control" of their blood sugar levels, despite only receiving one or none of their medication at all. Patients who received surgery were also found to have a better quality of life and were less likely to develop heart problems, which is a common side effect of uncontrolled diabetes. Interestingly, none of the study participants who were only receiving their medication achieved remission status. Professor Rubino explained that treating patients with surgery rather than medical therapy could be more cost-effective in the long term because there is less use of medication, which can be expensive. "The ability of surgery to greatly reduce the need for insulin and other drugs suggests that surgical therapy is a cost-effective approach to treating type-2 diabetes," he said. The results seem to peak about two years after surgery, as some of the patients relapsed after this time - but not all of them. This means that there needs to be continued monitoring of blood sugar levels, even after the operation. Professor Rubino added that while it isn't known why the surgery caused diabetes to go into remission, it could be something to do with the intestines being exposed to less food. The intestines are known to produce a host of hormones involved in regulating metabolism. Because of this, the surgeons theorise that by reconstructing the gastrointestinal tract (so that food bypasses the stomach and small intestine), normal metabolic control is restored. Also writing in The Lancet, Dr Carel le Roux and Dr Dimitri Pournaras described diabetes as "becoming the plague of the 21st century", but that the results of this study were remarkable. "Surgery for diabetes seems to be safe, effective in terms of glycaemic control, and is now associated with reduced complications of diabetes," they said. Dr le Roux and Dr Pournaras pointed out that this potentially life-saving option needs to become more available as it is only offered to a few patients at the moment. They also hope for more trials in the future: "The ultimate question is whether diabetes surgery is associated with reduced mortality." And as soon as we know the answer to that, we'll update you.

Girl, 5, Happily Donates Stem Cells to Save Twin’s Life

Brotherly and sisterly love. It's a wonderful thing to behold, especially in young children - and it even has the power to save your life. Bradley and his sister Charlotte - or Charlie, as she likes to be known - are five-year-old twins from Elgin, Illinois in the US. The siblings have just started Kindergarten and getting on with their lives in that way that five-year-olds do. You might never have guessed that just a matter of months earlier, the whole family's lives got turned upside down... In November last year, Bradley was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called acute myeloid leukaemia. There are only about 2,600 reported cases of this type of cancer in the UK each year, and it's typically found in adults over the age of 60. The aggressive disease occurs when stem cells in the bone marrow produce too many immature white blood cells, which don't have the infection-fighting properties of healthy white blood cells. And because so many of these cells are being produced, the number of red blood cells and platelets in the blood can decrease - these carry oxygen in the blood and help clot the blood, respectively. Bradley also had high-risk factors to his leukaemia and the best options for him were a bone marrow transplant accompanied with chemotherapy. For the transplant to take place, the twin's parents, Brian and Jennifer, had to see if they could find a match for Bradley. In these cases, the parents and siblings of the ill person are usually tested first, as these are the most likely people one would find a match. According to Beatrice Abetti, Information Resource Center Director at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, siblings are the best change for a match for a stem cell transplant. And luckily for Bradley, he just so happens to have a twin sister - though they are fraternal twins, which means they aren't identical. The transplant would involve extracting stem cells from the healthy child's hipbone or bloodstream and infusing them into the ill child to restore marrow function. Charlie was tested and it turned out that she was a perfect match as a donor for her brother. In January, her parents decided to ask her if she wanted to help her big brother (older by a minute) get better. The twins' mum, Jennifer, explained that they wanted Charlie to feel as though she was a part of the decision-making process. "We explained that Bradley's blood was sick and hers was healthy," she said, "and she said, 'Let's do this!'." Only being five, Charlie didn't really understand the whole medical process of what was going to happen, but she wanted to help her brother in any way she could. A month after that life-changing discussion, the twins were taken to Chicago's Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital for their surgery. Despite the process being known to cause soreness or discomfort for a couple of days afterwards, Charlie amazed her parents by how little she cried and not complaining at all about the pain. "She had a huge bandage on her back and she didn't want to take it off," said dad Brian, proudly. "It was a sort of badge of honour to show she helped Bradley." Dr Jennifer Schneiderman, the twins' transplant coordinator, described how both twins were doing well after the operation. She added that everyone hopes the more time that passes after the transplant, the better the chances of the cancer not returning and Bradley making a full recovery. Now, just a few months later, Bradley is in remission, though he will need to be evaluated every two weeks for a while to see how he is doing. As we said earlier, the twins are starting Kindergarten, and their parents thought now was a good time to share their story. Brian described what his eldest daughter had done for the family was "nothing short of amazing". He said that parents want to be heroes to their children, but in their family, the children have become the heroes. "This whole ordeal has brought the two of them even closer," he added. "We really hope, as parents, they learn from this: to always be selfless, to always help somebody out, to always give." "This shows how valuable love and life is, and I hope they never take it for granted."   Image Source: BradleyStrong Facebook

Billionaire Offers to Buy Island for Refugees

There is always some crisis or another going on in the world that we want to raise money for or donate to. Often, celebrities and the world's rich folk get involved too, but "civilians" who don't have as much money often wonder why those more affluent don't donate more. Although there are a lot of people out there who could afford to try and make a difference, it's not something you hear about as often as we would like. It is a similar story with the Syrian refugees, with governments struggling to come up with a viable solution for the hundreds or thousands of people fleeing their war-torn homeland. But as is sometimes the case in times of crisis, there are a few shining examples of people who just want to do what they can to help at - no matter the cost. One such individual is Naguib Sawiris. According to Forbes, Sawiris is the third richest man in Egypt and tenth in all of Africa. As CEO of Orascom Telecom Media & Technology (OTMT), he is worth billions of dollars. A regular tweeter on Twitter, Sawiris announced to his followers that he wanted to help the Syrian refugees and he knows just the way to do it. He wants to buy them an island.  

Greece or Italy sell me an island,ill call its independence and host the migrants and provide jobs for them building their new country

— Naguib Sawiris (@NaguibSawiris) September 1, 2015

--- Sawiris pointed out that there are lots of islands off the coast of Italy or Greece that are deserted and could easily fit hundreds of thousands of refugees. "Greece or Italy sell me an island," he tweeted, "I'll call its independence and host the migrants and provide jobs for them building their new country." Despite it sounding like a throwaway comment from a rich guy, Sawiris insists that he is serious. He explained that he could build temporary shelters to house the refugees and then employ them to build houses, schools, and hospitals. He added that if things improved back in Syria, they could always go home if they wanted to.  

Crazy idea .. Maybe but at least temporary until they can return to their countries ??!!

— Naguib Sawiris (@NaguibSawiris) September 1, 2015

--- And he is quite aware of the challenges he would face if he actually gets to go ahead with his plan. To start with, it would likely be difficult to convince Greece or Italy to sell him an island, which would cost him between $10 million and $100 million. He would also have to work out jurisdiction and customs regulations. Of course, he has been asked by he doesn't try to effect such changes in his own country, which has seen its fair share of problems and riots over the past couple of years. However, as he pointed out, that he doesn't have any power to create the necessary changes without getting in the way of the Egyptian government. And, besides, Sawiris knows he has a good chance of making a positive difference in the lives of the Syrian refugees. "The way [the refugees] are being treated now, they are being treated like cattle," he said. He explained that anyone who took refuge in this new land would be treated like the human they are.

A Whole New Meaning to “Building Your Own PC”

There are going to be some of you out there who regularly tinker with your computer and have it souped up to the max. For the rest of us, tampering with the inside of our machines or building our own computer can look like a very daunting task indeed. But all that could be able to change with one of Acer's latest desktop computers unveiled at IFA Berlin, one of Germany's annual tech shows. Acer is bringing a whole new meaning to "building your own computer" with this tiny, interchangable PC. The Revo Build Series is made up of a series of "blocks" that stack on top of one another, magnetically snapping together with little connectors on the tops and bottoms of the blocks. The idea was to develop a computer that was easy to customise and add components to without having to unscrew anything to mess about with wires and the like. It's simple enough that even someone with absolutely no experience could put it together and build their perfect computer. The initial block is a small block that only measures 5x5x2in (13x13x5cm). In this block, you will find 8-gig of RAM and 32GB of solid-state storage. This is on top of various ports on the back and sides: 3 USB ports, HDMI-out, DisplayPort, Ethernet, and an SD slot. It will - initially, at least - run relatively limited processing power with a lower-end Celeron or Pentium processor with integrated graphics. The restricted processing power might not appeal to gaming enthusiasts to begin with, but with a series of blocks being launched in the months following initial release, we could see a big turnabout. Some of the add-on blocks will have the capabilities to work as stand-alone units with other computers, too, so they won't just appeal to those who go and buy the Revo Build Series starting block. To begin with, though, the only add-on blocks available for purchase will be a 500GB or 1TB portable hard drive. The computer is expected to go on sale in October at a minimum price of £199. After that, there are a couple of blocks that customers can look forward to, such as the Graphics Block. As you can probably imagine, this one will improve the quality of graphics in games and other image-sensitive processes. The Power Bank Block will be able to charge the PC when it isn't plugged in and even potentially charge compatible mobile phones. There will also be an Audio Block, with built-in speakers and a microphone, which could be used as a music player in its own right when disconnected from the computer unit. Over time, more modules will be rolled out, but users are also invited to suggest ideas for future modules to Acer. The Revo Build Series has the potential to be huge and appeal to a lot of different kinds of computer user. Chris Green is a tech consultant for the Davies Murphy Group, a PR firm. He explained that some companies have already been working on phones with module blocks that allow you to add on extra features, so it makes sense for the same idea to be applied to a desktop computer. "A modular PC for a gamer would be perfect," he said, "as it would let them add in extra capabilities without having to get their hands dirty." But obviously, that doesn't just apply to gamers, but to anyone who wants to adapt their computer to be just right for them. This might be just the thing we have all been waiting for...

Image Source: Acer at IFA Berlin

Eight Times More Trees Than Previously Estimated

A new assessment from Yale University, published in Nature, has found that there could be almost eight times more trees in the world than previously estimated in 2008. Led by Dr Thomas Crowther, the team collected information about tree density from more than 400,000 forests around the world. Their data also included national forest inventories and studies in which the trees were physically counted. Collating all of this information, the team was able to build a better idea of what could be seen in satellite pictures. These pictures are very good at showing the extent of forest, but not at revealing how many trees are actually standing beneath the canopy. So, instead of there being only about 400 billion trees in the world, there are actually an estimated three trillion. This is a whopping 7.5 times more than thought, and means there are around 420 trees for every person on the planet. According to the study authors, more than a third of the world's trees are located in the tropics and subtropics. The greatest density of trees can be seen in the boreal forests, just below the Arctic, where there are about 0.7 trillion trees. Around 0.6 trillion trees can be found in temperate climates, between these two regions. This more refined number will become the baseline figure so that other research can become more accurate. For example, experts will be able to get a better idea of the biodiversity in plant and animal habitats. It also means new models of the climate can be developed because of the vastly important role that trees play in removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The team did point out, however, that it was now clear the influence humans have had on the planet's tree population. They explained that we remove about 15 billion trees every year, but only replant around five billion. This means that despite it being great news that there are so many more trees in the world than we thought, we do still have to take better care of them so we don't wipe them out altogether. "Trees store huge amounts of carbon, are essential for the cycling of nutrients, for water and air quality, and for countless human services," explained Dr Crowther. He said that in spite all of this, it is still very difficult to estimate just how many trees there are and even he was surprised to find they numbered in the trillions. But the team is being understandably careful with the information. "It's not good news for the world or bad news that we've produced this new number," Dr Crowther added. "We are simply describing the state of the global forest system in numbers that people can understand."

Syrian Refugee Family Overwhelmed by Generosity

Gissur Simonarson is an activist from Iceland residing in Oslo, Norway and the founder of Conflict News. Thanks to a picture he shared on social media, a family from Syria can get their fairy-tale ending. Simonarson shared a photo with Conflict News' 10,000 Twitter followers, of which 6,000 were moved enough to respond and pass it on themselves. It depicted a man with his daughter asleep over one shoulder, that same arm looped through the handles of a carrier bag, and the other hand filled with pens. That hand was reaching out to people on the street, in a gesture pleading for them to buy even just one. The scene was so moving and emotional that Simonarson felt compelled to share it. "You see the look in his face and just the way he holds the pens out," he said, "as if those pens are everything he has in the world."

Syrian father selling pens in the streets of #Beirut with his sleeping daughter #Lebanon #Syria http://pic.twitter.com/KOz4mjW1rd

— Gissur Simonarson CN (@GissiSim) August 25, 2015

--- What Simonarson hadn't expected was the overwhelming number of people asking to help. But he didn't know who the man in the picture was, or even who the photographer was. So, he took to Twitter once again and asked for help in locating the people in the photo, adding the hashtag "#BuyPens" - which soon went viral itself. After only two days, another activist managed to track down the pictured man, a single father of two called Abdul Halim Attar. Simonarson shared the news with the avidly waiting followers. "Finally found him. Been a lot of work, but it was worth it!" he wrote, "Now let's help him!" It was all very well locating the family, but now Simonarson wanted a way of everyone to be able to securely send money if that's how they wanted to help. He decided to set up a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo and urged users to donate $5,000 to the family. Within just 30 minutes, the campaign had reached and surpassed that goal. A day later, almost 3,000 had contributed more than $80,000 (£52,000). At the time of writing, a staggering $180,000 (£118,000) has been raised by nearly 7,000 people - and there are still a week to go! When Abdul heard how much money had been sent, and was still being donated, he broke down in tears and thanked everyone for their generosity. Before this, the family had been living off of an allowance from the United Nations of only $38/£25 a month. Abdul had resorted to selling pens on the street just to pay for food and a roof over his family's heads. With the donations, Abdul wants to send his two children, four-year-old Reem (the daughter from the picture) and his son Abdelillah, 9, to school. He wants better things for his children than having them stay on the streets with him. But that's not all the money will go towards, as Abdul is well aware that he is only one of four million registered refugees from war-torn Syria. He is hoping the campaign will grow large enough to help all of the people in the same situation. But to Abdul, there are people much worse off than he and his family. They at least have food and somewhere to live, and he wants for other Syrian refugees to receive the same kind of generosity he has been shown from people around the world. "I want to help my siblings and help the Syrians here in Lebanon," he said. "I want to help my parents and my siblings that live in Syria." Unfortunately, with a week still left of the campaign, it could be another three weeks until the money has been released from Indiegogo and making its way to them. But until then, Abdul doesn't have to worry about being to afford to feed his family, and the activist who managed to track him down has paid his rent. "I feel like I am in a dream," Abdul said. "I still cannot believe what has happened to me, that the whole world stood by me. I don't know how to thank them." Faith in humanity = restored.

The Girl Who Just Keeps Giving Back

Olivia Allen is only 10 years old and if you ask her what she is going to be when she grows up, the list includes everything from fashion designer to mathematician and actress to news anchor. But it's clear that whatever she is doing with her life, she is going to be helping people along the way. At 10 years old, Olivia Allen is already a philanthropist. Unlike most children her age, Olivia, from Kentucky, didn't spend her summer playing or going to camp; she spent it planning her very own conference aimed at promoting confidence in other girls her age. The event, I Can Be: Girls Confidence Conference, would be free and open to girls between the ages of eight and 12. Olivia realised that around the time that girls start puberty, their confidence levels start to waver - she had even noticed it in herself - and she wanted to do something to help other girls just like her. "They can follow their dreams," she said. "It doesn't matter what kind of dreams they are. If they want to be a unicorn, be a unicorn or something like that. Just believe in themselves." Working on her own - except for financial support from her mum, Anitra - Olivia arranged speakers and keynote speakers for her conference that would be held at Simmons College of Kentucky. She made sure that the topics covered building confidence, passion and pursuit of dreams, and personal health. Conference attendees were asked to bring in pieces of new or used school uniform that would be donated to the charity Home of the Innocents. These would go towards underprivileged children in the surrounding areas. Along with their parents, around 50 girls attended the morning-long event on 22 August and learnt about the social, physical, and psychological challenges that young girls can face. The mayor of Louisville, Olivia's hometown, even opened the conference and commended Olivia for all of her wonderful work in the community. Because this is not the only event that Olivia has held in her community to help others. Anitra explained that her daughter has always had a caring spirit, wanting to raise money to buy houses for homeless people and the like. Anitra suggested trying something on a smaller scale, which led to Olivia holding a toy drive in March. Here, she managed to collect more than 100 toys for Kosair, a charity that aims to provide support for the health and well-being of children in Kentucky and Southern Indiana. But it wasn't enough for Olivia, and just a month later she organised a food drive, from which she fed underprivileged children in her community. Her mum says that the conference and others like it are important because it helps to show girls they can be anything they want to be when they grow up. "Confidence is one of those things that can dictate what you decide to do," she explained, "and that will influence who you think you are." Olivia has promised to continue her good work and plans to hold another girls' conference in the near future. Achieving all of this at only 10 years old, imagine what she will be able to do in the future...