United Kingdom

Ten old friends key to happiness

London, Oct 24 : A new study conducted by University of Nottingham researchers suggests that happiness depends upon the number of old friends one has.

Scientists create glow in the dark cat to treat cystic fibrosis

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.

Stephen Hawking to retire as Cambridge’s Professor of Mathematics next year

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.

Indian doctor in UK charged with plagiarism quits as consultant at leading hospital

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.

New lunar images bash hopes for frozen lakes on the Moon

London, Oct 24 : New images of a prominent crater on the Moon have revealed dull lunar dust instead of shiny pools of ice, which bashes hopes for large lakes of frozen water at the Moon''s poles.

According to a report in New Scientist, the crater in question is the 10.5-km wide Shackleton Crater near the Moon''s south pole.

A few craters spanning hundreds of metres pockmark Shackleton''s inner wall (arrows), while a mound-like feature (marked "m") probably built up from lunar soil that slid down the crater wall.

A decade ago, NASA''s Lunar Prospector spacecraft suggested the Moon''s poles boast large concentrations of hydrogen near the surface, which could be in the form of frozen water deposited by comets.

''Bad egg'' gas may harbour blood pressure cure

London, October 24 : American scientists have revealed that a gas released by bad eggs, known as hydrogen sulphide, acts as a muscle relaxant to regulate blood pressure in certain animal cells.

While hydrogen sulphide can be fatal for humans, several studies have shown that it can put mice into a state of suspended animation, and help limit the damage caused by a heart attack.

Sol Snyder and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, say that they have identified the enzyme that produces this gas in tissues that help to control blood flow in mice.

With a view to determining the function of the enzyme called CSE, the researchers genetically engineered mice to lack the gene to make CSE.

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