Interesting Newspaper Articles file1(I.N.A.F)

yup..i'm back to my Straits Times reading phrase..lol..here's some exerpts from last weekend's The Straits Times that i wanna share wif u all^_^

1st up: DENGUE OUTBREAK "R u a mosquito magnet?" (Home, Sat Sep17 2005)
Prime factors:
(1) Scientist have found that genentics accounts for 85% of our susceptibilty to mosquito bites.
Excessive amount of certain body compounds on our skin attract mosquitoes. For eg, ppl with high conc. of steriods or cholesterol on their skin r prime targets.
This doesn't mean tt mosquitoes prey on ppl with higher overall levels of cholestrol, but rather those who r more efficient at processing cholesterol, the by-products of which remain on the skin's surface.
Ppl who produce excess amounts of certain acids, such as uric acid, r also targets for mosquitoes. Such substances trigger the mosquitos' sense of smell.
(2) Mosquitoes r able to detect movements which lead them to their prey.
(3) Mosquitoes r drawn to the smell of CO2 from one's heavy breathing.
Mosquitoes can smell their dinner from a remarkable distance of up to 50km.
Mosquitoes r usually attracted to adults rather than small children b'cos larger ppl tend to give off more CO2.
Pregnant women r also more prone to mosquito bites as they exhale more CO2.
(4)Latic acid pouring from the sweat glands also attract mosquitoes.

2nd: "Having Babies after the age of 35 'defies nature' " (World, London, Sat Sep17 2005)
Juz some main points:
"...Writing in the british Medical Journal, the specalist warn that in-vitro fertilisation(IVF) treatment carries no guarantees. In fact, it comes with a high failure rate n extra risks of multiple pregnancies where it is successful. "paradoxically, the availablity of IVF may lull women into fertility while they wait for the suitable partner n concentrate on their careers n achieving security n a comfortable living standard,"says the article. ..."Women want to have it all but the biology remains unchanged", says the article. ... They point out that 70% of women who haf one attempt at IVF do not achieve a live birth and that rises to 90% for women over 40, The Telegraph reported. ..."

Here's one that i really like...
3rd: "A toast to friendship" by Ignatius Low (think, the Sunday Times, sep 18 2005)
"... ... ...
Is the nature of freindship really changing for the worst in singapore(SGP)? (<--sounds so GPish XDDDDDDDDDD) I'm not sure if "Westernisation" is the right word to describe what is happening, but i can think of at least 3 reasons why we could b valuing our frens less these days. 1) SGPans haf grown more self-centred. This has been a question of necessity than anything else, since SGP has always championed meritocracy in a system that prizes self-reliance.
Whether it is making it thru' a highgly competitive education system, getting that plum job or making enough $$$ to buy a new house or car, it is "every man for himself". The price of falling behind in life is high n there is virtually no safety net for failure.
This is not to say, of cos, tt we will not stop to help a fren if he is in need. But we count the cost every carefully, i suppose, and think about how much a favour might night deduct from our lives.

2) A faster pace of life is increasing the premium that we place on our free time.
With only a few hours left to ourselves a week, we start to take an increasingly utilitarian approach to friendships, as if to try to get a bigger bang for our buck. ... ...

3) The more sucessful n affluent we become as a person, the more we seem to value our privacy. Yet the strongest friendships r between ppl who make themsleves vulnerable to each other by hiding no secrets.
So like the rich suburbanites who inhabit the hit tv series Desperate Housewives, we r fine with talking n laughing abt everthing under the sun at dinner or drinks, but the relationship lacks intimacy n we turn uncomfortable the moment a personal problem crops up.
most of the time, we do not want to get involved.
On the odd occasion when we do, we wonder if we r being too nosy. ... ... ...

Only to say that we r so concerned abt the weakening of family ties tt we run ads on tv to remind ourselves, but no one really pays attention to the spectre of fading friendships.
When u consider the increased stress that modern society puts on working adults these days, friends r underrated as a resource and families overrated.

We choose our frens, but wif the exception of our spouse, we never really get to choose our family. n much of our interaction wif family members is, in any case, guided by societal roles we r obliged to play - wat is d right thing 2 do as a gd husband, sis, father or daughther.
Wif our best frens, however, we can truly be ourselves. We tell them everything - d good , d bad, the doenright unsavoury. We heatly trade views on subjects like love, sex n $$$, allowing our thinking to b fashioned by their opinions.
In short, our families may have made sure we grew up well-adjusted but its is often our frens who made sure that we stay that way.

I can't count the no of times I wouldn't haf gone thru' a crisis or made an impt life-changing decision, had it not beeeen for my frens.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying tt familly ties aren't impt. Sometimes, as an added bonus, our famaily members r our frens as well.

But in a place like Singapore, where a strong, family-centred conservation clashes often with fast-changing cultural n moral norms, this is often not the case.

So here's to my shopaholic, gym-obessed, mahjong- and karaoke-crazy frens. And yours too, whoever n wateva they may b.

For "life leads the thoughtful man on a path of many windings. Now the course is checked, now it runs straight again,"starts a poem found in the I-ching tt has been attributed to the Confucius.
"but when 2 ppl r at 1 in their inmost hearts, they shatter even the strength of iron or of bronze."
"N when 2 ppl understand each other in their inmost hearts, their words r like sweet n strong, like the fragrance of orchids."

Hope u had fun reading the I.N.A.F1 n there'll be more to come in the future..most prob once a week ^_^..*phew* Finally finish typing..bleh..took me like 2 hrs lor..wah kaoz...my shorthand is getting really..lol...k..gotta go mark stuff for today's evening tuition...but b4 i go..Has anyone read today's Urban? Chocoholics please turn to pg 21!!!! *drool* *stares at the Choco bomb* ...