Today's News

[Daisy]

I wasn't sure whether to put this in the Health etc section, but it's the kind of unlikely, unusual news I like to pop on this thread.

I think we're all aware of the BRCA1 gene mutation which is strongly connected to breast cancer. It's already known that the BRCA1 mutation is more prevalent in certain ethnic backgrounds, and about 1 in 1,000 people in the UK have the mutation, which can leave them with an increased risk of ovarian and breast cancer.

Researchers have now discovered and interesting (and hopefully useful) fact. A recent study has found that 1 in 100 people with grandparents from Orkney has this mutation. It's believed to be the first time this type of geographical link has been made, and it is specifically closely linked to the Orkney island of Westray which has a population of just 600.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-64951429

[Plantaholic]

Very interesting Daisy

[Gemini]

Gosh I wonder why the incidence is so high there??

My OH's 2 nieces have not only her, aunt on their dad side, with BC, but their mum (had it twice) and their maternal GM who had it. The younger niece wanted testing for the BRCA gene but eventually they told her as her mum is still alive she and her sister are not eligible! I think she is considering paying for the testing.

[Oma]

I read this yesterday Daisy , Strange isn't it but even stranger that they could trace it back to the Orkneys ,

[Daisy]

If your grand children/great grandchildren like their dinosaurs big and boney they will love the replica skeleton of a Patagotitan currently on display at the Natural History Museum in London. It's on loan from the Museo Paleontologico Egidio Feruglio in Argentina. Goodness knows where they found a boat to bring it over, or perhaps it came by air on a specially built plane! Plant, if you're juggling your packing for your holiday, be thankful you aren't travelling with a Patagotitan!!!

For the dinosaur number-crunchers, it measures 121 ft (37m) nose to tail and probably weighed 60 or 70,000 kg when it clumped its way around Argentina. The thigh bone alone is 2.4m long. It's been calculated that it would have had to eat over 130 kg of plants a day - about 515 lettuces - and eaten all day and most of the night. By comparison, our old friend Tyrannosaurus Rex was about 7,000 kg, a full-grown elephant about 5,000kg.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-65094602

[Plantaholic]

Wow, what a whopper. I will check my bag now

[Daisy]

A small article in the news caught my eye. I admit I checked it was the lst May, not the lst April!

How about some nice tasty 3D Printed food, everyone? Yes, you read it right - 3D Printed food!!! If you haven't seen a 3D printer in action, it's basically a machine loaded up with a reel of thin plastic 'wire'. You program the printer to work in shapes, layer upon layer to form a product. Domestic 3D printers are getting more common, but even fairly basic items can take several hours to "print".

Well, now it seems you can print edible food. The ingredients are loaded into the machine - gels, pastes, powders and liquid are loaded into the machine and extruded to make the required food. The item that caught my eye was "healthier chocolate", but it would have to be really good to lure me away from my 80% dark chocolate bar! The photo of the 3D printed cheesecake did nothing to whet my appetite!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/3d_printed_food

[Oma]

I read this too Daisy apparently Vegans can eat the so called 3D steaks as it’s plant protein , it looks inedible to me.
Im glad B got rid of his 3D printer or he would be having a go 🤣🤣🤣
It takes so long to print anything out anyway so can you imagine even a commercial printer the food will be already going stale
Another silly idea .

[Gemini]

Good grief Daisy!!!

[Daisy]

Amid all the horrible news, not least the knife attack in France on several small children, this heart-warming story caught my eye.

Following the crash of a small Cessna aircraft which killed the three adults on board, 4 children, siblings aged 13 to 1 year old have been found alive in the Amazon jungle in Columbia. The children who belong to the Huitoto indigenous people, had survived for 40 days using their knowledge fruits and jungle survival skills.

They were air-lifted to a hospital in Bogata for medical treatment. What an amazing story and what clever and resourceful children.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-65864158

[Gemini]

Wow, amazing. Some positive news as you say Daisy.

I hope these poor children recover well and have a happy life despite the tragedy

[Daisy]

I know some of us Grannies are partial to a nanna nap during the day sometimes. Well, it seems it's good for us because researchers believe it effectively delays the ageing process by 3 to 6 years. Then there's the downer - naps should be less than half an hour. Hey ho! I wonder if a one-hour nap every other day is ok?

Are you one of the 27% of those over 65 who have a daytime nap?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-65950168

[Gemini]

Great minds, Daisy! I heard this this morning and was going to start a thread.

I never nap - but I frequently drop off for anything from a few minutes to 15 or so, watching TV. I wonder if that counts?!

I remember discussing napping with an American friend several years ago. She was in her early 50s and took regular naps. It was normal to her and most people she knew of all ages .
I told her that in the UK only ill people, babies and the elderly napped!

My mum was never known to nap in the day until towards the end of her life, wheras my dad was able to drop off at the drop of a hat from middle age!

[Oma]

Oh I love a Nana nap and have been known to be up to 1 hour depending on how tired I am ,
Any longer and I feel yuk when I wake so it’s usually under the hour .
Best part of the day.
Not every day but I would if I could 😁💤

[Plantaholic]

I have naps occasionally depending what my night sleep has been. I don’t go to bed much before 11pm and I still listen to my book for a bit. If I feel I might oversleep, I set the alarm. I do quite enjoy a nap in the day.