Technology

US approves first-of-kind device to treat obesity

by

A first-of-its-kind implant to treat obesity that curbs the appetite by electrically stimulating stomach nerves has been approved in the US.

The Maestro Rechargeable System is approved to treat patients aged 18 and older who have not been able to lose
weight with a weight loss programme, and who have a body mass index of 35 to 45 with at least one other obesity-related
condition, such as type 2 diabetes.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the implant for certain obese adults, the first weight loss

Scientist makes ‘mini brain’ in lab to discover cure for Alzheimer’s

by

A new study provided a deeper insight into the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr Rick Livesey and his team at the Gurdon Institute in Cambridge are working with Alzheimer’s Research UK, using state-of-the-art stem cell technology to develop a better understanding of how the disease starts and then progresses, the Daily Express reported.

Dr Livesey makes a “mini brain” that scientists can use to observe the disease for its entire cycle.

Taiwanese man dies after three-day online gaming binge

by

A Taiwan-based man has been found dead in an internet cafe after a spending three days straight on a marathon gaming binge.

The 32-year-old man, known only by his surname Hsieh, was first spotted slumped in his chair in front of a computer by staff and other customers, but they all thought he was sleeping, the Mirror reported.

Later after a worker discovered he was not breathing when he went to check on him, they were stunned and immediately called emergency services to the cafe in Greater Kaohsiung, but the gamer was pronounced dead shortly after he arrived at the hospital.

Facebook teams up with partners from 12-year-old digital design company that worked on Medium, Prismatic

by

Facebook has reportedly teamed up with partners from Teehan+Lax, a 12-year-old digital design company based in Toronto which was founded even before the social media network existed.

The three partners, Geoff Teehan, Jon Lax and David Gillis, from the company announced in a blog post that they would be joining Facebook’s design team in San Francisco and welcomed the move by saying that the challenges that the team will face at Facebook are challenges that interest them, reported The Verge.

Washing machines may soon be history

by

Researchers have recently developed a washing device, named Dolfi, which uses ultrasonic tech to clean clothes.

The device, which might make washing machines a history, promises to turn any sink into a mobile washing machine, the Daily Express reported.

The device is no bigger than a bar of soap and it claims to wash clothes as well as a machine in 30 minutes by zapping them with ultrasound technology.

Real confident of landing de Gea despite Man U’s determination to safeguard Spaniard

by

Despite Manchester United’s determination to keep their star goalkeeper David de Gea with the club, Real Madrid are reportedly confident of landing the Spaniard in a world-record bid.

United have also been reportedly understood to value their coveted keeper at 50 million pounds with the current record fee for a stopper the 33 million pounds paid by Juventus to Parma for Gianluigi Buffon 14 years ago.

De Gea moved to United from Atletico Madrid four years ago for 18 million pounds, which is the British record, the Daily Star reported.

Manicured lawns contribute to global warming by producing greenhouse gases

by

A new study has recently revealed that manicured lawns are major source of greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming.

The study confirmed what some environmentalists have long suspected: that the lawn has a bigger problem than rampaging legionaries, the Independent reported.

But the scientists behind the study believe it would still be possible to create a magnificent expanse of green sward if a number of simple steps are taken to reduce its impact on the planet.

Tesla CEO says satellite internet plan could stretch till Mars costing 10 bln bollars

by

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has talked about his satellite internet plan at a SpaceX event in Seattle saying that his unnamed Space Internet venture could stretch till Mars costing 10 billion dollars.

According to the Verge, the news came at the tail end of a busy week for Musk, with the CEO announcing that a five-mile Hyperloop test track is in development only a day earlier.

Musk said that the satellite internet plan would be a fast and cheap global internet that is not impeded by terrestrial wires.

He said that the speed of light in the vacuum is 40 percent faster as compared to fiber.

Astronomers study galactic ‘hailstorm’ in early universe

by

Astronomers have looked back nearly 13 billion years, when the universe was less than 10 percent its present age, to determine how quasars regulate the formation of stars and build-up of the most massive galaxies.

Quasars are extremely luminous objects powered by super-massive black holes with the mass of a billion suns.

A quasar spits out cold gas at speeds up to 2,000 km per second, and across distances of nearly 2,00,000 light years – much farther than has been observed before, found the authors.

India’s internet governance model to balance public-private interests

by

India’s internet governance model will be consistent with the role private firms play in widening internet’s reach and the pre-eminent role of government in public welfare, telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

In recent times, issues related to privacy, content regulation and barrier to access internet or internet-based services have been in the spotlight.

1 billion posts deleted in year-long Internet cleanup in China

by

Almost one billion pornographic and harmful posts in 2014 have been self-inspected and deleted by Chinese websites in an Internet cleanup operation.

“Authorities also closed down about 2,200 websites and 20 million online forums, blogs and social media accounts that had spread erotic and illegal content,” said Ren Xianliang, deputy head of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC).

During the operation, all domestic gateway websites have well cooperated.

Star with three planets larger than Earth discovered

by

NASA’s Kepler space telescope has discovered a star with three planets only slightly larger than Earth.

The star, EPIC 201367065, is a cool red M-dwarf about half the size and mass of our own Sun.

At a distance of 150 light years, the star ranks among the top 10 nearest stars known to have transiting planets.

NASA scientist receives top astrophysics prize

by

Fiona Harrison, the principal investigator of NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array mission (NuSTAR), has been awarded the top prize in high-energy astrophysics.

The “2015 Rossi Prize” was awarded to Harrison, professor at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena for her “groundbreaking work on supernova remnants, neutron stars and black holes enabled by NuSTAR.”

Harrison’s “assembly and leadership of the extraordinary NuSTAR team has opened a new window on the Universe,” read the citation for the Rossi Prize.

Scientists see potential for ‘another Earth’ among 3 newly discovered exoplanets

by

NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope has recently discovered a star with three planets only slightly larger than Earth that can help study the atmosphere of the earth-size worlds , which may provide proof of potential alien life.

The outermost planet orbits in the “Goldilocks” zone, a region where surface temperatures could be moderate enough for liquid water and perhaps life, to exist.

Scientists see potential for ‘another Earth’ among 3 newly discovered exoplanets

by

NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope has recently discovered a star with three planets only slightly larger than Earth that can help study the atmosphere of the earth-size worlds , which may provide proof of potential alien life.

The outermost planet orbits in the “Goldilocks” zone, a region where surface temperatures could be moderate enough for liquid water and perhaps life, to exist.

Twitter accounts of New York Post, UPI hacked

by

In the latest attack on social media accounts of prominent organizations, Twitter accounts of the New York Post and UPI were reportedly hacked.

According to PC World, at just before 1pm EST, the first in what appear to be a string of false tweets was sent on the UPI account claiming the U.S. Federal Reserve had declared a banking holiday for later in January.

Another set of tweets were posted soon after, claiming that Chinese forces had fired an anti-ship missile at the U.S.S. George Washington, and that the U.S. ship had returned fire, the report said.

Star with three planets larger than Earth discovered

by

NASA’s Kepler space telescope has discovered a star with three planets only slightly larger than Earth.

The star, EPIC 201367065, is a cool red M-dwarf about half the size and mass of our own Sun.

At a distance of 150 light years, the star ranks among the top 10 nearest stars known to have transiting planets.

Now, ‘smart shoe’ devices to power up wearables while you walk

by

A team of German researchers has built shoe-sized devices to harvest power from the act of walking that can be used to power wearable electronic sensors without the need for batteries.

Two separate devices have been developed, a “shock harvester” that generates power when the heel strikes the ground and a “swing harvester” that produces power when the foot is swinging, the BBC reported.

Beagle 2 lander found on Mars after being mysteriously lost for over a decade

by

The UK-led Beagle-2 Mars lander, which hitched a ride on ESA’s Mars Express mission and was lost on Mars since 2003, has been found in images taken by a NASA orbiter at the Red Planet.

Beagle-2 was released from its mother craft on 19 December 2003 and was due to land six days later, but nothing was heard from the lander after its scheduled touchdown, and searches by Mars Express and NASA’s Mars Odyssey mission were fruitless.

Richard Branson wants to build `satellite constellations` that will provide internet access to all

by

After reaffirming his commitment to space tourism following Virgin Galactic’s fatal crash in October, Richard Branson is now pouring money into OneWeb, a satellite-internet company owned by former Google Satellite executive Greg Wyler.

OneWeb, previously called WorldVu, wants to bring internet access to those who do not possess it, including third world countries, rural areas in developed countries like the US, and airlines. The service will be powered by a constellation of 648 satellites, reported The Verge.

Hormones can trick brain into telling body to burn more fat

by

A new research has revealed that the action of two naturally occurring hormones can trick brain into telling body to burn more fat.

Monash University researchers unravelled a molecular mechanism that depends on the combined action of two hormones – leptin, an appetite suppressant generated in fat cells, and insulin, produced in the pancreas in response to rising levels of glucose in the blood.

The research shows that the two hormones act in concert on a group of neurons in the brain to stimulate the burning of body fat via the nervous system.

Facebook and Twitter may help ‘stressed out’ women cope

by

A new study has revealed that women who use a lot of Facebook and Twitter are less stressed out.

Lee Rainie, the research group’s director, said that when they headed into the study, they thought it would prove that bit of conventional wisdom that high social media use leads to higher stress levels overall, but instead, it pushes against it, the Washington Post reported.

Century-old drug may help ‘reverse’ autism symptoms in humans

by

A new study has revealed that a century-old drug corrects genetic autism symptoms in laboratory mice, which might suggest a pathway for treatment in humans.
Researchers at UC San Diego School of Medicine previously reported that a drug used for almost a century to treat trypanosomiasis, or sleeping sickness, reversed environmental autism-like symptoms in mice.

The new study suggests that a genetic form of autism-like symptoms in mice is also corrected with suramin, a drug long used for sleeping sickness, even when treatment was started in young adult mice.

Our mobile phones are teeming with bacteria!

by

A new study has recently provided a deeper insight into how filthy mobile phones are that people use in their daily life.

Students from the University of Surrey revealed just how much bacteria is on the phone and it’s pretty gross, News.com.au reported.

Bacteria use all sorts of things as vectors in order to transmit – insects, water, food, coughs and sneezes, or sexual contact.

Many of the phones showed the biggest and clearest blotch of bacteria growing around where the “home” button was.