Knowledge Update

​London, June 3 (IANS) The elderly are less willing to indulge in risk-taking behaviour for potential rewards when compared to youngsters because of the declining levels of dopamine in the brain, finds a study.

Dopamine is a chemical in the brain involved in predicting which actions will lead to rewards and has been known to fall by up to 10 per cent every decade throughout adult life.

The findings showed that older people were not overall more risk-averse as well as they didn't make much mistakes as compared to young adults. 

Rather, the elderly were found simply less attracted to big rewards and this made them less willing to take risks to try to get them, the researchers said.

"The findings offer a potential neuroscientific explanation, suggesting that a natural decline in dopamine with age might make people less receptive to the positive approach than they would have been when they were younger," said lead author Robb Rutledge from University College London.

The steady decline in risky choices with age matched up with the declining dopamine level.

However, they were no different to younger participants when it came to choosing risky gambles to avoid losing points. 

"As one ages, the dopamine levels naturally decline explaining the reason why one is less likely to seek rewards," added Rutledge.

The study, published in Current Biology, involving 25,189 smartphone users aged 18-69, found that older people were less likely to choose risky gambles to win more points in a smartphone app called The Great Brain Experiment.

In the game, players start with 500 points and aim to win as many points as possible in 30 different trials where they must choose between a safe option and a risky 50/50 gamble.

"This study is an excellent example of the use of digital technology to produce new and robust insights into the workings of the brain," explained Raliza Stoyanova from the neuroscience and mental health team at Wellcome Trust in Britain.​

Bangkok, June 3 (IANS) The discovery of more than 40 dead tiger cubs in Thailand's Tiger Temple represents only a "tiny proportion" of the enormous extent of an illegal trade in wildlife that is "pushing species to the brink of extinction", the UNEP-UNODC said on Friday.

"While circumstances of their death remain unclear, sadly, those tiger cubs represent only a tiny proportion of the enormous extent of an illegal trade in wildlife that is pushing species to the brink of extinction. Indeed, only around 4,000 tigers are left in the wild," United Nations Environment Programme-United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a statement.

"Until the illegal trade in wildlife is stopped, we are only likely to see more of these types of situations," the statement added.

The theme for World Environment Day on June 5 this year is the illegal trade in wildlife to raise awareness of this severe problem. Tigers are one of the key species in the campaign.

The illegal trade in wildlife, estimated to profit criminals to the tune of billions of dollars annually worldwide, comprises everything from the lucrative trade in Tiger parts in East Asia to ivory from African elephants, the organisations said.

"It undermines our environment, economies, communities and security."

"The commendable action by Thailanda's authorities, coordinated by the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, highlights the need for constant vigilance by wildlife law enforcement authorities to the threat posed by traffickers."

"Given the extent of the illegal wildlife market in Asia it is important for all countries to unite and eradicate these illegal practices," the statement said.

Officials had recovered 40 dead tiger cubs, just one to two days old, from a freezer at Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua temple, known as the "Tiger Temple", on Wednesday, EFE news reported.

The cubs were not recorded in the register for wild animals the temple has to maintain by law and that means the protection department will press charges for illegal possession, besides other possible offences.​

​New York, June 3 (IANS) By fabricating tiny lasers directly on silicon, an international group of scientists has found a way that could make microprocessors run faster without consuming more power.

The group of scientists from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the University of California, Santa Barbara, Sandia National Laboratories and Harvard University grew tiny high-performance lasers directly on silicon wafers.

Reported in the journal Applied Physics Letters, the group said integrating subwavelength cavities -- the essential building blocks of tiny lasers -- onto silicon enabled them to create and demonstrate high-density on-chip light-emitting elements.

"Putting lasers on microprocessors boosts their capabilities and allows them to run at much lower powers, which is a big step toward photonics and electronics integration on the silicon platform," said professor Kei May Lau from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

The scientists used "tiny whispering gallery mode lasers -- only 1 micron in diameter -- that are 1,000 times shorter in length and 1 million times smaller in area than those currently used."

In terms of applications, the group's tiny lasers on silicon are ideally suited for high-speed data communications.​

​New York, June 2 (IANS) Some periodic comets -- objects that orbit the Sun in 200 years or less -- may regularly split in two and then reunite down the road, a new study has found.

According to a team from Purdue University and University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder), this may be a repeating process fundamental to comet evolution.

Led by Purdue postdoctoral fellow Masatoshi Hirabayashi and CU-Boulder Professor Daniel Scheeres, the team studied a rubber duck-shaped comet known as 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P). 

Images of 67P show two cracks on the comet's neck that connects its two larger lobes.

In order to reconstruct the past life of 67P, the team used numerical models in which the spin rate was cranked up from its roughly one rotation every 12 hours today to one rotation every seven to nine hours.

The models showed the faster spin would lead to more stress and the formation of two similar cracks on the neck of 67P in the same location.

"Our spin analysis predicted exactly where these cracks would form," Scheeres said, adding that "we now have a new understanding of how some comets may evolve over time".

The models run by the team showed that if 67P's spin is increased to less than seven hours per rotation, the head will pop off.

"The head and body aren't going to be able to escape from each other," he said. 

"They will begin orbiting each other, and in weeks, days or even hours they will come together again during a slow collision, creating a new comet nucleus configuration," Scheeres noted.

This pattern could go on for the life of the comet, said Scheeres in a paper published in the journal Nature.​

Washington, June 3 (IANS) A wearable artificial kidney could be developed as a viable, new dialysis technology that allows patients to be mobile and untethered during treatment, results of a US Food and Drug Administration-authorised clinical trial suggest.

The technology may become an alternative to conventional hemodialysis for people with end-stage kidney disease. 

Present-day treatment generally requires three sessions a week on a stationary machine that restricts patients' ability to walk around while it is attached and running.

In contrast, a wearable device would allow patients to be mobile and untethered. It could also provide additional treatment benefits from longer sessions or more frequent days of dialysis.

The trial of a prototype for such a device was performed with seven patients at University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle.

Those leading the trial included the inventor of the device, Wearable Artificial Kidney prototype, Victor Gura of Cedar-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

The findings were reported in the journal JCI Insights.

The trial was conducted to determine the safety and efficacy of the device - its ability to take over some functions of failed kidneys. 

The researchers also wanted to ask the participants about their impressions of the experimental treatment, and to compare those with standard dialysis treatment.

The patients were treated with the device for up to 24 hours.

In the patients studied, the device was shown to effectively clear the blood of waste products, like urea, creatinine and and phosphorus, while also removing excess water and salt. These are normally filtered out and removed by working kidneys.

While the usual diet for patients on standard dialysis is highly limited, their blood fluid volume of those on the wearable device remained balanced during the test, even without any diet restrictions.

Regulating the volume and composition of body fluids is another job of normal kidneys.

During the trial, the participants tolerated the treatment well and did not have any serious, adverse effects. 

However, this trial of the device was stopped after the seventh patient because of technical problems with the device. These included the excessive formation of carbon dioxide gas bubbles in the dialysis solution, and intermittent variations in solution and blood flow.

Nevertheless, the findings provide proof of concept that a wearable devise along these lines could be developed as a viable, novel dialysis technology, the researchers said​

​New York, June 3 (IANS) Social media giant Facebook on Friday announed that it will pull its own "Notify" app -- created to send notifications from a list of news sources including Bloomberg Business, CNN and The New York Times on to your locked smartphone screen -- from App Store.

​Moscow, June 2 (IANS) This part of the season is generally marked by slight drizzles but on Thursday as the Russian capital readied itself to the fourth edition of the 'Start Up Village -2016', a concept aimed at showcasing the start-up ability of the Russians as also to provide a competitive platform, the sun shone bright and clear.

​New York, June 2 (IANS) While Apple devices still remain the preferred choices for the US citizens, it is Samsung Galaxy Note 5 that has topped the 2016 American Consumer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) poll. According to the annual poll comprising 12,710 people, Samsung Galaxy Note 5 phablet has a rating of 86 out of 100, 9to5mac.com reported on Thursday. iPhone 6 Plus is one notch behind at 85. In last year's satisfaction index, Apple and Samsung were neck-to-neck at 80. This year, Samsung retained last year's score while Apple just edged past Samsung at 81 rating. Lenovo's Motorola receded 3 percent to 77 as did HTC at 75. LG remained at 74 while Microsoft Mobile came down to 74. According to the index, smartphones scored well on the satisfaction levels with battery life the main exception where satisfaction levels fell to 75. A latest study by market research firm Counterpoint Research revealed this month that Samsung reclaimed the top spot in the US market that it lost to Apple 11 months ago. In March, Samsung had 28.8 percent share of the US market riding on the success of Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge devices while Apple slipped down to 23 percent.​

Dubai, June 3 (IANS) Emirates’ flag carrier Etihad on Friday introduced a London-Melbourne round trip ticket costing more than $80,000.

The carrier offers passengers travel in a luxury three-room suite aboard its Airbus A380 named "The Residence". The plane, described as a “penthouse in the sky”, has all the amenities of a five-star hotel.

The 125 square foot suite was available for single or double occupancy with its own Savoy-trained butler and onboard chef.

It is equipped with a flat double bed instead of confining seats as well as a bathroom where guests may freshen up.

The living room has a 32-inch flat screen LCD TV, as well as two fold-away dining tables and a leather double sofa.

The Residence, according to RT online, makes one stop in Abu Dhabi, where Etihad’s customers are ushered into the first class lounge.

The ticket cost includes private transfer to and from the airport, separate check-in, VIP lounge and a personal travel concierge able to book tickets to sporting event or a concert and reserve a table at a restaurant.

The price is about $4,500 more than the previous most expensive ticket -- a return journey in the Residence from New York to Mumbai.

The Airbus A380 with The Residence on board was launched at the end of 2014 together with Etihad’s revamped first and business class and an upgraded economy cabin.

“Etihad Airways currently operates three daily A380 services from London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi, so our guests can now enjoy the convenience and class-leading comfort of an all-A380 service all the way to Melbourne,” said the carrier’s senior vice-president of marketing Shane O’Hare.​

Sydney, June 2 (IANS) Eating the right amount of fibre from breads, cereals, and fruits can help us avoid disease and disability into old age -- a benchmark of successful ageing, says a study led by an Indian-origin researcher.

Using data compiled from the Blue Mountains Eye Study, a population-based study that examined a cohort of more than 1,600 adults aged 50 years and older for long-term sensory loss risk factors and systemic diseases, the researchers explored the relationship between carbohydrate nutrition and healthy aging.

They found that out of all the factors they examined -- which included a person's total carbohydrate intake, total fibre intake, glycemic index, glycemic load, and sugar intake -- it was the fibre that made the biggest difference to what the researchers termed "successful aging."

Successful ageing was defined as including an absence of disability, depressive symptoms, cognitive impairment, respiratory symptoms, and chronic diseases including cancer, coronary artery disease, and stroke.

"Out of all the variables that we looked at, fiber intake -- which is a type of carbohydrate that the body can't digest -- had the strongest influence," said lead author Bamini Gopinath, Associate Professor at The Westmead Institute for Medical Research in Australia.

The findings were published in the journal The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences.

"Essentially, we found that those who had the highest intake of fiber or total fiber actually had an almost 80 percent greater likelihood of living a long and healthy life over a 10-year follow-up. That is, they were less likely to suffer from hypertension, diabetes, dementia, depression, and functional disability," she explained.​