By ANAHAD O’CONNOR

THE FACTS

With all the open bars, people on the road and rejoicing in the streets, it is easy to imagine that New Year’s is a risky time. Holidays are the most hazardous time for drivers, a result of sharp increases in travelling and drunken driving. And when it comes to New Year’s, research over the years offers sobering statistics.

According to research by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which examined accident data in the United States from 1986 to 2002, the day of the year with the most fatalities from accidents is the Fourth of July, with an average of 161. Not far behind are July 3 (149) and Dec. 23 (145). New Year’s Day is fourth, with 142.

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Older adults might want to take an interest in their grandchildren’s’ video games, if early research on the brain benefits of gaming is correct.

In a study of 40 adults in their 60s and 70s, researchers found that those who learned to play a strategy-heavy video game improved their scores on a number of tests of cognitive function.

Men and women who trained in the game for about a month showed gains in tests of memory, reasoning and the ability to “multi-task.”
The findings suggest that video games that keep players “on their toes” might help older adults keep their brains sharp, the researchers report in the journal Psychology and Aging.

It could have been just another upmarket Kensington fashion boutique.

By Mark Kleinman

The well-heeled are choosing to buy Jimmy Choos from home

In fact, the “shoppers” who converged on west London last week to snap up their favourite Jimmy Choo footwear and accessories were visitors to the home of Tamara Mellon, the company’s founder and president.

The event, the latest in a series of events dubbed “stealth fashion” sales, are becoming increasingly common among luxury goods-makers as wealthy consumers become more reluctant to be seen to be spending large sums of money during more austere economic times.

By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Spending a lot of time watching TV, playing video games and surfing the Web makes children more prone to a range of health problems including obesity and smoking, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

U.S. National Institutes of Health, Yale University and the California Pacific Medical Center experts analyzed 173 studies done since 1980 in one of the most comprehensive assessments to date on how exposure to media sources impacts the physical health of children and adolescents.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mobile phone calls distract drivers far more than even the chattiest passenger, causing drivers to follow too closely and miss exits, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.

Using a hands-free device does not make things better and the researchers believe they know why — passengers act as a second set of eyes, shutting up or sometimes even helping when they see the driver needs to make a maneuver.

The research, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, adds to a growing body of evidence that mobile phones can make driving dangerous.

(Reuters) - Following are some key facts about Japan’s Canon Inc (7751.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

* HISTORY:

– Canon’s predecessor, Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory, was founded in 1933. In 1934 the company produced a prototype of the Kwanon, Japan’s first 35mm focal-plane shutter camera and named after the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy. In 1935 it filed to register the Canon trademark.

– In 1947 Japan’s government designated Canon cameras priority exports as the country resumed exports after World War Two. Its shares were listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1949.