Scientist develops programme to understand alien languages

A computer programme which could help identify and even translate messages from aliens in outer space has been developed by a British scientist. Even if there are extra terrestrials are one day discovered, scientists fear their alien tongue may make it impossible to understand them.

But John Elliott of Leeds Metropolitan University believes he has come up with software which at least will decipher the structure of their language - and be the first step in understanding what they are saying. Dr Elliott's programme would compare an alien language to a database of 60 different languages in the world to search see if it has a similar structure.

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"Hahaha" has been viewed more than 64 million times on YouTube

Video clip of a baby sitting in a high chair being made to laugh by an unseen person making a "boo" noise.

Gorillas and humans use similar body language to communicate

We already know that we are closely related to gorillas, but researchers now reveal that we even use body language in a similar way.

The study, by researchers at the University of Sussex, showed that gorilla’s use facial expressions and mouth movements were controlled by the left side of the brain – just like it is in humans.

The team thinks the insights could provide exciting clues as to how human language developed, and lead to new teaching techniques for people with communication problems, such as children with autism.

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You're more likely to dream in grey if you grew up watching black and white TV

A study suggests that people who grew up watching black and white TV and films are more likely to dream in grey. The colour of your dreams could depend on your childhood TV viewing.

The over-55s, who grew up watching black-and-white programmes and films, are more likely to dream in monochrome, research suggests. And the under-25s, who have watched colour TV all their lives, tend to have equally colourful adventures in the Land of Nod.

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Coffee can shrink the size of women’s boobs?

The caffeine-fuelled drink is well-known for keeping people alert and sobering up drunks. But Swedish scientists have caused a stir by suggesting women who drink more than three cups a day could see their bra size drop.

Tests by cancer researchers found half of all women have a gene linking breast size to coffee intake. Nearly 300 women were quizzed but Helena Jernstroem, of Lund University, said women should not worry too much.

She explained: “Coffee-drinking women do not have to worry their breasts will shrink to nothing overnight. They will get smaller, but the breasts aren’t just going to disappear.

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Prince William swaps numbers with Paris Hilton and Christina Aguilera

Prince William swapped telephone numbers with Paris Hilton and Christina Aguilera after managing to convince bouncers to let him meet them at a London nightclub. He spent the evening chatting to the celebrities at Whisky Mist in Mayfair, which he attended with his brother, Prince Harry. What happened next?

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Who's immune to Zombies?

Paris Hilton has boasted she earns $200 million a year!! Who got no brain now?

Related Link:
Malaysia's 'Paris Hilton'

Ever wondered what space smells like?

Outer space smells like fried steak, hot metal and welding a motorbike, scientists said. Nasa has commissioned Steven Pearce, a chemist and managing director of fragrance manufacturing company Omega Ingredients, to recreate the smell of space in a laboratory. His research will be used to help astronauts prepare for the conditions they will encounter in space.

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The Queen visits Google today

A picture of the Queen has appeared in Google's logo on their UK search page.

The Queen's profile makes an appearance in the 'Google doodle' to mark her majesty's visit to the company's UK headquarters.

The logo will run for just a day – as the company crowns (ahem) a good year with a high profile royal visit.

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Related Link:
Boy's balloon finds pen-pal: Britain's Queen

Woman changes name to a URL to protest dissections

A 19-year-old Virginia woman has adopted a most unusual method of protest--by changing her name to a website address protesting animal dissection for scientific purposes. Her friends and family still call her Jennifer, however.

The former Jennifer Thornburg – whose driver’s license now reads Dissection.com, Cutout – wanted to do something to protest animal dissections in schools.

The 19-year-old’s new name is also the Web address for an anti-dissection page of the site for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, where she is interning.

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Giant pink rabbit that can be seen from space

A giant pink rabbit has been created in the Alps that can be seen from space. Visitors are encouraged by those who made it to climb all over the 200ft toy sculpture and even sleep on it.

But the Austrian art collective who created the bunny were amazed to find that it is so large the rabbit can be seen from space via the Google Earth programme.

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Fewer people downloading music illegally

Fewer people are downloading music from the internet illegally because they are frightened about having their connections cut off, according to new research. Are you one of them?

Around 39 per cent of music fans currently download tracks from illegal sites, compared to 43 per cent last year, the annual digital music survey of 1,500 people found.

However, of those, 72 per cent said they would stop if they were contacted by their internet service provider (ISP). Me too =p

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Stone vs iPhone

The Best Comparison Ever?

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Firefox Mobile coming to you very soon!

With a reported Acid3 Test score of 88/100, the mobile web browser looks nearly complete in the screenshots that have surfaced. It will be interesting to see how Firefox Mobile can hold up against established game players like Pocket Internet Explorer, Safari Mobile, Opera Mobile, and Skyfire.

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Find a new thing to do with Google today

You can do a lot more than search the web with Google nowadays, from reading newspapers in languages you don't speak to seeing the natural habitat of Komodo dragons.



Discover something new to do with Google today by clicking here

Music using ONLY sounds from Windows XP and 98!

They took a bunch of noises you hate hearing and turned it into art.

Related Links:
One man band - Mouth Music Improvisation (No instrument)

Free online PMS reminder

PMSBuddy.com is a free service created with a single goal in mind: to keep you aware of when your wife, girlfriend, mother, sister, daughter, or any other women in your life are closing in on "that time of the month" - when things can get intense for what may seem to be no reason at all.

For women, this is a great way to give people in your life a heads-up of when you might be feeling a bit irritable without having an awkward conversation.

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Message to American International Group (AIG)

According to the 2008 Forbes Global 2000 list, AIG was the 18th-largest company in the world. Apparently, the company needs protection too.

DNA test proves baby shark has no father

Scientists have confirmed the second case of a "virgin birth" in a shark. In a study reported Friday in the Journal of Fish Biology, scientists said DNA testing proved that a pup carried by a female blacktip shark in a Virginia aquarium contained no genetic material from a male.

The first documented case of asexual reproduction, or parthenogenesis, among sharks involved a pup born to a hammerhead at an Omaha, Nebraska, zoo.

"This first case was no fluke," Demian Chapman, a shark scientist and lead author of the second study, said in a statement. "It is quite possible that this is something female sharks of many species can do on occasion."

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No sex is secret to long life, says 105-year-old virgin

Just too busy: Clara Meadmore says sex seemed a 'hassle' and she's glad she did without it. The former secretary, who will celebrate her birthday tomorrow, said she had no regrets about remaining a virgin and had turned down several marriage proposals.

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Blackberry released its first touch-screen phone

The Blackberry Storm is seen in this handout image courtesy of Verizon Wireless on October 8,2008. Research in Motion Ltd (RIM), maker of the Blackberry, released its first mobile phone with a touch-screen on October 8, its answer to the popular Apple iPhone.

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Animals' brush with canvas

This Aug. 7, 2008 photo provided by the Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens in Columbia, S.C. shows Ricky, a 7 year-old Rockhopper penguin make a painting to raise money for the wildlife conservation efforts. Ricky's painting was the first sold in the auction of art by animals nationwide for $ 180 Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2008, in Columbia, S.C.



This photo released by the Akron Zoo shows a painting by a 5-year-old female snow leopard named Hannah from the Akron Zoo in Akron, Ohio. This painting along with other art by animals will be auctioned Tuesday, Sept. 16.



In this undated photo released by the Audubon Zoo, Sushi, a sea lion at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, wields her paint brush. Paintings such as this one are to be auctioned online Tuesday, Sept. 16.

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Women's voices get higher in pitch at most fertile

Women speak in a higher tone of voice when at their most fertile, making them more attractive to the opposite sex, scientists have found.

Recordings made when fertility was low and again nearer ovulation showed that women's voices took on more feminine qualities as they neared their optimum time for conceiving.

Researchers made voice recordings of 69 female undergraduates and found that they spoke in a higher pitch when nearer to the time when an egg is released.

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Married couple split home in half after separation

A married couple in Cambodia who had "finally had enough" of each other have gone their separate ways by literally cutting their home in half. The wife will stay put with the upright half while her husband has carried away his half to start again on the other side of the village.

Neighbours said the couple saw the radical action as the most cost-efficient and equitable way to avoid each other in a country where divorce lawyers can be expensive.

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Curiosity gets the cow in a spin

A curious cow got more than she bargained for after investigating an object which had mysteriously arrived in her field.

When the heifer tried to get a closer look, she got her head stuck in a dumped washing machine drum.

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Here's another story :p

eBay to cut 10% of staff worldwide

eBay, the online auction website, said today that it was cutting 10 per cent of its global workforce in response to slowing growth in its internet sales and was buying an online payment service.

The layoffs will affect 1,000 employees and several hundred temporary workers worldwide. There are around 100 eBay employees in the UK. An eBay UK spokesman said that “some people’s roles are at risk of redundancy” but could not say how many jobs or which departments are most at risk.

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The Economist Magazine Sums Up The Financial Crisis

Now you know it's bad. Download the large version [spoof cover]

New in Labs: Mail Goggles

When you enable Mail Goggles, it will check that you're really sure you want to send that late night Friday email. And what better way to check than by making you solve a few simple math problems after you click send to verify you're in the right state of mind?

Mail Goggles can be activated in Gmail by going to the Settings>Labs function and selecting the option.

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Never give up!

Love his tongue sticking out. =)

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ASP.net programmer needs help

I will be very happy to work with him.

Easy And Fast Way To Fold A T-Shirt

Method 1: With just bare hands


Method 2: Use cardboard

That's what I am doing this weekend!

New Dollar Bill for US Economic Crisis

Anticipating the fall of Wall Street, the US Mint has revealed a new dollar bill.

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What's new on MiniLyrics 6

New: New skin engine and fantasy skin.
New: Floating lyrics.
New: New color theme design and blending options of lyrics text.
Improved: High rating lyrics will be preferred while searching.
Fixed: Support Foobar2000 0.95

You can use MiniLyrics with 18 players such as Windows Media Player, Winamp, Foobar2000, Apple iTunes, RealPlayer etc!

Viagra Advertising

Turning the lights on has never been so exciting.

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Celebrities and me

Okie, we have Paris Hilton, Angelina Jolie, Victoria Beckham, Madonna, and Polaroid dress (bonus). Have fun with your photos @ photofunia.com

Little boy learning to walk

This shirt is superb!

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Grocery List

Mum, can you read this?

Please Tip

US Congress rejects 700 billion dollar bailout bill? Don't worry, we already have a backup plan.

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Basketball World Record

Who says Japanese can't dunk?

Divorce Cakes

Let's publicly celebrate divorce, let people eat cake, too! =)

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