Republicans bash Obama on missile defenceSeptember 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Congressional Republicans sharply criticised President Barack Obama Thursday for cancelling plans for a long-range missile-defence shield in Europe, accusing him of backing down against Moscow. "The administration is capitulating to Russian demands, rewarding Russia for its divisive policies and actions," Representative Howard McKeon said during a press conference with other Republicans.
US to abandon plans for missile defense system in Poland, Czech RepublicSeptember 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - United States is reportedly set to abandon its plans for a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic following a review of Iran's long-range missile program which has not shown the progress that the US was expecting from it. According to reports, reviews have found that Iran's threat to the continental US and major European capitals has reduced in the recent past.
Our nostrils share a 'smelly' rivalryAugust 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Our nostrils may look like a happy pair, but according to a new study, when they pick up conflicting scents, the nose holes become deadly rivals. The study, published online in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, explains that when the nose encounters two different scents simultaneously, the brain processes them separately through each nostril in an alternating fashion.
Scientists devise 'electronic tongue' to identify sweetnessAugust 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have devised a small, cheap, lab-on-a-chip sensor that quickly and accurately identifies sweetness. It can accurately identify the full sweep of natural and artificial sweet substances, including 14 common sweeteners, using easy-to-read colour markers.
Sensory 'sweet-tooth' to make 'E-tongue' more human-likeAugust 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists in Illinois have given sweet-tooth a "sensory" makeover by developing a small, inexpensive, lab-on-a-chip sensor that quickly and accurately identifies sweetness - an advancement that provides a new approach to an effective "electronic tongue". The scientific breakthrough can identify with 100 percent accuracy the full sweep of natural and artificial sweet substances, including 14 common sweeteners, using easy-to-read color markers.
Novel system to test ripe pineapple and delicious porkAugust 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Always get confused while deciding which pineapple is ripe and is best to take home? Well, a new system can now help you get out of this puzzle in the supermarket. The novel system uses volatile components to detect when the pineapple is ripe, and when it can be delivered to the supermarket.
How noise affects nervous system's ability to transcribe sounds key to reading skillsJuly 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study conducted by Northwestern University researchers offers an unparalleled look at how noise affects the nervous system's ability to transcribe sounds whose subtle differences are key to success with language and reading. The study suggests that distinguishing such sounds is too much to ask of the nervous system of a subset of poor readers whose hearing is fine, but whose brains have trouble differentiating the "ba," "da" and "ga" sounds in a noisy environment.
Scientists solve age-old mystery of horseshoe bat's elongated noseJuly 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have solved the mystery of a bat with an extraordinarily long nose, by determining that the creature uses its elongated nose to create a highly focused sonar beam, which helps in the detection of its environment. The bat, called the Bourret's horseshoe bat (known scientifically as the "Rhinolophus paradoxolophus," meaning paradoxical crest), has a nose that is roughly 9 millimeters in length.
North Korea indications suggest short and medium-range launch; no long-range missile preps yetJune 23rd, 2009 NKorea warning hints short- to medium-range launchWASHINGTON — An impending missile test threatened by North Korea is expected to launch short- to medium-range missiles rather than a long-range missile similar to one tested in April, according to U.S. intelligence reports.
Just like Obama, Lincoln too had an encounter with a flyJune 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - American President Barack Obama has once again been likened to Abraham Lincoln, with reports now claiming that the latter too had an encounter with a fly. Daniel Weinberg, the owner of the Abraham Lincoln Book Shop in Chicago, is in possession of a picture showing Lincoln with a housefly on him.
US prepared for any missile launch toward Hawaii: GatesJune 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States is prepared to defend against a possible North Korean missile launch toward the US state of Hawaii, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday. "We're obviously watching the situation in the North with respect to missile launches very closely," Gates told reporters.
How the body differentiates between a scorch and a scratchMay 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - American scientists have shed new light on how the body figures out whether it has been stuck by a pin or burnt by a match. Researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have found that this sensory discrimination begins in the skin at the very earliest stages of neuronal information processing, with different populations of sensory neurons-called nociceptors-responding to different kinds of painful stimuli.
Fish that use 'non-visual' sensory system to feedApril 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of biologists has demonstrated that a group of African fish, known as cichlids, can eat using the help of a non-visual sensory system, which is the first of its kind reported in this species. Jacqueline Webb, a University of Rhode Island (URI) professor of biology, and her colleagues have demonstrated that a group of African cichlids feeds by using its lateral line sensory system to detect minute vibrations made by prey hidden in the sediments.
How you feel the world can actually change how you see itApril 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Ever wondered why do stationary rocks appear to drift upwards while staring at the downward motion of a waterfall? Well, new research has shown that motion in one direction gives rise to the illusion of visual motion in the opposite direction. "Our discovery suggests that the sensory processing of visual and tactile motion use overlapping neural circuits," said Christopher Moore of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT and senior author of the paper.
Tweak your ear's hair, protect against hearing lossJanuary 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Tweaking the ear's hair cells not only limits how much sound is heard, but also protects against hearing loss, according to the latest finding. 'There's some uncertainty in the field about what this sound-limiting system is used for,' said Paul Fuchs, co-author of the paper and professor of otolaryngology at the Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences, Johns Hopkins.
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