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The birds are faster than fighter jets relative to size and withstand g-forces that would make the average human black outHummingbirds are the fastest animals on Earth, relative to their body size. They can cover more body lengths per second than any other vertebrate and for their size can even outpace fighter jets and the space shuttle - while withstanding g-forces that would make a fighter pilot black out.Christopher James Clark, a zoologist at the University of California, Berkeley, took high-speed pictures of male Anna's hummingbirds performing dives as part of their courtship ritual. He measured them moving at up to 385 body lengths per second (blps), which is around 27.3 metres per second.This is the highest speed ever recorded for a vertebrate, relative to its size. The only animals that can move faster relative to their body size are insects such as fleas.'Behavioural displays are a common feature of animal courtship,' wrote Clark in today's issue of the Proceedings of the Roya

Brilliant computer scientist who mentored the founders of GoogleThe influence of the Stanford University computer scientist Rajeev Motwani, who has been found dead in the swimming pool of his California home, at the age of 47, stretched beyond Silicon Valley to affect the lives of millions of people around the world.Known among his peers as having a brilliant mind, Motwani was an award-winning professor whose work in data mining and algorithms scooped a string of accolades, including the prestigious Gödel prize (2001). But it was in his role as a mentor and adviser to some of the world's most powerful technology companies - including his pivotal part in the development of the internet search engine Google - that he made the greatest impact. He had a critical role in assisting the graduate research of the Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, encouraging the duo and helping them develop the systems that made them billionaires, so kickstarting what has probably become the pre-

The birds are faster than fighter jets relative to size and withstand g-forces that would make the average human black outHummingbirds are the fastest animals on Earth, relative to their body size. They can cover more body lengths per second than any other vertebrate and for their size can even outpace fighter jets and the space shuttle - while withstanding g-forces that would make a fighter pilot black out.Christopher James Clark, a zoologist at the University of California, Berkeley, took high-speed pictures of male Anna's hummingbirds performing dives as part of their courtship ritual. He measured them moving at up to 385 body lengths per second (blps), which is around 27.3 metres per second.This is the highest speed ever recorded for a vertebrate, relative to its size. The only animals that can move faster relative to their body size are insects such as fleas.'Behavioural displays are a common feature of animal courtship,' wrote Clark in today's issue of the Proceedings of the Roya

FAQUA, Northern West Bank, Jun 10 (IPS) - Faqua village has found itself unfortunately named. Faqua in Arabic means spring water bubbles; the village was named after the abundant natural underground springs that were once found all around it.

The US army is reportedly holding around 11 000 prisoners in Iraq, all of whom will either be freed or handed to Iraqi authorities in line with a security accord between Baghdad and Washington.

Vast quantities of data are transferred in real time from telescopes around the world to a supercomputer in the Netherlands, where researchers combine the information to create high-resolution images of distant objects in space.

Father's Day can be a difficult time for kids whose dads aren't actively involved in their lives. And if you're a single mom who is raising kids whose dads...

Some of its OEMs may toss the 'netbook' term around, but the company says it remains committed to the ultra-thin and light category.

With members of the RMT union planning to strike for 48 hours beginning at 1859 on Tuesday you can find a way around it online.

Automaker Chrysler announced last month it wanted to close 789 dealerships around the country. One dealer on that list was E.H. Green Motors, a 73-year-old dealership in Odem, Texas, that closes its doors Tuesday. Ed Green, the president of the dealership, says his dealership had been profitable.