Slim virtual life images influence people to become more physically fit

October 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new game has been developed by NASA to give young people an "out of this world" virtual opportunity to experience the thrill of working on a mission to the International Space Station from their computers. Station Spacewalk is based on actual work astronauts performed during the course of several NASA missions.

September 22nd, 2009 KAPURTHALA - Playing with butterflies, sand, molecular bubbles, shadows and magical flowers will now be child's play, literally, with a virtual reality gallery being opened at the Pushpa Gujral science city near here Tuesday. The latest addition to the science city, located on the Jalandhar-Kapurthala highway, 170 km from Chandigarh, will also help children and other visitors learn how things like e-mails and automated teller machines (ATMs) work.

August 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - An international team of astronomers has made the most high-resolution images of a dying giant star to date. Led by Keiichi Ohnaka at the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) in Bonn, the astronomers, for the first time showed how the gas is moving in different areas over the surface of a distant star known as Betelgeuse.

August 5th, 2009 LONDON - Scientists have used 3D imaging that included thousands of X-ray scans to shed light on 300 million year old fossilized spider-like species. According to a report by BBC News, the two species, Cryptomartus hindi and Eophrynus prestvicii, are closely related to modern spiders.

July 21st, 2009 NASA images show Jupiter apparently hit by objectPASADENA, Calif. — Astronomers say Jupiter has apparently been struck by an object, possibly a comet.

July 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists have found evidence that indicates the Martian climate was life-friendly more recently than thought. Matthew Balme, a research scientist with the Tucson-based Planetary Science Institute and a research fellow at the United Kingdom's Open University, discovered signs of melting permafrost in images from NASA's HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera, which is flying aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

June 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US Transportation Security Agency's plans to use "virtual strip searches" at airport checkpoints may be discontinued soon. On Thursday, the US House of Representatives approved legislation that curbs the growing use of X-rays to peek under air travelers' clothes.

June 2nd, 2009 LONDON - An international team of scientists is writing a virtual book of all life on Earth, an online reference work that will create a detailed world map of flora and fauna and track changes in biodiversity. According to a report by BBC News, the database, dubbed a "macroscopic observatory", will be populated with data about local species gathered by members of the public.

May 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Those who feel pressurised to look attractive are more scared than their peers of being rejected on the basis of their looks, according to a new study by researchers at the University at Buffalo and the University of Kent. Dr. Lora Park, assistant professor of psychology of the University at Buffalo, conducted the study of appearance-based rejection sensitivity among college students.

May 30th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Fear of rejection over their appearance is what drives people to look attractive, confirms a new study. The research was led by Lora Park, assistant professor of psychology, University of Buffalo, along with her graduate student Ann Marie DiRaddo and Rachel Calogero, psychology lecturer at the University of Kent.

May 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Privacy activists are planning to call for a ban on the use of whole-body imaging, the airport security technology that they say performs 'a virtual strip search' and produces 'naked' pictures of passengers. Lillie Coney, associate director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said that the national campaign, which will gather signatures from organizations and relevant professionals, is set to be launched this week to urge the U.S.

May 13th, 2009 Medicare won't cover 'virtual colonoscopy'WASHINGTON — Medicare won't pay for the so-called virtual colonoscopy procedure, concluding Tuesday that there's inadequate evidence to support the cheaper, less intrusive alternative to the dreaded colonoscopy. Some experts had hoped that popularizing the X-ray procedure would boost screening for colon cancer, the country's second leading cancer killer.

April 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Pakistan may never be able to tackle the increasing influence of the Taliban, as it considers the outlawed group as its best bet to counter the growing influence of India in the region, experts believe. US policymakers are also skeptical about Pakistan's role in the US led war against the Taliban and other terrorist groups.

March 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Newly 40, Jennifer Aniston says she's having the best time of her life. The stunner told the U.K.'s Daily Mail that this is "the best moment of my life.

January 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Children, who tend to cross streets talking on cell phones, stand a higher risk of injury or even death, according to the latest study. 'Cell phones clearly offer convenience and safeguards to families, but they also may pose risks,' said University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) researchers, 'particularly when children attempt to multi-task while conversing on the cell phone....' Researchers used a virtual reality software programme and three screens to display an actual Birmingham area crosswalk with simulated vehicles of different sizes travelling on the virtual street.