Galaxies eat each other

Researchers have pictured with the help of Jay GaBany's 0.5 m telescope at Black Bird Observatory and Saturn Lodge 0.7m telescope on the grounds of the Polaris Observatory Association first image of the two dwarf galaxies in which one dwarf galaxy, NGC 4449, is thought to engulf the other even smaller dwarf galaxy.

The dwarf galaxy NGC 4449 (top left) and the even tinier galaxy it is about to gobble up (bottom right).(Credit: R. Jay GaBany (Blackbird Observatory) in collaboration with David Martínez-Delgado (MPIA))

This research has been published online in the February 9 issue of the journal Nature.

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Digital business would not be the primary business of Eastman Kodak

Eastman Kodak Co., which has filed for the bankruptcy protection last month, has planned to stop manufacturing digital cameras, pocket video cameras and digital picture frames i.e. primary business.

The company has announced new strategies on Thursday in the times of financial issues faced by the company. This new strategy would cause reduction in costs helping the company to re-establish the business.

“For some time, Kodak’s strategy has been to improve margins in the capture device business by narrowing our participation in terms of product portfolio, geographies and retail outlets. Today’s announcement is the logical extension of that process, given our analysis of the industry trends,” said Pradeep Jotwani, President, Consumer Businesses, and Kodak Chief Marketing Officer.

The company is expecting $100 million of annual savings after implementation.

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Alzheimer's disease and Anticancer drug

Researchers from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio have published their findings in the journal Science.

Researchers have found that the destructive protein plaques caused by beta-amyloid in the brain of mice model have successfully been removed after using the drug, bexarotene, which is used for the treatment of skin cancer.

From SayPeople,

Researchers thought to increase the amount of ApoE. They used bexarotene, which is used for the treatment of skin cancer, on mice with similar conditions as that of Alzheimer’s disease. They found that the levels of beta-amyloid in the brain were “rapidly lowered” within six hours after using one dose and a 25% reduction was sustained for 70 hours. They further found that in older mice the number of plaques reduced by 50% after seven days of treatment. 

Researchers have found that after treatment the brain functioning improved such as nest building, remembering electrical shocks and maze performance.

However, according to researchers, this study needs further investigation.

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Plastic surgery's demand has increased in U.S.

13.8 million people have underwent plastic surgeries in the year of 2011. This amount is 5% from the year 2010.

This increase in the number of plastic surgeries have been reported by American Society of Plastic Surgeons.

"While the rate of economic recovery in the US is still uncertain, 2011 proved to be a good year for plastic surgery," said American Society of Plastic Surgeons president Malcolm Roth.

"Consumer confidence was up, auto sales rose 10 percent, so it is not surprising that we would also see increased demand for plastic surgery procedures."

From SayPeople,

Reduced invasive procedures caused the increase of 6% to almost 12.2 million procedures in 2011. Among the popular protocols were Botox injections, chemical peels, laser hair removal and soft tissue fillers to remove laugh lines and wrinkles.

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$3 million fine on German automaker, BMW

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has announced on Friday, February 10, that the German automaker, BMW, has to pay $3 million in fine as the company has not told about the safety defects earlier than expected and in its full form.

“It’s critical to the safety of the driving public that defects and recalls are reported in short order,” said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. “NHTSA expects all manufacturers to address automotive safety issues quickly and in a forthright manner.”

NHTSA said, "As part of today's settlement, BMW of North America, LLC and its parent company Bayerische Motoren Werke AG agreed to make internal changes to its recall decision-making process to ensure timely reporting to consumers and the federal government in the future."

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Steve Jobs' FBI file has no surprises

According to the reports, Steve Jobs FBI file, which was conducted in 1991 at the request of White House, has nothing new that may produce a wave of astonishment in the people aware with the history.

From SayPeople,

The FBI file was conducted and compiled in 1991 as a part of a background check at the request of the White House, considering him for a political appointment. The final report came after interviews with more than 35 people, who knew him. They “characterized Mr. Jobs as a deceptive individual” or “described his personal life as being lacking due to his narcissism or shallowness” but even then they recommend him as a position in federal government requiring trust and confidence.

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Racial differences of kidney transplantation

Researchers have published online in the American Journal of Transplantation blacks have 59% less rates of kidney transplantation in the southeastern center.


From SayPeople,

Researchers worked on 2291 patients at Emory transplant center as well as those from the United States Renal Data System and the United Network for Organ Sharing, from 2005 to 2007 followed through May 2010, and found “racial disparities” in access to transplant evaluation, referral, wait-listing and eventual transplant. “Of 2291 patients, 64.9% were black, the mean age was 49.4 years and 33.6% lived in poor neighborhoods.” Among them 57.3% were male and 16.1% were without any health insurance coverage. 

Researchers have found that black patients constitute about 56% of the waiting list but only 44% of those got eventual transplantation. They have found the biggest inequalities in the time between diagnosis and referral, i.e. 283 days for blacks and 84 days for whites, and time spent on the waiting list, i.e. 727 days for blacks versus 374 days for whites. However, according to researchers at the national level blacks get equivalent rate of transplantation as whites.

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