London, Nov. 13, 2008 -- Supreme Council member and Ruler of Sharjah, H. H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al-Qasimi, visited here Wednesday the Royal Botanic Gardens, the third most popular of its kind in the world. The Gardens house botanic collections (conserved plants, living plants and documents) that have been enriched over 2 and half centuries.

London, Nov 13 : Researchers have discovered the secret of the perfect Yorkshire pudding - it must rise to four inches in height.

According to the Royal Society of Chemistry, a Yorkshire pudding must be no less than four inches (10cm) if it is to be worthy of the name; any less, and the dish cannot be properly said to have risen.

London, Nov 13 : Forget chat up lines if you are looking for love at a speed-dating event, for the big groups are all about looks and not personality, claim scientists.

Boffins have found that the bigger the group of potential mates to choose from the more likely individuals are to make a decision based on looks and sex appeal alone – because their mind blanks at the choice and they revert to basic instincts – that’s what scientists believe.

In primates and birds, the larger the group, the better the chance that non-dominant individuals have of being chosen as a mate, reports New Scientist.

Alison Lenton at the University of Edinburgh, and her team looked at whether this is true for people too.

London, Nov 13 : An infrared camera aboard NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has discovered a unique aurora lighting up Saturn’s polar cap, which is unlike any other known in our solar system.

Aurorae are caused when charged particles stream along the magnetic field of a planet and into its atmosphere. On Earth, these charged particles come from the solar wind – a stream of particles that emanates from the Sun.

Saturn’s main aurora, which is caused by the solar wind, changes size dramatically as the wind varies. The newly observed aurora at Saturn, however, doesn’t fit into either category.

London, Nov 13 : Based on a new climate model, scientists have determined that had humans not radically altered the atmosphere by pumping massive amounts of carbon dioxide into it, the future might have seen a super ice age lasting millions of years.

According to a report in New Scientist, Thomas Crowley of the University of Edinburgh, UK, and William Hyde of the University of Toronto in Canada developed the climate model.

CO2 levels have slowly fallen from around 100 to 50 million years ago, possibly due to the rise of the Himalayas.

As a result, Earth has gradually cooled, with permanent ice sheets starting to form in Antarctica around 30 million years ago and later in the Arctic.

London, November 13: The Queen has commended son Charles for his public service following the setting up of his Prince’s Trust charity, adding that both she and Prince Philip were immensely proud of his open-handed efforts.

Her Majesty, who visited the trust’s London head office at the start of celebrations for her son’s 60th birthday on November 14, said Charles’ conviction has been an inspiration while his trust mended lives of myriad of people.

“As we celebrate the many extraordinary achievements of the Prince’s Trust, so too I should like briefly to reflect on the role of the Prince of Wales, who has given enduring inspiration to it,” the Daily Express quoted her as saying.