Half of Canadians too ignorant to be Canadian

Canadians fail Canada test A survey has found that more than half of them would not be granted citizenship on the basis of their knowledge of their own country... [more]
Source : Herald and Weekly Times
[more] Source : The Globe and Mail

Unmanned Vehicle The 'Robocar'

Drivers Unwanted: MIT 'Robocar' takes a spin
A team of MIT faculty and researchers including 20 students are working toward what could be the car of the future: a vehicle that drives itself, with people as passengers... [more]
Source : Massachusetts institute of technology

Exercise As Antidepressant

Exercise Stimulates The Formation Of New Brain Cells
Exercise has a similar effect to antidepressants on depression. This has been shown by previous research... [more]
Source : Science Daily

Scientists grab stem cells from eggs

Stem Cells Created From Eggs
Scientists say they have created embryonic stem cells by stimulating unfertilized eggs, a significant step toward producing transplant tissue that's genetically matched to women. The advance suggests that some day, a woman who wants a transplant to treat a condition such as diabetes or a spinal-cord injury could provide eggs to a lab, which in turn could create tissue that her body would not reject... [more]
Source : The Globe and Mail

New Cure For Allergies

No More Choking And Burning Eyes? New Approach To Eliminating Allergies, Asthma
Allergies, like the common cold and asthma, have basically defied the best efforts of modern medicine to cure them. Now, a doctoral candidate at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem School of Pharmacy has come up with a new approach that offers hope for getting rid of them... [more]
Source : The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Possible cure for HIV infection discovered

Potential cure for HIV discovered
In a breakthrough that could potentially lead to a cure for HIV infection, scientists have discovered a way to remove the virus from infected cells... [more]
Sources : Forbes

Designer Enzyme Cuts HIV Out of Infected Cells... [more]
Source : Scientific American

Friendly Floatees of plastic duck armada circling the world

Plastic duck armada is heading for Britain after 15-year global voyage
The ducks began life in a Chinese factory and were being shipped to the US from Hong Kong when three 40ft containers fell into the Pacific during a storm on January 29, 1992. Two thirds of them floated south through the tropics, landing months later on the shores of Indonesia, Australia and South America. But 10,000 headed north and by the end of the year were off Alaska and heading back westwards. It took three years for the ducks to circle east to Japan... [more]
Source : Timesonline

The North Pole Claimed As Russian

Russia lays claim to the North Pole - and all its gas, oil, and diamonds
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has made an astonishing bid to grab a vast chunk of the Arctic, giving himself claim to its vast potential oil, gas and mineral wealth... [more]
Source : Daily Mail

Tangible-3D prototype gives feeling to on-screen imagery

Japanese firm develops glove that 'feels' 3D images
The "tangible 3D" system creates graphics that seem to burst out of a screen and has a glove that allows users to "feel" them, according to NTT Comware, the software development unit of telecom giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone... [more]
Source : The Age

Lunar "UFO"s May Be Volcanic Belches

Astronomer Offers New Theory Into 400-year-old Lunar Mystery
Transient Lunar Phenomena (TLPs), in which the lunar surface reportedly changes in brightness, blurriness or color, have been photographed and observed by thousands of astronomers over the centuries. Yet explanations of why they occur and even their reality as true lunar phenomena have been hotly debated. The TLPs typically cover a space of a few kilometers and last for several minutes... [more]
Source : Physorg

Viking Age Inca Indian Found in Norwegian Burial Ground

Incan bones found in Norway
Archeologists in Sarpsborg have found one thousand year old skeletal remains that appear to be Incan. Norwegian arhaeologists are puzzled by a find which indicates an Inca Indian died and was buried in the Oestfold city of Sarpsborg 1000 years ago... [more] Source : Aftenposten & [more] The Norway Post & [more] Bits Of News

Natalie Portman, cognitive neuroscientist
Natalie Portman is best known for her roles in Hollywood movies like Star Wars, Cold Mountain and V for Vendetta. What is less known is that she was co-author of a scientific paper on the neuroscience of child development... [more]
Source : Mind Hacks
Natalie Portman... [more] Source : Wikipedia

Mummy of female Pharaoh found on Egyptian Museum in Cairo

Mummy of Egypt's Only Female Pharaoh Identified
The centuries-old search for the mummy of Queen Hatshepsut, the only woman to have reigned as a pharoah in Egypt, may finally have ended - in a Cairo museum... [more]
Source : The Sydney Morning Herald

Indian coins turned into razor blades

Sharp practice of melting coins
Millions of Indian coins are being smuggled into neighbouring Bangladesh and turned into razor blades. And that's creating an acute shortage of coins in many parts of India, officials say... [more]
Source : BBC

Re-creating Neanderthal DNA possible, team says

Researchers May Remake Neanderthal DNA
Researchers studying Neanderthal DNA say it should be possible to construct a complete genome of the ancient hominid despite the degradation of DNA over time... [more]
Source : The Detroit News

Self-censorship of the French news medias

Fears of self-censorship at French news outlets
The debate is an old one in a country where politics, the press and big business have long been intertwined. The state provides direct subsidies to print media, a total of €274 million, or $368 million, this year. And some of these media companies are controlled by conglomerates that can benefit from defense and construction contracts awarded by the government. But the issue of self-censorship has come into sharp relief of late because of declining circulation in the print media and the concentration of media ownership among the new president's close allies... [more]
Source : IHT

Media of France...[more]
Source : Wikipedia

Echinacea Helps To Avoid And Recover From Colds

Echinacea 'can prevent a cold'
Taking the herbal remedy echinacea can more than halve the risk of catching a common cold, researchers say... [more]
Source : BBC

Hong Kong Gym Uses Exercises to Generate Electricity

People in Hong Kong Gym Generate Electricity While Exercising
A fitness center in Hong Kong has a new idea: the energy generated by the members as they exercise is transformed into electricity to help light the facility... [more]
Source : Voa News

MADE IN ITALY : BY THE CHINESE

Made by Foreign Hands

Rather than outsource production, many Italian luxury brands are employing illegal Chinese immigrants as their artisans... [more]
Source : Newsweek

Heart attacks : Stem cell treatment

Heart attack patients to receive stem cell test treatment
Scientists are to try out a new way to repair damage caused by heart attacks. By injecting patients' damaged hearts with stem cells from their own bone marrow scientists hope to regenerate tissue... [more]
Source : Guardian

Genetically engineered rose and lemon perfumed tomatoes

Is it a rosato? A lemato? GM tomatoes has floral, fruity smell
Israeli researchers say they have genetically engineered tomatoes to give hints of lemon and rose aromas that have done well in testing on volunteers... [more]
Source : Physorg

Air France to allow mobiles even while flying

Europe opens the door to in-flight phoning
European regulators have cleared use of mobile phones and BlackBerry devices for passengers while flying, Airbus announced Tuesday. Approval by the European Aviation Safety Agency means that, from September, passengers aboard Airbus aircraft outfitted with the OnAir system will be able to send and receive phone calls, SMS messages and e-mail messages while flying at altitudes above 3,000 meters, or 9,840 feet... [more]
Source : TravelVideo.TV

Avandia Maker Sued

Avandia : Two views of controversial diabetes drug
The news about the possible association of Avandia with heart disease, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, has been troubling, Although the findings are preliminary, why should patients assume this risk when there is an alternative medication. Actos, in the same class with a more favorable lipid profile and reported favorable cardiac outcomes? [more]
Source : Boston.com

USA : Exposure to TV takes time away from very young children

40 percent of 3-month-old infants are regularly watching TV, DVDs or videos
A large number of parents are ignoring warnings from the American Academy of Pediatrics and are allowing their very young children to watch television, DVDs or videos so that by 3 months of age 40 percent of infants are regular viewers. That number jumps to 90 percent of 2-year-olds, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Washington and Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute. The findings are being published today in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine... [more]
Source : University of Washington

Tony Blair reveals the secret of his success : The lucky shoes

The secret of his success? A pair of lucky brogues
The secret of Tony Blair’s success at the dispatch box has been revealed to be a pair of lucky brogues that he has worn at every Prime Minister’s Questions since 1997. Mr Blair, who believes that “cheap shoes are a false economy”, has seen off four Conservative and two Liberal Democrat leaders in the Church’s handmade leather shoes... [more]
Source : Timesonline
Brogues... [more] Source: Wikipedia

A five-acre glacial lake disappears in Chile

100-foot deep Andes lake disappears
A five-acre glacial lake in Chile's southern Andes has disappeared -- and scientists want to know why... [more]
Source : CNN

Gene therapy treatment offers Parkinson's relief

Gene therapy shows preliminary promise for easing Parkinson's disease

An experimental treatment for Parkinson's disease seemed to improve symptoms - dramatically so, for one 59-year-old man - without causing side-effects in an early study of a dozen patients. The gene therapy treatment involved slipping billions of copies of a gene into the brain to calm overactive brain circuitry... [more]
Source : Canada East

Spectacularly undiplomatic outburst of the Polish PM

We'd have more power in EU if Germans hadn't 'reduced our population' in World War II, says Polish PM
The Polish PM has stunned European leaders today with an astonishing attack on Germany for starting the Second World War... [more]
Source : Thisislondon

1 in 4 of all asthma patients show a particular gene defect

Gene Defect Affects Millions Of Asthma Sufferers
Researchers at the University of Dundee, who last year identified the gene that causes eczema and associated forms of asthma, have now discovered that defects on the same gene can drastically affect the day-to-day management of asthma in millions of children and young adults... [more]
Source : Medical News Today

Alli Side-Effects May Outweigh Benefits

Thinking about Alli? Beware of its unpleasant side effects
Oily Discharge Doesn't Discourage Diet Drug Buyers.Well, if you don't mind having uncontrollable bowel movements and flatulence, then Alli - the new FDA-approved, over-the-counter weight-loss drug - may be the miracle you've been praying for.Puh-leeze . . . Don't you believe it... [more] Source : Philly.com & [more] Source : Wired

Alli the weight loss pill

Dieters snap up new drug alli despite nasty side effects
You won't lose weight in your sleep or shed pounds while eating anything you want — that's the sobering message from the maker of a weight loss pill
GlaxoSmithKline's alli... [more] & [more]
Source : The Seattle Times & Chron

Nanoparticles To Cure Allergies

Researchers Develop Buckyballs to Fight Allergy
A research team has identified a new biological function for a soccer ball-shaped nanoparticle called a buckyball – the ability to block allergic response, setting the stage for the development of new therapies for allergy... [more]
Source : Virginia Commonwealth University

Europe : Climate Change, Warmest For 700 Years

Freak winter is Europe's warmest for 700 years
Last autumn-winter season was Europe's warmest for more than 700 years, researchers say.The last time Europeans saw similar temperatures to the autumn and winter of 2006-07, they were eating strawberries at Christmas in 1289... [more]
Source : New scientist

China is now No. 1 in CO2 emissions

China is No. 1 again, this time in CO2 emissions

China is now No. 1. Not just in population. Nor just in economic growth among major nations. Not just in construction cranes or the building of coal-burning power plants. It's now the reigning champ of CO2 emissions. Despite the best efforts of numerous American utility companies and widespread use of air conditioning, SUVs and our own splurge in coal-burning, the United States has sunk to No. 2 in the CO2 derby... [more]

Source : Cnet News

Severe poverty affects 1.3 million UK children

1.3 million UK children 'living in severe poverty'
Using a new measure for severe poverty - which looks at household income in conjunction with deprivation data - the charity estimated that 1.3 million children in the UK are in severe poverty... [more]
Source : 24dash

The Paris Brigade Criminelle or "Crim" is moving to its new headquarters

Paris police close book on Maigret's legendary home
Inspector Maigret and Inspector Clouseau are to lose their legendary, evil-smelling home on the banks of the Seine. The Paris Brigade Criminelle or "Crim" is to quit the dark and pokey headquarters at 36 Quai des Orfèvres that have served as its headquarters for almost 100 years for a hi-tech building in another part of the city... [More]
Source : Independent

French officials want their BlackBerrys despite security warning

FRENCH GOVERNMENT FEARS U.S. SPYING ON BLACKBERRIES
Top French government officials are ignoring warnings to ditch their cherished BlackBerrys -- smartphones with e-mail capacity -- despite warnings their messages may be intercepted by US spy agencies... [More]
Source : Breitbart.com

Synaesthesia : Study may explain roots of empathy

Study may explain roots of empathy
Mirror touch' synaesthesia is a strange but real condition, and it might be wide-spread, psychologists have found. So-called mirror-touch synaesthetes actually feel a touch on their own skin when they watch someone else being touched. Perhaps as a consequence, they also show more emotional empathy than normal people... [more] Source : The Sydney Morning Herald & [more] Source : Nature

Replacement of oil : New process that turns glucose into plastics

Turning Plants into Plastic—And Replacing Oil in the Process
A new process may allow plants to become the root of chemicals, plastics and fuels rather than oil... [more]
Source : Scientific American

Isaac Newton : World to end in 2060

Newton's fourth law: We'll die in 2060
Renowned British scientist Sir Isaac Newton, the father of modern physics and astronomy, predicted the world would end in 2060 in a 1704 letter that went on show in Jerusalem today... [more]
Source : The Australian

SATIRICAL NEWS ( Almost ) French Winemakers Threaten Terror In The Vineyard

French wine-growers go guerrilla
A shadowy group in France has issued the French government with an unusual ultimatum: raise the price of wine or blood will flow... [more]
Source : BBC

Stress may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease

A possible mechanistic link between stress and the development of Alzheimer
Subjecting mice to repeated emotional stress, the kind we experience in everyday life, may contribute to the accumulation of neurofibrillary tangles, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease, report researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. While aging is still the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, a number of studies have pointed to stress as a contributing factor... [more]
Source : Salk Institute

France : Jacques Chirac to lose presidential immunity

Former French President Chirac set to lose immunity, could face investigators' questions
For Jacques Chirac, the legal clock is ticking: At midnight Saturday, the former French leader officially loses his presidential immunity, and could face investigators' questions – or worse... [more]
Source : Signonsandiego.com

HAMAS BANS GUNMAN MASKS -- UNLESS SHOOTING AT ISRAELIS

Hamas bans masks for Gaza gunmen In their first order since seizing control of the Gaza Strip, Hamas Islamists banned gunmen from wearing masks - unless they are shooting at Israel... [more]
Source : Herald Sun Sunday

The Lifestraw drinking filter, which kills bacteria as water is sucked through it

Water for the World
A $3 gadget that promises to quench a user's thirst for a year without spare parts, electricity or maintenance... [more]
Source : Newsweek

Study reveals men suffer sympathy pains during pregnancy

Men suffer from phantom pregnancy
Morning sickness, cramps, back pain and swollen stomachs were all reported by men whose partners were pregnant. Expectant fathers reported a range of symptoms, including cramps, back pain, mood swings, food cravings, morning sickness, fatigue, depression, fainting, insomnia and toothache... [more]

Source : BBC

Russian drinking aftershave and cleaning agents

Cologne and Antiseptic cocktails :Nearly half of all Russian men die from drinking
Researchers who investigated drinking habits in one town in the Urals found men were imbibing colognes, medical tinctures and cleaning agents containing up 97 per cent alcohol to get their fix... [more]
Source : The New Zealand Herald

Is global warming really man-made?

Freedom, not climate, is at risk
Is climate change just propaganda? Vaclav Klaus President of the Czech Republic writes on Financial Times... [more]
Source : Financial Times

Scientists challenge major review of global oil reserves

World oil supplies are set to run out faster than expected, warn scientists
Scientists have criticised a major review of the world's remaining oil reserves, warning that the end of oil is coming sooner than governments and oil companies are prepared to admit... [more]
Source : The Independent

Backward-in-time research funded by individuals

Public donates to UW scientist to fund backward-in-time research
A University of Washington scientist who could not obtain funding from traditional research agencies to test his idea that light particles act in reverse time has received more than $35,000 from folks nationwide who didn't want to see this admittedly far-fetched idea go unexplored... [more]
Source : Seattle Post-Intelligencer