Climate change led to woolly mammoth’s extinction
Woolly mammoths became extinct because of climate change, rather than being hunted to extinction by not spear-wielding humans, a study by British scientists claimed.
According to the study carried out by researchers from Durham University, the mammoth and other extinct "megafauna" like the woolly rhino and giant deer could not cope with climate change that led to the massive reduction in grasslands and the spread of forests.
Kinect to hit UK on November 10
Microsoft announced that the Xbox 360's new hands-free controller, Kinect, would hit United Kingdom on November 10.
Kinect, which allow users to make their way around games and movies using movement and voice commands, will also go on sale in some other countries of Europe such as Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Russia. Outside Europe, it will be launched in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and South Africa.
The company expects that the new hands-free controller will help it broadening Xbox 360 console’s appeal.
International Space Station’s Failed Pump has been Successfully Repaired
On Monday, the astronauts were able to fix the International Space Station's cooling system after it was found that it had a botched pump.
Astronauts Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson came out of the orbital complex third time in a row within 10 days in order to mend the failed pump.
When the effort to free the old pump went in vain, Wheelock and Dyson later on, were able to get rid of the pump in the past week and faced no difficulty in installing the new pump.
After repairing the pump, the station flight engineers sent the message that everything was fine.
Apple’s iPhone to Overtake Motorola’s Droid X
There is a buzz in the market that Apple’s iPhone will be launched on Verizon’s network. If this happens then million of customers will be able to use Apple’s smartphone.
Motorola’s Droid X is considered the rival of Apple’s iPhone. The Droid X has a 4.3-inch display screen, a 1 GHz processor, and excellent entertainment features. The other new version of Droid X is Droid 2, which is another excellent iPhone substitute. At present, both the smartphones offered by Motorola and Apple are quite successful in the market.
Google-Verizon Agreement Triggers Controversy
The net neutrality proposal that Verizon and Google issued on August 9 was not similar to the predictions, which were made a day before, the proposal has triggered a lot of controversy in US.
Supporters of network neutrality are criticizing the Verizon-Google agreement and it looks that four Democrats from the US Government are not in agreement with the Google-Verizon accord.
Facebook Warns Users Not to Click on Suspicious Links
Now, the users of social networking website, Facebook, are being targeted in a scam, which offers them to install an option of ‘dislike’ button.
With this scam, the users are being tricked and it allows a rogue application to access their profile page, where spam messages are being posted.
The scam also attracts users to complete an online survey, for which scammers get money. The users of the site are already provided with the option of ‘like’ button that allow people to give ratings to the comments and posts of other users.
A Look at BlackBerry Torch 9800
On Thursday, Research in Motion introduced its new BlackBerry 6 OS embedded BlackBerry Torch 9800 in the U.S., which is Company’s first touch-screen phone, to be sold for $200 on AT&T carrier.
Having a glance at the features of the phone, its thickness measures 4.4 by 2.4 by 0.6 inches and its weight is 5.68 ounces. The look of the phone is similar to the original appearance of Blackberry phones, but it has a touchscreen with four classic buttons. Torch has 3.2-inch 360-by-480 capacitive touch display, which is smaller than the other phones in competition.
Xbox Live Games on Windows Phone 7
There is good news for the Xbox Live games lovers, which will also be available on the smartphone Windows Phone 7, and is going to get introduced later this year.
The phone embedded with the facility of Xbox Live games will drive many consumers to buy the same. Thus, it would serve as the hallmark of the smartphone. With the inclusion of the Xbox games, Windows Phone 7 will be the first product to employ such an application.
Apple’s Manager Refuses to Confess Guilty; Thus behind Bars Again
Paul Devine, Apple’s Manager, alleged of accepting illicit payments worth $1million from Asian Suppliers did not confess guilty during a hearing in San Jose federal court on Monday and thus, has been put behind the bars, again.
On Friday, the Manager was arrested for selling the confidential information of the Company to a number of Asian hardware suppliers, as reported by the San Jose Mercury News, Softpedia. But, the suppliers have declined any such unlawful activity.
Mr. Russell to Chair a New Horticulture Lobby Group in Australia
The horticulture industry, following a contract to introduce a new fruit and new vegetable representative body, has now come up with a new lobby group. The Horticulture Australia Council that was wound down in May this year will be now replaced by the Horticulture Taskforce.
Man Admitted at Westminster Village Aged Care Facility, Faced Death Due to Drug Overdose
A coronial investigation has heard that a man had been admitted to an Adelaide nursing home, and his health got worse rapidly due to the overdose of drugs. In September 2006, 63 years old John Arthur Burns had walked into the Westminster Village aged care facility; but just after 10 days, he was rendered weak, paranoid, and incontinent. And two days later, he died due to a fatal stroke.
Stress Also Causes High Cholesterol
Those people, who are diagnosed with high cholesterol, start taking extra care about their diet and exercising routine, along with the prescribed medicines. But many a times, this does not make much change in their medical condition. A new study has revealed that cholesterol level also rises due to high stress.
Statins to be made a Readily Available Option
Another healthy option is put up for all those who cannot live without the fast food meal, so along with ketchup, you will also be asked for statins. Statins are the drugs that are said to reduce bad cholesterol.
Dr. Darrel Frances from the Imperial College in London, a doctor in the U. K holds that since hamburgers, French fries and onion rings are said to augment the bad LDL cholesterol circulating in bloodstreams, providing readily available statins may prove to be of some help.
Medicare Not Covering Disabled Patients
Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh carried out a study revealing that subsequent to the rise in the rate of Medicare senior’s prescription drug coverage, the number of antibiotic prescriptions increased significantly. On the other hand, another research done by Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) showed that Medicare failed to provide the disabled patients with the needed coverage.
Parkinson’s disease Linked to Common Variants in Immune System: Study
According to a group of researchers, common genes in immune system cause Parkinson’s disease (PD). PD is a disorder of nerve cells, or neurons present in the brain.
Patients who suffer from this disease have a very weak immune system and are unable to fight infections. PD damages the brain cells, which are responsible for producing a chemical called dopamine.
Dr. Haydeh Payami and his team conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on this topic and published the paper in Nature Genetics.
SA Nurses and Midwives Plan Industrial Action over Staffing Issue
According to reports, after declining part of the offer from the State Government, South Australian nurses and midwives are seeking an industrial action. Elizabeth Dabars, CEO of Nursing and Midwifery Federation said that a 15% hike in salary over the next three years has been received well, but there is still a clash over staffing.
The computer system that is utilized to compute staffing levels will be closed down by the nurses, she said.
Gulgong Delegates to Meet Government Advisers to Stop Gulgong Hospital’s Closure
In a last attempt to save Gulgong Hospital from being closed down in NSW's central west, representatives from Gulgong are meeting with Government consultants. In two weeks time, the Greater Western Area Health Service
(GWAHS) will shut down Gulgong Hospital, following a WorkCover report, which uncovered a lot of problems in the structure, together with asbestos.
However, this move has been objected by the local community. The residents will then have to take a 30 minutes drive to Mudgee, to get access for hospital services.
RSPCA Appeals for Sterner Punishments for Animal Abusers
After two adolescents were inadequately punished for killing two 12-week-old lambs, the RSPCA has requested for sterner punishments.
The boys were 16 years of age, when they pinched the lambs from a police station paddock at Clifton, west of Brisbane, in November. They carried the animals to a different place, where they thumped and kicked lambs, beating them to death.
A court Spokesman revealed that the boys confessed stealing and murdering the lambs on Monday, in the children's court in Stanthorpe. The boys were therefore given two-month suspended sentences.
Aboriginal and Torres Islander Populace Witnessing Mental Health Catastrophe
As per an Indigenous Spokesperson in north Queensland, Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populace was going through a mental health disaster phase.
Garcelyn Smallwood, who is a part-time registered Nurse and a Professor at James Cook University is of the stance that being dependant on the alleged party-drugs, which also included ‘speed’ and ‘ice’, where the ones to be blamed for the mental disaster.
Official Pardon Granted to International Nursing Students
Fearing that they might be deported by the end of this month because of the changes made in registration rules, international nursing students demanded an official pardon and they have been successful in getting the grant.
The Australian Nurses Federation made an estimation that almost 400 international nursing students, who graduated in the midyear were worried after they learnt of the alterations brought into registration rules, which came into effect on 1st July and lost their eligibility for registration.