Science News – Newsletter for November 27, 2010

British family shares home with 80 animals

LONDON – A British family shares its home with an amazing collection of 80 exotic animals that include boa constrictors, pythons and tarantula spiders.

Alan Hewitt, 44, and his wife Heather, 40, have 20 snakes, 15 reptiles, 25 mammals and birds and invertebrates as their pets at their home in in Morley, near Leeds, The … Read more >>.

ISRO-built communications satellite for Europe launched

CHENNAI – The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)-built communication satellite HYLAS (Highly Adaptable Satellite) for EADS-Astrium of Europe was launched Saturday by an Ariane rocket from the Guyana Space Centre at Kourou in French Guyana.

According to ISRO, 35 minutes after the rocket lift-off, HYLAS was separated from the rocket at its intended geosynchronous transfer …. Original article  : ISRO-built communications satellite for Europe launched.

Keeping BlackBerry in your pocket could be harmful

MELBOURNE – Keeping that smartphone in your pocket could have harmful health effects, says BlackBerry.

The user guide to the BlackBerry Torch advises using its “approved holster with an integrated belt clip or maintain a distance” of 25mm between the …. Read the original article  : Keeping BlackBerry in your pocket could be harmful.

Police radar guns might spot suicide bombers

LONDON – Radar guns used by police to spot speeding motorists could help identify would-be suicide bomber in a crowd, say researchers.

A radar gun fires microwave pulses at a car and measures the Doppler shift of the reflected signal to calculate its velocity. However, the strength and polarisation … Read more : Police radar guns might spot suicide bombers.

Skin patch could provide efficient pain relief with every flinch

LONDON – Scientists at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, have suggested that a skin patch could soon provide efficient pain relief whenever you flex sore muscles.

The system would work by synchronising the release of drugs with movement of the underlying inflamed tissue.

Unyong Jeong’s team at Yonsei University … Read : Skin patch could provide efficient pain relief with every flinch.

Now, iPhone apps to help you during pregnancy

WELLINGTON – If you are pregnant, there are iPhone apps that can help you get through the process. And while it’s true that these apps don’t make the pain ago away, they do let you keep track of things and become more knowledgeable.

Pregnancy-related phone applications …. Original article  : Now, iPhone apps to help you during pregnancy.

Switch that controls neuronal migration in developing brain
identified

WASHINGTON – Researchers at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have identified a crucial step in brain development, which offers insight into the origins of epilepsy, mental retardation and possibly brain tumour metastasis.

They have identified key components of a signaling pathway that …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Switch that controls neuronal migration in developing brain
identified.

ESA’s Hylas-1 released in space

WASHINGTON – ESA’s first public-private partnership in a full satellite system, Hylas-1, has been launched into space.

The satellite was released today into its transfer orbit after a textbook launch by an Ariane 5 vehicle from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

Owned and operated by Avanti Communications plc of the …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : ESA’s Hylas-1 released in space.

Can Facebook and Twitter predict election results better than
polls?

WASHINGTON – Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are slowly gaining ground in politics too – in fact, many wonder if the social networking sites could predict election results.

In November’s elections, the candidate who more people “liked” on Facebook won in 71 percent of Senate elections. Twitter was …. Read the original article  : Can Facebook and Twitter predict election results better than
polls?.

Microsoft’s ‘tactile’ app ‘could spell end of mobile keypads’

LONDON – Microsoft has designed a new application to construct a “tactile” touchscreen – a display that uses technical tricks to convince users they are actually touching the ridges, bumps and textures of a displayed image.

Microsoft proposes producing a real texture, using pixel-sized shape-memory [..] Read the original article: here.

Sugar-sweetened coffee ‘boosts memory, attention span’

LONDON – Sugar-sweetened coffee may be the best way to prepare the brain for a busy day ahead, say scientists.

Researchers at the University of Barcelona in Spain found that taking caffeine and sugar at the same time boosted the brain’s performance more than taking them on their own.

They …. Original article  : Sugar-sweetened coffee ‘boosts memory, attention span’.

Sunny, pleasant day ahead for Delhi

NEW DELHI – A clear and sunny morning greeted the capital Saturday and the weatherman said a slight drop in temperature is possible.

The last couple of days were misty and cloudy.
“While the last few days were cloudy, the sky will be clear during the day,” an official of the India Meteorological Department … Original source on Gaea Times at : Sunny, pleasant day ahead for Delhi.

Sugar cube-sized supercomputer in 10 to 15 years: IBM

LONDON – IBM scientists have said that a pioneering research effort could shrink the world’s most powerful supercomputer processors to the size of a sugar cube.

The approach will see many computer processors stacked on top of one another, cooling them with water flowing …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Sugar cube-sized supercomputer in 10 to 15 years: IBM.

Environment ministry slammed for failing to implement green schemes

NEW DELHI – The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Friday slammed the environment ministry for failing to meet its main objectives of afforestation, conservation of biodiversity, pollution control and spreading awareness among the people.

The CAG report tabled in parliament pointed at the misutilisation of funds allotted under various environmental schemes and found that …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Environment ministry slammed for failing to implement green schemes.

CAG slams environment ministry for not implementing plans

NEW DELHI – The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Friday slammed the environment ministry for failing to implement its ambitious projects of afforestation, conservation of biodiversity, pollution control and spreading awareness among people.

The CAG report tabled in parliament found that money allotted under various environmental schemes …. Original source  : CAG slams environment ministry for not implementing plans.

Dinosaurs’ exit paved way for mammals to grow

TORONTO – Extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago paved the way for mammals to grow a thousand times bigger than they had been.

“Basically, the dinosaurs disappeared and all of a sudden there was nobody else eating the vegetation,” says study co-author Jessica Theodor, associate professor in biological sciences at the University of …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Dinosaurs’ exit paved way for mammals to grow.

PC recreates 3D model of Rome’s Colosseum with Flickr pictures

LONDON – A 3D model of Rome’s Colosseum has been recreated in one day using millions of pictures from photo-sharing websites such as Flickr on a modified home PC.

A team of researchers from the University of North Carolina and the Swiss university ETH-Zurich created the system, and they believe it may help preserve heritage sites, … Read more »»».

CAG slams environment ministry over green plans failure

NEW DELHI – The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Friday slammed the environment ministry for failing to implement its ambitious projects of afforestation, conservation of biodiversity, pollution control and spreading awareness among the people.

The CAG report tabled in parliament found that money allotted under various environmental schemes has been lying unused and …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : CAG slams environment ministry over green plans failure.

Google Street View reveals nude man reading a book!

LONDON – A weird naked picture of a man reading book has surfaced on Google Street View.

The image shows the mystery man sitting on a bench on the veranda of his home with his shorts on placed beside him.

In the picture, the man is holding a book in one hand and using the other one …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Google Street View reveals nude man reading a book!.

Radiation risk from flying trumps body scanners

WASHINGTON – Amidst protests over US airport security procedures, what’s often overlooked is that flying itself dwarfs the radiation doses delivered by the new body scanners.

The radiation you get from body scanners is the same as what you get in two minutes in an airplane at 30,000 feet.

Of bigger concern is whether pilots, flight attendants, …. Original source  : Radiation risk from flying trumps body scanners.