Organizers wanted to make it clear the 99th Miss America competition isn't your grandmother's beauty pageant, and their winner did just that on Thursday. Virginia biochemist Camille Schrier won the crown just minutes after wowing the crowd with science. Dressed in a lab coat, she gave a colorful chemistry demonstration of the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. No longer called contestants, the 51 women "candidates," who hailed from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, competed for a $50,000 scholarship and the "job" of Miss America, a one-year paid position they hope to use as a public platform for their "social impact initiative." For the second year in a row, women were judged in a swimsuit or how they look in an evening gown. Instead, a series of interviews and talent demonstrations will determine who is best qualified to wear this year's crown. "To make it relevant for these young women, it was important for us as a scholarship and service organization to make sure that we were reflective of this generation, meaning that you no longer had to be defined by some sort of ideal," said Regina Hopper, president & CEO of the Miss America Organization. Morgan Nichols, Miss Carolina, had her own message. She walked down the red carpet wearing a billowing, long skirt topped by a plain white T-shirt that read: "Stronger." While Hopper acknowledges there has been some push-back from "old pageant" people who liked the old way of doing things, she said there's been greater interest in the competition since the roll-out of Miss America 2.0. This year also marks the first time the multi-day event is being held at Mohegan Sun, tribal casino and entertainment complex in suburban southeastern Connecticut. Miss America organizers announced plans this summer to leave Atlantic City, New Jersey — for the second time in its history. Miss America also switched from ABC back to NBC to broadcast the glitzy finale to an estimated 4.5 million viewers. And for the first time, preliminary events and the finale — held in Mohegan's 10,000-seat arena — are being streamed live on the NBC app. "We've had many, many large events. This probably reaches the most people," said Jeff Hamilton, president and general manager of Mohegan Sun. "We're just really, really excited about it." Miss America organizers and NBC have not yet agreed to a multi-year contract with the Connecticut casino. A decision is expected in the coming months. Thursday night's ultimate winner succeeds 2019 Miss America Nia Franklin, a classically trained opera singer from New York. The decision to drop the swimsuit competition did create great controversy and criticism of Miss America officials, including former board chair and former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson, who said in 2018 that Miss America would represent "a new generation of female leaders focused on scholarship, social impact, talent and empowerment." Carlson has since stepped down. Atlantic City businessmen came up with the idea for a pageant in 1921 as a way to extend the summer tourism season beyond Labor Day weekend. It became synonymous with the New Jersey seaside resort but moved to Las Vegas in 2005, returning to Atlantic City in 2013. Source: AP/UNB AH

Thai Cultural Minister Itthiphol Kunplome on Friday announced that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has formally added traditional Thai massage to its intangible cultural heritage list, following the traditional Khon dance that had already been listed. The announcement was made at the ongoing Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage's 14th session in Bogota, Colombia. "Thai massage is an aspect of traditional medicinal wisdom that is related to Buddhist teachings and local cultures," said Itthiphol, adding "Thai traditional massage is now recognized as a form of alternative medicinal therapy, applicable to modern medicine." The minister said the enlisting of Thai traditional massage into UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list also promotes the Thai tourism industry. Source: Xinhua/UNB AH

Limiting your eating to a ten hour window could help cut your risk of diabetes, an America study has found. The research by the University of California, San Diego, found that those who ate during a ten hour timespan of their choosing, saw reduced symptoms which put you at risk of diabetes. The study involved people with metabolic syndrome, a condition with symptoms such as high blood sugar and high blood pressure which means they are at higher risk of diabetes and heart disease. The results, published in the journal, Diabetologia, showed that at the end of 12 weeks, the participants had a three per cent reduction in their weight and fat, while many had reduced cholesterol and blood pressure alongside improvements in their blood sugar levels. The 19 members of the trial chose to move their calorie intake into a ten hour window, ranging between 8am and 10am until 6pm and 8pm before fasting during the remaining 14 hours of the day. "As a preventive cardiologist, I try to work with my patients and encourage them to make lifestyle changes, but it is very hard to get them to make lasting and meaningful changes," said the study’s co-author, Pam Taub, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. When choosing to eat their meals, participants chose to eat their breakfast later and their dinner earlier, around three hours before going to bed. 70 per cent of participants reported an increase in sleep satisfaction or in the amount that they slept. Dr Jenna Macciochi, Lecturer in Immunology, University of Sussex, said: “This is a small study but critical in that is it the first step in translating what we know from experimental animal studies to be true in humans.  “It is encouraging that some participants continued for up for one year because compliance is always a challenge with any kind of diet or lifestyle modification.  Importantly it enabled people to self select the eating window, rather than skipping meals.” A further study found that babies who were born prematurely were more at risk of type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The research of over four million babies born in Sweden since the 1970s found that in young adults aged 18-43 years, being born before 37 weeks was associated with a 24% increased risk of type 1 diabetes and a 49% increased risk of type 2. The researchers concluded that premature children would need “early preventive evaluation and long-term follow-up for timely detection and treatment of diabetes." Source: The Telegraph AH

Millions of people are familiar with it - snoring. The number one annoyance in the bedroom at night. About one in two men and one in four women of middle age or older snores in their sleep. Previously dismissed as just an annoying disturbance of the peace, snoring is now recognized as a serious sleep and health disorder. These nightly lapses in sleep can even be life-threatening! Now there's a revolutionary helper that immediately improves nasal breathing and can thereby keep snoring from happening. Let's start from the beginning. When snoring, loud breathing noises occur in the upper airways during sleep. A full 70 decibels — as loud as a passing truck. That's the sound many people fall asleep to. The causes of snoring are based on anatomical bottlenecks such as swollen tonsils, polyps, a curved nasal septum, or an excessively long uvula. Men over 50 years old, especially, snore. As many as 60 to 80 percent in this age group are affected. What are we talking about? It is called the ‘Silent Snore’, and it's the first small and easy-to-use device for combating bothersome snoring noises. The innovative aid consists of a soft silicone ring that's pushed into the nose. The built in therapeutic magnets are also beneficial, according to Traditional Tibetan Medicine. These help to stimulate the nose's sensory nerves and can keep it from falling out during sleep. Tens of thousands of people have already used this little wonder to sleep better and more peacefully at night. And indeed - snoring can easily be combated with this method! How does it work? The ‘SilentSnore’ gently widens the nostrils to reduce respiratory resistance in the nose; in other words, air can flow better into the lungs through the nose. As soon as the body registers that nasal breathing is working without restriction again, it unconsciously switches to (much healthier) nasal breathing. In contrast to things like chinstraps, ‘SilentSnore’ does not disturb you while you sleep. This ingenious little device controls snoring when sleeping without interfering the normal sleep cycle. A normal and healthy sleep cycle should include at least 25% at deep sleep, by relieving snoring effectively, stop disturbing your sleeping partner immediately, and guarantee your body rest and regenerate well. The main advantages Promotes better breathing Aids in reducing and stopping snoring Helps reduce dry mouth Drug Free Hypo-Allergenic Reusable Stores easily in a clear travel case Comfortable, lightweight and secure How can you buy it in Bangladesh? You can place your order online through the official website in Bangladesh. Your SilentSnore will be delivered to your doorstep. Source: MSN AH

Researchers from the Bar-Ilan University of Israel learned that sleep deprivation has a negative impact on aging and leads to the development of brain disorders. In reference to animal behavior observation, sleep also significantly affects brain performance among humans. In a study published in the Nature Communications journal, the researchers used 3D time-lapse imaging techniques to measure the effects of sleep deprivation. The results of the study showed that neurons require sleep for them to function properly and coherently. The results also showed that sleep deprivation results in DNA damage, such as oxidative stress, and adversely affects the brain’s ability to function.  The lead researchers concluded that the loopholes of brain activity are remedied when we sleep at night, such as in the case of the zebrafish they observed, according to Science Daily. Using a high-resolution microscope and applying controlled body tests, they also found that one of the main functions of sleep is to maintain the nuclear makeup of brain cells that’s responsible for constant neuron activity. In analyzing the fish, they found that animals sleep in order to preserve their DNA composition. Hence, the researchers said that sleep deprivation could really affect aging and lead to brain disorders. Furthermore, the study found that constant sleep deprivation could lead to the production of cancer cells, making the body unable to detoxify itself from DNA damage. The researchers noted that brain chromosomes are surprisingly more active during the night especially when the body is at rest. Thus, they concluded that the damage repair is also directly associated with physiological relevance to the entire body. On the other hand, Daily Mail pointed out the causes of sleep deprivation which could hinder the DNA repair process. When a person is stressed, they feel anxious and this prevents the body from acquiring enough sleep required to improve cognitive abilities. The outlet also stressed that establishing a frequent sleep routine could help improve the ability of a person to spend more time sleeping than just lying around. Listening to calming music and visualizing happy pleasant thoughts also promote a healthy sleep, thereby preventing aging and brain disorders from developing. Source: Medical Daily/MSN AH