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Richard Bransion, British billionaire unveils model of Space Ship Two.

On 24 Th January. British billionaire Richard Branson and aerospace designer unveiled a model of Space Ship-Two, the vehicle which will be availed for passenger travel. “Breathtakingly beautiful,” was Branson’s assessment of the ship, which is under construction stage. It is reported that tentatively the test flights begin as early as this year.

Branson, a visionary entrepreneur, before attaining billionaire status, has risen from scrap. He has overcome many a financial crisis in development of Virgin. Branson has been solely responsible for Virgin’s growth and expansion, so for this new venture he will leave no stone unturned. Keeping his style in mind one can expect that the space ship will not only be breathtaking but will be elegant and equipped adequately enough to give passengers a true space joy ride.

Branson and Burt Rutan also showed off a model of the jet that will be utilized for launching of the Space Ship Two into space. In the space , the passengers will be able to unbuckle themselves and experience weightlessness and enjoy an unparallel view before gliding back to Earth. The weightless state will last for about 4 1/2 minutes of zero-gravity before the passengers return to their seats.

Britain takes a major step ahead in treatment of HIV

 A new class of drug for HIV patients is being introduced in the UK. Researchers mention it as a major step ahead in treatment of the deadly infection. Raltegravir is available as tablets to be had twice a day, and is approved for usage along with other antiretroviral drugs for treating HIV specifically in about one in ten HIV infected people whose therapy has ceased working. Owing to their potential of prolonging life even by decades, HIV drugs are thought to be cost-effective. Raltegravir is most likely to be made available on the NHS for all HIV infected people.

Doctors feel that it could well become standard treatment, thus potentially stopping HIV from becoming full-blown Aids. Trials in this regard have shown encouraging results in terms of a reduction in viral load. Some patients showed a major improvement even to the point where the virus levels were ‘undetectable’.

An estimated 73,000 people in the country are infected with HIV that culminates in Aids. Early diagnosis coupled with appropriate treatment of HIV infection can result in a relatively healthier and normal lifespan for the infected people. However, HIV continually can become immune to treatment, making an updated search for new drugs mandatory. Raltegravir is among the first in a new class of advanced HIV treatments termed integrase inhibitors that is expected to cut down the risks of cancer and heart attack associated with prevailing medication.

Brown reshuffle results in Shrity promotion

Work and Pensions secretary of state for Wales quit from his ministerial post as the Metropolitan police launched a probe into his deputy leadership campaign finances. Long-serving Lords Chief Whip Lord Grocott and parliamentary undersecretary of state in department of innovation, universities and skills Lord Triesman also put in their papers.
In the ensuing reshuffle by British Prime Minister, Baroness Shrity Vadera was appointed and promoted as the new under secretary in department for business, enterprise and regulatory reform. She will be in charge of competitiveness, deregulation and the British Business Council. Prior to the new appointment, she had been a low-profile special advisor to Mr. Brown before becoming undersecretary of state in the department for international development last year.

Andy Burnham, 38 year old, got culture, media and spot secretary. James Purnel aged 37 years, who held the post Culture and Media secretary was promoted as work and pensions secretary. Indictment of Ms Yvette Cooper, 38, as chief secretary to the treasure and her husband Ed Balls who is the school secretary, the husband-wife duo were the first married couple to ever to serve together in Britain.

The vacant post of Wales secretary was taken over by former Northern Ireland secretary Paul Murphy, who will also chair a new cross departmental committee on the sensitive issue of IT and information security, as series of losses of personal data by government agencies.

The present immigration minister in home office Liam Byrne will perform additional responsibility as the new junior minister in treasury.

British memory champion beaten by a Chimpanzee

A British memory champion was beaten by a Chimpanzee in a memory contest. Seven-year-old chimp Ayumu, raised in captivity, thrashed Ben Pridmore at a highly demanding computer game based on a memory test that involved recounting the position of numbers as they flashed on a screen.
Ben Pridmore is famous for memorising the order of a pack of cards in mere 30 seconds, but got beaten by a chimp in a game in which numbers appear and then get hidden by white squares. Players afterwards touch the squares in certain numerical order. Digits were displayed for just about one fifth of a second. Chimp Ayumu was correct most of the times – a mind-boggling 90 per cent whereas Ben scored a rather poor 33 per cent.
The contest was held for Extraordinary Animals, a Channel Five programme. The British memory champion remarked: “I would (prefer) rather not been seen on television doing worse than a chimp in a memory test. I shall never be able to live it down.” Both Chimpanzee and he watched a comp screen on which five digits were shown at various positions for a moment. They then were required to touch the respective squares in order of the digits they concealed - from lowest to highest. Mr Pridmore ruefully admitted that he actually had met his match.