Dessert is good for you

Spa owner Ada Barak says: "If you don't freak out, it can be soothing and a great stress reliever." Barak discovered the therapeutic value of snakes several years ago after letting people hold them. The snakes are said to produce a relaxing kneading sensation.

If you could do one thing for your health

Many people spend most of their day looking at a computer screen. Remember to take frequent breaks to refresh your eyes. Use the "20-20-20 rule". Every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break, and look at something 20 feet (about six metres) away. And don't forget to blink. Blinking washes your eyes with naturally therapeutic tears.

If you work in an air-conditioned office, your eyes will most likely be dry. Use good moisturising drops throughout the day to prevent your eyes from getting dry, scratchy and painful, and get enough sleep to rest those tired peepers.

Breakthrough of the week

It might be possible for men who can't generate sperm to become fertile.

In a study conducted on mice, researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel produced sperm from mouse testicular germ cells. The research was conducted by Professor Mahmoud Huleihel, who said: "It may open strategies for infertile men who cannot generate sperm and/or prepubertal cancer patients at risk of infertility due to radiotherapy."

Nutrition bite

Do not ditch your dessert - it could end up being a fruitless exercise.

Researchers at the University of Southern California have found that, when glucose levels drop, an area of the brain, called the hypothalamus, triggers the desire to eat. The urgent drive to eat leads one to respond to the cravings and thus take in more kilojoules.

Source: The Times