Women drivers more prone to whiplash injuries than men

Women drivers more prone to whiplash injuries than men

LONDON: According to Swedish researchers, women drivers are three times more likely than men to suffer whiplash injuries if their car is hit from behind.

Women's risk is increased because they generally sit closer to the steering wheel, the Umea University team said having studied data on 400 injuries.

They said crash-test dummies should better reflect women's figures and help influence seat design.

In the study, the researchers looked at insurance company data on more than 400 whiplash injuries claimed for during the 1990s.

They also carried out their own studies into how more than 200 men and women adjusted their car seats and then how they sat as they drove and as they were stationary.

They then compared the results from the human test with those from tests of a commonly used crash-test dummy, the BioRID, which is the same size as the average man or a large woman.

They concluded women's increased risk was partially due to them tending to sit higher and closer to the steering wheel and to have the seat back more upright.

For both women and men, sitting in the driver's seat entails twice the risk compared with the front passenger seat.



And when the data from dummy testing was examined, the researchers found it differed significantly in seat adjustments used and positioning.

"Current crash dummies used to develop vehicle seats and neck supports, for instance, are geared to men of normal size, but not to women. This is especially true in regard to height,” BBC quoted the researchers, as saying.

"Nor does testing methodology take into consideration differences between the sexes, or differences in sitting position between the driver's seat and the front passenger seat,” they added.

A spokesman for the UK's Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said: "A properly adjusted head restraint will help prevent whiplash by reducing the distance between the back of the head and head restraint, stopping the neck from bending back.

"It will also reduce the amount of time it takes your head to initially contact the head restraint, and increase the amount of time that your head is supported during an accident."

He added, "It's important everyone adjusts the head rest as necessary - every time the car is used if there are different drivers using it."

Dinosaurs might once again roam the Earth

Dinosaurs might once again roam the Earth

If scientists have their way, dinosaurs might once again roam the Earth, with the possibility arising after the DNA of the extinct Tasmanian tiger was injected and brought back to life in a mouse embryo.

In the world-first experiment, DNA was extracted from baby Tasmanian tigers, which had been pickled in alcohol at Melbourne's Museum Victoria for a century.

The tigers were babies in their mothers' pouches when they were killed and preserved.

Tasmanian tigers have been extinct in the wild for about 100 years, with the last one of its kind dying in captivity in Hobart Zoo in 1936.

Part of a nine-year experiment conducted by Melbourne University zoologists Andrew Pask and Marilyn Renfree, the experiment proved the tiger DNA was able to grow cartilage and bone in the mouse, showing the extinct gene could be brought back to life

"This is the first time that DNA from an extinct species has been used to induce a functional response in another living organism," said Dr Pask.

"Up until now we have only been able to examine gene sequences from extinct animals. This research was developed to go one step further to examine extinct gene function in a whole organism," he added.

According to Dr Pask, the same technique could now be used with other extinct species such as the dinosaur, mammoth and neanderthal, all of which scientists had large amounts of DNA available.

The suggestion that dinosaurs could be revived from samples of their DNA was popularised by the best-selling book and hit movie Jurassic Park.

Dr Pask said that while the technique could recreate only a single extinct gene, with technology advancing all the time, it could one day be possible to bring whole creatures back to life.

"I have no doubt the whole creature could be brought back to life in the future," he said.

The study proved for the first time that it was possible to resurrect the function of an extinct gene, according to Professor Renfree.

"This study has proved you can use DNA material from extinct animals and see what function they have," she said.

As well as paving the way to recreate extinct species in the future, the research could also have potential bio-medical therapeutic outcomes.

"It gives us the ability to unleash the potential of extinct species," said Dr Pask.

Robots

Robots



Honda Motor's first generation humanoid robot Asimo (L) looks at the second generation Asimo (R) at a Tokyo science museum on February 18, 2006. The new version of Asimo, announced last December, runs at a speed of six kilometres (3.7 miles) per hour. Reuters

Honda Motor Co.'s new version of the humanoid robot Asimo runs past the audience for its first appearance outside Honda's facilities. Reuters

Honda Motor's new version of humanoid robot Asimo (R) runs past the audience. Reuters

Humanoid robot Asimo waves to the audience. Reuters
Another shot of humanoid robot Asimo as it runs past the audience. Reuters

HEALTH & SCIENCE

HEALTH & SCIENCE

LONDON: Scientists at Gladstone Institutes of Cardiovascular Disease (GICD) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), have uncovered the genetic determinants responsible for fat storage in cells.

This discovery may further help researchers better understand obesity, diabetes, and heart disease and in finding their potential treatments as well.

It's long been known that lipid droplets are involved in building up fats in cells and the researchers have been focussing a lot on the genes involved in droplet biology.

In this study, scientists in the laboratories of Drs. Robert V. Farese, Jr., of Gladstone and UCSF, and Peter Walter, of UCSF, have come up with a genetic screen which may help in determining the genes contributing to fat storage in cell of fruit flies, and potentially other species.

"For some time, we have been studying the enzymes that make fats. But clearly, we need to know a lot more about the most basic processes that regulate cellular fat storage to be able to make progress on some very serious human diseases," Nature quoted Dr. Farese, senior investigator, as saying.

GICD scientist Dr. Yi Guo, and Dr. Tobias Walter kicked off a major discovery project in order to identify novel genes involved in fat storage. In the project, they first used RNAi screens for specifically inactivating all the genes in cells from fruit flies.

After completing the initial survey, Drs. Guo and Walther, have now started studying in detail the genes that have the most striking effects on fat storage in cells.

To their surprise, the researchers discovered that approximately 1.5 percent of all genes contribute towards lipid-droplet formation and regulation. Al these genes came out to be determinants of the size and number of lipid droplets in cells.

The researchers investigated a number of these in detail and it they were seen to profoundly affect droplet morphology and lipid utilization. After deleting the individual genes, it was possible to separate the resulting cells into five distinct phenotypic classes, on the basis of the number and appearance of the lipid droplets. Later, the most interesting genes will be utilised for functional studies in flies and mice.

These new studies will not only lead to significant advances in understanding the processes that regulate fat metabolism in cells, but it will also help the researchers to find novel therapeutic targets for treating diseases, such as obesity and diabetes.

In addition, the results of the study have implications for engineering plants and microorganisms to maximize seed oil production and biofuels, respectively.

"With this screen completed, the work turns now to many fascinating questions. How are lipid droplets formed" What regulates their size, numbers, and cellular locations" Do they help to traffic lipids within the cell" How does this cell biology relate to physiology and disease" These are early days in this area of biology, and the field is wide open," said Dr. Guo.

Wedding bells

Wedding bells for Prince William and Kate Middleton?

LONDON: Looks like Prince William and long-term girlfriend Kate Middleton are all set to take their relationship to the next level, for according to sources, the royal heart-throb is planning to wed the love of his life.

Wills, recently, ducked cousin Peter Phillip’s marriage at Windsor Castle to watch his old flame Jessica Craig’s brother get hitched in a Kenyan tribal ceremony.

But on the night of May 16, sources close to Kate and William, both 26, revealed that their own wedding announcement is already being planned after the prince ends his stint with the armed forces this year, reports The Daily Star.

William will take up a training role with the Royal Navy after returning from Africa next week and will end up with his Army regiment the Household Cavalry before being discharged.

Senior members of the Royal Family are understood to be already checking their official diaries for suitable free dates.