Study

'Global warming may up flood risk in India, Southeast Asia'

Tokyo: Unchecked global warming may increase the risk of flooding at the end of this century in 42 per cent of the Earth's land surface, including parts of India, Southeast Asia and Africa, a new study has warned. According to a research team led by Yukiko Hirabayashi at the University of Tokyo's Institute of Engineering Innovation, the number of people exposed to the risk of flooding would increase from the current estimate of 5.6 million to 80 million by 2100 if temperatures rise by 3.5 C degrees during the period.



"An ensemble of projections under a new high-concentration scenario demonstrates a large increase in flood frequency in Southeast Asia, Peninsular India, eastern Africa and the northern half of the Andes, with small uncertainty in the direction of change," the study said. However, flood frequency is projected to decline in certain areas covering 18 per cent of the land surface, it said.

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Babies 'practise' facial expressions in womb: Study

London: Unborn babies 'practise' facial expressions of pain in the womb, according to a new study. Researchers from Durham and Lancaster Universities suggest that foetuses' ability to show a 'pain' facial expression is a developmental process which could potentially give doctors another index of the health of a foetus. The study extends the findings of previous work demonstrating that the facial expressions of healthy foetuses develop and become more complex...  

'Cheerful women not associated with leadership qualities'

Berlin: Too happy? Ladies, you may be harming your career by looking cheerful! Women who give a cheerful impression are judged to be less willing to undertake leadership roles than men who display similar emotions, a new study has found. Economic researchers at Technische Universitat Munchen (TUM) in Germany found that cheerful women are not associated with leadership qualities but proud ones are. "To increase their share of leadership positions,...  

Smartphones help users save 22 days of their time per year: Study

New York: Smartphone apps help users save 88 minutes of their time in a day or 22 days a year, a new study has found. The study by market research firm Harris Interactive, based on the responses of 2,120 adults, found that 97 per cent of smartphone owners use at least one app on their device. On average, those smartphone users estimate app usage amounts to 88 minutes of time...  

Private firms may travel to lunar surface: NASA report

London: A study of future human missions has indicated corporate researchers could be living on the moon by the time NASA astronauts head off to visit an asteroid in the 2020s. The study by Bigelow Aerospace, commissioned by NASA, shows "a lot of excitement and interest from various companies" for such ventures, Daily Mail quoted Robert Bigelow, founder and president of the Las Vegas-based firm, as saying. The projects range...  

Diarrhoea is life threatening for children under 2 years: Dr NK Arora

A landmark study published in 'The Lancet' pinpoints rotavirus as the major cause of diarrhoeal disease among Indian children. The findings can guide prevention, treatment and research on diarrhoeal diseases which globally claim the lives of 800,000 children every year. Dr NK Arora, executive director, The Inclen Trust, joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on how to prevent diarrhoea and what causes it. Q. Intestinal worms could also be a...  

Islamic scholar Asghar Ali Engineer passes away

Mumbai: Noted Islamic scholar Asghar Ali Engineer passed away on Tuesday in Mumbai after a prolonged illness. Engineer, 73, died early morning at his home in suburban Santa Cruz, family sources said. He is survived by a son and a daughter. Born in 1940, he did BSc in civil engineering from Vikram University. From 1980, he edited a journal 'The Islamic Perspective' and during the 1980s he published a string...  

Women's hair looks its best at 29, says study

London: Women in their late twenties can rejoice as a report suggests that your hair would look best as you reach 29 years of age. In a detailed research on hair habits polled by 2,000 women, it was found that once a female reaches her late twenties, she quits experimenting with hair and has more disposable income to spend on hair care, reports femalefirst.co.uk. And 45 percent admitted that they...  

Students judge professors based on their Facebook profiles

New York: Professors, please note! While your Facebook profile may help you connect with students, you may have to be careful about what you post on the site! College students judge professors based on their Facebook rofiles, a new study has found. For instance, a professor with a socially oriented Facebook profile may be viewed as more popular but less skilled by potential students than other professors, according to the...  

43 per cent of US teens text while driving: Study

Washington: Forty-three per cent of US high school students admit to texting while driving - a "national epidemic" in the country - according to a new study. More than four in 10 of high school students of driving age, who were surveyed in 2011, reported texting while driving at least once in the past 30 days, according to a study to be presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual...  

Web-based programmes for weight loss

Washington: Web-based programmes are the new effective measures in weight loss and weight management, according to a study. Weight loss is a topic of concern for nearly 36 per cent of Americans who are considered obese. There are many barriers that can interfere with weight loss. For those attending face-to-face weight loss programmes, barriers can include travel, conflict with work and home, need for child care, and loss of anonymity....  

Being too active on social media may harm relationships

London: Engaging in too much social media activity may damage strong relationships, a new Oxford study has warned. Research by Dr Bernie Hogan of Oxford University tested the theory of 'media multiplexity' (the ability to communicate via several communications channels) which was first posed in 2005. The theory suggests that there is a clear link between the number of media channels used to communicate, the frequency they are used and...  

Alcohol consumption does not affect breast cancer survival: study

Washington: Drinking alcohol has no impact on breast cancer survival, a new study has claimed. Although previous research has linked alcohol consumption to an increased risk of developing breast cancer, a new study has found that alcohol consumption does not impact survival from the disease. In fact, a modest survival benefit was found in women who were moderate drinkers before and after diagnosis due to a reduced risk of dying...  

Why people like to watch violent movies decoded

People are more likely to watch movies with gory scenes of violence if they felt there was meaning in confronting violent aspects of real life, according to a new study. ...  

French scientists claim 'functional cure' for HIV

After the news of a baby girl who was effectively cured of HIV in the US, a new study reports a functional cure for adults with HIV/AIDS, who were treated very early. Scientists in France said they selected 14 patients, who were treated within 10 weeks of being infected with HIV. They received treatment for three years but after that, the patients did not need antiretroviral treatment anymore. ...  

Vidya Balan's 'Silk' in 'Dirty Picture' now a case study?

The role of Silk is now a case study at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, according to media reports. ...  

Nepal reducing poverty faster than India: Oxford study

Nepal and Bangladesh are reducing poverty faster compared to India, according to a new study based on the multidimensional poverty index developed at the University of Oxford and used by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in its Human Development Reports. ...  

Men complain more on Twitter than women: study

Women tweet more but men are bigger complainers on Twitter, according to a new study of the social networking site. ...  

Consumers to spend 1.5 billion hours and $22 billion to check malwares in 2013: Study

Consumers will spend USD 22 billion on checking malware attacks this year, while companies will invest a whopping USD 114 billion in dealing with such malicious software, a study has said. ...  

Childhood is over by age of 12 for today's kids

Childhood is effectively over by the age of 12 for today's kids because of a "toxic" mix of Internet and pressure to become interested in sex before they are ready. ...