According to NASA officials, a virus of low-destructive ability had infected the laptops being used at International Space Station. Though a laptop might have been partially damaged, the whole of the computers used to control the space operations remained intact.

The virus was capable of stealing password of laptops used by gamers of as many as ten different online games. However, it couldn't bring a serious harm to the space station, so its functions are found in normal conditions.

The NASA officials have termed this computer virus as W32.Gammima.AG. This low-risk virus, according to Symantec, an anti-virus software company, based in California, is a Window based virus. It needs to get copied, for its spread, using removable media.

NASA spokesperson Kelly Humphries described this password thief as a “nuisance.” He said, “This is basically a nuisance, ” from Johnson Space Center in houston.

Interestingly, this virus was detected much earlier, on July 25. The search is on to detect and trace how it got to reach this too secured space station. However, NASA officials, bound by NASA protocol,refrained from briefing on the details of the virus, and the quantum and type of efforts taken to stop it from inspiring any potential damage to computers.

Further, they seemed confident to track its origin as Humphries said, "We'll do our best to track down how it got there and close that gateway."

But didn't seem perturbed by this latest invasion of a virus on board. "This is not a frequent occurrence but we have had viruses that have made their way on board before," he said. Importantly, the space station has a history of such virus attacks.

The scientists have shown success in reproducing cochlear hair cells. These cells are efficient converters of sound waves into electric signals. These signals after reaching brain turn into things what we hear or listen to.

Any damage to these hair cells lead to hearing impairment. These hair cells are mostly damaged by the continuous and elongated exposure to harsh and loud noise.

The medical professionals, once completely clueless, had been trying hard to come up with solution to bring an end to this damage. The recent breakthrough has shown many ray of hopes to millions of hearing impaired around the globe.

The experiment, on an unborn mouse, by the medical experts of Oregon Health and Science University became fruitful when it converted a different cell into a specific cochlear hair cell. The team is led by John Brigande.

They performed the gene therapy , on that unborn mouse, using a harmless virus. The key genes,Atoh1, related to hearing ability, were inserted into cells to produce the cochlear hair cells .

The experts found the newly developed cells no less useful than the natural cochlear hair cells . As the hearing ability of the mouse was found pretty normal.

However, the therapy still not done on a human, is the first of its gene therapy helpful to reproduce or repair cochlear hair cells.

Significantly, if this therapy comes favorable, the use of any mechanical or electrical devices can be forbidden in the treatment of damaged cochlea.

Moreover, seeing the result of the early experiments, it is very likely that it will work on humans too. That's why the researchers at Oregon said, "This capability is a crucial first step in defining translational therapies to ameliorate the effects of inner-ear disease in humans."

At present, the only treatment for hear loss, cochlear implant, is not capable of bringing back the hearing to its normalcy. It provides only a minimized version of the sound sensations.

Hopefully, the deaf will have their hearing days back with the normal and maximized sound sensations, may be very soon.

The worldwide automotive electronics market is predicted to grow at 9% for a total of $173.7 billion by 2013. Sales for 2008 are estimated at $114.5 billion. Strong growth is estimated in driver assistance, car safety systems, and entertainment while the non-entertainment sector consumer retail, powertrain, and body electronics segments will see different growth rates. According to a new research on the non-entertainment automotive electronics market, the global market of non-entertainment automotive electronics is estimated to touch US$52.1 billion by 2010. The forecast of this growth is estimated to be equally distributed among all product segments and regions. The biggest demand is expected from the emerging markets in Asia and East and Central Europe.

• The powertrain electronics will continue to dominate and it constitute 32% of the global market in last few years. It will sustain till 2010.

• The body/chassis electronics will continue to rise at an average growth of 9.4% per year till 2010. During this period, the global market will increase from US$4.0 billion to US$6.3 billion. The manufacturers are looking to enhance the performance and reduce overall system cost, so the trend to fully integrated systems will continue throughout the forecast period.

• The safety and convenience constitute almost 50% of the global non-entertainment auto electronics market at the current time. It was estimated to be at US$18.5 billion in 2005. Overall safety and convenience accounted for 50.3% of the global market in 2005 at US$18.5 billion. Multiplexing/electrical distribution, body controllers and navigation, all of them are fore casted to grow at a rapid rate till 2010. The navigation market, combined with audio and entertainment will be one of the fastest growing section of the auto electronics market. The driver supporting systems, like night vision, collision avoidance and lane departure warning is also expected to show strong growth.

Toyota Motor Corp. is the undisputed leader in hybrid car manufacturing market. Honda Motor Co. Ltd is at second spot, trying hard to grab some of Toyota's share. General Motors Corp. dominates in the United States market and has the broadest portfolio in the hybrid market. However it lags far behind in the competition in terms of sales. With the continuous improvement in hybrid technologies and decreasing manufacturing costs, the powertrain segment should experience higher growth.

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The Nominee List of various Categories for the 80th Oscar Awards
has been published. The 80th annual Academy Awards will be handed out in Hollywood on February 24.

The movies 'There Will Be Blood', 'Atonement', 'No Country For Old Men', 'Juno and Michael Clayton' were nominated for the best picture in the Oscar list unveiled Tuesday for the 80th Academy Awards.

I have Mentioned only the Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Films and Supporting Actor & Actress.Any Guess who will be the winner ; in my view it is ...will tell you on 24th of Feb


Nomination For the Best Picture or Movie :

Movie Nominated :

Atonement

A Working Title Production
Producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Paul Webster

Plot: Fledgling writer Briony Tallis, as a 13-year-old, irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's (Keira Knightley) lover (James McAvoy) of a crime he did not commit. The movie is based on the British romance novel by Ian McEwan.

Juno

Fox Searchlight, A Dancing Elk Pictures, LLC Production
Producers: Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick and Russell Smith

Plot: Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child. This movie is a comedy about growing up and the bumps along the way.

Michael Clayton

Warner Bros, A Clayton Productions, LLC Production
Producers: Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox and Kerry Orent

Plot: An attorney known as the "fixer" in his law firm comes across the biggest case of his career that could produce disastrous results for those involved.

No Country for Old Men

Miramax and Paramount Vantage, A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production
Producers: Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen

Plot: Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon some dead bodies, a stash of heroin and more than $2 million in cash near the Rio Grande.

There Will Be Blood

Paramount Vantage and Miramax A JoAnne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company Production
Producers: JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi

Plot: A story about family, greed, religion, and oil, centered around a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.

Nomination For Best Director :

Nomination for Best actor in a leading role :

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Nomination For Actress in Leading Role :

Nomination for Best Actor in Supporting Role :

Nomination for Best Actress in Supporting Role :

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2. Nano will also have a 30-litre fuel tank and four-speed manual gearshift. The car will come with air conditioning, but will have no power steering.

3. The car comes with front disk and rear drum brakes. The company claims mileage of 20 kmpl in city and 26 kmpl on highway.

4. Car is eight per cent smaller bumper to bumper, than the Maruti 800 but at the same time 21 per cent larger in its interiors and can sit up to four people.

5. The car has passed the full-frontal crash and the side impact crash.

6. The car will be available in many variants, which will include one standard version and two deluxe versions with AC.

7. The new model, using re-engineered plastics and modern adhesives

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Pakistan's two-time prime minister and the first woman premier of a Muslim country Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in the city of Rawalpindi, in Pakistan. After surviving several assassination attempts in the past, PPP leader Benazir Bhutto was not so lucky on Thursday as she was killed by two gunmen who opened fire at her right after she finished addressing a rally at Liaquatbagh. Bhutto got off the stage after addressing the rally and started moving towards her car. Her vehicle moved a certain distance and she was surrounded by party supporters. She came out of the car and just then two attackers with AK 47s pumped her with bullets, one in the neck and two in the head. After shooting, a third attacker blew himself up near Benazir's car. Benazir was declared dead at 6.16 pm local time at a Rawalpindi hospital, 40 minutes after she was taken in. The attack also killed more than 20 people and left several others injured.

Pictures of Blast Site :

Assassination Videos :

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Source : [ Liveleak ]

Convey it to every individual,So that everyone know,how cruel a human could be ?
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