Honeybee Brains Can Process Complex Visual Cues, Study

Researchers have discovered that although honeybees do not possess large primate brains, they can still process high-level cognitive tasks and solve complex visual problems.

AsianScientist (May 14, 2012) – An international research team has discovered that although honeybees do not possess large primate brains, they can still process high-level cognitive tasks and solve complex visual problems.
The research, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, hold important implications for our understanding of how cognitive capacities for viewing complex images evolved in brains, said study author Dr. Adrian Dyer from RMIT University.
Rule learning is a fundamental cognitive task that allows humans to operate in complex environments, explained Dyer.

“For example, if a driver wants to turn right at an intersection then they need to simultaneously observe the traffic light color, the flow of oncoming cars and pedestrians to make a decision,” he said.

With experience, human brains can conduct these complex decision-making processes, but this is a type of cognitive task beyond current machine vision.
The researchers wanted to understand if such simultaneous decision making required a large primate brain, or whether a honeybee might also demonstrate rule learning.
To do so, lead author Dr. Aurore Avargues-Weber from the Université de Toulouse in France trained individual honeybees to fly into a Y-shaped maze which presented different elements in specific relationships like above/below, or left/right.
With extended training the bees were able to learn that the elements had to have two sets of rules including being in a specific relationship like above/below, while also possessing elements differing from each other.
The findings, which showed that possessing a large complex brain as found in humans was not necessary to master multiple simultaneous conceptual rule learning, may someday lead to new machines that possess artificial vision.

Three New Species of Venomous Primate Identified by MU Researcher

Three New Species of Venomous Primate Identified by MU Researcher

A venomous primate with two tongues would seem safe from the pet trade, but the big-eyed, teddy-bear face of the slow loris (Nycticebus sp.) has made them a target for illegal pet poachers throughout the animal’s range in southeastern Asia and nearby islands. A University of Missouri doctoral student and her colleagues recently identified three new species of slow loris. The primates had originally been grouped with another species. Dividing the species into four distinct classes means the risk of extinction is greater than previously believed for the animals but could help efforts to protect the unusual primate.
“Four separate species are harder to protect than one, since each species needs to maintain its population numbers and have sufficient forest habitat,” said lead author Rachel Munds, MU doctoral student in anthropology in the College of Arts and Science. “Unfortunately, in addition to habitat loss to deforestation, there is a booming black market demand for the animals. They are sold as pets, used as props for tourist photos or dismembered for use in traditional Asian medicines.”
According to Munds, slow lorises are not domesticated and are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. She contends that keeping the animals as pets is cruel and that domesticating them is not feasible.
“Even zoos have difficulty meeting their nutritional needs for certain insects, tree gums and nectars,” said Munds. “Zoos rarely succeed in breeding them. Nearly all the primates in the pet trade are taken from the wild, breaking the bonds of the lorises’ complex and poorly understood social structures. The teeth they use for their venomous bite are then torn out. Many of them die in the squalid conditions of pet markets. Once in the home, pet keepers don’t provide the primates with the social, nutritional and habitat requirements they need to live comfortably. Pet keepers also want to play with the nocturnal animals during the day, disrupting their sleep patterns.”
The newly identified species hail from the Indonesian island of Borneo. Munds and her colleagues observed that the original single species contained animals with significantly different body sizes, fur thickness, habitats and facial markings. Museum specimens, photographs and live animals helped primatologists parse out four species from the original one. Now instead of one animal listed as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, there may be four endangered or threatened species. This potential change in conservation status may serve to draw attention the plight of the primates and increase legal protections.
“YouTube videos of lorises being tickled, holding umbrellas or eating with forks have become wildly popular,” said Anna Nekaris, study co-author, primatology professor at Oxford Brookes University and MU graduate. “CNN recently promoted loris videos as ‘feel good’ entertainment. In truth, the lorises gripping forks or umbrellas were simply desperate to hold something. The arboreal animals are adapted to spending their lives in trees constantly clutching branches. Pet keepers rarely provide enough climbing structures for them.”
The pet trade isn’t the only threat to loris survival. The animals also are used in Asian traditional medicines. The methods used to extract the medicines can be exceedingly violent, according to Nekaris, who also is director of the slow loris advocacy organization, Little Fireface Project. For example, in order to obtain tears of the big-eyed lorises, skewers are inserted into the animals’ anuses and run through their bodies until they exit the mouth. The still-living animals are then roasted over a smoky fire and the tea

Voyager 1 is leaving the solar system, but the journey continues

Voyager 1 is leaving the solar system, but the journey continues

   A VIEW OF VOYAGER 1

At 18.5 billion kilometres from Earth, the Voyager 1 space probe is the most distant human-made object ever to leave our planet.
And now the spacecraft, which was launched in September 1977, has discovered a new region at the edge of our solar system.
Voyager 1 is now entering what space scientists think is the final region of the “heliosphere” – the bubble of charged particles the sun blows around itself – before it reaches interstellar space.
For a spacecraft that’s now in the darkest reaches of the solar system, it’s easy to forget its mission is really all about the Sun.
Voyager 1 and 2 are now in the “heliosheath” – the outermost layer of the heliosphere where the solar wind is slowed by the pressure of interstellar gas.
On Earth, we are at the mercy of solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and the vast amounts of electromagnetic energy and particles those phenomena fling our way. We can’t see these particles, but they can take out power grids and exposed satellites.
There are several missions close to the Sun, including NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which is studying the dynamics of the Sun, 36,000km from Earth. Questions of interest include: where does the sun’s energy come from? And how is it stored and released in the sun’s atmosphere?
Voyager 1 is at the other end of the solar system, where the solar wind starts to meet with particles and magnetic fields from outside the solar system. And it seems that the interaction is more complex than we could have predicted.
Interstellar turbulence
Since December 2004 Voyager 1 has been travelling in the “heliosheath” where the solar wind has slowed from supersonic speeds and become turbulent.
This set of animations show NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft exploring a new region in our solar system called the “magnetic highway.” In this region, the Sun’s magnetic field lines are connected to interstellar magnetic field lines, allowing particles from inside the heliosphere to zip away and particles from interstellar space to zoom in.
From August 2012 Voyager 1 has entered a region where these solar winds have sped up and where high-energy particles from outside the solar system are also entering the heliosphere.
According to Edward Stone, Voyager project scientist: "Voyager 1 still is inside the the Sun’s environment, we can now taste what it is like on the outside because the particles are zipping in and out on this magnetic highway."
It’s an intense magnetic region that was not expected from models and will take some time to understand and interpret.
This discovery is remarkable in itself – more remarkable in that it was reported by an instrument designed in the early 1970s.
Old-time tech
Data from Voyager 1’s ten instruments, including three cameras, are stored on a 500 megabit (62.5MB) tape recorder.
That is sufficient capacity to store about 100 images or a few graphs worth of data at a time, before it is beamed to Earth as a stream of binary data, with a theoretical upper rate of 14.4 kilobits per second, a rate far slower than a dial-up modem of 56 kilobits per second.
Both Voyager spacecraft – you might remember that Voyager 1 has a twin, Voyager 2 – have three computers. One decodes commands from Earth and issues them to the other two, one handles data from the instruments, and one manages the spacecraft.
The computers have a tiny amount of memory, with memories ranging from 4 to 8KB, barely enough to run a modern car’s trip computer.
It’s not about the destination…On its journey to the extremities of the Sun’s influence, Voyager 1 revealed Jupiter’s rings and moons to us in May 1979. It flew by Saturn, snapping photos of the planet’s rings and the mysterious hazy atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan.
Then it left the ecliptic – the plane in which most of the planets orbit the sun – heading “up”, out of the solar system.
During 1998 Voyager 1 overtook the slower Pioneer 10 and 11 crafts – which were launched to investigate Jupiter and more – becoming the furthest human artefact from Earth. It’s a record that’s likely to stand for some time, given Voyager 1 is travelling at some 520 million kilometres a year.
Its twin, Voyager 2, was actually launched before Voyager 1, on August 20, 1977. Its interplanetary grand tour took it past Jupiter in July 1979, Saturn in August 1981, Uranus in June 1986 and Neptune in August 1989. Now travelling at a mere 470 million kilometres every year it is heading out of the solar system, below the ecliptic plane.
Both Voyagers took advantage of a planetary alignment that only occurs once every 170 years. Their trajectories enabled the Voyagers to receive a gravity-assisted boost to their speed and direction. Without this, the trip to Neptune would have take 30 rather than ten years and they would be far short of their current positions.
Echoes in space
Currently, our sense of the interstellar boundary comes from the merest whisper. Voyager 1 outputs 23W of radio power – barely even a glow by light-bulb standards. We hear this whisper on Earth at the limit of NASA’s Deep Space Network, requiring the pooled resources of two antennae at whichever site is in contact, at a ghostly 6x10-18 W – an almost unimaginably small signal.
This remarkable spacecraft represents the extent of our physical senses in the solar system. From the surface of the Earth, our astronomers can remotely sense faraway galaxies and observe intergalactic events far into the distance and deep in time.
But closer to home, there’s so much we don’t know. And opportunities to continue our exploration outside the bubble are limited.
Powering downVoyager 1 has only five functioning instruments left from its original ten. As the power in its plutonium-238 batteries runs down towards 2050, the instruments will be turned off one by one, much like house lights winking out in the night.
Voyager 1’s whisper will at last fall silent and the same fate awaits Voyager 2.
How will we feel when we can no longer “see” beyond the enigmatic borders of the sun’s influence? How will we feel when the solar system appears to contract around us?
Of course, even when the two Voyagers stop communicating with Earth, their journey will continue apace, pushing beyond the confines of our solar system into the unfathomable vastness beyond.

Scientists Discover New type of "Cross Presenting" White Blood Cells.................

Researchers in Newcastle and Singapore have identified a new type of white blood cell that activates a killing immune response to an external source.
Researchers have identified a new type of white blood cell that activates a killing immune response to an external source – a feature known as ‘cross-presentation.’ 
Publishing in the journal Immunity, the team of researchers from Newcastle University and A*STAR’s Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) describe a new human tissue dendritic cell with cross-presenting function.
Dendritic cells (DCs) are a type of white blood cell that orchestrate our body’s immune responses to infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells. The cells kick start an immune response by presenting small fragments of the foreign micro-organism – called antigens – on their surface, which then activate T cells that eliminate the cancerous or infected cells. 
Unlike most cells which are only able to present antigens from within themselves, and so will only elicit an immune response if they are infected, a specialized subset of DCs is able to generate a response to an external source of antigen. But the identity of human tissue DCs that are capable of ‘cross-presentation’ has remained a mystery until now.

“These are the cells we need to be targeting for anti-cancer vaccines,” said lead author Dr. Muzlifah Haniffa of Newcastle University. “Our discovery offers an accessible, easily targetable system which makes the most of the natural ability of the cell.”

The researchers also showed for the first time that dendritic cell subsets are conserved between humans and mice.
To compare between species, the team isolated cross-presenting DCs from human skin and also from mouse blood, lung, and liver. Using gene expression analysis, they identified gene signatures for each human dendritic cell subset. Mouse orthologues of these genes were identified and computational analysis was used to match subsets across species.

“The cross-species map is in effect a Rosetta stone that deciphers the language of mouse into human,” said senior co-author Matthew Collin, who is a professor of hematology at Newcastle University.

 Friends!!!!!!!!!!!! Get ready!!!!!!!!!!! for science quizzing..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1. In 1787, Carl Axel Arrhenius found a previously unknown mineral near the town of Ytterby, Sweden, and decided to call it ytterbite.

In 1789, a Finnish chemist, ______, discovered a new metal in ytterbite and called it ytterbium. Incidentally, this chemist has another metal named after him. Name him.

2. It was the 451{+s}{+t}birth anniversary of the Flemish mathematician Adriaan van Roomen on September 29.

In 1593, he set the world record for finding the then-most precise value of a very famous number. What is the number called?

3. USA has a large stockpile of nuclear missiles, many of which possess a plutonium warhead. However, instead of periodically testing the capability of the warheads, the country relies on a special gun called JASPER owned by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to safely simulate how a plutonium-bomb would explode.

What does the “A” in JASPER stand for? Hint: It is a class of metals of which plutonium is a path.

4. Name the Indian mathematician awarded the prestigious Infosys Prize for Mathematical Sciences in 2011.

5. On September 28, China deployed its first aircraft-carrier; it is named Liaoning . It is 304 metres long, 75 metres wide, and weighs a maximum of 55,000 tons.

Its hull was purchased from Ukraine in 1998. The Liaoning holds the ominous distinction of being one of only two ships of which class of ships? Hint: The other ship in this class is also the name of the class itself!

6. The ______ meteorite crashed on Earth between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago. On September 26, it was found that a small Tibetan sculpture called the ‘Iron Man’ may have been made from a piece of rock from that meteorite. The statue currently resides in Germany after the Nazis brought it from Tibet during World War II.

7. Which undersea animal, exhibiting features of both octopuses and squids, is the only one to consume dead organisms? All other octopuses and squids go for living prey. Hint: It has an evil-sounding name!

8. Which popular science magazine is the oldest continuously-published magazine in the United States of America?

It has a publication history going back 167 years, and many famous scientists, like Albert Einstein, have written articles for it!

9. September 27, 2012, marked the 50{+t}{+h}anniversary of which famous book written by Rachel Carson that is widely considered to have kickstarted the modern environmental movement?

10. The Curiosity rover on Mars has 17 cameras mounted on it: eight HazCams, four NavCams, two X s, one ChemCam, and two called MAHLI and MARDI. X is the camera responsible for the high-resolution pictures taken of Gale Crater, the crater in which the rover is studying the red planet from. Name X .

 Here are your answers.......

 ANSWERS1. Johan Gadolin 2. Pi; van Roomen found the value of pi to 15 decimal places 3. Actinide 4. Dr. Kannan Soundararajan 5. Admiral Kuznetsov class 6. Chinga meteorite  7. Vampyroteuthis infernalis – “Vampire squid from Hell”! 8. Scientific American                  9. Silent Spring   10. MastCam

Guys!!!!!!!!! Do you know about extinction????? It means the complete disappearance of a certain species of animals or any living organisms form the earth....... do you remember one of my earlier blogs?????

This is one of the recent articles of illegal hunting in Kaziranga National Park In Assam. Read and Share....!!!

Record elephant, rhino poaching in 2011: WWF  

PTIIn this file photo, policemen stand near the carcass of rhino killed by poachers at the Kaziranga National Park. Elephant and rhino poaching surged to record levels in 2011, a report commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund has said.

Elephant and rhino poaching surged to record levels in 2011 and an increase in illegal tiger hunting makes the species’ extinction a real near-term threat with only about 3,200 of the big cats left in the wild, according to a report commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund.

The report, launched on Wednesday, found that illicit trade in wildlife is worth at least $19 billion a year with organised criminals viewing it as high profit and low risk because governments don’t give it a high enough priority and haven’t implemented an effective response.

Germany’s U.N. Ambassador Peter Wittig, who hosted the launch, said strong demand and high prices for rhino horn and elephant ivory in particular have spurred poaching, which is an organised crime.

“2011 was the highest year on record for elephant poaching- ivory estimated to weigh more than 23 metric tons a figure that represents 2,500 elephants was confiscated in 2011,” Mr. Wittig said. “And the illegal poaching of rhinos surged to a record high in 2011, with a final death toll of 448 rhinos in southern Africa alone.”

Mr. Wittig stressed that it isn’t only rhinos and elephants that are at risk.

“There may be as few as 3,200 wild tigers left in the world and the increase in poaching makes extinction of tiger species a very real threat,” he said.

According to the report, although illicit wildlife trafficking has a well-documented link to other forms of illegal trafficking, the financing of rebel groups, corruption and money laundering, “the issue is primarily seen as an environmental issue, which puts it low on governments’ agendas.”

They also called for governments to be held accountable for enforcing regulations on wildlife, including imposing sanctions where necessary, and a campaign to reduce demand for endangered species.

The World Wildlife Fund, known as WWF, and TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, called on governments to recognise the threat to their sovereignty posed by illegal wildlife trafficking and treat the crime “equally and in coordination with efforts to halt other forms of illegal trafficking, corruption and money laundering.”

“Wildlife crime has escalated alarmingly in the past decade,” said Jim Leape, director general of WWF International. “It is driven by global crime syndicates, and so we need a concentrated global response.”

The report was produced for WWF by Dalberg Global Development Advisors, a strategic consulting firm that says it “works to raise living standards in developing countries and address global issues such as climate change.”

Keywords: Organised wildlife trafficking, elephant poaching, rhino poaching, tiger hunting, World Wildlife Fund, TRAFFIC, wildlife trade monitoring network

Ever wondered what is the specialty of 12-12-12 ???? well it is the last day with repeating, same order  of this century. in this celebration...... The Hindu posted this article......... READ AND ENJOY!!!!!!

As part of The Hindu in School ’s endeavour to highlight the 12/12/12 phenomenon, we bring to the fore the top 12 newsmakers of 2012. These people made it to the front pages of newspapers worldwide this year.

MALALA YOUSAFZAI

A school student and education activist from Swat district in Pakistan, Malala Yousafzai made the headlines when she was brutally attacked by the Taliban. Known for her education and women’s rights activism in Swat valley, she lives in a place where the Taliban had banned girls from attending school. In 2009, she wrote a blog for the BBC explaining her life under Taliban rule.

The next year, a documentary was filmed by The New York Times about her life. After that she rose to prominence.

In a bid to assassinate her, Taliban gunmen shot her in the head and neck when she was returning home on a school bus. The attack on her evoked worldwide criticism.

SUU KYI

Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader and Nobel peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi won a historic election to enter the country’s parliament. It was a momentous victory following a decades-long fight for democracy. The polls saw Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy win 40 out of the 45 seats.

BARACK OBAMA

Barack Obama won a historic election to get a second term as U.S. President. He overcame a stiff challenge from Republican Mitt Romney. 51-year-old Obama is the first African American to occupy the White House.

AJMAL KASAB

Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, the lone survivor of the Pakistan-based militant squad responsible for a rampage through Mumbai that killed 166 people, was hanged to death at a jail in Pune. His hanging sparked celebrations in Mumbai and other cities.

BO XILAI

Tipped to be one of China’s promising leaders, Bo Xilai’s fall from grace was very controversial. He may eventually spend many years behind bars. Bo’s wife Gu Kailai was held for the murder of Neil Heywood, a British businessman and a family friend. Police Chief Wang Lijun, one of Bo’s loyalists helped cover up the crime but later turned against him by revealing the truth. Gu Kailai was given a suspended death sentence for murdering Neil Heywood.

FACEBOOK ROW

The police arrested two young women Shaheen Dhada and Renu Srinivasan over a Facebook post that spoke about the disruption in Mumbai after the death of Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray. The arrest evoked widespread condemnation. The Press Council of India said the arrests are absurd and unconstitutional. The Supreme Court, entertaining a writ petition that challenged the provision Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, decided to examine the section’s constitutional validity.

ARUN KUMAR YADAV

Fourteen-year-old Arun Kumar Yadav, a student of class IX at Kendriya Vidayalaya, Chandigarh, won the Doodle for Google competition this year. His artwork was displayed as Google Doodle on November 14, Children’s day.

ARVIND KEJRIWAL

Arvind Kejriwal (44), a social activist, who joined hands with Gandhian Anna Hazare to fight corruption in the government under the banner of India Against Corruption, took the political plunge by launching a party. He joined hands with advocate Prashanth Bhushan and like-minded people to formally announce the Aam Aadmi Party.

JULIAN ASSANGE

Julian Assange is an Australian editor, activist, publisher and journalist. He is best known as the editor-in-chief and founder of WikiLeaks, which publishes submissions of secret information, and classified media from anonymous news sources and whistleblowers.

WikiLeaks rose to international attention in 2010 when it began to publish U.S. military and diplomatic documents. To evade arrest, he has been inside the Ecuador embassy in London since June 2012, where he has been granted diplomatic asylum.

IROM SHARMILA

Irom Sharmila completed 12 years of hunger strike in November against the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. Manipur’s famous civil activist has not been taking food or water since 2000. The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), passed in 1958, grants special powers to the armed forces in North Eastern States.

PALESTINE STATE

The United Nations voted overwhelmingly to recognise a Palestinian state. The vote was a victory for the Palestinians after years of occupation and war.

Foreign experts took samples from the grave of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat as part of an attempt to determine whether he was poisoned with polonium-210 as claimed by his relatives and political successors.

JACINTHA SALDANHA

Jacintha Saldanha (46) is believed to have taken her own life after she was duped by two Australian radio presenters seeking news on Prince William’s wife Kate Middleton’s pregnancy.

Saldanha was found dead, days after answering a call to the hospital from hosts at Sydney’s 2Day FM radio posing as Queen Elizabeth II and William’s father Prince Charles.

The nurse’s death has triggered a global wave of anger.

Hey Guys!!!!!!!!!! I don't know whether you were interested in my articles..... but this article will definitely be a backbone for your coolness for your EXAMS!!!!!!!!!!!!.........

 

How to DE-stress during exams

Being positive and falling into the habit of doing things on time can go a long way

don't worry...School children do some last minute revision before their examinations. Small changes in your lifestyle can minimize stress.

Exam time tends to make the best of us nervous. Keeping these things in mind can make it a lot easier on you.

Focused like a compass

Make sure you keep your goals very reasonable. Focus and concentrate on your work like a compass. The compass shows only one direction and guides mariners to their destinations. Once your destination or goal is set, keep working towards it.

For example, if you hold a magnifying glass on a sunny day over a piece of paper and do not move your hand while focusing and concentrating on it, the paper lights up. Now try moving your hand and observe the change. If you focus and concentrate you can reach your goals.

One day a man was walking on a road and he asked an old man, standing nearby where the road leads to. The old man enquired, “Where do you want to go?” The man was not sure where he wanted to go. The old man said, “Does it make any difference if you go wherever the road leads to?”

The same story applies to all of us. If we do not set goals or plan our destination, we cannot achieve success.

Your life is like a pencil

Allow your parents, teachers and grandparents to hold, sharpen and train you. The more you are sharpened, the better the output will be; the more you are trained and made tough, the better a human being you will be. Tolerating bitterness and unpleasant experiences will make you a better person.

Every little step counts

Doing a little more can make you more successful. Get up 10 minutes earlier and sleep 10 minutes later. Twenty minutes each day adds up to almost two and half hours a week and nine hours a month. If you spend those 20 minutes each day making minor improvements, you can accomplish a lot. Get into the habit of taking small positive steps, which will create everlasting success.

Most important of all is health

Eat right, exercise, practice yoga and meditation. Change your lifestyle. It is all in your hands. You have the key to youthfulness, vitality and a vibrant life. Your quality of life will improve remarkably!

The rule of good eating is ‘to have breakfast like a king, lunch like a princess and dinner like a pauper.’ But we do it all wrong!

Finally be calm, happy and cheerful. Develop a positive attitude and a habit of doing things now!

“Never leave till tomorrow which you can do today” - Benjamin Franklin

Yashu Quizzes!!!!!!!

Friends!!!!!!!!! ready for some action quizzing with me ????????? well.... i post the young world quizzes as a study material and as a challenging post to prove yourselves.....................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Quiz Time

Questions

1. In which city in Uttar Pradesh did a skirmish start on this date in 1857, leading to the Indian War of Independence (also known as Sepoy Mutiny)?

2. What was “Operation Neptune’s Spear”?

3. On this date in 1994, history was made in South Africa with the inauguration of a Nobel Laureate as its first black president. Who?

4. Which are the world’s highest-altitude migrants?

5. Which Indian State capital is served by the Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport?

6. In the yummy dish Gatte ki Sabji, what is the main ingredient used to make the gatte?

The name of the car: Petals of a flower.

7. What five-lettered term is used for an individual derived asexually from the same single parent?

8. How many strings in a “chitraveena”?

9. Which is the only U.S. state whose name is just one syllable?

10. Which famous William Shakespeare play begins “When shall we three meet again, in thunder, lightening, or in rain”?

11. Which Toyota brand has the name by which the petals of a flower are referred?

12. What does a somnambulist do?

Photo: AP

In the news: The Collegiate Church of St. Peter in London.

13. The Collegiate Church of St. Peter in London was in the news recently for a royal event. How is it better known?

14. Which is the largest country through which the equator passes?

15. Which island nation’s mascot or symbol is the ‘Merlion’?

   Quiz Time

Questions

1. Name the African country with Malabo celebrating its Independence from Spain on this date in 1968.

2. Which part of a living being’s body does a Craniologist study?

3. In the context of Oceania, what is the claim to fame of Puncak Jaya?

4. Complete the proverb: “You cannot make a silk purse…?

5. What is a regular polyhedron with 20 identical equilateral triangular faces, 30 edges and 12 vertices called?

6. For what specific occasion and for what reason was the Eiffel Tower built?

7. What action of Germany on May 7, 1915 is considered by experts as the prime reason for the U.S. entering WWI?

8. Metrology is the science of…?

9. Approximately two-thirds of a person’s body weight is made up of a combination of which two elements?

10. Which famous global brand was founded by Ingvar Kamprad in Sweden in the early 1940s? 

Eiffel Tower : Why was it built?

11. In which Formula One GP did Ayrton Senna lose his life?

12. Name the Flintstones’ pet sabre-toothed cat.

13. Which famous automobile group is headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany?

14. Which Himalayan, ape-like creature is likened to the Bigfoot of North America?

15. What is the Queen of England’s Royal Palace and Fortress commonly called?

   Quiz Time

Questions

1. Name the Nobel Laureate and leader who was born Lhamo Dondrub on this date in 1935.

2. Name the land-locked African country with Lilongwe as its capital that celebrates its Independence Day today.

3. Where would one be if the plane touched down at the Chek Lap Kok Airport?

4. In which Indian State is the famous Rumtek Monastery?

5. The upcoming film ‘The Social Network’ is about which Internet phenomenon?

6. What are red, transparent corundum commonly called?

7. If Lukas Podolski won the Best Young Player award at the FIFA World Cup in 2006, who won it in 2002?

8. Which comic book character gets his name from the common name for the animal with the scientific name ‘gulo gulo’?

9. ‘Davy Jones’ Locker’ is a euphemism for…?

10. What was the nationality of Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit after whom the temperature scale is named?

11. The holiest day of the year for religious Jews is called…?

12. Alphabetically, which is the first of the 88 modern constellations?

13. In which French city is Interpol headquartered?

14. Apart from South Korea, from which other Asian country has an UN Secretary-General been appointed?

15. According to folklore, which type of fairies spent their time making footwear or clothes?

  

Quiz Time

Questions

1. On this date in 1896, which major event made its ‘modern’ appearance, 1503 years after the last one?

2. Name the term, used commonly in context of a superhero’s identity, which comes from the Latin for ‘the other I’?

3. On which river is the contentious Nimo Bazgo Dam scheduled to come up?

4. If Sony makes the PS3, who makes the Game Boy series of gaming consoles?

5. Whose arch-enemy in literary fiction was Professor James Moriarty?

6. Which is the only country that is crossed by both the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn?

7. What is the capital of the country in which the famous volcano Cotopaxi is located?

8. How many standard cricket pitches, laid out end-to-end, would cover two furlongs?

9. Which team has won the Ranji Trophy the most number of times?

10. Which of these is not a woodwind instrument: trumpet, flute or the nadhaswaram?

11. Of which dynasty, founded in the 18th Century, was Mir Qamar-ud-din Khan the first in lineage?

12. Which festival in Judaism recalls the deliverance of Jews from slavery in Egypt?

13. Which global organisation is behind the ‘Earth Hour’ observed on March 27?

14. Alphabetically, which is the first and last of the alkaline earth metals?

15. Raphanus sativus is the binomial name for which common vegetable?

   

Quiz Time

Questions

1. Name the Asian country with the capital Bandar Seri Begawan celebrating its National Day on this date i.e. February 23.

2. Which famous Italian composer wrote the popular ‘Le quattro stagioni’?

3. Which Oscar-winning classic is based on The Seven Pillars of Wisdom?

4. Which omnivore is usually used to find truffles, a fungal fruiting body, that is a prized cuisine delicacy?

5. After whom is India’s first dedicated meteorological satellite named?

6. What famous discovery did the British Egyptologist Howard Carter make in February 1923?

7. The Chinese New Year which began on February 14 is the Year of the…?

8. In the story ‘Jack and the beanstalk’, which musical instrument did Jack steal from the giant?

9. Two of the greatest Indians, ‘Chacha’ and ‘Bapu’, were trained to practise a profession. What is it?

10. Which king was responsible for building the imposing ‘Vijay Stambha’ in Chittorgarh?

11. ‘Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka’ (Made of Hundreds of Flowers) is the National Anthem of…?

12. Which is the only planet in our Solar System that is less dense than water?

13. Which of these States has less than two MPs in the present Lok Sabha: Tripura, Meghalaya or Mizoram?

14. Name the village which is the origin of Lord Voldemort’s maternal and paternal ancestors and where he was restored to bodily form in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

15. In ice hockey, how many players from each side are allowed on the ice at any one time?