YoutTube planning to launch subscription video service for its ‘best original content’

A report has said that YouTube may now have a subscription option for its best original content.

According to The Verge, the video-sharing website is “exploring the prospect of launching its own subscription VOD service.” The subscription will offer users ad-free streaming of certain video content that are part of the program. Such videos are expected to be categorized under the YouTube Originals banner.

NASA software to help detect new asteroids better

NASA has launched a new software that can help amateur astronomers detect new asteroids in an efficient way.

Developed in partnership with Planetary Resources Inc of Redmond, Washington, D.C., the desktop software application showed a 15-percent increase in positive identification of new asteroids in our solar system’s main belt of asteroids between Mars and Jupiter.

The application is based on an Asteroid Data Hunter-derived algorithm that analyses images for potential asteroids.

It is a tool that can be used by amateur astronomers and citizen scientists.

Eating nuts reduces metabolic syndrome risk in teens

A new study has indicated that modest consumption of nuts every day is associated with an improved cardiovascular risk profile among adolescents.

According to the study, adolescents who ate at least 12.9 grams per day of nuts which is the equivalent of eating a small handful three times per week had less than half the odds of non-eaters for developing metabolic syndrome and this syndrome is a cluster of clinical features that heightens the risk of early heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

New ‘Hello Barbie’ doll draws ire for uploading private conversations on net

A new ” Hello Barbie” doll has earned immense amount of criticism from parents and privacy advocates for uploading private conversations on the net.

A new version of the Mattel doll released exclusively in the US allows children to have a two-way conversation with the plastic toy, News.com.au reported.

In a recent demonstration posted online, a saleswoman tells Barbie about great Italian restaurants in New York City. Barbie responded “You have to take me to try it”.

Google turns auto complete into a game

American conglomerate Google has started a new gaming website googlefeud.com which provides the first half of a search query, and we have to fill in the rest. The goal is to guess as many of the most popular queries as you can.

According to San Francisco-based techcrunch.com, those accessing the web site start by picking one of the four categories: Culture, People, Names, and Questions and simply guess how Google would auto-complete a search phrase in a given category.

How geckos manage to stay clean in dusty deserts revealed

A new study has provided a deeper insight into how geckos manage to stay clean, even in the dusty deserts.

In a world first, the discovery done by a research team including James Cook University scientists might also turn out to have important human applications.

JCU’s Professor Lin Schwarzkopf said the group found that tiny droplets of water on geckos, for instance from condensing dew, comes into contact with hundreds of thousands of extremely small hair-like spines that cover the animals’ bodies.

New software can help you detect possible asteroid threats

A new software created by a NASA challenge, which has now been made public, can help amateur astronomers to detect possible asteroid threats in future.

Analysis of images taken of our solar system’s main belt asteroids between Mars and Jupiter using the algorithm showed a 15 percent increase in positive identification of new asteroids.

Saturn moon may have deep-ocean vents that harbour life

Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus exhibits signs of life-supporting hydrothermal activity which may resemble that seen in the deep oceans on Earth, scientists say.

Hydrothermal activity occurs when seawater infiltrates and reacts with a rocky crust and emerges as a heated, mineral-laden solution, a natural occurrence in Earth’s oceans.

Charge phone battery by motion-powered fabric

Scientists at the Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea have created a double-layered fabric out of silver-coated woven textile that can charge the battery of a mobile phone.

The foldable patch of fabric wrapped around your wrist can gather enough energy from your arm movement.

The new fabric relies on the triboelectric effect, which occurs with certain materials become electrically charged after coming into fricative contact with a different material.

New technology for Wi-Fi network developed

A team of Columbia University researchers led by an Indian-American engineer has invented a technology that may double radio frequency data capacity.

The new “full-duplex radio integrated circuits” (ICs) can be implemented to enable simultaneous transmission and reception at the same frequency in a wireless radio.

Up to now, this has been thought to be impossible: transmitters and receivers either work at different times or at the same time but at different frequencies.

“This is a game-changer,” said associate professor Harish Krishnaswamy who led the team.

Milky Way much larger than previously estimated

The Milky Way galaxy is at least 50 percent larger than is commonly estimated, according to new findings which reveal that the galactic disk is contoured into several concentric ripples.

The research, conducted by an international team led by physics professor Heidi Jo Newberg from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, revisited astronomical data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

“In essence, what we found is that the disk of the Milky Way is not just a disk of stars in a flat plane – it is corrugated,” Newberg said.

NASA to develop augmented reality glasses for astronauts

Several outer space tasks like doing repairs and conducting experiments may become a lot easier for astronauts now as NASA is developing augmented reality glasses like Google Glass for them.

These specially developed glasses can project any information needed by its user right into the glasses’ lenses.

NASA has recently teamed up with the San Francisco-based company Osterhout Design Group to develop such computerised glasses.

Your brain’s not as old as you think

A new study has provided a deeper insight into human brains which ages less than previously thought.

BBSRC-funded researchers at the University of Cambridge and Medical Research Council’s Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit demonstrated that previously reported changes in the ageing brain using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) may be due to vascular (or blood vessels) changes, rather than changes in neuronal activity itself.

Digital tech can add $101-bn to India GDP by 2020: Accenture

Increasing application of digital technologies can help India’s GDP to grow by USD 101 billion by 2020, global consultancy major Accenture said.

However, China leads the pack with digital technology projected to contribute USD 410 billion to its economy. Among emerging economies, India comes second, closely followed by Brazil (USD 97 billion).

Globally, India is ranked fourth after China, US (USD 365 billion) and Japan (USD 114 billion) on this front, a study conducted by Accenture showed.

AIR Facebook page crosses two mn likes

The Facebook page of All India Radio News has crossed two million likes, making it the most favoured news organisation across the country including amongst the Indian diaspora.

AIR News ‘likes’ are not only from India but a huge chunk of followers are also from Nepal, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Malaysia, USA, UK, Singapore etc.

Female mice indulge in polyandry

Contrary to the previous assumption that female mice are attracted more strongly to the odour of healthy males, a new study reveals that mice mate with unhealthy males as well.

“Until now, scientists generally assumed that females choose their mates depending on their males’ scent or other secondary sexual traits. Our study shows that this isn’t necessarily the case,” said first author of the study Sarah Zala of the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna.

The females were allowed to freely choose between two males, one healthy and another challenged with a mild infection.

How smartphones are ruining sex lives

Have you been feeling dissatisfied with your sex life of late? Your smartphone may be to blame, suggests a study.

People are more likely to be seduced by gadgets than by their partners, a research from Durham University says.

The study commissioned by condom-maker Durex, involved detailed interviews with 15 couples around Britain, 40 percent of whom confessed to delaying sex to use their smartphones or tablets, Daily Mail reported.

Others revealed they had “raced through sex” in order to check their social media notifications or respond to messages.

Sweet nanoparticles to target stroke

Materials resulting from chemical bonding of a sugar with a kind of nanoparticle may help reduce cell damage and inflammation occurring after stroke, scientists say.

A research team from the Max Planck Institute in Germany has tested these materials on mice, opening the door to potential new drugs for the cerebrovascular accident.

The majority of stroke occurs when the blood vessels that reach the brain are blocked by clots or fatty deposits which decrease the flow of blood towards its cells.

New chameleon-like artificial ‘skin’ changes colour

Engineers have created an incredibly thin, chameleon-like material that can change colour – on demand – by simply applying a minute amount of force.

The material paves the way for an entirely new class of display technologies, colour-shifting camouflage, and sensors that can detect otherwise imperceptible defects in buildings, bridges, and aircraft.

“This is the first time anybody has made a flexible chameleon-like skin that can change colour simply by flexing it,” said Connie J Chang-Hasnain from the University of California at Berkeley.

Google software problem leaks 2,82,867 domain owners’ personal details

A Google software problem has inadvertently leaked the email addresses, names and phone numbers of 2,82,867 Google Apps domain owners who had chosen to keep the information private.

According to PCWorld, the breach involved a database ” whois ” that stores contact information for people who have bought domain names.

Craig Williams, senior technical leader for Cisco’s Talos research group who discovered the issue, said that the data will make it easier for cyber thieves to draft phishing emails to convince victims into clicking on malicious links or divulging information.

Elephants can ‘sniff out’ explosives

A new study has revealed that elephants have the ability to sniff out explosives using their keen sense of smell.

It was first noticed that elephants can detect explosives in Angola, when the creatures returned following a war in 2002, which left the ground littered with mines, the Independent reported.

Researcher Ashadee Kay Miller at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg said that the giant animals were able pick up TNT samples 73 out of the 74 times in a line of buckets.

New global-scale maps of Mercury’s surface chemistry show planet’s history

A new study has provided maps of Mercury’s surface chemistry that illuminate the planet’s history.

MESSENGER Science Team’s maps reveal previously unrecognized geochemical terranes, large regions that have compositions distinct from their surroundings, and the presence of these large terranes has important implications for the history of the planet.

International experts aim to offer lifesaving cure for acute kidney injury by 2025

Medical experts from around the world have stressed on the issue to avoid preventable deaths caused by acute kidney injury (AKI), by coming up with lifesaving treatments by 2025.

The scientists said that such deaths caused by acute kidney injury, which affects around 13 million people every year and contributes to 1.7 million deaths annually, could be treated for as little as 150 dollars per patient and eliminated in just 10 years.

Solar-powered aircraft extends stopover due to bad weather

Solar-powered aircraft ‘Solar Impulse-2’, which has made a stop-over here during its round-the-world trip, is likely to stay here until Tuesday due to bad climatic conditions, officials said here on Friday.

“The aircraft will remain at the city airport until Tuesday due to bad weather conditions,” Sardar Vallabhbhai International Airport director RK Singh said.

The Solar Impulse-2 project team also tweeted that departure of the aircraft has been postponed for two more days later than its scheduled departure on Sunday.

Google ceases sale of Nexus 5 smartphones

American conglomerate Google has ceased the production of smartphone Google Nexus 5.

Upon checking for the 2013 Nexus phone at the Google Store, it flashes a message that “the Nexus 5 is no longer available for purchase”, with a “Not Available button” displaying in the upper right corner. The move follows a report from December that Google had ceased production of the Nexus 5.

Cnet.com quoted one of the Google’s spokesperson as suggesting that potential buyers can get them while they can because “once they are gone, they’re gone.”