‘Indian software industry will hold out against competition’
By James Jose, IANS,
New Delhi : The $60-billion information technology industry in India will continue to attract overseas business, despite competition from other emerging markets that also offer lower costs, says the India head of global software giant Computer Associates.
"Our costs will still be competitive. There are markets like China, Singapore, and the Philippines which offer lower costs. But they are not in the same league as India," said the software gian't India chairman Saurabh Srivastava.
Faster, larger, quieter superplanes by 2025?
By IANS,
London : US space agency NASA has unveiled three concept designs for quieter and more energy efficient superplanes that could be ready by 2025.
Google’s Chrome browser focuses on speed, not extras
By Philipp Laage, DPA,
Munich : Google threw its hat into the browser ring back in 2008. Chrome is what they called their new product, now available in its third iteration. A beta version of the fourth generation is currently making the rounds as well.
While Chrome itself is clearly rapidly changing, one thing seems constant: the developers at Google have their sights on a portion of the market share held by titans Internet Explorer and Firefox.
Facebook unveils new tools
By DPA,
San Francisco : Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg Wednesday unveiled a box of new tools that he said will extend the social networking phenomenon to every corner of the internet.
The announcement came at a conference for Facebook developers called F8, in which Zuckerberg revealed that the world's largest social networking site has 400 million registered users. These include 100 million who use Facebook Connect, the company's online identity technology that allows users to use their profile on thousands of other websites.
High-tech rescue and evacuation workshop opens in Riyadh tomorrow
By NNN-SPA
Riyadh : A workshop on new technologies in the field of rescue and evacuation, will be organized by faculty of training at the Riyadh-based Naif Arab university for security sciences in cooperation with the international organization for civil protection from Oct 20 to Nov 2, 2007.
Representatives from the administrations of civil protection and civil defense as well as the municipalities and the other concerned authorities from the Arab countries will participate in the workshop.
‘Long distance flights with stopovers more eco-efficient’
By IANS,
New Delhi : Long distance flights with stopovers are more efficient, an expert in the field says, pointing out that a Delhi-New York flight with a stopover in Europe can save nine tonnes of fuel and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by a staggering 28 percent against a non-stop flight between the two destinations.
Satellite survey of Nalanda ruins begins in Bihar
By IANS
Patna : Scientists from the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) are conducting a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey in Bihar's Nalanda district to trace the location of the buried ancient structures.
Officials of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Patna circle, said Thursday a five-member team of scientists from the NRSA has begun a four-day GPR survey in Nalanda.
The GPR survey is being conducted for the first time in Bihar. GPR survey has proved beneficial across the world in exploration of archaeological structures.
Five billion people to use cell phones in 2010: UN
By IANS,
Madrid: The number of mobile phone users across the world would increase to five billion this year, a UN telecommunication agency said Monday.
The number of mobile phone subscriptions worldwide has reached 4.6 billion and is expected to increase to five billion this year, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
"Even during an economic crisis, we have seen no drop in the demand for communications services," ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Toure said.
Exhibition on train to inspire science among youth
By IANS
Chennai : A unique exhibition on board a train will travel to 57 destinations across India to encourage youths into the world of science.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will officially flag off the Science Express here Oct 30.
The journey covering 57 destinations in 200 days, "will enthral everyone into the world of science," said T. Ramasai, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology (DST).
The exhibition is a joint initiative of DST and a chemical firm BASF.
Toyota unveils human-assisting robots
By DPA
Tokyo : Toyota Motor Corp Thursday unveiled two new robots that can assist humans in transport, domestic duties and care taking.
The first robot is envisaged to transport humans and objects at a speed of 6 km per hour for a distance of 20 km with one battery charge.
The other, a two-legged violin-playing robot, has 17 movable joints that provide it capability to conduct domestic duties and assist in nursing or medical care.
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.
PM gives excellence awards to scientists, technologists
By IANS,
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday gave away the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awards to 21 scientists, institutions and to Mahindra and Mahindra for their flagship vehicle Scorpio.
The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awards for 2007 went to 11 scientists, including Narayanaswamy Srinivasan of Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science for his contributions in the area of computational genomics.
NASA satellite pins down timer in ‘stellar bomb’
By IANS,
Washington : A NASA satellite helped astronomers pin down the timing mechanism in a ticking “stellar bomb” some 20,000 light years away.
The twin-neutron star, designated as 4U 1636-53, produces between seven and 10 bursts daily, releasing more energy in 10 to 100 seconds than the sun radiates in an entire week.
The astronomers said they were equivalent to 100 hydrogen bombs detonating simultaneously on a city-sized surface.
New infra-red device can remotely detect bombs
Washington: Scientists have developed a new infra-red model that can detect potentially dangerous materials from a distance.
"The idea for this infra-red technology is to...
Ukrainian-Russian rocket blasts off from Baikonur
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : A Ukrainian-Russian rocket has lifted off from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan with an Israeli communications satellite on board, a federal space agency spokesman said on Monday.
The Zenit-3SLB rocket was scheduled to orbit the Israeli AMOS-3 satellite on Thursday, but was hit by a number of delays.
Biometrics is no guarantee for secure data
By DPA
Darmstadt (Germany) : Police are not the only ones taking fingerprints these days. Starting on Nov 1, fingerprint data will even be stored in the passports issued by many countries.
As fingerprints are unique, they have also drawn attention from manufacturers of equipment designed to limit access to computers.
After all, pressing your fingertip against a reading device is simpler than learning and inputting a password. But are fingerprint sensors really more secure? The answer is both yes and no.
Online swap sites offer the sensible and surreal
By DPA
Ahrensburg (Germany) : Many things end up in the garbage can even though they are still in fine working condition because the search for a recipient of used objects can be toilsome.
Yet, online swap sites are riding to the rescue, helping people find a new home for grandma's quirky dresser, an old aquarium or even a broken down computer.
"Offering super good-looking male iguana for a laptop" - that was one user's attempt to make a deal on the online swap site Bambali.
World’s most powerful supercomputer becomes operational
By IANS,
Washington : The world's fastest and most powerful supercomputer, named Novo-G, has become operational at the University of Florida.
Novo-G gets the first part of its name from the Latin term for "make anew, change, alter" and the second from "G" for "genesis." A "reconfigurable" computer, it can re-arrange its internal circuitry to suit the task at hand.
Mexico to build space port
By DPA,
Mexico City : Mexico plans to begin construction of a space port to send satellites in space this year, an official said Monday.
The facility will be located in the southern state of Quintana Roo on the border with Belize, said state planning minister Jose Alberto Alonso Ovando. The location was chosen after extensive studies in part because of its proximity to the Equator, he said in an
interview.
First identical twin camels bred in UAE
By IANS,
Dubai : Scientists here have successfully produced United Arab Emirates' first identical twin camels using embryo splitting technology, WAM news agency reported Wednesday.
According to scientists at Dubai Camel Breeding Centre, the genetically identical twin camels, Zahi and Baih, were naturally born to two surrogate camel mothers Feb 10 and 23. Both are in good health.
For the first time scientists in the Gulf region used a sophisticated technology called embryo splitting technology to produce the identical twin camels from a six-day-old camel embryo.
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).
Bio-monitoring to track pollutants, trace elements
By IANS,
London : Bio-monitoring can be used in environments where a technological approach to monitoring pollutants, particulates and trace elements is not only difficult and costly but may be impossible, say scientists.
"It allows continuous observation of an area with the help of bio-indicators, an organism that reveals the presence of a substance in its surroundings with observable and measurable changes, such as accumulation of pollutants, which can be distinguished from the effects of natural stress," said Borut Smodis of the Jozef Stefan Institute in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Partial solar eclipse observed in India
By IANS,
New Delhi : The first solar eclipse of the year was partially visible in some parts of India and observed by various people Monday afternoon.
The eclipse started at 2.15 p.m. and ended at 4.20 p.m.
“The eclipse was visible only from southern parts of India, eastern coast, most of northeast India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep,” Nehru Planetarium director N. Rathnasree told IANS here.
She said people in north and west India couldn't see the celestial activity.
Indian students ensure robot’s walk to global contest
By Azera Rahman, IANS
New Delhi : Two students from the premier engineering institute BITS at Pilani have developed for the first time in India a humanoid robot that will be shown at the world's biggest robot contest in San Francisco.
Samay Kohli, 21, and Arpit Mohan, 19, are all set to leave for the US despite funding problems.
"Although non-resident Indians (NRI) have developed humanoids before, we are the first Indians here to have developed one," Kohli beamed.
Railway plans hi-tech security gadgets in Orissa
By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : East Coast Railway authorities have decided to install high tech security gadgets at leading stations of Orissa in view of the recent terror attacks in different places of Mumbai, a railway official said Monday.
A high level meeting was conducted by East Coast Railway authorities Monday to review the security situation at railway stations, especially in Bhubaneswar, Puri and Cuttack.
The meeting took stock of the security scenario at these stations and additional measures required to be taken were discussed, an East Coast Railway press release said.
India makes history, enter Mars orbit in maiden attempt
Bangalore: India Wednesday created space history by becoming the first country in the world to enter Mars orbit in its maiden attempt, an event...
Pune to host national robotics contest
By IANS
Pune : Thirty-eight teams from engineering colleges around India are to participate in a contest here March 8-9 where the robots made by them will compete to steal pots of 'butter'.
Aptly called 'Mission Govinda', inspired by Hindu Lord Krishna's childhood stories of stealing butter, the national robotic contest will have teams from all the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and region engineering colleges competing at the event being held at Maharashra Institute of Technology (MIT).
Killer algae is key player in mass extinction
By IANS,
Washington : Super volcanoes and crashing asteroids corner all the horrific glory for mass extinction, but a new theory suggests lowly algae may be the killer behind the world's great species annihilations.
Today, just about anywhere there is water, there can be toxic algae. The microscopic plants usually exist in small concentrations, but a sudden warming in the water or an injection of dust or sediment from land can trigger a bloom that kills thousands of fish, poisons shellfish, or even humans.
Living amid greens doesn’t make you exercise more
By IANS,
London : That nice neighbourhood park is apparently not all that inviting. A new study, in fact, contends that people with more greens around them walk and cycle less often and for shorter periods.
The Dutch study involved 5,000 people and sought answers to questions on physical activity and self-perceived health.
“In this study we investigated whether a green living environment encourages people to undertake physical activity,” said Jolanda Maas, who led the study.
Data from Chinese lunar orbiter available to all
By Xinhua
Shanghai : Scientists and astronomy enthusiasts all over the country all have access to data sent back from China's first lunar orbiter Chang'e-I, a leading scientist in the program said here Sunday.
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.
Campaign to beam first advertisement into space
By IANS
London : A campaign to broadcast the first advertisement into space has just got underway with the University of Leicester (U-L) space scientists playing a key part in the process.
The best 30-second advertisement about how life on earth is perceived, out of the many to be created by the public as part of national competition, will be beamed into the outermost reaches of space, a university release said.
German firms to collaborate with Andhra Pradesh in biotechnology
By IANS
Hyderabad : A high-level German delegation Saturday signed three agreements with the University of Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) for collaboration in the field of biotechnology.
Three Letters of Intents (LoIs) were signed in the presence of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy at his office here.
The LoIs were signed by the University of Hyderabad and BioM Biotech Cluster Development, Technologiepark Heidelberg GmbH and BioTOP Berlin-Brandenburg, Germany.
Indian scientists evolve avalanche prediction system
By Richa Sharma, IANS,
New Delhi : In a boon for armed forces personnel deployed in high-altitude areas, defence scientists have developed a system for forecasting avalanches with maximum accuracy to enable corrective measures to be taken.
The system, developed by researchers of the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE), can predict any given day as an "avalanche day" or "non-avalanche day".
ISRO, NASA tie up for space exploration
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has joined hands with the US's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for space explorations, parliament was informed Wednesday.
Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Prithviraj Chavan said the framework agreement was signed between the two space research organisations for cooperation in the “exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes”.
India’s lunarcraft hunts for ice on moon with NASA orbiter
By IANS,
Bangalore : India's first lunarcraft Chandrayaan-1 Friday conducted a joint experiment with Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) of the US's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to trace presence of ice in a dark crater near the North Pole of the moon, the Indian space agency said.
"The unique bi-static experiment was carried out jointly when Chandrayaan and Orbiter came closer while orbiting over the lunar North Pole where the permanently shadowed crater is located," the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a statement here.
British scientists discover allergy-triggering molecule
By Xinhua
London : British scientists have discovered a molecule that appears to play a key role in triggering allergies.
Researchers from Barts and the London School of Medicine managed to stop allergic attacks in mice by targeting the molecule - P110delta, BBC reported Friday.
The researchers said the method did not interfere with the rest of the body's immune defences, and it may offer the chance to prevent allergies, not just relieve symptoms.
Astronomers whip up recipe for moon concrete
By Xinhua,
Beijing : A team of astronomers have come up with an idea for a kind of lunar concrete that could be used to build structures on the moon such as giant telescopes, solar power arrays and even homes.
Iran to launch three new satellites
By IANS,
Tehran : Iran plans to launch three new domestically-manufactured satellites, Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi has said.
Found: Second smallest planet outside solar system
By IANS,
Washington : Astronomers have detected an extrasolar planet with a mass just four times that of Earth.
The planet, which orbits its parent star HD156668 about once every four days, is the second-smallest world among the more than 400 exoplanets (planets located outside our solar system) that have been found to date.
It is located approximately 80 light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Hercules.
Yahoo unveils new search engine, but can anyone catch Google?
By DPA
San Francisco : Yahoo Inc. has unveiled a new internet search technology in a bid to close the gap on search leader Google, but executives at Yahoo admitted that the best they could hope for was to "chip away" at their rival's lead.
The new Yahoo Search, previously codenamed Panama, was launched Tuesday and introduces features like 'universal search', which automatically includes different content types in search results.
Russia needs $5 bn to complete its space station segment
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Russia will need an additional $5 billion to complete construction of its segment of the International Space Station (ISS) by 2015, the head of Russia's rocket and space corporation Energia said.
The ISS is a joint project of space agencies from the US, Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan. The orbital station is likely to remain operational until 2020.
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.
NASA: hydrothermal vents may prove life on Mars
By Xinhua,
Beijing : Hydrothermal vents similar to those found in America's Yellowstone National Park may have carried water up through the Martian soil, according to data provided by NASA's Spirit rover.
The site of these proposed vents could possibly contain preserved traces of ancient Martian life, scientists say. That assumes, of course, that life might once have existed on Mars. No firm evidence for that idea has ever been found, however.
Indian teen in Finland, bringing Facebook, Twitter closer
By Rahul Dass, IANS,
Helsinki : Want to know from your mobile phone where to hangout in Delhi or eat out in Beijing? Three teens in Finland, including one from India, are giving final touches to a system that integrates social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.
They are part of a team of 30 brainy teens who have come to Finland from 16 countries to take part in the week-long Millennium Youth Camp being held in a forested area, abutting a lake, about an hour's drive from capital Helsinki.
Software piracy drops in India, losses still above $2 bn
By IANS,
Mumbai : Software piracy levels in India dropped by three percent in 2009, but these still remained high at 65 percent of the total software programmes installed on computers in the country, causing losses of around $2 billion to the industry, says a study.
Insulation material named NASA gov’t invention of 2007
By Xinhua,
Washington : The U.S. space agency announced on Tuesday that NASA Government Invention of 2007 is a heat shield material slightly more dense than balsa wood that is designed to protect spacecraft during their fiery re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.
The Lightweight Ceramic Ablator material (LCA) was developed at NASA's Ames Research Center. It is a low-density material that weighs one-fifth as much as conventional heat shields, but can withstand temperatures up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius), according to project engineers.
India to log 236 mn mobile internet users by 2016: Report
New Delhi: India is projected to have 236 million mobile internet users by 2016, with the figure reaching 314 million by 2017, a report...
WHO: 700 deaths from swine flu recorded
By DPA,
Geneva : The World Health Organisation Tuesday said the death toll from swine flu had risen to 700 globally.
By comparison, seasonal flu, the common variety of influenza which normally hits during the winter months, kills about 500,000 people each year.
An official at the WHO headquarters in Geneva said the organisation did not have a death ratio for the virus and was still compiling data.
The disease was first reported to have broken out in mid-April in North America, which remains the hardest-hit region.
Low coastal regions will be flooded by 2100: Scientists
By IANS,
Copenhagen : Even in the best case global warming scenario, low lying countries and coastal regions will be regularly flooded by 2100, when the sea is expected to rise by at least 50 cm.
This implies that if emissions of greenhouse gases is not cut down quickly and substantially, low lying coastal areas will be flooded, hitting 10 percent of the global population really hard. The emissions are leading to climate change.
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...
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.
ISRO preparing for GSAT 4 launch in two months
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Chennai : While the preparations for launch of India's ocean monitoring satellite Oceansat 2 and six other nano satellites Sep 23 is on, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is getting ready for the bigger launch slated in the next two months -- that of the communications satellite GSAT 4.
Toddlers flourish in secure learning environments: Study
By IANS,
Sydney : Infants develop a spirit of inquiry and flourish in secure yet flexible learning environments, fostered by teachers, according to new research findings.
A team led by Massey University Child Care Centre director Faith Martin and colleague Raewyne Bary, and guided by Barbara Jordan and Cushla Scrivens, carried out a study on ties between teachers, children and families.
It questioned the ways in which educational leadership impacted infants' and toddlers' levels of inquiry - their propensity to try new things and ask questions.
NASA scrubs first landing opportunity for shuttle Endeavour
By Xinhua
Washington : NASA has decided to skip Wednesday's first landing opportunity for the space shuttle Endeavour at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida due to bad weather conditions, according to NASA's landing blog updates.
Now NASA was aiming for the second opportunity at Kennedy, which is set at 8:39 p.m. EDT (0039 GMT on Thursday). "The weather conditions for the second opportunity seem to be more favorable," reported NASA's real-time landing blog.
‘Photonic’ switching system to boost broadband speeds 100-fold
By IANS,
Sydney : Scientists have developed a new 'photonic' switching system that will boost broadband speeds up to a 100-fold.
The photonic integrated circuit (PIC) will ensure almost instantaneous, error-free and unlimited access to the Internet anywhere in the world, according to the Centre for Ultra-high Bandwidth Devices for Optical Systems (CUDOS).
Laser tweezers build super-fast computers more easily
By IANS,
Sydney : Building super-fast computers has just become easier, thanks to a breakthrough that lets researchers grab hold of tiny components and probe their inner structure using only a beam of light.
The discovery takes researchers a step closer to utilising semi-conductor nano-wires that will be key components of future integrated devices and circuits.
Preparations begin for lunar mission countdown
By IANS,
Bangalore : Preparations for the countdown to launch India's first unmanned lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 Oct 22 has begun at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, a top space agency official said here Sunday.
"Launch rehearsal exercises are nearing completion. Preparations for the 52-hour countdown Monday from 02:20 a.m. have been initiated despite inclement weather and heavy rain since morning at Sriharikota (about 80km from Chennai) off the Bay of Bengal," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) director S. Satish told IANS.
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.
Century’s longest eclipse sweeps into clouds in Himachal
By IANS,
Shimla : Partly cloudy sky Wednesday morning in most parts of Himachal Pradesh marred the early moments of one of nature's greatest spectaculars - the century's longest total solar eclipse, weather officials here said.
"Clouds in most parts of the hill state remained an intermittent problem, with most areas reporting partly overcast conditions," meteorological office Director Manmohan Singh said.
On the historic Ridge in Shimla, a large number of people, especially schoolchildren, have gathered to witness the eclipse through clouds.
Software tweaks to make undersea robots smarter
By IANS,
Washington : A cutting edge software, developed and tested by naval scientists, can help undersea robots become smarter at surveying large swathes of the ocean.
Morgan unveils zero-emission hydrogen car
By DPA
Malvern (Britain) : The British sports car manufacturer Morgan is to unveil a zero-emission hydrogen car powered by a fuel cell at the Geneva Motor Show.
The LIFECar, based on an initial concept by a specialist company investigating new ideas in environmentally sound transport solutions, comes in a retro-design of the original Morgan two-seater sports car.
Thailand tree apes use song as warning
By DPA
Hamburg : Humans aren't the only "big apes" who use songs to impress one another. German researchers have found that gibbons in Thailand have developed an unusual way of scaring off predators - by singing to them.
Literally singing for survival, the gibbons appear to use the song not just to warn their own group members but those in neighbouring areas.
China’s lunar probe moves closer to final orbit
By Xinhua
Beijing : China's first lunar probe, Chang'e-1, completed its second braking early Tuesday, which further decelerated the satellite to get it closer to its final orbit.
"The second braking was done just as accurately as the first one and the satellite has entered the orbit just as designed," said Zhu Mincai, head of the Beijing Aerospace Control Centre (BACC).
Smart clothes to power portable electronic devices
By IANS,
Washington: Engineers have created energy-scavenging nanofibres that could one day be woven into clothing and textiles.
The nanofibres can convert energy from mechanical stresses into electricity, and could one day be used to create clothing that can power small electronics, says a new study, conducted by University of California, Berkeley (UCB) researchers.
Power station successfully traps CO2 emission
By IANS,
Sydney : In a pilot project that has far-reaching implications, an Australian power station has used a “carbon capturing” plant to trap a bulk of its CO2 emissions.
The “post-combustion-capture (PCC) pilot plant” at the Loy Yang Power Station in Victoria's Latrobe Valley trapped up to 85 percent of its CO2 emissions.
The 10.5 metre-high pilot plant is designed to capture up to 1,000 tonnes of CO2 annually from the power station's exhaust-gas flues. Future trials will involve the use of a range of different CO2-capture liquids.
Japanese bullet train suicide by fire being probed
Tokyo: Japanese police launched an investigation on Wednesday to probe Tuesday's Shinkansen (bullet train) incident when a man set himself on fire, killing himself...
Access to indiscreet Facebook updates a click away
By IANS,
London : Indiscreet updates posted by the users of social networking website Facebook for their small group of friends can now be read by anyone with the help of a new internet search engine.
The search engine Openbook scans all "public" updates left by members of the social networking site, making them available to anyone through internet.
The software has been created to highlight Facebook's complex privacy settings, which have been blamed for confusing users into disclosing personal information more than they intend.
S Korea to change astronaut candidate under request by Russia
By Xinhua
Seoul : South Korean Science Ministry may change the candidate for South Korea's first astronaut under request by Russian evaluators, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported on Monday.
The Russian evaluators wanted to change Ko San, who was selected by South Korean Science Ministry last September as the country's first astronaut candidate, to Yi So-yeon, Yonhap quoted an unnamed official of the ministry as saying.
The official hinted that the Russian side made the request as Ko may have violated training protocol, Yonhap said.
Ahmadinejad inaugurates Iran’s first nuclear fuel plant
By DPA,
Isfahan (Iran): Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Thursday inaugurated the country's first nuclear fuel manufacturing plant (FMP) located near this central Iranian city.
The FMP, reportedly based solely on work by Iranian experts, is to provide the Arak 40-megawatt research reactor with fuel, producing nuclear fuel tablets, rods and assemblies for the plant, which is to be launched within the next two or three years.
Iran says that with the launch of the FMP, it has de-facto mastered the final stage of the nuclear fuel production process.
Do animals think like autistic savants?
By IANS
New York : Animal scientist Temple Grandin's argument that animals and autistic savants share cognitive similarities could spur a better understanding of autism.
Grandin had put forth the idea in her best-selling 2005 book "Animals in Translation", which provides an unprecedented look at the autistic mind, according to an essay in the latest edition of the journal PloS Biology.
Grandin said animals, like autistic humans, sense and respond to stimuli overlooked by 'normal' humans.
Cell phones to protect from lightning
By IANS
Helsinki : Mobile phone giant Nokia has developed a technology by which it claimed cell phones could protect you from lightning strike.
China to Build Solar Power Plants in 2009
By Prensa Latina,
Beijing : Two large solar power plants will be built in the Chinese provinces of Qinghai and Yunnan this year, as part of a nationwide project to boost renewable energy.
Qinghai's solar station will cost 146 million dollars and will be jointly built by China Technology Development Group and Qinghai New Energy Group.
In the beginning, the plant will generate 30 megawatts, but after completion, it will produce one gigawatt and will be the world's largest solar power plant, investors said.
Logica’s Indian subsidiary helps reduce carbon emission
By IANS,
Bangalore : The Indian subsidiary of the London-based Logica plc helped the leading IT services firm reduce carbon emission by 11.3 percent in 18 months, the company said Monday.
"We have achieved 11.3 percent reduction in our carbon footprint in the last 18 months and set a target of reducing it by another 10 percent next year," Logica India chief executive Abhya Gupte said in a statement here.
The reduction enabled the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) to rank the British firm top of the FTSE 350 for IT services in its global 500 report.
Giant fish discovered in the Atlantic
By IANS,
Washington : Researchers have discovered a new species of fish, a grouper that grows to more than six feet and weighs almost 500 kg.
These Atlantic goliaths are not the same groupers that swim in Pacific waters, though they look identical.
"For more than a century, ichthyologists have thought that Pacific and Atlantic goliath grouper were the same species, and the argument was settled before the widespread use of genetic techniques.
Scientists can predict if women are going to break their hip
By IANS
New York : Scientists have listed 11 factors that will help doctors predict if a postmenopausal woman is going to suffer hip fractures over a period of five years.
A hip fracture is a common injury for elderly people. A broken hip can lead to more serious problems, even death. For older women, a hip fracture can mean continuing ill health.
Google has designs on you
By DPA,
San Francisco : Not content with involvement in almost every facet of your online life, online search giant Google now wants to get into your wardrobe.
Dying star coughs out dust cloud`
By IANS,
London : Astronomers on the look out for black holes have stumbled on a star that was fading with a whimper rather than a bang.
Maveric Systems develops automated software test tool
By IANS
Chennai : Targeting a higher share in the $8 billion Indian offshore testing opportunity, Chennai-based independent software testing company Maveric Systems Limited has come out with an automated software testing tool.
Developed at an investment of around $1 million, the proprietary software tool called Testac promises to reduce software testing time by 30 percent, CEO Ranga Reddy told reporters.
According to him, Maveric Systems is the only Indian software testing company to have such a proprietary tool.
Solar powered rickshaws? India and UK set up energy hub
By IANS,
London : Rickshaws powered by solar energy could be your next mode of transport, courtesy of a Commonwealth initiative.
The Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) has set up an incubation hub in partnership with the Indian government to develop cutting edge energy-saving technologies, it announced Tuesday.
The hub, which also involves the Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad, the UK Carbon Trust and British Petroleum's Alternative Energy Group, will work on technologies that will be designed for Indian city and rural living, as well as transport.
How earthquakes happen
New Delhi : Most earthquakes originate from compressional or tensional stresses built up at the margins of the huge moving plates that make up...
New snake species discovered in Tanzania
By IANS,
London : The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has announced the discovery of a spectacularly coloured snake from a remote area of Tanzania in East Africa.
Toy Story 2010: Lower prices, higher tech
By Andy Goldberg, DPA,
Los Angeles : That age old question of what to get a kid who has everything has finally been answered - and the good news is that it only costs $30.
India sets up Rs.10 bn nano-technology mission
By IANS,
New Delhi : India has set up a Rs.10 billion mission to help scientists do research in nano-technology and innovate new products in fields like healthcare, textiles and drug development, an official said Friday.
“We have set up a mission to boost nano-technology in the country. The fund will be utilised over a period of five years,” Science Secretary T. Ramasami said Friday on the sidelines of an event on nano-technology at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
Egypt discovers 2,000-year-old bronze coins
By IANS,
Cairo : Archaeologists have discovered bronze coins dating back to the era of King Ptolemy III Euergetes who ruled Egypt in the 3rd century B.C., a media report said.
An Egyptian archaeological team has found 383 bronze coins in northern Qaroun Lake in Fayoum, 80 km southwest of Cairo, Xinhua reported Thursday citing Egypt's state-run MENA news agency.
Egyptian Culture Minister Farouq Hosni said the bronze coins are in good condition and were unearthed by a team of the Egyptian Supreme Council for Antiquities.
Solar-barbecued chicken a hit in Thailand
By DPA,
Bangkok : Solar energy has found a unique outlet in Thailand with one innovator using the sun's rays to roast chicken at his roadside stall, drawing the attention of Japanese researchers and hungry motorists, news reports said Monday.
With temperatures and fuel prices rising around the globe, Sila Sutharat's solar-seared chicken, sold at a roadside in Phetchaburi town, 90 km southwest of Bangkok, recently attracted a team of Japanese researchers keen to learn his cooking techniques, the Bangkok Post newspaper reported.
Shuttle poised to deliver Japanese lab to space
By SPA,
Cape Canaveral, Fla. : Space shuttle Discovery is poised for launch on Saturday on a mission to add Japan to the growing number of countries operating full-time space research laboratories in orbit.
With clear skies and no technical problems, NASA managers gave the order for technicians to begin pumping more than 500,000 gallons of supercold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the shuttle's fuel tank for the 8 1/2-minute ride into orbit. Liftoff is scheduled for 5:02 p.m. EDT (2102 GMT).
BSNL to offer 3G service in June in Chennai
By IANS,
Chennai : The state-run telecom major Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is setting up the 3G telecom infrastructure here to offer the service by June, a top official said Wednesday.
"We are in the process of installing the 600 base transmitting stations (BTS) for the 3G service. Till now we have installed 25 BTS," M.P. Velusamy, BSNL chief general manager, told reporters here.
Simply put, the 3G service enables the users to see the speaker at the other end and also browse the Internet at high speed.
Researchers develop ‘astro-comb’ to locate earth-like planets
By IANS,
Washington : The ability to detect presence of extrasolar planets orbiting distant stars has got better with researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics creating an "astro-comb" to detect lighter planets, more like the Earth, around distant stars.
In most cases, extrasolar planets can't be seen directly - the glare of the nearby star is too great - but their influence can be discerned through spectroscopy, which analyses the kind of light emanating from the star.
Capital cost for Microsoft: court says pay up
By Kanu Sarda, IANS,
New Delhi : It's a capital cost all right! Delhi High Court has asked Microsoft Corporation to shell out Rs.800,000 ($16,000) for choosing to fight four copyright violation cases in the Indian capital even though they originated in other cities.
The order came after the court found that the alleged violations occurred in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Mumbai.
Mars will not come closer to Earth: UAE astronomers
By IANS,
Abu Dhabi : Astronomers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have rejected reports that the planet Mars would come closer to Earth Aug 27 and look like a second moon.
The Emirates Astronomical Society and the Islamic Moon Observatory Project described the reports carried by some prominent Arabic newspapers as "bad astronomy", the official Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.
Several e-mails have also been circulating that Mars will be the brightest in the night sky Aug 27 and will look as large as a full moon, creating a rare opportunity to see two moons in the sky.
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 co-founder books space flight in 2011
By Xinhua,
Beijing : Google co-founder Sergey Brin has put down a 5 million U.S. dollar deposit to book a flight into space with the space tourism company Space Adventures.
The company announced Wednesday that Brin will be the founding member of its Orbital Mission Explorers Circle, a group of six individuals who will each make a 5 million dollar down payment to book a seat on a future orbital space flight.
"We believe 99 percent of people want to experience space," Eric Anderson, the head of the Virginia-based company, told a press conference in New York.
Scientists isolate genes that imbue us with uniquely human traits
By IANS,
Washington : Humans and chimpanzees are genetically very similar yet clearly distinct in many ways. Scientists have isolated genes that evolved in humans after branching off from other primates, making us uniquely human.
The prevailing wisdom in molecular evolution was that new genes could only evolve from duplicated or rearranged versions of pre-existing genes. It seemed highly unlikely that evolution could produce a functional protein-coding gene from what was once inactive DNA.
Spacesuit trouble shortens spacewalk
By DPA,
Washington : Problems with a spacesuit has caused NASA to cut short a spacewalk outside the International Space Station.
Problems with a system that removes carbon dioxide from the air in astronaut Chris Cassidy's spacesuit caused mission control to end the spacewalk at 2031 GMT Wednesday after five hours and 59 minutes. Carbon dioxide levels were beginning to rise in his suit, but he was not in any imminent danger, NASA said. The spacewalk was to have lasted about six and a half hours.
New internet security system no longer secure
By IANS,
London : Researchers have cracked the so-called McEliece encryption system, to potentially secure Internet traffic during the age of quantum computing in future.
The attack succeeded last month by means of a large number of linked computers throughout the world, informed Eindhoven University of Technology (EUT) Netherlands professor Tanja Lange.
Unique, magnetic death star fossil discovered
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists have discovered microscopic, magnetic fossils resembling spears and spindles, among sediment layers deposited during an ancient global-warming event along the Atlantic coastal plain.
The researchers were led by geobiologists from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and McGill University.
Fifty-five million years ago, earth warmed by more than nine degrees Fahrenheit after huge amounts of carbon entered the atmosphere over a period of just a few thousand years.
190 mn-year-old dinosaur fossils found in Argentina
By IANS/EFE,
Buenos Aires : A species of dinosaur that lived 190 million years ago has been found in Argentina, a researcher said.
"No discoveries with these characteristics had ever been made in the region. It's an important discovery because it helps us understand the environmental diversity of the period," researcher Santiago Bessone of the Museum Egidio Feruglio, an institution based in the Argentine Patagonian city of Trelew that was responsible for the expedition, told EFE.
NASA declares Phoenix Mars lander dead
By DPA,
Washington : After months of dust storms and severe cold, NASA's Phoenix Mars lander has been declared dead by mission scientists, who celebrated the probe's success as the first to touch ice on the red planet.
Mission managers said Monday that Phoenix had lasted long after its planned 90 days, and they celebrated the success of the spacecraft.
"It's really an Irish wake and not a funeral," said Peter Smith, Phoenix mission principal investigator at the University of Arizona in Tucson, in a teleconference call with reporters.
India launching rockets to study solar eclipse effects
By IANS,
Bangalore : The Indian space agency is launching five rockets Friday to study the effects of the millennium's longest annular solar eclipse in the southern part of the country, an official said.
"Five rockets are being launched Friday between 1 and 3 p.m. to investigate the effects of the solar eclipse in the lower and middle levels of the atmosphere," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) project director P. Ratnakar Rao told IANS from Thiruvananthapuram Friday.
Solar-powered plants promise water for world’s poorest
By Ernest Gill, DPA
Hamburg (Germany) : A team of German scientists has come up with a revolutionary design for a small solar-powered mobile water treatment plant which could bring hope to drought-affected areas of the world.
The researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) in Freiburg said they have been carrying out tests on their small, decentralised water treatment plants with an autonomous power supply in recent weeks and that they hope they will move into production in the coming months.
Chinese institute award for Indian at Microsoft
By IANS
Bangalore : Smart Indian techie S. Somasegar, an employee of Microsoft India in Hyderabad, has been honoured with the Asian American Engineer Award, instituted by the US-based Chinese Institute of Engineers (CIE), the global software major said here Tuesday.
According to a company statement, the award recognises Somasegar's contribution to science and engineering.
As senior vice-president (developer division) of Microsoft Corporation and head of its India development centre, Somasegar is responsible for developer-related languages, tools and platforms.
US scientists create HIV-resistant cells
By IANS,
Los Angeles: American scientists have created HIV-resistant cells that could one day pave the way for controlling the virus without using harsh anti-retroviral drugs.
Scientists at the Keck School of Medicine, at the University of Southern California, used mice to test the cells that target one of the two "gateway" molecules that the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) uses to enter human cells, Meghan Lewit, spokeswoman for the team of researchers, said.
Russia sends cargo spaceship to ISS
By Xinhua,
Moscow : A Russian spaceship, carrying tonnes of food, water and fuel was on its way to the International Space Station (ISS) Wednesday, Itar-Tass news agency reported.
The Progress M-65 spaceship took off from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan at 11.50 p.m. (1950 GMT) Wednesday, the report said.
The unmanned spaceship will deliver two tonnes of food, water, fuel and equipment, to the ISS.
The spaceship is to dock at the ISS Sep 13, the report said.
The ISS's orbit was adjusted Aug 13 to prepare for the docking of the cargo module.
How hot was earth 50 million years ago?
By IANS,
Washington : A much clearer picture of the Earth's temperature nearly 50 million years ago, when Carbon Dioxide (CO2) concentrations were higher than current levels, has emerged.
Soon, solar rickshaws for Delhi’s Chandni Chowk
By IANS,
New Delhi : Come Gandhi Jayanti (Oct 2), solar rickshaws will replace man-pulled pedicabs in the Chandni Chowk area of old Delhi.
Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal, who also represents the constituency in parliament, Friday advised Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to introduce these green vehicles from Oct 2.
The rickshaw would weigh 210 kg and would be able to run at a speed of 15 to 20 km per hour.
It would be run by a solar battery, which would suffice for a journey of 70 km.
Launch of Mars lander delayed
By DPA
Washington : The planned launch of the Phoenix Mars lander has been pushed back, according to NASA.
Phoenix is now scheduled to be fired into space from Florida's Kennedy Space Centre aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket Saturday at either 5.26.34 a.m. or 6.02.59 a.m.
Poor weather at the space centre kept NASA from fuelling the rocket Tuesday afternoon and led to the decision to delay the launch.
Washington : The planned launch of the Phoenix Mars lander has been pushed back, according to NASA.
Phoenix is now scheduled to be fired into space from Florida's Kennedy Space Centre aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket Saturday at either 5.26.34 a.m. or 6.02.59 a.m.
Poor weather at the space centre kept NASA from fuelling the rocket Tuesday afternoon and led to the decision to delay the launch.
Indian-American researchers develop system to ease e-mail overload
By IANS,
Washington : Indian-American researchers are taking the help of a computer model called SIMONE to ease e-mail overload in busy organisations and companies.
Ashish Gupta and Ramesh Sharda of Minnesota and Oklahoma State Universities, respectively, described how SIMONE (Simulator for Interruptions and Message Overload in Network Environments) can produce a model of how e-mail flows within a network of knowledge workers.
India: with newer tech, language users log on to Internet
By NNN-PTI,
New Delhi : Not familiar with English but still keen to access the Internet and communicate through the medium?
Not a problem, thanks to localisation of the online medium one can access favourite content-related features in various regional languages.
Corporates are now bending over backward to tap the huge regional language section of the online medium with a host of keyboards and software applications designed to cater to the needs of regional language users.
Brain imaging shows cell phone use affects driving
By IANS
New York : Using a mobile phone while driving could be as dangerous as being under the influence of alcohol, according to a new study.
In fact, the study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that drivers under the influence of alcohol and those speaking on cell phones tend to commit the same errors.
Using brain imaging, the study has documented how mobile phone use alone reduces 37 percent of brain activity engaged in driving. For instance, drivers using a simulator while on the phone were found to zigzag out of their lanes.
Scientists unearth wound-healing genes
By IANS,
Sydney : Scientists have closed in on 68 regions of the genome, tied to blood platelet formation, potentially opening the way to better diagnosis of bleeding disorders.
World’s oldest submerged town dates back 5,000 years
By IANS,
London : Archaeologists surveying the world's oldest submerged town have found ceramics dating back to the end of the Neolithic era.
Their discovery suggests that Pavlopetri, off the southern Laconia coast of Greece, was occupied some 5,000 years ago - at least 1,200 years earlier than originally thought.
These remarkable findings have been made public by the Greek government after the start of a five-year collaborative project involving the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and The University of Nottingham.
Stretchable silicon camera a step closer to artificial retina
By IANS,
Washington : The human eye has inspired a new technology that is likely to push the limits of photography by producing vastly better images over a wider field of view.
The remarkable imaging device has been made possible by combining stretchable optoelectronics and biologically inspired design like the layout of the eye.
University of Illinois and Northwestern University researchers have developed a high-performance, hemispherical "eye" camera using an array of single-crystalline silicon detectors and electronics, configured in a stretchable, interconnected mesh.
‘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.
GIS system to track Maoists in Jharkhand
By IANS
Ranchi : The Jharkhand police plans to set up a Geographical Information System (GIS) centre to track the movement of Maoists in the state.
The state police would seek the help of the Jharkhand Space Application Centre (JSAC) to get a detailed report of the topography of the state. "We will set up a GIS centre which will help officials to crack down on criminals and Maoist rebels," a senior police official told IANS.
Satellite collision debris no threat to ISS: Russian space agency
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The debris from the collision Tuesday involving two communications satellites poses no threat to the International Space Station (ISS), a spokesman for Russia's space agency Roscosmos said Thursday.
Alexander Vorobyov said that while Roscosmos could not confirm the origin of the satellites, the risk to the ISS and its crew was minimal.
"There are no registered losses in the Roscosmos satellite grouping," Vorobyov added.
China to launch second Olympic weather forecasting satellite on May 27
By Xinhua,
Beijing : China will launch a second Olympic weather forecasting satellite, the Fengyun-3 (FY-3), on May 27, said the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) on Friday.
The new satellite will provide accurate and timely information about weather changes to facilitate more precise weather forecasts during the Beijing Olympic Games set to open on Aug. 8, said a CMA official.
The official added that the new satellite, with a bigger payload, would provide medium-range weather forecasts up to 10 to 15 days.
Russia doubts defunct US satellite may have nuclear material
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Russia is suspecting the US spy satellite that has gone out of control may have nuclear material onboard and is closely monitoring its movement in orbit, a top defence ministry official has said.
"Russian military experts suggest the satellite could have an onboard nuclear power source," said Igor Barinov, first deputy chairperson of the State Duma (parliament) defence committee.
China: spacewalk on course for October
By NNN-Xinhua
Beijing : China is planning to conduct its first spacewalk in October from a Shenzhou VII spacecraft, senior space engineers said.
They also said a research team had been set up to conduct a feasibility study for a space station.
Wang Yongzhi, former chief designer of China's Manned Space Program, said the launch date had originally been scheduled for after the Olympics (Aug 8 to 24) and Paralympics (Sept 6 to 17).
Prehistoric rhinos roamed in Mexico, say scientists
By EFE,
Mexico City : The rhinoceros fossils kept in a museum in western Mexico belonged to an ancient rhino species called Teleoceras hicksi that lived more than four million years ago, scientists have said.
The fossils were found in the Jalisco state in the 1960s and preserved at the Regional Paleontology Museum in the state capital Guadalajara.
"When we learned that nobody had studied the fossils, we took the initiative and today we're describing for the first time a species that had been identified only in the US, lead researcher Ruben Guzman Gutierrez told EFE Thursday.
Indian-American scientist hopeful CO2 emissions can be reined in
By IANS,
Washington : The burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas accounts for 80 percent of the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide since pre-industrial era.
But an Indian-American researcher has identified feasible scenarios that could rein in carbon dioxide emission below levels considered dangerous for the climate.
Pushker Kharecha and James Hansen of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, considered a wide range of fossil fuel consumption options.
Science congress to draw road map for technology challenges
By Fakir Balaji, IANS,
Thiruvananthapauram : India's premier science congress beginning here Sunday will draw a road map to address the technological challenges and the direction in which the country should move to find innovative solutions to its myriad problems.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will set the agenda for the scientific community in his inaugural address and the tone of proceedings during the 97th edition of the Indian Science Congress (ISC 2010) at the sprawling Kerala University campus over the next five days.
Study confirms Darwinian idea of speciation
By IANS
New York : In the first experiment of its kind conducted in nature, a biologist has come up with strong evidence for one of Charles Darwin's cornerstone ideas - adaptation to the environment accelerates the creation of new species.
After studying walking-stick insects in southern California, University of British Columbia evolutionary biologist Patrik Nosil concluded that "the more ways a population can adapt to its unique surroundings, more likely it will ultimately diverge into a separate species".
Making e-greetings on mobiles livelier
By Jatindra Dash, IANS
Bhubaneswar : Thanks to a young web developer in Orissa, one can now send and receive animated as well as customised e-greetings on GPRS-enabled mobile phones and PCs with Internet connections.
The software application MobileWish, developed by Samir K. Dash of Rourkela city, 450 km from here, has proved to be quite a hit, with its latest version launched just last month.
The software can be downloaded from the website www.mobilewish.com. Dash already claims to have over 2,000 users - most of them from Europe and the US.
Milkweed plant evolves new defences to outwit caterpillars
By IANS,
Washington : Some plants are discarding elaborate defences against predatory caterpillars and evolving more favourable stratagems to ensure survival, according to a study.
The latest example is the milkweed plant, which, according to genetic analysis, instead of resisting predators, is now putting greater efforts into repairing themselves faster than their foe monarch butterfly caterpillar can eat them.
NASA scientists isolate clues to the secret of life
By IANS,
Washington : NASA scientists analysing meteorite dust have discovered new clues to a long-standing mystery about how life works on its most basic, molecular level.
"We found more support for the idea that biological molecules, like amino acids, created in space and brought to earth by meteorite impacts help explain why life is left-handed," said Daniel Glavin of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt.
"By that I mean why all known life uses only left-handed versions of amino acids to build proteins," added Glavin, who co-authored the study.
Giant observatory comes up 8,000 feet beneath Antarctic
By IANS,
London : The world's strangest observatory, as big as a cubic kilometre, has come up 8,000 feet beneath the Antarctic ice at the South Pole.
Scientists watch evolution unfold in a bottle
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists now have physical proof of how species evolve and the fittest survive, after a 21-year study in which they documented the evolution of single-celled E. coli bacteria over 40,000 generations.
Richard Lenski, Hannah professor of microbial ecology at Michigan State University (MSU), said: "It's extra nice now to be able to show precisely how selection has changed the genomes of these bacteria, step by step over tens of thousands of generations."
Tiny bubbles help bugs survive underwater
By IANS,
Washington : Hundreds of insects remain underwater. But how do they manage to breathe? A University of Alberta has found they create tiny air bubbles around them.
The rough, waxy surfaces of insects and spiders are water-repellent. In some species, water-repellence is so pronounced that creatures may survive underwater for indefinite periods.
Giant ocean found on Saturn’s moon
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow: Around 100 km beneath the rocky crust on Saturn's largest moon Titan is an ocean of water spanning the entirety of the celestial body, scientists said.
Supercomputer helps design drugs faster
By IANS
Sydney : A supercomputer is helping speed up the design of new drugs manifold, doing away with cumbersome, time-consuming procedures.
The results are as accurate as those obtained from the lab, saving time and resources, besides calculating the desired 'redox' potential of drugs much faster than existing methods.
The 'redox' potential is the ability of drug molecules to exchange electrons, which determine how powerfully they can act on the body, said researcher Mansoor Namazian of Australian National University (ANU).
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...
Cranes Software acquires US-based firm
By IANS
Pune : Bangalore-based Cranes Software International Ltd (CSIL) has acquired US-based Engineering Technology Associates (ETA), a company specialising in computer-aided engineering products for the automotive industry.
Announcing the acquisition through a press release, Asif Khader, managing director, CSIL, said: "The acquisition gives Cranes access to lucrative Asian markets and thereby expands our operations of the Chinese design centre by forming alliances with leading Asian car manufacturers for end-to-end design and development specifications."
World’s first wooden sports car unveiled
By Xinhua
Beijing : A U.S. design company has created the world's first wooden supercar, which would put both Porsche and Lamborghini in the shade with a staggering top speed of 240 mph, media reported Thursday.
The 4.6 meter-long, two-seater "Splinter" car, made from maple, plywood and MDF, has a 4.6 liter V8 petrol engine and a six-speed gearbox.
Beijing : A U.S. design company has created the world's first wooden supercar, which would put both Porsche and Lamborghini in the shade with a staggering top speed of 240 mph, media reported Thursday.
The 4.6 meter-long, two-seater "Splinter" car, made from maple, plywood and MDF, has a 4.6 liter V8 petrol engine and a six-speed gearbox.
Russia to launch US satellite
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : A Russian rocket is set for a seaborne launch Sunday to put a US telecom satellite into orbit, a spokesman for the Sea Launch company said.
Russia’s Glonass satellite system to be fully operational in 2010
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia's Glonass satellite system is expected to become fully operational in 2010, if it receives sufficient financing, the head of the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) said on Saturday.
Glonass (Global Navigation Satellite System) is the Russian equivalent of the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), which is designed for both military and civilian use, and allows users to identify their positions in real time.
ISRO short of 230 scientists
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is short of 230 scientists and engineers, the Lok Sabha was told Wednesday.
India’s e-vault to store documents on cloud draws crowds
By Sharon Thambala
Bengaluru : A key part of the "Digital India" initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the free government scheme that...
Jupiter possibly hit by object, NASA says
By DPA,
Washington : Jupiter appears to have again been hit by a speeding celestial object that left a giant dark scar in the giant gaseous planet's atmosphere, NASA astronomers said.
The US space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory received a tip early Monday from Australian amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley who had spied the spot near the planet's south pole. Scientists then pointed NASA's infrared telescope in Hawaii at the planet and detected signs - including particles in the upper atmosphere and a warming of the lower atmosphere - that it may have been struck by a comet.
Insects might help make cheaper biofuels
By IANS,
Washington : The help of insects might be required to make a biofuel like bioethanol commercially viable, according to an entomologist.
Michael Scharf, entomologist at the University of Florida, Gainesville and his colleague Aurélien Tartar informed how enzymes produced by both termites and the micro-organisms that inhabit their gut - known as symbionts - could help to produce ethanol from non-edible plant material such as straw and wood.
Simplicity will drive IT growth: Michael Dell
By IANS
New Delhi : Simplicity will drive the growth of global industry by enabling cost reductions and creation of new systems, Dell chairman and CEO Michael Dell maintained Tuesday.
Infosys chief S. Gopalakrishnan couldn't agree with him more while participating in a session on "Innovation and Disruption: The CEO View" at the Fortune Global Forum here Tuesday.
Dell said: "With legacy costs and inflexibility built into the system, we now need to simplify to reduce costs and to create new systems.
World’s smallest silicon sensor to monitor environs
By IANS,
London : Researchers are fabricating the world's smallest silicon sensor that will be extremely powerful and yet consume very little power.
The sensor, with applications in bio-sensing and ecological monitoring, is being developed by researchers at the University of Southampton.
“Power consumption is a big issue at the moment as devices use current whether they are switched off and on,” said Hiroshi Mizuta, project head.
Scientists develop tiny sensor to sniff out toxins
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists have developed a stamp-sized sensor that can sniff out some poisonous gases and toxins and can show results simply by changing colour.
The sensor could be useful in detecting high exposures to toxic industrial chemicals that pose serious health risks at the workplace.
While physicists have radiation badges to protect them in the workplace, chemists and workers who handle chemicals do not have equivalent devices to monitor their exposure to potentially toxic chemicals.