European Space Agency Seeks Secrets of Universe

The European Space Agency has launched into orbit, two space observatories that will help scientists understand the information of the universe.

The telescopes will give European scientists powerful new tools to look at some of the basic questions we all wonder about when we look at stars and galaxies millions of kilometers away.

Goran Pilbratt is project scientist for one of the telescopes, called Herschel.

"We may learn a lot more about how stars like the sun formed and when they formed," said Goran Pilbratt. "[How] planets like our own planet formed. So star formation is a very big thing for Herschel."

If the operation is successful, Pilbratt says, the Herschel telescope will also try to answer other questions.

"Astronomers talk about structure formation in the universe, how did the universe get its large-scale structure that we can see today? And here is the second very important part about where Herschel can contribute a lot," he said. "Nobody else has been able to observe, with the detail that we can, the infrared emission from galaxies."

Those infrared emissions will allow the telescope to peer through cosmic dust and gas to see things like the evolution of early stars and galaxies. Scientists also want to learn more about mysterious dark matter and energy, and whether the universe will expand forever.

The other telescope, known as Planck, will study temperature variations from the very early universe.

The two telescopes are being launched from French Guyana for a total cost of more than $2 billion. If all goes well, scientists hope Herschel will be working for three years, and the Planck telescope for about 15 months.

The French launch coincides with the anticipated spacewalk of U.S. Astronauts John Grunsfeld and Drew Feustel who are expected to exit the space Shuttle Atlantis for the first of five spacewalks to upgrade Hubble telescope. They will replace the telescope's 15-year-old workhorse camera with one that sees deeper into the universe.

By Lisa Bryant
Paris
14 May 2009
VOA News

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

What does MRI stand for? MRI stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Below are some information and a picture of MRI equipment I obtain from Wikipedia about MRI and its uses.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is primarily a medical imaging technique most commonly used in Radiology to visualize the structure and function of the body. It provides detailed images of the body in any plane. MRI provides much greater contrast between the different soft tissues of the body than does computed tomography (CT), making it especially useful in neurological (brain), musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and oncological (cancer) imaging. Unlike CT it uses no ionizing radiation, but uses a powerful magnetic field to align the nuclear magnetization of (usually) hydrogen atoms in water in the body. Radiofrequency fields are used to systematically alter the alignment of this magnetization, causing the hydrogen nuclei to produce a rotating magnetic field detectable by the scanner. This signal can be manipulated by additional magnetic fields to build up enough information to reconstruct an image of the body.

MRI is a relatively new technology, which has been in widespread use for less than 20 years (compared with over 100 years for X-rays). The first MR Image was published in 1973 and the first study performed on a human took place on July 3, 1977.

Magnetic resonance imaging was developed from knowledge gained in the study of nuclear magnetic resonance. In its early years the technique was referred to as nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI). However, as the word nuclear was associated in the public mind with ionizing radiation exposure it is generally now referred to simply as MRI. Scientists still use the term NMRI when discussing non-medical devices operating on the same principles. One of the contributors to modern MRI, Paul Lauterbur, originally named the technique zeugmatography, a Greek term meaning "that which is used for joining". The term referred to the interaction between the static and the gradient magnetic fields necessary to create an image, but this term was not adopted.

Turning off Autorun

Below are several steps to turn off autorun in your computer:

• Click Start - Run.
• Type "regedit".
  
• Go to HKEY_CURRENT _USER\Software\Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.
• On the right window of registry editor, right-click NoDriveTypeAutoRun.
• Click Modify.
• Change value data into "ff" to disable autorun function on the drive.
• Click OK.
• Then go to HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.
• Do the same things as previous steps.
• Exit fromRegistry Editor.
• Restart the computer.

WHO: Swine Flu Cases Top 2,000

The World Health Organization says the swine influenza A-H1N1 virus has infected more than 2,000 people worldwide.

The WHO says the swine flu has spread across 23 countries, though most of the cases have been reported in Mexico and the United State

Earlier Thursday, the WHO's acting director-general Keiji Fukuda told Asian officials in Bangkok by videolink that the WHO does not know how severe the swine flu outbreak will become. He warned the virus could get more virulent later in the year during the northern hemisphere's flu season.

If it turns into a pandemic, he said one third of the world's population - up to two billion people - could end up infected.

The United States has confirmed nearly 900 cases of swine flu, while Mexico has reported more than 1,000.

The acting director for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Richard Besser said officials expect to see far more cases in the U.S., as well as more deaths. Two fatalities have already been confirmed in the U.S. state of Texas, which borders Mexico, while all 42 other deaths from the virus occurred in Mexico.

Mexican businesses and schools began reopening Wednesday and Thursday after officials said the virus was spreading more slowly in the country.

Other countries have also been easing measures to control the disease.

China on Thursday lifted a seven-day quarantine for passengers who arrived in Shanghai on a flight with a Mexican man who was later found to be infected with the virus.

Also Thursday, Russia announced it was lifting a ban on meat imports from five U.S. states, but added another - Illinois - to its list.

At a Congressional hearing Thursday, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said he is disappointed that Russia and China have imposed restrictions on U.S. imports.

Vilsack stressed that U.S. pork products are safe, saying there is no evidence the swine flu virus can be transmitted through food. He said the agriculture department is working hard to reach out to the Russians, the Chinese and other governments to reopen international markets.

By VOA News
07 May 2009

How to Hide Icons on the System Tray

There are usually several icons on the system trays. If you don't like to see them, you can hide the icons from your system tray.

Follow these steps to hide them:

1. Click Start - Run.
2. Type "regedit".
3. Go to HKEY_CURRENT USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.
4. On the right window of registry editor, right-click the empty space.
   
5. Choose New - DWORD Value.
6. Type the value name "NoTrayItemsDisplay" and press Enter.
   
7. Right-click the new key you've made and choose Modify.
8. On the Value Data type the number "1" to hide the icons.
9. Press OK.
10. Restart your computer.

Changing Icon Size

If you think that the icons on the desktop of your computer are too small, you can change the size of those icons. Follow these steps:

• Right-click on the desktop.
• Choose Properties.
• Click Appearance.
• Click Effects.
• Check Use Large Icons.
• Click OK.

Acai Berry

I’m sure you have known about strawberry, blueberry, and raspberry. But, have you ever heard about acai berry? If you search in the internet, you will find many topics about this. Many people, especially women, use it to lose weight and to get a good skin appearance. Of course, there are some other uses of this kind of berry. Interested? Just visit the website.