Online – speed rules

CONSUMERS demand Internet services but generally they do not care how it is delivered.

The technology can be GSM, WiMax, CDMA, WCDMA or HSDPA, but what they want is a steady and reliant broadband connection without any interruption, while at the same time, one that comes with some speed for downloads. Most Internet users would be content with that.

While none of those around me uses dial-up or narrowband anymore, just flashback to the old school connection, 56kbps dial-up which is noisy during dialling. It can be a very frustrating experience as one might need to make several attempts to get connected.

Broadband, however, is generally all about the synergy displayed by a modem and a high speed copper or cable line to realise faster Internet access speeds.

An industry player says another advantage of the advanced broadband service over the older dial-up service is its splitting of the voice and data (phone and Internet) services using a splitter to enable the consumer to use both the services at the same time.

“Above all, broadband Internet connections give faster delivery starting from 256kbps, which is ideal for downloading heavy files such as music and video and online games. On the other hand, dial-up connections are sufficient for just surfing the Internet or checking emails,” he says.

Using the highway as an analogy, he says, narrowband is like a one-lane highway whereby only one car can travel at a time. However, with broadband, it is like having a highway with four or six lanes, allowing more traffic to pass concurrently.

Today, we have far more newer technology that equips us with faster and better Internet access than a decade ago. Consumers have even greater choices to access the Internet that prompted service providers to compete against each other to capture more market share. All local service providers are having one promotion after another, to attract users.

There are a few types of broadband connections available, some are faster than others, and some are more expensive.

There are various technologies behind broadband access. Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL), Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL), cable and wireless are some of the of broadband connection types available in the country. Other new technologies such as Telekom Malaysia Bhd’s (TM) UniFi fibre-optic broadband and Time dotCom’s Time Fibre Broadband, are now adding to consumer’s choice for higher-speed Internet connections.

TM group CEO Datuk Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa says technology will keep advancing and the latest technology is fibre-optics. He adds that copper cable will still be used in other places.

“Basically, it provides us with better Internet connection especially with the high speed broadband as well as better user experience,” an industry player says when asked what all these technologies meant to us.

“They (consumers) don’t care if it’s Maxis Bhd’s wireless broadband, Celcom Axiata Bhd’s broadband, DiGi.Com Bhd’s broadband, PI Wimax or TM’s UniFi, only that it is available and affordable,” he adds.
He says the average Internet users do not care whether it is only 1Mbps, and not 20Mbps, or that the latency is 250 milliseconds instead of 60, unless they do a lot of heavy downloads.

The current fastest available broadband speed for the general public offered by TM is 4Mbps.
“The 4Mbps is still high speed Internet in my book, and most Internet users would be content with that. However, consumers may take a look at the latest 5Mbps basic package for UniFi. The whole package does look very attractive to a lot of users who have been subscribing to the 4Mbps or 2Mbps packages,” the analyst says.

Currently, all 3G players like Maxis, Celcom, DiGi and U Mobile Sdn Bhd offer affordable broadband services starting from RM38 a month. The rate can be as low as RM6 on a daily basis.

An industry player says wireless broadband coverage varies by region. “Just like phone coverage, it will be weaker or even unavailable if you’re accessing Internet in rural areas and in underground locations.”
Another industry player says even if you have the most advanced modem or if you are living in an area where broadband coverage is at its peak, it is unlikely that you will receive the maximum speed advertised by your provider.

“The distance from your house to the mobile pole, trees, buildings and other structures between your location and the pole, as well as the number of 3G network users within your neighbourhood will affect the speed of your connection,’ he explains.

Apart from the mobile players, WiMax providers like Packet One Networks (M) Sdn Bhd (P1), REDtone International Bhdand Asiaspace Sdn Bhd offer wireless broadband services.

Currently, P1 has the widest WiMax rollout nationwide, while REDtone has services in parts of Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. Asiaspace has coverage of 70 to 80 locations in the Klang Valley.

YTL Communications Bhd is planning for a commercial nationwide rollout of a 4G WiMax wireless service in July.

Analysts says the more popular option among the youth are wireless broadband as they could move about and yet stay connected.

An analyst says the true battle isn’t between the competing existing connection type, but between wireless and wired broadband. He wonders if TM will provide free dial-up service to the nation given that the telco is now moving to a higher speed.

“The performance and capabilities of new technology will only get better over time, and will represent a direct competitive threat to the existing broadband services.

“People will make a choice, just like today when people are disconnecting their wired lines for voice opting for mobile phone,” he says, adding that all service providers need to beef up their services and coverage given the extensive choice consumers have now.

Zamzamzairani believes that it is vital to educate the general public of the benefits of the Internet.
“Internet is a window to make the world smaller,” he says.

With today’s modern world where businesses rely on the Internet for everyday communications and worldwide access, broadband and other high-speed technologies present consumers and businesses an expedient way to hook up to the Internet.

By LEONG HUNG YEE

hungyee@thestar.com.my

Triple play on a single ticket

Voice, video and data convergence has finally arrived in Malaysia

FINALLY, all that convergence is here. There will be more as technology moves along. Malaysia has finally caught on the global trend and joined a handful of countries on a platform that has been much hyped and talked about, where voice, video and data converge.Last month, Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) made its foray into the triple play scene with its offering known as UniFi. This makes it the first “official” triple-play player in the country.

A triple-play network is one in which voice, video and data are all provided in a single access subscription, where the house telephone provides the voice, and when connected to the computer, serves as a TV and at the same time, provides the data. In short, a three-in-one.

Globally, telecommunication companies have been moving into triple play typically to mitigate the flat revenues from fixed-line networks and to retain customers as competition heats up.

In 2003, the Hong Kong Broadband Network, the broadband subsidiary of Hong Kong telecoms upstart City Telecom launched its pay-TV service marking the completion of its planned triple-play strategy of offering voice, video and broadband Internet access services.

In Singapore, Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (Singtel) opted for triple play in January 2007.
TM recently signed agreements with 20 content providers to offer content for its soon-to-be launched IPTV or Internet protocol TV, which is basically TV on the Internet.

IPTV’s strength is its ability to offer services with high availability, quality and interactivity, says TM group CEO Datuk Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa in a recent interview with StarBizWeek.

A quick recap. UniFi’s recently unveiled packages are priced at RM149, RM199 and RM249 per month and come with high-speed broadband, IPTV, free voice calls and some other offerings.

But because the packages cannot come “unbundled”, meaning consumers have to take what is offered without an a la carte option, some analysts have said that they are expecting limited take-up.
But that remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, while TM is the official incumbent, some of the other celcos are also well positioned to offer triple play services.

For example, Maxis Communications Bhd, the country’s largest celco by subscriber base, currently offers Maxis TV via its tie- up with Astro TV. It has the makings of a triple play service provider.
At Celcom Axiata Bhd, the potential to offer triple play is there by virtue of its link to sister company TM.
Axiata president and CEO Datuk Seri Jamaludin Ibrahim, commenting on triple play, says: “The jury’s still out on its potential.

Currently, the potential is still much focused on mobile broadband. TV is not critical, but TV content via mobile 3G is,” he says.

Newest 3G kid on the block, U Mobile Sdn Bhd which is controlled by tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan, is another potential triple play candidate, given that Tan had once owned a TV station via his U Mobile (formerly MiTV Corp Sdn Bhd),

YTL Corp Bhd managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh says its subsidiary YTL Communications is on track for the rollout of its 4G services, by year-end.

“We are beta-testing it now,” Yeoh tells StarBizWeek.

Packet One Networks (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd recently said it would use its newly-obtained RM50mil loan to further roll out its 4G network infrastructure nationwide

The 4G network is broadband connection with speed of up to one gigabyte per second and will enable speedier access for downloads and so on.

Such networks will enhance the advent of triple play services.

TM’s Zamzamzairani says he believes “a lot more companies” can be its competitor due to the rapid changes in the broadband ecosystem and technology sphere.

“I think a lot of people can be our competitor now ... because of the convergence; the entire industry is an ecosystem,” he says.

Analysts, meanwhile, are all-out for encouraging triple play in Malaysia.

“The future is in triple play, the prospects of pure play providers appear limited as customers become more sophisticated and price-discerning, ” says one senior telco analyst.

In a September 2009 industry report released by India’s Aarkstore Enterprises, a global market research provider, it is forecast that there would be 64 million IPTV subscribers by the end of 2012, an almost six-fold increase over 2007 levels, a reflection of the growing sophisticated trend globally. Zamzamzairani says the level of content in Malaysia is evolving.

“There won’t be an end game. We’ll be bringing in more interactive content. So long as Hollywood and Bollywood still spin, we’ll add more content.


“One of the main challenges is to make sure consumers get what we promised. Customer expectations are changing fast and they are becoming very sophisticated,” adds Zamzamzairani.
For now, consumers should sit back, relax and wait for the competition to create a lot more offerings.

By YVONNE TAN

yvonne@thestar.com.my

Connectivity to speed up national growth

IS your broadband service really as fast as advertised? In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), equivalent to our industry regulator the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), has a new tool that allows users to test the download and upload speeds of their broadband connections, which is then reported back to the FCC.

This is for both landline-based broadband connections and those with smartphones, the iPhone and Androids. A week after FCC announced the new gadget, about 150,000 people in the United States had stories to tell how their connections were doing. The purpose of the tool and the project to consolidate the information was to educate consumers about whether they are getting the service they are paying for, and hopefully to highlight areas where advertised speeds may fall short, the FCC said.

This is a process of transparency and a move to eliminate confusion, and since it is real time information, it is a channel for the regulator to track the services across the country.

Broadband speed tests have been around for a long time. Back here in Malaysia, Internet speeds may not be as promised.

And so let’s be honest. Speed, pricing and quality are the three big issues affecting our broadband industry.
Nonethessless, we have recently moved up a few notches with the entry of high speed broadband (HSBB) services. Should we then take it that the era of short-changing users, choked networks and users suffering downtime is a thing of the past?

Enter fast speed broadband 

A dream pipe that can carry more data, voice and images that was conceptualised a few years ago is now firmly planted in the ground. Unfortunately only a small pocket of users can access it for now. This new pipe or fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) connection, which carries HSBB services, is able to deliver fast down- and uplink connectivity with data speeds from 1Megabits per second (Mbps) to 50 Mbps. In a blink of an eye you can download heavy files and even a movie!

The landmark launch of UniFi was on March 24.

»This is the first time we can have triple play in this country. The transformation process for TM has begun «TM’S DATUK ZAMZAMZAIRANI MOHD ISA

 

The connectivity is via fibre-optics and that marks the beginning of the end of the copper era. The pipe opens new opportunities for new and old players, and expands revenue streams for existing players. The once-flat revenue of fixed line voice business is expected to change with fast speed broadband.

With Malaysia trying to turn into a k-economy, the pipe is vital. The business sector gets a lift with faster connectivity and that makes Malaysia more competitive.

In essence, this dream pipe heralds a new era of fast connectivity and a change in the broadband landscape. With that, comes a host of challenges and opportunities, which excite Telekom Malaysia Bhd group CEO Datuk Zamzamzairani Mohd Isa. For one, he can expect fixed line broadband revenues to rise and TM gets entry into new areas of business which it could have only dreamed about a decade ago.

“This is the first time we can have triple play in this country,’’ he says. Triple play is essentially a single access subscription that provides video, voice and data.

For him the “transformation process for TM’’ has begun. But it is not just TM. The transformation gives the country the needed push in speeds from 1-50Mbps.

When UniFi roll-out is complete, Zamzamzairani says TM will have a single IP (Internet protocol) platform that is more efficient, capable for delivery of a variety of new services and fast speeds. UniFi is TM’s branding for its HSBB.

Even the Government wanted a share of the pie and committed the RM2.4bil investment in UniFi. Thus far, it has put in RM990mil into the project and TM RM1.9bil.

TM’s portion of the UniFi is RM8.9bil, bringing the total cost to RM11.3bil, where 1.3 million premises passed gets the fast access over three years ending 2011. TM says it already has 900 customers on its UniFi network.

But let’s not forget that TM’s rival, Time dotCom Bhd (TDC) was the first to roll out FTTH in Mont Kiara weeks before UniFi was launched. It is only one area but TM’s UniFi is available in four areas – Bangsar, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Subang Jaya and Shah Alam – in the Klang Valley.

TM and TDC are not the only two players in the game. Over on the east coast, Kuantan seems to be a favourite spot for Jalur Lebar Nasional Sdn Bhd (Jalenas), which is rolling FTTH too. Jalenas claims to be the first to offer an open-access FTTH HSBB project in Putra Square. The truth is, they should not stay in Kuantan forever. They should move to the Klang Valley and other areas so that there is big time competition in the fast speed broadband sector and to give consumers a choice.

Co-existence of fixed and wireless 

Competition exists but there is room for both mobile and fixed broadband players as the market is big enough for both even though TDC CEO Afzal Abdul Rahim is of the view that novelty of mobility is gone and essentially margins for mobile will start to come down while that of fixed broadband will rise.
“There is clear division of what fixed and wireless can do and as fixed become more ubiquitous, wireless will become less prevalent. There will be clear distinguishing factors between the two,’’ Afzal says.

»For Celcom, the game is about strategising its product offering, pricing, coverage and distribution« AXIATA GROUP’S DATUK SERI JAMALUDIN IBRAHIM

 

However, DiGi.Com Bhd outgoing CEO Johan Dennelind believes that mass migration to the Internet will begin with the smartphones, that’s the first stop before people buy computers and get into the fixed business, so there is a big enough market for wireless connectivity for now. As people get used to speed, the migration to fast speed will escalate.

“Mobile and fixed broadband should co-exist since consumers have different user behaviour,’’ Dennelind says.

The truth is that fast speed broadband is still in its early stages in the country and only a small percentage of the population has been able to taste fast speed so smartphones are seen to be the first tool for many to the World Wide Web.

Dennelind believes his company has got the right approach to broadband and the iPhone that it just began selling is going to increase revenue the next three years.

Maxis Communications Bhd is also into the fixed line and wireless broadband game. Its ambition is to dislodge Celcom Axiata Bhd from the top spot in wireless broadband in a few years.

“We are clear that we want to be the number one in broadband.’’ Maxis CEO Sandip Das said recently. The company is investing RM700mil to expand its nation-wide broadband coverage to hit nearly 80%.
But Axiata is not going to give up without a fight.

Axiata Group Bhd president & group CEO Datuk Seri Jamaludin Ibrahim said “for Celcom, the game is about strategising its product offering, pricing, coverage and distribution. We will continue to improve on the quality and coverage of our services, and ensure consistency. We are also working with some parties on bundling our products.’’

The only other cellular player with a 3G spectum that can offer broadband, U Mobile Sdn Bhd, is still trying to get its direction right.

But the game does not stop at 3G. There are four WiMAX players also offering broadband connectivity. Packet One Networks (M) Sdn Bhd has the widest coverage of the three for now. The other three are RedTone International Bhd, Asiaspace Sdn Bhd and YTL Communications Bhd. YTL aims to take the market by storm when it makes its debut with WiMAX 4G in July, but let’s wait for the time.

To wire up Malaysia

Going forward in the wireless and fixed broadband war, Maxis chief operating officer Jean-Pascal Van Overbeke says pricing in the short term will remain aggressive as multiple players try to gain a foothold.

“Maxis is focused on balancing price and investment considerations in its broadband pricing strategy so that ultimately consumers enjoy high quality experiences,’’ he said. He adds that investing in network infrastructure is key and those companies with stamina and commitment to continuously invest will succeed in the medium to long term.

There were a total of 30.3 million mobile subscribers in the country as at the end of 2009.

Malaysia has fast speed broadband and FTTH in some areas but what is the gameplan for the rest of the nation? Surely, people in the rural areas must have the same services as those in the urban centres. This is where the National Broadband Initiative (NBI) come in and it was launched the same day when UniFi came online. The NBI plan is to use up the RM4.6bil of the universal service provision (USP) fund which has been sitting in MCMC’s coffers for a long time to wire up parts of the country.

The NBI is in two parts – the first is HSBB, which raises speed to 10Mbps and beyond and covers high growth areas. Next is the broadband for the general population (BBGP), with speeds of less than 10Mbps.

To implement NBI, the areas are zoned into three, depending on population densities, economic activities and existing telecoms infrastructure. Zone 1 is HSBB. Zone 2 covers urban and semi-urban areas. Zone 3 is meant for rural areas and this is where the RM4.6bil will go into, according to Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Utama Dr Rais Yatim.

The MCMC has identified 462 under-served areas in the country for the roll out of telephony, broadband and cellular access. The funds have to be managed properly to avoid possible pilferage and leakages. The MCMC claims it has been transparent in its management of the USP fund.

Rais says there is a new approach to the USP to include services provided for the disabled, women under rehabilitation and low cost residential areas and underpriviledged children.

“It is our social responsibility to ensure that everyone, be they rich or poor, young or old, is empowered with basic telephony and Internet services in any part of the country,’’ Rais says.

The target is to reach 50% broadband penetration by year-end; the country achieved 33.2% or 2.07 million homes by the end of last year.

Rais says “we are on track.’’

By B.K. SIDHU bksidhu@thestar.com.my
 
Related Stories:

The broadband catalyst

Voice, video and data convergence has finally arrived in Malaysia

Broadband – new way to communicate

Online – speed rules

TM has 900 UniFi customers

US and Russian nuclear arsenals

US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, signed a landmark nuclear arms treaty in the Czech capital, Prague on Thursday.
The treaty commits the former Cold War enemies to each reduce the number of deployed strategic warheads to 1,550 - 30% lower than the previous ceiling. Here is a breakdown of their respective arsenals.

USA RUSSIA Intercontinental ballistic missile Name No. Warheads Name No. Warheads Minuteman* 450 550 SS-18 (Satan) 50 500 SS-19 (Stiletto) 60 360 SS-25 (Sickle) 150 150 SS-27 (Topol)* 71 80 SUBTOTAL 450 550 331 1,090 Submarine-launched ballistic missiles Name No. Warheads Name No. Warheads Trident 288 1,152 SS-N-18 M1 (Stingray) 64 192 SS-N-23* (Skiff & Sineva) 96 384 SUBTOTAL 288 1,152 144 576 Bombers Name No. Warheads Name No. Warheads B52 Stratofortress 44 350 Tu-95 (Bear) 62 682 B-2A Spirit* 16 150 Tu-160 (Blackjack)* 13 156 SUBTOTAL 60 500 75 838 Nonstrategic (short-range) forces Name No. Warheads Name No. Warheads Tomahawk* cruise missile 325 100 53T6 (Gazelle) 68 68 B61 bombs 400 SA-10 (Grumble)* 1,900 630 Bombers/fighters 524 650 Subs/Ships/Air 700 SUBTOTAL 325 500 1,492 2,000 TOTAL 1,123 2,702 2,042 4,600 Source: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Note: Names in brackets are those used by Nato. Those names with an "*" next to them are pictured. The data for the US relates to 2009. That for Russia, 2010. Photo Credits: Getty, AFP, Airteamimages.com , GlobalSecurity.Org Source: http://newscri.be/link/1066800

Don’t blame it on capitalism

ON Jan 27, the International Labour Organisation announced that 27 million people lost their jobs in 2009. Most of the job losses took place in Europe and the United States.

President Obama, in his recent state of the union address to Congress, said that “One in 10 Americans still cannot find work. Many businesses have shuttered. Home values have declined. Small towns and rural communities have been hit especially hard. For those who had already known poverty, life has become that much harder.”

It is not difficult to imagine the extent of the suffering that is being experienced by the people affected. Lost jobs mean lost income. Since many families now have large personal debts in the form of home loans, car loans, study loans etc., the consequences of a job loss can be very devastating.

What is ironic and interesting to note is that in many cases, the main reason given for the massive job cuts is the need to save the companies involved from going under.

The most recent example is Japan Airlines (JAL). Burdened with an unpaid debt of US$25.6bil, it made history by being Japan’s largest non-financial corporate failure. But instead of allowing JAL to die its natural death, the Japanese government decided to give it a new lease of life.

However, there was a condition attached. JAL had to accept radical restructuring plans which involved the cutting of more than 15,000 jobs, or about 30% of its workforce, by the end of 2013.

The same situation applied at General Motors (GM) in 2009. Its debt burden at the end of November 2009 was a whopping US$66bil.

The reason GM is still alive was because the Obama administration decided to rescue it by injecting public funds. However, its salaried workforce was cut by 10,000 in 2009 under a restructuring plan that calls for the elimination of 31,000 of its 96,000 workforce by 2012.

It is therefore difficult not to have the impression that the focus of governments is not really to save jobs but to save companies.

Many people mistakenly think that this is the price to pay for having capitalism as the basis for running a society’s economy. This is actually not true. The most common element in all definitions of “capitalism” is that of an economic system based on the private, as opposed to public, ownership of capital.

And this system of private ownership of capital has been around since time immemorial and yet, notably, did not cause misery of the scale that we are witnessing today.

After all, many civilisations had practised economic and business systems that allowed private ownership of capital and free market. One example is the Muslim civilisation which allowed private ownership and free market for more than 1,400 years.

However, its history was never replete with stories of massive job losses and high unemployment. True, there were occasions of economic crises due to adverse weather conditions, plagues or other natural disasters. But there was no instance of financial crises where economic players ended up bankrupt with massive loans and forced job losses.

No, this is not about capitalism but rather about the growth of one particular industry – the lending-for-profit industry. With the legalisation of “interest-charging” loans in Europe circa the 15th century, European Christians who previously considered interest-charging activities as evil and associated largely with “greedy Jewish money lenders”, began to join the financial industry in earnest.

In the centuries that followed, the Western world experienced rapid economic growth. Of course, there were hosts of problems during these periods, mainly in the injustice and exploitation of workers by debt-laden industrialists who wanted to cut costs to earn higher profits and service their debts.

Those problems eventually led to the birth of communism as an ideology. But the collapse of communism in Soviet Russia and Eastern Europe in 1989 meant that the Western financial system was able to continue to thrive. However, the world is now beginning to eventually realise that there is a major flaw with it.

The increasingly serious and severe financial crises associated with the global debt problem are now spreading economic havoc and catastrophe to all corners of the world.

Unfortunately, some are wrongly pointing accusing fingers at capitalism or the private ownership of capital as the main source of the problem. In reality, if the current suffering associated with job losses is to be eliminated, the requisite thing that needs to be undertaken is a proper diagnosis of the main causes of the problem.

Sadly, many are either unwilling to be honest and truthful in their diagnosis or are simply intellectually incapable due to a lack of exposure to genuine alternative viewpoints.

By Dr Mohd Nazari Ismail who is a professor at the Faculty of Business and Accounting, University of Malaya

Sleep apnea tied to increased risk of stroke

Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with an increased risk of stroke in middle-aged and older adults, especially men, according to new results from a landmark study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health. Overall, sleep apnea more than doubles the risk of stroke in men. Obstructive sleep apnea is a common disorder in which the upper airway is intermittently narrowed or blocked, disrupting sleep and breathing during sleep.

Researchers from the Sleep Heart Health Study (SHHS) report that the risk of stroke appears in men with mild sleep apnea and rises with the severity of sleep apnea. Men with moderate to severe sleep apnea were nearly three times more likely to have a stroke than men without sleep apnea or with mild sleep apnea. The risk from sleep apnea is independent of other risk factors such as weight, high blood pressure, race, smoking, and diabetes.

They also report for the first time a link between sleep apnea and increased risk of stroke in women. Obstructive Sleep Apnea Hypopnea and Incident Stroke: The Sleep Heart Health Study, was published online March 25 ahead of print in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Stroke is the second leading cause of death worldwide. "Although scientists have uncovered several risk factors for stroke - such as age, high blood pressure and atrial fibrillation, and diabetes - there are still many cases in which the cause or contributing factors are unknown," noted NHLBI Acting Director Susan B. Shurin, M.D. "This is the largest study to date to link sleep apnea with an increased risk of stroke. The time is right for researchers to study whether treating sleep apnea could prevent or delay stroke in some individuals."

Conducted in nine medical centers across the United States, the SHHS is the largest and most comprehensive prospective, multi-center study on the risk of cardiovascular disease and other conditions related to sleep apnea. In the latest report, researchers studied stroke risk in 5,422 participants aged 40 years and older without a history of stroke. At the start of the study, participants performed a standard at-home sleep test, which determined whether they had sleep apnea and, if so, the severity of the sleep apnea.

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Researchers followed the participants for an average of about nine years. They report that during the study, 193 participants had a stroke - 85 men (of 2,462 men enrolled) and 108 women (out of 2,960 enrolled).
After adjusting for several cardiovascular risk factors, the researchers found that the effect of sleep apnea on stroke risk was stronger in men than in women. In men, a progressive increase in stroke risk was observed as sleep apnea severity increased from mild levels to moderate to severe levels. In women, however, the increased risk of stroke was significant only with severe levels of sleep apnea.

The researchers suggest that the differences between men and women might be because men are more likely to develop sleep apnea at younger ages. Therefore, they tend to have untreated sleep apnea for longer periods of time than women. "It's possible that the stroke risk is related to cumulative effects of sleep apnea adversely influencing health over many years," said Susan Redline, M.D., MPH, professor of medicine, pediatrics, and epidemiology and biostatistics, at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and lead author of the paper.

"Our findings provide compelling evidence that obstructive sleep apnea is a risk factor for stroke, especially in men," noted Redline. "Overall, the increased risk of stroke in men with sleep apnea is comparable to adding 10 years to a man's age. Importantly, we found that increased stroke risk in men occurs even with relatively mild levels of sleep apnea."

"Research on the effects of sleep apnea not only increases our understanding of how lapses of breathing during sleep affects our health and well being, but it can also provide important insight into how cardiovascular problems such as stroke and high blood pressure develop," noted Michael J. Twery, Ph.D., director of the NIH National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, an office administered by the NHLBI.

The new results support earlier findings that have linked sleep apnea to stroke risk. SHHS researchers have also reported that untreated sleep apnea is associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, irregular heartbeats, heart failure, and death from any cause. Other studies have also linked untreated sleep apnea with overweight and obesity and diabetes. It is also linked to excessive daytime sleepiness, which lowers performance in the workplace and at school, and increases the risk of injuries and death from drowsy driving and other accidents.

More than 12 million American adults are believed to have sleep apnea, and most are not diagnosed or treated. Treatments to restore regular breathing during sleep include mouthpieces, surgery, and breathing devices, such as continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP. In people who are overweight or obese, weight loss can also help.

These treatments can help improve breathing and reduce the severity of symptoms such as loud snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness, thereby improving sleep-related quality of life and performance at work or in school. Randomized clinical trials to test whether treating sleep apnea lowers the risk of stroke, other cardiovascular diseases, or death are needed.

"We now have abundant evidence that sleep apnea is associated with cardiovascular risk factors and diseases. The next logical step is to determine if treating sleep apnea can lower a person's risk of these leading killers," said Redline. "With stimulus funds, our research group is now developing the additional research and resources to begin answering this important question."

Through funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the NHLBI is awarding approximately $4.4 million to Redline to conduct the first NIH-funded comparative effectiveness study of treatments for sleep apnea. In the two-year multi-center pilot study, SHHS researchers and others will compare the cardiovascular effects of adding either CPAP or supplemental oxygen during sleep to standard care in patients with moderate to severe sleep apnea who are at high risk for cardiovascular disease events such as heart attack or stroke.

More information: Resources:
•Sleep Apnea, http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/SleepApnea/SleepApnea_WhatIs.html
•Your Guide to Healthy Sleep, http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/sleep/healthy_sleep.htm
Provided by NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (news : web)

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Source: http://newscri.be/link/1066100

"Don't be shy! Say hello to the world!"

BEIJING,April 8(Xinhuanet) -- Surprises abound in the journey of life. And the beginning is especially wonderful.

Knock, knock -- the shell cracks; then a naughty, curious miniature gets out from the broken egg, making its appearance in the world for the very first time.

Following sets of pictures show the young of four different species hatching from their eggs.
These extraordinary photos are created by the couple team Heidi and Hans-Juergen Koch from Germany (who have specialized in animal photography for the past 20 years).
Let's say hello to those fascinating little lives!
                                                                                                    Ostrich

hoto Source: sci.sina.com)	(Photo Source: sci.sina.com)  (Photo Source: sci.sina.com) African penguin (Photo Source: sci.sina.com) (Photo Source: sci.sina.com) (Photo Source: sci.sina.com)                                         Tortoise (Photo Source: sci.sina.com) (Photo Source: sci.sina.com) (Photo Source: sci.sina.com) Chicken (Photo Source: sci.sina.com)  (Photo Source: sci.sina.com)  (Photo Source: sci.sina. Source: http://english.cctv.com/20100408/104015.shtml

Exercise Associated With Reduced Effects of Obesity Gene in Teens

ScienceDaily (Apr. 6, 2010) — Performance of an hour or more of physical activity per day by adolescents is associated with control of body weight even among those who are genetically predisposed to obesity, according to a report in the April issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

"There is compelling evidence that human obesity is a multifactorial disorder where both genes and lifestyle factors, including diet and physical activity, are important contributors," the authors write as background information in the article. "Among the obesity-related genes, polymorphisms in the fat mass- and obesity-associated gene (FTO) are strongly associated with body fat estimates in populations of different ethnic background or ages." Each copy of a mutation in this gene may be associated with a weight increase of approximately 1.5 kilograms or 3.3 pounds.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently released updated guidelines recommending that children and adolescents participate in physical activity for 60 minutes per day or longer, with most exercise being of moderate to vigorous intensity. To see if this level of physical activity reduces the effects of mutations in the FTO gene on body fat, Jonatan R. Ruiz, Ph.D., of the Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden, and colleagues studied 752 adolescents who were part of a cross-sectional study in 10 European countries between October 2006 and December 2007.

Of the participating teens, 275 (37 percent) had no copies of the obesity mutation, 354 (47 percent) had one copy and 123 (16 percent) had two copies. The mutation was associated with a higher body mass index (BMI), higher body fat percentage and a larger waist circumference.

However, among participants who met the daily physical activity recommendations, the effect of the gene mutation was much lower. For each copy of the mutated gene, those who exercised as recommended had a BMI an average of 0.17 higher than those with no mutations, compared with 0.65 higher per mutation among those who did not meet exercise requirements. Similarly, each mutated gene was associated with an increase of 0.4 percent in body fat and a 0.6-centimeter increase in waist circumference among those who met activity guidelines, compared with a 1.7 percent increase in body fat and a 1.15 centimeter increase in waist circumference among those who did not.

"These findings have important public health implications and indicate that meeting the physical activity recommendations may offset the genetic predisposition to obesity associated with the FTO polymorphism in adolescents," the authors write. "Indeed, adolescents meeting the daily physical activity recommendations may overcome the effect of this gene on obesity-related traits."

Source: http://newscri.be/link/1066000