Simple Browser: 3/1/08

Mar 31, 2008

Air Ambulance Services

Air ambulance! Ever heard about it? Have enough information about this service? An air ambulance is an aircraft used for emergency medical assistance in situations where either a traditional ambulance cannot easily or quickly reach the scene or the patient needs to be repositioned at a distance where air transportation is most practical. So, we must have some knowledge about the air ambulance services. Because, emergency comes without giving a hint!

If you want to get some good information about air ambulance services in the United States, visit airambulance.net. They have 21 years of experience in the industry and their staff are experts in Air Ambulance Transport.

What is special about airambulance.net? They provides excellent service to patients with the help of trained and experienced on board flight nurse and flight paramedics. Their air ambulance has state of the art medical equipments to provide the best service. They coordinate from bedside to bedside, while providing the same attention and support to all patients.

How air ambulance service works? They picks up the patient from hospital, home or facility and transfers the patient to the air ambulance. On air, their nurses takes care of the patient. Upon landing, their ground ambulance transports the patient to the bedside, nursing home or hospital.

Their Medical Flight Team Includes: Board Certified Flight Physicians, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, ICU/CCU Licensed Registered Nurses, Nationally Registered Flight Paramedics, Certified Respiratory Therapists and Emergency Medical Technicians(EMT).

The airambulance.net provides air ambulance service in 50 states of the US. Be it Florida, or New York or Hawaii, you will get there service every where! To know more about the air ambulance service near to you, visit airambulance.net. Even you can contact them by using a simple online form.

Mutations and Schizophrenia

A new U.S. study reveals that there is a relation between certain genetic variations and brain tissue mutations, and schizophrenia. Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Washington and the National Institute of Mental Health found that deletions, disruptions and duplications of normal genes were three to four times more frequent in people with schizophrenia. The findings of this study were published in the journal 'Science'.

Schizophrenia, a debilitating psychiatric trouble, affects around 1% of the world’s population. The people with schizophrenia suffer from hallucinations, delusions, and unsystematic thinking, and are at risk for strange or odd behaviors. The disease deeply affects communal and work-related functioning and has massive public health costs.

Researchers analyzed a variety of blood samples from 158 schizophrenia patients, plus 268 people that do not have any psychiatric problem. Researchers used a high-resolution gene scanning technique, to study unusual mutations. The group saw 53 different mutation instances, and they found that multiple, individually rare mutations took place over thrice frequently among persons with schizophrenia.

"This part of our findings indicates something we didn't know before: that rare structural mutations in genes, while present in both healthy people and people with schizophrenia, are much more likely to occur among people with the illness," said senior author Jonathan Sebat of Cold Spring Harbor. "This suggests a previously unknown role for rare mutations in the causation of schizophrenia."

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Funny and Insightful Jokes

I love funny and insightful jokes. And when it comes to funny videos, I can't resist myself! Recently, I discovered an interesting video blog called "Legal Pad Ponders". This blog contains some interesting, funny and insightful videos. I enjoyed the Legal Pad Ponders series, that has 6 different videos. Watch it now.

"Legal Pad Ponders" also contains some funny videos like "Bottle Water Commercial", "Condom Commercial" etc. Johnny, the author of that blog nicely presents his thoughts in the form of videos. So, if you enjoy funny and insightful jokes, you must give a look at the videos of "Legal Pad Ponders".

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Automated Transfer Vehicle approaches ISS

The unmanned European space ship "Jules Verne" (known as the Automated Transfer Vehicle - ATV) has performed its first tasks successfully, navigating to within 3.5km of the International Space Station (ISS). The cargo space ship is carrying some five tonnes of food for the crew at the ISS. The craft must carry out two rigorous navigation rehearsal days before being allowed to attempt the delicate docking with the space station.

Jules Verne used relative GPS measurements to determine its position compared to the position of the space station, then successfully performed an "escape" manoeuvre on the instructions of ground staff, situated in Toulouse, France. Launched on March 9, the Jules Verne is expected to dock with the ISS on April 3 at 14:41 universal time.

Mar 30, 2008

Space Agency sued for Fallen Rocket part

When rocket falls in backyard! A shepherd is suing the Russian space agency after a 10-foot-long chunk of metal from a rocket nearly hit his outdoor toilet. Boris Urmatov, who lives in a small village in Russia's Altai region, is seeking a million roubles (£21,200) damages from the Roskosmos agency.

"Something woke him up in the night, like something exploded. Since he's visually handicapped he didn't notice the fallen rocket parts. In the morning in front of the shepherd hut he saw this enormous metal casing, as smooth as an egg," said his sister Marina.

The village Kyrlyk, lies underneath the flight path of rockets taking off from the Baikonur launchpad in Kazakhstan. So, authorities has designated it as a special zones where people may not go during the launches.

Space agency Roskosmos said it warned residents when a launch was scheduled, and in a history stretching back over 50 years and 400 rockets, only a few rocket parts had fallen outside the designated areas.

"Technologically speaking, these parts are supposed to fall off during a launch. They fly, they fall, they fly, they fall. It's how they work. If a court determines that, yes, those are rocket parts, they fell on his land, then for sure he will be compensated. No question about it," said Alexander Vorobyov, a spokesman for Roskosmos. Link

HDPE products and Recycling

Have you heard about HDPE? High Density Poly Ethylene (HDPE) is a form of recyclable plastic, that is commonly used in manufacturing of consumer products. It was invented by Paul Hogan and Robert Banks of Phillips Petroleum in 1951. Chemically, is a polymer molecule where all the atoms are linked together in a long chain. HDPE is created by a catalytic process, and is normally prepared from ethylene. HDPE's melting point of 130 degrees Celsius and it is resistant to alcohols, acids and bases. HDPE is strong but lightweight and absorbs very little moisture. That's why it is used in manufacturing of different products.

HDPE has been approved of as a product for food packaging by various institutions, including the FDA, NSF and USDA. Nowadays HDPE is used in a wide range of applications and products. From detergent bottles to milk jugs, and from the laboratory to household chemicals, HDPE products are used every where.

The good thing is that HDPE Material can be recycled. Recyclable waste of HDPE is called as Scrap HDPE. They comes in all forms, shapes and colors. Before starting the process of recycling, the recyclable HDPE materials are sorted and cleaned. It helps in adding value to the quality of recycled products. Then contamination free flakes of Scrap HDPE is used to manufacture new products such as bags, bottles, containers, clothing, carpet, drums, plastic lumber, etc.

HDPE is an important and remarkable substance. Recycling of this kind of plastic products will help us to keep this world clean. So, don't throw away your plastic wastes. Just collect and put them in special bin, from which the wastes will be picked by a public or private hauling company.

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Mar 28, 2008

Beautiful Cocoon Nebula

The Cocoon Nebula, named as IC 5146, is a strikingly beautiful nebula located about 4,000 light years away toward the constellation of the Swan (Cygnus). Inside the Cocoon Nebula is a newly developing open cluster of stars. Like other stellar nurseries, the Cocoon Nebula holds, at the same time, a bright red emission nebula, blue reflection nebulas, and dark absorption nebulas. These three processes create a host of colors.

In the above image taken recently by the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) in Hawaii, USA, you can see the beautiful colors of the Cocoon Nebula. The massive star towards the left of the picture opened a hole in an existing molecular cloud through which much of the glowing material flows. This star was formed about 100,000 years ago and now it provides the energy source for much of the emitted and reflected light from the Cocoon Nebula. Take a look at another photo of the beautiful nebula. Source: NASA

Endeavour returns home

US Space shuttle Endeavour and its crew of seven returned to Earth on Wednesday, ending a two-week long mission to International Space Station. The shuttle landed on NASA's illuminated runway at 8:39 p.m. It was a rare nighttime touchdown. It was only the 22nd space shuttle landing in darkness. Less than one-fifth of all missions have ended at nighttime; the last one was in 2006.

Endeavour was supposed to land before sunset, but at virtually the last minute, clouds moved in and it's homecoming is delayed. As the astronauts took an extra swing around the planet, the sky cleared enough to satisfy flight controllers gave green signal to return home.

Endeavour blasted off March 11, on an important mission to construct the space station. During their 16 day mission astronauts installed the first piece of Japan's Kibo lab, put together a giant Canadian robot named Dextre and tested a shuttle repair technique. The International Space Station is now 70 percent complete, with a mass of nearly 600,000 pounds. NASA hopes to complete the construction process in 2010. Link

Huge Antarctic Ice Chunk Collapses

A huge chunk of ice, bigger than the Isle of Manhattan, has started to collapse in Antarctica. Satellite images suggest that part of the ice shelf is disintegrating, and now it is hanging by a thread. Scientists has blamed Global Warming for this collapse.

Satellite images show the runaway disintegration of a 160-square-mile chunk in western Antarctica, which started Feb. 28. It was the edge of the Wilkins ice shelf and has been there for hundreds, maybe 1,500 years.

The Wilkins Ice Shelf has been stable for most of the last century, but began retreating in the 1990s. Scientists say the Antarctic Peninsula has experienced unprecedented warming over the last 50 years. According to British Antarctic Survey (BAS), six ice shelves in the same part of the continent have already been lost.

Since an ice shelf is a floating platform of ice, the break-up will have no impact on sea level. But scientists say it heightens concerns over the impact of climate change on this part of Antarctica.

Mar 25, 2008

Saleen S5S Raptor Concept

Car maker Saleen unveiled a new concept supercar, the S5S Raptor, at the New York Auto Show 2008. The Raptor is a two seat mid-engine super car. It will be powered by a Saleen 5.0L Supercharged Engine, that burns either petrol or E85 ethanol blended fuels. It's engine can produce 650hp and 630 lb-ft of torque, that is more than enough to go 0-100 km/h in 3.2 seconds!

The Saleen S5S Raptor concept features an aluminium chassis. The interior of the car can be illuminated by the sun or the city lights through the solar-tented scenic roof that covers the cockpit. The aesthetics for the Raptor were developed by ASC Creative Services, America's largest independent automotive design firm.

The brake system features 15-inch (381 mm) front rotors with 6 piston calipers, and 13-inch (308 mm) rear rotors with dual piston calipers for maximum stopping power. Road holding traction is provided by the 275/35 ZR20 and 315/35/ZR20 Pirelli Rosso tires that wrap the 20' forged aluminum front and rear wheels respectively. The unique black-diamond and carbon fiber finish on the wheels make them as stunning as they are strong.

Production of Saleen S5S Raptor will start in 2010 and it's price tag is estimated as US$185,000.

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Mar 24, 2008

View of Saturn and Titan

Take a look at the spectacular view of Saturn and its moon Titan, as recorded by the NASA's Cassini spacecraft, earlier this year. Launched from Earth in 1997, the robotic Cassini spacecraft entered orbit of Saturn in 2004. Soon after reaching Saturn, Cassini released the Huygen's probe which landed on Titan, Saturn's largest moon, and send back unprecedented pictures.

Recent radar images of Titan from Cassini indicates about present of ocean below Titan's surface. It also indicated about flat regions that are likely lakes of liquid methane, indicating a complex weather system where it likely rains chemicals similar to gasoline. Cassini has revolutionized humanity's knowledge about Saturn. It is still working and will continue to provide valuable information about Saturn. NASA

Also take a look at the Beautiful Rings of Saturn.

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Mar 23, 2008

Pamela Anderson Rick Salomon wants to split

Pamela Anderson and her husband Rick Salomon wants to split, after both od them alleged fraud in their relationship. According to court papers filed Friday, Rick Salomo agreed that their two-month marriage should be voided because of fraud. They were married last Oct. 6 in Las Vegas.

After just two months of marriage, Anderson, 40, filed for divorce from Salomon, 39, in December, citing irreconcilable differences. Now, Salomon did not ask for spousal support and asked that it not be awarded to Anderson.

Salomon was previously married to actress Shannen Doherty for nine months. He is also known for the sex videotape, that he made with then-girlfriend Paris Hilton. On the other hand, Anderson was previously married to singer Kid Rock and Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee.

Man auctions his Life on eBay

An Australian man is auctioning off his life on the Internet, as he wants to start a new life! Ian Usher, who was born in Britain, made the decision to sell-off everything on the online auction site eBay after his marriage broke up. His weird offer comes with his house in Perth, job, clothes and even friends. The auction will take place on June 22.

On the day it is all sold and settled I intend to walk out of my front door with my wallet in one pocket and my passport in the other, nothing else at all, and get on the train, with no idea where I am going or what the future holds for me.

He expects to get A$420,000 (192,186 pounds). For more information, read his Web site www.alife4sale.com, which also has a link to eBay for bidders. Watch the video report from Reuters.

Teenage Boy cycled 600 miles

A teenage Dutch boy traveled 600 miles on a bicycle, before caught by the cops! How it happened? Collin Baker, 16, ran away from his home in Holland and headed to China with just £6, a map, a book, some crisps and a bottle of mineral water.

But, cops caught him in Poland, after he cycled 600 miles from his home into Germany and across Poland! Residents in Przemkow, a town in south west Poland, phoned the local police after discovering a boy at a bus stop, who 'looked lost', and spoke no Polish.

Later, Collin told the police that he had left home for China because he did not like his mother's new husband. He had only £6 with him, but said he was still determined to get to China by bike.

"I want to go there, because I've never been there," Collin said.

Images of Unusual Icebergs

What you think about the looks of icebergs? Icebergs floating on the waters of Antarctic may take any shapes. Don't believe my words? Take a look at the images of odd and stunning iceberg formations. These were photographed by Norwegian sailor Oyvind Tangen, on board a research ship to Antarctic. Nature is beautiful! Link

Picture: Iceberg with unusual blue, green and brown stripes.

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Ocean on Titan

In the Thursday’s issue of the journal Science, scientists has published an amazing finding about Titan, the moon of planet Saturn. They have discovered evidence that there is a hidden ocean of water below the surface of the giant moon.

Scientists are supporting their assertions on evidence they have acquired from analyzing radar images and other information about Titan, sent by NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

Based on the winds in the atmosphere of Titan, scientists have been able to figure out that a ocean of liquid water could actually be around 60 miles below the surface. This finding would surely start a major study into whether the ocean could support life.

Ring of Fake Art Prints Busted

Have you checked the art print, that you bought from an auction? A ring of art print counterfeiters has sold thousands of art prints to buyers around the world, since 1999. These fake prints bears the forged signatures of Picasso, Miro, Dali and other famous artists.

"Thousands of people will learn they ... bought a fake," said Chicago-based U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who announced indictments on Wednesday charging two Americans, a Spaniard from Barcelona, and two Italians from Milan and Monsummano with multiple counts of fraud.

The counterfeits art prints were produced in Spain and Italy were sold in galleries, at art shows and through Internet auction site eBay. The sale price of these counterfeit prints were about $5 million. Now, U.S. authorities will seek to extradite the Europeans.

Are you a victim of this? For more information, you can visit: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/

Record for Breaking Concrete Blocks with Hands

A karate-chopping strongman from Cornwall has smashed the record for breaking concrete blocks with your bare hands. Ed Byrne, a 40-year-old martial arts master, chopped 55 granite and concrete edging stones in 4.86 seconds using his hand.

This is a new World record for breaking most concrete blocks by bare hands. The earlier record was of 17.49 seconds.

Byrne said: "I used to break things when I was a kid for fun with my friends and I would break things easily whereas my friends wouldn't.

Wat's next? Ed Byrne hopes to break more blocks in one stack than ever before with a single strike. The record currently stands at 31 slabs of concrete in one chop. Link

Beckhams on Easter Eggs

Want a Beckham Easter egg-head? Chocolatier Thorntons are auctioning a range of chocolate eggs bearing the faces of Victoria Beckham, David Beckham, Lily Allen, Prince Harry and Gordon Brown. The eBay auction is arranged to raise money for the children's charity Barnardo's.

Thorntons worked with design duo Id-Iom, known for their graffiti-style art, to create the bespoke eggs. Dark chocolate has been used to stencil the portraits onto white Easter Eggs.

Peter Wright, marketing director for Thorntons, said: "We look forward to seeing how much we can raise for Barnardo's." Link

Final Spacewalk of Endeavour's mission

After a final inspection of Endeavour's thermal shield, astronauts aboard the International Space Station began preparing for a Saturday spacewalk. Astronauts will store on the station, the laser-tipped boom they used to search for damage. The boom is used to check for problems with the shield that protects the ship from the searing heat of re-entry.

The boom is being left at the space station because there won't be room for it in Discovery's payload bay on its next mission because the enormous Japanese Kibo lab will take up almost every square inch.

Astronauts Robert Behnken and Michael Foreman plan to attach the 50-foot inspection boom to the outside of the space station on Saturday during the fifth and final spacewalk of Endeavour's mission. Discovery will carry the boom back to Earth after its mission ends. AP

Searching about LASIK

For past few days, I was searching for some good information about Vision related procedures, specially about the LASIK eye surgery. LASIK eye surgery is a treatment that is done to reshape the cornea in order to produce clear vision. I was searching these information for a good friend of mine.

After lots of search, I found a really useful website. It is called DocShop.com. This site provides latest news and valuable information about different health care procedures and technologies. After browsing through the different pages of the site, I found it very reliable. Their "Patient Education Topics" includes Bariatrics, Cosmetic Surgery, Dentistry, Dermatology, Fertility and Vision. DocShop provides you a direct connection to doctors, dentists and other medical professionals near you, through their "Find a Doctor" section. The video section of DocShop aims at providing news and information in an interactive way. You must watch their educational videos.

What I learned about lasik treatment from this site? LASIK surgery can treat myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), and astigmatism, and even reduce patients’ dependency on contact lenses and glasses. Many people thinks that LASIK eye surgey is very costly. But the truth is that, LASIK cost depends on the patient's degree of refractive error and the area of the country the procedure is performed. Even in some places, there are financing options for LASIK surgery.

LASIK patients should be at least 18 years old and patients who have experienced an eye infection or injury in the past year should not undergo the treatment. After the surgery many patients experience immediate improved vision. But in general, it can take up to six months for vision to stabilize. The important point is that only one to five percent patients experience complications due to LASIK surgery.

I am very pleased with the volume and quality of information that DocShop provided about LASIK. For more information you can read their FAQs and Testimonials. Even they can help you to find the right surgeon in your state. Use their comprehensive directory and locate the qualified LASIK eye surgeon, near to you.

To gather more knowledge about Anti-aging, Beauty, Diet & Exercise, Health and Lifestyle, don't forget to read their "News and Features" section. Their photo galleries allows you to view actual patients who have undergone different types of cosmetic treatments. And if you are interested to know more about the technologies behind the different health care procedures, read their "Technology" section.

Now, I consider DocShop.com as my best guide for trusted medical information. What about you? Use them to make confident decisions about health care and improve the quality of your life. Because, a Healthy Life means a Happy Life!

Largest Cosmic Blast ever seen with naked Eye

Scientists have detected an interesting interstellar explosion, so bright that it was briefly visible to the naked eye, from 7.5 billion light-years away. Viewers looking at the right patch of night sky on Wednesday would have seen several afterglows from the massive gamma-ray burst. Well, it was slightly brighter than the faintest visible stars.

The burst was named GRB 080319B, was captured by NASA's Swift satellite. The above image shows the spectacular explosion captured by using X-Ray Telescope (left) and Optical/Ultraviolet Telescope (right) of Swift satellite. All total, four bursts were detected on that day. GRB 080319B is located more than halfway across the visible universe.

Gamma-ray bursts occur when massive stars run out of fuel and collapse, rapidly pouring out enormous amounts of high-energy radiation and particles. Acting like high-power cosmic blowtorches, the particle jets can also heat interstellar clouds to create bright afterglows. Link

Mar 21, 2008

Playing a Burning Piano!

Love to play piano? Would you like to play a burning piano? I thank that you will never want to do that. But one person actually did this. Yosuke Yamashita (66), a Japanese jazz pianist played a burning piano in Ishikawa Prefecture, western Japan. He amazed about 500 spectators by playing the piano for full ten minutes before all the strings were burnt out or snapped and the piano went quiet.

For pretection, Yamashita was wearing a firefighter's uniform. This performance was a reproduction of a scene from the 1973 movie "Burning Piano". In the movie also, Yamashita played the burning piano.

"I did not think I was risking my life but I was almost suffocating from the smoke that was continuously getting into my eyes and nose. I had decided to keep on playing until the piano stopped making sounds, so though I did not mean it but it ended up having a life-or-death battle between the piano and myself," said Mr Yamashita. Link

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Mar 20, 2008

Old Blood is Bad!

Old blood is bad blood! A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that older donated blood may be affect patients. Researchers have long known that blood degrades over time and the Food and Drug Administration don't allow to use blood stored more than 42 days. But, researchers at the Cleveland Clinic found that 42 days is too long and increases the risk of death. They examined records of 6,002 patients and found that heart surgery patients who got transfusions of blood that was more than two weeks old fared worse than those who received newer blood.

The published study says: "the relative risk of postoperative death is increased by 30% in patients given blood that has been stored for more than two weeks. These results may appear to suggest that blood should be classified as outdated earlier than current recommendations." Link

World's Smallest Wind Generator

Take a look at the image above. It is Blow light - the wind generated LED light. Blow light is the World's Smallest Wind Generator or Wind Turbine. It has a white colored rotor blade, which is just 6cm in diameter. The rotor blade stands on a 17cm long clear ABS plastic stalk.

How to use the Blow light? Just blow on the rotor to light up the LEDs. When the rotor blade turns due to blowing, it creates electricity to power two blue and one green LED lights. Blow light is denitely an environmentally friendly toy. What you say? Link

Stunning Endeavour

Take a look at the image. Blasting into a dark night sky, this is Space Shuttle Endeavour. In this stunning picture of March 11 launch, the glare from Endeavour's three main rocket engines and flanking solid fuel booster rockets illuminates the orbiter's tail section and the large, orange external fuel tank. Space Shuttle Endeavour carried astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) on a 16-day long mission. The mission STS-123 is the longest shuttle mission to the ISS. NASA

Folic Acid helps in Healthy Sperm

Vitamin B (Folate or Folic Acid) can help in keeping men's sperm normal and increases the chance of fathering a healthy child. A team of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, found that regular consumption of green vegetables, fruits and lentils, all containing folic acid, can protect men against producing abnormal sperm and kids with genetic abnormalities.

The team came to the conclusion after they analysed sperm samples from 89 healthy, non-smoking men, and quizzed them about their intake of zinc, folate, vitamin C, vitamin E and beta carotene.

In their study, the researchers from University of California found that men who consumed folate between 722 to 1150 micrograms a day, had 20 to 30 per cent lower levels of abnormal sperm than men with low folate intake.

It is estimated that up to four per cent of sperm in a healthy man carry either too many or too few chromosomes. This condition is known as aneuploidy which is linked to failure to conceive, miscarriages, and children born with conditions like Down's syndrome, Turner's syndrome and Klinefelter's syndrome. Men who ate the most zinc and beta-carotene also had fewer instances of some sperm abnormalities, but not aneuploidy. Link

Life Forming Gas found on Distant Planet

Scientists has discovered a possible 'Sign of Life' on a Distant Planet! Wait! It is not actually a sign of life, but methane, a carbon-containing compound that can play a key role in life formation.

The organic compound methane was found in the atmosphere of a Jupiter-sized planet known as HD 189733, borbiting a star some 63 light years away. Methane, made up of carbon and hydrogen, is the simplest possible organic compound and under certain circumstances, it can play a key role in the chemical reactions necessary to form life. This is for the first time a organic compound has been detected on a planet outside our Solar System.

Dr Giovanna Tinetti from University College, London, and co-authors Mark Swain and Gautam Vasisht, from Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, found the signature of methane in the planet's atmosphere using the Hubble Space Telescope. The researchers also confirmed a previous discovery - made by Nasa's Spitzer Space Telescope - that the atmosphere of planet HD 189733b contains water vapour.

Scientists thinks that the discovery, unveiled in the journal Nature, is an important step towards exploring new worlds. In HD 189733b, temperatures reach 900 degrees C, about the melting point of silver. So, scientists says that the planet is far too hot to support life formation.

Dr Giovanna Tinetti said: "The methane here, although we can call it an organic constituent, is not produced by life - it is way too hot there for life." Link

Mar 18, 2008

View of Enceladus, Saturn's moon

Think about planet Saturn and it's moon Enceladus! What does the surface of Saturn's ice-covered moon look like? To find out more information about Enceladus, on Wednesday, the robotic Cassini spacecraft was sent soaring past the cryovolcanic moon. Even Cassini went right through one of Enceladus' ice plumes. It closed to about 52 kilometers during its closest encounter to date.

The above unprocessed image was taken looking down from the north, from about 30,000 kilometers away. Visible are at least two types of terrain. The first type of terrain has more craters than occur near Enceladus' South Pole. The other type of terrain has few craters but many ridges and grooves that may have been created by surface-shifting tectonic activity.

Exogeologists are currently examining this and other images sent by Cassini to better understand the moon's patch-work surface, its unusual ice-geysers, and its potential to support life. Cassini is scheduled to fly by Enceladus at least nine more times, including an even closer pass of just 25 kilometers this coming October. NASA

Mar 17, 2008

Most Dangerous School Run

Take a look at the image. For years the children of Maji village in Fugong town, Yunnan province, China, has been using a cable to cross the raging torrent of Nujiang River. They used to slide and haul themselves along a 200m cable twice a day to attend their school.

After this dangerous river crossing appeared on a Chinese TV programme called "The Most Dangerous School Run", people started to raise money to build a bridge. All total of £25,000 came in as donations and the bridge was built within three months. Now, the dangerous school run came to an end, with the opening of this new 170m long bridge. This bridge will ensure security of those 500 children of Maji village.

"Our kids no longer need to risk their lives to go to school," said a joyful villager. Link

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Mar 16, 2008

World's Largest and Tallest Arch Bridge

Dubai is known for it magnificent buildings and men-made structures. Wait till 2012 and you will see the World's largest and tallest Arch Bridge in Dubai. Take a look at the image! This arch bridge is designed by a NewYork based architecture firm, Fxfowle.

Some quick info about the World's largest and tallest Arch Bridge!

The bridge is one mile long and 670 feet tall.
It will have 12 lanes for traffic.
It will cost 817 million dollars.
The design has Sheikh Mohammed's official stamp of approval.
The bridge will carry more than 2,000 vehicles per hour in each direction.
A metro line will run across the middle.
Construction of this bridge begins in March, with a slated completion date of 2012. Link

Mar 15, 2008

Surfing Mice!

Take look at the Radical Rodents, the coolest and hippest mice in the world. Their names are Chopsticks, Bunsen, Harry & Curly. They live in Queensland and love surfing! Don't believe me? Watch the video and believe your eyes!

Japan's Space Lab Installed

On Friday, astronauts have successfully installed the Japanese lab on the International Space Station. The Japanese logistics module (JLP) is the first component of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory that will be operating as part of the ISS. Now, marking the beginning of Japan's scientific work aboard the station, ISS Commander Peggy Whitson and Japanese astronaut Takao Doi opened the module at 9:23 pm Friday (0123 GMT Saturday) and began transferring supplies and equipment into the new laboratory from the space shuttle Endeavour.

Engineers have also restored power to a Canadian-made robot Dextre. Dextre is the third and final component of the Canadarm Remote Manipulator System, the robotic arm that is Canada's vital contribution to the International Space Station. As Dextre was delivered to the space station in nine separate pieces, the astronauts will now use three of the Endeavour mission's five spacewalks to get it up and running. Link

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Number Plate of Your Car

Got a brand new car! Now need a cool number plate? A good number plate can reflect your personality. So, try to give a personal touch to it! But, where you will get personalised number plates? Give a visit to Northumbria Numbers (www.northumbrianumbers.com), a company specialized in private Number Plates and personalised car registrations. Since 1995, Northumbria Numbers have supplied cool, personalised number plates to thousands of UK cars. Now this is your turn!

On their site, you can do a quick search for the available numbers, by entering your initials, name, car make etc. The results will surprise you! For example, we entered "BMW" and got some cool results including "AU02 BMW". What you think? Is it not a cool number plate for a BMW car?

They also have a cool feature called, "Make a Plate", where you can make your own number plate! You can also use their "Prefix Search" and "Current Style Search" features to find a great number plate for your new car. The good thing is that they will do all the paperwork for you. So, no need to worry about the hassles of registration. You can also check their Bargains page to get reductions of up to 50% on some cool personalised number plates.

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Love in Life and Time

Love! What is Love? Different people has different views about Love. The word "Love" is my most favorite word. For me, the word "Love" means "something that keeps me going" in this World. Love shows me the path and gives me strength to go on.

About love of my life? I have one and only one - my Sweetheart. I don't know, how I fall in love with her. But I am sure that I fall! I am in love with her, for four long years. And day by day, my love for her is increasing. This is the power of love. What about you, my friend? I am sure that you are also in love!

Frankly speaking, we are very open to each other. This helps us in going more deeper into the world of romance and love! During our busy life, we never forget to give proper attention and care to each other. Because, in Love, time is the most crucial thing. At least once in a week, we go out for a romantic dinner. At least once in a month, we go out for a short vacation. And at least once in a year, we go for a long, exotic vacation. With proper understanding we can easily manage these romantic outings and trips. And that's why we are happy!

My friend, if you are facing some trouble in your love life, give importance to the 'time' factor. Give time to your partner and everything gonna be alright! I am telling this from my own experience. Love builds relationships. Be a good lover and give all your love to your partner. Never allow breakup kind of things to come into your love life. Life is beautiful, because Love is there. Mind it!