Intel unveils most powerful chip designed in India
By IANS,
Bangalore : The world's largest chip maker Intel Corp Tuesday unveiled its most powerful six core microprocessor designed and developed at its India development centre in this information technology (IT) hub.
The 45-nanometre chip boasts of a whopping 1.9 billion transistors, six processing cores and 16MB of shared cache memory in the Xeon family.
Insects use plants as ‘green telephone lines’
By IANS,
New York : Some insects that live above and below the ground communicate with each other by using plants as "green telephone lines", a new study has found.
Subterranean insects issue chemical warning signals via the leaves of the plant. This way, insects above the ground are alerted that the plant is already "occupied", according to the study by Dutch scientists.
This messaging enables spatially-separated insects to avoid each other, so that they do not unintentionally compete for the same plant, ScienceDaily reported.
Water on moon in daylight a ‘huge surprise’ for scientists
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : Discovery of water on the moon by India's first lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 with a thin layer of surface 'dew' appearing to form and then dissipating each day has set the scientific community agog.
"Finding water on the Moon in daylight is a huge surprise, even if it is only a small amount of water and only in the form of molecules stuck to soil," writes University of Maryland astronomer Jessica Sunshine.
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.
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NASA Rover finds clue to Mars past
By IANS,
Washington : Rocks examined by NASA's Spirit Mars Rover hold evidence of a wet, non-acidic ancient environment that may have been favourable for life.
Confirming this mineral clue took four years of analysis by several scientists.
An outcrop that Spirit examined in late 2005 revealed high concentrations of carbonate, which originates in wet, near-neutral conditions, but dissolves in acid. The ancient water indicated by this find was not acidic.
Endeavour astronauts begin first spacewalk
By DPA,
Washington : Two NASA astronauts from the space shuttle Endeavour began a spacewalk Tuesday to replace a nitrogen tank on the International Space Station and begin repair of a joint on a key solar panel.
Heide Stefanyshyn-Pieper and Steve Bowen began the planned six-and-a-half hour walk at 18:09 GMT. The nitrogen tank will be installed with help for the station's robotic arm and will include the replacement of a device that moves the coolant through the station.
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.
NASA set to give update on long-delayed Atlantis mission
By KUNA
Washington : NASA will hold a meeting Thursday to discuss the status of the shuttle Atlantis and ongoing work to repair a fuel circuitry problem that grounded the mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in early December.
Last week, NASA's space shuttle Atlantis was still no closer to lift off. Officials pushed-back the Atlantis mission's target launch date of January 10, stating that date was "no longer achievable", but they did not indicate when it will be ready for the mission to carry a new European Columbus space laboratory up to the ISS.
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.
Bt Brinjal safe for humans, says science ministry
By IANS,
New Delhi : While the government is conducting nationwide public consultations on whether genetically modified brinjal should be commercially released, the science ministry Tuesday endorsed the product, calling it "safe for all".
"As science and technology ministry, we support the clearance of the expert group. It is safe for all," Science and Technology Minister P. Chavan said at the social editors' conference here.
Scientists advocate new method for better rice yields
By IANS
Agartala : India could meets its food grain demand of 220 million tonnes in the next five years if farmers adopt the Madagascar model of cultivation instead of the conventional method, scientists Thursday said.
Investigation into CERN”s LHC incident indicates faulty electrical connection
By KUNA,
Geneva : Investigations at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) following a large helium leak into sector 3-4 of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) tunnel have indicated that it was most likely caused by a faulty electrical connection between two of the accelerator's magnets.
CERN has announced that before a full understanding of the incident can be established, however, the sector has to be brought to room temperature and the magnets involved opened up for inspection.
Google Voice: The next killer app?
By Jay Dougherty, DPA,
Washington : Google releases so many products - most of them free - that it's easy to overlook one that's really special. Google Voice qualifies.
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.
Researchers develop membrane to filter natural gas impurities
By DPA
Singapore : Researchers have developed a membrane that filters impurities such as carbon dioxide from natural gas, the National University of Singapore said Wednesday.
The result is a cleaner and more efficient source of energy, said Raj Rajagopalan. Up to 98 percent of impurities can be filtered out through the pores of the membrane.
"The idea of membrane separation is to use molecularly engineered materials and make thin films to the structure that we want," Rajagopalan said.
India, US to cooperate in space flights, outer space use
By Arun Kumar, IANS
Washington : India and the US plan to cooperate in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, including in the area of human space flights, under a new agreement between their space agencies.
A framework agreement establishing the terms for future cooperation between the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and US space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was signed Friday at the Kennedy Space Centre by ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair and NASA administrator Michael Griffin.
Microsoft plans new Windows operating system for mobile devices
By DPA,
San Francisco : Microsoft is working on a new Windows system for mobile devices like tablet computers, according to reports.
Indian blogs live from Antarctica for the first time
By Devirupa Mitra, IANS
New Delhi : On the icy barrenness of Antarctica, the Indian research station of Maitri has a new voice - the first ever blog by an Indian from the seventh continent.
A member of the 27th Indian Scientific Antarctica Expedition, 56-year-old Sudhir Khandelwal, has typed, so far, 39 posts and nearly 15,000 words, with another one and a half months of his stay to go.
China to use jumbo rocket for delivery of lunar rover, space station
By Xinhua
Beijing : A Chinese space expert said here on Tuesday that the Long March 5 large-thrust carrier rocket, currently under development and scheduled to be put into service in 2014, will be mainly used for the delivery of lunar rovers, large satellites and space stations.
"With a maximum payload capacity up to 25 tons, the jumbo rocket is expected to be able to send lunar rovers, large satellites and space stations into space after 2014," said Liang Xiaohong, vice president of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology.
Scientists develop tool for quick analysis of water purity
By IANS,
Sydney : Researchers have developed a tool that analyses water purity within minutes, against the 20 to 48 hours required by existing methods.
The tool will boost "water safety and reduce health risk from use of contaminated water in the developing world", said David Garman, executive director of Environmental Biotechnology Cooperative Research Centre (EBCRC) at the World Water Congress in Vienna.
New software cuts waiting time at hospitals
By IANS,
Sydney : A new software package, developed by researchers, helps hospital or emergency staff anticipate the rush of patients hour by hour for the day or the next week, even on holidays with varying dates, such as Easter.
The Patient Admission Prediction Tool (PAPT), designed by Australian e-Health Research Centre (AeHRC), can predict accurately how many patients will be present at emergency departments, their expected requirements and the number of admissions.
Scientists map genes behind bipolar disorder
By IANS,
New York : In a first, scientists have comprehensively mapped the genes believed to cause bipolar disorder.
Indiana University neuroscientists combined data from the latest gene hunting studies for bipolar disorder with information from their own studies to zero in on the best candidate genes for the illness.
Their findings, reported in the latest issue of the American Journal of Medical Genetics, describe how researchers analysed how these genes work together to create a comprehensive biological model of bipolar disorder.
India seeks Israeli technology to boost litchi output
By Imran Khan, IANS,
Patna : India is eyeing Israeli technology to increase the life span of the litchi fruit after searing heat destroyed much of the crops in Bihar, which accounts for 70 percent of domestic production.
"Israel has got the technology that will help litchi growers as well as those engaged in its marketing to earn lucrative prices," K.K. Kumar, director of the National Research Centre for Litchi at Muzaffarpur, told IANS.
Two Europeans, four Russians to go on simulated “Mars mission”
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Two Europeans and four Russians have been selected to participate in an experimental Mars mission simulation, Mars-500, a medical institute spokesman said Monday.
The experiment, which is being run by the Russian Institute of Biological Problems, will sequester the six volunteers in a "Mars Expeditionary Complex" for 520 days beginning late 2008.
’60 percent of country’s CO2 emissions are from power sector’
By IANS,
New Delhi : The power sector accounts for around 60 percent of the conuntry's carbon dioxide emissions, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said Wednesday.
"The power sector approximately accounts for 60 percent of the total carbon dioxide emissions generated in the country," Ramesh told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.
He said thermal power generation accounts for around 64 percent of the total power generation in the country.
Coal, gas and diesel-based power generation contribute approximately 82 percent, 17 percent and one percent of the thermal power generation.
Scientists design first see-through computer chip
By IANS,
Washington : Korean scientists have fabricated a functional computer chip that is almost completely clear - the first of its kind.
The technology could spur development of clear computer and TV screens, embedded in glass or transparent plastic.
Besides, see-through electronics would make your room or wall more spacious by allowing such devices to be stacked in small clear spaces.
Profiles of 100 mn Facebook users leaked online
By IANS,
London : The personal details of 100 million users of social networking website Facebook are now available for download after they were leaked online.
Ron Bowles, an online security consultant, used a code to scan Facebook profiles, collected data not hidden by users' privacy settings, and compiled a list, which is now available as a downloadable file, containing the URL of every "searchable" Facebook user's profile, their name and unique ID, the BBC reported Thursday.
Chemicals that fix one ecological problem worsen another
By IANS,
Washington : Chemicals that helped fix a global ecological crisis in the 1990s - the hole in Earth's protective ozone layer, for instance - may be raising another problem such as acid rain, says scientists.
Jeffrey Gaffney, chemist at the University of Arkansas, along with colleagues Carrie J. Christiansen, Shakeel S. Dalal, Alexander M. Mebel and Joseph S. Francisco point out that hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) emerged as chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) replacements because they do not damage the ozone layer.
Is there more oil deep within the earth?
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists have found that petroleum can be formed under the very high pressure and temperature conditions found deep within the earth. The finding potentially multiplies underground oil deposits manifold.
The oil and gas that fuel our homes and cars started out as living organisms that died, were compressed, and heated under heavy layers of sediments in the earth's crust. Scientists have debated for years whether some of these hydrocarbons could also have been created deeper in the earth and formed without organic matter.
Microsoft buys European shopping site for $486 mn
By DPA,
San Francisco : Hoping to boost its Internet power, Microsoft has bought Greenfield Online Inc, the owner of European price comparison site Ciao GmbH, for about $486 million, the company said in a statement.
The price of $17.50 a share represented a 1.4 percent premium over the previous closing price, but was 32 percent more than Greenfield was worth when it withdrew from a deal with Quadrangle Group LLC for $15.50 a share two weeks ago.
Indian students ensure robot’s walk to global contest
By Azera Rahman, IANS
New Delhi : Two students from the premier engineering institute BITS at Pilani have developed for the first time in India a humanoid robot that will be shown at the world's biggest robot contest in San Francisco.
Samay Kohli, 21, and Arpit Mohan, 19, are all set to leave for the US despite funding problems.
"Although non-resident Indians (NRI) have developed humanoids before, we are the first Indians here to have developed one," Kohli beamed.
iPhone to help find your parked car
By IANS,
Daytona Beach (Florida) : A software developed by a US company enables the recently launched Apple iPhone 3G to give turn by turn directions, that help people find their parked vehicles.
The software called G-park utilises the new iPhone's in-built global positioning system (GPS) feature.
After parking a vehicle car, the user hits the "Park me!" button on the phone screen to drop a GPS flag on the parking location.
To find the parked car, the user hits the "Where Did I Park" button and the phone guides the user to the vehicle by giving directions.t
Bangalore’s battle between astronomy and astrology over eclipse
By IANS,
Bangalore : Even as the world looks forward to the rare celestial phenomenon of a total solar eclipse Wednesday, astrologers here say the event could be a bad omen. But brushing aside the fears as superstition, astronomers are urging people to look at it as a scientific phenomenon.
Astrologer Daivajna K.N. Somayaji says the war of Mahabharata, World War II and Indira Gandhi's assassination all followed solar eclipses.
Bangalore declared as ‘nano city’ of India
By IANS,
Bangalore : Vice President Hamid Ansari Saturday declared Bangalore the "nano city of India" after the Karnataka government announced it would take measures to encourage research and development in nanoscience and facilitate development of the nanotechnology industry in the state.
Making the declaration at the second 'Bangalore Nano 2008' conference-cum-exposition here, Ansari said nanotechnology, which was changing the face of industry and economy, would be a transformative force in India in the coming years.
Russia to use Baikonur space centre until 2050: Roscosmos
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Russia will use the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan until 2050, the head of the Russian space agency said.
"The Russian president has set the task to use the Baikonur space centre in full until 2050. We have approved the proposal," Anatoly Perminov, head of the federal space agency Roscosmos told journalists on Cosmonautics Day Saturday.
Baikonur, built in Kazakhstan in the 1950s, was first leased by Russia from Kazakhstan under an agreement signed in 1994 after the break up of the Soviet Union.
Atlantis roars into space after two-month delay
By DPA
Washington : The US space shuttle Atlantis has lifted off for the International Space Station (ISS) to deliver a long-awaited European-built laboratory.
After days of iffy weather, Atlantis roared off the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida at 2.45 p.m. (19.45 GMT) Thursday under clear blue skies and climbed steeply to orbit powered by seven million pounds of thrust.
Within minutes, Atlantis shed its booster rockets and external fuel tank as it departed the Earth's atmosphere, set to rendezvous with the space station Saturday.
Antony inaugurates high-end molecular imaging research centre
By IANS
New Delhi : Defence Minister A.K. Antony Saturday inaugurated a Molecular Imaging Research Centre here to undertake high-end research in the development of advanced life support technology.
The state-of-the-art centre was inaugurated at the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (Inmas) in the capital.
Scientific breakthrough in creating synthetic blood
By IANS,
London : Scientists have created red blood cells for the first time from spare IVF embryos cells in Britain as part of a multi-million pound project to manufacture synthetic blood on mass-scale.
IVF or In-vitro fertilisation is a process by which egg cells are fertilised by sperm outside the womb.
Researchers relied on more than 100 spare embryos left over from treatment at fertility clinics to establish several embryonic stem cell "lines", reports the Telegraph.
China to launch 15 to 16 satellites in 2009: Official
By Xinhua,
Beijing : China plans to launch 15 to 16 satellites this year, an official said here Monday.
"Though the global financial crisis is taking a toll on the world economy, it has no impact on China's space programmes," said Zhang Jianqi, deputy chief commander of the manned space project.
Zhang said China is at present "batch-producing" three spacecraft - Shenzhou-8, Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10.
How to spray? Ask the bombardier beetle
By IANS
London : The bombardier beetle fires a powerful jet of hot, toxic fluid to fend off predators. This has now inspired designers to improve spray technologies, according to a study.
The new beetle-inspired technology will interest firms making drug-delivery systems such as inhalers, or engineers seeking a more energy-efficient mechanism for fuel injection in car engines.
While the chemical reaction behind the bombardier's venom has been long known, the power behind the squirt, up to eight inches, has remained a mystery.
IT investment region to come up around Hyderabad
By IANS,
Hyderabad: This information technology hub is expected to witness rapid growth in the IT sector with the setting up of investment region around the city.
Why child-bearing women ‘loathe’ beautiful women?
By IANS,
London : We appreciate beautiful women, but they tend to trigger envy and dislike in other women of childbearing age.
A survey of 97 middle-aged women rated such beauties way below their menopausal counterparts, looks-wise, which Aberdeen University psychologist Benedict Jones said was like putting them down.
Researchers turned their attention to examining how fertility triggered competition within sexes for potential partners, informed Jones, who led the study.
Powerful solar flares trigger sound waves
By Xinhua,
Beijing : Bursts of sound waves that ripple across the sun are caused by powerful solar flares, astronomers say.
The finding, which will be published in the May 1 issue of the Astrophysical Journal Letters, comes from data collected with the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint venture between NASA and ESA.
ISRO, NASA tie up for space exploration
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has joined hands with the US's National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for space explorations, parliament was informed Wednesday.
Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Prithviraj Chavan said the framework agreement was signed between the two space research organisations for cooperation in the “exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes”.
Ozone hole just got bigger this year
By IANS,
Washington : The 2008 ozone hole - a thinning in the ozone layer over Antarctica - is larger both in size and ozone loss than 2007.
The ozone layer, 25 km above the earth, filters sunlight, shielding life on Earth from harmful ultraviolet rays which can increase the risk of skin cancer and cataracts and harm marine life.
World’s fastest supercomputer does in minutes what it took months to calculate
By IANS,
Washington : The world's fastest supercomputer called Jaguar, capable of quadrillion floating operations per second, has been housed at the Oak Ridge National Lab.
The blinding speed of Jaguar can be gauged by the fact that it just takes mere minutes to calculate what once took several months. Quadrillion is a figure in which one is followed by 15 zeroes or a million times billion).
Former ISRO chief Kasturirangan chosen for space academy award
By IANS
Hyderabad : The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) has selected Rajya Sabha member and former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K. Kasturirangan for the prestigious Theodore Von Karman award for this year.
The award will be presented to Kasturirangan, one of the country's top scientists, here Monday on the first-day of the 58th International Astronautical Congress.
The Theodore Von Karman award is the highest distinction of the IAA given annually to recognise outstanding lifetime achievements in any branch of science.
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.
India and China can burn the planet: Clinton
By NNN-PTI,
Washington : Talking tough on the climate change issue, Former US President Bill Clinton has said countries like India and China can "burn up" the planet, if they do not limit green house emissions.
"... If India and China and the other emerging economies don't join in some sort of limitation, then they can burn up the planet," Clinton said in an interview to ABC News.
Year after launch, Google’s phone ambitions ring true
By Andy Goldberg, DPA,
San Francisco : Ever since its stunning success in revolutionising the internet search market eight years ago, Google has been searching for a second act that would help the company diversify.
After failed attempts at entering the newspaper, television and radio ad markets, the online-search behemoth finally seems to be gaining traction in what many regard as the most critical technology of all - the intersection of telephones and mobile computing.
‘France to provide Pakistan nuke technology’
By IANS,
Islamabad : France has agreed to provide Pakistan with civilian nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, state-owned PTV reported Friday, quoting Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
According to Qureshi, France has expressed its readiness for cooperating with Pakistan in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
The affirmation came during President Asif Ali Zardari's discussions with his French counterpart Nicholas Sarkozy.
Further negotiations on this will be held in July this year, Qureshi said.
Russia launches US communications satellite
By IANS,
Moscow : Russia Wednesday launched a US communications satellite into space from the Baikonur Space Centre in Kazakhstan, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said.
Now satellites to monitor global fires
By IANS,
United Nations : The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has created a new system that will use satellites to monitor devastating fires around the world.
"The control of these fires has become an issue of high importance, not only because of the increasing number of casualties and the huge area burned but also because of the relation with issues of global interest, like climate change," Pieter van Lierop, FAO forestry officer, was quoted as saying by Xinhua Thursday.
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.
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).
Endangered fish may face new threat: sexual harassment
By Xinhua
Beijing : Scientists revealed that the critically endangered Mexican fish Skiffia bilineata might face new threat: male Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) are constantly sexually harassing the endangered females, media reported Saturday.
Scientists knew that male Trinidadian guppies sexually assault females of their own species, and were concerned over whether they harassed the endangered fish as well.
Beijing : Scientists revealed that the critically endangered Mexican fish Skiffia bilineata might face new threat: male Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) are constantly sexually harassing the endangered females, media reported Saturday.
Scientists knew that male Trinidadian guppies sexually assault females of their own species, and were concerned over whether they harassed the endangered fish as well.
Martian formations suggest underground water surges
By IANS
New York : Many unique formations on Mars suggest that they were formed millennia back by water welling up rapidly from deep within the red planet.
Some of these formations, which resemble gigantic fans, have steps going down to a basin, and researchers have disputed how they were formed since their discovery three years ago.
But a team of scientists from the US and the Netherlands now believe they were formed by water gushing from within Mars.
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.
NASA develops mirror to look into galactic past
By IANS,
Washington : Once upon a time, shiny surfaces and mirrors were credited with magical powers that could look into the future. Now two centuries later, NASA is relying on them to look into the past.
The agency is developing a primary mirror 21.3 feet across, for use on the James Webb Space Telescope, to tell us about our beginning in the universe.
The primary mirror will serve as the telescope's eye and peer through dusty clouds to see stars forming planetary systems, connecting the Milky Way to our own solar system.
30 launches planned in next three fiscals: ISRO chief
Thiruvananthapuram : The Indian space agency has a roadmap of 10 launches per year for the next three financial years or a total...
Cloudy skies mar solar eclipse
By IANS,
New Delhi : Cloudy skies in large parts of northern and western India Wednesday marred a clear view of the century's longest total solar eclipse but the celestial spectacle was clearly visible over Varanasi.
Tens of thousands of people across the country rose early to see the eclipse that was to begin at the earliest at 5:29 a.m. and end at 7:41 a.m. in India.
It was to have been clearly visible in places like Surat, Indore, Bhopal, Varanasi, Patna, Taregna near Patna, Daman, Darjeeling, Dibrugarh, Gangtok, Gaya, Itanagar, Ujjain and Vadodra.
Researchers teach computers to search photos by subject
By IANS,
Washington : Penn State University researchers have developed a statistical approach, called ALIPR, that one day could make it easier to search the net for photographs.
The public can participate in improving ALIPR or automatic linguistic indexing of pictures in real-time accuracy, by visiting www.alipr.com, uploading photographs, and evaluating whether the keywords that ALIPR uses to describe the photographs are appropriate.
Astronomers find nearby baby black hole
By DPA,
Washington : Scientists have identified a young black hole formed from an exploding star witnessed 30 years ago.
Scientists tune world’s brightest X-ray beam in Germany
By DPA,
Hamburg : The most intense X-ray beam of its type in the world has been generated inside a 2,300-metre circular tunnel under the German city of Hamburg, the Desy research institute said Monday.
The machine, which cost 225 million euros ($297 million), was switched on in April, but unlike a light bulb it takes weeks to tune up.
The X-ray light came Saturday. More months will now be spent adjusting measuring devices. Next year, scientists can begin actually using the machine to peer at atomic structures in proteins, cancer cells and the like.
Scientists work on ways to track terror bomb sources
By IANS,
Sydney : Organic peroxides are being increasingly preferred as explosives by terrorists because they can be easily prepared and don't required to be purchased off the shelf.
New techniques for tracking bomb-making materials, and possibly pointing the way towards the terrorists themselves, are being researched at Flinders University. The research being undertaken at Flinders has the potential to make a contribution towards fighting the global war on terror.
‘Shocking’ discovery may improve diesel engines
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists have found the interaction between shock waves created by high-pressure supersonic fuel jets. The discovery may lead to cleaner and more efficient internal combustion engines as well as advances in high-speed jet cleaning, machining and mining.
Shock waves have been studied in the past but high-pressure liquid jets created by micrometre sized nozzles can also reach supersonic speeds.
AIIMS performs India’s ‘first’ robotic chest surgery
By IANS,
New Delhi : Ela Srivastava had been suffering from double vision, chewing problem and weakness in the nervous system, but no more - thanks to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) doctors and a four-arm robot.
“It's the first robotic chest surgery in India,” claimed Arvind Kumar, professor of surgery at AIIMS.
“In the last four days (since Saturday) we have performed chest surgeries on seven patients using the robot and have achieved complete success. This is a milestone for Indian medical fraternity,” Kumar told IANS.
Gmail,Yahoo hit by phishing scheme
By DPA,
San Francisco : Users of Google's Gmail and Yahoo Mail were also targeted in the large-scale phishing attack that harvested at least 10,000 passwords from Microsoft's Live Hotmail, according to reports Tuesday.
Neither of the companies' US representatives responded to requests for information. But in Europe, where most of the Hotmail phishing victims appeared to be located, a spokesman for Google confirmed the targeting of Gmail users.
China challenging US as scientific powerhouse
By IANS,
Washington : China is finding its place as one of the world's top scientific powerhouses, going by the sheer quantity of papers being churned out by its scientists, according to a study.
China has already overtaken Britain and Germany in the number of physics papers published and is beginning to nip at the heels of the United States.
If China's output continues to increase at its current pace, the country will be publishing more articles in physics - and indeed all of science - than the US by 2012.
First identical twin camels bred in UAE
By IANS,
Dubai : Scientists here have successfully produced United Arab Emirates' first identical twin camels using embryo splitting technology, WAM news agency reported Wednesday.
According to scientists at Dubai Camel Breeding Centre, the genetically identical twin camels, Zahi and Baih, were naturally born to two surrogate camel mothers Feb 10 and 23. Both are in good health.
For the first time scientists in the Gulf region used a sophisticated technology called embryo splitting technology to produce the identical twin camels from a six-day-old camel embryo.
NASA scrubs first landing opportunity for shuttle Endeavour
By Xinhua
Washington : NASA has decided to skip Wednesday's first landing opportunity for the space shuttle Endeavour at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida due to bad weather conditions, according to NASA's landing blog updates.
Now NASA was aiming for the second opportunity at Kennedy, which is set at 8:39 p.m. EDT (0039 GMT on Thursday). "The weather conditions for the second opportunity seem to be more favorable," reported NASA's real-time landing blog.
Rare turtle travels 7,000 km to breed!
By IANS,
Toronto : How could a contemporary of the great dinosaurs survive to this day?
A rare leatherback turtle, which has existed since the time of the dinosaurs, has been found to be adept at making the longest ocean journey to breed in warmer places.
Fitted with a satellite transmitter by Canadian scientists to track its journey, the turtle - which is the also world's largest turtle growing up to two metres long and weighing up to 500 kilogramme - travelled over 7,000 km to be found on the coast of Colombia in South America.
NASA camera yields most accurate Mars map
By IANS,
Washington : A camera on board NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft has helped develop the most accurate global Martian map ever.
Researchers and the public can access the map via several websites and explore and survey the entire surface of the Red Planet.
The map was constructed using nearly 21,000 images from the Thermal Emission Imaging System, or THEMIS, a multi-band infrared camera on Odyssey, says a NASA release.
Point and click guidance for Ellie the robot
By IANS
New York : Ellie helps people with limited mobility accomplish everyday tasks, getting them things like towels, tablet bottles and telephones. Thank her, and you will probably receive a hum in response.
Ellie (written El-E) is a robot - an extremely versatile one. And what makes her unique is the fact that unlike robots struggling to respond to speech or gestures, Ellie works on a unique point-and-click model.
‘Primates fast disappearing off the face of earth’
By IANS,
London : Humankind's closest kin in the animal world - monkeys, apes and other primates - are disappearing from the face of the earth, warns a new report.
The first comprehensive review of 634 kinds of primates found almost 50 percent of them are in danger of extinction, according to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
ISRO preparing for GSAT 4 launch in two months
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Chennai : While the preparations for launch of India's ocean monitoring satellite Oceansat 2 and six other nano satellites Sep 23 is on, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is getting ready for the bigger launch slated in the next two months -- that of the communications satellite GSAT 4.
Dinosaur footprints, fossils found in central Peru
By EFE,
Lima : Hundreds of footprints and the fossilised remains of various prehistoric animals, probably dinosaurs that lived 120 million years ago, have been discovered in the Ancash region of central Peru.
The find came when the Antamina mining company, which is owned by BHP Billiton and Xstrata, among other partners, was building a road from its camp at Yanacancha to the Conococha crossroads, in Huari province, some 400 km northeast of Lima.
Plastic nanosheets can capture solar energy cheaply
By IANS,
Washington : Plastic sheets arrayed with billions of nanoantennas will help collect abundant heat energy generated by the sun and other sources cheaply. The technology, developed at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), is the first step toward a solar energy collector that could be mass-produced on flexible materials.
Chandrayaan pushed closer to lunar orbit
By IANS,
Bangalore : India's first unmanned lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 was pushed closer to lunar orbit Wednesday after the fourth orbit-raising manoevure lifted the spacecraft to 267,000 km away from the earth (apogee) and 465 km perigee (closest to the Earth), an official of the Indian space agency said.
"The 440 Newton liquid engine aboard the spacecraft was fired for 192 seconds (three minutes and 12 seconds) in the fourth orbit-raising operation carried earlier in the day," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) director S. Satish told IANS.
Vietnam’s first satellite successfully launched after 13-year preparation
By Thai Thanhvan, Xinhua,
Hanoi : After 13 years of unceasing efforts, Vietnam's first satellite was successfully launched Saturday, ushering a new era for the local information communication technology industry.
The 2.6-ton medium-sized satellite, Vinasat-1, was successfully launched to its geostationary orbit position using rocket Ariane-5in Kourou site in French Guiana at 5:16 a.m. Saturday (2016 GMT Friday).
Google disregarding privacy, say officials from 10 nations
By IANS,
London : Google has violated the principle that "individuals should be able to control the use of their personal information", say officials from 10 major nations. They have demanded to know how the internet giant will meet concerns about its use of public data in future.
Britain's Information Commissioner Christopher Graham along with officials from Canada, France and Germany have signed a letter addressed to Google's chief exeutive, condemning the manner in which the firm has delivered its Streetview mapping service and its Buzz product, The Telegraph reported Thursday.
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.
Waterloo rated as Canada’s top research university
By IANS,
Toronto : The University of Waterloo, based in the city of Blackberry near here, has been rated as the top research institution in Canada.
In the annual ``Canada Top 50 Research Universities,'' Waterloo edged out many top universities in a survey which tracks sponsored research at these institutions. The university is quite popular with Indian students. It has some prominent Indians on its faculties also.
In a release before the publication of the survey at the weekend, the university said its total research ranked in the ``elite $100 million club'' in 2007.
Why little fish diet to stay alive
By IANS,
Sydney : Like humans, little fish also diet - not to look more presentable, but out of dire necessity. They don't want to get on the wrong side of more dominant fish and risk being gobbled up.
A new study, by researchers at James Cook University, has also found that bigger fish use the threat of punishment to keep competitors in line.
Astronauts start spacewalk to install Japan lab
By ANTARA News
Washington : Two astronauts from the US shuttle Endeavour stepped into space Thursday in the first of a series of spacewalks to install Japan's maiden laboratory at the International Space Station (ISS), NASA television showed.
Mission Specialist and lead spacewalker Rick Linnehan and Flight Engineer Garrett Reisman emerged at 8:18 pm Central Daylight Time (0118 GMT Friday), according to NASA, to begin the task of maneuvering phase one of the laboratory out of Endeavour's payload bay and attaching it to the orbiting station.
ISBA secretariat at Technopark-TBI
By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram: The Indian Science and Technology Entrepreneurs Parks (STEPs) and Business Incubators' Association (ISBA) will open its new headquarters in the Technopark-TBI here.
‘Northeast space centre not getting data from central agencies’
Shillong : The North East Space Application Centre (NE-SAC), set up by the Centre to develop high-tech infrastructure support for the northeastern states, is...
Global warming will push up sea level
By IANS,
Amsterdam : Sea levels worldwide are expected to rise by several metres in the coming centuries if global warming continues unabated.
Astronauts Preparing for Thursday Shuttle Launch
By SPA
Washington : Seven astronauts returned to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Cape Canaveral, Florida launch site Monday to make another attempt at flying space shuttle Atlantis to the international space station.
Liftoff is scheduled for Thursday afternoon, with NASA finishing a last repair Sunday night involving a radiator hose. The mission was delayed in December by a different problem.
‘Iran n-deal done, yet not a time to celebrate’
Beijing: The Tehran nuclear deal has finally been done, yet this is "not a time to celebrate as Iran and the international community should...
Solar wind at 50-year low: Experts
By DPA,
Washington : The solar wind is at a 50-year low, potentially opening up the solar system to more dangerous rays from outer space, researchers have said.
Data from the joint NASA and European Space Agency Ulysses solar mission show the cyclical wind - as the plasma and magnetic fields sent out by the sun are called - are at their lowest level since scientists first gathered information on the matter.
Online learning helps schoolchildren fare better: study
By IANS,
Sydney : Educationists have developed a new web-based tool that helps primary schoolchildren to concentrate better and develop literacy skills.
The interactive educational software called 'Abracadabra' is designed to help struggling school students aged five to eight years learn basic literacy skills to equip them for the future.
The tool has just undergone a 10-week trial that has been described as a success.
Scientists find way to boost nutritional levels of corn
By IANS,
Washington : An international team of agricultural scientists has found a way to boost the nutritional value of corn and prevent blindness among children.
In Africa and other developing regions, corn is a major staple and hundreds of thousands of children become blind, develop weakened immune systems and die because of diets based largely on corn that lacks sufficient beta-carotene.
Chandrayaan’s journey to lunar orbit
By IANS,
Bangalore, Nov 8 (IANS) Chandrayaan-1, India's first unmanned mission to moon, has travelled more than 380,000 km in 12 days after its launch from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh Oct 22 to enter the lunar orbit Saturday.
Soon after the launch at 6.22 a.m. on Oct 22, the spacecraft carrying 11 scientific payloads was put in an orbit of 22,860 km apogee (farthest point to the earth) and 225 km perigee (nearest point to the earth).
This is how Chandrayaan reached the lunar orbit:
NASA scientists identify smallest known black hole in universe
By Xinhua
Washington : Two astronomers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center have identified the smallest known black hole in the universe, according to the Astrophysical Journal on Wednesday.
The two astronomers presented their results this week at an American Astronomical Society meeting.
NASA technology detects ruins under rainforest
By IANS,
Washington : A flyover of Belize's thick jungles, employing NASA technology, has revolutionised archaeology by detecting ancient Mayan ruins through impenetrable jungles.
University of Central Florida (UCF) researchers led a NASA-funded research project in April 2009 that collected the equivalent of 25 years worth of data in four days.
U.S. astronauts complete final spacewalk
By RIA Novosti,
Washington : NASA astronauts Mike Fossum and Ron Garan have completed their third and final spacewalk, a mission control spokesman said on Monday.
The six-and-a-half-hour walk began at 13:55 GMT Sunday, 37 minutes ahead of schedule, and concluded at 20:28 GMT, when the astronauts entered the International Space Station (ISS) and the airlock was re-pressurized.
"They accomplished all of the planned tasks," the source said.
A computer mouse that can also scan
Thiruvananthapuram : It's a computer mouse that can also do the job of a scanner.
MobScan has built-in technologies that helps to scan as well...
Zip, zap…IIT Delhi’s F1 car for Silverstone circuit
By Prashant K. Nanda, IANS
New Delhi : A Formula 1 car designed by students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi will zip zap zoom on the famous Silverstone circuit - which hosts the British Grand Prix - in July.
IIT Delhi's next generation F1 car will race in the Formula Student category at the circuit. The event will take place between July 10 and 13. It will be among 103 institutes from all over the world that will take part.
Bose – the Indian behind the Big Bang experiment
By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS,
London : Of the three main past and present physicists behind the landmark proton-smashing experiment in Geneva Wednesday, one has a Nobel Prize, the other is waiting to find out if he has one, and the third never got one.
The third man is the Bose of the Higgs-boson experiment - Satyendra Nath Bose.
It is Bose after whom the sub-atomic particle ‘boson’ is named - probably the only noun in the English language named after an Indian (and therefore never capitalised).
India considering manned space mission
By IANS
Bhopal : India is considering a manned mission to space soon, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G. Madhavan Nair said Thursday.
"We are seriously considering a manned space mission. But we will first have to study and prepare a report within a year on newer technologies to develop capsules to send men to space and bring them back safely," Nair told a press conference here.
The study report would be sent to the government for approval, he said.
Andhra Pradesh to launch new web portal
By IANS,
Hyderabad : Andhra Pradesh is set to launch a new web portal next month that would serve as a single gateway for all information about government departments and orders.
The portal www.ap.gov.in, which is to be launched July 1, will integrate all departments and will have updated information about the government.
Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who reviewed the performance of the information technology department at a high-level meeting, stressed that the portal should be a unique one.
Facebook reunites Indonesian siblings after 35 years
By DPA,
Jakarta : An Indonesian woman found a brother who had been missing for more than three decades through the popular social networking site Facebook, a report said Tuesday.
Nurlianti Dehi was separated from her elder brother Anton in 1974 when he left their hometown in Central Sulawesi province for neighbouring North Sulawesi, according to the online edition of the Media Indonesia daily.
Anton maintained contact with his family for the first two years but later cut off communication completely, she told the newspaper.
Previously unknown species of dinosaur discovered in Mexico
By RIA Novosti
Mexico City : Scientists in northern Mexico have unearthed evidence of a previously unknown species of plant-eating dinosaur that inhabited the Coahuila desert more than 72 million years ago, national media said.
The creature had three giant horns, which are thought to have helped it attract females and fight predators.
Community radio – a democratic tool idling away
By IANS,
New Delhi : In almost every city - big or small, the soft informative croon of radio has been replaced by the non-stop banter of television. A trend that experts here condemned, calling for a revised execution of the community radio policy.
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.
Copenhagen summit should fail, says top climate scientist
By IANS,
London : Accusing politicians of failing to rise to the challenge of climate change, the US scientist who helped alert the world of global warming now says he would rather next fortnight's Copenhagen summit failed.
"The whole approach is so fundamentally wrong that it is better to reassess the situation," James Hansen, one of the world's foremost climate scientists, told the Guardian in an interview published Thursday.
Asteroid named after tennis star Nadal
By IANS,
Palma de Mallorca (Spain) : A recently discovered asteroid has been named after Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal, who won his first Wimbledon title earlier this month with a stirring victory in the final over five-time defending champion Roger Federer, EFE news agency reported Sunday.
The Rafael Nadal asteroid, previously known as 128036, is of four kilometers in diameter and travels through space at a speed of 20 km per second.
US calls for restraint on n-arms, NSA to visit Pakistan
Washington : As tensions between India and Pakistan continue to escalate, US National Security Advisor Susan Rice is expected to arrive in Pakistan...
Global warming affecting world’s largest freshwater lake
By Xinhua,
Washington : Russian and American scientists have discovered that the rising temperature of Lake Baikal, the world's largest lake located in freezing Siberia, shows that this region is responding strongly to global warming.
The research team reported their results Thursday on-line in the journal Global Change Biology. "Warming of this isolated but enormous lake is a clear signal that climate change has affected even the most remote corners of our planet," said Stephanie Hampton, a leading author of the study.
NASA successfully tests first deep space Internet
By Xinhua,
Washington : US space agency NASA said it has successfully tested the first deep space communications network modelled on the Internet.
NASA engineers used a special software called Disruption-Tolerant Networking or DTN to transmit dozens of images to and from a NASA science spacecraft located about 30 million km from the Earth.
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.
Messenger craft flies within 200 km of Mercury
By DPA,
Washington : NASA's Messenger spacecraft came within 200 km of Mercury Monday, taking pictures of the rocky planet nearest the sun.
It was the second of three planned flybys for the craft, which is due to settle into orbit around Mercury in 2011, providing what scientists hope will be the most complete picture yet of the solar system's smallest planet.
The 0840 GMT flyby was designed largely to pick up a gravitational boost of energy for the craft. It will begin beaming data back to Earth Wednesday, NASA and university researchers said.
Holiday cleaning can boost speed of PCs
By DPA
Hamburg : Most people have a little free time between Christmas and New Year. If you take 15 minutes to clean up your PC, you will probably be rewarded with a computer that runs faster and has space available for any new games you might find under the Christmas tree this year.
Checking your computer's pre-installed software is a good starting point when looking for ways to free up hard drive space. Many computers come with redundant versions of programmes - for example, several different photo processing programmes even though most computer users use only one.
Amrita Research develops system for moving vehicles
By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : Amrita Research Labs (ARL) has developed a solution that delivers high-bandwidth information and multimedia entertainment to moving vehicles.
It has been named Amrita MiTrans.
In a press statement issued here Tuesday, ARL, the research and development division of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham attached to the Amritananda Mayi Mutt near Kollam, 70 km from here, said more than a dozen engineers and researchers developed this revolutionary technology, which combines the latest advancements in computers and wireless telecommunications.
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.
Dancing electrons could open way to new devices
By IANS,
Washington : Researchers have discovered a new way that electrons behave in materials, which could spur the development of futuristic electronic devices.
A team led by N. Phuan Ong, professor of physics at Princeton University, has shown that electrons in an element like bismuth display a highly unusual pattern - a dance of sorts - when subjected to a powerful magnetic field at ultra-low temperatures.
Data from Chinese lunar orbiter available to all
By Xinhua
Shanghai : Scientists and astronomy enthusiasts all over the country all have access to data sent back from China's first lunar orbiter Chang'e-I, a leading scientist in the program said here Sunday.
Kwt leadership places emphasis on scientific research — professor
By KUNA
Kuwait : The Kuwaiti leadership places much emphasis on scientific research and provides all means to enrich this important area, said Kuwait University's Deputy Rector for Scientific Affairs Dr. Nouriya Al-Awadhi on Saturday.
In a press release, she said that holding the fifth Euro-Asian conference on heterogeneous ring chemistry under the auspices of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and with the attendance of His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was proof of this support.
Filling fuel for cryogenic engine to start
By IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : Scientists were Thursday getting ready to launch an Indian-designed and built cryogenic engine to inject an advanced communication satellite into space. The filling of liquid fuel that will power the third stage of the 50-metre tall, 416-tonne Indian rocket to inject the satellite in geo-synchronous orbit is expected to start around 11.30 a.m.
Robot chef who can make rasam, sambar
By IANS,
Chennai : Here is a chef that can prepare lip-smacking sambar, rasam and vatta kozhambu and may give the best cooks in Tamil Nadu a run for their money. But the secret of Chef-bot's culinary skills lies not in a kitchen but in a laboratory.
Four students of the Saveetha Engineering College in Sriperumbudur, Chennai's industrial suburb, have designed a robot, Chef-bot, as part of their college project. As of now, Chef-bot's skills are limited to Tamil preparations.
Russia to set world record with 39 space launches in 2009
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia is planning to set a world record by conducting a total of 39 space launches in 2009 despite the current global financial crisis, the head of the Russian Space Agency said on Monday.
"We have scheduled a record number of launches for next year. We are planning to carry out 39 launches, half of them commercial and civilian satellites," Anatoly Perminov said.
Russia conducted 27 space launches in 2008 and 26 launches in 2007, becoming the world's leader in this sphere.
European space truck docks at space station
By DPA
Bremen (Germany) : In a first docking by a European spacecraft in orbit, an expendable "space truck", named the "Jules Verne", nosed up to International Space Station (ISS) Thursday and attached itself automatically.
A live telecast, watched with bated breath by the craft's assemblers in Bremen, Germany, showed how computers guided the arriving craft smoothly throughout the slow manoeuvre, succeeding on its first attempt.
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.
Amateur astronomer chances upon ‘cosmic ghost’
By IANS,
New York : Yale astrophysicist Kevin Schawinski and colleagues at Oxford never envisioned the strange object amateur astronomer Hanny van Arkel found in archived images of the night sky.
The Dutch school teacher, volunteer in the Galaxy Zoo project, co-founded by Schawinski that allows public participation in astronomy research online, discovered a mysterious object some are calling a 'cosmic ghost'.
Around the world in 80 days, the Indian Air Force way
Hindon (Uttar Pradesh), Aug 19 (IANS) Two intrepid Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots flew in here Sunday after creating two new world records for circumnavigating the globe in a microlight aircraft.
Flying over 16 countries and touching 81 destinations, Wing Commanders Rahul Monga and Anil Kumar completed their journey in 80 days, shaving 19 days off the existing mark of 99 days held by Britain's Colin Bodil since 2001.
They also bettered Bodil's airspeed record of 16.53 km per hour by recording 21.09 km per hour.
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.
Saturn’s moon Titan has liquid lake: NASA
By Xinhua,
Washington : At least one of the large lakes observed on Saturn's moon Titan contains liquid hydrocarbons, NASA scientists have said.
They have also identified presence of ethane. This makes Titan the only body in the solar system beyond Earth known to have liquid on its surface, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) reported Wednesday.
Scientists made the discovery using data from an instrument aboard the Cassini spacecraft.
Earlier, scientists had thought Titan would have oceans of methane, ethane and other light hydrocarbons.
Seven nations planning missions to the moon
By IANS
Hyderabad : Seven nations, including India, the US and China, are planning to launch lunar missions in the near future, even as experts have sounded a word of caution about the impact these missions would have on moon's environment.
Japan, Germany, Britain and Italy are the other countries whose delegates made their countries' plans clear at the ongoing 58th Astronautical Congress Wednesday.
Researchers crack key HIV riddle after decades
By IANS,
London : Researchers have cracked a key riddle that has foxed scientists for decades, potentially opening the way to better treatment of HIV, says a new study.
Imperial College London and Harvard University researchers have grown a crystal that reveals the structure of an enzyme called integrase, which is found in retroviruses like HIV.
When HIV infects someone, it uses integrase to paste a copy of its genetic information into their DNA.
Scientific community celebrates successful launch of Chandrayaan-1
By IANS,
Bangalore : It is a time for jubilation for the scientific community of India and they are cherishing every moment of it with the successful launch of Chandrayaan-1 early Wednesday.
The Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, India's first unmanned scientific mission to the moon, blasted off successfully towards destination moon from Sriharikota, about 80 km from Chennai.
With the successful launch of Chandrayaan-1, India now has joined an exclusive club of nations including the US, former Soviet Union, European Space Agency, China and Japan to have sent missions to moon.
NASA delays Glory launch
By IANS,
Los Angeles : NASA announced Wednesday that it has postponed the launch of its earth-orbiting Glory Mission spacecraft due to technical problems, Xinhua reported.
Corals recover – over half a century after nuclear blasts
By IANS,
Sydney : It took over half a century for life to re-assert itself - but not entirely. Corals have sprouted again on Bikini Atoll, a good 50 years after it was ravaged by dozens of nuclear bombs detonated by the US over an eight-year period.
But compared to the early 1950s, some 42 species of corals are missing, a new study has found.
The gaping Bravo crater, some two km wide and 73 metres deep, was gashed by the impact of nuclear weapon 'Bravo' - said to be a thousand times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb.
Two new TB drugs may reduce treatment time
By IANS
Cape Town : The Global Alliance for Tuberculosis Drug Development (TB Alliance) has announced that it has developed two drugs in clinical trials which could reduce the treatment time for TB.
This is a historic milestone in the accelerated drive to develop new TB drugs to fight the disease in different, faster and better ways and therefore save millions of lives across the globe, South African news agency BuaNews said.
Gas turbine technology best for power generation in Gulf: expert
By IANS,
Dubai : Gas turbine technology is the best fossil fuel-based technology available for power generation in the Gulf, given the skyrocketing oil prices, according to a leading energy expert.
"Gas turbine technologies are the cleanest techniques within systems that use fossil fuels and are favoured in GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries due to the low cost of available natural gas," Abdullah Al-Amiri, chairman of the Emirates Energy Award, which recognizes best practices in energy conservation and management, said in a statement here.
Space shuttle Endeavour lands safely after successful mission
By RIA Novosti,
Washington : The US space shuttle Endeavour has made a successful landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California after being forced to abandon plans to land in Florida, US space agency Nasa said.
The shuttle touched down at 4.25 p.m. (2125 GMT) Sunday.
The crew was unable to return to Nasa's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the initial landing site, due to weather concerns, Nasa said.
Endeavour will now travel some 2,500 miles from California to Florida on the back of a modified 747 jumbo jet within the next seven to 10 days.
Safe method to clean up toxic nano-materials developed
By IANS,
Washington : A natural, nontoxic method for biodegrading carbon nanotubes could help diminish environmental and health concerns about using such materials.
A Pittsburgh University research team has found that carbon nanotubes deteriorate when exposed to the natural enzyme horseradish peroxidase (HRP), according to a report co-authored by Alexander Star, assistant professor of chemistry in Pitt's School of Arts and Sciences.
Nucleus Software enters Mexican market
By IANS,
Bangalore : Nucleus Software Exports Ltd has tied up with Mexican consulting and distribution firm Praxis to market its software products in the Latin American country, the leading IT products firm said Tuesday.
"As our channel partner, Praxis will distribute our software products in the banking, insurance and financial services (BFSI) sector in the Mexican market and enable us to strengthen our presence in Latin America," Nucleus global sales head Niraj Vedwa said in a statement.
Grazing cattle have magnetic sense of direction
By Ernest Gill, DPA,
Hamburg (Germany) : Grazing cows tend to face the North and South Poles, according to German scientists who studied 308 herds using Google Earth satellite photos.
The Boreal bovine orientation suggests that they, like migratory birds, sea turtles and monarch butterflies, tune into the Earth's magnetic fields, says Hynek Burda, a biologist at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany.
Can the cow help solve the global oil crisis?
By IANS
Washington : What does the cow have to do with the global oil crisis? Well, it may help ease it!
An enzyme from a microbe that resides deep in a cow's gut holds the key to converting corn into a cheap biofuel like ethanol, a new study has found.
The enzyme, which allows a cow to digest grasses and other plants, can be used to turn other plant fibres into simple sugars. These simple sugars can be used to produce ethanol to power cars and trucks, said Michigan State University researchers, who conducted the study.