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.
Earth-like planets found raising hopes of extraterrestial life
By Xinhua
Beijing : Scientists have found some earth-like panets that orbit many sun-like stars in our galaxy, increasing hopes of finding extraterrestial life on some of them, media reported Monday.
University of Arizona astronomer Michael Meyer, working with NASA's Spitzer space telescope, said his research shows that between 20 percent and 60 percent of stars similar to our sun have conditions favorable for forming rocky planets like Earth.
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.
India’s moon impact probe to hit lunar surface Friday
By IANS,
Chennai : The moon impact probe (MIP) abroad India's first lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 is expected to hit the lunar surface Friday evening, said a top official of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
"Ninety-five percent of the moon mission is over successfully. I am not in a position to say when the MIP will land on the moon," ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar here Thursday.
According to him the unmanned Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft will map the moon to get an idea about the minerals present there.
Drones to monitor ‘Alvida Namaaz’ in UP
Lucknow : In Lucknow 'Alvida Namaaz' at major Uttar Pradesh mosques on Friday will be closely watched with the help of drones and CCTV...
Space network for India’s lunar mission set up
By IANS
Bangalore : The Indian space agency has put up a deep space network (DSN) near here with a 32-metre dish antenna for its first lunar exploration mission Chandrayaan-1 due in April next year.
"The DSN will provide tracking and command support for our unmanned moon mission, scheduled for launch in mid-April from the Satish Dhawan space centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, using the indigenous polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV)," a top space agency official said here Saturday.
New force-field to make Mars space trip possible
By IANS,
London : 'Space weather', comprising solar radiation and cosmic rays, poses the single biggest hurdle to man's trip to Mars.
However, latest research shows how advances in fusion research may reduce the threat to acceptable levels, making man's first Mars mission a much greater possibility.
Solar energetic particles, although part of 'cosmic rays' spectrum, are causing the greatest concern because they are the most likely to cause deadly radiation damage to astronauts.
European space truck docks at space station
By DPA
Bremen (Germany) : In a first docking by a European spacecraft in orbit, an expendable "space truck", named the "Jules Verne", nosed up to International Space Station (ISS) Thursday and attached itself automatically.
A live telecast, watched with bated breath by the craft's assemblers in Bremen, Germany, showed how computers guided the arriving craft smoothly throughout the slow manoeuvre, succeeding on its first attempt.
Study shows comet much more like asteroid
By Xinhua
Beijing : A chemical analysis of samples of rock dust retrieved from a comet showed that the comet is much more like an asteroid than scientists had expected, media reported Monday.
A lot of the material detected in a comet called Wild 2 was formed very close to the sun in the early solar system and was somehow later transported to the outer solar system.
Beijing : A chemical analysis of samples of rock dust retrieved from a comet showed that the comet is much more like an asteroid than scientists had expected, media reported Monday.
A lot of the material detected in a comet called Wild 2 was formed very close to the sun in the early solar system and was somehow later transported to the outer solar system.
Seaweed could help meet energy needs: Study
By IANS,
Washington : The humble seaweed holds the potential of not only countering climate change but also providing bio-fuels to tackle the growing energy crisis, according to a new study.
The large-scale cultivation of biofuels on land has serious environmental costs, including deforestation, water use and greenhouse gases - these are costs avoided by seaweed cultivation, reports Scidev.Net.
India acquires capability to fire missiles from under water
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the country's premier military research organisation, Monday said it had successfully acquired the technology to launch missiles from the ocean depths, becoming the world's fifth country to do so.
The acknowledgement came when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave away the performance excellence award 2007 to A.K Chakrabarti, under whose leadership a team of 86 scientists achieved the success under this project called K-15.
Solved: 100-year-old aerodynamic problem
By IANS,
Washington : As a car accelerates up and down the hill then slows down to follow a hairpin bend, the airflow around it cannot keep up and detaches from the vehicle. This aerodynamic separation creates a drag that slows the car and forces the engine to work harder, using more fuel.
The same phenomenon affects airplanes, boats, submarines, even your golf ball.
Brussels confirms anti-trust complaints about Google
By DPA,
Brussels : The European Union's executive Wednesday confirmed that it had received three anti-trust complaints about internet search engine Google, and that it had asked the company to comment on the allegations.
The European Commission is charged with enforcing the EU's strict laws on fair competition. In recent years it has imposed billion-dollar fines on industry giants such as Microsoft and Intel for breaching those laws.
China counting down to launch of its first lunar probe
By Xinhua
Xichang, Sichuan : Chinese press and thousands of tourists have gathered at China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern Sichuan Province to witness the launch of the nation's first moon orbiter, which is scheduled to take place at 6:05 p.m. on Wednesday.
BMW to unveil its hydrogen-fuelled car in Singapore
By DPA
Singapore : Automobile behemoth BMW is ready to introduce its hydrogen-fuelled 7 Series limousine in Singapore but it won't be for sale, the company said Wednesday.
The car, called Hydrogen 7, will be part of a BMW Clean Energy Exhibition to be held in the city-state next month.
Representing 20 years of research and development, the Munich-based carmaker has developed the first emission-free liquid hydrogen-powered luxury saloon suitable for everyday use, according to BMW.
Vodafone M-Pesa joins hands with Walmart India
New Delhi: Vodafone India has entered into a strategic tie-up with Walmart India that will enable its business members of six Best Price Modern...
Missing link between ancient, modern crocodiles found
By IANS
Rio de Janeiro : Brazilian paleontologists have found an 85-million-year-old fossil they say is of a creature that represents the evolutionary missing link between ancient crocodiles and the present species, Spain's news agency EFE reported.
The 80-percent-complete skeleton of the new species, dubbed Montealtosuchus arrudacamposi, was found at Monte Alto in Brazil's southeastern Sao Paulo state.
A team from the Museum of Paleontology and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro carried out an evaluation of the fossil.
Zen Mobile launches Sonic 1 exclusively on eBay India
New Delhi : Zen Mobiles on Wednesday launched a new smartphone named Sonic 1 at a price of Rs.5,999 exclusively on eBay India.
The new...
IIT alumni’s party wants to be agent of change
By Richa Sharma, IANS,
New Delhi : They gave up plush jobs to jump into politics two years ago - something not too many Indian professionals do. The party that 20 alumni of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) floated has now fielded two candidates in the Nov 29 Delhi assembly polls.
After all, both techies and politicians are harbingers of change, say the founder members of Bharat Punarnirman Dal, or India Rejuvenation Force.
Our oceans home to 750,000 undiscovered species
By IANS,
London : The oceans are bustling with far greater diversity of life than previously thought, says the first Census of Marine Life -- 10 years in the making.
Delhi to use new technology to check vehicle pollution
By IANS,
New Delhi: In a bid to control pollution, the Delhi government's transport department has decided to use a new technology by which the pollution level of all types of vehicles can be measured even when these are on the move.
"Our government is committed to develop pollution-free transport system in Delhi. Remote sensing technology is a world class technology which measures pollution from all type of vehicles like petrol, diesel, CNG & LPG with 100 percent accuracy through ultra-violet and ultra-sonic rays," said Transport Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely.
Tweaking Vista – a bit more challenging than before
By DPA
Washington : It's difficult to call a new operating system your own until you've customised it to your liking.
Making small changes in how an operating system looks and works is commonly referred to as "tweaking", and tweaking Windows Vista can be a bit more challenging than with previous versions of Windows.
In part, that's because the way you customise Vista has changed a lot - and some of the tools that you might have used to tweak Vista's predecessors aren't supported under the new operating system.
New technique to identify murder victims through hair
By Xinhua
Los Angeles : US researchers have developed a new technique to identify murder victims and criminals through human hair, according to a new study.
By using this technique, scientists can determine where a person has lived based on the varied chemicals in drinking water across the country - variations that show up in hair, the study said.
The findings were published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week.
Total solar eclipse begins in India
By IANS,
New Delhi : As dawn broke Wednesday, the century's longest total solar eclipse began with thousands of sky gazers craning their neck skywards to catch the glimpse of the rare celestial spectacle.
The sun rose eclipsed Wednesday morning at 5:28 a.m. at a local sunrise point in the Arabian Sea close to the western coast of India near Surat in Gujarat.
Thousands of people, children and adults, thronged the sky watching sites across the country with their solar goggles to watch the eclipse.
Can’t say ‘no’? Crime may attract you
By IANS,
Sydney : Criminals often can't say no. That's the conclusion of an in-depth study that seeks the link between self-control and crime.
The study, which integrates theories from criminology and psychology, compared the level of self-control, motivation and criminal intentions between students and prison inmates, ScienceAlert reported Monday.
Mei Williams, who conducted the study, said the little-understood relationship between self-control and criminal activity could suggest possibilities for the treatment and prevention of criminal behaviour.
Puerto Rican to prepare menu for manned mission to Mars
By IANS/EFE,
Orlando (Florida) : A Puerto Rican scientist will be in charge of creating the menu for the first manned mission to Mars.
Australian-Indian behind computers that can read human emotion
By Neena Bhandari, IANS,
Sydney : An Australian-Indian is part of a consortium of scientists who are developing and licensing information and communication technologies (ICTs) that can interact with humans in an emotionally intelligent manner.
Some of the top minds working in corporate and university research laboratories in Australia, India, Japan and Singapore have developed emotionally intelligent computers - which their new company, Human Mind Innovations (HMI) Pty Ltd, will license and put to commercial use.
NASA to launch Mars rover in November
By IANS,
Washington : NASA will launch its car-sized Mars rover named Curiosity later this month.
Robot pinpoints best locations for seafloor lab
By IANS,
Washington : Sentry, an unmanned submersible, operating on its own in harsh environments, has helped scientists pinpoint and finalise the best locations for two sites of a proposed pioneering seafloor lab.
Successful site selection is a vital step in developing an extensive sensor network above and below the seafloor on the Juan de Fuca Plate, according to John Delaney, University of Washington oceanographer and chief scientist for a two-week mapping expedition.
Bharti Airtel now third-largest mobile operator globally
New Delhi: Bharti Airtel on Tuesday said it has become the third-largest mobile operator in the world in terms of subscribers.
As per the latest...
India aspires to launch manned spacecraft to the moon by 2015
By KUNA,
New Delhi : India is working to send a manned spacecraft to the moon to orbit the planet by 2015 after the successful launching of the first unmanned spacecraft on Wednesday.
A statement in this respect was made by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) chairman G. Madhavan Nair after losing sight of Chandrayaan-1, the first unmanned spaceship as part of the organization aspirations to send national Indian astronauts to orbit the moon by the year 2015.
Weather a concern as Atlantis countdown continues
By DPA
Washington : The weather is a concern for the US space agency NASA as the countdown for the delayed launch of the Atlantis space shuttle for an 11-day mission continues.
Weather forecasts gave a 30 percent chance of "acceptable conditions" at the scheduled 2.45 p.m. (1945 GMT) Thursday launch time from Cape Canaveral, Florida with the possibility of storms and clouds, NASA said.
The launch could also take place Friday, when there is a 60 percent chance of acceptable conditions, or Saturday, with a 70 percent chance of good weather.
India plans 70 space missions
By NNN-Xinhua
New Delhi : India plans to undertake 70 space missions in five years, a nearly three-fold jump from the previous half-decade, to address requirements and develop new technologies for future needs, according to the NDTV station.
"We have proposed something like 70 missions totally compared to about 26 missions in the tenth plan period," Chairman of Indian Space Research Organization G Madhavan Nair said.
Virus of infidelity infects 76 percent of relationships: Study
By IANS,
Washington : Infidelity is widespread with people tending to cheat on their partners very often, which may be as high as 40 to 76 percent, according to a study.
The probability of someone cheating... (is) very high," said Geneviève Beaulieu-Pelletier, doctoral student at the Université de Montréal's Department of Psychology.
EU fines Microsoft record 899 million Euro for charging rivals too much
By SPA
Brussels : The European Union is fining Microsoft Corp. ¤899 million (US$1.3 billion) for charging
rivals too much for software information. EU regulators say the company charged unreasonable prices to software developers who wanted to make products compatible with the Windows operating system. The fine is the largest ever for a single company and the first time the EU has penalized a business for failing to obey an antitrust order, AP reported
ISRO emergency alert system for east coast fishermen
By IANS
Chennai : Fishermen in Bay of Bengal now have help on hand in case of any crisis as the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Tuesday handed over emergency alert transmitters to the fishing community along the Tamil Nadu coast.
At a function held at the Coast Guard premises here, State Fisheries Minister K.P.P. Samy handed over five transmitters, each costing about Rs.10,000, free of cost to fishermen.
Russian cargo spacecraft to undock from ISS
By RIA Novasti
Moscow : Russia's Progress M-61 cargo spacecraft is to be detached from the International Space Station (ISS) on December 22 and used as a platform for technical experiments, mission control said on Thursday.
"Progress-M61 is to be undocked from the ISS on December 22. However, the spacecraft, which is at the end of its service life, will not be buried at the 'spacecraft cemetery' in the Pacific, but will be sent on an independent voyage," a spokesman said.
Holiday cleaning can boost speed of PCs
By DPA
Hamburg : Most people have a little free time between Christmas and New Year. If you take 15 minutes to clean up your PC, you will probably be rewarded with a computer that runs faster and has space available for any new games you might find under the Christmas tree this year.
Checking your computer's pre-installed software is a good starting point when looking for ways to free up hard drive space. Many computers come with redundant versions of programmes - for example, several different photo processing programmes even though most computer users use only one.
Indian scientist elected entomology’s world forum chief
By IANS,
Hyderabad : A scientist from the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hari C. Sharma, has become the first Asian to be elected president of the 102-year-old International Congress of Entomology (ICE).
Sharma, principal scientist, entomology, was elected at the 23rd International Congress of Entomology, held July 6-12 at Durban, South Africa.
He is the first Asian to be elected the ICE chief in its 102-year history.
Tackling global warming tougher than thought earlier: study
By IANS
Washington : Reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions that are leading to climate change is going to be a lot more challenging than society has been led to believe, according to a new study.
The challenges of reducing emissions of carbon dioxide - the main greenhouse gas - have been significantly underestimated by the UN appointed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the study has contended.
It says the IPCC is overly optimistic in assuming that new technologies will result in dramatic reductions in the growth of future emissions.
Robots to race for the cookie jar in Pune contest
By IANS
Pune : The traditional Indian version of the cookie jar race is baby Krishna atop a human pyramid, reaching out to a pot of butter. It is enacted every year. This year, robots are going to do it, and they will be in a race.
The national robotic contest "Mission Govinda" to be held in Pune this weekend (March 8-9) will see 38 teams from all over the country including the IITs and regional and private engineering colleges compete in this one-of-a-kind contest at the Maharashtra Institute of Technology. Govinda is another name for Krishna.
Google launches ‘Instant’ service
By IANS,
London : Google search is now faster than before as the company has launched a live-updating service that will save surfers 2-5 seconds of online search time.
Sun goggles sell like hot cakes in Taregna
By IANS,
Taregna (Bihar) : In the last three days specially designed sun goggles sold like hot cakes in Taregna village near the state capital, where the solar eclipse Wednesday will be best viewed.
"Thousands of the specially designed sun goggles were sold in Taregna area ahead of the total solar eclipse," an official of the Indian Red Cross Society at Masaurih said Tuesday.
Khushboo Mirza, member of Chandrayaan-1 team, talks to TCN
By Md. Ali, TwoCircles.net,
Patna: When the whole India was basking in the glory of launching of Chandrayaan-1 it was also the turn of Chaugori Mohalla, a tiny, traditional Muslim neighborhood in UP's Amroha district to take pride in the successful launching of the satellite. A daughter of the village was part of the mission Chandrayaan.
The villagers are very proud of her so much so that they have started calling it Khushboo Mirza’s village.
Software may help diagnose cardiac infections
By IANS,
Washington : New research suggests that "teachable software", designed to mimic the human brain, may help diagnose cardiac infections in a non-invasive manner.
Endocarditis -- an infection involving the valves and sometimes chambers of the heart -- can be a problem in patients with implants. It is a serious condition and can be deadly.
The mortality rate can be as high as one in five, even with aggressive treatment and removal of the device. With additional complications, the mortality can shoot up to over 60 percent -- or more than one in two.
Dinosaur dance floor! Really?
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists who hiked recently to the northern Arizona wilderness site touted as a "dinosaur dance floor" found no sign of the extinct creatures but plenty of eroded potholes.
They saw dinosaur tracks en route, but none in the pockmarked "dance floor".
One of them, paleontologist Brent Breithaupt, director and curator of the University of Wyoming's Geological Museum, said "there simply are no tracks or real track-like features at this site. We will be investigating the formation of these features in the upcoming study."
Did dinos die because they failed to generate heat?
By IANS,
New York : A new study has found why birds lack a heat-generating tissue present in mammals - and concludes that the absence of this tissue may have led to the extinction of dinosaurs.
All mammals have two kinds of adipose tissue -- white and brown fat. White fat is used for storing energy-rich fuels, while brown fat generates heat.
For instance, hibernating bears and human infants have a lot of brown fat relative to their body size. This allows bears to sleep for six months and protects infants from hypothermia.
As n-deal moves forward, scientists walk down nostalgia lane
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu) : As India readies to seal the nuclear deal with the US to further consolidate its nuclear energy programme, a group of scientists here looked back nostalgically to the time the country indigenously developed its first reactor - using skid rollers to move heavy items and jacks and railway sleepers for lifting the heavy generator.
But it was not always so.
Future refrigerators to run on heat, not electricity
By DPA
Hamburg : The refrigerator of the future will run on heat, not costly electricity, according to a team of innovative scientists in Germany.
The research could be a boon in hot countries where fridges and air-conditioning systems are vital, said the group of young scientists, who are working on at the Innovationszentrum Wiesenbusch Gladbeck (IWG), in cooperation with the University of Applied Science in nearby Gelsenkirchen.
Solar eclipse begins at India’s southernmost tip
By IANS,
Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu) : The longest annular solar eclipse of the millennium began at 11.06 a.m. Friday in this Tamil Nadu city as thousands of people converged here to watch the celestial spectacle.
Annular solar eclipse occurs when the Sun and the Moon are exactly in line, but the apparent size of the Moon's shadow is smaller than the visible disc of the sun, making it appear like a ring of fire. The eclipse is expected to peak to annular eclipse at 1.15 p.m.
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.
Tamil Nadu villages get Internet, telemedicine facilities
By IANS
Mahabalipuram : A community project to provide high speed Internet, telemedicine, e-education and e-governance services to the rural areas of Tamil Nadu was made operational Wednesday in Vadugambadi, about 60 km south of state capital Chennai.
The facilities will be provided for the first time in India with the High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) systems under the Gramjyoti programme of the central government.
U.S. Space Shuttle Atlantis blasts off
By Xinhua
Washington : After a two-month delay, U.S. space shuttle Atlantis finally blasted off on Thursday from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on a mission to deliver the European Space Agency's Columbus Laboratory to the International Space Station (ISS).
Moon may be shrinking
By DPA,
Washington : The moon is smaller than it used to be and could still be shrinking, NASA scientists said Thursday pointing to new evidence that the moon has contracted relatively recently.
New high-resolution images have turned up geographical features on the moon that indicate it has shrunk within the last 800 million years - or practically yesterday in astronomical terms, said Tom Watters, a scientist at the Centre for Earth and Planetary Studies at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
Google to insert automated captions on YouTube
By DPA,
San Francisco: Google is to add automatic captions to the tens of millions of English-language videos it hosts on YouTube, the web search giant said Friday.
The move will make the videos more accessible to deaf viewers but will also help Google index the content and supply relevant ads alongside it, analysts said.
Arctic deep-sea litter doubles in last decade
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Scientists have found the amount of debris lying on the ocean floor in the Arctic has doubled over the past decade.
Mars, a seething cauldron for 100 million years
By IANS,
Sydney : Mars may have been a seething cauldron for nearly a 100 million years after its formation, thwarting evolution of life on the planet, according to an analysis of meteorites.
The research has shown that the red planet remained excessively hot - with temperatures over 1,000 degrees Celsius - for 100 million years following its formation.
Yahoo! talking to News Corp to fend off Microsoft
By Parveen Chopra, IANS
New York : Yahoo Inc is in talks with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp for a possible merger of the media conglomerate's MySpace and other online properties with Yahoo! to fend off Microsoft's takeover bid.
The deal is not very likely but the negotiations can help Yahoo! boost its market value above Microsoft's initial offer of $44.6 billion, or $31 per share, made on Feb 1. The possible deal envisages News Corp and a private equity firm buying a significant stake - over 20 percent - in Yahoo!, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
ISRO presents Cartosat-2A images to PM
By IANS,
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was Monday presented with images of the national capital taken by the recently launched satellites Cartosat-2A and IMS-1.
A group of scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), led by its chairman G. Madhavan Nair, met Manmohan Singh and briefed him about the space programme, a statement of the science and technology ministry said.
China to launch its second lunar probe this year
By IANS,
Beijing : China will launch its second lunar exploration mission this year to test key landing technologies as well as take high-resolution images of the landing area, China Daily reported Tuesday.
"China should not slow down its pace of lunar exploration even if other countries change their plans," said Ye Peijian, chief designer of the nation's first lunar probe Chang'e-1.
The country plans to launch its second lunar probe, Chang'e-2, in the latter half of this year as well as send a lunar lander and rover by 2013.
Indo-US Air Force conference in Kerala Monday
By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram: The 15th Indo-US Air Force Executive Steering Group (ESG) conference will begin Monday at the Southern Air Command Headquarters here.
The three-day conference allows the delegations of the two countries to discuss policies and mutual exchange programmes for bilateral defence cooperation, a defence spokesperson said Sunday.
The annual conference is held alternatively in the two countries and this year the Southern Air Command has been chosen as the venue.
NASA spacecraft flies by Mercury for second time
By Xinhua,
Washington : NASA spacecraft MESSENGER has successfully made the second of the three planned flybys of Mercury on Monday, taking pictures of most of its remaining unseen surface.
The spacecraft passed 125 miles (about 200 km) above the planet's cratered surface, capturing more than 1,200 pictures and collecting a variety of science data.
Mission scientists hope to begin receiving the new data from MESSENGER in the very early morning on Tuesday.
Iran plans to send satellite in high Earth orbit
By IANS,
Tehran : Iran plans to send satellites in medium and high Earth orbits in two or three years, Iran's ISNA news agency reported quoting a senior official. On Feb 3, the country launched Omid light satellite in low Earth orbit, using the Safir 2 (messenger) rocket.
The chief of Organisation for Iranian Scientific and Industrial Research, Hossein Rahimi, said Sunday that Iran's next step in space technology was sending operational satellites in an orbit of 36,000 km.
Two more satellite launches this year: ISRO chief
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : Two more navigational satellites will be launched this year, said ISRO chairman K.Radhakrishnan Friday after an Indian rocket successfully placed...
Monday night, hide Moon, Jupiter, Venus behind your thumb!
By IANS,
New Delhi : When the Sun goes down Monday evening, step outside to watch the best sky show of the year. Jupiter, Venus and Moon - three of the brightest objects up there at night - will be closest to each other then.
Jupiter and Venus have been rapidly coming towards each other for the last few days, a phenomenon that will not be visible against till 2012. And soon they will have the Moon for company.
Be careful when accessing your computer from afar
By Nabeel A. Khan, IANS,
New Delhi : Be careful when you access your computer over the Internet. Here are some safety tips:
* Install file-sharing software carefully, so that you know what's being shared.
* Person to person (P2P) file-sharing applications will, by default, share downloads in your "save" or "download" folder - unless you set it not to.
* You should also restrict users' ability to write files to the file server.
* Limit guests or anonymous accounts sharing so none can upload files.
Lufthansa Cargo goes live with Technopark’s IT firm
Thiruvananthapuram/Frankfurt: Lufthansa Cargo has gone live with Technopark headquartered IBS' iCargo IT solution at 120 stations in its network, including its three hubs of...
IBSA to take scientific research cooperation to next
By IANS,
Mamallapuram: Taking the trilateral developmental initiative between India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) to the next step, programme coordinators are mulling ways to expand the programme's reach.
Russian rocket sends US satellite into orbit
By Xinhua,
Moscow : A Russian Proton-M rocket Tuesday sent a US telecommunications satellite, the Inmarsat-4 F3, into Earth orbit, a spokesman for a Moscow-based producer of space launch systems said.
The rocket was launched from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan at 2.43 a.m., said Alexander Bobrenyov, spokesman for the Khrunichev state research and production space centre.
Gmail outage challenges Google engineers
By DPA,
San Francisco : A disruption to Google's Gmail service frustrated users throughout the world Tuesday and flummoxed engineers at the giant internet company.
Google said the problems started early in the morning and were not resolved until approximately 2330 GMT.
The problem prevented users from accessing Google email and stymied customers who use the popular software to sync their information with the Microsoft Outlook email programme.
US to give Iran ‘space’ to mull nuclear fuel deal
By DPA,
Vienna/Tehran, Nov 9 (DPA) The US is willing to give Iran time to come up with a response to a proposed multinational nuclear fuel deal, the US ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Glyn Davies, said Monday.
"We want to give some space to Iran to work through this. It's a tough issue for them, obviously," Davies told reporters in Vienna, adding, however, that Washington hopes for a response soon.
Google launches Web browser to compete with Microsoft
By Xinhua,
Los Angeles : Google launched on Tuesday a beta version of its browser for Windows, called Google Chrome, in more than 100 countries.
With the Web browser, Google wants to be in a better position to compete with the likes of Internet Explorer and Firefox.
This was seen as yet another salvo in Google's intensifying battle with Microsoft to dominate not only what people do on the Web but also how they get there.
With the Web browser, Google wants to be in a better position to compete with the likes of Internet Explorer and Firefox.
This was seen as yet another salvo in Google's intensifying battle with Microsoft to dominate not only what people do on the Web but also how they get there.
Nano materials likely to impact environment negatively
By IANS,
Washington : Eco-friendly gains derived from the use of nano materials may be offset partly by their manufacturing process, according to research.
Hatice Sengül and colleagues of Illinois University, Chicago, said strict material purity requirements and lower yields may lead to greater ecological burdens than those associated with conventional manufacturing.
In a separate study, Ohio State University researchers found, for example, that the life-cycle environmental impacts may be as much as 100 times greater per unit of weight than those of traditional materials.
Dell launches ultra-thin laptop computer
By Xinhua,
San Francisco : Dell has officially launched a high-end laptop computer which the company said is the thinnest in the world.
The laptop is the first product under Dell's Adamo brand. Adamo is derived from the Latin word meaning "to fall in love".
With a thickness of 0.65 inches (1.65 cm) and available in onyx and pearl colours, the new Adamo laptop is thinner than Apple's MacBook Air.
Iran tests sounding rocket, unveils first homemade satellite
By RIA Novosti
Tehran/Moscow : Iran successfully launched on Monday a sounding rocket as a preliminary step toward sending its first homemade research satellite into orbit, national media said.
Iran's state television earlier reported that Iranian scientists had built the Omid (Hope) research satellite under a project that took 10 years to complete. The satellite was unveiled on Monday during an official ceremony and may be launched by March 2009.
Mars mission delayed two years on conflict of interest
By DPA
Washington : The next NASA mission to Mars has been delayed two years after a conflict of interest was discovered in proposals for the unmanned exploration craft, the US space agency said.
The next mission for the Mars Scout programme has been pushed back to 2013 from 2011, Mars exploration programme director Doug McCuistion told reporters.
Video game sharpens brain power in ageing seniors
By IANS,
Washington : A video game focussing on strategy has been found to sharpen brain power in ageing people.
A new study found that people in their 60s and 70s can improve a number of cognitive functions by playing "Rise of Nations", a game that rewards nation-building and territorial expansion.
"Rise of Nations gives gamers points for building cities and 'wonders', feeding and employing their people, maintaining an adequate military and expanding their territory.
Keeping distributed families together through technology
By IANS,
Hyderabad : Buddibot, a web applications company, has developed a web-based communication tool to keep distributed families connected.
This tool, comprising a mobile webcam, will help elderly people remain in touch with their children studying and working abroad through video and audio streams.
Buddibot Thursday launched the subscription-based communication tool, targeting non-resident Indians (NRIs).
ISRO aircraft takes satellite images to trace YSR
By IANS,
Hyderabad : A low-flying aircraft of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) late Wednesday took pictures of Nallamalla forest area where the helicopter carrying Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy was last seen before it went missing.
Finance Minister K. Rosaiah told reporters that the low-flying aircraft belonging to ISRO had taken 41 satellite imagery pictures. Authorities hope to get some clues about the missing chopper from there images.
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.
Company claims it can clean up Bhopal toxic waste for cheap
No collateral damage to environment or people living nearby, claims PEAT International Co.
By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net
Bhopal: Cheer up. There is some good news for the survivors of Bhopal gas tragedy, the world’s worst industrial disaster, including the NGOs working for them and the Madhya Pradesh Government as far as disposing off the toxic waste lying in the erstwhile killer Union Carbide pesticide plant, which has become an enigma for one and all, is concerned.
Cloudy sky plays spoilsport in Bihar’s ‘eclipse village’
By IANS,
Taregna (Bihar) : Thousands of people who have gathered in this Bihar village to witness the century's largest total eclipse were disappointed Wednesday as the sun remained hidden under cloudy skies.
The eclipse was to begin at 5:29 a.m just after the sunrise but cloudy skies spoiled the mood of the thousands of people, children and adults, who thronged there to watch the celestial spectacle
However, people are optimistic for a more clear picture when the eclipse will reach its totality at 6:24 a.m.
Google soon to launch TV software
By IANS,
Washington : US search engine giant Google is planning to introduce Android-based television software in May which will enable the users to access television through internet.
The new software, designed to open set-top boxes, TVs and other devices to more content from the internet, is attracting interest from partners that include Sony Corp., Intel Corp. and Logitech International SA, which are expected to offer products that support the software, according to people familiar with the matter.
Probe Phoenix lifts robotic arm on Mars
By Xinhua,
Beijing : NASA's Phoenix Mars lander has successfully flexed its robotic arm on Mars, media reported on Friday.
"All of the joints are healthy, and we're raring to go," Matthew L. Robinson, the lead engineer for the mission’s robotic arm flight software, said at a news conference Thursday.
Facebook users dial 911 over outage, cops frown
New York : Will you call 911 if Facebook goes off the radar? This is exactly some users in Los Angeles did when the...
Microsoft Sharing Secrets to Increase Interoperability
By SPA
Washington : Microsoft Corporation said Thursday it would share more information about key technology elements of some of its best-selling software products to increase interoperability of its software with that of competitors and customers.
The world’s biggest software maker said it will publish on its website key software blueprints, known as application program interfaces, to make it easier for its high-volume products to be used with third-party software.
US-Indian team gets $1 mn for clean coal technology
By Arun Kumar, IANS
Washington : A university-industry team has been awarded more than $1 million to help India increase energy production and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by developing and testing advanced technologies for cleaning coal.
The grant from the US Department of State in support of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate has gone to a team led by the Centre for Advanced Separation Technologies at Virginia Tech.
Hundreds of new species discovered in the Himalayas
By IANS,
Washington : Over 350 new species, including the world's smallest deer, a "flying frog" and a 100 million-year-old gecko, have been discovered in the Eastern Himalayas, according to a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report.
A decade of research carried out by scientists in remote mountain areas endangered by rising global temperatures brought exciting discoveries such as a bright green frog that uses its red and long webbed feet to glide in the air.
Scientists identify conservation’s future battlegrounds
By IANS
New York : Scientists have developed a series of global maps that show where projected habitat loss and climate change are expected to drive the need for future reserves to prevent biodiversity loss.
The study found that many regions that face the greatest habitat change are in globally threatened and species-rich developing tropical nations that have the fewest resources for conservation, Sciencedaily reported.
Space network, a ‘hotline’ from Bangalore to moon
By Fakir Balaji, IANS,
Bangalore : When India's first lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 lifts off from Sriharikota Wednesday, the telemetry, tracking and command network (Istrac) of the space agency in Bangalore will guide the mission on its 18-day voyage to the moon's polar orbit.
Soon after reaching the lunar orbit, the Deep Space Network (DSN) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at Byalalu, about 40 km from this tech hub, will take charge of the spacecraft and become a 'hotline' between its payloads and space scientists over the next two years.
E-mentoring highly effective: study
By IANS,
Sydney : E-mentoring has been found to be more convenient, more direct and better than face-to-face mentoring, according to a study.
“E-mail-based communication is almost instant and helps overcome one of the major obstacles to traditional mentoring - participants finding a suitable time to meet,” said Kim Rickard of Victoria University, who conducted the study.
By using e-mail, participants can go straight to the issues without the need to engage in “polite conversation” beforehand, the study found, ScienceDaily reports.
Chandra observatory to help ‘weigh’ giant black holes
By IANS,
Washington : A new technique relying on data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory could help weigh something as unimaginably heavy as the biggest black holes in the universe.
Black holes are such dense masses that they would compress a 90,000-tonne cruise ship into the size of a teaspoon, but with the same weight.
By measuring a peak in the temperature of hot gas at the centre of the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 4649, scientists determined the mass of the galaxy's super massive black hole.
Use of nanoparticles fraught with risks, warn scientists
By IANS
New York : The inevitable has happened - as the use of nano particles grows, scientists have sounded a warning on their impact on the environment and on human health.
Take, for instance, the case of nanoparticle silver. Known for its antibacterial and odour-fighting properties, this nanoparticle is now being extensively used in products ranging from socks to bandages to washing machines.
Now, concerned scientists are urging a closer look at the unforeseen consequences of ordinary laundering washing off substantial amounts of the nanosilver particles into natural waterways.
GPS – a new tool to detect clandestine N-tests
By IANS,
Washington : US researchers are unveiling a new tool for detecting illegal nuclear explosions: the earth's global positioning system (GPS).
Virtual orchestra software coming soon
By DPA
Munich : Coming soon to a computer near you is a software that allows you to conduct a virtual orchestra by waving a stick, just like a professional conductor.
The gestures can be correctly interpreted as telling the playback device to go faster or slower, forte or piano. A team of developers in Munich, Germany devised the system, which has yet to be commercialised.
The software detects the gestures in three dimensions and transmits them from the sensor, using Bluetooth, to the computer that is 'playing' the virtual orchestral instruments.
Mini black holes could be passing through Earth
By IANS,
London : Space is littered with black holes that collapsing giant stars leave in their wake, but a miniature version could be passing through the Earth daily.
Gates Foundation pledges $10 billion to develop vaccines
By IANS,
Washington : Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda have announced that their foundation will commit $10 billion over the next 10 years to help research in developing and delivering vaccines for the world's poorest countries.
The couple said that increased investment in vaccines by governments and the private sector could help developing countries dramatically reduce child mortality by the end of the decade.
"We must make this the decade of vaccines," said Gates.
Russian-U.S. venture signs new Proton-M launch deal
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Russian-American joint venture International Launch Services (ILS) has signed a contract to launch two U.S. commercial satellites, the Khrunichev State Research and Production Center said on Monday.
ILS, owned by the Khrunichev Center, RSC Energia, and U.S. firm Space Transport Inc. provides spacecraft launch services on board Proton-M carrier rockets. The company received $1.5 billion in new launch orders in 2007.
"The contract is for the launch of two satellites for the SIRIUS Satellite Radio constellation," a Khrunichev spokesman said.
Arctic region needs major cleaning, says Putin
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The Arctic region, a strategic area for Russia, is heavily polluted and needs "major cleaning", Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
Putin visited Alexandra Land, one of the islands in Russia's far north, and found that over 40,000-60,000 tonnes of used lubricants in thousands of barrels as well as plane, car and other wreckage had been piled up in the Arctic for years.
"The reduction of military cooperation after the collapse of the Soviet Union resulted in this scrap heap," the premier said.
We need clear space vision: Senators to Obama
By DPA,
Washington : A group of senators has called for a clear vision for the future of the US space programme, characterising President Barack Obama's plans for space agency NASA as "without a mission".
Earlier this month, Obama's 2011 budget proposal included the scrapping of existing plans for next-generation spacecraft to return to the moon. The move unleashed a stream of criticism from politicians who supported the plans, but NASA officials defend the move as allowing NASA to focus on longer term goals.
U.S., China space debris still orbiting Earth
By Xinhua,
Beijing : Debris from the U.S. intercept of a spy satellite in February and from China's anti-satellite test in Janaury 2007 is still orbiting Earth, according to a space debris expert.
T.S. Kelso's CelesTrak satellite tracking software shows some 15 pieces of the busted up USA 193 spysat are still flying around, although when the successful intercept was reported, estimates were that all pieces would re-enter Earth's atmosphere within 40 days.
A recent analysis shows the last piece of clutter will decay about 100 days post-intercept, Kelso reported.
Europe’s biggest wind energy park inaugurated in Portugal
By DPA,
Lisbon : Portugal's Economy Minister Manuel Pinho Wednesday inaugurated what was described as Europe's biggest wind energy park in the northern region of Viana do Castelo.
The Alto Minho I park began generating energy already a year ago, gradually increasing its production to the full potential Wednesday.
The 120 turbines divided between five sub-stations will produce 530 gigawatts annually or one percent of Portugal's energy.
The park, which cost 400 million euros ($520 million), was expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 370,000 tonnes annually.
China Announces 186-mph Bullet Train
Beijing, Dec 22 (Prensa Latina) China announced on Saturday its first 186-mph bullet train, wholly designed and built in this Asian country.
China thus joins Japan, France and Germany as the fourth country worldwide in position to build state-of-the-art high-speed trains, a spokesman for the Railway Ministry said.
Researchers stumble on cell’s neatest little tricks
By IANS,
Washington : Researchers have solved one of our bodies' neatest little tricks - how a cell pinches molecules from outside without allowing any leakage ot its membranes.
"Doing this without leaking is quite a feat," said Sandra Schmid, who heads Scripps Research department of cell biology and co-authored the paper with Thomas Pucadyil, a postdoctoral researcher in her lab.
"A cell's outside environment is very nasty, and if any of that toxic fluid got into the cell, it would kill it," added Schmid.
Novel therapy could cut hepatitis C prevalence by 80 percent
New York : Recently approved antiviral medications for hepatitis C could reduce the prevalence of the blood-borne infection by more than 80 percent, researchers...
NASA Announces End Date for Space Shuttle Missions
By SPA,
Washington : The U.S.’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on Monday set an approximate date for the final space shuttle mission for May 31, 2010.
The date set comes four months before the shuttle fleet retires. NASA has 10 missions remaining for the shuttle fleet, which U.S. President George W. Bush ordered to retire by September 30, 2010.
The remaining schedule includes five flights in 2008, five in 2009 and three in 2010.
Now enjoy uploading videos on Wikipedia
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow: Wikipedia, the world's largest online encyclopedia, has launched a new project enabling registered users to post videos, according to the portal's press service.
Carbon dioxide dictates global climate pattern
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists have found the apparent role of carbon dioxide in the intensification of the Ice Ages and corresponding temperature changes in the tropical oceans.
The research, led by a team of Brown University, has established that the climate in the tropics over the last 2.7 million years changed with the cyclical spread and retreat of ice sheets thousands of miles away in the Northern Hemisphere.
India successfully test fires Mars Orbiter engine
Bangalore : India Monday successfully test fired the liquid fuel engine of its Mars spacecraft (Orbiter) after it entered the sphere of Mars influence...
Social networking goes mobile
By Nayan Sakhuja, IANS,
New Delhi : Are you constantly on the move and don't have time to log on to your computer to be in touch with your friends? Coming to your rescue now is your mobile phone through which you can access any social networking site, anytime, anywhere.
Take college student Ajay Kumar for instance.
On a holiday in Goa, Kumar was constantly glued to his mobile phone -- not calling or texting but scrapping and walling his friends on their profiles on Facebook and Orkut.
Former African-American astronaut to head NASA
By DPA,
Washington : US President Barack Obama Saturday named Charles Bolden, a black ex-astronaut, to lead the US space agency into its next chapter that could take it back to the moon.
The retired Marine Corps general, 62, flew four times in the space shuttle in the '80s and '90s - two times as mission commander. His nomination must be approved by the Senate.
Former NASA head Michael Griffin stepped down in January as Obama was entering office.
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.
Human activity did not wipe out megafauna: latest study
By IANS,
Sydney : A new study that said the first human settlers in Australia wiped out its megafauna has been contracted by a newer study. The latest study says there is no evidence to indicate that human activity wiped out more than 60 species of Australia's large prehistoric animals or megafauna, between 40,000 and 50,000 years ago.
A review of available evidence showed that only 13 species were still alive when humans first arrived in Australia. Those people did not focus on big-game hunting nor cause major habitat change by widespread use of fire.
Computer model of brain can help victims of anxiety disorder
By IANS,
Washington : The brain is a complex system made of billions of neurons (nerve cells) and thousands of connections that relate to every human feeling, including one of the strongest emotions, fear. Researchers have started using computer models of the brain to study the connections.
Most neurological fear studies have been rooted in fear-conditioning experiments. Now, University of Missouri (U-M) researchers are using computational models to study the brain's connections.
$40,800 bid to name butterfly after a loved one
By IANS
New York : An unidentified person bid $40,800 for the naming rights of a new species of butterfly -- and scientists will use the money to continue their research.
Researchers at the University of Florida discovered the new owl butterfly in Mexico's Sonoran desert earlier this year and decided, in a first, to offer its naming rights in an online auction.
The new butterfly's scientific name is Opsiphanes blythekitzmillerae, but its popular name, chosen by the winning bidder, is Minerva -- in memory of Margery Minerva Blythe Kitzmiller of Ohio.
This space engineer has licence to kill
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Chennai : The name's Krishnamurthy. S. Krishnamurthy. He is 59 and has a dull designation: general manager safety. But he is the only man licensed to kill in midair the rockets of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) without seeking anybody's permission.
The aerospace engineer at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) has used his 'licence' once, in 2006 - destroying ISRO's Geosynchronous Space Launch Vehicle (GSLV F02) that was carrying the 2,168-kg Insat 4C communication satellite.
Cell phone with built in radiation sensors to thwart nuclear terrrorism
WASHINGTON, Jan 22 (KUNA) -- A newly developed cell phones detect radiation to thwart nuclear terrorism, able to detect even slight residues of radioactive material, researchers hope will one-day blanket the nation.
"It's the ubiquitous nature of cell phones and other portable electronic devices that give this system its power", said Ephraim Fischbach, physics professor at Purdue University, in a statement Tuesday.
Two more carriers offer pan-India number portability
New Delhi: Two more service providers will provide pan-India mobile number portability from Friday, enabling customers to retain their mobile phone number while relocating...
10-fold increase needed in network to track carbon emissions
BY IANS,
Washington : Monitoring greenhouse gas levels will require a global data collection network 10 times larger than the current set-up, according to a study.
Scientists propose increasing the number of measurement sites from 100 to 1,000, which would decrease the uncertainty in computer models and help scientists better quantify changes.
The study's authors, Melinda Marquis and Pieter Tans, said the need for improved monitoring was imperative in view of atmospheric carbon concentrations now at 385 parts per million, ScienceDaily reported.
Russia launches US satellite
By Xinhua,
Moscow : Russia Saturday launched a rocket carrying a US communication satellite into space, the Itar-Tass news agency reported.
The Briz-m rocket, with a ProtoStar-2 satellite atop, blasted off at 0057 GMT from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan, spokesman Alexander Bobrenev of the Khrunichev Centre, the manufacturer of the rocket, said.
The ProtoStar-2 satellite, a product of the Boeing corporation, will provide communication services to customers in various countries including Indonesia, India and the Philippines.
Plant breeding technique can help beat hunger trap
By IANS,
London : Increased investment in plant breeding technique can help boost efforts to pull millions of people out of the hunger trap, said International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) scientists.
IAEA scientists use radiation to produce improved high-yielding plants that adapt to harsh climate conditions such as drought or flood, or that are resistant to certain diseases and insect pests.
Called mutation induction, the technique is safe, proven and cost-effective. It has been in use since the 1920s.
UAE’s first artificial battery-powered heart transplant
Dubai: A 21-year-old student in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) city of Sharjah, has received the country's first artificial heart transplant, a media report...
India poised to be major player in global satellite manufacturing
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Chennai : India can become a major player in the emerging small satellite manufacturing industry. The country's space agency has estimated a market potential of 50 satellites over the next decade, worth around $1.5 billion, says a space official.
Keeping this in mind, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has already formed a special team to manufacture small satellites.
ISRO will launch two such satellites in 2009 and 2010, both having overseas payloads.
Scientists edge towards mass production of silicon substitute
By IANS,
London : Scientists have leaped over a major hurdle in efforts to begin commercial production of a form of carbon that could rival silicon in its potential for revolutionising electronic devices ranging from supercomputers to cell phones.
Called graphene, the material consists of a layer of graphite 50,000 times thinner than a human hair with unique electronic properties.
Cheap solar power now within reach, says study
By IANS,
Sydney : It has been called the holy grail of the modern era - cheap solar energy. And scientists say it may be within our grasp soon.
A Queensland University team has grown the world's first titanium oxide nano crystals that are likely to revolutionise the way solar energy is harvested and used.
Creating these highly efficient miniature crystals with large reactive surfaces was thought of as impossible by most scientists.
Max Lu, who led the study, sounded upbeat that they were a step closer to the holy grail of cost-effective solar energy with their discovery.
Yahoo’s search migrates to Microsoft
By DPA,
San Francisco : Yahoo has completed the migration of its web and mobile search functions to Microsoft's Bing search engine as the two companies hope that their combined market power may prove a more significant threat to the dominance of Google.
The integration comes more than a year after Yahoo and Microsoft announced their 10-year search deal under which Microsoft will power Yahoo's search site, while Yahoo manages sales for both companies' premium search advertisers.
Why fundamental scientific research has not caught on in India
By Narayanan Suresh, IANS,
This can happen only in India! Even as the nation continues to celebrate the success of Chandrayaan, the country's first space mission to moon, this is not something one of the seniormost scientists in India, Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao, is particularly thrilled about.
Study finds evidence of centuries-old brawl over women
By IANS,
Washington : Brawling over women is as old as history, settled with fisticuffs or a verbal spat, but our ferocious ancestors brutally maimed or killed rivals for them.
For instance, a mass grave unearthed by a Durham University team indicates that primitive men did their rivals to death to possess their women.
The research focused on 34 skeletons found buried in Talheim, in Germany's south-west. Genetic evidence from their teeth suggested they were massacred in a tribal clash around 5000 BC.
Discovery shuttle cleared for landing despite loss of part
By DPA,
Washington : The shuttle Discovery was cleared for landing after NASA concluded Friday that a small part that broke off the spacecraft did not pose any safety concerns, the agency said.
The Discovery crew spotted the small, rectangular object floating away from the shuttle early Friday, NASA officials said.
After analysing the video footage, NASA determined it was a metal clip used to protect the rudder's speed brake during take-off and its loss would not affect landing.
Astronomers discover two extrasolar planets
By Xinhua
Washington : Researchers from 11 countries have discovered two extrasolar planets, each with a mass less than that of Jupiter, orbiting a star about half the size of our Sun.
The new discovery was reported on Thursday and will be published on the Feb. 15 issue of journal Science.
Although there has been a flurry of extrasolar planet discoveries in recent years, most of the planets have been massive bodies much larger than the giants of our own solar system.
Promising carbon material can act as power reservoir
By IANS,
Washington : A breakthrough in use of 'grahpene', a single-atom thick, carbon-based material, will make massive storage of wind power and solar energies possible.
Texan University researchers believe the breakthrough could double the capacity of existing ultracapacitors (which store electric energy) made out of a different form of carbon.
Protection does help endangered species: study
By IANS,
Sydney : Researchers have come by evidence that protected fish species can bounce back rapidly from the brink, even after heavy fishing has taken its toll.
A strict no-fishing policy in 2004 across a third of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), the largest and most complex of marine ecosystems, has ensured spectacular recovery in coral trout numbers by a whopping 31 to 75 percent.
These results have major ramifications in a world in which most major fisheries are in decline, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
Technology to be used for crop estimation
By IANS
New Delhi : With the government laying stress on agriculture, a National Workshop on Agricultural Statistics Monday suggested several initiatives including use of new technological tools for improving farm statistics.
Pyrobolt failure caused Soyuz bumpy re-entry – Roscosmos
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : A failure of a pyrobolt separating spacecraft's modules caused the ballistic landing of Russia's Soyuz TMA-11 capsule in April this year, the head of the Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) said on Saturday.
On April 19, the Soyuz-TMA-11 capsule, carrying U.S. astronaut Peggy Whitson, Russian flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko, and Korean bioengineer Yi So-yeon from the International Space Station, made a bumpy re-entry, landing 420 km (260 miles) off-target in the steppes of northern Kazakhstan.
Clear weather for sun eclipse observation in west China
By Xinhua,
Yiwu, Xinjiang : Eclipse tourists who swarmed to small towns in west China's Xinjiang and Gansu were happy to be greeted by bright sunshine on Friday.
"The weather would be favorable for the eclipse observation," said Carolyn Ng, a program manager and science education specialist from NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of America).
