How cyanide cause rapid Death !!!!!!!!!!!!

Poisons act in a variety of ways, but the most deadly of them is by inhibiting enzymes. They may do this by tying up an enzyme in the form of a stable complex, by denaturing it, or by blocking its formation from its apoenzyme and cofactor.
Cyanide acts almost instantly and only a small amount is needed for a lethal dose. The average fatal dose is only 50 or 60 milligram. Cyanide is used as gaseous hydrogen cyanide (H-C=N) and as solid salts, which contain the cyanide ions (H=N). The gas is used for extermination of insects and rodents in ships, warehouses, and railway cars and on certain fruit trees.
Cyanide has more affinity with iron atoms. So it gets tied immediately with the iron atom, which forms haeme part of the Haemoglobin. This makes the iron atom unavailable to carry oxygen atom to the tissues through haemoglobin. So oxygen deficiency at the tissue level occurs. This is called Hypoxia.
Since the poisonous substance causes it, it is also called histotoxic hypoxia. In histotoxic hypoxia the brain is affected first. It results in loss of consciousness in 10-20 seconds and death in 4-5 minutes.
Cyanide blocks the oxidation of glucose inside a cell by forming a stable complex with the oxidation enzymes. Certain enzymes of our body cells, like cytochrome oxidases, contain iron and copper atoms. They normally act by providing electrons for the reduction of oxygen in the cell. Cyanide ties up those mobile electrons, rendering them unavailable for the reduction process.
Thus, cyanide brings an abrupt end to cellular respiration. When this process, which is holding the life of an individual is stopped abruptly, it causes death in a matter of minutes, since all the cells in the body die immediately.
Administration of antidote for cyanide poison is not possible, since the fatal end comes immediately within minutes to a person who has consumed the poison. But if the quantity consumed is below the lethal dose sodium nitrate and sodium thiosulphate may be used to treat cyanide poisoning.

Monkeys pay females for sex: Scientists

Male macaque monkeys 'pay' for sex with females by grooming them, a new research has found. The availability of females even affects the 'price'.
Where there are fewer females, males must groom their partners for up to twice as long before they are able to have sex, the research found.
The male use grooming as a form of currency to buy sex from the female, the study conducted by Michael Gumert of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, found.
Sexual activity among a 50-strong group of long-tailed macaques in Kalimantan Tengah, Indonesia, increased after bouts of male-to-female groom, according to findings published in Animal Behaviour Journal and reported in New Scientist.
On average, females had sex 1.5 times an hour. This increased to 3.5 times an hour immediately after the female was groomed by the male.
Gumert said unlike examples of 'reciprocal altruism' — in which one organism provides a service to another in return for getting something back at a later date — the value of sex fluctuated.
When there were several females in the area, the male monkeys would have to do only eight minutes of grooming before being able to mate. If there were fewer females than males around, a male would have to groom its partner for up to 16 minutes before sex, the research found.
The macques' behaviour is an example of a 'biological market', a theory developed by Ronald Noe of Strasbourg University, France and Peter Hammerstein of Humboldt University, Berlin.
"There is a very well-known mix of economic and mating markets in the human species. There are many examples of rich old men getting young attractive ladies," Prof Noe said.

Benazir's final journey begins amid gloom, chaos

Pakistan prepared to bury their beloved leader Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated on Thursday evening by two unidentified assassins, plunging the country into one of its worst crises.
The Opposition leader and former prime minister will be buried alongside her father in her hometown Larkana at about 1130 hours (PST) on Friday.
Benazir's husband Asif Ali Zardari and her three children arrived in Pakistan from Dubai late on Thursday night. An Air Force plane carried Benazir's body to Sukkur from Islamabad early on Friday ahead of the burial.
Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir's children and a number of Pakistan People's Party leaders accompanied her body to her hometown. Pakistan’s Interior Ministry sources said Zardari and the three children had a brief chance to see her body before the plane took off.
Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Mohammad Mia Soomro has ordered a high-level judicial inquiry into the killing. Authorities have tightened security across the country and a red alert has been sounded across the nation.
Government sources said the Army will be deployed in Larkana at the time of the burial. All entry points to Larkana have been sealed off. The Pakistan Governmanrt has declared three days of state mourning.
Benazir was assassinated on Thursday by an unidentified assassin, who shot her after a campaign rally and then blew himself up. At least 20 others were killed in the attack on the rally for the January 8 parliamentary elections, where the 54-year-old former prime minister had just spoken.
Benazir's assassination led to violent protests across the country. Angry supporters rioted in the southern port city of Karachi after her killing, firing shots at police, setting tires and cars on fire and burning a gas station.
There was chaos as hundreds of people mobbed the simple wood coffin with a glass lid in which Benazir's body was carried, allowing people to see her wrapped in a white cloth.

Amazing e-spy on the hunt

The defence counsel in Pravin Mahajan's case had to look high and low for a software expert, but the next there is a report of a cyber crime, help is just a phone call away. Thanks to an institute called e-Forensics.
This software expert group was instrumental in Pravin Mahajan's trial. e-Forensics demonstrated to a sessions court in Mumbai that it is possible to tamper an mobile text message.
If Pramod Mahajan's cell phone had been put in evidence collector bag by the police, the controversy about the SMS being tampered with simply would not have arisen for the bag completely blocks the signals coming into the mobile.
National Institute of e-Forensics (NIEF) in Mumbai uses many state-of-the-art tools to investigate cyber crimes. Much of these high-end equipments will be used to help people who call on the institutes's toll free number with their electronic grievances.
Though the service has just been started, the institute has been flooded with work requesting investigations into all kinds of cyber crimes —from credit card fraud to women getting obscene calls.

Amazing 7 medical myths busted, use your brains

London: Reading in dim light won’t damage your eyes, you don’t need eight glasses of water a day to stay healthy and shaving your legs won’t make the hair grow back faster.
These well-worn theories are among seven "medical myths" exposed in a paper published on Friday in the British Medical Journal, which traditionally carries light-hearted features in its Christmas edition. Two US researchers took seven common beliefs and searched the archives for evidence to support them.
Despite frequent mentions in the popular press of the need to drink eight glasses of water, they found no scientific basis for the claim.
The other six "myths" are:
Reading in dim light ruins eyesight : The majority of experts believe it is unlikely to do any permanent damage, but it may make you squint and blink more
Shaving makes hair grow back faster or coarser: It has no effect on the thickness or rate of hair regrowth, studies say.
Eating turkey makes you drowsy: It does contain an amino acid called tryptophan that is involved in sleep and mood control. But turkey has no more of the acid than chicken or minced beef.
We use only 10% of our brains: This myth arose as early as 1907 but imaging shows no area of the brain is silent or completely inactive.
Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death: This idea may stem from ghoulish novels. The researchers said the skin dries out and retracts after death, giving the appearance of longer hair or nails.
Mobile phones are dangerous in hospitals: Despite widespread concerns, studies have found minimal interference with medical equipment.

Zoo tigress attacks visitor, severs hand

A man's excursion to the zoo here along with his family turned into a tragedy when he was killed by a tigress after crossing the barrier and went near the animal's enclosure this afternoon to take photographs.
Zoo divisional forest officer Narayan Mahanta said 50-year-old Jai Prakash Bezbarua, who had gone to the zoo with his family, had crossed the line outside the enclosure for tigers from where visitors see the animals at Assam State Zoo.
He gave a slip to the guards on duty, who had stopped him from venturing near the barrier, and crossed to reach the last level from where the iron grills start to take photographs of tigers basking in the sun, he said.
As soon as the man put his hand inside the iron grill with his camera, the tigress, named 'Divya', caught it and was immediately joined by another tiger 'Gobardhan'.
Together, they severed Bezbarua's hand from his shoulder within a few seconds. Bezbaruah was rushed to Guwahati Medical College Hospital

Green dream bust? Delhi chokes on CNG

The green colour on autorickshaws is perhaps an indicator that Delhi is the only city to have introduced the CNG and made it mandatory on public transport .
But Delhi is more polluted today than it was five years ago when the CNG was introduced. A latest analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) finds that pollution levels are on the upswing again after a few years of control.
In 2002, when CNG programme was initiated, RSPM or respirable suspended matter stood at 143 microgram per cubic metre. In 2005, they dropped to 115 microgram per cubic metre
In 2006, the levels of RSPM in winters were as high as 350 microgram per cubic metre - which means, more than double.
So what has offset the benefits of CNG? Delhi has more than four million registered vehicles and adds about 1,000 vehicles to its roads every day. Cars fueled by petrol and diesel- fossil fuels that emit toxic gases in Delhi's air.

So what's the solution?
“We need to do something to restrict the number of personal cars. It is really ironical that the public transport meets 60-70 per cent of the transport demand. Our policies are not encouraging public transport. In fact the tax burden on a person traveling in a bus is much higher than one traveling in a car. We are building flyovers for car owners and are not thinking about moving people but moving cars,” says Anumita Roy Chowdhary of CSE.
The automobile industry continues to add flashy models on the roads each day with little thought to how much carbon they emit. Until the government considers a tax for polluting vehicles, Delhi will continue choke in this toxic gas chamber.

India eyes 10 pc growth by 2012, US spoiler a risk

India's economy could be growing by 10 per cent a year by 2012 with the right set of policies, but the US subprime crisis might trim exports and capital flows, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday.
Annual growth dipped to 8.9 per cent in the September quarter, falling below 9 per cent for the first time in three quarters, as industrial output slowed due to monetary tightening designed to trim inflation.
Top officials are confident they can maintain growth momentum despite a surge in the value of the rupee against the dollar this year, which is hurting exporters, and high interest rates.
"It is possible that with the correct set of policies... we will not only be able to maintain this momentum of high growth into the near future but may be able to raise it to 10 per cent," Manmohan Singh told top policy makers.
India, the world's fastest-growing major economy after China, grew 9.4 per cent in the last fiscal year, its strongest in 18 years.
Its surging expansion has attracted global investors, fuelling a stock market boom and pushing firms to expand capacity.
"This high growth rate has become possible because of the historically high savings and investment rates which we are witnessing," Singh said at a meeting of the National Development Council set to approve a policies for the 5 years to 2012.
"Our savings rate after stagnating for almost two decades has touched 34 percent of GDP and the investment rate has crossed 35 per cent. These high rates... are likely to go up in future because of our young population profile."
Trade Minister Kamal Nath said on Tuesday expansion in the 2007/08 fiscal year to March 31 would be in excess of 9 per cent, and analysts say the central bank's forecast of 8.5 per cent should be met in Asia's third-largest economy.
The PM said global credit worries would not completely skirt India's economy, despite it being largely driven by domestic demand. "There are some clouds on global financial markets following the subprime lending crisis. There are worries that the growth of the US and other leading economies may slow down and some may even go into a recession," he said.
"This may impact both our exports as well as capital flows."
Such concerns mean India must redouble efforts to maintain domestic drivers of growth, the Prime Minister said. The government is discussing ways to minimise the impact of the rupee's appreciation on exporters, who have seen their margins squeezed by a 12 per cent rise in the currency this year.
The Reserve Bank of India, keen to cool price pressures and stop the economy from overheating, raised interest rates five times between mid-2006 and March this year, but has since held them steady.
Many economists now expect the next move to be down.

Britney Spear's sister Jamie is pregnant at 16

Britney Spears' 16-year-old sister, who stars as a schoolgirl in Nickelodeon's popular TV show Zoey 101, is pregnant.
The cable channel confirmed a report in the forthcoming edition of celebrity gossip magazine OK! that Jamie Lynn Spears is expecting a child.
"We respect Jamie Lynn's decision to take responsibility in this sensitive and personal situation. We know this is a very difficult time for her and her family, and our primary concern right now is for Jamie Lynn's well being," Nickelodeon said in a statement e-mailed to Reuters.
A high school student who lives in Louisiana, Jamie Lynn Spears reportedly met the father, Casey Aldridge, the son of a Tennessee papermill worker, at church.
Jamie Lynn Spears' personal publicist was not available for comment.
Her big sister, Britney Spears, may not be the best source of parenting advice.
The 26-year-old pop star lost primary custody of her two sons, aged 2 and 1, to ex-husband Kevin Federline after their divorce last year and is engaged in a bitter custody battle that has shone a harsh spotlight on her maternal shortcomings.
Zoey 101, which wrapped production on its fourth and final season in September, revolves around a headstrong student at a co-ed boarding school in California.
Fresh episodes will air through 2008, a spokeswoman for the Viacom Inc-owned network said.

Amazing Body scanner that sizes you up for perfect fit

Amazing Technology plays an integral part in fashion, right from the sketching board to your closet — clothes that glow and sparkle and designs that change with your touch. That is the latest technology from Philips.
Philips has developed a glass chamber called the Intellifit Body Scanner. It works just like your neighborhood tailor, except it sizes you up with radio waves instead of a measuring tape. That means, perfect fitting clothes every time. And this is coming soon to a mall near you.
The best part is Intellifit issues a smart card that stores all your measurements so it can be used every time you shop. Or if you want your boyfriend or someone else to shop for you online, just give them your user name and password to access your size details.
For the problem of the stores that don't stock your size, this is the perfect solution. Shop floor arguments will soon be history with a radio frequency chip, with everything there is to know about a piece of garment recorded inside the chip. Tagged to every garment, the salesperson will know immediately if they have your size and where exactly in the store to find it.
CEO Avaana Software Bimal Sareen, says “RFID will allow the shopkeeper to recognize the clothes you take into the changing room, and flash matching accessories on the mirror for you that have been matched by a designer.”
Of course, fashion and technology are much deeply intertwined. What once took hours of sketching is today achieved in minutes on a designer's desktop.
Fashion Designer JJ Valaya,says, “Software like Photoshop and CorelDraw allow us to see many versions of a drawing with we couldn't do earlier. It now helps us to produce much faster.”
Once a design is completed, it’s uploaded onto the web through software like WFX. After global partners approve it, it’s then sent to the factory floor, where the smallest of details like, cut, color, measurements are faithfully reproduced. Thus, every garment that reaches the shop floor ends up exactly the way the designer wanted it.
Director, WFX, Jatin Paul, adds, “It is not uncommon for large brands like Nike or Gap to cancel million dollars worth of Shipments because a sleeve is too long or a pocket manufactured is crooked. Technology like WFX stops this from happening. “
Who knew so much technology was involved in helping one select the perfect outfit.

Diana was against marrying Dodi

Princess Diana denied any intention of marrying Dodi Fayed in a conversation just a few days before the couple died, a friend testified on Monday.
Lady Annabel Goldsmith, testifying at the British inquest into the couple's deaths, said Diana had remarked that she needed another marriage "like a rash on my face."
Goldsmith, 73, said she would never forget those words because they were the last she had heard from Diana.
Fayed's father, Mohamed Al Fayed, has claimed the couple was the target of a plot directed by Queen Elizabeth II's husband, Prince Philip -- partly motivated, he alleges, by a desire to prevent Diana from marrying a Muslim.
Al Fayed says Diana and his son were on the brink of announcing their engagement when they died on August 31, 1997.
French and British police blamed the accident on their driver, Henri Paul, based on evidence that he was over the legal alcohol limit and was speeding through a tunnel at more than 60 mph when the car slammed into a concrete pillar. Paul also died in the crash.
Goldsmith said Monday that Diana clearly was having a "wonderful" time with Fayed, reporting that she had "never been so spoiled."
Reflecting on Diana's comment about a rash, Goldsmith testified: "I took it to mean that she was not serious about marriage to Dodi. She might have been having a wonderful time with him, I'm sure, but I thought her remark that she needed marriage like a rash meant that she was not serious about it."
Other witnesses have questioned whether the romance had developed to the stage of an intention to marry.
Diana's friend Rosa Monckton last week testified that it was "difficult to judge" the intensity of Diana's romance with Fayed, but Monckton said "it was clear to me that she was really missing Hasnat" Khan, a heart surgeon with whom she had had an affair.
Monckton testified that Diana said nothing of an engagement during a telephone conversation on August 27.
"She would have called me if she was going to do that," Monckton said.
Monckton also disputed Al Fayed's claim that Diana was pregnant. She said Diana had had her period during a holiday the two women shared in Greece 10 days before the princess died.
Goldsmith also rejected the pregnancy claim. "I would say 'impossible.' There was a reason for that (belief)," she said.
"I'm confident, on the face of it, that she would not have been" pregnant, Goldsmith said.
Diana's stepmother, Raine, Countess Spencer, testified that she also doubted the couple were engaged but thought it "highly likely" that the relationship could have progressed to marriage.
The countess also doubted that Diana, who "was brought up in quite an old-fashioned way," was pregnant.
"It would have been out of the question for her," she said.

Amazing Brand Bangalore gets bigger, IT will get only better

Brand Bangalore has not lost its sheen yet - that's what the Information Technology Department has to say. While the state government has cleared the path for investments worth Rs 60,000 crore in August, September and October had over 40 projects worth over Rs 38,000 crore cleared.
The state IT secretary Vidyashankar says the numbers for November and December will be just as encouraging and proves that Bangalore has not suffered because of the state's political instability.
"We are seeing, on the contrary, an increase in participation not only from IT but also from telecom, biotech and nano industries. Bangalore is acting more,” he says.
The reason? Brand Bangalore is still synonymous with outsourcing, making it easier to market to client overseas.
"Bangalore is a global entity and is top of the mind recall for it honchos all over the world. If the country is going to continue to grow, Bangalore will grow as well,” says Vidyashankar.
Other senior government officials tell CNN-IBN that the absence of an elected government may have made the state more business friendly. This is because the governor's executive committee is not making decisions that are purely based on merit and there is very little room for vested interests.
The city's infrastructure continues to be the bone of contention. But officials say changes are being made.
"The kind of initiatives we are putting in will take care of infrastructure for the next 20 years. Be it water, roads or metro, it's all being taken care of," says Vidyashankar.
While the city exported Rs 49,000 crore worth software in 2006-07, its nearest competitor Chennai managed just about Rs 21,000 crore. This year, the exports are estimated to touch a record Rs 70,000 crore.
The I-T secretary says the target of Rs 100,000 crore in exports for the year 2010-11 is more than achievable