Protein can kick-start male fertility.

The team from Cardiff University's School of Medicine first found that sperm transfers a vital protein, known as PLC-zeta (PLCz), to the egg upon fertilisation. Then it initiates a process called 'egg activation,' which switches on all the biological processes necessary for development of an embryo.

The team has found that eggs that don't fertilise because of a defective PLCz, as in some forms of male infertility, can be treated with the active protein to produce egg activation. The added PLCz kick-starts the fertilisation process and significantly improves the chance of a successful pregnancy.

"We know that some men are infertile because their sperm fail to activate eggs. Even though their sperm fuses with the egg, nothing happens," said Tony Lai, professor at Cardiff, who with professor Karl Swann, led the team at Cardiff University's Institute of Molecular and Experimental Medicine and funded by the Wellcome Trust, according to a Cardiff statement.

"These sperm may lack a proper functioning version of PLCz, which is essential to trigger the next stage in becoming pregnant," Lai added. "What's important from our research is that we have used human sperm PLCz to obtain the positive results that we had previously observed only in experiments with mice," Lai said.

"In the lab we have been able to prepare human PLCz protein that is active. If this protein is inactive or missing from sperm, it fails to trigger the process necessary for egg activation the next crucial stage of   embryo development," Lai said.

Floods, landslides displace 1 million in India; 33 dead

At least 21 people were killed in landslides and another eight were missing in the mountainous state of Sikkim, said state government spokesman A.S. Tobgay.In Assam, still recovering from deadly floods that hit the tea-growing state in July, eight people were killed and 20 were missing.

Floods displaced nearly one million in that state alone, and many were now sheltering in camps or beside roads, which tend to be built above the land they pass through, a senior official in Assam's disaster management authority said.Four people were buried and killed in mudslides in the state of Arunachal Pradesh.

The military and federal disaster response teams have launched operations to move people to higher ground by helicopter or in rubber boats. Nearly 100 shelters have been opened to accommodate the displaced.In July, at least 110 people were killed and more than 400,000 people were left homeless in Assam during floods which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said were among the worst in recent times.

Over the past 60 years, successive governments have built levees along most of the Brahmaputra, which is Assam's main river and is fed by Himalayan snow melt and some of the world's heaviest rainfall.But experts say the embankments are not only poorly maintained but are a discredited form of flood management.Floods have inundated three national parks in Assam including Kaziranga National Park, where two-thirds of the world's Great One-horned Rhinoceroses live. Some animals have been forced out of the park to nearby hills.

Five Indian Americans among Forbes 400 richest

Five Indian-Americans figure in the Forbes magazine's annual list of the richest people in America with Microsoft Corp chairman Bill Gates  retaining his top spot with $66 billion, up $7 billion from 2011.

He is followed by Berkshire Hathaway Inc.'s Warren Buffett (No. 2) with $46 billion, also up $7 billion from last year, and Oracle Corp's Larry eEllison (No. 3) with $41 billion, up $8 billion - and the biggest dollar gainer this year. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has been pushed down in the rankings to the no. 36 spot with his estimated net worth falling by about $8 billion to $9.4 billion since Facebook went public in May.

The Indian-Americans' list is topped by Bharat Desai and family with a net worth of $2 billion in the 239th place. Kenya-born Bharat Desai started as a programmer for Tata Consultancy Services, only to leave the company four years later to start Syntel with his wife. Next comes Romesh T Wadhwani (No. 250), founder and chairman, Symphony Technology Group, with a net worth of $1.9 billion. Landing in the US with only a few dollars in his pocket, he developed business software firm Aspect Development. Today his portfolio includes more than 10 different enterprise software companies.

Third on the Indian-American list is Kavitark Ram Shrirm (No. 298), managing partner, Sherpalo Ventures, with a net worth of $1.6 billion. He was one of the first people to write a check to Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page in 1998. Next comes Indian-born Manj Bhargava (No. 311) with a net worth of $1.5 billion. His two-ounce caffeine and vitamin elixir, 5-Hour Energy, promises to keep users alert without crashing -- and claims a 90 per cent-plus market share in the energy shot sector

Last on the Indian-American list is Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla  (No. 328) with a net worth of $1.4 billion. With a firm belief that the future lies in developing cleaner energy sources, the Khosla Ventures founder was a big backer of biofuel producers Kior and Gevo, both of which went public in 2011, according to Forbes.

Daily dose of walnuts boost sperm quality.

According to a new study by UCLA  researchers, eating 75 grams of walnuts a day improves the vitality,motality and morphology of sperm in healthy men aged 21 to 35. Dr. Wendie Robbins and her colleagues at the University of California,Los Angeles decided to investigate whether increasing polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which are critical for sperm maturation and membrane function, would increase sperm quality in men consuming a Western-style diet.

The best sources of dietary PUFAs in a Western-style diet include fish and fish oil  supplements, flax seed, and walnuts, the latter of which are rich sources of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), a natural plant source of omega-3. With support by the California Walnut Commission, Dr. Robbins' team selected 117 healthy men between the ages of 21 and 35 who ate a Western-style diet and split them into two groups: one (58 men) who would avoid eating tree nuts and another (59 men) who would eat 75 grams of walnuts per day.

Previous studies had indicated that 75 grams of walnuts would be a dose at which blood lipid levels would change, but at which healthy young men would not gain weight. Before the experiment began and then again 12 weeks later, the men's semen quality was analyzed according to conventional parameters of male fertility, including sperm concentration, vitality, motility, morphology, and chromosome abnormalities.

After 12 weeks, the team found no significant changes in body-mass index, body weight, or activity level in either group. The men consuming walnuts, however, had significantly increased levels of omega-6 and omega-3 (ALA) fatty acids and experienced improvement in sperm vitality, motility, and morphology.

Those eating walnuts also had fewer chromosomal abnormalities in their sperm following the walnut dietary intervention.The control group, on the other hand, experienced no changes. Although this research indicates that eating 75 grams of walnuts per day can positively affect a young man's sperm quality, it is still unknown whether the benefits would apply to young men with fertility problems and whether they would actually translate into increased fertility.

Purple corn helps cure diabetes, kidney disease

A compound found in Purple Corn may helo in developing future treatments for Type 2 diabeted and kidney disease, scientists have said.Diabetic nephropathy is one of the most serious complications related to diabetes, often leading to end-stage kidney disease.

Purple corn grown in Peru and Chile is a relative of blue corn, and is rich in anthocyanins (also known as flavonoids), which are reported to have anti-diabetic properties.

Scientists from the Department of Food and Nutritionand Department of Biochemistry at Hallym University in Korea investigated the cellular and molecular activity of purple corn anthocyanins (PCA) to determine whether and how it affects the development of diabetic nephropathy (DN).

Their findings suggest that PCA inhibits multiple pathways involved in the development of DN, which may help in developing therapies aimed at type 2 diabetes and kidney disease.

Myanmar's Suu Kyi to receive US Congress award

US lawmakers are setting aside party differences as they honor Myanmar democracy leader Aung n Suu Kyi with the highest award of US Congress.

The Nobel Peace laureate's struggle against military rule in Myanmar is one that Democrats and Republicans have united in championing over the years. Her landmark visit to America offers a poignant opportunity to present the Congressional Gold Medal that she was awarded in absentia in 2008 when she was still under house arrest in her country.

She will receive the medal on Wednesday and will also meet with House and Senate leaders. Secretary of state Hilary Rodham Clinton also will attend the ceremony, to be held in the Capitol Rotunda.

26 killed in Mexico pipeline fire

At least 26 people were killed when a Mexican pipline exploded and caught fire at a gas plant near the US border on Tuesday.

 

The accident has also injured many others in the worst accident in just two years for the state-run Pemex energy firm.TV images have shown tall flames and plumes of smoke billowing from the gas plant, which is located near Reynosa, a city located in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, which sits across from the Texas town of McAllen. The company stated on Twitter that:“Regrettably, the number of workers who died in this morning’s accident in Tamaulipas rose to 26.”

The death toll more than doubled on Tuesday evening from the 10 deaths that were reported earlier on. The company added that four of those dead were Pemex workers, while the other 22 people were contractors.They did not report any injuries, but a Red Cross worker let reporters know that 40 people were taken to a hospital, with more than half suffering from first- and second-degree burns.
The fire is the third incident at a Pemex facility in a little over a month.Workers immediately shut off pipeline valves while firefighters worked to spend two hours extinguishing the blaze.

Pipelines that carry gas and diesel in Mexico are often tapped by thieves looking to steal what they carry. There have been several oil spills and explosions as a result, although thieves rarely target gas pipelines.Authorities blamed oil thieves for an oil pipeline explosion in a central Mexico city that killed 28 people, including 13 kids, in December 2010. The blast scorched homes and burned people, affecting 5,000 residents in just a six mile area.
 

Yemeni protesters storm US embassy in Sanaa.

Yemeni protesters, angry over a film mocking Islam, on Thursday stormed the complex of the US embassy in Sanaa, defying efforts by riot police to hold them at bay, an AFP correspondent said.Protesters torched a number of diplomatic vehicle as security forces used water cannons and warning shots in a bid to drive them out.

Police had earlier fired warning shots to disperse few thousands of protesters as they approached the main gate of the mission."O, Allah's messenger... O, Mohammed," protesters chanted.The attack comes two days after four Americans including the ambassador were killed when a Libyan mob attacked the US consulate in Benghazi, and protesters in Cairo tore down the Stars and Stripes and replaced it with a black Islamic flag.

The low-budget movie, "Innocence of Muslims" in which actors have strong American accents, portrays Muslims as immoral and gratuitously violent.It pokes fun at the Prophet Mohammed and touches on themes of paedophilia and homosexuality, while showing him sleeping with women, talking about killing children and referring to a donkey as "the first Muslim animal."

Hair stylist killed by 3 gay partners

Police claimed to have cracked the murder of well-known hair stylist Bimal Gurang, the brand ambassador of a French cosmetic company, saying he was killed at his Ber Sarai house in south Delhi by three youths whom he had picked up for sex. In a case that has shades of the 2004 Pushkin Chandra murder, Gurang's naked body was discovered early on September 6 after neighbours complained of a foul smell from his house.

Police on Wednesday said the three accused killed Gurang on September 5 with an intention of robbing the house. Gurang was allegedly strangled during a sexual romp. The three accused  Nand Kishore, 24, Dalip Sharma, 27, and Pradeep Kumar, 24 have been arrested.

"One of them, Nand Kishore, had sexual relations with Gurang earlier and would get paid for it," said Chhaya Sharma, DCP (South). Kishore and Kumar were in jail till 2010 for the murder of a Dwarka-based businessman. Kumar had surrendered two days back in a bike theft case to mislead the cops.

300,000 tourists flock to terror-hit Swat valley.

A staggering 300,000 tourists from across the country have visited the picturesque yet terror-ravaged Swat valley in northwest Pakistan since the beginning of Eid, a media report said on Tuesday. Officials and residents said that during this period not a single act of violence took place in the valley, known for its archaeological sites of Gandhara civilisation and scenic hamlets.

It was in 2008 that the Taliban gained control in the area and parts of Kohistan, Dir and Malakand which were main tourist spots. The areas had then presented a deserted look.The daily, however, said that some hotel owners, bakers, and petrol pump owners have begun to fleece tourists on the pretext of artificial shortage of various items. During the rush, Rs.2,000 to Rs.8,000 was being charged for a single room for one night's stay in hotels while the price of petrol zoomed to Rs.550 per litre.

Green tea may help cure skin cancer.

Green tea has long been suspected of having anti-cancer properties and the extract has been investigated before. However, this is the first time researchers have managed to make it effective at shrinking tumours.Previous attempts to capitalise on its cancer-fighting properties have failed because scientists used intravenous drips, which failed to deliver enough of the extract to the tumours themselves.

So, the Strathclyde team devised a "targeted delivery system", piggy-backing the extract on proteins that carry iron molecules, which cancer tumours Hoover up.The lab test on one type of human skin cancer showed 40 per cent of tumours disappeared after a month of treatment, while an additional 30 per cent shrank.

"These are very encouraging results which we hope could pave the way for new and effective cancer treatments," said Dr Christine Dufes, a senior lecturer at the   Strathcylde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, who led the research."When we used our method, the green tea extract reduced the size of many of the tumours every day, in some cases removing them altogether.

"This research could open doors to new treatments for what is still one of the biggest killer diseases in many countries," she added.According to her, when the extract is administered intravenously, it goes everywhere in the body, so when it gets to the tumours it's too diluted."With the targeted delivery system, it's taken straight to the tumours without any effect on normal tissue," she explained.The "ultimate objective" was a clinical trial in humans - but Dr Dufes said that was some way off.

Drink red wine to stay slim.

U.S researchers have found a compund in red wine that can help control obesity.The substance, piceatannol, delays the generation of young fat cells and prevents them from growing into mature ones. It is also believed to protect the body from  heart and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as cancer.

The compound blocks insulin's ability to activate genes that carry out further stages of fat cell formation.The agent found in wine is also thought to protect the body from heart and neurodegenerative diseases and cancer, according to researchers at Purdue University,Indiana,USA.

"In the presence of piceatannol you can see delay or complete inhibition of young fat cells," the Daily Mail quoted lead researcher Dr Kee-Hong Kim as saying. "Piceatannol alters the timing of gene expressions, gene functions and insulin action during adipogenesis - the process in which young fat cells become mature fat cells," Dr Kim explained.

The compound is similar in structure to resveratrol - a supplement sold in the UK last year to combat disease - and is also found in grapes, blueberries and passion fruit. Dr Kim, assistant professor of food science at the university, said: "We are now testing our idea using animal model obesity to see if it has the same benefical functions." "We need to work on improving the stability and solubility of piceatannol to create a biological effect," he added.

Bieber supports Gomez at Toronto film fest.

Teen sensation Justin Bieber was here to support his girlfriend Selena Gomez who is promoting two of her films at the ongoing Toronto International Film Festival. Gomez is at the fest with "Hotel Transylvania" and "Spring Breakers".

According to a source, Bieber was seen with Gomez while she was giving interviews with her "Hotel Transylvania" co-star  Andy Samberg.The couple was then seen holding hands and Bieber, 18, was stroking his girlfriend's back as they went into the elevator, reports eonline.com.

That is not all, Gomez, 20, brought Bieber's little sister and brother Jazmyn and Jaxon  respectively, to the premiere of her animated film.

iPhone 5: HTC, Samsung to sue Apple

Just a day ahead of  iPhon5 launch, Apple  seems to be heading into legal trouble over the much-awaited device. Taiwanese electronic giant  HTC aims to block iPhone 5's import in the US for patent violation. The Taiwanese manufacturer claims that Apple's  new iPad  and the upcoming iPhone 5 infringe upon two of its patents that ensure reliable data transfer in large volumes, according to a story in the Bloomberg Businessweek. The company has filed a case in the  International Trade Commission in this matter.

Apple and HTC have been fighting court cases over patent violation since the past two years and a win for the latter will mean that it will earn a huge sum in settlement from the former. Apple's phones and tablets are manufactured in China and imported into US and the rest of the world. A win in this case will mean that Apple will have to negotiate terms with HTC in order to sell its two top-selling products or remove the technology that violates the said patents from the device. If Apple ends up eliminating the LTE technology from the two devices, it will be far behind competitors like Samsung, whose devices already support high-speed data transfers over 4G connections.

HTC reportedly acquired the patents from ADC Telecommunications when it launched its first LTE phone, Thunderbolt. Judge Thomas Pender, who is overseeing the case, reportedly told Apple's legal counsel "I don't care if they bought these patents to sue you or not. They are a property right." According to a story in Korea Times, Samsung  has also decided to file a patent infringement complaint against Apple over the new iPhone's 4G LTE patent infringement. As per the report, the South Korean company is targeting the European and US markets with this lawsuit. This development came soon after reports said Apple will be using 4G data transfer technology in the upcoming edition of iPhone.

Kindle HD takes on the iPad

Amazon's Kindle Fire HD goes head-to-head with the iPad The Fire wins on price, coming in $200 less than Apple's cheapest tablet But there are 225,000 apps designed for the iPad, a dominating number Both tablets offer high-definition displays.

 Having established itself as Apple's top tablet competitor by going smaller and cheaper, Amazon will now go head to head with the category-defining iPad on its own turf.

Even as Google's new Nexus 7 challenges the Kindle Fire for dominance in the small-tablet category, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on Thursday introduced a new,8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD.

 

That pits the new device, which will ship in late November, against a device with which Apple has, thus far, squashed all direct competition. No tablet that has tried to match the iPad feature-for-feature has gained more than a token foothold in the market.

Shocked' Williams wins U.S. Open final thriller

Serena Williams battled back from the brink of defeat to claim her 15th grand slam title and win the U.S. Open for the fourth time with a 6-2 2-6 7-5 victory over world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka on Sunday. The American added to her 2012 Wimbledon and Olympic crowns after being pushed to the limit by the Australian Open champion, who forced the 30-year-old to drop her first set of the tournament.

It was the first time in 17 years that the women's final went the distance in New York, and it ended Azarenka's run of 12 successive victories in matches lasting three sets.
Serena deserves to win. She showed how true a champion she is," Azarenka said. "I definitely gave it all today. Stepping off this court I will have no regrets." Williams won the hard-court tournament for the first time as a 17-year-old in 1999 but has not enjoyed much success since her third win in 2008.

She lost in an ill-tempered final last year and was also fined in 2009 after being involved in another incident during her semifinal defeat.The former world No. 1 won the opening set in just 34 minutes, as she threatened to steamroll Azarenka as she has all opponents since bouncing back from her first-round defeat at the French Open.

However, unlike in their Wimbledon semifinal clash in July, her 23-year-old opponent picked herself up and dominated the second set with some power play of her own.Azarenka broke to lead 2-1 in the deciding set but was immediately pegged back by the fourth seed.

A break to love in the seventh game put her in the position of serving for the title at 5-4, but Williams rallied to win the next three games and leave Azarenka in tears after missing a golden chance to win her second grand slam title.

Williams took her record in grand slam finals to 15-4, becoming the first 30-something to win a major since Martina Navratilova at the 1987 U.S. Open, as she claimed the $1.9 million first prize.

It was the first time since 2002 that a woman has won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in the same year, when Williams also won the French Open.

She joined her older sister Venus and Steffi Graf as the only women to win Wimbledon, the Olympics and the U.S. Open in the same year.It has capped a remarkable comeback for Williams, who spent almost a year out of the game following her 2010 Wimbledon triumph.She needed surgery after cutting her foot in a freak accident at a restaurant and then suffered life-threatening complications when blood clots formed on her lungs.

42 die when bus falls into Moroccan ravine.

News reports say dozens of people have died after a bus drove off a road in central Morocco and plunged down a 500-foot (150-meter) ravine.

The official news agency MAP says 42 people were killed when the bus overturned between the desert cities of Marrakesh and Ouarzazate. Another 24 people were injured, four of them seriously, in the accident in the early hours of Tuesday.

Most of the injured were taken to  emergency rooms in Marrakech.The bus regularly makes the journey between the two cities.

iPhone 5 almost here, hints Apple's media invite.

Apple on Tuesday invited reporters to a news conference next week in San Francisco with a message that suggests that it will reveal the  iPhone 5, as expected.The email invitation shows a big "12," for September 12, casting a shadow in the shape of a "5.''

Various unconfirmed reports have pointed to September 12 as being the day Apple shows off the new phone, which is expected to go on sale a week or two later.The next  iPone is expected to have a taller screen and the ability to access the latest wireless data  networks in the US Analysts expect it to set sales records.

Other unconfirmed reports say Apple will reveal a smaller version of the  iPad, taking on competitors like Amazon.com's Kindle Fire, which have nibbled on the edges of the iPad's dominance in the tablet category.On Wednesday, Nokia and Motorola are holding events of their own in New York, apparently to reveal their latest products ahead of the iPhone launch.

Apple shares rose $5.18 to $676.42 in afternoon trading. The shares are close to their all-time high of $680.87, hit a week ago.

Replica of Knight Rider's KITT for sale.

Here’s your chance to hassle crooks like the Hoff and make a few bucks on the side.
A company that rents out a replica of Knight Rider’s Kitt for special events and photo shoots is for sale in the U.K.

The 1987 Trans Am has been customized to look just like Michael Knight’s sidekick, complete with what passed for a high-tech interior during the Reagan/Thatcher years, plush velour sports seats and Kitt’s signature red LED lighting on the hood.The vehicle was recently featured on an episode of TV’s Britain’s Got Talent, and sports David Hasselhoff’s signature on the dashboard.

The price to own this camp classic? £29,500 or best offer, which is about $47,000 in Hollywood money and about five times what you’d pay for a similar Trans Am without the pseudo-celebrity pedigree.


 

HP Wireless TV Connect

Wirelessly streams 1080p HD multimedia content such as photos, videos and Blu-Ray® movies from the notebook to a TV or any large screen .Latest generation allows users to stream 3D content from a PC directly to a 3D-enabled television .Compatible with almost any PC with an HDMI port .

1st combined liver-kidney transplant concludes successfully

Japan's first combined liver-kidney transplant from a brain-dead donor was successfully carried out at Okayama University Hospital, the surgeon in charge said on Sunday."The surgery ended without any trouble, and we can say it was successful," Professor Takahito Yagi told a press conference. The recipient, a woman in her 50s, "is in a quite stable condition."The woman is expected to be discharged from the hospital after around two months, Yagi said.

The donor, a man in his 40s, had suffered a head injury and was declared brain dead in line with the organ transplant law at a hospital in the Shikoku region.Although he had not expressed his desire to donate his organs in writing, his family approved the transplant.The recipient had been diagnosed with chronic liver failure and loss of kidney function.

Osaka University Hospital had attempted a combined liver-kidney transplant from a brain-dead donor in December 2010, but the recipient died before the kidney was transplanted.

29 killed in Turkey security post attack

Kurdish rebels armed with machine-guns and rocket launchers attacked a security complex in southeastern Turkey overnight, triggering fierce clashes that left about 29 people dead."Nine security agents were killed and eight others wounded," said Vahdettin Ozkan, governor of Sirnak province.Other local sources said about 20 members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were also killed in the latest fighting between the rebels and Turkish forces.

Ozkan said the militants had attacked the security complex at Beytussebap late yesterday, killing nine members of the security forces. Police and soldiers returned fire, triggering fierce clashes.The PKK has stepped up its assaults against Turkish security forces in recent months, with Turkish officials and the local media linking the surge to the conflict raging in neighbouring Syria.Last month, 10 people were killed in a car bomb attack blamed on the separatist Kurds in the southeastern city of Gaziantep.Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had threatened military intervention if the Kurdish rebels set up bases in Syria.

Some government officials believe that Damascus, once backed by Ankara, is helping the PKK in retaliation for Turkey's support for rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad.The PKK, considered a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community took up arms in Kurdish-majority southeastern Turkey in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed about 45,000 lives.