Ginger: A small root with big benefits

If you stopped exercising for a long time because of work stress or other reasons and are now planning to return to the gym health experts advise against starting with your old workout routine right away. After a long break the body needs time to get used to physical activity again. Starting with heavy or intense exercise too quickly can lead to muscle pain extreme tiredness and a higher risk of injury. Why you should start slowly Busy work schedules long meetings stress and personal responsibilities often cause people to stop exercising.  When they return to the gym many assume they can immediately exercise at the same level as before. However staying inactive for a long time can reduce muscle strength flexibility and stamina. The body needs time to rebuild these abilities so suddenly doing hard workouts can put too much pressure on the muscles and joints. Begin with light exercise Experts recommend starting with simple stretching exercises to prepare the muscles and reduce stiffness.  Light activities such as walking or easy cardio can then help the heart and lungs adjust while gradually improving stamina. Light strength training is also useful because it helps build stronger muscles bones and joints.  Beginners should use manageable weights and focus on doing each exercise with the correct form. Rest and nutrition matter A safe return to exercise is not only about workouts. Eating a balanced diet drinking enough water and getting proper sleep can help the body recover and support muscle health. The key is to increase the intensity slowly instead of trying to make up for lost time with hard workouts. Note This information is for general awareness. Anyone with an existing health condition injury or other medical concern should consult a doctor before restarting exercise.

Rice water is often thrown away after cooking, but it can be useful in many ways.  It can improve the taste of food help plants grow support healthy hair and skin and even be used for cleaning. Instead of pouring it down the drain try these simple ideas. Add It to Rice Dishes Use leftover rice water when cooking rice based meals. It can add extra flavor and provide a small nutritional boost. Use It in Soups and Broths Mix rice water into homemade soups or broths. It helps make them slightly thicker while improving both taste and texture. Cook Vegetables Steam or boil vegetables in rice water instead of plain water. The vegetables may absorb some of the nutrients and develop a richer flavor. Baking Rice water can be added to recipes such as bread pancakes, or other baked goods. It helps keep them soft and moist. Hair Rinse Rice water contains vitamins, minerals and amino acids. After washing your hair with shampoo and conditioner use rice water as a final rinse. It may help make hair feel smoother and look shinier. Natural Facial Toner Rice water has been used in Asian skincare for generations. Apply it with a cotton pad to help refresh the skin reduce the appearance of irritation and leave your face feeling clean and fresh. Feed Your Plants Dilute rice water with plain water before using it on indoor or outdoor plants. It contains nutrients that may support healthy plant growth. Natural Cleaner Diluted rice water can be used to clean kitchen counters and wash some household items.  Its mild starch and natural compounds may help remove light grease and dirt. Help Protect Plants Spraying diluted rice water around plants may help discourage some garden pests.  While it is not a guaranteed pest control method it can be a simple natural option to try. Instead of wasting leftover rice water give it a second life around your home. It is an easy low cost way to reduce waste and make use of something that is often thrown away.

Computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton is widely regarded as the “Godfather of AI.” He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2024 for his work on artificial intelligence technology. Geoffrey Hinton who is associated with the University of Toronto in Canada has warned that the smarter AI technology becomes, the more difficult it will be for humanity to control it. He has also expressed concerns about AI agents recently hacking real-world companies. Speaking to the media after an AI technology conference, Geoffrey Hinton said that such incidents are occurring as these systems become increasingly intelligent. He said, “As these systems become smarter, I think we will see more complicated incidents and their ability to escape our control will become much better.” Hinton said the problem is that humans may not be able to rely on or trust highly intelligent AI models. He explained, “I do not believe that we can simply control them or assume that they will not escape our control.” It is worth noting that in recent days, OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta have acknowledged that their AI models independently escaped controlled environments and hacked the systems of other companies. Hinton described these incidents as somewhat frightening and said that this is only the beginning of AI hacking. He said, “I think we may see numerous cyberattacks but the future is uncertain. People say defenders have more resources than attackers but the problem is that an attacker only needs to succeed once, whereas defenders need to succeed every time.” Hinton’s earlier warnings about AI Geoffrey Hinton has previously issued warnings about the dangers of AI technology. On one occasion, he said there was a 10 to 20 percent chance that the technology could gradually lead to the extinction of humanity. He stressed that it is important to discuss the potential risks posed by AI. He acknowledged that uncertainty surrounding AI can be unsettling because nobody knows exactly what the future holds. He said that if someone asks what AI technology will look like over the next 10 years, no one can accurately predict it. Earlier, in August 2025 while speaking on a podcast, Hinton said that AI is not only learning things in ways that humans do not fully understand but there is also no reliable way to simply switch it off. Hinton’s contribution to AI Geoffrey Hinton’s research laid the foundation for machine learning, the technology that has helped computers imitate aspects of human intelligence. However, for the past several years, he has been campaigning for AI to be made safer. In 2023, Hinton left his job at Google, warning that malicious actors could use the technology to harm other people. In an interview some time ago, when he was asked about the pace of AI development, Hinton said that most experts in the field currently believe that at some point possibly within the next 20 years—humans could develop AI systems that are more intelligent than humans. He said, “That is a frightening thought. Right now, you can think of this technology as being like a three-year-old child and children grow up very quickly.” AI could transform world According to Hinton, the impact of AI on the world could be similar to that of the Industrial Revolution. He said the Industrial Revolution effectively halted the growth of human physical strength because humans began relying on increasingly powerful machines. He explained that humanity is now doing something similar that could replace human intelligence meaning ordinary human intelligence may no longer advance at the same pace while machines continue to develop. When asked what life might look like 10 or 20 years from now, Hinton said it would depend on how political systems respond to and manage the technology. In his view, AI could have extraordinary effects on the medical field and could increase efficiency across almost every industry. However, he emphasized that humanity needs to be much more cautious about the rapid development of this technology.

US researchers have claimed to have developed new viruses with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) that did not previously exist in nature. The development is being described as an important breakthrough in the scientific community. According to a study published in the scientific journal Science, researchers from Stanford University and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard used a naturally occurring phage as a basis and employed AI to generate thousands of genetic designs. A phage is a type of virus that infects bacteria. The researchers chemically synthesized around 300 of these genetic designs and tested them in a laboratory. Of these, 16 viruses proved to be viable. According to the study, a combination of the AI-designed viruses was more effective than naturally occurring viruses at eliminating E. coli bacteria. The researchers said the approach expands the scope of synthetic genomics and could pave the way for more effective phage therapies against rapidly evolving pathogens. However, experts have expressed concerns about potential biological security risks alongside the possible medical benefits of the development. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Toronto and Toronto General Hospital said AI-designed viruses could have certain benefits such as creating specialized bacteriophages that could help tackle antibiotic-resistant infections. He warned that the same ability to design complete and functional viruses could pose a serious biological security threat if used to create harmful pathogens. Therefore, strong safety regulations, screening and monitoring are necessary alongside the technology. Professor Fatima Wafai of the University of New South Wales in Sydney said the current research does not pose a direct threat to humans because phages infect only bacteria. However, she noted that the methods used in the research could potentially be misused for harmful purposes. Tom Ellis, an expert in synthetic genome engineering at Imperial College London described the research as impressive but said it also demonstrates that AI is still far from being able to design complex genomes, cells and large viruses. He explained that the phage genome used in the study is very small and relatively simple while the genome of the virus that causes COVID-19 is approximately six times larger. The complexity of designing larger genomes increases rapidly. According to Ellis, the research does have implications for biological security. However, modifying naturally occurring viruses remains a more serious and immediate threat than creating new pathogens with AI. Hsu Li Yang, director of the Asia Centre for Health Security in Singapore also said that it may be possible to use AI to make viruses more dangerous. However, he cautioned against exaggerating the implications of the research. He clarified that the study does not mean that anyone with basic scientific or laboratory knowledge can now create life-saving or dangerous viruses at home. Considerable technical expertise is still required to physically produce a virus in a laboratory after it has been designed. Experts say the research is both medically promising and concerning from a biological security perspective as it demonstrates a technology that could potentially be used for both beneficial and harmful purposes.