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With five convertible models including a pair of two seat folding roof roadsters and three soft-top four seat saloon-based models, Mercedes has become a go-to brand for practical yet luxurious open top motoring. 

The smallest four-seat convertible the Stuttgart maker has to offer, the C-Class Cabriolet is a well-equipped, safe and highly useable drop top. Echoing its larger E- and S-Class Cabriolet sister models, the C-Class Cabriolet is not an outright sports car, but more of a comfortable yet capable grand tourer.

Head turner

Stylish, elegant and with the tri-star badge atop its bonnet, the C-Class Cabriolet proved something of a head-turner during test drive, garnering numerous positive glances and comments. Designed with smooth curves and edges, flowing lines and subtly muscular surfacing, the C-Cabriolet’s fascia features a broad and hungry grille with a concave studded mesh background and a large metallic emblem. Big deep side intakes lend the C-Class Cabriolet more assertive presence, while its sweptback headlights feature an LED strip that trails off towards a side character line extanding across the flanks.

Bearing resemblance to Mercedes’ other four-seat drop tops, the C-Class Cabriolet has an elegantly smooth appeal to its design, with its electrically folding fabric roof stowing away behind the rear seats and into the boot for an elegantly flush waistline. Despite a smaller boot lid, the Cabriolet’s full luggage volume is comparable to the C-Class Coupe. However, with the roof folded down, luggage volume is reduced from 360-litres to a still very useful 285-litres, while rear headroom is marginally improved, albeit along with reduced shoulder room.

Smooth and responsive

Owing to its roof folding mechanism and the extensive bracing and reinforcement to compensate for the expected loss of structural rigidity in the absence of a fixed roof, the C-Class Cabriolet is some 140kg heavier than the corresponding version. Though heavier than the Coupe version, the turbocharged 2-litre, four-cylinder C200 Cabriolet, as driven, is only marginally slower in acceleration and maximum speed than the C200 Coupe, but its performance provides brisk capabilities that are well-suited to its more relaxed but still mildly sporting character and dynamic abilities.

The second to entry-level model in the range, the C200 Cabriolet develops 181BHP at 5500rpm and 221lb/ft torque 1200-4000rpm. Driving the rear wheels, the C200 Cabriolet accelerates through 0-100km/h in 7.8-seconds, attains 233km/h, and returns efficient 6.2l/100km combined cycle fuel efficiency. 

Slick and smooth, Mercedes’ new 9-speed automatic is much improved on the previous 7-speed. With better responsiveness and a broader range of ratio, and well-mated to a versatile engine, improves responsiveness from standstill, enhances mid-range flexibility and provides for low rev high speed refinement and efficiency.

Confident and comfortable

With faint four-cylinder chatter at idle, the E200 is smooth and quick-spooling off the line. Settling into a generous and wide maximum torque mid-range, the C200 Cabriolet makes confident on the move progress. Best exploited in its mid-range in town and on highway, the C200 Cabriolet also revs smoothly and eagerly when driving through snaking switchbacks or winding hill climbs. 

Confident, consistent and as quick as it needs to be to be enjoyable the C200 Cabriolet’s 2-litre engine — in a more aggressive state of tune — also powers 208BHP and 242BHP C250 and C300 Cabriolet versions.

Stable, planted and refined inside, even with a fabric roof, the C200 Cabriolet is consummate grand tourer, happily, confidently and comfortably crunching long distances. Like Mercedes’ other convertible offerings, the C200 Cabriolet is particularly well suited for topless winter and night-time driving, with a subtle windshield top deflector directing wind away from the cabin. 

Meanwhile, a combination of a powerful heater, toasty heated seats and seat back neck height Airscarf hot air vents provide a warmer environment for the driver and passengers even with the top open and exposed to the elements.

wSupportive and sporty

Comfortable and confident on the highway, the C200 Cabriolet rides somewhat on the firm side, especially through corners, where taut body control keeps it flat and poised. However, it is also adequately comfortable in the city, with its variable dampers taking the edge off sharper lumps, bumps and road imperfections, despite its staggered low profile 225/40R19 front and 245/35R19 rear tyres. 

Adequately accommodating four adults inside, the practical C200 Cabriolet’s front seats are however spacious and supportive, with an ergonomic, highly adjustable driving position that lends itself to confident driving. 

Meanwhile cabin ambiance is welcoming and elegantly sporty, with plenty of convenience and quality materials.

Though not an outright sports coupe like stiffer and more focused Mercedes-AMG variants of its Coupe sister model, the C200 Cabriolet is adept through corners, with quick and precise steering, and tidy and crisp turn-in. 

An intuitive drive, it is eager entering corners, and flat and balanced throughout. It is, however, set-up to be slightly on the tail happy side, and in Sport+ driving mode allows one some leeway before its electronic stability controls intervene. More rewarding when driven briskly yet smoothly and with well-timed and progressive throttle input, one does not have to rely on the electronics to keep the rear tyres dug into the ground.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 2-litre, turbocharged, in-line 4-cylinders

Bore x stroke: 83 x 92mm

Compression ratio: 9.8:1

Valve-train: 16-valve, DOHC, variable timing, direct injection

Gearbox: 9-speed automatic, rear-wheel-drive

Ratios: 1st 5.35; 2nd 3.24; 3rd 2.25; 4th 1.64; 5th 1.21; 6th 1.0; 7th 0.86; 8th 0.72; 9th 0.6

Reverse / final drive ratios: 4.8 / 3.07

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 181 (184) [135] @5500rpm

Specific power: 90.9BHP/litre

Power-to-weight: 108.7BHP/tonne

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 221 (300) @1200-4000rpm

Specific torque: 150.6Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight: 180.1Nm/tonne

0-100km/h: 7.8-seconds

Top speed: 233km/h

Fuel consumption, combined: 6.2-6.6-litres/100km 

CO2 emissions, combined: 140-150g/km

Fuel capacity: 66-litres

Length: 4686mm

Width: 1810mm

Height: 1409mm

Wheelbase: 2840mm

Track, F/R: 1563 / 1546

Overhangs, F/R: 790 / 1056mm

Aerodynamic drag co-efficiency: 0.28

Headroom, F/R: 1021 / 914mm

Shoulder width, F/R: 1392 / 1214mm

Luggage volume min/max (without spare tyre): 285-360-litres

Kerb weight: 1665kg

Steering: Electric-assisted rack & pinion

Turning Circle: 11.22-meters

Suspension: Multi-link, variable damping

Brakes: Ventilated discs / discs

Tyres, F/R: 255/40R19 / 245/35R19 (optional)

Consumers like healthy eating blogs written by nutritionists who seem credible and who interact with their readers, a small study in Canada suggests.

The researchers looked at what properties of a food blog are most likely to encourage readers to make healthy changes in eating behaviour. They also found that references and links to extra information boosted both credibility and usefulness.

“Health professionals and laypersons alike frequently enlist blogs as way to provide dietary advice or to tell their story. But the Internet is a vortex for conflicting — and oftentimes wildly inaccurate — information, especially when it comes to a healthy diet,” said New Jersey-based independent nutritionist Felicia Stoler, who was not involved in the study.

“Blogs can provide a great reference for inspiration and motivation,” said Stoler, who holds a doctorate in clinical nutrition from Rutgers University. “But you need to look for credible sources. Preferably a registered dietician. It’s not uncommon for physicians, chiropractors and chefs to position themselves as nutritionists. Unfortunately, these folks don’t necessarily have the adequate background or training to properly advise individuals on their diet.”

Sophie Desroches of the Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods at Laval University in Quebec City and her colleagues recruited a group of women to assess four healthy-eating blogs written by French Canadian registered dieticians.

The 33 participants answered questions and provided feedback on the usefulness and ease of use of each of the blogs.

Desroches, who did not respond to a request for comments, and her colleagues found that certain types of content and design features in a blog got the highest scores for usefulness. Of these, recipes, hyperlinks and references were the most important.

Hyperlinks provided an easier way to direct readers to additional resources while references, including blogger bios, improved the users’ feeling that the blogger is a credible source, according to the results in Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

The study participants also assumed that featured recipes were nutritionally sound, which in turn made them more inclined to incorporate those recipes into their own diets.

Interaction between bloggers and blog readers enhanced ease of use and facilitated a sense of connection between content creators and readers, the researchers also found. That connection made readers more likely to move towards improving their dietary behaviours.

One of the surprising findings, the study team notes, was that users preferred a narrative approach to food-related personal experiences over and above straight expert advice — as long as the storytelling was coming from a credible source.

Many users found that videos were not relevant unless they featured specific cooking techniques, and on average, women felt videos were much too long. The users did tend to like vibrant colours, eye-catching photos and text that was well organised with subheadings.

The researchers acknowledge in their report that they studied just a small sampling of the healthy eating blogs on the internet, and that their group of assessors may not represent all French Canadian users.

Stoler advises readers of healthy eating blogs to maintain a degree of skepticism and ask themselves certain questions. Might this blogger be getting paid to promote a certain agenda? Is he or she disclosing any conflicts of interest? Does the blogger have any bias in favour of whatever they are promoting?

SAN FRANCISCO — From smartphone messaging tailored for tikes to computers for classrooms, technology titans are weaving their way into childhoods to form lifelong bonds, raising hackles of advocacy groups.

The debut this month in the US of a version of Messenger mobile application for children younger than 12 marked the first time leading online social network Facebook has stepped into the sensitive market.

California-based Facebook said Messenger Kids complies with regulations protecting children online, and offers more safeguards for youngsters.

Facebook said the new app, with no ads or in-app purchases, is aimed at 6- to 12-year-olds and does not allow children to connect with anyone their parent does not approve.

Messenger Kids is being rolled out for Apple iOS mobile devices in the United States on a test basis as a standalone video chat and messaging app.

Product manager Loren Cheng said the social network leader is offering Messenger Kids because “there’s a need for a messaging app that lets kids connect with people they love but also has the level of control parents want”.

Groups which monitor social media gave mixed reviews to the Facebook effort.

“Ideally, young children should not really be subjected to this kind of environment,” said Executive Director Jeff Chester of the Centre for Digital Democracy, a consumer protection group.

“[Messenger Kids] is the best we can do at the moment. The pressure on parents to let their children be on these services is so strong.”

Facebook, meanwhile, is motivated to increase the ranks of people using its offerings and get a new generation in the habit of using the social network.

John Simpson of the activist group Consumer Watchdog argued a need for academic studies into how the use of technology affects children.

“Tech companies are not doing this out of generosity and kindness of the heart, they’re doing it so they will build potentially loyal customers in the future,” Simpson said.

Two US senators wrote on Thursday to Facebook with concerns about how children’s personal data might be collected or used in Messenger Kids.

Tech invasion of schools

With Messenger Kids, Facebook gets children to spend time on the Internet and social networks, said David Monahan of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.

He saw similar approaches from other tech giants, such as Google, which has spent years getting US schools to use its Chromebook devices for connecting to cloud-based content and services.

A Google for Education website aimed Chromebooks directly at classrooms, touting the devices as low-priced and easy to use.

Chromebooks have become the most prevalent computing hardware in US schools, despite Apple starting years earlier in aiming its Macintosh machines at education.

Selling computers to schools at attractive prices, aimed at high-volume deals and becoming part of people’ lives at early ages, is not new.

Apple, Microsoft, and HP have a history of it. But, Google has triumphed on this ground to the extent that The New York Times referred to the accomplishment in coverage as the “Googlification of Classrooms”.

Since Chromebooks act as portals to computing power and applications hosted online, Google gets the benefit of having students use its software for classwork, messaging and other services powered by the Internet cloud.

Google charges a one-time $30 licensing fee per Chromebook, and claims that more than 20 million students use its devices in schools around the world.

This has the potential of getting children, from a very young age, of “thinking about Google as a partner of the school” and, since it has the stamp of approval from educators believing it “must be a good product”, Monahan said.

Advocacy groups are also keen for assurance that companies behind technology, even if only internet-linked toys, will vigilantly guard children and their information.

Mattel recently backed off marketing a connected speaker for children due to worries about invading privacy and exposing youngsters to hackers and advertisers.

Earlier this year, a coalition of activist and consumer groups warned that smartwatches designed to help parents keep tabs on children could create privacy and security risks.

ABU DHABI — “Salvator Mundi”, a painting of Christ by Leonardo Da Vinci that recently sold for a record $450 million, is heading to the Louvre Abu Dhabi in a coup for the bold new museum, it announced on Wednesday.

The move became possible after a little-known Saudi prince reportedly bought the painting last month.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi, the first museum to bear the Louvre name outside France, has been billed as “the first universal museum in the Arab world,” in a sign of the oil-rich emirate’s global ambitions.

“Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi is coming to #LouvreAbuDhabi,” the museum said on Twitter in Arabic, English and French.

The post displayed an image of the 500-year-old work but did not identify its owner.

Auction house Christie’s has also steadfastly declined to identify the buyer, whose purchase in New York for $450.3 million stunned the art world.

“Congratulations,” Christie’s said in a tweeted reply to the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

The New York Times on Wednesday, citing documents it reviewed, identified the buyer as Saudi Arabia’s Prince Bader Bin Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Farhan Al Saud, whose country forbids the official worship of Christ or any other religion except Islam.

Prince Bader has no history as a major art collector but is a friend and associate of Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the Times said.

Prince Mohammed, in turn, has been called an admirer of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The French weekly le Journal du Dimanche earlier reported that two investment firms were behind the painting’s purchase as part of a financial arrangement involving several museums.

The newspaper said that the work will be lent or resold to museums, largely in the Middle East and Asia.

Prince Bader is listed as a director of Houston-based Energy Holdings International, Inc.

The firm’s website describes him as “one of Saudi Arabia’s youngest” entrepreneurs, present in sectors including real estate, telecommunications and recycling.

The sale more than doubled the previous record of $179.4 million paid for Pablo Picasso’s “The Women of Algiers (Version O)” in 2015, also in New York.

High ambitions in Abu Dhabi

The Louvre Abu Dhabi opened on November 8 in the presence of French President Emmanuel Macron, who described the new museum as a “bridge between civilisations”.

It is the first of three museums slated to open on the emirate’s Saadiyat Island, with plans also in place for an edition of New York’s Guggenheim.

The island will also feature the Zayed National Museum, which had signed a loan deal with the British Museum — although the arrangement has come increasingly into question due to construction delays.

Featuring a vast silver-toned dome, the Louvre Abu Dhabi was designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, drawing inspiration from Arab design and evoking both an open desert and the sea.

The museum opened with about 600 pieces including items from early Mesopotamia. Under a 30-year agreement, France provides expertise, lends works of art and organises exhibitions in return for one billion euros ($1.16 billion).

The first works on loan from the Louvre in Paris include another painting by Da Vinci — “La Belle Ferronniere”, one of his portraits of women.

Recently authenticated

“Salvator Mundi”, which means “Saviour of the World”, went on public display in 2011 in a dramatic unveiling at The National Gallery in London, where the work was declared to be the first newly discovered Da Vinci painting in a century.

It is one of fewer than 20 paintings generally accepted as being from the Renaissance master’s own hand, according to Christie’s.

It had sold for a mere £45 in 1958, when the painting was thought to have been a copy, and was lost until it resurfaced at a regional auction in 2005.

Its latest sale was initiated by Russian tycoon Dmitry Rybolovlev, the boss of football club AS Monaco.

He had bought the painting in 2013 for $127.5 million although he later accused a Swiss art dealer of overcharging him.

AMSTERDAM — Nearly half of humans believe in alien life and want to make contact, a survey in 24 countries has found, in what researchers said helps to explain the lasting popularity of the “Star Wars” franchise 40 years after the first movie was screened.

On the eve of the release of “The Last Jedi”, researchers published findings that 47 per cent of more than 26,000 respondents believe “in the existence of intelligent alien civilisations in the universe”.

An even greater 61 per cent said “yes” when asked if they believe in “some form of life on other planets”. Roughly a quarter said they do not believe intelligent life exists beyond Earth, researchers at Glocalities said.

Among those who believe we are not alone in the universe, 60 per cent said we should try to seek contact with alien civilisations, it found.

It was not the first survey to collect views on extraterrestrial beings — questionnaires in Germany, Britain and the United States have found similar rates — but researchers said this was the largest poll of its kind with such global reach.

“The high score on the belief in the existence of intelligent alien civilisations and the distinct profile of these people partly explains the immense popularity of space movies such as Star Wars,” said research director Martijn Lampert.

“People who believe in the existence of intelligent alien civilisations are not a marginal minority,” he said.

The most believers in intelligent alien life were in Russia, at 68 per cent, trailed closely by Mexico and China, with the down-to-earth Dutch bottoming out the list at 28 per cent, the poll found.

The interviews were conducted in 15 languages between December 2015 and February 2016 in countries representing 62 per cent of the world’s population and 80 per cent of the global economy.

“The Last Jedi,” the eighth instalment of the blockbuster “Star Wars” series, debuts in theatres next week.

Students who get extra physical activity may pay more attention in school and do better in subjects like reading and math, a research review suggests.

The study team analysed data from 26 previously published studies with a total of more than 10,000 children between 4 and 13 years old. All of the prior studies measured the impact of a variety of physical activity programmes on academic performance.

The authors also looked at whether the effect of exercise differed across academic subjects. Although the benefit of physical activity was strongest for mathematics, it was only slightly smaller for other subjects like language and reading, meaning that physical activity benefits learning in all academic subjects.

“Exercise influences the brain by increasing cerebral blood flow, which increases the supply of oxygen and nutrients and promotes blood capillaries formation, increases the neuronal connectivity through the promotion of the synaptogenesis and the availability of neurotransmitters,” said study coauthor Ivan Cavero Redondo of Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha in Cuenca, Spain.

“Beyond the neurobiological explanations, exercise includes an important social component that fosters its benefits on mental health,” Redondo said by e-mail.

At a time when many schools struggle to set aside time for gym classes amid a push to raise test scores by devoting more time to academics, the findings offer fresh evidence that physical activity is one way to help boost kids’ grades.

When kids take time out of the school day for physical activity, whether in dedicated gym classes or by incorporating movement into classroom lessons, students may have an easier time focusing on their classwork and do better in school, Redondo said.

Overall, physical activity appeared to have the biggest impact on keeping kids on task and focused on their work, the study found. Students who participated in various experimental exercise programmes also did better at math, reading and language lessons than their peers who did not participate in these programmes.

Exercise had a bigger impact on school performance when it was incorporated into the school day than when it was added as an extracurricular activity, researchers report in Pediatrics.

The experimental exercise programmes tested in the smaller studies increased physical activity time from 10 minutes to 60 minutes per day.

Sometimes these programmes expanded recess, while in other instances the added activity was achieved with after-school sports or creating active breaks between lessons during the school day.

One limitation of the study was that researchers lacked enough data from a large enough group of participants to determine which types of physical activity interventions might have the biggest impact on academics and school achievement, the authors note.

Even so, the analysis offers convincing evidence that physical activity can enhance children’s reading and math skills, said Sara Benjamin Neelon, a researcher at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore who was not involved in the study.

“Schools need to get on board and prioritise active time for children both during and after the school day,” Benjamin Neelon said by e-mail. “Kids spend a large portion of their waking hours at school and should spend at least part of that time being physically active.”

Physical activity may help kids do better in school by improving behaviour, memory and cognitive function, said Jordan Carlson, a researcher at Children’s Mercy Kansas City who was not involved in the study.

“A substantial amount of evidence shows that physical activity improves kids’ attention and behaviour in the classroom and reduces classroom disruptions,” Carlson said by e-mail. “Kids have an internal drive to be physically active, and inhibiting their need to be physically active during school can lead to behavioural problems.”

Because kids often get too little exercise time during the school day, parents need to provide these opportunities outside of school, Carlson added.

“However, the beneficial effect of physical activity on academic achievement appears to be specific to school-based physical activity,” Carlson said. “Parents should talk with their children, teachers, and administrators about opportunities for physical activity at school.”

Annual search results show how Brits kept calm and carried on; 17 per cent more Strictly Come Dancing-related searches than Brexit; 24 per cent more Game of Thrones-related searches than Brexit; 78 per cent more searches for “BBC weather” than all those related to Trump

Separation from the European Union and perceived nuclear threats may have dominated headlines in 2017, however, Brits appear to have been more interested in the outcome of their favourite television programmes, according to new data from Bing.com.

Microsoft’s search engine analysed some of the most popular terms and related queries in 2017 in an effort to understand where people’s interests and concerns lay. The results show that there were 17 per cent more Strictly Come Dancing-related searches than those linked to Brexit. Game of Thrones-related searches were even higher — there were 24 per cent more queries related to the fantasy show than Brexit.

There were also twice as many searches for “fidget spinner” than “Brexit”. “We have well and truly observed the repercussions of last year’s elections and events. In some ways the resulting headlines made this year feel hyper-real, but the data does show that in 2017 we have kept calm and carried on,” said Kevin Stagg, head of Marketing at Bing.

Celebrities 2017: Kim still the queen of the Internet While Britain — and the world — recently celebrated a royal engagement, Kim Kardashian proved once again that she is the queen of the Internet, with more searches than most other celebrities. However it will remain to be seen whether Kim Kardashian’s 43 per cent lead on Meghan Markle in 2017 can be maintained next year as the Suits star prepares to wed Prince Harry. The Kardashian was also searched for almost four times the amount as her North Korean namesake — Kim Jong-un.

Royal watch 2017: Anniversary rekindles interest

Interest in the Royal family remained as strong as ever with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s engagement, Kate Middleton announcing her third pregnancy and The Queen and Prince Philip celebrating 70 years of marriage. However, one of the year’s biggest royal events was “Princess Diana 20th anniversary”, which far exceeded most other searches in the category.

Politics 2017: More interest in the elements than the president

For every search related to Trump there were six related to the weather in the UK, suggesting Brits were more concerned about rain and sunshine than the US president’s comments or actions. Backing this is the fact that there were 78 per cent more searches for “BBC weather” than all searches related to Trump in 2017.

For those seeking to literally escape the year’s political storms with a holiday, Tenerife and Benidorm received the most weather-related searches.

Turning to local politics, “Jeremy Corbyn” was searched for more than “Theresa May”, but when it comes to related searches such as “Theresa May Priti Patel”, May had more than two and a half times the volume of Corbyn, reflecting people’s interest in topics around the prime minister.

Finally, fads out-ranked foreign affairs, with seven times the queries made for fidget spinners than Putin.

Tech 2017: Cab concern outweighs cyber fears

The attention of the British people when it comes to technology is clear, with 17 per cent more searches related to Uber’s London licence ban than that for the NHS cyber attack — this is despite the former being specific to London commuters, and the latter a national issue that sparked a global fear.

Entertainment 2017: Fans look back and forward

Game of Thrones and Strictly Come Dancing were by far the UK’s most searched-for TV programmes. There were almost twice as many searches for GoT topics than there were for Love Island.

Bake Off unfortunately failed to rise against its competitors. Not only did Strictly receive 16 times its search volume, almost one in every 10 of the cooking programme’s searches was about judge Prue Leigh accidently revealing the winner via Twitter.

Amongst the top 10 Game of Thrones-related searches were “Game of Thrones season 1” and “Game of Thrones final season 2019”, suggesting that there was a mix of people both looking to catch up on the fantasy series, and waiting in anticipation for its conclusion.

Sport 2017: The fight for search supremacy

Despite the huge interest in the Mayweather vs McGregor fight, Anthony Joshua was decisively the most searched-for UK fighter, with more than double the search traffic going to the Watford-born heavyweight champion than the Irish mixed martial artist. Joshua also fought off those outside the ring, with almost two-and-a-half times the traffic of British racing driver, Lewis Hamilton, and more than four times that relating to Mo Farah who this year ran and won his last ever professional race.

Without the Olympics or other global sporting events all eyes turned to Prince Harry’s Invictus Games. However the public’s gaze was not on the field, but the stands, with “Meghan Markle Invictus games” winning 39 per cent of the event’s searches.

Top searched Celebrities were: 1. Kim Kardashian 2. Meghan Markle 3. Taylor Swift 4. Cheryl Cole 5. Holly Willoughby 6. Kylie Jenner 7. Beyonce 8. Lewis Hamilton 9. Liam Payne 10. George Clooney

Top searched on Brexit: 1. Brexit 2. Brexit news 3. Brexit latest 4. Sadiq Khan on Brexit 5. Brexit Germany economy 6. Martin Selmayr Brexit stupid 7. Brexit latest news 8. Brexit Andrea Leadsom 9. Michael Bloomberg Brexit 10. Theresa May Brexit defeat

Top searched movies: 1. Beauty and the Beast 2. Dunkirk 3. La La Land 4. Despicable Me 3 5. Beauty and the Beast 2017 6. Guardians of the Galaxy 2 7. Dunkirk movie 2017 8. The Boss Baby 9. Spider-Man: Homecoming 10. Lego Batman

“The significant role that search plays in our lives reflects our natural curiosity about the world around us. Observing trends therefore reveals a lot about our culture and where we place our attention. Some of the insights may surprise but ultimately, they demonstrate the connections we seek with other people, events, and generally the world around us,” said Kevin Stagg, head of Marketing at Bing.

Home births may not be more dangerous for healthy rural mothers than for their urban counterparts, a recent US study suggests.

The 18,723 pregnant women in the study all had a low risk of complications, were being cared for by midwives, and planned to deliver their babies at home or in birthing centres. Once researchers adjusted for patient characteristics that can influence birth outcomes for mothers and babies, they did not find the odds of complications any higher for rural than for urban women.

“With rural healthcare provider shortages rural hospital closures and greater travel distances, it could be expected that there would be an increased time to seek emergency backup care that would result in poorer outcomes,” said lead study author Elizabeth Nethery, a researcher at the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia.

“What we found instead is that rural women and their babies do not appear to have any added risks when planning a birth at home or in a birthing centre compared with non-rural women,” Nethery said by e-mail.

About 22 per cent of women in the US live in rural areas with very limited access to obstetric care, researchers note in Birth. Despite declines in hospital-based obstetric services, however, midwifery care at home and in freestanding birthing centres is available in many rural communities.

The current study is the first to look at risks for rural versus urban women who give birth at home or in freestanding birthing centres in the US, Nethery said.

Overall, about 95 per cent of rural mothers and 94 per cent of urban mothers in the study had a normal spontaneous vaginal delivery, the study found.

There was not a meaningful difference in the proportion of women who had vaginal deliveries aided by instruments like forceps or a vacuum.

Almost 5 per cent of urban mothers had surgical cesarean section deliveries, compared with less than 4 per cent of rural mothers, a difference that was small but statistically meaningful.

In cities, women were also slightly more likely to have serious tearing during delivery or require a transfer to a hospital for more involved medical care. Babies were also more likely stay in the neonatal intensive care unit after urban births.

Limitations of the study include the reliance on women’s residential zip codes to decide whether they lived in an urban or rural area, and to estimate how far they might need to travel to a hospital in an emergency, the authors note. In some cases this estimate might not be accurate.

The study was also too small to detect slight but clinically meaningful differences in the chances of rare neonatal complications, the authors note.

Even so, the findings should reassure women that a home birth or birthing centre delivery does not need to come with any extra risk of complications, as long as women are appropriately screened for any medical issues that would make a hospital delivery the safer choice, said Erin Wright, a midwife and researcher at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in Baltimore who was not involved in the study.

“There is a generalised myth about rural communities that tells us that often care is not at the standard in some areas as opposed to urban areas which tend to have a large number of teaching hospitals,” Wright said by e-mail. “This study, specific to these conditions, dispels that myth.”