Washington, September 24 : The Department of Homeland Security in the U. S. is testing a body scanner for its efficacy in reading people’s mind, an approach that can make it easy to nail terrorists who can wreak havoc.

The scanner called MALINTENT is the brainchild of the cutting-edge Human Factors division in Homeland Security''s directorate for Science and Technology.

It searches a body for non-verbal cues that can be used to predict whether one has plans to harm one’s fellow passengers.

The system may catch such signals as terrorists and criminals may display in advance of an attack by reading people’s body temperature, heart rate and respiration.

Washington, Sept 24 : US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said that the greatest threat of terrorism against the US came from the Tribal Areas of Pakistan.

“If you asked me today where the greatest threat to the homeland lies, I would tell you it’s in western Pakistan,” the Daily Times quoted Gates as telling a US Congressional panel.

In the recent past too, US officials have said that Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters used Pakistan’s Tribal Areas a safe haven to launch attacks inside Afghanistan and plot against the US.

Washington, Sept 24 : Hate waking up to the loud morning alarm that leaves you stressed after a deep sleep? Well, then brace yourself up, for ‘HappyWakeUp’ has arrived – a smart ‘arousal’ alarm clock for mobile phones that wakes people up when they are awake or "almost awake" naturally.

By detecting a person’s movements using a sensitive microphone, HappyWakeUp uses statistical analysis to decide when your sleep rhythms reach a natural ''almost awake'' state, and will wake you gently at that moment - up to 20 minutes before your latest-possible alarm time.

Washington, September 24: A new report has suggested that genetic traces of extinct species of Galapagos tortoises exist in descendants now living in the wild, a finding that could spur breeding programs to restore the species.

When Darwin first visited the island of Floreana in 1835 and wrote about the giant tortoises, heavy human exploitation was already decimating the population. Within a few decades, 4 of the 15 known species had disappeared.

On some islands, tortoises were sacrificed for oil that was used to light the streetlights of Quito, Equador. Others were taken as food or ballast for pirate and whaling ships.

Washington, September 24 : A scientist has claimed the discovery of America’s smallest dinosaur, based on the analysis of bones found during the excavation of an ancient bone bed near Red Deer, Alberta, US.

Called Albertonykus borealis, the slender bird-like creature is a new member of the family Alvarezsauridae and is one of only a few such fossils found outside of South America and Asia.

The analysis indicates that the unusual breed of dinosaur, which was the size of a chicken, ran on two legs and scoured the ancient forest floor for termites.

Washington, September 24 : A new study has shown ammonia emissions from seabirds to be a significant source of nitrogen in remote coastal ecosystems, contributing to nutrient enrichment (eutrophication) and acidification in ecosystems.

While most ammonia emissions originate from domesticated animals such as poultry and pigs, seabirds are the most significant emitters of ammonia to the atmosphere in remote regions.

A recent study, “Temporal variation in atmospheric ammonia concentrations above seabird colonies”, has shown how emissions may vary between seabird species, with a higher proportion of ammonia volatilized from bare ground nesting birds compared to burrow nesters.