Gujarat coast is breeding area of whale sharks

 

Gujarat coastal region is a breeding area of the whale sharks, the largest species of fish on the planet, a study by Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) says.

"The discovery and reporting of four neonatal (pup) whale sharks has confirmed that the Gujarat coast is indeed a breeding area of whale sharks," according to the study report titled 'Gujarat's Gentle Giant; Conservation of Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) in Gujarat'.

The report was released here today on the occasion of International Whale Shark Day.

Four whale shark pups have been found off Sutrapada coast in Junagadh district since March last year.

It indicates that the region is not just a whale shark 'aggregating site', but also an important 'pupping ground', the report says.

"All caught pups seemed to be between 1 and 3 months old - the size of an arm - indicating that the fish may be breeding and definitely pupping off the Gujarat coast," says the report.

In March 2013, a young pup was caught in the net of a local fisherman called Mohan Solanki in Sutrapada tehsil in Junagadh district, which was the first time WTI team found evidence that whale sharks may be breeding in the area.

Solanki released the pup before reporting it to WTI.

As per the report, the fishermen themselves started approaching WTI with information on the pups and within one month from the discovery of the first pup, WTI had reports of four pups off Gujarat coastline.

Google Glass app real time detection of human emotions

German scientists have developed a software for Google Glass to measure human emotions by analysing their facial expressions, in addition to gauging a person's age and detecting gender.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits adapted its SHORE real-time face detection and analysis software to work with Google Glass, the first app of its kind.

With the aid of Glass' integrated camera, the app detects people's faces and determines their emotions by analysing their facial expressions.

The so-called Glassware (Google Glass app) simultaneously gauges the person's age or detects their gender among other things, but it cannot determine their identity, researchers said.

All calculations are performed in real-time by the CPU integrated in the eye-wear. The image data never leaves the device.

The advance opens up an entire spectrum of new smart eye-wear applications, including communication aids for people with disorders such as autism, many of whom have difficulty interpreting emotions through facial expressions.

This missing information could be superimposed in the person's field of vision with data glasses.

Even the visually impaired can benefit from the new software by receiving supplementary audio information about people in their surroundings, researchers said.

By taking advantage of the additional capability to determine someone's gender or estimate their age, the software could be used in other applications such as interactive games or market research analyses.

Air India Day today air tickets for just Rs 100

National carrier Air India will celebrate tomorrow its merger with erstwhile Indian Airlines as 'Air India Day', offering discounted tickets for Rs 100 for a limited period.

"This is the first time the airline will be celebrating the 'Air India Day'. A function will be held to celebrate the day and also to award meritorious employees of the airline," an official spokesperson said here today.

Air India was amalgamated with erstwhile Indian Airlines into one airline as "Air India" on August 27, 2007.

On the occasion, the flag carrier would launch 'Air India Offer' - a scheme offering tickets for Rs 100 apart from all applicable taxes.

The sale of these tickets would be made only through the airline's website for five days from August 27 to 31 for travel during the period August 27 to September 30 only, he added.

ultra-fast lasers turns quartz glass into metal

 

In an advance that can lead to ultra-fast light based electronics, scientists have used laser pulses to change the properties of quartz glass into metal.

Quartz glass does not conduct electric current, it is a typical example of an insulator. With ultra-short laser pulses, however, the electronic properties of glass can be fundamentally changed within femtoseconds.

If the laser pulse is strong enough, the electrons in the material can move freely. For a brief moment, the quartz glass behaves like metal. It becomes opaque and conducts electricity.

This change of material properties happens so quickly that it can be used for ultra-fast light based electronics.

Scientists at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien) have now managed to explain this effect using large-scale computer simulations.

In recent years, ultra-short laser pulses of only a few femtoseconds have been used to investigate quantum effects in atoms or molecules.

Now they can also be used to change material properties. In an experiment at the Max-Planck Institute in Garching, Germany, electric current has been measured in quartz glass, while it was illuminated by a laser pulse.

After the pulse, the material almost immediately returns to its previous state.

TU Wien researchers explained this peculiar effect, in collaboration with researchers from the Tsukuba University in Japan.

Quantum mechanically, an electron can occupy different states in a solid material. It can be tightly bound to one particular atom or it can occupy a state of higher energy in which it can move between atoms.

"The laser pulse is an extremely strong electric field, which has the power to dramatically change the electronic states in the quartz," said Georg Wachter.

"The pulse can not only transfer energy to the electrons, it completely distorts the whole structure of possible electron states in the material," said Wachter.

That way, an electron which used to be bound to an oxygen atom in the quartz glass can suddenly change over to another atom and behave almost like a free electron in a metal.

Once the laser pulse has separated electrons from the atoms, the electric field of the pulse can drive the electrons in one direction, so that electric current starts to flow.

Extremely strong laser pulses can cause a current that persists for a while, even after the pulse has faded out.

BIG Apple iPad Pro is incoming

APPLE WILL RELEASE its biggest ever iPad next year, widespread reports have claimed, speculating that the Cupertino firm intends to market a 12.9in tablet at the start of 2015.

Citing sources familiar with the plans who asked not to be identified because "the details aren't public", Bloomberg reported that Apple will soon begin production of a much larger tablet, apparently 3.2in bigger than its presently largest tablet model, the iPad Air.

When asked for comment, an Apple spokesperson said the firm "doesn't comment on rumours or speculation".

The iPad Air was Apple's most recent tablet announcement. As the company's "thinnest and lightest full-sized tablet" at the time, the iPad Air was unveiled along with the iPad Mini with Retina display in July 2013.

This new, larger tablet will be the firm's largest iPad to date and the first time in two years that Apple will come out with a new tablet model as opposed to a merely a small upgrade.

If the rumours are true, the move likely will revitalise iPad sales after Apple's last quarterly earnings reflected a decline in tablet revenue. In July, iPad sales reported in Apple's Q3 2013 financials fell short of analyst expectations by over one million units, coming in at 13.27 million for the quarter. This was down from the 14.6 million tablets that Apple shifted in the same quarter the previous year, and a huge decrease compared to the 16.3 million sold in the prior quarter.

Bloomberg's sources suggested that it is unlikely we will see the super-sized iPad on the same day as the highly anticipated new iPhone 6, which is predicted to make its debut sometime in September.

The online rumour mill has spat out rumour after rumour about what we can expect from the so-called iPhone 6, which is forecast to arrive in both 4.7in and 5.5in models.

If the launch of the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C on 9 September last year is anything to go by, Apple's iPhone 6 unveiling will take place on 9 September.

Google is building the largest information store in human history

 

Google is building the largest store of information in human history — a knowledge base that autonomously gathers and merges data from across the web to provide unprecedented access to all facts about the world.

The search giant is building Knowledge Vault, a type of knowledge base — a system that stores information so that machines as well as people can read it. Google’s existing knowledge base, called Knowledge Graph, relies on crowdsourcing to expand its information.

However, humans could only take it so far so Google decided to automate the process.

It started building the Vault by using an algorithm to automatically pull in information from all over the web, using machine learning to turn the raw data into usable pieces of knowledge.

Knowledge Vault has pulled in 1.6 billion facts to date. Of these, 271 million are rated as “confident facts”, to which Google’s model ascribes a more than 90 per cent chance of being true, New Scientist reported.

Tom Austin, a technology analyst at Gartner in Boston, said that the world’s biggest technology companies are racing to build similar vaults.

“Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon and IBM are all building them, and they’re tackling these enormous problems that we would never even have thought of trying 10 years ago,” he said.

Google researcher Kevin Murphy and his colleagues will present a paper on Knowledge Vault at the Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining in New York.

Intexs first Firefox smartphone coming today under Rs 2000

While Spice has already announced its Firefox smartphone, it's time for Intex to lift the veil of its first Firefox device. With the aim to take on Spice, the company will announce the launch of its Firefox phone in India on August 25.

Intex claims that the phone it is going to announce on Monday will be "India's lowest priced smartphone". It will be priced under Rs 2000.

The Firefox phone from Intex is expected to come with a 3.5-inch display, 2 megapixel camera and a 1GHz processor.

Priced at Rs 2,299, Spice's Firefox phone - the Fire One Mi-FX 1 - will go on sale starting August 29. Spice's dual-SIM 2G handset features a 3.5-inch touchscreen, 1 GHz processor and 1.3 megapixel rear and 0.3 megapixel front cameras.

Earlier this year, Mozilla (developer of Firefox web browser) had tied up with Intex and Spice to bring smartphones priced at about $25 (about Rs 1,500) to India.

The Firefox devices will compete with phones using Google's Android and Microsoft's Windows platforms.

Low-cost handsets prices less than Rs 5,000 and smartphones priced below Rs 7,000 from Asian handset makers including Huawei, ZTE, Micromax and Karbonn have been driving growth in the emerging markets of Asia and Africa.

Technology giant Google, under its Android One initiative, has also partnered Spice, Micromax and Karbonn from India to deliver a smartphone under USD 100 (about Rs 6,000) to tap the market.

Smartphone sales in the country grew almost three-fold to over 44 million in 2013, buoyed by affordable devices made by local firms such as Micromax and Karbonn, according to research firm IDC.

In the second quarter of 2014, smartphone sales grew 84 per cent to 18.42 million units from 10.02 million units (in April-June 2013 quarter, as per IDC data.

Samsung is the category leader with 29 per cent market share, Micromax (18 pc), Karbonn (8 pc) and Lava (6 pc).

"With the ultra-low cost Spice Fire One, we aim to convert the feature phone users into smartphone users. Our intentions are clearly to synthesise technology and style in our products and make them available at affordable prices," Spice Mobility Chief Executive Officer Prashant Bindal said.

The new handset also supports several Indian languages like Hindi, Tamil and Bengali.

"Just one year after the first Firefox OS device launched, Firefox OS smartphone is now available in 17 countries across Europe, Asia and Latin America. We are

confident that Firefox OS devices will realise a whole new category of smartphones with affordable price," Mozilla President Li Gong said.

Mozilla had showcased a smartphone prototype costing as little as USD 25 at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in February, targeting developing countries including India and China.

Various reports suggest that the next billion population accessing the Internet for the first time will do so on their phones instead of personal computers.

Also, the next 100 million connected users are expected to demand mobile content and services in local languages across a range of smart devices at an affordable cost.

Companies like Microsoft, which acquired Nokia's handset division, are also targeting the affordable smartphone category aggressively, estimating it to be a $50 billion annual opportunity.

Other devices with Firefox OS to be available globally include the ZTE Open II and the Alcatel OneTouch Fire E.

NASA Satellite Help Farmers Fighting Draught

NASA scientists, including one of Indian-origin, have developed a new satellite than can predict the severity of droughts worldwide and help farmers maximise crop yield.

Currently, there is no ground-or satellite-based global network monitoring soil moisture at a local level.

Farmers, scientists and resource managers can place sensors in the ground, but these only provide spot measurements and are rare across some critical agricultural areas in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite mission, scheduled to launch later, will collect the kind of local data agricultural and water managers worldwide need.

SMAP uses two microwave instruments to monitor the top 5 centimetres of soil on Earth’s surface.

Together, the instruments create soil moisture estimates with a resolution of about 9 kilometres mapping the entire globe every two or three days.

Although this resolution cannot show how soil moisture might vary within a single field, it will give the most detailed maps yet made.

“Agricultural drought occurs when the demand for water for crop production exceeds available water supplies from precipitation, surface water and sustainable withdrawals from groundwater,” said Forrest Melton, a research scientist in the Ecological Forecasting Lab at NASA Ames Research Centre in Moffett Field, California.

“Based on snowpack and precipitation data in California, by March we had a pretty good idea that by summer we’d be in a severe agricultural drought,” Melton added.

“But irrigation in parts of India, the Middle East and other regions relies heavily on the pumping of groundwater during some or all of the year,” Melton said.

Underground water resources are hard to estimate, so farmers who rely on groundwater have fewer indicators of approaching shortfalls than those whose irrigation comes partially from rain or snowmelt.

For these parts of the world where farmers have little data available to help them understand current conditions, SMAP’s measurements could fill a significant void.

Some farmers handle drought by changing irrigation patterns. Others delay planting or harvesting to give plants their best shot at success.

Currently, schedule modifications are based mostly on growers’ observations and experience. SMAP’s data will provide an objective assessment of soil moisture to help with their management strategy.

“If farmers of rain-fed crops know soil moisture, they can schedule their planting to maximise crop yield,” said Narendra Das, a water and carbon cycle scientist on SMAP’s science team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

“SMAP can assist in predicting how dramatic drought will be, and then its data can help farmers plan their recovery from drought,” said Das.

Microsoft is planning to reveal its Windows 8 successor

Microsoft is planning to reveal its successor to Windows 8 -- known as "Windows 9," if the company continues its naming scheme -- at the end of next month, according to a new report.

The purported date of the press event is Sept. 30, The Verge reports, citing anonymous sources that were familiar with the company's plans. This follows last week's report from ZDNET that Microsoft was planning a preview of the newest version of Windows at the end of September or October.

According to ZDNET, if the leaks are to be believed, the newest version of the operating system -- code named "Threshold" -- is expected to have a "Mini-Start" menu, virtual desktops, and the elimination of the Charms bar feature, which has been unsuccessful with users since debuting with Windows 8. It may also include Microsoft's virtual assistant Cortana for the desktop.

With the newest edition of its operating system, Microsoft may be trying to persuade users of Windows XP, Windows 7 -- and even Windows Vista -- to upgrade to Windows Threshold. In April, technical support for Windows XP was discontinued after 12 years, leaving many consumers with two options: continue to use the outdated OS or upgrade to the newest version. In addition, the company announced that Jan. 13, 2015 would be the end of "mainstream support" for Windows 7.

Windows 8 has been unpopular with consumers since its launch in 2012. The Metro interface may have been a sticking point for many. Better used on a tablet than desktop, consumers were leery about learning an entirely new interface. The price to upgrade to a touch-enabled desktop proved to be another another downside for consumers.

Scientists hack into Gmail with 92 percent accuracy

 

Scientists have developed a novel method that allowed them to successfully hack into Gmail with up to 92 per cent accuracy.

A team of researchers, including an assistant professor at the University of California, Riverside Bourns College of Engineering, have identified a weakness believed to exist in Android, Windows and iOS mobile operating systems that could be used to obtain personal information from unsuspecting users. They demonstrated the hack in an Android phone.

The researchers tested the method and found it was successful between 82 per cent and 92 per cent of the time on six of the seven popular apps they tested.

Among the apps they easily hacked were Gmail, CHASE Bank and H&R Block. Amazon, with a 48 per cent success rate, was the only app they tested that was difficult to penetrate.

The researchers believe their method will work on other operating systems because they share a key feature researchers exploited in the Android system.

The researchers believed there was a security risk with so many apps being created by so many developers. Once a user downloads a bunch of apps to their smartphone they are all running on the same shared infrastructure, or operating system.

“The assumption has always been that these apps can’t interfere with each other easily,” Zhiyun Qian, of the Computer Science and Engineering Department at UC Riverside said.

“We show that assumption is not correct and one app can in fact significantly impact another and result in harmful consequences for the user,” said Qian.

The attack works by getting a user to download a seemingly benign, but actually malicious, app, such as one for background wallpaper on a phone.

Once that app is installed, the researchers are able to exploit a newly discovered public side channel – the shared memory statistics of a process, which can be accessed without any privileges.

The researchers monitor changes in shared memory and are able to correlate changes to what they call an “activity transition event,” which includes such things as a user logging into Gmail or taking a picture of a check so it can be deposited online.

Augmented with a few other side channels, the authors show that it is possible to fairly accurately track in real time which activity a victim app is in.

There are two keys to the attack. One, the attack needs to take place at the exact moment the user is logging into the app or taking the picture.

Two, the attack needs to be done in an inconspicuous way. The researchers did this by carefully calculating the attack timing.

old batteries recycled into new solar cells

Researchers have proposed a system that recycles materials from discarded car batteries — a potential source of lead pollution — into new, long-lasting solar panels that provide emissions-free power.

The system is based on a recent development in solar cells that makes use of a compound called perovskite — specifically, organolead halide perovskite — a technology that has rapidly progressed from initial experiments to a point where its efficiency is nearly competitive with that of other types of solar cells.

"It went from initial demonstrations to good efficiency in less than two years," said Angela M Belcher, the W M Keck Professor of Energy at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Already, perovskite-based photovoltaic cells have achieved power-conversion efficiency of more than 19 per cent, which is close to that of many commercial silicon-based solar cells.

Initial descriptions of the perovskite technology identified its use of lead, whose production from raw ores can produce toxic residues, as a drawback.

But by using recycled lead from old car batteries, the manufacturing process can instead be used to divert toxic material from landfills and reuse it in photovoltaic panels that could go on producing power for decades.

Since the perovskite photovoltaic material takes the form of a thin film just half a micrometre thick, the team's analysis shows that the lead from a single car battery could produce enough solar panels to provide power for 30 households.

The production of perovskite solar cells is a relatively simple and benign process.

"It has the advantage of being a low-temperature process, and the number of steps is reduced compared with the manufacture of conventional solar cells," Belcher said.

Today, Belcher said, 90 per cent of the lead recovered from the recycling of old batteries is used to produce new batteries, but over time the market for new lead-acid batteries is likely to decline, potentially leaving a large stockpile of lead with no obvious application.

In a finished solar panel, the lead-containing layer would be fully encapsulated by other materials, as many solar panels are today, limiting the risk of lead contamination of the environment.

When the panels are eventually retired, the lead can simply be recycled into new solar panels.

The work clearly demonstrates that lead recovered from old batteries is just as good for the production of perovskite solar cells as freshly produced metal, researchers said.

The study is published in the journal Energy and Environmental Science.

Solar Powered Smart Phones

In the near future, smartphones that don’t need wall plugging may be available. All you need to do is expose its screen to direct sunlight, and poof! Your battery instantly gets charged.
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This technology is what scientists from the Michigan State University is trying to develop. The researchers have invented an almost transparent solar power collector that they believe can be the future of powering smartphones.

The system is called luminescent solar collecting materials, or simply LSC. It is an inexpensive thin plastic sheet that can absorb light and re-emit it in the form of energy. They are currently found in infrastructures where windows are covered by the colored versions. Currently, the color in these LSCs gives them a higher efficiency in converting solar power to reusable energy.

One of the researchers, Richard Lunt, had admitted that the transparent LSCs have a poor 1% in its solar conversion efficiency ratio. But they are still trying to upgrade its material for it to be more applicable to industrial uses.

Animal Calls More like Language

The calls of many animals, from whales to wolves, might contain more language-like structure than previously thought, according to a new study.

Researchers analyzed the vocal sequences of seven different species of birds and mammals and found that the vocal sequences produced by the animals appear to be generated by complex statistical processes, more akin to human language.

Many species of animals produce complex vocalizations such as the mockingbird which can mimic over 100 distinct song types of different species, or the rock hyrax, whose long string of wails, chucks and snorts signify male territory.

While the vocalizations suggest language-like characteristics, scientists have found it difficult to define and identify the complexity and have assumed that the sequence of animal calls is generated by a simple random process, called a "Markov process."

Using the Markov process to examine animal vocalization means that the sequence of variables — in this case, the vocal elements — is dependent only on a finite number of preceding vocal elements, making the process fairly random and far different from the complexity inherent in human language.

Assuming a Markov process exists raises questions about the evolutionary path of animal language to human language — if animal vocal sequences are Markovian, how did human language evolve so quickly from its animal origins?

The new study found no evidence for a Markovian process. The researchers used mathematical models to analyse the vocal sequences of chickadees, finches, bats, orangutans, killer whales, pilot whales and hyraxes.

It found that most of the vocal sequences were more consistent with statistical models that are more complex than Markov processes and more language-like.

Human language uses what is called "context-free grammars," whereby certain grammatical rules apply regardless of the context, whereas animal language uses simple or "regular" grammar, which is much more restrictive.

The Markov process is the most common model used to examine animal vocal sequences, which assumes that a future occurrence of a vocal element is entirely determined by a finite number of past vocal occurrences.

The findings suggest there may be an intermediate step on the evolutionary path between the regular grammar of animal communication and the context-free grammar of human language that has not yet been identified and explored.

"Language is the biggest difference that separates humans from animals evolutionarily, but multiple studies are finding more and more stepping stones that seem to bridge this gap," said lead author Arik Kershenbaum, a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis in Knoxville.

"Uncovering the process underlying vocal sequence generation in animals may be critical to our understanding of the origin of language," Kershenbaum said.

The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Nurse Gang Raped in Delhi Five Star Hotel on Independence Day

A 28-year-old nurse, who was attending to a patient at a five-star hotel in Delhi, was allegedly gang-raped on 15 August by two men, bringing more national shame over the safety of women, ironically on the day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for women's safety in his Independence Day speech in the Capital istelf.

The nurse, who works with a private hospital, used to visit a suite in the Oberoi Hotel located in central Delhi to attend to the hotel owner's 80-year-old wife since last two months. She has alleged that the two accused raped her inside the suite itself. According to the Times of India, the two men were attending to the octogenarian for several months.

The police has said that the duo took the woman to their room to rape her. "On Friday, the victim was on duty at the suite where the owner's wife has been staying for four years. The accused forcibly took her to their room and gangraped her," a senior officer told Hindustan Times.

The nurse was reportedly traumatised and did not report the crime on Friday, but confided in her husband on Monday after another attempt by the two men to rape her. Her husband then informed the police on Monday.

The accused, identified as Neeraj, 25, and Rajan, 23, have been arrested and are lodged in Tihar Jail. The nurse, who hails from Tibet, said the duo had sexually assaulted her before Friday's incident, but she had remained silent under threats to her life from the two.

The hotel management issued a press statement claiming that the two accused were not employees at the hotel.

"The incident is very unfortunate. The individuals in question are not hotel employees. We are fully cooperating with the police and local authorities with the investigation," the statement said.

The police said it would ask for CCTV footages from the hotel to corroborate the case, and will also record the statement of the hotel administration.

The incident that occured in a five-star hotel brings more shame about the safety of women in the country. The capital, in particular, has had a poor record in crimes against women, the most sensational being the 16 December gang-rape.

China Liberation Army intrudes 25 km deep in Ladakh

Chinese troops are reported to have entered 25 to 30 km deep into Indian territory in the Burtse area in Ladakh on Sunday and were still sitting on the ground on Monday with flags reading “This is Chinese territory, go back” in their hands. However, Army sources in New Delhi said no such incident had taken place but added that transgressions usually take place by Chinese troops due to differences between both countries in their respective perception of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

But news agency reports from Leh on Monday said a patrol of Indian troops noticed the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) personnel on Sunday while moving from their base towards the higher “new patrol base” post in Burtse area of North Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir. The area is at an altitude of 17,000 feet. These reports cited sources as having said that the troops, after walking barely 1.5 km from their base, spotted the Chinese personnel in Indian territory 25 to 30 km from the perceived Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Adhering to newly-drafted standard operating procedures, the Indian troops apparently returned back to their base but went on a patrol again to the “new patrol base” post in the early hours of Monday. However, the team found no change in the situation as it noticed the PLA personnel still sitting on the ground with flags reading “this is Chinese territory, go back” in their hands, the reports said, adding that a quick reaction team had also accompanied the Indian patrol but nothing could be achieved as the Chinese refused to budge from their position. Finally, the Indian troops reportedly returned to their base and informed their senior officers.

Sources in the paramilitary ITBP did not say where the said incident had taken place but added that transgressions do occur. The area where the incident took place is reportedly near the spot where Chinese troops had pitched their tents last year that had led to a tense three-week stand-off.

The Indian border patrol apparently attempted to reach the “new patrol base” from a place known as “Nallah one”, near its base. A satellite image of the area was likely to be taken to ascertain whether the Chinese PLA have pitched in tents like it did last year, the reports from Leh cited sources as saying, adding that there was a possibility of some tents being erected by the Chinese troops to facilitate their movement deep into the Indian territory.

The Burtse area, which is adjacent to Daulat Beg Oldie(DBO), forms part of the huge Depsang plains which India regards as its own territory. However, the Chinese side have been claiming it to be part of their territory as it gives them a tactical edge over the area.

Indian graduate student discovers and measures black hole

An Indian-origin graduate student has discovered and measured one of the most elusive and mysterious objects in the Universe — a middling-sized black hole.

University of Maryland astronomy graduate student Dheeraj Pasham and two colleagues made the measurements of the rare black hole which they found hiding in the well-known galaxy M82, some 12 million light years away from Earth. Their findings were published online on August 17 in the journal Nature.

The reason why this discovery and the measurement are considered so significant is that these intermediate-mass black holes are hard to measure even their existence is sometimes disputed. Little is known about how they form, a Maryland varsity statement said. Some astronomers question whether they behave like other black holes.

The universe has countless black holes and just our galaxy, the Milky Way, may have up to 100 million of them, it is thought. Nearly all black holes fall into one of two classes: big, and colossal. The 'big' ones have from about 10 times to 100 times the mass of our sun. They are the remnants of dying stars. The 'colossal' or supermassive black holes have more than a million times the mass of the sun. These giants inhabit the centres of most galaxies.

But scattered across the universe are a few apparent black holes of the more mysterious type.

Ranging from a hundred times to a few hundred thousand times the sun's mass, these intermediate-mass black holes are mysterious because they are difficult to pinpoint.

"Objects in this range are the least expected of all black holes," says Richard Mushotzky UMD astronomy professor and a co-author. "Astronomers have been asking — do these objects exist or do they not exist? What are their properties? Until now we have not had the data to answer these questions." While the intermediate-mass black hole that the team studied is not the first one measured, it is the first one so precisely measured, Mushotzky says, "establishing it as a compelling example of this class of black holes."

The regions around supermassive black holes shine brightly in X-rays. Some of this radiation comes from a surrounding disk, and most comes from the corona, pictured here in this artist's concept as the white light at the base of a jet. This is one of a few possible shapes predicted for coronas. Image Credit: Nasa/JPL-Caltech

A black hole is a region in space containing a mass so dense that not even light can escape its gravity. Black holes are invisible, but astronomers can find them by tracking their gravitational pull on other objects. Matter being pulled into a black hole gathers around it like storm debris circling a tornado's centre. As this cosmic stuff rubs together it produces friction and light, making black holes among the universe's brightest objects.

Pasham, who will begin a post-doctoral research position at Nasa Goddard in late August, has identified six potential intermediate-mass black holes that Nasa's to-be launched X-ray telescope NICER might explore.

factors that increase risk for HIV Aids

HIV/ AIDS has killed more than 25 million people in the past 3 decades. But the current statistics are much more frightening. It has been estimated that there are more than 34 million people all around the world living with HIV infection. One of the main reasons why HIV/AIDS is so widespread is the lack the knowledge about risk factors and transmission of HIV. This lack of knowledge is not restricted to people living in remote areas. The highly educated population also seem equally illiterate when it comes to HIV. Maybe in the future we could have a cure for HIV but until then knowing the risk factors is the best way to stay away from HIV.

1. Having unprotected sex: HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the causative agent of AIDS, a disease that completely destroys the immune system of the body, making the infected person susceptible to several other diseases. HIV circulates throughout the body via the blood stream. It is also present in sexual fluids (semen and vaginal secretions). Therefore, the primary risk factor for acquiring the infection is having unprotected sex. This includes vaginal, oral as well as anal intercourse. The risk is highest in anal intercourse followed by vaginal and lastly oral intercourse.

2. Multiple sex partners: Having unprotected sex puts you at a risk of HIV but with multiple sex partners the risk almost doubles. Multiple sex partners increase your chances of having intercourse with an infected individual.

3. Other sexually transmitted infections: Not many people know that sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) like syphilis, herpes and gonorrhea increase the risk of contracting HIV. The risk of HIV in individuals earlier infected with an STD is 2-5 times more compared to a person without an STD. Studies suggest that sexually transmitted diseases cause certain changes in the genital tissues, increasing the susceptibility of HIV transmission.

4. Transfusion of contaminated blood and blood products: Whether you were transfused blood during a surgery or are a hemophiliac who needs frequent blood transfusion, your chances of contracting HIV are high if the transfused blood is not tested for HIV. As a standard in medical practice, blood is always tested before a transfusion but recently several cases of HIV due to transfusion of infected blood have been noticed. 

5. Contaminated syringes and needles: Use of unsterilised syringes is still practised in various parts of developing countries, including India. According to a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) about 5 percent of HIV infections took place due to unsafe injection practices in the year 2002. And, even today the use of unsafe injections is quite rampant. This even includes vaccination given to children.

6. Drug abuse: If you’re injecting drugs like ketamine, GHB and poppers intravenously, you are more likely to get infected with  HIV. These drugs affect you brain and impair your decision making ability. So you’re more likely to share needles and have unprotected sex.

7. Unsafe piercings: If you’re fond of body piercings and tattooing, you should be aware that you are at a higher risk of HIV. The needles used in these processes could be contaminated or infected with HIV. Ensure that you get piercing and tattooing done from a trained professional.

8. Negligence in medical practice: All health professionals and health care workers including nurses, doctors, laboratory analysts and pathologists, who have to handle blood samples of patients on a daily basis, are at a risk of HIV if they fail to take necessary precautions and do not follow medical hygienic practices. Handling samples without wearing gloves, improper disinfection and discarding methodology, all can increase your high risk of HIV.

9. Mother-to-child HIV risk: Women with HIV can pass on the virus to their child during pregnancy. Mother-to-child transmission of virus can also take place through breast-feeding because breast milk in an infected mother has high viral load.

Soluble tampons will prevent HIV spread

According to a research that appeared in the journal Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, a soluble tampon-like material could provide protection against HIV.

The researchers developed a material synthesised by the process of electrospinning, which has the ability to carry a heavy load of medicine, and can dissolve and release the medicine after coming in contact with moisture. The study is based on the research conducted at University of Washington’s (UW’s) Department of Bioengineering in 2012.

Electrospinning is a process in which charged fluid containing polymers and antiretroviral drugs is projected through an electric field using a syringe. This electric field causes the jet of charged liquid to disperse into minute fibres, each measuring between 100 to several thousand nanometres. These fibres are made to landed on a collecting plate and are combined to form a stretchy fabric. The final product or fabric has the ability to block sperms as well as carry and release contraceptives and antiviral agents. Because certain elements of the material, such as the solubility, strength and size of the fibres, can be controlled, the researchers said that it may prove more versatile than other anti-HIV technologies currently in development.

According to the team the electrospun material has the ability to carry a large load of maraviroc, an antiretroviral drug used in HIV treatment. In their experimentation, the process dissolved one of the samples within minutes, offering a potential application to protect against unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Another sample dissolved over a period of several days. This could be useful for delivering birth-control pills and anti-HIV medicines.

Immune cell discovered that could help halt spreading cancer

These natural killer cells could be harnessed to hunt down and kill cancers that have spread in the body, researchers said.

The team, from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Australia, also found natural killer cells were critical to the body's rejection of donor bone marrow transplants and in the runaway immune response during toxic shock syndrome.

The team showed that a protein called MCL-1 was crucial for survival of natural killer cells.

The discovery will help to determine how natural killer cells can be manipulated to fight cancers and other disorders.

Researchers said MCL-1 could be a target for boosting or depleting natural killer cell populations to treat disease.

Natural killer cells are immune predators, scouring the body in search of foreign invaders such as viruses, and sensing changes in our own cells that are associated with cancer.

Dr Nick Huntington said the team showed natural killer cells were needed to fight off invading tumour cells that had spread past the original cancer site.

"We discovered MCL-1 is absolutely essential for keeping natural killer cells alive," Huntington said.

"Without natural killer cells, the body was unable to destroy melanoma metastases that had spread throughout the body, and the cancers overwhelmed the lungs," said Huntington.

"Knowing how important natural killer cells are for detecting and destroying cancer cells as they spread suggests they would be a good target for boosting immune defences to treat cancer," said Huntington.

Huntington said the team showed natural killer cells also played a role in death from toxic shock (sepsis), and in rejecting bone marrow transplants.

The research was published in the journal Nature Communications.

Tibets glaciers warmest in 2000 years

The Tibetan plateau, whose glaciers supply water to hundreds of millions of people in Asia, were warmer over the past 50 years than at any stage in the past two millennia, a Chinese newspaper said, citing an academic report.

Temperatures and humidity are likely to continue to rise throughout this century, causing glaciers to retreat and desertification to spread, according to the report published by the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research.

"Over the past 50 years, the rate of temperature rise has been double the average global level," it said, according to the report on the website of Science and Technology Daily, a state-run newspaper.

Glacier retreat could disrupt water supply to several of Asia's main rivers that originate from the plateau, including China's Yellow and Yangtze, India's Brahmaputra, and the Mekong and Salween in Southeast Asia.

In May, Chinese scientists said Tibetan glaciers had shrunk 15 percent - around 8,000 square km (3,100 square miles) - over the past 30 years.

The new report said a combination of climate change and human activity on the plateau was likely to cause an increase in floods and landslides there. However, rising temperatures had also improved the local ecosystem, it said.

The scientists urged the government to work to reduce human impact on the region's fragile environment.

But Beijing is building a series of large hydropower projects there, with construction of several mega-dams expected to start by 2020. China has built thousands of dams in the past few decades in a bid to reduce its reliance on imported fossil fuels.

India, too, is planning a number of hydro plants along the Brahmaputra river - more than 100 proposals are under consideration - as the country strives to boost electricity generation.

Hrithiks Mohenjo Daro to go on floor this October in South Africa

Filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker and bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan are all set to team up again after ‘Jodhaa Akbar’, for their upcoming movie, “Mohenjo Daro”. According to the reports, the shoot is geared to get rolling from October 2014 in South Africa.

Moving on similar lines as that of ‘Joddha Akbar’, the film will be produced by Disney India’s Studio business and Ashutosh Gowariker Productions Pvt. Ltd (AGPPL). Talking about the collaboration, Sunita Gowariker said, “There has always been a natural creative synergy between UTV and AGPPL in our previous movies. This time through our collaboration with Disney we'll have an even greater focus on entertaining families and to top that off, I’m looking forward to working again with the Disney team.”

“After ‘Jodhaa Akbar’, we are thrilled to work with Ashutosh and Hrithik again, and we are excited about bringing another wonderful Indian story to the big screen”, mentioned Amrita Pandey, VP and Head of Marketing & Distribution, Disney Studios, India.

The movie is about an epic adventure and love story set during the Indus Valley Civilization. Opposite Hrithik Roshan, Ashutosh will introduce Miss India Universe 2010 second runner-up Pooja Hegde in Bollywood through this movie.

The trailer Slam US tour of SRK Deepika

 

Shah Rukh Khan is ready to shake a leg with his fans in the US after a gap of 10 years. Along with his Happy New Year co-stars Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan and Boman Irani, he will thrill the audience with SLAM! THE TOUR starting 19 September.

He will also be joined by filmmaker Farah Khan as well as Malaika Arora, Sonu Sood, Vivaan Shah, Kanika Kapoor and rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh.

"I am blessed to get a lot of love and support from people around the world. This is our way of giving this love back and thanking you all," said Shah Rukh in a statement.

"I am super excited and looking forward to being in your city along with the director and the cast of our next film 'Happy New Year’ and my colleagues Farah, Deepika, Malaika, Abhishek, Boman, Sonu, Vivaan, Kanika and Honey Singh."

“We promise you an evening of love, laughter and entertainment. So mark your calendar and be there at SLAM! THE TOUR,” he added.

It will start Sep 19 at Toyota Center, Houston, then move on to Continental Arena, New Jersey; Air Canada Center, Toronto; Sears Center Arena, Chicago; Pacific National Exhibition, Vancouver; and will conclude Sep 28 at SAP Center, San Jose, California.

Watch the trailer of the Slam, The Tour

Microsoft launches most affordable Lumia smartphone

Microsoft has quietly listed the Lumia 530 on its official India store for Rs 7,349.Though the image has ‘Coming soon’ printed on it, the page now says it is ‘in stock’ and the company promises to deliver it within four working days. It is available in green, dark grey, white and orange.

The Lumia 530 dual-SIM 3G variant has been launched in India. Specifications of the smartphone include: a 4-inch FWVGA LCD display with  854 x 480 pixels resolution, a 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 and 512MB RAM, along with 4GB storage space with up to 128GB micro SD card support.

The battery has up to 22 days standby, and 13 hours of 2G talk time. The battery capacity is 1430mAh. Connectivity options include HSPA+ 21Mbps/5.76Mbps, Wi-Fi (b/g/n), Bluetooth 4.0 and micro-USB.

It gets 5-megapixels rear snapper and no front camera. Also the 512 MB RAM is likely to seem too little for users, especially when budget Android phones are launching with 1GB RAM. For instance the Motorola E, which is priced under Rs 7000, has 1 GB RAM.

The Lumia 530 will run the latest version of Windows Phone 8.1 and comes with features such as the one-swipe notification from Action Center, and the fast Word Flow keyboard. Users will also get an additional 15 GB of free cloud storage on Microsoft OneDrive.

Microsoft has teamed up with Airtel to offer free 2G and 3G data offers for new and existing Airtel users. This offer is valid up to October 31.

Indian Government is tracing the lost river Saraswati

Government has launched en effort to unravel the mystery behind the ancient Saraswati river, which found its references in 'vedic' texts.

Though efforts had been made in the past by geologists and scientific community both during British period as well as in independent India, the river remained a mystery so much so that its mention in the ancient texts has invariably been termed as mythological reference.

"There are enough scientific evidences on the presence of the river Saraswati in some parts of the country through which it flowed about five to six thousand years ago...Saraswati is not a myth", said the Union water resources and river development minister Uma Bharti on Tuesday.

Responding to a calling attention motion in Lok Sabha, Bharti said her government was taking up the issue very seriously "to trace the route of the river".

She also informed the lower House that the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) of her ministry has been directed "to test the water of a well located inside the Allahabad fort" in order to trace the source and route of the river, which is now extinct.

The motion was moved in the House by BJP member Ratan Lal Kataria who wanted the government to set up 'Saraswati Research Institute' for the "revival" of the river. He reminded the House of a promise made by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi who, he claimed, during an election campaign in Kurkshetra vowed to bring the water stream of the river Saraswati on the ground surface.

Stating that a lot of research has been done on the river, particularly in Gujarat, Bharti said there were several rivers named Saraswati which emanated from the Himalayas, including one which mingled with the Triveni in Allahabad, another with Mandakini and the third with Alaknanda river.

She said there was also a river with the same name that passed through Haryana to Rajasthan and Gujarat.

Very Sad News US actor and comedian Robin Williams is Dead

US actor and comedian Robin Williams has been found dead, aged 63, in an apparent suicide.

Marin County Police in California said he was pronounced dead at his home shortly after officials responded to an emergency call around noon local time.

Williams was famous for such films as Good Morning Vietnam and Dead Poets Society and won an Oscar for his role in Good Will Hunting.

His publicist said he had been "battling severe depression".

In the past he had talked, and even joked, about his struggles with alcohol and drugs.

Williams had recently returned to a rehabilitation centre to "fine-tune" his sobriety, the Los Angeles Times reported in July.

The local Sheriff's office said Williams was found unconscious and not breathing at his home near Tiburon, north of San Francisco.

"At this time, the Sheriff's Office Coroner Division suspects the death to be a suicide due to asphyxia, but a comprehensive investigation must be completed before a final determination is made," police said in a statement.

His wife Susan Schneider asked that he be remembered for the joy he brought to the world

In a statement, Williams's wife, Susan Schneider, said she was "utterly heartbroken".

 

"This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings. I am utterly heartbroken," she said.

"On behalf of Robin's family, we are asking for privacy during our time of profound grief. As he is remembered, it is our hope the focus will not be on Robin's death, but on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions."

Williams had three children from previous marriages.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1951, Williams joined the drama club in high school and was accepted into Juilliard School in New York, the prestigious American academy for the arts.

There, he was encouraged by a teacher to pursue comedy.

The actor was first known for his zany portrayal of an alien in the 1970s TV show Mork and Mindy, a character first seen in the sitcom Happy Days.

He was a regular stand-up comedian while continuing to act in such films as Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, Mrs Doubtfire and as the voice of the genie in Aladdin.

While many of his roles were in comedies, Williams won the Oscar in 1998 for best supporting actor as a therapist in Good Will Hunting.

In a 2009 interview, the actor told Reuters his children often referenced his own struggles with alcohol when he told them off for bad behaviour.

"They went: 'And you had a three-year drunken relapse'. Ah, thank you for bringing that back, my little happy creatures," Williams joked.

In his final Instagram post two weeks ago, he published a photo of himself and his daughter as a toddler with the message: "Happy Birthday to Ms Zelda Rae Williams! Quarter of a century old today but always my baby girl. Happy Birthday @zeldawilliams Love you!"

Fellow comedian Steve Martin tweeted he "could not be more stunned by the loss of Robin Williams, mensch, great talent, acting partner, genuine soul."

Martin and Williams appeared on stage together during an 1988 Broadway revival of Waiting for Godot.

Comedian and talk show host Ellen de Generes tweeted: "I can't believe the news about Robin Williams. He gave so much to so many people. I'm heartbroken."

Actor Danny DeVito, who worked with Williams in Death To Smoochy, said: "So sad to think about this. Hard to speak. Hard to say. Hard to take.

"All I can think about is what a joy he was to be with. I'm devastated. My heart is broken by this news."

Gujarat lions vanish from UP forest

what actually happened to the three Asiatic lions brought from the Gir forests of Gujarat to Chandraprabha Wildlife Sanctuary in Kashi Wildlife Division is still a mystery. Last counted in 1965, their number was 11.

Interestingly, even the Kashi Wildlife Division officials have no idea or recorded facts about the fate of the big cats brought to the sanctuary when it was opened some five decades back. "There is no record with the department about the disappearance of the lions," said a forest official of Kashi Wildlife division. "It is believed that either they would have fallen prey to the hunters or migrated to nearby jungles of Bihar," said the officer.

"As the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, was not in force at that time, there was no effective control on hunting of wild animals," said forest officer of Kashi Wildlife Division Chandra Shekar Pandey, expressing his worst fear over the fate of the lions. But he added he was not sure about the ordeal the lions faced at that time in the sanctuary as there were no records.

"Lions were released in that region years back and probably all those animals died. We do not have any records maintained of that time, so it's difficult to say what happened of them. Moreover, enforcement was not strong at that time and there must not have been proper planning to release them," said PCCF (wildlife), UP, Rupak De.

The concept of reintroduction for purposes of conservation of Asiatic lions was accepted in 1956 by the Indian Wildlife Board, and the offer of UP government to host a population in the Chakia forests was accepted. In 1956 a lion and two lionesses were captured from Gir and placed in a zoo in Junagadh for nine months before being shifted to Chandraprabha sanctuary in 1957.

Initially, the lions prospered increasing in number to four in 1958, five in 1960, seven in 1962 and 11 in 1965, but after that they disappeared. The forest officials admit that there might have been some shortcoming in monitoring the wild cats.

In other such translocation, eight Gir lions -- four males and four females -- were brought from Gujarat's Junagadh and Hyderabad zoos to UP under animal exchange programme. While three pairs were put up at the Lucknow zoo, one was sent to the Kanpur zoo. Later, one pair was shifted to the Etwah lion safari in April.

Spread in an area of 9,600 hectares of forest, the Chandraprabha Wildlife Sanctuary is located between Chakiya and Naugarh in Chandauli district, the neighbouring district of PM Narendra Modi's parliamentary constituency. The sanctuary was set up in 1957, covering the reserved forest area in Chandraprabha and some parts of Jaimohini Range. The sanctuary has a variety of wild animals, including black buck, chital, sambhar, nilgai, wild boar, porcupine, Indian gazelle, gharial and python.

About 70km from Varanasi Chandraprabha Wildlife Sanctuary are the picturesque Rajdari and Devdari waterfalls. The sanctuary is one of the Protected Areas (PAs) of the National Wildlife Action Plan (2002-2016) that was adopted in 2002 emphasizing the people's participation and their support for wildlife conservation.

Science is very close to unlock mistry of birth of sun

Using radioactive materials, researchers have investigated the solar system's prehistoric phase and the events that may have led to the Sun's birth.

The team used radioactivity to date the last time that heavy elements such as gold, silver, platinum, lead and rare-earth elements were added to the solar system matter by the stars that produced them.

"We can now tell with confidence the final one percent of gold, silver and platinum were added to the solar system matter roughly 100 million years before the birth of the sun," said researchers Maria Lugaro and Alexander Heger from Monash University's centre for astrophysics in Melbourne, Australia.

The final one percent of lead and rare-earth elements such as those that make your smartphone, were added much later - at most, 30 million years before the birth of the sun, they added.

The detailed timing opened up new opportunities to understand the series of events that led to the formation of the sun.

Some time after the last addition of heavy elements, the solar system matter went into an "incubation" period, during which time the stellar nursery formed - where the Sun was born together with a number of other stars.

"We now know this incubation period could not have lasted more than 30 million years. This offers us the chance to determine the lifespan of the nursery where the Sun was born, how massive it was and how many stars were born there together," Lugaro explained.

Understanding the time-scale and processes leading to the formation of our solar system is key to relate its birth environment with that of other planetary systems in the galaxy, he noted. The findings were published in the journal Science.

The study was published in the journal Science.

Indias first jellyfish lake discovered

Marine biologists have discovered a jellyfish lake in Gujarat, probably the first such in India.

"This is probably the first jellyfish lake to have been found in India. The concentration and density of jellyfish is very high here. You can even see them from outside during low tide and when the water is clear," wildlife scientist BC Choudhury said.

Led by him, a team of researchers from the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) have recently stumbled on the jellyfish habitat during a routine field visit to a small town named Armabada in Gujarat.

A couple of WTI marine biologists in snorkeling kits and armed with an underwater camera found that the bottom of the lake, spread over 5-6 hectares, was carpeted with a type of jellyfish known as 'upside down jellyfish'. They are called so because they are found swimming upside down unlike others.

"They position themselves on their bottom side to receive maximum sunlight as they harbour photosynthetic algae called Zooxanthellae, which have a symbiotic relationship with jellyfish similar to corals," explained marine biologist S Goutham.

Another unique feature of the lake is that these jellyfish are present all around the year unlike other places where they are reported to be seasonal. According to experts, the big bloom of jellyfish in the lake might be attributed to low predation.

Jellyfish are found in different parts of coastal India but are seen rarely in lakes. The world renowned jellyfish lake is located on Eil Malk Island in Palau.

Narendra Modi to develop varanasi as nation culture hub with halp of google

 

 Narendra Modi won his Varanasi Lok Sabha seat with a massive majority and now the prime minister wants to say thank you to the people of the temple town. All election winners pledge sincerely to work for their constituency, then promptly forget about it.

But Modi aims to be different — he's already kicked off the process of developing Varanasi as a national hub for culture and heritage. Among those said to be working on the project is Google, apart from professionals and consultants engaged in identifying tourism hotspots in and around Varanasi, beautification, landscaping, mapping the city for better movement and security.  That should hopefully ease some of the congestion that chokes the city besides reducing pollution levels and making Varanasi a nicer place to live in and visit. After Modi announced his interest in the development of Varanasi in May, many companies have come forward with proposals to assist the government in projects related to cleanliness, tourism and infrastructure.

Many are in talks with Modi's team. The PM himself discussed the prospects of using social media for projects on cleanliness and governance with Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg during her visit to India last month.

Google declined to comment on whether it's undertaken any work specific to Varanasi but a spokesperson said, "As part of our ongoing initiative with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to bring India's national monuments online, we continue to explore opportunities to collaborate further. We have nothing more to share at this point."

People who have attended two meetings held by Modi to draw up a development roadmap for Varanasi say he has stressed the need to preserve its "pauranik swaroop" (ancient ethos) while implementing the socalled Kashi Vision that is expected to get a high-power launch on August 20. Kashi is the ancient name for Varanasi.

The municipality has been asked to go full steam ahead on a cleanup programme. Besides this, Modi also wants a tourist help centre, an upgradation of the local airport and visas on arrival for eligible international passengers in the next few months.

He also wants to establish a stateof-the-art music academy of global standards in what's being seen as an attempt to revive the city's ancient traditions, such as organising the kind of concert festivals that Varanasi was once famous for. Modi wants the proposed institute to act as a patron for musical families from Varanasi, said mayor Ram Gopal Mohale.

A team is working on plans for the institute featuring an auditorium, for which land has already been acquired. Singers Channulal Mishra and Girija Devi have been suggested as the institute's resident musicians, Mohale said. Some pointers are being taken from PM's home state of Gujarat.

"The survey and makeover of ghats along the Varuna river on which the old city stands has started and is likely to get over soon," says Varanasi Development Authority secretary SR Mishra. "They are being modelled on the Sabarmati river front development." 

Aamir Khan Defends PK Nude Poster

Nude PK poster has created furor all over and a case was also filed against him and the makers of the film for promoting nudity and vulgarity and following which the poster of PK was removed from theatres. After maintaining a dignified silence over the matter, for the first time Aamir Khan broke his silence and spoke in favour of the poster.

Superstar Aamir Khan, who has left many intrigued and many ridiculing him over his nude look in the poster of his upcoming film PK, says it's not for publicity. Calling it "key art", he says it depicts the story of the film.

The poster of Rajkumar Hirani's PK features Aamir posing nude with a strategically placed boombox hiding his modesty. While some appreciated the dare bare act, some even criticised it and even called it a "publicity stunt".

Aamir spoke on the sidelines of a screening of Marathi film "Saturday Sunday" here Wednesday.
Citing the example of the poster of one of his past production and directorial debut, "Taare Zameen Par", he said: "In the poster of 'Taare Zameen Par', the child (actor Darsheel Safary) is sitting in the front on the school bench and I am sitting behind him. So it is a kind of key art...the image that tells you much about the story and so is the poster of 'PK'."

Talking about it, Aamir said: "When you (audience) will watch the film then only you will be able to understand the idea behind (the poster). But I would just like to say that the kind of filmmaker, the kind of writer Rajkumar is, he always tries to present the things, his thinking, in a unique way and that's why I am his huge fan."

"This is not for publicity, not for us atleast. Infact, this poster imbibes all the elements of the film."
Meanwhile, a case was also filed in a court in Kanpur recently against Aamir, director Rajkumar Hirani and producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra. They were accused of promoting nudity and vulgarity through "PK" poster.

However, the actor is hopeful that everything will get clear once people watch the film when it releases in December.

"We are getting a mixed response from the people. But I feel that when they will watch the film, their doubts will get cleared," the 49-year-old said.

PK also features actor Sanjay Dutt, Anushka Sharma and Sushant Singh Rajput.

World Breastfeeding Week 5 reasons to breastfeed your baby

Nothing can compare to the nutrients found in mothers' breast milk for a newborn. While the benefits of breastfeeding are immense for the baby beginning at birth and continuing throughout his/her life, it also has many advantages over mothers' health.

Below are five great reasons why breastfeeding is good for both the mom and the toddler.

Nutrients: Breast milk is the best food for your baby. The vitamins and nutrients in the breast milk are easier for your baby to digest compared to the nutrients in formula. Breast milk also has the prefect amount of protein, fat, carbohydrate required by your baby. Outstandingly, your breast milk also changes with the growth of your baby providing him specific development and nutritional needs.

Protection: Breast milk protects your baby against all types of diseases as it contains antibodies. Colostrum, also known as the first milk, has high concentrations of antibodies that help protect the mucous membranes in the throat, lungs, and intestines of the infant.

Breastfed kids are less likely to contract a number of diseases later in life such as childhood diabetes, childhood obesity, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, and cancer before the age of 15. Children who are breastfed have a decreased risk of tooth decay.

Brain health: Research has shown that young children who were breastfed as infants scored higher on intelligence tests than formula-fed kids. It says the longer and more exclusively they were breastfed, the more intelligent they will become later in life.

Bonding: Breastfeeding is a special gift both for the nursing mom and the baby. The closeness and comfort of breastfeeding strengthens the bond of a mother with her baby.

Mothers' health: Apart from the emotional satisfaction, breastfeeding has many health benefits for mothers. Studies have shown that breastfeeding lowers the risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer and anaemia in mothers. Breastfeeding helps mothers to lose weight faster gained during pregnancy. Exclusive breastfeeding helps delay fertility, thus avoiding early pregnancy. One of the good thing about breastfeeding is that - releasing feel good hormones, which will lower a mom's risk of postpartum depression.

World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is being celebrated every year from August 1 to 7 in more than 120 countries.

First observed in 1992 by World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), the main goal of the WBW is to promote exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, which yields enormous health benefits later. The event is being organised by WABA, WHO and UNICEF.

The slogan and theme for WBW 2014 is “Breastfeeding: A Winning Goal - For Life!”

Five things to know about and How Ebola spreads

Three West Africa nations are struggling to control an outbreak of Ebola. The virus was first discovered nearly four decades ago in Congo in a village near the Ebola River. Since then there have been sporadic outbreaks.

Five things to know about Ebola and how it is spread:

1. WEST AFRICA OUTBREAK NOW LARGEST IN HISTORY. The current outbreak in the neighbouring countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone has sickened more than 1,300 people and killed more than 700 since March. The outbreak is unusual for West Africa as the disease is typically found in the centre and east of the continent.

2. SOME PEOPLE HAVE SURVIVED EBOLA. While the fatality rate for Ebola can be as high as 90 per cent, health officials in the three countries say people have recovered from the virus and the current death rate is about 60 per cent. Those who fared best sought immediate medical attention and got supportive care to prevent dehydration even though there is no specific treatment for Ebola itself.

3. EBOLA CAN LOOK LIKE OTHER DISEASES. The early symptoms of an Ebola infection include fever, headache, muscle aches and sore throat. It can be difficult to distinguish between Ebola and malaria, typhoid fever or cholera. Only in later stages do people with Ebola begin bleeding both internally and externally, often through the nose and ears.

4. EBOLA IS ONLY SPREAD THROUGH CLOSE CONTACT. The Ebola virus is not airborne, so people would have to come into direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. These include blood, sweat, vomit, feces, urine, saliva or semen — making transmission through casual contact in a public setting unlikely.

5. FEAR AND MISINFORMATION. In the three countries, health workers and clinics have come under attack from panicked residents who mistakenly blame foreign doctors and nurses for bringing the virus to remote communities. Family members also have removed sick Ebola patients from hospitals. Government officials have stepped up efforts to isolate patients, educate the public, check travellers and tighten borders to prevent the disease's spread.

World Bank allocated 200 million Dollar for ebola-affected West African nations

The World Bank is allocating 200 million dollars in emergency assistance for West African countries battling to contain the ebola outbreak.
The WHO says the number of people killed in this outbreak is fast approaching 900 with more than 1600 infected. The US is preparing to receive its second ebola-infected patient, an American missionary who is now being flown from Liberia.

Oppo N1 mini launching in India within a week

Until a few hours ago, its been told that it was coming soon, without being treated to any information on the exact release date.

It has been expected that the awkwardly named Oppo N1 mini to hit India soon and the company has confirmed the same through an official tweet on its Twitter account.

Oppo just tweeted today, warned in advance about the ‘little master’ arriving within a week. The company is even will give you the color choices in which the device will be available and these include white, blue and yellow hues.

The mini phone features the same 13MP rotating lens as its larger sibling and while some might call it a marketing gimmick, we don’t see why just having one good quality camera is unreasonable on a handset. The snapper makes an impressive statement with a Sony 6-element lens and a Super Zoom mode to capture photos at 24MP.

 

The Oppo N1 mini should technically be a watered down version of its larger variant judging by its moniker, don’t you think? But it’s not really getting a bad deal considering the phablet-sized 5-inch touchscreen spread across its front and the 2GB of RAM you’ll find under the hood.


Oppo N1 mini main specs at a glance:

- Platform: Android with Color OS
- Camera: 13MP rotating snapper w/ flash
- Memory: 16GB ROM, 2GB RAM
- Display: 5-inch 720 x 1280p HD resolution screen
- Processor: Quad core 1.6GHz Snapdragon 400 chip
- Color options: White, black, pink, blue, yellow
- Dimensions: 148.4 x 72.2 x 9.2 millimeters
- Weight: 151 grams
- Power source: 2140mAh Li-ion battery

We hope you didn’t scroll all the way to down to see if we had anything to say about the price of the Oppo N1 mini? The cost and availability details are yet to arrive and needless to say, we’ll give you a heads-up as soon as we hear more on this.

Karbonn launches A1plus Super A5 Turbo entry-level smartphones

Indian mobile device maker, Karbonn, has launched two new entry-level Android smartphones - A1+ Super and A5 Turbo.

The A1+ Super is priced at Rs 3,490 while the A5 Turbo will sell at Rs 3,290.

Karbonn A1+ Super sports a 3.5-inch HVGA(320x480p) display and is powered by a 1.3GHz dual-core processor. It runs Android 4.4 KitKat and features an external storage slot that supports microSD cards up to 32GB capacity. The phone sports a 3MP rear camera with LED flash and a front camera (unspecified resolution). The company has not revealed the RAM and internal storage capacity for the handset.

Karbonn A5 Turbo also sports a 3.5-inch HVGA(320x480p) display and is powered by a 1GHz processor. It runs Android 4.4 KitKat, and is 3G-enabled. The phone sports a 3MP camera and a front-facing camera, and features dual sim support, and a microSD card slot. The company has not revealed the RAM and internal storage capacity, even for this handset.

The two phones come with Wi-Fi support, Bluetooth, Edge, G-sensor, and proximity sensor and customizable menu and widgets options.

Commenting on the launch, Shashin Devsare, executive director of Karbonn, said, "Today, an estimated 117 million subscribers are using smartphones in India, which with an expected 45% increase over the next 2 years is placed to increase to nearly 240 million consumers. With consumer-centric activities being the fulcrum of operations at Karbonn, we understand the varied needs of consumers, and thus seek to capture this upcoming market with a range of smartphones that understand their focused needs."

"Today, a large segment of consumer is shifting from feature phones to smartphones and looks for a smartphone with advanced technology and maximum features at affordable prices. While this growth of the smartphone market is basis the greater availability of affordable devices and quality after sales services by the vendors, we also seek to capture the majority of this nascent market via a remarkable product range, that offers affordability and stylishness to the consumers, providing them a unique and never-seen-before mobile experience," he added.

Can Ants save Earth from global warming

Ants may be cooling the Earth by helping trap carbon dioxide from the environment, a new study has claimed.

A long-term experiment tracking the ants' effects on soil suggests they cooled Earth's climate as their numbers grew.

"Ants are changing the environment," said lead study author Ronald Dorn, from the Arizona State University in Tempe.

Certain ant species "weather" minerals in order to secrete calcium carbonate - better known as limestone. The process traps and removes a tiny bit of carbon dioxide gas from the atmosphere, Dorn said.

This ant limestone factory is a small-scale version of the massive planetary-cooling process that takes place in the oceans, known as carbon sequestration, 'Live Science' reported.

Dorn discovered that ants were powerful weathering agents by tracking the breakdown of basalt sand.

His experiment shows that ants appear to break down the minerals 50 to 300 times faster than sand left undisturbed on bare ground.

According to Dorn, the ants may be scavenging calcium and magnesium from the minerals and using these elements to make limestone.

In the process, the insects may trap carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, in the rock, the report said.

The transformation could take place when ants lick sand grains and stick them on the walls of their nests, but Dorn said the process is truly a scientific mystery.

The study was published in the journal Geology.