New York, Mar 17 : US President Barack Obama is 3.1 percent Irish, it has emerged.

According to Ancestry. com, Obama's great-great-great-grandfather, Falmouth Kearney, sailed aboard the Marmion from Liverpool on March 20, 1850, with plans of settling in Ohio.

The roots of Kearney can be traced back to the villages of Moneygall and Shinrone in County Offaly, Ireland, reports The New York Daily News.

Also, Joe Biden's ancestors arrived in the U. S. within six months of Obama's Irish family; both were shoemakers by trade.

Washington, March 17 : Brigham Young University researchers say that a new study conducted by them may help explain how and where the virus behind about half of all cold infections evolve in the rhinovirus genome, and what this means for possible vaccines.

"There are a lot of different approaches to treating the cold, none of which seem to be effective. This is partly because we haven''''t spent a lot of time studying the virus and its history to see how it''''s responding to the human immune system and drugs," said Keith Crandall, professor of biology and co-author of the study.

Washington, March 17 : A new case report published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) has determined that stun guns, in certain circumstances, may result in brain-specific complications such as seizures.

An analysis of an incident where a previously well police officer was mistakenly hit by a taser shot with 2 barbs in the upper back and head meant for a suspect indicates that seizures may occur and should be considered an adverse event related to the use of these devices.

Washington, March 17 : Chemists have used single oxygen atoms dancing on a metal oxide slab, to get a better understanding of how water splits into oxygen and hydrogen, which would improve their understanding of the chemistry needed to generate hydrogen fuel from water or to clean contaminated water.

The scientists, from the Department of Energy''s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), made the discovery while trying to determine the basics of how titanium dioxide - a compound sometimes found in sunscreen - breaks down water.

The chemical reactions between water and oxygen are central to such varied processes as hydrogen production, breaking down pollutants, and in solar energy.

Washington, March 17 : Scientists in America have identified the triggering mechanism by which breast and prostate cancer cells begin.

Dr. Ercole Cavalieri and Dr. Eleanor Rogen made this achievement with their colleagues at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Eppley Institute for Research in Cancer in Omaha, Nebraska.

"We have found the first step that starts a cell down the road to becoming a cancer cell. By blocking this first step from happening, we feel we can stop the development of breast and prostate cancer," say the researchers.

Washington, Mar 17 : Jennifer Lopez's husband Marc Anthony is insisting her to become a mum again.

The singer - who welcomed twins Max and Emme in February last year - says her husband is keen to add to the brood.

However, Lopez says that wants to focus on her career for a while first, reports Contactmusic.