Washington, Nov 5: President George W Bush today congratulated Democratic Barack Obama for his historic victory in the race for the White House.

“What an awesome night for you, your family and your supporters. You are about to go on one of the great journeys of life. Congratulations and go enjoy yourself,” Bush told Obama.

World leaders also congratulated Obama on his election as the 44th US president-elect.

“I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to Obama on winning the presidency of the United States. I would also like to pay tribute to Senator McCain who fought a good campaign and has shown the characteristic dignity that has marked a lifetime of service to his country,” said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Washington - Republican John McCain never had much of a chance to defeat Democrat Barack Obama.

He campaigned under the mushroom cloud of an imploding economy, while shackled to the staggeringly unpopular presidency of fellow Republican George W Bush.

McCain, 72, couldn't compete against the fundraising prowess of an Obama campaign that outspent the Arizona senator by a 2 to 1 ratio, and a surge in turnout as US voters were fed up with Republican leadership under Bush and poised to embrace Obama's message of "change."

Washington, November 5: Kids who study a musical instrument for at least three years outperform children with no instrumental training, according to a study.

Harvard researchers Gottfried Schlaug and Ellen Winner say that their findings apply not only to tests of auditory discrimination and finger dexterity, but also to tests measuring verbal ability and visual pattern completion.

During the study published online in PLoS ONE, the researchers compared 41 eight- to eleven-year-olds who had studied either piano or a string instrument for a minimum of three years to 18 children who had no instrumental training.

Washington, Nov 5: After emerging a clear winner of the Presidential Poll 2008, Barack Obama’s next task would to set up a new team of aides to deliver on the promises which got him elected with a thumping majority. And, most of the officials to be picked up by Obama are expected to be the experienced hands who had worked under the Clinton regime till eight years ago.

Those close to Obama claim that new Cabinet announcements may start trickling out by next week.

Washington, Nov 5: A daily dose of an investigational drug, known as MK-677, which stimulates growth hormone secretion in the body can boost muscle mass in older adults, report researchers at the University of Virginia Health System.

The discovery may prove safe and effective in reducing age-related frailty.

Published in the November 4, 2008 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, the study showed that levels of growth hormone (GH) and of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF- I) in seniors who took MK-677 increased to those found in healthy young adults.

The drug restored 20 percent of muscle mass loss associated with normal aging.

Washington, Nov 5: In a surprising finding, scientists have discovered that homosexual activity in male flour beetles can actually boost their chances of reproducing, says a new study.

The researchers also found that beetles, through their homosexual encounters, transfer their semen to another male, and may in turn fertilise a female they may have never encountered.

While homosexual behaviour has long been seen in flour beetles, scientifically known as Tribolium castaneum, the new study is the first one to find the reason behind such a tendency.