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Now, a handheld scanner that zooms in on disease
09.07.2008 10:26
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US scientists have invented a handheld nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) scanner that can facilitate the diagnoses of diseases and identification of pathogens. Ralph Weissleder at Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has revealed that the revolutionary scanner is many times smaller than conventional NMR spectroscopy machines, which require huge magnets to create the powerful magnetic fields necessary to make them work. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy works by using a powerful magnetic field to line up nuclei in a sample, and then by zapping them with radio waves that cause them to wobble. The researchers say that the currents induced by such precessions in a nearby coil can be used to determine the chemical structure of the molecules that contain the nuclei. Magnetic resonance imaging machines also use the same process to make non-invasive images of human bodies. The new device, however, does not produce images. Conventional NMR spectroscopy machines require powerful fields to line up individual nuclei. Weissleder and his colleagues have, however, found that magnetic nanoparticles generate a much larger signal than single nuclei, and can thus be detected using the weaker fields from small permanent magnets. The researchers say that their idea is to coat such nanoparticles with molecules that bind to specific biomolecules, or bacteria and viruses. They say that the binding process causes the nanoparticles to clump together, producing a measurable change in the signal they produce. According to them, this approach may help identify a large variety of biological targets. Weissleder says that the prototype machine is 800 times more sensitive than standard NMR scanners. "The biggest advantage is that we don''t need sample preparation or purification steps," New Scientist magazine quoted Hakho Lee, lead author on the research, as saying in a report published in the journal Nature Medicine. "This method could provide an easy and fast way to diagnose almost any kind of disease, such as bacterial infection or cancers in point-of-care settings – right next to the patient or in developing countries," the researcher adds. The device may also help conduct water purity tests, and be applied to gaseous samples to search for airborne pathogens or pollutants. Impressed with the work, Dusan Uhrin, an NMR spectroscopist at the University of Edinburgh, said: "If you came to my lab you would see that our spectrometers occupy whole rooms, and we are always struggling with sensitivity in NMR experiments." He added: "They have been able to improve the sensitivity such that they can detect just a few bacteria. It''s quite remarkable that they can detect down to that limit." Weissleder has filed a patent for the design, and started a company called T2 Biosystems to market the devices. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Insect warning colours may help in cancer drug discovery
09.07.2008 10:26
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Researchers at Smithsonian''s Tropical Research Institute in Panama have revealed that brightly coloured beetles or butterfly larvae nibbling on a plant may signal the presence of chemical compounds active against cancer cell lines and tropical parasitic diseases. For the study, scientists used plants already known to have anti-cancer compounds; those proven to be active against certain disease-carrying parasites; and plants without such activity. The study showed that beetles and butterfly larvae with bright warning coloration were significantly more common on plants that contained compounds active against certain diseases, such as breast cancer and malaria. There was no significant difference in the number of plain-colored insects between plants with and without activity. "These findings are incredibly exciting and important," said Todd Capson, STRI research chemist, who directed the project. "The results of this study could have direct and positive impacts on the future of medical treatment for many diseases around the world," he added. "We put two and two together," said researcher Julie Helson. "We knew that brightly colored insects advertise to their predators that they taste bad and that some get their toxins from their host plants. “But because other insects cheat by mimicking the toxic ones, we weren''t sure if insect color was really going to work to identify plants containing toxins—it did!" Helson was a student at McGill University when she conducted this research in 2005. The study suggests that a quick screen for insects with warning coloration on tropical plants may increase the efficiency of the search for compounds active against cancer and tropical parasitic disease by four-fold. The report is published in the Ecological Society of America''s journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Art therapy may offer treatment for mental disease
09.07.2008 10:26
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Art therapy, a therapy through visual art, can offer a treatment option for people with mental disease, suggests a new study. Art therapy was started in the middle of the 20th century and is based on the idea that visual representations, objectified through plastic material, contribute to the construction of a meaning of the psychic conflicts, and favour its resolution. Lead researcher Elizaberta Lopez Perez, a Bachelor of Fine Arts and doctor in Painting at the University of Granada conducted the study over 20 acute mental patients from the Therapeutic Community of the Northern Area of the Virgen de las Nieves Hospital of Granada The participants took part in two days a week session and they adapted paintings of artists such as Modigliani, Munch or Van Gogh, offering their own vision. The researcher of the University of Granada highlights the liberating nature of art for these patients, who project their inner world and their repressed desires through their paintings. This way, they deal with their fears and desires, which get real during the artistic process where it is possible to give them life or to destroy them. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Daring birds sing, and win the girl
09.07.2008 10:26
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A collaborative study by experts from the University of Antwerp and at Eotvos University, Budapest suggests that bird song has a prominent and well-established role in sexual selection, and that it displays considerable variation among individuals, with a potentially strong personality component. Lead researcher Laszlo Garamszegiand says that singing may reveal risk taking because conspicuous songs not only attract females, they may also attract the attention of predators. The researcher believes that only high-quality individuals can afford to display attractive songs, and they will necessarily be risk takers. A bird''s vocal repertoire may also highlight exploration because adventurous individuals will explore a range of habitats, where they encounter diverse acoustic features from other individuals that can be incorporated into their song. Garamszegi’s team recorded the song of 24 males in a European Collared Flycatcher population, and characterised several song features. The researchers also performed behavioural tests with the same males to determine explorative behaviour in an altered breeding environment, and to assess risk taking when a potential predator was approaching. They said that male birds that sang at low song posts relative to the surrounding vegetation appeared to be explorers and risk takers. According to them, singing close to the ground might involve higher predation risk because it offered less concealment, and put males in a conspicuous position from the predators’ eye. Only prime quality individuals could cope with such costs of exposed singing, they said, because cheaters would be eliminated by predators. Based on their observations, the researchers came to the conclusion that the chose of song post could influence mating success, as males from lower posts were also found to establish pair bonds earlier. They said that it was probably due to the female preference for males singing in exposed sites. The researcher claim that theirs is the first study to reveal in a non-human taxon that the male''s need to balance investment in reproduction against risk taking is reflected in sexual displays. According to them, this may be important information for choosy females seeking partners with personality traits that will enhance breeding success. They believe that their findings may help further scientists’ understanding of both the use of conspicuous sexual signals in animals, and the deep evolutionary origin of personality in humans. The study has been reported in the open-access journal PLoS ONE. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
Most patients ignorant of link between smoking, bladder cancer
09.07.2008 10:26
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A majority of cigarette smokers are ignorant of the association between smoking and bladder cancer, according to a new study. Researchers from University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Centre suggest that urologists and other physicians need to do a much better job of telling patients about the risk of smoking and encourage them to quit. "The general public understands that cigarette smoking can lead to lung cancer, but very few people understand that it also can lead to bladder cancer," said senior author Dr James E. Montie, Valassis Professor of Urologic Oncology at the U-M Health System. Montie said that in the first four years after a smoker quits, the risk of developing bladder cancer decreases by 40 percent A study had shown that only 22 percent of patients with the disease were aware that smoking was a risk factor. "A big gap exists between patient knowledge and their actual risk," says lead author Seth A. Strope, M.D., MPH, clinical lecturer in the U-M Department of Urology. "Our study suggests that physicians must do a much better job of communicating the risk to our patients, and directing them toward smoking cessation programs," he added. The study appears in the July issue of The Journal of Urology. (ANI)
India
Health & Beauty
CWC to discuss ongoing political crisis on July 11
09.07.2008 09:24
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The Congress Working Committee will meet on July 11 to discuss the ongoing political crisis after the withdrawal of support by the Left parties. Earlier, the Left accused the Manmohan Singh government of pushing forward the “notorious” nuke deal in its bid to fulfil its commitment to US President George W Bush. The Left said the government has shown complete callousness towards fulfilling its commitments to the people of India. Addressing the media after a meeting with President Pratibha Patil, CPM chief Prakash Karat said the government had not been transparent about the deal at all. Karat said that the Left would release all the exchanges between them and the government over the nuclear deal issues. Adding that he said that he is unable to make available two more notes as this "secretive" government took them back. In a detailed account of why they were forced to withdraw support, Karat said the UPA and the Congress have violated the agreement that they had with the left on the nuke deal. He demanded to know who had termed the papers classified and whether it was the UPA govt, or the IAEA. (ANI)
India
Social Life
Dalai Lama offers prayer at Ajmer Sufi shrine
09.07.2008 09:24
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Tibetan Spiritual leader the Dalai Lama visited the revered Ajmer Sharif shrine in Rajasthan this morning to offer prayers on the occasion of ''Urs'', the 796th death anniversary of Sufi saint, Khwaja Moin-ud-Din Chishti. The Tibetan Spiritual leader offered prayers at the Dargah Sharif during his two days visit to Rajasthan. The Dalai Lama said promotion of harmony for lasting world peace has been his life-long commitment. "All major religions of the world present the same potential to promote wholeheartedness or compassion. Through that way, genuine and lasting world peace can exist. You know for that reason, harmony among different traditions is very essential. This is my life-long commitment," said the Dalai Lama. Thousands of devotees congregate at the Ajmer Sharif shrine every year to offer prayers on the occasion of ‘Urs’, which began on July 5 this year. The shrine is a symbol of religious convergence as people of all religions throng here in large numbers with the belief that all their wishes would be fulfilled once they offer prayers at the shrine. An estimated one million devotees from India and abroad visit the saint''s shrine during the six-day long Urs. The shrine also brings devotees from neighbouring countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh. The annual gathering is considered to be second largest congregation of Muslims at one place after Mecca. (ANI)
India
Social Life
Linking rivers in western India
09.07.2008 09:24
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Presiding over the 24th annual general meeting of National Water Development Agency, Water Resources Minister Prof. Saifuddin Soz today promised the Government’s commitment to remove the anomaly of regional imbalance in availability of water in the country to the extent possible. He also said that the Government would expand irrigational potential at an accelerated rate to make India self sufficient in food-grain production for years to come through a broad understanding and consensus for tackling various water related problems. He stressed on the better management of the water resources to achieve the food security and also stressed the need to create awareness in the minds of the people for water conservation and rainwater harvesting. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) of Ken – Betwa Link is likely to be completed by the end of this year, he said thanking the state Governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat for conveying their concurrence for signing of MOU for Par – Tapi – Narmada and Damanganga – Pinjal links in the western India and informed that the MOU will be signed soon for preparation of Detailed Project Reports of both these links. Minister of State for Water Resources Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav said that so far 13 States / Union Territories have responded to the request of NWDA for studies of Intra – state link proposals. He also outlined consensus building process for moving forward on Interlinking of Rivers Programme as per the National Common Minimum Programme of the present Government. NWDA is a Society under the Ministry of Water Resources, which carries out the studies for Inter Basin Water Transfer proposals in the country. (ANI)
India
Social Life
National Skill Development policy soon would be posed for approval
09.07.2008 09:24
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Labour and Employment Minister Oscar Fernandes disclosed today that the Government has formulated a National Skill Development policy. Addressing a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee, he said the policy aims at empowering all individuals through improved skills, knowledge and internationally recognized qualifications to enable them access to decent employment and to promote inclusive national growth. Unveiling the main features of the proposed policy to the members he said that it addresses the issues related to demand and supply, equity and access to ensure that skill development is inclusive in terms of gender, social divide (Schedule Caste /Schedule Tribe/Other Backward Class/Minorities and others), the location-divide (rural-urban), economic divide, difficult regions such as borders areas and hill areas. He also revealed that the policy document encourages public private partnership to ensure that the needs of the industry are met in an effective and time-bound manner. National Skill Development Coordination Board (under Planning Commission) and a National Skill Development Corporation (under Ministry of Finance) have also been set up, he informed the members. He also said that the capacity of the national skills development system would be expanded substantially as a national mission. It would be expanded immediately to 15 million during the 11th Plan and raised to 50 million by the end of the 12th Plan. For undertaking this massive expansion in capacity, besides current established approaches, innovative delivery models would be explored such as public private partnership, decentralized delivery, distance learning, and computerized vocational training. Giving their suggestions, the members emphasized that skill development training should focus more on the needs of the domestic industry. Provision for training to the contract labour was also suggested. Some Members suggested separate skill development centers of girls and women in rural areas, which may have special facilities for widows and disabled women. (ANI)
India
Social Life
Former Shiv Sena leader Sarpotdar convicted in Mumbai for inciting violence in 1992
09.07.2008 09:24
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Former Shiv Sena MP Madhukar Sarpotdar and two other party workers have been sentenced to one year imprisonment for inciting violence during the 1992-93 communal clashes in Mumbai by a special riot court here today. However, Sarpotdar has been granted bail. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 each on Sarpotdar, Jaywant Parab and Ashok Shinde. The court has acquitted Umesh Pawar, Shantaram and Pradeep in the case. Earlier in the month, a prime witness in the 1993 riots case had identified Shiv Sena leader Madhukar Sarpotdar before the court in Mumbai. Sarpotdar and five other Shiv Sainiks have been accused of inciting violence and enmity between two religious groups during the 1992-93 Hindu-Muslim riots in Mumbai. On December 27, 1992 Sarpotdar had allegedly led a mob of 5,000 people from Ganesh Utsav Samiti Mandal in subruban Kherwadi area of Mumbai. (ANI)
India
Social Life
Left Parties to submit letters of withdrawal of support to President today
09.07.2008 02:28
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Four Left parties - CPI, CPI (M), Forward Bloc and the Revolutionary Socialist Party of India (RSP) - will submit their separate letters to President Pratibha Patil here today, announcing withdrawal of support to the Congress-led UPA Government. Their meeting with the President is scheduled for 12:00 noon. A senior Left party leader on Tuesday said they had to give separate letters as they had sent separate intimations pronouncing support to the UPA in 2004 when the Manmohan Singh Government was formed. "We will give a fifth letter to the President requesting her to ask the Prime Minister to seek a vote of confidence on the floor of the House," he said. Meanwhile, Left parties said that they will urge the President to ask the Congress-led UPA to prove its majority in the Parliament following their withdrawal of support. Accusing the government of double standards, the Left said the UPA Government has on the one hand decided to convene a meeting with the Left to discuss the US-India civil nuclear cooperation issue, while on the other, the Prime Minister announced in Japan that his government would go ahead on the deal. Anticipating the withdrawal of support by the Left, the Government has lined up support from the Samajwadi Party to provide it with a parliamentary majority, and hopes to avoid early elections. The Left had been threatening to pull out their support to the government for quite some time if the latter approached the IAEA for an India-specific safeguards agreement. (ANI)
India
Social Life
Left asks UPA to prove its majority in Parliament
09.07.2008 02:28
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Left parties have said that they will urge President Pratibha Devisingh Patil to ask the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance to prove its majority in Parliament following its withdrawal of support. Accusing the government of double standards, the Left said the UPA Government has on the one hand decided to convene a meeting with the Left to discuss the US-India civil nuclear cooperation issue, while on the other, the Prime Minister has announced that his government will go ahead with the next steps on the deal. "On one hand Pranab Mukherjee (foreign minister) sends us letter (saying) they would hold meeting on the 10th of this month, and on the other hand, the Prime Minister announces, he is the government, he has announced that they will go ahead with the IAEA. So, on the face of it, all the four Communist parties have decided that one, they will pull out support from the government, second, we will give a letter to the President tomorrow and third, we will request the president to ask the government to prove majority in the house," Debabrata Biswas, general secretary of All India Forward Block (AIFW) told reporters in national capital New Delhi. Anticipating the withdrawal of support by the Left, the government has lined up support from the Samajwadi Party to provide it with a parliamentary majority, and hopes to avoid early elections. For this reason, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar dispelled any threat to the UPA Government. "I don''t think there will be a problem for the government. In a parliamentary democratic system, there will be a floor test, and depending on the presence of ministers, it will be decided. I have seen the figures and, I don''t think there is a problem," said Pawar, who is also the president of the Nationalist Congress Party, a key ally. Congress leaders criticised the Left for their decision to withdraw support, saying that the Communists had demeaned the Prime Minister while he was on an official trip abroad. "What substantial thing left was telling (is that) don''t operationalise the deal till you get the OK from the committee. The operationalising will take time, it is only the process what PM (prime minister) has said clearly. It is a proof, going to IAEA is not a ... we have already gone to the IAEA it is only next the text has to be discussed, text summary was discussed. What is done which is hidden, what is the mistake the PM has done it. As a PM of the country he is going to G-8, it is prestige of the country he is the PM of the country, a political party in India can be so insensitive to demean PM, It is doesn''t lie with them to demean the PM," said Veerappa Moily, a senior Congress party leader. The Left has been threatening to end their support to the government for months if the latter took the step of approaching the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for an India-specific safeguards agreement. (ANI)
India
Social Life
Elephant kills one in Orissa''s Keonjhar District
09.07.2008 02:28
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Panic has gripped residents of Joda village in Orissa''s Keonjhar District after a wild elephant mowed down a villager and damaged a few houses near the National Highway over the weekend. The incident has spread a feeling of fear in the village, which is situated about 70 km from Keonjhar town. According to reports, the elephant continues to roam freely on the highway in search of food. This conflict between man and animal has increased in the recent days, as animals are often found searching for food in human habitations. This particular wild elephant, according to the villagers, has blocked vehicles and grabbed food such as bananas from them. When the animal fails to find food, he breaks the windows of the vehicles. Uday Giri, a local, says he is worried. "When we come on the road, the elephant comes in our way. We are scared and get off the vehicle. Thereafter, the elephant eats whatever food, which is available inside the vehicle. Sometimes, if it does not get the food, it damages the vehicle," said Giri. "We are taking preventive measures for the entry of the elephant into Joda village. That is our first priority because it is a concentrated township. We are making arrangements for monitoring the movements of the elephant and to have lesser conflicts between the moving traffic and the elephant," said Pradeep Raj Karat, a divisional forest official. A national census in 2005 shows there were 25,000 to 28,000 elephants in India, including only 1,500 male tuskers of breeding age. (ANI)
India
Social Life
Kabul blast victim cremated with full military honours
09.07.2008 02:28
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Brigadier Ravi Datt Mehta, India''s defence attaché in Afghanistan who was killed in a terror attack in Kabul on Monday, was cremated with full military honours here on Tuesday. A 13-gun salute was offered at the cremation ceremony of Brigadier Mehta in the presence of Chief of Army Staff, General Deepak Kapoor and the brigadier''s family members. "He''ll continue to be my hero. He has made the country proud. And I''ll always love him and cherish his memories. I''ll remember the way he lived and not what happened to him in the end," said Udit Mehta, Brigadier Mehta''s son. Among the other three Indian killed are the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer V. Venkat Rao, who was working in the embassy as Counselor-Political, and two men of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) who were on guard duty at the embassy. Meanwhile a day after the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital since the 2001 fall of the Taliban, Afghan commoners said on Tuesday that they were scared of getting caught up in the spiraling violence. "All Afghans are afraid -- whenever I go across the center of the city and go towards the university, I fear an explosion will take place," said Nader Shah, a university student. "After these explosions, people are shocked and afraid because there is no proper security here," said Hakim Mohammad Omar Adil, a local resident. Afghanistan has accused Pakistani agents of being behind a number of attacks in recent weeks and Afghan President Hamid Karzai last month threatened to send troops across the border to attack militants there if Pakistan does not take action. Pakistan denies the Afghan accusations and strongly condemned Monday''s attack in which the bomber rammed his car into the embassy, just as two diplomatic vehicles were entering. Forty-one people lost their lives in the incident. (ANI)
India
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China to prohibit illegal broadcasts during Olympics
09.07.2008 02:28
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The Chinese Government has announced a ban on illegal broadcasts during the forthcoming Beijing Olympic Games. An official of the National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) said: "No website, mobile phone platform or individual is permitted to transmit audio and video information regarding the Beijing Olympic Games or events within the mainland without a copyright or copyright holders'' authorizations." The China Daily quoted Xu Chao, deputy director of the copyright management department of the NCAC, as telling reporters in Beijing on Monday that webcasts of Olympic-related programs have become commonplace since the Olympic torch gathering ceremony on March 24 and the ensuing torch relay. Xu said the administration, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and copyright holders, are monitoring illegal transmissions on domestic websites. (ANI)
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