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First live rhino birth from artificial insemination with frozen-thawed semen

rhinos Washington, Nov 14 : A female rhinoceros has successfully given birth to a healthy offspring after being artificially inseminated (AI) with frozen and thawed semen, say German researchers.

Experts at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Zoo Budapest and the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, have revealed that using semen collected from a 35-36 year-old Southern white rhinoceros, frozen for 2 to 3 years and then thawed, a 30-year-old female rhinoceros was artificially inseminated in two attempts.

The first failed, but the second resulted in pregnancy and the birth of a healthy offspring.

Bjorkman looks to the next phase of life after retiring from tennis

Jonas BjorkmanShanghai - Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman marked the end of his career at age 36 as he and partner Kevin Ullyett bowed out in doubles at the Masters Cup to Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski of Poland 6-2, 1-6, 10-6 on Friday.

The round-robin loss put and end to the career of Bjorkman, winner of all four Grand Slams - with four different partners - as well as 15 Masters titles among his 54 career doubles trophies.

The Monte Carlo-based father of two cited his Davis Cup titles with Sweden in 1997 and 1998 as highlight moments of a standout career.

Mechanisms behind iron-based materials may unlock superconductivity’s secrets

Washington, Nov 14 : National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) researchers have decoded the mysterious mechanisms behind the high-temperature superconductors that industry hopes will find wide use in next-generation systems for storing, distributing and using electricity.

The advance could pave the way for next-generation systems for storing, distributing and using electricity.

Many materials become superconductors at temperatures approaching absolute zero, capable of carrying vast amounts of electrical current with no resistance. In such low-temperature superconductors, magnetism can actually shatter the fragile superconductive state.

Aberglaslyn Pass tops ‘Britain’s Best View’ poll

London, Nov 14 : Aberglaslyn Pass, a narrow gorge that the Glaslyn river has carved through Mount Snowdon, has been named by the National Trust website as the ‘Finest View in Britain’.

The wilderness has been voted as the best view in the UK out of a top ten of mountains, castles and beaches around the country, reports the Independent.

Second on the list was Borrowdale in Cumbria followed by St Michael''s Mount, Cornwall, in the third place.

Holywell Bay, Cornwall, was fourth and rounding off the top five was the white cliffs of Dover.

The top ten views as voted by the public on the National Trust website are:

1. The Aberglaslyn Pass (Snowdonia, Wales)
2. Borrowdale (Keswick, Cumbria)

Next Gen lasers and photovoltaics come closer to reality

Solar Light SystemWashington, Nov 14 : A team of American researchers has moved a step closer to realising much advanced technology for satellite communications and solar power generation by finding a way to slow down the cooling of electrons in nanocrystals, which can lead to more efficient photovoltaic devices.

University of Chicago researchers claim that they have successfully induced electrons in the nanocrystals of semiconductors to cool more slowly by forcing them into a smaller volume, something that was first theorized in 1990.

Resilient al Qaeda will continue to operate from safe haven Pakistan

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)Washington, Nov. 14 : A resilient and determined al Qaeda will continue to pose a threat to the United States and other countries inimical to interests from its safe haven in Pakistan, the chief of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has warned.

The Washington Post quoted Michael V. Hayden as saying that al-Qaeda remains the single greatest threat to the United States.

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