London - The British economy has shrunk for the first time in 16 years, dropping 0.5 per cent in the July-September quarter, the Office for National Statistics reported Friday.
London, Oct 24 : Scientists are developing an optical distress beacon for astronauts working outside their spacecraft, which would enable their screams for help to be heard in space in case of an emergency.
According to a report in New Scientist, the device could provide an alert if an astronaut is unable to speak or radio links fail.
The distress beacon will be attached to sensors monitoring heartbeat or breathing, and will have LEDs visible up to 800 meters away.
“The astronaut might even flash them to send messages in Morse code,” said Sarah Harris of Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, who is developing the device with staff at the Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo, California.
London, Oct 24 : Scientists in New Orleans have created a cat that may look like a normal tabby in light but glows in the dark.
The six-month-old cat, named Mr Green Genes, has been genetically modified as part of an experiment at the Audubon Centre for Research of Endangered Species in New Orleans that could lead to treatments for conditions like cystic fibrosis.
Betsy Dresser, the centre''s director, said that Mr. Green Genes is the first fluorescent cat in the United States and probably the world, reports the Telegraph.
It was created so that researchers could learn whether a gene could be introduced harmlessly into the feline''s genetic sequence to create what is formally known as a transgenic cat.
London, Oct 24 : Stephen Hawking, renowned scientist, will retire as Cambridge University’s Professor of Mathematics on October 1, 2009.
According to a report in the Telegraph, Hawking will continue his work as usual at Cambridge University as Emeritus Lucasian Professor at the university, an honorary title, after he vacates his position next year.
A spokeswoman explained it was University policy for professors to “pass the baton” in the year they reach the age of 67.
She said that Hawking’s diary is already booked up to 2012.
“The post is retiring but Hawking isn’t,” the spokeswoman said. “Nothing will change. It is merely a formality,” she added.
London, Oct 24 : Psychiatrist and broadcaster Raj Persaud has left his job at a leading hospital four months after being convicted of dishonesty by a disciplinary tribunal.
Persaud, who has lost media commissions after admitting plagiarism at a General Medical Council hearing in June, has stepped down as a consultant psychiatrist for the South London and Maudsley NHS trust.
The move follows talks with trust officers this month when he was legally cleared to return to work after being struck off for three months by the GMC.
The tribunal criticised him so heavily that there was widespread doubt that he would return to consultant status, The Guardian reported.
A spokesman for the Maudsley confirmed that Persaud had left.
