Mind control over Robos
Those people who are unable to move their limbs are able to guide a
robot arm to reach and grasp objects using only their brain activity, a
paper published in Nature Magazine .The difficulty lies in decoding the neural signals by the
disabled person's neural interface implant and then converting those
signals to digital commands that the robotic device can follow to
execute the exact intended movement. The more complex the movement, the
more difficult the decoding task.
Sun Flares in Star
Some middle-aged stars burn and rave like newborns, producing flares thousands of times as energetic as those we see on the Sun, according to
the first large survey of these events.Solar flares occur when magnetic-field loops threading through sunspots
get twisted and break, releasing massive amounts of radiation and
accelerating charged particles into space. The largest ever measured on
the Sun took place on 1 September 1859, and was observed as a mysterious
brightening by British astronomer Richard Carrington, who was drawing a
group of sunspots at the time. For info visit :www.nature.com
Babie Jackfruit medicinal and culinary uses
The jack fruit is the largest tree borne fruit in the world .The English name jack fruit derives from the Portuguese jaca.The asj of jackfruit leaves, burned with corn anc coconut shell , is used alone or mixed with coconut oil to heal ulcers.Mixed with vinegar, the lates promotes healing of abscesses, snakebite and glandular swellings.
Seven-month-old babies can read minds
Babies as young as seven months old may be able to take into account the thoughts and beliefs of other people, according 'theory of mind', this ability is central to human cooperation. he research team made the discovery by measuring a simple behavior-how long infants stare at a scene - in experiments that did not require infants to explicitly assess others' thoughts or predict their actions. It's not known how babies acquire the capacity to understand others' mental states, but some scientists have argued that conversation has a key role. Because seven-month-olds have little experience with conversation - responding to voices and babbling rather than speaking words
No Unanimity in hosting common website for Scientists'
Cloning Facebook's phenomenal success has not proved easy for scientists eager to develop a network focused on shared research interests. The number of scientific networking websites is growing, but none has emerged conduce system.
Cloning Facebook's phenomenal success has not proved easy for scientists eager to develop a network focused on shared research interests. The number of scientific networking websites is growing, but none has emerged conduce system.
Aspects of some social sites have spiked in popularity — notably, virtual events. Greg Cruikshank, chief executive of the networking site LabRoots, based in Yorba Linda, California, says that his company started BioConference Live, a series of online-only events, last year with much success. The first show, in November 2009, had more than 10,000 attendees, who were given access to 70 sessions at which they could question speakers (in future, Cruikshank expects closer to 40). They could also browse a virtual lobby, exhibit hall and exhibitor booths.
The indifference could be the reason and lack of confidence in individual networks; concerns that personal data might be sold on; or the fact that no one site provides tools or features valuable enough to lure a majority of busy scientists. Despite the proliferation of networks, a big question remains, says Laura James, chief operating officer at the Centre for Applied Research in Educational Technologies at the University of Cambridge, UK. What can they offer that more established sites, such as Facebook, don't?
It is clear that no single site will meet all scientists' needs. what combination of site will able to impress scientist to upload relevant information. Scientists are not really interested in social networking. They network to boost productivity.
India blocks Fission group meeting, hostile to India
The International Panel on Fissile Materials (IPFM) is an independent group of two dozen scientists and policy analysts devoted to stirring debate on issues related to nuclear materials. The group was formed in 2006 and is funded by the MacArthur Foundation, a philanthropic organization based in Chicago, Illinois. The panel's draft version of the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty, a proposal that would ban production of weapons-grade nuclear material worldwide, has received backing from Japan, Canada and the Netherlands in United Nations disarmament discussions.
The IPFM had hoped to convene on 9 December to discuss technical and political issues associated with India's nuclear strategy. But the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, which must approve such meetings, has denied it the permission it needs. In the interest of the nation, Government of India, has not given permission to such meeting in which panel member hostile to indian nuclear technology.
The panel members may take a provocative stance against technologies that create more fissile material. They openly oppose nuclear reprocessing, in which fuel is chemically separated and reused in either power reactors or nuclear weapons, and breeder reactors, which generate new nuclear fuel in addition to producing power. Many panel members believe that such technologies are not economically viable and increase the risk of nuclear war or terrorism.
India's nuclear ambitions are at odds with those views. The nation has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which is designed to slow the spread of nuclear weapons. It is actively pursuing nuclear reprocessing, both for weapons and for power, and is near completion of a 500-megawatt plutonium breeder reactor in Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu. That reactor will pave the way for future breeder reactors capable of converting the nation's vast thorium reserves into uranium-233 fuel.
The decision to bar the IPFM comes at a sensitive time for India as it looks for acceptance from other nuclear states after decades of isolation because of its weapons programme. In 2008, it signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States, and is seeking entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group, an international body that sets non-proliferation guidelines for exports of nuclear equipment and material. The IPFM affair should give other nations pause, says Squassoni. "Is this the kind of behaviour that you want in a nuclear supplier?" she asks.
R. Rajaraman, an emeritus professor of physics at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi and co-chairman of the IPFMR says that the panel hoped to debate India's nuclear policies with scientists from the nation's government and nuclear establishment. Similar debates organized by the IPFM in the United Kingdom, China and the United States have often led to thought-provoking discussions, .
Human Genomics: The next 10 years
In the ten years since the human genome was first sequenced, our understanding, aided by rapidly-evolving technologies, has advanced to reveal the complex architecture of genetic traits, including genetic basis of common diseases, intricacies of gene regulation and the role of non-coding portions of our genome, to name but a few. The fruits of increasingly numerous genome-based studies now allow for the sequencing of individual genomes and for potential clinical applications to common disease diagnosis and treatment as well as a better understanding of the variation within human populations and human evolutionary history.
CCMB develop new paddy variety
The bacterial blight -resistant "samba masure' variety paddy developed by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) , was successful in its field trial conducted in about 5,000 acres in Karnatakta.
Dark energy on firmer footing
Climate and water
As floods devastated central Europe and Asia this summer, climate scientists found themselves in great demand from journalists struggling to explain the connections between recent catastrophic weather and expected long-term changes in climate.
The problem for climate scientists lies in determining whether recent events fall outside natural variability: a single summer of excessive rainfall could be just the 100-year or even 1000-year flood. But it is clear that water and climate are — and always have been — intricately linked. Changes in climate are likely to bring changes to the hydrological cycle — the most important feedback cycle in the Earth's climate system.
The oceans play the central role in this feedback loop via heat storage and transport around the globe. Atmospheric water vapour produces rainfall, and acts as the most important greenhouse gas. But through the formation of clouds, water vapour also leads to the reflection of sunlight back into space. And over geological time-scales, the waxing and waning of ice sheets changes the reflection of the sun's light back into space, and largely determines the sea level.
