What is bipolar disorder

• A mental disorder characterized by episodes of mania and depression
  
  
• Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depressive disorder, manic depression or bipolar affective disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated mood clinically referred to as mania or, if ...
  
  
• A psychiatric diagnostic category, previously called manic depression, characterised by mood swings between great energy (manic) and clinical depression
  
  
• Also known as manic-depressive illness. This is a serious illness that causes shifts in a person's mood, energy and ability to function. ...
  
  
• (BP) A mood disorder in the DSM-IV which is characterised by dramatic highs (mania) and deep depression. Bipolar was called manic depression in the DSM-III-R. Researchers are studying a possible genetic connection between Bipolar and other Mood Disorders and autistic spectrum disorders.
  
  
• also known as manic-depression, this disorder is characterized by alternating periods of extreme moods. For example, a period of mania may be characterized by excessive energy, restlessness and/or irritability. 

• A form of depressive disease that characteristically involves cycles of depression and elation or mania. Sometimes the mood switches from high to low and back again are dramatic and rapid, but more often they are gradual and slow.
  
  
• A type of depression that means the person alternates between a normal mood, feeling very depressed and feeling very elated. ...
  
  
• at least one episode of a depressed or irritable mood and at least one period of a manic (persistently elevated) mood.
  
  
• Where the individual has episodes of mania (or hypomania) alone or with depressive episodes at other times. Can occur as mixed episodes and with varying degrees of intensity.
  
  
• Bi polar disorder - A co-occurring disorder resulting in unusually extreme highs and lows of an individual's mood.

What's life like for North Koreans?

Most North Koreans are extremely poor.

Thousands starved to death after flooding and drought caused a massive famine in 1995.

And one out of every three North Koreans still relies on donations from the United Nations for food.

Two out of every three are chronically malnourished or suffering from stunted growth.

And the temperature in the capital, Pyongyang, can dip to -10 C.

DNA clue to life at high altitude

The ability of Tibetans to live on the "roof of the world" may be down to their DNA, US researchers say.

Tibetans function normally at high altitud

University of Utah researchers found 10 genes which help Tibetans thrive at heights where others get sick.

Two of the genes are linked to haemoglobin - the substance in blood that transports oxygen round the body.

Doctors say the research, published in Science, could lead to treatments for severe forms of altitude sickness and other illnesses.

Altitude sickness is the name given to ill-effects caused by the body's struggle to deal with a lack of oxygen at high altitude.

It can lead to brain and lung complications, which can threaten even the fittest mountaineers.

People native to high altitudes appear to be immune to such effects, through thousands of years of genetic selection.

Tibetans have evolved genes that others living at high altitudes - such as in the Andes - have not.

Professor Lynn Jorde, of the University of Utah School of Medicine, said: "For the first time, we have genes that explain that adaptation."

Therapies

The study looked at DNA extracted from blood samples taken from 75 villagers living at 15,000ft (4,500m).

The Utah team, in collaboration with the Qinghai University Medical School, China, compared stretches of their genetic code with that of lowland Chinese and Japanese populations.

A handful of genes turned up, including 10 unique oxygen-processing genes.

Two appear to contribute to lower levels of haemoglobin in the blood, which may help the body fight altitude sickness.

Prof Josef Prchal of the University of Utah said the work could help in developing treatments for illnesses that affect people everywhere.

He said: "What's unique about Tibetans is they don't develop high red blood cells counts.

"If we can understand this, we can develop therapies for human disease."

Darwinism

Professor Hugh Montgomery is a geneticist and director of the UCL Institute for Human Health and Performance at University College London.

He said the study helped in the understanding of how patients with the likes of heart failure and lung disease cope with low oxygen in the blood.

He told the BBC: "It's important clinically because it helps us understand how patients cope with low oxygen levels.

"There are opportunities here for developing new drug therapies."

He said the work was also important scientifically, by showing how Darwin's science coupled with modern technology could be used to identify beneficial genes.

"It's a lovely example of Darwinism," he added.

Why is Korea divided?

The Soviet Union occupied the northern half of Korea after World War II ended in 1945.

Southern Korea was controlled by the United States.

The peninsula was formally split in two on 9 September 1948.

The political differences between the two rival states led to the outbreak of a horrific war in 1950.

Three years later, a cease-fire agreement ended the Korean War.

But the North Korea and South Korea have to this day never signed a peace treaty.

Expalin apartheid

It means simply 'apartness'. Basically it was a system where blacks and whites were kept separate. Separate residential areas, separate schools, jobs, churches, parks, shopping areas, etc.

The problem was that blacks didn't have nearly the life opportunities that whites had. Their schools were underfunded and falling down, so a black kid growing up in a black neighborhood didn't have nearly the chance of going to college and bettering himself.

One of the basic fundamental values on which America was founded is the idea that every citizen has the same rights and privileges, the same governmental protections and legal status. This is why we don't have knighthoods or royalty or titles. Segregation violated that principle, making blacks 'second class citizens' for all intents and purposes.

Apartheid is now being practiced in Israel where Palestinians don't have the same rights as Jews. It's not called 'apartheid', but that's what it is.

Music piracy unstoppable, Universal admits

The world's largest music company has admitted that piracy cannot be stopped.

Francis Keeling, head of digital at Universal Music Group International, said: "Are you going to stop piracy? No you're not.

"To try and set that as an objective is just not going to succeed. Can we make piracy socially unacceptable?

"Absolutely, and that has to be our ambition around the world." Mr Keeling was speaking at the Great Escape music convention in Brighton.

He is responsible for striking deals to get artists including Lady Gaga, Eminem and Rihanna onto digital services outside North America.

Rihanna has benefited from the growth of legal downloads

He added: "We've got markets like Spain and Italy, where [people say] 'You buy music? What are you doing buying music when you can get it for free?'

"Clearly those markets are in the situation where, unless we can turn those markets around, we're going to have a major problem having a music business there."

Full weight

Universal has been prominent in the fight against illegal file-sharing.

It has also thrown its full weight behind the UK's Digital Economy Act, which will bring in sanctions against serial offenders, including the possibility of temporary internet suspensions.

The controversial law was approved last month and Mr Keeling stressed it was the "right solution".

He also said he was confident the new Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government would "remain supportive" of the bill.

The details of the sanctions and how they will be imposed now have to be worked out.

"The solution needs to be fair, proportionate and implemented well," Mr Keeling told delegates.

How dangerous is South Africa?

With a multitude of tourists heading to South Africa for the World Cup, a question hangs on many lips: how dangerous is the country?

South Africa is a place where a lot of violent crime happens.

That much is hard to dispute.

Each day an average of nearly 50 people are murdered.

In addition to these 18,000 murders each year, there are another 18,000 attempted murders.

Murder is a staple of the news. In April, it was white supremacist Eugene Terreblanche. Earlier this month, it was Lolly Jackson, the flamboyant owner of the Teazers strip club chain, killed at a house in Kempton Park, just outside Johannesburg.

World Cup 2010 - World Cup heaven or hell?

In the run-up to the World Cup, British newspapers have been happy to convey a terrifying picture of South Africa.

One recently told its readers about "Cape Town's culture of gangsters, drugs, rape, robbery and a murder every 25 minutes".

So should football fans fear for their lives at the World Cup?

It's a complicated picture, says Johan Burger, senior researcher in the crime and justice programme at South Africa's Institute for Security Studies.

The first thing is that the South African murder rate is going down and not up.

"Contrary to what many people think, the murder rate, while still extremely high, is down by about 44% since 1995. That's a huge decrease."

The geographical and social spread of murder might also be relevant to visitors.

"What is important to understand about our high crime rate is that we know from research that approximately 80% of our murders happen within a very specific social context, mostly between people that know one another.

"There is something wrong within some of our communities in terms of the social interaction and the social conditions."

In blunt terms, areas with problems have murder levels that can be wildly above the national average.

Kwa Mashu, a township outside Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, has the unfortunate honour of being dubbed South Africa's murder capital by the media, with 300 last year. It took the unwanted honour from Nyanga, a township outside Cape Town.

These are not the kinds of areas that are regularly frequented by tourists.

Dr Burger says research done by other academics points to the social basis for a high crime rate in such areas.

"There are extremely high rates of unemployment in some areas. All of this leads to a large element of frustration. Often this is the thing that sparks violence.

"The gap between rich and poor is still widening and it leads to what is seen as relative deprivation. The people in the very, very poor communities, they see wealth.

"It is not just a gap, it is a visible gap. The situation is aggravated by poor service delivery. Many of our municipalities are in complete disarray, complete dysfunction. This then leads to dissatisfaction. People protest sometimes very violently."

There are many other crimes apart from murder which are seen as problematic in South Africa.

The national figure of 203,777 episodes of "assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm" might be alarming. It's hard to compare this with the UK where statistics are grouped differently, though the latter has a larger population (61 million compared with South Africa's 49 million.)

But like murder, many offences are geographically weighted, says Dr Burger.

Of the 18,438 house robberies in South Africa last year, 8,122 were in the province of Gauteng, which includes Johannesburg. The likelihood of being a victim is twice the national average there.

Carjacking is a category of danger that would be novel to most visitors from western Europe.

Foreign media have sometimes been scathing

There are junctions which are signposted as carjacking blackspots, and there are areas where drivers will avoid stopping at red lights, particularly at night, preferring the risk of a fine to the risk of hijack.

"Many people may come in rented cars and then like everyone else they will run the risk of this," says Dr Burger. He notes that "most of the time" carjacking victims are "threatened or violently removed... not seriously injured".

Unlike most categories of violent crime, recorded instances of carjacking are on the rise in South Africa. The police do their best to fight it, says Pretoria News crime reporter Graeme Hosken.

"We have had a problem with gangs following tourists from OR Tambo airport [near Johannesburg] and the cops cracked down on that. I take precautions. I've been nearly hijacked myself on an open freeway."

He advises:
Keep your car locked while driving
Don't stop for strangers or people who have broken down
A blue light does not necessarily mean they are police
If carjacked, do not offer resistance
Carjacking is geographically skewed with half of the 15,000 happening in Gauteng

ADVICE FOR FANS
Foreign Office travel advice - World Cup South Africa 2010

"There's another crime that poses some risk to visitors and that's street robbery," says Dr Burger.

"People are seldom seriously injured or stabbed or shot. In most cases people are threatened. Criminals will see the World Cup as a huge opportunity."

People can take a number of steps to reduce their chances of being robbed in the street, he says:
Avoid advertising. Don't show you have valuables on your person
Take precautions by trying to go to some of these places in groups of five, six, seven or more people
Most importantly, make a point of seeking advice

"The locals know which places people should avoid and the times people should stay away from certain areas."

If England win their group and make it as far as the quarter finals, they will play in Soccer City, Johannesburg.

There are areas in the city that have a disproportionate level of crime. Ask a local and they may advise against travel to Hillbrow or Yeoville at night.

At the same time, people could also point out that every city has its bad bits.

"I wouldn't go to dodgy areas in London, or the dodgy areas in Liverpool or Manchester," says Hosken.

But of course the crime issue is high on the agenda for the World Cup organisers.

The South African Police Service has prepared a plan that includes extra officers, high visibility policing, and deployment of specialist teams.

"I've seen the police plan, it's extremely impressive," says Dr Burger.

The South African police say they have a plan to tackle crime

But while there may be optimism about the police plans, there is still a deep sense of unease, says Hosken.

"The government says crime is going down, [but] 50 odd people are being killed every single day. There is scepticism about what is really happening.

"While crime might be going down, it is [often] extremely violent, armed robberies, hijackings. It is very in your face, it is very gruesome. The robbers will come in and not only attack a couple, [but] rape the wife, and severely assault the husband.

"People are worried about what the government is trying to feed them. The violence associated with crime is increasing."

And while the South African police can point to decreasing crime and the efforts they are making, fighting the fear of violence is harder.