Tree to Book to Tree – The Book You Can Plant!

Living in a world where technology rules, it's becoming more and more apparent how important it is to teach children about books. Lots of kids, for example, don't know where books come from, how they are made, or what happens to them once they get thrown away. Perhaps we could take a leaf out of Pequeño Editor's book (pun intended), and do something assertive and different to teach the kids of today a thing or two about books and the rainforests. And what better way to do that than create a book that a child can plant after reading, which will grow into a magnificent tree. Around 150 acres of rainforest is destroyed every minute, and it's surprising that a lot of people aren't aware of this. Pequeño Editor wanted to do something about it, and so, decided to make some changes to a book they'd already had out on the market for a couple of years. Mi Papá Estuvo en la Selva, which translates to My Dad was in the Jungle, is aimed at children between the ages of eight and 12. It tells the tale of Theo's dad, who took a trip through the rainforest in Ecuador, as told by Theo. As part of the company's Tree Book Tree project, the book has been remade to be entirely eco-friendly, hand-stitched with ecological ink and acid-free pages. This means that the book is completely biodegradable, and won't harm the environment in any way. The story covers a range of topics about the rainforest, including the cultural diversity that can be found there and the destruction of the natural environment. It also reinforces that we should respect all living things. The tale is even based on the real adventures of author Gusti, in the very same jungle. Gusti is one of the world's more renowned and award-winning children's illustrators, though the artwork in Mi Papá Estuvo en la Selva can't be credited to him. This came down do the talented French illustrator Anne Decis, who has provided the art for hundreds of children's books. But we haven't even got to the exciting part yet! Embedded in the paper-pulp of the books' covers are seeds for the jacaranda, a tree native to Argentina. Once the book has been read, you don't have to worry about selling or giving it away, or even throwing it out. Instead, the book can be planted in the ground, and as it breaks down, the seeds in the cover will grow into a jacaranda tree. A tree made the book and the book goes on to make a tree. Visitors to one of the bookstores in Argentina are able to see the project in action, with one of the books planted in soil in a glass tank on display, already sprouting. Hopefully, other publishing firms will follow this initiative and realise how important it is for children to know about books. Perhaps Tree Book Tree will encourage them to come up with their own novel ways of giving back to the environment! Image source: Pequeño Editor

Scanning Smartphone for Detecting Blood Parasites

Treating diseases in Africa is difficult enough without having to worry that the treatment itself is going to prove fatal for the patient. But this is often the case for treatment of river blindness and elephantiasis. The best medication to treat these tropical diseases in Ivermectin, but with people with high levels of Loa loa worm, the drug can do the opposite to the desired effect. Obviously, this means that patients need to be screened for the blood parasite before the medication can be administered for either of the two diseases. The problem with screening these patients is that it is such a long, drawn-out process. First off, a sample of the patient's blood is drawn, and sent to the lab. Here, healthcare workers need to be skilled at analysing the blood by eye, to see if there are any moving parasites in the sample. They then have to determine how many parasites are in the blood. Testing is both time-consuming and requires laboratory equipment that might not be readily available. And, unfortunately, the risks of the treatment are so high, it's been suspended. This is where the good news comes in, with an international team of researchers. The team hails from the US' University of California Berkeley and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, alongside the University of Montpellier in France and Cameroon's University of Yaoundé. The team have devised a system using a smartphone that will allow it to automatically detect parasites inside blood samples. The system is called CellScope and analyses a sample of the patient's blood in a box attached to a smartphone. The phone loads up when the box is loaded and then automatically starts analysing the sample for any movement that would indicate the presence of the Loa loa worm. The system then predicts the number of parasites in the patient's blood and relays it back to the user. If the number is low enough, the patient is eligible for treatment and they are able to receive the medication. The software has been tested in small trials in Cameroon, and the team has published their results in Science Translational Medicine, with further trials planned for 40,000 more people. "With one touch of the screen, the device moves the sample, captures video, and automatically analyses the images," described Professor Daniel Fletcher, senior author of the paper. Professor Fletcher explained that he was excited about this new approach to dealing with what he called "low-tech problems". He said that although there are drugs to treat many tropical diseases, there wasn't the technology to identify the people who could receive these treatments. And now there is!   Image source: UC Berkeley

Sri Lanka: First Nation to Protect Mangroves

Mangrove forests are one of the most at-risk habitats in the world, with more than half of it being either lost or destroyed over the last century. The trees are evergreens that can be found in tropical and subtropical regions, able to grow in saltwater and in conditions that other trees would struggle in. Although there are lots of benefits to be had from looking after the world's mangrove forests, there surprisingly hadn't been any protection programmes installed. Until, of course, now. Sri Lanka has become the first nation to put something in place to ensure the protection of its mangrove forests - a scheme that is hoped to be picked up by the rest of the world. The plans are being backed by the Sri Lankan government, and will involve a variety of different projects designed to ensure the safety of the trees. For example, there will be alternative job training and replanting projects in mangrove nurseries. Alongside a combination of laws that will also be put into effect, there will also microloans. In return for these, 15,000 women will be expected to guard the trees close to their homes and stop using them for firewood. Their job will entail making sure no one from their community, or people from outside it, can cut down the trees. If people do try to get to the trees, and the women are unable to persuade these people to leave, the authorities can be called in, thanks to the new laws. Overall, the government believes the women involved will hugely benefit the living standards in their local communities. So, apart from all of the standard reasons for wanting to protect trees, what makes mangrove forests so special? For a start, they retain carbon in the few top metres of soil. They're also not susceptible to forest fires because of their surrounding habitat and the lack of readily available fuel. But they also serve as nurseries for many of the fish species that go on to populate coral reefs. These fish populations have provided the livelihood and food for millions of families for generations, which has allowed the coastal communities to sustain themselves after all this time. It should also be noted that without the protection of the mangrove forests, lots of the villages in Sri Lanka that survived the 2004 tsunami would have been wiped out completely. Alongside the Sri Lankan government, joint partners of the programme include Sudeesa, which is based in Sri Lanka, and Seacology, which is a global non-government organisation. Each of these companies will be overseeing the new measures, and hope that other countries with mangrove forests will start their own protection schemes. "It's the responsibility and the necessity of all [various types of institutions] and civil community to be united to protect the mangrove ecosystem," declared Maithreepala Sirisena, President of Sri Lanka. So, well done to Sri Lanka on becoming the first to protect these amazing and globally-beneficial habitats, and let's hope that other nations follow the same initiative in the near future.

Life Expectancy Increasing – Men Catching Up!

Back in 1981, the average life expectancy for men in England and Wales was six years behind women. Since then, a variety of factors has improved the average life expectancy of both men and women, with men reaping the most benefits. They've caught up and there is only a two-year gap between the two groups of people. Of course, on matters such as this, there are official surveys and estimates to try and determine what we might expect around 15 years in the future. This is normally carried out by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), but a team from the Imperial College London thought that the results were too general and national, as well as being surprisingly despondent. For example, the ONS survey examines England and Wales together as one big area, whereas the Imperial College team decided to collate the death rates from individual local authorities across the two countries. Also, where the ONS survey made quite pessimistic assumptions about the future, the team concentrated on lifespan improvements that have occurred over the past few years. The team explained that statistics varied widely from place to place. Because of this, it would make far more sense for local authorities to have more health and social care responsibility for their own areas. People living in London had the longest life expectancy, for both the observations and predicted average life expectancies for men and women. What's more, this is expected to increase by around seven years by 2030. Men in Blackpool and women in Manchester were seen to fare the worst, with the lowest life expectancies at 75.3 and 80.2 respectively. However, by 2030, the lowest average for men, while still in Blackpool, will be about 81.4, and women will be around 84.5. The study was published in The Lancet, and from the results, the team interpreted that current life expectancy forecasts have been vastly underestimated, particularly for men. Because of this, the team feels that there is a need to provide better health care, social services, and pensions for elderly people in England and Wales. However, a representative for the ONS said there was no general agreement about the likely speed of any future improvements in life expectancy. The spokesperson said that future projections are uncertain, which is why the ONS publishes variant projections to illustrate some of that uncertainty and help planning public services in the process. Brian Beach from the International Longevity Centre said that where people live, as well as other social factors, can influence life expectancy. He added that while one hundred years ago, a 60-year-old would probably have been considered old and frail. He pointed out that in this day and age, someone of that age could be considered happy, healthy, and middle-aged. Of course, we have no way of knowing what the life expectancy is actually going to be 15 years into the future. But it can't be a bad thing to be optimistic about - that we'll all be living happily and healthily into our 90s.

Yahoo Tests Ear-Print Scanners for Smartphones

Many of us use PINs to unlock our phones, and some of the more tech-savvy among us might even use a fingerprint scanner. But what about scanning another part of your body instead, say, your knuckles, your palm, or even your ear? That's what Yahoo Labs is proposing and currently testing with their new Bodyprint system. Fingerprint scanners are becoming all the rage, but smartphones with the technology can be on the expensive end. If you think about it, a fingerprint isn't very big. The minute details of the grooves would need a scanner with a high input resolution, which is what makes it all so costly. But ears, palms and knuckles are all bigger than a fingertip, meaning that a smartphone's touchscreen could be used to scan them, in spite of the lower input resolution. All the user would have to do is press the body part against the screen, and wait for the scanner to do its job, which is a relatively quick process. The team has put the new system through a small initial trial of 12 participants, and it's proven surprisingly effective. Bodyprint was able to recognise specific users with a 99.5% accuracy rate, and, excitingly, a 99.98% success rate when identifying which body part was used to scan. And according to the team, scanning ears achieved 99.8% success rate! According to experts, one of the benefits of using an ear scanner is that it offers greater privacy than some other biometric identification systems. For example, fingerprint scanners in the latest iPhones have proven vulnerable to hackers, and this is obviously something we all want to avoid. One interesting aspect of the system is that multiple users can have their prints stored on a device, and documents can be locked, needing the prints of many users to open it. However, there is a catch with the system, too. The algorithm errs on the side of caution, turning the right person away frequently. An average false rejection rate of almost 27% could be seen across all of the possible body parts, meaning that when even the right person was using the device, they were turned away. Scanning the ear proved to be the most efficient method, rejecting users only 7.8% of the time. Of course, the obvious fear with a system like this is that it won't be accurate enough. But the rejection rate isn't really something to worry about now because this new take on biometrics is still in its early days. And fingerprint scanners were actually around for quite a long time before they become good enough to use as they are now. We don't yet know about any commercial applications planned for the system, but the team is working on improving the recognition algorithm. "Unlocking your smartphone is something you do 150 times per day," said Yahoo Labs research scientist Christian Holz. "You want to make unlocking it convenient but also secure." To check out the system in action, take a look at the video below: [video width="600" height="275" id="JrK1wQjh980" type="youtube"]

How Pets Can Make Your Home Even Happier

Having a pet can be great for all the family, and even help with children's development. So, if you're on the fence about buying your child his or her first pet, maybe this article can help! First things first, keeping pets could help your child to grow into the kind and caring adult you hope them to be. Children who have grown up around animals have been found to be more emotionally intelligent and compassionate. According to The Waltham Book of Human-Animal Interaction, having pets in the house can teach children how to care for a dependent animal from a young age. This could be because parents and children often share in the responsibility and caring involved. From as young as three years old, kids can be taught to stroke an animal carefully and gently, and even be able to take a bowl of food and set it on the floor for the pet. Spending a lot of time playing with pets, as well as talking to them and sometimes reading to them, can help children with their cognitive development. This helps them to grasp language and enhance their verbal skills. Looking after pets is also a great way of helping your child to understand the life cycle, which can greatly benefit them later in life. Birth and death - and everything in between - can be difficult subjects to teach children, and while it can be confusing and painful, they can also be great learning experiences. The way in which parents and other adults around children deal with these situations will influence how children cope with them in general throughout their lives. And it's important for these adults to show kids that it's alright to have feelings about the events, as well as helping them to cope with whatever feelings they might have. As the child grows older, giving them tasks to look after their pets, such as walking or feeding them, can help build their self-esteem. It will also give them a sense of accomplishment, and help them to feel independent and competent. And did you know that pets can offer children social support? According to research from Cambridge University, children are more likely to confide in their pet than their siblings or friends, especially if they're going through a tough time. Matt Cassels, who analysed the research, said that it might be because they feel their pets aren't judging them. Girls were seen to especially benefit from having pet dogs, with them helping to encourage social behaviour. "These children not only turn to their pets for support when faced with adversity, they do so even more than they turn to their siblings," Mr Cassels explained. "This is even though they know their pets don't actually understand what they're saying." Mr Cassels said that too little attention has been paid to the relationship between children and animals, but that it hadn't occurred to him to investigate this relationship sooner. There has also been an overall lack of evaluation on how important our pets to us, even though most people consider their pets as part of their family. Recent research from Japan's University of Tokyo and Duke University in the US has found that people love their pet as much, and in the same ways as, their children. Duke senior researcher Dr Evan MacLean explained that it's only been in the last couple of thousand years that dogs have been kept as pets. In that time, they have become attuned to our social cues the same way young children are. "Our relationships with dogs are very much like parent-child relationships," he added. "We respond to our dogs quite like human children." On top of all this, owning pets has been shown to make people generally more happy and comfortable. So, if there was any doubt when you started reading this, perhaps now you know the whole range of benefits that having a pet can do for your children and yourself. Even if you're worried about allergies, why not try out fish, or maybe a tortoise? What about a parrot? The possibilities are endless, as are the rewards.

US Diet Pepsi to Drop Aspartame

If you happen to be one of those people dubious about the safety of the artificial sweetener aspartame, but love Diet Pepsi, then we have some great news for you! Due to popular demand, PepsiCo is replacing the sweetener it uses in its Diet Pepsi drinks. There is a downside though, which would be that it's only happening in the US, with the recipe remaining unchanged in the rest of the world. "Why is this happening?" you might ask. Well, despite there being numerous studies on the matter proving otherwise, there have been concerns about the potential side effects of aspartame since it was first approved for use back in the 1980s. The sweetener has been linked with (but not proven to cause) MS, mental health problems and tumours, to name but a few, and concern about the use of aspartame has escalated in recent years. Last year, sales of both Diet Pepsi and Diet Coke - both of which contain aspartame - fell by more than 5% and 6% respectively. And it's all thought to be down to customers worrying about the ingredients. "Aspartame is the number one reason consumers are dropping diet soda," explained Pepsi Vice-President Seth Kaufman. So, here's what you should know about aspartame. For a start, it's about 200 times sweeter than sugar, meaning only a tiny amount is needed and, therefore, contains very few calories. Breakfast cereals, sugar-free gum, and thousands of other foods and drinks around the world contain the sweetener. And because it has been linked with so many health problems, including those we mentioned earlier, it is one of the most analysed food additives out there. However, it's possible that these health problems arise from extremely high doses of some of its components, such as aspartic acid or methanol. But take a moment to think about avocado and asparagus, which both contain high levels of aspartic acid; tomatoes, wine and beer can hold high doses of methanol. And yet, we still continue to consume these things. In fact, experts tout that aspartame is safe for everyone except for those with a rare genetic disorder called phenylketonuria (PKU). Those with this condition are unable to break down some of the components of aspartame, and to consume it would make them very ill. While the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) asserts the safety of aspartame, citing more than 100 studies supporting this, they agree that there should be a limit to how much of it people consume. In the UK, the recommended daily limit is about 40mg per kg of body weight, which is roughly 12 cans of Diet Pepsi in a day. PepsiCo said it is just responding to its customer preferences and insist that the decision is purely a commercial one. According to a spokesperson for the company, UK consumers and those in the rest of the world still love the product as it is. Because of this, the change will only be affecting those in the US, with the launch of the aspartame-free drink happening in August. The aspartame is being replaced with another sweetener called sucralose (Splenda is a good example of a sucralose-based sweetener). Sucralose is three times sweeter than aspartame, so less can be used in the making of Pepsi's diet soft drinks. The daily limit of sucralose is also lower than that of aspartame, and although its use has been linked to migraines, the conclusion has been reached that it is safe to use, just like aspartame. Sucralose is thought to offer a better taste than some other artificial sweeteners, and it's also more stable, especially when heated. However, although the taste of Diet Pepsi shouldn't change, the new version might leave a different feeling in the drinker's mouth. The recipe change will only be integrated into Diet Pepsi varieties, such as Caffeine-Free Diet Pepsi, but won't be affecting other diet drinks owned by the company, like Diet Mountain Dew. What consumers have to remember is that PepsiCo's decision to move away from aspartame in the US isn't anything to do with some startling new scientific revelation about the sweetener - there isn't one. It is completely down to allaying the fears of their customers, and finding an alternative so that people can start enjoying their drinks again without any worry. "Diet cola drinkers in the US told us they wanted aspartame-free Diet Pepsi," the company pointed out in a statement, "and we're delivering."