Saturday, April 5, 2014
Friday, April 4, 2014
Good teeth may help sporting success
Good teeth may help sporting success
Mo Farah enjoying Olympic gold
Dentists say elite athletes could stand a better chance of winning gold medals if they look after their teeth.
The Oral Health and Performance in Sport conference heard that athletes' oral health was notoriously bad and could impair training and performance.
At the pinnacle of elite sport, the difference between winning and losing is tiny, so even marginal improvements can make a crucial difference.
Doctors for Team GB's boxing squad are already trying to improve oral health.
Disruptive
A study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, showed a fifth of athletes said their oral health damaged their training and performance for the Games.
At the conference in London, dentists said tooth pain could disrupt sleep and training and that inflammation of the gums could affect the rest of the body, impairing performance.
It is not unusual for poor oral health to have wider effects. The NHS says it is linked to type 2 diabetes and heart problems.
A regular floss, a bottle of mouthwash and good brushing technique are not going to transform a weekend jogger into an Olympian.
Marginal gains can make all the difference between defeat and victory for elite athletes
However, Prof Ian Needleman, director of the International Centre for Evidence-Based Oral Health at University College London, says there could be an impact in elite sport.
He told the BBC: "It's the accumulation of marginal gains, where the difference between elite athletes at the very top is small. Then oral health, amongst other aspects, could make a difference.
"The research we did at London 2012 found a large proportion of young athletes, fantastically well tuned physically, had really poor oral health.
"Quite a high proportion reported an impact on their training and performance so it's clearly an issue for them."
Regular checks
Doctors with GB Boxing are already trying to improve dental hygiene after noticing poor oral health had affected training.
Dr Mike Loosemore, who has worked with the GB boxing team for 17 years and is a consultant at the English Institute of Sport, told the BBC: "I've become aware over the years that dental problems have been interfering with training. It stops them getting that little bit fitter and may have a consequence when they get into the ring and box."
He says things are now improving after regular dental checks were introduced, even if they are not always popular with the boxers.
"They don't like going to the dentist. They'd much rather be training. However, it has made a difference to their teeth and they are spending less time away from their training, and that will make them a better boxer.
"They may not appreciate it now, but hopefully they'll appreciate when they've got a gold medal round their neck in Rio [at the 2016 Olympics]."
Xbox password flaw exposed by five-year-old boy
Xbox password flaw exposed by five-year-old boy
"Microsoft came up with a fix, even acknowledged Kristoffer on its website as a security researcher", reports Michael Chen for KGTV, ABC News
A five-year-old boy who worked out a security vulnerability on Microsoft's Xbox Live service has been officially thanked by the company.
Kristoffer Von Hassel, from San Diego, figured out how to log in to his dad's account without the right password.
Microsoft has fixed the flaw, and added Kristoffer to its list of recognised security researchers.
In an interview with local news station KGTV, Kristoffer said: "I was like yea!"
The boy worked out that entering the wrong password into the log-in screen would bring up a second password verification screen.
Kristoffer discovered that if he simply pressed the space bar to fill up the password field, the system would let him in to his dad's account.
"I got nervous. I thought he was going to find out," Kristoffer told television station, KGTV.
"I thought someone was going to steal the Xbox."
Free games
Dad Robert - who works in security - sent details of the flaw to Microsoft.
In a statement, the company said: "We're always listening to our customers and thank them for bringing issues to our attention.
"We take security seriously at Xbox and fixed the issue as soon as we learned about it."
Kristoffer's name now appears on a page set up to thank people who have discovered problems with Microsoft products.
The company also gave him four free games, $50 (£30), and a year-long subscription to Xbox Live.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
LinkedIn email addresses exposed by plug-in software
LinkedIn email addresses exposed by plug-in software
LinkedIn is seeking to close down Sell Hack
The email addresses of LinkedIn users can easily be exposed via a web browser add-on tool, it has been revealed.
Sell Hack is available as a free extension to the Chrome browser that, once installed, will pop up a "hack in" button on LinkedIn profiles.
Users can then find the email address associated with the account even if they are not connected.
LinkedIn said it was taking legal action over the plug-in and advised users to uninstall it.
Sell Hack insisted that the the tool was created for marketing professionals and that all data is publicly available.
On its website it said: "We just do the heavy lifting and complicated computing to save you time, We aren't doing anything malicious to LinkedIn."
But the social network for professionals did not agree.
"We are doing everything we can to shut Sell Hack down. On 31 March LinkedIn's legal team delivered Sell Hack a cease-and-desist letter as a result of several violations," a spokesman told the BBC.
"LinkedIn members who downloaded Sell Hack should uninstall it immediately and contact Sell Hack requesting that their data be deleted."
He said that members should "use caution" before downloading any third-party extension or app.
"Often times, as with the Sell Hack case, extensions can upload your private LinkedIn information without your explicit consent," he said.
Three Models Fall Over during China Fashion Week
Click for more photosModel mishaps
A model falls over on the runway at SECCRY Hu Sheguang Collection 2014 Show during Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2014/2015 at the 751D-PARK Central Hall on March 30, 2014 in Beijing, China. Photo: ChinaFotoPress
You would expect models to trip occasionally while tottering down catwalks in crazy outfits and high heels, but you wouldn’t expect it to happen to three models in one show.
But that’s what happened during the Seccry Hu Sheguang show at China Fashion Week on Sunday, and there were photographers there to capture the falls in all their glory.
It’s frankly surprising that any of the models managed to remain upright, considering they were wearing heels with either seven or eight-inch platform shoes.
Perhaps the most dramatic spill was carried out by a model in a red body suit with a matching shawl and platforms. The model looked shocked when the shawl got tangled in her heels, causing her to fall over completely and land on her side.
Another model all in red was literally brought to her knees by her platform heels. Wearing a bright red wig and tall hat, the model winced and shut her eyes as she prepared herself for the inevitable (and probably painful) impact. However she regained her composure and managed to finish her catwalk without a pained expression.
The last model had the most trouble. Wearing a sheer dress and nude Christian Louboutins in a group catwalk, she stumbled once but recovered. However she tripped a second time and fell to one knee. Thankfully she just missed falling off the edge of the catwalk, and also managed to finish her parade.
Luckily none of the models were seriously hurt ... although their self esteem might be a little bruised.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/three-models-fall-over-during-china-fashion-week-show-20140402-35xjd.html#ixzz2xgdJtLo7
Tsunami warning after 8.0 quake strikes off Chile
Tsunami warning after 8.0 quake strikes off Chile
An earthquake of 8.0 magnitude has struck off Chile's coast near Iquique, triggering a tsunami warning for all of Latin America's Pacific coast, the US Geological Survey says.
It said the quake was very shallow, only 10km below the seabed, which would have made it feel stronger.
It was centred 86km (56 miles) north-west of the mining area of Iquique.
The USGS said a quake of this force had the power to generate a "destructive tsunami" for coastlines.
The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a warning after the quake, as did Chilean authorities who reportedly registered it as 7.9 magnitude.
Chile is one of the most seismically active countries in the world.
Central and southern areas of the country were hit by a powerful earthquake of 8.8 magnitude quake followed by a tsunami that devastated scores of towns in February 2010.
Are you affected by the earthquake? Are you in the region where a tsunami warning has been put in place? Please emailhaveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with 'Chile' in the subject.
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