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Your farts could cure high blood pressure

July 2, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment

London, July 3 (IANS) Though most of us may find it quite embarrassing in case we were caught breaking wind, a new study has in fact suggested flatulence could help patients with high blood pressure.

Scientists at Johns Hopkins University, in Bal

timore, Maryland, US, have found that hydrogen sulphide in flatus – informally known as a fart – is also produced by an enzyme in blood vessels where it relaxes them and lowers blood pressure, The Sun reported.

Hydrogen sulphide — a toxic gas generated by bacteria living in the human gut — has been shown to control blood pressure in mice. Those with higher levels of the gas had lower blood pressure than rodents with less.

Researchers at a Chinese university in Nanjing are trying to work out whether this could be used to create a treatment for people suffering from high blood pressure.

Yao Yuyu from the university’s Zhongda Hospital said: “Despite the treatment’s potential, using gas to treat high blood pressure has yet to be tested on humans.

“The effective dosage could prove difficult to establish due to the difference in size between humans and mice.”

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200 injured at rally against Italian high-speed rail link

July 4, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

CHIOMONTE (Italy): Around two hundred people, mainly police officers, were injured as officers clashed with masked protesters at a rally against a high-speed rail link in northern Italy, police said.

Clashes between protesters and police left at least 188 officers and about a dozen demonstrators hurt, said officials, after a small group stormed a tunnel which was part of the work site at Chiomonte, west of Turin.

Scuffles between protesters and a heavy police presence continued throughout the day yesterday, with a steady exchange of tear gas, stones and molotov cocktails.

Police arrested at least five people and Italy’s President Giorgio Napolitano condemned the violence.

Police blamed the trouble on hundreds of masked leftist “black block” extremists from Italy and neighbouring countries.

Protest organisers said tens of thousands of demonstrators had gathered peacefully from surrounding regions to stop the construction of the planned tunnel in the Susa valley.

But a small band broke away from the main group of protestors to enter the gated work site guarded by hundreds of police, who put the number of demonstrators at about 6,000.

The project, agreed by Italy and France in 2001, would slice three hours off the current seven-hour train journey between Paris and Milan. But the development has provoked fierce opposition, not least among 23 local mayors.

In a statement, President Napolitano condemned what he said was the work of groups “trained in illegal violence.”

He was joined by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and figures across the political spectrum.

Police were out in force yesterday as authorities had expected more trouble from radical groups within the protest movement after similar clashes last week.

Twenty-five policemen and four protestors were slightly injured on June 27 when a demonstration at the same spot turned violent and police responded with tear gas.

Before yesterday’s events, the leader of the “No Tav” (No to the high-speed train) movement, Alberto Perino, said demonstrators would have “bare hands and clean hands, against those whose hands are neither bare nor clean”.

Work on the main 58-kilometre tunnel, of which 12 kilometres are in Italy, is scheduled to begin in 2013 and due to go into service around 2023.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Gas, High Speed Rail, molotov cocktails, prime minister silvio berlusconi, rally, site, susa valley, work

Planck spacecraft obtains first peek of big bang’s ‘afterglow’

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, September 18 (ANI): European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Planck spacecraft has obtained its first peek at the afterglow of the big bang, revealing it in unprecedented detail.

The ESA spacecraft was launched into space on May 14 this year. It is observing the glow of hot gas from just 380,000 years after the big bang, called the cosmic microwave background (CMB).

According to a report in New Scientist, the detailed properties of this background may contain hints of hidden extra dimensions or multiple universes, as well as providing clues to what caused a brief, early period of incredibly rapid cosmic expansion.

Planck began surveying the microwave background on August 13, a few weeks after reaching its planned perch 1.5 million kilometres from Earth at a point called L2 and cooling its detectors to within 0.1 degrees Celsius above absolute zero.

Now, the Planck team has released the probe’s first image, an observational strip covering about 5 per cent of the sky.

Slight variations in temperature from place to place in the early universe give the image its mottled appearance.

“With a few per cent of the data in, you can see it’s working well and delivering good stuff,” said team member George Efstathiou of the University of Cambridge.

Planck is expected to provide the most detailed all-sky map of the cosmic microwave background yet, improving on the best current map, obtained by NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), which launched in 2001.

Planck’s detectors have more than 10 times the sensitivity of WMAP’s, and about 2.5 times the angular resolution.

“Every strip that Planck scans, we’re getting data that is many, many times more sensitive than WMAP,” Efstathiou told New Scientist.

Although Planck was only designed to observe the sky for 15 months, the team believes it could last for more than 30 months, based on new estimates of how long its coolant will last.

The extra time will allow Planck to measure the radiation with even greater precision, since it will scan the entire sky four times – two more than originally planned. (ANI)

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NASA’s Swift satellite makes best-ever ultraviolet portrait of Andromeda galaxy

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 17 (ANI): NASA’s Swift satellite has acquired the highest-resolution view of a neighboring spiral galaxy ever attained in the ultraviolet.

The galaxy, known as M31 in the constellation Andromeda, is the largest and closest spiral galaxy to our own.

“Swift reveals about 20,000 ultraviolet sources in M31, especially hot, young stars and dense star clusters,” said Stefan Immler, a research scientist on the Swift team at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

“Of particular importance is that we have covered the galaxy in three ultraviolet filters. That will let us study M31′s star-formation processes in much greater detail than previously possible,” he added.

M31, also known as the Andromeda Galaxy, is more than 220,000 light-years across and lies 2.5 million light-years away.

On a clear, dark night, the galaxy is faintly visible as a misty patch to the naked eye.

Between May 25 and July 26, 2008, Swift’s Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) acquired 330 images of M31 at wavelengths of 192.8, 224.6, and 260 nanometers.

The images represent a total exposure time of 24 hours.

The task of assembling the resulting 85 gigabytes of images fell to Erin Grand, an undergraduate student at the University of Maryland at College Park who worked with Immler as an intern this summer.

“After ten weeks of processing that immense amount of data, I’m extremely proud of this new view of M31,” she said.

Several features are immediately apparent in the new mosaic.

The first is the striking difference between the galaxy’s central bulge and its spiral arms.

“The bulge is smoother and redder because it’s full of older and cooler stars,” Immler explained. “Very few new stars form here because most of the materials needed to make them have been depleted,” he added.

Dense clusters of hot, young, blue stars sparkle beyond the central bulge.

M31′s disk and spiral arms contain most of the gas and dust needed to produce new generations of stars.

Star clusters are especially plentiful in an enormous ring about 150,000 light-years across.

“Swift is surveying nearby galaxies like M31 so astronomers can better understand star- formation conditions and relate them to conditions in the distant galaxies where we see gamma-ray bursts occurring,” said Neil Gehrels, the mission’s principal investigator at NASA Goddard. (ANI)

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Krishna in Belarus to strengthen bilateral ties

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Minsk, Sept 17 (ANI): Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna has arrived here to foster bilateral ties between the two countries.

Krishna is the first Indian External Minister to visit this country.

On Wednesday, Krishna visited the Victory Square Monument in the city and paid tribute to soldiers who had laid down their lives during the World War II while fighting the Nazi invaders.

“This is the first ever visit by an Indian Minister for External Affairs to Belarus. I think it is an important visit with a view to further cement and strengthen relationship to mutual advantage,” said Ramesh Chander, Indian Ambassador to Belarus.

Krishna’s visit is being seen as important, as it would help to cement ties further between the two countries.

“In 2008, we had a 432 million trade turnover. And this year, it is likely to touch 500 million by the end of the year,” Chander added.

Krishna reviewed guard of honour of the Belarus Army at the Square. He was received by the Deputy Mayor of Minsk, Titenkov Mikhail.

On Thursday, Krishna will call on Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.

He will also hold talks with his counterpart Sergey Martynov. Two agreements will be signed including one on Cooperation in Physical Education and Sports and an MoU on the Establishment of a Digital Learning Centre in Minsk.

The Digital Learning Centre will impart skills in advanced computing and software creation to young Belarusian students, initially with Indian faculty members and thereafter with trained Belarusian professionals.

Krishna will also pay an official visit to Turkmenistan on September 18 and 19.

He will call on Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov and hold meetings with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov.

Krishna will also have a meeting with Minister in-charge of Oil and Gas sector Baymyrat Hojamuhammedov.

Both countries will sign a cooperation agreement during the visit. By Ravi Shankar (ANI)

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India to sign two pacts with Belarus during Krishna’s visit

September 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Minsk, Sept 17 (ANI): India and Belarus will sign two bilateral agreements during External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna’s two-day visit to that country.

During his visit, Krishna will call on Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko.

He will also hold wide-ranging talks with his counterpart Sergey Martynov. The agreements to be signed are one on Cooperation in Physical Education and Sports and an MoU on the Establishment of a Digital Learning Centre in Minsk.

This will be the first visit by India’s External Affairs Minister to Belarus.

Krishna will also pay an official visit to Turkmenistan on September 18 and 19.

He will call on Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov and hold meetings with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov.

Krishna will also have a meeting with Minister in-charge of Oil and Gas sector Baymyrat Hojamuhammedov.

Both countries will sign a cooperation agreement during the visit. (ANI)

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Scientists develop ‘electronic nose’ that can sniff out toxins by changing colors

September 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 14 (ANI): A team of scientists has developed a sensor that works as an ‘electronic nose’ in sniffing out some known poisonous gases and toxins, simply by changing colors.

Support for the development and application of this electronic nose comes from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health.

Once fully developed, the sensor could be useful in detecting high exposures to toxic industrial chemicals that pose serious health risks in the workplace or through accidental exposure.

While physicists have radiation badges to protect them in the workplace, chemists and workers who handle chemicals do not have equivalent devices to monitor their exposure to potentially toxic chemicals.

The investigators hope to be able to market the wearable sensor within a few years.

“The project fits into the overall goal of a component of the GEI Exposure Biology Program that the NIEHS has the lead on, which is to develop technologies to monitor and better understand how environmental exposures affect disease risk,” said NIEHS Director Linda Birnbaum.

“This paper brings us one step closer to having a small wearable sensor that can detect multiple airborne toxins,” she added.

Kenneth S. Suslick, the M.T. Schmidt Professor of Chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and his colleagues have created what they refer to as an optoelectronic nose, an artificial nose for the detection of toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) that is simple, fast, inexpensive, and works by visualizing colors.

“We have a disposable 36-dye sensor array that changes colors when exposed to different chemicals. The pattern of the color change is a unique molecular fingerprint for any toxic gas and also tells us its concentration,” said Suslick.

“By comparing that pattern to a library of color fingerprints, we can identify and quantify the TICs in a matter of seconds,” he added.

The power of this sensor to identify so many volatile toxins stems from the increased range of interactions that are used to discriminate the response of the array.

To test the application of their color sensor array, the researchers chose 19 representative examples of toxic industrial chemicals.

Chemicals such as ammonia, chlorine, nitric acid and sulfur dioxide at concentrations known to be immediately dangerous to life or health were included.

The arrays were exposed to the chemicals for two minutes.

Most of the chemicals were identified from the array color change in a number of seconds and almost 90 percent of them were detected within two minutes. (ANI)

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Laser cooling may be used to create “exotic” states of matter

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, September 9 (ANI): In a new study, scientists have determined that the technique of laser cooling could be used to create “exotic” states of matter.

According to a report in National Geographic News, in a new technique, Martin Weitz and Ulrich Vogl of the University of Bonn in Germany used a laser to bring the temperature of dense rubidium gas far below the normal point at which the gas becomes a solid.

Previous research had been able to use lasers to quickly “supercool” only very diluted gases.

But, “here’s a case where you shine a laser on something and it actually cools down, and not just a handful of atoms, but a macroscopic object,” said Trey Porto, a physicist with the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s laser-cooling group.

The process could be used to create fascinating new states of matter, according to the study authors.

“For example, if you can very quickly cool water much lower than zero Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit), where it would normally turn to ice, exotic crystalline and glassy states of matter would be predicted,” Weitz said.

The new technique could also be used in cooling mechanisms to boost the efficiency of some stargazing equipment, he added.

“If you could cool thermal cameras that look at the stars, they may have less noise and be more sensitive,” he said.

Since a laser’s color is linked to its intensity, the new technique is based on using a red laser in which the frequency has been adjusted so that the beam affects the atoms only when they collide with each other.

Weitz and Vogl shone this laser beam into gaseous rubidium atoms in a high-pressure “atmosphere” of argon.

In the experiment, the rubidium gas fell from 662 degrees Fahrenheit (350 degrees Celsius) to almost 536 degrees Fahrenheit (280 degrees Celsius) within mere seconds.

Much more research needs to be done before the laser-cooling process can be used in real-world applications, study co-author Weitz cautioned.

But, NIST’s Porto said the work already represents a major departure from traditional cooling of diluted gases, which are currently used for studying quantum effects or preparing gas samples for atomic clocks.

“I think the really amazing thing is that you can even get cooling in this regime, because it’s a really dense gas and a very different mechanism,” Porto said.

“Traditional cooling powers are so tiny. To cool a physical object by a measurable degree with a laser is amazing,” he added. (ANI)

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One killed in farmers-police clash in Punjab

September 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Chandigarh, Sep 8 (ANI): One person was killed and several others were injured as large number of farmers staging a protest in Chandigarh clashed with the police on Tuesday.

The farmers from across Punjab state were protesting against the recent hike in power tariffs by the state’s electricity regulatory authority and sought better prices for their produce.

The agitating farmers set on fire several vehicles including police vehicles. Police fired tear gas to disperse the violent mob.

“The farmers were protesting outside Sector 16 stadium and started setting the police vehicles on fire and when I started clicking their pictures they attacked me and asked me to leave. They broke my camera and burnt many police vehicles,” said an unidentified reporter.

“I had come here and parked my bike when a crowd set many vehicles on fire including mine,” said Madhur, a youth whose two-wheeler was burnt by the agitating mob.

Farming is the main occupation of the fertile plains of Punjab, the state known as India’s granary.

Farming is subsidized across the country, especially in Punjab, in a number of ways including cheaper seeds, power, fertilizers and pesticides, easy loans and prices guaranteed by the state for farmers’ produce. (ANI)

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Deora says Govt tried but failed to get Ambani brothers reconcile

September 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Moscow, Sep. 2 (ANI): Union Petroleum Minister Murli Deora on Wednesday said that the government tried to pacify the fighting Ambani brothers several times, but failed to bring about a reconciliation.

“We tried to bring a reconciliation, but we failed. The government had advised several times that they (Mukesh and Anil Ambani) should stop fighting,” Deora told reporters in Moscow, where he is accompanying President Pratibha Patil.

Last month, the Prime Minister’s Office had issued a similar statement.

“The Prime Minister’s general approach has been that instead of fighting, they (Ambanis) should patch up as both their groups contribute sizeably to India’s economic growth,” PMO has stated.

The two Ambani groups command about 10 per cent of collective market capitalisation of the total over 4,000 companies in the country.

“We wanted to put an end to it (gas dispute) so that the work can go on,” Deora replied after being asked about reasons for the government yesterday amend its petition in Supreme Court on the dispute between RIL and RNRL – the two firms promoted by Mukesh and Anil, respectively.

The government petition said: “It is in no way concerned with the private dispute between RIL and RNRL or between the Ambani brothers, but is only concerned with its rights as owner and regulator of natural gas.”

The original petition had sought “(the MoU) should be declared null and void.”

On the issue of gas allocation, Deora said:”We want a committee rather than the ministry to go into the issue.” (ANI)

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Anil Ambani welcomes government’s fresh plea on gas row dispute with brother Mukesh

September 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Mumbai, Sep 2 (ANI): Anil Ambani of Reliance Natural Resource Limited (RNRL) welcomed a fresh application filed by central government in the Supreme Court on a row over gas price with estranged elder brother Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).

Top Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, headed by Mukesh Ambani, and Reliance Natural, led by Anil Ambani, have been fighting over terms of a gas-supply agreement struck when the Reliance empire was split in 2005.

The fresh application by the government said that the government’s policies and contracts on production and gas pricing would prevail over any private arrangement.

“Reliance Natural Resource on behalf of its over 26 lakh shareholders is grateful to the Government of India for its neutral stand in proposing these amendments,” Anil Ambani told reporters in Mumbai.

“With the filing of application, the role of government in Reliance Natural Resource-RIL matter remains limited only to interpretation of just two issues. Issue A – the gas utilisation policy and issue B – provisions of the Production Sharing Contract. This is exactly the same scope of intervention that was permitted to the government of India by the Bombay High Court,” he added.

The latest tussle between the feuding brothers, which stems from the 2005 break-up of the Reliance empire built by their father, has raised concerns it could discourage investment in the sector as India scrambles to shore up its energy security.

In July, India’s apex court said it would club all petitions and applications in the case together.

The Indian government had earlier made a petition to intervene in the case, arguing that the gas is ‘state property’ and that the private agreement between the Ambanis over the gas is not valid. (ANI)

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President Patil leaves for Russia today

September 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep. 2 (ANI): President Pratibha Patil on Wednesday left for a weeklong visit to Russia and Tajikistan.

Patil was accompanied by Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora and Minister of State for Textiles, Panabaka Lakshmi.

Strengthening bilateral ties with these countries will be top of the agenda of the visit.

Patil will first go to Moscow and meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

She is also scheduled to meet the Chairman of the Federation Council and the Speaker of the Duma.

Patil and Medvedev will participate in a gala concert in Moscow and witness an Indian cultural performance. The “Year of India” is being celebrated in Russia this year.

She will also scheduled to meet the Indian community and Friends of India. She will also visit St. Petersburg where she will meet the plenipotentiary representative of the President to the North-West District and visit a Russian School, which teaches Hindi.

President Patil will be the guest of honour in the Independence Day celebrations of Tajikistan in Dushanbe.

This is the first time a foreign dignitary is being given this honour.

She will also inaugurate the India-Tajikistan Joint Business Forum apart from her meetings with the Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Prime Minister Oquil Oquilov.

Patil will be the first Indian President to visit to Tajikistan. (ANI)

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President Patil to leave for Russia today

September 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep. 2 (ANI): President Pratibha Patil will leave on a weeklong visit to Russia and Tajikistan from today.

She will be accompanied by Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora and Minister of State for Textiles, Panabaka Lakshmi.

Strengthening bilateral ties with these countries will be top of the agenda of the visit.

Patil will first go to Moscow and meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

She is also scheduled to meet the Chairman of the Federation Council and the Speaker of the Duma.

Patil and Medvedev will participate in a gala concert in Moscow and witness an Indian cultural performance. The “Year of India” is being celebrated in Russia this year.

President Patil will be the guest of honour in the Independence Day celebrations of Tajikistan in Dushanbe.

This is the first time a foreign dignitary is being given this honour.

She will also inaugurate the India-Tajikistan Joint Business Forum apart from her meetings with the Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Prime Minister Oquil Oquilov.

Patil will be the first Indian President to visit to Tajikistan.(ANI)

Free A Q Khan, a vulnerable man to foreign agencies

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, Sep 1(ANI): A Q Khan, Pakistani nuclear scientist, widely regarded as the founder of Pakistan’s nuclear program, is a free man again and many consider that he may share the secrets with establishments around the world.

In January 2004, Khan had confessed to having been involved in a secret international network of nuclear weapons technology proliferation from Pakistan to Libya, Iran and North Korea.

It is believed that Khan and his network were one of the worst proliferators of nuclear technology that could be used to develop nuclear weapons.

Though Khan had been pardoned by Musharraf, the difficulty arises on the question that Khan was involved in a network and supplying blueprints for various parts of a nuclear programme for sale onwards to other countries.

Certainly, it becomes a cause of worry that Khan can go beyond his bitterness towards a former dictator and perhaps start to talk about the many, many secrets he undoubtedly keeps regarding the country’s nuclear programme, The Dawn reports.

In an August, 2005, Musharraf had confirmed that Khan had supplied gas centrifuges and gas centrifuge parts to North Korea and, possibly, an amount of uranium hexafluoride, which can make agencies around the world to try and get their hands on a free A.Q. Khan. (ANI)

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President Patil to leave for Russia, Tajikistan on Wednesday

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sep. 1 (ANI): President Pratibha Patil will leave on a weeklong visit to Russia and Tajikistan from Wednesday.

She will be accompanied by Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora and Minister of State for Textiles, Panabaka Lakshmi.

Strengthening bilateral ties with these countries will be top of the agenda of the visit.

Patil will first go to Moscow and meet Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

She is also scheduled to meet the Chairman of the Federation Council and the Speaker of the Duma.

Patil and Medvedev will participate in a gala concert in Moscow and witness an Indian cultural performance. The “Year of India” is being celebrated in Russia this year.

The President will also meet the Indian community and Friends of India. She will also visit St. Petersburg where she will meet the plenipotentiary representative of the President to the North-West District and visit a Russian School, which teaches Hindi.

President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil will be the guest of honour in the Independence Day celebrations of Tajikistan in Dushanbe.

This is the first time a foreign dignitary is being given this honour.

She will also inaugurate the India-Tajikistan Joint Business Forum apart from her meetings with the Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Prime Minister Oquil Oquilov.

Patil will be the first Indian President to visit to Tajikistan. (ANI)

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Carbon monoxide exposure may up heart problem risk for the elderly

September 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep 1 (ANI): Carbon monoxide exposure has been found to elevate the risk of hospitalisation for the elderly with heart problems in an American study.

The nationwide study of 126 urban communities has shown that an increase in carbon monoxide of 1 part per million in the maximum daily one-hour exposure is linked with a 0.96 percent increase in the risk of hospitalisation from cardiovascular disease among people over the age of 65.

The connection remains even when carbon monoxide levels are less than 1 part per million, which is well below the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Ambient Air Quality Standard of 35 parts per million.

The finding has indicated that an under-recognized health risk to seniors.

Presently, the EPA is evaluating the scientific evidence on the link between carbon monoxide and health to determine whether the health-based standard should be modified.

“This evidence indicates that exposure to current carbon monoxide levels may still pose a public health threat. Higher levels of carbon monoxide were associated with higher risk of hospitalisations for cardiovascular heart disease,” said Michelle Bell, the study’s lead investigator.

Working in collaboration with experts from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, Bell analysed hospital records for 9.3 million Medicare recipients and data on air pollution levels and weather, gathered between 1999 and 2005.

The analysis considered the health effects of other traffic-related pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide, fine particles, and elemental carbon.

“We found a positive and statistically significant association between same-day carbon monoxide levels and an increased risk of hospitalisation for cardiovascular disease in general, as well as for multiple, specific cardiovascular disease outcomes, including ischemic heart disease, heart rhythm disturbances, heart failure and cerebrovascular disease,” said Bell.

Carbon monoxide is a tasteless, odourless gas that is a component of automobile exhaust.

The researchers stressed the need for additional research to investigate whether carbon monoxide or a combination of it and other traffic-related pollutants could result in increased cardiovascular hospitalisations in the elderly.

Their most recent findings have been detailed in a research article published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. (ANI)

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Cairo’s slums get an energy makeover

August 30, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, August 30 (ANI): Reports indicate that the slums of Cairo, Egypt’s largest city, have got an energy makeover, with solar panels sprouting on apartment rooftops, providing residents with clean power and water and a chance to directly improve their lives.

According to a report in National Geographic News, since 2003, the nonprofit Solar CITIES project has installed 34 solar-powered hot water systems and 5 biogas reactors in Cairo’s poor Coptic Christian and Islamic neighborhoods.

“Our program is unique, in that we’re implementing rural-type solutions in an urban environment,” said project leader Thomas Culhane, an urban planner and 2009 National Geographic emerging explorer.
“It’s the kind of stuff you would do in the Peace Corps in an African village, but we’re doing it right smack dab in the slums of a city,” he added.

Solar CITIES’ hot water systems are constructed from recycled materials and are uniquely tailored to the parts of a city where water and electricity availability are often sporadic.
“The problem with professional solar hot water systems is that they’re made for cities with continuous water,” Culhane said.

By contrast, Solar CITIES’s water heaters use a city’s water when it’s available but draw from a backup storage tank when it’s not.
The setup consists of an insulated rectangular box covered in clear glass or plastic on one side. Inside the box are copper tubes wrapped in sheets of aluminum, which are painted black.
Sunlight striking the darkened aluminum is converted to heat, which is then used to warm water flowing through the pipes.
The glass sheet on top of the box prevents the heat from being carried away by wind.
The water, which can reach temperatures of 176 degrees Fahrenheit (80 degrees Celsius), is then pumped into an insulated plastic barrel for storage.

The water, which remains warm long after sunset, can be connected to an apartment’s plumbing system.
Solar CITIES also installs biogas reactors, which are based on designs Culhane saw while working in India.
The reactors use microbes harvested from animal guts to break down food wastes into flammable gas that can be used for cooking and heating.

If necessary, the reactors can draw hot water from the solar water heaters to maintain the warm temperatures the bacteria need to survive.
By attaching a simple plastic tube to the reactors, gas can be piped down several stories for residents to use.
“In 24 hours, you’ve got 2 hours of cooking gas from yesterday’s cooking garbage,” Culhane said. (ANI)

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One killed in police firing during violence in West Bengal

August 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Ramjibanpu (West Bengal), Aug 29(ANI): A student died in police firing after violence broke out following a road accident in West Bengal’s West Midnapore district on Saturday.

A motorbike driver was killed in a head-on collision with a truck and a group of enraged residents had set the truck and a police vehicle on fire.

Following the violence, the police had to resort to lob tear gas shells and fire at the mob, in the midst of which a student was killed.

“I asked him (a student, who is killed allegedly in firing by police) to get aside, but he said that security personnel were only trying to scare off and will not fire. While we were talking they opened fire and he got hit on his neck and fell down. And after that we ran for rescue as he was shouting for water and help,” said Monchi Doloi, an eyewitness.

Protesting against the firing, locals blocked the State highway. (ANI)

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Indian forests absorb 11 per cent of annual greenhouse gas emissions: Jairam Ramesh

August 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug. 29 (ANI): Minister of State for Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh, said on Saturday that about 11 per cent of the annual greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) is being absorbed by the country’s forests.

According to the World Resources Institute, India’s total GHG emissions stood at 1,853 million metric tons equivalent of carbon dioxide, about 4.9 percent of global emissions in 2005.

During the release of a report in the capital by the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA), Ramesh spoke about the contribution of Indian forests in soaking the annual carbon dioxide gas emissions.

“We have just recently two weeks ago released a report for the first time which quantified what is the carbon sequestration that is taking place through our forest cover. Our estimators said that about 11 per cent of our annual greenhouse emission is being absorbed by our forest such as, as it is, about 21 per cent of our geographical areas is about 65 million hectares, ” said Jairam Ramesh.

India aims at expanding its forest cover by another six million hectares over the next six years.

“I am sure if we improve the quality of our forest cover, reduce the proportion of degraded forest, increase the proportion of medium and high density forest, this 11 per cent could in fact even increase,” added Ramesh.

As per a new report, the country contributes around five percent to global carbon dioxide emissions and is still only about a quarter of the emissions of China and the United States.

India’s per capita emissions at only one-twentieth of the United States and about one-tenth of Western Europe and Japan, the report says. (ANI)

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Rajasthan Government demands lion’s share in Cairn project

August 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Barmer (Rajasthan), Aug.29 (ANI): The Government of Rajasthan on Saturday demanded a lion’s share of the value added tax (VAT) that would be generated from the extraction of crude oil from the Mangala Processing Terminal ( MPT) here.

According to sources, the issue will be settled later when state government representatives meet the officials of this Cairns Energy India-ONGCjoint venture.

ONGC Chairman R.S. Sharma said that it would take at least four years to meet this demand of the Rajasthan Government, which was made by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Sharma said that the approach of the state government would determine the way forward on the issue of revenue sharing.

Officials attached with the joint venture said they are leaving no stone unturned in doing their bit for the local people.

The media contingent accompanying the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, on the inaugural visit to the project site were shown the entrepreneural centre where various social projects for local people are showcased.

Cairn India CEO Rahul Dhir emphasised the point that the maximum number of labourers are locals, and added that out of the 700 contractors, a majority are local people.

Inaugurating the project, Dr. Singh said the present venture is an indication that foreign investment in the country will grow and that the Indian Government will honestly provide all facilities to attract foreign investment.

He also congratulated the technical personnel for successfully finding oil reserves.

It maybe recalled that the Dutch firm Shell had abandoned the search for oil in this desert area. cairn india then stepped in, and after four years of continuous labour, was able to discover oil. arlier, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora described the activation of the Mangala Processing Terminal ( MPT) as a historic achievement, as the crude oil production from this block will meet about 20 percent of the nation’s current crude oil production.

He said this will enable the country to save seven percent of the crude oil import bill and reduce import dependence.

Deora also emphasised the need for stabilising crude oil prices for ensuring the sustained economic growth of the country, Deora said the MPT find is a significant step towards achieving this goal.

Cairn has invested about Rs.10000 crores in the area.

The total investment in this project will be more than Rs. 20000 crores. The government will get Rs. 46000 crores as profit petroleum revenue over the life of the project and will provide job opportunities for more than 6000 people.

According to company sources, the supply terminal to the Mangala field, the second largest oil discovery in the country in two decades, will be a giant step towards curtailing the country’s oil import bill.

With an initial 30,000 barrels capacity per day (bpd), Cairn India plans to add another 1,00,000 bpd over the next 18 months.

Mangala oil field officials are confident of reaching the target of producing 1,75,000 bpd in the next 20 months.

The project would contribute more than 20 per cent of India’s domestic crude oil production by 2011, the company sources said. By Pankaj Chaudhary (ANI)

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