Put that comb back in your handbag - a study by an Israeli dermatologist has found that too much combing of the coiffure leads to hair loss, the daily Haaretz reported yesterday.
During a test 14 women recorded their daily hair loss and combing habits, with those combing more losing more hair, the research found.
"The women who combed twice a day lost three times more hair than those who combed once a day," the head of the study, Alexander Kirdman of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, was quoted as saying.
"I was surprised by the results, as in medical circles the comb is believed to improve blood circulation and reduce hair loss," added Mr Kirdman, whose study was recently published in the Journal of Dermatological Treatment. (AFP)
Children put memorial in red
A record number of schoolchildren visiting the former prison of Communist East Germany's Stasi secret police is threatening to bankrupt the memorial.
As Germany marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, more than 80,000 schoolchildren have so far toured the prison complex for free this year, diverting staff and resources away from other paying visitors.
The memorial in eastern Berlin registered 160,000 visitors in the first half of 2009 - 22 per cent more than the previous record year - over half of which were schoolchildren. The free tours have left the former prison struggling to cope with a budgetary shortfall of about €70,000, and the memorial said the deficit could double by the end of the year.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who visited the centre in May, has said memorials are crucial in teaching young people how human rights were violated in Stasi prisons. The memorial has now launched a media campaign to raise funds. School groups will be asked to make a donation of €1 per child. (Reuters)
Widows decry incentive scheme
About 200 women marched through the Nepali capital yesterday to denounce a government scheme to pay cash incentives to men for marrying widows, witnesses said.
Nepal's centre-left coalition announced a plan last month to pay men the equivalent of €458 for marrying widows, angering the widows.
Women shouting slogans such as "You can't sell your mother", and "We don't want government dowries", marched towards a government complex that houses the Prime Minister's office. They were stopped by riot police.
Durga Neupane, an organiser and a widow, said activists would mobilise widows throughout the Himalayan nation if the government failed to scrap the decision by Friday. "If that is not done we'll gather widows from across the country and organise more protests," she said.
The government says the scheme seeks to help widows who face social and cultural barriers in a majority Hindu society. But Ms Neupane said it would only add to their woes as men would marry widows for money and later abandon them. Widows, she said, should instead be given jobs, better health care and education. (Reuters)
British getting too lazy
Britons are so lazy that one in six cannot be bothered to change the television channel if the remote control is not working, according to a study published yesterday. More than half said they would take the lift rather than climb two flights of stairs to their workplaces, while three quarters had too little energy for sex at the end of a long day.
An entire generation risks being blighted by idleness, warned Nuffield Health, a non-profit organisation which commissioned the poll.
In the poll of more than 2,000 adults, 36 per cent said they would not run to catch a bus, 59 per cent took the lift instead of walking up even two flights of stairs, and 52 per cent of dog owners said they could not be bothered to walk their pets.
Some 64 per cent of parents were too tired to play with their children, fuelling concern over child obesity, which already afflicts one in six pre-school infants. (AFP)
Algae fumes kill horse
Environmental groups have blamed intensive farming for a build-up of noxious algae that killed a horse and caused its rider to collapse on a beach in Brittany in western France earlier this month.
Environmentalists have demanded action after Vincent Petit, a vet, had to be dragged unconscious from a metre-deep patch of rotting algae after his horse collapsed and died from fumes given off by the heaped-up sludge, as confirmed by an autopsy.
Mr Petit's lawyer has started legal action against "an unknown person" under French legal procedure, and environmental groups campaigning against intensive farming practices have joined in the battle.
"We demand that local authorities warn communities about the dangers, forbid the rearing of animals near the coast and seek to install only organic farming in the area," Andre Ollivro, a spokesman for Stop the Green Slicks, said.
He added that local farms released chemicals used in animal feed in local water supplies which caused rotting algae washed up on beaches to give off toxic gases, and blamed local authorities for failing to take tougher measures against farmers. (Reuters)