BCCI may be richer by Rs 350 crore this year, from Indian Premier League (IPL). But the illegal bookies have seems to be earned worth 65 times this amount.

Illegal bookies across the country have done business of about Rs 22,500 crore before the IPL semi-finals and final. Each match saw betting of Rs 400 crore or more.

The tournament, however, had bookies puzzled over predictions. “Teams have mixed players, some from other countries and some rookies. Predictions were difficult,” said a Borivli-based bookie.

For full information: Read here
Del.Icio.Us Tags: Cricket, IPL, India, Sports

Full Story with More pictures...

"Premature ejaculation is a male sexual dysfunction characterized by ejaculation which always or nearly always occurs prior to or within about one minute of vaginal penetration; and, inability to delay ejaculation on all or nearly all vaginal penetrations; and, negative personal consequences, such as distress, bother, frustration, and/or the avoidance of sexual intimacy." An international panel of 21 premature ejaculation experts wrote the above definition The panel agreed that the definition is also likely "to apply to men with premature ejaculation who engage in sexual activities other than vaginal intercourse."

"For something that has such a profound effect on men young and old, there needs to be a definitive measure to diagnose premature ejaculation," Sharlip says in an American Urological Association news release. "The hope is that more people with these symptoms will understand this is an actual health condition and seek treatment. They no longer need to suffer in silence."

Full Story with More pictures...

Australia captain Ricky Ponting became only the seventh batsman to reach 10,000 runs in Test matches on Friday and declared himself proud of his long career. He went to the crease needing 61 on the first day of the second test against West Indies and become the third Australian to reach the milestone following former captains Allan Border and Steve Waugh. Congrats Ponting!
Del.Icio.Us Tags: Cricket, Sports, Australia, Ponting reached 10,000 runs
Technorati Tags: Cricket, Sports, Australia, Ponting reached 10,000 runs

Full Story with More pictures...

Could You predict your Death?

Social psychologists have shown that thoughts about death can spur buying behaviour. For example, in the months following 9/11 shops in the US noted a spike in purchases of luxury products, canned goods and sweets.

To better understand the link between thoughts of mortality and the urge to consume, Naomi Mandel at Arizona State University, Tempe, and Dirk Smeesters at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, asked 746 students to write essays on one of two topics: their death or a visit to the dentist. Each participant also completed a questionnaire designed to evaluate their level of self-esteem.

They found that subjects with low self-esteem who wrote about death ate more cookies, when given the opportunity, and bought more items from a hypothetical shopping list compared to those who wrote about the dentist. In people with high self-esteem, thoughts of death had little effect. The authors believe people with low self-esteem use consuming as a way of subconsciously escaping self-awareness, which is heightened by thoughts of dying. "When you indulge in shopping or eating, it helps you forget yourself," says Smeesters.

Smeesters found that people with low self-esteem shop and eat more after watching death-related news clips. "One would hope that companies do not exploit this by putting food ads straight after the news," Smeesters says.
Technorati Tags: Death, Fear, Life, Health, Death Fear makes us to Eat more

Full Story with More pictures...

A new compound that inhibits HIV protease has been developed by researchers at the University of Michigan.

The protease, which is necessary for HIV replication, is a common target in the treatment of HIV patients. But this is the first new HIV protease inhibitor compound to be developed in 20 years and could lead to a new class of HIV/AIDS drugs, according to the researchers, who created the compound using computer models and then confirmed its effectiveness in laboratory tests.

This new compound debilitates the HIV-1 protease in a different way than current protease inhibitors, which bind to the center of the protease, freezing it closed, and preventing it from processing the proteins needed to assemble an active virus.

The new compound targets a different area of the protease and holds it open, which also inhibits its activity.

"It’s very easy to make an inhibitor, [but] it’s hard to make a drug. This compound is too weak to work in the human body. The key is to find more compounds that will work by the same mechanism," Carlson said.
Technorati Tags: Health, HIV, AIDS, Yet Another HIV Breakthrough

Full Story with More pictures...

The researchers have developed a new approach to the measurement of animal emotional states based on findings from human psychology that emotions affect information processing. In general, people are more sensitive to reward losses than gains, but depressed people are particularly sensitive to losses. The researchers wanted to know whether animals’ sensitivity to reward loss might also be related to their emotional state.

Many studies have demonstrated beneficial welfare effects of enriched compared to barren housing, and the researchers found that rats housed in standard conditions, previously shown to experience poorer welfare than those housed in enriched conditions, were indeed more sensitive to the unanticipated loss of a food reward. Oliver Burman, Richard Parker, Liz Paul and Mike Mendl from the Centre for Behavioural Biology at Bristol University consider the research indicates that sensitivity to reward reduction may be a valuable new indicator of animal emotion and welfare.

"The study of animal emotion is an important emerging field in subjects ranging from neuroscience to animal welfare research. Whilst we cannot know for sure what other animals feel, our approach may provide improved methods for indirectly measuring animal emotion and welfare," said Professor Mendl.

Dr Burman further explained, "Parallel studies using this approach in humans and animals may also reveal cross-species commonalities in the influence of affect on reward evaluation. Our next step is to see whether other reward evaluation processes involving contrasts between expected and actual rewards also reflect background emotional state."

Full Story with More pictures...

See this how Our Indian team concentrates and win CUP for our country. Click to enlarge..

Full Story with More pictures...

Ms Medha Sampat, India Country Head (Acting) - South African Tourism, said, “We have identified India as one of four key Markets across the entire Asia/Australia region, and we continue to invest significantly in building relationships with the trade, with authorities and with consumers to make the South African destination experience accessible and possible for every single Indian traveler. We are working actively to increase the popularity of South Africa amongst Indian travelers and are delighted with the response from the market.”

The Indian arrivals to South Africa reached 51,823 in 2007, posting a record growth rate of 16.9% as compared to the previous year. This growth rate has catapulted India to the top 15 inbound Markets in the world in growth percentage terms for arrivals into South Africa, according the latest research conducted by South African Tourism. The Indian arrival figure in 2006 was 44,337.

The average spend of an Indian traveller in 2007 also increased to Rand 10,200 - a growth of approx 20% over 2006. Research conducted shows that first time holidayers to South Africa were the most popular among visitors to the country, and also the highest spenders.

South Africa is targeting to cross the 60,000 figure for arrivals from India in the current year. Meanwhile, South Africa’s remarkable tourism growth continued as arrivals reached the 9-million mark in 2007 for the first time in the country’s history, an 8.3% increase from 2006 when the country received 8.4 million visitors.

“Global growth over the same period was just over 6%, indicating that South Africa continues to outgrow global rates,” said Environmental and Tourism Affairs Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk. The biggest rise was seen in visits from Asia. “China arrivals have increased by 12.9% showing good and strong growth which SA Tourism will continue to leverage. India grew 16.9% and Australasia showed a 6.9% growth over 2006,” he added.
Technorati Tags: India, Tourism, Travel, South Africa attracts Indian Tourist
Del.Icio.Us Tags: India, Tourism, Travel, South Africa attracts Indian Tourist

Full Story with More pictures...

Heavy smoking and drinking, especially beer, may hasten the onset of pancreatic cancer. Beer appears to exert a stronger influence than hard liquor or wine in lowering the age of onset of pancreatic cancer. Researcher Anderson and her colleagues evaluated patients from The Pancreatic Cancer Collaborative Registry, a multi-center, international patient registry, looking at whether the patients drank or smoked, and if so, how much and what type of liquor.

They evaluated the smoking and drinking (or abstinence) patterns of 453 patients in all, about equal numbers of men and women.

Patients who smoked did tend to develop pancreatic disease at a younger age and there were dose-related effects, Anderson said. Heavy smokers (such as those who have smoked more than a pack a day for 40 years, or more than two packs for 20 years) presented with pancreatic cancer an average of seven years before nonsmokers.

The average age of onset of pancreatic cancer is between 70 to 80, experts noted. Heavy drinkers, defined as having more than three daily drinks, presented with pancreatic cancer 10 years younger than those who did not drink.

Comparing beer, wine and hard liquor, the team found that beer lowered the age of developing pancreatic cancer most, Anderson said. When she compared beer drinkers to non-beer drinkers, the effect was statistically significant; however, when she considered other variables that may affect cancer onset, the effect disappeared.

Cigarette smoking is already a well-known risk factor for pancreatic cancer. Heavy alcohol intake may induce chronic inflammatory changes that are also linked with cancer, Anderson said. The combination of chronic smoking plus drinking had no stronger effect on pancreatic risk than either habit alone, the researchers found.

Pancreatic cancer is expected to be diagnosed in nearly 38,000 people in the United States this year, according to the American Cancer Society, and about 34,000 will die of the disease. The lifetime risk is about 1 in 79 but is affected by factors such as advancing age, obesity and family history.

Because it is often emerges without symptoms, pancreatic cancer is often not detected until its later stages, when treatment is less effective. But even if caught at stage one the outlook is bleak, researchers said. At stage one, the 5-year survival from pancreatic malignancy is about 33 percent.

The pancreas, about 6 inches long and less than 2 inches wide, extends across the abdomen. It makes key hormones, including insulin, and helps to balance blood sugar.

"Our goal is to protect them from pancreatic cancer," she said. Her team found that two tests could help. One is the endoscopic ultrasound, the other is called an endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography.
Technorati Tags: Beer, Cancer, Health, Drinking Beer induces Pancreatic Cancer
Del.Icio.Us Tags: Beer, Cancer, Health, Drinking Beer induces Pancreatic Cancer

Full Story with More pictures...

The closest rival to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is ready to get an upgrade. Browser developer Mozilla has announced June release for its popular browser, Firefox.

Firefox 3 promises to add several new features that will enhance the users browsing experience as well as make it for secure. In fact, Mozilla claims that Firefox 3.0 will run twice as fast as the previous version while using less memory.

So, here’s a peak into all the added features users will find in Firefox 3.0.

Firefox 3 adds several new features that will make it more secure against online frauds, forgeries, viruses and Trojan.

An important addition is One-click site info where the users can click the site favicon in the location bar to see who owns the site and to check if their connection is protected from eavesdropping.

Also, the Identity verification is prominently displayed in the new version. When a site uses Extended Validation (EV) SSL certificates, the site favicon button will turn green and show the name of the company users are connected to.

The new version has enhanced malware protection which warns users when they enter a site which can install viruses, spyware, trojans or other malware.

Version 3 also lets users to access Web Forgery Protection page that displays the content suspected of web forgeries.

Also, the new version of Firefox automatically checks new add-ons and plugins and will disable older, insecure versions.

Full Story with More pictures...

A Goa-born surgeon researching and teaching at the Dundee University in Scotland has pioneered a new method for the early detection of breast cancer. Jayant Vaidya, senior lecturer and consultant surgeon at the university, is a leading member of a team of surgeons that discovered that malignant tumours remain cold when surrounding breast tissue is heated to about 20 degrees Celsius.

Experts hope the discovery will make it easier for doctors to determine if a lump is cancerous, and also lead to advances in understanding of the disease. A study conducted by the team tested tumours removed from six women an hour after they had undergone surgery at the Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.

Each piece of tissue was treated with a hot-air gun, and on each occasion the tumour stayed cold. Terming the discovery as ’very exciting’, Vaidya said: "Nothing like this has been done before. We heated up a specimen and used a high-resolution thermal imaging camera to take a picture. We found the tumour stayed cold while the rest of the tissue heated up. Then we did the same thing on another five samples and every single one had the same outcome."

"This could open up a lot of doors for breast-cancer treatment and detection, hopefully saving the lives of women all around the world," he said. The team hopes that a probe could be developed to insert into the breast and heat the area around the tumour, which could mean bypassing a painful biopsy.

Full Story with More pictures...

A comparison of the medical treatment costs of various countries shows that a procedure like bone marrow transplant costs USD 2,00,000 in USA, upto USD 2,00,000 in UK, USD 62,500 in Thailand and just around USD 20,000 in India.

Easy access to visa facilities permitted by India to overseas patients coupled with the best emerging medical infrastructure in large and tertiary towns will make the country earn to an extent of Rs 8,000 crore in foreign exchange by 2012, a new study has said.

Currently, the earnings accrued through medical tourism annually are estimated at Rs 3,500 crore.

Similarly, a by-pass surgery would cost USD 15,000-20,000 in USA, around USD 20,000 in UK, USD 14,250 in Thailand and USD 4,000-6,000 in India. The costs for a knee surgery in these countries are USD 16,000-17,000, 15,000, 7,000 and 1,000 respectively, the study conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) on Prospects of Medical Tourism for Higher Forex Earning said.

As a result of higher and very expensive medical costs in the western countries, patients from economies of scale including Africa, Gulf and various Asian countries have started exploring medical treatment in hospitals located in various well-to do places in India, Director of Gangaram hospital and one of the lead authors of the study said.
Technorati Tags: India, Medical, Tourism

Full Story with More pictures...

Does drinking of cow’s milk increase the risk of diabetes?

In 1993, a Finnish study found that consuming dairy products early on correlated with diabetes risk. One explanation is that beta-lactoglobulin, a protein in cow’s, but not human, milk prompts babies to make antibodies that also attack glycodelin, a protein vital for training the immune system. The mistuned immune system then mistakenly destroys insulin-producing pancreatic cells, leading to type 1 diabetes.

Now Marcia Goldfarb of the company Anatek-EP in Portland, Maine, has found that five children with type 1 diabetes, who were fed cow’s-milk formula, all have antibodies to beta-lactoglobulin. Diabetes researchers are cautious, though. "It’s fascinating, but needs more back-up data," says Mikael Knip of the Hospital for Children and Adolescents in Helsinki, Finland. He is coordinating a large international study, TRIGR, to test whether children fed formula have a lower risk of disease than those fed the hydrolysed version, in which milk proteins have been broken down.

Technorati Tags: Health, Disease, Life, Caution: Milk causes Diabetes.
Del.Icio.Us Tags: Health, Disease, Life, Caution: Milk causes Diabetes.

Full Story with More pictures...

Vaccines must possess not only the bacterial or viral components that serve as targets of protective immune responses, but also ingredients to kick start those immune responses. In many vaccines, the bacterial or viral components themselves have this capability. For other vaccines, the immune system requires an added boost. Adjuvants are those substances added to a vaccine to help stimulate the immune system and make the vaccine more effective.

Currently the only vaccine adjuvants licensed for general use in the United States are aluminum hydroxide/phosphate formulations, known as alum. Although alum has been used to boost the immune responses to vaccines for decades, no one has known how it worked.

In this paper, the Yale team, led by Richard Flavell, M.D., Ph.D., and Stephanie Eisenbarth, M.D., Ph.D., examined the immune system pathway and cell receptors used by alum. Many microbial compounds function as adjuvants by stimulating Toll-like receptors. These receptors identify microbial invaders and alert the body to the presence of a disease-causing agent, or pathogen. Alum, however, does not stimulate Toll-like receptors.

The Yale team found that alum stimulates clusters of proteins called inflammasomes, found inside certain cells. Inflammasomes respond to stresses such as infection or injury by releasing immune cell signaling proteins called cytokines. Inflammasomes are a component of the innate immune system that operates in parallel with, but separate from, Toll-like receptors, also part of the innate immune system.

To make this determination, Dr. Eisenbarth and her coworkers used mice that had been genetically engineered to be deficient in various components of a specific type of inflammasome, characterized by the presence of the protein termed Nalp3. The team demonstrated that an immune response did not occur in those animals with the deficient Nalp3 inflammasomes, despite the inclusion of alum, while it did occur in normal mice. The team’s findings provide the first convincing evidence that the Nalp3 inflammasome forms the basis for alum’s adjuvant action.

According to the study authors, several unanswered questions remain regarding how activation of this pathway controls a highly specific and long-lasting immune response generated by a vaccine. But this new information on the molecules that alum uses to activate the innate immune system should provide the keys to better understanding adjuvant function and should facilitate the design of new vaccine adjuvants.

Technorati Tags: Vaccine, Health, Disease, Amazing: How Vaccine Works?
Del.Icio.Us Tags: Vaccine, Health, Disease, Amazing: How Vaccine Works?

Full Story with More pictures...

A cess or surcharge on income tax and corporate tax may be levied to bail out oil firms reeling under high global oil prices as Petroleum Ministry’s proposal to raise petrol price by Rs 10 a litre, diesel by Rs 5 per litre and that of LPG by Rs 50 per cylinder finds few takers.

The new proposal follows Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s reluctance to cut duties on crude oil and petroleum products unless alternate source of revenues are identified.

Petroleum Minister Murli Deora met Chidambaram on Tuesday but failed to convince him of the urgency to cut import and excise duties to avoid the Rs 2,00,000 crore revenue loss expected on petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene this fiscal.

BPCL and HPCL have cash to buy crude oil only till July while Indian Oil can finance imports till September. The three firms face huge liquidity crisis as they are unable to realise full value of products sold.

"We don’t want to see scarcity of petroleum products particularly kerosene and LPG," Deora told reporters after the meeting. "Oil companies are in a precarious state and we need urgently find solutions."

Full Story with More pictures...

HERE’S MORE CRAZY FACTS !!!!! (REMEMBER, THIS IS ALL TRUE!!!)

• The average bed is home to over 6 billion dust mites.


• Just twenty seconds worth of fuel remained when Apollo 11’s lunar module landed on the moon.


• Ten tons of space dust falls on the Earth every day.


• Every year the sun loses 360 million tons.


• If you attempted to count to stars in a galaxy at a rate of one every second it would take around 3,000 years to count them all.


• Ernest Vincent Wright wrote a novel with over 50,000 words, none of which containing the letter "e."


• There are 333 toilet paper squares on a toilet paper roll.


• Singapore has only one train station.


• The Eiffel Tower has 2,500,000 rivets in it.


• The Eiffel Tower has 1792 steps.


• It takes about 20 seconds for a red blood cell to circle the whole body.


• Every year, the Moon moves a further 3.82cm from the Earth.


• Every minute in the U.S. six people turn 17.


• There are more than 1,00 chemicals in a cup of coffee.


• Blue and white are the most common school colors.


• On average, a 4-year-old child asks 437 questions a day.


• The tip of a 2cm long hour-hand on a wristwatch travels at 0.00000275 mph


• There is about 200 times more gold in the worlds oceans, than has been mined in our entire history.


• Human hair and fingernails continue to grow after death.


• Termites eat wood twice as fast when listening to heavy metal music.


• The cockroach has a high resistance to radiation and is the creature most likely to survive a nuclear war.


• Guinness Book Of Records holds the record for being the book most stolen from Public Libraries.

Full Story with More pictures...

If You Get Caught Sleeping at Your Desk

1. They told me at the blood bank this might happen.
2. This is just a 15 minute power-nap like they raved about in the last time management course you sent me to.
3. Whew! Guess I left the top off the liquid paper.
4. I wasn’t sleeping! I was meditating on the mission statement and envisioning a new paradigm!
5. This is one of the seven habits of highly effective people!
6. I was testing the keyboard for drool resistance.
7. Actually I’m doing a "Stress Level Elimination Exercise Plan" (SLEEP). I learned it at the last mandatory seminar you made me attend.
8. I was doing a highly specific Yoga exercise to relieve work related stress.
9. Darn! Why did you interrupt me? I had almost figured out a solution to our biggest problem.
10. The coffee machine is broken.
11. Someone must’ve put decaf in the wrong pot.
12. Boy, that cold medicine I took last night just won’t wear off!
13. Ah, the unique and unpredictable circadian rhythms of the workaholic!
14. I wasn’t sleeping, I was trying to pick up contact lens without hands.
15. Amen.

Full Story with More pictures...

The Taliban came at dawn, catching the policemen by surprise while they were at prayer. Fifty of them attacked from three sides, using AK-47s, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. Closing in for the final assault to cries of “Allahu Akbar!”, they called on the policemen to surrender.

That, until recently, is just what the Afghan police would have done. But this time the young police chief, Daryakhan, decided to hold out behind his new American-built fortifications, shouting back: “This is my country. You are the agents of Pakistan.” In the subsequent fighting the police lost an observation tower, but Daryakhan had a better asset up his sleeve. He called for help with a satellite telephone, and in minutes American Apache helicopters clattered overhead to break the Taliban attack. Several insurgents were later tracked by drones and killed.

A record number of Western soldiers-232-died in Afghanistan last year, and 2008 is unlikely to be better. Some 8,000 Afghans were killed in 2007, more than 1,500 of them civilians, according to United Nations estimates. Much of the Pushtun belt in the south and east, where the insurgency is most intense, is deemed too dangerous for humanitarian workers. NATO says the Taliban’s increasing resort to suicide-bombs is a sign that they are weakening. Equally, it could be a sign that the insurgents are getting cleverer.

Full Story with More pictures...

In order to check proliferating hazardous e-waste recycling units in the national capital, Delhi government is roping in private sector to regulate the process.

"We have asked the private sector to come forward to develop an electronics waste management project on the basis of public-private partnership," Delhi Environment Secretary JK Dadoo said.

Delhi is emerging as the world’s capital for e-waste recycling, a hazardous activity taking place without any regulations with the major dismantling taking place in unorganised informal sector.

"We want the companies to develop projects related to collection and storage of the e-waste, dismantle, segregate or extraction of valuable metals, reuse, recycling or treatment and final disposal," Dadoo said.

An Expression of Interest has been floated by the NCT government for inviting private firms to take up all projects or individually as per their area of expertise.

Conservative estimates put the annual volume of e-waste junk produced by discarded electronic equipment in Delhi at around 10,000 metric tonne, but experts say the actual figure is even higher.

Full Story with More pictures...

An IT-driven intelligent traffic system to streamline vehicular movement will be in place in the national capital by 2010 when the Commonwealth Games will be held. Installation of intelligent video cameras at major traffic intersections, communication of live video images from traffic intersections through cyber highway to the central command and control centre will be some of the major features of the new system.

Besides, the system will have a command and control room with a video wall to project these images, incident detection system for quick response to traffic snarls, inbuilt enforcement system like enforcement against signal violation, lane violation and speed violation, a senior traffic police official said.

"Road users will also be informed about the traffic situation through variable message signs," the official said.

The Planning Commission has approved Rs 200 crore to be spent over the Plan period 2007-12, of which Rs 32 crore has been earmarked for the traffic project, the official said.

"We have invited expression of interest from world over in this regard. Also, we are in the process of finalising appointment of a consultant for the project who will guide us in examining the offers, prepare bid documents and help us in getting the project implemented," the official added.

Source: PTI

Full Story with More pictures...

SMARTASS #6 It was mealtime during a flight on Hooters Airline. "Would you like dinner?" the flight attendant asked John, seated in front. "What are my choices?" John asked. "Yes or no," she replied.

SMARTASS #5 A flight attendant was stationed at the departure gate to check tickets. As a man approached, she extended her hand for the ticket and he opened his trench coat and flashed her. Without missing a beat, she said, "Sir, I need to see your ticket not your stub."

SMARTASS #4 A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store but she couldn’t find one big enough for her family. She asked a stock boy, "Do these turkeys get any bigger?" The stock boy replied, "No ma’am, they’re dead."

SMARTASS #3 The cop got out of his car and the kid who was stopped for speeding rolled down his window. "I’ve been waiting for you all day," the cop said. The kid replied, "Yeah, well I got here as fast as I could." When the cop finally stopped laughing, he sent the kid on his way without a ticket.

SMARTASS #2 A truck driver was driving along on the freeway. A sign comes up that reads, " Low Bridge Ahead." Before he knows it, the bridge is right ahead of him and he gets stuck under the bridge. Cars are backed up for miles. Finally, a police car comes up. The cop gets out of his car and walks to the truck driver, puts his hands on his hips and says, "Got stuck, huh?" The truck driver says, "No, I was delivering this bridge and ran out of gas."

SMARTASS ANSWER OF THE YEAR 2006 A college teacher reminds her class of tomorrow’s final exam. "Now class, I won’t tolerate any excuses for you not being here tomorrow. I might consider a nuclear attack or a serious personal injury, illness, or a death in your immediate family, but that’s it, no other excuses whatsoever!" A smart-ass guy in the back of the room raised his hand and asked, "What would you say if tomorrow I said I was suffering from complete and utter sexual exhaustion?" The entire class is reduced to laughter and snickering. When silence is restored, the teacher smiles knowingly at the student, shakes her head and sweetly says, "Well, I guess you’d have to write the exam with your other hand."

Full Story with More pictures...

Child obesity can lead to many complications. Obesity in children may result in many emotional and physical problems. Emotional problems include altered body image, depression and poor self-esteem. Let us examine the possible causes of increasing obesity in children and how it can be overcome.

Obesity in Child
A child is considered obese based on his/her height and weight, which is compared on a growth chart by a physician. If the normal body weight exceeds the ideal weight in comparison to the age and height then the child is called obese. Child obesity is calculated using BMI (Body mass index), which is a measure of the body fat based on height and weight.

Causes of child Obesity
There are many factors that contribute to obesity among child. Body weights are determined by a combination of these factors. Bad eating habits and lack of exercise are noted as primary causes of increasing obesity among children.

Genetic Factors - Obesity can be genetic i.e. the risk of becoming obese is greatest among children who have obese parents. This is due to the genetic factors or parental modeling of both eating and exercise behaviors.

Environmental Factors - Environmental factors including lifestyle play a major role in child obesity. Poor eating habits, especially consumption of high calorie snacks can cause obesity in children. Some research also shows that extensive viewing of television may cause obesity in children (Dietz and Gortmaker, 1985). Factors involved here are displacement of physical activity coupled with increased calorie consumption caused by the effects of television advertising.

Psychological Factors - Psychological factors also contribute to obesity in children. These factors influence child’s eating habits and many people eat in response to negative emotions such as boredom, sadness or anger.

Prevention of Childhood Obesity
Parent education is one of the best ways to prevent obesity in children. Preventing obesity is far easier than treating it. Parent education should focus on promotion of breastfeeding, recognition of signals of satiety, selection of low-fat snacks, good exercise habits and monitoring of television viewing.

Full Story with More pictures...

Could there by life in Mars. Why not?

Deposits of silica detected on Mars in 2007 by the roving robot Spirit were formed by volcanic vapors or hot-spring-type events crossing through soil. They could also contain traces of past life, scientists reported in a study out Thursday.

On Earth, hydrothermal deposits teem with life, and the associated silica deposits typically contain fossil remains of microbes. But we don’t know if that’s the case here," researchers noted, "because the rovers don’t carry instruments that can detect microscopic life."

"What we can say is that this was once a habitable environment where liquid water and the energy needed for life were present," he added "If there were organisms living there," he said, "our terrestrial experience shows that microbes can easily be entrapped and preserved in the deposits." Silica is an excellent medium for capturing and preserving traces of microbial life, he added.

NASA landed two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, on opposite sides of the planet in January 2004 to scope out rocks showing the presence of water. Now the rovers are more than four Earth years into a trek designed to go just three months.

While dust has collected on their solar panels and they have had some mechanical wear, both are still exploring.

Full Story with More pictures...

Female starlings with a testosterone top-up are better defenders of the nest, but skimp on parental care. The finding may offer clues to why females in general do not have as much testosterone as males.

The spotless starlings of the western Mediterranean compete ruthlessly for nesting sites, and can be killed or seriously injured as a result. When Jose Veiga and Vicente Polo at Spain’s National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid placed testosterone implants in 30 female starlings they found that these birds tended to be better at acquiring and holding onto their nests, but took less care of their young.

High levels of testosterone may work to a female’s advantage where competition for nesting sites is fierce, the authors suggest, but reduce reproductive success elsewhere.

Full Story with More pictures...

Saving other species will protect the health of humans. That’s the message from Eric Chivian and Aaron Bernstein from Harvard Medical School in Boston, who say that human health depends crucially on biodiversity.

While plenty of investigations have done on the sociological impact of species dying out, few have considered the impact on human health. Chivian and Bernstein hope to change this by drawing together the ideas of leading thinkers on the subject in Sustaining Life: How human health depends on biodiversity, to be published by Oxford University Press in May. Due to be launched at the UN headquarters in New York as New Scientist went to press, the book includes contributions by such heavy-hitters as the sociobiologist Edward O. Wilson and former UN chief Kofi Annan.

The impacts on health from loss of biodiversity can be complex and unexpected, says the book. Chivian gives the example of polar bears, which are threatened by pollution and global warming. Unlike most mammals, they can both gain and shed fat very rapidly with no health consequences. "When we lose polar bears we may be losing the single best research model for understanding obesity-related diseases," he says.
Technorati Tags: BioDiversity, Health, Human
Del.Icio.Us Tags: BioDiversity, Health, Human

Full Story with More pictures...

A young couple on their wedding night were in their honeymoon suite. As they were undressing for bed, the husband, a big burly man, tossed his trousers to his new bride. He said, "Here, put these on."

She put them on and the waist was twice the size of her body.

"I can’t wear your trousers." she said.

"That’s right,’’ said the husband, "and don’t you ever forget it. I’m the man who wears the pants in this family."

With that she flipped him her panties and said, "Try these on."

He tried them on and found he could only get them on as far as his kneecaps.

"Hell," he said. ’’I can’t get into your panties!"

She replied, "That’s right...and that’s the way it is going to stay until your attitude changes."

Full Story with More pictures...

The moon has been in plain view for all of human history, but it’s only within the past few decades that it’s been possible to travel there. And for just about as long as the moon has been within reach, people have been arguing about lunar property rights: Can astronauts claim the moon for king and country, as in the Age of Discovery? Are corporations allowed to expropriate its natural resources, and individuals to own its real estate? The first article on the subject, "High Altitude Flight and National Sovereignty," was written by Princeton legal scholar John Cobb Cooper in 1951.

Various theoretical discussions followed, with some scholars arguing that the moon had to be treated differently than earthbound properties and others claiming that property laws in space shouldn’t differ from those on Earth. With the space race in full flower, though, the real worry was national sovereignty. Both the United States and the Soviet Union wanted to reach the moon first but, in fact, each was more worried about what would happen if they arrived second. Fears that the competition might trigger World War III led to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which was eventually ratified by 62 countries.

According to article II of the treaty, "Outer Space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sover­eignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means." So national appropriation was out, along with fortifications, weapons and military installations. But what about private property rights-personal and corporate? Some scholars argue that property rights can exist only under a nation’s dominion, but most believe that property rights and sovereignty can be distinct.

Full Story with More pictures...

Homophobia and the stigmatisation of people with HIV and AIDS are hampering efforts to tackle the spread of infection in Russia and the other countries of the former Soviet Union.

The number of people there with HIV has risen to 1.6 million since 2001 - an increase of 150 per cent. Only by being more accepting of homosexuality and of the need to treat intravenous drug users can the region "turn the corner", Peter Piot of UNAIDS told the second Eastern Europe and Central Asia AIDS conference in Moscow on 2 May.

The worry is that if people in these high-risk groups are stigmatised, they will resist coming forward for treatment - and carry on spreading the infection. There are also worries that governments under-report cases resulting from sex between men. Official figures suggest 1 per cent of total HIV cases in the former Soviet Union are a result of sex between men, but a UNAIDS study that puts the figure at up to 23 per cent in Ukraine suggests this is a serious underestimate.

Technorati Tags: Aids, Health, Homophobia increases AIDS.
Del.Icio.Us Tags: Aids, Health, Homophobia increases AIDS.

Full Story with More pictures...

Look this picture, how 1 GB memory was then and now! and comment on this!

Full Story with More pictures...

Long ago, our ancestors were using caves as shelter from wild animals and the forces of nature. Perhaps, this base necessity however, has always been eclipsed by man’s curiosity and desire to explore the mystical and enigmatic air inside the abyss. In the past, Environmental Graffiti has explored some amazing uses of caves -from discotheques, temples and underground cities to hotels and primary schools. That’s only scratching at the surface however.

Today, with all sorts of equipment, caving has turned into something of an extreme sport - it involves climbing, crawling and sometimes even swimming. Looking at the most extreme end then, what about those caves that create the enigma, that fuel the stuff of legends; caves that appear bottomless and that seem to extend to the very center of the earth? What are the ten deepest caves on our planet? 10. Cehi 2: Slovenia’s deepest cave was mapped by Italian explorers from the Club Alpino Italiano of Trieste.

They published a very interesting document, called Progressione 50: although it’s in Italian, you can see how the expedition went inside the Cehi 2 (or Ceki 2:). The cave, which is in the Canin Massif, is located in the Western Julian Alps, on the Italian-Slovenian border. The alpinists managed to go as deep as 4928 feet (1502 m). To put this in perspective, the depth is over twice the height of the tallest man-made structure in the world.

Full Story with More pictures...

The state government’s decision to acquire and preserve a rare signature in Tamil of Mahatma Gandhi has made Seethapathi Naidu, the holder of the scrap of paper with the scrawled signature, very happy.

Naidu was 14 years old when his father Lakshmipathy Naidu took him to meet Mahatma Gandhi and donate Rs 5 towards relief for people in Bihar affected by an earthquake. Acknowledging his donation, Gandhi patted Naidu on the shoulder, borrowed a small piece paper and put his signature in Tamil on it and gave it to him.

Naidu had been trying to hand it over to the government since February, and The Times of India reported it on May 12. Tourism and culture secretary V Iraianbu said the government had now decided to acquire the paper. "We will get it from Seethapathi Naidu and preserve it. Later we will decide where to keep it for public display," Iraianbu told TOI on Thursday.

Naidu had been preserving the paper in a small glass box for over seven decades. "The paper has become brittle and I was worried about who would take care of it after me. I am happy the government has come forward to preserve it. It is a great privilege for me to be honoured by the government," Naidu said.

V Santhanam, a social activist in Chromepet, wrote a letter to Tamil Nadu Archives on Naidu’s behalf this February requesting it to take the document. The archives officials wrote to the higher education department which forwarded the request to tourism and culture department asking it whether the signature could be kept at Gandhi Museum in Madurai or Government Museum in Chennai. Source: Times of India
Technorati Tags: Gandhi, India, Peace, Preserving Gandhiji’s Tamil Sign
Del.Icio.Us Tags: Gandhi, India, Peace, Preserving Gandhiji’s Tamil Sig

Full Story with More pictures...

AIDS Cases

In 2006, the estimated number of cases of AIDS in the United States and dependent areas was 37,852. Of these, 36,828 were in the 50 states and the District of Columbia and 833 were in the dependent areas. In the 50 states and the District of Columbia, adult and adolescent AIDS cases totaled 36,790 with 26,989 cases in males and 9,801 cases in females, and 38 cases estimated in children under age 13 years.

The cumulative estimated number of cases of AIDS through 2006 in the United States and dependent areas was 1,014,797. Of these, 982,498 were in the 50 states and the District of Columbia and 31,217 were in the dependent areas. In the 50 states and the District of Columbia, adult and adolescent AIDS cases totaled 973,352 with 783,786 cases in males and 189,566 cases in females, and 9,144 cases estimated in children under age 13 years.

These numbers do not represent reported case counts. Rather, these numbers are point estimates, which result from adjustments of reported case counts. The reported case counts have been adjusted for reporting delays and for redistribution of cases in persons initially reported without an identified risk factor, but not for incomplete reporting.

Totals include persons of unknown race or multiple races, persons of unknown sex, and persons of unknown state of residence. Because totals were calculated independently of the values for the subpopulations, subpopulation values may not equal the totals.

AIDS Cases by Age

Of the estimated number of AIDS cases in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, persons’ ages at time of diagnosis were distributed as follows.

Age (Years)	Estimated # of AIDS Cases in 2006	Cumulative Estimated # of AIDS Cases, Through 2006*
Under 13	38	9,156
Ages 13-14	73	1,078
Ages 15-19	401	5,626
Ages 20-24	1,669	36,225
Ages 25-29	3,423	117,099
Ages 30-34	4,349	197,530
Ages 35-39	6,402	213,573
Ages 40-44	7,298	170,531
Ages 45-49	5,628	107,207
Ages 50-54	3,687	59,907
Ages 55-59	2,071	32,190
Ages 60-64	955	17,303
Ages 65 or older	835	15,074

Del.Icio.Us Tags: AIDS, Health, HIV, Disease, US: AIDS cases by Age Groups
Technorati Tags: AIDS, Health, HIV, Disease, US: AIDS cases by Age Groups

Full Story with More pictures...

Sexual harassment at school is more than just a special kind of bullying. Taunts and aggression related to sexuality are less common than bullying but have more adverse effects, say researchers who have for the first time compared the two. Schools have been putting great effort into anti-bullying campaigns. Sexual harassment gets less attention and is often regarded as a subset of bullying known as "sexual bullying".

To discover how prevalent both bullying and sexual harassment are, as well as what the long-term effects are and who is being victimised, they surveyed 522 children aged between 11 and 18.

Majority bullied: The questionnaire asked students how often since the beginning of the school year they had had certain experiences - for instance, being the butt of a sexual joke, being called names like "fag" or "dyke", or being slapped or shoved or kicked.

They also asked questions designed to assess self-esteem and physical and mental health, including whether the student had trouble sleeping or spent a lot of time thinking about these incidents. Fifty-two per cent of students reported having been bullied and 35% felt they had been sexually harassed.

In both males and females, sexual harassment caused more harm. But girls and sexual minorities - gays, lesbians and bisexuals - were more likely than heterosexual kids to be victimised in either way, and were more likely to suffer serious consequences.

Illegal behaviour: Gruber thinks that sexual harassment causes greater harm because it attacks our "core identities as gendered people" - in a way that being called "fat" or "stupid" does not.

"Young people certainly make the distinction between sexual harassment and other bullying," she says. "We do need to have more conversations about sexual harassment before it takes place."
Technorati Tags: Sex, School, Teens, Sexual harassment at school
Del.Icio.Us Tags: Sex, School, Teens, Sexual harassment at school

Full Story with More pictures...

TO LIVE longer, skip lunch rather than skipping off to the treadmill. In rodents, eating less prolongs life and now we know one of the key molecules involved.

It’s probably down to depressed insulin levels, which regulate blood glucose. While at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, Derek Huffman kept mice on a variety of diets and exercise regimes. He found that insulin was lowest in animals eating the least, even if they didn’t exercise.

We don’t yet know if the effect translates to humans, so keep exercising, says Huffman. "The benefits of exercise in humans are overwhelming."

Technorati Tags: Health, Exercise, Life, Eat Less and Live Longer!!
Del.Icio.Us Tags: Health, Exercise, Life, Eat Less and Live Longer!!

Full Story with More pictures...

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the fields of culture, arts and sports between India and Brunei was signed here today. Minister of Tourism and Culture Smt. Ambika Soni signed the MoU from the Indian side and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade-II Mr. Pehin Dato Lim Jock Seng singed the document from the Brunei side.

India’s cultural interactions with Brunei have remained somewhat limited in the past as there was no Agreement/ MoU with Brunei.

It is hoped that with the signing of the MoU the bilateral cultural relations will get an impetus and there will be many cultural exchanges between the two countries.

The salient features of MoU being signed are:-
•Cultural Exchanges between the Cultural & Sports Institutions of the two countries.
•The Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) shall be constituted for carrying out the provisions of this MoU.
•The Joint Consultative Committee will meet alternately in Brunei and India.
•This MoU will be valid for a period of 5 years from the date of its signing and has a provision of automatic renewals.

Technorati Tags: India, Business, World, India Signed MoU with Brunei: Govt
Del.Icio.Us Tags: India, Business, World, India Signed MoU with Brunei: Govt

Full Story with More pictures...

INDONESIA is still digging in its heels over access to the most recent strains of the H5N1 flu virus.

Hit by most of the recent human cases of H5N1, Indonesia holds virus samples that could help develop the most effective vaccine if H5N1 goes pandemic. But the country has refused to share its samples without guarantees from rich nations that it will be allowed access to vaccines derived from them. So far it has sent the World Health Organization samples from only two of its 16 known cases this year.

A partial solution was reached last week when the Indonesian health minister announced that she will send gene sequences from the country’s virus samples to a public database. Although this will allow researchers to track how the virus is evolving, vaccine development normally requires the viruses themselves and Indonesia is still mostly refusing to send those to foreign labs.

There may be another hope: the European Union has just approved Prepandrix, an H5N1 vaccine made by GlaxoSmithKline. Although based on a 2004 virus from Vietnam, it managed to elicit immune reactions to other strains of H5N1 in human trials.

Full Story with More pictures...

A Japanese centre which says it has trained a dog to sniff out human cancer cells is cloning the animal in South Korea, a Seoul bio-technology company and the dog’s owner have said. Cloned foetuses from the black labrador retriever named Marine were last month implanted into a surrogate mother dog, said Ra Jeong-Chan, president of RNL Bio.

"We are going to see the clones around the end of this month," Ra said. Marine, who is six and half years old, lost her ability to reproduce when she had her womb removed because of disease. She is owned by Yuji Satoh, a head trainer at St. Sugar Cancer Sniffing Dog Training Centre located at Shirahama in Chiba prefecture. Satoh told AFP in Japan that experts from Seoul National University, which created the world’s first cloned dog in 2005, had taken some skin samples from Marine and brought them back to South Korea for the project.

"We are making clones of Marine. She is touted as having a world top cancer-sniffing ability. By making her clones, we want to promote studies into cancer-sniffing dogs," Satoh said. "It’s the world’s first cloning of a cancer-sniffing dog." He and the Korean firm, which is coordinating the project, have agreed to produce two clones and train them at Satoh’s centre. One will then be brought back to South Korea for study at the university and the other will stay at the centre. If the project for two pups succeeds, they plan to produce more. "We want to make more clones of Marine for worldwide distribution" for studies into canine detection of cancer, Satoh said.

Researchers in several countries are investigating whether dogs have the ability to detect lung, breast, prostate and skin cancer at an early and treatable stage. They believe cancer cells create a scent not present in healthy cells, which can theoretically be picked up by dogs in breath or urine samples. RNL Bio’s last such project was an order for the world’s first commercial cloning of a pet dog - a request from a US woman to re-create her beloved former pitbull.
Technorati Tags: Technology, Cancer, Health, Cancer Dog sucessfully cloned!
Del.Icio.Us Tags: Technology, Cancer, Health, Cancer Dog sucessfully cloned!

Full Story with More pictures...

One of the newer contraceptive devices, the female condom allows the woman to protect herself from unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Available in the European markets since 1992, the female condom was approved by the FDA in 1993. It is relatively expensive as compared to other contraceptive measures. There is encouragement for the use of the female condom from WHO and UNAIDS since it is effective in attending to the reproductive health needs of women. It can be effective in the prevention of HIV and AIDS and STDs.

Female condom
This contraceptive device was invented to Dr. Mary Ann Leeper as a measure to control the growing HIV epidemic, especially in the African continent and other developing nations. Female condoms are made of polyurethane and are about 17 cms long with a flexible ring at both ends. This contraceptive device is worn by a woman and acts a barrier method of preventing pregnancy. This sheath lines the vagina and has no serious side effects. The biggest advantage that the female condom offers over other contraceptive devices is that it offers protection not only from unwanted pregnancies but also sexually transmitted diseases including HIV and AIDS.

Female condoms are odorless and soft but stronger than latex. The inner ring at the closed end is used for insertion of the female condom and it is placed behind the pubic bone. The outer end is soft and remains outside the vagina. This contraceptive method comes with a lubricant.

Female condoms do not require a prescription for purchase nor do you need help from a health professional for its use. Women using this barrier method do not suffer hormonal side effects. This form of contraception can be used during menstruation and after recent childbirth. Costing about $2 to $5, the female condom is more expensive than the usual male condoms. Since it is recommended to use a new one each time, this can be a costly contraceptive measure. Any tear in the female condom makes it ineffective.
Technorati Tags: Female, Girls, Sex, Hiv, The First Female Condom
Del.Icio.Us Tags: Female, Girls, Sex, Hiv, The First Female Condom

Full Story with More pictures...

Cuba has invited Indian investments in oil and gas, tourism, mining and energy, including renewable energy.

The Cuban deputy minister for foreign trade, Eduardo Escandell Amador said "while Cuba needs to import food and health products, transportation and energy services from India, India can import from Cuba health products and services, tobacco and rum". He specifically spoke about the huge investment opportunity for Indian Companies in the energy sector in Cuba, particularly in renewable energy, folic energy and hydro energy and also in oil and gas sector.

Amador is leading the biggest trade delegation from Cuba in recent years to India. The delegation consists of representatives from a wide cross section of industry including tourism, chemicals, agri-business, energy, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, logistics, automobiles and auto-components and construction sector.

Amador thanked India for reopening the lines of credit as this will increase bilateral trade between the two countries. Myra Penichet from the Cuban ministry of tourism informed about the huge opportunity that exists for Indian Companies in investing in the tourism sector in her country. She said that Cuba needed investment of $ 200 million for refurbishment of existing installations, $ 170 million for investing in new hotels and tourism activities, besides requiring investments in roads construction, water supply and water recycling.

Caridad Campos from the Cuban Chambers of Commerce urged for greater business exchange between India and Cuba.

Chairing the session, the managing director of Chemon Group of Companies and Trustee IBEF, Chetan Seth said that while historically India and Cuba shared strong political relations, the trade relations between the two countries remained low. He attributed the low trade figures to high transportation cost, small volume of orders for goods, difficulties of access to foreign exchange in the hands of importing entities and payments problems.

He welcomed joint ventures with Cuban Companies especially in the field of pharma and biotech and hoped that the visit of this delegation would increase interest of business on both sides and help in promoting trade and investment opportunities between India and Cuba.

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Business, India, Cuba, Investment
Technorati Tags: Business, India, Cuba, Investment

Full Story with More pictures...

Girls who have Turner syndrome are shorter than average. They often have normal height for the first three years of life, but then have a slow growth rate. At puberty they do not have the usual growth spurt.

Non-functioning ovaries are another symptom of Turner syndrome. Normally a girl’s ovaries begin to produce sex hormones (estrogen and progesterone) at puberty. This does not happen in most girls who have Turner syndrome. They do not start their periods or develop breasts without hormone treatment at the age of puberty.

Even though many women who have Turner have non-functioning ovaries and are infertile, their vagina and womb are totally normal. In early childhood, girls who have Turner syndrome may have frequent middle ear infections. Recurrent infections can lead to hearing loss in some cases.

Girls with Turner Syndrome are usually of normal intelligence with good verbal skills and reading skills. Some girls, however, have problems with math, memory skills and fine-finger movements.

Additional symptoms of Turner syndrome include the following:

An especially wide neck (webbed neck) and a low or indistinct hairline.

1. 
   
   A broad chest and widely spaced nipples.


2. 
   
   Arms that turn out slightly at the elbow.


3. 
   
   A heart murmur, sometimes associated with narrowing of the aorta (blood vessel exiting the heart).


4. 
   
   A tendency to develop high blood pressure (so this should be checked regularly).


5. 
   
   Minor eye problems that are corrected by glasses.


6. 
   
   Scoliosis (deformity of the spine) occurs in 10 percent of adolescent girls who have Turner syndrome.


7. 
   
   The thyroid gland becomes under-active in about 10 percent of women who have Turner syndrome. Regular blood tests are necessary to detect it early and if necessary treat with thyroid replacement.


8. 
   
   Older or over-weight women with Turner syndrome are slightly more at risk of developing diabetes.


9. 
   
   Osteoporosis can develop because of a lack of estrogen, but this can largely be prevented by taking hormone replacement therapy.
   Technorati Tags: Health, Girls, Disease
   Del.Icio.Us Tags: Health, Girls, Disease
   

Full Story with More pictures...

Turner syndrome is a chromosomal condition that alters development in females. Women with this condition tend to be shorter than average and are usually unable to conceive a child (infertile) because of an absence of ovarian function. Other features of this condition that can vary among women who have Turner syndrome include: extra skin on the neck (webbed neck), puffiness or swelling (lymphedema) of the hands and feet, skeletal abnormalities, heart defects and kidney problems.

This condition occurs in about 1 in 2,500 female births worldwide, but is much more common among pregnancies that do not survive to term (miscarriages and stillbirths).

Turner syndrome is a chromosomal condition related to the X chromosome.

Researchers have not yet determined which genes on the X chromosome are responsible for most signs and symptoms of Turner syndrome. They have, however, identified one gene called SHOX that is important for bone development and growth. Missing one copy of this gene likely causes short stature and skeletal abnormalities in women with Turner syndrome.

Full Story with More pictures...

Having the largest forest cover at about 46 per cent of its landmass, Sikkim has launched the third stage of its green mission to further expand its bio-diversity and give fillip to eco-tourism.

The Green Mission III is aimed at involving the people, the local bodies and the official machinery right upto the lowest rung in the drive towards making the Himalayan state a land of gardens, forest department officials said. Under the afforestation drive, the forest department officials, NGOs, panchayat bodies and the government employees at the village and local level would actively coordinate with the people for planting saplings at all available land, including the barren ones, they said.

Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling observed the purpose of the afforestation campaign could not be realised without the active participation of the people. "The people should participate in the Green Mission project like any of their day-to-day duties so that the bio-diversity of the Himalayan state could be preserved and tapped by way of promotion of eco-tourism", he said while kickstarting the Green Mission III last week.

Expressing his government’s commitment to make Sikkim a totally green state, Chamling said "our’s is the only state in the country which has made a separate financial allocation for the afforestation drive by making a provision of two per cent of the budgetory allocation for the purpose".

Similarly, the state government has made provision for one per cent of the outlay of the various departments this year for spending on the afforestation programme, he said. Buoyed by the sucess of the earlier two phases of the Green Mission, the afforestation drive this year would seek to plant saplings and flowers at all open lands throughout the state, officials said.

The plantation of sapling has also been proposed on the open land on either side of the road throughout the state so as to make the journey by commuters, including the tourists, a pleasant experience. The state government had earlier in 2006 launched the Green Mission project in a bid to strengthen its rich bio-diversity which had led to an increase of two per cent in its forest cover from 44 per cent to about 46 per cent.

About 80 per cent of the saplings planted in all blocks of the state under the project had survived resulting in a significant increase in the vegetation. The government then carried out a follow-up exercise under the Green Mission II last year in which over 10 lakh saplings were planted at an expenditure of Rs Two crore.

Full Story with More pictures...

"You need lather to know it’s really working."
MYTH The more foam a shampoo produces, the cleaner your hair’s getting, right? Not exactly. You may love working up a good head on your head, but those suds are mostly created for psychological effect (Oooh, it’s cleaning!). Foaming occurs when surfactant molecules in the shampoo mix with air and create tons of tiny bubbles. Ideally, your head should have only enough lather to lubricate the hair and scalp, so a quarter-size blob of shampoo will usually do the trick.

"You should use a clarifying formula to get rid of buildup."
PARTLY FACT Unless you’re using heavy-duty styling products, like pomade, mousse, or gel, regular shampooing prevents styling-product residue from collecting on your hair. If you do need a clarifier, don’t use it more than once a week. These detergent-heavy cleansers, which do such a great job of removing buildup, will also do a great job of damaging the hair cuticle.

"Washing every day can be bad for your hair."
MOSTLY MYTH "Daily washing is safe and healthy," says Mort Westman, the cosmetics chemist. If you have oily hair, it’s fine to suds up every day--but even oily types should use a gentle formula (translation: one with moisturizing ingredients, like silicones, shea butter, or panthenol). People with coarse or dry hair might want to be more conservative and wash every other day, says L’Oréal’s Youssef. No matter what kind of hair you have, as long as you stay away from harsh formulas that strip natural oils and treat your strands with conditioner, regular shampooing won’t do any harm.

"For best results, follow with a conditioner."
FACT No, this isn’t a scam to sell you two products. Chemists can pack only so many ingredients into each bottle. And a shampoo can’t clean properly and deposit enough conditioner to moisturize your locks. Using a separate conditioner will coat strands with ingredients that hydrate and protect. BTW: If your hair’s super-oily, apply the thick stuff only from the ears to the ends.

"After a while, your hair gets used to your shampoo. That’s why you need to switch to a new brand occasionally."
MYTH Honestly, where do people come up with this stuff? Let cosmetics chemist Westman set the record straight: "Hair is dead, period. So it can’t ’get used to’ anything. It’s just your perception of how your hair responds to a new formula." So if you love your brand, there’s no reason to switch.

Technorati Tags: Facts, Beauty, Teens, Top 5 Shampoo Myths and Facts
Del.Icio.Us Tags: Facts, Beauty, Teens, Top 5 Shampoo Myths and Facts

Full Story with More pictures...

You have gone to a wedding the lastday. The service was beautiful, the food and drink flowed and there was dancing all night. But people tell you that you are in hospital, that you have been in hospital for weeks, and that you didn’t go to a wedding yesterday at all. The experience of false memories like this following neurological damage is known as confabulation.

The reasons why patients experience false memories such as these has largely remained a mystery. Studies in amnesic patients have associated confabulation with damage to the orbital and ventromedial prefrontal cortices. However, neuroimaging studies have associated memory-control processes which are assumed to underlie confabulation with the right lateral prefrontal cortex.

A new study by Dr Martha Turner and colleagues at University College London offers some clues as to what might be going on. They used a confabulation battery to investigate the occurrence and localisation of confabulation in an unselected series of 38 patients with focal frontal lesions.

Twelve patients with posterior lesions and 50 healthy controls were included for comparison. Significantly higher levels of confabulation were found in the frontal group, confirming previous reports. More detailed grouping according to lesion location within the frontal lobe revealed that patients with orbital, medial and left lateral damage confabulated in response to questions probing personal episodic memory (PEM).

Patients with orbital, medial and right lateral damage confabulated in response to questions probing orientation to time (OT). Performance-led analysis revealed that all patients who produced a total number of confabulations outside the normal range had a lesion affecting either the orbital region or inferior portion of the anterior cingulate.

These data provide striking evidence that the critical deficit for confabulation has its anatomical location in the inferior medial frontal lobe. Performance on tests of memory and executive functioning showed considerable variability. Although a degree of memory impairment does seem necessary, performance on traditional executive tests is less helpful in explaining confabulation.

Full Story with More pictures...

Death offers a second chance to the living. It stirs emotions once thinly veiled, forcing those caught in its wake to confront their own mortality. Through such unwanted introspection, a profound appreciation of life is gained - regrets are mended, failures forgotten and hope for an ever-fragile future is renewed. Death offers a second chance to the living.It stirs emotions once thinly veiled, forcing those caught in its wake to confront their own mortality.

Through such unwanted introspection, a profound appreciation of life is gained - regrets are mended, failures forgotten and hope for an ever-fragile future is renewed.Matt Nelson understands the sway death holds over the living. He, too, has been changed by its presence.Only this death was his own.As a sales inspector for Terminix, Nelson faces the darkness as a matter of routine.

Almost daily, he belly crawls beneath the homes of potential clients, stabbing at the shadows with a flashlight searching for signs of infestation.But what Nelson experienced beneath a house on Main Street in Glencoe on Monday, April 7 was anything but ordinary. For 30 seconds, while his body was being electrocuted, Nelson stepped out and across the threshold of eternity before being snatched back by an unlikely hero.

Once, Nelson would have rolled his eyes at the mention of a "near-death experience" - with the requisite stories of bright lights and choirs of angels usually told by the same people who believe in alien abduction and Bigfoot."I was an absolute skeptic, a cynic," says the 40-year-old Nelson.That was until it happened to him.

Full Story with More pictures...

The Younger blood donors, sixteen and seventeen year olds are likely to experience complications related to donation, such as fainting and bruising. This was published in a study in JAMA published on May 21, 2008.

According to the authors, blood donation centers are continuously challenged with finding more safe blood as donors dwindle. They write: "The unremitting need and increasing demand for blood components constantly challenges blood centers to maintain a safe and adequate blood supply from a decreasing pool of eligible donors that is estimated at only 38 percent of the U.S. adult population." To find eligible donors, blood centers have advocated several measurements for recruitment, including legistlation allowing the collection of blood from donors aging 16 to 17 years in states that do not presently allow it.

It has previously been suggested that younger donors are more susceptible to complications from donation. To investigate this, Anne F. Eder M.D., Ph.D., of the American Red Cross, Washington, D.C., and colleagues examined the adverse reactions experienced by 16 and 17 year olds. Data were collected in 1996 from nine American Red Cross blood centers which regularly collect donations from this age group, which comprises approximately 80% of donations in high school blood drives. In this time, 145,678 whole blood donations were collected from 16- and 17-year-olds (group 16-17), 113,307 from 18- and 19-year-olds (group 18-19), and 1,517,460 from donors age 20 years or older (group 20+).

Complications, including loss of consciousness or bruising, were present in 10.7% of donations made by 16-17, 8.3% made by 18-19, and 2.8% made by 20+. In comparison to 18-19 and 20+, the 16-17 group was more likely to experience some loss of consciousness or major complications. Injuries directly related to fainting were not common, and for every 10,000 blood collections there were 86 events in group 16-17. That said, this was 2.5 more likely in this group than group 18-19, and 14 times more likely than in group 20+. Almost half of all injuries in total occurred in sixteen and seventeen year old donors. Many episodes required outside medical care, including many involving concussion, laceration involving stitches, dental injuries, or broken jaw.

These complications correlated repeat donor rates. Sixteen year old donors with even minor complications were 60% less likely to return to donate within 12 months in comparison with those who experienced no complications (52% versus 73% return rate). The researchers write that this likely influenced donors interest in returning: "Consequently, any negative experience diminishes the likelihood of return blood donation, and increases the possibility that a short-term yield in donations incurs the ultimate expense of deterring future blood donation by young donors. These findings are particularly pertinent at a time when blood centers are becoming increasingly reliant on
young donors to maintain an adequate blood supply. "

They conclude, stating that these results should be considered in the application of new legislation. "These data on common and infrequent complications of blood donation should be considered when age limits are deliberated by state authorities. The relatively comparable reaction rates in 16- and 17-year-old donors, and their increased complication rates compared with young adults and adults, suggest the need for a consistent approach. Blood centers have an obligation to constantly monitor risks of blood donation and to make a concerted and committed effort to achieve the lowest possible rate of complications. Although zero risk may not be attainable even in adults, the rate of complications in minors calls for ongoing attention to a sustained operational effort that is continually focused on donation safety."

Full Story with More pictures...

A woman’s voice becomes more attractive when she is most fertile. Scientist recorded women counting from 1 to 10 at four occasions during their menstrual cycle. They replayed the recordings at random to male and female students and asked them to rate the attractiveness of the voices. Both males and females judged these voices to be most attractive if they were recorded during the peak fertility period of the menstrual cycle, and less attractive if they were recorded during non-fertile periods.

It is evident that the sex hormones influence the voice box, or larynx, says researchers. They say the changes in the female voice during peak fertility support the view that women are "different" at that point in the menstrual cycle - in other words, that they experience oestrus.

The fact that men notice the differences in vocal attractiveness suggests that there is a subtle evolutionary battle of the sexes going on, says Gallup: as women evolve ever more efficient ways to conceal fertility - to avoid unwanted attention - men become increasingly sensitive to the tiny changes that do occur.

Geoffrey Miller at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, showed last year that women lap dancers earn more tips during their fertile days. "The voice changes might explain some of the shift in lap dancer tip earnings," he says. "Dancers certainly chat with their customers." But Miller points out that there is also evidence that visual attractiveness changes during the menstrual cycle. "Voice quality is unlikely to be the whole story," he says.

Technorati Tags: Women, Health, Sexy voice from Fertile women
Del.Icio.Us Tags: Women, Health, Sexy voice from Fertile women

Full Story with More pictures...

The funny and crazy facts found below are all true, believe it or not

• If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days you would produce enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.(Hardly seems worth it.)


• If you farted consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb. (Now that’s more like it!)


• The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body that it could squirt blood 30 feet. (O.M.G.!)


• A pig’s orgasm lasts 30 minutes long. (In my next life, I want to be a pig.)


• A cockroach can live up to nine days without it’s head before it starves to death. (Creepy. I’m still not over the pig.)


• Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour. (Warning: Do not try this at home........ maybe at work.)


• The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to its body. The female initiates sex by ripping the male’s head off. ("Honey, I’m home. What the......?!")


• The flea can jump up to 350 times its body length. For a human, that would be equivalent to jumping the length of a entire football field. (30 minutes....lucky pig.... Can you imagine 30 minute orgasm??)


• The catfish has over 27,000 taste buds. (What could be so tasty on the bottom of a pond or the sea?)


• Some lions mate over 50 times a day. (I still want to be a pig in my next life.... quality over quantity!)


• Butterflies can taste with their feet. (Something I always wanted to know.)


• The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue. (Hmmmmmmm........ won’t go there.)


• Right-handed people live, on an average, live nine years longer than left-handed people. (Glad to be right handed.)


• Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump. (OK, so that would be a good thing.)


• A cat’s urine glows under a black light. (I wonder who was paid to figure that out.)


• An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain. (I know some people like that.)


• Starfish have no brains. (I know some people like that too.)


• Polar bears are left-handed. (If they switch, they’ll live a lot longer.)


• Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure. (What about that pig???)

Full Story with More pictures...

IT’S the latest in a growing list of health problems linked to air pollution: dangerous blood clots triggered by smog from traffic and factories.

If a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) breaks loose from where it forms in the lower leg or thigh and travels to the lungs, it can cause breathing problems and sometimes death. Andrea Baccarelli and colleagues at Harvard School of Public Health monitored the air quality in different parts of the Lombardy region of Italy. They also collected the home addresses of 870 people from the region diagnosed with DVT between 1995 and 2005, and 1200 healthy controls.

When they controlled for socio-economic factors, they found that living in an area with 25 per cent more particulate pollution than the average for big European cities increases the risk of DVT by 70 per cent compared with the average for the whole population.Lombardy is prone to pollution because the nearby Alps block the flow of air. Past studies have linked particulate pollution to a greater risk of heart attack and delayed mental development in children.

Technorati Tags: Pollution, Health, World, Air pollution induces blood clots
Del.Icio.Us Tags: Pollution, Health, World, Air pollution induces blood clots

Full Story with More pictures...

Parents and teachers worry that teenagers’ use of these and other forms of online shorthand is harming their language skills. Perhaps they will take comfort from a study suggesting that instant messaging (IM) actually represents "an expansive new linguistic renaissance".

“Instant messaging represents an expansive new linguistic renaissance”. Researchers say teenagers risk the disapproval of their elders if they use slang, and the scorn of their friends if they sound too buttoned-up. But instant messaging allows them to deploy a "robust mix" of colloquial and formal language. In a paper to be published in the spring 2008 issue of American Speech, the researchers argue that far from ruining teenagers’ ability to communicate, IM lets teenagers show off what they can do with language.

"IM is interactive discourse among friends that is conducive to informal language," says Denis, "but at the same time, it is a written interface which tends to be more formal than speech."

He analysed more than a million words of IM communications and a quarter of a million spoken words produced by 72 people aged between 15 and 20. They found that although IM shared some of the patterns used in speech, its vocabulary and grammar tended to be relatively conservative. For example, teenagers are more likely to use the phrase "He was like, ’What’s up?’" than "He said, ’What’s up?’" when speaking - but the opposite is true when they are instant-messaging. This supports the idea that IM represents a hybrid form of communication.

Nor do teens use abbreviations as much as the stereotype suggests: LOL (laugh out loud), OMG (oh my god), and TTYL (talk to you later) made up just 2.4 per cent of the vocabulary of IM conversations - an "infinitesimally small" proportion, say the researchers. And rumours of the demise of you would appear to have been greatly exaggerated: it was preferred to u a whopping 9 times out of 10. Tagliamonte and Denis suggest that the use of such short forms is confined mostly to the youngest users of IM.

Technorati Tags: Teens, Children, News, Parents
Del.Icio.Us Tags: Teens, Children, News, Parents

Full Story with More pictures...

Monkeys genetically engineered to get the deadly neurological disease Huntington’s could provide a unique way to test potential treatments because of their cognitive and genetic similarities to humans.

"Monkey models may have a privilege over other animal models," says Anthony Chan, a biologist at Yerkes National Primate Center in Atlanta, Georgia, whose team engineered five rhesus macaque monkeys to churn out the mutant protein that causes Huntington’s.

Researchers routinely splice human genes in and out of mice to give them diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. But mice are of limited use when investigating brain diseases such as Huntington’s: people who have it can’t control their movement, speech or swallowing and their cognitive abilities deteriorate. But mice engineered to express the Huntington’s protein don’t jerk their muscles like humans do and it can be tough to gauge their cognitive decline.

To see if primates might offer more insight, Chan’s team used a virus to insert the Huntingon’s gene into the DNA of 130 macaque eggs, along with a gene that makes a fluorescent green jellyfish protein. The researchers then fertilised the eggs and implanted them into eight mothers.

All the monkeys born expressed the green protein, indicating that gene transfer was successful, and some already appear to have the monkey equivalent of Huntington’s. The brains of one set of twins, who died a day after birth, were littered with clumps of a mutant protein found in humans with Huntington’s, while the lone animal, who died a month after birth, jerked involuntarily.

Full Story with More pictures...

The Vatican’s chief astronomer says there is no conflict between believing in God and in the possibility of "extraterrestrial brothers" perhaps more evolved than humans. "In my opinion this possibility (of life on other planets) exists," said Reverend Jose Gabriel Funes, a 45-year-old Jesuit priest who is head of the Vatican Observatory and a scientific adviser to Pope Benedict.

"How can we exclude that life has developed elsewhere," he told the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano in an interview in its Tuesday-Wednesday edition, explaining that the large number of galaxies with their own planets made this possible.
Asked if he was referring to beings similar to humans or even more evolved than humans, he said: "Certainly, in a universe this big you can’t exclude this hypothesis." In the interview, headlined "The extraterrestrial is my brother," he said he saw no conflict between belief in such beings and faith in God.

"Just as there is a multiplicity of creatures on Earth, there can be other beings, even intelligent, created by God. This is not in contrast with our faith because we can’t put limits on God’s creative freedom," he said. "Why can’t we speak of a ’brother extraterrestrial’? It would still be part of creation," he said.

’Lost sheep’Funes, who runs the observatory, which is based south of Rome and in Arizona, held out the possibility that humans might actually be the "lost sheep" of the universe. "There could be (other beings) who remained in full friendship with their creator," he said.

Christians have sometimes been at odds with scientists over whether the Bible should be read literally and issues such as creationism versus evolution have been hotly debated for decades. The Inquisition condemned astronomer Galileo in the 17th century for insisting that the Earth revolved around the Sun. The Catholic Church did not admit its mistake until 1992. Funes said dialogue between faith and science could be improved if scientists learned more about the Bible and the Church kept more up to date with scientific progress.

Funes, an Argentine, said he believed as an astronomer that the most likely explanation for the start of the universe was the big bang, the theory that it sprang into existence from an incredibly dense state about 14 billion years ago. But he said this was not in conflict with faith in God as a creator. "God is the creator. There is a sense to creation. We are not children of an accident," he said.

"As an astronomer, I continue to believe that God is the creator of the universe and that we are not the product of something casual but children of a good father who has a project of love in mind for us," he said.
Del.Icio.Us Tags: Vatican, Science, News
Technorati Tags: Vatican, Science, News

Full Story with More pictures...

POWER plants could be sabotaged by a simple internet attack that shuts down their control systems.

Core Security in Boston, Massachusetts, has discovered a serious vulnerability in a software package called Suitelink that is widely used to automate the operation of power stations, oil refineries and production lines. This could allow attackers to crash Suitelink by sending an outsize data packet to a certain port on the computer running the program. Suitelink’s maker, Wonderware, has since issued a software patch to plug the security gap.

Core had only just begun examining this kind of supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) program when it found the problem. This may mean that more vulnerabilities are still
Technorati Tags: Science, Technology, Security, Power plants in Hackers Hands?
Del.Icio.Us Tags: Science, Technology, Security, Power plants in Hackers Hands?

Full Story with More pictures...

Makeup and clothing is an issue for many teenage girls. If you are stressing about what you should look like as a newcomer in middle school, or a freshie in high school, here’s a quick guide to help your fashion mature with you throughout middle and high school.

In Sixth grade, wear lip gloss, some mascara, and maybe a little bit of pale eyeshadow; don’t go too heavy or it may look bad. If you want to try out more types of makeup, keep that for home experiments.

As for clothes, keep it in your comfort level. Bear this in mind: if you are wearing a bra or undershirt, don’t let the straps hang out. It doesn’t look cool; it just looks sloppy. If you are wearing a short shirt, check in the mirror to see if your stomach hangs out of the bottom. Otherwise, wear something a little bit longer. Also, if your pants are likely to slip, wear a belt. Belts are totally hip now!

* The main point is to keep the makeup light, and the clothes clean cut.

In Seventh grade you are beginning to care a little more what you look like; you might want to try curling your hair a few days a week, and using different hairstyles besides your typical ponytail.

If you are acne prone, try foundation. Remember thet even oily skin can get flaky and that looks horrible with foundation. So try it on weekends first and ask your mother (or someone that uses foundation well) if it looks okay.

In Seventh grade you might want to try eyeliner. But not too much because you don’t want to look like a racoon! Start trying to tie outfits together with accessories. It’s good to try new things with your makeup and clothes. But when you try the new things, make sure it looks good on you, not just in the picture or at the store. Check out different stores, and find out if there is a style that suits you.

In eighth grade you are probably getting good at makeup and you know what you like. Try establishing your own hairstyle without looking like everyone else. For example, if everyone has long, layered hair with no bangs, try light wispy bangs and a shorter, layered look.
You might be wearing tighter jeans now and probably starting to get concerned with impressing the guys, so it’s safe to try out more mature styles such as a sleek leather blazer, or lower cut necklines. If you are happy with your sports bra, that is totally OK. But it’s safe now to check out the actual bra department and wear something that makes you feel pretty - like lace.

Ninth grade: high school! This is a big transition. Now in the same world as seniors, you are going to want to look like the rest of your peers. You should by now have your makeup and hair styles already. Try to update this look a bit, because no one wants to carry the same look they had in middle school. Dramatize a detail in your hair. If its known for it’s left side part, part it even deeper. Make a straight style even sleeker and hip. Learn to make youre curls tighter, or looser.

In high school you might want to wear your usual make up during the day, and as you start to go out with friends and boys at night, add a darker shade of eyeliner, or jazz up your lips with something more festive. It’s also good to try new shoes, try wearing spikier ankle boots with a pair of hot jeans and a blouse. Chunkier heels aren’t as hip as spikes as you get older. Incorporate accessories into your outfit. Buy yourself a bag that’s in suede or leather to keep your schoolbooks in, instead of a backpack. You will want to buy yourself a new jacket, and make it your own.

You know what you like, so go and find clothes that fit your style, but crank it up a notch for a more mature feel.

Technorati Tags: Beauty tips, Hair growth

Full Story with More pictures...

The advice that changed my life was a quote from Osho -

‘Live Courageously’. The word courage in itself is very interesting. It comes from a Latin root cor, which means heart. So to be courageous means to live with the heart. And weaklings, only weaklings, live with the head; afraid and create a security of logic around themselves.

The mind will endlessly battle for security; it will wobble between the pros and cons. The heart will take us on unknown paths and help us to be true to one’s passions. I decided to marry the woman of my life at a stage when I had nothing. I look back and feel greatly satisfied about it as life helps you beyond expectations when you go with it. The direct fallout of this in my entrepreneurial life is to take decisions and then work all the way to make them ‘right’. It helps one get focused on what delivers revenue, profits and results right now. The first part of journey is always the most difficult; being courageous makes you put the first step forward and embrace uncertainty.

Full Story with More pictures...

The Indian software industry lost about 2 billion dollars of revenue this year due to use of pirated softwares.

Piracy of software on personal computers (PC) in India has come down to 69 percentage points for 2007, toeing the global trend in which piracy rates dropped in most countries, the study said.

The software piracy menace has been haunting the major software developers like Microsoft.

Microsoft (India) Managing Director Neelam Dhawan had earlier said the industry is losing a large share of its revenue due to circulation of pirated softwares.

It has also acted as an dampener for the local software firms for developing applications.

"There are less Indian success stories of software applications being adopted on a large scale as India has a high piracy rate and therefore Indian do not make money," an industry expert said.

Software piracy affects much more than just the industry revenues, it even hits the job market and eventually the country’s economic growth.

An IDC economic impact study released in January this year found that by reducing PC software piracy in India by 10 percentage points over a period of four years could generate an additional 44,000 new jobs, 3.1 billion dollars in economic growth, and 200 million dollar in tax revenues.

Technorati Tags: Piracy, Software, Technology, USD 2 bn, Indian Software Piracy?
Del.Icio.Us Tags: Piracy, Software, Technology, USD 2 bn, Indian Software Piracy?

Full Story with More pictures...

The pope’s chief astronomer says that life on Mars cannot be ruled out. Writing in the Vatican newspaper, the astronomer, Father Gabriel Funes, said intelligent beings created by God could exist in outer space. The search for forms of extraterrestrial life, he says, does not contradict belief in God. The official Vatican newspaper headlines his article ’Aliens Are My Brother’. ’Free from sin’: Just as there are multiple forms of life on earth, so there could exist intelligent beings in outer space created by God. And some aliens could even be free from original sin, he speculates. Asked about the Catholic Church’s condemnation four centuries ago of the Italian astronomer and physicist, Galileo, Father Funes diplomatically says mistakes were made, but it is time to turn the page and look towards the future. Science and religion need each other, and many astronomers believe in God, he assures readers.

To strengthen its scientific credentials, the Vatican is organising a conference next year to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of the author of the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin.

Technorati Tags: Vatican, Alien, Mars, Vatican admits alien life could exist?
Del.Icio.Us Tags: Vatican, Alien, Mars, Vatican admits alien life could exist?

Full Story with More pictures...

The ancestors of humans, apes and monkeys may have taken to the trees because of their small body size.

Scientists have long wondered why early primates inhabited forest canopies, given that climbing appears to consume more energy than walking. US researchers studied primates climbing and walking on treadmills. They say there was no difference in energy consumption for small primates, giving clues to how their ancestors entered the trees 65 million years ago. Dr Jandy Hanna of Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, said the data suggested that the earliest primates were able to exploit a new environment without added cost if they remained small.

"The earliest primates differentiated from other mammals partly due to their exploitation of a new arboreal niche - that of the terminal branches of trees," she told BBC News. Early primates, which would have been about the size of large rats, then underwent a number of evolutionary changes as they adapted to their new environment. These changes included nails rather than claws and grasping hands and feet. "The benefit/payoff of invading this new environment (and the appearance of these anatomical changes) was an insect- and fruit-rich environment," said Dr Hanna. Professor Robin Crompton, of the Primate Evolution and Morphology group at the University of Liverpool, UK, said it had been observed in the wild that small animals such as the mouse lemur and dwarf bushbaby move in much the same manner on verticals as horizontals.

"For the first time, [the US researchers] show that for primates of up to 4kg or so, at least, the energetic efficiency of vertical motion increases very little with size, while previous work has shown that the efficiency of walking increases sharply," he said.

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Science, Evolution, Darwin, Ancestors had leg-up to trees
Technorati Tags: Science, Evolution, Darwin, Ancestors had leg-up to trees

Full Story with More pictures...

The model for predicting visual clarity - based on measurements taken by today’s highly accurate aberrometers -- could also enable surgeons to more accurately assess and correct the vision of patients undergoing lasik or refractive surgery.

New technology in aberrometers means ophthalmologists and others can accurately measure refractive error and other abnormalities in the eye’s optics. But these instruments cannot use these measurements to predict visual acuity, or how well a person can actually see. Usually, ophthalmologists and optometrists rely on a patient’s ability to identify characters on an eye chart to determine visual clarity.

A study recently published in the online, peer-reviewed Journal of Vision, published by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) evaluates the performance of several simple metrics that predict visual acuity from wavefront aberrations - the eye measurements provided by an aberrometer.

To do so, authors Andrew B Watson and Albert J. Ahumada Jr (both of NASA Ames Research Center, CA) make a clear distinction between a metric and model.

"A metric is a formula that describes a quantitative relationship," explains Watson. "It is accurate but not necessarily adaptable to different situations. A model is a mechanistic description that explains why a relationship exists. If the parameters of a model change, one can make predictions of how an outcome will change."

The authors developed a model that successfully predicts visual acuity using both wavefront aberrations and simulations of the complex task of identifying individual letters from the widely used Sloan letter set. They then designed a simple metric that performs as well as the more elaborate model.

The metric could be used internationally. Explains Watson: "The same metric, because of its generality, can predict acuity measured with other symbol sets, such as Chinese characters.

"With this metric, the aberrometer will be able to give direct predictions of visual acuity, and could also provide an automatic optimal refractive prescription for the patient."

Technorati Tags: EYE, Health, Science, Automatic Eyeglasses Prescriptions?
Technorati Tags: Eye, Health, Science, Automatic Eyeglasses Prescriptions?

Full Story with More pictures...

Mysore, a royal city known for its palaces, parks, heritage buildings, handicrafts and its famous Mysore ‘Maillige’ and Mysore ‘Pak’, also once came alive with a particular beat. That was the ‘dub dub’ beat going by the name of Jawa motorcycles. There was a time when it was as proud to own a Jawa mobike as it was to work in the factory there. The sound of the beat resonated throughout the country - but now the beat is missing. Still, the heritage City of Mysore is metamorphosing and the Jawa (later Yezdi) factory which stood on 28 acres, is acquiring a different hue.

International living is coming to Mysore and guess what else is happening? Two Asian giants - India and China - are in the news competing for world attention. But what we will be seeing here is the ingenuity of the Chinese and the mastermind of the Indians. The person responsible is a shy Bangalorean, who has now made Mysore his own pride of place. He is Jagadish Babu, and the project we are talking about is Sankalp Central Park. A residential condominium proposed at Yadavagiri in Mysore on the existing old Jawa factory, this development consists of 912 residential units and a clubhouse with a total built-up area of 14.42 lakh square feet.

Is it not true that most of his buyers are from outside Mysore? No, says Babu. “In fact, in the first phase of the Sankalp Central Park where the prices range from Rs 35 lakh to Rs 51 lakh basic, for 12.5 squares to 18 squares; of the 220 flats sold out of 288, 70 per cent are Mysoreans,” said Babu. Hence the slogan, “Goodbye Bangalore, Hello Mysore.” It is possible with proper planning to make Mysore another Singapore. “In all our meetings at BAI, Mysore and CREDAI , we are all concerned about how to approach the government to see that Mysore does not go the Bangalore way,” he said.

With factors like rainwater harvesting and sewage treatment plant - the conservation of water - one of the main concerns of any growing city, is taken care of. Thus the ‘dub dub’ beat is making way for a greener, cleaner, healthier life which as Mysoreans, we all need to feel proud of.

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Travel, Tourism, India, Goodbye Bangalore - Welcome Mysore?
Technorati Tags: Travel, Tourism, India, Goodbye Bangalore - Welcome Mysore?

Full Story with More pictures...

The Andhra Pradesh government is planning to develop an exclusive healthcare city on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

According to KS Jawahar Reddy, Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA), the government had already identified about 200 acres of land near Patancheruvu, about 35 km from the city. “We are looking at a developer-cum-manager for the project, which is similar to that of Dubai Health Care city,” Reddy said.

Though the financial estimates have yet to be prepared, as per the general understanding the project would cost around $2 billion. While the government will extend land for the project, towards its share in the equity, the remaining cost will have to be raised by the developer. Besides setting up of the world class infrastructure, the developer will have to manage the project, Reddy said.

The project envisaged having super-specialty hospitals, para-medical facilities diagnostic centres, besides other healthcare related infrastructure like pharmacy, implements etc. The city will have star hotels to provide housing for the attendants.

As per the industry estimates, the medical tourism is fast catching up with an annual growth rate of 25%. The industry sources project a turnover of over $2.2 billion by 2010. Hyderabad has already been recognised as a destination for healthcare in the country, with a host of super-specialtyhospitals and diagnostic centres.

Del.Icio.Us Tags: India, Tourism, Health, New Healthcare City on Hyderabad

Full Story with More pictures...

With inflation rising to 44-month high, Finance Minister P Chidambaram today warned steel and cement manufacturers of administrative steps if price cuts announced by them were not enough to cool prices.

"As I said we are waiting for steel and cement (prices) reductions to come into force but we always reserve the right to take administrative measures if they are not enough. But for the time being we simply have to remain a little patient," Chidambaram told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.

Major steel producers decided to reduce prices by Rs 4,000 a tonne after meeting the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on May 7. Some cement companies have also announced Rs 3 to Rs 7.5 reduction on a bag of 50 kg.

Steel and cement sectors together contribute 12 per cent to overall inflation. For the week ended May 3, the inflation rate rose to nearly four-year high of 7.83 per cent against 7.61 per cent in the previous week. But iron and steel prices declined by 1.7 per cent, while that of cement fell 0.4 per cent.

Chidambaram said that the rise in inflation during the week ended May 3 is "indeed worrying", but the decline in inflation rate in primary articles group is a silver-lining amidst dark clouds.

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Inflation, India, Economy

Full Story with More pictures...

With India being the fourth largest country in terms of number of visitors to Singapore every year, after Indonesia, China and Australia, the Singapore Tourism Board is all set to promote the country as a unique destination, even for weekends, according to Area Director, Southern India, Sri Lanka and Maldives of Singapore Tourism Board Kiran Bhandari.

“Last year, there were 7.5 lakh visitors from India to Singapore. The number was 6.59 lakh in 2006. From 2004, there has been a 59 per cent growth in the visitors’ population from India. Chennai alone accounted for 17.0 per cent growth in the number of visitors last year, as against the national average of 14 per cent,” he said, adding that there were 53 flights a week from the metro to Singapore.

He told reporters here that there were 1,500 visitors from Puducherry last year, a 33 per cent growth from 2006. “Singapore is a first time destination for a lot of Indians and family travellers are a large component,” he said.

This September, Formula One race was all set to rock Singapore for three weekends in the ‘Singapore GP Season.’

The first night race would be part of the season and 82 per cent of the tickets had already been sold, he said. The Singapore River Festival would be from September 19 to 28. The Singapore Biennale (September 11 to November 16) would feature contemporary paintings, installations and sculptures across the city.

The Singapore Motor show would be on from September 26 to October 5, Mr.Bhandari said. The government would spend 40 million dollars on the Orchard Road Rejuvenation, adding three big malls on one million square-foot retail space, he pointed out.

Mr.Bhandari also said that a world-class luxury resort and casino, convention and exhibition facilities, restaurants and array of retail outlets were in the making at the Marine Bay Sands, a five billion dollar investment project to be completed in 2009.

“Around 101 hectares of prime land has been allotted for a garden by the bay. This would be ready by 2010,” he added. A brand new attraction, Singapore Flyer, opened recently in the Marina Bay area. This was the world’s largest observation wheel, 169 metres tall, he said.

“Singapore is just three hours away from Chennai by air. The cost depends on the planning. But a two night stay including air travels will start from Rs. 17,000 to Rs, 18,000,” he said.

Full Story with More pictures...

The newest analysis of trace gases trapped in Antarctic ice cores now provide a reasonable view of greenhouse gas concentrations as much as 800,000 years into the past, and are further confirming the link between greenhouse gas levels and global warming, scientists reported May 14 in the journal Nature.

They also show that during that entire period of time, there have never been concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane as high as the current levels, said Edward Brook, an associate professor of geosciences at Oregon State University, and author of a Nature commentary on the new studies.

"The fundamental conclusion that today’s concentrations of these greenhouse gases have no past analogue in the ice-core record remains firm," Brook said in the report. "The remarkably strong correlations of methane and carbon dioxide with temperature reconstructions also stand."

The latest research, done by members of the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica, extend the data on trace gases back another 150,000 years beyond any studies done prior to this, Brook said. Ultimately, researchers would like to achieve data going back as much as 1.5 million years.

The tiny bubbles of ancient air trapped in polar ice cores have been used to provide records of trace gases in the atmosphere at distant points in the past, and better understand the natural fluctuations that have occurred, largely as a result of cyclical changes in Earth’s orbit around the sun.

Technorati Tags: Pollution, Earth, Ice Core and Greenhouse Gases?
Del.Icio.Us Tags: Ice Core and Greenhouse Gases?

Full Story with More pictures...

Modify and Sculpt Your Body

We all want to lose some weight, get more sculpted, get a flaunt-worthy physique: like smaller thighs, flat stomach and that firm and tempting tushy. These are not that hard to achieve if you know what type of workout plan you need to get the body you want.

Gait and Posture
Did you knew that working out in the gym, besides making you stay fit it also improves your posture? As a matter of fact, when you stand up straight, your abdominal and back muscles are contracting and you also will appear a few inches taller.

Sculpted Arms
If you want to tone those arms up, you need to lose the fat that’s on your arm that make them look flabby. Thirty minutes of moderate intensity exercise at least three times a week can do. With your knees slightly bent, tummy tucked, back straight, and elbows kept close to your sides, raise and weights at a moderate pace. Remember to progress slowly, because you don’t want to stress your joints or injure your muscles.

Flexibility
According to a recent study, 8 weeks of regular yoga can get you 35% more supple and flexible. If you do some aerobics or stretching you can get the same results.

Supple Thighs
Jump rope just like when you were a kid. Begin with just 5 minutes a day. This may sound little, but it’s the equivalent of 15 minutes of running or spinning. Also, you can lie flat on your back and raise your legs. Perform a cycling motion. Do this for as long as you can. Increase your time by 10 sec or by 50 cycles.

Firm and Round Butt
Stand with your feet together. Keep your chest out and your midsection firmly. Place your hands on your hips or by your sides. Step forward with a large step. Bend both your knees. Your front shin should remain in a straight line with your ankle. Your back knee should be nearly touching the floor. As you are pushing up, and at the top of your lunge movement, lunge forward with the other leg repeating the same movement.
Flat Stomach
The best training for a toned, supple and perfectly flat stomach are yoga and pilates. These are the most efficient fitness techniques for toning the abdominal and back muscles and also improve posture.

You can see how much you can modify your body, but there are things that you cannot change with exercise.
Knees - Instead of considering plastic surgery, you can still improve the aspect of body by defining musculature.
Breast Size - Some exercises or special cream can increase bra size…but don’t expect miraculous results without surgery.
Lips - Sum up to some lip plumpers or a sensual smile. The results of collagen injections can also be disastrous.
Wide Hips - If you inherited your wide hips and voluptuous curves from your mom, find out that no matter how skinny you’ll be, the bones of your hips will remain the same.

Full Story with More pictures...

1. Move More

Make it a daily challenge to find ways to move your body. Climb stairs if given a choice between that and escalators or elevators. Walk your dog; chase your kids; toss balls with friends, mow the lawn. Anything that moves your limbs is not only a fitness tool, it’s a stress buster. Think ’move’ in small increments of time. It doesn’t have to be an hour in the gym or a 45-minute aerobic dance class or tai chi or kickboxing. But that’s great when you’re up to it. Meanwhile, move more. Thought for the day: Cha, Cha, Cha…. Then do it!

2. Cut Fat

Avoid the obvious such as fried foods, burgers and other fatty meats (i.e. pork, bacon, ham, salami, ribs and sausage). Dairy products such as cheese, cottage cheese, milk and cream should be eaten in low fat versions. Nuts and sandwich meats, mayonnaise, margarine, butter and sauces should be eaten in limited amounts. Most are available in lower fat versions such as substitute butter, fat free cheeses and mayonnaise. Thought for the day: Lean, mean, fat-burning machine…. Then be one!

3. Quit Smoking

The jury is definitely in on this verdict. Ever since 1960 when the Surgeon General announced that smoking was harmful to your health, Americans have been reducing their use of tobacco products that kill. Just recently, we’ve seen a surge in smoking in adolescents and teens. Could it be the Hollywood influence? It seems the stars in every movie of late smoke cigarettes. Beware. Warn your children of the false romance or ’tough guy’ stance of Hollywood smokers. Thought for the day: Give up just one cigarette…. the next one.

4. Reduce Stress

Easier said than done, stress busters come in many forms. Some techniques recommended by experts are to think positive thoughts. Spend 30 minutes a day doing something you like. (i.e.,Soak in a hot tub; walk on the beach or in a park; read a good book; visit a friend; play with your dog; listen to soothing music; watch a funny movie. Get a massage, a facial or a haircut. Meditate. Count to ten before losing your temper or getting aggravated. Avoid difficult people when possible. Thought for the day: When seeing red, think pink clouds….then float on them.

5. Protect Yourself from Pollution

If you can’t live in a smog-free environment, at least avoid smoke-filled rooms, high traffic areas, breathing in highway fumes and exercising near busy thoroughfares. Exercise outside when the smog rating is low. Exercise indoors in air conditioning when air quality is good. Plant lots of shrubbery in your yard. It’s a good pollution and dirt from the street deterrent. Thought for the day: ’Smoke gets in your eyes’…and your mouth, and your nose and your lungs as do pollutants….hum the tune daily.

6. Wear Your Seat Belt

Statistics show that seat belts add to longevity and help alleviate potential injuries in car crashes. Thought for the day: Buckle down and buckle up.

7. Floss Your Teeth

Recent studies make a direct connection between longevity and teeth flossing. Nobody knows exactly why. Perhaps it’s because people who floss tend to be more health conscious than people who don’t? Thought for the day: Floss and be your body’s boss.

8. Avoid Excessive Drinking

While recent studies show a glass of wine or one drink a day (two for men) can help protect against heart disease, more than that can cause other health problems such as liver and kidney disease and cancer. Thought for the day: A jug of wine should last a long time.

9. Keep a Positive Mental Outlook

There’s a definitive connection between living well and healthfully and having a cheerful outlook on life. Thought for the day: You can’t be unhappy when you’re smiling or singing.

10. Choose Your Parents Well

The link between genetics and health is a powerful one. But just because one or both of your parents died young in ill health doesn’t mean you cannot counteract the genetic pool handed you. Thought for the day: Follow these basic tips for healthy living and you can better control your own destiny.

Full Story with More pictures...

1. Sex is a beauty treatment. Scientisttest shows that woman that have sexual relation produce big amounts of estrogen which make hair shiny and soft.

2. To make love in soft and relaxed way reduces the posibilities of suffering from dermatitis and acne. The sweat produced cleans pores and make the skin shine.

3. To make love allows you to burn calories accumulated in this romantic love scene.

4. Sex is the safest sports. It strenghtens and tonify all muscles. It is more enjoyable than 20 lapses in the pool.

5. Sex is an instanteneous cure against depression. It frees endorphines in the blood flow, creating to flow, creating a state of euphoria and leaves us a feeling of well being.

6. The more we make love, the more our capacity to do more. A body sexually active releasesa higher amount of Pheromene. This subtle aroma excites the opposite sex!

7. Sex is the safest tranquilizer. It is 10 times more effective than valium.

8. To kiss everyday allows you to avoid destist. Kisses aid saliva in cleaning teeth and lower the quantity of acid causing enamel weakening.

9. Sex relieves headaches. Each time we make love it releases the tension in our veins.

10. To make love a lot can heal nasal congestion. Sex is a natural antihistaminic. It help fight asthma and spring allergies.

Health Benefits Of Regular Sex

Medical community at last recognised the health benefits of sex. According to researchers, sex increases immunity levels in the body by increasing the secretions of required hormones and immunoglobulins. Regular sex reduces the risk of getting cancer and heart diseases. Doctors finally agreed to the fact that sex is the best enjoyable exercise to control ones weight. Health benefits of sex:

1. According to British Medical Journal, chemicals released during intercourse enhance the skin texture.

2. Couples who do sex at least thrice a week are at 50% less risk of getting heart attack. Romantic hormones like testosterone reduce heart attack risk by strengthening heart muscles.

3. Oxytocin which is released during intercourse reduces stress levels in the body. Oxytocin is a trust hormone which strengthens bond between couples.

4. According to one research, speakers who had good sex session at previous night delivered good speeches in the following day. Sex may enhance ones confidence levels.

5. Endorphins released during sex have the capacity to reduce pain in the body.

6. Regular sex increases Immunoglobulin-A levels by 30 times which raises immunity, according to Wilkes University researchers in Pennsylvania.

7. Old couples should do sex or kissing to enhance some hormone levels in the body.

8. During sex, heart beats 80-150 times which is a good exercise to strengthen muscles.

9. One sex session is equal to running for 1 kilometre. Bedroom is the best gym. Burn calories.

10. Prolactin released during sex increases the capacity of smell.

11. Sex reduces breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men.

12. Couples who have good sex life will achieve anything in professional life.

Full Story with More pictures...

The only way to tell if you’re affected is to have a simple blood test to measure your glucose (sugar) level. With type 2 diabetes, the body doesn’t produce enough insulin-the hormone that transports glucose from the blood to the muscles-or the muscle cells are resistant to it. As a result, glucose is not moved effectively from the blood to where it is needed. Over time, high glucose levels can damage nerves and blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart disease, kidney failure, blindness and other health problems. (Type 1 diabetes, which usually strikes in childhood, is an autoimmune disease in which the body stops making insulin.)

“A fasting blood-glucose test is inexpensive but invaluable,” says leading doctor at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston. Old guidelines suggested that diabetes screening begin at age 45 because the disease was rare in younger people. In light of the increase in cases, however, the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (doctors who specialize in hormonal disorders, including diabetes) recently lowered the recommended test age to 30 for people at high risk, which encompasses a surprisingly wide variety of people.

Full Story with More pictures...

A letter by Albert Einstein, in which he described religion as "childish superstitions" and the Bible as full of "primitive legends", has sold at auction for a world record £170,000. It was expected to fetch up to £8,000. The sale smashed the record for the price of a letter by the physicist. A set of several letters sold for £30,000 in 2007. The note was written in German to the philosopher Eric Gutkind on January 3, 1954.

The physicist wrote: "The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive legends which are nevertheless pretty childish. No interpretation no matter how subtle can (for me) change this." He went on to scorn the Jewish idea that they were a chosen people. He wrote: "For me the Jewish religion like all other religions is an incarnation of the most childish superstitions. And the Jewish people to whom I gladly belong and with whose mentality I have a deep affinity have no different quality for me than all other people. "As far as my experience goes, they are also no better than other human groups, although they are protected from the worst cancers by a lack of power. Otherwise I cannot see anything ’chosen’ about them."

Einstein said the Jewish religion helped believers "attain a certain self-deception" but did not improve their morality. It is signed: "With friendly thanks and best wishes, Yours, A. Einstein." The letter was sold yesterday at Bloomsbury Auctions in Mayfair, London, where extra phone lines had to be installed to cope with interest from around the world. The item raced past its guide price of between £6,000 and £8,000 and the price kept climbing. It was eventually sold for £170,000, with an extra £37,600 in fees, to an anonymous private collector.

Full Story with More pictures...

Builders clearing land for a housing project in Colombia have uncovered an ancient burial site containing nearly a thousand tombs linked to two little-known civilizations. The site covers some 12 acres (5 hectares) in the impoverished Usme district in southeast Bogotá and includes one set of remains that some researchers believe could be a victim of human sacrifice.

The possible victim is a young woman who seems to have been buried alive, said Ana Maria Groot, one of the lead anthropologists from the National University of Colombia working at the site. "Her mouth is open as if in terror, and her hands seem contracted as if she had tried grabbing hold of something," Groot said. Another tomb contains the remains of a man with a curved tibia, or shinbone, possible evidence that the man was a shaman, she added. Spanish observers in the 1500s wrote of indigenous shamans spending long periods in caves with no exposure to sunlight.

A lack of sunlight would produce a shortage of vitamin D, causing curving of the bones, explained Groot’s colleague, Virgilio Becerra. Two Mysterious Cultures Aside from such unusual finds, the site is unique for its age and length of occupation, the anthropologists say. The tombs range in date from around the first century to the 16th century A.D., based on analysis of pottery found with the remains.

The first 500 years of the site’s use date to the so-called Herrera period, when several small, obscure groups thrived in this region of the Andean highlands during the development of agriculture. "The agriculture became more intensive, more systematic at this time," Groot said. "We have high expectations about finding what kinds of plants they cultivated.

Full Story with More pictures...

A type of herpes virus called human cytomegalovirus (CMV) is found in up to 80 percent of Americans, though the virus normally produces very few clinical symptoms, is dormant, and usually undetectable in most people. However, more than 80 percent of patients newly diagnosed with the brain cancer glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) exhibit detectable CMV in their blood as well as in their tumors. The Duke team thought this might provide an opportunity to target brain tumors by going after the virus.

"Previous work has demonstrated the activation of this virus in patients with GBMs, so we took it one step further and tested a vaccine, in a small group of patients, that seems to show some efficacy in stalling the recurrence of these deadly tumors," said Duane Mitchell, M.D., Ph.D., a Duke researcher and lead investigator on the study. "We knew there was a connection between this virus and the brain cancer, and we were hoping to take advantage of that connection to treat one by treating the other."

There were 21 patients enrolled in the trial, and the vaccine appears to have delayed the re-growth of tumors from a typical six to seven months after surgery to more than 12 months. Early results also show a lengthened overall survival among GBM patients, from about 14 months with standard treatment to greater than 20 months.

"These results are preliminary and we’re comparing survival data to what we know about average survival with standard treatment for this patient population," Mitchell said. "But we are encouraged that we may have found a very plausible target for a new and complementary treatment for this deadly disease."

Patients on the study received the vaccine in conjunction with the chemotherapy drug temozolomide.

"We believe that use of temozolomide can further stimulate immune response to the vaccine because it initially depletes the infection-fighting immune cells," Mitchell said. "We find that their function is re-invigorated as they build back up during recovery. It’s the perfect time to introduce a vaccine, which works by stimulating an immune response."

Sandra Hillburn, a GBM patient, has been receiving monthly doses of this vaccine for almost two years, after being diagnosed in April 2006.

"It’s a pleasure to be able to worry about the little things in life again, like the weather," Hillburn said. She travels to Duke each month from her home in New Jersey to get her injections.

Full Story with More pictures...

Women say that they want honesty and tenderness and then they fall for the exact opposite. Why do women find bad boys so irresistible?

Women always claim that they want an honest, good, gentle man who will appreciate, love, pamper them, look after them, open doors for them, and then an arrogant, muscular, vain character passes by and they are intoxicated, stunned, done for. Why is this so? Why do women find bad boys so irresistible?

Who are these bad boys?

Bad boys are primarily arrogant men, full of themselves, insensitive to women’s needs, who do what they want and when they want it - regardless of what “she” may think about it, they strut their virility and sexuality and often use women just for sex.

Bad boys are the embodiment of all bad traits, especially those required to have a quality relationship, and women still go crazy over them and do it with full awareness.

What do women say?

Psychologists discussed the topic with many women and they listed several of the most frequent explanations given by the women themselves when asked why they were falling for these “baddies.”

1. Things are never boring with them. They are unpredictable and exciting. 2. They are b, aggressive and sure of themselves, they make me feel protected. 3. They are so charming and passionate. 4. They are so manly.

Psychological explanation

Some experts have explained the phenomenon of women falling for bad boys by saying the following. When a woman feels good in her own skin, she chooses a partner who is good for her and who communicates well with her, both verbally and non-verbally. She will not allow anyone to underestimate her feeling of satisfaction with herself because she is confident that she deserves a healthy mutual relationship. When she has a bad opinion of herself, a woman will find someone who will perpetuate such a self-image.

The truth

Bad boys radiate manliness and self-confidence. Women find those characteristics exceptionally attractive. Their self-confidence has nothing to do with their appearance, but with convictions and life attitudes. They are a challenge, unlike the good guys. Most simply put, bad boys are virile, independent, unpredictable, exciting, a little bit aggressive and full of self-confidence and those are the exact characteristics that are mean aphrodisiacs to women.

Full Story with More pictures...

Warning that the world Economy is now ‘teetering on the brink of a severe global downturn’, the United Nations said it expects growth in 2008 to be sharply lower at 1.8 per cent - nearly half of the 3.4 per cent growth estimated only three months ago.

A new report released on Thursday predicts that slowdown will be in all regions, with South and East Asia facing a major downturn where the growth would decline to about 8.5 per cent in 2008 from 11 per cent in 2007.

India, it says, too would face a slowdown. UN said world economic growth next year would, however, be better at 2.1 per cent. The global Economy expanded by 3.8 per cent in 2007.

To boost the global Economy, the report calls for an internationally coordinated economic stimulus package to support US efforts, centred on the expansion of domestic demand in countries with savings surpluses especially in Europe, the Arabian Gulf and East Asia.

Releasing the new report, the economists said the global Economy has been adversely impact and still threatened by deepening credit crisis in affluent countries triggered by the continuing housing slump, the declining value of the United States dollar, persisting global imbalances and soaring oil and commodity prices.

The unfolding global food crisis, the report warns, is not only a grave humanitarian issue but also a threat to political and social stability in some developing countries and may reverse some of the progress made towards the MDGs, a list of targets set by world leaders to sharply reduce or eliminate several social and economic ills.

Full Story with More pictures...

SOON tourist guides would be acting as brand ambassadors in spreading awareness on HIV/AIDS among the travellers visiting the State. For, India Tourism wants the fraternity to act as true guides in helping a tourist act responsibly and practice safe sex.

The department in association with the Orissa State AIDS Control Society kicked-off a sensitisation workshop here yesterday with this mission and it was attended by tour guides from Puri, Khurda and Nayagarh districts.

The programme, funded by UNDP, is also being simultaneously organised in five states. In states where it had already been rolled out, consultant in the Ministry of Tourism Manorama Bakshi said, there has been a marked attitudinal change among all the stakeholders.

The Ministry has proposed free space in all ITDC hotels and duty-free shops for installation of condom vending machines and also putting them in wayside amenities and tourist arrival centres.

Full Story with More pictures...

Sikkim is soaked in ethnic beauty and it’s enthralling to discover destinations in the valley that are prettier than picture-postcard. The sights near Hee Bermiok have plenty to offer, says Swaati Chaudhury

With summer temperature soaring, Sikkim Tourism has been organising plenty of festival packages for tourists. The latest tourism extravaganza has been a four-day Kalez Valley Heritage Festival from 10 May to 13 May 2008. Hee Bermiok Tourism Development, Heritage Conservation Society and Tourism Co-operative Society, West Sikkim hosted the multi-ethnic cultural event. This is the third consecutive year that the event was jointly sponsored with the help of Sikkim Tourism and the Department of Culture, Sikkim.

The Himalayan valley of Sikkim is soaked in unique ethnic treasure chest and one comes across destinations in the valley that are prettier than picture postcard. The valley around Hee Bermiok has plenty of Khaleej that conjures up the name of the festival. The festival was targeted to exhibit the real heritage of the land that has remained hidden from tourists. Some of the glimpses of the event included display of models from Gumpa, YangrangSing, Jhakri dances and multi-cultural dances like Dhan Naach, Chabroong Naach, Damkey Naach, Bhutia Dance, Tamang Dance, Sherpa Dance, Rai Naach, Newari Dance, Nepali Dance, Gurung Dance and Lepcha Dance.

According to Madan Kumar Pradhan, assistant director, Sikkim Tourism, “The state tourism department is very much keen to create awareness among the unemployed youth of Sikkim and make them self-reliant. There had been a display of cultural programmes, handicraft items and ethnic cuisine of Sikkim at the event. There had been a splash of major high and low-altitude flowers of the state. Besides, the chief ethnic groups of Sikkim like Bhutia, Lepcha and Nepali performed live cultural shows. Other rare attractions were mountain biking and Sikkim archery show.” The first day of the fest had a wide display of cultural shows while on the second day, there was mountain biking and a rally was hosted from Hee-Bermiok market.

Last year, tourists from all over the country and globe had poured into the festival and this year too, the state tourism department expected a huge turnout of tourists mostly from Bengal. It has gone for wide advertisement campaigns to lure tourists into the fest. For would-be-tourists intending to know about Hee Bermiok, it is at a distance of 145 km from New Japaiguri and Bagdogra and 135 km from Siliguri. With Sikkim Tourism growing at a faster rate, tourists wait with bated breath that there will be more such surprises and offerings for them in the near future.

Full Story with More pictures...

Analysis of data from Garvan’s Dubbo Osteoporosis Epidemiology Study suggests that men with prostate cancer face a 50% higher risk of fracture, which increases to nearly doubled risk if they are receiving treatment.

"This is a controversial area which has been under discussion for at least three years," said Garvan’s Associate Professor Tuan Nguyen, who initiated the study after hearing speculation on the concept. "It has taken us about two years to assemble and analyse the data. The results suggest a link between the two diseases, although we still don’t understand the mechanisms."

Professor Nguyen and his colleagues have studied 822 men from Dubbo for nearly 20 years. These men were all aged 60 or over in 1989 when the study began. Of the 822 men, 43 subsequently developed prostate cancer. Twenty-two of the men received ADT (androgen deprivation therapy) and 21 did not. Compared to the men without prostate cancer, those with the disease showed a 50% increase in the risk of fracture. For those being treated with ADT, the risk increased approximately twofold.

"The results have important implications in practice for several reasons," said Nguyen. "First, most of the men who developed prostate cancer started out with a higher BMD (bone mineral density) than average. Second, developing prostate cancer clearly increased their risk of fracture. Third, ADT treatment doubled their risk of fracture."

"There are factors at play that we do not yet understand. Obviously the higher BMD of the men with prostate cancer did not protect them against fracture. Exactly what mechanisms are at work are unclear."

"Osteoporosis in men often remains untreated, even after a fracture. It is highly unlikely, therefore, that any of the men at higher risk will be receiving anti-fracture therapy."

"The clear message that comes out of this study is that men with prostate cancer should consider seeking evaluation for osteoporosis, particularly if they are being treated with ADT."

"More and more we are seeing ways in which diseases are connected. You can’t isolate osteoporosis from cancer from diabetes and so on. In treating one disease, we must be careful not to increase the risk of another. As we understand these connections, we learn how better to treat the whole person."

Full Story with More pictures...

The National Security Act (NSA) will soon be amended to strengthen anti-terror legislations in the country, Chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission M Veerappa Moily said today.

Describing terrorism as a "national epidemic" at a news conference here, he said it should be rooted out from the country.

POTA was withdrawn because of its many loopholes, he said. His comments come in the wake of the serial bomb blasts at Jaipur in which at least 64 people were killed.

He said he would soon submit the Administrative Reforms Report to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Moily said the "misrule of BJP-JDS has resulted in anti-incumbency which is a plus point for the Congress" in the Karnataka assembly elections

Full Story with More pictures...

Punjab Congress today demanded imposition of President’s rule in the state due to what it described a situation in which "democracy is in peril" as there is a complete break down of law and order and constitutional scheme of governance in the border state.

The party made the demand in a memorandum submitted to President Pratibha Patil in New Delhi today, a release of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) said here.

"It is with a deep sense of anguish that we would like to draw your kind attention towards total subversion of democracy and law and order in the state," the memorandum said.

The party accused the SAD-BJP alliance government with having "unleashed a reign of terror and repression on activists and leaders of the Congress" since the time it assumed power in March 2007.

False cases were registered and many of them were illegally detained and brutally tortured by the Punjab Police at the instance of the SAD-BJP leaders, the Congress alleged.

The opposition Congress also charged the SAD-BJP alliance with having indulged in booth capturing and intimidation of voters during various elections, including Municipal Corporation, Block Samiti and Zila Parishad held in the state.

A Returning Officer was forced to commit suicide in Tarn Taran district during the recent Panchayat elections in which violence claimed three lives and left many others injured.

"The PPCC is indeed surprised that the Governor of Punjab, who is your direct representative, has not apprised you with the ominous situation that is fast evolving in Punjab," the party said and demanded immediate imposition of President’s Rule in the state.

Full Story with More pictures...

Foods in the freezer - are they safe? Every year, thousands of callers to the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline aren’t sure about the safety of items stored in their own home freezers. The confusion seems to be based on the fact that few people understand how freezing protects food. Here is some information on how to freeze food safely and how long to keep it.

What Can You Freeze?
You can freeze almost any food. Some exceptions are canned food or eggs in shells. However, once the food (such as a ham) is out of the can, you may freeze it.

Being able to freeze food and being pleased with the quality after defrosting are two different things. Some foods simply don’t freeze well. Examples are mayonnaise, cream sauce and lettuce. Raw meat and poultry maintain their quality longer than their cooked counterparts because moisture is lost during cooking.

Is Frozen Food Safe?
Food stored constantly at 0 °F will always be safe. Only the quality suffers with lengthy freezer storage. Freezing keeps food safe by slowing the movement of molecules, causing microbes to enter a dormant stage. Freezing preserves food for extended periods because it prevents the growth of microorganisms that cause both food spoilage and foodborne illness.

Does Freezing Destroy Bacteria & Parasites?
Freezing to 0 °F inactivates any microbes -- bacteria, yeasts and molds - - present in food. Once thawed, however, these microbes can again become active, multiplying under the right conditions to levels that can lead to foodborne illness. Since they will then grow at about the same rate as microorganisms on fresh food, you must handle thawed items as you would any perishable food.

Trichina and other parasites can be destroyed by sub-zero freezing temperatures. However, very strict government-supervised conditions must be met. It is not recommended to rely on home freezing to destroy trichina. Thorough cooking will destroy all parasites.

Freshness & Quality
Freshness and quality at the time of freezing affect the condition of frozen foods. If frozen at peak quality, foods emerge tasting better than foods frozen near the end of their useful life. So freeze items you won’t use quickly sooner rather than later. Store all foods at 0° F or lower to retain vitamin content, color, flavor and texture.

Nutrient Retention
The freezing process itself does not destroy nutrients. In meat and poultry products, there is little change in nutrient value during freezer storage.

Packaging
Proper packaging helps maintain quality and prevent "freezer burn." It is safe to freeze meat or poultry directly in its supermarket wrapping but this type of wrap is permeable to air. Unless you will be using the food in a month or two, overwrap these packages as you would any food for long-term storage using airtight heavy-duty foil, (freezer) plastic wrap or freezer paper, or place the package inside a (freezer) plastic bag. Use these materials or airtight freezer containers to repackage family packs into smaller amounts. It is not necessary to rinse meat and poultry before freezing. Freeze unopened vacuum packages as is. If you notice that a package has accidentally been torn or has opened while food is in the freezer, the food is still safe to use; merely overwrap or rewrap it.

Freezer Burn
Freezer burn does not make food unsafe, merely dry in spots. It appears as grayish-brown leathery spots and is caused by air reaching the surface of the food. Cut freezer-burned portions away either before or after cooking the food. Heavily freezer-burned foods may have to be discarded for quality reasons.

Color Changes
Color changes can occur in frozen foods. The bright red color of meat as purchased usually turns dark or pale brown depending on its variety. This may be due to lack of oxygen, freezer burn or abnormally long storage.

Freezing doesn’t usually cause color changes in poultry. However, the bones and the meat near them can become dark. Bone darkening results when pigment seeps through the porous bones of young poultry into the surrounding tissues when the poultry meat is frozen and thawed.

The dulling of color in frozen vegetables and cooked foods is usually the result of excessive drying due to improper packaging or over-lengthy storage.

Technorati Tags: Is Your Refridgerator safe enough?

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Is Your Refridgerator safe enough?

Full Story with More pictures...

The number of foreign tourist arrivals in India in 2007 totalled five million, an increase of 12.4 percent from the previous year.

“We received five million foreign tourists in 2007 which indicates a 12.4 percent increase over 2006 and earned $11.62 billion from tourism,” Minister of State for Tourism and Culture Kanti Singh said at a press conference in the course of the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2008 here Wednesday.

“The growth trend continues in 2008,” she said, adding that in 2004-05, tourism contributed 6.11 percent to India’s gross domestic product (GDP) and provided jobs amounting to 8.78 percent of the total employment generated in the country. According to the minister, India has a healthy growth of inbound as well as outbound travel.

“In 2006, 8.34 million Indian tourists travelled to overseas destinations. It indicates excellent business opportunities for both inbound and outbound tour operators as well as tour operators in the receiving countries,” Singh said.

The government was laying major thrust on infrastructure development of international standards around identified mega projects, she said.

“Overseas investors are allowed to invest up to 100 percent equity on repatriation basis in hotel and tourism-related projects. We are aiming to have world-class airports infrastructure to cater to 10 million international and 60 million domestic tourists by 2010.”

Even as efforts were being made to have the ’visa on arrival’ facility at Indian ports, she said the facility of multiple-entry tourist visa of five-year duration had been introduced for the nationals of 18 countries, which allows them to stay for 90 days in the country.

Pointing out that around a number of foreign visitors apart from 10,000 sportsmen and women are expected during the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010, she said hotel accommodation was being augmented through income tax holidays to two-, three- and four-star holidays.

“India has a large variety of tourist attractions. We are trying to develop new tourism products such adventure tourism, medical tourism, rural tourism, cruise tourism, conference and convention, wedding and honeymoon, monsoon, agriculture, spas, golf, eco-tourism, luxury trains, shopping and fairs and festivals,” the minister said.

Giving a presentation, E.K. Bharat Bhushan, joint secretary in the tourism ministry, said the government was trying to project India as “a 365-day tourism destination”.

Citing World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) projections covering 174 countries, he said: “In the next decade, India will be the fastest growing tourism destination with an annual growth rate of 88 percent.”

He added that the target was to reach a figure of 10 million foreign tourist arrivals by 2010.

According to Bhushan, foreign tourist arrivals from the Middle East registered an impressive growth of 16 percent in 2007.

“A total of 172,389 foreign tourists visited India from the Middle East in 2007,” he said.

Apart from medical tourism, the tourism ministry is also promoting rural tourism in a major way.

“In our rural tourism initiative, 125 rural sites have been identified to showcase rural life, art, culture and heritage, nature and landscape in and around the villages,” the joint secretary said.

As for outbound tourism, he said the sector was growing at an annual rate of around 25 percent with the country’s growing middle class spending more and more on foreign travel.

“Outbound tourism from India is increasing steadily with 8.34 million Indian tourists travelling overseas in the year 2007. The figure is likely to reach 50 million by 2020,” he said.

A total of 31 participants from India, including the state tourism boards of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Kerala, are participating at the three-day ATM 2008, the Middle East’s premier travel and tourism event, which got under way Tuesday.

Full Story with More pictures...

THE IT City never loses its taste for more. After being bitten by the IT bug, Bangalore is all geared up to experience another new wave.

It has once again found itself as a focal point on the world map as a medical tourist spot.
The silicon valley of India is experiencing a major influx of foreign patients. The city’s medical wizards are more than overwhelmed.

It all started in 2003, when Noor Fathima from Pakistan was operated by Dr Devi Shetty, chairman of Narayana Hrudayalaya. Across the world, the news was captivating from a dual perspective. Primarily it highlighted Bangalore as superior in medical profession, and secondarily it lifted the image of Indian hospitality when messages like ‘get well soon’ and ‘we are beside you Noor’ poured in from all over. Hospitals and corporate establishments in the city have now realised the potential of this niche market and have accordingly channelised their needs and facilities.

“People from across the world approach HOSMAT for spine and knee micro surgeries, neuro problems and spine tumour. The cost of the treatment is very cheap and the quality of treatment and facilities are comparable with international standards. We are also noticing 50 per cent increase in the numbers of patients as compared to previous years,” says Dr Thomas chandy, director and chief orthopaedic of HOSMAT hospital.

On being asked about the future of Bangalore as a medical tourist spot, he says it solely depends on speciality, expertise and experience of the doctors and hospitals. Some lead institutes and private hospitals like HOSMAT, Narayana Hrudayalaya, NIMHANS, Wockhardt, Manipal Hospital, Mallya Hospital are now providing services usually provided by a star hotel.

Karimah who has come from Nigeria for treatment at Wockhardt hospital says: “The quality of surgery, treatment and nursing care given here is better than that of hospitals in our own country. We have very few hospitals in South Africa and they are not up to the mark. In India, utmost care is taken by doctors and staff from admission to recovery and discharge.”

Compared to Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi, Bangalore was a late starter. But internationally acclaimed specialists opting to make the city their base made all the difference.

Full Story with More pictures...

Using published data to determine the temperature-dependence of stone disease, researchers applied predictions of temperature increase to determine the impact of global warming on the incidence and cost of stone disease in the United States. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates a 1-20 C increase in temperature by 2050 for much of the United States. These findings place a greater significance on the harmful effects of global warming, an ongoing economic and political issue.

The southern United States is considered “the stone belt” because these states have higher incidences of kidney stones. Rising global temperatures could expand this region; the fraction of the U.S. population living in high-risk stone zones is predicted to grow from 40 percent in 2000 to 50 percent by 2050.

This could lead to an increase of one to two million lifetime cases of stone disease. The impact of climate-related changes in stone disease will be non-uniformly distributed and likely concentrated in the southern half of the country (linear model) or upper Midwest (non-linear model). The cost associated with treating stone disease could climb as high as one $1 billion annually by 2050, representing a 10-20 percent increase over present-day estimates.

Full Story with More pictures...

“We estimate that 20 percent of the population in the four affected administrative divisions could be affected by Cyclone Nargis,” said Shannon Doocy, PhD, an assistant professor with the Center for Refugee and Disaster Response, who developed the vulnerability estimates with colleagues from the Bloomberg School’s Center for Public Health and Human Rights, and from Lehman College. “These are rough estimates, but our calculations could be of great help to relief agencies that are trying to provide aid on the ground.”

According to the calculations, the Ayeyarwady region was hardest hit, with 1.8 million people affected; another 1.1 million were potentially affected in the Yangon administrative division. At least 100,000 people in both the Bago East and Mon divisions were also affected. The United Nations estimates that as many as 220,000 are missing following the cyclone and that 63,000 to 101,000 people were killed.

Major health threats for cyclone survivors include waterborne diseases such as typhoid, which has already been reported in some areas and potential outbreaks of dysentery from cholera and E. coli. Measles outbreaks, which are common in settings of mass displacement, are a concern for children and a possible threat. Mosquito-borne diseases, particularly malaria and dengue fever, are prevalent in Burma and are also significant health risks.

“Right now, the risk of disease outbreaks in Burma is especially high-much more so than we’ve typically seen with tropical cyclones in past decades-because the humanitarian assistance so far has been delayed and woefully inadequate in scale,” said Chris Beyrer, MD, MPH, director of the Center for Public Health and Human Rights.

“The military regime continues to rebuff offers of assistance from the international community more than a week after the storm, and they continue to restrict visas, limit international observers, and insist upon relying solely on its own response, which by all accounts, is markedly inadequate.” Beyrer added that international guidelines on human rights and natural disasters cite the right of all affected populations to evacuation and other lifesaving measures, protection against negative impacts of natural hazards, and access to adequate food, water, shelter, sanitation and health services.

In addition to estimating the population vulnerability, the Bloomberg School is working with its partners based in the region to provide assistance to the Burmese people. Eight, five-person relief teams are working in Rangoon, Burma’s largest city, and in the country’s delta region. These teams, which are trained by Hopkins personnel in rapid assessment and response, are assisting with water purification and the distribution of food, clothing, medicines and other essentials.

Full Story with More pictures...

The supernova explosion occurred about 140 years ago, making it the most recent supernova in the Milky Way as measured in Earth’s time frame. Previously, the last known galactic supernova occurred around 1680, based on studying the expansion of its remnant Cassiopeia A.

The recent supernova explosion was not seen in optical light about 140 years ago because it occurred close to the center of the Galaxy, and is embedded in a dense field of gas and dust. This made it about a trillion times fainter, in optical light, than an unobscured supernova. However, the supernova remnant it caused, G1.9+0.3, is now seen in X-ray and radio images.

"We can see some supernova explosions with optical telescopes across half of the Universe, but when they’re in this murk we can miss them in our own cosmic backyard," said Stephen Reynolds of North Carolina State University, who led the Chandra study. "Fortunately, the expanding gas cloud from the explosion shines brightly in radio waves and X-rays for thousands of years. X-ray and radio telescopes can see through all that obscuration and show us what we’ve been missing."

Astronomers regularly observe supernovas in other galaxies like ours, and based on those rates, estimate that about three should explode every century in our Milky Way, although these estimates have large margins of error.

"If the supernova rate estimates are correct, there should be the remnants of about 10 supernova explosions that are younger than Cassiopeia A," said David Green of the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, who led the VLA study. "It’s great to finally track one of them down."

Twenty two years later, Chandra observations of this object revealed that the remnant had expanded by a surprisingly large amount, about 16% since 1985. This indicates that the supernova remnant is much younger than previously thought.

Full Story with More pictures...

In the largest and most detailed analysis to date of the effects of exercise on premenopausal breast cancer, the study of nearly 65,000 women found that those who were physically active had a 23 percent lower risk of breast cancer before menopause. In particular, high levels of physical activity from ages 12 to 22 contributed most strongly to the lower breast cancer risk.

The study is by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Harvard University in Boston."We don’t have a lot of prevention strategies for premenopausal breast cancer, but our findings clearly show that physical activity during adolescence and young adulthood can pay off in the long run by reducing a woman’s risk of early breast cancer," says lead investigator Graham Colditz, M.D., Dr.P.H., the Niess-Gain Professor and associate director of Prevention and Control at the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University School of Medicine and Barnes-Jewish Hospital. "This is just one more reason to encourage young girls and women to exercise regularly."

One-fourth of all breast cancers are diagnosed in women before menopause. Numerous studies have shown that physical activity reduces the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, but the few studies that have looked at the influence of exercise on breast cancer risk before menopause have produced conflicting results.

For the current analysis, researchers examined data on a subset of women enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study II, a prospective study of registered nurses ages 24 to 42. These 64,777 women had filled out detailed annual questionnaires about their levels of physical activity from age 12 on. After six years of follow-up, 550 women had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

The researchers found the age-adjusted incidence rates for invasive breast cancer dropped from 194 cases per 100,000 person-years in the least active women to 136 cases in the most active. The levels of physical activity reported by the most active women were the equivalent of running 3.25 hours a week or walking 13 hours a week. The benefit of exercise was not linked to a particular sport or intensity but related to total activity.

"You don’t have to be a marathon runner to get the risk-reducing benefits of exercise," Colditz adds.

One leading theory to explain the lower risk of breast cancer among active young women is that exercise reduces their exposure to estrogens. Numerous studies have shown that the more estrogen a woman is exposed to, the greater her risk for breast cancer. Thus, women who begin menstruating later or enter menopause early have a lower risk of breast cancer. And young women who are physically active are more likely to start their periods later and less likely to have regular cycles when they begin their periods.

Full Story with More pictures...

A victim of horrific facial disfigurement - known as "the man with no face" - has been given new hope by the advancement of medical science.

Jose Mestre, from Lisbon, Portugal, has been losing his face to a huge growth for the past 35 years, distorting it out of all recognition - and it’s still growing.

The tumor on 51-year-old Jose’s face is a collection of blood vessels that have expanded, producing a raised red area on the skin.

Jose was born with a strawberry-coloured birthmark on his upper lip. At puberty it began growing, eventually smothering his lips, nose and one of his eyes. Now it is 33cm long and weighs 3kg.

But Jose’s religious faith - as a Jehovah’s Witness he refuses to accept a blood transfusion - has prevented him from having surgery to remove the growth.

Jose’s rare condition was the subject of a Discovery Channel TV documentary ’The Man With No Face’, part of the ’My Shocking Story’ series.

It reveals how top medical experts in London have now held out hope of helping Jose, a well-known figure around the streets of Lisbon.

A leading British surgeon has offered to treat Jose using ultrasound waves to coagulate the blood before the operation.

This should remove the risk of heavy bleeding - satisfying his religious beliefs about blood transfusions in the process.

Dr Iain Hutchison, of St Bartholomew’s in London, is confident an operation with a harmonic scalpel could make him look a lot more normal.

Discovery Channel said: "Surrounded by a loving family, it seems incredible that he has not been treated and his face was allowed to grow so big. However, through years of medical misinformation, some misdiagnosis, lack of finances, and reluctance to undergo treatment due to religious beliefs, the growth has continued to obliterate his face."

My Shocking Story follows Jose on a journey through Europe to seek medical advice for one last chance to stop his face from suffocating him.

In this journey of a lifetime he travels by train, via Paris, to Britain, to meet the top experts in London. He goes through a series of tests, consultations, and meets other patients with a similar affliction. In London he also spends time with his sister Guida and the rest of his family, enjoys being a tourist in London, while making the biggest decision of his life.

Jose’s dream is to live a long and normal life. Following the showing of the Discovery documentary he continues to adhere to his ’no blood transfusion’ religious principles. But he has agreed to go back to the London hospital in 2008, when doctors hope to carry out specialist surgery to begin removing parts of his tumor, without the need for blood transfusions.

Full Story with More pictures...

Lung cells exposed to cigarette smoke produce less of the protein, called FANCD2, the team at Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute reported.

Without FANCD2, damaged DNA can cause cells to proliferate out of control instead of destroying themselves as normal cells do.

The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer, could lead to better treatments for lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death globally, the researchers said. Lung cancer kills more than 1 million people every year and only 15 percent of patients live for 5 years or longer.

"These findings show the important role FANCD2 plays in protecting lung cells against cigarette smoke, and may explain why cigarette smoke is so toxic to these cells," said Laura Hays, who worked on the study.

"Although there are probably other proteins involved in this process, we know this is a key one because cells with very high levels of FANCD2 were resistant to the toxic effects of the smoke," added Dr. Grover Bagby, who oversaw the work.

Hays and colleagues created an artificial windpipe in the lab to study the effects of cigarette smoke on cells.

FANCD2 had already been linked with cancer. It is part of a family of proteins involved in an inherited condition called Fanconi anemia. People with Fanconi anemia have low levels of the proteins and are more likely to develop cancers at a young age.

"This interesting piece of science adds to our understanding of why smoking is so deadly. Smoking is the single biggest preventable cause of cancer and causes nine out of 10 cases of lung cancer," Lesley Walker, director of cancer information at Cancer Research UK, said in a statement.

"But the good news is that quitting works -- after five years without smoking, your risk of a heart attack will have fallen to half that of a smoker. And after 10 years, your risk of lung cancer will have halved too."

Several other genes have also been linked with lung cancer, and doctors agree a combination of genes and smoking causes the disease.

Full Story with More pictures...

"In my opinion this possibility (of life on other planets) exists," said Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, a 45-year-old Jesuit priest who is head of the Vatican Observatory and a scientific adviser to Pope Benedict.

"How can we exclude that life has developed elsewhere," he told the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano in an interview in its Tuesday-Wednesday edition, explaining that the large number of galaxies with their own planets made this possible.

Asked if he was referring to beings similar to humans or even more evolved than humans, he said: "Certainly, in a universe this big you can’t exclude this hypothesis."

In the interview headlined "The extraterrestrial is my brother," he said he saw no conflict between belief in such beings and faith in God.

"Just as there is a multiplicity of creatures on earth, there can be other beings, even intelligent, created by God. This is not in contrast with our faith because we can’t put limits on God’s creative freedom," he said.

"Why can’t we speak of a ’brother extraterrestrial’? It would still be part of creation," he said.

Funes, who runs the observatory which is based south of Rome and in Arizona, held out the possibility that the human race might actually be the "lost sheep" of the universe.

"There could be (other beings) who remained in full friendship with their creator," he said.

THE "BIG BANG?"

Christians have sometimes been at odds with scientists over whether the Bible should be read literally and issues such as creationism versus evolution have been hotly debated for decades.

The Inquisition condemned astronomer Galileo in the 17th century for insisting that the earth revolved around the sun. The Catholic Church did not rehabilitate him until 1992.

Funes said dialogue between faith and science could be improved if scientists learned more about the Bible and the Church kept more up to date with scientific progress.

Funes, an Argentine, said he believed as an astronomer that the most likely explanation for the start of the universe was "the big bang," the theory that it sprang into existence from dense matter billions of years ago.

But he said this was not in conflict with faith in God as a creator. "God is the creator. There is a sense to creation. We are not children of an accident ...," he said.

"As an astronomer, I continue to believe that God is the creator of the universe and that we are not the product of something casual but children of a good father who has a project of love in mind for us," he said.

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Scientist believe in God and aliens?

Technorati Tags: Scientist believe in God and aliens?

Full Story with More pictures...

The study, which is available in the online edition of Physiology and Behavior, is a critical step in understanding the psychological basis for the sharp increase in obesity across all age groups since the mid-1970s. The study also is the first to show how food intake can be reliably and automatically measured, thus identifying the optimal animal model and setting for future obesity studies.

Because the relationship between diet, psychological stress and social and environmental factors is complex, Mark Wilson, PhD, chief of the Division of Psychobiology at Yerkes, and his research team set out to determine whether individuals chronically exposed to psychologically stressful environments over consume calorie-rich foods. To do this, they studied the feeding patterns of socially housed female rhesus macaques, which are organized by a dominance hierarchy that maintains group stability through continual harassment and threat of aggression. Such structure is a constant psychological stress to subordinates.

During the study, female macaques were given access to a sweet but low-fat diet and a high-fat diet for 21 days each. For a 21-day period between each test diet, the group was able to access standard monkey chow only. To track feeding patterns, automated feeders dispensed a pellet of either the low-fat or high-fat chow when activated by a microchip implanted in each female’s wrist. Researchers found socially subordinate females consumed significantly more of both the low-fat diet and the high-fat diet throughout a 24-hour period, while socially dominant females ate significantly less than subordinate animals and restricted their feedings to daytime hours.

This difference in feeding behavior resulted in accelerated weight gain and an increase in fat-derived hormones in subordinate females. Dr. Wilson believes this may suggest profound changes in metabolism and the accumulation of body fat.

"Subordinates may be on a trajectory for metabolic problems. As this study shows, they prefer the high-fat diet and, as a result of the stress of being a subordinate, they have higher levels of the hormone cortisol. This may be involved in the redistribution of fat to visceral locations in the body, something that is clinically associated with type II diabetes metabolic syndrome," continued Dr. Wilson.

Using Yerkes’ extensive neuroimaging capabilities, Dr. Wilson and his research team next will attempt to determine the neurochemical basis for why subordinate females overeat; specifically, whether appetite signals and brain areas associated with reward and satisfaction differ between subordinate and dominant females.

Full Story with More pictures...

A new way of generating electricity from body heat was discovered by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS in Germany together with scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques (IPM) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Applied Materials Research IFAM.

Their method is based on the principle of thermoelectric generators (TEG)produced from semiconductor elements. The temperature difference between hot and cold environment contributes to generation of electricity with the help of TEGs.

Usually, the difference of several tens of degrees is necessary to generate electricity. But when comparing body temperature and environment temperature, the difference is just a few degrees which is enough to generate only low voltages. In order to produce electricity for electronic devices one or two volts are necessary, while TEG extract about 200 millivolts.

The scientists developed a completely new way of generating electricity, creating circuits that work on 200 millivolts. This discovery led to creation of electronic system that produces energy from body heat. Researchers are making further improvements for various applications.

Electricity would be possible to produce anywhere a temperature difference takes place.

Electronic devices make the world go round. If you’re looking for desktop computers, you’ll find the best deals on laptops, printers or an hp ink cartridge right at your fingertips! Our electronic gadgets are the best in the industry! The time to purchase a notebook pc for your home is now!

Full Story with More pictures...

Professor Mike Rowe’s long term research interest at the Cardiff School of Engineering has been in thermoelectric generation - employing thermocouples to convert heat into electricity. The conversion technology is used in everyday applications such as controlling the central heating system or refrigerator temperature.

Now Professor Rowe aims to use this technology to generate electricity from the waste heat in vehicles.

Professor Mike Rowe, OBE School of Engineering said: "The main interest in cars is to decrease the petrol consumption and reduce CO2 emissions. If you can utilise the exhaust heat you could replace the alternator. This would provide a 5 per cent saving in fuel straightaway."

Vehicle manufacturers in the United States are already investing in exploring this technology, however Professor Rowe has found the UK’s interest in the technology to be slower.

He said: "Thermoelectric generation is a green solution. It can in many instances cost less than solar energy. It has huge future potential yet it has been neglected to date in the UK."

Technorati Tags: Recycle Exhaust Heat Waste from Cars

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Recycle Exhaust Heat Waste from Cars

Full Story with More pictures...

A new study in Psychology of Women Quarterly explored the outcomes of sexual harassment on both boys and girls. While girls were harassed more frequently, boys were indirectly yet negatively affected through a school climate that tolerates the harassment of girls.

The study, led by Alayne J. Ormerod, PhD, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, examined the relationship among peer-to-peer sexual harassment, school climate, adult-to-student harassment, and outcomes for the students. Approximately 300 girls and 250 boys were surveyed from seven public high schools in the Midwest.

Girls had more frequent, upsetting experiences of peer harassment. Girls also reported more frequent and distressing harassment from school personnel than boys. Male students reported fewer, less upsetting experiences of harassment. Consequently, they had fewer stress-related consequences directly associated with harassment.

However, the damaging effects of harassment extended beyond those who were directly harmed by it. For girls and boys, a school climate associated with experiences of sexual harassment was related to feeling unsafe while at school, withdrawal from school, and feelings of lowered self-esteem.

For boys, a negative climate, that is, a climate tolerating the harassment of girls, was the major variable associated with negative psychological, health and educational outcomes. Given that boys are harassed less frequently and rate their experiences as less upsetting, these findings suggest that boys may suffer negative consequences regardless of whether they are the targets of harassment.

“We hope these findings inform teachers, administrators, and policy makers for high schools when they develop policy and procedures related to sexual harassment,” the authors conclude. “When students believe that teachers and administrators do not actively intervene in harassing behavior toward girls, it has negative consequences for all students: both boys and girls, and targets and non-targets.”

Del.Icio.Us Tags: How Boys & Girls Affected By Sexual Harassment?

Technorati Tags: How Boys & Girls Affected By Sexual Harassment?

Full Story with More pictures...

Women and men tend to have different types of stress-related psychological disorders. Women have greater rates of depression and some types of anxiety disorders than men, while men have greater rates of alcohol-use disorders than women. A new study of emotional and alcohol-craving responses to stress has found that when men become upset, they are more likely than women to want alcohol.

"We know that women and men respond to stress differently," said Tara M. Chaplin, associate research scientist at Yale University School of Medicine and first author of the study. "For example, following a stressful experience, women are more likely than men to say that they feel sad or anxious, which may lead to risk for depression and anxiety disorders. Some studies have found that men are more likely to drink alcohol following stress than women. If this becomes a pattern, it could lead to alcohol-use disorders."

As part of a larger study, the researchers exposed 54 healthy adult social drinkers (27 women, 27 men) to three types of imagery scripts -- stressful, alcohol-related, and neutral/relaxing -- in separate sessions, on separate days and in random order. Chaplin and her colleagues then assessed participants’ subjective emotions, behavioral/bodily responses, cardiovascular arousal as indicated by heart rate and blood pressure, and self-reported alcohol craving.

"After listening to the stressful story, women reported more sadness and anxiety than men," said Chaplin, "as well as greater behavioral arousal. But, for the men ... emotional arousal was linked to increases in alcohol craving. In other words, when men are upset, they are more likely to want alcohol."

These findings - in addition to the fact that the men drank more than the women on average - meant that the men had more experience with alcohol, perhaps leading them to turn to alcohol as a way of coping with distress, added Chaplin. "Men’s tendency to crave alcohol when upset may be a learned behavior or may be related to known gender differences in reward pathways in the brain," she said. "And this tendency may contribute to risk for alcohol-use disorders."

There is a greater societal acceptance of "emotionality," particularly sadness and anxiety, in women than in men, noted Chaplin.

"Women are more likely than men to focus on negative emotional aspects of stressful circumstances, for example, they tend to ’ruminate’ or think over and over again about their negative emotional state," she said. "Men, in contrast, are more likely to distract themselves from negative emotions, to try not to think about these emotions. Our finding that men had greater blood pressure response to stress, but did not report greater sadness and anxiety, may reflect that they are more likely to try to distract themselves from their physiological arousal, possibly through the use of alcohol."

Technorati Tags: Men more likely to Crave Alcohol for Negative Emotions?

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Men more likely to Crave Alcohol for Negative Emotions?

Full Story with More pictures...

Fruits and flowers... Waterfalls... Gardens hanging from the palace terraces... Exotic animals... This is the picture of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in most people’s minds. It may be surprising to know that they might have never existed except in Greek poets and historians imagination!

Location
On the east bank of the River Euphrates, about 50 km south of Baghdad, Iraq.

History
The Babylonian kingdom flourished under the rule of the famous King, Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC). It was not until the reign of Naboplashar (625-605 BC) of the Neo-Babylonian dynasty that the Mesopotamian civilization reached its ultimate glory. His son, Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC) is credited for building the legendary Hanging Gardens. It is said that the Gardens were built by Nebuchadnezzar to please his wife or concubine who had been "brought up in Media and had a passion for mountain surroundings".

While the most descriptive accounts of the Gardens come from Greek historians such as Berossus and Diodorus Siculus, Babylonian records stay silent on the matter. Tablets from the time of Nebuchadnezzar do not have a single reference to the Hanging Gardens, although descriptions of his palace, the city of Babylon, and the walls are found. Even the historians who give detailed descriptions of the Hanging Gardens never saw them. Modern historians argue that when Alexander’s soldiers reached the fertile land of Mesopotamia and saw Babylon, they were impressed. When they later returned to their rugged homeland, they had stories to tell about the amazing gardens and palm trees at Mesopotamia.. About the palace of Nebuchadnezzar.. About the Tower of Babel and the ziggurats. And it was the imagination of poets and ancient historians that blended all these elements together to produce one of the World Wonders.

It wasn’t until the twentieth century that some of the mysteries surrounding the Hanging Gardens were revealed. Archaeologists are still struggling to gather enough evidence before reaching the final conclusions about the location of the Gardens, their irrigation system, and their true appearance.

Description
Detailed descriptions of the Gardens come from ancient Greek sources, including the writings of Strabo and Philo of Byzantium. Here are some excerpts from their accounts:

"The Garden is quadrangular, and each side is four plethra long. It consists of arched vaults which are located on checkered cube-like foundations.. The ascent of the uppermost terrace-roofs is made by a stairway..."

"The Hanging Garden has plants cultivated above ground level, and the roots of the trees are embedded in an upper terrace rather than in the earth. The whole mass is supported on stone columns... Streams of water emerging from elevated sources flow down sloping channels... These waters irrigate the whole garden saturating the roots of plants and keeping the whole area moist. Hence the grass is permanently green and the leaves of trees grow firmly attached to supple branches... This is a work of art of royal luxury and its most striking feature is that the labor of cultivation is suspended above the heads of the spectators".

More recent archaeological excavations at the ancient city of Babylon in Iraq uncovered the foundation of the palace. Other findings include the Vaulted Building with thick walls and an irrigation well near the southern palace. A group of archaeologists surveyed the area of the southern palace and reconstructed the Vaulted Building as the Hanging Gardens. However, the Greek historian Strabo had stated that the gardens were situated by the River Euphrates. So others argue that the site is too far from the Euphrates to support the theory since the Vaulted Building is several hundreds of meters away. They reconstructed the site of the palace and located the Gardens in the area stretching from the River to the Palace. On the river banks, recently discovered massive walls 25 m thick may have been stepped to form terraces... the ones described in Greek references.

Del.Icio.Us Tags: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Technorati Tags: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Full Story with More pictures...

Younger men feel threatened by sexually experienced women, while older men consider them more desirable and arousing, says a new study. But older men became more careful and choosy about sexual partners as they age. A woman’s sexual history impacts different age groups in different ways. Many older men were unable to differentiate between desire and arousal, a recurring keynote in most sexual response models used by the researchers and clinicians.

These responses thrown up by a Kinsey Institute study, appearing in the April issue of Archives of Sexual Behaviour, are unique because few studies so far have examined how closely the findings of decades of laboratory studies on sex actually reflect the experiences of men. "We use all kinds of methods to measure men’s sexual responses; in addition, we use questionnaires and surveys to ask about sexual behaviours. It’s less common to sit down with men and ask them to talk about their experiences," said Erick Janssen of the institute.

Younger men feel threatened by sexually experienced women, while older men consider them more desirable and arousing, says a new study. But older men became more careful and choosy about sexual partners as they age. A woman’s sexual history impacts different age groups in different ways. Many older men were unable to differentiate between desire and arousal, a recurring keynote in most sexual response models used by the researchers and clinicians.

These responses thrown up by a Kinsey Institute study, appearing in the April issue of Archives of Sexual Behaviour, are unique because few studies so far have examined how closely the findings of decades of laboratory studies on sex actually reflect the experiences of men. "We use all kinds of methods to measure men’s sexual responses; in addition, we use questionnaires and surveys to ask about sexual behaviours. It’s less common to sit down with men and ask them to talk about their experiences," said Erick Janssen of the institute.

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Younger men feel threatened by sexually experienced women

Technorati Tags: Younger men feel threatened by sexually experienced women

Full Story with More pictures...

A businessman who sold Viagra-laced chocolate as a food supplement called "Boom" has been indicted for mail fraud.

Tibor Liska pleaded guilty of selling by mail some 12,000 packets a month of sildenafil - a drug used to treat erectile dysfunction sold under various names, including Viagra - mixed with chocolate and herbs, US Attorney Michael Garcia said.

The Boom food supplements were distributed between March 2006 and November 2007 through the Yoi Jin Sei company in the United States, Australia, Colombia, Switzerland, Russia, Argentina, Japan and Slovakia, Mr Garcia said.

The publicity surrounding the product said it contained plant-based food supplements, without specifying that it contained a drug that requires a prescription and could have side effects.

Mr Liska was charged with mail fraud and could be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years behind bars and fined up to $US250,000 ($263,000) if found guilty, Mr Garcia said.

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Man caught selling Viagra chocolate

Technorati Tags: Man caught selling Viagra chocolate

Full Story with More pictures...

It is the one and only Wonder which does not require a description by early historians and poets. It is the one and only Wonder that does not need speculations concerning its appearance, size, and shape. It is the oldest, yet it is the only surviving of the Seven Ancient Wonders. It is the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Location:
At the city of Giza, a necropolis of ancient Memphis, and today part of Greater Cairo, Egypt.

History
Contrary to the common belief, only the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops), not all three Great Pyramids, is on top of the list of Wonders. The monument was built by the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty around the year 2560 BC to serve as a tomb when he dies. The tradition of pyramid building started in Ancient Egypt as a sophistication of the idea of a mastaba or "platform" covering the royal tomb. Later, several stacked mastabas were used. Early pyramids, such as the Step Pyramid of King Zoser (Djoser) at Saqqara by the famous Egyptian architect, Imhotep, illustrate this connection.

The great pyramid is believed to have been built over a 20 year period. The site was first prepared, and blocks of stone were transported and placed. An outer casing (which disappeared over the years) was then used to smooth the surface. Although it is not known how the blocks were put in place, several theories have been proposed. One theory involves the construction of a straight or spiral ramp that was raised as the construction proceeded. This ramp, coated with mud and water, eased the displacement of the blocks which were pushed (or pulled) into place. A second theory suggests that the blocks were placed using long levers with a short angled foot.

Throughout their history, the pyramids of Giza have stimulated human imagination. They were referred to as "The Granaries of Joseph" and "The Mountains of Pharaoh". When Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798, his pride was expressed through his famous quote: "Soldats! Du haute de ces Pyramides, 40 siècles nous contemplent". (Soldiers! From the top of these Pyramids, 40 centuries are looking at us)

Today, the Great Pyramid is enclosed, together with the other pyramids and the Sphinx, in the touristic region of the Giza Plateau. Also in the area is the museum housing the mysterious Sun Boat, only discovered in 1954 near the south side of the pyramid. The boat is believed to have been used to carry the body of Khufu in his last journey on earth before being buried inside the pyramid. It may also serve him as a means of transportation in his afterlife journey according to Ancient Egyptian beliefs.

Description
When it was built, the Great pyramid was 145.75 m (481 ft) high. Over the years, it lost 10 m (30 ft) off its top. It ranked as the tallest structure on Earth for more than 43 centuries, only to be surpassed in height in the nineteenth century AD. It was covered with a casing of stones to smooth its surface (some of the casing can still be seen near the top of Khefre’s pyramid). The sloping angle of its sides is 54 degrees 54 minutes. Each side is carefully oriented with one of the cardinal points of the compass, that is, north, south, east, and west. The horizontal cross section of the pyramid is square at any level, with each side measuring 229 m (751 ft) in length. The maximum error between side lengths is astonishingly less than 0.1%.

The structure consists of approximately 2 million blocks of stone, each weighing more than two tons. It has been suggested that there are enough blocks in the three pyramids to build a 3 m (10 ft) high, 0.3 m (1 ft) thick wall around France. The area covered by the Great pyramid can accommodate St Peter’s in Rome, the cathedrals of Florence and Milan, and Westminster and St Paul’s in London combined.

On the north face, is the pyramid’s entrance. A number of corridors, galleries, and escape shafts either lead to the King’s burial chamber, or were intended to serve other functions. The King’s chamber is located at the heart of the pyramid, only accessible through the Great Gallery and an ascending corridor. The King’s sarcophagus is made of red granite, as are the interior walls of the King’s Chamber. Most impressive is the sharp-edged stone over the doorway which is over 3 m (10 ft) long, 2.4 m (8 feet) high and 1.3 m (4 ft) thick. All of the interior stones fit so well, a card won’t fit between them. The sarcophagus is oriented in accordance with the compass directions, and is only about 1 cm smaller in dimensions than the chamber entrance. It might have been introduced as the structure was progressing.

New theories concerning the origin and purpose of the Pyramids of Giza have been proposed... Astronomic observatories... Places of cult worship... Geometric structures constructed by a long-gone civilization... Even extraterrestrial-related theories have been proposed with little evidence in support... The overwhelming scientific and historic evidence still supports the conclusion that, like many smaller pyramids in the region, the Great Pyramids were built by the great Ancient Egyptian civilization off the West bank of the Nile as tombs for their magnificent Kings... Tombs where Khufu, Khefre, and Menkaure could start their mystic journey to the afterlife.

Technorati Tags: The Great Pyramid of Gaza, Eygpt

Del.Icio.Us Tags: The Great Pyramid of Gaza, Eygpt

Full Story with More pictures...

Maybe men had it right all along: It doesn’t take long to satisfy a woman in bed. A survey of sex therapists concluded the optimal amount of time for sexual intercourse was 3 to 13 minutes. The findings, to be published in the May issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine, strike at the notion that endurance is the key to a great sex life.

If that sounds like good news to you, don’t cheer too loudly. The time does not count foreplay, and the therapists did rate sexual intercourse that lasts from 1 to 2 minutes as "too short." Researcher Eric Corty said he hoped to ease the minds of those who believe that "more of something good is better, and if you really want to satisfy your partner, you should last forever."

The questions were not gender-specific, said Corty (who, it must be noted, is male). But he said prior research has shown that both men and women want foreplay and sexual intercourse to last longer. Dr. Irwin Goldstein, editor of the Journal of Sexual Medicine, cited a four-week study of 1,500 couples in 2005 that found the median time for sexual intercourse was 7.3 minutes. (Women were armed with stopwatches.)

It’s difficult for both older men and young men to make sexual intercourse last much longer, said Marianne Brandon, a clinical psychologist and director of Wellminds Wellbodies in Annapolis, Md. "There are so many myths in our culture of what other people are doing sexually," Brandon said. "Most people’s sex lives are not as exciting as other people think they are."

Fifty members of the Society for Sex Therapy and Research in the U.S. and Canada were surveyed by Corty, an associate professor of psychology at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, and student Jenay Guardiani. Thirty-four members, or 68 percent, responded, although some said the optimal time depended on the couple.

Corty said he hoped to give an idea of what therapists find to be normal and satisfactory among the couples they see. "People who read this will say, ’I last five minutes or my partner lasts 8 minutes,’ and say, ’That’s OK,’" he said. "They will relax a little bit."

Del.Icio.Us Tags: 7,3 Minutes - The Perfect Length For Sex

Technorati Tags: 7,3 Minutes - The Perfect Length For Sex

Full Story with More pictures...

Montana State University research about pollution in the Ganges River has reached the Supreme Court of India, producing some optimism among MSU scientists who study the 1,500-mile river.

"It’s nice to know that our work is being recognized by a government institute in India and being presented at the highest level," said Steve Hamner, research associate in microbiology. "Lots of things get done judicially in India." The Ganges River is considered a goddess, but Tim Ford, head of MSU’s microbiology department, said it has become a soup of pollution.

"It’s a beautiful river. It’s just really mucked up," he commented. The river contains untreated sewage, cremated remains, chemicals and disease-causing microbes, the researchers said. Cows wade in the river. People wash their laundry in it and drink from it. Ford said the Ganges has become the kind of place where genetic material could transfer between pathogens and create new pathogens.

"Wastewater treatment is critical to protecting human health from waterborne diseases," Ford said. "The Ganges River is a major source of disease burden in that region."

Hamner said MSU and a government lab in India each sampled the Ganges and found enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) bacteria. The bacteria known as 0157:H7 bacteria. It was first detected in the United States in 1982 after someone ate a tainted hamburger. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 0157:H7 now infects more than 73,000 people and kills about 60 people a year in the United States. The CDC said most of those illnesses have been associated with eating undercooked, contaminated ground beef, drinking unpasteurized milk, swimming in or drinking contaminated water and eating contaminated vegetables. The bacteria can cause dysentery and kidney failure. It occasionally kills.

Hamner learned this spring that a research institute in Lucknow, India reported its lab results to the Indian Supreme Court. In doing so, it referenced MSU’s findings and echoed MSU’s concerns. The Lucknow Institute tested a portion of the Ganges about 200 miles upstream from Hamner’s sampling.

He doesn’t expect to see a pure Ganges in his lifetime, but the Supreme Court involvement is encouraging, Hamner said, adding that he didn’t think the Supreme Court of India would have been as open if the report had come from MSU alone. "This is the best of things. It’s wonderful," Hamner said.

Ford said, "Getting regulators and legislators to understand the importance of not discharging untreated human waste into the Ganges River is critical to moving forward." Ford, a long-time researcher of environmental health, is planning to return to India in 2009 as chair of an American Academy of Microbiology Colloquium on Water and Health.

Hamner’s involvement with the Ganges began about five years ago when he decided he wanted to introduce himself to scientists at the Sankat Mochan Foundation. The foundation is directed by Dr. Veer Bhadra Mishra, a retired engineering professor and head of a Hindu temple. Veer has been recognized by Time magazine as a hero of the planet. He’s on the United Nations’ honor roll for environmental activists.

In early 2003, Hamner traveled to the city of Varanasi in north central India to meet with members of the Sankat Mochan Foundation. Hamner returned to India in 2004 and conducted a health survey and sampled the Ganges in Varanasi. Hamner sent the river water samples to MSU where Susan Broadaway tested them in the microbiology lab and detected 0157:H7 almost immediately.

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Pollution In Ganges River?

Technorati Tags: Pollution In Ganges River?

Full Story with More pictures...

Decorating Ideas: How to Position Your TV and Stereo Attractively

Choosing where to place your television and stereo system is as important as selecting the equipment itself--follow a few simple guidelines to make sure you get the best out of these home-entertainment purchases.

Almost every household has a television and sound system, from the smallest CD player with miniature speakers to large-scale televisions with stereophonic sound. Getting the best from your home-entertainment equipment depends as much on how you position the units as on the systems themselves.

Once you’ve decided where to site your stereo and television, you need to decide how to store and display them. Many living-room storage systems offer a module for the television, separate video or DVD recorder, and stereo; some stand-alone units are specifically designed to house them.

If your home is high-tech and modern you can make a virtue out of your viewing and listening equipment and choose it to suit the style and decoration of the room. However, for more traditionally furnished homes, the overwhelming modern style of audio-visual systems can spoil the atmosphere, so you may decide to hide the equipment away completely.

Before you buy storage for a stereo system, think about how you use it, whether there is adequate access to it - stereo systems often require access from the front and top - and where in the room you want to place it. The key to enjoying your system at its best is to position the speakers where they give the highest quality sound. This depends to a large extent on the shape of the room and the type and size of speaker - some are designed to sit on the floor, some on a shelf or mounted on a wall, and others are designed to be used with a rigid stand.

The most important aspect of television storage is to make sure it is located where you can see the screen easily. When you buy a storage unit, check that it is the right size and height to house the television and the video recorder if that is separate.

Positioning the Stereo

The operating height of the stereo is an important consideration. You should position the system either low enough so that you can kneel in front of it or high enough for you to stand comfortably while loading CDs.

Some storage units include room for speakers, but while these look neat, they probably don’t give you the best sound quality. The most effective position for the speakers is on the floor or high up on a wall in a corner of the room. Here, the sound output is reflected by the corner walls and the floor or ceiling. If this is not possible, the next effective option is to position them on the floor or near the ceiling against one wall. The further the speaker is from the corner, the more the sound is reduced.

In a small room, the speakers are often so close to the seating area that it is impossible to have any background music without it interfering with the conversation. In such a case, placing the speakers off the floor - either wall-mounted or on a shelf-can help. Wherever you decide to place your speakers, it’s a good idea to take time to experiment with a few arrangements to find out by trial and error which one suits you best.

Some of the more expensive speakers are supplied with detailed instructions about where they should be placed. These are the result of exhaustive listening tests by designers, so it’s as well to follow them to the letter.

Carpets, curtains, even items of furniture can all affect the quality of sound from the speakers. Bare walls and floors reflect the sound, making it much clearer and bigger, while thick carpets and curtains have a muffling effect.

Positioning the TV

Your television should be easy to view from the most comfortable seats in the living room, but it shouldn’t dominate the room. You can meet both of these conditions by placing it on a cart or keeping it in a cabinet or cupboard with closing doors. However you house it, do make sure that it is on a stand of some sort or placed on a surface to keep it off the floor. The recommended minimum height from the base of the set to the floor is 48in (120cm). This allows you to maintain a good seating posture while viewing. Unfortunately, some commercial stands are much lower than this, forcing you to crane your neck forward or slump in your seat in order to see the screen.

Make sure the television is positioned so that there is minimum reflection off the screen from both the window and any lighting. At the same time, though, it is a good idea to have some lighting near the television when viewing, as looking away from the screen from time to time helps to reduce the eye fatigue caused by focusing on it for a long time. This relief is most effective if you look at something of a similar brightness to save your eyes from having to readjust to different levels of light.

Full Story with More pictures...

Technorati Tags: World’s Beautiful Mosque

Del.Icio.Us Tags: World’s Beautiful Mosque

Full Story with More pictures...

The last step in your makeup regime is lipstick application. Some women say if they could have only one beauty item it would be lipstick. Lip color brings the whole look together to create harmony. To keep your lips looking perfect, have lip color with you at all times and reapply when needed.

When you select a lip color take in consideration your clothing and blush colors. The color of your clothing and blush should complement your lipstick but doesn’t have to be perfectly matched. However, the colors should be in the same intensity and range. Wear cool colors together and warm colors together. Pink lipsticks go with blue and pink colors and corals and russets go with clothing that falls in a yellow/orange range.

Steps To Apply Lip Color:

1. Prepare your lips by applying foundation over them (this will extend the wear).

2. Outline and define the shape using a lip pencil that has soft, pointed top. Start at the V in your upper lip drawing down to the corners. Then, starting at the middle of the bottom lip draw a line to the corners. To help lipstick stay on longer, use your pencil to cover the lips entirely.

3. Fill in upper lip with lipstick or you can use a lip brush.

4. Fill in the lower lip and then blot with a tissue and reapply.

5. Dab gloss in the centre of your lower lip to create a fuller more glamorous look.

When defining the lips with a lip pencil be sure the pencil and lipstick colors are very close. The lip liner should not be noticeable. Lip liners are meant to keep your lipstick in place, keep lipstick from bleeding, define the shape and help them look more natural. Do not try to change the shape of your lips by going outside the natural line.

* Dark lipsticks will make small lips appear smaller.

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Lip Color For Luscious Lips...

Technorati Tags: Lip Color For Luscious Lips...

Full Story with More pictures...

Today bloggers around world are discussing about environment and earth in which we live in. Every nation around the world is concerned about and affected by global warming. Mis utilization and over utilization of the resources of earth has lead to global warming. In recent decades the world has witnessed massive industrialisation and developmental efforts without caring for nature and hurting mother nature to the maximum, which has ended up in global warming. Truly Mother Nature has Exhausted.

Recently there were some international discussion has been held to take measures to control global warming. I think those measures are still in the papers and no action has been taken with regard to that. There should be a collective effort of people from every stream of life irrespective of rich or poor, black or white to fight against global warming. As a nature lover i belive that we can make this world a better place to live.

Heaven is nowhere else it is here ‘ Our Earth ‘.

Technorati Tags: I love my Earth

Del.Icio.Us Tags: I love my Earth

Full Story with More pictures...

Yesterday evening my friend told me that she need to have a masal dosa set for supper. I went to buy the same from a vegetarian hotel located nearby. I have ordered for two sets of masal dosa as parcel. The cashier asked for 40 rupees, 20 rupees for one set. I was wondered on hearing the price. Last month when i had purchased the same thing from the same hotel the price was around 15 rupees. I had bought this masala dosa from a medium range hotel that is why the price of one masala dosa is 20. If it is bought from some other high range of hotels then it can go up to 50 rupees.

I am not blaming the hotel or shop owners for increasing the price of the food items because in the past one month the price of common house hold commodities had increase more than 60 percentage. I think with this rise in the price of the commodities common man will be affected more. I am not sure whether the honorable government is taking measures to handle this situation or not. Everyday there is news that govenment is taking measures to handle the situation but the price is not changing in the market. On raising this issue with the government, kerala government blames central government and the central government blame the situation in the international market. I think each and every country is affected by this economic crisis. If this rise in price of the commodities sustains for a long time then the common man will be starving for food in the recent future.

Del.Icio.Us Tags: SkyRocket and Masal Dosa !!

Technorati Tags: SkyRocket and Masal Dosa !!

Full Story with More pictures...

Most women think that it’s okay to stop exerting effort in looking beautiful during pregnancy but it’s not. Pregnancy is a time when your hormones are in a rage. It is easy to be overwhelmed by new feelings, sensations, and changes in your body that make you feel not in control. Taking care of your pregnant self lets you be in control and preserve your health and beauty. It’s not easy to look in a mirror with disheveled hair and dry, blotchy skin. It’s also frustrating to try and fit yourself in your pre-pregnant outfits. Get rid of the idea that this is normal. What’s normal is a pregnant woman embracing and enjoying her pregnancy by taking care of her body, her health and beauty.

Technorati Tags: Beauty in pregnancy

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Beauty in pregnancy

Full Story with More pictures...

By manipulating dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), a naturally occurring enzyme that recycles vitamin C, to increase the level of the vitamin in leaves, Gallie has been able to reduce the harmful effects of ozone on plants, apparent as brown spots, stunted size, and lowered crop yields. He and Assistant Research Biochemist Dr. Zhong Chen published their findings in a recent paper titled Increasing Tolerance to Ozone by Elevating Foliar Ascorbic Acid Confers Greater Protection Against Ozone Than Increasing Avoidance, in the journal “Plant Physiology.”

Gallie’s previous research found that plants react to smog much like they react to drought, by closing pores (called stomata) present in their leaves. The closed pores protect plants from losing water and taking in ozone, but also prevent the production of sugars through photosynthesis, which are needed for the plant to grow.

“It’s clearly not an effective strategy to protect plants from the effects of long-term exposure to smog,” Gallie said.

Plants, he said, have two options to defend themselves from ozone. They can prevent ozone from entering the leaf by closing their stomata, or use the antioxidant qualities of vitamin C to detoxify the ozone that enters through open stomata and also protect the photosynthetic machinery in the leaf.

Studying acute and chronic ozone exposures, Gallie and Chen looked at which plants fared better, those with lower levels of vitamin C that closed their pores or those with higher levels of vitamin C, open pores, and higher levels of photosynthetic activity. Those with the higher levels of vitamin C fared better in the long run, in both instances, despite the fact that more ozone entered through the open pores of the leaf, Gallie said.

Gallie and Chen’s findings offer a clear direction for a strategy toward developing plants that will be able to grow and thrive in high-ozone environments such as cities and suburban areas.

“Because we’re seeing, especially in this country, the encroachment of urban areas into farm lands, we’re seeing an increased impact on agriculture. Moreover, ornamental plants used for urban and suburban landscaping are heavily affected by exposure to smog,” said Gallie.

The next step in Gallie’s research will focus on the apparent correlation between a plant’s increased vitamin C levels and increased photosynthetic activity.

“There seems to be multiple benefits of increasing the level of vitamin C in plants, including improving their tolerance to smog, improving photosynthesis, and improving their nutritional quality but more research is clearly needed,” he said.

The key question, at least in the near term, is to determine whether increased vitamin C and photosynthesis will result in greater crop yields, he added.

Technorati Tags: How Plants Can Help Reduce Smog Damage?

Del.Icio.Us Tags: How Plants Can Help Reduce Smog Damage?

Full Story with More pictures...

 

Here is one for the readers, 20 things you must not to say to a cop!

1. Hey, can you give me another one of those full cavity searches?


2. Hey, is that a 9mm? That’s nothing compared to this 44 magnum.


3. Well, when I reached down to pick up my bag of crack, my gun fell off of my lap and got lodged between the brake and the gas pedal, forcing me to speed out of control.


4. What do you mean have I been drinking? You are the trained specialist.


5. I was trying to keep up with traffic. Yes, I know there is no other cars around, that’s how far they are ahead of me.


6. Do you know why you pulled me over? Okay, just so one of us does.


7. Gee officer, that’s terrific. The last officer only gave me a warning.


8. So uh, you on the take or what?


9. I pay your salary!


10. Is it true that people become cops because they are too dumb to work at McDonalds?


11. Didn’t I see you get your butt kicked on cops?


12. Gee, that gut sure doesn’t inspire confidence.


13. You’re not going to check the trunk, are you?


14. Bad cop. No donut.


15. I was going to be a cop, but I decided to finish high school instead.


16. I thought you had to be in relatively good physical shape to be a police officer.


17. Hey, you must have been doing 125 to keep up with me, good job.


18. Aren’t you the guy from the villiage people?


19. Sorry officer, I didn’t realize my radar detector wasn’t plugged in.


20. I can’t reach my license unless you hold my beer.

Del.Icio.Us Tags: 20 Things you should Not to say to a cop

Technorati Tags: 20 Things you should Not to say to a cop

Full Story with More pictures...

Unusual statistics and facts about sex, love, kissing...

Did you know that rats make love about 20 times a day?

1. Sex is the best and safest way to relax, its effect is 20 times as strong as valium’s.


2. For every web page with “normal” content, there are five of them with pornographic content.


3. In terms of biochemistry, sex has the same effect on the body as eating too much chocolate.


4. Beards grow faster on men who have sexual intercourse on a regular basis.


5. Male bats have the highest homosexuality rate among mammals.


6. Formicophilia is a fetish that involves having small insects crawl over one’s genitals.


7. Ithyphallophobia is the fear of watching and thinking about erect penises.


8. There are men in Guam whose job is to travel across the country and sleep with virgins, who pay them for the privilege of giving them the first sexual intercourse.


9. In Hong Kong, a woman whose husband cheats on her has the legal right to kill him, but she is only allowed to use her bare hands.


10. A Greek who is unfaithful to his wife would sometimes be punished by having his pubic hair removed in public and having a huge radish inserted in his rectum.


11. In India, it is cheaper to pay for a prostitute than it is to buy a condom.


12. Sex burns 360 calories per hour.


13. Women who read romance novels make love twice as many times as those who do not read them.


14. An average person spends two weeks of his or her life kissing.


15. A brand of condoms was named after pharaoh Ramses, who had more than 160 children.


16. On average, men think about sex every seven seconds.


17. The woman who holds the record in the number of children gave birth to 69 of them.


18. The youngest parents in the world were eight and nine and they lived in China around the year 1910.


19. 25 percent of women think that money makes men sexier.


20. Some lions mate as many as 50 times a day.


21. Humans, bonobos apes and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure.


22. Those who get caught mastrubating in Indonesia are faced with the penalty of decapitation.


23. 120 million sexual intercourses “occur” in the world every day.


24. The orgasm of a pig lasts 30 minutes.


25. 85 percent of men who died of heart failure during intercourse turned out to have been cheating on their wives.


26. Research shows that shoes and feet are the biggest fetish object in the western world.


27. A minute’s kiss burns 26 calories.


28. Only 17 percent of women have an orgasm during intercourse.

Technorati Tags: Hot Facts! Did you know this about sex?

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Hot Facts! Did you know this about sex?

Full Story with More pictures...

Recently, a group of computer scientists (all males) announced that computers should also be referred to as being female. Their reasons for drawing this conclusion follow:

Five reasons to believe computers are female:

1. No one but the Creator understands their internal logic.


2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else.


3. The message "Bad command or file name" is about as informative as, "If you don’t know why I’m mad at you, then I’m certainly not going to tell you."


4. Even your smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for later retrieval.


5. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

However, another group of computer scientists, (all female) think that computers should be referred to as if they were male. Their reasons follow:

Five reasons to believe computers are male:

1. They have a lot of data, but are still clueless.
   
2. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem.
   
3. As soon as you commit to one you realize that, if you had waited a little longer, you could have obtained a better model.
   
4. In order to get their attention, you have to turn them on.
   
5. Big power surges knock them out for the rest of the night.

Technorati Tags: Is my Computers Male or Female?

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Is my Computers Male or Female?

Full Story with More pictures...

Some Funny Newspaper Headlines

1. Crack Found on Governor’s Daughter [Imagine that!]


2. Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says [No, really?]


3. Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers [Now that’s taking things a bit far!]


4. Is There a Ring of Debris around Uranus? [Not if I wipe thoroughly!]


5. Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over [What a guy!]


6. Miners Refuse to Work after Death [No-good-for-nothing’ lazy so-and-so!]


7. Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant [See if that works any better than a fair trial!]


8. War Dims Hope for Peace [I can see where it might have that effect!]


9. If Strike Isn’t Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile [You think?]


10. Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures [Who would have thought!]


11. Enfield ( London ) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide [They may be on to something!]


12. Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges [You mean there’s something stronger than duct tape?]


13. Man Struck By Lightning: Faces Battery Charge [he probably IS the battery charge!]


14. New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group [Weren’t they fat enough?!]


15. Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft [That’s what he gets for eating those beans!]


16. Kids Make Nutritious Snacks [Taste like chicken?]


17. Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half [Chainsaw Massacre all over again!]


18. Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors [Boy, are they tall!]


19. And the winner is....: Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Funny Newspaper Headlines

Technorati Tags: Funny Newspaper Headlines

Full Story with More pictures...

Women make better business leaders than men in all but two areas of management but men have the upper hand when it comes to focusing on the bottom line, according to an Australian survey released on Monday. Data collected from 1,800 Australian female and male chief executive officers and managers found women exhibit more strategic drive, risk taking, people skills and innovation and equalled men in the area of emotional stability.

But men came out on top when it came to command and control of management operations and focusing on financial returns. The survey, conducted for the Steps Leadership Program by employment consultancy firm Peter Berry Consultancy, found women were more likely to take a chance with their ideas and challenge the status quo.

"Women are ambitious, bold, mischievous, colourful and imaginative. They are more confident, competitive, visionary and have a stronger presence," Gillian O’Mara, general manager of the Steps Leadership Program, said in a statement. But the survey found that men were more task focused and concentrated on getting the job done rather than dealing with relationships.

"(Men believe that) that bottom line dollars are the only game in town. Their key motives and preferences in life appear to be around revenue, budgets and profit. At work and at home, they are driven by financial opportunities," said O’Mara. "Men are task focused and concentrate on getting the job done without bothering too much with relationships. They are more comfortable with hierarchies, title silos and processes."

The results of the survey, which was based on an international research-based personality test called the Hogan Assessment System used by organisations to select employees, will be presented at a female leadership seminar in Sydney on May 14.

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Women tops Men in managing?

Technorati Tags: Women tops Men in managing?

Full Story with More pictures...

A little joke about the difference between friendships between women and men. Funny and True!

Friendship between women: A woman doesn’t come home one night. The next day she tells her husband that she had slept over at a girlfriend’s house. The husband calls his wife’s 10 best friends. None of them know anything about it.

Friendship between men: A man doesn’t come home one night. The next day he tells his wife that he had slept over at a friend’s house. The wife calls her husband’s 10 best men friends. Eight of them confirm that he had slept over, and two claim that he is still there.

Technorati Tags: Friendships: Men vs Women

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Friendships: Men vs Women

Full Story with More pictures...

A vicar is to apply for a drinks licence so he can sell wine and beer at his small village church.

The Reverend Geraint ap Iorwerth could be made licensee of St Peter ad Vincula Church in Pennal, near Machynlleth, close to the Powys-Gwynedd border.

He joked that there were plans to serve more than just spirits, though, with lager and wine on the menu too. Mr ap Iorwerth said he might also open a bar with proper pub-style pumps in a new church cafe in the future. But at the moment the licence is needed to sell and serve drinks at parish functions such as concerts, weddings or christenings.

The vicar will go to magistrates’ court next month to apply for the licence. Mr ap Iorwerth said: "It is quite common for larger churches and cathedrals to apply for a licence, and we want to make sure we are within the law. I would love to think that at certain times of the year people could come down in the evening to have a drink

"We have plans to serve lager and red and white wine - that is what the average punter wants." He added: "We also want to serve drinks at a cafe at the rear of the church. "We have also received requests from people planning weddings who would like drinks and canapés after their service and before the reception. "It would be nice to serve drinks at concerts, Christmas and New Year’s Eve too.

"A small bar is a possibility. I would love to think that at certain times of the year people could come down in the evening to have a drink." ’Sharing bread’ Earlier this month, the Archbishop of Wales Dr Barry Morgan told a conference in Llandudno that churches should "think creatively" about facilities. The Church in Wales said St Peter ad Vincula Church had a gallery cafe so the licence would enable it to serve alcohol to customers.

"The Church in Wales welcomes initiatives such as this which encourage people to come to churches and to see them as places where they can relax, socialise and share food and drink," said a spokeswoman. "Indeed, sharing bread and wine is an essential part of the Christian ministry. "We see alcohol, taken in moderation and used responsibly, as something to enjoy with others."

But Carol Bodza of Glansychan stores and off-licence and Susan Crossley of the Riverside Hotel in Pennal, oppose Mr ap Iorwerth’s plans. Mrs Bodza said: "We have no objection to the cafe, but I don’t see why he (Mr ap Iorwerth) needs to apply for a licence to sell alcohol. "Both our off-licence and the hotel is less than 100 yards away from the church and we feel this could affect our business."

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Church seeking drinks licence

Technorati Tags: Church seeking drinks licence

Full Story with More pictures...

The child eats 10,000 calories a day, she cannot walk or bear physical strain and his cardiovascular system is at risk. Seven-year-old Jessica Gaude differs greatly from her pals. With 222 kilograms, she is the fattest child in the world.

She eats 10,000 calories each day in Coca-Colas, 15 hamburgers with fries and several kilograms of chocolate. What she eats in one day some children eat in half a year. Her breakfast consists of white bread, potato chips and two litres of coke. And she wants more. When she last visited the doctor four years ago she had 110 kilograms. Unfortunately, she can no longer run and instead of walking she drags herself on the floor. Under such bodily weight her bones have already become distorted.

Mother Carolyn gives her daughter whatever the child wants. In the first week after she was born, when the baby cried because of stomach pains, the mother calmed her by feeding her with a bottle because she thought the child was hungry. “I gave her the bottle and she wanted more and more. It was not enough for her and she was constantly hungry”, Jessica’s mother says.

The doctors warn that the child’s health is already dangerously at risk and could die if not treated. Unfortulately, Jessica’s mother does not understand medicine, her child is prescious to her and continues to feed her sweets.

Technorati Tags: World Fattest Child??

Del.Icio.Us Tags: World Fattest Child??

Full Story with More pictures...

Forbes’ top ten list is remarkable for many reasons. The first is that most of the dirtiest cities of the world are placed in developing or struggling nations such as Africa and Russia. The second is that many of the named cities are still labouring to rid themselves of environmental disasters incurred by Western interests or corporate factions in the name of the almighty dollar. The third is that the bulk of the world’s dirtiest cities just keep getting dirtier due to less than strategic plans for waste management, pollutant reduction and industrial regulations. Though residents of cleaner cities in the world may not realize it, the dirtiest cities affect everyone in the world by contributing to global warming, ozone deficiency and overall environmental health. In a global community, it is up to the fortunate to help those with less-whether it be food, money or clean living conditions.

The number one city on the list is the infamous Chernobyl, Ukraine, which was awarded the dubious honour for the seething radiation that still pervades the city’s soil after the nuclear reactor accident over 20 years ago. There is no limit to the laundry list of of Chernobyl’s pollutants: uranium, plutonium, radioactive iodine, cesium-137, strontium and other heavy or radioactive metals are still found in astromical levels in the 19-mile exclusion zone that has been cordoned off since the reactor went off. The amount of radiation leaked was 100 times the levels released in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Chernobyl’s 135,000 citizens have been evacuated and relocated to an area outside of the reactor zone, which is far from clean by Western standards. Chernobyl has been on the top of the list of dirty cities since the accident and the pervasion of pollutants seems to indicate that it will remain there for years, if not decades, to come.

Second on the list is Dzerzinsk. Russia, which achieved prominence during the Cold War when it became a central spot for the manufacture and storage of chemical weapons. Unfortunately, these weapons were disposed of poorly and the toxic chemicals that leaked from them has resulted in tons of dangerous chemical waste infiltrating the ground water and the city’s water supply. In a population of over 300,000, the death rate in the city is over 2.6 times the birth rate.

Haina in the Dominican Republic nabs the third spot due to a former battery plant no longer in operation in the region. The plant caused high soil levels of lead in the entire region, which is negatively affecting the over 85, 000 citizens who live in the area.

The rest of the list includes: Kabwe, Zambia; La Oroyo, Peru; Linfen, China; Mailuu-Suu, Kyrgyzstan; Norlisk, Russia; Ranipet, India; and Rudnaya Pristan, Russia.

Technorati Tags: Dirtiest Cities of the World

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Dirtiest Cities of the World

Full Story with More pictures...

Antarctica is a special place, no matter how you look at it. It’s the highest, driest, coldest, and windiest continent, for starters. One way that it’s very special is its position, squatting right on the south end of the Earth.

To begin with, the seventh continent is in the middle of its own lithospheric plate, completely isolated from other continents. It was part of Gondwanaland throughout the Paleozoic, stuck together with Africa, South America, Australia, and India. But then during the Jurassic that supercontinent slowly broke up over a hundred million years, until Australia split from it and left Antarctica alone, beginning in the Eocene about 50 million years ago. You can follow the history at the Paleomap Project site.

Ever since that time, the ocean has surrounded it on all sides, turning around it in a great westward current. Antarctica has gotten colder and colder, cooling the rest of the planet along with it. Over the years, it has accumulated a gigantic layer of ice to a height of 3,000 meters. That huge central mound stands up nearly halfway through the atmosphere, so like a bald-headed man with no hat, it loses heat directly to outer space. The cold air that results flows right off the ice cap by gravity, picking up speed as it goes, until the resulting katabatic winds roar off the continent’s edge onto the sea.

The cold winds freeze the seawater, building up immense areas of solid pack ice every Antarctic winter. The water left behind is saltier and, because salty water is denser than the rest of the ocean, it sinks and slowly moves northward on the seafloor to the rest of the world.

Throughout most of geologic time, the Earth has had a warmer and more equable climate than today. Large areas of the continents were covered by shallow seas, where the limestones and shales and coal measures we see today were laid down. Antarctica has been keeping the world cool lately, though, and by piling up more and more ice, it has drawn down the level of the sea. I’m grateful for that, because I like dry land.

Antarctica is not really responsible for the ice ages we’ve been living through for the past few million years, though. For that, you might blame Panama, which rose out of the water about 3 million years ago and cut off the Atlantic from the Pacific Ocean. Now we have a complicated setup, involving Greenland with its ice cap and currents in the north Atlantic Ocean, that seems to switch back and forth between a cold-climate state and a warmer state, where we are today.

Del.Icio.Us Tags: The Coolest Place on Earth

Technorati Tags: The Coolest Place on Earth

Full Story with More pictures...

Anti-corruption group Transparency International released the list of the world’s most and least corrupt oil companies on April 28.

The TI study was based on 42 oil companies from 21 countries. The report placed these 42 oil and gas companies into three tiers based on their level of transparency in revenue disclosure. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation was the only Indian oil company to feature in the list. Interestingly while ONGC was placed in Tier I as far as disclosures at home were concerned, TI placed it in Tier III in the overseas disclosure segment.

ONGC, officials, however maintained that the overseas arm was a separate entity named ONGC Videsh (OVL) and not ONGC. The TI report, however, makes no mention of OVL. While Royal/Dutch Shell, Brazil’s Petrobras, Norway’s StatoilHydro, BG Group of UK and Petro-Canada were among the best performing companies, the TI report clubbed China’s CNOOC and CNPC, Russia’s Lukoil and US-based ExxonMobil Corp in the lowest tier for disclosing information only by geographical segment and providing almost no additional information.

Read on to find out more about some of the world�s most and the least transparent oil and gas companies.

1. Royal Dutch Shell PLC

Shell is a worldwide group of oil, gas and petrochemical companies with interests in biofuels, wind and solar power and hydrogen. In December 31, 2007, the company’s income from continuing operations stood at $355,782 million in 2007.

The company’s first-quarter net profits in 2008 leapt 25 per cent to $9.08 billion because of record-breaking crude oil prices. Net earnings on a current cost of supply basis, excluding fluctuations in the value of inventories, were up 12 per cent to $7.78 billion compared to the same period of 2007.

Shell PLC along with BP PLC, Europe’s two biggest oil producers, recently posted forecast-busting first-quarter profit of $17 billion, thanks to record crude oil prices. The two companies’ combined profits reignited calls for a windfall tax on oil profits as consumers struggled to pay for food and fuel.

2. Petrobras

Petrobras is one of the major oil and natural gas companies of Brazil with extensive overseas reach.

The company’s market value increased by 87 per cent in 2007. However, the company’s consolidated net income in 2007 was 17 per cent less than in 2006, primarily because of monetary exchange corrections. Petrobras’ consolidated net income in the final quarter of the same year too fell by 9 per cent over the 3Q-2007, corresponding to the reduction in the operating result.

The company’s average oil and gas production remained very close to 2006 levels, since four of the five new production projects installed in 2007 only commenced operations in the final quarter. In December 2007, however, the company set a record for a day’s oil output in Brazil of 2,000,238 barrels.

3. StatoilHydro

StatoilHydro is a Fortune 50 integrated oil and gas company based in Norway. The StatoilHydro group is one of the largest net exporters of crude oil in the world. The company plays an important role in CO2 capture and storage.

The company’s revenue for the year 2006 stood at NOK 431,112 million, whereas income before financial items, income taxes and minority interest stood at NOK 114,449 million and net income at NOK 39,065 million.

4. BG Group

BG Group has operations in some 27 countries over five continents. While the company’s headquarters are in the United Kingdom, over 65 per cent of the talented professionals who make up the BG team are located outside the UK. BG Group is a publicly listed company on the London Stock Exchange and is also listed on the US over-the-counter market known as ’International OTCQX’. The company has posted very strong results for the first quarter of 2008 driven by increased E&P and LNG volumes and improved realisations.

5. Petro-Canada

Petro-Canada is one of Canada’s largest oil and gas companies, operating in both upstream and the downstream sectors of the industry in Canada and internationally.

Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, the company employs more than 5,600 employees around the world. Petro-Canada announced on April 29 first quarter operating earnings of $899 million ($1.86/share), compared with $580 million ($1.17/share) in the first quarter of 2007.

First quarter 2008 cash flow from operating activities before changes in non-cash working capital was $1,852 million ($3.83/share), compared with $1,166 million ($2.35/share) in the same quarter of last year. The company’s net earnings were $1,076 million ($2.22/share) in the first quarter of 2008, compared with $590 million ($1.19/share) in the same period of 2007.

Technorati Tags: Top 5 Oil companies in the World

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Top 5 Oil companies in the World

Full Story with More pictures...

Internet refers to an interconnection of networks. It is a connection among computer networks that provides direct communication among the connected computers. It is composed of multiple networks that are combined by a common protocol that performs the addressing function for networks. Intranets are smaller Internets utilized in a single organization.

The Internet began as a Cold War military technology. It was a way for military computers to communicate over long distances. Other institutions, such as universities and hospitals began to associate their computers through the Internet during the 1970s and 1980s.

With the arrival of the World Wide Web in the late 1980s, consumers and commercial businesses interacted with the Internet. The quantity of computer users getting "connected" increased rapidly after the first appearance of browsers in the 1990s. By early 1996, more than 25 million computers in over 180 countries were interconnected through the Internet and it continued to grow at a dramatic rate. More and more people use the network for "information", a theoretical goal of computer communications to grant businesses, libraries, homes, schools, and any other institution universal access to valuable information.

ARPA

After the Soviet Union’s 1957 launch of Sputnik1 (the first craft on the earth’s orbit), President Dwight D. Eisenhower saw the need for the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). This organization brought together some of the most brilliant people of America. They were the ones who designed the United States’ first satellite successfully in 18 months. Many years later, this agency began to concentrate on communications technology and computer networking.

Dr. J.C.R. Licklider was chosen to lead ARPA’s research in developing the military’s use of computer technology during 1962. Licklider’s goal was to make the government’s employment of computers more dynamic. Licklider saw the necessity to move ARPA’s contracts from the secluded sector to universities, and to establish the basis for what would later become the "ARPAnet".

ARPANET

The ARPANET, Department of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects Agency was created by the Bolt Beranek and Newman Company (BBN) twelve years after the Sputnik1. ARPANET’s primitive aim was to design a network secure enough to oppose a nuclear attack during the Cold War. The Internet was initiated by the ARPANET in 1969 at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The agency’s objective was to establish a connection, through computers, that would allow scientists at different universities to share research and information.

The first switch that provided communication utilized was developed at BBN, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, but ARPANET mostly used packet switching developed by Rand Corporation in 1962 to route messages. Packet switching organized information into "packets." Each packet was held user, addressing and error checking information. This kind of communication switching allowed the usage of a same data line by various computers. It also allowed data to transfer to other computers if one computer went down in the packet network.

TCP/IP

In 1974, TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), the protocol used on the Internet, was developed. This Internet Protocol is the fundamental software employed to control the Internet. This protocol specifies how data is routed from one computer to the another. The Transmission Control Protocol verifies whether or not the information arrived at the designated computer and if not, makes sure that the information is sent again. American computer scientist Vinton Cerf built these protocols in 1973. This project was sponsored by the United States Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA).

During the early years of the 1980s, the Internet became more popular as more sites were added to ARPANET. Even though the ARPANET had shut down by 1984, the usage of the Internet was spreading. The Internet was transferred from the ARPANET to the National Science Foundation. By this year an estimation of 500 computers were "connected" (using the Internet).

The Early Internet

The Internet was completely textual and in black and white. All tasks had to be done by using commands of computer language, such as UNIX, developed by Bell Laboratories in 1972. Users actually had to learn computer language commands to be able to use the Internet unless they possessed certain computer skills. However, the appearances of new resources simplified the use of this network.

The coming of the World Wide Web (WWW), developed by English computer scientist Timothy Berners-Lee for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in the year of 1989, caused major impact in the advancement of computer science. The Web is a group of files, called Web sites or Web pages. It made "surfing" the Internet more simple and interesting. Each of these web sites includes pictures, buttons, and highlighted words or phrases to click on to issue commands. One did not require computer skills. There was no need to learn computer language commands. Information was now available in various forms: sound, graphics, text, and video; and in diverse colors.

The Browser

In 1993, browsers were included in the network. The Mosaic browser was designed at the University of Illinois as an easier way to access the World Wide Web. The browsers were menu-driven, for example: Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer, which provide the users a "menu" of choices; or graphical "buttons" that provide computer users with an simpler way of telling the computer what to do.

Illustration 1-1 is an example of the way the Internet window might appear. This illustration also presents the different graphics, "buttons," and words or phrases used as shortcuts to issue commands. The distinct pull-down menus (file, edit, help, etc.) had the function of facilitating the user’s task. To issue a command the user simply had to click on the drop-down menu and it would display a number of commands that a user could choose from.

Internet Services

There are many Internet services. In the early 90s, people were able to move from web site to web site (browsers); connect their computers to the Internet with Home Pages (hosting); talk through the Web (HTML); and store and receive messages (email).

Hosting

A Web host is the main computer at which documents that users read on the WWW are located. Hosts are the computers through which people "publish" or show credentials on the World Wide Web. These hosts are generally located at corporations, cities, large universities, and Internet service providers.

HTML

It is a tool used to write documents that are to be published on the Web. The HTML was accessible in 1991. This word processing software has its own fixed HTML commands that are used for creating Web sites.

Email

Also called the electronic mail. It is a "mail" based on computers; a computerized mail. It allows the computer to send, store and receive messages. The engineer, Ray Tomlinson, created it in 1972, at BBN in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Internet
No one organization actually owns the Internet. It is just a worldwide arrangement of connecting computer networks. However, it is run by many organizations, such as: Network Solutions Inc., Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), the Internet Society (ISOC), etc.

Technorati Tags: Birth of the Internet

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Birth of the Internet

Full Story with More pictures...

Nepal is a land locked country. Although small, the country attracts huge amount of tourists every year. Tourism is the main foreign currency earning sector of Nepal. Below is given ten reasons why you should visit Nepal:

1) Out of the ten highest mountains of the world, seven is situated in Nepal.

2) Nepal is rich in natural diversity. The total land area of Nepal is 147,181square kilometer. There are flat lands, hilly regions and mountains. Not many small countries offer such diverse landscape. On the north there are the Himalyas, on the south flat lands with greeneries, and in between are the hilly regions.

3) If you are looking for adventure then Nepal has got just the right thing for you. For example, you can do mountain trekking and biking, paragliding, ultra light flights, bungee jumping, rock climbing, adventure treks, caving, canyon swings, Himalayan motorcycle tours and so on. Rafting in the Trisuli, the Kali Gandaki, and the Marsyangdi rivers is not a child’s play.

4) If you enjoy watching wild life and flora and fauna then Nepal has ten national parks. It has also resorts situated in the forest. The one horned rhino and great Royal Bengal Tigers are found in Nepal.

5) If you are a traveler looking for enlightenment and spiritualism then you can visit the Buddhist monasteries and blessed by the monks. Buddhism and Hinduism are the two main religions of Nepal. You can visit Lumbini, which is the birth place of Lord Buddha.

6) Nepal has all the facilities for Western travelers. In the capital of Kathmandu, there are bars, taverns, nightclubs and various other attractions. In addition, various international festivals are also held in Nepal.

7) Golfing is another great attraction of Nepal. Most of the golf courses are situated by the hill side in Kathmandu and Pokhara valleys. These golf courses are designed in European and American style.

8) All kinds of hotels, from one start to five stars are available in Nepal. If you are thinking about travel expense, then you do not need to worry at all. Nepal tourism has facilities for all kinds of people. You can go to Hotel Nepal.com for detail information.

9) Nepalist tourism agencies provide various kinds of tourism for couples and families and for individual travelers.

10) Last but not the least, shopping in Nepal can be fun. There are many tourist shops in Kathmandu where one can find jewelries, handmade or painted pictures and a wide range of handicrafts. In addition, there are village shops where you can find various products made by local craftsmen.

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Why Should you Travel to Nepal?

Technorati Tags: Why Should you Travel to Nepal?

Full Story with More pictures...

Sankrit language which is not the origin of all Indian languages. Yes it is to the Indo Aryan languages like Hindi and punjabi but not to the indgenious Languages like Tamil a mother of all other languages like Malayalm ,Telugu Kannadam and etc,,,,

Many people will say that Sankskrit was used for writing religious stuffs and etc.. but we all have to understand that the creators of the sanskrit are the Aryans who were intruders to the Indian soil and the illiterate Aryans learnt the arts and lit frm the Dravdians of the indus valley the oldest civilisation ,who spoke the native language Tamil.

Then after the Aryans fabricated Hinduism and and forced their created Sanskrit and stuff like the caste system in Hinduism, these are well known facts, the birth of sanskrit is only during the 1500bc after the arrival of the Aryans.

The birth of Tamil Language is unknown but one of the earliest text is even dating back 5000bc, which clearly speaks for itself,Tamil as the OLDEST LANGUAGE.

Technorati Tags: The Oldest Language in the World

Del.Icio.Us Tags: The Oldest Language in the World

Full Story with More pictures...

MYTH #1: "Vaccines are completely safe..."

TRUTH #1: "Vaccination causes significant death and disability at an astounding personal and financial cost to families and taxpayers."

MYTH #2: "Vaccines are very effective..."

TRUTH #2: "Evidence suggests that vaccination is an unreliable means of preventing disease."

MYTH #3: "Vaccines are the main reason for low disease rates in the world today..."

TRUTH #3: "It is unclear what impact vaccines had on the infectious disease declines that occurred throughout this century."

MYTH #4: "Vaccination is based on sound immunization theory and practice..."

TRUTH #4: "Many of the assumptions upon which immunization theory and practice are based have been proven false in their application."

MYTH #5: "Childhood diseases are extremely dangerous..."

TRUTH #5: "Dangers of childhood diseases are greatly exaggerated in order to scare parents into compliance with a questionable but profitable procedure."

MYTH #6: "Polio was one of the clearly great vaccination success stories..."

TRUTH #6: "Vaccines caused substantial increases in polio after years of steady declines, and they are the sole cause of polio in the world today."

MYTH #7: "My child had no short-term reaction to vaccination, so there is nothing to worry about..."

TRUTH #7: "The long term adverse effects of vaccinations have been virtually ignored, in spite of direct correlations with many chronic conditions."

MYTH #8: "Vaccines are the only disease prevention option available..."

TRUTH #8: "Documented safe and effective alternatives to vaccination have been available for decades but suppressed by the medical establishment."

MYTH #9: "Vaccinations are legally mandated, and thus unavoidable..."

TRUTH #9: "Legal exemptions from vaccinations are obtainable for most - but not all."

MYTH #10: "Public health officials always place health above all other concerns..."

TRUTH #10: Ha ha ha ha!!!

For Full Details, Source: http://www.relfe.com/vaccine.html

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Myths and Facts about Vaccination.

Technorati Tags: Myths and Facts about Vaccination.

Full Story with More pictures...

TOKYO (Reuters) - A city bureaucrat in western Japan was suspended from his job after officials discovered he visited porn websites at work almost every day, often spending hours gazing at nude photos, a city official said.

The 57-year-old man, who was working in the construction division of Kinokawa City in Wakayama, surfed porn sites from an office computer almost every day for eight months from June 2007, spending up to three hours a day on the websites, said Kazuhiko Ueyama, a Kinokawa City official.

Angered citizens called city hall all day on Friday, saying the suspension was not enough, he added.The city only found out about his activities in February when it noticed that his computer had picked up the same virus repeatedly from the sites, Ueyama said.

"These were foreign ’adult sites’ and they got through the security net" that the city had installed for its computers, he said."The man apologized each time we spoke to him, but we couldn’t quite get him to explain to us why he did this," Ueyama added.The bureaucrat was suspended from the office for three months and was demoted as of Thursday, Ueyama said.

Technorati Tags: The 57-year-old man suspended for surfing porn at work

Del.Icio.Us Tags: The 57-year-old man suspended for surfing porn at work

Full Story with More pictures...

Sunlight can be used in many ways to save energy. Use a solar water heater instead of an electric geyser. A 100 litre solar water heater can save around 1500 units of electricity every year.

Del.Icio.Us Tags: How to save Energy?

Technorati Tags: How to save Energy?

Full Story with More pictures...

Simply turning off your television, stereo, computer, fans, lights when you are not using them will save you thousands of kilograms of carbon dioxide a year.

Technorati Tags: How to efficiently save Power?

Del.Icio.Us Tags: How to efficiently save Power?

Full Story with More pictures...

American technologists have warned that hackers may soon start using malicious hardware in place of computer viruses to steal important records like credit card details and passwords from their victim’s PCs.

Samuel King, an expert from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, says that such malicious hardware will be much more difficult to detect as compared to computer worms. He and his colleagues have shown that they could gain control of a computer by adding malicious circuits to its processor.

Since such circuits interfere with the computer at a deeper level than a virus, they effectively operate ’below the radar’ of anti-virus software. For determining the risk from malicious hardware, the researchers designed their own malicious circuits.

The research team used a processor called a field programmable gate array (FPGA), whose logic circuits can be rearranged, to create a replica of an existing open source processor called Leon3, which contains around 1.7 million circuits.

About 1000 malicious circuits, not present in Leon3, were then added. The researchers observed that the circuits allowed them to bypass security controls on Leon3 in a similar way to how a virus hands control of a computer to a hacker, but without requiring a flaw in a software application.

Technorati Tags: Beware, Your Processor will be hacked Soon.

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Beware, Your Processor will be hacked Soon.

Full Story with More pictures...

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Industrialist Ratan Tata and PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi were the three Indians who have made it to the Time magazine’s 2008 list of the world’s 100 most influential people that also included Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama and Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Gandhi,the only Indian politician to make the cut, has been listed in the category of leaders and revolutionaries while Nooyi and Tata figure in the list of Builders and Titans.

The Time said the story of Gandhi(61) is "remarkable at every level" and its narrative about the Congress leader has a fairy-tale element.

The magazine said the most appropriate way to describe Nooyi(52) is as a "world class leader". Her sharp strategic mind, tremendous market insight and humanitarian contributions all combined to make her a rare executive among the global corporate giants, it said.

Tata(70) was hailed for unveiling his tiny Re one lakh car ’Nano’.

The list covers leaders and revolutionaries, heroes and pioneers, scientists and thinkers, aristes and entertainers and builders and titans who are perceived to have a made a profound impact on the world.

Del.Icio.Us Tags: Time’s 100 most influential people

Technorati Tags: Time’s 100 most influential people

Full Story with More pictures...