London,(ANI): The discovery of a skeleton in a friary's ruins is the first physical evidence of a black person living in medieval Britain.
The man's skeleton, uncovered in the friary in Ipswich, Suffolk, which was destroyed by Henry VIII, is said to date back to the 13th century, reports The Times.
The discovery is the first physical indication that black people lived in Britain in the 1,000-year period between the departure of the Romans, who had African slaves, and the beginnings of the age of discovery in the 15th century.
The skull demonstrates African characteristics, and an isotopic analysis of the man's teeth and thigh bone proved he had African roots.
Human growth hormone 'makes worst athlete the best'
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Article appeared on telegraph.co.uk
Human growth hormone is powerful enough to make the worst athlete in an Olympic race finish first, a study has shown.
The trial, published today, is the first to show that HGH positively affects physical performance.
Scientists discovered that injections of the drug enhanced the sprint capacity of athletes considerably.
Tests found that HGH could lead to a 0.4 second improvement over 10 seconds in a 100 metre sprint.
The results would correlate for professional athletes, reserachers claimed.
Human growth hormone is powerful enough to make the worst athlete in an Olympic race finish first, a study has shown.
The trial, published today, is the first to show that HGH positively affects physical performance.
Scientists discovered that injections of the drug enhanced the sprint capacity of athletes considerably.
Tests found that HGH could lead to a 0.4 second improvement over 10 seconds in a 100 metre sprint.
The results would correlate for professional athletes, reserachers claimed.
Fisherman have to work 17 times harder to catch fish than they did in the 19th century
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Article appeared on telegraph.co.uk
Marine scientists have discovered that despite modern trawlers being 50 times more effective than their sailing equivalents in the 19th century, they only catch a third more fish.
Stocks of some varieties of fish such as halibut are so decimated that it takes 500 times as much effort to pull them from the sea as it did in 1889.
Britain's fleet of trawlers – mostly powered by sail – netted 300,000 tons a year in the 1880s compared with 150,000 tons now.
The fishing fleet in England and Wales was much larger then but each vessel still netted 80 tons of fish a year. This compares with 110 tons on average per boat now despite advances in technology and far more powerful boats.
The "dramatic" and "worrying" drop is due to extreme and aggressive overfishing and researchers from York University said the problem is "far more profound" then previously thought.
Marine scientists have discovered that despite modern trawlers being 50 times more effective than their sailing equivalents in the 19th century, they only catch a third more fish.
Stocks of some varieties of fish such as halibut are so decimated that it takes 500 times as much effort to pull them from the sea as it did in 1889.
Britain's fleet of trawlers – mostly powered by sail – netted 300,000 tons a year in the 1880s compared with 150,000 tons now.
The fishing fleet in England and Wales was much larger then but each vessel still netted 80 tons of fish a year. This compares with 110 tons on average per boat now despite advances in technology and far more powerful boats.
The "dramatic" and "worrying" drop is due to extreme and aggressive overfishing and researchers from York University said the problem is "far more profound" then previously thought.
Zettabytes overtake petabytes as largest unit of digital measurement
Article appeared on telegraph.co.uk
Humanity’s total digital output currently stands at 8,000,000 petabytes - which each represent a million gigabytes - but is expected to pass 1.2 zettabytes this year.
One zettabyte is equal to one million petabytes, or 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 individual bytes.
The current size of the world’s digital content is equivalent to all the information that could be stored on 75bn Apple iPads, or the amount that would be generated by everyone in the world posting messages on the microblogging site Twitter constantly for a century.
The rapid growth of the “digital universe” has been caused by the explosion of social networking, online video, digital photography and mobile phones.
Around 70 per cent of the world’s digital content is generated by individuals, but it is stored by companies on content-sharing websites such as Flickr and YouTube.
Humanity’s total digital output currently stands at 8,000,000 petabytes - which each represent a million gigabytes - but is expected to pass 1.2 zettabytes this year.
One zettabyte is equal to one million petabytes, or 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 individual bytes.
The current size of the world’s digital content is equivalent to all the information that could be stored on 75bn Apple iPads, or the amount that would be generated by everyone in the world posting messages on the microblogging site Twitter constantly for a century.
The rapid growth of the “digital universe” has been caused by the explosion of social networking, online video, digital photography and mobile phones.
Around 70 per cent of the world’s digital content is generated by individuals, but it is stored by companies on content-sharing websites such as Flickr and YouTube.
Google launches virtual keyboard
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Search giant Google has announced a new on-screen keyboard that allows users to input characters in a range of languages regardless of what sort of physical keyboard they are using.
Writing on the Google blog, Manish Bhargava, the product manager for Google International, described how the keyboard can already appear from any text field on a webpage if developers adopt a piece of Google code. “We are taking this effort one step further by integrating virtual keyboards into Google search in 35 languages,” he wrote.
Users of any of the 35 supported languages will now see a small keyboard icon next to the search filed; clicking on it will bring up the new keyboard.
Picasso Sells at Auction for $106.5 Million, a Record for a Work of Art
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A painting that Picasso created in a single day in March 1932, “Nu au Plateau de Sculpteur (Nude, Green Leaves and Bust),” sold for $106.5 million, a world record auction price for a work of art, at Christie’s Tuesday night. The painting, more than 5 feet by 4 feet, shows Picasso’s mistress Marie-Thérèse Walter, both reclining and as a bust. Picasso’s profile can be discerned in the blue background.
The painting broke the record price for a work of art set in February when a Giacometti sculpture, “Walking Man I,” was sold for $104.3 million at Sotheby’s in London. Bidding for the Picasso lasted 8 minutes and 6 seconds; there were six bidders. Nicholas Hall, an expert at Christie’s, took the winning bid by telephone. He declined to say who he was bidding for.
Giacomettis were also selling well on Tuesday night. “Grande Tête Mince,” a distinctive narrow bust, was bought by Guy Bennett, a private New York dealer, for a final price of $53.3 million, well over its estimate of $25 million to $35 million. “Le Chat,” an elongated bronze cat, sold for $20.8 million. And “La Main,” an outstretched arm and hand with fingers spread wide, went for $25.8 million in about six and a half minutes of bidding. It had been expected to bring $10 million to $15 million.
Strawberries can be grown in space
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Article appeared on deccanchronicle.com
Astronauts may now be able to satisfy their sweet tooth as researchers have found a strawberry that can grow in space with little maintenance and energy.
Cary Mitchell, professor of horticulture, and Gioia Massa, a horticulture research scientist at Purdue University in the US, tested several cultivars of strawberries and found one variety named Seascape, which seems to meet the requirements for becoming a space crop.
"What we're trying to do is grow our plants and minimise all of our inputs," Massa said. "We can grow these strawberries under shorter photoperiods than we thought and still get pretty much the same amount of yield."
Astronauts may now be able to satisfy their sweet tooth as researchers have found a strawberry that can grow in space with little maintenance and energy.
Cary Mitchell, professor of horticulture, and Gioia Massa, a horticulture research scientist at Purdue University in the US, tested several cultivars of strawberries and found one variety named Seascape, which seems to meet the requirements for becoming a space crop.
"What we're trying to do is grow our plants and minimise all of our inputs," Massa said. "We can grow these strawberries under shorter photoperiods than we thought and still get pretty much the same amount of yield."
New fibre optics tech to speed up internet
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Article appeared on deccanchronicle.com
It may look like a piece of gel but it's a new nano-based telecom technology "enabler" that can make computers and the internet hundreds of times faster.
The technology, that may be in use only five or 10 years in the future, is being designed by Koby Scheuer of Tel Aviv University's (TAU) School of Electrical Engineering.
Scheuer has developed a new plastic-based technology for the nano-photonics market, which manufactures optical devices and components. His plastic-based "filter" is made from nanometre (a billionth of a metre) sized grooves embedded into the plastic.
It may look like a piece of gel but it's a new nano-based telecom technology "enabler" that can make computers and the internet hundreds of times faster.
The technology, that may be in use only five or 10 years in the future, is being designed by Koby Scheuer of Tel Aviv University's (TAU) School of Electrical Engineering.
Scheuer has developed a new plastic-based technology for the nano-photonics market, which manufactures optical devices and components. His plastic-based "filter" is made from nanometre (a billionth of a metre) sized grooves embedded into the plastic.
Sylvester Stallone drops 'Rambo 5' plans
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London (IANS): Actor Sylvester Stallone has scrapped his plans to make the fifth instalment of the 'Rambo' films.
'I was going to do it. I said I'd never talk about this, but I feel that with Rocky Balboa, that character came complete circle. He went home. But for Rambo to go on another adventure might be, I think, misinterpreted as a mercenary gesture and not necessary. I don't want that to happen,' contactmusic.com quoted Stallone, 63, as saying.
But he is planning to work on an extended edition of 2008's 'Rambo', adding a 12-minute footage that was axed from the cinematic release of the film.
'I was going to do it. I said I'd never talk about this, but I feel that with Rocky Balboa, that character came complete circle. He went home. But for Rambo to go on another adventure might be, I think, misinterpreted as a mercenary gesture and not necessary. I don't want that to happen,' contactmusic.com quoted Stallone, 63, as saying.
But he is planning to work on an extended edition of 2008's 'Rambo', adding a 12-minute footage that was axed from the cinematic release of the film.
Aliens have been visiting Earth for decades: Canadian expert
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Toronto(IANS) Accusing world famous astrophysicist Stephen Hawking of spreading misinformation about threats from aliens, former Canadian defence minister Paul Hellyer claimed Sunday that extraterrestrials have actually been visiting earth for decades.
Rather than harm mankind, he said, their (aliens') spaceships have provided us information for triggering today's microchip and IT revolution on our planet.
Hawking has recently warned humanity against contacting aliens. 'If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans,'' the British astrophysicist has said.
Rather than harm mankind, he said, their (aliens') spaceships have provided us information for triggering today's microchip and IT revolution on our planet.
Hawking has recently warned humanity against contacting aliens. 'If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when Columbus landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans,'' the British astrophysicist has said.
US secret out: it has 5,113 nuclear warheads
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Article appeared on ibnlive.in.com
Washington: The United States has disclosed for the first time the current size of its nuclear arsenal, lifting the veil on once top-secret numbers in an effort to bolster non-proliferation efforts.
The Pentagon said it had a total of 5,113 warheads in its nuclear stockpile at the end of September, down 84 percent from a peak of 31,225 in 1967. The arsenal stood at 22,217 warheads when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989.
The figure includes warheads that are operationally deployed, kept in active reserve and held in inactive storage. But it does not include "several thousand" warheads that are now retired and awaiting dismantlement, the Pentagon said.
Washington: The United States has disclosed for the first time the current size of its nuclear arsenal, lifting the veil on once top-secret numbers in an effort to bolster non-proliferation efforts.
The Pentagon said it had a total of 5,113 warheads in its nuclear stockpile at the end of September, down 84 percent from a peak of 31,225 in 1967. The arsenal stood at 22,217 warheads when the Berlin Wall fell in 1989.
The figure includes warheads that are operationally deployed, kept in active reserve and held in inactive storage. But it does not include "several thousand" warheads that are now retired and awaiting dismantlement, the Pentagon said.
Japan drops bid to host 2018 World Cup to aim for 2022
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Article appeared on news.bbc.co.uk
The Japanese Football Association has pulled out of the bidding to host the 2018 World Cup - but remains in the running for the 2022 tournament.
Japan's exit leaves England as one of six bidders looking to host either tournament, with Fifa to name the hosts for both in December.
Australia, Russia, the United States, Belgium/Netherlands and Spain/Portugal are also in the hat for both.
Qatar and 2002 co-hosts South Korea are bidding solely for the 2022 event.
The Japanese Football Association has pulled out of the bidding to host the 2018 World Cup - but remains in the running for the 2022 tournament.
Japan's exit leaves England as one of six bidders looking to host either tournament, with Fifa to name the hosts for both in December.
Australia, Russia, the United States, Belgium/Netherlands and Spain/Portugal are also in the hat for both.
Qatar and 2002 co-hosts South Korea are bidding solely for the 2022 event.
African rocks record ancient magnetic field
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Article appeared on news.bbc.co.uk
By Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News, Vienna
Scientists have managed to push back the date for the earliest known presence of a magnetic field on Earth by about 250 million years.
The evidence is seen in tiny iron minerals that are aligned inside ancient dacite rocks from the Barberton mountains in South Africa.
Analysis of the 3.45-billion-year-old minerals indicates the strength the field was much weaker than today.
Earth's magnetic field protects all life on the planet.
It forms a shield that deflects harmful particles from the Sun around our world, and limits the ability of this "solar wind" to erode our atmosphere.
Microsoft's Internet Explorer losing browser share
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Article appeared on news.bbc.co.uk
Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) web browser, now accounts for less than 60% of the market, down from 95% at its peak in 2003, according to new figures.
Latest statistics, from measurement firm NetApplications, show that IE has 59.9% of the market, with Firefox gaining on it, with 24.5%.
While third-place Google Chrome's 6.7% share of the market looks tiny by comparison it is rising sharply, up from just 1.7% this time last year.
Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) web browser, now accounts for less than 60% of the market, down from 95% at its peak in 2003, according to new figures.
Latest statistics, from measurement firm NetApplications, show that IE has 59.9% of the market, with Firefox gaining on it, with 24.5%.
While third-place Google Chrome's 6.7% share of the market looks tiny by comparison it is rising sharply, up from just 1.7% this time last year.
Facebook accounts on sale
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New York: Researchers at VeriSign’s iDefense division tracking the digital underworld say bogus and stolen accounts on the Facebook are now on sale in high volume on the black market.
During several weeks in February, iDefense tracked an effort to sell log-in data for 1.5 million Facebook accounts on several online criminal marketplaces.
That hacker, who used the screen name “kirllos” and appears to deal only in Facebook accounts, offered to sell bundles of 1,000 accounts with 10 or fewer friends for $25 and with more than 10 friends for $45, says Mr Rick Howard, iDefense’s director of cyber intelligence.
During several weeks in February, iDefense tracked an effort to sell log-in data for 1.5 million Facebook accounts on several online criminal marketplaces.
That hacker, who used the screen name “kirllos” and appears to deal only in Facebook accounts, offered to sell bundles of 1,000 accounts with 10 or fewer friends for $25 and with more than 10 friends for $45, says Mr Rick Howard, iDefense’s director of cyber intelligence.
Under the Microscope: How fast can a human run?
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Article appeared on independent.co.uk
Answered by: Professor Craig Williams, School of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Exeter
Interview by Holly Williams
Speed limits
Researchers think 30mph could be the human limit. Most use the 100m to calculate how fast we can run. The current record for the 100m is 9.58 seconds, by Usain Bolt in 2009. That gives a speed of 23.3mph. But interestingly, during the 60-80m stretch of the race Bolt averaged a speed of 27.8mph.
However, as Neils Bohr, the distinguished physicist, said: "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it is about the future". Many commentators previously suggested under 10s was unbreakable; now Bolt's coach is aiming for 9.4s. The 100m record now held by a woman would have beaten the fastest male back in the Fifties.
Answered by: Professor Craig Williams, School of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Exeter
Interview by Holly Williams
Speed limits
Researchers think 30mph could be the human limit. Most use the 100m to calculate how fast we can run. The current record for the 100m is 9.58 seconds, by Usain Bolt in 2009. That gives a speed of 23.3mph. But interestingly, during the 60-80m stretch of the race Bolt averaged a speed of 27.8mph.
However, as Neils Bohr, the distinguished physicist, said: "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it is about the future". Many commentators previously suggested under 10s was unbreakable; now Bolt's coach is aiming for 9.4s. The 100m record now held by a woman would have beaten the fastest male back in the Fifties.
Improbable research: The repetitive physics of Om
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Article appeared on guardian.co.uk
Indian scientists wield sophisticated mathematics to dissect and analyse the traditional meditation chanting sound 'Om'.
Two Indian scientists are wielding sophisticated mathematics to dissect and analyse the traditional meditation chanting sound "Om". The Om team has published six monographs in academic journals. These plumb certain acoustic subtleties of Om, which these researchers say is "the divine sound".
Om has many variations. In a study published in the International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, the researchers explain: "It may be very fast, several cycles per second. Or it may be slower, several seconds for each cycling of [the] Om mantra. Or it might become extremely slow, with the mmmmmm sound continuing in the mind for much longer periods but still pulsing at that slow rate. It is somewhat like one of these vibrations:
'OMmmOMmmOMmm...
'OMmmmmOMmmmmOMmmmm...
'OMmmmmmmmOMmmmmmmmOMmm'."
Indian scientists wield sophisticated mathematics to dissect and analyse the traditional meditation chanting sound 'Om'.
Two Indian scientists are wielding sophisticated mathematics to dissect and analyse the traditional meditation chanting sound "Om". The Om team has published six monographs in academic journals. These plumb certain acoustic subtleties of Om, which these researchers say is "the divine sound".
Om has many variations. In a study published in the International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, the researchers explain: "It may be very fast, several cycles per second. Or it may be slower, several seconds for each cycling of [the] Om mantra. Or it might become extremely slow, with the mmmmmm sound continuing in the mind for much longer periods but still pulsing at that slow rate. It is somewhat like one of these vibrations:
'OMmmOMmmOMmm...
'OMmmmmOMmmmmOMmmmm...
'OMmmmmmmmOMmmmmmmmOMmm'."
Apple Sells 1 Million iPads, Outdoing First iPhone
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Article appeared on nytimes.com
CUPERTINO, Calif., (AP) : Apple Inc. said Monday that is has sold 1 million of its new iPad tablet computers in the month after its launch, meaning it's been selling more than twice as fast as the iPhone did when it was new.
Apple said it reached the milestone on Friday, when the new 3G model of the iPad was delivered to its first buyers. That model can access AT&T's cellular broadband network. The first models had only Wi-Fi access.
''One million iPads in 28 days -- that's less than half of the 74 days it took to achieve this milestone with iPhone,'' said CEO Steve Jobs. Demand keeps exceeding supply for the tablet, he added.
CUPERTINO, Calif., (AP) : Apple Inc. said Monday that is has sold 1 million of its new iPad tablet computers in the month after its launch, meaning it's been selling more than twice as fast as the iPhone did when it was new.
Apple said it reached the milestone on Friday, when the new 3G model of the iPad was delivered to its first buyers. That model can access AT&T's cellular broadband network. The first models had only Wi-Fi access.
''One million iPads in 28 days -- that's less than half of the 74 days it took to achieve this milestone with iPhone,'' said CEO Steve Jobs. Demand keeps exceeding supply for the tablet, he added.
Audiences, and Hollywood, Flock to Smartphones
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Article appeared on nytimes.com
It might be hard to imagine watching “The Office” on a screen no bigger than a business card. But tens of thousands of people — by the most conservative estimate — are already doing just that.
As Hollywood shrinks its films and television shows for the small screens of cellphones, its assumptions about mobile viewing are being upended by surprisingly patient consumers.
“We all thought they’d be watching video clips in the checkout line or between classes,” said Vivi Zigler, the president for digital entertainment at NBC Universal, summing up the industry’s conventional wisdom. But owners of iPhones and other smartphones are actually watching long episodes and sometimes complete films, so a growing number of media companies are vying for people’s mobile attention spans.
By BRIAN STELTER
It might be hard to imagine watching “The Office” on a screen no bigger than a business card. But tens of thousands of people — by the most conservative estimate — are already doing just that.
As Hollywood shrinks its films and television shows for the small screens of cellphones, its assumptions about mobile viewing are being upended by surprisingly patient consumers.
“We all thought they’d be watching video clips in the checkout line or between classes,” said Vivi Zigler, the president for digital entertainment at NBC Universal, summing up the industry’s conventional wisdom. But owners of iPhones and other smartphones are actually watching long episodes and sometimes complete films, so a growing number of media companies are vying for people’s mobile attention spans.
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