Iran eyes another satellite in space
By IANS,
Tehran : Iran plans to launch another satellite dubbed Sharif, designed by the students of one of its leading scientific institutions, an official said.
Scientists trigger 52 downpours in Abu Dhabi desert
By IANS,
London : Scientists triggered 52 downpours last year in Abu Dhabi's eastern Al Ain region using technology designed to control weather.
Yahoo to spend $100 mn to promote its brand
By Xinhua,
San Francisco : Yahoo Inc. said Tuesday it will spend $100 million to promote its brand globally.
"Our vision is to be at the centre of people's online lives - to be at the place where their world meets the larger world," Yahoo said in a statement quoting the company's chief marketing officer Elisa Steele.
"This is much more than an advertising campaign," Steele added. "It's about how Yahoo delivers its promise to the market in everything we do. Our brand strategy shows our commitment to delivering personally relevant online experiences."
NASA begins launch countdown for Discovery
By Xinhua
Washington : The launch countdown for US space shuttle Discovery has begun, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said.
The countdown began officially at 2 p.m. local time (18.00 GMT) Saturday for a scheduled lift off on Oct 23.
NASA managers overseeing the launch preparations for the STS-120 mission said Saturday that space shuttle Discovery is ready for two weeks in space. "All of our systems are in good shape," NASA test director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said.
Arctic to be ice-free in summer by 2050
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The Arctic will have no ice during the summer by the mid-21st Century, says the head of the Russian Meteorological Centre.
"In 30-40 years, the Arctic may have no ice in the summertime, including the North Pole," Alexander Frolov said, quoting data from an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.
Frolov said levels of ice reduction in 2010 could exceed the record levels of 2007.
Scientists collect mysterious creatures in Antarctic waters
By SPA
Sydney : Scientists investigating the icy waters of Antarctica said Tuesday they have collected mysterious creatures including giant sea spiders and huge worms in the murky depths, AP reported Australian experts taking part in an international program to take a census of marine life in the ocean at the far south of the world collected specimens from up to 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) beneath the surface, and said many may never have been seen before.
NASA successfully tests first deep space Internet
By Xinhua,
Washington : US space agency NASA said it has successfully tested the first deep space communications network modelled on the Internet.
NASA engineers used a special software called Disruption-Tolerant Networking or DTN to transmit dozens of images to and from a NASA science spacecraft located about 30 million km from the Earth.
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.
‘N-submarines with missiles offer best second-strike chance’
By IANS,
Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu): Nuclear-powered submarines with capacity to launch ballistic missiles offer the best second-strike capability for a nation, an Indian naval officer said here Sunday.
"It is the only system that offers safe second-strike capability. The normal range of submarine-launched ballistic missiles will be 8,000 km. Compared to land-based missile launch pads, submarines are difficult to detect," Rear Admiral Michael Moraes, Flag Officer (submarines), told reporters at Kalpakkam, around 45 km from Chennai.
Humans first ate fish 40,000 years ago
By IANS,
Washington : Freshwater fish remains a staple in many regions of the world, but it remains unclear when it became a year-round diet for early humans. A new study led by Erik Trinkaus, anthropology professor at Washington University, St. Louis, shows it may have happened in China as far back as 40,000 years ago.
Chemical analysis of collagen, a protein, can show whether such fish consumption was an occasional treat or a regular food item.
China to mass produce Shenzhou spaceship
By XINHUA,
Beijing : China will soon begin mass production of its Shenzhou (Divine Vessel) spacecraft, the chief designer of the spacecraft system of China's manned space programme said Friday.
Zhang Bainan said the mass-produced model will serve as a shuttle between China's space station and the ground, and may also transport astronauts and cargo for other countries.
The Shenzhou 7 spacecraft is currently in orbit with three astronauts one of who, Zhai Zhigang, will undertake a space walk later Friday.
Russia to launch Thor 2R telecom satellite from Baikonur Feb. 10
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Russia is to launch a Proton-M rocket carrying a communications satellite on February 10 from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, a spokesman for the Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) said on Thursday.
The Thor-2R comsat, owned by Norway's Telenor Satellite Broadcasting, will provide Ku-band fixed telecommunications and direct-to-home television broadcasting services from Telenor's 1 degree West Longitude orbital location.
India launches Israeli ‘spy satellite’
By IANS
Sriharikota/Bangalore/Chennai : India's space agency ISRO Monday successfully placed an Israeli "spy satellite" in the polar orbit after a textbook launch and reaffirmed its position among the elite group of nations capable of commercial launches - with three more orders in the queue.
The 300-kg Israeli satellite, Tecsar, was launched as scheduled at 0915 IST (Indian Standard Time) using the `core alone' configuration of the polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV-C10), that is, the rocket without its usual six strap-on booster motors.
Software to give 3d image of looks post-plastic surgery
By IANS,
Washington : A new software, based on real clinical data, will give patients a more accurate 3D before-and-after picture, before the scalpel comes down in a cosmetic surgery.
Social media to blame for spontaneous crimes: UP police chief
Ghaziabad : Social media was to blame for sensational spontaneous crimes in Uttar Pradesh, Director General of Police (DGP) Jagmohan Yadav said on...
Scientific breakthrough in creating synthetic blood
By IANS,
London : Scientists have created red blood cells for the first time from spare IVF embryos cells in Britain as part of a multi-million pound project to manufacture synthetic blood on mass-scale.
IVF or In-vitro fertilisation is a process by which egg cells are fertilised by sperm outside the womb.
Researchers relied on more than 100 spare embryos left over from treatment at fertility clinics to establish several embryonic stem cell "lines", reports the Telegraph.
Mozilla leads push to reimagine Web browsers
By Xinhua,
Los Angeles : Mozilla, the group that oversees scores of volunteer programmers collaborating on the free Firefox Web browser, hopes to attract more visionaries to help change the way people surf the Internet, a newspaper report said on Tuesday.
New software that identifies unnamed faces to go public
By IANS,
London : A new software which can identify unnamed faces and then collate photographs of that individual on the net will go public soon.
The software works by scanning a person's configuration of eyes, nose and mouth and claims to be 90 percent accurate.
It can then comb the net for more photographs of the same person and, in tests, locate untagged picture which had not previously been seen by some of the people in them, reports the Telegraph.
The managers of Face.com, which created the software, told the Sunday Times that 5,000 developers were already using it.
Here comes the world’s most accurate quantum clock
By IANS
New York : An atomic clock, based on a single aluminium atom and applying computer logic to the peculiarities of the quantum world, now rivals the world's most accurate clock, relying on a mercury atom.
Both clocks are at least 10 times more accurate than the current US time standard, according to a new study, Sciencedaily reported.
The measurements were made in a yearlong comparison of the two next-generation clocks, both designed and built at the US Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Discovery spacewalk postponed till Saturday
By RIA Novosti
Washington : Discovery shuttle planners have rescheduled a spacewalk to Saturday for fixing a ripped solar wing of the International Space Station (ISS), US space agency NASA's website said Thursday.
The spacewalk, originally due to take place Thursday, will be undertaken by Scott Parazynski and Doug Wheelock. The two astronauts plan to use the space station's robotic arm to fix the damaged solar wing.
Carbon dioxide being soaked up by oceans reduced
By Xinhua
London : The amount of carbon dioxide being absorbed by the world's oceans has reduced, British scientists who carried out a decade-long study said.
Researchers from University of East Anglia gauged carbon dioxide absorption through more than 90,000 measurements from merchant ships equipped with automatic instruments and the results of their 10-year study in the North Atlantic show carbon dioxide uptake halved between the mid-90s and 2000 to 2005, the BBC reported Saturday.
Russia may build its own particle collider
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia is looking into the possibility of building its own particle collider for research and other projects, a Russian scientist has said.
Viktor Matveev said Thursday that scientists around the world are currently considering a proposal by their Russian colleagues to build a new collider.
The idea was put forward by scientists from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, who suggested that a new device be built in the Moscow region.
German scientists readying Indian Ocean tsunami warning system
By DPA
Hamburg : Scientists in Germany are putting the finishing touches on an Indian Ocean tsunami early-warning system.
The German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System for the Indian Ocean (GITEWS) is on schedule, according to project coordinator Joern Lauterjung of the GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam (GFZ), Germany's National Lab for Geosciences.
Moon water: NASA thanks Indian space agency for partnership
By IANS,
Washington : India's maiden lunar mission Chandrayaan has been successful in finding traces of water on the lunar surface, the US space agency NASA said here Thursday, and thanked the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the partnership.
A National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) official said that traces of water and hydroxyl, a molecule consisting of one oxygen atom and one hydrogen atom, was also found in the lunar soil.
NASA also thanked ISRO for the partnership.
‘Chandrayaan brings science, faith together in India’
By IANS,
New York : Chandrayaan is on its way to the moon, regarded by many Indians as a god, but "devout Hindus - many of them, no doubt, rocket scientists - see no disharmony between ancient Vedic beliefs and contemporary scientific practice", according to a New York Times opinion article.
A week before India's moon mission was launched Oct 22, millions of Hindu women embarked on a customary daylong fast of Karva Chauth, meant to ensure a husband's welfare, broken at night on the first sighting of the moon's reflection in a bowl of oil, Tunku Varadarajan wrote in the NYT Wednesday.
HD DVD may give up stage to Blu-ray format
By Xinhua
Beijing : HD DVD may disapear from our lives while Toshiba Corp is planning to give up on its HD DVD format for high definition DVDs, conceding defeat to the competing Blu-Ray technology backed by Sony Corp, media reported Monday.
The move will likely put an end to a battle that has gone on for several years between consortiums led by Toshiba and Sony vying to set the standard for the next-generation DVD and compatible video equipment.
Japan, Europe To Launch Satellite In 2013 To Study Clouds, Climate
By Bernama,
Tokyo : The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will launch a satellite in 2013 jointly with the European Space Agency, to study the effects of clouds in trying to accurately forecast the progress of global warming, Japanese agency officials said Tuesday.
The launch of EarthCARE is expected to increase the accuracy of global warming predictions, such as average temperature rises at the end of the century, a move that would help craft measures to address climate change, said Kyodo News quoted the Japanese agency, JAXA as saying.
Space shuttle Endeavour to launch on March 11
By Xinhua
Beijing : NASA confirmed the U.S. space shuttle Endeavour will launch on March 11 for a 16-day mission, according to media reports Sunday.
The NASA mission management on Friday confirmed the official launch time of the Endeavour. On March 11 at 2:28 a.m. EDT, the space shuttle will be launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
It will be the first of three flights to deliver a huge Japanese research complex to the International Space Station.
Beijing : NASA confirmed the U.S. space shuttle Endeavour will launch on March 11 for a 16-day mission, according to media reports Sunday.
The NASA mission management on Friday confirmed the official launch time of the Endeavour. On March 11 at 2:28 a.m. EDT, the space shuttle will be launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
It will be the first of three flights to deliver a huge Japanese research complex to the International Space Station.
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.
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.
Saturn’s moon Rhea also may have rings, research shows
By Xinhua
Washington : NASA's Cassini spacecraft has found evidence of material orbiting Rhea, Saturn's second largest moon. This is the first time rings may have been found around a moon, said NASA on Thursday.
A broad debris disk and at least one ring appear to have been detected by a suite of six instruments on Cassini specifically designed to study the atmospheres and particles around Saturn and its moons.
Astronauts install experiments, observer on Columbus lab
By DPA
Washington : Europe's newest and most important addition to the space station, the Columbus laboratory, was dressed up with added experiments and observatories during a space walk.
US astronauts Rex Walheim and Stanley Love spent nearly seven and a half hours outside of the International Space Station (ISS) in the third and final outing of the Atlantis shuttle crew Friday.
Atlantis is due to undock from the ISS Monday and return to Earth Wednesday.
China to launch its second lunar probe this year
By IANS,
Beijing : China will launch its second lunar exploration mission this year to test key landing technologies as well as take high-resolution images of the landing area, China Daily reported Tuesday.
"China should not slow down its pace of lunar exploration even if other countries change their plans," said Ye Peijian, chief designer of the nation's first lunar probe Chang'e-1.
The country plans to launch its second lunar probe, Chang'e-2, in the latter half of this year as well as send a lunar lander and rover by 2013.
Scientists edge towards mass production of silicon substitute
By IANS,
London : Scientists have leaped over a major hurdle in efforts to begin commercial production of a form of carbon that could rival silicon in its potential for revolutionising electronic devices ranging from supercomputers to cell phones.
Called graphene, the material consists of a layer of graphite 50,000 times thinner than a human hair with unique electronic properties.
Fossils show mysterious human species lived 30,000 years ago
By IANS,
London : A mysterious new species of the human beings which lived alongside our ancestors 30,000 years ago has been discovered by the scientists.
Ensuring everyday privacy while using the computer
By DPA
Washington : Most of the privacy threats we hear about are from anonymous "hackers" or unnamed forces waiting to swoop via an Internet connection and steal our data or personal information. But many people have privacy concerns that are closer to home.
While the outside threats do exist, it's probably far more likely that a friend, guest, colleague, or family member will see information on your computer that you had not intended to share.
How can you tighten security at home or the office? Read on for some answers.
NASA extends Discovery mission
By DPA,
Washington : The US space agency NASA Saturday extended by one day space shuttle Discovery's mission at the International Space Station.
The move was made to allow an inspection of Discovery's heat shield while the craft is still docked at the International Space Station.
Discovery is now slated to land at Kennedy Space Centre in Florida April 19 at 8:54 am (1824 IST).
The inspection has been standard procedure since the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated on reentry into the Earth's atmosphere in 2003 after its heat shield was damaged.
Countdown to India’s mission moon begins
By Fakir Balaji, IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : As the countdown for the Wednesday launch of lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 on board the polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV-C11) started early Monday, this spaceport off the Bay of Bengal coast was bustling with activity, excitement and a bit of anxiety.
With the countdown starting at 5.22 a.m., about 1,000 top scientists and technologists are working round-the-clock to send India’s first spacecraft mission beyond earth orbit from the picturesque spaceport, located on an island about 80 km from Chennai.
New Year’s Eve revelers to be treated to rare ‘blue moon’
By DPA,
New York : Times Square revelers will be treated to a rare "blue moon" on New Year's Eve Thursday night.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to watch the ritual descent of the crystal ball in Times Square to usher in 2010 at midnight. But what many of them may not yet expect is a special full moon above their heads, the second this month.
Cassini to experience close encounter with Saturn
By Xinhua
Los Angeles : The Cassini spacecraft on Wednesday will skirt the edges of Yellowstone-like geysers erupting at the south pole of Enceladus during a flyby that will bring the craft to within 30 miles (about 48 km) of the Saturnian moon, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said Tuesday.
India announces largest ever auction of hydrocarbon assets
By IANS,
New Delhi : India Thursday announced the auctions for 80 more hydrocarbon assets in the country, including 10 for coal-bed methane, in the largest such exercise under its new policy on oil and gas exploration.
The 70 oil and gas blocks under round number eight of the new policy include 24 in deep waters, 28 in shallow waters and 18 on-land blocks, Petroleum Secretary R.S. Pandey told reporters here. For coal-bed methane, this is the fourth round of auctions.
The bids from both domestic companies and multinational corporations will be accepted till Aug 10.
World’s most powerful optical telescope up and running
By Xinhua
Beijing : The world's most powerful optical telescope is now operating on southeastern Arizona's Mount Graham, capturing striking images of objects millions of light years away.
The Large Binocular Telescope -- featuring two 27.6-foot-diameter mirrors that together gather more light and have 10 times the resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope -- took its first images using both mirrors last year. The first images were released to the public on Thursday.
Smart cars with black boxes
By IANS,
London : Computer scientists in the US are developing technology that will transform cars into intelligent vehicles fitted with aircraft-style black boxes that can record information about driving behaviour during accidents.
The car, which is being developed by researchers at computer chip giant Intel, will record information about the vehicle speed, steering and braking along with video footage from inside and outside the vehicle, The Telegraph reported.
China asks US for data on shooting down of satellite
By Xinhua
Beijing : China Thursday called on the US to provide relevant data on its shooting down of a defunct spy satellite.
China is continuing to closely follow the possible harm caused by the US action to outer space security and relevant countries, Liu Jianchao, foreign ministry spokesman, told reporters here.
"China requests that the US fulfil its international obligations and promptly provide to the international community the necessary information so that relevant countries can take precautions." Liu said.
Soviet space shuttle Buran cruises Rhine for final home
By Xinhua
Beijing : Former Soviet space shuttle Buran is now on its last mission. But different from its U.S. equivalents soaring into the sky, the retired aircraft is gliding up the Rhine river on three barges at bicycle speed.
The bizarre sight of the 36 meter-long, black and white shuttle, which weighs nearly 100 tonnes, attracted sightseers in Germany Monday and gained publicity for at the museum which is to be its final home.
Inventor of DNA fingerprinting sees funny side of it
By Jaideep Sarin, IANS,
Helsinki (Finland) : The scientist who invented DNA fingerprinting in 1984 can't help but see the lighter side of the technology and says it has acquired an entertainment angle now, given the high-profile cases it is used for.
Sir Alec Jeffreys of the Department of Genetics at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom says he himself has handled some of the highly publicised cases which were nothing sort of entertainment for millions of people across the globe.
Australians now the fattest on earth
By IANS,
Sydney : Australia has acquired the dubious distinction of being the fattest on earth - with four million people classified as obese and another 5.4 million as overweight.
New research by Victoria University's Erin Pearson shows that when it comes to changing people's exercise behaviour, having the right messenger is as important as having the right message.
"What we have found is that the person delivering the message needs to be someone the audience identifies with and respects in order to bring about a desired change in behaviour," Pearson said.
Insects use plants as ‘green telephone lines’
By IANS,
New York : Some insects that live above and below the ground communicate with each other by using plants as "green telephone lines", a new study has found.
Subterranean insects issue chemical warning signals via the leaves of the plant. This way, insects above the ground are alerted that the plant is already "occupied", according to the study by Dutch scientists.
This messaging enables spatially-separated insects to avoid each other, so that they do not unintentionally compete for the same plant, ScienceDaily reported.
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.
A worm in the apple: Macs in crosshairs of hackers
By Sven Appel,DPA,
Munich : It all used to be simpler for Mac users: viruses and other malicious software affected Windows computers, not them. That is slowly changing. "The threats have intensified," says Candid Wuest from anti-virus maker Symantec.
India to build world’s largest solar telescope
By IANS,
Bangalore : India is inching closer towards building the world's largest solar telescope in Ladakh on the foothills of the Himalayas that aims to study the sun's microscopic structure.
The National Large Solar Telescope (NLST) project has gathered momentum with a global tender floated for technical and financial bidding by the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA).
India exploring commercial satellite launches
By IANS,
New Delhi : India is exploring commercial opportunities by providing facility of satellite launch to other countries at viable rates, the Lok Sabha was informed Wednesday.
"Our space programme's commercial wing Antrix is looking at opportunities to launch satellites for other countries. India is one of the foremost countries in space technology," said Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office.
A device that measures ultra-cold temperatures
By IANS,
Sydney : Physicists have devised a thermometre that can potentially gauge temperatures as ultracold as tens of trillionths of a degree above absolute zero.
Absolute zero is the lowest possible temperature, minus 273.15 degrees Celsius, in which all molecular activity ceases.
Scientists can currently cool atoms to a few billionths of a degree, but even this is too hot for certain applications.
For example, Richard Feynman of Harvard University dreamt of using ultracold atoms to simulate the complex quantum mechanical behaviour of electrons in certain materials.
AITA clears the air over project Apollo Mission 2018
By IANS,
New Delhi : The All India Tennis Association (AITA) secretary Anil Khanna Monday was at pains to explain that the apex organisation of the game was only trying to bring about transparency in the sponsorship world and it had nothing to do with Mahesh Bhupathi as a media report suggested.
Khanna said that AITA was not interested in kicking up an unnecessary controversy, it only sought to check the veracity of ads in the media about a corporate - Apollo Tyres - in quest of producing Grand Slam champions.
Midas touch: scientists discover gold nanoparticles
By IANS,
Sydney : Scientists have for the first time discovered gold nanoparticles, setting to rest speculation about whether they existed at all.
Scientists of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) said they discovered these particles in western Australia.
“In the southern areas of the state, groundwater is very salty and acidic. This water dissolves primary gold and re-deposits it as pure gold crystals on fracture surfaces and in open pore spaces,” said Rob Hough, who led the search for the nanoparticles.
Strange molecule in sky cleans acid rain
By IANS,
Washington : Researchers have stumbled upon an unusual molecule that helps break down pollutants, especially the compounds that cause acid rain.
Marsha Lester and Joseph Francisco, of Pennsylvania and Purdue Universities, found the molecule that had exercised scientists for more than 40 years.
Somewhat like a human body metabolising food, the earth's atmosphere has the ability to "burn," or oxidise pollutants, especially nitric oxides emitted by factories and automobiles. What doesn't get oxidised in the air falls back to earth in the form of acid rain.
Glitch over, Pluto-bound spacecraft on its way
Washington : A software glitch that triggered communication loss with NASA's New Horizon spacecraft has been rectified and the probe is on way for...
Grazing cattle have magnetic sense of direction
By Ernest Gill, DPA,
Hamburg (Germany) : Grazing cows tend to face the North and South Poles, according to German scientists who studied 308 herds using Google Earth satellite photos.
The Boreal bovine orientation suggests that they, like migratory birds, sea turtles and monarch butterflies, tune into the Earth's magnetic fields, says Hynek Burda, a biologist at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany.
Kerala firm launches window solar water heater
By IANS
Kochi (Kerala) : Power electronics company Hykon India has introduced a window collector solar water heater, claimed to be the first in the country.
Hykon Window Solar Collectors can be installed on balconies and windows of flats, apartments and individual villas where conventional rooftop water heaters do not fit in.
Ancient ocean-floor sediment shows asteroid sizes
By Xinhua,
Beijing : Countless asteroids have struck Earth during its multi-billion-year history, leaving few clues to their size because they vaporize on impact and leave no crater or fall into the ocean.
However, a new study suggests the asteroids may have left behind certain chemical traces in ancient ocean-floor sediments that can act as a telltale sign of their impact and record what was floating around in the seawater in the distant geologic past.
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.
Orissa’s first community radio station goes on air
By IANS,
Bhubaneswar: Orissa's first community radio station has gone on air in Konark.
The radio station, named Radio Namaskar, has been established by non-governmental organisation Young India near the Sun Temple of Konark. It is completely managed by local residents.
"We are just providing a medium to give vent to the aspirations, concerns and communication needs of the local community that are otherwise overlooked by the mainstream media," N.A. Saha Ansari, Young India president, told IANS Saturday.
NASA’s WISE Eye spots near-earth asteroid
By IANS,
Washington : NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, has spotted its first never-before-seen near-Earth object (NEO), the first of hundreds it is expected to find during its mission to map the whole sky in infrared light.
NEOs are asteroids and comets with orbits that pass relatively close to Earth's path around the sun. In extremely rare cases of an impact, the objects may devastate the Earth's surface.
An asteroid, about 10 km wide, is thought to have plunged into our planet 65 million years ago, triggering a global disaster and obliterating dinosaurs.
Award for Indian wildlife scientist
By IANS,
New York : Indian botanist and wildlife scientist, Aparajita Datta, has been selected for the 2009 Women of Discovery Awards along with four other eminent women from different parts of the world.
New York based Wings WorldQuest's mission is to celebrate and to support the extraordinary women explorers by promoting scientific exploration, education, and conservation.
Indian-built European satellite put into earth orbit
By IANS,
Bangalore : The Indian-built European satellite W2M was successfully placed early Sunday into geosynchronous transfer orbit, about 36,000 km above earth, 32 minutes after its lift-off on board Ariane-5 from Kourou in French Guiana at 4.05 a.m. IST.
"Radio signals from the commercial satellite were received by the master control facility of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) at Hassan. The spacecraft's health is normal," the space agency said in a statement here. Hassan is located about 200 km from Bangalore.
Thuraya to launch satellite mobile services in Asia-Pacific
By IANS
Dubai : Thuraya, the United Arab Emirates-based world's largest provider of handheld mobile satellite services, is set to commercially launch its operations in the Asia-Pacific markets by January with the launch of its third satellite on Monday.
"The launch of Thuraya-3 is a significant milestone in the company's progress towards realizing its strategic vision of becoming a dynamic, world leading, multi-regional mobile satellite operator," Thuraya chief executive Yousuf Al Sayed told the Emirates News Agency (WAM).
PSLV: Workhorse of ISRO (Factfile)
By IANS,
New Delhi : Since its first launch in 1994, India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) has so far placed 41 satellites (19 Indian and 22 foreign) into orbit - making it one of the most successful launch vehicles ever worldwide.
* The PSLV was originally developed and operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to launch its Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites into orbit with the help of Russia. It was then used for launching a variety of satellites.
Indian students on solar eclipse ‘odyssey’ to China
By IANS,
New Delhi : A group of 10 students from various schools of the country are among the lucky few chosen to watch the 21st century's longest solar eclipse from Anqing in China, one of the best places in the world to view the spectacle July 22, apart from a village in Bihar.
The students will leave for China Saturday on an eight-day scientific expedition called 'heliodyssey' to watch the eclipse that will last for six minutes and 44 seconds, making it the longest eclipse till 2132.
NASA’s Phoenix Mars lander commanded to unstow arm
By Xinhua,
Washington : U.S. Mars lander Phoenix, which touched down on Sunday at northern polar plains on Mars, successfully unstowed its robotic arm on Wednesday, according to NASA mission updates.
Early Wednesday, scientists leading Phoenix mission from the University of Arizona sent commands to move the lander's robotic arm for the first time after its touchdown.
Brussels confirms anti-trust complaints about Google
By DPA,
Brussels : The European Union's executive Wednesday confirmed that it had received three anti-trust complaints about internet search engine Google, and that it had asked the company to comment on the allegations.
The European Commission is charged with enforcing the EU's strict laws on fair competition. In recent years it has imposed billion-dollar fines on industry giants such as Microsoft and Intel for breaching those laws.
U.S. spy satellite to crash on Earth
By Xinhua
Washington : An out-of-control U.S. spy satellite which is expected to crash to the Earth, will not endanger human, a senior U.S. official said Monday.
If there are debris of the satellite surviving the intense heat, most of them would probably fall into the oceans, which account for more than 70 percent of the Earth, said White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe.
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.
Top scientists, technocrats bag awards
By IANS
Visakhapatnam : Renowned scientists and technocrats-turned bureaucrats were honoured with special awards and gold medals for their contribution to the development of science and technology at the 95th Indian Science Congress (ISC) here.
Stem cells replicate, but not the way we think: Study
By IANS,
Washington : New findings have shed light on the little known process of embryonic stem cell replication and would help scientists control tumour cell growth more effectively.
“Our study suggests that what we believe about how embryonic stem cell self-renewal is controlled is wrong. Our findings will likely change the research direction of many stem cell laboratories,” said Qi-Long Ying, of University of Southern California and co-author of the paper.
Anti-virus software losing effectiveness
By DPA
Hanover : Anti-virus software is increasingly losing ground in the battle to provide reliable protection for PCs.
The Hanover-based c't magazine tested 17 current programmes recently. Each piece of software was tested for recognition of more than a million different pests, including trojans, viruses, worms and bots.
Two products were able to identify more than 99 percent of the malicious intruders. Four other virus scanners caught at least 95 percent and were hence awarded a grade of very good.
Chemicals that fix one ecological problem worsen another
By IANS,
Washington : Chemicals that helped fix a global ecological crisis in the 1990s - the hole in Earth's protective ozone layer, for instance - may be raising another problem such as acid rain, says scientists.
Jeffrey Gaffney, chemist at the University of Arkansas, along with colleagues Carrie J. Christiansen, Shakeel S. Dalal, Alexander M. Mebel and Joseph S. Francisco point out that hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) emerged as chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) replacements because they do not damage the ozone layer.
NASA readies spacecraft for landing on Mars
By Xinhua
Washington : NASA said Thursday that its engineers have adjusted the flight path of the Phoenix Mars Lander, setting the spacecraft on course for its May 25th landing on the Red Planet.
"This is our first trajectory maneuver targeting a specific location in the northern polar region of Mars," said Brian Portock, chief of the Phoenix navigation team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The mission's two prior trajectory maneuvers, made last August and October, adjusted the flight path of Phoenix to intersect with Mars.
Profiles of 100 mn Facebook users leaked online
By IANS,
London : The personal details of 100 million users of social networking website Facebook are now available for download after they were leaked online.
Ron Bowles, an online security consultant, used a code to scan Facebook profiles, collected data not hidden by users' privacy settings, and compiled a list, which is now available as a downloadable file, containing the URL of every "searchable" Facebook user's profile, their name and unique ID, the BBC reported Thursday.
SMS hotline for Free TB support service in India
By Bobby Ramakant,
A Short-Message-Service (SMS) hotline was launched in New Delhi, India to provide round-the-clock free tuberculosis (TB) support service to TB patients. This SMS helpline is being managed by ex-TB patients.
Scientists invent bionic eyeball to cure blindness
By DPA,
Hamburg : German scientists have invented a wireless bionic eyeball that can restore vision to patients who have become blind due to retina damage or disease.
The new prosthetic device caps 12 years of research to help these patients. This work has resulted in a unique system - a fully implantable visual prosthesis.
The scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems in Duisburg, Germany, say that the bionic eye can bypass the damaged retina.
The system comprises an implant and an external transmitter integrated in an eyeglasses-frame.
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.
Computer programme to help witnesses remember criminals
By IANS,
London : Criminals are having a harder time hiding themselves, thanks to new software that helps witnesses recreate images and recognise suspects relying on principles borrowed from the fields of optics and genetics.
The software, known as EFIT-V system, is being used by 15 police departments in Britain, France and Switzerland. In field trials, it led to twice as many identifications of suspects as traditional methods.
Cheap laser technology to heal kidney stones
By IANS
Kolkata : Diagnosed with kidney stones, Indrajit Roy wanted to get the best cure at an affordable cost. When a hospital in Kolkata promised to remove the stone in a bloodless laser-aided operation at less than half the fee quoted by other hospitals, his prayers were answered.
ISRO to launch moon mission in October-December
By IANS,
Kolkata : The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to launch its first unmanned moon mission, Chandrayan-I, between October and December, a top official said here Thursday.
"We are hopeful of launching the spacecraft in the third quarter of 2008-09. The mission would be targeted to capture images of the lunar surface," ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair told reporters during an interactive session here.
Telescope captures galactic super volcanic explosion
By IANS,
London : A spectacular "super volcano" that erupted trillions of miles away from earth has been clicked by a NASA telescope.
The staggering eruption was filmed by NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory and the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array.
Astronomers said shock waves between a giant black hole and cooling gas, caused the mind boggling explosion, reports the Telegraph.
The explosion then blasted through the "massive" Messier 87 galaxy more than 50 million light years away. One light year is the equivalent of 5.9 trillion miles.
‘Jaws of steel’ helped primitive man crack hard nuts, seeds
By IANS,
Washington : Our ancestors, going back 2.5 million years, had jaws of steel with which they cracked open hard nuts and objects, unlike human species today with much more delicate and smaller teeth, a research study has shown.
Mark Spencer, Arizona State University (ASU) assistant professor and evolutionary scientist, and doctoral student Caitlin Schrein used futuristic computer modelling and simulation technology to build a virtual model of the A. africanus skull to see how the jaw operated.
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.
A computer mouse that can also scan
Thiruvananthapuram : It's a computer mouse that can also do the job of a scanner.
MobScan has built-in technologies that helps to scan as well...
China’s Long March 2F rocket ready for trip to launch center
By Xinhua,
Beijing : The Long March 2F rocket designed to carry China's third manned spacecraft into space will be sent to Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest Gansu province in a few days, officials with the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) said here Saturday.
The rocket was coated in red, a color to show that it was ready to fulfill its mission, said Jing Muchun, chief designer of the spacecraft, adding that further testing will be conducted to ensure 100 percent safety after the rocket arrives at Jiuquan.
Microsoft outsources internal tech care to Infosys
By DPA,
San Francisco : Microsoft has outsourced its internal tech support to Indian technology services firm Infosys, the companies have announced.
The move was first revealed in an Infosys press release Tuesday announcing a three-year deal to "manage internal IT services for Microsoft worldwide" and later confirmed by the US software giant.
Five more exoplanets found in Milky Way
By DPA,
Washington : NASA scientists said Monday they have identified another five planets orbiting stars in the Milky Way Galaxy.
But none of them appears to be the long sought after Earth-twin that could support life the way the home planet does, Kepler telescope specialists said at a news conference in Washington.
New Microsoft deal eyes break-up of Yahoo
By DPA,
San Francisco : Microsoft's latest deal proposal to Yahoo envisages the internet portal selling off its valuable properties in Asia and Microsoft buying its search business in the US, media reports said.
The Software giant also proposed buying a minority stake in the whittled down Yahoo that would remain after the sell-off, the Wall Street Journal reported late Monday.
French astronaut tends mini garden in space
By Xinhua
Beijing : A French astronaut is tending a miniature garden on the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the first experiment inside the orbiting laboratory's new European research module.
European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Leopold Eyharts is growing tiny seedlings inside the space station's Columbus laboratory, which he helped deliver during last month's STS-122 shuttle flight.
Tamil Nadu to get super-critical thermal plant by 2012
By IANS,
Chennai : Power equipment major Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) and Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) will jointly set up 1,600 MW super-critical project in Tuticorin district in Tamil Nadu on an outlay of Rs.87 billion (Rs.8,700 crore).
The coal-based super-critical project - the state's first - will be set up by a joint venture company Udangudi Power Corp in which BHEL and TNEB will hold 26 percent stake each and with the financial institutions holding the balance.
The joint venture agreement was signed by the two parties here Wednesday.
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.
Software developed to embed security code in handsets
By IANS,
New Delhi: Over 2.5 crore owners of cheap handsets, that stood to be banned in India as these did not have the regulatory unique 15-digit identity code, can breathe a sigh of relief -- help is on the way.
The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the organisation representing GSM service operators, Monday said it has developed a software that can embed the code - known as International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) - in these handsets.
COAI in collaboration with handset body Mobile Standard Alliance of India (MSAI) has developed the software.
Giant planet outside solar system discovered
By IANS
Santiago de Compostela (Spain) : A group of astronomers at the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (USC) has discovered a huge planet in the star system Gliese 22, Spain's EFE news agency reported Wednesday.
The finding has been reported in the Astronomy and Astrophysics magazine.
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.
China counting down to launch of its first lunar probe
By Xinhua
Xichang, Sichuan : Chinese press and thousands of tourists have gathered at China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern Sichuan Province to witness the launch of the nation's first moon orbiter, which is scheduled to take place at 6:05 p.m. on Wednesday.
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.
It takes peanuts to clean water
By IANS
London : Peanut husk, one of the largest waste products of the food industry, may be of some use after all -- it can help improve water quality, says a new study.
According to researchers at Turkey's Mersin University, peanut husk can be used to extract toxic copper ions from wastewater, offering a useful alternative to simple disposal of this food industry by-product.
Findings of the study have been published in the latest edition of the International Journal of Environment and Pollution.
Updated Google Earth exposes Israeli military sites
By DPA
Jerusalem : Google Earth's upgraded archive of satellite pictures exposes key Israeli military and security sites, the Israeli Yediot Ahronot daily reported Friday, warning it made them easy potential targets for terrorists.
Google upgraded its satellite images of Israel, almost doubling their resolution, in the past days, Yediot said, adding the new images consist of one pixel per two square metres, compared to previous ones which consisted of one pixel representing only 10-20 square metres on earth.
Clouds may cast shadow on solar eclipse day
By IANS,
New Delhi : Scientists, students, corporate executives and housewives -- almost everyone is excited about watching the total solar eclipse Wednesday. But the weather may play spoilsport in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and New Delhi -- cloudy skies and the possibility of rain might make viewing the celestial spectacle difficult.
The national capital experienced showers Tuesday afternoon, bringing smiles to people's faces but at the same time narrowing the possibilities of clear skies on the eclipse day Wednesday.
Moon’s crust may float on hidden sea
By Xinhua
Beijing : vast ocean of water and ammonia may lurk deep beneath the surface of Titan, the intriguing, orange moon of Saturn already known for its blanket of clouds and dense atmosphere, according to scientists.
Astronomers have not directly observed this ocean. However, they said on Thursday that observations made by the Cassini spacecraft of Titan's rotation and shifts in the location of surface features suggest an ocean exists perhaps 100 kilometers below the surface.
Three rules ‘must’ for optimising technology use for progress
By IANS,
Washington : Use of technology can be optimised for ensuring social progress if policy makers are clear about how to apply it and know what to expect from their efforts.
Daniel Sarewitz of Arizona State University (ASU) and Richard Nelson of Columbia University described three rules that can help technology and science policy makers become smarter about where to apply technological fixes and what to expect as a result.
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.
‘ISRO examining business model for industries in satellite, rocket production’
By Venkatachari Jagannathan,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : The Indian space agency is working at preparing a business model to partner with industries - public and...
Google’s black ribbon tribute to Kalam
New Delhi : Google on Thursday paid tribute to former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, with a black ribbon on its homepage.
Kalam died...
Emirates Islamic Bank to use Infosys product
Bengaluru: Dubai-based Sharia-compliant Emirates Islamic Bank has selected Finacle banking software product of Indian IT bellwether Infosys for its operations across the Gulf region.
"Finacle...
Bodhi tree branch cut three years ago: report
By IANS
Patna : A scientific report has vindicated allegations by Buddhists that one of their most sacred religious symbols -- the Bodhi tree at the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya -- had a branch cut off three years ago.
The Dehradun-based Forest Research Institute (FRI), in its detailed report submitted to the Bihar government, said a branch of the sacred Bodhi tree was cut three years ago.
"The report has proved that a branch of the Bodhi tree was cut three years ago instead of last year as claimed," home secretary Afzal Amanullah said Friday.
New smartphones with killer applications could replace PCs
By Andy Goldberg, DPA
Las Vegas : Think that cellphone in your pocket is pretty neat? Think again. Spurred by the phenomenal launch of the iPhone, the prospect of a Google phone and open networks, inventors and entrepreneurs around the world are feverishly developing plans to expand what mobile phones can do.
"They want to combine the computing power of the latest phones with social networks and location-tracking technologies to create a new generation of cell phones," says Simon Blitz, who runs a large cell phone wholesale company in the US.
Guard your electrical systems – the sun is frowning
By IANS
New York : The sun has just entered a 11-year cycle of heightened activity that could throw electrical and electronic systems including cell phones and ATMs out of gear, scientists say.
A sunspot that marks the beginning of the cycle appeared late Tuesday in the sun's northern hemisphere, scientists of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said, reports Sciencedaily.
China plans to launch unmanned space module next year
By IANS,
Beijing : China plans to launch an unmanned space module in 2011. It is expected to complete the country's first space docking which is regarded as an essential step toward building a space station, an official said Wednesday.
Tiangong-1, or the Heavenly Palace, would be later converted into a manned space lab after experimental dockings with three Shenzhou spacecraft. The spacecraft are expected to be put into space within two years following the module's launch, said Qi Faren, former chief designer of Shenzhou spaceships.
Suven to work with US university for cheap HIV drug
By IANS
Hyderabad : Suven Life Sciences Ltd, a Hyderabad-based life sciences company, has entered into collaboration with the University of Minnesota in the US to develop new and inexpensive therapies to treat HIV-1.
The collaboration also includes the US-based Center for Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Translational Research (CIDMTR).
India seeks inclusion in Russian space station project
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : India has expressed its intention to participate in the Russian International Space Station construction project, according to Russian space agency head Anatoly Perminov.
"As regards the list of nations wishing to join in the construction and operation of the International Space Station, India has recently applied," Roskosmos chief said last week.
He added that India was a major space power with a series of achievements in non-manned aerospace projects, and would like to make a contribution to the space station project.
Antony inaugurates high-end molecular imaging research centre
By IANS
New Delhi : Defence Minister A.K. Antony Saturday inaugurated a Molecular Imaging Research Centre here to undertake high-end research in the development of advanced life support technology.
The state-of-the-art centre was inaugurated at the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (Inmas) in the capital.
Tarang Software expanding India operations
By IANS,
Bangalore : Leading e-payment solutions provider Tarang Software Technologies is expanding its operations in the country to serve its growing list of customers across verticals, the city-based company said Monday.
"We are setting up a 250-seater second development centre here to meet our growth requirements. Our new customer wins include Frese International, Global Refund, Hypercom, ING Vysya, Volvo and Teligence Communications," the company said in a statement.
India to launch ‘unique’ satellite to study distant glaxies
By NNN-PTI,
Shillong, India : India's space agency along with astronomers from across the country will launch a "unique" satellite later this year to study distant galaxies and black holes.
The Astrosat, scheduled for launch towards the end of the year, will be the country's first satellite entirely dedicated to astronomy.
Astronomers are excited about the prospects thrown up by the Astrosat which is expected to give India an edge in observing the universe.
Yahoo’s Flickr to provide online video service
By Xinhua
Beijing : Yahoo's online photo-sharing site Flickr will release online video service which represents the latest example of Yahoo trying to catch up with Google in a crucial battleground, media reported Wednesday.
Flickr's new technology is aimed at amateurs and hobbyists looking for a better way to share short video clips with family and friends.
Singapore Airlines superjumbo A380 rolls off runway
Singapore, January 11, SPA -- Singapore Airlines' A380 superjumbo jet sustained superficial damage when it rolled off a runway in the first glitch for the world's biggest passenger plane since going into service in October, AP quoted the airline as saying today.
The plane was getting ready to depart from Singapore's Changi Airport to Sydney late Thursday. It was carrying 446 passengers who disembarked, and no injuries were reported, the airline said.
NASA mission to help unravel climate mysteries
By Xinhua,
Washington : NASA's first spacecraft dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon dioxide is in final preparation for a Feb 23 launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Carbon dioxide is the leading human-produced greenhouse gas driving changes in Earth's climate.
The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) will provide the first complete picture of human and natural carbon dioxide sources as well as their "sinks", the places where carbon dioxide is pulled out of the atmosphere and stored.
Space taxis: Bold new era or death of manned exploration?
By Anne K. Walters, DPA,
Cape Canaveral (Florida) : The massive cement expanses that dot the flat Florida landscape have been launching pads for history: the first US astronauts blasted into orbit, the Apollo missions to the moon and nearly 30 years of space shuttle flights. But human space travel from Kennedy Space Centre will soon come to a halt.
After nearly three decades, the space shuttle programme is set to come to a close in September.
Malaysia to shelve space programme for lack of funds
By DPA,
Kuala Lumpur : Malaysia's fledgling space programme will be temporarily shelved due to a lack of funds, six months after sending its first astronaut to space, a news report said Tuesday.
Science minister Maximus Ongkili said the initial plan to send a second astronaut to space could not be carried out due to a problem of budgeting.
"There's zero money. The ministry will have to look for money if it wants to continue with the programme," Ongkili was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times daily.
Laika was first living creature in space
By DPA
Moscow : Her name in translation means "barker," but in the end Laika, the first living creature in space, must have gone out whimpering.
When Soviet space scientists sent her up exactly 50 years ago this Saturday, the two-year-old mongrel was expected to live for several days. In fact, it was later revealed, she lasted only a few hours.
Soviet propaganda at the time said she would find a peaceful end through lack of oxygen after days of orbiting the Earth aboard Sputnik 2.
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.
Indian physicists trap light in ‘nano’ soup
By K.S. Jayaraman, IANS
Bangalore : Indian scientists have demonstrated how to trap and retrieve light using a soup of micro and nano sized magnetic spheres - a major milestone in the path toward developing optical computers.
The researchers claim that their unique mixture of tiny particles works at room temperature, holds photons - the particles of light - for far longer than other systems, and can also be tuned with a magnet to store any wavelength of visible light.
North Korea stops IAEA nuclear inspections
By DPA,
Vienna : North Korea informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Tuesday that it would stop all cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog immediately, IAEA spokesman Marc Vidricaire said.
IAEA inspectors are present in North Korea to monitor that the country's nuclear installations remain dismantled and turned off.
North Korea has informed the IAEA that it plans to reactivate all nuclear facilities, which include a reactor and a plant to reprocess spent nuclear fuel.
ISS now ready for six astronauts
By DPA,
Washington : After more than 10 years of construction, the International Space Station is ready to double its crew to six astronauts from around the world in what will be its most international crew ever, the US space agency said Wednesday.
The equipment and supplies have been checked to ensure that there is enough space for three more permanent residents aboard ISS, NASA officials said at a press briefing.
NASA develops mirror to look into galactic past
By IANS,
Washington : Once upon a time, shiny surfaces and mirrors were credited with magical powers that could look into the future. Now two centuries later, NASA is relying on them to look into the past.
The agency is developing a primary mirror 21.3 feet across, for use on the James Webb Space Telescope, to tell us about our beginning in the universe.
The primary mirror will serve as the telescope's eye and peer through dusty clouds to see stars forming planetary systems, connecting the Milky Way to our own solar system.
Omani rock could absorb vast amounts of carbon dioxide
By IANS,
Washington : A rock found in Oman could soak up huge quantities of globe-warming carbon dioxide, cheaply.
The studies show that the rock, known as peridotite, reacts naturally at high rates with carbon dioxide (CO2) to form solid minerals - and that the process could be speeded with simple drilling and injection methods.
Scientists said that the process could be speeded 100,000 times or more simply by boring down and injecting heated water containing pressurised CO2.
Deep space network to track India’s lunar mission
By IANS
Bangalore : The Indian space agency is bracing up for its first lunar exploration mission Chandrayaan-1 due April next year by setting up a deep space network (DSN) near this IT hub.
The network, coming up at Byalalu, about 45 km from here, and comprising mainly two powerful dish antennas of 32-metre and 18-metre diameter, will keep track of the unmanned moon mission and provide command support during its two-year orbit around earth's only natural satellite.
New ‘MeGa’ sensor to monitor carbon dioxide concentration
By IANS,
Washington : A novel tube-like sensor would now make monitoring gas concentrations possible over a large area, both cheaply and effectively, doing the work of a number of existing sensors.
Known as membrane-based gas sensors or 'MeGa', they are likely to be used in monitoring underground presence of carbon dioxide in gas pipelines or sewers.
The probe can also be useful in monitoring water bodies, for example, observation of hydrogen sulphide formation, including groundwater, and for monitoring boreholes.
Technology not being used adequately for security, regrets PM Manmohan
By NNN-PTI,
New Delhi : With the country facing increased terror threat, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh regretted that modern technology is not adequately utilised to meet the challenge and pitched for greater focus on scientific developments for securing the nation better.
Pointing out that other countries have used technology for security with great effect, he favoured work in the areas of surveillance systems, cryptography, real time search and identification from distributed large databases and computer simulation exercises to enhance crisis tactics and responses.
U.S. astronauts complete first spacewalk
By Xinhua,
Washington : Two U.S. astronauts of space shuttle Discovery's crew completed their first spacewalk on Tuesday, attaching Japan's Kibo science module to the International Space Station, according to NASA TV.
With the help of other astronauts inside the station, spacewalkers Michael Fossum and Ronald Garan successfully moved the huge pressurized module of Kibo (which means "hope" in Japanese) from shuttle's payload bay to the port side of the Harmony connecting node at the station.
Destruction of wetlands will release massive greenhouse gases
By IANS,
Washington : Destruction of wetlands will release a staggering 771 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere, with devastating consequences.
Meeting in Cuiaba at the edge of South America's Pantanal wetland on Monday, 700 experts from 28 nations at the 8th INTECOL International Wetlands Conference will prescribe measures urgently needed to manage these vibrant ecosystems.
Murthy bids adieu to Infosys, once again
Bangalore: For the second time in three years, Infosys chairman N.R. Narayana Murthy will Saturday bid adieu to the iconic company he co-founded with...
E-mail etiquette: A matter of survival
By Jay Dougherty, DPA,
Washington : Business people send out some six trillion e-mail messages each year, according to US-based Ferris Research. That's probably not much of a surprise to most office workers today, who have seen e-mail usurp meetings and face-to-face conversations as a primary form of communication.
Scientists discover giant rat in Indonesia’s Papua
By DPA
Jakarta : Scientists have discovered two mammals believed to be new to science during an expedition to Indonesia's remote eastern province of Papua, Conservation International has said.
Scientists from the group and the Indonesian Institute of Science visited the Foja Mountains in June, following a first trip in late 2005 that saw them discover dozens of new plants and animals.
Google, HTC and Verizon set to challenge iPad
By DPA,
San Francisco : Google is teaming up with Taiwanese phone-maker HTC and the largest US cellphone carrier Verizon to launch a challenger to Apple's iPad in time for the holiday season, PC World reported Wednesday.
The as-yet-unnamed tablet would run on Google's Chrome operating system, and is likely to be heavily subsidized for buyers who opt to purchase the device along with a monthly data plan from Verizon, the report said.
World leaders condemn North Korean rocket launch
By DPA,
Washington : The US Sunday led the international condemnation of North Korea's controversial rocket launch with President Barack Obama calling it a "provocative act".
"North Korea's development and proliferation of ballistic missile technology pose a threat to the north-east Asian region and to international peace and security," Obama said in a statement issued from Prague, where he is to attend a US-European Union Summit.
Indian scientist elected entomology’s world forum chief
By IANS,
Hyderabad : A scientist from the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hari C. Sharma, has become the first Asian to be elected president of the 102-year-old International Congress of Entomology (ICE).
Sharma, principal scientist, entomology, was elected at the 23rd International Congress of Entomology, held July 6-12 at Durban, South Africa.
He is the first Asian to be elected the ICE chief in its 102-year history.
GVK Bio gets approval from Turkey for bioequivalence studies
By IANS,
Hyderabad : GVK Biosciences, a leading contract research organisation, Wednesday said it has received approval from Turkey to conduct bioequivalence studies.
A three-member delegation from Turkey's ministry of health inspected the GVK Bio clinical pharmacology unit (CPU) here and carried out a detailed audit of the facility for systems and processes.
This approval enables GVK Bio to cater to generic drug manufacturers in Turkey as well as to those who intend to market their products in the country, said a statement from GVK Bio.
Online game to foster awareness on warming among kids
By IANS,
Sydney : Computer animation students have designed an online game to help children understand ways they can reduce their impact on climate change.
Programme coordinator of multimedia at Swinburne University of Technology, Peter Ciszewski, said the University's student designers have incorporated educative elements into animation and game play techniques to produce the game.
India successfully tests two nuke capable missiles
By IANS,
Bhubaneswar: India early Saturday successfully tested two nuclear capable missiles Dhanush and Prthvi II in Orissa, official said.
"Both the missiles were successfully lunched same time at 5.30 hours," SP Dash, director of the Integrated Test Range of Chandipur in Balasore district, told IANS.
While Prithvi II surface to surface ballistic missile with a range of 350 km was launched from Chandipur, some 230 kms from state capital Bhubaneswar, Dhanush, a naval version of Prthivi with same range was launched from a naval ship off Orissa coast.
Indians find simpler way to make transgenic mice
By K.S. Jayaraman, IANS,
Bangalore : Indian scientists, traditionally known for their skill to find low-cost solutions to complex problems, have developed a technique that should potentially reduce the cost of drug development worldwide.
Scientists at the National Institute of Immunology (NII) in New Delhi say their technique may enable biologists produce transgenic mice in their own labs instead of having to buy them at exorbitant prices.
Tube Investments to launch electric scooters
By IANS,
Chennai : Tube Investments of India Ltd, part of the Rs.95.82 billion ($2.3 billion) Murugappa group, inaugurated its new electric scooter plant here Thursday.
Tube Investments manufactures cycles, automotive and industrial chains, car door frames and steel tubes.
"The investment at the plant is around Rs.200 million. We will be launching the product sometime this September," TI Cycles senior vice-president Arun Alagappan told IANS.
TI Cycles is the company's cycle manufacturing division.
The initial capacity of the new plant will be 100 scooters a day.
Scientists discover Milky Way’s most recent exploding star
By DPA,
Washington : A group of scientists has discovered the galaxy's newest supernova - as exploding stars are known - providing clues to what happens when stars die.
The supernova is just 140 years old, a baby in galactic terms, and is "by far the youngest identified supernova in the galaxy and the only one we know at its stage," researcher David Green of Britain's University of Cambridge told reporters Wednesday.