Your Mobile's Radiation Level

According to the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, specific absorption rate, or SAR, is "a way of measuring the quantity of radio frequency (RF) energy that is absorbed by the body." For a phone to pass FCC certification and be sold in the United States, its maximum SAR level must be less than 1.6 watts per kilogram. In Europe, the level is capped at 2 watts per kilogram while Canada allows a maximum of 1.6 watts per kilogram. The SAR level listed in our charts represents the highest SAR level measured with the phone next to the ear as tested by the FCC. Keep in mind that it is possible for the SAR level to vary between different transmission bands (the same phone can use multiple bands during a call), and that different testing bodies can obtain different results. Also, it's possible for results to vary between different models of the same phone--such as a handset that's offered by multiple carriers.

It's important to note that in publishing this list, we are in no way implying that cell phone use is harmful to your health. Research abounds, but much of the literature is contradictory. While some researchers have said there is cause to be "concerned," others disagree and say it is still too early too early to be alarmed. Similarly, though some tests have suggested a link between long-term (10 years or longer) cell phone use and cancer, there still is not conclusive or demonstrated evidence that cell phones cause or don't cause adverse health effects in humans. In short, the jury is still out. Research into the matter will continue, and we will continue to monitor its results.

If you're concerned about limiting your SAR exposure, you can take a few easy steps beyond purchasing a handset with a low SAR. You can text instead placing a voice call, use a wired headset or speakerphone whenever possible, and carry your phone at least one inch from your body. Some researchers also caution against using your phone in areas with poor coverage since phones emit more radiation when searching for a signal. Children, which have smaller and thinner skulls, should limit cell phone use, and all users, children and adults, should not sleep with an active phone next to their bedside or under their pillow.

Can free broadband be a reality in India?

Thu, Oct 15 02:42 PM

The internet has become an integral part of human life and further validation of this assertion comes from the fact that Finland has become the first country in the world to make broadband Internet access a right for every Finnish citizen.

Yes, Finland has just passed a law that makes access to broadband a legal right for its citizens. Come July 2010, every person in Finland, which has a population of around 5.3 million, will have the guaranteed right to a one-megabit broadband connection.

This law could pave the way for India to start looking at broadband connection or even basic internet connection as its citizens' legal right, just like freedom of speech and expression.

India is emerging as a hub for information technology and global companies invariably looks toward India to meet their research and development needs and software production demands. So should India go ahead and make this a legal right for its citizens?

"While the internet savvy user of India will hail this move, let's not forget that Finland's total population is 5.5 million, which is 5 per cent of ours. Our primary concern right now should not be broadband access being a legal right, but childhood (and education) being the legal right of every child in the country and tougher laws on child labour. Can we please emulate Babar Ali, the world's youngest headmaster, and ensure that children have a right to be children before they're made to be earning members of the family?" says Jayashree S, a child rights activist.

Yes, it sounds true as it would be very unfair to compare India to Finland, given the gross discrepancies.

But not all think of it in the same way. Nancy, an avid netizen, says, "Internet is a way of life in India now. It is not just the youngsters who are hooked - people from all walks of life have started using the net to their benefit and are paying high prices for the same. It would be good if the rates are lesser, and yes, if it's free in Finland, even if it's 1mbps, why not here too?"

A vast majority in India feels that making a broadband connection a legal right is too farfetched a dream. "Broadband connection should not be a legal right as we have more important issues to deal with. We are lagging in providing even the basic amenities like water or electricity, thinking of legalising broadband is still very far," says Tarun, who works with a leading media house.

It might be too early to start a debate on whether broadband internet can be a natural extension to our legal rights in India. But kudos to the Finnish government for this landmark law. Who knows, this might just be the beginning of a new fight for our rights.

source : science news

Quantum computers come a step closer to reality



Washington, September 30 (ANI): University of Michigan physicists have created the first atomic-scale maps of quantum dots, a major step toward the goal of producing "designer dots" that can be tailored for specific applications like a quantum computer.

Quantum dots-often called artificial atoms or nanoparticles-are tiny semiconductor crystals with wide-ranging potential applications in computing, photovoltaic cells, light-emitting devices and other technologies.

Each dot is a well-ordered cluster of atoms, 10 to 50 atoms in diameter.

Engineers are gaining the ability to manipulate the atoms in quantum dots to control their properties and behavior, through a process called directed assembly.

But progress has been slowed, until now, by the lack of atomic-scale information about the structure and chemical makeup of quantum dots.


"The new atomic-scale maps will help fill that knowledge gap, clearing the path to more rapid progress in the field of quantum-dot directed assembly," said Roy Clarke, U-M professor of physics.

According to Clarke, "Researchers have been able to chart the outline of these quantum dots for quite a while. But this is the first time that anybody has been able to map them at the atomic level, to go in and see where the atoms are positioned, as well as their chemical composition. It's a very significant breakthrough."

To create the maps, Clarke's team illuminated the dots with a brilliant X-ray photon beam at Argonne National Laboratory's Advanced Photon Source.

The beam acts like an X-ray microscope to reveal details about the quantum dot's structure.

Because X-rays have very short wavelengths, they can be used to create super-high-resolution maps.

"We're measuring the position and the chemical makeup of individual pieces of a quantum dot at a resolution of one-hundredth of a nanometer," Clarke said. "So it's incredibly high resolution," he added.

The availability of atomic-scale maps will quicken progress in the field of directed assembly. That, in turn, will lead to new technologies based on quantum dots.

"The dots have already been used to make highly efficient lasers and sensors, and they might help make quantum computers a eality," Clarke said. (ANI)

source : science news

Short- and long-term memories require same gene, but in different brain circuits



Washington, August 18 (ANI): Conducting experiments on fruit flies, a group of scientists have found that long-term and short-term memories are stored very differently because they depend upon the activity of a gene in different circuits of the brain.

Assistant Professor Josh Dubnau, of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), has found that both short- and long-term memories require the same gene, known as Rutabaga, of which humans also have a similar version.

He and his colleagues say that a rapidly occurring, short-lived trace in a group of neurons that make up a structure called the "gamma" lobe produces a short-term memory, while a slower, long-lived trace in the "alpha-beta" lobe fixes a long-term memory.

During the study, the researchers placed flies in a training tube attached to an electric grid, and administered shocks through the grid right after a certain odour was piped into the tube.

They observed that the flies with normal rutabaga genes learnt to associate the odour with the shock, and, if given a choice, buzzed away from the grid.

On the other hand, the flies that carried a mutated version of rutabaga in their brains lacked both short- and long-term memory, did not learn the association, and failed to avoid the shocks.

However, the researchers also found that total memory deficit did not occur when flies carried the mutated version in either the gamma or in the alpha-beta lobes.

They said that restoring the normal rutabaga function in the gamma lobe caused the flies to regain short-term memory, but not long-term memory.

Similarly, added the researchers, restoring the gene's function in the alpha-beta lobe alone restored long-term memory, but not short-term memory.

"This ability to independently restore either short- or long-term memory depending on where rutabaga is expressed supports the idea that there are different anatomical and circuit requirements for different stages of memory," Dubnau said.

His team will next try to determine how much cross talk, if any, is required between the two lobes for long-term memory to get consolidated, hoping that it may add to the progress that scientists have already made in treating memory deficits in humans with drugs aimed at molecular members of the rutabaga-signalling pathway to enhance its downstream effects.

*A research article describing the study has been published in the journal Current Biology. (ANI)

source : science news

An awesome way to browse easily

Firefox 3.5 includes a useful feature called the Awesome Bar that helps you quickly navigate to previously visited websites without having to type the full address of that site in the address bar of the browser. For instance, let's say you searched for "match scores" on Google a few days back and want to repeat that same search today. If you are using an older browser, you will have to type the whole search phrase in the Google box and hit enter. But with Firefox 3.5, you can simply type a few letters - like "ma sc" - in the address bar and it will automatically show you a drop-down list of matching web pages from your browser history and bookmarks that contain those words, either in the title or the address (URL). Only for your eyes

So Firefox's Awesome Bar saves a lot of time and effort. However, some people may be wary of upgrading to Firefox 3.5 worrying that this feature might reveal their embarrassing Google search queries and visits to other inappropriate Websites. Luckily, there's an option to turn that off. Go to Firefox Tools > Options > Privacy > Location Bar and select either "Bookmarks" or "Nothing" from the option that says "When using the location bar, suggest:".

source : science news

Images of Lcross Impact on Lunar Surface :-











































Source : NASA NEWS

Rocket to 'bomb' moon to find water :-


Fri, Oct 9 08:39 AM
A US rocket is to crash into the moon on Friday in an experiment scientists hope will provide data about ice hidden in the perpetually dark lunar craters.
Astronomers around the world are prepared to capture the impact of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) into the moon's Caebus crater at 1130 GMT.

water on moon