Poor Vision – Possible Causes

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If you notice your vision has reduced, either mildly or very significantly, here are a few causes you may want to think about
REFRACTIVE ERRORS
These are natural conditions in which images of objects do not form at the proper point at the back of the eyes. Examples include

• Shortsightedness: Affected people can only see near objects.  Far objects appear blurred and hazy
• Long sightedness: This is the reverse of shortsightedness.  Affected persons can only see far objects very clearly.  Images get progressively blurred as they approach them

• Astigmatism: Here, the curvature of the cornea (the black, round portion of the eye) is irregular in different meridians. This cause some pain in the eye in addition to blurred vision

Treatment for Refractive Errors is basically by prescribing glasses or wearing contact lenses although Refractive surgeries can also be performed
Corneal Anomalies
This is when the cornea is diseased
Corneal disease may result from various causes from birth defects to acquired infections but the baseline is that corneal anomalies can result in very significant visual impairment
Cataract
This is when coloured particles begin to develop within the crystalline lens of the eyes
As these particles increase in size and coarlesce, visual impairment worsen
Age is the most common cause of Cataract
If there is no other problems with the eye, the eye should see better after a Cataract operation
And before I forget, Operation is the ONLY treatment modality for Cataract
So, let no one deceive thee and fraudulently take thy money
Lol
Glaucoma
In most cases of glaucoma, the pressure of the fluid within the eyes rises beyond normal levels and consequently lead to damage and progressive visual impairment
Glaucoma, in the larger population is symptomless thus you should check your eyes at least once in a year and twice after the age of 40 years
People with a family history of glaucoma may have to undergo more frequent eye checks
And shouldn’t I be arrested if I don’t mention that blindness from glaucoma is IRREVERSIBLE?
Ok, you got the gist
Yeah, blindness from glaucoma is actually irreversible
So do well to check your eyes to exclude glaucoma and if you do have it, to begin treatment very early before visual damage begins
My advice is
If you notice any visual disturbance or reduced vision, quickly consult an eye hospital
And I say QUICKLY because sometimes if you do not get examined on time, visual impairment may worsen and the hope of recovery may be seriously compromised
So make plans to examine your eyes today
Peace.

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Casual sex can cause depression and even lead to suicidal thoughts, experts warn.

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Casual sex can cause depression and can even lead to thoughts of suicide, a new study suggests.
Researchers interviewed around 10,000 people and found that teenagers with depressive symptoms were more likely to engage in casual sex.
These same people were more likely to seriously consider suicide later in life, according to the study.

Unhappy: The study found that poor mental health can lead to casual sex, but also that casual sex can lead to a decline in mental health

Dr Sara Sandberg-Thoma, of Ohio State University and lead author of the study, said: 'Several studies have found a link between poor mental health and casual sex, but the nature of that association has been unclear.
'There's always been a question about which one is the cause and which is the effect.

'This study provides evidence that poor mental health can lead to casual sex, but also that casual sex leads to additional declines in mental health.'
Young people from 80 American schools and 52 middle schools were interviewed when they were in grades seven to twelve and then again when they were aged 18 to 26.
They were asked questions about relationships, depression and thoughts of suicide. Twenty nine per cent of the subjects said they had experience of a casual sexual relationship, which was defined as 'only having sex' with someone as opposed to dating.
This included 33 percent of men and 24 percent of women.

Double standards: The researchers discussed how society deems it OK for men to have casual sexual relationships, but not women

The link between casual sex and mental health was found to be the same for both men and women according to the study published in the Journal of Sex Research.

Dr Claire Kamp Dush, professor of human sciences at Ohio State University, said: 'That was unexpected because there is still this sexual double standard in society that says it is OK for men to have casual sexual relationships, but it is not OK for women.
'But these results suggest that poor mental health and casual sex are linked, whether you're a man or a woman.
Researchers found that each additional casual sexual relationship increased the odds of suicidal thoughts by 18 percent.
However they also found that although casual sex was linked to suicidal thoughts, it did not have any effect on depressive symptoms.
It is thought that this may be because depressive symptoms fluctuate during adolescence and it is hard to capture an accurate reading when it is only measured twice.
'Just because a person does not indicate depressive symptoms in one survey is not always proof that he or she is doing OK,' said Dr Kamp Dush.
'We need to look at multiple indicators of mental health, including suicidal thoughts.'

'The goal should be to identify adolescents struggling with poor mental health so that we can intervene early before they engage in casual sexual relationships,' said Sandberg-Thoma.
'Young adulthood is a time when people begin to learn how to develop long-term, satisfying and intimate relationships,' said Dr Kamp Dush.

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Anorexic woman who dropped to four stone on a diet of peas reveals how McDonald's job saved her life.

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A woman who dropped to a skeletal four stone battling the eating disorder anorexia has made an amazing recovery after getting a job at McDonald's.

Jo Thompson, now 21, beat the life-threatening disorder after falling in love with the manager of the fast food branch when she was 17.
And today, despite being told she would almost certainly be infertile for life after inflicting so much damage on her body, the couple live together with their two healthy children Zaki and Amelia.

Jo Thompson, 21, battled a deadly eating disorder by getting a job at McDonald's

Finding love with partner Zoheb helped Jo overcome her illness and the couple now have two children Zaki (L) and Amelia (R)

Jo, from Solihull, West Midlands, developed the mental illness aged just 11 when she began suffering from extreme anxiety and panic attacks.

Within six months she had been hospitalised and at her lowest point, weighing just four stone, doctors gave her just 48-hours to live.

For the next six years, Jo was so gripped by anorexia she allowed herself just water and peas to survive - and did excessive numbers of star jumps to lose more weight.

But, aged 17, Jo realised that the only way she would ever recover would be to get used to seeing people eating around her - and, deciding to jump in at the deep end, applied for a job at McDonalds.
Jo ended up falling for the fast food chain’s manager Zoheb Khan, 25, and together they worked at beating the disorder

Jo said: 'The turning point for me was when I was 17. After meeting up with my friends I realised I didn’t want to spent my whole life in and out of hospital.

'I got a job in McDonald’s because I wanted to show everyone that I could beat anorexia. People were shocked but I had to prove that I could beat my demons.

Jo, pictured in 2004 at 12 years old, became ill when she was only 11 and battled the disease for 6 years

'It was there that I met the love of my life Zoheb - we’d sit and have lunch together and he’d say ‘I’m not eating mine until you’ve eaten yours’.

'He helped me battle my eating disorder and I began to feel happy again.'

Jo and Zoheb worked together to overcome anorexia and now have two children together - one-year-old Amelia and Zaki, aged two.

She said: 'I would allow myself one glass of water before bed and lived off a couple of peas during my time in hospital.

'I would be constantly exercising often not sitting down until 11pm with the constant need to burn calories.

'Nurses would hold me down to try and prevent me from star jumping and losing any more weight
'I was at school one day when I started to feel dizzy and people screamed ‘you’re going blue’.
'I was terrified of dying in my sleep and I would tell my mum ‘I’m going to eat and drink tomorrow I promise’ - but I was so gripped by the illness I knew deep down that I wouldn’t be able to.'

However love manged to penetrate the disease and from the moment Jo met Zoheb they were inseparable.
After just seven months they decided to move in together.

Jo had been told by doctors that she might not be able to have children due to the damage caused by anorexia.

Jo overcame her fear of food while working at McDonald's and was amazed when she first became pregnant, having been told her years of anorexia meant she would be unable to conceive

She said: 'I’d only had one period since I left hospital but one day at a football match I felt a flutter in my stomach and I just knew I was pregnant.

'I loved being pregnant as it was the first time in my life I felt it was acceptable to put weight on as I wanted to be healthy for my baby.

'Anorexia is not in control of me anymore - I have my two beautiful children to look after now so I will never let myself become ill again.

'I want my story to show people that anyone can become anorexic - it isn’t a choice girls make, it’s an illness that controls every aspect of your life.
'Zoheb still works at McDonald’s as a manager and I have started a college course. My story shows there is a happy ending after anorexia.'

Jo says she loved being pregnant because she felt it was acceptable to put weight on as she wanted to be healthy for her babies Zaki (l) and Amelia

A spokesman for the eating disorder charity Beat said: 'Eating disorders are treatable, and recovery is possible. One very persistent myth is that no one ever really ‘gets over it’.

'We hear positive recovery stories every day here at Beat and we know that this myth simply isn’t true. People can and do make a full recovery, their health and wellbeing restored and their lives no longer dominated by fear of food.'

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Her husband fears for her. Her daughter is incredulous. And there's no money in it. So why is Jennifer addicted to carrying other women's babies?

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Undoubtedly, it’s the most intimate experience of all. So what would make any woman agree to give birth to another woman’s child?
Last month, Jennifer Scott-Hitchcock gave birth to Archie, before handing him to his biological parents, Jane and Gary, a couple in their 30s from the Orkneys.
Here, Jennifer, 30, a mother-of-two from Kirkcaldy, Fife, who is married to Justin, 35, a civil servant, shares the diary of her surrogate pregnancy — her third — and gives a glimpse into a hidden world of joy, pain and extraordinary self-sacrifice . . .

Surrogate mother Jennifer Scott-Hitchcock (left) with baby Archie , 3 weeks old, and new mother Jane (right)

December 2012
I’ve just told Justin that I’m ready to be a surrogate again. It’ll be my third time in three years and it hardly came as a surprise to him.
We’ve talked of little else these past few months. He just smiled, and said he’d be with me all the way.
You might wonder that he agreed so easily. But, trust me, it’s taken a long time for him to be so accepting. 
When I first broached the idea of surrogacy five years ago, he was horrified and forbade me from even considering the idea.
He imagined, as many people do, a backstreet trade in babies. Something murky, immoral, heartless even. He didn’t understand how any woman could give away the baby she’d given birth to. Almost everyone I talk to says the same thing.

Surrogate sisters: Jennifer (right) and Jane (left). Jennifer says that helping another women fulfill her dreams as a mother is the ultimate high

Yet my sister says she always knew I’d be a surrogate. She remembers me, aged just seven, saying I’d have a baby for anyone who couldn’t have one of their own.
I’m not quite sure what prompted my youthful thoughts, but I do know that I’ve always loved children.
Indeed, I have two children from my first marriage: Ellie, who’s 11, and eight-year-old Cael. When I met Justin, he had three children of his own, so we both agreed we didn’t want any more. Five was quite enough for any couple to cope with.
Strangely, however, although I felt ‘done’ with childrearing, I just didn’t feel that way about pregnancy.
I adore being pregnant; the buzz starts from the moment I see the blue line on the test. If I am being honest, I would say it’s almost like an addiction.

Jennifer Scott-Hitchcock (left) carried baby Archie, 3 weeks old. He is the biological child of Jane and her husband Gary

It took a year for me to convince Justin to allow me to become a surrogate, and I’m so glad he came to see my point of view.
Finally, he can understand what a difference I can make to people’s lives — people who hadn’t been so fortunate as us, with our five, happy, healthy children between us.
Surrogacy is not, and never could be, a ‘career’ for me. I cannot, by law, be paid for what I do, unlike in America. It remains a compassionate, not commercial, act in the UK and I think that is right.
The baby’s parents reimburse me for any expenses, like maternity supplies and the cost of travelling to appointments (which would rarely amount to more than a couple of hundred pounds), but there’s no reward beyond the satisfaction I get from helping them.

Jennifer Scott-Hitchcock (left) has helped three women like Jane (right) become parents through surrogacy

When I gave birth to my first surrogate baby in 2010, it was one of the proudest moments of my life. I’d had a blissful pregnancy and had no regrets as I handed the baby to her ecstatic and grateful mother and father.
We’d met them through COTS — an online community for surrogates and ‘intended parents’ (the name given to the resulting baby’s biological mum and dad) and had got to know them well.
Such was my elation, the overwhelming buzz of giving someone such a huge gift, I barely paused for breath after giving birth before finding a second couple to help. Their son was born in 2011.
Some people wonder whether it’s fair on my children to give so much of my time and energy to someone else’s child.
But, thankfully, Ellie and Cael are thrilled by the whole process. As a family, we pull together and make people’s dreams come true. Rightly, they’re proud of that.
And here we are, ready to do it all again. I cannot wait.

Baby Archie's parents Jane and Gary were heartbroken when travel problems made them miss his birth

February 2013:
Implantation Day
I’m in Glasgow, in the same clinic I’ve used for my previous two surrogacies, ready for embryo implantation.
I’m doing this for Jane and Gary, a couple from Orkney, whom again we met through COTS. Unable to have children naturally, they already have a little girl, born by a surrogate two years ago, and are desperate for another.
Both Justin and I have spent a long time getting to know them, with plenty of dinners and chats on the phone. I think it’s important we have a bond before we decide whether to embark on this incredible adventure. Today, they feel like old friends.
I texted Jane to confirm we’d decided to help them. We had a very emotional phone call soon after — she wept, racking great tears of relief. But through the sobs, there was a real feeling of excitement. We were like a pair of little kids.
Because Jane and Gary had embryos left over from their last treatment, the whole process has been simple. I took drugs to thicken my womb lining, then, when the time was right, the embryos were defrosted and implanted through my cervix.
Now it’s just a question of all four of us keeping our fingers crossed.
It’s a delicate stage in our relationship. You have to be very considerate of the parents’ feelings at this stage — the smallest thing may upset them. Just complaining about a cramp could send them into a panic.

Jennifer (right) says she hasn't ruled out being a surrogate again, but says that this pregnancy was the hardest yet

And falling out is not an option once a baby’s on its way. Before our treatment began we had to iron out the details of our arrangement with the help of an agreement drawn up by the agency.
Some couples don’t want to see their surrogate after the baby’s born. Some surrogates don’t want to see the babies. You need to be compatible.
I don’t want to let go completely. I like to be kept up-to-date with the occasional email or photo. We’re Auntie Jen and
Uncle Justin, not too involved but not forgotten. That’s what suits us and all the couples we help.
Week 1
Yesterday was Mother’s Day, so I did an early pregnancy test. The suspense was agony. I was so disappointed when it came up negative. But I tested again this morning and I’m thrilled to say, I am pregnant. Jane and Gary were over the moon when I rang them and so are we all.
When I told Ellie the news she said: ‘Mum, I think it’s a wonderful thing you do.’ I asked if she might do the same when she’s older, half-hoping she might have caught the same maternal bug I had. ‘No way!’ she said, without a moment’s hesitation. ‘It all sounds WAY too painful!’

Jennifer (left) knew that baby Archie was a boy when she saw the scan, but waited until the sonographer told Jane and Gary because she didn't want to spoil their special moment

Week 2
Jane and Gary travelled from Orkney for the first scan at the clinic, and we all saw the flicker of a heartbeat. The due date is November 20 and all is well. So begins a new chapter.
They’re hoping to come down for every scan. I didn’t dare point out it’s more than 300 miles to the Orkneys, and it takes at least six hours to get here. Flights are limited and there aren’t any boats after 6pm. I’ll try to bear that in mind when I go into labour. It would be awful if they missed the birth.
Week 12
I might be a bit of a pro at surrogacy, but I don’t remember a first trimester this hard. I’m utterly, utterly drained. I have no energy at all, which has made it hard at home with two busy children to look after. But seeing Jane’s reaction at today’s 12-week scan was exactly the boost I needed.
I beamed when I looked at the little speck on the screen, but when I glanced at Jane, tears sprang to my eyes, for rivers of tears were streaming down her face. This was her baby, after all. She was full of questions about its health, but all looks well.

Jennifer says that her husband Justin is behind her being a surrogate every step of the way

On a more practical note, I’ll need to let work know soon. This is my first pregnancy in my new job as an NHS phlebotomist.
A lot of people don’t realise that surrogates have the same rights to maternity leave, before and after the birth as if they’d been carrying their own baby. Paid maternity leave — but without the sleepless nights. There are definitely some compensations to surrogacy!
In my old retail job, several colleagues said it was unfair that I was being paid to stay at home. Of course, I could see their point. But what would they have done in my shoes? I took full advantage of my maternity rights and loved every minute of it.
Week 16
The last month has been tough. On top of the usual sickness and a few fainting episodes, I’ve been floored by a serious kidney infection. Pregnant women are particularly susceptible, but I’ve never had one before. Despite huge doses of antibiotics, I’ve been in and out of hospital.
I’ve been keeping Jane and Gary up to date, but it can be hard knowing what I should tell them. I don’t want to worry them unnecessarily, but if there’s something that could affect the pregnancy, it’s their right to know.
I can also see that they’re feeling a little guilty to hear I’m suffering so much, but to be a surrogate you have to be the sort of woman who thinks ‘What’s a few days of pain or a few weeks of morning sickness, when you can make a family for life?’.
I’m always telling Justin he has to see the bigger picture, too. Despite this, he says his first concern is always me, and not the baby. Understandable, I guess: it’s hard for him not to worry about what I’m putting myself through.
And while I’m always upbeat, at my sickest I did feel pretty low. But then the baby gave me a few good kicks as if to say, ‘You’re not alone. Pull yourself together!’ I did. I have to, after all.
Week 20
It’s a boy! I could tell as soon as I saw him on the screen — I’ve seen enough scans to be something of an expert — but I kept quiet until the sonographer broke the news to Jane and Gary.  I think it’s important not to intrude too much.
Although we’re all in this together, I try to make it feel as much like their pregnancy as possible.
They always said they wouldn’t mind a boy or a girl, but I think they are especially pleased to have a complete set.
They’re going to call him Archie, a sweet name.
That rush of maternal love and possessiveness, which I got instantly with my two, is just not there. It’s difficult to explain to anyone who hasn’t done this, but the emotions involved are very different when you are carrying someone else’s child. Of course, knowing the baby and I aren’t biologically related helps me to keep my distance, although obviously it’s the most intimate act of all.
After the scan we popped to the shops to look at a few baby things. I saw a lovely teal blue pram which I thought would be perfect for a little boy, but they’re set on a red one. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that these are not your decisions.
Week 22
I had the fright of my life earlier today when I started to bleed heavily. I’ve never bled during any of my previous pregnancies. My first thought was for the baby, of course, but a dash to the hospital and a scan later set my mind at ease.
He’s doing just fine, but the bleeding was caused by placenta praevia, which means my placenta is lying low over the neck of the womb. If  it doesn’t move out of the way, I’ll be heading for a caesarean —  my second. I can’t get Justin’s concerned expression out of my mind. I know he’s very worried about me, but we have to get on with the business of having someone else’s baby.
The second I knew the baby was OK, I called Jane. She is worried for me, as a friend, of course — she knows I don’t relish the thought of surgery — but her overwhelming concern is what this means for her baby.
It doesn’t help that I’m due to go on holiday to Spain next week. I’ve promised Jane I’ll stay in close contact and take it very easy. I desperately need a holiday, but this scare has made me nervous. Given that I don’t speak the language and surrogacy is illegal in Spain, I hope I don’t need to see a doctor when I’m there.
week 30
I’m starting my maternity leave. It’s early, but this pregnancy has been the toughest yet. It’s time to really look after myself, and the baby boy I am responsible for.
I met his grandma and his great-auntie at the 28-week scan, as Jane brought them with her. My kids were there too, and everyone waved ‘hello’ when he appeared on the screen.
A fantastic moment, it brought home how much surrogacy touches the lives of everyone involved. It’s not just about me, and the baby’s parents. And, great news, the placenta has shifted, which means I’m all set for a natural birth.
35 weeks 2 days
At 6.30pm last night my waters broke, just after I’d got into the bath. Excitedly, I called Jane and Gary to let them know we were heading to the hospital.
They were thrilled, but their high emotions were rather tempered because they were almost certain to miss the baby’s birth. There were no boats or flights until morning. I felt so sorry for them.
When they wheeled me into theatre, Justin was by my side and he was the first to hold little Archie, who weighed 6lb 8oz — which is a good weight, considering he’s a month early. I was offered skin-to-skin contact but declined.
It simply is not my place to do this. It is such an intimate bonding experience between a mother and her child, I would feel like I was trespassing.  I have to remain aware of the boundaries.
But I truly believe I’ve managed to train myself out of feeling like a mother in moments like this. Despite having just given birth to him, he felt like someone else’s baby and I had no inclination to breastfeed him.
For Jane and Gary, the agony of missing his birth was prolonged  by a nightmare journey from  Orkney. Their flight was cancelled, so they didn’t meet Archie until hours later.
As I handed him to Jane, we both wept. Between my rush of  hormones and her ecstasy, it wasn’t long until the trauma of the last few hours faded. Helping another woman fulfil her dreams as a mother is the ultimate high.
The question I’m asked most often is ‘why?’ ‘Why would you carry another woman’s baby?’ But anyone who has children knows they are the greatest gift.
And as a healthy young woman, I can turn a desperate couple into a happy family. So, for me, the question has always been: why wouldn’t I?
But while my head and heart are still committed to surrogacy, perhaps my body isn’t. This pregnancy and birth were the hardest yet. Deep down, I know that I can’t go on having babies for ever.
But, just one more? I’ll never say never. The need for me to have babies, even if they’re not my own, is deep-rooted.
I know we will all — as a family — be sorry to see the day that surrogacy is no longer a part of our lives. But we have achieved so much for those we’ve helped, and that will stay with us for ever.

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Being made redundant in middle age causes memory loss (especially in men).

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Being made redundant, forced to take a lower paid job, or having to work part-time in mid-life causes a loss of memory in old age

Everyone knows that living through a recession can be bad for the career and bank balance, but new research suggests it can also be bad for the brain.
Weathering a recession in middle age can make people less intelligent in old age, a study has found.
Being made redundant, forced to take a lower paid job, or having to work part-time in mid-life causes a loss of memory in old age, the researchers said.
The effects of a recession have been linked to a higher risk of cognitive decline affecting abilities such as memory, verbal fluency and numeracy.
Previous research suggested working conditions may influence the potential to build up ‘cognitive reserve’, which in turn influences cognitive performance at a later age.
However, higher cognitive ability may have meant a worker got better jobs and working environments.
So, scientists in research published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health set out to examine if economic recessions, over which individuals have no control, made any difference.
Their study looked at factors such as the health, employment, and social conditions of 12,000 people in 11 European countries aged 50 and older.
Participants' cognitive abilities were assessed in 2004-5 and 2006-7.
The results were linked to detailed work histories, retrospectively collected in 2008-9, as well as to annual data on per capita fluctuations in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in each country between 1959 and 2003, to gauge the number and depth of economic downturns.
The researchers then looked at the potential impact of recessions experienced at ages 25 to 34, 35 to 44, and 44 to 49 on cognitive ability at ages 50 to 74.
The average number of recessions experienced ranged from 0.73 for men between the ages of 45 and 49 to 1.33 for women between the ages of 35 and 44.
The analysis showed that men who did not live through any recession in their mid to late 40s had a better cognitive score at ages 50 to 74, compared with those who had experienced recessions.
The impact of a recession on women seemed to occur earlier – those who experienced a recession in their mid-20s to mid-30s experienced lower cognitive function later in life.
Economic recessions during these periods were associated with several labour market outcomes, such as lay-offs, enforced part-time working, and the need to take lower paid, lower status work.

The effects of a recession have been linked to a higher risk of cognitive decline affecting abilities such as memory, verbal fluency and numeracy

Dr Simon Ridley, Head of Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: 'This large study suggests that the work people do throughout their life may affect their cognition in later life, but it’s important to note that this research doesn’t tell us that recessions cause cognitive decline.
'These findings lend more weight to the theory that mental activity may help people maintain their cognitive abilities as they grow older, but it’s not clear what other factors may have played a part in these results.
'One drawback of this research is that the people involved only had their cognition measured once, and only in later life, meaning it’s not possible to know how far their abilities declined over time.
'We should remember that the people in this study did not have dementia, but understanding factors linked to cognitive decline could also be important for finding ways to prevent the condition.
'As the number of people with dementia increases, investment in research is crucial if we are to find new strategies to help delay or prevent the condition.'

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He's got his tail in a spin! The dogs that can operate a washing machine with a quick bark and a push of the paw.

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These dogs might just be proof that they really are a man's best friend.
Not only can they strip beds and fill laundry baskets, they can now load and empty washing machines with just a simple bark.
Their disabled owners have been handed a lifeline thanks to a revolutionary washing machine - which is activated their canine friend's bark.

Helping hand: Disabled people been handed a lifeline thanks to a revolutionary washing machine which is activated by a dog's bark

The ‘Woof to Wash’ enables specially trained dogs to unlock the machine with a bespoke foot pad and start it with a simple woof.
Clients aided by the Support Dogs charity - which provides canine assistants for people with disabilities, epileptics and children with autism - will now be able to benefit from the invention.
A doggy footpad and a microphone system have been added which recognise a dog’s
bark.
This means that dogs are able to unlock the machine by pressing the pad with their paw, pull a rope with their mouths to open the machine, close the machine again with their nose, before activating the cycle by barking.
Measured amounts of detergent are automatically added from a storage bottle on
the machine. 

Watch Duffy the dog work the washing machine and do the laundry

Paws for thought: The 'Woof to Wash' machine enables specially trained dogs - which can already strip beds and fill laundry basket - to load and empty washing machines. They unlock the machine with a bespoke footpad (pictured) and and start it with a simple woof

Getting his teeth into it: Dogs are able to unlock the machine by pressing the pad with their paw and pull a rope with their mouths to open the machine

Inventor John Middleton said: 'People who are visually impaired, have manual dexterity problems, autism or learning difficulties can find the complexity of modern day washing machines too much.
'I had been working on a single programme washing machine to make things easier, and there was a lot of demand for it.
'But then I saw a video from the charity Support Dogs, where a dog strips a bed and loads the washing machine.
'I was completely blown away by the footage and instantly thought I could invent a machine where the dog does everything.
After an initial meeting with Support Dogs, Mr Middleton, who is the Managing Director of UK laundry specialist JTM, set to work with a team of engineers and finished the project (with the help of manufacturer Miele Professional) in a fortnight.

Help: The charity's dogs are trained using voice commands and hand signals so they can help their owners fetch post, turn on light switches, open doors, assist in dressing and undressing - and now do a complete laundry cycle

Open wide: Dogs can also open the machine again with their nose, before activating the cycle by barking. Measured amounts of detergent are automatically added from a storage bottle on the machine

The invention has now been unveiled at the Support Dogs headquarters in Sheffield, with two year-old Golden Labrador Duffy doing the honours of demonstrating.
Mr Middleton said: 'The idea is to simply show what can be done - because the possibilities really are endless.'
Rita Howson, director of operations at Support Dogs, hailed the bark-activated washing machine and praised John for coming up with a simplified bespoke machine for their clients.
She said: 'A normal washing machine can be very challenging so the single programme machine is very helpful.

Inventor John Middleton said: 'People who are visually impaired, have manual dexterity problems, autism or learning difficulties can find the complexity of modern day washing machines too much. These dogs can help'

'But a lot of people we work with also have speech problems. For instance, some with cerebral palsy would have great difficulty so a voice-activated machine is handy.'
The charity’s dogs are trained using voice commands and hand signals so that they can help their owners fetch post, turn on light switches, open doors, assist in dressing and undressing and now do a complete laundry cycle.
Ms Howson added: 'What John has brilliantly come up with is to tailor make these machines to each individual’s needs.'
The small charity, set up in 1992, has trained over 200 dogs to date throughout the country and rely fully on volunteer donations.
For more information about the work of the charity, visit www.supportdogs.org.uk or call 0114 261 7800.

The invention has now been unveiled at the Support Dogs headquarters in Sheffield, with two-year-old Golden Labrador Duffy doing the honours of demonstrating

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Think babies don't know what's going on? Study finds they can tell the difference between their bodies and other people's.

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Babies are born with self-awareness which allows them to differentiate their bodies from other people’s, new research suggests.
The researchers believe this discovery could help them to understand atypical development in some infants, such as those that go on to develop autism.
PhD student Maria Laura Filippetti, at Birkbeck College, in London, said: ‘The identification of these mechanisms at birth in the current study sheds light on the typical trajectory of body awareness across development.

Babies are born with self-awareness which allows them to differentiate their bodies from other people's, new research suggests

‘Our findings may also be relevant to the investigation of early predictors of developmental disorders in infants, such as autism, where an impairment in the discrimination of self/other is believed to be present.’
Previous studies of adults showed that the integration of information from different senses is an important part of body awareness.
If a person watches another person's face being touched while their own face is being touched, their perception of self shifts.
This means people can be persuaded that a rubber face is their own face if they see it being stroked while their own face is also being stroked.

The researchers believe this discovery could help them to understand atypical development in some infants, such as those that go on to develop autism

The new study aimed to apply the same theory to newborn babies.
Researchers showed 20 healthy newborns, between the ages of 12 hours and four days old, a video of another baby's face being touched with a soft paintbrush.

They then touched the faces of the babies watching the screens.
The study found that the babies showed greater interest in looking at the other baby's face when their own face was being stroked.
Researchers also discovered that the babies were less interested when the face was shown upside down, as they found it less relatable to themselves.
The paper, published in Current Biology, said new born babies are ‘competent creatures’, and that they are ‘capable of differentiating themselves from others and forming a coherent perception of their own bodies’.
Scientists believe that conditions such as autism are characterised by a lack of self-awareness, and that further research in this area may be useful.
‘For years, research on autism has focused on the impairment in social interactions,’ said Ms Filippetti.
‘We believe it will be important for further studies to specifically investigate the perception of the self in this population, as well as the relationship of self to other.’

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Overweight people 'taste food differently' and are less sensitive to sweet flavours.

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People who are overweight taste food differently and may be less sensitive to sweet flavours

People who are overweight taste food differently and may be less sensitive to sweet flavours.
American researchers found that being obese can change how food tastes on our tongues.
They studied mice and found that severely overweight animals were less able to taste sweet food.
The study may help solve the mystery of how obesity can affect our relationship to food, as well as helping us to find new cures for the condition.
Compared with other slim mice, the fat mice had fewer taste cells that responded to sweet stimuli, and the reactions were weaker.
Dr Kathryn Medler, of the University of Buffalo, said: 'Studies have shown that obesity can lead to alterations in the brain, as well as the nerves that control the peripheral taste system, but no one had ever looked at the cells on the tongue that make contact with food.
'What we see is that even at this level - at the first step in the taste pathway - the taste receptor cells themselves are affected by obesity.

'The obese mice have fewer taste cells that respond to sweet stimuli, and they don’t respond as well.'


How an inability to detect sweetness might encourage weight gain is unclear, but past research has shown that obese people crave sweet food.

Dr Medler said it is possible the inability to taste sweetness leads overweight mice to eat more than their leaner counterparts to satisfy their cravings.
'If we understand how these taste cells are affected and how we can get these cells back to normal, it could lead to new treatments,” said Dr Medler.

'These cells are out on your tongue and are more accessible than cells in other parts of your body, like your brain.'

Difference: American researchers have found that being overweight can change how food tastes on our tongues

The new study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, compared 25 normal mice to 25 of their littermates, who were fed a high-fat diet and became obese.
Researchers used a process called calcium signalling to work out when the mice’s tastebuds recognized a certain taste.

When the cells detect a particular taste, there is a temporary increase in the calcium levels , which the scientists measured.

They found that taste cells from the obese mice responded more weakly not only to sweetness but to bitterness as well.

Taste cells from both groups of animals reacted similarly to umami, a flavour found in savoury foods.

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Has a nutty professor really invented booze that gets you drunk - without a hangover?.

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The professor, an expert in how drugs affect the brain, says it should soon be possible to get drunk safely ¿ by consuming ¿healthy alcohol'

Hangover-free alcohol? Drunkenness that you can switch off with an antidote pill?
The controversial former government drugs adviser, Professor David Nutt, has boasted that he is on the threshold of inventing what sounds like the answer to many a sandpaper-tongued Sunday-morning lament.
The professor, an expert in how drugs affect the brain, says it should soon be possible to get drunk safely — by consuming ‘healthy alcohol’.
He has been experimenting with laboratory-created substances that will supposedly allow people essentially to switch intoxication on and then off again. 
First, you drink a glass of his synthetic creation, designed to produce the same happy, fuzzy feeling engendered by a moderate amount of alcohol.
Then, once you tire of being drunk, you simply swallow an antidote pill to sober you up instantly.
Professor Nutt, who works at Imperial College  London, and has spent most of his working life treating alcoholics, says harm-free booze would ‘revolutionise’ healthcare. ‘These ambitions are well within the grasp of modern neuroscience,’ he says.
The professor, it must be said, has a notorious record as a self-publicist and has previous form in championing ‘healthy’ inebriation. 
He was sacked from his post as the Government’s chief drugs adviser in 2009 for declaring that cannabis, Ecstasy and LSD are less harmful than alcohol and cigarettes.
Indeed, he claimed taking Ecstasy is no more dangerous than riding a horse.
Despite widespread criticism that downgrading Ecstasy would send out the wrong message and could convince youngsters it was all right to take the drug, he put his thesis to the test in a stunt on Channel 4 with an ‘experiment’ on several participants.
True to form, Nutt recently posted a blog celebrating his self-administered experiments with alcohol.
‘After exploring one possible compound, I was quite relaxed and sleepily inebriated for an hour or so, then within minutes of taking the antidote I was up giving a lecture with no impairment whatsoever,’ he said.
He claims to be experimenting with substances that copy the way in which alcohol affects one of the brain’s chemical transmitter systems.
This system is called gamma aminobutyric acid (Gaba). Its job is to ‘keep the brain calm’, says Nutt. ‘Alcohol relaxes users through mimicking and increasing the Gaba function.’
The problem is that alcohol also potentially causes aggression and addiction, not least because of the way it releases people from their inhibitions.
Nutt says that ‘in theory’ he can create a substance that ‘makes people feel relaxed and sociable, and remove the unwanted effects’.
That sounds hugely ambitious, if not deluded.

Professor Nutt says he may have invented alcohol that gets you drunk without the hangover

For one thing, he seems to ignore the fact that for many, if not most, of us who like a drink, any enjoyment of the intoxication is secondary to the appreciation of the peaty tang of a 12-year-old Islay whisky, for example, the intense fruitiness of a fine Shiraz or the complex bitterness of a Belgian beer brewed by monks. 
All of these drinks have a unique taste and are steeped in culture and heritage to which the good professor seems oblivious.
Presumably, in Nutt’s brave new world, we will all simply ingest some colourless, odourless, flavourless chemical produced in sterile laboratories. 
And though we might be open to the idea of a problem-free alcohol drug, the fact is that in nature there is no such thing as a free lunch — or a consequence-free drinking session. 
Science shows you can’t separate the pleasure of being drunk from the long-term damage that being inebriated can cause to your brain.
If Nutt’s ‘healthy alcohol’ really works in a similar manner to conventional alcohol, ultimately it will affect the brain in the same ways — thus causing many of the same kinds of social and physical harm.
Perhaps most alarmingly, without a hangover, people won’t even realise what sort of damage they’re doing.

Without the threat of a hangover, the temptation will be to keep going

Messing around with our mental chemistry is a notoriously inexact science. The human brain is, after all, the most complex biological entity in the known universe. 
Sousing it with chemicals opens myriad pathways to dangerous unintended consequences, in the short and long term.
Only recently have scientists fully unravelled the way in which alcohol affects us.
Studies by the University of Chicago Medical Centre show how the drug hits the brain like a sophisticated military task force, knocking out its defences, as well as causing civil disorder and chaos. 
Alcohol affects brain chemistry by altering levels of neuro-transmitters. These are the chemical messengers that transmit the signals that control thought processes, behaviour and emotion. 
Alcohol either increases their activity or dampens it, depending on which areas are affected. The Gaba calming system, for example, is affected in numerous ways. 
As well as making us feel more relaxed under the influence of booze, it also makes us sluggish and slurred.
Our inhibitions also get turned down. We become more talkative, more self-confident. This disinhibition, plus the pleasure effects, means that the brain encourages us to have another glass — and then another, and another.
Experienced drinkers know this is the point to stop — having suffered the horrors of previous hangovers.

Professor Nutt was sacked from his post as the Government¿s chief drugs adviser in 2009 for declaring that cannabis, Ecstasy and LSD are less harmful than alcohol and cigarettes

As Kingsley Amis, the famously bibulous novelist, wrote in his book On Drink: ‘Guilt and shame are prominent constituents of the hangover.’
But without the threat of a  hangover, the temptation will be to keep going. There is another important factor to consider.
The drunken brain also shuts down its limbic system, which controls our emotions and memory. Emotions — as we all know — become exaggerated, often with disastrous consequences.
This is one of the primary reasons why alcohol-related problems cost the NHS £3.5 billion a year.
Most of this money is used to treat the indirect harm caused by alcohol-induced recklessness. 
A study for NHS North West has shown that half of all violent assaults are related to alcohol, more than half of rapists drink alcohol prior to committing their attacks, and more than a fifth of accidental deaths are alcohol-related. 
We also know that the brain compensates for the regular presence of alcohol by altering its production of neuro-transmitters. 
If the drinking stops, physical and mental withdrawal symptoms — even the notorious DTs (delirium tremens — Latin for ‘shaking frenzy’) — can ensue. And the brain tends to develop a tolerance to pleasure-inducing drugs. People need to take ever more of them to achieve the same effect.
With Professor Nutt’s ‘healthy alcohol’, there is a possibility that people may simply never take the antidote, but keep taking further doses instead.
The fact is that any substance or activity that fires up the brain’s pleasure centres can become addictive. 
There are other psychological dangers, too. Constant use of pleasure-inducing drugs is also associated with the development of mental illness. 
As we have seen with the rise in use of super-strength cannabis, being habitually heavily intoxicated can seriously alter the way in which young people behave.
However, Professor Nutt is determined to press ahead with his experiments.
As he writes in his blog: ‘I have identified five such compounds and need to test them to see if people find the effects as pleasurable as alcohol . . . All that is needed now is funding to test and put them on the market.’
It seems doubtful that his ‘healthy alcohol’ will contain any compounds that induce a sense of personal or social responsibility.
Nor can his lab experiments properly investigate his invention’s potential for long-term and widespread damage. 
Budgetary constraints on his work mean the tests will almost inevitably be too small-scale and short-term to explore the possible dangers fully.
Moreover, this laboratory-made alcohol might work perfectly well on someone as drug-literate as Professor Nutt, but he is surely not representative of the most vulnerable people in our society. 
We need to consider carefully whether we really want ‘healthy alcohol’ to be made widely available, or whether it would create a hangover that might last for generations.

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We've got less muscle, we're dehydrated and we're more sensitive to the ingredients in alcohol.

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It is something the more mature of us have long suspected: hangovers do get worse with age.
And scientists have pinpointed 40 as the milestone at which drinkers begin to suffer more after a heavy night of drinking.
This is because older bodies have swapped alcohol-absorbing muscle for fat, while they also contain less water – which makes dehydration more likely.

Older people are more prone to hangovers than young people because they tend to drink less often as they are more focused on their careers and families

Factor in that many over-40s have lost much of their youthful tolerance to alcohol on a night out, and it is no wonder that the morning after is more painful than in the past.
David Oslin, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania in the US, said: ‘All of the effects of alcohol are amplified with age.’
Body composition changes with age, with muscle, which soaks up alcohol, declining and fat increasing.
Dehydration – a key factor in the thumping headache of a hangover – also plays a role.
Reid Blackwelder, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, told the Wall Street Journal: ‘A lot of older people are borderline dehydrated. 
'They have less body water just from the natural effects of ageing.’
As we get older, the liver finds it harder to break down the toxins in alcohol, meaning chemicals that contribute to hangovers linger.
Finally, older people are more affected by alcohol’s impact on sleep – leading to a mild hangover becoming a massive headache.
We're also more sensitive to the effects of alcohol as we reach middle age because our body composition starts to change from our 30s. 
As well as having less water in our bodies, we often lose muscle mass and develop more fat . Alcohol is not distributed in fat, so people with more fat and less water and muscle mass have more alcohol in their blood.

As people age they sometimes develop sensitivities to the sulphites and tannins in wine meaning they suffer headaches and nausea if they drink

Other changes that occur in the body with age also increase the likelihood of a hangover.
As people reach their 50s, their livers start to get bigger and become less efficient.
The majority of the alcohol people consume is broken down by the liver, meaning they become more sensitive to it as the liver becomes less efficient.
Dr Gary Murray, of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism at the National Institutes of Health, told the WSJ that as people age, their enzyme levels also dip.

Older people are often more sensitive to the effects of alcohol as they are taking medications which impact the body's ability to break it down

Notably, he says, levels of dehydrogenase, which breaks down alcohol fall.
This means alcohol remains in older people’s bodies for longer and they get more of a buzz from each glass - and prolonged painful after-effects.
As we age, we can also become more sensitive to the sulphites and tannins in wine meaning we suffer headaches and nausea after drinking.
Older people are also more likely to be taking medication that increases their sensitivity to alcohol.
As some drugs are metabolised in the liver at the same time as alcohol, they can increase the effects a drink has.
For example, the heartburn drug Zantac interferes with the breaking down of alcohol in the liver, meaning people who take it have higher blood-alcohol levels when they are drinking.
Finally, as people age, their brains become more sensitive to the effects of alcohol.
Dr David Oslin, explained that alcohol increases age-related cognitive decline.
He said:‘[As people age] neurons are not as efficient. So you impair them with a little bit of alcohol, they are that much more inefficient.
‘Somebody who goes to a cocktail party at 65 can have one or two drinks and be really impaired.’

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Do YOU have the 'fat gene'? 90% of obese people could have mutation that means they're programmed to eat more and move less.

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Scientists believe as many as nine in 10 obese people are fat because of their genes

Spending hours in the gym to stay slim may be all for nothing if you have the wrong genes, a new study suggests.
Scientists believe as many as nine in 10 obese people are fat because of their genes.
They say the ‘fat gene’ is so powerful that when it mutates it makes mice twice as fat, and diabetic.
By looking at just one family, scientists were able to pinpoint the defective gene – known as CEP19 - that caused them to be obese.
The team from the Icahn School of Medicine in the U.S. found that ‘switching off’ the gene in mice caused them to become morbidly obese by making them want to eat more and burn off fewer calories.
They believe the gene plays a vital role in determining appetite and energy levels.
This means that when it is functioning normally it helps people stay lean.
However, when it mutates, it can cause energy levels to plummet and appetite to increase, resulting in obesity.
Geneticist Dr John Martignetti said: ‘Starting with the gene discovery in a single family with morbid obesity, these studies led to the identification of a gene that seems to be fundamental to regulating nutritional status.
‘This gene is shown to be present not only in humans and mice, but also in the simplest known single-cell animal.
‘Nature considers this gene so important that it has preserved its structure for more than 700 million years.’
The researchers believe therapies to revive the gene in people at risk of obesity could help treat or avert obesity and Type 2 diabetes.
Dr Martignetti and Dr Adel Shalata, of the Ziv Medical Centre, in Israel, found the gene mutation in an obese Israeli family suffering from ‘autosomal-recessive’ morbid obesity and tested the gene's role in mice.
The scientists analysed DNA from blood samples taken from 13 obese and 31 non-obese members of the family living in the same village in northern Israel.

The researchers say the 'fat gene' is so powerful that when it mutates it makes mice twice as fat, and diabetic

Affected individuals had an average body mass index (BMI) of 48.7, a figure far above the obesity threshold of 30 that put them into the ‘morbidly obese’ category. The BMI range of obese family members varied from 36.7 to 61.
The analysis revealed a mutation in a gene which can lead to diseases affecting the kidney, liver, pancreas and bones, as well as obesity.
When scientists deleted a version of the CEP19 gene in laboratory mice, the animals became obese and diabetic, and developed increased appetites. Their energy expenditure decreased, and their ability to break down fat was impaired.

The gene plays a vital role in determining appetite and energy levels meaning when it is functioning normally it helps people stay lean. When it mutates it can cause energy levels to plummet and appetite to increase

Dr Martignetti said: ‘The mouse models we have generated, which can be more than twice as heavy as other mice and are insulin resistant, represent important research tools for basic biology and clinical testing.’
Gene therapy could hold the answer to fighting the obesity epidemic, they claim.
Dr Martignetti added: ‘Obesity is a global epidemic, affecting almost all areas of human health, from heart disease to cancer, and impacting upon most of the major causes of preventable death.
‘Moreover, obesity rates are rising dramatically worldwide. If we are going to combat this disease, we need to understand its medical basis.’

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The man who has 'varicose veins' protruding from his CHEST.

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A Japanese man who had veins protruding from his chest was diagnosed with a rare condition that causes swelling of the blood vessels.
The 68-year-old had seen doctors complaining of swelling caused by fluid retention in the legs - and shortness of breath.
He was also suffering from erythema nodosu - a condition that causes red nodules (rounded lumps) to form just below the skin surface - and had suffered from ulcers on his mouth and genitals over the past 30 years.

A Japanese man who had veins protruding from his chest was diagnosed with Behçet's disease, a rare and poorly understood condition that causes swelling of the blood vessels

When doctors at the National Defense Medical College in Saitama, examined him, they found varices - rough, dliated veins - of the chest and abdominal wall.
Varicose veins in the legs also fall under the umbrella term of varices.
These had been caused by an obstruction of the superior vena cava (SVC) - a large vein that carries blood from the body straight to the heart. It lies in the middle of the chest, behind the breast bone.
Superior vena cava obstruction (SVCO) occurs when something blocks the blood from flowing along the SVC. The walls of the SVC are thin, meaning they easily become squashed.
A CT scan of his chest also revealed a dilated inferior vena cava- the vein that carries blood from the lower body to the heart - and a heart condition which meant the heart is restricted from stretching and filling with blood properly.
The man was eventually diagnosed with Behçet's disease, a rare and poorly understood condition that causes inflammation (swelling) of the blood vessels.

The man was eventually diagnosed with Behçet's disease, a rare and poorly understood condition that causes inflammation (swelling) of the blood vessels. The inflammation often occurs in the mouth, which leads to mouth ulcers (file pic)

The inflammation often occurs in the mouth and genitals, which leads to the two most common symptoms of Behçet’s disease, as this man had: mouth and genital ulcers.
The cause of Behçet’s disease is unknown, although most experts believe that it is an autoimmune condition - where the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue.
The condition tends to be more common in the Far East, Middle East and Mediterranean in countries such as as Turkey, Iran and Israel.
Turkey has the highest number of cases of Behçet’s disease. In some parts of the country around 420 people out of every 100,000 are affected by the condition, according to NHS Choices.
In some countries, such as Iran, men are 20 times more likely to develop. In England, the condition only affects around 2,000 people, but men and women equally.

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Men who lack desire have low levels of it, study finds.

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Men with a poor sex drive may have low levels of a hormone traditionally associated with breastfeeding.
A study has found that men with reduced levels of prolactin had worse health both sexually and overall.
Prolactin is a hormone produced by the pituitary gland, which lies under the brain. It is best known for its role as the hormone that stimulates breast development and milk production in women.

Worried: Men with a poor sex drive may have low levels of the hormone prolactin, a new study has found

But it also has many other functions, including providing the body with sexual satisfaction. The hormone is thought to counteract the effect of dopamine, which is responsible for sexual desire.
Until now, it was thought that high levels it affected a man's performance in the bedroom, so the researchers say they were surprised by the new findings.
The study, reported in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, assessed 3,000 European men aged between 40 and 79.
They had levels of the hormones testosterone and prolactin checked, and also their cholesterol, blood sugar and BMIs measured.

Prolactin is best known for its role as the hormone that stimulates breast development and milk production in women, but is also involved in sexual desire

Finally, they answered questions about their general and sexual health, alcohol consumption and whether they smoked.
Men who had low levels of prolactin also had signs of poor sexual and psychological health, LiveScience reported.
If a man had a lower than average level, he was more likely to report feeling depressed, poor sexual functioning and was less likely to enjoy orgasms.

These men were also more likely to feel less healthy overall, and have indicators of poor health such as high BMI, blood sugar, and doing less physical activity.

The results of the study contradict what has previously been thought about prolactin - that high levels hamper performance and desire.

In fact, previous studies found that rats who had their prolactin levels increased got a boost.

One theory is that poor health in general causes low levels of the hormone. Men who drink alcohol to excess and smoke are known to suffer sexual performance problems such as erectile dysfunction.

Another theory is it's possible that low prolactin 'mirrors a change in the levels of signaling chemicals in the brain that regulate sexual behavior', the website reported.

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Boys are 14% more likely to be born prematurely than girls: Study finds that even in the womb, females mature faster.

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Boys are 14 per cent more likely to be born prematurely than girls, according to new figures, which show an extra 5,700 boys are born early each year in the UK.
Data for 2012 reveals there were 34,400 boys born under 37 weeks in the UK, compared to 28,700 girls.
Boys are also more likely to suffer death and disability as a result of being born too early, according to the new analysis.

Boys are 14 per cent more likely to be born prematurely than girls, according to new figures, which show an extra 5,700 boys are born early each year in the UK

Professor Joy Lawn, a neonatologist and epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), led the study.
She said: ‘Baby boys have a higher likelihood of infections, jaundice, birth complications, and congenital conditions but the biggest risk for baby boys is due to pre-term birth.
‘For two babies born at the same degree of prematurity, a boy will have a higher risk of death and disability compared to a girl.
‘Even in the womb, girls mature more rapidly than boys, which provides an advantage because the lungs and other organs are more developed.
‘One partial explanation for more pre-term births among boys is that women pregnant with a boy are more likely to have placental problems, pre-eclampsia, and high blood pressure - all associated with pre-term births.’
Professor Lawn said boys had a biological predisposition to being born early.

Data for 2012 reveals there were 34,400 boys born under 37 weeks in the UK, compared to 28,700 girls

‘In the UK, an extra 6,000 boys or so are born pre-term each year,’ she said.
The studies found higher rates of disability in boys across a range of health problems, including cerebral palsy, blindness and visual impairment.
‘If you are born premature, even that little difference in maturity between girls and boys can make a big difference – particularly in breathing complications for boys,’ Professor Lawn said.
Professor Lawn’s research was a global study on premature birth, which she said was a major problem around the world.
The figures showed the rate of premature birth remained largely unchanged in the UK at 7.8 per cent, compared to around five per cent in Scandinavian countries and 12 per cent in the U.S.
There are 1,300 deaths due to complications from premature birth each year in the UK, mostly among babies born under 28 weeks.
Professor Lawn said both younger mothers and older mothers had a higher risk of premature birth, with older mothers experiencing higher rates of high blood pressure, diabetes and medical complications.
IVF also had an impact, increasing the number of multiple births, which were more likely to be premature.
Globally, the studies published in the journal Paediatric Research, showed that of the 15.1 million babies born too soon, one million died due to prematurity.
Of the survivors, 345,000 - 2.7 per cent - had moderate or severe disability.
In some countries, where girls receive less nutrition and medical care, girls were more likely to die than boys, despite this biological survival advantage for girls.

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