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Warm-ups like jumping and skipping can significantly improve bone and muscle strength in teenagers, says a new study.

The study found that the 10-minute school-based intervention, provided twice a week for about eight months, significantly improved bone and muscle strength in healthy teenagers compared to regular warm-ups.

Physiotherapist Ben Weeks said the warm-up which included tuck jumps, star jumps, side lunges and skipping with gradually increasing complexity and repetitions, was specifically designed to apply a bone-stimulating mechanical load on the skeleton.

Eighty per cent of bone mass is accrued in the first 20 years and especially around puberty due to the circulating hormones.

The study of 99 adolescents with a mean age of almost 14 years found boys in the intervention group improved whole body bone mass while the girl's bone mass specifically improved at the hip and spine. Peak height velocity is a different ages in boys and girls. Most boys in the group were right at the stage while most girls in the study were past puberty.

Countdown Begins

The auction of new players for the Indian Premier League's second edition will be held February 6 without a ceiling on number of "uncapped" cricket players a franchise can acquire, the cash-rich Twenty20 League's governing body said on Wednesday.

Uncapped players will be the ones who have not played senior international cricket nor have a central contract with the National Association.

Each franchise will have a sum of $2 million to spend on player fees in 2009 for cricket players acquired either in auction, through signing uncapped new players or re-signing any 2008 temporary replacements.

The decisions were made at a meeting of the franchises to apprise them about the player trading regulations for the 2009 edition. The Indian Premier League trading window opens on December 22.

Apart from finalizing the date of auction, it was decided that the number of foreign players in the playing eleven remains four. The Indian Premier League also decided not to allow temporary replacements for teams during the season.

Obama Outlines Revival Strategy

U.S. President elect Barack Obama said he wanted to revive the economy and create jobs by upgrading roads, schools, and energy efficiency in a public-works program whose scale has been unseen since construction of the interstate highway system in the 1950s. He offered no price estimate for the grand plan, how the money might be divided or the effect on the financial health at a time of burgeoning deficits.

The ideas were outlined in the weekly radio address the day after the government reported that employers cut 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years. They are part of a vision for a massive economy recovery plan Mr. Obama wants Congress to pass and have waiting on his desk when he takes office January 20. In the address, Mr. Obama also said he wanted to install energy-saving light bulbs and replace old heating systems in federal buildings to cut costs and create jobs.