Weekly News

World's first anti-ageing drug could see humans live to 120

Scientists believe that Metformin, a current drug used by people with diabetes could increase a humans lifespan by 50%. The drug is set to have a human trial in 2016 where they're hoping to show that it slows down the ageing process and stops disease.

The evidence that suggests that this drug could possibly increase your lifespan is:

• "Belgian researchers tested Metformin on the tiny roundworm C.elegans the worms not only aged slower, but they also stayed healthier longer."
• "Mice treated with Metformin increased their lifespan by nearly 40 per cent and their bones were also stronger."
• "Cardiff University found that when patients with diabetes were given the drug Metformin they in fact lived longer than others without the condition, even though they should have died eight years earlier on average."

Although the evidence above seems reliable, I refuse to believe that this drug would work on everyone, and surely there would be some side effects for people. "However, if their trial performs as promised, experts say slowing ageing would be a 'public health revolution.'"

Link for the article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/12017112/Worlds-first-anti-ageing-drug-could-see-humans-live-to-120.html 

Gone Girl Analysis

Gone Girl is a psychological thriller directed by David Fincher, I think it's extremely clever how the movie builds tension and suspense throughout the whole movie. The audience is kept intrigued because they have no idea how the movie will end as there are so many possibilities . While watching Gone Girl, your view of the characters is constantly changing due to the change of narrative throughout. At first you feel sorry for Amy Dunne, as the story she tells through the flash backs is supposed to make the audience feel sympathetic towards her, as it shows her husband, Nick Dunne mistreating her and implies he wants to kill her (although she admits to fabricating her diary). Amy tries to put Nick in a negative light.
However, this all changes when it show's Amy's part of the story after she disappears, it narrates what she has done to Nick and how she desires for him to get blamed for her death. This might encourage the audience to be on Nick's side, as she is clearly presented as a psychopath. This is further proved when they include the other men from her past, and the experiences they've had with her. Although, Nick did cheat and take advantage of her, so we can sympathise with Amy when she says "he does not get to win", even though her actions are very unreasonable, we can understand how she gets there. Overall the use of narrative in this movie was very effective as it revealed everything to the audience, leaving no questions.
The ending of the movie is definitely not what the audience would be expecting, Nick does't go to prison, although you could argue that he's in a prison of his own. He is spending the rest of his life with the craziest woman he's ever met.

Weekly News

'Boys' and 'Girls' categories ditched by Toys R Us

Toys R Us has stopped categorising products by gender, due to a campaign created by parents who complained that it was sexist as it was suggesting to children that they're expected to play with certain toys but not others, for example, baby dolls or cooking sets would not be found in a section for boy's toys. Instead, shoppers are now invited to browse depending on age, brand or type of toy; not by gender. 

The campaign group this is due to, is called Let Toys Be Toys, and they said "We'd want to say a big thank you to Toys R Us UK for bringing in the changes they have so far. This shows a real effort being made to be more inclusive to all children and the result will no doubt make a lot of children and parents happy this Christmas." So now Toys R Us joins other large retail chains including Tesco, Sainsbury's, Boots, TK Maxx; as they have all agreed to change the way they market toys.

I think that this is very positive news, as now children might be more likely to receive toys that aren't gender allocated, allowing them to widen their creativity and knowledge. On the other hand, although I think this is a good start, I don't think that parents will start buying their little girls toy cars or guns for Christmas.

Audience Positioning in Christmas Adverts

House of Fraser - #YourRules :

This advert isn't the most Christmas revolved one, however I think it's very refreshing as it's unique. It is supposed to encourage the audience to make Christmas into whatever they want it to be, explaining the hashtag "#YourRules". The dancing in the advert implies a sense of rebellion, which is included to help the audience see that they don't have to stick to the traditions and they can do Christmas in their own style. However, some audiences might view this advert in an oppositional way as isn't portraying the traditional Christmas image that they'd expect to see, especially those who are of a particular culture, as they might believe that there is only one way to celebrate Christmas, the traditional way. Therefore, this advert was created to aim at a younger/middle-aged audience as an older audience is more likely to be strict on their Christmas traditions. The advert is telling the audience that they can look for their very own style of Christmas at House of Fraser.
TKMaxx - Love Your Neighbour :

This advert sticks to the traditional Christmas image, it was created to encourage the audience to buy presents not just for their family and friends but those who "might not be your dearest, but they're your nearest", referring to their neighbours. This relates to the Bible as it says to "Love thy neighbour as thyself", further supporting the traditional image of Christmas. I think the message this advert is trying to send is very good, it's trying to make everyone's community spirit stronger. I reckon the audience would respond to this advert in a negotiated way as people will understand the message that is being portrayed, but most people are unlikely to act on it, as it's not something they'd usually do. Even if they don't buy a gift for their neighbour, they'll still be able to find "magical gifts for less" at TKMaxx.

Aldi - #AldiFavouriteThings : 

This advert for Aldi shows an image of what the audience are most likely to link with Christmas, it has a lot of food included because obviously Aldi is a food shop.The music in the advert is a Christmas version of 'favourite things', this gives them a chance to show everyone's favourite things about Christmas, and how Aldi can provide them with some of these things. The advert makes it clear to the audience that all the things that they'll need this Christmas, will be found in an Aldi store. The aim of this advert is clearly to persuade individuals to shop at Aldi this Christmas.
Boots #DiscoverMore : 

The Boots advert is simply trying to show the audience the variety of gifts that are available for them to buy. They make Boots seem like the best place to buy gifts as there's thousands of products to choose from, meaning that they're bound to find something that the recipient is going to adore. This is shown when the actors in the advert are using some of the products, and look very satisfied and happy. The advert could also be implying that the staff in Boots stores will be more than happy to help you find the perfect gifts to make your Christmas extra special.

Weekly News

Anonymous hackers declare war on Islamic state

French hackers from the activist group have official declared war on Islamic state following the attacks on Paris on the 13/11/2015.

Anonymous have joined the many people that have condemned the terror attacks that happened on Friday night and have vowed to hunt down the group (ISIS) responsible for these attacks. Videos like this have arisen before but in this specific one, the man in the distinctive Guy Fawkes mask stated that the violence that occurred leaving 129 people dead simply "can't go unpunished". On a different occasion involving the Charlie Hebdo massacre, Anonymous successfully shut down an extremist website. The group that call themselves 'Anonymous' warned that "the French people are stronger than you and will come out of this atrocity even stronger" they also warned the terrorists to "expect us". Anonymous are also active on twitter and further stated that they haven't just declared war, but they had in fact been at war for "quite some time". In the tweet they used the hashtag 'Daesh' which is a word hated so much by ISIS that they had previously threatened to cut out the tongue of anyone that uses it.

ISIS have claimed responsibility for the attack on Paris on Friday night when they targeted 7 locations filled with innocent people. I was speechless when I found out what happened, it is nice seeing the amount of support that France is receiving from millions of people all around the world. I am also glad to see that these Anonymous hackers are standing up for their country and what they believe in, I hope they succeed. 



Weekly News

Fast broadband to become a legal right for all

This article was written to inform people of David Cameron's plans for the future of the UK, he says "Just as our forebears effectively brought gas, electricity and water to all, we're going to bring fast broadband to every home and business that wants it", honestly I don't understand the point of this happening, as most of the people living in the UK already have access to fast broadband. A lot of the comments about the article suggest that they want everyone to have broadband so that we can be spied on more easily. Even though they're making it seem like they're doing it for our benefit, I don't think that's true, they could spend the money on much more useful and needed things such as education and health. I think that this idea is very unnecessary. There isn't much detailed information in this article as "The Prime Minister is expected to set out further details of the plan next week."

Censorship

Censorship is the name for the process or idea of keeping things like graphic images or obscene words from an audience. This is done in the media for people's safety, by people I mean children or people who might be exposed to the possibility of being harmed by these words or images, either physically or emotionally. It is run by the editors in media outlets. 

There are actually many things that might need to be censored as they may be considered harmful and inappropriate for some audiences. Censorship often occurs on TV when there is extreme violence, explicit sex scenes or other images that are unsuitable to be shown. However, these scenes are allowed to be shown on TV after a certain time. This is called watershed, this was created to protect viewers from seeing images that are inappropriate for them. After 9pm movies or shows that are of 15 certificate can be shown, this then moves up to 18 certificate after 10pm.

Censorship is also used in song lyrics, regularly there are two different types of one song; clean and dirty versions. Dirty versions of songs are the original ones, this version includes of many swear words and tasteless lyrics which people might find offensive, for this reason a another version is created so that it can intrigue a wider audience. The clean version does not include any swear words, these versions are produced so that they can be played on the radio, as it appeals to all audiences, this means the song is likely to get much more popular as it can be played everywhere. Clean versions of songs are created by replacing any rude language with acceptable words, an example of this is in the song "freak of the week" by Krept and Konan. Words like "bitches", "ass" and "fuck the feds" are all taken out in the clean version of the song so that it can be played in public places and the radio.

Another type of censorship is the age ratings for movies, there are six main types of age ratings used in the UK. Here is the list of them and what they stand for:
U - universal, suitable for all audiences.
PG - parental guidance, suitable for general viewing, parent/guardian should be present as some scenes might be unsuitable for some children.
12A - no one younger than 12 can can watch a 12A film at the cinema if they're not accompanied by an adult.
12 - contains material that isn't suitable for a child under 12.
15 - not suitable for people aged under 15.
18 - not suitable for people aged under 18.
These age ratings are created for the safety of the viewer, so that they don't see anything they aren't supposed to at their age.

Weekly News

Processed meats do cause cancer - WHO 

I'm guessing this article has caught many people's attention as it is about the very serious disease that causes thousands of people to die every year. This article was written by James Gallagher and Helen Briggs to warn people that processed meats do increase your risk of cancer. WHO is a world health organisation, and its report said "50g of processed meat a day - less than two slices of bacon - increased the chance of developing colorectal cancer by 18%" This should make people realise how bad processed meat is for them, however it is not saying that everyone should stop eating it because "It does not mean eating a bacon sandwich is as bad as smoking." I think this article is helpful as it should bring more attention to what people eat, and encourage them to have a healthy, balanced diet.