Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Will The WORLD END????

Must Read & Share What Allah say in Quran :

"They ask you, [O Muhammad], about the Hour: when is its arrival? Say, "Its knowledge is only with my Lord. Nonewill reveal its time except Him. It lays heavily upon the heavens and the earth. It will not come upon you except unexpectedly." They ask you as if you are familiar with it. Say, "Its knowledge is only with Allah , but most of the people do not know."
(Surat Al-'A`rāf [7:187] )

As Muslims , we don't believe in such myths saying that the end of the world will be in 21 / 12 / 2012

This is really funny , it hurts me to find many Muslims believing in such things !

I want to ask them : don't you read the Quran ?
don't you read the sayings of the prophet Muhammad pbuh ?
As it is mentioned in the verse above , no one can know when is the end of the world except Allah (God) the almighty !

Secondly , Our beloved prophet Muhammad Sallahu Alaihi Wasallam spoke about minor and major signs of judgement day ! many signs did not happen yet like the appearance of al-mahdi , the coming back of Khilafa, the conquest of Al-Quds , the appearance of Dajjal , appearance of dabba , the coming back of Issa (Jesus)pbuh ,
The prophet also told us that Allah the Merciful will take the souls of all the believers before the day of resurrection so only disbelievers will stay alive to see the terrible events that happen to earth before the judgement day .......etc
By the way , as Muslims we don't believe in such funny myths and we feel pity for those who believe in it.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Upcoming November 14 Google Doodle

Class 9 Chandigarh student's drawing will be the Google doodle on November 14 :) :)

Google India has announced Arun Kumar Yadav, a class 9 student of Kendriya Vidyalaya from Chandigarh, as the winner of the Doodle4Google 2012 competition. The winning Doodle titled 'India - A Prism if Multiplicity' will go live on the Google (India) homepage on November 14, National Children's Day. The Doodle will also be featured on a special color pack and drawing book by Classmate.

Cotton Ear Buds...

Cotton Ear Buds... (Must read it)

Please do not show sympathy to people selling buds on roadside or at Signals. Just wanted to warn you people not to buy those packs of ear-buds you get at the roadside.

-----> It's made from cotton that has already been used in hospitals.. They take all the dirty, blood- and pus-filled cotton, wash it, bleach it and use it to make ear buds. So, unless you want t
o become the first person in the world to get Herpes Zoster Oticus (a viral infection of the inner, middle, and external ear) of the ear and that too from a cotton bud, DON'T BUY THEM!!

Cystic neoplasm of pancreas (RAPID REVIEW)



Cystic neoplasms of pancreas include:
1. Serous cystic neoplasms (30%)
2.Mucinous cystic neoplasm (50%)
3. Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm

Serous cystic neoplasms (SCN)
Mean Age:62years
Site:Head of pancreas
Macroscopy:Small spongy clusters of clear cysts <2cms
CT scan: 1. Central sunburst/stellar scar appearance 2. Each cluster resembles BUNCH OF GRAPES 3. HONEYCOOMB appearance

Mucinous cystic neoplasm (MCN)
Mean Age: 53 years
Site:Body and uncinate process
Macroscopy: Large cysts >2cms (~ 6 in number)
CT scan:Papillary invaginations into cyst (ovarian stroma +)

Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN)
Mean Age:63yrs
Site:Head of pancreas tail of pancreas
Macroscopy:Pancreatic duct dilatation
CT scan:Fish mouth sign

SCN and MCN common in females and IPMN common in males.

Courtesy: Mcgraw-hill companies

The Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction

The Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction resembles bacterial sepsis and can occur after initiation of antibacterials such as penicillin or tetracycline, or treatment of tick-borne relapsing fever. An association has been found between the release of heat-stable proteins from spirochetes and the reaction. Typically, the death of these bacteria and the associated release
of endotoxins or lipoproteins occurs faster than the body can remove the substances. It manifests as fever, chills, rigor, hypotension, headache, tachycardia, hyperventilation, vasodilation with flushing, myalgia (muscle pain), and exacerbation of skin lesions. The intensity of the reaction indicates the severity of inflammation. Reaction commonly occurs within two hours of drug administration, but is usually self-limiting. Prophylaxis and treatment with an anti-inflammatory agent may stop progression of the reaction. Oral aspirin every four hours for 1–2 days, or 60 mg of prednisone orally or intravenously has been used as an adjunctive treatment.

The Herxheimer reaction has shown an increase in inflammatory cytokines during the period of exacerbation, including tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-6 and interleukin-8.

Most women with primary syphilis and 50% of women with secondary syphilis develop JH reaction following penicillin therapy.

Fasanella Servat Operation

Fasanella Servan Operation is a surgical procedure for management of ptosis

In this procedure the upper border of tarsus is excised with lower border of muller muscle and overlying conjunctiva. It is done where levator function is adequate and atleast 10mm and ptosis is not more than 2mm.
Indications: Horner syndrome and very mild congenital ptosis.

The woman who grew a new ear on her arm:

Doctors at Johns Hopkins have successfully grown an ear on a woman's arm. Sherrie Walters, 42, had an ear grown on her arm to replace one removed after developing basal cell carcinoma in 2008. The illness meant that she had her ear, a piece of her skull and her ear canal removed.

She is now the first person ever to have their ear regrown using cartilage taken from her rib. The team of surgeons, led by Dr. Patrick Byrne, took rib cartilage to shape a new ear, according to Red Orbit. In an experimental procedure, it was placed under the skin and allowed to grow for four months before being transplanted into her head.

Friday, November 09, 2012

Response to Iron Therapy In Iron Deficiency Anemia


Response to Iron Therapy In Iron Deficiency Anemia

12-24hours--> Replacement of intracellular iron enzymes; subjective,improvement; decreased irritability; increased appetite

36-48hours--> Initial bone marrow response; erythroid hyperplasia

48-72hours--> Reticulocytosis, peaking at 5-7days

4-30days--> Increase in hemoglobin level

1-3months--> Repletion of iron stores

Figure: Iron Cycle-->Iron is bound and transported in the body via transferrin and stored in ferritin molecules. Once iron is absorbed, there is no physiologic mechanism for excretion of excess iron from the body other than blood loss i.e., pregnancy, menstruation or other bleeding.

Is Chocolate Good for Your Heart?


Why a little, in moderation, may be beneficial
Chocolate has gotten a lot of media coverage in recent years because it's believed that it may help protect your cardiovascular system. The reasoning being that the cocoa bean is rich in a class of plant nutrients called flavonoids.

Flavonoids help protect plants from environmental toxins and help repair damage. They can be found in a variety of foods, such as fruits and vegetables. When we eat foods rich in flavonoids, it appears that we also benefit from this "antioxidant" power.

Antioxidants are believed to help the body's cells resist damage caused by free radicals that are formed by normal bodily processes, such as breathing, and from environmental contaminants, like cigarette smoke. If your body does not have enough antioxidants to combat the amount of oxidation that occurs, it can become damaged by free radicals. For example, an increase in oxidation can cause low-density lipoprotein (LDL), also known as "bad" cholesterol, to form plaque on the artery walls.

Flavanols are the main type of flavonoid found in cocoa and chocolate. In addition to having antioxidant qualities, research shows that flavanols have other potential influences on vascular health, such as lowering blood pressure, improving blood flow to the brain and heart, and making blood platelets less sticky and able to clot.

These plant chemicals aren’t only found in chocolate. In fact, a wide variety of foods and beverages are rich in flavonols. These include cranberries, apples, peanuts, onions, tea and red wine.

Are all types of chocolate healthy?
Before you grab a chocolate candy bar or slice of chocolate cake, it’s important to understand that not all forms of chocolate contain high levels of flavanols.

Cocoa naturally has a very strong, pungent taste, which comes from the flavanols. When cocoa is processed into your favorite chocolate products, it goes through several steps to reduce this taste. The more chocolate is processed (through things like fermentation, alkalizing, roasting, etc.), the more flavanols are lost.

What about all of the fat in chocolate?
You may be surprised to learn that chocolate isn’t as bad for you as once believed.

The fat in chocolate comes from cocoa butter and is made up of equal amounts of oleic acid (a heart-healthy monounsaturated fat also found in olive oil), stearic and palmitic acids. Stearic and palmitic acids are forms of saturated fat. You may know that saturated fats are linked to increases in LDL cholesterol and the risk of heart disease.

But, research shows that stearic acid appears to have a neutral effect on cholesterol, neither raising nor lowering it. Although palmitic acid does affect cholesterol levels, it only makes up one-third of the fat calories in chocolate. Still, this does not mean you can eat all the dark chocolate you’d like.

Radiological findings of scruvy(Long bones)

Radiological findings of scruvy(Long bones)

Info: Radiological findings of scruvy(Long bones)

Scurvy is a common nutritional disorder in developing countries due to high prevalence of malnutrition. Vitamin C performs various important functions in the body. It is required for synthesis of supporting tissues of mesenchymal origin like osteoid in bone, chondroid in cartilage, dentin in teeth and collagen in capillary walls. It enhances iron
absorption from the gastrointestinal tract, acts as an anti-oxidant, required in the coagulation pathway, also in tyrosine metabolism and synthesis of corticosteroids. Amla, guava and citrus fruits are rich dietary sources of vitamin C. Human breast milk has five times more vitamin C than cow's milk, thus breast fed infants are less prone to develop scurvy. Delay in starting weaning foods, improper dietary habits and recurrent diarrhea predispose to scurvy.

Cataracts


Cataracts-Few interesting types

Christmas tree cataracts-Seen in Myotonic dystrophy .Christmas tree cataract consists of highly refractile multicolored "needles" crisscrossing the lens fibers of the deep cortex.Cystine is the most likely candidate for the Christmas tree needles .

Oil Drop Cataract -In Galactosemia.Accumulation of dulcitol (galactose reduction product) within the lens cells leads to increased intracellular osmotic pressure and fluid influx into the lens.Early cataracts reversible with dietary restriction of galactose. Zonular or nuclear opacity with increased refractive power of the nuclear portion causes an "oil droplet" appearance on retroillumination.
Cerulean (blue-dot) cataract -Down's syndrome.

Rosette Cataract -Traumatic origin.

Sunflower Cataract -In Wilson’s Disease .

Polychromatic luster-bread crumb appearance -Complicated cataract .

Zonular cataract or Lamellar cataract (Cataract with riders) -the most common type of Congenital cataract

Morgagnian cataract - one type of Hypermature senile cataract . The cortex has turned into milky liquid and the nucleus is displaced inferiorly.

Glass Blower’s Cataract -Due to Infrared irradiation.

body fat percentage..

The body fat percentage of a person is the total weight of fat divided by total weight; body fat includes essential body fat and storage body fat. Essential body fat is necessary to maintain life and reproductive functions. The percentage of essential body fat for women is greater than that for men, due to the demands of childbearing and other hormonal functions. The percentage of essential
fat is 3–5% in men, and 10-16% in women.

American Council on Exercise recommends the following percentages:

For males
Essential fat-->10–13%
Athletes-->14–20%
Fitness-->21–24%
Average-->25–31%
Obese-->32%+

For females
Essential fat---> 2–5%
Athletes-->6–13%
Fitness-->14–17%
Average-->18–24%
Obese-->25%+

Tuesday, November 06, 2012

Info- Left ventricular assist devices (LVAD)

Left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) or biventricular assist devices have become a well-recognised option in the management of acute and chronic heart failure where they may be used as a bridge to transplant or recovery or as a destination therapy. These devices generate either pulsatile or continuous flow and a wide
variety is in current clinical use.

Echocardiography is routinely employed during the intraoperative and postoperative periods for the evaluation of thrombus, mechanical or circulatory problems and ventricular filling and unloading. This imaging modality is very portable, offers dynamic assessment and is ideally suited to the ICU setting.

Chest radiography may be used to assess positioning of the pump and the inflow and outflow cannulae.

CT is useful as a problem solving tool in these patients. It allows visualisation of regions not well seen at ultrasound. CT will allow assessment of the ventricular assist device pocket, the cannulae, the anastomoses, the drive lines, the native vessels and may provide information about ventricular function.

Buffalo Gives Birth To A Human-like Baby In Thailand

In Thailand, a Buffalo gave birth to a human-like baby.This is a photo of a buffalo very similar to human especially its face which is dominantly similar to human. However, its hands and feets are more like a buffalo. But overall the buffalo-boy has most organs of a cow having human shaped.

It has passed away immediately after it was born. Thais believe this is some sort of phenomenon that brings luck and everyone in that village were praying for blessings. The face of this mystery human-like baby buffalo was totally deformed that I can’t know whether it looks like a buffalo or human face.

http://horrorstories.anthonet.com/archives/buffalo-human-baby

Breast Biopsy

The only sure way to determine whether a lump is cancer is to do a biopsy. This involves taking a tissue sample for further examination in the lab, sometimes through a small needle. Sometimes surgery is done to take part of or the entire lump for testing. The results will show whether the lump is cancer, and if so, what type. There are several forms of breast cancer, and treatments are carefully matched to the type of cancer.

Sciatica Treatment, causes and Symptoms

 Sciatica is a clinical diagnosis that refers to an inflammation of the sciatic nerve. Sciatic nerve is a nerve that covers any movements to the leg and sends information about sensations back to the brain. Sciatic nerve is the largest peripheral nerve in our body. It consists of lumbar
and sacral nerve roots fro

m the spine, exits the lower part of the lumbosacral area, passes behind the hip and runs down the back of the thigh.
_________________
Causes of sciatica
----------------------
► Spinal disc herniation. It is a rupture of normal cushion of the spine vertebrae. It causes compression to the nerve and the manifestations are: pain, weakness, and numbness.

► Spinal stenosis
► Spondylolisthesis
► Piriformis syndrome.

_________________
Sciatica symptoms
---------------------------

► Burning sensation of the thigh
► Shooting pains from the buttock, down the leg
► Cramping sensation of the thigh
► Tingling sensation in the thighs and legs
► Pins and needles sensation
► Symptoms can be worse by coughing or squatting because there is an increased intraabdominal pressure that increases pressure around the nerve.

___________________
Sciatica treatment
---------------------------

► Reduce your activities, take more rest.
► Analgetic and antiinflammatory drugs, such as:
└ Motrin
└ Celebrex
► Muscle relaxant drugs
► Corticosteroid, such as: Medrol Dose-Pak. There is also epidural steroid injection that can deliver antiinflammatory medication directly to the sick area.
► Physical therapy and exercises
► Supporting therapy, such as ice packs. It can soothe the muscles
► Alternative medicine:

└ Chiropractic
└ Acupuncture
└ Massage
└ Hypnosis

► If the problems persist up to 3 months, you may need a surgery procedure to remove the ruptured disc

Salivary gland cancer :-



The salivary glands make saliva and release it into the mouth. Saliva has enzymes that help digest food and antibodies that help protect against infections of the mouth and throat. There are 3 pairs of major salivary glands:

Parotid glands: These are the largest salivary glands and are found in front of and just below each ear. Most major salivary gland tumors begin in t
his gland.

Sublingual glands: These glands are found under the tongue in the floor of the mouth.

Submandibular glands: Theseglands are found below the jawbone.
There are also hundreds of small (minor) salivary glands lining parts of the mouth, nose, and larynx that can beseen only with a microscope.

Most small salivary gland tumors begin in the palate (roof of the mouth).
More than half of all salivarygland tumors are benign (notcancerous) and do not spread to other tissues.
Salivary gland cancer is a type of head and neck cancer

THE 9-YEAR-OLD INDIAN TAKES AMERICA BY SURPRISE! Tanishq

THE 9-YEAR-OLD INDIAN TAKES AMERICA BY SURPRISE!

Let's congratulate Tanishq for making India proud with his super intelligence. He took entire America by surprise when he was tested for extraordinary intelligence and scored 99.9 percentile.
At 7, he gave lectures to students who were twice of his age.Today, he is only 9 and already completed one third of the credits needed for a college degree at

the American River College in Sacramento, California.

Tanishq is born to mother Dr Taji and father Bijou Abraham, speaks his mother tongue Malayalam at home and wants to become a scientist.

Sunday, November 04, 2012

Benefits of Surah al Fatiha in Holy QURAN


***** Benefits of Surah al Fatiha ****** Please Read & Share

A man came to the Prophet(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) , embraced Islam then returned to his people. On his way there were a group of men who had with them a madman in iron manacles. The group said, that they heard that the travelers friend (i.e.Prophet Muhammad(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) ) had something good with him and so he exo
rcised the madman with Surah al Fatiha, and he was cured. As reward they gave the traveler sheep. He then returned to the Prophet(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) and narrated the story. The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) asked if he did anything other than recite al-Fatiha, he said no. So the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said that while these people make their livelihoods out of false incantations (i.e. worshiping false idols) the traveler earned the 100 sheep through something lawful; so he could keep the sheep.[Abu Dawood 3398/a]

Once the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) was traveling when he disembarked and began walking along side a companion. He asked him, 'Shouldn't I tell you the best part of the Quran?' then he recited 'Alhamdu lilahi rabil alameen' (Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds).[Hakim 1/560; Dhahabi & Al-Albaani in 'The authentic series' 3/485]

The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, 'Whoever mastered the first seven (chapters or verses)from the Quran is a pontiff'.[Hakim 1/564; Dhahabi & Al-Albaani in Al-Silsila As-Sahiba 5/385]

The Prophet(sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, 'The mother of the Quran are the seven oft repeatedverses'[Bukhari 4704]

The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wassallam) said, 'In the Fatiha of the Quran, there is a cure for all maladies'[Darimi 3236]

Saturday, November 03, 2012

Worlds Largest Diesel Engine

Worlds Largest Diesel Engine Wärtsilä-Sulzer RTA96- C,turboch arged two-stroke diesel straight engine, 6 to 14 cylinders, engine speed :92–102 revolutions per minute, BHP - 109,000, Which consumes 3.7 Ltrs / Sec. 40 Feet Tall & 90 Feet Long. Fitted in Emma Marsk Ship.

Apple phone

This device from Romotive turns your iPhone into a robot that you control remotely with another device. He goes by "Romo." !!

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Amazing Facts about India and Indians!


India is the world's largest, oldest, continuous civilization.
India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history.
India is the world's largest democracy.
Varanasi, also known as Benares, was called "the ancient city" when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C.E, and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.
India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.
The World's first university was established in Takshashila in 700BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BC was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
Sanskrit is the mother of all the European languages. Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software - a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987.
Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans. Charaka, the father of medicine consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago. Today Ayurveda is fast regaining its rightful place in our civilization.
Although modern images of India often show poverty and lack of development, India was the richest country on earth until the time of British invasion in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India's wealth.
The art of Navigation was born in the river Sindhu 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from Sanskrit 'Nou'.
Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: (5th century) 365.258756484 days.
The value of pi was first calculated by Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century long before the European mathematicians.
Algebra, trigonometry and calculus came from India. Quadratic equations were by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10**53(10 to the power of 53) with specific names as early as 5000 BCE during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera 10**12(10 to the power of 12).
IEEE has proved what has been a century old suspicion in the world scientific community that the pioneer of wireless communication was Prof. Jagdish Bose and not Marconi.
The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurashtra.
According to Saka King Rudradaman I of 150 CE a beautiful lake called Sudarshana was constructed on the hills of Raivataka during Chandragupta Maurya's time.
Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India.
Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted complicated surgeries like cesareans, cataract, artificial limbs, fractures, urinary stones and even plastic surgery and brain surgery. Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India. Over 125 surgical equipment were used. Deep knowledge of anatomy, physiology, etiology, embryology, digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunity is also found in many texts.
When many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilization).
The four religions born in India, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world's population.
The place value system, the decimal system was developed in India in 100 BC.
India is one of the few countries in the World, which gained independence without violence.
India has the second largest pool of Scientists and Engineers in the World.
India is the largest English speaking nation in the world.
India is the only country other than US and Japan, to have built a super computer indigenously.
Famous Quotes on India (by non-Indians)
Albert Einstein said: We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made.
Mark Twain said: India is, the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only.
French scholar Romain Rolland said: If there is one place on the face of earth where all the dreams of living men have found a home from the very earliest days when man began the dream of existence, it is India.
Hu Shih, former Ambassador of China to USA said: India conquered and dominated China culturally for 20 centuries without ever having to send a single soldier across her border.

The Door to Hell, 41 years and still burning!

While drilling in 1971, Soviet geologists tapped into a cavern filled with natural gas.The ground beneath the drilling rig collapsed, leaving a large hole with a diameter of 70 metres (230 ft). To avoid poisonous gas discharge, it was decided the best solution was burn it off.Geologists had hoped the fire would use all the fuel in a matter of days, bu
t the gas is still burning today. Locals have dubbed the cavern "The Door to Hell".

No one can estimate how much more gas there still is. When they first lit the gas crater on fire, they thought the fire would go out after a few days. It’s been more than a few day, it’s been more than a few weeks or months. It’s been decades and the gas crater is burning just as it did the day it was first lit. Putting all economical loses from wasted natural gas aside, imagine the ecological impact this burning gas has cause during decades of non stop burning!

Located in Darvaza, Turkmenistan.

A Nepalese teenager has invented a revolutionary new type of solar panel that uses human hair.

A Nepalese teenager has invented a revolutionary new type of solar panel that uses human hair.
18-year-old Milan Karki claims that hair is easy to use as a conductor within the solar panels! This breakthrough could replace silicon, a far more expensive component that drives up the cost of producing solar energy. Milan was originally inspired after reading a book by physicist Stephen Hawking that
discussed ways of creating static energy from hair.

Melanin, the pigment which gives our hair its color, can be used in this conversion of energy and likewise serves as a great conductor of electricity. This discovery is even more important in the face of global warming and limited natural resources.

It could be a miracle cure for dengue.

It could be a miracle cure for dengue. And the best part is you can make it at home.

The juice of the humble papaya leaf has been seen to arrest the destruction of platelets that has been the cause for so many deaths this dengue season. Ayurveda researchers have found that enzymes in the papaya leaf can fight a host of viral infections, not just dengue, and can help regenerate platelets and white
blood cells.

Scores of patients have benefited from the papaya leaf juice, say doctors.

Papaya has always been known to be good for the digestive system. Due to its rich vitamin and mineral content, it is a health freak's favourite. But its dengue -fighting properties have only recently been discovered.

Chymopapin and papin - enzymes in the papaya leaf - help revive platelet count, say experts. ...

Source : Times of India.

VTU students can submit MTech thesis online

The students ofVisvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) can now submit their final M Tech thesis online.
The university recently introduced the system of online submission to ensure quicker evaluation of the dissertations and timely issuance of the degree certificates to students.
So instead of submitting the findings of their six-month project work as a hard copy, students cangive it on a CD/pen drive or upload it onto the website themselves, a senior university official said. Previously, a hard copy of the thesis was sent to the internal evaluator after which it was sent to the external evaluator by post.
The university received the evaluated theses only after two to six months. This resulted in delay in the issue of degree certificates, the official said. Under the new system, after the thesis is uploaded onto the VTU website, the controller of examinations marks a copy to the internal and external evaluators.
The software used in the system helps the evaluators in entering the marks. After the external evaluators give the marks, the viva voce is conducted. The system is helping the university in clearing the backlog of at least 3,000 theses. The evaluation takes only 15 days. Viva of about 2,000 students has been conducted so far. “It is an effective and quick method,”SA Kori, registrar (evaluation), said.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Smoking and Your Heart :


If you smoke, your risk of heart disease is 2 to 4 times greater than a nonsmoker's. And if you smoke around loved ones, you're increasing their risk with secondhand smoke. Each year in the U.S., more than 135,000 people die from smoking-related heart disease. But it's never too late to quit. Within 24 hours of quitting, your heart attack risk begins to fall

Health Care Tips For Eid-ul-Azha

Eid-ul-Azha is an important and memorable event which Muslims of the world celebrated in the month of Zill Hajj. Since this demands the sacrifice of animal, so it is understood that the meat quantity will be in abundance.

Health care tips are important in this regard and one must take care of this to ensure better health in the time when there is abundance of meat. Eid-ul-Azha health care tips have serious direction towards the meat lovers. The list of given health care tips will enable you to ensure better health. Following are the Eid-ul-Azha health care tips.

1. Don’t Eat Excessive Meat:
Health care tips prioritize the ban on the eating of excess meat. Meat is something difficult to digest as compare to fruits and vegetables. Health care tips recommend you to avoid excessive meat.

2. Morning Or Evening Walk:
Health care tips cannot be completed without giving due importance to walk specially in the days of Eid ul Azha. The walk will enable your stomach to work properly and will make it able to digest food. Health care tips for Eid-ul-Azha includes walk as the most important part.

3. Fix Time of Meal:
One of the abuses we find in our society is lack of routine in eating food especially on the occasion like eid. Health care tips suggest you to keep your routine intact even in the days of eid when there is supply of meat. Health care tips should be considered while eating something.

4. Fruits and Green Vegetables:
Health care tips recommend the high use of fruits and green vegetables even in the days of Eid ul Azha. Health care tips included fruits and vegetable as vital component of health especially in the days of Eid ul Azha.

5. Less Use Of Cold Drinks:
Studies of health care tips have shown us that the impact of cold drinks is very temporary. One should avoid the use of cold drinks in the days of Eid-ul-Azha due to number of reasons. Health care tips discourage the use of any soft drink.

6. Green Tea:
Eid-ul-Azha health care tips include the use of Green tea at least after the meal. Health care tips have proved that the use of green tea would make digestion as an easy process. The lists of health care tips have regarded green tea with great importance.

7. Less Spice and Peppers:
Major cause of health problems is the excessive use of spices. Eid-ul-Azha Health care tips have clearly marked that the use of spices should be minimized and for better health, as one of the main health care tips, boiled meat should be used.

8. At Least 6 Hours Break Between The Meals:
Health care tips have shown that the delay between two consecutive meals should not be less than 6 hours at least in Eid Days of Eid ul Azha. Eid-ul-Azha health care tips should be followed to enjoy better health in the glorious times of Eid.

9. Homemade Food:
Health care tips in context of Pakistan clearly marked the homemade food as an important ingredient to health. In the days of Eid ul Azha, try to cook every possible food in the home in the best possible hygienic way. Health care tips strongly urge you to avoid meals at hotels and restaurants.

10. Don’t Give Up Routine Activities:
It is highly recommended that don‘t give up daily routine activities. Health care tips include the very basic problem of the society that they take Eid a day for rest and eating only. Eid-ul-Azha health care tips have shown that the routine activities would make you healthy on Eid.

Dark Circles

Dark Circles~
Dark circles under the eyes are the commonproblem of both men and women..Due to stress, lack of sleep and nutrition deficiency.
Just massage gently around the eyes with few drops of almond oil for a minute. Wipe it off with cotton after 15 minutes. Mix cucumber juice and potato juice, apply it on the dark circles and wash it off after 20 minutes..!

Spitting Cobra :


A spitting cobra is one of several species of cobras that have the ability to eject venom from their fangs when defending themselves against predators. The sprayed venom is harmless to intact skin.

How Famous Companies Got Their Names?




Nike: Named for the greek goddess of victory. The swoosh symbolises her flight.

Skype: The original concept was ‘Sky-Peer-to-Peer’, which morphed into Skyper, then Skype.

Mercedes: This was actually financier's daughter's name.

Adidas: The company name was taken from its founder Adolf (ADI) Dassler whose first name was shortened to the nickname Adi. Together with first three letters of his surname it formed ADIDAS.

Adobe: This came from the name of the river Adobe Creek that ran behind the house of founder John Warnock.

Apple Computers: It was the favourite fruit of founder Steve Jobs. He was three months late for filing a name for the business, and he threatened to call his company Apple Computers if the other colleagues didn't suggest a better name by 5 o'clock.

CISCO: It is not an acronym as popularly believed. It's short for San Francisco.

Compaq: This name was formed by using COMP, for computer and PAQ to denote a small integral object.

Corel: The name was derived from the founder's name Dr. Michael Cowpland. It stands for COwpland Research Laboratory.

Google: The name started as a joke boasting about the amount of information the search-engine would be able to search. It was originally named 'Googol', a word for the number represented by 1 followed by 100 zeros. After founders - Stanford graduate students Sergey Brin and Larry Page presented their project to an angel investor; they received a cheque made out to 'Google'. So, instead of returning the cheque for correction, they decided to change the name to Google.

Hotmail: Founder Jack Smith got the idea of accessing e-mail via the web from a computer anywhere in the world. When Sabeer Bhatia came up with the business plan for the mail service, he tried all kinds of names ending in 'mail' and finally settled for hotmail as it included the letters "html" - the programming language used to write web pages. It was initially referred to as HoTMaiL with selective uppercasing.

Hewlett Packard: Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard tossed a coin to decide whether the company they founded would be called Hewlett-Packard or Packard-Hewlett.

Intel: Bob Noyce and Gordon Moore wanted to name their new company 'Moore Noyce' but that was already trademarked by a hotel chain so they had to settle for an acronym of INTegrated ELectronics.

Lotus (Notes): Mitch Kapor got the name for his company from 'The Lotus Position' or 'Padmasana'. Kapor used to be a teacher of transcendental Meditation of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

Microsoft: Coined by Bill Gates to represent the company that was devoted to MICROcomputer SOFTware. Originally christened Micro-Soft, the '-' was removed later on.

Motorola: Founder Paul Galvin came up with this name when his company started manufacturing radios for cars. The popular radio company at the time was called Victrola.

Sony: It originated from the Latin word 'sonus' meaning sound and 'sonny' as lang used by Americans to refer to a bright youngster.

SUN: Founded by 4 Stanford University buddies, SUN is the acronym for Stanford University Network. Andreas Bechtolsheim built a microcomputer; Vinod Khosla recruited him and Scott McNealy to manufacture computers based on it, and Bill Joy to develop a UNIX-based OS for the computer.

Apache: It got its name because its founders got started by applying patches to code written for NCSA's httpd daemon. The result was 'A PAtCHy' server - thus, the name Apache Jakarta (project from Apache): A project constituted by SUN and Apache to create a web server handling servlets and JSPs. Jakarta was name of the conference room at SUN where most of the meetings between SUN and Apache took place.

Tomcat: The servlet part of the Jakarta project. Tomcat was the code name for the JSDK 2.1 project inside SUN.

C: Dennis Ritchie improved on the B programming language and called it 'New B'. He later called it C. Earlier B was created by Ken Thompson as a revision of the Bon programming language (named after his wife Bonnie).

C++: Bjarne Stroustrup called his new language 'C with Classes' and then 'newC'. Because of which the original C began to be called 'old C' which was considered insulting to the C community. At this time Rick Mascitti suggested the name C++ as a successor to C.

GNU: A species of African antelope. Founder of the GNU project Richard Stallman liked the name because of the humour associated with its pronunciation and was also influenced by the children's song 'The Gnu Song' which is a song sung by a gnu. Also it fitted into the recursive acronym culture with 'GNU's Not Unix'.

Java: Originally called Oak by creator James Gosling, from the tree that stood outside his window, the programming team had to look for a substitute as there was no other language with the same name. Java was selected from a list of suggestions. It came from the name of the coffee that the programmers drank.

LG: Combination of two popular Korean brands Lucky and Goldstar.
Linux: Linus Torvalds originally used the Minix OS on his system which here placed by his OS. Hence the working name was Linux (Linus' Minix). He thought the name to be too egotistical and planned to name it Freax (free+freak+x). His friend Ari Lemmke encouraged Linus to upload it to a network so it could be easily downloaded. Ari gave Linus a directory called 'Linux' on his FTP server, as he did not like the name Freax. (Linus parents named him after two-time Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling).

Mozilla: When Marc Andreessen, founder of Netscape, created a browser to replace Mosaic (also developed by him), it was named Mozilla (Mosaic-Killer, Godzilla). The marketing guys didn't like the name however and it was re-christened Netscape Navigator.

Red Hat: Company founder Marc Ewing was given the Cornell lacrosse team cap (with red and white stripes) while at college by his grandfather. He lost it and had to search for it desperately. The manual of the beta version of Red Hat Linux had an appeal to readers to return his Red Hat if found by anyone!

SAP: "Systems, Applications, Products in Data Processing", formed by 4 ex-IBM employees who used to work in the 'Systems/Applications/Projects' group of IBM.

UNIX: When Bell Labs pulled out of MULTICS (MULTiplexed Information and Computing System), which was originally a joint Bell/GE/MIT project, Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie of Bell Labs wrote a simpler version of the OS. They needed the OS to run the game 'Space War' which was compiled under MULTICS. It was called UNICS - UNIplexed operating and Computing System by Brian Kernighan. It was later shortened to UNIX.

SCO (UNIX): From Santa Cruz Operation. The company's office was in Santa Cruz.

Xerox: The inventor, Chestor Carlson, named his product trying to say 'dry' (as it was dry copying, markedly different from the then prevailing wet copying). The Greek root 'xer' means dry.

Yahoo: The word was invented by Jonathan Swift and used in his book 'Gulliver's Travels'. It represents a person who is repulsive in appearance and action and is barely human. Yahoo! founders Jerry Yang and David Filo selected the name because they considered themselves yahoos.

3M: Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company started off by mining the material corundum used to make sandpaper. It was changed to 3M when the company changed its focus to Innovative Products.

Monday, October 22, 2012

HUMAN-ANIMAL MARRIAGE: ONE OF THE BIGGEST-HITTING STORIES.

A man caught having sex with a goat was forced to marry her as a punishment in Sudan.

The goat's owner, Mr Alifi, said he surprised the man with his goat and took him to a council of elders.
They ordered the man, Mr Tombe, to pay a dowry of 15,000 Sudanese dinars ($50) to Mr Alifi.
"We have given him the goat, and as far as we know they are still together," Mr Alifi said.
Mr Alifi, of Hai Malakal in Upper Nile State, told the Juba Post newspaper that he heard a loud noise around midnight on 13 February and immediately rushed outside to find Mr Tombe with his goat.
"When I asked him: 'What are you doing there?', he fell off the back of the goat, so I captured and tied him up."
Mr Alifi then called elders to decide how to deal with the case.
"They said I should not take him to the police, but rather let him pay a dowry for my goat because he used it as his wife," Mr Alifi told the newspaper.

The best-known goat in Sudan has died months after being "married" to a man in the South Sudan capital, Juba, the BBC has learned.
Local elders ordered a man found having sex with the goat, later called Rose, to "marry" on the end of the month.
"The idea was to publicly embarrass the man," says Tom Rhodes, editor of the Juba Post, which first ran the story.

The BBC's story of the "wedding" caught the public imagination and became one of the most read internet stories.

Rose, black and white, is believed to have died after choking on a plastic bag she swallowed as she was eating scraps on the streets of Juba.

After the marriage, Rose had a male kid - but "not a human one" - Mr Rhodes said, hastily.

The "husband", Charles Tombe, said he was drunk at the time but has since refused to comment on the issue. The kid is owned by Mr Tombe.

Making it historically one of the biggest-hitting stories the BBC News website has published.

HIDDEN MEANINGS IN UNILEVER LOGO.

HIDDEN MEANINGS IN UNILEVER LOGO.

Whether you are a consumer of Lipton tea, Walls Ice-cream, Ponds cream or Axe deodrant, you must be acquainted with the unique ‘U’ shaped icon printed on the back of these products. This legendary icon is a trademark of one of the most recognized and prominent brands in the UK market…Unilever. It’s distinctively ‘U’ shaped creative typographic logo has mystified
the customers for years.
For all of the brand loyal fans of Unilever, who have been anxious to find out the meaning behind this mysterious logo, the explanation has been finally revealed. Unilever, on its website, has finally disclosed the logic behind all icons used to create their remarkable logo.

Unilever’s current mysterious company logo was unveiled in 2004. It was created by the famous UK design firm Wolff Olins and is made up of 25 different icons amalgamated into a ‘U’ shaped logo design. Each of these icons symbolizes Unilever’s diverse brand portfolio. The whole identity system revolves around the idea of "adding vitality to life”.

1.Sun- Sun evokes Unilever’s origins in Port Sunlight and can represent a number of brands. Flora, Slim•Fast and Omo all use radiance to communicate their benefits.

2.Hand-A symbol of sensitivity, care and need. It represents both skin and touch.

3.Flower-Represents fragrance. When seen with the hand, it represents moisturizers or cream.

4.Bee-Represents creation, pollination, hard work and bio-diversity. Bees symbolize both environmental challenges and opportunities.

5.DNA-The double helix, the genetic blueprint of life and a symbol of bio-science. It is the key to a healthy life.

6.Hair-A symbol of beauty and looking good. Placed next to the flower it evokes cleanliness and fragrance; placed near the hand it suggests softness.

7.Palm Tree-A nurtured resource. It produces palm oil as well as many fruits – coconuts and dates – and also symbolises paradise.

8.Sauces or Spreads- Represents mixing or stirring. It suggests blending in flavors and adding taste.

9.Bowl-A bowl of delicious-smelling food. It can also represent a ready meal, hot drink or soup.

10. Spoon-A symbol of nutrition, tasting and cooking.

11.Spice & flavors-Represents chili or fresh ingredients.

12.Fish-Represents food, sea or fresh water.

13.Sparkle-Clean, healthy and sparkling with energy.

14.Bird-A symbol of freedom. It suggests a relief from daily chores, and getting more out of life.

15.Tea-A plant or an extract of a plant, such as tea. Also a symbol of growing and farming.

16.Lips-Represent beauty, looking good and taste.

17.Ice cream-A treat, pleasure and enjoyment.

18.Recycle-Part of our commitment to sustainability.

19.Particles-A reference to science, bubbles and fizz.

20.Frozen-The plant is a symbol of freshness, the snowflake represents freezing. A transformational symbol.

21.Container-Symbolises packaging – a pot of cream associated with personal care.

22.Heart-A symbol of love, care and health.

23.Clothes-Represent fresh laundry and looking good.

24.Wave-Symbolizes cleanliness, freshness and vigor.

25.Liquid-A reference to clean water and purity.

Morning Glory Clouds

The Morning Glory cloud is a rare meteorological phenomenon. A Morning Glory cloud is a roll cloud that can be up to 1000 kilometers long, 1 to 2 kilometers high, and can move at speeds up to 60 kilometers per hour. The Morning Glory is often accompanied by sudden wind squalls, intense low-level wind shear, a rapid increase in the vertical displacement of air parcels, and a sharp pressure jump at the surface. In the front of the cloud, there is strong vertical motion that transports air up through the cloud and creates the rolling appearance, while the air in the middle and rear of the cloud becomes turbulent and sinks.

Akrit Jaswal : The Seven Year-Old Surgeon

Akrit Jaswal : The Seven Year-Old Surgeon

Akrit Jaswal is a young Indian who has been called the worlds smartest boy and its easy to see why. His IQ is 146 and is considered the smartest person in his age in India ”a country of more than a billion people".

Akrit came to public attention when in 2000 he performed his first medical procedure at his family home. He was seven. His patient ” a local
girl who could not afford a doctor ” was eight. Her hand had been burnt in a fire, causing her fingers to close into a tight fist that wouldnt open. Akrit had no formal medical training and no experience of surgery, yet he managed to free her fingers and she was able to use her hand again.

He focused his phenomenal intelligence on medicine and at the age of twelve he claimed to be on the verge of discovering a cure for cancer. He is now studying for a science degree at Chandigarh College and is the youngest student ever accepted by an Indian University.

Eucalyptus Deglupta, rainbow colored Tree


There is a rainbow colored Tree. . .

The Eucalyptus Deglupta is a tall tree, otherwise known as the rainbow eucalyptus. It is found in the northern hemisphere, in places like New Britain, new guinea etc.

The tree sheds patches of its bark and exposes a fresh bright-green bark. Eventually the color and then darkens. It it will through blue, purple orange and maroon hues. The tree sheds its bark at various times throughout the year, which gives it its rainbow color.

Facts About Christ The Redeemer :


# This statue was built in the 1931. Construction started in 1922 and was completed in 1931. It took a span of nine years to complete it.

# The cost of the monument was $250,000.


# This statue is one of the biggest statues in the world.

# It is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone.
It takes about 220 steps to see the statue up close.

# The statue stands 38 metres tall weighs 700 short tons (635 tonnes)

# The left arm points to the Rio de Janeiro's north zone, the right to the south zone, while the saintly perch offers spectacular views of Ipanema, the Maracana soccer stadium and the Serra do Órgãos mountain range.

# The original design for this statue was made by a man named Oswald. He had designed it to have a globe in one, and standing over a pedestal symbolizing the world. This design was not agreed on.

# In October 2006, on the statue's 75th anniversary, Archbishop of Rio Cardinal Eusebio Oscar Scheid consecrated a chapel, named for the patron saint of Brazil - Nossa Senhora Aparecida, under the statue. This allows Catholics to hold baptisms and weddings there.

On July 11th, 2011 Neptune completed its first full orbit since it was discovered in 1846

On July 11th, 2011 Neptune completed its first full orbit since it was discovered in 1846

Neptune is about 4.50 billion km from the Sun, and it completes an orbit every 164.79 years. Since it was discovered in 1846, that means it just completed its first full orbit last year. It was not, however, in the same spot in our sky, because the Earth was in a different position at both times.

Another interesting fact about Neptune is that it has a similar tilt as Earth and Mars, which means that all three planets experience similar seasonal changes. However, because of how much slower Neptune's orbit is, each season lasts about 40 Earth years ! Despite this, Neptune's days are roughly 16 hours.

Your spit contains a painkiller that can be 6 times more powerful than morphine.

 . .

Human saliva contains a natural painkiller called opiorphin. Due to its powerful painkilling ability, scientists are trying to synthesize a new natural painkiller from opiorphin. It is great, because it doesn’t have the same addicting attributes that morphine does and would work better with the body.

In a study

, 1 milligram of opiorphin gave the same results as 3 milligrams of morphine did. In another study, involving rats standing on pins, they needed 6 times more morphine than opiorphin to make them oblivious to the pain.

Opiorphin works in the nerve cells of the spine. It stops the usual destruction of natural pain killing opiates in the spine called enkephalins. It is such a simple molecule, that scientists believe it’ll be possible to synthesize it and produce large quantities of it without needing to isolate it from saliva. Another approach is to find a drug that will make the body produce more opiorphin to manage pain.

n 1936 the Russians made a computer that ran on water

 Russian scientist Vladimir Lukyanov built a computer that ran on water in 1936. Back then, computers were a little different of course. They ran on levers and gears that automated counting in some way or another. Lukyanov’s computer was the first in the world that could solve partial differential equations. In case you don’t know what those
are, it is important to know that they are a pain to solve by hand. To solve the issue of differential equations, Lukyanov fiddled around with a series of interconnected, water-filled glass tubes.

The levels in certain water-filled tubes gave the answers, while adjusting taps and plugs changed variables. The computer device was actually used to solve problems related to cracks in the concrete. It inspired other devices and applications to be invented and created. The same technology was then used in geology, thermal physics, metallurgy and rocket engineering. It was a pretty inventive instrument.

sea slug

There is a sea slug that can eat algae and gain the ability to photosynthesize, so it never has to find food again for the rest of its life cycle.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

A man carved a tunnel through a mountain so his village could have access to a doctor 70km away.

His name was Dashrath Manjhi, and he lived in a village near Gaya in Bihar, India. When his wife, Falguni Devi, passed away due to a lack of medical treatment, he decided to do something about it. The nearest doctor was 70km away through mountains, and Manjhi had no desire to see anyone suffer the fa
te his wife did, so he single handedly cut his way through a mountain in the Gehlour hills.

He carved a 360 foot long, 25 foot high, and 30foot wide road, so that vehicles could get through. It took him 22 years, from 1960 to 1982. Thanks to him, the closest doctor was then only 1km away. He was given international acclaim at the time, and when he died in 2007, he was given a state funeral by the Government of Bihar.

In July 2010, director Manish Jha announced a film, Manjhi, based on the life of Dashrath Manjhi. The film is produced by Sanjay Singh, who previously produced Udaan (2010) and Manoj Bajpai is slated to play the lead. Dashrath Manjhi's inspirational story was shown on Aamir Khan's show Satyamev Jayate. Nawazuddin Siddiqui has been roped in to play the lead role in the film Mountain Man,which is based on life of Dashrath Manjhi.

insomniac and/or hypochondriac

There is a disease where you eventually
stop sleeping and then die.

There is no cure. Hopefully you’re not an insomniac and/or hypochondriac. It’s called fatal familial insomnia, or FFI, and is a very very rare brain disease. It’s caused usually by a mutation to the PrPC protein, but can also happen spontaneously.

It begins with progressively worsening insomnia, followed by hallucinations, delirium, and then dementia. Once the symptoms begin, the average lifespan is anywhere between 7 and 18 months. Most often it’s genetic, and is so rare that it’s been found in just 40 families and about 100 people total since its discovery in 1765.


While one might think sleeping pills would help, but they’ve been proven to actually worsen the situation. Even an induced coma doesn’t work; it was attempted on a man in 1991 and his brain just wouldn’t shut down. In that case, when the man died, he hadn’t slept in 6
months.

$330,000 found in Japan vacant house demolition

Construction workers dismantling a vacant house in rural Japan discovered $330,000 cash stuffed in a tin box underneath the living room floor, press reports said. The house, in a farming town on the northern island of Hokkaido, had been empty since its elderly male owner died two years ago, the reports said.

The cash -- about 2,600 notes each worth 10,000 yen ($127) bundled together or put in envelopes -- will be handed over to the dead man's relatives on the main Japanese island of Honshu, the reports said. "Because the cash was discovered at an individual's house, it is clear whose money it is," a spokesman for the local police station said by telephone. "So we don't treat it as a lost-and-found case."

Y2K didn't cause many problems, but an internet virus did.

Remember the Y2K scare thing back in that year?? Most of us think that will be the end of the world.But tht virus made a huge impact all over the world..
It damaged all 'jpeg' and 'mpg' files on computers all over the world. It was traced back to a guy in the Phillipines. The name of the virus was? I love you & I love you virus or love

bug. The writer of the virus was never convicted, because 'the law didn't allow it' in the Phillipines.

The worm originated near Manila in the Philippines on May 5, 2000 local time and to thereafter have spread westward across the world, moving first to Hong Kong, then to Europe, and finally the US as people reported to their offices that Friday morning. The outbreak was later estimated to have caused US $5.5 billion in damages worldwide. Already ten days later 50 million infections had been reported. Most of the damage cited was the time and effort spent getting rid of the infection and recovering damaged files from backups. To protect themselves, The Pentagon, CIA, the British Parliament, and most large corporations were forced to completely shut down their mail systems.

A war veteran's secret revealed after his death


The family of a war hero only discovered the full weight of his bravery after his death when his cremation left behind a huge pile of shrapnel.

Ronald Brown stepped on a land mine while on a mission in France in August 1944. The blast peppered his left leg with red-hot fragments and he was forced to crawl two miles to safety. But because of medica
l conditions of the day it was thought safer to leave shrapnel in his body. He survived the war but only ever told his family the basic story and said the accident had left him with a 'bad knee'. Mr Brown told loved ones he still had a 'bullet' in his leg and asked his grandchildren not to sit on his knee because of the pain it caused. But when he died last week aged 94 his family had him cremated and were stunned when staff handed them back a big bag of shrapnel.

The bag contained a whopping 6oz of bomb shrapnel that he had been carrying around for 60 years. Daughter Jane Madden, 55, of Exeter, Devon said her father told her there was a bullet in his knee from the war, never mentioning the pile of fragments. She said: "I don't think he ever realised all that was in his leg - it weighed about six ounces. "He'd said there was a bullet in his leg but I was imagining one romantic piece of metal. "But when we went to scatter his ashes we asked whether the bullet had been found and they gave us this bag full of metal. "It's just macabre really and amazing because he never used to complain about the pain. It just shows how brave he was." Mr Brown, of Exeter, joined the East Yorkshire Regiment at the age of 21 and was a quartermaster when he suffered his injury.

He stepped on the booby trap while on manoeuvres in August 1944, two months after D Day. Following his death of a chest infection last week workers at Exeter and Devon Crematorium carefully sifted through his ashes and found the metal pieces. His granddaughter, Holly, 22, said her grandfather "never spoke much about the war". She said: "When we were very young he used to tell us not to sit on his knee because of the wound. "He would travel overseas to Australia and America and he was always setting off scanners as he walked through. "We always thought it was a bullet in the knee but when the funeral directors gave us this bag of shrapnel they had taken out we were shocked at how much there was. "We are all very proud of him and what he did for all of us.

The bits of metal in him just show how horrible the war was. "I suppose it's a bitter-sweet memory for us because it symbolises everything he did and how he suffered." After the war grandfather-of-five Ronald became a tax inspector.

His wife Gwendoline died 24 years ago. Holly, one of five grandchildren, said her grandfather kept a journal of his wartime experiences. In the diary he claims he introduced the British delicacy of egg and chips to people in France. But he also spoke of how of the 900 original members of his regiment, only 29 came home from the front. Jane said: "He had a good life and did a lot in his time. We all so proud of him."

Friday, October 19, 2012

Making your own cloud:

 If you have a jet fighter and a few minutes to spare, why not make your own cloud? All you have to do is fly the plane at high speed through fairly moist air. As it flies, the plane creates shock waves, which alternately squeeze up the air (making it higher pressure) and stretch it out (making it lower pressure). When you lower the pressure of moist air, you get a cloud - and that's what creates the amazing *condensation clouds* you see in photos like this. It gives a whole new meaning to that old song lyric: "Everywhere you go, you always take the weather with you." [U.S. Navy photo by Ensign John Gay.]

Moon Magic!

Why are people so interested in the Moon? One astronaut who went there, Frank Borman, seemed very unimpressed: "It's a vast, lonely... expanse of nothing." Another Apollo astronaut, William Anders, said: "It's all beat up... just a lot of bumps and holes." But look at the Moon in the right way and you'll get a different picture. This image was made using 30 different pictures from the
Galileo spacecraft, exactly 20 years ago. The red areas are the lunar highlands, while the orange and blue bits are the mares (lunar "seas"). The very blue area on the right is Mare Tranquillitatis (the Sea of Tranquility) where the first Apollo astronauts landed in 1969. It's super-rich in valuable titanium - a material from which we make airplanes, toothpaste, and false teeth (among other things). Maybe next time we go to the Moon, it'll be with the intention of mining valuable minerals and bringing them back home to Earth?

Satellites are (sometimes) simple


: Communications satellites are those tin cans whistling round space, helping us send phone calls, TV programs, and Internet data round the world. They must be amazingly complex, right? Not really! The basic idea is simple: satellites are little more than mirrors in space. Just zap your phone call up to the satellite ("uplink") and it reflects the signal back down
to another part of the world moments later ("downlink"). To get an idea how simple satellites really are, take a look at this great picture of Echo, the first basic communications satellite, launched in the early 1960s. It was nothing more than a giant (30m or 100ft) plastic balloon, covered in metal, that sat up in space. Scientists fired signals up to it and it reflected them straight back again. Modern communications satellites do the same job but cost hundreds of millions of dollars more! [You can get an idea how big this thing is by looking for the people and cars underneath it, which I've highlighted in yellow.]

Are the aliens laughing at us


? If you're under the age of about 25, it's possible you've never seen or used one of these: it's an LP record - the way most people listened to music before music CDs and MP3s came along. In the 1970s, NASA launched two spacecraft called Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 to explore remote parts of the solar system. Onboard, they were carrying golden LP records with various soun
ds recorded on Earth for aliens to listen to and (probably) laugh at.... including greetings in 60 Earth languages and music tracks by Mozart and Chuck Berry! Now aliens might well like Mozart, but what would they make of this very primitive way of recording sound? You can just imagine some green-eyed Martian blob wondering how to fit this thing into his or her iPod. Interestingly, the Voyager spacecraft are still blasting through space. In June 2012, NASA revealed that Voyager 1 is close to leaving our solar system. It now holds the record for the furthest human-built object from Earth!