Different Ways | SilverScorpio.Com

Amanda Seyfried’s new tattoo means ‘vagina’!

May 12, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

London, May 12 (ANI): Amanda Seyfried is excited about her new tattoo—‘minge’— which means vagina.

The Mamma Mia has said that she is proud of the odd artwork, which is apparently her nickname too.

“It means vagina and kind of proud of it,” the Sun quoted her as saying.

“It”s my nickname. You can”t see it, but it”s called Minge and it”s slang in England. Speaking of the artwork,” she admitted.

“It has something to do with your pubic hair in the dictionary,” she added.

Amanda, who has shared on-screen smooches with actresses Megan Fox and Julianne Moore, also confessed she enjoys lesbian kisses – but bans her dad from watching them.

She told host Chelsea Handler: “One person cannot enjoy it, which is my father. He”s not allowed to enjoy it – he”s not allowed to see it.

“But it”s really fun. It feels like I”m becoming a better actor, to use my body in different ways.” (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: actresses, amanda seyfried, artwork, dad, dictionary, different ways, England, fun, julianne moore, Lesbian Kisses, mamma mia, megan fox, Minge, New London, new tattoo, nickname, Pubic Hair, slang, smooches, vagina

Woman’s touch can fuel risk-taking behaviour

May 12, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Washington, May 12 (ANI): A comforting, maternal pat on the back can make a person throw caution to the wind, concludes a new study.

The research has been published online in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

If a female experimenter patted a participant on the back, they”d risk more money than if she just talked to them, or if a man did the patting, the study found.

The researchers think this comes from the way that mothers use touch to make their babies feel secure. When we are infants, we receive a lot of touch from our mothers. This creates a sense of attachment, which makes a baby feel secure. This helps the youngster”s sense of adventure; they”re more willing to take the risks that come with exploring unfamiliar contexts and strange situations.

Jonathan Levav of Columbia University and Jennifer J. Argo of the University of Alberta wanted to know what happens when those babies grow up: Does physical contact also affect how willing adults are to take risks?

Participants were tested to see if they would take risks, such as investing money or taking a gamble. When they started the experiment, they were greeted in different ways: by a female or male experimenter and with a light, comforting touch on the shoulder, a handshake, or no physical contact at all. At the end of the experiment, they also filled out surveys that assessed how secure they felt. The researchers found that participants who were touched felt more secure and took bigger risks than those who weren”t – but only if they were touched by a woman. The effect was stronger for a touch on the back than for a handshake, but went away entirely for participants who were touched by a man.

The results suggest that a woman”s touch works the same on adults as it does on infants: making them feel more secure and more willing to take risks. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Argo, babies, Caution To The Wind, columbia university, Contexts, different ways, experimenter, handshake, Investing Money, jonathan, participant, participants, Pat On The Back, psychological science, risk, Strange Situations, surveys, University of Alberta, Willing Adults, youngster

Cops, thieves, ordinary people apply different logic when making decisions

May 5, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Washington, May 5 (ANI): Police officers and criminals are more consistent in their judgements than ordinary people, according to a new study.

However, police officers’ reasoning is more similar to that of ordinary people than to that of thieves.

This conclusion might have significant implications on criminal jurisdiction. For the purpose of this study, a 120-people sample was taken. The sample consisted of 40 expert criminals, 40 expert policemen and 40 students unrelated to criminal activities

The study conducted by the University of Granada, in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, revealed that policemen and ordinary people reason differently than criminals when making decisions. That is, they reason in different ways.

The research was conducted by Rocío García-Retamero from the Department of Experimental Psychology and Behavioural Physiology of the University of Granada, and Mandeep K. Dhabi from the Institute of Criminology (University of Cambridge, United Kingdom). (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: collaboration, conclusion, cops, Criminal Jurisdiction, criminals, Criminology University, different ways, Experimental Psychology, institute of criminology, judgements, Logic 5, Making Decisions, Mandeep, ordinary people, physiology, police officers, policemen, thieves, university of cambridge, university of granada

Kids eat more fruit ‘when it looks good’

May 5, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

London, May 5 (ANI): Want to make your kid eat more apples, strawberries and grapes? Well, then try to make the fruits look good.

A new study, published in journal Appetite, studied nearly 100 pupils in the Netherlands and Belgium to reach the above conclusion, reports The BBC.

In the study, children aged four to seven were presented apples, strawberries and seedless grapes in different ways.

When given a choice, the children plumped for these fruits more readily when they were made into a hedgehog – skewered with colourful cocktail sticks that were pierced into a watermelon.

The same cubed fruits didn’t entice the children”s palates when they were simply offered on a white dish.

The study found that kids ate nearly twice as much of the “fun” fruit, even though they said they understood that both fruit options should taste the same.

Attractive packaging and “perhaps adding a little toy, like the toy that comes with a Happy Meal, to the packaging could make this kind of snack even more appealing”, the boffins told the journal.

“It is probably necessary for parents and food producers to remain innovative,” they added.

Dr Laura Wyness of the British Nutrition Foundation said: “It is advisable to try to make food as appetising as possible.

“How food looks probably does have quite an influence, especially for kids who are getting used to different types of food.” (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: appetite, apples, bbc, boffins, british nutrition foundation, Cocktail Sticks, Different Types Of Food, different ways, dish, Dr Laura, food producers, fruits, Happy Meal, palates, pupils, Seedless Grapes, snack, Strawberries, types of food, watermelon

Conservatory Land Makes Bi-Fold Doors in Conservatories a Success

April 9, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

MANSFIELD, UNITED KINGDOM, Apr 08 (MARKET WIRE) —
Bi-fold doors, also known as folding or concertina doors, provide
complete open access up to six metres wide and started becoming more
popular in 2008 when many consumers were installing them in their homes.

Later that year, DIY conservatory retailer ConservatoryLand, commenced
manufacture and introduced to their customers the option of upgrading
their DIY conservatories with bi-fold doors to open up their house to
their conservatory or their conservatory to their garden.

The company marketed their new product by installing bi-fold doors in
their Mansfield showroom, adding them to their website and sending out
fliers with their brochures. Since then, sales of bi-fold doors in their
conservatories have rapidly increased with one in ten customers now
requesting them.

When installed in a brick built property, the doors can be manufactured
up to six metres wide and up to four metres wide when installed in
conservatories. This is achieved with the company’s new bi-fold door
aluminium bolster system to provide the required support.

David Bingham, Director of the company comments “We are delighted with
response to our marketing campaign and started receiving orders within
days of introduction. Our bi-fold doors are a lovely product which
provide a huge opening to the home or conservatory compared to that of
traditional patio or French doors.”

Traditionally, bi-fold doors have been manufactured from timber or
aluminium and have been common place in continental countries for many
years, particularly in commercial public premises such as bars and
restaurants.

David Bingham continues “With more consumers looking for different ways
of enhancing their homes and with new technology now available to
manufacture bi-fold doors in maintenance free PVCu, popularity in the UK
residential market continues to increase and is expected to do so over
the coming years.

For more information about the Conservatory Land range of bi-fold doors
for conservatories, contact:

David Bingham

ConservatoryLand
Old Mill Park
Mansfield Woodhouse
Nottinghamshire
NG19 9BG

Telephone: 01623 488 887
Fax: 0870 123 1670

Contacts:
ConservatoryLand
David Bingham
01623 488 887
0870 123 1670 (FAX)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: aluminium, Bi Fold Door, Bi Fold Doors, bingham, Company Comments, Concertina Doors, Conservatory, Continental Countries, different ways, Diy Conservatories, fliers, Folding Doors, French Doors, Installing Doors, Marketing Campaign, new technology, open access, Patio Doors, Public Premises, Residential Market

Why people forget to take their medicines

March 31, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Washington, Mar 31 (ANI): Remembering to take a daily medication is apparently a tough task for many. Now, researchers have pointed out the reason behind the forgetfulness.

The landmark study from North Carolina State University has found that changes in daily behavior have a significant effect on whether we remember to take our medication – and that these changes influence older and younger adults differently.

“We’ve found that it is not just differences between people, but differences in what we do each day, that affect our ability to remember to take medication,” says Dr. Shevaun Neupert, an assistant professor of psychology at NC State and lead author of a paper describing the research. “This is the first time anyone has looked at the effect daily changes in how busy we are affects our ability to remember medications. We also learned that these changes in daily behavior affect different age groups in different ways.

“For example, young people do the best job of remembering to take their medication on days when they are busier than usual,” Neupert says. “But older adults do a better job of remembering their medication on days when they are less busy.”

To reach the conclusion, the researchers evaluated study participants who were on prescribed daily medications. The participants were divided into two groups: younger adults (between the ages of 18 and 20) and older adults (between the ages of 60 and 89).

For both age groups, the researchers found that participants were more likely to remember to take their medications on days when they performed better than usual on “cognition” tests – which evaluate memory and critical thinking.

“We found that cognition is an important factor in remembering medications,” Neupert says, “but that how busy we are is also important.” This has very real applications for helping people remember to take medications that can be essential to their health and well-being.

“We’ve found such a disparity between young and old adults, that it’s clear we need to tailor our messages to these two groups,” Neupert says. “For example, it is important for young people to stay busy and be active. That will help them remember to take their medications. However, we need to let older adults know that need to be particularly vigilant about remembering medication on days when they expect to be busier than usual.”

The study, “Age Differences in Daily Predictors of Forgetting to Take Medication: The Importance of Context and Cognition,” will be published in a forthcoming issue of Experimental Aging Research. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: age groups, assistant professor, conclusion, Critical Thinking, different ways, forgetfulness, Health, Helping People, landmark study, medication., medicines, memory, nc state, North Carolina State, north carolina state university, older adults, psychology, Shevaun, Study participants, Young People

Now, a ‘bumkini’ that helps up sagging bottoms!

March 24, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

London, March 24 (ANI): Women with sagging derrieres have had their prayers answered, thanks to a new undergarment dubbed the “bumkini” that gives a lift to the buttocks like a bra.

Officially called the Biniki, created by Californian psychologist Dr Karin Hart, the product is worn under knickers and uses straps attached to a belt for support.

Dr Hart came up with the idea after her bottom lost its shape due to excessive weight loss.

“I looked for a derriere lift in stores but couldn’t find one so I decided to make something for myself to get the boost I wanted. By wrapping adhesive tape around myself in different ways I found one that worked. The look it gave me was so nice, I decided to make a few to wear under clothes,” The Daily Express quoted her as saying.

“Most people would agree that the breasts and buttocks look best held high on the body. This motivates millions of women to wear bras but there was no lift product for the derriere,” she added. (ANI)

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Lady Gaga’s ‘Telephone’ rings fresh sex controversy

March 23, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

London, March 23 (ANI): Lady Gaga has sparked new controversy over her sexuality with new music video ‘Telephone’.

A pixelated moment in the music clip has left people speculating on the singer’s sexuality once again.

The video shows two transvestite guards strip her down to a pair of fishnet tights in a prison.

GaGa”s private parts are pixelated, as the guards walk away saying: “I told you she didn”t have a d**k.”

“It”s interesting because in fact I was wearing opaque tights on underneath fishnets,” the Daily Express quoted the 23-year-old pop star, as telling The Sun.

She added: “The idea is that it”s an unanswered question. You kind of see whatever it is you see personally.

“Whether people think I was naked or think otherwise, it”s meant to be subjective to whoever is watching it. It”s pixelated for that reason but it”s interesting to see the different ways people view it.”

Referring to the pixelation, GaGa said: “I”ve heard it”s been blurred out so you don”t know if she”s a man or a woman.

“Others have said she”s had it cut off or she”s doing full-frontal nudity in the video. It”s all down to each person”s interpretation as to what they are missing.”

However, RnB singer India Arie believes the ‘Poker Face’ hitmaker has gone bit too far.

She Tweeted: “Don’t be offended this is all MY opinion… Am I the only one who thinks the “telephone” video is going a bit too far? I’m not referring to the abstract nature of the video … I’m talking about the IMAGERY – the unspoken back story, the language the message.

“I agree gaga is being her image .. I dig her creative mind But still … Thers a such thing as socially irresponsible… I’m just sayin. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Abstract Nature, controversy, creative mind, daily express, different ways, full frontal nudity, hitmaker, India Arie, lady gaga, london march, Music Clip, music video, Opaque Tights, Pixelation, poker face, pop star, Private Parts, sexuality, Unanswered Question, Video Telephone

Societies use punishment as a tool to enforce norms in large populations

March 19, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Washington, Mar 19 (ANI): A society with a large number of people uses punishment to enforce norms, while the same does not hold true for societies with lower population, where everybody knows each other, claims a study.

The new study co-authored by University of California, Davis, anthropologist Richard McElreath suggests that the cooperative nature of each society is at least partly dependent upon historical forces – such as religious beliefs and the growth of market transactions.

The study also found the extent to which a society uses punishment to enforce norms increases and decreases with the number of people in the society.

“It is likely that small and large communities regulate cooperation – mutual defense, conservation, etc. – in different ways, because different mechanisms of monitoring and enforcement of norms work better at different scales of society,” explained McElreath.

“A small town in Kansas, for example, can likely rely upon reputation and the fact that everyone knows everyone else, while the residents of New York City need some mechanism, like punishment, that can work in the absence of reliable reputations,” he added.

The researchers probed why communities often cooperate in diverse ways, from mutual defense to conservation.

People engage in such mutually beneficial acts even though they may be individually costly.

The researchers used behavioural experiments administered across 15 diverse populations, and sought to measure the influence of three different mechanisms – punishment, market integration and religious beliefs – that might maintain cooperation within societies.

Market integration is the extent to which individuals use anonymous, rule-governed transactions to buy and sell goods.

The researchers found that overt punishment, religious beliefs that can act as a form of psychological punishment and market integration each were correlated with fairness in the experiments.

The study has been published in Science magazine. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: anthropologist, cooperation, cooperative nature, decreases, different ways, extent, fairness, Market Integration, Market Transactions, mechanisms, New York City, norms, populations, Psychological Punishment, religious beliefs, reputation, reputations, scales, University of California, university of california davis

Iraq invasion would not have happened if Bush was not misled on WMD: Aide

March 6, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

Washington, Mar. 5 (ANI): Former President George W Bush’s top political adviser, Karl Rove, has claimed that Bush would not have ordered the invasion of Iraq had he known that intelligence on weapons of mass destruction was erroneous.

“Would the Iraq war have occurred without WMD? I doubt it. The Bush administration itself would probably have sought other ways to constrain Saddam,” the Independent quoted Rove, as saying in his memoir, Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight.

While the Rove book is being seen as a staunch defence of the eight years that Bush spent in office, it also confirms that the Iraq war was fought under entirely false pretences.

In his book, Rove admits that failure by the White House to counter the erroneous intelligence claims was “one of the biggest mistakes of the Bush years”.

The book comes after Blair admitted that he probably would have moved ahead with removing Saddam Hussein from power even had he known that the narrative about weapons of mass destruction was fictional by finding different ways to justify it.

Although not many people will accept the notion that the White House was as out-of-the-loop about the facts on WMD, Rove says that, without the WMD storyline, Bush would surely have backed away from military action even if he, the writer, still believes it would have been justified. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Bush administration, courage, different ways, False Pretences, former president, George Bush, George W Bush, Invasion Of Iraq, Iraq Invasion, iraq war, Karl Rove, memoir, military action, narrative, notion, political adviser, President Bush, President George W Bush., Saddam Hussein, weapons of mass destruction

Blame the brain for overeating

September 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sept 14 (ANI): The next time you sabotage your efforts to get back on track after bingeing on an extra scoop of ice cream blame the brain, says a new study.

A new study, from UT Southwestern Medical Center, has suggested that fat from certain foods we eat makes its way to the brain. Once there, the fat molecules cause the brain to send messages to the body’s cells, warning them to ignore the appetite-suppressing signals from leptin and insulin, hormones involved in weight regulation.

The researchers also found that one particular type of fat – palmitic acid – is particularly effective at instigating this mechanism.

“Normally, our body is primed to say when we’ve had enough, but that doesn’t always happen when we’re eating something good,” said Dr. Deborah Clegg, assistant professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern and senior author of the rodent study appearing in the September issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

“What we’ve shown in this study is that someone’s entire brain chemistry can change in a very short period of time. Our findings suggest that when you eat something high in fat, your brain gets ‘hit’ with the fatty acids, and you become resistant to insulin and leptin,” Dr. Clegg said.

“Since you’re not being told by the brain to stop eating, you overeat,” the expert added.

Although it is known that eating a high-fat diet can cause insulin resistance, little has been known about the mechanism that triggers this resistance or whether specific types of fat are more likely to cause increased insulin resistance.

Dr. Clegg said she suspected the brain might play a role because it incorporates some of the fat we eat – whether it is from healthy oils or the not-so-healthy saturated fat found in butter and beef – into its structure.

Based on this suspicion, her team attempted to isolate the effects of fat on the animals’ brains.

To reach the conclusion, researchers exposed the animals to fat in different ways: by injecting various types of fat directly into the brain, infusing fat through the carotid artery or feeding the animals through a stomach tube three times a day. The animals received the same amount of calories and fat; only the type of fat differed. The types included palmitic acid, monounsaturated fatty acid and oleic acid.

Palmitic acid is a common saturated fatty acid occurring in foods such as butter, cheese, milk and beef. Oleic acid, on the other hand, is one of the most common unsaturated fatty acids. Olive and grapeseed oils are rich in oleic acid.

“We found that the palmitic acid specifically reduced the ability of leptin and insulin to activate their intracellular signaling cascades,” Dr. Clegg said.

“The oleic fat did not do this. The action was very specific to palmitic acid, which is very high in foods that are rich in saturated-fat,” the expert added. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: appetite, assistant professor, bingeing, Brain Chemistry, brains, different ways, fatty acids, healthy oils, hormones, insulin resistance, internal medicine, journal of clinical investigation, leptin, molecules, Palmitic Acid, rodent, saturated fat, september issue, short period, southwestern medical center

Murdered Indian Australian woman’s boyfriend wanted a family threesome

August 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Brisbane, Aug.27 (ANI): Accused killer Max Sica wanted a threesome with his then Indian Australian girlfriend Neelma Singh and another member of her family, the dead girl’s older sister has told a Brisbane Magistrates Court.

Archana Pathik also told the court how Sica had hacked into her email account to send a sex profile to people she knew, including her parents-in-law.

Pathik was giving evidence at a committal hearing where Sica, 39, of Stafford, is charged with murdering Neelma, 24, Kunal, 18 and Sidhi Singh, 12 in different ways in their Bridgeman Downs home in 2003.

During cross-examination by Sica’s barrister, Sam Di Carlo, the Brisbane Times quoted Pathik as saying she and her husband “had a relationship where we do experiment”, including with other women.

She said her parents knew this, as did Neelma, who told Sica, prompting him to send an email exposing Pathik’s bisexuality.

“(He did it) to make me look bad in the Indian community,” she said, adding it was “retaliation” from Sica because she did not approve of him.

Pathik said Neelma told her in 2002 that Sica had asked her to be involved in group sex with another member of the family. She did not say who with. (ANI)

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CA to put spin on national cricket agenda

August 26, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Melbourne, Aug. 26 (ANI): Australia’s cricket bosses are so disillusioned by the failure to uncover slow bowling talent that the states could be compelled to select and bowl spinners in a new national under-23 competition.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, in the wake of the Ashes defeat, Cricket Australia has taken steps to urgently broaden the talent pool with a new under-23 competition to be launched this summer.

It will replace the Cricket Australia Cup, which was the previous second-tier national competition, and allow three over-age players to lead the state teams.

A CA spokesman said the rules of the competition were yet to be finalised but adjustments to the laws were being strongly considered to ensure spin bowling was given a higher priority by coaches and captains.

CA wants spin prospects bowling more overs more often, especially in attacking roles.

“They are looking into different ways of encouraging teams to play spinners. How that works is yet to be determined,” said a spokesman.

The lack of faith in Hauritz, who initially struggled to earn a regular start for NSW last season, and an absence of an obvious back-up have exposed the lack of depth in Australia’s spinning stocks since the retirement of Shane Warne in January 2007.

Jason Krejza looked as if he would fit the bill after a bewildering 12-wicket Test debut in India but played just one more match, against South Africa in Perth, before being dropped.

All including Krejza now agree Hauritz should have played ahead of fourth paceman Stuart Clark on a dry pitch at The Oval but the attacking Tasmanian off-spinner said he had done what the selectors asked of him after he was dumped last summer for leaking too many runs.

“I’ve worked on a lot of things, on bowling quicker at certain times,” Krejza said.

“I got dropped for being too expensive, and I went back and was the most economical bowler in Twenty20 cricket … now I have to start the [domestic] season well and be better than any other spinner. I have to give them the confidence to pick me and that comes down to performances in state cricket,” he added. (ANI)

Filed Under: Sports News Tagged With: Australia cricket, australia cup, cricket australia, different ways, finalised, match, morning herald, national competition, national cricket, paceman, perth, pitch, prospects, selectors, Shane Warne, spin bowling, Spinners, spokesman, sydney morning herald, talent pool, test debut, wicket

Rahul Gandhi attends national workshop on NREGA

August 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug.20 (ANI): A national workshop on National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) was organised in the capital on Thursday to discuss various modes for the better implementation of schemes under the Act.

Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi was the guest of honour at the national workshop.

Union Minister of Rural Development C. P. Joshi, Chairman of National Knowledge Commission Sam Pitroda, Chief of Unique Identity Authority of India Nandan Nilekani, and Union Minister of State for Rural Development Agatha Sangma, were among the distinguished guests who participated in the workshop and discussed different ways for better execution of schemes under the Act.

Sam Pitroda, the Chairman of National Knowledge Commission, which would synergise the Government’s various e-activities such as e-governance, and e-learning, called for the need to integrate political will with funds and technology to deliver to the poor.

“We have this great combination, with political will, allocation of substantial amount of funding and the right timing for technology specially universal ID focus. We can begin to integrate a lot of these ides create synergy and really provide the best practices and best solutions to make sure that the poor deliver or get what they deserve through technology,” said Sam Pitroda addressing the workshop on NREGA.

Nandan Nilekani, Chief of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI), said that his project was complementary to most of the developmental programmes launched by the Central Government, as it will empower the poor to enjoy the benefits meant for them.

“As we look at creating a next stage of transparent effective and transformation governance in NREGA, we think the UID (Unique Identification) is initiative is very very closely aligned with that because the goals are very similar. Both are about inclusion, both are about pro-poor, it is about pro-people it its about getting or outside the system to be able to participate and therefore this collaboration we think we think is very very critical,” said Nandan Nilekani, Chairman of Unique Identity Authority of India.

Minister for Rural Development Agatha Sangma, on this occasion, said the NREGA project was now enable helping the poor to receive the benefits but in the long term it would help them to create opportunities for themselves to be self-reliant.

“If a man is hungry do not give him fish to eat but teach him how to fish and this very moment what the NREGA is trying to do is give the man the fish to eat. I think that is in a sense the immediate aim of NREGA but the long term vision of NREGA must be to ensure that we teach the rural people to actually fish,” said Agatha Sangma.

The participants discussed ways and means to reach the benefits of NREGA to the rural poor and made recommendations on issues relevant to the next phase of NREGA including legal provisions of the Act, securing workers entitlements and rights, capacity building of functionaries and workers, local expertise required at Gram Panchayats (village councils) and quality of works and sustainable development.

State legislators, secretaries of various State governments overlooking rural development programmes, eminent academicians, professionals and representatives of NGOs and Panchayat Raj (village council) institutions also attended the workshop.

According to the Ministry of Rural Development, the NREGA programme had provided employment to 4,500 million households in 2008-09 and generated 48 average person days of employment per household.

The total expenditure under this scheme was more than 27,000 crore rupees in 2008-09 and out of this 67 percent was spent on wages. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: agatha, best solutions, Central Government, different ways, E Governance, general secretary, guest of honour, ides, Joshi, minister of state, Nandan Nilekani, National Knowledge, national workshop, New Delhi, nrega, Rahul Gandhi, rural development, sam pitroda, Union Minister, universal id

Rahul Gandhi attends national workshop on NREGA

August 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi was the guest of honour at the national workshop.

According to the Ministry of Rural Development, the NREGA programme had provided employment to 4,500 million households in 2008-09 and generated 48 average person days of employment per household.

The total expenditure under this scheme was more than 27,000 crore rupees in 2008-09 and out of this 67 percent was spent on wages. (ANI)

Earliest complex organisms fed by osmosis more than 540 mln yrs ago

August 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, August 20 (ANI): Scientists at Virginia Tech has shown that the oldest complex life forms, which lived in nutrient-rich oceans more than 540 million years ago, likely fed by osmosis.

The researchers studied two groups of modular Ediacara organisms, the fern-shaped rangeomorphs and the air mattress-shaped erniettomorphs.

These macroscopic organisms, typically several inches in size, absorbed nutrients through their outer membrane, much like modern microscopic bacteria.

The rangeomorphs had a repeatedly branching system like fern leaves and the erniettomorphs had a folded surface like an inflated air mattress to make tubular modules.

“These organisms are unlike any life forms since and so are poorly understood,” said Marc Laflamme, who did the research as a postdoc in scientist Shuhai Xiao’s lab at Virginia Tech.

The researchers decided to simulate various morphological changes in the overall construction of the organisms to test whether it would have been possible for them to attain surface area to volume ratios on the same order as modern bacteria that feed by osmosis.

“Modeling efforts suggest that internal vacuoles – that is, voids filled with fluids or other biologically inert materials – are a particularly effective way of increasing surface-to-volume ratio of complex, macroscopic organisms,” said Michal Kowalewski, professor of geobiology in the College of Science at Virginia Tech.
They discovered that the two groups (the repeatedly branching rangeomorphs and the air-mattress like erniettomorphs) grew and constructed their bodies in different ways.

However, both groups attempted to maximize their surface-area to volume ratios in their own way.

“The increase in size was clearly accomplished primarily by addition of modules for the erniettomorphs and repetitive branching and inflation of modules for the rangemorphs,” Laflamme said.

“The repeated branching system in rangeomorphs was essential to allow for a high surface-area to volume ratio necessary for proper osmosis-based feeding,” he added.

“We believe the Ediacarans were feeding on dissolved organic carbon, which can come in many forms,” he said.

According to Laflamme, “There is a growing body of evidence that in Ediacaran times, due mainly to the absence of animals with true guts capable of packaging organic matter into fecal pellets, there was a much greater pool of dissolved organic nutrients, especially in deeper waters.”

“Without fecal pellets, organic substances would have remained in suspension and decomposed into fats and proteins capable of dissolution into marine waters,” he said.

“We believe these compounds were then absorbed via osmosis through Ediacaran “skin” due to the high surface-area to volume ratios,” he added. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: air mattress, different ways, geobiology, High Surface Area, inert materials, marc laflamme, microscopic bacteria, million years, mln, morphological changes, nutrients, Oceans, organisms, outer membrane, postdoc, several inches, surface area, surface area to volume ratio, vacuoles, Virginia Tech, Volume Ratio, volume ratios, xiao s

Human-induced land cover changes can influence regional climate

August 9, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, August 9(ANI): Scientists have analyzed seven different climate models to come to the conclusion that human-induced land cover changes (LCCs), such as the clearing of forests for farming, can affect climate.

To study the regional and global effects of LCC, A. J. Pitman from Climate Change Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, analyzed seven different climate models.

Each model simulation was run several times, with prescribed land cover reflecting conditions in 1870 and in 1992.

The researchers found that in all models, LCC has a statistically significant regional effect on latent heat flux and near-surface temperature.

Furthermore, they found that LCC affect temperature only in the region where the land cover change took place, not in remote regions.

While all models show significant regional effects, these vary across models for several reasons arising from differences in the implementation of the LCC, different land surface models, and different ways of representing the landscape.

The researchers concluded that it is essential to include LCC in future regional and global climate studies but that it is not feasible to impose them in a common way across multiple models for the next Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: change assessment, Climate Change Research, Climate Models, different ways, farming, forests, global climate studies, global effects, intergovernmental panel on climate change, land surface models, latent heat flux, lcc, model simulation, New South Wales, pitman, Regional Climate, regional effects, several times, surface temperature, University of New South Wales

Social empowerment of women more important than Reservation Bill for them: Agatha Sangama

August 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug 8(ANI): Union Minister of State for Rural Development Agatha Sangama on Saturday said that social and economic empowerment of women is more essential than the Women’s Reservation Bill.

However, Agatha did not disapprove the Bill and said that it would be a medium, which would enable women to have equality in the society.

Sangama said this during a programme organised by the All India Women’s Conference (AIWC) to inaugurate a community college project in the national capital.

“I have always thought about empowerment (of women) in different ways. One always thinks about (women’s) reservation Bill, but that one is to get political empowerment. I think there are other forms of empowerment such as social and economic empowerment which are equally or much more crucial,” said Agatha Sangama, Union Minister of State for Rural Development.

The community college programme is being started by the AIWC in coordination with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) to provide education and training to people who are unable to utilise the conventional avenues of education.

“It’s as a wonderful idea. Women will get opportunity to learn things, get empowered, and become independent, in order to live a very good life,” said Agatha, adding that it would pave way towards development for those women who actually needed to be economically and socially empowered. (ANI)

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Subliminal messages force people into doing what they actually wanted to do

July 6, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, July 5 (ANI): Why is it that you were not planning to go for shopping but still end up going, and return home with a lot of new things? Well, this happens because you apparently wanted to go, but were not consciously aware of it, say researchers.

Dutch researcher Martijn Veltkamp has revealed that subliminal messages motivate people to do things that they already wanted to do, reports Science Daily.

However, this is only successful if a subliminal message matches a biological need, and if the behaviour is associated with a positive effect.

The researchers said that to make people behave in a certain way, the idea for such behaviour must first be planted in their minds.

Once the idea has been planted in their minds (so-called ‘priming’), either a lack of something (deprivation) or a positive association with a certain action can ensure that they are actually motivated to carry out that action.

Veltkamp studied this interaction in a series of experiments.

During the study he flashed the words ‘drinking’ and ‘thirsty’ onto a computer screen very quickly, so that they could not be consciously perceived.

This priming is what researchers call ‘making the representation of the behaviour accessible’.

In one group of participants, this was combined with deprivation hey were thirsty. In another group the word ‘drinking’ was combined with positive words, which led to a positive association.

eltkamp combined the three factors in different ways, and then registered how willing the participants were to have a drink.

The study observed that motivation for carrying out certain actions (such as drinking) occurred when the action matched an existing deprivation, or had a positive association.

To understand positive association, the researchers let the participants eat cucumber to alleviate fluid deprivation.

As expected, the participants that had only been deprived of fluid were less motivated to drink later on, but the motivation stayed high in those people whose motivation to drink was partly due to positive association. (ANI)

Filed Under: Science News Tagged With: action, ANI, association, behaviour, Biological Need, Computer, computer screen, cucumber, daily, deprivation, different ways, drink, drinking, dutch researcher, effect, eltkamp, fluid, group, home, idea, interaction, July, lack, led, lot, Martijn Veltkamp, message, motivation, need, participants, people, planning, priming, representation, researcher, return, Science, Science Daily, screen, series, shopping, something, study, subliminal, Subliminal Message, subliminal messages, Washington, way, word

Janet Jackson ‘to fill in bro Michael’s shoes for O2 gigs’

June 30, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, June 30 (ANI): If sources are to be believed, Janet Jackson will be filling in the shoes of her late brother and icon Michael in some of the O2 gigs he was supposed perform.Janet has been sounded out about fronting some of the shows,” The Sun quoted a source as saying.

“A number of discussions have taken place and things are looking hopeful,” the source added.

Also, the legend’s brothers may be roped in to support the Black Cat singer at the O2 gigs, an insider said: “Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon have been approached as well, with the idea that they would perform as the backing band.”

Promoters of the concert AEG Live, who are in a threat of facing huge losses after Jacko’s death, are now planning to recreate him digitally.

The source said: “A highly technical version of MJ as a silhouette performing on stage has been discussed.

“It is possible to create an impression that Michael is actually there, giving fans a place to mourn and celebrate his music.”

Meanwhile, the King Of Pop’s close pal Mark Lester has revealed that Jackson had decided to do the hectic O2 gigs so that his two kids- Prince Michael and Paris- could see him perform live on stage.

“He wanted his children to see Daddy do what Daddy does best,” he said.

He added: “They are being well looked after. It’s a very difficult time and children grieve in different ways, but they are fine.” (ANI)

Filed Under: Entertainment News Tagged With: Aeg Live, band promoters, black cat, brother, different ways, gigs, icon, insider, janet jackson, king of pop, London, losses, Mark Lester, Mj, o2, Pal Mark, Paris, prince michael, shoes, silhouette, Sun, Tito

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