Memorable onions:Chopping them may make you cry, but onions may also improve your memory, scientists said yesterday.
Researchers at Hokkaido Tokai University in Japan found people suffering from memory loss who ate the layered vegetable found it improved their ability to recall.
Experts said the findings could be important in the fight against brain diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
The researchers discovered an antioxidant found in onions that binds with harmful toxins in the brain and flushes them out of the body.
The compound, which contains sulphur, is found in many members of the allum family, including garlic.
Third-level vaccine:Students starting college this autumn have been warned by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) they could be at risk of contracting mumps unless they get the MMR vaccine.
Many Irish universities and colleges had major mumps outbreaks in 2004 and 2005.
Most individuals affected by mumps either never received, or received just one dose of the MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) vaccine - two doses are needed to provide maximum protection.
The HPSC said the MMR vaccination was now routinely recommended for all third-level students aged 17-24 years of age who have not received two doses of MMR.
Both the vaccine and the visit to the GP are free to students who need it. The cost of the programme is being supported by the HSE.
QUOTE:
"Men like curvy women who look after themselves and have sex appeal, women who know how to have a good time without worrying about their calorie intake."
- Lisa Smosarski, editor of Moremagazine in Britain, which conducted a survey that found few men could handle going to bed with a woman who has the "perfect" body.
The survey of 1,000 women and men for the magazine found that 88 per cent of men believed the pressure would be "too much".