Unclaimed body of Indian expatriate in Dubai to be cremated

DUBAI, Jan 31: The body of an Indian expatriate, who claimed to have introduced electronic outdoor advertising in the emirate, may soon be cremated after lying unclaimed in a morgue for over two months.

Dubai-based Valley of Love took the initiative after identifying the next of kin of Dr Rasamchetty Venkat Rao and informing them of the tragedy. Rao's nephew has reportedly consented to go ahead with performing the deceased's funeral rites.

''As soon as we learnt about Dr Rasamchetty Venkat Rao_s unclaimed body, we tried to locate his kith and kin to inform them of Rao_s tragedy,'' C P Mathew of the Valley of Love was quoted by Khaleej Times as saying.

However, Mr Mathew added that the funeral would only be carried out after permission from Dubai police and local authorities.

According to police, Rao died following a cardiac arrest while waiting to be served at a restaurant in Satwa on November 26.

Initial efforts by police and the Indian diplomatic mission in Dubai to locate his family in India had proved in vain, they said.

News clippings found in a bag he was carrying highlighted his various achievements, including that of introducing the first electronic outdoor advertisement hoarding in the UAE in 1981.

A Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering, Rao, had received several awards, the clippings revealed.

Meanwhile, B S Mubarak, spokesman for the Indian Consulate in Dubai said yesterday, ''we too are now aware of this case and have also traced Dr Rao_s local sponsor.''

An official from the Consulate would go with local police officials to Rao's local residence to help gather more details, he added.

(UNI)

Astronauts improve space station's crippled power system

CAPE CANAVERAL, Jan 31: Two astronauts pulled off a riskier and trickier-than-usual spacewalk, replacing a failed electric motor and giving the international space station a much-needed power boost.

The station's power system still has problems; a joint for rotating one set of solar wings is mysteriously clogged with metal shavings and cannot be fixed until later this year. Yesterday's successful operation, however, added to the power margin at the orbiting outpost and cleared the way for the deliveries of two science labs.

Atlantis is supposed to lift off with the European Space Agency's Columbus lab next week after a two-month delay, but a new problem could force yet another postponement.

An inspection Tuesday uncovered a bent radiator hose in the shuttle's payload bay. The hose works as is and does not leak Freon, but some engineers fear it could break from the vibrations during liftoff.

Shuttle program manager Wayne Hale said his team will review the problem again Saturday and, until then, preparations will proceed toward a February 7 launch.

Discovery had a similarly bent radiator hose during two flights, without any leakage, Hale said. The braided metal hose is supposed to retract into a box with rollers when the payload bay doors are closed, "and clearly something is not lining up in that box properly," he said.

NASA may decide to fly Atlantis without any repairs or could try to straighten the hose, Hale said. Replacing the hose could lead to a launch delay.

"If it's not safe to fly, we won't fly it," Hale told reporters.

Each space shuttle is equipped with two Freon coolant loops to dispel the heat generated by on-board electronics. (AGENCIES)

Premature births lower in women taking folic acid

WASHINGTON, Jan 31: Women who take folic acid supplements for at least a year before becoming pregnant can greatly reduce their risk of delivering a baby prematurely, researchers said today.

Folic acid, a B vitamin, already is known to prevent major birth defects that involve a baby's brain or spine.

This study shows it may provide another benefit -- cutting down on premature births in which babies have less time to develop in the womb and are more likely to experience serious medical problems.

The study tracked about 35,000 pregnant women between 1999 and 2002 who disclosed their folic acid intake.

It found that women who took folic acid supplements for at least a year before pregnancy cut their chances for very early pre-term births -- 20 to 28 weeks into the pregnancy -- by 70 per cent compared to other women.

These very early pre-term babies in particular face a high risk of complications such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation, chronic lung disease and blindness.

Women taking folic acid for at least a year before getting pregnant saw their risk fall by about 50 percent for premature births occurring 28 to 32 weeks into the pregnancy.

Most pregnancies take about 40 weeks. A premature birth is one that occurs more than three weeks before the due date.

'VERY EXCITING'

''We have a very exciting and promising potential prevention method for pre-term birth,'' Dr. Radek Bukowski of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, who led the study, said in a telephone interview.

''It's exciting not the least because it's a very simple thing that's very easy to be implemented, and it has a very powerful effect,'' added Bukowski.

The findings were presented at a meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine in Dallas.

Folic acid helps the body make healthy new cells. It is important for women to get enough of it before and during a pregnancy to prevent major birth defects called neural tube defects including spina bifida and anencephaly, experts say.

Leafy green vegetables, fruits, dried beans, peas and nuts are some of the foods that contain folic acid. Enriched breads, cereals and other grain products also have it. Folic acid can be taken as a dietary supplement, for example in a multivitamin.

Taking it for less than a year before pregnancy provided lesser protection from pre-term births, Bukowski said.

The March of Dimes, an advocacy group that works to prevent birth defects, premature births and infant mortality, called the findings important.

''I think it's promising and I think there should be some confirmational studies,'' Janis Biermann of the March of Dimes said in an interview. ''If it holds true, it supports a message that we've been promoting for many years -- that it's important for women of child-bearing age to take folic acid every day as part of a healthy diet.''

(AGENCIES)

Vietnam jails Chinese woman for selling sex toys, fake Viagra

HANOI, Jan 31: A court in communist Vietnam jailed a Chinese woman for seven years for selling sex toys, which are illegal here, as well as fake Viagra pills and a range of aphrodisiacs, state media reported today.

Yao Xiu Yan, 39, received a five-year jail term yesterday for trading fake medicines and two years for "storing and trafficking forbidden goods" which she had imported from neighbouring China, the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.

Police last June raided her house in the southern Ho Chi Minh City, where she and her husband had stored over 3,000 sex toys as well as pills worth more than 60,000 dollars, the city's People's Court was told, VNA said. (AGENCIES)

Eyes can reflect your age

LONDON, Jan 31: A landmark research in Denmark has shown that special proteins in the eye and radiocarbon dating method can be used to establish the age of a person with relatively high precision.

The study at the University of Copenhagen and Aarhus can be used as a tool by forensic scientists to establish the age of an unidentified body.

"We think that the carbon dating of proteins and other molecules in the human body can also be used to study when certain kinds of tissue are generated and regenerated," Professor Niels Lynnerup from the Department of Forensic Sciences was quoted as saying by the ScienceDaily online.

He said the method could be applied to cancer tissue and cancer cells. "Calculating the amount of C-14 in these tissues could perhaps tell us when the cancerous tissues formed, and this could further the understanding of cancer," Professor Lynnerup said.

The lens of the eye is composed of transparent proteins called crystallins. The lens crystallins remain essentially unchanged for the rest of our lives, a fact that can be used to establish the age of a person with relatively high precision.

Scientists for long have used the Carbon 14 method, known as radiocarbon dating, to date up to 60,000 year old biological and archaeological finds.

Since the crystallins remain unchanged once they have been created, they reflect the content of C-14 present in the atmosphere at the time of their creation.

Using a large nuclear accelerator, physicists at Aarhus University can now determine the amount of C-14 in as little as one milligram of lens tissue and thereby calculate the year of birth. (PTI)

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India eyes becoming No 1 tourist destination for Chinese

BEIJING, Jan 31: Buoyed by a 14 per cent increase in the arrivals of Chinese tourists in the country, India has expressed hope that it will soon become the number one tourist destination for the people of the neighbouring giant and vice versa.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the first "China-India Year of Friendship Through Tourism 2007" at Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunan province, Indias Ambassador to China Nirupama Rao said 70,000 Chinese tourists visited India last year, a 14 per cent rise year on year. And 460,000 Indian tourists came to China during the same period, registering a 48 per cent jump.

She said since 2005, India had been having cooperation with many Chinese airliners, which had been conducive to the promotion of tourism interaction between the two countries.

"Further connections are required between cities of the two countries," Rao was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency. "I hope in the near future, India will become the No. 1 tourist destination for the Chinese people and vice versa," she said.

"The year 2007 is just a beginning. The Sino-India exchanges mechanism will improve further with the promotion of tourism," Shao Qiwei, head of Chinas National Tourism administration, said. (PTI)

Magnetic hip to reduce revision replacement surgeries

LONDON, Jan 31: A revolutionary hip replacement, inspired by motor vehicle lubrication system, would make hazardours and painful repeat replacements history.

MagneHip, recently named the Best Joint Replacement Idea at the 2007 Bone And Joint Innovation Awards, lasts at least three times as long as conventional prosthetics.

Conventional prosthetic joints-- made up of plastic and metal-- wear out usually after a decade and need to be replaced. The repeat surgery is not only less satisfactory but also time consuming.

Just like a motor vehicle lubrication system use magnets to filter debris, the MagneHip prevents the wear and tear of the prosthetic from becoming stuck in the joint. The chromium-cobalt alloy replacement is more resistant to wear and tear than its conventional counterpart making it last really long.

The brainchild of British Orthopaedic surgeons Paul Lee and Michael Clarke, MagneHip is undergoing laboratory testing and clinical trials are expected to commence within three years.

Hip replacement operations are common among those aged over 50 years due to natural erosion of the joints. Around 65,000 hip replacements are performed each year in Britain.

''A colleague and I worked on the idea for five years before we came up with a design that solves the problem,'' Daily Mail quoted Paul Lee, who has built a working prototype, as saying.

''It is all based on the workings of a car engine, which uses the same sort of system to make it last longer,'' he said. (UNI)

China opens probe after food poisonning in Japan

BEIJING, Jan 31: China's quality watchdog has begun an investigation into how Chinese-made dumplings contaminated with pesticide made 10 people ill in Japan, prompting a recall there.

Japan Tobacco Inc said yesterday its subsidiary, JT Foods Co, would recall the frozen dumplings and other food made at the same Chinese factory, as television broadcasters flashed warnings to viewers not to eat the products.

''After we found out this news, we paid great attention to it,'' China's quality regulator said in an emailed statement sent late yesterday.

''We quickly got in touch with relevant parties on the Japanese side to understand the situation, and have already set about investigations,'' it added. ''We will release the results of the probe in a timely manner.''

A family of five that ate the dumplings was still in hospital, including a five-year-old girl who had at one point been in critical condition, according to Japan's Health Ministry.

China was hit by a series of food safety scares last year, though officials have said they are adopting new technology and tighter laws to try to ensure safe food both at home and in exports.

Police found pesticide in the dumplings though it was not clear whether the dish, popular with children, had been contaminated with the chemicals in China or in Japan, a Japanese Health Ministry official said.

Japan has not been immune to its own food scares. A number of Japanese confectioners admitted last year to having mislabelled production and expiry dates for cookies and rice cakes.

No widespread health hazards, however, have hit the country since more than 10,000 people suffered food poisoning after drinking tainted milk in 2000.

(AGENCIES)

Research may close the door on men in creating life ...

LONDON, Jan 31: In yet another attempt to play God, scientists will soon be able to cut men from the process of creating life enabling lesbian couples to have children that are biologically their own.

Researchers at Newcastle-upon-Tyne University have developed a breakthrough technique to turn female bone marrow into sperm.

The scientists will take stem cells from a woman donor's bone marrow and transform them into sperm through the use of special chemicals and vitamins. The procedure may also be done with cells from male bone marrow to make eggs paving the way for gay couples to have children without any biological participation by a female.

Professor Karim Nayernia has applied for permission to carry out the work and is ready to start the experiments within two months, New Scientist magazine reported.

The biologist, who pioneered the technique with mice, believes early-stage 'female sperm' could be produced within two years but mature cells capable of fertilising eggs might take three more years.

Early-stage sperm have already been produced from male bone marrow.

Also, the ethical debate over drawing stem cells from an embryo will be avoided using cells from an adult donor.

The technique may revolutionise infertility treatments globally.

If the experiments succeed, the stage would be set for a gay man to donate skin cells that could be used to make eggs. These could then be fertilised by his partner's sperm and placed into the womb of a surrogate mother.

But, besides fears of raising an ethical debate, the children born from artificial eggs and sperm might suffer severe health problems, like the mice in the experiments.

Also, because the female sperm would lack the Y chromosome, such couples would be able to have girls only.

The research also paves the way for a woman to grow her own sperm and use it to fertilise her natural eggs, creating a child to which she is both mother and father.

Similarly, a man could be both father and mother to a child created with his own sperm and a lab-grown egg.

Researchers believe such children would be at a higher risk of developing genetic abnormalities.

(UNI)

Two Indians sentenced to life imprisonment in Dubai....

DUBAI, Jan 31: Two Indians were sentenced to life imprisonment by a court here for the molestation and murder of a compatriot worker.

The Dubai Court of First Instance handed down life terms to 37-year-old MB and 40-year-old AK for molesting and murder of the victim identified as SL.

The prosecution charged MB and AK with premeditatedly strangling and beating the victim to death in a sandy area.

They were also charged with assaulting the victim with a tool and smothering him with their hands until he died, Gulf News said.

"One of the companies reported that a worker living three kilometres from the murder site was absent. Initial probe revealed that the DNA lifted from the absent worker's belongings matched the DNA which was lifted from the deceased man."

As per the verdict the Indian men will have to spend 25 years in jail. (PTI)

Seven Indians among 40 finalists of Intel Science Talent Search

NEW YORK, Jan 31: Forty high school students, including seven Indian-American, have been named finalists for the Intel Science Talent Search 2008.

The Intel STS competition, often called the ''junior Nobel Prize,'' is said to be America's oldest and most prestigious high school science competition.

The finalists will travel in an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington in March to compete in a week-long event for individual scholarships, with the top winner receiving a 100,000 dollar scholarship from the Intel Foundation, a statement said adding each finalist will receive at least 5,000 dollar in scholarships and a laptop.

This year’s Intel STS finalists hail from 19 states and represent 35 schools. New York (state) boasts the most finalists from any state with 15, followed by Pennsylvania (four) and Texas (three), said the statement issued by the Intel Corporation, based in Santa Clara, California.

The seven Indian-American finalists are -- Avanthi Raghavan (Orlando, Florida), Shravani Mikkilineni (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan), Hamsa Sridhar (Kings Park, New York state), Ashok Chandran (Nesconset, New York state), Shivani Sud (Durham, North Carolina), Isha Jain (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) and Vinay Venkatesh Ramasesh (Fort Worth, Texas).

The finalists_ independent research projects include 'Further understanding of the relationship of nicotine to breast cancer chemotherapy efficacy', 'An economic study of the cross-influence of public and private funding for Iowa's public libraries', and 'The design and construction of affordable microbial fuel cells that could generate clean water and clean energy anywhere.'

Over the past 67 years, STS alumni have received more than 100 of the world's most coveted science and math honours, including six Nobel Prizes.

''2008 not only marks the 10th anniversary of Intel's sponsorship of the STS, but falling in a presidential election year, this competition highlights more than ever the importance of supporting math and science education in the United States,'' Intel Chairman Craig Barrett said.

''Intel STS showcases the incredible advancements made by students across the nation when we get the system right and demonstrates the capabilities of the next generation,'' he added.

(UNI)

Nurse takes body parts from 244 corpses for transplantation

PHILADELPHIA, Jan 31: A nurse admitted he cut body parts from 244 corpses and helped forge paperwork so the parts, some of them diseased, could be used in unsuspecting patients.

Authorities say nurse Lee Cruceta was the lead cutter in a group that trafficked in more than 1,000 stolen body parts for the lucrative transplant market.

Among the bodies looted was that of "Masterpiece Theatre" host Alistair Cooke, who died in 2004. Cooke's daughter and relatives of the other deceased people say they never authorized any donations.

Cruceta pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy, taking part in a corrupt organization, abuse of a corpse and 244 counts each of theft and forgery. Cruceta, 35, also has pleaded guilty to related charges in New York and negotiated pleas to serve concurrent sentences of 6 1/2 to 20 years.

He is expected to testify against the other defendants, and won't be formally sentenced until those cases are resolved.

Several funeral directors have pleaded guilty in New York, and the accused ringleader Michael Mastromarino, 44, is being held in the case. Three funeral directors in Philadelphia have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.

Assistant Philadelphia District Attorney Bruce Sagel told a judge that Mastromarino also is expected to plead guilty. The timing of his plea was uncertain.

His lawyer, Mario Gallucci, earlier told The Associated Press that Mastromarino plans to tell prosecutors about the companies that bought the stolen specimens. (AGENCIES)