Data catches up with theory: Ocean front is energetic contributor to mixing

Wind blowing on the ocean is a crucial factor mixing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into the ocean depths and keeping it from going back into the atmosphere. For more than two decades scientists have suspected there's another – possibly substantial – source of energy for mixing that's generated in the ocean where cold, heavy water collides with warm, light water. However, there's never been a way to get enough measurements of such a "front" to prove this – until now. University of Washington and Stanford University researchers report in the print edition of Science April 15 about turbulence at a front near Japan that is 10 to 20 times more...

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Recipe for radioactive compounds aids nuclear waste and fuel storage pools studies

Easy-to-follow recipes for radioactive compounds like those found in nuclear fuel storage pools, liquid waste containment areas and other contaminated aqueous environments have been developed by researchers at Sandia National Laboratories. "The need to understand the chemistry of these compounds has never been more urgent, and these recipes facilitate their study," principal investigator May Nyman said of her group's success in encouraging significant amounts of relevant compounds to self-assemble. The trick to the recipes is choosing the right templates. These are atoms or molecules that direct the growth of compounds in much the way islands...

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How useful are tablets for business?

It’s tempting to think of tablets as primarily consumer-focused devices. After all, the default image of a tablet computer often involves someone playing Angry Birds or reading an eBook on a sleek, shiny iPad. But in reality, some of the most enthusiastic tablet purchasers over the past year have been small and medium-sized businesses, who are using them to replace everything from the (paper) notebook to the (computer) notebook. On Tuesday, Research In Motion will release its PlayBook tablet, perhaps the most business-focused mobile computer out there. The company hopes that features such as BlackBerry tethering (a feature that allows you...

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Asked about India, RIM chief walks out of interview

Research In Motion (RIM) founder Mike Lazaridis ordered a BBC reporter to stop the interview after he was asked questions about his problems with India and Middle East countries that are seeking access to BlackBerry enterprise emails in view of national security issues. "That's just not fair,'' Mike Lazaridis shot back at BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones when he posed this question to the RIM co-CEO at a recent interview. Looking sideways, a visibly upset RIM boss said, "First of all, we have no security problem. We've got the most secure platform. We've just been singled out because we're so successful around the world." When...

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Nokia's Pushmail Banned In India

The telecom department has been asked by the home ministry to bar mobile phone companies from launching Nokia's popular messaging service--pushmail/powermail--in India until it put in place a legal monitoring system. “In view of the Intelligence Bureau’s report, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is requested to advice the Telecom Service Providers not to launch Nokia’s proposed pushmail/powermail service without putting in place monitoring facilities to the satisfaction of the LEAs,” ministry of home affairs told the Department of Telecom. Nokia Messaging is a push e-mail UI that enables mobile users with compatible Nokia phones...

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Despite resolve, SRK can't stay away from Twitter

Shah Rukh Khan, who had tried really hard to stay away from Twitter, is back on the social networking site. And this time round, he is using the popular site to promote his upcoming sci-fi film Ra.One by keeping his tweeples updated about the forthcoming promotions of the film. He tweeted, “Yes nice to be back...like bad habits even you all are difficult to quit...so here’s to a new round of bad habiting between u and me.” He added, “Excited with thought of Ra.One teaser. Will ask ESPN Star if I can release the ten seconder on twitter before they release it? Will try.” Even as SRK promotes the film, it has been learnt that over ten days...

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Teen Thay Bhai

Even at his most blink and miss, Om Puri can be a magnet. Teen Thay Bhai is unusual in that it gives this brilliant thesp a full-fledged lead role, which does something equally unusual: sets your teeth on edge. Puri plays the eldest of three brothers. He is perpetually bad-tempered, frown-lines to the fore. His favourite mode of communication is to yell, at the top of his voice, at those in the vicinity. His wife is fed up (because he has no money), his daughters are fat (because they keep eating), and his brothers are estranged: the middle one is a dentist (Dobriyal) who likes prising peoples’ teeth out, the youngest is a ham (Talpade) who...

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Salman Khan: Mindblowing in 'Ready' First Look!

Salman Khan is always Ready in the plot, and Ready is all Salman Khan in the just released First Look of Anees Bazmi's upcoming film . The nearly 2-min long First Look gives no hint of the plot, just glimpses of what the film packs – dance, romance, masti and action. What we get to see is impressive. Very impressive. We haven't seen Salman looking so good - even in Dabangg. His uninhibited cavorting is delightful, romancing with Asin is cute, pranking Paresh Rawal is hilarious and thrashing of bad guys thrilling and light hearted. Salman is back to bang, says the tagline, hinting at the humor in the action sequences. Asin looks a demure...

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Botox can alleviate severe spinal headaches

Washington : A new study has claimed that Botox could be instrumental in relieving terrible spinal headaches. According to the study Botox can be used in pain management in patients suffering from incapacitating spinal headaches caused by low levels of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Remarkably, the only known way to alleviate pain, until the discovery of analgesic properties of Botox, was to lie down. Washington : A new study has claimed that Botox could be instrumental in relieving terrible spinal headaches. According to the study Botox can be used in pain management in patients suffering from incapacitating spinal headaches caused by low...

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The secret to longer life discovered!

London: Scientists claim they may have finally found an "elixir of life" by discovering eight genes which could hold the key to a long and healthy life. An international team, led by King's College London, has pinpointed the eight genetic variations which control the production of a crucial hormone which is linked to old age as well as diseases of the elderly. The scientists believe that by manipulating the DNA strands they could slow down the ageing process and ward off age-related conditions. According to them, the genes control levels of the steroid dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS), one of the most abundant in the body and vital...

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Mirror – A Horror among Middle Aged Women

A study has revealed that middle-aged women are unhappier with the way they appear in the mirror. The study was conducted by Opinion Matters in January 2011. It was an online study in which around 1,246 women took part. They study has discovered that over 90% of women aged in their 40s and 50s are unhappy with the way they look. It is believed that these women suffer from dubbed mid-life mirror angst syndrome. It is shocking that only nine per cent women feels proud over their look in the age of 50. Midlife mirror angst syndrome is caused by the changes wrought by age in body. Moreover, youth-obsessed fashion industry has led to a dramatic...

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2G Scam: CBI says senior executives could abscond

New Delhi:  The CBI today sought "detention" of five corporate executives chargesheeted by it for their alleged role in the 2G scam, saying that they might "abscond" and impede the trial. Opposing their bail pleas, the CBI, in its reply to the court of Additional Session Judge O P Saini, said that some of the key witnesses, belonging to the corporate world, directly worked under them and the possibility of the accused winning them over could not be ruled out. "The accused are holding high positions and now that the names of witnesses are disclosed, some of whom are directly working under (them) or are amenable to their directions, possibility...

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March inflation jumps to 8.98%

High prices of vegetables and manufactured items drove the headline inflation in March to 8.98 per cent, way above the RBI’s expectation of 8 per cent. The overall inflation measured on the basis of Wholesale Price Index (WPI) was 8.31 per cent in February. The rise in overall inflation for the second month in a row may prompt the central bank to go for another round of policy rate hikes in its policy review meeting, scheduled for May 3. As per the official data released today, the high inflation was on account of rising prices of manufactured items, milk, vegetables and fruits. In addition, high fuel costs due to spiralling international...

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Infy nos no more yardstick for sector, TCS may outperform

Infosys Technologies once used to be a benchmark for the I-T sector, but not any more, say analysts The technology bellwethers fourth quarter earnings and rupee revenue guidance for 2011-12 (April-March) came in well below street expectations, but analysts say the poor performance is not likely to be a trend across the sector now. "Infosys is no more a benchmark for the I-T sector. This (Infosys earnings) doesn’t signify that the sector as a whole is likely to underperform," ICICI Securities analyst Abhishek Shindadkar told moneycontrol.com. Hardik Shah of KR Choksey Shares agreed. He said TCS might outperform Infosys, and even Cognizant...

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Kidnapped Italian activist found dead in Gaza

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The body of an Italian activist was found hanged in a Gaza apartment just hours after he was abducted by an al-Qaida-inspired group, Hamas said early Friday, in the first kidnapping of a foreigner since the militant Hamas overran the coastal strip nearly four years ago. Hamas officials said police stormed an apartment in Gaza City where Vittorio Arrigoni, 36, was being held by members of a small Islamic group that had kidnapped him on Thursday. Arrigoni was dead and the apartment was otherwise empty, the officials said. In Rome, the Italian Foreign Ministry said the killing was a "barbaric murder" and a "vile and irrational...

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Yemen military factions in deadly clash

Gunmen loyal to the government attacked the forces of the Yemeni president's chief rival early Wednesday, killing one person and raising fears that popular unrest could evolve into pitched battles between military factions. State media described the attack as a case of the government's rapid response forces quelling a "provocative action" by Maj.-Gen. Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, the commander of the 1st Armoured Division. "The leader of the 1st Armoured Division is responsible for any attempts that could cause security tensions," the government statement said, raising the level of rhetoric between the two longtime rivals. Yemen's military split...

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Britain, France Vow to Topple Libyan Leader

PARIS -- British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged Wednesday that Britain and France will leave "no stone unturned" as they look for ways to help Libya's rebels topple Muammar al-Qaddafi. French President Nicolas Sarkozy hosted Cameron and their defense chiefs amid a public rift with the United States over the NATO-led campaign that has failed to rout Qaddafi's forces after three weeks of airstrikes. France and Britain -- western Europe's biggest military powers -- have largely spearheaded the campaign, and Cameron said the talks would focus on how they can further help the Libyan opposition. Arriving for the meeting, Cameron said Britain...

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Sharp exchanges at PAC meet

Sharp exchanges and differences of opinion in the Public Accounts Committee on Friday forced cancellation of Saturday's scheduled meeting at which Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar and Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister T.K.A. Nair were to depose. Congress and DMK members of the PAC questioned the need for their deposition before the committee since a Joint Parliamentary Committee had been set up to specifically look at allegations related to the 2G spectrum. The heated exchanges forced CBI Director A.P. Singh to wait outside the meeting venue at Parliament House for several hours before leaving without being called to depose. Attorney...

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No wrong in Somnath invite: Yechury

Calcutta : CPM leader Sitaram Yechury today said he found “nothing wrong” in housing minister Gautam Deb’s invitation to expelled party leader Somnath Chatterjee to speak at a rally in Dum Dum on April 24. “What’s wrong with Somnathda campaigning for our candidate? We are appealing to voters to support us. Similarly, he was requested to be a speaker at one of our election meetings. There’s nothing to raise a hue and cry about,’’ the politburo member said at a news conference in Alimuddin Street today. Asked if the party was thinking of taking back Chatterjee, Yechury said: “Anybody who is ideologically not different from us can be asked to...

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Supreme Court grants bail to Binayak Sen

The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Dr Binayak Sen, who has been convicted for sedition and sentenced to life by a Raipur court in Chhattisgarh. A bench comprising Justices HS Bedi and CK Prasad passed the order on the petition moved by Sen challenging the order of Chhattisgarh High Court denying him bail. The apex court said it was giving no reason for granting bail to 61-year-old Sen and left it to the satisfaction of the trial court concerned to impose the conditions for his release on bail. While granting bail to Sen, the court observed that even if he is a Naxal sympathiser, it does not makes him guilty of sedition. "We are...

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