NamesakExperT..........................

iPhoneography

2012-02-09T11:12:00.000+05:30

A UK college has become the first in the world to offer a course on taking photographs on an iPhone - because owners don't know how to us the inbuilt camera properly.

The 'iPhoneography' classes were set up by Richard Gray, a photographer for 25 years, who claims the iPhone can be used to create incredible images without the need of expensive equipment.
He argues that the popular Apple gadget can be used to edit photos with apps that cost pennies rather than the thousands of pounds budding snappers can splash out on traditional camera equipment.
iPhoneography: An Introduction to Photography with the iPhone, at Kensington and Chelsea College, London, is designed to turn complete beginners into proficient iPhoneographers by the end of its five-week run.
But Mr Gray says that students who enroll on the course will have to learn photography fundamentals such as composition and lighting before they are let loose on the various photo editing apps available.
The £115 course consists of a weekly three-hour classroom session which starts out with photography basics before progressing onto using apps to edit photos.

Students also need their own iPhone and around £20 to spend on apps.

Mr Gray, 45, said that the course concentrates on teaching students to harness various applications available to edit photos.

He said: 'The focus really is on the iPhone apps, there are thousands and thousands of them that you can get.

'Some are very simple, just applying retro filters, whilst some are more complex and can be used to manually edit photos in the same way you would on a PC.'

Towards the end of the course, Mr Gray said that students will be taught advanced techniques such as making collages, which would previously have required a PC to create.

He said: 'You can use techniques like blending images to produce some really creative images that are a long way removed from photography but start out as photos on the iPhone.'

Mr Gray said that he hoped the course would act as a gateway to students wishing to pursue photography more seriously, by removing the need for expensive photographic equipment.

He said: 'One of the beauties of iPhoneography is that you don't need so much money to get started, which isn't the case with 'big photography'.
'I've done a lot of more traditional photography courses in my time and the first thing they tell you if you're serious about photography is prepare to part company with a lot of money.'

Mr Gray added that iPhone photography apps - such as Instagram and Hipstamatic, which allow users to quickly edit and share photos - have made creative photography more accessible.

He said: 'The apps only cost pennies or a couple of pounds at most to download.

'To buy something like Photoshop can cost hundreds of pounds.'

And although some more traditional photographers have dismissed 'iPhoneography' as a gimmick, Mr Gray insisted that the phone can be used to create impressive images.
He said: 'If any of those sceptics were to look at the iPhoneography communities online they'd see some incredible photographs, people being very creative.

'With the right apps and skills the iPhone can be a powerful creative tool.'

And although he admitted that the iPhone cannot rival the traditional camera in every aspect, Mr Gray said he thinks it has some unique advantages.

He said: 'It's more accessible in terms of cost and more flexible in terms of being able to take photos whenever you want.

'And you can edit them wherever you are - on your way home from work on the bus.'
Mr Gray said that as well as taking and editing photos from their phones, users can also instantly share their creations.

He said: 'The social aspect is massive, there are very vibrant online communities - Instagram has around 15 million users.'

The course, which runs throughout March, has also caught the attention of Apple who have agreed to host a workshop for the course at its flagship store on London's Regent Street.

Obsessive compulsive disorder

2012-02-08T14:49:00.003+05:30

A mother whose obsessive compulsive disorder got so bad she considered committing suicide has now managed to get the condition under control, and helps others to do the same.
Debbie Thomson, who has suffered from OCD since she was a child, revealed how she used to think her family would die if she touched a door handle.
She also washed her hands until they bled, and would fumigate her house every time a visitor dropped in.
After the birth of her daughter, Mina, Debbie's OCD spiralled out of control. The restrictions of her compulsive habits led the new mother to think she was a bad parent and she plunged into depression - even considering suicide.
Debbie said: 'She (Mina) would touch everything. I couldn't control her, when she was about six months old, the depression kicked in and I hit rock bottom.
'I rang my husband and said, "I can't do this anymore", I even asked to be sectioned. I felt I was inflicting my disorder on other people.'
The young mother, who has been on antidepressants three times, immediately started having psychotherapy.

But it was her own will power which really bought Debbie back from the brink. She was determined not to leave her daughter with out a mother.
The 31-year-old from Hull, who works as a part-time NHS health trainer, now has her condition under control - but admits she still has the occasional relapse.
She said: 'It's a very secretive illness, but people don't need to suffer in silence. OCD is still a bit taboo. People don't understand it.
'I was a child when I started to notice I was different. I had a fear of fire and thought my house was going to burn down.
'I'd carry out rituals and couldn't touch door handles because I thought somebody in my family was going to die.
'Sometimes I would wash my face excessively and I would have really dry skin.
'People didn't know how to react. My behaviour was often very bizarre. I always felt isolated.'
Debbie was diagnosed with the illness when she was 16 after her boyfriend at the time gave her a leaflet about OCD. She said she didn't know how to react at first and wasn't fully aware of the condition.
'Now I'm grateful for what he did because it was the first time I'd been pushed to get help,' she said.
'It was then that I was diagnosed with the disorder and started seeing a psychiatric nurse. It did help, but I think I was still in denial.
'She would talk to me about the disorder and I'd try to understand why I had certain obsessions. They were predominately about cleaning, dirt contamination and checking everything.
'I would move a chair loads of times until I felt it was in the right place.
'I thought I had control over whether people lived or died and it wasn't rational, but at the time I couldn't see beyond that.'
Although she says will never fully recover from her disorder, the future now looks bright for Debbie.

She has visited a service group in Hull which offers psychotherapy, and last summer set up a support group so that fellow sufferers can share their fears.
Debbie is also now in her second year at the University of Hull, studying a degree in psychology which further helps her understand the disorder.
Debbie said: 'People think if you have OCD you can't live a normal life.
'My parents didn't understand, it was alien to them. My mum passed away last March and it spurred me on to start a group.
'My dad now knows more about my condition and is really proud of what I'm doing.
'Sometimes I will still go into a cleaning frenzy and I will move things lots of times, but my condition is more under control. My old rituals are still in my mind, I just have to keep myself occupied.
'I'm quite obsessed about my weight and appearance and how people see me, but things are better. I want to continue to learn more about myself and I keep an open mind.
'I take life as it comes and the more I help other people, the more in turn it will help me.'

Internet dating

2012-02-06T19:47:00.000+05:30

Internet dating is now the second most common way of starting a relationship after meeting through friends, research shows.
But don't put too much faith in online 'match-making' services, experts warn, as these have little evidence to back them up.

Digital dating is vital in a society where the methods of forming relationships are grossly inefficient, claim psychologists from the University of Rochester in the U.S.They say that online partner-hunting can be highly successful, providing would-be daters take a realistic approach.

'Online dating is definitely a new and much-needed twist on relationships,' said Harry Reis, one of the report's five authors and a professor in psychology.
'The internet holds great promise for helping adults form healthy and supportive romantic partnerships, and those relationships are one of the best predictors of emotional and physical health.'

But Professor Reis warned that that match-making websites' claims they can find you the perfect mate using 'scientific' quizzes are as yet unproven.
He also said that the habit of assessing hundreds of potential dates can make people increasingly judgemental and picky.
The study, commissioned by the Association for Psychological Science, said the social stigma that initially surrounded internet dating was fast disappearing.
Around 25million unique users logged on to dating sites last April alone, according to one estimate.

Fancy dress funeral

2012-02-03T22:30:00.002+05:30

Bailey Massey died aged just nine months but mum Lindsay and dad Simon decided to have an uplifting service to pay tribute to their cartoon-loving son.Family and friends dressed as Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald and Daisy Duck, Fireman Sam and Bob the Builder and walked alongside the hearse to the church as amazed villagers looked on.
Lindsay, 24, said: "Bailey only had a short life and spent so much time in hospital, but he loved to watch cartoons."His favourite programme was the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He used to rock with laughter when he watched them, they made him so happy."We wanted to do something special and I thought it would be lovely if Bailey was surrounded by his favourite characters on his way to church.
"The church was full and there were a lot of people outside. It was a tribute to our son and everyone played their part. The funeral director said he had never done anything like it before."Bailey's grandad, concrete worker Ian Taylor, 45, wore a Mickey Mouse costume, his great uncles, Michael Duggan, 33, Sean Duggan, 37, went respectively as Bob the Builder and Fireman Sam.
Family friend Jeanette Otterwell, 44 went as Donald Duck and Marie Chamberlain, 43 was Daisy Duck - flanking the hearse.Grandad Ian's nephew Ross Taylor, 23, dressed as Minnie Mouse - followed by dozens of mourners. Ian carried Bailey's wicker coffin into the church and back to the hearse before the tot was buried in the village cemetery.
Bailey's gran Kathryn Taylor, 43, from Bolton-on-Dearne said: "Bailey was a gorgeous baby and a delight. Since he died people have told us they have placed themselves on the donor list and that is the best news we can hear. All our family are on the list as well.
"One of Bailey's donors was in his 60s, age is not of importance in something like this.

"The doctors and nurses were wonderful. But to give babies,children and adults a chance of life people must sign up as donors." A spokesman for funeral directors Frank Hoyland said: "This was an unusual funeral but it was carried out just as the family wished. We were glad to help."
Bailey, from Bolton-on-Dearne, near Rotherham in South Yorkshire, was diagnosed with biliary atresia, which caused his liver ducts to fail when he was seven weeks old. Medics said he needed a transplant to survive.
Dad Simon, 27, a painter and decorator, donated part of his liver for a transplant at Leeds General Infirmary on December 20th but it was unsuccessful.
A second transplant from another donor on Boxing Day failed due to blood complications.
And Bailey died during surgery as a third transplant op was carried out.

I used to be a man

2012-02-03T22:30:00.001+05:30

Crystal Warren, born Christopher Snowden, changed gender in 2005.
The cougar, 42, who revealed her sex addiction to This Morning host Eamonn Holmes, said she told few lovers her secret but added: "They never asked."
Sex addict Crystal last night admitted many of her 1,000-plus lovers will be furious when they learn she used to be a man.
Crystal said: "I'm scared there will be a lot of angry men out there reading this but I have to tell the truth.
"A lot of people will think I've lied to those I've had sex with. But I don't feel I have because I'm a woman and my past is all behind me.
"I don't want any man I've ever been with to doubt his sexuality now because of this. They didn't know they were sleeping with somebody like me.

"I'm now just like any other girl who wants to enjoy my life after many years without the right body.
"Now I've got the body I want to use it all the time."
She added: "I wanted to do a photoshoot with The Sun and look really girlie and sexy so people can see I am a woman and not say I look like a fella."
Crystal shocked viewers of ITV's This Morning show on Tuesday by revealing her voracious appetite for sex.
But from an early age she sensed she was a female trapped in a male body — a condition known as gender dysphoria.
She began secretly trying on her mum's clothes as a teenage boy and progressed to going on dates in drag.

She realised she yearned "to fully become a woman" and in 2002 began having hormone and laser treatment to remove body hair and develop a 38B bust.
After regular counselling sessions, she went ahead with full gender reassignment surgery — offered by the NHS in "serious" cases — seven years ago.
She was issued with a Gender Recognition Certificate after the operation, which allowed her to legally change her birth certificate to reflect her new name and sex.
Former shop worker Crystal, of Brighton, East Sussex, has bedded the bulk of her lovers since she took her decision to become a woman. She admitted she had told only a few she was born male. She said:
"I didn't try to hide anything but I wasn't specifically asked about my past or the fact I wasn't fully a woman for some of that time.

I've slept with lots of men who may have been married or had a girlfriend or been to prison, but they didn't tell me about those aspects of their lives.
I slept with a hell of a lot of men before my operation but once I had the body I'd always wanted my sex drive went crazy.
I was sleeping with up to seven men a day and even now I can't go more than 24 hours without sex.
About three months after my surgery I went to a swingers' party and had sex with ten different men.

And when I was running a snack bar at a golf club just outside Brighton I would lock the cabin door and have sex with customers I got friendly with. Some of the women golfers didn't like me much.
I did sometimes feel bad when I found out some men were in relationships. But I was single and wasn't cheating on anybody."
She added: "I no longer refer to myself as a post-op transsexual because I needed to put that label behind me to move on.
"I haven't come as far as I have to be reminded all the time.

"Having this secret has held me back in the past but now it's out I feel I can take on the world. I think about sex all day." Crystal kept quiet about her male past when she first revealed her sex addiction in another newspaper, which compared her obsession to the theme of new movie Shame.

The story was taken up by This Morning. But as she talked to hosts Eamonn Holmes and Holly Willoughby, viewers gasped when Holmes casually suggested she might as well make a living by charging for sex like a prostitute.

The remark triggered a storm of protest on the internet. And Crystal told The Sun: "I was stunned that he came out with that on live TV." The 6ft brunette went on to describe how her parents must have realised her gender dilemma from the time she was a small boy. She said: "My dad bought me a skirt for my fourth birthday.

"When I was a teenager and my parents went out shopping I would stay at home so I could try on my mum's clothes.

"One day when I was 14 I was at the swimming pool with my mum and feeling very depressed and she just told me, 'Don't worry, I know what's going on. You're not gay — you're just not in the right body'." Crystal left her home town of Bridgwater, Somerset, at 16 and later began working in clubs in Blackpool.
She said: "I first had sex when I was 17 or 18. I didn't feel it was right because I was in a man's body. But I was at the age when you want to experiment sexually and it was the only way I could.
"All the men I had sex with knew I was born male, though, until after my surgery.
"I met most in bars and clubs on the gay scene. I wasn't gay but they were the only places in which I felt comfortable.

"I was sleeping with a different man every night then and having a brilliant time. But I knew I wanted to fully become a woman so when I moved to Brighton a couple of years later, I started the process of gender reassignment." Crystal, who now has regular skin treatments to keep her looking good for the younger men she craves, has had two long-term relationships since her operation. But she puts her preference for casual sex down to witnessing the painful breakdown of her parents' marriage when she was a child.
Gender dysphoria is a condition that can lead to depression, anxiety and even suicide if it is not addressed.
And Crystal said she had spoken out so others finding themselves in a similar situation will take courage and find comfort and encouragement from their nearest and dearest.
She added: "For me, I'm so grateful to my best friend Megan, who has helped me through all this, and my family and friends who have been so supportive."

115 million people at risk of poverty

2012-02-02T23:11:00.000+05:30

In 2009 there were 115 million people at risk of poverty and social exclusion in the lands of the twenty-seven member states (23.1% of the population) – "not counting another 100 or 150 million on the razor's edge" says Nuno. "Two months of unemployment and carrying a mortgage at the same time can sink anyone." In 2007, 85 million Europeans (17% of the population) were below the relative poverty line. The list includes countries like Greece, Spain and Ireland, "but also France, Germany and Austria," Nuno notes.
The examples show how the system breaks down: household debt; the bankruptcies of states that gave out subsidies too freely; and the profusion of casual and uncertain jobs, like the millions lost in the construction sector in Spain.
How is the hardship measured? There are two types of poverty: moderate or relative (60% of the average national income), and severe (40%). "Most of the poor are increasingly found far below this threshold. The poor have become poorer, but it is also true that the soup kitchens are feeding people who never dropped in on them before. The poverty rates have gone up dramatically in children – one of every four Spanish children is in poverty – and quite a lot among immigrants and the young," says sociologist Paul Mari-Klose of the CSIC.
"We are talking about deprivation, of being unable to make it to the end of the month, or eating meat less than twice a week. In Spain, as in Greece, Portugal and Italy, however, it's not so much that poverty has spread into new classes, but that it has become more severe and focused in certain groups. During the economic boom many young people struck out on their own prematurely, and now they're in borderline situations. Iceland has seen a dramatic increase in poverty, especially in children," Mari-Klose adds.

In the Eurostat statistics on poverty and exclusion the crisis is bringing countries like Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain closer to eastern European countries that recently joined the EU and to ever broader layers of the populations of stable states and model welfare states that have come down in the world, as in Iceland, due to the collapse of its banking system.
But the EU average on poverty has a high dispersion around the mean. Bulgaria (46.2%) and Romania (43.1%) are almost double the mean, according to Eurostat. At the other extreme are the Czech Republic (14%), the Netherlands (15.1%) and Sweden (15.9%). Spain is in the middle, at 23.4%. But being in the middle ground is to go unnoticed: for Spain the structural risk (in 2007, about 20%), the lack of social protection, and record unemployment (22.8%) all add up to a less than rosy future.
As social spending cuts amplify the effects of the crisis, the four social groups traditionally more exposed to poverty – children, the elderly, women, and immigrants, i.e., age, gender and ethnicity as factors that intensify poverty – are joined by a host of citizens not so easily labelled.
These are "people with a very precarious job, which makes it hard to make ends meet, and on top of that they have no support; people between 30 and 45, with or without family responsibilities, and getting no subsidies because they have some income. If they want to keep paying the mortgage, they're forced to go back to their parents," says Joan Subirats, of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. "The other sectors are more closely studied. These lower middle classes, however, have not been in the spotlight," he adds.

Blue balls hailstorm

2012-01-31T22:17:00.001+05:30

A baffled homeowner could not believe his eyes when jelly-like blue balls began falling from the sky outside his house.
Steve Hornsby, 61, was forced to run for cover when the freak weather hit his neighbourhood in Bournemouth, Dorset.

He said the sky turned a strange shade of dark yellow and a hailstorm began pelting down on his garden.

A baffled homeowner could not believe his eyes when jelly-like blue balls began falling from the sky outside his house.
It was only after the downpour that he noticed the silicone-like balls on his lawn and went outside for a closer look.

The aircraft engineer scooped up some of the mysterious, slippery globes in a jar and hopes to have them analysed to work out the puzzle.
He believes that about 20 of the marble-sized objects landed in his garden last Thursday. While most were broken, some remained intact.
'I was just about to pop into the garage to get some logs for the fire when the sky went very dark and then a strange yellow colour,' he said.

'There was then a short, sharp hailstorm that lasted for about 20 seconds.

'I rushed to stand by the wall out of the way and it was all over very quickly. I had seen the hail come down and it looked like rock salt.

'Then I spotted something on the lawn and it looked like broken glass - I thought it must be the kids.

'But then I put my foot on it and it disappeared... I thought it was strange. Then I looked around and there were lots of others.
'They were definitely not there before the storm. They are circular and must have broken on impact.
A baffled homeowner could not believe his eyes when jelly-like blue balls began falling from the sky outside his house.
'They were almost impossible to pick up, they were very jelly-like. I had to get a spoon and flick them into a jam jar. They had an exterior shell with a soft inside.'
Mr Hornsby suspects they are some sort of pollution in the atmosphere that blew across from the continent.
A scientist at his local university suggested they may be eggs taken from the sea by a bird, which then dropped them over Steve's house in the hailstorm.
But this is thought to be unlikely as they are transparent and there are no signs of eggs or an embryo inside.

Mr Hornsby, who made the discovery with his equally bewildered wife Carol, added: 'They only landed in our garden in an area of a couple of hundred square-metres. I've checked the neighbours' gardens.
'It is the most peculiar thing I have ever seen - there must be about 20 complete spheres.

'They don't smell and they don't float. I've been an aircraft engineer for many years and I've never seen anything like it.
'I thought it could have been some kind of atmospheric pollution like a chemical that has been released into the atmosphere, got sucked into a storm cloud and solidified and then released in droplets with the hailstones.
'The winds that day were blowing from the east. Ideally I'd like to get them chemically analysed to find out what they consist of.'

He said that the balls did not dissolve in water and he has been keeping them in his fridge while he tries to figure out what they were.
The Met Office said the jelly-like substance was 'not meteorological'.
Josie Pegg, a science research assistant at Bournemouth University, speculated that the strange phenomena might be 'marine invertebrate eggs'.
A baffled homeowner could not believe
She said: 'These have been implicated in previous "strange goo" incidents.
'The transmission of eggs on birds' feet is well documented and I guess if a bird was caught out in a storm this could be the cause.'
Gavin Pretor-Pinney from the Cloud Appreciation Society said: 'The most likely explanation is that these things were sucked up by a water-spout.
'Because there was hail, we know they must have come from a cumulonimbus cloud, which have violent rising and falling currents.

'The air rushing up can cause small tornadoes that can suck up things from the sea or land and they can stay in the cloud for some time until they are dropped.'

Bullet can steer to target ,self-guided bullet

2012-01-31T21:47:00.001+05:30

A bullet that can steer itself has been developed by national security researchers for widespread use by the army.
US military researchers have developed the technology that will see regular army soldiers shooting with the accuracy of snipers.
In fact the four-inch-long, dart-like bullet is so effective that it can hit a target, guided by a laser, two kilometers away.
It works through an optical sensor in the nose of the bullet which detects a laser beam on a target.
The sensor then sends information to guidance and control electronics that uses an algorithm to calculate direction.
The bullet then steers itself, via tiny fins, to the target.
The game-changing ammunition was designed by Sandia – the US government arm which develops science technologies to improve national security.
'This is intended for Private Snuffy, not for a highly trained Special Forces guy,' developer Red Jones told The Register.
‘We’re making it simple for everyone to use.’
The bullet then steers itself, via tiny fins, to the target.
Sandia is now seeking a private company partner to finish testing and produce the bullet:
‘We have a very promising technology to guide small projectiles that could be fully developed inexpensively and rapidly,’ said Jones who hunts in his spare time.
Unlike most bullets which have grooves or rifling to enable them to spin and fly straight, the new design is smooth-bore.
To enable a bullet to turn in flight toward a target and to simplify the design, the spin had to go, Jones said.

Now it flies straight both because it is aerodynamically stable and the tiny fins enable it to fly without spin, just as a dart does, he said.
While engineering issues remain, computer modelling has shown the new design could prove very accurate.

Using a computer simulation, an unguided bullet could miss a target one kilometer away by 9.8 yards whereas the guided bullet was only off by 8 inches.
With regular gunpowder, the bullet can travel up to 2,400 feet per second.
With customised gunpowder, researchers are sure this could be faster.
‘We’re confident in our science base and we’re confident the engineering-technology base is there to solve the problems,' Jones said.

Frost Thames

2012-01-29T22:01:00.000+05:30

The supposed ‘consensus’ on man-made global warming is facing an inconvenient challenge after the release of new temperature data showing the planet has not warmed for the past 15 years.

The figures suggest that we could even be heading for a mini ice age to rival the 70-year temperature drop that saw frost fairs held on the Thames in the 17th Century.
Based on readings from more than 30,000 measuring stations, the data was issued last week without fanfare by the Met Office and the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit. It confirms that the rising trend in world temperatures ended in 1997.

Meanwhile, leading climate scientists yesterday told The Mail on Sunday that, after emitting unusually high levels of energy throughout the 20th Century, the sun is now heading towards a ‘grand minimum’ in its output, threatening cold summers, bitter winters and a shortening of the season available for growing food.

Solar output goes through 11-year cycles, with high numbers of sunspots seen at their peak.

We are now at what should be the peak of what scientists call ‘Cycle 24’ – which is why last week’s solar storm resulted in sightings of the aurora borealis further south than usual. But sunspot numbers are running at less than half those seen during cycle peaks in the 20th Century.

Analysis by experts at NASA and the University of Arizona – derived from magnetic-field measurements 120,000 miles beneath the sun’s surface – suggest that Cycle 25, whose peak is due in 2022, will be a great deal weaker still. According to a paper issued last week by the Met Office, there is a 92 per cent chance that both Cycle 25 and those taking place in the following decades will be as weak as, or weaker than, the ‘Dalton minimum’ of 1790 to 1830. In this period, named after the meteorologist John Dalton, average temperatures in parts of Europe fell by 2C.

However, it is also possible that the new solar energy slump could be as deep as the ‘Maunder minimum’ (after astronomer Edward Maunder), between 1645 and 1715 in the coldest part of the ‘Little Ice Age’ when, as well as the Thames frost fairs, the canals of Holland froze solid.

Yet, in its paper, the Met Office claimed that the consequences now would be negligible – because the impact of the sun on climate is far less than man-made carbon dioxide. Although the sun’s output is likely to decrease until 2100, ‘This would only cause a reduction in global temperatures of 0.08C.’ Peter Stott, one of the authors, said: ‘Our findings suggest a reduction of solar activity to levels not seen in hundreds of years would be insufficient to offset the dominant influence of greenhouse gases.’
These findings are fiercely disputed by other solar experts.

‘World temperatures may end up a lot cooler than now for 50 years or more,’ said Henrik Svensmark, director of the Center for Sun-Climate Research at Denmark’s National Space Institute. ‘It will take a long battle to convince some climate scientists that the sun is important. It may well be that the sun is going to demonstrate this on its own, without the need for their help.’

He pointed out that, in claiming the effect of the solar minimum would be small, the Met Office was relying on the same computer models that are being undermined by the current pause in global-warming.

CO2 levels have continued to rise without interruption and, in 2007, the Met Office claimed that global warming was about to ‘come roaring back’. It said that between 2004 and 2014 there would be an overall increase of 0.3C. In 2009, it predicted that at least three of the years 2009 to 2014 would break the previous temperature record set in 1998.

So far there is no sign of any of this happening. But yesterday a Met Office spokesman insisted its models were still valid.
‘The ten-year projection remains groundbreaking science. The period for the original projection is not over yet,’ he said.
Dr Nicola Scafetta, of Duke University in North Carolina, is the author of several papers that argue the Met Office climate models show there should have been ‘steady warming from 2000 until now’.

‘If temperatures continue to stay flat or start to cool again, the divergence between the models and recorded data will eventually become so great that the whole scientific community will question the current theories,’ he said.

He believes that as the Met Office model attaches much greater significance to CO2 than to the sun, it was bound to conclude that there would not be cooling. ‘The real issue is whether the model itself is accurate,’ Dr Scafetta said. Meanwhile, one of America’s most eminent climate experts, Professor Judith Curry of the Georgia Institute of Technology, said she found the Met Office’s confident prediction of a ‘negligible’ impact difficult to understand.

‘The responsible thing to do would be to accept the fact that the models may have severe shortcomings when it comes to the influence of the sun,’ said Professor Curry. As for the warming pause, she said that many scientists ‘are not surprised’.
She argued it is becoming evident that factors other than CO2 play an important role in rising or falling warmth, such as the 60-year water temperature cycles in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

‘They have insufficiently been appreciated in terms of global climate,’ said Prof Curry. When both oceans were cold in the past, such as from 1940 to 1970, the climate cooled. The Pacific cycle ‘flipped’ back from warm to cold mode in 2008 and the Atlantic is also thought likely to flip in the next few years .

Pal Brekke, senior adviser at the Norwegian Space Centre, said some scientists found the importance of water cycles difficult to accept, because doing so means admitting that the oceans – not CO2 – caused much of the global warming between 1970 and 1997.
The same goes for the impact of the sun – which was highly active for much of the 20th Century.

‘Nature is about to carry out a very interesting experiment,’ he said. ‘Ten or 15 years from now, we will be able to determine much better whether the warming of the late 20th Century really was caused by man-made CO2, or by natural variability.’
Meanwhile, since the end of last year, world temperatures have fallen by more than half a degree, as the cold ‘La Nina’ effect has re-emerged in the South Pacific.

‘We’re now well into the second decade of the pause,’ said Benny Peiser, director of the Global Warming Policy Foundation. ‘If we don’t see convincing evidence of global warming by 2015, it will start to become clear whether the models are bunk. And, if they are, the implications for some scientists could be very serious.’

Genetically-engineered mouse ,GM mouse

2012-01-28T20:52:00.001+05:30

Japanese scientists have produced a genetically-engineered mouse that tweets like a bird, it was revealed today.
A team of researchers at the University of Osaka are breeding genetically modified mice that are prone to miscopying DNA and are more likely to develop mutations.
The 'tweeting' mouse was created as part of the team's 'Evolved Mouse Project. They hope it will shed new light on how languages evolve.
'Mutations are the driving force of evolution. We have cross-bred the genetically modified mice for generations to see what would happen,' lead researcher Arikuni Uchimura said.

'We checked the newly born mice one by one... One day we found a mouse that was singing like a bird,' he told AFP.

He said that the 'singing mouse' was born by chance but that the trait will be passed on to future generations.

'I was surprised because I had been expecting mice that are different in physical shape,' he said by telephone

The project has also produced 'a mouse with short limbs and a tail like a dachshund'.

The laboratory, directed by professor Takeshi Yagi at the Osaka University's Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences in western Japan, now has more than 100 'singing mice' for further research.

The team hopes they will provide clues on how human language evolved, just as researchers in other countries study songbirds such as finches to help them understand the origins of human language.

'Mice are better than birds to study because they are mammals and much closer to humans in their brain structures and other biological aspects,' Uchimura said.

'We are watching how a mouse that emits new sounds would affect ordinary mice in the same group... in other words if it has social connotations,' he said, adding that ordinary mice squeak mainly under stress.

Uchimura said their chirps 'may be some sort of expressions of their emotions or bodily conditions.'

The team has found that ordinary mice that grew up with singing mice emitted fewer ultrasound squeaks than others. This could mean that communication methods can spread in the same group like a dialect.

Uchimura dreams of further 'evolution' of mice through genetic engineering.

'I know it's a long shot and people would say it's 'too absurd'... but I'm doing this with hopes of making a Mickey Mouse some day,' he said.

15-year chicken nuggets

2012-01-28T20:50:00.001+05:30

Ever since she was a toddler, Stacey Irvine has eaten little else but chicken nuggets and the occasional portion of chips.
Now, at the age of 17, she has been warned by doctors to change her appalling diet or die.
The factory worker – who says she has never tasted fresh fruit or vegetables – had to be taken to hospital earlier this week when she collapsed after struggling to breathe.
Doctors found that her 15-year 'chronic chicken nugget addiction' has left her with anaemia and inflamed veins on her tongue.
So deficient was her body in vitamins and nutrients that she had to be injected with them.
Although she has been urged to drastically change her diet, she says she cannot give up the fast food.

Stacey, who is recovering at home on a high-dose course of vitamins, has been hooked on chicken nuggets since her mother let her try them in a McDonald's restaurant at the age of two.
'I loved them so much they were all I would eat,' she said. 'I just couldn't face even trying other foods. Mum gave up giving me anything else years ago.'
The teenager, of Castle Vale, Birmingham, admits she will occasionally vary her food intake – by eating a slice of toast for breakfast or a packet of crisps.
Yet following her admission to hospital, she has conceded that the diet is having a negative impact on her health.
'I am starting to realise this is really bad for me,' she said. 'My main meal is always chicken nuggets every day.
'McDonald's chicken nuggets are my favourite. I share 20 with my boyfriend with chips.

'But I also like KFC and supermarket brands.'
A less serious consequence of her craving is that she is struggling to store all the free toys that come with the fast food meals, she added – they fill four bin bags.
Stacey's mother, Evonne, is exasperated by her daughter's refusal to eat a healthy and varied diet and wants her to see a specialist.
'She's been told in no uncertain terms that she will die if she carries on like this,' the 39-year-old explained.
'But Stacey says she can't eat anything else. It breaks my heart to see her eating those damned nuggets.
'I am at my wit's end. I'm praying she can be helped before it's too late.'
The beauty therapist – who says her two other children Leo, five, and Ava, three, both eat healthily – has even tried depriving Stacey of food in a bid to get her to eat something other than nuggets.

Why This Kolaveri Di - meaning

2012-01-26T00:03:00.003+05:30

Lets talk about - "Why This Kolaveri Di" meaning (Why This Murderous Rage, Girl?)

It is a Indian song from the soundtrack of the upcoming Tamil language film 3, which is due to be released in 2012. Written and sung by actor Dhanush, the song was composed by music director Anirudh Ravichander.
A downtempo dance gaana-ballad song, "Why This Kolaveri Di" has been described as "genre bending" by critics, built around an ancient South Indian folk rhythm. Its instrumentation consists of nadaswaram, shehnai, saxophone, urumee and thavil drums, acoustic guitar and keyboards mixed with electronic synths and scratches.

The vocals utilize the singing style of Tamil folk culture. Lyrically, the song revolves around the film's main protagonist being dumped by his girlfriend; the song is sung by the character in a drunken state, with many of the lines nonsensical.

The song was officially released on 16 November 2011, and it instantly became viral on social networking sites for its quirky "Tanglish" lyrics. Soon, the song became the most searched YouTube video in India and an internet phenomenon across Asia. Within a few weeks, YouTube honoured the video with a Recently Most Popular Gold Medal Award for receiving a large number of hits in a short time.

According to 21-year-old composer Anirudh Ravichander, director Aishwarya Rajinikanth Dhanush (actor Dhanush's wife & daughter of actor Rajinikanth ) wanted a "light-hearted" song about failed love. Ravichander quickly composed the tune in just about 5 minutes.

Dhanush then began work on the lyrics, which he completed in about 20 minutes of playful singing and writing. The first line he sung was, "Why This Kolaveri?" which means "Why do you have this murderous rage against me?" The question, however, is not intended seriously.In an party to The Times of India, Dhanush said "When I was writing down the lyrics, I kept in mind all the English words that are used in the Tamil vocabulary. Words like I, you, me, how, why, cow.. I just framed them into sentences and thats how I came up with the song."Dhanush sang the song in broken English, as a Tamil person might if his knowledge of English was limited. The song is also called a 'Soup' song, where 'Soup' is a colloquial Tamil word which refers to young men experiencing failure in their romantic relationships.

The song was recorded at A. R. Rahman's AM Studios in Chennai. After an early version of the song was leaked to the internet, is creators noticed its popularity and decided to go for an official release.

online hit-

Upon release, the hashtag #kolaveri topped the Indian trends in Twitter on the evening of 21 November 2011. Within a week of the official release of the video, it received more than 1.3 million views on YouTube, more than 1 million shares on Facebook, while trending in India on Twitter the whole time. The song is also a hit among non-Tamils, apparently due to the Tanglish lyrics.By 30 November 2011 it had more than 10,500,000 YouTube views.By the start of 2012, it had crossed 30 million Youtube views.

The song became the top downloaded song on mobile with 2,10,000 downloads within the first 18 days of release.On 24 November 2011, this song became the first Tamil film song to premier on MTV India.The song had achieved 38 million hits on YouTube as of 21 January 2012.The song and versions of it account for almost 40 million of YouTube's total views.

Imitations and parodies of this song have been created, including versions in different Indian languages, a female version, and versions about current events at that time, such as the Sharad Pawar slapping incident.Its rapid spread to nightclubs and discos in Tokyo, Japan were reported soon after release, and a viral video of Japanese women dancing to it spread soon afterwards.Police officers in India used versions of the song and its title to combat road rage and encourage bike riders to wear helmets.

The song became the top downloaded song on mobile with 2,10,000 downloads within the first 18 days of release.On 24 November 2011, this song became the first Tamil film song to premier on MTV India.The song had achieved 38 million hits on YouTube as of 21 January 2012.The song and versions of it account for almost 40 million of Y

The popularity of the song was also reported by international media like BBC and Time magazine, who attributed its major crossover world appeal to its universal theme, catchy tune and unique lyrics.Top business schools like Indian Institutes of Management conducted studies to figure out the popularity of this song. The song has inspired flashmobs in Chennai, Mumbai and Auckland, New Zealand.

The song was performed live by Dhanush in his first-ever live performance at the BIG Star Entertainment Awards 2011.Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invited Dhanush, for the dinner party along with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, in his New Delhi residence, India.The political parties Bharatiya Janata Party and Indian National Congress plan to use variants of the song in their campaigns for 2012 assembly elections.The song was named the Best Song of 2011 by CNN.

Yo boys, I am singing song… Soup song, flop song. Why this killer rage, killer rage, killer rage, girl? Why this killer rage, killer rage, killer rage, girl? Rhythm correct. Why this killer rage, killer rage, killer rage, girl? Why this killer rage, killer rage, killer rage, girl? Maintain please.
Read more at: http://aahsome.com/blog/why-this-kolaveri-lyrics-english-translation/

Birds avoid hitting trees

2012-01-25T22:29:00.002+05:30

Birds don't have to bother about overcrowded roads, but they do stick to a speed limit to avoid hitting trees or other objects.

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) believe their findings could help the military fly unmanned drones as fast as possible without crashing.

They looked at birds such as the daredevil northern goshawk and developed mathematical models based on the way the animals travel through the air.

MIT professor and study author Emilio Frazzoli said: "If birds flew at speeds purely based on what they can immediately see, they wouldn't go very fast."

Instead, he explained, they roughly calculate the density of the environment they are flying through and set themselves a top speed based on the likelihood of finding a gap between the trees or buildings, the Daily Mail reports.

Above that top speed, he went on, they are "sure to crash". But if they stay below it, they could theoretically remain in flight forever.

Frazzoli, who is currently testing his theory on pigeons, added: "There is no magic number for the critical speed. In fact, the critical speed depends on some parameters describing tree density and size, and the bird's manoeuvrability and size.

"In other words, if the forest is too dense, the trees are too thick, the bird is too large or flying too fast, it will eventually collide with a tree," he added.

He said that mathematical calculations drawn from the way birds fly could eventually be used by scientists to increase the speed unmanned drones can safely fly at.

Sanskrit accelerates a child's reading

2012-01-25T22:12:00.000+05:30

A school in New Zealand has a 'Sanskrit Language Studies' program and claims that learning Sanskrit accelerates a child's reading ability.
Ficino School in Mt Eden area of Auckland (New Zealand), calls itself a 'values-based academic institution' and offers education for girls and boys from year one to eight. It says about Sanskrit: "It has a wonderful system of sound and grammar, which gives the child an excellent base for the study of any language.

Children love its order and beauty." Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed has applauded Ficino School for fostering universal virtues and encouraging Sanskrit studies and adds that Sanskrit has a close relationship with other classical languages like Latin, Greek, French, German, etc.

According to Peter Crompton, principal of this school founded in 1997, where curriculum includes "food for the mind, food for the spirit, food for the body", "Sanskrit with its almost perfect grammatical system...provides children with a roadmap for understanding English." Sanskrit not only gives young learners a clear understanding of the structure of language, it also heightens their awareness of the process of speech, creating a greater understanding of and ability to, enunciate words clearly, Crompton adds.

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, pointed out that Sanskrit should be restored to its rightful place. It needed to be brought to the mainstream and hidden scientific truths in ancient Sanskrit literature should be brought to light, he said. Rajan Zed strongly criticized India Government for not doing enough for Sanskrit language. He asked India Government to do much more for the development, propagation, encouragement and promotion of Sanskrit in India and the world, which was essential for the development of India and preservation of its cultural heritage.
http://namesake-expert.blogspot.com/2010/10/sanskrit-is-oldest-language-in-world.html
Sanskrit also provided the theoretical foundation of ancient sciences. Besides Hindu scriptures, a vast amount of Buddhist and Jain scriptures were also written in Sanskrit, which is known as "the language of the gods". According to tradition, self-born God created Sanskrit, which is everlasting and divine. The oldest scripture of mankind still in common use, Rig-Veda, was written in Sanskrit, Zed added. Mahatma Gandhi said, "Without the study of Sanskrit, one cannot become a true learned man." German philologist Max Muller added, "Sanskrit is the greatest language of the world."

Hindu temple in Tracy

2012-01-25T20:39:00.001+05:30

A 10,000 square feet strip-mall is reportedly being converted to a Hindu temple in Tracy, California.

According to reports, construction is under way and the Hindu temple will take over the entire Tracy Plaza Retail Center, which has a parking lot about 30,500 square feet. It was developed in 2009 but has been reportedly vacant since then.

Meanwhile, distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, applauded efforts of temple management and area community for realizing this temple complex.

Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, further said that it was important to pass on Hindu spirituality, concepts and traditions to coming generations amidst so many distractions in the consumerist society and hoped that this new temple would help in this direction. Zed stressed that instead of running after materialism; we should focus on inner search and realization of Self and work towards achieving moksh (liberation), which was the goal of Hinduism.

Tagline of Tracy in San Joaquin County, incorporated in 1910, is "Think Inside the Triangle" and its "Purpose and Vision" is to "become the most prosperous community in California". Prominent people associated with Tracy include rapper MC Hammer, football players Nick Eddy and Keena Turner, and actor Rod Lauren; while Brent H. Ives and Leon Churchill are Mayor and Manager respectively.

Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents.

what do you feel

2012-01-25T00:40:00.002+05:30

Bitches still remains!

2012-01-24T21:40:00.001+05:30

Bitches are most wanted and the reason why Men visit whores still remains an unanswered question, but many of us know why we men visit these Women who are into prostitution. Is it really that men wanted to have intercourse with another woman or do men want to fulfill their unfulfilled pleasures and desires., Prostitution isn't a sin when taking in a psychological dimension, cause all she needs is money and not physical pleasure.

If it is considered to be the sins of the flesh, then let them be washed with the money they are payed for sleeping. A prostitute takes money and gives pleasure for the only sake that she is predefined by her own circumstances & environment., A prostitute is defined by her virtues. Even though she is a slut, she follows her own virtues unlike any other women, who indulge in extra marital affairs.

Taking this to the extremes, nothing is a sin, as there is nothing called sin., Why do men visit them ?, Let me put forth the answer to the question. The answer will be simple and plain. She can do everything for money whereas a wife is not Ready give us all the pleasure we wanted.

Communication is one of the main thing when it comes to marital life, if it lacks, then for sure you will end up in trouble, which as a consequence, you will be going to the prostitutes., She will not disturb you, Will not call you often, Will not expect anything, Ready for anything, Will not go mad if you do not call or text, Why are Women not ready to give what men want? May be due to personal likes and dislikes, but on what basis are their likes & dislikes based on? . Point blank, they are being influenced by the external circumstances like school, college, friends, men and women which they confront. No can determine what they should do.

The best way for a woman to understand the essence of Sex depends on the parents, who should provide them with good sex education. Only sex education will not help a woman overcome the practical difficulties about her likes and dislikes in sex., The same applies for men.

Men should be well educated in Sex. The base tag line is that Communicate, Communicate, Communicate with the partner and do not force her for dislikes in sex. Understand the core of it. Even if she is not able to provide you what you need or cannot full fill your pleasures and desires, never go to concubine. Make your partner understand instead wasting your money on a prostitute.

Ford Mustang in paper

2012-01-18T20:59:00.001+05:30

Jonathan Brand sold his Ford Mustang to buy an engagement ring - so he printed off a life-size model of the classic American muscle car using sheets of paper from a large format printer, painstakingly glueing together everything from the wheels to the dashboard to the engine.

Amazingly, he didn't use the original car blueprints for the assembly - instead, he created the model based on his memories and pictures of old Ford Mustangs.
Brand creates a 3D model on his PC, then prints off 'jigsaw pieces' to create the 3D parts, gluing sheets together to create everything from tyres to dashboard components.
The sheets were printed on a large-format paper printer, then glued together. Nothing else was used in the construction.

'I cut, fold and glue shapes together much like a complicated three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle,' says Brand, on the technology site Humans Invent.
The finished artwork is called One Piece at a Time – a nod to Johnny Cash's song about a Detroit worker who steals and builds a Cadillac part by part.
Humans Invent says, 'Given the large amount of printed paper involved, and the cost of ink cartridges, however, we're wondering whether Brand could have actually bought his original Ford Mustang back again?'

Automated phone recycler

2012-01-16T09:27:00.000+05:30

The EcoATM machine is a fully automated phone recycler that lets users drop off old mobiles - then pays for them in cash.

It's a cupboard-sized machine with a big touch screen and metal tray where you can place your old phone or MP3 player.

EcoATM already has some machines in California, but is rolling out across the U.S. shortly.
The first machine accepts mobile phones and MP3 players - a new version will also accept Galaxy Tab devices, iPads, Kindles and Nooks.
You put a gadget in its tray, then it identifies it using a camera, matching it up against a database of 4,000 different gadgets.
It then offers you a cable to plug in your device, and checks if it's still in working order electronically - EcoATM promises it will not steal data from the devices.
Once its analysis is complete, it gives you a quote on the spot, based on what a network of hundreds of electronics-recycling companies are willing to pay for it.
If you accept, it spits out cash.

The company, based in San Diego, says, 'The kiosk solves the emerging problem of e-waste across the globe.''The company utilizes patented electronic diagnostics, machine vision and artificial intelligence to assess and purchase used MP3 players and mobile phones directly from consumers.'

he company believes that used electronics can be restored and utilized by consumers. In fact, around 75% of the used devices can be reused again.

Exercising increase your salary

2012-01-15T12:34:00.002+05:30

For those who are already flagging with their New Year's resolutions, it could be the perfect way to get motivated.

Exercising not only trims the waistline but will substantially increase your salary, according to scientists.
Going for a jog, swimming or lifting weights in the gym three times a week could boost your income by up to nine per cent.

Even taking moderate exercise such as a regular walk has a positive effect on earnings, a study has found.
Employers may view those participating in regular activity as more determined and dedicated.

Fit staff were also more likely to work harder because of the psychological – as well as physical – benefits of keeping fit.
The study examined two questionnaires in the US involving more than 12,000 people.

Details about salaries and the extent to which people exercised were analysed.
The researchers found that people exercising three times a week could expect a salary between six and nine per cent greater than those who do not.

For those exercising between one and three times a month, the benefit was still an additional five per cent.
The report, by Dr Vasilios Kosteas from Cleveland State University in Ohio, said: 'In addition to the positive impacts on heart health, weight and other medical issues, studies show that exercise leads to improved mental function, psychological condition and higher energy levels.
'All three of these traits can translate into higher earnings.'

Supersoldier ants

2012-01-14T16:35:00.003+05:30

Nightmarish 'supersoldier' ants with huge heads and jaws have been created by activating ancient genes.

Scientists believe the monster ants may be a genetic throwback to an ancestor that lived millions of years ago.
Scientists say they can create the supersoldiers at will by dabbing normal ant larvae with a special hormone - the larvae then develop into supersoldiers rather than normal soldier or worker ants.
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Supersoldier ants can occur naturally in the wild, but only rarely. In the deserts of America and Mexico, their job is to protect the colony from raids by invading army ants.
The supersoldiers use their enormous heads to block the nest entrance and attack any enemy ants that get too close.
Scientists showed that ordinary ants of the species Pheidole morrisi contain all the genetic 'tools' needed to turn them into supersoldiers - they just need a hormonal push.
The research is reported today in the journal Science.
Authors Dr Rajendhran Rajakumar, from McGill University, Canada, and colleagues wrote: 'We uncovered an ancestral development potential to produce a novel supersoldier subcaste that has been retained throughout a hyperdiverse ant genus that evolved 35 to 60 million years ago.'
The results suggest that holding on to ancestral development toolkits may play an important role in evolving new physical traits, say the researchers.

Biometric security

2012-01-14T16:32:00.001+05:30

Biometric security systems usually on unique, unchangeable 'markers' such as fingerprints.
But Japanese scientists have identified another unique feature which can be 'read' by a biometric scanner - our rear ends, or, more specifically, the way we sit down.
The scientists have designed a chair which measures 360 pressure points to build a 3D profile of how a person sits - and it can identify who is sitting in it with 98 per cent accuracy.
The discovery could do away with car keys - and the researchers say it could even be used in offices instead of computer passwords.
The scientists, at Tokyo's Advanced Institute of Industrial Technology, say that the system is 98 per cent accurate.
It's a simple matter of fitting pressure sensors inside a normal car seat - so it could be in production cars as early as 2014.
The team says that the bottom-scan is actually less intrusive than other forms of biometric scans, such as the face recognition currently in use by UK passport control.
Most biometric systems require users to stand still to be scanned - whereas sitting is a natural instinct.

Dirty Denim

2012-01-14T16:31:00.001+05:30

A Melbourne researcher has recruited 30 volunteers to see what will happen if one is made to smell a pair of jeans worn-in and unwashed for three months.
Tullia Jack will soon exhibit the grimy garments at the National Gallery of Victoria so the public can put them to the pong test.
She hopes the unusual experiment for her Master of Philosophy thesis will challenge our culture of "extreme clean".

Despite stains and spills ranging from tuna and avocado to motor oil and chocolate, she says the expectation that the dirty denim will be whiffy is much worse than the reality.
"Not washing your jeans isn't nearly as bad as it sounds," quoted the Melbourne University student and RMIT fashion lecturer as saying.
"You really don't need to wash clothes as often as you think. Stains come and go, they just wear off," she said.

Burying her nose in the pile of well-worn jeans on her desk, she picks out perfumes ranging from eggshells to caramel.
"The jeans don't smell socially challenging. They just smell like people," she said.

Only one of the 30 experiment participants struggled to complete the task, which involved wearing a pair of duds donated by local denim label Nobody at least five days a week in March, April and May this year.
According to Jack, many chose to expand the experiment and stopped washing other garments in their wardrobe such as T-shirts, shirts and jumpers.
The sustainable fashion advocate said that participants had collectively saved thousands of litres of water, and had also saved on electricity and soap powders.
She hopes her Nobody was Dirty exhibition, where the public will be invited to sniff the used jeans at the NGV Studio in March, will motivate many more Victorians to launder less.

Marrying in China ?

2012-01-14T16:12:00.001+05:30

Marrying in China seems to have turned a Herculean task for the male fraternity with majority of the women viewing ownership of an apartment as a pre-condition to marriage, a survey has found.

In a survey, conducted on the status of marriage and relationships in China, nearly 70 percent of the women interviewed regard having an apartment as a pre-requisite for men to ask for marriage, China Daily quoted a media report as saying.

The survey of 50,383 women was released jointly by the Committee of Matchmaking Service Industries of the China Association of Social Workers and baihe.com, a matchmaking service provider.

The survey also showed that 80 percent of the single women believe only men who make more than 4,000 yuan (over $630) a month deserve to have a relationship with a woman.

It also revealed that 24.6 percent of those born after 1990 started their first love while in the middle school, and 3.3 per cent in primary schools, while the figure for those born before 1970 stood at 3.6 per cent and 0.6 per cent, respectively.

China and India world’s largest telescope

2012-01-13T09:49:00.001+05:30

China and India are catapulting to the forefront of astronomy research with their decision to join as partners in a Hawaii telescope that will be the world's largest when it's built later this decade.

China and India will pay a share of the construction cost - expected to top $1 billion - for the Thirty Meter Telescope at the summit of Mauna Kea volcano. They will also have a share of the observation time. It's the first advanced telescope in which either nation has been a partner.

'This will represent a quantum leap for the Chinese community,' Shude Mao, professor of astrophysics at National Astronomical Observatories of China, said.
The Thirty Meter Telescope's segmented primary mirror, which will be nearly 100 feet long, will give it nine times the light-collecting area of the largest optical telescopes in use today.
Its images will also be three times sharper.

The telescope, known as TMT, will be able to observe planets that orbit stars other than the sun and enable astronomers to watch new planets and stars being formed. It should also help scientists see some 13 billion light years away for a glimpse into the early years of the universe.

China joined as an observer in 2009, followed by India the next year. Both are now partners, with representatives on the TMT board. Japan, which has its own large telescope at Mauna Kea, the 8.3-meter Subaru, is also a partner.

TMT may not hold the title of world's largest for long, however, as a partnership of European countries plans to build the European Extremely Large Telescope, which would have a 42-meter, or 138-foot, mirror.

Mao said Chinese astronomers would likely want to use TMT to study the origin of planets outside our solar system, black holes, dark matter and dark energy.
China has leading theoretical astrophysicists, but it lags in the field of observational astronomy, Mao said. The telescope will help China overcome that.
'China is ambitious in terms of its science goals. Really it wants to catch up as fast as we can,' he said.

Mao said the project will also be valuable for the image China broadcasts to the world.
'There are many things that are manufactured in China, but we want to move up in terms of technology,' he said. 'We also want to make contributions to world peace. TMT offers a great opportunity to do this.'
All astronomers, wherever they are from, look at the same sky, he said.