W O R L D

Crystal work wins chemistry Nobel
for Israeli scientist
Stockholm, October 5
Israeli scientist Daniel Shechtman won the 2011 Nobel Prize in chemistry today for his discovery of quasicrystals, a mosaic-like chemical structure that researchers previously thought was impossible.

Pak judicial panel ‘interviews’ Osama’s widows
Islamabad, October 5
The Pakistani judicial commission investigating the killing of Osama bin Laden has interviewed the Al-Qaida leader’s widows and daughters for the first time, the panel announced today. The “exhaustive interview” of bin Laden’s three widows and two daughters was conducted yesterday.

Ex-militants rehabilitated in Sri Lanka
Chandani Kirinde in Colombo
AFTER more than two years when the Tamil Tigers were annihilated by government troops in north Sri Lanka, the country has undertaken an exhaustive rehabilitation process of nearly 12,000 cadres of the militant group who were captured or surrendered. 

Dengue claims seven more lives in Lahore
Afzal Khan in Islamabad
Dengue virus claimed seven more lives in Lahore on Wednesday, taking the death toll to 160 in Punjab, of which 150 deaths have been reported from the city. Five people succumbed to the virus at Lahore’s Mayo Hospital, a surgeon died at Surgimed Hospital and a woman passed away at Services Hospital.

 

 

Crystal work wins chemistry Nobel
for Israeli scientist

Stockholm, October 5
Israeli scientist Daniel Shechtman won the 2011 Nobel Prize in chemistry today for his discovery of quasicrystals, a mosaic-like chemical structure that researchers previously thought was impossible.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said Shechtman’s discovery in 1982 fundamentally changed the way chemists look at solid matter. It initially faced strong objections from the scientific community, and even got him kicked out of his research group.

Contrary to the previous belief that atoms were packed inside crystals in symmetrical patterns, Shechtman showed that the atoms in a crystal could be packed in a pattern that could not be repeated, the academy said.

He was studying a mix of aluminum and manganese in his microscope when he found a pattern, similar to Islamic mosaics, that never repeated itself and appeared contrary to the laws of nature. “His battle eventually forced scientists to reconsider their conception of the very nature of matter,” the academy said.

Since then, quasicrystals have been produced in laboratories and a Swedish company found them in one of the most durable kinds of steel, which is now used in products such as razor blades and thin needles made specifically for eye surgery, the citation said.

Scientists are also experimenting with using quasicrystals in coatings for frying pans, heat insulation in engines, and in light-emitting devices called LEDs.

Crystallographers always believed that all crystals have rotational symmetry, so that when they are rotated, they look the same.

In 1982, in Washington, DC, Shechtman first observed crystals with 10 points-pentagonal symmetry, which most scientists said was impossible. “I told everyone who was ready to listen that I had material with pentagonal symmetry. People just laughed at me,” Shechtman said in a description of his work released by his university.

For months he tried to persuade his colleagues of his find, but they refused to accept it. Finally, he was asked to leave his research group.

Shechtman returned to Israel, where he found one colleague prepared to work with him on an article describing the phenomenon. The article was at first rejected, but finally published in November 1984, to uproar in the scientific world.

Double Nobel winner Linus Pauling was among those who never accepted the findings. “He would stand on those platforms and declare, ‘Danny Shechtman is talking nonsense.

There is no such thing as quasicrystals, only quasi-scientists.’” Shechtman said.

In 1987, Shechtman friends in France and Japan succeeded in growing crystals large enough for x-rays to repeat and verify what he had discovered with the electron microscope. — AP

Pak judicial panel ‘interviews’ Osama’s widows

Islamabad, October 5
The Pakistani judicial commission investigating the killing of Osama bin Laden has interviewed the Al-Qaida leader’s widows and daughters for the first time, the panel announced today.

The “exhaustive interview” of bin Laden’s three widows and two daughters was conducted yesterday, said a brief statement issued by the commission. It did not give details.

The commission headed by former Supreme Court judge Javed Iqbal today interviewed Inter-Services Intelligence agency chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha regarding the US raid against bin Laden, the statement said.

The panel has interviewed senior military officials in the past but this was the first time that the ISI chief appeared before it. The statement said the ISI chief would be interviewed again tomorrow.

The questioning of senior military officials, including those from the powerful ISI, by a civilian commission is extremely rare in Pakistan.

The statement further said the commission also interviewed Shakil Afridi, a government doctor who was detained on charges of working for the CIA to obtain DNA samples of the residents of bin Laden’s compound in the garrison town of Abbottabad.

Media reports have said Afridi conducted a free vaccination campaign in bin Laden’s neighbourhood early this year in a bid to obtain DNA samples of residents of the compound after the CIA had zeroed in on it.

Bin Laden’s widows - two Saudis and a Yemeni - and about 10 of his children have been in the custody of Pakistani security agencies since US special forces killed the Al-Qaida leader during a covert raid in Abbottabad on May 2. The commission had earlier barred bin Laden’s widows and children and Afridi from leaving Pakistan.

The government has directed the commission to probe how bin Laden’s presence in Pakistan went undetected for almost five years, the circumstances of the US raid and any security lapses that may have occurred on May 2, and to make recommendations based on its findings. — PTI

Ex-militants rehabilitated in Sri Lanka
Chandani Kirinde in Colombo

AFTER more than two years when the Tamil Tigers were annihilated by government troops in north Sri Lanka, the country has undertaken an exhaustive rehabilitation process of nearly 12,000 cadres of the militant group who were captured or surrendered. Almost all have been released by now with less than a thousand remaining.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa hosted a ceremony at his official residence in Colombo recently for 1,800 rehabilitated youth and their family members to celebrate their release. The President assured the youth that these ex-combatants would be integrated into the development process of the country. “These rehabilitated youths are entitled to have all rights and privileges enjoyed by every citizen of this country. You are a member of this society and you are able to travel anywhere in the country with peace of mind,” the President said.

The task of rehabilitating them was entrusted to a newly created Bureau of the Commissioner General of Rehabilitation.

Dengue claims seven more lives in Lahore
Afzal Khan in Islamabad

Dengue virus claimed seven more lives in Lahore on Wednesday, taking the death toll to 160 in Punjab, of which 150 deaths have been reported from the city. Five people succumbed to the virus at Lahore’s Mayo Hospital, a surgeon died at Surgimed Hospital and a woman passed away at Services Hospital.

The total number of cases reported in Punjab has crossed 13,600 with Lahore being the most affected city as more than 11,900 cases were reported.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif told reporters in Lahore that a comprehensive policy was being implemented in order to combat the dengue menace. He said an effective strategy would be chalked out to eradicate the virus.

The Opposition has in the meantime requisitioned a session of the provincial assembly to debate the epidemic.