Cisco, another MWC exhibitor whose products are directly aimed at creating remote working environments, insisted its technology was capable of recreating every aspect of real-life interaction short of physical contact.

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And yet we all know that to accomplish landmark work, we need to pull back a bit, sacrificing some of that short-lived immediate contact so we can concentrate on a single complex project until we get it right.

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President Khatami, who came to power in 1997, has encouraged increased people-to-people contact with the US but has stopped short of calling for talks.

BBC: Khatami's caution to West

There is often mutual eye contact during attempted interruptions, laughing, and when answering short questions.

FORBES: The Impact of Eye Contact

Please note that this number does not include the short fields such as titles, names of people or organizations, contact details, etc.

UNESCO: Cultural Expressions

Using a form of text messaging similar to SMS, this sends out up to a million short messages a day, encouraging the recipients in their local language to contact the national AIDS hot line.

ECONOMIST: A doctor in your pocket

They are insecure, proud of their freedoms but hungry for contact, anxious, frisky, smug, occasionally scared in short, they experience a mixture of emotions that many people, even those who do not live alone, are apt to recognize.

NEWYORKER: The Disconnect

Hawking made the point that a short-lived technological society (a small value for "L") means little chance of contact.

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The news is not cause for widespread panic, but people at risk -- those who live in or have traveled to the areas where patients live, or have been in contact with pigs -- should watch out for symptoms and get tested if they occur, Short said.

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