Prime Numbers: Are they Really that Simple?

That is not even half of it!

The largest known prime number has been discovered by a computer at a university in Missouri in the US. Prime numbers - such as two, three, five and seven - are divisible only by themselves and one, and play an important role in computer encryption.

The new prime is more than 22 million digits long, five million longer than the previous largest prime. Primes this large could prove useful to computing in the future.

The new prime number was found as part of the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (Gimps), a global quest to find a particular type of large prime numbers. Mersenne primes are named after a French monk who studied them in the 17th Century.

They are hunted by factoring two by a large number and taking away one, a relatively manageable calculation for today's computers, but not every result is a prime. The discovered prime is written as 2^74,207,281-1, which denotes two, multiplied by itself 74,207,281 times, then take away one.

The Gimps project has discovered the 15 largest Mersenne primes in the 20 years it has been running and it is possible that there could be an infinite number of them to discover. What use are large primes?

Large prime numbers are important in computer encryption and help make sure that online banking, shopping and private messaging are secure, but current encryption typically uses prime numbers that are hundreds of digits long, not millions. "This prime is too large to currently be of practical value,"

However, searching for large primes is intensive work for computer processors and can have unexpected benefits. "One prime project discovered that there was a problem in some computer processors that only showed up in certain circumstances," said Dr Steven Murdoch, cybersecurity expert at University College London.

The new large prime, the 49th known Mersenne prime, was discovered by Dr Curtis Cooper at the University of Central Missouri. Although computers do most of the hard work, primes are said to be discovered when a human takes note of the result.

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American Democracy: Triumph for Trump?

Really?

Donald Trump, or "the Donald", business magnate, investor, author, television personality, and the man running for president of the great United States of America. Trump known for his frequently made bold and heavily controversial statements on issues that appeal to disenfranchised working class voters with negative opinions of immigrants.

For starters, the ban on Muslims .

Trump proposed a ban on Muslims entering the United States "until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on." He also cited President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's World War II use of Sedition Acts to issue  presidential proclamations to apprehend,  restrain, and deport Japanese, German, and Italian alien immigrants, he then proceeded to argued that the proclamations were good because Roosevelt is highly respected and even has highways named after him, and later clarified that Muslims who were United States citizens or serving in the U.S. military would be let back into the United States.

Trump’s rhetoric about Muslims is responsible, to some degree, for the massive spike in anti-Muslim hate crimes we have seen in the last few weeks. In recent years, there has been an average of 12.6 hate crimes against Muslims in America per month, according to FBI data. However, since the Paris terrorist attack on Nov. 13 there have been 38 anti-Islamic attacks.

The proposal to ban Muslims drew wide criticism from sources both within the U.S. and abroad, and from unusual sources, such as leaders of Trump's own party holding party positions that do not normally get involved in its own party's presidential primary. "When Mexico sends its people, they are not sending their best. They are sending people that have lots of problems. They are bringing those problems to us. They are bringing drugs and they are bringing crime and their rapists, and some are good people, and I speak to border guards and they tell us what we are getting."Is what he had to say about "foreigners "in the USA

Trump has called for aggressive bombing of the Mideast terrorist group ISIS, has supported surveillance on mosques in the United States. Eventually , during the  Democratic debate, Hillary Clinton declared that Trump is “becoming ISIS’s best recruiter"Behind the scenes, the Clinton campaign rose a wide network of female supporters to denounce  Trump as “sexist,” as a practitioner of “pathetic, frat-boy politics,” and as more suited to running for “president of the fourth-grade football team.”

It is unusual that a country, which boasts of its cultural acceptance an diversity, would actually be swayed by his speeches ,and lead his party to have a higher stand in the polls. Polls show that his party has seen a significant growth in supporters since Trump took on. In 2011, Trump actually questioned President Barack Obama's proof of citizenship,alleging that "his grandmother in Kenya said he was born in Kenya, and she was there and witnessed the birth". His claim derived from a discredited transcript of a telephone interview with Obama's grandmother, produced by a Pennsylvania pastor opposed to Obama's election

Trump sued comedian Bill Maher for $5 million in 2013, based on comments Maher made on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, in which Maher offered $5 million payable to a charity if Trump produced his birth certificate to prove his mother had not mated with an orangutan.
It is ironic that Trump had previously did the same thing to Obama .Bill did take his dig on Trump, and had a good laugh it off moment when Trump withdrew his lawsuit.

Trump launched his campaign declaring the official slogan to be, "We are going to make our country great again". One side there's Donald trump ,and on the other citizens and celebrities threatening to move  to Jupiter (yes,the planet) if he takes over as president.

God Save America.

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The Unusual Life of Elvis Presley

The Man Himself

The mystery of the king Elvis Presley, the king of rock and roll who ruled the hearts of many people world wide. Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, as a twinless twin, and when he was 13 years old, he and his family relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, Elvis graduated from Humes High School there in 1953. Elvis' musical influences were the pop and country music of the time, the gospel music he heard in church and at the all-night gospel sings he frequently attended, and the black R&B he absorbed on historic Beale Street as a Memphis teenager. His music career began there in 1954, when he recorded a song with producer Sam Phillips at Sun Records.

Elvis Presley served in the United States Army between March 1958 and March 1960. During his service Presley's life was affected in several ways. First, his mother, Gladys, died of a heart attack brought on by acute hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver. Presley was deeply affected by her death and never fully recovered. Secondly, during his time in West Germany, he met his future wife Priscilla Beaulieu at the age of 24. Also, while in West Germany, Presley became dependent on stimulants and barbiturates. These drugs, and more importantly the drugs they led to, contributed to Presley's death at age 42.

He was worshiped as a god and a huge fan following consisting of all age groups. He starred in 33 successful films, made history with his television appearances and specials, and knew great acclaim through his many, often record-breaking, live concert performances on tour and in Las Vegas. Globally, he has sold over one billion records, more than any other artist. His American sales have earned him gold, platinum or multi-platinum awards for 150 different albums and singles, far more than any other artist. Among his many awards and accolades were 14 Grammy nominations (3 wins) from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, which he received at age 36, and his being named One of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation for 1970 by the United States Jaycees. This description by Greil Marcus says it all.

Elvis Presley is a supreme figure in American life, one whose presence, no matter how banal or predictable, brooks no real comparisons. ... The cultural range of his music has expanded to the point where it includes not only the hits of the day, but also patriotic recitals, pure country gospel, and really dirty blues. Elvis has emerged as a great artist, a great rocker, a great purveyor of schlock, a great heart throb, a great bore, a great symbol of potency, a great ham, a great nice person, and, yes, a great American.

His songs are unforgettable - they have stood the test of time, especially his singles of the 1950s, a decade in which he had a song at No. 1. for a full 6 months of that year
Some of his greats include  "That’s All Right,” ,"Mystery Train", "Heartbreak Hotel" and   "Jailhouse Rock"   In November 1956, he made his film debut in Love Me Tender which were followed by many films.

The rockabilly renegade died at his Graceland estate in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1977, reportedly from a drug-induced cardiac arrhythmia, but many believe this isn’t the whole story. The autopsy report was sealed by the King’s father, Vernon Presley, until 2027 (on the 50-year anniversary of his death).

In 2010, his friend and former personal physician, Dr. George Nichopoulous, said he believed chronic constipation, not a cardiac arrhythmia, is what dethroned the King. The secrecy surrounding the autopsy has led conspiracy theorists to proclaim that the King is still alive, citing the curious different spelling of his middle name on his gravestone

While there plenty of people who believe he is alive  and many have claimed to have seen him . One rash of alleged sightings took place in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in the late 1980s. Such reports encountered much public ridicule and became fodder for humorous publications like the Weekly World News. Bill Bixby hosted two television specials investigating the subject: The Elvis Files and The Elvis Conspiracy. Decades after his death ,the mystery still continues and continues to instigate the mind of many a fans .

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Diagnosis of Malaria: Using Mobile Phones

It is a known fact that malaria is one of the most fatal and dreaded disease in the world, with more than over two million casualties worldwide last year, the Sub Saharan regions and the Indian subcontinent among the worst affected. Scientists and researchers are doing all they can to combat this disease and they have been successful in their endeavours to a great extent. Their efforts were rewarded when researchers in California created genetically modified mosquito stains which render the mosquitoes ineffective as a host body.

This breakthrough has the potential to save millions of lives. However, to successfully implement this technique ,there's still work to be done. One of the major roadblocks that the WHO faces is the successful implantation of the techniques developed by the researchers in the third world countries. Reasearch has revealed that almost one third deaths in these countries is either due to lack of proper treatment on time or the inability to diagnose the disease. This was a major crisis as modern diagnostic techniques involve use of bulky and expensive equipment and require sophisticated maintainance .

However, the good news is that biomedical engineers working in Texas AnM university have developed a new technology that transforms a cell phone into a mobile polarized microscope which can diagnose malaria with the same accuracy as a high tech lab in a major Western city. This portable technology which can be fitted into a cell phone is a far cry from the diagnosing microscope used now which is relatively complicated to use requires someone to monitor and maintain it and also have the facility of a tech lab to use it.Comparatively ,the add on device, known as a mobile optical polarisation imaging device (MOPID), makes use of a smart phones camera features to produce high resolution images of the objects 10 times smaller than the thickness of the human hair.

A blood sample from the person is used and is imaged using polarised light that can detect a malarial parasite byproduct called hemozin crystals which appear as bright dots in the image and are an accurate indicator of the infection. The envisioned final product can be made available to multiple commercially available phones to provide an attachment to users existing phone platforms .The application also recognises the different stages of the parasites and calculates the parasitemia which is a measures of the extent of infection.

This technology, if implemented successfully by researchers ,who plan to test it in Rwanda next year,is successful then it will surely be a huge boost to the third world countries. Also researchers have tried to make this product as cost effective as possible .Smartphones are widely available in these countries and the add on device would cost less than dollar 50, with the disposable blood sample cartridges priced at less than a dollar. Also ,another significant advantage of this is that there are no ethical implications involved,which is generally the case in most of medical breakthroughs.

This technology is another step taken by us in complete eradication of this deadly disease.It is a standing testimony to the diligence and dedication of those selfless servants of humanity ,without which this could never have happened.We must truly respect these  researchers and everyone associated, who dedicate their entire lives to make this world a better and safer place to live in.

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