A photograph by Rai (left); Raghu Rai (right). Photo Courtesy: Shehabuddin/ Drik/ Majority WorldJamil Mahmud
"They say a good photograph is worth a thousand words. But a thousand words can be a lot of noise. How about some silence -- a moment in space which is non-negotiable.”--Raghu Rai, Magnum Photos
As part of Drik's 20th anniversary celebration, a solo exhibition titled "India" featuring veteran Indian photographer Raghu Rai's works is being held at the Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts, Dhanmondi.
Noted economist Professor Anu Muhammad inaugurated the exhibition on September 7 via video-conferencing as he is currently hospitalised. Among others, director of Drik, Dr. Shahidul Alam and artist Dhali Al Mamoon were present at the inauguration.
Over 50 photographs -- both colour and black and white -- are on display at the exhibition. The images narrate individual stories, fragments of the vast Indian canvas. Sharing his views on the theme of the exhibition, Rai said, "The experience of India is horizontal, it doesn't begin from anywhere, nor does it end anywhere. It is the panoramic experience that allows me to photograph the throbbing of several energies on one given canvas."
Rai is considered the foremost photographer in India, excelling in social, political and cultural themes. He started professional photography in 1965 at the age of 23 and is a recipient of India's highest civilian award "Padmashree" (1971). He joined Magnum Photos in 1977.
Rai has specialised in extensive coverage of India over the last 18 years. He has produced 20 books, including "Raghu Rai's Delhi," "The Sikhs," "Taj Mahal," "Tibet in Exile," "Indira Gandhi" and "Mother Teresa."
"The emergence of the unseen and revelation of the unknown leaves me amazed! The experience becomes a 'Darshan.' What a country of mine!" said Rai.
The exhibition at Bengal Gallery is a chance to experience Rai's philosophy of photography, in particular aesthetics. It is also an opportunity to witness some spectacular moments immortalised by a master photographer.
Rai's photographs suggest that he has travelled almost every nook and corner of India. His kaleidoscope journey saw a group of wrestlers under the Howrah Bridge in Kolkata, as well as a boisterous Sikh wedding in Punjab. In between Rai's lens has captured moments in Rajasthan, Ahmedabad, Jaisalmer, Delhi, Kashmir and other places. Notably, his photos avoided the hustle and bustle of the metropolis, and depict the tranquil life outside city limits.
"I have tried to portray the multi-cultural India that is rather unfamiliar to viewers in other countries," said Rai at the inaugural of his Dhaka exhibition.
Rai also took part in an open forum on September 7 at Drik Gallery. He discussed on his latest book "Delhi in Contrasts and Confluences" and answered questions from the audience.
বুধবার, ৯ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯
Scientists find three new gene links to Alzheimer's REUTERS
LONDON: Scientists have found three new major genetic links to Alzheimer's, affecting up to 20% of people with the brain-wasting disease. They
said it was the most significant such discovery in 15 years.
Two large studies found that the three new genes join the better known APOE4 gene as significant risk factors for the most common cause of dementia.
"If we were able to remove the detrimental effects of these genes through treatments, we could reduce the proportion of people developing Alzheimer's by 20%," said Julie Williams, a professor of Neuropsychological Genetics at Britain's Cardiff University.
Alzheimer's disease affects more than 26 million people globally, and has no cure or good treatment. The need for effective remedies is pressing, with the number of cases forecasted to go beyond 100 million by 2050.
Current drugs can only delay the symptoms endured by patients, who lose their memories, the ability to find their way around and to care for themselves.
Williams, who led one of the two studies published in Nature Genetics, said that in Britain alone, eradicating the effects of the three new genes would mean almost 100,000 people could avoid the disease. She said the findings were the most significant genetic discoveries for Alzheimer's in the 15 years since APOE4 was found to be linked, and said drug companies had shown a keen interest in their research.
Williams and colleagues at Cardiff's Medical Research Council Center for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics carried out a genome wide association study - a scan of the entire genetic map - involving more than 16,000 people from eight countries. They identified two new genes: Clusterin and PICALM - that increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's.
A second genome wide study conducted by Philippe Amouyel and colleagues at the Institut Pasteur de Lille in France, studied more than 6,000 people with Alzheimer's and nearly 9,000 healthy people in France, Belgium, Finland, Italy and Spain. They identified Clusterin and a third gene called CR1.
Amouyel said the disease risks associated with each gene were difficult to quantify, and said all three genes were relatively common. The scientists also stressed that a yet unknown combination of many genetic and other environmental factors also cause Alzheimer's.
The researchers said Clusterin may explain 10% of Alzheimer's cases, PICALM around 9% and CR1 4%. By comparison, 20 to 25% of Alzheimer's cases are linked to APOE.Three gene variations have also been associated with rare, early-onset forms of Alzheimer's that run in families. Identifying the genes can help researchers understand the underlying causes of a disease and design drugs to fight them.
Michael Owen, director of the Cardiff center, said their study also found evidence that other genes could play a role in the risk of developing Alzheimer's. "It's a bit like we have been fishing with a fishing net and we've pulled out some fish. We know there are more fish there, and with a finer mesh net we can catch them," he said.
The Cardiff team now plans a further study involving 60,000 participants to look deeper into genetic causes of Alzheimer's.
said it was the most significant such discovery in 15 years.
Two large studies found that the three new genes join the better known APOE4 gene as significant risk factors for the most common cause of dementia.
"If we were able to remove the detrimental effects of these genes through treatments, we could reduce the proportion of people developing Alzheimer's by 20%," said Julie Williams, a professor of Neuropsychological Genetics at Britain's Cardiff University.
Alzheimer's disease affects more than 26 million people globally, and has no cure or good treatment. The need for effective remedies is pressing, with the number of cases forecasted to go beyond 100 million by 2050.
Current drugs can only delay the symptoms endured by patients, who lose their memories, the ability to find their way around and to care for themselves.
Williams, who led one of the two studies published in Nature Genetics, said that in Britain alone, eradicating the effects of the three new genes would mean almost 100,000 people could avoid the disease. She said the findings were the most significant genetic discoveries for Alzheimer's in the 15 years since APOE4 was found to be linked, and said drug companies had shown a keen interest in their research.
Williams and colleagues at Cardiff's Medical Research Council Center for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics carried out a genome wide association study - a scan of the entire genetic map - involving more than 16,000 people from eight countries. They identified two new genes: Clusterin and PICALM - that increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's.
A second genome wide study conducted by Philippe Amouyel and colleagues at the Institut Pasteur de Lille in France, studied more than 6,000 people with Alzheimer's and nearly 9,000 healthy people in France, Belgium, Finland, Italy and Spain. They identified Clusterin and a third gene called CR1.
Amouyel said the disease risks associated with each gene were difficult to quantify, and said all three genes were relatively common. The scientists also stressed that a yet unknown combination of many genetic and other environmental factors also cause Alzheimer's.
The researchers said Clusterin may explain 10% of Alzheimer's cases, PICALM around 9% and CR1 4%. By comparison, 20 to 25% of Alzheimer's cases are linked to APOE.Three gene variations have also been associated with rare, early-onset forms of Alzheimer's that run in families. Identifying the genes can help researchers understand the underlying causes of a disease and design drugs to fight them.
Michael Owen, director of the Cardiff center, said their study also found evidence that other genes could play a role in the risk of developing Alzheimer's. "It's a bit like we have been fishing with a fishing net and we've pulled out some fish. We know there are more fish there, and with a finer mesh net we can catch them," he said.
The Cardiff team now plans a further study involving 60,000 participants to look deeper into genetic causes of Alzheimer's.
Planets have to be about the size of Earth to be conducive for life
LONDON: In a new research, it has been determined that rocky worlds have to be about the size of Earth to be conducive for life.
According to a report in the New Scientist, the discovery of extra solar 'super-Earths' - rocky planets about five to ten times the mass of Earth - has raised hopes that some may harbor life.
Life is comfortable on Earth in part because of its relatively stable climate and its magnetic field, which deflects cosmic radiation capable of damaging organic molecules as well as producing amazing auroras.
The long term stability of Earth's climate depends on the way the planet's crust is broken up into plates, which continually slide over and under one another in a process called plate tectonics. Carbon scrubbed from the atmosphere by natural chemical reactions gets buried and recycled within the Earth because of plate tectonics, part of a cycle that stabilizes atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.
Now, it seems rocky worlds have to be about the size of Earth to have both plate tectonics and magnetic fields, according to Lade Stamenkovic of the German Aerospace Center in Berlin.
Heat from Earth's core creates the convection currents needed for plate tectonics. Such currents generate the force to tear the crust, produce multiple plates and move those plates around.
Stamenkovic's team found that the pressure and viscosity inside a 'super-Earth' would be so high that a stagnant, insulating layer would form outside the core, weakening the convective currents needed to drive plate tectonics thus making the process unlikely.
The researchers also found that the slow transfer of heat out of the core in 'super-Earths' would prevent a sufficiently rapid circulation of their molten cores, robbing them of a magnetic field.
Planets about 0.5 to 2.5 times the mass of Earth are most likely to support plate tectonics. The limits are fuzzier for magnetic field generation, but also favour Earth-sized planets.
"Earth is special," said Stamenkovic.
But astrobiologist David Grinspoon of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in Colorado points out that Venus seems to have recycled its crust in volcanic outbursts despite a lack of plate tectonics.
While this has not stabilized Venus's climate, the possibility that other forms of crustal recycling on super-Earths might do so should not be ruled out.
According to a report in the New Scientist, the discovery of extra solar 'super-Earths' - rocky planets about five to ten times the mass of Earth - has raised hopes that some may harbor life.
Life is comfortable on Earth in part because of its relatively stable climate and its magnetic field, which deflects cosmic radiation capable of damaging organic molecules as well as producing amazing auroras.
The long term stability of Earth's climate depends on the way the planet's crust is broken up into plates, which continually slide over and under one another in a process called plate tectonics. Carbon scrubbed from the atmosphere by natural chemical reactions gets buried and recycled within the Earth because of plate tectonics, part of a cycle that stabilizes atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.
Now, it seems rocky worlds have to be about the size of Earth to have both plate tectonics and magnetic fields, according to Lade Stamenkovic of the German Aerospace Center in Berlin.
Heat from Earth's core creates the convection currents needed for plate tectonics. Such currents generate the force to tear the crust, produce multiple plates and move those plates around.
Stamenkovic's team found that the pressure and viscosity inside a 'super-Earth' would be so high that a stagnant, insulating layer would form outside the core, weakening the convective currents needed to drive plate tectonics thus making the process unlikely.
The researchers also found that the slow transfer of heat out of the core in 'super-Earths' would prevent a sufficiently rapid circulation of their molten cores, robbing them of a magnetic field.
Planets about 0.5 to 2.5 times the mass of Earth are most likely to support plate tectonics. The limits are fuzzier for magnetic field generation, but also favour Earth-sized planets.
"Earth is special," said Stamenkovic.
But astrobiologist David Grinspoon of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in Colorado points out that Venus seems to have recycled its crust in volcanic outbursts despite a lack of plate tectonics.
While this has not stabilized Venus's climate, the possibility that other forms of crustal recycling on super-Earths might do so should not be ruled out.
Baby chimps better at controlling emotions than human babies
LONDON: When it comes to controlling emotions, baby chimps do it better than human babies, says a new
study.
The research, which investigated the facial expressions of young chimpanzees, may explain why some babies cry so much and are so inconsolable.
In the study, scientists found that baby chimps almost always cry for a reason, in contrast to some of the crying of human babies.
Scientists reckon the finding may result from difference in brain development between the two species, with human babies being born with slightly less developed brains than chimps.
"If you pick up a baby chimp when it's fussing (crying), it calms down and stays calm. "Anybody who has had a fussy child knows it is well within the range of the human norm that if you pick them up then they are still fussy," said Professor Kim Bard of Portsmouth University.
study.
The research, which investigated the facial expressions of young chimpanzees, may explain why some babies cry so much and are so inconsolable.
In the study, scientists found that baby chimps almost always cry for a reason, in contrast to some of the crying of human babies.
Scientists reckon the finding may result from difference in brain development between the two species, with human babies being born with slightly less developed brains than chimps.
"If you pick up a baby chimp when it's fussing (crying), it calms down and stays calm. "Anybody who has had a fussy child knows it is well within the range of the human norm that if you pick them up then they are still fussy," said Professor Kim Bard of Portsmouth University.
A robot that can take decisions
LYON (FRANCE): Robots that can make their own decisions have so far been confined to science fiction movies, but a child sized figure with big
iCub robot
CNRS director of research with the 'iCub' robot. Scientists believe this intelligent class of robot will help in understanding the development of human consciousness. (Reuters Photo)
More Pictures
eyes and a white face is trying hard to turn fiction into reality.
Its name is iCub and scientists are hoping it will learn how to adapt its behavior to changing circumstances, offering new insights into the development of human consciousness.
Six versions of the iCub exist in laboratories across Europe, where scientists are painstakingly tweaking its electronic brain to make it capable of learning, just like a human child.
"Our goal is to really understand something that is very human - the ability to cooperate, to understand what somebody else wants us to do, to be able to get aligned with them and work together," said research director Peter Ford Dominey.
iCub is about 1 meter high, with an articulated trunk, arms and legs made up of intricate electronic circuits. It has a white face with the hint of a nose and big round eyes that can see and follow moving objects.
"Shall we play the old game or play a new one?" iCub asked Dominey during a recent experiment at a laboratory in Lyon, in southeastern France. Its voice was robotic, unsurprisingly, though it did have the intonation of a person asking a question. The "game" consisted of one person picking up a box, revealing a toy that was placed underneath. Then another person picked up the toy, before putting it down again. Finally, the first person put the box back down, on top of the toy.
Having watched two humans perform this action, iCub was able to join in the fun.
"The robot is demonstrating that it can change roles. It can play the role of either the first person in the interaction or the second," said Dominey, who receives European Union funding for his work with iCub.
"These robots will be a huge tool for analytical philosophy and philosophy of mind," said Dominey, whose background is in computational neuroscience - in layman's terms, building computer models for different brain functions.
Dominey said after years of research he had understood that such models needed to be "unleashed into the world" and given vision and motor control in order to interact with humans. "Is perception consciousness? The ability to understand that somebody has a goal, is that consciousness?" he asked. "These kinds of questions, we will be able to ask with much more precision because we can have a test bed, this robot, or zombie, that we can use to implement things," he said, describing working with iCub as "an outstanding pleasure."
In the short term, iCub could be used in hospitals to help patients in need of physiotherapy by playing games with them. In the longer term, iCub could gain enough autonomy to help around the house, making its own assessments of needs.
"People have their habits, loading their dishwasher, putting away their dishes. The goal is that the robot can become like a helper, just like a polite apprentice visitor would come into your house and begin to help you," said Dominey.
Anyone looking to cut down on their household chores will need to be patient, however. "It won't be for tomorrow. It's maybe in the next decade we will begin to see this kind of thing," said the scientist.
More Stories from this section
iCub robot
CNRS director of research with the 'iCub' robot. Scientists believe this intelligent class of robot will help in understanding the development of human consciousness. (Reuters Photo)
More Pictures
eyes and a white face is trying hard to turn fiction into reality.
Its name is iCub and scientists are hoping it will learn how to adapt its behavior to changing circumstances, offering new insights into the development of human consciousness.
Six versions of the iCub exist in laboratories across Europe, where scientists are painstakingly tweaking its electronic brain to make it capable of learning, just like a human child.
"Our goal is to really understand something that is very human - the ability to cooperate, to understand what somebody else wants us to do, to be able to get aligned with them and work together," said research director Peter Ford Dominey.
iCub is about 1 meter high, with an articulated trunk, arms and legs made up of intricate electronic circuits. It has a white face with the hint of a nose and big round eyes that can see and follow moving objects.
"Shall we play the old game or play a new one?" iCub asked Dominey during a recent experiment at a laboratory in Lyon, in southeastern France. Its voice was robotic, unsurprisingly, though it did have the intonation of a person asking a question. The "game" consisted of one person picking up a box, revealing a toy that was placed underneath. Then another person picked up the toy, before putting it down again. Finally, the first person put the box back down, on top of the toy.
Having watched two humans perform this action, iCub was able to join in the fun.
"The robot is demonstrating that it can change roles. It can play the role of either the first person in the interaction or the second," said Dominey, who receives European Union funding for his work with iCub.
"These robots will be a huge tool for analytical philosophy and philosophy of mind," said Dominey, whose background is in computational neuroscience - in layman's terms, building computer models for different brain functions.
Dominey said after years of research he had understood that such models needed to be "unleashed into the world" and given vision and motor control in order to interact with humans. "Is perception consciousness? The ability to understand that somebody has a goal, is that consciousness?" he asked. "These kinds of questions, we will be able to ask with much more precision because we can have a test bed, this robot, or zombie, that we can use to implement things," he said, describing working with iCub as "an outstanding pleasure."
In the short term, iCub could be used in hospitals to help patients in need of physiotherapy by playing games with them. In the longer term, iCub could gain enough autonomy to help around the house, making its own assessments of needs.
"People have their habits, loading their dishwasher, putting away their dishes. The goal is that the robot can become like a helper, just like a polite apprentice visitor would come into your house and begin to help you," said Dominey.
Anyone looking to cut down on their household chores will need to be patient, however. "It won't be for tomorrow. It's maybe in the next decade we will begin to see this kind of thing," said the scientist.
More Stories from this section
Bacteria can help convert waste to power
WASHINGTON: Bacteria that generate power could be used in microbial fuel cells to convert waste into electricity, according to the latest
research.
University of Massachusetts researchers isolated bacteria with large numbers of tiny projections called pili which transfer electrons to generate power in fuel cells, more efficiently than counterparts with a smooth surface.
The researchers isolated a strain of Geobacter sulfurreducens which they called KN400 that grew prolifically on the graphite anodes of fuel cells.
The bacteria formed a thick bio-film on the anode surface, which conducted electricity. The researchers found large quantities of pilin, a protein that makes the tiny fibres that conduct electricity through the sticky bio-film.
"The filaments form microscopic projections called pili that act as microbial nanowires," said Derek Lovley, U-M professor. "Using this bacterial strain in a fuel cell to generate electricity would greatly increase the cell's power output."
Microbial fuel cells can be used in monitoring devices in environments where it is difficult to replace batteries if they fail but to be successful they need to have an efficient and long lasting source of power.
Lovley described how KN400 might be used in sensors placed on the ocean floor to monitor migration of turtles.
These findings were reported at the Society for General Microbiology's meeting at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, on Monday.
research.
University of Massachusetts researchers isolated bacteria with large numbers of tiny projections called pili which transfer electrons to generate power in fuel cells, more efficiently than counterparts with a smooth surface.
The researchers isolated a strain of Geobacter sulfurreducens which they called KN400 that grew prolifically on the graphite anodes of fuel cells.
The bacteria formed a thick bio-film on the anode surface, which conducted electricity. The researchers found large quantities of pilin, a protein that makes the tiny fibres that conduct electricity through the sticky bio-film.
"The filaments form microscopic projections called pili that act as microbial nanowires," said Derek Lovley, U-M professor. "Using this bacterial strain in a fuel cell to generate electricity would greatly increase the cell's power output."
Microbial fuel cells can be used in monitoring devices in environments where it is difficult to replace batteries if they fail but to be successful they need to have an efficient and long lasting source of power.
Lovley described how KN400 might be used in sensors placed on the ocean floor to monitor migration of turtles.
These findings were reported at the Society for General Microbiology's meeting at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, on Monday.
Eyes see trouble coming 'before brain notices'
LONDON: They may be the 'window to the soul', but a new study has revealed that eyes see trouble coming even before the brain notices.
A team at Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland, has claimed that a new type of cell just discovered in the retinas of rodents, could detect an approaching object without the brain's help.
According to researchers, the newly discovered eye cells can warn people that an object is coming nearer, and do so without the brain's help - this ability may have evolved to speed escape from predators, the 'New Scientist' reported.
Neurons that fire in response to horizontal and vertical movements had already been found in the retinas of mammals but the cells known to be sensitive to approaching objects were in the brain, according to researchers.
While investigating mouse eye cells, the researchers noticed one type behaved unusually in response to movement. And further analysis of this one kind of retinal cell revealed that it fired only when an object approached, the researchers found.
According to the researchers, people have similar cells, which alert us to approaching objects faster than our brain cells can.
"It's an alarm system that is as close to the front end of the organism as possible. If you left it to the brain to respond, it might be too late," lead researcher Botond Roska was quoted as saying.
Next the researchers plan to discover how the approach-sensitive cells evoke a reaction in the brain.
A team at Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland, has claimed that a new type of cell just discovered in the retinas of rodents, could detect an approaching object without the brain's help.
According to researchers, the newly discovered eye cells can warn people that an object is coming nearer, and do so without the brain's help - this ability may have evolved to speed escape from predators, the 'New Scientist' reported.
Neurons that fire in response to horizontal and vertical movements had already been found in the retinas of mammals but the cells known to be sensitive to approaching objects were in the brain, according to researchers.
While investigating mouse eye cells, the researchers noticed one type behaved unusually in response to movement. And further analysis of this one kind of retinal cell revealed that it fired only when an object approached, the researchers found.
According to the researchers, people have similar cells, which alert us to approaching objects faster than our brain cells can.
"It's an alarm system that is as close to the front end of the organism as possible. If you left it to the brain to respond, it might be too late," lead researcher Botond Roska was quoted as saying.
Next the researchers plan to discover how the approach-sensitive cells evoke a reaction in the brain.
More UV radiation to hit earth
TORONTO: Rapid climate changes are set to redistribute the already shrinking ozone layer, exposing earth's southern parts up to 20 percent more
ultraviolet radiation, warns a Canadian study.
Concentrated in the stratosphere from 10 km to 50 km above the earth, the ozone layer protects life on the planet by absorbing more than 90 percent of deadly ultraviolet rays coming from the sun. Ultraviolet rays cause genetic changes and trigger various cancers.
Writing in Nature Geoscience on Sunday, University of Toronto researchers Theodore Shepherd and Michaela Hegglin warned that rising temperatures will change the circulation of the earth's upper atmosphere.
In their computer-generated model to highlight the impact of climate change in the next 100 years, the researchers said rising temperatures will cause a marked increase in the movement of ozone from the earth's upper to lower atmosphere.
As a result of ozone's climbing down, there would be less ozone in stratosphere (higher sphere) to protect humans from ultraviolet rays.
They estimated as much as 20 percent increase in ultraviolet radiation hitting high altitudes in the Southern Hemisphere in the spring and summer.
More ultraviolet rays hitting the Southern Hemisphere will also cause an upsurge in biological changes and cancers, the researchers said.
They warned that more ultraviolet radiation will also deeply impact air quality, and human and ecosystem health on earth.
However, the distribution of the ozone layer will help the Northern Hemisphere of the earth.
The model showed a nine percent decrease in ultraviolet radiation hitting Northern Hemisphere's high latitudes.
Reported increase in the ground-level ozone on Europe's mountains and the west coasts of North America and Europe indicates that the deadly changes predicted by the two researchers may have already begun.
Interestingly, ozone is created in the earth's outer atmosphere by ultraviolet rays themselves. On entering the stratosphere, these ultraviolet rays hit oxygen molecules, breaking them into two atoms.
But being unstable, each of these two atoms clings back to the oxygen molecule, thus creating ozone molecules.
Greenhouse gases (nitrous oxide and hydroxyl) and chlorofluorocarbons (generated by air-conditioners and refrigerators), which are capable of rising into the stratosphere, have been blamed for the depletion of the ozone layer.
ultraviolet radiation, warns a Canadian study.
Concentrated in the stratosphere from 10 km to 50 km above the earth, the ozone layer protects life on the planet by absorbing more than 90 percent of deadly ultraviolet rays coming from the sun. Ultraviolet rays cause genetic changes and trigger various cancers.
Writing in Nature Geoscience on Sunday, University of Toronto researchers Theodore Shepherd and Michaela Hegglin warned that rising temperatures will change the circulation of the earth's upper atmosphere.
In their computer-generated model to highlight the impact of climate change in the next 100 years, the researchers said rising temperatures will cause a marked increase in the movement of ozone from the earth's upper to lower atmosphere.
As a result of ozone's climbing down, there would be less ozone in stratosphere (higher sphere) to protect humans from ultraviolet rays.
They estimated as much as 20 percent increase in ultraviolet radiation hitting high altitudes in the Southern Hemisphere in the spring and summer.
More ultraviolet rays hitting the Southern Hemisphere will also cause an upsurge in biological changes and cancers, the researchers said.
They warned that more ultraviolet radiation will also deeply impact air quality, and human and ecosystem health on earth.
However, the distribution of the ozone layer will help the Northern Hemisphere of the earth.
The model showed a nine percent decrease in ultraviolet radiation hitting Northern Hemisphere's high latitudes.
Reported increase in the ground-level ozone on Europe's mountains and the west coasts of North America and Europe indicates that the deadly changes predicted by the two researchers may have already begun.
Interestingly, ozone is created in the earth's outer atmosphere by ultraviolet rays themselves. On entering the stratosphere, these ultraviolet rays hit oxygen molecules, breaking them into two atoms.
But being unstable, each of these two atoms clings back to the oxygen molecule, thus creating ozone molecules.
Greenhouse gases (nitrous oxide and hydroxyl) and chlorofluorocarbons (generated by air-conditioners and refrigerators), which are capable of rising into the stratosphere, have been blamed for the depletion of the ozone layer.
Building trust: Couples share online passwords
Lance Maggiacomo was out of work, bored and lonely when he started hiding his online relationships from
his wife.
There was no affair, only chatting through email, yet it felt like cheating just the same. A few years later, a reformed Maggiacomo has an in-house check on his impulses.
He and his wife Lori, like other couples around the country, share one email account as a safeguard against the ever-expanding temptations of the internet.
“There’s not a Gestapo, KGB quality to it, like I have to check in with mother before I do anything,” said Lance Maggiacomo, a 40-year-old surgical nurse from Beverly, Mass. “It’s what we believe as Christians: We are our brothers’ keepers. It’s about biblical accountability.”
The email addresses — “tim_shawna” and “christyandbrian” — broadcast the couples’ commitment to all correspondents. If one spouse has a Twitter or Facebook account, the other is usually given the password. Often, spouses have separate work accounts where bad behavior could go undetected.
However, the goal isn’t policing each other every minute, they say. Instead, they are doing whatever is possible to avoid keeping secrets.
“It’s not a matter of distrust,” said Ronda Hodge, 53, of Amesbury, Massachusetts, who shares an e-mail address with her husband Tom, 60. “We really don’t have anything to hide from one another. We were friends first before we even dated so we’ve got that level of openness there.”
Some couples said they initially created their account for bills and other household business then later realized the personal benefits.
his wife.
There was no affair, only chatting through email, yet it felt like cheating just the same. A few years later, a reformed Maggiacomo has an in-house check on his impulses.
He and his wife Lori, like other couples around the country, share one email account as a safeguard against the ever-expanding temptations of the internet.
“There’s not a Gestapo, KGB quality to it, like I have to check in with mother before I do anything,” said Lance Maggiacomo, a 40-year-old surgical nurse from Beverly, Mass. “It’s what we believe as Christians: We are our brothers’ keepers. It’s about biblical accountability.”
The email addresses — “tim_shawna” and “christyandbrian” — broadcast the couples’ commitment to all correspondents. If one spouse has a Twitter or Facebook account, the other is usually given the password. Often, spouses have separate work accounts where bad behavior could go undetected.
However, the goal isn’t policing each other every minute, they say. Instead, they are doing whatever is possible to avoid keeping secrets.
“It’s not a matter of distrust,” said Ronda Hodge, 53, of Amesbury, Massachusetts, who shares an e-mail address with her husband Tom, 60. “We really don’t have anything to hide from one another. We were friends first before we even dated so we’ve got that level of openness there.”
Some couples said they initially created their account for bills and other household business then later realized the personal benefits.
Stem cell therapy for blindness under lens
Hundreds of desperate British patients have spent up to £30,000 on unproven stem cell treatments in China and elsewhere, an investigation by the
Sunday Times found.
One treatment, popular among the parents of blind babies, has been branded “child abuse” by a leading British stem cell researcher because of its possible risks. The Chinese company selling the stem cell therapy admitted this weekend that it had not yet conducted clinical trials of the treatment. The firm, Beike Biotech, also admitted that it could not say how many children had experienced improvements.
A number of British parents have resorted to launching fundraising appeals around the country to pay for the therapy abroad. The stem cell treatment offered by the Chinese company has not yet won regulatory approval in the UK.
Pete Coffey of the University College London said that there is no medical evidence that the method offered by Beike Biotech works and added that the babies’ health could be put at risk.
Coffey, who is running a trial with Pfizer to treat blindness with stem cells, said there is no medical evidence of improvement. “We don’t know if there have been any side effects,” he said.
Sunday Times found.
One treatment, popular among the parents of blind babies, has been branded “child abuse” by a leading British stem cell researcher because of its possible risks. The Chinese company selling the stem cell therapy admitted this weekend that it had not yet conducted clinical trials of the treatment. The firm, Beike Biotech, also admitted that it could not say how many children had experienced improvements.
A number of British parents have resorted to launching fundraising appeals around the country to pay for the therapy abroad. The stem cell treatment offered by the Chinese company has not yet won regulatory approval in the UK.
Pete Coffey of the University College London said that there is no medical evidence that the method offered by Beike Biotech works and added that the babies’ health could be put at risk.
Coffey, who is running a trial with Pfizer to treat blindness with stem cells, said there is no medical evidence of improvement. “We don’t know if there have been any side effects,” he said.
Voice recreated after vocal cords lost
A Master’s student at the University of Sheffield has created a revolutionary new technology that synthesizes the voice of a patient who has lost
their vocal cords, in order to give them their own voice back.
Bernadette Chapman, a cancer patient who had her vocal cords removed, has had her voice reconstructed by an electronic voice replication system. Researchers took recordings of Chapman’s voice before she had a laryngectomy operation which removed her vocal cords after she developed cancer, reports the Telegraph.
The team from the University of Sheffield’s Departments of Computer Science and Human Communication Sciences helped reconstruct her voice using a speech synthesis technique based on statistical models of speech sounds.
Using the theory and supplied software developed by the University of Edinburgh, they used the patient’s recordings to adapt an “average voice model” to sound like Chapman. The voice was built using around seven minutes of speech from the patient, which amounted to 100 sentences, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Researchers have since asked Chapman and her relatives what the think of the voice, with all listeners agreeing it sounded very similar to the original. Chapman explained that for years those who had lost their vocal cords communicated using an artificial larynx, a handheld, battery-operated machine held under the jaw and picks up on vibrations allowing speech.
“The machine tends to sound very like a dalek and can be very embarrassing to use, especially in public places”, said Chapman, a former Nursing Sister.
“To have a new technique that sounds more like a human voice, indeed more like the patient’s own voice prior to operation, would be a great breakthrough and welcomed by all of us who rely on technology to communicate.
Phil Green, from the University of Sheffield, said: “Your voice is part of your identity and if this technique can help you to recover it and communicate in a natural way your quality of life could be much improved. “The technique is still evolving and not yet ready to be installed on a hand-held device but that is coming, maybe as soon as a couple of years time.”
their vocal cords, in order to give them their own voice back.
Bernadette Chapman, a cancer patient who had her vocal cords removed, has had her voice reconstructed by an electronic voice replication system. Researchers took recordings of Chapman’s voice before she had a laryngectomy operation which removed her vocal cords after she developed cancer, reports the Telegraph.
The team from the University of Sheffield’s Departments of Computer Science and Human Communication Sciences helped reconstruct her voice using a speech synthesis technique based on statistical models of speech sounds.
Using the theory and supplied software developed by the University of Edinburgh, they used the patient’s recordings to adapt an “average voice model” to sound like Chapman. The voice was built using around seven minutes of speech from the patient, which amounted to 100 sentences, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Researchers have since asked Chapman and her relatives what the think of the voice, with all listeners agreeing it sounded very similar to the original. Chapman explained that for years those who had lost their vocal cords communicated using an artificial larynx, a handheld, battery-operated machine held under the jaw and picks up on vibrations allowing speech.
“The machine tends to sound very like a dalek and can be very embarrassing to use, especially in public places”, said Chapman, a former Nursing Sister.
“To have a new technique that sounds more like a human voice, indeed more like the patient’s own voice prior to operation, would be a great breakthrough and welcomed by all of us who rely on technology to communicate.
Phil Green, from the University of Sheffield, said: “Your voice is part of your identity and if this technique can help you to recover it and communicate in a natural way your quality of life could be much improved. “The technique is still evolving and not yet ready to be installed on a hand-held device but that is coming, maybe as soon as a couple of years time.”
Google back in China after porn row
BEIJING: Google is again fully up and running in China after a row in which authorities accused the US Internet giant of illegally spreading por
nographic content, the firm's outgoing regional chief said on Monday.
Kai-fu Lee, who has stepped down as Google Greater China president, said his resignation had nothing to do with the row, adding he had delayed his departure for two months to handle the crisis, which he said was now "over".
The government "recognised Google's positive attitude" and "very good work" to eliminate pornographic content, and "therefore permitted (Google) to restore all of the services," he told reporters.
China had accused Google of illegally spreading pornographic content as part of a wider crackdown on what authorities say is unhealthy Internet content. Google's sites have been intermittently blocked in recent months.
Lee, 47, had launched a new company aimed at helping young Chinese entrepreneurs develop Internet and mobile computing technology. He has so far raised 115 million dollars.
"We do provide funding opportunities, we do provide coaching... we do provide back-end services like an incubator, we do provide project selection activity and we also run like a company," he told reporters. "We are all of the above."
The company, Innovation Works, was funded by a group of investors including YouTube co-founder Steve Chen, Taiwan's electronics maker Foxconn Technology Group and Legend Group, parent of computer giant Lenovo.
"Our commitment is to mentoring and supporting the next generation of Chinese entrepreneurs so that they can focus on building great products without distraction," Lee said.
He added that the company planned to develop 50 companies over 10 years and train 500 people.
"Certainly my hope is there will be a company in this 50 that becomes a world-class company and world-class brand," he said.
nographic content, the firm's outgoing regional chief said on Monday.
Kai-fu Lee, who has stepped down as Google Greater China president, said his resignation had nothing to do with the row, adding he had delayed his departure for two months to handle the crisis, which he said was now "over".
The government "recognised Google's positive attitude" and "very good work" to eliminate pornographic content, and "therefore permitted (Google) to restore all of the services," he told reporters.
China had accused Google of illegally spreading pornographic content as part of a wider crackdown on what authorities say is unhealthy Internet content. Google's sites have been intermittently blocked in recent months.
Lee, 47, had launched a new company aimed at helping young Chinese entrepreneurs develop Internet and mobile computing technology. He has so far raised 115 million dollars.
"We do provide funding opportunities, we do provide coaching... we do provide back-end services like an incubator, we do provide project selection activity and we also run like a company," he told reporters. "We are all of the above."
The company, Innovation Works, was funded by a group of investors including YouTube co-founder Steve Chen, Taiwan's electronics maker Foxconn Technology Group and Legend Group, parent of computer giant Lenovo.
"Our commitment is to mentoring and supporting the next generation of Chinese entrepreneurs so that they can focus on building great products without distraction," Lee said.
He added that the company planned to develop 50 companies over 10 years and train 500 people.
"Certainly my hope is there will be a company in this 50 that becomes a world-class company and world-class brand," he said.
West Bengal scraps IT township project
KOLKATA: Within a year of Tata Motors pulling out of Singur and DLF from Dankuni, there is a shocker on the IT front in West Bengal.
The Kolkata IT Links project has been scrapped, ending prospects of a cumulative investment of Rs 1,000 crore and 10,000 jobs and dealing another body blow to the state’s image.
The IT township was supposed to facilitate IT major Infosys’ entry in Bengal and Wipro’s expansion plans.
The Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government had to scrap the project as Raj Modi, the MD of the private company that is scouting for land is in jail following complaints from villagers that their land was forcibly occupied.
The government agency, Webel, had floated a joint venture company with private developers to arrange land for the IT giants after they were refused land in Rajarhat New Town.
In a release posted on its website on Monday, the state IT department confirmed that the death sentence had been passed on the IT township project. “The managing director (Raj Modi) of the private partner has been arrested. The government doesn’t want to be involved in any illegal activity. Already, some departments have opined to scrap the project. It is also impossible for the IT department to proceed with the project if any of the six (other) departments refuse to facilitate. Thus, the IT department can’t proceed,’’ the statement reads.
“Under the circumstances, we are unable to stick to our assurances of providing land to Wipro and Infosys and thereby constrained to inform them about the government’s inability.”
Last year, Infosys and Wipro had said they proposed to invest Rs 500 crore each at the Kolkata IT links site, and together employ over 10,000 p
rofessionals. Infosys said it called off talks with the Buddhadeb government. The message was delivered without any reference to the ongoing controversy surrounding the infotech township venture within which the company was supposed to be given 90 acres.
“We are not in discussion with the government of West Bengal,’’ Infosys MD & CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan said.
“We are currently assessing the government’s announcement on the non-availability of land for the IT facility and we are awaiting a formal confirmation on that. We do expect and hope that the government is able to allocate suitable land to build the facility,” Wipro chief information officer Laxman Badiga said.
Central Bank of India, one of the primary funding agencies for the project, refused to comment.
The scrapping of the project, though, has raised a question mark on the bank’s ability to recover the money already spent on land acquisition since the bank can’t attach agricultural land if it has not been converted for industrial use by the Kolkata IT Links authorities.
The Kolkata IT Links project has been scrapped, ending prospects of a cumulative investment of Rs 1,000 crore and 10,000 jobs and dealing another body blow to the state’s image.
The IT township was supposed to facilitate IT major Infosys’ entry in Bengal and Wipro’s expansion plans.
The Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government had to scrap the project as Raj Modi, the MD of the private company that is scouting for land is in jail following complaints from villagers that their land was forcibly occupied.
The government agency, Webel, had floated a joint venture company with private developers to arrange land for the IT giants after they were refused land in Rajarhat New Town.
In a release posted on its website on Monday, the state IT department confirmed that the death sentence had been passed on the IT township project. “The managing director (Raj Modi) of the private partner has been arrested. The government doesn’t want to be involved in any illegal activity. Already, some departments have opined to scrap the project. It is also impossible for the IT department to proceed with the project if any of the six (other) departments refuse to facilitate. Thus, the IT department can’t proceed,’’ the statement reads.
“Under the circumstances, we are unable to stick to our assurances of providing land to Wipro and Infosys and thereby constrained to inform them about the government’s inability.”
Last year, Infosys and Wipro had said they proposed to invest Rs 500 crore each at the Kolkata IT links site, and together employ over 10,000 p
rofessionals. Infosys said it called off talks with the Buddhadeb government. The message was delivered without any reference to the ongoing controversy surrounding the infotech township venture within which the company was supposed to be given 90 acres.
“We are not in discussion with the government of West Bengal,’’ Infosys MD & CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan said.
“We are currently assessing the government’s announcement on the non-availability of land for the IT facility and we are awaiting a formal confirmation on that. We do expect and hope that the government is able to allocate suitable land to build the facility,” Wipro chief information officer Laxman Badiga said.
Central Bank of India, one of the primary funding agencies for the project, refused to comment.
The scrapping of the project, though, has raised a question mark on the bank’s ability to recover the money already spent on land acquisition since the bank can’t attach agricultural land if it has not been converted for industrial use by the Kolkata IT Links authorities.
Sensex back in positive zone in late morning trade, up 80 points
Sensex back in positive zone in late morning trade, up 80 points
PTI 9 September 2009, 12:00pm IST
MUMBAI: Reversing early losses, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex rebounded almost 80 points in late morning trade today on the back of
revival of buying in heavy-weight stocks.
The Sensex, which had lost nearly 78 points in opening trade, recovered 80.15 points at 16,203.82 levels with oil, gas and metal sector stocks staging a comeback.
Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved up 19.80 points to 4,825.05 at 1145 hrs. It had shed 21.75 points in opening trade.
Brokers said the emergence of buying by fund and retail investors and covering-up of short positions by speculators, helped the Sensex to recover from early lows.
PTI 9 September 2009, 12:00pm IST
MUMBAI: Reversing early losses, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex rebounded almost 80 points in late morning trade today on the back of
revival of buying in heavy-weight stocks.
The Sensex, which had lost nearly 78 points in opening trade, recovered 80.15 points at 16,203.82 levels with oil, gas and metal sector stocks staging a comeback.
Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved up 19.80 points to 4,825.05 at 1145 hrs. It had shed 21.75 points in opening trade.
Brokers said the emergence of buying by fund and retail investors and covering-up of short positions by speculators, helped the Sensex to recover from early lows.
মঙ্গলবার, ৮ সেপ্টেম্বর, ২০০৯
Cadre service for primary education underway: PM
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Cadre service for primary education underway: PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina this morning said formation of BCS (primary education) cadre for people involved in primary level education is under scrutiny.
“Efficient and skilled manpower will be engaged in supervising and conducting the primary education if the BCS (primary education) cadre is constituted,” Hasina said replying to queries of lawmakers during the prime minister’s question hour in Parliament.
Terming the primary education as a 'foundation of education', the premier said her government wants to decentralise the power urgently in some crucial sectors, including education and health in consultation with the elected local representatives.
About the newly framed education policy, Hasina, also the leader of the House, said she received the copy of the education policy.
“We want to reorganise the education system in light of the education policy,” she said.
Cadre service for primary education underway: PM
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina this morning said formation of BCS (primary education) cadre for people involved in primary level education is under scrutiny.
“Efficient and skilled manpower will be engaged in supervising and conducting the primary education if the BCS (primary education) cadre is constituted,” Hasina said replying to queries of lawmakers during the prime minister’s question hour in Parliament.
Terming the primary education as a 'foundation of education', the premier said her government wants to decentralise the power urgently in some crucial sectors, including education and health in consultation with the elected local representatives.
About the newly framed education policy, Hasina, also the leader of the House, said she received the copy of the education policy.
“We want to reorganise the education system in light of the education policy,” she said.
TOP NEWS
Enemies of Bangladesh benefited through BDR mutiny: BDR chief
By Ashfaq • Category: Top News DHAKA, Bangladesh, Aug 17 (BSS) - Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) chief Major General Mainul Islam today said “foreign enemies” benefited from the February 25- 26 carnage in the paramilitary force asPresident Zillur Rahman sought the apex court’s suggestion to fix
the trial mode for mutineers.
“Bangladesh is not enemy-free in the international arena. The country has its foes and they gained from the mutiny,” Islam told the first ever “darbar” or meeting with ordinary BDR soldiers at their Pilkhana headquarters after the February massacre.
This was the scene of the rebellion when 57 army officers
serving the border force were killed.
The BDR chief, however, refrained from naming any enemy but
added that “external enemies still exist and we must be aware of
them” referring to the 1971 attack on BDR troops by Pakistani
occupation army.
“Someone must have benefited from the Pilkhana massacre but
BDR suffered the loss,” he said as over 2,000 BDR soldiers joined
the meeting at the Darbar Hall, the venue where the mutiny broke
out during an identical darbar.
Islam’s predecessor Major General Shakil Ahmed and 55
military officers serving the paramilitary force on deputation
were killed at the venue during an identical darbar on February
25 when the rebellious soldiers carried out the carnage
protesting what they claimed “deprivation” and lack of service
facilities.
BDR authorities invited the media to witness the darbar while
Islam yesterday told BSS that it was part of their efforts to
restore the morale of the paramilitary border guards, which was
heavily shuddered after the carnage.
The BDR chief’s comments came as the President this afternoon
sent a reference to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court
seeking a directive on if the mutineers could be tried under
military law, specifically the Army Act of 1952.
State Minister for Law Quamrul Islam told newsmen he expected
that the apex court would give the directive regarding the trial
mode before it goes into annual vacation on August 28.
Supreme Court registrar Mohammad Shawkat Hossain told
reporters that the reference asked “what the (trial) process
should be and if a notice would suffice according to Section 5 of
the Army Act to try the mutineers in military court”.
The government earlier decided to seek the apex court
direction on the trial mode as it was virtually in a dilemma if
the trial should be held under the Army Act or civil Penal Code
while the BDR Act provided no scope for trial of such massacres
or mutinies in the paramilitary force.
Most experts as well as the BDR authorities earlier suggested
the trial be held under the Army Act as both the suspects and
victims belonged to disciplined forces.
But several others, however, feared that the trial under the
Army Act could be challenged in the Supreme Court eventually
lingering the prosecution process and frustrating the very
objective of quick trial of the culprits and proposed the trail
be held under the civil Penal Code.
The BDR Act could be applied in the case as it did not have
any provision for trial of mutiny and the highest punishment
prescribed in the paramilitary law is seven years of imprisonment
for breach of command chain or indiscipline.
Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which was tasked to
carryout the routine police investigation in the case earlier
said over 1,800 BDR soldiers stationed in the Pilkhana
headquarters on February 25-26 were arrested for their suspected
involvement in the mutiny or massacre and most of them were
quizzed in custody.
Nearly 30 civilians including a former lawmaker of ex-prime
minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) were
also arrested so far for their suspected involvement in the
mutiny or supports for the rebellion.
CID officials earlier said they were progressing
satisfactorily with their investigations to indict the culprits
while a high-powered government committee headed by a retired
secretary to the government and a high- level military probe body
earlier completed their investigations into the rebellion.
The government committee report said a certain quarter staged
the mutiny using a sense of deprivation of the ordinary BDR
soldiers but only a few BDR men knew about killing plot while it
bluntly admitted “without hesitation that the real causes and
objectives of the gruesome incident could not be ascertained
clearly and it requires further investigations”.
TOP NEWS
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
File photoOne more person died of swine flu outside the capital on Thursday, IEDCR confirmed at a press briefing this morning.
A four-month-old baby girl was underwent treatment for swine flu and congenital defect for about a month at a hospital out of the capital.
She was taken back home as her condition deteriorated where she died on Thursday.
Other details about the baby girl could not be known immediately.
The government earlier confirmed the first death from the H1N1 virus after 37-year-old Mitali Chakrabarty at Labaid Hospital on August 30.
But the sample of another victim identified as Sobhan alias Sagar, 20, who died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, was not tested in the laboratory.
It was detected clinically, Prof Mahmudur Rahman, Director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), told the briefing.
Meanwhile, the number of swine flu patients have rose to 311 since the first case was detected on June 18, said Prof Mahmudur.
He said swine flu has so far been detected in Dhaka and 13 other districts.
Asked about the swine flu vaccine, the IEDCR director informed that the vaccine will hit the world market in October, which may be marketed in the country in January.
File photoA four-month-old baby girl was underwent treatment for swine flu and congenital defect for about a month at a hospital out of the capital.
She was taken back home as her condition deteriorated where she died on Thursday.
Other details about the baby girl could not be known immediately.
The government earlier confirmed the first death from the H1N1 virus after 37-year-old Mitali Chakrabarty at Labaid Hospital on August 30.
But the sample of another victim identified as Sobhan alias Sagar, 20, who died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, was not tested in the laboratory.
It was detected clinically, Prof Mahmudur Rahman, Director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), told the briefing.
Meanwhile, the number of swine flu patients have rose to 311 since the first case was detected on June 18, said Prof Mahmudur.
He said swine flu has so far been detected in Dhaka and 13 other districts.
Asked about the swine flu vaccine, the IEDCR director informed that the vaccine will hit the world market in October, which may be marketed in the country in January.
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