X chromosome

Researchers have found nine new genes on the X-chromosome that, when knocked out, lead to learning disabilities. An international team of researchers, from more than 70 countries, studied almost all X chromosome genes in 208 families with learning disabilities and found approximately 1-2% of X chromosome genes, when knocked out, have no apparent effect on an individual’s ability to function in the ordinary world. Learning disability is significantly more common in males than in females and genetic causes have long been sought on the X chromosome: males have only one X chromosome and so a gene mutation on the X is more likely to have an effect in males than in females.

Stem Cell Theraphy

In what could raise hopes of people living with high blood sugar, scientists claim to have developed a stem cell treatment which can free diabetics from dependence on insulin. A team at Regional Blood Center in Brazil in Ribeirao Preto in Brazil has developed the new treatment that stops the immune systems of patients with type1 diabetes from destroying the pancreatic islet cells, which manufacture insulin hormone. According to the scientists, the treatment, tested successfully on 12 out of 20 diabetic patients, is actually a three-step process which relies on extracting and storing CD34 stem cells from blood of those with high blood sugar. In the next step, patients will receive drugs that destroy what remains of their immune systems, obliterating at the same time the components of the immune system that attack the islets. Finally, the saved stems are returned to the patient so that they can regenerate afresh an immune system that will no longer attack islet cells, the New Scientist reported.

World’s First Flying Car

The first flying automobile, equally at home in the sky and on the road, is scheduled to take to the air next month (February). If the automobile, which can transform itself from a two-seater road car to a plane in 15 seconds, survives its first test flight next month, it is expected to land in showrooms in about 18 months.

The Terrafugia Transition, developed by former NASA engineers, is powered by the same 100 Brake Horse power engine on the ground and in the air. Its manufacturer, Carl Dietrich, who runs the Massachusetts-based Terrafugia, said the flying automobile uses normal unleaded fuel and fits into a garage. Dietrich said the Terrafugia will be able to fly up to 800km on a single tank of petrol at a cruising speed of 185km per hour. Dietrich said he had already received 40 orders despite an expected retail price of $200,000.

Chetan Bhagat

Chetan Bhagat (born 22 April 1974) is an Indian English language author. He is one the most famous writer who has created the best fan club behind him than any other writer in India. His genre includes humor, management, and fiction. p
His first book, Five Point Someone - What not to do at Indian Institute of Technology (May 2004) is a novel about three boys who join Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and try to cope with the notoriously heavy workload of the institute and how they survive through to lead their life.
His second book, One Night @ the Call Center, released in India on October 2005, continues to be a bestseller as of January 2008. The book is about six people who work at a Call Center and one night which changes it all for them.
Chetan Bhagat's third book, The Three Mistakes of My Life was released in May 2008. About the Book - In late-2000, a young boy in ahmedabad called Govind Patel dreamt of having a business. To accommodate his friends Ish and Omi's passion, they open a cricket shop. Govind's wants to make money and thinks big. Ish is all about nurturing Ali, the batsman with a rare gift. Omi knows his limited capabilities and just wants to be with his friends. However, nothing comes easy in a turbulent city. To realize their goals, they will have to face it all - religious politics, earthquakes, riots, unacceptable love and above all, their own mistakes.

Valves Implanted In Beating Heart

An approach for implanting the new aortic heart valve without opening the heart is offered to patients at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Known as the PARTNER (Placement of Aortic trans catheter valves) trial, this Phase 3 multi-centre study is being led by national co-principal investigators Martin Leon and Craig Smith and is focused on the treatment of patients who are at high risk or not suitable for open heart valve replacement surgery. The Tran catheter valve procedures take about 90 minutes, compared with four to six hours for open-heart surgery. In open-heart surgery, the surgeon cuts through the breastbone, stops the heart, removes the valve and replaces it.

Open-heart surgery can require a two-to three month recovery period, compared to only a few days for the Trans catheter approach. It is then positioned inside the patient’s existing valve, using a balloon to deploy the frame, which holds the artificial valve in place. This breakthrough technology could save the lives of thousands of patients with heart valve disease who have no other therapeutic options.

Jurassic Biggies

The Jurassic version of jumbo jets — huge flying creatures weighing hundreds of pounds is a mystery of dinosaur-era flight: How did something so big get off the ground? What people think of as flying dinosaurs but are technically giant reptiles didn't launch into the air like birds they leap into the air off all four legs, informed as from the university’s Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution. Only vampire bats do something like that. The flying creatures are called pterosaurs. They were a group of flying reptiles that could weigh more than 500 pounds and have bus-sized wingspans. Last year, researchers tried to figure out how they got off the ground by looking at the largest bird now flying, the albatross. They concluded that anything much bigger couldn't get off the ground the same way.

In birds, the hind legs were stronger than the front and in pterosaurs the front legs were several times stronger than the hind ones. It’s a lot like a leap frog; they kind of pitch forward at first, the legs kick off first, and then the arms take off. That allowed some of the giants to get into the air in less than a second. It is calculated that the 550-pound pterosaur, Hatzegopteryx thambema, launched at a speed of 42 miles per hour.