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A Smelly New World on the Web
Every time you blink, someone is forming an Internet company somewhere in the world. That is the pace at which the Internet fever has caught on with people. They could be young college students with dreams of making a fortune or middle-aged individuals trying to lure the goddess of wealth. Each one is searching for the one great idea that could make his web company click in a big way. And they are trying all sorts of gimmicks to attract people towards their websites....
The Hottest way to Catch Crooks
All of us know how crooks are caught. We have seen it in film after film: the police inspector matches the fingerprints on the scene of the crime with the suspect’s fingerprints. And the culprit goes to prison. Fingerprinting has remained one of the best ways to catch a person with a criminal record. The technique was foolproof, for no two people have matching fingerprints — even identical twins. Unfortunately, things are not so simple any more....
Robot That Changes Form
Did you know that the word robot is derived from the Czech word robota? It means compulsory labour or work. The word robot was first used in a Czech drama in 1921. It described a mechanical device that looked human but lacked emotions. It worked mechanically. Modern-day robots do not necessarily look like humans. But they are programmed to handle tasks that are normally carried out by humans, especially in big factories that manufacture products like cars....
This One is For your Eyes Only
Any mention of the word ‘zari’ may remind you of the heavily embroidered Banaras silk sarees that your mother, sister or aunts may have. Embroidering silk sarees with zari, or golden and silver wrapping on silk threads, is an old and well known art in India. A sari with zari work is a dream come true for most Indian women. This One is For your Eyes Only [Illustration by Kusum Chamoli] But if you mention zari to “eye doctor” or optometrist Dr Mohan Ram, he will probably remember a patient’s retina....
Dinosaur eggs Found in Patagonia
The film Jurassic Park is peanuts compared to this: Last month, Argentine scientists found thousands of dinosaur eggs in hundreds of nests at Patagonia. A report in the journal New Scientist says that it is the biggest nesting site of dinosaurs found thus far. Each nest contained 15 to 30 eggs the size of a grapefruit each. The eggs contained bones of titanosaurs which would have weighed about 15 tonnes when fully grown. Close to 100 million years old dinosaur egg....
Shirt That is a Mobile Phone
Clothes that can make phone calls, play music, dial your pal’s number, keep you snug during cold weather, operate your computer… Shirt That is a Mobile Phone [Illustrations by Sudheer Nath] This is not fantasy. A British company, called Electrotextiles, has created a dazzling range of clothes — clothes that have a mind of their own! Scientists, working for the company, have invented a fabric that can be blended with flexible electronic materials to create intelligent clothing....
Space Tourism: Ready for a Skyrocketing Holiday
Do you wish for an “unearthly " vacation? American astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin, famous for being the second man to land on the moon, is one of the few people working to promote tourism in space. But if the thought of a holiday in space is mind-boggling, the cost of that thought is even more so – almost $200 million for an out-of-the-world experience! Realising the need to make space travel as normal as buses or trains, an American company called the X Prize Foundation is trying to cut down the cost of space travel....
When a Cat Preys for Lunch
Many people have always believed that animals hunting for prey always catch the ones that are young, old or sick. For it would be difficult for those creatures to escape a predator’s hold. Till now there was no actual proof of this fact. But latest research by French scientists in Paris, France, has proved that it is true. A report on their research came out in ‘The Economist’ magazine recently. How did they do it?...
Your Mobile Phone Has a Bug
When people talk of a virus these days, chances are that they are talking about computer viruses that have the power to wipe out all the valuable work they may have stored in their computers. Imagine, this virus has the power to make military systems, giant banks, airports, hospitals and traffic systems come to a halt! The softer the name of the virus, the deadlier it may get. Remember the recent Love Bug virus which created such trouble all over the world?...
Logging on to Aliens
Do you believe that there might be life on other planets? Would you like to be the first ‘Earthling’ to make contact with an alien? Well, you can start your search from home. All you need is a computer and Internet access, and you can join the project of the US-based National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Logging on to Aliens [Illustrations by Kusum Chamoli] NASA launched the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project, eight years ago....