THE POSH SYNDROME

It is hard to imagine Posh Spice got a cyst scare as she strikes a cucumber cool pose here. The condition is on the rise as more and more women hit the fast lane and take to stress as a way of life.

The problem has not spared even Nicole Kidman or closer home Sapna Bhavnani, author and celebrity hairdresser.

If you are a woman, irrespective of whether or not you are in your child-bearing years, you could be at risk of an ovarian cyst.

Ovarian cysts are essentially closed fluid-filled sacs that develop on one of both ovaries. A sac or follicle forms on the surface of a woman’s ovary during ovulation. This sac holds a maturing egg and dissolves away when the egg is released during the monthly menstrual cycle.

Sometimes, however, the egg is not released and the sac gets enlarged and a cyst develops.

But, if you have just ben diagnosed with an ovarian cyst, do not press, the panic button and assume that all cysts are malignant and life-threatening. In most cases, ovarian cysts are completely benign.

Cysts may often be accompanied by problems such as frequent stomach upsets. In rare cases, a cyst goes undetected till torsion occurs or where a cysts bursts; there is usually sharp and often unbearable pain, which may be accompanied by vomiting- medical emergencies which warrant surgery.

MICROSOFT FINED $ 1.35 B FOR VIOLATING SANCTIONS.

The European commission regulators on Wednesday penalized the Microsoft Corporation with a fine of Euro 899 ($1.35billion) for failing to comply displayed with a 2004 antitrust order, a European official said.

It is the largest fine ever imposed against a single company by the European Union.

Microsoft was the first company in 50 years of EU competition policy that the commission has had to fine for failure to comply with an antitrust decision. Microsoft has tried to allay European antitrust concerns, announcing last displayed week that it will help competitors’ software work better with some products, such as MS Office.

It sought to limit potential EU fines by agreeing in October to make network data available to open –source software developers so their server software can connect to the Windows operating system.

EU imposed the fine because Microsoft failed to charge reasonable royalty fees for patent licenses on operating system software.

A European court upheld the commission’s ruling against Microsoft in September, meaning the company was not in compliance for three years.

Last month, EU regulators opened fresh investigations into whether Microsoft is using its dominance in word processing and spreadsheets to thwart displayed rivals and whether the company illegally tied an internet browser to its Windows operating system.

Wednesday fine is not related to the new probes.

SPICE GIRLS FOR MANDELA

The Spice Girls would love to perform for former South African President Nelson Mandela, but said on Monday they had not yet been formally asked to be part of his planned 90^th birthday celebrations in June.

During a backstage interview before the group’s sold-out New York concert, the five members of the British pop group- Geri Halliwell, Victoria Beckham, Melanie Brown, Melnie Chisholm and Emma Bunton – were enthusiastic about the idea.

Daily Mirror reported last week that Mandela was eager for the Spice Girls, who reunited late last year for a greatest hits album and would tour, to perform at a planned concert in London’s Hyde Park. “We’re great friends of Mandela and we would love to perform for him again,” said Chisholm, aka Sporty Spice. The pop stars reportedly have to turn down an invitation to perform at Mandela’s 89^th birthday celebrations last year as Bunton was heavily pregnant with her first child.

“We were privileged enough to meet the man and he is just amazing.” Said Halliwell, aka Ginger Spice. “He’s just an example of strength and humility and if we could be part of that, celebrating his life – wow.”

ROBOT TO PUMP YOUR PETROL

Soon, the attendant who fuels your car at the petrol pump might not have a hand made of flesh and bones- thanks to a new robot.

Dutch inventors’ unveiled Monday a 75000 euro car fuelling robot which they say is the first of its kind, working by registering the car on arrival at the filling station and matching it to a database of fuel cap designs and fuel types.

A robotic arm fitted with multiple sensors extends from a regular petrol pump, carefully opens the car’s flap, unscrews the cap, picks up opening- much as a human arm would, and as efficiently. “I was on a farm and I saw a robotic arm milking a cow. If a robot can do that then why it can’t fill a car tank, I thought, “Said developer and petrol station operator Nico van Stavern.

“People neen’t gets dirty hands or smell of petrol again, “he added. He hopes to introduce the “Tankpitstops” robot in a handful of Dutch stations by the end of the year. It works for any car whose tank can be opened without a key, and whose contours and dimensions have been recorded to avoid scratching.

Asked whether he would trust his car to a robotic garage attendant, Lelger De Kroon, filling his black Alfa Romeo at a nearby petrol station, said “why not? But I’d hope they have good insurance. “

SPEARS TO SPEND TWO WEEKS IN PADDED ROOM

Britney Spears is being held in a padded room after the troubled singer hit an all-time low over the weekend. The “Toxic” singer suffered a meltdown after being told on Feb 3 that she was to be locked in a psychiatric ward for another two weeks, claim sources.

Experts say that medics might even have to resort to using bed restraints or injections to calm the ranting star.

Britney’s parents Lynne, 52, and Jamie, 55, are said to be worried by their daughter’s bizarre behavior.

And doctors are trying their best to normalcy after a string of public incidents saw her classified as “gravely disabled “last week.

Meanwhile the singer “hit the roof “when estranged dad Jamie was appointed guardian of all her financial, legal and medical affairs while she is in hospital.

The singer, who has been feuding with her father for years, wants her lawyers to get the decision reversed. “This is war. Britney is furious hat while she is sick in hospital; the first thing her dad does is to court to get control of her money. “

The Sun quoted a source, as saying “She has a business manager for that. She says she doesn’t trust her dad and just wants him to keep out of her business. “Britney has been having screaming rows with her parents at the hospitals. She hit the roof when she found out Jamie had been handed control of her affairs. “She wants her parents’ love and support but doesn’t want them to intervene where they are not needed,” the source added.

RURAL AND THE URBAN

The rural folks may not be savvy with cell phones and computers, but college youths from the countryside in India are physically fitter than their city counterparts. And it must be assumed that this may be true for the other nations also.

An extensive survey study made by an Indian university covering 32000 students in 114 colleges has revealed that students from rural areas living in the pristine countryside, on healthy home grown food have over 50 percent less health problems like obesity, blurred vision, dental decay and high blood pressure than the city bred college goers.

Why?

Anemia caused by iron deficiency is the only problem plaguing village girls. If the urban youth is struggling with obesity, flab is hardly a bother with the rural. Village youths say they owe it all to the pure, unpolluted air they breathe and the natural healthy food they eat.

Here the subjects revealed that they usually use the neem sticks to brush their teeth.

They do not eat the junk food.

The rural students commented during the study that their friends from urban areas are not physically very strong and get tired easily.

The study concluded that village boys and girls are brought up on a healthy diet of pure milk and unadulterated pulses and grains since childhood, which contributes to their good health.

In cities, most youngsters’ start eating junk food at a very early childhood age, spoiling their health, stress is more in urban areas.