Issue No.
69
Thursday, 3 January 2013
Reset, Revamp & Renew
Page 3
Pa
Page 8
It’s the one time of the year when we look back
at all of our accomplishments, good times, and
even the times that put us through some rough
patches in our lives- New Year! Considered to
be the time of year when the biggest party goes
down, this new beginning is all about having
a clear picture of what you want…and it could
be anything like what work do you want to do?
What changes would you like to make in your
social life? What would an ideal spiritual life
look like? How much money do you want to
earn? What kind of activities do you want to be
involved in? Is there anything that drains you?
What could you let go of in order to create more
balance and energy? There’s indeed a new hope
for each New Year.
2013 is for sure the time to buckle down on
what to wear. Bloom helps you reset, revamp,
and renew within reason, for 2013 is the
perfect excuse to start dressing up more often,
wear statement-making jewels, opt for bolder
bottoms, incorporate more white-hued pieces,
master the wardrobe-staple basics, and look to
edgier leather- and silk-infused silhouettes.
We often see that many people with the
device are accustomed to using the camera’s
“narcissism” setting to apply makeup or freshen
up their looks while on the go – to apply glitter
shadow to a neutral lid before a holiday party,
for example. But, now it turns out that this
is just the beginning of what your phone (or
tablet) can do for your face. Thanks to apps,
these gadgets now also function as colour and
hairstyle consultants, spa finders and skin-care
specialists. Want to know how? Then check out
‘Apps turn phones into skin consultants.’
Well, there’s more to this week’s Bloom. From
Martha’s Q&A, Everyday Food recipes, Health
tips to Classic beauty products… we make sure
that you have a good read!
Drop us a word at [email protected]. Your
feedback is always welcome. So be it science,
technology, lifestyle or fashion, take your pick
right away. And Facebook users keep liking our
page!
Rehearsal Dinner,
Toast Guidelines,
Footing the Bill
2013: It’s Time To
Buckle Down On
What To Wear
Page 7 Classic beauty products
that still deliver
Page 5
Snapshots
explore Einstein’s
unusual brain
Follow us on
www.facebook.com/BloomQatar
2
Health
Thursday, 3 January 2013
What’s best for
kids’ eye health?
Experts give insight
| Serena Gordon |
For generations, countless adults have urged kids to eat carrots to
protect their eyesight.
“Anything that’s good for your body is good for your eyes, especially
vegetables,” explained Dr. James McDonnell, a professor of
ophthalmology and director of paediatric ophthalmology at the
Loyola University Health System and the Stritch School of Medicine
in Chicago.
But how does the average adult, without medical training, know
whether the words of wisdom being doled out -- whether about
crunching carrots or anything else -- are good advice? And what
else do parents need to know to keep their kids’ vision keen?
Here’s a sampling of advice from
eye experts:
How often should children have
their eyes screened for vision problems?
Generally, kids don’t need any additional eye exams. Schools and paediatricians screen for eye problems
and should flag any eye issues that
warrant a visit to an eye specialist.
“The process is set up to screen all
children for the most common eye
problems,” said Dr. Erin Stahl, an
ophthalmologist at Children’s Mercy
Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City,
Mo. But, she did recommend that
“parents should make sure that these
screenings are being done yearly.”
But, if children complain of eye
pain or say that they’re having trouble seeing, take them to an eye specialist, she said. The same is true
if you notice that your child’s eyes
don’t seem to be aligning properly.
Children don’t always wear
their glasses. Can this be harmful?
McDonnell said the answer to this
question can depend on the reason
the glasses were prescribed. But,
in general, if an eye doctor has prescribed glasses for a child, there’s
probably a good reason that he or she
needs to wear them.
“Most of the time, I put kids in
glasses because without them their
eyes cross,” McDonnell said. “The
glasses help their brains develop
properly at the critical age that lets
eyes work together. In other kids, I
might prescribe glasses because one
eye is out of focus. These kids need to
wear their glasses so that their brain
isn’t only receiving blurry input from
that eye.”
If you’re having trouble getting a
child to wear his or her glasses regularly, Stahl added, ask the doctor
whether off-and-on wear will cause
any problems.
Pre-teens sometimes want to
wear contacts. Is it too soon?
Both McDonnell and Stahl said
that the age at which contacts are appropriate depends largely on a child’s
maturity level.
For the most part, Stahl said, she
won’t prescribe contacts to anyone
younger than 10. McDonnell said
he usually doesn’t consider contacts
until a child 12 to 15 years old. Any
child has to be mature enough to put
contacts in, take them out and keep
them clean, he noted. But even then,
he added, parents still need to check
to be sure their children are following
the proper contact care techniques.
That includes making sure they’re
not sleeping with their contacts in
-- something McDonnell said that
children should never do. Eye experts
agree that sleeping in contacts increases the chance of infection.
Are decorative contacts OK?
Decorative or cosmetic contacts
are lenses that kids (and adults)
sometimes wear, perhaps as part of
a costume, to dramatically change
their eye color or make their eyes
look like those of a cat or a zombie.
In the United States, it’s illegal to sell
decorative lenses over-the-counter,
meaning that they require a prescription, even if the youngster who wants
them doesn’t need lenses for vision
correction.
McDonnell said that if kids are
familiar with contact wear and care,
and they know how to keep them
clean, he doesn’t see a problem with
wearing decorative contacts for a special occasion. But if it takes an adult
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lower it as the baby
to help a child put decorative contacts
in or take them out, that should be a
sign that this is a bad idea. Stahl added that she’s seen severe eye injuries
from cosmetic contacts.
Will too much computer time
hurt a child’s eyes?
“Too much screen time will not
damage a child’s eyes,” said Stahl.
That said, “too much screen time is
not good for the overall development
of the child,” she added.
At worst, said McDonnell, spending a lot of time in front of a screen
might cause eye strain. “It’s like doing
push-ups for three hours,” he said.
“Give your eyes a break and look up
from that near point and gaze around
the room from time to time.”
What should be done to protect a
child’s eyes from injuries?
McDonnell said that it’s hard to
anticipate everything that could hurt
a child’s eyes because even something
as seemingly innocuous as a child’s
fingernail can cause a serious injury.
Still, he said, it’s important to try to
prevent eye injuries.
“If something penetrates the eye,
these can be devastating injuries,”
he said. “We do our best to repair the
eye, but it’s part of the brain, which
makes it exquisitely sensitive, even
though it’s reasonably tough.”
For starters, Stahl said,” keep your
child away from fireworks, lawn mowers and trimmers, and sharp objects
like sticks and hangers.” She and McDonnell both recommended that kids
wear eye protection during certain
sports, especially those that involve
smaller balls, such as racquetball or
squash. McDonnell also advised that
children not be allowed to play with
BB or pellet guns because of the risk
for eye and other injuries.
(NYT Syndicate)
‘Not
Fair!’
How sibling
fights may
lead to later
mood problems
Fights
between
siblings
can
lead to anxiety,
depression and lower
self-esteem, a new study
contends.
University of Missouri researchers looked at 145 pairs of siblings, average ages 12 and 15, over the
course of a year and found that many
of their fights were about equality
and fairness (such as whose turn it is
to empty the dishwasher) or invasion
of personal space (such as borrowing
clothes without asking).
Teens who fought with siblings
over equality and fairness had higher
levels of depression a year later, while
those who fought over personal space
issues were more anxious and had
lower self-esteem, the researchers
found.
Younger brothers with older brothers and girls with brothers had more
anxiety, while teens with an opposite
gender sibling had lower self-esteem,
according to the study published Dec.
20 in the journal Child Development.
The researchers also found that
teens who were more depressed and
anxious had more fights with their
siblings a year later, while teens with
higher levels of self-esteem had fewer
fights with their siblings.
“Our findings may help parents,
psychologists and others who work
with and support teens to understand that all sibling conflicts are not
created equally,” study lead author
Nicole Campione-Barr, an assistant
professor of psychological sciences at
the University of Missouri, said in a
journal news release.
“It may be possible to avoid sibling
conflicts by recognizing that adolescents desire more privacy as they
strive for greater independence,” she
explained. “In addition, structured
tradeoffs in chore duties and equal
time with shared household items
(like computer/video games) give siblings fewer opportunities to compare
themselves unfavorably to one another.”
Siblings fight in many households.
While the study found an association
between some of these disputes and
mood problems, it did not establish a
cause-and-effect relationship.
Fine Living
Thursday, 3 January 2013
3
Toast
Rehearsal Dinner,
g the Bill
n
ti
o
o
F
,
s
e
n
li
e
id
u
G
Q: The venue where our daughter wants
to get married has only Sundays left.
My husband is worried that people
won’t come because of work on Monday.
What do you think?
A: Guests who want to celebrate your daughter’s marriage
will make the effort to be there no matter what day you pick.
But your husband is right: A Sunday wedding could interfere
with a Monday workday for attendees who have far to travel.
If you do have a lot of out-of-towners, consider a daytime
affair, such as a festive brunch; those who want to fly home
on Sunday night can still do so. Whatever you decide, send
out save-the-dates at least six months prior to give invitees
plenty of time to deal with logistics – and maybe even ask for
that Monday off!
Q: Who gets invited to the rehearsal dinner?
A: According to the rules of etiquette, only those who participate in the actual
rehearsal for the wedding get an invite to its namesake dinner. But now it’s
increasingly common to include out-of-town guests and close family members
in the night-before festivities. If you’re concerned that adding extra heads might
undercut the significance of the main event (and seriously blow your budget), then
host an intimate meal for those who attend the run-through, and meet others later
for drinks.
Q: Who pays for a wedding if the bride’s
parents are divorced?
A: Martha Stewart Weddings contributing editor Claudia
Hanlin, an event planner and founder of The Wedding
Library in New York City, notes that while traditionally the
father of the bride foots the bill, if her mother is willing
and able to help, she can and should. If the parents of the
groom also want to pitch in, “I think that’s wonderful,” says
Hanlin. Have each contributor cover a part of the event
they’re particularly passionate about. A music aficionado,
for instance, could pay for the DJ or band, while a vinophile
might pick up the wine tab. “That way, everyone has a say in
how their money is spent,” says Hanlin.
A: Absolutely not. The only thing necessary is that you have people standing up
with you whose presence is meaningful and important. Ask a groomsman to link
arms with two bridesmaids, task a couple of guys with escorting elderly guests, or
arrange a single-file procession.
Usually the best man starts, followed by the rest of the groomsmen, maid of
honour and bridesmaids. And typically the ring bearer and flower girl are the last
to walk down the aisle before the bride. Just appoint a traffic cop to make sure
everyone knows when, where and with whom they’re supposed to enter.
It’s time to rethink
pink! Sure, it can be sweet
and girlie (and what’s
not to love about that?).
But when you reimagine
the colour all grown up,
it brings style, polish and
a playful attitude to any
nuptials.
Play Up Your Posies
A: To clarify that you’re hosting a
cocktail party, not a five-course meal,
clearly state “cocktail reception”
or “cocktails and hors d’oeuvres
to follow.” Set the soiree earlier
and include an end time by saying
something like, “Cocktail reception to
follow, 5 to 8 p.m.” That leaves ample
hours for mingling and noshing, while
still allowing time for hungrier guests
to grab dinner afterward.
Q: How much direction
should you offer to
those giving toasts, and
what’s the appropriate
time limit?
Q: Do the number of bridesmaids and groomsmen
need to match?
e:
Perfect Palett
Shades of Pink
Q: How do you word
the invitation for an
hors d’oeuvres-only
reception?
bouquets, and let each tote
her favourite:
Packed with personality,
an electrifying assembly of
‘Yves Piaget’ roses, andromeda, protea and curcuma is
tailor-made for your pluckiest pal.
It doesn’t get more charming than a softly shaded cluster of zinnias, curcuma and
astilbe.
Have a doe-eyed dreamer
among your ranks? She’ll
love the enchanting vintage
vibe of a clutch of dusky protea, lisianthus and garden
roses.
Gather ye rosebuds – and
zinnias, protea and lisianthus – in an array of romantic hues, and then pass them
on to your equally colourful Paper Trail
attendants. Just as no two
For a clever and superflowers are exactly alike, neieasy way to pep up plain prother are your bridesmaids.
grams, print your knot-tying
Supply a selection of distinct
info on a piece of white card
stock, and then slip it into
a tinted Jam Paper vellum
sleeve. The sheaths come in
several shades, so you can
coordinate them with any
colour scheme (we like pink
and peach). For even more
festiveness, toss in confetti
made from hole-punched
construction paper.
Set a Soft Scene
Stick to a less-is-more approach, and your pinks will
really pop. A neutral backdrop can provide the canvas
for a striking tables cape.
Think luxe velvet runner,
gilded votives, sparkling rose
wine, and bunches of densely
clustered dahlias, garden roses, andromeda and protea.
And keep things short and
chic – soaring centrepieces
and towering tapers need not
apply.
A: The quick answer to both questions?
Very little. Those who speak are the
people you love and trust most. If one
of them is nervous (or long-winded),
make a gentle suggestion like, “We’d
love for you to tell the story of the day
we met.” Let them know the schedule
and time guidelines beforehand.
“Toasts work well between courses,”
says Robbins. And like so many
things, the best ones are short and
sweet. “Three to four minutes is ideal,”
he says.
Go On & Blush
When it comes to prettying up for your big day – or
any day, for that matter –
embrace pink. Here’s why:
Everyone’s skin has rosy undertones, which makes pink
a universally flattering pick,
says Los Angeles makeup artist Stella Kae. Zero in on a
feature or two, and play it up.
For cheeks: We like NYX
Powder Blush in Natural, applied with a large, soft brush
($6, nyxcosmetics.com). “Use
wide, circular motions, focusing on the apples of your
cheeks,” Kae says. “Then,
sweep just a small amount up
cheekbones.”
For lips: Keep them kissworthy all night with a
creamy formula, such as
Chanel Rouge Coco Hydrat-
ing Creme Lip Colour in Magnolia, which will outlast a
gloss ($34, chanel.com).
Bottoms Up
We tasked master mixologist Nicolas O’Connor
of Manhattan’s Apotheke
lounge with crafting rosy
cocktails that are irresistible
to gourmands and beer guzzlers alike. The results? Liquid magic. Fresh blueberries
meet ginger in a Pink Manther. Though it also contains
watermelon, our Coconut
Castaway gets its ruby colour from prickly cactus pear.
And a riff on the classic fizzy
drink, the Blushing Ingenue
combines strawberries, ginger, bitters and egg whites,
which create the concoction’s
frothy top!
4
Life
fe Style
Thursday, 3 January 2013
Everyday Food:
Sheet-Pan Suppers
Ladies and gentlemen, start your ovens. Throw
w
a few choice ingredients together on a singlee
pan and you’ll cross the finish line to dinner in
n
no time!
Rib Eye with Horseradish
Butter and Root Vegetables
Salmon with Fennel,
Bell Pepper and Olives
Ingredients:
• 1 navel orange
• 1 large bulb fennel, cored and thinly
sliced, 1/4 cup fronds reserved
• 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 skinless salmon fillets (4 to 6
ounces each)
• salt and pepper
• 1/3 cup pitted black olives,
quartered
Directions:
• Heat broiler, with rack 8 inches from
heat. Grate 1 tablespoon orange zest,
then cut orange into wedges. On a
rimmed baking sheet, toss together
orange zest and wedges, fennel, bell
pepper and oil, and arrange in an
even layer.
• Add salmon and season vegetables
and salmon with salt and pepper.
Broil until vegetables are browned
in spots and salmon is opaque
throughout, about 8 minutes to 10
minutes. Sprinkle with olives and
fennel fronds to serve.
Ingredients:
Directions:
• 1 large head celery root, peeled,
halved and cut into 1/4-inch
wedges
• 2 large carrots, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 boneless rib eyes (1 pound each;
1 1/4 inches thick), excess fat
trimmed
• salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room
temperature
• 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup sliced fresh chives
• Heat broiler, with rack 8 inches from
heat. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss
celery root and carrots with oil and
arrange in an even layer. Pat steaks dry
and add to sheet; season vegetables
and steaks with salt and pepper. Broil
until vegetables are tender and steaks
are browned, about 8 minutes to 10
minutes, flipping vegetables halfway
through. Tent steaks with foil and let
rest 10 minutes.
• Stir together butter, horseradish and
mustard; season with salt and pepper
and spread on steaks. Sprinkle with
chives to serve.
Inside-Out Chicken and Stuffing
Sausages with Acorn
Squash and Onions
Ingredients:
Directions:
• 1 large acorn squash, halved, seeded
and cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1 red onion, cut into 1/4-inch
wedges
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 4 hot or sweet Italian sausages (3/4
pound total)
• 1/2 cup grated aged Asiago cheese (2
ounces)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
leaves
• 1/4 cup dried cherries, chopped
• Preheat oven to 475 degrees
Fahrenheit. On a rimmed baking
sheet, toss squash and onion with oil
and arrange in an even layer; season
with salt and pepper. Add sausages
to sheet. Roast until vegetables are
just tender, about 15 minutes to 18
minutes.
• Heat broiler. Sprinkle Asiago and
sage over vegetables and broil until
cheese is browned and bubbling and
sausages are cooked through, about
3 minutes. Sprinkle with cherries to
serve.
Ingredients:
Directions:
•
•
•
•
•
• Preheat oven to 450 F, with rack in
upper third. On a rimmed baking
sheet, toss together apple, celery,
1 tablespoon oil and caraway seed.
Add bread, arrange in an even layer,
and bake 10 minutes.
• Pour broth on top and stir until
absorbed. Rub chicken with
remaining tablespoon oil and add to
sheet. Season stuffing and chicken
with salt and pepper. Bake until
stuffing is golden brown and chicken
is cooked through, about 25 minutes
to 30 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley
to serve.
•
•
•
•
1 apple, diced large
2 stalks celery, diced medium
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon caraway seed
9 ounces crusty white bread, cut
into 1-inch pieces (6 cups)
1 cup chicken broth
1 whole chicken (3 1/2 to 4
pounds), cut into 10 pieces
salt and pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Thursday, 3 January 2013
5
Snapshots explore
Einstein’s unusual brain
| Mo Costandi |
Albert Einstein is considered to
be one of the most intelligent people that ever lived, so researchers are
naturally curious about what made his
brain tick.
Photographs taken shortly after his
death, but never before analyzed in detail,
have now revealed that Einstein’s brain had
several unusual features, providing tantalizing
clues about the neural basis of his extraordinary mental abilities.
While doing Einstein’s autopsy, the pathologist Thomas Harvey removed the physicist’s
brain and preserved it in formalin. He then
took dozens of black and white photographs of
it before it was cut up into 240 blocks. He then
took tissue samples from each block, mounted
them onto microscope slides and distributed
the slides to some of the world’s best neuropathologists.
The autopsy revealed that Einstein’s brain
was smaller than average and subsequent
analyses showed all the changes that normally occur with aging. Nothing more was
analyzed, however. Harvey stored the
brain fragments in a formalin-filled
jar in a cider box kept under a
beer cooler in his office. Dec-
ades later, several researchers asked Harvey for
some samples, and noticed some unusual features when analyzing them.
A study done in 1985 showed that two parts
of his brain contained an unusually large number of non-neuronal cells called glia for every
neuron. And one published more than a decade
later showed that the parietal lobe lacks a furrow and a structure called the operculum. The
missing furrow may have enhanced the connections in this region, which is thought to be
involved in visuo-spatial functions and mathematical skills such as arithmetic.
Photo opportunity
Now, anthropologist Dean Falk of Florida
State University in Tallahassee and her colleagues have obtained 12 of Harvey’s original photographs from the National Museum
of Health and Medicine in Silver Spring, Md.,
analyzed them and compared the patterns of
convoluted ridges and furrows with those of 85
brains described in other studies.
Many of the photographs were taken from
unusual angles, and show structures that were
not visible in photographs that have been analyzed previously. The analysis is published in
the journal Brain.
The most striking observation, says Falk,
was “the complexity and pattern of convolutions on certain parts of Einstein’s cerebral
cortex,” especially in the prefrontal cortex, and
also parietal lobes and visual cortex.
The prefrontal cortex is important for the
kind of abstract thinking that Einstein would
have needed for his famous thought experiments on the nature of space and time, such
as imagining riding alongside a beam of light.
The unusually complex pattern of convolutions
there probably gave the region and unusually
large surface area, which may have contributed
to his remarkable abilities.
Falk and her colleagues also noticed an unusual feature in the right somatosensory cortex,
which receives sensory information from the
body. In this part of Einstein’s brain, the region
corresponding to the left hand is expanded,
and the researchers suggest that this may have
contributed to his accomplished violin playing.
According to Sandra Witelson, a behavioural
neuroscientist at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, who discovered that the parietal
operculum is missing from Einstein’s brain, the
study’s biggest contribution may be in encouraging further studies. “It makes clear the location and accessibility of photographs and slides
of Einstein’s brain,” she says. “This may serve
as an incentive for other investigations of Einstein’s brain, and ultimately of any consequences of its anatomical variations.”
(NYT Syndicate)
How your brain
cleans itself
| Dave Mosher |
Talk about brainwashing – a newfound
plumbing system, identified in mice, likely
helps the brain empty its waste, a new study
says. Because mouse biology is similar to ours,
the same findings should apply to people too,
experts say.
Thanks to a blood-brain barrier – a natural
wall that protects the brain tissue – the organ
never touches blood, thus protecting it from
microbes, viruses, and other pathogens.
To get nutrients to brain tissue and remove
its waste, the brain makes a liquid called cerebrospinal fluid. But exactly how the fluid removes gunk generated by brain cells wasn’t
certain until now.
Experiments in the 1950s and ‘60s hinted
that diffusion – the passive method by which,
say, food coloring spreads out in a glass of water – moved cerebrospinal fluid around the
brain.
Yet this process is too slow to explain the
brain’s lightning-fast activity and immaculate
cleanliness.
It turns out that, while studying brain tissue, the researchers in the 1950s and ‘60s unwittingly turned off the plumbing that washes
the tissue.
‘’The idea of a cleaning system based on
pressure has been around for a long time, but
if you open the skull anywhere, like a hydraulic pump, it stops. They thought (the cleaning
system) didn’t exist,’’ said study leader Maiken
Nedergaard, a neuroscientist at the University
of Rochester Medical Center.
The pump system is ‘’on the order of a thousand times faster than diffusion,’’ she said.
‘’I’m surprised that no one had discovered this
until now.’’
Brain under pressure
Nedergaard and her colleagues dubbed the
newfound plumbing the glymphatic system,
after neural tissue called glial cells, which
power the flow of cerebrospinal fluid.
Glial cells do this by growing their ‘’feet’’
around vessels and veins that carry blood,
forming a sort of pipe around a pipe.
Tiny pores in this outer pipe then suck nutrient-rich cerebrospinal fluid from the blood
vessels into channels dense with nerve cells,
and pores at other locations pump the fluid
out. The process simultaneously carries away
the brain’s waste while feeding its cells.
Nedergaard and her team used a special
two-photon microscope, whose infrared light
allows a deep, clear look into living brain tissue without harming it.
‘’These microscopes are revolutionizing
neuroscience, and they’ve only become commercially available in the past five or six years,’’
Nedergaard said.
Studying living mouse brains required
opening their skulls. Yet unlike in previous
experiments, the researchers sealed each hole
with a tiny glass plate, keeping the fluid pressure while providing a window for the microscope.
Fluorescent dyes injected into the mouse
brains then allowed the team to record movies of the cerebrospinal fluid moving through
brain tissue.
‘’The fact we could look at it and make a
movie was very important to showing the
flow,’’ Nedergaard said.
Brain study makes
scientist’s ‘heart sing’
Clinical neuroscientist Bruce Ransom, who
studies glial cells but was not involved in the
study, said the work makes his ‘’heart sing.’’
‘’It wasn’t impossible to imagine that cerebrospinal fluid moves with enough force to
be a garbage-disposal system, but that was
always speculative,’’ said Ransom, of the
University of Washington in Seattle.
‘’This team, however, has done something
very clever to find this system: Demonstrate
how it works and show it can vigorously
wash away waste.’’
Now that the plumbing has been found,
study leader Nedergaard and her colleagues
are exploring its implications. A big one may
be in its role in Alzheimer’s disease, which is
thought to arise when brain cells are killed
by the accumulation of a protein waste
called beta-amyloid.
‘’Next we need to move beyond mice,’’ Nedergaard said. ‘’We need to see if this same
system exists in humans – which I suspect
it does.’’
Researchers
have discovered
a second, faster
cleaning system
on top of the
cerebrospinal
Å\PKHUKP[TH`
shed some
light on what
happens during
disorders that
affect the brain.
6
Technology
Thursday, 3 January 2013
Maps app for
iPhone steers right
Rumours swirled that Google would create an iPhone app
of its own, one that would use its 7-year-old, far more
polished database of the world. That was true.
| David Pogue |
It was one of the biggest tech headlines of
the year: in September, Apple dropped its contract with Google, which had always supplied
the data for the iPhone’s Maps app. For various
strategic reasons, Apple preferred to write a
new app, based on a new database of the world
that Apple intended to assemble itself.
As everybody knows by now, Apple got lost
along the way. It was like a 22-car pileup. Timothy Cook, Apple’s chief executive, made a quick
turn, publicly apologizing, firing the executive
responsible and vowing to fix Maps. For a company that prides itself on flawless execution, it
was quite a detour.
Rumours swirled that Google would create
an iPhone app of its own, one that would use
its 7-year-old, far more polished database of
the world.
That was true. On December 13, Google
Maps for the iPhone has arrived. It’s free, fast
and fantastic.
Google maps for the iPhone
Now, there are two parts to a great maps
app. There’s the app itself – how it looks, how
it works, what the features are. In this regard,
few people complain about Apple’s Maps app;
it’s beautiful, and its navigation mode for drivers is clear, uncluttered and distraction-free.
But then there’s the hard part: the underlying data. Apple and Google have each constructed staggeringly complex databases of the
world and its roads.
The recipe for both companies includes map
data from TomTom, satellite photography
from a different source, real-time traffic data
from others, restaurant and store listings from
still more sources, and so on. In the end, Apple
says that it incorporated data from at least 24
different sources.
Those sources always include errors, if only
because the world constantly changes. Worse,
those sources sometimes disagree with one
another. It takes years to fix the problems and
mesh these data sources together.
So the first great thing about Google’s new
Maps is the underlying data. Hundreds of
Google employees have spent years handediting the maps, fixing the thousands of errors that people report every day. (In the new
app, you report a mistake just by shaking the
phone.) And since 2006, Google’s Street View
vehicles have trawled 3,000 cities, photographing and confirming the cartographical accuracy
of some 8 million kilometres of roads.
The experience
You can sense the new app’s polish and intelligence the minute you enter your first address; it’s infinitely more understanding. When
I type “200 W 79, NYC,” Google Maps drops a
pin right where it belongs: on the Upper West
Side of Manhattan.
Apple’s Maps app, on the other hand, acts
positively drunk. It asks me to clarify: “Did you
mean 200 Durham Road, Madison, CT? Or 200
Madison Road, Durham, CT?”
Um, what?
And then there’s the navigation. Lots of iPhone owners report that they’ve had no problem with Apple’s driving instructions, and
that’s great. But I’ve been idiotically misdirected a few times – and the trouble is, you never
know in advance. You wind up with a deep mis-
trust of the app that’s hard to shake. Google’s
directions weren’t great in the app’s early days
either, and they’re still not always perfect. But
after years of polishing and corrections, they’re
right a lot more often.
The must-have features are all here: spoken
driving directions, color-coded real-time traffic
conditions, vector-based maps (smooth at any
size). But the new app also offers some incredibly powerful, useful features that Apple’s app
lacks.
Street View, of course, lets you see a photograph of a place, and even “walk” down the
street in any direction. Great for checking out
a neighborhood before you go, scoping out the
parking situation or playing “you are there”
when you read a news article.
Along with driving directions, Google Maps
gives equal emphasis to walking directions and
public transportation options.
It’s a lot of features. The big question: How
well did Google cram them in without sinking
the app with featuritis?
This, it turns out, is the best news of all. The
brand-new, completely rethought design is
slick, simple and coherent. Google admits that
it’s even better than Google Maps for Android
phones, which has accommodated its evolving
feature set mainly by piling on menus.
The new software conceit here is the horizontal swipe. Plotting a trip? Maps shows possible routes on the map; a banner at the bottom summarizes the current traffic and time to
destination. Swipe the banner to see the next
proposed route.
Look up “Italian restaurants?” A banner
shows the ratings and average price for the first
one; swipe to see the next restaurant’s details,
and the next.
And when you’re navigating, the current
driving instruction appears in a green banner;
swipe it to look ahead at the next instruction.
(Apple’s navigation mode doesn’t permit you
to look ahead at upcoming turns.)
The maps scroll fast, and they’re lovely; in
the 3-D view, which makes you feel as if you’re
looking down at the world from a plane, the
type sizes of place names contribute to the
sense of perspective. They get smaller as they
get farther away.
So yes, Google Maps for iPhone is a home
run. It is not, however, without its footnotes.
The biggest thing you give up is Siri integration. If you say to your iPhone, “Give me directions to the airport,” Apple’s Maps app opens
automatically, your course charted. It takes
more steps to get started in Google Maps.
And despite its superior design and fluidity, the iPhone version of Google Maps doesn’t
have all the features of the Android version. It
still doesn’t let you download and store maps
for use when you don’t have an Internet connection. It doesn’t have indoor maps (of shopping malls and airports, for example). And it
doesn’t have ads or pop-up offers. (I know –
boohoo, right?)
Finally, although Google Maps runs fine on
the iPad, it’s just a blown-up version of the iPhone version. There’s not yet an iPad-specific
app.
Google says that goodies like those will be
coming soon. But for a 1.0 app, created in the
space of only a few months, Google Maps for
iPhone is an astonishingly powerful, accurate,
beautiful tool. For millions of iPhone owners,
it’s a drive in the right direction.
Apps turn phones
into skin consultants
From Aveda to Yves
Saint Laurent, almost
every cosmetics company
offers a free app. Some
advice, or let you
chat with experts.
Others make product recommendations or show how
you will look after
applying the items
you’re thinking of
buying.
The
L’Oreal
Paris Color Genius helps users coordinate
makeup
with
outfits, taking a
photo of themselves
and
then deciding
whether
to
Match, Blend
or Clash it. In
the magazine
world, the InStyle Hairstyle Try-On lets you satisfy your curiosity about
how you would look with
Heidi Klum’s or Jennifer
Aniston’s tresses.
Such options help to
narrow the distance between person and product, said Hillary Sica,
associate director of partnerships for ModiFace,
a virtual makeover technology provider based in
Toronto, with an office
in New York City. “People are more comfortable
choosing from model op-
eye area, and I have 28 age
spots,” said Stephen Matt,
chief marketing officer at
Own (for a man in a sunny
area, apparently, he did pretty well).
Users take a photo of their
faces, answer a few questions and indicate skin type
and date of birth. Within
two minutes of submitting
this data, they receive an
analysis of their complexion.
(This reporter was gratified
to learn her wrinkle numbers were better than average for her age, though the
app suggested two facial
masks, with recipes, along
with an anti-aging refining
night cream costing $25).
Matt also recommended the
tracking tool, which lets users see how their complexions have changed over
the past months. Own
also encourages lifestyle
modification tips, like
sleeping on silk pillowcases to forestall wrinkles.
| Alix Strauss |
Can an iPhone make you more beautiful?
Many people with the device are accustomed to using the camera’s “narcissism” setting to apply makeup or freshen up their looks while on the go
– to apply glitter shadow to a neutral lid before a holiday party, for example.
But it turns out that this is just the beginning of what your phone (or tablet)
can do for your face. Thanks to apps, these gadgets now also function as
JVSVYHUKOHPYZ[`SLJVUZ\S[HU[ZZWHÄUKLYZHUKZRPUJHYLZWLJPHSPZ[Z
tions that look like them,”
she said.
Many of these apps are
purely commercial, like that
of the chain Sephora, which
entices shoppers with tips,
coupons and samples; allows them to try on nail
colors; keeps their purchase
histories and shopping lists;
and scans their bar codes.
But others are edging
into public-health territory. The Coppertone
MyUVAlert, for example,
supplies consumers with
localized, real time UVA
and UVB information,
sunscreen reapplication reminders, coupons and sun
protection tips (most involving Coppertone products, of course).
“Apps in the skin-care
category are just scratching
the surface of what’s possible,” said Daniel Joseph,
a founder of the App Busi-
ness, a London-based software company. “It’s not surprising the majority of apps
are still gimmicks shooting
for short-term attention.”
That might be changing. If the Yellow Pages put
health care specialists at
your fingertips, apps are
putting them in your lap.
MyChelle Dermaceuticals, a skin-care company
in Louisville, Colo., provides app users with a free
30-minute
consultation
with a licensed aesthetician
via Skype, iChat or FaceTime. Introduced last year,
the app has been downloaded 3,500 times, according
to the company.
The app as a diagnostic
tool is not evolving without
scrutiny. Last year, AcneApp, created by a dermatologist, Dr. Greg Pearson,
claimed it could improve
acne and wrinkles by exud-
ing a blue or red light when
pressed up against your
skin. The app was removed
from iTunes after the Federal Trade Commission
became involved, citing health-related claims
with-
out scientific evidence. The
app had been downloaded
more than 11,600 times.
Acne Pwner, a similar app
available for the Android,
was also eliminated.
The two companies settled the complaints without admitting any violation
of the law. The cases were
among the first brought by
the FTC targeting mobile
app health claims.
Own, a three-yearold skin-care company
based in San Francisco, took a
more playful approach when introducing its free app, My Own
App, this month. Using facialrecognition technology to track
50 points on your face, the app
assesses signs of aging by the
number of fine lines, deep-set
wrinkles, percentage of pigment
and number of age spots. Those
numbers are then compared to
others in your age group.
“My numbers were eight for
deep-set wrinkles on my forehead, 23 for fine lines around my
If such measures fail, you can at least
have fun with your face thanks to apps
like Beauty Booth, which erases acne,
scars and dark circles and enlarges your
eyes on a photo you submit; and Makeup
Touch, which lets you “paint” your face
or add silly accessories like gemstones,
sunglasses, bunny ears or a Santa hat.
And for those who believe beauty comes
from within? Try Beauty Quotes from
sages like Coco Chanel, Sharon Stone
and Tyra Banks.
Beauty
Thursday, 3 January 2013
7
Even through the latest
cloud of glitter dust backstage
at New York’s Fashion Week one
can see a handful of beauty products, some on the market for over a
century, that continue to pop up again
and again. Herein, makeup artists
weigh in on why these classics have
never gone out of style, whether
they deserve the reputation and
which newer items are qualified to unseat them.
Classic beauty
products that still deliver
CLASSIC: Elizabeth Arden Eight
Hour Cream, elizabetharden.com
CLASSIC: Maybelline Great Lash
mascara, maybelline.com
Introduced in 1971, this mascara and its signature
pink-and-green tube was inspired by the cheery
fabrics of Lilly Pulitzer, then an up-and-coming
designer. It’s not only a best seller for the brand
in the country but also the No. 1 selling mascara
over all. One tube is sold every 1.7 seconds in the
country, the company said. The creamy formula,
which hasn’t changed, is made in seven shades, dries
quickly and washes off easily with soap and water.
It doesn’t have an incredibly volumizing effect, but
professionals and women swear to its thickening
and separating powers.
Brasfield likes the straightforward application.
“All those wacky wands on the market these days are
complicated to use even for me as a professional,”
he said. But James Vincent, the director of artistry
for the Makeup Show, is not a fan, saying it doesn’t
have the lengthening effect he looks for.
CONTENDERS: Diorshow; L’Oreal Voluminous
CLASSIC: Smith’s Rosebud Salve,
rosebudperfume.com
Dr. G.F. Smith invented this salve in 1892 in
Woodsboro, Md., as an all-purpose skin product to
help with ailments like diaper rash, chapped lips, razor burn and haemorrhoids. More than 100 years
later, it is still used in multiple ways (many makeup
artists rave that a dab on the cheek imparts a luminous glow) and is still sold in its trademark vintagelooking tin. Though the Rosebud Perfume Co. has
branched out to flavoured lip glosses, the salve is
still its star: According to the vice president, Linda
S. Pruitt-Michielli, Smith’s great-granddaughter,
about 3,500 tins are sold a day.
Billy Brasfield, who regularly works with fashion
magazines like Elle and music industry boldface
names like Beyonce, likes the salve’s nonwaxy consistency. And Moani Lee, who has worked with celebrities like Natalie Portman and on campaigns for
Victoria’s Secret and Redken, said that she likes that
the salve can be used as a conditioner and a gloss.
But she has a gripe with the packaging, saying that
the tin is sometimes hard to open.
CONTENDERS: Kiehl’s Lip Balm #1;
La Mer lip balm
The year was 1930, and Elizabeth Arden
was trying to find a way to soothe skin, so she
blended petrolatum and vitamin E to come up
with this cream. According to company lore,
the “eight hour” tag came after a devoted client
used the concoction on her child’s scraped knee
and found it to be magically better eight hours
later. It has a thick texture and can be used to
hydrate dry skin and lips, soften cuticles and
add shine to eyelids and cheeks.
Vincent said that putting a hint of the cream
on the eyelids eliminates the need for eye
shadow. “It gives the eyes a natural lift, which
is the look every woman wants,” he said. Lee
uses it to prep extremely dry skin for makeup
by applying it on the lips and around the nose
and eyes. Brasfield likes what the cream does
but isn’t thrilled with its medicinal smell.
CONTENDERS:
La Mer; La Prairie Caviar Cream
CLASSIC: Touche Eclat by Yves Saint Laurent
highlighter, yslbeautyus.com
Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, this pen was
born as a highlighter with a distinct click to mask fine lines
and under-eye circles and to brighten the face. The pen must be
clicked 30 times to start working and comes in 12 shades. The
company said that in the United States, there are 350 Google
searches a day for the product.
Vincent called the pen his “everything.” “You really can
sculpt a face with it,” he said. Besides the traditional applications, he likes using it to line the lips in place of a lip liner, for
a pouty Angelina Jolie effect. Lee said that women mistakenly
use it as a concealer instead of a highlighter but that it’s not the
most effective cover-up, especially for those with dark circles.
CONTENDER: Burberry Fresh Glow
CLASSIC: Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick,
bobbibrown.com
When this product made its debut in 1993, it was something of a revolution in the industry since it required no
brushes or sponges to apply. Beeswax is the key ingredient
behind its smooth texture and richness. It’s available in 20
shades, and one stick is sold every two minutes globally, according to the company.
Lee said the stick is a staple in her kit since it goes on
smoothly and is extremely sheer. Vincent said the color range
has a shade for every tone, a rarity in foundation. “Most lines
only have a couple of hues that work on few women,” he said.
CONTENDER: Make Up For Ever High Definition
Foundation
CLASSIC: Mason Pearson brush, masonpearson.com
An engineer and inventor from Yorkshire, England, named Mason Pearson invented this mostly handmade hairbrush in 1885. It
became known for its rubber-cushion pad filled with air, allowing
the brush to conform to the contours of the scalp. The bristles are
twisted and made of boar bristle, nylon or a mix (for different hair
types).
Hikari Tezuka, a hairstylist who regularly styles models for New
York Fashion Week, believes that the bristles give the hair a shine
and distribute its natural moisture. “Other brushes tend to be too
hard on the scalp,” she said.
CONTENDER: Tangle Teezer
CLASSIC: Chanel No. 5, chanel.com
CLASSIC: Essie nail polish in
Mademoiselle pink, essie.com
The company’s founder, Essie Weingarten, collaborated with editors at the now-defunct Mademoiselle magazine to come up with a sheer pink
flattering on women of all skin tones. Since it was
introduced in 1998, it has been the best-selling Essie shade (out of more than 250) and is the most
requested polish at nail salons across the country.
Vincent said the polish feels very classic and has
just the right amount of shine, making nails appear
longer. Lee said the colour enhances how the nail
would look if it were highly polished. “A lot of Essie’s
lighter shades can be too pink or too neutral, but
this one is the ideal combination of both,” she said.
CONTENDER: Chanel Vamp
Coco Chanel created this fragrance in 1921 after declaring that she wanted to come up with a scent for women that
smelled like a woman. “The bottle will be plain and simple,”
she said. “No name, just a number.” She chose 5 because it
was her lucky number and because it was the fifth composition that the perfumer Ernest Beaux submitted to her for approval. Jasmine sourced from producers in Grasse, France, is
the standout note, but rose, patchouli, iris and ylang-ylang
are also part of the blend.
“I remember when young girls were just starting out and
barely had two pennies to rub together that a bottle of No. 5
was their splurge because it gave them confidence,” Brasfield
said. Vincent said the scent works on women of all ages and
isn’t overpowering like many of the modern-day fragrances.
CONTENDERS: Too many to count
(NYT Syndicate)
8
Fashion
Thursday, 3 January 2013
2013: It’s Time To Buckle
Down On What To Wear
Mastering
the
Wardrobe
Basics
The New Year
is all about mastering the basics.
More specifically,
you should focus
on finding — and
investing in — the
must haves you’re
currently missing:
a tailored blazer,
black pumps (preferably more pointy
than not), a sleek
LBD, and sleek
black trousers!
Dressing
It Up
The ‘mantra’ is
all about pulling
it together…it’s
that chic blend of
polish countered
with cool-girl
staples that looks
so impossibly easy
and totally sophisticated! The best of
both style worlds
— not to mention
a healthy dose of
brights and prints
— but it does take
a commitment
to trying new
things. It means
ditching your
jeans in favour
of pencil skirts,
button-downs
instead of t-shirts,
and pointed-toe
pumps in place of
everyday booties.
Bring it on!
Although you probably
donned some variation of a
turtleneck sweater dress to
church last month, now is
the time to show off some
skin. The New Year freshstart syndrome has kicked
in, and that means we’re in
serious resolution mode.
Reset, revamp, and ren
new within reason, for
2
2013 is the perfect excuse
tto start dressing up more
o
often, wear statementm
making jewels, opt for
b
bolder bottoms, incorporrate more white-hued piecees, master the wardrobesstaple basics, and look to
eedgier leather- and silk-inffused silhouettes.
So grab that sequined
d
dress and your red lipstick
aand get excited: It’s perfect
ffor celebrating the New
Y
Year in style!
Taking an
Edgier Turn
For this New Year,
resolve to channel
some of that Saint
Laurent energy: skinny leather pants… the
close-cut blazers…the
dramatic wool hats!
Create that ultimate
“bourgeois Boheme”
vibe into your daily
look by focusing on
edgy silhouettes in
leather and silk and
statement pieces with
lace and sequins.
Print Master
It’s time to edge up
your solid and striped
shirts with more exciting, or maybe even
daring, pants. You
can’t really go wrong
with the tried-andtrue Black Watch pattern…they will look
good with everything
from a khaki sport
coat to a white t-shirt
come Summer.
Making a Statement
Embrace the statement necklace this year… it’s a simple but powerful styling tool and an easy way to dress up a
simple shirt, take your look from day to night, or breathe
new life into your wardrobe. Remember, the beauty of
an outfit is in the details, and so why not make your own
sparkly statement in 2013?
Send your feedback and suggestions to [email protected] • Tel : 44666810, Fax : 44654975