Washington, April 15 : Researchers at UCLA''s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center say that a non-invasive method can enable cancer specialists to determine after a single cycle of chemotherapy whether the treatment is killing the cancer or not.

The researchers have revealed that they used a combination Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) scanner to monitor 50 patients undergoing treatment for high-grade soft tissue sarcomas.

The patients were receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy treatments to shrink their tumours prior to surgery, say the researchers.

The study showed that response could be determined about a week after the first dose of chemotherapy drugs.

New York, Apr 15 : The word `recession' surely has no place in Prince's dictionary, for the musician has just released a 2,100-dollar iPod Touch.

"The Limited Edition Prince Opus iPod" has got a lovely purple hue, comes pre-loaded with a 40-minute concert video and 15 songs, and is sold along with a Prince photo book, Wired. com reports.

Prince is only releasing 950 of them, reports The New York Daily News.

The artist is also releasing the "Prince Opus Number One" billed on PrinceOpus. com as "the greatest artwork of the 21st century."

Washington, April 15 : A new study has found that biofuels can hasten climate change, and it will take more than 75 years for the carbon emissions saved through the use of biofuels to compensate for the carbon lost when biofuel plantations are established on forestlands.

If the original habitat was peatland, carbon balance would take more than 600 years.

The oil palm, increasingly used as a source for biofuel, has replaced soybean as the world's most traded oilseed crop. Global production of palm oil has increased exponentially over the past 40 years.

Washington, Apr 15 : Actress Nicollette Sheridan admits she's not upset with her departure from `Desperate Housewives', insisting that the show had become boring.

"When the show started it was such a different beast," Usmagazine quoted her as telling the new issue of TV Guide.

"It was exciting and dangerous and funny and edgy and bizarre. It started feeling a little complacent, and that was very frustrating," she added.

Washington, Apr 15 : Sienna Miller has found a sporty new hobby: golf.

The British stunner just can't get enough of the game, and realised that hitting the green helped her reconnect with her golf-mad father.

"I actually am a golfer now. Not a very good one, but I am keen on it. I used to give my dad a hard time about being into golf, but now I completely understand it," Contactmusic quoted her, as saying.

Meanwhile, Miller will be landing in Broadway in October.

She is set to make her American stage debut in Patrick Marber's "After Miss Julie," an adaptation of August Strindberg's 1888 shocker, a timeless tale of lust and repression.

Washington, April 15 : NASA is inviting the public to vote online for the most important contribution the space agency has made to exploring Earth and improving the way we live on our home planet.

NASA is conducting the survey as part of its celebration of Earth Day, April 22. Voting began on April 14, and would close on April 21.

Poll results will be announced on NASA''s Web site on Earth Day.

A 2008 National Research Council study identified major accomplishments resulting from Earth observations made from space.