WILD CAT MIMICS MONKEY SOUNDS TO CAPTURE PREY

One wild cat species goes beyond physical camouflage to capture its prey - it disguises its voice,mimicking the calls of its victims,a new study finds.

Margays,wild cats native to the Amazon,have been observed imitating the calls of squirrel - sized monkeys known as pied tamarins.This is the first recorded instance of a wild cat species in the Americas copying the calls of its prey,the researchers say.In addition to physical agility,this cunning move gives them a psychological advantage over their prey which is mesmerizing in the literal sense of the word.

U.S.A TO FEEL MORE HEAT,MORE OFTEN IN COMING YEARS

A study conducted by the Stanford University has concluded that although the US and over 100 other countries agreed in Copenhagen to reduce emissions in order to hold the increase in global temperature below two degree celcius,that is just not enough to counter the damage already done.

The researchers say that in the next 30 years,the US could see an increase in heatwaves. The heat is most likely to reduce the yields of major crops like corn,soybean,cotton and wine grapes.

The scientists used 12 models to predict CO2 emissions in the next three decades.

KIDS WHO EAT WITH MOM,DAD THINNER

In a new study carried out by the Greek researchers,interviews of 1,138 children between ages 9-13 were conducted.The interviews centered around their diets and physical activities.

It was observed that kids who had meals with their families,had lower body mass index,smaller waistlines and less body fat - the reason being,a high intake of vegetables from traditionally cooked meals.

A surprise outcome of the study was that indulgence in fast food and a sedentary lifestyle did not contribute to obesity.

FORMULA TO PREDICT PHANTOM TRAFFIC JAMS

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have devised a model that can predict traffic jams.They have come up with a formula of phantom jams,based on the equations that describe detonation waves caused by explosions.

Phantom jams are those that appear for no apparent reason,in the absense of an accident or roadworks.

In high - density traffic,even a small disturbance,such as a driver braking too hard,becomes amplified as the cars behind react more strongly.The mathematicians call such phantom jams 'jamitons'.

Aslan Kasimov,a lecturer at MIT's Department of Mathematics,and the team found that the jamitons behave like detonation waves in that they have a 'sonic point',a sort of bottleneck,which seperates the traffic flow into upstream and downstream areas.

The MIT team said "Variables such as traffic speed and traffic density are used to calculate the conditions under which a jamiton is formed and how fast it will spread."

The mathematical model will not help break up jams once they have formed - drivers will simply have to wait them out.But it will allow civic planners to predict where jams are most likely to occur.

2 SPOONFULS OF SUGAR IN CUP OF TEA KEEPS STRESS AT BAY

Researchers from University of New South Wales and Queensland University found that sweetened drinks make people less aggressive and argumentative as the sugar rush provides the brain with the energy it needs to keep impulses under control,stopping people from lashing out when under pressure.

2 spoonfuls of sugar in a cup of tea (or any other beverage) before a stressful meeting helps one to maintain his cool even in the most trying circumstances by keeping his emotions under control.

The researchers gave lemonade to a group of people.Some was sweetened with sugar,the rest with an artificial sweetener.The volunteers were set a series of stressful tasks,culminating in preparing a speech.After giving their talk,some were provoked by being told that the content was boring and disappointing.Those who had drunk the sugary lemonade rose less to the bait.

TELESCOPE IMPLANT INSIDE EYE TO FIGHT AGE RELATED BLINDNESS

Strange as it may seem,US health officials have approved a first-of-its-kind technology to counter a leading cause of blindness in older adults - a tiny telescope implanted inside the eye.The Implantable Miniature Telescope aims to help in the end stages of incurable age - related muscular degeneration,a creeping loss of central vision that blocks reading.watching TV,eventually even recognizing faces.The telescope is surgically inserted into one eye for better central vision,while leaving the other eye alone for peripheral vision.The brain then fuses two views into a single image.The Food and Drug administration said 90 % of telescope recipients had their vision improve by at least two lines on an eye chart.

TEA TREE OIL MAY COMBAT CANCER

Everybody is aware that tea tree oil is highly effective in removing spots and insect bites.Now another feather has been added to its cap.Researchers at the University of Western Australia claim that they might even offer a cheap and effective treatment for some skin cancers.

Researchers found that tea tree oil can shrink non - melanoma skin cancer (one of the most common types of cancer that affects thousands across the world every year),in mice in just 1 day and cured them within 3 days.

The researchers believe that tea tree oil works by activating body's immune response.

OLIVE LEAF EXTRACT CAN HELP FIGHT OBESITY

A new research has revealed that a cup of coffee prepared with olive leaf extract may help in combating obesity.The study involved feeding rats with high carbohydrate,high fat diet for 8 weeks until they developed signs of metabolic syndrome.The rats given coffee with olive leaf extract for further 8 weeks showed improved cardiovascular,liver and metabolic signs compared with rats given normal coffee.The reason for weight loss due to consumption of olive leaf extract was its anti inflammatory properties,according to researcher Lindsay Brown of University of Southern Queensland(Australia).

UNDERSEA GOSSIP ? FISH TOO TALK !

A University of Auckland(New Zealand) marine scientist has created ripples by claiming that fish too communicate with each other.The scientist in question,Shahriman Ghazali,has claimed that fish communicate with noises including grunts,chirps and pops.He also discovered that even though all fish could hear not all were capable of making sound - pops and other sounds made by vibrating their swim bladder,a muscle they can contract.

Fish are believed to communicate with each other for different reasons,including attracting mates,scaring off predators or orienting themselves.

Ghazali discovered that the gurnard species had a wide vocal repertoire and kept up a constant chatter while the cod usually kept silent except when they were spawning perhaps because they used sound as a synchronization so that the male and female release their eggs at the same time for fertilization.As opposed to that,the goldfish were found to have excellent hearing but were incapable of making sound of any sort.

NEANDERTHAL MALES HAD POPEYE-LIKE ARMS !

Ever watched the series POPEYE-THE SAILOR MAN on CARTOON NETWORK? In case you have not,I would suggest you to have a look at the character of POPEYE before reading this item.The reason behind this is the study carried out by the Russian researchers led by Maria Mednikova of the Institute of Archaeology at the Russian Academy of Sciences,which has concluded that Neanderthal males had unusually strong upper arms( just like the cartoon character) particularly on the right side.

Remains of an early Neanderthal with a super strong arm suggest that Neanderthal fellows were heavily pumped up on male hormones,possessing a hormonal status unlike anything that exists in humans today,the study suggested.

Researchers said Neanderthal males probably evolved their ultra macho ways due to lifestyle,genes,climate and diet factors.They also hunted in the extreme,helping to beef up one arm.

RISK OF MENTAL ILLNESS MAY BE PREDICTED FROM BRAIN PATTERNS

British scientists believe that they have discovered specific patterns of brain activity in children and young people which could be signs or markers of those who will later go on to develop mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.

Experts from Nottingham University,who presented their study at Forum for European Neuroscience in Amsterdam,said that these patterns leading to the ultimate development of schizophrenia,could be identified using neurocognitive brain markers.

This research may prove to be an important milestone in the endevour to not only significantly reduce the risk of schizophrenia but also to help the affected parts of the brain to function better in the early stages itself.

KEY TO OVEREATING FOUND

Researchers at Manchester University led by Garron Dodd made a significant discovery recently when they found an appetite suppressant,(hemopressin),which occurs naturally in the body.Hemopressin was found to affect the reward centres of the brain which light up when someone enjoys a comforting snack or a cigarette.It was found to be blocking these areas of the brain,reducing the craving for pleasure foods,which more often than not are great sources of calories and fats.

This discovery has the potential to facilitate the invention of anti-obesity drugs that can stimulate the brain to produce more hemopressin,which in turn will have the effect of encouraging people to eat more from hunger than for pleasure.It can also be used to treat alcohol and drug abuse.And all this,with absolutely no side effects.

WOMEN ENJOY SEX BEST AS THEY NEAR 40

A new study has found that women are more prone to sexual fantasies and affairs in their 30s and early 40s than in their younger years,despite the fact that their bodies may be in decline.

According to the researchers,the reason behind this strange approach(increased appetite for sex) may be the realization of the elderly women that they had lesser chances of having kids due to the decline in their fertility.

The researchers based their findings on a survey of 900 women-dividing respondents into 3 groups-those at their most fertile (aged 19-26),those whose fertility was declining (aged 27-45) and those who were approaching or had reached the menopause.

DRINKING MORE WATER HELPS CONTROL BLOOD PRESSURE

The benefits of water are manifold but a recent research has concluded that besides all its positives,it also raises alertness and keeps blood pressure within normal range.

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center led by David Robertson have carried out the study and found that drinking water increases the activity of the nervous system,which raises alertness,blood pressure and energy expenditure.

BEWARE DIVORCE IS INFECTIOUS !

A group of US researchers led by Rose McDermott of Brown University,Rhode Island have concluded that every divorce among aquaintances increases your chance of divorce by 75 % ! Even the divorce of the friend of your friend increases the chance of your divorce by 33 % ! The conclusion was reached after a study into the lives of more than 12,000 Americans living in New England since 1948.The phenomenon is highlighted by the Primrose Hill set of North London celebrities in the 1990s-which included pairs such as Sadie Frost and Jude Law,Patsy Kensit and Liam Gallagher,and,Meg Matthews and Noel Gallagher.Today,none are together.

CELLS THAT FIGHT HIV CREATED

A latest experiment conducted on mice has opened up a novel way of closing a gateway to the AIDS virus,according to a study published on Friday.The gateway in question is called CCR5,a protein that helps the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) penetrate a cell,its first step before hijacking the cellular machinery and reproducing itself.

Around a decade ago,scientists discovered that people who had tiny gap in the genetic code for making CCR5 were surprisingly resistant to HIV infection and took more time to progress to AIDS.

This gene variant,known as CCR5 delta 32,results in smaller CCR5 proteins,which prevents most strains of HIV from infecting the cell.

Testing a theory,a group of scientists in the US took immature haematopoietic cells-which make immune and red blood cells-from mice.They modified some of the cells,using a brand new enzyme, (cutter) to delete the famous CCR delta 32 section.As a result,when these cells matured and divided,they lacked the key code for making normal CCR5.

Now the modified cells were reinjected back into the rodents,which were then exposed to HIV.Twelve weeks after infection,the animals had recovered their stock of immune T-cells and their levels of HIV were very low.But the mice who were denied the modified cells were highly infected and their immune systems weak.

The experiment was headed by Paula Cannon of the University of Southern California,Los Angeles.

There is no doubt that this is a significant milestone in the quest for manufacturing a drug not only for treating the affected people but also for exterminating this epidemic from the face of the earth for ever.And all of this ,in just one shot.

SWISS SOLAR PLANE MAKES HISTORY WITH 24 - HOUR FLIGHT

A solar powered aircraft of Swiss make with pilot Andre Borschberg on board, created history by flying around for 26 hours at a stretch before making a seamless landing at Payerne airbase in western Switzerland at 9.01 am. on Thursday.The entire project was masterminded by team chief,Bertrand Piccard.The aircraft had taken off from Payerne at 04.51 GMT on Wednesday,for 14 hours of sunshine to power its engines and charge its batteries for the night flight through its array of 12,000 solar cells.

This successful research according to me is a great milestone in the endeavor to promote aviation through use of cleaner energy.It has the potential to minimize significantly,the use of naphtha(aeroplane fuel),which is responsible for pollution of untold measures and also promotes global warming.It would also contribute to aeroplane travel becoming more cheaper and affordable for the general public.

Pregnant Drinking Hits Son's Fertility

In an interesting study carried out by Danish Researchers on the issue of mothers indulging in alcohol during pregnancy,a very interesting result came out.Researchers were stunned to discover that pregnant women who consumed 4.5 or more drinks a week (1 drink=0.42 ounces of alcohol),the sperm concentration of their sons,measured 20 years later,was a third lower in comparison to men who were not exposed to alcohol while in the womb.The research was carried out under Cecilia Ramlau-Hansen,of Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark and studied 347 sons of 11,980 women with singleton pregnancies between 1984 and 1987.