ISRO planning 10 space missions in 2013
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to accomplish 10 space missions in the next one year, parliament was informed Wednesday.
Google India unveils new desktop maps
Bangalore : Google, the world's largest search engine provider, Thursday unveiled a new tool to search, navigate and explore Indian cities, streets, landmarks, restaurants...
Don’t panic when fuel warning lights up
Berlin, Sep 13 (DPA) Motorists should not immediately panic when the warning lamp lights up indicating that the fuel tank is empty because most cars have an adequate reserve to last for a stretch of 50 km, according to a test by the German magazine AUTO/Strassenverkehr.
The magazine tested 10 different car models with some vehicles even managing to drive a distance of 150 km before coming to a standstill after the warning lamp lit up.
Mapping a tiny but ruthless killer
By IANS,
London : Don't go by its size. The Etruscan shrew, one of tiniest known mammals that weighs just two grams, ranks among the quickest, most ruthless and adaptive predators.
It overcomes starvation by feeding twice its weight of crickets, cockroaches and spiders daily, preys that are nearly its size. Hence the attacks have to be quick as a flash.
“The Etruscan shrews trust in their sense of touch and the tactile shape recognition to an extent we do not know from other animal species,” said Michael Brecht of Bernstein Centre in Berlin.
3G, Wimax guidelines in a week: minister
By IANS,
New Delhi : The broad guidelines for implementation and auctioning of radio spectrum for 3G and Wimax have been devised and the final draft will be approved and released within a week, telecom minister A. Raja said here Friday.
"Broad guidelines for rolling out 3G services have been devised and we need some inputs from the finance ministry after which the guidelines will be forwarded to the Telecom Commission," Raja told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
"Expect the final norms to be announced within a week," he added.
New Mars finding dims chance of life
By DPA,
Washington : A NASA rover on Mars has discovered a toxin in soil on the north pole, diminishing the likelihood of finding life on the red planet, space agency officials said Tuesday.
The Phoenix lander several weeks ago scooped up the dirt samples and extensive analysis confirmed the existence of perchlorate, a highly oxidizing substance that would harm life.
Big Bang machine carries out record collision
By DPA,
Geneva : The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), also known as the Big Bang machine, made history here Tuesday, as the machine smashed together particles at the highest energy reading ever recreated in a laboratory.
"Experiments are collecting their first physics data - historic moment here!" scientists at the lab wrote on their Twitter feed.
The excitement at finally being able to record data, after countless setbacks, was noted in previous messages, which included numerous exclamation points from the researchers in Geneva as each step of the process was completed.
Russia launches US telecom satellite
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia's Proton-M carrier rocket with US telecom satellite Intelsat-23 blasted off Sunday from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan.
Will Poznan climate conference save the Earth?
By Andrei Fedyashin, RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The UN conference on climate change has been in session in Poznan, Poland, where delegates from 192 countries will prepare the draft of a document intended to replace the 1997 Kyoto protocol on reducing the greenhouse gas (GHG).
The 1997 protocol, known as Kyoto-One, must be replaced with Kyoto-Two in Copenhagen in December 2009. Time must be left for its ratification before it enters into force Jan 1, 2013, as its predecessor expires Dec 31, 2012.
Kerala’s first Active Web GIS Service launched
By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : The state-run Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management-Kerala (IIITM-K) Saturday launched Kerala's first Active Web Geographical Information System (GIS) service in public domain.
The GIS has been developed using Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) technology.
"The main objective of Active Web GIS is to make the dynamic geographical information available in a simplified, open Web interface," said IIITM-K Director K.R. Srivathsan, announcing the launch at the concluding session of three-day Free Map Workshop here.
Endeavour astronauts complete third spacewalk
By RIA Novosti
Washington : US space shuttle Endeavour astronauts have completed their third spacewalk, preparing a new robot designed for the maintenance of the International Space Station for activation, NASA said Tuesday.
Mission specialists Rick Linnehan and Robert Behnken outfitted the Canadian-built Dextre robot with tools for its work. The two-armed robot, assembled during the previous two spacewalks, is the final element in the station's Mobile Servicing System.
Microsoft’s Bing search engine aims to rival Google
By DPA,
San Francisco : Microsoft stepped up its efforts to cut into the search dominance of Google, launching a public preview version of its widely praised Bing search site Monday.
The site offers several features that are not automatically available on Google such as instant excerpts that allow users to see the contents of a page without actually clicking on it and a sidebar detailing related searches.
World’s smallest silicon sensor to monitor environs
By IANS,
London : Researchers are fabricating the world's smallest silicon sensor that will be extremely powerful and yet consume very little power.
The sensor, with applications in bio-sensing and ecological monitoring, is being developed by researchers at the University of Southampton.
“Power consumption is a big issue at the moment as devices use current whether they are switched off and on,” said Hiroshi Mizuta, project head.
Snip of hair can nail criminal now
By IANS,
Sydney : A snip of human hair, recovered from a crime site, would now be enough to nail its perpetrator, thanks to a new technique developed by researchers.
Called Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS), the portable tool has the advantage of being readily available and could be used for forensic analysis.
Sarina Brandes, a chemistry masters researcher at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) who adapted this technique, said it was independent of analysis of DNA, which could break down quite quickly, especially during disasters.
Endeavour heads for space station with new picture window
By DPA,
Washington : The space shuttle Endeavour lit up the Florida coast before dawn Monday as it blasted off for a mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
The 1014 GMT start 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.
Endeavour's 13-day mission will carry the Tranquility node to the ISS, making the orbiting space lab 90-percent complete.
App for female commuters’ safety launched
Kolkata : Female train commuters in distress can now seek immediate police assistance at the touch of a button -- courtesy a mobile...
Endeavour heads for International Space Station
By DPA
Washington/Moscow : US space shuttle Endeavour blasted off early Tuesday, carrying major additions to the International Space Station from Japan and Canada.
Endeavour launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 2:28 am (0628 GMT).
"This is a great launch and a real tribute to the team to get it ready to go fly," Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for Space Operations, said of the rare night launch.
Omani rock could absorb vast amounts of carbon dioxide
By IANS,
Washington : A rock found in Oman could soak up huge quantities of globe-warming carbon dioxide, cheaply.
The studies show that the rock, known as peridotite, reacts naturally at high rates with carbon dioxide (CO2) to form solid minerals - and that the process could be speeded with simple drilling and injection methods.
Scientists said that the process could be speeded 100,000 times or more simply by boring down and injecting heated water containing pressurised CO2.
Asteriod caused giant hole on Jupiter
By IANS,
London : A huge rock, some 500 metres long, hit Jupiter and created a hole the size of the Pacific Ocean, roughly the equivalent of Jupiter's Little Red Spot, scientists say.
Unitech allotted spectrum for three service areas
By IANS,
New Delhi : Real estate major Unitech has been allotted 4.4 MHz of spectrum in three service areas, the company said Monday.
“The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued the letter to the company`s telecom subsidiaries for allotment of 4.4 MHz of spectrum in 1800 MHz GSM band in respect of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Kolkata service areas,” a company statement said.
With this, the company has been allotted initial spectrum in 16 service areas out of the total 22 service areas.
Treat for sky gazers, comet closest to Earth Tuesday
by IANS,
New Delhi : Sky gazers in the capital are in for a celestial treat Tuesday as the recently discovered comet McNaught will be closest to Earth and visible to the naked eye.
Look towards the northeastern sky before sunrise Tuesday, the comet will appear as a dim and diffused circular patch of light gliding through the constellation of Perseus.
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.”
Kepler telescope finds new planetary system
By DPA,
Washington : The planet-hunting Kepler space telescope has found a new planetary system orbiting a distant star that could include a planet nearly the same size as Earth, NASA scientists said Thursday.
In findings to be published in the journal Science this week, the scientists report the discovery of two large planets about the size of Saturn orbiting a star similar to the sun. A third small object orbiting the star could be a much smaller planet, just a bit larger than Earth, but more work must be done to confirm it is actually a planet.
UAE varsity-Indian firm deal to turn Rajasthan desert green
By Aroonim Bhuyan, IANS,
Dubai : A patch of arid desert land in Rajasthan is all set to turn green thanks to a technology transfer deal between a leading Indian specialty chemicals company and a university in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Atul, a subsidiary of India's Lalbhai Group, has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with UAE University to establish a strategic partnership for transfer of technology to set up a state-of-the-art date palm tissue culture production unit in Rajasthan.
Solar plane takes off for Hawaii from Japan
Tokyo : The Swiss-made solar-powered plane, Solar Impulse 2, on Monday started its second bid at a record-breaking flight across the Pacific Ocean.
According to...
Investigation into CERN”s LHC incident indicates faulty electrical connection
By KUNA,
Geneva : Investigations at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) following a large helium leak into sector 3-4 of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) tunnel have indicated that it was most likely caused by a faulty electrical connection between two of the accelerator's magnets.
CERN has announced that before a full understanding of the incident can be established, however, the sector has to be brought to room temperature and the magnets involved opened up for inspection.
Microsoft uses search prizes to close Google gap
San Francisco, Oct 3 (DPA) In a bid to close the ever-widening gap with Google on Internet searches, Microsoft has started offering consumers redeemable points for using its search service.
The programme was launched as new web traffic figures Thursday showed that Google had extended its lead to 63 percent of the US search market in August. Yahoo came in with a 19.6 percent share, followed by Microsoft with an 8.3 percent share.
There is ‘contemporary’ life on Mars: leading space scientist
By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS,
London : A leading international space scientist says there is now clear evidence of life on Mars but that American authorities are hesitating from announcing it for political reasons.
"The discovery of liquid water on Mars combined with earlier discoveries of organic substances in a meteorite that came from Mars, and also of methane in the Martian atmosphere all point to the existence of life - contemporary life - on the Red Planet," said Chandra Wickramasinghe, a globally renowned astrobiologist.
US, India high-technology meet Monday
By IANS,
Washington : Top US and Indian business executives will meet here Monday to address critical issues affecting US-India High Technology Cooperation in areas like defence/strategic trade, civil nuclear cooperation, biotechnology, nano-technology and civil aviation.
The private sector business interactions hosted by the US-India Business Council (USIBC) are expected to inform the official level bilateral discussions at a meeting of the US-India High Technology Cooperation Group (HTCG) Tuesday.
Shuttle Discovery carries out safety checks
By RIA Novosti,
Washington : The Discovery crew have carried out a partial-wing inspection of the space shuttle to check for launch damage prior to docking with the International Space Station, a NASA spokesperson said.
The 14-day Discovery mission will deliver its heaviest payload to the ISS, the Japanese Pressurized Module (JPM), which is the second unit of the massive Kibo laboratory complex. Discovery will also deliver a pump and parts for the ISS toilet, which has been malfunctioning.
‘Dot-asia domain name leads to business image makeover’
By IANS
Brussels : The selling of domain names has been receiving a bit of an image makeover with the launch of dot-asia.
"As a not-for-profit organisation from Asia and for Asia, we want to create partnerships that will drive awareness and promote community benefits. One of the core mandates of the DotAsia Organisation is to contribute surpluses (of funds) back into community projects for Asia," Edmon Chung, CEO of DotAsia, told EuAsiaNews Tuesday night.
Since its launch Feb 20, DotAsia has received 350,000 applications.
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.
Underground ocean may exist on Saturn moon: NASA
By DPA
Washington : New evidence has surfaced of an underground ocean on Saturn's moon Titan, based on data sent back to Earth by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, the US space agency said.
"Titan has one of the most varied, active and Earth-like surfaces in the solar system," Ralph Lorenz, Cassini radar scientist at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, said in a statement Thursday.
Scientists crack code of drug-resistant TB
Durban(IANS) : South African scientists have sequenced the entire genome of a strain of extremely drug-resistant mycobacterium tuberculosis (XDR-TB).
They hope the information will contribute to developing better diagnostics and treatments for the disease.
The bacteria analysed were taken from a patient in Durban's King Edward VIII Hospital in KwaZulu Natal, science site SciDev.Net reported.
Indian scientists developing drought-resistant groundnut
By Rajeev Ranjan Roy, IANS,
New Delhi : Indian farmers will soon get access to a new variety of groundnut that is drought-resistant and can be cultivated even in areas where water is scarce.
"Genetic mapping has discovered certain genes in groundnut that are drought- resistant. The testing of seeds of this variety is at an advanced stage," Rajeev K. Varshney, a senior scientist at Hyderabad's International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), said.
Partial lunar eclipse Sunday
By IANS,
New Delhi : Sky gazers throughout India will get an opportunity Sunday to watch a partial lunar eclipse.
"A partial eclipse of the moon will occur in the early hours of Sunday from 1.06 a.m. to 4.15 a.m.," said a statement issued by the ministry of earth science department here.
The lunar eclipse is a partial one and 80 percent of the moon will be eclipsed. But unlike the solar eclipse, it can be seen with naked eyes.
The actual event and its different phases of the lunar eclipse would be seen at the same time all over the world.
Grazing cattle have magnetic sense of direction
By Ernest Gill, DPA,
Hamburg (Germany) : Grazing cows tend to face the North and South Poles, according to German scientists who studied 308 herds using Google Earth satellite photos.
The Boreal bovine orientation suggests that they, like migratory birds, sea turtles and monarch butterflies, tune into the Earth's magnetic fields, says Hynek Burda, a biologist at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany.
Pyrobolt failure caused Soyuz bumpy re-entry – Roscosmos
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : A failure of a pyrobolt separating spacecraft's modules caused the ballistic landing of Russia's Soyuz TMA-11 capsule in April this year, the head of the Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) said on Saturday.
On April 19, the Soyuz-TMA-11 capsule, carrying U.S. astronaut Peggy Whitson, Russian flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko, and Korean bioengineer Yi So-yeon from the International Space Station, made a bumpy re-entry, landing 420 km (260 miles) off-target in the steppes of northern Kazakhstan.
China begins final countdown to spacewalk mission
By DPA,
Beijing : China Thursday afternoon intitiated the final eight-hour countdown to its Shenzhou VII space mission, which is scheduled to feature the nation's first spacewalk.
The Jiuquan space centre in the north-western province of Gansu began the countdown at 1:10 pm (0510 GMT), state media said.
The start of the countdown put the mission on course for its previously announced launch time of 9:10 pm (1310 GMT), although officials Wednesday said the exact time could still vary between 9:07 pm and 10:27 pm.
India unveils ambitious solar power mission
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's ambitious mission to ramp up its solar power hundredfold in the next 13 years and reduce dependence on fossil fuels was unveiled here Monday.
The mission anticipates achieving parity with cost of electricity on the grid by 2022 and parity with coal-based thermal power by 2030. The plan is to produce 20,000 MW through solar power by 2022, up from just 200 MW now.
Japanese astronaut escorting storage room to ISS
By Xinhua
Beijing : Japanese astronaut Takao Doi is looking forward to his country's entry into human spaceflight next week when he helps deliver a small storage room for Japan's massive Kibo lab at the international space station.
Doi and six crewmates are set to launch toward the station aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on March 11 during a predawn liftoff from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
ITC Infotech deploys customer software for Finnair
Bangalore, Dec 13 (IANS) ITC Infotech Ltd, a global IT services firm of ITC group, has successfully deployed a software solution to manage customer relationships for Finnair, Finland's largest airline, the company said here Thursday.
With Infotech's software tool, Finnair becomes the world's first airline to shift from a frequent flyer management system to an analytical CRM (customer relationship management) solution, the Bangalore-based company said in a statement.
Twitter may transmit misinformation about antibiotics
By IANS,
Washington : Social networking sites like Twitter can spread misunderstandings about proper use of antibiotics, a new study says.
Columbia University and MixedInk (New York) researchers studied the content of Twitter updates mentioning antibiotics, to determine how people were sharing information and assess the proliferation of misinformation.
"Research focusing on microblogs and social networking services is still at an early stage," Daniel Scanfeld of Columbia University said.
India’s first lunar spacecraft now cruising around earth
By Venkatachari Jagannathan and Fakir Balaji, IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : India's first lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 started to cruise around the earth in its designated orbit Wednesday morning, minutes after a copybook liftoff launched the country into the elite club that has sent missions to the moon.
Other members of the club are the US, former Soviet Union, European Space Agency, China and Japan. The US returns to lunar exploration aboard Chandrayaan-1, which is carrying two NASA instruments in its payload.
Murthy bids adieu to Infosys, once again
Bangalore: For the second time in three years, Infosys chairman N.R. Narayana Murthy will Saturday bid adieu to the iconic company he co-founded with...
Mountain ranges rise faster than believed: study
By IANS,
Washington : Mountains can double their heights within two to four million years - many times faster than the existing tectonic theory surmises, a new study has found.
The rapid uplift implies that the current theory of plate tectonics will have to be modified to include a process of “delamination”, according to Carmala Garizone of the University of Rochester.
The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore collaborated in the study.
Technology will help improve tax compliance: Chidambaram
By IANS,
Ghaziabad: Finance Minister P. Chidambaram Saturday said the government has introduced "world-class" technology that improved tax compliance, resulting in a boost to the exchequer.
Bangalore declared as ‘nano city’ of India
By IANS,
Bangalore : Vice President Hamid Ansari Saturday declared Bangalore the "nano city of India" after the Karnataka government announced it would take measures to encourage research and development in nanoscience and facilitate development of the nanotechnology industry in the state.
Making the declaration at the second 'Bangalore Nano 2008' conference-cum-exposition here, Ansari said nanotechnology, which was changing the face of industry and economy, would be a transformative force in India in the coming years.
Russia’s space agency plans to build own orbital station
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia's Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) will propose to the government the building of a low-orbit space station to support future exploration of the Moon and Mars, an agency official has said.
"We will soon propose to our government a project to construct a low-orbit complex, which could serve as a foundation for the implementation of the lunar programme and later on the Mars programme," Alexei Krasnov, director of manned flight programmes at Roscosmos, has told a news conference in Moscow.
Google acquires Nik Software
By IANS,
San Francisco: Google has announced that it has acquired Nik Software, a German software company behind the popular photo application Snapseed on Apple's iOS platform.
Robot scribe copies the Bible as a performance art event
By DPA
Karlsruhe (Germany) : After seven months of writing day and night, a robot in Germany clutching a fountain pen has completed a "manuscript" Bible in cursive handwriting.
The exercise was a piece of performance art by the Centre for Art and Media in the German city of Karlsruhe, which uses state funds to explore new art ideas.
The machine, dubbed "Bios (Bible)", began copying the Bible in June onto a 900-metre-long roll of paper, with its arm forming each letter with the pen after all 66 books of scripture had been loaded into its memory.
Technical snag trips parliament voting system
By IANS,
New Delhi: A technical snag developed in the automatic vote recording system in the Lok Sabha Tuesday as Speaker Meira Kumar asked MPs to cast their votes on the cut motion moved by Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Gurudas Das Gupta.
More than a dozen foreigners were watching the house proceedings from the visitors' gallery as the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government faced a threat of a cut motion by the opposition parties minus the Samajwadi Party and the Rashttriya Janata Dal (RJD).
Russia’s Soyuz craft docks with space station
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia's Soyuz spacecraft carrying a crew of three has docked with the International Space Station (ISS), Mission Control said Wednesday.
The spacecraft docked with the ISS in an automated mode at 1:48 a.m. Wednesday.
The crew, comprising Russian Oleg Kotov, NASA astronaut Timothy Creamer and Japan's Soichi Noguchi, are joining the current ISS crew of US astronaut Jeff Williams and Russian Maxim Surayev, who have been on the ISS since early October.
The Soyuz was launched early Monday from Russia's Baikonur Space Center in southern Kazakhstan.
“Death Star” galaxy blasts smaller neighbor
By Xinhua
Beijing : A "Death Star" galaxy is blasting a smaller neighbor with a powerful jet of particles and magnetic radiation, NASA astronomers said on Monday.
They said the two galaxies appear to be merging and the disturbance in the magnetic field caused by this movement may have awakened a dormant, supermassive black hole in one of the galaxies.
Iran arms embargo should be lifted: Russia
Moscow: Moscow wants arms embargo on Tehran lifted as soon as possible, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday, adding that no insurmountable...
Japan launches communication satellite
By Xinhua
Tokyo : Japan Saturday launched a high-speed data transmission satellite, the nation's space agency said.
A H-2A rocket carrying the satellite 'Kizuna' lifted off at 17.55 p.m. from the space centre on the island of Tanegashima off the southern tip of Kyushu Island in southern Japan.
A spokeswoman for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said the launch went smoothly.
The initial launching was successful despite a delay due to bad weather and an unexpected ship entry in restricted waters near the space centre, the official said.
New therapy against cancer
Santiago : An innovative immunological therapy that attacks carcinogenic cells in humans by increasing the body's anti-tumour response was presented in Santiago city in...
Radioactive iodine found in Tokyo tap water
By DPA,
Tokyo : High levels of radioactive iodine were detected in tap water in Tokyo, authorities said Wednesday.
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.
Russia doubts defunct US satellite may have nuclear material
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Russia is suspecting the US spy satellite that has gone out of control may have nuclear material onboard and is closely monitoring its movement in orbit, a top defence ministry official has said.
"Russian military experts suggest the satellite could have an onboard nuclear power source," said Igor Barinov, first deputy chairperson of the State Duma (parliament) defence committee.
Attack paralyses China’s largest web search engine
By IANS,
Beijing : China's largest Internet search engine, Baidu.com, said that its website was paralysed Tuesday morning after coming under a cyber-attack. The search engine later resumed operation.
"The reason why Chinese users could not log on to the website was that our domain name server (DNS) in the United States was illegally attacked," Xinhua reported.
The company said it was still investigating the problem.
"It is rare for Baidu.com to be down for so long as the company boasts high security protection," said Li Tiejun, an IT security engineer of Beijing Kingsoft.
Some plant species seem to defy climate change: study
By IANS,
London : Some plants defy odds and adapt to changes in patterns of temperature and rainfall, according to what is being described as the longest-running study of the impact of climate change on natural vegetation.
For instance, the study, which has thrown up new insights into the effects of warming on plant ecosystem, found that grasses clinging to steep cliffsides in England have shown an exceptional ability to adapt.
"Contemporary wisdom suggests that climate changes cause plants to move or die," said Jason Fridley of Syracuse University and the study’s co-author.
Moon, Venus, Mercury to align for Buenos Aires residents
By Xinhua
Buenos Aires : The Moon, Mercury and Venus are going to align at 5:46 a.m. (0746 GMT) Wednesday, which can be spotted with naked eye by residents in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires, a local astronomical club announced Monday.
The planet lineup is expected to start at 5:20 a.m. Wednesday when the Moon first ascends, followed by Mercury at 5:34 a.m. and Venus at 5:46 a.m., according to the Astronomy Friends Association.
Scientists duplicate keys with help of zoom lens
By IANS,
Washington : Computer scientists can now duplicate keys without looking at them; all they need is a photo or an image of the object, thanks to a new software.
They successfully decoded the image of a key, lifted from a distance of 195 feet with a cellphone camera, fed it into their software which then produced the information required to create copies.
In yet another example, they used a five-inch telephoto lens to capture images from the roof of a campus building and duplicate keys sitting on a café table more than 200 feet away.
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.
Our oceans home to 750,000 undiscovered species
By IANS,
London : The oceans are bustling with far greater diversity of life than previously thought, says the first Census of Marine Life -- 10 years in the making.
Wireless broadband will be a game changer in India
By Prasanto K. Roy, IANS,
In India's spectrum auction, broadband wireless access hitched on to third generation (3G) telephony as a poor cousin - a seemingly dull sequel of the high-profile 3G spectrum auction last month that brought nearly $15 billion into the government's kitty.
Astronauts end spacewalk early
By DPA
Washington : NASA ended a spacewalk earlier than planned as a precaution after an astronaut's glove was damaged.
US astronaut Rick Mastracchio noticed damage to the outer layer of his spacesuit's glove during a routine equipment check and NASA rules required him to return to the International Space Station around 19.00 GMT Wednesday.
Despite the interruption, Mastracchio and Clay Anderson were able to complete most of the spacewalk's planned tasks.
Green technology should be used to spur growth: PM
By Fakir Balaji, IANS
Visakhapatnam : Science and technology should be harnessed to convert urban waste into wealth, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Thursday while advocating the use of affordable eco-friendly technologies to sustain the growth momentum.
"Our scientists and economic policy makers have to strike a balance between the pursuit of high income growth and protection of natural resources.
Andhra to use drone cameras to check red sander smuggling
Hyderabad : The Andhra Pradesh government is planning to use drone cameras in Rayalaseema region to increase surveillance on red sander smuggling, Chief Minister...
Bus bombed to test new forensic video camera
By IANS,
Washington : Would cheap, lightweight video cameras survive a big costly blast and still retain images of the destruction?
That was the question bothering the US department of homeland security as well as scientists and managers who watched the blast from behind three feet of reinforced concrete.
Outside was an old public bus, rigged with explosives, a series of baseball-sized video cameras mounted on its walls.
E-mail etiquette: A matter of survival
By Jay Dougherty, DPA,
Washington : Business people send out some six trillion e-mail messages each year, according to US-based Ferris Research. That's probably not much of a surprise to most office workers today, who have seen e-mail usurp meetings and face-to-face conversations as a primary form of communication.
Avoid diseases by exposing food to radiation: scientist
By V. Jagannathan, IANS
Chennai : The government should allow the generic use of irradiation technology - a process of exposing food to controlled radiations like gamma rays, X-rays, and accelerated electrons that kill harmful organisms - to prevent diseases and increase shelf life of food, says a top atomic scientist.
"The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act should be amended to allow irradiation of food products on a generic basis," Arun K. Sharma, head of the Food Technology Division of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), told IANS here.
ET, where are you? NASA to launch Kepler camera
By DPA,
Washington : The search for extraterrestrial life will take another step in March, when NASA launches its Kepler satellite to systematically look for Earth-type planets orbiting other stars.
The Kepler mission, named after the 17th century German astronomer, is to be launched March 5 and target 100,000 stars in the Milky Way galaxy that scientists believe could have planets orbiting in a "habitable" zone, NASA scientists said Thursday.
Giant ocean found on Saturn’s moon
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow: Around 100 km beneath the rocky crust on Saturn's largest moon Titan is an ocean of water spanning the entirety of the celestial body, scientists said.
Indian Mars Orbiter completes 100 days in space
By IANS,
Bangalore : India's maiden Mars Orbiter spacecraft completes 100 days Wednesday cruising through interplanetary space in its voyage towards the red planet.
"Health of...
I see a day when voice calls will be free: Sam Pitroda
By IANS,
New Delhi: Telecom guru Sam Pitroda Wednesday said he could see the day when people will not be charged for voice call even as "data would drive" the growth of the telecom sector in the coming years.
"First phase of telecom revolution is beginning to end and the second phase of telecom revolution is just beginning. First phase was to really connect everybody through voice. I see a day where nobody will charge you for a voice call," he told women journalists during an interaction at their club here.
Propulsion problems solved, Jules Verne ATV on target
By Xinhua
Beijing : Jules Verne, Europe's first space station cargo carrier, has overcome problems with its propulsion system and has initiated orbit-raising maneuvers, European Space Agency (ESA) officials said Tuesday.
The 41,887-pound (19,000-kg) Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), was slated to use its onboard engines to raise its orbit by about 53 miles (85 km), to 214-miles (345-km), in preparation for a series of test maneuvers that should end with a docking with the International Space Station April 3, mission managers said.
Navy gets lab-on-wheels to test radioactivity
By IANS
New Delhi : An environmental survey vehicle (ESV) - a radiological laboratory on wheels - developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was formally handed over to the Indian Navy here Monday.
DRDO chief M. Natarajan handed over the ESV to the Indian Navy vice-chief, Vice Admiral Nirmal Verma.
Designed and developed by the Defence Laboratory at Jodhpur, the ESV is equipped with state-of-art instruments to measure radioactivity levels in solids, liquids and in the air.
Nano coating ensures near perfect absorption of sunlight
By IANS,
Washington : A nanoengineered reflective coating on silicon solar cell, which otherwise absorbs only two-thirds of the sunlight, boosts it by another third to tap the valuable energy.
This huge gain was consistent across the entire spectrum of sunlight, from ultraviolet to visible light and infrared, and moves solar power a significant step forward towards economic viability.
The new antireflective coating developed by Rensselaer Institute researchers thus helps overcome two major hurdles blocking the progress and wider use of solar power.
India to soon float tenders for six new submarines for navy
New Delhi : India will soon float a tender -- potentially worth Rs.60,000 crore -- to build six advanced submarines for the navy...
Laika was first living creature in space
By DPA
Moscow : Her name in translation means "barker," but in the end Laika, the first living creature in space, must have gone out whimpering.
When Soviet space scientists sent her up exactly 50 years ago this Saturday, the two-year-old mongrel was expected to live for several days. In fact, it was later revealed, she lasted only a few hours.
Soviet propaganda at the time said she would find a peaceful end through lack of oxygen after days of orbiting the Earth aboard Sputnik 2.
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.
Virgin’s Branson unveils model of tourist spaceship
By IANS
New York : The feisty founder of Virgin Group Richard Branson unveiled here Wednesday a model of the spacecraft that he hopes will usher in organised space tourism as early as next year.
"Two thousand and eight really will be the year of the spaceship," Branson said unveiling a scale model of the new craft at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. He added that his SpaceShipTwo would start testing later this year.
Indian spacecraft will try to unravel moon’s origins
By Fakir Balaji, IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : India's lunar explorer, Chandrayaan-1, will try to unravel the moon's origins as it scouts for minerals and water there, according to project director M. Annadurai.
When Chandrayaan is launched Oct 22 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here, about 80 km from Chennai, it will boost international space cooperation by carrying 11 scientific devices, six of them from European and American organisations, to study the earth's nearest celestial neighbour while it orbits 100 km above the moon.
When does music produce noise-like effect?
By IANS,
London : "Music is always noise-related and often not appreciated," German poet and humorist Wilhelm Busch noted wryly.
Busch's sarcastic saying embodies a bitter truth: Orchestra musicians jeopardise their ears with their own music. For instance, in a Wagner opera, sound values of 120 decibels (dB) and higher can be attained.
Even the average sound level, depending on the repertoire and instrument, often takes on a magnitude that is considered hazardous to health.
Now a computer that can sense and feel
By IANS
Washington : Computers may now enable people to experience the most realistic sense of touch, perceiving textures or feeling hard surfaces, with the help of a radical new touch-based interface.
The interface, called haptic interface, relies on magnetic levitation and uses a single, lightweight moving part, unlike most other existing ones based on motors and bulky mechanical linkages and cables.
Germans test device that ‘sees’ inside bottles
By DPA
Juelich (Germany) : German police are testing a new machine that can distinguish explosives from shampoo, offering hope to millions of travellers frustrated by EU airliner security rules.
The microwave device takes only about a second to assess what liquid or gel is contained in glass and plastic bottles and tubes. It mainly works by analysing how much water is in the mixture.
Safe fluids are generally 60 to 70 percent water.
A mobile-based security system for BPO employees
By Prashant K. Nanda, IANS
New Delhi : Even as the rape and murder of a Pune call centre employee by her cab driver is fresh on everyone's mind, a software analyst has developed a mobile phone-based system that may provide better protection to BPO staff in transit.
"After two cases of rape and murder of female call centre employees, BPO firms have an uphill task so far as security is concerned. And here comes our system - simple and effective," said Chennai-based V.M. Sankaran Nampoothiri.
60-second test can tell if IVF is successful
By IANS,
London : Scientists have devised a 60-second test to predict a couples' chances of having a baby through IVF.
Google Helps US Intelligence Expand
By Prensa Latina
Washington : US intelligence bought Google data base to enhance espionage on the Internet through restricted Intellipedia network for the 16 intelligence agencies.
San Francisco Chronicle says several branches within the community, among them the National Security Agency, the CIA and FBI, are now able to process information collected from Google.
The contracts are part of the accords the company sales team promoted with the Feds that already signed similar pact with the Coast Guard, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
Hackers playing havoc with e-mail accounts
New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS) Mahendra Ved, a senior journalist here, was stunned after receiving a call from his Bahrain-based daughter a few days ago, sounding distressed and enquiring after his whereabouts and well-being.
"She was crying and desperately wanted to reach me after reading an e-mail, which was sent to her by someone who had hacked my gmail account and forwarded a troubling message to all my friends and relatives," Ved says.
"Since Sunday, I have received at least 60 such calls," adds Ved.
Pune gears up for two-day international robotic competition
By IANS,
Mumbai/Pune : Pune gears up to see robots co-ordinate as a team as they form a pyramid to enact a high-tech 'dahi handi' (taking butter from a pot hanging high above) sequence at the two-day 7th ABU International Robocon Competition Saturday.
The event is the culmination of a yearlong competition among teams from over two dozen colleges spread across 17 countries of the Asia-Pacific region.
Nirma Institute of Technology, Ahmedabad and Maharashtra Institute of Technology, (MIT) Pune are representing India at the event.
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.
U.S. Mars rovers still on the job after five years
By Xinhua,
Washington : Five years ago, NASA's rover Spirit landed safely on Mars, followed by its twin, Opportunity, three weeks later. Though it was hoped the rovers would work for three months, the duo may still have big achievements ahead as they reach the fifth anniversary of their memorable landings.
Of the hundreds of engineers and scientists who cheered at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, on Jan. 3, 2004, none predicted the team would still be operating both rovers in 2009.
Scientists edge towards mass production of silicon substitute
By IANS,
London : Scientists have leaped over a major hurdle in efforts to begin commercial production of a form of carbon that could rival silicon in its potential for revolutionising electronic devices ranging from supercomputers to cell phones.
Called graphene, the material consists of a layer of graphite 50,000 times thinner than a human hair with unique electronic properties.
Airport scanner can damage diabetes device
By IANS,,
Washington : Full-body scanners used at airports can damage the insulin pump or continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device used by diabetics, caution experts.
Endeavour astronauts finish first space walk
By DPA
Washington : Two astronauts from the crew of US shuttle Endeavour completed their first space walk of a scheduled 11-day mission to expand the International Space Station (ISS).
Astronauts Rick Mastracchio of the US and Canadian Dave Williams successfully installed a truss segment during six hours of work Saturday, the US space agency NASA announced from mission control in Houston.
The truss, which is designed to hold a new solar panel, was part of the shuttle's payload.
Spacesuit trouble shortens spacewalk
By DPA,
Washington : Problems with a spacesuit has caused NASA to cut short a spacewalk outside the International Space Station.
Problems with a system that removes carbon dioxide from the air in astronaut Chris Cassidy's spacesuit caused mission control to end the spacewalk at 2031 GMT Wednesday after five hours and 59 minutes. Carbon dioxide levels were beginning to rise in his suit, but he was not in any imminent danger, NASA said. The spacewalk was to have lasted about six and a half hours.
Membrane to cut carbon dioxide emission from coal power units
By IANS,
Sydney : High-tech cling wraps that filter out carbon dioxide (CO2) from waste gases can help save the world, says the researcher who developed the technology.
The membranes can be fitted to existing chimneys where they capture CO2 for removal and storage. They are already being tested on brown coal power stations in Victoria’s La Trobe Valley, said Colin Scholes, a Melbourne University chemical engineer.
"The membrane material is specifically designed to separate CO2 from other molecules," he said.
India’s rocket goes into space with 10 satellites
By IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C9 lifted off successfully with 10 satellites - two Indian and eight foreign - at 9.23 a.m. Monday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here.
Officials said the satellites' launches were progressing as expected. Around 16 minutes into the flight, the satellites will be injected into the polar sun synchronous orbit inclined at an angle of 97.94 degree to the equator.
India successfully test fires exo-atmospheric missile interceptor
Bhubaneswar: India successfully test-fired for the first time an exo-atmospheric missile interceptor at a defence base in Odisha Sunday.
The missile operates outside the atmosphere...
Sea urchin holds key to getting minerals from animals
By IANS,
Washington : Mammal teeth and bones, protective shells of molluscs and needle-sharp spines of sea urchins are made from scratch by nature.
The materials of which shells, teeth and bones are composed are the strongest and most durable in the animal world, and scientists and engineers have long sought to mimic them.
Now, biomineralisation may be closer to reality. An international team of scientists has detailed a key and previously hidden mechanism to transform amorphous calcium carbonate into calcite, the stuff of seashells.
‘Free software allows cheaper long distance phone calls’
By Frederick Noronha, IANS,
Panaji : Free software and open source solutions offer a huge potential to link your computer to the mobile phone and the inexpensive Skype networks -- that allows you to make international calls over the internet -- and for sending out SMSes too.
This could help significantly narrow the digital divide "at the social level between rich and poor and geographical levels, between city and village", says Giovanni Maruzzelli, an Italian expert in the field currently touring India.
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.
U.S. expert: short-term earthquake prediction “very difficult”
By Xinhua,
Washington : After last week's deadly earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan province, quake prediction has become an issue of intense public concern. However, accurate predictions in the short term are indeed "very difficult," said Lucile Jones, a seismologist at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS),in a recent interview with Xinhua.
When asked what factors affect the prediction of earthquakes, she said: "This depends on what you mean by predict."
Nanotechnology sharply polarises people along cultural lines
By IANS,
Washington : Nanotech may be revolutionising research but it has also sharply polarised people along cultural lines, according to a study.
These findings have important implications for garnering support of the new technology, said Yale Law School (YLS) researchers, working in collaboration with a project on the emerging discipline.
The experiment involved a diverse sample of 1,500 Americans, the bulk of whom were unfamiliar with nanotechnology, a discipline that involves manipulation of atom sized particles, with wide commercial applications.
US pulls Patriot missile systems from Turkey
Ankara : The US has decided to withdraw its border protection mission in Turkey which was deployed against possible threats from Syria, a...
Russian astronomer discovers new comet
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russian amateur astronomer Artyom Novichonok, a student of Petrozavodsk university, has discovered a new comet, website Astronet said.
Healing from space for victims of depression
By IANS,
Washington : A futuristic NASA programme to help astronauts cope with space flight blues will also benefit people with similar conditions back home.
"This project has great potential as a self-guided treatment for many people," said NASA project leader James Cartreine, a member of National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) Neurobehavioral and Psychosocial Factors Team.
"Depression is the number one cause of disability days in the US, but it's not only about days lost. Depression also results in presenteeism - showing up for work but not really working," he added.
The computer helper: Building versus buying
By DPA
Washington : Just about anyone who is handy with a screwdriver these days can build a computer. Computer parts are available everywhere, and with a little know-how, you can assemble them into just the computer you want. But does it really make sense to build your own PC? Read on for some answers.
Q: A friend of mine said I could save money by building my own computer. Is this true, and if so, how much could I save?
Scientists find smallest planet
By Xinhua
Beijing : The smallest planet discovered outside our solar system has been found by Spanish scientists.
"I think we are very close, just a few years away, from detecting a planet like Earth," team leader Ignasi Ribas told a news conference Wednesday.
‘Cyber-spite’ erodes credibility of auction sites
By IANS,
Washington : eBay's rating system, which allows users to post positive or negative comments about trading partners, has created a unique set of problems.
Sellers who offered damaged or substandard goods and earned a black mark are now retaliating against buyers who have named and shamed them, by posting highly visible and negative comments.
For example, the TV set you ordered on eBay arrives in a badly scratched shape. You return the item but also post a disparaging comment about the seller on the site.
Dogs to receive chip implant in Singapore
By DPA
Singapore : All dogs in Singapore will have to be implanted with a microchip enabling them to be traced back to their owners starting next month as part of a crackdown on irresponsible pet ownership.
Under measures unveiled by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), allowing man's best friend to run free without a licence will incur a fine of up to 5,000 Singapore dollars (about $330), a 10-fold hike from the current maximum.
Zenit rocket to orbit Israeli satellite in late April
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : The launch of a modified Zenit rocket to put an Israeli communications satellite into orbit has been scheduled for April 24, Russia's Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) said on Monday.
Russia started preparations for the launch of a Zenit-3SLB rocket with a DM-SLB booster and Israeli AMOS-3 satellite on board from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan in October last year.
"This weekend, the booster was delivered to site 31 [at Baikonur] for fuelling and fitting with the AMOS-3 satellite," Roscosmos said in a statement.
India marks ‘Ring of Fire’ spectacle with faith and science
By IANS,
New Delhi : Millions of Hindus bathed in holy rivers and tanks across India after a four-hour celestial spectacle that turned the sun into a 'Ring of Fire', bringing out science enthusiasts to view and record the rare event.
Hundreds of thousands of temples all over the country closed their doors and covered their deities with muslin shrouds during the period when traffic on roads in many cities thinned as people kept indoors.
LHC may unlock universe’s dark matter
By Xinhua
Beijing : A 100-ton wheel has been hooked up to the world's most powerful particle accelerator LHC last Friday, which scientists hope will help unlock the secrets of the universe, media reported Monday.
Beijing : A 100-ton wheel has been hooked up to the world's most powerful particle accelerator LHC last Friday, which scientists hope will help unlock the secrets of the universe, media reported Monday.
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.
New Generation Of Cars To Be Launch In India
SILICON VALLEY, Dec 15 (Bernama) -- A global consortium of top students, professors and experts in various engineering fields plan to use the rapidly growing Indian automotive market as a launch pad for a new generation of cars that could revolutionise the international automobile industry.
Vehicle Design Summit, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology initiative, aims to develop a 4-passenger, 200MPGe, high-performance industry-standard car with minimal life cycle costs and wide appeal both in developed and developing countries.
India to launch exclusive satellite to study sea level rise
By IRNA,
New Delhi : With ocean scientists reporting a nine mm rise in sea levels in four years, India will launch an exclusive satellite later this year to study the changes in the environment.
The SARAL-Altika satellite will complement the current observations of the sea made by current satellites like Jason-2 of the French Space Agency and NASA.
Man behind Bose audio systems in Inventors’ Hall of Fame
By Parveen Chopra, IANS
New York : Amar Bose, a pioneer in modern acoustics who is known for the high-end audio products bearing his name, has been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in the US, which has previously honoured Thomas Edison, Graham Bell and the Wright Brothers.
Born in the US to a Bengali father and a German mother, Bose's name is in the 2008 list of 18 inventors to be honoured, 11 of them posthumously, by the Ohio-based Hall of Fame in May.
Discovered: a new species of robin
By IANS,
Washington : Smithsonian Institute scientists have discovered a new species of bird in Gabon, Africa, that was unknown to the scientific community.
The newly found olive-backed forest robin was named by scientists for its distinctive olive back and rump. Adult birds measure 4.5 inches in length and average 18 grams in weight.
Males exhibit a fiery orange throat and breast, yellow belly, olive back and black feathers on the head. Females are similar, but less vibrant. Both sexes have a distinctive white dot on their face in front of each eye.
NASA’s Mars orbiter snaps color, 3-D Phobos photos
By Xinhua
Beijing : NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured new color and 3-D imagery of Phobos, the larger of Mars' two minuscule moons.
The pictures were taken on March 23 by the orbiter's High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, or HiRISE, and released on Wednesday. Phobos is expected to be the focus of an ambitious Russian-Chinese space mission scheduled for launch next year.
New software that identifies unnamed faces to go public
By IANS,
London : A new software which can identify unnamed faces and then collate photographs of that individual on the net will go public soon.
The software works by scanning a person's configuration of eyes, nose and mouth and claims to be 90 percent accurate.
It can then comb the net for more photographs of the same person and, in tests, locate untagged picture which had not previously been seen by some of the people in them, reports the Telegraph.
The managers of Face.com, which created the software, told the Sunday Times that 5,000 developers were already using it.
Genetic materials of starry origin: study
By IANS,
London : In a first, scientists have confirmed that an important component of early genetic material is extraterrestrial in origin.
In a paper in the latest issue of the journal Planetary Science Letters,they have said that some of the raw materials that went into early genetic material have been found in meteorite fragments.
The materials include the molecules uracil and xanthine, precursors to the molecules that make up DNA and RNA, known as nucleobases.
Scientists develop method to help regain hearing
By IANS,
Washington : Swiss and South African scientists have outlined a method to potentially overcome hearing defects, even remedying substantial hearing loss.
The method could help restore functional regions of the damaged ear to be able to recognise frequencies originally associated with them.
Existing hearing-aid and cochlear implant technology have only been partially successful in recreating the experience of the fully functioning ear.
Germany’s first driverless mass-transit train goes to work
By DPA,
Nuremberg (Germany) : Germany's first driverless mass-transit train went into operation Sunday without fanfare in the southern city of Nuremberg, with a computer in charge for the whole day.
Driverless trains are already in use in other nations, including the Singapore's North East Metro Line (NEL) operating since 2003, but Nuremberg says its system is unique because it mixes human-driven and computer-controlled trains on the same track.
Google, Verizon close to deal to end ‘net neutrality’
By IANS,
London : Search engine giant Google and US broadband and telecom company Verizon are said to be close to making a deal that could bring an end to 'net neutrality'.
The new agreement between the internet giants, if it gets through, would allow the telecom company to prioritise the order and speed in which it delivers content to users, The Guardian reported Friday.
How snakes starve to live
By IANS
New York : Mystery shrouding a snake's ability to go without food for nearly two years may have been finally uncovered with researchers claiming to have cracked the mechanism behind their survival despite starvation.
The research, which reveals some previously unknown serpentine tricks, sheds light on how serpents managed to drag on since before the days of the dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex, biologists were quoted as saying in the Nature magazine.
New technology to help doctors image lungs
By IANS,
Sydney : New technology pioneered by Australian researchers will help doctors image a patient's lungs and respiratory diseases.
Scientists from the University of Queensland (UQ) have successfully developed the country's first hyperpolarised helium gas for use in human MRIs.
Marlies Friese said the UQ team recently produced sufficient gas for a human subject to inhale, and created an image of the person's airways.
Iran begins project for manned space flight by 2021
By Xinhua,
Tehran : Iran has kicked off a 12-year project to send an astronaut into space, just days after putting its first home-built satellite into orbit, Press TV reported Thursday.
"The programme's preliminary needs, assessments and feasibility studies have been carried out," said Reza Taqipour, the head of the Iranian Aerospace Organization.
The organisation had drawn up a comprehensive plan for the project and various academic and research institutions must play to carry out a successful space mission by 2021, he said.
How to keep your password safe from data hackers, cyber thieves
By IANS,
Washington : Last year, one out of 13 people lost money due to internet fraud and identity theft, says a recent report. However, you can insure your password and data by following these easy-to-follow tips.
Always keep the cyber thieves guessing. Never use personal information to create a username, login or password. It could be the name of your pets, relatives, nicknames, dates of birth, etc.
Identity theft experts have become savvy at ferreting out these details. Hence, it is crucial to choose usernames and passwords that have nothing to do with your personal history.
Russia, France develop new satellite platform
By RIA Novasti
Moscow : Russia's Reshetnev Applied Mechanics Production Association (NPO-PM) and France's Thales Alenia Space are developing a new multifunctional satellite platform, Russian officials said Wednesday.
Thales Alenia Space, a major payload provider for the Russian telecom satellite market, and NPO-PM are closely working on a joint programme to build new multi-mission satellite platform, optimised for a direct injection in the Geosynchronous Orbit (GSO) and High-Elliptical Orbit (HEO) missions.
Indian-American devises way to cool hybrid cars
By IANS,
Washington : A team of scientists led by an Indian-American has found out a new way of cooling microchips in electric and hybrid cars, aircraft, computers and other devices by understanding how the fluid overheats in tiny microchannels.
The new type of cooling system, devised by a Purdue University team, will be used to prevent overheating of devices called insulated gate bipolar transistors -- high-power switching transistors used in hybrid and electric vehicles.
ISRO to set up astronaut training institute
By IANS,
Bangalore : Buoyed by the successful launch of the country's maiden unmanned moon mission Chandrayaan-1, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to start an institute to train astronauts for its planned first manned space mission by 2015, said a top official.
Egg-sized robots to monitor N-plants
By IANS,
Washington : Now small, hen-egg sized robots, can directly monitor nuclear reactors and pinpoint corrosion.
China’s new anti-corruption website crashes
By Xinhua
Beijing : The website of China's National Bureau of Corruption Prevention (NCBP) crashed just hours after it was launched, as a huge number of people logged on to the site to lodge their complaints against corrupt officials.
The website "yfj.mos.gov.cn" launched Tuesday was inaccessible by afternoon due to the large number of visitors, Beijing Youth Daily reported.