....to talk of many things::amit goel in Mumbai(Bombay) : Science blog at Rediff iLand

Scientists at Newcastle University announced last month they had created the first part-human, part-animal hybrid embryos in the UK. The research was approved by the UK's fertility regulator, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority. Critics from the Roman Catholic Church argue the creation of such hybrids is immoral. The British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown call to MPs to back stem cell research using human-animal embryo has been carried by an overwhelming aye vote cutting acrosss party lines. He said such work was a "moral endeavour" and had the potential to save and improve "millions of lives". Mr Brown said Britons should not "turn our back" on vital scientific advances that could speed up treatment for cancer and conditions such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. He went on to say that permitting human-animal "admixed" embryos to be created could help solve the current problem of the lack of human eggs from which to generate embryos. Stem cells can be harvested from such embryos and used to create brain, skin, heart and other tissue for treating diseases.

Few inventions have metamorphosed the world like the automobile has. The T Model Ford celebrated its 100 years last week. It marked the advent of freedom of the road and the great outdoors, and laid the base for the excellent motorway system in the USA. Ford T set in very many a trend and molded much more than an entire generation. This so inspired Aldous Huxley that he based the era of modern living as After Ford, and based the calendar with the zero year as AF. It is more than a coincidence that while Tata was laying the foundations of his empire in India, Ford was doing it in USA. 2008, apart from the centenary of the Ford Car also marks the year when Tata acquired to Ford Empire in the UK. So much for India’s pride and honor.

Zimbabwe's opposition leader Tsvangirai has canceled his return to Harare from South Africa after receiving information about what his party said was a planned assassination.Tsvangirai won more votes that President Robert Mugabe in the presidential election on March 29, but he did not garner enough votes to avoid a runoff, now set for June 27.Since the balloting, the MDC have reported kidnappings, torture and other violence, including the deaths of 25 opposition party members. They say the violence targets opponents of Mugabe, who has ruled the southern African country since it became independent 28 years ago.

Hedviga Golik never left her tiny apartment in Croatia's capital -- until her mummified body was carried out, 35 years after she died Police said that no one ever reported Golik missing and no one has come to claim her body.Residents of her loft building in downtown Zagreb had broken into Golik's flat after deciding that the apartment should belong to them, and not to her. Startled by the remains in bed, they called police.Forensics experts said Golik likely died in 1973, about the time a neighbor last saw her.

Give Brad Williams a date, and he can usually tell you not only what he was doing but what world events happened that day. He can do this, experts say, and remember what he did on almost every day of his life.Williams is one of only three people in the world identified with such autobiographical memory, according to researchers at the University of California-Irvine who gave the condition its name: hyperthymestic syndrome, from the Greek words for excessive (hyper) and remembering (thymesis).Unlike most people whose memories fade with time, much of Williams' life is etched indelibly in his mind.Researchers are studying Williams and the two others with this syndrome, a man in Ohio and woman in California, to gain new insights into how a super memory works.

Saudi Arabia rebuffed President Bush's request to immediately pump more oil to lower record prices, saying it does not see enough demand to increase production.

Bush spent a full day in closed-door meetings with King Abdullah, the Saudi ruler. This was Bush's second trip to the kingdom this year, coming as oil prices reached a new record high Friday of more than $127 a barrel. When he traveled to Riyadh in January, his request for the Saudis to pump more oil was also rejected.Oil prices were just below $100 a barrel in January, and Americans were paying an average of $3.06 for a gallon of gasoline. They were paying $3.78 (Rs. 41 a liter) last week, not much lower to the price we pay in India..

New research at the Patiala University suggests exposure to pesticides could have damaged the DNA of people in farming communities, leading to higher rates of cancer. This new study discovered that the DNA of farmers in Punjab has been altered, making them susceptible to cancer. Over the years there has been a significant shift to ‘Organic farming’ in the developed world. Organic agriculture is defined as farming without synthetic pesticides and conventional fertilisers. A more suitable definition of organic agriculture is provided by the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) of the USA as,” an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony." Research on organic farms, done over several decades, has revealed characteristics usually associated with sustainable farming, such as reduced soil erosion, lower fossil fuel consumption, less leaching of nitrate, greater carbon sequestration and, of course, little to no pesticide use.

A camera that can "see" explosives, drugs and weapons hidden under clothing from 25 meters has been invented. The ThruVision system could be deployed at airports, railway stations or other public spaces. It is based on so-called "terahertz", or T-ray, technology, normally used by astronomers to study dying stars. The promoters of the system took pains to emphasise that although it is able to see through clothes it does not reveal "body detail The T Ray electromagnetic radiation is a form of low level energy emitted by all people and objects. These are able to pass through clothing, paper, ceramics and wood but are blocked by metal and water. The system works by collecting these waves and processing them to form an image which can reveal concealed objects. In addition, the system does not involve any of the "harmful radiation associated with traditional X-ray security screening", according to the promoters.

Seamus Garvey believes the future of energy is storing it as compressed air in giant bags under the sea. His idea would utilise familiar renewable sources - wind, waves and tidal power. But he does not believe we should be forced to "use it or lose it" when conditions are best. Energy would instead be used to compress and pump air into underwater bags, anchored to the seabed. When energy demand is highest, the air would be released through a turbine, converting it to electricity. Power company E.ON has granted 300,000 euros (£236,000) towards building two prototypes - the first on land, then an underwater version powered by waves. Using compressed air to store energy is not new - for example, it has previously been done in disused mines. But Professor Garvey will do it under the sea; in flexible containers he has dubbed "energy bags". He said: "We have to overcome the instinct that (this idea) is too simple to be good.” And then to show that the economics stack up." Professor Garvey anticipates his prototypes will be operating within 18 months.

In a new Ford Focus commercial, now the rage in Europe, a haunting light classical tune is played by an orchestra supposedly made entirely out of car parts. The instruments have been constructed by amiable American sound designer Bill Milbrodt and his team. Last September a brand new Ford Focus with less than a mile on the clock arrived in his studio, it was promptly dismantled by a team of crack mechanics and the pieces laid out to see what could be made out of them. The tune — Ode to a New Ford – had already been composed by Craig Richey, but it was a challenge for the team to put together the instruments and make them create the magic of music. The results are surprising. Thirty-one beautifully crafted instruments made out of every car part you can imagine. A stand-up “Spike Fiddle” stands on a shock absorber. There’s a complete percussion set made out of gears and springs.