Aardvark is a less-known more useful tool. I really don’t know how I missed this wonderful tool right from when it is out. But thanks to one of my Facebook contacts whose status update regarding Aardvark made me dig more and find about this wonderful application.

Sometimes, a conversation with a live person makes it more easy for finding the information that we want rather than searching on the web. That’s what Aardvark does. It gets you the right person who can answer your question. For e.g. if you have a question related to fitness and health, Aardvark forwards your question to a person who knows more about health and fitness and hence there is higher probability that you get the right answer. Aardvark Folks were the first people who realized the need for such an application and hence made one.

Aardvark http://vark.com is very easy to use application. It works with any of your favorite IM like Google Talk/embedded Gmail Chat, Yahoo Messenger, AOL, Windows Messenger.

Here is how it works:

1. When you sign up for a http://vark.com account, you will be allowed to select an IM of your choice with which you like to use Aardvark. You can also use it with your email. You will also be asked to select the areas/topics that you know more about and probably be able to answer any questions related to it. However selecting topics is optional.
2. After your account gets created, you will see a contact called Aardvark on your chat list. Just start typing any question related to any topic. Aardvark will figure out your question to which topic it is related to and forwards it to the person in your network and networks of your friend and friend-of-a-friend who is specialized in that topic. You will get the answer within minutes.

Visit their website http://vark.com to know more about this application. Its very useful application and it proves how best we can use the IM services for productive purposes.

You even have an app for iPhone. Get Aardvark Mobile App for iPhone!!

Ever forgot charging up your cell phone/ipod last night?? Dont worry.. researchers from Georgia Tech have a solution for your problem. They say that the energy generated from the muscle power while walking, typing, running etc if harnessed well can be used to charge up your cell phone or ipod on the go!

Check this video.

Listen to this awesome music composition. You will be surprised to know that this was composed by taking bird positions on electric wires as musical notes.

Birds on the Wires from Jarbas Agnelli on Vimeo.

Jarbas Agnelli from Brazil, 46, spotted a picture of the birds in a newspaper and noticed they were arranged like notes on a musical score. He arranged his score using a xylophone, bassoon, oboe and clarinet. However, he was reluctant to take credit for the beautiful piece. He gives complete credit to the birds!

Google Voice is a new way to manage all our call/SMS forwarding. You can customize in such a way that when a particular caller gives you a call, either your work phone or mobile or both rings. Google Voice also provides you transcripts for your voice mails.

Check out the following video to explore the features of Google Voice.

Below is the image of a 10-day-old baby in India who was born with heart outside the body.

The baby had incredibly rare defect ectopia cordis that affects only eight in every million births and ninety percent of these are stillborn or die within three days. Dr. Yogendra Gupta said they had to create some space in the baby’s chest to accommodate baby’s heart. The baby has undergone a revolutionary life-saving surgery.

Eric Giler, CEO of a company called WiTricity had proved that Wireless Electricity is possible. He says within one year, electronics like phones and laptops will no more depend on power chords for they can be powered by wireless electricity.

Currently, the company is able to power light bulbs using wireless electricity that travels several feet from a  power socket. This brand new concept is all about converting power to magnetic field and sending it through air using a particular frequency. WiTricity guys says the idea needs a little more touch up and will be commercially available very soon.

Watch this video for the demonstration of the idea.

Read more about Wireless Electricity – CNN Tech News

Today, I was reading some article related to Indian culture and traditions where I was disappointed to see that some anonymous user had made a comment saying.. “In India people buy their wives.” So, I felt responsible to write here the actual meaning of dowry and why was it introduced and why some families still practice it. At least a handful of people like you who visit my blog share this information.

The real meaning of Dowry is to give some sort of support to the bride if something like death of her husband or divorce from her husband is to happen. Of course the modern woman today has all education to self support in such situations. But, the dowry was introduced at the times when women were not allowed to move out of house except for some occasions. Obviously women at that time were not given education and hence they cannot work to self support. Today situations are entirely different. Women are given equal importance and respect as men in the society and there are reservations for women in education and work opportunities in India.

The flipside being misuse of the dowry. There are some true stories where women are harassed to bring dowry from her home. But that happens in some uneducated or moral-lacking families. Its no where in literature written that dowry for women is mandatory. Its a pure optional aspect which will be done at the will of bride’s parents. People who can afford still follow the practice of giving dowry for their daughter as they want their daughter to lead a comfortable life. Today in most families, the bride is allowed to have full control on the dowry they bring to the groom’s family.

Famous scientists – Werner Heisenberg and Niels Bohr who were once best friends had a small misunderstanding and hence both joined into a head on race for creation of Atom Bomb during World War II. I never knew about this from my History classes and I guess many of you do not know this.

Niels Bohr is a Danish and Werner Heisenberg is a German. They met first time when Niels Bohr came to deliver guest lecture at a University where Warner Heisenberg was a student. Both soon became best friends and transformed physics with their collaboration.

Neils Bohr (right) and Werner Heisenberg (left)

In 1932 the year when Heisenberg won the Nobel prize for his work in Quantum Mechanics, Adolf Hitler came to power. Under his rule, Nazi’s expanded the German Empire and annexed many parts of Denmark and many scientists like Niels Bohr were held in surveillance. Nazi’s urged many scientists including Werner Heisenberg to use their physics to manufacture a nuclear weapon. Werner Heisenberg who found that creation of Atom Bomb is quite possible was held in a moral dilemma. He decided to take advice from his mentor and best friend Niels Bohr and hence visited Copenhagen. In Copenhagen, Heisenberg and Bohr met each other and they were allowed to talk while Nazi’s monitoring them. Hence, Heisenberg could not talk freely with Bohr and gave him indirect hints regarding Atom Bomb. Niels Bohr, who was in German occupied Danish territory misunderstood that Heisenberg is serving German project to build Atom Bomb to make Germany a super power. With certain patriotism and to protect his nation, Neils Bohr joined American forces and worked in “The Manhattan Project” sponsored by the United States. The Manhattan Project led by Robert Oppenheimer tested their first release of Atom Bomb on July 16, 1945 in Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico. Later, in the same year, two atom bombs were dropped on Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6th and 9th respectively and the rest is the history we know regarding World War 2.

Watch the following documentary to know more about the controversial friendship between the two great people.

References:

Bohr-Heisenberg Meeting

While surfing on the internet, I found this interesting animation piece which stands as a proof for the phrase which was popular in the 19th century, “The Sun never sets in British Empire”. The below animation explains it why.

Not all British territories were listed above. Only the ones which represented 24 time zones of Earth were listed in the above animation. The British Empire during 19th century spread its wings to the far-flung regions that sun is always at its noon in at least one place and hence the phrase “Sun never sets in British Empire”.

The emerging genetic engineering has a new technique called IVF to eradicate diseases caused in the offspring due to inheritance from parents. Recently Scientists from UK have produced four macaque monkeys named Mito, Tracker, Spindler and Spindy using IVF technique and all of these share three biological parents and all of them are proved to be healthy. The technique can be used to eradicate potentially fatal forms of inherited epilepsy, blindness and heart disease.

Using their research and experiments on monkeys, scientists say this new technique can be applied to humans as well if the law permits. Children conceived by the technique would inherit DNA from three sources  -  their mother, the donor and their father. The technique is intended to help women who carry genetic diseases. It involves transferring healthy DNA from the mother’s egg cell into an egg donated by another woman. The genetic procedure behind this new technique can be understood using the illustration below.

Now, the question of applying IVF technique to humans can trigger an ethical storm in the community and it comes only with a trade off between a healthy offspring and Reproduction Ethics. Scientists always want to do something different to eradicate diseases from the society and what ever they do need not be ethically right. Applying such techniques on society needs lot of observations on its consequences before interfering with nature.