Google opens store for Chrome users
By DPA,
Mountain View (US) : Google has started up a portal for downloading extensions and web applications to its Chrome internet browser.
Newton’s invention may lead to greener TV screens
By IANS,
Washington : Engineers in the US have developed TV displays based on a telescope design invented by Isaac Newton to reduce the display's electricity consumption.
The rear layer of a conventional liquid crystal display (LCD) used in televisions produces light (backlight), whose brightness is controlled by small liquid crystals that swing round like tiny shutters. However, most of this backlight is wasted and never reaches the viewer.
Human intervention alters natural systems: NASA study
By IANS,
Washington : Human intervention has caused widespread climatic alterations like permafrost thawing, premature blooming of plants across Europe and declining lakes in Africa, according to a NASA study.
Cynthia Rosenzweig of NASA and co-author of the study, said it is the first to co-relate global temperature data sets and observed changes in a broad range of physical and biological systems with humans, climate, and impact.
Apple patents button-free mouse
By DPA
Hanover: Apple's latest patent is for a mouse without buttons. The new model resembles the Mighty Mouse, Apple's last mouse technology breakthrough that featured touch-sensitive side buttons and Bluetooth technology, but uses touch sensors instead of buttons, the Hanover-based computer magazine c't reported.
The new mouse does not have a scrolling ball or wheel.
Russia launches US communication satellite
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia Saturday launched a rocket carrying a US communication satellite into space from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan, Russian space agency Roscosmos said.
"The launch of the Proton-M rocket fitted with a Breeze-M booster and carrying a ProtoStar-2 telecommunication satellite went ahead at the scheduled time," a spokesperson of the Roscosmos said.
ProtoStar Ltd is a private company based in Bermuda. Its US operations are based in San Francisco and California, while its Asian operations are conducted from Singapore.
Social Media backlash over Toyota’s silence in Service Centre death
By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net
New Delhi : Three weeks after the alleged hate crime in...
Telescope captures galactic super volcanic explosion
By IANS,
London : A spectacular "super volcano" that erupted trillions of miles away from earth has been clicked by a NASA telescope.
The staggering eruption was filmed by NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory and the National Science Foundation's Very Large Array.
Astronomers said shock waves between a giant black hole and cooling gas, caused the mind boggling explosion, reports the Telegraph.
The explosion then blasted through the "massive" Messier 87 galaxy more than 50 million light years away. One light year is the equivalent of 5.9 trillion miles.
‘India can become World No. 1 in science’
By Prashant K. Nanda, IANS
New Delhi : India may never become the number one military power in the world but eminent scientist C.N.R. Rao believes that it has the potential to become number one in science and technology.
"We will never become number one in economy or in military power but we can definitely become a superpower and world number one in science and, over all, in knowledge," Rao, chairman of the Science Advisory Council to the prime minister, told IANS in an interview.
Nanotechnology to turn paper into futuristic batteries
By IANS,
Washington : Researchers have found a way to make lightweight paper batteries and supercapacitors cheaply -- by just dipping paper or fabric in a special ink infused with nanoparticles.
Capacitors, like batteries, store energy, but by electrostatic rather than chemical means, as well as stretchable textiles known as 'eTextiles' - capable of storing energy while retaining mechanical properties of paper or fabric.
The type of nanoparticle used in Stanford University engineer Yi Cui's experimental devices varies according to the intended function of the product.
Indian instruments aboard Chandrayaan-1 for lunar exploration
By IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : India has not only sent its first lunar orbiter Chandrayaan-1 into space Wednesday to join a select group of six, many of the scientific instruments aboard the spacecraft are of Indian make too.
Chandrayaan-1 is carrying 11 scientific instruments, called payloads. They include five entirely designed and developed in India, three instruments from European Space Agency (one developed jointly with India and another with Indian contribution), one from Bulgaria and two from the US.
SMS to know CAT answers within hours of exam
By IANS
Mumbai : Months of fretting after taking the Combined Admission Test (CAT) for admissions to top management institutes may become a thing of the past with the launch of an SMS service that will give the answers within hours of taking the exam.
Chandigarh to digitise documents of Le Corbusier
By IANS,
Chandigarh : Some invaluable documents related to legendary French architect Le Corbusier who planned Chandigarh in the 1950s can be seen online very soon, thanks to a move to digitise them.
The administration of the union territory of Chandigarh has decided to digitise all the old documents of Corbusier about the designing of the city and all the correspondence between the Indian government and other architects of that time.
Chandigarh is one of India's most well-planned cities.
Chinese astronauts return to Earth
By IANS,
Beijing: Three astronauts who completed China's first manned space docking safely returned to Earth Friday morning.
Computer virus targets Russian opposition
By IANS,
Washington : Opponents of Russian president-elect Vladimir Putin are being targeted through a computer virus sent by email, CNN reported.
Astronauts begin fourth spacewalk outside space station
By Xinhua
Washington : Two U.S. astronauts are conducting the fourth spacewalk of shuttle Endeavor's mission to test a heat shield repair method, NASA TV reported on Thursday.
Spacewalker Robert Behnken and Mike Foreman floated out of the Quest airlock and began their work outside the International Space Station at 6:04 p.m. local time (2204 GMT) on Thursday. Their excursion will last into midnight, said NASA.
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.
Current carbon dioxide levels also prevailed 15 mn years ago
By IANS,
Washington : You would have to go back at least 15 million years to find carbon dioxide levels as high as they are today, say scientists.
Then "global temperatures were five to 10 degrees Fahrenheit higher than they are today, sea level was approximately 75 to 120 feet higher than today, there was no permanent sea ice cap in the Arctic and very little ice on Antarctica and Greenland," said Aradhna Tripathi, who led the study.
Clouds mar solar eclipse spectacle in Orissa
By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : Those who had hoped to witness the century's longest solar eclipse in Orissa were disappointed Wednesday as the sky remained overcast in most parts of the state.
Thousands of people woke up early in the morning and were armed with special glasses to see the phenomenon. However, clouds spoiled the party although there was a partial eclipse in the state.
The solar eclipse was only visible for three minutes at the Pathani Samant Planetarium in Bhubaneswar, where thousands of people gathered to watch the rare sight.
British team building car to run at 1,600 km an hour
By IANS,
London : A team of British engineers plans to build a car that will run at the speed of 1,600 km an hour, outracing a handgun bullet.
The ambitious project comes from the team that holds the world's land speed record and has the full backing of the Science Minister Lord Drayson, who believes it will be an inspiration to young people looking for a career in science or engineering, The Independent daily reported Thursday.
Indian rocket puts in orbit 10 satellites at one go
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : India's space programme made history Monday with the successful launch of a Rs.700 million ($17.4 million) rocket that placed in orbit 10 satellites - two Indian and eight foreign.
At precisely 9.23 a.m., the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C9 rose into the sky, emitting thick orange flame, and placed in orbit an Indian cartography and a mini satellite to maintain leadership in the remote sensing domain. It also slung eight nano satellites into outer space - marking the world's second largest such mission.
Astronomers discover two extrasolar planets
By Xinhua
Washington : Researchers from 11 countries have discovered two extrasolar planets, each with a mass less than that of Jupiter, orbiting a star about half the size of our Sun.
The new discovery was reported on Thursday and will be published on the Feb. 15 issue of journal Science.
Although there has been a flurry of extrasolar planet discoveries in recent years, most of the planets have been massive bodies much larger than the giants of our own solar system.
Dinosaur footprints found in New Zealand
By IANS,
Hamilton (New Zealand) : Seventy million-year-old dinosaur footprints have been found in New Zealand, a geologist said.
The footprints were found in the South Island region of Nelson - the first evidence of the dinosaur's existence in the country.
Geologist Greg Browne of the New Zealand government-owned research organisation, G.N.S. Science, found the footprints while he was investigating rock and sediment formations in Whanganui inlet at Golden Bay, said a press release of Tourism New Zealand here.
Kaiga poisoning: Thousands had access to radioactive chemical
By IANS,
Bangalore : Whoever caused the contamination of a drinking water dispenser at the state-run Kaiga atomic power plant in Karnataka could have been either a permanent or a contract worker, an official said Monday.
This would make it more difficult to nail the man who had added radioactive Tritium to the water, he added. Forty-five employees were affected and had to be hospitalised Nov 24 after drinking water from the dispenser, which was located inside a laboratory.
Gates Expects Microsoft to Launch New Windows in Next Year
By SPA
Washington : Microsoft Corporation co-founder Bill Gates said Friday he expects the new version of Windows operating software, currently called Windows 7, to be released “sometime in the next year or so.”
Microsoft has said it expects to release a new version of Windows about three years after the introduction of Vista in early 2007. A company spokeswoman said Gates’ comments are in line with a development cycle that usually releases a test version of the software before its official introduction.
‘Scientists a step closer to Jurassic Park’
By IANS,
London : Scientists are a step closer to resurrecting extinct animals after successfully cloning living mice from the cells of frozen animals, according to findings published Wednesday.
A team of Japanese scientists at the Centre for Developmental Biology, at the RIKEN research institute in Kobe, produced the clones after thawing mice that had been frozen at minus 20C for up to 16 years, British newspapers reported.
Solar powered-plane breaks non-stop flight record
London : The solar-powered plane Solar Impulse 2 broke the endurance record of 72 hours of non-stop flight over the Pacific on its round-the-world...
New ‘MeGa’ sensor to monitor carbon dioxide concentration
By IANS,
Washington : A novel tube-like sensor would now make monitoring gas concentrations possible over a large area, both cheaply and effectively, doing the work of a number of existing sensors.
Known as membrane-based gas sensors or 'MeGa', they are likely to be used in monitoring underground presence of carbon dioxide in gas pipelines or sewers.
The probe can also be useful in monitoring water bodies, for example, observation of hydrogen sulphide formation, including groundwater, and for monitoring boreholes.
Rocket completes mission, India’s first moon spacecraft now in orbit
By Venkatachari Jagannathan and Fakir Balaji, IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : With a perfect liftoff, India's first spacecraft to the moon entered its scheduled orbit early Wednesday, placing the country in a select group of six. The US, former Soviet Union, European Space Agency, China and Japan have sent spacecrafts to the moon earlier.
Indian satellite placed in geosynchronous orbit
By IANS,
Bangalore : India's heaviest communication satellite (GSAT-10) was Wednesday placed in the geosynchronous orbit, about 36,000 km above the earth, the Indian space agency said.
‘Chandrayaan brings science, faith together in India’
By IANS,
New York : Chandrayaan is on its way to the moon, regarded by many Indians as a god, but "devout Hindus - many of them, no doubt, rocket scientists - see no disharmony between ancient Vedic beliefs and contemporary scientific practice", according to a New York Times opinion article.
A week before India's moon mission was launched Oct 22, millions of Hindu women embarked on a customary daylong fast of Karva Chauth, meant to ensure a husband's welfare, broken at night on the first sighting of the moon's reflection in a bowl of oil, Tunku Varadarajan wrote in the NYT Wednesday.
When the tricolour was still but hearts fluttered
By IANS,
Bangalore : Perhaps for the first time since India adopted the saffron-white-green tricolour as its flag, millions of hearts across the country fluttered but not the flag itself when it reached the lunar surface, around 384,000 km away, Friday night.
The heart beat was faster at Indian Space Research Organisation ISRO's deep space network (DSN) at Byalalu, about 40 kms from Bangalore city centre, and its telemetry, tracking and command network (Istrac), much closer to the city.
Monitoring your child’s PC use
By DPA
Washington : For kids these days, schools mean computer use. Increasingly, schools expect - and in some cases require - projects and homework to be completed using a computer, and most kids are only too happy to comply, since computers are also an endless source of entertainment.
For parents, though, the challenge becomes determining how much computer time is appropriate for kids - and then figuring out how to administer the rules effectively. Read on for some ideas.
Reading devices for digital storage media
By Vivien Leue, DPA,
Frankfurt : You can find them in cell phones, digital cameras and navigation systems. They are digital storage cards, and they can be enormous - at least in a digital sense - holding hundreds of photos or a plethora of large documents.
To transfer their data onto a computer, you can either connect the mobile device to a computer using a USB cable or you can stick the memory card into a card reader. That is a simpler, and in many cases quicker, solution.
Space shuttle Discovery heads home after 14-day mission
By DPA,
Washington : The US space shuttle Discovery began its earthward journey Wednesday after completing a 14-day mission to carry out further construction and maintenance work on the International Space Station (ISS).
The shuttle is scheduled for landing Saturday at the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Caneveral, Florida.
Discovery undocked from the ISS for the return journey after a mission in which astronauts carried out three spacewalks chiefly devoted to installing and preparing the Japanese scientific laboratory module Kibo.
Polaris Software to invest Rs.350 mn for expansion
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Chennai : At a time when the domestic software sector is going slow on hiring of personnel and expansion, the city-based Rs.11-billion Polaris Software Lab is taking a contrarian path.
The company has decided to construct a new 1,500-seat facility at Siruseri near here with an outlay of Rs.350 million.
"Construction activity will start next quarter. We have 10 acres there," Polaris chairman and managing director Arun Jain told IANS.
Scientists engineer potent weapon against cancer
By IANS,
London: Scientists have synthesised a molecule that targets and destroys a key protein responsible for development of cervical and other cancers, says a study.
Twitter storm follows Yakub Memon’s execution
New Delhi : Twitterati took to the micro-blogging site to express their individual views about the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts accused Yakub Memon's...
NASA delays next Mars mission to 2011
By Xinhua,
Washington : NASA's next Mars mission, Mars Science Laboratory, will launch two years later than previously planned, in the fall of 2011.
"A launch date of October 2009 no longer is feasible because of testing and hardware challenges that must be addressed to ensure mission success," NASA explained in a statement on Thursday.
The window for a 2009 launch ends in late October. The relative positions of Earth and Mars are favorable for flights to Mars only a few weeks every two years. So the next launch opportunity after 2009 is in 2011.
Windows Vista can be made faster
By Jay Dougherty, DPA,
Washington : Windows 7 with its commendable performance improvements may be on the horizon. But for now, most of us have to live with Windows Vista, which can make even the fastest computer seem slow.
But you don't have to put up with Vista's sluggishness without a fight. In fact, most of what ails Vista when it comes to performance can be remedied by adjusting some settings and eliminating some features.
And the good news: The whole process need not take more than half an hour. Afterwards, you'll be rewarded a computer that feels a lot faster.
Why does natural selection favour only few species?
By IANS,
Washington : Why does natural selection favour few plants and animals species to the exclusion of others?
The answer lies in the rate of metabolism of a species - how fast a species consumes energy, per unit of mass and per unit time, according to a University of California (UC) Riverside-led research team.
The researchers studied 3,006 species, the largest ever analysed by a single team. The list encompasses much of the biological diversity on the planet -- from bacteria to elephants, and algae to sapling trees.
Did climatic conditions trigger Angkor’s collapse?
By IANS,
Washington : Decades of drought, alternating with intense monsoon rains, may have sounded the death knell for Cambodia's ancient Khmer civilization at Angkor nearly 600 years ago.
Columbia University researchers say this based on an analysis of tree rings, archaeological remains and other evidence.
Their findings may also shed light on what drives - and disrupts - the rainy season across much of Asia, which waters crops for nearly half the world's population.
Smelling carbon-dioxide can impact ageing
By IANS,
Washington : Specific odours that represent food are capable of altering an animal's lifespan and physiological profile by activating a small number of highly specialised sensory neurons, says a new study.
Nematode worms and fruit flies that were robbed of their ability to smell or taste, for example, lived substantially longer. However, the specific odours and sensory receptors that control this effect on ageing were unknown.
ISRO seeks to be party in land scam case
Kochi, Sep 25 (IANS) Indian space agency ISRO Tuesday sought to be impleaded in a public interest litigation (PIL) - relating to its alleged purchase of forestland - that is to be taken up by the high court here Wednesday.
The PIL has been filed by D.B. Binu requesting the court to intervene and initiate a full-fledged inquiry into purchase of land by ISRO for a space education institute in Ponmudi near Thiruvananthapuram from high profile businessman Savy Mano Mathew.
Scientists gear up to tackle 15 million gigabytes of data
By IANS,
London : The four huge detectors of the new Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, when fully operational, are expected to generate up to a staggering 15 million gigabytes of data every year.
Andreas Hirstius, manager of CERN Openlab and the CERN School of Computing, explained how computer scientists have met the challenge of handling this unprecedented volume of data.
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.
Jupiter: Great Red Spot gobbling Baby Red Spot
By Xinhua,
Beijing : Jupiter's Great Red Spot appears to have gotten the best of one of its smaller, younger rival as captured in a recent series of images by the Hubble Space Telescope.
India hopes to send spacecraft to moon: PM
By IANS,
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday said that India hopes to send a spacecraft to the moon this year and called it "an important milestone".
"This year we hope to send an Indian spacecraft, Chandrayan, to the moon. It will be an important milestone in the development of our space programme," he said on the occasion of India's independence day.
"I want to see a modern India, imbued by a scientific temper, where the benefits of modern knowledge flow to all sections of society," he added.
U.S. space shuttle Atlantis docks with ISS
By Xinhua
Washington : U.S. space shuttle Atlantis successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday, kicking off a busy schedule of orbital work for the installation of the Columbus science laboratory.
Washington : U.S. space shuttle Atlantis successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday, kicking off a busy schedule of orbital work for the installation of the Columbus science laboratory.
Astronomers find new planets, including a baby
By ANTARA News
Washington : Astronomers using robotic cameras said on Wednesday they had found 10 new planets outside our solar system, while a second team said they had found the youngest planet yet.
The findings add to a growing list of more than 270 so-called extrasolar planets, they told a meeting of astronomers in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
India’s first moon mission: Chandrayaan-1
By Hidayath Ansari
India launched its first mission to the moon – Chandrayaan-1 (Sanskrit for moon craft) – on Wednesday morning (October 22) from Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota off the Andhra Pradesh coast. It has had a flawless week travelling through space so far (orbiting at an altitude of 267,000 kms as of Wednesday), and in another 10 days, it is expected to reach the moon's orbit to conduct several long-term studies related to the moon's surface and atmosphere.
China’s recoverable moon rover expected in 2017
By Xinhua
Beijing : China will have a recoverable moon rover, which will carry back lunar soil samples, by 2017 if technical research "progresses smoothly," said the chief designer of Chang'e-1, the country's first moon probe, here Tuesday.
China plans to land a probe on the moon in 2013, said Ye Peijian, chief commander and designer of probe's satellite system, and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The milestone Chang'e-1 blasted off last October, marking the first step in China's ambitious three-stage moon mission.
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.
Half a billion Android devices activated: Google
By IANS,
San Francisco : Google Wednesday announced that 500 million devices running on its Android operating system have been activated so far.
Managing Internet Explorer plug-ins
By DPA
Washington : Everyone knows the story: When Internet Explorer (IE) is first installed, it flies. The browser itself opens quickly, and pages load without incident.
But after a while, things start to break down. The browser crashes, freezes, or loads slowly. Sometimes it won't load at all. Typically the blame falls on security holes in IE. But there can be other causes too - plug-ins.
You could ditch IE altogether and move to Mozilla's Firefox, but most Firefox users swear by plug-ins, so there's really no escape from plug-in issues there, either.
Requiem for Earth, Red Alarm is On
By Prensa Latina,
Washington : No scientific obituary has been published, but according to a recent report resumed by Mike Davis of alternative media Tomdispatch.com, humanity is entering the “Anthropocene”, epoch defined by the emergence of urban-industrial society as a geological force.
The Geological Society of London defines that the new age shows a heating trend and a radical instability expected of future environments.
Physicists create circuit for new generation computer
By IANS,
Washington: Quantum computing - a new paradigm in information processing that may complement classical computers, could soon become a reality with physicists successfully creating a circuit using neutral atoms.
Physicists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison created the circuit by exerting delicate control over a pair of atoms within a mere seven-millionths-of-a-second window of opportunity.
British scientists discover allergy-triggering molecule
By Xinhua
London : British scientists have discovered a molecule that appears to play a key role in triggering allergies.
Researchers from Barts and the London School of Medicine managed to stop allergic attacks in mice by targeting the molecule - P110delta, BBC reported Friday.
The researchers said the method did not interfere with the rest of the body's immune defences, and it may offer the chance to prevent allergies, not just relieve symptoms.
Space age prosthetic leg helps conquer world record
London, Oct 27 (IANS) German athlete Wojtek Czyz set a new world record at the Beijing Paralympics 2008, leaping an amazing 6.50 metres, beating the existing record by 27 cm.
He achieved the amazing feat with the help of space-technology enhanced prosthetic leg. In 2004, European Space Agency's (ESA) 'technology transfer programme' (TTP) broker MST Aerospace met Czyz and his trainer to perform a pre-screening of the most crucial elements of the prosthesis used by Czyz.
China’s First Manned Space Mission
By SPA
Beijing : China plans to carry out its first spacewalk in second half of the year, an official of the nation's manned space program said here on Thursday, according to Xinhua.
The Shenzhou VII spacecraft will be launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern province of Gansu latein the year and the astronauts will leave their spacecraft for the first time, the official told Xinhua.
The spacecraft will also release a small inspection satellite, which monitors its own performance.
Mobile retailer Svyaznoy to open Apple stores in Russia
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow: Mobile retailer Svyaznoy plans to launch Apple Premium Reseller mono-brand stores in 10 Russian cities.
Specialised search engines bring you more info
By DPA
Washington : If your search for information on the Web starts and ends with Google, Yahoo, or MSN, you're missing out. Sure, you can use the big three search engines to find more types of information than ever before.
But there are still some specialised search engines that do better with less. If searching the Internet is part of your daily routine, consider putting the following tools in your toolbox - and your bookmark list.
Mother’s care important for plants too
By IANS
New York : Mother's care is important even for plants, a new study says.
A study by researchers at the University of Virginia shows that maternal plants give cues to their offspring that help them adapt to their environmental conditions.
Findings of the study have been published in the latest issue of the journal Science.
The researchers found that plants grown in the same setting as their maternal plant performed almost three-and-half times better than those raised in a different environment.
Software developed to embed security code in handsets
By IANS,
New Delhi: Over 2.5 crore owners of cheap handsets, that stood to be banned in India as these did not have the regulatory unique 15-digit identity code, can breathe a sigh of relief -- help is on the way.
The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the organisation representing GSM service operators, Monday said it has developed a software that can embed the code - known as International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) - in these handsets.
COAI in collaboration with handset body Mobile Standard Alliance of India (MSAI) has developed the software.
Best hotel deals at the click of a button
By IANS
New Delhi : Now searching for a hotel accommodation and booking it at the best possible deal is just a click away. With the launch of iXiGO's hotel search, a travel search engine, booking any hotel across the country has become much easier.
IXiGO's hotel search will not only enable customers to look through a list of 4,500 hotels which includes budget hotels, guest houses, service apartments and villas, but also book them with instant confirmation, sitting just about anywhere.
One can search through hotels in 320 Indian cities through this search engine.
Chuck a ball to put out fire
By IANS
Kolkata : Now to douse a fire, you can do better than using a fire extinguisher or splashing buckets of water. Just free your arms and throw a ball into the leaping flames. And voila! The blaze would be gone.
Siam Safety Premier Co Ltd, a Thailand-based company, has come out with an innovative and environment-friendly technology to douse fire. The fire extinguisher is marketed in India by Shree Shyam Bearings Pvt Ltd (SSBPL).
Shuttle poised to deliver Japanese lab to space
By SPA,
Cape Canaveral, Fla. : Space shuttle Discovery is poised for launch on Saturday on a mission to add Japan to the growing number of countries operating full-time space research laboratories in orbit.
With clear skies and no technical problems, NASA managers gave the order for technicians to begin pumping more than 500,000 gallons of supercold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the shuttle's fuel tank for the 8 1/2-minute ride into orbit. Liftoff is scheduled for 5:02 p.m. EDT (2102 GMT).
China’s Internet users world’s largest
By IANS,
Beijing : China has overtaken the US and now has some 221 million web users - the world's largest Internet using population.
The number was 210 million by the end of last year, trailing the US by some five million, figures issued by the China Internet Network Information Centre showed.
Despite a rapidly increasing Internet population, China's ratio of Internet users to the total population is still lower than the global average, the ministry said.
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.
India places latest communications satellite into orbit
By V. Jagannathan, IANS
Sriharikota : Trailing a plume of orange flame, a rocket lifted off from this launch pad in Andhra Pradesh Sunday evening to place into orbit India's latest communications satellite that will boost direct-to-home (DTH) TV services.
The geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle GSLV-F04 lifted off at 6.20 p.m. on a cloudy Sunday evening after a series of delays caused by a technical glitch delayed the launch by 120 minutes.
Smart phones help track birds in the wild
By IANS,
Sydney : Smart phones, networked with remote sensors, have taken the uncertainty and exertion out of tracking birdcalls in the wild, according to a new study.
Earlier, such observations during a census or survey of bird populations saw biologists rising as early as 3 a.m. and making frequent trips to the site of the study.
“These repeated visits raised the risk of disturbing the very creatures under investigation, altering their behaviour,” said Richard Mason of Microsoft Queensland University of Technology and the study's author.
New educational app rewards users with real cash
Seoul : South Korea-based educational startup BeNative has launched CashEnglish, an app that rewards users with real cash for playing educational games.
The app is...
Egypt discovers 2,000-year-old bronze coins
By IANS,
Cairo : Archaeologists have discovered bronze coins dating back to the era of King Ptolemy III Euergetes who ruled Egypt in the 3rd century B.C., a media report said.
An Egyptian archaeological team has found 383 bronze coins in northern Qaroun Lake in Fayoum, 80 km southwest of Cairo, Xinhua reported Thursday citing Egypt's state-run MENA news agency.
Egyptian Culture Minister Farouq Hosni said the bronze coins are in good condition and were unearthed by a team of the Egyptian Supreme Council for Antiquities.
India successfully test fires Mars Orbiter engine
Bangalore : India Monday successfully test fired the liquid fuel engine of its Mars spacecraft (Orbiter) after it entered the sphere of Mars influence...
Volcano eruption under Antarctica ice sheet confirmed
By Xinhua
Beijing : Evidence of a powerful volcano, which erupted under the ice sheet of West Antarctica around 325 BC and might still be active now, has been confirmed by British scientists, according to media reports Monday.
A layer of volcanic ash and glass shards frozen within an ice sheet in West Antarctica was identified in an article published in the journal Nature Geosciences by Hugh F. J. Corr and David G. Vaughan.
China launches its first moon orbiter
By Xinhua
Xichang, Sichuan : China launched its first lunar probe on Wednesday, the first step into its ambitious three-stage moon mission, marking a new milestone in the country's space exploration history.
The circumlunar satellite Chang'e-1 blasted off on a Long March3A carrier rocket at 6:05 p.m. (10:05 GMT) from the No. 3 launch tower in the Xichang Satellite Launch Center of southwestern Sichuan Province.
Endeavour astronauts complete second spacewalk
By DPA,
Washington : Astronauts from the space shuttle Endeavour Thursday completed a second spacewalk on their construction mission to the International Space Station, which was marking its 10th anniversary.
Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper und Shane Kimbrough completed the second spacewalk at 00:43 GMT. The spacewalk lasted 6 hours and 45 minutes, and started 45 minutes ahead of schedule.
They moved equipment carts to allow astronauts to later install a truss, and lubricated the hand on the station's robotic arm and the joint on one of the solar panels that provides power to the ISS.
How earthquakes happen
New Delhi : Most earthquakes originate from compressional or tensional stresses built up at the margins of the huge moving plates that make up...
Spam drops worldwide after plug pulled on US server provider
By DPA,
San Francisco : The volume of spam on the Internet plunged by about two thirds this week after two US internet service providers cut the internet connections of a company that was using its servers to disseminate billions of unwanted email messages, internet security firms said Friday.
Symantec said the number of spam messages had fallen by some 120 billion per day, to around 60 billion. However it warned that many of the spam spewers would probably find new routes to distribute their messages and that the respite was likely only temporary.
‘India poised to become major collaborative space power’
By IANS,
Chennai : India, already a leader in the remote sensing data domain, is poised to become a major collaborative space power, says an international space competitiveness index study.
According to the study, conducted by the US-based Futron Corp, the space race that has witnessed major developments like the Soviet Union's Sputnik launch, the first man-made satellite to orbit and the US' successful moon mission is now a $100 billion-plus industry.
Indian, Italian tanners sign technology transfer accord
By IANS,
Chennai : Indian and Italian tanners' associations Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to improve skills and efficiency of the leather industry in Tamil Nadu.
According to the agreement, signed between the Indian Finished Leather Manufacturers and Exporters Association (IFLMEA) and Italy's Associazione Conciatori, both sides will promote technology transfers, joint ventures and business partnerships.
Funded by the Italian government, the project will be implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido).
Indian IT solutions firm forays into Egypt
By IANS,
Bangalore : Leading IT solutions provider IDS Softwares Ltd has forayed into Egypt to automate the hospitality industry and extend its footprint in North African countries, a top company official said.
“We have already bagged a deal from Egypt’s leading hotel chain Pyramisa Hotels to deploy our suite of products developed at our global R&D facility in Bangalore to automate its operations,” IDS general manager Rajesh P. Yadav said in a statement here late Thursday.
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.
Online tool in battle against global poverty
By TwoCircles.net news desk
New York: The United Nations has teamed up with technology leaders Google and Cisco to launch a new online site to track global progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – the set of ambitious targets the world has set itself for slashing poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy and other social ills by 2015.
MDG Monitor is a web application that tracks real-time progress toward the Goals in a number of categories in nearly every country in the world.
New planet spotted after discovery of Neptune
By IANS,
Washington : In 2006, astronomer Alice Quillen predicted a planet of a specific size and orbit must lie within the dust of a nearby star.
That planet has now been photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope, making it only the second planet ever imaged after an accurate prediction. The only other planet seen after an accurate prediction was Neptune, more than 160 years ago.
"It's remarkable," said Eugene Chiang, associate professor of astronomy at the University of California Berkeley (UC-B), and part of the team that imaged the new planet.
TiEcon 2014 in Santa Clara ends with Shahid Khan keynote
By Ras H. Siddiqui, TwoCircles.net,
San Francisco: The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) held its annual conference known as TiEcon in Silicon Valley, the technology world way beyond just the South-Asian Diaspora noticed. Over 4000 people attended TiEcon 2014 at the Santa Clara Convention Center with many of the heavyweights in the technology arena present. Those who presented Grand Keynotes included Steve Mollenkopf (CEO Qualcomm), Michael Rhodin and Manoj Saxena (IBM), Steve Lucas (President SAP), Romesh Wadhawani (Chairman & CEO Symphony Technology Group), Sanjay Poonen (EVP and GM of VMware) and Shahid KhanPresident of Flex-N-Gate and owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL football team.
Satellite collision debris no threat to ISS: Russian space agency
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The debris from the collision Tuesday involving two communications satellites poses no threat to the International Space Station (ISS), a spokesman for Russia's space agency Roscosmos said Thursday.
Alexander Vorobyov said that while Roscosmos could not confirm the origin of the satellites, the risk to the ISS and its crew was minimal.
"There are no registered losses in the Roscosmos satellite grouping," Vorobyov added.
Rover technology could improve solar power efficiency
By IANS,
London : Technology designed for Mars exploration could hold the key to solving the world's energy problems by boosting solar power efficiency.
A self-cleaning system developed for NASA's Mars rover robots could keep solar panels free of dust and grime which hampers energy output.
The devices exploring Mars have sensors which detect dust build-ups and zap the surface of their solar panels with an electrical charge to keep them shiny, reports the Telegraph.
Saharan dust storms sustain life in Atlantic Ocean
By IANS,
London : Saharan dust storms help sustain life over large regions of the North Atlantic Ocean, according to a latest study.
Liverpool University researchers found that plants are able to grow in these regions because they are able to take advantage of iron minerals in Saharan dust storms.
This allows them to use organic or recycled material from dead or decaying plants when nutrients such as phosphorous - an essential component of DNA - in the ocean are low.
Internet shapes global Tibet protests
By IANS,
New Delhi : The emergence of social networking sites has come as a boon for cyber-dissidents who use these internet tools not just to create a buzz on the web but also as a platform to organise protests and flash strikes.
On Facebook, there are nearly 15 groups that come up on a word search for 'tibet'. But, the largest by far is that of "Free Tibet", which had a membership count of 88,460. When accessed on Thursday afternoon, it had over 8,700 posts, 1,727 photos, 360 discussions topics and 51 videos.
UAE’s first remote sensing satellite ready for launch
By IANS,
Dubai : The United Arab Emirates' (UAE) first remote sensing and earth observation satellite is ready for launch later this year.
The Emirates Institute for Advanced Science and Technology (EIAST), in a statement issued here, said DubaiSat 1 was now awaiting its launch later this year onboard a Russian rocket through the Moscow-based International Space Company (ISC) Kosmotras.
UAE's first earth observation satellite has been developed by Satellite Technology Research Centre (SatRec) of South Korea with in-depth participation of UAE engineers from the EIAST.
Iran dismisses US concern over space research drive
By IANS
Tehran : Iran Tuesday dismissed the US concern over its space research programme and said that the launch of Explorer-1 rocket is only for research studies.
"The government is responsible for progress and development of the country and is not responsible for others' concern," Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham said during his weekly press conference, official IRNA news agency reported.
British scientist fathered 600 children?
By IANS,
London : A British scientist may have fathered up to 600 children at a controversial London fertility clinic which he set up in the 1940s with his wife.
Giant fish discovered in the Atlantic
By IANS,
Washington : Researchers have discovered a new species of fish, a grouper that grows to more than six feet and weighs almost 500 kg.
These Atlantic goliaths are not the same groupers that swim in Pacific waters, though they look identical.
"For more than a century, ichthyologists have thought that Pacific and Atlantic goliath grouper were the same species, and the argument was settled before the widespread use of genetic techniques.
Rain or shine, India’s moon mission will keep its Oct 22 date
By IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : Come rain or shine, India's maiden moon mission will be launched from here Oct 22 as scheduled, officials said.
Except for a a severe cyclone, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C11 will blast off from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) here as scheduled.
Swiss glaciers melting slower now than in 1940s!
By IANS,
London : Contrary to popular perception that glaciers are melting faster the world over due to global warming, a new study says that Swiss glaciers were melting even faster in the 1940s when temperatures were lower.
Significantly, ETH Zurich researchers attribute the melting of glaciers in the 1940s to a lower level of aerosol - a suspension of fine solid particles or liquid droplets in a gas - pollution in the atmosphere.
New technique could protect water from arsenic poisoning
By IANS,
Sydney : An ultra sensitive technique for detecting toxic heavy metals in water has opened the way for safer use of groundwater and recycling water.
The breakthrough is significant given how arsenic poisoning in India and Bangladesh through polluted water supply potentially affects tens of millions of people.
The technology for detecting toxic metals like lead and cadmium in water was developed by Erica Ji and Zuliang Chen of the Collaborative Research Centre for Contamination Assesment and Remediation of Environment (CRC-CARE) and University of South Australia.
NASA beams chants of ‘Jai Guru Deva’ into outer space
By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS
London : If there were any outer space aliens out there Monday at the crack of dawn Indian time, chances are they were grooving to a song with the words "Jai Guru Deva... Om".
The words form the beautiful refrain of a famous Beatles song, "Across the Universe", which was beamed into outer space in a celebration of the band's music at 0530 Indian time (midnight GMT).
Scientists observe major climate changes in Arctic
By RIA Novosti
St. Petersburg : Scientists have reported substantial changes in the climate of the Arctic Region, a senior official at the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) said Thursday.
"We have observed global climate changes in the Polar Ocean," said Igor Ashik, acting head of the AARI ocean science department.
He said the ocean was clearing itself of drifting ice "for the first time in decades of Polar research".
Discovery shuttle cleared for landing despite loss of part
By DPA,
Washington : The shuttle Discovery was cleared for landing after NASA concluded Friday that a small part that broke off the spacecraft did not pose any safety concerns, the agency said.
The Discovery crew spotted the small, rectangular object floating away from the shuttle early Friday, NASA officials said.
After analysing the video footage, NASA determined it was a metal clip used to protect the rudder's speed brake during take-off and its loss would not affect landing.
Other universes exist alongside our own
By IANS,
London : Scientists say they have found evidence that our universe was 'jostled' by other parallel universes in the distant past.
Over 270 government websites hacked till July
By IANS,
New Delhi: Over 270 government websites were hacked till July this year, Minister of State for Communications and IT Sachin Pilot informed parliament.
Space technology to identify whale sharks off Gujarat
By Sanjeeb Baruah, IANS,
New Delhi : Indian scientists will try to distinguish individual whale sharks off the Gujarat coast, using a technique employed by NASA to identify galaxies.
Just as each tiger is distinguished by its stripes, whale sharks too can be identified through a unique pattern of spots that form points of numerous triangles on their bodies, say experts.
As the whale shark grows, the distance between these spots increases, but angles of these triangles remain the same, thus identifying the whale shark.
The method is also used by NASA to identify galaxies.
Police in Delhi to use GPS to track criminals
By Sahil Makkar, IANS
New Delhi : Police in Delhi will use GPS (Global Positioning System) technology to crack down on criminals in a bid to modernise crime detection ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games here.
"We are installing satellite-linked GPS in PCR vans, which will not only provide an option to keep track of our officials but will largely help us in combating crime in the capital," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (PCR) Ajay Kumar.
Deadly mushrooms, cute lizards, in full internet form
By DPA
Washington : Two European emperors and an uncounted number of innocent collectors have died over centuries at its hand. Now, starting Tuesday, the infamous, yellow-green death cap mushroom is front and centre as the "Encyclopaedia of Life" opens its website to the general public.
The unveiling is the culmination of more than two years of work by scientists and internet experts intent on documenting the world's 1.8 million known species in one place.
First Nepali aircraft to test-fly
By Xinhua,
Kathmandu : An ultra-light aircraft built by Nepali engineers is scheduled to take off on Saturday afternoon almost one year since its builders sought permission from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, according to The Kathmandu Post.
"The research team is ready for the test flight as we have already fulfilled all necessary lab-safety requirements," said Bikash Parajuli, leader of the team that built the aircraft.
"We are optimistic that the flight will be successful," he was quoted by the Saturday's daily as saying.
All India Science Conf. concludes in Bhopal with emphasis on promoting traditional scientific knowledge...
By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net
Bhopal: Curtain was drawn on the three-day Bharatiya Vigyan Sammelan (All India Science Conference) 2007 with 10-point recommendations that emphasized on promoting traditional scientific knowledge along with modern science and increased community participation for balanced and sustainable development here on Sunday.
Software generates faces that display moods, emotions
By IANS,
Washington : A computer model developed by researchers can generate faces that display emotions and moods according to personality traits.
"The aim of this work has been to design a model that reveals a person's moods and displays them on a virtual face," said a co-author of the study, Diana Arellano from University of Balearic Islands (UIB) Artificial Intelligence Unit.
"In the same 3-D space we have integrated personality, emotions and moods, which had previously been dealt with separately," Arellano explained.
‘Amazon to give away Kindle readers to thwart iPad threat’
By DPA,
San Francisco: Amazon wants to start giving away its Kindle electronic reader to thwart the threat posed by Apple's new iPad, according to a report Friday by the influential technology site TechCrunch.com.
The report said that Amazon would start by providing the $259 device to subscribers of Amazon Prime, a $79 per year service that gives customers free two-day shipping on everything they buy from the web retail giant.
Solar storm particles bombard earth relentlessly
By IANS,
Washington : Solar storm particles are relentlessly bombarding the earth, through two gaping breaches in the earth's magnetic field, which shields it from such particles, according to researchers.
"The discovery overturns a long-standing belief about how and when most of the solar particles penetrate earth's magnetic field, and could be used to predict when solar storms will be severe. Based on these results, we expect more severe storms during the upcoming solar cycle," said Vassilis Angelopoulos.
Microsoft unveils voice activated Xbox Kinect
By IANS,
London : If you are always searching for your remote or running out of batteries, Kinect is just the thing for you as it allows you to play computer games without the handset.
Iran awaits lift of sanctions to resume crude exports
Tehran: Iran has signed a preliminary document with South Africa to resume its oil exports when the western sanctions against Tehran are lifted, a...
Germans developing battery that never needs recharging
By DPA
Hamburg : Tired of mobile phones that always need recharging at the worst moments, researchers in Germany are developing a revolutionary new battery that will never need recharging.
Mobile phones, notebook computers and iPods are all devices dependent on rechargeable lithium-ion batteries to deliver power.
But the German researchers have developed a new class of inorganic ionic conductor with a structure analogous to that of the mineral argyrodite.
NASA, Europeans plan new missions to Jupiter, Saturn
By Xinhua,
Washington : The US space agency NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) would conduct missions to Jupiter, Saturn and many moons that circle the planets, the agencies announced.
The missions include sending multiple spacecraft to the Jupiter and Saturn systems to explore the planets and their unique satellites, such as Jupiter's ice-covered Europa and Saturn's shrouded moon Titan.
Finally, a microscope that can see an atom
By IANS,
Toronto : The planet's most advanced and powerful electron microscope, capable of looking at atoms, the tiniest object in the universe, has been installed at the new Canadian Centre for Electron Microscopy at McMaster University.
"We are the first university in the world with a microscope of such a high calibre," said Gianluigi Botton, director of the Centre, professor of materials science and engineering and project leader.
Wipro wins best outsourcing though leadership award
Bengaluru: Indian IT bellwether Wipro Ltd won the best outsourcing thought leadership award for this year from a US-based leading institute, the global...
Germany, India to develop jointly new-era technologies
By DPA
Berlin : Germany and India plan to jointly develop new technologies as part of a "new era" in their science cooperation, Germany's minister of science, Annette Schavan, said Monday.
She spoke just hours before Chancellor Angela Merkel was to land in India for a four-day visit.
Schavan is a member of the delegation accompanying the chancellor. During the visit, an agreement is to be signed to establish the German-Indian Science and Technology Centre, set to open next summer in Delhi.
New technology to detect forged signatures
By IANS
Washington : Think twice if you are about to forge a signature. A newly developed technology will help forensic specialists find out when you signed a cheque, the pen you used, and the origin of the ink.
The technology that is used at present can only trace the ink if a piece of the document is soaked in certain solutions.
Washington : Think twice if you are about to forge a signature. A newly developed technology will help forensic specialists find out when you signed a cheque, the pen you used, and the origin of the ink.
The technology that is used at present can only trace the ink if a piece of the document is soaked in certain solutions.
Robotic hand to allow people to hold hands over internet
By IANS,
London : Specially-designed robotic hands would soon allow friends and family to hold hands over the internet and help them experience the sensation of touch.
It plugs into a computer and communicates with an electronic wristband to allow people talking over the internet to experience the sensation of touch.
Not only can it grip and shake, but also give the signs for 'OK' and 'peace'. The robotic hand, which was unveiled at an international technology expo in Hong Kong this week, is expected to go on sale later this year, Daily Mail reported.
India calls for transparency in internet surveillance
By Arul Louis
United Nations : India has called for transparency and accountability in internet security surveillance and for striking balance between human rights and...
NASA probe finds second mountain range in Pluto’s ‘heart’
Washington : The New Horizons probe has found a second mountain range situated between bright, icy plains and dark, heavily-cratered terrain on the...
How to avoid e-mail threats
Washington, Feb 14 (DPA) Checking your e-mail has become a dangerous business. The number and types of e-mail borne threats that can cause harm to your computer or your privacy are growing.
Sometimes the actual danger imposed by these threats can be over hyped, but you still need to know what could constitute a dangerous e-mail message and how to respond to the threat.
Q: Can I get a virus just by reading an e-mail message?
Delhi to use new technology to check vehicle pollution
By IANS,
New Delhi: In a bid to control pollution, the Delhi government's transport department has decided to use a new technology by which the pollution level of all types of vehicles can be measured even when these are on the move.
"Our government is committed to develop pollution-free transport system in Delhi. Remote sensing technology is a world class technology which measures pollution from all type of vehicles like petrol, diesel, CNG & LPG with 100 percent accuracy through ultra-violet and ultra-sonic rays," said Transport Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely.
Chandrayaan-2 to take off in 2017
New Delhi : India's second lunar probe, Chandrayaan-2, is planned to be launched in 2017, the parliament was told on Thursday.
"The Chandrayaan-2, India's second...
Singapore Airlines superjumbo A380 rolls off runway
Singapore, January 11, SPA -- Singapore Airlines' A380 superjumbo jet sustained superficial damage when it rolled off a runway in the first glitch for the world's biggest passenger plane since going into service in October, AP quoted the airline as saying today.
The plane was getting ready to depart from Singapore's Changi Airport to Sydney late Thursday. It was carrying 446 passengers who disembarked, and no injuries were reported, the airline said.
‘Missing link’ between Big Bang, creation of stars uncovered
By IANS,
London : Astronomers have uncovered the 'missing link' in the evolution of the universe following the Big Bang.
NASA’s Messenger sends pictures from Mercury flyby
By DPA,
Washington : NASA Tuesday published photographs sent by its Messenger spacecraft of a flyby of Mercury earlier this week, providing researchers a new view of the planet closest the Sun.
Messenger came within just 200 km of Mercury early Monday in the second of three planned flybys for the craft. It 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.
Universe’s biggest star discovered
By IANS,
London : The biggest star, with a mass 320 times greater than the sun's, has been discovered at the edge of our galaxy by British astronomers.
Scientists at the University of Sheffield found the stellar giant - named R136a1 - using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile and data from the Hubble Space Telescope.
The star is located in the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small "satellite" galaxy which orbits the Milky Way, the Telegraph reported.
Toddlers flourish in secure learning environments: Study
By IANS,
Sydney : Infants develop a spirit of inquiry and flourish in secure yet flexible learning environments, fostered by teachers, according to new research findings.
A team led by Massey University Child Care Centre director Faith Martin and colleague Raewyne Bary, and guided by Barbara Jordan and Cushla Scrivens, carried out a study on ties between teachers, children and families.
It questioned the ways in which educational leadership impacted infants' and toddlers' levels of inquiry - their propensity to try new things and ask questions.
New CSIR chief for focus on R&D
By IANS
New Delhi : In-house research and development (R&D) should get 25 percent of science expenditure to strengthen India's stand in the global innovation map, the newly appointed director general of Council of Scientific Research (CSIR) Samir Brahmachari said Thursday.
Bramhachari, who is also the secretary of Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) said that an aggressive agenda needs to be followed to give a fillip to in-house R&D in industry and position India's innovation efforts in the international arena.
RCom launches new search engine on mobile
By IANS,
New Delhi : Leading telecom service provider Reliance Communications (RCom) Thursday launched an information service called 'Quick Search'.
Powered by OnYoMo.com on Reliance Mobile World (R-World), the service includes information on banks, automated teller machines (ATMs), shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, cinema theatres, educational institutions, hospitals, blood banks, chemists and airline offices.
‘Chances of asteroid hitting earth is very real’
By IANS,
London : A football field sized asteroid hitting say New York will obliterate the city in a matter of seconds and all that moves within it.
The tidal waves of energy unleashed by the collision would be equivalent to several Hydrogen bombs going off at once, a scenario brought to life by 1998 hit movie Armageddon, starring Bruce Willis.
The chances of an asteroid hitting the Earth one day are very real and blowing up an asteroid in real life, says a Tel Aviv University (TAU) researcher, will be more complicated than in the movies.
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.
Jurassic era fossils turning to dust in Jharkhand
By Nityanand Shukla, IANS,
Rajmahal Hills (Jharkhand) : Nature's treasure trove of fossils, some dating back to the Jurassic era and preserved for millions of years in Jharkhand's Sahebganj district, is being steadily eroded by rampant mining, say scientists.
Rajmahal Hills, about 500 km from state capital Ranchi, attract a number of geologists and palaeontologists for fossil research. However, this coal-rich region in eastern India is also the hub of mining activity.
Fake ‘dislike’ button spreads across Facebook
By IANS,
Washington : Social networking website Facebook, which offers its subscribers only a "like" button for anyone's updates, is now faced with a fake "dislike" button, which is spreading like a virus across the site.
The fake dislike button is followed with a link that takes people to a fake application. Instead of installing a dislike button, the application uses the person's network to continue spreading the fake programme.
Graham Cluley of the British security firm Sophos wrote in a blog that the fake dislike buttons "are going viral" on Facebook.
New software will track unauthorised presence at airports
London, Dec 10 (IANS) A new software will soon help airport staff maintain strict vigil and promptly track unauthorised persons and objects.
The airport apron is a beehive of activity. Ground staff drive baggage trolleys to the aircraft, load air freight containers in the hold and refuel the aircraft. But which persons, vehicles and objects are moving around on the apron?
Are all the people authorised? Are people getting into hazardous situations? For the security staff who have to supervise the terrain on the monitor, it is almost impossible to keep track of everything.
How does brain zero in on single bit of information?
By IANS,
Washington : How does the brain zero in on a single bit of information, out of the tens of thousands that it is bombarded with daily? Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have discovered a mechanism that the brain uses to filter out distracting thoughts to focus on a single bit of information.
Think of your brain like a radio: You're turning the knob on to find your favourite station, but the knob jams, and you're stuck listening to something that's in between stations.
Now search for Internet images in 300 languages
New York, Sep 17 (IANS) Researchers in the US claim to have developed a search engine that enables people to search for images on the Internet in at least 300 languages.
The new service called 'PanImages' has been created by researchers at the Turing Institute at Washington University and details were presented at the recently held Machine Translation Summit held in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Agenda for India: Telecom
TwoCircles.net presents “Agenda for India”. Series editor is Charu Bahri.
Challenges & Solutions
“I would cite the issue of spectrum allocation and management as one of the foremost challenges of India’s telecom sector,” says Yusuf Motiwala, Founder & CEO, TringMe. “The government must wake up to the losses accumulating on account of under-utilization of spectrum and due to the delay in rolling out 3G services.”
New technology purifies exhaust gas from diesel engines
By IANS,
London : The bulk of Danish vehicles fleet runs on diesel, which is causing air pollution in urban areas, from carbon particles, nitrogen oxides and unburned hydrocarbons.
A new four-year project at Ris� DTU (Danish Technical University) is developing an effective method for purifying flue gases, especially exhaust gases, from diesel engines.
Indian scientists develop GM mice through transgenic sperms
By Prashant K. Nanda, IANS,
New Delhi : Indian scientists have made history by developing transgenic sperms to help mice give birth to genetically modified (GM) pups - an effort that is expected to boost clinical research and drug development across the world.
Scientists at the National Institute of Immunology (NII) here have been successful in inserting human genes inside the testes of male mice and integrating it with the chromosome of the germ cells.
Thus they have created transgenic sperms in a natural manner.
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.
China likely to launch its first moon orbiter Wednesday
By Xinhua
Beijing : China is likely to launch its first moon orbiter Wednesday from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province.
"The satellite will be launched between Oct 24 and 26," China National Space Administration (CNSA) said, adding that the launch time has been tentatively scheduled at 6 p.m. local time.
The circumlunar satellite, named Chang'e I after the Chinese goddess who flew to the moon, and the carrier Long March 3A have passed all pre-launch tests and have been transported to the launch site, CNSA said.