Sony Ericsson’s 8.1megapixel Camera Phone Is Poised To Appeal To The Amateur Photographers Inside Everyone Of Us

The C905 is Sony Ericsson’s first Cyber-shot slider with an 8.1 megapixel camera and Xenon flash. It comes packed with the standard features such as face detection auto-focus, smart contrast, red-eye reduction, digital zoom – up to 16x and image stabilizer.

However when it comes to memory which is vital to store all the photographs one is going to take, Sony disappoints by offering just 2GB of external memory in the form of a memory stick. The phone memory is a measly 160MB.

The phone also features a 2.4” scratch-resistant mineral glass display (240 x 320 pixels, TFT), support for Wi-Fi and connectivity to the television through a TV-Out Cable ITC-60. Another plus feature is that the C905 is GPS-enabled for geo-tagging of photos and navigation support.

It also has FM radio, internet can be accessed using the WAP protocol, a protective case, tripod and belt clip. It boasts of a talk time of up to 9 hours with standby time of 380 hours.

Sporting dimensions of 104 x 49 x 18 mm, weighing at 136 grams it nicely fits within one’s palm.

Sony C905 is available only in Night Black, Ice Silver and Copper Gold liveries in selected markets from early Q4 2008.

Author

Use of dopamine agonists for treating Parkinson's disease can increase risk for impulse control disorders

A recent study has revealed two to three fold increased risk of having an impulse control disorder among Parkinson’s patients treated with dopamine agonists compared with those who did not receive dopaminergic therapy. The findings of this study were presented at the 12th International Congress of Parkinson’s disease and Movement Disorders.

According to logistic regression analysis both dopamine agonist therapy and levodopa treatment were associated independently with a higher risk for an impulse control disorder. Generally, in statistics, logistic regression model is used for prediction of the probability of occurrence of an event by fitting data to a logistic curve. This model makes use of several predictor variables, which can be either numerical or categories.

Dopaminergic agonists that act directly at the receptor level, would be able to decrease the incidence of the motor complications in Parkinson’s patients.Dopamine agonists are compounds, which can activate dopamine receptors by mimicking the effect of the neurotransmitter called – ‘dopamine’.

In case of impulse control disorders, a person will be unable to resist the impulse to perform an action that is harmful to one's self or others. This belongs to a class of personality disorders. The most common impulse control disorders are intermittent explosive disorder, kleptomania, pyromania, compulsive gambling disorder, and trichotillomania.

Dr. Weintraub told Medscape Neurology & Neurosurgery: "There is a role for a careful medical history pertaining to impulse control disorders in Parkinson's disease patients, especially those receiving dopamine therapy and perhaps even levodopa."

By Shilpa C Nangali

Glad I Found You

By Deeksh

I don’t want to loose you.

I’m so glad I found you..

It’s getting’ harder not to think of you.

Girl, I’m exactly where I wanna be!

All I need you here with Me!!

You make Me so confused!

With the love you’re givin’!!

How do I Know if I’m holding you!

Or letting you go away!!

I don’t want to loose you.

I’m so glad I found you..

Afghan Photo Exhibition--- Life and Nothing Else---At Max Meuller Bhavan, Indiranagar, Bangalore: A Must See Event: From 13 June 2008 To 30 June 2008

Afghan Photo Exhibition--- Life and Nothing Else---At Max Meuller Bhavan, Indiranagar, Bangalore: A Must See Event: From 13 June 2008 To 30 June 2008



Those of us who take keen interest in photography will really be interested in making it to the Afghan Photo Exhibition that is being jointly organized by Max Meuller Bhavan, Bangalore and French Media Embassy (AINA), Kabul, Afghanistan. It is on till the 30th June 2008 open till 6:30 in the evening, Monday to Saturday at the Max Mueller Bhavan at Indiranagar in Bangalore. Entry is free and is open to all.

A picture is equal to thousand words….. Probably true for the war torn and economically seized Afghanistan where the meaning of life is reduced to mere earning bread for the family. The social insecurity that has gripped this country, first owing to the barbarous and unruly Talibans and then the US aggression to suppress the Talibans has not only jeopardized the country’s external security, but also its internal security. Many have died due to internal and external warfare, daily riots between the Shias and Sunnis, increased amount of terrorism by Al Qaeda. Many children have been orphanized. The film Kabul Express itself depicts the plight of these helpless people, their daily fight in order to restore their family life against all odds undoubtedly make them the bravest people on earth. To be in the midst of battlefield in spite of being ordinary citizens, to listen to heavy artilleries flying over their head and to wait for the sun to rise next morning are all part and parcel of their daily livelihood.

Many NGOs have come forward to help these people who are struggling for social stability. One of them is AINA (French Media Embassy at Kabul). AINA gives formal training to budding Afghan artists in Media and Photography that allow these teenagers to find meaning of life in lifeless Afghanistan. Some of the brilliant pictures taken by the talented youth of Afghanistan pushes home the point that the future to any country’s economic, social and political security lies in the hands of their talented youth and war only destroys these resources as it destroys the infrastructure. It’s good to see that many NGOs are coming forward.

Most of the artists who have exhibited their photographs are in their early twenties. Some of them are Nadjibullah Zirak (Afghan Youth), Mohammad Ishaq Gulban (Religious Life), Massoud Hossaini (Not alone in Kabul - Life in an orphanage), Massoud Hasan Zadah (Living Rooms), Farzana Wahidy (Family Life in Afghanistan) and Ahmad Tamim Malik Asghar (Weddings) [Taken from http://www.goethe.de/ins/in/bag/kue/bku/en3405949v.htm]. Their themes depict the everyday struggle that the people of Afghanistan put in their everyday life.

The most appealing of these are those of Nadjibullah Zirak and Farzana Wahidy. Nadjibullah Zirak was born in 1984 as the son of Atta Mohammad in Wardag Province. He graduated from Omer-Farooq High School in 2003. He has been involved in cultural and literary activities for several years and occasionally writes literary pieces and articles on cultural topics for different publications. He got involved with photography in May 2004. [Taken from http://www.goethe.de/ins/in/bag/kue/bku/en3406138.htm] His pictures bring to light the increasing unemployment in Afghanistan because of the ongoing war and the “Never say Die” attitude of Afghan youth to establish themselves clearly catches your eye. The photos visualize the hunger in their eyes. According to the author, “….. as finding employment in Kabul is extremely difficult, more and more educated Afghan youth are taking to petty jobs like cart-pulling, book selling, selling TV and video sets. Starting such type of businesses doesn’t require a big rented building, a hand pulled cart or even a roadside will suffice.” These pictures pull out the naked truth of the socio-economic instability that the current population is facing.

Farzana Wahidy, daughter of Shir Ahmad, was born in 1984 in Kandahar. She is attending the last class of Abul Qasen Fardosi High School in Kabul. She started to photograph three years ago and was trained at the French media organisation AINA in Kabul. She is currently working as a freelance photographer for Agence France Presse (AFP) and a number of magazines. [Taken from http://www.goethe.de/ins/in/bag/kue/bku/en3405976.htm] Her photographs are even more appealing as it describes the Afghan women. Universally women are the oppressed class and when the Afghan men are themselves oppressed, think about the conditions of Afghan women? When the Afghan men are struggling to make both ends meet, Afghan women naturally become the wrath of these Afghan men. Their condition is even more helpless and worse. In the words of one of these Afghan women, whom the author had interviewed, “….My life is hard. Life means as well that parents think about the future of their children. But we are not able to do this. Life for us is meaningless and without future.”

These harsh realities of Afghanistan make us aware of the hardships that these people are facing and we can only pray to God that peace returns to this neighboring country of ours sooner or later. Thus, it is a must see for all of us who keep faith in the human kind!!

Arunava Das, Media Analyst, Media Monitoring, 29/06/2008

Robot - A Major Achievement Of Mankind

By Deeksh

The revolutionary invention of our era: The Computer procures us more information than any other source known to mankind. The development of artificial intelligence permits us to improve the behavior of a computing system.

The term ‘robot’ includes any kind of automates that don't need any human intervention to perform their job and are able to learn. Perception and recognition, for example, are now some of the inherent characteristics of robots.

I notice a similarity between the evolution of robotic intelligence and that of biological intelligence.

Robots are being increasingly used in industry as they are able to perform tasks that even humans are not able to perform. One can even say that they act more intelligently than humans when the domain is specific. New robots can also be programmed to perform creative acts like dancing or playing a musical instrument. They can also be programmed to behave socially like in the case of robotic pets. And contrary to the common belief, robots are not replacing humans; but are creating a booming job market for engineers, software developers and other technical professionals.

Robots can be found in the manufacturing industry, the military, space exploration, transportation, and medical applications around the world.

Soon service robots will be everyday tools for mankind.

Japan is the leading producer and consumer of robots. Statistics state that for every 100,000 human workers, there are 500 robots in Japan. Germany and many Europeans countries follow Japan. Interestingly, USA finds itself at the bottom of the list of developed countries in this regard.

The number of robots increased by nearly 30% in the year 2004 showing an exponential increase compared to the previous years. If it continues to grow at this rate, it will soon surpass human population. Already, robots are able to create other robots. Soon, artificial intelligence in combination with the Internet will be able to perform abstract thinking as humans do and later may even outperform humans.

Robots could substitute for a workforce of 3.52 million people in Japan by 2025 to help cover a labor shortage in the graying society, the Machine Industry Memorial Foundation said. The foundation also said about 74 minutes of free time per household are expected to be created each day if robots that do household chores such as cleaning are introduced, helping more women to enter the labor market. Robots would thus replace humans in performing all the repetitive jobs. Hopefully, by then human brain would have evolved further and we would come up with new things that only a human mind can do.

Or who knows: one day human beings may evolve into advanced “robots”.

MOTOZINE ZN5: The Knight In Flashing Armor Comes To The Rescue Of Motorola

Motorola and Kodak have come up with MOTOZINE ZN5 which is a 5 megapixel camera phone. It was unveiled on June 23, 2008 in Beijing at a gallery-inspired event, innovatively titled “ZINE ZN5.”

ZN5 combines Motorola’s ModeShift Technology and KODAK Imaging Technology giving its users the best of both worlds. The phone also packs KODAK EASYSHARE Software and a 3.5 mm headset jack as goodies. The ZN5 also features multi-shot and panorama for a panoramic shot.

The camera boasts of auto-focus, a Xenon flash, Digital viewfinder, and optimized settings for low-light environments. The camera is protected by a sliding lens cover.

Coming to other phone(ly) features, the ZN5 features Motorola’s patented CrystalTalkTM technology for voice clarity and support for WLAN (802.11 b/g/i)for high speed broadband. Weighing at 114g the ZN5 has the dimensions of 50.5mm (W) x 118mm (L) x 12mm (T) (16mm at bump). It has 350 MB onboard memory, expandable up to 4 GB capable of holding up to 3,000 images. It also has FM Radio. With a 950 mAh battery, the ZN5 offers 349 to 574 minutes of talk time and 310 to 579 minutes of standby time. It offers support for the following bands: GSM 850/900/1800/1900 with EDGE Class 12 and GPRS Class 12.

The ZN5 is the first phone from Motorola’s ZINE portfolio which according to the company exclusively caters to the pop culture that is more focused on content consumption and creation.

MOTOZINE ZN5 will be first available in China in July 2008 and is expected to roll out around the globe throughout the remainder of the year.

With Motorola’s stock plummeting to an all time low, it is desperately looking for a silver lining. Will it be the ZN5? Only time will tell.

Author

Have u ever seen a brave & charming face of breast cancer ?!

By Shilpa C Nangali

If love is the breath of life, then knowing that your beloved is battling cancer is all consuming. There is fear mixed with hope, despair and disbelief, but Jane McGrath never seemed to show her fear in public. Her concern was always for others.

My heart cried when I heard the news that Jane McGrath lost her 11- years of continuous battle with breast cancer. To me, Jane McGrath, the Australian cricketer Glenn McGrath’s wife, was a courageous fighter! I was impressed with her courageous fight with the disease over the past 11 years and was charmed by her smile and impressed by her passion for life. In all the interviews I watched and the stories I read, she was smiling and speaking about her love of life, her husband and her two young children James and Holly. She was the only little own world for these two children. This is going to be really a tough time for them, and I wholeheartedly pray God to give them all the strength that is needed to overcome this!

I’m not sure I would have conducted myself with the same charm and dignity she did if I was faced with such kind of battle. She was 31 years old when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer. Glenn McGrath says that Jane was not only his wife but also his best friend. He says that he is devastated by the loss of his best friend, who was 42.

In 2003, Jane and Glenn started the McGrath Foundation to support women with breast cancer. The McGrath Foundation has raised millions of dollars for the fight against breast cancer. In February 2006, Glenn announced he would be taking an indefinite break from cricket to take care of Jane. This was not at all fair that such a bubbly woman who had made her family and supporting others her whole world would continually face more challenges and I’m struggling to understand why God always takes away such kind hearted people, who are needed the most here on Earth! I wish each one of us help as much as we can for others, no matter whether it is small or big!

Jane & Glenn...joyous moments spent together...

Glenn retired from cricket last year to spend more time with his family. I respect him for one thing that he never seemed to hesitate in supporting his wife. He never put his job ahead of his family. Also, it couldn’t have been so easy playing at the level he did with what must always have been in the back of his mind and carrying a pain in his heart.

A statement posted by Glenn on the McGrath Foundation website: “Jane would want those women who are battling breast cancer to stay strong. She would want them to draw strength from the fact she didn’t only ‘survive’ breast cancer for 11 years, but during that time she lived life to the fullest and found pleasure in the simple things so many people take for granted.”

Dr Helen Zorbas, the director of the National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre, describes Jane as “a brave face of breast cancer." Sue Murray of the National Breast Cancer Foundation said: "The role model she has presented to women throughout her journey has been inspiring, very supportive and very encouraging for all women who go through breast cancer." Ricky Ponting, the Australian cricket team captain said: “Jane McGrath was a wonderful person who fought and maintained grace and dignity during her long-term illness."

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told parliament that Jane would remain a source of inspiration and hope to all. Steve Waugh, former Australia captain said: "Courage is often associated with feats on a sport field but the true meaning of it lies elsewhere and someone like Jane best exemplifies that." I loved what Steve said about Jane.

They alone live who live for others, the rest are more dead than alive. I remembered this quote by Swami Vivekananda when I read her personal stories, her positive attitude towards her life and her efforts to help others. Her courage and determination humbled me and I am sure it has inspired so many people. Jane was an inspiration whose legacy will continue to benefit so many others. She has taught us not to take life for granted. Jane's funeral would take place on June 25, 2008 at a Sydney church, and I wish that her soul rests in peace!

I promise to take what time I have with those I love as a blessing. And I here by convey my prayers for all those who are surviving their own personal battles.

White Nights...sometimes faith is the only thing a person is holding on to !

By Shilpa C Nangali

I don't know why but I am always attracted towards Russian poetry and novels. Alexander Block and Fyodor Dostoevsky writings are very closer to my heart. Even Alexander Pushkin's poems...Russian poetry is filled with intense emotions, which I don't know somehow always touch my heart! If there is a time machine, then I would love to go to 1840s and meet all these people ;-)

'White Nights' is a short story by Fyodor Dostoevsky. This is one of my favorites.This was originally published in 1848. The story starts with an interesting quotation and I could not resist anymore to avoid this story after reading that quotation, below is that quotation:

"And was it his destined part
Only one moment in his life
To be close to your heart?
Or was he fated from the start
to live for just one fleeting instant,
within the purlieus of your heart."

In the story 'White Nights'..the narrator says: "My nights came to an end with a morning. The weather was dreadful. It was pouring, and the rain kept beating dismally against my windowpanes".

These lines are so meaningful and this book is like a medicine for me when ever I am gloomy. I feel books are the best companions in our lives. Such kind of literary works can even heal a wounded heart to a great extent!

The final section of this story is a brief afterword that relates a letter which Nastenka sends him apologizing for hurting and mentions that she would be married within a week. The narrator breaks into tears upon reading the letter. That time any heart reading it will melt just like that..the lines are so heart touching that as u go on thinking of a person’s despair, the broken world of him, leaving him isolate…all that is ………..uhhh I have no words..one should experience all that by reading this story themselves.

I would like to quote the lines by the narrator in the story after reading Nastenka’s letter:

"But that I should feel any resentment against you, Nastenka! That I should cast a dark shadow over your bright, serene happiness! ...That I should crush a single one of those delicate blooms which you will wear in your dark hair when you walk up the aisle to the altar with him! Oh no — never, never! May your sky be always clear, may your dear smile be always bright and happy, and may you be for ever blessed for that moment of bliss and happiness which you gave to another lonely and grateful heart ... Good Lord, only a moment of bliss? Isn't such a moment sufficient for the whole of a man's life?"

In 1985, this story was made a movie ‘White Nights’ starring Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, Jerzy Skolimowski, Helen Mirren, and Isabella Rossellini, and was directed by Taylor Hackford. This movie has Academy Award winning song.."Say you, Say me" by Lionel Richie.

Say you, say me; say it for always
Thats the way it should be
Say you, say me; say it together
Naturally

I had a dream I had an awesome dream
People in the park playing games in the dark
And what they played was a masquerade
And from behind of walls of doubt a voice was crying out

Say you, say me...

As we go down lifes lonesome highway
Seems the hardest thing to do is to find a friend or two
A helping hand - some one who understands
That when you feel youve lost your way
Youve got some one there to say Ill show you

So you think you know the answers - oh no
couse the whole world has got you dancing
Thats right - Im telling you
Its time to start believing - oh yes
Believing who you are: you are a shining star

Say it together... naturally.

One more song is there, which is also nice one. It is "Separate Lives" sung by Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin.

You called me from the room in your hotel
All full of romance for someone that you met
And telling me how sorry you were, leaving so soon
And that you miss me sometimes when youre alone in your room
Do I feel lonely too?

You have no right to ask me how I feel
You have no right to speak to me so kind
We cant go on just holding on to time
Now that were living separate lives

Well I held on to let you go
And if you lost your love for me, well you never let it show
There was no way to compromise
So now were living (living)
Separate lives

Ooh, its so typical, love leads to isolation
So you build that wall (build that wall)
Yes, you build that wall (build that wall)
And you make it stronger

Well you have no right to ask me how I feel
You have no right to speak to me so kind
Some day I might (I might) find myself looking in your eyes
But for now, well go on living separate lives
Yes for now, well go on living separate lives
Separate lives

According to Wikipedia, film adaptations of this story – “White Nights” have been made by Italian director Luchino Visconti, by French director Robert Bresson (as Four Nights of a Dreamer), by Iranian director Farzad Motamen (as Shabhaye Roshan) and by Indian film directors Manmohan Desai (Chhalia (1960)), Sanjay Leela Bhansali(Saawariya), and Jananadhan (Iyarkai).

It is said that when you have come to the edge of all light that you know, and you are about to drop off into the darkness of the unknown, then “FAITH” is knowing that one of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on or you will learn to fly. I prefer the latter!

Yahoo Announces Innovative Job Advertising Solutions !

Yahoo added a program to help employers target & attract specific types of job recruits ! The features will turn listings on Yahoo's HotJobs Web site into display ads that appear on the company's other pages such as Yahoo Finance. The ads will target specific job seekers based on the information they provide and online behaviors, Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo said today in a statement. Yahoo! HotJobs today introduced two advertising solutions, Yahoo! HotJobs Smart Ads and Premium Company Profiles for recruitment advertisers.

Yahoo is looking to attract advertisers to boost revenue amid a proxy fight with activist investor Carl Icahn for control of the board. The company, whose net income fell in eight of the past nine quarters, accounted for 16 percent of the $21.1 billion U.S. online advertising market last year, according to researcher EMarketer Inc. in New York.

Yahoo also will help recruiters build business profiles that let potential applicants learn more about company news, view corporate videos and search for open positions.

Microsoft Corp. offered to pay $33 a share to buy the entire company and made an alternative proposal for its search assets. Instead Yahoo rejected the offers and forged a partnership with Google to sell some ads. Icahn has nominated a slate of nine directors to oust Yahoo's board at a meeting on Aug. 1.

Yahoo said the features are designed to help recruitment advertisers meet their hiring and branding objectives by delivering more relevant job listings to candidates. "Recruiters can leverage Yahoo's innovations in targeting -- behavioral targeting, contextual targeting, career interest, location, and HotJobs' R.E.A.L. search ranking system -- to find the right candidates," the company said.

Premium Company Profile pages offer employers the chance to showcase their company's employment brand and drive more qualified applicants to their open positions. Working with Yahoo Finance and Yahoo Answers, each page comes with an added layer of information and insight about the company in addition to a full listing of positions available to job seekers.

"These new products are in keeping with our strategy to become the 'must buy' solution for recruitment advertisers. We will continue to innovate and drive improved performance for our customers and the industry," the company said.

"Like the groundbreaking R.E.A.L. search algorithm launched in February, the solutions unveiled today are more examples of Yahoo! innovation and research applied to the recruitment industry. For employers to remain cost effective and competitive in the evolving recruitment marketplace, they need solutions that leverage technology to efficiently connect them with the most relevant candidates." said Jeff Kinder, senior vice president and general manager, Yahoo! HotJobs. The products were introduced at the Society for Human Resource Management Annual Conference being held in Chicago.

Leveraging Yahoo!'s leading display advertising technologies, users are identified and targeted by both the information they have supplied and their online behaviors.

Sources: Bloomberg, BizJournals.com, CIOL.com & MediaNewsline.com

The Numbers Are Still Ringing In For Firefox

Though I have downloaded Firefox 3, I am yet to install it as some of my favorite add-ons are still not compatible. They are Snap Links and Diigo. I just cannot do without these.

At the time of writing this post, the number of downloads for Firefox 3.0 was at 17,649,216. Firefox had broken through the 5 million download ceiling some 14 hours after it had released its new version and ended up clocking around 8.3 million downloads for 24 hours.

Overwhelmed by the number of downloads and the oodles of support for its open source browser, Firefox has thanked all its users at its Spread Firefox site and has asked the users to be patient while their judges and Guinness validate the record attempt.

However, the release was in a way marred by the reports of an vulnerability surfacing just hours after the download day had begun. Of course, a certain section of the media also pointed out the timing of the announcement (of the vulnerability) which coincided with the record attempt by Mozilla, was to derive mileage from the buzz created around the record attempt. Although Mozilla was tight-lipped about the vulnerability, there were reports abound in the electronic media that “user interaction is necessary for the vulnerability to be exploited.”

With this release, Firefox has again reignited the browser wars with reports already trying to compare its features with that of latest iterations of Opera and Safari, and of course the inevitable comparison with of IE 8 beta.

For a full review of Firefox 3, check out the article at Information Week.

I also did come across another tidbit which stated that a portable version of Firefox 3.0 is available at Portable Apps.

That’s the news roundup for Firefox so far. If you haven’t downloaded it yet, you can do so here:

Author

A good news for olanzapine users!

By Shilpa C Nangali

June 23, 2008 - Eli Lilly announced the results from olanzapine long-acting injection (LAI) clinical trials, which showed that the efficacy and safety profile of olanzapine LAI was generally consistent with that of Zyprexa with the exception of injection-related events. The study was presented at the first annual Schizophrenia International Research Society Conference in Venice, Italy. Regulatory reviews of olanzapine LAI applications are ongoing in the European Union, Canada, Australia and US.

Olanzapine LAI is an investigational formulation that combines olanzapine with a pamoate salt, resulting in an extended delivery of up to four weeks.

David McDonnell, M.D., clinical research physician at Lilly, said: "These studies offer insight into the potential of olanzapine LAI as a maintenance treatment for patients with schizophrenia who may have difficulty taking medication on a daily basis."

Biogen Idec Wins Proxy Fight Against Icahn

By Shilpa C Nangali

Biogen Idec has won a proxy fight against billionaire investor Carl Icahn, placing the company on course to continue as an independent entity. Icahn sought to place three members on the company's board in a bid to push Biogen to try again to sell itself, but his attempt failed. Icahn was not present at the company's annual meeting on June 19, 2008. Icahn had claimed that Biogen deliberately sabotaged a previous attempt to sell itself in part by not allowing potential buyers to talk to its partners, Elan and Genentech. Biogen, which sells the multiple sclerosis drugs Avonex and Tysabri, and the cancer drug Rituxan, has denied the charge, saying that it conducted a responsible auction, but no buyer was interested in acquiring the company for an acceptable price.

Biogen Idec's Phase I of their consolidated campus.

Based on a preliminary count provided by Biogen's proxy solicitor, stockholders have elected all four of the Company's nominees - Cecil B. Pickett, Ph.D., Lynn Schenk, J.D., Phillip A. Sharp, Ph.D., and Stelios Papadopoulos, Ph.D. - to the Biogen Idec Board of Directors at today's Annual Meeting of Stockholders. In addition, based on that preliminary count, the proposal to amend the Company's bylaws to set the size of the Board at 12 has been defeated. The press release noted that preliminary count is subject to the official tabulation of vote results, which will be provided by Biogen Idec's independent inspector of elections, IVS Associates, in approximately 2 to 3 weeks.

After months of campaigning and badgering, billionaire investor Carl Icahn's slate of three directors challenging company nominees at Biogen Idec came up on the short end of a shareholder vote on June 19, 2008, and it did not appear to be a close contest. The author writes that Biogen Idec's warhorse Avonex drug keeps selling, but someone is always predicting its commercial decline. And then there is Tysabri, a drug with a lot of potential and a history that scares investors. Rare but serious medical complications prompted Biogen Idec to take Tysabri off the market for a time, though it now predicts 100,000 patients will use it within the next two years. However, Tysabri's past problem, which crushed Biogen Idec stock at the time, remains a wild card. Biogen Idec executives and Icahn's representatives both said yesterday they planned to meet and work with each other in the near future.

Biogen Idec’s Chief executive Jim Mullen thinks Tysabri is on track to being used by 100,000 patients by the end of 2010. At the annual meeting on June 19, 2008, Mullen said: "We think we've been consistent and strong in creating value." After the meeting, Alexander Denner, one of Icahn's nominees, declined to discuss what steps his side might now take. Denner said that his side realized it would not likely prevail after proxy review firms such as RiskMetrics Group had recommended against its slate of candidates this month.

Biogen Idec spokeswoman Naomi Aoki said she "begs to differ" with Denner's views on the company's research and morale. She noted that the company has four products in late-stage development and a number of others in early-stage clinical trials. Aoki said: "Those are the kind of things that keep our scientists excited about the company."

Mark Schoenebaum, a Deutsche Bank analyst, thinks that shares of Biogen Idec and Genzyme will trade close to their current prices. He wrote that risks and rewards for Biogen shares are fairly balanced: its multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease drug Tysabri may face difficult competition and the pipeline may not offer much growth, but eventually the company could be a buyout target.

Source: Bloomberg, Business Wire, Reuters, Global Insight Daily Analysis, Associated Press Newswire & The Boston Globe

Image Sources: Syska.com & Aftermarketnews.com

A new lawsuit filed against AstraZeneca's blockbuster drug, Seroquel !

Weitz & Luxenberg announced on June 19, 2008 that it has filed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca on behalf of a New York City Fire Department Emergency Medical Technician whose diabetes was allegedly caused by AstraZeneca's drug Seroquel. The plaintiff, EMT Ernest Armstead, was prescribed Seroquel, which Weitz & Luxenberg claims did not carry a warning that the powerful drug can cause diabetes. A deposition of AstraZeneca's CEO, David Brennan, about his company's alleged undisclosed knowledge regarding the dangerous side effect of diabetes, is being taken on June 20th 2008 in London, England at the law offices of Baker Botts.

A New York City paramedic was prescribed Seroquel for post-traumatic stress disorder and later he developed Type II diabetes. At least three states, including Pennsylvania, have sued AstraZeneca over its marketing of Seroquel with more than $4 billion in sales last year.

By Shilpa C Nangali

Burned Out? Here´s help!

Has stress pushed you into the danger zone?

"Burn out is an equal-opportunity condition" say many experts in different fields. And, that holds true whether you work in an office or at home. Burn out is a due to poor time and stress management. It can be caused due to lack of information and ignorance. It affects people in different ways like less job satisfaction, underperformance, poor management of one´s chores at work and at home and loss of growth opportunities etc.

Burn out may be of two types, namely temporary burn out and long-lasting burn out. Temporary burn outs may have short-lived effects whereas long-lasting burn outs may cause everlasting or indelible effects.

Millions of people are unknowingly getting affected by this risk. In a survey by Career Build.com, more than half of the workers said that they were under a great deal of stress. Around 77% reported feeling burned out at some point of time. No one is immune to burnout regardless of age, gender or nature of the job. Everyone including mothers, homemakers, managers, fire fighters, flight attendants, teachers and telephone service reps feel the effects of too much stress and low satisfaction. More the stress more are the chances of a burnout. Hence, Taxicab drivers, law enforcement personnel, air traffic controllers, musicians, teachers, lawyers, emergency service workers and high technology professionals seem more prone to burnout than others.

Burn out is also affecting many people especially those caring for others. People in the service industry are in a constant conflict between their own feelings and their confrontation with difficult, distressful issues in their interaction with others. Things go haywire both at home and at work if one does not recognize the symptoms of a burnout in time and fails to make the necessary changes in one´s lifestyle.

What´s sparking the problem?

Too much work? Too little control? No recognition or rewards? Co-workers are difficult to deal with? Unfair treatment? A clash of values? After decades of research by some psychologists, it was found that any of these factors could sabotage your job satisfaction. You might be able to handle the work load but the constant conflict with your colleagues or your boss may be causing a lot of unwanted stress. The issue may be a disconnect between one´s expectations from the job and the reality.

Employees may experience burn outs in case of increased work load, reduced compensation or inability to recognize employee values like in the case of Bob Phibbs, who was managing a chain of 55 Western-wear cloth outlets in California. After 14 years, when he questioned his manager as to what was the main asset of the company, he was shocked to get the response that it was customers, while he was expecting the manager to say employees. This discrepancy between his perception of his importance to the organization and the company´s actual view led to a burnout.

Smoldering Stress:

Stress can take a serious toll even with work you love and care passionately about. Take the case of Leslie Godwin, a marriage and family counselor in Los Angeles. She could not set boundaries and was always worried about the drug addicts she was treating. After years of witnessing non-stop stress, her husband casually commented that, she hated her job. Godwin tried to protest, but she burst into tears. "My body betrayed me. I couldn´t stop crying. I was completely burned out, and I was the last one to know", she says. As Godwin learnt, burn out can smolder for years before finally erupting into blaze. Often, the first sign is physical, mental and emotional exhaustion. A few psychologists say that it is draining to deal with people and problems under incredible time pressures. The hallmark of burn out is a shift to the negative. People begin to detach and dislike their job. Some people may become cynical, hostile and blame others. Instead of giving their best quality work, they will stick to minimum load. Ultimately, the one-two punch of exhaustion and cynicism culminates in inefficacy, a sense of inadequacy that saps a person´s strength and spirit.

Research in the new field of Social Neuroscience is providing fresh insight into this process. Daniel Goleman, a Psychologist and author of Social Intelligence says, "Our brains are designed to reflect and catch the state of the person we´re with, which works to our advantage in most situations by helping us understand each other better." However constant interaction with people, who are anxious, angry, stressed or traumatized, floods the brain with negative emotions and activates your stress centers."

He also added that, "If you add a toxic boss on top of Job stress, you´re creating a perfect storm for burnout because there´s no one to go to for emotional support". "You´re like an empty well. You don´t have anything left to give". As a protective mechanism, you shut down and end up pushing away the very person you´re trying to help. However, simply acknowledging burnout can mark a turning point. Insight changes everything. Once, you can see what´s happening, you can´t continue to approach your work in the same way, with in a few months your epiphany will switch into another position. If you realize you need to, make a change, you find a way to do it. The realization is much harder than the concrete steps you have to take afterwards."

Recognizing a STRESSOR

It is important to recognize whether you are under stress or out of it. Many times, even if we are under the influence of a stressful condition and our body reacts to it internally as well as externally, we fail to realize that we are reacting under stress. This also happens when the causes of stress are there long enough for us to get habituated to them. The body constantly tries to tell us through symptoms such as rapid palpitation, dizzy spells, tight muscles or various body aches that something is wrong. It is important to remain attentive to such symptoms and to learn to cope with the situations.

Some Burnout Symptoms:

Work leaves you physically and emotionally drained.

You feel like you are accomplishing less and doing more.

You put your work first but no one appreciates your efforts.

You´ve lost your sense of humor and playfulness.

You find yourself short-tempered and angry.

You go on vacation but the feeling of overwhelm comes back immediately upon return.

Beating Burnout

So, how do you move away from burnout and move towards a feeling of enthusiasm again? Here are some recommended steps.

Make time for yourself by helping out people above everything else. So you will gain self-satisfaction and make it as a habit.

Develop a method to calm your self by choosing prayer, medication or breathe deeply. Practice the above mentioned work everyday, outside the work situation, ideally in the morning and then draw on it during pauses throughout your work day.

Simply taking short breaks to close your eyes and clear your mind can re-energize your brain during a frenetic day.

Analyze what you love and hate about your work. What has changed – the amount of work, the deadlines, the boss, the pay, the company´s mission? Once you´ve identified problem areas, think of specific strategies to resolve, solve them. For instance, you might build an alliance with colleagues and work together to address shared concerns.

Settle for less than perfect. Work at 90 % rather than 110% of maximum.

Rather than check e-mails and voice messages around the clock, respond at preset times, and know when to turn off the devices and focus on the other aspects of your life.

Take good care of your self. Eat healthy food and get enough sleep. Exercise everyday. If you think your are too busy, plan for 5 mins walk a day. Once you see the benefits, you will want to do more of the things that are really the key to keeping you from getting burned out.

Cultivate a support network. Find a friend at work with whom you can share your matters freely.

If you´re caring for a family member at home, tap relative and friends. Please note that Human nature is not designed for isolation. We all need to re-create the support of the extended family through friendships.

Set limits. Take some time before accepting a new demand. Talk to your friend or spouse about that. If you really want to do it go ahead or else don´t do it.

Learn to say "no" by creating realistic boundaries. Speak up when you are overwhelmed. Remember, no one but YOU know what you really do in the course of a day. Establish limits that honor the needs of the people around you while preserving the integrity of what you can honestly do.

Remember: you are the captain of your ship. Pay attention to the wind and waves.

If you need to leave a toxic work place but can not quite yet, spend 15 minutes daily exploring options. It is better to consult the management and tell them your problem before leaving thus ensuring that a new employee will not have to go through the same things. By telling the problems they will come to know about those problems, so that new employees will not suffer.

Last but not least you have to feel that a job, like a relationship, is worth doing.

So my dear friends follow some of these steps or all the steps to beat the burnout. Taking these small steps will help you feel more in control and set the stage for a fresh start.

References:-

1) Readers Digest April 2007.

2) Anxious 9 to 5 by Larina Kase.

3) Social Intelligence by Danial Goelman.

4) Your Own Worst Enemy by Kenneth w. Christian.

5) Banishing Burnout by Christina Maslach.

By Hariprasad .P

The beauty that addresses itself to the eyes is only the spell of the moment; the eye of the body is not always that of the soul !!!

By Shilpa C Nangali

One of my friends used to tell that when a woman isn't beautiful, people tell her. "You have lovely eyes; you have lovely hair…etc ;) however, I feel that all of us are like stained glass windows: we sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, and then our true beauty is revealed only if there is a light within. Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical.

Recently, I read several philosophers' views on beauty and collection of a few quotes on it. I gathered all that and together with my thoughts, I wrote this small article on "beauty" !

A person is only beautiful, when their own beauty, is reflecting on to others. Isn't it? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The recipe for beauty is to have less illusion and more Soul, to retreat from the belief of pain or pleasure in the body into the unchanging calm and glorious freedom of spiritual harmony.

Kahlil Gibran says: "There is nothing ugly; I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may, -- light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful. The ever-present phenomenon ceases to exist for our senses. It was a city dweller, or a prisoner, or a blind man suddenly given his sight, who first noted natural beauty."

Beauty is not real. Beauty only exists in perception. The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not. You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind.

In those simple moments of childhood, our hearts were alive, and we saw the poignant beauty of life in nature vividly with wonder and appreciation.And, why is that now people think beauty is merely an "external appearance"?

When I'm working on a problem, I never think about beauty. I think only how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong. For me, beauty is an experience, nothing else. It is not a fixed pattern or an arrangement of features. It is something felt, a glow or a communicated sense of fineness. What ails us is that our sense of beauty is so bruised and blunted, we miss all the best. Beauty is no quality in things themselves: it exists merely in the mind which contemplates them.

I know the world is filled with troubles and many injustices. But reality is as beautiful as it is ugly. I think it is just as important to sing about beautiful mornings as it is to talk about slums. It is good to realize that if love and peace can prevail on earth, and if we can teach children to honor nature's gifts, the joys and beauties of the outdoors will be here forever. Keep your faith in all beautiful things; in the sun when it is hidden, in the Spring when it is gone.

A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul. The absence of flaw in beauty is itself a flaw.

Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they're still beautiful. Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar. If eyes were made for seeing, then beauty is it's own excuse for being.

Science will never be able to reduce the value of a sunset to arithmetic. Nor can it reduce friendship to formula. Laughter and love, pain and loneliness, the challenge of beauty and truth: these will always surpass the scientific mastery of nature.

Then we shall rise and view ourselves with clearer eyes in that calm region where no night can hide us from each other's sight. The truth isn't always beauty, but the hunger for it is. We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure...but why is that now we are destroying the beauty of our mother nature? It is like a person with an axe, who sits on the branch of a tree and cuts the branch on which he is sitting! And now I feel that we are not just cutting the branches of our mother nature, but trying to harm the roots itself!
This is foolishness, isn't it?

How beautiful the leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days. Man makes holy what he believes, as he makes beautiful what he loves. The real sin against life is to abuse and destroy beauty, even one's own—even more, one's own, for that has been put in our care and we are responsible for its well-being. Beauty deprived of its proper foils and adjuncts ceases to be enjoyed as beauty, just as light deprived of all shadows ceases to be enjoyed as light. The beauty that addresses itself to the eyes is only the spell of the moment; the eye of the body is not always that of the soul.

I want to dedicate these lines by Shakespeare to an intimate friend of mine, who is always beautiful, her beauty transcends with time :)

“To me, fair friend, you never can be old
For as you were when first your eye I eyed, Such seems your beauty still.
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date.”

Happiness & sadness, both are momentary...

Many times few incidences in life teaches us a lot, it teaches us what any teacher in our school/college days could not make us realize....sometimes they do try to make us realize but we do not realize it so well until we experience it ourselves! Life teaches us the hard & bitter realities. I feel that in life, happiness comes wearing a mask of sadness and sadness comes wearing a mask of happiness! So when we are happy, we should be strong enough to withstand if that happiness is stolen from us all of a sudden in spite of all our sincere and indefinite struggle to keep it with us….and if we are sad, we must be optimistic enough to wait for the coming happiness and should inculcate endurance to bear the torments! Isn’t it?

(Who else can manage to smile with tears in eyes, except a child? Thats the innocence we arrive with in this world. And then???...)

We should never indulge in vain hopes, if such hopes try to creep into our heart & mind, then we must get rid of it & root it out from our heart & mind..or else it makes our heart ache like hell…!!!

I believe in a truly loving heart more than God, I feel God's presence in that kind of heart...God should be within us..in our hearts...and not some where out there in temples...if I am honest to the God within me, then God will surely be with me in every step of life, whether its a victory or loss..and guyz sometimes "loss" or "defeat" teaches us the best of lessons which "success" or "victory" can't teach!!!

By,
Shilpa C Nangali

(Image source: Flickr.com)

FDA’s announcement of addition of "black box" warnings on the label of conventional antipsychotics made me immensely happy!

The US FDA announced on June 17, 2008 that a "black box" warning should be added on the labels of conventional antipsychotics such as haldol and thorazine, which are sometimes used to pacify dementia patients who become aggressive or disturbed.

I am immensely happy knowing the US FDA's new warning. Use of conventional antipsychotics for elderly dementia patients has taken away lives of a few patients....I really wish that now there will be an end for such tragic deaths! Giving these antipsychotics, even in reduced doses, to frail elderly patients often in poor health is awful. Isn't it?

I think prescribing antipsychotics trivially is merely 'inhumane act'. The key for medics and patients, is knowing that they are dangerous, thinking through options then using them when appropriate with an awareness.

Elderly patients with dementia who are being treated with an older class of antipsychotics appear to be at increased risk of dying. A majority of elderly patients with dementia develop aggression, delusions, and other neuropsychiatric symptoms during their illness course. Antipsychotics are commonly used to treat these behaviors, along with psychosocial and environmental interventions. Although information on the use of the older antipsychotics in nursing homes and elsewhere is spotty, the regulatory agency said that it thinks the older antipsychotics were not as widely used as the newer ones, which include Risperdal, Zyprexa and Seroquel. Thomas Laughren, Director of the FDA's Division of Psychiatry Products in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said that none of the drugs is currently approved for use among elderly patients with dementia.

FDA officials issued a similar warning for newer antipsychotics (Abilify, Zyprexa) in 2005. Dr. Thomas Laughren said that the older antipsychotics are only now receiving the black box warning because previously there had not been enough data.

By,
Shilpa C Nangali

Parkinson's drug Azilect, is it going to be a blockbuster ?!

Shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries rose after the company posted data showing its Parkinson's drug Azilect can slow progression of the disease. Teva said that it will submit the study data to regulatory authorities in the U.S. to get Azilect's labeling changed to include disease modification. Currently it is approved to treat symptoms of the disease. Credit Suisse analyst Marc Goodman expects Azilect to gain approval for the disease modification indication in 2010. He also boosted his 2012 sales forecast for Azilect to $500 million from $325 million. Cowen & Co. analyst Ken Cacciatore said that the results could boost use of the drug, which he said only commands 1.1 percent of the Parkinson's drug market, even before the additional indication is approved.

In an interview, Moshe Manor, Teva's group vice president for global innovative resources, said: "We believe that Azilect will become a foundation treatment for Parkinson's disease patients starting at a very early stage. It has very significant potential for Teva. We believe the results will increase usage of the product by neurologists." Until a label change is approved, the company cannot promote Azilect for that use. However, physicians are free to prescribe it as they see fit since it is already on the market. Teva, which had 2007 sales of $9.41 billion, is primarily known for making generic drugs but also has proprietary products such as Azilect and multiple-sclerosis treatment Copaxone.

Noa Weisberg, an analyst at Israel Brokerage & Investments in Tel Aviv raised her peak sales forecast for Azilect to $1 billion, compared with earlier analyst estimates $200 million to $300 million. Specifically, Noa Weisberg said: “It's going to be a blockbuster, easily. This is very good news, not just for investors, but also for patients.''

A Chair That Follows You Around!

Now isn’t this a boon for those who badly need to sit down and browse through the pages of their favorite book and are too lazy to find themselves a chair? After walking through the isles of a big library, searching frantically for the book; I guess I can afford to be a little lazy. 

That’s exatly what I can be if I am walking through the aisles of the public library in Amsterdam. Openbare Bibliotheek Endhoven has commissioned an special couch / chair that follows the person around the library offering him a seat if he/she needs to sit down. This chair designed by a Dutch designer Jelte van Geest uses RFID technology to follow the user around the library. All a user has to do is to swipe an RFID card against the scanner located in the chair and the chair follows the card which of course is with the user. Once the user walks past a designated “RedLine” at the checkout counter the chair stops following and returns to its docking station and powers up. Cool! Wish I had one at my office too.

Checkout the video for an eye-popping demonstration of what technology can do for you.

Author

Does The Fox Have Enough Fire In Its Belly To Set A World Record?

I have dutifully pledged to do my part in helping Firefox set a world record. So far 1,360,151 people around the globe have pledged their support. Firefox 3 promises one-click bookmarking, the smart location bar and lightning fast performance. Firefox 3 also includes phishing and malware protection, plus their new instant site ID info. Features like built-in spell checking, session restore and full zoom, makes it possible to work faster and more efficiently on the Web. Of course, with Firefox 3 you can choose from over 5,000 add-ons that help you customize your browsing experience. Its been a long journey for Firefox 3 which boasts of more than 15,000 improvements over its older version.

The D-Day is tomorrow.

The party continues at Mozilla which recently had celebrated its 10^th birthday on March 31^st. It also achieved the milestone of 50 Million Downloads.

There is also a special form will be available on the Download Day Headquarters as soon as Firefox 3 launches and Download Day kicks off. Simply enter your name and select print for your very own Official Participant Certificate, to show off that you have participated in the record attempt.

Also note that only downloads from the Download Day Headquarters count. Mozilla will only count downloads that are fully and completely transmitted, not partial or complete updates. A "download" is the transmission of the entire, fully functioning Firefox 3 -- not an update.

I will be goading everyone at my workplace tomorrow to download the latest version of Firefox. Will you?

Author

The Seagull - The Story That Moved Me

When I read Anton Chekhov’s - The Seagull, I was very eager to enact this classic drama that deals with rejected love, broken trust, romantic triangles, restlessness, frustration, betrayal, and struggle for fame. This drama depicts the conflict between hope that keeps man going in all kinds of difficulties and the same hope that at times is futile and prevents a person from moving on. This drama is a blend of the contrasts in life! It is this portrayal of life that I found endearing in the play and I read it several times. When I first read the book, I did not get out of my bed until I finished reading the whole play. The suicide of Kostya (Konstantin Treplyov) at the end of the play was really tragic! The one thing that I learnt from Kostya’s character is that mere “ideals” are not enough it is only when our ideals have a touch of reality that we can use them to battle all challenges and survive all hardships!



In the play Nina’s character angered me as she rejected Kostya, who was truly in love with her and was dedicated to her till the end! Nina chose Trigorin - a well-known writer, who loved Madame Arkadina, Kostya’s mother! Nina married Trigorin and faced the worst days in her life as her husband abandoned her for his former love Arkadina. Kostya, in turn, never realized an unrequited love Masha had for him! Masha despite getting married to someone else, always had love and concern for Kostya, which she never disclosed to him as she was aware that Kostya loved Nina immensely! At the end of the play Nina talked to Kostya and told him that she was forced to tour with a second-rate theatre company after the death of the child she had with Trigorin. And as she talked to Kostya she got a new confidence in herself. She compared herself to “The Seagull”, the bird Kostya would have killed long ago. Kostya begged Nina to stay with him but she was in such awful confusion that his request meant nothing to her, and she just slipped out quietly from his room. At the end of the play when Chekov describes how Kostya started tearing up his manuscript and shot himself, my eyes welled up with tears!

This is the best written play on a touching love story and a person’s tragic quest for his love! This play is so true to life and so full of real emotions that the actor in me was fascinated by it. I got the much desired opportunity to enact this play when I was 22 years old.

Author: Shilpa C Nangali

Bio-Fuels. The War Within.

I could not resist digging deeper into the issue of bio-fuels; partly because of the guilt gnawing away deep inside me. Everyday when I take out my motor bike for my work, a small voice somewhere appeals to my better conscience to use alternative modes of transport. Save our environment. But ultimately materialistic vices always manage to drown out the feeble voice of my better conscience and I look for comfort, flexibility and the machoistic pleasures of riding a bike. The bottom line is at the end of the day I don’t care. What a beauty this conscience is? The constant gnawing has prompted me to come with a series of articles on the environment. Here’s another effort (read as a feeble attempt to listen to my conscience) as a follow-up to the Green Fuels: An Ongoing Debate article.

The discovery of fossil fuel has left an un-erasable impact on our history, economic development and lifestyles. An astronomical amount of money is being spent on importing oil every year. The insatiable demand, imminent threat of global warming and finally pricking of consciences has led mankind to search for other alternatives. Let me give a perspective on the options available.

First up are the bio-fuels such as bio-diesel, ethanol produced from fuel crops and sugar based refining processes. A certain section of the intellectually enlightened people have pointed out that the process of cultivating slow-growing fuel crops; only to deconstruct them to produce ethanol, is inherently inefficient and emits more carbon dioxide than it consumes. Environmentally conscious people have pointed out environmental and human cost of depleting agricultural lands and rainforests. Rainforests around the globe are revered as an incomparable storehouse of biodiversity. An explosion in demand for farm-grown fuels has raised global crop prices to record highs, which is spurring a dramatic expansion of agriculture, which is invading the rainforests at an increasingly alarming rate. Several new studies show the biofuel boom is doing exactly the opposite of what its proponents intended: it's dramatically accelerating global warming, imperiling the planet in the name of saving it. Using land to grow fuel leads to the destruction of forests, wetlands and grasslands that store enormous amounts of carbon.

And now comes, the hunger pangs which are now being felt all over the world. By diverting grain and oilseed crops from dinner plates to fuel tanks, biofuels are jacking up world food prices. It’s being said that the grain it takes to fill an SUV tank with ethanol could feed a person for a year. Certain countries have converted forests into palm oil farms so rapidly that they are running out of uncultivated land.

Proponents of alternative fuels such as Sapphire have taken great pains on their websites to point out that biofuels are only part of the solution to global warming. The world is fighting an uphill battle until it realizes that right now, biofuels aren’t part of the solution at all. They're part of the problem. More on the alternative fuel proposed by Sapphire later. Watch this space.

Author