Over 100 feared dead in tsunami-hit Samoa

Sydney, Sep 30 (ANI): The tsunami death toll triggered by an 8.3 magnitude earthquake, which rocked Samoa and other Pacific islands, could reach 100, according to Red Cross and media reports.

Locals in Samoa have been told more than 100, and possibly "hundreds", may have been killed in the tsunami that hit the island this morning.

The confirmed death toll from the South Pacific earthquake and tsunami is at 36, with a minimum of 14 reported dead in both Samoa and American Samoa; The Sydney Morning Herald quoted reports, as saying.

But media in Samoa says the tsunami had devastated villages on the south of the island, and the number of people feared dead was far higher.

"It's like nothing we've ever experienced before," said Tasi Uesele, who in the Samoan capital, Apia.

"There's unconfirmed reports that are on TV right now that up to 100 people, including tourists, that are missing right now because of the waves that hit hard," she said.

A large number of the dead were believed to be from Lalomanu, a village on Samoa's southeastern tip popular with tourists, she said.

"We don't know if the 100 are from people swept out [to sea] or from when tremors shook and people were buried in their own houses. We just saw some footage of dead people being brought into the hospital ... we've only seen about three or four dead and a lot of people wounded," Tasi added.

A Samoan schoolgirl whose village was evacuated to the mountains around Apia also said local radio reported hundreds of people were killed when the tsunami hit Lalomanu.

"They're still looking for other people, missing people, they said hundreds. There are no houses, clothes, and stuff is all everywhere," said Sulu Bentley, who lives in Leauvaa, 15 minutes from Apia.

Tasi said the first wave hit so quickly after the tremor that locals had little time to react. (ANI)

Chandrayaan-1 finds water on moon - report

           Chandrayaan-1, India's first lunar mission, has found evidence of large quantities of water on its surface, The Times newspaper reported on Thursday.

Data from the spacecraft also suggests water is still being formed on the moon, the British newspaper said.

"It's very satisfying," the newspaper quoted Mylswamy Annadurai, the mission's project director at the Indian Space Research Organisation in Bangalore, as saying.

The newspaper said the breakthrough would be announced by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration on Thursday.

NASA's website says it will hold a media briefing at 1440 EDT on Sept. 24 to "reveal new scientific findings about the moon" from data collected during national and international space missions.

The unmanned Indian craft was equipped with NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper.

(Reporting by Daniel Fineren; editing by Andrew Roche)

World Bank approves $4.3 billion in loans to India

The World Bank on Tuesday approved $4.3 billion in loans for India to help finance infrastructure building and to shore up the capital of some state banks as the economy recovers from the global financial crisis.

"The logic of these four loans is that they should support India's economic recovery by enabling enterprises to get access to credit and ... enabling investment in infrastructure," Roberto Zagha, World Bank country director for India, told Reuters.

The loans are part of the World Bank's $14 billion in crisis-related lending for Asia's third-largest economy over three years through 2012.

Zagha said while the worst of the crisis was over, there was uncertainty about the pace of the recovery.

He said economic growth in India of between 5.5 percent and 6.5 percent in 2009/10 was realistic, but cautioned that the country's economic prospects hinged on a broader global recovery.

"If we don't see a (global) recovery, then India will not be able to grow at the rates it used to grow in the past of around 8 percent," Zagha told Reuters.

India's reserve bank cut its main lending rate by 425 basis points (4.25 percentage points) between October and April, and added massive liquidity to markets as the global downturn hit the economy harder than expected.

As part of its response, the World Bank said it would provide $2 billion to India's banking sector designed to expand the volume of credit available to firms.

A global credit squeeze prompted banks to cut back on lending, but Zagha said tight credit conditions now appeared to be easing in India.

Also, the global crisis put added demands on public sector banks, as lending and deposit-taking by private and foreign banks have slowed.

"This loan will help maintain credit growth levels, support social banking and employment growth, and help strengthen the economic recovery ahead," the World Bank said.

The Bank also approved $1.2 billion for the India Infrastructure Finance Co Ltd to spur private financing for public-private partnerships in infrastructure, and to stimulate the development of a long-term local currency debt financing market.

In addition, the World Bank approved $1 billion to address India's acute power shortages by assisting the Powergrid Corp of India, the national electricity company, with its investment program after a freeze in lending from overseas.

The Bank also provided $150 million to Andhra Pradesh state to improve water supply and sanitation services for 2,600 villages across six districts.

(Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Leslie Adler, Phil Berlowitz)

Europe Richer Than America

Parmy Olson, Forbes.com

As market participants reflect on the anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, so emerges the sobering consequence of the market crash that followed: North America's wealth has now fallen the most out of any other region in the world, allowing Europe to step up to the plate as the world's richest continent.

North America, defined as the United States and Canada, had $29.3 trillion in assets under management in 2008, while Europe had $32.7 trillion, according to a survey by the Boston Consulting Group.

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North America had the steepest decline of all regions last year, with total wealth as measured by assets under management dropping by 21.8%. One reason is the region's heavy investment in shares: North America still has the highest proportion of wealth held in equities, according to Boston Consulting, at 38% in 2008. That proportion had been even higher in 2008, at 50%.

Latin America was the only region where wealth increased, with assets under management growing by 3% in 2008.

The number of millionaires around the world fell to 9 million from 11 million, the survey said, and the drop was steepest in both North America and Europe, where the number of millionaires dropped by 17.8%. The United States still has the most millionaire households though, at nearly 4 million.

Though Europe has been more resilient than the United States when it comes to assets under management, the region's offshore financial centers face continued difficulty in the coming years.

Switzerland, whose banking secrecy until recently made it a magnet for the world's wealthiest people to store their assets, is seeing its total assets under management dwindle as the United States lobbies for the country to hand over details of suspected tax evaders. (See "Switzerland Caves In To IRS Demands.")

"Once their tax and legal advantages evaporate, so too will their appeal," said Boston Consulting partner Peter Damisch of established tax havens like Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg. He believes other non-traditional offshore centers, particularly those in Asia like Singapore and Hong Kong, are poised for growth.

For now, Switzerland still remains the world's largest offshore financial center, accounting for $1.8 trillion, or 28% of the world's offshore wealth last year.

Short- and long-term memories require same gene, but in different brain circuits

Washington, August 18 (ANI): Conducting experiments on fruit flies, a group of scientists have found that long-term and short-term memories are stored very differently because they depend upon the activity of a gene in different circuits of the brain.

Assistant Professor Josh Dubnau, of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), has ofund that both short- and long-term memories require the same gene, known as rutabaga, of which humans also have a similar version.

He and his colleagues say that a rapidly occurring, short-lived trace in a group of neurons that make up a structure called the "gamma" lobe produces a short-term memory, while a slower, long-lived trace in the "alpha-beta" lobe fixes a long-term memory.

During the study, the researchers placed flies in a training tube attached to an electric grid, and administered shocks through the grid right after a certain odour was piped into the tube.

They observed that the flies with normal rutabaga genes learnt to associate the odour with the shock, and, if given a choice, buzzed away from the grid.

On the other hand, the flies that carried a mutated version of rutabaga in their brains lacked both short- and long-term memory, did not learn the association, and failed to avoid the shocks.

However, the researchers also found that total memory deficit did not occur when flies carried the mutated version in either the gamma or in the alpha-beta lobes.

They said that restoring the normal rutabaga function in the gamma lobe caused the flies to regain short-term memory, but not long-term memory.

Similarly, added the researchers, restoring the gene's function in the alpha-beta lobe alone restored long-term memory, but not short-term memory.

"This ability to independently restore either short- or long-term memory depending on where rutabaga is expressed supports the idea that there are different anatomical and circuit requirements for different stages of memory," Dubnau said.

His team will next try to determine how much cross talk, if any, is required between the two lobes for long-term memory to get consolidated, hoping that it may add to the progress that scientists have already made in treating memory deficits in humans with drugs aimed at molecular members of the rutabaga-signalling pathway to enhance its downstream effects.

A research article describing the study has been published in the journal Current Biology. (ANI)

How mood affects memory

Washington, Sept 22 (ANI): Deciding on whether to return to a restaurant often depends upon the mood you had on the earlier visit to the place, say researchers.

The team from University of Maryland and Yale University has shown that mood has a significant impact on memory-based decisions.

"Suppose that last week you went to a restaurant and consumed a well-prepared meal. Further imagine that you went into the restaurant either in a good or bad mood, perhaps because it was a rainy or sunny day," wrote authors Anastasiya Pocheptsova from University of Maryland and Nathan Novemsky from Yale University.

"A week later, would you be more likely to praise the restaurant or return to it if your earlier experience happened on a sunny day?" they added.

The researchers found that "incidental mood" is generally not incorporated into memory-based judgments made after the mood has passed.

In other words, a person's memory of the restaurant's food won't be affected by the mood he/she were in when they ate it.

However, this changes if the mood effects are "locked in"-for example, if you respond to a question about how much you are enjoying the meal.

During the study, the researchers examined the effect of participants' moods on their evaluations of a painting.

A negative mood was induced in some participants by having them read a story and answer questions about inhumane treatment of pregnant horses. Then half of the participants were asked to provide "real-time evaluations" of the painting while others just went home.

After five days, all participants were contacted via email and asked to rate how much they would enjoy having a poster of the painting in their homes.

The study showed that those in a negative mood rated the painting lower in real time, while participants who did not make a real-time evaluation showed no effect of mood at the later time.

"People use their beliefs about the effect of incidental mood to adjust their judgments in an attempt to remove an unwanted influence," wrote the authors.

"To summarize, going to a restaurant on a rainy day would only affect one's decision to visit it next time if one made a real-time evaluation of the meal," they added.

The study appears in Journal of Consumer Research. (ANI)

World's Most Expensive Cars

Hate the smell of exhaust or the skunk you just passed on the highway? If you buy the Maybach 62 Zeppelin, your nose will never have to suffer again. The car comes with a built-in, illuminated atomizer that gently diffuses the fragrance of your choice throughout the cabin.

Granted, that peace of mind will cost you--to the tune of $506,500. But that's the low end when looking at the limits of what money can buy at the dealership. For a whopping $1.8 million you can get the Cinque Roadster, which features a stunning 678 horsepower V12 engine, carbon fiber racing seats, a titanium suspension and a 0-60 mph time of 3.3 seconds.

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But those who still don't want to be outdone should consider the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport or the Koenigsegg CCXR, both of which cost more than $2 million.

The auto industry may have fallen considerably this year, but that doesn't mean those who can afford to spend six- or seven-figure sums on a luxury vehicle are lacking options.

Behind the Numbers To compile our list of the most expensive cars this year, we reviewed price lists from all the ultra-luxury automakers that had the potential to produce a contender this year for the top spot, including Bentley, Bugatti, Ferrari, Koenigsegg, Lamborghini, Leblanc, Maserati, Maybach, Mercedes-Benz, Pagani, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, Saleen, Shelby SuperCars and Spyker.

We narrowed our terms for the list by choosing only cars that are currently in production and street legal, which eliminated the discontinued $653,000 Enzo Ferrari, $585,000 Saleen S7 and $500,000 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster, among others. Prices do not include taxes; some prices have been converted from euros to dollars. And not all of the vehicles on our list are sold in the U.S.

It's been a mixed bag this year for purveyors of ultra-luxury cars. Maybach sold 12 cars last month--the same amount it sold in July of this year. Rolls-Royce sold twice that, up 50% over July. Ferrari, Maserati and Bentley saw relatively routine year-over-year declines of 10%, 31% and 43%, respectively. But all of them except Rolls are down more than 50% in a year when the total auto industry saw a comparatively small 28% decrease year-to-date.

When sales do bounce back, expect luxury cars to recover slower than traditional segments. Lincoln Merrihew, the managing director of automotive, petroleum and travel for Compete, a unit of the market research firm TNS, says the delayed recovery is due in part to the fact that these cars never see Cash for Clunkers-type incentives. They also have a shelf-life that matters: The difference between one model year and another is significant for collectors and connoisseur-investors, who notice even the most minute changes in body styling, horsepower or interior trappings.

But more than anything, even people who can afford to buy a $1.5 million Lamborghini Reventon LINK are going to think about just when and how to make the purchase, if at all, Merrihew says.

"There have been times when the U.S. was in recession or Japan was in recession or Europe was, but the rest of the world wasn't," he says. "This time, it's a global event--so there isn't a safe haven for these products, and even their distinctiveness isn't going to help."

The Price of Luxury According to Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Manhattan-based Luxury Institute, the custom-built options and concierge-like service the very wealthy expect in their cars will keep them coming back to Rolls-Royce and Bentley, even in hard times.

A heady mix of image, exclusivity, design and racing technology makes these cars expensive. The Pagani Zonda F Roadster runs on a V12 Mercedes-Benz AMG engine, but it costs almost $1 million more than the McLaren Roadster, which also has an AMG engine, albeit with less power and racing technology. There's a certain component of exclusivity in that Pagani Zonda mark-up as well: Production is limited to 25 units.

Those who purchase a $1.4 million Pagani Zonda F Coupe are buying into a racing heritage--and Formula One engineering. The car's body design and specialized crash structure (built to maintain safety at ultra high speeds) are derived directly from race car aerodynamics.

Expensive cars also have bespoke qualities and standard amenities that connoisseurs simply can't get anywhere else. The $1.4 million Maybach Landaulet is a chauffeur-driven car with a top that can be opened fully at the rear, while the chauffeur's compartment remains completely enclosed. A partition screen with clear glass and curtains dissects the car, and folding tables in the back allow for afternoon Champagne lunches on the go--on reclining white-leather seats, of course. When the weather doesn't allow for such things, there's a Dunhill umbrella stowed in a special slot on the door.

While that may seem excessive, there's still a market. And industry experts say that ultra-luxury automakers must control production numbers, maintain superior service standards and invest in new technology if they want to survive--and thrive--during and after the recession.

When the wealthy are ready to start handing over their American Express cards again more freely, the automakers had better have something different and unique available.

'Surgical masks offer no protection against flu'

Sydney, Sep 17 (IANS) Surgical masks offer doctors no protection against a pandemic and need to be replaced, says a new study.

The study by University of New South Wales (UNSW), which compared the efficiency of various masks, found that specialised respirators (N95 masks) offer the best protection to health workers.

This is the first study to compare the efficiency of various masks, and it revealed that surgical masks offer no protection at all to either influenza or respiratory disease.

N95 masks provided 75 percent protection against proven influenza infection and 56 percent protection against proven respiratory viral infections.

The findings could revolutionise current medical practice, which relies on surgical masks providing defence against influenza when vaccines aren't available.

The protection of health workers is crucial, as they are at the front line of an effective pandemic response, according to Raina MacIntyre, UNSW professor, who led the study.

The results suggest that, although they're more expensive, N95 masks should be the standard protective equipment offered to health workers.

The random clinical trial was performed in 24 hospitals and involved 1,936 hospital health care workers in Beijing, China.

These findings were presented at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in San Francisco.

Count money before approaching women in bars: Study

Suggesting the symbolic power of money, a new study has found that counting money makes people feel better about themselves -- even if it isn't your own.

According the study, published in Psychological Science, the psychological benefits increase feelings of internal strength, fearlessness and confidence, prompting a researcher to suggest that counting cash before a night out could also help men approach women in bars.

A series of studies which tested the symbolic power of money found that although it may not buy us love, it does has a strong effect on our emotions, the Daily Telegraph reported today.

"Maybe young men who are going out to bars to try to meet women should count money," co-researcher Dr Roy Baumeister, of Florida State University, was quoted as saying by the British daily.

"These effects speak of the power of money, even as a symbol, to change perceptions of very real feelings such as pain," said study leader Kathleen Vohs, of Minnesota University.

In a test on 84 students at Sun Yat-Sen University in China, the social distress level on participants who had counted money before being socially excluded in an online psychological video game, Cyberball, was lower than those who had counted only paper.

Moreover, those who had counted money also reported greater feelings of inner strength and self-sufficiency.

UK companies look to India to stay profitable: survey

Prasun Sonwalkar London, Sep 17 (PTI) Almost two-thirds of UK companies expect to earn more than 20 per cent of their revenues from emerging markets like India and China within the next five years, according to a new government survey. Nearly 60 per cent of the 540 senior executives from 19 business sectors questioned in the Government-commissioned survey said that they expected to reach this level by 2014, almost doubling the 31 per cent who say they have already done so.

Almost 77 per cent of the companies questioned said they expect the prospects for the world economy to improve during 2010-11, with emerging markets providing support for global profitability. The survey, commissioned by UK Trade and Investment, was released as Business Secretary Lord Mandelson asked UK firms to step up their efforts to seek out opportunities in the emerging markets.

Lord Mandelson is scheduled to address the Economist Emerging Markets Summit in London. According to him, UK companies should be strategic about their exports and plan for the long term.

"Many emerging markets are outperforming developed economies, and are expected to grow strongly for years to come. This represents an exciting opportunity for UK business providing greater diversity for the exporter," he said.

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Swine flu surge: Karnataka blames pollution, IT employees

Bangalore, Sep 12 (IANS) With the H1N1 virus claiming 53 lives in Karnataka, the state authorities are blaming frequently travelling IT professionals and pollution in cities like Bangalore for the surge in swine flu cases.

'We are trying our best to control it. But look at the pollution level in cities like Bangalore - it is compounding the problem of swine flu,' Karnataka principal secretary (Health) I.R. Perumal told IANS.

'Pollution and less precaution on the part of IT people have worsened the situation. IT people travel a lot and during the initial days they hardly took any precaution,' said Perumal.

In terms of swine flu fatalities, Karnataka is second only to Maharashtra, which has seen 72 deaths from the disease so far.

The health secretary said even companies like Infosys had failed to do their duty in helping people take precaution against the disease, which has affected nearly 700 people in the state.

'They have become conscious, but initially none of these IT guys, even Infosys, took the required precaution. I have information that now they have started conducting regular health checkups of employees,' he added.

He said pollution in Bangalore is making respiratory diseases intensify and there are hundreds of cases of pneumonia in the state. Health experts have said people with respiratory problems and pneumonia are at high risk at a time when the H1N1 infection is spreading fast.

'Pneumonia is affecting the swine flu situation. We have experienced some 200-300 pneumonia cases in the last couple of months in Bangalore alone. What can I do? The pollution is so heavy here,' the secretary said.

Last year too the IT capital had reported over 300 cases of pneumonia in this season, he said.

Statistics show that the ambient air quality in the Karnataka capital is deteriorating rapidly. The amount of nitrogen oxide, sulphur oxide and suspended particulate matter is much higher in the air and is leading to respiratory problems among people.

With over 2.5 million vehicles plying on the narrow roads of Bangalore, the air quality is definitely worsening gradually. 'Look at the number of vehicles,' Perumal said.

The health secretary said he had asked all hospitals and IT firms to report to swine flu screening centres if any of their employees was suffering from pneumonia or swine flu symptoms.

'Now, we have roped in 90 private hospitals across the state for the job. As you know, the government has made swine flu treatment free even in private hospitals. We pay Rs.2,000 to these hospitals for treating each swine flu patient and Rs.3,000 extra for conducting the test,' Perumal added.

He also said the state government is distributing ayurvedic medicines to help people improve their immune system. 'We are trying our best. The chief minister is taking extra care and has asked us to work hard to curb the virus.'

Since the first instance was reported in Hyderabad in early May, India has reported nearly 6,000 cases of swine flu. Of these, at least 160 have died.

Green tea cuts cardiovascular disease risk

London, Sept 9 (ANI): Two mugs of green tea every day can significantly reduce the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, claims a new study.

To reach the conclusion, researchers from Okayama University tracked the health of more than 12,000 elderly people living in Japan. The men and women were aged between 65 and 84.

In the study, the volunteers were asked to fill out questionnaires on lifestyle factors including details of diet, smoking and alcohol intake, reports The Daily Express.

During the following seven years more than 1,200 of the volunteers died.

However, when all questionnaires were analysed, scientists found that the more green tea the participants had drunk, the less likely they were to have died. This, especially, was true of cardiovascular disease.

Those drinking between 420ml and 560ml a day were up to 75 per cent less likely to have died of heart or circulatory-disease than those who drank less than one cup each day.

The study has been published in the Annals of Epidemiology. (ANI)

World's safest banks

According to New York-based Global Finance's latest rankings of the world's top 50 safest banks, Germany's KfW Bankengruppe is at the first place, followed by France's Caisse des Depots et Consignations (CDC) and Netherlands' Bank Nederlands Gemeenten (BNG). The "World's 50 Safest Banks" are selected annually through a comparison of long-term credit ratings and total assets of the 500 largest banks around the world. This time, the 18th annual ranking compares the 500 largest banks around the world. Credit ratings from Moody's, Standard and Poor's and Fitch were used for this compilation. The magazine also published a mid-year update for the first time in March this year, due to the global financial crisis. All the major banks of Canada earned a spot on the list. Among them the Royal Bank of Canada earned the highest safety score, taking 10th place among the international banks. The only major Canadian bank not present in the list was the National Bank of Canada.

Lloyds Banking Group (now 43% owned by the government) and the Royal Bank of Scotland dropped out of the list and the only UK bank to maintain a rating in the top 50 is HSBC at number 18. The Nationwide Building Society joined the list at number 46. It was Lloyds' decision to merge with the HBOS that led to its catastrophic fall from an esteemed spot as one of the safest banks in the world. In 2008, before the deal, Lloyds was the sixth-safest bank worldwide.

National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the largest bank in the state of Kuwait, is the only Arab financial institution to be ranked twice among the world's top 50 safest banks. NBK moved up six places to 38th rank, surpassing the likes of JP Morgan, UBS, Soceiete Generale and Credit Suisse. The bank reported strong performance in the first half of 2009 as net profits came in at $439 million (KD126 million) and consolidated assets reached $42.2 billion as of June 30, 2009. In the Asian region, all three Singaporean banks consecutively made it to the list with DBS Bank - Singapore's largest lender- being the world's 24th safest bank. All the three banks have moved up in their rankings and have reported better-than-expected results in the latest earnings reporting.

The top-ranked US bank is the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, which came in at 32nd spot. In all, five banks from the US made the list. Astonishingly, no US bank appeared among the top 10. Wells Fargo and Co, which was at the ninth place in 2008, is at the 42nd place this time.

According to the magazine, after two tumultuous years that saw many of the world's most respected banks drop out of the top 50 safest banks list, the dust appears to be settling. Those banks that kept an iron grip on their risk exposure before the financial crisis blew up have consistently topped the table and maintain their standing among the top echelon in this year's ranking. At the same time, the big name banks that lost their safest bank ranking during the credit crunch are still absent from the list as they struggle to rebuild their credit standing. Also, as pointed out by the publisher, "More than ever customers all around the world are viewing long-term creditworthiness as the key feature of the banks with which they do business."

6 volunteers' 105-day stay in small steel tins to help scientists prepare for Mars mission

London, March 29 (ANI): Six volunteers will be locked up in small steel tins off a parking lot in Moscow for 105 days, as scientists simulate a space rocket ride to Mars.

The cramped metal capsules will be connected by cables and corrugated metal pipes in a hanger at the back of the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems (IMBP) in the Russian capital on Tuesday.

The objective behind this experiment is to recreate as closely as possible the atmosphere of a spacecraft racing through the solar system, bombarded by cosmic radiation.

The volunteers will include four Russians, a French airline pilot and a German army engineer. They will stay under constant camera surveillance so that the physical and psychological impact of their time in the isolation chamber can be recorded.

The subjects will eat packaged rations, wash with damp tissues, and spend several hours each day conducting experiments, just as astronauts would on a real space flight.

They will be using the same kind of toilet as crew on the international space station.

Mark Belokovksy of the IMBP believes that the psychological pressure of living in close quarters with five other human beings may crack even the toughest guinea pigs.

"Tension is inevitable," the Guardian quoted him as saying.

The capsules won't have any windows, and the volunteers' only contact with the outside world will be through an internal email system and a delayed radio link to the "control centre" positioned alongside the GEC.

Each team member will have a narrow bed and only three cubic metres of personal space.

They will have no access to TV or the Internet, though they may take along a bag with books and DVDs.

"Just like cosmonauts we will have eight hours sleep, eight hours work and eight hours for personal matters - intake of food, physical exercise and free time," said Sergei Ryazansky, 34, a space research expert, who will lead the crew.

Furthermore, the team will have to deal with all medical problems on their own, except for severest emergencies.

Each member will have the right to quit the project at any moment without giving a reason.

Separate tests may be used to simulate the long-term effects of zero gravity because recreating weightlessness is possible only for brief periods in an aircraft.

The volunteers will receive a payment of 14,000 pounds, but Belokovksy said that money was not the main motivating factor.

"They are driven by the chance to take part in an experiment of international significance," he said. (ANI)