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Monday 1 October 2012

Forbes World's Most Powerful Women 2012: Top 10



Angela Merkel has once again topped the list of Forbes' Most Powerful women.

Mrs Merkel was ranked the most powerful woman in the world for the second year in a row in the annual list dominated by politicians, businesswomen and media figures.

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, came second, with Dilma Rousseff third, making the top three spots unchanged from last year.

Michelle Obama, who was the most powerful woman on the list two years ago, came seventh.

Here is a list of the Top 10.

01. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
02. Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State
03. Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil
04. Melinda Gates, Co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
05. Jill Abramson, Executive Editor, The New York Times

06. Sonia Gandhi, President, Indian National Congress Party
07. Michelle Obama, US First Lady
08. Christine Lagarde, Head of International Monetary Fund
09. Janet Napolitano, US Secretary of Homeland Security
10. Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook

Do you agree with the Forbes list? Who in your opinion is the most powerful woman in the world?

MALE DNA FOUND IN BRAINS OF WOMEN



If you're a woman who has been pregnant with a male fetus, you may have male DNA permanently in your body, according to a study that found such genetic material in the brains of women.

The study, published in PLoS ONE, is the first description of male microchimerism in the female human brain. Microchimerism is when someone harbors cells that came from a genetically distinct individual. Or, in the immortal words of the Monkees (singing a Neil Diamond penned song), a person can be A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You.

The serious side of this is that scientists working at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center  have linked the phenomenon to autoimmune diseases and cancer, sometimes for better and other times for worse.

Lead author William Chan, who is in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Alberta, conducted the research while working in the lab of J. Lee Nelson, a member of the Center’s Clinical Research Division and a leading international authority on microchimerism.

The scientists believe it is likely that fetal cells frequently cross the human blood-brain barrier and that microchimerism in the brain is relatively common. Until this study, it was not known whether these cells could cross the barrier in humans.

According to a press release issued by the cancer center:

The researchers examined brain autopsy specimens from 59 women who had died between the ages of 32 and 101. Male microchimerism was detected in 63 percent of subjects, was distributed in multiple brain regions and was potentially persistent throughout the human lifespan; the oldest female in whom male fetal DNA was detected in the brain was 94.

Twenty six of the women had no neurological disease and 33 had Alzheimer’s disease. The brains of women with Alzheimer’s had a somewhat lower prevalence of male microchimerism, which appeared in lower concentrations in regions of the brain most affected by the disease. However, the authors noted that the small number of subjects and largely unknown pregnancy history of the women means a link between Alzheimer’s disease and level of male cells of fetal origin cannot be established.

"Currently, the biological significance of harboring male DNA and male cells in the human brain requires further investigation," Chan was quoted as saying in the release.

Prior research does, however, suggest that women who harbor male DNA might be protected against some types of cancer, such as breast cancer, and autoimmune disease, like rheumatoid arthritis. It may, though, increase the risk of other cancers, such as colon cancer.

Many studies suggest that just having a child affects the future health of the mother, and not just because the kid could drive her crazy or, conversely, help to improve her lot in life. At least mothers now know that their sons might not ever fully leave them, even after they move out of the nest.

(Image: Taylor Schlades)

CROCODILE TURNS BRIGHT ORANGE



Orange is the new green in crocodile style this season.

Snappy, an 8-foot-2-inch crocodile, is sporting haute-couture orange skin and he's looking fabulous and feeling fine!

But it's not really a fashion statement. It's a result of attacking the water filter of his enclosure at Roaming Reptiles animal park in Australia.

"Snappy's pretty territorial and he attacked the filter one day, and a few weeks after that, I noticed he was orange," said owner Tracey Sandstrom in an interview with the Herald Sun.

"It doesn't seem to have affected him at all. He's still got a healthy appetite, is normally aggro and doing everything he always does," said Sandstrom.

A crocodile expert interviewed by the Herald Sun said he believes the croc is in perfect health despite his outrageous new look.

"Our guess is that it is something in the water such as iron or tannins from leaves or some red algae, that oxidises when it dries," Webb said.

Snappy is expected to go back to his normal color eventually.

It seems absolutely fabulous new colors are all the rage in the animal kingdom. Discovery News recently reported on glow-in-the-dark cats.

IMAGE: Snappy, showing off his new look (Alex Coppel/Herald Sun).