Gas mask bra honoured with IgNobel prize Engineers who invented a bra that converts into a gas mask, pathologists who determined that beer bottles can crack your skull even when empty, and Irish police officers who mistakenly wrote speeding tickets to somebody called ‘Driver’s License’ were all honoured for their dubious achievments at the IgNobel prizes on Thursday. The gas mask bra can be easily fitted to any passer-by Prizes also went to Zimbabwe for issuing banknotes that range in value from one Zimbabwean cent to 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollars, to Mexican scientists who made diamonds out of tequila and … Continue reading Can you use a bra as a gas mask?

Frozen bug could hold clues about aliens Herminiimonas glaciei could provide insights into alien life forms A newly-discovered bug trapped for over 120,000 years under three kilometres of ice could hold vital clues about the existence of alien life forms. The dormant bacterium was found in Greenland by a team of researchers from Pennsylvania State University who managed to gradually coax it back to life. They revived the frozen microbe, known as Herminiimonas glaciei, by carefully warming the samples of ice for almost a year. It is hoped that studying the bacterium will help provide insights into how microorganisms on … Continue reading 120,000 year old frozen bug coaxed back to life by Pennsylvania State University…

‘Take us to your leader’ – UFO files out Author: Catherine Archer Michael Howard’s home was an alleged focal point for extraterrestrials The latest instalment of Britain’s very own X-Files have revealed an unlikely destination for so-called extraterrestrial visitors – the former home secretary Michael Howard’s home. More than 6,000 pages of material from top-secret Ministry of Defence files have been released detailing eyewitness accounts of alleged alien encounters including reports of a “large triangular UFO” floating above the former Home Secretary’s Kent residence. The newly-released files make intriguing reading for UFO believers, with reports of tubes of light, flying … Continue reading Aliens met with Michael Howard and were not terribly impressed with our leaders – now for direct people to people contact!

Can termite mounds inspire eco-cities? Architects could model sustainable developments on termite mounds Architects working on models of sustainable development are turning to a new and rather unusual source of inspiration: termite mounds. Built entirely from natural, biodegradable materials, the looming, curiously shaped mounds dotted around the African savannah are both air-conditioned and humidity-regulated without consuming a single watt of electricity. Swiss entomologist Martin Luscher was researching the eco-credentials of termite mounds as far back as the 1960s, suggesting that modern architects might be able to learn a thing or two. Now, as developers wake up to the potential dangers … Continue reading Termite City shows the way forward for true Eco-Cities on Earth

Economy, energy replace extremism as top US concern By Anwar Iqbal Dawn.com Washington felt the need to now focus on Pakistan’s economic and energy issues, said Mr Holbrooke, adding that the Obama administration had set up a water resources task force at the State Department to help Pakistan deal with a looming water crisis. – Photo by Reuters. US envoy refuses to blame LeT for Kabul attack WASHINGTON: US special envoy Richard Holbrooke has told a briefing in Washington that he sees positive developments in Afghanistan and Pakistan, to the point that his chief concern in Pakistan is not extremism. … Continue reading Economy, energy replace extremism as top US concern but is Pakistan government concerned?

Anger as energy Posted by Nadeem F. Paracha  The arrival of James Dean and Marlon Brando in the 1950s in films such as Rebel Without A Cause and On The Waterfront heralded a new kind of hero. He was the anti-heroic “angry young man.” A silent, brooding type with a tendency to explode into bursts of anger, reflecting a stark emotional vulnerability. The anti-hero was a complex character charged with the good intentions of the conventional hero but almost as morally flawed as the cinematic villain. Further highlighted by Richard Burton in Look Back in Anger (1958), Peter Fonda in … Continue reading Who is the James Dean of Pakistan and India?

Former Gitmo detainee now running Afghan battles Dawn.com In this May 14, 2009 file photo, reviewed by the US military, Guantanamo detainees pray before dawn near a fence of razor-wire, inside Camp 4 detention facility at Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base, Cuba. — AP Photo World India, Pakistan’s ‘proxy war’ in Afghanistan SHADOW WARS India, Pakistan’s ‘proxy war’ in Afghanistan LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan: A man freed from Guantanamo more than two years ago after he claimed he only wanted to go home and help his family is now a senior commander running Taliban resistance to the US-led offensive in southern … Continue reading Gitmo detainee now running Afghan battles

Posted by Sana Saleem Dawn blog For a society to progress, human rights have to be guaranteed, with the assurance that rights are maintained without gender bias or discrimination. Gender-based violence reflects and reinforces injustices and compromises the health, dignity, and liberty of its victims. Such violence covers a wide range of human rights violations, including harassment, domestic violence, sexual abuse of children, rape, sexual assault, human trafficking, and indenture. The impact of any one of these abuses can leave psychological scars, or, in extreme instances, prove fatal. Violence against women has been called the most pervasive yet least recognised … Continue reading Logging on to empower women

A tale of Afghan women’s plight —by Miranda Husain The Patience Stone By Atiq Rahimi Other Press; Pp 160 Afghanistan, a nation still on fire, a nation still home to a centre-stage Taliban. An entity that still remains resoundingly more concrete than an outward manifestation of an inner descent into madness, despite its supposed toppling. Back in 2001, the coalition of the willing told the world that their invasion of this country had been determined by a single goal: the dead-or-alive capturing of Osama bin Laden. When this revealed itself to be nothing more than a pipedream, the narrative swiftly … Continue reading Woman are to be respected and empowered…

The naked truth —Farrukh Khan Pitafi The pious ones in the Islamic republic, who cannot digest the image of a newscaster sitting without a scarf on her head, have hardly any issue with gory and violent images on the screen Dr Amartya Sen is known for his work in welfare economics and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences that he received. But our knowledgeable ones, so effectual at connecting dots, have not traced him back to another of his interesting works — that of procreation. His daughter Nandana Sen is consistently building her reputation as not only an established … Continue reading Are you more concerned about headscarfs or killing innocents in Allahs name?