Statistics show that we are more likely to win a gold medal in the Olympic Games or to be hit by lightning than to win millions in the lottery.

However, that has not stopped all people around the world who dream of winning the big prize. Many of them fantasize about the idea of ​​no longer having to work or living a life of luxury.

But will they be happy?

There is research that shows that the happiness of winning a fortune in the lottery usually lasts only one year.

After that time, the winners do not report welfare levels higher than the rest of the population.

Proven: money does not buy happiness

Brad Duke, lives in Boise, Idaho, one of the least populated states in the United States. Duke is perhaps the most famous resident of the place. The reason is that he is one of the biggest lottery winners in the world.

Duke continued working after winning his billionaire award.

In 2005, Duke, a common man, in his 40s and with a moderate voice, was running a gym chain when he won the jackpot of the lottery: $ 220 million.

Far from leaving everything and spending his millions on mansions, yachts and private planes, Duke continued with his life. He didn't even buy a new car for four years.

Instead, he continued working in the gym, but now without earning a salary.

"I didn't want to leave that business, I felt like he had been very good to me. I was having a lot of fun and was doing what I wanted to do when everything happened," Duke told the BBC, who visited him in Bosie.

Eventually Duke began to spend his prize and bought a majestic Tuscan-style hamlet, with luxury furniture, antique decorations, paintings and a huge fountain in front.

His mansion has its own cinema, a cellar and a decoration armor.

"I was inspired by a trip to Tuscany and that made me want to invest in a bigger house, made to my liking," he said.

But beyond enjoying his money, Duke - who now owns his own gym chain – says his economic goals are far from being met: his aspiration is to earn $ 1 billion before he dies.

A few years after winning his Duke prize, a Tuscan-style mansion was built, which even has a decoration armor.

Duke created a foundation dedicated to charitable donations. His parents and several relatives are part of the foundation.

For him, working to multiply his fortune and help his community is the best way to take advantage of the huge stroke of luck he had.

Another lucky guy who won the lottery is Kwame Fosuhene.

Fosuhene, who is 24 years old and has dreadlocks, lived in one of the poorest slums in Ghana when he earned $220,000 (about one million, in local currency), last year, by correctly predicting the outcome of 14 matches of soccer.

His fortune not only allowed him to leave behind his humble origins, it has also allowed him to go in search of his dream.

The young man was a musical composer without money when he won the prize. Today he is a musician and singer and celebrated his triumph by writing a song about what he lived.

Kwame Fosuhene dreams of being a star, thanks to the money he earned.

Also directed his first to film, called "Genesis Ashantis". Fosuhene is looking at Hollywood.

His parents try to take care of his fortune. They worry that their son, who until now was reserved and of low profile, is attracting fake friends who are only with him for his money.

" I want to be a big star because I have tried a little what fame is and I know what it tastes like," he tells from his new home near Kumasi, the second city of Ghana.

"Able to be an inspiration to others. I just want to leave my mark," he confesses.

There is no doubt that today this young Ghanaian lives his dream but will he have a happy life or will the prognosis of scientists be fulfilled?

Ironically, of all the people interviewed about lottery winners, the one who seems to lead the happiest life is the one who has the least.

The rarest Pink Heritage diamond sold at a Christie's auction house in Geneva for a record $50 million in Geneva.

A jewel weighing just under 19 carats was bought by Harry Winston, an American jewelry house. The unique jewel immediately received a new name - Winston's Pink Heritage.

According to Christie's, head of the European department of the auction house, $ 2.6 million per carat is a world record for pink diamonds.

There are other counterparts. Pink Star Diamond Sold for Record $71 Million. Pink diamond went under the hammer for $28 million in Geneva. "Martian" diamond sold at auction for $17 million.

The estimated selling price of the stone before the start of trading was from 30 to 50 million US dollars, it was sold five minutes after the start of trading.

The Pink Heritage was once owned by the Oppenheimer family, which ran the mining company De Beers. The head of Christie's jewelry department, Rahul Kadakiya, called the stone "one of the greatest diamonds in the world."

"This color is found in stones that are below one carat; however, this diamond is almost 19 carats, and the pink color is just as saturated! It's impossible to believe in it," the expert said.

The diamond received the highest rating on a scale of color intensity - "very bright."

A rectangular stone was found in a South African mine about a hundred years ago and probably has not undergone any changes since 1920, when it was faceted, representatives of the auction house noted.

According to experts, it is almost impossible to find a diamond of this color intensity and size greater than 10 carats.

The previous pink diamond price record was set in November 2017 at an auction in Hong Kong. Then a much smaller stone of 8.41 carats was sold for almost 18 million US dollars.

In 2019, health professions top the list of the 10 highest paid professions in the United States.

This is indicated by the data published in the first quarter of the year by the list of National Estimation of Occupational and Salary Jobs of the Department of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Occupational Information Network of the Department of Labor.

In 2019, the highest paid professionals are from health industry, followed by directives and management.

According to the BLS, the average annual salary for men is $52,208. The average annual salary for women is $41,912, i.e. 20% less.

Highest paid professions in the United States in 2019

1.- Medical specialists

The medical profession is, once again, the highest paid in the US. However, not all specialties receive the same financial compensation. The best paying on average are the following:

• Anesthetists: $267,020
• Surgeons: $267,020
• Oral and maxillofacial surgeons: $242,370
• Gynecologists: $238,320
• Orthodontists: $225,760
• Psychiatrists: $220,380
• Doctors: $203,880
• General and family doctors: $211,780

Foreign doctors are among the professionals who are most attracted to the idea of ​​working in the United States. However, it is not easy for foreign doctors to revalidate their studies at foreign universities. The process is hard and long but possible.

However, it is possible to study residence in the United States to specialize. A J-1 exchange visa is used for this.

Because the procedures can be complex and take years, many doctors prefer to obtain licenses to work in the US - although less than doctors, they are also well paid as nurses.

2.- Chief Executives

Known as CEO, they earn an average of $200,140. The highest paid on average reside in South Dakota, Washington DC and Rhode Island.

3.-Other medical specialties

• Internists: $196,490
• Dental technicians: $191,400
• Pediatricians: $183,240
• Dentists: $175,840. This is one of the fastest growing professions in the US.

4.- Nurse anesthetists

They charge $174,790 per year on average. This is also a profession with excellent financial compensation. There is a spectacular growth in job offers and it requires the degree of Registered Nurse (RN).

In the United States, there are specialized agencies to hire foreign nurses.

5.- Flight pilots and engineers: $169,560

This is also a highly specialized and lucrative career in the United States.

6.- Petroleum engineers: $156,370

Their salary varies from year to year depending on fluctuations in the price of crude oil and natural gas.

7.- Information Systems Managers: $152,860

The IT field attracts foreign workers the most. Large technology companies are known to sponsor immigrants for both the permanent residence card, known as the green card, or for the H-1B visa.

8.- Podiatrists: $148,220

In the US, Podiatrists are not doctors. They can obtain their degree through a Doctor Podiatric Medicine (DPM).

Other professions with annual average incomes that exceed $130,000 are financial managers, sales managers, lawyers, Natural Science project managers and, finally, benefits and compensation managers in the Human Resources field.

Scientists have found that strong beers may have the gut-friendly bacteria just like yogurt.

Until a few years ago, scientists thought that alcohol was bad for our intestines. One study showed that regular alcohol drinkers had several gastrointestinal problems. However, today's scientists are coming back on this topic and even praising the beneficial side of strong beers on our gut microbiota.

FERMENTATION AND YEAST THAT KILL THE BAD BACTERIA

Scientists say some beers can be "very healthy". They would have a more beneficial side to our intestines, thanks to the bacteria they contain.

This is what Professor Eric Claassen asserts. At an event organized by Yakult, manufacturer of probiotic drinks, the professor from the University of Amsterdam presented his point of view on the issue.

While most beers undergo only one fermentation process, Belgian beers undergo a fermentation twice. During this second fermentation, the use of yeasts produces toxic acids. These acids are toxic only for bacteria that are bad for the human intestines.

CONSUME IN MODERATION

Whenever a person drinks a strong Belgian beer, such as a Hoegaarden, Westmalle Tripel or Echt Kriekenbier, it strengthens its intestinal flora. Acids in beer eliminate harmful bacteria in the intestines. However, for this to be truly beneficial, Eric Claassen says you have to drink in moderation. A strong beer a day, no more.

"In high concentrations, alcohol is of course bad for the intestine. But if you only drink one of these (strong) beers each day, it could be good for you", he says.

The high dose of alcohol produces large intestinal problems. But, according to Eric Claassen, a strong beer a day produces the same effect as a yogurt on your intestines. The good news is, it won’t be the only benefit that beer has for our body.

Comic book film-makers race for a popular actor.

Recently celebrated his 55th birthday, actor Keanu Reeves has been a struggle between two major comic universes on the planet. It turns out that DC is trying to discourage everyone from their eternal competitors, Marvel.

Marvel Star Appears in New Mission Impossible Franchise

Earlier it was reported that negotiations with the aim of luring Keanu into his epic cinematic universe Marvel are ongoing. At the same time, according to the sad admission of Marvel Studios president Kevin Feigi, for many years they have been calling Reeves to themselves, but to no avail. However, the Marvel bosses do not lose hope to get the actor in the cast of "Eternal" - in the company of Salma Hayek and Angelina Jolie, who, incidentally, will play for the first time in the movie comic.

And Keanu, by the way, had previously played in film comics, having made DC happy. True, the film "Constantine: Lord of Darkness" was released already in 2005. However, now DC along with colleagues from Warner Bros. don't mind filming a sequel, reports We Got This Covered, of course, with Reeves in the title role.

Meanwhile, the actor already has something to do – he will play in the sequel to The Matrix along with Carrie-Anne Moss.

There was also information that Reeves could play an antagonist in the next Fast & Furious spin-off.

In 2019, Keanu Reeves became the most beloved actor on the Internet. Soon his popularity will continue to grow as the star is going to shine in the fourth part of the film “The Matrix”. Amidst all this, it is not surprising that the two largest film comics studios - Marvel Studios and DC Films - want to get it for themselves to embody a new character. 55-year-old Keanu will make any movie box office.

Kevin Feigi said earlier that he is discussing with Reeves almost every project that his company is preparing, and so far, they simply haven’t found a suitable role. It can be Wolverine, Namor Submariner, Silver Surfer, Mr. Fantasy, Shan Chi or Adam Warlock. According to the American portal We got this covered, there were rumors on the Web that Warner Bros was shooting "Matrix 4" only to prevent Kean from starring in any Marvel movie.

“Now we just need to wait and see what happens. But if something is completely clear, then it is that everyone in Hollywood wants to work with Reeves,” the source said.

Keanu Reeves has risen to legendary status on the Internet, and after 35 years in the industry, you cannot say that he does not deserve it.

After the success of John Wick 3, which is one of the best blockbusters of the year, as well as his role in the animated film Toy Story 4, it seems that the 55-year-old is not going to stop. Reeves will return to Leo in the fourth part of the Matrix franchise, but this is far from the limit.

The actor is struggling Marvel Studios and DC Films, and the two studios are desperately trying to get him. Earlier it became known that DC and Warner Bros. were interested in returning Reeves to the role of Constantine, almost 15 years after he played the character. If the studio really intends to enter into a contract with Reeves, this may cause some problems with Marvel.

Victims of climate change, dying coral reefs can be revived with the simple help of speakers installed at the bottom of the sea.

This is stated by a group of scientists from the United Kingdom and Australia, in a study published last week by the British journal Nature Communications.

The team of experts from the University of Exeter and the University of Bristol, in the United Kingdom, installed underwater speakers in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia – its ecosystem has been suffering for many years the effects of climate change, marine pollution and overfishing.

The goal was to reproduce sounds that had been recorded in healthy corals on dying reefs to try to attract young fish.

And the experiment worked perfectly: scientists now argue that "acoustic enrichment" can help resurrect dying coral reefs.

The massive coral bleaching seen in the Great Barrier Reef of Australia between 2016 and 2017 caused young corals to decrease by 89%.

The lead study author and professor at Exeter University Steve Simpson in a press release published a few days ago explains that “the grunts and squeals of the fish contributes to create a dazzling biological sound landscape."

"Juvenile fish approach these sounds when they are looking for a place to settle, " he adds.

The study, which was carried out for six weeks in 2017, showed that the number of fish visits in the reefs where the "healthy" sounds were reproduced was 50% higher than those in which no sound was reproduced.

Restoring the sound landscape

Among the fish that came to the "call" include all kinds of fish: herbivores, predators and even scavengers – the most remarkable thing is that they made the dying reef their new home.

Simpson also explains that as the reefs degrade, they become "ghostly silent". But using loudspeakers "this lost sound landscape is restored", which helps to attract young fish again.

Although the reintroduction of fish in a coral reef is not enough to completely regenerate its ecosystem, it is a factor that significantly helps its recovery at first, as the fish clean the place and create spaces for coral reproduction.

According to scientists, the Great Barrier Reef of Australia is dying and some of its species could become extinct in the coming years.

In the same press release, Andy Radford, who is co-author of the study and professor at the University of Bristol, says that this practice, combined with "other conservation measures", can accelerate the recovery of ecosystems.

And it could be a key tool to start reliving coral reefs around the world.

"Fish are crucial for coral reefs to function as healthy ecosystems", said Timothy Gordon of Exeter University.

The marine biologist sees underwater speakers as a way to counteract the damage suffered by many coral reefs due to climate change.

The coral reef of Colombia that gives hope to the world after surviving against all odds.

According to a study published earlier this year by the journal Nature, the "baby corals" in the Great Barrier Reef of Australia have decreased by 89% due to the massive bleaching of coral that was seen between 2016 and 2017.

The damage caused to the Great Barrier would have been so great that scientists believed it would never be possible to recover it.

Scientists have found that obesity can cause inflammation in the brain in adolescents. The results of the study were published as abstracts for the report at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

Obesity in young people and adolescents every year is becoming an increasingly serious problem in developed countries. According to the World Health Organization, in 1990 there were 32 million children under the age of five overweight or obese in the world, and in 2016, already 41 million. In the United States, the percentage of obese children and adolescents has more than tripled since the 1970s.

Usually, obesity is associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and diseases of the musculoskeletal system. Scientists have identified another risk associated with overweight.

They used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), a type of MRI that monitors the diffusion of water along the brain tracts of white matter, to study the brains of 59 obese teenagers aged 12 to 16, and compared the images with 61 healthy teenagers from the control group.

The DTI method allowed researchers to evaluate the level of fractional anisotropy (FA) for various regions of the brain, a biochemical parameter that indicates the state of white matter: the lower it is, the wider the damage, the cause of which, as a rule, is inflammation.

The results showed a decrease in the FA values ​​in adolescents with obesity in areas located in the corpus callosum, the bundle of nerve fibers that connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain, as well as in the middle orbitofrontal gyrus, the area of ​​the brain responsible for emotional control and reward patterns. In no area of ​​the brain in patients with obesity have an increased level of FA.

“Brain changes found in adolescent obesity are associated with important regions responsible for controlling appetite, emotion, and cognitive function”, explained the first author of the study.

Scientists have found that changes correlate with a marker of inflammation such as leptin, a hormone produced by fat cells that helps regulate energy levels and fat stores. In some obese people, the brain does not respond to leptin, and they continue to eat, despite a sufficient or already excess supply of fat. This condition, known as leptin resistance, causes fat cells to produce even more leptin.

The deterioration of the white matter was also associated with the level of insulin, a hormone produced in the pancreas that helps regulate blood sugar levels. Obese people often suffer from insulin resistance. A condition in which the body is resistant to the effects of the hormone leads to the development of type 2 diabetes.

Elon Musk, one of the top 50 richest people in the world, complained about the lack of liquid assets. He made a confession in court at the suit of the British, demanding compensation from the billionaire for defamation, the size of which is not yet known.

Elon Musk testified on Wednesday in a Los Angeles court as part of a libel trial. During the testimony, the plaintiff's lawyer asked Musk to evaluate his net worth.

The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX replied that he had approximately $20 billion (Forbes estimated $23.6 billion). But Musk added that his liquid assets are relatively small: “Some people think that I have a lot of money. Not really".

This recognition increases interest in litigation. If the jury renders the Mask a verdict with a large amount of foreclosure, it is likely that the billionaire will have to sell part of his stake in Tesla or SpaceX.

According to Forbes, 99% of Mask’s fortunes are securities of both companies, which perfectly explains his lack of cash. For example, in 2018, the lion's share of his compensation in Tesla was issued in the form of stock options. Meanwhile, he refused his basic salary of $ 56,380.

It is important to note that, according to financial documents released this year, the debts of a 48-year-old businessman exceed $ 500 million. This amount includes $ 208.9 million of debt to Morgan Stanley Bank, as well as $213 million that Musk borrowed from a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs. As collateral for these loans, the billionaire indicated almost half of his stake in Tesla.

The entrepreneurial journey Mask began about 20 years ago. He made his first fortune by selling Zip2, a software developer who, in 1999, was bought by Compaq, a computer maker, for $ 300 million. Three years later, the eBay online auction bought out PayPal, a payment startup founded by Musk and other entrepreneurs. The deal amounted to $1.4 billion.

The businessman founded SpaceX in 2002, and Tesla in 2004. According to the biography of Mask published in 2015, the funds received from the sale of PayPal soon almost completely went to new enterprises.

However, Musk claims that more than 250,000 people have already pre-ordered a pickup. However, on Twitter, he also wrote: “Haha! Probably, before the start of production, something else will need to be corrected.”

British neurophysiologists did not find any special differences in the level of intelligence of dogs and their closest relatives, which refutes the generally accepted notion that "human best friends" are smarter than other animals. Conclusions are presented in Learning & Behavior.

Scientists from Carroll University in the United States conducted a study in which they subjected about 600 respondents who called themselves dog or cat lovers to various tests. “Many of our colleagues, it seems, are not just studying the intelligence of dogs, but trying to prove how smart they are. They are often compared in a positive way to chimpanzees and say that they have some unique traits. However, it always turns out that many other species also have these abilities, "said Stephen Lea of ​​the University of Exeter (UK).

Recently, neurophysiologists have found that dogs can understand the intonations and meaning of the words of their owners. They communicate with people not for food but for attention and positive emotions, and that they can recognize emotions on the faces of friends and strangers. In addition, the dogs were able to memorize “unnecessary” information and use it later when communicating with the owner.

Dogs use facial expressions to communicate with people, scientists say. Such discoveries, as noted by Lee and his colleagues, make many neurophysiologists and zoo-psychologists believe that dogs are noticeably superior in intelligence to wolves, other predators, and sometimes higher primates. This is often associated with how the process of taming the dogs goes.

British researchers decided to check whether this is true. They analyzed the findings of over three hundred studies on animal intelligence and tried to understand how dogs differ from other mammals and “advanced” birds, such as New Caledonian crows.

It turned out that the intellectual abilities of dogs were very often overestimated by experimenters. For example, many scientists noticed that dogs were unusually good at solving simple physical puzzles, sometimes surpassing monkeys. At the same time, according to Lee, they did not pay attention to the fact that raccoons, hyenas, and some other relatives of dogs were no worse at coping with these tests.

Similarly, wolves, especially young individuals, coped with imitating human actions no worse than dogs; and dolphins, chimpanzees and some other animals surpassed them in this regard.

“We don’t help our pets in any way by overstating their abilities and expecting too much from them. The dog will always remain a dog, and we must understand what they can do and what they need in order to really treat them well,” concludes scientist.

A recent study published by Swiss researchers shows that a nap is good for the heart. This is another benefit added to the many others already discovered.

According to a scientific article published in the medical journal, napping would be beneficial for the heart. The article by four researchers at the University Hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland, says that one to two naps a week would reduce the risk of heart problems and stroke.

Their work is based on a recent study of 3,500 Swiss adults who provided a wealth of data on their nap and sleep habits.

In the sample, 155 people had a heart problem in the years following the study. The results indicate that the risk of cardiovascular disease is reduced by 48% among those who reported taking one to two naps a week, compared to those who do not take nap time.

Although the study does not confirm that napping promotes good heart health, it does provide additional information on the proven benefits of this brief sleep time.

Compensate for a lack of sleep

In 2015, a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, showed that even short naps were beneficial to health.

The study, conducted on men who slept only two hours in the night, shows that a lack of sleep affects the levels of interleukin-6, a protein with antiviral properties and contained in saliva. "This hormone had fallen sharply after a very short night, but had returned to normal levels after a nap. This result is all the more telling when we know that it can help you keep up with your sleep deprived routine.

Fights stress and restores your immune system

In the same study, scientists also observed that napping time restores the levels of hormones and proteins needed in the body to combat stress and restore the immune system to function properly. “Just a thirty-minute nap can reverse the bad impacts of sleep deprivation, such as compromised immunity and stress" stated one of the authors of the study.

Exercising one's memory

In 2013, the German researchers demonstrated that napping supports memory consolidation.

To carry out the study, twenty-four volunteers had to memorize fifteen pairs of cards with symbols on them. A second series to memorize was then presented forty minutes later to half of the subjects who were kept awake, and twelve other volunteers who took a short nap. Results? They remembered on average 85% of the cards, against only 60% for those who remained awake.

The nap would make it easier to "download" the memories in an area of ​​the brain where "they could no longer be scrambled by the new information processed in the hippocampus," said Susanne Diekelmann, head of the study.

Improve your work performance

Still taboo in the US, napping at work would undoubtedly improve work performance. "Ten to thirty minutes of napping can enhance performance, decrease fatigue, and help improve alertness" according to Jamie Gruman, professor of behavioral organization at the University of Guelph (Canada) in an article. "Many companies, like Ben & Jerry's, Zappos and Nike, allow employees to take a nap at work," says the specialist, who finds that the practice is still absent in the US companies – in Japan and China, the professional benefits of taking a nap are really considered and recognized.