Head injury turns college dropout into a maths genius!

Washington: In an incident which appears be a perfect plot for any reality-based fiction work, an American college dropout after being brutally attacked by a group of street robbers has turned a mathematics genius.

It happened after 41-year-old Jason Padgett's brain was damaged in a brutal attack by muggers. He was left concussed after being ambushed outside a karaoke club and repeatedly kicked in the head, the Daily Mail reported.

Now, wherever Padegtt looks, he sees mathematical formulas and turns them into stunning, intricate diagrams he can draw by hand.

He is the only person in the world known to the skill, which experts say, was caused by his head injury. They believe the damage to Padgett's brain has left him with a "remarkable gift" for figures.

To understand how Padgett's brain works, neuroscientist and philosophy professor Berit Brogaard and her team flew Padgett to Finland to run a series of tests.

His brain scanning showed damage that was forcing his brain to overcompensate in certain areas that most people do not have access to.

Brogaard, who is based at the Centre for Neurodynamics at the University of Missouri-St Louis, said the result that Padgett is now an acquired savant, meaning brilliant in a specific area.

"Savant syndrome is the development of a particular skill, that can be mathematical, spatial, or autistic, that develop to an extreme degree that sort of makes a person superhuman," the professor added.

US sues Apple over e-book price fixing scheme

Washington: Apple and five of the publishing industry's top firms have been accused of conspiring to raise prices and block Amazon.com from selling e-books at $9.99 in a US Justice Department suit.

The suit filed Wednesday stems from the 2010 release of the iPad, when Apple reached an agreement with the five publishers to release books on its then-new iBookstore.

Three publishers - Hachette, Simon and Schuster and HarperCollins - agreed to settle. Apple, Penguin Group and Macmillan did not agree to settle. Macmillan's chief executive said Wednesday that the firm would fight the charges in court.

US Attorney General Eric Holder said that as a result of the conspiracy, "consumers paid millions of dollars more for some of the most popular titles" and competition was eliminated.

Attorneys general for Connecticut and Texas led a handful of other states in separate litigation against the companies as well.

FBI replaces Osama on its most wanted list

Washington: A child pornography suspect has been placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitive list to replace al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed by US forces in May 2011. Eric Justin Toth, 30, a former private school teacher, was indicted in 2008 in Maryland on one count related to producing child pornography, according to court records.

Authorities found pornographic images on a camera in his possession, the FBI said. Authorities are offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to Toth's arrest.

There also is a sealed two-count complaint against Toth that has been filed in federal court in Washington, DC, which charges him with possessing a video that includes an image of child pornography and transporting it across state lines, according to the FBI.

Toth may advertise himself on the Internet as a tutor or a male nanny and was believed to have lived in Arizona as recently as 2009. Prior to that he was believed to have been in Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota, the FBI said.

If convicted on the charge in Maryland, Toth would face at least 15 years in prison and as many as 30 years.

US: Ex-mayor's 'dirty' Asian remarks stir outrage

Washington: A controversy-prone former mayor has landed himself in a soup again, this time for his remarks targeting "dirty" Asian shops in his poor black-majority district, a racial slur that invited all-round criticism. Washington DC Councilman Marion Barry, 76, who just after winning a primary on Tuesday declared that "we got to do something about these Asians" had to apologise quickly after his comments ignited anger.

Addressing his victory rally after being nominated by the Democrats for a third consecutive term in DC Council, Barry said, "We got to do something about these Asians coming in and opening up businesses and dirty shops."

"They ought to go. I'm going to say that right now. But we need African-American businesspeople to take their places, too," he said.

Barry apologised two days later after being hit by a barrage of criticism, and said he made a mistake by referring to a particular group.

He said he was actually he was trying to refer to vendors who do not hire locals or sell unhealthy food with high caloric value.

"I'm very sorry for offending the Asian American community ... although (my remarks were) taken out of context by many about the conditions of some Ward 8 carryouts," he tweeted after the uproar.

US hails Myanmar election as step for democratic change

Washington: The United States on Monday hailed a strong showing by Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party in Myanmar's by-elections, calling the vote an important step in the country's democratic transformation.

"We hope it is an indication that the government of Burma intends to continue along the path of greater openness, transparency and reform," Jay Carney, press secretary for US President Barack Obama, said in a statement.

The United States and European Union had hinted they could lift some sanctions - imposed in the past two decades in response to human rights abuses in the country formerly known as Burma - if the election were free and fair.

Breast cancer gene discovered, say scientists

Washington: Scientists have discovered a gene which they claim can determine more accurately whether a woman has an increased risk of developing breast cancer. An international team, led by University of Melbourne, says its has used new technology to fast track the discovery of the breast cancer risk gene, called XRCC2, which could in turn assist in the discovery of other cancer genes.

Prof Melissa Southey, who led the study, said it was a significant discovery and the first breast cancer risk gene to be discovered using the latest genetic sequencing technology. "The mutations in the newly identified gene XRCC2, although rare, explain another proportion of breast cancers that run in families where there is no known genetic cause and that particularly occur at an early age."

Pregnant women face hostility when applying for jobs

Washington: When it comes to getting jobs, pregnant women still face judgment and obstacles, show two recent studies by George Mason University and Rice University professors.

The studies, co-written by Eden King of Mason, Michelle Hebl of Rice and their collaborators, explored different interpersonal reactions that pregnant women face in their daily lives.

In one study, 81 adults evaluated a pregnant or non-pregnant applicant for male- or female-typed jobs.

Those who provided evaluations for more traditionally “masculine” jobs such as corporate lawyer, janitor, high school math teacher or general surgeon were more judgmental toward the pregnant woman (for example, agreed more with the statements that the applicant “would complain a lot” or “would expect to have their work done for them”) than when evaluating the same applicant for positions such as a maid, kindergarten teacher or pediatrician.

In another study, research assistants entered 110 retail stores and followed a script in which they either applied for a job or browsed for a gift, sometimes wearing a prosthesis that made them appear pregnant.

The research assistants, and a secret observer, rated salespersons’ hostile behaviors, example rude, anxious, short, and patronizing behaviors, example diminutive names, overfriendliness, touching.

“The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 prohibits formal discrimination against pregnant women in all federal jobs and in companies with 15 or more employees,” says King, assistant professor of psychology.

“Unfortunately, when people suppress their discrimination in one arena, it may emerge in another—subtle interpersonal cues such as avoidance of eye contact or lack of warmth,” King added.

The study found that the women who asked about job opportunities when wearing the pregnancy prosthesis were faced with significantly more interpersonal hostility than when the same women appeared as non-pregnant and inquired about jobs.

In contrast, the study also showed that pregnant women who stayed within more traditional bounds—shopping—experienced overtly patronizing behavior.

King and Hebl’s results showed that pregnant women who went into retail stores asking for help finding a gift more often found themselves victims of behavior such as overfriendliness, physical touching and being called “honey” or “sweetie.”

“The question we also have to ask is: Does being overly nice have negative consequences? And we’ve seen that it does. These reactions serve to maintain traditional gender roles, which can inhibit women’s success both in and outside of the workplace,” King says.

The results of both studies suggest that pregnant women who pursue jobs—especially traditionally “masculine” jobs—may not be formally turned down, but still risk being discriminated against.

The study is published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.

Top US commanders meet Pak Army chief

Islamabad/Washington: The US and Pakistan on Wednesday resumed their high-level military contacts for the first time since a deadly cross-border NATO strike in the country's restive tribal belt killed 24 Pakistani soldiers last year.

The meeting between Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and the top US commander in the region, Gen James Mattis, and the top commander in Afghanistan, Gen John Allen took place in Islamabad, a day after President Barack Obama met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in Seoul during a nuclear summit.

"The focus of the meeting was to discuss the US Pakistani military relationship," Pentagon Press Secretary, George Little, told reporters in Washington.

"We are hopeful that ground supplies routes would open in the near future, which is important to our effort in Afghanistan," he said.

Though this is the first visit to Islamabad by a senior US military official since November 26 incident, but there has been high level contacts between the military officials of the two countries, he said.

"We believe very strongly that the relationship with Pakistan is very important," Little said adding that these meetings are reflections of American efforts in this regard.

As the Parliamentary review continues, Little said, the US is open to dialogue with Pakistan in reopening of the supply routes.

Obama met Gilani on the sidelines of the nuclear summit in Seoul, South Korea, yesterday. The US President said his country and Pakistan are seeking a balanced partnership that respects Islamabad's sovereignty "but also respects our concerns with respect to our national security and our needs to battle terrorists who have targeted us in the past."

"It is the first high-level meeting after (the NATO air strike) and will focus on the inquiry into the incident and improvements in border coordination procedures," a Pakistani military spokesman said in Islamabad, prior to the meeting.

Gilani had ordered a parliamentary review of Pakistan's ties with the US and NATO after November's air strike, which the American military has said was unintentional.

The Pakistani military has rejected this stand and called for action against those responsible for the attack.

Pakistan closed all routes used to transport supplies to NATO and US forces in Afghanistan after the air strike and forced American personnel to vacate Shamsi airbase in Balochistan province, believed to be a hub for CIA-operated drones.

Indian Americans the third largest Asian community in US

Washington: Indian Americans numbering 3.2 million is the third largest Asian American community in US after Chinese Americans (3.8 million) and Filipinos (3.4 million). As per the details released by US Census Bureau for the year 2010, Asian American communities has emerged as the fastest growing ethnic communities in the last one decade.

The total US population grew by 9.7 per cent, from 281.4 million in 2000 to 308.7 million in 2010.

However, the Asian population increased more than four times faster than the total US population, growing by 43 per cent from 10.2 million to 14.7 million, it said.

As a result, the Asian alone-or-in-combination population represented 57 per cent of the total population in Hawaii.

California had the next highest proportion at 15 per cent, followed by New Jersey (9 per cent), Nevada (9 per cent), Washington (9 per cent), and New York (8 per cent).

The same six states had the highest proportions of the Asian alone population.

The 2010 Census showed that New York, had the largest Asian alone-or-in-combination population, with 1.1 million, followed by Los Angeles (484,000), and San Jose (327,000).

Three other places, Francisco and San Diego in California and Urban Honolulu in Hawaii had Asian alone-or-in-combination populations of over 200,000 people.

As per the figures, the Bhutanese population experienced the fastest growth from 2000 to 2010, growing from about 200 in 2000 to about 19,000 in 2010.

Census Bureau said of all the detailed Asian alone-or-in-any combination groups that had a population of one million or more, the Indian American population grew the fastest, by 68 per cent, followed by the Filipino (44 per cent), Vietnamese (42 per cent), Korean (39 per cent), and Chinese (40 per cent) populations.

The Japanese population experienced the slowest growth among the detailed Asian groups with alone-or-in-any-combination populations of one million or more, growing by 14 per cent.

An analysis of respondents who identified with only one detailed Asian group shows the Chinese population accounted for 23 per cent, the Indian Americans accounted for 19 per cent, and the Filipino population accounted for 17 per cent of all respondents who identified as Asian alone.

Combined, these three groups accounted for 60 per cent of the Asian alone population.

Vietnamese (11 per cent), Korean (10 per cent), Japanese (5 per cent), other single detailed Asian groups (13 per cent), and two or more detailed Asian groups (2 per cent) accounted for smaller proportions of the Asian alone population.

The largest proportion of Asian in combination with another race(s) was for respondents who identified as Filipino (24 per cent), followed by all other single detailed Asian groups (20 per cent).

The next highest proportions were Japanese (14 per cent), Chinese (13 per cent), Asian Indian (9 per cent), Korean (8 per cent), two or more detailed Asian groups (8 per cent), and Vietnamese (4 per cent).

The Asian Indian population was the largest detailed Asian group in nearly half of all states.

The Census Bureau said Indian American population was the largest detailed Asian group in 23 States, more than any other detailed Asian group.

The metro area with the largest Indian American population was Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, (186,000) followed by Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, (142,000), Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington (108,000), Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington (98,000), Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta (86,000), and Detroit-Warren-Livonia (60,000).

Of these 6 metro areas, none was located in the West, the report said.

Deal not sealed, Romney hits Santorum with big ad buys

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mitt Romney's presidential campaign would like to be focusing its attacks on Democratic President Barack Obama around now.

But after failing to seize control of the Republican nomination race on "Super Tuesday," Romney cannot shake off rival Rick Santorum, whom he criticized on Thursday as a political insider.

Opening up a new front against Santorum, the Romney campaignaccused him of being a lobbyist in his home state of Pennsylvania even before he went to Washington in 1991.

Romney's campaign also attacked Santorum for holding regular meetings with lobbyists as a Senate leader, part of the Republican "K Street Project" seeking to increase the party's influence in the capital.

"Senator Santorum's claims to be a Washington outsider are at odds with the facts. After serving as a lobbyist in Pennsylvania before running for Congress, Santorum became a go-to guy for D.C. lobbyists while he served in the Senate," Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said in a statement headlined: "Lobbyist/Congressman/Senator Rick Santorum: The Insider's Insider."