Robotic prostitutes may make sex tourism industry

Two Kiwi researchers have envisioned what the sex industry would be like in the year 2050, when the prostitutes would be replaced by robots.

Ian Yeoman and Michelle Mars of the Victoria Management School in Wellington, New Zealand believe that this science-fiction-style vision could become reality within 40 years.

They focussed on Amsterdam's Red Light District and envisaged how the most popular brothel in the city will work.

They call this imaginary brothel the Yub-Yum, and describe it as 'modern and gleaming with about 100 scantily clad blondes and brunettes parading around in exotic G-strings and lingerie', the Daily Mail reported.

Clients shell out 6,200 pounds to enter for an 'all-inclusive service', from lap dancing to full intercourse, from 'a range of sexual gods and goddesses of different ethnicities, body shapes, ages, languages and sexual features'.

The production and use of lifelike pleasure machines could effectively stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, as well as stem the rise in human trafficking associated with the sex trade.

Android sex workers may also offer a 'guilt free' experience for men.

With no more women being exploited, the researchers think that prostitution could gain a new level of respectability - implying that brothels could feature in guidebooks.

"The tourists who use the services of Yub-Yum are guaranteed a wonderful and thrilling experience, as all the androids are programmed to perform every service and satisfy every desire," the researchers said.

"All androids are made of bacteria resistant fibre... guaranteeing no sexually transmitted diseases are transferred between consumers."

The researchers imagine that androids brothels opened up because of the increase in STDs, particularly HIV, which by 2050 has mutated and is resistant to many drugs.

Amsterdam's city council has granted approval to licence such establishments to keep its reputation as a party city, while at the same time being ethical.

The paper has been published in the journal Futures. Credit:santabanta.com

Russian eats pound of caviar in 90 seconds

MOSCOW: A 49-year old Russian with a big spoon in hand swallowed a pound (500 grams) of caviar in about 90 seconds to win what was billed as the world's first eating contest featuring the pricey fish roe.

"In Texas, people organise hot dog and hamburger eating championships and contests," the swanky Apartment restaurant said in a press release for the event.

"In Moscow, people eat black caviar instead," it said.

The contestants were drawn from 12 winners of a lottery who were each handed a bowl of caviar lined up on a lacquered table while a man in black tie played lounge music on a white grand piano.

Muscovite Alexander Lavrov did not disclose his profession after swallowing about $5,000 worth of the stuff in a minute and 26 seconds and then raising his arms up to applause.

He was awarded 10,000 rubles ($340) and several more glass jars of the salty delicacy.

The Moscow River embankment house said it spent around two million rubles ($70,000) on the promotional event. (AFP)

Soon, 'magic bullet' that floats around in midair but won't kill you

The US army has proposed the idea of a 'magic bullet', which will hang around in the air waiting for its target.

However, this far-fetched sounding piece of ammunition isn't designed to kill, the Daily Mail reported.

Dubbed 'Nonlethal Warhead for Miniature Organic Precision Munitions', there isn't even a prototype yet - but it's on the U.S Army's wish list.

It's been demanded through the U.S Government's 'Small Business Innovation Research' program, which persuades companies to research and build products in return for a potential commercial deal.

For the floating bullet, the Army confessed that 'this effort will require innovative research and advancements in non-lethal technologies which can be packaged within a very small volume and weight' and suggests that designers should consider 'mechanical, such as rubber balls; acoustic; chemical; electrical; or dazzle'.

The idea certainly isn't pie in the sky, as the U.S Army already has a 'kamikaze' robotic drone called Switchblade, which quietly hovers before dive-bombing and blowing up a target.Credit:santabanta.com

Einstein may have been 'world's worst husband'

Albert Einstein may be regarded as one of the world's most important scientists but despite his innumerable professional successes, he found it hard to sustain a thriving personal life, according to a new book.n his book, Einstein: His Life and Universe, Walter Isaacson has described how Einstein found maintaining a harmonious love life a battle he would never win.

In fact, so pragmatic was Einstein's approach to love, that when he found his 11-year marriage to fellow scientist Mileva Maric was floundering, he issued a list of outrageous rules that he believed would allow the two to remain together for the sake of the children, the Daily Mail reported.

Shockingly the list demanded Maric continue to act as maid to her erstwhile husband - yet should expect no affection or attention in return.

Einstein was prompted to write the list when, in 1914,he realised that after 11 years, his marriage to first wife Maric - one of the first women to study mathematics and physics in Europe - was destined for failure.

The scientist ordered that she keep his rooms tidy, bring him three meals a day (to be eaten in his room), keep his clothes and laundry in good order, and keep his bedroom and study neat (she should not use his desk, of course).

There would apparently be no benefits to Maric in return. In fact, Einstein specified in his list of conditions, printed in Isaacson's book (via website listsofnote.com), that she must not expect Einstein to either sit with her, or accompany her outside of the house - and she must stop talking when he requests.

She must 'renounce all personal relations' not strictly necessary for social reasons - which should not include expecting to be accompanied on social engagements. Also, Einstein stipulated that his wife should not expect any intimacy from him, should not reproach him in any way; should stop talking to him if he requested it; should leave his bedroom or study immediately without protest if requested, and should refrain from belittling him in front of the children, either through words or behaviour.

However, just a few months after he issued his misogynistic manifesto, she left Einstein in Berlin and moved with their sons, Hans Albert and Eduard (their daughter, Lieserl, born in 1902, was given up for adoption), to Zurich.

After five years she filed for divorce and in 1919, it was granted.

Isaacson also divulged how as a young man, Einstein predicted in a letter to the mother of his first girlfriend that the 'joys of science' would be a refuge from 'painful personal emotions'.

As a testimony to that fact, the father of the theory of relativity is known to have had many liaisons throughout his marriage to Maric. In fact, he became involved with Elsa, a first cousin who would become his second wife, in 1912, when he was still married to his first wife.

Although Einstein married Elsa in 1919, within four years he was already involved with Bette Neumann, his secretary and the niece of one of his friends.

"His conquest of general relativity proved easier than finding the formulas for the forces swirling within his family," Credit : santabanta.com

US woman wins $1 million, twice in same lottery

BERRYVILLE, Virginia: A Virginia woman found out on April 7 she won $1 million in a lottery drawing. And then she won again.

Virginia Fike of Berryville, Virginia, had the good luck to buy not one but two lottery tickets from a truck stop that both turned out to be $1 million winners, matching five of the six Powerball numbers. Lottery officials presented her with a $2 million check on Friday.

Fike said she found out that she had won - and won again - while sitting in a hospital room with her mother, according to a statement distributed by the Virginia lottery.

"I saw a scroll on TV about there being two $1 million winners," she said. "I looked at my mom and said ‘Wouldn't it be funny if it was us?'"

She said she planned on using the money to "take care of my parents" and pay bills.

For selling the tickets, the lottery awarded a $20,000 bonus to the Olde Stone Truck Stop.

To win the full Powerball jackpot, which currently stands at $131 million, a ticket must match the numbers on all five white balls in the drawing, plus the red Powerball. The $1 million cash prize is awarded for a ticket that matches the five numbers on the white balls, in any order.

The odds of winning $1 million? One in 5,153,632.65. The drawing takes place every Wednesday and Saturday night.

"I just love the jackpot games and I play when I can afford it," Fike said in the statement. (Reuters)

Canadian cow produces most milk ever

OTTAWA: A Holstein cow named Smurf from a farm just east of Canada's capital has set a new world record for the most milk produced in a lifetime -- a whopping 216,891 kg (478,163 pounds) over 15 years,and she's still producing.

"That's the equivalent of more than one million glasses of milk," said Smurf's owner Eric Patenaude, a sixth generation Canadian dairy farmer.

Guinness World Records confirmed the record to AFP on Monday. It previously belonged to a cow in the US state of Michigan.

The average dairy cow yields about 35,000 kilograms (33,981 liters) of milk in a lifetime, or less than 50 liters per day. Smurf produces approximately the same daily amount, but has lived three times longer than most dairy cows.

It's her "longevity and consistency" that won her the prize, which also earned Smurf "Udder Accolades" from a local newspaper, said Patenaude. "That's how she's produced so much milk."

It also helps that she's got good genes: Smurf's father was a stud named Emperor from Wisconsin and her mother, Murphy, was also a "good milker," said a herder at La Ferme Gillette in Embrun, Ontario.

Smurf turns 16 in September and is expecting her eleventh calf in the coming weeks. So far she has only had one female offspring to continue on the milk-making tradition. (AFP)

Tea to be declared India's national drink

NEW DELHI: India is to declare tea as its national drink to celebrate the life of a pioneering tea-planter who was hanged by British colonial rulers for taking part in the rebellion of 1857.

Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Saturday announced the decision while on a visit to Assam, the tea-producing northeastern state that borders on Bhutan and Bangladesh.

Assam was the home state of Maniram Dewan, who is celebrated for introducing commercial tea production to the region and for his role in a plot to throw the British out of Assam during the 1857 mutiny.

The uprising, which is often called the Sepoy Mutiny, started in Meerut, a city close to New Delhi, and spread across northern India before being brutally crushed by British forces with many Indian soldiers and civilians killed.

"The drink would be accorded national drink status by April 17 next year to coincide with the 212th birth anniversary of first Assamese tea-planter and Sepoy Mutiny leader Maniram Dewan," Ahluwalia said.

He added that tea should also be celebrated as "half of the tea industry labour comprises women and is the largest employer in the organised sector".

The Asian Age reported that awarding tea the status of national drink may stir up trouble among "naturopaths" who suggest popular Indian beverages such as coconut water, lemon water and yoghurt-based lassi are healthier options.

Tea is generally served in India with milk and plenty of sugar, and often spiced with cardamom.

Coffee, which is grown in the southern states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, is becoming rapidly more popular among young urban Indians. (AFP)

Beijing International Kite Festival

BEIJING: Beijing the capital of the People's Republic of China is known for its various festivals and events and is therefore visited by large number of tourists every year.

Lantern Festival, Tomb Sweeping festival, International kite festival etc. are some of the important festivals celebrated in Beijing.

Kite flying tradition dating back to over 100 years, began with the advent of spring in China. The festival’s major event in Beijing attracts lot of kite flying teams from all over the world.

Opening ceremony of Beijing International Kite Festival is an interesting one and involves dragon dances, music and beautiful kite displays.

The festival is held on the western suburb of Men Tou Gou and includes the display of wide variety of kites used over the last 100 years.

Besides, if you want to get on to the details of kite making, then you will not be disappointed as experts are there to explain about the artistic features, production processes and various kite- related anecdotes.

Other kite flying festivals in China are held in Wei Fang in Shandong province and in Chao Yang Park during the spring season.

Most popular and eye catching of all the kites is the Chinese Dragon which is beautifully shaped in the form of a dragon and seeing it fly is a sight to marvel at. Besides, you will also see other interesting kites like butterfly, parafoil, kites with bamboo whistle, kites with beautiful designs showing artistic craftsmanship etc.

World on the verge of chocolate crisis

The world is on the brink of a chocolate supply crisis owing to the instability in cacao growing areas and soaring demand in developing countries, an expert has warned.

According to David Guest from the University of Sydney's Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, farming methods used by cacao bean growers are in dire need of modernisation.

He warns that global production of cacao, the raw ingredient in chocolate, must increase nearly a quarter by 2020 to keep up with demand from China and other rising economies.

However, cacao growing regions remain some of the most undeveloped and unstable parts of the world and farmers face significant challenges in bringing production up to speed.

Dark, delicious and decadent, the rich flavour of chocolate has inspired passions, addictions and even literature for more than three thousand years.

Not just appetising, it also has known health benefits, including reducing blood pressure and enhancing psychological happiness.

However the main cacao-producing regions are West Africa, South America, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, all areas vulnerable to threats of climate change, political instability, pests and diseases.

Professor Guest and his colleagues have travelled to some of these areas to promote sustainable farming practices for the prized bean.

He has worked with farmers to select better cacao genotypes, to teach improved methods of crop and soil management and find out what can be done to improve technical support given the constraints growers face.

Without education and access to modern methods, these growers face falling being unable to keep up with rising demand.

"One estimate is that global production will need to increase by one million tonnes per year by 2020 - from 3.6 million tonnes in 2009 and 2010 - to meet global demand," the Daily Mail quoted Guest as telling The Register.

"While controlling disease is relatively straightforward in theory, changing farming practice to become more sustainable and rewarding is a much more complex challenge involving social, economic, political and environmental factors," he added. Credit:santabanta.com

Saudi man spends 15 years in jail awaiting father's pardon

JEDDAH: A Saudi Arabian man who was jailed for three years in 1997 has spent a further 12 years behind bars waiting for his father to pardon him, a local human rights group has said.

Eid al-Sinani, 43, was originally sentenced to three years in prison and 200 lashes for beating up his step mother, Musab al-Zahrani, a researcher at the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR), told Reuters.

However, when the sentence had been served the father asked a judge to keep his son in prison "until he is proven to be righteous by his father". The judge agreed and 12 years later Sinani is still in jail, Zahrani said.

Under the kingdom's Islamic legal system, law is not systematically codified and judicial rulings are subject to individual judges' interpretation of sharia.

Some judges view children's "disobedience" towards their parents as an offence worthy of lashing and even jail sentences.

A spokesman for Saudi Arabia's Justice Ministry, which oversees courts in the conservative Islamic kingdom, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the case.

Rulings in Saudi Arabia are not based on precedent and, even with the same charge, they can differ from one judge to another.

"We are optimistic that he will be released because he has been jailed for (almost) 16 years and there is no real charge… This is legally problematic because they gave absolute power to the father and the son is left under his mercy," Zahrani said.

NSHR is affiliated with the Saudi government. (Reuters)

Dinosaurs put eggs in wrong evolutionary basket: scientists

ZURICH: The fact that land-bound dinosaurs laid eggs is what sealed their fate of mass extinction millions of years ago while live birthing mammals went on to thrive, scientists said Wednesday.

In a new explanation for mammals' evolutionary victory over dinosaurs, researchers said a mathematical model has shown that infant size was the clincher.

Given physical limitations to egg size, dinosaurs had comparatively small young. Some came out of the egg weighing as little as two to 10 kilogrammes (4.4 to 22 pounds), yet had to bulk up to a hefty 30 or 50 tonnes.

Growing up, the youngsters had to compete in several size categories with adults of other animal groups for food, University of Zurich scientist Marcus Clauss told AFP.

This meant that all the small and medium animal size categories supported by the natural environment were "occupied", leaving no room for smaller dinosaur species in which to thrive, according to the findings published in Biology Letters, a journal of Britain's Royal Society.

"There is a lot of room in the ecosystem for small species, but (in such a scenario) that room is taken up by the young ones of the large species," Clauss explained.

"That was not a problem for 150 million years but as soon as something happens that takes away all the large species so that only small species remain, if there are no small species to remain you are gone as a whole group."

The catastrophic event that wiped out all larger life forms some 65 million years ago meant the end for terrestrial dinosaurs.

Scientists disagree on whether the scaly reptiles died out before or after a meteorite smashed into Earth in what is known as the Cretaceous-Tertiary impact, causing billions of tonnes of wind-borne ash and dust to filter out light from the Sun and triggering a "nuclear winter" that cooled the planet and withered vegetation.

Mammals did not have the same limitations in size spread, said Clauss, because their young were not born as comparatively small and did not need to compete with other species for food, instead suckling on their mothers.

This meant there were smaller mammal species able to cope with the new post-catastrophe environment and evolve into new species alongside birds, which are also dinosaurs.

"The question that haunted some people including me is ... why did the mammals survive and why did the dinosaurs not. I think we have a very good answer for that," Clauss said.

The researchers said egg size is constricted by upper limits to the thickness of shells, which have to allow oxygen through to the embryo.

The average four-tonne titanosaur, the largest type of vertebrate that ever lived, was 2,500 times heavier than its newborn. A modern-day elephant mother weighs 22 times more than her calf.

Scientists say all animals with a bodyweight of more than about 10 to 25 kilogrammes (22 to 55 pounds) died in the mass extinction event.

South Korean bullfighting is for bulls only

CHEONGDO, South Korea: There is no blood, nor much gore. No matador, either, or even his colorful cloak. In South Korea, bull fights bull.

Weighing in at 600 kg to over 800 kg (1,322 to over 1,764 lb), dun-colored Korean Hanwoo bulls clash heads and horns in a sand bullring under the warm sunshine of Cheongdo, a rural town in the hills about two hours from the capital of Seoul.

Once a regular village entertainment in South Korea, bullfighting nearly died out as the nation rapidly industrialized, but festivals like the annual Cheongdo Bullfighting Festival help keep the cherished tradition alive.

"When I wake up, the first thing I do is train my bulls, letting them drag tires. Then, I feed them with nutritious porridge," said Lee Jin-gu, a 59-year old rancher who has trained fighting bulls for seven years.

"I once stayed in the pens, sleeping next to my bulls for a week," said Lee, who had four of his prize Korean bulls fighting their way through to the quarter-finals.

In all, 96 bulls are competing for the title of strongest bull during the festival, held April 18-22, for the top prize of 7 million won ($6,200).

In one bout, last year's champion, "Fighting", clashed with "Ggoltong", which means "Dullard," bellowing as he entered the ring and spectators cheered.

After about three minutes of shoving amid the clattering of horns, billowing dust and shouting fans, their duel was finished. "Fighting" made it through to the next round as his defeated opponent gave way and trotted from the ring.

The festival in its current form has been going on since 1999, although North Gyeongsang province has a history of the sport going back a thousand years.

Traditionally, a bull would have been the prized possession of a well-off Korean farmer.

"I was fearful if our bull lost the fight because my parents would scold me," says Son Mal-jook, 68, who used to take fodder to the creatures when she was a young girl.

Cheongdo says that its bullfights are more humane than those in Spain because the bull is not killed by a matador.

"Spain's bullfight is between man and bull and assumes that men will defeat bulls," said Lee Joong Geun, county executive of Cheongdo. "But Cheongdo's bullfighting is an energetic fight between two bulls."

A carnival atmosphere prevails at the festival with cheerleaders and drummers prancing by the ring and a traditional band playing in a frenzy of gongs, drums and strings. Beer and local beef are sold at snack stands.

One U.S. spectator admitted to being initially bemused by the concept of a clash of the bulls, but appeared to have been won over.

"In the (United) States, I have seen rodeo, bronco riding, bull riding and also roping. But I have never seen two bulls fighting each other before," said Maria Oliveira.

Lee Jin-gu, Fighting's owner, confessed to a deep affection for his animal.

"It is a stronger devotion than parents might have towards their sons and daughters," he said. (Reuters)

Bride wears 520m-long dress

THIS bride has certainly gone to great lengths to look stunning for her big day.
Beaming wife-to-be Li Kuo, 25, wore a striking dress with a train that was an astonishing 520metres-long.
And with the gown weighing in at nearly 50kgs, it was no mean feat for her to walk down the church aisle. It took more than three months for the massive bridal train to be completed by a company in Beijing.

Li Kuo made the order in secret to surprise her husband and chose the length specifically because in the local dialect the pronunciations of the numbers ‘5’ ‘2’ ‘0’ sound the same as the words ‘I’ ‘love’ ‘you’. She said: ‘I wanted to give him a surprise and to make the wedding really special.’ Her husband to be Xie Tao, 27, who works in a local art museum in Wuhan, said it was a lovely gesture although it was difficult to get to grips with.
He said: ‘I wanted to pick it up before it was unfolded but it weighed over 48 kilos - and was difficult to get a hold of. But it looks really beautiful just like my lovely bride when it was fitted.’ The couple had these snaps taken at Botanical Garden, Hubei, China, before the wedding. When unveiled the train, total of 800 square metres - and it took more than 20 bridesmaids to carry it.

All that cloth does not come cheap with the dress costing £4,983 - dwarfing the average spent by a bride in the UK by nearly £4,000 - not to mention what the final bill might be for cleaning those grass stains.
Though, when you cost it per ft of material, which seems a little more reasonable. Source: www.nation.com.pk

German runaway Yvonne the cow nets moo-vie deal

BERLIN: Yvonne the German cow evaded helicopter searches, dodged the hunter's gun and even eschewed her calf and best friend for a life on the run.

Now the tale of the runaway cow, who captivated the nation last year when she bolted from her farm to escape slaughter and roamed free in the Bavarian countryside for three months, will provide fodder for a Hollywood animated film.

"Cow on the Run," based on the daring dairy cow's escapades in the wild, will be produced by Munich-based film company Papa Loewe and American film producer Max Howard, whose previous credits include Walt Disney's "The Lion King."

Michael Aufhauser, founder of the Gut Aiderbichl animal sanctuary in southern Germany, which now looks after Yvonne, said the film was going to be "very romantic."

"Yvonne even falls in love with a buck," he said of the film which is set to hit the silver screen in 2014.

The farmyard fugitive broke through an electric fence on a farm near the Bavarian town of Muehldorf in May last year.

Yvonne lived happily off the land for three months until she landed on a "most wanted" list after bolting in front of a police car. Authorities deemed the runaway a security risk and gave hunters the go ahead to gun her down.

But Yvonne foiled numerous attempts to capture her, and thwarted plans by animal activists to lure her back to the farmyard using her own calf, her friend and a breeding bull named Ernst.

The canny cow was eventually captured in September after receiving a double dose of tranquilizers and was taken to the animal sanctuary after more than 90 days in the wild.

"People thought she was a dumb cow and would not know what to do in the wild," Aufhauser said.

"But she was so clever, nobody could catch her and that amazed people." (Reuters)

Feathers fly as pillow fight overtakes central Rome

ROME: Some 100 people did battle with feather-filled pillows Sunday in front of central Rome's Santa Maria in Trastevere church, to celebrate International Pillow Fight Day.


The pillow warriors, most between 18 and 30 years old, lined up face-to-face, then unleashed their fiercest pillow-fight moves when the church's bells rang at 6:00 pm (1600 GMT).

After about 20 minutes of battle, with clouds of feathers in the air and piled on the ground they threw down what was left of their weapons, then proceeded to lie down on them.

International Pillow Fight Day was launched in 2008. This year, events will be held from April 6 to 15 in dozens of cities including Belgrade, New York, London, Paris and Sydney. (AFP)

US man charged after six puppies found in suitcase

CLEVELAND: An Ohio man has been charged with animal abandonment after a litter of six English bulldog puppies was found in a suitcase with a tag bearing his name, according to Humane Society authorities.

Cyndi Condit, spokeswoman for the Toledo Area Humane Society told Reuters Wednesday that the man, identified as Howard Davis of Toledo, lived only two blocks from where the suitcase was found.

The mother of the puppies was found pacing around the suitcase, which attracted the attention of a passerby.

"Howard's name was on the tag of the suitcase and the mother was licensed to him," Condit said.

After the dogs were found April 4 in a Toledo alley, Davis was charged with a second degree misdemeanor, which carries with it a maximum $750 fine and 90 days in jail, according to John Dinon, the Toledo Area Humane Society's executive director.

Davis told investigators that he had given the dogs to a friend in Michigan and that the suitcase had in fact been stolen earlier. There was no explanation as to how the adopted dogs got back from Michigan in the stolen suitcase.

The puppies, three male and three female, are estimated to be four weeks old, too young to be separated from their mother, so they will spend at least another four weeks in foster care before they are eligible for adoption.

Dinon said the shelter has received an overwhelming number of calls about adopting the puppies but that for now they are "evidence" in the case against Davis.

He also added that Davis could have easily brought the dogs to the Humane Society and if he had, he would not be facing charges. "Anyone who can't take care of any animal can come here and we will work with you," Dinon said. (Reuters)

Goodbye to books,iPads in China school

Students in a Chinese school may soon carry iPads instead of books to their classrooms as the management is planning to allow the use of the gadget.

The Jinling High School in Nanjing city has already allowed three students to bring iPads to their classrooms on a trial basis once their new term begins in September.

The policy has been discussed extensively and will possibly be extended to all students, the management said.

The iPads can set students free from the burden of carrying school bags, said Xin Qihua, vice director of the school's international department.

It can also improve interaction between the students and teachers who can ask questions through the device and review all answers from the students immediately, said Xin.

The gadget can also give students access to foreign educational resources, which will contribute to their preparation for the SAT, TOFEL and AP exams, Xin added.

It can also help save up to 90 percent of their expenditures on teaching materials.

The measure was hailed by many young people. "I am so jealous. I have an iPad too, but I am not allowed to take it to the classroom," said a blogger on Sina Weibo.

However, some expressed doubt. They worry that the gadget may spoil the students.

"Although it is worth trying, children who lack self-discipline may waste time in playing games," Xinhua quoted another blogger as saying.

"The teacher has technical control over all the iPads, and students will be prevented from installing any games," Meng Qun, a teacher at the school, as saying.

To lighten the load on students in primary and high schools, local governments have been pondering the idea sometime whether to allow students to use devices like laptops.

However, Yin Fei, professor with Nanjing Normal University, said: "It is a fallacy to reduce students' burdens by introducing electronic devices.

"The excessive burden on students' shoulders is not from the weight of school bags, but the flawed educational system itself."

British scientist fathered 600 children?

A British man is believed to have fathered 600 children by repeatedly using his own sperm for women to conceive babies, at the fertility clinic he ran with his wife.

Bertold Wiesner and Mary Barton founded the London clinic in the 1940s and helped women conceive 1,500 children.

It was thought that the clinic used a small number of highly intelligent friends as sperm donors but it has now emerged that around 600 of the babies were conceived using sperm from Wiesner himself.

Two men conceived at the clinic - Barry Stevens, a film-maker from Canada and David Gollancz, a barrister in London - have researched the centre and DNA tests suggest Wiesner, an Austrian biologist, provided two thirds of the donated sperm.

Such a practice is outlawed now but at the time it was not known that Wiesner was providing the majority of the samples.

The same sperm donor should not be used to create so many children because of the risk that two of the offpsring will unwittingly meet and start a family of their own, which could cause serious genetic problems in their children.

DNA tests were conducted on 18 people conceived at the clinic between 1943 and 1962. The results showed that two thirds of them were fathered by Wiesner himself.

Extrapolating this to the rest of the children conceived at the clinic it would suggest around 600 of the children were his.

"A conservative estimate is that he would have been making 20 donations a year," the Telegraph quoted Gollancz as telling the Sunday Times.

"Using standard figures for the number of live births which result, including allowances for twins and miscarriages, I estimate that he is responsible for between 300 and 600 children," he said.

Around 2,000 children are born every year in Britain using donated eggs, sperm or embryos.

All sperm donors used by regulated clinics should be between the age of 18 and 41 and all samples are tested for diseases.

Information about the donor is kept secret and the children can apply to find out the identity of their biological father and any half brothers or sisters once they turn 18. (Credit : santanbanta.com)

Now, seat to wrap kids in bubble during car crash

British engineers have unveiled a car seat that cocoons a baby in a protective shell in the event of an accident.
The rear-facing Carkoon is also fireproof, providing the child with up to 20 minutes of air and insulating it from a blaze.

And for easy release in an accident - or during an everyday trip to the supermarket or nursery - the seat can be swivelled round to face the door, so the child can be easily unbuckled and lifted out.

The Carkoon could be on sale as early as next year but, at around 499 pounds, will be considerably more expensive than a standard child seat.

Its main feature is an airbag that folds out on impact, enveloping the child in the seat. The youngster is protected from head to toe but has plenty of breathing space.

Unlike traditional airbags that cushion passengers by deflating when hit, the Carkoon's airbag stays inflated and rigid enough to withstand bombardment by any objects dislodged by the crash.

Inventor Jullian Preston-Powers said this is vital, as a stray water bottle or satnav can kill in a 30mph crash. We have even bounced a brick off it," the Daily Mail quoted Preston-Powers as saying.

He came up with the idea after speaking to a Sussex fireman whose hands were badly burned when he tried to rescue a baby from a burning car.

Sadly, the fireman was unsuccessful and the baby died.

As well as the swivelling base and airbag, some Carkoon models will have a device that transmit a signal to the emergency services, letting them know there has been an accident with a baby involved.

In Britain, car seats for babies usually face backwards while those for toddlers face forwards.

With studies showing rear-facing seats provide vital added protection to the head and neck in a crash, Preston-Powers is campaigning for them to be made compulsory for all children under four.Credit : santabanta.com

Biggest earth-monitoring satellite likely "dead"

PARIS: The European Space Agency said Thursday it had lost contact with Envisat, the biggest Earth-monitoring satellite in history.

Designed to operate for only five years, Envisat was launched in March 2002, carrying 10 instruments to monitor the planet's oceans, ice, land and atmosphere.

The giant 8.2-tonne, 10.5-metre (34.1-foot) craft carried on working for a decade, racking up a total of 2.25 billion kilometres (1.4 billion miles), or more than 50,000 orbits, ESA said.

The satellite failed to make a radio call on April 8 as it passed over a ground station at Kiruna in Sweden, the agency said.

It has assembled a "recovery team" of engineers, flight dynamics scientists and mission operators in the hope of restoring contact with Envisat, which remains in a stable orbit.

Envisat's data has been used in 4,000 science projects in 70 countries, including landmark research into climate change.

Its study of ocean currents was used last year to simulate dispersal of nuclear pollution from the Fukushima accident, and it gained real-time images of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

It has also been an important tool in tackling illegal fishing.

ESA had hoped to keep Envisat going until its seven replacements, the so-called Sentinel satellites, start being launched in 2013. (AFP)

US mayor rescues woman from a house on fire

NEWARK: The mayor of the struggling New Jersey city of Newark said on Friday he was no super hero, only a good neighbor when he broke free from his security detail in a burning house and rescued a woman.

Cory Booker arrived at his Newark home on Thursday night to find his next-door neighbor's house ablaze. His neighbor said her middle-aged daughter was trapped upstairs and begged for help.

He and his bodyguard, Police Detective Alex Rodriguez, tread up the stairs into the home's kitchen, and when the mayor tried to go deeper, the bodyguard grabbed him by the belt to prevent him, Booker 42, recalled at a news conference outside the home on Friday.

The mayor said he "whipped around and we had some words ... I'm his commanding officer."

The mayor broke free and moved further into the home to search for the woman, who is "like a big sister to me" and has been his neighbor for the past six years.

"I felt terror. I couldn't breath. I finally heard her and found her," Booker recalled.

He hoisted her over his shoulder and carried her to safety. Both were rushed to the hospital for treatment, and the woman remained hospitalized in stable condition on Friday, a spokeswoman for the mayor said.

"It went from bad to worse. I was terrified in that blackened sooted room without an exit," said Booker, whose clothes caught fire.

His security detail rescued three other people in the home.

At the morning news conference, Booker shrugged off a reporter's question about being a super hero.

"I think that's way over the top. I'm a neighbor who did what most neighbors would do, jump into action to help a friend," he said.

Booker has become something of a celebrity since the movie "Brick City" about Newark became a series on the Sundance Channel. (Reuters)

Declared dead, baby found alive in Argentine morgue

BUENOS AIRES: A premature baby who had been declared dead was found alive 12 hours later in the morgue, a health official in northeastern Argentina said.

The parents of the baby, who was in serious condition, were going to name her Luciana Abigail but have changed their minds and are calling her Luz Milagros instead, her middle name being the Spanish word for "miracles."

The newborn was determined to be alive after her mother insisted on seeing the body of her daughter at the Hospital Perrando, in the city of Resistencia, Rafael Sabatinelli, the health undersecretary of Chaco province, told the local press Tuesday.

"At night I went with my husband to where the little box was. A man pried it open. I suddenly heard a whimper. She was all covered up and full of something that looked like frost," Analia Bouter, the baby's mother, told the local press.

Sabatinelli said an investigation has been opened to determine who was responsible for mistakenly pronouncing the baby dead.

Five people, including doctors and nurses, have been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation, he said.

"The baby is gravely ill, in critical condition," the official said, explaining that the infant was born prematurely at six months gestation and weighs only 800 grams (1.76 pounds), he said on television. (AFP)

New York restaurant recreates Titanic menu

NEW YORK: A New York restaurant is recreating the menu served to first class passengers on the doomed Titanic -- and at 10 courses, it's a spread that could practically sink a ship by itself.

Starting with oysters and ending with Waldorf pudding, by way of foie gras pate, roast duckling, lamb and five other dishes, the feast promises "an elegant evening of dinner and revelry," Brooklyn eaterie Prime Meats said in its newsletter.

The $115 menu will be served April 15, the 100 years anniversary of Titanic's sinking in the north Atlantic, with the loss of 1,514 people sailing on what had been considered an unsinkable ship.

Prime Meats asks customers to come dressed up in black tie as they commemorate "the notorious voyage" in the spirit of its pampered first class passengers. (AFP)

Greek policemen available for 30 euros an hour

ATHENS: The cash-strapped Greek state is now looking to a new way of raising revenues -- renting out its policemen at an hourly rate of 30 euros, with patrol cars going for 10 euros more.

This will "pay for the cost of using police material and infrastructure, and allow to modernise them", the ministry of citizen protection which is in charge of the country's security services said in a statement Sunday.

Such police services used in "exceptional cases" such as in escorting the transportation of dangerous material or art works, were previously offered free of charge, said the ministry.

But now, hourly fees of 200 euros (260 dollars) will be charged for patrol boats and 1,500 euros for helicopters, according to Sunday newspaper Proto Thema, which revealed the internal reform.

The ministry said it would only accept such rentals if they do not affect the security forces' operational capacity.

Greece has a total public debt of over 350 billion euros, and was twice forced to obtain bailout funds from the European Union and International Monetary Fund to stave off bankruptcy. (AFP)

Turkmen president wins on racing track

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan: Turkmenistan's authoritarian leader has proven he doesn't only win elections easily, coming first in a car race he wasn't even supposed to take part in.

President Gurbanguli Berdymukhamedov drove to the racing track in a Bugatti sports car Saturday morning ostensibly to give his blessing to the former Soviet Central Asian nation's maiden automotive competition.

While an event presenter introduced the president, he received a request nobody in Turkmenistan would be likely turn down. "Can I take part?" Berdymukhamedov asked.

Before long, the president had changed into racing gear, entered the zippy and diminutive Turkish-made Volkicar automobile and promptly proceeded to record the best time in the time-trial challenge.

Announcers at the race said the winning car will be given to the national sports museum.

The apparently choreographed display appears to be another episode in an ongoing state project to cast the president as an effortlessly competent man of action.

Five charged after Chinese teen sells kidney to buy iPhone

BEIJING: Five people in southern China have been charged with intentional injury in the case of a Chinese teenager who sold a kidney so he could buy an iPhone and an iPad, the government-run Xinhua News Agency said on Friday.

The five included a surgeon who removed a kidney from a 17-year-old boy in April last year. The boy, identified only by his surname Wang, now suffers from renal deficiency, Xinhua quoted prosecutors in Chenzhou city, Hunan province as saying.

According to the Xinhua account, one of the defendants received about 220,000 yuan (about $35,000) to arrange the transplant. He paid Wang 22,000 yuan and split the rest with the surgeon, the three other defendants and other medical staff.

The report did not say who received and paid for the kidney.

The teen was from Anhui, one of China's poorest provinces, where inhabitants frequently leave to find work and a better life elsewhere. He bought an iPhone and iPad, and when asked by his mother where he got the money, admitted selling a kidney.

Apple products are hugely popular in China, but are priced beyond the reach of many Chinese. IPhones start at 3,988 yuan ($633), and iPads begin at 2,988 yuan ($474).

Wang's renal deficiency is deteriorating, Xinhua quoted prosecutors as saying.

Only a fraction of the people who need organ transplants in China are able to get them, leading to "transplant tourism" where patients travel overseas for such operations, and to a black market for human organs.

China banned the trading of human organs in 2007, Xinhua said. Several other suspects involved in the case are still being investigated. (Reuters)

US man survives 4-inch nail in heart

VINELAND, New Jersey: A New Jersey man who survived accidentally shooting a 4-inch ( 10-cm) nail into his heart while trying to clear a jammed nail gun said on Friday he feels like he won the lottery.

Dennis Hennis, 52, who was revived from cardiac arrest before being airlifted for surgery to Cooper University Hospital in Camden, New Jersey, laughed off Dr. Michael Rosenbloom's suggestion that he buy a lottery ticket.

"I've already won the lottery," said Hennis of Vineland, New Jersey, in an interview.

"I got a new grandson on my birthday on March 23 and a week later I'm almost dead. Now we can celebrate birthdays together," he said.

Hennis, a self-employed builder, was working with his son, age 28, on a neighbor's roof on Saturday when his nail gun jammed and he tried to clear it, mistakenly pointing it toward him.

The powerful tool was built to fire 4-inch nails at 120 pounds per square inch (8.4 kg per square cm), said hospital spokeswoman Lori Shaffer.

"It was about a foot away and it went right into my chest, right into my heart," Hennis recalled.

The nail pierced his right ventricle, which supplies blood to the lungs, and Hennis soon went into cardiac arrest.

Hennis, whose son called an ambulance, was rushed to a local hospital and revived but clearly needed immediate surgery at a trauma center like Cooper, nearly an hour's drive away, Rosenbloom said.

"Imagine there is a nail in the heart and they have to do CPR. It turns a little puncture wound into a laceration," the surgeon said.

Fog had grounded the medical helicopter but it suddenly lifted and Hennis was flown to Cooper and rushed into the operating room.

Hennis' recovery from surgery has been remarkable and he was expected to be discharged in time to celebrate Easter with his family, including his third and newest grandchild.

"We closed the hole and his heart is strong," Rosenbloom said by telephone.

Hennis lucked out with knowing to not remove the nail himself, prompt medical attention and suddenly cooperative weather, Rosenbloom said.

"I told him he should go play the lottery," the surgeon said.


REUTERS

Endangered right whale protection goes high-tech

BOSTON: Efforts to protect the North Atlantic right whale have gone high-tech with the creation of an iPad/iPhone application that can warn mariners when they approach an area where the highly endangered mammals are congregating.

The Whale Alert app, available for free download, uses global positioning system and other technology to send the latest data about right whale detections, overlaid on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) digital charts, to the user's device.

The project is a joint effort between NOAA and other government agencies, including the National Park Service and the Coast Guard, universities, and conservation groups.

The system hopes to limit the number of deadly collisions between whales and vessels, especially large vessels such as cruise ships and container ships. When whales are detected in an area, ships can alter course slightly or slow down.

Marine authorities estimate there are only 350 to 550 of the massive mammals left in the world.

"Right whales are an iconic species for those who live on the coast of Massachusetts and the Northeast U.S.," said Patrick Ramage, director at the International Fund for Animal Welfare in Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts.

The U.S. commercial whaling industry was centered in New England for hundreds of years before it was wound down in the early 20th Century.

"In a region where for generations New Englanders have harnessed technology to find whales and kill them, now in the 21st century we are harnessing technology to find them and save them," Ramage said.

North Atlantic right whales live along the coast of North America from Newfoundland to Florida.

The creatures, which have a normal lifespan of 50 to 70 years and can weigh around 70 tons, are vulnerable to getting struck by ships because they live in near-shore waters, feed close to the surface, and are notoriously slow swimmers.

Collisions with vessels killed more than one third of the right whales which were reported dead between 1970 and 2007.

Given the fragility of the population, the loss of even one whale - especially a breeding-age female - can have a significant impact on the species.

In major shipping lanes to and from Boston, whale detection will be aided by real-time acoustic detection buoys that essentially listen for whale activity.

"The whales are calling each other. We are eavesdropping into the social network of right whales living off the coast of Massachusetts," said Christopher Clark, director of the bioacoustics research program at Cornell University.

The app was developed for Apple's iPads and iPhones by EarthNC, which specializes in spatial mapping systems for the leisure boating community, and Gaia GPS, which designs backcountry topographic maps. (Reuters)

Chaplin’s bowler hat sold at auction

LOS ANGELES: A trademark bowler hat and cane once owned by Charlie Chaplin sold for $100,000 Sunday, at a Hollywood auction where Whitney Houston gowns and gems also went under the hammer weeks after she died.

The bamboo walking cane once owned by the silent-era comedy icon went for $42,000 -- considerably more than the $20-30,000 reserve price -- while the trademark hat was snapped up for $58,000 on the second day of the two-day sale.

A riding coat worn by Clark Gable in "Gone with the Wind" sold for $57,600, nearly four times its $10-15,000 reserve price, while Charlton Heston's robe from "The Ten Commandments" fetched $66,420, and his staff $44,800.

On Saturday fans and collectors had snapped up a selection of gowns, stage clothes and jewelry belonging to Whitney Houston, weeks after the Grammy-winning star's shock death aged only 48.

Prices reached more than five times their reserve on some items, including two pairs of earrings worn in the 1992 movie "The Bodyguard" for $2,880 (estimate $600-800) and $7,040 (estimate $1,000-2,000).

The Houston effects were on offer on the first of a two-day "Hollywood Legends" sale at Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills -- just down the road from where the singer died on February 11.

A stage-worn beaded bustier went under the hammer for $19,200, more than three times its estimate of $4,000-6,000, while a brown satin vest from "The Bodyguard" sold for $3,520, (reserve price $400-600).

A small wardrobe's worth of dresses were pounced on by eager buyers, including one gray velvet gown which sold for $11,520, against an estimate of only $1,000-2,000.

Houston died in her hotel room bathroom on the eve of the music industry's annual Grammys show in Los Angeles. Coroners said on March 22 that she had died of drowning, with heart disease and cocaine use as contributing factors.

Other items sold at the two-day sale included a Christopher Reeve costume from "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace," estimated at $20-30,000, which went for $35,200.

A dress worn by Princess Diana in 1992 -- a beaded pewter chiffon evening gown by designer Catherine Walker -- sold for $108,000, well above its $60-80,000). (AFP)

Snake fright for Australian pilot

SYDNEY: An Australian pilot was given the fright of his life when a snake slithered from the dashboard of the plane he was flying, forcing him to make an emergency landing, airline officials said Thursday.

Braden Blennerhassett was on a freight run for Air Frontier from Darwin to the remote town of Peppimenarti in the Northern Territory on Tuesday when the reptile appeared in the cockpit.

He made a mayday call and landed safely back in Darwin.

"My blood pressure and heart rate was a bit elevated -- it was an interesting experience," Blennerhassett told Nine News.

"As the plane was landing the snake was crawling down my leg, which was frightening."

Air Frontier director Geoffrey Hunt said Blennerhassett handled the situation well, given Australia is home to some of the most venomous snakes in the world.

"He said, we've got a snake on board," Hunt told reporters, adding that the pilot had trouble communicating with the control tower.

"The snake popped its head out near the transmit button that he needed to press to talk to the tower."

Blennerhassett managed to get his small plane back to base where a snake handler was organised to meet him.

"We have got another chap here who is an aircraft engineer and a snake handler and he had a look and he couldn't find it," Hunt said, adding that they now planned to use a live mouse in a cage as bait.

Until the snake is found, the aircraft will be grounded. (AFP)

Woman survives crocodile attack in Australia

SYDNEY: A woman has survived after being attacked by a crocodile while swimming from a luxury tourist boat at a remote bay in Western Australia, the ship's operator said on Tuesday.

Tara Hawkes, 23, was in shallow water near the vessel True North at Dugong Bay in the Kimberley region when the two-metre (6ft 6ins) crocodile bit her upper leg.

A passenger is believed to have pulled her to safety and she was flown by helicopter to the nearest hospital where she was in a stable condition on Monday night being treated for lacerations and puncture wounds.

Peter Trembath of North Star Cruises, the vessel's operator, said in a statement that the attack happened at a freshwater pool in only waist-deep water.

"Crew members checked the pool before entering the water. However, they did not detect the crocodile, which was estimated to be two metres in length," he said, adding that Hawkes worked as a crew member on the boat.

A Western Australia Department of Environment and Conservation spokesman said it had put out a warning to tourist operators not to let people swim in the area because it was believed the crocodile was still there. (AFP)

Space the latest frontier for Earth Hour

SYDNEY: Millions of people are expected to switch off their lights for Earth Hour Saturday in a global effort to raise awareness about climate change that will even be monitored from space.

From Egypt's Tahrir Square to New York's Empire State Building, thousands of cities will turn off lights for 60 minutes from 8:30 pm local time, with switches flicked in around 150 countries and territories.

Newcomers to the Sydney-led initiative, now in its sixth year, include Libya, Iraq and the International Space Station, which will watch over the event as it rolls across the globe.

"There is no better way to raise awareness for the future of the most beautiful planet in the universe," said Andre Kuipers, an astronaut who will share photos and live commentary as he views Earth Hour from space.

Since it began in Sydney in 2007, Earth Hour has grown to become what environmental group WWF organisers say is the world's largest demonstration of support for action on carbon pollution.

A total of 5,251 cities took part in 2011, as the movement reached 1.8 billion people in 135 countries, they say.

"Earth Hour 2012 is a celebration of people power -- the world's largest mass environmental event in support of the planet," said chief executive of WWF-Australia Dermot O'Gorman.

"And we're seeing hundreds of millions of people in different countries around the world take actions to go beyond the hour in support of positive actions for climate change and the planet."

Sydney's Opera House and Harbour Bridge will be among the first landmarks to plunge into darkness from 0930 GMT, and will be followed by the likes of Tokyo Tower, Taipei 101 and the Great Wall of China.

In Singapore, 32 malls -- many located in the glittering Orchard Road shopping belt -- and more than 370 companies including luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Armani will turn off non-essential lighting.

In the Philippines, more than 1,780 police stations and training centres will turn off all non-essential lights and electrical equipment.

"We will turn off the lights in the offices but not the lights in the perimeter because our detainees might escape," said national police spokesman Superintendent Agrimero Cruz.

The movement then spreads across the planet, with buildings such as The Burj Khalifa, the Eiffel Tower and Louvre in Paris, the cupola of St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican and Buckingham Palace in London dimming their lights.

O'Gorman said about 40 percent of Australians participate in Earth Hour, which encourages people to switch off their lights for 60 minutes and think about energy usage, but the idea had also taken off globally.

Earth Hour co-founder Todd Sampson, chief executive of advertising firm Leo Burnett Sydney, said the event began as an initiative to get Sydneysiders to switch off the lights on the harbour foreshore.

"We never would have predicted that it would be as big as it is now. And it is even bigger overseas than it is locally," he said.

The movement has met with some criticism, but Sampson said this was a healthy part of the debate.

"It's not designed, and it would be foolhardy to believe, that switching a light switch is going to save the planet," he told reporters near the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Saturday.

"It was originally done to raise awareness, to get people to think about it and then take action in many different ways.

"I think scepticism is part of the debate. It moves everything forward." (AFP)

Wife shot dead by husband after dog poops in house: police

DALLAS: A 76-year-old Texas man was charged with murder for shooting his wife and two dogs after one of the animals pooped in the house.

Police arrested Michael Stephen Stolz after a five-hour standoff at the man's home in the Dallas suburb of Lewisville late Tuesday. He was charged with murder in the shooting death of his wife, Bernice Stolz, and remained in the Denton County Jail on Wednesday on a $250,000 bond.

Stolz told officers he shot his 49-year-old wife and the couple's two dogs after the German Shepherd mix defecated on the floor on Saturday, said Lewisville Police Capt. Kevin Deaver. He told officers that he shot the dog, then their other dog, a Rottweiler, then his wife, who was screaming because of the shootings of the dogs, Deaver said.

Police were called to investigate after Bernice Stolz' employer reported that she failed to show up at work for several days. Stolz rebuffed officers who asked to enter the house and check on the woman's welfare, Deaver said.

Officers reported smelling an odor of decomposition from the home and called for SWAT officers to help encourage Stolz to surrender. SWAT officers finally sent a robot with a camera inside for a look, Deaver said. They noticed Stolz was unarmed and lying on the floor.

Stolz finally surrendered peacefully. Bernice Stolz's body was found on the kitchen floor with a gunshot wound to the head. Stolz told officers he had also intended to kill himself but ran out of bullets after shooting his wife and dogs, Deaver said.

"Sometimes it's just a trivial little thing that sets people off," Deaver said.

Police had previously responded to calls for medical assistance at the home but Stolz had no history of mental illness, Deaver said. (Reuters)

Pakistani student wins world math competition

KARACHI: A fifteen year old Pakistani student Mousa Feroz, on Sunday won a gold medal in an Online World Mathematics Competition held in Australia, Geo News reported.

Over one point five million children from one hundred counties around the world took part in the competition took place on the sixth and seventh of March.

Students make world’s largest painting in Lahore

LAHORE: Over 1,300 students collaborated in making the world largest painting on the occasion of Pakistan Day.

The 42,000 square foot painting which was of the national flag represented the different cultures of Pakistan.

The process started at 9 am at the National Hockey Stadium in Lahore.

Your child's milk tooth can save her life!

Is your child about to lose her milk tooth? Instead of throwing it away, you can now opt to use it to harvest stem cells in a dental stem cell bank for future use in the face of serious ailments. Now that's a tooth fairy story coming to life.

Still relatively new in India, dental stem cell banking is fast gaining popularity as a more viable option over umbilical cord blood banking.

Stem cell therapy involves a kind of intervention strategy in which healthy, new cells are introduced into a damaged tissue to treat a disease or an injury.

"The umbilical cord is a good source for blood-related cells, or hemaotopoietic cells, which can be used for blood-related diseases, like leukaemia (blood cancer). Having said that, blood-related disorders constitute only four percent of all diseases," Shailesh Gadre, founder and managing director of the company Stemade Biotech.

"For the rest of the 96 percent tissue-related diseases, the tooth is a good source of mesenchymal (tissue-related) stem cells. These cells have potential application in all other tissues of the body, for instance, the brain, in case of diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's; the eye (corneal reconstruction), liver (cirrhosis), pancreas (diabetes), bone (fractures, reconstruction), skin and the like," he said.

Mesenchymal cells can also be used to regenerate cardiac cells.

Dental stem cell banking also has an advantage when it comes to the process of obtaining stem cells.

"Obtaining stem cells from the tooth is a non-invasive procedure that requires no surgery, with little or no pain. A child, in the age group of 5-12, is any way going to lose his milk tooth. So when it's a little shaky, it can be collected with hardly any discomfort," Savita Menon, a pedodontist, said.

"Moreover, in a number of cases, when an adolescent needs braces, the doctor recommends that his pre-molars be removed. These can also be used as a source for stem cells. And over and above that, an adult's wisdom tooth can also be used for the same purpose," Gadre added.

Therefore, unlike umbilical cord blood banking which gives one just one chance - during birth - the window of opportunity in dental stem cell banking is much bigger.

"Of course, age is still a big factor," added Menon. "A child's milk tooth has more potency than a wisdom tooth. The ability of a young one's cells to multiply is twice as higher as anyone else."

Pankaj Kala is one of those who opted for dental stem cell banking for his child.

"I lost my mother to cardiac arrest when she was just 45. She was also a diabetic. After that I decided that I will do everything possible to protect my family from harm. I missed the opportunity of umbilical cord blood banking in the case of my daughter when she was born; so when she was six, we went for dental stem cell banking," Kala, who is in the jewellery business in Mumbai.

"It's been two years now and I have decided to go for the procedure for the second child too. Even my wife will go for stem cell banking using her wisdom tooth. In my case, however, it will be difficult since I had gone for root canal treatment in my wisdom tooth and therefore it's not healthy," he added.

Anish Jain, another parent who has got his son's milk tooth extracted for stem cell banking, said: "I know stem cell therapy is a relatively new field, but I didn't want to have regrets later about not doing anything that could help my child if he suffers from any ailment."

As of now, dental stem cell banking in India is offered by a select few companies, like Stemade and Store Your Cells. The procedure and then preservation of the stem cells can cost around Rs.100,000 for a period of 21 years.

"Around 20 percent of those who have come to us for dental stem cell banking are doctors," said Gadre, who added they collect 60-70 samples every month.

There are however sceptics.

"Research is still on in stem cell therapy; so to tell people that harvesting your stem cells can save you from any serious disease is still a premature statement," said a doctor. (By Azera Parveen Rahman)
Credit : santabanta.com

Smart home follows smart phone!

It won't be long before our homes use sensors and software to anticipate our needs and help improve our health and energy efficiency, a study says.

Many homes are already halfway there, with computer chips helping microwave popcorn, record TV shows, and turn on coffee makers and thermostats.

"If you have a programmable thermostat, you have the beginnings of a smart home," said Diane Cook, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the Washington State University, who led the study.

"What we're trying to do is get the home to take over the job of programming it. We want your home as a whole to think about what you need and use the components in it to do the right thing," added Cook, the journal Science reported.

Cook has been applying artificial intelligence (AI) in test homes since 2006. It already shows that the technology can help monitor aging-in-place elderly residents and alert caregivers if they are not completing ordinary activities like rising, eating, bathing, and taking medications, according to a university statement.

Similarly, homes can be designed to automatically regulate energy use, the source of nearly half a consumer's energy diet. Smart home technologies can run washers at off-peak times, turn off unneeded appliances and put out lights in empty rooms without residents having to make conscious choices.

While smartphone lets people take their social media with them, the home could in effect act like a car's Bluetooth, facilitating hands-free conversation from any room. For that matter, said Cook, cameras would let residents "Skype from anywhere." Credit ; santabanta.com