Soft drinks cause irreversible damage to teeth

Consumption of sports and energy drinks, which is increasing especially among adolescents, is causing irreversible damage to teeth-specifically, the high acidity levels in the drinks erode tooth enamel, the glossy outer layer of the tooth- say researchers including one of an Indian origin.

And energy drinks are twice as likely to destroy enamel than sports drinks.

"Young adults consume these drinks assuming that they will improve their sports performance and energy levels and that they are 'better' for them than soda," said Poonam Jain, BDS, MS, MPH, lead author of the study.

"Most of these patients are shocked to learn that these drinks are essentially bathing their teeth with acid," she noted.

Researchers examined the acidity levels in 13 sports drinks and nine energy drinks. They found that the acidity levels could vary between brands of beverages and flavours of the same brand.

To test the effect of the acidity levels, the researchers immersed samples of human tooth enamel in each beverage for 15 minutes, followed by immersion in artificial saliva for two hours. This cycle was repeated four times a day for five days, and the samples were stored in fresh artificial saliva at all other times.

"This type of testing simulates the same exposure that a large proportion of American teens and young adults are subjecting their teeth to on a regular basis when they drink one of these beverages every few hours," said Dr. Jain.

The researchers found that damage to enamel was evident after only five days of exposure to sports or energy drinks, although energy drinks showed a significantly greater potential to damage teeth than sports drinks. In fact, the researchers found that energy drinks caused twice as much damage to teeth as sports drinks.

Damage caused to tooth enamel is irreversible, and without the protection of enamel, teeth become overly sensitive, prone to cavities, and more likely to decay.

"Teens regularly come into my office with these types of symptoms, but they don't know why," says AGD spokesperson Jennifer Bone, DDS, MAGD. "We review their diet and snacking habits and then we discuss their consumption of these beverages. They don't realize that something as seemingly harmless as a sports or energy drink can do a lot of damage to their teeth."

Dr. Bone recommends that her patients minimize their intake of sports and energy drinks. She also advises them to chew sugar-free gum or rinse the mouth with water following consumption of the drinks.

"Both tactics increase saliva flow, which naturally helps to return the acidity levels in the mouth to normal," she stated.

Also, patients should wait at least an hour to brush their teeth after consuming sports and energy drinks. Otherwise, said Dr. Bone, they will be spreading acid onto the tooth surfaces, increasing the erosive action.

Facebook Co-founder

Facebook Inc. founder Mark Zuckerberg is one of the world's most famous chief executives. His former business partner and friend, Eduardo Saverin, is big in Singapore.

The Brazilian-born billionaire's skirmishes with Mr. Zuckerberg over the future of Facebook were dramatized in the 2010 film "The Social Network," which portrayed Mr. Saverin as a naive entrepreneur.

Mr. Saverin was squeezed out of Facebook early on, and found his stake in the Internet juggernaut diluted to less than 10% from 34%. Today, after more dilution and sales of some of his shares, his stake is about 2%, according to a person familiar with the matter.

But 2% can go a long way, given that Facebook filed documents Thursday to go public with a valuation of up to $96 billion. It can go especially far in Singapore, a financial center better known for banning the sale of chewing gum than for a thriving technology scene.

Since his arrival in 2009, the 30-year-old Mr. Saverin has attracted intense interest here. Singaporeans avidly track his nocturnal social habits. Many hoped he would fund local tech start-ups, but so far his local investments, which include a cosmetics firm, have been limited.

Mr. Saverin is regularly spotted lounging with models and wealthy friends at local night clubs, racking up tens of thousands of dollars in bar tabs by ordering bottles of Cristal Champagne and Belvedere vodka, according to people present on these occasions. He drives a Bentley, his friends say, wears expensive jackets and lives in one of Singapore's priciest penthouse apartments.

Mr. Saverin didn't respond to multiple interview requests.

Other Facebook founders have followed a somewhat different path, at least publicly. Mr. Zuckerberg is most often seen in public walking his dog, and continues to wear his signature zip-up hoodies and drive an Acura. Fellow Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz launched a work-collaboration start-up and has pledged, along with Mr. Zuckerberg, to give half his wealth to charity. Chris Hughes worked for Barack Obama's presidential campaign and recently bought a controlling stake in the New Republic magazine.

In Singapore, Mr. Saverin is a Kardashian-like figure, with scores of fans hoping for a sighting. Local websites have set up forums with threads entitled "Where does one meet Eduardo Saverin in Singapore?" Bloggers and journalists have written long posts after spending mere seconds with the billionaire.

Singapore's Tatler, a society magazine, added him to its "300 List," which celebrates the biggest power players here, including a shipping-container magnate. Mr. Saverin's Facebook posts, which range from updates on his investment company to pictures from travels across the region and nostalgic reflections on Facebook itself, get thousands of "likes" and comments, and hundreds leave messages hoping to meet the man in person.

"Eduardo, I need to talk to you sir. For real! Hit me up," said one Facebook user on Mr. Saverin's public Facebook page.

Mr. Saverin, who hails from a wealthy Brazilian family, has never fully explained why he moved to Singapore, but he has mentioned its strategic location and business-friendly environment in his few public appearances. Those close to him say he once stopped off here while traveling in Asia and liked it.

The city-state has tried to become an Internet hub, with limited success. But it is increasingly known as a playground for the rich, with the world's highest percentage of millionaires, and its glitzy night life.

Its tightly controlled local media is largely free of the tabloids that hound celebrities in places like the U.S. Local press reports have referred to Mr. Saverin as a "Facebook legend," "nice and humble" and "generous" when spending on his friends in nightclubs. Night-life magazines refer to him as one of "Singapore's hottest partygoers."

Though Mr. Saverin speaks at select conferences, he is extremely media-shy, often declining to talk to the media.

Mr. Saverin has invested in a number of start-ups, mainly back in the U.S., including Shopsavvy, a price-comparison mobile application; Qwiki, a multimedia video website; and Jumio, a mobile-payments start-up. He put more than $6.5 million each into those companies.

Mr. Saverin's most notable local investment is in Singapore-based Anideo, headed chiefly by Andrew Solimine, a longtime friend. The company has developed a video-streaming application, Denso, that specializes in selecting videos based on a user's personal taste.

Although many of his investments are viewed as promising, none has been nearly as successful as Facebook, to the disappointment of local techies who had hoped his presence would kick-start the country's entrepreneurial scene.

"Eduardo doesn't invest in much. He doesn't invest in Singapore companies," grouses John Fearon, CEO of Singapore start-ups dropmysite.com and dropmyemail.com that back up emails and website content. He says he didn't ask Mr. Saverin for money. "He doesn't set up his stall and say, come to me for investment."

Some of Mr. Saverin's other projects have been less conventional, including a cosmetics line launched in 2010 by Rachel Kum, Singapore's 2009 entry in the Miss Universe pageant. Mr. Saverin invested an undisclosed sum in the company, according to people familiar with the matter. He appeared in a TV news report about the line's debut in footage showing him flanked by models.

Government and corporate leaders routinely invite him to speak at conferences and other functions, but he doesn't have a great record of showing up, though, organizers say.

Mr. Saverin was invited to judge pitches for start-ups last June at Echelon 2011, a conference sponsored by Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and others. "It was exciting because "The Social Network" movie had come out, [and] there was a buzz about him being in Singapore," said Joon Ian Wong, who then worked for E27, the event's organizer. "Start-ups wanted to…see Saverin in the flesh."

But hours before he was due onstage, Mr. Saverin canceled via text message, saying he wasn't well. People familiar with the matter say he has canceled other appearances at the 11th hour.

None of that has dimmed his star in Singapore. Mr. Saverin's activities are good for the city-state, says Ash Singh, an investor and the CEO behind "Angel's Gate," an Asia-based reality-TV series focusing on investment and entrepreneurship. "Is Eduardo an entrepreneur? I don't know," he says. "But he did well for himself, he has come here, there is a movie about him, and people aspire to be like him."

Samsung Galaxy S III

Samsung Galaxy S3 US release date

At the Unpacked event last night, Samsung didn’t offer a concrete release date for the Galaxy S3 in the US. We saw a big slide that said “USA in June”, but we can’t tell if that referred to the launch of the device or the actual availability in stores. What we do know is Samsung will do local launch events around the world, and one of the cities included in the tour is New York. We can expect more precise information when this event takes place.
Now, we do have some rumors and tidbits that can help us guess when the Galaxy S3 will reach American shores. First, the Olympic Games are upon us, and we are sure that Samsung (a major Olympic sponsor) will do its best to make its shiny new superphone available on shelves by the opening ceremony, which is on July 27.
Of course, if Samsung has its way, the device will be available much sooner than that, hopefully, in June. In a press statement, Samsung US said that the device will come to the States “this summer”, which pretty much excludes the possibility of a May release. The good news is we can also pretty much exclude the possibility of the S3 coming to the US five or six months after its announcement, like it happened last year with the S2.

Samsung Galaxy S3 US price

Not much to say here, unfortunately. However, the Galaxy S3 will be Samsung’s flagship for at least this year, so don’t expect it to come cheap.
Most likely, you’ll be initially able to get the Galaxy S3 for $299 on a two-year contract from most carriers, although, we can’t rule out a smaller, $199 price tag. As always, expect Amazon Wireless and others to offer discounted prices a bit later in the game.
As for the contract-free, unlocked version of the Galaxy S3, we expect that it will cost you about $700. We made this assumption based on the pricing of Samsung’s previous flagships such as the S2 or the Note, as well as the price tags of competing devices, such as the HTC One X or the Droid Razr MAXX.