With all the attention in the news this week focused on the royal wedding, there weren’t a lot of stories for this week’s news.  This meant I actually had to dig up a couple of celebrity stories just so the week wasn’t completely devoid of content.

To kick things off this week we’re going to start with a little science.  A researcher in London has developed a formula that will predict the rate at which a tattoo will fade over time.

Tattoo inks are a suspension of water-insoluble particles, such as mercury, lead, cadmium and iron, which are injected under the skin using a needle.  Over time, these inks become dispersed as the cells which contain them die, divide or leave the body.

Although modern tattooing inks are less likely to fade, their gradual deterioration is inevitable.  Dr Eames said: ‘Skin type, age, size, exposure to the sunlight and the type of ink which is used all influence how a tattoo disperses with time.  ‘Broadly speaking, the small details in a tattoo are lost first, with thicker lines being less affected.  ‘Although finely detailed tattoos might look good when they are first done, they tend to lose their definition after 15 years.’  He added that his model will help increasing numbers of young people who have gone under the tattooist’s needle.  ‘Tattoos are incredibly popular worldwide with more than a third of 18 to 25-year-olds in the U.S. sporting at least one design,’ he said.  The research is published in the Mathematics Today journal.

I wonder if his model takes into account sun exposure, as well as the fact that not everyone’s skin is the same.  I guess only time will tell.  What I don’t get is how this will assist people when it comes to getting a tattoo.  It’s not like it isn’t common knowledge that tattoos can fade over time.

To read the rest of this week’s news, you know what to do.

Over in India Guinness Rishi, a man know for holding several Guinness records, is working on another one, this one involving tattoos of flags.

An Indian businessman has been carrying the flags of 305 countries on his own body to promote amity among nations. Now 70-year-old Har Prakash, who has re-invented himself as Guinness Rishi, is vying in Nepal for his latest world record, hoping to add more flags and more records.”People call me a joker, a mad man,” says the world record aspirant from New Delhi who arrived in Kathmandu to attend the first international tattoo conference and promptly stole the limelight from other younger participants from different countries with more exotic tattoos.  “My dream is to go around the world several times,” Har Prakash told IANS, sitting in the convention hall of the Yak and Yeti hotel while cameras click away furiously. “I want the children of those countries to ask me, where is the flag of our country, spot it and then, in the process, become aware of my country and other countries as well.”

Rishi is now seeking to add a new tattoo record: have the maximum number of tattoo artists work on him.  “The record is held by an American who in 1996 had 22 artists work on him,” he says. “As a matter of fact, I did break the record in Pattaya last year when 25 artists etched 55 flags on me. But I was not familiar with the rules and forgot to make a video recording.”  This time, he has come armed and is asking the 52 tattoo stalls put up for the Kathmandu conference to send one artist each to doodle on him further.  However, while his forehead, head, arms, legs and chest are covered with tattoos, his back remains pristine clear.  “I am saving that for a dream project,” he says proudly. “It’s going to be the Hall of Fame for World Record holding tattoo artists. I will have all their names and achievements tattooed on my back.”

Believe it or not, that’s pretty much it for major stories this week, although there are a couple of other stories that do warrant some attention.

After last week’s article about the outbreak of infected piercings in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, even more cases have come to light.

Another 10 cases of infected piercings have been reported after Hawke’s Bay Today’s article last week, which revealed seven people were being tested for hepatitis because of unhygienic piercings procedures.  Hawke’s Bay District Health Board medical officer of health Lester Calder said the majority of infections were from piercings that took place earlier this year, before the public health unit worked with Trendez operators to put new procedures in place.

If you have had work done at this store, get yourself to a doctor’s office ASAP.

The same thing applies to people who have gotten work done at Sins and Temptations in Bowmanville, Ontario.

Durham Region’s Health Department is alerting clients of a Bowmanville body piercing studio after determining non-sterile equipment may have been used in procedures over the past year.  Non-sterile equipment may have been used in piercings done at Sins and Temptations on King Street West from June of 2010 until the present, the health department said in a news release issued Thursday. Use of non-sterile equipment could lead to transmission of diseases such as hepatitis and HIV, the department said.

Clients who received body piercing services at this facility during the specified time period are asked to call Durham Health Connection Line at 905-666-6241 or 1-800-841-2729, Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. to obtain an information package. Clients can also call the health department line this Saturday, April 30, from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4 p.m.

Obviously, if you’ve been to either of these studios, get in touch with someone right away.

In celebrity “news” the actor who played the lead in the horrible Beauty and the Beast knockoff earlier this year has gotten himself a tattoo.

One ink spotted on his toned body is that of a cross which is embedded on his right chest. Another is more discreet, nesting above his crotch and saying “Thank You”. “In case I forget to say it,” he winked, by way of explanation.

He should have stuck with the facial tattoos and implants from the film.

Finally, a few weeks back a number of questions were raised about copyright protection towards tattoo designs.  Specifically who owns the rights to a tattoo once it has been put on a person.  Well this week the tattoo artist responsible for Mike Tyson‘s trademark tribal piece is suing Warner Brothers Studios for using his design in The Hangover Part 2.

S. Victor Whitmill, an award-winning tattoo artist who calls the Tyson design “one of the most distinctive tattoos in the nation,” is asking for an injunction to stop the release of the highly-anticipated comedy sequel, set to bow in the U.S. over Memorial Day weekend.

“When Mr. Whitmill created the Original Tattoo, Mr Tyson agreed that Mr. Whitmill would own the artwork and thus, the copyright in the Original Tattoo,” argues the complaint, filed Thursday in federal court in Missouri and obtained by THR. “Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. — without attempting to contact Mr. Whitmill, obtain his permission, or credit his creation — has copied Mr. Whitmill’s Original Tattoo and placed it on the face of another actor … This unauthorized exploitation of the Original Tattoo constitutes copyright infringement.”

Given that the artist does own the copyright to the tattoo, this case could turn interesting in the coming weeks.  Especially considering he’s filed for an injunction to block the film’s release.

So that’s it for this week.  If you come across any stories that you think should be included in next week’s news post, send them my way.