Did You Know? What is a gene?

In informal language, it is a unit of heredity that is transferred from a parent to offspring and is held to determine some characteristic of the "proteins coded directly by genes"In technical terms, it is a distinct sequence of nucleotides forming part of a chromosome.
Genes are the things that play an important role in determining physical traits how we look and lots of other stuff about us. They carry information that helps make you who you are: curly or straight hair, long or short legs, even how you might smile or laugh, are all passed through generations of your family in genes.?"

US gives Syria weapons warning

President Barack Obama has warned Syria's President Bashar al-Assad that his government will be held accountable if it uses chemical weapons.
He was speaking after Damascus said they would not be deployed inside Syria but would be against foreign attack.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that any thought of using chemical weapons would be "reprehensible".
Fierce fighting has taken place in Aleppo, where rebels claim to have captured parts of the city.
There are also unconfirmed reports from activists in Homs that security forces are threatening to storm the city's central prison.
Chemical threat
The sharp international response came hours after Syrian foreign ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi gave Damascus's first implicit acknowledgement that a chemical weapons stockpile existed.
The weapons were safely stored, he said, and Syria would never use them against its civilians but only "in case of external aggression". In an attempt to retain some doubt about his country's unconventional weapons arsenal he later tweeted "if they exist".
The US and Israel have expressed concern about the fate of Syria's arms, with Israeli PM Benyamin Netanyahu speaking of a "great threat" of weapons sites falling into the hands of Lebanon's Shia Islamist group Hezbollah, allied to President Assad.
The State Department in Washington said any possible use of such weapons would be "completely unacceptable".
"They will be held accountable by the international community and the US, should they make the tragic mistake of using those weapons," President Obama added.
The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Washington says US officials have refused to discuss details of any contingency planning surrounding Syria's chemical weapons but they have acknowledged that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton discussed the issue on a visit to Israel last week.
Aleppo clashes
Syrian rebels said they had taken control of the Salah el-Din area of the country's most populous city, Aleppo, on Monday but fighting was continuing there and in other districts late into the evening.
A child was killed when rockets were fired at a market in the al-Bab area of the city, opposition activists said.
Unverified video showed jubilant rebel fighters capturing a tank in the Sakhour district and the BBC's Ian Pannell, on the outskirts of Aleppo, said he had seen hundreds of rebels moving towards the city.
In the capital, it was a different story as footage showed Syrian troops going from house to house searching for rebel fighters in areas of Damascus that had been recaptured from the opposition.
Civilians in the Qabun area of the city complained of not being able to leave their homes and government forces were said to have taken up positions in Midan, held earlier by rebels.
Explosions and fires have been reported from the jail in the central city of Homs, where unarmed policemen are said to have defected and prisoners have staged a sit-in. Government officials had earlier denied there had been a defection.
Meanwhile, the refugee crisis is escalating both inside and outside Syria.
An estimated 1.5 million people are homeless within the country, according to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. Another 115,000 Syrians have fled to neighbouring countries.
On Sunday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that at least 19,106 people had been killed since March 2011. The UN said in May that at least 10,000 people had been killed.
Syria blames the violence on foreign-backed "armed terrorist gangs".
In June, the Syrian government reported that 6,947 Syrians had died, including at least 3,211 civilians and 2,566 security forces personnel.

Tears, tributes

The first novel that Rouf Mohammad Muhith had read was Humayun Ahmed's “Himu”. He was a student of class VI and thereafter he read all the books by this stand-apart writer.
“You were my role model. I will remember you forever,” Muhith, now a first-year student of Birshreshtha Munshi Abdur Rouf College, wrote in the condolence book yesterday, after paying the last tribute to his favourite writer at the Central Shaheed Minar.
He said he used to go to the Ekushey Book Fair every year just to get a copy of Humayun Ahmed's new book. “His story telling is unique. Whatever he wrote came from his heart and touched me. I also like the characters he created,” added the teenager in an emotion-choked voice.
Asked if the demise of the prolific writer had discouraged him from reading, Muhith said, “No. When I was in class VII, I met him at a book fair and asked for an autograph. It was there that he advised me never to stop reading.”
Millions of youths like Muhith and their earlier generations are deeply fond of Humayun Ahmed. This writer helped a whole range of generations to get back to reading through more than 200 books of his, most of which have been bestsellers. He inspired people to love their culture, tradition and nature.
Thousands of people from all walks of life, especially youths, gathered at the Central Shaheed Minar yesterday to pay the final tribute to the illustrious writer. His collections of Himu and Misir Ali; films Nandito Norokay, Shankhaneel Karagar; and books Jochhona O Jananir Golpo, Brihonnola, 1971, Gouripur Junction, Megh Bolechhe Jabo Jabo, Pencil-a Anka Pori, Kothao Keu Nei are only a few among his most popular works.
“Humayun Ahmed inspired us to dream and love nature, trees and moonlight,” said Jafrin Rezwana, a Dhaka University (DU) student of history, adding, “Death is not his end. His characters such as Himu, Misir Ali, Shubhro and Rupa will keep inspiring us.”
Sushmita Biswas, another DU student, said she had been having trouble accepting the fact that a great novelist, dramatist and filmmaker like Humayun Ahmed had died a premature death. “Shall we get any new books from him at the next book fair? No…this means a huge vacuum has been created in Bangla literature,” she added.
Humayun Ahmed also brought a new dimension to Bangla drama. He was a playwright, director and lyricist. Television viewers once even brought out processions urging the writer not to kill one of his characters, “Baker Bhai”, in the serial Kothao Keu Nei in the 1990s.
Recalling his memories, actor Masum Aziz told The Daily Star that he had found no lack of qualities as a human being in Humayun Ahmed. Besides writing and directing, he knew magic and how to paint and act. Overall, Humayun Ahmed was a scientist, he added.
“He knew about people's tastes the best. His scripts for drama were superb. Anyone could act with his dialogues,” said Aziz, expressing his sorrow that the acting industry had lost a valuable asset.
Development activist Ranjan Karmaker said the youth of the early 1980s was not interested in reading. Writers and publishers of that time used to be afraid of printing a big number of copies of a book considering that only a handful of middle-aged people were the main buyers of books. Humayun Ahmed's books attracted the younger generation to the Bangla Academy and Ekushey Book Fair in the late 1980s and 1990s.
“There are even instances of five friends buying a single book of Humayun. Students save to buy his books. This is something commendable,” he said. He popularised Bangla folk songs, musical instruments and stories to a great extent.
“You can now see the youth of today singing folk songs. Humayun Ahmed played an important role in this regard,” said Ranjan Karmaker.
Film director Chashi Nazrul Islam said Humayun Ahmed had enriched the Bangladeshi film industry when it was in a great crisis. He also inspired people about the Liberation War and patriotism.
Shankhaneel Karagar, Aguner Poroshmoni, Srabon Megher Din, Dui Duari, Chondrokotha, Noi No. Bipod Shongket, Amar Achhe Jol, Nirontor, Priotomeshu, Daruchini Dweep, Shyamol Chhaya and Ghetuputro Komola are some of his best known films.
Actress and Awami League lawmaker Tarana Halim said a great man like Humayun Ahmed was no more, but the question remained whether any initiative would be there to fill the vacuum of the great people the country had lost.
“The writer wanted to set up a cancer hospital. We will try to make his dream come true,” she said.

Goodbye Humayun

Humayun heads to Nuhash Palli in coffin

An ambulance carrying the body of legendary writer Humayun Ahmed drove straight to his cherished place Nuhash Palli in Gazipur where the famed filmmaker will be laid to eternal rest Tuesday afternoon.
Engineer Motahar, the father-in-law of the best storyteller, is accompanying Humayun, in coffin, in the ambulance during his last trip to his most favourite retreat.
After a spate of meetings, the family of Humayun Ahmed decided early Tuesday that the best storyteller will be laid to eternal rest at Nuhash Palli.
Mohammad Zafar Iqbal, brother of Humayun, told this to reporters around 2:15am emerging from a meeting held at the Sher-e-Bangla Nagar residence of LGED State Minister Jahangir Kabir Nanak.
Nova, Shila and Nuhash—the three children from the first wife of Humayun—were present during the meeting.
The family and friends of the writer taking the body from the mortuary of Birdem will start for Nuhash Palli around 9:00am and the burial will take place after Zohr prayers, Zafar Iqbal said.
The final decision came following a series of meetings spanning nearly seven-hours over deciding the burial site of the renowned writer.
Earlier, on her arrival at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport Monday morning, Meher Afroz Shaon, wife of the acclaimed writer and filmmaker, said her husband's last wish was to be buried at Nuhash Palli.
Following the development, Humayun’s three children told reporters that they want their father should be buried at a place where everybody can visit his grave and offer prayers.
The children announced their decision at the writer's mother's residence in Mirpur Monday evening.
In the wake of this situation, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed her concern over the issue and the LGED state minister stepped in to resolve the crisis.
Nanak held several meetings with Humayun’s children, wife and brother to settle the impasse.
Several personalities including Shammilita Sangskritik Jote President Nasiruddin Yusuf Bachchu, Managing Director of Channel i Faridur Reza Sagar and chief of news Shaikh Siraj also joined the meetings that brought breakthrough early Tuesday.
Humayun, who was also a famed filmmaker, died at Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital in New York Thursday night (BST) after a nine-month fight with colon cancer.

John Dalton grew up to be an English chemist, meteorologist and physicist. Before he had propounded the Atomic Theory, he had already attained a significant status. He worked for the development of modern Atomic Theory, Gas Law, and his research on colour blindness. Until 1800, he had also worked as a teacher of mathematics and natural philosophy at the "New College" in Manchester, a dissenting academy. A second work by Dalton "Elements of English Grammar" was published in 1801.
Much of Dalton's collected work was damaged during the bombing of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society on 24 December 1940. The damaged papers are now in the John Rylands Library having been deposited in the university library by the Society.
Dalton never married and had only a few close friends. He lived for more than a quarter of a century with his friend the Rev. W. Johns in George Street, Manchester. He suffered a minor stroke in 1837; a second one in 1838 left him with a speech impediment, though he still was able to carry on with his experiments. On July 27, 1844, Dalton, fell from his bed and was found lifeless by his assistant.
John Dalton was from a Quaker family at Eaglesfield in England, born on September 06, 1766. He was a son of a weaver, he joined his older brother, Jonathan at age 15 in running a Quaker school in nearby Kendal.

German researchers say they had evidence that sowing the ocean with iron particles sucks up and stores carbon dioxide.
But their work, touching on a fiercely controversial issue called geo-engineering, came under attack from other scientists and environmentalists.
They claim a far bigger question - whether such schemes could damage the marine biosphere - remained unanswered.
Published in the science journal Nature, the paper is one of the biggest and most detailed probes into ocean fertilisation, a practice that is banned under international law although scientific research into it is permitted.
Its goal is to take CO2 from the atmosphere and store it in the deep sea so that it no longer adds to the greenhouse effect.
This would be done by scattering the ocean surface with iron dust, a nutrient for microscope marine vegetation called phytoplankton. As the plants gorge on the iron, they also suck up atmospheric CO2 thanks to natural photosynthesis.
In the next step, the phytoplankton die and sink to the deep ocean floor - taking with them the CO2, which would lie in the sediment, possibly for centuries.
Critics, though, say geo-engineering schemes are riddled with unknowns, both in cost effectiveness and risks for the environment.
Creating a 'fluff layer'
Scientists led by Victor Smetacek of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven took a research ship to the Southern Ocean off Antarctica in 2004.
There, they located a giant eddy - a slowly-moving clockwise-rotating swirl 60 kilometres across that had relatively little interchange with the rest of the ocean - and used it as a test bed for a five-week experiment.
They scattered seven tonnes of commercial iron sulphate particles, which within four weeks developed into a giant bloom of diatom plankton.
The diatoms then died, sinking in clumps of entangled cells, "far below" a depth of 1000 metres, according to samples measured with a fluorometer.
They were probably deposited on the sea floor in a "fluff layer" that should remain for "many centuries and longer," Smetacek's team say.
Further work is needed to see what happens when sideways currents hit the diatom blooms, they add.
Wider effects unknown
Other voices sounded a loud note of caution, saying the experiment took place in exceptional conditions and did not consider other environmental consequences.
Among them was Professor John Shepherd, who chaired a landmark report in 2009 by Britain's Royal Society into geo-engineering.
It concluded that ocean fertilisation would not suck up that much CO2 and could be harmful to the marine biosphere.
"Whilst the new research is an interesting and valuable contribution in this evolving field, it does not address the potential ecological side effects of such a technology in what is a poorly understood field," says Shepherd.
The Canada-based ETC Group, an environmental NGO campaigning against geo-engineering, says the study "only focuses on a few narrow aspects and disregards or ignores others."
"The intended purpose of ocean fertilisation is to significantly disrupt marine ecosystems through drastic changes on phytoplankton, which is the base of the marine food web, so the effects would propagate throughout the ocean in unpredictable ways," it says.

Severe typhoon hits Hong Kong, market delays opening

A severe typhoon hit Hong Kong on Tuesday, disrupting business across the financial hub, with offices and the stock market to remain closed for at least part of the morning after the city raised its highest typhoon warning overnight.
Typhoon Vicente battered Hong Kong with gale-force winds and torrential rain, grounding flights and shutting port operations.
Authorities hoisted the No 10 tropical cyclone signal for several hours overnight, making this one of the strongest typhoons to hit the city in the past decade.
Financial markets, schools, businesses and non-essential government services close when a No. 8 signal or above is hoisted, posing a disruption to business in the capitalist hub and former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
By 8:00am (0000 GMT), the typhoon was veering away from the city and weakening, although the No 8 signal is expected to remain in force until at least 10:00am (0200 GMT), the Hong Kong Observatory said, which would force a closure of the stock market for the morning.
The market will be closed for the day if the No 8 signal remains in place until noon (0400 GMT).
Separately, China's National Meteorological Center issued an orange alert for Typhoon Vicente, the second highest warning level in China's four-tier typhoon warning system, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Strengthening gale-force winds overturned trees, churned up huge waves in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour and sent debris flying, injuring some 30 people as Vicente slammed into the city and the western reaches of China's Guangdong province.
Fifteen flights were cancelled and more than 200 delayed late on Monday, aviation authorities said, although Hong Kong's main carrier Cathay Pacific said it planned to resume some flights. Affected airlines are expected to have to clear a sizeable backlog of stranded passengers.
The Hong Kong Observatory raised the No 10 signal early on Tuesday as typhoon Vicente swept much closer to Hong Kong than initially thought, making this the first time the highest typhoon signal had been raised since 1999.
More than 30,000 Chinese fishing boats were alerted to return to harbour, with 10,560 fishermen taking shelter ashore in Guangdong, Chinese state media reported. Storm surges and sea wave warnings were heightened, with winds of up to 100 kph (60 mph) expected.

The vice-chancellor of a public university yesterday told the International Crimes Tribunal-1 how he was brutally tortured at the residence of Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury's father in Chittagong by Pakistani army and their collaborators during the Liberation War.
Prof Dr Md Saleh Uddin, VC of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, said he was brutally tortured at the diktat of Fazlul Quader Chowdhury, father of war crimes accused Salahuddin Quader, at their Goods Hill residence.
Salahuddin Quader also beat him up during the torture, the vice-chancellor added.
"At one stage of torture, my lips and some portions of my face cracked and I fell on the ground," said Prof Saleh Uddin, adding he fainted several times on the day of his captivity in the third week of July in 1971.
The VC said although he was seriously wounded, Salahuddin Quader was not satisfied and slapped hard on his face as he did not cry.
Prof Saleh Uddin, 61, is the eighth prosecution witness in a case filed against the BNP lawmaker for his alleged involvement in war crimes committed during the Liberation War.
In 1971, Saleh Uddin was a student of economics at Chittagong University and lodged at the house of Raja Khan Chowdhury in Mohora village in Chittagong.
"One early morning in the third week of July, the then chairman of nearby Burishwar union and supporter of Convention Muslim League Shamsu Mia along with three others came to me between 5:30am and 6:00am and asked me to go with them," said Saleh Uddin.
After moving 200-300 yards, he saw a military jeep and two Pakistani soldiers. "They frisked me and took me on the jeep. Shamsu Mia sat beside the driver," Prof Saleh said.
Dropping Shamsu near his house, the jeep moved towards Salahuddin Quader's father Fazlul Quader Chowdhury's Goods Hill through Nojumia Haat and Arakan Road.
"I saw Fazlul Quader sitting on a chair in front of a tea table. I also saw Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury," he said, adding, Fazlul Quader enquired about his identity.
"As I replied, Fazlul Quader ordered others to beat me up."
The two soldiers dragged him to the first floor of Goods Hill. A few minutes later two men -- Hamidul Kabir and Sekandar -- entered the room. People called Hamidul as the chief of auxiliary force Al-Shams, said Saleh Uddin.
"Without making any conversation, they began to beat me up indiscriminately," he said, adding, Salahuddin Quader's men kept asking him, "Where are the arms? Where are the others [freedom fighters]?"
"At one stage, one soldier began to beat me up with the bed stands. They broke three bed stands. I almost fainted," the SUST VC said, adding that they kept asking him to answer their questions.
The men then dragged him down to the ground floor where Salahuddin Quader was waiting.
"He is not even shedding tears, what beating have you given him?" the VC quoted Salahuddin Quader as saying.
Salahuddin then slapped him hard on his left cheek and told his men to take him to the garage downstairs which was used as a torture cell, Saleh said.
They then started beating him up there with a hosepipe. "It seemed to me I would die anytime," he said.
Saleh Uddin fainted for a while and was later taken upstairs. Nurul Islam, a senior student of Chittagong University, who served as the principal of Pahartali College, came to meet him.
Nurul asked him whether he answered to their questions.
"I told him I was not involved in anything. What would I admit?" Saleh replied.
Nurul said he would see whether something could be done for Saleh Uddin. That evening some villagers went to Goods Hill and said Saleh Uddin was a good student and was not involved in anything wrong.
"Salahuddin Quader told me he would collect more information about me," Saleh said, adding, he was asked to stay in Mohora. The soldiers then escorted him to the village on a car.
After staying a few days in Mohora, Saleh left the village in fear.
In response to a question from the prosecution, Prof Saleh Uddin said during the torture, he saw another young captive on the first floor of Goods Hill and heard Salahuddin's driver saying "That man would be killed."
The youth was taken out after a few minutes. He did not see him again as long as he stayed at the house.
The three-member tribunal headed by Justice Md Nizamul Huq started recording Saleh Uddin's 100-minute testimony at around 10:00am yesterday. Salahuddin Quader was present in the court.
Defence counsel Ahsanul Huq Hena is set to cross-examine Saleh Uddin today.
Salahuddin Quader is facing 23 counts of crimes against humanity at the tribunal.
Later, cross-examination of the investigation officer by the defence of detained Jamaat-e-Islami Nayeb-e-Ameer Delawar Hossain Sayedee continued for the 35th time at the tribunal.
Sayedee is facing 20 charges of crimes against humanity committed in 1971.
QUADER MOLLAH'S CASE
Meanwhile, the International Crimes Tribunal-2 yesterday adjourned the case proceeding against Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Mollah till today.
The three-member tribunal headed by Justice ATM Fazle Kabir adjourned the case proceeding following a time plea of the prosecution, as they could not produce a female witness "due to illness of her mother".
Yesterday was fixed for recording the testimony of the fourth prosecution witness behind closed doors.
On July 12, the tribunal decided to allow two female witnesses, members of victims' families, to give their testimonies against the Jamaat assistant secretary general in closed doors to protect their identity and privacy.
Of them, the first female witness gave her testimony on July 17.
Ekramul Huqe, one of the defence counsels, told The Daily Star the prosecution sought time as they could not produce the witness before the court and the tribunal allowed them time till today.
Prosecutor Nurjahan Begum Mukta told The Daily Star, "We could not produce the witness due to her mother's illness and sought time."
 published copy by: the daily star bangladesh

Internet trends in Bangladesh

The rapid growth of digital technology is fundamentally changing the world as we know it. Global internet penetration in 2010 stood at 1.9 billion people and is expected to grow to 5 billion by 2015. It is unsurprising that with this in mind, information in the world (videos, music, documents etc.) that is stored online is also projected to grow from 800 exabytes to 53 zetabytes (eMarketer, 2011).
To put this into context, Google recently announced that there is 60 hours of video (YouTube Blog, 2012) uploaded onto YouTube each and every minute.
Mobile adoption is another factor that is further accelerating access to the internet. The “Queen of the Net” Mary Meeker forecasts mobile internet usage to outstrip desktop/large screen by 2015.
So why is this relevant to us in Bangladesh?
In Bangladesh, with mobile subscribers just over 92 million and mobile internet access over 25 million users (BTRC, March 2012), it is fair to say, that these “pocket computers” will be the first entry point into the internet for many people in this country.
As access to internet explodes, the internet will increasingly become where people, of all ages and demographics, spend their time and as a result it will lead to significant changes in the way we go about our daily lives.
It is second nature for an individual in New York to purchase a flight via the internet and changes such as these are soon to take place here.
G&R Ad Network, a company that manages internet ad campaigns across over 150 local websites reaching over 90% of Bangladeshis online, has built-up unique insight into how users within the country and abroad browse the web.
G&R analysed millions of data points and put together 3 key trends that can help show where the internet in Bangladesh is going.
1. Internet consumption is accelerating
The internet subscriber base in Bangladesh (excluding mobile) currently stands at just over 1.5 million (BTRC, Feb 2012). However, total desktop internet users in Bangladesh is actually far greater than that number, likely driven by heavy usage in offices, internet cafes and multiple users accessing the internet from a single household. Local industry estimates suggest that in 2011 access to the web was closer to 8 million users, having grown 300% since 2010 and expected grow a further 500% by 2020 (BCG, 2010). This acceleration of internet consumption is undoubtedly fueled not only by the growth in access, such as through WIMAX modems, but also through the proliferation of increasingly affordable laptops, desktops and tablets.
2. Those with access browse a lot
Until now, it wasn't clear how people in Bangladesh actually spend their time on the web on a daily basis. The data G&R gathered sheds some more light on consumer behaviour online.
The average user accesses the web on 3 separate occasions throughout the day, with usage peaking during the morning hours. In addition, a total of 4 different websites are typically visited during these sessions.
While usage of social networks and email services account for a considerable portion web activity, the data collected by the G&R indicates that Bangladeshis also spend a lot of time browsing the web. Such users are actively seeking information and content online and this is only going to grow further as more local websites and web applications start to enter the public domain.
3. Web usage varies considerably by day of week
Which days are Bangladeshis most online is a question that has been asked a lot at G&R. As visualised in the chart on left , web usage varies considerably based on the day of the week. Internet traffic among local Bangladeshis peaks on Mondays and is generally higher during the working days. Fridays represent substantially less traffic, but it is worth noting that internet consumption remains high for non-resident Bangladeshis visiting local Bangladeshi sites on Fridays.
Final thoughts
The rapid development of the online space in Bangladesh is very exciting and promising. The frenetic popularity of global platforms like Google, Facebook and Twitter as well as the innovation and growth of local websites, Bangla content, localised online tools and ecommerce which indicates that the internet will have an increasingly positive impact on the daily lives of people in this country