Startup: This man built a $1bn firm in his basement.

Startup: This man built a $1bn firm in his basement. Carl Rodrigues says that his family and friends all thought he had lost his mind. "Everybody thought I had gone completely nuts," he says. "They were saying 'what's wrong with this guy? Is he having a hippy moment?'." Mr Rodrigues, a successful IT consultant, had woken up one day and decided to quit the day job. Instead of doing lucrative work for other people, he was going to retire to his basement and develop a best-selling computer product. 

 The significant problem was that he didn't have any ideas. But to the worry of his wife, and scorn of his mother-in-law - who lived with them - he was undeterred. So back in 2001 he shut himself away beneath his house in the Canadian city of Mississauga, and started to try to dream up something. "My goal was that I wanted to see what I could produce if I did something I really liked," he says. "I didn't know what I was going to do, but I thought I would give it a shot." After a month of working "crazy hours", Mr Rodrigues had come up with his first fully formed idea - a software system that allowed the user to control his or her mobile phone from their laptop.

 Naming his company Soti, sales of the system started to grow slowly, until 12 months later Mr Rodrigues got a phone call out of the blue from one of the UK's largest supermarket groups. The firm didn't want to sell the system to its customers, instead it wanted to incorporate it into its operations, so staff could better communicate and pass on data and other information.

 Mr Rodrigues, now 55 and Soti's chief executive, says: "I was still in my basement when I got a call from the company, saying they would like to place an order. "I don't think they realized that they were talking to just one guy in a basement, so when the person asked to speak to someone in sales I came back on the phone with a slightly different tone." more

First vaccine shows gonorrhea protection.

First vaccine shows gonorrhea protection. A vaccine has for the first time been shown to protect against the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhea, scientists in New Zealand say. There are fears gonorrhea is becoming untreatable as antibiotics fail. The World Health Organization sees developing a vaccine as vital in stopping the global spread of "super-gonorrhea". The study of 15,000 young people, published in the Lancet, showed infections were cut by about a third.About 78 million people pick up the sexually transmitted infection each year, and it can cause infertility. But the body does not build up resistance no matter how many times someone is infected. The vaccine, originally developed to stop an outbreak of meningitis B, was given to about a million adolescents in New Zealand between 2004 and 2006. Researchers at the University of Auckland analysed data from sexual health clinics and found gonorrhea cases had fallen 31% in those vaccinated. The bacterium that causes meningitis, Neisseria meningitidis, is a very close relative of the species that causes gonorrhea - Neisseria gonorrhoeae.. It appears the Men B jab was giving "cross-protection" against gonorrhea . The protection seemed to last about two years. source

Chinese authorities investigate dumped pork

Chinese authorities investigate dumped pork: Worries over cold chain integrity and food safety in the imported meat business have arisen in China, where authorities are seeking to trace the origins of a shipment of Danish pork found in a city dump.

Baker's yeast can make plants tolerate soil contamination.

Baker's yeast can make plants tolerate soilcontamination. Most plant species, including crops, cannot tolerate the toxic effects of soil pollutants, which dramatically impair their growth and development. In a new study, a research team discovered that two genes from baker's yeast can increase plant resistance to a broad range of toxic substances, enabling their growth in contaminated soils. The study published in Scientific Reports, a research team led by Paula Duque from the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia (IGC; Portugal) discovered that two genes from baker's yeast can increase plant resistance to a broad range of toxic substances, enabling their growth in contaminated soils. Heavy metals and organic pollutants released into the environment by the industry, as well as the misuse of herbicides and pesticides commonly used in agriculture, negatively affect the quality of soils. Although some plant species are able to remove soil contaminants and grow normally, but these are a small minority. The current strategies to decontaminate soils are very expensive and not so effective. Researchers has been looking for alternative strategies to make plants more resilient to toxic compounds,and a possible solution may lie in Saccharomyces cerevisiae the common baker's yeast. The incorporation of the yeast to soil will boost growth and also solve an environmental problem of pollution and toxicity.

How cats and cows protect farm children from asthma.

How cats and cows protect farm children from asthma. Microbes on farms protect children from asthma and allergies, but even non-microbial molecules can have a protective effect. Immunologists have shown that a sialic acid found in farm animals is effective against inflammation of lung tissue. This study opens up a wide variety of perspectives for the prevention of allergies Many people suffer from allergies and asthma and in the past decades, these diseases have massively increased in industrialized countries. Today, about 30 percent of children have allergies -- with the exception of farm children. Among farm children, the disease is increasing less dramatically than in the case of their friends who live in the same village, but not on a farm. Microbes that occur in higher amounts and greater diversity on farms protect farm children from allergies and asthma. An environment that is not highly hygienic has a positive effect on the development of the immune system as it learns not to react to harmless materials as is the case with allergies. Not only microbes protect against asthma evidently, but also farm animals: Petting cats and cows and drinking farm milk can also prevent asthma, according to a team of researchers of the Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research from the University of Zurich in cooperation with the Center for Allergy Research and Education (CK-CARE) in Davos and the Children's Hospital of Eastern Switzerland in St. Gallen: Early childhood contact with animals and the consumption of food of animal origin seems to regulate the inflammatory reactions of the immune system, more

Pregnant mother consuming sweets may lead to future allergies for child.

Pregnant mother consuming sweets may lead to future allergies for child.A study revealed that higher intake of sugary products during pregnancy could increase the chances of the child developing allergic asthma. Pregnant mothers who have a craving for sweets and sugary products may be putting their child at risk of allergies and Asthma, according to new research. Researchers studied all kinds of asthma allergies ranging from cat allergies to those caused by dust mites and grass. Allergic asthma is caused when a person is allergic to dust particles. The study published in the European Respiratory Journal is significant because according to the World Health Organization around 235 million people in the world suffer from asthma, a large portion of those are children. According to the WHO’s predictions, this number will almost double to around 400 million people by 2025. It does becomes vital to understand what causes asthma and if there is any way to prevent it. more

The health hazards associated with consumption of soft drinks.

The health hazards associated with consumption of soft drinks. Soft drinks, otherwise known as sugar drinks, are the beverage of choice for millions of Nigerians. Urbanization also drives demand for ready-to-drink soft drinks amongst busy, on-the-go consumers, not minding the health implication. In an interview with most of these consumers, their reason for consuming sugary drinks varies: For Mrs. Adenike Akinlotan, she’s so addicted to sugary drinks that she has to take it on a daily basis. “I find it difficult to stop because my taste bud is used to sugary drinks, I know it’s not good for my health but I can’t stop,” she lamented. For Mr. Jude Onyenma, he is a business man who is always on the road, sugary drinks are always available for him to relieve his hunger. However, research have also shown that people (men and women) who consume sugary drinks regularly – 1 to 2 bottles a day or more – have a 26% greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart attack or even at risk of gout, (among others) than people who rarely have such drinks. more