Features

LOS ANGELES — Universal’s “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” debuted atop the North American box office, taking in $55 million, industry tracker Exhibitor Relations said on Monday.

The animated film ended the weekend ahead of the two earlier instalments in the “Train Your Dragon” series — neither of which hit $50 million — making it the top domestic opener of the year, according to Variety magazine.

Voiced by Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Cate Blanchett and F. Murray Abraham, the new instalment tells the story of young Hiccup and his dragon Toothless, as a surging dragon population forces them to seek a “Hidden World” supposed to be a utopia for the winged creatures. 

Last weekend’s box office leader, Fox’s “Alita: Battle Angel”, clung to the second spot, but only after dropping sharply to take in just $12.3 million. The sci-fi fantasy stars Rosa Salazar as a cyborg who has lost her memory.

In third was “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part” from Warner Bros., which took $9.7 million. The animated story of love and chaos in an apocalyptic toyland features the voices of Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks and Will Arnett.

MGM’s “Fighting With My Family” placed fourth at $7.8 million. The semi-serious wrestling comedy stars Florence Pugh as a young woman struggling, along with her family, to make it big in the pro-wrestling world. Dwayne Johnson as “The Rock” encourages her on her quest.

Fifth place went to “Isn’t It Romantic” from Warner Bros., which took $7.1 million. It stars Rebel Wilson as a rom-com hating New Yorker who, after suffering a blow to the head, finds herself living in her own romantic comedy.

Rounding out the weekend’s top 10 were “What Men Want” ($5.2 million), “Happy Death Day 2U” ($4.9 million), “Cold Pursuit” ($3.2 million), “The Upside” ($3.2 million) and “Run the Race” ($2.2 million).

By Stephen Nellis and Paul Sandle

SAN FRANCISCO/LONDON — Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. on Wednesday unveiled a nearly $2,000 folding smartphone in a bid to top the technology of Apple Inc. and Chinese rivals and reignite consumer interest amid slumping sales. 

The Galaxy Fold will go on sale on April 26 and take advantage of new and faster 5G mobile networks. The device looks similar to a conventional smartphone, but then opens like a book to reveal a display the size of a small tablet at 7.3 inches. 

The device “answers sceptics who said that everything that could be done has been done”, DJ Koh, chief executive of Samsung Electronics, said at an event in San Francisco. “We are here to prove them wrong.” 

Samsung remains the world’s largest smartphone maker with nearly a fifth of global unit sales but underperformed a slumping market last year. Chinese rival Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. — whose Mate series of phones also command premium prices — gained market share. Other Chinese makers like Xiaomi Corp. have also been increasing prices, leaving Samsung to defend its turf against upstart rivals in addition to its longtime foe Apple. 

With the foldable phone, Samsung is going on the offense on two fronts in the smartphone race: it is offering an eye-catching new feature with the big, bending screen and the first 5G connection in a premium phone, a feature analysts do not expect Apple to match until 2020. 

Samsung is also making improvements to its flagship Galaxy S devices and plans to offer a 4G version of its folding phone. 

It also challenges the notion of what a phone can cost, debuting at nearly twice the price of current top-of-the-line models from Apple and Samsung itself. 

Patrick Moorhead, founder of Moor Insights & Strategy, said the new folding device could help Samsung stay at the top and lure consumers to upgrade devices that have looked largely the same over the past five years. 

“Samsung and Apple go back and forth” to lead the premium smartphone market, Moorhead said. “I think this is Samsung’s chance to take back the innovation crown.” 

And even though the $1,980 starting price is steep, some dedicated Samsung fans said they would pay it. Navneet Kumar Singh, a Samsung enthusiast from India who travelled to San Francisco to watch the launch, is ready to place his order. 

“The prices of the flagship models have been a little aggressive in India,” he said, “But in the end, if you invest the money you’re getting a different experience.” 

Samsung also introduced several accessories to compete against Apple, including a pair of wireless headphones called Galaxy Buds. The headphones include wireless charging, a feature that Apple has promised to put into is competing AirPods but has not yet released. 

Samsung also said that its new Galaxy phones will be able to wirelessly charge its headphones and new smartwatches by setting the accessories on the back of the phone. 

10 times faster 

Along with the folding phone, Samsung also added new cameras and a 5G version to its Galaxy series of phones. 

Verizon Communications Inc. will be the first carrier to offer service for Samsung’s 5G phones. The networks are expected to be 10 times faster than current ones, improving viewing of live news and sports events. 

Folding phones? Makers pray you’ll want one

With the 5G versions of its flagships, the Korean electronics maker looks to have beaten Chinese rivals in the 5G race, although the device will operate only on the small number of networks launching later this year. Apple is not expected to release a 5G smartphone until late 2020. 

The new networks are not available in many places yet but will roll out this year and next. Consumers who want to hold on to their phones for several years before upgrading may be tempted to buy a 5G phone now so that it will be able to take advantage of those networks later, said Bob O’Donnell of TECHnalysis Research. That could sway some Apple buyers over to Samsung and other Android makers with 5G devices. 

“People are going to be thinking about, am going to be able to use this a year from now? Two years from now? Three years?” he said. 

Rival smartphone makers are expected to announce 5G models at next week’s Mobile World Congress, the industry’s top annual event, in Spain. Samsung said its 5G handset would be available in the early summer. 

The Galaxy 10 series needs to appeal to consumers who are reluctant to upgrade for only incremental technological improvements in performance. 

All of the Galaxy series of rigid phones except the 5G will be available from March 8, with the S10+ priced from $1,000, the S10 priced from $900 and the smaller S10e from $750. 

The mainline S10 compares with $999 for Apple’s iPhone XS and $858 for Huawei’s premium Mate 20 Pro. 

A perfectly competent, capable all-rounder, and more accessible up-market offering in the then newly burgeoning SUV market when first introduced in 2002, the Volkswagen Touareg might not have been a particularly inspired or charismatic of vehicles in its first two generations. 

Now, however, the third generation Touareg may in passing seem a subtle evolution, but at closer examination it becomes evident that it has been virtually transformed. A bona fide premium SUV competing with the best the segment has to offer, the new Touareg also proved to be an unexpectedly rewarding drive with improved comfort and technology, and newfound agility and urge.

More upmarket and better driving than the vehicle it replaces, the new Touareg launched globally late last year and is already available in several Middle East markets. Not the first Touareg sharing architecture with more exotic and up-market cousins, Volkswagen’s latest large SUV, however, now features more of the technology, refinement and driving dynamics. Using the same Volkswagen group MLBevo platform as the Lamborghini Urus, Bentley Bentayga, Porsche Cayenne and Audi Q8 and Q7 models, the new Touareg uses more aluminium intensive construction. Consequently, its body is 106kg lighter despite it being slightly larger and considerably better equipped car than its predecessor.

Sharp and responsive

Distinctly classier in design, the new Touareg ditches the outgoing model’s rounded body in favour of tauter, more chiseled surfacing with sharper and more deliberate lines, ridges and edges. Its chrome-heavy fascia seamlessly incorporates browed headlight clusters and LED elements with a vast multi-slatted grille. Featuring better flowing lines, detailing and lines, the new Toureg’s roofline is faster and more rakish, while side views feature better defined wheel-arches, rocker panels and surfacing. At the rear, its design is better resolved and design elements more tightly packaged, and include slimmer, sharper rear lights, more pronounced tailgate-top spoiler and dual integrated chrome-tipped exhaust ports.

Launched in most markets with turbo-diesel power and petrol on the way, the Touareg, however, arrives in Middle East markets with 4-cylinder and V6 petrol engines from the outset. Driven in top Highline specification with Volkswagen’s now familiar direct injection 3-litre turbocharged V6 TFSI petrol engine, the Touareg develops 335BHP and 332lb/ft torque. Though unspecified, maximum torque is on tap at what is evidently a broad and low range and power plateaus with relatively low-revving accessibility. Responsive and almost imperceptible turbo lag from idling, the Touareg’s delivery features fulsome mid-range delivery and a smooth, refined and almost elastically urgent climb to redline.

Swift and smooth

Convincingly athletic and consistently responsive, the Touareg’s digs deep to a develop a welling mid-range torque that gives way to top-end power, and makes short work of overtaking manoeuvres and is swift pouncing out of corners. Estimated to complete the 0-100km/h sprint in just 5.9-seconds and to be capable of 250km/h, the Touareg’s slippery 0.32 aerodynamic drag and torque rich engine make it a willing and confident high way drive. Driving all four wheels through a smooth and swift shifting 8-speed automatic gearbox with a broad ratio spread for best performance, response, versatility, refinement and efficiency, the Touareg also features different driving mode profiles.

With its engine positioned longitudinally and just ahead of front axles for excellent front wheel traction and power delivered to all four wheels with the ability to redistribute power back and forth at up to 70 per cent to the front or 80 per cent rearwards as the situation dictates, the Touareg feels ever sure-footed. With excellent road-holding on tarmac, the Touareg features both different driving mode that adapt different systems for different situations on-road, as well as off-road. An optional Off-road Package allows for yet more off-road modes specifically tailored for sand, gravel and individual tailored characteristics. Furthermore, optional air suspension allows for increase ride height and 550mm water fording.

Nimble and sure-footed

Smooth, stable and supple at speed or whether cruising in town despite huge 20-inch alloy wheels and low profile 285/45R20 tyres — as driven on smooth Dubai roads — the Touareg’s air suspension offers a refined and comfortable ride that helps isolate one from harshness. That said, the Touareg surprisingly never felt disconnected or vague, and for a big SUV, felt surprisingly agile, despite some body lean through corners. If anything, the Touareg felt alive and tautly elastic through corners, with electronically controlled anti-roll bars tightening up to tidy up body control and four-wheel-drive reallocating power and clawing back traction from a rear shift, just as one reapplies power and blasts off onto the next corner.

More nimble its height and estimated 2-tonne weight suggest, the Touareg benefits from quick, well-damped, light and direct steering and tidy turn-in, and good brakes. Offered with optional four-wheel-steering, the Touareg is more agile and manoeuvrable than anticipated. With rear wheels turning opposite to the front at low speeds and its wheelbase effectively shortened, the Touareg can make a 180° in just 11.19-metres and deftly manoeuvre through twists and turns. Meanwhile at speed the rear wheels turn in the same direction for quick and sure-footed cornering like it is glued to the road, and for stable lane changes at speed.

Classy comfort

A high tech SUV packed with standard and optional convenience, comfort, infotainment, safety and driver assistance systems including massaging front seats, night vision thermal cameras, partly automated steering and lane departure Traffic Jam Assist system, heads-up display, and interactive LED headlights, the new Touareg’s electro-mechanical anti-roll bars are meanwhile powered by a 48v battery system, which would also theoretically allow for numerous other high tech systems as used by the Audi A8. Inside, the Touareg is the most digital Volkswagen to date and features a huge high definition and user-friendly 15-inch infotainment screen and 12-inch configurable digital instrument panel.

Comfortable, classy and uncluttered inside, the new Touareg feels and looks like a considerably more premium SUV with a cocooning yet spacious and highly adjustable driving position, and airy ambiance created by its large panoramic sunroof. Using good quality materials, leathers and plenty of soft textures, the Touareg feels upmarket and sophisticated without being gaudy, overstated or pretentious. Seating five in comfort, it can generously accommodate 810-litres of luggage, which expands to 1800-litres with the rear seats folded down. 

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 3-litre, in-line, turbochargedV6-cylinders

Bore x stroke: 84.5 x 89mm

Valve-train: 24-valve, DOHC, direct injection

Gearbox: 8-speed automatic, four-wheel-drive

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 335 (340) [250]

Specific power: 111.8BHP/litre

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 332 (450)

Specific torque: 150.2Nm/litre

0-100km/h: 5.9-seconds (est.)

Top speed: 250km/h (est.)

Fuel capacity: 75-litres

Length: 4,878mm

Width: 1,984mm

Height: 1,702mm

Wheelbase: 2,894mm

Track, F/R: 1,653/1,669mm

Ground clearance: 188mm (+70mm adjustability)*

Approach/departure angles/break-over: 23.3°/17.2°/13.5° 

Water fording: 550mm*

Aerodynamic drag co-efficient: 0.32

Headroom, F/R: 1,049/990mm

Cabin width, F/R: 1,584/1,547mm

Luggage volume, min/max: 810-/1,800-litres

Kerb weight: approximately 2,000kg 

Steering: Electric-assisted rack & pinion

Turning Circle: 11.19-metres**

Suspension: Five-link, optional air suspension

Brakes: Ventilated discs

Tyres: 285/45R20

Price, starting from: AED204,629 (V6 engine, UAE, as tested)

With optional air suspension

With optional four-wheel-steering

By Sheela Sheth

Food Expert

This bitter sweet plant, also known as the dragon wart and tarkhum in Arabic, has an aromatic flavour similar to anise. A perennial herb in the sunflower family, it is native to Europe, Asia, India (my home country) and parts of northern Mexico. In Ayurveda (Indian herbal medicine), tarragon is known to have a strong cultural and historical attachment due its rich medicinal property. 

Antioxidant property

Some indigenous varieties of tarragon are known to have antioxidant properties that fight free radicals (free radicals cause damage to the body’s cells, leading to premature ageing and serious health problems). Tarragon oil works wonders in stopping the damage done by free radicals. It is widely used as a painkiller for toothache as it has the ability to numb the pain.

Medical miracle

Several studies have shown that tarragon appears to have chemicals which work as an appetite stimulant. It has been long used as a digestive tonic because it aids in the production of bile by the liver. It not only improves digestion but also relieves stomach upsets, irritable bowels and dyspepsia. Tarragon leaves also work as a mild sedative to help relieve anxiety and stress and the oil is widely used in dentistry to numb the nerves. It has also been shown to support cardiovascular health and also assists in keeping blood platelets, clotting agents in the blood, in order. It is also used for building muscle mass and weight control.

Cosmetic infusion

Tarragon is widely used to infuse aromatic oils, soaps, shampoos and certain moisturising skin lotions and creams to add aroma for treatment. Tarragon oil can improve hair lustre and reduce hair frizz. Steaming with a few leaves serves as a skin cleanser and its antioxidants help as an astringent. 

Culinary contribution

It is reminiscent of fennel and anise as it is liquorice in taste. The rich and pleasant aroma of tarragon leaves gives a delicate flavour to salads and soups. It is popularly used to flavour vinegar like dill or olive oil for salad dressing. It is often combined with capers and also used for flavouring sauces, especially in French and German cuisine.

Bring out the tarragon!

Pick some fresh greens and toss a tarragon dressing infused in olive oil, vinegar or lemon, honey, sun dried tomatoes and bell peppers. 

Be sure to consult your doctor before trying any herbal products. 

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

Two chemicals commonly used as e-cigarette flavours might harm users’ airway passages, a small experiment suggests. 

The results point to the need to further study how the highly popular cigarette alternatives affect human bodies, researchers say. 

In test tube experiments, the researchers exposed cells from the lining of human airways to two flavouring compounds: diacetyl — a chemical with a butter-like smell — and its “chemical cousin” 2,3-pentanedione. 

In the body, these so-called bronchial epithelial cells work with mucus to clear inhaled germs and particles. 

Researchers found that both chemicals induced hundreds of genetic changes in the cells. The chemicals also impaired the ability of the cells to function properly. 

“These flavouring chemicals are what we call ‘Generally Regarded As Safe’ chemicals. That designation, though, only refers to the ingestion pathway,” said study coauthor Joseph Allen, from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. 

“They are food grade flavouring chemicals. They have not been tested for inhalation safety. And what we do know about users who inhale these flavouring chemicals is that they can cause severe lung disease,” Allen told Reuters Health by phone. 

In food, diacetyl is generally considered safe by experts. But older research going back a decade describes how workers at popcorn factory developed a serious respiratory condition called bronchiolitis obliterans, or “popcorn lung”, after inhaling the butter-flavoured compound. 

“It’s a good study and it’s a beginning,” said Irfan Rahman, a professor of Environmental Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Centre in New York, who was not associated with the study. 

 “The flavour is causing some changes in the genes, which is a really key point in human lung epithelial cells,” said Rahman, who studies the effects of cigarette smoke on lung inflammation. 

“Lungs are not made for flavours to inhale. Our body is not yet ready,” Rahman said. 

Test tube experiments may not reflect real human exposure to e-cigarette, the researchers acknowledge. 

Also, they point out, they chose these two flavour chemicals to study based on preliminary investigations conducted in 2016. Today, e-cig manufacturers may have changed formulations. 

Indeed, Juul Labs Inc., a popular maker of e-cigarette devices, states on its website that it does not add either of these chemicals to its manufacturing process and lists other ingredients such as natural oils, extracts and flavours as its ingredients. 

“Some of the newer e-cigarette companies like Juul are starting to advertise that their products do not contain [these chemicals],” Allen said. 

“What is important to ask is: What flavours are they using?” he added 

E-cigarette and “vape” makers have come under fire from health regulators and governments as youth e-cigarette use increases, and worries arise about a burgeoning young population of e-cigarette users who may move on to smoking cigarettes. 

“Because of the associations of diacetyl inhalation exposure and severe respiratory diseases and increasing popularity of e-cig use among people, further mechanistic studies are warranted to evaluate the effects of diacetyl and related flavouring compounds in e-cig on airway epithelium,” the researchers note in their study published in “Scientific Reports”. 

PARIS — Camille Pepin is part of a very rare breed. She is a female composer.

Women have conquered space and risen in the military ranks, but some professions remain resolutely and bewilderingly masculine.

When Pepin turned up for her first day at the Paris Conservatoire — as usual the only woman in a class of men — an official told her that her name was not on the list. 

But when she insisted that she was and that he look again, he cried, “Ah, you’re a woman!” 

Camille is also a man’s name in France.

“I would never have thought,” he apologised. “There are so many men...”

With so few female composers in the classical music repertoire, it was an easy mistake to make.

Pepin has never let everyday sexism get her down though, laughing it off like water off a duck’s back.

“One male composer told me I was getting commissions because I was a woman and not too bad looking,” said the 28-year-old, whose first album, “Chamber Music”, is released later this month.

After a concert of one of her more combative pieces, “a man came to tell me my music was ‘very fresh, flowery and sweet’”, she told AFP.

“I am a woman, so clearly those three words” apply, she said wryly. 

Pepin, whose music recalls both Claude Debussy and American minimalist composers like John Adams, said sometimes the sexist stereotypes which persist in the classical music world are hard to take.

Only woman

One “old school” music professor insisted she sit on his right at lunch “because that was a woman’s place” and sent her off to make the coffee.

“I was the only woman in all my classes in the Conservatoire, and it was fine,” said Pepin, who is now working on her first ballet score, in her Paris apartment which doubles as a studio.

Mostly the young composer, who made her breakthrough with the orchestral piece “Vajrayana” in 2015, said she was treated exactly the same as her male colleagues in classes with French contemporary composers like Guillaume Connesson, Thierry Escaich and Marc-Andre Dalbavie.

Beyond the classroom, however, progress is slow in the conservative world of classical music. 

Pepin believes it will take generations for the forgotten work of female composers to get just recognition.

Beyond the casual unthinking sexism, she said the biggest problem for young female composers was “a lack of role models”.

A few woman, such as the American composer Meredith Monk, Kaija Saariaho of Finland and Tansy Davies from Britain, have managed to break the glass ceiling.

Written out of history

But even Pepin admitted that when she was younger she did not know of a single female composer. 

“We never studied them,” she said. 

Who has ever heard of Helene de Montgeroult (1764-1836), Louise Farrenc (1804-1875) or Fanny Mendelssohn (1805-1847)? 

Fanny was the older sister of the more famous Felix Mendelssohn, with many at the time saying her work was more expressive.

But after she married, she was limited to domestic duties and had to content herself with being her brother’s chief editor and muse, which led him to call her his “Minerva” of wisdom.

“Lots of female composers were crushed like Clara Schumann [the wife of Robert Schumann],” despite being one of the most distinguished composers and musicians of the Romantic era, said the pianist Celia Oneto Bensaid, who often performs Pepin’s work.

“You play my music,” Schumann once bluntly told his wife, a star of concert halls across Europe.

Began at age 13

Born into a family in the northern French city of Amiens that was not particularly musical, Pepin began to write her own melodies at 13. 

But even at the age of five in her ballet class, her eyes were more drawn to the piano.

“I was so fascinated that I would forget to do my exercises,” she said.

Before settling on composing, Pepin thought about being a dancer. “I need to feel the notes physically,” she said. 

Her first ballet will be choreographed next year by Sylvain Pad for France’s Ballet du Nord.

Finally, she feels she is getting beyond the dreaded question — “But what do you do for a living?” — when she tells people she is a composer.

“They thought it was just something I did to chill on Sundays,” she laughed.

With increasing globalisation and a shrinking Earth, speaking, or at least understanding, several foreign languages is not a luxury anymore — it is a real must. We now need to communicate with speakers of other languages more  frequently faster and better. The question is more important than ever.

Software in general and the web in particular, have brought numerous tools that help you achieve, even if not perfectly yet, the trick. They range from text-based translation to instant voice processing. As an example, the new Travis Touch pocket translator is a handheld device, the size of a small smartphone, that listens to what you would say in a given language, instantly translates what you just said and then speaks it out loud in its own voice, in the chosen target language. The main languages processed by the Travis Touch are Arabic, English, Chinese, French, German, Spanish, and Japanese. This covers quite a large part of the world’s population!

How much are Travis Touch and the like able to do at this stage? It all remains simple, merely handling straightforward, non-equivocal, non-idiomatic talk. Some call it “touristic style”. PcMag reviewer Kevin Sebastian said of it: “don’t expect to have deep insightful conversations”. He further explained that the unit uses a “Wi-Fi signal that connects to a language database that works with real translators”.

Acknowledging what automatic translators can, and cannot, do is key to using them smartly and to avoid being disappointed. While the new, automated tools can be practical, proper human translation is still very much in demand, and only this kind can deliver properly formulated output, with correct grammar, syntax and hopefully style. 

In parallel, and in the same vein, countless ads can be seen on the web that promise to teach you a new language in a few weeks. Babbel is an e-learning much-publicised German platform that just does that. How much-exactly you can learn with it in a few weeks is another story.

Even the good old text-based tools such as Google Translate have been significantly improved. Those looking for a little more than just to understand what the text they are reading is about can use specialised websites or tools that deal with context-based translation, resulting in translated text that is much more accurate than what the general purpose Google Translate can deliver. For instance: Linguee, Al Maani (Arabic for “the meanings”) or Reverso, to name only three of them.

There is little doubt about the great utility of all these tools. They keep being improved constantly and over short periods of time. Sometimes the improvement can be felt in a matter of a few months. And yet, and again, human translators can do much better, but of course, they would take more time, and needless to say, more money to do it.

Professional human translators sometimes use the output generated by great sites to obtain a first draft, therefore saving precious time this way, if only in typing, and then edit the output to come up with more perfect language, grammar and syntax. It takes skills, art, wide general knowledge and culture to do that well.

Automatic, instant, multilingual, spoken, written, all these attributes of the connected digital world can do wonders to make the world unite and communicate faster, better and in an easier manner. Knowing the limits and remembering that automation can sometimes make serious misinterpretation with dire consequences means it always must be used carefully and wisely.

In the meantime, and until the day we see the United Nations replace their highly skilled, highly paid human interpreters with automatic digital devices at conferences and UN sessions, automatic translators will remain gadgets. Useful ones by all means, good helpers maybe, time savers and also perhaps fun to use, but gadgets nevertheless.

PARIS — With its Lego-like avatars and easy-to-learn coding for budding programmers, the online gaming app Roblox has cornered the market in younger gamers, with 80 million monthly users, many of them under 16.

Now the platform, which has already taken the United States by storm, is setting its sights on Europe and Asia to become a global giant.

Kids log on to the mobile app after school to guide their avatars through obstacle courses full of pitfalls, escape from jail, dive into a treasure hunt or even to build their own adventure park.

None of it is very original, content-wise, and its simplistic, blocky style cannot compete with the lush aesthetics of the big studios’ games, but its 3D user-generated games are aimed at younger players, and at teaching them coding skills for the future. 

“It’s not a game, it’s a platform for creativity and play,” said Chris Misner, head of Roblox International. 

“We provide tools and support for people to build what their imagination wants. The only limit is their imagination.”

The company does not release much user data, but claims to have 80 million active players per month in more than 30 countries. Most of the players are aged nine to 12, while content creators tend to be 16 and over. 

Misner told AFP the company spends almost nothing on advertising — word of mouth has been enough to make it one of the most popular entertainment platforms among six-12 year-olds, according to Comscore.

“We have positive cash-flow,” said Misner.

‘Building houses’

“It is not the first ‘meta game’ to allow users to engage in world-building, but it’s certainly the first to have done so well,” said Laurent Michaud, of the online think tank Idate.

While it is free to play, Roblox makes its money from users buying up units of its virtual currency, “Robux”, to personalise their avatars or buy kit that helps them advance through the game.

The best developers can make money off it too. Alex Balfanz, a 19-year-old American, created several games before striking gold with his game “Jailbreak” in April 2017, which according to US media racked up more than $1 million in a year. 

But most of the 56 million games available on the app do not enjoy that level of success.

“Last year I was playing ‘Blocks bird’ with some friends. You have to get a job, you build houses and go to your friends’ houses for parties,” said Edouard Chatelain-Moor, 11, who lives in the US capital Washington.

“I don’t play that often now,” he said. “There are some good games, but you get tired of them after a while because updates are rare.”

Launched for computers in 2006, Roblox took a decade to really take off. It is now available on most devices, including Virtual Reality helmets and even runs summer camps to teach kids to code games.

‘Gang rape’

Last summer, Roblox gained a lot more publicity, but initially for the wrong reasons.

In June, a seven-year-old girl who was playing the game showed her mother the screen of her iPad, where her avatar was being attacked by two male characters.

It was a scene which the mother, Amber Petersen, later described on Facebook as a “violent gang rape” of her little girl’s online character.

“We were upset that somebody had violated the code of conduct,” said Misner, noting that 700 moderators oversee the platform. 

“It was very a specific incident, we were able to shut it down and put safeguards. It was contained and addressed rapidly.”

The disturbing incident has not dented the financial health of the gaming platform: five months ago, it raised $150 million in a round of investor funding and was valued at $2.5 billion, the magazine Techcrunch reported. 

“The money will be used to build our infrastructure and our network globally, to increase the performance of our platform and hiring lots of people,” said Misner. “We invest in technology, people, safety, creativity.”

As well as being available in English in dozens of countries, Roblox can also be played in Spanish, and has added some support services in French, German, Portuguese, Korean and Mandarin. 

It doubled its number of users last year in the European market, which it predicts will surpass its US audience in three to five years.

People with diabetes who regularly eat nuts may be less likely to develop heart disease, than their counterparts who rarely, if ever, consume nuts, a US study suggests. 

Diabetics who ate at least five 28-gramme servings of nuts a week were 17 per cent less likely to develop heart disease than people with diabetes who had no more than one serving of nuts weekly, the study found. 

Even just one serving of nuts might still be good for the heart, however. For people with diabetes, adding just one extra serving of nuts a week was associated with a 3 per cent lower risk of developing cardiac conditions and 6 per cent lower risk of dying from heart problems. 

“These data provide novel evidence that supports the recommendation of incorporating nuts into healthy dietary patterns for the prevention of cardiovascular disease complications and premature deaths among individuals with diabetes,” said lead study author Gang Liu, a nutrition researcher at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. 

The study was not a controlled experiment designed to prove whether or how nuts might protect people with diabetes against heart disease. But it is possible that nut consumption may help improve things like blood sugar control and inflammation due at least in part to nutrients in nuts like unsaturated fatty acids, fibre, vitamin E and folate, and minerals like calcium, potassium and magnesium, Liu said. 

Too many nuts may not necessarily be a good thing, however. 

“A handful of nuts is beneficial for heart, but it remains unclear what’s the ideal serving size,” Liu said by e-mail. 

More than half of the people in the current study did not eat nuts at all, Liu noted. 

“Whether the more nuts, the better, needs more studies in populations with large range of nut consumption,” Liu said. “Despite the high energy density of nuts, there is no evidence for an association between frequent nut consumption and weight gain, possibly explained by the satiating effect of nut consumption.” 

In the study, researchers used self-reported diet questionnaires from 16,217 men and women before and after they were diagnosed with diabetes and asked them about their consumption of both peanuts and tree nuts over a period of several years. All of the participants had type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, that is associated with ageing and obesity. 

During the study, 3,336 people were diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases. This included 2,567 cases of heart disease and 789 strokes. A total of 5,682 people died, including 1,663 deaths from cardiovascular disease and 1,297 deaths from cancer. 

Nuts were still associated with a lower risk of heart disease even after researchers accounted for other risk factors for heart problems like how long patients had diabetes, obesity, eating and exercise habits, medication use, and how much they ate nuts before they were diagnosed with diabetes. 

Tree nuts such as walnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, pistachios, pecans, macadamias, hazelnuts and pine nuts were more strongly linked to a lower risk of heart disease than peanuts, which are actually legumes that grow underground. 

“One reason why tree nuts might be more protective is that they tend to be consumed with the skin or outer peel, in which most antioxidants reside [at least the common nuts walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts], while peanuts are usually eaten without the peel,” said Dr Emilio Ros of the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona. 

“Also, peanuts are usually roasted and salted — the added salt might counteract the benefit from the original nut components,” Ros, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email. Ros has received grants, research funding and other funds from California Walnut Commission and the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council. 

A one-ounce serving of nuts is about 24 almonds, 18 cashews, 12 hazelnuts and 14 walnut halves. 

“One to one and-a-half servings [28 to 42 grammes] per day is the ideal dose,” Ros advised. “In practical terms, it is best to recommend a handful [of dehulled nuts] — the bigger the hand [and the size of the owner], the bigger the dose.”