FakulltetiEkonomik

Obesity linked to 'worse memory'

People who are obese have a worse memory than their thinner friends, a small study shows.

Tests on 50 people showed being overweight was linked to worse "episodic memory" or the ability to remember past experiences.

The study in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology argues that a less vivid memory of recent meals may lead to overeating.

However, other aspects of memory - such as general knowledge - were unaffected.

Tests on rats have previously shown that with burgeoning waistlines come poorer performances in memory tests, but the evidence in humans has been mixed.

The latest experiments looked at episodic memory - the video tape in your mind - that remembers the smell of a cup of coffee or the feel of holding someone's hand.

Fifty people with a Body Mass Index (BMI) ranging from 18 (healthy) to 51 (very obese) took part in a memory test - a bit like doing a treasure hunt on your own.

They had to "hide" objects at different times and on different scenes displayed on a computer screen.

They were later asked to recall what they had hidden, when and where.

The results showed obese people's scores were 15% lower than thinner people.

Dr Lucy Cheke, from the University of Cambridge, told the BBC News website: "The suggestion we're making is that a higher BMI is having some reduction on the vividness of memory, but they're not drawing blanks and having amnesia.

"But if they have a less strong memory of a recent meal, with a less strong impact in the mind, then they may have less ability to regulate how much they eat later on."

Hunger hormones play a huge role in how much we eat, but it is already recognised that our minds have a key role too.

People watching TV while they have their dinner have been shown to eat more or feel hungrier sooner.

And those with amnesia will have repeated meals in a short period of time.

Dr Cheke concluded: "It is too early to talk in terms of advice, but we are certainly beginning to observe the mechanisms that obesity perpetuates itself.

"Concentrating on your food has been a message for a long time, but that may be a bit harder if you're overweight.

"Hopefully knowing what's going on will help us to develop ways of helping people."

How I hit the headlines on Siberian TV

On a recent trip to Siberia, the BBC Moscow correspondent, Steve Rosenberg, was pursued by a local journalist. The next thing he knew, he was featured on the TV news and criticised for showing a less than idyllic view of Russia.

When morning breaks over the River Ob, the commuter trains rumbling across the railway bridge disappear into clouds of mist. They are the ghost trains of a Siberian dawn. Through a pink-and-orange sky bursts a golden sun, and the Ob is bathed in light. But it is bitterly cold. The wind sweeps across the frozen river and chills to the bone. What could be colder than a Siberian winter? I'll tell you what - the icy reception we're about to receive in Novosibirsk.

We're out on the streets filming a report about the Russian economy. Suddenly I hear a voice.

"I'm from Novosibirsk Television - are you the BBC?"

The reporter from this pro-Kremlin channel has tracked us down and his cameraman is already filming me.

"The journalist community of Novosibirsk wants to know why you are here? What kind of film are you making?" he asks. He informs me that a recent BBC Panorama programme on alleged Kremlin corruption was a "pack of lies… a provocation".

"Are you making the same kind of film here?" he barks.

I tell the journalist, whose name is Alexander, that we're making a news report about life outside Moscow. "Is that a problem?" I ask.

"Yes it is," he replies, "judging by the kind of programmes the BBC makes."

In the hotel that evening, I switch on the TV to see what kind of programmes Siberian Television makes - rather imaginative ones, judging by its main evening bulletin. "BBC in Novosibirsk" is headline news. But it's more fairy tale than fact. The newsreader introduces us - incorrectly - as the same BBC team that made that Panorama programme about the Kremlin.

Syrian war: Russia and opposition allege truce breaches

Anti-government rebels and Russia have both reported breaches of the fragile truce in Syria - now in its second day.

Russian planes have attacked several sites in northern Syria, activists say.

Russia has not confirmed any sorties on Sunday and says it has also identified nine breaches of the truce.

A cessation of hostilities was agreed as part of a US-Russian plan. Russia says that in general it is holding. It is the first major cessation of hostilities in the five years of war.

More than 250,000 have been killed in the fight against President Bashar al-Assad.

Millions more have been forced from their homes. Humanitarian agencies are hoping use the truce to deliver aid to besieged areas of the country.

The Syrian opposition has complained of 15 violations of the ceasefire by the government side, which is supported by Russia.

The Syrian opposition umbrella group the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said it would be sending a formal letter of complaint about the breaches to the UN and other world powers.

However, the HNC said that despite violations "here and there", it was "positive to see people getting relief …to be safe, and free from fear".

Some Syrian activists say the target of the air strikes in the north, near Aleppo, was the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front.

The truce involves Syrian government and rebel forces, but not the so-called Islamic State group (IS) or the Nusra Front, so an attack on them would not count as a breach.

But the villages also contain fighters from the Western-backed opposition as territorial control in Syria is often blurred, reports the BBC's Mark Lowen from the Turkish border.

Given the terms of this ceasefire deal, it is conceivable that the rebels were targeted under cover of striking the Nusra Front, he adds.

The HNC said two of the strikes were in areas where designated terrorist groups were not operating.

Meanwhile, among the breaches reported by the Russian military was what it described as a "cross-border" attack from Turkey near Tal Abyad. Russia has asked the US to investigate.

The US military told the BBC that it had continued to attack IS targets in Syria on Saturday, including 10 air strikes near Tal Abyad.

The "cessation of hostilities" began at midnight on Saturday (22:00 GMT Friday).

The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov and the US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke by phone on Saturday welcoming the ceasefire and, Moscow says, discussing ways of supporting it through military co-operation.

The man saving Mumbai water one tap at a time

On a Sunday morning, an 80-year-old man arrives at the topmost floor of an apartment complex in Mumbai's Mira Road district.

Over the next four hours, Aabid Surti, national-award winning author of 80 books, cartoonist and artist, rings the doorbells of all 56 apartments in the complex, asking a simple question of the residents: "Do you have a leaking tap in your home?"

Mr Surti is accompanied by a plumber and a volunteer.

"Sorry to disturb you," he apologises to those who say no.

The plumber gets to work, plugging leaks in the homes of those who answer in the affirmative.

"I was always troubled by leaking taps," Mr Surti tells the BBC

This is the fifth article in a BBC series Unsung Indians, profiling people who are working to improve the lives of others.

Fifty Shades dominates at Razzies

The film adaptation of the erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey has swept the board at the annual Golden Raspberry or Razzie awards in Los Angeles.

Fifty Shades won worst screenplay, and worst actor and actress for Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson.

The duo also won worst screen combo, but Fifty Shades tied for worst film with Fantastic Four.

Eddie Redmayne was named worst supporting actor, a year on from winning the best actor Oscar.

Fifty Shades review: 'It's fifty shades of vanilla'

He won the ignominious prize for Jupiter Ascending, a widely lambasted sci-fi flick from the Wachowski siblings.

The British star is up for another best actor Oscar on Sunday night for his role in The Danish Girl.

The reboot of the Fantastic Four franchise scored wins for worst director for Josh Trank and worst remake/rip-off or sequel.

The Razzies' tongue-in-cheek award ceremony is held in Los Angeles every year the day before the Academy Awards.

Organisers lampoon the nominees, voted for by the public, in a series of comedy sketches and show tunes.

There was also a Donald Trump impersonator, who highlighted the fact that the presidential hopeful was himself a Razzie winner in 1990 for playing himself in Ghosts Can't Do It.

There is always the anticipation that one of the stars will turn up to collect the award, but none has been brave enough since Sandra Bullock picked up her award in person in 2010.

The founder of the Razzies, John Wilson, was full of admiration for how bad this year's crop of nominees were.

Speaking about Jupiter Ascending, he told BBC News: "It's an insane movie and the centre of the insanity is Eddie Redmayne becomes emperor of the universe, and apparently he got there by over-acting.

"Of the five films that were nominated, Jupiter Ascending was the most entertainingly awful film."

Serial nominees Adam Sandler and Kevin James managed to dodge triumphing in any of their categories as Pixels and Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 left empty-handed.

Mumbai: Indian man 'kills 14 members of family'

A 35-year-old Indian man killed 14 members of his own family, including seven children and his parents, before killing himself, police say.

Reports suggest Hasnin Warekar laced his family's food with sedatives before slitting their throats.

Neighbours from the home in Thane, near Mumbai, were alerted to the attack by the screaming of the man's sister, who survived the attack.

Police say it is still unclear why Warekar carried out the attack.

Authorities are yet to question Warekar's sister, Thane police spokesman Gajanan Laxman Kabdule told AFP, as she was "in deep trauma" at a city hospital.

Television footage showed bodies being carried out of the home, covered in sheets.

The family had gathered for dinner in Thane, about 32km (20 miles) from Mumbai, on Saturday evening.

Thane police commissioner Ashutosh Dumbre said the accused "bolted all the doors of the house and murdered his family while they were asleep", using a knife that was found near his body.

Local media reports said the family members were drugged, but that has not been confirmed by police.

The victims' bodies were discovered on Sunday morning in the man's home.

Warekar is believed to have worked as an accountant in Mumbai.

South Carolina primary: Huge win for Clinton over Sanders

Hillary Clinton has secured a big win over Bernie Sanders in the South Carolina primary, the latest battleground in the race to be Democratic presidential nominee.

Victory for Mrs Clinton was widely expected but it gives her momentum ahead of the "Super Tuesday" primaries in 11 states next week.

"Tomorrow this campaign goes national," she told cheering supporters.

Mr Sanders has congratulated her but said the campaign was just beginning.

With almost all the votes counted Mrs Clinton leads Mr Sanders by an almost 50-point margin.

Eight out of 10 black voters backed Mrs Clinton, exit polls suggested, a key section of the Democratic electorate.

How radical is Bernie Sanders?

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are in a pitched battle for the Democratic nomination but where do they stand on the issues, and where do they differ from their presidential predecessors?

Bernie Saunders and Hillary Clinton compared

It is Mrs Clinton's third victory in four contests, after wins in Iowa and Nevada. She lost to Mr Sanders in New Hampshire.

Eight years ago, she lost the South Carolina primary overwhelmingly to then Senator Barack Obama.

It was a different story this time. Soon after polls closed she told supporters: "You sent a message - in America when we stand together, there is no barrier too big to break."

On the Republican side, billionaire Donald Trump leads a field that has dwindled to five from 12 a month ago.

He won the Nevada caucus on Wednesday by a wide margin - correspondents say he is beginning to look unstoppable.

In her victory speech, Mrs Clinton aimed a dig at the man tipped to be the Republican presidential candidate.

"Despite what you hear, we don't need to make America great again. America has never stopped being great," she said, referencing Mr Trump's campaign slogan.

Mr Trump's closest challengers in the Republican field, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, sought to put him under pressure by releasing several years of their tax returns.

The property magnate says he will not release his until an audit has been completed; his rivals accuse him of holding back the information to hide exaggerations about his wealth.

Mr Sanders, a veteran senator from Vermont, said he was now focusing on the Super Tuesday vote.