Chilean quake was so strong, it shortened days: NASA
By DPA,
Washington : The massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Chile on Saturday was so strong that it may have shortened the length of a day, NASA scientists said.
Using a computer model, Richard Gross, a scientist at the space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, found the earthquake likely shifted the Earth's figure axis by about 8 centimetres.
The shift of the axis on which the planet's mass is balanced slightly changes the length of time it takes the Earth to make a complete rotation, meaning each day is now about 1.26 microseconds shorter.
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.
TCS white paper calls for effective e-governance
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's software major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Monday called upon the central government to institutionalise e-governance and launch a portal that would act as a single window for the public to interact with various government agencies.
"This will make governments more efficient and help people get access to government departments through one window without being physically present there," TCS CEO and managing director S. Ramadorai told reporters after releasing here a white paper on 'Roadmap for e-governance in India'.
ISRO designed avionics to guide rockets in 2008
By IANS
Chennai : Rocket navigation systems developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) are all set to guide the geo-synchronous launch vehicle (GSLV) slated for launch next year.
ISRO tested its new avionics on board the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) that was launched in April. The vehicle had a second equipment bay - apart from the primary one - housing the navigation and telemetry systems.
India plans to launch 10 satellites every year
By Fakir Balaji, IANS,
Bangalore : Indian space scientists and engineers are bracing up to launch an average of 10 satellites per year to meet the rising demand for various space applications, including communications and remote sensing, a top space scientist said.
"We are planning to launch 10 satellites per year, beginning fiscal 2010-11. We have a series of satellites and launch vehicles at various stages of preparation," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K. Radhakrishnan told IANS.
Sun goggles sell like hot cakes in Taregna
By IANS,
Taregna (Bihar) : In the last three days specially designed sun goggles sold like hot cakes in Taregna village near the state capital, where the solar eclipse Wednesday will be best viewed.
"Thousands of the specially designed sun goggles were sold in Taregna area ahead of the total solar eclipse," an official of the Indian Red Cross Society at Masaurih said Tuesday.
Russian Soyuz spacecraft docks with ISS
By Xinhua
Moscow : The Soyuz TMA-12 spaceship docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday, according to Mission Control located outside Moscow.
The spaceship docked with the ISS at 16:55 Moscow time (1255 GMT), Mission Control spokesman Valery Lyndin said.
The spaceship brought to the station the crew of the 17th main expedition, Russian cosmonauts Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko, who will work in orbit for over six months.
China to Build Solar Power Plants in 2009
By Prensa Latina,
Beijing : Two large solar power plants will be built in the Chinese provinces of Qinghai and Yunnan this year, as part of a nationwide project to boost renewable energy.
Qinghai's solar station will cost 146 million dollars and will be jointly built by China Technology Development Group and Qinghai New Energy Group.
In the beginning, the plant will generate 30 megawatts, but after completion, it will produce one gigawatt and will be the world's largest solar power plant, investors said.
Meteor to strike Earth likely disintegrates in sky
By Xinhua
Beijing : U.S. scientists said a meteor expected to strike the Earth likely disintegrated in the sky, media reported Friday.
Some witnesses account a meteor that streaked across the Pacific Northwest skies hit the ground southwest of Ritzville in central Washington, sending local officials on a fruitless hunt for the crater.
NASA spacecraft photographs avalanches on Mars
By Xinhua
Washington : A NASA spacecraft in orbit around Mars has taken the first ever image of active avalanches near Mars' north pole, the space agency of the United States announced on Monday.
The image posted on NASA's official website shows tan clouds billowing away from the foot of a towering slope, where ice and dust have just cascaded down.
Washington : A NASA spacecraft in orbit around Mars has taken the first ever image of active avalanches near Mars' north pole, the space agency of the United States announced on Monday.
The image posted on NASA's official website shows tan clouds billowing away from the foot of a towering slope, where ice and dust have just cascaded down.
India to double allocation for science: PM
By IANS,
Bangalore : India proposes to double the fund allocation for science and technology, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here Wednesday and asked academicians to prepare a blueprint to make basic sciences and mathematics the preferred subjects for children.
He was speaking after dedicating to the nation the International Centre for Materials Science (ICMS), established at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) at Jakkur on the outskirts of Bangalore. He also inaugurated the C.N.R. Rao Hall of Science at JNCASR.
Chandrayaan nudged closer to moon
By IANS,
Bangalore : India's first unmanned lunar mission Chandrayaan-I was nudged closer to the moon late Monday in a second orbit-reduction manoeuvre, a top Indian space official said.
The manoeuvre lasted 866 seconds.
"The spacecraft is at 187 km from the moon (periselene) and 255 km away (aposelene), orbiting elliptically once in every 2 hours and 16 minutes over the polar regions of the lunar planet," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) director S. Satish told IANS.
Phoenix Mars lander examines new soil sample
By DPA,
Washington : The Phoenix Mars lander is examining a sample of soil from an "intermediate depth" of the Martian earth to determine if it is different from dirt at the planet's surface and from a lower icy layer, NASA said Friday.
The lander's robotic arm dug up the sample, called Burning Coals, from a trench dubbed Burn Alive 3 and delivered it to one of the craft's many small ovens early Thursday.
Phoenix had earlier confirmed the existence of ice about four centimetres below the surface and is now looking at a layer about one centimetre above the ice.
Ashok Leyland to hive off design engineering unit
By IANS,
Chennai : India's second largest commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland is looking to spin off its design engineering unit Defiance Technologies into a group company, Defiance Tech Ltd, an official has said.
Defiance Technologies offers virtual engineering services, ranging from basic design to high-end predictive analysis for auto makers.
Tricolour something new to look for on the moon
By IANS,
Bangalore : A time tested way to mollify crying children in the night has been to show the moon and tell them to spot the 'deer' or the 'old woman' on it. But from Friday night, many mothers in India may well tell the crying children to spot the saffron-white-green colours of the Indian national flag on the moon.
The Indian moon impact probe (MIP) that landed on the lunar surface Friday night has the three colours of the national flag painted on its four sides.
Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 hits snags
By DPA,
San Francisco : Despite some initial glowing reviews, Microsoft has been flooded with complaints about its new Internet Explorer 8 and has seen early users downgrade to the previous version, Information Week has reported.
The software giant is hoping that its new browser will help stem a steady flight of surfers to rival products, most notably the open-source Firefox browser.
According to the latest figures, Firefox now controls 22 percent of the browser market compared to 67 percent for Internet Explorer, which once enjoyed more than 90 percent of the market.
US probes Apple’s patent infringement
By IANS,
Washington: A US trade panel Tuesday launched a probe after the Motorola company alleged that its patents were infringed by Apple Inc.
China’s IT giants to hedge against Windows XP shutdown
By IANS,
Beijing: Tencent will join hands with other IT giants to "build a hedge" for Chinese users against potential internet attacks on them after...
Virtual crash dummy to make driving much safer
By IANS,
Washington : Automakers have been crashing test dummies to gain insight into how safety systems protect or fail to protect people during car accidents.
But these dummies made out of plastic and steel, not tissue and bone, have their limitations. Now a virtual dummy being developed by two engineering teams with University of Virginia (UVa) Centre for Biomechanics, will make driving much safer.
Avesthagen founder receives top French award
By IANS,
Bangalore : Villoo Morawala Patell, founder-chairperson of India's leading life sciences firm Avesthagen Ltd, was late Wednesday honoured with a top civilian award by the French government for her entrepreneurship and significant contribution in the scientific field.
The Officier de L'Ordre National du Merite" (Officer of the National Order of Merit) award was presented to Patell by French ambassador to India Jerome Bonnafont at a felicitation ceremony here.
Delhi willing to fund entire project to install CCTVs
New Delhi: The city government on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that it was willing to fund the entire project of installation of...
‘Scientists a step closer to Jurassic Park’
By IANS,
London : Scientists are a step closer to resurrecting extinct animals after successfully cloning living mice from the cells of frozen animals, according to findings published Wednesday.
A team of Japanese scientists at the Centre for Developmental Biology, at the RIKEN research institute in Kobe, produced the clones after thawing mice that had been frozen at minus 20C for up to 16 years, British newspapers reported.
New satellite being developed for rural net connectivity: ISRO
By NNN-PTI,
Bangalore, India : India is developing an "unconventional" satellite which would focus on providing internet connectivity to the rural masses and render timely advice on various aspects of agriculture.
It's a fast-track spacecraft for rural connectivity, Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation, G Madhavan Nair told PTI here.
"You know, if you take the country, even today more than 30,000 villages don't have proper connectivity. (With) Conventional type of satellites, we cannot meet that requirement", he said.
Can the cow help solve the global oil crisis?
By IANS
Washington : What does the cow have to do with the global oil crisis? Well, it may help ease it!
An enzyme from a microbe that resides deep in a cow's gut holds the key to converting corn into a cheap biofuel like ethanol, a new study has found.
The enzyme, which allows a cow to digest grasses and other plants, can be used to turn other plant fibres into simple sugars. These simple sugars can be used to produce ethanol to power cars and trucks, said Michigan State University researchers, who conducted the study.
India successfully tests own cryogenic rocket engine
By IANS,
Bangalore : The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully conducted a test of its indigenous cryogenic (supercooled fuel) engine to be used in the next geosynchronous launch vehicle (GSLV-D3) mission, the space agency said here Saturday.
"The flight acceptance hot test of the Cryogenic engine was carried out at the liquid propulsion systems centre at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu Thursday. This engine will be used in the next GSLV launch in April 2009 for carrying the 2.3-tonne geo-stationary experimental satellite (GSAT)," ISRO said in a statement.
China did have clearer skies during Olympics: Satellite imagery
By IANS,
Washington : China did have clearer skies and easier breathing when it shut down factories and banished many cars in a pre-Olympic sprint to clean up Beijing's air.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, researchers have since analysed data from NASA's Aura and Terra satellites that show how key pollutants responded to the Olympic restrictions.
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.
Space, atomic energy department chiefs to retire at 66
By IANS
New Delhi : The union cabinet Thursday gave the go-ahead for a four-year extension in service to the chairman of the Space Commission, the Atomic Energy Commission, and the secretary, Department of Space and Atomic Energy, from the present age of 62 to 66.
The cabinet would make the necessary amendment soon, Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi told reporters.
With ‘Nazi news’, blog played super prank on media
By Frederick Noronha, IANS,
Panaji : A blog run out of Goa anonymously has claimed credit for misleading large sections of the Indian media by planting an untrue story about a "Nazi" being held along the state's border with Karnataka.
By Tuesday evening, the blog, penpricks.blogspot.com, which often pillories the functioning of the media, claimed credit for unveiling "one of the most telling stories on the Goan as well as the Indian media".
Zip, zap…IIT Delhi’s F1 car for Silverstone circuit
By Prashant K. Nanda, IANS
New Delhi : A Formula 1 car designed by students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi will zip zap zoom on the famous Silverstone circuit - which hosts the British Grand Prix - in July.
IIT Delhi's next generation F1 car will race in the Formula Student category at the circuit. The event will take place between July 10 and 13. It will be among 103 institutes from all over the world that will take part.
ISRO touches milestone in foreign payload launches
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : Indian space agency ISRO Monday crossed a new milestone Monday in launching third party satellites by slinging three foreign satellites into orbit, reaching a total of 25 satellite launches.
NASA’s Messenger sends pictures from Mercury flyby
By DPA,
Washington : NASA Tuesday published photographs sent by its Messenger spacecraft of a flyby of Mercury earlier this week, providing researchers a new view of the planet closest the Sun.
Messenger came within just 200 km of Mercury early Monday in the second of three planned flybys for the craft. It is due to settle into orbit around Mercury in 2011, providing what scientists hope will be the most complete picture yet of the solar system's smallest planet.
India successfully launches Israeli satellite Polaris into orbit
By KUNA
New Delhi : India Monday launched an Israeli satellite "Polaris" from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in the Southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
The satellite was put into orbit by indigenously developed Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), a spokesman of the Indian Space Research Organisation told reporters, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
Last year, Italian satellite Agile was also put into the orbit by PSLV, the spokesman said.
Polaris is a radar-imaging, remote-sensing satellite and weighs about 300 kgs.
Human brain can hear words before they are uttered
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists have shown how the brain automatically considers many possible words and their meanings before we've even heard the final sound of the word.
Previous theories have proposed that listeners can only keep pace with the rapid pace of spoken language - up to five syllables per second - by anticipating a small subset of all words known by the listener, much like Google search anticipates words and phrases as you type.
Intel profits boom as PC sales surge worldwide
By DPA,
San Francisco : Intel reported net income of $2.3 billion Thursday for the fourth quarter, a staggering 875-percent rise over the same period a year ago.
The world's dominant maker of computer chips said it had sales of $10.6 billion, up $2.3 billion or 28 percent from the year-ago period. Intel forecast sales of about $9.7 billion for the current quarter, compared with the $9.3-billion average estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of Wall Street analysts.
Chandrayaan-I shows India means business in space: ISRO chief
By NNN-PTI,
Bangalore : The successful landing of the Moon Impact Probe on the lunar surface has not only boosted the confidence of ISRO to undertake inter-planetary travel in future, but also conveyed a firm message to the world that India means business in the field of space, ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair said here Saturday.
After the Moon, India eyeing human space flight
United Nations, Oct 22 (IANS) After the success of its first Chandrayaan moon mission, India is now looking at exploration of outer space using planetary missions including a human space flight programme, a UN panel was told.
"Having achieved self-reliance in end-to-end space programme, the Indian space programme is entering into space exploration phase mainly to explore inner solar system and build such capabilities for exploring outer solar system," a member of the Indian parliament said Wednesday.
Car ads don’t tell whole truth about emissions
By IANS,
Sydney : Ads prompting you to buy a swanky new car might not be telling the whole truth; at least not about the bit on greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, despite global concerns.
These findings are based on an analysis of 514 vehicle ads appearing in two popular magazines like North & South and Metro over a five-year period from 2001 to 2005, by the University of Otago, Wellington.
The results showed that only three percent of the ads provided information on fuel efficiency and only four percent on greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide) and air pollution emissions.
Recession’s long reach – Moon and Mars missions of US
By Prashant K. Nanda, IANS,
New Delhi : The global financial crisis will severely affect the US manned mission to the Moon and then to the red plant Mars, says Jerry Linenger, a renowned astronaut of American space agency NASA, while lauding India's growing role in space.
"It will affect the space programmes. The economic recession will certainly affect the missions to Mars and the Moon," Jerry Linenger told IANS. Linenger was here to attend the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.
India and Russia step up space cooperation
By Neelam Mathews, IANS
Hyderabad : With joint plans for new satellites, manned space flights and missions to the moon, India and Russia are entering a new phase of bilateral cooperation in space.
The chiefs of the space agencies in the two countries met during a global conference here last week to decide on a road map for future missions.
"We discussed programmes with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)," Anatoly Perminov, Head of Russian space agency, Roscosmos, told IANS on the margins of the International Astronautical Congress here.
US executive mission to sell green technologies to India
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : Executives from leading US clean energy and environmental companies will visit India next month to identify commercial opportunities for clean and green US technologies in India.
The role of the upcoming mission and how the private sector can help India develop and deploy low-carbon technologies to combat climate change was discussed at a meeting with Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh.
Indian space centre plans manned space probe by 2015
By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), a unit of the country's premier Indian space research programme, plans to send two humans into space by 2015, an official said here Sunday.
Speaking to IANS, director of the VSSC unit here K. Radhakrishnan said the project is awaiting a final clearance from the central government.
"The pre-project approval of Rs.95 crore ($19 million) has already come and the approval of the main project is being awaited," said Radhakrishnan.
NASA ready to launch satellite to explore sun
By DPA,
Washington : NASA planned to launch a solar probe Wednesday to help unlock more secrets about the sun, whose massive storms affect earth's weather and can pose danger to earth dwellers.
The Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) is the "crown jewel" of a fleet of NASA satellites planned to collect more details about what's going on underneath and above the surface of the sun, said Michael Luther, a NASA official who is overseeing the programme, in a webcast briefing.
China to launch satellite for Pakistan
By IANS,
Beijing : China will launch a communications satellite for Pakistan at an "appropriate time", an official said Wednesday.
‘Cybersquatting’ on the rise: UN agency
By DPA,
Geneva: The number of Internet domain names under dispute saw a rise in 2009, the World Intellectual Property Organisation said Tuesday.
The Geneva-based organisation dealt with claims on 4,688 domains last year, up from 3,985 the year before. The total caseload, however, declined by 9.5 percent, as many incidents involve multiple attempts to "squat".
Cybersquatting is defined as "the abusive registration of trademarks as domain names."
Milkweed plant evolves new defences to outwit caterpillars
By IANS,
Washington : Some plants are discarding elaborate defences against predatory caterpillars and evolving more favourable stratagems to ensure survival, according to a study.
The latest example is the milkweed plant, which, according to genetic analysis, instead of resisting predators, is now putting greater efforts into repairing themselves faster than their foe monarch butterfly caterpillar can eat them.
Internet shapes global Tibet protests
By IANS,
New Delhi : The emergence of social networking sites has come as a boon for cyber-dissidents who use these internet tools not just to create a buzz on the web but also as a platform to organise protests and flash strikes.
On Facebook, there are nearly 15 groups that come up on a word search for 'tibet'. But, the largest by far is that of "Free Tibet", which had a membership count of 88,460. When accessed on Thursday afternoon, it had over 8,700 posts, 1,727 photos, 360 discussions topics and 51 videos.
Russia shortlists 11 for Mars mission simulation
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia's Institute of Medical and Biological Problems has shortlisted 11 volunteers to take part in a 520-day simulation of an expedition to Mars, a spokesman said.
The 11 candidates will complete basic spaceflight training and in spring, six of them will be chosen to take part in the experiment, which will simulate all aspects of a journey to the red planet, with a 250-day outward trip, a 30-day stay on its surface, and a 240-day return flight.
Sea-level to rise by one-metre this century: scientists
By DPA,
Berlin : Global warming calculations have been too optimistic, and the sea level round the globe is likely to rise a full metre this century, two senior German scientists warned Wednesday.
Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, who heads the Potsdam Institute for Research on Global Warming Effects and Jochem Marotzke, a leading meteorologist, said UN-backed data on climate change, predicting a rise of 18 to 59 centimetres, was out of date.
"We now have to expect that the sea level will rise by a metre this century," said Schellnhuber in Berlin.
Unseen for 112 years, dwarf cloud rat captured
By Xinhua,
Beijing : Unseen in the canopies of tall trees in the Philippines for more than 112 years, a greater dwarf cloud rat has been found and captured in the island nation's Mount Pulag National Park.
The fist-sized mammal has dense, soft, reddish-brown fur, a black mask around large dark eyes, small rounded ears, a broad and blunt snout, and a long tail covered with dark hair.
US scientists develop substance to absorb carbon dioxide
By Xinhua
Los Angeles : US researchers have developed a substance that can absorb carbon dioxide from smokestacks and tailpipes.
Researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) developed the gas sucker by synthesising a new class of sponge-like crystals that can soak up carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas in industrial emissions, said the study published in the journal Science Friday.
The computer helper: mastering My Documents
By DPA
Washington : Odd as it may seem, one of the biggest problems many computer users face is knowing where their documents are - and how to move or save them.
Without this fundamental knowledge, it can be tough to locate important documents when you need them - or to feel like you're in control of your own computer.
The good news is that becoming a master of the My Documents folder is not as tough as it seems.
Nitrogen dioxide level exceeds limit in 10 cities
By IANS,
New Delhi : Air pollution is increasing at an alarming rate in the country with the national capital being one of the 10 cities where nitrogen dioxide levels have exceeded prescribed standards, Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh has said.
"Nitrogen dioxide levels are exceeding the prescribed standards in 10 cities, namely Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Asansol, Bengaluru, Jamshedpur, Faridabad, Meerut, Patna and Pune. There is an increasing trend of nitrogen dioxide levels in Asansol and Bengaluru," Ramesh said.
New educational app rewards users with real cash
Seoul : South Korea-based educational startup BeNative has launched CashEnglish, an app that rewards users with real cash for playing educational games.
The app is...
Apple announces new iPhone software
By DPA,
San Francisco : Apple announced a new operating system for its market-leading iPhone Thursday, as it seeks to thwart challenges to its smartphone supremacy from rivals like Google, Microsoft, Nokia and the Blackberry.
The new software was announced just days after Apple made headlines with the launch of its iPad tablet computer, and amid reports that the company was planning a smaller version of the device to help boost sales.
‘Chandrayaan launch historic for India, Andhra’
By IANS,
Hyderabad : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Wednesday congratulated Indian space scientists on the successful launch of the country's first unmanned moon mission Chandrayaan-I.
The chief minister, in his congratulatory message to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief Madhavan Nair, said it was a truly historic moment for the entire country and "more so for Andhra Pradesh since it is from our soil that the Chandrayaan-I lifted off successfully".
Global warming will push up sea level
By IANS,
Amsterdam : Sea levels worldwide are expected to rise by several metres in the coming centuries if global warming continues unabated.
Power station successfully traps CO2 emission
By IANS,
Sydney : In a pilot project that has far-reaching implications, an Australian power station has used a “carbon capturing” plant to trap a bulk of its CO2 emissions.
The “post-combustion-capture (PCC) pilot plant” at the Loy Yang Power Station in Victoria's Latrobe Valley trapped up to 85 percent of its CO2 emissions.
The 10.5 metre-high pilot plant is designed to capture up to 1,000 tonnes of CO2 annually from the power station's exhaust-gas flues. Future trials will involve the use of a range of different CO2-capture liquids.
Empowering Rural Women: India’s Drone Pilots Pioneering Agricultural Innovation
Suhail Bhat, TwoCircles.net
Gurugram (Haryana): On a Monday morning in Manesar, a village in Gurugram district, Haryana, a group of four women attentively follows instructions from...
Chandrayaan camera clicks earth from deep space
By IANS,
Bangalore : The terrain mapping camera onboard India's first unmanned lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 took excellent shots of the earth from deep space in black and white, the space agency said here Friday.
"The camera was operated through a series of commands from the spacecraft control centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s telemetry, tracking and command network (Istrac) here. The images were received by the deep space network (DSN) at Byalalu," the space agency said in a statement. Byalalu is about 40 km from Bangalore.
Terror gene that can make you laugh too
By IANS,
London : When watching the "Exorcist" did you scream in terror at scenes of spinning heads or did you laugh it off? Depends on which version of the anxiety gene you are born with, scientists say.
A new study says there are different versions of the gene linked to feelings of anxiety which explains how different people react differently to horror films.
A particular variant of what is called the 'COMT' gene affects a chemical in the brain that is linked to anxiety, they have found.
Russia to set world record with 39 space launches in 2009
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia is planning to set a world record by conducting a total of 39 space launches in 2009 despite the current global financial crisis, the head of the Russian Space Agency said on Monday.
"We have scheduled a record number of launches for next year. We are planning to carry out 39 launches, half of them commercial and civilian satellites," Anatoly Perminov said.
Russia conducted 27 space launches in 2008 and 26 launches in 2007, becoming the world's leader in this sphere.
Chemicals that fix one ecological problem worsen another
By IANS,
Washington : Chemicals that helped fix a global ecological crisis in the 1990s - the hole in Earth's protective ozone layer, for instance - may be raising another problem such as acid rain, says scientists.
Jeffrey Gaffney, chemist at the University of Arkansas, along with colleagues Carrie J. Christiansen, Shakeel S. Dalal, Alexander M. Mebel and Joseph S. Francisco point out that hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) emerged as chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) replacements because they do not damage the ozone layer.
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.
Solar eclipse blocked by clouds in Tibet
By Xinhua,
Lhasa : Tibet's Cona county was one of the first places in China to view the solar eclipse, which occurred at 8:01 a.m Wednesday, according to an observatory under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
However, the solar view from Cona was blocked by overcast, according to sources from the CAS Purple Mountain Observatory based in Nanjing, eastern Jiangsu province.
The sun sunshine was blocked behind clouds in Lhasa, Tibet's capital.
Plants fight for a place in the sun
By IANS
Washington : Plants can sense the difference between the shade of an inanimate object and that of another plant; it comes in handy while reaching out for sunlight.
They accordingly cease their efforts when a building comes in the way, knowing that it would be in vain. But when it is a question of competing with another of their species, they go into overdrive.
For example, spindly plants requiring sunlight desperately try to break through the overhead canopy formed by larger plants, in what is known as 'shade avoidance syndrome' or SAS.
Data from past provides new insights into climate change
By IANS,
Washington : Ice core and ocean deposit comparisons show complex links between carbon dioxide levels, ocean currents and climate and may help explain past, present and future climate trends.
Researchers presented new data from their analysis of ice core samples and ocean deposits dating as far back as 90,000 years ago and suggest that warming, carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and ocean currents are tightly interrelated.
Do animals think like autistic savants?
By IANS
New York : Animal scientist Temple Grandin's argument that animals and autistic savants share cognitive similarities could spur a better understanding of autism.
Grandin had put forth the idea in her best-selling 2005 book "Animals in Translation", which provides an unprecedented look at the autistic mind, according to an essay in the latest edition of the journal PloS Biology.
Grandin said animals, like autistic humans, sense and respond to stimuli overlooked by 'normal' humans.
Biometrics is no guarantee for secure data
By DPA
Darmstadt (Germany) : Police are not the only ones taking fingerprints these days. Starting on Nov 1, fingerprint data will even be stored in the passports issued by many countries.
As fingerprints are unique, they have also drawn attention from manufacturers of equipment designed to limit access to computers.
After all, pressing your fingertip against a reading device is simpler than learning and inputting a password. But are fingerprint sensors really more secure? The answer is both yes and no.
Iran pledges support for Iraq in fight against terrorism
Tehran: Tehran will continue supporting Baghdad in its fight against terrorism as Iraq's security was intertwined with that of Iran, President Hassan Rouhani has...
ISRO to launch moon mission in October-December
By IANS,
Kolkata : The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) plans to launch its first unmanned moon mission, Chandrayan-I, between October and December, a top official said here Thursday.
"We are hopeful of launching the spacecraft in the third quarter of 2008-09. The mission would be targeted to capture images of the lunar surface," ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair told reporters during an interactive session here.
Humans responsible for third of nitrogen in oceans
By IANS,
London : Human activity is responsible for a lot of the nitrogen finding its way into the sea from the atmosphere and influencing the nitrogen cycle, according to the latest findings by an international team of scientists.
The presence of nitrogen in the sea influences global climate as it increases marine biological activity and carbon dioxide uptake, which in turn produces the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide.
Japan sends out high-speed Internet satellite
By Xinhua
Tokyo : The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launched Saturday afternoon a rocket carrying a high-speed Internet communications satellite, which will cover the general Asia-Pacific region.
The satellite, capable of transmitting data at 1.2 gigabit per second, is designed to conduct experiments on wireless high-capacity and high-speed data communications in areas where ground Internet infrastructure is difficult to be built, the agency said.
Behind India’s rise as IT power lies 25 years of C-DOT
By Sam Pitroda, IANS,
This month marks the 25th anniversary of what is now widely acknowledged to be India's first defining steps towards an information and communications revolution. It was in August 1984 that the Centre for Development of Telematics or C-DOT was set up with the specific intention of indigenising digital switching technology to meet India's unique requirements.
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.
ISRO chief jubilant over successful launch of India’s mission moon
By IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : "My heartiest congratulations to you all for the remarkable job. A remarkable journey to the moon has begun," a jubilant G. Madhavan Nair, chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), said on the successful launch of India's first mission to the moon from here Wednesday morning.
"We have fought against many odds, including the weather in the last few days, to achieve this success.
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.
New Microsoft deal eyes break-up of Yahoo
By DPA,
San Francisco : Microsoft's latest deal proposal to Yahoo envisages the internet portal selling off its valuable properties in Asia and Microsoft buying its search business in the US, media reports said.
The Software giant also proposed buying a minority stake in the whittled down Yahoo that would remain after the sell-off, the Wall Street Journal reported late Monday.
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
Discovery shuttle cleared for landing despite loss of part
By DPA,
Washington : The shuttle Discovery was cleared for landing after NASA concluded Friday that a small part that broke off the spacecraft did not pose any safety concerns, the agency said.
The Discovery crew spotted the small, rectangular object floating away from the shuttle early Friday, NASA officials said.
After analysing the video footage, NASA determined it was a metal clip used to protect the rudder's speed brake during take-off and its loss would not affect landing.
European Business and Technology Centre to be launched in India
By EuAsiaNews,
New Delhi : A European Business and Technology Centre (EBTC) will start to operate in New Delhi from 1 October, following the signature Thursday of the financing contract between Daniele Smadja, Ambassador and Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to India and Arnaldo Abruzzini, Secretary General of Eurochambres.
The creation of the Centre has been endorsed by EU-India leaders last year during their yearly Summit in New Delhi.
Google disregarding privacy, say officials from 10 nations
By IANS,
London : Google has violated the principle that "individuals should be able to control the use of their personal information", say officials from 10 major nations. They have demanded to know how the internet giant will meet concerns about its use of public data in future.
Britain's Information Commissioner Christopher Graham along with officials from Canada, France and Germany have signed a letter addressed to Google's chief exeutive, condemning the manner in which the firm has delivered its Streetview mapping service and its Buzz product, The Telegraph reported Thursday.
UAE to host global space technology meet next month
By IANS,
Abu Dhabi : An international meet on space technology will be held in the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) next month to be attended by space scientists from across the world including those from the US, Europe and the UAE, WAM reported Thursday.
The three-day Global Space Technology Forum, the first of its kind in the Middle East, will be held Nov 16-18 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre and will focus on new space technology and commercial markets, research and development, environment, energy and climate, among other things.
Increase in greenhouse gas emissions despite cuts
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists have recorded higher emissions of a greenhouse gas thousands of times more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, in spite of global efforts to curb its release.
The substance HFC-23 is a by product of HCFC-22, a refrigerant in ACs and refrigerators and a starting material for producing heat and chemical-resistant products, cables and coatings.
French astronaut tends mini garden in space
By Xinhua
Beijing : A French astronaut is tending a miniature garden on the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the first experiment inside the orbiting laboratory's new European research module.
European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Leopold Eyharts is growing tiny seedlings inside the space station's Columbus laboratory, which he helped deliver during last month's STS-122 shuttle flight.
NASA declares Phoenix Mars lander dead
By DPA,
Washington : A robotic lander that confirmed the presence of ice on Mars was confirmed dead by NASA scientists Monday.
The Phoenix Mars lander was damaged by harsh conditions during the Martian winter and repeated attempts to contact it have been unsuccessful, the US space agency said.
The lander had wrapped up its mission in 2008 and had not been expected to survive the harsh winter, which is twice as long as that on Earth. But scientists needed to make last attempts to contact it in good weather before officially writing it off.
TV signals caused Russian rocket to miss ISS: NASA
By DPA,
Moscow/Washington : Television signals caused a Russian cargo rocket to miss its rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS), NASA officials said Saturday.
The engineers indicated they would avoid activating the system during Sunday's second attempt to dock, NASA officials said.
The Progress 38 cargo rocket missed its rendezvous with the ISS by three km late Friday. A new effort to dock is to be made at 1600 GMT Sunday and be broadcast life on NASA television.
Iran n-talks under Khamenei’s guidance: Rouhani
Tehran: Tehran will continue nuclear talks with the six world powers under the guidelines of supreme leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, President Hassan Rouhani...
Scientists discover new plant in Kerala
By IANS
Kozhikode : Scientists have discovered a new plant species, named Miliusa Wayanaddica and belonging to the Annonaceae family, in Kerala's Wayanad district.
The new plant was discovered by M.K. Ratheesh Narayanan of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Kalpetta, Wayanad, and P. Sujanapal of the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI).
It was found in the Meppadi forest range in the Western Ghats at an altitude of 1,400 metres above the sea level.
"The plant is endemic to the area, but has no known local name," Narayanan said.
Microsoft ordered to stop selling Word software by Jan 11
By IANS,
Toronto : Upholding patent-infringement charges by a small Toronto firm agaist Microsoft Tuesday, a US appeals court ordered the software giant to stop selling Word by Jan 11 and pay $290 million in damages.
Microsoft said it will introduce the copies of Word 2007 and Office 2007 without the offending technology by the court-ordered deadline. Tuesday's ruling upholds an earlier injunction against Microsoft that banned the technology giant from selling Word.
Amrita Research develops system for moving vehicles
By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : Amrita Research Labs (ARL) has developed a solution that delivers high-bandwidth information and multimedia entertainment to moving vehicles.
It has been named Amrita MiTrans.
In a press statement issued here Tuesday, ARL, the research and development division of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham attached to the Amritananda Mayi Mutt near Kollam, 70 km from here, said more than a dozen engineers and researchers developed this revolutionary technology, which combines the latest advancements in computers and wireless telecommunications.
Google has designs on you
By DPA,
San Francisco : Not content with involvement in almost every facet of your online life, online search giant Google now wants to get into your wardrobe.
US Dawn probe sets off on asteroid mission
By Xinhua
Washington : The US Dawn probe was launched into space by a Delta2 rocket Thursday from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, according to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
From launch pad 17B, Dawn soared into the cloudy sky after being launched at 7.34 a.m. (1134 GMT), a little after dawn, beginning its long-waited asteroid belt trip.
Several minutes after the lift-off, NASA mission control centre reported that six of the solid-fuelled boosters have burned out and fallen away from the Delta2 rocket.
Be prepared to protect rights of clones: UN study
New York(IANS) : Global leaders need to reach a compromise that outlaws reproductive cloning or be prepared to protect the rights of human clones from potential abuse, prejudice and discrimination.
A report by the United Nations University's Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) says a ban on human cloning, coupled with freedom for nations to permit controlled therapeutic research, is the global community's best option.
The report, titled "Is Human Reproductive Cloning Inevitable: Future Options for UN Governance" has been authored by UNU-IAS director A.H. Zakri.
Dust to dust – outer space makes dust ‘come alive’
By DPA
Hamburg : The biblical admonition of all life going from "dust to dust" has taken a new twist with scientific findings that non-organic cosmic dust particles can in fact "come to life" under certain circumstances.
The new research, published in the New Journal of Physics, found non-organic dust, when held in the form of plasma in zero gravity, formed the helical structures found in DNA.
The particles are held together by electromagnetic forces that the scientists say could contain a code comparable to the genetic information held in organic matter.
Hypersonic jets that fly at five times the speed of sound
By IANS,
London : NASA is planning to build hypersonic jets that would travel at five times the speed of sound and bring in a new age of aircraft.
Google takes on Facebook and Twitter with new Buzz
By DPA,
San Francisco : Google Tuesday launched a set of social networking tools for Gmail users, hoping to coax them to share photos, links and status updates without the need to visit sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
Called Google Buzz, the new features were rolled out to a small number of Gmail account holders Tuesday and to the majority of users within the week.
It allows users to share photos, videos, web links, conversations with "friends" - defined as pre-existing Gmail contacts. Google said it may open Buzz up to outside users in the future.
Revolutionary nano-needle can peer into a cell
By IANS,
Washington : A revolutionary nano-needle, developed by researchers, not only peers into individual cells, but also acts as electro-chemical probe and optical biosensor.
"Nano-needle-based delivery is a powerful new tool for studying biological processes and biophysical properties at the molecular level inside living cells," said Min-Feng Yu, professor of mechanical science and study coauthor, University of Illinois (U of I).
NASA’s Phoenix Mars lander commanded to unstow arm
By Xinhua,
Washington : U.S. Mars lander Phoenix, which touched down on Sunday at northern polar plains on Mars, successfully unstowed its robotic arm on Wednesday, according to NASA mission updates.
Early Wednesday, scientists leading Phoenix mission from the University of Arizona sent commands to move the lander's robotic arm for the first time after its touchdown.
Six selected for Mars flight simulation experiment
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Six people, who will take part in a 105-day experiment to simulate a flight to Mars, have been selected by scientists at the Moscow-based Russian Institute of Medical and Biological Problems.
Four Russians - astronauts Oleg Artemyev, Sergei Ryazansky, Alexei Baranov, a doctor, and sports physiologist Alexei Shpakov - and two members of the European Space Agency, France's Cyrille Fournier, a civilian pilot, and Germany's Oliver Knickel, a mechanical engineer, will take part in the experiment.
Abu Dhabi inventor makes solar-powered car
By IANS,
Abu Dhabi : A young inventor here has developed a solar-powered car - the first in the Middle East - that can run at 50 km an hour, WAM news agency reported Saturday.
Saqar Bin Saif exhibited the first model of his car earlier at the Dubai Motor Show, evoking curiosity and interest of many global car manufacturers.
The inventor, who has a degree in business administration, said he had been busy upgrading the car and improving the solar panels for producing more power.
Space shuttle Endeavour returns to Earth after final mission
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The space shuttle Endeavour landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida Wednesday bringing its 25th and final spaceflight to a close.
Shuttle Discovery flight hits halfway mark
By SPA,
Cape Canaveral, Florida : As their flight hit the halfway mark, shuttle Discovery's astronauts faced more work with the space station's new science lab on Saturday.
All 10 occupants of the linked shuttle and station chipped in Friday to get Japan's billion-dollar Kibo lab up and running, and to expand its size by attaching an attic to it.
On Saturday _ one week into their mission _ the astronauts planned to test drive the lab's 33-foot (10-meter) robot arm, the Associated Press reported.
Billions of life bearing planets float in the milky way
By IANS,
London : A few hundred thousand billion free-floating life-bearing earth-sized planets may exist in the space between stars in the Milky Way, says a study.
NASA to test faulty sensors of shuttle Atlantis
By Xinhua
Washington : With a trouble shooting plan in hand, NASA will begin to test the erratic fuel sensors which had halted the launch of space shuttle Atlantis, a top NASA official announced Tuesday at a teleconference.
The test work is tentatively planned for Dec. 18, said Wayne Hale, NASA's Space Shuttle Program Manager. Technicians and engineers plan to test the sensor system onboard Atlantis by pumping super-cold liquid hydrogen into the external fuel tank.
Yahoo launches voice-search via mobile
By DPA
San Francisco/Las Vegas : Yahoo Wednesday unveiled a powerful new version of its OneSearch technology for mobile phones that allows users to initiate searches faster using voice or text.
The new search module is believed to be the first voice-activated search available via cell phone. The company has already signed partnerships with 29 carriers around the world.
It will also make search instantly accessible on the idle screen of many phones and is seen by the company as a key plank of its strategy to make Yahoo the starting point for mobile consumers.
Two new frog species discovered in Panama
By DPA,
Panama City : Scientists have discovered two new frog species in Panama's rainforests at a time when many of the amphibians are threatened by a fungal disease driving them toward extinction.
Pristimantis educatoris was discovered in the Omar Torrijos nature reserve in Cocle province, scientists from the US Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute said Thursday.
The frog is two to four centimeters long, varies from dark purple to dark grey in its colouring, and has red or yellow eyes. Its fingers and toes also end in bulbous disks.
A perfect 13th successful launch for PSLV
By IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : The launch of Chandrayaan-1, India's first mission to probe the moon, from here Wednesday morning marked the 13th consecutive successful score for the India-built polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) which had failed in its very first attempt.
The 320-tonne PSLV-C11, which roared into skies at 6.22 a.m. from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) with the 1,380-kg Chandrayaan, is a modified version of PSLV, described by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as its "trusted workhorse".
Car that changed the world – Tin Lizzie turns 100
By Reino Gevers, DPA,
Hamburg : When the Ford Model T went into production in 1908, it marked the beginning of an era when motoring became affordable to the masses and an end to the horse and cart age.
Thousands of enthusiasts the world over are this week celebrating in Richmond, Indiana, the centenary of the car affectionately known as "Tin Lizzie".
It is just one of several events leading up to the Oct 1 anniversary when the first Model T drove off the assembly line.
Advance IST by 30 minutes, save Rs.10 bn: scientists
By IANS
New Delhi : A group of scientists have suggested that the Indian Standard Time (IST) be shifted forward by 30 minutes to reduce peak time energy demand and save at least Rs.10 billion per year.
According to a paper prepared by Dilip R. Ahuja, D.P. Sen, both from the National Institute of Advanced Studies, and V.K. Agrawal, Southern Regional Load Despatch Centre, Bangalore, the shift in IST by 30 minutes will help India use more daylight and reduce the peak power demand during evening.
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.
Incredible India scores more hits
By IANS,
New Delhi : With more hits from countries like China, Germany and Japan, the Incredible India website, the country's popular tourism campaign, has moved from the 100,000 rank to 25,000 in the World Wide Web Space.
Believing in the power of the Internet, the tourism ministry revamped its website to make its Incredible India campaign popular in India and abroad. It was first launched in December 2004.
U.S. probe produces three major findings about universe
By Xinhua
Washington : NASA, the U.S. space agency, released on Friday five years of data collected by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), which include three major findings about the universe.
The probe got the new evidence that a sea of cosmic neutrinos permeates the early universe. According to the scientists' analysis, universe is awash in "a sea of cosmic neutrinos". Neutrinos made up a much larger part of the early universe than they do today.
Facebook security flaw revealed
By IANS,
London : Social networking site Facebook temporarily disabled its chat system after a serious security flaw was revealed which allowed people to view chats and pending friend requests of their Facebook friends.
The security flaw, discovered Wednesday by technology website TechCrunch, related to a feature on Facebook that allows users to preview their own privacy settings, telegraph.co.uk reported.
NASA postpones Discovery launch
By Xinhua,
Washington : NASA has for the fourth time delayed the launch of its space shuttle Discovery due to technical reasons, the US space agency has announced.
After meeting all Friday at Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, shuttle managers decided against launching it in a week. The launch date for Discovery is currently "under review", NASA said in a statement. The launch had been targeted for no sooner than Feb 27.
New telecom network guidelines next month: minister
By IANS,
New Delhi : The government is expected to issue guidelines for third generation (3G) and wireless broadband (WiMax) networks by June, Minister for Communications and Information Technology A. Raja said here Friday.
"By June the guidelines will be issued for 3G and WiMax," Raja said at an industry conference, adding that these networks would be rolled out by January 2009.
Google’s black ribbon tribute to Kalam
New Delhi : Google on Thursday paid tribute to former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, with a black ribbon on its homepage.
Kalam died...
Researchers convert carbon into green energy
By IANS,
Singapore : Scientists here have succeeded in converting a greenhouse gas like carbon dioxide into a green energy source.
Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) researchers said they used organocatalysts to help carbon dioxide (CO2) produce methanol, a widely used industrial feedstock and clean-burning biofuel.
Organocatalysts are catalysts that comprise non-metallic elements found in organic compounds. They can be produced easily at low cost.
Google comes to the aid of Yahoo!
By Arun Kumar, IANS
Washington : Google Inc has joined the Internet war by offering its help in any effort to thwart its chief rival Microsoft Corp.'s unsolicited $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo!, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter.
Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt called Yahoo! Inc. CEO Jerry Yang to offer his company's help as Yahoo! assessed its options for responding to Microsoft's aggressive "bear hug" bid, which has sent aftershocks through the media and technology industries.
Chuck a ball to put out fire
By IANS
Kolkata : Now to douse a fire, you can do better than using a fire extinguisher or splashing buckets of water. Just free your arms and throw a ball into the leaping flames. And voila! The blaze would be gone.
Siam Safety Premier Co Ltd, a Thailand-based company, has come out with an innovative and environment-friendly technology to douse fire. The fire extinguisher is marketed in India by Shree Shyam Bearings Pvt Ltd (SSBPL).
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.
Scientists identify gene that influences alcohol consumption
By Xinhua
Washington : A variant of a gene involved in communication among brain cells has a direct influence on alcohol consumption in mice, according to a new study by US scientists.
If approved in human beings, the finding may lead to new opportunities for developing drugs to treat alcohol dependence.
Known as Grm7, the gene encodes a receptor subtype that inhibits the release of glutamate and other neurotransmitter molecules that brain cells use to communicate with one another.
North Korea a nuclear power state, says IAEA chief
By DPA,
Beijing : North Korea must be regarded as a nuclear power, the head of the UN's international nuclear watchdog said Monday.
Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), also said in Beijing, four days after North Korea forced the agency's inspectors out of the country, that North Korea could restart its main nuclear facility within months.
Therefore, North Korea must be persuaded to return to the negotiating table as quickly as possible, he said.
Scientists identify brain’s tiny timekeepers
By IANS,
Washington : How does your brain recall that you brush your teeth before you took a shower, and not the other way around? A study has now identified groups of neurons in the primate brain that code time with extreme precision.
Keeping track of time and remembering past events is one of the brain's most important tasks, amid the welter of sights and sounds that it processes.
Vietnam To Introduce 3G Technology In 2009
By Bernama,
Hanoi : Telecommunications industry insiders are predicting that 3G (third generation) technology will be introduced in Vietnam this year, the Vietnam news agency (VNA) reported.
With 3G technology, mobile providers in Vietnam will be able to provide more value-added services for their mobile users such as videophone, on-line video streaming and high-speed internet and music download.
Zylog to offer Internet voice services
By IANS
Chennai : City-based software services company Zylog Systems Ltd will soon offer voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) services by partnering with a leading US company.
"We are contemplating to become a service provider and focus on the retail segment. The current players are catering to the enterprise segment," Sudarshan Venkatraman, chairman and CEO of the company, told IANS.
India can send crew to space in seven years: ISRO chief
By IANS
Washington : The Indian government has been "sensitised" on the issue of manned space flights and India's space agency will be able to send crew to space in seven to eight years, G. Madhavan Nair, head of India's space programme, said here.
"We have sensitised the government on manned space flights. In seven to eight years, we will be able to carry crew to orbit and back," Nair, chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and of the Space Commission, said here.
Nano materials likely to impact environment negatively
By IANS,
Washington : Eco-friendly gains derived from the use of nano materials may be offset partly by their manufacturing process, according to research.
Hatice Sengül and colleagues of Illinois University, Chicago, said strict material purity requirements and lower yields may lead to greater ecological burdens than those associated with conventional manufacturing.
In a separate study, Ohio State University researchers found, for example, that the life-cycle environmental impacts may be as much as 100 times greater per unit of weight than those of traditional materials.
India’s moon mission rides on basketballer turned rocket scientist
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Chennai : As a Kerala state player, George Koshy used to shoot the ball into the basket during his college days. Today, as a rocket scientist with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the tall, 58-year-old M.Tech from IIT-Bombay is the project director for Chandrayaan-1, India's maiden unmanned moon mission, and on his broad shoulders rests the venture's success.
Indian IT solutions firm forays into Egypt
By IANS,
Bangalore : Leading IT solutions provider IDS Softwares Ltd has forayed into Egypt to automate the hospitality industry and extend its footprint in North African countries, a top company official said.
“We have already bagged a deal from Egypt’s leading hotel chain Pyramisa Hotels to deploy our suite of products developed at our global R&D facility in Bangalore to automate its operations,” IDS general manager Rajesh P. Yadav said in a statement here late Thursday.
New Google service solves sudoku
By DPA,
Berlin : If you're stuck on your sudoku puzzle, there's hope. New photo recognition software for Android mobiles - Goggles - can help solve the puzzle.
Ocean plankton do their bit to control global warming
By IANS
London : Microscopic marine plankton increase their carbon intake in response to increased concentrations of dissolved carbon dioxide and thus contribute to curbing the greenhouse effect on a global scale, a new study has found.
Researchers led by scientists at the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences in Kiel, Germany, have documented this biological mechanism in a natural plankton community for the first time, Sciencedaily.com reported.
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.
China Mobile tests signal station on Mount Everest
By DPA
Beijing : China Mobile has successfully tested a mobile signal station built on Mount Everest at 6,500 metres ahead of next year's Olympic torch relay on the highest peak of the world.
The world's highest mobile telecommunications station was tested Tuesday on the 8,844-metre-high mountain, the official China Daily quoted the country's main mobile service provider, China Mobile, as saying.
Watching eclipse from 41,000 ft – breathtaking!
By IANS,
New Delhi : "It was a breathtaking experience," said 70-year-old Deepak Bhimani, one of the 35 passengers onboard the special flight to watch the century's longest total solar eclipse from 41,000 feet above the ground.
"It was very exciting and I really have no words to describe it. It was like the Sun was so near to me and we had a very pristine image. We could even see Mercury and Venus as the sky darkened and the whole phenomenon was breathtaking," Bhimani, who was the oldest passenger on the flight, told IANS.
Gates Foundation pledges $10 billion to develop vaccines
By IANS,
Washington : Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda have announced that their foundation will commit $10 billion over the next 10 years to help research in developing and delivering vaccines for the world's poorest countries.
The couple said that increased investment in vaccines by governments and the private sector could help developing countries dramatically reduce child mortality by the end of the decade.
"We must make this the decade of vaccines," said Gates.
Hubble discovers 67 more galaxies
By IANS
New York : The Hubble space telescope has discovered 67 "lensing" galaxies in the distant universe, under the massive COSMOS project to map space.
Gravitational lensing occurs when light travelling towards us from a distant galaxy is magnified and distorted by unusually huge clusters of other galaxies.
NASA extends Discovery mission
By DPA,
Washington : The US space agency NASA Saturday extended by one day space shuttle Discovery's mission at the International Space Station.
The move was made to allow an inspection of Discovery's heat shield while the craft is still docked at the International Space Station.
Discovery is now slated to land at Kennedy Space Centre in Florida April 19 at 8:54 am (1824 IST).
The inspection has been standard procedure since the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated on reentry into the Earth's atmosphere in 2003 after its heat shield was damaged.
White stuff on Mars is ice: NASA
By DPA,
Washington : The white material on Mars uncovered by the robotic arm of the Phoenix probe is ice, scientists at the US space agency NASA have said.
"We have found proof that this hard bright material is really water ice and not some other substance," Peter Smith of the University of Arizona said in a transcript of a press briefing released late Friday.
Interstellar dust darkens the universe
By Xinhua,
Beijing : The universe is dustier than previously thought, which is why astronomers now suggest it is twice as bright as it appears.
Astronomers have known about interstellar dust for a while, but they haven't been able to quantify just how much light it blocks. Now a team of researchers has studied a catalogue of galaxies and found that dust shields roughly 50 percent of their light.
Key to prevention of morphine tolerance found
By IANS
New York : Morphine tolerance - or patients getting used to the pain-relieving effects of the drug, leading to escalating dosage - could soon be a thing of the past.
Researchers at the Saint Louis University of Medicine have found a way of blocking a key substance that causes tolerance levels to rise.
The study could lead to new therapies that allow morphine to be administered without patients developing tolerance or experiencing a host of severe side effects that accompany increasing dosage.
SC bans Tamil Nadu bull fights
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday banned Tamil Nadu's centuries-old Jallikattu bull fights.
A bench of Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan and Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose also...
Chinese institute award for Indian at Microsoft
By IANS
Bangalore : Smart Indian techie S. Somasegar, an employee of Microsoft India in Hyderabad, has been honoured with the Asian American Engineer Award, instituted by the US-based Chinese Institute of Engineers (CIE), the global software major said here Tuesday.
According to a company statement, the award recognises Somasegar's contribution to science and engineering.
As senior vice-president (developer division) of Microsoft Corporation and head of its India development centre, Somasegar is responsible for developer-related languages, tools and platforms.