The breakthrough, which is up to 90 percent accurate, will be a boon for paralysed patients who cannot speak and could help read anyone’s thoughts ultimately, reports the Telegraph.

“We were beside ourselves with excitement when it started working,” said Prof Bradley Greger, bioengineer at the Utah University who led the project. “It was just one of the moments when everything came together.

“We have been able to decode spoken words using only signals from the brain with a device that has promise for long-term use in paralysed patients who cannot speak.

“I would call it brain reading and we hope that in two or three years it will be available for use for paralysed patients.”

The breakthrough came when the team attached two button-sized grids of 16 tiny electrodes to an epileptic’s brain’s speech centres, says the journal of Neural Engineering.

The patient had part of his skull removed for another operation to treat his condition.

Using electrodes, the scientists recorded brain signals in a computer as the patient repeatedly read each of 10 words that might be useful to a paralysed person: yes, no, hot, cold, hungry, thirsty, hello, goodbye, more and less.

Then they got him to repeat the words to the computer and it was able to match the brain signals for each word 76 percent to 90 percent of the time.

The computer picked up the patient’s brain waves as he talked and did not use any voice recognition software.

Because just thinking a word is enough to produce the same brain signals, Prof Greger and his team believe that soon they will be able to have translation device and voice box that repeats the word you are thinking.

Besides, the brains of paralysed people are just as healthy and produce the same signals as those in physically-fit people – it is just they are blocked by injury from reaching the muscle.

Researchers said the method needs improvement, but could lead in a few years to clinical trials on paralysed people who cannot speak due to so-called “locked-in” syndrome.

“This is proof of concept,” Prof Greger said adding: “We’ve proven these signals can tell you what the person is saying well above chance.”

IANS

The number of teams will remain 12 as in the current season, the ruling body FIA said in a statement Wednesday.

The Indian race will be held Oct 30 on the Jaypee Group Circuit in Greater Noida, which is at the outskirts of the Indian capital New Delhi. It will be the 18th race of the season, subject to a final inspection of the facility by the FIA.

The 2011 season will start in Bahrain March 13 and culminate with Brazilian Grand Prix Nov 27.

The 2009 and 2010 seasons ended in Abu Dhabi, which will now become the penultimate race November 13.

The FIA also said that there will be no additional 13th team.

“A number of parties expressed their interest. It was considered that none of the candidates met the requirements to be granted an entry into the Championship. Consequently, the allocation of the 13th team will not be granted,” the statement said.

“Competitors at FIA events must act as ambassadors for the sport, be aware their conduct on the road must be exemplary and respect road safety rules.”

This raid was conducted following complaints of irregularities in admissions to seats reserved for NRI students, CBI officials said.

“During the last few days, we had received a couple of complaints regarding students taking admissions in various engineering streams at the PEC under NRI quota by procuring forged documents. Therefore, we conducted a surprise raid at the PEC campus today,” Mahesh Aggarwal, deputy inspector general of the CBI, Chandigarh, told IANS Wednesday.

“During the raid, we have found gross irregularities in the documents submitted by some students. We have booked 11 engineering students and several others and started our investigation,” he added.

CBI sources said that the agency had received complaints that irregularities had been committed by the college authorities in admissions to NRI seats.

“We have seized some documents for further scrutiny. We will see whether any PEC official is involved in this racket,” said Aggarwal.

The PEC is a leading engineering institution in the region and is run by the Chandigarh administration.

IANS

“This is the first time that any festival is being organized in Delhi University especially for foreign students”, Jasmine Patton, co-ordinator of FSF, told fachcha.com.

We have invited students from all nationalities to participate in the festival. The festival will be a forum to showcase the culture of various countries. The FSF includes paper reading session on world peace, costume competition, singing of national song of the respective countries and many more, she adds.

Foreign students from any college or department of Delhi University may participate in the festival. Interested candidate can visit www.gargicollege.in or call 011-26494544 for more details.

Yang Wei, individual gymnastics gold medalist in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Gao Ling, gold medalist in badminton, are set to lose out on their academic career after the college in which they were enrolled listed them and other 305 students as “would be dismissed” for their failure to finish study within four years, the Shanghai Daily reported.

Yang, who had enrolled in the School of Administration and Management of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Hubei province five years ago, said he didn’t know about the dismissal and will try to get in touch with his school to find out.

Gao, who entered the school a year earlier than Yang, said she was currently working on her master’s degree paper and would contact her tutor as soon as possible.

The authorities said students who feel the action was unjustified could communicate with them in writing.

IANS

A gold medallist will now get Rs.20 lakh while silver medallists will be awarded Rs.10 lakh. The bronze medal winners will take home Rs.6 lakh.

Sports minister M.S. Gill made this announcement at the Conference of State Ministers for Youth Affairs and Sports held here Tuesday.

Gill appreciated the efforts made by states in the implementation of Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA).

The State Sports Ministers unanimously resolved that there was an urgent need for enacting a National Sports Act for promoting good governance practices in the National Sports Federations (NSF), including professional management, financial accountability and good electoral practices.

They also recommended the setting up of a National Sports Dispute Redressal Tribunal to ensure speedy resolution of sports disputes, including player’s grievances. It was noted that a large number of countries have sports legislation in place to regulate the activities of sports federations and facilitate proper sports development.

The Minister appreciated the innovative work done by the Madhya Pradesh government in setting up several professionally managed sports academies for which they have been awarded Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar for 2010.

He announced that from now onwards one award will be earmarked for the best performing state in sports development.

Gill also said that efforts are on to add over one lakh rural youth clubs to the present number of three lakh.

ians

Amit Dasgupta, consul-general of India in Sydney, said it was in acknowledgement of the work being done by the university in providing a safe environment for Indian students.

Dasgupta said education and globalisation are both key in spreading messages against violence.

“Gandhi was born in India, but he belongs to each and every one of you,” Dasgupta said.

Dasgupta, Vice-Chancellor Fred Hilmer and New South Wales Treasurer Eric Roozendaal unveiled the sculpture at a ceremony attended by people from the Indian and other communities.

IANS

The Aug 21 election had produced Australia’s first hung parliament in 70 years.

Independents Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor announced their decisions to back Julia Gillard as prime minister, while Bob Katter said he was backing the Coalition, but indicated that his decision would have been different had Kevin Rudd still been the Labor leader.

All the three independent MPs met Gillard and Abbott Tuesday morning before they announced their decision.

Gillard later said her government will be held to higher standards of accountability as a result of the deal struck with the independents.

She thanked all the independents, including Bob Katter who decided to back the opposition Coalition, for the “tone and tenor” of their negotiations.

“So let’s draw back the curtains and let the sun shine in, let our parliament be more open than it was before,” Gillard was quoted as saying by The Age.

She also thanked Opposition Leader Tony Abbott for the “common courtesy” of telephoning her after Windsor and Oakeshott made clear they would back Labor.

“Ours will be a government with just one purpose, and that’s to serve the Australian people,” she said.

“We will be held to higher standards of transparency and reform and it’s in that spirit I approach the task of forming a government.”

She said she would be in a position early next week to swear in a new ministry.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd would be offered a portfolio but she declined to say what it would be. “I gave Kevin Rudd a commitment that he would be a senior member of my ministerial team, a cabinet minister, as he will be.”

As part of the agreement with the independents, Gillard promised to give regional Australia “its fair share”.

“The next round of health and hospitals funding will be focused and dedicated to regional Australia,” she said.

The government will ensure its national broadband network will have “uniform wholesale prices across the country”, while regional Australia would also be given priority as the network rolls out.

Labor would govern in the best interests of the Australian people, Gillard said.

“I know that if we fail in this solemn responsibility, we will be judged harshly when we next face the Australian people at the next election.”

(Agency)

“We have a foolproof plan for the entry of foreign universities. Any foreign varsity entering India will have to create a $12-million corpus fund and profits will not be allowed to be expatriated to shareholders,” Kapil told reporters here on the margins of a function.

Allaying concerns over the Foreign Educational Institutions (regulation of entry and operation, maintenance of quality and prevention of commercialisation) Bill, Sibal said they would have to re-invest 75 percent of profit in the school or university and the rest would become a part of the corpus fund.

“The bill is in line with the 2020 vision of top management guru C.K. Prahalad to create an educated talent pool with access to higher education for about 200 million people,” Sibal said.

Though foreign universities will have the right to form their own fee structure and admission rules, they will have to function within the purview of the Indian regulatory system, as envisaged in the Right to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act 2009.

“If we realise this vision through universalisation of education, attaining double digit growth and economic prosperity will be possible,” Sibal pointed out.

Sibal was in this tech hub to deliver the Vithal Chandavarkar memorial lecture at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).

Chandavarkar was an industrialist, who served as Mayor of Bombay (now Mumbai) and also as vice-chancellor of the University of Mumbai.

IANS

Designed by award-winning artist Thomas Blackshear II, the 44-cent stamp was released Sunday, the 13th anniversary of Mother Teresa’s death, at a special ceremony held at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC.

“Often, stamps are referred to as a nation’s ‘calling cards’ because they reach a national, and even an international audience,” said Postmaster General John Potter in dedicating the stamp.

“They focus attention on subjects our country regards with respect and affection, and that is certainly true of Mother Teresa, who believed so deeply in the innate worth and dignity of humankind and worked tirelessly on behalf of the poor, sick, orphaned and dying.

“That’s why today I am so very proud that our country, after making her an honorary citizen in 1996, is honoring Mother Teresa with such a lasting memorial.”

When Mother Teresa, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950, accepted the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize, she did so “in the name of the poor, the hungry, the sick and the lonely,” and convinced the organizers to donate to the needy the money normally used to fund the awards banquet.

Well respected worldwide, she successfully urged many of the world’s business and political leaders to give their time and resources to help those in need.

US President Ronald Reagan presented Mother Teresa with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985, the same year she began work on behalf of AIDS sufferers in the US and other countries.

In 1997, US Congress awarded Mother Teresa the Congressional Gold Medal for her “outstanding and enduring contributions through humanitarian and charitable activities.”

Albania born Mother Teresa became a citizen of India in 1948. She died in Kolkata Sep 5, 1997. Her beatification was presided over by Pope John Paul II on October 19, 2003, in Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome. The cause of her canonisation continues and awaits the verification of a second miracle.

IANS