Using Bacterial DNA For Data Storage. According to an article in the Communications of the ACM, three scientists from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the US, have proposed the use of DNA in genetically modified bacteria to store information.

The article states that, For very long-term storage and retrieval, encode information as artificial DNA strands and insert into living hosts. As vectors, bacteria, even some bugs and weeds, might be good for hundreds of millions of years.

sheesh!… and I thought, the good bacteria could only turn milk into curd!! ;-)

Sir Michael Gambon to play Prof Dumbledore. Irish-born actor Sir Michael Gambon is tipped to take on the role of Professor Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies following the death of star Richard Harris.

Sir Ian McKellen (who plays the role of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy) and Christopher Lee were also touted as possible contenders to play the role of Prof. Albus Dumbledore, but both of them said they were not interested.

I always felt that Richard Harris (may he rest in peace) was the perfect choice for the role of Prof. Dumbledore… just as Ian McKellen fits like a glove in the chracter of Gandalf in LoTR movies.

Yaha virus spreads like a rash. A new variant of the Yaha virus that appeared just before Christmas has proved very contagious, infecting thousands of computers worldwide.

Symantec has named the virus as W32.Yaha.K@mm. It arrives as an attachment of the form .exe or .scr with lots of various subject lines and message bodies. The virus has its own email client which it uses to propagate itself out to the contacts listed in your address books. Moreover, it tries to close down firewalls and anti-virus softwares.

So, beware of that cute screen-saver that might appear to come from a dear friend of yours! :)

Be informed!