NASA readies spacecraft for landing on Mars
By Xinhua
Washington : NASA said Thursday that its engineers have adjusted the flight path of the Phoenix Mars Lander, setting the spacecraft on course for its May 25th landing on the Red Planet.
"This is our first trajectory maneuver targeting a specific location in the northern polar region of Mars," said Brian Portock, chief of the Phoenix navigation team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The mission's two prior trajectory maneuvers, made last August and October, adjusted the flight path of Phoenix to intersect with Mars.
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.
New software to demystify planning process
By IANS,
New Delhi: A new software has been developed to "demystify and strengthen" the planning process at the panchayat level.
The Panchayati Raj ministry Tuesday said the software has been developed in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre (NIC).
In a statement here, the ministry said the software known as 'Plan Plus' is generic and open to customisation by states, line department and local governance agencies.
World’s first cloned, glowing rabbit to reproduce soon
By Xinhua
Shanghai(China) : Chinese scientists are expecting the world's first cloned rabbit will be able to reproduce in three months.
The genetically-modified cloned rabbit, born in a hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University's medical school Sep 14, glows green under a fluoroscope, a result of being injected with special genes. Scientists hope this special trait will be transferred to the rabbit's offspring.
The eclipse behind the clouds – and a dejected Taregna
By Imran Khan, IANS,
Taregna (Bihar) : The overcast skies cast a dampener and the rare celestial event unfolded behind rain clouds, disappointing the many thousands from India and the world. But the clouds did part momentarily to let the crowds glimpse the century's longest solar eclipse. And for some that was enough.
As the morning skies darkened into night over the village, touted as the best place to watch the eclipse, a moved Gaurav Singh said: "It was a memorable moment when I saw the skies dim into night in the early morning and the solar eclipse reached its totality."
Chinese spacecraft docks with orbiting module
By IANS,
Beijing: Chinese astronauts Sunday manually docked a spacecraft with an orbiting module, the first such attempt in China's space exploration history, authorities said.
ISS astronauts’ return delayed after Russian craft failure
Washington : The return of three International Space Station (ISS) astronauts, originally scheduled for later this week, has been delayed due to the failure...
130 websites blocked in Tajikistan
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Dushanbe: Over 130 websites have been blocked in Tajikistan in connection with "technical repair work", the country's telecom agency said.
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...
Now, strawberries can be grown in space
By IANS,
Washington : Astronauts may now be able to satisfy their sweet tooth as researchers have found a strawberry that can grow in space with little maintenance and energy.
Cary Mitchell, professor of horticulture, and Gioia Massa, a horticulture research scientist at Purdue University in the US, tested several cultivars of strawberries and found one variety named Seascape, which seems to meet the requirements for becoming a space crop.
Office 2010: Did Microsoft get it right?
By Jay Dougherty, DPA,
Washington : Will Office 2010 rescue Microsoft's ubiquitous productivity suite in the same way that Windows 7 resuscitated the reputation of Windows?
That's the billion-dollar question. And this week, with the official unveiling of Office 2010, answers begin to emerge.
Boasting a host of collaborative features, interface improvements, and seamless integration with the new, free Office 2010 Web Apps, Office 2010 is Microsoft's best attempt to redress the complaints that users had about Office 2007 while not throwing out the 2007 experiment entirely.
Five more exoplanets found in Milky Way
By DPA,
Washington : NASA scientists said Monday they have identified another five planets orbiting stars in the Milky Way Galaxy.
But none of them appears to be the long sought after Earth-twin that could support life the way the home planet does, Kepler telescope specialists said at a news conference in Washington.
Two NASA rovers weathered Martian dust storm
By Fakir Balaji
Hyderabad, Sep 25 (IANS) Two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, launched in 2003 by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), weathered a massive dust storm on that planet this July, a senior NASA scientist told the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) here Tuesday.
US launches spy satellite
By IANS,
Washington : The US Wednesday launched a spy satellite into space.
Microsoft offers free trial of Windows 8
By IANS,
London : Microsoft gave reviewers and the public their first taste of its revolutionary new operating system Windows 8, the Daily Mail reported Thursday.
U.S. expert: short-term earthquake prediction “very difficult”
By Xinhua,
Washington : After last week's deadly earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan province, quake prediction has become an issue of intense public concern. However, accurate predictions in the short term are indeed "very difficult," said Lucile Jones, a seismologist at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS),in a recent interview with Xinhua.
When asked what factors affect the prediction of earthquakes, she said: "This depends on what you mean by predict."
India sets up Rs.10 bn nano-technology mission
By IANS,
New Delhi : India has set up a Rs.10 billion mission to help scientists do research in nano-technology and innovate new products in fields like healthcare, textiles and drug development, an official said Friday.
“We have set up a mission to boost nano-technology in the country. The fund will be utilised over a period of five years,” Science Secretary T. Ramasami said Friday on the sidelines of an event on nano-technology at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
Russian cockroach conceives, delivers babies in space
By RIA Novosti
Voronezh (Russia) : A cockroach called Nadezhda (Hope) has given birth to the first creatures ever conceived in space, Russian scientists said.
Nadezhda conceived during the Foton-M bio-satellite Sep 14-26 flight. "We recently received the first batch of 33 cockroaches conceived in micro-gravity," Dmitry Atyakshin said in Voronezh Tuesday.
Though the newborn creatures already eat and drink, micro-gravity conditions may have had an impact on the natural darkening of their chitinous carapace, a part of a cockroach's exoskeleton.
NASA adds three more days to shuttle mission
By DPA
Washington : The ongoing stay of the US space shuttle Endeavour at the orbiting International Space Station (ISS) has been extended by three days, the US space agency NASA announced.
The revised schedule has allowed a fourth, extra space walk by shuttle astronauts Friday.
The decision was made after the successful operation of a new electricity hook-up allowing the shuttle to draw power from the ISS. The Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer System allows the Endeavour crew to conserve the shuttle's battery power.
5,000-year-old village ruins found in China
By IANS,
Beijing : Archaeologists in China have found the ruins of two 5,000-year-old villages in Mongolia.
The ruins in Hamin'aile village in Tongliao city in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region have been identified as possibly originating from Hongshan culture, dating back 5,000 years, said Ji Ping, a researcher at the Institute of Cultural and Historical Relics and Archaeology.
About 1,200 square metres have been excavated, and houses and tombs had been found, China Daily reported.
The PC you need for Windows Vista
By DPA
Washington : With Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system now on store shelves around the world, lots of PC users are wondering whether their machines are up to the task of running it.
One way to find out is to read the "minimum requirements" notes on the side of the Windows Vista box. But few take these seriously. So what do you really need in your computer to be a happy Windows Vista user?
Car made by Indian students wins first prize in US
By IANS,
Chandigarh : A car designed and built by engineering students from a Punjab town has won first prize in the perseverance category at an international competition, held in the US.
The car won first prize at the 'International Car Fiesta Shell Eco Marathon' held at Fontana, California April 15-18.
Ankit Khurana, team leader of the project, said here Friday: "Around 32 teams from different countries participated in this competition. We were the only team from Asia. We named our car Stealth and christened ourselves Team Stealth."
Ariane launches first pan-African satellite
By DPA
Paris : A European Ariane rocket has been launched from Kourou, French Guiana carrying two satellites into orbit - including the first pan-African communications satellite.
The Ariane 5 GS rocket took off at 21.42 GMT Friday, the sixth successful Ariane launch this year, operator Arianespace said from Kourou. Half an hour later, the pan-African television satellite RASCOM-QAF1 and the US satellite Horizons-2 were released into orbit.
The launch had been delayed one day due to a technical problem.
Guidelines for solar plants released
By IANS,
New Delhi : The government Wednesday announced guidelines for off-grid solar applications, as well as roof top and other small solar plants.
"The guidelines that we have released today are meant to tap into the diverse and enormous potential of solar energy in all applications - rural, industrial as well as urban. The guidelines are flexible, simple and market friendly," union Minister of New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah said here Wednesday.
New NASA tools bring Mars closer to young explorers
Washington : On the third anniversary of the Mars landing of NASA’s Curiosity rover, the US space agency has unveiled two new online tools...
Discovery astronauts begin spacewalk for ISS work
By DPA,
Washington : Two astronauts from the Discovery space shuttle began a spacewalk Sunday to carry out further work on the International Space Station (ISS).
Discovery astronauts Mike Fossum and Ron Garan were set to spend more than six hours installing a new nitrogen tank on the ISS and to carry out further work installing a robot arm on the Japanese module Kibo.
It is the third and final spacewalk scheduled during the current 14-day Discovery mission.
Researchers identify gene that may help improve rice yield
By IANS,
Washington : A gene in rice identified by scientists, that controls the size and weight of the grains, might open the way to high-yield variant and benefit vast numbers for whom it is staple.
"Our work shows that it is possible to increase rice yield by enhancing the expression of a particular gene," said Hont Ma, professor at the Pennsylvania State University.
Kepler camera launched: Other “earths”, where are you?
By DPA,
Washington : NASA late Friday sent the Kepler satellite into Earth's orbit with instructions to search for extraterrestrial life on Earth-type planets orbiting other stars.
The launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida on board a Delta-II-rocket was reported on a live blog operated by the Kepler project on the internet.
The Kepler mission, named after the 17th century German astronomer, is targetting about 100,000 stars in the Milky Way galaxy that scientists believe could have planets orbiting in a "habitable" zone.
Russia launches US telecom satellite
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia's Proton-M carrier rocket with US telecom satellite Intelsat-23 blasted off Sunday from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan.
Over 3,000 dinosaur footprints found in China
By IANS,
Beijing : Archaeologists in China claim to have traced the evidence of mass migration of dinosaurs from the country's east more than 100 million years ago.
The large track of over 3,000 dinosaur footprints, which was found in Shandong province, was facing the same direction. This might be a result of migration or panic escape by plant-eating dinosaurs after facing a surprise raid from meat-eating counterparts, according to experts.
Glaciers in southern Alps shrinking at alarming rate
By IANS,
Sydney : Glaciers in the southern Alps have lost 2.2 billion tonnes of permanent ice in a year since April 2007, the fourth highest annual loss since monitoring began.
For the past 32 years, the New Zealand based National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) has been surveying 50 glaciers in the southern Alps, using a small fixed wing aircraft, to record the height of the snow line at the end of summer
Yahoo to spend $100 mn to promote its brand
By Xinhua,
San Francisco : Yahoo Inc. said Tuesday it will spend $100 million to promote its brand globally.
"Our vision is to be at the centre of people's online lives - to be at the place where their world meets the larger world," Yahoo said in a statement quoting the company's chief marketing officer Elisa Steele.
"This is much more than an advertising campaign," Steele added. "It's about how Yahoo delivers its promise to the market in everything we do. Our brand strategy shows our commitment to delivering personally relevant online experiences."
Google takes on Facebook and Twitter with new Buzz
By DPA,
San Francisco : Google Tuesday launched a set of social networking tools for Gmail users, hoping to coax them to share photos, links and status updates without the need to visit sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Called Google Buzz, the new features were rolled out to a small number of Gmail account holders Tuesday and to the majority of users within the week.
It allows users to share photos, videos, web links, conversations with "friends" - defined as pre-existing Gmail contacts. Google said it may open Buzz up to outside users in the future.
Chinese taikonauts prepare for spacewalk
By XInhua,
Beijing : Two Chinese taikonauts have moved from re-entry module of Shenzhou-VII spacecraft to its orbital module, starting preparations for the country's first spacewalk mission.
According to the Beijing Aerospace Control Centre (BACC), two taikonauts were testing the functions of the control panels and charging the EVA (extra-vehicular activities) space suit Saturday morning.
NASA spacecraft photographs avalanches on Mars
By Xinhua
Washington : A NASA spacecraft in orbit around Mars has taken the first ever image of active avalanches near Mars' north pole, the space agency of the United States announced on Monday.
The image posted on NASA's official website shows tan clouds billowing away from the foot of a towering slope, where ice and dust have just cascaded down.
Washington : A NASA spacecraft in orbit around Mars has taken the first ever image of active avalanches near Mars' north pole, the space agency of the United States announced on Monday.
The image posted on NASA's official website shows tan clouds billowing away from the foot of a towering slope, where ice and dust have just cascaded down.
Lucknow geologist selected for second Indian trip to Arctic
By IANS,
Lucknow : Dhruv Sen, a Lucknow University geologist, Saturday said he had again been selected for the second Indian expedition to the Arctic.
"It is really a privilege for me as I am one of the eight scientists of the country who will be going on the Arctic expedition," an elated Sen told IANS.
All the eight members of the team would meet in Delhi and leave for the trip July 30, he said.
Sen said: "Geologically, the Arctic region is very interesting."
He was also a part of the first Indian Expedition to the Arctic in 2007.
Advance IST by 30 minutes, save Rs.10 bn: scientists
By IANS
New Delhi : A group of scientists have suggested that the Indian Standard Time (IST) be shifted forward by 30 minutes to reduce peak time energy demand and save at least Rs.10 billion per year.
According to a paper prepared by Dilip R. Ahuja, D.P. Sen, both from the National Institute of Advanced Studies, and V.K. Agrawal, Southern Regional Load Despatch Centre, Bangalore, the shift in IST by 30 minutes will help India use more daylight and reduce the peak power demand during evening.
India launches satellite-based air navigation services
New Delhi: India on Monday launched its satellite-based air navigation services, thereby joining a select league comprising the US, Europe Union (EU) and Japan...
Chandrayaan descends into lower lunar orbit
By IANS,
Bangalore : India's first unmanned spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 descended further into the lunar orbit Tuesday following the third orbit-reduction manoeuvre, a top space official said here.
"The manoeuvre was carried out at 18.30 (IST) for 31 seconds to push the spacecraft into a lower orbit at 102-km periselene (nearest point to moon) and 255-km aposilene (farthest point from moon)," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) director S. Satish told IANS.
In the current lower elliptical orbit, the spacecraft will revolve around the moon once in two hours and nine minutes.
Some soil bacteria act as clean-up agents too
By IANS,
Washington : Not all soil bacteria are bad. Some of them act as good Samaritans as they "inhale" toxic metals, strip them of their toxicity and then "exhale" them, say researchers. In the foreseeable future, they might potentially clean-up toxic chemicals left over from nuclear weapons production decades ago.
Using a unique combination of microscopes, researchers at Ohio State University were able to glimpse how the Shewanella oneidensis bacterium breaks down metal to extract oxygen.
Microsoft to launch Office 2010 for Indian users in June
By IANS,
New Delhi : Global software giant Microsoft Corp will launch the latest version of its popular application suite MS Office 2010 for Indian users in June, a top official said here Thursday.
"The Office 2010 will be available for both businesses and consumers in June," Microsoft Corp's India chairman Ravi Venkatesan told reporters here on the sidelines of an seminar on social inclusion here.
China sets up background atmosphere station in Antarctica
By Xinhua
Zhongshan Station (Antarctica) : China has set up a background atmosphere observation site at Zhongshan station in Antarctica as part of its 24th scientific expedition to the region.
Researchers at Zhongshan station will be able to observe surface ozone and gases like carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, as well as black carbon aerosol.
Warner Music, Amazon team up to sell DRM tunes
By Xinhua
Beijing : Warner Music is thumbing its nose at Apple and will sell music downloads without copyright protection technology through Amazon's online store.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has been vocal about persuading record labels to sell music downloads without copyright protection technology -- also known as DRM, or digital rights management. In announcing a deal with EMI to sell its music on iTunes free of DRM, Jobs predicted that half the music on iTunes would be DRM-free by the end of the year.
New species discovered in Atlantic Ocean
By IANS,
London : In a major breakthrough, scientists have found over 10 new species under the Atlantic Ocean, including creatures close to the missing evolutionary link between backboned and invertebrate animals.
The bizarre creatures, oddly-shaped, brightly-coloured or even transparent, that scientists have uncovered during a new study has "revolutionised" thinking about deep-sea life.
Scientists believe they have discovered more than 10 new marine species by using the latest diving technology, Daily Mail reported.
NASA praises Endeavour mission as global effort
By Xinhua
Beijing : NASA gave credit where credit is due, saying the successful return of the shuttle Endeavour was the culmination of a global effort to bring the International Space Station (ISS) one step closer to completion.
Moon mission is not expensive, says ISRO
By NNN-PTI,
Bangalore, India : Dismissing suggestions that Chandrayaan-1 was an expensive mission, ISRO today said the moon odyssey will enable India to upgrade technological expertise for exploration of outer space and ultimately help in setting up a base on the earth's natural satellite.
"Moon mission cost is less than Rs 400 crore, which is just ten per cent of annual budget of ISRO spread over many years," ISRO spokesperson S Satish said, countering critics who questioned the need for such a venture when other countries have already explored the moon.
‘The moon is better than any space station’
By Papri Sri Raman, IANS,
Chennai : Even as Chandrayaan-1, India's first unmanned spacecraft to the moon, enters the lunar orbit Saturday, one Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientist says the moon is well on its way to becoming the best international space station.
"It will be better than any artificial space station", said P. Sreekumar, head of the space astronomy and instrumentation division at the ISRO satellite centre.
"The moon has resources,"Sreekumar told IANS in an interview.
"To any man-made space station, everything has to be carted from Earth," he said.
China approves second-phase lunar probe program
By Xinhua
Beijing : China's State Council, the cabinet, has approved the country's second-phase lunar probe program, the Beijing Times reported on Wednesday. It cited Luan Enjie, the director-in-chief of the China Moon-orbiting Program.
"We are organizing people to make detailed plans for the program," Luan told a conference on Tuesday.
He also said that investment in the second phase would exceed that for the first lunar probe but didn't give specific figures, the Times said.
Indian origin man given key role in Yahoo! restructuring
By IANS,
New York : An Indian-origin man has been given a key role in the restructuring at Yahoo!. The new structure consolidates responsibility around two senior executives, Ash Patel, who has been with the company since 1996, and Hilary Schneider, both working under president Sue Decker.
Patel, as executive vice-president of the platforms and infrastructure division, has so far been responsible for an array of the company's technology infrastructure.
Sea-level to rise by one-metre this century: scientists
By DPA,
Berlin : Global warming calculations have been too optimistic, and the sea level round the globe is likely to rise a full metre this century, two senior German scientists warned Wednesday.
Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, who heads the Potsdam Institute for Research on Global Warming Effects and Jochem Marotzke, a leading meteorologist, said UN-backed data on climate change, predicting a rise of 18 to 59 centimetres, was out of date.
"We now have to expect that the sea level will rise by a metre this century," said Schellnhuber in Berlin.
Chandrayaan spacecraft moved further up in space
Chennai, Oct 26 (IANS) India's maiden moon probe spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 has reached nearly half the distance to the lunar orbit, crossing the 150,000-km mark from the earth Sunday morning.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) completed third orbit-raising manoeuvre initiated at 7.08 a.m. Sunday firing the liquid apogee motor for about nine and a half minutes.
With this, Chandrayaan spacecraft has entered a much higher elliptical orbit around the earth.
Giant observatory comes up 8,000 feet beneath Antarctic
By IANS,
London : The world's strangest observatory, as big as a cubic kilometre, has come up 8,000 feet beneath the Antarctic ice at the South Pole.
Cars still drive China’s development-first strategy
By DPA
Beijing : Giant power plants belching out clouds of filthy coal smoke often spring to mind when people mention China's worsening air quality. But the exponential growth of the car industry over the past 10 years has also added enormously to the noxious mix of pollutants swirling across urban centres.
As hundreds of new vehicles take to China's roads every day, the government is left in something of a bind between enforcing new environmental policies and its long-term development of the economically vital auto industry.
New technology to bring down cost of fuel
By Jatindra Dash, IANS,
Bhubaneswar : It may now be possible to bring down the cost of emulsified fuel and also reduce India's dependence on crude imports, thanks to a new technology invented and tested by the Chennai-based Hydrodrive Systems and Controls.
"The technology we have developed does not use any additives or surfactant," Hydrodrive managing director and inventor Srinivasan Gopalakrishnan said.
S Africa to launch battery car
By Xinhua,
Johannesburg : A South African-designed, battery-operated passenger car is to be unveiled early next year, Deputy Science and Technology Minister Derek Hanekom announced on Friday.
The development of the vehicle -- described as "beautiful" by those who have had a glimpse of the design sketches -- could not have come at a better time, he told MPs during debate in Parliament on the science and technology budget vote, the South African Press Association reported.
Researchers perfecting technique to suck carbon from air
By IANS,
Sydney : Researchers are working on a new technique to extract carbon dioxide from the air and cut down pollution levels.
The research, being conducted by University of Tasmania, could also lead to methods of recycling climate change pollutants to become environmentally-friendly compounds.
Chief project investigator Brian Yates said the research was part of a broader project to develop a model for breaking strong bonds that form the components of molecules, and how these compounds react with metal complexes.
World’s first wooden sports car unveiled
By Xinhua
Beijing : A U.S. design company has created the world's first wooden supercar, which would put both Porsche and Lamborghini in the shade with a staggering top speed of 240 mph, media reported Thursday.
The 4.6 meter-long, two-seater "Splinter" car, made from maple, plywood and MDF, has a 4.6 liter V8 petrol engine and a six-speed gearbox.
Beijing : A U.S. design company has created the world's first wooden supercar, which would put both Porsche and Lamborghini in the shade with a staggering top speed of 240 mph, media reported Thursday.
The 4.6 meter-long, two-seater "Splinter" car, made from maple, plywood and MDF, has a 4.6 liter V8 petrol engine and a six-speed gearbox.
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.
Green technology should be used to spur growth: PM
By Fakir Balaji, IANS
Visakhapatnam : Science and technology should be harnessed to convert urban waste into wealth, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Thursday while advocating the use of affordable eco-friendly technologies to sustain the growth momentum.
"Our scientists and economic policy makers have to strike a balance between the pursuit of high income growth and protection of natural resources.
Indian Mars Orbiter completes 100 days in space
By IANS,
Bangalore : India's maiden Mars Orbiter spacecraft completes 100 days Wednesday cruising through interplanetary space in its voyage towards the red planet.
"Health of...
Prehistoric rhinos roamed in Mexico, say scientists
By EFE,
Mexico City : The rhinoceros fossils kept in a museum in western Mexico belonged to an ancient rhino species called Teleoceras hicksi that lived more than four million years ago, scientists have said.
The fossils were found in the Jalisco state in the 1960s and preserved at the Regional Paleontology Museum in the state capital Guadalajara.
"When we learned that nobody had studied the fossils, we took the initiative and today we're describing for the first time a species that had been identified only in the US, lead researcher Ruben Guzman Gutierrez told EFE Thursday.
Lost Soviet rover on moon traced
By IANS,
Toronto : In an amazing breakthrough, a Canadian researcher has located the Soviet-era rover Lunokhod-2 stuck on the moon 37 years ago.
Phil Stooke, a professor at departments of physics & astronomy and geography at the University of Western Ontario at London near here solved the 37-year-old mystery using lunar images released Monday by NASA and maps from his own atlas of the moon.
Avnet Electronics eyes acquisitions in India to spur growth
By Fakir Balaji
Bangalore, Sep 17 (IANS) Avnet Inc., the $16 billion global electronics marketing and technology major, is scouting for design and product firms in India for strategic acquisitions and expanding its presence in the subcontinent.
"With India emerging as the fastest growing market in Asia for us, we are on the lookout for small and medium design and product firms that would complement our components and add value to our customers' requirements," Avent's electronics marketing president Harley Feldberg told IANS in an interview here.
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.
India moots international mechanism for space assets protection
By NNN-Bernama/PTI
Hyderabad : Warning that outer space may become the "battlefield of the future," India proposed a "robust" international mechanism for protection of space assets since they were "vulnerable to attacks."
New Delhi also told global space scientists to join forces in space exploration, asserting the world can "ill-afford the duplication of efforts and resources" in the face of many pressing priorities, according to a PTI report.
Is it time to upgrade your wireless network?
Washington, Oct 10 (DPA) If you go shopping today for any type of wireless computing device, ask yourself these questions:
Q: Do I have to purchase draft 802.11n products from the same company?
A: You probably know that to get faster wireless Internet and network access, all of the devices within your wireless network should be capable of operating at the same speed. That means that your router, notebook cards, and any PCI desktop wireless cards should be draft 802.11n.
NASA satellite pins down timer in ‘stellar bomb’
By IANS,
Washington : A NASA satellite helped astronomers pin down the timing mechanism in a ticking “stellar bomb” some 20,000 light years away.
The twin-neutron star, designated as 4U 1636-53, produces between seven and 10 bursts daily, releasing more energy in 10 to 100 seconds than the sun radiates in an entire week.
The astronomers said they were equivalent to 100 hydrogen bombs detonating simultaneously on a city-sized surface.
Pollen-coated bullets will help find criminals
By IANS,
London : British researchers have developed a new coating for gun cartridges with pollen and grit to help identify criminals that use firearms.
The new technique involves coating batches of cartridges with unique "nanotags" that are invisible to the naked eye and designed to attach to hands, gloves and clothing of anyone that handles such a coated cartridge. Some of the tags also remain on the spent cartridge casing.
China’s new computer does 1,000 trillion jobs per second
By IANS,
Beijing : China has installed the country's first domestically-made supercomputer capable of doing 1,000 trillion operations per second.
Tianhe-1 is scheduled to begin operations this month, according to the National Supercomputing Centre in Tianjin.
The supercomputer, developed by the National University of Defence Technology in 2009, enabled China to become only the second country after the US capable of developing a device with a speed of 1,000 trillion operations per second.
Space hotel to open in 2012
By Xinhua
Madrid : The Galactic Suite, the first hotel in space, will open for business in 2012, its Barcelona-based architects said.
Reservations for the Galactic Suite will begin in 2008, company director Xavier Claramunt said here.
"The Galactic suite will allow clients to travel around the world in 80 minutes," Claramunt said.
Bio-monitoring to track pollutants, trace elements
By IANS,
London : Bio-monitoring can be used in environments where a technological approach to monitoring pollutants, particulates and trace elements is not only difficult and costly but may be impossible, say scientists.
"It allows continuous observation of an area with the help of bio-indicators, an organism that reveals the presence of a substance in its surroundings with observable and measurable changes, such as accumulation of pollutants, which can be distinguished from the effects of natural stress," said Borut Smodis of the Jozef Stefan Institute in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
India adds 20.3 million telephone subscribers in March
By IANS,
New Delhi: India's telecom density rose to 52.74 percent in March this year as the country added 20.3 million subscribers during the month, the telecom regulator said here Monday.
"The number of telephone subscribers in India increased to 621.28 million at the end of March 2010 from 600.98 Million in February 2010, thereby registering a growth rate of 3.38 percent. With this, the overall teledensity in India reaches 52.74 percent," the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said in a statement.
In February, the teledensity stood at 51.05 percent.
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.
India to focus on sea, air and earth studies
By IANS
Chennai : India would focus on Arctic and Antarctic missions, study climate change and send new satellites into space to study oceans and the atmosphere over the next five years, an official said here Wednesday.
"India will develop new capability to drill deep into the ocean and by 2011, try to place a manned submersible into the dark depths of the ocean," P.S. Goel, secretary, ministry of earth sciences, told IANS on the sidelines of an advanced engineering conference here.
"Ocean, atmosphere and seismology will be the areas of action for us," he said.
Snappping of connectors caused launch failure: Scientist
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Science with cartoons: Lucknow scientist invited to Europe meet
By IANS,
Lucknow : A Lucknow-based scientist, who uses cartoons to make complex scientific works easy to understand, has been invited to participate in a European science festival in Spain.
At the festival organised by the European Science Events Association (EUSCEA), P.K. Srivastava, a senior scientist with the chemical toxicology division of the Central Drugs Research Institute (CDRI), will make a presentation on 'sceintoons' invented by him in 1988.
‘Molecular motor’ twice as powerful as auto engine
By IANS,
Washington : A powerful "molecular motor" that packages DNA into the head segment of some viruses during their assembly delivers twice as much punch as an auto engine, according to a new study.
Packaging DNA is an essential step in the ability of virus to multiply and infect new host organisms.
Parts of the motor move in sequence like the pistons in a car's engine, progressively drawing the genetic material into the virus's head, or capsid, said Michael Rossmann, Purdue University professor of biological sciences.
Russian ‘internet blacklist’ site faces attack
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow: A Russian website with a special register of "blacklisted" sites came under attack shortly after it went online Thursday, said the federal agency which runs it.
Solar mission to start with 1,300 MW, reach 20,000 by 2022
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's solar mission will set up, in its first phase, 1,100 MW of solar power through the electricity grid and 200 MW off the grid, with the objective of making solar power as cheap as power from coal by the end of the mission, Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah said here Monday.
Dinosaur museum in China sets new world record
By IANS,
Beijing : Guinness World Records has confirmed that a dinosaur museum in China's Shandong province is the largest of its kind in the world.
The Shangdong Tianyu Museum of Nature, which opened in 2004 and is devoted to dinosaur and other prehistoric fauna, applied for a Guinness World Record entry in June and received the confirmation Monday, said Yin Shiyin, deputy curator of the museum.
Indian lunar probe starts remote sensing of Moon
By RIA Novosti,
New Delhi : India's first lunar probe entered its final polar orbit around the Moon late on Wednesday and has now begun remote sensing of the surface, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said on Thursday.
Chandrayaan-1, meaning "Moon Craft" in ancient Sanskrit, was launched on an Indian-built PSLV-C11 rocket on October 22.
Site for Agra international airport to be finalized by March
By IANS,
Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government Tuesday announced that a suitable site for the proposed international airport at Agra would be finalized by March next year.
Soyuz spacecraft moved to launch pad for ISS flight
By RIA Novosti,
Baikonur (Kazakhstan) : A Soyuz-FG carrier rocket due to lift off Sunday to take a crew of three to the International Space Station has been moved to the launch pad at Kazakhstan's Baikonur space center.
The three-stage rocket with the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft was transported from an assembly facility to the launch site Thursday evening for pre-flight preparation procedures.
Global cyber security experts meet in Kuala Lumpur
By DPA,
Kuala Lumpur : More than 100 government officials and cyber security experts from around the world gathered Tuesday in Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur for a summit aimed at discussing policies to ensure tighter security on the internet.
"Just as there are malicious individuals bent on causing harm to societies and nations in the real world, governments around the world must prepare to deal with similar threats in cyberspace," Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said.
The perfect kid: part computer, part robot
By IANS
New York : Here's one kid who lives up to the dictum that children must be seen and not heard. Meet Wizkid. Part computer, part robot, this Swiss machine is as endearing as any child, but unlike most kids, it doesn't walk or talk, and it pays perfect attention.
More important, it will also hopefully change the way people interact with machines.
Wizkid will be on display at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) here and will be part of its Design and the Elastic Mind exhibit, which opens Feb 24.
India launching rockets to study solar eclipse effects
By IANS,
Bangalore : The Indian space agency is launching five rockets Friday to study the effects of the millennium's longest annular solar eclipse in the southern part of the country, an official said.
"Five rockets are being launched Friday between 1 and 3 p.m. to investigate the effects of the solar eclipse in the lower and middle levels of the atmosphere," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) project director P. Ratnakar Rao told IANS from Thiruvananthapuram Friday.
‘Dot-asia domain name leads to business image makeover’
By IANS
Brussels : The selling of domain names has been receiving a bit of an image makeover with the launch of dot-asia.
"As a not-for-profit organisation from Asia and for Asia, we want to create partnerships that will drive awareness and promote community benefits. One of the core mandates of the DotAsia Organisation is to contribute surpluses (of funds) back into community projects for Asia," Edmon Chung, CEO of DotAsia, told EuAsiaNews Tuesday night.
Since its launch Feb 20, DotAsia has received 350,000 applications.
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.
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.
Propulsion problems solved, Jules Verne ATV on target
By Xinhua
Beijing : Jules Verne, Europe's first space station cargo carrier, has overcome problems with its propulsion system and has initiated orbit-raising maneuvers, European Space Agency (ESA) officials said Tuesday.
The 41,887-pound (19,000-kg) Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), was slated to use its onboard engines to raise its orbit by about 53 miles (85 km), to 214-miles (345-km), in preparation for a series of test maneuvers that should end with a docking with the International Space Station April 3, mission managers said.
TV signals caused Russian rocket to miss ISS: NASA
By DPA,
Moscow/Washington : Television signals caused a Russian cargo rocket to miss its rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS), NASA officials said Saturday.
The engineers indicated they would avoid activating the system during Sunday's second attempt to dock, NASA officials said.
The Progress 38 cargo rocket missed its rendezvous with the ISS by three km late Friday. A new effort to dock is to be made at 1600 GMT Sunday and be broadcast life on NASA television.
Obama win keeps NASA’s space plans on course
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Washington : The re-election of US president Barack Obama could mean one small step back to the moon and a giant leap to landing astronauts on Mars and asteroids.
200 mn years old skeleton of giant dinosaur discovered
By IANS,
London : Scientists claim to have discovered the first intact skeleton of a dinosaur that is an ancestor to the sauropod, the largest creature ever to walk the planet.
Large Hadron Collider performing well
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : A detailed check of the world's most powerful atom smasher -- the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) -- has shown that it is "performing well," the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, known as CERN, has said on its website.
The atom smasher, running at a low energy, was restarted last Saturday. The first protons were injected into the LHC following a pre-New Year technical shutdown and travelled in both directions successfully.
New snake species discovered in Tanzania
By IANS,
London : The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has announced the discovery of a spectacularly coloured snake from a remote area of Tanzania in East Africa.
Endeavour shuttle roars back to Earth
By IANS
For minutes after the precisely timed landing, fire spewed from the spacecraft's engines - a standard phenomenon that often goes unremarked by ordinary viewers during the more common daylight landings.
The shuttle landed at 0039 GMT Thursday.
A crewmember called the mission "rewarding and exciting from start to ending", according to the audio transmission from the landing monitored in Washington.
Ariane lifts-off with Indian-built satellite
By IANS,
New Delhi : An Ariane 5 rocket carrying Indian-built European satellite W2M was launched early Sunday from Kourou spaceport in French Guiana, South America, a TV channel reported.
The satellite was launched at around 4.00 a.m. IST, DD News reported.
The 3,462-kg W2M was designed and built at the satellite centre of the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in Bangalore at $80 million (Rs.4 billion) for the European satellite operator (Eutelsat) under the ISRO-EADS-Astrium alliance formed in 2006.
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.
Dubai-based scientists produce region’s first identical twin camels
By NNN-WAM,
Dubai : In an unprecedented breakthrough in the GCC region, Dubai-based scientists have successfully produced the first identical twin camel using the embryo splitting technology.
Zahi and Baih, the two identical twins, were naturally born to two surrogate camel mothers on Feb 10 and 23 respectively after a pregnancy period of 13 moths.
According to the scientists team at Dubai Camel Breading Centre, the genetically identical cubs are in a good health.
Endeavour astronauts complete second spacewalk
By DPA,
Washington : Astronauts from the space shuttle Endeavour Thursday completed a second spacewalk on their construction mission to the International Space Station, which was marking its 10th anniversary.
Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper und Shane Kimbrough completed the second spacewalk at 00:43 GMT. The spacewalk lasted 6 hours and 45 minutes, and started 45 minutes ahead of schedule.
They moved equipment carts to allow astronauts to later install a truss, and lubricated the hand on the station's robotic arm and the joint on one of the solar panels that provides power to the ISS.
Nano coating ensures near perfect absorption of sunlight
By IANS,
Washington : A nanoengineered reflective coating on silicon solar cell, which otherwise absorbs only two-thirds of the sunlight, boosts it by another third to tap the valuable energy.
This huge gain was consistent across the entire spectrum of sunlight, from ultraviolet to visible light and infrared, and moves solar power a significant step forward towards economic viability.
The new antireflective coating developed by Rensselaer Institute researchers thus helps overcome two major hurdles blocking the progress and wider use of solar power.
Textile students devise anti-radiation shield for astronauts
By IANS,
Washington : Textile engineering students have thought up of an answer to one of the prime threats bedevilling NASA space missions: radiation.
The students of North Carolina State University (NCSU) have designed a 'blanket' that could shield lunar outposts and astronauts' living quarters from radiation, while generating and storing power.
The 'lunar texshield' is made from a lightweight polymer material that has a layer of radiation shielding that deflects or absorbs the radiation so astronauts are only exposed to a safe amount.
Russian archaeologists find unique mummies in Egypt
By RIA Novosti
Al-Fayum (Egypt) : Russian archaeologists have found well-preserved mummies in Egypt, dating back to the Ptolemaic era, the head of the Russian Academy of Science's Egyptology department has announced.
"Well-preserved mummies of this period are extremely rare," Galina Belova said. The discoveries were made in the Egyptian oasis of Al-Fayum, where several mummies, combining traits of Hellenic and Egyptian traditions, have previously been found.
Spacecraft images show rings of Saturn’s 2nd largest moon
By Xinhua
Los Algeles : Saturn's second largest moon, Rhea, may have rings, according to images from a spacecraft managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Los Angeles.
The finding was described in a study published in the March 7 issue of the journal Science.
Scientists at NASA believe the rings may be the remnants of an asteroid or comet collision, which circulated large quantities of gas and solid particles around Rhea.
New tech helps physically impaired enter virtual worlds
By IANS,
Washington : Relying on fleeting brain waves, a futuristic technology enables people with severe muscle disorder to operate computers and enter a 3-D virtual world to chat or stroll.
The technology, demonstrated by Junichi Ushiba of Keio University, opens up a world of possibilities for serious motion-impaired people to communicate with others and to work normally.
This marriage of leading-edge technologies in brain science and the Internet also heralds the world's first successful example to help the physically impaired meet people in the virtual world.
Atlantis astronauts end third spacewalk
By DPA,
Washington : Two astronauts from the space shuttle Atlantis ended the mission's third and last spacewalk after successfully installing an oxygen tank on the outside of the International Space Station (ISS).
The spacewalk on Monday lasted five hours and 42 minutes for astronauts Robert Satcher Jr and Randy Bresnik, who also performed other maintenance upgrades.
Atlantis is scheduled to begin its return journey to Earth on Wednesday, with touchdown at Cape Canaveral expected on Saturday.
India’s death threat for the BlackBerry
By Prasanto K. Roy, IANS,
So the die is cast. In a meeting on Thursday, India's home ministry asked the Department of Telecom (DoT) to read the riot act to mobile operators running BlackBerry services: Either provide full access to Indian law enforcement, or face a shutdown on Sep 1.
Mars to be closest to Earth on March 5
By IANS,
New Delhi : Watch out for Mars shining brightly in the sky around midnight Monday, as the red planet will be closest to the Earth.
NASA, Europeans plan new missions to Jupiter, Saturn
By Xinhua,
Washington : The US space agency NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) would conduct missions to Jupiter, Saturn and many moons that circle the planets, the agencies announced.
The missions include sending multiple spacecraft to the Jupiter and Saturn systems to explore the planets and their unique satellites, such as Jupiter's ice-covered Europa and Saturn's shrouded moon Titan.
Webcast: the next-gen communication tool
Mumbai : In an effort to cash in on India's growing Internet broadband applications sector, Citigroup-owned broadband service provider YOU Telecom has launched "webcast" or Internet broadcast, an effective, viewer and user-friendly "one-to-one" communication tool.
"Webcasting as a communication tool is common in developed countries but in India it is still at a nascent stage," said YOU Telecom CEO E.V.S. Chakravarthy here.
Russian space freighter to be ‘buried’ in Pacific
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia's last space freighter with an analogue control system will reenter the Earth's atmosphere Sunday before plunging into a "spaceship cemetery" in the southern Pacific, the Russian Mission Control said.
The Progress M-67 cargo spaceship, which arrived at the International Space Station July 29, bringing 2.5 tonnes of supplies, including fuel, water and various equipment, successfully undocked from the world's sole orbiter Sep 21.
India’s moon mission operation suspended
By IANS,
Bangalore : India suspended its first moon mission operation after the lunarcraft Chandrayaan-1 lost radio contact with the earth in the wee hours of Saturday, a top official of the Indian space agency said.
"At the moment, we have suspended the operation. Calling off the mission depends on what elements we get back. Whether there is any possibility of restoring contact with the spacecraft. These things are being investigated," the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman G. Madhavan Nair told news channels at his residence in this tech hub.
Indonesia launches tsunami early warning system
By DPA,
Jakarta : A tsunami early warning system developed and funded by five donor countries began operations Tuesday in Indonesia, nearly four years after the Asian tsunami of December 2004, which claimed 230,000 lives.
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who attended the launch ceremony in Jakarta, expressed pride over the development of the technology in Indonesia but reminded the country that the equipment was not an end-all, be-all but would only provide help.
The German government financed the 45-million-euro ($58-million) project.
Indian-American helps design energy-saving PCs
By IANS,
Washington : Personal computers may soon save large amounts of energy by "sleep talking".
Doctoral researcher Yuvraj Agarwal of the University of California San Diego (UCSD) in collaboration with computer scientists has created a plug-and-play hardware prototype for personal computers (PCs) that induces a new energy saving state known as "sleep talking".
Global space congress begins amid tight security
By IANS
Hyderabad : The 58th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) began Monday amid tight security at the international convention centre in this hi-tech city, with about 2,000 delegates, including heads of global space agencies.
The five-day event, being held for the first time here, was inaugurated by Prithviraj Chavan, minister of state in the prime minister's office (PMO), in the presence of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G. Madhavan Nair and a host of dignitaries from 45 countries.
Polaris Software to enter real estate business
By IANS,
Chennai : Banking software company Polaris Software Lab Ltd has decided to get into the real estate business, subject to regulatory approvals.
A decision to this effect was taken by the company's board here Thursday, Polaris said in a stock exchange filing.
While Polaris executives were not available to comment on the diversification, sources close to the development told IANS that the company has some surplus land in Gurgaon near the national capital after building its software development centre.
Airbus announced further delays of A380 program
By Xinhua,
Paris : European aircraft manufacturer Airbus on Tuesday announced further delays in the delivery of its A380 super-jumbo jet, saying that the projected production timetable was "not entirely feasible," according to reliable sources.
"Airbus has completed a review of the A380 program and would now like to inform its customers of changes in the timing of the deliveries," Airbus, a subsidiary of the European aerospace group EADS, said in a statement.
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.
NASA Destroys Rocket after Launch Failure
By SPA,
Washington : The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said it destroyed an unmanned suborbital rocket shortly after a launch failure early Friday from an island off the Virginia coast.
There were no injuries or property damage, NASA said in a statement, but the agency warned that debris from the explosion could be dangerous. NASA believes most of the wreckage fell into the Atlantic Ocean off the Virginia coast.
The rocket, made by Alliant Tech Systems, was carrying two experiments. NASA said it is investigating why the rocket failed.
Smart clothes to power portable electronic devices
By IANS,
Washington: Engineers have created energy-scavenging nanofibres that could one day be woven into clothing and textiles.
The nanofibres can convert energy from mechanical stresses into electricity, and could one day be used to create clothing that can power small electronics, says a new study, conducted by University of California, Berkeley (UCB) researchers.
New tool detects impending quake 10 hours earlier
By IANS,
Washington : Seismologists, using ultra sensitive instruments, have detected minute changes that preceded small quakes along California's famed San Andreas fault by as much as 10 hours.
If follow-up tests show that such signal is widespread, then it could be the basis of a robust early warning system for impending quakes, said researchers.
60-second test can tell if IVF is successful
By IANS,
London : Scientists have devised a 60-second test to predict a couples' chances of having a baby through IVF.
‘India’s manned moon mission by 2020’
By IANS,
Guwahati : India would be able to send a manned mission to the moon by 2020, while the second unmanned spacecraft would be ready by 2012, said a top space scientist who was involved in the successful launch of Chandrayaan-1.
"If everything goes as per the plan, we will be ready to send a man to moon by 2020," said Jitendranath Goswami, director of the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad.
PRL is the laboratory that helped build a payload called the high energy X-ray spectrometer that will look for water ice in the polar regions of the moon.
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.
Houses with green roofs and walls cool cities
By IANS
London : Scientists in Britain say roofs and walls green with vegetation can reduce the temperature of cities as they reduce the need for air-conditioning on hot days.
Green surfaces absorb less heat from the sun. Green roofs and walls can lower temperatures by 3.6 to 11.3 degrees Celsius depending on the city, a new study has found.
Scientists compared the effects of green surfaces in nine cities around the world, including sub-arctic Montreal in Canada, temperate London in Britain, humid Mumbai in India, and tropical Brasília in Brazil.
Astronomers build world’s largest radio telescope network
By Wang Aihua, Xinhua,
Shanghai : Astronomers from China, Japan and South Korea are building the world's largest radio telescope array to study the Milky Way Galaxy and black holes as well as to determine the orbits of lunar probes such as China's Chang'e-1.
The array, called the East Asia Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) consortium, consists of 19 radio telescopes from China, Japan and South Korea that cover an area with a diameter of 6,000 km from northern Japan's Hokkaido Island to western China's Kunming and Urumqi regions.
Now, a robotic underwater vehicle powered by ocean movement
By IANS,
Washington : A robotic underwater vehicle that is powered entirely by natural, renewable, ocean thermal energy has been developed, holding out promise of almost indefinite monitoring of the ocean depths for climate and marine life studies.
Researchers have successfully demonstrated the Sounding Oceanographic Lagrangrian Observer Thermal RECharging (SOLO-TREC) autonomous underwater vehicle that uses a novel thermal recharging engine, powered by the natural temperature differences found at different ocean depths.
Yahoo launches voice-search via mobile
By DPA
San Francisco/Las Vegas : Yahoo Wednesday unveiled a powerful new version of its OneSearch technology for mobile phones that allows users to initiate searches faster using voice or text.
The new search module is believed to be the first voice-activated search available via cell phone. The company has already signed partnerships with 29 carriers around the world.
It will also make search instantly accessible on the idle screen of many phones and is seen by the company as a key plank of its strategy to make Yahoo the starting point for mobile consumers.
Smart card material to help computers switch on instantly
By IANS,
Washington : Ultra-thin ferro-electric materials used in smart cards will soon make computers more efficient by enabling them to switch on instantly.
Smart cards rely on ferro-electric materials to instantly reveal and update stored information. For example, in ATMs. A computer with this capability could instantly provide information and other data to the user.
Great white shark bite hardest of them all today
By IANS,
Sydney : The great white shark possesses the most lethal and formidable bite of any existing species, according to a new study.
Researchers calculated that the bite force of its extinct cousin, the gigantic fossil species Carcharodon megalodon (Big Tooth) is the highest of all time, making it the most formidable carnivore yet on earth.
Space Shuttle Discovery lands in Florida
By DPA
Washington : The Space Shuttle Discovery touched down at the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida after a 15-day mission that focussed on construction of the International Space Station.
Discovery, with a seven-member crew led by Pamela Melroy, the second woman to command a shuttle, landed at 18:01 GMT Wednesday.
"Well hello there, it's nice to be back in Florida," Melroy, who steered the craft to the runway, said over the radio after the safe landing.
China to introduce nuclear power technologies from Westinghouse
By Xinhua
Beijing : China's State Nuclear Power Technology Co. (SNPTC), officially inaugurated Tuesday, is set to introduce third-generation nuclear power technologies from the Westinghouse Electric Co.
Astronauts install ammonia tank on space station
By DPA,
Washington : Two astronauts from the space shuttle Discovery completed a more than six-hour-long spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS) Friday, installing a new ammonia tank used in the cooling system, NASA said.
US astronaut John "Danny" Olivas and Swede Christer Fuglesang ended their mission successfully at 0451 GMT. They got started nearly an hour later than planned because of problems with a communications device in Olivas' spacesuit.
China to launch first spacewalk mission in October
By Xinhua,
Beijing : China will launch its Shenzhou VII manned space mission, which will include the first spacewalk by a Chinese "taikonaut", in October, a spokesman of the China Manned Space Engineering Office said Thursday.
The official did not give the exact date of the launch, but said a day in October would be fixed for starting the mission.
A crew of six astronauts had been chosen for the mission, with three manning the spacecraft and three substitutes, said the spokesman.
ABB wins orders for power transformers
By IANS,
Bangalore: Leading power and automation technology major ABB Ltd bagged orders valued at Rs.310 crore from the state-run Power Grid Corporation of India...
Spacewalking astronauts repair Hubble gyroscopes
By DPA,
Washington : US astronauts Friday completed a delicate spacewalk to replace three pairs of gyroscopes aboard the Hubble Space Telescope.
In the second of five planned spacewalks during the mission, astronauts Mike Massimino and Michael Good removed and replaced the gyroscopes that keep the telescope aligned and pointed toward celestial bodies being examined by astronomers.
PM gives excellence awards to scientists, technologists
By IANS,
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday gave away the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awards to 21 scientists, institutions and to Mahindra and Mahindra for their flagship vehicle Scorpio.
The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awards for 2007 went to 11 scientists, including Narayanaswamy Srinivasan of Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science for his contributions in the area of computational genomics.
Watch Moon, Venus and Jupiter at their closest
By IANS,
New Delhi : As the sun went down Monday evening, the three brightest objects in the sky - Jupiter, Venus and Moon - came closest, a phenomenon that will not be visible again till 2012.
The two brightest planets in the solar system and the moon were seen just two degrees apart Monday evening and will be visible all through the night.
Several people thronged the Old Fort in the capital as Nehru Planetarium has put up telescopes so that the public can see the celestial activity.
Plans afoot for astronauts to orbit moon’s far side
By IANS,
London : Scientists want to explore the far side of the moon using a manned spacecraft for the first time since the Apollo landings of 1968.
Satellite collision debris no threat to ISS: Russian space agency
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The debris from the collision Tuesday involving two communications satellites poses no threat to the International Space Station (ISS), a spokesman for Russia's space agency Roscosmos said Thursday.
Alexander Vorobyov said that while Roscosmos could not confirm the origin of the satellites, the risk to the ISS and its crew was minimal.
"There are no registered losses in the Roscosmos satellite grouping," Vorobyov added.