Laptop Use can Make Men Sterile

This article provides interesting information leading researchers to believe that with the increased use of laptop computers by males there is a greater risk of becoming infertile.

Men, if you value your fertility - be wary of your laptop computer. According to a new study, laptop computers may contribute to infertility and sterility in men.

Laptop Risks: Sterility in Men?

In a study presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine meeting, researchers took sperm samples from fifteen men. Some of the samples were exposed to radio frequency electromagnetic waves from WiFi for four hours, while the remainder were not. At the end of the four hours, the sperm exposed to the WiFi signal from a laptop were not only less mobile, but they had more DNA fragmentation and damage. DNA houses the all-important genetic material that codes for proteins that control the cell. Decreased sperm motility is a common cause of male infertility problems since sperm have to be mobile enough to reach and fertilize the egg.

Can Laptops Cause Sterility in Men?

This isn't the first time there have been concerns about laptop risks and male infertility. In a previous study, researchers found that laptops heat up the scrotum and testicles when men place them in their lap. This can contribute to sterility in men since the testicles need to be several degrees cooler than the rest of the body to produce healthy sperm. This study shows that there may also be a non-thermal effect of laptops on sperm counts and that the stimulus may be the electromagnetic waves that come from WiFi. These waves seem to damage DNA and decrease sperm motility.

Male Sterility: Laptop Risks Times Two

It seems that laptops contribute to male infertility in two ways - by overheating the testicles and by the effects of WiFi on sperm DNA. Either way, using a laptop could make it more difficult to conceive.

Laptop Risks and Male Sterility: The Bottom Line?

If you use a laptop computer, put it on a table - not in your lap. No one knows for sure whether the damage laptop computers do to sperm are temporary or permanent. But why take the chance? Laptops are portable and convenient, but, if you're a male, don't let them damage your sperm and keep you from conceiving.

The world's biggest family: The man with 39 wives, 94 children and 33 grandchildren

• Ziona Chana lives with all of them in a 100-room mansion
• His wives take it in turns to share his bed
• It takes 30 whole chickens just to make dinner
  

He is head of the world's biggest family - and says he is 'blessed' to have his 39 wives.

Ziona Chana also has 94 children, 14-daughters-in-law and 33 grandchildren.

They live in a 100-room, four storey house set amidst the hills of Baktwang village in the Indian state of Mizoram, where the wives sleep in giant communal dormitories.

The wives : Mr Ziona Chana poses with his 39 wives at their home in Baktawang, Mizoram, India

He even married ten women in one year, when he was at his most prolific, and enjoys his own double bed while his wives have to make do with communal dormitories.

He keeps the youngest women near to his bedroom with the older members of the family sleeping further away - and there is a rotation system for who visits Mr Chana's bedroom.

Rinkmini, one of Mr Chana's wives who is 35 years old, said: 'We stay around him as he is the most important person in the house. He is the most handsome person in the village.

She says Mr Chana noticed her on a morning walk in the village 18 years ago and wrote her a letter asking for her hand in marriage.

Feeling peckish? The senior ladies of the Chana family show what it takes just to make a meal

The full monty: The Ziona family in its entirety with all 181 members

You treat this place like a hotel: With 100 rooms the Ziona mansion is the biggest concrete structure in the hilly village of Baktawng

Mr Chana told the Sun: 'Today I feel like God's special child. He's given me so many people to look after.

'I consider myself a lucky man to be the husband of 39 women and head of the world's largest family.'

The family is organised with almost military discipline, with the oldest wife Zathiangi organising her fellow partners to perform household chores such as cleaning, washing and preparing meals.

One evening meal can see them pluck 30 chickens, peel 132lb of potatoes and boil up to 220lb of rice.

Coincidentally, Mr Chana is also head of a sect that allows members to take as many wives as he wants.

Shared bedroom: A look inside the four-storey mansion, Chhuanthar Run - The House of the New Generation

Another of his wives, Huntharnghanki, said the entire family gets along well. The family system is reportedly based on 'mutual love and respect'

And Mr Chana, whose religious sect has 4,00 members, says he has not stopped looking for new wives.

'To expand my sect, I am willing to go even to the U.S. to marry,' he said.

One of his sons insisted that Mr Chana, whose grandfather also had many wives, marries the poor women from the village so he can look after them.

Lost US love letter delivered 53 years late

PITTSBURGH: A love letter written to a U.S. college student in the state of Pennsylvania and proclaiming "love forever" was finally delivered -- 53 years late.

But the tender note penned in 1958 still waits in the mailroom at the California University of Pennsylvania as officials search for its intended recipient, Clark Moore, who now about 70 years old and living in another state, according to university spokeswoman Christine Kindl.

The letter, sent from Pittsburgh and postmarked February 20, 1958, arrived in the mailroom last week, Kindl said.

"No one here has any idea why it was delayed," she said.

The letter had been addressed to Mr. Clark C. Moore, then a junior at the university, which was known at the time as California State Teachers College, she said.

It included a return address, but little other information about the sender, who signed the letter, "Love Forever, Vonnie."

"It's very much the same type of letter that students today might write to a boyfriend who's away at college," Kindl said. "She ends by saying, 'I still miss you as much as ever and love you a thousand times more. Please write me real soon.'"

The university hopes to deliver the letter to Moore and has received a few tips on his possible whereabouts, she said. (Reuters)

Today Is The Longest Day Of The Year

KARACHI: Today is the longest day of the year, as its duration in Peshawar would be of 14 hours and 31 minutes.

Met Department said that the duration of the day in Islamabad would be of 14.28 hours, Lahore 14.17 hours, Karachi 13.43 hours and Quetta 14.16 hours.

It dawned at 5.00 A.M. in Peshawar and the dusk would be at 7.31 P.M., while in Islamabad the sunrise took place at 4.55 A.M. and the sunset will be at 7.24 P.M.

Duty Dearer Than Humanity

45-year-old man being taken to Mayo hospital dies after being stopped by traffic warden for half an hour at New Anarkali

LAHORE - A 45-year-old man died on his way to hospital when a traffic warden stopped his car for violating a traffic signal near New Anarkali on Thursday. The victim was identified as Falak Sher, a resident of Mandi Bahauddin. According to details, Falak was a heart and kidney patient.

On Thursday, he was in a critical condition on which his brother Nawaz along with his cousin hired a taxi and was taking him to Mayo Hospital. As they reached near New Anarkali on Mall Road, Traffic Warden Asif stopped them for violating a traffic signal. Nawaz and his cousin requested the warden to let them go as Falak’s condition was critical but Asif did not listen and stopped them for about half an hour.
He allowed them to go after issuing a fine ticket to them. When they reached Mayo Hospital, Falak was almost unconscious and doctors tried to save him but he left for eternal adobe. After seeing Falak’s death, Nawaz and his cousin became angry and immediately reached the place where the traffic warden had fined them. Nawaz, his cousin and others started thrashing Asif after blaming him for Falak’s death.
They also held a protest after placing the deceased’s body on the road. Protestors chanted slogans against the city traffic police. Heavy contingents of local and traffic police reached the spot and shifted Asif to another place in order to save him. Talking to journalists, Nawaz said that according to doctors, they could have saved Falak’s life if they had brought him only 10 minutes early.
He said that Asif was responsible for his brother’s death because he forced them to stop for more than half an hour. He said that they had requested the warden several times to let them go and told him about Falak’s critical condition but Asif was hell bent on stopping them and even collected Rs 300. Local residents also blamed the traffic warden for Falak’s death. A local shopkeeper told journalists that this was not the first time that wardens have teased people.
He said that it usually happens that wardens stop only those vehicles in which they see people from other cities. “We have witnessed on several occasions that wardens only stop those private vehicles which they believe have reached the city from other cities and have patients inside”, shopkeeper Atif said. After knowing about the mishap, Lahore City Traffic Officer Captain (r) Mobin also reached the spot and suspended Asif and ordered an inquiry against him under supervision of the Headquarters superintendent of police (SP).
He told journalists Asif stopped a car bearing registration number LED-7658 for violating traffic signals. Mobin claimed that Asif collected Rs 300 from the victims against a challan. He said that during inquiry, if it was established that the warden was guilty, he would be punished and a case will be registered against him. Asif refused to accept negligence and claimed that he allowed the car to go after issuing a fine ticket to the driver for violating a traffic signal. The warden said that he thought he was being cheated by the passengers.

Blast derails three bogies of train in Sindh

Hyderabad:Three bogies of a Peshawar bound Khush Hal Khan Khatak Express train derailed when a bomb planted on track exploded in Tangwani area of Kandhkot district, disrupting railway traffic in the area.

Sources said that Frontier Corps officials were also travelling in the train along with other passengers and the blast was apparently planted to target the FC officials.

Police and rescue workers rushed to the spot and recovered the trapped passengers. The sources said that a woman received minor injuries.

How To Stop Smoking Cigarettes

If we take a fatalistic view of life, nothing is important. However, deep down inside, we feel that even though our life is finite, we can accomplish much. It is this desire to live a long, healthy life with our friends and loved ones that can provide a motivation to quit smoking.

Many smokers feel that they are the masters of their own destiny and that they could quit smoking anytime they want, but then they convince themselves that they enjoy smoking and that they will not quit today. As time passes, the habit becomes ingrained until it becomes a lifestyle and an addiction that causes physical discomfort if stopped.

Why did you start smoking?

Every pack of cigarettes has a warning from the Surgeon General stating that smoking can be harmful to your health. You are not stupid. You understand this. You feel the harmful effects every time that you cough or have a sore throat, but this has not stopped you from smoking. Why? Because the reasons for smoking are mostly psychological. People are seduced to try tobacco by the glamorization of smoking in the movies and in advertisements. Addiction to nicotine makes it hard to quit smoking once you have started, but this addiction can be overcome in two weeks once the psychological reasons for smoking are eliminated.

Why do you smoke now?

You have been smoking for a while and you have matured. Now you know that smoking has not made you smarter, or cooler, or sexier. Smoking has not helped you to achieve your goals. Your accomplishments have been made in spite of smoking, but you are more aware that your health suffers. You can tell by your burning eyes, your hacking cough, and the phlegm in your throat. So, why do you still smoke?

Health Risks of Smoking:

Smoking is one of the main causes of serious health diseases, such as cancer, stroke and heart problems. If you have no plans of quitting today, having knowledge of the different types of illnesses that you may experience through years of smoking may change your perception and lead you to stop smoking.

how to stop smoking cigarettes:

Step s:

1-Think About Quitting According to a recent survey, around 15 million smokers try to quit smoking each day. However, less than 3% of these people stop smoking successfully for 3 to 12 months. If you’re thinking about quitting or have stopped smoking but failed to quit, don’t lose hope because smokers often try to quit more than once before they actually succeed.

2-Think about What You Owe Yourself and Others. You owe yourself and your loved ones a long and high quality life. So you need to seek and choose the things that are truly good for you such as sound nutrition and fitness and avoid those things like smoking that are truly bad for you. You deserve good health and life and must go through stop smoking permanently to achieve it.

3-Compute the Financial Costs of Smoking.The average cost of a pack of cigarettes in the U.S. is about $4.80 in December 2009. These costs seem to always go up and never down, so let’s use your cost over the next several years as $5.00 a pack. That’s $50 per week for those who smoke 10 packs a week and totals $2,600 a year and $26,000 over 10 years. That’s just the direct cost to you. The costs to the healthcare system and to employers are staggering – many billions of dollars per year.

4-Preparing To Quit Smoking The first key to quitting smoking successfully is planning and preparation. You need to prepare your body and mind before actually quitting. Determine your personal goals, discover your reasons for quitting and get rid of temptations that may become a hindrance to your stop smoking program. Tobacco smoke contains nicotine, a drug that is addictive and can make it very hard, but not impossible, to quit.

5-Choose a Realistic Smoking Cessation Date. In conjunction with the cessation program you’ve chosen, select a realistic date for quitting. Marshal your motivation, mentality, and environment to peak on and support the quit date.

6-Implement Your Plan. The fulfillment of all your preparation and your personal or group smoking cessation program is the day you stop smoking permanently. Begin that day to gradually eat more healthful food and to gradually increase your physical activity, all with your doctor’s approval, of course. Drink several glasses of water each day and sip water or chew gum when the desire to smoke is strong. Go for a short walk if that’s what it takes to get over the urge. Picture yourself as a non-smoker and constantly review your strongest motives to quit.

7-Reap the Benefits of Quitting Smoking. The main benefits of smoking cessation are a longer and higher quality life and lower risks of cancer, heart attack and stroke compared to people who continue to smoke. It’s hard to stop smoking but you can do it with thorough preparation, motivation, a good plan, and the proper frame of mind.

in this video learn how to quit smooking:

Side Effects Of Smoking (Anti Smoking Day 31 May)

Smoking is defined as the act of smelling or inhaling the smoke of a substance, mostly tobacco. There are many reasons for doing so, the most common being cultural reasons or peer pressure. Cigarettes, pipes and hookahs are the most popular methods of smoking and hence also the most injurious smoking elements for health.

It is very important for all those who smoke to keep it in mind that smoking is injurious to health. Smoking has been known to cause many problems. Not only is it a major cause of pollution but it also is one of the leading causes of premature death in developed countries.

It is very essential to know exactly how smoking is injurious to health. Once you have the understanding of how it affects your health, then you are able to counter its affects on the body. Smoking can lead to many kinds of heart and lung diseases, two of the most essential organs of the human body.

Different kinds of cancer are caused by smoking, the most common being lung and throat cancer. Smoking can also decrease the body's immunity system. Due to this, a smoker is more prone to diseases such as bronchitis and pneumonia as compared to a nonsmoker. The commonly used slogans to educate people that smoking is injurious to health are usually right. On an estimated average, smoking takes away between 5 to 20 minutes of a person's lifespan with every cigarette.

Smoking can cause weaker bones and yellow teeth. Wrinkling and bad skin can also occur with time. Stamina is also reduced due to decreased blood circulation leading rapid heartbeat and shortage of breath. There are also many other day to day issues related with smoking such as bad breath as well as bad smell from hair and hands.

The human body knows that smoking is injurious to health; therefore, it tries to counter it at the start. That is why coughing, sore throat, nausea and other negative feelings are aroused in the body when a person tries to smoke the first time.

As you know smoking is injurious to health, the best ay to safegaurd your self is the protection. Try to stay away from smoking elements to gaurd your health against smoking injuriousness.

Heroin use in Pakistan: Deep and deadly

In all the blitz of news this week, there was a remarkable story that the largest ever heroin cache had been seized in the country’s history – a whooping 375kg, worth an estimated $44 million. Indeed, this is a job well-executed on the part of the Anti-Narcotics Force, but this whole episode should serve to open the box on heroin drug use in Pakistan, rather than just a mere round of applause.

To give a short history of heroin use in Pakistan, this menace came into prominence in the wake of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Domestic cultivation of poppy in Pakistan started to decline from the 90s, from a peak level of 9,4441 hectares in 1992 to a ‘poppy-free’ status in 2000, but since 2003, the cultivation has again picked up pace. The problematic areas are concentrated in FATA, and concerns about losing community acquiescence in the counter-terrorism operations coupled with a lack of security forces, are crucial factors hampering eradication efforts.

The fact that 70 per cent of Afghanistan’s poppy is grown in five provinces along the border with Pakistan, only helps to add fuel to the fire. Pakistan acts as a major transit conduit for Afghanistan, with the border being too rugged and porous for a fully effective control policy to be implemented.

A UN Drug Survey completed in 2000 estimated almost half a million chronic heroin users in Pakistan. No doubt this number would have swelled in conjunction with our mushrooming population, but some experts argue that the opiate abusing population in Pakistan has reached a plateau. Even if this is the case, this is still a cause for concern, as a deeper look at the heroin abusing populace reveals a truly frightening picture.

Cause of grave concern

One would imagine that it is the downtrodden and destitute in our society, who fill up the ranks of the drug addicts in Pakistan. However, it is exactly the opposite, with research showing that as high as 60 per cent of the addicts belong to the educated class, with a majority of them being university students. This is a cause of grave concern, as we are losing out on the brightest and best amongst us to the menace of drug use.

The other frightening fact that emerges is that the phenomenon of injection drug use has doubled in Pakistan in the last ten years. Not surprisingly, this coincides with concentrated HIV/AIDS epidemics in the country as a result of sharing of infected needles along with other high-risk behaviour. This even more precarious direction that the drug addicts are taking only helps to already stretch an over-stretched and ill-equipped health-care system.

Urgent measures to be taken

Therefore, there is an urgent and critical need for a comprehensive strategy to combat heroin drug use in Pakistan. This has to be a multi-tiered approach, focusing on all aspects. Undoubtedly, the way to tackle heroin originating from Afghanistan entails stringent check and control measures, with the Anti-Narcotics Force being given more equipment along with more manpower. This should be the easy part.

Taking on the heroin challenge inside Pakistan entails a broader strategy. Wooing students off drugs means providing other avenues of fun and opportunity, this may come from offering increased recreational opportunities, be in the garb of sports facilities or cinemas. The spectre of unemployment and lack of job opportunities also needs to be brought into the equation, as they are also crucial factors that force educated youth into the pit of drug abuse.

Pakistan is in a special demographic transition phase currently, with youth comprising a major chunk of the populace. This limitless potential could easily fall prey to the menace of drug use, and prompt action is needed to stop this from happening. The Anti-Narcotics Force should only be a mere small cog in the scheme of things combating drug use in Pakistan, as time and again it has been shown, prevention is much better and less costlier than the cure.

Basant Festival

Basant festival is limited in its celebrations in Pakistan. Instead, the celebrations of spring known as 'Jashn-e-baharaan' in Urdu, are carried on in the entire country for almost a month. Basant, in particular, is celebrated in eastern Punjab especially Lahore. Lahore being the historic capital of Punjab celebrates Basant with a lot of vigour and enthusiasm. Although traditionally it was a festival confined to the ol...d-walled city it has spread all through out the city. Other cities in which Basant is mainly celebrated are Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Jhelum, Sialkot and Rawalpindi/Islamabad.
Basant is celebrated with great joy in Lahore, as Daily Times, a Pakistani Newspaper states:
"There a lot of rush at kite shops, especially in old Lahore as children and middle-aged men gathered to purchase their favourite coloured kites and string. Rehan, an intermediate student said ...the festival was part of the city’s culture, adding that a number of special dishes were also prepared for the occasion. He said this year, however, people would only be flying kites. Arsalan, a resident of the Walled City, said Basant was the event of colours and lights, adding that a number of people in his area had installed lights at their residences. He said “the dance of kites in lights” would be visible to everyone who would look up at the sky"[8].
It was for many years officially backed by the government and sponsored by multinational corporations. Although Basant is celebrated throughout Pakistani Punjab, it is Lahore which made it popular not only in Pakistan but all over the world as the largest kite festival. Over the years, the Basant festival has drawn thousands of revellers to Lahore from all over the world. Even Indian movie stars had started participating in the festival which peaks with an all-night flood-lit kite flying marathon on the eve of the festival. However, there are accidents and even deaths during the festival each year because of the public's ignorance towards the use of banned strings and also gunfire.

ICC bans trio for minimum five years

DOHA: Former captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were banned for at least five years on Saturday after they were found guilty of corruption by an International Cricket Council (ICC) tribunal.

A statement read out at the tribunal said: "The tribunal heard the charges as Aamer agreed to bowl no-balls, and did bowl no-balls and Butt was party to the bowling of those deliberate balls, and the tribunal impose the following sanctions.

"On Butt ten years ineligibility, five years of which are suspended on the condition that he doesn't commit further breaches of the code, and that he participates under the auspices Pakistan Cricket Board in a programme of anti-corruption education.

"On Asif, a sanction of seven years of ineligibility, two years of which are suspended on the condition that he commits no further breach of the code and also participates in an anti-corruption programme.

"On Aamer a sanction of five years ineligibility. No further sanctions are imposed on any player."

The decisions came after a lengthy nine-hour hearing at the Qatar Financial Center, and following much argument after the players' lawyers requested the verdict be adjourned as it could affect the criminal case against the players in London.

The charges relate to alleged incidents during a Test match against England at Lord's last year, when Britain's News of the World newspaper claimed the players were willing to deliberately bowl no-balls.

The newspaper alleged the players, who are currently provisionally suspended from international cricket, had colluded in a spot-fixing betting scam organised by British-based agent Mazhar Majeed.

The members of the tribunal, headed by Michael Beloff, heard the case for six days last month before deferring the announcement on the request of players' lawyers.

Last month Beloff revealed that while Asif and Aamer were absolved of the charges relating to another match, the third Test at The Oval (played before the Lord's match) one charge against Butt remained under investigation.

In a separate development on Friday, British prosecutors charged the three players as well as their agent with corruption offences and summoned them in court on March 17.

The Pakistan trio have repeatedly denied wrongdoing and had shown confidence of resuming their careers.

The bans on Pakistan players have come just a fortnight before the tenth World Cup starts in the sub-continent, highlighting the difficult times the game of cricket is facing against corruption.

Butt, Aamer and Asif became the first players banned in spot-fixing, the latest innovation in which players obey specific orders during the game pre-arranged with bookmakers.

The players have 21 days to appeal against the sanctions in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, based in Switzerland.