Business Pivot Point

A ban on plastic bags is coming into effect in Italy, which has one of the highest rates of consumption of the bags in Europe.

The ban begins in shops across Italy on 1 January, with only biodegradable, cloth or paper bags to be offered.

Italians use 20 billion plastic bags a year - more than 300 per person.

Supporters of the ban say plastic bags are an environmental hazard which use too much oil to produce and can take decades to break down.

The law for a gradual ban on plastic bags was introduced in 2006.

It is quite amazing the way internet has influenced business, commerce and even daily life of men. It has made life quite easy for us. People are so much used to internet that they get restless if they are not able to be online for few days. We depend on internet for most of our work. We do not have to visit a bank for transactions. It can be done online. We can pay our utility bills online. We can even take classes online, attend exams online. When we want any services or products, we search over the internet and find out which one would be best for us. We rely on internet heavily for communication. We would have almost forgotten writing letters by hand. We are more used to sending emails. Internet can facilitate us to share photos, videos, files etc.

Not only that we can finalize any deals over internet. Suppose, we want to see some invitation pattern or Logo Design Packages, we can see the samples online. The order and payment could be done online too.

It is also now easy to get internet connection. Now that we have wi-fi and other wire free infrastructure, we may be able to get connection within 24 hours.

Scientists in the US have succeeded in developing the first synthetic living cell.

The researchers constructed a bacterium’s “genetic software” and transplanted it into a host cell.

The resulting microbe then looked and behaved like the species “dictated” by the synthetic DNA.

The advance, published in Science, has been hailed as a scientific landmark, but critics say there are dangers posed by synthetic organisms.

Dr Craig Venter says yeast, chemicals, and computers were used by scientists

The researchers hope eventually to design bacterial cells that will produce medicines and fuels and even absorb greenhouse gases.

The team was led by Dr Craig Venter of the J Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) in Maryland and California.

Internet is a big milestone in the advancement of technology. The scope of internet is very wide and is expanding day by day. It has enabled easy solutions to many tasks which were earlier monotonous. If you conduct a survey in US on the usage of internet, the study would reveal that almost every household and every family members use internet. Adults use internet to pay their utility bills, check information, book tickets, arrange tours, communicate, share files, work from home etc. The youngsters use internet to download music, download movies, for entertainment, for their studies, etc. Children use internet for playing games etc. Internet has become a world in itself. It is never a boring job to sit before the internet hours together. Because there are a variety of entertainment options that are available on the internet. When you work, you can also listen to your favorite song, you can watch video albums, you can play games by the time your file gets uploaded.

Earlier, downloading movies would take a lot of time. It may take hours to download a movie from its server. But now, there is quick torrent which saves the download link and the download happens from there. It is much faster to download through torrent than from the original server.

Tigers are less closely related to lions, leopards and jaguars than these other big cats are to each other, according to a new comprehensive study.

The genetic analysis also reveals the tiger began evolving 3.2 million years ago, and its closest living relative is the equally endangered snow leopard.

The discovery comes as the BBC launches a collection of intimate videos of wild tigers and the threats they face.

Despite the popularity and endangered status of tigers, much remains to be discovered about them, including how they evolved.

It has long been known that the five species of big cat - the tiger, lion, leopard, jaguar and snow leopard, which belong to the Panthera genus - and the two species of clouded leopard are more closely related to each other than to other smaller cats.

When ants of the species Temnothorax unifasciatus get sick, they abandon their nest, walking far away from their relatives to die alone.

They perform this act of heroism to prevent the illness that is killing them from spreading to the colony.

The discovery, published in Current Biology, is the first time that such behaviour has been shown in ants or any other social insect.

Professor Jurgen Heinze and PhD student Bartosz Walter decided to investigate the ants’ behaviour after becoming interested in anecdotal reports of dying individuals deserting their families.

The workers left the nest voluntarily and were not carried away. Such behaviour has been reported in dogs, cats, elephants and even people. But because it happens occasionally, it cannot be quantifiably studied. So Prof Heinze decided to set up an experiment to study the phenomenon in ants, which he also noticed would occasionally leave the colony for no apparent reason.

A preview of the Census of Marine Life has revealed that the project has discovered over 5,000 new species.

These include bizarre and colourful creatures, as well as many organisms that produce therapeutic chemicals.

A panel of scientists presented these early insights at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in San Diego.

The final report from the decade-long census will be released in October 2010.

The project has involved more than 2,000 scientists from 80 countries, and the researchers involved believe the census will lay the scientific foundations for marine policies to protect vulnerable habitats.

The researchers presented images of some of the most striking species discovered in the last decade, including a crab so unusual it warranted a whole new family designation. This member of the new Kiwaidae family of crabs, discovered near Easter Island, was named Kiwa hirsuta because of its furry appearance.

The two important gases for plant survival are carbon di oxide and nitrogen. But with the increase in the carbon di oxide plant biodiversity may get affected. Most abundant plant species would come but the plant biodiversity may reduce. Research was conducted by growing plants in ambient elevated levels of carbon dioxide.

The perennial grasses which were grown showed the elevated levels of carbon was less harmful .The elevated levels of nitrogen were more harmful than carbon dioxide. The increased level of nitrogen reduced the plant diversity by 16%.

The increased level of nitrogen help plants like rice, wheat, barley grow dominantly. Crops like maize, sugarcane millets were difficult to grow in presence of nitrogen. High nitrogen will reduce the plant species richness. The University of Minnesota in USA conducted the research. The carbon dioxide may also effect the plants indirectly scientist REICH said.

When a standing body of water meets the river it is called delta.The progress of delta is stopped due to eroding. The reason behind this stag is due to climate change, sea level rise, and flood management. The drowning deltas may be stopped by diverting more water and sediments into the bay.

The deltas are classified into three types , namely, birds foot shape, fan shaped, funnel shaped. The stickier the sediments the better the deltas are claims Rudy Slingerlands. The study showed the more cohesive the more stable the deltas is. The shape of deltas can be controlled by all types of coastlines.

The University of Minnesota conducted the research and was lead by Rudy. Many deltas were taken into consideration like the sunder bans, Nile river delta, Mississippi. Adding cohesive sediments to many non cohesive deltas may stop them from eroding. The sediment amount is always linked with the amount and type of vegetation around the river.

The whole universe has only 5% of planets, stars, suns, moons and gases.

Astronomers are into a research and say that the universe is full of dark energy. This dark energy is composed of dark matter which affects the rate of universe expansions.

The dark matter also contains WIMPS (weakly interacting massive particles) which has the weight of the nuclei. The WIMPS never interacts with any matter. The dark matter in the universe is having a large amount of gravitational force which holds the universe together. Scientists are now detecting how this black matter helps in the structure of the universe.