Thursday, 24 December 2015

10 technology trends that will rule Asia in 2016

10 technology trends that will rule Asia in 2016


-- BloombergA roller-coaster ride in financial markets, deal frenzy among Chinese web operators spurred on by Alibaba and Tencent, the rise of Asian unicorns and a baking-hot semiconductor M&A spree: 2015 was a frenetic year for the region's technology sector. Fasten your seat-belts, there's more excitement to come in 2016. Here are a selection of predictions for the region from Bloomberg's Asia Technology team:

10.

Bitcoin's creator finally steps forward. For reals.

In 2014 it was a retired Californian engineer, in 2015 a Sydney businessman. In 2016 some other previously unknown personage will get identified as the mysterious creator of the crypto-currency, known only by his nom de plume Satoshi Nakamoto.

Sleuthing points to a Chinese hacker determined to disrupt currency markets, then a Venezuelan pageant contestant seeking world peace; but our tip is that a Japanese middle-school science teacher -- whose name really is Satoshi Nakamoto -- will step forward to explain he just wanted an easier way to buy Pokemon cards.
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Monday, 6 April 2015

Deoiled Rice bran

Abstract

New value-added product was derived from agricultural by-products: rice bran and soybean meal by means of subcritical water (SW) hydrolysis. The effect of temperature (200–220 °C), reaction time (10–30 min), raw material-to-water weight ratio (1:5 and 2:5), was determined on the yields of protein, total amino acids, and reducing sugars in the soluble products. The suitable hydrolysis time was 30 min and the proper weight ratio of the raw material-to-water was 1:5. The reaction temperature suitable for the production of protein and amino acids was 220 °C for raw and deoiled rice bran, 210 °C for raw soybean meal, and 200 °C for deoiled soybean meal. The products were also found to have antioxidant activity as tested by ABTSradical dot+ scavenging assay. In addition, sensory evaluation of milk added with the hydrolysis product of deoiled rice bran indicated the potential use of the product as a nutritious drink.

De Oiled Rice Bran

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Item Code: De-Oiled-Rice-Bran-Grade2
After crude oil has been extracted from rice bran, De-Oiled Rice Bran (DORB) is obtained. DORB is widely used in the manufacture of
  1. Cattle feed,
  2. Poultry feed,
  3. Fish feed,
  4. As fuel for boilers, and
  5. Used for manufacturing sodium silicate, silica gel, insulation bricks etc (using fully burnt white ash of husk).


    Parameter Grade II
    Protein 11% to 13%
    Fibre 20% to 25%
    Sand & Silica 12% to 13%
    Moisture 10%

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The Easter Bunny Could Soon Bring Safer Candy With Natural Food Colors

The Easter Bunny Could Soon Bring Safer Candy With Natural Food Colors

EASTER CANDY



matrix lab
Jim Roberts stands in front of bioreactors used to grow algae in the Matrix Genetics lab. (Photo: Lynne Peeples)
 

Candy left by the Easter Bunny on Sunday morning comes in festive hues of blue, green, yellow and pink, sparking smiles from many kids. This brightly colored loot may be less welcome, however, to a growing number of parents who worry about the potential health hazards the colors reflect.
Could the Blue 1, Red 40 and Yellow 5 dyes, for example, found in Peeps marshmallow chicks, Whoppers Mini Robin Eggs, Jelly Belly's Kids Mix and countless other sweets harm their children?
To be safe, many like Courtney Sucato of Phoenix, are no longer taking chances with the man-made additives, which are generally derived from petroleum and coal. Sucato now swaps out the mainstream sweets her kids collect during other people's Easter egg hunts with a stash of naturally colored candy she keeps at home. More products are being sold with alternative colorings -- from beet-based reds to yellows and oranges from citrus -- in response to emerging health studies and rising consumer demand. A small Seattle-based biotech company has even begun harnessing the natural color-making machinery of algae in an effort to produce safe pigments.
The market for natural food colors is predicted to grow nearly threefold between 2014 and 2020.
adhd sucato
Courtney Sucato stands with her son, Tyler. She said his ADHD symptoms became far more manageable after she eliminated artificial food colors from his diet. (Photo: Morgan Henderson)
For Sucato, it all started when she noticed that her son Tyler, then 4, would repeatedly melt down in "horrible tantrums" shortly after eating artificially colored snacks and soft drinks. "I Googled the ingredients in all of those things. The only thing they had in common was Yellow 6. Within two weeks, we were a dye-free family," recalled Sucato, noting that Tyler also appeared to react to other artificial colors. Although she can't be certain of a link, she said that Tyler's attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms significantly improved after the change.
"That was three years ago, and we haven't looked back," said Sucato.
To avoid artificial coloring in edible products is no easy task. The additives are found not only in candy, but in a variety of other foods and drinks including yogurts, frozen pops, salad dressings, boxed mac 'n cheese, even pickles. Mouthwash, shampoo, cough syrup and vitamins are among non-food items that are often artificially dyed to make them more appealing to consumers. As more and more colorful products filled grocery and drug stores between 1950 and 2010, the average American's daily consumption of artificial food colors increased more than fivefold.
"Artificial colors are often used to make you think that a product is healthier than it really is," said Lisa Lefferts, a senior scientist with the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest. "They're so unnecessary."
Research dating back to the 1970s suggests that synthetic dyes certified by the Food and Drug Administration could be linked to ADHD and other behavioral problems -- although those results are still fiercely debated. There have also been hints of cancer risks. As consumers have caught wind of the concerns, corporations have taken notice, while still generally insisting on the safety of their products.
In February, Nestle became the first major candy manufacturer in the U.S. to pledge to remove artificial flavors and colors from all of its chocolate candy. By the end of the year, Butterfingers and Baby Ruth bars will no longer contain the likes of Yellow 5 and Red 40. Natural food colors such as annatto, derived from the seeds of the achiote tree, will take their place. (Of course, natural does not always mean safe and these alternatives, too, may trigger allergic reactions.)
"This is purely consumer driven," said Leslie Mohr, marketing manager at Nestle, adding that prices won't change for customers.
Consumer demand is pushing others to find innovative ways to tackle the common downsides of natural colors, such as inferior vibrancy and stability as well as higher production costs, compared to their artificial counterparts. Matrix Genetics, based in Seattle, is among these emerging players.
The company announced in February that it had found a way to manipulate spirulina, a type of blue-green algae, to rapidly and efficiently produce natural food dyes. By adding a second copy of a specific gene, Matrix Genetics said, it can now double the plant's natural production of phycocyanin, a bright pigment that can replace Blue 1.
But that's just the "low-hanging fruit," said Jim Roberts, chief scientific officer at Matrix Genetics. With a little more tweaking, his team hopes to also create shades of red, blue, green and purple.
"The door is now open," said Roberts. "The natural colors we can produce will span the entire spectrum."
In addition to modifying the plant's pigment-producing genetics, he noted that his company is optimizing spirulina's ability to turn light into energy. The result, Roberts said, should be safe, environmentally friendly and commercially viable natural colorings. Unlike some of its cousins, he said, the algae does not produce any toxins. It can also be grown in marginal places such as saltwater ponds, noted Roberts, which means the colorings could be made without major impact on fresh waters or use of valuable agricultural lands.
Two years ago, the FDA approved spirulina extract as a color additive for certain uses. Yet high costs and inefficiency have held back production, according to Roberts.
"The first thing that has to happen is for production to go up. Then, costs can come down and more companies will be able to use it," said Elijah Church, manager of technical support at Roha Food Colors. "We're just at the beginning of spirulina's potential."
The catalyst for increasing consumer demand, Church said, was a controversial British study published in 2007 that concluded the consumption of food additives, including food colors, significantly increased ADHD-type behavior. European regulators responded by requiring that food and drink labeling indicate the use of six artificial colors and warn of their potential effects on attention and behavior. Some companies went as far as to remove the artificial colors altogether.
Mars, for example, removed these dyes for M&Ms sold in Europe. The same candies on U.S. shelves, however, still contain three of the so-called Southampton Six: Yellow 5, Yellow 6 and Red 40. The ingredients label on a bag of Easter-themed M&Ms purchased this week by The Huffington Post listed a total of 10 artificial colors. The company maintains that all its ingredients are safe.
In March 2011, responding to a petition from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the FDA's Food Advisory Committee gathered an expert panel to review the 2007 British study and others into the safety of synthetic food colors. While the committee ultimately concluded there was not enough evidence to support any bans or warning labels, some panel members remained unconvinced.
"The FDA framed the question primarily in the form, 'Are food colors a cause of hyperactivity?'" wrote Bernard Weiss, an expert in environmental health at the University of Rochester, in a commentary after he testified on the panel. His own research has shown a link.
Weiss suggested that a more appropriate question would have been whether food colors are "behaviorally toxic to the general population of children." And he asked, "What kind of data -- and how much data -- does it take to render an outcome conclusive enough for action?"
"Think about how long it took us to prove cause and effect with smoking," added Lefferts, who also sat on the FDA panel. "It was almost as if they were asking questions in a way so that they wouldn't get an answer that suggested a link."
Other experts express concern that the research to date has generally underestimated people's actual exposure to artificial colors. In a study published last April, Purdue University nutrition scientist Laura Stevens and her colleagues concluded that children today are eating and drinking "far more dyes" than previously thought.
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Friday, 20 February 2015

Movies with Life Lessons

Movies can teach us as much about life as life itself because at the end of the day movies are nothing but someone’s life — fictional or otherwise — shown on-screen. And movies do have a lot to offer – a narration that can leave us in a state where we are all charged up to get back on track. Here are some of the best films that carry strong life lessons and some takeaways. Read on:

1. ‘THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION’

The Shawshank Redemption
Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins) a young investment banker faces life imprisonment for the murder of his wife and her lover. It is about a bond of friendship between Red (played by Morgan Freeman) inside a prison. A story line spread over 40 years revolves around hope.
Life Lesson: Do not let those who love you, drift away from you. And never let your hope die. As long as hope lives inside you, it will keep you inspired to live.
Andy Dufresne: “She was beautiful. God I loved her. I just didn’t know how to show it, that’s all. I killed her, Red. I didn’t pull the trigger, but I drove her away. And that’s why she died, because of me.”

2. ‘DEAD POETS SOCIETY’

Dead Poets Society
John Keating (played by Robin Williams), a literature teacher pushes his students to seize the day, make life extraordinary, find a voice, challenge status quo, dream on…. The magic of a movie is when the audience become the part of a classroom and the narration of these purists in Dead Poets Society is beyond explanation in words.
Life Lesson: Seize the moment. Take control of your life. Laziness will not get you anywhere !
“So avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don’t use very sad, use morose. Language was invented for one reason, boys – to woo women – and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do. It also won’t do in your essays.”

3. ‘THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS’

The Pursuit of Happyness
It is a biographical drama based on Christopher Paul (Chris) Gardner, an American entrepreneur, investor, stockbroker, motivational speaker, author, and philanthropist. It is a story of Chris Gardner (played by Will Smith) a struggling salesman reaching for a life-changing professional endeavor. He never gives up on his dreams, even if, those dreams were surrounded with uncertainty.
Life Lesson: If you want something from life, go get it. Period.
Christ Gardner: Hey. Don’t ever let somebody tell you… You can’t do something. Not even me. All right?Christopher: All right.Christ Gardner: You got a dream… You gotta protect it. People can’t do somethin’ themselves, they wanna tell you can’t do it. If you want somethin’, go get it. Period.

4. ‘GOOD WILL HUNTING’

One is capable of solving all the problems in one’s life, except the one that is cornered in the tiny space in one’s mind. ‘Dead Poets Society’ happened because a gifted mathematician should not be wasted. A young man named Will Hunting (played by Matt Damon) is forced to find an aim of his life and gets acquainted to Sean Maguire (played by Robin Williams) who plays the part of a psychologist.
Life Lesson: Knowledge, education, enlightenment can come from anywhere. We are all trying to find our purpose (passion) in life, while some take longer –  it is a lifelong process, so do not give up on finding it.
Sean: I just slid my ticket across the table, and I said, “Sorry, guys; I gotta see about a girl.”Will: I gotta go see about a girl?Sean: Yeah.Will: That’s what you said? And they let you get away with that?Sean: Oh, yeah. They saw in my eyes that I meant it.

5. ‘ERIN BROCKOVICH’

Erin Brockovich
A biographical film based on the true story of Erin Brockovich (portrayed by Julia Roberts) that spreads across corporate, personal life and ethics (in business). An unemployed single mother of three without any formal education gets employed with a Law firm and sought justice backed with daring investigation of environmental poisoning caused by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). While it ends with a hefty monetary cheque, through the course, the protagonist demands to be treated fair in not-so-fair (impression-based) corporate world.
Life Lesson: Selflessly chase the truth because ultimately, it is the truth that is going to win.
“If you follow your heart, if you listen to your gut, and if you extend your hand to help another, not for any agenda, but for the sake of humanity, you are going to find the truth.”
Let us know, below in the comments, what movies influenced you ? Which movies, you think, imparted a life lesson to you ?

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Meet the toughest animal on the planet: The water bear that can survive being frozen or boiled, float around in space and live for 200 years (shame it isn't much to look at)


It's often said cockroaches could withstand a nuclear explosion.
But another creature, dubbed 'nature's greatest survivor,' is even more invincible, and you've probably never even heard of it.

Tardigrades, also known as water bears, are some of the most fascinating animals in world because they can live happily in the most extreme conditions.
Scroll down for video
Tardigrades, also known as water bears, are some of the most fascinating animals in world
Tardigrades, also known as water bears, are some of the most fascinating animals in world
wb

The creatures can survive tremendous heat and cold, radiation and vacuum

The animals, pictured, can live happily in the most extreme conditions
The animals, pictured, can live happily in the most extreme conditions
This Tardigrade or water bear comes from Roan Mountain, Tennessee
This Tardigrade or water bear comes from Roan Mountain, Tennessee
While not the most attractive creatures, the small, segmented animals come in many forms - there are more than 900 species of them - and they're found everywhere in the world, from the highest mountains to the deepest oceans.
Boil the 1mm creatures, freeze them, dry them, expose them to radiation and they're so resilient they'll still be alive 200 years later.

Water bears can hack temperatures as low as -457 degrees, heat as high as 357 degrees, and 5,700 grays of radiation, when 10-20 grays would kill humans and most other animals.

The animals can also live for a decade without water and even survive in space.

These bears are less than 1mm long and are found in the sea, in fresh water and on land. Some experts have compared their shape with jelly babies or moles
These bears are less than 1mm long and are found in the sea, in fresh water and on land. Some experts have compared their shape with jelly babies or moles

While not the most attractive creatures, the small, segmented animals come in many forms
While not the most attractive creatures, the small, segmented animals come in many forms

The water bears are often found in moss
The water bears are often found in moss

There are more than 900 species of Tardigrade or Water Bear
There are more than 900 species of Tardigrade or Water Bear, pictured

They're found everywhere in the world, from the highest mountains to the deepest oceans.
They're found everywhere in the world, from the highest mountains to the deepest oceans.

Boil the 1mm creatures, freeze them, dry them, expose them to radiation and they're so resilient they'll still be alive 200 years later
Boil the 1mm creatures, freeze them, dry them, expose them to radiation and they're so resilient they'll still be alive 200 years later

Water bears can be completely dried out for years - and then spring back to life as if nothing had happened
Water bears can be completely dried out for years - and then spring back to life as if nothing had happened


Water bears can hack temperatures as low as -457 degrees and heat as high as 357 degrees
Water bears can hack temperatures as low as -457 degrees and heat as high as 357 degrees

Molting Water Bear or Tardigrade with an egg mass
Molting Water Bear or Tardigrade with an egg mass

Water Bear's can surivive 5,700 grays of radiation, when 10-20 grays would kill humans and most other animals
Water Bear's can surivive 5,700 grays of radiation, when 10-20 grays would kill humans and most other animals

This Tardigrade or Water Bear is infested by fungi
This Tardigrade or Water Bear is infested by fungi

The animals can also live for a decade without water and even survive in space
The animals can also live for a decade without water and even survive in space

 VIDEO  Toughest animal on the planet in 200x magnification... 


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Friday, 13 February 2015

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Thursday, 12 February 2015

No Yolk! Scientists Unboil an Egg Without Defying Physics


scientists holding egg
Think you can't unboil an egg? Think again, scientists say.
Credit: Steve Zylius / UC Irvine
Scientists have figured out a way to do something that seems impossible: unboil an egg. But strange as it may sound, the feat doesn't defy basic laws of science.
When you boil an egg, the proteins unfold and refold into a more tangled, disordered form. But in a new study, a group of researchers found a way to pull apart the proteins in cooked egg whites, and allow them to refold into their original shape.The finding could dramatically reduce the cost of cancer treatments and food production, the scientists reported yesterday (Jan. 27) in the journal ChemBioChem. [Science You Can Eat: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Food]


"Yes, we have invented a way to unboil a hen egg," study co-author Gregory Weiss, a biochemist at the University of California, Irvine, said in a statement.
In their experiment, Weiss and his colleagues started with an egg white that had been boiled for 20 minutes at 194 degrees Fahrenheit (90 degrees Celsius), until its proteins became tangled clumps. Then they added a substance that ate away at the egg white, effectively liquefying it. Next, they used a machine called a vortex fluid device, designed by Weiss' colleagues at Flinders University in Australia, which used the shearing forces  in thin, microfluidic films to shape the egg white proteins back into their untangled form.
Physicists often use cooking eggs as a metaphor to explain the second law of thermodynamics, which states that the degree of disorder, orentropy, in a system of the universe will always increase. For example, once you scramble an egg, it's basically impossible to separate the yolk from the egg white again, because it would be going from a less ordered state to a more ordered one.
At first glance, Weiss' experiment may appear to defy this law, because an unboiled egg is more ordered than a boiled one, so the entropy should be decreasing. But in fact, the process of unboiling the egg produces entropy in the form of heat, offsetting the decrease in entropy, Weiss told Live Science. So the entropy of the universe still increases, he said.
Physics aside, the unboiling technique could be useful in a lot of pharmaceutical and biomedical applications, the researchers said. Proteins often "misfold"into useless shapes when they are formed, but if scientists could refold them again, it could save money for drug development.
Traditional methods of recovering the misfolded proteins are expensive and time-consuming, Weiss said. By contrast, his unboiling technique takes only a few minutes — thousands of times faster than what was possible before.
For example, drug companies often make cancer antibodies in expensive hamster ovary cells, because they don't often create misfolded proteins. If, instead, these companies could use proteins from cheaper yeast or E. coli cells, it could make cancer treatments more affordable, the researchers said.
But the medical industry isn't the only one that stands to gain from the findings. Cheese-making and other industries could also benefit from the unboiling technique, the researchers said. UC Irvine has filed for a patent, and is working with potential commercial partners, they added
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Tesla Model S

Battery-powered electric cars and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles have both seen advances in their development, and one or both of these technologies may represent the future of "green" automobiles.
Both technologies offer a cleaner alternative to internal combustion engines, and both use electric motors powered by electrochemical devices. But what's the difference between them? For one, electric vehiclesuse energy stored in a battery, whereas fuel cell vehicles have stored fuel that reacts to produce energy.
The two technologies face unique challenges in achieving widespread adoption, but both are promising, experts say. [Hyperloop, Jetpacks & More: 9 Futuristic Transit Ideas]


"They're not necessarily competing technologies — they're similar and complementary," said Lawrence Drzal, a chemical engineer and materials scientist at Michigan State University in East Lansing.
Electric vehicles
Whereas conventional vehicles burn fuel in an internal combustion engine, battery-powered electric vehicles don't have an engine. Instead, they use energy stored in batteries to power one or more electric motors.
Electric cars have undergone a surge in popularity in recent years, but electric vehicles were already being made in the late 1800s, according to Huei Peng, a mechanical engineer at the University of Michigan who works on the design and control of clean vehicles, including electric cars. The vehicles remained popular until the early 20th century, when they had to compete with mass-produced internal-combustion-engine vehicles.
"After a couple of decades of competition, the internal combustion engine won, mainly because of the limitations of batteries," Peng told Live Science.
Interest in electric vehicles returned during the oil energy crisis of the 1970s and 1980s, but the cars never achieved mass production. Still, electric vehicles have been making a comeback since 2008, with the introduction of fully electric cars such as the Tesla Motors Roadster (and, subsequently, the Model S), and the Nissan Leaf.
Many of today's electric vehicles run on rechargeable lithium-ion batteries — the same kind found in most laptops. These are replacing the cheaper lead-acid batteries used in most older models of electric vehicles. [5 Ways Your Tech Will Go Green in 2015]
Fuel cell vehicles
Fuel cell vehicles are also driven by an electric motor, but instead of being powered by a battery, they create the electricity in an onboard fuel cell, usually using oxygen from the air and stored hydrogen.
"Batteries and fuel cells are quite similar," said Shawn Litster, a mechanical engineer at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh who works on fuel cell design. The difference is, "with a fuel cell, you're able to decouple energy conversion from energy storage," he said.
Fuel cells use a catalyst to combine two reactants, which generates a flow of electrons (aka electricity). A variety of fuels can be used to support fuel cells, but the most common is hydrogen that is produced from natural gas. When oxygen and hydrogen react, they produce only water and heat, making them "zero-emissions" vehicles (like battery-powered electric vehicles).
"Probably the oldest [commercial] use of fuel cells is in the space program," said Drzal, who works on materials to make vehicles lighter and more fuel-efficient. While NASA could afford to pay virtually any price for them, for consumer vehicles, "you need fuel cells that are not only efficient, but cost-effective," Drzal told Live Science.
Today, two fuel cell vehicles are available on the market: the Hyundai Tucson (ix35 FCEV) and the Toyota Mirai. Currently, there are ten public hydrogen fueling stations in California, one in Connecticut and one in South Carolina, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. And several dozen more are under development in California, Litster said.
Electric vehicles offer a promising alternative to internal-combustion vehicles because they don't directly burn fossil fuels. They are also capable of producing instant torque and smoother acceleration than conventional cars.
But electric vehicles aren't necessarily more environmentally friendly than conventional combustion vehicles. If the electricity used to charge the electric vehicle comes from a coal power plant, for example, it can be dirtier than even the worst internal-combustion vehicle, Peng said. The same reasoning applies to fuel cells — they're only as clean as the source of the hydrogen they use.
Electric vehicles are also limited by the range they can travel on a single battery charge. For short-distance commuting, this isn't a problem, but longer trips require lengthy periods of recharging. Battery swapping — in which a depleted battery is exchanged for a fully charged one — is one possible solution, and Tesla Motors has begun using this option.
Battery technology has improved dramatically, but "batteries are still too heavy and expensive, and don't have enough energy, which means a shorter range," Peng said. But he added that the price of batteries has come down significantly in the past 10 years.
Fuel cell vehicles don't have the same range limitations as battery-powered vehicles because they can simply store more (hydrogen) fuel. The main disadvantages of today's hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are the lack of sufficient infrastructure for hydrogen refueling, and the cost of the catalysts, Litster said.
Platinum is one of the most commonly used catalysts for fuel cells, but it's very expensive, Litster said. He and his colleagues are working on how to make platinum more efficient, while other researchers are developing catalysts made of lower-cost materials.
While battery-powered electric vehicles may have a head start on fuel cell vehicles, both technologies are advancing rapidly. It will be interesting to see where they are five years from now, Litster said
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