Technology Sector

British DNA policy violates human rights, says European Court

United KingdomLondon/Strasbourg - A ruling by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg condemning Britain's policy of storing DNA samples from innocent people was described as "disappointing" by the government in London Thursday.

The court said the DNA and fingerprints of two British men who had no previous convictions should not have been kept on a national database by police in Yorkshire, northern England.

The judges said keeping the information constituted a "breach of rights" and "could not be regarded as necessary in a democratic society."

Member of Jihadist forum calls for ‘YouTube Invasion’

London, Dec 4 : A member of a jihadist forum has urged supporters to wage a ''YouTube Invasion'' by uploading propaganda videos to the Google-owned website.

The SITE Intelligence Group, a US-based monitoring service, reported that the call was made last week by a member of al-Faloja, a password-protected jihadist forum, using the name Omar Abdul Hakim.

Noting that the popular video-sharing website is watched by millions and is even used by US president-elect Barack Obama, Hakim wrote that those wishing to wage jihad should use the popular website "to shame the crusaders by publishing clips of videos showing their losses.”

Meet Nicole the glamorous virtual PA who sits on your desktop!

Meet Nicole the glamorous virtual PA who sits on your desktop!Wellington, Dec 3 : Sick and tired of your incompetent personal assistant who often forgets one thing or the other? Well, then Nicole, the virtual PA, might just turn out to be your ultimate saviour.

Brainchild of Dr Tom Moir from Massey University''s School of Engineering and Advanced Technology, Nicole is a glamorous personal assistant on your desktop, who can help with tasks around the office.

Robotic technology can improve stroke rehabilitation

Washington, Dec 3 : Using a novel, hand-operated robotic device along with functional MRI (fMRI), scientists have found that chronic stroke patients can be rehabilitated, says a new study.

This is the first study using fMRI to map the brain in order to track stroke rehabilitation.

"We have shown that the brain has the ability to regain function through rehabilitative exercises following a stroke. We have learned that the brain is malleable, even six months or more after a stroke, which is a longer period of time than previously thought," said A. Aria Tzika, Ph. D., director of the NMR Surgical Laboratory at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

ADNOC Implements Unique Projects to Reduce Carbon Emissions

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Abu Dhabi, 2nd Dec. 2008 -- The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) will implement all its future projects according to the framework of the Kyoto Agreement's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) related to the reduction of carbon emissions.

Applying this in line with the directives of H. E. Yousef Omair bin Yousef, Secretary General of the Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) and CEO of ADNOC, the company will be cooperating with the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (MASDAR) and Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD).

New invention to neutralize hurricanes with help from supersonic jet

New invention to neutralize hurricanes with help from supersonic jetLondon, Dec 2 : Scientists have put forward a patent application about developing a supersonic hurricane neutralizer, which can put a spanner in the atmospheric works by flying supersonic jet aircraft in concentric circles around a hurricane’s eye, the calm area around which the storm rotates.

According to a report in New Scientist, the idea has been theorized by Arkadii Leonov at the University of Akron in Ohio, US, and his colleagues.

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