Ring around the asteroid: Scientists make surprise discovery

This is an artist's interpretation of the asteroid Chariklo.ESO/L. Calçada/M. Kornmesser/Nick Risinger

A faraway asteroid named Chariklo is traveling through space with two unusual companions: a couple of dense, narrow rings. The discovery came as quite a surprise. Multiple sites around South America, including the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory in Chile, observed the extraordinary feature.

"This is the smallest object by far found to have rings, and only the fifth body in the Solar System -- after the much larger planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune -- to have this feature," the European Southern Observatory noted in a release about the find. There is no definitive answer as to how the rings got there, but scientists speculate they may have been created from a debris field caused by an impact, along with ice.

Icy Chariklo orbits the sun between Saturn and Uranus. One of its rings is just over four miles wide, while the other ring is just under two miles wide, making them quite slim. The rings were found during a routine observation as the asteroid passed in front of a star.

Chariklo is named for a mythological nypmh who was married to a centaur. The rings have been given their own nicknames, Oiapoque and Chuí, after two rivers located in Brazil. The presence of the rings may indicate the asteroid also has a small moon, or that the rings could eventually form into a moon. It's likely Chariklo isn't done surprising us yet."We weren't looking for a ring and didn't think small bodies like Chariklo had them at all, so the discovery -- and the amazing amount of detail we saw in the system -- came as a complete surprise!" says Felipe Braga-Ribas, the lead author of a paper on the find published in the journal Nature.

This artist's rendering shows what the view from inside the asteroid's rings might look like.

Cyborgs to vie in Olympics for robot-assisted athletes

D'Arc. Studio Associates Architects

In October 2016, a few months after the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, cyborgs will descend upon Zurich for an Olympics of their own.

They'll be competing in the Cybathlon, the first championship games for robot-assisted parathletes. The games will feature some of the most advanced prosthetics, exoskeletons, wheelchairs, and brain computer interfaces around to test athletes' speed, dexterity, and concentration and showcase the potential of today's -- and tomorrow's -- assistive devices.

In one event, for example, athletes who have lost function in their legs will navigate a race course wearing a powered robotic exoskeleton along the lines of a ReWalk or Rex. They will walk up and down a ramp, step on pillars of varying heights, and walk a narrow beam. At certain points along the course, they will carry a weight.

They'll also ascend and descend stairs (at least two spotters will stand at the base of the steps to catch the Cybathletes, known as "pilots," in case they stumble. Handrails will also be mounted, though participants will be discouraged from using them.)

Similarly, in the arms prosthetics race, athletes with forearm or upper-arm amputations will be fitted with actuated prosthetic devices and charged with speedily completing tasks on hand-arm courses, including one that requires following a metal wire with a conductive wire loop -- without touching the wire.

D'Arc. Studio Associates Architects

Those paralyzed from the neck down will also have events to choose from. One, the FES bike race, will feature cycles that allow riders to pedal around a circular course with help from Functional Electrical Stimulation devices, which apply small electrical pulses to paralyzed muscles to restore or improve their function.

Pilots competing in the BCI race, meanwhile, will use a brain computer interface to control an avatar in a horse or car racing game filled with obstacles such as trenches, rocks, and bushes. The game has yet to be designed; a prototype will appear on the Cybathlon Web site once it has been so teams can train.

The Cybathlon will be hosted by Switzerland's ETH Zurich andNational Centre of Competence in Research Robotics, which was launched by the Swiss National Science Foundation to develop robotic technology that improves humans' quality of life.To participate in this event, pilots need to have completely lost motor function below the neck, though "no specific diagnosis (e.g. stroke, SCI, ALS) is excluded by default," the guidelines say. "Pilots will be judged on a case-by-case basis with regard to motor and cognitive impairment."

The main objectives of the novel Olympics, according to the organizers, are to promote the development of advanced assistive systems; improve public awareness of human-focused robotic technologies; and give robot-assisted parathletes a new forum for showing off some superhuman feats.

Study finds online gamers aren't antisocial basement dwellers

Researchers say online gaming expands, not reduces, gamers' social lives.Nick Taylor

In an announcement that likely won't surprise gamers themselves, researchers who analyzed the behaviors of thousands of online gamers -- mostly those playing massively multiplayer online role-playing games such as World of Warcraft -- found that loners are the outliers, not the norm, and that online gaming can actually enhance one's social life.

Reporting in The Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, researchers at North Carolina State University, York University, and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology say they traveled to more than 20 gaming events in Canada and the UK that ranged from 20-player events in bars to 2,500-player competitions in convention centers. After observing thousands of gamers in these settings, the researchers conducted an in-depth survey with nearly 400 of them.

The researchers were looking for how these players communicated with others in both their online and offline worlds, and found that instead of eliminating social interactions, online gaming supplemented them. They say players weren't just gaming, they were watching other games, talking, drinking, and chatting online.

"Gamers aren't the antisocial basement-dwellers we see in pop culture stereotypes; they're highly social people," Dr. Nick Taylor, an assistant professor of communication at NC State and lead author of the study, said in a school news release. "This won't be a surprise to the gaming community, but it's worth telling everyone else. Loners are the outliers in gaming, not the norm."

Still, at the very least the researchers established that, at least in social gaming settings outside the confines of our dark basements, players are socially engaged, and on several levels. Whether those players are outliers or the norm, and what percentage of their gaming time is spent at social events versus in the privacy of their own homes, seem to be matters for future study.Of course, Dr. Taylor and his team were observing gamers in social settings, not in their basements, and they don't explain how they chose the gamers they surveyed more closely, but it's possible that -- intentionally or not -- they surveyed people who were simply more social and willing to be, you know, surveyed.

Karachi police traced Laskar-e-Jhangvi link in Ch Aslam’s assassination

WEB DESK – The latest turn in the investigations of Ch Aslam’s murder raised fingers at banned sectarian militant outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ)’s operatives for being involved in the assassination.

According to the televised reports, the police in Karachi moved a step closer in arresting the murderers of its bravest soldier martyred in the line of duty as one Mufti Mohammad Shakir was being held for holding alleged connections with the assailants of Ch Aslam.

Mufti Mohammad Shakir was held from SITE area in Karachi who then told the investigators that the suicide bomber ‘Naeemuallah’ who attacked Ch Aslam’s vehicle was his close ally and disciple.

Shakir further explained during investigations that Lashkar-e-Jhangvi operator Umar had asked him to provide a suicide bomber to slay Aslam. Shakir presented himself for the attack but Umar chose young Naeemullah.

CID Police Investigation In-charge Mazhar Mashwani confirmed the arrest of Shakir but refused to share details with media when approached. “Mufti Shakir has been arrested and is in jail,” he made a brief statement.

Ch Aslam, famous CID officer, was assassinated in Karachi on January 9 earlier this year. However, primarily the outlawed militant group of Taliban claimed the responsibility of the attack.

Lahore High Court seeks more arguments on petition favoring Taliban’s office in Pakistan

Lahore- Lahore High Court (LHC) has sought further arguments from the petitioner on his petition on talks with Taliban and opening of Taliban’s political office in Pakistan.

Chief Justice LHC Omar Atta Bandial heard the petition today. The petitioner Kashif Sulemani advocate took the plea that negotiations with Taliban cannot be successful without allowing them to open their political office in Pakistan. Court should take a suo moto notice on making the talks with Taliban successful so that peace could be restored in the country.

The court remarked the powers of high court on taking suo motu notice stand dispensed with following Supreme Court decision. Under what law the courts can interfere in the policy matters of the government. If there is any such law then the court should be assisted on this count, said the court. The court while adjourning the hearing of the case till 9th May, summoned the petitioner for further arguments

All-in-one: Intel gears up to reinvent desktop PC

Intel’s desktop business was up 7% on a year-on-year basis in the fourth quarter of 2013, which remained a strong period for the desktop platform volume, Intel Pakistan said on Thursday.

KARACHI: After a significant growth in the latest quarter, Intel is now gearing up for product enhancement and improved features to reinvent desktop computing, according to an official press release.

Intel’s desktop business was up 7% on a year-on-year basis in the fourth quarter of 2013, which remained a strong period for the desktop platform volume, Intel Pakistan said on Thursday.

The California-based manufacturer of semiconductors unveiled a set of roadmap enhancements, platform features and software partnerships to help drive the reinvention of desktop computing, the statement said.

“The desktop business is a large and important segment for Intel, and we are investing in it – reinventing form factors, experiences and products for our customers,” the statement said, quoting Lisa Graff who is the vice president and general manager for Intel’s Desktop Client Platform Group.

Compelling new form factors such as mini PCs and desktop all-in-ones (AIOs) are driving excitement within the category, and Intel is helping deliver new capabilities that consumers and businesses want, the statement says.

The chip-making giant previewed a special unlocked fourth generation Intel Core processor – code-named Devil’s Canyon – at the Game Developers Conference. The product, which is due in mid-2014, includes improved thermal interface and CPU packaging materials that are expected to enable significant enhancements to performance and overclocking capabilities, it said.

For those who demand the highest processor core count and memory bandwidth on the desktop, Intel will deliver an 8-core, 16-thread Intel Core processor Extreme Edition in the second half of this year.

Intel also announced plans for an Intel Pentium processor ‘anniversary edition’ commemorating more than 20 years of the Pentium brand, featuring unlocked multipliers that allow the ability to increase the core and memory frequencies independently from the rest of the system.

Additionally, plans for unlocked desktop versions of the upcoming fifth generation Intel Core processor with Iris Pro graphics, code-named ‘Broadwell’, were confirmed.

Initiating sell-off: PTA holds information session for bidders

The PTA is auctioning three licences in 3G band and two licences in 4G spectrum. PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: As the country moves closer to the spectrum auction for next-generation mobile broadband internet services, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) briefed prospective bidders about the process during an information session in Islamabad on Thursday.

PTA Chairman Syed Ismail Shah briefed senior officers of mobile operator companies – potential bidders for the spectrum auction – about different aspects of the upcoming auction process and arrangements made by the apex telecom regulator, according to a press release.

The consultation session provided professional analysis on the whole bidding process as per PTA’s Information Memorandum (IM) – the main policy document for the spectrum auction – and for the successful completion of the auction in a transparent manner.

Expressing keen interest in the upcoming spectrum auction, which is due on April 23, the bidders noted that the new mobile services will help improve performance in various sectors of the economy, the statement said.

Representatives from Value Partners Management Consulting – the international consultants hired by the PTA for spectrum evaluation and advice on the auction process – and senior officers of the PTA were also present in the meeting.

If the auction is held on schedule, the country will see the rollout of advance mobile technologies, such as 3G shortly after the auction and 4G in a year from the date of auction. The PTA is auctioning three licences in 3G band and two licences in 4G spectrum and expects to raise more than $1.2 billion from the proceeds of the auction.