Remain happy forever!!! Gene for the Happiness have been identified

If you wants to remain happy forver in your life now it seems it is possible. According to the TG daily,Scientists have for the first time discovered a 'happiness gene', which works by regulating the transport of serotonin in the brain.

It forms the first direct link between a specific genetic condition and a person’s happiness, as measured by their satisfaction with life.

Behavioural economist Jan-Emmanuel De Neve of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) examined genetic data from more than 2,500 participants in the US National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, examining which functional variant of the 5-HTT gene they possessed.

This gene helps control serotonin transporters in neuron cell walls, and has a variation, or allele, which can be either long or short. The long version is more efficient, resulting in more serotonin transporters in the cell membrane.

The team asked subjects how satisfied they were with theirlife as a whole. There were five possible answers: very satisfied, satisfied, dissatisfied, very dissatisfied or none of the above.

The results showed that nearly 70 percent of those with the efficient (long-long) version of the gene were either very satisfied or satisfied with their life – compared to just 19 per cent for those with the less efficient short-short form.

Conversely, 26 per cent of those with the short-short allele were dissatisfied, compared with only 20 per cent of those with the long-long variant.

Even possessing one long allele increased the likelihood of being very satisfied with life by 8.5 per cent, the team found.

"It has long been suspected that this gene plays a role in mental health but this is the first study to show that it is instrumental in shaping our individual happiness levels," says De Neve.

“The results of our study suggest a strong link between happiness and this functional variation in the 5-HTT gene."

He points out that other genes - as well as one's life experiences - also influence a person's happiness levels. But, he says, "This finding helps to explain why we each have a unique baseline level of happiness and why some people tend to be naturally happier than others."

Facebook & Google in talks to buy Skype!! Lets see who will won the bid!!!

In a rat race to the finish, both Facebook and Google are reportedly thinking about purchasing Skype after the company delayed its initial public offering.

According to Reuters, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has already kicked off an internal discussion about buying Skype, or possibly forming a potential joint venture. Similarly, Google is apparently engaged in talks about a joint venture with Skype.

Skype is currently valued at $3 billion to $4 billion with its IPO expected to raise about $1 billion.

Recently, the value of the service has been somewhat undercut by rival offerings from both Google and Apple who both offer video conferencing services. 

Discussions with both Facebook and Google are still in early stages, and it’s unclear which option Skype favors.

The IPO is slated to take place in the second half of 2011, but the company is staying open to the possibility of working with other companies apart from Google and Facebook.

Both Skype and Google declined to comment, while Facebook was not immediately available for comment.

"When a company is not going public and it has been on file for a long time, one way or another something is going to happen," an unnamed source told Reuters. 

China to create alternative to human breast milk

Beijing, April 15 China will soon create dairy products from milk produced by genetically modified cattle and containing most of the nutrients as in human breast milk.

The ministry of agriculture has given the go-ahead to test the "human-like" milk, which will be available in the Chinese market in two years, said Li Ning, a researcher at the State Key Laboratories for Agro-biotechnology at China Agricultural University.

The milk, which cows produced after researchers tweaked their genetic codes, is rich in lactalbumin, lactoferrin, and lysozume - proteins that are found in human breast milk, according to Xinhua.

"Such proteins can be easily absorbed by the human body and can boost the immune system, which is why breastfeeding is always better than using bovine milk and infant formula," said Li.

Though not yet a perfect substitute for breast milk, as it lacks some antibodies and a protein that helps boost babies' intelligence, the milk had a potential for great marketing.

"The milk pumped out by our cattle will be a cheap source for such rare proteins, which are precious components hailed by the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food industries," said Li.

Though genetic engineering has been a rising technology, studied by pharmaceutical and biological industries and widely used to mass-produce vaccines and drugs like insulin, food production is yet to gain international recognition.

Similar concerns are present in the Chinese market, as consumers complain about lack of available information about the potential hazards of such food.

"I think the scientists are doing a good thing (by developing genetically-modified milk) as it may help mothers who are unable to breast feed, but I, myself, won't drink such milk just because it contains more nutrients," said a consumer named Tan.

Li Ning said they have highlighted the safety issue in their work, and that no research has yet indicated that such food was detrimental to human health.

The modified milk has reportedly passed the safety test of the Chinese Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, which said the milk "proved more healthy than the conventional one".

American Chemical Society publishes recipe for the perfect Bloody Mary

According to TG Daily, As a hat tip to the International Year of Chemistry, the American Chemical Society has officially announced the scientifically perfect Bloody Mary. Rejoice!

The Bloody Mary is often known as the premiere cocktail designed to counteract the effects of last night’s boozefest.

Rumored to have been created in New York City sometime in the 1920s, the origin of the drinks are almost as hazy as the details from last night.

According to the ACS, the perfect Bloody Mary consists of:

• 1 oz vodka
• 5 oz tomato juice
• 1/2 oz lemon juice
• pinch celery salt
• 2 shakes Worcestershire sauce
• 2 shakes Tobasco sauce
• ground black pepper

Although the recipe may seem simple, the American Chemical Society notes that the Bloody Mary is a multi-sensory experience combining both scent and flavor.

They note that the intoxicating scent is due to all the volatile compounds in the mix. The lack of stability within the compound means that it’s vital to make the drink fresh: no mixes for these scientists.

The ACS not only suggests you make the Bloody fresh, but also chill each element at every stage. The chemical reactions involving acid can be slowed if the drink stays cool enough during the mixing process.

Oddly enough, the ACS says the most important elements are the Tobasco, Worcestershire, celery salt, etc, so using cheap vodka seems to be A-OK with this crew. 

Days On Earth Have Shortened Because of Japan Earthquake

The massive earthquake that rocked Japan on 11th March has not only devastated human life and economy, but has also shortened the length of a day on the Earth. It has also shifted the mass of the planet and shortened the day of the Earth by a fraction.

A scientific analysis has shown that the intense temblor generated from the earthquake has increased the spin of the Earth. As a result, the length of the 24 hours day has become shortened by 1.8 microseconds. This has been observed by Richard Gross, a noted geophysicist working at NASA.

A microsecond is considered to be the millionth of a second. Since the distribution of the mass of the Earth has changed, the Earth is expected to rotate a bit faster and this will obviously shorten the length of the day by 1.8 microseconds. The earthquake in Japan has made the mass of the Earth get shifted towards the Equator.

Initial data collected by NASA suggested that the Japan earthquake has moved the island by 8 feet. The Japan earthquake 2011 has also shifted the figure axis of the earth by 6.5 inches, which is approximately 17 centimeters. Figure axis is very important as the mass of the Earth is balanced around it.

However, this is not for the first time that a major tremble has changed the length of the day. Massive earthquakes held in the past have also changed the length of the day by microseconds. The massive earthquake held in China last year has also shortened the length of the day by 1.26 microseconds.

Japan earthquake 2011 is the largest ever earthquake recorded in Japan and it has also been recorded as the fifth largest earthquake to strike on this earth since the year 1900. The earthquake has already expected to have killed 10,000 people and has destroyed the country’s power supply and the economy as well.

Scientists of MIT develops low-cost artificial leaf which can produce electricity!!!

 According to TG Daily MIT scientists have created what they say is the world's first practical 'artificial leaf', a solar cell the size of a playing card that mimics photosynthesis.

"A practical artificial leaf has been one of the Holy Grails of science for decades. We believe we have done it," says team leader Daniel Nocera.

"The artificial leaf shows particular promise as an inexpensive source of electricity for homes of the poor in developing countries. Our goal is to make each home its own power station."

Placed in a single gallon of water in bright sunlight, the device could produce enough electricity to supply a house in a developing country with electricity for a day, Nocera said.

It wrks by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, which are stored in a fuel celland used to produce electricity.

Artificial leaves have been around for a while - indeed, the first was created more than ten years ago. But existing versions tend to be expensive and have a short lifespan.

Nocera's new leaf is made of inexpensive materials that are widely available, works under simple conditions and is highly stable, he says. In laboratory studies, a prototype operated continuously for more than 45 hours without a drop in performance.

It's based on several newly-discovered catalysts, made of nickel and cobalt, that can efficiently split water into hydrogen and oxygen, under normal conditions. Right now, Nocera says his leaf is about 10 times more efficient at carrying out photosynthesis than a natural leaf - but says he's optimistic that he can boost efficiency much further.

"Nature is powered by photosynthesis, and I think that the future world will be powered by photosynthesis as well, in the form of this artificial leaf," he says.