Smart system to take risk out of driving
By IANS,
London : Visualise a smart system that enables you to negotiate sharp, treacherous bends, blind spots and sudden dips on the road ahead, with perfect ease and safety.
The technology being developed by a European project on road safety will keep you updated on geographical database. It can even communicate with other vehicles in the vicinity.
This is the future of in-car maps, going way beyond directions and entering the zone of pro-active hazard detection. It is one of the key strands of the PReVENT project.
Molecular machines drive plasmonic nanoswitches
By IANS,
Washington : Plasmonics may open the way to the next generation of computers that operate faster and store more information than electronically-based systems and are also smaller.
"If plasmonics are realised, the future will have circuits as small as the current electronic ones with a capacity a million times better," said Tony Jun Huang, assistant professor of engineering science and mechanics at Penn State University.
"Plasmonics combines the speed and capacity of photonic (light based) circuits with the small size of electronic circuits," he added.
Astronauts become as weak as 80-year-olds in space
By IANS,
London : The US researchers have found that astronauts in the prime of life, spending months in space, become as weak as 80-year-olds.
The researchers made the discovery after examining muscle tissues of crew members on the International Space Station (ISS).
The calf biopsy samples revealed that after six months in space, the physical work capacity of astronauts fell by 40 percent, reports the Daily Telegraph.
India’s moon mission operation suspended
By IANS,
Bangalore : India suspended its first moon mission operation after the lunarcraft Chandrayaan-1 lost radio contact with the earth in the wee hours of Saturday, a top official of the Indian space agency said.
"At the moment, we have suspended the operation. Calling off the mission depends on what elements we get back. Whether there is any possibility of restoring contact with the spacecraft. These things are being investigated," the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman G. Madhavan Nair told news channels at his residence in this tech hub.
China issues warning on Valentine’s Day computer viruses
By IANS,
Beijing : Technology experts in China have warned internet users to be alert against computer viruses based on the Valentine's Day theme.
Endeavour astronauts prepare for Sunday landing
By DPA,
Washington : The seven astronauts on space shuttle Endeavour were to complete their mission to the International Space Station (ISS) with landing scheduled at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida Sunday.
The shuttle undocked from the ISS at 9.47 a.m. (1447 GMT) Friday, and was expected to land at the Kennedy Space Centre at 1.19 p.m. (1819 GMT Sunday.
On Saturday, US space agency NASA was closely monitoring a cold front, which might bring rain, thunderstorms and cross-winds, and could affect Sunday's entry and landing at the Kennedy Space Centre.
ISRO to send man into space in seven years
By IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : India will be in a position to carry out a manned space mission within seven years from now, said a top official of the Indian space agency here Monday.
Addressing the media after the successful launch of 10 satellites in one go, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G. Madhavan Nair said: "The government has given us pre-project funding of Rs.950 million (for the manned mission) and we have initiated necessary activities."
US spacecraft finds Mars colder than expected
By Xinhua,
Washington : The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced that the crust and upper mantle of Mars are stiffer and colder than previously thought.
The new observations from its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter suggest any liquid water that might exist below the planet's surface and any possible organisms living in that water would be located deeper than scientists had suspected.
"This implies that the planet's interior is more rigid, and thus colder, than we thought before."
Andhra signs MoU with TISS to improve students’ employability
Hyderabad: The government of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday signed an MoU with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to increase employability of students...
Failure of imported components behind loss of satellites?
By V. Jagannathan, IANS,
Chennai : The recurring loss of Indian satellites because of power supply glitches may be due to the failure of imported components, according to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists.
ISRO has lost two of its satellites earlier -- Chandrayaan in 2009 and INSAT-2D in 1997 -- and INSAT-4B partially now.
Scientists of the Indian space agency are working to fix the power snag that switched off 12 transponders of the INSAT-4B communications satellite Wednesday night.
Software turns fuzzy x-rays, MRIs into coloured 3D pictures
By IANS,
London : A special software called BodyViz converts fuzzy x-rays, MRIs and ultrasounds into full-colour 3D pictures.
India successfully tests supersonic cruise missile
By IANS,
Bhubaneswar: India Sunday successfully test fired BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from a vertical launcher fitted on board moving warship INS Ranvir off the east coast, defence sources said.
The missile performed supersonic manoeuvring following the exact flight path and homed in on to the decommissioned target ship INS Meen, the sources said.
"The mission met 100 percent success," Praveen Pathak, additional general manager of BrahMos Aerospace, told IANS over phone from New Delhi.
Climatic changes hastened death of ancient empires
By IANS,
Washington : Unfavourable climatic changes might have hastened the decline of Roman and Byzantine empires more than 1,400 years ago.
Based on chemical signatures in a piece of calcite from a cave near Jerusalem, a team of American and Israeli geologists pieced together a detailed record of the area's climate from roughly from 200 B.C. to 1100 A.D.
Their analysis reveals increasingly dry weather from 100 A.D. to 700 A.D. that coincided with the fall of both Roman and Byzantine rule in the region.
Scientists discover frog that breathes through skin
By DPA
Singapore : Scientists, in a find making evolutionary history, have discovered a frog without lungs that breathes through its skin, a report said Thursday.
The aquatic frog was found in August in two mountain rivers in Indonesia's Kalimantan, The Straits Times said. The frog is called "Barbie", short for its scientific name, Barbourula kalimantanensis.
The frog absorbs dissolved oxygen from the water through its skin, said evolutionary biologist David Bickford of the National University of Singapore, who found the frog with eight other researchers.
Australian researcher develops 3D vision camera
By IANS,
Sydney : An Australian researcher has developed a camera that can measure distance and generate 3D images. It is likely to impact the video gaming and medical industries.
Existing techniques measure distance using a laser that generates a single spot. It measures the distance to that spot and moves to another spot and repeats the action to build up a picture.
"Our system, rather than sending out a laser spot, lights up the entire area like a light-bulb and measures it all in one go," Andrew Payne of Waikato University, who designed the camera, said.
UAE unveils ‘Cool City’
By IANS
Dubai : The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has unveiled the concept of an environment-friendly city that would consume up to 60 percent less energy than its conventional counterpart by using cutting-edge Japanese technologies.
The "Cool City" concept uses available green technology in transport, urban development and architecture and is being promoted by the Sustainable Urban Development Consortium for Japan and Gulf States Partnership, in collaboration with Nikken Sekkei, news agency WAM reported.
Arctic summer sea ice may disappear in 5 years
By Xinhuanet
Beijing : The melting of the Arctic is accelerating and scientists estimate that the summer sea ice would disappear in five years, media reported Wednesday referring to new NASA satellite data.
Just last year, two top scientists surprised their colleagues by projecting that the Arctic sea ice was melting so rapidly that it could disappear entirely by the summer of 2040.
Mars rovers survive after NASA reverses budget cuts
By Xinhua
Beijing : NASA on Tuesday rescinded a directive that would have forced 4 million U.S. dollar budget cut in its popular Mars rover program and a temporary shutdown of one of its twin Mars rovers, according to media reports Wednesday.
Cloudy sky plays spoilsport in Bihar’s ‘eclipse village’
By IANS,
Taregna (Bihar) : Thousands of people who have gathered in this Bihar village to witness the century's largest total eclipse were disappointed Wednesday as the sun remained hidden under cloudy skies.
The eclipse was to begin at 5:29 a.m just after the sunrise but cloudy skies spoiled the mood of the thousands of people, children and adults, who thronged there to watch the celestial spectacle
However, people are optimistic for a more clear picture when the eclipse will reach its totality at 6:24 a.m.
Mysterous, bizarre-looking creatures found in Antarctica
By Xinhua
Beijing : Mysterious sea creatures, including giant sea spiders the size of dinner plates and jelly fish with six meter tentacles, have been found in the murky depths of Antarctica waters, Australian scientists said Tuesday.
Beijing : Mysterious sea creatures, including giant sea spiders the size of dinner plates and jelly fish with six meter tentacles, have been found in the murky depths of Antarctica waters, Australian scientists said Tuesday.
China calls for technology transfer, fund to address climate change
By Xinhua,
Beijing : A senior Chinese official Thursday called on the international community to evolve a mechanism for technology development and transfer to address climate change problems.
Xie Zhenhua, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said, "the core of the mechanism is technology transfer, including sufficient funds to support the transfer".
Plant steroids more complex than those inside people
By IANS,
Washington : Steroids boost plants just as they do humans, but the molecular signals that activate such genes in plant cells are a lot more complex than in human cells.
A new study by Carnegie Institution plant biologists used an emerging molecular approach called proteomics to identify key links in the steroid signalling chain.
Zhi-Yong Wang and Wenqinag Tang of the Carnegie Institution conducted the study with seven co-authors.
Plant steroids, called brassinosteroids, are key hormones throughout the plant kingdom. They regulate many aspects of growth and development.
Phoenix spacecraft on track for Mars landing
By Xinhua,
Beijing : NASA's Phoenix lander closed in on Mars Saturday, healthy and on course for touchdown Sunday evening near the Red Panet's northern polar cap.
Engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., decided to forego a course-correction rocket firing late Saturday but left open the option for a final trajectory tweak Sunday eight hours before atmospheric entry.
New CSIR chief for focus on R&D
By IANS
New Delhi : In-house research and development (R&D) should get 25 percent of science expenditure to strengthen India's stand in the global innovation map, the newly appointed director general of Council of Scientific Research (CSIR) Samir Brahmachari said Thursday.
Bramhachari, who is also the secretary of Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) said that an aggressive agenda needs to be followed to give a fillip to in-house R&D in industry and position India's innovation efforts in the international arena.
Methane found on Jupiter-sized extra-solar planet
By IANS
Washington : For the first time ever, astronomers have detected an organic molecule - which plays a key role in the formation of life - on a planet circling a nearby star.
The methane molecule has been detected by the Hubble Space Telescope in the atmosphere of the Jupiter-sized planet named HD 189733b, located 63 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula, or the little fox.
Under right circumstances, methane can play a key role in pre-biotic (life forming) chemistry
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.
Endeavour returns to Earth after 17-day mission
By DPA,
Washington: The space shuttle Endeavour landed at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida Friday carrying a seven-member crew of US, Canadian and Japanese astronauts.
The landing at 1448 GMT marked the end of the 17-day mission that saw the completion of the Japanese laboratory on the International Space Station (ISS).
The Endeavour brought an external platform to the station that was installed on the Japanese Kibo laboratory during the first of the mission's five spacewalks. The porch will expose experiments to the extremities of space.
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.
China launching center says it’s getting prepared for Shenzhou VII
By Xinhua
Beijing : China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center is getting prepared for the Shenzhou VII spacewalk mission scheduled for late September and early October, said director of the center Zhang Yulin.
"Preparations for the mission are in full swing, and we're confident in its success," said Zhang, a deputy to the 11th National People's Congress, in an interview with Xinhua on Saturday.
New smartphones with killer applications could replace PCs
By Andy Goldberg, DPA
Las Vegas : Think that cellphone in your pocket is pretty neat? Think again. Spurred by the phenomenal launch of the iPhone, the prospect of a Google phone and open networks, inventors and entrepreneurs around the world are feverishly developing plans to expand what mobile phones can do.
"They want to combine the computing power of the latest phones with social networks and location-tracking technologies to create a new generation of cell phones," says Simon Blitz, who runs a large cell phone wholesale company in the US.
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".
Wi-Fi at three more rail stations launched
New Delhi : Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Friday launched free Wi-Fi service at three more railway stations across India via videoconferencing here.
These stations...
Videocon launches nine more mobile handsets
By IANS,
New Delhi: Electronics major Videocon Wednesday launched nine more handsets, including a triple SIM CDMA phone, thus enhancing its current offering from 12 handsets to 21.
Other key highlights of the new range are a QWERTY keypad dual SIM with optical track pad, attractive touch screen devices and dual SIM multimedia, camera and music phones, a company statement said.
NASA to beam Beatles’ song “Across the Universe” to Polaris
By Xinhua
Beijing : NASA will broadcast next Monday the Beatles' song "Across the Universe" across the galaxy to Polaris, the North Star, to celebrateds the 40th anniversary of the song and the 50th anniversary of NASA, according to media reports Saturday.
Beijing : NASA will broadcast next Monday the Beatles' song "Across the Universe" across the galaxy to Polaris, the North Star, to celebrateds the 40th anniversary of the song and the 50th anniversary of NASA, according to media reports Saturday.
Nokia touch screen phone by year end
By Himank Sharma, IANS,
New Delhi : Setting at rest speculations, cell phone major Nokia has confirmed it will launch a full touch screen handset by the end of this year.
"We have been working on the Series 60 platform for touch screen user interface and a mobile device is expected to be launched by the year-end," Devinder Kishore, Nokia India's marketing director, told IANS.
Mahindra Racing join hands with Swiss firm
By IANS,
New Delhi: Mahindra Racing will team up with former Grand Prix rider Eskil Suter's company to produce an all new bike for the 2013 Moto3 season.
Parents are always stricter with older kids
By IANS,
Washington : Parents are more inclined to punish their teen's risky behaviour when there are younger kids in the family, just to set an example, according to a new research.
"Interestingly, the youngest sibling, knowing that they can get away with much more than their older brothers and sisters, are more likely to engage in risky behaviours," said Ginger Gin, one of the study's co-authors, a parent of two and herself an older sister.
Former ISRO chief Kasturirangan chosen for space academy award
By IANS
Hyderabad : The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) has selected Rajya Sabha member and former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K. Kasturirangan for the prestigious Theodore Von Karman award for this year.
The award will be presented to Kasturirangan, one of the country's top scientists, here Monday on the first-day of the 58th International Astronautical Congress.
The Theodore Von Karman award is the highest distinction of the IAA given annually to recognise outstanding lifetime achievements in any branch of science.
Online tool in battle against global poverty
By TwoCircles.net news desk
New York: The United Nations has teamed up with technology leaders Google and Cisco to launch a new online site to track global progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – the set of ambitious targets the world has set itself for slashing poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy and other social ills by 2015.
MDG Monitor is a web application that tracks real-time progress toward the Goals in a number of categories in nearly every country in the world.
Stellar blast gamma ray was aimed at earth: NASA
By Xinhua,
Washington : Data from satellites and observatories around the globe show a jet from a powerful stellar explosion witnessed March 19 was aimed almost directly at the Earth, the US space agency NASA has reported.
NASA's Swift satellite detected the explosion - formally named GRB 080319B - and pinpointed its position in the constellation Bootes. The event, called a gamma-ray burst, became bright enough for human eyes to see.
Observations of the event are giving astronomers the most detailed portrait of a burst ever recorded.
Brazil to deepen space cooperation with China
By Xinhua
Brasilia : The newly sworn-in head of the Brazilian Space Agency (BSA) Carlos Ganem said Tuesday that Brazil cherishes the ties with China and will deepen cooperation with China in the field of space technology.
Ganem made the remarks during his inauguration ceremony. A technical expert who engaged in the first negotiations on the China-Brazil satellite cooperation program, he said the project is an excellent example of bilateral cooperation.
Britain secret file says massive UFO spotted
By IANS,
London : A spaceship that was "20 times the size of a football field" was spotted hovering over Britain's Manchester airport nearly 15 years back, says a secret defence ministry file that was released Thursday.
The huge spacecraft was seen by a UFO expert in 1995 and its sketch was sent to the defence ministry, The Sun reported Thursday, citing the secret files.
The UFO was described as oblong with a curved front and a series of small nozzles at the rear.
That's not the only UFO sighting.
Lufthansa Cargo goes live with Technopark’s IT firm
Thiruvananthapuram/Frankfurt: Lufthansa Cargo has gone live with Technopark headquartered IBS' iCargo IT solution at 120 stations in its network, including its three hubs of...
Scientists think of new way of creating synthetic tissues
By IANS,
Washington : Tissue engineering has long held promise for building new organs to replace damaged livers, blood vessels and other body parts. However, a major obstacle is getting cells grown in a lab dish to form 3-D shapes instead of flat layers. Scientists have now come up with a new way to overcome this challenge.
Researchers at the MIT-Harvard Division of Health Sciences and Technology (HST) are encapsulating live cells in cubes and arranging them into 3-D structures, just as a child would construct buildings out of blocks.
NASA scientists identify smallest known black hole in universe
By Xinhua
Washington : Two astronomers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center have identified the smallest known black hole in the universe, according to the Astrophysical Journal on Wednesday.
The two astronomers presented their results this week at an American Astronomical Society meeting.
Warning about vulnerability in VLC Media Player
By DPA,
Bonn (Germany) : A security hole has been discovered in the VLC Media Player, the German Federal Agency for Security in Information Technology (BSI) here reported.
Attackers can exploit this vulnerability using rigged Real Media files (file ending with "rm") to install malicious software onto the user's computer. The victim has just to open the manipulated multimedia file.
Mideast, South Asia Internet Access Jammed
By Prensa Latina,
Cairo : Ruptured submarine optic cables in southern Italy affect, for the second consecutive day, access to the internet and international phone services in the Middle East and South Asia.
Tedata Company confirmed that at least three cables connecting Europe with the Middle East and South Asia were severed.
According to the source, the disruption that affects 80 percent Egyptian connection with the Internet began early Friday and continues Saturday mid day.
Breakthrough to make cheap hydrogen fuel possible
By IANS,
Washington : A breakthrough could revolutionise the renewable energy industry by making hydrogen - heralded as a clean, green fuel of the future - cheaper and easier to produce commercially.
Researchers used plant based chemicals to reproduce a key process in photosynthesis, which will take the help of sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
Google Glass 2.0 coming soon?
New York: Google may be testing the next version of the Google Glass called GG1, media reports said.
Google has a new eye wearable device...
Spiderman, squid inspire innovative ways of stopping runaway drivers
By IANS,
Washington : Celluloid superhero Spiderman and the giant squid are inspiring scientists to think of innovative ways to stop erring drivers in their tracks.
Runaway drivers are a common problem for law enforcement. They just won't stop unless 'persuaded' by bullets, barriers, spikes, or snares, all of them a risky business indeed.
Shooting up a fugitive's car may be a possibility - but what if children or hostages are in it? Lay down barriers, and the driver might swerve into a school bus. Spike his tires, and he might fishtail into a van - if the spikes stop him at all.
New system to regulate shipping traffic in Gulf of Kutch
By IANS
New Delhi : The government has proposed to establish a Vessel Traffic System (VTS) in the Gulf of Kutch to regulate the shipping traffic, the Lok Sabha was informed Wednesday.
VTS is a marine traffic monitoring system established by harbour or port authorities, similar to air traffic control (ATC) for aircraft.
Lockheed begins construction of US presidential choppers in India
By Gulshan Luthra
New Delhi : Construction of the first lot of six VH 92 Super Hawk helicopters that transport the US president...
I have been concentrating on motivating the youth
By A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, IANS,
I did not realize that I have already completed one year after demitting office on 25 July 2007. This one year has been an extremely eventful one me having visited over 12 states in India and nine countries.
It is pertinent to note here that I have not been able to accept more than 10 per cent of the total invitations received.
PSLV launch put off due to technical glitch
By IANS,
Bangalore : India has put off the launch of an advanced remote sensing satellite, fixed for May 9, after a technical glitch in its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle was detected, the space agency said here Thursday.
"A marginal drop in the pressure in second stage of the vehicle was noticed during the mandatory checks carried out on the PSLV-C15 vehicle," the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said in a statement.
Wi-fi in homes can be hacked in five seconds
By IANs,
London : Wireless internet networks in millions of homes can be hacked in less than five seconds.
Scientists probe earth’s core with quake ‘whispers’
By IANS,
London : Scientists are observing distant earthquakes by 'listening' to them to reveal new clues about the top of the earth's core.
The approach is akin to hearing a conversation across a whispering gallery, such as those in the domes of some large cathedrals.
Using a novel digital processing approach, researchers at the University of Calgary (U-C) analysed faint signals produced by 44 earthquakes. They were able to measure the sound speed at the top of earth's core with unprecedented accuracy.
Have you experienced a vague feeling of familiarity in a new place?
By IANS,
Washington : You might be overcome with a vague yet familiar feeling when you find yourself in an entirely new place.
Somehow you sense that you have been there before, but when and how, you have not the remotest idea. You are also dead sure that it is your first visit. But something is missing and the experience keeps nagging you.
For a long time, this eerie sensation has been attributed to everything from paranormal disturbances to neurological disorders.
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.
Found: Second smallest planet outside solar system
By IANS,
Washington : Astronomers have detected an extrasolar planet with a mass just four times that of Earth.
The planet, which orbits its parent star HD156668 about once every four days, is the second-smallest world among the more than 400 exoplanets (planets located outside our solar system) that have been found to date.
It is located approximately 80 light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Hercules.
Astronomers discover largest dark matter in space
By IANS
Toronto : An international team of astronomers have detected the largest-ever dark matter structure ever seen, stretching an awesome 270 million light-years across the night sky.
The team, comprising French and Canadian scientists, "X-rayed" the dark matter, or an invisible web that makes up more than 80 percent of the mass of the universe.
They used a technique called weak gravitational lensing, similar to an X-ray of the body, to reveal the underlying skeleton of the dark matter.
Scientists work on ways to track terror bomb sources
By IANS,
Sydney : Organic peroxides are being increasingly preferred as explosives by terrorists because they can be easily prepared and don't required to be purchased off the shelf.
New techniques for tracking bomb-making materials, and possibly pointing the way towards the terrorists themselves, are being researched at Flinders University. The research being undertaken at Flinders has the potential to make a contribution towards fighting the global war on terror.
Google’s Chrome browser has Windows in its sights
By Andy Goldberg, DPA,
San Francisco : Google released its first ever Internet browser in a long-awaited move that increased pressure on Microsoft and laid a new foundation for a mass transition to web-based computing.
A test version of the new software, named Google Chrome, was made available for download in more than 100 countries Tuesday. The open-source browser had been in secret development for over two years at the search engine giant.
Bus bombed to test new forensic video camera
By IANS,
Washington : Would cheap, lightweight video cameras survive a big costly blast and still retain images of the destruction?
That was the question bothering the US department of homeland security as well as scientists and managers who watched the blast from behind three feet of reinforced concrete.
Outside was an old public bus, rigged with explosives, a series of baseball-sized video cameras mounted on its walls.
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.
With perfect launch, Chandrayaan heads for the moon
By Venkatachari Jagannathan and Fakir Balaji, IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : A perfect launch sent Chandrayaan-1 on an epic voyage of discovery to the moon Wednesday morning, marking a giant scientific leap for India.
“To our luck, rain gods and clouds kept away. They also kept away lightning,” said a jubiliant G. Madhavan Nair, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), after the moon probe took off at 6.22 a.m.
‘Long distance flights with stopovers more eco-efficient’
By IANS,
New Delhi : Long distance flights with stopovers are more efficient, an expert in the field says, pointing out that a Delhi-New York flight with a stopover in Europe can save nine tonnes of fuel and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by a staggering 28 percent against a non-stop flight between the two destinations.
New app to delete drunken messages on Facebook, Twitter
By IANS,
London : iPhone has developed a new application using which one could delete messages on Facebok and Twitter that were put out when one was in a drunk state.
Russia tracks rogue U.S. satellite, contains nuclear material
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Russia's Defense Ministry is closely monitoring a U.S. spy satellite that has gone out of control and may have nuclear material on board, a high-ranking defense source said on Friday.
"The Defense Ministry is using its space surveillance systems to track the satellite's movement in orbit," he said.
Russian military experts suggest the satellite could have an on board nuclear power source, a senior parliament member said.
Europe’s Columbus docks at space station, finally
By DPA
Washington : After four years' delay and last minute space-walk hitches, the Columbus laboratory docked onto the International Space Station, opening a new chapter for Europe in space flight.
"Columbus is now officially a part of the ISS," NASA officials said Monday on the NASA TV transmission of the docking.
In a precision transfer that took about two hours, a robotic arm operated from inside the space station manoeuvred Columbus out of the cargo bay on the Atlantis shuttle and into its permanent place at the Harmony portal that was installed last year.
Indian blogs live from Antarctica for the first time
By Devirupa Mitra, IANS
New Delhi : On the icy barrenness of Antarctica, the Indian research station of Maitri has a new voice - the first ever blog by an Indian from the seventh continent.
A member of the 27th Indian Scientific Antarctica Expedition, 56-year-old Sudhir Khandelwal, has typed, so far, 39 posts and nearly 15,000 words, with another one and a half months of his stay to go.
Discovery pinpoints location of missing matter in universe
By IANS,
Washington : Astronomers have announced a robust detection of a vast reservoir of intergalactic gas about 400 million light years from earth.
This discovery is the strongest evidence yet that the "missing matter" in the nearby Universe is located in an enormous web of hot, diffuse gas.
This missing matter -- which is different from dark matter -- is composed of baryons, the particles, such as protons and electrons, that are found on the earth, in stars, gas, galaxies, and so on.
Engineers set out to green air travel
By IANS,
London : Carbon emissions from air travel could be reduced, thanks to collaboration between engineers from universities and aerospace industry.
The research, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and aircraft manufacturers Airbus and GKN, will be using carbon fibres that are curved within flat plates to produce damage-tolerant, buckle-free structures.
Prayers to ‘moon god’ for success of lunar mission
By IANS,
Thingalur (Tamil Nadu) : A temple in this Tamil Nadu town dedicated to the moon god conducted special prayers Tuesday for the successful launch of Chandrayaan, India's first lunar mission.
"Since this temple itself is meant for propitiation of the moon god, we conducted prayers for the success of Chandrayaan as it is bound for the moon tomorrow (Wednesday) from Sriharikota," N. Govindarajan, an official of the temple, told IANS.
"The omens during the worship were good and we are sure the mission will be a success," he said.
New technology to help drug companies save millions
By IANS,
London : A new technique will help drug companies save millions of dollars.
It is a potentially valuable tool in drug manufacture, where controlling crystal forms is crucial both to cost and product safety.
The new technology identifies and monitors changes in crystal structures on-line, providing a method of ensuring production of the desired drug compounds.
Most drug compounds are crystalline. Their structure can affect their physical attributes and performance. However, changes in these structures are caused by undetected fluctuations.
World’s smallest silicon sensor to monitor environs
By IANS,
London : Researchers are fabricating the world's smallest silicon sensor that will be extremely powerful and yet consume very little power.
The sensor, with applications in bio-sensing and ecological monitoring, is being developed by researchers at the University of Southampton.
“Power consumption is a big issue at the moment as devices use current whether they are switched off and on,” said Hiroshi Mizuta, project head.
Scientists isolate genes that imbue us with uniquely human traits
By IANS,
Washington : Humans and chimpanzees are genetically very similar yet clearly distinct in many ways. Scientists have isolated genes that evolved in humans after branching off from other primates, making us uniquely human.
The prevailing wisdom in molecular evolution was that new genes could only evolve from duplicated or rearranged versions of pre-existing genes. It seemed highly unlikely that evolution could produce a functional protein-coding gene from what was once inactive DNA.
YouTube gets billion hits per day
By DPA,
San Francisco : Google's online video site YouTube now gets a billion hits a day, the site's founder Chad Hurley said in a video posted Friday.
"Three years ago today (YouTube co-founder) Steve (Chen) and I stood in front of our offices and jokingly crowned ourselves the 'burger kings' of media," read the post, which was titled Y,000,000,000uTube.
Earth’s birth: Inert gases provide clues
By IANS,
Sydney : Inert gases trapped inside Earth's interior provide clues into the processes responsible for its birth and the evolution of oceans and atmosphere, a new study says.
Microsoft buys European shopping site for $486 mn
By DPA,
San Francisco : Hoping to boost its Internet power, Microsoft has bought Greenfield Online Inc, the owner of European price comparison site Ciao GmbH, for about $486 million, the company said in a statement.
The price of $17.50 a share represented a 1.4 percent premium over the previous closing price, but was 32 percent more than Greenfield was worth when it withdrew from a deal with Quadrangle Group LLC for $15.50 a share two weeks ago.
Researchers developing more powerful solar cells
By IANS,
Washington : University of Rochester researchers are designing more efficient solar cells by using special coatings that split light into colours like blue and red, to boost their power by 50 percent.
Researchers then would then use different types of solar cell materials that each optimally absorbs energy from a light of different colour, said Duncan Moore, a professor at Rochester research, who is leading the team that is trying to boost this further by finding ways to intensify the light.
“Early” blast-off tipped for spacewalk mission
By Xinhua,
Beijing : The planned launch date of Shenzhou VII, China's third manned spacecraft, may be brought forward from next month to sometime this month, Hong Kong's Wen Wei Po newspaper said.
A source reportedly told the paper the launch date will be between Sept 17, the closing day of the Beijing Paralympics, and Oct 1, China's National Day.
"Now it is fairly certain it will be before National Day, because the best launch window for Shenzhou VII will be before Oct 1," the newspaper quoted the source as saying.
Your mobile phone can also be a credit card
By IANS,
Istanbul : Imagine swiping a mobile phone to pay for all the things that you buy! This has just been made possible by latest technology that allows bank information to be stored in your mobile phones' memory cards.
Global credit card giant Visa has entered a partnership with a Turkish bank to launch this technology, the first of its kind in Europe.
This technology is used to store bank information in memory cards placed in mobile phones and allow them to be waved in front of credit card payment points, Visa Europe, which has collaborated with Turkey's Akbank, said.
Rousing reception for Sunita Williams at space congress
Hyderabad, Sep 28 (IANS) American astronaut of Indian origin Sunita Willams drove into Cyberabad Friday on the outskirts of this city to a rousing reception by hundreds of delegates participating in the 58th International Astronautical Congress (IAC).
New snake species discovered in Tanzania
By IANS,
London : The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has announced the discovery of a spectacularly coloured snake from a remote area of Tanzania in East Africa.
How do people respond to e-mails?
By IANS,
Washington : Over the last decade the e-mail has grown from a novelty into a necessity. But how do people respond to e-mails? Do they respond to the most important first, making sure the process is efficient?
Or do they send e-mails randomly, when they are at their computers or when they have time, without any regard to efficiency?
These are questions that Luís Amaral, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University, and his associates set out to answer.
Days of silicon chip numbered, warns Indian American scientist
By IANS
Washington : Micro miniaturisation of computer circuitry will drive the silicon chip out of reckoning in just four years, Indian-American scientist Suman Datta has warned.
The silicon chip, which has propelled decades' of remarkable increases in computing power and speed, seems incapable of sustaining this pace for long, Datta said Thursday at a conference on 'Condensed Matter and Materials Physics' at the Royal Holloway College, London.
China to launch third manned spacecraft Thursday
By Xinhua,
Jiuquan (China) : China will launch its third manned spacecraft Shenzhou-7 Thursday, a spokesperson of the space programme said Wednesday.
The Shenzhou-7, carrying three astronauts, will be launched on a Long March II-F carrier rocket from Jiuquan launch centre in the northwest province of Gansu and then moved into orbit at an altitude of 343 km, Wang Zhaoyao, who is also the deputy chief of the manned space programme, told reporters.
Two astronauts would enter the orbital module, where they would prepare for a spacewalk Friday.
Science with cartoons: Lucknow scientist invited to Europe meet
By IANS,
Lucknow : A Lucknow-based scientist, who uses cartoons to make complex scientific works easy to understand, has been invited to participate in a European science festival in Spain.
At the festival organised by the European Science Events Association (EUSCEA), P.K. Srivastava, a senior scientist with the chemical toxicology division of the Central Drugs Research Institute (CDRI), will make a presentation on 'sceintoons' invented by him in 1988.
Indian American works out low-cost strategy to curb computer worms
By IANS,
Washington : Network administrators might soon be able to mount effective, low-cost defences against self-propagating infectious programmes known as worms, thanks to a new strategy devised by an Indian American researcher.
Many computers are already equipped with software that can detect when another computer is attempting to attack it. Yet the software usually cannot identify newly-minted worms that do not share features with earlier marauders.
Photonic crystals will make web surfing super smooth
By IANS
New York : Glitches in web surfing and connectivity may soon be a thing of the past, with researchers working on a potentially perfect way of sorting and distributing voluminous data over fibre-optics worldwide, according to Rana Biswas of the Iowa State University.
The new technology is based on a 3D photonic crystal 'add-drop' filter, which promises vastly enhanced transmission of multiple wavelengths along the same cable.
NASA’s MESSENGER to fly by Mercury
By Xinhua
Washington : NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft will make a flyby of Mercury on Jan. 14, which makes it the first to visit the planet in almost 33 years, NASA announced on Thursday.
MESSENGER will explore and snap close-up images of never-before-seen terrain of Mercury. These findings could open new theories and answer old questions in the study of the solar system, said NASA scientists.
No plans to put Indian on moon
By IANS,
New Delhi : India has no plans to put an astronaut on the moon -- as of now.
So said Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V. Narayanasamy in the Rajya Sabha Thursday.
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...
NASA worker rushing from Russia with ISS toilet pump
By Xinhua,
Beijing : With the Saturday launch of the shuttle Discovery already underway, a NASA employee is rushing back from Russia with a special pump to fix a malfunctioning toilet on the International Space Station.
The space station's Russian-built toilet has been acting up for the past week. The three male residents have temporarily bypassed the problem, which involves urine collection and not solid waste.
Facebook reaches 500 mn users
By DPA,
San Francisco : Social networking site Facebook officially has 500 million users, the company announced Wednesday.
The milestone means that the six-year old website now reaches eight percent of the planet's population, just 18 months after it passed the 150 million user mark.
Last month Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said there is a "good chance" that the social networking site could boast one billion users within three to five years.
Indian-built European satellite put into earth orbit
By IANS,
Bangalore : The Indian-built European satellite W2M was successfully placed early Sunday into geosynchronous transfer orbit, about 36,000 km above earth, 32 minutes after its lift-off on board Ariane-5 from Kourou in French Guiana at 4.05 a.m. IST.
"Radio signals from the commercial satellite were received by the master control facility of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) at Hassan. The spacecraft's health is normal," the space agency said in a statement here. Hassan is located about 200 km from Bangalore.
NASA plans Mars landing in August
By IANS,
London : NASA will attempt to lower a probe onto the surface of Mars for the first time as it continues its search for signs of life on the red planet, The Telegraph reported Tuesday.
India poised to be major player in global satellite manufacturing
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Chennai : India can become a major player in the emerging small satellite manufacturing industry. The country's space agency has estimated a market potential of 50 satellites over the next decade, worth around $1.5 billion, says a space official.
Keeping this in mind, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has already formed a special team to manufacture small satellites.
ISRO will launch two such satellites in 2009 and 2010, both having overseas payloads.
CSIR need to work for science-society synergy: Swaminathan
By IANS
New Delhi : The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) must help bring about synergy between science and society so as to bridge the urban-rural divide, eminent scientist M.S. Swaminathan said here Wednesday.
Speaking at the 65th Foundation Day of CSIR, the greatest and largest science set-up in India, Swaminathan said: "It would be useful for CSIR to set up a joint scientific panel with the Indian Council of Social Sciences Research in order to bring about the desired synergy between science and society."
Cell phone batteries that won’t overheat
By IANS
London : Remember the scare last year caused by some Nokia batteries that were found to be overheating while charging -- leading to their worldwide recall?
Such scares will soon be a thing of the past.
German researchers have developed a safer lithium-ion battery that is virtually non-inflammable, addressing concerns of mobile phones users worldwide.
The new prototype is based on a polymer electrolyte, which unlike liquid electrolyte in conventional cell phone batteries is not inflammable.
Carbon time bomb ticking away, beneath the ocean
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists have sounded a grim warning over how global warming could destabilise vast carbon reserves beneath the ocean floor and unleash a catastrophic threat.
These carbon reserves exist as clathrates, ice lattices and continental permafrost and are found even under freshwater lakes like Lake Baikal in Siberia. These ice structures may hold trillions of tonnes of methane.
Bangladesh scientists produce petroleum from organic wastes
By Xinhua,
Dhaka : Scientists in Bangladesh have developed ways to produce petroleum from degradable organic municipal waste and are now studying its feasibility before going to commercial production.
"We have developed petroleum products from organic municipal wastes and we are looking into its commercial viability," Yunus Miah, principal engineer of the state-run Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR), said Wednesday.
Iran tests sounding rocket, unveils first homemade satellite
By RIA Novosti
Tehran/Moscow : Iran successfully launched on Monday a sounding rocket as a preliminary step toward sending its first homemade research satellite into orbit, national media said.
Iran's state television earlier reported that Iranian scientists had built the Omid (Hope) research satellite under a project that took 10 years to complete. The satellite was unveiled on Monday during an official ceremony and may be launched by March 2009.
Man on Moon revolutionised ideas behind vehicles, medicine
By IANS,
Washington : Forty years ago, on July 20, 1969, the United States achieved a historic feat when Apollo 11 landed on the moon.
"One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," were Neil Armstrong's prophetic words that opened the pathway for new medical procedures and 'holistic reinvention' of vehicles.
America's race to the moon also launched a generation of scientists. They were inspired by a sense of patriotism and the wonders of space.
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...
Indian nuclear team heading to London next week
By IANS,
New Delhi : More than six months after the Nuclear Suppliers Group signalled the resumption of global nuclear trade with India, New Delhi is set to explore business and technology opportunities with Britain when a group of scientists led by Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) chief Anil Kakodkar travels to London next week.
"The visit is significant as it follows the recent 123 agreement and will re-invigorate the UK-India bilateral relationship in this important area," a British High Commission press release said, adding that the four-day visit would begin March 24.
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.
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.
New software cuts waiting time at hospitals
By IANS,
Sydney : A new software package, developed by researchers, helps hospital or emergency staff anticipate the rush of patients hour by hour for the day or the next week, even on holidays with varying dates, such as Easter.
The Patient Admission Prediction Tool (PAPT), designed by Australian e-Health Research Centre (AeHRC), can predict accurately how many patients will be present at emergency departments, their expected requirements and the number of admissions.
India to launch six more satellites in 2015-16
Chennai : India will launch six more satellites during 2015-16 of which two would be communication satellites, three navigation satellites and one space science...
Delhi schoolchildren ‘journey into outer space’
By Richa Sharma, IANS,
New Delhi : What makes the earth go around the sun, aeroplanes fly and volcanoes erupt? A group of 35 Delhi school students has been busy unravelling the mysteries of the universe and understanding basic science through a programme prepared by US space agency NASA.
The children - from at least eight schools in the capital - were part of a five-day summer camp 'Journey into Outer Space' being run by Mad Science, a global organisation working to spread science literacy among children in the age group of 7-12 years.
Storage options for the digital generation
By DPA
Washington : Just about everything in our lives is being stored digitally today - music, videos, photographs, documents, arts and crafts, and much more.
That's why the scramble for more data storage - and more versatile data storage - is never-ending. The market has responded with a proliferation of types of data storage designed to meet the needs of everyone.
But the options are dizzying.
To keep from making a costly mistake when buying storage, you need to know what your storage needs are and which type of storage best satisfies those requirements.
5,000-year-old village ruins found in China
By IANS,
Beijing : Archaeologists in China have found the ruins of two 5,000-year-old villages in Mongolia.
The ruins in Hamin'aile village in Tongliao city in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region have been identified as possibly originating from Hongshan culture, dating back 5,000 years, said Ji Ping, a researcher at the Institute of Cultural and Historical Relics and Archaeology.
About 1,200 square metres have been excavated, and houses and tombs had been found, China Daily reported.
India’s moon impact probe to hit lunar surface Friday
By IANS,
Chennai : The moon impact probe (MIP) abroad India's first lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 is expected to hit the lunar surface Friday evening, said a top official of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
"Ninety-five percent of the moon mission is over successfully. I am not in a position to say when the MIP will land on the moon," ISRO Chairman G. Madhavan Nair told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar here Thursday.
According to him the unmanned Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft will map the moon to get an idea about the minerals present there.
Be careful when accessing your computer from afar
By Nabeel A. Khan, IANS,
New Delhi : Be careful when you access your computer over the Internet. Here are some safety tips:
* Install file-sharing software carefully, so that you know what's being shared.
* Person to person (P2P) file-sharing applications will, by default, share downloads in your "save" or "download" folder - unless you set it not to.
* You should also restrict users' ability to write files to the file server.
* Limit guests or anonymous accounts sharing so none can upload files.
Scientists develop tiny sensor to sniff out toxins
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists have developed a stamp-sized sensor that can sniff out some poisonous gases and toxins and can show results simply by changing colour.
The sensor could be useful in detecting high exposures to toxic industrial chemicals that pose serious health risks at the workplace.
While physicists have radiation badges to protect them in the workplace, chemists and workers who handle chemicals do not have equivalent devices to monitor their exposure to potentially toxic chemicals.
India to launch ‘unique’ satellite to study distant glaxies
By NNN-PTI,
Shillong, India : India's space agency along with astronomers from across the country will launch a "unique" satellite later this year to study distant galaxies and black holes.
The Astrosat, scheduled for launch towards the end of the year, will be the country's first satellite entirely dedicated to astronomy.
Astronomers are excited about the prospects thrown up by the Astrosat which is expected to give India an edge in observing the universe.
India’s first lunar spacecraft now cruising around earth
By Venkatachari Jagannathan and Fakir Balaji, IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : India's first lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 started to cruise around the earth in its designated orbit Wednesday morning, minutes after a copybook liftoff launched the country into the elite club that has sent missions to the moon.
Other members of the club are the US, former Soviet Union, European Space Agency, China and Japan. The US returns to lunar exploration aboard Chandrayaan-1, which is carrying two NASA instruments in its payload.
Scientists close to fabricating a practical atom laser
By IANS,
Sydney : Scientists are on the verge of fabricating the first practical atom laser that holds the promise of ever more precise measurement in industry, medical science, navigation and mining.
The breakthrough has been made possible by overcoming a host of theoretical and technical hurdles, allowing for the laser's continuous operation unlike previous versions that drained the source material and switched off.
India to build world’s largest solar telescope
By IANS,
Bangalore : India is inching closer towards building the world's largest solar telescope in Ladakh on the foothills of the Himalayas that aims to study the sun's microscopic structure.
The National Large Solar Telescope (NLST) project has gathered momentum with a global tender floated for technical and financial bidding by the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA).
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.
Indian space agency to map the moon
By Venkatachari Jagannathan and Fakir Balaji, IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : The Indian space agency will map the entire surface of the moon in two years, a top official said here Wednesday, hours after the launch of the country's first unmanned mission to the moon.
"The Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft carries 11 instruments that would conduct varied tests about the moon," G. Madhavan Nair, chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), told reporters here.
Chandrayaan-1, with a life expectancy of two years, is scheduled to orbit the moon from Nov 8 onwards.
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...
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.
Dying amphibians signal impending biodiversity crisis
By IANS,
Washington : An alarming decline in amphibian species signals an impending biodiversity disaster or a new mass extinction threatening the planet, according to University of California researchers.
"There's no question that we are in a mass extinction spasm right now," said David Wake, professor of integrative biology at University of California. "Amphibians have been around for about 250 million years. They made it through when the dinosaurs didn't. The fact that they're cutting out now should be a lesson for us."
Australian astronaut urges bigger role of Australia in space science
By Xinhua,
Canberra : Astronaut Andy Thomas urged Australia on Friday to get greater involvement in space science and exploration, as a return to the moon is under preparation and a mission to Mars contemplated.
Speaking at a Senate inquiry into the space industry in Adelaide, South Australia, Thomas said Australia should establish a dedicated space agency to foster expertise in everything from satellite technology to rocket launching.
Endeavour astronauts begin first spacewalk
By DPA,
Washington : Two NASA astronauts from the space shuttle Endeavour began a spacewalk Tuesday to replace a nitrogen tank on the International Space Station and begin repair of a joint on a key solar panel.
Heide Stefanyshyn-Pieper and Steve Bowen began the planned six-and-a-half hour walk at 18:09 GMT. The nitrogen tank will be installed with help for the station's robotic arm and will include the replacement of a device that moves the coolant through the station.
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.
This February was the Earth’s ninth warmest since 1880
By IANS,
Washington : The combined land and ocean surface average temperature for February was the ninth warmest since records began in 1880, according to an analysis by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The analysis in NOAA's National Climatic Data Centre (NCDC) global reports are based on preliminary data, which are subject to revision. Additional quality control is applied to the data when later reports are received several weeks after the end of the month and as increased scientific methods improve NCDC's processing algorithms.
International space meet begins amid tight security
By IANS
Hyderabad : The 58th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) began Monday amid tight security at the international convention centre in Hitec City. About 2,000 delegates, including heads of global space agencies, are attending the five-day event.
India approves Rs.7.74 bn satellite navigation project
By IANS,
New Delhi : The government Thursday gave its approval to a satellite-based navigation system, which would meet the growing air traffic and strengthen aviation navigation system.
“The new navigation system would increase safety, improve airport and airspace access in adverse weather conditions, and enhance reliability and reduce flight delays,” Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
Sky gazers gather in Shimla to see solar eclipse
By IANS,
Shimla : A large number of skygazers gathered in this Himachal Pradesh capital Friday for a glimpse of the rare celestial spectacle - the annular solar eclipse, officials said.
Kamraj Kaisth, principal scientific officer of Himachal State Council for Science Technology and Environment, said a large number of people, especially school children, gathered on the historic Ridge to catch a glimpse of the phenomenon.
T-Mobile to launch Google phone in October
By DPA,
San Francisco : T-Mobile is to launch the first phone based on Google's Android design Sep 17, in hopes that the new device will compete with Apple's iPhone, Wired magazine reported Friday.
The smartphone will be manufactured by Taiwan-based High Tech Computer, and will have a large touch screen that slides out to reveal a five-row QWERTY keyboard. The device, which will be called the G1, will sell for $150 to T-Mobile customers in the first week of launch before it is offered to other customers at a higher price.
India’s rocket goes into space with 10 satellites
By IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C9 lifted off successfully with 10 satellites - two Indian and eight foreign - at 9.23 a.m. Monday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here.
Officials said the satellites' launches were progressing as expected. Around 16 minutes into the flight, the satellites will be injected into the polar sun synchronous orbit inclined at an angle of 97.94 degree to the equator.
Microsoft: surf skies from desktop
By Xinhua,
Beijing : Microsoft unveiled a public beta of its WorldWide Telescope (WWT) web application that allows star gazers and astronomers deep into the universe Tuesday.
"The WorldWide Telescope is a powerful tool for science and education that makes it possible for everyone to explore the universe," said Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft. "Our hope is that it will inspire young people to explore astronomy and science, and help researchers in their quest to better understand the universe."
Space shuttle Atlantis blasts off
By DPA,
Cape Canaveral (Florida) : The space shuttle Atlantis thundered into the sky over Kennedy Space Centre Monday carrying six crew members on a mission to the International Space Station.
The mission is part of the US space agency's efforts to stock up the ISS reserves as the shuttle programme enters its expected final year in 2010. After this week's mission there are just five more flights scheduled.
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.
Skies ready for triple eclipse
By IANS,
New Delhi : Commencing Tuesday, three eclipses - a lunar eclipse, a solar eclipse and another lunar - will take over the skies, a phenomenon which although experts say is not rare, will nevertheless be nature's grand spectacle.
On July 7, a penumbral lunar eclipse will occur as the moon rises over Australia and sets in western north and south America in the early pre-dawn hours, said C.B. Devgun, director of Science Popularization Association of Communicators and Educators (SPACE).
The eclipse, however, will not be visible over India.
No bail for US Chandrayaan scientist charged with spying
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : A leading NASA scientist, credited with helping discover water on the Moon on India's Chandrayaan mission, who has been arrested on charges of spying for Israel was denied bail after prosecutors said he was a "walking safe deposit box" of government secrets.
Judge Deborah Robinson Thursday rejected a bail request from Stewart David Nozette, who was arrested in an Oct 18 sting operation, saying he was considered too much of a flight risk and should remain in jail pending trial.
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.
Google features Gandhi doodle
By IANS,
London : The search engine Google Friday decorated its home page with a sketch of Mahatma Gandhi on his 140th birth anniversary.
The page, seen by millions of people around the world every day as they search the internet, showed Gandhi's face - the dome of his head and mushtacheo forming the initial letter 'G'.