Black buck gives birth after artificial insemination
By IANS
Hyderabad : For the first time in the world, scientists here have succeeded in artificial insemination of a black buck by non-invasive method, leading to the birth of a live fawn.
Scientists at the Laboratory for Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES) of the prestigious Centre for Cellular Molecular Biology (CCMB) here are excited about their success.
Tiny robot to simulate lunar mission in Hawaii
By IANS,
Washington : A robot designed for lunar prospecting will be tested on the cool, rocky slopes of Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano that is also Hawaii's highest mountain.
During the field experiment, scheduled in the first half of November, the four wheeled robot called Scarab will simulate a lunar mission to extract water, hydrogen, oxygen and other compounds that could potentially be mined for use by future lunar explorers.
Microsoft slashes 7,800 jobs, mostly in phones unit
By Arun Kumar
Washington : Indian-American CEO Satya Nadella-led Microsoft on Wednesday announced it is laying off 7,800 people primarily in the phone business...
244,000 Germans log objections to Google’s Street View
By DPA,
Berlin : Some 244,237 German households have so far demanded that images of their homes be removed from Google Inc's Street View geo-data service, the online search giant said Thursday.
Teacher reaches to stars, 21 years after Challenger disaster
By DPA
Washington : Barbara Morgan taught math and reading in the Rocky Mountains, then English and science in the Andes but she wanted to go to even greater heights. The 55-year-old Californian has now taken her classroom to space.
Morgan took off last week as part of the space shuttle Endeavour's seven-member crew.
Even before the astronaut has had the chance to teach for students via satellite, she gave a lesson in perseverance.
Software to prevent car collisions under development
By IANS,
London : A pedestrian chasing a pet dog suddenly steps in the path of your speeding car 15 metres away. There is no way you can avoid hitting him. The string of cars following you crash behind one another. In future, a new software programme will mitigate or even eliminate such an eventuality.
Scientists develop brightest ever x-ray source
By IANS,
Washington : The x-ray has just got 100 million times brighter, thanks to next-generation light sources like free electron laser oscillator - or the X-FELO.
X-FELO will open up breakthrough scientific opportunities in various research fields. Its characteristics are ideally suited for bulk-sensitive, hard x-ray photo-emission spectroscopy.
Existing technology uses undulators to create bright x-ray beams of spontaneous emission at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne.
China to launch second Olympic weather forecasting satellite on May 27
By Xinhua,
Beijing : China will launch a second Olympic weather forecasting satellite, the Fengyun-3 (FY-3), on May 27, said the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) on Friday.
The new satellite will provide accurate and timely information about weather changes to facilitate more precise weather forecasts during the Beijing Olympic Games set to open on Aug. 8, said a CMA official.
The official added that the new satellite, with a bigger payload, would provide medium-range weather forecasts up to 10 to 15 days.
Researchers overcome kinks in solar energy storage
By IANS,
Washington : Researchers have created a new material that overcomes two of the major obstacles to storing solar energy: it absorbs all the energy in sunlight, generating electrons in a way that makes them easier to capture.
Ohio State University chemists and their colleagues combined electrically conductive plastic with metals including molybdenum and titanium to create the hybrid material.
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.
Destruction of wetlands will release massive greenhouse gases
By IANS,
Washington : Destruction of wetlands will release a staggering 771 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere, with devastating consequences.
Meeting in Cuiaba at the edge of South America's Pantanal wetland on Monday, 700 experts from 28 nations at the 8th INTECOL International Wetlands Conference will prescribe measures urgently needed to manage these vibrant ecosystems.
ISRO must market aggressively for global contracts
By R. Ramaseshan, IANS,
The success of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Monday in putting into orbit 10 satellites with a single launch is certainly a commendable achievement marking as it does the second largest number of satellites launched at one go. Now it needs to push aggressively for more contracts in this niche market.
Besides ISRO's own two primary satellites, Cartosat-2A (690 kg) and IMS-1 (83 kg), Monday's payload included seven nanosatellites (1-10 kg class) and one microsatellite (10-100 kg class) from foreign customers, which together weighed about 50 kg.
Chandrayaan nudged closer to moon
By IANS,
Bangalore : India's first unmanned lunar mission Chandrayaan-I was nudged closer to the moon late Monday in a second orbit-reduction manoeuvre, a top Indian space official said.
The manoeuvre lasted 866 seconds.
"The spacecraft is at 187 km from the moon (periselene) and 255 km away (aposelene), orbiting elliptically once in every 2 hours and 16 minutes over the polar regions of the lunar planet," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) director S. Satish told IANS.
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.
Your card details could be ‘robbed by radiowave’
By IANS,
London: Millions of credit and debit card users could be "robbed by radiowave" because of a new contactless technology, the Daily Mail reported.
French astronaut tends mini garden in space
By Xinhua
Beijing : A French astronaut is tending a miniature garden on the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the first experiment inside the orbiting laboratory's new European research module.
European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Leopold Eyharts is growing tiny seedlings inside the space station's Columbus laboratory, which he helped deliver during last month's STS-122 shuttle flight.
UAE to host global space technology meet next month
By IANS,
Abu Dhabi : An international meet on space technology will be held in the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next month to be attended by space scientists from across the world including those from the US, Europe and the UAE, WAM reported Thursday.
The three-day Global Space Technology Forum, the first of its kind in the Middle East, will be held Nov 16-18 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre and will focus on new space technology and commercial markets, research and development, environment, energy and climate, among other things.
NASA again postpones Atlantis trip to Hubble
By RIA Novosti,
Washington : The launch date for space shuttle Atlantis to service the Hubble Space Telescope has been postponed from October 10 to 14, NASA said in a statement.
The 11-day mission, originally scheduled for launch on August 28, was previously postponed until October 10-11 to complete work on an external fuel tank. This time NASA said the final preparations for the mission were hampered by hurricane Ike.
Solar system’s 3rd plutoid named Makemake
By Xinhua,
Beijing : A dwarf planet orbiting outside Neptune has been designated the third plutoid in the solar system and named Makemake, the International Astronomical Union said on Saturday.
The red methane-covered dwarf planet formerly known as 2005 FY9 or "Easterbunny" is named after a Polynesian creator of humanity and god of fertility.
Just last month the IAU, which names planets and other heavenly bodies, decided to create a new class of sub-planets called plutoids.
Sad for Yahoo, gain for Microsoft
By Prasanto K. Roy, IANS,
A sad day for Yahoo! That's the consensus -- a rare one -- across both global technology and investor communities. Yahoo stock dropped 10 percent, Microsoft rose one percent. For once, the markets may have got it right. The decision to work together on their search engines is a big mistake for Yahoo, and a small gain for Microsoft.
But it was coming, even if we didn't see exactly this 10-year deal in which Microsoft's Bing will power Yahoo Search.
India to launch six more satellites in 2015-16
Chennai : India will launch six more satellites during 2015-16 of which two would be communication satellites, three navigation satellites and one space science...
Adding lime to seawater could cut back carbon levels
By IANS,
Washington : Adding lime to seawater could dramatically reverse carbon dioxide accumulation in the atmosphere, according to a new study.
However, the idea was thought impracticable because of the cost of obtaining lime and the quantity of carbon released in the process.
Gilles Bertherin, of Shell, which is funding the project, said: “There are potentially huge environmental benefits from addressing climate change - and adding calcium hydroxide to seawater will also mitigate the effects of ocean acidification.”
Scientists puzzled over intense swarm of earthquakes
By Xinhua,
Los Angeles : An unusually intense swarm of earthquakes has struck beneath a small suburb of Reno in Nevada, leaving residents shaken and scientists puzzling over the cause, the Los Angeles Time said on Thursday.
Totaling more than 1,000 over the last two months, more than 20quakes of magnitude 2 or higher have hit on some days, and the intensity and frequency of the quakes have been increasing rather than following the normal pattern of tailing off, according to the paper.
China launches new space tracking ship to serve Shenzhou VII
By Xinhua
Shanghai : China launched a new space tracking ship on Saturday, expected to serve the Shenzhou VII spacewalk mission scheduled for autumn, said a spokesman of the maritime space surveying and controlling operation.
The new space tracking ship was the sister ship of the Yuanwang-5, which was put into use in September, said the spokesman, adding the two vessels would play a key role in the Shenzhou VII mission.
Scientists close to fabricating a practical atom laser
By IANS,
Sydney : Scientists are on the verge of fabricating the first practical atom laser that holds the promise of ever more precise measurement in industry, medical science, navigation and mining.
The breakthrough has been made possible by overcoming a host of theoretical and technical hurdles, allowing for the laser's continuous operation unlike previous versions that drained the source material and switched off.
IIT alumni’s party wants to be agent of change
By Richa Sharma, IANS,
New Delhi : They gave up plush jobs to jump into politics two years ago - something not too many Indian professionals do. The party that 20 alumni of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) floated has now fielded two candidates in the Nov 29 Delhi assembly polls.
After all, both techies and politicians are harbingers of change, say the founder members of Bharat Punarnirman Dal, or India Rejuvenation Force.
Genome of destructive plant parasite sequenced
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists have sequenced and mapped the genes of an ubiquitous and extremely destructive plant parasite, known as the northern root-knot nematode.
The research could help open the way to a new generation of eco-friendly tools to manage the microscopic soil-dwelling worm which, along with other nematodes, causes an estimated $50 billion in crop and plant damage yearly, said Charles Opperman, professor of plant pathology at North Carolina (NC) State University and co-author of the report.
Turkey launches new generation communication satellite
By Xinhua,
Ankara : Turkey has launched its new generation communication satellite "Turksat 3A" from the Kourou base of French Guiana, the semi-official Anatolia news agency has reported.
The report said that the satellite launched Thursday would be located in the orbit of 42 degree east longitude and the control of the satellite will be pursued in the Golbasi Satellite Ground Station near the Turkish capital Ankara.
The satellite, which has three uplink and two downlink beams, will replace Turksat 1C satellite, the report said.
‘Switch off TV, save 10 percent of your power bill’
By Joydeep Gupta, IANS,
Poznan (Poland) : Simple things like switching off your TV and computers, instead of keeping them on standby, can help save 10 percent of your electricity bill.
"I don't understand why people aren't doing it," says Diana Urge-Vorsatz, expert member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), referring to simple things that people can do every day to reduce power bills and fight climate change at the same time.
ISRO slow on internet?
By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) symbolises nothing less than rockets, satellites and moon missions but when it comes to a professional need as simple as uploading contents on the website, the presitigious organisation seems to have bungled.
The 97th edition of the Indian Science Congress, organized by the ISRO and the Kerala University, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday.
Microsoft unveils new security software
By DPA,
San Francisco : Hoping to dispel fears about the vulnerability of Windows to viruses and other malware, Microsoft Tuesday released a trial version of a new free security package called Microsoft Security Essentials.
The software is designed to replace the Windows Defender tool that Microsoft released in 2007, but which was widely derided as being inadequate to protect computers from the constant and ever-evolving threats posed by hackers.
Making computers more user-friendly for disabled
By IANS,
Washington : Efforts are underway to come up with a more user-friendly computer that responds to physically challenged individuals.
Current designs are particularly frustrating for the disabled, the elderly and anybody who has trouble with a mouse.
A new approach developed by Washington University researchers would put each person through a brief skills test and generate a mathematically based version of the user interface optimised for his or her vision and motor abilities.
Scientists tag sharks to gather more detailed data
By IANS,
Sydney : Scientists have tagged a nearly four-metre long white shark, nicknamed Thomas, to track its movements across the ocean and gather more detailed information.
The tag popped up at Swaub Reefs off Rockhampton and transmitted data late in August. Department of Conservation (DOC) Scientist Clinton Duffy had tagged Thomas off Ruapuke Island in Foveaux Strait in February.
"This is only 100 kilometres from where another tag popped up last year from a shark tagged at Stewart Island after having travelled over 3,000 km," said Duffy.
Researchers deluged with online information, but seldom use it
By IANS,
Washington : Although the Internet provides scientists an instant access to thousands of academic journals and research papers, they are citing fewer papers and that too from more recent publications.
This trend may be limiting the creation of new ideas and theories, said James Evans, a sociologist at the University of Chicago, who, focussing on the nature of research, analysed a database of over 34 million articles.
He compared their online availability between 1998 and 2005 to the number of times they were cited from 1945 to 2005.
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...
Humans first covered their nakedness 170,000 years ago
By IANS,
Washington : A research suggests that humans first covered their nakedness some 170,000 years ago, something which helped them move out of Africa.
‘Nuclear-capable Agni-V to be tested soon’
By IANS,
Chandigarh: India's ambitious 5,000-km range Agni-V nuclear-capable missile will be launched soon, a senior scientist said here Sunday.
Camera captures comet’s fiery end as it grazes sun
By IANS,
Washington: NASA's solar observatory caught for the very first time on camera a comet's fiery end as it flew too close to the sun's blazing surface.
Sunita Williams heading back to space again
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington: Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams is all set to return to to the International Space Station, where she spent a record six months in 2006.
NASA’s Messenger fetches first orbital photo of Mercury
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : NASA's Messenger spacecraft, the first ever to enter the orbit of Mercury, has fetched its first photo, the project's website said.
Polaris launches software testing lab in Sydney
By Neena Bhandari, IANS
Sydney : Polaris Software, a leading Indian software company, has launched its new software testing laboratory here that will inject Australian $5 million (US$4.5 million) into the state of New South Wales (NSW).
NSW Minister for State Development Ian Macdonald said Monday: "This is about attracting investment from India, instead of the other way around, where our jobs are outsourced to companies based there.
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.
Microsoft warns of Excel security flaw
By Xinhua
Beijing : Microsoft Corp. has issued a security advisory warning of a vulnerability that lies within older versions of the Excel spreadsheet program, media reports said Thursday.
The affected versions include Microsoft Office Excel 2003 Service Pack 2, Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003, Microsoft Office Excel 2002, Microsoft Office Excel 2000, and Microsoft Excel 2004 for Mac.
Microsoft said Tuesday that it is investigating reports of such attacks, but has not yet determined whether it will patch the hole, or when.
SAARC nations urged to join hands for disaster management
By IANS
New Delhi : Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil Monday called upon the SAARC nations to use their strength in science and technology to build a robust system of prevention, mitigation and preparedness to reduce the risks of natural and manmade disasters.
Russia tracks rogue U.S. satellite, contains nuclear material
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Russia's Defense Ministry is closely monitoring a U.S. spy satellite that has gone out of control and may have nuclear material on board, a high-ranking defense source said on Friday.
"The Defense Ministry is using its space surveillance systems to track the satellite's movement in orbit," he said.
Russian military experts suggest the satellite could have an on board nuclear power source, a senior parliament member said.
NASA extends German space mission till 2015
By D. Balaji, IANS,
Berlin : The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Thursday extended the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (Grace) space mission, operated jointly with the German aerospace centre here, to 2015 from 2012.
NASA deputy administrator Lori Garver and German Aerospace Centre executive board chairman Johann-Dietrich Worner signed an agreement to extend the mission at the 100th Berlin International Air Show (ILA 2010) here.
ISRO to launch moon mission in October-December
By IANS,
Kolkata : The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to launch its first unmanned moon mission, Chandrayan-I, between October and December, a top official said here Thursday.
"We are hopeful of launching the spacecraft in the third quarter of 2008-09. The mission would be targeted to capture images of the lunar surface," ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair told reporters during an interactive session here.
Software tweaks to make undersea robots smarter
By IANS,
Washington : A cutting edge software, developed and tested by naval scientists, can help undersea robots become smarter at surveying large swathes of the ocean.
India’s Internet access hit after cable damage off Egypt
By IANS
Bangalore/New Delhi : India's Internet connectivity was disrupted Thursday after two undersea cables were damaged in the Mediterranean, although IT majors reported no impact on business. Smaller companies and individual surfers would, however, have to make do with slower speeds till the cables are repaired.
"Slow connectivity, choking and other problems have been caused across India due the cable damage," Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI) President Rajesh Chharia said, adding it may take 10-15 days for normalcy to be restored.
Sixty years of world’s first modern computer
By IANS,
London : Do you know that Saturday is the 60th birthday of the world's first modern computer? Manchester Baby, a computer that could store a programme, was built in Britain's University of Manchester June 21, 1948.
It was the first machine - invented by Frederick Williams and Tom Kilburn - that had all the components now regarded as the characteristics of a basic computer. Most importantly, it was the first computer that could store not only data but also a short user programme in electronic memory and process it at electronic speed.
International space meet begins amid tight security
By IANS
Hyderabad : The 58th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) began Monday amid tight security at the international convention centre in Hitec City. About 2,000 delegates, including heads of global space agencies, are attending the five-day event.
UAE company to invest $2 bn in solar energy technology
By IANS,
Abu Dhabi : The United Arab Emirates (UAE) based energy company Masdar has announced that it would invest $2 billion in solar energy technology, WAM news agency reported Thursday.
Masdar, which is owned by the Abu Dhabi government, plans to set up two plants for manufacturing solar panels.
The first plant would be based in Germany and would become operational in 2009 while the second one would be set up in Abu Dhabi and would become operational in 2010.
Galileo may have discovered Neptune
By IANS,
Sydney : Galileo's notebooks contain hidden clues that is likely to clinch his discovery of Neptune in 1613, 234 years before the date of discovery accepted now, according to a new theory.
David Jamieson, who heads the Melbourne University (MU) School of Physics, is investigating the notebooks of Galileo from 400 years ago. He believes that buried in the notations is the evidence that he discovered a new planet that we now know as Neptune.
NASA declares Phoenix Mars lander dead
By DPA,
Washington : A robotic lander that confirmed the presence of ice on Mars was confirmed dead by NASA scientists Monday.
The Phoenix Mars lander was damaged by harsh conditions during the Martian winter and repeated attempts to contact it have been unsuccessful, the US space agency said.
The lander had wrapped up its mission in 2008 and had not been expected to survive the harsh winter, which is twice as long as that on Earth. But scientists needed to make last attempts to contact it in good weather before officially writing it off.
World’s tiniest electric motor unveiled
By IANS,
Washington : Chemists have created the world's tiniest electric motor, which is no bigger than a molecule.
Over 700 Russian scientists part of Large Hadron Collider project
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The development of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's largest and most powerful particle accelerator, has involved over 700 Russian physicists from 12 research institutes, a project coordinator said Monday.
The $5.8 billion international project, which will be officially unveiled on October 21 at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known by its French initials CERN, has involved more than 2,000 physicists from hundreds of universities and laboratories in 34 countries since 1984.
Google dedicates doodle to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
New Delhi: Internet search giant Google on Tuesday paid tributes to Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on his birth anniversary.
The doodle showed the...
Indians must search for truth behind myths: scientist
By Madhushree Chatterjee, IANS
New Delhi : A cat has nine lives. Or may be not. A cat can survive death plunges from 32-storey buildings because of variations in speed, heartbeats and energy loss that act as cushions while falling, explains visiting Australian scientist Karl Kruszelnicki.
Endeavour blasts off for mission to space station
By DPA,
Washington : Space shuttle Endeavour lit up the Florida coast before dawn Monday as it blasted off for a mission to the International Space Station.
The start, at 10.14 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time was the final night-time launch for the ageing shuttle fleet, which is to be mothballed later this year.
Endeavour is carrying a six-window viewing area that will give astronauts a panoramic look at earth, the station and visiting spacecraft.
A planned Sunday launch for the shuttle had to be postponed due to low cloud cover at the launch site.
IIT-Kgp, Britain’s WMG join hands to promote ‘Make in India’
Kharagpur : The Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur (IIT-Kgp) will start a collaborative programme with Britain-based Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) to promote the 'Make...
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...
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.
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.
Software embedded in soldier’s helmet pinpoints enemy snipers
By IANS,
Washington : Imagine a squad of soldiers who can pinpoint out-of-sight enemy snipers and identify the calibre and type of weapons being fired, with the help of software embedded in their helmets.
Engineers at Vanderbilt University's Institute for Software Integrated Systems (ISIS) have developed a system that can give soldiers just such an edge by turning their combat helmets into "smart nodes" in a wireless sensor network.
World’s oldest shoe found in Armenian cave
By IANS,
London : A perfectly preserved 5,500-year-old leather shoe has been found by a team of international archaeologists in a cave in Armenia.
The cow-hide shoe dates back to 3,500 BC (the Chalcolithic period) and is in perfect condition. It was made of a single piece of leather and was shaped to fit the wearer's foot.
Only one hacking in last three years: Antony
By IANS,
New Delhi: India's defence establishment has recorded only one breach of security by hackers from outside in the last three years, parliament was informed Wednesday.
Huge asteroid flies past Earth
By Xinhua,
Washington : An asteroid as big as a 10-storeyed building flew past Earth Tuesday, the US space website has said.
The space rock was perhaps a bit larger than one thought to have created a colossal explosion in the air above Siberia in 1908 that flattened 500,000 acres (2,000 square km) of forest.
Asteroid 2009 DD45 was closest to Earth Tuesday at about 8.40 a.m. It was some 72,000 km away, which is twice the height of a geostationary communications satellite.
Endeavour undocks from ISS, winds up longest mission
By Xinhua
Beijing : U.S. space shuttle Endeavour on Monday undocked from the international space station and headed for home, ending an "extraordinary mission" marked by a record five successful spacewalks, media reported.
The shuttle has been at the station 12 days, the longest mission ever of its kind.
During their stay, the seven shuttle astronauts, working with the three-member station crew, attached the first piece of a Japanese laboratory to the station and assembled a Canadian maintenance robot known as Dextre.
India successfully launches Israeli satellite Polaris into orbit
By KUNA
New Delhi : India Monday launched an Israeli satellite "Polaris" from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in the Southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
The satellite was put into orbit by indigenously developed Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), a spokesman of the Indian Space Research Organisation told reporters, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
Last year, Italian satellite Agile was also put into the orbit by PSLV, the spokesman said.
Polaris is a radar-imaging, remote-sensing satellite and weighs about 300 kgs.
Indian software firm develops programmes for four airlines
By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : Four leading airlines have joined hands with IT firm IBS Software to launch an airline manpower management solution that will enable them to plan cost effective and efficient operation of their fleet with an optimal level of trained crew members.
Air Astana, easyJet, Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways together with IBS, formed the Core Group of Influence (CGI) to develop the new IT solution.
Facebook registers 200 million users
By DPA,
San Francisco : Five years after it was founded in a Harvard dorm room, the online social networking site Facebook has registered its 200 millionth user, the site confirmed Thursday.
"Growing rapidly to 200 million users is a really good start, but we've always known that in order for Facebook to help people represent everything that is happening in their world, everyone needs to have a voice," said Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Canada gov’t rejects sale of space technology to U.S.
By Xinhua
Ottawa : The Canadian government said Thursday it had rejected the sale of satellite and robotics technology to a U.S. firm, noting it would be against national interest.
Industry Minister Jim Prentice said in a statement that Ottawa cannot agree with selling the space technology division of Vancouver-based MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) to U.S. rocket-maker Alliant Techsystems Inc. The proposed deal involves 1.325 billion U.S. dollars.
Alliant has been given 30 days to contest the decision.
Telescope-like device may reverse vision loss
By IANS
Washington : A small telescope-like device developed by ophthalmologists in the US may be able to halt and even reverse vision loss caused by macular degeneration, an age-related eye disease.
According to a new study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology, the optical prosthetics, tiny enough to be balanced on a fingertip, dramatically improved the vision of about two thirds of 206 patients studied in a 24-month clinical trial.
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.
Will shifting geomagnetic field be Earth’s nemesis?
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The recent trouble with the International Space Station (ISS), caused by simple computer virus capable of stealing logins and passwords for computer games only, was a minor incident compared to possible environmental changes that could make space flights impossible.
They could also cripple aviation and television, and even put terrestrial life at risk.
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.
850 new species discovered in semi-arid Australia
By IANS,
Sydney : About 850 new species inhabiting underground water, caves and micro-caverns have been discovered in semi-arid Australia. These invertebrates include various insects, small crustaceans, spiders, worms and many others.
The team - led by Andy Austin, professor at the University of Adelaide (U-A), Steve Cooper, South Australian Museum, and Bill Humphreys, Western Australian Museum - conducted a comprehensive four-year survey of underground water, caves and micro-caverns.
Chinese taikonaut begins spacewalk
By Xinhua,
Beijing : Chinese taikonaut Zhai Zhigang slipped out of the orbital module of Shenzhou-VII spacecraft Saturday afternoon, starting China's first spacewalk or extravehicular activity (EVA) in outer space.
Donning a $4-million homemade Feitian space suit, Zhai waved to a camera mounted on the service module after pulling himself out of the capsule in a head-out-first position, the video monitor at the Beijing Aerospace Control Centre (BACC) showed.
"I here greet the Chinese people and people of the world," the 42-year-old taikonaut reported to ground control.
Google Glass 2.0 coming soon?
New York: Google may be testing the next version of the Google Glass called GG1, media reports said.
Google has a new eye wearable device...
Fingerprint could identify smoker, drinker
By IANS
London : Fingerprint could help identify a smoker, drinker, an avid coffee drinker or even a drug addict, scientists say.
Robot goalkeeper better than the Bundesliga’s human goalies
By DPA,
Stuttgart (Germany) : A robotic goalkeeper is better than human keepers in Germany's football Bundesliga, its inventors boasted Monday as they demonstrated the computer-controlled device, Goalias, to the media.
Players from first-division side VfB Stuttgart, including Germany team player Mario Gomez, tried last week to outwit Goalias, shooting indoors at a full-size goal mouth from 11 metres out. Scientists have since fine-tuned Goalias.
We need clear space vision: Senators to Obama
By DPA,
Washington : A group of senators has called for a clear vision for the future of the US space programme, characterising President Barack Obama's plans for space agency NASA as "without a mission".
Earlier this month, Obama's 2011 budget proposal included the scrapping of existing plans for next-generation spacecraft to return to the moon. The move unleashed a stream of criticism from politicians who supported the plans, but NASA officials defend the move as allowing NASA to focus on longer term goals.
Apple’s next-generation stunning iPhone model leaked
By IANS,
Washington: Apple's future generation iPhone model, which was leaked after being mistakenly left at a bar in California, has been put on display by a technology news portal.
The secret version of the next generation iPhone was not expected to be formally unveiled for a couple of months.
But, the technology news site Gizmodo said the gadget was left by an iPhone software engineer at Gourmet Haus Staudt, a German specialty store and beer garden in Redwood City.
Indian American works out low-cost strategy to curb computer worms
By IANS,
Washington : Network administrators might soon be able to mount effective, low-cost defences against self-propagating infectious programmes known as worms, thanks to a new strategy devised by an Indian American researcher.
Many computers are already equipped with software that can detect when another computer is attempting to attack it. Yet the software usually cannot identify newly-minted worms that do not share features with earlier marauders.
Space photos no proof of Ram Setu: NASA
By Arun Kumar, IANS
Washington : US space agency NASA says pictures taken by its astronauts do not prove the existence or otherwise of a manmade Ram Setu bridge as mentioned in the Hindu epic Ramayana.
"I am not aware of any carbon dating either," said NASA spokesman Michael Braukus, refuting claims by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that the agency had the Adam's bridge in Palk Strait - known as Ram Setu in India - carbon dated as being 1.7 million years old.
World’s largest solar steam system comes up in Shirdi
By IANS,
Shirdi (Maharashtra) : Hindu and Muslim pilgrims visiting the shrine of Sai Baba in this town will be served food cooked with the help of a solar steam system, inaugurated by New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah Thursday, that officials say is the world's largest.
The solar steam system can generate 3,500 kg of steam every day - enough to cook food for 20,000 people. It has been designed for cooking food for devotees visiting the shrine devoted to Sai Baba, a 19th century Sufi saint who was revered by Hindus and Muslims alike.
Indian Muslim blogs nominated for Brass Crescent Awards
By TwoCircles.net staff reporter
In the world of blogs known as blogosphere, Indian Muslims are making their presence known. Two Indian Muslims blogs have won nomination to the 4th Brass Crescent Awards.
Indian Muslim Blog (IMB) on www.IndianMuslims.in, a collaborative blog that started in January 2006 and have a number of bloggers who write on topics related to India and Muslims is nominated for the “Best Group Blog” category.
Shuttle Endeavour blasts off from Cape Canaveral
By SPA
Cape Canaveral, Florida : Shuttle Endeavour and a crew of seven are on their way to the international space station, AP reported.
The space shuttle blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, early Tuesday morning to begin what is expected to be the longest space station mission ever. It is a 16-day voyage to build a two-armed robot and add a float-in closet for a future lab. Five spacewalks are planned.
Liftoff came in the middle of the night, and it was the first shuttle launch in darkness since 2006.
The computer helper: Grouping taskbar buttons in Vista
By DPA
Washington : Some things have changed for the better in Microsoft's Vista operating system. Others have not.
Those who have grown accustomed to the efficiency afforded by XP's taskbar button grouping feature will probably not be happy with Vista's handling of the feature. There is, though, a way in Vista to group taskbar buttons the XP way.
Read on to find out how.
American astronomer chasing his 50th solar eclipse
By Richa Sharma, IANS,
New Delhi : He has not missed any major eclipse in five decades. Jay Pasachoff, a 66-year-old American astronomer, travels across the globe chasing the best views of solar eclipses. Sure enough, he is in India to capture on camera the annual solar eclipse Friday - it will be his 50th.
"When I came to know that India is one of the best places to get a clear view of the 'Ring of Fire' during the eclipse, I chose it as my 50th destination for eclipse viewing," Pasachoff, a professor of Astronomy at Williams College in Massachusetts (US), told IANS here.
Space association calls for UN strategy against asteroids
By DPA,
Vienna : The international Association of Space Explorers (ASE) Tuesday called on the UN to develop strategies against asteroids threatening to hit earth, in a report presented at the UN headquarters in Vienna.
Among the known 5,600 so-called near-earth objects, and the 500,000 additional ones expected to be discovered in the next 15 years, "several dozen will pose an uncomfortably high risk of striking Earth and inflicting local or regional devastation," the astronauts said in their report.
Technical Institute for community – An attempt to provide respectable life
By TCN News,
Hyderabad: Madrassa students wearing hard hat along with traditional ‘topi’ (skull cap) handling heavy machinery, it is not an ordinary scene, but...
US space shuttle Endeavour lands in California
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.
Transfer ‘anything’ using Tranz for free
By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : You can now share your files, transfer pictures, music, videos and documents instantly using Tranz, a latest technology developed by young IT entrepreneurs at Innoz Technologies Pvt. Ltd here.
The service is free within the country.
Speaking to IANS, Deepak Ravindran, the CEO of Technopark-headquartered Innoz, said that Tranz is a file-sharing and networking application that enriches your mobile internet experience.
Click and check out development work in India’s villages
By Azera Rahman, IANS,
New Delhi : How many villages does India have? What kind of developmental work is going on there? And are the local politicians there doing enough? Soon you can find out by clicking on www.638387.org!
An initiative of IndianNGOs.com, a platform of NGOs working in different spheres, www.638387.org focuses on the tiny hamlets of the country - all the 638,387 of them.
Scientists dig up remains of chicken-sized dinosaur
By IANS,
Washington : Remains of an unusual chicken sized dinosaur, the smallest ever that darted on two legs looking for termites on the forest floor, has been dug up near Red Deer, Alberta in Canada.
"These are bizarre animals. They have long and slender legs, stumpy arms with huge claws and tweezer-like jaws. They look like an animal created by Dr. Seuss," said Nick Longrich, paleontology research associate at the department of bio-sciences, Calgary University.
Young engineers launch device to save power
By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : Seven engineers, all in their mid-20s, have developed a new device that they claim will save power losses from computers and gadgets running on electricity.
"The product, 'Spara', is ready and will be launched when our office at the Technopark's Technology Business Incubation opens Wednesday," said Nelvin Joseph, CEO of Artin Dynamics, the start-up firm floated by the seven engineer-entrepreneurs.
Addressing reporters here Tuesday night, Joseph said his company dealt with artificial intelligence and will develop products and services with this in mind.
Found: World’s oldest living tree, age 9,550
By IANS,
London : A 9,550-year-old spruce, the world's oldest living tree, has been found in Dalarna province of Sweden.
The tenacious specimen has survived by growing between erect trees and smaller bushes in pace with the dramatic climate changes over time.
For many years the spruce tree has been regarded as a relative newcomer in the Swedish mountain region.
"Our results have shown the complete opposite. The spruce is one of the oldest known trees in the mountain range," said Leif Kullman, of Umeå University.
Facebook users dial 911 over outage, cops frown
New York : Will you call 911 if Facebook goes off the radar? This is exactly some users in Los Angeles did when the...
Police to quiz Gwalior scientists over human sacrifice bid
By IANS,
Bhopal : Two senior scientists of the Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE) in Gwalior, who allegedly tried to kill their junior colleague in a human sacrifice bid, will be interrogated as soon they return from leave, police said Monday.
"We can't say anything right now. The picture would be clear after the scientists' statements are recorded," Gwalior Additional Superintendent of Police Manohar Verma told IANS.
Shuttle Discovery to lift off for ISS May 31
By RIA Novosti,
Washington : NASA officials said the STS-124 space shuttle launch to the ISS from Cape Canaveral in Florida is scheduled for May 31.
The 14-day mission will see the Discovery shuttle deliver its heaviest payload to the International Space Station, the Japanese Pressurized Module (JPM) which is the second unit of the massive Kibo laboratory complex.
The first unit, an experimental logistics module, was delivered to the ISS in March.
New web resource aims to help Asia’s youth avoid internet dangers
By SPA
Singapore : The Business Software Alliance (BSA) launched an educational Web resource on Tuesday to help youths across Asia understand and avoid the many risks they face on the internet.
According to DPA "The internet has spawned a new generation of youths who spend significant amounts of time in cyberspace, where they are exposed to illegal or unwholesome content, or are lured into unlawful activities," said Jeffrey Hardee, BSA's Vice President for the Asia-Pacific region.
Researchers uncover music’s secret structure
By IANS,
Washington : More than 200 years after Pythagoras discovered the orderliness of music, three professors have devised a way of analysing music that takes advantage of the deep, complex mathematics seemingly enmeshed in its very fabric.
Writing in the April 18 issue of Science, they have outlined a method called "geometrical music theory" that translates the language of musical theory into that of contemporary geometry.
Malaysia to shelve space programme for lack of funds
By DPA,
Kuala Lumpur : Malaysia's fledgling space programme will be temporarily shelved due to a lack of funds, six months after sending its first astronaut to space, a news report said Tuesday.
Science minister Maximus Ongkili said the initial plan to send a second astronaut to space could not be carried out due to a problem of budgeting.
"There's zero money. The ministry will have to look for money if it wants to continue with the programme," Ongkili was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times daily.
Methane found on Jupiter-sized extra-solar planet
By IANS
Washington : For the first time ever, astronomers have detected an organic molecule - which plays a key role in the formation of life - on a planet circling a nearby star.
The methane molecule has been detected by the Hubble Space Telescope in the atmosphere of the Jupiter-sized planet named HD 189733b, located 63 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula, or the little fox.
Under right circumstances, methane can play a key role in pre-biotic (life forming) chemistry
Be careful when accessing your computer from afar
By Nabeel A. Khan, IANS,
New Delhi : Be careful when you access your computer over the Internet. Here are some safety tips:
* Install file-sharing software carefully, so that you know what's being shared.
* Person to person (P2P) file-sharing applications will, by default, share downloads in your "save" or "download" folder - unless you set it not to.
* You should also restrict users' ability to write files to the file server.
* Limit guests or anonymous accounts sharing so none can upload files.
Smartphones become personal computers
By DPA
Munich : Smartphones can now enjoy plus size screens and keyboards thanks to a new gadget from Palm.
IIT Kanpur developing robot for India’s moon mission
By Prashant K. Nanda
IANSNew Delhi : When India sends its proposed moon mission in 2011, it will have a unique robot developed indigenously by student-engineers and their professors at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at Kanpur.
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).
Solar activity could spell more trouble for Earth
By Andrei Kislyakov, RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The Sun is beginning another 11-year cycle of activity and considering that the fiery star is to blame for some unfavourable climate changes on the Earth, the coming decade could spell more trouble for our planet.
The first measuring instruments of the Sun's activity made their appearance 440 years ago. They showed that our nearest star treats the Earth to more than just solar eclipses.
NASA mission to help unravel climate mysteries
By Xinhua,
Washington : NASA's first spacecraft dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon dioxide is in final preparation for a Feb 23 launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Carbon dioxide is the leading human-produced greenhouse gas driving changes in Earth's climate.
The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) will provide the first complete picture of human and natural carbon dioxide sources as well as their "sinks", the places where carbon dioxide is pulled out of the atmosphere and stored.
New digital map reveals more secrets about Antarctica
By IANS,
Sydney: A new digital map configured by British and Australian scientists has revealed astonishing new geological facts about Antarctica, not known till now.
Cell phone with built in radiation sensors to thwart nuclear terrrorism
WASHINGTON, Jan 22 (KUNA) -- A newly developed cell phones detect radiation to thwart nuclear terrorism, able to detect even slight residues of radioactive material, researchers hope will one-day blanket the nation.
"It's the ubiquitous nature of cell phones and other portable electronic devices that give this system its power", said Ephraim Fischbach, physics professor at Purdue University, in a statement Tuesday.
Reducing household carbon footprint helps fight climate change
By IANS,
Washington : Like charity, the battle against global warming should also begin at home, according to a new study.
The study set out to establish that going green, recycling items of daily use and reducing your carbon footprint would be easier if a household's environmental impact is monitored.
The study, which enlisted 20 families to assess how well sustainable behaviour might be inculcated among householders, compared fuel, electricity, water costs and waste generation and recommended cost-effective steps to reduce consumption.
Putin set for Gorshkov deal, n-pact with India
By IANS,
New Delhi: With a pact on Admiral Gorshkov likely during Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's trip to India, Russian envoy Alexander Kadakin Wednesday urged India to look at the reconstruction of the aircraft carrier with "positive eyes" and pitched for setting more nuclear reactors.
The long-delayed pact on the delivery of aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, previously marred by pricing disputes, will be among defence deals worth $4 billion that are expected to be finalized during Putin's two-day visit that begins Thursday.
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.
India launches Oceansat-2, six European satellites
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : India Wednesday successfully launched its 16th remote-sensing satellite, Oceansat-2, to study oceans and climate, and six small Europeans satellites on board a rocket that blasted off from here.
Under a clear blue sky, the 44.4-metre tall, 230-tonne Indian rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) freed itself from the launch pad at the spaceport, 70 km from Chennai, at 11.51 a.m. and soared upwards with a deep throated growl lugging the 960-kg Oceansat-2 and the six nano satellites all together weighing 20 kg.
Chandrayaan reaches ‘home’ in lunar orbit
By IANS,
Bangalore : India's first unmanned lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 Wednesday reached its intended operational orbit at about 100 km from the lunar surface for a two-year rendezvous with the moon.
“Chandrayaan has reached its home in the final orbit. The spacecraft is orbiting at an altitude of 100 km above the lunar surface. It will spin around the moon once in two hours,” Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) director S. Satish told IANS here.
European Space Agency plans space junk detection system
By DPA,
Darmstadt (Germany) : The European Space Agency (ESA) said Monday it hoped to set up its own detection system for space junk instead of relying on US radar to track the chunks of shattered satellites and spent rockets in earth orbit.
Last week a US satellite accidentally hit an out-of-commission Russian satellite, scattering a trail of debris in space.
Molnia-M carrier rocket to orbit Russian military satellite
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : A Molnia-M booster rocket was launched from the Plesetsk space centre in north Russia Tuesday to orbit a Cosmos military satellite, a Russian Space Forces spokesman said.
The carrier rocket was launched at 8.39 a.m. Moscow time (4.39 a.m. GMT), and was scheduled to put the military satellite into orbit at 9:35 a.m. Moscow time (5:35 a.m. GMT).
The four-stage medium-range Molnia-M, which has a lift-off weight of 305 metric tonnes, is used for launching spacecraft of up to two metric tonnes into high-elliptical orbits.
Hubble discovers 67 more galaxies
By IANS
New York : The Hubble space telescope has discovered 67 "lensing" galaxies in the distant universe, under the massive COSMOS project to map space.
Gravitational lensing occurs when light travelling towards us from a distant galaxy is magnified and distorted by unusually huge clusters of other galaxies.
Shuttle landing delayed, shifted to California
By DPA,
Washington : US space agency NASA announced a further delay Sunday of the planned landing of the space shuttle Endeavour due to weather conditions, and shifted the landing site from Florida to California.
The shuttle is now set to land at 1.25 p.m. (2125 GMT) at Edwards Air Force Base, reported NASA, about three hours later than originally scheduled. Storms and rain at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida made a landing there too risky, reported the agency.
Iran ready to send six satellites into space
By IANS,
Tehran : Iran is preparing to launch five to six satellites into the space as part of its aerospace development programme.
"We are currently carrying out a project which will see the design, production and launch of 5 to 6 satellites. We hope to send one satellite into space in the first half of the coming year," Iranian Telecommunications Minister Reza Taqipour said.
"Iran has laid the foundation for the development of its aerospace industry in the past three to four years," Taqipour told Fars News Agency.
Happy Birthday Google!
By IANS,
New Delhi: Google turned 14 Thursday and celebrated its birthday with a doodle of a rich chocolate cake.
600 mn-year-old plant fossils found in China
By IANS,
Beijing : Paleontologists in China have unearthed thousands of pieces of plant fossils dating back to about 600 million years, officials said.
India to launch ‘unique’ satellite to study distant glaxies
By NNN-PTI,
Shillong, India : India's space agency along with astronomers from across the country will launch a "unique" satellite later this year to study distant galaxies and black holes.
The Astrosat, scheduled for launch towards the end of the year, will be the country's first satellite entirely dedicated to astronomy.
Astronomers are excited about the prospects thrown up by the Astrosat which is expected to give India an edge in observing the universe.
New coating improves efficiency of solar cells
By IANS
Washington : Scientists in a US university have developed a special coating that increases the energy efficiency of solar cells by about one-and-a-half times.
A Northwestern University research team found that energy from sunlight falling only on a patch of the Mojave Desert is enough to power all of the US - if it is tapped efficiently.
The operative word, however, is "efficiently". At present, solar cell technologies are not only inefficient but are also too costly and cumbersome for large-scale commercial and industrial applications.
PCs are not always suitable for use as television sets
By DPA
Berlin : People spend hours in front of countless PC monitors nowadays. Usually those monitors go dark when work ends. That could soon change in some households.
Monitors have other uses apart from word processing and spreadsheets. They can also show movies and soap operas. But a few problems still remain when converting your monitor into a desktop TV.
Passwords for multiple internet services need not be confusing
By DPA,
Hanover (Germany) : Most computer users realise that their private data is safest, when they use a different password for each website. But keeping track of all those passwords can be a problem and there's always the temptation to use the same password often making it easier for a hacker to guess it.
The German computer c't magazine recommends using variations of a single password for all your internet needs.
Choose a word with at least eight letters, numerals and special characters. Alternate between upper and lower case and then it becomes a user's basic password.
Recycling radioactive waste no longer a problem
By IANS,
Washington : A new plant will help recover uranium from the ashes of radioactive wastes, which can then be recycled with an efficient, eco-friendly technology inspired by decaffeinated coffee.
The technique's future may even hold the key to recycling the most dangerous forms of radioactive waste in the near future.
Russian Progress cargo ship docks with ISS
By RIA Novosti
Mission Control (near Moscow) : The Progress M-61 cargo spacecraft carrying food, water and fuel for the crew of the International Space Station (ISS) and equipment to repair onboard computers has automatically docked with the global orbital station, the mission control said.
Insects might help make cheaper biofuels
By IANS,
Washington : The help of insects might be required to make a biofuel like bioethanol commercially viable, according to an entomologist.
Michael Scharf, entomologist at the University of Florida, Gainesville and his colleague Aurélien Tartar informed how enzymes produced by both termites and the micro-organisms that inhabit their gut - known as symbionts - could help to produce ethanol from non-edible plant material such as straw and wood.
SatNav bags Red Herring 100 Asia award
By IANS
Hyderabad : The city-based SatNav Technologies, an IT products company, has bagged the Red Herring Top 100 Asia 2007 award.
This was announced at a gala dinner at Hong Kong organised to honour 100 cutting-edge private technology companies from across the Asia-Pacific region, said a company statement here.
The winners are based in 16 countries/regions including China, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Australia and Vietnam. This is one of the prestigious awards across Asia, which is announced by the Red Herring Magazine.
Make no mistake: climate change is for real
By IANS
London : New research has dealt a blow to those sceptics who claimed climate change was caused by a drop in cosmic rays rather than man-made greenhouse gases.
The belief had gained ground last year with the telecast on Channel 4 of a programme titled 'The Great Global Warming Swindle'.
The programme had argued that a discernible drop in cosmic rays over the past century had resulted in the formation of fewer low clouds - and this, in turn, allowed more heat to warm the earth and caused global warming.
Nine win funding for rural innovation projects
By IANS
Chennai : The Rural Innovation Fund (RIF), promoted by Microsoft India among others, has selected nine innovators, who will receive $15,000 (Rs.590,000) each to implement their projects to empower rural India.
Microsoft India has established a RIF corpus of $200,000 to encourage innovations that will benefit rural India.
US launches spy satellite
By IANS,
Washington : The US Wednesday launched a spy satellite into space.
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.
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.
‘India, China don’t pose a challenge to US’
By Arun Kumar, IANS
Washington : Warnings from pundits that the millions of engineers and scientists India and China produce each year would soon challenge the US' technical superiority may be a little premature, according to Newsweek International.
While Delhi and Beijing are slowly moving in the right direction to improve their high-tech and science programmes, "yet getting either country up to speed will be an enormous task", said the magazine.
US carbon-dioxide emissions dropped 7 percent in 2009
By DPA,
Washington : US emissions of carbon dioxide tumbled seven percent in 2009, government figures have showed, marking the largest one-year decline in the heat-trapping gas blamed for global warming since records began in 1949.
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) Wednesday attributed the sharp fall to a drop in energy use as the United States battled through its worst recession in decades, coupled with a smaller 2.3-percent drop in the "carbon intensity" of energy sources.
Salt-tolerant gene may revolutionise farming
By IANS
New York : The secret of why a plant withers or thrives in salty condition has been found in the cellular mechanism of arabidopsis, a plant species, according to a study. The findings could have enormous implications for salt-affected croplands, which form half the world's
cultivated area.
Salty soil means plants don't grow as well and therefore yield less.
Researchers have discovered that a complex carbohydrate called N-glycan, which is linked to protein in the plant, may be responsible for its ability to contend with salt water.
Sun just another ‘ordinary’ star, finds study
By IANS,
Sydney : The most comprehensive comparison of the sun with other stars has established its ordinariness - and the possibility that life could be common in the universe.
Rather than guess what properties a star should have to enable life, the researchers decided to compare the sun - which already hosts a life-bearing planet - to other stars.
“The question 'how special is the sun' is easier to address because we do have observations of thousands of other sun-like stars,” noted Charley Lineweaver of Australian National University, co-author of the study.