Washington, Apr. 26 : With the Taliban inching precariously closer to Islamabad, and fears of a takeover of the country by the insurgents getting stronger, the United States has expressed serious concern about Pakistan's nuclear arsenal getting into the hands of the Taliban.

Washington feels that Pakistan's nuclear armaments are in safe custody for the time being, but it is worried about the weapons of mass destruction getting into the hands of the extremists after they topple the democratic set up in the country.

London, Apr 26 : iPods and mobile phones may soon become theftproof, thanks to the unique sounds made by our ears.

Southampton University researchers have discovered that they can identify individuals from the faint sounds made deep inside the human ear. And, therefore, by using this technology they''re developing security devices.

Personal music players could be fitted with antitheft devices that detect "acoustic fingerprints" so they only work when they are being used by the registered owner.

Washington, Apr 26 : Middle-class parents can have an impact on urban education, but whether it is beneficial or sustainable that depends on the attitude of parents themselves, according to a new Temple University study.

Owing to the current economical scenario, more middle-class families are passing on private schools in favour of the local public school. Various educational studies claim that the move should be welcomed by urban school districts in particular.

Studies show urban schools benefit educationally from an influx of middle class students and parents because of the resources (most notably time and money) that accompany them.

Washington, Apr 26 : Be it parents or teachers, all of them often ask one question-Why don''t students like school? Now, a psychologist has tried to answer the question in a new book.

Aptly titled "Why Don''t Students like School?" the book by Daniel Willingham, a University of Virginia cognitive psychologist explains how the mind works - and what it means for the classroom.

A recent study says that Nicotine may help calm people by altering the activity of brain areas involved in the inhibition of negative emotions such as anger and hence angry people are more prone to getting addicted to cigarettes.

According to a recent study, Vitamin D deficiency can be linked to asthma. This makes the populations of sunlight deficient regions more prone to this disease of the respiratory tract.

In the study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Dr. Juan C. Celedon at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital and co-investigators examined the association between vitamin D levels and markers of asthma severity and allergy in 616 asthmatic children between the ages of 6 and 14 from Costa Rica. They found that 175 had insufficient levels of vitamin D.