Popeye is right, spinach makes you stronger - Nurul Amirah Binte Irman #4

Do you want tone up muscles? Try eating spinach. A study conducted by researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm shows that nitrate help to tone up muscles. Nitrate can be found in vegetables such as spinach. The researchers used mice for the test. Nitrate was placed in the drinking water of a group of mice. Researchers then compared this group of mice with another group which was drinking a normal drinking water, where this group of mice served as control. They found out that the mice that had consistent nitrate had stronger muscles. The amount of nitrate used is equivalent to a human’s consumption of 200 to 250 grams of spinach a day. Other than increasing our muscles’ strength, eating spinach can also increase of endurance level during work out.  The researchers are still doing some research to help people with weak muscles, muscles disease and even ageing.

This articles appeals to me because I did not know that spinach can really help to strengthen our muscles. Apart from that, males nowadays, especially the teenagers want to have tone up body. So, this is one way for them to be able to increase the size of their muscles.

What I dislike about this research is that they are using mice as their research materials. Therefore, we do not really know whether spinach can really help strengthen humans’ muscles as mice and humans are quite different. Therefore, the effects of consuming spinach might be different for us and the mice.

Whatever it is, we cannot deny that vegetables such as spinach can actually help us to have better body and improve our health as we need to consume at least 2 serving of vegetable every day. Therefore boys, if you want to have bigger muscles, listen to Popeye and eat more spinach. 

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/health/view/1209814/1/.html

Solar-powered 'supertrees' breathe life into Singapore's urban oasis - Nurul Amirah Binte Irman #3

The new eco-tourist attraction in Singapore, Gardens by the Bay is opened on 29 June 2012. ‘Gardens by the Bay’ is a man-made mechanical forest which consists of 18 supertrees. These supertrees generate solar power and also collect rainwater. The large canopies of the trees are used to moderate temperatures by providing shelters for visitors. Singapore’s first prime minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew said that the gardens would become the pride of Singapore. Visitors are able to enjoy the beautiful scenery while strolling in the gardens. The gardens consist of 7 attractions such as the Flower Dome, Cloud Forest and Heritage Gardens. This is part of the government’s effort to transform Singapore into a “City in a Garden”.

This article appeals to me because more and more tourists’ attractions are being built in Singapore. ‘Gardens by the Bay’ is one of the new tourists’ attractions. These attractions will attract more tourists to visit Singapore. This will help the tourism industry in Singapore to grow, which also then help to boost Singapore’s economy.

In my opinion, this is good effort made by the government. Both tourists and locals are able to benefit from it. Tourists can enjoy the scenery while more locals will be employed as more jobs are created. Other than that, tourists are able to learn about Singapore’s culture as one of the attractions at ‘Gardens by the bay’ is Heritage Gardens. This Heritage Gardens help tourist to be able to discover how plants are somehow linked to Singapore’s culture.

Hence, I hope more people will visit this newly opened tourist attraction!

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/06/08/world/asia/singapore-supertrees-gardens-bay/index.html?hpt=hp_bn7

Why parents should educate their kids about technology? - Nurul Amirah Binte Irman #2

Whenever I take the train, I always see children holding on an electronic device or smartphone such as iPhone. The question is, how young is too young for a child to use electronic devices? It seems like the new generation knows how to use these electronic devices at such a young age. This generation is more exposed to the digital world. How do we make sure that these children will use technology for the right purpose? 70% of parents think that the school is responsible to educate their children about online safety. However, is this sufficient? Is it just the responsibility of the school? I do not think so. Parents also play an important role too because they have to know what their children use the technology for especially when they are at home.

This article appeals to me because it is very common issue these days. Children are over-dependant on technologies. As compared to the earlier generations, children these days do not really buy toys because all they need is an electronic device. 

In my opinion, it is very important to educate these children about online safety at a young age. This will prevent them from getting involved with issues such as cyber bullying, cybercrime and the over-sharing of personal information online. For example, there are quite a number of cyber bullying cases happening on social networking site such as Twitter. Other than that, teenagers might start talking to strangers online. This is very dangerous. I know it is alright to make friends online, but some teenagers do not know how to set their boundaries right. Hence, it is important for us to use the technology for the right purpose.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/21/tech/web/kids-tech-education/index.html?iref=allsearch

More than a thirst-quencher - Leong Huai Miao (4th)

                               

From this article, we will know that mineral water doesn't not only quench our thirst. Water also plays an important role in everyone's life and in order to stay a healthy lifestyle, we must consume lots of water. It says that water as it is actually an essential nutrient, required for many metabolic processes in the body. Futhermore, is water required for digestion, absorption and transportation, and as a solvent for nutrients.

In my point of view, I totally agree that water is important for health. We all can't survive without water and with the lack of water, we will suffer from dehydration and fall sick.

Due to people who are less aware about the importance of water that need to be consume, they will usually consume the minimum amount that will quench their thirst. These might lead to the people suffering from illness due to lack of intake of water. Some people only drink mineral water when they thinks they need it, and some will not even bother.

Everyone should be more aware of the importance of consuming water. No matter how busy or hectic life are, we all should have a least 8 glasses of mineral water every day. In addition, some people also mistake soft drinks, orange juice and many others as water. Therefore we all should bring up this awareness about the benefits of water to the public and allow the adults  to be able to pass down the knowledge of water to the next generation.

In conclusion, we know that water is percious and it have more benefits instead of quench chess.

Baby falls off bed twice, found dead next day - Leong Huai Miao (3rd)

                                      

This happened in SINGAPORE. Madam Tina Rudaie was in the toilet in the morning at about 7 when she heard a loud thud. She rushed out and saw that her one-year-old baby boy had fallen off the bed and hit the back of his head on the floor. However, she didn't think much, especially since he didn't cry and even smiled at her. She also checked his head and didn't see any injury.

About three hours later, the toddler again fell from his bed, this time he suffered a bruise on his forehead.But again the housewife (Madam Tina Rudaie)  didn't think much of it. Throughout the day, her son appeared normal, she said. He ate, slept and played.

However when Madam Tina, 39, woke up the next morning, to her shock, her son, Muhammad Zaffullah Lim, was dead. "I woke up about 6am and found him breathless and motionless. 

In my point of view, I personally think that Madam Tina should have done more precautions to prevent her child to fall off the bed and lead to fatal. As her child is only one years old, she should not have left him alone and go off to do the house chores. She should at least have some basic protections done to prevent her child to fall off the bed before going off to handle other matters.She should have a person to keep an eye on little Zaffullah instead of leaving him alone. Examples, are to put her child in the children bed which have four sides secure to prevent to child to crawl out or roll off the bed. 

In addition, I think after the first fall of little Zaffullah, Madam Tina should bring him to the hospital to do a check even though he looks perfectly fine. If she brought him to the hospital after the first fall, he might not have die now.

I really felt sorry for little Zaffullah and family because by losing a precious child is really sad. Furthermore, little Zaffullah pass away a few days after his one years old birthday. I hope that Madam Tina and family will continue to live a positive life after this incident and move 

In conclusion, I hope that is the future parents will have better care for their children as lives are very precious.

http://www.yourhealth.com.sg/content/baby-dies-after-fall

Japan 'diet glasses' fool wearers into eating less. - Leong Huai Miao (2nd)

                                     

In Tokyo, there are goggles that trick the wearer into thinking  the plain snack in their hand is a chocolate cookie, or make biscuits appear larger, which offer hope to weak-willed dieters everywhere.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed devices that use computer wizardry and augmented reality to fool the senses and make sure users feel more satisfied with smaller or less appealing treats.

On one device goggle-mounted cameras send images to a computer, which magnifies the apparent size of the cookie in the image it displays to the wearer while keeping his hand the same size, making the snack appear larger than it actually is. In the experiments, volunteers consumed nearly 10 per cent less when the biscuits they were eating appeared 50 per cent bigger. In addition, they (volunteers) ate 15 per cent more when cookies were manipulated to look two-thirds of their real size.

Professor Michitaka Hirose at the university's graduate school of information science and technology said he was interested i how computers can be used to trick the human mind. He says experiment so far have shown 80 per cent of subject are fooled. The team has no plans as yet to commercialize their invention, but would like to investigate whether people want to lose weight can use the device.

In my point of view, I think Japanese are really creative by coming out with the idea of helping people to loss weight by fooling our sense of sight. With this technology, girls and people who suffer from obesity will really benefit from it and will be able to loss their weights rather than going under surgeries.

Even though this invention helps people to loss weight, it still take a longer time to allow the people to succeed in weight losing compared to exercising. Therefore, i think if people who is on diet wants to loss weight more quickly and in a healthier way, using this invention and exercise more regularly will be the best way.

However the technology also insulted the human intelligent. This is because just by using technology, our sense of sight will be fooled and it indirectly tells us that the machinery are getting smarter than our human brain. I will not buy this invention because I think only by exercising and having a healthy diet will already help to loss weight. Having this creation only help the people to resist the urge to have high in-take of foods like junk foods. People  who are determine to go for a diet should have self-control and personally resist themselves form eating too much.

In conclusion, it is really creative for the Japanese to come out with this interesting ideas and hope that they will continue to work hard and create better invention.

http://www.yourhealth.com.sg/content/japan-diet-glasses-fool-wearers-eating-less

Taipei City councilor calls for Coke cancer warnings - Chua Wan Zhen (4th)

A Taipei City councilor demanded cancer warnings be placed on Coca-Cola products warning that they contain a coloring ingredient containing a possible carcinogen. The company however said that the product is safe.


This article appeals to me as a bottle of Coca-Cola could be seen anywhere and some people even drink Coca-Cola and treat it just like their mineral water. Therefore, after reading this article, I would like to create an awareness to Coca-Cola fans around me and highlight on the possible hidden dangers.


The ingredient, 4-methylimadazole (4-MEI), is included in Coca-Cola and it has been listed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer among its possibly carcinogenic Group 2B compounds.


In the past, I have did an experiment using Coca-Cola to remove rust spots, and it works. This shows that Coca-Cola could be used as a multi-purpose cleaner. With the high acidity in Coca-Cola, it can affect the functioning of our kidneys and also, soft drinks do not have any nutritional value. Apart from higher acidity, they also have higher sugar content, and more additives such as preservatives and colourings which could be very harmful to our health.


In conclusion, I hope this article is beneficial to all Coca-Cola fans to cut down on their intake for soft drinks as it is really harmful to our human bodies. Also, there are many other healthy alternatives available such as water and fruit juice. 


Reference link: http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20120715-359205.html

Tighter Laws Against Cyberbullying? - Chua Wan Zhen (3rd)

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Teo Chee Hean said there are no specific laws against cyberbullying currently, but there are existing laws that can apply against cyberbullying.

This article appeals to me as cyberbullying has always been a problem since the Internet became popular among the youths. With the existence of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, cyberbullying has definitely become a bigger issue in Singapore and other parts of the world.

When it comes to cyberbullying, the cyberbullies are often motivated by anger, revenge and also frustration. But, there are also times whereby they do it for entertainment.

In my opinion, the consequences of bullying cover a wide range of severity. At the beginning, the victim could be feeling guilty and confused, trying to figure why is this happening to him or her. As it continues and nobody else noticed about the bullying, more severe consequences will start to surface. In the most severe cases, suicide is considered and eventually carried out by the victim.

In conclusion, I feel that it is time for parents to step in and help their kids to prevent them from getting involved with cyberbullying. Parents should be aware of what their kids are doing online. They should also remind them not to share their passwords and personal information with anyone. Lastly, parents should always emphasize to their kids to be responsible for the things they posted online and the dangers of cyberbullying.

Reference link: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1212739/1/.html

Dark Chocolate Cuts Heart Deaths: Study - Chua Wan Zhen (2nd)

Australian researchers have found that eating a block of dark chocolate daily over 10 years has 'significant' benefits for high-risk cardiac patients and could prevent heart attacks and strokes.

This article appeals to me as it is definitely a good piece of news for majority, especially for the chocolate lovers as they will be able to reduce risk for heart disease when they consume dark chocolate.

Also, it is important to find other ways to reduce heart disease as our population aged and the increasing numbers of at-risk people could use their lifestyle, dietary and exercise changes to head off the need for medical drugs.

But, the consumers have to be careful that excessive consumption of dark chocolate could lead to obesity, thus it will also become another leading cause of cardiovascular disease.

In conclusion, I feel that apart from exercising regularly, we can start to have a small piece of dark chocolate after each meal and it will also benefit us to reduce the risk for heart disease.

Reference: Channel NewsAsia

Allow singles to purchase HDB flats early (Pei Shi) (4)

This article appealed to me because more people are staying single nowadays and this may be a good news for them. Before this pro family policy was implemented, singles were not allow to apply for Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats. The government now realized the importance of allowing single to have their own flats so that after the person is married he or she can straight away have their own flat without the need to wait.

Allowing singles to book their HDB flat early allow them to be more conscious of their savings. At the same time housing planner can also manage the demand and supply of the flats. A flat may takes three to four years of time before a couple can move in, during that period couple may delay their marriage or have to stay with their parents.   

In conclusion, I think that there are pros and cons to the implementation of this pro family policy. The pros is that couple can have their own flat even before their marriage and there will be lesser misunderstanding as they do not need to live with their in-laws. The cons is people might stay as single for a longer time and even might not marry since they have the ability to live out on their own. However, I still think that there are more pros compared to cons as couples will be able to plan financially ahead.  

Pay for extra nuggets sauce: McDonald’s (Pei Shi) (3)

This article that I had came across at yahoo.com had caught my attention because having to pay extra for additional nuggets sauce will affect countless of people. The fast food chain will charge 30 cents for additional nugget sauce requested upon of what they are given. The trial had started on Monday, 25 June in 30 McDonald’s restaurants including Bishan Junction 8, Bugis Junction and many more. McDonald’s Singapore communications manager, Kevin Lim, told Yahoo! that McDonald’s had come up with such an idea to prevent food wastage.

 In the trial, a free unit of nugget sauce will be given to the customer upon purchase of sandwich or fries, two units for purchasing a six-piece nuggets, three or four packets for purchasing nine-piece and 20-piece nuggets and the subsequent nugget sauce requested will be charged to the customer.

This trial had caused a mixed reaction among Singaporeans. Some think that they have already paid for their food and providing sauces should be part of McDonald’s service while some agreed to the trail as they think it is a good move to prevent wastage.

In conclusion, I think that the trial implemented will cause more unhappiness than willingness among Singaporeans as it comes to monetary issue. I think that McDonald’s shouldn’t come up with such a plan because I believe that nugget sauce being the favourite among many Singaporeans will finish the sauce. I disagree to what McDonald’s are doing as it is quite costly to pay 30 cents for extra nugget sauce. I hope that McDonald’s will stop the trial after some time knowing that it have cause many unhappiness among Singaporeans.   

More sign up for Special Needs Saving Scheme(SNSS) (Pei Shi) (2)

Special Needs Saving Scheme (SNSS) which is launched under the Central Provident Fund (CPF) allows children with disabilities to get a minimum payout of $250 monthly after their parents passed on. SNSS was launched as more parents were worried for their disabled children who might face with financial problem when they are no longer around. 

The parents of the special-needs children are free to decide the amount that their children will be able to receive every month with no lesser than $250. The funds in the SNSS will enjoy the same interest rate as the parent’s account. This scheme allows the special-needs children to feel more financial secure as the funds from their parent’s CPF savings will be transfer to the nominee CPF account of the child.

SNSS would be a better choice compared to Special Needs Trust Company (SNTC) for low-to-middle income families as setting up a trust fund required a minimum sum of $5000 which may be quite costly for them. However, the scheme is only eligible for special-needs children who have or are attending special education schools so not everyone can sign up for the scheme.

The article had interest me as I find that such scheme would be able to ease the mind of many parents who are worry for their disabilities children.

In conclusion, I would encourage parents of special-needs children to sign up if they are eligible for the scheme as it is beneficial to their children by giving them financial assurance. I find this scheme very useful as it is a long term plan which aim at helping the disabilities children. I would also hope that more of such scheme would be launched so that children with special needs will be able to cope more financially when their parents passed on.