Virtualization : Microsoft's Hyper V

Hyper-V's performance could help the company's shares outperform the market by 10% over the next year.
Microsoft Thursday did something it rarely does. The company released a beta for a long-awaited technology -- in this case its Windows Server 2008 virtualization technology Hyper-V -- ahead of schedule.
Microsoft's Hyper-V debut came earlier than many technology analysts had expected, and it sets the software giant up for possibly releasing a full version of the virtualization technology in the first half of 2008, or about six months ahead of many expectations.
Virtualization is a technology that allows software applications and operating systems to be separated from their hardware systems and then shared over servers and storage infrastructure. Businesses then use virtualization technology to better manage large pools of data over fewer hardware systems.
Hyper-V, formerly code-named "Viridian," is now available for download from Microsoft's Web site and is ready to be used with the current x64 beta version of Windows Server 2008, which is also available online. The technology, called a hypervisor, is the underlying virtualization technology for the server release, which is a major update that's expected to be released on Feb. 27, 2008. A beta of Hyper-V originally was planned to be released on that date as well.

Virtualization, or the ability to use virtual machine technology to run multiple OSes on a physical server, is widely seen as a disruptive technology and is becoming increasingly important as companies seek to cut costs and consolidate hardware in their data centers and IT environments. Microsoft had originally intended to release Hyper-V as part of the original release Windows Server 2008, but the technology was delayed and is now scheduled to be generally available 180 days, or about six months, after Windows Server 2008 ships. Hyper-V's released was delayed earlier this year because Microsoft opted to pull out some originally planned features.

Hyper-V takes advantage of virtualization-optimized microprocessors from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices and is meant to help Microsoft compete with virtualization leader VMware, which already has hypervisor technology on the market. Hypervisors allow for cross-platform support so servers can run multiple versions of different OSes -- such as Windows and Linux -- side by side on one piece of hardware.

Knol by google,to beat wikipedia!!!

Google is under test to lounge Knol .knol It's being compared to Wikipedia and Mahalo. While it's a somewhat different take on knowledge collection, these comparisons are apt.

Last night on the official Google blog, Udi Manber, vice president of engineering, announced that Google is testing a publishing platform called Knol.

From what we know so far, Knol is a wiki-like platform. Authors can create topics, and there are tools to interlink articles and content, but as Manber says, an article, or "knol," is "just a Web page." Where it differs from a wiki is its focus on the author. All knols will highlight who wrote them.

That small difference becomes dramatic when you put Knol alongside Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a collaborative system. There is no author listed on a wiki page because a page may have many authors (if you want to, you can divine who said what on the history pages).

Since Knol pages will be authored, users won't, presumably, be able to dive in and edit another page. They'll be able to submit edits to the author for approval, though. So much for open collaboration. But as a platform for authors who might want to make some money from their work, it's a better bet (Knol will allow authors to monetize their pages as they see fit).

Purists may think that since Google is in the business of monetizing content via advertising, it should not compete with other publishing platforms. However, this is not the first time that Google has gotten into this business.

Blogger, of course, is Google's biggest success in text-publishing platforms. But Google also experimented with its own database, Google Base, in which it not only indexes the information but also stores it. And then there's YouTube.

I would compare Knol to Blogger, and eventually, I think it will have Digg-like elements. Knol is like Blogger because it's a personal publishing platform. It's all about giving authors a platform for writing. It's just a like a blog, but much more structured. If you like a Knoller, you'll likely want to read more written by that person, or even subscribe to his work.

It could become Digg-like, in that multiple Knol pages on the same topic will compete with each other. And while the Manber's post hinted that the arbiter of Knol quality will be Google search rankings, I cannot imagine that there won't, at some point, be both a social network of Knol users and a main page that ranks the most popular Knol pages by votes, page views, discussion flow, or other group metrics.

At this point, based only on the official blog post, Knol looks like a solid end-user publishing platform. I strongly doubt that it will put much of a hurt on Wikipedia, since its author focus makes it much the antithesis of the open, community-driven wiki model. Knol looks more like a Google version of About.com, Mahalo, or Squidoo.

No word on when--or if--Knol will be released to the public

Genetic research :UV light makes fluorescent felines glow

Cloning is a topic of much debate that has uses for good and uses that aren’t so good. Being able to clone animals with specific disease states could make it easier for researchers to tackle genetic diseases that affect animals and humans alike.


South Korean scientists have cloned cats that glow red when exposed to ultraviolet rays.

The country's Science and Technology Ministry said in Seoul on Wednesday it's an achievement that could help develop cures for human genetic diseases.

Three Turkish Angora cats born in January and February through cloning have an added gene that produces a red fluorescent protein that makes them glow in the dark.

One died at birth, but the two others survived.

The ministry said it's the first time cats have been cloned with modified genes.

The development shows that genes can be successfully inserted in the course of cloning, paving the way for producing lab cats with genetic diseases to help develop new treatments.

Scientists from Gyeongsang National University and Sunchon National University took skin cells from a cat and inserted the fluorescent gene into them before transplanting the genetically modified cells into eggs.

"Cats have similar genes to those of humans," said veterinary professor Kong Il-keun of Gyeongsang National University. "We can make genetically modified cats that can be used to develop new cures for genetic diseases."

Keitaro Kato, a geneticist at Kinki University in western Japan who has cloned fish, said the research could be significant if it eventually helps treat people with hereditary diseases.

"People with genetic disorders usually have to receive treatment throughout their lives that is very hard on them," Kato said. "If these results can help to make their lives easier, then I think it's a wonderful thing."

South Korea's scientific reputation suffered a heavy blow after much-hailed stem-cell breakthroughs by scientist Hwang Woo-suk were found to be faked in late 2005. He remains on trial on fraud and other charges.

By varying the identity and spacing of the tethered molecules, researchers can make the technique applicable to a wide range of bait molecules includi

Capturing Large-Molecule Fish with Small-Molecule Bait. A single layer of molecules (red lines) that resists biomolecule binding is first self-organized on a gold substrate. This film has inherent defects and when it is placed in a solution of tether molecules (blue lines), they insert themselves into the holes. Next, bait molecules (green triangles) are linked to the tethers. When the surface is exposed to different proteins, only those with high affinity for the bait (color-coded green Y’s) bind to the surface. Spacing the molecular fishing rods at appropriate distances overcomes problems associated with selective recognition between large biomolecules and small ligands. In the example described, the small bait is serotonin, a neurotransmitter important in depression and anxiety, and the large fish are antibodies. In the future, this type of surface will be used to capture brain receptor proteins or synthetic sensors. (Credit: Mitchell J. Shuster and Thomas J. Mullen, Penn State)
A research team at Penn State has developed a novel method for attaching small molecules, such as neurotransmitters, to surfaces, which then are used to capture large biomolecules. By varying the identity and spacing of the tethered molecules, researchers can make the technique applicable to a wide range of bait molecules including drugs, chemical warfare agents, and environmental pollutants. Ultimately, the researchers also hope to identify synthetic biomolecules that recognize neurotransmitters so that they can fabricate extremely small biosensors to study neurotransmission in the living brain.
In the brain, dozens of different small signaling molecules interact with thousands of large receptive proteins as part of the fundamental communication process between nerve cells. This cacophony of specific interactions is highly dependent on nanoscale molecular structure. One key to advancing our understanding of how the brain works is to identify the nature of the association between neurotransmitters and their binding partners.


The technique of producing these high-affinity materials will be published in January 2008 in the journal Advanced Materials by a research team headed by Anne Milasincic Andrews, associate professor of veterinary and biomedical sciences, and including Paul S. Weiss, distinguished professor of chemistry and physics.

The process starts with a self-assembled monolayer (SAM), a single-molecule-thick layer that organizes itself on a surface. The molecules that make up the SAM terminate in and expose oligoethyleneglycol units that are known to prevent adhesion of proteins and other large biomolecules. Next, tether molecules are inserted into the defects that naturally occur in the SAM. Finally, a small molecule, in this case the neurotransmitter serotonin, is chemically linked to the tether molecules. Since the defects in the SAM occur at irregular but controllable intervals, serotonin molecules are prevented from clumping together. This is key to their being recognized by the correct proteins.

When the surface is exposed to a solution containing many different proteins, only those with high affinities for the tethered small molecule selectively attach to the surface. The bound protein molecules can then be identified in place or removed for characterization. "The tethered neurotransmitter acts like a fishing pole," says Andrews. "When the small molecule 'bait' is correctly placed on the surface, it captures much larger molecules that interact with it in a biologically specific way."

As a result of this inherent selectivity, it is possible to identify biomolecules, by function, from a sea of thousands of different types of molecules. Weiss adds, "The key to obtaining a highly specific association is producing optimal spacing of the tethered neurotransmitters. The ideal spacing allows large molecules to recognize the functional groups of the small molecule while avoiding nonspecific binding to the surface itself."

Because of their selectivity, these materials are suitable for a variety of investigations in biological systems. "Each neurotransmitter can bind to a number of different receptors in the brain," says Andrews. "Some of these receptors are known, but there are many more to identify. Also, the numbers of receptors are altered in different disease states and in response to treatment, and these capture surfaces could be used to study how groups of functionally related proteins change in a coordinated fashion."

The research team includes Mitchell Shuster, graduate student in physics, Amit Vaish, graduate student in bioengineering, Matthew Szapacs, then a graduate student in chemistry and now a research scientist at GlaxoSmithKline, and Beth Anderson, then a graduate student in chemistry and now a postdoctoral fellow. The work is a part of and supported by the Center for Nanoscale Science at Penn State, a National Science Foundation Materials Research Science and Engineering Center.

Tasmania in hunt for gold

Mining for Gold:
junior explorer Macquarie Harbour Mining plans to focus on tin and gold in Tasmania's north after a modest debut to public life.
Macquarie Harbour Mining (MHM) rose 10% to 22 cents a share on its debut on Friday.

The Tasmanian-based explorer issued 30 million shares at an offer price of 20 cents per share.

In its prospectus, the company said its projects are all within well known mineralised areas and have each been subject to previous prospecting and exploration activity.

Tenements are based in Tasmania and divided into the West Coast and North Eastern Tasmania Tenements Area.

In the West Coast Tasmania Tenement Area the company's regional targets are prospective for gold, copper, nickel, zinc, iron ore and platinum group metals.

In the North Eastern Tasmania Tenement Area, Macquarie Harbour is exploring two readily identifiable projects prospective for gold and tin.

"The company plans to initially target the gold and tin prospects within the North East Tasmanian project area. These tenements contain 10 old gold mines and 13 alluvial tin deposits," chairman Basil Conti said in the prospectus.

Stock in Macquarie Harbour opened 0.5 cents up at 0.205 cents, and closed at 22 cents

other source:
Macquarie Harbour opened at 20.5 cents on the Australian stock exchange yesterday, or 2.5 per cent higher than the 20 cent share price under its $5.5 million initial public offer. Shares in the company closed two cents higher at 22 cents.

The company is exploring for a range of commodities including gold, copper, nickel, zinc, iron ore and tin in Tasmania.

Macquarie Harbour's initial focus will be tin and several historic gold mines near Gladstone in the north-east of Tasmania.

The junior explorer said it had a drill rig booked to begin an exploration program in the new year, with the company targeting an open-cut gold operation.

On the west coast of Tasmania, Macquarie Harbour is exploring for gold, copper, nickel, zinc, iron ore and platinum group elements on four tenements covering about 800 square kilometres.

"The company believes that Tasmania is re-emerging as an important future contributor to world gold, nickel, tin and base metals markets," chairman Basil Conti said in the company's prospectus.

Macquarie Harbour plans to spend about $3.8 million on exploration over the next two years.

Agencies