World’s fastest switch created

Kounteya Sinha, TNN Jul 30, 2013, 07.31AM IST

LONDON: US department of energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have clocked the fastest-possible electrical switching in magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral.

Their results could drive innovations in the tiny transistors that control the flow of electricity across silicon chips, enabling faster , more powerful computing devices. Scientists using SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser found that it takes only 1 trillionth of a second to flip the on-off electrical switch in samples of magnetite, which is thousands of times faster than in transistors being used now.

While magnetite's basic magnetic properties have been known for thousands of years, the experiment shows how much still can be learned about the electronic properties of magnetite.

"This breakthrough research reveals for the first time the speed limit for electrical switching in this material," said Roopali Kukreja, a materials science researcher at SLAC and Stanford University, who is a lead author of the study.

The study shows how such conducting and non-conducting states can co-exist and create electrical pathways in next-generation transistors. Scientists first hit each sample with a visiblelight laser, which fragmented the material's electronic structure at an atomic scale, rearranging it to form the islands. The laser blast was followed closely by an ultra bright, ultra short X-ray pulse that allowed researchers to study, for the first time, the timing and details of changes in the sample excited by the initial laser strike.
By slightly adjusting the interval of the X-ray pulses, they precisely measured how long it took the material to shift from a non-conducting to an electrically conducting state, and observed the structural changes during this switch.

The magnetite had to be cooled to minus 190 degrees Celsius to lock its electrical charges in place, so the next step is to study more complex materials and room-temperature applications, Kukreja said. The researchers have already conducted follow-up studies focusing on a hybrid material that exhibits similar ultrafast switching properties at near room temperature , which makes it a better candidate for commercial use than magnetite.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

‘Happiness can affect your genes’

Agencies Jul 31, 2013, 07.01AM IST

WASHINGTON: Happiness can affect your genes in a healthy or unhealthy way depending on what causes you to feel pleasure , a first-of-its-kind study has found.

US researchers found that human bodies recognize at the molecular level that not all happiness is created equal and respond in ways that can help or hinder physical health. They found that different types of happiness have surprisingly different effects on the human genome. People who have high levels of what is known as eudaimonic well-being â€" the kind of happiness that comes from having a deep sense of purpose and meaning in life â€" showed very favourable gene-expression profiles in their immune cells.

They had low levels of inflammatory gene expression and strong expression of antiviral and antibody genes.

However, people who had relatively high levels of hedonic well-being â€" the type of happiness that comes from consummatory self-gratification â€" actually showed just the opposite . They had an adverse expression profile involving high inflammation and low antiviral and antibody gene expression .

Steven Cole, a University of California, Los Angeles professor of medicine, and his colleagues , including first author Barbara L Fredrickson at the University of North Carolina, have been examining how the human genome responds to stress, misery, fear and all kinds of negative psychology.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Scientists amazed by how much dolphins remember

Aug 10, 2013, 06.52PM IST

(The scientists based their…)

LONDON: A scientific study shows that dolphins are the animals with the greatest memory-storage capacity after humans, according to the British magazine Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The research, carried out by a scientific team from the University of Chicago, found that dolphins were able to recognize the whistle of a former member of their school, even if it went its separate ways 20 years before.

According to the study, these long-term memories are a product of complex social connections that dolphins developed over their eons of evolution.

The scientists based their research on relations among 56 bottlenose dolphins in captivity, brought together from six different aquariums in the US and the Bermudas for breeding purposes.

They first recorded their whistles and, decades later, played the recordings back to them on underwater loudspeakers to observe the dolphins' reactions when they heard the call of animals they had not seen for many years.

"When the dolphins heard a call, they were much more likely to hang around the loudspeakers for a long time," research chief Jason Bruck said.

According to Bruck, finding that dolphins recall such old memories is an "unprecedented" phenomenon in the study of animal behaviour.

The most astonishing case for researchers involved two female dolphins, Bailey and Allie, that had lived together during the first years of their lives.

Bailey instantly recognized Allie's whistle 20 years and six months after they had last been in contact.

The scientists concluded that dolphins also have a great ability to recall certain events, which places their knowledge-storing ability at a level comparable to that of humans, chimpanzees and elephants.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

World’s fastest switch created

Kounteya Sinha, TNN Jul 30, 2013, 07.31AM IST

LONDON: US department of energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have clocked the fastest-possible electrical switching in magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral.

Their results could drive innovations in the tiny transistors that control the flow of electricity across silicon chips, enabling faster , more powerful computing devices. Scientists using SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser found that it takes only 1 trillionth of a second to flip the on-off electrical switch in samples of magnetite, which is thousands of times faster than in transistors being used now.

While magnetite's basic magnetic properties have been known for thousands of years, the experiment shows how much still can be learned about the electronic properties of magnetite.

"This breakthrough research reveals for the first time the speed limit for electrical switching in this material," said Roopali Kukreja, a materials science researcher at SLAC and Stanford University, who is a lead author of the study.

The study shows how such conducting and non-conducting states can co-exist and create electrical pathways in next-generation transistors. Scientists first hit each sample with a visiblelight laser, which fragmented the material's electronic structure at an atomic scale, rearranging it to form the islands. The laser blast was followed closely by an ultra bright, ultra short X-ray pulse that allowed researchers to study, for the first time, the timing and details of changes in the sample excited by the initial laser strike.
By slightly adjusting the interval of the X-ray pulses, they precisely measured how long it took the material to shift from a non-conducting to an electrically conducting state, and observed the structural changes during this switch.

The magnetite had to be cooled to minus 190 degrees Celsius to lock its electrical charges in place, so the next step is to study more complex materials and room-temperature applications, Kukreja said. The researchers have already conducted follow-up studies focusing on a hybrid material that exhibits similar ultrafast switching properties at near room temperature , which makes it a better candidate for commercial use than magnetite.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

‘Happiness can affect your genes’

Agencies Jul 31, 2013, 07.01AM IST

WASHINGTON: Happiness can affect your genes in a healthy or unhealthy way depending on what causes you to feel pleasure , a first-of-its-kind study has found.

US researchers found that human bodies recognize at the molecular level that not all happiness is created equal and respond in ways that can help or hinder physical health. They found that different types of happiness have surprisingly different effects on the human genome. People who have high levels of what is known as eudaimonic well-being â€" the kind of happiness that comes from having a deep sense of purpose and meaning in life â€" showed very favourable gene-expression profiles in their immune cells.

They had low levels of inflammatory gene expression and strong expression of antiviral and antibody genes.

However, people who had relatively high levels of hedonic well-being â€" the type of happiness that comes from consummatory self-gratification â€" actually showed just the opposite . They had an adverse expression profile involving high inflammation and low antiviral and antibody gene expression .

Steven Cole, a University of California, Los Angeles professor of medicine, and his colleagues , including first author Barbara L Fredrickson at the University of North Carolina, have been examining how the human genome responds to stress, misery, fear and all kinds of negative psychology.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Scientists amazed by how much dolphins remember

Aug 10, 2013, 06.52PM IST

(The scientists based their…)

LONDON: A scientific study shows that dolphins are the animals with the greatest memory-storage capacity after humans, according to the British magazine Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The research, carried out by a scientific team from the University of Chicago, found that dolphins were able to recognize the whistle of a former member of their school, even if it went its separate ways 20 years before.

According to the study, these long-term memories are a product of complex social connections that dolphins developed over their eons of evolution.

The scientists based their research on relations among 56 bottlenose dolphins in captivity, brought together from six different aquariums in the US and the Bermudas for breeding purposes.

They first recorded their whistles and, decades later, played the recordings back to them on underwater loudspeakers to observe the dolphins' reactions when they heard the call of animals they had not seen for many years.

"When the dolphins heard a call, they were much more likely to hang around the loudspeakers for a long time," research chief Jason Bruck said.

According to Bruck, finding that dolphins recall such old memories is an "unprecedented" phenomenon in the study of animal behaviour.

The most astonishing case for researchers involved two female dolphins, Bailey and Allie, that had lived together during the first years of their lives.

Bailey instantly recognized Allie's whistle 20 years and six months after they had last been in contact.

The scientists concluded that dolphins also have a great ability to recall certain events, which places their knowledge-storing ability at a level comparable to that of humans, chimpanzees and elephants.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

World’s fastest switch created

Kounteya Sinha, TNN Jul 30, 2013, 07.31AM IST

LONDON: US department of energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have clocked the fastest-possible electrical switching in magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral.

Their results could drive innovations in the tiny transistors that control the flow of electricity across silicon chips, enabling faster , more powerful computing devices. Scientists using SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser found that it takes only 1 trillionth of a second to flip the on-off electrical switch in samples of magnetite, which is thousands of times faster than in transistors being used now.

While magnetite's basic magnetic properties have been known for thousands of years, the experiment shows how much still can be learned about the electronic properties of magnetite.

"This breakthrough research reveals for the first time the speed limit for electrical switching in this material," said Roopali Kukreja, a materials science researcher at SLAC and Stanford University, who is a lead author of the study.

The study shows how such conducting and non-conducting states can co-exist and create electrical pathways in next-generation transistors. Scientists first hit each sample with a visiblelight laser, which fragmented the material's electronic structure at an atomic scale, rearranging it to form the islands. The laser blast was followed closely by an ultra bright, ultra short X-ray pulse that allowed researchers to study, for the first time, the timing and details of changes in the sample excited by the initial laser strike.
By slightly adjusting the interval of the X-ray pulses, they precisely measured how long it took the material to shift from a non-conducting to an electrically conducting state, and observed the structural changes during this switch.

The magnetite had to be cooled to minus 190 degrees Celsius to lock its electrical charges in place, so the next step is to study more complex materials and room-temperature applications, Kukreja said. The researchers have already conducted follow-up studies focusing on a hybrid material that exhibits similar ultrafast switching properties at near room temperature , which makes it a better candidate for commercial use than magnetite.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

‘Happiness can affect your genes’

Agencies Jul 31, 2013, 07.01AM IST

WASHINGTON: Happiness can affect your genes in a healthy or unhealthy way depending on what causes you to feel pleasure , a first-of-its-kind study has found.

US researchers found that human bodies recognize at the molecular level that not all happiness is created equal and respond in ways that can help or hinder physical health. They found that different types of happiness have surprisingly different effects on the human genome. People who have high levels of what is known as eudaimonic well-being â€" the kind of happiness that comes from having a deep sense of purpose and meaning in life â€" showed very favourable gene-expression profiles in their immune cells.

They had low levels of inflammatory gene expression and strong expression of antiviral and antibody genes.

However, people who had relatively high levels of hedonic well-being â€" the type of happiness that comes from consummatory self-gratification â€" actually showed just the opposite . They had an adverse expression profile involving high inflammation and low antiviral and antibody gene expression .

Steven Cole, a University of California, Los Angeles professor of medicine, and his colleagues , including first author Barbara L Fredrickson at the University of North Carolina, have been examining how the human genome responds to stress, misery, fear and all kinds of negative psychology.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Scientists amazed by how much dolphins remember

Aug 10, 2013, 06.52PM IST

(The scientists based their…)

LONDON: A scientific study shows that dolphins are the animals with the greatest memory-storage capacity after humans, according to the British magazine Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The research, carried out by a scientific team from the University of Chicago, found that dolphins were able to recognize the whistle of a former member of their school, even if it went its separate ways 20 years before.

According to the study, these long-term memories are a product of complex social connections that dolphins developed over their eons of evolution.

The scientists based their research on relations among 56 bottlenose dolphins in captivity, brought together from six different aquariums in the US and the Bermudas for breeding purposes.

They first recorded their whistles and, decades later, played the recordings back to them on underwater loudspeakers to observe the dolphins' reactions when they heard the call of animals they had not seen for many years.

"When the dolphins heard a call, they were much more likely to hang around the loudspeakers for a long time," research chief Jason Bruck said.

According to Bruck, finding that dolphins recall such old memories is an "unprecedented" phenomenon in the study of animal behaviour.

The most astonishing case for researchers involved two female dolphins, Bailey and Allie, that had lived together during the first years of their lives.

Bailey instantly recognized Allie's whistle 20 years and six months after they had last been in contact.

The scientists concluded that dolphins also have a great ability to recall certain events, which places their knowledge-storing ability at a level comparable to that of humans, chimpanzees and elephants.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

World’s fastest switch created

Kounteya Sinha, TNN Jul 30, 2013, 07.31AM IST

LONDON: US department of energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have clocked the fastest-possible electrical switching in magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral.

Their results could drive innovations in the tiny transistors that control the flow of electricity across silicon chips, enabling faster , more powerful computing devices. Scientists using SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser found that it takes only 1 trillionth of a second to flip the on-off electrical switch in samples of magnetite, which is thousands of times faster than in transistors being used now.

While magnetite's basic magnetic properties have been known for thousands of years, the experiment shows how much still can be learned about the electronic properties of magnetite.

"This breakthrough research reveals for the first time the speed limit for electrical switching in this material," said Roopali Kukreja, a materials science researcher at SLAC and Stanford University, who is a lead author of the study.

The study shows how such conducting and non-conducting states can co-exist and create electrical pathways in next-generation transistors. Scientists first hit each sample with a visiblelight laser, which fragmented the material's electronic structure at an atomic scale, rearranging it to form the islands. The laser blast was followed closely by an ultra bright, ultra short X-ray pulse that allowed researchers to study, for the first time, the timing and details of changes in the sample excited by the initial laser strike.
By slightly adjusting the interval of the X-ray pulses, they precisely measured how long it took the material to shift from a non-conducting to an electrically conducting state, and observed the structural changes during this switch.

The magnetite had to be cooled to minus 190 degrees Celsius to lock its electrical charges in place, so the next step is to study more complex materials and room-temperature applications, Kukreja said. The researchers have already conducted follow-up studies focusing on a hybrid material that exhibits similar ultrafast switching properties at near room temperature , which makes it a better candidate for commercial use than magnetite.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

‘Happiness can affect your genes’

Agencies Jul 31, 2013, 07.01AM IST

WASHINGTON: Happiness can affect your genes in a healthy or unhealthy way depending on what causes you to feel pleasure , a first-of-its-kind study has found.

US researchers found that human bodies recognize at the molecular level that not all happiness is created equal and respond in ways that can help or hinder physical health. They found that different types of happiness have surprisingly different effects on the human genome. People who have high levels of what is known as eudaimonic well-being â€" the kind of happiness that comes from having a deep sense of purpose and meaning in life â€" showed very favourable gene-expression profiles in their immune cells.

They had low levels of inflammatory gene expression and strong expression of antiviral and antibody genes.

However, people who had relatively high levels of hedonic well-being â€" the type of happiness that comes from consummatory self-gratification â€" actually showed just the opposite . They had an adverse expression profile involving high inflammation and low antiviral and antibody gene expression .

Steven Cole, a University of California, Los Angeles professor of medicine, and his colleagues , including first author Barbara L Fredrickson at the University of North Carolina, have been examining how the human genome responds to stress, misery, fear and all kinds of negative psychology.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Scientists amazed by how much dolphins remember

Aug 10, 2013, 06.52PM IST

(The scientists based their…)

LONDON: A scientific study shows that dolphins are the animals with the greatest memory-storage capacity after humans, according to the British magazine Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The research, carried out by a scientific team from the University of Chicago, found that dolphins were able to recognize the whistle of a former member of their school, even if it went its separate ways 20 years before.

According to the study, these long-term memories are a product of complex social connections that dolphins developed over their eons of evolution.

The scientists based their research on relations among 56 bottlenose dolphins in captivity, brought together from six different aquariums in the US and the Bermudas for breeding purposes.

They first recorded their whistles and, decades later, played the recordings back to them on underwater loudspeakers to observe the dolphins' reactions when they heard the call of animals they had not seen for many years.

"When the dolphins heard a call, they were much more likely to hang around the loudspeakers for a long time," research chief Jason Bruck said.

According to Bruck, finding that dolphins recall such old memories is an "unprecedented" phenomenon in the study of animal behaviour.

The most astonishing case for researchers involved two female dolphins, Bailey and Allie, that had lived together during the first years of their lives.

Bailey instantly recognized Allie's whistle 20 years and six months after they had last been in contact.

The scientists concluded that dolphins also have a great ability to recall certain events, which places their knowledge-storing ability at a level comparable to that of humans, chimpanzees and elephants.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

World’s fastest switch created

Kounteya Sinha, TNN Jul 30, 2013, 07.31AM IST

LONDON: US department of energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have clocked the fastest-possible electrical switching in magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral.

Their results could drive innovations in the tiny transistors that control the flow of electricity across silicon chips, enabling faster , more powerful computing devices. Scientists using SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser found that it takes only 1 trillionth of a second to flip the on-off electrical switch in samples of magnetite, which is thousands of times faster than in transistors being used now.

While magnetite's basic magnetic properties have been known for thousands of years, the experiment shows how much still can be learned about the electronic properties of magnetite.

"This breakthrough research reveals for the first time the speed limit for electrical switching in this material," said Roopali Kukreja, a materials science researcher at SLAC and Stanford University, who is a lead author of the study.

The study shows how such conducting and non-conducting states can co-exist and create electrical pathways in next-generation transistors. Scientists first hit each sample with a visiblelight laser, which fragmented the material's electronic structure at an atomic scale, rearranging it to form the islands. The laser blast was followed closely by an ultra bright, ultra short X-ray pulse that allowed researchers to study, for the first time, the timing and details of changes in the sample excited by the initial laser strike.
By slightly adjusting the interval of the X-ray pulses, they precisely measured how long it took the material to shift from a non-conducting to an electrically conducting state, and observed the structural changes during this switch.

The magnetite had to be cooled to minus 190 degrees Celsius to lock its electrical charges in place, so the next step is to study more complex materials and room-temperature applications, Kukreja said. The researchers have already conducted follow-up studies focusing on a hybrid material that exhibits similar ultrafast switching properties at near room temperature , which makes it a better candidate for commercial use than magnetite.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Scientists amazed by how much dolphins remember

Aug 10, 2013, 06.52PM IST

(The scientists based their…)

LONDON: A scientific study shows that dolphins are the animals with the greatest memory-storage capacity after humans, according to the British magazine Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The research, carried out by a scientific team from the University of Chicago, found that dolphins were able to recognize the whistle of a former member of their school, even if it went its separate ways 20 years before.

According to the study, these long-term memories are a product of complex social connections that dolphins developed over their eons of evolution.

The scientists based their research on relations among 56 bottlenose dolphins in captivity, brought together from six different aquariums in the US and the Bermudas for breeding purposes.

They first recorded their whistles and, decades later, played the recordings back to them on underwater loudspeakers to observe the dolphins' reactions when they heard the call of animals they had not seen for many years.

"When the dolphins heard a call, they were much more likely to hang around the loudspeakers for a long time," research chief Jason Bruck said.

According to Bruck, finding that dolphins recall such old memories is an "unprecedented" phenomenon in the study of animal behaviour.

The most astonishing case for researchers involved two female dolphins, Bailey and Allie, that had lived together during the first years of their lives.

Bailey instantly recognized Allie's whistle 20 years and six months after they had last been in contact.

The scientists concluded that dolphins also have a great ability to recall certain events, which places their knowledge-storing ability at a level comparable to that of humans, chimpanzees and elephants.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

‘Happiness can affect your genes’

Agencies Jul 31, 2013, 07.01AM IST

WASHINGTON: Happiness can affect your genes in a healthy or unhealthy way depending on what causes you to feel pleasure , a first-of-its-kind study has found.

US researchers found that human bodies recognize at the molecular level that not all happiness is created equal and respond in ways that can help or hinder physical health. They found that different types of happiness have surprisingly different effects on the human genome. People who have high levels of what is known as eudaimonic well-being â€" the kind of happiness that comes from having a deep sense of purpose and meaning in life â€" showed very favourable gene-expression profiles in their immune cells.

They had low levels of inflammatory gene expression and strong expression of antiviral and antibody genes.

However, people who had relatively high levels of hedonic well-being â€" the type of happiness that comes from consummatory self-gratification â€" actually showed just the opposite . They had an adverse expression profile involving high inflammation and low antiviral and antibody gene expression .

Steven Cole, a University of California, Los Angeles professor of medicine, and his colleagues , including first author Barbara L Fredrickson at the University of North Carolina, have been examining how the human genome responds to stress, misery, fear and all kinds of negative psychology.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

World’s fastest switch created

Kounteya Sinha, TNN Jul 30, 2013, 07.31AM IST

LONDON: US department of energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have clocked the fastest-possible electrical switching in magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral.

Their results could drive innovations in the tiny transistors that control the flow of electricity across silicon chips, enabling faster , more powerful computing devices. Scientists using SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser found that it takes only 1 trillionth of a second to flip the on-off electrical switch in samples of magnetite, which is thousands of times faster than in transistors being used now.

While magnetite's basic magnetic properties have been known for thousands of years, the experiment shows how much still can be learned about the electronic properties of magnetite.

"This breakthrough research reveals for the first time the speed limit for electrical switching in this material," said Roopali Kukreja, a materials science researcher at SLAC and Stanford University, who is a lead author of the study.

The study shows how such conducting and non-conducting states can co-exist and create electrical pathways in next-generation transistors. Scientists first hit each sample with a visiblelight laser, which fragmented the material's electronic structure at an atomic scale, rearranging it to form the islands. The laser blast was followed closely by an ultra bright, ultra short X-ray pulse that allowed researchers to study, for the first time, the timing and details of changes in the sample excited by the initial laser strike.
By slightly adjusting the interval of the X-ray pulses, they precisely measured how long it took the material to shift from a non-conducting to an electrically conducting state, and observed the structural changes during this switch.

The magnetite had to be cooled to minus 190 degrees Celsius to lock its electrical charges in place, so the next step is to study more complex materials and room-temperature applications, Kukreja said. The researchers have already conducted follow-up studies focusing on a hybrid material that exhibits similar ultrafast switching properties at near room temperature , which makes it a better candidate for commercial use than magnetite.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

‘Happiness can affect your genes’

Agencies Jul 31, 2013, 07.01AM IST

WASHINGTON: Happiness can affect your genes in a healthy or unhealthy way depending on what causes you to feel pleasure , a first-of-its-kind study has found.

US researchers found that human bodies recognize at the molecular level that not all happiness is created equal and respond in ways that can help or hinder physical health. They found that different types of happiness have surprisingly different effects on the human genome. People who have high levels of what is known as eudaimonic well-being â€" the kind of happiness that comes from having a deep sense of purpose and meaning in life â€" showed very favourable gene-expression profiles in their immune cells.

They had low levels of inflammatory gene expression and strong expression of antiviral and antibody genes.

However, people who had relatively high levels of hedonic well-being â€" the type of happiness that comes from consummatory self-gratification â€" actually showed just the opposite . They had an adverse expression profile involving high inflammation and low antiviral and antibody gene expression .

Steven Cole, a University of California, Los Angeles professor of medicine, and his colleagues , including first author Barbara L Fredrickson at the University of North Carolina, have been examining how the human genome responds to stress, misery, fear and all kinds of negative psychology.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Scientists amazed by how much dolphins remember

Aug 10, 2013, 06.52PM IST

(The scientists based their…)

LONDON: A scientific study shows that dolphins are the animals with the greatest memory-storage capacity after humans, according to the British magazine Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The research, carried out by a scientific team from the University of Chicago, found that dolphins were able to recognize the whistle of a former member of their school, even if it went its separate ways 20 years before.

According to the study, these long-term memories are a product of complex social connections that dolphins developed over their eons of evolution.

The scientists based their research on relations among 56 bottlenose dolphins in captivity, brought together from six different aquariums in the US and the Bermudas for breeding purposes.

They first recorded their whistles and, decades later, played the recordings back to them on underwater loudspeakers to observe the dolphins' reactions when they heard the call of animals they had not seen for many years.

"When the dolphins heard a call, they were much more likely to hang around the loudspeakers for a long time," research chief Jason Bruck said.

According to Bruck, finding that dolphins recall such old memories is an "unprecedented" phenomenon in the study of animal behaviour.

The most astonishing case for researchers involved two female dolphins, Bailey and Allie, that had lived together during the first years of their lives.

Bailey instantly recognized Allie's whistle 20 years and six months after they had last been in contact.

The scientists concluded that dolphins also have a great ability to recall certain events, which places their knowledge-storing ability at a level comparable to that of humans, chimpanzees and elephants.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

‘Happiness can affect your genes’

Agencies Jul 31, 2013, 07.01AM IST

WASHINGTON: Happiness can affect your genes in a healthy or unhealthy way depending on what causes you to feel pleasure , a first-of-its-kind study has found.

US researchers found that human bodies recognize at the molecular level that not all happiness is created equal and respond in ways that can help or hinder physical health. They found that different types of happiness have surprisingly different effects on the human genome. People who have high levels of what is known as eudaimonic well-being â€" the kind of happiness that comes from having a deep sense of purpose and meaning in life â€" showed very favourable gene-expression profiles in their immune cells.

They had low levels of inflammatory gene expression and strong expression of antiviral and antibody genes.

However, people who had relatively high levels of hedonic well-being â€" the type of happiness that comes from consummatory self-gratification â€" actually showed just the opposite . They had an adverse expression profile involving high inflammation and low antiviral and antibody gene expression .

Steven Cole, a University of California, Los Angeles professor of medicine, and his colleagues , including first author Barbara L Fredrickson at the University of North Carolina, have been examining how the human genome responds to stress, misery, fear and all kinds of negative psychology.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

World’s fastest switch created

Kounteya Sinha, TNN Jul 30, 2013, 07.31AM IST

LONDON: US department of energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have clocked the fastest-possible electrical switching in magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral.

Their results could drive innovations in the tiny transistors that control the flow of electricity across silicon chips, enabling faster , more powerful computing devices. Scientists using SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser found that it takes only 1 trillionth of a second to flip the on-off electrical switch in samples of magnetite, which is thousands of times faster than in transistors being used now.

While magnetite's basic magnetic properties have been known for thousands of years, the experiment shows how much still can be learned about the electronic properties of magnetite.

"This breakthrough research reveals for the first time the speed limit for electrical switching in this material," said Roopali Kukreja, a materials science researcher at SLAC and Stanford University, who is a lead author of the study.

The study shows how such conducting and non-conducting states can co-exist and create electrical pathways in next-generation transistors. Scientists first hit each sample with a visiblelight laser, which fragmented the material's electronic structure at an atomic scale, rearranging it to form the islands. The laser blast was followed closely by an ultra bright, ultra short X-ray pulse that allowed researchers to study, for the first time, the timing and details of changes in the sample excited by the initial laser strike.
By slightly adjusting the interval of the X-ray pulses, they precisely measured how long it took the material to shift from a non-conducting to an electrically conducting state, and observed the structural changes during this switch.

The magnetite had to be cooled to minus 190 degrees Celsius to lock its electrical charges in place, so the next step is to study more complex materials and room-temperature applications, Kukreja said. The researchers have already conducted follow-up studies focusing on a hybrid material that exhibits similar ultrafast switching properties at near room temperature , which makes it a better candidate for commercial use than magnetite.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Scientists amazed by how much dolphins remember

Aug 10, 2013, 06.52PM IST

(The scientists based their…)

LONDON: A scientific study shows that dolphins are the animals with the greatest memory-storage capacity after humans, according to the British magazine Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The research, carried out by a scientific team from the University of Chicago, found that dolphins were able to recognize the whistle of a former member of their school, even if it went its separate ways 20 years before.

According to the study, these long-term memories are a product of complex social connections that dolphins developed over their eons of evolution.

The scientists based their research on relations among 56 bottlenose dolphins in captivity, brought together from six different aquariums in the US and the Bermudas for breeding purposes.

They first recorded their whistles and, decades later, played the recordings back to them on underwater loudspeakers to observe the dolphins' reactions when they heard the call of animals they had not seen for many years.

"When the dolphins heard a call, they were much more likely to hang around the loudspeakers for a long time," research chief Jason Bruck said.

According to Bruck, finding that dolphins recall such old memories is an "unprecedented" phenomenon in the study of animal behaviour.

The most astonishing case for researchers involved two female dolphins, Bailey and Allie, that had lived together during the first years of their lives.

Bailey instantly recognized Allie's whistle 20 years and six months after they had last been in contact.

The scientists concluded that dolphins also have a great ability to recall certain events, which places their knowledge-storing ability at a level comparable to that of humans, chimpanzees and elephants.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

World’s fastest switch created

Kounteya Sinha, TNN Jul 30, 2013, 07.31AM IST

LONDON: US department of energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have clocked the fastest-possible electrical switching in magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral.

Their results could drive innovations in the tiny transistors that control the flow of electricity across silicon chips, enabling faster , more powerful computing devices. Scientists using SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser found that it takes only 1 trillionth of a second to flip the on-off electrical switch in samples of magnetite, which is thousands of times faster than in transistors being used now.

While magnetite's basic magnetic properties have been known for thousands of years, the experiment shows how much still can be learned about the electronic properties of magnetite.

"This breakthrough research reveals for the first time the speed limit for electrical switching in this material," said Roopali Kukreja, a materials science researcher at SLAC and Stanford University, who is a lead author of the study.

The study shows how such conducting and non-conducting states can co-exist and create electrical pathways in next-generation transistors. Scientists first hit each sample with a visiblelight laser, which fragmented the material's electronic structure at an atomic scale, rearranging it to form the islands. The laser blast was followed closely by an ultra bright, ultra short X-ray pulse that allowed researchers to study, for the first time, the timing and details of changes in the sample excited by the initial laser strike.
By slightly adjusting the interval of the X-ray pulses, they precisely measured how long it took the material to shift from a non-conducting to an electrically conducting state, and observed the structural changes during this switch.

The magnetite had to be cooled to minus 190 degrees Celsius to lock its electrical charges in place, so the next step is to study more complex materials and room-temperature applications, Kukreja said. The researchers have already conducted follow-up studies focusing on a hybrid material that exhibits similar ultrafast switching properties at near room temperature , which makes it a better candidate for commercial use than magnetite.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

‘Happiness can affect your genes’

Agencies Jul 31, 2013, 07.01AM IST

WASHINGTON: Happiness can affect your genes in a healthy or unhealthy way depending on what causes you to feel pleasure , a first-of-its-kind study has found.

US researchers found that human bodies recognize at the molecular level that not all happiness is created equal and respond in ways that can help or hinder physical health. They found that different types of happiness have surprisingly different effects on the human genome. People who have high levels of what is known as eudaimonic well-being â€" the kind of happiness that comes from having a deep sense of purpose and meaning in life â€" showed very favourable gene-expression profiles in their immune cells.

They had low levels of inflammatory gene expression and strong expression of antiviral and antibody genes.

However, people who had relatively high levels of hedonic well-being â€" the type of happiness that comes from consummatory self-gratification â€" actually showed just the opposite . They had an adverse expression profile involving high inflammation and low antiviral and antibody gene expression .

Steven Cole, a University of California, Los Angeles professor of medicine, and his colleagues , including first author Barbara L Fredrickson at the University of North Carolina, have been examining how the human genome responds to stress, misery, fear and all kinds of negative psychology.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Scientists amazed by how much dolphins remember

Aug 10, 2013, 06.52PM IST

(The scientists based their…)

LONDON: A scientific study shows that dolphins are the animals with the greatest memory-storage capacity after humans, according to the British magazine Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The research, carried out by a scientific team from the University of Chicago, found that dolphins were able to recognize the whistle of a former member of their school, even if it went its separate ways 20 years before.

According to the study, these long-term memories are a product of complex social connections that dolphins developed over their eons of evolution.

The scientists based their research on relations among 56 bottlenose dolphins in captivity, brought together from six different aquariums in the US and the Bermudas for breeding purposes.

They first recorded their whistles and, decades later, played the recordings back to them on underwater loudspeakers to observe the dolphins' reactions when they heard the call of animals they had not seen for many years.

"When the dolphins heard a call, they were much more likely to hang around the loudspeakers for a long time," research chief Jason Bruck said.

According to Bruck, finding that dolphins recall such old memories is an "unprecedented" phenomenon in the study of animal behaviour.

The most astonishing case for researchers involved two female dolphins, Bailey and Allie, that had lived together during the first years of their lives.

Bailey instantly recognized Allie's whistle 20 years and six months after they had last been in contact.

The scientists concluded that dolphins also have a great ability to recall certain events, which places their knowledge-storing ability at a level comparable to that of humans, chimpanzees and elephants.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

World’s fastest switch created

Kounteya Sinha, TNN Jul 30, 2013, 07.31AM IST

LONDON: US department of energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have clocked the fastest-possible electrical switching in magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral.

Their results could drive innovations in the tiny transistors that control the flow of electricity across silicon chips, enabling faster , more powerful computing devices. Scientists using SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser found that it takes only 1 trillionth of a second to flip the on-off electrical switch in samples of magnetite, which is thousands of times faster than in transistors being used now.

While magnetite's basic magnetic properties have been known for thousands of years, the experiment shows how much still can be learned about the electronic properties of magnetite.

"This breakthrough research reveals for the first time the speed limit for electrical switching in this material," said Roopali Kukreja, a materials science researcher at SLAC and Stanford University, who is a lead author of the study.

The study shows how such conducting and non-conducting states can co-exist and create electrical pathways in next-generation transistors. Scientists first hit each sample with a visiblelight laser, which fragmented the material's electronic structure at an atomic scale, rearranging it to form the islands. The laser blast was followed closely by an ultra bright, ultra short X-ray pulse that allowed researchers to study, for the first time, the timing and details of changes in the sample excited by the initial laser strike.
By slightly adjusting the interval of the X-ray pulses, they precisely measured how long it took the material to shift from a non-conducting to an electrically conducting state, and observed the structural changes during this switch.

The magnetite had to be cooled to minus 190 degrees Celsius to lock its electrical charges in place, so the next step is to study more complex materials and room-temperature applications, Kukreja said. The researchers have already conducted follow-up studies focusing on a hybrid material that exhibits similar ultrafast switching properties at near room temperature , which makes it a better candidate for commercial use than magnetite.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

‘Happiness can affect your genes’

Agencies Jul 31, 2013, 07.01AM IST

WASHINGTON: Happiness can affect your genes in a healthy or unhealthy way depending on what causes you to feel pleasure , a first-of-its-kind study has found.

US researchers found that human bodies recognize at the molecular level that not all happiness is created equal and respond in ways that can help or hinder physical health. They found that different types of happiness have surprisingly different effects on the human genome. People who have high levels of what is known as eudaimonic well-being â€" the kind of happiness that comes from having a deep sense of purpose and meaning in life â€" showed very favourable gene-expression profiles in their immune cells.

They had low levels of inflammatory gene expression and strong expression of antiviral and antibody genes.

However, people who had relatively high levels of hedonic well-being â€" the type of happiness that comes from consummatory self-gratification â€" actually showed just the opposite . They had an adverse expression profile involving high inflammation and low antiviral and antibody gene expression .

Steven Cole, a University of California, Los Angeles professor of medicine, and his colleagues , including first author Barbara L Fredrickson at the University of North Carolina, have been examining how the human genome responds to stress, misery, fear and all kinds of negative psychology.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Scientists amazed by how much dolphins remember

Aug 10, 2013, 06.52PM IST

(The scientists based their…)

LONDON: A scientific study shows that dolphins are the animals with the greatest memory-storage capacity after humans, according to the British magazine Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The research, carried out by a scientific team from the University of Chicago, found that dolphins were able to recognize the whistle of a former member of their school, even if it went its separate ways 20 years before.

According to the study, these long-term memories are a product of complex social connections that dolphins developed over their eons of evolution.

The scientists based their research on relations among 56 bottlenose dolphins in captivity, brought together from six different aquariums in the US and the Bermudas for breeding purposes.

They first recorded their whistles and, decades later, played the recordings back to them on underwater loudspeakers to observe the dolphins' reactions when they heard the call of animals they had not seen for many years.

"When the dolphins heard a call, they were much more likely to hang around the loudspeakers for a long time," research chief Jason Bruck said.

According to Bruck, finding that dolphins recall such old memories is an "unprecedented" phenomenon in the study of animal behaviour.

The most astonishing case for researchers involved two female dolphins, Bailey and Allie, that had lived together during the first years of their lives.

Bailey instantly recognized Allie's whistle 20 years and six months after they had last been in contact.

The scientists concluded that dolphins also have a great ability to recall certain events, which places their knowledge-storing ability at a level comparable to that of humans, chimpanzees and elephants.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

World’s fastest switch created

Kounteya Sinha, TNN Jul 30, 2013, 07.31AM IST

LONDON: US department of energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have clocked the fastest-possible electrical switching in magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral.

Their results could drive innovations in the tiny transistors that control the flow of electricity across silicon chips, enabling faster , more powerful computing devices. Scientists using SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser found that it takes only 1 trillionth of a second to flip the on-off electrical switch in samples of magnetite, which is thousands of times faster than in transistors being used now.

While magnetite's basic magnetic properties have been known for thousands of years, the experiment shows how much still can be learned about the electronic properties of magnetite.

"This breakthrough research reveals for the first time the speed limit for electrical switching in this material," said Roopali Kukreja, a materials science researcher at SLAC and Stanford University, who is a lead author of the study.

The study shows how such conducting and non-conducting states can co-exist and create electrical pathways in next-generation transistors. Scientists first hit each sample with a visiblelight laser, which fragmented the material's electronic structure at an atomic scale, rearranging it to form the islands. The laser blast was followed closely by an ultra bright, ultra short X-ray pulse that allowed researchers to study, for the first time, the timing and details of changes in the sample excited by the initial laser strike.
By slightly adjusting the interval of the X-ray pulses, they precisely measured how long it took the material to shift from a non-conducting to an electrically conducting state, and observed the structural changes during this switch.

The magnetite had to be cooled to minus 190 degrees Celsius to lock its electrical charges in place, so the next step is to study more complex materials and room-temperature applications, Kukreja said. The researchers have already conducted follow-up studies focusing on a hybrid material that exhibits similar ultrafast switching properties at near room temperature , which makes it a better candidate for commercial use than magnetite.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

‘Happiness can affect your genes’

Agencies Jul 31, 2013, 07.01AM IST

WASHINGTON: Happiness can affect your genes in a healthy or unhealthy way depending on what causes you to feel pleasure , a first-of-its-kind study has found.

US researchers found that human bodies recognize at the molecular level that not all happiness is created equal and respond in ways that can help or hinder physical health. They found that different types of happiness have surprisingly different effects on the human genome. People who have high levels of what is known as eudaimonic well-being â€" the kind of happiness that comes from having a deep sense of purpose and meaning in life â€" showed very favourable gene-expression profiles in their immune cells.

They had low levels of inflammatory gene expression and strong expression of antiviral and antibody genes.

However, people who had relatively high levels of hedonic well-being â€" the type of happiness that comes from consummatory self-gratification â€" actually showed just the opposite . They had an adverse expression profile involving high inflammation and low antiviral and antibody gene expression .

Steven Cole, a University of California, Los Angeles professor of medicine, and his colleagues , including first author Barbara L Fredrickson at the University of North Carolina, have been examining how the human genome responds to stress, misery, fear and all kinds of negative psychology.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Scientists amazed by how much dolphins remember

LONDON: A scientific study shows that dolphins are the animals with the greatest memory-storage capacity after humans, according to the British magazine Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The research, carried out by a scientific team from the University of Chicago, found that dolphins were able to recognize the whistle of a former member of their school, even if it went its separate ways 20 years before.

According to the study, these long-term memories are a product of complex social connections that dolphins developed over their eons of evolution.

The scientists based their research on relations among 56 bottlenose dolphins in captivity, brought together from six different aquariums in the US and the Bermudas for breeding purposes.

They first recorded their whistles and, decades later, played the recordings back to them on underwater loudspeakers to observe the dolphins' reactions when they heard the call of animals they had not seen for many years.

"When the dolphins heard a call, they were much more likely to hang around the loudspeakers for a long time," research chief Jason Bruck said.

According to Bruck, finding that dolphins recall such old memories is an "unprecedented" phenomenon in the study of animal behaviour.

The most astonishing case for researchers involved two female dolphins, Bailey and Allie, that had lived together during the first years of their lives.

Bailey instantly recognized Allie's whistle 20 years and six months after they had last been in contact.

The scientists concluded that dolphins also have a great ability to recall certain events, which places their knowledge-storing ability at a level comparable to that of humans, chimpanzees and elephants.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

World’s fastest switch created

Kounteya Sinha, TNN Jul 30, 2013, 07.31AM IST

LONDON: US department of energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have clocked the fastest-possible electrical switching in magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral.

Their results could drive innovations in the tiny transistors that control the flow of electricity across silicon chips, enabling faster , more powerful computing devices. Scientists using SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser found that it takes only 1 trillionth of a second to flip the on-off electrical switch in samples of magnetite, which is thousands of times faster than in transistors being used now.

While magnetite's basic magnetic properties have been known for thousands of years, the experiment shows how much still can be learned about the electronic properties of magnetite.

"This breakthrough research reveals for the first time the speed limit for electrical switching in this material," said Roopali Kukreja, a materials science researcher at SLAC and Stanford University, who is a lead author of the study.

The study shows how such conducting and non-conducting states can co-exist and create electrical pathways in next-generation transistors. Scientists first hit each sample with a visiblelight laser, which fragmented the material's electronic structure at an atomic scale, rearranging it to form the islands. The laser blast was followed closely by an ultra bright, ultra short X-ray pulse that allowed researchers to study, for the first time, the timing and details of changes in the sample excited by the initial laser strike.
By slightly adjusting the interval of the X-ray pulses, they precisely measured how long it took the material to shift from a non-conducting to an electrically conducting state, and observed the structural changes during this switch.

The magnetite had to be cooled to minus 190 degrees Celsius to lock its electrical charges in place, so the next step is to study more complex materials and room-temperature applications, Kukreja said. The researchers have already conducted follow-up studies focusing on a hybrid material that exhibits similar ultrafast switching properties at near room temperature , which makes it a better candidate for commercial use than magnetite.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

‘Happiness can affect your genes’

Agencies Jul 31, 2013, 07.01AM IST

WASHINGTON: Happiness can affect your genes in a healthy or unhealthy way depending on what causes you to feel pleasure , a first-of-its-kind study has found.

US researchers found that human bodies recognize at the molecular level that not all happiness is created equal and respond in ways that can help or hinder physical health. They found that different types of happiness have surprisingly different effects on the human genome. People who have high levels of what is known as eudaimonic well-being â€" the kind of happiness that comes from having a deep sense of purpose and meaning in life â€" showed very favourable gene-expression profiles in their immune cells.

They had low levels of inflammatory gene expression and strong expression of antiviral and antibody genes.

However, people who had relatively high levels of hedonic well-being â€" the type of happiness that comes from consummatory self-gratification â€" actually showed just the opposite . They had an adverse expression profile involving high inflammation and low antiviral and antibody gene expression .

Steven Cole, a University of California, Los Angeles professor of medicine, and his colleagues , including first author Barbara L Fredrickson at the University of North Carolina, have been examining how the human genome responds to stress, misery, fear and all kinds of negative psychology.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

Scientists amazed by how much dolphins remember

LONDON: A scientific study shows that dolphins are the animals with the greatest memory-storage capacity after humans, according to the British magazine Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The research, carried out by a scientific team from the University of Chicago, found that dolphins were able to recognize the whistle of a former member of their school, even if it went its separate ways 20 years before.

According to the study, these long-term memories are a product of complex social connections that dolphins developed over their eons of evolution.

The scientists based their research on relations among 56 bottlenose dolphins in captivity, brought together from six different aquariums in the US and the Bermudas for breeding purposes.

They first recorded their whistles and, decades later, played the recordings back to them on underwater loudspeakers to observe the dolphins' reactions when they heard the call of animals they had not seen for many years.

"When the dolphins heard a call, they were much more likely to hang around the loudspeakers for a long time," research chief Jason Bruck said.

According to Bruck, finding that dolphins recall such old memories is an "unprecedented" phenomenon in the study of animal behaviour.

The most astonishing case for researchers involved two female dolphins, Bailey and Allie, that had lived together during the first years of their lives.

Bailey instantly recognized Allie's whistle 20 years and six months after they had last been in contact.

The scientists concluded that dolphins also have a great ability to recall certain events, which places their knowledge-storing ability at a level comparable to that of humans, chimpanzees and elephants.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

INSAT-3D reaches closer to its orbital home

TNN Jul 29, 2013, 05.12AM IST

(In the critical first orbit…)

BANGALORE: Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has confirmed that INSAT-3D, the most advanced weather satellite, has reached an intermediate orbit which is much closer to the 36,000 km outside the atmosphere of Earth. This is its final orbital home36,000 km high geostationary orbit, its final orbital home,

INSAT-3D was launched by Ariane-5 launch vehicle in the early hours of July 26 into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit with a perigee (nearest point to earth) of 250 km and an apogee (farthest point to earth) of 35,923 km. The inclination of INSAT-3D's orbit with respect to the equatorial plane was 3.495 degrees.

Following this, two major orbit raising manoeuvres were performed on INSAT-3D from Isro's Master Control Facility at Hassan on Saturday and Sunday by firing the satellite's Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM).

In the critical first orbit manoeuvre performed on July 27, INSAT-3D's LAM was fired for a duration of 65 minutes, which resulted in the rising of the perigee to 15,780 km while the apogee was at 35,800 km.

In the second orbit raising manoeuvre performed on Sunday, the satellite's LAM was fired for 24 minutes; the perigee further rose to 31,800 km and the apogee remained at 35,795 km. The third orbit raising manoeuvre of INSAT-3D is scheduled on Monday which will touch the highest geostationary altitude of about 36,000 km.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

World’s fastest switch created

Kounteya Sinha, TNN Jul 30, 2013, 07.31AM IST

LONDON: US department of energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have clocked the fastest-possible electrical switching in magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral.

Their results could drive innovations in the tiny transistors that control the flow of electricity across silicon chips, enabling faster , more powerful computing devices. Scientists using SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser found that it takes only 1 trillionth of a second to flip the on-off electrical switch in samples of magnetite, which is thousands of times faster than in transistors being used now.

While magnetite's basic magnetic properties have been known for thousands of years, the experiment shows how much still can be learned about the electronic properties of magnetite.

"This breakthrough research reveals for the first time the speed limit for electrical switching in this material," said Roopali Kukreja, a materials science researcher at SLAC and Stanford University, who is a lead author of the study.

The study shows how such conducting and non-conducting states can co-exist and create electrical pathways in next-generation transistors. Scientists first hit each sample with a visiblelight laser, which fragmented the material's electronic structure at an atomic scale, rearranging it to form the islands. The laser blast was followed closely by an ultra bright, ultra short X-ray pulse that allowed researchers to study, for the first time, the timing and details of changes in the sample excited by the initial laser strike.
By slightly adjusting the interval of the X-ray pulses, they precisely measured how long it took the material to shift from a non-conducting to an electrically conducting state, and observed the structural changes during this switch.

The magnetite had to be cooled to minus 190 degrees Celsius to lock its electrical charges in place, so the next step is to study more complex materials and room-temperature applications, Kukreja said. The researchers have already conducted follow-up studies focusing on a hybrid material that exhibits similar ultrafast switching properties at near room temperature , which makes it a better candidate for commercial use than magnetite.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

‘Happiness can affect your genes’

Agencies Jul 31, 2013, 07.01AM IST

WASHINGTON: Happiness can affect your genes in a healthy or unhealthy way depending on what causes you to feel pleasure , a first-of-its-kind study has found.

US researchers found that human bodies recognize at the molecular level that not all happiness is created equal and respond in ways that can help or hinder physical health. They found that different types of happiness have surprisingly different effects on the human genome. People who have high levels of what is known as eudaimonic well-being â€" the kind of happiness that comes from having a deep sense of purpose and meaning in life â€" showed very favourable gene-expression profiles in their immune cells.

They had low levels of inflammatory gene expression and strong expression of antiviral and antibody genes.

However, people who had relatively high levels of hedonic well-being â€" the type of happiness that comes from consummatory self-gratification â€" actually showed just the opposite . They had an adverse expression profile involving high inflammation and low antiviral and antibody gene expression .

Steven Cole, a University of California, Los Angeles professor of medicine, and his colleagues , including first author Barbara L Fredrickson at the University of North Carolina, have been examining how the human genome responds to stress, misery, fear and all kinds of negative psychology.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

INSAT-3D reaches closer to its orbital home

TNN Jul 29, 2013, 05.12AM IST

(In the critical first orbit…)

BANGALORE: Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has confirmed that INSAT-3D, the most advanced weather satellite, has reached an intermediate orbit which is much closer to the 36,000 km outside the atmosphere of Earth. This is its final orbital home36,000 km high geostationary orbit, its final orbital home,

INSAT-3D was launched by Ariane-5 launch vehicle in the early hours of July 26 into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit with a perigee (nearest point to earth) of 250 km and an apogee (farthest point to earth) of 35,923 km. The inclination of INSAT-3D's orbit with respect to the equatorial plane was 3.495 degrees.

Following this, two major orbit raising manoeuvres were performed on INSAT-3D from Isro's Master Control Facility at Hassan on Saturday and Sunday by firing the satellite's Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM).

In the critical first orbit manoeuvre performed on July 27, INSAT-3D's LAM was fired for a duration of 65 minutes, which resulted in the rising of the perigee to 15,780 km while the apogee was at 35,800 km.

In the second orbit raising manoeuvre performed on Sunday, the satellite's LAM was fired for 24 minutes; the perigee further rose to 31,800 km and the apogee remained at 35,795 km. The third orbit raising manoeuvre of INSAT-3D is scheduled on Monday which will touch the highest geostationary altitude of about 36,000 km.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

World’s fastest switch created

Kounteya Sinha, TNN Jul 30, 2013, 07.31AM IST

LONDON: US department of energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have clocked the fastest-possible electrical switching in magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral.

Their results could drive innovations in the tiny transistors that control the flow of electricity across silicon chips, enabling faster , more powerful computing devices. Scientists using SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser found that it takes only 1 trillionth of a second to flip the on-off electrical switch in samples of magnetite, which is thousands of times faster than in transistors being used now.

While magnetite's basic magnetic properties have been known for thousands of years, the experiment shows how much still can be learned about the electronic properties of magnetite.

"This breakthrough research reveals for the first time the speed limit for electrical switching in this material," said Roopali Kukreja, a materials science researcher at SLAC and Stanford University, who is a lead author of the study.

The study shows how such conducting and non-conducting states can co-exist and create electrical pathways in next-generation transistors. Scientists first hit each sample with a visiblelight laser, which fragmented the material's electronic structure at an atomic scale, rearranging it to form the islands. The laser blast was followed closely by an ultra bright, ultra short X-ray pulse that allowed researchers to study, for the first time, the timing and details of changes in the sample excited by the initial laser strike.
By slightly adjusting the interval of the X-ray pulses, they precisely measured how long it took the material to shift from a non-conducting to an electrically conducting state, and observed the structural changes during this switch.

The magnetite had to be cooled to minus 190 degrees Celsius to lock its electrical charges in place, so the next step is to study more complex materials and room-temperature applications, Kukreja said. The researchers have already conducted follow-up studies focusing on a hybrid material that exhibits similar ultrafast switching properties at near room temperature , which makes it a better candidate for commercial use than magnetite.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

‘Happiness can affect your genes’

Agencies Jul 31, 2013, 07.01AM IST

WASHINGTON: Happiness can affect your genes in a healthy or unhealthy way depending on what causes you to feel pleasure , a first-of-its-kind study has found.

US researchers found that human bodies recognize at the molecular level that not all happiness is created equal and respond in ways that can help or hinder physical health. They found that different types of happiness have surprisingly different effects on the human genome. People who have high levels of what is known as eudaimonic well-being â€" the kind of happiness that comes from having a deep sense of purpose and meaning in life â€" showed very favourable gene-expression profiles in their immune cells.

They had low levels of inflammatory gene expression and strong expression of antiviral and antibody genes.

However, people who had relatively high levels of hedonic well-being â€" the type of happiness that comes from consummatory self-gratification â€" actually showed just the opposite . They had an adverse expression profile involving high inflammation and low antiviral and antibody gene expression .

Steven Cole, a University of California, Los Angeles professor of medicine, and his colleagues , including first author Barbara L Fredrickson at the University of North Carolina, have been examining how the human genome responds to stress, misery, fear and all kinds of negative psychology.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

INSAT-3D reaches closer to its orbital home

TNN Jul 29, 2013, 05.12AM IST

(In the critical first orbit…)

BANGALORE: Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has confirmed that INSAT-3D, the most advanced weather satellite, has reached an intermediate orbit which is much closer to the 36,000 km outside the atmosphere of Earth. This is its final orbital home36,000 km high geostationary orbit, its final orbital home,

INSAT-3D was launched by Ariane-5 launch vehicle in the early hours of July 26 into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit with a perigee (nearest point to earth) of 250 km and an apogee (farthest point to earth) of 35,923 km. The inclination of INSAT-3D's orbit with respect to the equatorial plane was 3.495 degrees.

Following this, two major orbit raising manoeuvres were performed on INSAT-3D from Isro's Master Control Facility at Hassan on Saturday and Sunday by firing the satellite's Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM).

In the critical first orbit manoeuvre performed on July 27, INSAT-3D's LAM was fired for a duration of 65 minutes, which resulted in the rising of the perigee to 15,780 km while the apogee was at 35,800 km.

In the second orbit raising manoeuvre performed on Sunday, the satellite's LAM was fired for 24 minutes; the perigee further rose to 31,800 km and the apogee remained at 35,795 km. The third orbit raising manoeuvre of INSAT-3D is scheduled on Monday which will touch the highest geostationary altitude of about 36,000 km.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

World’s fastest switch created

Kounteya Sinha, TNN Jul 30, 2013, 07.31AM IST

LONDON: US department of energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have clocked the fastest-possible electrical switching in magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral.

Their results could drive innovations in the tiny transistors that control the flow of electricity across silicon chips, enabling faster , more powerful computing devices. Scientists using SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser found that it takes only 1 trillionth of a second to flip the on-off electrical switch in samples of magnetite, which is thousands of times faster than in transistors being used now.

While magnetite's basic magnetic properties have been known for thousands of years, the experiment shows how much still can be learned about the electronic properties of magnetite.

"This breakthrough research reveals for the first time the speed limit for electrical switching in this material," said Roopali Kukreja, a materials science researcher at SLAC and Stanford University, who is a lead author of the study.

The study shows how such conducting and non-conducting states can co-exist and create electrical pathways in next-generation transistors. Scientists first hit each sample with a visiblelight laser, which fragmented the material's electronic structure at an atomic scale, rearranging it to form the islands. The laser blast was followed closely by an ultra bright, ultra short X-ray pulse that allowed researchers to study, for the first time, the timing and details of changes in the sample excited by the initial laser strike.
By slightly adjusting the interval of the X-ray pulses, they precisely measured how long it took the material to shift from a non-conducting to an electrically conducting state, and observed the structural changes during this switch.

The magnetite had to be cooled to minus 190 degrees Celsius to lock its electrical charges in place, so the next step is to study more complex materials and room-temperature applications, Kukreja said. The researchers have already conducted follow-up studies focusing on a hybrid material that exhibits similar ultrafast switching properties at near room temperature , which makes it a better candidate for commercial use than magnetite.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

‘Happiness can affect your genes’

Agencies Jul 31, 2013, 07.01AM IST

WASHINGTON: Happiness can affect your genes in a healthy or unhealthy way depending on what causes you to feel pleasure , a first-of-its-kind study has found.

US researchers found that human bodies recognize at the molecular level that not all happiness is created equal and respond in ways that can help or hinder physical health. They found that different types of happiness have surprisingly different effects on the human genome. People who have high levels of what is known as eudaimonic well-being â€" the kind of happiness that comes from having a deep sense of purpose and meaning in life â€" showed very favourable gene-expression profiles in their immune cells.

They had low levels of inflammatory gene expression and strong expression of antiviral and antibody genes.

However, people who had relatively high levels of hedonic well-being â€" the type of happiness that comes from consummatory self-gratification â€" actually showed just the opposite . They had an adverse expression profile involving high inflammation and low antiviral and antibody gene expression .

Steven Cole, a University of California, Los Angeles professor of medicine, and his colleagues , including first author Barbara L Fredrickson at the University of North Carolina, have been examining how the human genome responds to stress, misery, fear and all kinds of negative psychology.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

INSAT-3D reaches closer to its orbital home

TNN Jul 29, 2013, 05.12AM IST

(In the critical first orbit…)

BANGALORE: Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has confirmed that INSAT-3D, the most advanced weather satellite, has reached an intermediate orbit which is much closer to the 36,000 km outside the atmosphere of Earth. This is its final orbital home36,000 km high geostationary orbit, its final orbital home,

INSAT-3D was launched by Ariane-5 launch vehicle in the early hours of July 26 into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit with a perigee (nearest point to earth) of 250 km and an apogee (farthest point to earth) of 35,923 km. The inclination of INSAT-3D's orbit with respect to the equatorial plane was 3.495 degrees.

Following this, two major orbit raising manoeuvres were performed on INSAT-3D from Isro's Master Control Facility at Hassan on Saturday and Sunday by firing the satellite's Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM).

In the critical first orbit manoeuvre performed on July 27, INSAT-3D's LAM was fired for a duration of 65 minutes, which resulted in the rising of the perigee to 15,780 km while the apogee was at 35,800 km.

In the second orbit raising manoeuvre performed on Sunday, the satellite's LAM was fired for 24 minutes; the perigee further rose to 31,800 km and the apogee remained at 35,795 km. The third orbit raising manoeuvre of INSAT-3D is scheduled on Monday which will touch the highest geostationary altitude of about 36,000 km.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

World’s fastest switch created

Kounteya Sinha, TNN Jul 30, 2013, 07.31AM IST

LONDON: US department of energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have clocked the fastest-possible electrical switching in magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral.

Their results could drive innovations in the tiny transistors that control the flow of electricity across silicon chips, enabling faster , more powerful computing devices. Scientists using SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser found that it takes only 1 trillionth of a second to flip the on-off electrical switch in samples of magnetite, which is thousands of times faster than in transistors being used now.

While magnetite's basic magnetic properties have been known for thousands of years, the experiment shows how much still can be learned about the electronic properties of magnetite.

"This breakthrough research reveals for the first time the speed limit for electrical switching in this material," said Roopali Kukreja, a materials science researcher at SLAC and Stanford University, who is a lead author of the study.

The study shows how such conducting and non-conducting states can co-exist and create electrical pathways in next-generation transistors. Scientists first hit each sample with a visiblelight laser, which fragmented the material's electronic structure at an atomic scale, rearranging it to form the islands. The laser blast was followed closely by an ultra bright, ultra short X-ray pulse that allowed researchers to study, for the first time, the timing and details of changes in the sample excited by the initial laser strike.
By slightly adjusting the interval of the X-ray pulses, they precisely measured how long it took the material to shift from a non-conducting to an electrically conducting state, and observed the structural changes during this switch.

The magnetite had to be cooled to minus 190 degrees Celsius to lock its electrical charges in place, so the next step is to study more complex materials and room-temperature applications, Kukreja said. The researchers have already conducted follow-up studies focusing on a hybrid material that exhibits similar ultrafast switching properties at near room temperature , which makes it a better candidate for commercial use than magnetite.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

‘Happiness can affect your genes’

Agencies Jul 31, 2013, 07.01AM IST

WASHINGTON: Happiness can affect your genes in a healthy or unhealthy way depending on what causes you to feel pleasure , a first-of-its-kind study has found.

US researchers found that human bodies recognize at the molecular level that not all happiness is created equal and respond in ways that can help or hinder physical health. They found that different types of happiness have surprisingly different effects on the human genome. People who have high levels of what is known as eudaimonic well-being â€" the kind of happiness that comes from having a deep sense of purpose and meaning in life â€" showed very favourable gene-expression profiles in their immune cells.

They had low levels of inflammatory gene expression and strong expression of antiviral and antibody genes.

However, people who had relatively high levels of hedonic well-being â€" the type of happiness that comes from consummatory self-gratification â€" actually showed just the opposite . They had an adverse expression profile involving high inflammation and low antiviral and antibody gene expression .

Steven Cole, a University of California, Los Angeles professor of medicine, and his colleagues , including first author Barbara L Fredrickson at the University of North Carolina, have been examining how the human genome responds to stress, misery, fear and all kinds of negative psychology.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

INSAT-3D reaches closer to its orbital home

TNN Jul 29, 2013, 05.12AM IST

(In the critical first orbit…)

BANGALORE: Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has confirmed that INSAT-3D, the most advanced weather satellite, has reached an intermediate orbit which is much closer to the 36,000 km outside the atmosphere of Earth. This is its final orbital home36,000 km high geostationary orbit, its final orbital home,

INSAT-3D was launched by Ariane-5 launch vehicle in the early hours of July 26 into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit with a perigee (nearest point to earth) of 250 km and an apogee (farthest point to earth) of 35,923 km. The inclination of INSAT-3D's orbit with respect to the equatorial plane was 3.495 degrees.

Following this, two major orbit raising manoeuvres were performed on INSAT-3D from Isro's Master Control Facility at Hassan on Saturday and Sunday by firing the satellite's Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM).

In the critical first orbit manoeuvre performed on July 27, INSAT-3D's LAM was fired for a duration of 65 minutes, which resulted in the rising of the perigee to 15,780 km while the apogee was at 35,800 km.

In the second orbit raising manoeuvre performed on Sunday, the satellite's LAM was fired for 24 minutes; the perigee further rose to 31,800 km and the apogee remained at 35,795 km. The third orbit raising manoeuvre of INSAT-3D is scheduled on Monday which will touch the highest geostationary altitude of about 36,000 km.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

World’s fastest switch created

Kounteya Sinha, TNN Jul 30, 2013, 07.31AM IST

LONDON: US department of energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have clocked the fastest-possible electrical switching in magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral.

Their results could drive innovations in the tiny transistors that control the flow of electricity across silicon chips, enabling faster , more powerful computing devices. Scientists using SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser found that it takes only 1 trillionth of a second to flip the on-off electrical switch in samples of magnetite, which is thousands of times faster than in transistors being used now.

While magnetite's basic magnetic properties have been known for thousands of years, the experiment shows how much still can be learned about the electronic properties of magnetite.

"This breakthrough research reveals for the first time the speed limit for electrical switching in this material," said Roopali Kukreja, a materials science researcher at SLAC and Stanford University, who is a lead author of the study.

The study shows how such conducting and non-conducting states can co-exist and create electrical pathways in next-generation transistors. Scientists first hit each sample with a visiblelight laser, which fragmented the material's electronic structure at an atomic scale, rearranging it to form the islands. The laser blast was followed closely by an ultra bright, ultra short X-ray pulse that allowed researchers to study, for the first time, the timing and details of changes in the sample excited by the initial laser strike.
By slightly adjusting the interval of the X-ray pulses, they precisely measured how long it took the material to shift from a non-conducting to an electrically conducting state, and observed the structural changes during this switch.

The magnetite had to be cooled to minus 190 degrees Celsius to lock its electrical charges in place, so the next step is to study more complex materials and room-temperature applications, Kukreja said. The researchers have already conducted follow-up studies focusing on a hybrid material that exhibits similar ultrafast switching properties at near room temperature , which makes it a better candidate for commercial use than magnetite.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

‘Happiness can affect your genes’

Agencies Jul 31, 2013, 07.01AM IST

WASHINGTON: Happiness can affect your genes in a healthy or unhealthy way depending on what causes you to feel pleasure , a first-of-its-kind study has found.

US researchers found that human bodies recognize at the molecular level that not all happiness is created equal and respond in ways that can help or hinder physical health. They found that different types of happiness have surprisingly different effects on the human genome. People who have high levels of what is known as eudaimonic well-being â€" the kind of happiness that comes from having a deep sense of purpose and meaning in life â€" showed very favourable gene-expression profiles in their immune cells.

They had low levels of inflammatory gene expression and strong expression of antiviral and antibody genes.

However, people who had relatively high levels of hedonic well-being â€" the type of happiness that comes from consummatory self-gratification â€" actually showed just the opposite . They had an adverse expression profile involving high inflammation and low antiviral and antibody gene expression .

Steven Cole, a University of California, Los Angeles professor of medicine, and his colleagues , including first author Barbara L Fredrickson at the University of North Carolina, have been examining how the human genome responds to stress, misery, fear and all kinds of negative psychology.

22.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

INSAT-3D reaches closer to its orbital home

TNN Jul 29, 2013, 05.12AM IST

(In the critical first orbit…)

BANGALORE: Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has confirmed that INSAT-3D, the most advanced weather satellite, has reached an intermediate orbit which is much closer to the 36,000 km outside the atmosphere of Earth. This is its final orbital home36,000 km high geostationary orbit, its final orbital home,

INSAT-3D was launched by Ariane-5 launch vehicle in the early hours of July 26 into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit with a perigee (nearest point to earth) of 250 km and an apogee (farthest point to earth) of 35,923 km. The inclination of INSAT-3D's orbit with respect to the equatorial plane was 3.495 degrees.

Following this, two major orbit raising manoeuvres were performed on INSAT-3D from Isro's Master Control Facility at Hassan on Saturday and Sunday by firing the satellite's Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM).

In the critical first orbit manoeuvre performed on July 27, INSAT-3D's LAM was fired for a duration of 65 minutes, which resulted in the rising of the perigee to 15,780 km while the apogee was at 35,800 km.

In the second orbit raising manoeuvre performed on Sunday, the satellite's LAM was fired for 24 minutes; the perigee further rose to 31,800 km and the apogee remained at 35,795 km. The third orbit raising manoeuvre of INSAT-3D is scheduled on Monday which will touch the highest geostationary altitude of about 36,000 km.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More

World’s fastest switch created

Kounteya Sinha, TNN Jul 30, 2013, 07.31AM IST

LONDON: US department of energy's (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have clocked the fastest-possible electrical switching in magnetite, a naturally magnetic mineral.

Their results could drive innovations in the tiny transistors that control the flow of electricity across silicon chips, enabling faster , more powerful computing devices. Scientists using SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser found that it takes only 1 trillionth of a second to flip the on-off electrical switch in samples of magnetite, which is thousands of times faster than in transistors being used now.

While magnetite's basic magnetic properties have been known for thousands of years, the experiment shows how much still can be learned about the electronic properties of magnetite.

"This breakthrough research reveals for the first time the speed limit for electrical switching in this material," said Roopali Kukreja, a materials science researcher at SLAC and Stanford University, who is a lead author of the study.

The study shows how such conducting and non-conducting states can co-exist and create electrical pathways in next-generation transistors. Scientists first hit each sample with a visiblelight laser, which fragmented the material's electronic structure at an atomic scale, rearranging it to form the islands. The laser blast was followed closely by an ultra bright, ultra short X-ray pulse that allowed researchers to study, for the first time, the timing and details of changes in the sample excited by the initial laser strike.
By slightly adjusting the interval of the X-ray pulses, they precisely measured how long it took the material to shift from a non-conducting to an electrically conducting state, and observed the structural changes during this switch.

The magnetite had to be cooled to minus 190 degrees Celsius to lock its electrical charges in place, so the next step is to study more complex materials and room-temperature applications, Kukreja said. The researchers have already conducted follow-up studies focusing on a hybrid material that exhibits similar ultrafast switching properties at near room temperature , which makes it a better candidate for commercial use than magnetite.

22.10 | 0 komentar | Read More