Asteroid to Just Squeeze Past Earth

Astronomers are tracking an asteroid about the size of an aircraft carrier that on Tuesday will pass by Earth, within the moon's orbit, in the closest approach of such an object in a generation. The 1,300-foot-wide asteroid, known as 2005 YU55, poses no hazard, experts at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said. They are monitoring the spinning space rock by radar as it nears and eventually speeds past Earth at a distance of 201,000 miles. The asteroid is going 29,000 miles per hour, according to astronomers at the University of Arizona. It is the first time since 1976 that an asteroid has come so close to Earth, and the first time astronomers have ever had this much advance notice. By astronomers' calculations, the asteroid is expected to make its closest approach to Earth at 6:28 pm EST Tuesday. The asteroid is too dim to be seen with the naked eye and its gravity is too weak to affect tides or earthquake activity, said experts at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Its most important effect may be the adrenaline it has generated this week among the planetary astronomers tracking it through NASA's Deep Space Network antennas, the Arecibo radio-telescope in Puerto Rico and hundreds of telescopes world-wide

"This is an extraordinary opportunity to look at an extremely important type of asteroid," said Donald K. Yeomans, head of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office, which tracks these objects. "A small army of astronomers are pretty excited about it." Among the oldest objects in the solar system, such carbon-rich asteroids may hold water and important ores, as well as clues to the molecular origins of life on Earth. They also may become humankind's next destination in space, if current plans by NASA for a manned mission to an asteroid come to fruition. "These objects may one day be the fueling stations and watering holes for interplanetary travel," Dr. Yeomans said. The solar system harbors millions of asteroids, but only a few are known to cross Earth's path, like the gigantic object that struck the planet some 65 million years ago, part of a chain of events that led to the demise of the dinosaurs. That impact left a crater 110 miles wide in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, suggesting the original object was six miles or more in diameter. By that standard, 2005 YU55 is a medium-size asteroid, among about an estimated 19,500 comparable space rocks between 330 feet and 3,300 feet wide believed to have orbits around the sun intercepting Earth's, according to NASA's most recent tally released in September. Some, like 2005 YU55, are rich in organic chemistry, but many are stony or more metallic. Only about a third of them have been located so far. The asteroid 2005 YU55 was first detected six years ago and until now, researchers knew little more than its precise orbit. Previous observations suggest it is a fairly symmetrical stone sphere, darker than the color of charcoal, and rotates once every 18 hours. NASA radar astronomers picked up its track on Friday and were immediately able to narrow its position to within one kilometer—50 times better than their previous best estimate. "We pinged it," said Marina Brozovic, a planetary radar astronomer who is leading the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's team at NASA's Goldstone radar installation that is following the asteroid. "It's there." During the next 48 hours or so, the astronomers expect to map the asteroid's surface and refine their knowledge about its orbit enough to predict its precise path well into the future. "We will probably know centuries ahead where it is going to be," said Dr. Brozovic. "We don't want any surprises." It will be 2028 before another asteroid comes so close to Earth, when the asteroid 2001 WN5 passes at a distance of about 143,000 miles. The fly-by of 2005 YU55 offers astronomers an opportunity to rehearse their target acquisition and tracking techniques, in the event that an asteroid is ever discovered on a collision course with Earth. "We would like to know more about them in case one was found on an Earth-threatening trajectory," Dr. Yeomans said.

Drinking milk helps you shed weight

Drinking milk regularly could help you shed weight, finds a recent study. In a two-year weight loss study, milk drinkers had an advantage over those who skipped the milk, reports the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition . Researchers led by Danit Shahar from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, found that adults who drank nearly two glasses of milk daily, which provided the highest Vitamin D levels at six months, lost more weight after two years than those who had little or no milk or milk products -- nearly six kilograms weight loss, on average.

More than 300 overweight men and women aged 40 to 65 years, took part in the study following low-fat, Mediterranean or low-carb diets for two years, according to a Ben-Gurion statement. Regardless of diet, researchers found participants with the highest dairy calcium intake six months into the study (averaging about 580 mg daily- the amount in nearly two glasses of milk) lost about six kilograms at the end of the two years, compared to about 3.5 kg for those with the lowest dairy calcium intake (averaging about 150 mg, or about half of a glass). Beyond calcium, the researchers also found that Vitamin D levels independently affected weight loss success and in line with previous research, milk and milk products were the top contributors to Vitamin D in the diets of the study participants. Despite the potential health benefits, many Americans are still not getting the recommended 400 international units (IU) of Vitamin D daily -- the amount in four glasses of fat free or low-fat milka

Don’t make Facebook and Twitter your emotional gutter.

Your online interaction could cast long, dark shadows offline. Don’t make Facebook and Twitter your emotional gutter.
There is a set of guidelines to follow in a relationship, and then there is another set to be followed when exposing your personal life on a social-networking site. A breach of these could result in the shocking tragedy of Malini Murmu, the 23-year-old IIM student who committed suicide after reading her former boyfriend's tactless status update: "Feeling super cool today. Dumped my new ex-girlfriend. Happy Independence Day."

The onus of Malini's actions does not rest solely on her ex-boyfriend's keyboard happiness; there is more to the matter than meets the eye. However, this is an immense cause of concern about the far-reaching effects social-networking sites can have on people's lives. Especially since people tend to have more 'courageous' online personalities than offline ones.

Clinical psychologist Alina Philip says, "Much like the media, social networking sites reach everybody. Therefore, we need to follow ethics and be extremely sensitive to what goes up on them. "

Admit it
As much as social networks allow us to stay connected with people across the demographics, they are partly superficial.

And we get to be pretentious. Most status updates and pictures are to show how witty you are, how much fun and interesting your life is, how deep you are - basically a concentrated effort to dictate a perception of the unique snowflake that is you.

While there is nothing wrong in this, tread carefully when relationships with others are involved. Making and maintaining relationships need effort, time and direct communication - and all of it invested offline.

Clinical psychologist and psychotherapist Varkha Chulani, says, "There's a fine line between sharing of information and emotional exhibition." "Love you darling. Muah", "Thanks for last night", "We need to talk" and "I think your sister is fat" does not need to make it on the Wall. These conversations are best had person to person. And if this is not the kind of thing you would say to his/her face, it makes it all the more cowardly to say it online.

Like Philip says, "Would you go to the middle of Azad Maidan screaming that you have broken up? Then why publicise on Facebook? Your personal space is your personal space. Respect it. Do not make a mockery out of it. Maintain the sanity of your relationship."

This extends to changes in relationship messages. From Single to Taken to It's complicated, it's less of sharing of good news and more of hungering for attention. Wouldn't it be wiser to decide on the status of your relationship after you've finished fighting and decided mutually on it?

Also announcing the cementing of your relationship through status change can be awkward if you have not had 'the talk' offline first. Otherwise ABC is happily 'in a relationship' with XYZ, but XYZ hasn't really changed her status from Single.

Be a suit
Taking office gossip and team rivalry online will not reflect well on your resume. Even here, it is better if you solve your problems face-to-face rather than resort to vague sarcastic comments on their status messages and photos.

And no matter how bad your day has been, don't bitch about a client or boss on your blog and Twitter. You may have a friend who knows a friend, who knows the boss. Besides, your future employers could be online and they will think twice about hiring a person with no discretion.

Keep it positive
A rule of thumb is to announce only the positive - a new job, a celebration or new degree. Steer clear of washing dirty linen in public. Do not talk about your bad day at work or your unpleasant marriage. Remember: 500 friends of friends do not need to know.

Pictures have ceased to be snapshots for posterity and grown into frames of exhibitionism. And here you need to be more careful. What seemed funny when you were drunk and in college, will not be as ticklish when you land a job, or when you wake up sober. When the pictures are of somebody else, the responsibility is greater.

You do not know what could land a friend or colleague into trouble and it is best to avoid uploading any picture or video that brings even a shadow of doubt. Happy smiling family pictures may be boring, but they are less likely to land you in a lawsuit.

Pictures of you with your arm around a bikini-clad babe, or shirtless dude after a break-up point less to you being cool and more to you being lame. "This reflects that you are providing solace to yourself that you have a good life, while revealing emotional instability," says Chulani.

Turmeric, a natural born cancer killer

Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Centre have found that curcumin, the main component in the spice turmeric, suppresses a cell-signalling pathway in human saliva that drives the growth of head and neck cancer.

The inhibition of the cell signalling pathway was also correlated with reduced expression of a number of pro-inflammatory cytokines, or signalling molecules, in the saliva that promote cancer growth, said Dr. Marilene Wang, senior author of the study and a Jonsson Cancer Centre researcher.

"This study shows that curcumin can work in the mouths of patients with head and neck malignancies and reduce activities that promote cancer growth," Wang said.

"And it not only affected the cancer by inhibiting a critical cell signalling pathway, it also affected the saliva itself by reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines within the saliva," she added.

The study was published September 15 in Clinical Cancer Research, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Association of Cancer Research .

Britain to recycle diapers into roof tiles

British babies use around three billion disposable diapers every year. Now a new recycling plant has opened in the country where these nappies would be turned into roof tiles and construction tubes.

Over half million tonnes of waste from disposable diapers is generated in Britain every year.

An average British baby uses 6,000 before being trained to use the potty. Each disposable diaper takes around 500 years to decompose, says the Daily Mail.

A Canadian company -- Knowaste -- has stepped forward to recycle around 36,000 tonnes of diapers at the first recycling facility of its kind in Britain.

The plant opened in West Bromwich, around 165 km from London.

The waste diapers will be collected from hospitals, nursing facilities and child care nurseries.

The company said the products would be sterilised and highly valuable plastic and fibre will be recovered.

These can then be used for making new products like roof tiles or plastic components and fibre-based construction and commercial tubes.