APJ Abdul Kalam Foundation launched

House of Kalam Logo Launched Last week (Oct 11,2015). Chinmaya heritage center, Chetpet, Chennai.

The A.P.J Abdul Kalam family launched "House of Kalam" International Foundation logo last Week Oct 11, 2015. The chief guest Ilayaraja and Lawrence(Film Artist), Siva karthikeyan(Film Artist). The Kalam family said anybody can follow Kalam words. dont open kalam statue. Their said Kalam fan's help to poor school childrens education.

IT spending to Rebound next Year

The global IT industry will return to growth in 2010, with technology spending increasing 3.3 percent ($3.3 trillion) after declining by 5.2 percent in 2009, IT research and advisory firm Gartner has said.

“The IT industry is exiting its worst year ever with 5.2 percent decline in technology spending worldwide. IT spending by enterprises is projected to drop 6.9 percent over 2008,” Gartner said in its latest outlook for the high-tech industry.

Cautioning the IT industry against being overly optimistic, an expert from the advisory firm said though growth would return next year, it would not be as high as it was in 2008 in revenue terms.

“In growth terms, the IT budget will be zero percent or less for over 50 percent of the industry next year, but will slowly improve in 2011.

The industry will face cost, risk and growth challenges in 2010,” Gartner’s research global head Peter Sondergaard said at the ongoing “ITxpo” event at Orlando in the US.

Spending on IT services worldwide is forecast to grow 4.5 percent in 2010 from the projected $781 billion by this year end. Similarly, global telecom spending will grow 3.2 percent next year from a projected decline of 4 percent to $ 1.9 trillion in 2009.

“But hardware spending will be flat in 2010, as the global computing market sales are set to plunge by 16.5 percent to $ 317 billion by this year end. Spending on software, however, is projected to grow 4.8 percent in 2010 from a decline of 2.1 percent this year,” Soundergaard said.

Emerging regions such as Asia-Pacific, South America, North Africa and the Middle East will see strong growth. “The Silicon Valley in the US will not be in the driver’s seat anymore.” Sondergaard asserted.

According to Gartner, the global IT industry will see a shift to operational expenditure (opex) from capital expenditure (capex).

With delayed purchases of servers, personal computers and printers continuing in 2010, the IT industry must assess the impact of increased equipment failure rates and whether current financial write off periods are suitable.

Sucking Thumb for long may hinder Speech Development

PACIFIER, baby bottle or thumb sucking may hamper a child’s speech development if the habit goes on too long, says a new study. The children were more likely to have difficulty producing certain word sounds and to simplify their pronunciation.

A team led by Clarita Barbosa from Corporation de Rehabilitation Club De Le ones Crz Del Sur in Patagonia, Chile, conducted the study with University of Washington (UW) Multidisciplinary International Research Training (MIRT).

Looking at 128 children aged three to five years, researchers gathered parents’ reports of each child’s sucking behavior during infancy and evaluated their speech.

They found that delay in giving a baby bottle until the child was at least nine month old reduced the risk of their developing speech disorders, while children who sucked their fingers for over three years, were three times more likely to develop speech problems.

Physically challenged NRI woman to Skydive against Racism

A 22 year old wheelchair bound dare devil Indian origin woman suffering form cerebral palsy plans to skydive from more than 14,000 feet to raise funds to fight against racism and fascism in the UK,

Rupy Kaur, a disability activist who takes her inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi, will undertake the feet on December 6 in Lake District, a picturesque region in northwest of England. She comes from a family of fighters’ of justice.

“Just because you are disabled it does not mean you cannot participate in extreme sports. Obviously, you have got to think about the pros and cons but it should not hold you back,” Kaur was quoted as saying by Messenger.

Stating that she is proud of her Indian origin. Kaur, a psychology graduate of Manchester University said money raised from the act would go to wards two of Britain’s best known groups campaigning against fascism and racism. Searchlight and Hope Not Hate. Her move comes amid recent violent demonstrations by the racist and anti immigration groups in towns and cities with large non white populations in Britain.

Kaur is particularly critical of the anti immigration British National Party (BNP), which is in the midst of major controversy over a decision by the BBC television to invite its leader to participate in a popular current affairs discussion show called Question Time this week.

“When I first heard of the BNP, I thought nobody would be that stupid as to vote for them. There have been many wars and nobody would want to incite hatred, would they? Te sad fact is there are people who support them,” Kaur said. The BNP has more than 50 elected representatives in local authorities all over Britain and two in the European Parliament.

BNP leader Nick Griffin on Monday claimed that his Question Time invitation marks the BNP’s arrival in the British political system and argued that some Sikhs and Hindus now supported the far right party.

According to him, many ethnic minority Britons agreed with the party’s hard line opposition to immigration.

Griffin contrasted Civically British minority communities who lived here, legally and legitimately, with Islamic colonists who wanted to impose their views on the rest of society.

At the same time, he said BNP’s purpose remained to represent indigenous Brits not including any ethnic minorities. “It is not a matter of racism; it’s a matter of standing up for the indigenous. No one in this country is here for the English, the Scots, the Irish, the Welsh,” he said.

Shockwave proves to be a boon to Cardiology

Extracorporeal cardiac shock wave therapy (CSWT) also known as ESMR, is a new therapy which has been introduced recently to improve myocardial ischemia in a patient with severe CAD and refractory angina pectoris. Myocardial Revascularization using Shockwave technology (ESMR) is an effective an patient friendly modality for the stimulation of angiogenesis (formation of new blood vessels) and for treatment of patients with end stage Ischemic heard disease and resistant angina. This treatment is poised to become a more widely used treatment for the growing population of patients with end stage coronary heart disease.

It is technique based on using low intensity Shock waves, a form of sound waves similar to those generated by ultrasound machines produced by a special shock wave generator, targeted at the ischemic areas of heart muscles which stimulates the formation or growth of new blood vessels which in turn increases the blood supply to the ischemic area of the heart and improves its myocardial perfusion. Shock wave technology is already being used in the field of urology and orthopedics and now it’s being used in the field of cardiology for revascularization of reversible ischemic areas.

As the survival of patients with primary coronary events continues to increase, the number of patients presenting with coronary artery disease unsuitable to further revascularization techniques and symptoms refractory to medical therapy also continues to rise.

Who are the candidates for ESMR?

Patients having

·        Chronic chest pain (Refractory Angina) even after bypass surgery Angioplasty.

·        Having 70-100 percent blockages in angiogram

·        Chronic Renal disease with heart attack problem.

·        High risk problems medically unfit for bypass surgery.

·        Coronary anatomy not readily amenable for bypass surgery.

·        Inability to perform angioplasty because the target lesion is inaccessible.

ESMR treatment is an excellent alternative for patients at an increased risk of requiring operative revascularization.

For Successful Conception

The Sperm should be capable of the following capacities to be able to fertilize the egg.

It should be capable of rapid movement towards the egg. It should be capable of piercing the egg and fusing with its nucleus. Your semen analysis will reveal whether the sperm is capable of rapid motility Hamaster test would reveal if it can pierce the egg.

Sperm Count

There are different opinions about the number of sperms that should be normally present in the semen. According to the World Health Organisation, the count in every ejaculate should be around 50 million per milliliter of semen. Among them about 50 percent should be capable of motility and 60 percent should have normal morphology or appearance. It is enough if there are about 20 million sperms in about 1 ml of semen. Among them 5=10 million should be capable of motility. This is enough to bring about fertilization. Till about 25 years ago, 100 million per ml was thought to be required. The changing scenario of chemical pollution and lifestyles, the count is reduced to half.

Low output of Semen

The quantity of semen is very important for reproduction to occur. Semen output less than 1 ml is highly insufficient since it cannot even reach the uterine cervix. The female reproductive system has acid secretions. These are meant to kill any invading microorganisms. When the semen output is low, it will not to be enough to neutralize the acid secretions resulting in the death of all sperms. Many who come here have only limited understanding of this and we make it a point to inform them here.

Repeated antibiotic therapy could only reduce the fructose content to half. Excess semen secretion was brought to normal. We can use the semen for artificial insemination, which brought about successful conception.

Excess Semen secretion:

If the volume of the semen you are expelling is more than 3.5 ml, the number of sperms would be less. Because they get lysed in the fluid. In about 90% of males the first ejaculate will have more of sperms. Get it out through masturbation. We can use it for artificial insemination.

China has Second Highest number of Billionaires

China has more billionaires than any other country apart from the United States, a Forbes report has claimed.

There are 130 billionaires, up from 101 last year, compared with 359 in the United States, 32 in Russia and 24 in India, according to the magazine.

China’s rich are also getting richer, with the average wealth on the list £ 361 million, up almost one third on last year. Report author Rupert Hoogewerf said China’s super rich had bounced back from the financial crisis with a vengeance.

“We’ve seen China buck the trend and the wealth seems to be still growing,” he said. “They’ve put the credit crunch behind them. The key driver has been urbanization. You’ve got all these cities being built, and that requires property developers, iron and steel manufacturers. The latest thing is cars.”

Topping the list was Wang Chuanfu, chairman of electric car and battery maker BYD, with an estimated personal wealth of $ 5.1 billion. Second place went to Zhang Yin and family owner of paper recycler Nine Dragons paper, while in third place was Xu Rongmao and family, owner of Shimao Property Holdings.

China’s ruling communist Party once condemned entrepreneurs and private business people as capitalist exploiters, but now welcomes them since late reformist leader Deng Xiaoping began landmark economic reforms in the 1970s. One third of the people on the 1,000-name rich list are believed to be party members, according to the report. Still, one famous name fell off the list this year – NBA basketball player Yao Ming, who has struggled with a food injury for the last few months.

The Cell Phone Cancer debate continues

In the most recent instance of the triumph of wishful thinking over basic physics, a ‘collaboration of international EMF activists’ recently released a report repeating the tired argument that ‘cell phones cause brain tumours’. Their evidence: Studies discrediting the link between cell phone radiation and tumours were funded by telecommunications companies, which deliberately excluded data that might have shown a link.

Many people probably first heard about the ‘risk’ of cell phones when David Raynard, whose wife died of brain cancer, appeared on ‘Larry King Live’ in 1993 to support his law suit claiming that the tumour had been caused by her cell phone. His evidence: ‘She held it against her head and talked on it all the time’.

More recently, King hosted three neurosurgeons who said they would never place a cell phone against their head because of the risk. They may be good neurosurgeons, but apparently they flunked physics.

Cancer occurs when cellular DNA is disrupted, producing mutant strands of DNA. That is true for carcinogens, viruses and radiation. All radiation is composed of photons, and the energy they contain depends on the wavelength of the radiation. Yellow light has a frequency of 5x1014 Hz and is not powerful enough to break DNA bonds. Otherwise, we would have to sit around in darkened rooms all the time.

The frequency of a typical cell phone is about 1 x 109 Hz, while that used in a house hold microwave over is 2.45 x 1012 Hz. In other words, the radiation from a microwave oven packs only a thousandth of the energy of yellow light, while that from a cell phone packs a millionth of the energy. The energy of EMF radiation from power lines has a million fold less energy than a cell phone.

That is nowhere near enough energy to break bonds in DNA. For a microwave oven, it would be like trying to cut barbed wire with plastic scissors. For a cell phone, it would be more like paper scissors. And for EMF from power lines, in the words New Yorkers, fuhgeddaboutit.

And if that isn’t enough, Danish researchers reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in 2001 on a study of half a million cell phone users in that country, linking computerized records of cell phone use to cancer databases. The result: no detectable risk. An editorial in the same journal by physicist Robert L Park of the University of Maryland summarized the evidence against a potential link. Many other studies have found the same results – which is to be expected if the laws of physics do, in fact, hold in this universe.

And as for those YouTube videos purporting to show cell phones popping corn: They’re fake. Cardo Systems, a manufacturer of Bluetooth headpieces for cell phones, has admitted that it created the videos to scare consumers and encourage them to buy its products. The effect was created by dropping popped corn on the table, then editing out the unpopped kernels.

In 10 years, Arctic will be an open sea

The explorer trekked more than 269 miles towards the North Pole this winter in temperatures below 40 degrees Celsius to measure the depth of the ice. The average thickness of ice floes was 1.8 metres, suggesting the ice sheet is now largely made up of first year ice rather than ‘multiyear’ ice that will have built up over time.

An analysis by Cambridge University has concluded that the Arctic is now melting at such a rate that it will be largely ice free within 10 years, allowing ships to cross the Arctic Ocean.

Further analysis by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) warned that the ‘irreversible trend’ will cause dangerous feedback because water absorbs more heat from the Sun than ice, therefore further speeding up the global warming process. The melting of the ice could also trigger extreme weather patterns as the ocean currents change and release even more greenhouse gases stored under the ice.

The results will be presented to a UN meeting this December in Copenhagen as further evidence that the world must reduce carbon emissions in order to prevent the Arctic melting at an even faster rate.

The seasoned Arctic Explorer, who was the first person to trek to the North Pole alone, was forced to continue with just a simple ice drill, During the 73 day trek he took 1500 readings, often during pitch blackness and with windchill factors down to 70 degree Celsius. The team also took thousands of visual observations to give an impression of how the shape of the ice sheet is changing.

Hadow insisted the effort was worth it. He pointed out that no other readings of this year’s winter sea ice was available to scientists and surface readings can pick up changes in the ice that were not being picked up by computer models.

“Our on the ice techniques are helping scientists to understand better what is going on in this fragile ecosystem,” he said. “To all intents and purposes the Arctic will be ice free in a decade. I do find the implications of this happening in my lifetime quite shocking.”

Professor Peter Wadhams, of the Polar Ocean Physics Group at the University of Cambridge, said scientists rely on readings from submarines or satellite for data sea ice.

However the new data from the survey confirmed the wider evidence that the Arctic will be completely ice free within 20 years, with most of the ice gone within a decade. “The Catlin Arctic Survey data supports the consensus view that the Arctic will be ice free in summer within about 20 years and that much of that decrease will be happening within 10 years”, he said.

“It will not be very long before we start to think of the Arctic as an open sea. We have taken the lid off the northern part of the planet and we cannot put it back on again.”

Indian IT spend to see CAGR of 11.8 pc’

The Indian IT spend will reach Rs 989 billion in 2009, and is expected to grow to Rs. 1643 billion by 2013 at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.8 percent, a recent study has revealed.

A study by International Data Corporation to measure the IT industry’s contribution to local economies in 52 countries also said that by 2013, IT as a percentage of GDP will increase from 1.8 percent to 2.3 percent in India.

The IT market creates nearly 7,000 new businesses and over 3.24 lakh new jobs between 2009 and 2013, the study said.

Presently, software spending represents 12 percent of India’s total IT spending where as much as 45 percent of IT employees are engaged in creating, distributing, installing or servicing software.

The IDC study, commissioned by Microsoft, investigates the contribution of IT to GDP, job creation in the IT industry, employment in the software sector, and formation of new companies, local IT spending, and tax revenues in 52 countries, representing 98 percent of total worldwide IT spending.

“In this fundamental economic reset, innovative technologies will play a vital role in driving productivity gains and enabling the creation of new local businesses and highly skilled jobs that fuel economic recovery and support sustainable economic growth.” said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft.

“Countries that foster innovation and invest in infrastructure, education and skills development for their citizens will have a major competitive advantage in the global marketplace.”

According to the study, local partners in the Microsoft ecosystem will generate more than Rs. 420 billion ($9.6 billion) in revenues for themselves. “To generate these revenues, they will invest Rs. 134 billion ($3.1 billion) in development, marketing, training and sales in the Indian economy,” the study said.

France tops Europe for quality of life, Britain worst

FRANCE has the best quality of life out of Europe’s biggest countries, while Britain has the worst despite having the highest incomes, a study said on Monday.

British workers can expect to spend three years longer at work and die two years younger than their French counterparts, while they pay above the Europea average for fuel, food, alcohol and cigarettes, the study by uSwitch.com said.

The consumer website used existing research from different sources to compare 17 lifestyle factor sin France, Spain, denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Italy, Sweden, Ireland and Britain.

It revealed that Britain had the highest net household income – at $16000 above the European norm – but much of this is spent on a higher cost of living.

Britain is the second most expensive country in Europe for unleaded petrol, while diesel is 20 percent above the European average. Food also costs more and only Ireland and Sweden pay more for a round of drinks. Poland has the longest working hours but its holiday allowance is also among the highest, while British workers put in an average 37 hours each week but have the lowest holiday entitlement.

Britain is also near the bottom of the rankings when it comes to health and education spending, has a below average life expectancy – and enjoys far less sunshine.

By contrast, the French retire earlier, live longer and have more paid holiday than the average across the 10 countries. While they earn less, they have some of the lowest food, alcohol, electricity and gas prices.

Scientists produce Liver cells from Skin cells of Patients

In a major scientific break through, scientists have successfully produced liver cells from patients’ skin cells opening the possibility of treating a wide range of diseases that affect liver function. Loss of liver function is caused by several factors, including genetic mutations, infections with hepatitis viruses or by excessive alcohol consumption or even chronic use of some prescription drugs.

Now a team at the University of Wisconsin Madison has generated patient specific liver cells by showing that skin cells can be reprogrammed to become cells resembling embryonic stem cells.

The scientists then tricked the skin derived pluripotent stem cells into forming liver cells by mimicking the normal processes through which liver cells are made during embryonic development.

At the end of this process, they found that they were able to very easily produce large numbers of relatively pure liver cells in laboratory culture dishes, the latest edition of the Hepatology Journal reported.

“We were excited to discover that the liver cells produced from human skin cells were able to perform many of the activities associated with healthy adult liver function and that these cells could be injected into mouse livers where they integrated and were capable of making human liver proteins,” Stephen Duncan, the leader of the team working on the project, said.

“When liver function goes awry, it can result in a wide variety of disorders including diabetes and atherosclerosis and in many cases cam be fatal” the scientists said.

“This is a crucial step forward.” The team leader said about the new development.

“This step would help in moving towards developing new therapies that can potentially replace the need for scarce liver transplants, currently the only treatments for the most advanced cases of liver disease,” Stephen Duncan said.

Why a boyfriend is baggage?

            Dear LADIES, the next time you plan a holiday, keep in mind this little tip – avoid excess baggage. That includes the man in your life. No matter what stage you life is in, it’ll do you good to leave you man behind while you spend uninterrupted time with your BFs. Here are some reasons why a trip with the girls should be right on top of you to do list.

1)     The girls won’t push, nag and hurry you to get dressed for a day of sight seeing.

2)     The girls will indulge you inner super model and patiently click pictures of you in every possible angle so your arms won’t look fat.

3)     Want to do more than check out the local pubs? The girls don’t need to be coerced into obscure cultural experiences.

4)     Speaking of pubs, a group of female tourists leads directly to loads of attention and not to mention, free drinks.

5)     Sharing is caring as you pack light for your trip but still have a huge wardrobe to choose from; courtesy of you gang of girls.

6)     Packing light means you have space for heavy duty shopping. Imagine being let loose in a mall without a man to sulk and mope behind you.

7)     Let’s not forget the simple pleasures of hanging out with the girls.

If these reasons are not enough to get you moving, consider the after effects of you trip. You’ve been gone for a few days on a much needed holiday, with out your man. You’re back, all recharged and rejuvenated. Your man has missed you while you’ve been gone. Need I say more ladies? Do yourselves a favour, leave behind all that excess baggage and let your gang of divas help you celebrate life and friendship!

Global Muslim Population is 1.57 billion

   A newly released demographic study estimates the global Muslim population at 1.57 billion, accounting for nearly 23 percent of the current total world population of 6.6 billion. India has the third largest number of Muslims (161 Million) after Indonesia (203 Million) and Pakistan (174 Million), says the study conducted by Washington based Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

   India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, with 480 million Muslims, make up for nearly a third of the world’s Muslim population (31 percent). The study titled Mapping the Global Muslim Population, claims to offer the most up to date and fully sourced estimates of the size and distribution of the worldwide Muslim population, including sectarian identity. One of its key findings is that more than 300 million Muslims, or one fifth of the world’s Muslim population, live in countries where Islam is not majority religion. “India, for example, has the third largest population of Muslims worldwide. China has more Muslims than Syria while Russia is home to more Muslims than Jordan and Libya combined,” it says.

   China’s Muslim population is put at 22 million and Russia’s at 16 million. Of the total Muslim population, 87-90 percent is Sunnis while 10-13 percent is Shias. Most Shias (68-80 percent) live in just four countries – Iran, Pakistan, India and Iraq.

   While pew claims a more definitive estimate of 1.57 billion Muslims, previously published estimates have ranged widely, from 1 billion to 1.8 billion. Pew says its estimate is based on “the best available data for 232 countries and territories”

   The findings will form the basis for another Pew study to be released next year that proposes to estimate growth rates among Muslim populations worldwide and project Muslim populations into the future.

Scientists test ‘MIRACLE’ pill to cure PERIOD PAINS

   Scientists have developed a pill they claim may soon put an end to the monthly period pains of women. Southampton based scientists have created the pill from a drug called VA111913. The drug, taken as a prescribed medicine, is designed to tackle the cause of agonizing monthly stomach cramps which leave some women bedridden.

   It is currently in the second phase of testing and is being is being trialed on 128 women, aged between 18 and 35, in Britain and America. Participants will be given a six day course of the treatment during their menstrual cycle.

   If proven to be effective, the drug could be available within four years. Dr. Jim Phillips, chief executive of Vantia Therapeutics, the company behind the discovery, is confident the drug will be success. He said, “I think it would be fair to call it a breakthrough, there is certainly no other treatment like it. From our research, there is nothing to suggest it won’t work.”

   Period pain is caused by contractions in the womb as it sheds its lining during menstruation. Each contraction temporarily stops the blood flow to the womb causing the blood vessels in the muscle wall to compress and the tissue to be starved of oxygen – causing pain, called dysmenorrhoea. At the same time chemical, called prostaglandins, are released that induce stronger contractions and can cause more pain.

   There are thought to be a number of ways to ease the pain – from relaxing exercises to placing a hot water bottle on the stomach. There are also several painkillers on the market, but there is currently no treatment specifically designed to stop the pain completely.

   The new drug works by targeting the muscles that contract in the uterus wall, by doing these scientists believe this will stop the pain. If successful, the company could win a slice of the therapeutic market for period pains estimated to be worth around one billion dollars.

   The result of the trial, taking place over the next two months, will be known by the middle of next year. 

Beer pips Wine, Flatter and Healthier

It’s the weirdest thing. Pubs are shutting all over the place – about 40 a week at the last count – yet sales of quality beers are on the up. And it’s not just sales of bottled beer either, but keg and cask beer, too, which you drink in pubs.  I can’t work it out. My new favorite local brewer, Hepworth & Co in Horsham, is brewing around the clock in order to keep up with demand. Sales are soaring, up 18 percent on last year, according to the company’s head brewer Andy Hepsorth.

“We concentrate on making beer that a few people rave about, rather than beer that a lot of people don’t object to,” he says. “This seems to strike an chord with our customers, along with the fact that we source everything as locally as possible.

Even my wife, Marina, likes it, although commendably enough, she usually waits until lunch or at least midmorning before getting stuck in.

After all, beer comes in all manner of styles and flavors. It goes well with food, It’s fat free, cholesterol free and it has fewer calories than wine (and less alcohol), as well as being low in carbohydrates (a pint of beer has half the carbs of an apple). So what’s not to like? It’s almost as if beer was designed specifically with women in mind.

“Quite right!” exclaims Kristy Mc Cready of the Bitter Sweet Partnership, a multi million pond investment funded by Molson Coors Brewing Company to encourage more women to drink beer. “The difficulty is persuading women what a great drink it is. We drink more than26 million pints of beer every day in Britain, but only eight percent of women say that it’s their preferred drink, while 77 percent say they never touch it.”

Bitter Sweet’s research has shown that women see wine as aspirational and chic but beer as un sophisticated and unstylish. They believe beer is fattening and worry about what other women will think of them if they drink it. Apparently, women have more taste receptors than men and are more likely to enjoy the wide variety of falvours that beer offers, but are some how conditioned to think they won’t.

“Nobody likes their first taste of beer,” says McCready. “But for guys, it’s a rite of passage, a ritual, after which they’re all part of the gang. For women, there’s no such reward because all their friends will be drinking wine and they think they’ll stand out as unsophisticated and ‘chavvy’ among their peers, with the added risk of developing an unbecoming beer belly.”

The trouble is that most beer is made, advertised and sold by men for men. Women just don’t get much of a look in. Happily, though, that is starting to change as more women enter the brewing industry – and not just to pull pints in a low cut top. The head brewer at the St. Anstell Brewery is Paola Leather, who must surely be unique – a qualified female brewer from Colombia with an MBA to boot.

“Beer is my passion,” says Leather. “I never drink anything else at home and can’t understand why more women don’t do the same. There really is a beer for every occasion and I think the female market is largely untapped. Next year we’ll be bringing out our first lager specifically with women in mind.”

"HAVE A NICE WEEKEND"

Trio’s NOBEL effort to improve medicines

Two Americans and an Israeli scientist won the 2009 Noble Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday (07.10.2009) for atom by atom mapping of the protein making the factories within cells – a feat that has spurred the development of antibiotics.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas Steitz and Israeli Ada Yonath’s work on ribosomes has been fundamental to the scientific understanding of life.

Yonath, 70, is the fourth woman to win the Nobel chemistry prize and the first since 1964, when Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin of Britain received the award. “I’m really, really happy,” Yonath said. “I thought it was wonderful when the discovery came. It was a series of discoveries… We still don’t’ know every, everything, but we progressed a lot.”

Ribosomes are crucial to life because they produce the proteins that control the chemistry of plants, animals and humans. Working separately, the three laureates used a method called X-ray crystallography to pinpoint the positions of the hundreds of thousands of atoms that make up the ribosome.

Their three dimensional models show how different antibiotics bind to ribosomes – an understanding that has helped other researchers develop new drugs to fight bacterial infections.

“These models are now used by scientists in order to develop new antibiotics, directly assisting the saving of lives and decreasing humanity’s suffering,” the academy said in its announcement.

Many of today’s antibiotics cure diseases by blocking the function of bacterial ribosomes, the citation said. “Without functional ribosomes, bacteria cannot survive. This is why ribosomes are such an important target for new antibiotics.”

The work was published in 2000. While many Nobel winners are honored for joint work, this year’s chemistry winners were competing with each other, award committee member Mans Ehrenberg said.

Their work builds on Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution and, more directly, on the work done by James Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins, who won the 1962 Nobel prize in medicine for mapping DNA’s double helix, the citation said.

In 2006, Roger D Kornberg won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for X-ray structures that showed how information is copied to messenger RNA molecules, which carry information from DNA to the ribosomes. “Now, one of the las pieces of the puzzles has been added – under standing how proteins are made,” said Professor Gunnar von Heijne of the Swedish Academy of Sciences, the chairman of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry.

Blind British boy sees with his ears

     A seven year old boy, who was born blind, can now see with his ears using a technique similar to that used by bats and dolphins.

     Lucas Murray, nicknamed bat boy, can see by clicking his tongue on the roof of his mouth. He can find out where and how far big objects are by listening to the echo that bounces back. This technique is similar to echolocation used by bats and dolphins, which measure height and distance of an object by the echo of the sound emitted by those objects.

     Lucas loves playing basketball and even goes rock climbing. “I love basket ball and it is much easier to play now that I can use my click to find out where the hoop is. It was quite hard to learn what the echoes meant at first, but now I find it a lot easier.” Lucas was told.

     The technique was pioneered 41 year old Daniel Kish of California, who himself is blind. He spent three days working with Lucas and his family two years ago. “While Daniel taught Lucas echolocation and cane skills, he taught us that the most important lesson as parents is to let him do it himself. Lucas picked up the clicking quite quickly and very soon we could tell it was having a real impact on his life.” Sarah Murray was told.

     “When people see him walking or running around and hear that he is blind, they are just blown away,” his mother said.

     What more, Lucas can even estimate the size of an object by the intensity of the echo. According to him, a smaller object would reflect only less of the sound wave.

Solution for Tooth Loss

A dental implant is an artificial tooth root placed in to your jaw to hold a replacement crown or bridge in place. The treatment can be more conservative than traditional bridge work, since implants do not rely on neighboring teeth for support. Dental implants restorations are so natural looking and feeling that you may forget you ever lost a tooth. Dental implants can be the best solution to the problem of missing teeth. Since dental implants integrate into the structure of your bone, they can prevent the bone loss and gum recession. No one will ever know that you have a replacement tooth.

How will the implants be placed?

First, implants, which look like screws or cylinders, are placed into your jaw. Over the next two to three months, the implants and the bone are allowed to bond together to form anchors. During this, time, a temporary teeth replacement option can be worn over the implant sites. Often, a second step of the procedure is necessary to uncover the implants and attach extensions. The se small metal posts, called abutments, complete the foundation on which your new teeth will be placed. Your gums will be allowed to heal for a couple of weeks following this procedure.

There are some implant systems (one stage) that do not require this second step. These systems use an implant which already has the extension piece attached. Your periodontist will advise you on which system is best for you. Finally, replacement teeth, or bridges, will be created for you by your dentist and attached to the abutments. After a short time, you will experience restored confidence in your smile and your ability to chew and speak.

Am I a candidate for dental implants?

The ideal candidate for a dental implant is in good general and oral health. Adequate bone in you jaw is needed to support the implant. The best candidates have healthy gum tissues that are free of periodontal disease. Smoking is detrimental to healing but is not an absolute contraindication. Dental implants are intimately connected with the gum tissues and underlying bone in the mouth. Your dentist can determine if you are a good candidate for this procedure. Implants can also be used for those who have lost all their teeth.

The Ancient Digestive LEGIYAM

Abundant with medicinal properties of ancient herbs and spices, this LEGIYAM promises Digestion.

Festival celebrations are incomplete without a smorgasbord of delectable items. Keeping these not so bite sized indulgences in mind, the traditional South Indian dish that has come to be identified exclusively with the festival LEGIYAM, was introduced.

Abundant with medicinal properties of ancient herbs and spices like cumin seeds, Jeera, coriander seeds and ginger, this LEGIYAM is made as a potion that promises digestion. The herbs are rich in anti oxidants and help neutralize the ghee and buttered sachets that might meander through or arteries.

This LEGIYAM always consumed before devouring the all festival treats.

Recipe :

Ingredients :

1)     Peppercorn – 2 tsps

2)     Cumin seeds Jeera – 2 ½ tsps

3)     Coriander seeds – 2 ½ tsps

4)     Bishop weed seeds / Ajwain – 25 grams / 3 tbsps

5)     Dry or fresh ginger – 30 gm

6)     Cardamom – 1gm / 2 to 3

7)     Nutmeg or jaadhikkai - ½ piece

8)     Ghee or clarified butter – 100 gms

9)     Kanda Thipli (Desavaram Pipala Mool)  - 10 to 12 sticks.

10) Crumbled Jaggery (equal to the amount of ground paste) – 50 grams

Method :

1. Smash all the dry ingredients in a mortar and pestle.
2. Pour some water and soak them for about 10 – 15 mts.
3. Grind into a soft paste in a blender.
4. Add ½ cup water and thoroughly mix up the paste and place in a heavy bottomed wok or vessel.
5. Cook it on a slow flame, stirring it continuously with a flat ladle so that no lumps are formed.
6. When the water is nearly evaporated adds the crumbled jaggery and stirs it in.
7. Add spoonfuls of ghee and keep stirring.
8. When the LEGIYAM comes together in a ball and the ghee is separated from it, turn off the heat.
9. Stir in the honey and store in an airtight container. Take 1 ball of 10 gram of this LEGIYAM      whenever you need for digestion.