Washington, December 20 : A team of researchers from the university of Montreal and the University of Chicago claims to have made a discovery that can improve scientists' understanding of ion channels, which are akin to little ''nano-machines'' or ''nano-valves'' inside the body.

The discovery attains significance as ion channels, when malfunction, can cause genetic illnesses that attack muscles, the central nervous system, and the heart.

Reporting their work in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the researchers said that they had developed a new method to detect the movement of single proteins that control the ion exchange between the cells and their environment.

Chicago, Dec. 17 : Everyone knows that US President-elect Barack Obama is obsessed with sports, and to prove it, he has assembled what he proudly calls ''the best basketball-playing cabinet in American history''.

According to The Telegraph, the latest to join the ranks is Arne Duncan, 44, Obama''s education secretary.

Duncan is a 6ft 5in tall former co-captain of Harvard''s basketball team who also played professionally in Australia.

Chicago, Dec. 16 : US President-elect Barack Obama on Monday announced his energy and environmental teams.

Steven Chu, who shared the Nobel Prize for physics 11 years ago, was tapped to be Obama''s secretary of the Department of Energy.

He is currently the head of the Berkeley National Laboratory and is a specialist in carbon-neutral energy sources.

Obama said Chu was "uniquely suited" to serve in his Cabinet.

Chicago, Dec. 14 : US President-elect Barack Obama has been using his four minutes of weekend airtime not only to speak directly to the American people, but also to create news.

According to the Washington Post, Obama used the address to announce Shaun Donovan, New York City''s housing commissioner, as his nominee to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Obama has previously outlined a series of specific proposals aimed at reversing the nation''s economic torpor, and he sketched out a plan to save or create 2.5 million jobs over the next two years.

Chicago, Dec. 13 : US President-elect Barack Obama''s economic team is considering an economic-stimulus program that could be in excess of 600 billion dollars to be used over a period of two years.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, sources close to the Obama camp said with the unemployment rate now expected to hit nine percent without aggressive intervention, Obama aides and advisers have set $600 billion over two years as "a very low-end estimate."

The final number is expected to be significantly higher, possibly between 700 billion dollars and a trillion dollars over two years.