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As you enjoy the smell of fresh flowers this spring, also spring into action to implement a new strategy in your cooking. Jazz up your favourite dishes by infusing them with more flavour if you want to savour the taste without adding the extra calories or sodium. Stock up on fresh herbs this season!

Fresh oregano goes great with pasta sauce. You might wonder what desperate dieter would make pasta! However, opting for a whole grain variety and loading your sauce with fresh mushrooms, carrots, onions and garlic with fresh thyme, oregano and fresh tomato sauce is a smart choice. This is the kind of meal that is packed with superfoods that will keep you satiated for many hours without leaving you craving empty calories. Just one serving of fresh foods prepared with fresh herbs will keep your taste buds very happy. This freshness keeps you feeling vibrant, healthy and able to stay active even after you eat your meals, because you are not consuming artificial processed foods that are laden with high calories and sodium, not to mention harmful chemicals.

Your kitchen herb garden

It is so much fun to take it a step further and bring spring right into your kitchen and try to grow these herbs in cute little pots on your window sill. Just looking at them and smelling their aromatic fragrance is soothing and a great reminder that you are eating from the earth that God so richly blessed you with. There is nothing more healing than grabbing a bunch of fresh mint to put in your tea or to chop into your tabouleh salad. It brings new meaning to the expression “give yourself a hand” when you grab a handful of those fresh herbs, giving your immune system a boost. With all the bugs you can catch eating salads in restaurants, you would be doing yourself a favour to eat these at home and lower your risk of getting sick.

Our body is like a garden

Be intentional about watering and caring for your herbs just as you would care for a tree that you want to grow. This is also a good reminder for us dieters that we really do have to be intentional about caring for ourselves. It does not just happen on its own. We have to take responsibility to care for ourselves and do the watering and the pruning that a good gardener does to keep their garden healthy and vibrant. It takes time and commitment to take a multiple of correct steps in order for your garden to flourish, so is the case with our bodies.

If you want your herbs to do well, where you place them will matter as some of them will need some sun. The same is true for us, because where we place ourselves at certain times of the day matters. For example, I know that if it is past seven at night then I need to keep myself as far away from my kitchen as possible or I’m going to get a major snack attack! I have learned to use that time to get busy reading, writing or taking a walk. As soon as that critical time passes then I am fine because the cravings only last for short spurts and my mind gets busy thinking about something else. The trick is to get distracted with something other than food! Just as we grow those herbal gardens to lighten our cooking, so too must we grow our mental gardens and spring into fresh thoughts. This way, we lighten our mental loads and reduce the mental fog we all fall victim to when we succumb to our bad eating habits. 

Fellow dieter, let April shower you with new possibilities! Treat your kitchen and your mind like fresh soil that can help you grow stronger and healthier each day you choose to intentionally invest your time and effort into them!

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

People with heavy exposure to arsenic, lead, cadmium or copper may be more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, a review of existing studies suggests. 

While these elements occur naturally in the earth’s crust, certain metals can also appear at unsafe levels in drinking water, food, and air as a result of agricultural and industrial practices, mining, and smoking, the research team notes in The BMJ. Copper and lead, for example, can seep into drinking water from corroded pipes, while arsenic and cadmium can accumulate in groundwater due to runoff from factories and crop irrigation systems and are also found in cigarette smoke. 

For the analysis, researchers examined data from 37 earlier studies with a total of almost 350,000 participants. Overall, about 13,000 people had heart attacks, bypass surgery or other events related to heart disease and about 4,200 had a stroke. 

Compared with people with the lowest levels of arsenic exposure, those with the highest exposure were 30 per cent more likely to develop cardiovascular disease. The highest levels of lead exposure were tied to a 43 per cent higher risk, top levels of cadmium were linked to 33 per cent higher risk and the greatest level of copper exposure was associated with 81 per cent higher risk. 

“These findings reinforce the fact that environmental exposures are equally important [beyond conventional behavioural risk factors such as physical activity or diet] for cardiovascular risk, and should not be ignored,” said lead author Dr Rajiv Chowdhury of the University of Cambridge in the UK. 

Researchers also looked at mercury but did not find a connection to cardiovascular disease. This does not mean mercury is harmless, Chowdhury said by email. 

“Mercury can also be a marker of fish consumption, it is possible that the association between mercury and cardiovascular disease in these studies which we included may have been somewhat confounded by comparative benefits of fish intake,” Chowdhury added. 

Accumulation of toxic metals in the body can lead to metal poisoning and what is known as oxidative stress, said study co-author Sara Shahzad, also of the University of Cambridge. 

As the body uses oxygen, it produces by-products called free radicals that can damage cells and tissues. The damage by oxygen free radicals is known as oxidative stress. 

“Oxidative stress is essentially an imbalance between the production of free radicals and the ability of the body to counteract or detoxify their harmful effects through neutralisation by antioxidants,” Shahzad said by e-mail. “This can consequently affect the cardiovascular and nervous systems, kidneys, eyes and brain.” 

Previous research has linked the metals in the study to an increased risk of cancer, especially at higher exposures over longer periods of time. But by pooling results from several smaller studies, the current analysis offers fresh evidence of their potential to also contribute to heart disease, the authors conclude. 

The studies in the analysis were not controlled experiments designed to prove whether or how exposure to metals in the environment might directly cause heart attacks or strokes. It is also possible that factors like poverty, food and housing quality could impact both the risk of metal exposure and the risk of cardiovascular disease. 

There is not much most people can do to avoid environmental exposure to toxic metals, Chowdhury said. Limiting exposure requires government action to restrict activities that cause pollution and to encourage remediation when metals are released into the environment as a result of agricultural or industrial practices. 

“To minimise the exposure to these toxic metals, the government should enforce legislation to control the industrial effluents and sewage discharge leading to hazardous contamination,” Chowdhury said. “In addition, people should be given awareness about common sources of toxic metals in their food, drink and environment to minimise the exposure.” 

LOS ANGELES — Meghan Markle was named the best dressed woman of 2018 by People magazine on Wednesday in a rare accolade for royalty by the celebrity publication.

Markle, 37, who became the Duchess of Sussex when she married Britain’s Prince Harry in May, topped People’s annual list ahead of Hollywood actresses including Cate Blanchett and Sandra Bullock, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney and reality star Kim Kardashian.

Giving top honours to a royal family member marked a departure for the magazine.

“We have never had the list with royals or anyone outside of Hollywood. But when you talk about style and 2018 you cannot have that conversation without mentioning Meghan Markle,” People’s Style and Beauty Director Andrea Lavinthal told Reuters.

“Her style was the one that really had the spotlight this year so we felt we had to not only put her on the list but make her the best dressed,” Lavinthal said.

California-born Markle, the former star of the TV show “Suits”, has featured prominently in magazines and newspapers since her engagement to Harry in November 2017. Their wedding was watched by millions around the world.

Markle has won plaudits for mixing outfits from retail fashion stores with designer couture, while flouting traditional British royal style by showing her bare legs, wearing off the shoulder outfits and arranging her hair in a messy bun for her wedding.

“Whether she is wearing a classic button down shirt and ripped jeans, like any other girl, or a couture wedding gown and a tiara, unlike most of us, she always looks effortlessly chic. There is something about her that looks polished without being too perfect,” Lavinthal said.

People also praised Blanchett for consistently pulling off daring but flawless fashion designs, Clooney for a “bold and glamorous style that’s all her own”, and “Ocean’s 8” star Bullock who the magazine said “has never looked more stunning”.

Kardashian, who mixes casual looks inspired by husband Kanye West’s Yeezy fashion line with figure hugging glamour, was given a social influencer award by the Council of Fashion Designers of America in June.

“She looked great this year. She really sticks to her own aesthetic. She certainly does what she wants,” Lavinthal said.

People’s 23-page style feature in this week’s magazine arrived on US newsstands on Friday.

PARIS — It is a question that millions of parents want answered: will the wildly popular online survival battle game Fortnite soon lose its grip on the attention of their school-age children?

Much of the video game industry is also wondering whether the Fortnite balloon has popped, or is simply leaking air, after the first disappointing revenue data since the game’s release last year, with experts saying its publisher Epic Games needs to put these doubts to rest if it is to succeed in its expansion plans.

Fortnite’s popularity took off last year after the release of a free “battle royale” version that lets up to 100 players vie to be the last character standing on ever-shrinking terrain. Dropped onto the battlefield with nothing, players have to scrounge for weapons as the fight for survival begins.

Although the game is free, Epic Games had been successful in getting players to pay for goodies, which is its main revenue stream.

As of July the game had brought in more than a $1 billion in revenue.

But that data also gave analysts cause for concern that the Fortnite juggernaut may have tripped: revenue edged only 2 per cent higher in July from the previous month.

It was a lacklustre response to the recently launched paid “battle pass” that offered players new equipment and outfits for avatars, raising questions about how much longer Epic Games can keep players shelling out money for what are essentially cosmetic changes to the game.

“Epic Games has made a lot of mistakes which could knock them from their peak, players could get tired if the game doesn’t evolve and there is too much cosmetic” change, said Frederic Gau, president of Gozulting consulting firm. 

Epic Games has also bet on eSports to reinforce the popularity of Fortnite, investing nearly $100 million in such video game competitions.

“One hundred million dollars of cash prizes seems a lot but prizes for each competition are not that” large, said Andrew Kitson, head of telecoms, media and technology industry research at Fitch Solutions.

China ally

Enabling the popularity of Fortnite is the fact it is available on different game consoles plus smartphones. For smartphones, it first launched for iPhone, then a few weeks later on Android, the operating system used on 85 per cent of smartphones and particularly dominant in Asia.

“Android can provoke two different effects,” said Laurent Michaud at IDATE Digiworld, a think tank and consultancy specialising in the Internet, telecommunications and media sectors.

“It can boost other platforms or create its own proper segment, because often it is different players who play,” he said.

China also offers enormous potential for growth, both in terms of smartphone players and as well as eSports, with the Chinese giant Tencent having already pre-registered 10 million players.

“Smartphones represent now 50 per cent of global video game revenue and China represents half of that market,” said Michaud. “Today the Chinese play mostly on smartphones.”

Tencent, which is a big publisher of smartphone games as well as being behind the WeChat messenger, holds 40 per cent of Epic Games.

Having Tencent behind it is a major advantage for penetrating the Chinese market.

“A success in China will show whether Fortnite will continue growing as a game for the general public,” said Gau.

“It could also help enormously in it developing in eSports. It could either cause it to explode or steal its momentum elsewhere — it’s a bet.” 

But analysts say Epic Games has yet to address its major fault — that Fortnite does not have sufficient variety compared to its principal online rivals, in particular eSport stars Dota2 and League of Legends which regularly reinvent themselves.

Kitson at Fitch Solutions said he thinks Fortnite is a one dimensional game, as were some older games that were still able to build a player community.

“Fortnite is not a commercial failure but not a long term shot,” he told AFP. “But Epic Games can learn a lot from it to make a better one next time.”

But even if Epic Games rushes out a new version of Fortnite — the battle royale version was its second — the consultant Gau sees another problem: “for many it is their a second game”.

He said analysts will be looking closely if the sales of FIFA football and Call of Duty first-person shooter franchises hold up as well as in previous years, because “that wouldn’t be a good sign for Fortnite as players are returning to their favourite game”.

Despite growing implementation and acceptance of biometrical identification methods like fingerprints, palm prints, iris scan, voice recognition and face recognition, passwords are still widely used. At this point in time, their usage actually still outweighs that of all biometrics combined.

There is little doubt that the day will come when biometrics will take over personal identification for good and passwords will become a thing of the past. We are not there yet; the password concept is not giving up easily. Why are not biometrics completely taking over this rather outdated, flawed thing?

All new high-end smartphones that feature biometrical identification for unlocking still sport a password system, just in case the first system fails! This says it all. No method is perfect. Biometrical sensors sometime fail to detect the pattern they are supposed to read, and we, as human beings, are all prone to forgetting that password at the most crucial moment.

The list of the strengths and weaknesses of each system is long, and a comprehensive comparison of all biometrics and passwords would be the subject of a technical article in a specialised high-tech magazine. Passwords, however, present two major, undeniable advantages: people have been using them for ages, long before the digital era, and they do not require any additional technical equipment. In a password’s validation process there are no physical sensors or sophisticated software that could fail – a perfect case of “simple is beautiful”.

In a world heavily relying on technology, the extreme simplicity of the password concept gives comfort to all those who are not particularly technically-minded, which is still the case of a large number of users.

Apart from the understood and annoying fact that you have to remember them, the main weakness of passwords is the poor security element that is often associated with them, and it comes from the way people use them, despite repeated recommendations from the IT community.

Since the advent of personal computing in the early 1980s, consumers have been given simple, basic rules, first about how to create a password, and second about how to be careful storing it, not disclosing it, and not saving on a computer or device that many other people use.

At the risk of over repeating it or perhaps even irritating those who do not need to be reminded: do not make passwords that are shorter than eight or ten characters. Combine capitals, small letters, numbers and special signs. Before anything else, the golden rule is not to use any known pattern, number, name or series that makes any sense or that follows a logic of some kind.

People who do not obey that golden rule unconsciously want to create a password that they can remember. But this is precisely the point, it is not supposed to be easily remembered. It is meant to be “weird”, totally meaningless and complex. Like for example “hG6TwMQ#8 per centm$”. Most if not all people are aware of that golden rule but about 10 to 15 per cent of the population still does not apply it. Otherwise how to explain that email boxes are still hacked every day?

My Samsung’s Galaxy phone has fingerprint and face recognition for unlocking it. The first method works fine most of the time, though not all the time. The second works, well…. from time to time. In all cases, however, and although I mainly use the fingerprint method to unlock it, the handset’s Android operating system requests the entry of a password about once or twice a week — totally rejecting and bypassing the fingerprint and face recognition methods. This is not a flaw and not an error I would be making, this is just how the concept is built. It still counts on passwords every now and then, as an extra precaution.

There are several applications where eye iris scan has been adopted for many years now for unequivocal and perfectly safe personal identification. These include security control at airports and border points in general, and at a few banks (at ATM and counter). Iris scan is infinitely superior and safer than any other method. Experience shows, however, that choosing biometrics instead of passwords is being decided on a case-by-case basis —until further news or development.

As much as children need limits on their smartphone use and screen time on other devices, parents need “off-hours” time, too, according to a new resource published in JAMA Paediatrics. 

Children learn smartphone habits from their parents, so it’s important to make time to unplug and “single-task”, prioritise quality time with children, and resist the urge to document everything, the authors write. 

“With mobile devices, parents have a personalised, interactive computer containing all of their work, social, informational and entertainment lives in their pockets,” said Jenny Radesky of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, who co-wrote the one-page primer for parents. 

Radesky, a developmental behavioural paediatrician, has found in her own research that parents who are absorbed with and distracted by their mobile devices tend to have less parent-child interaction, more conflict with kids and encounter more difficult child behaviours over time. 

“When I started this line of research, there were a bunch of studies showing that parents who watch more TV have kids who watch more TV,” she told Reuters Health in a phone interview. “And when the TV is left on in the background, parents and children talk to each other less and play less richly.” 

Available for free, the new patient page offers practical tips about media use. Although mobile technology has made many tasks easier, research shows parents have more demands than ever before. 

“As a working mom, I know how difficult it is to handle my kids when I’m thinking about a complicated problem at work, stressed about world news or feeling like I’m not being responsive to the work or social demands my device contains,” Radesky said. 

Radesky and co-author Megan Moreno of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison first recommend that parents step back and think about their relationship with their phone. Instead of using it as a stress reliever, take deep breaths and go for a walk. Instead of withdrawing into a phone to avoid difficult family interactions, purposefully engage with others and potentially confront issues. Instead of losing track of time, be aware of attention hogs and notice how much time has passed when checking e-mail or social media. 

“Multitasking makes us less effective and efficient at anything we try to do concurrently,” Radesky said. “Parenting is no different.” 

They also recommend that parents think about what aspects of their smartphone stress them out the most, such as checking e-mail or the news, and saving those for a time when family members are not around. 

In addition, parents should prioritise mealtimes, bedtimes and specific downtimes for family members to unplug and single-task together. Since children copy their parents’ behaviours, it is also wise to avoid actions that kids should not learn, such as checking the phone while driving, posting unkind content or ignoring other people while using the phone. 

“Parental screen time can reduce face-to-face interaction that is vital to children’s emotional and intellectual development,” said Jennifer Shu of Children’s Medical Group in Atlanta, who is also medical editor of the American Academy of Paediatrics consumer information website, HealthyChildren.org. 

“Parental screen time can also take away from adequate supervision and lead to safety issues,” said Shu, who was not involved in the JAMA Paediatrics primer. 

When parents use smartphones for social support, shared enjoyment with their children or to accomplish tasks faster so they can return to family time, they report seeing smartphones as a positive force in their lives, Radesky and Moreno write. In one study, the authors note, parents said when they were forced to “unplug” for a few days because of a broken phone or power outage, they enjoyed how clear their head was, how they could focus on single-tasking, and how much easier it was to communicate with their young children.

The patient page also recommends resisting the urge to photograph, document and post everything. Parents should be in the moment with their kids and let go, which will demonstrate an appropriate type of tech-life balance.

“Parents should model good behaviour whenever possible,” Shu said. “Use common sense and be a good role model for your kids.”

My problem is that the moment my head touches the pillow, I fall asleep. Instantly, that is. There is no tossing, turning, adjusting the duvet or counting of sheep. Also, I do not need to burn scented candles, listen to hypnotic music or make sure that there is no sliver of light entering from under the blackout curtains. None of it is of any consequence because like I said, the moment my head rests on a pillow, I crash out. 

So, why is that a problem you ask? Well, for the sleeper, that is me in this particular case, it is a blessing, but for all the non-sleepers I have been unlucky enough to be associated with, it is the biggest cause of envy that can be inflicted upon them. The reason for this is because most of the people I know, which includes my family members, friends and acquaintances, cannot go to sleep as easily as I do. They try very hard, there is absolutely no doubt about that, but somehow their share of “forty winks” evades them, night after night.

I had no idea it was so difficult for folks to fall asleep and assumed that if anyone was lying in bed for nine hours, they must be sleeping for that length of time. I was very surprised to learn that a lot of them actually slept for a fraction of that period, spending the rest of the span waiting for slumber.

Last month, one couple, who were poor sleepers, came to visit me and I discovered brand new methods of sleep enhancement. Coffee or tea after six in the evening was avoided because these were stimulants that apparently interfered with the nervous system and kept them awake. Ditto for alcoholic drinks and spicy food. The air conditioner in the bedroom had to be neither too hot nor too cold and each person had brought along their own set of feather pillows that they unpacked from their suitcases. Cashmere socks and eye masks were individually carried also and in the evening, the minute the clock struck ten, they decided to turn in. To interfere with their bedtime was sacrilegious and I was requested to walk softly outside their room so that my footsteps would not disturb them. 

They worked very hard in the city, they told me. They needed to correct their sleep deprivation and recharge their batteries, they said. They would wake up on their own the next morning, they insisted. I must not worry about their sleep cycle, they assured me. 

I related the story of one Seth Roberts, who worked in a sleep clinic since he suffered from terrible insomnia. He discovered that the days he was out and about, meeting people, teaching class, and so on, he slept very well but when he was home alone on the computer, he slept badly. He attributed this to our biology and the fact that when we lived in tribes there was a lot of social interaction, which induced good sleep.

They heard me out politely before wishing me a firm goodnight.

“Good morning,” I called out the next day.

“Did you sleep well?” I asked. 

“Nah,” they muttered.

“Tossed and turned,” the woman said.

“Counted sheep,” the man stated.

“You had coffee after dinner,” the woman observed.

“Did you wait too?” the man questioned.

“For slumber?” the woman added.

“Nope!” I answered.

“In my case,” I confided.

“Slumber waits for me,” I laughed.

Negative childhood experiences in physical education (PE) classes may have long-term effects on adult physical activity, a large study suggests. 

Researchers conducted an online survey of more than 1,000 adults, aged 18 to 45, across 46 states about their best and worst memories of their PE experiences, as well as their attitude about physical activity now. The 392 male and 636 female respondents were recruited by an internet service for monetary compensation. 

“Memories of enjoyment of PE... were the most substantial correlates of present-day attitudes and intentions for physical activity,” the investigators report in the Translational Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine. 

For example, they found, rarely being chosen first for team sports in gym class was “strongly related to the amount of time spent sitting on weekdays and on the weekend” in adulthood. 

Thirty-four per cent of respondents reported feeling embarrassed by their childhood PE experience.

The next most frequent “worst memory” theme was lack of enjoyment in PE activities, reported by 18 per cent. 

People’s best memories of PE class included receiving positive recognition from peers or teachers regarding their performance. 

“The most surprising thing about our research was the vividness of [memories and the] emotional impact. This tells us these were transformative experiences,” senior author Panteleimon Ekkekakis of Iowa State University in Ames told Reuters Health by phone. 

People’s gym class memories “had some degree of influence on their self-perception and... the degree of their sedentariness,” said Ekkekakis. 

However, he stressed, the association was only “modest at best”.

“We’re not saying the experiences are deterministic and that one negative experience is going to determine a person’s physical activity level for the rest of their life,” he said. 

Christopher Hersl, vice president of programmes and professional development at the Society of Health and Physical Educators (SHAPE America), who was not involved in the study, told Reuters Health by phone, “Our number one goal is to turn out children that are healthy, happy and productive. If our instructional practices are causing any of these things not to happen then we need to reconsider our practices.” 

Carolyn Buenaflor, associate director of Cedars Sinai Healthy Habits, a community benefit programme that partners with school districts within Los Angeles to provide nutrition education and physical activity programmes, told Reuters Health by phone that children today might not have the same PE experiences as their parents did. 

Buenaflor said many of the elimination games children and adolescents used to play in gym class have been replaced with non-elimination games. PE classes also play more group games than sports games where one student at a time shone or did not. 

“Getting in front of the class and kicking the ball is not the best thing to foster enjoyment and physical exercise,” said Buenaflor, who was not involved in the research, 

People’s recollections of past experiences may not be accurate, the authors acknowledge. And this kind of study cannot prove that early experiences affected later attitudes. 

Still, they point out, “if improvements in PE experiences could inspire even small increases in [physical activity], millions could derive additional health benefits”. 

It seems clear, they conclude, “that decades-old arguments concerning the focus on sport in PE programmes and… fitness testing should be revisited. [With further research] it may be possible to transform PE into a professional field that closely adheres to the [evidence and]... that welcomes psychological best practices for the benefit of children and public health”.

On the day that one becomes an octogenarian, nature bestows a mathematical birthday gift: a gradual reprieve from the relentlessly increasing likelihood that he or she will die in the coming year.

That gift may come as small comfort against the growing creakiness of joints and the still-mounting probability that the end is nigh. But an analysis of close to 4,000 very long-lived Italians suggests that the rise in the risk of imminent death continues to slow until the age of 105. After that, researchers estimate, the chance of making it to see another birthday holds steady at roughly 50-50.

Perhaps it is “nothing to blow a trumpet about”, said University of California, Berkeley demographer Kenneth Wachter. But at least the mortality rate levels off, the data suggest.

Wachter and colleagues from universities in Italy and Germany published their findings in Friday’s edition of the journal Science.

For humankind in general, these findings hint at an intriguing, if largely theoretical, prospect: that the maximum possible human lifespan — essentially, the species’ design limit — has not yet been reached. It may even be extended by means as yet undiscovered.

If the “oldest old” tell us how long we could live, then many centenarians could, in principle, get even older. And maybe older still with the right elixir.

“This data suggest our genetic heritage is permissive,” Wachter said. “Our bodies are not put together so that at some point, everything goes wrong.”

Indeed, he said, there is reason to believe that some humans could beat the current longevity record of 122, which was set in 1997 by Jeanne Louise Calment of France.

The new research contributes to a debate that has preoccupied poets and philosophers for as long as they have set pen to paper. For instance, the historian Gaius Plinius Secundus, better known as Pliny the Elder, maintained a running tally of long-lived persons and pondered the significance of their longevity.

Scientists have been in the fray since at least 1825. That’s when the British mathematician and actuary Benjamin Gompertz published the first models of human mortality and asked when, and whether, we must die.

In the new study, the international team of demographers and statisticians took advantage of the proliferation of people who live well past their 100th birthday. By calculating and analysing the death rates of 3,836 well-documented cases of Italians who lived to 105 or beyond and combining them with existing data on mortality rates, the researchers created a model that reveals the statistical likelihood of death in every year of the human lifespan from 65 to 105.

Established demographic data show that after 65, people grow more likely to die with every passing year. And the math is unforgiving: Each year after 65, the probability of death rises at a pace that is double what it was the previous year.

But when the researchers added the 3,836 long-lived Italians to the earlier data, they saw that this doubling held up only until the average human’s 80th birthday. After that, the rate of increase began to slow.

For the lucky humans who made it all the way out to 105, that annual increase in the probability of death seemed to stop. 

The authors also showed that the annual mortality rate in those aged over 105 declined slightly with each successive birth year, such that those born more recently tended to live longer.

This pattern “strongly suggests that longevity is continuing to increase over time and that a limit, if any, has not been reached”, wrote the team, which included demographer James W. Vaupel of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Germany.

“Our results contribute to a recently rekindled debate about the existence of a fixed maximum life span for humans,” they added. In any event, it raises “doubt that any limit is as yet in view”.

To University of Illinois epidemiologist S. Jay Olshansky, the evidence for the counter-argument — that there is a strict limit to the maximum human lifespan and we have reached it already — is right there in the new Italian data.

“The conclusion that they’ve come to, which is that there is no upper limit to life, is unreasonable,” said Olshansky, who was not involved in the new research.

By the time people reach these extreme ages, at least half disappear every year. And since there are so few of them to begin with, this harsh reality “tells us the real story”, he said.

“If 100 people survive to age 110 out of billions — which is exactly what has happened — what difference does it make if it’s 50 or 60 that die before their next birthday?” he said. It is just not persuasive to use such a small difference, drawn from such a tiny population of humans, to conclude anything about the longevity of humans in general. Statistically speaking, he said, “the tail of the survival distribution does not wag the dog.”

This should be abundantly clear to anyone who has ever been around senior citizens, he noted. “Human bodies are not intended for long-term use, and when we do manage to get them to operate past a century, plenty of age-related diseases accumulate,” Olshansky said.

Geneticist Jan Vijg of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York believes he has seen the limit of the human lifespan, and said it ceased its upward trajectory in the 1990s with the death of Calment. (The Frenchwoman ascribed her longevity to the fact that she didn’t worry much and had a diet rich in olive oil, port wine and chocolate, which she consumed at a rate of more than 1 kilogramme a week.)

For a study published in 2016 in the journal Nature, Vijg and his colleagues calculated that if scientists could cobble together 10,000 people who had reached the age of 110 — a big if — only one of them would be expected to live beyond 125.

Vijg, who was not involved in the new study, praised the authors’ ability to generate a new and well-documented database of very long-lived individuals. But “their data does not substantiate the claim” that the maximum limit to human lifespan goes out much further than it has already, he said.

“There is a ceiling. At the end of the day there is a ceiling,” says Vijg.

Vijg says he is “amazed” at the vigour of the scientific debate around an issue that is so distant from the reality of ordinary mortals. The outer limit of the human lifespan is an “intriguing scientific debate”, he said. But improving the average lifespan of all humans — by extending gains in nutrition, creating new medicines and addressing the causes of infectious diseases — is a better way to spend one’s energy, he adds.

“There is lots of opportunity here, no doubt,” Vijg said. “We can improve quality of life more and maybe give more people more life.”

What do the new numbers tell us about life and death at the outer limits of the human lifespan?

Think of aging as if it is a treadmill: You’re power-walking along in your early 60s, and around the time of your 65th birthday, the pace at which the treads move under your feet starts to pick up.

With each passing year, the speed grows. In fact, the rate of this change doubles every year.

Fail to keep up and you die.

Around the time of your 80th birthday, the rate of this increase begins to slow. You’re still more likely to die with each passing year than you were the year before, but your treadmill isn’t speeding up quite as much.

And by the time you reach the age of 105 — surprise! — the yearly quickening ceases altogether.

Now imagine yourself in a gym filled with treadmills, each occupied by people of different ages. The 105-year-olds are running faster than everyone who is younger. And they are falling off their treadmills — dying — at a much higher rate than are the 70-year-olds. Indeed, only about half of them make it to 106.

But if they do, they get a little break: Their treadmills are still the fastest in the gym, but at least they’re not getting any faster.

In a state of veritable design and technology renaissance in recent years, Volvo has always been one of most trusted and respected of car brands. Known for its rugged reliability, utilitarian practicality, innovative technology and obsessive attitude to safety, Volvo has only recently started to cultivate an emphasis on design and desirability.

Launched in 2016 as the second of a new generation of automobiles, the Volvo S90 is the Swedish brand’s flagship saloon, and is a complete mid-size premium car that finally has the sort of design and luxury necessary to take the segment’s German heavy hitters head on.

Presence and posture

Driven on Jordanian roads in most luxurious trim available for regular wheelbase models and the most powerful non-hybrid engine, the Volvo S90 T6 AWD Inscription delivers a relaxed, effortless big car driving experience. Long, wide and with flowingly rakish roofline, the S90 sits on the road with a classic rear-drive saloon’s posture and long bonnet, despite its front-drive derived four-wheel-drive architecture.

Oozing refinement from outside and within, the S90 Inscription’s badge, design and attitude is that of a classy and tastefully assertive luxury cruiser without the overtly aggressive aesthetic and obnoxious snobbery of some, and not the forgettable anonymity of others.

With flowing lines and long, wide and road-hugging stance, the S90’s fascia is dominated by a wide, upright and chrome-ringed grille with hungry shark-like convex vertical slats and big, bold Volvo insignia above a short overhang. Flanking its charismatic grille, are slim, strongly browed headlights with distinctive ‘Thor’s Hammer” LED signature to underline its Scandinavian provenance. 

With longer rear overhang, the S90’s width is accentuated by boomerang style rear headlights framing the rear fascia. Among few cars to look more sophisticated in white, the driven model also featured huge 20-inch alloy wheels to complement its near 5-metre length.

Responsive, capable and consistent

Powered exclusively by a range of turbocharged 2-litre 4-cylinder engines tuned and equipped for different outputs, the most powerful pure combustion engine S90 T6 model gains a supercharger and 65BHP on the next most powerful T5 model.

Developing 315BHP at 5,700rpm 295lb/ft torque over a wide and accessible 2,200-5,400rpm band, the T6 — with the aid of standard four-wheel-drive — also shaves a full second off the T5’s 0-100km/h times, and is able to accelerate through the benchmark in 5.8-seconds and onto a 250km/h top speed. Meanwhile, 7.3 litres/100km fuel efficiency is frugal for so powerful a luxury saloon of 1,892kg.

However, more important than headline specifications is how the T6 drives in both outright performance and modest real world consumption when driven gently. Noticeably quicker launching than the T5 model and plenty of competitors, the T6’s four-wheel-drive traction allows it to put power to ground more effectively.

Meanwhile, its mechanically-driven supercharger provides the sort of instant lag-free response from idling engine speed that even the better turbochargers can’t. Delivering power in a consistent, and abundant sweep from standstill to redline, one can feel a further underlying surge just past 2,000rpm as the T6’s turbocharger chimes in at full boost.

Grip and versatility

Responsive from standstill, muscularly flexible in mid-range and eager to redline, the T6 also benefits from a smooth and quick shifting 8-speed automatic gearbox for efficiency and driving versatility. Sending power mainly to the front wheels under normal conditions, the T6’s four-wheel-drive system allocates more power rearwards for improved road-holding on slippery surfaces and in wet weather. 

On the same twisting, winding test drive route as the S90 T5 front-wheel-drive version, as available in Jordan, the S90 T6 AWD proved more capable and better able to carry speed through corners on the less than ideal, smooth, low traction tarmac.

With good grip on the tarmac, the T6 AWD, however, didn’t have to rely on gentler driving to avoid slight rear drifts that would have been caught and controlled quickly by its vigilant electronic stability controls. Instead, the T6 favoured a similar driving style one would adopt with a traditional Audi or Subaru four-wheel-drive platform. 

By turning in somewhat early, decisively and tight to the inside of a corner to point it in the desired cornering line, and then coming back on throttle early, the T6 sends power rearwards and digs in to find plenty of traction and grip as it then powers out onto a straight.

Stylish, smooth and smart

Through corners, its steering is well-weighted, quick and precise, with a slightly meatier feel in Dynamic drive mode. Turn-in is tidy and eager for so large a front-derived car, while body roll is well contained. Riding on sophisticated double wishbone front and integral axle rear suspension, the S90 rides comfortably over most of Amman’s imperfect tarmac and textures, even with stylish low profile 255/35R20. 

However, one felt that these tyres could be firmer than ideal on some particularly sudden potholes and that the S90 would ride yet better with base Inscription specification 18-inch wheels with taller tyre sidewalls for improved suppleness.

Stable and highly refined at speed, the S90 T6 is a natural long distance express with a smooth, comfortable and reassuring ride. Quiet and relaxing inside, the S90’s cabin has a hunkered down driving position and high stylish leather dashboard. Ambiance is however airy and classy with dark upper trim contrasted with light open pore wood and tan seats as tested.

Seating is meanwhile supportive and comfortable, and further helps keep one feeling relaxed and civil even through the worst of traffic jams. An object lesson in cabin design, ambiance and material, the S90 Inscription oozes class and elegance.

Kitted with an exhaustive list of convenience, luxury and safety features, the S90 Inscription includes adaptive cruise control, City Safety auto braking and a host of other advance driver-assistance systems.

Of particular interest during test drive were the S90’s user-friendly infotainment screen and its blind spot warning system, which was invaluable in dense and unruly Amman traffic. Meanwhile, its 360° parking camera allowed one to manoeuvre and park in spaces otherwise improbably small for so large a car.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 2-litre, turbocharged, transverse 4-cylinders

Bore x stroke: 82 x 93.2mm

Compression ratio: 10.3:1

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

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

Ratios: 1st 5.25:1; 2nd 3.029:1; 3rd 1.95:1; 4th 1.457:1; 5th 1.221:1; 6th 1.0:1; 7th 0.809:1; 8th 0.673:1

Reverse/final drive ratios: 4.015:1/3.2:1

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 315 (320) [235] @5700rpm

Specific power: 160.2BHP/litre

Power-to-weight: 166.75BHP/tonne

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 295 (400) @2200-5400rpm

Specific torque: 203.15Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight: 211.4Nm/tonne

0-100km/h: 5.8-seconds

Top speed: 250km/h

Fuel consumption, combined: 7.3 litres/100km 

CO2 emissions, combined: 169g/km

Fuel capacity: 60-litres

Length: 4,963mm

Wheelbase: 2,941mm

Track, F/R: 1,623/1,624mm

Overhangs, F/R: 873/1,149mm

Ground clearance: 152mm

Luggage volume: 500-litres

Unladen weight: 1,892kg

Steering: Speed sensitive electric-assisted rack & pinion

Turning Circle: 11.4-metres

Suspension, F/R: Double wishbones/integral axle

Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs, 345mm 320mm

Braking distance, 100-0km/h: 35-metres

Tyres: 255/35R20 (optional)

Price, on the road: JD66,000 (as driven)