LENOVO NOTEBOOK PC/LAPTOP

What an Idea(Pad)!

Lenovos IdeaPad Y650 is pitched as first 16 notebook for family & individual use

Ishani Duttagupta

ITS PARTof the size zero brigade. Lenovos IdeaPad Y650 is thinner than most of the other 16 inch laptops available in the market today. On the lightness front too, it does well and weighs 2.55 kg, less than many of the 15 inchers. The design of IdeaPad Y650, with its black exterior and smart orange trimming sets it apart, even as the white keypad inside comes as a visual surprise. The carbon fibre reinforced plastic material provides durability and ruggedness to the exterior which is in a hexagonal design.
This laptop is being pitched as the first Lenovo consumer 16 notebook that is designed for family and individual use some of the features such as high-definition graphics, ergonomic keyboard and OneKey theatre software to give users an easy option to switch the PC display and sound effect from normal to movie mode will make it popular in that segment. The pair of JBL speakers that come with the IdeaPad definitely add to its oomph and deliver very good quality sound despite the laptop being as thin and light as it is. The Blu-ray reader-writer is yet another exciting feature on offer. The multi-touch touchpad is a highlight of this notebook, even as the keyboard is much smaller than the usual 16-inch notebooks. The bigger touchpad provides comfort for the user though the smaller keyboard is a bit cramped. Users can make use of the multitouch touchpad to browse webpage and files or enlarge and reduce the size of images. The Intel Centrino 2 platform gives the IdeaPad better performance in terms of up to 50% more speed when multitasking. The unit is also designed for the longest possible battery life. Finally, the VeriFace face recognition security software provides users a secure way to log on and ensure
that unauthorized users are locked out of the system.

Price:

Rs 103,990/-

(inclusive of all taxes)

ishani.duttagupta@timesgroup .com

LENOVO NOTEBOOK PC/LAPTOP

What an Idea(Pad)!

Lenovos IdeaPad Y650 is pitched as first 16 notebook for family & individual use

Ishani Duttagupta

ITS PARTof the size zero brigade. Lenovos IdeaPad Y650 is thinner than most of the other 16 inch laptops available in the market today. On the lightness front too, it does well and weighs 2.55 kg, less than many of the 15 inchers. The design of IdeaPad Y650, with its black exterior and smart orange trimming sets it apart, even as the white keypad inside comes as a visual surprise. The carbon fibre reinforced plastic material provides durability and ruggedness to the exterior which is in a hexagonal design.
This laptop is being pitched as the first Lenovo consumer 16 notebook that is designed for family and individual use some of the features such as high-definition graphics, ergonomic keyboard and OneKey theatre software to give users an easy option to switch the PC display and sound effect from normal to movie mode will make it popular in that segment. The pair of JBL speakers that come with the IdeaPad definitely add to its oomph and deliver very good quality sound despite the laptop being as thin and light as it is. The Blu-ray reader-writer is yet another exciting feature on offer. The multi-touch touchpad is a highlight of this notebook, even as the keyboard is much smaller than the usual 16-inch notebooks. The bigger touchpad provides comfort for the user though the smaller keyboard is a bit cramped. Users can make use of the multitouch touchpad to browse webpage and files or enlarge and reduce the size of images. The Intel Centrino 2 platform gives the IdeaPad better performance in terms of up to 50% more speed when multitasking. The unit is also designed for the longest possible battery life. Finally, the VeriFace face recognition security software provides users a secure way to log on and ensure
that unauthorized users are locked out of the system.

Price:

Rs 103,990/-

(inclusive of all taxes)

ishani.duttagupta@timesgroup .com

India close to unlocking H1N1 flu drug code

India close to unlocking H1N1 flu drug code

Kounteya Sinha | TNN

New Delhi: India is now one step closer to pip Chinas monopoly over shikimic acid the worlds most wanted medical compound at present.
Scientists in Bangalore will soon begin commercial trials with an industrial partner, to gauge exactly how much of the acid can be extracted from trees in the Western Ghats, when processed in large quantities.
With the deadly H1N1 swine flu now a global pandemic, nations across the world have started to stockpile millions of doses of Tamilfu, the only known drug that fights H1N1 infection . Shikimic acid is the most vital ingredient used to make Tamiflu.
At present, the acids global requirement is being entirely met by China, because it is extracted from the fruits of the Chinese star anise tree, that contains up to 5% of the acid.
However, Indian scientists from University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, in April announced that they had found seven plant species that yielded 1%-5 .02% of shikimic acid from the forests of the Western Ghats one of the worlds 10 hottest biodiversity hotspots.
An alternate source of the acid would not only bring down its price, which at present is very steep, but will also ensure its constant availability.
Speaking to TOI, principal investigator Dr Ramanan Uma Shaanker said, We have been approached by three companies for tie-up in conducting largescale commercial trials to see the economic feasibility of extracting shikimic acid from Indian plants. At present, we know that 100 kg of the Indian leaves can yield 5 kg of shikimic acid. In our lab, we have tried upto 10 kg of the leaves. Once the tie-up is finalised, we will extract the acid from about 300 kg. Dr Shaanker added, Interestingly, of the seven plants, we now know that two can be domesticated and farmed. Therefore, it does not face extinction from the Ghats if used in large quantities. In case of the five others, propagation technique is yet to be worked out. Right now, all seven plants grow in the wild. The most significant advantage of the newly identified Indian sources is that the acid was found in leaves and not fruits as is the case with star anise. The 10-metre star anise tree attains its seed-bearing stage after six years, making it unlikely that the growing market demand of the acid would be met by this single source alone. The fruits of this tree contain 2-7 % of shikimic acid. Because the acid was found in the leaves of the Indian plants, it is much more viable, sustainable and economically feasible against extraction from fruits, Dr Shaanker said.
Indian companies said getting shikimic acid to make Tamiflu in India has been the biggest hurdle. The price of the acid has skyrocketed, sometimes touching $1,000 per kg.
Leaves are abundant and present throughout the year. We will soon demonstrate the feasibility of bulk extraction . Industries already have technologies for isolation of shikimic acid from star anise. The same could be applied to the Indian plants with minor modifications. The process is relatively simple as shikimic acid is highly water soluble, Dr Shaanker said.
India has till now spent over Rs 30 crore in purchasing Tamilfu.

Thinnest material may replace silicon to make PCs faster

ONE-ATOM THICK
Thinnest material may replace silicon to make PCs faster


Graphene , the new won der material to come out of science laboratories , is only one atom thick but is stronger than diamond and conducts electricity 100 times faster than the silicon in computer chips. It is creating tremendous buzz among physicists and electronic engineers.
It is the thinnest known material in the universe, and the strongest ever measured, Andre Geim , a physicist at the University of Manchester, England , wrote in journal Science . A few grams could cover a football field, said Rod Ruoff , a graphene researcher at the University of Texas, Austin , in an email. A gram is about 1/30th of an ounce.
Like diamond, graphene is pure carbon. It forms a six-sided mesh of atoms that, through an electron microscope, looks like a honeycomb or piece of chicken wire. Despite its strength, its as flexible as plastic wrap and can be bent, folded or rolled up like a scroll.
Graphite, the lead in a pencil , is made of stacks of graphene layers. Although each individual layer is tough, the bonds between them are weak, so they slip off easily and leave a dark mark when you write. Potential graphene applications include touch screens, solar cells, energy storage devices , mobiles and, eventually, high-speed computer chips.
Replacing silicon, the basic electronic material in computer chips, however, is a long way off . . . far beyond the horizon , said Geim, who first discovered how to produce graphene five years ago.
In the near and medium term, its going to be extremely difficult for graphene to displace silicon as the main material in computer electronics , said Tomas Palacios , a graphene researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . Silicon is a multi-billion dollar industry that has been perfecting silicon processing for 40 years.
Government and university laboratories, long-established companies such as IBM are working to solve difficult problems in making graphene and turning it into useful

Tiny battery that can be printed

Tiny battery that can be printed


Researchers have created a battery which weighs almost nothing and can be printed in a process similar to silk-screening shirts.
The printable battery is expected to be cheap and easy to mass produce and could be used in disposable receipts or cards, engineers in Germany announced on Friday.
Our goal is to be able to mass produce the batteries at a price of single digit cent range each, said Andreas Willert, of the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Electronic Nano Systems ENAS, where Reinhard Baumann led the batterys development. The battery weighs less than 1 gram and is less than 1 millimeter thick. It runs at 1.5 volts. Placing several in a row can produce up to 6 volts. A standard AAA battery weighs about 11.5 grams and also runs at 1.5 volts.
However, the newly developed battery has a life span more limited than traditional batteries, Livescience reported.
The new battery contains no mercury and so is said to be more environmentally friendly than some. Actual products with the battery could be ready by the end of the year, the engineers said. AGENCIES

One day, humans too can regrow severed limbs

One day, humans too can regrow severed limbs

Self-Healing Ability Of Salamanders Can Be Applied To Us


Mexican salamanders who can regrow amputated legs are not pulling off quite as big a trick as scientists had first thought, which may help doctors trying to regenerate human limbs.
Researchers looking into how salamanders are able to to regrow their damaged bodies have discovered that the almost magical ability is closer to human healing then earlier thought. They believe that one day they will be able to completely unlock the secret and apply it to humans, reprogramming the body so it can repair itself perfectly as if nothing had happened.
The amphibians are almost unique in that if they lose a limb, a small bump forms over the injury called a blastema. Within about three weeks this blastema transforms into a new, fully functioning replacement limb without any scarring.
At first it was thought that the ability was so alien to human healing that, outside of science fiction novels, it could never be transformed into a useful treatment for damaged human bodies.
But researchers at the University of Florida have found that it is not as remarkable as first thought and we could learn how to replicate it in people. I think its more mammallike than was ever expected, said Malcolm Maden, author of the paper . It gives you more hope for being able to someday regenerate individual tissues in people.
Scientists studying the Axolotl salamander of Mexico had long thought the amphibious creatures capabilities were down to so-called pluripotent cells, which had the ability to morph into whatever appendage , organ or tissue happens to be needed or due for a replacement, the Daily Telegraph reported.
But a paper in the journal Nature debunks that notion, discovering that the regenerative process is like a much more sophisticated version of healing in humans and other mammals.
They found that repairs were down to much more standard stem cells like those in mammals but with the ability to reorganise themselves in the correct order to rebuild the body. Standard mammal stem cells operate in the same way, albeit with far less dramatic results they can heal wounds or knit bone together, but not regenerate a limb or rebuild a spinal cord.
The salamanders heal perfectly, without any scars whatsoever, another ability people would like to learn how to mimic, Maden said.
He said the findings will help researchers zero in on why salamander cells are capable of such remarkable regeneration. AGENCIES

Mega colony of ants takes over the world

Mega colony of ants takes over the world


Scientists from Japan and Spain have discovered that one single mega colony of Argentine ants covers most of the world.
The ants living in vast numbers across Europe, the US and Japan belong to the same inter-related colony, and will refuse to fight one another. The colony may be the largest of its type ever known for any insect species, and could rival humans in the scale of its world domination.
The enormous extent of this population is paralleled only by human society . Each super-colony , however, was thought to be quite distinct. But it now appears that billions of Argentine ants around the world all actually belong to one single global mega-colony .
Researchers in Japan and Spain led by Eiriki Sunamura of the University of Tokyo found that Argentine ants living in Europe, Japan and California shared a strikingly similar chemical profile of hydrocarbons on their cuticles, BBC reported.
Ants from the smaller supercolonies were always aggressive to one another. So ants from the west coast of Japan fought their rivals from Kobe, while ants from the European super-colony didnt get on with those from the Iberian colony.
But whenever ants from the European and Californian super-colonies and those from the largest colony in Japan came into contact, they acted as if they were old friends. These ants rubbed antennae with one another and never became aggressive or tried to avoid one another. In short, they acted as if they belonged to the same colony, despite living on different continents separated by vast oceans. AGENCIES