Technology

Snails bigger danger to humans than combo of lions, sharks and wolves

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Freshwater snails cause the death of about 10,000 people every year, in comparison, the three traditional predators kill just 120 across the globe annually.

The freshwater snails, which live in rivers and lakes, get inside the human stomach to lay their eggs, which causes deadly disease schistosomiasis, Daily Star reported.

The symptoms of the deadly disease can include paralysis of the legs and vomiting blood.

However, the biggest danger is posed by malaria-carrying mosquitoes, which are the cause of 725,000 deaths every year.

Apple remains dominant in Q1 despite ceding tablet market share to Samsung

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Samsung reportedly took over a bit of the tablet market share from Apple in Q1, but the iPad maker remained dominant overall in the said period.

According to PC World, worldwide tablet shipments recorded were 50.4 million units during Q1, increasing by 3.9 percent compared to Q1 of 2013.

Recently, Apple reported a year-over-year quarterly drop in iPad shipments of 16.1 percent compared to Q1 of 2013.

Nearly 16.4 million iPads were reportedly sold in the first quarter of this year.

Meanwhile, Samsung’s sales rose by 32 percent, selling nearly 11.2 million units. (ANI)

Why threading a needle is so difficult

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Scientists have shed light on why threading a needle can be such a challenge, even if you do have good eyesight and a steady hand.

According to Dr Stephanie Goodhew of the Australian National University’s Research School of Psychology, it’s got to do with the message your hands send to your brain, Discovery News reported.

It has been known for some time that there is something special about the space around your hands when it comes to vision, Goodhew, who is lead author of the study, said.

She said that visual stimuli are processed differently when they occur near our hands.

Soon, vaccination to provide immunity against MERS virus

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In a major breakthrough in the field of medicine, scientists have successfully developed a new vaccine that produces immunity against the recently emerged Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

The University of Maryland School of Medicine and Novavax, Inc. recently announced that an investigational vaccine candidate developed by Novavax against MERS-CoV blocked infection in laboratory studies.

Saudi couple living in different countries marry via Skype

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A Saudi man living in the United States married a woman living in Saudi Arabia using video chat application Skype.

Fayez Fawaz Al Nafii, the religious man who officiated the wedding, said he was in the beginning surprised when asked to conduct the marriage between a man in the US and a women in Saudi Arabia.

He said it was the first time in his seven years in service that he was asked to use smart phones to solemnize a marriage .

According to Gulf News, Ayedh Al Naqool, the groom studying in the US, said he was happy everything went well.

Now, fly in a plane powered by garbage

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British Airways has an ambitious plan to convert municipal waste into 120,000 tonnes of jet fuel.

By 2017, they say, the first factory in the world to turn garbage into jet fuel will be up and running. Waste-fuelled transatlantic flights could come soon after.

According to ClimateWire, it’s all part of a plan that will make flying a little more environmentally friendly, Stuff.co.nz reported.

British Airways’ head of environment Jonathan Counsell said that turning trash into biofuel generates twice as much energy as incinerating it for trash.

iBerry to launch smartphone ‘Auxus Nuclea X’

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Technology company iBerry said it will launch a new smartphone named “Auxus Nuclea X” next week that would be sold exclusively through e-commerce portal eBay.

The new phone is priced at Rs.12,990 and the company claimed it is the cheapest in its segment.

“The launch is set on May 5, 2014 and it will be available for booking exclusively on ebay.in,” iBerry said in a statement.

“Auxus Nuclea X would be the cheapest Octa Core ever launched in the Indian market,” it said. “The smartphones would be backed up by over 400+ service centers across India.”

‘Gesture’ keyboard lets you swipe words in air!

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In what could bring about some sweeping changes to the information technology, scientists are now on their way to present “gesture-swipe” keyboards that lets you type messages simply by waving your hands in the air.

Based partly on sensor technology built for the Microsoft Kinect games, the keyboards of the future could let users manipulate data without sitting down and typing in one letter at a time.

These ideas will help doctors use a computer while doing surgery, for example, or just drive a video game race car with an imaginary steering wheel, said researchers.

Potent new anti-HIV proteins found in Australian coral reefs

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Researchers have found a new class of proteins capable of blocking the HIV virus from penetrating T-cells, which has raised hope that the proteins could be adapted for use in gels or sexual lubricants to provide a potent barrier against HIV infection.

Senior investigator Barry O’Keefe said that it’s always thrilling when you find a brand-new protein that nobody else has ever seen before and the fact that this protein appears to block HIV infection makes it truly exciting.

Using luxury items you do not own dampens mood

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What makes you feel more happy: Your affluent buddy allows you to take that box of foreign-brand chocolates home or just lets you taste one when you visit his/her place?

Researchers have just read your mind.

According to a new study, ‘feel good’ factor is higher when you own, not just use, luxury items.

“Just using an affordable luxury item you do not own can, in fact, dampen the feel good factor that normally surrounds such products,” said Liselot Hudders and Mario Pandelaere from Ghent University in Belgium.

HP developing 14-inch Android-powered laptop

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HP is reportedly developing a 14- inch Android powered laptop called the SlateBook 14.

Although the company hasn’t announced the laptop officially as of yet, the SlateBook 14’s dem video appeared on HP”s website along with a video briefing the device”s key features and specs.

According to The Verge, the SlateBook 14 boosts Android”s productivity thanks to its 14-inch 1080p display and full-size keyboard.

The laptop has a built in 2GB of RAM and 16GB of internal storage and includes Beats technology, for a powerful and bass-heavy audio experience.

Nokia developing ‘Superman’ handset with 5MP selfie camera

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Nokia is reportedly developing a handset dubbed the “Superman” with 5-megapixel front-facing camera to woo selfie-takers.

According to CNET, the Superman, if it exists and launches, would match HTC”s recently launched One M8, which also comes with a 5-megapixel front-facing camera to enhance selfie shots.

Sources have revealed that the midrange handset’s features will be a lot different from that of the high-end HTC One M8.

The report added that the handset will come with a 4.7-inch screen.

Nokia developing ‘Superman’ handset with 5MP selfie camera

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Nokia is reportedly developing a handset dubbed the “Superman” with 5-megapixel front-facing camera to woo selfie-takers.

According to CNET, the Superman, if it exists and launches, would match HTC’s recently launched One M8, which also comes with a 5-megapixel front-facing camera to enhance selfie shots.

Sources have revealed that the midrange handset’s features will be a lot different from that of the high-end HTC One M8.

The report added that the handset will come with a 4.7-inch screen.

Nokia was recently acquired by software giant Microsoft for 7.5 billion dollars. (ANI)

New keyboard recognises hand gestures

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A prototype mechanical keyboard that recognises hand gestures performed on or immediately above the keys has been developed.

The Type-Hover-Swipe keyboard, developed by a team at Microsoft Research, features infrared proximity sensors embedded in a printed circuit board.

Each sensor node peeks out from between the regular key caps, tracking the movement of the user’s hands as they touch the keyboard or hover above it.

Scent of male experimenters stress out mice and rats in labs

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In an attempt to find out why some scientists are unable to replicate research findings on rodents, a new study has concluded that it’s all got to do with the gender of the experimenters.

An international team of pain researchers led by scientists at McGill University in Montreal found that the presence of male experimenters produced a stress response in mice and rats equivalent to that caused by restraining the rodents for 15 minutes in a tube or forcing them to swim for three minutes.

Smart phone leaves fingerprints too: Indian-origin scientists

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You leave your fingerprints all over – from computer keyboards or door knobs – but do you know that your smart phone leaves real-time fingerprints that cannot be removed?

Puzzled? Not any more. Three Indian-origin researchers have demonstrated that the accelerometers used in mobile devices possess unique trackable fingerprints.

These fingerprints stem from subtle idiosyncrasies in device manufacturing and are reflected in the unprotected data shared with numerous applications.

Rajeev Suri to head Nokia

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Finnish telecommunications equipment maker Nokia today appointed India-born Rajeev Suri as its President and CEO.

Earlier, the 46-year old was leading Nokia Solutions and Networks, the smaller network equipment unit of Nokia before the company sold its handset business to software giant Microsoft in a USD 7.2 billion deal.

He replaces Stephen Elop, who has returned to Microsoft as the executive vice president of its devices group.

Insulin-producing cells derived from cloned human embryo

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In a pioneering research involving stem cells, researchers in the US have successfully used a cloning technique to make insulin-producing cells with the DNA of a diabetic woman.

A team led by regenerative medicine specialist Dieter Egli at the New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute derived embryonic stem cells from a cloned embryo containing the DNA from a 32-year-old woman with type 1 diabetes.

The researchers also succeeded in differentiating these ES cells into insulin-producing cells – opening a new pathway for treating diabetes by replacing pancreatic cells.

Over 50 online daters more at risk of phishing scams: Study

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A new survey suggests that the largest group searching online for a potential mate are singles who are 50 and older.

However, according to a 2013 PEW Research study, unlike tech-savvy 20- and 30-something online daters, the plus-50s are less aware of the perils that lurk on the web.

One member of that group, who asked that her identity be withheld, is a recently divorced 51-year-old mother of three who told Fox News how she met a man on a popular dating website – but that in a matter of a few days, their online courtship went offline.

Facebook is your new classroom teacher!

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Facebook may not be all that bad for your kids. According to a study, university students who used a Facebook group as part of a large sociology class did better on course assignments and felt a stronger sense of belonging.

“Although some teachers may worry that social media distracts students from legitimate learning, we found that our Facebook group helped transform students from anonymous spectators into a community of active learners,” explained Kevin Dougherty, an associate professor of sociology at Baylor University’s college of arts and sciences.

‘Love hormone’ promotes social behavior among infant rhesus monkeys

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Researchers have suggested that the hormone oxytocin appears to increase social behaviors in newborn rhesus monkeys.

Working with infant rhesus monkeys, the NIH researchers, the University of Parma in Italy, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, found that oxytocin increased two facial gestures associated with social interactions- one used by the monkeys themselves in certain social situations, the other in imitation of their human caregivers.

Younger siblings likelier to follow older sibling’s path of crime

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Researchers have said that if a sibling commits a violent criminal act, the risk that a younger sibling may follow in their footsteps is more likely than the transmission of that behavior to an older sibling.

In the study conducted by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University and Lund University in Sweden, researchers examined a series of national databases from Sweden linking full sibling pairs and criminal conviction.

Extreme wet and dry events ‘increasing risk of drought and flood in central India’

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Researchers have identified significant changes in the patterns of extreme wet and dry events that are increasing the risk of drought and flood in central India, one of the most densely populated regions on Earth.

The discoveries are the result of a new collaboration between climate scientists and statisticians that focused on utilizing statistical methods for analyzing rare geophysical events.

These new approaches reveal that the intensity of extremely wet spells and the number of extremely dry spells during the South Asian monsoon season have both been increasing in recent decades.