AK-47’s inventor Kalashnikov hospitalised
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow: Mikhail Kalashnikov, the inventor of AK-47 assault rifle, has been hospitalised, his assistant Nikolai Shklyaev said Tuesday.
Microscope for objects 20,000 times thinner than hair on anvil
By IANS,
Washington : A physicist is all set to design an ultra powerful microscope that can look at molecules and objects 20,000 times thinner than a human hair.
The new microscope, to be built within the next year, will allow much greater precision in identifying objects, such as certain cellular proteins, by letting scientists see them individually and watch their movement in real time.
US launches spy satellite
By IANS,
Washington : The US Wednesday launched a spy satellite into space.
New video based tests to ease evaluation of drivers’ skills
By IANS,
Sydney : A video-based hazard perception test is being developed by researchers that will measure a driver's ability to recognise and respond to dangerous situations while driving.
Mark Horswill of Queensland University School of Psychology said the test introduced in July this year would help lower accident toll.
The test consists of a series of video clips that present various traffic scenes containing potential traffic conflicts that require the user to take action, such as braking, overtaking or changing course.
Virtual crash dummy to make driving much safer
By IANS,
Washington : Automakers have been crashing test dummies to gain insight into how safety systems protect or fail to protect people during car accidents.
But these dummies made out of plastic and steel, not tissue and bone, have their limitations. Now a virtual dummy being developed by two engineering teams with University of Virginia (UVa) Centre for Biomechanics, will make driving much safer.
First rehearsal of moon mission Chandrayaan goes off fine
By IANS,
Chennai : India's first lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 was fitted to the launch pad for rehearsals late Saturday night and they "went off well", a top space agency official said Sunday three days ahead of the final launch.
"The launch rehearsal was held at 10 p.m. and everything went off fine. It is like a dress rehearsal ahead of the Oct 22 launch," a scientist said declining to be named.
TiEcon 2014 in Santa Clara ends with Shahid Khan keynote
By Ras H. Siddiqui, TwoCircles.net,
San Francisco: The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) held its annual conference known as TiEcon in Silicon Valley, the technology world way beyond just the South-Asian Diaspora noticed. Over 4000 people attended TiEcon 2014 at the Santa Clara Convention Center with many of the heavyweights in the technology arena present. Those who presented Grand Keynotes included Steve Mollenkopf (CEO Qualcomm), Michael Rhodin and Manoj Saxena (IBM), Steve Lucas (President SAP), Romesh Wadhawani (Chairman & CEO Symphony Technology Group), Sanjay Poonen (EVP and GM of VMware) and Shahid KhanPresident of Flex-N-Gate and owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL football team.
Nano-catalysts to help produce cheap ethanol
By IANS,
Washington : Researchers are combining traditional gassification with high-tech nano-catalysts to extract ethanol from a range of biomass, which includes wood pulp, animal waste and residual distillers' grain.
Gasification is a process that converts carbon-based feedstocks under high temperature and pressure in an oxygen-controlled atmosphere into synthesis gas, or 'syngas'.
Syngas is made up of carbon monoxide and hydrogen (85 percent by volume) and smaller quantities of carbon dioxide and methane.
Japanese moon orbiter videos 1st “Full Earth-rise”
By Xinhua,
Beijing : A high-definition video camera on Japan's lunar orbiter captured a rare view of the full Earth as it rose above the moon's horizon on April 5, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) officials said in a recent statement after releasing a short video of the event.
"This is the first time that a high-[definition] image of the 'Full Earth-rise' has been captured from space," JAXA officials said.
Annular solar eclipse begins in Delhi
By IANS,
New Delhi : The millennium's longest annular solar eclipse began in the national capital Friday but fog and cloudy skies marred a clear view of the celestial spectacle.
Although seen only partially from here, it nevertheless enthralled enthusiastic onlookers who gathered to watch the celestial phenomenon at the Nehru Planetarium and other places where special arrangements were made to view the event.
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...
Mouse is everything – from gadget to gaming tool
By DPA
Hanover : They might all look similar, but there are actually significant differences between the kinds of computer mice available.
The price is one of the main variables, ranging from 5 euros ($7) to more than 100 euros ($136).
"You can get something decent for 20 euros ($30)," says Peter Roebke-Doerr, a computer expert with the Hanover-based computer magazine c't.
China’s green pig has two green piglets
By Xinhua
Harbin (China) : A fluorescent green pig in northeast China has given birth to two piglets which share their mother's transgenic characteristic after she mated with an ordinary pig, Chinese scientists said.
"The mouths, trotters and tongues of the two piglets glow green under ultraviolet light, which indicates the technology to breed transgenic pigs via cell nuclear transfer is mature," said Liu Zhonghua, of Northeast Agricultural University in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang Province Tuesday.
Firefighting beetle robots may help humans fight forest fires
By Ernest Gill, DPA,
Hamburg (Germany) : Compact robots that scuttle across the landscape like enormous armour-plated beetles may one day help humans fight deadly forest fires in remote areas, according to a team of German scientists.
Looking for all the world like old-fashioned Volkswagen beetle cars - except with multiple legs where the wheels ought to be - a brigade of these robots could carry water or foam extinguishing agents to the most dangerous firefighting locations, places where humans would face certain peril.
ISRO plans manned space mission ahead of manned moon mission
By NNN-PTI,
Thiruvananthapuram, India : With the success of Chandrayaan-1, the country's first moon mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning a manned space mission as a first step to manned moon mission.
"Sending man to moon is a very complicated mission. So, as a first step, we plan to develop an Indian spacecraft that will take astronauts across the earth and bring them back," ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair said delivering a lecture on 'India's Recent Space Achievements' here on Sunday.
Arctic boulders confirm that glaciers are thinning
By IANS
London : Huge boulders could enable scientists to predict the contribution of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) to sea level rise, according to the latest issue of Geology.
These boulders - deposited by three glaciers in the Amundsen Sea region - are currently being studied by scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Durham University and Germany's Alfred Wegener Institute.
Ruins of 800-year-old pyramid found in Mexico
By RIA Novosti
Mexico City : Archeologists have discovered the ruins of an 800-year-old pyramid in the center of Mexico City, China's Xinhua news agency said Friday.
The ruins, which are about 36 feet (11 meters) high, were found in the Mexican capital's Tlatelolco area, once a major religious and political center for the Aztec empire. The pyramid is believed to have been built in 1100 or 1200.
Archaeologists also uncovered five skulls and a number of rooms near the pyramid which could date back to 1430s.
Plants cope with stress too
By IANS,
Washington : Plants, very much like humans, have to cope with stress - and scientists are in the process of developing plants that handle stress better, says a new study.
For plants, stress comes in the shape of too much salt or too little iron, both widespread environmental challenges for crops around the world.
"High salinity and low iron are both important problems for food security, particularly in developing countries," said Philip Benfey of the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy.
Russia delays Norwegian telecoms satellite launch till Feb. 11
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : The launch of a Russian carrier rocket with a Norwegian telecoms satellite has been delayed until February 11, Russia's Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) said in Sunday.
The launch of a Proton-M rocket with a Thor-5 satellite from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan was originally planned for February 10 but subsequently delayed until 2:34 p.m. Moscow time (11:34 a.m. GMT) February 11 due to technical problems, Roscosmos said.
Revolutionary nano-needle can peer into a cell
By IANS,
Washington : A revolutionary nano-needle, developed by researchers, not only peers into individual cells, but also acts as electro-chemical probe and optical biosensor.
"Nano-needle-based delivery is a powerful new tool for studying biological processes and biophysical properties at the molecular level inside living cells," said Min-Feng Yu, professor of mechanical science and study coauthor, University of Illinois (U of I).
Biometric system to monitor endangered species
By IANS,
Washington : Biologists will now be able to identify and monitor endangered animals without capturing or trapping them.
University of Bristol scientists have devised an intelligent, non-intrusive surveillance system that can be integrated with wildlife habitats and provide detailed and reliable data on endangered species.
The research develops computer vision and human biometrics in order to better understand and conserve endangered species, especially the African penguin (Spheniscus demersus).
It takes peanuts to clean water
By IANS
London : Peanut husk, one of the largest waste products of the food industry, may be of some use after all -- it can help improve water quality, says a new study.
According to researchers at Turkey's Mersin University, peanut husk can be used to extract toxic copper ions from wastewater, offering a useful alternative to simple disposal of this food industry by-product.
Findings of the study have been published in the latest edition of the International Journal of Environment and Pollution.
Swedish team hopeful of Technopark tie-ups
Thiruvananthapuram (IANS) : A Swedish team visiting the country is holding talks with companies in Technopark campus here to explore possibilities of business deals between IT firms of the two countries.
The Swedish team consisted of Maria Johansson of Aurorum Science Park, and Michael Nilsson of Centre for Distance-Spanning Technology (CDT) of the Lulea University of Technology in Sweden.
Speaking to IANS, Johansson said that they held exploratory talks with a few IT companies in Technopark and have been impressed with the outcome.
Harmony module attached to International Space Station
By DPA
Washington : Two astronauts from the US space shuttle Discovery have completed the mission's first space walk at the International Space Station (ISS).
The two US citizens Scott Parazynski and Douglas Wheelock Friday installed the Harmony linking module, which is due to be used in December for docking the European space laboratory Columbus, in a temporary location outside the ISS.
They first prepared the module before crew inside the station used its robotic arm to move it into position.
Endeavour astronauts begin final spacewalk
By DPA
Washington : Astronauts Robert Behnken and Mike Foreman began the Endeavour's fifth and final spacewalk Saturday to stow a boom outside the space station that the shuttle will leave behind when it returns to Earth next week.
The 17-metre-long boom was designed as a safety backstop to help the ageing shuttles perform post-launch self examinations for tile damage. Tears in the outer thermal skin that occurred on liftoff were blamed for the 2003 Colombia disaster that killed its seven astronauts as they tried to return to Earth.
UN ecology experts look to new nature-given technologies
By DPA,
Bonn (Germany) : New technologies gleaned from observing nature are set to provide exciting applications in the decades ahead that will supersede current environmentally destructive practices, UN experts said Wednesday.
Ahmed Djoghlaf, general secretary of the UN Convention on Biodiversity (CBD), called on entrepreneurs to "wake up" to the new possibilities and to "work with nature, not against it."
Djoghlaf was speaking on the sidelines of the ninth conference of the parties to the CBD being held in the German city of Bonn.
Mars rover Opportunity takes dip into giant crater
By Xinhua
Washington : NASA's Mars rover Opportunity entered Victoria Crater for the first time to explore the richest science trove of its long mission.
On the rover's 1,291st Martian day, Opportunity radioed home information via a relay by NASA's Mars Odyssey orbiter, reporting its activities for the day, according to NASA mission updates Tuesday.
Astronauts begin spacewalk to remove ammonia tank
By DPA,
Washington : Two US spacewalkers left the International Space Station (ISS) Tuesday to remove an empty ammonia tank that is crucial for keeping the station cool.
John "Danny" Olivas and Nicole Stott left the ISS at 2149 GMT for the planned six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk.
They will disconnect lines that transfer ammonia and nitrogen in the tank, unhook the electricity and unbolt the tank before lifting it away from the station and placing it on the robotic arm to be moved out of the way.
Can the red planet support life?
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : As NASA's Phoenix Lander prepared to dig on Mars after an incredible 422-million mile voyage, an Indian American engineer who was among those who helped steer it there hoped it would tell if the red planet could support life.
"It's going to answer the age-old question of are we alone in the universe" said Prasun Desai, a senior engineer at NASA's Langley Research Centre in Hampton, Virginia, who led the team that made the mission to mars successful.
New approach helps solar cells harvest light more efficiently
By IANS,
Washington : Lacing solar cells with nano-sized metallic particles will vastly improve their ability to harvest light more efficiently and cheaply.
Like plants, solar cells turn light into energy. Plants do this inside vegetable matter, while solar cells do it in a semiconductor crystal doped with extra atoms.
Current solar cells cannot convert all the incoming light into usable energy because some of the light can escape back out of the cell into the air.
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...
Indian American works out low-cost strategy to curb computer worms
By IANS,
Washington : Network administrators might soon be able to mount effective, low-cost defences against self-propagating infectious programmes known as worms, thanks to a new strategy devised by an Indian American researcher.
Many computers are already equipped with software that can detect when another computer is attempting to attack it. Yet the software usually cannot identify newly-minted worms that do not share features with earlier marauders.
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.
UAE firm develops robot that can talk
By IANS,
Abu Dhabi : A United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based company has unveiled a new generation humanoid robot that can converse with humans.
Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan attended a function organised by the Abu Dhabi-based Pal Technology Wednesday night to launch the next generation humanoid robot Reem B, the state-run Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.
Reem B is the evolution of the first humanoid robot Reem A, created by Pal Technology Robotics.
Egyptians suffered heart attacks 3,500 years ago
By IANS,
Washington : Ancient Egyptian mummies, some as old as 3,500 years, showed hardening of arteries, suggesting that heart attacks and stroke afflicted the ancients too.
"Atherosclerosis, despite differences in ancient and modern lifestyles, was rather common in ancient Egyptians of high socio-economic status living," says Gregory Thomas, clinical professor of cardiology at the University of California-Irvine (UCI).
"The findings suggest that we may have to look beyond modern risk factors to fully understand the disease," said Thomas, principal study co-investigator.
Texas University unveils world’s most powerful laser
By IANS
New York : The world's most powerful laser, more dazzling than sunlight on the sun's surface, has been unveiled. Its output is 2,000 times the combined energy generated by all US power plants.
Known as Texas Petawatt laser, it will enable University of Texas researchers to create and study matter at some of the most extreme conditions, including gases at temperatures greater than those in the sun and solids at pressures of many billions of atmospheres.
Lumbering pachyderms almost as mobile as horses: Study
By IANS,
London : In popular perception, playful pachyderms are perceived as stiff gaited, but latest research has established that they are almost as mobile as trotting horses.
For example, John Hutchinson of The Royal Veterinary College visited several zoos in Britain and had even been to Thailand to study how Asian elephants moved their legs as they walk and run.
Keepers of Colchester and Whipsnade Zoos in Britain were keen to know more about the animals' natural limb movements in order to develop training programmes and prevent the onset of arthritis.
India’s next moon mission banks on Russia, no Mars race with China: ISRO chief
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
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).
Space taxis: Bold new era or death of manned exploration?
By Anne K. Walters, DPA,
Cape Canaveral (Florida) : The massive cement expanses that dot the flat Florida landscape have been launching pads for history: the first US astronauts blasted into orbit, the Apollo missions to the moon and nearly 30 years of space shuttle flights. But human space travel from Kennedy Space Centre will soon come to a halt.
After nearly three decades, the space shuttle programme is set to come to a close in September.
Digital invasion of privacy just a step away: Experts
By IANS,
London : Digital invasion of privacy is a step closer to reality, thanks to an increasingly intrusive technology that can track every single movement of ours or the words that we whisper.
The combination of information and communication technologies and pervasive computing will soon help continuously monitor individual activity, beyond what was feared by George Orwell in 1984, warned social psychologist Saadi Lahlou and other experts in a special report.
India to have 1.4 bn mobile subscribers by 2020: Report
New Delhi: India will have at least 1.4 billion mobile subscribers by 2020, resulting in a population penetration of 100 percent, says a report...
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.
Mapping a tiny but ruthless killer
By IANS,
London : Don't go by its size. The Etruscan shrew, one of tiniest known mammals that weighs just two grams, ranks among the quickest, most ruthless and adaptive predators.
It overcomes starvation by feeding twice its weight of crickets, cockroaches and spiders daily, preys that are nearly its size. Hence the attacks have to be quick as a flash.
“The Etruscan shrews trust in their sense of touch and the tactile shape recognition to an extent we do not know from other animal species,” said Michael Brecht of Bernstein Centre in Berlin.
Samsung launches Galaxy Note 800 in India
By IANS,
New Delhi: Samsung Electronics Friday launched a new tablet, Galaxy Note 800, in the Indian market expanding its product portfolio.
New filtering technique could be answer to toxic oil spills
By IANS,
Washington : A new filtering membrane could be the long awaited answer to toxic oil spills, besides providing safer water and detoxifying industrial effluents.
The new technology, designed by materials engineers, works by attracting water while beading oil, traits that are antagonistic.
"We take mixtures of oil dispersed in water and run them through these filters, and we are getting 98 percent separation," said Jeffrey Youngblood, assistant professor of materials engineering at Purdue University and co-author of the study that reported the findings.
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.
India to build world’s largest solar telescope
By IANS,
Bangalore : India is inching closer towards building the world's largest solar telescope in Ladakh on the foothills of the Himalayas that aims to study the sun's microscopic structure.
The National Large Solar Telescope (NLST) project has gathered momentum with a global tender floated for technical and financial bidding by the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA).
Oxygen content in Ladakh up 50 percent: Scientists
By Ritu Sharma, IANS,
Leh (Jammu and Kashmir) : Anyone visiting Ladakh for the first time can be left gasping for breath due to low oxygen levels in the high altitude region. But a successful plantation drive has brought about environmental changes - driving up oxygen content by 50 percent and, most unusually, making it rain, say Indian scientists.
Biocon gets regulatory nod to market cancer drug
By IANS
Bangalore : Biocon Ltd, the country's leading biotechnology firm, has received approval from Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to market Abraxane, a new drug to treat breast cancer.
The drug, manufactured by US-based Abraxis BioScience Inc, will be sold under licence, according to a company statement released here Thursday.
"Abraxane eliminates the need for pre-medication with steroids or antihistamines. It will also facilitate affordable access to supportive care therapy to cancer patients in India," the statement pointed out.
Low carbon electricity to power hybrid cars
By IANS,
Washington : Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions that fuel global warming, but the benefits are highly dependent on how the power system changes in future.
"Plug-in hybrids represent an opportunity to reduce oil consumption, leverage next-generation bio-fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions."
375 million-year-old fossil of ‘mother fish’ discovered
By IANS,
Sydney : A Museum Victoria team announced its latest and the most remarkable find Thursday -- a 375 million-year-old fossil of placoderm fish with intact embryo and mineralised umbilical cord.
The fossil, one of the most significant discoveries ever made by scientists, also happens to be that of the world's oldest known vertebrate mother.
It provides the earliest evidence of vertebrate sexual reproduction, wherein the males (possessing clasping organs similar to modern sharks and rays) internally fertilised females.
Politicising the military: A strategic blunder
By Admiral Arun Prakash (retd)
India's armed forces, apart from their role of safeguarding the nation, provide a bright strand in the national fabric,...
A smart citizen card can be among government’s top feats
By Prasanto K. Roy, IANS,
This can become the largest database on planet earth and the oldest technology-driven plan that is still doing the rounds in India - a unique, single identity smart card for every citizen and resident in the country.
Don't expect it in 2011, despite Home Minister P. Chidambaram promising a smart card in the hands of every Indian by then. But even if it eventually does happen within this government's tenure, it would be one of its top achievements.
MESSENGER unveils hidden side of Mercury
By Xinhua
Beijing : NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft sent back to Earth new images of Mercury, unveiling a side of the planet never seen before, media reported Thursday.
The car-sized spacecraft zipped past Mercury in a Monday flyby and is relaying more than 1,200 new images and other data back to eager scientists on Earth.
The car-sized spacecraft zipped past Mercury in a Monday flyby and is relaying more than 1,200 new images and other data back to eager scientists on Earth.
Software embedded in soldier’s helmet pinpoints enemy snipers
By IANS,
Washington : Imagine a squad of soldiers who can pinpoint out-of-sight enemy snipers and identify the calibre and type of weapons being fired, with the help of software embedded in their helmets.
Engineers at Vanderbilt University's Institute for Software Integrated Systems (ISIS) have developed a system that can give soldiers just such an edge by turning their combat helmets into "smart nodes" in a wireless sensor network.
2 plus 2 may not always equal 4
When it comes to percentages, consumer calculating errors can be costly
By TwoCircles.net newsdesk
People deal with percentages every day: the performance of a stock portfolio, a sale at the department store, or the performance of a new hybrid car, are all often expressed as percent changes. As an everyday occurrence, calculating percentages should be second nature to the average person. "Not so," says Akshay Rao, professor of marketing at the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management.
Youngest known pulsar is behaving strangely
By IANS
New York : The youngest known pulsing neutron star - or pulsar - is behaving altogether like another type of star, a magnetar, forcing a rethink among astronomers.
One kind of neutron star literally changes into another, and scientists studying this pulsing neutron called PSR J1846-0258 at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre wonder whether they have stumbled on the long-sought missing link between different types of pulsars.
Invasive weeds threatening India’s biodiversity
By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : Toxic weeds, which came along with wheat that India imported over the last few years, now pose a serious threat to its crops, people and livestock, says a scientist associated with the National Invasive Weeds Surveillance Programme.
Sea salt worsens coastal air pollution: study
By IANS
Washington : When salty air and sunshine around busy ports mingle with industrial and shipping pollution, they aggravate the problem manifold, according to a study.
Emissions from marine vessels may be polluting the globe to a greater extent than hitherto suspected. The disturbing phenomenon substantially raises the levels of ground-level ozone and other pollutants in coastal areas
"This is a problem everywhere industrial pollution meets the ocean, as is the case in many of the largest cities around the world," said Hans Osthoff of university of Calgary.
Membrane to cut carbon dioxide emission from coal power units
By IANS,
Sydney : High-tech cling wraps that filter out carbon dioxide (CO2) from waste gases can help save the world, says the researcher who developed the technology.
The membranes can be fitted to existing chimneys where they capture CO2 for removal and storage. They are already being tested on brown coal power stations in Victoria’s La Trobe Valley, said Colin Scholes, a Melbourne University chemical engineer.
"The membrane material is specifically designed to separate CO2 from other molecules," he said.
Malaysia to shelve space programme for lack of funds
By DPA,
Kuala Lumpur : Malaysia's fledgling space programme will be temporarily shelved due to a lack of funds, six months after sending its first astronaut to space, a news report said Tuesday.
Science minister Maximus Ongkili said the initial plan to send a second astronaut to space could not be carried out due to a problem of budgeting.
"There's zero money. The ministry will have to look for money if it wants to continue with the programme," Ongkili was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times daily.
First letter of email address determines spam load
By IANS,
London : How much spam you get depends on the first letter in your e-mail address, a Cambridge study reveals.
Analysis of more than 500 million junk messages has found that addresses that began with more common letters were likely to receive 40 per cent of their mail from spammers. Those starting with less common letters, by contrast, would receive less than a fifth of their mail as spam.
Tricolour something new to look for on the moon
By IANS,
Bangalore : A time tested way to mollify crying children in the night has been to show the moon and tell them to spot the 'deer' or the 'old woman' on it. But from Friday night, many mothers in India may well tell the crying children to spot the saffron-white-green colours of the Indian national flag on the moon.
The Indian moon impact probe (MIP) that landed on the lunar surface Friday night has the three colours of the national flag painted on its four sides.
Armoured Mist Frog resufaces 17 years after ‘extinction’
By IANS,
Sydney : Researchers have stumbled on a frog species not seen for the past 17 years in a remote location in far North Queensland.
Ross Alford of the James Cook University informed it was feared that the Armoured species had been lost in the devastating outbreaks of amphibian chytrid fungus that started in the Wet Tropics 20 years ago.
"But Jame Cook PhD student Robert Puschendorf working with myself and its Amphibian Disease Ecology Group has found a healthy population of the Armoured Mist Frog well outside the areas it used to inhabit," Alford said.
AICTE chief, two others suspended over corruption charges
By IANS,
New Delhi: All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) chairman R.A. Yadav and two of his colleagues were Wednesday suspended for alleged corruption for which they are facing a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.
"The chairman of the All India Council for Technical Education, Prof. R.A. Yadav, who is under investigation for a criminal offence, has been placed under suspension today so that there is no possibility of investigation being influenced by his continuation in office," a human resource development (HRD) ministry statement said.
Scientists dispute virtues of ‘black gold’
By IANS,
London : The virtues of biochar -- or “black gold” -- in the soil, which was being touted as a possible carbon sink to counteract global warming, has been disputed by scientists.
A new study suggests that the supposed benefits of biochar (charcoal derived from wood) may be exaggerated. When charcoal was mixed with humus, there was a substantial increase in soil micro-organisms (bacteria and fungi), the study found.
15-yr-old Sahil Khan writes his third book on computer science
By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net
New Delhi: This Delhiite Muslim teenager is very different from millions of boys of his age. Sahil Khan, only 15, has come out with his third book on computer science. His latest book “The Tricks of E. Mail Hacking” was launched today at India Islamic Cultural Centre by its president and renowned Muslim entrepreneur Sirajuddin Qureshi.
AI’s Transformative Impact on Indian Education: Unveiling the Pros and Cons of Modern Tools
By Farooq Siddiqui
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a game-changer in various spheres of life, and its influence on education is revolutionizing the Indian...
Delhi gets India’s first remote controlled street lights
By IANS,
New Delhi: In a bid to conserve energy, the capital's main civic agency Tuesday launched the country's first remote-controlled street lights that can be switched on and off using an internet-enabled main server located in the heart of the city.
The first phase of this street light upgradation project, under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), became operational Tuesday and covers a distance of 101 km on 52 city roads.
Google, Bing sidelining Yahoo in search market
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
New York : Once the world's online search leader, Yahoo's share has sharply declined, putting it in danger of losing its relevance in a market increasingly dominated by Google with a staggering 65.6 percent share
Google unveils search by voice for Nokia users
By IANS,
Bangalore : Popular search engine Google has unveiled a unique mobile application for Nokia handset users to seek information on specific needs, the global software major said Monday.
"The application is equipped with speech recognition technology to understand Indian accents. Its software enables users of Nokia S60 handsets to access information on the internet by voice search," Google India said here in a statement.
Now recharge cellphones in seconds
By IANS,
Washington : An amazing 3-D nanostructure designed and developed by scientists may make it possible to recharge mobile phones in seconds or a laptop within minutes.
No sex for 100 million years – micro organisms baffle scientists
By DPA
Hamburg : Asexual micro organisms continue to display an amazingly diverse ability to adapt to their ever-changing environment as they have over the past 100 million years, according to scientists who are baffled by these creatures' non-sexual evolutionary change.
New research by scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Botanical Physiology in Potsdam, Germany, say they have discovered startling new evidence of adaptation to external environmental stimuli by asexual micro organisms.
Google plans to sell e-book from next month
By IANS,
Washington : US internet search software giant Google plans to sell digital edition of books in late June or July, throwing the firm into a battle that already involves Amazon.com, Apple Inc. and Barnes & Noble Inc.
Google has been discussing its plan for distributing books online for several years and for months has been evangelising about its new service, called Google Editions, a company official said Tuesday.
Spacewalk to mark giant step for China
By DPA,
Beijing : When Zhai Zhigang floats out of a space capsule wearing his 120-kg, $30-million pressurized suit, he is to set another landmark for China's ambitious space programme as it moves toward assembling a permanent space station by 2020.
Nearly three years after China's last manned space mission, Zhai should make his spacewalk Friday, if all goes well.
"The spacewalk is risky," Australian space analyst Morris Jones said. "The Chinese spacesuit has not been tested in space before."
"The Shenzhou's orbital module has never been depressurized before either."
India to set up new science research body
By IANS,
New Delhi : To boost scientific research in India, the government Thursday decided to set up a Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB).
After a cabinet meeting Thursday, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters that the contours of advanced basic scientific research are changing extremely fast at the global level and India needs to effectively respond to this reality.
Britain mulls asking private firm to run communication database
By IANS,
London : Britian is considering asking a private company to manage and run communications database that will keep track of all calls, emails texts and internet use, media reports said Wednesday.
The decision to put the management of the country's super database containing identities and locations of every person into private hands will, however, be accompanied by tougher legal safeguards to avoid unnecessay leaks and accidental loss of data, the Guardian reported.
GII: A group that tracks Indian cyberspace
By Frederick Noronha, IANS,
Bangalore : Does India have too many "cyber law experts"? What's wrong with the Blackberry service in India? How is BSNL's IPO shaping up? These and several such issues routinely crop up on India-GII.
So what is India-GII? Located in cyberspace, it is a network of techies and others fleshing out cyber issues in the country, tracking its progress from one of the most expensive and monopolistic telecom markets to one of the most competitive.
India-GII describes itself as a "list (that) has existed since 1995".
Giant asteroid to pass between earth, moon
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : A 400-metre-wide asteroid will Tuesday fly past earth, closer to it than the moon's orbit.
Use biotechnology for green development: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
By IANS,
New Delhi : Biotechnology provides a viable solution to almost every form of environmental damage and the government must pay more attention to it, says Biocon head Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.
Delivering the seventh Darbari Seth Memorial Lecture organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) here Tuesday evening, Mazumdar-Shaw made a strong pitch for development of biofuels in India without compromising food production in any way.
China launching center says it’s getting prepared for Shenzhou VII
By Xinhua
Beijing : China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center is getting prepared for the Shenzhou VII spacewalk mission scheduled for late September and early October, said director of the center Zhang Yulin.
"Preparations for the mission are in full swing, and we're confident in its success," said Zhang, a deputy to the 11th National People's Congress, in an interview with Xinhua on Saturday.
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.
Googlephone is coming next week for $530
By DPA,
San Francisco : A day after Google announced a media event for its Android mobile phone system next week, new details leaked out Wednesday about the first ever phone to be sold directly by the web search giant.
According to technology blog Gizmodo the Nexus One will be sold unlocked on a Google website for $530. The phone will work on GSM cellphone networks and will be offered at a subsidised price of $180 in the US by fourth-ranked carrier T-Mobile with a two-year talk and data contract costing $80 a month.
Evidence of first Indian settlers found in Tamil Nadu
By NNN-PTI,
New Delhi : A team of Indian scientists have discovered genetic evidence that tribal villagers living in Tamil Nadu were among the first migrants from Africa to settle down in India.
Geneticists led by Prof Ramaswamy Pitchappan of Madurai Kamaraj University have found out that the marker gene in the group of people from a small village Jyothimanickam near Madurai matched those of the first settlers in India.
The findings point to the fact that the villagers are among the direct descendants of the first settlers.
US solar industry ‘injured’ by Chinese solar cells
By IANS,
Beijing : The solar industry in America was "materially injured" by imports of solar cells from China, a US trade panel has claimed.
Russia’s Progress cargo spacecraft ‘buried’ in Pacific
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The Progress M-65 cargo spacecraft, which undocked from the International Space Station on September 17 and served as a temporary space lab, has been "buried" in the Pacific Ocean, Russia's Mission Control said Sunday.
"The cargo spacecraft's remaining fragments fell into the ocean after re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere is 11:49 a.m. Moscow time [8:49 GMT] on Sunday," Mission Control said.
Nine of 10 e-mails are spam
By DPA,
Mainz (Germany) : Most daily e-mails are not sent between friends or even business partners. Instead, 92 percent of e-mails sent between January and March 2008 were spam.
This was revealed by Sophos, a Mainz-based information technology security firm that regularly monitors internet mail.
The United States remains the world champion when it comes to spam as more than 15 percent originated there, the firm said.
Sophos, however, did not track the number of spams actually reaching the mailboxes of internet users.
Google enables Indians to build maps of their villages, cities
By IANS,
New Delhi : For a vast country which lacks adequately detailed maps for many of its areas, India is now finding an unexpected solution in the form of the Google Map Maker.
Google recently extended its 'map maker' service to India and has, within three weeks of its launch, drawn quite some attention to it in cyberspace.
Supporters of the project started sending messages out via the net, urging friends and colleagues to create their own detailed maps -- by adding details of features in the villages or urban areas where they live.
Stage set for Internet Governance Forum meet in Hyderabad
By IANS,
Hyderabad : The stage is set for the third edition of Internet Governance Forum (IGF), the world's largest Internet congregation formed by the Union Nations Secretary General.
About 1,500 participants from 100 countries will participate in the four-day meet beginning at Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) Wednesday.
With the theme 'Internet for all', the conclave will deliberate on key issues like reaching out to the next billion, promoting cyber security and trust, managing critical Internet resources and the Internet of tomorrow.
SAARC satellite to be launched by December 2016: ISRO
Bengaluru : India will launch a dedicated satellite for the eight SAARC countries by December 2016 to provide a range of public services, space...
NASA remembers storied past, but looks to uncertain future
By Anne K. Walters, DPA,
Cape Canaveral (Florida) : As the world marked the 40th anniversary of the first human on the moon this year, the future of the space programme that pioneering astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins helped found looks more uncertain than ever.
The Apollo astronauts are old men now. In July, it seemed like they recreated that golden age of space flight when they shook hands with US President Barack Obama, who praised them for their contributions.
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.
Chandrayaan-1 in lunar orbit after successful manoeuvre
By NNN-PTI,
Bangalore, India : India's first unmanned spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 entered the lunar orbit on Saturday after ISRO scientists successfully carried out a highly complex and tricky manoeuvre crossing another historic milestone in the country's space programme.
ISRO scientists at the Mission Control Centre near here fired the spacecraft's liquid engine at 1651 hours for a duration of 817 seconds in a hit or miss Lunar Orbit Insertion(LOI) operation in the maiden moon mission, 18 days after it was launched from Sriharikota spaceport.
Indian-origin engineers create device for faster wireless technology
Washington: Using an inexpensive Rs.3,600 inkjet printer, two Indian-origin electrical engineers at the University of Utah have for the first time produced microscopic structures...
NASA scientists find smallest, lightest black hole
By Xinhua
Beijing : NASA scientists have identified the smallest, lightest black hole yet found.
The new lightweight record-holder weighs in at about 3.8 times the mass of our sun and is only 15 miles (24 kilometers) in diameter.
Beijing : NASA scientists have identified the smallest, lightest black hole yet found.
The new lightweight record-holder weighs in at about 3.8 times the mass of our sun and is only 15 miles (24 kilometers) in diameter.
Beetle ancestors 70 mln years older than dinosaurs
By Xinhua
Beijing : Researchers have discovered that when it comes to longevity dinosaurs can't hold a candle when compared to beetles.
Prior to the latest study, beetle species were thought to have begun scurrying around some 140 millions years ago, about the same time as the rise of flowering plants.
Prior to the latest study, beetle species were thought to have begun scurrying around some 140 millions years ago, about the same time as the rise of flowering plants.
Universal Cable, Furukawa Electric join hands
By IANS,
Kolkata, April 21 (IANS) Power cable manufacturer Universal, an M.P. Birla group company, has signed a pact with the Japan-based Furukawa Electric for manufacturing and marketing optical fibre in India.
"By combining the pre-eminent position of the M.P. Birla Group in optical fibre and cable business in India, with significant experience and technical expertise of Furukawa, we will bring our customers a strong product," D.R. Bansal, Chief Mentor and chief executive officer of UCL said in a statement here Tuesday.
ISS astronauts take first steps to move Italy’s Harmony
Washington(DPA) : Two astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) have completed the first of three planned space walks to start a new construction project vital to adding European elements to the orbiting laboratory.
Station commander Peggy Whitson of the US and her Russian colleague, Yuri Malenchenko, completed an almost seven-hour space walk Friday, the first of three to prepare for delivery of the long-awaited European science module Columbus in December.
Indian American develops tool to image tumours
By IANS
New York : A team of researchers led by Indian American Sanjiv Gambhir has developed a new type of imaging system capable of picturing tumours to a precision of a trillionth of a meter.
The new system, which uses Raman spectroscopy, will be of great use to doctors who are currently hampered by the limited extent to which they can see such tumours.
Using a microscope modified to detect Raman nanoparticles, Gambhir's team was able to see targets a thousand times smaller than what is currently obtainable.
Japan successfully launches its first lunar explorer
By Xinhua
Tokyo : Japan Friday launched an H-2A rocket carrying the Selenological and Engineering Explorer, the country's first lunar probe satellite, from the Tanegashima Space Centre in southern Kagoshima prefecture.
The rocket, which is named Kaguya after an ancient Japanese fable, lifted off as scheduled at 10.31 a.m. from the centre on the Pacific off Japan's southern Kyushu island. The satellite and the launch vehicle successfully separated at 11.16 a.m.
What to look for in a photo printer
By DPA,
Washington : the best digital camera on the block, but that won't matter if your prints are no good. The fact is that to get the most out of digital photography, you need to devote as much time to learning about photo printers as you do about digital cameras.
Part of the challenge lies in knowing which photo printer will best suit your needs. Another part is understanding which features that are commonly touted by printer manufacturers really matter.
India, US to enhance cyber security cooperation
Washington : India and the US have committed to robust cooperation on cyber issues to increase global cyber security and promote the digital economy.
They...
Truecaller launches new messaging app from India
New Delhi : Truecaller, an app that helps identify unknown numbers and also block spam calls launched a new app on Tuesday that offers...
Repair to Discovery may delay scheduled flight
Washington, Sep 18 (Xinhua) Shuttle managers of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have decided to repair a leaking hydraulic seal of the space shuttle Discovery, which may delay its scheduled October flight.
Technicians will begin repair work Wednesday on the leaking hydraulic seal in Discovery's right main-gear strut, NASA officials said at a meeting Monday.
NASA shuttle managers will assess the ongoing repair work to decide how it might affect Discovery's Oct 23 target launch date.
Earth is twice as dusty as in 19th century
By IANS,
Washington : If your house seems dustier than usual, it may have nothing to do with your housekeeping skills.
Remote sensing system can sniff out hidden explosives
By IANS,
Washington : A remote sensing technique could sniff out hidden explosives, chemical, biological agents and illegal drugs from afar.
The new system, using terahertz (THz) wave technology, can also "see through" clothing and packaging materials that might conceal explosives or other dangerous materials.
In the event of a chemical spill, for instance, remote sensing could identify the composition of the toxic mix. Since sensing is remote, no one will be harmed, reports Nature Photonics.
Global warming brings tropical birds to Hong Kong
By DPA,
Hong Kong : The sighting of two rarely seen tropical birds in Hong Kong could be due to climate change, bird experts here have said.
The birds - a great frigate and the white-tailed tropic-bird - were both spotted around Po Toi, Hong Kong's southern most island, over the last month.
It was the first time the white-tailed tropic has ever been spotted in Hong Kong and only the fourth sighting of the frigate.
Both birds are usually seen in more tropical climates such as the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
IBS Software to open new centre in Bangalore
By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala-based IBS Software Services, provider of new-generation IT solutions to the global travel, transportation and logistics (TTL) industry, plans to open a new development centre in Bangalore by next month.
"This has been on our cards for sometime now and we are opening (another centre) in Chennai in the next fiscal itself," IBS chief V.K. Mathews told IANS Wednesday.
The Bangalore centre would initially have 300 professionals but would be expanded soon, he said.
Russian Proton-M rocket with Japanese satellite crashes
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : A Russian Proton-M booster rocket carrying a Japanese communications satellite exploded shortly after lift-off early Thursday, a space agency spokesman said.
The rocket, which was launched from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan at 2.43 a.m. Moscow time, experienced an engine malfunction and second-stage separation failure 139 seconds into its flight. It came down in the central Kazakh steppe, 50 km southeast of the town of Dzhezkazgan, the spokesman said.
Successful 3G bidders eligible for 2G spectrum space: DoT
By IANS,
New Delhi : Successful bidders for spectrum allocation for third generation (3G) telecom services will also be eligible for second generation (2G) spectrum space, the government said here Tuesday.
“Successful 3G bidders will be eligible for acquiring second generation (2G) spectrum as well,” Member (Finance) of Telecom Commission R. Ashok said at a conference ahead of the 3G auctions.
However, 2G-spectrum allocation will be subject to availability and operators will have to wait in queue, he said.
India has only 130,000 scientific researchers: minister
By IANS
New Delhi : India has a mere 130,000 scientific researchers against seven times that number in China, and the government is taking steps to address the imbalance, parliament was told Wednesday.
"We have just 130,000 researchers against some 700,000 to 800,000 in China," Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibil said during question hour in the Rajya Sabha.
"The Scandinavian countries have 7,000 researchers per million of population. In India, the figure is 156," he added.
Asteroid And Comet Threat Is A Challenge To Mankind
By Bernama,
St. Petersburg : The asteroid and comet threat is a real challenge to mankind in the 21st century, and it is described as "space terrorism", Russia's Itar-Tass news agency reported Saturday quoting the Director of the Institute of Applied Astronomy Andrei Fenkelshtein, as saying.
Speaking at the regional Itar-Tass centre, Fenkelshtein said: "This phenomenon is well studied from the scientific point of view even though speculations continue to revolve around the event that occurred one hundred years ago."
Software to measure emotions of Internet users
By IANS,
Toronto : While most people have gut reactions to websites, a group of scientists is developing software that can actually measure those emotions and more.
Aude Dufresne, professor at the University of Montreal (UofM) Department Of Communications, led a team of researchers that are designing a new software to evaluate the biological responses of Internet users.
Simply put, the new software measures everything in web users from body heat to eye movements to facial expressions and analyses how they relate to online activities.
Microsoft: surf skies from desktop
By Xinhua,
Beijing : Microsoft unveiled a public beta of its WorldWide Telescope (WWT) web application that allows star gazers and astronomers deep into the universe Tuesday.
"The WorldWide Telescope is a powerful tool for science and education that makes it possible for everyone to explore the universe," said Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft. "Our hope is that it will inspire young people to explore astronomy and science, and help researchers in their quest to better understand the universe."
China celebrates successful launch of its 2nd lunar probe Chang’e-2
By Xinhua,
Beijing : China on Monday held a celebration rally to mark the successful launch of the nation's 2nd lunar probe Chang'e-2.
New Indian research chair at UCLA to study consciousness
By IANS
Los Angeles : The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) here will soon have another Indian chair.
The chair - to be named Dr Mani Bhaumik Chair of Consciousness Study - will be set up at the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology of the UCLA.
The university already has the Navin and Pratima Doshi Chair in Indian History, set up by Los Angeles-based millionaire Navin Doshi in 1999.
Beverly Hills-based physicist Mani Bhaumik, who co-invented the laser technology that made LASIK surgery possible, will fund the new chair, named after him.
Hands-free technology for twiteratti while driving
By IANS,
London : British motorists would soon be able to use online blogging network Twitter while driving with new hands-free technology from car company Ford.
The system, called AppLink, allows applications on iPhones and BlackBerries to be voice-controlled, reports dailymail.co.uk.
It reads 'tweet' updates out loud while the car is on the move - but does not allow the driver to respond.
India successfully launches Israeli satellite Polaris into orbit
By KUNA
New Delhi : India Monday launched an Israeli satellite "Polaris" from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in the Southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
The satellite was put into orbit by indigenously developed Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), a spokesman of the Indian Space Research Organisation told reporters, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
Last year, Italian satellite Agile was also put into the orbit by PSLV, the spokesman said.
Polaris is a radar-imaging, remote-sensing satellite and weighs about 300 kgs.
Orissa’s first community radio station goes on air
By IANS,
Bhubaneswar: Orissa's first community radio station has gone on air in Konark.
The radio station, named Radio Namaskar, has been established by non-governmental organisation Young India near the Sun Temple of Konark. It is completely managed by local residents.
"We are just providing a medium to give vent to the aspirations, concerns and communication needs of the local community that are otherwise overlooked by the mainstream media," N.A. Saha Ansari, Young India president, told IANS Saturday.
Geologists stumble on ‘dinosaur dance floor’ in Jurassic oasis
By IANS,
Washington : Geologists have identified an amazing concentration of dino footprints, in a wilderness on the Arizona-Utah border where a desert oasis once flourished 190 million years ago.
The three-quarter-acre site - which includes rare dinosaur tail-drag marks - provides more evidence there were wet intervals during the Early Jurassic Period, when the US Southwest was covered with a field of sand dunes larger than the Sahara Desert.
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.
Life on Mars found but destroyed by mistake
By IANS,
London: Bungling NASA scientists are believed to have found tiny live microbes on Mars - but mistakenly killed them by boiling them alive, a media report said Saturday.
Lowly scrap iron can detoxify pollutants in wastewater
By IANS,
London : A Chinese researcher has used scrap iron to do the unthinkable - clean up and detoxity pollutants in industrial wastewater.
Wei-xian Zhang, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Tongji Univesity, Shanghai, concluded a five-year research project with the help of colleagues to detoxify pollutants.
The project, carried out in Shanghai, used iron, called zero valent iron (ZVI) because it is not oxidized. They obtained it in the form of shavings or turnings from local metal-processing shops for about 30 cents a kg.
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.
Russian, European agencies to develop manned spaceship
By RIA Novosti
Zhukovsky (Russia) : The Russian and European space agencies will develop a manned transport spaceship for flights to the International Space Station, the Moon and Mars, the head of the Russian agency has said.
"We agreed today with Jean-Jacques Dordain, the head of the European Space Agency, to form a working group to deal with developing a piloted transport system to fly to the International Space Station, the Moon and Mars," Anatoly Perminov said Tuesday after talks with Dordain on the sidelines of the MAKS-2007 air show in Zhukovsky, near Moscow.
Using laptops on lap could cause injuries
London/New Delhi, Sep 25 (IANS) A survey in Britain has shown that people who use their laptops on the floor, in bed or on their laps are likely to develop injuries in their neck, shoulders and wrists. The survey says regular breaks are necessary to prevent damage.
The survey by University College London found 57 percent of those surveyed had experienced aches and pains due to laptop use.
One in five had neck and shoulder pains, while 16 percent said they suffered wrist ache and 15 percent said their back hurt, reported the online edition of Daily Mail.
Increase in greenhouse gas emissions despite cuts
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists have recorded higher emissions of a greenhouse gas thousands of times more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, in spite of global efforts to curb its release.
The substance HFC-23 is a by product of HCFC-22, a refrigerant in ACs and refrigerators and a starting material for producing heat and chemical-resistant products, cables and coatings.
Can a Machine Heal a Heart? Why New Age Youth Are Turning to AI...
Samah Qundeel, TwoCircles.net
New Delhi: We once believed that technology would bring people closer. But somewhere along the way, it did the opposite. Today, it...
Scientists discover secret of rainforests survival
By IANS,
Washington : A rare trace element that helps rainforests trap nitrogen to support their prodigious growth could be the secret of their survival.
Most of the nitrogen that supports the rapid, lush growth of rainforests vital to our eco-system comes from tiny bacteria that can turn nitrogen in the air into soil fertiliser.
Until now, scientists had thought that phosphorus was the key element supporting the vast expansion of rainforests, according to Lars Hedin, professor of ecology at Princeton University who led the research.
Middle East ministers to attend water technologies forum
By DPA,
Singapore : Ministers from six Gulf countries plan to meet providers of water management solutions from South-East Asia, India, China, Japan, Australia and Europe, organizers in Singapore said Thursday.
The forum on June 25 is part of the city-state's International Water Week, a global platform from June 23 to June 27.
Ministers from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Oman and Bahrain are scheduled to attend.
Kanyakumari sees celestial play as moon blocks sun
By IANS,
Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu) : Thousands of people in this Tamil Nadu city watched the longest annular solar eclipse of the millennium that began at 11.06 a.m. Friday. Scientists and students from several parts of the country have converged here to study the celestial spectacle.
An 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.
Science Express chugs along to promote scientific temper
By IANS
New Delhi : From Aryabhatta's mathematical milestone of working out the value of pi some 1,500 years ago to India's yet-to-be-launched moon mission - India's major scientific developments were proudly displayed aboard the Science Express train that will visit 57 towns across the country over the next seven months.
Flagged off by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel from the Safdurjung Railway Station here Tuesday, the white-coloured train aims to kindle scientific curiosity among the Indian youth.
Mild tremors felt in Delhi, parts of north India
By IANS,
New Delhi : Mild tremors were felt Monday in parts of North India, including New Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh at 11:57 a.m.