Gates Expects Microsoft to Launch New Windows in Next Year
By SPA
Washington : Microsoft Corporation co-founder Bill Gates said Friday he expects the new version of Windows operating software, currently called Windows 7, to be released “sometime in the next year or so.”
Microsoft has said it expects to release a new version of Windows about three years after the introduction of Vista in early 2007. A company spokeswoman said Gates’ comments are in line with a development cycle that usually releases a test version of the software before its official introduction.
Google Earth reconstructs ancient Rome in 3D
By IANS,
London : Google Earth has launched a 3D reconstruction of ancient Rome as it may have been in 320 AD.
The virtual traveller can now see every building as it stood in Rome at that time. In reality, just 300 buildings of classical Rome have survived, in most cases in ruins.
The 3D model is visible on the website as a layer. The layer floats a few metres above the satellite image of present-day Rome so that users can have a sense of locating where the ancient structures once stood.
Chang’e-1 photographs dark side of the moon
By Xinhua
Beijing : The charge-coupled device (CCD) camera on Chang'e-1, China's first lunar orbiter, has started imaging probes on the dark side of the moon and captured photos of parts of this region, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced Tuesday.
The CNSA said that the orbiter is operating normally in terms of flying, probing, land control and communication, as well as data transmitting and processing.
Methane levels surge again after decade of stability
By IANS,
Washington : The quantity of methane in the air surged last year, ending a decade of stability in levels of potent greenhouse gas, according to MIT team.
Methane levels have more than doubled since pre-industrial times, accounting for around a fifth of the human contribution to greenhouse gas-driven global warming.
Given that, kilo for kilo, methane is 25 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, the situation will require careful monitoring in the near future.
Watch that big, bright Jupiter tonight
By IANS,
New Delhi : As the sun goes down Monday, Jupiter, the largest celestial body after the Sun in the solar system, can be seen in the sky with naked eye.
NASA reschedules shuttle launch for Sunday night
By DPA,
Washington : The US space agency NASA was confident that the repeatedly delayed launch of the space shuttle Discovery would lift off Sunday night for a mission to the International Space Station.
The launch was scheduled for 7.43 p.m. (2343 GMT) Sunday from the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Discovery will have seven astronauts on board, including Japanese crew member Koichi Wakata, who is slated to join the permanent crew on the orbiting space station.
BSNL, MTNL merger decision in 4-5 months
New Delhi: The decision on merging state-run BSNL and MTNL will be taken in the next four-five months, Telecom Secretary Rakesh Garg said on...
‘Chances of asteroid hitting earth is very real’
By IANS,
London : A football field sized asteroid hitting say New York will obliterate the city in a matter of seconds and all that moves within it.
The tidal waves of energy unleashed by the collision would be equivalent to several Hydrogen bombs going off at once, a scenario brought to life by 1998 hit movie Armageddon, starring Bruce Willis.
The chances of an asteroid hitting the Earth one day are very real and blowing up an asteroid in real life, says a Tel Aviv University (TAU) researcher, will be more complicated than in the movies.
China to launch 15 to 16 satellites in 2009: Official
By Xinhua,
Beijing : China plans to launch 15 to 16 satellites this year, an official said here Monday.
"Though the global financial crisis is taking a toll on the world economy, it has no impact on China's space programmes," said Zhang Jianqi, deputy chief commander of the manned space project.
Zhang said China is at present "batch-producing" three spacecraft - Shenzhou-8, Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10.
Now a computer that can sense and feel
By IANS
Washington : Computers may now enable people to experience the most realistic sense of touch, perceiving textures or feeling hard surfaces, with the help of a radical new touch-based interface.
The interface, called haptic interface, relies on magnetic levitation and uses a single, lightweight moving part, unlike most other existing ones based on motors and bulky mechanical linkages and cables.
Pollution forces birds to change their tune
By IANS
London : A new study reveals that male wild birds exposed to pollution develop more complex songs, preferred by the females, though they show reduced immunity.
Katherine Buchanan and her colleagues at Cardiff University came to this conclusion after studying male European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) foraging at a sewage treatment works in southwestern Britain.
Analysing earthworms that constituted their prey, the researchers found that birds exposed to greater pollution developed longer and more complex songs compared to a control group male birds.
India-born scientist identifies 400-mn-year-old fossils in US
By Jatindra Dash, IANS,
Bhubaneswar : The pre-historic legacy of what is now the United States could be redefined thanks to an Indian-born scientist in...
Israel ready to share aviation security technology with India
Tel Aviv : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country was "ready and willing" to share with India technology in areas such...
India will plant flag on the moon: ISRO chief
By IANS,
New Delhi : Two days before the launch of India's first lunar orbiter, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) G. Madhavan Nair said Monday that India will plant its flag on the moon to help establish its presence on the earth's only natural satellite.
India will drop its flag on the moon to establish its presence, Nair told NDTV in an interview. This will make India the fourth country after the US, Russia, and Japan to have its flag on the moon.
Putin set for Gorshkov deal, n-pact with India
By IANS,
New Delhi: With a pact on Admiral Gorshkov likely during Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's trip to India, Russian envoy Alexander Kadakin Wednesday urged India to look at the reconstruction of the aircraft carrier with "positive eyes" and pitched for setting more nuclear reactors.
The long-delayed pact on the delivery of aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, previously marred by pricing disputes, will be among defence deals worth $4 billion that are expected to be finalized during Putin's two-day visit that begins Thursday.
Asteroid could hit Earth in 2029: Russian astronomer
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : An asteroid, discovered in 2004, could pose a threat to Earth in 2029, the director of the Russian Institute of Astronomy said.
Boris Shustov said at an international space forum in Moscow Monday that the Apophis asteroid, which is due to cross earth's orbit in 2029 at a height of 27,000 km, could under certain conditions hit earth in 2029.
The explosion could surpass the famous Tunguska explosion of June 30, 1908, which affected a 2,150 square km area of Russia felling over 80 million trees in the Krasnoyarsk Territory in Siberia.
Biogas – from your kitchen, in your backyard
By V. Vijayalakshmi, IANS
Pune : Think twice before you dump that banana peel or spinach stem into the bin. That and more waste from your kitchen can be converted into biogas to supplement your energy needs -- that too in your own backyard.
Anand Karve, director of the Pune-based Appropriate Rural Technology Institute (ARTI), tells you how.
Google splashes $2 bn on New York office
By DPA,
New York : Internet powerhouse Google is muscling in on New York. The web search giant confirmed Wednesday that it had bought one of the most prestigious office buildings in Manhattan.
Countdown begins for Insat-4CR launch Sunday
By IANS
Bangalore : The final countdown for the Sunday launch of India's latest communication satellite Insat-4CR began Saturday afternoon at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, about 100 km from Chennai.
A top Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) official told IANS on phone from Sriharikota that the go-ahead for the 27-hour final countdown was given after the met department gave an all-weather clearance earlier in the day.
New therapy against cancer
Santiago : An innovative immunological therapy that attacks carcinogenic cells in humans by increasing the body's anti-tumour response was presented in Santiago city in...
Revolutionary nano-needle can peer into a cell
By IANS,
Washington : A revolutionary nano-needle, developed by researchers, not only peers into individual cells, but also acts as electro-chemical probe and optical biosensor.
"Nano-needle-based delivery is a powerful new tool for studying biological processes and biophysical properties at the molecular level inside living cells," said Min-Feng Yu, professor of mechanical science and study coauthor, University of Illinois (U of I).
Previously unknown species of dinosaur discovered in Mexico
By RIA Novosti
Mexico City : Scientists in northern Mexico have unearthed evidence of a previously unknown species of plant-eating dinosaur that inhabited the Coahuila desert more than 72 million years ago, national media said.
The creature had three giant horns, which are thought to have helped it attract females and fight predators.
Global warming to imperil tropical species
By IANS,
Washington : Global warming is likely to imperil tropical species much more than fauna in the Arctic regions, even with a slight rise in temperature.
"Many tropical species can only tolerate a narrow range of temperatures, as the climate they experience is pretty constant throughout the year," said Curtis Deutsch of the University of California and co-author of a new study.
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 to launch Astrosat in 2015
By Venkatachari Jagannathan,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : The Indian space agency is developing Astrosat - an astronomical satellite to study stars and other celestial bodies...
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.
Astronomers discover earliest ever black holes
By IANS,
New Delhi : Scientists from prestigious Yale University of the US have discovered the earliest black holes ever detected, a statement from the university said Thursday.
Hypersonic jets that fly at five times the speed of sound
By IANS,
London : NASA is planning to build hypersonic jets that would travel at five times the speed of sound and bring in a new age of aircraft.
SAARC nations urged to join hands for disaster management
By IANS
New Delhi : Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil Monday called upon the SAARC nations to use their strength in science and technology to build a robust system of prevention, mitigation and preparedness to reduce the risks of natural and manmade disasters.
India places latest communications satellite into orbit
By V. Jagannathan, IANS
Sriharikota : Trailing a plume of orange flame, a rocket lifted off from this launch pad in Andhra Pradesh Sunday evening to place into orbit India's latest communications satellite that will boost direct-to-home (DTH) TV services.
The geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle GSLV-F04 lifted off at 6.20 p.m. on a cloudy Sunday evening after a series of delays caused by a technical glitch delayed the launch by 120 minutes.
‘Wireless’ humans could backbone new mobile networks
By IANS,
London : People could form the backbone of powerful new mobile internet networks by carrying wearable sensors.
Special goggles, telescopes – Lucknow set for solar eclipse
By IANS,
Lucknow : Scientific institutions and schools in Lucknow have made elaborate arrangements - from acquiring special goggles to installing telescopes - for people to watch the annular solar eclipse Friday.
The Indira Gandhi Planetarium has purchased as many as 6,500 special goggles and installed several telescopes so that people can view the eclipse.
"We have made enough arrangements to watch the solar eclipse. Only 51.12 percent of the eclipse will be visible in Lucknow," Anil Yadav, officer-in-charge of the planetarium, told IANS Friday.
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.
Asia’s first human DNA bank comes up in Lucknow
By IANS,
Lucknow : Asia's first -- and the world's second -- human DNA bank has been set up at the Biotech Park in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow district, said an official Wednesday.
"DNA Identification System (DIS) will be one of the most important functions of the DNA bank that will facilitate establishing identity of individuals within a few seconds," Biotech Park's CEO P.K. Seth told IANS.
The members of the DNA bank will receive a microchip based DNA card containing information of their fingerprints, and anthropological details, said Seth.
Is it time to upgrade your wireless network?
Washington, Oct 10 (DPA) If you go shopping today for any type of wireless computing device, ask yourself these questions:
Q: Do I have to purchase draft 802.11n products from the same company?
A: You probably know that to get faster wireless Internet and network access, all of the devices within your wireless network should be capable of operating at the same speed. That means that your router, notebook cards, and any PCI desktop wireless cards should be draft 802.11n.
Bacterium disables tomato plant’s defences – stealthily
By IANS,
London : A bacterium disables the tomato plant's defences stealthily, activating disease and blight, according to a new study.
The new finding focuses on a pathogen which causes bacterial speck disease in tomato plants. This bacterial invasion causes black lesions on leaves and fruit.
Scientists found the pathogen is very effective at attacking tomato plants because it deactivates and destroys receptors which normally alert the plant to the presence of a dangerous disease - in the same way that an intruder would deactivate the burglar alarm before gaining entry to a house.
World’s largest telescope spells golden age of astronomy
By IANS,
Toronto : Hailing it as the beginning of a golden age of astronomy, researchers say the latest data beamed back to earth by the Herschel Space Observatory (HSO) is providing them a rare peep into distant galaxies. Herschel is the largest infrared telescope ever launched into space.
Electronic sound system improves classroom results
By IANS,
Sydney : Researchers have found that connecting teachers to a sound system can dramatically improve pupils' test results and reduce classroom disruption.
Using a microphone and a radio transmitter, what the teacher says is broadcast using speakers around the room. Pupils are able to hear more clearly, and teachers do not strain their voices.
Stuart McLaren from the Institute of Food, Nutrition and Human Health and Steve Humphries from the School of Psychology surveyed teachers and tested pupils and classroom acoustics at primary schools in Auckland and Wellington.
Journey to NASA owes to AMU: Hashima Hasan
TCN News
Aligarh: For Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) alumna, Dr Hashima Hasan, Program/Discipline Scientist at the NASA, USA, the fascination with space science began when she...
When monkeys flew: 50 years since forgotten space pioneers
By Charlotte Horn, DPA,
Washington : Yuri Gagarin and Neil Armstrong are names printed in bold in the history books. But two smaller, unknown space pioneers who helped make their advances possible had their first flight 50 years ago.
Two monkeys were shot into space by the US space agency NASA on May 28, 1959 - paving the way for humans, like the Russian who became the first man to orbit the Earth and the US astronaut who was the first to set foot on the moon.
Revolutionary fuel cell design to make cheaper vehicles feasible
By IANS,
Sydney : A reworked design of fuel cells used in the latest hybrid cars will help make vehicles more reliable and cheaper to build in the future.
The breakthrough is based on the inclusion of a specially-coated form of popular outdoor and sporting clothing material Goretex in the fuel cell.
Monash University scientists have designed and tested an air-electrode, where a fine layer 100 times thinner than human hair of highly conductive plastic is deposited on the breathable fabric. The conductive plastic acts as both the fuel cell electrode and catalyst.
US spacecraft finds Mars colder than expected
By Xinhua,
Washington : The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced that the crust and upper mantle of Mars are stiffer and colder than previously thought.
The new observations from its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter suggest any liquid water that might exist below the planet's surface and any possible organisms living in that water would be located deeper than scientists had suspected.
"This implies that the planet's interior is more rigid, and thus colder, than we thought before."
UN says ozone hole shrinking due to weather, not recovery
By NNN-SPA
United Nations, New York : Although the ozone layer over the Antarctic this year is relatively small, it is due to mild temperatures experienced in the region’s stratosphere this winter and is not a sign of global recovery, the U.N. World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Thursday.
Since 1998, only the ozone holes of 2002 and 2004 have been smaller than this year’s-both in area and amount of destroyed ozone-and this is not indicative of ozone recuperation, WMO said in a statement.
India, France to launch tropical weather satellite in 2009
By IANS,
New Delhi : India and France will jointly launch a satellite next year to understand climate change and the tropical weather phenomena including monsoons.
The joint working group of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the French Space Agency Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) met in Goa Saturday and Sunday to review the progress made on this.
ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair and CNES president Yannick d'Escatha discussed the various modalities and technicalities involved with the launch of satellite Megha Topiques.
Meteor bombardment may have made earth more habitable
By IANS,
London : Large bombardments of meteorites nearly four billion years ago probably made earth and mars more habitable by modifying their atmosphere.
When a meteorite enters a planet's atmosphere, extreme heat causes some of the minerals and organic matter on its outer crust to be released as water and carbon dioxide before it breaks up and hits the ground.
Marine algae most promising bet for green fuel
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists see marine algae as the most promising bet for a green fuel that would help ease the dependence on fossil fuel and power vehicles of the future.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of Californa San Diego (UCSD), scientists along with their counterparts from its division of biological sciences are part of an emerging algal biofuel consortium that includes academic collaborators, CleanTECH, public and private partners.
US scientists develop substance to absorb carbon dioxide
By Xinhua
Los Angeles : US researchers have developed a substance that can absorb carbon dioxide from smokestacks and tailpipes.
Researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) developed the gas sucker by synthesising a new class of sponge-like crystals that can soak up carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas in industrial emissions, said the study published in the journal Science Friday.
Where ‘original Indian animation’ is name of game
By V. Vijayalakshmi, IANS,
Pune : One tour of Pune's Big Animation studio makes you realise that the Indian animation industry has come of age. And the man behind this set-up is Ashish Kulkarni, a pioneer in the field.
Kulkarni has created this massive studio with a built-up area of 60,000 sq ft, which will focus on original Indian content in animation.
"It was in 1995 that animation channels were first seen in India and there were no Indian stories. When our kids go to foreign universities they should have some knowledge of Indian epics," Kulkarni told IANS.
Chilling images of ice-shelf collapsing in the heat
By IANS
New York : A US satellite has captured chilling images of over 400 square kilometres of Antarctica's massive Wilkins Ice Shelf collapsing because of rapid climate changes.
The area is part of the much larger shelf of nearly 13,000 square kilometres that is now supported only by a narrow strip of ice between two islands.
"If there is a little bit more retreat, this last 'ice buttress' could collapse and we'd likely lose about half the total ice shelf area in the next few years," warned Ted Scambos of the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Kudankulam n-plant a step closer to going on stream
By IANS,
Chennai: The first unit of the protest-hit nuclear power project at Kudankulam is about to be commissioned. Officials have initiated the process to remove its dummy fuel.
World’s largest solar steam system comes up in Shirdi
By IANS,
Shirdi (Maharashtra) : Hindu and Muslim pilgrims visiting the shrine of Sai Baba in this town will be served food cooked with the help of a solar steam system, inaugurated by New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah Thursday, that officials say is the world's largest.
The solar steam system can generate 3,500 kg of steam every day - enough to cook food for 20,000 people. It has been designed for cooking food for devotees visiting the shrine devoted to Sai Baba, a 19th century Sufi saint who was revered by Hindus and Muslims alike.
Indian American scientists design bamboo-based fabrics
By IANS
New York : As "sustainable" become the new global buzzword among ethical dressers, it is boom time for eco-friendly bamboo-based fabrics.`
And now giving such fabric the extra edge are Indian American chemists Subhash Appidi and Ajoy Sarkar of Colorado State University.
They have discovered a way of making bamboo fabric - the current leading option in the "ethically produced" clothing market - that is not only resistant to the sun's damaging ultraviolet (UV) radiation but also has anti-bacterial properties.
How to keep your password safe from data hackers, cyber thieves
By IANS,
Washington : Last year, one out of 13 people lost money due to internet fraud and identity theft, says a recent report. However, you can insure your password and data by following these easy-to-follow tips.
Always keep the cyber thieves guessing. Never use personal information to create a username, login or password. It could be the name of your pets, relatives, nicknames, dates of birth, etc.
Identity theft experts have become savvy at ferreting out these details. Hence, it is crucial to choose usernames and passwords that have nothing to do with your personal history.
244,000 Germans log objections to Google’s Street View
By DPA,
Berlin : Some 244,237 German households have so far demanded that images of their homes be removed from Google Inc's Street View geo-data service, the online search giant said Thursday.
Russia’s Progress cargo spacecraft ‘buried’ in Pacific
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The Progress M-65 cargo spacecraft, which undocked from the International Space Station on September 17 and served as a temporary space lab, has been "buried" in the Pacific Ocean, Russia's Mission Control said Sunday.
"The cargo spacecraft's remaining fragments fell into the ocean after re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere is 11:49 a.m. Moscow time [8:49 GMT] on Sunday," Mission Control said.
US commercial cargo capsule launched to space station
By IANS,
Washington : An unmanned rocket carrying the Dragon cargo capsule blasted off Friday to deliver the second commercial shipment to the International Space Station.
Houses with green roofs and walls cool cities
By IANS
London : Scientists in Britain say roofs and walls green with vegetation can reduce the temperature of cities as they reduce the need for air-conditioning on hot days.
Green surfaces absorb less heat from the sun. Green roofs and walls can lower temperatures by 3.6 to 11.3 degrees Celsius depending on the city, a new study has found.
Scientists compared the effects of green surfaces in nine cities around the world, including sub-arctic Montreal in Canada, temperate London in Britain, humid Mumbai in India, and tropical Brasília in Brazil.
Russian carrier rocket Proton puts military satellite into orbit
By Ria Novosty
Moscow : A Russian Proton-M carrier rocket, launched from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, has put a military satellite into orbit, Russia's space agency (Roskosmos) said on Sunday.
"A Proton-M carrier rocket, which was launched from the Baikonur space center at 03: 16 a.m. Moscow time (00:16 a.m. GMT) today [on Sunday], successfully put a Kosmos satellite into orbit at 12:17 p.m. Moscow time (09:17 a.m. GMT)," Roskosmos said.
Apple starts production of smaller iPad
By IANS,
San Francisco: Mass production of a smaller and cheaper version of Apple's iPad tablet computer has started, media reports said Wednesday.
Mysterious object seen refuelling from sun
By IANS,
London : An orbiting NASA space telescope has captured the footage of a planet-sized object flying close to the sun, and extending a "refuelling tube" into the sun's surface.
NASA plans to launch up to six space shuttles in 2008
By RIA Novosti
Washington : NASA plans to carry out up to six space shuttle launches in 2008, including a flight to service the Hubble Space Telescope, a space agency official has said.
NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale said the agency is also making progress in developing the Orion spacecraft and Ares launch vehicles to replace the aging shuttle fleet and prepare for journeys to the moon and beyond.
Egg-sized robots to monitor N-plants
By IANS,
Washington : Now small, hen-egg sized robots, can directly monitor nuclear reactors and pinpoint corrosion.
US plans world’s largest biometric database
By DPA
Washington : The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is planning the world's largest databank of biometric information allowing it access to the physical characteristics of thousands of people, the Washington Post reported.
The $1-billion project of the FBI will give the federal police unprecedented access to information about people in the US and abroad in a massive computer database located in Clarksburg, West Virginia.
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.
Google celebrates MF Husain’s birth centenary with doodle
New Delhi : Google is celebrating the birth centenary of renowned Indian artist Maqbool Fida Husain who died in London on June 9, 2011...
Over satellite, women farmers demand policy changes
By IANS
Thiruvaiyaru (Tamil Nadu) : The power of technology was on display at the 95th National Science Congress in Vishakhapatnam Saturday when satellite links helped women from across India voice their demand for new policies to promote women farmers.
Aluminium-water propellant promising for future space missions
By IANS,
Washington : A new type of green rocket propellant, comprising frozen mixture of water and "nanoscale aluminium" powder, is being developed that could be manufactured on the moon, Mars and other water-bearing bodies, says a new study.
The aluminium-ice, or ALICE, propellant might be used to launch rockets into orbit and for long-distance space missions and also to generate hydrogen for fuel cells, said Steven Son, associate professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University.
New software to help empty stadiums during bomb threats
By IANS,
Washington : Imagine trying to get out of a stadium with 70,000 fans after a bomb explodes, or even a bomb threat. For an evacuation on this scale, there are no dress rehearsals or practice drills - just simulation software.
A new breed of simulation software - dubbed SportEvac - is being funded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) as part of the Southeast Region Research Initiative (SERRI), and developed and tested by the National Centre for Spectator Sports Safety & Security (NCS4) at the University of Southern Mississippi.
India to rollout 3G services by mid-2008: A. Raja
By IANS
New Delhi : Indian mobile users will be able to use 3G services by the middle of next year, Communications and IT Minister A. Raja said here Thursday.
"We are hopeful that some spectrum for both 2G and 3G services will be vacated by the end of this year. I hope that could pave the way for a rollout of 3G services by mid next year," the minister said at a 3G summit.
On being asked how much spectrum would be vacated, the minister replied, "That is up to the defence ministry to decide."
Facebook security flaw revealed
By IANS,
London : Social networking site Facebook temporarily disabled its chat system after a serious security flaw was revealed which allowed people to view chats and pending friend requests of their Facebook friends.
The security flaw, discovered Wednesday by technology website TechCrunch, related to a feature on Facebook that allows users to preview their own privacy settings, telegraph.co.uk reported.
Reducing household carbon footprint helps fight climate change
By IANS,
Washington : Like charity, the battle against global warming should also begin at home, according to a new study.
The study set out to establish that going green, recycling items of daily use and reducing your carbon footprint would be easier if a household's environmental impact is monitored.
The study, which enlisted 20 families to assess how well sustainable behaviour might be inculcated among householders, compared fuel, electricity, water costs and waste generation and recommended cost-effective steps to reduce consumption.
European Space Agency launches first robot freighter into space
By Xinhua
Paris : The European Space Agency on Sunday launched its first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) into space, French media reported.
The ATV blasted into the skies at 1:03 a.m. (0403 GMT) aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
The launch was initially scheduled for Saturday but was delayed for technical checks.
The ATV is scheduled to separate from the Ariane rocket at 0535 GMT and reignite its propulsion system 30 minutes later.
Hackers playing havoc with e-mail accounts
New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS) Mahendra Ved, a senior journalist here, was stunned after receiving a call from his Bahrain-based daughter a few days ago, sounding distressed and enquiring after his whereabouts and well-being.
"She was crying and desperately wanted to reach me after reading an e-mail, which was sent to her by someone who had hacked my gmail account and forwarded a troubling message to all my friends and relatives," Ved says.
"Since Sunday, I have received at least 60 such calls," adds Ved.
Kepler telescope finds new planetary system
By DPA,
Washington : The planet-hunting Kepler space telescope has found a new planetary system orbiting a distant star that could include a planet nearly the same size as Earth, NASA scientists said Thursday.
In findings to be published in the journal Science this week, the scientists report the discovery of two large planets about the size of Saturn orbiting a star similar to the sun. A third small object orbiting the star could be a much smaller planet, just a bit larger than Earth, but more work must be done to confirm it is actually a planet.
Micro gyroscopes to improve navigation in future
By IANS,
Washington : A new array of cheap, high-performance tiny gyroscopes would help airplanes, submarines and automobiles navigate better in the near future.
They are being developed by a team of Panos Datskos, Slo Rajic and Nickolay Lavrik of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. They are radically different from existing ones, which are both big and costly.
These consists of multiple, highly sensitive and accurate silicon chip-scale gyroscopes.
‘Black gold’ may revolutionise farming, curb global warming
By IANS
Washington : Scientists have discovered an extraordinary source of some of the richest, most fertile soil in the world, often called 'black gold'. They simply have to mix charcoal in the soil.
And it can battle global warming as well by holding the carbon in the soil instead of letting it escape into the atmosphere, according to a new study.
The discovery goes back 1,500 years to the central Amazon basin where tribal people mixed their soil with charcoal derived from animal bone and tree bark.
Iran arms embargo should be lifted: Russia
Moscow: Moscow wants arms embargo on Tehran lifted as soon as possible, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday, adding that no insurmountable...
This February was the Earth’s ninth warmest since 1880
By IANS,
Washington : The combined land and ocean surface average temperature for February was the ninth warmest since records began in 1880, according to an analysis by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The analysis in NOAA's National Climatic Data Centre (NCDC) global reports are based on preliminary data, which are subject to revision. Additional quality control is applied to the data when later reports are received several weeks after the end of the month and as increased scientific methods improve NCDC's processing algorithms.
Andhra aims third place in IT exports
By IANS,
Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh is targeting the third place in Information Technology exports in the country, a state government official said Wednesday.
K. Ratna Prabha, principal secretary, IT, said the state, though started late in IT exports, has reached the fourth position.
"Next year the state will reach third position," she told a programme organised to announce that Hyderabad will host eINDIA 2010, India's largest event on Information and Communication Technology.
Karnataka tops in the IT exports in the country followed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
China to launch 100 satellites during 2011-15
By IANS,
Beijing : China has set a target of completing a space mission of "100 rockets, 100 satellites" between 2011 and 2015, according to a space official.
E-bike makers foresee big market, adopt different planks
By IANS,
Chennai : The nascent electric two-wheeler segment, currently estimated at Rs.4.5 billion, is set to grow this fiscal, say manufacturers.
But while all are now stepping on the gas to boost sales, their marketing planks differ: while some say their sales pitch would revolve round "convenience", for others, it's "economy" at a time of spiralling fuel price.
Ultra Motor India, the New Delhi-based subsidiary of UK's Ultra Motor Co., estimates the Indian market this year to grow to around 240,000 units, up from 170,000 units sold in 2007-2008.
NASA’s next generation rocket makes booming debut
By DPA,
Washington : A giant next generation space rocket Wednesday shot off its launchpad at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida in the US for its very first test flight.
The 100-metre tall Ares I-X rocket sped into the sky over the Florida coast trailing a plume of flames and steam in a trial that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) hoped would provide crucial information about technology that is to replace the ageing space shuttle fleet.
India-US pact for low-cost medical technologies
By IANS
New Delhi : India and the US Thursday signed an agreement to develop low-cost medical technologies and share expertise on biomedical research.
The agreement was signed here between the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, a body of the National Institute of Health (NIH), the US, and the Department of Biotechnology under India's ministry of science and technology.
According to the ministry, the objective of the collaboration is "development of low-cost diagnostics and therapeutic medical technologies".
Insat-4CR launch delayed by two hours
By IANS
Sriharikota : The launch of India's latest communication satellite Insat-4CR has been rescheduled by two hours to 6.10 p.m. after three delays caused by a technical hitch 15 seconds before the scheduled blast-off.
The satellite was to be launched at 4.21 p.m. by the geo-synchronous satellite launch vehicle GSLV-F04 and was initially put off by 50 minutes.
It was then pushed back to 5.40 p.m. and again.10 p.m. as scientists worked furiously to get over the technical glitch that had arisen, an official here said, without specifying what the problem was.
Pollution a reason for birth of girl children?
By IANS,
New York : Women exposed to high levels of certain kinds of pollutants are less likely to give birth to male children.
That's the startling finding of a new study that reviewed data on pregnant women in San Francisco who were exposed to high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) - a group of banned environmental pollutants - in the 1950s and 1960s.
And it's not an isolated finding either, reports ScienceDaily.
India launches satellite-based air navigation services
New Delhi: India on Monday launched its satellite-based air navigation services, thereby joining a select league comprising the US, Europe Union (EU) and Japan...
Google dedicates doodle to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
New Delhi: Internet search giant Google on Tuesday paid tributes to Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on his birth anniversary.
The doodle showed the...
India to launch first manned spaceship in 2013
By NNN-Bernama,
Moscow : India would launch its first manned space flights by sending two astronauts in an orbit in a Russian spaceship in 2013, Press Trust of India (PTI) said Wednesday quoting local media reports.
For this, the Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) is to finance the acquisition of a Soyuz spaceship and train its astronauts by a Russian commander.
The Russian cosmonaut would lead the two-member crew on an independent space flight lasting several days, 'Voice of Russia' radio reported.
China calls for technology transfer, fund to address climate change
By Xinhua,
Beijing : A senior Chinese official Thursday called on the international community to evolve a mechanism for technology development and transfer to address climate change problems.
Xie Zhenhua, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said, "the core of the mechanism is technology transfer, including sufficient funds to support the transfer".
Kerala students to compete in designing a Mars rover
Kochi: Students of an engineering college in Kerala have been selected to compete in a challenge to design a rover for the US Mars...
‘Dry water’ that soaks up carbon faster
By IANS,
London : Scientists have created 'dry water' that soaks carbon three times better than water, and hence help combat global warming.
Each particle of dry water, a substance that looks like powdered sugar, contains a water droplet surrounded by a sandy silica coating.
Ben Carter from the University of Liverpool who presented his research at the American Chemical Society in Boston, US, said: "There's nothing else quite like it."
"Hopefully, we may see dry water making waves in the future," he was quoted by the Telegraph as saying.
Toronto firm celebrates ‘victory’ over Microsoft
By Gurmukh Singh, IANS,
Toronto : A tiny Canadian IT firm, which won a big patent-infringement victory against software giant Microsoft Tuesday, couldnt have wished for a better Christmas gift. They are hoping the global publicity will spell growth in its fortunes.
Toronto-based i4i Inc, which will also get $290 million in damages from Microsoft for stealing its software Word, says its victory is "a war cry for talented inventors whose patents are infringed" by corporate sharks. Tuesday's victory will serve as a springboard for growth, i4i executives told the media Wednesday.
Google planning ‘radical’ new Chrome browser
By IANS,
London : Software developers working on Google's popular Chrome browser are testing "radical" changes to its appearance.
Mongolia seeks increased links with India in IT, mining
By IANS,
New Delhi: Mongolia Monday said it was looking for increased trade and commerce with India in the fields of mining and information technology.
Mongolian leaders, including Prime Minister Sukhbaataryn Batbold and chairman of the Mongolian State Great Hural (Parliament) D. Demberel made known their wish list during their meeting with visiting Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.
A parliamentary delegation led by the speaker is on a five-day day visit to Mongolia.
Will shifting geomagnetic field be Earth’s nemesis?
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The recent trouble with the International Space Station (ISS), caused by simple computer virus capable of stealing logins and passwords for computer games only, was a minor incident compared to possible environmental changes that could make space flights impossible.
They could also cripple aviation and television, and even put terrestrial life at risk.
Giant asteroid to pass between earth, moon
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : A 400-metre-wide asteroid will Tuesday fly past earth, closer to it than the moon's orbit.
Tomorrow’s phones may be powered by body heat
By DPA
Hamburg : Making calls from a cell phone without a battery, using just the warmth of your hand? Perhaps that's no more than a pipe dream right now. But new circuits being developed by researchers in Germany are already making it possible to harness body heat for generating electricity.
Numerous items of medical equipment are attached to a patient's body in the intensive care ward. They monitor the heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, pulse and breathing rate.
This tends to produce quite a jumble of cables as all these devices require their own electricity supply.
Solar system’s 3rd plutoid named Makemake
By Xinhua,
Beijing : A dwarf planet orbiting outside Neptune has been designated the third plutoid in the solar system and named Makemake, the International Astronomical Union said on Saturday.
The red methane-covered dwarf planet formerly known as 2005 FY9 or "Easterbunny" is named after a Polynesian creator of humanity and god of fertility.
Just last month the IAU, which names planets and other heavenly bodies, decided to create a new class of sub-planets called plutoids.
IT tool helps satellites pinpoint ancient settlements
By IANS,
Washington : A new computer tool that extracts clues about ancient human settlements from satellite imagery has uncovered thousands of sites which might otherwise have been lost.
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.
India moots international mechanism for space assets protection
By NNN-Bernama/PTI
Hyderabad : Warning that outer space may become the "battlefield of the future," India proposed a "robust" international mechanism for protection of space assets since they were "vulnerable to attacks."
New Delhi also told global space scientists to join forces in space exploration, asserting the world can "ill-afford the duplication of efforts and resources" in the face of many pressing priorities, according to a PTI report.
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).
New technology will help crack E. Coli’s gene code
By IANS,
New York : E. coli has remained a mystery for long as a fourth of the roughly 4,000 genes it carries are unknown to researchers. But 'GIANT-Coli,' short for genetic interaction analysis technology for E. coli, a new technique, has the potential to speed up the discovery of new gene functions and help crack its code, says a new study.
The principle behind this technique is to track interaction among genes that produces observable effects, and helping identify gene functions. Harmless E. coli strains are found in many animals and human intestines, but some can cause diseases.
LEDs set to revolutionise lighting
By IANS,
Washington : Energy efficient, ecologically sound light emitting diodes, or LEDs, are emerging as the hottest choice in illuminating homes and businesses.
"We are on the verge of a revolution," says E. Fred Schubert, professor of electrical engineering and physics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute New York and co-author of a paper on the subject. "There are tremendous opportunities that open up with LED."
‘No fresh evidence to indicate Bay of Bengal tsunami’
By Avijit Chatterjee, IANS
Kolkata : The Geological Survey of India has allayed fears of a tsunami hitting the Bay of Bengal soon - though the findings of an Australian geologist suggest that a giant undersea earthquake could inundate India, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Europe’s Columbus docks at space station, finally
By DPA
Washington : After four years' delay and last minute space-walk hitches, the Columbus laboratory docked onto the International Space Station, opening a new chapter for Europe in space flight.
"Columbus is now officially a part of the ISS," NASA officials said Monday on the NASA TV transmission of the docking.
In a precision transfer that took about two hours, a robotic arm operated from inside the space station manoeuvred Columbus out of the cargo bay on the Atlantis shuttle and into its permanent place at the Harmony portal that was installed last year.
Russian Soyuz spacecraft docks with ISS
By Xinhua
Moscow : The Soyuz TMA-12 spaceship docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday, according to Mission Control located outside Moscow.
The spaceship docked with the ISS at 16:55 Moscow time (1255 GMT), Mission Control spokesman Valery Lyndin said.
The spaceship brought to the station the crew of the 17th main expedition, Russian cosmonauts Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko, who will work in orbit for over six months.
Shuttle Endeavour undocks from International Space Station
By Xinhua
Washington : Space Shuttle Endeavour undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday to begin its return trip to Earth, according to NASA TV.
"Physical separation, Houston," shuttle pilot Charlie Hobaugh told Mission Control.
Undocking took place according to schedule at 7:56 a.m. EDT (1156 GMT) as the shuttle and ISS passed 214 miles (about 344 km) over the South Pacific.
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.
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.
Scientists track movement of atoms in real time
By IANS,
Washington : A new technique tracks movement of freely moving single neutral atoms in real time, that is more than 99.7 percent accurate and sensitive enough to discern the arrival of a single atom in less than a millionth of a second.
The system, developed by researchers at the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) in College Park and the Universidad de Concepcion in Chile, employs a novel means of altering the polarisation of laser light trapped between two highly-reflective mirrors, according to a JQI release.
Iran to launch three new satellites
By IANS,
Tehran : Iran plans to launch three new domestically-manufactured satellites, Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi has said.
India cannot afford to be climate sceptic: official
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's poor will have enormous problem in arranging their livelihood due to climate change, and it will be better the country stops being a climate sceptic, a government official said Thursday.
"There is enough scientific evidence to corroborate the fact that climate change poses unprecedented risks to both human life and in fact, to human civilisation," New and Renewable Energy Secretary Deepak Gupta said at a conference on climate change.
He said the climate change will have catastrophic "effect on livelihood, particularly of the poor".
Safer plastic soon
By IANS,
Washington : We could soon have safer plastic as scientists have found a way of locking in harmful additives, called plasticizers, from seeping out of one of the most widely used groups of plastics.
Plasticizers increase the plasticity or fluidity of plastics.
The advance could lead to a new generation of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics that are safer than those now used in packaging, medical tubing, toys, and other products, says a new study in Spain.
3G auction won’t be delayed by global meltdown: Minister
By IANS,
New Delhi : Auction of 3G spectrum for telecommunications operators is on schedule and will not be delayed on account of a funds crunch following the global meltdown, the government said here Wednesday.
“We are not delaying the 3G auction process as of now,” Minister for Communication and IT A. Raja told reporters on the sidelines of a conference. “We are looking at the liquidity crunch in the market, we will discuss the matter with the finance minister.”
Emphasising that “no changes have been planned", Raja added: “The timeline remains the same”.
Steve Jobs memorial unveiled in Russia
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow: A memorial to renowned tech innovator and Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was unveiled in Russian city of St. Petersburg Wednesday.
Security gaps discovered in Adobe Flash Player, updates recommended
By DPA,
Bonn : Users of Adobe Flash Player are advised to update the latest version of the software after security gaps were discovered in early releases of the media viewer.
Those gaps have been sealed with the new version of the programme, according to Germany's BSI Federal Office for Security in Information Technology.
The problems with the old version could enable hackers to access a person's computer with only one visit to an insecure website.
Lockheed begins construction of US presidential choppers in India
By Gulshan Luthra
New Delhi : Construction of the first lot of six VH 92 Super Hawk helicopters that transport the US president...
425 mn-year-old sea creature revealed in 3D
By IANS,
London : It might not look like much, but a bizarre green blob that lived in the ocean approximately 425 million years ago was one of the earliest living creatures on earth.
A 3D computer mode of a primitive Drakozoon has been created from the only known fossilised specimen of the creature for the first time, reports the Daily Mail.
The model will help researchers understand what primitive species on early earth looked like and how they might have evolved into the types of creatures that are around, according to journal Biology Letters.
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.
Two NASA instruments to be on India’s moon mission
By IANS
Chennai : When India's first unmanned lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan-I takes off in April from the shores of Sriharikota, in Andhra Pradesh, it will carry a payload that includes two critical NASA instruments to map the moon.
The NASA payloads will be a miniature synthetic aperture radar to map ice deposits in the moon's surface and a moon mineralogy mapper to assess its mineral resources.
Tiny device can help build more powerful computers
By IANS,
Washington : Engineers have fabricated a tiny positioning device that will help build more compact, powerful computer hard drives and practically double the effectiveness of biological sensors.
Called monolithic comb drive (MCD), it can be potentially used as a "nanoscale manipulator" for use in watery environments to probe biological molecules, said Jason Vaughn Clark, an assistant professor of electrical, computer and mechanical engineering at Purdue University, who created the design.
Astronauts install Japanese module on International Space Station
By DPA,
Washington : Two NASA astronauts Tuesday installed the Japanese module, Kibo, on the International Space Station in a nearly seven-hour spacewalk.
During a six-hour, 48-minute excursion, space shuttle Discovery specialists Mike Fossum and Ron Garan attached the laboratory to the ISS, retrieved a shuttle inspection tool, and serviced and inspected solar components.
Largest ever dino footprints found in France
By IANS,
Washington : Footprints from sauropod dinosaurs, giant herbivores with long necks, were found in Plagne, near Lyon, France.
The dinosaur footprints in Plagne are circular depressions surrounded by a fold of limestone sediment. These depressions are very large, up to 1.50 metre in total diameter, suggesting that the animals were larger than 40 tonnes and 25 metres in length.
A new material that cleans up nuclear waste
By IANS
New York : Those opposed to nuclear power because of problems related to the disposal of radioactive waste can now breathe easy - scientists have found a substance to do the cleaning up.
Chemists at Northwestern University have identified metal sulphide materials as a possible source for nuclear waste removal.
The new material is extremely successful in removing strontium from a sodium-heavy solution, with concentrations similar to those in real liquid nuclear waste.
Obama hails Apollo 11 crew as ‘genuine American heroes’
By DPA,
Washington : US President Barack Obama welcomed the crew of Apollo 11 to the White House Monday to mark the 40th anniversary of their journey to the moon and called the three men "genuine American heroes."
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first humans to set foot on the lunar surface, while fellow crew member Michael Collins circled the moon in the command vehicle.
Scientists can now control most atoms
By IANS
Washington : University of Texas researchers have developed a twin-technique to control atoms, marking a major step forward in atomic physics with a variety of scientific and technological applications.
The technique can also be used to determine the mass of the neutrino, the primary candidate for dark matter.
The method, developed by Mark Raizen and his team, stopped atoms by passing a supersonic beam through an "atomic coil-gun" and cooled them using "single-photon cooling".
India’s rocket goes into space with 10 satellites
By IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C9 lifted off successfully with 10 satellites - two Indian and eight foreign - at 9.23 a.m. Monday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here.
Officials said the satellites' launches were progressing as expected. Around 16 minutes into the flight, the satellites will be injected into the polar sun synchronous orbit inclined at an angle of 97.94 degree to the equator.
Internet will reach capacity limits by 2010: AT&T
By IANS,
London : US telecommunications giant AT&T has warned that the Internet's current network architecture will reach the limits of its capacity by 2010 if proper investment is not made.
Speaking at a Westminster eForum on Web 2.0 in London, Jim Cicconi, vice-president of legislative affairs for AT&T, warned that the current systems that constitute the Internet would not be able to cope with the increasing volumes of video and user-generated content being uploaded.
Scientists explain why love game is fraught with perils
By IANS,
London : A model developed by scientists delves into why courtship or the mating game is often protracted and fraught with perils.
The study, by researchers by University College London (UCL), University of Warwick (UW) and LSE (London School of Economics and Political Science), shows that extended courtship enables a male to signal his suitability to a female and enables the female to reject him if unsuitable.
Indian American works out low-cost strategy to curb computer worms
By IANS,
Washington : Network administrators might soon be able to mount effective, low-cost defences against self-propagating infectious programmes known as worms, thanks to a new strategy devised by an Indian American researcher.
Many computers are already equipped with software that can detect when another computer is attempting to attack it. Yet the software usually cannot identify newly-minted worms that do not share features with earlier marauders.
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.
Chinese to train Bolivians how to operate satellites
By IANS,
La Paz : Seventy-four Bolivians will get training from Chinese scientists on how to operate communication satellites, Bolivia's vice-minister for telecommunications Roy Mendez said.
The trainees will learn the techniques of construction, pre-launch testing and gathering data from the satellites from the space.
He said a newly formed Bolivian Space Agency will also give training to professionals, especially young Bolivians, on how to operate and administrate Tupac Katari satellites, Prensa Latina reported.
Dubai unveils new website for business community
By IANS,
Dubai: Dubai has unveiled a new advanced and user-friendly website for the emirate's business community to improve public access to business-related information and procedures, the WAM news agency has reported.
The new website, developed by the Department of Economic Development (DED), is the first of many steps planned for the near future to improve the business community's interaction with the department, officials said.
Indian space launches in the past
By IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : The Chandrayaan moon mission will be the 27th by the Indian Space Research Organisation. The earlier 26:
Vehicle Launch Date Result
1. SLV-3 E1 Aug 10, 1979 Unsuccessful
2. SLV-3 E2 Jul 18, 1980 Successful
3. SLV-3 D1 May 31, 1981 Successful
4. SLV-3 D2 Apr 17, 1983 Successful
5. ASLV-D1 Mar 24, 1987 Unsuccessful
6. ASLV-D2 Jul 13, 1988 Unsuccessful
7. ASLV-D3 May 20, 1992 Successful
8. ASLV-D4 May 4, 1994 Successful
9. PSLV-D1 Sep 20, 1993 Unsuccessful
10. PSLV-D2 Oct 15, 1994 Successful
11. PSLV-D3 Mar 21, 1996 Successful
IIT Kanpur developing robot for India’s moon mission
By Prashant K. Nanda
IANSNew Delhi : When India sends its proposed moon mission in 2011, it will have a unique robot developed indigenously by student-engineers and their professors at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at Kanpur.
Internet highly vulnerable to phishing attacks
By IANS,
London : You are browsing a particular website thinking that it is perfectly secure, but it may not be the case as experts have uncovered chinks in Internet security.
For instance, a weakness in the Internet digital certificate infrastructure allows attackers to forge certificates completely trusted by all commonly used web browsers.
Consequently, it is possible to impersonate secure websites and email servers and to perform virtually undetectable phishing attacks, implying that secure websites are porous and unsafe.
Japanese scientists plans to send paper airplane into space
By Xinhua
Beijing : Japanese scientists hope to send into space a craft made in the tradition of Japan's ancient art of paper folding and learn from its trip back to Earth, media reported Friday.
A successful flight from space by an origami plane could have far-reaching implications for the design of re-entry vehicles or space probes for upper atmospheric exploration, said project leader Shinji Suzuki, a professor at Tokyo University's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Mice help the mentally ill
By IANS,
Washington : A new model of mouse behaviour developed by Japanese scientists is likely to help in better diagnosis and evaluation of depressive disorders in people.
Researchers from University of Tokyo and Osaka Bioscience Institute evaluated a holistic approach to assess mouse behaviour, and threw up interesting results.
For example, a 24-hour monitoring of the rodents by pressure sensors, after a gene regulating the circadian rhythm was removed, was found to be similar to that previously observed by the team in humans suffering from major depressive disorder.
Twin NASA probes reach lunar orbit
By IANS,
Washington : New Year's Eve and New Year's Day saw twin US spacecraft entering lunar orbit to study the moon, NASA said.