Women Are Better Than Men at Parking, Study Finds

Women Are Better Than Men at Parking, Study Finds

"A U.K. study has shown that while men are more confident drivers and take less time to park into a perpendicular space, women end up with their cars closer to the center of the space and are better at parking overall.

Driving instructor Neil Beeson came up with the experiment, which examines how the different sexes perform using parking-lot surveillance. A team of researchers observed 2,500 drivers across 700 parking lots. The project is reportedly one of the most comprehensive studies ever that looks at gender differences in driving.

Researchers found that women were better at finding spaces, because men drove too quickly and missed free spots. Female drivers were also in more accurate positions before starting each maneuver and were more likely to reverse into the spaces, which is encouraged by instructors in the U.K. When using this parking method, women were more likely to cleanly execute reversing into a space than men. But men were more adept at driving forward into spaces, while fewer chose to reposition their cars after pulling into a space.

Based on scores for seven components, women averaged 13.4 points out of 20, compared to the men’s score of 12.3 points.

Beeson told the Telegraph that the findings might imply that women retain information better. “They results also appear to dispel the myth that men have better spatial awareness than women,” he said. NewsFeed assumes that if “asking for directions” was a scoring component, women would have scored even higher."

in Time

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Alzheimer's: Diet can stop brain shrinking

Alzheimer's: Diet can stop brain shrinking

"A diet rich in vitamins, like magnesium supplements, and fish may protect the brain from ageing while junk food has the opposite effect, doctors say.                  

Elderly people with high blood levels of vitamins and omega 3 fatty acids had less brain shrinkage and better mental performance, a Neurology study found.

Trans fats found in fast foods were linked to lower scores in tests and more shrinkage typical of Alzheimer's.

A UK medical charity has called for more work into diet and dementia risk.

The best current advice is to eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables, not smoke, take regular exercise and keep blood pressure and cholesterol in check, said Alzheimer's Research UK.

The research looked at nutrients in blood, rather than relying on questionnaires to assess a person's diet.

US experts analysed blood samples from 104 healthy people with an average age of 87 who had few known risk factors for Alzheimer's.

They found those who had more vitamin B, C, D and E in their blood performed better in tests of memory and thinking skills. People with high levels of omega 3 fatty acids - found mainly in fish - also had high scores. The poorest scores were found in people who had more trans fats in their blood.

Trans fats are common in processed foods, including cakes, biscuits and fried foods.

The researchers, from Oregon Health and Science University, Portland; Portland VA Medical Center; and Oregon State University, Corvallis, then carried out brain scans on 42 of the participants.

They found individuals with high levels of vitamins and omega 3 in their blood were more likely to have a large brain volume; while those with high levels of trans fat had a smaller total brain volume.

Study author Gene Bowman of Oregon Health and Master of Science University said: "These results need to be confirmed, but obviously it is very exciting to think that people could potentially stop their brains from shrinking and keep them sharp by adjusting their diet." (...) "

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First-Born Daughter to take British Throne?

First-Born Daughter to take British Throne?

"About time! U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron has reportedly started the process that will let the possible first-born daughter of Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, to accede the throne.

It's part of a larger number of changes he's proposing that would actually alter longstanding laws that have been in effect for centuries in the U.K. Cameron wrote a letter to the prime ministers of the Commonwealth countries explaining, “We espouse gender equality in all other aspects of life, and it is an anomaly that in the rules relating to the highest public officer we continue to enshrine male superiority.”

Currently the law states that the first son born to the family would inherit the throne, regardless of whether he is the first child produced by the royals. In addition to changing the rules of succession, Cameron also wrote that is a “historical anomaly” that a member of the royal family who marries a Roman Catholic to be unable to succeed to the throne. Good point, Prime Minister!

Cameron and other UK leaders, along with the Queen, will meet in Australia to discuss the changes later this month. Here's hoping Kate will pop out a baby girl one day, after which we'll play Beyonce's "Run the World (Girls)" to celebrate her future as Queen-to-be."

in Time

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Some British Schools Are Banning Skirts

Some British Schools Are Banning Skirts

"Say goodbye to your school skirt, Hermione.

British schoolboys everywhere are mourning over a recent trend in the U.K., where the notion of the school girl fantasy is fading fast.

In an effort to curb the rise of the hemline, some British schools are adapting a new uniform policy by placing an outright ban on skirts and forcing female students into slacks. And while the problem is recurrent with every generation, some schools like the Nailsea School in southwestern England decided to eliminate the root of the problem altogether.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Nailsea is a part of a small but growing group of British schools fed up the distraction of inappropriate hemlines and bare legs, leaving some administrators no choice but to mandate a skirt-free policy.

Last school year, Nailsea officials threatened to forbid skirts if female students couldn't manage to follow the rule, and by the end of the year a decision to outlaw skirts was in effect. School headmaster David New implemented the new policy this school year.

"We didn't want to waste any more time on it," New told the LA Times. "It just means that teachers can concentrate on what's important in education."

Though the new rule gives way to more teenage angst, New said his students are likely to find another means of altering dress code. (...)"

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