Washington, October 2: University of Michigan researchers have come up with a system that can enable computer chips to work around all functional bugs, including the ones that have not been detected as yet.

Their idea is to build a virtual fence that prevents a chip from operating in untested configurations.

The researchers say that their approach keeps track of all the configurations Intel processor may encounter, and loads the information onto a minuscule monitor that would be added to each processor.

Washington, Oct 2: The most pervasive global strain of HIV began spreading in humans around 1900 in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new research.

The research found that HIV began spreading between 1884 and 1924, around the same time urban centres in west central Africa were established. This estimated time of origin is decades earlier than the previous estimate of 1930.

This suggests that the growth of cities and associated high-risk behaviours may have been a principal cause of the rapid spread of the virus, reports Nature.

Washington, Oct 2: Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama leads his Republican rival John McCain 49 percent to 40 percent among registered voters in a new CBS News poll.

The nine-point spread marks an increase of four percentage points in Obama’s lead from a CBS News/New York Times survey taken last week. Obama also leads by nine points among likely voters, 50 percent to 41 percent.

About 1 in 4 voters remains uncommitted to either candidate - they are either undecided or favor one candidate but say they could change their mind.

Washington, October 2: Researchers at the University of Calgary have solved the mystery of the massive global extinction event 252 million years ago, by discovering that the shorelines of ancient Canada provided a refuge for marine organisms that escaped annihilation during the Permian-Triassic extinction event.

According to the research, the shorelines of ancient Alberta, British Columbia and the Canadian Arctic were an important refuge for some of the world’s earliest animals, most of which were wiped out by a mysterious global extinction event some 252 million years ago.

Washington, Oct 2: The United States Senate approved the landmark Indo-US civil nuclear deal early on Thursday morning.

The 100-member US Senate approved the Indo-US nuclear deal paving the way for its operationalisation. While 86 Senators voted for the deal, 13 opposed it.

The US Senate approved the legislation on the deal four days after the US House of Representatives passed the agreement by a clear majority (298-117 votes).

The Berman Bill “H R 7081” is named after Howard Berman, a Democrat strongly opposed to the deal on non-proliferation grounds but who subsequently change his stance.

Washington - Barely a month after her spectacular entrance into national politics as the Republican vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin has gone from shaking up the campaign to being the preferred object of mockery of critics around the United States.

"Pathetic," one commentator called her on CNN.

"Governor, bow out," wrote another in Newsweek.

The histrionic TV satire Saturday Night Live is enjoying a second youth based on imitating the Alaska governor.