Why are autumn leaves of different colours?

October 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Taking a major step towards improved CMOS sensors for most in-car camera systems, scientists have developed a new process that could provide colours to these systems. The CMOS sensors are semiconductor chips that convert light signals into electrical pulses and are installed in most digital cameras.

September 25th, 2009 TORONTO - Have you ever sat down to work on a crossword puzzle only to find that you don't have the energy to exercise later? Or have you come home from a rough day at office with no zest for a bout of jogging? A new study reveals that if you use your willpower to do one task, it depletes you of the willpower to do an entirely different task. "Cognitive tasks, as well as emotional tasks such as regulating your emotions, can deplete your self-regulatory capacity to exercise," says study lead author Kathleen Martin Ginis, associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster University.

August 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Asparagus extract contains amino acids and minerals, which may ease alcohol hangover and protect liver cells against toxins, according to a study. Asparagus officinalis is a common vegetable that is widely consumed worldwide, and has long been used as an herbal medicine due to its anticancer effects.

August 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists are studying environmental conditions 35 million years ago to solve the mystery that why autumn leaves are red in America and yellow in Europe. The green of a tree's leaves is from the larger proportion of the chlorophyll pigment in the leaves.

July 27th, 2009 SYDNEY - Like animals, trees can camouflage themselves too, a new study has found. One tree even kept changing the colour of its leaves to protect them from a giant flightless bird.

July 25th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists have discovered that trees in New Zealand have evolved a camouflage defense mechanism to protect themselves from extinct giant birds, providing the first evidence of this strategy in plant life. "Plants are attacked by a bewildering array of herbivores and in response they have evolved a variety of defences to deter predators such as thorns and noxious chemicals," said lead researcher Dr Kevin Burns from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

July 12th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The ongoing conflict between the Pakistan Army and the Taliban has left more than a million children at risk of contracting polio, as many vaccinations had to be compromised due to the inaccessibility of many violence-affected areas. The WHO says more than a million children, trapped inside the conflict zone, have been missed.

July 8th, 2009 LONDON - Scientists have come up with a way to make limited-coloured screens for mobile phones, which can improve batter life. Johnson Chuang of Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, has shown that OLEDs can be made frugal by carefully choosing the balance of colours used to make up an image.

June 25th, 2009 Napolitano to Europe, Kuwait for terrorism talksWASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano leaves this weekend for meetings with officials in Europe and Kuwait on counterterrorism issues. At a meeting with reporters Thursday, Napolitano said she will be meeting with her counterparts in Britain as well as officials in Spain, Ireland and Portugal.

June 3rd, 2009 LONDON - Using phone cameras, scientists can one day hunt for Martian life, by looking for organic matter that could indicate life. According to a report in New Scientist, research with this type of technology is already underway at the Mars Society's Desert Research Station near Hanksville, Utah, US.

May 12th, 2009 LONDON - World's biggest boobs record holder Norma Stitz has revealed that her 67in bust always gets in the way of meeting men, and at times their enormity even leaves them too stunned for words. Stitz, 30, from Atlanta, Georgia, says that she wants to meet men who like her for her personality and not only for her twin assets.

May 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - What attracts silkworms to mulberry leaves, their primary food source, is no longer a secret because Japanese scientists have found that a jasmine-scented chemical emitted in small quantities by the leaves triggers an olfactory receptor in the insects' antennae. Kazushige Touhara, from The University of Tokyo, says that the new finding contrasts the notion that insects are generally attracted to their host plants through the recognition of a blend of volatile compounds by a combination of receptors.

March 18th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Forget about laboriously assigning keywords to maintain an overview of your favourite music and photos, for now the mood player can sort the data according to your mood and that too without much of an effort. Be it melancholic songs, dance rhythms or romantic background music, the mood player can recognize musical characteristics and sort songs according to moods.

March 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - University of Arizona scientists have found that there are some caterpillars that munch on drug-laced leaves to get rid of crippling parasites. Lead author Elizabeth Bernays says that this finding is the first clear demonstration of self-medication among insects.

December 23rd, 2008 WASHINGTON - Lacing solar cells with nano-sized metallic particles will vastly improve their ability to harvest light more efficiently and cheaply. Like plants, solar cells turn light into energy.