Moscow - The United States has proffered new plans for a missile defence system to Russia in the hopes of mollifying Russia's objections to the program and salvaging nuclear control accords between the two nations, Russia's Foreign Ministry confirmed Friday.

Ministry spokesman Igor Lyakin-Frolov said Russia is studying the proposal. It will be discussed when the US and Russian defence and foreign ministers meet for their next round of two-plus-two format talks. No date has been scheduled yet for those talks.

Washington's overture comes after Russia has threatened reactions should the United States set up parts of components of the missile defence system in eastern Europe.

Washington, November 7 : A review of recent studies on social animals like birds and bees suggests that social interactions can alter gene expression in the brain to influence behaviour.

University of Illinois entomology and neuroscience professor Gene Robinson, lead author of a review on the subject this week in the journal Science, says that a critical insight came from a study of songbirds led by David Clayton in 1992, which showed that expression of a specific gene increases in the forebrain of a zebra finch or canary just after it hears a new song from a male of the same species.

The gene, egr1, codes for a protein that itself regulates the expression of other genes, the reviewer points out.

Melbourne, Nov 7 : Exercising pelvic floor muscles (PFMs) can enhance arousal and sensation during sex, according to an expert.

The pelvic floor is a layer of muscles spanning the bottom of the pelvis that gives control over the bladder and bowel.

"Voluntary contraction of these muscles helps with sensation and arousal during sexual intercourse (and) involuntary contractions of the muscles occur during orgasm,'''' the Daily Telegraph quoted Royal Brisbane Women''s Hospital physiotherapist Rowan Hill, as saying.

Hanoi - The global financial crisis might bring economic benefits for countries in South-East Asia, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Friday at a regional summit in Hanoi.

"The rich people in Europe, the buyers in America will not buy expensive clothes produced in Europe anymore but the cheaper goods produced in Cambodia and Vietnam," Sen said.

Most of the other businessmen and political leaders at the summit focused on the need to integrate South-East Asian economies to create a larger market more resilient to economic shocks.

Fearing a slowdown, Automobile Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) has urged the government on formulating a 2-3 year "bridge policy" to enable the industry survive the current economic crises. ACMA stressed the government to provide some immediate relief to the auto-component industry to sustain their growth over the next few months to ensure that the momentum built over the last 5 years is continued to meet the vision of the AMP 2016.

The Assam police has detained seven more persons from lower Assam's Nalbari district in connection with the serial blast.

They were being brought to Guwahati for interrogation.