• Pan, zoom and capture!
• 28 new planets found outside solar system, none like Earth
• A planet with an icy-hot profile
• Engineers accidentally find gas reserve in Kashmir India-Gas-Find

• Heart benefits from whole grains
• Gel from patient's blood helps healing
• India to sell supersonic cruise missiles to friendly countries
• Army to induct BrahMos ahead of schedule

With Vidhana Soudha, Vikasa Soudha and other vital installations being under threat from terrorists, the police have decided to go tech-savvy. Apart from keeping an eye on entire proceedings inside the building, they can now monitor the movement of vehicles and people in one-kilometre radius. With 52 'Pan Till Zoom' (PTZ) cameras that can rotate 360 degrees, installed around the Vikasa Soudha, police can even view the registration number of any vehicle on a computer monitor at the DCP's office housed in Vidhana Soudha. If the DCP finds any suspect moving in and around the area, he can alert the CCTV control room and instruct the policemen to just zoom the camera towards the suspect. Police with the help of a city-based computer firm have designed a software 'webview', and the entire system is connected through intranet. "The new system would help monitor movements of people and vehicles in all corners of Vikasa Soudha," deputy commissioner of police Lakshman Singh told this paper. "Vidhana Soudha security will also have the same features after the video surveillance cameras are installed. At least 60 cameras are needed for Vidhana Soudha." Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation (KSPHC) has already invited tenders for the same. However to start with, one camera has already been installed near the western side of the Vidhana Soudha to monitor the VIP movement, he said. Sixteen channels have been designed to monitor the security. At the first click, all the 16 windows will pop out on the monitor and all the 16 channels can be viewed at one glance. In case of close monitoring, the concerned channel can be selected and the CCTV control room personnel would be instructed to zoom the surveillance cameras. The 52 surveillance cameras are divided among the 16 channels. The recordings can be saved at least for a month. The movement of vehicles and people from K R Circle, Raj Bhavan, LH, KPSC, Gopal Gowda Circle, High Court, Western gate of Vidhana Soudha can be easily monitored, he said. In case of any threat, the police would be immediately alerted. "The software will be shortly used on the mobile phone with the Internet Provider system. The security proceedings could be monitored through the mobile phone by sitting at any place in the world," he added.

Courtesy: www.newindpress.com, May 30, 2007

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Americans should bulk up on whole grains like oatmeal, barley and brown rice to help lower their risk of clogged arteries, heart attacks and strokes, according to researchers. In a review of seven major studies, the researchers found that higher whole grain intake was consistently linked to a lower risk of heart disease and stroke. On average, adults who ate 2.5 servings of whole grains per day were nearly one-quarter less likely to develop cardiovascular disease than their peers who rarely consumed whole grains. Whole grains are believed to benefit the heart in a number of ways. The fiber and other nutrients in whole grains may help lower cholesterol, blood sugar and insulin levels, as well as improve blood vessel functioning and reduce inflammation in the circulatory system. "Many consumers and health professionals are unaware of the health benefits of whole grains," lead study author Dr Philip B Mellen, of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, said in a statement. Some may also be confused about what exactly constitutes a whole grain. Whole grains contain three components: bran and germ, which are rich in fiber and nutrients, and an endosperm, which contains starch and protein. Highly processed grains, like white bread or snack foods made from white flour, are stripped of the bran and germ. In contrast, whole grains - such as oats, barley, whole wheat, brown rice and quinoa -- retain more of the nutrient-dense bran and germ.

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, May 30, 2007

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An International team of astronomers on Monday announced the discovery of 28 planets outside the solar system, the greatest single haul since the first so-called exoplanet was found 12 years ago. Still eluding the planet hunters, however, is the much-longed-for Earth replica, a planet like ours that could nourish some kind of life. The new batch of planets brings the number found circling other stars to 236, said Berkeley astronomer Jason Wright of the University of California at Berkeley. Among the discoveries are four multiple-planet systems. Of the stars known to have planets, almost a third have more than one, Wright said at a conference at Honolulu Convention Center. The new results show that "the frequency of planetary systems is immensely larger than anyone would have guessed," said Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institute in Washington, DC. Even more surprising, Boss said, is that "every sort of star we've looked at has a planet". This includes pulsars, bizarre objects that shoot out bursts of energy at regular intervals. Much of the new research focused on red dwarfs-stars smaller and dimmer than the sun but which burn at a steady rate for billions of years, allowing life in the so-called habitable zone to flourish longer. The sun burns brighter and will burn out faster, meaning life on Earth will have a shorter span than life would have on a planet around a red dwarf. So far, only one planet has been found orbiting a red dwarf in a zone where life might exist. About six times larger than Earth, the planet orbits the star Gliese 581. Its existence was announced a month ago by a European group of planet hunters. That planet orbits so close to its star that it could be tidally locked, American astronomers said. This means it would present only one face to the star, the way the moon presents one face to Earth. On that planet, astronomers said, temperatures on the bright side would be too hot for life. But on its dark side, temperatures could range between 50 and 97 degrees Fahrenheit. Though much of the planet hunting has so far focused on smaller stars, Berkeley astronomer John A Johnson said aging giant stars might harbour even more planets than their smaller siblings. Five of the 28 new planets circle these "retired A stars," he said. Johnson also said the planets around bigger stars appeared to be farther from their hosts than those around smaller stars.

Courtesy: www.indianexpress.com, May 29, 2007

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Treating skin wounds with a gel made from a patient's own blood platelets speeded healing, researchers said in a study showing how doctors may be able to harness the body's innate healing ability. Skin wounds treated with this gel healed about 10% more quickly than wounds in the same people treated with only an antibiotic ointment, Monday's study in the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery showed. The researchers cautioned that this was a small pilot study - only eight people were examined - but said the concept could change the way doctors deal with wounds, from surgical incisions to, potentially, internal injuries. "I'm excited about it because it changes our way of thinking about wounds. Instead of passively just watching it heal, we can now actively intervene to possibly speed it up," said study leader Dr David Hom of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Ohio. Hom said in a telephone interview that improving wound healing could get patients out of the hospital and home more quickly after surgery, reduce the chances of complications and help people such as diabetics or chemotherapy patients prone to poor healing. Hom said the next step was to put together a larger study to test the concept. Wounds that ordinarily would heal fully in 28 to 30 days instead healed two to three days more quickly when the concentrated topical gel was applied to them, Hom said. The researchers processed a patient's own blood into a concentrated plasma packed with platelets - vital to blood clotting - and then into a gel that could be applied directly to the wound. Four men and four women volunteered to get 10 small wounds, five on each thigh. The gel was applied to the wounds on one thigh but not the other, and the healing process was tracked for six months. "By concentrating a person's own blood and giving it back to the patient into the patient's wound, we basically concentrated the growth factors (proteins) which are important in wound healing in attempting to improve their healing," Hom said.

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, May 23, 2007

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A top Indian scientist has said his country plans to sell Brahmos supersonic cruise missiles to friendly countries and a list in this regard was being prepared. Speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies on "India: An emerging strategic power" on Tuesday, Dr Sivathanu Pillai, Chief Controller, Research and Development, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), said his country has mastered the production of this sophisticated missile in a joint venture with Russia. He said his country was in a position to sell the missile to friendly countries which have shown interest and are being identified. However, he added, India would not take a hasty decision and carefully scrutinize the interested countries. Dr.Pillai said the Indian government has prepared 2020 vision based on 17 documents to strengthen the country both economically and militarily. He said the main emphasis was on self-reliance and India has in this regard made significant strides in constructing and launching satellites. He further said DRDO was actively involved in planning a moon mission by 2020 and work on the project would speed up after 2012.With the commercial launch of a Nigerian satellite recently on an Indian rocket, he said, India was now among six countries with this capability. Speaking about Brahmos, Dr.Pillai said it was a multirole missile that could be launched from land to sea, land to land and ship to ship, being based on kinetic energy. He said that despite facing many problems, such as lack of higher education, facilities and even brain drain, technology and science have made its way into the Indian society and the country has achieved greater heights in this field. Elaborating on nanotechnology, he said it will play a major role in changing the face of science and technology in the country in the coming days. Dr. Pillai brought to the notice of the gathering that it was 17th century Muslim ruler of Mysore Tipu Sultan who in a way pioneered the use of rockets when he launched around 6,000 rockets at the British Army in 1792 war to defeat them comprehensively. He said by 2020 the gross domestic produce (GDP) of China, Brazil, Mexico, India and Russia would exceed many developed European countries as well as Japan. DRDO Chief said self-reliance in technology was the key to India's future.

Courtesy: www.app.com.pk, May 23, 2007

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A hot snowball sounds as contradictory as a frosty forest fire, but European astronomers think they've found one orbiting a dwarf star about 33 light years from Earth. The strange planet, GJ 436 b, is about the size of Neptune. It orbits a red dwarf star, about half the mass of the sun but a hundred times dimmer. The coolness of the star is a major reason water can persist on the planet's surface, according to research published this week in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. The planet "turns out to be a Neptune-like ice giant, mostly composed of water ice, not a rock/iron 'super-Earth', nor a low-mass gas giant," according to the research paper. The team made its findings using telescopes in Switzerland, Israel and Chile. "It's not a very welcoming planet," Frederic Pont, an astronomer at the Geneva Observatory, said. "The water is frozen by the pressure, but it's hot. It's a bit strange ... but in fact water can be solidified by pressure." The planet was first discovered in 2004, by a team of American researchers led by astronomer Geoff Marcy of the University of California, Berkeley. It is one of more than 200 planets orbiting other stars that have been discovered in recent years. GJ 436 b has one of the tightest orbits of these so-called exoplanets, circling its star every three days. So even though the star is relatively cool, the planet's surface is hot, estimated at about 476 degrees Fahrenheit. The team believes the planet formed at a greater distance from the star and migrated inward over millions of years. The scientists said the planet could have an atmosphere of hydrogen and helium, as well as a rock-iron core, like Earth.

Courtesy: www.indianexpress.com, May 17, 2007

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With all the four test firings going without blemish, Army is planning to induct the BrahMos supersonic land attack cruise missile months ahead of schedule. The first missile sub-group to be equipped with BrahMos has already become operational and in the first order, Army will get 12 launchers comprising four mobile autonomous launchers, according to DRDO sources here. Army is planning to induct the BrahMos, which will be heralded by President A P J Abdul Kalam, during the middle of the year. The proposed early induction of the supersonic cruise missile will come even as American satellite images showed that Pakistan was in the process of deploying its next generation Shaheen II missiles which have the range to hit any part of India.

Brahmos chief executive A Sivathanu Pillai termed it as a missile with no equivalent in the world and said all its four tests -- two in Pokhran and two at the interim test range at Chandipur -- validated all the technical parameters. The missile has a range of 290 kms. "It is ready for induction and upgrades can be carried out even after its becomes operational with the Army," he said. Army had signed an agreement in March 2006 which stipulated that the land version of the missile would be delivered to it by the middle of next year. In the last two tests, Army personnel fired the missile independent of scientists from their own complex, sources said. The land attack version of the BrahMos uses thermal sensors which gives the missile a capability to be ready for firing within two minutes, unlike, the existing short-range surface-to-surface Prithvi missile that require a 20-minute preparation time. When the first sub-group becomes operational, it will give the Army the punch to fire 12 missiles at 12 different targets simultaneously within 30 seconds. During tests, DRDO sources said the land attack cruise missile (LACM) had demonstrated zero circular error probability, marking it a weapon of almost pinpoint precision. According to DRDO officials, efforts are on to imbibe the scramjet technology into the missile to increase its speed to almost Mach eight, which is eight times the speed of sound. With the induction of the BrahMos missile, Army will now be equipped with four types of missiles ranging from LACM, short range Prithvi, 700 km range Agni to medium range 2,000 km Agni II missile, leading to the possibility of the Army going in for a separate missile division.

Courtesy: www.newindpress.com, May 14, 2007

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Engineers carrying out a survey along the Jhelum river in Kashmir have accidentally struck a gas reserve. A group of engineers, working with the state-run Flood Control Division, today said that they were drilling holes along the Jhelum coast when the gas began to emanate, ANI reported. "While digging, suddenly there was pressure and water splashed on us. Then we saw gas emanating which continued uninterruptedly for 24 hours or more than that. Then the veins got chocked a little bit and for some time the process stopped. But it went on continuously the next day. But we have no clue as of now what gas it is," said Zulfiqar Ahmed, Assistant Engineer, Flood Control Division. Experts have called for a proper survey to ascertain if there is a gas reserve in the region, considering the Himalayan region is rich in natural resources. Meanwhile, the finding has brought a cheer among the Srinagar residents. "We are very happy with this find here. It will be good for us and will benefit us in future," said Sameer Ahmed, a local. India's biggest gas find till now - 14 trillion cubic feet - is in the southern basin, which is being developed by the Reliance Industries and is due to start production by 2008. The latest discovery has come as India is facing pressure from the United States against going ahead with the plans for a multi-billion-dollar pipeline to pump natural gas from Iran through Pakistan. India is one of the largest energy consumers and importers, and has seen a series of oil and gas discoveries in the recent past.

Courtesy: http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-237/0705034516010800.htm, May 3, 2007

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