London, September 7 : A roboticist has said that finding out exactly how fictional robots influence people can help engineers build real ones.

According to a report in New Scientist, the roboticist in question, Bill Smart, suggests that fictional robots like the ones in the movie "Wall E", can teach engineers how to build actual robots.

Smart and literature researcher Lara Bovilsky, both at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, recently held a workshop on the topic at the RO-MAN conference on human-robot interactions in Munich, Germany.

London, September 8 : Swiss researchers have devised a way to fabricate borosilicate glass nanoparticles used in microfluidic systems, so that they maintain their stability when subjected to temperature fluctuations and harsh chemical environments.

Professor Martin Gijs, who led the group of EPFL researchers associated with the study, says that their approach can extend the range of potential nanoparticle applications in biomedical, optical and electronic fields.

London, Sep 8 : Asif Ali Zardari, the newly elected Pakistan President, faces the challenge of laying a new course for the country which has witnessed rise in insurgency and the growing economic crisis.

Zardari’s election was, however, overshadowed by a car bomb attack on Saturday outside Peshawar, capital of North West Frontier Province, in which as many as 35 people were killed.

London, Sept 7 : While the royals are known for their aversion to endorsements, a huge furore has been created after Prince Harry’s snaps playing polo were used by a posh brand in its huge advertising billboards.

Fifteen feet-high posters featuring the Prince have been used by elite clothing brand, Hackett for promoting their expensive sportswear.

The images, reportedly taken at a match sponsored by the firm more than a year ago, show Harry wearing a polo shirt flashing a Hackett logo.

Polo fans were taken by surprise when they noticed the prince’s picture being used to endorse the company’s elite sports kit.

London, Sept 7 : Many versions of Barbie dolls have been created throughout the ages, and now the world''s most expensive has been unveiled in Mexico City.

London, Sept 7 : A pet Labrador had to have an operation to remove 13 golf balls, which he had swallowed on his walks with his owner.

While walking on the local golf course near his home in Dunfermline, Fife, the canine swallowed the balls.

His owner, Chris Morrison, noticed an unusual rattling sound coming from the stomach of the black Labrador, Oscar, and when he took him to the vet, it was found that he had swallowed 13 balls.

The balls, which weighed around 45 grams (1.6oz) and around four centimetres (1.57 inches) in diameter, were lodged in the five-year-old dog''s stomach.

Morrison, a planning administrator, said one of the balls had been in her stomach so long that it had turned black and was decomposing.