Washington, July 11: Scientists have developed a a hyper-realistic Einstein robot which they claim has learned to smile and even make facial expressions through a process of self-guided learning.
A team at California University used machine learning to “empower” their robot to learn to make realistic facial expressions.
Washington, July 11: Astronomers at the Chandra X-ray Observatory have spotted a galaxy collision in action, with one galaxy passing through the core of other galaxies at almost 2 million miles per hour.
The image obtained is of Stephan’s Quintet, a compact group of galaxies discovered about 130 years ago and located about 280 million light years from Earth.
Four of the galaxies in the group are visible in the optical image from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope.
Paris, July 10: Remains of woolly mammoths have been found in southern Spain, proving that the chilly grip of the last Ice Age extended farther south than thought, palaeontologists said on Thursday.
The fossilised remains of at least four mature male mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius) were found in a peat bog near the town of Padul in the Granada Basin, they said.
Carbon-dating estimates the animals lived between 35 000 and 25 700 years ago.
Until now, the southernmost mammoths in western Europe were found in Spain at around 40 degrees north, or roughly the same latitude as Spain.
Seoul, July 10: Cyber attacks slowing US and South Korean websites could enter a new phase on Friday by attacking personal computers and wiping out hard disks, a South Korean government agency and web security firm said.
North Korea was originally a prime suspect for launching the cyber attacks, but the isolated state was not named on a list of five countries where the attacks may have originated, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said.
Washington, July 10: A form of ebola virus has been detected in pigs for the first time, raising concerns it could mutate and threaten humans, scientists report.
Reston ebolavirus has only been seen in monkeys and humans previously and, unlike other types of ebola, it is not known to cause illness in people.
The discovery of REBOV in pigs in the Philippines is reported in Friday’s edition of the journal Science.
Researchers say it is theoretically possible for the virus to mutate in pigs into a form that might sicken people.
Washington, July 10: Not much is known about the universe’s first stars. But, a new study has now claimed that up to half of the ancient beacons may have been born in pairs.
And, according to planetary scientists, born together in clouds of gas, many of these stars might have been smaller than previously thought, which may resolve why so far no proof has been found for exotic physical processes thought to occur in super-heavy stars from the early universe.
Washington, July 10: Search giant Google’s recent announcement that it was would enter the operating system arena with its newly unveiled Chrome operating system (OS) caused quite a buzz in the tech world. That’s not surprising: when Google announces a new product, people generally listen, in large part because of Google’s programming muscle and its reputation for boldly venturing into untested waters.
Sun Valley, July 10: Eric Schmidt spent his first six years as Google’s CEO resisting a push by the company’s co-founders to develop their own operating system for personal computers.
But Schmidt began to change his mind after seeing the early versions of Google’s Web browser. Now he is convinced Google’s plans for an operating system tied to the company’s nine-month-old browser will lead to a simpler, more enjoyable future for computer users.
London, July 10: Britain’s most senior police officer has ordered an inquiry into reports that journalists at England’s News of the World paid private investigators to hack into thousands of phones, including one owned by ex-deputy prime minister John Prescott.
Journalists working for the tabloid newspaper, owned by Rupert Murdoch, are reported to have targeted celebrities, legislators and public figures, including Australian model Elle Macpherson and American actress Gwyneth Paltrow, seeking exclusive stories.
Seoul, July 10: The South Korean government has warned that tens of thousands of personal computers are set to self destruct starting on Friday.
The warning comes after a third consecutive day of cyber attacks against South Korean government and commercial websites, taking many of them offline for hours.
South Korea, July 10: iPod nano first generation recall US computer giant Apple has agreed to recall all first-generation iPod Nano MP3 players sold in South Korea following reports of batteries overheating and exploding.
The recall, the first in the world for the personal music player, came after intense pressure from Seoul after Apple Korea initially only offered to replace defective products, as the company did in Japan where similar cases were reported.
Four cases of iPod Nano batteries overheating or exploding have been reported since December in South Korea.
Idea Cellular to invest Rs.1,000 crore in Tamil Nadu
Chennai, July 09: Telecom major Idea Cellular will invest Rs.1,000 crore ($205 million) over the next three years in Tamil Nadu to expand its network, a top company official said Thursday.
‘The company will invest Rs.1,000 crore to expand its cell sites to 2,400 by 2010 and presence to 1,200 towns in the state. By 2011 the number of cell sites will be 4,000 and the presence will be in 3,300 towns,’ Himanshu Kapania, director (operations) of Idea, told reporters while launching the company’s services here Thursday.
Mumbai, July 09: Intex Technologies, in what can be called good news for people having more than one mobile connection, has introduced two new dual-SIM phones IN 4488 and IN 3080 in India, adding two more products in its dual-SIM phones portfolio.
The IN 4488 model supports all modern features including Bluetooth for data transfer, a VGA camera, FM Radio, audio player and expandable memory with capacity of saving up to 800 contacts through a microSD card. It is available for Rs 4,600/- with Hindi-Numeric keypad.
London, July 09: In a breakthrough that could lead to new treatment for male infertility, scientists in Britain claim to have created human sperm using stem cells in a technique that could revolutionise fertility treatment.
Researchers at the Northeast England Stem Cell Institute, who made the breakthrough using cells from an embryo, said that with some minor changes, the sperm could theoretically fertilise an egg to create a child.
Beijing, July 09: China could launch its first woman into space as early as 2012, state media reported.
Yang Liwei, who in 2003 became China’s first astronaut and is now in charge of new recruits for the space programme, said the search for the first woman in space was under way, the China Daily said.
“I believe Chinese women will soon be seen in space,” said Yang during a webchat, the paper reported.
Sui Guosheng, an officer in charge of recruitment with the Chinese Air Force, said the female “taikonaut,” China’s word for astronauts, was expected to blast off in 2012.
Paris, July 09: Astronomers on Wednesday said they had found the farthest supernova ever detected, a giant star that ripped apart around 11 billion years ago.
A new technique enabled the cosmologists to make the find, which should help advance knowledge into these rare phenomena and their role in generating other stars, they said in a report published by the British journal Nature.
A supernova occurs when a massive star runs out of fuel, collapses in upon itself under the force of its own gravity to become a tiny, ultra-dense object called a neutron star.
Brazil, July 09: Researchers have discovered a new species of monkey, related to the saddleback tamarin, in the remote reaches of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest.
The distinctive long-tailed monkey, which was first spotted in 2007, is related to the saddleback tamarin, a species known for the distinctive markings on its back.
The tiny monkey is only a little over 20 centimeters tall, with a 30-centimeter-long tail and weighs around 213 grams. The monkey is mostly grey and brown with mottling on its back.
Cape Canaveral, Florida, July 09: Countdown clocks resumed ticking at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday in preparation for NASA’s third attempt to launch space shuttle Endeavour on a construction mission to the International Space Station.
Liftoff is scheduled for 7:39 p.m. EDT on Saturday. Two previous launch attempts in June were canceled due to potentially dangerous hydrogen fuel leaks.
Paris, July 09: The European Space Agency (ESA) said it had taken an important first step in a tentative project to build a manned spacecraft that would be launched atop its Ariane 5 rocket.
ESA officials signed a contract in the northern German city of Bremen on Tuesday with space company EADS Astrium to conduct a feasibility study into the idea, it said in a press release.
Europe does not have its own manned spaceflight capability, and instead depends on the US shuttle and Russia’s Soyuz rocket to take its astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).
Washington, July 09: Computer-users need to be more careful — the number of severe injuries associated with computers is on the rise, according to a recent study.
Researchers have found a seven-fold increase in computer-related injuries. These include head injuries due to computer monitor falls, tripping over computer equipment and other physical incidents.
According to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database, over 78,000 cases of acute computer-related injuries were treated in the U.S. emergency departments between 1994 and 2006.
Washington, July 09: It is the technology industry’s equivalent of the irresistible force meeting the immovable object. Google, the web upstart founded 11 years ago, has announced it will go head-to-head with Microsoft with an operating system (OS) – the programs that make a computer work – for machines ranging from handhelds up to desktop computers.
Washington, July 08: In a direct challenge to Microsoft, Google is expected to announce the launch of its own operating system for personal computer, the New York Times reported.
The operating system would be based on Google’s Chrome browser, The New York Times reported.
Google plans to make the announcement on its blog on Wednesday afternoon, the daily said.
The Chrome browser was released by Google last year, which it described as a tool for increasingly powerful Web programs, like Gmail, Google Docs and online applications created by other companies.
London, July 08: Team says cells became elongated and grew tails; other researchers pour cold water on results.
Scientists claim to have created human sperm for the first time, in a breakthrough they say could lead to new treatment for male infertility.
The sperm was grown in a laboratory in Newcastle, England, from embryonic stem cells. Led by Professor Karim Nayernia, researchers developed a method of growing early-stage sperm from human embryonic stem cells by using retinoic acid, a vitamin A derivative.
Sydney, July 08: Scientists have developed salt-tolerant plants using a new type of genetic modification (GM). The results could impact food production and security, since salinity affects agriculture worldwide.
The work has been the outcome of research by the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics and the University of Adelaide and Cambridge University.
Washington, July 07: It must surely rank as the most mundane business launch in history.
Jawed Karim, one of the founders of YouTube, shuffles timidly in front of a video camera while standing in front of a group of elephants at San Diego zoo, with precious little idea of what he was starting.
“The cool thing about these guys,” he says, nervously gesturing behind him, “is that they have really long trunks. And that’s pretty much all there is to say.”