A network of tiny pipes of water could be used to cool next-generation PC chips, researchers at IBM have said.
Scientists at the firm have shown off a prototype device layered with thousands of "hair-width" cooling arteries.
They believe it could be a solution to the increasing amount of heat pumped out by chips as they become smaller and more densely packed with components.
The technology was demonstrated in IBM's 3D chips, where circuits are stacked one on top of the other.
Laying chips vertically, instead of side by side, reduces the distance data has to travel , enhancing performance and saving critical space.
"As we package chips on top of each other....we have found that conventional coolers attached to the back of a chip don't scale," explained Thomas Brunschwiler at IBM's Zurich Research Laboratory.
"In order to exploit the potential of high-performance 3D chip stacking, we need interlayer cooling."
Cool running
Heat is seen as one of the major hurdles of producing ever smaller and quicker chips.
It took IBM a decade to work out how to build 3D chips
It is the by-product of the movement of electrons through the tiny wires connecting the millions of components on a modern processor.
As more and more components are packed on to chips - Intel recently launched a processor with two billion transistors, for example - the problems become worse.
As a result, researchers around the world are engaged in a search for the most efficient way to take the heat off the chip industry.
For example, in 2007, US researchers built tiny wind engines that created a "breeze" made up of charged particles, or ions, to cool computer chips.
But the problems are exacerbated in the multi-storey chips which IBM, as well as others, believe offer "one of the most promising approaches" for building future processors.
Each 4 sq cm sandwich is just 1mm thick but pumps out close to 1kilowatt - 10 times that generated by a hotplate.
Conventional cooling techniques such as fans and heat sinks do not work as well with the 3D technology, particularly as heat has to be drawn away from between the individual chips.
To get around this, researchers piped water through sealed tubes just 50 microns (millionths of a metre) in diameter, between individual layers.
Water is much more efficient than air at absorbing heat and so even with tiny amounts of liquid flowing through the system the researchers saw a significant effect.
The idea of pumping liquids around computers is not entirely new. Early mainframe computers had water pumped around them.
High end computers have been "modded" for a number of years with water coolers and various researchers and companies have put forward proposals for directly cooling chips with fluids.
In 2003, Stanford University spin-out company Cooligy showed off its Active Micro-Channel Cooling (AMC) technology which allowed fluids to circulate through hundreds of tiny channels on the upper surface of a chip.
The technology was used in some versions of Apple's Power Mac G5 desktop computer, released in 2004.
IBM has said its water-cooling technology could be in products within five years.
Collection:From Source
Sunday, June 8, 2008
IBM aims to cool chips with water
A network of tiny pipes of water could be used to cool next-generation PC chips, researchers at IBM have said.
Scientists at the firm have shown off a prototype device layered with thousands of "hair-width" cooling arteries.
They believe it could be a solution to the increasing amount of heat pumped out by chips as they become smaller and more densely packed with components.
The technology was demonstrated in IBM's 3D chips, where circuits are stacked one on top of the other.
Laying chips vertically, instead of side by side, reduces the distance data has to travel , enhancing performance and saving critical space.
"As we package chips on top of each other....we have found that conventional coolers attached to the back of a chip don't scale," explained Thomas Brunschwiler at IBM's Zurich Research Laboratory.
"In order to exploit the potential of high-performance 3D chip stacking, we need interlayer cooling."
Cool running
Heat is seen as one of the major hurdles of producing ever smaller and quicker chips.
It took IBM a decade to work out how to build 3D chips
It is the by-product of the movement of electrons through the tiny wires connecting the millions of components on a modern processor.
As more and more components are packed on to chips - Intel recently launched a processor with two billion transistors, for example - the problems become worse.
As a result, researchers around the world are engaged in a search for the most efficient way to take the heat off the chip industry.
For example, in 2007, US researchers built tiny wind engines that created a "breeze" made up of charged particles, or ions, to cool computer chips.
But the problems are exacerbated in the multi-storey chips which IBM, as well as others, believe offer "one of the most promising approaches" for building future processors.
Each 4 sq cm sandwich is just 1mm thick but pumps out close to 1kilowatt - 10 times that generated by a hotplate.
Conventional cooling techniques such as fans and heat sinks do not work as well with the 3D technology, particularly as heat has to be drawn away from between the individual chips.
To get around this, researchers piped water through sealed tubes just 50 microns (millionths of a metre) in diameter, between individual layers.
Water is much more efficient than air at absorbing heat and so even with tiny amounts of liquid flowing through the system the researchers saw a significant effect.
The idea of pumping liquids around computers is not entirely new. Early mainframe computers had water pumped around them.
High end computers have been "modded" for a number of years with water coolers and various researchers and companies have put forward proposals for directly cooling chips with fluids.
In 2003, Stanford University spin-out company Cooligy showed off its Active Micro-Channel Cooling (AMC) technology which allowed fluids to circulate through hundreds of tiny channels on the upper surface of a chip.
The technology was used in some versions of Apple's Power Mac G5 desktop computer, released in 2004.
IBM has said its water-cooling technology could be in products within five years.
Collection: From Source
Scientists at the firm have shown off a prototype device layered with thousands of "hair-width" cooling arteries.
They believe it could be a solution to the increasing amount of heat pumped out by chips as they become smaller and more densely packed with components.
The technology was demonstrated in IBM's 3D chips, where circuits are stacked one on top of the other.
Laying chips vertically, instead of side by side, reduces the distance data has to travel , enhancing performance and saving critical space.
"As we package chips on top of each other....we have found that conventional coolers attached to the back of a chip don't scale," explained Thomas Brunschwiler at IBM's Zurich Research Laboratory.
"In order to exploit the potential of high-performance 3D chip stacking, we need interlayer cooling."
Cool running
Heat is seen as one of the major hurdles of producing ever smaller and quicker chips.
It took IBM a decade to work out how to build 3D chips
It is the by-product of the movement of electrons through the tiny wires connecting the millions of components on a modern processor.
As more and more components are packed on to chips - Intel recently launched a processor with two billion transistors, for example - the problems become worse.
As a result, researchers around the world are engaged in a search for the most efficient way to take the heat off the chip industry.
For example, in 2007, US researchers built tiny wind engines that created a "breeze" made up of charged particles, or ions, to cool computer chips.
But the problems are exacerbated in the multi-storey chips which IBM, as well as others, believe offer "one of the most promising approaches" for building future processors.
Each 4 sq cm sandwich is just 1mm thick but pumps out close to 1kilowatt - 10 times that generated by a hotplate.
Conventional cooling techniques such as fans and heat sinks do not work as well with the 3D technology, particularly as heat has to be drawn away from between the individual chips.
To get around this, researchers piped water through sealed tubes just 50 microns (millionths of a metre) in diameter, between individual layers.
Water is much more efficient than air at absorbing heat and so even with tiny amounts of liquid flowing through the system the researchers saw a significant effect.
The idea of pumping liquids around computers is not entirely new. Early mainframe computers had water pumped around them.
High end computers have been "modded" for a number of years with water coolers and various researchers and companies have put forward proposals for directly cooling chips with fluids.
In 2003, Stanford University spin-out company Cooligy showed off its Active Micro-Channel Cooling (AMC) technology which allowed fluids to circulate through hundreds of tiny channels on the upper surface of a chip.
The technology was used in some versions of Apple's Power Mac G5 desktop computer, released in 2004.
IBM has said its water-cooling technology could be in products within five years.
Collection: From Source
LS Lowry paintings sell for £1.2m
Art News
A sale of some "superb" works by LS Lowry raised more than £1.2m at auction house Christie's.
A Cricket Match, which had not been seen in public for more than a decade, sold for £769,250 at the auction which was part of a sale of 20th Century art.
Seascape, which was also fresh to the market, sold for £313,250.
The painting Manchester City vs Sheffield United, from 1938, was estimated to fetch up to £1m but was sold after the sale.
An Old Church, from 1943, was estimated to reach up to £1 million, but there was no buyer.
Other works by the Salford painter, who died in 1976, also went under the hammer.
They included Teenagers, estimated at up to £35,000, which sold for £99,650.
Father and Son, estimated at up to £50,000 went for £82,250.
A Christie's spokeswoman said the total amount of money raised from the 20th Century art sale, including work by other artists, was £11,592,163.
A Cricket Match, which had not been seen in public for more than a decade, sold for £769,250 at the auction which was part of a sale of 20th Century art.
Seascape, which was also fresh to the market, sold for £313,250.
The painting Manchester City vs Sheffield United, from 1938, was estimated to fetch up to £1m but was sold after the sale.
An Old Church, from 1943, was estimated to reach up to £1 million, but there was no buyer.
Other works by the Salford painter, who died in 1976, also went under the hammer.
They included Teenagers, estimated at up to £35,000, which sold for £99,650.
Father and Son, estimated at up to £50,000 went for £82,250.
A Christie's spokeswoman said the total amount of money raised from the 20th Century art sale, including work by other artists, was £11,592,163.
About Flower
flower name for the specialized part of a plant containing the reproductive organs, applied to angiosperms only. A flower may be thought of as a modified, short, compact branch bearing lateral appendages. Like twigs, flowers develop from buds, and the basic floral parts (sepal, petal, stamen, and carpel) are in actual fact greatly modified leaves. A typical flower is a concentric arrangement of these parts attached at their base to the receptacle, the tip of the stem. Outermost is a whorl of leaflike green sepals (the calyx) encircling a whorl of usually showy, colored petals (the corolla). Within the corolla the stamens, bearing anther sacs full of pollen , surround the central carpels (ovary). Inside the ovary at the base of the pistil are the ovules, containing the female sex cells; after fertilization of the egg, the ovule becomes the seed and the ovary becomes the fruit . The ovary and stamens are termed essential flower parts, the petals and sepals accessory parts. The number and arrangement of the floral organs vary considerably among the many families and orders of plants and are used in the classification of plants; they also indicate the degree of evolution of the plant. In general, the higher a plant is on the evolutionary scale, the greater is the flower's complexity. The basic number of parts differs from class to class and from family to family; in monocotyledonous plants the parts generally occur in groups of three or in multiples of three, and in dicotyledons more often in groups of two, four, and five. Flowers may be staminate (lack carpels), carpellate, or both; staminate and carpellate flowers may appear on the same plant, on separate plants, or in the same inflorescence. One type of inflorescence, characteristic of the parsley family, is the umbel, in which the tiny florets are borne on separate stalks radiating out from the stem tip. Sometimes the parts serve unusual purposes: the true flowers of the dogwood and the poinsettia are inconspicuous, and the showy "petals" are really modified leaves called bracts. In the jack-in-the-pulpit the florets are clustered on a spike canopied by a large bract, the spathe; the hood of the lady's-slipper, on the other hand, is a modified sterile stamen. Grass inflorescences are tiny spikelets sheathed by protective scales called glumes (the chaff or grain). Flowers have been cultivated and bred for their beauty and their perfume from earliest times and have accumulated a vast and intricate treasury of symbolic associations derived from legend and folklore. Individual flowers have been celebrated in heraldry ( rose ), in religion (lotus), and in politics ( violet ) and have become emblems for many countries, including Switzerland (edelweiss), France (fleur-de-lis), Scotland (thistle), Holland (tulip) .
Collecton: from source
Collecton: from source
Kung Fu Panda tops box office
Movie News
Kung Fu Panda has fought its way to the top of the American box office chart after earning an impressive $60 million in its opening weekend.
The animated hit toppled Sex and the City: The Movie from the top spot. The film version of the hit U.S. TV show tumbled to fourth place, taking $21.3 million.
New Adam Sandler comedy You Don't Mess with the Zohan entered the chart in second place, earning $40 million over the weekend. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull dropped to third with $22.8 million.
Horror film The Strangers came fifth with $9.8 million.
Collection: from source
They Parted In 1954, Found Each Other At Age 70
This Is True Love Story
JOYCE RITCHIE AND BOB COLLINS were wed at age 70 -- 52 years after the friends since childhood broke up when he joined the Air Force in 1954. (HANDOUT / June 3, 2008)
On today's date two years ago, Joyce Ritchie pulled into a driveway in Atlanta to see a childhood playmate."She stood there looking at me," Bob Collins said. "First I walked toward her. Then I ran. We threw our arms around each other. I kissed her. She kissed me. It was the first time we'd laid eyes on each other in 52 years. We found each other finally. This is the person I've always been in love with. I never realized how much I missed her.""I met Joyce in fourth grade. I was new to the school," in Hanover, Mass., Bob said. "I said to one of my classmates, 'Hey, she's pretty.' I would go and visit her at her house. I would cut through the woods. When I was older, I rode my bike.""He'd have one or two of his buddies with him," Joyce said. "I remember him being cute. My heart would pound a little bit" when he was around. "I was not allowed to go anywhere. I had no brothers or sisters. He taught me how to whistle through my teeth."
In seventh grade, Bob, also an only child, simply disappeared, Joyce said.He was sent to military school in Pennsylvania. In Bob's senior year of high school, he was invited to a Christmas party in Hanover. "I stepped out into the kitchen, and there she was.""Joyce!""Bob!"They were thrilled to see each other and corresponded by mail when he returned to school. Bob graduated and returned to Hanover for Joyce's prom and graduation. "My father allowed him to stay at our house," a huge concession, Joyce said."Her Dad was tough," Bob said. "He was from Nova Scotia. But my great-grandparents were from Nova Scotia, too." Bob and Joyce dated a few months until he went into the Air Force in 1954.Bob broke up with Joyce just before he went into the service."I was going to be gone. I didn't know how things were going to turn out," Bob said. He was sent to Air Police School, where he became an instructor before being sent to Korea.Bob was assigned to be a dog handler. "I was scared to death of dogs because I was bitten by a dog as a kid," he said. Bob survived his year patrolling his air base at night with his dog."When he broke us up, I went to Burdette College in Boston," Joyce said. She earned her associate degree in accounting and worked in the city. In 1957, she married and later had two daughters.Bob returned to Whitman, Mass., where his mother was living, in late fall 1955. He spent his six-week leave working in a factory part time, married a woman he met during that interim and left the service. They had a daughter and son, but the marriage didn't last."I missed the service and re-enlisted at Otis Air Force Base in 1957," Bob said. He had two more sons through a marriage that lasted 35 years until his wife died. Two years later, he married and moved to Connecticut, but his wife also died within four years.In 2004, Joyce's high school had a 50th reunion, but "I couldn't go," Joyce said. She was divorced and had moved to a small farm in Tennessee with a man she had met after her daughters were grown. She picked up the phone one day in 2005 and heard a man say, "Hello, this is Bob.""Bob who?" Joyce said."Bob Collins.""I didn't know if he was dead or alive" until that moment, Joyce said. Joyce's classmate and Bob's fourth-grade buddy Karl Jokinen had contacted Bob after the reunion and sent him Joyce's address from the alumni directory. Bob called Joyce again in April 2006. Her partner had died, and she was living alone on the farm. Bob was flying to Atlanta to visit his daughter and said he'd like to see Joyce. Joyce said she'd drive over to meet him on June 8."I was bowled over," Joyce said, when she saw him. "He was still the same sweet guy. He's always been very compassionate. He has always been special to me. … He was my first love.""As soon as I saw her, I knew that day I didn't ever want to be apart from her again," Bob said.He drove back to Tennessee with Joyce and within a week said, "Would you marry me?""In a heartbeat," Joyce said.When Joyce told her daughters she was getting married, they said, "What? After four days?" Good friends in Tennessee warned Joyce that people change over the years.But at age 70, Joyce and Bob had no doubts. They were married on July 15, 2006, in Tennessee. Joyce sold the farm and moved to Coventry with Bob. They do cardio-aerobics at a fitness center several times a week, travel and exude the bliss they always found in each other's presence."I think our hearts met a long time ago," Joyce said."We're as close as two people can possibly be," Bob says. "She's the light of my life."
Collection: from source
How Magician David Blaine Held His Breath For 17 Minutes
This Topic For Magic
David Blaine is a magician and performer best known for highly public stunts. For example, he has been frozen in ice. He has lived in a transparent box for 44 days without food. And so on.But recently Blaine set what might be his most surprising record. He held his breath underwater for more than 17 minutes. And, as usual, he did it in a very public way, on the "Oprah Winfrey Show."So how did Blaine do it? What could he possibly do to make it possible to hold his breath for so long? It turns out he combined a variety of techniques.The reason most people can't hold their breath for more than two minutes is because there are sensors in our lungs that detect the rising carbon dioxide level. Those sensors send signals to the diaphragm telling it to breathe. The signals get so loud eventually, they cause pain. You feel you are about to explode.
To hold your breath for more than two minutes, you must first train your body to get past that pain and suppress the diaphragm's complaints. You can do this with relaxation exercises, and many people can learn to hold their breath for four minutes after an hour or so of instruction.Blaine clearly has mastered this discipline, and then he kept adding techniques. For example, instead of breathing normal air, he breathed pure oxygen before his attempt. That meant his lungs held five times more oxygen than normal (normal air is four-fifths nitrogen).For more than a month, Blaine slept in a special hypoxic tent that reduces the amount of oxygen in the air. He was breathing air that you would find at 15,000 feet — about 10 percent oxygen. By sleeping in the tent for weeks, his blood had more capacity for carrying oxygen and carbon dioxide.Right before holding his breath, Blaine also used a technique for gulping extra air into his lungs. Blaine also fasted before his attempt. That did two things. First, fasting shrinks the size of the stomach and intestines, giving more room for the lungs to expand. Second, it reduces oxygen demand. The stomach and intestines contain a lot of muscle for grinding and moving the food along. With no food in the system, those muscles can relax.— Collection: from source
Heart disease genetic link found
Two teams of scientists have identified a genetic flaw which increases the risk of heart disease and heart attacks.
US and Canadian researchers found that up to one in four white people carries the section of DNA which increases the risk of heart disease by around 40%.
A separate study in Iceland found the same genetic variant was linked to a fifth of heart attacks.
Experts said the findings, published in Science, were important but lifestyle factors had a big impact on risk.
Both teams of researchers scanned the genomes of patients who had coronary heart disease or who had suffered a heart attack to see if there were any differences between them and healthy people.
The US/Canadian team found a section of DNA - called an allele - on a specific chromosome that was associated with heart disease.
Their study of 23,000 people, showed that those who carried one copy of this allele have a moderately increased risk of heart disease.
But people who have two copies, which accounts for about 20-25 % of white people, have a 30 to 40% higher risk of heart disease than individuals who carry no copies.
Professor Ruth McPherson, of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, who worked on the study, said: "The effect is less than that of smoking or having a high cholesterol level.
"Nonetheless, screening healthy people for this genetic marker could provide information on future risk of heart disease and help identify those individuals who would benefit most from early applications of strategies to reduce heart disease risk."
The researchers will now check if the findings also apply to people from black and Asian ethnic minorities.
Lifestyle
The Iceland study looked at the same stretch of DNA in 17,000 people.
They also found that more than 20% of people had two copies of the faulty allele.
People with both copies had a 60% increased risk of heart attack, compared with those who with no copies.
There have been other gene faults linked to heart attack risk. But having this genetic variant appears to confer a higher risk, and to be linked to around a third of cases in men under 50 and women under 60.
Dr Kari Stefansson, who led the research for the Decode genetics company, said if those at risk were identified, they could be given medications such as statins, or cardiac procedures - as well as healthy living advice - to reduce their risk.
It is still unclear why this particular area of the genome is linked to heart disease.
However, researchers believe it may be associated with hardening and narrowing of the arteries.
Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, said: "Trying to find genes that put some families at an increased risk of heart attacks is like trying to find a collection of needles scattered amongst a field full of hay-stacks.
"The significance of these two studies is that two independent research teams have homed in on the same hay-stack.
"This makes it very likely that they are close to identifying a needle - an important gene in that region."
He added: "This will take a lot more research and - once found - the gene will be only one of several that are important. This research represents an important step along a very long journey, but a step in the right direction."
US and Canadian researchers found that up to one in four white people carries the section of DNA which increases the risk of heart disease by around 40%.
A separate study in Iceland found the same genetic variant was linked to a fifth of heart attacks.
Experts said the findings, published in Science, were important but lifestyle factors had a big impact on risk.
Both teams of researchers scanned the genomes of patients who had coronary heart disease or who had suffered a heart attack to see if there were any differences between them and healthy people.
The US/Canadian team found a section of DNA - called an allele - on a specific chromosome that was associated with heart disease.
Their study of 23,000 people, showed that those who carried one copy of this allele have a moderately increased risk of heart disease.
But people who have two copies, which accounts for about 20-25 % of white people, have a 30 to 40% higher risk of heart disease than individuals who carry no copies.
Professor Ruth McPherson, of the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, who worked on the study, said: "The effect is less than that of smoking or having a high cholesterol level.
"Nonetheless, screening healthy people for this genetic marker could provide information on future risk of heart disease and help identify those individuals who would benefit most from early applications of strategies to reduce heart disease risk."
The researchers will now check if the findings also apply to people from black and Asian ethnic minorities.
Lifestyle
The Iceland study looked at the same stretch of DNA in 17,000 people.
They also found that more than 20% of people had two copies of the faulty allele.
People with both copies had a 60% increased risk of heart attack, compared with those who with no copies.
There have been other gene faults linked to heart attack risk. But having this genetic variant appears to confer a higher risk, and to be linked to around a third of cases in men under 50 and women under 60.
Dr Kari Stefansson, who led the research for the Decode genetics company, said if those at risk were identified, they could be given medications such as statins, or cardiac procedures - as well as healthy living advice - to reduce their risk.
It is still unclear why this particular area of the genome is linked to heart disease.
However, researchers believe it may be associated with hardening and narrowing of the arteries.
Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, said: "Trying to find genes that put some families at an increased risk of heart attacks is like trying to find a collection of needles scattered amongst a field full of hay-stacks.
"The significance of these two studies is that two independent research teams have homed in on the same hay-stack.
"This makes it very likely that they are close to identifying a needle - an important gene in that region."
He added: "This will take a lot more research and - once found - the gene will be only one of several that are important. This research represents an important step along a very long journey, but a step in the right direction."
Big hearts 'have genetic problem'
Scientists claim to have found a new genetic basis for why some people develop an enlarged heart, a condition which can result in a heart attack.
Irregular heart growth can be brought on by strenuous exercise, high blood pressure and obesity, but the role played by genes is largely unknown.
Now an international team say they have for the first time linked enlarged hearts with a gene, osteoglycin (Ogn).
Writing in Nature Genetics, they say the findings could mean new treatments.
Work carried out on rodents and some 30 humans indicated that Ogn - which has never before been linked with heart function - regulated the growth of the heart's main pumping chamber, its left ventricle.
When this gene behaves abnormally the heart can become enlarged, putting the person at an increased risk of common heart diseases and heart attacks.
Enlarged hearts are found often, but not exclusively, in those who are obese, have diabetes or high blood pressure. People with none of these underlying problems can be affected, as can elite athletes.
A post-mortem diagnosed the problem in Cameroon football midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe, who died in 2003 after collapsing during an international match in France.
Controlling factors
The team, which included researchers from the Medical Research Council's Clinical Sciences Centre and the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College, London, noted that at present lowering blood pressure was the only treatment option available.
"But, now that we are unravelling how genes control heart growth, we can gain a better understanding of common forms of heart disease," said Dr Stuart Cook, one of the study authors.
"This could lead to new and more effective ways of treating people."
It is not the first time that genetics have been linked to enlarged hearts: work carried out at University College, London has suggested that genes involved in metabolism may also be linked to the condition.
The British Heart Foundation, which part-funded the research, said it was vital to understand the processes which led to such abnormal growth.
"When a person's heart is continually struggling to meet demand - for example following damage by a heart attack - it may enlarge, lose its elasticity and not pump efficiently," said associate medical director Professor Jeremy Pearson.
"These researchers have used highly advanced technology to discover a new gene - osteoglycin - that is important in controlling heart growth in these conditions. Osteoglycin is now a potential target to aim for with future therapies."
Irregular heart growth can be brought on by strenuous exercise, high blood pressure and obesity, but the role played by genes is largely unknown.
Now an international team say they have for the first time linked enlarged hearts with a gene, osteoglycin (Ogn).
Writing in Nature Genetics, they say the findings could mean new treatments.
Work carried out on rodents and some 30 humans indicated that Ogn - which has never before been linked with heart function - regulated the growth of the heart's main pumping chamber, its left ventricle.
When this gene behaves abnormally the heart can become enlarged, putting the person at an increased risk of common heart diseases and heart attacks.
Enlarged hearts are found often, but not exclusively, in those who are obese, have diabetes or high blood pressure. People with none of these underlying problems can be affected, as can elite athletes.
A post-mortem diagnosed the problem in Cameroon football midfielder Marc-Vivien Foe, who died in 2003 after collapsing during an international match in France.
Controlling factors
The team, which included researchers from the Medical Research Council's Clinical Sciences Centre and the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College, London, noted that at present lowering blood pressure was the only treatment option available.
"But, now that we are unravelling how genes control heart growth, we can gain a better understanding of common forms of heart disease," said Dr Stuart Cook, one of the study authors.
"This could lead to new and more effective ways of treating people."
It is not the first time that genetics have been linked to enlarged hearts: work carried out at University College, London has suggested that genes involved in metabolism may also be linked to the condition.
The British Heart Foundation, which part-funded the research, said it was vital to understand the processes which led to such abnormal growth.
"When a person's heart is continually struggling to meet demand - for example following damage by a heart attack - it may enlarge, lose its elasticity and not pump efficiently," said associate medical director Professor Jeremy Pearson.
"These researchers have used highly advanced technology to discover a new gene - osteoglycin - that is important in controlling heart growth in these conditions. Osteoglycin is now a potential target to aim for with future therapies."
UN plan to increase food supplies
Global food production must be doubled by 2030 and farmers in poor countries better supported, a UN summit on the current food crisis has concluded.
Leaders from 181 countries made the commitment in Rome at the close of a three-day summit on food shortages.
They also agreed to bolster humanitarian interventions to help deal with shortages and soaring prices.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned up to $20bn (£10.2bn) a year was needed to alleviate the crisis.
Government representatives and aid agencies welcomed the concluding statement as a signal that agriculture - particularly the support of small farmers in the developing world - was now firmly back on the agenda.
"For the first time agriculture has been put at the centre of the world stage. For years it has been on the periphery," South Africa's Agriculture Minister Lulu Xingwana told the BBC.
The summit participants stated that the reality of 862 million people worldwide continuing to be malnourished was wholly unacceptable given the resources available.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier De Schutter, said the adoption of a final declaration was "a sign that the international community is speaking with one voice".
But the summit, which was threatened to be overshadowed by the controversial presence of invited heads of state including Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, was not without its critics, says the BBC's Stephanie Holmes in Rome.
Representatives from non-governmental organisations complained they were excluded from discussions.
ActionAid's food and hunger policy adviser, Magda Kropiwnicka, said the concluding statement lacked concrete proposals.
"There are no quantifiable financial commitments. Apart from the existing UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) funds, no money has been given to address the key problem of boosting capacity," she said.
But Oxfam's Alexander Woolcombe told the BBC News wesite that the very recognition of agriculture's role is a vital step.
"There needs to be more focus on agriculture, not less, and we finally seem to be getting recognition of that."
Biofuel debate
The FAO, which has underlined that the summit did not seek to secure financial pledges, has said it needs a tenfold increase in its budget - to some $30bn a year - to help farmers grow food for their communities and countries.
The issue of biofuels was divisive during the summit.
Some UN officials have said the rapid growth of the sector may have triggered as much as 30% of global price inflation, by diverting food crops to fuel use and tightening supply.
However, the US - the world's biggest producer of ethanol - insists it is responsible for just 3% of price rises.
Countries finally agreed, somewhat tepidly, that the industry provided both "challenges and opportunities" which needed to be investigated further.
During his address, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva passionately defended the potential of ethanol from sugarcane.
He highlighted the fact that a large portion of the country's transport is powered by sugarcane grown on just 1% of the country's arable land.
Analysts agree that sugarcane ethanol is a greener and more efficient way of producing fuel than the heavily subsidised US corn industry.
Mr De Schutter said the decision by both the US and EU to increase biofuels targets sent a "dangerous signal" to the market which would only fuel speculation on commodities.
Leaders from 181 countries made the commitment in Rome at the close of a three-day summit on food shortages.
They also agreed to bolster humanitarian interventions to help deal with shortages and soaring prices.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned up to $20bn (£10.2bn) a year was needed to alleviate the crisis.
Government representatives and aid agencies welcomed the concluding statement as a signal that agriculture - particularly the support of small farmers in the developing world - was now firmly back on the agenda.
"For the first time agriculture has been put at the centre of the world stage. For years it has been on the periphery," South Africa's Agriculture Minister Lulu Xingwana told the BBC.
The summit participants stated that the reality of 862 million people worldwide continuing to be malnourished was wholly unacceptable given the resources available.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier De Schutter, said the adoption of a final declaration was "a sign that the international community is speaking with one voice".
But the summit, which was threatened to be overshadowed by the controversial presence of invited heads of state including Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, was not without its critics, says the BBC's Stephanie Holmes in Rome.
Representatives from non-governmental organisations complained they were excluded from discussions.
ActionAid's food and hunger policy adviser, Magda Kropiwnicka, said the concluding statement lacked concrete proposals.
"There are no quantifiable financial commitments. Apart from the existing UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) funds, no money has been given to address the key problem of boosting capacity," she said.
But Oxfam's Alexander Woolcombe told the BBC News wesite that the very recognition of agriculture's role is a vital step.
"There needs to be more focus on agriculture, not less, and we finally seem to be getting recognition of that."
Biofuel debate
The FAO, which has underlined that the summit did not seek to secure financial pledges, has said it needs a tenfold increase in its budget - to some $30bn a year - to help farmers grow food for their communities and countries.
The issue of biofuels was divisive during the summit.
Some UN officials have said the rapid growth of the sector may have triggered as much as 30% of global price inflation, by diverting food crops to fuel use and tightening supply.
However, the US - the world's biggest producer of ethanol - insists it is responsible for just 3% of price rises.
Countries finally agreed, somewhat tepidly, that the industry provided both "challenges and opportunities" which needed to be investigated further.
During his address, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva passionately defended the potential of ethanol from sugarcane.
He highlighted the fact that a large portion of the country's transport is powered by sugarcane grown on just 1% of the country's arable land.
Analysts agree that sugarcane ethanol is a greener and more efficient way of producing fuel than the heavily subsidised US corn industry.
Mr De Schutter said the decision by both the US and EU to increase biofuels targets sent a "dangerous signal" to the market which would only fuel speculation on commodities.
Obama praises 'valiant' Clinton
Democratic hopeful Barack Obama has paid tribute to Hillary Clinton for her "valiant campaign" to become the party nominee for US president.
He said his former rival had "shattered barriers on behalf of my daughters and women everywhere".
The praise came after Mrs Clinton formally abandoned her bid for the nomination at a rally in Washington.
She said Mr Obama had proved his "grace and grit", and she urged her supporters to put their energy into electing him.
Mr Obama is expected to face the Republican presumptive nominee, John McCain, in November's presidential election.
In a statement, Mr Obama said he was "thrilled" to have Mrs Clinton's endorsement.
Senator Clinton gives Barack Obama her backing
He credited her with reaching out to many American voters and making him a stronger candidate.
"She inspired millions with her strength, courage and unyielding commitment to the cause of working Americans."
Mr Obama also said Mrs Clinton's presence on the American political scene would continue.
"No one knows better than Senator Clinton how desperately America and the American people need change, and I know she will continue to be in the forefront of that battle this fall and for years to come."
His campaign website asked supporters to send a message of thank you to the Clinton campaign.
Angry supporters
Earlier, Mrs Clinton formally suspended her 16-month-long campaign with a speech at the National Building Museum in Washington.
She opened by saying: "This isn't exactly the party I planned but I sure like the company."
Aim high, work hard and care deeply about what you believe in
Hillary Clinton
Clinton's emotional ending
In quotes: Clinton concedes
Q&A: What happens next?
Mrs Clinton thanked the "18 million of you from all walks of life" who voted for her and threw her support behind Mr Obama.
Although she had not succeeded, she said there were now "18 million cracks in the glass ceiling" preventing a woman from winning the White House.
Referring to her formal rival, she said: "I've had a front-row seat to his candidacy and I have seen his strength and determination, his grace and his grit."
The BBC's Kevin Connolly at the venue says there was an angry feeling among many of her supporters that Mr Obama only won because the complex rules of the Democratic Party process suited his campaign.
He said his former rival had "shattered barriers on behalf of my daughters and women everywhere".
The praise came after Mrs Clinton formally abandoned her bid for the nomination at a rally in Washington.
She said Mr Obama had proved his "grace and grit", and she urged her supporters to put their energy into electing him.
Mr Obama is expected to face the Republican presumptive nominee, John McCain, in November's presidential election.
In a statement, Mr Obama said he was "thrilled" to have Mrs Clinton's endorsement.
Senator Clinton gives Barack Obama her backing
He credited her with reaching out to many American voters and making him a stronger candidate.
"She inspired millions with her strength, courage and unyielding commitment to the cause of working Americans."
Mr Obama also said Mrs Clinton's presence on the American political scene would continue.
"No one knows better than Senator Clinton how desperately America and the American people need change, and I know she will continue to be in the forefront of that battle this fall and for years to come."
His campaign website asked supporters to send a message of thank you to the Clinton campaign.
Angry supporters
Earlier, Mrs Clinton formally suspended her 16-month-long campaign with a speech at the National Building Museum in Washington.
She opened by saying: "This isn't exactly the party I planned but I sure like the company."
Aim high, work hard and care deeply about what you believe in
Hillary Clinton
Clinton's emotional ending
In quotes: Clinton concedes
Q&A: What happens next?
Mrs Clinton thanked the "18 million of you from all walks of life" who voted for her and threw her support behind Mr Obama.
Although she had not succeeded, she said there were now "18 million cracks in the glass ceiling" preventing a woman from winning the White House.
Referring to her formal rival, she said: "I've had a front-row seat to his candidacy and I have seen his strength and determination, his grace and his grit."
The BBC's Kevin Connolly at the venue says there was an angry feeling among many of her supporters that Mr Obama only won because the complex rules of the Democratic Party process suited his campaign.
Gas price record reaches $4 a gallon
Gasoline rose to a milestone mark Sunday as the national average compiled by motorist group AAA reached $4 a gallon for the first time.
The national average for regular unleaded rose 1.7 cents to $4.005, according the daily measure on the group's Web site. That surpassed the previous record of $3.989 set Thursday.
The milestone was expected after a surge in crude oil prices added more than $16 to a barrel of oil over the last 2 trading days. Crude settled at a record $138.54 a barrel Friday, up by $10.75, after setting an all-time intraday high of $139.12.
The $10.75 gain was the biggest one-day advance in dollar value ever, nearly doubling the previous mark of $5.49 set Thursday. Weakness in the dollar, geopolitical concerns and an analyst's prediction of $150-a-barrel oil by July 4 helped spur Friday's advance.
In a statement Friday, AAA urged gasoline station owners not to overreact to the single-day oil spike.
"Consumers should not be overcharged for gasoline simply because the oil markets reacted so strongly to today's news," AAA said.
So far this year, crude prices have increased more than 40%.
The average price is $4 a gallon or more in 14 states and the District of Columbia, according to the survey. California pays the most for gasoline, averaging $4.436, with Alaska and Connecticut both at $4.296. Other states above $4 are Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and West Virginia.
Missouri has the lowest average price at $3.802, followed by South Carolina at $3.809.
Gas prices have risen more than 10% from $3.671 a month ago and are nearly 29% higher than the $3.105 average a year ago, according to the AAA figures.
Gasoline prices in the survey have risen for 31 of the past 33 days, setting records on 29 of those days.
The price of diesel fuel, used by truckers hauling goods across the country, rose 0.8 cent to $4.762 a gallon. That's 3 cents below the all-time high set May 30.
On its Web site, AAA says the information is gathered by Oil Price Information Service based on credit card swipes at 85,000 gasoline stations across the nation.
Higher gas prices have prompted a growing number of Americans to modify their driving habits. A recent study by the Department of Transportation showed that the number of drivers on the road in March fell 4.3% versus the previous year. That was the first time March travel on public roads fell in nearly 30 years.
In addition to driving less, many consumers are shifting away from large, low mileage vehicles toward smaller vehicles that consume less gas.
Falling demand for gas-guzzlers has hit some of the nation's largest automakers hard. General Motors announced plans last week to shut four truck and SUV plants and said it would ramp up producing more fuel-efficient cars. Ford also recently said it would trim production of large trucks and roll out more small cars and crossovers.
But carmakers aren't the only ones hurt by soaring gas prices. The airline industry, which was ailing even before gas prices spiked, has been fraught with near-bankruptcies, drastic cost cutting efforts and mass groundings of aircraft.
Last week, Continental Airlines said it is eliminating about 3,000 jobs and grounding 67 mainline aircraft to cope with the rising cost of fuel. Other airlines have hiked fuel surcharges to fares and added fees to once-free benefits, such as food and checked baggage.
First Published: June 8, 2008: 5:56 AM EDT
The national average for regular unleaded rose 1.7 cents to $4.005, according the daily measure on the group's Web site. That surpassed the previous record of $3.989 set Thursday.
The milestone was expected after a surge in crude oil prices added more than $16 to a barrel of oil over the last 2 trading days. Crude settled at a record $138.54 a barrel Friday, up by $10.75, after setting an all-time intraday high of $139.12.
The $10.75 gain was the biggest one-day advance in dollar value ever, nearly doubling the previous mark of $5.49 set Thursday. Weakness in the dollar, geopolitical concerns and an analyst's prediction of $150-a-barrel oil by July 4 helped spur Friday's advance.
In a statement Friday, AAA urged gasoline station owners not to overreact to the single-day oil spike.
"Consumers should not be overcharged for gasoline simply because the oil markets reacted so strongly to today's news," AAA said.
So far this year, crude prices have increased more than 40%.
The average price is $4 a gallon or more in 14 states and the District of Columbia, according to the survey. California pays the most for gasoline, averaging $4.436, with Alaska and Connecticut both at $4.296. Other states above $4 are Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and West Virginia.
Missouri has the lowest average price at $3.802, followed by South Carolina at $3.809.
Gas prices have risen more than 10% from $3.671 a month ago and are nearly 29% higher than the $3.105 average a year ago, according to the AAA figures.
Gasoline prices in the survey have risen for 31 of the past 33 days, setting records on 29 of those days.
The price of diesel fuel, used by truckers hauling goods across the country, rose 0.8 cent to $4.762 a gallon. That's 3 cents below the all-time high set May 30.
On its Web site, AAA says the information is gathered by Oil Price Information Service based on credit card swipes at 85,000 gasoline stations across the nation.
Higher gas prices have prompted a growing number of Americans to modify their driving habits. A recent study by the Department of Transportation showed that the number of drivers on the road in March fell 4.3% versus the previous year. That was the first time March travel on public roads fell in nearly 30 years.
In addition to driving less, many consumers are shifting away from large, low mileage vehicles toward smaller vehicles that consume less gas.
Falling demand for gas-guzzlers has hit some of the nation's largest automakers hard. General Motors announced plans last week to shut four truck and SUV plants and said it would ramp up producing more fuel-efficient cars. Ford also recently said it would trim production of large trucks and roll out more small cars and crossovers.
But carmakers aren't the only ones hurt by soaring gas prices. The airline industry, which was ailing even before gas prices spiked, has been fraught with near-bankruptcies, drastic cost cutting efforts and mass groundings of aircraft.
Last week, Continental Airlines said it is eliminating about 3,000 jobs and grounding 67 mainline aircraft to cope with the rising cost of fuel. Other airlines have hiked fuel surcharges to fares and added fees to once-free benefits, such as food and checked baggage.
First Published: June 8, 2008: 5:56 AM EDT
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