Dhoni and Yuvraj ensure series lead

India 230 for 4 (Yuvraj 78, Dhoni 70 ) beat Australia 229 for 5 (Hussey 81*, Ponting 59, Watson 41) by six wickets

	Sachin Tendulkar was run out after a brisk 32 but Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni propelled India home with an 148-run partnership © AFP

Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni shared a serene 148-run stand to help India win a battle of attrition on a sluggish track and take a 2-1 lead in Delhi. Australia would perhaps rue the fact that they had settled for 229 when they batted.

“A total of 220 should be a good score on this pitch,” Ponting had said after winning an important toss and Australia’s approach while batting reflected his mindset. They did pick up three top-order wickets to leave India wobbling at 53 for 3 but Yuvraj and Dhoni knew that if they can bat through till the end they would always get past the line without having to take any risks. The wicket was slow and not conducive to stroke making but it was not a treacherous spin track where you could lose wickets in a clutch.

At the half-way mark of the chase the game was in a stalemate with India in consolidation mode at 101 for 3 but slowly but surely, India pulled away courtesy Yuvraj and Dhoni. They batted with a sense of self-restraint at the start of their knocks as they tried to settle in on this track where, as Michael Hussey showed earlier with a fine unbeaten 81, batting does tend to get easier the more you spend time on it.

They mainly dealt in singles and twos initially before Yuvraj pressed down on the accelerator in the 34th over with the equation reading 94 from 17 overs. He collected a flicked six and hit a gorgeous extra-cover drive off Moises Henriques before he repeated the sequence next over with a bludgeoned six over long-on and a square driven boundary against Adam Vogues. The momentum completely shifted after that and Yuvraj went on to indulge himself with several peachy drives. There would have been a moment of apprehension when he fell 29 runs short of the target but Dhoni ensured there wouldn’t be any drama with couple of crunchy blows.

Australia had earlier tried their best to apply the squeeze in the middle overs of the chase with the spin-seam combo of Nathan Hauritz and Doug Bollinger. The fast-improving Hauritz slowed his pace and punctuated his offbreaks with the one that went on with the arm. Interestingly, Dhoni chose to play Hauritz off the back foot while Yuvraj pressed forward. Bollinger, who replaced Ben Hilfenhaus, bowled a nagging line and length to strangle the batsmen. He varied his angles, going round the stumps on occasions, and slipped in quite a few cutters.

Peter Siddle, too, was economical and Australia’s bowling, in the absence of Brett Lee and a quality spinner, was as tight as Ponting could hope for but perhaps they had erred with their conservative estimate of a good total on this sluggish track. Once they decided not to play specialist opener Shaun Marsh, and possessing a thin middle-order inexperienced in such conditions, they were going to depend heavily on Ricky Ponting, Hussey and Shane Watson to reach a competitive total. Their approach seemed to indicate they were wary that a collapse was never too far away on a demanding surface. Ponting, who opened only for the second time in his 327-ODI career in Tim Paine’s absence, and Watson didn’t try anything fancy during a sedate but solid start before Hussey took charge of seeing Australia through to the finish.

Hussey’s innings was tailored to the situation. You don’t usually remember a stand-out shot from a Hussey innings. What strikes you is his total self-awareness of his own game with its limitations. Today, was no different. He played numerous little dabs and nudges, cut and swept whenever he could, and never got ahead of himself at any stage. He did play a reverse sweep against Yuvraj but it wasn’t a shot of flamboyance but one that exploited the gap in the field. He only hit three more boundaries – the first was a result of a misfield, the second came in the 48th over when he finally heaved one across the line and the highlight was the last, when he charged out to clatter Ashish Nehra over long-on in the 50th over.

Before Hussey played his characteristic innings, Ponting and Watson played uncharacteristic knocks to give the innings a steady start. With swing out of the question, the Indian seamers tried to win lbw decisions by bowling as straight as possible and the spinners slowed their pace and kept to an off and middle stump line. Ponting began cautiously, taking care to get his bat in front of the pads, and dealt in singles. Watson too batted in a similar vein and just when he was beginning to cut loose, he fell to Yuvraj after he was beaten by flight and turn and dragged his back foot out of the crease. Hussey came to Australia’s rescue with an assured knock but it didn’t prove enough to stop India from going ahead in the series.

Say cheese!

 

WATCH WHAT YOU EAT: More sugar can mean more caries

One of the most common dental problems among children is dental caries (tooth decay). Not surprising given their love for chocolates, toffees and other sweetmeats. However, whether it’s milk teeth or permanent teeth, children need to be educated on the importance of caring for their teeth. .

Surrounded by children at an interactive programme organised by Colgate-Palmolive (India), V. Rangarajan, Prosthodontist and Implantologist, said: “Dental caries is a very common dental problem in children due to the consumption of a lot of sugary substances (the stickier the chocolate, the greater the damage). Sugar combines with bacteria in the mouth, and produces an acid that removes the enamel or de-mineralises the enamel, the strongest portion of the tooth. Once the enamel gets damaged or de-mineralised, it is prone to more attack, and the whole surface starts giving away, and decay starts.”

Ranjani Iyer, senior consultant, Apollo Hospitals, says: “Dental caries is also caused by delayed weaning from the feeding bottle, causing feeding bottle caries and improper brushing or no night brushing.”

Vital for growth

Underscoring the importance of protecting even milk teeth or primary teeth from caries, E. Manikandan, paediatric and special needs dentist, Rajan Dental Institute, says: “If a child has to grow well he / she has to eat well, for which a good set of teeth is needed. Research shows that children with severe early childhood caries have a risk of developing iron deficiency, which has a permanent effect on growth and development. Also, children with cavities in their primary teeth are most likely to have cavities in their permanent teeth.”

Says Dr. Rangarajan: “Milk teeth need to be around for a particular period of time for the permanent to erupt in the proper place. Milk teeth falling off too early (due to widespread decay, necessitating removal of teeth), affects permanent teeth erupting in the proper place. Milk teeth are also important for speech, chewing, swallowing, etc.”

Cautioning that untreated milk teeth caries may lead to tooth extraction, Dr. Ranjani points out that “premature loss of milk teeth can cause the permanent successors to erupt in an irregular manner.”

How do mothers keep children from eating too many toffees and chocolates, the culprits behind tooth decay?

Says Dr. Manikandan: “It is practically impossible to totally prevent children from eating toffees and chocolates, but you can advice them to not eat them too frequently, and have them before the meal rather than afterwards.”

Dr. Ranjani explains: “When chocolates are given just before a meal, chewing and increased salivary flow during the meal will cleanse the teeth of any sticky chocolate remnants.”

“Children mast understand that they can eat toffees and chocolates, but maintain their teeth. By age two, they should learn to brush morning and night or someone should do it for them. A little toothpaste will do to keep teeth clean, just as wiping with damp cotton or a piece of cloth will,” says Dr. Rangarajan.

KEEP CARIES AT BAY

Parents must follow good dental hygiene themselves

Eat crunchy fruits and vegetables such as apples, pears, carrots, cucumbers etc; and food rich in calcium and minerals (milk and milk products)

Rinse mouth after every meal and snack; brush twice daily

Bi-annual dental checkups are a must; change toothbrush every three months

Way to increase freshness of fruits, vegetables

Washington,  (IANS) An innovative method developed by an American professor can help fruits and vegetables retain their freshness.

Millions of tons of fruits and vegetables are dumped every year just because they are too delicate for handling or have a short shelf-life, says the US Department of Agriculture.

The method devised by George Pierce, microbiology professor at Georgia State University (GSU), will allow fruits, vegetables and flowers to retain freshness for longer periods, making storage at room temperatures possible, bypassing refrigeration altogether.

Climacteric plants like apples, bananas, peaches and tomatoes, respond to climactic change, producing increased levels of signalling compounds like ethylene.

In the case of peaches, ethylene causes them to ripen, increases aroma chemicals, but unfortunately, makes the peach very fragile. ‘If you’ve seen ripe peaches, they will simply fall apart,’ says Pierce.

‘It will lose 90 percent of its ability to resist pressure, which means that if a peach responds normally to ethylene, it is subject to bruising when you ship it,’ Pierce added.

Pierce’s method relies on a naturally occurring micro-organism, just the width of human hair, to activate enzymes that double the ripening period of fruits, vegetables and keeps flowers fresh.

This new process could have a big impact on preventing waste, improving the consumption of healthy fruits and vegetables, allowing companies to ship produce for longer distances.

The process does not involve genetic engineering or pathogens, but involves micro-organisms known to be associated with plants.

‘These beneficial soil micro-organisms serve essentially the same function as eating yogurt as a probiotic to have beneficial organisms living in the gastrointestinal system,’ Pierce said.

‘We change the diet of the organism, and we can change its performance,’ Pierce said. ‘It’s no different than taking a good athlete and putting them on a diet and exercise regime, and turning him or her into a world-class athlete.’

Indo Asian News Service

Unlocking mysteries of the brain with PET

PET CT scan at Healthcare Global Entreprises Ltd., in Bangalore

 

Inflammatory response of brain cells-as indicated by a molecular imaging technique-could tell researchers more about why certain neurological disorders, such as migraine headaches and psychosis in schizophrenic patients, occur and provide insight into how to best treat them, according to two studies published in the November issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

According to a press release by EurekAlert, by using Positron Emission Tomography (PET)-a non-invasive molecular imaging technique-researchers were to able to identify neuroinflammation, which is marked by activated microglia cells (brain cells that are responsive to injury or infection of brain tissue) in patients with schizophrenia and in animal models with migraines. Although neuroinflammation has been shown to play a major role in many neurodegenerative disorders-such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease-only limited data exists about the role of neuroinflammation in schizophrenia and migraines. The two studies in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine are the first to identify neuroinflammation in specific regions of the brain-a development which could be used to effectively evaluate the treatment response to anti-inflammatory drugs and become transformative for diagnosis and care.

“This study shows that molecular imaging can play an important role in better understanding the processes involving psychiatric and other neurological disorders,” said Janine Doorduin, M.Sc., a researcher at the University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands and lead author of “Neuroinflammation in Schizophrenia-Related Psychosis: A PET Study.” Doorduin added, “Without molecular imaging, the only way to look at inflammation in the brain, as well as other molecular processes, would be to use post-mortem brains.”

Not much is known about the cause of schizophrenia-a chronic and disabling brain disease characterized by psychotic episodes of delusions and hallucinations. Previously, evidence from post-mortem studies suggested the presence of activated microglia cells in the brain. However, the results of those studies were inconsistent. Using PET imaging to non-invasively image the living brains of schizophrenic patients, researchers in the Netherlands were able to pinpoint the neuroinflammation to an exact location in the brain, called the hippocampus. Now, researchers can target the hippocampus for further study and evaluate therapeutic treatments that could improve the quality of life for patients living with schizophrenia.

Likewise, PET imaging is also useful for identifying neuroinflammation associated with migraines. In the article, “11C-PK11195 PET for the In Vivo Evaluation of Neuroinflammation in the Rat Brain After Cortical Spreading Depression,” researchers in Japan were the first to non-invasively visualize neuroinflammation in an animal model of migraine using a PET technique. Neuroinflammation is thought to be a key factor in the generation of pain sensation in migraine headaches. Observations from the study suggest that an inflammatory process may be involved in the pathologic state of migraines and that PET is a useful tool for evaluating the neurogenic inflammation in vivo.

“For physicians and patients, it is important to develop an objective method for the diagnosis of migraines and monitor therapeutic efficacy,” said Yi-Long Cui, Ph.D., a researcher at the RIKEN Center for Molecular Imaging Science in Kobe, Japan, and lead author of the study. “The present study will bring about these possibilities to us since the PET probe used in the paper has already been applied to patients in other diseases.”

Radhakrishnan is new ISRO chief

 

K. Radhakrishnan (right), after assuming office as Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation on Oct. 31, 2009, handing over a traditional lamp to the outgoing ISRO chief, G. Madhavan Nair

 

K. Radhakrishnan, Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, took over as Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), from G. Madhavan Nair on Saturday. Dr. Radhakrishnan also assumed office as Chairman, Space Commission and Secretary, Department of Space. He has 38 years of experience in space technology, applications and space programme management. He graduated in Electrical Engineering from Kerala University and obtained his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. He received his Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur in 2000. He has been a Member of the Space Commission from October 2008.

Sixty-year old Dr. Radhakrishnan began his career when he joined the VSSC as an avionics engineer in 1971. Since then, he has held several posts such as Project Director for setting up Regional Remote-sensing Service Centres, Director of Budget and Economic Analysis for ISRO and Mission Director of Integrated Mission for Sustainable Development. He has had a short stint in the Ministry of Earth Sciences in 2004-2005 as the founder Director of Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) and first Project Director of Indian National Tsunami Warning System. From 2005 to 2008, he was Director, National Remote-Sensing Agency, Hyderabad, which has now been renamed National Remote-Sensing Centre (NRSC).

When Dr. Radhakrishnan was Director, VSSC from 2007 to 2009, there were five successful launches of ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), which totally put 20 spacecraft including Chandrayaan-1 into orbit.

During the tenure (September 2003 to October 2009) of outgoing ISRO Chairman, G. Madhavan Nair, there were 25 successful launch vehicle and spacecraft missions. The highpoint of his career was ISRO putting Chandrayaan-1, India’s first scientific mission to the moon, into orbit on October 22, 200

PTI reports from Thiruvanthapuram

Avionics expert K. Radhakrishnan today took over as the Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) from G. Madhavan Nair here.

A highly respected scientist with 35 years of experience in ISRO, 60-year-old Dr. Radhakrishnan has played a key role in many of the country’s space projects, including Chandrayaan—I.

“It is with high hopes and great expectations that I am taking over this responsibility. It is a huge task that has been entrusted on me. I am confident that we will be able to achieve our goals with the dedicated work and support of the entire team of ISRO,” he said after assuming charge.

Before his elevation as ISRO chief, Dr. Radhakrishnan was the Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).

He joined the organisation in 1973 shortly after graduating in Electronic Engineering. He later pursued MBA from IIM Bangalore and a doctorate from IIT, Kharagpur.

He had served as Director, Regional Remote Sensing Service Centres, Director of Budget and Economic Analysis, Project Director of Early Warning System of Tsunami and Storm Surges.

Hailing from Irinjalakkuda in Thrissur district of Kerala, Dr. Radhakrishnan is also a keen enthusiast of classical arts and music. An ardent Kathakali fan, he had occasionally performed the dance, taking time off his busy schedule.

Meanwhile, senior ISRO scientist, P. S. Veeraraghavan, assumed charge as Director of VSSC.

Mr. Veeraraghavan had played an important role in major Indian space projects like PSLV and GSLV.

He has served ISRO in various capacities as director of Inertial Guidance Systems and Deputy Director of Mechanisms and Vehicle Integration at VSSC.

Don’t press send

Mumbai,  — We’ve all done it: sent an email or a text to someone, we didn’t intend to. Or received an email or text clearly not meant for us. Maybe we sent it to our boss, a client, a teacher or a friend. The problem is at times the person we are writing about dominates our mind so much that we accidentally send the email or text about them. To them. Then we are left to stand in shock, wanting the earth to swallow us up, especially if that person happens to be our teacher or boss. Well, now Gmail has come up with a way to stop us from doing this. Gmail Labs is a testing ground for new features Gmail wants to try out with the public. Its latest feature is called “Got the wrong Bob?” This is how it works – if you normally email your friend Riddhi Gaya together with Vikas and Hitesh, but you suddenly add Riddhi Chowdhury instead, Gmail will warn you that it might be a mistake. Because while Riddhi Gaya might be your school friend, Riddhi Chowdhury could be your boss. So, based on the groups of people you email most often, Gmail tries to identify when you’ve accidentally included the wrong person, before it’s too late. One thing to bear in mind is that this only works if you’re emailing more than two people at once.

The feature is currently in Gmail Labs, but if a lot of people like it, they will make it a standard feature, he adds. “It’s simply another way of reducing potential embarrassment while communicating by email so that your emails always remain courteous and professional,” he adds.

Hindustan Times

Now, smartphone games to help diabetic older adults manage health

Washington,  (ANI): Scientists from Saint Louis University and Old Dominion University in Virginia have developed smartphone games that would help elderly diabetics manage their health and learn more about their condition.

The novel smartphone technology includes interactive games and easy-to-use logging features, especially for elderly Chinese diabetics.

It enables diabetics to track their blood glucose, weight, diet, exercise, mood and blood pressure – valuable information that will assist their doctors in providing the best care possible.

Initial study results of the interactive diabetes self-management system, called the Chinese Aged Diabetic Assistant (CADA) have been promising.

“We know that patients with chronic illnesses who are actively involved in their health care have better outcomes, yet this can be a challenging task,” said Dr Maggie Jiao Ma, assistant professor at SLU’s Parks College of Engineering, Aviation and Technology.

“Mobile technologies can empower elderly people to better understand diabetes, track their health indicators more closely and follow a healthier lifestyle,” she added.

The games vary in purpose. For example, researchers created a “food pyramid” type game, which encourages gamers to eat a balanced diet, limit high-sugar foods and watch their daily intake of fat and salt.

Applications including a trivia game and a tile matching game, in which gamers connect the necessary components for a healthy lifestyle, were popular educational choices among the test group.

While games engage and motivate the patients, smartphones makes the technology convenient.

First, smartphones are mobile, meaning patients can use them at any time or any place.

They can be used as small, inexpensive computers even if no network infrastructure is in place. If connections are in place, smartphones make it easy for patients to share health information with their providers, care givers and others within personal network.

Also, because many users are already mobile phone owners, including some smartphone users, adapting the technology is feasible for patients, providers and hospitals.

“Imagine walking into a McDonalds and having your cell phone recognize your location and make healthy menu recommendations – all this and more is possible with smartphone technology,” said Dr Mark Gaynor, associate professor of public health at the School of Public Health. (ANI)

Amitabh Bachchan threatened for visiting temple and dargah

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has revealed that he was threatened by an unnamed person through a text message for visting a Hindu temple and a Muslim dargah.

The 67-year-old actor had described his religious routines in an earlier blog, which led the unknown person to threaten him against doing so, but the megastar is undeterred.

“That I visit a Muslim dargah and a Hindu temple has been viciously criticized by an unknown element on my mobile. He says it is incorrect of me to do so and that I should never do it again.” Bachchan wrote on his blog.

The actor had visited the Haji Ali dargah in the wee hours on Thursday and then went to a nearby temple. He also visited a small dargah on and finally went to the Siddhivinayak temple.

But despite the warning, Bachchan insists that he is unaffected by such reactions.

“I am going to do it again, and shall continue to do it. And I want to see how you are going to stop me. If you have the courage and guts come and get me,” he wrote.

The man has also warned the actor that his latest film ‘Aladin’, which hit the theatres yesterday, will not be successful because of Bachchan’s act of visting the dargah and temple.

“If the film has merit, no force on earth will be able to stop its worth. If the film is weak and does not have merit, no force on earth shall be able to make it a success. At the cost of every film of mine failing, I am not going to change my routine,” wrote Bachchan.

Radical Muslims want UK Queen to be forced to wear a burkha

London,  (ANI): Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II would be forced to wear a burkha under sharia law, radical Muslim campaigners said.

The Daily Express quoted Abu Rumaysah, spokesman for pro-sharia campaigners Islam4UK, as saying that she would also be stripped of all authority and the monarchy would be abolished under the sharia system they want to impose on Britain.

They have already said that Buckingham Palace would be renamed ‘Buckingham Mosque’.

Rumaysah said the Queen would be forced to cover up in public from head to foot, with only her eyes visible.

“The Queen will not really be a person having any authority under the sharia. Every single woman should cover from head to toe, only showing her face and hands,” she said.

Fellow spokesman Amjem Choudary added: “If the Queen decides to go outside she is to cover herself like every other woman.” ANI)

You are what you eat

 Washington,  (ANI): The popular adage “you are what you eat” is literally true, according to a new research that claims a person’s diet has a profound influence on his or her brain.

 The findings offer insight into the neurobiological factors behind the obesity epidemic in the world.

 In addition, the study exposed changes in brain chemistry due to diet and weight gain.

 Obesity has been linked to rises in diabetes, stroke, and heart attacks, among other disorders, but the new research has added another dimension to understanding how obesity rates have more than doubled in the past 30 years.

 The new findings show that disruptions in the sleep/wake cycle lead to weight gain, impulsivity, slower thinking, and other physiological and behavioural changes.

 This could be particularly important for people who do shift work.

 The study also showed that pregnant mice fed a high-fat diet produced pups that were longer, weighed more, and had reduced insulin sensitivity – factors that indicate a predisposition toward obesity and diabetes. In addition, despite no further exposure to a high-fat diet, these pups passed on those same traits to their offspring.

 Feeding high-fat food to pregnant mice can affect the brain development of their offspring, causing the pups to be more vulnerable to obesity and to engaging in addictive-like behaviours in adulthood, found the researchers.

 Besides, they found that brain pleasure centres became progressively less responsive in rats fed a diet of high-fat, high-calorie food – changes previously seen in rats as they became addicted to cocaine or heroin.

 Furthermore, the animals became less likely to eat a well-balanced, nutritious diet even when the less-palatable healthy food was all that was available.

 The finding may have implications for humans, as the diets were similar to those in developed countries.

 Other research findings showed that there is considerable evidence that body weight and fat mass are highly heritable traits and have strong genetic determinants.

 This offers the potential to identify specific brain-derived factors contributing to obesity, eating behaviour, and responses to food.

 “The brain is the foundation of all behaviour, including eating. With the growing rates of obesity in industrialized nations, brain research is important to understanding the underlying neurobiological responses to high-fat diet,” said press conference moderator Dr. Ralph DiLeone, of Yale University School of Medicine, an expert on the neural mechanisms of food intake and behaviour.

 The study was reported at Neuroscience 2009, the Society for Neuroscience’s annual meeting.(ANI)

New technology can ‘cool’ laptops

 London, (ANI): Heating up of your laptop will soon be a thing of the past, for researchers have developed a new technology that could help keep it cool.

 Jairo Sinova, physics professor at Texas A and M University, and his colleagues have explained that with laptops getting increasingly powerful and their sizes getting smaller, they are excessively heating up, which tends to become a headache.

 “The crux of the problem is the way information is processed. Laptops and some other devices use flows of electric charge to process information, but they also produce heat,” Nature quoted Sinova as saying.

 “Theoretically, excessive heat may melt the laptop,” he adds.

 “This also wastes a considerable amount of energy,” said Sinova.

 And his research could find a new approach towards an alternative way to process information.

 “Our research looks at the spin of electrons, tiny particles that naked eyes cannot detect. The directions they spin can be used to record and process information,” he said.

 He said that for processing information, it is necessary to create information, transmit the information and read the information, but it is not yet know how these are done.

 “The device we designed injects the electrons with spin pointing in a particular direction according to the information we want to process, and then we transmit the electrons to another place in the device but with the spin still surviving, and finally we are able to measure the spin direction via a voltage that they produce,” explained Sinova.

 The biggest challenge to creating a spin-based device is the distance that the spins will survive in a particular direction.

 “Transmission is no problem. You can think for comparison that if the old devices could only transmit the information to several hundred feet away, with our device, information can be easily transmitted to hundreds of miles away. It is very efficient,” he said.

 “This new device, as the only all-semiconductor spin-based device for possible information processing, has a lot of real practical potential,” he says. “One huge thing is that it is operational at room temperature, which nobody has been able to achieve until now. It may bring in a new and much more efficient way to process information,” he added.

 The study has been published in the renowned journal Nature Physics. (ANI)

Now, Wallace and Gromit-style gadget that cooks breakfast automatically!

 London,  (ANI): For all those people who feel too lazy to prepare their own morning meals, scientists have come up with a machine in the style of Wallace and Gromit that automatically cooks breakfast, including an omelette, toast and freshly squeezed orange juice.

 The 15-metre long device was created by Yuri Suzuki, 26, a design teacher in London, who worked at the Royal College of Art, along with Masa Kimura, 28.

 The gadget was developed in the Platform 21 exhibition centre in Amsterdam in the Netherlands and saw scores of helpers and other designers contribute.

 It cooks up omelettes from scratch before toasting bread, which it can butter and add jam to – depending on taste.

 Also, the early morning pick-me up of coffee is available at no extra effort – as well as freshly squeezed orange juice.

 Suzuki, who was born in Tokyo and has lived in Hackney, east London, for three years, said that Hollywood films had inspired him to come up with the device.

 He also said that it should be possible for lazy people to come up with their own version of the device.

 “If someone wanted to make one for themselves it might not leave you that out of pocket,” the Telegraph quoted him as saying.

 “We bought a lot of the stuff from a car boot sale, so it didn’t cost that much – in total the project was probably 900 pounds.

 “When you look at movies like Pee Wee Herman and Back to the Future, there are breakfast machines in them.

 “It was completely automated, it worked on its own – I felt like the conductor at the event when we were putting it together.

 “We had lots of different people come and help us out with putting it together.

 “People came and we would task them with coming up with different bits of it.

 “It is absolutely massive and is 13 metres by three metres and in total took 88 hours to build, spread over 11 days – it was an incredible effort,” he added. (ANI)

Global swine flu toll rises to over 5,700: WHO

Thousands of people line up to get the H1N1 vaccine at Metro Hall in Toronto on Friday Oct. 30, 2009.

Canada has 50 million doses of the vaccine ordered for the population of 33 million More than 700 people have died of swine flu this week, raising the number of fatalities from the viral disease to 5,712 worldwide, Xinhua reported citing the UN health agency on Friday. Of all the deaths, 4,175 occurred in the Americas, 605 occurred in South-East Asia and 465 occurred in the West Pacific.

 Europe, East Mediterranean and Africa reported 281, 111 and 75 deaths respectively, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in a latest update on Friday.

The WHO, which declared the swine flu as a pandemic in June, said the total number of lab confirmed cases worldwide is now over 441,661, but this case count is significantly lower than the actual number of cases that have occurred, because many countries have stopped testing and reporting individual cases. In the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere, influenza transmission continues to intensify marking an unusually early start to winter influenza season in some countries, the UN agency said.

Fourth typhoon in a month lashes Philippines

A powerful typhoon crashed into the Philippine capital on Saturday with pounding rain and strong winds, causing a massive power outage, downing trees and bringing fresh floods to areas still partially submerged from a recent deadly storm.

More than 100,000 people sought shelter in five province east and south of Manila in the path of Typhoon Mirinae on the main Luzon Island. One river in Laguna province south of Manila overflowed, flooding most of lakeside Santa Cruz town and sending residents clambering onto roofs to escape rising waters, said Mayor Ariel Magcalas.

“We cannot move, this is no joke,” Mr. Magcalas said. “The water is high. We need help,” he said in a public address via Radio DZBB.

Rescue teams were dispatched to the flooded communities but were having difficulty moving in light trucks, said regional disaster officer Fred Bragas.

“As of now, our efforts are concentrated on rescue and evacuation,” he said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

In Manila, residents hunkered down in their homes overnight as rains beat down on dark, deserted streets.

Mirinae passed south of the sprawling city of 12 million with winds of 150 kilometres per hour and gusts of up to 185 kph.

World’s largest cruise ship sets sail

A file photo of the Oasis of the Seas which set sail from Finland to its home port in Florida on Friday

 The world’s largest cruise liner on Friday began its maiden voyage to Florida, gliding out from a shipyard in Finland with an amphitheater, basketball courts and an ice rink on board.

The 16-deck Oasis of the Seas spans 360 metres. Its 2,700 cabins can accommodate 6,300 passengers and 2,100 crew. Commissioned by Royal Caribbean International, the ship cost $1.5 billion and took two and a half years to build at the STX Finland Oy shipyard in Turku. The liner has four swimming pools, volleyball and basketball courts, theme parks and nurseries for children. There is also an ice rink that seats 780 spectators and a small-scale golf course. It features various “neighbourhoods” — parks, squares and arenas with special themes. One of them will be a tropical environment, including palm trees and vines.

2 more bodies recovered, fire still blazing in seven tankers

 

Fire tenders try to control the fire at IOC depot at Sitapura near Jaipur on Friday. A massive fire broke out at the depot on Thursday evening leaving at least 8 dead and 150 others injured

Two more bodies were recovered from near the IOC inferno site on Saturday, taking the toll in the blaze to eight, even as the fire died out in four of the 11 fuel storage tanks.

The unidentified bodies were spotted early Saturday near the site, Jaipur District Collector Kuldeep Ranka told PTI here.

The fire, which started on Thursday evening, died down in four of the 11 storage tanks in the wee hours but continued to blaze in seven tanks which included three each of diesel and petrol, and one kerosene, Chief Fire Officer Ishwar Lal Jat said.

It will probably take about one more day for the fire to die down in the burning tanks, he said.

The intensity of the fire was so high that the temperature shot beyond 52 degree C at a distance of 500 metres where the joint operation team is stationed right now, the chief fire officer said.

In a joint operation late last night, Army—IOC—Civic administration began digging a five-feet deep trench around the blazing storage tanks which would be filled with water to contain any leakage, he said.

Foam and fire fighting vans would be deployed near this trench, he said, adding any further expansion, seepage or spread of fuel could be contained.

In case the tanks collapse after the fire dies down and remaining fuel seeps out, the trench would absorb it, the collector said.

A cooling system was also being evolved with supply of water to keep down the temperature.

The fire has destroyed and caused infrastructure damage to at least 200 small and big industries nearby, an official said.

Rail and road transport continued to remain disrupted in the area.

The fire broke out when petrol was being transferred from the depot to a pipeline and soon got out of control. A leak in the pipeline is suspected to have caused the blaze.

We are working on an operating system: Google

TO CHALLENGE MICROSOFT: Google is working on an operating system and could soon challenge Microsoft in that front

 To tap the fast growing web and personal computers market, internet giant Google is working on an operating system, a move that is likely to pose a stiff challenge to Microsoft’s dominance.

“We are working on an operating system… we feel, when other operating systems became part of the Web, the world was not connected the way it is today,” Google Global Sales Operations and Business Development President Nikesh Arora said.

“Whether our operating system replaces the existing ones, I don’t know. Customers will choose that,” he said, while speaking at the HT Leadership Summit here.

In July, Google announced plans to launch its own operating system for personal computers. The planned open source ‘Google Chrome Operating System’ is expected to be available in the second half of 2010.

Microsoft has about 90 per cent share in the global market for operating systems.

“Google Chrome Operating System is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially aim at netbooks… Later this year, we will open-source its code, and net-books running Google Chrome Operating System will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010,” Google had said in a blog.

The blog, which was written by Vice-President (Product Management) Sundar Pichai and Engineering Director ELinus Upson, said the operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no web

Nation remembers Indira Gandhi

 

A file picture shows Congress President Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul Gandhi offers floral tribute on the occasion of death anniversary of Indira Gandhi

 

The nation today remembered late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her 25th death anniversary with leaders paying homage to her.

Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, and her son Rahul, paid floral tributes to the late leader at her memorial Shakti Sthal.

Congress leaders Sushil Kumar Shinde, A.K. Antony, Ahmed Patel, Ajay Maken, R.K. Dhawan, and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, were among others who paid homage to the late prime minister.

Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh body guards at her residence on October 31, 1984

Obama’s stimulus plan created 640,000 jobs

 

US President Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package has created or saved more than 640,000 jobs since it was enacted earlier this year, the White House said on Friday.

The numbers indicated the US was on track to create 3.5 million new jobs by next year through government spending on infrastructure projects, education, health care and green technology, spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

But the new jobs have yet to dampen the high unemployment rate, which still stands at 9.8 percent — the highest in more than 25 years. The White House numbers were based on stimulus spending through September.

That has left the White House having to defend the massive stimulus measure. The package was passed in February and cost taxpayers $787 billion.

The job figures followed an announcement by the commerce department on Thursday that the economy grew a surprising 3.5 percent in the third quarter of 2009, likely showing an end to the worst recession in the US in decades. The third quarter ended Sep 30.

The annualised gross domestic product (GDP) rate was higher than the 3.2 percent that economists predicted for the summer months.

Revised timings of trains

HYDERABAD: The South Central Railway has advanced the timings of the following trains from November 1, as per its new time table. Train no. 2791, Secunderabad- Patna Superfast Express will leave Secunderabad at 10 a.m. instead of 10 p.m. Train No. 8510, Nizamabad-Visakhapatnam bi-weekly Express will leave Nizamabad at 6.10 p.m. and depart Secunderabad at 9.10 p.m. instead of 9.25 p.m. Similarly, Train No. 8310, Nizamabad-Sambalpur bi-weekly express will leave Nizamabad at 6.10 p.m. instead of 6.15 p.m. and depart from Secunderabad at 9.10 p.m. instead of 9.25 p.m. Train No. 3351, Dhanbad/Tata-Alapuzha Express will leave Vijayawada at 5.25 p.m. instead of 6.20 p.m. and leave Gudur at 12.18 a.m. instead of 12.48 a.m. Train No. 2511 Gorakhpur-Tiruvanantapuram tri weekly express, Train No. 2521 Barauni-Ernakulam express, Train No. 6327 Korba-Tiruvanantapuram express, Train No. 6325 Indore-Tiruvanantapuram express will leave Vijayawada at 3.50 p.m. instead of 4.10 p.m. Train No. 1405 Manmad-Kakinada Town express and Train No. 7205 Manmad-Kakinada Town Express will leave Vijayawada at 3.40 p.m. instead of 4.10 p.m. Train No. 7607 Secunderabad-Kurnool Town Tungabhadra express will leave Secunderabad at 7.30 a.m. instead of 7.40 a.m. Train No. 405, Secunderabad-Guntur Passenger will leave Secunderabad at 3.45 p.m. instead of 5.15 p.m. and arrive at Guntur at 8.45 a.m. Train No. 549, Secunderabad-Mahabubnagar passenger will leave Secunderabad at 03.05 a.m. instead of 4.45 a.m. and arrive at Mahabubnagar at 5.50 a.m