Omega 3 supplement targets bowel cancer risk

A purified form of omega 3, the so-called "good fat" found naturally in certain fish and nut oils, reduced dangerous polyps among people prone to bowel cancer, a study published on Thursday says.

Fifty patients were enrolled in the investigation, all with a genetic mutation that prompts the development of polyps - precancerous growths in the bowel that often develop into tumours requiring removal of large sections of intestine.

Twenty-eight were randomly assigned to a group that received a two-gramme daily dose of a new, highly purified form of omega 3, while the other 27 were given a dummy lookalike, or placebo.

After six months, the number of polyps had risen by almost 10 per cent among the placebo group but fell by 12 per cent for those taking the omega 3 capsules, amounting to a difference of more than 22 per cent.

In addition, polyp size increased by 17 per cent among the placebo takers, whereas it decreased by 12.5 per cent in the capsule group, a difference of just under 30 per cent.

These results are similar to a drug called celecoxib, marketed as Celebrex, which is used to inhibit polyps among genetically vulnerable patients.

However, celecoxib has been linked to cardiovascular side effects among older patients. In contrast, the omega 3 - full name eicosapentaeonic acid, or EPA - supplement was "very well tolerated," say the doctors.

Singaporeans eyeing New Zealand

It is often said Singaporeans are in demand by other countries. And if figures from a pilot project by Immigration New Zealand (INZ) are anything to go by, Singaporeans are just as interested.

INZ's pilot project, launched on January 15, seeks to attract specifically working Singaporean holidaymakers and students. Nearly 80 per cent of the 5,687 registrants by last week are Singaporeans.

According to a spokesperson, INZ does not have information on Singaporeans going to New Zealand "as a direct result of this pilot", but the numbers will be evaluated over the next few months.

She said Singapore was chosen because of "long-standing and friendly" relations between the two countries, as well as "close political and economic ties".

Research found Singaporeans a "good demographic match" for the campaign, say, in terms of language and education levels, she added. Singaporeans also have a "strong tradition of studying overseas".

Sociologist Tan Ern Ser said INZ "may be attempting to attract Singaporeans to try living and working in New Zealand first, before considering a more long-term arrangement".

He noted that targeting holidaymakers allows for "more flexibility" and contributes to the economy. "Local New Zealanders may see skilled migrants as a threat to their jobs," he added.

Two weeks ago, Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng told Parliament that New Zealand and Australia are targeting Singaporeans "because we are honest and hardworking".

Professor Tan feels that countries could be attracted to the "Singaporean brand" because Singaporeans are thought of as "diligent", "efficient", "well-trained" and have a good command of English.

However, while skill shortages continue to exist within segments of the Australian labour market, Australia's Department of Immigration and Citizenship in Canberra said it is "not looking to Singapore in particular for recruits".

"Australia is open to skilled migrants but is now operating a more tightly targeted programme," it said. Recent changes to the skilled migration programme include giving processing priority to employer and state sponsored migrants.

Between 2008 and 2009, 2,703 of Australia's 171,318 immigrants were Singaporeans.

According to the British High Commission Singapore, the United Kingdom also has no programmes aimed at attracting specifically Singaporeans.

The High Commission, however, noted a "relatively small but significant" Singaporean community in the UK.

This includes fashion designer Ashley Isham and pianist Melvyn Tan.

Last year, 3,525 Singaporean students set off to study Higher Education courses in the UK. The "vast majority" return to Singapore, said the High Commission.

Management trainee Geline Lim, 21, is one who intends to pursue her postgraduate studies in New Zealand.

She said it is "less stressful" there, and there is "more freedom and time" to pursue things outside of study. Her parents have already migrated there because of the "more laid-back lifestyle, better air, scenery and government welfare schemes", she added.

Hong Kong ranked Asia's most innovative economy

Hong Kong has Asia's most innovative economy, thanks to its high level of creativity and well developed financial markets, a study said.

The Chinese territory beat regional rival Singapore, which was in second place in the Asian rankings, said the joint study by international business school INSEAD and the Confederation of Indian Industry released late Thursday.

Worldwide, Hong Kong ranked third in the Global Innovation Index while Singapore placed seventh, the study showed.

Among the criteria used by the survey, economies were ranked by patents filed, publication of scientific journals, research and development spending and how innovation supported social welfare, competitiveness and growth.

Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand were the only Asia Pacific economies to make it to the top 10 in the global rankings.

Iceland topped the global innovation list despite its deep economic woes followed by Sweden, while Switzerland placed fourth after Hong Kong.

Rounding up the global top 10 list was Denmark in fifth spot, followed by Finland, Singapore, Netherlands, New Zealand and Norway.

The US, which took the top spot last year, slid down to 11th place amid growing challenges from other countries which are putting increasing emphasis on education, science and technology, the study said.

The study stressed innovation as a key driver of growth, playing "a critical role not only in facilitating countries’ recovery but also in sustaining national competitiveness," it said.

Methane leak in Arctic Ocean

METHANE is leaking into the atmosphere from unstable permafrost in the Arctic Ocean faster than scientists had thought and could worsen global warming, a study said on Thursday.

From 2003 to 2008, an international research team led by University of Alaska-Fairbanks scientists Natalia Shakhova and Igor Semiletov surveyed the waters of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, which covers more than 772,200 square miles (two million square kilometers) of seafloor in the Arctic Ocean.

'This discovery reveals a large but overlooked source of methane gas escaping from permafrost underwater, rather than on land,' the study said. 'More widespread emissions could have dramatic effects on global warming in the future.' Earlier studies in Siberia had focused on methane escaping from thawing permafrost on land.

Scientists have long thought that the permafrost under the East Siberian Arctic Shelf acted as an impermeable barrier that sealed in methane, a powerful greenhouse gas 30 times more potent that carbon dioxide. But the research team's observations showed that the permafrost submerged on the shelf is perforated and leaking large amounts of methane into the atmosphere.

More than 80 per cent of the deep water and more than half of surface water had methane levels around eight times higher than found in normal seawater, according to the study published in the journal Science.

The researchers warned that the release of even a fraction of the methane stored in the shelf could trigger abrupt climate warming. 'Ocean-bottom permafrost contains vast amounts of carbon, and experts are concerned that its release as methane gas would lead to warmer atmospheric temperatures, thus creating a positive-feedback loop that would lead to more methane escaping from the permafrost and more global warming,' they said.

Asteroid wiped out dinosaurs

A HUGE asteroid that smashed into Earth with the force of a billion atomic bombs wiped out the dinosaur, scientists said on Thursday, hoping to lay to rest a long-running debate over a mass extinction 65 million years ago.

An international panel of experts reviewed 20 years' worth of evidence about might have caused the Cretaceous-Tertiary (KT) extinction, which wiped out more than half of all species on the planet, including dinosaurs.

They determined that a massive asteroid, measuring around 15 kilometers (nine miles) wide, that smashed into what is today Chicxulub in Mexico was behind the mass extinction, which cleared the way for mammals to become the dominant species on Earth.

'The asteroid is believed to have hit Earth with a force one billion times more powerful than the atomic bomb at Hiroshima,' the researchers said in a report published in the journal Science.

'It would have blasted material at high velocity into the atmosphere, triggering a chain of events that caused a global winter, wiping out much of life on Earth in a matter of days,' they said.

The panel of 41 scientists hope their findings will lay to rest once and for all the debate about what caused the KT extinction.

Fewer new PRs and citizens

THE Government hears and understands Singaporeans' concerns about the influx of immigrants in recent years, Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng said yesterday.

So it has refined the requirements for permanent residents (PRs) and new citizens, even as it continues to take them in to top up Singapore's declining population, he told Parliament.

As one indication, there were 59,500 new PRs last year, down from 79,200 in 2008, and 19,900 new citizens, compared to 20,500 a year ago.

'I know that this is a matter which Singaporeans care deeply about, and rightly so, as it concerns the value of our citizenship,' he said.

'We will ensure that those who become one of us are of suitable quality, and not only contribute to Singapore economically but also integrate well into our society,' he added.

Mr Wong, who is also Home Affairs Minister and oversees population issues, spoke during the debate on his ministry's plans for the coming financial year.