Internet nominated for '2010 Nobel Peace Prize'

It's official. The Internet, which has virtually revolutionised the world, has been nominated for the '2010 Nobel Peace Prize'.

The Internet was proposed by the Italian edition of the popular Wired magazine for promoting "dialogue, debate and consensus through communication" as well as democracy, the media reported.

Premier endorsers of Internet for Nobel Peace Prize nomination include 2003 Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi and famous Italian surgeon, known for his contributions to breast cancer treatments, Umberto Veronesi.

Wired Italy has also launched a dedicated campaign, 'Internet for Peace', which will carry on till September 2010, featuring different stories and experiences of those who with the web have tried to do something concrete to promote peace and harmony in the world.

"We have to look at the Internet as a huge community where men and women from all over the world and with very different religious views can communicate and sympathise,

spreading a new culture centred on collaboration and sharing of knowledge that breaks all barriers.

"For this reason, the Internet can be considered the first weapon of mass construction, which we can deploy to destroy hate and conflict and propagate peace and democracy.

"What happened in Iran after the latest election and the role the web played in spreading information that would otherwise have been censored, are only the newest examples of how the Internet can become a weapon of global hope," Riccardo

How DNA Is Copied Onto RNA Revealed Through Three-Dimensional Transcription Film

ScienceDaily (June 19, 2010) — Gene expression takes place in two stages: the transcription of DNA to RNA by an enzyme called RNA polymerase, , followed by the translation of this RNA into proteins, whose behaviour affects the characteristics of each individual.

Transcription: a mechanism controlled in time and space
Transcription involves about fifty regulatory molecules that interact with each other to begin reading the gene at the right place and the right time. The slightest irregularity of one of these molecules disturbs the transcription. An understanding of the initiation and regulation mechanisms is essential in order to understand gene expression. The structural biology researchers at IGBMC are studying molecular structures to gain a better understanding of how they function. Patrick Schultz's team is particularly focusing on the architecture of the molecules involved in transcription and attempting to decode the mechanisms of their interactions.
An 'image-by-image' analysis
An analysis of the transcription complexes by electron cryomicroscopy allows a molecule to be observed in a hydrated state close to its natural state. Each photograph, taken using a microscope, shows thousands of specimens of the same molecule from different angles and at different instants in their reaction cycle. The statistical analysis of these images performed by Patrick Schultz's team revealed different conformations in three dimensions, which correspond to different stages of transcription initiation. 'We performed image-by-image sequencing and made a film of the initial stages of transcription,' says Schultz.
The factor TFIID, the main player in the transcription process
Patrick Schultz's team is interested in a complex protein that acts as an assembly platform in the initiation phase of transcription: the factor TFIID. Through interaction with the activator Rap1, bound upstream from the gene to be transcribed, it is attracted to the DNA and binds onto it. Combined with another factor, TFIIA, it changes conformation and allows the RNA polymerase to initiate transcription. The original aspect of this mechanism is based on the formation of a DNA loop, which allows the RNA polymerase to be positioned exactly at the start of the sequence of the gene to be transcribed.
The structure of the transcription factor TFIID obtained after image analysis is represented in yellow on an electron cryomicroscopy image background, showing the frozen hydrated molecules in dark grey. The transcription activator Rap1 (red) interacts with the factor TFIIA (blue) and contributes to forming a DNA loop (green).
What is electron cryomicroscopy?
The biological molecules in living organisms exist in an aqueous environment, which must be preserved whilst observing the molecules. In order to be 'seen', however, molecules must be placed in an electron microscope, which operates in a vacuum and dehydrates the sample. The solution, developed in the 1980s, is to use refrigeration to keep the specimen hydrated and to examine it by electron cryomicroscopy. A very thin film (approximately 100 nm, or one ten-thousandth of a millimetre thick) of the suspension containing the sample to be analysed must be created in order to be transparent to electrons. (Thin film shown in light blue in Figure A.) This film is cooled very rapidly (at a rate of approximately 10,000°C per second) by plunging it into liquid ethane cooled to -170°C. This freezing speed prevents the formation of ice crystals, and the sample (yellow in Figure A) is trapped in a layer of vitrified water. The cold chain must be maintained throughout the observation period using a cold plate. The molecules (dark grey in Figure B) are hydrated and observed without contrast agent.

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nobel prize

Six Nobel prizes are awarded each year in the areas of:

• Peace
• Chemistry
• Physics
• Medicine
• Literature
• Economics

The prizes are named after Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, who created the prizes in his will. He donated a good portion of his estate to fund the prizes, decided who would judge the winners of each award and also named the five prize categories (economics was added during the 1960s).
The Nobel Prizes are administered by the Nobel Foundation and are awarded in the fall after a rigorous selection process. The list of winners in the different categories (especially physics and chemistry) is like a Hall of Fame. For example, in physics the winners include Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Robert Millikan, Louis-Victor De Broglie, Werner Heisenberg and so on. It's a pretty prestigious list!
Today each prize is valued at over $1,000,000. The reason it is such a "big deal" is because of the size of the award and the fact that the award has been given since 1901-- long enough that everyone has heard about it.

Winners in Medicine:
2009
The prize was awarded jointly to:
ELIZABETH H. BLACKBURN, CAROL W. GREIDER, and JACK W. SZOSTAK for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase.

2008 The prize was divided equally, one half to:
HARALD ZUR HAUSEN for his discovery of human papilloma viruses causing cervical cancer
and the other half jointly to:
FRANCOISE BARRE SINOUSSI, and LUC MONTAGNIER for their discovery of human immunodeficiency virus

2007 The prize was awarded jointly to:
MARIO R. CAPECCHI, SIR MARTIN J. EVANS, and OLIVER SMITHIES for their discoveries of principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells

2006 The prize was awarded jointly to:
ANDREW Z. FIRE, and CRAIG C. MELLO for their discovery of RNA interference - gene silencing by double-stranded RNA

2005 The prize was awarded jointly to:
BARRY J. MARSHALL, and J. ROBIN WARREN for their discovery of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and its role in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease.

Hyderabad Life Sciences BSc/MSc Trainee/Freshers Jobs @ Alcove Technologies

kai asdp pWODY8 P[WDOY OPIFHA FPASDOFHAP POF APFOHASDPOF

Hyderabad Life Sciences BSc/MSc Trainee/Freshers Jobs @ Alcove Technologies

Alcove Technologies
401, Balaji Residency, Hitec-city Main Road
Near Hotel Kasani GR, Madhapur
Hyderabad – 500 081

Alcove Life Sciences provides its offshore project services in Bioinformatics, Drug discovery, Genomics, Pharmacogenomics, Cheminformatics, Molecular biology, Clinical informatics, Biostatistics and other Information technology services to worldwide corporates and research organizations.

Alcove technologies looking to expand its operations, has a few openings for Trainees/freshers.

Intern/Trainee - Biotech

Experience Requirement: < 1 Year To 2 Years

Education:

Graduate Degree

Post Graduate Degree

Further Info on Alcove Hyderabad Life Sciences BSc/MSc Trainee/Freshers Jobs

Nobel Prize

Six Nobel prizes are awarded each year in the areas of:

• Peace
• Chemistry
• Physics
• Medicine
• Literature
• Economics

The prizes are named after Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, who created the prizes in his will. He donated a good portion of his estate to fund the prizes, decided who would judge the winners of each award and also named the five prize categories (economics was added during the 1960s).
The Nobel Prizes are administered by the Nobel Foundation and are awarded in the fall after a rigorous selection process. The list of winners in the different categories (especially physics and chemistry) is like a Hall of Fame. For example, in physics the winners include Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Robert Millikan, Louis-Victor De Broglie, Werner Heisenberg and so on. It's a pretty prestigious list!
Today each prize is valued at over $1,000,000. The reason it is such a "big deal" is because of the size of the award and the fact that the award has been given since 1901-- long enough that everyone has heard about it.

Winners in Medicine:
 2009
The prize was awarded jointly to:
ELIZABETH H. BLACKBURN, CAROL W. GREIDER, and JACK W. SZOSTAK for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase.

2008 The prize was divided equally, one half to:
HARALD ZUR HAUSEN for his discovery of human papilloma viruses causing cervical cancer
and the other half jointly to:
FRANCOISE BARRE SINOUSSI, and LUC MONTAGNIER for their discovery of human immunodeficiency virus

2007 The prize was awarded jointly to:
MARIO R. CAPECCHI, SIR MARTIN J. EVANS, and OLIVER SMITHIES for their discoveries of principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells

2006 The prize was awarded jointly to:
ANDREW Z. FIRE, and CRAIG C. MELLO for their discovery of RNA interference - gene silencing by double-stranded RNA

2005 The prize was awarded jointly to:
BARRY J. MARSHALL, and J. ROBIN WARREN for their discovery of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and its role in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease.

5 Most Cloned Animals

I­f you didn't know any better, you might think that Star, Snuppy, CC and ANDi were just a few unfortunately named animals. You'd only be half right. These creative monikers actually belong to a pig, a dog, a cat and a monkey that were among the first clones of their species.

Animal 1: Cloned Pets

In 2005, scientists in South Korea announced they had produced the first dog clone -- an Afghan hound named Snuppy. Several years earlier, in late 2001, the world's first cloned kitten, CC (short for Copycat), entered the world. Since then, at least 40 dogs and an unknown number of cats have been replicated [source: Keim].
In July 2008, BioArts International auctioned off four dog cloning spots to the highest bidders. The program, aptly titled "Best Friends Again," also offered up one, all-expenses-paid spot for a lucky winner in its Golden Clone Giveaway contest. That spot has since been won by a heroic Sept. 11 rescue dog, dubbed the world's most "clone-worthy" dog [source: BioArts International].

Hund­reds of people ­pay upward of $1,000 a year to preserve tissue from their cat or dog for future cloning [source: Shiels]. Despite the high demand for commercially cloned pets, BioArts states on its Web site that its Best Friends Again program is a limited service that may or may not be continued.
Surely someone will step up to the plate, which is why pets merit a spot on this list. With thousands of potential customers having expressed interest in duplicating their beloved pets, it's only a matter of time before the technology advances enough to support a commercial venture.
Indeed, the Seoul-based company RNL Bio recently opened its doors for business and after the birth of five cloned puppies in August 2008, announced itself as the "first successful commercial canine cloning service." The team has already cloned more than 20 dogs and has plans to clone about 300 per year [source: CNN]. So if you have $150,000 to spare and a beloved pug to duplicate, you may want to take a trip to South Korea.

Animal 2: Cloned Goats and Sheep (It's a Tie)

For most people, it's probably more exciting to imagine clones of Fido running around the house than livestock clones bumbling around the farm. But to scientists and breeders, cloned goats and sheep are simply captivating and hold a lot of promise.
Sheep, for instance, can be genetically engineered to produce drugs that are useful in treating human diseases. One example is Polly, a cloned lamb designed to produce milk containing a protein that's deficient in hemophiliacs. Theoretically, sheep like Polly could be mass-produced to churn out medicinal drugs [source: Pecorino].

Ode to Dolly Dolly captured our hearts and minds with her monumental birth in 1996. It could be said that this endearing sheep kicked off the mass interest in cloning. Dolly lived out her years at the Roslin Institute in Scotland and was the mother of six lambs born the old-fashioned way. Sadly, Dolly was euthanized on Valentine's Day 2003 due to crippling arthritis and lung cancer. She was only 6 years old.

­Fuzzy sheep are yet another benefit of cloning. Breeders have manually tinkered with their herds for years to get extra-woolly critters, and cloning enables them to easily perpetuate the genetics of those individuals that provide them with the most wool, thus creating a more bountiful product.
Likewise, some goats are cloned to produce herds that yield higher quality milk and meat products. Goat cloning got an additional boost by being one of the three species OK'd by the FDA in January 2008 for human consumption. There's no question breeders will take advantage of that decision to maximize the desirable traits of their Billys.

Animal 3: Cloned Pigs

If all pigs were as good at spelling as Wilbur, you might be a li­ttle more stoked about this particular selection. But while pigs can't spell -- it was Charlotte's doing, after all -- they do make some pretty mean bacon. If meat isn't your thing, cloned pigs are also sought after because of the suitability of their organs for human transplantation.
Transferring cells, tissues or organs from one species to another is known as xenotransplantation and is viewed as a potential solution to the shortage of organs and cells for lifesaving transplants. By tweaking the genetic makeup of pigs, a biopharmaceutical company named PPL Therapeutics has fine-tuned the animals' DNA so some of their organs and cells can be used successfully in people. These genetically altered pigs can be cloned to mass-generate things like insulin-producing cells for the treatment of type 1 diabetes and organs like hearts and kidneys [source: PPL Therapeutics, Inc.].
According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which recently conducted a study on the safety of products obtained from cloned animals and their offspring for consumption, there are already at least 500 cloned pigs in existence worldwide [source: EFSA]. And like goats, porcine foodstuffs also got the green light from the FDA, so it's likely that the number of pigs being cloned will increase. As advancements continue to be made with the treatment of human disease and xenotransplantation, pigs should continue to stake out a pretty prominent spot on the list of most cloned animals.

Men ‘like women with small feet’

Men prefer women with small feet — though they might not be aware of it, says a new study.
Jeremy Atkinson, an evolutionary psychologist at the University at Albany, New York, and his colleague Michelle Rowe measured hand length, foot length, thigh length and hip width on 60 white female college students, then adjusted each measurement to account for individual differences in overall height.


For each of 16 body-part measurements, they selected the eight women with the shortest lengths and the eight with the longest, and constructed morphs of their faces.

These morphs were then rated for attractiveness by 77 heterosexual male students, reports New Scientist.

The researchers found that men were three-and-a-half times as likely to pick the short-footed morph as more attractive, and almost 10 times as likely to say it was more feminine.

Similarly, they were more than 11 times as likely to pick the narrow-hipped morph as more attractive, and eight times as likely to choose the long-thighed morph.

Atkinson believes that men find these features attractive because they serve as markers of a healthy childhood. Biologists know that stress and poor nutrition during foetal development and puberty can affect sex hormone levels and cause earlier puberty.

This can leave such women relatively short and stout, while those with a more benign childhood continue growing for longer, and attain a slenderer, more stereotypically feminine face and body, which most men find more attractive.

The research was reported at a meeting of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society in Eugene, Oregon.

World's First Flying Car Cleared for Take Off

Soon, it will be traffic jams in the skies above

Man has always dreamed to take to the air and from time to time, in different stages, this dream was accomplished, first by weather balloons, then by airplanes, then by rockets and now by a flying car. The Terrafugia Transition is a car that can fly, well, not like the one in the movie The Absent Minded Professor , but with wings like a normal airplane.


US Federal Air Authority have given the car-plane a special weight exemption, paving way for the mass production. This is an important thing to note because it is usually difficult to obtain a street-legal car manufacturing license in the US due to higher safety measures, and the Terrafugia Transition seems to have managed to get it.

The Terrafugia Transition will set you back by $195500, while the company is asking for $10,000 deposit up front. Once airborne, the speed of the car-plane powered by 100 hp Rotax 912S engine is expected to be around 115 mph with a payload of around 430 lbs. The first finished vehicle is expected to be delivered in late 2011.

CSIR JRF June '10 Questions

1.(a) How to find out the surface area of leaf without using any instrument?
(b) A person went for a field trip to mountain and took some photographs of an earthworm. After return how would he find the actual length of the earthworm by the help of the photos he has taken?

 

2. Name the substrates and enzymes in C2 cycle in mitochondria and peroxysome.

 

3.(a) What is e value and score with reference to BLAST?
(b) What are the methods to find out protein motifs. What are the various symbols used for representation.

4. What mutation according to ABC model would lead to the following result?
Sepal, Sepal, Sepal, Sepal

 

5. Describe how nitrogen is fixed?

 

6. What do you mean by C sink ? and what role does it play in global warming?

 

7. Write 2 importance of TFIIH and carboxy terminal domain of RNA polymerase.

 

8. Give an account of aluminium toxicity in plants?

 

9. What are DNA vaccines?

 

10. What do you mean by somatic gene therapy?

 

11.How was it known before sequencing that the E.coli DNA is circular?

 

12. How will you prove that the neuron conduction across membrane occurs by chemicals?

 

13. What is the difference between corpus luteum and corpus albicans?

some more:

 

Product of sucrose is?
Describe the structural and functional difference between leucoplast, chromoplast and ----?

Which is strait chain sugar.?

what parameter would you use to find out the relation between two variables?

what do you mean by non parametric statistics? when do you use non parametric statistics. give eg

40 fish were exposed to chem icals A and B. of them, 28 fish moved towards chemical A and rest towards B. set up a test to assess this, and state the null hypothesis. what should be the conclusion? chi square value for df=1 given

Differentiate between correlation and regression. Give an eg where correlation has no regression

Write the logistic growth curve equation for species A and B and modify them when they under prey predator relationship

In wild dogs, which display lek behaviour, what evolutionary force decide the males to engage in hunting and caring for the pups?

what is tetanization? what is rigor mortis?

what are type I and type II diabetes?

Draw the maturation stages of RBC

how is area related to species richness? draw the graph and derive the equation. how is the above significant to island biogeography.

(2 DNA sequences draw, one with excess AT, another with excess GC) which of the above will be more prone to damage by a toxic stress? how does DNA repair such damage?

Concentration of acetylchloine is 100 times greater in synaptic vesicles than in cytosol where it is produced. explain

A blastomere given...certain areas marked...q: which area will develop into which organ? (dont remember the ques properly..sorry)

Explain about the outlines of IgE  degranulation mechanism?
What is use of transgenic animals.
How biosensors work?
What is the fate of protein when its N terminal signal sequence binds to SRP?
Draw the structure of Guanosine monophosphate and show the number of every C and N atom.

Draw the ramachandran plot for D-Ala showing allowed combinations of the conformational angles.

Official Notification: BCIL Biotech Industrial Training Program (BITP) 2010-2011

Department of Biotechnology invites application from students in biotechnology for practical training in biotech companies. Stipend of Rs 8,000/- per month will be paid to selected candidates.
Objective of BITP is to provide inductrial exposure to students to improve job prospects and to help biotech industry to identify prospective manpower. since 1993, Hundreds of Post Graduates have been trained in leading biotech companies and several trainees have been absorbed by the industry.
Eligibility: B.Tech/B.E/M.sc/M.Tech/M.V.Sc in molecular & Human Genetics, Molecular Biology & Biotechnology, Neuro sciences, Biochemical Engineering & Biotechnology, Bioprocess Technology, General/Agricultural/Industrial/Marine/Medical/Pharmaceutical/Environmerntal/Plant/food/Animal Biotechnology, Completed in the year 2009 or 2010 with minimum 60% marks or equivalent grade. Students from DBT Supported teaching programmes will be given preferance. They will have to produce a certificate from their department head/course coordinator at the time of interview if shortlisted.
How to apply?
The application would be accepted online through BCIL website www.bcil.nic.in. A DD of Rs 500/- in favour of "Biotech Consortium India Limited, New Delhi" towards non -refundable application fee along with a hard copy of system generated acknowledgement after successful submission of application form, is to be sent at the address mentioned below:
Please write your application id, name, date of birth and mobile number on the reverse side of demand draft. Hard copies of the acknowledgement of applications and requisitions submitted online may please be sent to:
Mr manoj Gupta
Deputy Manager, Biotech consortium India Limited,
5th Floow, Anuvrat Bhawan,
210, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg,
New Delhi - 110002, Email: bcildelhi@vsnl.com latest by 10th july 2010.
Application does not guarantee training under BITP. Only shortlisted candidastes will be called for interview. Decision of selection committee will be final. Training does not ensure job placement. candidates interested in higher studies and research need not apply. Selected candidates will be required to join anywhere in india. Applications for change of location will not be entertained. No quieries will be entertained.
Apply Online

How do you determine Surface area of leaf without using any instrument?

Here's what you do... take a graph paper.. the 1mm x 1mm graduated. trace the leaf on the graph paper. remove the leaf. then count the whole squares occupied by the leaf. write down the number. count the half 3/4th filled squares and write the number down. count the number of half filled squares and divide the number by two and write it down. leave out 1/4th filled squares. add the numbers you have written down. the number you get is the surface area of one side of leaf. doubling it will give you the surface area of the entire leaf in sq cm

How DNA Is Copied Onto RNA Revealed Through Three-Dimensional Transcription Film

ScienceDaily (June 19, 2010) — Gene expression takes place in two stages: the transcription of DNA to RNA by an enzyme called RNA polymerase, , followed by the translation of this RNA into proteins, whose behaviour affects the characteristics of each individual.

Transcription: a mechanism controlled in time and space
Transcription involves about fifty regulatory molecules that interact with each other to begin reading the gene at the right place and the right time. The slightest irregularity of one of these molecules disturbs the transcription. An understanding of the initiation and regulation mechanisms is essential in order to understand gene expression. The structural biology researchers at IGBMC are studying molecular structures to gain a better understanding of how they function. Patrick Schultz's team is particularly focusing on the architecture of the molecules involved in transcription and attempting to decode the mechanisms of their interactions.
An 'image-by-image' analysis
An analysis of the transcription complexes by electron cryomicroscopy allows a molecule to be observed in a hydrated state close to its natural state. Each photograph, taken using a microscope, shows thousands of specimens of the same molecule from different angles and at different instants in their reaction cycle. The statistical analysis of these images performed by Patrick Schultz's team revealed different conformations in three dimensions, which correspond to different stages of transcription initiation. 'We performed image-by-image sequencing and made a film of the initial stages of transcription,' says Schultz.
The factor TFIID, the main player in the transcription process
Patrick Schultz's team is interested in a complex protein that acts as an assembly platform in the initiation phase of transcription: the factor TFIID. Through interaction with the activator Rap1, bound upstream from the gene to be transcribed, it is attracted to the DNA and binds onto it. Combined with another factor, TFIIA, it changes conformation and allows the RNA polymerase to initiate transcription. The original aspect of this mechanism is based on the formation of a DNA loop, which allows the RNA polymerase to be positioned exactly at the start of the sequence of the gene to be transcribed.
The structure of the transcription factor TFIID obtained after image analysis is represented in yellow on an electron cryomicroscopy image background, showing the frozen hydrated molecules in dark grey. The transcription activator Rap1 (red) interacts with the factor TFIIA (blue) and contributes to forming a DNA loop (green).
What is electron cryomicroscopy?
The biological molecules in living organisms exist in an aqueous environment, which must be preserved whilst observing the molecules. In order to be 'seen', however, molecules must be placed in an electron microscope, which operates in a vacuum and dehydrates the sample. The solution, developed in the 1980s, is to use refrigeration to keep the specimen hydrated and to examine it by electron cryomicroscopy. A very thin film (approximately 100 nm, or one ten-thousandth of a millimetre thick) of the suspension containing the sample to be analysed must be created in order to be transparent to electrons. (Thin film shown in light blue in Figure A.) This film is cooled very rapidly (at a rate of approximately 10,000°C per second) by plunging it into liquid ethane cooled to -170°C. This freezing speed prevents the formation of ice crystals, and the sample (yellow in Figure A) is trapped in a layer of vitrified water. The cold chain must be maintained throughout the observation period using a cold plate. The molecules (dark grey in Figure B) are hydrated and observed without contrast agent.

How to Use Twitter

• 
  
  Twitter is a free social networking and microblogging service. It allows you to send "tweets" which are essentially posts limited to 140 characters. You can receive and send updates to and from Twitter using a short message service (text), RSS, instant message, email or through a third party application. Read on to learn how to use Twitter.
• 
  
  
  

  Twitter Tips

  1. Always read the Terms of Service.
  2. Don't give out private information.
  3. Supervise minors using Twitter.
  4. Updates do not screen out obscenities.
  5. Don't text message unless you know the costs.
     

     Step 1: Join Twitter

  6. You can join Twitter for free by going to their sign-up page.Twitter: Sign-Up Page¹ Once there, you will need to do the following:

  1. Choose a user name.
  2. Choose a password. It needs to be at least 6 characters long.
  3. Insert your email address.
  4. Type in the words for the CAPTCHA device.
  5. Click on the Terms of Service.Twitter: Terms of Service² It will pop-up in a new window or tab. Read it carefully. Then return to the sign-up page.
  6. If you want email updates, click on the box.
  7. Click I accept. Create my account.
  8. 
     

     Find Your Friends on Twitter

     • After you accept, you will be brought to a screen that asks Are your friends on Twitter? This will help you find any friends you might have on Twitter by accessing your Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, AOL or MSN email accounts. Essentially, it looks at your contacts and then matches email addresses. It does not work with any other type of email accounts.

     • You will need to either:

     1. Find Your Friends: Insert your email address and password, and click continue.
     2. Skip This Step: Click on the skip link. This link is not boxed, but appears in blue underneath the continue box.

     • Don't worry. If you skip this part, but want to attempt it later, you can. Once you are finished, you will find yourself at the "find & follow" page of Twitter. You're ready to move onto the next step.
  9. 
     
     
     

     Step 2: What to Do Now

     • Once you've signed up, you will be taken to your personal homepage. You will be presented with three options: "tell us what you're doing," "find some friends" and "turn on your mobile phone."
  10. 
      
      
      

      Option 1: Post Your First Tweet

      • The first thing you will notice is the message What are you doing? above an empty text box.

      1. Type an answer to the prompt in 140 characters or less.
      2. Click on the gray update box.
      3. You've posted your first Tweet!
  11. 
      
      
      

      Option 2: Finding Friends

      • Clicking on the link "find some friends and follow what they're doing" will allow you to either find friends via your email account or invite friends who are not using Twitter yet to join.

      • Inviting Friends to Join Twitter

      1. To invite friends, click on the gray tab that says Invite by Email.
      2. Type in an email address.
         
         • You can enter more than one email address by separating them with a comma.
      3. If you want to see what your friends will be getting, click on the blue text that says What will this look like?
      4. When you are finished, click on send.

      • Find Friends on Twitter
      • So how do you find friends while you're waiting for your other friends to sign up?

      1. At the very top of the page, to the left of the Twitter logo, there is a search box.
      2. Type in a word or phrase and see what pops up.
         
         • For example, if you type in "Mahalo," you'll discover that many of Mahalo verticals have their own Twitter profiles such as Mahalo News, Food, Games, Videos, TV and Entertainment.
      3. Once you've found a friend or someone you'd like to follow, click the gray follow button on the right side of the search result box.
         

         Option 3: Getting Connected

         • Clicking on the text "Turn on your mobile phone to update your friends on the go" will help you set up your mobile phone to send and receive Twitter messages.

         1. Twitter will ask for your phone number and country code.
            
            • If you're in the United States or Canada, add "+1" to your nine digit number.
            • If you live elsewhere, you can find your country code by going to International Dialing Codes.Kropla: International Dialing Codes³
         2. Once you have completed that step, you will need to verify your number by texting a code to 40404 in the US, 21212 in Canada or +44 7624 801423 in all other international locations.

         • NOTE: Twitter does not charge for this service, but you phone carrier might. Standard text messaging rates apply.
         
         

         Step 3: Setting Up Twitter

         • The next thing you will want to do is adjust your settings. Look at the top of the page. You will see a set of words in blue. Click on Settings. From your Settings page, you will be able to change or adjust the following:
         • 
           

           Account

           • Account is the default screen, or the first one you will see after clicking on Settings. On this page you can change your name, username, email address and time zone. You can also add the following information:

           1. More Info URL: A link to your homepage or blog.
           2. One Line Bio: Your life story in 160 letters or less.
           3. Your Location: It's 10 o'clock. Do you know where you are?
           4. Your Language: Currently you can see Twitter in English or Japanese.

           • One of the most important things you can do on the Account screen is "protect your updates." There is a Protect my updates checkbox located at the bottom of a screen. If you click on the box, your profile will no longer be visible on Twitter's public timeline.Twitter: Public Timeline⁴ This means only people that you approve can follow your updates. If you are a minor or concerned with your privacy, check this box.
         • 
           
           
           

           Password

           • This is where you need to go if you want to change your password. Twitter will ask you to enter your new password twice.
         • 
           
           
           

           Devices

           • If you wish to send and receive Twitter updates via your mobile phone, this screen will allow you to enter and verify your cell number.
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           Notices

           • This is where you can change how often you are notified about new posts or followers by text message, instant message or email. You have several options; some are automatically selected for you.

           1. Auto Nudge: This will text message or instant message you if you have not updated your page in twenty-four hours. The default for this is off.
           2. @ Replies: This will show you all, some or no replies in your timeline from other people on Twitter.
              
              • An @ reply (or @reply) is a public Twitter update directed at a certain person. It starts with "@username." For example, to do an @reply toward me, you would type "@darcylogan" along with whatever message you wished to send me.
              • From the Settings page, you have three options which apply to @replies:
                
                1. See all @ replies: See all of the @replies made by people you follow, whether or not you follow the person to whom the reply is directed.
                2. See @ replies of everyone you are following: See @replies from people you follow directed at other people you follow. (Default)
                3. See no @ replies: Never see @replies on your timeline.
           3. New Follower Emails: This box is automatically checked, which means you will be sent emails anytime someone starts "following" you on Twitter. If you don't want to receive emails, make sure the box is not checked.
           4. Direct Text Emails: This box emails you when you receive a direct message. It is automatically checked. If you don't want to receive emails, you need to uncheck it.
           5. Email Newsletter: If you want email updates, this is the box to check. It is not checked by default.
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           Picture

           • This is where you can change your image. The maximum image size is 700k. Hint: Use the WeeMee image you created for your Mahalo Social account!
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           Design

           • This tab allows you to change your page design in Twitter. It allows you to change your background color, background image, text color, name color, link color, sidebar fill color and sidebar border color. All except background image requires you to insert the six digit color value. If you are unfamiliar with these, a basic guide along with the most popular html colors can be found on Wikipedia.Wikipedia: HTML Color Names⁵
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           Step 4: Sending Twitter Messages (Tweets)

           • There are three types of Twitter messages (a.k.a. "Tweets"): updates, @replies and direct messages. This step only covers how to send these messages through Twitter's website. If you are interested in doing this through your mobile phone, see Step 5. For third party applications that allow you to connect to Twitter in other ways, see Step 6.

           • Updates
           • An update is sent through the main status update box, located below the "What are you doing?" prompt on your Twitter profile page.
           • @Replies
           • An @reply is a public Twitter update directed at a certain person. It can be viewed by other Twitter members, even though you did not direct it to them. There are two ways you can send an @reply:

           1. Type in @username and your message.
           2. Click on the reply button on a person's update. The reply button looks like a curved arrow.

           • Direct Messages
           • You can send direct messages to anyone you are following as long as they are following you. These are private messages that will not be viewed by others. There are several ways you can do this.

           1. Using the status update box on your Twitter profile page.
              
              • You need to add "d + username + message."
              • So, if you wanted to say "Hi" via direct message to me, you would type in d darcylogan Hi!
           2. Click the message link on your friend's profile page.
           3. Use the drop down box on your direct message inbox page. You can find this page by clicking on "Direct Messages" on the right sidebar.
           4. By replying to a recent update. This automatically inserts an @reply. Replace the @ with the letter "D" and a space, then type your message.
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Craig Venter creates synthetic life form

On May 20th, J. Craig Venter and his team at J.C Venter Institute announced the creation of a cell controlled by a synthetic genome in a paper published in SCIENCE. As science historian George Dyson points out, "from the point of view of technology, a code generated within a digital computer is now self-replicating as the genome of a line of living cells. From the point of view of biology, a code generated by a living organism has been translated into a digital representation for replication, editing, and transmission to other cells."  This new development is all about operating on a large scale. "Reading the genetic code of a wide range of species," the paper says, "has increased exponentially from these early studies. Our ability to rapidly digitize genomic information has increased by more than eight orders of magnitude over the past 25 years " This is a big scaling up in our technological abilities. Physicist Freeman Dyson, commenting on the paper, notes that "the sequencing and synthesizing DNA give us all the tools we need to create new forms of life". But it remains to be seen how it will serve in practice.  One question is whether or not a DNA sequence alone enough to generate a living creature. One way of reading of the paper suggests this doesn't seem to be the case because of the use of old microplasma cells into which the DNA was inserted -- that this is not about "creating" life" because, the new life requires an existing living recipient cell. If this is the case, what is the chance of producing something de novo? The paper might appear to be about a somewhat banal technological feat. The new techniques build on existing capabilities. What else is being added, what is qualitatively new?  While it is correct to say that the individual cell was not created, a new line of cells (dare one say species?) was generated. This is new life that is self-propagating, i.e. "the cells with only the synthetic genome are self replicating and capable of logarithmic growth

Caste Off Those Blinkers by SAGARIKA GHOSE

India's elite needs to come to terms with caste

The headlines scream almost every day: 'Girl allegedly murdered because of inter-caste romance', 'Couple killed by relatives because of caste honour'. The matrimonials are unabashed: 'Match sought for fair khatri girl," or 'Brahmin boy seeks Brahmin partner.' A Delhi mother whispers that her daughter's choice of husband is not "our kind of person" , but stops short of admitting that the prospective groom is basically not from the same caste. Characters in Bollywood films bear surnames that are drawn from the very narrow social pool of Sharma Mehta and Roy. Indians may be holidaying in Phuket, shopping at Mango and devouring Sex and the City, but one social reality just refuses to go away. And that reality is caste.

Should caste matter to a modern Indian? Of course it shouldn't. Yet whether we like it or not, caste is still a defining category. Excluding a narrow westernized elite band, Indians marry according to caste, socialize within similar castes, education is determined by caste and caste by and large corresponds to class when it comes to backwardness. Twenty years ago when VP Singh implemented the Mandal recommendations reserving 27 per cent government jobs for OBCs, many caste Hindus heard the word OBC for the first time. Today there are similar feelings of dread that the government has decided to include caste in the 2011 census. But its time that the elite and middle class came to terms with caste, debated it openly and exorcised caste demons.

When parliament pushed for a caste census there was near panic about an impending caste war. It was argued that counting OBCs would only add further muscle power to the caste chieftains to once again lobby for that terrible q word: quotas. But will counting OBCs make caste loyalties deeper or will it on the other hand provide, for the first time, hard reliable information on how many OBC castes there are and what their numerical strength is? Confronted by real numbers, it may be more difficult in fact for the quota warriors to argue for reservations. The Constitution makers of '47 aimed to progressively abolish caste discrimination, not abolish caste as an identity. Unless we all understand and study caste, we will never be able to fight it or develop a genuinely anti-caste mindset.

Political scientists Yogendra Yadav and Satish Deshpande say that a colonial caste based census where all castes, including the Hindu "upper castes" are counted and ranked is neither feasible nor desirable. What we need is to count OBCs in the same manner as we count SCs and STs. We need to count Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBCs) in order to get an accurate picture of their actual number. We are thus not counting all castes, but only backward communities. When reservations for OBCs have been provided for at the Union and state levels, surely a census is essential to find out what the actual hard numbers are and whether the quotas are accurate.

So how does caste operate nowadays? There is the robust argument that caste is irrelevant in contemporary India, what matters is quality health and education for all irrespective of caste. Increasingly elections are showing that caste is no longer the sole criteria for voting preferences: voters are voting for bijli sadak pani, padhai and hardworking candidates and not for Gujjars, Reddys and Ezhavas. But while caste may be irrelevant for a minority, it is highly relevant indeed salient for others. When it comes to social and economic progress, certain castes have done better than others and the advantages of English language and a modern education are distributed along caste lines. Generalizations are risky, and rural Brahmins can be impoverished and backward too, yet access to English and to quality education has traditionally been the monopoly of upper castes. Class and caste are still by and large coterminus, and there is every likelihood that an upper class person in India is also "upper caste" and a "lower class" person is also "lower caste". Secure amidst our Krishnamurthys, Sens and Vermas, we never stop to think about how we got so secure in the first place.

The English-speaking elite is overwhelmingly "upper caste", that is comprising of the forward levels of the Hindu varna system. The Bengali 'bhadralok' class, or the genteel class which was supposed to be the only non-caste class in India, is also a caste-based category as the bhadralok are restricted to the upper caste even though they may not be exclusively Brahmin. A Bengali dalit bhadralok is still unheard of. In 1996 when BN Uniyal undertook a survey of national newspapers, he found that among 686 journalists accredited to the government, 454 were upper caste, the remaining 232 did not carry their caste names and in a random sample of 47, not a single one was a dalit. In a survey of matrimonial advertising carried out in 2000, ad agency McCann Erickson noted that caste remains as important in the new century as it was four decades ago. In 2002 Virginius Xaxa found that only 6 of Delhi University's 311 professors are dalits.

Thus a caste census should thus not be seen as simply a political instrument designed to secure quotas. The fight against caste is best fought when we know the enemy. Caste is an immutable, invisible and overwhelming reality in our daily lives. If we continue to act as if caste does not exist, or deny its existence, we would be failing to do battle with one of the most urgent social inequalities of our time.

No More Excuses, Now Anyone Can Convert Your Paper to iPaper

I came across this article as I was browsing some of my favorite blogs, and this immediately caught my attention. This is a site that is perfect for those who do not own a scanner or have convenient access to one.

Scribd now has a program they call Convert Your Paper to Ipaper…

which is a way for you to have all your paper documents scanned and published on the Internet, all at no cost to you..yes..you read that right….Totally FREE! All you need to worry about it getting the documents sent to them, then they take care of the rest.

How Can They Do This For Free?

They are able to offset the expense for scanning by the advertisements that are relevant to your documents.

Can You Have Any Type of Documents Scanned?

Scribd can scan almost any type of written document. They use a highly advanced scanning process which is provided by their partners, giving them the ability to scan about any document in high volumes. If you do have any questions however, they are easy to contact and ready to answer any of your questions.

Who is Scribd?

Scribd is a huge, digital library where you can publish your own original content. The focus of Scribd is to provide a way for those who have tons of documents sitting around their home or office, and to have a place to publish these documents for all to read.

What’s Their Plan?

First and foremost they are looking to save a lot of trees, which I am all for. They are also looking to utilize their space to service those who have some very important documents that were created long before the digital era. There may also be some documents that have been lost, out of print, or printed but now deleted. This provides a new life to documents that can be shared among many re-digitized and accessible to all.

The reason I am all for this and ready to support them is they are providing a great service at no cost to you. You no longer have to take the time scanning paper after paper, or the expense of purchasing a scanner, but just stick your documents in an envelope, send them off in the mail to Scribd, and before you know it, your documents are accessible to you on the Internet, never to be lost or misplaced again, nor taking up all that valuable space in your home or office.
JUST LOGON TO http://www.scribd.com/

What is Moleosophy?

The study of moles is called Moleosophy.The location of a mole, its size, shape and colour can be interpreted as indicators of your character,as well as generalities for the future. Twin moles could have yet another connotation. Moleosophy, when co-related with interpretations of other psychic sciences, substantiates personality and character readings, and provides a complete view of the subject.
"Did you know that a mole on either of your cheeks could classify you as serious, studious and solemn?"

Significance of Twin Moles


When there are twin moles irrespective of their location,the person possesses a dual nature. The presence of two moles, side by side, is indicative of a person being in love with two people.



Significance of shapes in Moles


Round - A round mole signifies the goodness in people.

Oblong - An oblong mole depicts a modest share of acquired wealth.

Angular - An angular mole suggests that the individual has both positive and negative characteristics.


Significance of Moles based on color Light Colored Moles - Those who have light colored moles are considered lucky.

Black Moles - This denotes that a person would have to surmount obstacles in order to achieve the desired results.


What Moles on your body parts means?

Area Description

Arms Moles on arms indicate that the person is polite, diligent and will lead a happy married life.If mole is near the elbow, the man will need to struggle in life, and might also become a young widower. If the woman has the same characteristics, however, her problems relate to her occupation.

Armpits A mole under the left arm is indicative of great struggle early in life, which is, however, well rewarded. Wealth makes later years equally pleasurable. A mole under the right arm shows that one needs to be alert and cautious in matters of security.

Back People like this are unreliable, and with them one must ensure that all facts are available before one enters any sort of negotiation for any enterprise.

Breast(mole on breast) A mole on the right breast is indicative of laziness, which may affect family life. You need to be assertive about your needs to be able to enjoy the love and comfort of the children. A mole on the left breast belongs to active and energetic people, who generally get what they want in life.

Buttocks People who have a mole on buttocks are un-ambitious, and will be reconciled to any mode of living.

Cheek A mole on cheek (either cheek) indicates a serious and studious person who has no interest in material pleasures.

Chin(mole on chin) A mole on either side of the chin is indicative of people who are affectionate and caring. These people adapt easily to any situation. They love travelling and respect the law of the land. They are also dedicated and conscientious workers and willingly accept responsibilities.

Ear People who are born with a mole on ear are generally considered lucky.

Elbow People who have moles on elbow love to travel. They are adventurous and spirited.

Eye If the mole is located on the outer corner of the eye, this indicates that the person is honest, reliable and forthright.

Eyebrow If a mole is located on the right eyebrow, it signifies that these people will have a highly active life and will be successful in all ventures.

Finger People who have a mole on finger turn out to be dishonest and tend to grossly exaggerate.

Foot People with a mole on foot are easy going and laid back. They need to exercise to stay healthy.

Genitals Mole on genitals lead to sexual addiction.

Forehead People who have a mole on forehead will be prosperous and well settled in life.

Hand Those people who have a mole on hand are talented and make a success of their lives.

Heel People who possess a mole on their heel make enemies easily and are prone to losing friends.

Hip A mole on any part of the hip except the buttocks signifies that these people are contented, resilient and spirited.

Knee If you have a mole on right knee, it implies that you are a friendly person. A mole on left knee signifies that these people lead an extravagant lifestyle.

Lips People with a mole on lips always aspire to get ahead in life.

Navel A man who has a mole on navel will be lucky in life and a woman who has the same desires children.

Neck If the mole is on the front of the neck, it signifies unexpected good fortune. If it is on either side of the neck, it indicates an unreasonable temperament. A mole on the back of the neck indicates a person's desire to lead a simple life.

Nipple If a man has a mole on nipple, it indicates a fickle nature. If a woman has a mole on nipple, it indicates that she is striving for social status.

Nose A mole on nose belongs to a person who will be a sincere friend and a hard-working individual.

Shoulder A mole on right shoulder indicates a sensible, industrious individual.

Wrist A mole on wrist indicates that the person is frugal, ingenious and dependable.

Nokia India To Launch Stunning N8 By Diwali 2010

If you have ever thought that Nokia has gone into the shadows equipped with a host of smartphone talents then you are wrong, because Nokia unveils N8, one of the best Super phone in N-Series probably.

This is the first device to be powered by the brand new Symbian 3 platform, the Nokia N8 will launch with a new super breed of camera that promises to capture photos and video beyond your imagination.

The biggest plus in the Nokia N8 is its 12-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics and Xenon flash.

It also features a substantially BIGGER sensor than any ever used in any other Nokia device – even bigger than many found in dedicated cameras.The N8 is also the first Nokia device to support HD Video recording And also allows you to edit them with a smart built-in editing suite on the device.

This super phone also supports Dolby Digital Plus surround sound and users can connect it to their home theatre system.There’s also a HDMI connector allowing you to hook the smartphone to your HD TV and share your media with friends and family with a very high level of clarity.

The Nokia N8 also doubles as a portable entertainment centre, allowing you to watch HD quality video with Dolby Digital Plus surround sound and hook into a dedicated Web TV application for access to news and entertainment on the move.Nokia N8 also exceeds your imagination in the space constraints as it has 16GB of built-in storage and is expandable up to 48GB with a micro SD card.

Joining the social messaging Bandwagon fold with the likes of the latest Eseries and Cseries devices, N8 enters the fray with LIVE Twitter and Facebook updates direct to your homescreen. Comment, read and send messages, update your status and share your location and photos with just a touch.Embracing the likes of location based services, the N8 is very location-savvy and comes with FREE global Ovi Maps walk and drive navigation with support in more than 70 countries worldwide for LIFETIME.

Nokia N8 is carved from a single piece of anodised aluminium and looks glorious decked in one of five eye-catching colours, The N8 will be available in SELECT markets during the third quarter of 2010 and in India by Diwali. It is estimated to be priced at around the EUR 360 (Rs. 22,000) excluding taxes or subsidies in Countries other than India. Also, it would be outright foolishness to expect this phone to be priced below the 25k mark in India, that’s something Nokia has learnt more from its brother companies like Apple .

Nokia N800 Internet Tablet

Remember the Nokia 770 Tablet ? Well, if not heres the successor for it. The Nokia N800 is latest addition from Nokia in the Internet Tablet market. The N800 comes with a VGA camera which can mainly be used as a Webcam. It has a 4.13 inch screen with stereo speakers.


The Nokia N800 comes with Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g and Bluetooth as well. You can't say that the N800 is too much better than the 770 in looks, infact the N800 is much wider than the N770. One thing that the N800 has which the N770 does not is the extra SD card slot. The N770 had a RS-MMC card slot so this is just a minor update.

We still don't know the difference in the processor and RAM specs but if there isn't too much difference in that I don't know why did they bother to bring in the update at all. The downside to both these internet tablets is the lack of GSM/CDMA compatibility. Why can't they just add the mobile feature after doing so much hard work!

The Fruit Fly Drosophila Gets a New Name

The name of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster will change to Sophophora melangaster. The reason is that scientists have by now discovered some 2,000 species of the genus and it is becoming unmanageably large. Unfortunately, the 'type species' (the reference point of the genus), Drosophila funebris is rather unrelated to the D. melanogaster, and ends up in a distant part of the relationship tree. However, geneticists have, according to Google Scholar, more than 300,000 scientific articles describing innumerable aspects of the species, and will have to learn the new name as well as remembering the old. As expected, the name change has created an emotional (and practical) stir all over media. While name changes are frequent in science, as they describe new knowledge about relationships between species, these changes rarely hit economically relevant species, and when they do, people get upset."

Mega benefits from Mega science

India spends over $2.5bn on science and technology by participating and contributing towards the so called Mega Projects on the planet. Additionally we produce 5000 science doctorates per year, a vast resource. This would indeed imply a terra firma for harvesting rich rewards. Reminding ourselves that where there is basic science there is industrial growth and where there is industrial growth there is basic science, let's look deeper.

What is Mega Science and what are Mega Projects

In the early days Mega Science was defined as "big money, big machines" and was used to refer mainly to unique experimental apparatus like particle accelerators, ground or space telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope, and Space Exploration (ESA and ISS). However this definition has evolved since and now applies to complex research where not only very large sums of money, necessitating partnerships between different countries, are a requirement but also large teams of competent researchers, thus needing cross-border co-operations between countries and participating institutes often over long periods of time. Consequently an efficient technical coordination and streamlined resource management becomes mandatory over the project duration. The evolution of cross disciplinary competence is a natural outcome throughout the life of such a Mega Project.

Some examples of such research programs are found in studies of the Human Genome, Oceanographic studies, Weather Forecasting and Biodiversity. International facilities as those for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR), European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), International Thermo Nuclear Experiment Reactor (ITER), and Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) amongst others house Mega Science and Mega Projects. In these large international collaborations India is well represented. Her role in the local Large Hadron Collider experimental program at CERN, showed the entire world that we can participate in giant endeavours spanning the globe and have the technological wherewithal in both hardware and software technologies. Nonetheless no single country can keep its scientific and technological progress at par with international standards without the assistance of other countries.

As Betrand Russel once said: "almost everything that distinguishes the modern world from earlier centuries is attributable to the progress in science". This desire to extend our knowledge and go beyond the present limits is part of our heritage and cultural life. Benefits follow naturally.

A Mega Project provides opportunities and platforms to work together facilitating first hand experiencing of work ethic and scientific and technological developments in other countries. By allowing access to sophisticated research facilities, it permits an interaction between colleagues at all levels thus filling the lacuna of know-how and knowledge resulting in an accelerated pace of development.

Coming to the point of education and outreach, nothing can beat the 'Black Hole' phenomena that suddenly glamorized particle physics all over the world, particularly in India. This is one example where a Mega science project caught the imagination (literally - remember the imaginary end of the world on Sept 10th 2008) and popularized science in the country. Little known CERN Laboratory in Geneva became the buzzword for all of September 2008 and thereafter. Several Institutes, students and teaching staff from remote corners of the country became interested to forge partnerships, sending interns and becoming part of the phenomena. As a very miniscule part of all this I had the proud privilege of hosting 11 Indian students for the very first time this summer at CERN. These students from the field of engineering were working as interns in various technological fields and have created a proud impact both at CERN, and in the country.

We absolutely need to continue and take these partnerships to another dimension namely bringing the large science into each classroom and into the common man's life.

What are commercial benefits from Mega Science projects?

As an incubator for invention and for the development of new products, services, ideas and organizations, cross-disciplinary frontier research results in ambitious initiatives. Did anyone predict the colossal impact the World Wide Web, developed at CERN for sharing scientific data among collaborators? To propose and defend a bold idea is only possible within a framework of likeminded competent people which is provided by a Mega Project.

Some of direct spin offs can be seen for example in medicine: CCD imagers designed for the Hubble Space Telescope now guide breast biopsy procedures reducing surgery costs by 75%. Adaptive optics from advance Telescopes help map the eye retina and are leading to improved surgery and corrective lenses. PET (Positron Emission Tomography) is a very important technique for localizing and studying certain types of cancer by using antimatter. Detectors developed at CERN replace film with digital detectors and digital X-rays allow radiologists to gather high-quality image and expose patient to much lower doses of X-rays. Mammograms are low-dose X-rays for the detection of breast cancer and around 9000 of the 17000 accelerators operating in the world today are used for medicine and therapy. The World Wide Web provides seamless access to information that is stored in many millions of different geographical locations. The Grid is an infrastructure that provides seamless access to computing power and data storage capacity distributed over the globe. The weather Grid system comprises thousands of interlinked computers helping to process complex weather data to improve forecasting. Distributed computing allows remotely located PCs work on small sections of huge amounts of data. Money and human lives can and are being saved using accurate weather forecasting. The list of spin-offs is endless.

In a nutshell, significant returns on financial investments are made in Mega Projects. Financial multipliers in the order of 2.7 for ESA and 3.7 for CERN clearly indicate that money invested in mega science generates two to four fold returns for the investors and industry at large.

International collaborations at CERN for example, have been very successful in technology transfer, where research developments have led to applications in other fields. A pioneering study carried out at CERN into the effect of the experience that technological industrial partners gain through working in the arena of Mega Science revealed variety of outcomes which included technological learning, the development of new products and markets, and impact on the firm's organization. Together, these findings implied ways in which CERN - and by implication other Mega Science Centers and Projects - could further boost technology transfer into spill-over benefits for industrial knowledge and enhance their contribution to industrial R&D and innovation. Important signs of development of new businesses, products and services, and increased internationalization of sales and marketing operations (38% new products and 60% new customers) have resulted after the international exposure and direct contractual relationship.

Urgent progress is needed in combining international networking and critical mass, stimulating reform of national laboratories, in putting together science and research, advanced academic and technical training, engineering and industry, in joining successfully the efforts and investments of national research agencies, laboratories and universities, in closing the gap between students and professionals at the most demanding international level. By giving priority to science, we look forward to celebrating and pushing technical ingenuity well beyond its limits, building a monument of human civilization and to the power of knowledge - called India! After all 'imagination is more important than knowledge' - Einstein!

Internet nominated for '2010 Nobel Peace Prize'

It's official. The Internet, which has virtually revolutionised the world, has been nominated for the '2010 Nobel Peace Prize'.

The Internet was proposed by the Italian edition of the popular Wired magazine for promoting "dialogue, debate and consensus through communication" as well as democracy, the media reported.

Premier endorsers of Internet for Nobel Peace Prize nomination include 2003 Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi and famous Italian surgeon, known for his contributions to breast cancer treatments, Umberto Veronesi.

Wired Italy has also launched a dedicated campaign, 'Internet for Peace', which will carry on till September 2010, featuring different stories and experiences of those who with the web have tried to do something concrete to promote peace and harmony in the world.

"We have to look at the Internet as a huge community where men and women from all over the world and with very different religious views can communicate and sympathise,

spreading a new culture centred on collaboration and sharing of knowledge that breaks all barriers.

"For this reason, the Internet can be considered the first weapon of mass construction, which we can deploy to destroy hate and conflict and propagate peace and democracy.

"What happened in Iran after the latest election and the role the web played in spreading information that would otherwise have been censored, are only the newest examples of how the Internet can become a weapon of global hope," Riccardo

Each Day of a Week Dedicated to a Particular Hindu God

In Hinduism, each day of a week is dedicated to a particular god in the Hindu pantheon. Apart from the special Vratas and Upvaas, many Hindus also fast on a particular day in a week. Each day in a week has a specialty and there are numerous folklores associated with the fasting observed on the days of a week.


Sunday

Sunday is dedicated to Lord Surya (Sun God). Those who undertake fast (upvaas) on the day only take a single meal. Oil and salt is avoided. Red is the color of the day and red flowers are offered to Surya. (more details)

Monday

Monday is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is said that Lord Shiva is easily pleased. Therefore many people observe Upvaas on Monday. Those devotees observing fast only eat food once. People visit Lord Shiva shrines and conduct pujas, especially, Ardhanarishwara puja. The mantra ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ is chanted continuously. Siva devotees also read Shiva Purana. Unmarried women observe the Vrat to get good husbands. Others observe it for a happy and prosperous family life. (more details)

Tuesday

Tuesday is dedicated to Lord Ganesha, Durga, Goddess Kali and Lord Hanuman. Most devotees visit Devi and Hanuman shrines. Those people who fast avoid taking food containing salt at night. (more details)

Wednesday

Wednesday is dedicated to planet Mercury and Lord Vithal, an incarnation of Krishna. Green color leaves, especially Tulsi leaves, are used in Pujas. The day is highly auspicious for starting new ventures and it is believed that those who observe the Vrat are bound to get blessed with fortunes. People also give alms on the day. (more details)

Thursday

Thursday is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and his incarnations. Pujas are conducted using milk, ghee etc. Food is only eaten once and that too containing milk products. People read Srimad Bhagavad Purana on the day. (more details)

Friday

Friday is dedicated to Mother Goddess – Mahalakshmi, Santhosi Ma, Annapuraneshwari and Durga. Sweets are distributed on the day. Those devotees observing the Vrat make it a point to eat at night. (more details)

Saturday

Saturday is dedicated to alleviating the bad influence of Lord Shani. The Vrat on this day is mainly observed by those people who believe in Hindu astrology. Black is the color of the day and people visit Shani shrine or Navagraha shrines. Food is only consumed once on the day. (more details)

It must be noted here that the deity worshipped on a particular day might vary from region to region and community to community. The result of all upvaas or fast depends on the person. It is good, if all the members in the family can undertake a Vrata together.

Miracles do happen by observing a particular Vrata and the greatest miracle is Brahman realization. All rituals and observances are path towards understanding the Supreme Soul and this will automatically alleviate all sufferings.