Human egg makes accidental debut on camera

Human egg makes accidental debut on camera
11 June 2008, New Scientist Print Edition By Linda Geddes

Look closely: this is history in the making. These are the clearest pictures ever taken of what is the starting point of every human life: ovulation occurring inside a woman's body. See the photos

"The release of the oocyte from the ovary is a crucial event in human reproduction," says Jacques Donnez at the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL) in Brussels, Belgium. "These pictures are clearly important to better understand the mechanism."

Observing ovulation in humans is extremely rare, and previous images have been fuzzy. Donnez captured the event by accident while preparing to carry out a partial hysterectomy on a 45-year-old woman. The release of an egg was considered a sudden, explosive event, but his pictures, to be published in Fertility and Sterility, show it taking place over a period of at least 15 minutes.

Shortly before the egg is released, enzymes break down the tissue in the mature follicle, a fluid-filled sac on the surface of the ovary that contains the egg. This prompts the formation of a reddish protrusion, and after a while a hole appears, from which the egg emerges, surrounded by support cells. It then enters a Fallopian tube, which carries it to the uterus.

While there are no immediate medical implications from the pictures, Darryl Russell, who researches reproductive health at the University of Adelaide in Australia, says they are remarkable: "In animals, even when we control hormone levels - allowing us to predict the time at which ovulation will occur - it is very rare to see it in progress."

Read more at: Human egg makes accidental debut on camera

Bhutto killed by suicide bomber

Bhutto killed by suicide bomber

Pakistan has been plunged into turmoil after former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated.

Britain joined international condemnation of the murder, which looks certain to cause the postponement of elections next month, something many hoped would pave the way for a return to full democracy.

Ms Bhutto was shot moments after leaving a rally of her opposition Pakistan People's Party in the city of Rawalpindi. The gunman then blew himself up.

There were immediate chaotic scenes outside the hospital where she died but calls for restraint from across the world.

Although the attack bore the hallmarks of Islamic extremists, the assassination sparked fury against the regime of President Pervez Musharraf.

Her party described Ms Bhutto as a "martyr". Her long-term political rival, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, described her as a "sister" and pledged to "take the revenge on the rulers".

In Britain, Foreign Secretary David Miliband spoke of deep shock and paid tribute to a leader he said "knew the risks" of her return from exile.

"My thoughts and sincere condolences go to Ms Bhutto's family at this terrible time, as well as to the families of all those who lost their lives in this senseless attack," Mr Miliband said.

"Benazir Bhutto showed in her words and actions a deep commitment to her country. She knew the risks of her return to campaign but was convinced that her country needed her. This is a time for restraint but also unity.

"All those committed to a stable future for Pakistan will condemn without qualification all violence perpetrated against innocent people. In targeting Benazir Bhutto extremist groups have in their sights all those committed to democratic processes in Pakistan. They cannot and must not succeed."

Breaking: Benazir Bhutto Killed In Attack

Breaking: Benazir Bhutto Killed In Attack
Jane Roh

Outraged supporters of Benazir Bhutto have taken to the streets following confirmation that the Pakistani opposition leader was assassinated today.

Bhutto had just spoken at a campaign rally in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, and was getting into a car when a gunman opened fire. The apparent assassin then blew himself up. There are conflicting reports on how she was killed. Some witnesses said she had been shot in the neck and chest, while a doctor at the hospital that treated her told the New York Times she had shrapnel wounds but would not confirm she had been directly shot.

At least 15 other people were also killed in the attack, according to various news reports. Bhutto, 54, had ended a self-imposed exile in October after reaching a power-sharing deal with President Pervez Musharraf. Musharraf is wildly unpopular among Pakistan's Islamists and democratic reformists alike, but has been courted by Washington as a necessary ally in the war on terror.

"I found her to be a very, very brave woman with a clear vision for her own country [and] for Afghanistan," said Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who said he'd met with Bhutto earlier today. "We in Afghanistan condemn this cowardice and immense brutality in the strongest possible terms. She sacrificed her life for Pakistan and for the sake of this region."

Karzai has accused Musharraf of accomodating extremists and not clamping down hard enough on al-Qaida and Taliban fighters along their tumultuous shared border.

"Her murderers must be brought to justice and Pakistan must continue the path back to democracy and the rule of law," said Rudy Giuliani, the first presidential candidate to release a statement on the attack. "Her death is a reminder that terrorism anywhere -- whether in New York, London, Tel-Aviv or Rawalpindi -- is an enemy of freedom. We must redouble our efforts to win the terrorists’ war on us."

(President Bush made a brief statement condemning Bhutto's murder from his ranch in Crawford. We are waiting for the networks to air it.)

Bhutto had escaped an attempt on her life shortly after she returned to Pakistan on Oct. 18. That bombing, blamed on Islamic extremists, killed at least 126 and wounded 248.

Musharraf was accused of failing to provide sufficient security for Bhutto. The former prime minister, still incredibly popular in her Pakistan People's Party (PPP), had vowed on her return to protect her country from Islamic extremists and from Musharraf, whom she viewed as a dictator. The two engaged in a tug-of-war over when Musharraf would step down as head of the Pakistani military, which he finally did late last month but not before taking the extraordinary steps of suspending the constitution and imposing martial law.

Bhutto's assassination will undoubtedly exacerbate an already precarious situation in Pakistan. Nawaz Sharif, another former prime minister and fellow Musharraf foe, may step into the void in time for the coming elections, but it is not clear how Musharraf hangs on to power without yet more extraconstitutional measures.

Because Pakistan is a nuclear-armed country within reach of al-Qaida and the Taliban, the ripple effects of this crisis are potentially quite serious. India, also a nuclear power and a rival, has reason for immediate concern if Pakistan destabilizes further. News of her death sent investors running toward gold, a safe-haven commodity.

The White House, which was already agonizing over its relationship with Musharraf, cannot risk chaos in Islamabad and will have to consider direct intervention.

"We will have to devote a lot of effort to make sure things don't" worsen in the region, said Sen. John McCain, speaking to supporters at a campaign stop.

Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson, a former U.N. ambassador, called for Bush to break with Musharraf once and for all.

"President Bush should press Musharraf to step aside, and a broad-based coalition government, consisting of all the democratic parties, should be formed immediately. Until this happens, we should suspend military aid to the Pakistani government," Richardson said. "It is in the interests of the U.S. that there be a democratic Pakistan that relentlessly hunts down terrorists. Musharraf has failed, and his attempts to cling to power are destabilizing his country. He must go."

The Politicker has compiled more candidates' reactions, while AP has statements from world leaders.

Source: Breaking: Benazir Bhutto Killed In Attack article in the The Gate

Benazir Bhutto assassinated in Pakistan

Benazir Bhutto assassinated in Pakistan

Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in a suicide attack on Thursday, just two months after the former premier returned from exile for a political comeback. Bhutt, a two-time former prime minister, had jsut addressed a campaign rally for next month's parliamentary elections when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside the venue, killing her and at least 10 other people.

Girl Okay After Screwdriver Goes Into Head

Girl Okay After Screwdriver Goes Into Head
A Minnesota family enjoyed a particularly merry Christmas this year, with their 2-year-old daughter home and relatively unharmed less than a week after she stabbed herself in the eye with a screwdriver.

Raw Video: Benazir Bhutto Dies In Suicide Blast

Raw Video: Benazir Bhutto Dies In Suicide Blast
Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto dies after suicide attack. The former Prime minister had just left a rally where she was speaking.

Benazir Bhutto Killed In Blast

Benazir Bhutto Killed In Blast
Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has been killed in a suicide attack.

Plexiglas-like DVD to hold 1TB of data

Plexiglas-like DVD to hold 1TB of data
A TeraDisc could hold up to 250,000 high-resolution pictures or 40 HD movies
by Lucas Mearian

At the upcoming CES conference in Las Vegas, one company plans to demonstrate the ability to store half a terabyte of data on a DVD disc that is made of a polymer similar to Plexiglas.

Israel-based Mempile Inc. said its TeraDisc DVDs will offer 1TB of storage for consumers in the next few years -- and corporations will be able to use the technology to permanently store data at a fraction of the price of spinning disk and tape, according to Dr. Beth Erez, Mempile's chief marketing officer. Today's high-definition DVDs hold a maximum of 50GB in formats such as HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc.

With 1TB capacity, a TeraDisc could hold up to 250,000 high-resolution photos or MP3s, or about 40 HD movies or 115 DVD movies. While that may seem like an unnecessary amount of capacity for anything but the largest professional needs, Tom Coughlin, a storage analyst at Coughlin Associates in Atascadero, Calif., said HD formats for movie distribution are already four times the current 1080-pixel resolution currently used for consumer HD retail movie distribution. Over the next 10 years, both studio and consumer HD products will multiply by 10 times the current resolution.

"If HD now is 25GB, you can easily have something that's 300GB or larger in the future. So I think we've not reached the limits of resolution that people want in their entertainment devices," Coughlin said.

Another company offering DVD storage is Cambridge, England-based Plasmon PLC, which relies on the same blue-laser technology used by Blu-ray and HD DVD. Plasmon's technology, called Ultra-Density Optical (UDO technology) can write up to 60GB on a proprietary DVD format platter for corporate data archive use. Plasmon sells automated libraries, which can store terabytes of data. Pricing varies, but Computerworld found a 60GB UDO platter for $60 on Pricegrabber.com. Plasmon's road map envisions 240GB discs, and it offers drives for use in automated libraries and stand-alone drives for desktops. The DVDs are available in both first-generation 30GB and second-generation 60GB models.

Similarly, TDK is working on next-generation Blu-ray Disc technology that will offer up to 200GB on a DVD platter.

Mempile's DVD drives will initially retail for between $3,000 and $4,000, and a 700GB platter -- the first model expected out around 2011 -- will sell for $30, according to a Mempile spokeswoman. Until now, Mempile had demonstrated writing and reading data on 100 layers within a .6mm thick substrate material that in total can hold 500GB. The company plans to begin retailing its product next year. Over the next three years, the company expects to increase the disc's thickness to the industry DVD standard of 1.2mm, which will allow it to record 5GB on each of 200 layers, spaced 5 microns apart, for a total of 1TB of capacity. According to a company white paper, the technology road map calls for a 5TB DVD "a few years down the road."

Unlike HD DVDs, which use blue lasers to record and read data off a reflective surface on top of a polymer substrate, Mempile's TeraDisc drives use more powerful red-laser technology to write and read. The Mempile drive has two lasers, one that tracks and one that reads and writes. The drive uses a CD-like system for tracking data in the substrate. Erez said his company's technology writes bits at the molecular level, changing the color of florescent molecules in the Plexiglas-like material to record the data.

Erez said traditional HD DVD technology, which reflects light back to an optical reader, causes signal deterioration and background noise, where writing and reading through a clear substrate offers a cleaner signal that is more efficient for data transfer. "We have no noise in looking at the 200th layer or the second layer or the 10th," Erez said.

Erez said the TeraDisc technology can also be used for network-based backup for archive purposes. Mempile is manufacturing the TeraDisc technology using polymers produced by chemical developer Arkema Inc., which also produces hoses and gaskets for cars and polyethylene packaging for foods, among other things.

Source Plexiglas-like DVD to hold 1TB of data article on ComputerWorld.com

Zuleikha Robinson arrives at the premiere of The Great Debaters

Zuleikha Robinson arrives at the premiere of The Great Debaters at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City on Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007.

Keira Knightly On Sex Scene With James McAvoy

Keira Knightly On Sex Scene With James McAvoy.

Dirty Dancing on New York's 'N' Train

Four women in New York gave an impromptu pole dancing show aboard a subway train.

Semi-nude PETA Protestors Packaged For Holidays

The Toilet Paper Bride

Orangutan prefers blondes

Orangutan prefers blondes
Reuters, Fri Oct 5, 2007

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Sibu the Orangutan has miffed his Dutch keepers by refusing to mate with females and showing sexual interest only in tattooed human blondes.

Apenheul Primate Park hoped Sibu would become its breeding male when he arrived two years ago, but orangutans aren't his type.

"He chases them, or ignores them, but he doesn't do what he should do," said a spokeswoman for the park.

Instead, Sibu fancies his female keepers, especially blondes. That, the spokeswoman said, was common for orangutans but Sibu has a fetish for tattoos, harking back to a heavily tattooed keeper who reared him.

"Orangutans have special interests in special subjects. Sibu happens to like tattoos," she said.

The park hasn't given up on Sibu, 31. He showed an amorous interest in a female Orangutan while living in England and keepers hope he will find love when reunited with her in a new enclosure in Chester, England.

Source: Orangutan prefers blondes

Customs find beetles stuffed with cocaine

Customs find beetles stuffed with cocaine
Reuters, Fri Oct 5, 2007

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch customs officers found 100 dead beetles stuffed with cocaine while examining a parcel from Peru, Dutch authorities said Thursday.

The little drug couriers' bodies had been slit open and filled with a total of 300 grams of cocaine, with an estimated street-value of 8,000 euros ($11,270).

"This is a very striking method of smuggling. We have never seen anything like this before," said government spokesman Kees Nanninga.

Officers decided to open the parcel after scanning it and seeing what appeared to be insects inside.

Source : Customs find beetles stuffed with cocaine

'The complete man' Raymonds to dress women now!

'The complete man' Raymonds to dress women now!
Staff Reporter, Economic Times, 5 Sep 2007

NEW DELHI: Leading apparel manufacturer Raymond Ltd, which forayed into the premium women western-wear market with the launch of ColorPlus Women on Wednesday, has earmarked investments of Rs 400-500 crore in the current year for capacity expansion.

"We would be investing Rs 400-500 crore in the current year on manufacturing and retailing," Raymond Chairman and Managing Director Gautam Hari Singhania told reporters here.

He said the company had plans to increase the number of its outlets across the country to 1,000 from about 430 at present in the next three years.

Aiming for a share in the Rs 800-crore premium women western-wear market, Raymond launched the ColorPlus Women range of apparels which would be available through 175 points of sale in the next three years.

The company expects revenues to the tune of Rs 150 crore from this segment in the next two-three years. The ColorPlus Women range would include day-wear, sports wear, business wear as well as formal wear.

"ColorPlus Women will vie for a significant part of the Rs 800 crore premium western womens wear market, which is growing at 20 per cent annually," Singhania said.

By the end of the year, Raymond is looking to open five exclusive ColorPlus Women stores as well as 12 lifestyle stores. The brand would be launched in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and Ahmedabad.

Singhania said Raymond is also mulling introducing a kids wear range under the ColorPlus brand in one year.

Source : 'The complete man' Raymonds to dress women now! article on EconomicTimes.com

India still on priority list for manufacturing: Intel

India still on priority list for manufacturing: Intel
BS Reporter / New Delhi September 05, 2007

India still remains high on the list of manufacturing sites for Intel - the world's largest chip-maker.

"Manufacturing in India is important for Intel, but the government was slow in coming out with its semiconductor manufacturing proposal and missed the window. We had to commit ourselves to options like Vietnam and China," said Craig Barrett, chairman, Intel, who was here today.

"We don't have any plan to set up a plant here now. We have enough capacity in the current manufacturing plants, and do not need any new plant," he added.

In the absence of a well-documented plan for the semiconductor policy by the government when Intel began its discussions, the chip-maker announced its $2.5 billion investment to build a micro-chip plant in north-eastern China in March. This will be Intel's first semiconductor plant in Asia with the production of chipsets to begin in 2010.

The company is also in "serious talks" with the Indian government government and private companies for rolling out WiMAX infrastructure. "We are a major contributor to base technology, hence WiMAX is also of importance to us," said Barrett who has advised the government to "use the spectrum allocation with the best possible technology and not specific to any technology."

According to a report by research firms Maravedis and Tonse Telecom, India will have 13 million WiMAX subscribers by 2012. French technology major Alcatel has already set up a research and development centre in Chennai to develop WiMAX technology, and trial runs have been on in Baramati, Pune, Delhi and Bangalore.

Barrett was in Delhi to announce the collaboration between Intel’s World Ahead Programme with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco). Intel has partnered with 16 organisations including NIIT, Educomp Solutions, Fortis Healthcare, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Apollo in India, to provide the progamme their expertise in connectivity, education and medical care.

Source : India still on priority list for manufacturing: Intel article on Business-Standard.com

Bhairavi Desai leads taxi strike in New York

Bhairavi Desai leads taxi strike in New York
Parveen Chopra, Indo-Asian News Service, New York, September 05, 2007


Fewer taxis were seen on the roads in New York and it was taking longer to hail one as the two-day strike by a section of the city's 13,000 cab drivers started on Wednesday morning. Drivers of yellow cabs -- about 60 per cent of them are South Asian - have been protesting the installation of GPS software and credit card readers by the government.

The strike has been organised by the New York Taxi Workers' Alliance, which claims to represent 7,000 taxi drivers. Advocating the cabbies' cause in the media is the Alliance's executive director, Bhairavi Desai.

Profiled by Time magazine and named by Ms Foundation as one of 10 female role models, Desai's work with the Alliance has gone on for more than a decade, bringing changes to the lives of the cabbies, but often pitting her against the New York establishment.

In 1998, she organised the largest one-day taxi strike in city's history, over low pay and long hours for the drivers. She was able to unite Indian and Pakistani drivers despite the tensions on the subcontinent because of nuclear tests by India and Pakistan.

The history and women's studies graduate from Rutgers University, 36-year-old Desai lives in New Jersey.

While Mayor Michael Bloomberg has downplayed the likelihood of a widespread disruption by the taxi strike, the city has empowered taxis to pick up multiple passengers and the transit system has added some buses.

A rival cabbies coalition, the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers, has mounted a counterstrike operation. It sent dozens of volunteers to taxi stands at the city's airports and the main rail terminal asking drivers not to join the stoppage.

At issue is a requirement for the installation in each cab of a high-tech system that permits credit card payments, has a touch-screen monitor that lets passengers watch television and follow their ride on an electronic map, and includes a global positioning device, which tracks the cabs' travels. In exchange, the transport authorities agreed to raise fares by 26 per cent.

Drivers, however, have said that the global positioning device and automated system recording each trip are too invasive, and that transaction fees charged by credit card companies eat into their profits. The system can also delay the start of their metres because drivers must log on before every fare, they said.

The drivers also said the TV monitor at the back of their seat heats up after a few hours of use and the constant sound of the television can be disorienting.

Source : Bhairavi Desai leads taxi strike in New York article on HindustanTimes.com

Maguire swaps vows with Meyers

Maguire swaps vows with Meyers
Staff Reporter, Times Of India, 5 Sep 2007

Maguire and Meyer, who met early in 2003 and have kept their relationship fairly low profile, are parents to 9-month-old daughter, Ruby.


Actor Tobey Maguire tied the knot with his long time girlfriend Jennifer Meyers on Sept 3, 2007 in Kona on Hawaii's Big Island.

The couple swapped vows in front of a small group of family and friends including Leonardo DiCaprio and Lukas Haas.

The thrilled bride couldn’t help gushing about how excited she was for the future.

"Let's just say this is truly the best time of my life," E! Online quoted Meyer, as saying.

"I'm walking on air. I'm getting married, starting a family and have an amazing company," she added.

Maguire and Meyer, who met early in 2003 and have kept their relationship fairly low profile, are parents to 9-month-old daughter, Ruby.

The Spider-Man star had earlier revealed to Parade magazine in April that settling down with his family and having stability in life meant the most to him.

"Growing up the way I did, I had a very serious ambition to make some money, to have some security and comfort in my life," People quoted Maguire as telling the mag.

"I'm at that stage where I have to start thinking about where I want Ruby to grow up and go to school...Even though L.A. is pretty laid-back, maybe it would be a good idea to try a different, less ambitious kind of atmosphere," he said.

Source : Maguire swaps vows with Meyers article on Times Of India

Geetanjali is a drug addict

Geetanjali is a drug addict
Staff Reporter, Times Of India, 5 Sep 2007, TNN

In the shocking wake of former model Geetanjali Nagpal being found living off the streets in Delhi, a victim of drug abuse and alcohol addiction, BT explores what makes people from the glam world reach this sorry state.

Is it stress and the inability to take fame and success that comes their way at an early age. Or something else?

Fashion photographer Akash Srivastaav, who met Geetanjali Nagpal at a party in Goa in 1997, recalls how he went up to her and said that she looked like model Ediesedwick from the Andy Warhol factory. “She had the aura of pulling you towards her. She laughed and said, ‘Though not as pretty as her.’ I was stunned that she knew what I was talking about as very few at that point had heard about Ediesedwick.”

Fashion in India was all about being pretty and angelic, then. Every model and shoot they would do were about the beautiful side of beauty. “But Geetu, as we called her, was a kind of rebel in fashion. The way she would hold her cigarette or sit, there was a sense of absolute decadence in her right from that time. We called her hateli, a term that signified headstrong, or dimag khiska, because she was wild and totally against the establishment. She didn’t care about anything or anybody. All she wanted was to be in a world of her own which didn’t follow any norm,” said Akash.

He also remembers once when he was about to shoot her, she just disappeared from the studio leaving everyone in a tizzy. Hours of searching led them to beneath a huge table inside the studio, “where madam was cozily sleeping”. Akash added, “During the years that I knew her, she never did drugs, at least not in front of me. She would occasionally drink wine. But there was an edginess in Geetu all the time. She would always say that she is intelligent and never believed in the concept of beauty.”

Delhi photographer Amir Rajpal, who shot Geetanjali Nagpal some 14 years back, remembers her as having lovely eyes, a beautiful body and a very good attitude. He can’t believe the state she is in today.

“She used to hate the sight of people smoking. How could she take to drugs herself? She was such a level-headed girl with no nakhras. God knows what went wrong, but I still can’t believe that the girl lying on a Paharganj street is her.”

Designer Rocky S doesn’t know her, but said, “When models start out early in life and get addicted to a starry life, they automatically gravitate towards destruction. The glamour world is a very high stress job, and to keep it up, at every step they resort to such abuses.” However, Manish Malhotra, who also did not know Geetanjali, refuses to believe that stress could have driven her to such measures. “The decision to ‘do it’ or ‘not do it’ is very personal. I have a lot of stress in my job too, but I don’t even smoke, so why blame it all on stress. Young models must understand that they need to look good, fresh and their job should lead them to enjoy life, not destroy it,” he advised.

Textile revivalist and designer Ritu Kumar does not recollect Geetanjali’s name or face for Noyonika and Sushmita were the leading models then. But she said, “Somehow, what she resorted to seems to be the most unfortunate episodes that could happen to a good model.”

Achala Sachdev, former model and choreographer now, added, “Who knows, maybe she had a drug problem even before she entered the modelling scene. Blaming stress as the reason is so passe. Why don’t young models understand that everyone here wants to make money, fame and enjoy life. Drugs can only add on to the problems.”

Source : Geetanjali is a drug addict article on Times Of India