Micro robo flies can save up to 50 percent energy if they fly like helicopters

September 29th, 2009 CHENNAI - What can save a laptop's hard disc can equally save a human life: This is what Mohit Mittal and Rajan Gupta, students of Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M), have demonstrated with a novel helmet called "Techmet". "IBM had come out with a laptop which when dropped would protect its hard disc.

September 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have come up with new ways to stop by-products from the air we breathe from harming our muscles. Atanu Duttaroy, associate professor of biology at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and colleagues have shown how about 3 percent of the air we breathe gets converted into harmful superoxides, which ultimately harm our muscles.

September 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Like humans, novice fruit flies tend to learn from their more experienced counterparts i.e. mated fruit flies, say researchers.

August 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has shown that female fruit flies prefer keeping sex short and sweet because they get a reproductive boost from shorter intercourse. Since males like sex to last longer, a fight ensues.

August 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study raises the possibility that flies and other insects that encounter nanomaterial "hot spots," or spills, near manufacturing facilities in the future could pick up and transport nanoparticles on their bodies, transferring the particles to other flies or habitats in the environment. The study, by David Rand and Robert Hurt and colleagues, notes that emergence of a nanotechnology industry is raising concerns about the potential adverse health and environmental effects of nanoparticles.

August 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Inspired by how the blow fly's extremely quick eyesight helps to keep it from losing orientation as it makes "lightning-fast" movements to and fro, scientists in Germany have created an unusual research environment. Members of a Munich-based "excellence cluster", called Cognition for Technical Systems (CoTeSys), describe their invention as a flight simulator for flies.

July 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A chemical produced by male fruit flies and transferred to females during mating enables the female to tell other males to buzz off. Harvard Medical School (HMS) researchers, along with German colleagues, discovered the chemical pheromone, which they named CH503.

July 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a study on fruit flies, scientists have debunked the belief that fasting extends life spans in various organisms, including humans, when they suffer infection. In their study, researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine wanted to see if reduced caloric intake also helps creatures cope with infection.

July 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Tiny flying machines can survey anything from indoors to collapsed buildings. Now researchers are mimicking nature's small flyers - and developing robotic bats that offer increased manoeuvrability and performance.

July 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers at North Carolina State University are developing robotic bats with muscles made of metal that offer increased maneuverability and performance, which might represent the next generation of remote controlled flyers. "Small flyers, or micro-aerial vehicles (MAVs), have garnered a great deal of interest due to their potential applications where maneuverability in tight spaces is necessary," said researcher Gheorghe Bunget.

June 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists have described the aerodynamic secret of twirling seeds of maple trees, which might have implications for the design of swirling parachutes and micro-helicopters. The research was done by scientists from Wageningen University in the Netherlands and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), US.

May 14th, 2009 FTC suing companies to halt warranty 'robo-calls'WASHINGTON — Federal regulators are filing suits against several companies they say are behind a national wave of spam "robo-calls" that warn people their auto warranties are expiring and offer new service plans. The Federal Trade Commission says it has asked a federal court in Chicago to halt the illegal telemarketing campaign of "Your Car Warranty Has Expired." Officials say as many as 1 billion of the nuisance calls have been made to Americans.

May 12th, 2009 Hang up: warranty 'robo-calls' get FTC probeWASHINGTON — Federal regulators are close to filing lawsuits against companies behind a national wave of spam "robo-calls" that warn people their auto warranties are about to expire and offer new service plans, two senators said Tuesday. The Federal Trade Commission has started investigations into several companies involved in the deceptive calls, and the agency expects to bring cases against them within days, Sens.

March 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists at Caltech University, US, have discovered that fruit flies have evolved a specialized population of neurons in their antennae that let them know not only when the wind is blowing, but also the direction from which it is coming. The behavior of fruit flies in the face of a stiff breeze is remarkable in and of itself, according to David J.

January 22nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have identified a cellular mechanism in mutated 'Indy' fruit flies that could help prolong life by cutting down the output of free radicals. The finding by Stephen Helfand and Nicola Neretti of Brown University and others adds another piece to the puzzle that Helfand, a professor of biology first discovered in 2000.