Off Beat News

Prison for Red Bull binge driver

Drivers have been warned about caffeine excess after a man was jailed for leading police on a 50-mile car chase after drinking 20 cans of Red Bull.

Peter Edwards, 48, from King's Lynn, was jailed for four months on Friday after Norwich Crown Court heard he was pursued across Cambs and Norfolk.

His car was seen "swerving from side to side" across the A10, the court heard.

The AA motoring group said too much caffeine can affect the way you drive.

'Stay awake'

Andrew Howard, head of road safety for the AA Motoring Trust, said: "The message is that if you take anything as a stimulant, whether it be caffeine or herbal medicines, then you have got to be aware that they ultimately have an effect on you and the way you drive.

"Caffeine in sensible qualities can help drivers stay alert, but if taken to excess, like many other drugs, it can have strange effects on people."

An RAC spokesman said: "Caffeine is something that we recommend drinking in small quantities."

At one stage police drove in front of Edwards to slow him down but he simply veered out to overtake in front of a lorry.

Police eventually stopped his car at Swaffham by using a stinger device to puncture his tyres.

Edwards, who was later tested and found to be free of any alcohol or drugs, admitted dangerous driving on 13 March last year.

David Bird, in defence, said Edward's mother had died of cancer two weeks before the chase and Edwards had been suffering from severe depression.

He was also said to have had a history of mental illness.

"He had been drinking cans of Red Bull as he was ferrying members of his family to various parties during the night and had consumed the drink to stay awake," he added.

BBC

I have moved a stack of books from my shelf to my desk.

Oh baby - this project is so on a role right now.

Book 'endorsed' by Bin Laden storms US chart
By Simon Usborne
Published: 23 January 2006
Oprah Winfrey's book club has boosted the careers of many an author, but in Osama bin Laden she may have an unlikely new rival. A book by an obscure American historian has shot into US best-seller lists after the elusive leader of al-Qa'ida endorsed it in an audio message aired last week.

Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower by William Blum had languished below 200,000 on Amazon's top-seller list but stormed to 21 yesterday, with the online retailer struggling to meet demand.

After issuing new threats to attack the US and calls for President George Bush to withdraw American troops from Iraq, Bin Laden then found time to "plug" Mr Blum's book. "If Bush decides to carry on with his lies and oppression, it would be useful for you to read the book Rogue State," he announced in his message relayed to a potential audience of billions via Arab satellite television.

Mr Blum is a long-standing and fierce critic of the White House, laying scorn on Mr Bush and his predecessor, Bill Clinton. His 320-page book tears to pieces US foreign policy and its opening line reads: "Washington's war on terror is as doomed to failure as its war on drugs has been."

Mr Blum has described the attacks on 11 September as "an understandable retaliation against US foreign policy", stopping short of calling that a justification.

Once an employee of the State Department until his career was cut short after he led demonstrations against the Vietnam War, Mr Blum, 72, has been taken aback by his sudden celebrity. News networks in the US are clamouring to interview him. "The Washington Post refuses to publish my letters, but now they are coming to my house," he told reporters.

Talking to a New York radio station, he said most interviewers have pressed him to reject Bin Laden's endorsement but he says he has no qualms about being promoted by the world's most wanted man. Mr Blum said: "I happen to share with Osama bin Laden a certain view of US foreign policy, and this is great if more people read my book."

Oprah Winfrey's book club has boosted the careers of many an author, but in Osama bin Laden she may have an unlikely new rival. A book by an obscure American historian has shot into US best-seller lists after the elusive leader of al-Qa'ida endorsed it in an audio message aired last week.

Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower by William Blum had languished below 200,000 on Amazon's top-seller list but stormed to 21 yesterday, with the online retailer struggling to meet demand.

After issuing new threats to attack the US and calls for President George Bush to withdraw American troops from Iraq, Bin Laden then found time to "plug" Mr Blum's book. "If Bush decides to carry on with his lies and oppression, it would be useful for you to read the book Rogue State," he announced in his message relayed to a potential audience of billions via Arab satellite television.

Mr Blum is a long-standing and fierce critic of the White House, laying scorn on Mr Bush and his predecessor, Bill Clinton. His 320-page book tears to pieces US foreign policy and its opening line reads: "Washington's war on terror is as doomed to failure as its war on drugs has been."
Mr Blum has described the attacks on 11 September as "an understandable retaliation against US foreign policy", stopping short of calling that a justification.

Once an employee of the State Department until his career was cut short after he led demonstrations against the Vietnam War, Mr Blum, 72, has been taken aback by his sudden celebrity. News networks in the US are clamouring to interview him. "The Washington Post refuses to publish my letters, but now they are coming to my house," he told reporters.

Talking to a New York radio station, he said most interviewers have pressed him to reject Bin Laden's endorsement but he says he has no qualms about being promoted by the world's most wanted man. Mr Blum said: "I happen to share with Osama bin Laden a certain view of US foreign policy, and this is great if more people read my book."

The Independent.

Med"I happen to share with Osama bin Laden a certain view of US foreign policy, and this is great if more people read my book."

The traitor should be shot.

Don Karnage

Med"I happen to share with Osama bin Laden a certain view of US foreign policy, and this is great if more people read my book."

The traitor should be shot.

You're not serious, are you?

Beast

Don Karnage

Med"I happen to share with Osama bin Laden a certain view of US foreign policy, and this is great if more people read my book."

The traitor should be shot.

You're not serious, are you?

He's one of those "we deserved it" cowards, and now he's trying to market his book off the rantings of America's number 1 enemy who he "shares a certain view" with.

He doesn't just agree with him - he profit from him.

The First Amendment has exceptions to treason.

So, IYO, there's a limit to the extent to which Americans can criticise American foreign policy?

BeastSo, IYO, there's a limit to the extent to which Americans can criticise American foreign policy?

No in actuallity there are limits to both the First Amendment and "criticism" of "American foreign policy."

Giving aid and comfort to the enemy is treason - the enemy giving aid and comfort to you is an interesting legal question though.

And he goes well beyond criticism, he justifies the attacks and then adds on the nonsensical tag that his justification isn't justification because he knows it's treasonous.

It doesn't matter though - these things are rarely acted on after the Hanoi Jane fiasco.

Ultra 1st Amendment extremists that do not accept Supreme Court constrictions, other traitors, and the like come flocking to the individual and make sure you lose his meaning in a flurry of inventive interpretation and mindless rants about police states.

You can take pictures kissing a terrorist on the cheek while sitting on an antiaircraft gun and nobody will act because of this feeding frenzy.

I'm sure he'll make his million then write a book about how America is hypocritical due to the wealth gap. :roll:

This sorta thing didn't happen in WW1

[url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060125/ap_on_sc/indonesia_tiny_fish]Yahoo News![/url] AP
Scientists Discover World's Smallest Fish

BANGKOK, Thailand - Scientists say they have discovered the world's smallest known fish in threatened swampland in Indonesia.

The fish, a member of the carp family, has a translucent body and a head unprotected by a skeleton.

Mature females grow to less than a third of an inch long. The males have enlarged pelvic fins and muscles that may be used in reproduction, researchers wrote in a report published Wednesday by the Royal Society in London.

"This is one of the strangest fish that I've seen in my whole career,' said Ralf Britz, a zoologist at the Natural History Museum in London. "It's tiny, it lives in acid and it has these bizarre grasping fins. I hope we'll have time to find out more about them before their habitat disappears completely."

The fish are found in an acidic peat swamp on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Indonesian peat swamps are under threat from fires lit by plantation owners and farmers as well as unchecked development and farming. Researchers say several populations of the tiny fish, Paedocypris progenetica, have already been lost, according to the Natural History Museum.

The previous record for world's smallest fish, according to the Natural History Museum, was held by a species of Indo-Pacific goby one-tenth of a millimeter longer.

"You don't wake up in the morning and think, 'Today we will find the smallest fish in the world,'" Swiss fish expert Maurice Kottelat, who helped discover the fish, said in a telephone interview from his home in Switzerland.

According to researchers, the little fish live in dark, tea-colored water at least 100 times more acidic than rainwater. Such acidic swamps was once thought to harbor few animals, but recent research has revealed that they are highly diverse and home to many unique species.

Yahoo News!

From King of Pop to Queen of Arabia
Usama Hussain, Arab News
MANAMA, Bahrain, 26 January 2006 — Michael Jackson has been out of the limelight ever since he was acquitted of child molestation charges in a highly publicized trial, which left his career and reputation in ruin. He left his life in Tinseltown and moved to this tiny Gulf Coast Island as the personal guest of Sheikh Abdullah ibn Hamad Al-Khalifa.

With no mob of paparazzi around to hound him, one would think that Jackson would be leading a normal life free of controversy. But that is not the case, as one Saudi discovered on a recent trip to Bahrain.

Sarah F., an 18-year-old student majoring in English Literature at King Saud University, was in Bahrain with her cousin, Aliyah, when they came face to face with the King of Controversy. Only this time, he was completely veiled from head to toe in an abaya!

“My cousin and I were at a music store in Seef mall browsing music CDs, when a woman came over to her friend and pointed toward Jackson and told her that was Michael Jackson and not a woman,” said Sarah.

Confused and unable to recognize Jackson, Sarah and Aliyah finally realized which abaya was the odd one out.

“We couldn’t recognize him but then we noticed his bodyguards standing close by and his children were with him too. What really gave him away were his sunglasses. No one wears sunglasses inside a store especially at night.”

Jackson in drag is not an easy target to identify. As Sarah found out that not only did Jackson cross-dress he did it in such a lady like manner that it was very hard to tell him apart.

“I was surprised to see how well he was wearing his abaya. The abaya was completely covering his body and was closed from the front so you couldn’t see what he was wearing underneath. His hijab was on perfectly with not a strand of hair poking out. And his niqab covered his whole face with only his eyes visible, but he had aviator sunglasses to take care of that.”

Excited, Sarah and Aliyah approached the abaya-clad Jackson and they were greeted with a warm reception. “We said hello and told him that we were big fans and major supporters.”

Jackson nodded and replied, “Thank you, God bless you, God bless you.”

Asked if he was enjoying Bahrain, Jackson said, “Yes, I am.”

He went on to shake hands with both girls and even commented on Sarah’s blue nail polish.

“He held up my hand close to his face and told me that my nail polish was really cool.”

As they were talking to Jackson, they wanted a souvenir of their encounter with the legend himself to take back home to Saudi Arabia. So both bought two of Jackson’s greatest hits CD and had them autographed.

Michael Jackson has been surrounded by controversy all his life. His latest stint in the Muslim world is one that will be remembered by the two young girls for a long time to come.

Jackson dressed up in abaaya.

The Arab ruler who has invited this man to be his guest, and further allows him to strut around imitating women is deviated.

[url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4660644.stm]BBC News[/url]Planes 'seen in close encounter'

Officials have denied any breach of safety after two planes were pictured apparently flying perilously close together over east London.

The aircraft - a DHL plane and a Japan Airlines jet - were reportedly seen flying over West Ham FC's Upton Park ground just after 1500 GMT on Saturday.

The Civil Aviation Authority said no near miss had been reported and it was impossible to tell how close they were.

DHL said both planes had landed at Heathrow with no safety lapses.

The photographer who captured the image told the Sunday Mirror he started taking photos after seeing the planes apparently coming together "on a collision course".

But a spokesman for DHL said photographs could be "incredibly deceptive".

"In the picture, they look like they are close together but it doesn't mean they are. And in fact they were not," he said.

"If there had been any incident of them being close together, there are all sorts of systems which would have gone off, both in the plane itself and at air traffic control - but there wasn't any report of an incident."

The spokesman said there was no question that either aircraft had strayed from its proper path, which should mean there was a distance of some two and a half miles between them.

BBC News

[url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4664142.stm]BBC News[/url]Transsexuals 'to get 2 ID cards'

Transsexuals who have yet to have a sex-change operation will be entitled to two ID cards, Home Office Minister Lady Scotland of Asthal has said.

One would be in their gender at birth and the other in their legally-acquired "gender of designation".

Lady Scotland spoke out as the controversial ID Cards Bill cleared its latest hurdle despite suffering two defeats in the House of Lords.

The bill's report stage was completed. A third reading is set for 6 February.

Disclosure of information

On Monday peers voted 155 to 138, - a majority of 17 - against the government to ensure the scheme's proposed watchdog - the National Identity Scheme Commissioner - is appointed by the Crown, rather than the home secretary.

Then peers voted by 145 to 139 - a majority of six - for the watchdog to report to Parliament rather than by the home secretary.

The government avoided another defeat when peers voted 155 to 155 on a Tory move to clarify the home secretary's role in authorising the disclosure of ID information.

Amendments by Tory Lord Crickhowell, the former Welsh Secretary Nicholas Edwards, would allow the watchdog to consult the home secretary on whether parts of his report should be left out on national security grounds or for the prevention or detection of crime.

Lady Scotland said the reports should be treated in the same way as those of the Intelligence Services Commissioner, the Surveillance Commissioner and the police inspectorate.

National security

They were not in the same category as those of the Information Commissioner or the Immigration Services Commissioner, which are laid before Parliament, she said.

It should be the home secretary, not the commissioner, to decide what should be omitted because he or she had a "thorough overview" of issues affecting crime and national security.

She argued that the edited version of the report would be published by the home secretary, adding that security briefings would "significantly change" the nature of the commissioner's role.

Peers have already amended the bill to delay its implementation for a full cost-benefit analysis.

They have also called for a separate act of parliament before the voluntary ID scheme can be made compulsory.

After the bill's third reading in the Lords, it will return to the Commons where ministers are expected to ask MPs to overturn the Lords defeats.

BBC News

So is this legalised lying?

Iraqi Siamese twins to be separated in Saudi hospital

RIYADH (AFP) - Iraqi Siamese twins will be separated in a Saudi hospital at the expense of King Abdullah, a health official told AFP.

"King Abdullah has given orders to separate the Iraqi Siamese twins at the King Abdul Aziz medical city of the National Guard Hospital in Riyadh," said surgeon Abdullah al-Rabiah.

The 20-year-old mother of the Siamese twins had made a humanitarian appeal on television to save her twins who were born about a week ago in the violence-hit country which lacks proper medical care.

Moroccan Siamese twins are currently at the King Abdul Aziz medical city where an operation was expected to be held to separate them, also at the Saudi king's expense.

Ten successful operations have been held in Saudi Arabia to separate Siamese twins -- from countries including Egypt, Poland, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Yahoo News

Religious sensibilities have once again been offended – but this time, it is the Hindu community that has been left shocked.

Some Hindus in Britain are appalled by images of the Goddess Durga at a disco bar in Greece. The goddess, regarded as the embodiment of female power, is depicted with bottles of Southern Comfort whiskey in each one of her eight hands. The images appear on large posters inside and outside the Balon Oriental Bar in Athens, and come only weeks after caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed offended Muslims all over the world.

Ramesh Kallidai, secretary general of the Hindu Forum of Britain, told Eastern Eye: “We think these posters are disgusting and disrespectful. Goddess Durga represents purity and chastity and these images are deeply insensitive.

“We have already got in touch with the Greek Advertising Standards Agency and the Southern Comfort label in America to lodge a formal complaint. If that fails, we will negotiate peaceful protests.”

The posters were first spotted by Indians living in Greece three months ago, who tried to get the bar to remove them. But they were told to contact the whiskey company and out of desperation, they got in touch with the National Council of Hindu Temples UK (NCHT).

Bimal Krishna Das, general-secretary of NCHT UK, said: “It feels like every six months Hindus are getting abused. Now is the time to get the Indian government involved to educate people about what they are doing.”

Arjun Malik, a spokesman for campaign group Hindu Human Rights, said: “We have known for a long time that offensive Hindu imagery is being used in dance clubs in many countries. There is nothing wrong with using Hindu imagery, but there is a line people keep crossing. We just want to show them these images are born out of devotion.”

Eastern eye

Births out of wedlock 'pass 40%'

The proportion of children born outside marriage in the UK has leapt from 12% in 1980 to 42% in 2004, according to the Office for National Statistics.
In contrast, 15 other EU countries had an estimated average of 33%, the annual ONS' Social Trends report said.

The average UK household size fell from 2.9 to 2.4 people from 1971 to 2005.

This was due to more single-parent families, smaller families and an increase in households of just one person, the ONS said.

ONS editor Hayley Butcher said: "Although most children are born to married couples, this substantial rise in births outside marriage is a reflection of the rising trend in cohabiting parents."

From 1986 to 2004, the percentage of non-married people under 60 who cohabited rose from 11% to 24% among men, and from 13% to 25% for women.

Link

:?

I was gonna start a topic on the above. Good thing i was beat, as the title would have been '42% of newborns are bastards'.

Oh and something for the Americans:

Iran Renames Danish Pastries

TEHRAN, Iran - Iranians love Danish pastries, but when they look for the flaky dessert at the bakery they now have to ask for "Roses of the Prophet Muhammad."

Bakeries across the capital were covering up their ads for Danish pastries Thursday after the confectioners' union ordered the name change in retaliation for caricatures of the Muslim prophet published in a Danish newspaper.

"Given the insults by Danish newspapers against the prophet, as of now the name of Danish pastries will give way to 'Rose of Muhammad' pastries," the union said in its order.

"This is a punishment for those who started misusing freedom of expression to insult the sanctities of Islam," said Ahmad Mahmoudi, a cake shop owner in northern Tehran.

One of Tehran's most popular bakeries, "Danish Pastries," covered up the word "Danish" on its sign with a black banner emblazoned "Oh Hussein," a reference to a martyred saint of Shiite Islam. The banner is a traditional sign of mourning.

The shop owner declined to comment Thursday.

In Zartosht Street in central Tehran, cake shop owner Mahdi Pedari didn't cover up the word "Danish pastries" on his menu, but put the new name next to it.

"I did so just to inform my customers that Rose of Muhammad is the new name for Danish pastries," he said.

Some customers took immediately to the new name. But others were less enthusiastic about the protest.

"I just want the sweet pastries. I have nothing to do with the name," homemaker Zohreh Masoumi told the sales clerk taking her order.

The drawings, which have offended many Muslims, were published in a Danish newspaper in September and then reprinted in European and American newspapers. One depicted the prophet with a turban shaped like a bomb with a burning fuse.

Islam widely holds that representations of Muhammad are banned for fear they could lead to idolatry. At least 19 people have been killed in protests over the past several weeks, most of them in
Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Consumer boycotts of Danish goods, from Havarti cheese to Lego, are costing Denmark's companies millions in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other Muslim countries.

Iranians love sweets, often bringing candies and pastries to parties. So-called "Danish pastries" are extremely popular.

The Danish's distinctive dough was first created in the 17th century by a French apprentice baker who forgot to add butter to the flour and tried to hide his mistake by folding lumps of it into the dough. It became known as "a thousand leaves" in France.

It was copied in Italy — where it is known as "folded pastry" — and Italian bakers took it to Austria. It journeyed from there to Denmark when Danish bakers went on strike and replacements imported from Austria brought along what became known in Denmark as "Viennese Bread."

The pastry became the Danish to the rest of the world, probably, according to the Danish bakers' union, because Danish bakers emigrated to so many countries.

In
Iran, the pastries are domestically baked, not imported. Iran has cut all commercial ties with Denmark in retaliation for the prophet cartoons.

Iran's Danish renaming wasn't the first time a food name has become a symbol of protest. A Republican congressman from North Carolina helped lead an effort to make sure Capitol Hill cafeterias changed their menus to advertise "freedom fries" instead of french fries after France opposed the U.S.-led invasion of
Iraq.

Yahoo! News!

Abuse rattles Indian call centre staff

Shane Fernandes in Mumbai was recently speaking to a customer in the US about a credit card scheme.

He thought he had won over the customer, but just at the last minute the American learnt the young, sweet-talking agent was calling from a call centre in India.

"He just refused to deal with me because he found out I was an Indian," recollects Mr Fernandes.

Others working in India's burgeoning call centres have been verbally abused and accused of taking jobs formerly carried out in Europe or the US.

Many Indian call centre workers are relatively young, having joined straight from college, and they are not used to and often find it hard to cope with the abuse.

Some leave, others have their confidence sapped.

True, tantrums by customers in the services industry are not uncommon in any country.

But it is the racial overtones that worry young professionals in India's multi-billion-dollar Business Processing Outsourcing industry.

"Some customers will ask us if we use electricity and watch TV," says Madhavi, a call centre worker who declined to give her surname and who spoke to the BBC on the condition that her company's name would not be mentioned.

"You may keep smiling, but it leaves a bad taste in your mouth," says Gaurav Mantri of Transworks, a Mumbai-based call centre.

"You won't believe it. Once a customer asked one of my colleagues if he goes to work on a bullock cart."

Job losses

An Indian organisation of professionals, called The Young Professionals Collective, recently compiled a report after talking to many call centre agents in Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Delhi and Bangalore.

The body has urged the country's labour ministry to look into the complaints of racial abuses and prejudices heaped on India's young workforce.

Mumbai-based lawyer Vinod Shetty, who formed the collective, says most of the abuses reflect the frustrations of the jobs being shifted to India.

"Mostly they say Indians are dirty and that they don't have brains and they are illiterates," he says.

"Sometimes, the abuses reflect their prejudices and anger at job losses [in their own countries]."

Answering back

"Once a US customer called, after I read the welcome script he asked immediately where I was located. When I said India he said he didn't wish to continue and he hung up," says Mahal, who believes the problem starts when a customer is genuinely upset about a product or when he doesn't understand the heavy Indian accent.

Team leader Nikhil urges his junior colleagues to take it on the chin and keep smiling.

But Mr Fernandes answers back.

"I don't keep quiet on calls like these, but I make sure I don't cross the limits of decency."

Mr Fernandes is lucky. Others who have answered back have been sacked.

But customers who misbehave are in the minority.

"Yes we get loads of callers who don't think well of us, but in my experience 80% of callers are pleasant and they even say how much they love India and the Taj Mahal," says Madhavi, who has been working at a call centre for 18 months.

I have got asked that a few times. 'Are you calling from new Delhi?' It really irritates me.

And unlike that person if some of my sales calls are listened to, I would get sacked.

He just refused to deal with me because he found out I was an Indian," recollects Mr Fernandes

Now call me crazy... but Fernandes is not an Indian name right?

AugustusNow call me crazy... but Fernandes is not an Indian name right?

He's an indian christian.

It is as far as I know. South India i think. and also Sri Lanka

It does not sound indian though...

or it may be an adopted name, just like the nafrican Americans were given western names... after collonisation the same may have ahppened?

Sure, I just didn't know that the Spanish empire got that far out...

lol shocking since I have an interest in all things hispanic.

AugustusSure, I just didn't know that the Spanish empire got that far out...

lol shocking since I have an interest in all things hispanic.

it hasnt got anything to do with the spanish empire as far as i'm aware... :?

its not just south indians/sri lankans admin i.e. its not to do with their geographical location - its to do with the fact that they're christian. and the names come from the nuns or clergy who converted the person's ancestor to christianity yonks ago... if that makes any sense? so in this case the christian responsible for converting Mr. Fernandes' great-great-grandfather or whoever, may have been spanish...

oh

Then again, there was partial collonisation* to the french before the Brits came along... so maybe something similar happened by tthe spanish aswell?

Not really colonisation, but they had some fores present which they lent to the locals for a price... Not sure about what really went on though.

It could also have been Portuguese missionaries. In Eastenders a long time ago Dan Ferreira was telling this woman whose name I can't remember that his name was Goan-Portuguese.

BTW the actor who played Dan Ferreira got deported! 😂

And no, I don't watch Eastenders anymore. Used to watch it a long time ago.

Beast

And no, I don't watch Eastenders anymore. Used to watch it a long time ago.

what last year? :twisted:

Where'd you come from!?

... you didn't become one of those HIDING COWARDS did you?

AugustusWhere'd you come from!?

... you didn't become one of those HIDING COWARDS did you?

NEVER 8)

why wud i ever feel the need to hide and post

MuslimSisLilSis

AugustusWhere'd you come from!?

... you didn't become one of those HIDING COWARDS did you?

NEVER 8)

why wud i ever feel the need to hide and post

I don't know - sorry for thinking you are one of those COWARDS who HIDE and post. I wonder why they HIDE like COWARDS.

Brain scans explain maths problem

Scientists say they have isolated the area of the brain linked to the maths learning disability dyscalculia.

A research paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the US shows a separate part of the brain is used for counting.

The researchers, in California and London, say the area that processes numbers has two functions - counting "how many" and knowing "how much".

Prof Brian Butterworth of UCL said this could be key to diagnosing dyscalculia.

Sequencing

People with dyscalculia may have better than average language skills and be good at sciences, the creative arts and even some aspects of mathematics.

But they tend to have difficulty visualising number sequences and the passage of time. They can find handling money problematic.

The new research used scans of brain activity in the intraparietal sulcus - the area known to be involved in processing number information.

The first was when subjects were counting, the second when they were assessing quantities.

Professor Butterworth said: "There are two ways of counting things. Imagine assessing how many men versus women are in a room by counting them at the door as they enter the room, let's say three women and four men.

"Then try assessing the difference by looking at the room when everyone is present.

"Both methods of assessing the number of people should produce the same result."

Comparison

In the experiment, blue and green squares were used either in a sequence or at the same time.

Both activated the same brain region.

They then merged them either as a continuously changing square or a cloudy coloured rectangle.

A different part of the brain was being used - instead of counting it was trying to assess how much of each colour was present.

"By comparing these two types of stimulus, we identified the brain activity specific to estimating numbers of things," Prof Butterworth said.

"We think this is a brain network that underlies arithmetic and may be abnormal in dyscalculics."

BBC News

So does this mean those who are bad at maths are brain damaged?

And are dyslexics bad at maths? afterall if they can jumble up letters, they must beable to do the same with numbers?