Babies' cries get special attention: study

London: The sound of babies crying is uniquely able to get adults to react at speed, British scientists said on Tuesday.

A study by Oxford University researchers using the classic arcade game "whack-a-mole" found that adults' responses were swifter when they were listening to babies crying, compared to hearing sounds of adults in distress or twittering birds.

Car sales in India rise 8.5 pc in Dec: SIAM

New Delhi: Car sales in India rose an annual 8.5 percent in December, an industry body said on Tuesday, the second consecutive monthly rise as the industry continued to rebound from record falls in sales in late 2011.

Demand for cars in India, the world's second-fastest growing auto market after China, shrank in July for the first time in nearly three years. Sales continued to fall for three consecutive months due to high interest rates and rising costs.

Homeopathy believers unmoved by accusations

Mumbai: Those who swear by homeopathy aren't deterred by the British Medical Association's (BMA's) comment that homeopathy is 'witchcraft' and remedies with no scientific basis to support them.

"I have seen and felt the magic," said businessman Minish Kothari a Rheumatoid arthritis patient.

Auto Expo 2012: AMW shows a bus and two new trucks

Asia Motor Works (AMW) unveiled two new trucks and its bus at the 2012 Auto Expo held in Delhi. The trucks are 4928 TR tractor, 2528 TP tipper while the new bus is a 14.3-metre long, front engined one called the Magnus.

The 4928 TR tractor is a 49-tonne tractor gets a new cabin and is powered by a 270PS, common-rail, electronically controlled, Cummins diesel engine, mated to a nine-speed Eaton gearbox. The 2528 TP tipper also gets a new cabin and the same engine as the 4928 TR tractor with the same power but with a 9-speed ZF transmission.

Blame CII for crowd mess at Auto Expo: ITPO

New Delhi: With many exhibitors at 11th Auto Expo complaining about poor crowd management, the owner of the venue, ITPO, today put all the blame on industry body CII, saying it was not responsible for issuing free passes.

CII, however, said the participants were equally responsible for the crowd mess on 'Media Days', as they issued free passes without any control.

Ducati offers the Monster 795 at Rs 5.99 lakh

New Delhi: Ducati surprised everyone when they launched the Monster 795 at the Auto Expo for a price of Rs 6.99 lakh. Expected pricing for the Ducati Monster 795 was in the range of Rs 5-6 lakh.

However, Ducati India has been quick to make amends and announce a special introductory price for the Monster 795 – Rs 5.99 lakh, ex-showroom. This limited period offer makes the Ducati Monster 795, now even more affordable.

Homeopathy: Placebo or science?

Mumbai: Sceptics and scientists alike say homeopathy is a placebo. However, scientists at IIT Powai have done some ground-breaking research, and plan to release a new study this March.

The British Medical Association has passed some serious judgment on homeopathy, liking it to witchcraft and black magic, “all placebo and no science”.

Overdrive: all the launches at the Auto Expo 2012

On this episode we bring you all the main attractions of the Auto Expo 2012.

Auto Expo 2012: Triumph Bonneville

Triumph launched the Bonneville at the Delhi Auto Expo 2012 as expected but what really delighted us was the competitive pricing, but more on that later. The Triumph Bonneville dates back to 1959 and is named after the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah where motorcycles and cars regularly vie for land speed records.

The look of the Bonneville is classically 'retro' but don't let its appearance fool you, the Bonneville received a complete pdate in 2001 and though it still looks like the original, under the skin it’s completely modern.

Auto Expo 2012: Triumph Speed Triple

The Triumph Speed Triple launched at the Auto Expo 2012 is a wolf in a well, wolf's clothing. It along with its little brother the Street Triple both sport great 'street fighter' looks combined with serious performance. The elder of the two Triples was launched in 1994 and was called the Speed Triple T300. It was a tribute to 1938 'speed twin' that was dubbed as a performance bike.

The original bikes had single steel down tubes and used the engine as a stressed member with fully adjustable suspension front and rear and to showcase its ‘performance’ tag Triumph also started a one-make racing series with the bike in 1994.