Revamped Hubble ready to tackle universe’s big questions
By Anne K. Walters, DPA,
Washington : Five straight days of intense and dangerous repair work have sharpened the vision of the Hubble Space Telescope and prepared it to once again collect groundbreaking insights into the origins of the universe.
Researchers develop an all-seeing eye
By IANS
London : Ever heard of terahertz waves? These higher-frequency waves can penetrate wood ceramics, paper plastic and liquids, making for an ideal tool to detect explosives or drugs, without ripping open suitcases, or searching through items of clothing.
It will also enable doctors to identify skin cancer without performing a biopsy.
Terahertz waves change when passing through gases, solid materials or liquids, which may be explosives, water, heroin or blood, carrying their specific imprints.
UN says ozone hole shrinking due to weather, not recovery
By NNN-SPA
United Nations, New York : Although the ozone layer over the Antarctic this year is relatively small, it is due to mild temperatures experienced in the region’s stratosphere this winter and is not a sign of global recovery, the U.N. World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Thursday.
Since 1998, only the ozone holes of 2002 and 2004 have been smaller than this year’s-both in area and amount of destroyed ozone-and this is not indicative of ozone recuperation, WMO said in a statement.
India set to join exclusive cryogenic club
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Chennai : After its maiden moon mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is hoping to cross another milestone in December - take India into the exclusive club of countries that have developed their own cryogenic engines to power satellites in space.
ISRO is hoping to end 2009 in style with the take-off of its fully indigenous geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV) carrying an experimental satellite GSAT 4 in mid-December.
IBM inks outsourcing deal with Rajasthan cooperative bank
By IANS,
Bangalore : Global IT major IBM has signed a five-year outsourcing agreement with Madhav Nagrik Sahakari Bank, a leading cooperative bank in Rajasthan, the company said Monday.
As part of the deal, IBM India will host and manage the IT infrastructure of the bank and reduce its capital expenditure. The end-to-end IT-enabling environment will also help the bank focus on its expansion plans, the IT firm said in a statement here.
UAE university boasts of region’s biggest grid computing system
By NNN-WAM
WAM Dubai : Sun Microsystems has deployed one of the most advanced super grid computers in the world at the UAE University. The system is the regions biggest grid computing system and places the UAE University in the Top 500 list of high performance computing grids worldwide.
The super grid is deployed in service of the community at large, and will support the teaching and research missions of the University by providing students and faculty with unprecedented computing power.
BSNL, MTNL merger decision in 4-5 months
New Delhi: The decision on merging state-run BSNL and MTNL will be taken in the next four-five months, Telecom Secretary Rakesh Garg said on...
World’s most advanced robot walks like a human
By IANS,
London : Researchers trying to make robots walk have so far met with limited success, but one developed by a university in Netherlands walks as naturally as humans do.
The robot, called Flame, is arguably the most advanced walking machine in the world, at least in the category that applies the human method of walking as a starting principle.
Since the robot, built at the Delft Technology University, mimics how people walk, it is likely to provide insights into problems associated with walking - and lead to better diagnoses, training and rehabilitation equipment.
One PSLV rocket Monday will carry 10 satellites
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Chennai : One of the three "core alone" Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLV) to blast off Monday from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh will carry the heaviest luggage - 824 kg - comprising the remote sensing Cartosat-2A satellite, the Indian Mini Satellite and eight nano
satellites.
According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), core alone configuration means the main/core PSLV rocket minus the hugging six strap-on booster motors that powers the first stage.
Flowers don’t smell as sweet in polluted air
By IANS
Washington : A rose smells as sweet by any other name but not in any other air, especially polluted air. A new study has found flowers are fast losing their fragrance, and the culprit is air pollution.
Air pollution is also gradually eroding the quality of our life, besides undermining our health and well being, according to the study that found smoke from power plants and automobiles is destroying something as basic as fragrance of flowers and diminishing the ability of pollinating insects to follow scent trails to their source.
Space scientist from a star village
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Chennai : M.Y.S. Prasad, associate director, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, has something common with Telugu movie stars Chiranjeevi and Krishnam Raju. All three are from Mogaltur village in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.
While Chiranjeevi and Krishnam Raju are movie stars turned politicians, Prasad sends rockets towards the stars.
As the man in charge of launch operations for India's first lunar mission that blasts off Wednesday, Prasad, 55, is now busy checking everything is in place, as the final countdown ticks on.
Day and night to be equally long Saturday
By IANS,
New Delhi : Sky gazers in the capital are looking forward to watch the spring equinox Saturday - when the sun shines directly overhead as viewed from the earth, making the night and day equally long.
According to scientists, equinox marks the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere and the word 'equinox' is derived from the Latin aequus (equal) and nox (night). Around the equinox, the night and day are approximately equally long.
Space telescope launched to spy on black-holes
By DPA,
Washington : After several delays, the US space telescope GLAST was heading for a mission expected to shed light on black holes and the gravitational forces causing the universe to expand.
GLAST was launched on a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida at 1600 GMT.
GLAST's five-year, $700 million agenda includes up-close spying on the violent explosions and other cosmic catastrophes that astronomers have been observing through the Hubble space telescope and sophisticated observations from Earth.
Five space walks, mock repairs planned for Discovery
By DPA
Washington : US space shuttle Discovery plans a full schedule of five space walks on its next mission to the International Space Station (ISS), set to begin Oct 23, NASA officials said.
Discovery's crew is to bring up and install the Harmony module to serve as a port for additional international laboratories constructed in Japan, Germany and elsewhere.
But NASA officials said Friday they expect to add a fifth space walk to test some new repair equipment that could be used to fix heat-shield damage that can happen to shuttles during launch, according to spaceflightnow.com.
‘Chandrayaan could spark lunar land grab’
By IANS,
London : India's lunar mission could spark off a land grab on the moon, a British paper speculated Tuesday.
The Chandrayaan satellite signals the “possibility of a race for mineral wealth on the lunar surface”, particularly helium-3, The Guardian newspaper reported.
While planet Earth was believed to have only 15 tonnes of helium-3, moon is thought to contain up to five million tonnes.
Saturn moon’s mysterious vapour plumes could be key to alien life
By DPA
Hamburg (Germany) : Scientists on NASA's Cassini mission are counting on the probe's next fly-by to provide them with possible clues to alien life following discovery of water vapour plumes on a moon of Saturn.
The spacecraft will zoom in on the moon Enceladus in March. Its closest approach will be at a mere 50 km from the surface and the altitude will increase to about 200 kilometres as the spacecraft passes through the plumes.
Cassini will sample the plumes directly and find out more about their composition, said German scientists who are monitoring the data.
USIBC hails India’s moon mission as a new frontier of cooperation
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : The United States India Business Council (USIBC) has hailed the launch of India's maiden moon with two US instruments on board as the beginning of long "relationship promoting the opening of the frontier of outer space."
Japan’s Matsushita unveils world’s largest plasma TV
By Xinhua
Tokyo : Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. officially unveiled its newly developed 150-inch plasma display television, the world's largest, at the start of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Tuesday.
The new television, whose high-definition screen is 1.87 meters high and 3.31 meters wide, is to be launched into markets by 2009 if results of market research permit, company officials said, adding that the potential customers would be commercial facilities.
Lunar polar craters likely to be live with electricity
By IANS,
Washington : Polar lunar craters may be live with hundreds of volts of electrical energy, potentially triggered by solar winds blowing over natural obstructions.
Polar lunar craters are of interest because of resources, including water ice, which exist there.
The moon's orientation to the sun keeps the bottoms of polar craters in permanent shadow, allowing temperatures there to plunge below minus 400 degrees Fahrenheit, cold enough to store volatile material like water for billions of years.
Scientists demystify behaviour of glass
By IANS,
Sydney : Two scientists are one step closer to explaining the nature of glass and its transition from liquid to solid, says a study.
Peter Harrowell and Asaph Widmer-Cooper, theoretical chemists from the School of Chemistry along with colleagues from Columbia University, have been studying the transition of a fluid into a rigid glass in an attempt to understand stress relaxation in a disordered state.
Microsoft to acquire multitouch display maker
By IANS,
San Francisco: Microsoft has announced that it has agreed to buy large-scale multitouch display maker Perceptive Pixel.
‘ICT the DNA of modern warfare’
By IANS,
New Delhi : Information and communications technology has become the DNA of modern day warfare, making the development of appropriate technology to ensure information dominance over the adversary a very pertinent issue for India's armed forces, Minister of State for Defence M.M. Pallam Raju said here Tuesday.
Launch of Discovery shuttle put off to Feb 27
By DPA,
Washington : NASA is eyeing Feb 27 as the earliest possible date for launch of the next shuttle mission Discovery, a postponement blamed on worries over the possibility that pieces of a faulty fuel valve could strike the shuttle on takeoff.
In a statement over the weekend, NASA said it would give an update on plans next Friday.
Discovery was originally aiming for a Feb 12 launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida, a date that had been put back to Feb 19.
Japanese astronaut to test underwear in outer space
By Xinhua
Beijing : A Japanese astronaut will don special boxer shorts and gym wear during his upcoming mission to see if the newly developed high-tech clothing can increase comfort levels on the International Space Station, Japan's space agency said Friday.
The seamless, stretchable boxer shorts, gym wear and socks are made of lightweight fabric woven from anti-bacterial and antistatic fibers to give "high levels of deodorant, antiseptic and antistatic effect" in space, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said.
UAE firm develops robot that can talk
By IANS,
Abu Dhabi : A United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based company has unveiled a new generation humanoid robot that can converse with humans.
Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan attended a function organised by the Abu Dhabi-based Pal Technology Wednesday night to launch the next generation humanoid robot Reem B, the state-run Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.
Reem B is the evolution of the first humanoid robot Reem A, created by Pal Technology Robotics.
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo takes maiden flight
By DPA,
Los Angeles : Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo rocket plane took its maiden flight Monday passing a crucial milestone as it aims to become the first private sector vehicle to take paying customers into space.
The craft, dubbed VSS Enterprise, took to the air strapped to the wings of its WhiteKnightTwo carrier plane just three months after it was unveiled to the public at the Mojave Desert in California.
Japanese moon orbiter videos 1st “Full Earth-rise”
By Xinhua,
Beijing : A high-definition video camera on Japan's lunar orbiter captured a rare view of the full Earth as it rose above the moon's horizon on April 5, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) officials said in a recent statement after releasing a short video of the event.
"This is the first time that a high-[definition] image of the 'Full Earth-rise' has been captured from space," JAXA officials said.
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.
Master your Windows 7 desktop
By Jay Dougherty, DPA,
Washington : Who's in control of your Windows 7 desktop - you or the operating system?
With applications and icons scattered all over the place, constant pop-up notifications, and programmes hidden deep within the Start menu, you might feel like Microsoft has done its best to hinder your productivity rather than enhance it.
But with a little know-how and a few free tools, you can take charge of your desktop like never before.
Astronomy, faith meet in Har-ki-Pauri on solar eclipse
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
Haridwar : Tradition and astronomy fused on the banks of the Ganges during the annular solar eclipse Friday as temples shut their doors and covered the idols in muslin shrouds and bathers completed their morning pre-eclipse rituals by the time the sun went into the shadow of the new moon.
The temples reopened at 4 p.m. after the eclipse ended, and hundreds of thousands of bathers flocked to the river considered holy by Hindus.
US, Russian astronauts arrive at space station
By DPA,
Washington : A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying two US astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut arrived Thursday at the orbiting International Space Station (ISS).
The Soyuz lifted off Tuesday from the Baikonur launch site in Kazakhstan with Americans Doug Wheelock, Shannon Walker and Russian Fyodor Yurchikhin aboard.
The 2221 GMT docking occurred over Argentina. It was the combined 100th flight to the ISS by US space shuttles and Russian Soyuz capsules.
Rocket scientist heads ISRO liquid propulsion systems centre
By IANS,
Bangalore : Noted rocket scientist S. Ramakrishnan is the new director of the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) liquid propulsion systems centre at Thiruvananthapuram.
The space agency Wednesday said Ramakrishnan, as director of projects at its Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre at Thiruvananthapuram earlier, had played a key role in the development of polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) and its liquid propulsion stages.
Cast away eclipse superstitions, but view safely
By IANS,
New Delhi : As the world looks forwards to the century's longest total solar eclipse Wednesday, there are superstitions galore in India. But science experts have urged people to do away with "false beliefs" and watch the celestial spectacle -- as long as they do so the right way.
"There are several false beliefs prevalent in our society regarding solar eclipse. Some people even lock themselves up in their homes to avoid 'the bad rays' from the eclipse," said Nehru Planetarium director N. Rathnashree.
Trees, fungi set unique example in cooperation
By IANS
London : Over millennia, trees and fungi have developed a delicate interdependence that allows both to flourish in adverse conditions, according to a new study.
The study, by researchers at Ghent University, Belgium, also suggests that understanding this interdependence could help us monitor climate change, a university press release said.
Trees grow better and faster when certain specialised micro-organisms interact with their roots. One of them is Laccaria bicolour, a soil fungus that draws on the sugars in the roots.
Cranes Software acquires US-based firm
By IANS
Pune : Bangalore-based Cranes Software International Ltd (CSIL) has acquired US-based Engineering Technology Associates (ETA), a company specialising in computer-aided engineering products for the automotive industry.
Announcing the acquisition through a press release, Asif Khader, managing director, CSIL, said: "The acquisition gives Cranes access to lucrative Asian markets and thereby expands our operations of the Chinese design centre by forming alliances with leading Asian car manufacturers for end-to-end design and development specifications."
Indian satellite data can be helpful for UAE, Gulf: Kasturirangan
By Aroonim Bhuyan, IANS,
Dubai : Data received from Indian satellites can prove to be very useful to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in its infrastructure development work, according to K. Kasturirangan, former chairman of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) K. Kasturirangan.
"The data received from our constellation of satellites have a lot of relevance for the UAE and also for this region as a whole," Kasturirangan, who was here to attend a conference on e-governance in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah (RAK), told IANS in an interview here.
Moon has deep core – similar to earth
By IANS,
Washington : The moon possesses an iron-rich core with a solid inner ball nearly 150 miles in radius, which is similar to that of the earth, according to a new study.
Chandrayaan spacecraft moved further up in space
Chennai, Oct 26 (IANS) India's maiden moon probe spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 has reached nearly half the distance to the lunar orbit, crossing the 150,000-km mark from the earth Sunday morning.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) completed third orbit-raising manoeuvre initiated at 7.08 a.m. Sunday firing the liquid apogee motor for about nine and a half minutes.
With this, Chandrayaan spacecraft has entered a much higher elliptical orbit around the earth.
‘Caterpillar fungus’ could be India’s answer to Viagra
By Asit Srivastava, IANS,
Lucknow : Foreign drugs like Viagra and Cialis used for treating erectile dysfunction may soon get their Indian counterparts from a `caterpillar fungus' found in the high altitudes of Uttarakhand.
The caterpillar fungus locally called as `Keera ghas' or 'Yarchagumba' is said to have aphrodisiac properties, which will be used to manufacture drugs in a project undertaken by the Uttarakhand government, say the officials of the Herbal Research and Development Institute (HRDI) in Gopeshwar district.
New solar cell technology best suited for India: Inventor
By Rahul Dass, IANS,
Helsinki : India will stand to significantly gain from a new technology on solar power as it is cheap, green and efficient, says Michael Gratzel, winner of this year's Millennium Technology Prize that is often called the Nobel for innovation.
"I am particularly interested in India. Solar energy is a cheap, abundant resource that is importantly also non-toxic," said the Swiss professor who has developed a solar cell that mimics nature, just as plants produce their own food with photosynthesis.
Space network, a ‘hotline’ from Bangalore to moon
By Fakir Balaji, IANS,
Bangalore : When India's first lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 lifts off from Sriharikota Wednesday, the telemetry, tracking and command network (Istrac) of the space agency in Bangalore will guide the mission on its 18-day voyage to the moon's polar orbit.
Soon after reaching the lunar orbit, the Deep Space Network (DSN) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at Byalalu, about 40 km from this tech hub, will take charge of the spacecraft and become a 'hotline' between its payloads and space scientists over the next two years.
Microsoft warns of Excel security flaw
By Xinhua
Beijing : Microsoft Corp. has issued a security advisory warning of a vulnerability that lies within older versions of the Excel spreadsheet program, media reports said Thursday.
The affected versions include Microsoft Office Excel 2003 Service Pack 2, Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003, Microsoft Office Excel 2002, Microsoft Office Excel 2000, and Microsoft Excel 2004 for Mac.
Microsoft said Tuesday that it is investigating reports of such attacks, but has not yet determined whether it will patch the hole, or when.
Watch Moon, Venus and Jupiter at their closest
By IANS,
New Delhi : As the sun went down Monday evening, the three brightest objects in the sky - Jupiter, Venus and Moon - came closest, a phenomenon that will not be visible again till 2012.
The two brightest planets in the solar system and the moon were seen just two degrees apart Monday evening and will be visible all through the night.
Several people thronged the Old Fort in the capital as Nehru Planetarium has put up telescopes so that the public can see the celestial activity.
Greater emission cuts needed to prevent irreversible damage
By IANS,
Sydney : Much greater cuts in emissions of greenhiouse gases are required to prevent the global average surface temperature from increasing by more than two to three degrees above pre-industrial levels, a scientist has warned.
Failure to incorporate this information into policy processes now could close off options to avoid dangerous climate change in the future.
Policy makers have been urged to incorporate critical climate-carbon cycle feedback information into the decision making process to prevent irreversible climate changes.
Space telescope launched to spy on black-holes
By DPA,
Washington : After several delays, the US space telescope GLAST Wednesday was heading for a mission expected to shed light on black holes and the gravitational forces causing the universe to expand.
GLAST was launched on a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida at 1600 GMT.
GLAST's five-year, $700 million agenda includes up-close spying on the violent explosions and other cosmic catastrophes that astronomers have been observing through the Hubble space telescope and sophisticated observations from Earth.
NASA Announces End Date for Space Shuttle Missions
By SPA,
Washington : The U.S.’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on Monday set an approximate date for the final space shuttle mission for May 31, 2010.
The date set comes four months before the shuttle fleet retires. NASA has 10 missions remaining for the shuttle fleet, which U.S. President George W. Bush ordered to retire by September 30, 2010.
The remaining schedule includes five flights in 2008, five in 2009 and three in 2010.
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...
‘Sarah Palin’ most searched-for political term on Internet
By DPA,
San Francisco : Sarah Palin has taken the political world by storm since she was named the running mate of Republican presidential candidate John McCain last month. Now comes evidence that she's also sparking record interest in the online world.
According to online tracking firm Hitwise, "Sarah Palin" was the most searched-for political term, accounting for two percent of all political searches in the four weeks ending Sep 6, the Saturday after the Republican National Convention. At that time, the previously-unknown Palin had been in the national headlines for only eight days.
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.
US Malayalees launch alliance to make Kerala an IT hub
By IANS
New York : The Kerala Information Technology Alliance (KITA) has been launched here to make Kerala a premier global technology hub.
Ommen Chandy, a former chief minister of Kerala, inaugurated KITA at the Kerala Centre in the presence of over 150 IT professionals and community leaders.
Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan said in a message: "I hope KITA will provide a platform for IT professionals of Kerala origin to share best practices, ideas and thereby influence and accelerate the growth of Kerala in key industries."
Electronic passports to be launched Wednesday
By IANS,
New Delhi : External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee will present electronic passports to President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Vice-President Hamid Ansari Wednesday, marking the introduction of the new scheme in India.
The e-passport, also called biometric passports, will carry the biological features and facial imprints of a holder and will be at par with international civil aviation standards.
Microsoft launches anti-piracy campaign in 49 countries
By IANS,
New Delhi : In its bid to clamp down on rampant software piracy, Microsoft Tuesday announced a global initiative under the banner of 'Global Anti-Piracy Awareness Day' that will include educating consumers as well as enforcing legal action.
Even though the initiative was rolled out in 49 countries, Microsoft's director of intellectual property in Australia told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper that the Redmond-based software giant would not be able to solve the problem fully ever.
Yahsat signs letter of intent with Arianspace to launch satellite in 2010
By NNN-WAM
Abu Dhabi : Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PrJsc (Yahsat), a wholly owned subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company, has signed a letter of intent with Arianespace, the world's leading launch service and solutions company, to launch the Yahsat 1A communications satellite.
The satellite is currently being manufactured by the consortium of EADS Astrium and Thales Alenia Space. The expected launch date is the second half of 2010.
Antony inaugurates high-end molecular imaging research centre
By IANS
New Delhi : Defence Minister A.K. Antony Saturday inaugurated a Molecular Imaging Research Centre here to undertake high-end research in the development of advanced life support technology.
The state-of-the-art centre was inaugurated at the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (Inmas) in the capital.
Facebook raises row over revealing user’s location
By IANS,
London : Controversy shrouds Facebook over revealing user's location in a new feature that it has launched.
Called Facebook Places, the application uses satellite tracking technology to permit people to ‘check in’ their current location and share it with friends.
But critics voiced concern that the facility exposes users to the risk of burglary, stalking and harassment, reports the Daily Mail.
They also asserted that many users did not fully understand the site’s privacy options and were clueless about potential dangers.
Russia sends cargo spaceship to ISS
By Xinhua,
Moscow : A Russian spaceship, carrying tonnes of food, water and fuel was on its way to the International Space Station (ISS) Wednesday, Itar-Tass news agency reported.
The Progress M-65 spaceship took off from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan at 11.50 p.m. (1950 GMT) Wednesday, the report said.
The unmanned spaceship will deliver two tonnes of food, water, fuel and equipment, to the ISS.
The spaceship is to dock at the ISS Sep 13, the report said.
The ISS's orbit was adjusted Aug 13 to prepare for the docking of the cargo module.
US explorer traces asteroid near Tadpole Nebula
By IANS,
Los Angeles : NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) has sent images of an asteroid marching across Tadpole Nebula.
As WISE scanned the sky on a recent mission, it caught the asteroid passing by in our solar system, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said Thursday.
The asteroid, 1719 Jens, left tracks across the image, seen as a line of yellow-green dots around the Tadpole Nebula, a star-forming region at 12,000 light years from the earth, Xinhua reported.
Wipro sees higher revenue from IT services
Bengaluru: Buoyed by robust growth in first quarter from its global IT services business, software major Wipro Ltd on Thursday projected higher revenue for...
Indian jacks support world’s biggest accelerator at CERN
By K.S. Jayaraman, IANS,
Bangalore : The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's biggest atom smasher commissioned Wednesday in Geneva, has the strong "support" of India - literally.
The 88,000 tonne 27 km underground magnetic ring through which the protons race at lightning speed are propped up by 7,080 jacks supplied by the Indian Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).
India to launch satellite to monitor sea water levels
By IANS,
New Delhi : India will launch a satellite to monitor sea water levels in collaboration with the French space agency, Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan said Wednesday.
The satellite, called Saral, will carry an altimetre (ALTIKA) for studying the sea surface heights and an ARGOS payload, which is a satellite-based data collection platform.
Smartphones become personal computers
By DPA
Munich : Smartphones can now enjoy plus size screens and keyboards thanks to a new gadget from Palm.
PM greets citizens on National Technology Day
New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday greeted the people on National Technology Day and said the use of technology should be...
No funds for Malaysia’s space programme
By IANS,
Kuala Lumpur : Six months after sending its first man into space, Malaysia says it has no funds for the second phase of its ambitious space programme.
It is "zero cash" for the moment till the entire programme is re-evaluated in terms of knowledge and cost-benefit, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Maximus Ongkili told the media Monday.
In the first phase of the programme, Sheikh Muszaphar Sheikh Shukor and two other astronauts blasted into space in a Russian-built Soyuz 11 rocket from Baikonour in Kazakhstan Oct 10, 2007.
Nearly 38,000 ET civilisations trying to contact us!
By IANS,
London : There could be nearly 38,000 intelligent civilisations in our galaxy - and some of them could be trying to contact us even as you read this, British scientists say.
If that sounds too far-fetched, rest assured that there are at least 361 such civilisations out there, say scientists from Scotland.
Be warned though - these Extra Terrestrials are likely to be clever than you.
Egyptians suffered heart attacks 3,500 years ago
By IANS,
Washington : Ancient Egyptian mummies, some as old as 3,500 years, showed hardening of arteries, suggesting that heart attacks and stroke afflicted the ancients too.
"Atherosclerosis, despite differences in ancient and modern lifestyles, was rather common in ancient Egyptians of high socio-economic status living," says Gregory Thomas, clinical professor of cardiology at the University of California-Irvine (UCI).
"The findings suggest that we may have to look beyond modern risk factors to fully understand the disease," said Thomas, principal study co-investigator.
Russian carrier rocket Proton puts military satellite into orbit
By Ria Novosty
Moscow : A Russian Proton-M carrier rocket, launched from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, has put a military satellite into orbit, Russia's space agency (Roskosmos) said on Sunday.
"A Proton-M carrier rocket, which was launched from the Baikonur space center at 03: 16 a.m. Moscow time (00:16 a.m. GMT) today [on Sunday], successfully put a Kosmos satellite into orbit at 12:17 p.m. Moscow time (09:17 a.m. GMT)," Roskosmos said.
Astronauts replace failed electric motor of space station
By Xinhua
Beijing : Two U.S. astronauts replaced a failed electric motor and gave the international space station a much-needed power boost, which added to the power margin at the orbiting outpost and cleared the way for deliveries of two science labs, media reports said Thursday.
Beijing : Two U.S. astronauts replaced a failed electric motor and gave the international space station a much-needed power boost, which added to the power margin at the orbiting outpost and cleared the way for deliveries of two science labs, media reports said Thursday.
Scientists turn ancient cockroach fossil into 3-D model
By IANS,
London : An early cockroach ancestor that lived around 300 million years ago was unveiled in unprecedented detail here in a new 3-D 'virtual fossil' model.
Scientists at Imperial College London (ICL) made a comprehensive 3D model of a fossilised specimen called Archimylacris eggintoni, which is an ancient ancestor of modern cockroaches and termites.
This insect scuttled around on earth during the Carboniferous period 359-299 million years ago, which was a time when life had recently emerged from the oceans to live on land.
Facebook hits one billion mark!
By IANS,
London : Popular social networking site Facebook has broken the record for one billion active users, according to its founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Himachal roadways starts 3D online booking
By IANS
Shimla : The Himachal Roadways Transport Corporation (HRTC) has become the first state roadways in the country to provide three dimensional (3D) secure online booking and cancellation facilities, transport officials said Saturday.
Microsoft outsources internal tech care to Infosys
By DPA,
San Francisco : Microsoft has outsourced its internal tech support to Indian technology services firm Infosys, the companies have announced.
The move was first revealed in an Infosys press release Tuesday announcing a three-year deal to "manage internal IT services for Microsoft worldwide" and later confirmed by the US software giant.
Scientists using videogame as psychological tool
By IANS
New York : Nintendo Wiimote is highly popular as a video-game, but by hooking it to a lab, computer researchers in the US have been able to extract clues about how a person performed a learning task.
Although it has in the past been adapted as a tool of physical therapy for geriatrics, researchers at the University of Memphis have found another use for the game - psychological experimentation.
Data from the Wiimote permitted researchers, led by Dale Rick, to demonstrate that body movements change systematically along with change in mental processing.
Researchers replicate ‘all seeing eye’ of insects
By IANS,
Sydney : Inspired by the 'all seeing eyes' of insects, scientists have built an artificial one with an unobstructed all-round view.
It has potential uses for guiding robot vehicles and aircraft, providing low-cost panoramic security surveillance and novel lighting systems.
The 'eye', designed by a team from The Vision Centre (TVC), is a tool to emulate exactly what insects see as they zip around the landscape, as part of a larger project to understand how they navigate, find food, escape predators and especially, how insects like bees find their way home.
Breakthrough makes cheaper images for 3D video games possible
By IANS,
Washington : Most of the images that serve as computer screen or 3D video games background are often hand painted and expensive.
But a breakthrough by a University of California graduate offers game developers the possibility of high quality yet lightweight images, free of stretch marks, flickering and other problems.
Youngsters use Facebook, MySpaceTeens to create flattering self-images
By IANS,
Washington : Youngsters are using popular networking websites like Facebook and MySpace to create flattering self-images, one that they would like to be but are not.
"People can use these sites to explore who they are by posting particular images, pictures or text," said University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) psychology graduate Adriana Manago, researcher with the Children's Digital Media Center, Los Angeles (CDMCLA), and co-author of the study.
Indian IT industry on alert to prevent swine flu fallout
By Pupul Dutta and Fakir Balaji, IANS,
New Delhi/Bangalore: The $60-billion Indian IT industry is on an alert mode on account of the pandemic swine flu that has affected travel and led to postponement of events, according to a top industry official.
"Though we are taking preventive measures, we have postponed a few events, including one in Pune," said Som Mittal, president of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), the industry's representative body.
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.
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.
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.
Memory chip of future promises massive storage capacity
By IANS,
New York : A hardy, heat-resistant, graphite-based memory device holds the potential of making massive amounts of storage available for computers, handheld media players, cell phones and cameras.
Rice University researchers, who are currently developing the device, said the solid-state device takes advantage of the conducting properties of graphene and would have many advantages over today's state-of-the-art flash memory and other new technologies.
Lenovo launches online auction of Olympic theme PCs
By IANS,
Kolkata : Lenovo, Chinese manufacturer of PCs and partner of the Beijing Olympic torch relay, Saturday launched its second phase of three online auctions in India as part of the countdown to the games.
The auction features notebook PCs inspired by the Olympic torch and is signed by Saif Ali Khan.
Saif was one of the torchbearers who ran in the New Delhi leg of the relay April 17.
Conclave on nano-technology in Tamil Nadu
By IANS
Chennai : India's nano-technology destination was outlined Wednesday at an annual conclave here with experts announcing that Japan will become a major technology transfer partner.
Three centres of excellence for nano-technology have been identified in the country. Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharshtra and West Bengal are emerging as hubs for nano-technology incubation, they said.
France to introduce `Google tax’ Jan 1
By DPA,
Paris : France will introduce its so-called "Google tax" on online advertisements Jan 1, parliament decided Tuesday.
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.
Ramco Systems launches new resource planning software
By IANS
Mumbai : Tamil Nadu-based software solution provider Ramco Systems Ltd (RSL) Monday launched a full-fledged enterprise resource planning (ERP) software service.
Named as Ramco OnDemand ERP, the new service was web-enabled ERP that would oversee IT infrastructure, maintenance and support needs, said a statement issued by the company.
Elaborating on the modalities of the ERP systems, it pointed out that firms could benefit from shortened implementation time, which would be reduced to a week from months.
Hands-free technology for twiteratti while driving
By IANS,
London : British motorists would soon be able to use online blogging network Twitter while driving with new hands-free technology from car company Ford.
The system, called AppLink, allows applications on iPhones and BlackBerries to be voice-controlled, reports dailymail.co.uk.
It reads 'tweet' updates out loud while the car is on the move - but does not allow the driver to respond.
Soyuz rocket with crew aboard undocks from ISS
By RIA Novosti
Mission Control (Moscow Region) : A Soyuz spacecraft with two Russian cosmonauts and Malaysia's first space traveller aboard undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) Sunday.
The spacecraft is to bring back to Earth the Russian cosmonauts, Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov, after six months of their stay at the world's sole orbiter as members of the ISS 15th expedition, along with Malaysian Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor who arrived at the station on Oct 12.
Scientists track movement of atoms in real time
By IANS,
Washington : A new technique tracks movement of freely moving single neutral atoms in real time, that is more than 99.7 percent accurate and sensitive enough to discern the arrival of a single atom in less than a millionth of a second.
The system, developed by researchers at the Joint Quantum Institute (JQI) in College Park and the Universidad de Concepcion in Chile, employs a novel means of altering the polarisation of laser light trapped between two highly-reflective mirrors, according to a JQI release.
India plans to launch reusable rocket by 2010
By NNN-PTI
Banglore : India plans to launch a reusable rocket for the first time by 2010, says its space agency chief.
"Our target (for the first launch) is before 2010," Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), G Madhavan Nair, told PTI.
The space scientists have already designed a "demonstrator" to measure parameters of the vehicle and further work is in progress, Nair, also Secretary in the Department of Space and Chairman of Space Commission, said.
With new iPhone, download photo sharing application too
By Fakir Balaji, IANS,
Bangalore : As excitement heightens for the launch of Apple's iPhone in India Friday, two Indian techies from the US have pitched in to offer a free download of their mobile application on iPhone for photo sharing, with value added features to boot.
The entrepreneurial techies - Apoorva Ruparel and Keshav Murthy - are part of the team that established AirMe Inc at Colorado Springs a year ago to design, develop and offer AirMe on the Apple applications store for iPhone users.
What to look for in a photo printer
By DPA,
Washington : the best digital camera on the block, but that won't matter if your prints are no good. The fact is that to get the most out of digital photography, you need to devote as much time to learning about photo printers as you do about digital cameras.
Part of the challenge lies in knowing which photo printer will best suit your needs. Another part is understanding which features that are commonly touted by printer manufacturers really matter.
Sixty years of world’s first modern computer
By IANS,
London : Do you know that Saturday is the 60th birthday of the world's first modern computer? Manchester Baby, a computer that could store a programme, was built in Britain's University of Manchester June 21, 1948.
It was the first machine - invented by Frederick Williams and Tom Kilburn - that had all the components now regarded as the characteristics of a basic computer. Most importantly, it was the first computer that could store not only data but also a short user programme in electronic memory and process it at electronic speed.
After TCS, Oracle to set foot in Kerala
By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram: It is now official -- software and hardware systems company Oracle would be the next IT major to set up shop in Kerala, a top IT official said here Friday.
Partial eclipse seen through clouds in Himachal
By IANS,
Shimla : A partial solar eclipse was witnessed amidst partly cloudy skies across Himachal Pradesh Wednesday, officials here said.
"The partial solar eclipse began at 6.24 a.m. and was seen through partly cloudy skies for the maximum three minutes in the many parts of the hill state," R.K. Sood, joint member secretary of the Himachal State Council for Science Technology and Environment, told IANS.
Sood said that a large number of people, especially schoolchildren, witnessed the eclipse through the clouds on the historic Ridge in Shimla.
NASA turns on humanoid robot in space station
By IANS,
London : NASA Tuesday turned on a humanoid robot in the International Space Station for the first time since it was delivered in February, a media report said.
Soviet test site offers insights on nuclear monitoring
By IANS,
Washington : Newly released data from Semipalatinsk, the primary nuclear weapons testing site of the former Soviet Union during the Cold War, can help today's atomic sleuths fine-tune their monitoring of nuclear detonations, according to a study
The data is especially important in light of the fact that only three nuclear tests - back-to-back tests in India and Pakistan in 1998 and a 2006 test in North Korea - have been conducted since the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty of 1996, said Paul Richards of Columbia University
British varsity to train Indian multimedia students
By IANS
Bangalore : University of Teesside, a leading British university at Middlesborough in northeast England, will train students of Takshaa Academy for the Artist in multimedia, animation and gaming under an agreement signed here Monday by the two partners.
In a statement, Teeside deputy vice-chancellor Cliff Allan said the partnership was aimed at producing graduates with proficiency in the fast-emerging areas of multimedia and gaming to meet the growing demand for skilled artists in the animation industry.
Discovery undocks from expanded space station
By DPA,
Washington : The space shuttle Discovery has undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) to head back to Earth after a week on a milestone construction mission that has doubled the capacity of the orbiting laboratory.
The mission astronauts installed a fourth set of solar panels, completing the power plant needed to double the station's electrical generating capacity. The power allows the station to sustain six long-term residents instead of the current crew of three, and more occupants could arrive as early as May.
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.
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.
Mercedes set for hydrogen drive in 2010
By DPA
Stuttgart : Mercedes has given the B-Class a design makeover with more economical engines and a special fuel-cell hydrogen drive version available in 2010, the car maker has announced.
The four-cylinder engines are up to seven percent more economical than the predecessor with exhaust emissions that undercut current European Union (EU) emission standards by as much as 90 percent, Mercedes said.
Oldest evidence of leprosy traced to India
By IANS,
Washington : A child's 4,000-year-old skeleton that surfaced in India's Rajasthan state could be the oldest evidence of leprosy, says a new study.
The analysis was conducted by biological anthropologist Gwen Robbins from Appalachian State University working with an undergraduate, an evolutionary biologist from University of North Carolina at Greensboro and archaeologists from the Pune-based Deccan College in India.
Giant sea scorpion fossil found
By IANS
London : A giant fossilised claw of an ancient sea scorpion has been found in Germany, and scientists believe the scorpion itself was some 2.5 metres long -- much taller than the average man.
The find, from rocks 390 million years old, suggests that spiders, insects, crabs and similar creatures were much larger in the past than previously thought.
What you must do before you abandon your PC
By Jay Dougherty, DPA
Washington : If you've been using a computer for some time and need to abandon it - either because you're leaving a job or moving to another machine - you need to be concerned about security. Simply put, once you're gone, a lot of information can be retrieved about you just by inspecting the digital traces you leave behind.
So before you say goodbye to a PC, follow this list of to-do items to ensure that no one gains information about you that they do not need to know.
‘India’s per capita carbon emissions to rise threefold by 2030’
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's per capita emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) will increase from the present 1-1.2 tonnes to 3-3.5 tonnes of carbon per year by 2030, predicts the country's annual Economic Survey released Thursday.
Quoting climate modelling studies, the survey predicted that per capita emissions would be 2-2.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2020. It will go up to 3.3.5 tonnes by 2030, still lower than 4.5 tonnes per capita that China now emits every year.
Intel unveils most powerful chip designed in India
By IANS,
Bangalore : The world's largest chip maker Intel Corp Tuesday unveiled its most powerful six core microprocessor designed and developed at its India development centre in this information technology (IT) hub.
The 45-nanometre chip boasts of a whopping 1.9 billion transistors, six processing cores and 16MB of shared cache memory in the Xeon family.
Tiny robot to simulate lunar mission in Hawaii
By IANS,
Washington : A robot designed for lunar prospecting will be tested on the cool, rocky slopes of Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano that is also Hawaii's highest mountain.
During the field experiment, scheduled in the first half of November, the four wheeled robot called Scarab will simulate a lunar mission to extract water, hydrogen, oxygen and other compounds that could potentially be mined for use by future lunar explorers.
‘Creating diverse workforce greatest challenge for global firms’
By IANS,
Bangalore : Creation of diverse workforce would be the greatest challenge for corporations in a globalised world, Infosys Technologies chairman and chief mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy said here Saturday.
"As corporations grow and globalise, I am convinced that the greatest challenge they will face will be the creation of a diverse workforce," Murthy told shareholders at the company's 27th annual general meeting (AGM) for fiscal 2008.
Phoenix lander dead
New Delhi, Nov 11, IRNA,The Phoenix lander mission designed to discover if life could exit on Mars planet has ended.
"The roving laboratory was no longer sending back information to earth because it could not recharge its solar panels", All India Radio (AIR) reported quoting NASA scientists.
The NASA scientists say they have not heard from the craft since last Sunday. They say they will continue to try to contact the craft but do not expect to hear from it.
Scientists find 635-million-year-old animal fossils
By IANS,
Sydney : Scientists may have discovered the oldest ever fossils of animal bodies, primitive sponge like creatures that lived in ocean reefs about 635 million years ago.
The shelly fossils, found beneath a glacial deposit in south Australia, represent the earliest evidence of animal body forms in the current record, predating other evidence by at least 70 million years.
Google Play store hits 25 bn downloads
By IANS,
San Francisco: Google announced Wednesday that its online store for media and applications Google Play has hit 25 billion downloads.
U.S. space shuttle departs station for return home
By SPA,
Houston : The U.S. space shuttle Discovery backed away from the International Space Station on Wednesday, leaving behind a Japanese research laboratory, a new crew member and high hopes for the outpost's completion by 2010, Reuters reported.
Pilot Ken Ham pulsed Discovery's steering jets to slip away from the station's Harmony docking port at 7:42 a.m. EDT/1142 GMT.
The shuttle arrived on June 2 to deliver Japan's primary contribution to the $100 billion complex, the 37-foot-long (11-metre-long) Kibo laboratory.
"We hope we left them a better, more capable station than
India close to having its own satellite navigation system
By Venkatachari Jagannathan,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : India successfully put its fourth navigation satellite into orbit in copy book style on Saturday, bringing the country...
Fish may have taught us how to make a sound
By IANS,
Washington : Human speech skills and possibly all sound production in vertebrates could be traced back to similar abilities in fish, according to a study by US researchers.
Researchers from Cornell University mapped developing brain cells in newly hatched midshipman fish larvae and compared them to those of other species and found that the neural network behind sound production in vertebrates could be traced back to an era long before the first animals ventured onto dry land.
EU to launch calls for science and technology projects in India
By Pushpranjan, EuAsiaNews,
New Delhi : In order to raise awareness in the field of science and technology (S&T), the European Commission will launch the Framework Programme 7 (FP7) here at the end of July.
The Delegation of the European Commission to India, in cooperation with the Department of Science and Technology of the Government of India, will organise a series of information seminars in New Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Cochin, Mumbai and Pune from 7 to 18 July.
Indian science could gain from open access push
By IANS
Bangalore : Indian academic institutions are finding it "exceedingly expensive" to have a well-stocked library of science journals. New ways to access research is needed, a prominent science journal has said.
Bangalore-published Current Science, India's prominent fortnightly journal of research, has editorially argued for "the idea of open, institutional archives" and called for it to be "vigorously promoted in India".
Critically endangered seabirds unable to find mates
By IANS,
Washington : Alarmed by the probability that one of the world's rarest seabirds might soon be extinct, scientists are creating a protected breeding colony to help them attract females.
The rapidly dwindling species, Magenta Petrel, now has only between eight and 15 breeding pairs. Molecular analysis of the endangered species discovered that 95 percent of non-breeding adults were male, hence unable to attract a mate.
India’s space programmes based on its needs: Outgoing chief
By Venkatachari Jagannathan,
Chennai, Oct 31 (IANS) India does not look at other Asian countries like Japan and China as competitors in the space sector as its programmes are based on its needs, said Madhavan Nair, who retired Saturday as chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
"Our programmes are based on the practical needs of the people like remote sensing, health and education. India is not looking to compete with any other country in the space sector," Nair told IANS from Thiruvananthapuram on phone.
Technology not being used adequately for security, regrets PM Manmohan
By NNN-PTI,
New Delhi : With the country facing increased terror threat, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh regretted that modern technology is not adequately utilised to meet the challenge and pitched for greater focus on scientific developments for securing the nation better.
Pointing out that other countries have used technology for security with great effect, he favoured work in the areas of surveillance systems, cryptography, real time search and identification from distributed large databases and computer simulation exercises to enhance crisis tactics and responses.
China’s lunar probe moves closer to final orbit
By Xinhua
Beijing : China's first lunar probe, Chang'e-1, completed its second braking early Tuesday, which further decelerated the satellite to get it closer to its final orbit.
"The second braking was done just as accurately as the first one and the satellite has entered the orbit just as designed," said Zhu Mincai, head of the Beijing Aerospace Control Centre (BACC).
Filling fuel for cryogenic engine to start
By IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : Scientists were Thursday getting ready to launch an Indian-designed and built cryogenic engine to inject an advanced communication satellite into space. The filling of liquid fuel that will power the third stage of the 50-metre tall, 416-tonne Indian rocket to inject the satellite in geo-synchronous orbit is expected to start around 11.30 a.m.
World’s most powerful supercomputer becomes operational
By IANS,
Washington : The world's fastest and most powerful supercomputer, named Novo-G, has become operational at the University of Florida.
Novo-G gets the first part of its name from the Latin term for "make anew, change, alter" and the second from "G" for "genesis." A "reconfigurable" computer, it can re-arrange its internal circuitry to suit the task at hand.
Glaciers in southern Alps shrinking at alarming rate
By IANS,
Sydney : Glaciers in the southern Alps have lost 2.2 billion tonnes of permanent ice in a year since April 2007, the fourth highest annual loss since monitoring began.
For the past 32 years, the New Zealand based National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) has been surveying 50 glaciers in the southern Alps, using a small fixed wing aircraft, to record the height of the snow line at the end of summer
Two more carriers offer pan-India number portability
New Delhi: Two more service providers will provide pan-India mobile number portability from Friday, enabling customers to retain their mobile phone number while relocating...
Tube Investments to launch electric scooters
By IANS,
Chennai : Tube Investments of India Ltd, part of the Rs.95.82 billion ($2.3 billion) Murugappa group, inaugurated its new electric scooter plant here Thursday.
Tube Investments manufactures cycles, automotive and industrial chains, car door frames and steel tubes.
"The investment at the plant is around Rs.200 million. We will be launching the product sometime this September," TI Cycles senior vice-president Arun Alagappan told IANS.
TI Cycles is the company's cycle manufacturing division.
The initial capacity of the new plant will be 100 scooters a day.
Solar eclipse bodes ill for India, Nepal, China, says soothsayer
By IANS,
Kathmandu : One of Nepal's best-known astrologers, a globe-trotter who has attended astrological meets in Britain, Japan, France and Germany, warned that Wednesday's solar eclipse would cause further unrest in India, Nepal and China.
Bhoj Raj Upadhyay, who was asked to comment on the century's longest solar eclipse by Nepal's private television channels, predicted that in India, the eclipse would foment civil and financial crises as well as religious conflict.
ISS orbit adjustment complete – mission control
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The International Space Station's orbit has been adjusted to prepare for the docking of the Progress M-65 cargo module, due to be launched September 10, Russia's Mission Control Center said Wednesday.
Corrections to the space station's orbit are conducted periodically before launches of Russian cargo modules and U.S. shuttles to compensate for Earth's gravity and to ensure successful dockings.
NASA regains contact with Mars spacecraft
By SPA,
Los Angeles : NASA's Phoenix Mars spacecraft regained contact with Earth more than a day after falling silent, but its days operating on the red planet are still numbered, mission managers said, according to AP.
Waning sunlight and a dust storm this week drained the lander's power, forcing it to go into safe mode. It failed to respond to two wake-up calls from Earth but sent a
signal late Thursday when the orbiting Odyssey spacecraft passed overhead.
Chinese scientists uncloak invisible object
By IANS,
Washington : Chinese scientists have shown how certain materials beneath an invisibility cloak could allow them to be seen again.
"Cloaking is an important problem since invisibility can help survival in hostile environment," said Huanyang Chen of Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China.
He and his colleagues have proposed a theoretical "anti-cloak" that would partially cancel the effect of the invisibility cloak, which is another important problem as it turns out.
Gene that aids drought-resistant plants identified
By IANS
London : A gene involved in regulating carbon dioxide for photosynthesis and water evaporation could help grow drought-resistant crops, a new study has found.
The discovery will enable understanding of mechanisms that regulate the stomata, central to the development of hardier crops that will thrive in arid zones.
Stomata are tiny pores on the plant leaf surface that absorb carbon dioxide for photosynthesis and release moisture into the air.
India, China scientific ties growing – but slowly
By IANS,
Bangalore : Indian and Chinese scientists are increasingly working together, but it might take a few years before it becomes significant or sets the pace for South-South scientific collaboration, a study says.
"Till 2003, only a small percentage - around three-fourth of one percent - of Indian papers were written in collaboration with Chinese authors," says the study, published by Chennai-based Subbiah Arunachalam and IIT-Madras' R. Viswanathan.
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.”
S Korea decides to change its first-ever astronaut candidate
By Xinhua
Seoul : South Korea's Science Ministry announced Monday that it has decided to change the country's first-ever astronaut candidate under Russia's request.
Following the decision, South Korean female Yi So-yeon, 29, will be sent into the space on the Soyuz spacecraft on April 8 and stay on the space station orbiting the Earth for seven to eight days instead of her colleague Ko San. Yi will become South Korea's first astronaut and first woman going into space.
Scientists hope for a clear sky on solar eclipse
By IANS,
New Delhi : Sky gazers are looking forward to watching the partial solar eclipse Friday even as scientists fear the weather may play spoilsport.
"The southern parts of the country will see between 20-40 percent of the diameter of the sun eclipsed, while the northern parts of the country will see between 40-70 percent of the diameter of the sun eclipsed," N. Rathnashree, Nehru Planetarium director, told IANS Thursday.
In Delhi, the eclipse begins at 4.03 p.m. and ends at 5.56 p.m. The eclipse peaks at 5:02 p.m. when the sun is eclipsed by about 62.4 percent in diameter.
Aim to create positive influence for women within the boundaries of Shari’ah: The Muslimah...
The Muslimah Network is a website dedicated to stories and commentary on Muslim women from an Islamic perspective. Started by the UAE-based writer/graphic designer...
Saudi varsity, IBM to build one of world’s fastest supercomputers
By IANS,
Dubai : Saudi Arabia's upcoming King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) has announced it will build one of the world's fastest and most powerful supercomputers in collaboration with IBM.
The joint project will build and conduct research on the most complex, high-performance computing (HPC) system in the region and among academic institutions in the world, according to a KAUST statement.
Indian American helps develop software to tag suspicious people
By IANS,
Washington : An Indian American is helping develop a surveillance software that will tell whether a person on the street is acting suspiciously or appears to be lost.
Intelligent video cameras, large video screens and geo-referencing software are among the technologies that will soon be available to law enforcement and security agencies.
Gravitational waves emanate as ‘sounds of universe’
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists are still looking for gravitational waves -- small ripples in the fabric of space-time which are considered to be the sounds of the universe.
Textile students devise anti-radiation shield for astronauts
By IANS,
Washington : Textile engineering students have thought up of an answer to one of the prime threats bedevilling NASA space missions: radiation.
The students of North Carolina State University (NCSU) have designed a 'blanket' that could shield lunar outposts and astronauts' living quarters from radiation, while generating and storing power.
The 'lunar texshield' is made from a lightweight polymer material that has a layer of radiation shielding that deflects or absorbs the radiation so astronauts are only exposed to a safe amount.
Scientists discover wave pattern in Saturn’s atmosphere
By Xinhua,
Washington : Scientists have discovered a wavepattern, or oscillation, in Saturn's atmosphere only visible from Earth every 15 years, according to two studies published Thursday in journal Nature.
The discovery is the result of a 22-year campaign observing Saturn from Earth, and the Cassini spacecraft's observations of temperature changes in the giant planet's atmosphere over time.
Eurofighter Typhoon targets 300 additional orders in next 20 years
By IANS,
New Delhi: The four-nation Eurofighter consortium foresees substantial growth opportunities on the world market, with India playing a crucial role, it said Friday.
"We evaluate the global demand for combat aircraft in the next 20 years at around 800 units. For Eurofighter Typhoon, we target 300 additional export contracts, with Asia representing a substantial part of these orders," Enzo Casolini, CEO of Eurofighter GmbH, said.
Big and thin: PC monitors better than ever
By DPA
Berlin : Chunky, heavy tube monitors appear to have reached the end of their long run as the king of the computer workspace. A hefty competition is under way among flat monitors. The goal: bigger, broader and more handsome.
"Seventeen-inch monitors are already becoming extinct, and 19 inch has become the standard," says Dirk Lorenz from the German consumer-testing organisation Stiftung Warentest in Berlin.
As monitors get bigger, more of them come in wide screen format. That means a 16:10 size ratio instead of the old fashioned 4:3 ratio.