Researchers have discovered that ursolic acid found in apple peels has natural body building qualities and could help people keep a toned, slender body. It boosts muscle growth by up to 15 per cent, reduces body fat by more than a half and also reduces blood sugar levels, cholesterol and harmful fatty acids. The study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, showed that ursolic acid works by reprogramming genes that cause muscle wasting and fat build up. Interestingly, although ursolic acid increased muscle weight in mice, it did not increase total body weight, while mice that were fed ursolic acid had less body fat than those that were not fed the compound.
Source: Telegraph

Smart bandage warns of infection

Source: Gizmag

Two new elements added to periodic table Remember the periodic table from school chemistry? It just got a little bigger. Two new chemical elements 114 and 116 have been officially recognized by an international committee of chemists and physicists. Scientists made them by smashing calcium ions into atoms of plutonium or another element, curium. In contrast to familiar elements like carbon, gold and tin, the new ones, temporary titled ununquadium and ununhexium, are short-lived. Atoms of 114 disintegrate within a few seconds, while 116 disappears in just a fraction of a second. That brings the total of known elements to just 114 because elements 113 and 115 haven't been officially accepted yet. Source: ABCnews

Astounding Facts about the Brain » In the womb, humans grow 8,000 new brain cells every second. » Each brain cell will make, on average, 10,000 connections with other brain cells. » Learning to balance and co-ordinate your body is so complex the area of the brain devoted to this task contains as many cells as the rest of the brain put together.