The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Illegal Asian betting rings a threat to London Olympics Posted: 03 Jan 2012 07:32 AM PST  An aerial view of the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium in London. Illegal Asian betting rings are a threat to the 2012 London Olympics, says British minister. – AFP/ Olympic Delivery Authority Olympics minister Hugh Robertson said fixing had overtaken drugs cheats in terms of the threat posed to the reputation of the Games. "You cannot underestimate the threat this poses because the moment that spectators start to feel that what they are seeing in front of them is not a true contest, that is when spectators stop turning up and the whole thing falls to pieces," he told the weekly broadsheet. He said he thought betting authorities in Western countries were "well set up" to spot illegal activity but criticised the lack of regulation in Asia, both on the Indian sub-continent and in the Far East. Robertson cited the recent cricket corruption scandal, in which three Pakistan players were jailed in Britain for their part in spot-fixing, pre-arranged elements in a match which betting rings can make money on. "The issue is not of betting syndicates in this part of the world," the minister said. "It is in illegal betting syndicates on the Indian sub-continent and elsewhere, where huge sums of money change hands." He said spot-betting was the biggest threat, with syndicates wagering huge sums on more easily fixed elements within matches, rather than on the outcome of whole contests. "At some stage over the next two or three years, we will have some other sort of betting scandal in some sport. I just hope it is not at the Olympics," Robertson said. For the first time in the history of the Games, a dedicated intelligence unit will be created to crack down on attempts to bribe athletes and irregular betting patterns. The unit will be headed up by Britain's Scotland Yard police headquarters and work with the Serious Organised Crime Agency and Interpol to track suspicious gambling activity, The Sunday Times said. The government is also set to fast-track through laws to allow Britain's gambling commission to share intelligence with Olympic officials and foreign investigation agencies, it added. – AFP Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| New anti-wrinkle technology ‘tricks’ cells into regeneration Posted: 02 Jan 2012 11:32 PM PST  Ad for upcoming Forever Youth Liberator Line. A report published January 2 by The Daily Mail claims a new line of anti-wrinkle creams which "trick" skin cells into regenerating themselves is expected for release this year. According to the publication, L'Oréal will use a special type of technology registered as Glycanactif for a product line in which artificial chemicals can mimic natural chemical behaviour, penetrating the skin's surface and stimulating cell regeneration. "There is still much more to cell signalling and the ageing process, but all the cosmetics we had before were acting on the surface," explained L'Oréal's research director Bruno Bernard. "Now we are able to create a rejuvenating effect on the deeper levels of the skin." Meanwhile, Richard Gallo, a professor of dermatology at the University of California in San Diego, described the results of the study into cell regeneration technology as "surprisingly good." Gallo told The Sunday Times the technology could have a huge impact on releases from across the beauty industry, although urged a cautious approach. "There are a number of companies looking into this area. The optimistic side of me says it does have the potential... but the pessimist in me says it might be just another piece of hype," he warned. One product developed using L'Oréal's glycobiology technology to have already made the headlines is Yves Saint Laurent's Forever Youth Liberator. Following its January launch in Europe and Japan with a US unveiling in March, the Forever Youth Liberator line has benefited from parent company L'Oréal's research into glycans. The new line containing the glycan complex is aimed at women over 30 and comprises a serum, cleansing mousse, lotion, cream, rich cream, eye cream and SPF 15 cream and lotion. Glycanactif technology looks set to be L'Oréal's latest anti-aging buzz phrase, following from the 2010 launch of its Youth Code Day Cream, which had been ten years in development and was the brand's first mass market product based on genomic trials. — AFP-Relaxnews Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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