Technology

By IANS, New Delhi : India Wednesday announced the schedule for auctioning radio frequency spectrum to private players for third generation (3G) telephony, with the process due to begin Thursday by issuing a general notice to interested players. The schedule calls for the process to end April 10. The government also said auction for spectrum for broadband services will also be held two days after the process concludes for 3G spectrum.

By Xinhua, Los Angeles : Mozilla, the group that oversees scores of volunteer programmers collaborating on the free Firefox Web browser, hopes to attract more visionaries to help change the way people surf the Internet, a newspaper report said on Tuesday.

BY IANS, Washington : Monitoring greenhouse gas levels will require a global data collection network 10 times larger than the current set-up, according to a study. Scientists propose increasing the number of measurement sites from 100 to 1,000, which would decrease the uncertainty in computer models and help scientists better quantify changes. The study's authors, Melinda Marquis and Pieter Tans, said the need for improved monitoring was imperative in view of atmospheric carbon concentrations now at 385 parts per million, ScienceDaily reported.

By IANS, Washington: The level of a single protein found in the tiny roundworm C. elegans determines how long it lives, says a new study. Worms born without this protein, called arrestin, lived about one-third longer than normal, while worms that had triple the amount of arrestin lived one-third less. The research also showed that arrestin interacts with several other proteins within cells to regulate longevity. The human version of one of these proteins is PTEN, a well-known tumour suppressor.

By IANS, Washington : The humble seaweed holds the potential of not only countering climate change but also providing bio-fuels to tackle the growing energy crisis, according to a new study. The large-scale cultivation of biofuels on land has serious environmental costs, including deforestation, water use and greenhouse gases - these are costs avoided by seaweed cultivation, reports Scidev.Net.

By IANS, London : The US researchers have found that astronauts in the prime of life, spending months in space, become as weak as 80-year-olds. The researchers made the discovery after examining muscle tissues of crew members on the International Space Station (ISS). The calf biopsy samples revealed that after six months in space, the physical work capacity of astronauts fell by 40 percent, reports the Daily Telegraph.

By IANS London : The mocker swallowtail butterfly's unique ability to hoodwink predators by sporting wing patterns and colours mimicking those of poisonous species is thanks to a developmental gene, say scientists. In a new study, biologists contend that an understanding of how these mimic patterns evolved may shed new light on whether such evolutionary changes occurred in small gradual steps, or in sudden leaps. A team of biologists used molecular tags and DNA sequencing to pinpoint the part of its genetic code that determines wing pattern and colour.

By DPA Jerusalem : Google Earth's upgraded archive of satellite pictures exposes key Israeli military and security sites, the Israeli Yediot Ahronot daily reported Friday, warning it made them easy potential targets for terrorists. Google upgraded its satellite images of Israel, almost doubling their resolution, in the past days, Yediot said, adding the new images consist of one pixel per two square metres, compared to previous ones which consisted of one pixel representing only 10-20 square metres on earth.

By IANS, London : Like soldiers guarding their posts in hostile territory and keeping comrades informed by radio that all is well, birds too are just as conscious about discharging similar "responsibilities", according to a study. Researchers from the University of Bristol have demonstrated that by warbling a distinctive "watchman's song", birds scanning for danger ensure their larger feathered family can focus on foraging, and so get more food.

By DPA, Hamburg : Google is testing a new social search function to make it easier for people find their friends' blogs and twitter feeds. The only catch is that users of the service need to have an open profile with Google that includes personal contact data. Once those conditions are met, the user can access the service at the Google Labs. Typing in "New York" will yield a list of friends in the user's social network who have posted items from the Big Apple. Settings can be altered so that only postings from close friends and acquaintances are included in the "social graph."

By IANS New York : Scientists have developed a series of global maps that show where projected habitat loss and climate change are expected to drive the need for future reserves to prevent biodiversity loss. The study found that many regions that face the greatest habitat change are in globally threatened and species-rich developing tropical nations that have the fewest resources for conservation, Sciencedaily reported.

By Devirupa Mitra, IANS Bogota : Colombia will soon have a sophisticated software programme to prepare, implement and monitor its national budget, thanks to an Indian software company. From his office inside the finance ministry building opposite the Colombian Presidential Palace in Bogota, Subramanian Ravishankar is leading a global team of 350 Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) employees working exclusively on this major government project.

By IANS Ahmedabad : Indian American astronaut Sunita Williams, on a week-long visit to Gujarat, Saturday advised students to study space science for the exciting opportunities it offers and also to "break my records". Speaking at a felicitation programme in her honour by Gujarat University, Sunita said space science was increasingly concerned with making the earth safe from the "effects of vacuum, a darkness that is beyond black and the massive temperature deviations in space".

By Xinhua Moscow : A Russian rocket failed to send into orbit a US communication satellite that was launched from Central Asia's Baikonur space centre early Saturday. The AMC-14 satellite, atop of a Proton-M carrier rocket, was put into a orbit with the apogee altitude of 28,000 km instead of the planned 36,000 km, the Itar-Tass news agency said, citing Russian space agency Roskosmos. The rocket blasted off at 02.18 Saturday from the Baikonur space centre.

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.

By IANS, London : A few hundred thousand billion free-floating life-bearing earth-sized planets may exist in the space between stars in the Milky Way, says a study.

By IANS/RIA Novosti, Moscow : The Arctic will have no ice during the summer by the mid-21st Century, says the head of the Russian Meteorological Centre. "In 30-40 years, the Arctic may have no ice in the summertime, including the North Pole," Alexander Frolov said, quoting data from an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. Frolov said levels of ice reduction in 2010 could exceed the record levels of 2007.

By DPA Washington : Let's face it - If you're a PC user, sooner or later you'll have to switch to Windows Vista. Microsoft routinely drops support for older operating systems and Windows XP's days are numbered. Vista will ultimately be the only option for many. But that doesn't mean you have to go to Vista cold turkey. You can install the operating system and set it up to work the way you want it to - even making it look like the operating system you're used to. All it takes is a little time and a bit of know-how.

By DPA, Washington : After several delays, the US space telescope GLAST was heading for a mission expected to shed light on black holes and the gravitational forces causing the universe to expand. GLAST was launched on a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida at 1600 GMT. GLAST's five-year, $700 million agenda includes up-close spying on the violent explosions and other cosmic catastrophes that astronomers have been observing through the Hubble space telescope and sophisticated observations from Earth.

By DPA Washington : You've probably heard of Skype - the Internet telephony application that enables you to make free phone calls with your PC - but you may not know whether it's right for you. Telephoning through the Internet, after all, has been available for years, but most applications that purported to make the process painless were actually difficult to use, unreliable, and impractical.

By IANS, Washington : In 2006, astronomer Alice Quillen predicted a planet of a specific size and orbit must lie within the dust of a nearby star. That planet has now been photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope, making it only the second planet ever imaged after an accurate prediction. The only other planet seen after an accurate prediction was Neptune, more than 160 years ago. "It's remarkable," said Eugene Chiang, associate professor of astronomy at the University of California Berkeley (UC-B), and part of the team that imaged the new planet.

By DPA

Washington : The planned launch of the Phoenix Mars lander has been pushed back, according to NASA.

Phoenix is now scheduled to be fired into space from Florida's Kennedy Space Centre aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket Saturday at either 5.26.34 a.m. or 6.02.59 a.m.

Poor weather at the space centre kept NASA from fuelling the rocket Tuesday afternoon and led to the decision to delay the launch.

By Xinhua Los Angeles : US researchers have developed a substance that can absorb carbon dioxide from smokestacks and tailpipes. Researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) developed the gas sucker by synthesising a new class of sponge-like crystals that can soak up carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas in industrial emissions, said the study published in the journal Science Friday.

By IANS, Bangalore : Tech-savvy Karnataka is set to promote Bangalore as a nanotechnology hub to replicate its success in information technology (IT) and biotechnology (BT) sectors, with novel initiatives to attract investors, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, a top official said here.

By Xinhua, Los Angeles : US space shuttle Endeavour landed in California Sunday afternoon after a 16-day trip, as unfavourable weather conditions in Florida prevented the shuttle from landing in its home base in Cape Canaveral. Residents across Southern California heard the twin booms around 1.25 p.m. (2125 GMT), when Endeavour broke the sound barrier under the sunny sky as it was gliding into local airspace en route to Edwards Air Force Base near Los Angeles.

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.

By IANS New York : Talking to each other for just 10 minutes may boost intellectual performance and improve memory, a new study had found. The study found that short-term social interaction boosted intellectual performance of people as much as engaging in so-called intellectual activities for the same length of time, reported science portal ScienceDaily. "Socialising is just as effective as more traditional kinds of mental exercise in boosting memory and intellectual performance," Oscar Ybarra, a psychologist at the University of Michigan said.

By IANS Bangalore : Leading chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Inc Thursday expanded its research and development (R&D) operations in India by opening a silicon design facility in the country's IT hub. AMD chairman and CEO Hector Ruiz, who inaugurated the new facility, told reporters that its Indian subsidiary plays a critical role in the company's global design network, including development of its most advanced, next-generation processing solutions.

By Xinhua Paris : The European Space Agency launched its first Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) into space Sunday, French media reported. The ATV was launched aboard an Ariane 5 rocket, from Kourou, French Guiana. The vehicle is designed to dock automatically with the International Space Station (ISS). The launch was initially scheduled for Saturday but was delayed for technical checks.

By IANS, Shimla : Partly cloudy sky Wednesday morning in most parts of Himachal Pradesh marred the early moments of one of nature's greatest spectaculars - the century's longest total solar eclipse, weather officials here said. "Clouds in most parts of the hill state remained an intermittent problem, with most areas reporting partly overcast conditions," meteorological office Director Manmohan Singh said. On the historic Ridge in Shimla, a large number of people, especially schoolchildren, have gathered to witness the eclipse through clouds.

By RIA Novosti Washington : Discovery shuttle planners have rescheduled a spacewalk to Saturday for fixing a ripped solar wing of the International Space Station (ISS), US space agency NASA's website said Thursday. The spacewalk, originally due to take place Thursday, will be undertaken by Scott Parazynski and Doug Wheelock. The two astronauts plan to use the space station's robotic arm to fix the damaged solar wing.

By IANS, New Delhi: India and Russia will Friday intensify their strategic and economic ties by signing over a dozen agreements, including an umbrella civil nuclear pact and another accord fixing the cost of the refurbished aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov at $2.35 billion. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will Friday evening holds talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who touches down in India close to midnight Thursday for a brief visit lasting less than 24 hours.

By RIA Novosti, Moscow : The re-entry capsule of the Russian Soyuz spacecraft has landed safely in Kazakhstan's steppe Sunday, officials said. Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, NASA's (US space agency) Michael Barratt and space tourist Guy Laliberte onboard the capsule landed safely in northern Kazakh steppe. Padalka was extracted first from the capsule, following which the other space travellers were extracted from the re-entry vehicle that landed on Earth several hours after leaving the International Space Station (ISS).

By RIA Novosti Moscow : Russia will need an additional $5 billion to complete construction of its segment of the International Space Station (ISS) by 2015, the head of Russia's rocket and space corporation Energia said. The ISS is a joint project of space agencies from the US, Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan. The orbital station is likely to remain operational until 2020.

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.

By IANS, Beijing : China will upgrade its lunar probe spacecraft for Mars exploration in the future, the country's top space scientist has said.

By IANS, New Delhi : Take out some time from new year eve revelry Thursday and look at the sky to catch a glimpse of a rare celestial phenomenon - a blue moon. A partial lunar eclipse will also be observed early Jan 1, 2010. The full moon on Thursday will be a "blue moon". A blue moon has nothing to do with the colour of the moon but when two full moons occur within the same month, the second full moon of the month is called a "blue moon", a term used metaphorically to describe the rarity of an event, as in the idiomatic expression -- once in a blue moon.

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.

Hyderabad : The Andhra Pradesh government is planning to use drone cameras in Rayalaseema region to increase surveillance on red sander smuggling, Chief Minister...

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.

By IANS, Washington : Scientists have developed an intelligent system that sniffs out chemicals in explosives and helps track terrorists who may fool existing security systems at airports. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing and Ergonomics FKIE in Wachtberg, Germany, have built the prototype. They have named it Hamlet, for Hazardous Material Localisation and Person Tracking. "Hamlet will alert security personnel to suspicious individuals," says head of department Wolfgang Koch from the FKIE.

By IANS/EFE,

By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS, New Delhi : Indian travellers are still not confident of planning their holidays online. Call it the fear of the intangible or the chip of technology on their shoulder, Internet travel portals are yet to instil confidence in the Indian globe trotter, who prefers to fall back on offline support networks - the travel agents, says Himanshu Singh, managing director of Travelocity. The use of e-portals is still restricted to a niche segment, the young and the Internet-savvy.

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.

By IANS, Washington : Researchers have isolated a fungus that produces a new kind of diesel fuel, describing the find as promising. The discovery may offer an alternative to fossil fuels, said Gary Strobel, Montana State University (MSU) professor of plant sciences. The find is even bigger, he said, than his 1993 discovery of fungus that contained the anticancer drug taxol.

By Fakir Balaji, IANS Hyderabad : Indian space programmes for education, healthcare, management of natural resources and weather forecast and disaster management are in great demand the world over due to their domino effect on living standards, a top Indian space agency official said here Thursday. "Nations across Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific are making a beeline to seek our expertise and resources for replicating the success of our space programmes and applications.

By IANS, London : A huge rock, some 500 metres long, hit Jupiter and created a hole the size of the Pacific Ocean, roughly the equivalent of Jupiter's Little Red Spot, scientists say.

By IANS/EFE, Lima : Peruvian archaeologists have discovered two ceremonial temples believed to be buried since more than 4,000 years.

By IANS, Redmond : After two beta tests and a soft release, Microsoft Corp is all set to officially launch its latest internet browser Thursday night. The company will launch Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) at 9:30 p.m. Indian time, an official statement said. Microsoft, whose share in the browser market took a beating with the emergence of rivals like Mozilla's Firefox, Google's Chrome and Apple's Safari, is aiming to regain its lost ground with the new browser. Microsoft's market share dropped to about 67 percent last month as compared to over 90 percent three years ago.

By Xinhua

Beijing : In contrast to the eye-catching uniforms recently unveiled by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China, a new line of military wear has been designed to make its users less visible.