Why close kin keep their distance in animal kingdom
By IANS,
London : Mammals cannot share their habitat with closely-related species because the need for the same kind of food and shelter would lead them to compete to the death, a new study has said.
The finding - the best evidence so far for an old Darwinian prediction - is important because habitat destruction and climate change could inadvertently force closely-related species to live closer together than before.
Chandrayaan camera clicks earth from deep space
By IANS,
Bangalore : The terrain mapping camera onboard India's first unmanned lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 took excellent shots of the earth from deep space in black and white, the space agency said here Friday.
"The camera was operated through a series of commands from the spacecraft control centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s telemetry, tracking and command network (Istrac) here. The images were received by the deep space network (DSN) at Byalalu," the space agency said in a statement. Byalalu is about 40 km from Bangalore.
Mars’ violent, volcanic past comes to light
By IANS
London : Mars has undergone massive volcanic upheavals that alternatively spewed lava and water onto its surface, giving the red planet its current contours.
German scientists have come to this conclusion after viewing the latest images of those contours - captured by the high-resolution stereo camera (HRSC) of Mars Express, the European Space Agency's (ESA) spacecraft circling the planet, reports Scincedaily.
Indian Mars Orbiter completes 100 days in space
By IANS,
Bangalore : India's maiden Mars Orbiter spacecraft completes 100 days Wednesday cruising through interplanetary space in its voyage towards the red planet.
"Health of...
Scientists can now control most atoms
By IANS
Washington : University of Texas researchers have developed a twin-technique to control atoms, marking a major step forward in atomic physics with a variety of scientific and technological applications.
The technique can also be used to determine the mass of the neutrino, the primary candidate for dark matter.
The method, developed by Mark Raizen and his team, stopped atoms by passing a supersonic beam through an "atomic coil-gun" and cooled them using "single-photon cooling".
ISRO developing cheaper satellite phone link
By Fakir Balaji, IANS
Hyderabad : The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is working on a new device to drastically reduce the cost of satellite phone usage and enable access to remote areas of the country, a top space agency official said here Monday.
Diamonds not only for ever, they led to life
By IANS,
Washington : Diamonds could have played an important role in the origin of life on Earth, according to a new study by German scientists.
Scientists have long theorised that life on Earth started in a primordial soup of precursor chemicals. But it is unclear how these simple amino acids - the building blocks of life - were assembled into complex polymers needed for the beginning of life.
World’s largest telescope spells golden age of astronomy
By IANS,
Toronto : Hailing it as the beginning of a golden age of astronomy, researchers say the latest data beamed back to earth by the Herschel Space Observatory (HSO) is providing them a rare peep into distant galaxies. Herschel is the largest infrared telescope ever launched into space.
Marine organism bypasses photosynthesis for survival
By IANS
Washington : Some marine organisms are able to get much of their energy bypassing photosynthesis - the most vital biological process on earth, responsible for all our food.
Two recent studies by Carnegie Institution scientists suggest that these micro-organisms neither release oxygen nor take in carbon dioxide.
If true, this discovery impacts not only our basic understanding of photosynthesis, but also how micro-organisms in oceans affect rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, Sciencedaily reported.
U.S. spacecraft finds Mars colder than expected
By Xinhua,
Washington : NASA announced on Thursday that new observations from its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter indicate that the crust and upper mantle of Mars are stiffer and colder than previously thought.
The findings suggest any liquid water that might exist below the planet's surface and any possible organisms living in that water would be located deeper than scientists had suspected.
Microsoft offers free trial of Windows 8
By IANS,
London : Microsoft gave reviewers and the public their first taste of its revolutionary new operating system Windows 8, the Daily Mail reported Thursday.
Iran ready to send six satellites into space
By IANS,
Tehran : Iran is preparing to launch five to six satellites into the space as part of its aerospace development programme.
"We are currently carrying out a project which will see the design, production and launch of 5 to 6 satellites. We hope to send one satellite into space in the first half of the coming year," Iranian Telecommunications Minister Reza Taqipour said.
"Iran has laid the foundation for the development of its aerospace industry in the past three to four years," Taqipour told Fars News Agency.
Scientists watch evolution unfold in a bottle
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists now have physical proof of how species evolve and the fittest survive, after a 21-year study in which they documented the evolution of single-celled E. coli bacteria over 40,000 generations.
Richard Lenski, Hannah professor of microbial ecology at Michigan State University (MSU), said: "It's extra nice now to be able to show precisely how selection has changed the genomes of these bacteria, step by step over tens of thousands of generations."
Now a computer that can sense and feel
By IANS
Washington : Computers may now enable people to experience the most realistic sense of touch, perceiving textures or feeling hard surfaces, with the help of a radical new touch-based interface.
The interface, called haptic interface, relies on magnetic levitation and uses a single, lightweight moving part, unlike most other existing ones based on motors and bulky mechanical linkages and cables.
Universal Cable, Furukawa Electric join hands
By IANS,
Kolkata, April 21 (IANS) Power cable manufacturer Universal, an M.P. Birla group company, has signed a pact with the Japan-based Furukawa Electric for manufacturing and marketing optical fibre in India.
"By combining the pre-eminent position of the M.P. Birla Group in optical fibre and cable business in India, with significant experience and technical expertise of Furukawa, we will bring our customers a strong product," D.R. Bansal, Chief Mentor and chief executive officer of UCL said in a statement here Tuesday.
China launches weather satellite
By IANS,
Beijing : China Friday launched a meteorological satellite into space from the country's northern Shanxi province, Xinhua reported.
Russia to launch its first weather satellite
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia is set to launch its first weather satellite, Meteor-M1, in the fourth quarter of 2008, the satellite's manufacturer said Wednesday.
Russia currently has no weather satellites and gets its information from foreign sources.
The Russian state research and development company VNIIEM said its specialists had assembled the satellite and launched "the final stage of complex tests".
The 2.7-tonne Meteor-M1 will be put into a 830-km orbit by a Soyuz-2 launch vehicle and a Frigate upper stage.
Its service life will be five to seven years.
IBS Software wins ‘IT systems provider’ award
By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : IBS Software, IT systems provider to travel, transportation and logistics industries, Tuesday said it had won the 'IT Systems Provider of the Year' award at the Air Cargo India 2010 event in Mumbai.
"This award is a recognition of our success in introducing a new paradigm in IT solutions for business problems that plague the industry," Senior Vice President and Global Head of Cargo Line of Business for IBS Akshay Shrivastava said in a statement here.
Researchers teach computers to search photos by subject
By IANS,
Washington : Penn State University researchers have developed a statistical approach, called ALIPR, that one day could make it easier to search the net for photographs.
The public can participate in improving ALIPR or automatic linguistic indexing of pictures in real-time accuracy, by visiting www.alipr.com, uploading photographs, and evaluating whether the keywords that ALIPR uses to describe the photographs are appropriate.
Nanotech breakthrough paves way for next-generation equipment
By IANS
Washington : Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have used nanotechnology to dramatically improve conversion between heat and power, paving the way for a new generation of products that are cheaper and run cleaner.
The latest breakthrough in the conversion, called the thermoelectric effect, would mean a host of more efficient and cheaper products - from semiconductors and air conditioners to car exhaust systems and solar power panels.
Gas turbine technology best for power generation in Gulf: expert
By IANS,
Dubai : Gas turbine technology is the best fossil fuel-based technology available for power generation in the Gulf, given the skyrocketing oil prices, according to a leading energy expert.
"Gas turbine technologies are the cleanest techniques within systems that use fossil fuels and are favoured in GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries due to the low cost of available natural gas," Abdullah Al-Amiri, chairman of the Emirates Energy Award, which recognizes best practices in energy conservation and management, said in a statement here.
ISRO entering next phase of space vision: Madhavan Nair
By IANS
Hyderabad : The chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) G. Madhavan Nair believes that the organisation is entering the second phase of space vision with components of advanced technologies for low cost access to space planetary exploration and manned mission initiatives in the next few decades.
Addressing the inaugural session of the 58th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 2007 here Monday, Nair said the proposed launch of the mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-I, is part of this second vision.
Here comes a sensor that can see without an eye
By IANS,
London : An eyeless sensor, inspired by the ability of the human skin to 'see' colours and shapes, could make existing optical technologies obsolete.
The futuristic model developed by Tel Aviv University scientist Lenoid Yaroslavsky can help explain how this primordial instinct, observable also in plants and animals, might have evolved over millions of years.
Five minor planets named after Chinese scientists
By IANS,
Beijing : Five minor planets have been named after top Chinese scientists with the approval of the International Astronomical Union (IAU).
Mexico creates pest resistant wheat
By IANS/EFE,
Mexico City : Mexican scientists have developed a new variety of wheat that is more resistant to disease.
It is expected to reduce the use of fungicides and boost grain production, the Agriculture Secretariat said Sunday. It is resistant to leaf rust (a fungus that attacks the plant).
Scientists from the National Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock Research Institute (INIFAP) developed the wheat.
The study was conducted from 2006-2009 in Yaqui Valley in northern Sonora state. The output from the new variety was similar to that of common wheat strains.
Andhra signs MoU with TISS to improve students’ employability
Hyderabad: The government of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday signed an MoU with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to increase employability of students...
Websites to ban Megan Fox for 24 hours
By IANS,
London : A couple of websites have decided to ban model-turned-actress Megan Fox for 24 hours to give fans a break from round-the-clock coverage on her.
The "Transformers" beauty will suffer a dip in online coverage Aug 4, with sites such as AskMen.com and Asylum.com joining forces to impose 'the Megan Fox blackout', reports thesun.co.uk.
"You can have too much of a good thing. We're giving our readers a one-day reprieve from the woman we've been drowning in all summer," James Bassil of AskMen.com.
India launches new mission to develop antibiotic molecules
By IANS
New Delhi : India has launched a mission to screen and develop antibiotic molecules to tap the over $25 billion global antibiotics market.
The department of biotechnology under the ministry of science and technology Friday said it has launched a network project called "screening for bio-molecules from microbial diversity collected from different ecological niches".
SatNav Technologies launches new navigation solution
By IANS
Hyderabad : SatNav Technologies, a city-based IT products company, has added laptop and desktop navigation to its range of global positioning system (GPS) products, which are available under the brand SatGuide.
The company Monday announced the launch of its SatGuide turn-by-turn navigation and planning solution for laptops and desktops, focused on corporate houses.
"This is the first time in the country that such a solution is being launched," said a company statement here.
Plans afoot for astronauts to orbit moon’s far side
By IANS,
London : Scientists want to explore the far side of the moon using a manned spacecraft for the first time since the Apollo landings of 1968.
Plant develops echo to attract bats
By IANS,
London : A rainforest vine has evolved dish-shaped leaves which develop echoes to attract bats for pollination, researchers claim.
US probes Apple’s patent infringement
By IANS,
Washington: A US trade panel Tuesday launched a probe after the Motorola company alleged that its patents were infringed by Apple Inc.
Indian satellite data can be helpful for UAE, Gulf: Kasturirangan
By Aroonim Bhuyan, IANS,
Dubai : Data received from Indian satellites can prove to be very useful to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in its infrastructure development work, according to K. Kasturirangan, former chairman of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) K. Kasturirangan.
"The data received from our constellation of satellites have a lot of relevance for the UAE and also for this region as a whole," Kasturirangan, who was here to attend a conference on e-governance in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), told IANS in an interview here.
Chandrayaan sends photos of total lunar eclipse
By Fakir Balaji, IANS,
Bangalore : India's first lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 has captured the shadow of the moon on the earth's surface during the July 22 total solar eclipse, an Indian space agency official said Tuesday.
The images were captured by the special terrain mapping camera (TMC) on board the spacecraft.
Astronauts stop operation of torn solar array
By DPA
Washington : Space Shuttle Discovery astronauts discovered what appeared to be a tear in a solar array wing installed during a spacewalk aboard the orbiting International Space Station, halting an operation to reposition and activate the 17.5-tonne solar array and truss.
US astronauts Scott Parazynski and Douglas Wheelock spent more than seven hours outside in an operation with other crewmembers inside the station Tuesday.
Intel’s offer to lower operational costs
By IANS
Jaipur : Intel Corp has launched a new processor technology to help small and medium businesses to reduce their operational costs.
The company's Indian subsidiary has developed a new processor - vPRO - and an upgraded version of Centrino pro-processor for managing the services of small and mid-size businesses.
Russia to set world record with 39 space launches in 2009
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia is planning to set a world record by conducting a total of 39 space launches in 2009 despite the current global financial crisis, the head of the Russian Space Agency said on Monday.
"We have scheduled a record number of launches for next year. We are planning to carry out 39 launches, half of them commercial and civilian satellites," Anatoly Perminov said.
Russia conducted 27 space launches in 2008 and 26 launches in 2007, becoming the world's leader in this sphere.
90 percent digitisation achieved in Kolkata: Siticable
By IANS,
Kolkata: The percentage of digitisation of cable televisions in Kolkata has currently reached 90 percent, leading multi-service operator (MSO) Siticable said Tuesday.
India’s maiden moon mission on track as rain stops
By Venkatachari Jagannathan and Fakir Balaji, IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : India was Tuesday set to launch its historic unmanned flight to the moon, the sixth to do so after the US, former Soviet Union, European Space Agency, China and Japan. The skies cleared Tuesday evening after a heavy downpur, cheering scientists counting down to the early Wednesday morning launch.
NTPC to hire 6,000 people over five years
By IANS,
Chennai: India's NTPC Ltd, one of Asia's largest power generation companies, plans to hire 6,000 people over the next five years, a senior company official said here Tuesday.
"For the past four years we have been hiring around 1,200 people every year. This trend will continue for the next five years," R.C. Shrivastav, director (Human Resources), told reporters on the sidelines of a press meet.
Taking into account the retirements and attrition, the annual addition of manpower will be around 700 people, he said.
Grid computing helping to solve cancer mysteries
By IANS,
Washington : In a unique venture, people across the globe are cooperating to fight cancer using a concept known as grid computing.
Grid computing - as opposed to local computing -- allows Internet users worldwide to contribute to a “virtual” supercomputer to solve a difficult problem.
This can be done by “donating” idle computer time to the effort.
The anti-cancer project, called Cellular Environment in Living Systems @Home or CELS@Home , is the brainchild of Muhammad Zaman of Texas University and comprises more than 1,000 computer users worldwide.
Murthy kicks off Indo-US hackathon at Google
Bangalore: India's IT guru N.R. Narayanan Murthy Friday launched the first Indo-US hackathon, being held simultaneously at the campuses of global search engine Google...
NASA ready to launch satellite to explore sun
By DPA,
Washington : NASA planned to launch a solar probe Wednesday to help unlock more secrets about the sun, whose massive storms affect earth's weather and can pose danger to earth dwellers.
The Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) is the "crown jewel" of a fleet of NASA satellites planned to collect more details about what's going on underneath and above the surface of the sun, said Michael Luther, a NASA official who is overseeing the programme, in a webcast briefing.
India and China new pharma R&D hubs: study
By IANS,
New York : India and China are the new pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) hubs, with India having an edge in the race, a industry study released Wednesday said.
It said India was more mature in chemistry and drug-discovery activities than China. Chinese firms were more prevalent in less lucrative segments such as pre-clinical testing, animal experimentation and manufacturing.
When monkeys flew: 50 years since forgotten space pioneers
By Charlotte Horn, DPA,
Washington : Yuri Gagarin and Neil Armstrong are names printed in bold in the history books. But two smaller, unknown space pioneers who helped make their advances possible had their first flight 50 years ago.
Two monkeys were shot into space by the US space agency NASA on May 28, 1959 - paving the way for humans, like the Russian who became the first man to orbit the Earth and the US astronaut who was the first to set foot on the moon.
Ten technology trends to look out for in 2009
By Prasanto K. Roy, IANS,
The year that went by set the foundation for those technologies that are expected to take off in 2009, with focus on energy efficiency and mobility - a bit greener and a lot more faster. Here are 10 of them to watch out for this year:
Mobile Applications: With the India's mobile telecom network expected to grow from over 300 million subscribers now to over 400 million by the end of 2009, mobile applications (m-apps) will become central to entertainment, information, banking and other services - and, of course, revenues for telecom companies.
Optical sensor to track suspected terrorists
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists are designing a new kind of optical sensor that uses unmanned aerial vehicles to track suspected terrorists on foot or in vehicles.
"The Air Force has clearly recognised the change in the threat that we have," said John Kerekes, associate professor in Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Chester F. Carlson Centre for Imaging Science.
Reading devices for digital storage media
By Vivien Leue, DPA,
Frankfurt : You can find them in cell phones, digital cameras and navigation systems. They are digital storage cards, and they can be enormous - at least in a digital sense - holding hundreds of photos or a plethora of large documents.
To transfer their data onto a computer, you can either connect the mobile device to a computer using a USB cable or you can stick the memory card into a card reader. That is a simpler, and in many cases quicker, solution.
We wrongly think world likes what we like: study
By IANS,
Washington : People have the tendency to presume the whole world likes what they like. But when it comes to things they dislike, they don't generalise the same way.
For example, people are shocked when a cherished product is discontinued for lack of sale or the favourite confectionary offered by them is not eaten, according to a study.
"The things we like are seen to contain primarily good characteristics, while things we dislike are seen to contain a mix of bad, neutral, or good characteristics," the study said.
Concerns over ‘surveillance state’: Can excessive data monitoring lead to discrimination?
By Padmakumar M.M. & Om Prakash L.T. for IANS:
The Supreme Court on July 13 took strong note of the Ministry of Information and Broadcastings...
‘Cybersquatting’ on the rise: UN agency
By DPA,
Geneva: The number of Internet domain names under dispute saw a rise in 2009, the World Intellectual Property Organisation said Tuesday.
The Geneva-based organisation dealt with claims on 4,688 domains last year, up from 3,985 the year before. The total caseload, however, declined by 9.5 percent, as many incidents involve multiple attempts to "squat".
Cybersquatting is defined as "the abusive registration of trademarks as domain names."
ISRO to launch man mission in seven years
By NNN-PTI,
Thiruvananthapuram, India : India's space agency ISRO is confident of carrying out a man mission to outer space within six to seven years, its Chairman Dr G Madhavan Nair said here Saturday.
A detailed report on this had already been submitted to the Union Government by ISRO, Nair said at the 'Space Salute' programme organised by Asianet television channel jointly with ISRO to felicitate the scientists associated with the PSLV-C9 mission here.
Saturn shines brightest, biggest Monday
By IANS,
New Delhi : Look up at the evening sky Monday and you will see Saturn at its biggest and brightest this year.
Saturn, the second largest planet in the solar system, is at opposition. An object is at opposition when the Sun is on one side of the Earth and the object is directly on the opposite side. The result is that the object is fully illuminated by the Sun and appears disk-like.
Technology will help improve tax compliance: Chidambaram
By IANS,
Ghaziabad: Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Saturday said the government has introduced "world-class" technology that improved tax compliance, resulting in a boost to the exchequer.
China’s second lunar probe blasts off
By IANS,
Beijing : China Friday launched its second unmanned lunar probe, Chang'e-2. This was the second of the country's three-phase moon mission which will culminate in a landing on the moon.
Bangalore goes hi-tech to tackle traffic snarls
By IANS
Bangalore : Electronic billboards, SMSs and handheld devices are among the new technologies that will now be used to check traffic jams on the narrow and potholed roads of India's IT capital.
In epic project, scientists scour space for gravity waves
By IANS
New York : A unique observatory is scanning the skies for one of Einstein's greatest predictions -- giant gravitational waves. And what it finds could literally change what we know about the cosmos, says a new study.
The study, by researchers at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, says gravitational waves -- produced when massive objects in space move violently --carry the imprint of the events that cause them, reports Sciencedaily.com.
Scientists already have indirect evidence that gravitational waves exist, but have not directly detected them.
China to launch first spacewalk mission in October
By Xinhua,
Beijing : China will launch its Shenzhou VII manned space mission, which will include the first spacewalk by a Chinese "taikonaut", in October, a spokesman of the China Manned Space Engineering Office said Thursday.
The official did not give the exact date of the launch, but said a day in October would be fixed for starting the mission.
A crew of six astronauts had been chosen for the mission, with three manning the spacecraft and three substitutes, said the spokesman.
Truncated Delhi Metro service till 2 p.m.
New Delhi: Due to maintenance work ongoing on a part of a track, Delhi Metro will run single-line train services between the Mandi House...
Google upgrades search technology
By DPA,
San Francisco : Google unveiled new features for its signature search tools Monday, including an ability to search by sight, a mobile translator and a real-time search of more than 1 billion new social media pages created every day.
Google executives showed off the upgrades at an annual company event called Searchology.
Astronomers find new planets, including a baby
By ANTARA News
Washington : Astronomers using robotic cameras said on Wednesday they had found 10 new planets outside our solar system, while a second team said they had found the youngest planet yet.
The findings add to a growing list of more than 270 so-called extrasolar planets, they told a meeting of astronomers in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Arabsat launches its BADR-6
By NNN-KUNA,
Riyadh : The Arab Satellite Communications Organisation (Arabsat) has announced that it will launch its BADR-6 satellite on July 4.
The BADR-6, manufactured by Astrium of France, will be launched by an Ariane 5 Rocket. It will take place in French Cayanne in South America.
Khalid Balkhyour, Arabsat president and CEO, disclosed Monday that the BADR-6 satellite is an Astrium Eurostar E2000 model and is a multipurpose communications satellite designed to serve the Arab world and neighbouring regions and countries.
Martian surface hints at groundwater torrents
By Xinhua
Beijing : Scientists said surface features of the Red Planet hint at a watery past where torrents of groundwater carved out deep canyons, formed sweeping fans of sediment and cemented together huge fault lines, media reported Tuesday.
"Groundwater probably played a major role in shaping many of the things we see on the Martian surface," said George Postma, a sedimentologist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.
Beijing : Scientists said surface features of the Red Planet hint at a watery past where torrents of groundwater carved out deep canyons, formed sweeping fans of sediment and cemented together huge fault lines, media reported Tuesday.
"Groundwater probably played a major role in shaping many of the things we see on the Martian surface," said George Postma, a sedimentologist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.
Skin cells can change into stem cells
By DPA
Washington : California scientists have reprogrammed human skin cells to be identical to embryonic stem cells, confirming the work of US and Japanese researchers reported late last year.
The findings were published online by the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences Monday.
Stem cells hold the promise of curing disease because they can become any type of cell, but the research has caused controversy since until recently the only way to harvest such cells was through destruction of a human embryo.
Shuttle poised to deliver Japanese lab to space
By SPA,
Cape Canaveral, Fla. : Space shuttle Discovery is poised for launch on Saturday on a mission to add Japan to the growing number of countries operating full-time space research laboratories in orbit.
With clear skies and no technical problems, NASA managers gave the order for technicians to begin pumping more than 500,000 gallons of supercold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the shuttle's fuel tank for the 8 1/2-minute ride into orbit. Liftoff is scheduled for 5:02 p.m. EDT (2102 GMT).
Party under a blue moon this new year eve!
By IANS,
New Delhi : Take out some time from new year eve revelry Thursday and look at the sky to catch a glimpse of a rare celestial phenomenon - a blue moon. A partial lunar eclipse will also be observed early Jan 1, 2010.
The full moon on Thursday will be a "blue moon".
A blue moon has nothing to do with the colour of the moon but when two full moons occur within the same month, the second full moon of the month is called a "blue moon", a term used metaphorically to describe the rarity of an event, as in the idiomatic expression -- once in a blue moon.
U.S. shuttle Endeavour docks with space station
By Xinhua
Washington : After a nearly-two-day pursuit, the U.S. space shuttle Endeavour arrived at the International Space Station and linked up with it at 11:49 p.m. EDT on Wednesday (0349 GMT on Thursday), NASA TV reported.
After Endeavour docks, the shuttle crew and the Expedition 16 crew at the station will conduct pressure and leak checks before the hatches between the two spacecraft open a little after 1:00 a.m. Thursday (0500 GMT). They will greet each other and combine forces for 12 days of joint operations.
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.
Not all forests act against global warming
By IANS,
Washington : The notion that forests remove carbon dioxide from the air and prevent global warming has some complications, says a new study. There's a kind of forest that does remove carbon dioxide, but does not help prevent global warming because it heats up so much itself.
Forests can directly absorb and retain heat, and, in at least one type of forest, these effects may be strong enough to cancel out a good part of the benefit in lowered carbon dioxide, says a discovery by chemistry researchers at the Weizmann Institute (WI), Israel.
AsusTek chairman to visit India for first time
New Delhi : AsusTek chairman Jonney Shih will be in India for the first time, according to a mail sent by the company.
The...
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.
Interpreter for the vest pocket: What translation computers can do
By DPA
Munich : They could be helpful when preparing for the next vocabulary test. Or perhaps they'll go to work in a little shop abroad. The aides in question are small translation computers for the road.
These handy little devices have moved far beyond just translating the right word, though. They can now even explain proper grammar and pronunciation.
Electronic translation computers fit into any pants pocket and may well represent a practical alternative to the traditional pocket dictionary.
Solar activity could spell more trouble for Earth
By Andrei Kislyakov, RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The Sun is beginning another 11-year cycle of activity and considering that the fiery star is to blame for some unfavourable climate changes on the Earth, the coming decade could spell more trouble for our planet.
The first measuring instruments of the Sun's activity made their appearance 440 years ago. They showed that our nearest star treats the Earth to more than just solar eclipses.
Giant fish discovered in the Atlantic
By IANS,
Washington : Researchers have discovered a new species of fish, a grouper that grows to more than six feet and weighs almost 500 kg.
These Atlantic goliaths are not the same groupers that swim in Pacific waters, though they look identical.
"For more than a century, ichthyologists have thought that Pacific and Atlantic goliath grouper were the same species, and the argument was settled before the widespread use of genetic techniques.
Did first humans emerge from Middle East, not Africa?
By IANS,
London : Scientists could be compelled to rewrite the history of the evolution of modern man after the discovery of 400,000-year-old human remains.
China to launch Chang’e-2 lunar probe around 2009
By Xinhua
Beijing : China plans to launch its second lunar probe, Chang'e-2, around 2009, according to a top satellite scientist.
Ye Peijian, chief commander and designer of China's first moon probe satellite system, revealed the plan during an interview program on CCTV, China Central Television.
However, Ye did not elaborate on the plan with more details.
He said Chang'e-1, the country's first lunar probe, had resumed contact with the control center after it moved out of the shadow area caused by an eclipse of the sun at about 14:10 on Thursday.
Google Maps to appear in petrol pumps
By DPA
San Francisco : Google Maps are moving from the computer to a place where lost drivers might find them more useful - petrol pumps.
The maps, complete with driving directions and information about local facilities, will start appearing on thousands of specially designed petrol pumps across the US beginning early next month, the company announced Wednesday.
Google agrees to carry anti-abortion ads by religious bodies
By IANS,
London : Religious organizations can now place anti-abortion advertisements on Google after a lawsuit by a British pro-life charity forced it to lift the ban.
Google settled out of court Wednesday with The Christian Institute, a UK-based charity, and will now allow religious groups to place factual and campaigning ads about abortion. The new policy will apply world-wide with immediate effect. The Institute lost no time in placing its first advertisement on the website.
Take better candids with your digital camera
By Jay Dougherty, DPA,
Washington : Most people start out in digital photography taking 'candids' - pictures of people in their environment when they are not posing.
Unfortunately, most of those pictures end up being rejects - unflattering or just plain uninteresting.
The good news about digital photography, though, is that there's no penalty for trying. It costs nothing to download the pictures on to your PC and view your results, and you don't feel compelled to print out anything that's not worthy.
Avesthagen founder receives top French award
By IANS,
Bangalore : Villoo Morawala Patell, founder-chairperson of India's leading life sciences firm Avesthagen Ltd, was late Wednesday honoured with a top civilian award by the French government for her entrepreneurship and significant contribution in the scientific field.
The Officier de L'Ordre National du Merite" (Officer of the National Order of Merit) award was presented to Patell by French ambassador to India Jerome Bonnafont at a felicitation ceremony here.
Is there more oil deep within the earth?
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists have found that petroleum can be formed under the very high pressure and temperature conditions found deep within the earth. The finding potentially multiplies underground oil deposits manifold.
The oil and gas that fuel our homes and cars started out as living organisms that died, were compressed, and heated under heavy layers of sediments in the earth's crust. Scientists have debated for years whether some of these hydrocarbons could also have been created deeper in the earth and formed without organic matter.
German scientists identify world’s oldest dog bone
By DPA,
Tuebingen (Germany) : German scientists have identified the world's oldest dog bone, proving that humans kept dogs more than 14,000 years ago, Tuebingen University said Tuesday.
The canine jaw was found in Switzerland in 1873, but has only just been analysed by researchers across the border in Tuebingen. The findings were reported in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology.
The dog lived between 14,100 and 14,600 years ago, according to archaeologists Hannes Napierala and Hans-Peter Uerpmann.
"At this time, humans were still hunter-gatherers," Napierala said.
China launches satellites to monitor environment
By Xinhua,
Taiyuan (China) : China Saturday launched two satellites into orbit for monitoring the environment and forecasting natural disasters.
The two satellites, launched from the Taiyuan satellite launch centre in the northern province of Shanxi and carried by a Long March 2C rocket, were expected to enhance the country's ability to forecast natural disasters, according to Bai Zhaoguang, designer of the satellites.
The satellites, called "Environment-1", are China's first ecology monitors in space.
Controversial orgasm theorist regaining scientific favour
By Soumya Sarkar, IANS
New Delhi : Half a century after he died in ignominy in a US prison, physician-scientist Wilhelm Reich - best known for his claim of a cosmic life force associated with sexual orgasm - is on his way to being rehabilitated by the scientific community.
On the 50th anniversary of his death, the Jewish Museum in Vienna, Austria, is holding a major retrospective of his life and works beginning Thursday.
CNN claim of hologram use not true: scientist
By IANS,
Toronto : A Canadian scientist has contested CNN's claim of showing three-dimensional holograms during its coverage of the US election.
CNN made this claim Tuesday night when anchor Wolf Blitzer in New York announced at 7 p.m. that he was now speaking live to the network reporter Jessica Yellin in Chicago "via hologram".
As the fuzzy-looking reporter appeared a few feet in front of Blitzer in the studio, he said, "You are a terrific hologram".
Hathway unplugs Internet services in Chennai
By IANS,
Chennai : The city's first broadband Internet service provider Hathway Cable and Datacom Ltd has unplugged its services here and started refunding its subscribers their dues, officials said.
"We are forced to close down our business. We don't know why. This is the answer I give to all my subscribers," a company official, who did not want to be identified, told IANS.
Part of the Mumbai-based Rajan Raheja group, Hathway Cable has around 50,000 subscribers in the city.
NASA developing nuclear fission to use on moon’s surface
By Xinhua,
Washington : NASA engineers are exploring the possibility of nuclear fission to provide the necessary power when its astronauts return to the moon and establish a lunar outpost in the future, the US space agency has said.
"Engineers are taking initial steps toward a technology demonstration of this type of system," said a NASA statement released Wednesday.
NASA could land probe on asteroid hurtling towards Earth
By IANS,
London : NASA is considering plans to land a probe on an asteroid that is on a potential collision course with the Earth.
The plan mirrors the plot of the 1998 Hollywood film "Armageddon", in which the White House sends a spaceship to land on an asteroid which is hurtling towards the Earth.
Asteroid 1999 RQ36, which has a 1-in-1,000 chance of hitting the Earth before the year 2200, would cause an explosion equivalent to hundreds of nuclear bombs detonating at once, reports the Telegraph.
Advance IST by 30 minutes, save Rs.10 bn: scientists
By IANS
New Delhi : A group of scientists have suggested that the Indian Standard Time (IST) be shifted forward by 30 minutes to reduce peak time energy demand and save at least Rs.10 billion per year.
According to a paper prepared by Dilip R. Ahuja, D.P. Sen, both from the National Institute of Advanced Studies, and V.K. Agrawal, Southern Regional Load Despatch Centre, Bangalore, the shift in IST by 30 minutes will help India use more daylight and reduce the peak power demand during evening.
600 mn-year-old plant fossils found in China
By IANS,
Beijing : Paleontologists in China have unearthed thousands of pieces of plant fossils dating back to about 600 million years, officials said.
Technologies that don’t disappoint
By Jay Dougherty, DPA
Washington : Some technology products can really improve your life, allowing you to work more productively or accomplish tasks that you couldn't before. Others just promise to fall into that category but ultimately lead you to question why you bothered.
The challenge for buyers, of course, is discerning the must-haves from the rest. While all new technologies these days vie for your attention, there are a few out there now that truly deserves it. Here's a rundown.
Indian research body ties up with Thomson Scientific
By IANS
Chennai : Thomson Scientific, a provider of information solutions to research and business communities, has announced that about 10,000 scientists of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) across 45 labs in India, will now have access to its ISI Web of Knowledge.
Thomson's ISI Web of Knowledge is an integrated, versatile research platform that delivers easy access to high quality, diversified scholarly information in sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities.
Paper thin tablet!
By IANS,
London: A revolutionary tablet as thin and flexible as paper that can be twisted or dropped without suffering damage is set to be showcased soon in American city of Las Vegas.
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.
BSNL, MTNL merger decision in 4-5 months
New Delhi: The decision on merging state-run BSNL and MTNL will be taken in the next four-five months, Telecom Secretary Rakesh Garg said on...
US says Iran’s missile test may have violated UN resolution
Washington : "Strong indications" showed that Iran's test of a new precision-guided ballistic missile on Sunday violated a UN Security Council resolution, the White...
India launches Oceansat-2, six European satellites
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : India Wednesday successfully launched its 16th remote-sensing satellite, Oceansat-2, to study oceans and climate, and six small Europeans satellites on board a rocket that blasted off from here.
Under a clear blue sky, the 44.4-metre tall, 230-tonne Indian rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) freed itself from the launch pad at the spaceport, 70 km from Chennai, at 11.51 a.m. and soared upwards with a deep throated growl lugging the 960-kg Oceansat-2 and the six nano satellites all together weighing 20 kg.
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.
NASA spacecraft spots new moonlet in Saturn’s rings
By Xinhua,
Washington : Scientists have found a new moonlet hidden in one of Saturn's dazzling outer rings, the Scientific American website has reported.
Saturn's G ring, a faint band of material near the outer bounds of the planet's famed ring system, hosts a bright arc about 150,000 km long.
The arc, or partial ring, which stretches through about a sixth of the G ring's length, is believed to provide the rest of the ring with dust and ice, but its evolution has remained a mystery.
Navy gets lab-on-wheels to test radioactivity
By IANS
New Delhi : An environmental survey vehicle (ESV) - a radiological laboratory on wheels - developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was formally handed over to the Indian Navy here Monday.
DRDO chief M. Natarajan handed over the ESV to the Indian Navy vice-chief, Vice Admiral Nirmal Verma.
Designed and developed by the Defence Laboratory at Jodhpur, the ESV is equipped with state-of-art instruments to measure radioactivity levels in solids, liquids and in the air.
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.
Dust to dust – outer space makes dust ‘come alive’
By DPA
Hamburg : The biblical admonition of all life going from "dust to dust" has taken a new twist with scientific findings that non-organic cosmic dust particles can in fact "come to life" under certain circumstances.
The new research, published in the New Journal of Physics, found non-organic dust, when held in the form of plasma in zero gravity, formed the helical structures found in DNA.
The particles are held together by electromagnetic forces that the scientists say could contain a code comparable to the genetic information held in organic matter.
China launches its first moon orbiter
By Xinhua
Xichang, Sichuan : China launched its first lunar probe on Wednesday, the first step into its ambitious three-stage moon mission, marking a new milestone in the country's space exploration history.
The circumlunar satellite Chang'e-1 blasted off on a Long March3A carrier rocket at 6:05 p.m. (10:05 GMT) from the No. 3 launch tower in the Xichang Satellite Launch Center of southwestern Sichuan Province.
Global innovator calls for new approach to science
By IANS
Washington : A leading global innovator and researcher has called for a radical new approach to science, combining the potential of digital connectivity with lab research methodology, static since Francis Bacon promoted it about 400 years ago.
University of Maryland's Ben Shneiderman calls it Science 2.0 and believes the new approach would help vastly improve use of new human networks spurred by digital connectivity.
He feels they can be applied to homeland security, medical care and the environment, according to a university press release.
NASA to launch Mars rover in November
By IANS,
Washington : NASA will launch its car-sized Mars rover named Curiosity later this month.
ITC plans greenfield paper plant, major hotel expansion
By IANS,
Kolkata: Tobacco-to-hotels major ITC Ltd is planning to set up a $1-billion greenfield paper plant and expand its hotel business, a top company official said here Friday.
"We are looking at an investment of Rs.4,000-5,000 crore for paper plant. The paper plant is likely to require 1,500-2,000 acres," ITC chairman Y.C. Deveshwar said.
The company is scouting for land in three states - Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh - but has not been successful in bagging any plot yet.
Satellite collision debris no threat to ISS: Russian space agency
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The debris from the collision Tuesday involving two communications satellites poses no threat to the International Space Station (ISS), a spokesman for Russia's space agency Roscosmos said Thursday.
Alexander Vorobyov said that while Roscosmos could not confirm the origin of the satellites, the risk to the ISS and its crew was minimal.
"There are no registered losses in the Roscosmos satellite grouping," Vorobyov added.
NASA’s Mars-bound Phoenix adjusts course successfully
By Xinhua
Washington : The Phoenix Mars Lander has completed the first and largest of the six course corrections planned during its flight from earth to Mars, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said.
Phoenix left earth Aug 4, bound for a challenging May 25, 2008 touchdown at a site farther north than any previous Mars landing.
It will robotically dig to underground ice and run laboratory tests assessing whether the site could ever have been hospitable to microbial life.
Samsung unveils Galaxy S3 mini
By IANS,
Seoul: Samsung Electronics said Friday that it unveiled a new version of Galaxy S3 smartphone to better compete with Apple's newest smartphone iPhone5.
Educating young on Internet risks – in their language
By Venkata Vemuri, IANS,
London : txtN skul kds n net lngwij bout internet rskz... Go to if you can't understand this.
When you can't beat 'em, join 'em. That's what a London awareness group has gone ahead and done, using mobile phone texting to communicate with school children about Internet risks.
Thousands of posters are on display in corridors and classrooms in nearly 2,000 secondary schools in London telling students how to use the Internet in a safe manner.
Indian space agency aims $60 mn revenue from satellite manufacturing
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Chennai : The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is gearing up to play a major role in satellite manufacturing.
"We are targeting a revenue of around $60 million from manufacturing satellites for others," K.R. Sridhara Murthi, executive director of Antrix Corp Ltd, the commercial arm of the Indian space agency, told IANS.
Tiny device can help build more powerful computers
By IANS,
Washington : Engineers have fabricated a tiny positioning device that will help build more compact, powerful computer hard drives and practically double the effectiveness of biological sensors.
Called monolithic comb drive (MCD), it can be potentially used as a "nanoscale manipulator" for use in watery environments to probe biological molecules, said Jason Vaughn Clark, an assistant professor of electrical, computer and mechanical engineering at Purdue University, who created the design.
Brazil frowns on US control over Internet
By Xinhua
Rio de Janeiro : Brazil expressed its opposition to the US control over the Internet, saying a new international agency composed of civil representatives should govern access.
The coordination, inspection and legislation of laws on access to the Internet is currently in the hands of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which is under the influence "of the US", said Brazil Minister of Strategic Affairs Roberto Mangabeira Unger Wednesday.
NASA plans Mars landing in August
By IANS,
London : NASA will attempt to lower a probe onto the surface of Mars for the first time as it continues its search for signs of life on the red planet, The Telegraph reported Tuesday.
Day and night to be equally long Saturday
By IANS,
New Delhi : Sky gazers in the capital are looking forward to watch the spring equinox Saturday - when the sun shines directly overhead as viewed from the earth, making the night and day equally long.
According to scientists, equinox marks the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere and the word 'equinox' is derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night). Around the equinox, the night and day are approximately equally long.
Greener computing – tips to save electricity costs
By DPA
Washington : These days, with energy costs skyrocketing, it pays to practise green computing. A typical computer uses anywhere from 65 to 400 watts of energy. While that may not put the computer in the same energy-sucking league as an air conditioner, the energy draw is not insignificant, especially when you consider that many computers are left on for a long time - if not all day and night - and that some households have multiple computers.
ISRO presents Cartosat-2A images to PM
By IANS,
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was Monday presented with images of the national capital taken by the recently launched satellites Cartosat-2A and IMS-1.
A group of scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), led by its chairman G. Madhavan Nair, met Manmohan Singh and briefed him about the space programme, a statement of the science and technology ministry said.
World’s smallest silicon sensor to monitor environs
By IANS,
London : Researchers are fabricating the world's smallest silicon sensor that will be extremely powerful and yet consume very little power.
The sensor, with applications in bio-sensing and ecological monitoring, is being developed by researchers at the University of Southampton.
“Power consumption is a big issue at the moment as devices use current whether they are switched off and on,” said Hiroshi Mizuta, project head.
Dinosaur fossils found in Argentina
By IANS/EFE,
Buenos Aires : Scientists have found the fossilised remains of a carnivorous dinosaur in Argentina, officials said.
Argentinean scientists from Las Lajas town museum and researchers from Canada's University of Alberta found fossilised bones of "saurischian" (lizard-hipped) dinosaurs in the southern province of Neuquen, 1,300 km south of Buenos Aires, they said Tuesday.
The saurischian dinosaurs, which grew to as much as four metres in length and two metres in height, were carnivorous and biped.
Successful firing of cryogenic engine a challenge for new ISRO chief
By Fakir Balaji, IANS,
Bangalore : Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman-designate K. Radhakrishnan, who takes over Oct 31, has said his first priority would be to see that the indigenously built cryogenic engine is made ready for the GSLV launch by the year-end.
He made the statement soon after he learnt about his appointment to the top post.
The successful firing of a cryogenic engine will take India into the exclusive space club, which has the US, Russia, China, France and Japan with such a capability.
China launches new space tracking ship to serve Shenzhou VII
By Xinhua
Shanghai : China launched a new space tracking ship on Saturday, expected to serve the Shenzhou VII spacewalk mission scheduled for autumn, said a spokesman of the maritime space surveying and controlling operation.
The new space tracking ship was the sister ship of the Yuanwang-5, which was put into use in September, said the spokesman, adding the two vessels would play a key role in the Shenzhou VII mission.
U.S. space shuttle Discovery enters launch countdown
By Xinhua,
Washington : The U.S. space shuttle Discovery enters its official launch countdown at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) on Wednesday, aiming at a targeted launch on Saturday, NASA TV reported.
The launch team at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is tracking no issues as technicians continue preparing Discovery for liftoff on Saturday at 5:02 p.m. EDT (2102 GMT), said NASA's shuttle program.
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".
Two air force planes film total solar eclipse
By IANS,
Agra : An AN-32 transport aircraft and a Mirage-2000 trainer of the Indian Air Force (IAF) Wednesday successfully chased the sun's shadow to film the total solar eclipse, the longest one of the 21st century.
Two separate missions from Agra and Gwalior were flown for the experiment, an official said.
The AN-32 aircraft carrying scientific equipment, cameras and scientists took off from Agra and landed back after a three-hour flight, while the Mirage-2000 trainer flew from Gwalior and took images of the celestial spectacle from 42,000 feet.
Hackers help fight natural disasters too!
By IANS,
Washington : During the biannual event called the Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK), hackers worldwide develop software that can help identify and reduce risks from natural hazards.
Indian spacecraft will try to unravel moon’s origins
By Fakir Balaji, IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : India's lunar explorer, Chandrayaan-1, will try to unravel the moon's origins as it scouts for minerals and water there, according to project director M. Annadurai.
When Chandrayaan is launched Oct 22 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here, about 80 km from Chennai, it will boost international space cooperation by carrying 11 scientific devices, six of them from European and American organisations, to study the earth's nearest celestial neighbour while it orbits 100 km above the moon.
Science with cartoons: Lucknow scientist invited to Europe meet
By IANS,
Lucknow : A Lucknow-based scientist, who uses cartoons to make complex scientific works easy to understand, has been invited to participate in a European science festival in Spain.
At the festival organised by the European Science Events Association (EUSCEA), P.K. Srivastava, a senior scientist with the chemical toxicology division of the Central Drugs Research Institute (CDRI), will make a presentation on 'sceintoons' invented by him in 1988.
Be careful when accessing your computer from afar
By Nabeel A. Khan, IANS,
New Delhi : Be careful when you access your computer over the Internet. Here are some safety tips:
* Install file-sharing software carefully, so that you know what's being shared.
* Person to person (P2P) file-sharing applications will, by default, share downloads in your "save" or "download" folder - unless you set it not to.
* You should also restrict users' ability to write files to the file server.
* Limit guests or anonymous accounts sharing so none can upload files.
Facebook users dial 911 over outage, cops frown
New York : Will you call 911 if Facebook goes off the radar? This is exactly some users in Los Angeles did when the...
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.
MySpace ejects 90,000 convicted sex offenders
By DPA,
San Francisco : Social networking website MySpace.com has said that it had ejected more than 90,000 registered sex offenders following an agreement last year with state attorneys general to improve child safety.
The figure, which MySpace provided to Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, was more than double the number that MySpace had predicted that it would find when it launched the crackdown on online threats to minors.
NASA to probe Jupiter’s stormy clouds
By IANS,
London : NASA will launch a spacecraft Friday to unravel the secrets of Jupiter, the largest planet in the universe.
Genetically modified plants likely to yield more biofuel
By IANS,
Washington : Genetically modified plants will open up ways to make cheaper, greener biofuels, besides helping turn agricultural waste into food for livestock.
Lignin, a major component of plants, is woven in with cellulose and provides plants with the strength to withstand strong gusts of wind and microbial attack. However, this protective barrier or "plastic wall" also makes it harder to gain access to the cellulose.
Apple’s next-generation stunning iPhone model leaked
By IANS,
Washington: Apple's future generation iPhone model, which was leaked after being mistakenly left at a bar in California, has been put on display by a technology news portal.
The secret version of the next generation iPhone was not expected to be formally unveiled for a couple of months.
But, the technology news site Gizmodo said the gadget was left by an iPhone software engineer at Gourmet Haus Staudt, a German specialty store and beer garden in Redwood City.
Scientists rely on maths model to outwit terrorists
By IANS,
Washington : A maths model developed by researchers can outwit terrorists by predicting the likelihood of attacks, their timing and strength.
The model was developed by researchers at the University of Miami (UM). Their finding supports the belief that insurgent wars represent "fourth generation warfare" with different dynamics from conventional wars.
UM researchers and collaborators analysed the size and timing of 54,679 violent events reported in Afghanistan, Colombia, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Northern Ireland, Peru, Senegal and Sierra Leone.
ISRO scientists to meet Sunday to discuss cryo failure
By IANS,
Chennai : Indian space scientists will meet in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday to discuss the reasons for the failure of Thursday's rocket mission, which was for the first time powered by an Indian-built cryogenic engine.
Meanwhile, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is collecting data on the rocket launch to arrive at the reason for the failure.
The scientists will start reviewing the data at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram Saturday.
Scientists said they have to "work overtime" to arrive at a conclusion on why the mission failed.
Don’t allow MP3 headphones to get too close to pacemakers
By IANS,
Washington : Don't allow MP3 headphones to get too close to pacemakers and implantable defibrillators; they could be potentially dangerous.
Researchers investigated the effects of MP3 headphones, most of which contain the magnetic substance neodymium, on the operation of implanted cardiac devices.
An MP3 player is a popular digital music player. Earlier this year a US government report concluded that interactions between MP3 players, such as the popular iPod, and implanted cardiac devices are unlikely to occur.
Melting sea ice spurs warming in Arctic
By IANS,
Sydney : Melting sea ice is a major cause of warming in the Arctic, says a new study.
The findings by the University of Melbourne (UM) team reveal that the rapid melting of sea ice has dramatically increased the levels of warming in the region in the last two decades.
Lead author James Screen of the School of Earth Sciences (UM) says the increased Arctic warming was due to a positive feedback between sea ice melting and atmospheric warming.
India to spend Rs.7.5 bn for research in earth sciences
By IANS
New Delhi : India will spend Rs.7.5 billion ($187.5 million) for carrying out research in oceanography and meteorological science, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said Friday.
Presenting the 2008-09 budget, Chidambaram said the total outlay for the Ministry of Earth Sciences would include Rs.2.94 billion for oceanographic research, Rs.4.32 billion for meteorology and Rs.240 million for other scientific research.
How does brain zero in on single bit of information?
By IANS,
Washington : How does the brain zero in on a single bit of information, out of the tens of thousands that it is bombarded with daily? Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have discovered a mechanism that the brain uses to filter out distracting thoughts to focus on a single bit of information.
Think of your brain like a radio: You're turning the knob on to find your favourite station, but the knob jams, and you're stuck listening to something that's in between stations.
Youngest known pulsar is behaving strangely
By IANS
New York : The youngest known pulsing neutron star - or pulsar - is behaving altogether like another type of star, a magnetar, forcing a rethink among astronomers.
One kind of neutron star literally changes into another, and scientists studying this pulsing neutron called PSR J1846-0258 at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre wonder whether they have stumbled on the long-sought missing link between different types of pulsars.
NASA set to conduct largest airborne polar ice survey
By IANS,
Washington : NASA will conduct a massive polar survey from Oct 15 to examine changes to Antarctica's sea ice and glaciers.
The flights are part of Operation Ice Bridge, a six-year campaign that is the largest airborne survey ever made of ice at the polar regions.
Researchers will work from NASA's DC-8, an airborne lab equipped with laser mapping instruments, ice-penetrating radar and gravity instruments.
Facebook faces action over ’emotion contagion’ study
Washington: US privacy group Electronic Privacy Information Centre (EPIC) has filed a formal complaint with the Federate Trade Commission (FTC) over Facebook's use of...
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.
Largest ice-shelf fractures into three
By IANS,
Toronto : The largest ice-shelf in the northern hemisphere has fractured into three pieces, the first intimation of which has come from images clicked by the Radarsat satellite.
A team of scientists patrolling the area inspected an 18-km long network of cracks running from the southern edge of the Ward Hunt Ice-Shelf to the Arctic Ocean.
A similar large fracture was detected in 2002, prompting concerns that the remaining ice-shelf too would disintegrate within a few years.