US Air Force buys new fastest, largest hunter-killer armed drone
Washington, Dec 31 : The United States Air Force has purchased a new hunter-killer aircraft that is the fastest and largest armed drone in its fleet.
The Avenger, which cost the military 15 million dollars, is the latest version of the Predator drones made by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. a San Diego-based company that also builds the robotic MQ-9 Reapers for the Air Force and Central Intelligence Agency.
The new radar-evading aircraft, also known as the Predator C, is General Atomics’ third version of these drones, The Los Angles Times reports.
Bachmann proclaims herself ‘America''s Margaret Thatcher’ in White House campaign
Washington, Dec 31 : The 2012 White House contender Michele Bachmann is projecting herself as "America''s Margaret Thatcher" ahead of the January 3 caucuses.
"What we needed [in 1980] was the most articulate conservative we had to hold Jimmy Carter responsible and we got Ronald Reagan. And at the same time across the ocean there was another country, an ally of ours called Britain. Britain was also suffering under socialist policies. They needed a strong conservative too and up rose a woman and her name was Margaret Thatcher,” The Telegraph quoted Bachmann, as saying.
Secrets of ancient pottery may help build better spacecraft tiles
Washington, Dec 31 : The study of the chemical and physical properties of ancient Attic pottery would help improve space missions, believe scientists.
Considering it importance, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded nearly 500,000 dollars to scientists from the Getty Conservation Institute, Stanford’s National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC) and the Aerospace Corporation earlier this year to study the secrets of Attic pottery.
Living robots may be coming within 15 or 20 years
Washington, Dec 31 : We are a lot closer to living robots than we may realize, says a scientist who has developed a robot that uses the same words, expressions and movements that humans do to communicate with each other.
Philip K. Dick Andriod, built by Hanson Robotics, is a state-of-the-art robot with a large vocabulary, complex facial expressions, a sense of humour and something of an ego, ABC News reported.
He is, well, surprisingly human, not just in mechanics, but also in appearance.
Fox Latin America apologizes for asking if Jews were behind Jesus’ death
New York, Dec 31 : The Latin American channel that asked if Jews were responsible for Jesus’ death in a Facebook poll has apologized after being slammed by Jewish human rights activists.
A Fox spokeswoman of the Fox Latin America has publicly apologized and said the poll was immediately removed, the New York Daily News reported.
According a foreign news agency, a staff of the channel posted a poll on the Spanish-language network’s Facebook as part of a promotion of a National Geographic Channel Christmas special asking “Who do you think is responsible for the death of Christ.”
US launches hotline for detained immigrants
Washington, Dec 31 - The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement department has launched a telephone hotline for immigrants detained in the country to inform them of their rights and allow them to report cases of unfair treatment.
The phone number may be used by detained immigrants who "believe they may be US citizens or victims of a crime", a statement said.
To make sure that those in custody "are properly notified about their potential removal from the country and are made aware of their rights", the department would guarantee that the phone line would be available 24 hours a day with interpreters in several languages.
NASA`s twin GRAIL probes may find remnants of moon''s lost sibling
Washington, Dec 31 : Two identical NASA space probes are due to arrive at the moon on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day to find if the Earth's companion holds the wrecked body of a lost sibling body.
The twin GRAIL probes will determine what lies beneath the lunar crust by measuring the moon's gravitational field, Discovery News reported.
The spacecraft will chase each other 34 miles above the moon's surface, speeding up and slowing down in response to gravitational forces.
By measuring the changing distance between the two, scientists can determine the moon's gravity and then model what is inside.
Google Plus to have over 400 million users by the end of 2012: Research
Washington, Dec 31 : Google’s social networking site, Google Plus will have over 400 million users by the end of 2012, an American researcher has predicted.
“Based on the accelerated growth I''m seeing and all the dials and levers Google can still utilise, and the developer ecosystem that will be developed, I predict that 2012 is going to be a breakout year for Google Plus and that it will end next year with more than 400million users,” The Daily Mail quoted Paul Allen, as saying.
Though Facebook users outnumber Google Plus subscribers by 400 million, the figure comes as a setback to CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Beer drinkers likelier to be in drunk driving deaths
Washington, Dec 31 : Beer drinkers are most likely to drive drunk and get involved in driving fatalities than wine or scotch drinkers, a new study has found.
In fact, the study found that states with higher wine consumption actually have fewer drunk driving deaths, Discovery News reported.
"Beer has the strongest link to traffic fatalities, then spirits, while wine has a negative impact on traffic fatalities," said Bradley Rickard, assistant professor of economics and applied management at Cornell University.
New program focusing more on character improves ‘overall school quality’
Washington, Dec 31 : A focused program to build social, emotional and character skills can result in significantly improved overall quality of education, as evaluated by teachers, parents and students, according to a new study.
The concept includes organized activities to build character that go beyond more traditional rules or policies to control or punish problem behaviours.
The latest study of 20 elementary schools in Hawaii, found for the first time that teachers believed this approach improved "overall school quality" by 21 percent, with parents and students agreeing in slightly smaller numbers.
US sells 84 F-15 jets to Saudi Arabia in deal worth 30 billion dollars
Washington, Dec 30 : The US has officially confirmed selling 84 Boeing F-15 jets to Saudi Arabia, which is its main ally in the Middle-East. The US will also upgrade 70 existing Saudi F-15s as per the agreement. The US Congress approved a deal worth 60 billion dollars last year, which would be covered in next 10-15 years, and this agreement is a part of it only.
Iran claims to have surveillance footage of US carrier in Strait of Hormuz
Washington, Dec 30 : The standoff between Iran and US over the proposed blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has further escalated after Iran claimed to have taken surveillance footage of a US aircraft carrier near the area. The Commander of Iran's navy, Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said that the investigation mission was a testimony that his fleet was in total command of every move made by foreign armed forces.
Sayyari's statement came as a
Hawaii home rented to Obama going for sale
Washington, Dec 30 : The 6,000-square-foot new rental where the first family is spending their Christmas and New Year''s vacations will be up for sale once they return to Washington.
Obamas have been holidaying at Paradise Point Planatation neighborhood for the past three years.
According to toptenrealestatedeals. com, the home with disappearing glass walls, a covered lanai, an outdoor kitchen and views of the Pacific Ocean and Kailua Bay, is down the street from the house the Obamas had been renting since 2008, CBS news reported.
The new home is furnished in South Seas plantation style and has a lagoon-type pool-spa.
Not just ‘gut feeling’ but logic too plays role in decision making
Washington, Dec 30 : People do not just go with their gut feeling but also logic, when it comes to taking complex decisions, a new study has suggested.
According to Wim De Neys, a psychological scientist at the University of Toulouse in France, maybe thinking about logic is also intuitive.
Psychologists have partly based their conclusions about reasoning and decision-making on questions like this one:
"Bill is 34. He is intelligent, punctual but unimaginative and somewhat lifeless. In school, he was strong in mathematics but weak in social studies and humanities.
US rejects Chavez’s remark blaming country for cancer- stricken Latin America leaders
Washington, Dec 30 : The US has slammed Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's comments in which he had said the former may be responsible for cancers affecting Latin American leaders.
US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the comments were "horrific and reprehensible", and did not deserve a further response, The BBC reports.
Chavez had said it was "very strange" that he and other leftist leaders were suffering from cancer after Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was diagnosed with the disease.
‘CIA chief Petraeus nearly quit over Obama’s decision to reduce troops in Afghanistan’
Washington, Dec 30 : The Central Intelligence Agency chief, General David Petraeus had decided to resign over US President Barack Obama''s decision to reduce troops in Afghanistan, a new biography has suggested.
But he decided against quitting because he thought it would be a "selfish, grandstanding move with huge political ramifications".
Obama had earlier announced to withdraw 33,000 US troops from Afghanistan by September 2012 after Petraeus took over the post in April.
The CIA has, however, rejected the biography's claims.
US calls Chavez cancer comment horrific
Washington, Dec 30 - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's comment that Washington may have been involved in the cancers of South American leaders are "horrific and reprehensible", the US State Department said Friday.
Chavez, who is known for his anti-US rhetoric, told a ceremony for the Venezuelan Army Wednesday that the US could have developed "technology to induce cancer without anyone knowing about it", reported RIA Novosti.
Chavez, who had been suffered from cancer, voiced his suspicions after Argentine leader Cristina Kirchner announced this week that she had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
Romney ahead of Obama by 6 points in new survey
New York, Dec 30 : Front-runner among Republican candidates Mitt Romney has overtaken President Obama in a new national poll shows that the GOP favorite could reach the White House.
Romney was favored by 45 percent of likely voters to 39 percent for the President, new Rasmussen Reports survey found.
The new numbers followed polls showing the former Massachusetts governor holding a lead heading into Tuesday's Iowa caucuses and the January 10 New Hampshire primary - and a reinvigorated Romney was pumped.
"What an audience! What a crowd! This is amazing!" he told supporters at a plastics factory in North Liberty.
Gene that may up risk of hereditary pancreatic cancer identified
Washington, Dec 30 : Scientists have discovered that mutations in the ATM gene may increase the hereditary risk for pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the most morbid cancers, with less than 5 percent of those diagnosed with the disease surviving to five years.
Approximately 10 percent of patients come from families with multiple cases of pancreatic cancer.
Meditation improves breast cancer survivors’ emotional and physical well-being
Washington, Dec 30 : Mindfulness-based meditation plays a vital role in improving breast cancer survivors' health challenges, which they face after treatments, a new study has revealed.
Yaowarat Matchim, a former nursing doctoral student; Jane Armer, professor of nursing and Bob Stewart, professor emeritus of education and adjunct faculty in nursing, found that breast cancer survivors' health improved after they learned Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), a type of mindfulness training that incorporates meditation, yoga and physical awareness.