Month: November 2012

World’s largest predators – the blue whales – execute acrobatic 360-degree rolls while feeding on their small crustacean krill prey.

Blue whales are now the only known rorqual whales – the largest group of baleen whales – that can complete a full circle roll. Other whales only go around 90-150 degrees.

Considering that blue whales grow close to 100 feet long and can weigh around 397,000 pounds, the feat is quite an achievement. The massive mammals manage the trick in two steps, the ‘Discovery News’ reported.

The legendary Bigfoot is a human relative that arose some 15,000 years ago, a new five-year DNA study has claimed.

The study conducted by a team of experts in genetics, forensics, imaging and pathology, led by Texan researcher Dr Melba S Ketchum sequenced three complete Bigfoot nuclear genomes and determined the species is a human hybrid, her firm, DNA Diagnostics said in a statement.

Ketchum suggested that Bigfoot or Sasquatch mated with modern human females that resulted in hairy hominin hybrids, but the scientific community is dubious about her claim, LiveScience reported.

Men who drink fizzy drinks are not just ruining their teeth but could also be at risk of aggressive prostate cancer, the Daily Mail reported Tuesday.

A Swedish study has found just one soft drink a day could increase the risk of developing more serious forms of the cancer by 40 percent.

Experts at Lund University also found those who ate a carbohydrate diet heavy in rice and pasta increased their risk of getting milder forms of prostate cancer, which often required no treatment, by 31 percent.

Vitamin D is associated with a 50 per cent reduction in tooth decay, according to new research.

The new review of studies of children in several countries highlighted the potential role for vitamin D in helping to prevent tooth decay or dental caries.
The review, published in the journal Nutrition Reviews, encompassed 24 controlled clinical trials, spanning the 1920s to the 1980s, on approximately 3,000 children in several countries.

These trials showed that vitamin D was associated with an approximately 50 per cent reduction in the incidence of tooth decay.

Virtual Medical Kiosk, which enables patients to consult a wide array of doctors at the touch of a button from wherever they are and whenever they want, was launched here.

The device could be deployed in a variety of places: in a corporate for employees` use, at a retail store, old age homes or even in a gated community, said ehealth Access Pvt Ltd, the company focused on developing a healthcare eco system through advanced telemedicine technology, which launched it.

The IIT Kharagpur has developed a software that will be beneficial in detecting Diabetic Retinopathy, a disease that can lead to loss of eye-sight, in a patient in the early stages.

The disease, whose root cause is diabetes, can be detected as well as categorised by just scanning the retina and taking multiple frames of it, Chandan Chakrabarty of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur said here.

Researchers have developed a new, inexpensive and sensitive method that makes it possible to diagnose malaria from a single drop of blood or saliva.

The method might eventually be used in low-resource areas without the need for specially trained personnel, expensive equipment, clean water or electricity.
With the development of this method, the researchers hope to go one step further in identifying and treating all patients suffering from malaria.

Actor Aamir Khan, who is playing a addie in `Dhoom 3`, feels that changing moral values in society have blurred the line demarcating the good and evil on screen.

After success of `Dhoom` (2004) and `Dhoom 2` (2006), there is already a buzz going around about the third edition of the series. In the upcoming instalment of `Dhoom` factory, Aamir is playing a negative character opposite Katrina Kaif.

Actor Brad Pitt says that the right time has come to marry his fiancee Angelina Jolie.

Pitt, 48 raises six children Maddox, 11, Pax, 8, Zahara, 7, – and three biological children – Shiloh, 6, and four-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne with Jolie.

The actor says now it is not just about the broods forcing them to tie the knot but he also wants it to happen, reports thesun.co.uk.

“I am getting more pressure from my kids, and it is something I want to do within their lifetime, but I also feel like the time has come,” Pitt said.

Actress Isha Sharvani, who had to walk out of season five of ‘Jhalak Dikhla Ja’ after a nasty elbow injury, was all agile on the opening day of season two of India Resort Fashion Week (IRFW), where she danced in designer clothes.

The second edition of the fashion extravaganza started Wednesday, and Isha was her vigorous best, stealing the limelight in a red swimsuit teamed with a long chiffon jacket, as she danced for designer James Ferriera`s show.

Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah has arrived in Lahore to participate in a programme, a media report said Thursday.

Shah along with his family Wednesday arrived in Lahore, reported the News International.

“Why would I come to Pakistan if I had no `Aman ki Asha` (desire for peace)?” Shah told the media outside the Allama Iqbal International Airport.

He said that he would stay in Pakistan for a week and would perform in a programme scheduled to be held in Lahore Dec 1 and 2.

The news report did not elaborate on the type of programme.

IANS

Television actress Shweta Tiwari aka Sweety of ‘Parvarrish – Kuchh Khattee Kuchh Meethi’ will undergo a makeover in the show. Away from the typical salwar-kameez clad look, she will now be seen in western clothes.

The show revolves around parents` efforts to give childlren the right upbringing.

Shweta has so far been shown as a strict mother wearing only Indian attires. But of late, a new entry on the show, Mandira, played by actress Kamya Punjabi, is being seen as a modern-day woman – a lady who leaves Shweta`s onscreen husband Lucky and son Rocky impressed.

People are very much worried on the situation of Hyderabad. One needs to understand critically as what is happening in Hyderabad? Are the prevailing conditions due to spread of communalism, dirty politics, and political games of all the parties or anything else? There is a need also to look back and understand the previous political conditions as well as the sufferings of the common people of Hyderabad especially Muslims.

Investigation into the recent arson and other violence cases in old city has reached an impasse with some of the accused fleeing the State capital to evade arrests.

While nearly 30 criminal cases pertaining to the torching of vehicles and attacks on properties were registered after mobs went berserk near Charminar on November 16, so far police arrested around 30 persons. Barring a few youngsters caught on the spot allegedly while they were indulging in violence, investigators could not arrest others.

VIDEO FOOTAGE

Seven Coptic Christians based in the US were today sentenced to death in absentia by an Egyptian court for their role in producing an anti-Islam film “Innocence of Muslims”, that triggered violent protests across the Muslim world.

The Cairo Criminal Court handed down the death penalty to the seven Egyptian Christians.

They were sentenced for their role in producing the blasphemous movie, which led to widespread violent protests after being released on the Internet in September.

The seven convicts, who reside in the US, were declared fugitives by the court.

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting today announced that he will retire from Test cricket after playing in the third Test against South Africa which begins on Friday.

“A few hours ago I let the team know that this upcoming Test will be my last,” Ponting said at a hastily-called press conference here.

“It’s a decision I thought long and hard about, put in long consideration about the decision, at the end of the day it was about my results and my output in this series so far,” Ponting said.

Three migrant labourers from Assam have been arrested here for their suspected links with ULFA.

According to police, the mobile phone sets seized from them had pictures of key ULFA leaders and visuals of parades conducted by the ultra outfit in parts of Assam.

The arrested were identified as Hemanth Gogoi (22), Dhaniyam Gogoi (53) and Bidyut Chedia (18), all hailing from Assam, police sources said.

They were taken into custody on Wednesday and their arrest recorded late in the evening.

They would be produced before the first class judicial magistrate on Thursday, sources said.

Ekta Kapoor`s popular TV show ‘Pavitra Rishta’ is set to take a six-month leap, with actor Shakti Arora making an entry in it.

The plot previously witnessed a four-year leap, and then a 20-year leap again saw new faces been introduced in the show.

In a new twist, viewers will be transported to Kolkata where Arjun (Rithvik Dhanjani), now an accomplished businessman, is settled with wife Ovi (Shruti Kanwar), who is pregnant. Meanwhile, Purvi (Asha Negi), Arjun`s former love, is in Kolkata too and is also expecting a child.

The leap will set in on the episode to be aired Dec 3.

Social activist Anna Hazare will visit Odisha for three days, beginning Thursday, and attend several programmes in the state, an India Against Corruption (IAC) member said in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.

“He (Anna Hazare) would be given a grand welcome here,” IAC’s national core committee member Akshay Kumar said. He said Hazare would be escorted from the airport to the Odisha capital Bhubaneswar by a motorcycle procession.

Hazare is scheduled to address farmers on Saturday in the coastal town of Jagatsinghpur, about 100 km from Bhubaneswar.

The proportion of working Brazilians with employment contracts increased from 45.3 percent in 2001 to 56 percent last year, a statistics agency said Wednesday.

Even so, Latin America’s largest economy still has 44.2 million informal workers, the IBGE statistics agency said in its Synthesis of Social Indicators report.

The agency said the shift toward formal employment can be attributed to periods of strong economic growth that boosted incomes and job creation.

Informal work is now mainly the preserve of people over 60 and under 24, according to the report

Victims of rape, targeted acid attacks and human trafficking in Goa will be eligible for up to Rs.10 lakh as compensation, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said Thursday.

“The maximum compensation we have earmarked is Rs.10 lakh per person. The scheme also complies with Supreme Court directions in such cases,” Parrikar told IANS, adding that this was perhaps the highest compensation any state offered for victims of such attacks.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who was admitted to a hospital where she underwent an angioplasty procedure on Tuesday, is likely to be released from Fortis Escorts Heart Institute on Thursday, a report said.

The 74-year-old was admitted to Fortis Escorts Heart Institute on Monday night after she complained of tiredness, cold and throat infection.

She underwent an angioplasty at the hospital on Tuesday as blockage was found in one of her arteries, sources said.

In yet another shocker, police in Kerala have arrested a man for allegedly raping his two minor daughters for the past two years. The plight of the two girls, aged 13 and 15, came to light following a complaint by the man’s wife, police said.

The man, a hotel employee, arrested near Kadurthuruthi in Kottayam district on Tuesday, has been charged under sections 376 (rape) and 377 (unnatural offences) of the IPC.

The mother, who had just returned from work, was informed by the crying girls about the assault after which she informed the police.

The Kremlin says Vladimir Putin will visit Turkey next week, a trip that follows an unusual break in the Russian President’s travel that has fuelled speculation about his health.

Putin’s office announced today that the one-day visit to Istanbul Monday will focus on economic issues.

Putin was expected to visit Turkey in October, but he postponed that and several other foreign trips, and spent most of the past two months at his suburban residence, visiting the Kremlin only rarely. The hiatus in travel has triggered a swirl of rumours about Putin’s condition.

There is hope that Parliament may function after all on Thursday after the government dropped ample hints yesterday that it was ready for a debate on FDI in retail under a rule that entails voting, if the presiding officers of both the Houses decide so.

While BJP’s Sushma Swaraj had reiterated her party’s demand for a vote on the matter after a meeting with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath along with Arun Jaitley, the Union minister had stressed that the government wanted Parliament to function.