Pollen-coated bullets will help find criminals
By IANS,
London : British researchers have developed a new coating for gun cartridges with pollen and grit to help identify criminals that use firearms.
The new technique involves coating batches of cartridges with unique "nanotags" that are invisible to the naked eye and designed to attach to hands, gloves and clothing of anyone that handles such a coated cartridge. Some of the tags also remain on the spent cartridge casing.
Saeedi hopes Iran, IAEA will finalise issue of centrifuges
By NNN-IRNA
Tehran : Deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation for International Affairs Mohammad Saeedi has expressed hope that Iran and the IAEA would finalise the issue of P1 and P2 centrifuges in this round of negotiations.
Saeedi was speaking to reporters at the Mehrabad International Airport here Monday following the arrival of Deputy Chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for Safeguards Olli Heinonen.
Heinonen is to hold a fresh round of talks with Iranian officials within the framework of Iran-IAEA Aug 21 agreement.
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.
Indian-American scientist bags top honours
By IANS,
Washington : Rama Ranganathan, professor of pharmacology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre, earned recognition as one of the top rising research stars by The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas (TAMEST).
TAMEST members include the state's Nobel Prize winners - four of whom are active faculty members at UT Southwestern - and the 200-plus Texas members of the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Sciences.
Scientists crack code of drug-resistant TB
Durban(IANS) : South African scientists have sequenced the entire genome of a strain of extremely drug-resistant mycobacterium tuberculosis (XDR-TB).
They hope the information will contribute to developing better diagnostics and treatments for the disease.
The bacteria analysed were taken from a patient in Durban's King Edward VIII Hospital in KwaZulu Natal, science site SciDev.Net reported.
Radhakrishnan to head Vikram Sarabhai space centre
Bangalore(IANS) : Senior space scientist K. Radhakrishnan has been appointed director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Thiruvananthapuram, the space agency announced here Saturday.
Radhakrishnan, who was till recently head of the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) in Hyderabad, will succeed B.N. Suresh.
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...
Astronauts begin spacewalk to remove ammonia tank
By DPA,
Washington : Two US spacewalkers left the International Space Station (ISS) Tuesday to remove an empty ammonia tank that is crucial for keeping the station cool.
John "Danny" Olivas and Nicole Stott left the ISS at 2149 GMT for the planned six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk.
They will disconnect lines that transfer ammonia and nitrogen in the tank, unhook the electricity and unbolt the tank before lifting it away from the station and placing it on the robotic arm to be moved out of the way.
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.
Biometrics is no guarantee for secure data
By DPA
Darmstadt (Germany) : Police are not the only ones taking fingerprints these days. Starting on Nov 1, fingerprint data will even be stored in the passports issued by many countries.
As fingerprints are unique, they have also drawn attention from manufacturers of equipment designed to limit access to computers.
After all, pressing your fingertip against a reading device is simpler than learning and inputting a password. But are fingerprint sensors really more secure? The answer is both yes and no.
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.
Punjab to have police station to tackle cyber-crime
By IANS,
Chandigarh : The Punjab Police Monday announced that a state-of-the-art cyber crime police station and forensic science laboratory would be set up in the state.
Laying the foundation stone of the new project Monday, Director General of Police N.S. Aulakh said that the cyber crime police station was required to cater to technology related crimes committed in the state.
The cyber crime police station and the forensic lab to be set up in Mohali town, 10 km from here, will cost Rs.80 million, Aulakh said.
NASA remembers storied past, but looks to uncertain future
By Anne K. Walters, DPA,
Cape Canaveral (Florida) : As the world marked the 40th anniversary of the first human on the moon this year, the future of the space programme that pioneering astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins helped found looks more uncertain than ever.
The Apollo astronauts are old men now. In July, it seemed like they recreated that golden age of space flight when they shook hands with US President Barack Obama, who praised them for their contributions.
Just click 160by2.com and send free SMS!
By Nayanima Basu, IANS
New Delhi : Want to send an SMS for free? Just click www.160by2.com.
"On one side were users who wanted free SMS and on the other side were brands and media companies trying to reach these consumers. Initially we ignored them but as the number increased, we realised that there was a genuine opportunity here, waiting to be exploited," said Satya Kalyan Yerramsetti, CEO, SMSCountry Networks Pvt. Ltd.
For sending an SMS from 160by2.com, one needs to only fill up a simple registration form.
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.
Investigation into CERN”s LHC incident indicates faulty electrical connection
By KUNA,
Geneva : Investigations at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) following a large helium leak into sector 3-4 of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) tunnel have indicated that it was most likely caused by a faulty electrical connection between two of the accelerator's magnets.
CERN has announced that before a full understanding of the incident can be established, however, the sector has to be brought to room temperature and the magnets involved opened up for inspection.
Scientists locate breeding ground of rarest bird
By IANS,
Washington : Researchers have located the breeding ground of a species dubbed "the world's least known bird" -- the large-billed reed warbler, in the remote Wakhan reaches of Afghanistan.
The recent discovery represents a watershed moment in the study of this bird. The first specimen of such warblers was discovered in India in 1867, with well over a century elapsing before a second discovery of a single bird in Thailand in 2006.
European cargo vessel docks with space station
By Xinhua
Paris : A European supply vessel carrying over 5 tons of cargo successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) Thursday.
According to a NASA news release, the European supply vehicle established communication with the ISS at 1000 GMT Thursday and the docking was ordered at 1440 GMT.
The Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) was built by a consortium led by the space unit of aerospace group EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space company). It carries three times the cargo of Russia's Progress vehicle and will play a key role in supplying the ISS.
Insat-4CR launch delayed by 50 minutes
By IANS
Sriharikota : The launch of India's latest communication satellite Insat-4CR was put on hold for 50 minutes Sunday evening due to a technical hitch 15 seconds before the scheduled blast-off time.
The satellite was to be launched at 4.21 p.m by the geo-synchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-F04).
Some of the parameters pertaining to the launch vehicle were reportedly not on the expected lines.
Indian IT industry on alert to prevent swine flu fallout
By Pupul Dutta and Fakir Balaji, IANS,
New Delhi/Bangalore: The $60-billion Indian IT industry is on an alert mode on account of the pandemic swine flu that has affected travel and led to postponement of events, according to a top industry official.
"Though we are taking preventive measures, we have postponed a few events, including one in Pune," said Som Mittal, president of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), the industry's representative body.
Amateur astronomer chances upon ‘cosmic ghost’
By IANS,
New York : Yale astrophysicist Kevin Schawinski and colleagues at Oxford never envisioned the strange object amateur astronomer Hanny van Arkel found in archived images of the night sky.
The Dutch school teacher, volunteer in the Galaxy Zoo project, co-founded by Schawinski that allows public participation in astronomy research online, discovered a mysterious object some are calling a 'cosmic ghost'.
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.
Chandrayaan’s journey to lunar orbit
By IANS,
Bangalore, Nov 8 (IANS) Chandrayaan-1, India's first unmanned mission to moon, has travelled more than 380,000 km in 12 days after its launch from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh Oct 22 to enter the lunar orbit Saturday.
Soon after the launch at 6.22 a.m. on Oct 22, the spacecraft carrying 11 scientific payloads was put in an orbit of 22,860 km apogee (farthest point to the earth) and 225 km perigee (nearest point to the earth).
This is how Chandrayaan reached the lunar orbit:
I have been concentrating on motivating the youth
By A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, IANS,
I did not realize that I have already completed one year after demitting office on 25 July 2007. This one year has been an extremely eventful one me having visited over 12 states in India and nine countries.
It is pertinent to note here that I have not been able to accept more than 10 per cent of the total invitations received.
Australian astronaut urges bigger role of Australia in space science
By Xinhua,
Canberra : Astronaut Andy Thomas urged Australia on Friday to get greater involvement in space science and exploration, as a return to the moon is under preparation and a mission to Mars contemplated.
Speaking at a Senate inquiry into the space industry in Adelaide, South Australia, Thomas said Australia should establish a dedicated space agency to foster expertise in everything from satellite technology to rocket launching.
Britain mulls asking private firm to run communication database
By IANS,
London : Britian is considering asking a private company to manage and run communications database that will keep track of all calls, emails texts and internet use, media reports said Wednesday.
The decision to put the management of the country's super database containing identities and locations of every person into private hands will, however, be accompanied by tougher legal safeguards to avoid unnecessay leaks and accidental loss of data, the Guardian reported.
New technique can lift fingerprints from bombs fragments
By IANS,
Washington : The state-of-the-art forensic method that can identify fingerprints on bullets could now be used to lift them from bomb fragments even after they have been wiped off.
John Bond, scientist at the University of Leicester, who developed the technique with the University chemistry team, said " we have developed a method that enables us to 'visualise fingerprints' even after the print itself has been removed.
Astrologers to astronomers: Oct 22 good day for moon mission launch
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Chennai : There are astrologers among the astronomers in the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) too. They have declared that the day set for the country's first moon mission, Oct 22, will be aupicious.
Seven years ago, on Oct 22, 2001, ISRO had successfully launched a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV C3) carrying three satellites - one of its own and two from overseas.
Chinese satellite fails to enter orbit
By IANS,
Beijing : A Chinese satellite failed to enter its designated orbit due to a rocket malfunction, a media report said Friday.
Soviet test site offers insights on nuclear monitoring
By IANS,
Washington : Newly released data from Semipalatinsk, the primary nuclear weapons testing site of the former Soviet Union during the Cold War, can help today's atomic sleuths fine-tune their monitoring of nuclear detonations, according to a study
The data is especially important in light of the fact that only three nuclear tests - back-to-back tests in India and Pakistan in 1998 and a 2006 test in North Korea - have been conducted since the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty of 1996, said Paul Richards of Columbia University
Astronomers discover peanut-shaped two star system
By Xinhua
Washington : A pair of yellow super giant stars, orbiting so close to one another that they form the shape of a peanut, has been discovered in a nearby galaxy.
The U.S. astronomers who discovered it announced Tuesday in Astrophysical Journal Letters that similar conjoined giants might be the source of some unusual supernova explosions.
The stellar peanut inhabits a small galaxy called Holmberg IX, about 12 million light years from Earth. It was discovered using the Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona.
India has only 130,000 scientific researchers: minister
By IANS
New Delhi : India has a mere 130,000 scientific researchers against seven times that number in China, and the government is taking steps to address the imbalance, parliament was told Wednesday.
"We have just 130,000 researchers against some 700,000 to 800,000 in China," Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibil said during question hour in the Rajya Sabha.
"The Scandinavian countries have 7,000 researchers per million of population. In India, the figure is 156," he added.
Google, Microsoft ‘most discussed tech brands’ in India
By NNN-PTI,
New Delhi : Internet search giant Google and software major Microsoft are among the most discussed technology brands in India, dominating most of the online conversations, says a survey.
Topped by Google, the list of top 10 technology brands compiled by research firm Edelman, features Microsoft at the second spot while Yahoo! has cornered the third position.
Google and Microsoft secured about 20 per cent and 12 per cent of all monitored conversations respectively, according to Digital Brand Index (DBI) for India compiled by Edelman in collaboration with Brandtology.
‘Sunshield’ to protect space telescope from extremes of heat, cold
By IANS,
Washington : Engineers have designed a 'Sunshield' to protect NASA's James Webb space telescope from extremes of heat and cold, radiation and small debris.
Besides, the 'Sunshield' would also block solar heat to allow its cameras and instruments to operate optimally at 1.6 million km from the earth in 2013.
A satellite has to withstand the icy cold and the intense heat and radiation of a solar flare in space, which ranges between a super-hot 127 degrees Celsius and a frigid minus 243.
‘Indian software industry will hold out against competition’
By James Jose, IANS,
New Delhi : The $60-billion information technology industry in India will continue to attract overseas business, despite competition from other emerging markets that also offer lower costs, says the India head of global software giant Computer Associates.
"Our costs will still be competitive. There are markets like China, Singapore, and the Philippines which offer lower costs. But they are not in the same league as India," said the software gian't India chairman Saurabh Srivastava.
Scientists develop mother of all laser beams
By IANS
New York : Scientists have developed the mother of all laser beams - one that has focussed power equal to all the sunlight heading earth's way.
Researchers at the University of Michigan recently created the record-setting beam, which measures 20 billion trillion watts per square centimetre, Sciencedaily reported.
"I don't know of another place in the universe that would have this intensity of light. We believe this is a record," said Karl Krushelnick, who was part of the team that created the laser.
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.
Social networking in outer space
By Venkata Vemuri, IANS,
London : Get yourself a Bebo account right away if you want to send a message to outer space.
An interstellar radio telescope normally used to detect asteroids that could hit Earth is being taken off duty Oct 9 to transmit messages from Bebo users into space.
The messages are expected to reach a recently discovered planet in 2029. They will be sent from a telescope of the Russian National Space Agency in Ukraine.
NASA names planet after Kerala professor
By IANS,
New York/Kollam (Kerala) : In a rare honour, the US space agency NASA has named a 'minor' planet after a Kerala zoology professor in appreciation of his environmental research.
Sainudeen Pattazhy, who teaches in a college in Kollam, received a phone call from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory run by the space agency Wednesday that the minor planet '5178 CD4' has been named after him.
Marine scientists call for protection of Coral Sea
By IANS,
Sydney : Tropical marine scientists, strongly backed by environmental groups, have called for the Coral Sea off the coast of Australia, to be made into world's largest marine reserve.
The researchers said that the whole Coral Sea should become a no-fishing area to protect its immense environmental and heritage values from the escalating threats of overfishing and climate change.
Facebook favoured for background check on prospective partner: Survey
New Delhi : Almost fifty percent unmarried people in India use social networking site Facebook to conduct a background check on their prospective partner,...
India may emerge as data hub for nearby countries: Gartner
By IANS,
Mumbai : With India's data storage capacity expected to double by 2012, it may emerge as the data centre hub for nearby markets such as West Asia, east Africa and southeast Asia, according to a research report prepared by global information technology (IT) market tracker Gartner Inc.
India's total data centre capacity, including both captive and hosted, will grow 31 percent from 1.337 million square feet in 2007 to 5.143 million square feet by 2012, Gartner said in a media release here Wednesday.
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.
Microsoft wants to be part of unique identity project: Gates
By IANS,
New Delhi : Terming the unique identity project as a "great initiative", Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates Friday said the software giant wanted to partner with India in the ambitious project that will give a unique identity number to each of its citizens.
"Microsoft wants to be a part of the unique identification project," Gates told a conference organised by the IT industry lobby, National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom).
Other universes exist alongside our own
By IANS,
London : Scientists say they have found evidence that our universe was 'jostled' by other parallel universes in the distant past.
Russia earmarks $25 bn for secientific research in 2008-10
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia will spend around 600 billion rubles, or about $25 billion, on scientific research in 2008-2010, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
"We have allocated substantial resources for the development of such promising areas as nano- and biotechnology, nuclear energy, aerospace and other research in 2008-2010. Federal target programmes alone will receive about 600 billion rubles for these purposes," Putin told a meeting of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
CO2 dictated global climate pattern
By IANS,
Washington : Carbon dioxide levels explain why temperatures in tropical oceans and arctic waters have changed together for the past 2.7 million years, says a study.
The findings led by a research team of Brown University appear to cement the link between the Ice Ages and temperature changes in tropical oceans.
The research has established that the climate in the tropics over the last 2.7 million years changed with the cyclical spread and retreat of ice sheets thousands of miles away in the Northern Hemisphere.
World misled over glacier meltdown: Report
By IRNA,
New Delhi : A warning that most of the Himalayan glaciers will melt by 2035 owing to climate change is likely to be retracted after the United Nations body that issued it admitted to a series of scientific blunders.
Two years ago, the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) headed by India's Rajendra Pachauri, issued a benchmark report that claimed to have incorporated the latest and most detailed research into the impact of global warming.
A central claim was that world's glaciers were melting so fast that those in the Himalayas could vanish by 2035.
NASA says Atlantis launch doubtful amid rough weather
By RIA Novosti
Washington : The launch of the Atlantis shuttle from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, scheduled for Thursday afternoon, could be delayed by the turbulent weather continuing to sweep the U.S. south, NASA said.
Meteorologists have given a mere 30% chance of acceptable weather conditions for the launch, set for 2:45 p.m. (7:45 p.m. GMT). Nearby Arkansas, Kentucky and Alabama have been hit by major tornadoes in the last few days that have killed at least 52 people.
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.
Moser Baer to develop solar power project in Maharashtra
By IANS,
Mumbai : Moser Baer India, with business interest in optical storage media, is developing a 1 MW solar power project in Chandrapur in Maharashtra.
When completed, it will be one of the largest solar projects in the world using the latest thin film technology, the firm said. Thin films improve the efficiency with which solar cells convert sunlight to electricity.
The company won the contract from Mahagenco, a Maharashtra government-owned power utility, on the basis of a global tender that attracted 20 bids.
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.
Vaccines for heart attacks to be ready within 5 years
By IANS,
London : Vaccines targeting the build-up of fatty deposits in arteries (plaques) could be available within five years to prevent heart attacks.
No solution yet to BlackBerry security issue
By IANS,
New Delhi : A solution to the security concerns over BlackBerry services in India has still to be hammered out as its licensor Research-in-Motion (RIM) has sought more time from the Indian government to reach an agreement.
Executives from the Canada-based firm, senior government officials, representatives from security agencies and services met Tuesday here for the second time after India raised concerns that BlackBerry services may be used by terrorist outfits as the e-mails between these cannot be intercepted.
Lost Soviet rover on moon traced
By IANS,
Toronto : In an amazing breakthrough, a Canadian researcher has located the Soviet-era rover Lunokhod-2 stuck on the moon 37 years ago.
Phil Stooke, a professor at departments of physics & astronomy and geography at the University of Western Ontario at London near here solved the 37-year-old mystery using lunar images released Monday by NASA and maps from his own atlas of the moon.
US-based Indian designs garbage disposal system for India
By IANS,
Kolkata: A US-based Indian engineer has designed and patented three waste disposal units that "match architecture and road systems" of India.
India To Launch 10 Remote Sensing Satellites Monday
By P. Vijian, Bernama,
New Delhi : India's space scientists are preparing to launch a cluster of 10 satellites in one go on board a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C9 (PSLV-C9) Monday.
India's national space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), will fire the 690-kg CARTOSAT-2A, India's latest remote sensing satellite, into orbit.
Along with it, the Indian Mini Satellite (IMS-1) and eight foreign nano-satellites would be launched. These mini-satellites weigh between three kg and 16 kg and have a total weight of about 50 kg, said an ISRO statement.
New Pluto images puzzle scientists
Washington : NASA's New Horizon spacecraft has captured stunning coloured images of Pluto as it gets ready for a close flyby of...
Sick zooplanktons affecting whole food chain in the Ganga: Scientist
By IANS,
Patna : All along the stretch of India's holiest river Ganga, the zooplanktons that play a critical role in its food chain are developing tumours, says a biologist.
M. Omair from the University of Michigan in the US has collected zooplankton samples from Haridwar, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, and Kolkata. He found that many of the zooplanktons that are eaten by the small fish have tumours.
The small fish are in turn eaten by the bigger fish and so on, so the ill zooplanktons are getting into the entire food chain, including humans who eat fish from the river.
Robot goalkeeper better than the Bundesliga’s human goalies
By DPA,
Stuttgart (Germany) : A robotic goalkeeper is better than human keepers in Germany's football Bundesliga, its inventors boasted Monday as they demonstrated the computer-controlled device, Goalias, to the media.
Players from first-division side VfB Stuttgart, including Germany team player Mario Gomez, tried last week to outwit Goalias, shooting indoors at a full-size goal mouth from 11 metres out. Scientists have since fine-tuned Goalias.
Astronauts complete final spacewalk
By Xinhua,
Washington : Two astronauts have completed their fifth and final spacewalk installing two cameras on Japan's Kibo laboratory at the International Space Station (ISS), the US space agency NASA said.
The spacewalk, conducted by Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn, lasted four hours and 54 minutes.
The astronauts performed an electrical cable swap and adjustment of insulation blankets on the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator.
How old is your oldest bulb? This one’s 70
By Asit Srivastava, IANS,
Lucknow : Seventy years old and still glowing. It's a light bulb, which has recently become the most prized possession of Lucknow resident Girish Chandra Gupta, who now aims to enter the record books, claiming to have a "rare bulb".
"It was only last month that I came to know the importance of the bulb after coming across an article in a Hindi daily," says Gupta, who runs a grocery shop from his small house located in a congested lane in the Hussainganj locality of this Uttar Pradesh capital.
Technical snag trips parliament voting system
By IANS,
New Delhi: A technical snag developed in the automatic vote recording system in the Lok Sabha Tuesday as Speaker Meira Kumar asked MPs to cast their votes on the cut motion moved by Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Gurudas Das Gupta.
More than a dozen foreigners were watching the house proceedings from the visitors' gallery as the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government faced a threat of a cut motion by the opposition parties minus the Samajwadi Party and the Rashttriya Janata Dal (RJD).
Thinnest nanowire will make computing super fast
By IANS,
Sydney : World's thinnest nanowires will drive computers super fast in the near future using light, a new research claims.
Tsunami early warning system by month end
By IANS
New Delhi : Minister of Science and Technology Kapil Sibal said Friday that a national tsunami warning system would be operational by September end.
"The government is setting up a National Early Warning System for Tsunami and Storm Surges in the Indian Ocean and the system is scheduled to be operational by the end of September 2007," Sibal said.
"An interim warning centre is already working at Indian National Centre for Ocean information Services, Hyderabad, on a 24x7 basis," the minister informed the Lok Sabha.
Indo-US Air Force conference in Kerala Monday
By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram: The 15th Indo-US Air Force Executive Steering Group (ESG) conference will begin Monday at the Southern Air Command Headquarters here.
The three-day conference allows the delegations of the two countries to discuss policies and mutual exchange programmes for bilateral defence cooperation, a defence spokesperson said Sunday.
The annual conference is held alternatively in the two countries and this year the Southern Air Command has been chosen as the venue.
A year of tweets, smartphones and green tech
By Andy Goldberg, DPA,
San Francisco : Any review of the major technology developments of 2009 would inevitably include copious copy on the Googles, Microsofts and other giants of the tech world.
But it was also a year in which the tiny company called Twitter became a major communications force, and when political, economic, social and technological trends combined to put green technology at the forefront of innovation.
India develops gas turbines for ships
By IANS,
New Delhi : Catapulting India into the elite club of marine gas turbine producers, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has modified the Kaveri engine, meant for powering the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) enable it propel naval ships.
With this, India joins an exclusive club that includes the US, Russia, Britain and the Ukraine.
Just ten minutes of talking may improve memory
By IANS
New York : Talking to each other for just 10 minutes may boost intellectual performance and improve memory, a new study had found.
The study found that short-term social interaction boosted intellectual performance of people as much as engaging in so-called intellectual activities for the same length of time, reported science portal ScienceDaily.
"Socialising is just as effective as more traditional kinds of mental exercise in boosting memory and intellectual performance," Oscar Ybarra, a psychologist at the University of Michigan said.
Microsoft, Mammootty to launch Kerala e-literacy programme
By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : Software giant Microsoft and veteran Malayalam superstar Mammootty are planning to launch an e-literacy programme in Kerala.
Mammootty told IANS Tuesday that he is in discussions with Microsoft for the launch of the statewide education project.
He is also the brand ambassador of the state-sponsored Akshaya IT programme.
Mammootty said he wants to launch the project to help make all sections of the society IT literate.
NASA engineers could launch Atlantis by Saturday
By KUNA
Washington : NASA engineers will meet Friday to discuss an unresolved fuel circuitry problem that grounded the space shuttle Atlantis on Thursday, and may resume the mission as early as Saturday.
The 11-day mission, set to launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Thursday morning, was postponed at the last minute after several of shuttle's fuel sensors gave false readings that the exterior fuel tank's liquid hydrogen levels were empty.
Venus’ S02 from recent or ancient volcanos?
By Xinhua
Beijing : Scientists are debating whether the sulfur dioxide found in the atmosphere of Venus is the product of relatively recent volcanic eruptions or lingers from eruptions as old as 10 million years.
"Volcanoes are a key part of a climate system," said Fred Taylor, a Venus Express scientist from Oxford University.
Sulfur compounds don't stay long in Earth's atmosphere because they eventually react with the planetary surface, but they may take longer to react with surface rocks on Venus.
Reksha in New Delhi combines old style and new tech
By Falah al-Fadhli, KUNA,
New Delhi : Over the past ten years, the Indian capital, New Delhi, has developed considerably in view of opening up to international markets and entry of foreign capital.
The active investment movement in New Delhi has stimulated and spurred migration from the countryside to the capital in pursuit of work, making it one of the most overpopulated and chaotic cities.
In spite of recent changes in the city, three-wheeled green-yellow Reksha hiring cars or Tok Tok are still favored by many commuters thanks to its old style, new technology and cheap fare.
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.
Chandigarh on track to become ‘solar city’
By IANS,
Chandigarh : The union territory of Chandigarh is all set to become a "solar city" and reduce its dependence on conventional and non-renewable energy resources, officials said here Wednesday.
The administration here has nearly finalised the draft plan for extensively utilising solar energy in collaboration with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
To finalise the modalities of this project, a meeting was held between officials of the union territory and TERI Tuesday evening.
Telecommunication interconnection regulation revised
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's telecom watchdog Tuesday revised the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection Regulation, 2004, making it mandatory for all broadcasters to have reference interconnect offers (RIOs) for their addressable systems.
The Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection (Fifth Amendment) Regulations, 2009, released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), covers regulatory provisions on issues relating to inter-connection for addressable platforms and registration of inter-connection agreements.
Successful 3G bidders eligible for 2G spectrum space: DoT
By IANS,
New Delhi : Successful bidders for spectrum allocation for third generation (3G) telecom services will also be eligible for second generation (2G) spectrum space, the government said here Tuesday.
“Successful 3G bidders will be eligible for acquiring second generation (2G) spectrum as well,” Member (Finance) of Telecom Commission R. Ashok said at a conference ahead of the 3G auctions.
However, 2G-spectrum allocation will be subject to availability and operators will have to wait in queue, he said.
Sentinel birds sing the ‘watchman’s song’
By IANS,
London : Like soldiers guarding their posts in hostile territory and keeping comrades informed by radio that all is well, birds too are just as conscious about discharging similar "responsibilities", according to a study.
Researchers from the University of Bristol have demonstrated that by warbling a distinctive "watchman's song", birds scanning for danger ensure their larger feathered family can focus on foraging, and so get more food.
Google’s new OS could hit Microsoft where it hurts
By Andy Goldberg, DPA,
San Francisco : It's the ultimate showdown in the technology world, the clash of giants that has been eagerly awaited for years. Web giant Google is taking its clearest aim yet at Microsoft with its plan to produce its own operating system that would optimise the way computers work on the Internet.
Astronauts start spacewalk to install Japan lab
By ANTARA News
Washington : Two astronauts from the US shuttle Endeavour stepped into space Thursday in the first of a series of spacewalks to install Japan's maiden laboratory at the International Space Station (ISS), NASA television showed.
Mission Specialist and lead spacewalker Rick Linnehan and Flight Engineer Garrett Reisman emerged at 8:18 pm Central Daylight Time (0118 GMT Friday), according to NASA, to begin the task of maneuvering phase one of the laboratory out of Endeavour's payload bay and attaching it to the orbiting station.
Five billion people to use cell phones in 2010: UN
By IANS,
Madrid: The number of mobile phone users across the world would increase to five billion this year, a UN telecommunication agency said Monday.
The number of mobile phone subscriptions worldwide has reached 4.6 billion and is expected to increase to five billion this year, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
"Even during an economic crisis, we have seen no drop in the demand for communications services," ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Toure said.
MIT researchers work on more powerful batteries
By IANS,
Washington: A team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is developing a technology that could lead to more powerful, lightweight batteries than existing ones.
Yang Shao-Horn, MIT associate professor of mechanical engineering, says that many groups have been pursuing work on lithium-air batteries, a technology that could advance work on energy density.
But, there has been a lack of understanding of what kinds of electrode materials could promote the electrochemical reactions that take place in these batteries.
850 new species discovered in semi-arid Australia
By IANS,
Sydney : About 850 new species inhabiting underground water, caves and micro-caverns have been discovered in semi-arid Australia. These invertebrates include various insects, small crustaceans, spiders, worms and many others.
The team - led by Andy Austin, professor at the University of Adelaide (U-A), Steve Cooper, South Australian Museum, and Bill Humphreys, Western Australian Museum - conducted a comprehensive four-year survey of underground water, caves and micro-caverns.
Yahoo unveils new search engine, but can anyone catch Google?
By DPA
San Francisco : Yahoo Inc. has unveiled a new internet search technology in a bid to close the gap on search leader Google, but executives at Yahoo admitted that the best they could hope for was to "chip away" at their rival's lead.
The new Yahoo Search, previously codenamed Panama, was launched Tuesday and introduces features like 'universal search', which automatically includes different content types in search results.
ISRO seeks to be party in land scam case
Kochi, Sep 25 (IANS) Indian space agency ISRO Tuesday sought to be impleaded in a public interest litigation (PIL) - relating to its alleged purchase of forestland - that is to be taken up by the high court here Wednesday.
The PIL has been filed by D.B. Binu requesting the court to intervene and initiate a full-fledged inquiry into purchase of land by ISRO for a space education institute in Ponmudi near Thiruvananthapuram from high profile businessman Savy Mano Mathew.
New software will track unauthorised presence at airports
London, Dec 10 (IANS) A new software will soon help airport staff maintain strict vigil and promptly track unauthorised persons and objects.
The airport apron is a beehive of activity. Ground staff drive baggage trolleys to the aircraft, load air freight containers in the hold and refuel the aircraft. But which persons, vehicles and objects are moving around on the apron?
Are all the people authorised? Are people getting into hazardous situations? For the security staff who have to supervise the terrain on the monitor, it is almost impossible to keep track of everything.
Zip, zap…IIT Delhi’s F1 car for Silverstone circuit
By Prashant K. Nanda, IANS
New Delhi : A Formula 1 car designed by students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi will zip zap zoom on the famous Silverstone circuit - which hosts the British Grand Prix - in July.
IIT Delhi's next generation F1 car will race in the Formula Student category at the circuit. The event will take place between July 10 and 13. It will be among 103 institutes from all over the world that will take part.
Scientists stumble on world’s first vegetarian spider
By IANS,
Washington : Some 40,000 existing spider species are thought to be strict predators that feed on insects or other animals. Now, scientists have stumbled on what may be the world's first vegetarian spider that feeds on plants.
The research, led by Christopher Meehan of Villanova University and Eric Olson of Brandeis University, has revealed the extraordinary ecology and behaviour in a small specimen known as Bagheera kiplingi, found throughout much of Central America and southern Mexico.
Chennai to host ‘AI’ conference for software architects
Thiruvananthapuram: Nasscom has joined hands with US-headquartered Envestnet, Inc. to host the Architecting Intelligence (AI) conference for software architects here on Saturday.
Envestnet is a...
Politicising the military: A strategic blunder
By Admiral Arun Prakash (retd)
India's armed forces, apart from their role of safeguarding the nation, provide a bright strand in the national fabric,...
After US tests, India to get first e-passport in June
By Devirupa Mitra, IANS,
New Delhi : India's first e-passport, which will make travel easy, is expected to be issued next month.
It will be issued to diplomats and officials first. Others may have to wait for about 10 months -- or even more.
If all goes well, the first e-passport will be issued around June 15 to President Pratibha Patil or Prime Minister Manmohan Singh -- or both.
The e-passport project is on a roll. A recent test conducted in a US government laboratory was so impressive that American officials remarked that they would need to study the Indian technology.
India plans to launch reusable rocket by 2010
By NNN-PTI
Banglore : India plans to launch a reusable rocket for the first time by 2010, says its space agency chief.
"Our target (for the first launch) is before 2010," Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), G Madhavan Nair, told PTI.
The space scientists have already designed a "demonstrator" to measure parameters of the vehicle and further work is in progress, Nair, also Secretary in the Department of Space and Chairman of Space Commission, said.
Low coastal regions will be flooded by 2100: Scientists
By IANS,
Copenhagen : Even in the best case global warming scenario, low lying countries and coastal regions will be regularly flooded by 2100, when the sea is expected to rise by at least 50 cm.
This implies that if emissions of greenhouse gases is not cut down quickly and substantially, low lying coastal areas will be flooded, hitting 10 percent of the global population really hard. The emissions are leading to climate change.
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.
Light fuel cells will power unmanned choppers
By IANS,
London : Light fuel cells are likely to power tiny, unmanned choppers that will look for people trapped in debris or examine contaminated terrain.
Since large numbers of fuel cells are required to deliver enough power, manufacturers tend to stack them, making the chopper heavy.
But this problem has been overcome by researchers from Technical University of Berlin's Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration IZM.
NASA delays Glory launch
By IANS,
Los Angeles : NASA announced Wednesday that it has postponed the launch of its earth-orbiting Glory Mission spacecraft due to technical problems, Xinhua reported.
Scientists find way to boost nutritional levels of corn
By IANS,
Washington : An international team of agricultural scientists has found a way to boost the nutritional value of corn and prevent blindness among children.
In Africa and other developing regions, corn is a major staple and hundreds of thousands of children become blind, develop weakened immune systems and die because of diets based largely on corn that lacks sufficient beta-carotene.
India has just two unique IP addresses per 1,000 people
By IANS,
New Delhi : India has only two unique Internet Protocol (IP) addresses per 1,000 people. But a just-released study says the country's net penetration could "significantly increase in the coming years", with its economic boom and growing IT adoption.
Every machine that is permanently connected to the Internet has a unique identifying number, called an IP address. A typical IP address looks like this: 59.95.29.46.
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.
Microsoft launches on-demand e-mail solutions in India
By IANS,
New Delhi : In order to enable easy access to its cost-effective business productivity software, Microsoft Thursday launched its online services in India.
Starting at $2 (about Rs.100) a month, the service will allow small and medium business and enterprise customers to access Microsoft's e-mail, collaboration, conferencing and productivity capabilities online.
Customers can access the suite directly from www.microsoft.com/india/onlineservices and pay a use-based monthly subscription fee.
Rain or shine, India’s moon mission will keep its Oct 22 date
By IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : Come rain or shine, India's maiden moon mission will be launched from here Oct 22 as scheduled, officials said.
Except for a a severe cyclone, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C11 will blast off from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) here as scheduled.
Can a Machine Heal a Heart? Why New Age Youth Are Turning to AI...
Samah Qundeel, TwoCircles.net
New Delhi: We once believed that technology would bring people closer. But somewhere along the way, it did the opposite. Today, it...
Scientists use bacteria to find oil, natural gas
By IANS,
Bangalore : Vengannapalli, a nondescript village in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, may be sitting on a reservoir of gas or oil, say scientists who have been able to make the discovery with the help of soil bacteria that live exclusively on a diet of hydrocarbons like methane, ethane and propane.
A high concentration of these bacteria is an indication that gaseous hydrocarbons are seeping out to the surface from oil or gas reservoirs below the ground, says Anurodh Dayal, a scientist at the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) in Hyderabad.
NASA Destroys Rocket after Launch Failure
By SPA,
Washington : The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said it destroyed an unmanned suborbital rocket shortly after a launch failure early Friday from an island off the Virginia coast.
There were no injuries or property damage, NASA said in a statement, but the agency warned that debris from the explosion could be dangerous. NASA believes most of the wreckage fell into the Atlantic Ocean off the Virginia coast.
The rocket, made by Alliant Tech Systems, was carrying two experiments. NASA said it is investigating why the rocket failed.
Meteor showers to make sky sparkle Aug 12
By Richa Sharma, IANS,
New Delhi : The night sky will be streaked with light in a celestial spectacle put up by the Perseids meteor showers Aug 12.
Sky gazers can look out for it before dawn when over 100 meteors will sparkle in the night sky.
"Perseids are the most famous and beautiful of all meteor showers that approach from the horizon. They are long, slow and colourful," Nehru Planetaruim director N. Rathnashree told IANS.
Axis Bank deploys Polaris’ software solution
By IANS,
Chennai : Private lender Axis Bank has implemented Polaris Software's solution for trade finance, cards and cheque truncation processes, the city-based banking software company said Monday.
The solution, "Intellect Business Process Studio", will enable Axis Bank to eliminate the paper-based cheque clearing activity, Polaris said in a statement.
Google features Gandhi doodle
By IANS,
London : The search engine Google Friday decorated its home page with a sketch of Mahatma Gandhi on his 140th birth anniversary.
The page, seen by millions of people around the world every day as they search the internet, showed Gandhi's face - the dome of his head and mushtacheo forming the initial letter 'G'.
Japan sends out high-speed Internet satellite
By Xinhua
Tokyo : The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launched Saturday afternoon a rocket carrying a high-speed Internet communications satellite, which will cover the general Asia-Pacific region.
The satellite, capable of transmitting data at 1.2 gigabit per second, is designed to conduct experiments on wireless high-capacity and high-speed data communications in areas where ground Internet infrastructure is difficult to be built, the agency said.
Russia to create manned assembly complex in orbit
By Xinhua
Moscow : Russia is going to create a manned assembly complex in orbit, the chief of the Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) Anatoly Perminov said here on Saturday.
"We shall create this complex in order to make dockings in orbit, build craft there and send them to the Moon, Mars and other planets," Perminov was quoted by the Itar-Tass news agency as telling a new briefing.
"This proposal was on the whole approved at the meeting of the Russian Security Council on Friday, but a specific time has not been determined," he said.
ISRO aircraft takes satellite images to trace YSR
By IANS,
Hyderabad : A low-flying aircraft of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) late Wednesday took pictures of Nallamalla forest area where the helicopter carrying Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy was last seen before it went missing.
Finance Minister K. Rosaiah told reporters that the low-flying aircraft belonging to ISRO had taken 41 satellite imagery pictures. Authorities hope to get some clues about the missing chopper from there images.
ISRO planning 10 space missions in 2013
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to accomplish 10 space missions in the next one year, parliament was informed Wednesday.
Nano-catalysts to help produce cheap ethanol
By IANS,
Washington : Researchers are combining traditional gassification with high-tech nano-catalysts to extract ethanol from a range of biomass, which includes wood pulp, animal waste and residual distillers' grain.
Gasification is a process that converts carbon-based feedstocks under high temperature and pressure in an oxygen-controlled atmosphere into synthesis gas, or 'syngas'.
Syngas is made up of carbon monoxide and hydrogen (85 percent by volume) and smaller quantities of carbon dioxide and methane.
Google, YouTube to get Russian site blacklist updates
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow: Google and YouTube will receive updates regarding "blacklisted" websites in Russia, the country's communications oversight agency said.
Phoenix probe sends 1st pictures from Mars’ north pole
By Xinhua,
Beijing : In the most ambitious mission to date to find life-sustaining minerals on the Red Planet, NASA's Phoenix Mars probe sent back never-before-seen pictures of Mars' north pole Monday, media reported Tuesday.
The pictures from the probe confirmed that the solar arrays needed for the mission's energy supply had unfolded properly, as the craft's batteries would have run out in about 30 hours.
Beijing : In the most ambitious mission to date to find life-sustaining minerals on the Red Planet, NASA's Phoenix Mars probe sent back never-before-seen pictures of Mars' north pole Monday, media reported Tuesday.
The pictures from the probe confirmed that the solar arrays needed for the mission's energy supply had unfolded properly, as the craft's batteries would have run out in about 30 hours.
Solar cell windows to help reduce carbon emissions
By IANS
Sydney : Here is an innovative and aesthetic, alternative energy idea - transparent solar cells that replace windows.
Australian engineers are working on such cells that will act as energy generators in houses even as they cut down carbon emissions by 50 percent.
John Bell of Queensland University of Technology said they would make a significant difference to home owners' energy costs and generate excess energy that could be stored or sold, ScienceAlert reported.
China launches new search engine
Beijing: A new Chinese-language online search engine --Chinaso.com -- was launched Friday, marking China's first search service set up by the country's major news...
Partial solar eclipse on Jan 26
By IANS,
New Delhi : Sky gazers in some parts of India will get an opportunity to observe a partial solar eclipse Jan 26.
The eclipse, first for the year, will start at 2.15 p.m. Monday and end by 4 p.m.
"The eclipse will be visible only from southern parts of India, eastern coast, most of northeast India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. People in north and west India will miss the celestial activity," N. Rathnasree, director Nehru Planetarium, told IANS.
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...
Remote sensing system can sniff out hidden explosives
By IANS,
Washington : A remote sensing technique could sniff out hidden explosives, chemical, biological agents and illegal drugs from afar.
The new system, using terahertz (THz) wave technology, can also "see through" clothing and packaging materials that might conceal explosives or other dangerous materials.
In the event of a chemical spill, for instance, remote sensing could identify the composition of the toxic mix. Since sensing is remote, no one will be harmed, reports Nature Photonics.
Hacker claims security flaw with Apple’s iPhone
By IANS,
San Francisco: A hacker Friday revealed a security flaw that he claimed could make Apple's iPhone particularly vulnerable to text message cheating.
Scientists turn back Doomsday Clock
By DPA,
New York : Citing increased international cooperation to curb nuclear weapons and global warming, scientists Thursday moved the so-called Doomsday Clock back by one minute.
The clock was created by nuclear scientists in 1947 to symbolise the world's proximity to planetary catastrophe with midnight signalling the apocalypse. Following Thursday's move the clock now reads six minutes to midnight.
Chip to make instant home test for illness possible
By IANS,
Washington : A new tool "lab-on-a-chip" would make a new generation of instant home tests possible for illnesses, food contaminants and toxic gases in the near future.
These portable, efficient tools are at the lab stage, where researchers alone know how to fabricate them from scratch.
Michigan University (M-U) engineers are now working on a 16-piece lab-on-a-chip kit that brings micro-fluidic devices to the masses.
The kit cuts costs and the time it takes to make such a device from days to minutes, said M-U's Mark Burns, who developed it with graduate Minsoung Rhee.
Robot performs world’s first surgery to remove brain tumour
By IANS,
Toronto : Canadian doctors have created history by performing the world's first robotic surgery to remove brain tumour.
In the landmark surgery, neurosurgeons at Calgary's Foothills Medical Centre guided a newly developed robotic system - called NeuroArm - to remove an egg-shaped tumour from the brain of a woman.
Twenty-one-year-old Paige Nickason was discharged from the hospial two days after the nine-hour-long surgery performed Monday.
``I was happy to help by being a part of this historical surgery,'' she said in a statement at the weekend.
US regulations restrict space industry growth
Hyderabad, Sep 28 (IANS) International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) of the US are a major hurdle in the growth of new space industry actors in the global market, said speakers from emerging space nations at the 58th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2007) here.
They also made a strong case for change in the rules to facilitate cooperation and healthy competition in the global space industry.
The speakers were unanimous that both cooperation and competition were necessary to ensure growth of the space industry, especially among emerging nations and new players.
Earth-like planets found raising hopes of extraterrestial life
By Xinhua
Beijing : Scientists have found some earth-like panets that orbit many sun-like stars in our galaxy, increasing hopes of finding extraterrestial life on some of them, media reported Monday.
University of Arizona astronomer Michael Meyer, working with NASA's Spitzer space telescope, said his research shows that between 20 percent and 60 percent of stars similar to our sun have conditions favorable for forming rocky planets like Earth.
China’s new computer does 1,000 trillion jobs per second
By IANS,
Beijing : China has installed the country's first domestically-made supercomputer capable of doing 1,000 trillion operations per second.
Tianhe-1 is scheduled to begin operations this month, according to the National Supercomputing Centre in Tianjin.
The supercomputer, developed by the National University of Defence Technology in 2009, enabled China to become only the second country after the US capable of developing a device with a speed of 1,000 trillion operations per second.
IITs must act as catalyst to boost technical education: Sibal
By IANS,
New Delhi: Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal Saturday said the country's premier Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) must focus on quality research and act as a catalyst to boost technical education in India.
At IIT-Delhi's convocation ceremony, the minister said: "The great challenge before the IITs is to act as a catalyst in the growth of quality technical education in the country.
Watch out for brightest Jupiter on July 9
By IANS,
New Delhi : Keep your telescopes handy for a wonderful celestial activity - Jupiter will shine at its brightest when it aligns directly with the Sun and Earth Wednesday.
“It is an interesting phenomenon as Jupiter and Earth would be in a straight line. Both the planets come closest at this time of the year and Jupiter, in turn, shines at its brightest,” said Nehru Planetarium director N. Ratnashree.
Ratnashree said if we could see Earth from Jupiter then it would be passing in front of the Sun.
World’s largest telescope network activated
By IANS,
Washington : The largest-ever telescope network has been activated. It stretches 11,000 km across North and South America, Europe and Africa, and will simultaneously observe the same objects.
The telescopes are all members of the Express Production Real-time e-VLBI Service (EXPReS) project, and became functional when the Arecibo Observatory of the National Science Foundation in Puerto Rico joined the network June 6, a press release said Tuesday.
Gulf residents can see lunar eclipse Aug 16
By IANS,
Abu Dhabi : People in the Gulf will be able to witness a partial lunar eclipse Saturday evening.
The partial lunar eclipse occurs when a portion of moon passes through the earth's shadow.
Eighty-one percent of the moon's surface will be occulted in Saturday's eclipse, the state-run Emirates News Agency (WAM) quoted Mohammed Shaukat Audeh of the Islamic Crescents' Observation Project as saying.
People in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be able to see the partial eclipse from 6:23 p.m. GMT (10:23 p.m. local time) Aug 16 till it ends six hours later Aug 17.
Scientists discover 10 new planets outside solar system
By Xinhua
Washington : An international team of astronomers has found 10 new extra-solar planets, planets that orbit stars other than our sun, University of California, Santa Barbara, announced on Tuesday.
The new international collaboration is called "SuperWASP," for Wide Area Search for Planets. In the last six months the SuperWASP team has used two batteries of cameras, one in Spain's Canary Islands and one in South Africa, to discover the 10 new extra solar planets.
Google Play store hits 25 bn downloads
By IANS,
San Francisco: Google announced Wednesday that its online store for media and applications Google Play has hit 25 billion downloads.
‘Molecular motor’ twice as powerful as auto engine
By IANS,
Washington : A powerful "molecular motor" that packages DNA into the head segment of some viruses during their assembly delivers twice as much punch as an auto engine, according to a new study.
Packaging DNA is an essential step in the ability of virus to multiply and infect new host organisms.
Parts of the motor move in sequence like the pistons in a car's engine, progressively drawing the genetic material into the virus's head, or capsid, said Michael Rossmann, Purdue University professor of biological sciences.
Global cyber security experts meet in Kuala Lumpur
By DPA,
Kuala Lumpur : More than 100 government officials and cyber security experts from around the world gathered Tuesday in Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur for a summit aimed at discussing policies to ensure tighter security on the internet.
"Just as there are malicious individuals bent on causing harm to societies and nations in the real world, governments around the world must prepare to deal with similar threats in cyberspace," Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said.
Lunar eclipse saving Columbus 5 centuries ago to reappear
By Xinhua
Beijing : The moon eclipse that saved Christopher Columbus more than five centuries ago will recreate late Wednesday and early Thursday and the moon will turn an eerie shade of red for people in the western hemisphere.
The moon will be in total eclipse from 0301 GMT to 0351 GMT. This will be visible east of the Rocky Mountains in North America, as well as in all of Central and South America, West Africa and Western Europe. The zenith of totality is close to French Guiana.
US space shuttle Endeavour lifts off
By Xinhua
Washington : US space shuttle Endeavour lifted off early Tuesday from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, NASA TV reported.
"All systems are working well ... Endeavour is making its way to the International Space Station (ISS)," NASA's launch blog said after the shuttle jettisoned its twin solid rocket boosters and shut down its three main engines as planned.
The Endeavour and its seven-member crew will spend 16 days in space, the longest visit by the space shuttle to the ISS.
37 mummies found in Mexico
By IANS/EFE,
Mexico City : Restoration work on a church and a cathedral in the central Mexican city of Zacatecas has led to the finding of 37 mummified bodies and a Bible from 1575 written in several languages, authorities said.
The mummies were found in the Church of Santo Domingo, along with a small stairway leading to a grotto in which the skeleton of a Spanish colonial official was resting, the Zacatecas state government said Tuesday.
Scientists intensify anti-Sethu project stir
By IANS
Nagapattinam (Tamil Nadu): The protests against the Sethusamudram Canal Project (SSCP) intensified with a forum of technical experts, non-government organisations and fishermen's federation undertaking a day long relay fast here last weekend.
The Movement Against Sethusamudram Canal Project said it would begin another relay fast in Nagapattinam from next week that would culminate in a massive protest rally in Rameshwaram.
Turkey launches new generation communication satellite
By Xinhua,
Ankara : Turkey has launched its new generation communication satellite "Turksat 3A" from the Kourou base of French Guiana, the semi-official Anatolia news agency has reported.
The report said that the satellite launched Thursday would be located in the orbit of 42 degree east longitude and the control of the satellite will be pursued in the Golbasi Satellite Ground Station near the Turkish capital Ankara.
The satellite, which has three uplink and two downlink beams, will replace Turksat 1C satellite, the report said.
Brain imaging shows cell phone use affects driving
By IANS
New York : Using a mobile phone while driving could be as dangerous as being under the influence of alcohol, according to a new study.
In fact, the study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that drivers under the influence of alcohol and those speaking on cell phones tend to commit the same errors.
Using brain imaging, the study has documented how mobile phone use alone reduces 37 percent of brain activity engaged in driving. For instance, drivers using a simulator while on the phone were found to zigzag out of their lanes.