Research: Malaria is more fatal than previous calculations

Researchers have found through recent data and modelling techniques that the number of deaths from malaria in 2010 were 1.24 million as compared to 655,000 million as previously calculated.

The research has been published online in the journal of The Lancet and has been supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

From SayPeople,

Researchers worked on new data and modeling techniques for the development of historical database for malaria between 1980 and 2010. They found that almost 995,000 million people died of malaria in 1980, which rose to its peak in 2004 i.e. 1.82 million deaths and again went down to 1.24 million deaths in 2010. 

Researchers have also found that deaths from malaria increased from 493,000 in Africa in 1980 to 1.61 million in 2004 and then decreased by almost 30% to about 1.13 million in 2010.

Advanced MIcro Devices' "ambidextrous" strategy

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Chip maker, has announced an "ambidextrous" strategy for not only innovative products but also for novel business options.

“AMD’s strategy capitalizes on the convergence of technologies and devices that will define the next era of the industry,” said Rory Read, president and CEO, AMD. “The trends around consumerization, the Cloud and convergence will only grow stronger in the coming years. AMD has a unique opportunity to take advantage of this key industry inflection point.  We remain focused on continuing the work we began last year to re-position AMD.  Our new strategy will help AMD embrace the shifts occurring in the industry, marrying market needs with innovative technologies and become a consistent growth engine.”

This new strategy would help the company to introduce ultra-thin devices with consideration of cloud based computation and low power consumption.

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Offline Google Docs is now possible for Android based devices

Google has reported that now Google Docs will be available offline to the Android based devices such as tablets and smartphones.

"You can make an item available offline while you have an Internet connection. You can also request to make an item available offline when your device is disconnected from the Internet," Google said. "The item will update the next time your device regains Internet connectivity."

However, "offline editing isn't currently supported,"

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Decoding the words in the brain; Research

Researchers from University of Maryland, UC Berkeley and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland have successfully decoded the words in the brain through latest technology.


Researchers have placed electrical rods on the brains of participants and worked with them while the participants were in conversation. They found that brain processes the information in the speed between one to 8000 hertz.


One of the words reproduced by scientists was "Structure".

Prof Robert Knight, one of the researchers from the University of California at Berkeley, said: "This is huge for patients who have damage to their speech mechanisms because of a stroke or Lou Gehrig's disease and can't speak.

"If you could eventually reconstruct imagined conversations from brain activity, thousands of people could benefit."

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Another mirrorless camera by Pentax Ricoh Imaging

Pentax K-01 is another brand of introduced by Pentx Ricoh Imaging with mirrorless features.

The camera features a new Prime M imaging engine and an additional H.264 video format. The video recording is up to 60 fps. The camera has an Ultrasonic dust removal.

From SayPeople,

The pancake lens is 9.2 mm in depth and weighs about 52 gm. It also features a nine-bladed, rounded aperture diaphragm providing smoother defocused backgrounds.
It will be available in March in three color options i.e. yellow, white and black. The camera will sell for $899.95 with the 40mm lens or for $749.95 without a lens.

Xstrata in merging deal with Glencore

Xstrata, Swiss mining company, confirms in a report on its website that it in merging deal with Glencore, commodities trader.

“Glencore being such a dominant trader and marketer of commodities, and Xstrata being such a strong operator of difficult assets, I think it creates enormous value,” Prasad Patkar, who helps manage about $1 billion at Platypus Asset Management Ltd. in Sydney, said by phone before the statement. “On one end you have great mining expertise, on the other you’ve got great marketing expertise. Two and two together should make five.”

According to the experts, the merger deal could be of $80 billion. Moreover, the transaction could generate $794 million in savings as reported by Credit Suisse Group AG in October.

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Sony's new president and CEO; Kazuo Hirai

Sony has announced that Howard Stringer, who worked as CEO of the company since 2005, will start working as Chairman of the Board and he will be succeeded by Kazuo Hirai, video game executive.


Kazuo Hirai will have to face a challenging post in the new position as company is expecting big losses this year.


Kazuo Hirai said,

As challenging as times are for Sony now, were it not for the strong leadership of Sir Howard Stringer these past seven years, we would have been in a much more difficult position. I am grateful to Sir Howard and to the Board for their confidence in me, and I look forward to working with everyone at Sony more closely than ever before to build a strong future for our customers, shareholders, partners and employees. The path we must take is clear: to drive the growth of our core electronics businesses - primarily digital imaging, smart mobile and game; to turn around the television business; and to accelerate the innovation that enables us to create new business domains. The foundations are now firmly in place for the new management team and me to fully leverage Sony’s diverse electronics product portfolio, in conjunction with our rich entertainment assets and growing array of networked services, to engage with our customers around the world in new and exciting ways.

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