Iran inaugurates its first space terminal for satellite launching
By NNN-IRNA
Tehran : President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has inagurated here Iran's first space terminal for launching satellite.
Speaking at the ceremony, he urged the people to make ultimate use of all the existing scientific potentials and capabilities to achieve the zenith of progress and development.
The country's first space terminal comprises of the Omid satellite, Iran's first locally developed research satellite which has been designed and constructed by Iranian experts.
The Omid satellite will be launched in the near future.
Iran tests sounding rocket, unveils first homemade satellite
By RIA Novosti
Tehran/Moscow : Iran successfully launched on Monday a sounding rocket as a preliminary step toward sending its first homemade research satellite into orbit, national media said.
Iran's state television earlier reported that Iranian scientists had built the Omid (Hope) research satellite under a project that took 10 years to complete. The satellite was unveiled on Monday during an official ceremony and may be launched by March 2009.
Iran launches 1st space research center
By Xinhua
Tehran : Iran launched its first home-built space research center on Monday in Tehran in presence of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the official IRNA news agency reported.
"The launch of the first space research unit would be great stride to serve the mankind and would lead to Iran's exaltation and progress," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying.
The country's first space research center comprises of Omid (Hope) satellite -- Iran's first homemade research satellite which has been designed and constructed by Iranian experts, IRNA reported.
Iran presents first space research satellite
By IANS
Tehran : Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad Monday inaugurated the country's first space research satellite being designed and developed by its scientists, official IRNA news agency reported.
The Omid (Hope) satellite would be launched into orbit in near future, the president said and felicitated the scientists and the engineers for their efforts.
Ahmadinejad said the space research unit would take Iran into the select comity of nations having space expertise and would accelerate the country's progress.
Google comes to the aid of Yahoo!
By Arun Kumar, IANS
Washington : Google Inc has joined the Internet war by offering its help in any effort to thwart its chief rival Microsoft Corp.'s unsolicited $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo!, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter.
Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt called Yahoo! Inc. CEO Jerry Yang to offer his company's help as Yahoo! assessed its options for responding to Microsoft's aggressive "bear hug" bid, which has sent aftershocks through the media and technology industries.
Future refrigerators to run on heat, not electricity
By DPA
Hamburg : The refrigerator of the future will run on heat, not costly electricity, according to a team of innovative scientists in Germany.
The research could be a boon in hot countries where fridges and air-conditioning systems are vital, said the group of young scientists, who are working on at the Innovationszentrum Wiesenbusch Gladbeck (IWG), in cooperation with the University of Applied Science in nearby Gelsenkirchen.
Yahoo to take time evaluating Microsoft offer
By Arun Kumar, IANS
Washington : Yahoo Inc says it's "going to take time" to thoroughly evaluate Microsoft Corp's unsolicited $45 billion offer keeping in mind its strategic options, including keeping the company independent.
It was undertaking a deliberate review of Microsoft's offer to pay Yahoo shareholders either $31 in cash, or 0.9509 of a share of Microsoft common stock, Yahoo said in a media release posted on the company Web site.
Two NASA instruments to be on India’s moon mission
By IANS
Chennai : When India's first unmanned lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan-I takes off in April from the shores of Sriharikota, in Andhra Pradesh, it will carry a payload that includes two critical NASA instruments to map the moon.
The NASA payloads will be a miniature synthetic aperture radar to map ice deposits in the moon's surface and a moon mineralogy mapper to assess its mineral resources.
Endangered fish may face new threat: sexual harassment
By Xinhua
Beijing : Scientists revealed that the critically endangered Mexican fish Skiffia bilineata might face new threat: male Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) are constantly sexually harassing the endangered females, media reported Saturday.
Scientists knew that male Trinidadian guppies sexually assault females of their own species, and were concerned over whether they harassed the endangered fish as well.
Beijing : Scientists revealed that the critically endangered Mexican fish Skiffia bilineata might face new threat: male Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) are constantly sexually harassing the endangered females, media reported Saturday.
Scientists knew that male Trinidadian guppies sexually assault females of their own species, and were concerned over whether they harassed the endangered fish as well.
Intel, Micron develop new high speed flash memory chips
By Xinhua
Beijing : Intel and Micron Technology have developed technology for a high-speed solid-state drive that's five times faster than current products used in consumer and professional devices, like notebooks and digital cameras, media reported Saturday.
The NAND flash memory chips developed jointly by the two companies can reach speeds of up to 200 MB per second for reading data and 100 MB per second for writing data. Current memory chips have maximum read-write speeds of 40 MB and 20 MB, respectively.
NASA to beam Beatles’ song “Across the Universe” to Polaris
By Xinhua
Beijing : NASA will broadcast next Monday the Beatles' song "Across the Universe" across the galaxy to Polaris, the North Star, to celebrateds the 40th anniversary of the song and the 50th anniversary of NASA, according to media reports Saturday.
Beijing : NASA will broadcast next Monday the Beatles' song "Across the Universe" across the galaxy to Polaris, the North Star, to celebrateds the 40th anniversary of the song and the 50th anniversary of NASA, according to media reports Saturday.
India, US to cooperate in space flights, outer space use
By Arun Kumar, IANS
Washington : India and the US plan to cooperate in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, including in the area of human space flights, under a new agreement between their space agencies.
A framework agreement establishing the terms for future cooperation between the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and US space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was signed Friday at the Kennedy Space Centre by ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair and NASA administrator Michael Griffin.
Missing link between ancient, modern crocodiles found
By IANS
Rio de Janeiro : Brazilian paleontologists have found an 85-million-year-old fossil they say is of a creature that represents the evolutionary missing link between ancient crocodiles and the present species, Spain's news agency EFE reported.
The 80-percent-complete skeleton of the new species, dubbed Montealtosuchus arrudacamposi, was found at Monte Alto in Brazil's southeastern Sao Paulo state.
A team from the Museum of Paleontology and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro carried out an evaluation of the fossil.
From paper planes to Columbia…Kalpana remembered
By Devirupa Mitra, IANS
Karnal (Haryana) : Under a giant poster of Kalpana Chawla with the words "the whole universe is my native place" scrawled across, students sat whispering to each other before falling silent at the entry of an elderly man with a stern visage.
Banarasi Lal Chawla had been to his youngest daughter Kalpana's alma mater - Tagore Bal Niketan Senior Secondary School - when she was a student over 20 years ago. On Friday he was the chief guest at a small function there to mark the day she died five years ago.
Fossil of new crocodile species found in Brazil
By Xinhua
Beijing : Scientists in Brazil found the fossil of a new species of prehistoric predator dating back about 80 million years to the Late Cretaceous period that represented a "missing link" to modern-day crocodiles, media reported Friday.
Beijing : Scientists in Brazil found the fossil of a new species of prehistoric predator dating back about 80 million years to the Late Cretaceous period that represented a "missing link" to modern-day crocodiles, media reported Friday.
Indonesia to develop 2nd generation version of satellite
By Xinhua
Jakarta : After successfully launching its LAPAN-TUBSAT satellite last year, the Indonesian National Aeronautics and Space Agency (Lapan) is preparing to construct a second generation version of the earth surveillance satellite for orbit in 2010.
While the construction of the first satellite took place in Germany, the construction of the next, named LAPAN-A2, will take place in Indonesia entirely under Indonesian engineers, the Jakarta Post daily on Friday quoted Lapan's head Adi Sadewo Salatun as saying.
India’s Internet access hit after cable damage off Egypt
By IANS
Bangalore/New Delhi : India's Internet connectivity was disrupted Thursday after two undersea cables were damaged in the Mediterranean, although IT majors reported no impact on business. Smaller companies and individual surfers would, however, have to make do with slower speeds till the cables are repaired.
"Slow connectivity, choking and other problems have been caused across India due the cable damage," Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI) President Rajesh Chharia said, adding it may take 10-15 days for normalcy to be restored.
India can send crew to space in seven years
By IANS
Washington : India will be able to send manned space flights in seven to eight years, G. Madhavan Nair, head of India's space programme, said here.
"We have sensitised the government on manned space flights. In seven to eight years, we will be able to carry crew to orbit and back," Nair, chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Space Commission, said Wednesday.
He said India believes that space is the next frontier and international cooperation rather than competition in this field will be the future.
India can send crew to space in seven years: ISRO chief
By IANS
Washington : The Indian government has been "sensitised" on the issue of manned space flights and India's space agency will be able to send crew to space in seven to eight years, G. Madhavan Nair, head of India's space programme, said here.
"We have sensitised the government on manned space flights. In seven to eight years, we will be able to carry crew to orbit and back," Nair, chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and of the Space Commission, said here.
Chang’e-1 captures pictures of moon’s polar areas
By Xinhua
Beijing : China's first lunar probe, Chang'e-1, has successfully captured pictures of the moon's polar areas, Chinese officials said on Thursday.
The Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense released on Thursday a picture of the moon's polar areas, the first-ever such picture taken by Chinese.
"We have obtained good quality pictures," said spokesman Pei Zhaoyu of China National Space Administration (CNSA).
Mercury dotted with volcanoes, shrinking as aging
By Xinhua
Beijing : Some of the 1,213 photos taken by NASA's Messenger show that ancient volcanoes dot Mercury which is shrinking as it gets older, forming wrinkle-like ridges, media reported Thursday.
The first pictures from the unseen side of Mercury reveal the wrinkles of a shrinking, aging planet with scars from volcanic eruptions and a birthmark shaped like a spider.
IBM’s Lx86 allows Linux applications run on Unix servers
By Xinhua
Beijing : The "Lx86" capability, to be included in IBM's PowerVM virtualization software, allows x86-based Linux applications to run on IBM's System p and Power-based Unix systems without modification, media reported Thursday.
"The capability will simplify the consolidation of Unix and Linux server sprawls," said Scott Handy, vice president of marketing and strategy for IBM Power Systems. "Running Linux applications in the Unix environment can reduce the cost of server consolidation and energy consumption and increase asset utilization."
Astronauts replace failed electric motor of space station
By Xinhua
Beijing : Two U.S. astronauts replaced a failed electric motor and gave the international space station a much-needed power boost, which added to the power margin at the orbiting outpost and cleared the way for deliveries of two science labs, media reports said Thursday.
Beijing : Two U.S. astronauts replaced a failed electric motor and gave the international space station a much-needed power boost, which added to the power margin at the orbiting outpost and cleared the way for deliveries of two science labs, media reports said Thursday.
Astronauts make risky spacewalk to repair broken solar wing
By KUNA
Washington : US Astronauts made risky spacewalk outside the international space station on Wednesday to replace a broken motor needed to tilt a solar wing, clearing a major obstacle to the new module outpost.
During their seven-hour spacewalk Wednesday, Commander Peggy Whitson and fellow NASA astronaut Daniel Tani successfully replaced the broken motor at the base of one of the station's solar wings, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said on its website. It's unclear why the first motor failed.
Goose Technologies launches risk management product
By IANS
Hyderabad : City-based Goose Technologies has introduced Procon, a risk management solution.
Procon enables global enterprises to have real-time visibility and predictability of key performance indicators (KPI) at different levels and function areas.
Goose Technologies founder and CEO Debasish Pattnaik told a news conference here Wednesday that Procon was uniquely designed to offer real-time visibility of KPIs across all levels and also offers aggregation at both organisation and enterprise levels.
Giant planet outside solar system discovered
By IANS
Santiago de Compostela (Spain) : A group of astronomers at the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (USC) has discovered a huge planet in the star system Gliese 22, Spain's EFE news agency reported Wednesday.
The finding has been reported in the Astronomy and Astrophysics magazine.
Russia plans new spacecraft by 2015
By Xinhua
Moscow : Russia is planning to build a new-generation piloted spacecraft by 2015, Vitaly Lopota, president of Russia's top spacecraft manufacturer Energia Rocket and Space Corporation, said Tuesday.
Since 2000, Energia has been developing a reusable manned spacecraft to replace the Soyuz and Progress launch vehicles in making regular flights to the international space station and even the Moon and Mars, Lopota was quoted by RIA news agency as saying.
China lunar probe adjusts orbit to shun moon eclipse
By Xinhua
Beijing : China's first lunar probing satellite, Chang'e-1, adjusted its operating orbit on Sunday night to avoid a power shortage during an upcoming moon eclipse, Xinhua learned on Tuesday.
The satellite's engine was ignited at 11:50:48 p.m. on Sunday. It lifted Chang'e-1, at an altitude of 200 kilometers above the moon's surface, up to an orbit nearly 2 km higher in more than 60 seconds, the Beijing Aerospace Control Center (BACC) said.
India to host global nuclear physics conference
By IANS
Kolkata : India will host for the first time an international conference on quarks, at the cutting edge of nuclear physics research, with Jaipur playing the host Feb 4-10.
The conference, Quark Matter 2008, is being co-sponsored by Kolkata-based Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP) and Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC).
Seeking the roots of the modern potato
By IANS
New York : New research into the history of the potato has rubbished two popular theories about how they travelled from their homeland in South America to Europe - and then to the rest of the world.
The study, by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, used DNA to conclude that a whopping 99 percent of all modern potatoes are descendents of varieties once grown in south-central Chile.
U.S. spy satellite to crash on Earth
By Xinhua
Washington : An out-of-control U.S. spy satellite which is expected to crash to the Earth, will not endanger human, a senior U.S. official said Monday.
If there are debris of the satellite surviving the intense heat, most of them would probably fall into the oceans, which account for more than 70 percent of the Earth, said White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe.
Scientists obtain 1st images of asteroid 2007 TU24
By Xinhua
Beijing : Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., have obtained the first images of asteroid 2007 TU24 using high-resolution radar data, media reported Monday.
The data indicate the asteroid is somewhat asymmetrical in shape, with a diameter roughly 250 meters in size.
Beijing : Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., have obtained the first images of asteroid 2007 TU24 using high-resolution radar data, media reported Monday.
The data indicate the asteroid is somewhat asymmetrical in shape, with a diameter roughly 250 meters in size.
Thailand tree apes use song as warning
By DPA
Hamburg : Humans aren't the only "big apes" who use songs to impress one another. German researchers have found that gibbons in Thailand have developed an unusual way of scaring off predators - by singing to them.
Literally singing for survival, the gibbons appear to use the song not just to warn their own group members but those in neighbouring areas.
Russia puts new telecom satellite into orbit
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Russia successfully put a new Express-AM33 telecommunications satellite into orbit Monday, the Federal Space Agency said.
The satellite, designed by the Reshetnev Applied Mechanics Science and Production Association to provide TV and satellite communications all over Russia, was launched on board a Proton-M carrier rocket from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan.
HCL Infosystems posts robust profit
By IANS
Noida : India's leading IT hardware and systems integration firm HCL Infosystems Ltd Monday announced net profit of Rs.814.1 million ($20.69 million) for the quarter ending Dec 2007, an increase of seven percent from the same period last year.
The company reported consolidated revenues of Rs.33.06 billion ($840 million) during the period, an increase of 11 percent from Rs.29.68 billion in the third quarter of 2006-07.
Study shows comet much more like asteroid
By Xinhua
Beijing : A chemical analysis of samples of rock dust retrieved from a comet showed that the comet is much more like an asteroid than scientists had expected, media reported Monday.
A lot of the material detected in a comet called Wild 2 was formed very close to the sun in the early solar system and was somehow later transported to the outer solar system.
Beijing : A chemical analysis of samples of rock dust retrieved from a comet showed that the comet is much more like an asteroid than scientists had expected, media reported Monday.
A lot of the material detected in a comet called Wild 2 was formed very close to the sun in the early solar system and was somehow later transported to the outer solar system.
German scientists readying Indian Ocean tsunami warning system
By DPA
Hamburg : Scientists in Germany are putting the finishing touches on an Indian Ocean tsunami early-warning system.
The German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System for the Indian Ocean (GITEWS) is on schedule, according to project coordinator Joern Lauterjung of the GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam (GFZ), Germany's National Lab for Geosciences.
Apple’s latest laptop: Small is in
By DPA
San Francisco : There's never been a laptop as skinny as the new MacBook Air from Apple. At its thinnest, it measures just about four millimetres.
"When you first see MacBook Air, it's hard to believe it's a high-performance notebook with a full-size keyboard and display," gushed Apple CEO Steve Jobs while presenting the new laptop at the keynote speech of the MacWorld Expo in San Francisco. "But it is."
Robot scribe copies the Bible as a performance art event
By DPA
Karlsruhe (Germany) : After seven months of writing day and night, a robot in Germany clutching a fountain pen has completed a "manuscript" Bible in cursive handwriting.
The exercise was a piece of performance art by the Centre for Art and Media in the German city of Karlsruhe, which uses state funds to explore new art ideas.
The machine, dubbed "Bios (Bible)", began copying the Bible in June onto a 900-metre-long roll of paper, with its arm forming each letter with the pen after all 66 books of scripture had been loaded into its memory.
Defunct U.S. spy satellite falling from orbit
By Xinhua
Washington : A defunct U.S. spy satellite is falling from orbit and could hit the Earth in late February or March, agencies reports said Saturday.
"Appropriate government agencies are monitoring the situation," Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the National Security Council, told reporters.
Washington : A defunct U.S. spy satellite is falling from orbit and could hit the Earth in late February or March, agencies reports said Saturday.
"Appropriate government agencies are monitoring the situation," Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the National Security Council, told reporters.
Kangaroos to be put on the pill
By DPA
Sydney : Australian scientists have come up with a contraceptive suitable for kangaroos that they claim could do away with the controversial killing of the nation's emblem, news reports said Saturday.
Koala colonies are already on the pill to keep numbers down.
The breakthrough comes after a standoff between sharpshooters and animal rights activists over a plan to kill the 3,000 kangaroos that have over-run a military base in Canberra.
The worst drought in a generation has raised Canberra's kangaroo population to epidemic proportions.
Virgin’s Branson unveils model of tourist spaceship
By IANS
New York : The feisty founder of Virgin Group Richard Branson unveiled here Wednesday a model of the spacecraft that he hopes will usher in organised space tourism as early as next year.
"Two thousand and eight really will be the year of the spaceship," Branson said unveiling a scale model of the new craft at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. He added that his SpaceShipTwo would start testing later this year.
India’s FlockPod stretches social networking horizon
By V. Vijayalakshmi, IANS
Pune : If you thought social networking sites like MySpace, Orkut and Facebook were the ultimate places to interact with people, think again. An Indian company has gone a step further with FlockPod, an innovative social networking application.
The Harbinger Group, which created the FlockPod, says it is the world's first social interaction pod - a small place on any web page where people get together and interact on the spot while staying on the page.
An eco-friendly toilet that does not smell either
By DPA
Tokyo : Tired of smelly public toilets? Check out a prototype Japanese bio-toilet that emits no foul smell and helps the environment at the same time.
A bio-toilet developed by a Japanese non-profit organisation is designed to activate microorganisms living in cider chips and decompose excrement.
In the decomposition process, only nitrogen gas and water are left. The water can be reused for toilet flushing.
Intense Technologies bags Iranian telecom software contract
By IANS
Hyderabad : City-based IT company Intense Technologies Wednesday announced it has won a customer communication management project for mobile service provider MTN Irancell of Iran.
MTN Irancell will be using the Intense iECCM (intelligent enterprise customer communication management) framework to substantially reduce its customer communication costs, build its brand image and enhance its customer intimacy levels, said a statement by Intense Technologies here.
Cell phone with built in radiation sensors to thwart nuclear terrrorism
WASHINGTON, Jan 22 (KUNA) -- A newly developed cell phones detect radiation to thwart nuclear terrorism, able to detect even slight residues of radioactive material, researchers hope will one-day blanket the nation.
"It's the ubiquitous nature of cell phones and other portable electronic devices that give this system its power", said Ephraim Fischbach, physics professor at Purdue University, in a statement Tuesday.
Russian scientist says Earth could soon face new Ice Age
By RIA Novasti
St. Petersburg : Temperatures on Earth have stabilized in the past decade, and the planet should brace itself for a new Ice Age rather than global warming, a Russian scientist said in an interview with RIA Novosti Tuesday.
SAARC nations urged to join hands for disaster management
By IANS
New Delhi : Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil Monday called upon the SAARC nations to use their strength in science and technology to build a robust system of prevention, mitigation and preparedness to reduce the risks of natural and manmade disasters.
India launches Israeli ‘spy satellite’
By IANS
Sriharikota/Bangalore/Chennai : India's space agency ISRO Monday successfully placed an Israeli "spy satellite" in the polar orbit after a textbook launch and reaffirmed its position among the elite group of nations capable of commercial launches - with three more orders in the queue.
The 300-kg Israeli satellite, Tecsar, was launched as scheduled at 0915 IST (Indian Standard Time) using the `core alone' configuration of the polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV-C10), that is, the rocket without its usual six strap-on booster motors.
India successfully launches Israeli satellite Polaris into orbit
By KUNA
New Delhi : India Monday launched an Israeli satellite "Polaris" from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in the Southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
The satellite was put into orbit by indigenously developed Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), a spokesman of the Indian Space Research Organisation told reporters, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
Last year, Italian satellite Agile was also put into the orbit by PSLV, the spokesman said.
Polaris is a radar-imaging, remote-sensing satellite and weighs about 300 kgs.
Advantage India after Israeli satellite launch
By Fakir Balaji, IANS
Bangalore : India has a cost advantage among the five nations that can make commercial launches of satellites in polar orbit, a top Indian space agency official said after the successful launch of an Israeli "spy satellite" Monday.
"India is now one among the five countries in the world to commercially launch any kind of satellite into polar orbit at around two-thirds of the international cost," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G. Madhavan Nair told IANS on phone from Sriharikota.
NRI scientist offers tech solution to clean up Yamuna
By IANS
Agra : US-based Indian environmental scientist Subijoy Dutta Monday offered a low-cost, high-result water cleaning technology to cleanse the Yamuna River in the city of the Taj Mahal.
Founder president of Yamuna Foundation for Blue Water in the US and author of "Environmental Treatment Technologies", Dutta told IANS of his passion and commitment to restore the pristine purity and glory to Yamuna River, one of the worst polluted rivers in the world.
Volcano eruption under Antarctica ice sheet confirmed
By Xinhua
Beijing : Evidence of a powerful volcano, which erupted under the ice sheet of West Antarctica around 325 BC and might still be active now, has been confirmed by British scientists, according to media reports Monday.
A layer of volcanic ash and glass shards frozen within an ice sheet in West Antarctica was identified in an article published in the journal Nature Geosciences by Hugh F. J. Corr and David G. Vaughan.
India launches Israeli ‘spy satellite’
By IANS
Sriharikota/Bangalore : India's space agency ISRO Monday successfully placed an Israeli "spy satellite" in the polar orbit after a textbook launch, a top official said.
Pakistani Scientist invents world’s lowest profile antenna
By SPA
Islamabad : A Pakistani scientist working at the Institute of Space Technology has invented the world's lowest profile omni-directional antenna with dual polarization that does not require a ground plane.
Dr. Muhammad Amin listed in biographical directory published by Marquis "Who's Who in the World" of the year 2008 has invented the antenna that has adequate signal strength.
The antenna can generate equal vertical and horizontal electric field components and has a helical shape with feed at the centre of the helical section of one side.
ISRO launches Israeli satellite
By IANS
Sriharikota : Israeli satellite Polaris was successfully launched by India's space agency ISRO from this launch centre in southern Andhra Pradesh Monday morning.
"The Israeli satellite was launched at 0915 hours using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)," a top official of the Indian Space Research Organisation told IANS over phone from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, about 80 km north of the Tamil Nadu capital Chennai.
"It was a perfect launch in fine weather," the official added.
The satellite has a payload of 340 kg.
Germans developing battery that never needs recharging
By DPA
Hamburg : Tired of mobile phones that always need recharging at the worst moments, researchers in Germany are developing a revolutionary new battery that will never need recharging.
Mobile phones, notebook computers and iPods are all devices dependent on rechargeable lithium-ion batteries to deliver power.
But the German researchers have developed a new class of inorganic ionic conductor with a structure analogous to that of the mineral argyrodite.
Mouse is everything – from gadget to gaming tool
By DPA
Hanover : They might all look similar, but there are actually significant differences between the kinds of computer mice available.
The price is one of the main variables, ranging from 5 euros ($7) to more than 100 euros ($136).
"You can get something decent for 20 euros ($30)," says Peter Roebke-Doerr, a computer expert with the Hanover-based computer magazine c't.
Notebook and desktop upgrades that make sense
By DPA
Washington : With notebook and desktop computer prices at an all-time low, you have to think carefully about upgrading them.
That's because the cost of a few upgrades may come close to the price of an entirely new system.
In general, aside from adding memory or a new hard drive to your computer, you'll probably want to avoid upgrades designed to improve performance.
U.S. researchers produce cloned embryos from skin cells
By Xinhua
Los Angeles : Researchers in California said Thursday that they have produced human clone embryos from adult skin cells, in an advancement toward developing stem cells which could be used to cure degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
Scientists used a technique called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). They first removed the nuclei of mature egg cells from healthy young women and then inserted DNA from an adult male donor into the eggs. The DNA used in the experiment was retrieved from skin cells called fibroblasts.
New device to help Parkinson’s disease patients
By DPA
Singapore : A portable, battery-powered device has been developed in Singapore to help people suffering from Parkinson's disease regain their walking rhythm, Ngee Ann Polytechnic said Saturday.
Physiotherapists from Singapore General Hospital worked with a team from the school's mechanical engineering department to develop the invention.
Parkinson's disease is a slow, degenerative disease that deprives sufferers of steady movement, leading to jerky small steps or freezing in narrow spaces, the team said. To take the next step, patients need a cue.
Google makes large grants to improve public services
By IANS
New Delhi : Google.org, the philanthropic arm of the firm best known for its Internet search engine, will spend over $25 million in grants and investments over the next five to 10 years, the company announced here Friday.
In India, Google.org will provide grants and work closely with NGOs to improve essential public services for the poor. It will give $2 million to the NGO Pratham to conduct an all-India annual status of education report (ASER) as well as for large-scale assessments in the education sector.
Zenit rocket to orbit Israeli satellite in March
By RIA Novasti
Moscow : The launch of a modified Zenit rocket to put an Israeli communications satellite into orbit has been scheduled for March 2008, a Baikonur space center official said on Friday.
Russia started preparations for the launch of a Zenith-3SLB rocket with an Israeli AMOS-3 satellite on board from the space center in Kazakhstan in October last year.
"For the first time, a three-stage Zenit rocket will be launched from this [Baikonur] space center," Oleg Urusov said.
Indian blogs live from Antarctica for the first time
By Devirupa Mitra, IANS
New Delhi : On the icy barrenness of Antarctica, the Indian research station of Maitri has a new voice - the first ever blog by an Indian from the seventh continent.
A member of the 27th Indian Scientific Antarctica Expedition, 56-year-old Sudhir Khandelwal, has typed, so far, 39 posts and nearly 15,000 words, with another one and a half months of his stay to go.
Car-sized rat fossile found in Uruguay
By Xinhua
Beijing : Scientists have unearthed the skull of a giant prehistoric rat -- a car-sized behemoth that roamed South America four million years ago, according to a study published in Wednesday's Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
The newly-identified species, believed to be the largest rodent ever to have walked the Earth, was about three meters long and 1.5 meters tall, and weighed from 468 kilos to 2.5 tonnes, according to researchers.
3 U.S. scientists to be awarded “Japan Prize”
By Xinhua
Tokyo : Three U.S. scientists were named as laureates of a major Japanese science prize "Japan Prize" on Thursday for their achievement in information communication technology and genetics.
Vinton Gray Cerf, vice president of Google Inc, and Robert Elliot Kahn, chairman of Corporation for National Research Initiatives will receive the 24th Japan Prize in the field of information communication theory and technology, the Science and Technology Foundation of Japan announced.
Microsoft warns of Excel security flaw
By Xinhua
Beijing : Microsoft Corp. has issued a security advisory warning of a vulnerability that lies within older versions of the Excel spreadsheet program, media reports said Thursday.
The affected versions include Microsoft Office Excel 2003 Service Pack 2, Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003, Microsoft Office Excel 2002, Microsoft Office Excel 2000, and Microsoft Excel 2004 for Mac.
Microsoft said Tuesday that it is investigating reports of such attacks, but has not yet determined whether it will patch the hole, or when.
U.S. researchers create black that’s really black
By Xinhua
Beijing : U.S. researchers say they have made the blackest substance on Earth. So black it absorbs more than 99.9 percent of light.
The material is made from tiny tubes of carbon standing on end and is almost 30 times darker than a carbon substance used by the National Institute of Standards and Technology as the current benchmark of blackness.
Beijing : U.S. researchers say they have made the blackest substance on Earth. So black it absorbs more than 99.9 percent of light.
The material is made from tiny tubes of carbon standing on end and is almost 30 times darker than a carbon substance used by the National Institute of Standards and Technology as the current benchmark of blackness.
MESSENGER unveils hidden side of Mercury
By Xinhua
Beijing : NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft sent back to Earth new images of Mercury, unveiling a side of the planet never seen before, media reported Thursday.
The car-sized spacecraft zipped past Mercury in a Monday flyby and is relaying more than 1,200 new images and other data back to eager scientists on Earth.
The car-sized spacecraft zipped past Mercury in a Monday flyby and is relaying more than 1,200 new images and other data back to eager scientists on Earth.
Info on Indian diaspora now just a click way
By IANS
New Delhi : The information on groups of professionals of Indian origin based in the US is now just a click away as Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal Wednesday launched a dynamic and interactive website on them.
Launching the portal, www.piousnetwork.com, Sibal said there was a crying need to systematise, diversify and scale up the information available on the diaspora based in the US and this initiative will address the need.
Intel designing smart chips for mobile computing devices
By IANS
Bangalore : Global computer chipmaker Intel is developing next-generation microprocessors for diverse mobile computing devices that are energy efficient, scalable and high-performing, a top company official said here Wednesday.
"Our global research labs, including the one in Bangalore, are working on advanced computing technologies such as ultra-mobility, long battery life, high performance per watt and rich sensing to build new applications in education, healthcare and entertainment," Intel chief technology officer Justin Rattner told reporters.
Yahsat signs letter of intent with Arianspace to launch satellite in 2010
By NNN-WAM
Abu Dhabi : Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PrJsc (Yahsat), a wholly owned subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company, has signed a letter of intent with Arianespace, the world's leading launch service and solutions company, to launch the Yahsat 1A communications satellite.
The satellite is currently being manufactured by the consortium of EADS Astrium and Thales Alenia Space. The expected launch date is the second half of 2010.
Steve Jobs unveils ‘world’s thinnest’ laptop
By DPA
San Francisco : Apple chief executive Steve Jobs unveiled what he called "the world's thinnest notebook computer" in his annual Macworld address that also outlined upgrades to the iPhone, iTunes Movie Rentals and a wireless gadget that automatically backs up data from Mac computers and laptops.
Tuesday's address was seen by analysts as another step in Apple's ultimate goal to dominate the digital living room with an ecosystem of computers and devices that allow users to seamlessly stream movies music and other content from one screen to another.
NASA probe flies by Mercury in 1st visit since 1975
By Xinhua
Beijing : NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft on Monday flew within 200 kilometers above the surface of Mercury, making the first pass of the planet since 1975, media reported.
The car-sized probe traveled at about 25,800 kilometers miles per hour as it passed over Mercury on a mission designed to resolve some of the mysteries about the solar system's innermost planet, officials said.
Beijing : NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft on Monday flew within 200 kilometers above the surface of Mercury, making the first pass of the planet since 1975, media reported.
The car-sized probe traveled at about 25,800 kilometers miles per hour as it passed over Mercury on a mission designed to resolve some of the mysteries about the solar system's innermost planet, officials said.
The computer helper: Building versus buying
By DPA
Washington : Just about anyone who is handy with a screwdriver these days can build a computer. Computer parts are available everywhere, and with a little know-how, you can assemble them into just the computer you want. But does it really make sense to build your own PC? Read on for some answers.
Q: A friend of mine said I could save money by building my own computer. Is this true, and if so, how much could I save?
Scientists rule out possibility of asteroid colliding with Mars
By Xinhua
Los Angeles : U.S. scientists ruled out on Friday the possibility of a collision between an approaching asteroid and Mars.
Tracking measurements of asteroid 2007 WD5 taken from four observatories have greatly reduced uncertainties about its Jan. 30close approach to Mars so that the odds of impact have dropped to 1 in 10,000, said the Near-Earth Object Program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory based in Pasadena, California. The program normally looks for asteroids and comets that could pose a hazard to Earth.
NASA’s MESSENGER to fly by Mercury
By Xinhua
Washington : NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft will make a flyby of Mercury on Jan. 14, which makes it the first to visit the planet in almost 33 years, NASA announced on Thursday.
MESSENGER will explore and snap close-up images of never-before-seen terrain of Mercury. These findings could open new theories and answer old questions in the study of the solar system, said NASA scientists.
Scientists create living heart for dead rat
By IANS
New York : Scientists in the US have created an artificial rat heart using the cells of baby rats.
The breakthrough by researchers at the University of Minnesota offers hope that the day is not far when scientists will be able to create human hearts for transplant.
The researchers removed all the cells from a dead rat heart, leaving the valves and outer structure as scaffolding for new heart cells injected from newborn rats.
Move over Orkut, here comes India’s BigAdda
By Azera Rahman, IANS
New Delhi : Check the scribbles in your phone scrapbook, send friend requests on the wireless, have discussions in as many as eight different languages...all on India's social networking site, BigAdda, which could give Orkut and Facebook a run for its money.
With an estimated 1.24 million users so far, this five-month old networking site is fast catching up among Indian youth, especially in tier 2 cities like Guwahati, Nashik, Surat, Tuticorin, Bhilai and Amritsar.
Move over Orkut, here comes India’s BigAdda
By Azera Rahman, IANS
New Delhi : Check the scribbles in your phone scrapbook, send friend requests on the wireless, have discussions in as many as eight different languages...all on India's social networking site, BigAdda, which could give Orkut and Facebook a run for its money.
With an estimated 1.24 million users so far, this five-month old networking site is fast catching up among Indian youth, especially in tier 2 cities like Guwahati, Nashik, Surat, Tuticorin, Bhilai and Amritsar.
ISS orbit raised to host spacecraft
By RIA Novasti
Moscow : Russian Mission Control said on Saturday it had successfully adjusted the International Space Station's orbit in preparation for the docking of a Russian cargo spacecraft and a U.S. space shuttle.
Corrections to the space station's orbit are conducted periodically before launches of Russian cargo ships and U.S. shuttles to compensate for Earth's gravity and to ensure successful dockings.
The correction started at 3:42 a.m. Moscow time (00:42 a.m. GMT) with the help of thrusters at the Russian module Zvezda.
Space Shuttle Atlantis launch set for Feb 7
By DPA
Washington : The launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis has been pushed to Feb 7 in Cape Canaveral, Florida, NASA has said.
The shuttle that is to carry the European Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station was originally set to takeoff Dec 6, but has been delayed numerous times because of technical problems with onboard fuel sensors.
The seven-member crew is to conduct several space walks to install the Columbus laboratory.
How to tame Windows Vista
By DPA
Washington : Although Vista has been available for a while now, lots of folks are still deciding whether to make it their operating system of choice.
While the interface is pretty, you don't have to work with Vista very long to realise that lots of things are different - and there really aren't many new features that might be considered compelling.
Singapore Airlines superjumbo A380 rolls off runway
Singapore, January 11, SPA -- Singapore Airlines' A380 superjumbo jet sustained superficial damage when it rolled off a runway in the first glitch for the world's biggest passenger plane since going into service in October, AP quoted the airline as saying today.
The plane was getting ready to depart from Singapore's Changi Airport to Sydney late Thursday. It was carrying 446 passengers who disembarked, and no injuries were reported, the airline said.
Oriya portal offers free breaking news on mobile phone
By IANS
Bhubaneswar : An Oriya news portal is offering free news briefs to all its readers through SMS.
The portal, www.odisha.com, has introduced the service after a tie-up with SMSGupShup, a free group messaging service provided by Mumbai-based Webaroo Technology India Pvt Ltd.
The portal already introduced last month a premium local breaking news service for mobile subscribers. It has now said it would also provide the news for free. The free news would contain advertisements.
NASA rules out asteroid collision with Mars
By DPA
Washington : Scientists have drastically reduced the chances of a 50-metre-wide asteroid striking Mars later this month, saying the rock will likely keep a distance of about 26,000 km.
The US space agency NASA said Thursday it was "effectively ruling out" a collision, reducing the probability to 1 in 10,000. Ten days ago the odds stood at 1 in 25 - nearly 4 percent.
Scientists can now predict quake effects within seconds
By DPA
Rome : Italian scientists have said they can now predict the destructive powers of an earthquake just seconds after the start of a tremor, thus providing a potentially life-saving advance warning to affected populations.
Researchers at the University of Naples and at the National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology (INGV) in Rome analysed more than 200 earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 4.0 to 7.4 on the Richter scale and found that the waves generated in the first few seconds of a tremor carry enough information to determine its destructive potential.
Earth’s moving crust has its pauses
By IANS
New York : The movement of earth's crust has long been thought to be a continuous process. But new research suggests that plate tectonic motions have occasionally stopped, and may do so again.
The research by geophysicists Paul Silver and Mark Behn suggests that the tectonic movements did stop at least once in earth's geological history, a finding that could reshape people's understanding of the planet.
Chandra observatory detects new space X-ray source
By IANS
New York : Astronomers studying a nearby galaxy with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have detected a rare type of star system with a black hole that has begun glowing with a new X-ray source.
Usually, when astronomers study the galaxy, called Centaurus A, it's the giant X-ray jets emanating from its heart that steal the show, according to Gregory Sivakoff of Ohio State University.
Tech really goes mobile as carmakers look for edge
By DPA
Las Vegas : Advances in digital technology are set to transform the automotive world, making cars safer, more efficient and more fun to drive, GM chairman Rick Wagoner has said.
From voice activated control and entertainment systems, to new power systems and even cars that drive themselves, Wagoner's speech at the Consumer Electronics World, the world's largest technology fair, signified how fast cars are integrating electronic gadgets.
China’s green pig has two green piglets
By Xinhua
Harbin (China) : A fluorescent green pig in northeast China has given birth to two piglets which share their mother's transgenic characteristic after she mated with an ordinary pig, Chinese scientists said.
"The mouths, trotters and tongues of the two piglets glow green under ultraviolet light, which indicates the technology to breed transgenic pigs via cell nuclear transfer is mature," said Liu Zhonghua, of Northeast Agricultural University in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang Province Tuesday.
Singapore plans to create animals with human DNA
By DPA
Singapore : Scientists eager to splice human genes with animal cells are seeking public feedback on the prospect of such controversial research, a news report said Wednesday.
As Singapore moves into performing clinical trials for drugs, research in this field could prove to be a boon for scientists," The Straits Times quoted Lim Pin, chairman of the Bioethics Advisory Committee (BAC), as saying.
China set to launch manned space mission in 2008
By RIA Novosti
Beijing : China is planning to launch its third manned spacecraft and 15 carrier rockets, and orbit 17 satellites in 2008, a senior space official said on Monday.
The spacecraft Shenzhou-7 with three astronauts on board is likely to lift off after the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, said Huang Qiang, secretary general of China's Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND).
Japan’s Matsushita unveils world’s largest plasma TV
By Xinhua
Tokyo : Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. officially unveiled its newly developed 150-inch plasma display television, the world's largest, at the start of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Tuesday.
The new television, whose high-definition screen is 1.87 meters high and 3.31 meters wide, is to be launched into markets by 2009 if results of market research permit, company officials said, adding that the potential customers would be commercial facilities.
ISRO emergency alert system for east coast fishermen
By IANS
Chennai : Fishermen in Bay of Bengal now have help on hand in case of any crisis as the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Tuesday handed over emergency alert transmitters to the fishing community along the Tamil Nadu coast.
At a function held at the Coast Guard premises here, State Fisheries Minister K.P.P. Samy handed over five transmitters, each costing about Rs.10,000, free of cost to fishermen.
Guard your electrical systems – the sun is frowning
By IANS
New York : The sun has just entered a 11-year cycle of heightened activity that could throw electrical and electronic systems including cell phones and ATMs out of gear, scientists say.
A sunspot that marks the beginning of the cycle appeared late Tuesday in the sun's northern hemisphere, scientists of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said, reports Sciencedaily.
Amrita Research develops system for moving vehicles
By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : Amrita Research Labs (ARL) has developed a solution that delivers high-bandwidth information and multimedia entertainment to moving vehicles.
It has been named Amrita MiTrans.
In a press statement issued here Tuesday, ARL, the research and development division of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham attached to the Amritananda Mayi Mutt near Kollam, 70 km from here, said more than a dozen engineers and researchers developed this revolutionary technology, which combines the latest advancements in computers and wireless telecommunications.
Intel unveils new laptop chips
By DPA
Las Vegas : Intel Monday unveiled a new line of laptop chips that run at higher speeds and use less power.
The Penryn chips combine the company's Core 2 Duo processors with a 45-nanometer manufacturing process that provide laptops with better performance and improved battery life, said Mooly Eden, vice president and general manager of Intel Mobile Platforms Group.
Intel announced the new chips at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where 140,000 industry professionals are attending the world's biggest technology trade show.
Cranes Software acquires US-based firm
By IANS
Pune : Bangalore-based Cranes Software International Ltd (CSIL) has acquired US-based Engineering Technology Associates (ETA), a company specialising in computer-aided engineering products for the automotive industry.
Announcing the acquisition through a press release, Asif Khader, managing director, CSIL, said: "The acquisition gives Cranes access to lucrative Asian markets and thereby expands our operations of the Chinese design centre by forming alliances with leading Asian car manufacturers for end-to-end design and development specifications."
Nanoscience will overtake all present forms of technology
By Fakir Balaji, IANS
Visakhapatnam : All forms of technology, including information technology and biotechnology, will become passé with the advent of nanoscience, says Nobel laureate Robert Curl Junior.
It is a precursor to the next wave of pervasive technology, he says.
Strange as it may seem, nanoscience and its manifested form, nanotechnology, the latest buzzword in the 21st century, is not something new.
"Nanotechnology is as old as humankind, having evolved over billion years as a natural phenomenon," Curl says.
Defence products major draw at science expo
By IANS
Visakhapatnam : New technologies and products displayed by various defence organisations in the science exposition here have been a major draw for delegates participating in the 95th Indian Science Congress.
Being held as part of the five-day annual event in the sprawling Andhra University campus in this scenic port city, the exhibition, christened Bharat Expo, showcases developments and achievements made by scientific institutions, state-run organisations and private enterprises, using science and technology.
Troubleshooting computer games
By DPA
Dusseldorf (Germany) : It's every dad's nightmare: he buys his son or daughter the hot new video game for Christmas, installs it, and it just won't run. The publisher's hotline gives a permanent engaged signal, and the mood at home is mutinous.
Before hurling the game out the window, cooler heads know to first take a look at the PC at home. In many cases the problem is a missing driver for the graphic card that is required for the software to run.
Over satellite, women farmers demand policy changes
By IANS
Thiruvaiyaru (Tamil Nadu) : The power of technology was on display at the 95th National Science Congress in Vishakhapatnam Saturday when satellite links helped women from across India voice their demand for new policies to promote women farmers.
Solar, wind energy to provide villagers with hot water
By IRNA-AzerTAj
Baku : The Institute of Radiation Problems of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences has prepared the rural hot water supply system by the use of the solar and wind alternative energy.
By utilizing wind and solar energy in March-October, it is possible to ensure normal temperature conditions of the device and improve environmental sanitation and hygiene for villagers.
India: Deccan plateau may hold answer to reduce carbon emissions
By NNN-PTI
Visakhapatnam (India) : The vast tracts of India's Deccan volcanic plateau may hold the answer to reduce carbon emissions responsible for global warming that has posed a threat to the earth.
Indian geologists have discovered that the sprawling basalt rocks in the Deccan plateau had turned carbon dioxide trapped in them during their formation into carbonates or varieties of salts over the years.
Nobel laureate ignites youth with insights into biology
By Fakir Balaji, IANS
Visakhapatnam : Nobel laureate and Rockefeller University president Sir Paul M. Nurse went down memory lane at the Indian Science Congress here to kindle young Indians with insights into the fascinating world of biology and living forms.
"Biology is not a mere academic stuff to cram at school or college and be done with. It is a life-long passionate subject that unfolds secrets of nature, creation, evolution and dissolution.
Global chipmaker opens second facility in Hyderabad
By IANS
Hyderabad : Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), an US-based global supplier of integrated circuits and processing solutions for computing, strengthened its India operations by opening its second research and design (R&D) facility here.
AMD President and Chief Operating Officer Dirk Meyer launched the facility, which is the firm's fourth in India.
The new 30,000-sq ft centre will accommodate 450 R&D employees focusing on AMD's graphics and computing solutions.
Young scientists asked to focus on basic research
By Fakir Balaji, IANS
Visakhapatnam : Young scientists should focus on basic research as India needs more innovation in areas that affect everyone, the government's principal scientific advisor R. Chidambaram said on the second day of the 95th Indian Science Congress (ISC) here Friday.
Artificial reefs to support corals in Persian Gulf
By IANS
Abu Dhabi : Dolphin Energy Limited, a United Arab Emirates (UAE) based natural gas company, is conducting the first artificial coral reef growth study in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Qatar, WAM news agency reported Friday.
The project is being implemented by the Continental Shelf Associates International (CSA) of the US.
The CSA will use 'EcoReef' technology in the project that includes construction of complex reef habitats using ceramic modules that mimic natural branching corals. The ceramic is non-toxic, pH neutral, food-grade stoneware.
Top scientists, technocrats bag awards
By IANS
Visakhapatnam : Renowned scientists and technocrats-turned bureaucrats were honoured with special awards and gold medals for their contribution to the development of science and technology at the 95th Indian Science Congress (ISC) here.
Launch of space shuttle Atlantis delayed further
By DPA
Washington : The much-delayed launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis remains up in the air, according to NASA officials who are now predicting a takeoff date of early February and in any case no sooner than Jan 24.
Shuttle programme manager John Shannon Thursday said that ongoing attempts to resolve a problem with the shuttle's fuel sensors has prevented the US space agency from setting a firm launch date.
Green technology should be used to spur growth: PM
By Fakir Balaji, IANS
Visakhapatnam : Science and technology should be harnessed to convert urban waste into wealth, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Thursday while advocating the use of affordable eco-friendly technologies to sustain the growth momentum.
"Our scientists and economic policy makers have to strike a balance between the pursuit of high income growth and protection of natural resources.
SanDisk unveils USB flash drive with web backup
By Xinhua
Beijing : SanDisk Corp Wednesday introduced a USB flash drive with automatic online backup, the first of its kind linking up with the Internet to offer new features.
The Cruzer Titanium Plus is SanDisk's first USB drive with backup capabilities. The 4Gbyte device will be featured at the International Consumer Electronics Show Jan. 7-10 in Las Vegas, Nev.
NASA set to give update on long-delayed Atlantis mission
By KUNA
Washington : NASA will hold a meeting Thursday to discuss the status of the shuttle Atlantis and ongoing work to repair a fuel circuitry problem that grounded the mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in early December.
Last week, NASA's space shuttle Atlantis was still no closer to lift off. Officials pushed-back the Atlantis mission's target launch date of January 10, stating that date was "no longer achievable", but they did not indicate when it will be ready for the mission to carry a new European Columbus space laboratory up to the ISS.
Scientists discover new planet outside solar system
By DPA
Heidelberg : Scientists in Germany have discovered what is believed to be the youngest planet outside the solar system, the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics announced Wednesday.
The giant young planet, called TW Hydrae b, "is still linked to the dusty disk surrounding its parent star", the institute said ahead of publication of the discovery in the British science journal Nature.
China automaker develops engine for new ethanol type
By Xinhua
Beijing, Jan 1 (Xinhua) Dongfeng Motor Corporation, one of China's largest auto makers, has developed technology to use a new type of ethanol as fuel in cars.
The new technology could produce combustible gas, mainly hydrogen, from hydrous ethanol that contained 65 percent ethanol. The present ethanol-fuelled vehicles need pure ethanol blended with gas, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said.
Holiday cleaning can boost speed of PCs
By DPA
Hamburg : Most people have a little free time between Christmas and New Year. If you take 15 minutes to clean up your PC, you will probably be rewarded with a computer that runs faster and has space available for any new games you might find under the Christmas tree this year.
Checking your computer's pre-installed software is a good starting point when looking for ways to free up hard drive space. Many computers come with redundant versions of programmes - for example, several different photo processing programmes even though most computer users use only one.
Anti-virus software losing effectiveness
By DPA
Hanover : Anti-virus software is increasingly losing ground in the battle to provide reliable protection for PCs.
The Hanover-based c't magazine tested 17 current programmes recently. Each piece of software was tested for recognition of more than a million different pests, including trojans, viruses, worms and bots.
Two products were able to identify more than 99 percent of the malicious intruders. Four other virus scanners caught at least 95 percent and were hence awarded a grade of very good.
Ruins of 800-year-old pyramid found in Mexico
By RIA Novosti
Mexico City : Archeologists have discovered the ruins of an 800-year-old pyramid in the center of Mexico City, China's Xinhua news agency said Friday.
The ruins, which are about 36 feet (11 meters) high, were found in the Mexican capital's Tlatelolco area, once a major religious and political center for the Aztec empire. The pyramid is believed to have been built in 1100 or 1200.
Archaeologists also uncovered five skulls and a number of rooms near the pyramid which could date back to 1430s.
Goa launches ambitious broadband network
By IANS
Panaji (Goa) : Goa has unveiled plans for a super-ambitious broadband network project to build a state that's "enabled by IT to be efficient and accountable with a global thinking approach".
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh launched the Goa Broadband Network (GBBN) Friday amid both expectations and apprehensions as to how exactly the project will work and at what cost.
Seminar on Scientific Arbitration in offing
By SPA
Riyadh : The Riyadh-based Imam Mohammed bin Saud Islamic university will organize on Zil-Hajjah 28-29, 1428 AH, a seminar on the scientific arbitration with the participation of a number of researchers and arbitrators from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and abroad in addition to a number of heads of the scientific councils at the academic and research institutions and editors-in-chief of scientific magazines in some Arab and foreign countries.
New Chinese law to encourage innovation
By Xinhua
Beijing : China's top legislature Saturday adopted an amendment to the Law on Science and Technology Progress that shows more tolerance of failures in scientific projects but brooks no fraud or manipulation of data.
The law, for the first time, allows scientists to report failures in innovative researches without harming their eligibility for future funding.
The amendment, which is to take effect July 1, 2008, was approved at the seven-day meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) that ended Saturday.
Beetle ancestors 70 mln years older than dinosaurs
By Xinhua
Beijing : Researchers have discovered that when it comes to longevity dinosaurs can't hold a candle when compared to beetles.
Prior to the latest study, beetle species were thought to have begun scurrying around some 140 millions years ago, about the same time as the rise of flowering plants.
Prior to the latest study, beetle species were thought to have begun scurrying around some 140 millions years ago, about the same time as the rise of flowering plants.
Warner Music, Amazon team up to sell DRM tunes
By Xinhua
Beijing : Warner Music is thumbing its nose at Apple and will sell music downloads without copyright protection technology through Amazon's online store.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been vocal about persuading record labels to sell music downloads without copyright protection technology -- also known as DRM, or digital rights management. In announcing a deal with EMI to sell its music on iTunes free of DRM, Jobs predicted that half the music on iTunes would be DRM-free by the end of the year.
Bummer: Wii no substitute for real exercise
By Xinhua
Beijing : What a bummer! A study by the British Medical Journal reveals that although the Wii game console offers more activity than passive videogames, Wii tennis is not an exercise substitute for real tennis.
A standard videogame only requires players ;move their thumbs and index fingers playing a standard video game, whereas the Wii actually requires players to move their hand or occasionally their entire arm to interact with the game, but that's not enough action to break a sweat for most couch potatoes.
AOL to shutter support for Netscape
By Xinhua
Beijing : AOL announced in its blog post to shutter support for Netscape Navigator from Feb. 1 and recommended the Netscape users to make the move to Firefox, media reported Saturday.
Netscape would still be available for download from the Netscape Archive after Feb. 1, but no "active product support" will be offered.
The decision came after Netscape Navigator, once the dominant Web browser, failed in the battle against Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
Britain’s queen gives knighthood to creator of Dolly
By DPA
London : Professor Ian Wilmut, who revolutionised stem cell technology by creating Dolly the Sheep in 1996, has been knighted for services to science by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.
Responding to the honour published Friday in the traditional New Year's Honours List, Wilmut, 63, said he was "surprised and delighted" at the knighthood, which entitles him to be called "Sir".
New Satellite to Save $500 Million for Africa
By Prensa Latina
Luanda : The launching of the first pan-African telecommunications satellite system into orbit next week will allow Africa to annually save $500 million.
The director of the Regional African Satellite Communication Organization (RascomStar), Fraj Lamari, told an Angolan radio station that the African continent's first pan-African telecommunications satellite system is similar to the US Intelsat and the European Eutelsat.
Hyderabad to host VLSI conference next month
By IANS
Hyderabad : The 21st international conference on very large scale integration (VLSI) design and the 7th international conference on embedded systems will be held here next week to highlight the next generation challenges and opportunities in multicore processor design.
The five-day conference will start Jan 4 and will be held at Hyderabad International Convention Center (HICC). It will be attended by leading VLSI and embedded systems architects and technology experts.
Russian spacecraft blasts off to space station
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : A Russian cargo spacecraft, Progress M-62, has lifted off for the International Space Station (ISS) from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan, Russia's mission control said Sunday.
"The spacecraft was launched in the nominal regime at the designated time (10:12 a.m. Moscow time or 07:12 a.m. GMT)," mission control said.
The Progress vehicle's flight to the station will last three days instead of two days to prepare the spacecraft's systems for docking with the ISS more carefully, mission control said.
China Announces 186-mph Bullet Train
Beijing, Dec 22 (Prensa Latina) China announced on Saturday its first 186-mph bullet train, wholly designed and built in this Asian country.
China thus joins Japan, France and Germany as the fourth country worldwide in position to build state-of-the-art high-speed trains, a spokesman for the Railway Ministry said.
US plans world’s largest biometric database
By DPA
Washington : The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is planning the world's largest databank of biometric information allowing it access to the physical characteristics of thousands of people, the Washington Post reported.
The $1-billion project of the FBI will give the federal police unprecedented access to information about people in the US and abroad in a massive computer database located in Clarksburg, West Virginia.
The computer helper: mastering My Documents
By DPA
Washington : Odd as it may seem, one of the biggest problems many computer users face is knowing where their documents are - and how to move or save them.
Without this fundamental knowledge, it can be tough to locate important documents when you need them - or to feel like you're in control of your own computer.
The good news is that becoming a master of the My Documents folder is not as tough as it seems.
Ariane launches first pan-African satellite
By DPA
Paris : A European Ariane rocket has been launched from Kourou, French Guiana carrying two satellites into orbit - including the first pan-African communications satellite.
The Ariane 5 GS rocket took off at 21.42 GMT Friday, the sixth successful Ariane launch this year, operator Arianespace said from Kourou. Half an hour later, the pan-African television satellite RASCOM-QAF1 and the US satellite Horizons-2 were released into orbit.
The launch had been delayed one day due to a technical problem.
Mars mission delayed two years on conflict of interest
By DPA
Washington : The next NASA mission to Mars has been delayed two years after a conflict of interest was discovered in proposals for the unmanned exploration craft, the US space agency said.
The next mission for the Mars Scout programme has been pushed back to 2013 from 2011, Mars exploration programme director Doug McCuistion told reporters.
Satellite survey of Nalanda ruins begins in Bihar
By IANS
Patna : Scientists from the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) are conducting a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey in Bihar's Nalanda district to trace the location of the buried ancient structures.
Officials of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Patna circle, said Thursday a five-member team of scientists from the NRSA has begun a four-day GPR survey in Nalanda.
The GPR survey is being conducted for the first time in Bihar. GPR survey has proved beneficial across the world in exploration of archaeological structures.
Mars comes close to Earth
By IANS
New Delhi : Sky-watchers had a good day out Wednesday as Mars came closest to Earth since 2003 and was visible to the naked eye from the eastern sky.
Astronomers said Mars' closeness to Earth would remain a record at least till 2016. Currently, Mars is some 87 million km away from Earth and experts say it is pretty close.
Nehru Planetarium director N. Rathnasree said Mars was closest to Earth at 5.30 in the morning and sky-gazers across the country also witnessed it in the evening.
World’s first cloned, glowing rabbit to reproduce soon
By Xinhua
Shanghai(China) : Chinese scientists are expecting the world's first cloned rabbit will be able to reproduce in three months.
The genetically-modified cloned rabbit, born in a hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University's medical school Sep 14, glows green under a fluoroscope, a result of being injected with special genes. Scientists hope this special trait will be transferred to the rabbit's offspring.
CDC eyes India acquisitions to propel growth
By IANS
Bangalore : CDC Software, a wholly owned subsidiary of CDC Corp and a provider of industry-specific enterprise software applications and business services, plans strategic acquisitions in India to expand its presence and scale up its client base, a senior company official said here Wednesday.
China’s new anti-corruption website crashes
By Xinhua
Beijing : The website of China's National Bureau of Corruption Prevention (NCBP) crashed just hours after it was launched, as a huge number of people logged on to the site to lodge their complaints against corrupt officials.
The website "yfj.mos.gov.cn" launched Tuesday was inaccessible by afternoon due to the large number of visitors, Beijing Youth Daily reported.
India plans major incentives for clean technology
By IANS
New Delhi : India's forthcoming action plan to address climate change will provide significant incentives for clean technologies, Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Kapil Sibal said here Tuesday.
Sibal, who headed the Indian government delegation at the Dec 3-14 UN conference on climate change in Bali, reiterated on his return that India was not going to take on any legal caps on emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) that are warming the atmosphere and leading to climate change.
Russia to launch space base for missions to Moon, Mars
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Russia plans to deploy an orbiting base for manned and unmanned missions to the Moon and Mars after 2020, the head of the space agency said Tuesday.
"After 2020, Russia plans to create and put into orbit a near-Earth experimental manned complex to ensure transport operations to the Moon and Mars," Anatoly Perminov said.
He also said Russia has tentative plans for manned missions to Mars, but since substantial technical and financial resources would be needed, a Mars expedition should be international.
“Death Star” galaxy blasts smaller neighbor
By Xinhua
Beijing : A "Death Star" galaxy is blasting a smaller neighbor with a powerful jet of particles and magnetic radiation, NASA astronomers said on Monday.
They said the two galaxies appear to be merging and the disturbance in the magnetic field caused by this movement may have awakened a dormant, supermassive black hole in one of the galaxies.
Agarwallas’ Scrabulous computer game is faster now
By Parveen Chopra, IANS
New York : A faster version of Scrabulous, developed by two Kolkatans, has been uploaded on Facebook that sees half a million daily users of the Scrabble-like game. The US social networking site has also opened up the game and other plug-in applications to its competitors.
Released by brothers Jayant and Rajat Agarwalla, two software developers, on Facebook in June, the game's popularity prompted the new version to make match uploads faster for the online players.
Scientists discover giant rat in Indonesia’s Papua
By DPA
Jakarta : Scientists have discovered two mammals believed to be new to science during an expedition to Indonesia's remote eastern province of Papua, Conservation International has said.
Scientists from the group and the Indonesian Institute of Science visited the Foja Mountains in June, following a first trip in late 2005 that saw them discover dozens of new plants and animals.
Brazil, Argentina successfully complete joint space launch
By IANS
Rio de Janeiro : Brazil and Argentina have "successfully" launched a rocket carrying scientific experiments, the first joint space mission ever undertaken by the two countries, authorities said.
The launch was conducted at 6.15 a.m. (0915 GMT) Sunday from the Boca do Inferno Launch Centre in the northeastern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte, Andreia Araujo, spokesperson of Brazilian Space Agency (AEB), told the Spanish news agency EFE.
The most influential tech products in 2007
By DPA
Washington : The year 2007 was good for technology fans. Whether you were largely desktop bound or constantly on the go, this year's technology products went some way towards making your life easier, more fun or more productive.
But a few stood out - not necessarily because they broke new ground but because it was clear that their influence would be felt well into the future. Whether you own one of these products or not, it's likely that their presence will have an impact on how you work or play in the year to come.
Windows Vista
New Generation Of Cars To Be Launch In India
SILICON VALLEY, Dec 15 (Bernama) -- A global consortium of top students, professors and experts in various engineering fields plan to use the rapidly growing Indian automotive market as a launch pad for a new generation of cars that could revolutionise the international automobile industry.
Vehicle Design Summit, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology initiative, aims to develop a 4-passenger, 200MPGe, high-performance industry-standard car with minimal life cycle costs and wide appeal both in developed and developing countries.
Deep space network to track India’s lunar mission
By IANS
Bangalore : The Indian space agency is bracing up for its first lunar exploration mission Chandrayaan-1 due April next year by setting up a deep space network (DSN) near this IT hub.
The network, coming up at Byalalu, about 45 km from here, and comprising mainly two powerful dish antennas of 32-metre and 18-metre diameter, will keep track of the unmanned moon mission and provide command support during its two-year orbit around earth's only natural satellite.
Space network for India’s lunar mission set up
By IANS
Bangalore : The Indian space agency has put up a deep space network (DSN) near here with a 32-metre dish antenna for its first lunar exploration mission Chandrayaan-1 due in April next year.
"The DSN will provide tracking and command support for our unmanned moon mission, scheduled for launch in mid-April from the Satish Dhawan space centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, using the indigenous polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV)," a top space agency official said here Saturday.