With the members of the board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) turning back the minute hand on their 'Doomsday Clock' by one minute, the concept clock now stands at 11:54 - or six minutes further away from the "midnight hour."

The clock - which marked its first appearance in a 1947-published magazine, shortly after the US bombed Japan - has been considered an indicator of nuclear damage for over 55 years. The clock is supposedly an allegory for human ruin; and the closer its time gets to the "midnight hour," the closer to complete extinction the human race is believed to be.

Thus far, the clock had been adjusted 18 times ever since it initially started at seven minutes to midnight.

The adjustment prior to the recently-announced one came in January 2007, when the clock was moved to 11:55, after climate change was added as one of the greatest threats to humankind, from the nuclear annihilation viewpoint.

The one-minute gain of the 'Doomsday Clock,' with the recent adjustment, is a symbolic indication that the human race has made collective efforts to delay its inevitable extermination, from the minute hand's last movement in 2007.

The BAS noted that the decision to move the clock back was a reflection of an increasing "hopeful state of world affairs."