Washington, Apr 22 : Ever wondered how you could hear those whispers while gossiping with friends in class? Well, scientists have now found that a nano motor of sorts in the ear makes us comprehend quiet sounds.

Human ears have bundles of tiny, hair-like tubes atop "hair cells" in the ear, which move back and forth and act like miniature ''flexoelectric'' motors to amplify sound, according to Utah and Texas researchers.

Working like a power steering system of a car, the nanoscale motors magnify quiet sounds.

Beijing, Apr. 22 : U. S. President Barack Obama risks damaging relations with China if he meets the Dalai Lama in October, Chinese experts have warned.

"China would definitely be against the US leader meeting the Dalai Lama as it would be a severe interference in China''s internal affairs," the China Daily quoted Fu Mengzi, a scholar on American studies at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, as saying.

The Dalai Lama is seeking an audience with Obama in October, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday.

Washington, Apr. 22 : A newly declassified Congressional report released Tuesday has outlined the most detailed evidence yet that the military’s use of harsh interrogation methods on terrorism suspects was approved at high levels of the Bush administration.

The report focused solely on interrogations carried out by the military, not those conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency at its secret prisons overseas.

It rejected claims by former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and others that Pentagon policies played no role in harsh treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq or other military facilities.

Washington, Apr 22 : The latest beauty cream that can be added in a woman''s skin care regimen can be found in berries. A new study has found that an antioxidant present in the fruit could help fight skin damage due to ultraviolet (UV) rays.

Using a topical application of the antioxidant ellagic acid, researchers at Hallym University in the Republic of Korea markedly prevented collagen destruction and inflammatory response - major causes of wrinkles - in both human skin cells and the sensitive skin of hairless mice following continuing exposure to UV-B, the sun''s skin-damaging ultraviolet radioactive rays.

Washington, Apr 22 : Slumdog Millionaire trust has come out to the rescue of the film’s child star Rubina Ali by hiring a social worker to look after her.

The Jai Ho Trust was established with financial support from the filmmakers to ensure the welfare of the movie''s child stars, including Rubina and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail.

The trust has offered to help by hiring a trained social worker to look after the welfare of Rubina - amid allegations that the nine-year-old girl’s father Rafiq tried to sell her for
2,00,000 pounds.

Washington, Apr 22 : Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered potential drug-like compounds that can speed up the destruction of protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

The research team led by Dr Malcolm Leissring, from Mayo''s Department of Neuroscience have found two chemicals that could speed up activity of a molecule, insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE), which helps destroy A-beta proteins that form plaque in the brains of patients.