Scientists use bacteria to find oil, natural gas
By IANS,
Bangalore : Vengannapalli, a nondescript village in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, may be sitting on a reservoir of gas or oil, say scientists who have been able to make the discovery with the help of soil bacteria that live exclusively on a diet of hydrocarbons like methane, ethane and propane.
A high concentration of these bacteria is an indication that gaseous hydrocarbons are seeping out to the surface from oil or gas reservoirs below the ground, says Anurodh Dayal, a scientist at the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) in Hyderabad.
Reksha in New Delhi combines old style and new tech
By Falah al-Fadhli, KUNA,
New Delhi : Over the past ten years, the Indian capital, New Delhi, has developed considerably in view of opening up to international markets and entry of foreign capital.
The active investment movement in New Delhi has stimulated and spurred migration from the countryside to the capital in pursuit of work, making it one of the most overpopulated and chaotic cities.
In spite of recent changes in the city, three-wheeled green-yellow Reksha hiring cars or Tok Tok are still favored by many commuters thanks to its old style, new technology and cheap fare.
XtremeIT hackathons to inspire students to build next WhatsApp or Google!!
By TCN News,
Hyderabad: XtreamIT, a software solutions and services company, is organising a series of hackathons to inspire the city students to build...
Meteor showers to make sky sparkle Aug 12
By Richa Sharma, IANS,
New Delhi : The night sky will be streaked with light in a celestial spectacle put up by the Perseids meteor showers Aug 12.
Sky gazers can look out for it before dawn when over 100 meteors will sparkle in the night sky.
"Perseids are the most famous and beautiful of all meteor showers that approach from the horizon. They are long, slow and colourful," Nehru Planetaruim director N. Rathnashree told IANS.
Find new mineral deposits with a glass of wine
By IANS
Melbourne : Now mineral deposits of silver, zinc, copper and nickel can be detected through a glass of wine or soft drink, a research conducted by scientists in Australia suggests.
An acid present in the drinks dissolves some of the metals to form a solution, and then the metals can be easily detected in routine laboratory tests, the scientists said.
"In many cases, the comparison of metals extracted using wine and soft drink were superior than those extracted using conventional, and much more expensive, commercial solvents," scientists led by Ryan Noble found.
China sends up 1st data relay satellite
By SPA,
Beijing : China has launched its first data relay satellite in preparation for the inaugural spacewalk by a Chinese astronaut scheduled for later this year, a state news agency said Saturday.
The Tianlian I satellite was launched on a Long March-3C carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province late Friday night, Xinhua News Agency said.
Organic foods fight diseases better, says study
By IANS
London : Food produced organically have up to 40 percent more disease-fighting properties than non-organically grown produce, researchers have found.
Scientists at Newcastle University in Britain raised cattle and grew fruits and vegetables on 725 acres of organic and non-organic farms situated next to each other over a period of four years.
Scientists start regional network to study earthquakes in Himalayas
By Sujit Chakraborty, IANS,
Agartala : The Holy Grail for geologists is the ability to predict an earthquake. While they continue their search, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) is putting in place a network by which they can forecast overall seismic activity in the Himalayas, one of the most quake-prone regions of the world.
Microsoft’s Windows 7 to debut Oct 22
By DPA,
San Francisco : Microsoft said Tuesday that it will debut its new operating system Oct 22 as it seeks to block a growing challenge from Google, Apple, and the open-source Linux operating system.
The world's largest software company is releasing Windows 7 just 33 months after launching Windows Vista which has been widely panned for its demanding hardware requirements and slow response time.
Apple introduces new computer models
By IANS,
San Francisco (US): Apple Tuesday updated its computer products lineup with the launch of new notebook and desktop models.
Digital mammography in Kolkata
By IANS,
Kolkata : A digital mammography machine with stereo-tactic biopsy system was installed at a hospital in Kolkata Tuesday. This new technology will help in prompt and accurate detection of breast cancer that in turn may extend a patient's life by about 20 years, said doctors of the hospital.
The new system - GE Senographe DS workstation - has been installed at B.P. Poddar Hospital and Medical Research Ltd, a multi-facility hospital specialising in oncology, traumatology and breast cancer, in south Kolkata.
India’s probe first to sniff water on moon
By IANS,
Bangalore : India's Moon Impact Probe (MIP) was the first instrument to detect water on the moon - way back in November last year when the spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 entered lunar orbit, space agency chief G. Madhavan Nair said here Friday.
"I am happy to share for the first time with all of you that the MIP, while it was descending from Chandrayaan to the moon Nov 14, 2008, picked up strong signals of water particles on the lunar surface," the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman told reporters here.
Indian researcher creates compound that knocks out TB pathogen
By IANS,
Washington/New Delhi : An Indian researcher has created a compound that knocks out four of the tuberculosis bacterium's crucial metabolic pathways simultaneously, ultimately crippling the pathogen.
The development opens the way to designing a single drug that is safe and effective, and may replace the costly cocktail of drugs that people with tuberculosis (TB) must currently take to cure their disease.
Busy but dying to read? Try an e-reader
By IANS,
New Delhi : Technology is changing the way we read. Italica, a German company, is promoting an e-book reader and archive in India for young professionals whose rigorous work schedules and tight holidays leave little room for reading.
Ruchita Puri, an Amsterdam-based entrepreneur and promoter, who is marketing the device in India, said: "It has a library section which the reader can navigate with ease to find the book. The library can store up to 1,000 books."
The Italica e-reader was launched at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The device costs 250 euros or Rs.15,991.
China to broadcast spacewalk live
By Xinhua,
Beijing : China will broadcast live the spacewalk by one of its astronauts aboard the Shenzhou spacecraft now in orbit, according to Wang Zhaoyao, spokesperson of the manned space programme.
The spacewalk, or extra-vehicular activity (EVA), slated for 4.30 p.m. Saturday will last about 30 minutes, he told a press conference here Friday.
One of the three astronauts aboard the Shenzhou 7 spacecraft, Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng, will undertake the spacewalk, Wang said.
Endeavour astronauts begin last spacewalk
By DPA,
Washington : Two space shuttle Endeavour astronauts on Monday began the last of four scheduled spacewalks at 1.24 p.m. (1824 GMT) to work on joints on the solar panels that power the International Space Station (ISS).
In the six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk, astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Steve Bowen were to complete the installation of trundle-bearing assemblies on the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ), which has occupied much of the previous three spacewalks during the current Endeavour mission.
British eclipse chaser robbed, still leaves Taregna smiling
By IANS,
Patna : Peter Toby, who had come to Bihar's Taregna village from Britain to watch the century's longest solar eclipse, lost his passport, money and all other valuables but still left with a smile after getting unexpected help from a priest who had given him shelter in his school.
The London-based computer programmer was unhappy Wednesday morning as thick clouds hid the celestial spectacle that he had come so far to see. He was in for further disappointment when he returned to his room at the St. Mary School.
India to set up 550 more weather stations to help farmers
By IANS,
New Delhi : India will set up 550 additional Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) and 1,350 automatic rain gauge (ARG) stations to provide district level agricultural met advisory to millions of farmers.
Inaugurating the district level agro-met advisory service (DASS), Minister of Science and Technology Kapil Sibal said this will help farmers to take advantage of benevolent weather and minimise the crop damage due to worst weather conditions.
Indian device for cancer treatment gets EU certification
By IANS,
Bangalore : Cytotron, a device developed by the city-based medical technology firm Scalene Cybernetics for treatment of cancer and osteoarthritis, has received the European Union (EU) certification from Underwriters Laboratories, a worldwide independent product safety certification organisation.
The Conformity Europa (CE) certificate, a regulatory requirement for compliance, will enable Scalene to sell the 2,400 kilogram medical device to hospitals and institutes in European and other international markets.
Scientists fear another round of mass extinction
By IANS,
London : One in five of the world's mammals, birds and fish are now endangered, indicating a possible sixth round of mass extinction in the Earth's history, scientists say.
Have you sent your name to Mars?
New York : Would you like to imprint your name on the surface of the Red Planet? NASA is giving you a chance to...
Shenzhou VII ready for final test
By Xinhua,
Beijing : The team that developed Shenzhou VII, China's third manned spacecraft, will begin the final test at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu province in a few days.
Zhang Bainan, chief designer of the spacecraft, said on Tuesday that the research and development team of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC) will leave for Jiuquan early this month.
This, according to insiders, signals the final preparation stage of the country's third manned space mission.
Scientists create wonder alloys for aerospace industry
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists have created titanium based metallic-glass composites - wonder alloys that are not only lighter, tougher and cheaper than existing compounds, but can be bent into any shape and are ideal for use in aerospace applications.
Earlier this year, the work by the same Caltch (California Institute of Technology) group had resulted in "alloys with unrivaled strength and toughness," noted Douglas Hofmann, visiting scientist and co-author of the current study.
India to launch first manned spaceship in 2013
By NNN-Bernama,
Moscow : India would launch its first manned space flights by sending two astronauts in an orbit in a Russian spaceship in 2013, Press Trust of India (PTI) said Wednesday quoting local media reports.
For this, the Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) is to finance the acquisition of a Soyuz spaceship and train its astronauts by a Russian commander.
The Russian cosmonaut would lead the two-member crew on an independent space flight lasting several days, 'Voice of Russia' radio reported.
Facebook reunites Indonesian siblings after 35 years
By DPA,
Jakarta : An Indonesian woman found a brother who had been missing for more than three decades through the popular social networking site Facebook, a report said Tuesday.
Nurlianti Dehi was separated from her elder brother Anton in 1974 when he left their hometown in Central Sulawesi province for neighbouring North Sulawesi, according to the online edition of the Media Indonesia daily.
Anton maintained contact with his family for the first two years but later cut off communication completely, she told the newspaper.
India’s nuclear centre to make systems safe, sustainable
By Manish Chand and Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington: The "Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership" announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday will conduct studies in four key areas of nuclear energy systems, nuclear security, radiation Safety, and applications of radioisotopes and radiation technology.
The Centre being set up by the Department of Atomic Energy will have four schools to conduct research and development of design systems that are intrinsically safe, secure, proliferation resistant and sustainable.
Possible ice volcano found on Saturn moon
By DPA,
Washington : NASA's Cassini spacecraft has spotted what could be an ice volcano on Saturn's moon Titan, scientists said Tuesday.
Young Microsoft director harbours high hopes for IT
By Shyam Pandharipande, IANS
Nagpur : The next twenty years will be revolutionary in IT history and what lies ahead for humanity should be best left to the wonderful ingenuity of mankind, says Rajesh Munshi, one of the youngest directors at Microsoft Corp, on a visit to his hometown here.
A key driver in the world's biggest IT company, Munshi has absolutely no doubt that Bill Gates' vision of personal computers sans keyboards, like his many marvellous dreams, would come true in the foreseeable future "when my generation, in its thirties, is still young".
Hole in Moon may serve as lunar base for astronauts
By IANS,
London : In a major discovery, geophysicists have identified a vertical hole they believe is a skylight on the surface of the moon that could serve as a lunar base for astronauts.
The dark pit in an intact lava tube is located in the Marius Hills region, a volcanic area on the Moon, a report published in Geophysical Research Letters said.
The discovery was made using images from the moon-orbiting Japanese SELENE (also known as Kaguya) spacecraft. It was led by Junichi Haruyama of the NTT DATA CCS Corporation, Japan.
Cars still drive China’s development-first strategy
By DPA
Beijing : Giant power plants belching out clouds of filthy coal smoke often spring to mind when people mention China's worsening air quality. But the exponential growth of the car industry over the past 10 years has also added enormously to the noxious mix of pollutants swirling across urban centres.
As hundreds of new vehicles take to China's roads every day, the government is left in something of a bind between enforcing new environmental policies and its long-term development of the economically vital auto industry.
Mongolia seeks increased links with India in IT, mining
By IANS,
New Delhi: Mongolia Monday said it was looking for increased trade and commerce with India in the fields of mining and information technology.
Mongolian leaders, including Prime Minister Sukhbaataryn Batbold and chairman of the Mongolian State Great Hural (Parliament) D. Demberel made known their wish list during their meeting with visiting Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.
A parliamentary delegation led by the speaker is on a five-day day visit to Mongolia.
India to rollout 3G services by mid-2008: A. Raja
By IANS
New Delhi : Indian mobile users will be able to use 3G services by the middle of next year, Communications and IT Minister A. Raja said here Thursday.
"We are hopeful that some spectrum for both 2G and 3G services will be vacated by the end of this year. I hope that could pave the way for a rollout of 3G services by mid next year," the minister said at a 3G summit.
On being asked how much spectrum would be vacated, the minister replied, "That is up to the defence ministry to decide."
Using bats to help tropical reforestation
By IANS,
London : German scientists have hit upon a novel yet cost-effective idea to revive reforestation in the tropics - by using bats as seed dispersers.
They have designed bat roosts - replicating large, hollow trunks - to boost seed dispersal of a range of tropical plants.
"So far we have found 10 bat species using the roosts, and several of these are common and important seed dispersers," said Detlev Kelm of the Institute of Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin.
$40,800 bid to name butterfly after a loved one
By IANS
New York : An unidentified person bid $40,800 for the naming rights of a new species of butterfly -- and scientists will use the money to continue their research.
Researchers at the University of Florida discovered the new owl butterfly in Mexico's Sonoran desert earlier this year and decided, in a first, to offer its naming rights in an online auction.
The new butterfly's scientific name is Opsiphanes blythekitzmillerae, but its popular name, chosen by the winning bidder, is Minerva -- in memory of Margery Minerva Blythe Kitzmiller of Ohio.
China’s new carrier rocket to debut in 2014
By Xinhua
Beijing : China's new generation of carrier rocket, the Long March 5, with a maximum payload capacity of 25 tons, will come into use in 2014, said an official with the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology on Sunday.
The rockets will be made in Tianjin and launched in Hainan, said Liang Xiaohong, vice president of the academy and a member of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the top political advisory body.
Shuttle Discovery launch postponed until Feb 27: NASA
By RIA Novosti,
Washington : The US space agency NASA has set a new date for the launch of space shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station (ISS) due to technical reasons, an official said.
The launch has been postponed twice and is now tentatively set for Feb 27, following an assessment of shuttle flow control valve testing.
"More time was needed to complete analysis and testing," said Allard Beutel, a spokesman with NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
Over 700 Russian scientists part of Large Hadron Collider project
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The development of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's largest and most powerful particle accelerator, has involved over 700 Russian physicists from 12 research institutes, a project coordinator said Monday.
The $5.8 billion international project, which will be officially unveiled on October 21 at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known by its French initials CERN, has involved more than 2,000 physicists from hundreds of universities and laboratories in 34 countries since 1984.
India to focus on sea, air and earth studies
By IANS
Chennai : India would focus on Arctic and Antarctic missions, study climate change and send new satellites into space to study oceans and the atmosphere over the next five years, an official said here Wednesday.
"India will develop new capability to drill deep into the ocean and by 2011, try to place a manned submersible into the dark depths of the ocean," P.S. Goel, secretary, ministry of earth sciences, told IANS on the sidelines of an advanced engineering conference here.
"Ocean, atmosphere and seismology will be the areas of action for us," he said.
Your card details could be ‘robbed by radiowave’
By IANS,
London: Millions of credit and debit card users could be "robbed by radiowave" because of a new contactless technology, the Daily Mail reported.
Punjab to have police station to tackle cyber-crime
By IANS,
Chandigarh : The Punjab Police Monday announced that a state-of-the-art cyber crime police station and forensic science laboratory would be set up in the state.
Laying the foundation stone of the new project Monday, Director General of Police N.S. Aulakh said that the cyber crime police station was required to cater to technology related crimes committed in the state.
The cyber crime police station and the forensic lab to be set up in Mohali town, 10 km from here, will cost Rs.80 million, Aulakh said.
Synthetic virus conveys genes, drug molecules to tumour cells
By IANS,
Washington : Korean researchers have created an artificial virus able to replicate the function of the original - transporting both genes and drugs into cancer cells.
But with a vital difference - they do not cause side-effects like sparking an immune response or causing cancer like their real counterparts.
A research team headed by Myongsoo Lee of Yonsei University, Seoul, has now developed a new strategy that allows the artificial viruses to maintain a defined form and size.
Asteroids are linked to meteorites striking earth
By IANS,
Sydney : Asteroids in space are linked to meteorites that land on earth, a new discovery claims. Analysis of dust samples from an asteroid known as Itokawa has unspooled these links.
Endeavour undocks from ISS, winds up longest mission
By Xinhua
Beijing : U.S. space shuttle Endeavour on Monday undocked from the international space station and headed for home, ending an "extraordinary mission" marked by a record five successful spacewalks, media reported.
The shuttle has been at the station 12 days, the longest mission ever of its kind.
During their stay, the seven shuttle astronauts, working with the three-member station crew, attached the first piece of a Japanese laboratory to the station and assembled a Canadian maintenance robot known as Dextre.
PCs are not always suitable for use as television sets
By DPA
Berlin : People spend hours in front of countless PC monitors nowadays. Usually those monitors go dark when work ends. That could soon change in some households.
Monitors have other uses apart from word processing and spreadsheets. They can also show movies and soap operas. But a few problems still remain when converting your monitor into a desktop TV.
India discovers 67 animal species, 29 plant species
By Prashant K. Nanda, IANS,
New Delhi : Indian scientists have discovered 67 new animal species, including fishes, spiders and crop eating insects, and 29 plant species, including grass and flower varieties, last year.
"All these discoveries were made in 2007 and they are vital additions to the plant and animal science of India and the world," Ramakrishna, director of Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), told IANS Thursday.
Google smart phone may be launched Tuesday
By IANS,
New York : Apple's iPhones will have a big competition on their hands as Google is set to launch its much discussed smart phone next week.
The new smart phone, Nexus One, may be unveiled Jan 5 when the internet search engine giant holds a media briefing about its smart phone business at its Mountainview headquarters in California. The Google-branded device will use its latest Android operating system called Anrdoid 2.1.
Android is already being used in more than a dozen smart phones by many vendors, including Motorola and Samsung.
सेवाओं से लैस है ज़ियाउल इस्लाम का मोबाइल एप्लीकेशन
फहमिना हुसैन, TwoCircles.net,
सवाई माधोपुर(राजस्थान): आज जब पूरा देश डिजिटलीकरण की ओर बढ़ रहा है और लगभग सभी क्षेत्र डिजिटल होते जा रहे हैं, ऐसे...
Lumbering pachyderms almost as mobile as horses: Study
By IANS,
London : In popular perception, playful pachyderms are perceived as stiff gaited, but latest research has established that they are almost as mobile as trotting horses.
For example, John Hutchinson of The Royal Veterinary College visited several zoos in Britain and had even been to Thailand to study how Asian elephants moved their legs as they walk and run.
Keepers of Colchester and Whipsnade Zoos in Britain were keen to know more about the animals' natural limb movements in order to develop training programmes and prevent the onset of arthritis.
Goose Technologies launches risk management product
By IANS
Hyderabad : City-based Goose Technologies has introduced Procon, a risk management solution.
Procon enables global enterprises to have real-time visibility and predictability of key performance indicators (KPI) at different levels and function areas.
Goose Technologies founder and CEO Debasish Pattnaik told a news conference here Wednesday that Procon was uniquely designed to offer real-time visibility of KPIs across all levels and also offers aggregation at both organisation and enterprise levels.
Clouds, fog hide meteor shower view in Delhi
By IANS
New Delhi : A rare celestial event, the Geminid meteor shower, was visible across most of India Friday night, but sadly the grand annual celestial spectacle could not be seen in Delhi due to a cloudy and foggy sky.
"Not only Delhi, but places like Mumbai and other northern Indian cities will not view this development properly. Sky watchers in the capital will miss out the event due mainly to fog, clouds and light pollution (excessive city lights)," Nehru Planetarium director R. Rathnasree told IANS.
Our moon uncommon, say astronomers
By IANS
New York : Though moons are common enough in the universe, ours is rather uncommon, according to a new study by US astronomers.
The Earth's moon, the subject of much art, myth and poetry, was formed out of a tremendous collision, a rare event seen in less than 10 percent of moon formations, Sciencedaily.com reported.
The study, based on new observations by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, was undertaken by researchers at the University of Florida and appears in the latest edition of the Astrophysical Journal.
IBM to set system to monitor Bangalore water supply
By IANS,
Bangalore: Global IT major IBM's big data and predictive analytics will create systems to monitor and manage water supply in Bangalore by the...
Hyderabad lab hopes Iran will help in cloning cheetah
By IANS
Hyderabad : Scientists at a Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONE) here are continuing their efforts to clone a rabbit and hope to get assistance from Iran to fulfil their ambitious goal - to clone a cheetah.
This is the country's first animal cloning bid, and the LaCONE scientists, of the prestigious Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), want to clone a laboratory animal before working on their dream project.
U.S., China space debris still orbiting Earth
By Xinhua,
Beijing : Debris from the U.S. intercept of a spy satellite in February and from China's anti-satellite test in Janaury 2007 is still orbiting Earth, according to a space debris expert.
T.S. Kelso's CelesTrak satellite tracking software shows some 15 pieces of the busted up USA 193 spysat are still flying around, although when the successful intercept was reported, estimates were that all pieces would re-enter Earth's atmosphere within 40 days.
A recent analysis shows the last piece of clutter will decay about 100 days post-intercept, Kelso reported.
Argentine scientists discover ‘master gene’ linked to cancer
By IANS
Buenos Aires : A group of Argentine scientists has discovered a "master gene" that determines why carcinogenic tumours survive.
Scientists of the Exact and Natural Sciences Faculty at the University of Buenos Aires and the National Council of Scientific and Technical Research of Argentina carried out the research, reported Spanish news agency EFE.
For four years, the team studied tumours of the pituitary gland located at the base of the skull.
Textile students devise anti-radiation shield for astronauts
By IANS,
Washington : Textile engineering students have thought up of an answer to one of the prime threats bedevilling NASA space missions: radiation.
The students of North Carolina State University (NCSU) have designed a 'blanket' that could shield lunar outposts and astronauts' living quarters from radiation, while generating and storing power.
The 'lunar texshield' is made from a lightweight polymer material that has a layer of radiation shielding that deflects or absorbs the radiation so astronauts are only exposed to a safe amount.
Google, HTC and Verizon set to challenge iPad
By DPA,
San Francisco : Google is teaming up with Taiwanese phone-maker HTC and the largest US cellphone carrier Verizon to launch a challenger to Apple's iPad in time for the holiday season, PC World reported Wednesday.
The as-yet-unnamed tablet would run on Google's Chrome operating system, and is likely to be heavily subsidized for buyers who opt to purchase the device along with a monthly data plan from Verizon, the report said.
Sterlite bags contracts worth Rs.600 crore
By IANS,
New Delhi : Optical fibre cable maker Sterlite Technologies Tuesday said it has bagged contracts worth Rs.600 crore ($130 million) in India and Africa.
In a regulatory statement, the company said it received contracts for its telecom and power products.
Following the announcement, the company's scrip hit a 52-week high at Rs.334.90 on the Bombay Stock Exchange during the day, but settled lower at Rs.328, up 5 percent over its previous close.
Stephen Hawking: there may be aliens!
By Xinhua,
Beijing : Stephen Hawking said there may be alients, but they may not be intelligent as others had thought, or just primitive life.
The 66-year-old famed British cosmologist Hawking's comments were part of a lecture at George Washington University on Monday in honor of NASA's 50th anniversary.
He theorized that there are possible answers to whether there is extraterrestrial life.
"Primitive life is very common and intelligent life is fairly rare," said Hawking "Some would say it has yet to occur on earth."
Altered photos play tricks on memory
By IANS
New York : Doctored photos have a way of affecting your memory, according to a new study that used digitally altered images of public events.
The study, initiated by the University of California at Irvine, found that doctored photos of public events can make them appear bigger and more violent than they actually were.
Findings of the study have been published in the latest issue of the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology, Sciencedaily.com reported.
Climate change wreaks havoc on coral reefs worldwide
By IANS,
Sydney : Ocean warming is spurring the incidence of virulent coral diseases, already wreaking havoc on reefs worldwide.
David Bourne and colleagues at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) said global warming and increased sea surface temperatures presented a major challenge to the health of the world's coral reefs.
Warming has caused significant damage to reefs in recent hot years (particularly 1998 and 2002) by sparking coral bleaching, which is a breakdown in the symbiotic relationship between the coral and its bacterial partner (zooxanthellae).
Ariane 5 rocket blasts off with two satellites
By Xinhua,
Paris : An Ariane 5 ECA launcher carrying a British military satellite and a Turkish telecoms satellite lifted off from Europe's Spaceport at Kourou, in French Guiana, Thursday night.
The rocket carrying Skynet 5C and Turksat 3A blast off at 2205 GMT Thursday night and the satellites were accurately injected into the geostationary transfer orbits about 30 minutes later, said a statement posted on the website of the European Space Agency.
The launch, which had been slated for May 23, has been postponed twice due to technical hitches.
Russia opens polar research station to secure Arctic claim
By DPA
Moscow : Russia has opened a new Arctic polar research station in a bid to reinforce its claims to Arctic gas and oil deposits, Interfax news agency reported Friday.
The drifting station research unit, North Pole-35, was set up in the Arctic Friday, the agency reported, citing a spokesman for the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute.
The report said the Russian flag would also be hoisted at the research unit, where 22 researchers and scientists would work, most of them Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) staff.
Clouds block view of total solar eclipse in Gujarat
By IANS,
Surat : Scientists, tourists and school children in Gujarat were left disappointed Wednesday as heavy clouds blocked the view of the total solar eclipse.
"Some darkness was felt in Surat around 6.25 a.m. to 6.27 a.m. but the eclipse was not visible due to heavy clouds," said a senior official of the Gujarat Science City, who had arrived here from Ahmedabad to watch the event.
The official said that the total solar eclipse could not be seen even in Vadodara and Ahmedabad due to cloudy skies.
Hackers attack Swedish websites
By IANS,
Stockholm: Several Swedish websites including those of banks and armed forces were attacked Monday, causing their servers to crash.
‘France to provide Pakistan nuke technology’
By IANS,
Islamabad : France has agreed to provide Pakistan with civilian nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, state-owned PTV reported Friday, quoting Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
According to Qureshi, France has expressed its readiness for cooperating with Pakistan in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
The affirmation came during President Asif Ali Zardari's discussions with his French counterpart Nicholas Sarkozy.
Further negotiations on this will be held in July this year, Qureshi said.
Gene may explain why Labradors collapse after hunting
By IANS,
Washington : Researchers have identified a gene which is linked with Labradors collapsing soon after an intense hunting or retrieving exercise, in a condition known as exercise-induced collapse or EIC.
In most cases, their legs get wobbly and hind limbs give out, and in rare cases they may die. Labradors are the commonest dog breed in the world. An estimated three to five percent have EIC.
Twitter reaches another milestone with 20 billionth tweet
By IANS,
New York : Online social networking website Twitter set yet another milestone Sunday with a message posted by a Japanese user becoming the 20 billionth tweet of the four-year-old website.
User "GGGGGGo_Lets_Go" from Tokyo tweeted something hard to translate. The graphic designer said it was part of a conversation between him and someone else about a third party.
But moments later he was inundated with congratulations from Twitter users across the world soon after the website announced it surpassed the 20 billionth tweet, New York Daily News reported citing PC Magazine.
China to launch second Olympic weather forecasting satellite on May 27
By Xinhua,
Beijing : China will launch a second Olympic weather forecasting satellite, the Fengyun-3 (FY-3), on May 27, said the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) on Friday.
The new satellite will provide accurate and timely information about weather changes to facilitate more precise weather forecasts during the Beijing Olympic Games set to open on Aug. 8, said a CMA official.
The official added that the new satellite, with a bigger payload, would provide medium-range weather forecasts up to 10 to 15 days.
Iran eyes another satellite in space
By IANS,
Tehran : Iran plans to launch another satellite dubbed Sharif, designed by the students of one of its leading scientific institutions, an official said.
Polythene degradable: claims a Kashmiri girl
By NAK,
Srinagar : True but hard to believe that Polythene is a degradable substance if a particular chemical extracted from an herb is applied on it before burning it.
This was scientifically proved by Nasira Akhter , 35 ,a 12th class pass out housewife an innovator from Kanipora, Kulgam south Kashmir, who demonstrated a new method for degradation of polythene, at University Science Instrumentation Centre (USIC) meeting hall today.
Aim to create positive influence for women within the boundaries of Shari’ah: The Muslimah...
The Muslimah Network is a website dedicated to stories and commentary on Muslim women from an Islamic perspective. Started by the UAE-based writer/graphic designer...
Solar powered-plane breaks non-stop flight record
London : The solar-powered plane Solar Impulse 2 broke the endurance record of 72 hours of non-stop flight over the Pacific on its round-the-world...
New infra-red device can remotely detect bombs
Washington: Scientists have developed a new infra-red model that can detect potentially dangerous materials from a distance.
"The idea for this infra-red technology is to...
Scientists can now control most atoms
By IANS
Washington : University of Texas researchers have developed a twin-technique to control atoms, marking a major step forward in atomic physics with a variety of scientific and technological applications.
The technique can also be used to determine the mass of the neutrino, the primary candidate for dark matter.
The method, developed by Mark Raizen and his team, stopped atoms by passing a supersonic beam through an "atomic coil-gun" and cooled them using "single-photon cooling".
‘Reverse engineering’ the brain to demystify it
By IANS,
Washington : Researchers led by an Indian American are "reverse engineering" the brain to design the first working model of the complex interplay between the mind and body.
For example, when you puick up an ice-cold drink out of the fridge this summer, how do your brain, eyes and hands interact?
"It is still a mystery, really," said University of British Columbia computer scientist Dinesh Pai. "No one has ever completely mapped out the processes at the level of specific neurons, muscles and tendons."
NASA delays Martian soil gathering due to communication glitch
By Xinhua,
Washington : NASA has delayed gathering of Martian soil samples by the Phoenix Mars Lander due to a communication glitch on a satellite.
The NASA Phoenix team was confident to start delivering soil samples to instruments on the Lander's deck on Wednesday, using its robotic arm after two practice rounds of digging and dumping the clumpy soil at the Martian arctic site this week.
How earthquakes happen
New Delhi : Most earthquakes originate from compressional or tensional stresses built up at the margins of the huge moving plates that make up...
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.
China: spacewalk on course for October
By NNN-Xinhua
Beijing : China is planning to conduct its first spacewalk in October from a Shenzhou VII spacecraft, senior space engineers said.
They also said a research team had been set up to conduct a feasibility study for a space station.
Wang Yongzhi, former chief designer of China's Manned Space Program, said the launch date had originally been scheduled for after the Olympics (Aug 8 to 24) and Paralympics (Sept 6 to 17).
Global warming could raise sea level by five metres: Scientist
By DPA,
Wellington : New evidence shows that if global warming melts the West Antarctic ice sheet, sea levels around the world could rise by up to five metres, a New Zealand scientist said Thursday.
Tim Naish, director of Victoria University's Antarctic Research Centre in Wellington, said the ice sheet was Antarctica's most vulnerable element and was expected to melt first, along with Greenland.
"Polar ice sheets have grown and collapsed at least 40 times over the past five million years, causing major sea-level fluctuations," he said in a statement issued by the university.
New software to convert ordinary laptops into supercomputers
By IANS,
Washington : A new software will convert ordinary laptops into powerful supercomputers to extract features and patterns from enormously complex data sets.
The tool - a set of problem-solving calculations known as an algorithm - is compact enough to run on computers and laptops with as little as two gigabytes of memory.
It has been designed and developed by scientists at University of California, Davis (UC-D), and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
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.
Waterloo rated as Canada’s top research university
By IANS,
Toronto : The University of Waterloo, based in the city of Blackberry near here, has been rated as the top research institution in Canada.
In the annual ``Canada Top 50 Research Universities,'' Waterloo edged out many top universities in a survey which tracks sponsored research at these institutions. The university is quite popular with Indian students. It has some prominent Indians on its faculties also.
In a release before the publication of the survey at the weekend, the university said its total research ranked in the ``elite $100 million club'' in 2007.
Watch Moon, Venus and Jupiter at their closest
By IANS,
New Delhi : As the sun went down Monday evening, the three brightest objects in the sky - Jupiter, Venus and Moon - came closest, a phenomenon that will not be visible again till 2012.
The two brightest planets in the solar system and the moon were seen just two degrees apart Monday evening and will be visible all through the night.
Several people thronged the Old Fort in the capital as Nehru Planetarium has put up telescopes so that the public can see the celestial activity.
Scientist turns his face into a remote control
By IANS,
Washington : The hunt for the remote is over! Soon your face will replace it.
Yes, a budding scientist has evolved a way to speed up or slow video playback by using his face as a remote.
The demonstration was part of a larger project to use automated facial expression recognition to make robots more effective teachers.
Apple unveils MacBook Air – thinnest, lightest laptop
By IANS,
London : Apple has unveiled the thinnest, lightest laptop ever which combines features from the iPhone and iPad with traditional series of MacBook.
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.
Semiconductor industry attracts $7 bn in investments
Bangalore, Feb 18 (IANS) India's semiconductor industry has already attracted $7 billion (Rs.280 billion) in committed investments, less than a year after the government announced an ambitious policy to promote chip manufacturing and create an ecosystem for chip design services, a top official said Monday.
These firms are especially keen on making solar photovoltaic (PV) cells for domestic and export markets, Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh said here.
ISRO slow on internet?
By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) symbolises nothing less than rockets, satellites and moon missions but when it comes to a professional need as simple as uploading contents on the website, the presitigious organisation seems to have bungled.
The 97th edition of the Indian Science Congress, organized by the ISRO and the Kerala University, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday.
Rural areas fuel telecom growth in India
By Pupul Dutta, IANS,
New Delhi : When most sectors are bearing the brunt of global economic slowdown, India's telecom industry is continuing with its high growth saga, thanks to the expanding subscriber base in the rural areas.
India last month saw the highest number of subscriber addition, 15.87 million, about three times the population of countries like Finland, Denmark and Singapore.
Russian scientists offer hope for HIV vaccine
By RIA Novosti
Novosibirsk (Russia) : Russian scientists have developed a potential HIV vaccine.
"As we know there is no HIV vaccine. The Americans had high hopes of developing one, but the three vaccines developed most recently all failed trials. The specialists from Vector said there is a hope for an effective vaccine," said a leading geneticist, Vladimir Shumny.
Vector stands for the Russian Virology and Biotechnology Research Centre. It is located at Novosibirsk in West Siberia.
Can a Machine Heal a Heart? Why New Age Youth Are Turning to AI...
Samah Qundeel, TwoCircles.net
New Delhi: We once believed that technology would bring people closer. But somewhere along the way, it did the opposite. Today, it...
NASA experts arrive in Chile to help in miners’ rescue
By DPA,
Santiago : Experts of the US space agency NASA arrived in Chile Tuesday to contribute to the rescue of 33 miners trapped 700 metres under the Atacama desert in northern Chile.
The experts were met at the airport by Chilean Health Minister Jaime Manalich. They are set to help rescue efforts in psychological, operational and health-related aspects, among others.
Study confirms Darwinian idea of speciation
By IANS
New York : In the first experiment of its kind conducted in nature, a biologist has come up with strong evidence for one of Charles Darwin's cornerstone ideas - adaptation to the environment accelerates the creation of new species.
After studying walking-stick insects in southern California, University of British Columbia evolutionary biologist Patrik Nosil concluded that "the more ways a population can adapt to its unique surroundings, more likely it will ultimately diverge into a separate species".
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.
NASA reschedules shuttle launch for Sunday night
By DPA,
Washington : The US space agency NASA was confident that the repeatedly delayed launch of the space shuttle Discovery would lift off Sunday night for a mission to the International Space Station.
The launch was scheduled for 7.43 p.m. (2343 GMT) Sunday from the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Discovery will have seven astronauts on board, including Japanese crew member Koichi Wakata, who is slated to join the permanent crew on the orbiting space station.
Chandrayaan-2 to take off in 2017
New Delhi : India's second lunar probe, Chandrayaan-2, is planned to be launched in 2017, the parliament was told on Thursday.
"The Chandrayaan-2, India's second...
Film downloads help buffs discover movies at home
By DPA,
Darmstadt (Germany) : A perfect couch potato set-up, with chips and the remote in easy reach, is pointless when there's nothing good on TV. But where a lack of good TV would have once meant running to the video store, nowadays home viewers can turn on their computer to download one of their favourite movies.
Mail movie rentals via online services have been around for a while. But now those services are diversifying into direct downloads onto personal computers.
Fuel free building cooling system developed
By IANS,
Ahmedabad : A Jaipur-based mechanical engineer and an architect from Ahmedabad have jointly developed a fuel free passive cooling system for buildings.
Jyotirmay Mathur of Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur and Rajeev Kathpalia of the city-based Vastu Shilipa Consultants have developed the system that comprises a solar chimney and a wind tower.
The solar chimney that will be installed on the roof of a building will provide ventilation while the wind tower will provide a breeze.
Mice help the mentally ill
By IANS,
Washington : A new model of mouse behaviour developed by Japanese scientists is likely to help in better diagnosis and evaluation of depressive disorders in people.
Researchers from University of Tokyo and Osaka Bioscience Institute evaluated a holistic approach to assess mouse behaviour, and threw up interesting results.
For example, a 24-hour monitoring of the rodents by pressure sensors, after a gene regulating the circadian rhythm was removed, was found to be similar to that previously observed by the team in humans suffering from major depressive disorder.
Scientists find first dinosaur tracks on Arabian peninsula
By IANS,
Dubai : The scientific community is abuzz with something rarely seen in the Arabia peninsula - dinosaur tracks.
Footprints of ornithopod, a large dinosaur, as well as a herd of 11 small and large herbivorous sauropods were found preserved along a Mesozoic coastal mudflat in the Republic of Yemen, according to a study published in the scientific journal PLoS One.
“No dinosaur trackways had been found in this area previously. It's really a blank spot on the map,” said Anne Schulp, who led the study.
Chandrayaan to look for water on the moon
By IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : Is there water on the moon? India's lunar explorer, Chandrayaan-1, will try to find out by peeking into the moon's dark corners and sending an American probe to dig there.
When Chandrayaan heads for the moon Oct 22, it will carry on board a 6.5-kg mini synthetic aperture radar (MiniSAR) developed by the Johns Hopkins University applied physics laboratory and the Naval Air Warfare Centre. It will look for water-ice in the permanently shadowed regions of the lunar poles by digging a few metres into the surface.
Solar powered rickshaws? India and UK set up energy hub
By IANS,
London : Rickshaws powered by solar energy could be your next mode of transport, courtesy of a Commonwealth initiative.
The Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) has set up an incubation hub in partnership with the Indian government to develop cutting edge energy-saving technologies, it announced Tuesday.
The hub, which also involves the Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad, the UK Carbon Trust and British Petroleum's Alternative Energy Group, will work on technologies that will be designed for Indian city and rural living, as well as transport.
In 2007, CSIR has a vision for 2001!
By Prashant K. Nanda, IANS
New Delhi : The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India's oldest and largest scientific institution, has not just been headless for nine long months, but in 2007, to go by its website, it has a vision for 2001!
The vision document flashing on its website, the institute's global interface, says: "CSIR in 2001 would be a model organisation for scientific industrial research and path setter in the shifting paradigms of self financing research and development (R&D).
India announces largest ever auction of hydrocarbon assets
By IANS,
New Delhi : India Thursday announced the auctions for 80 more hydrocarbon assets in the country, including 10 for coal-bed methane, in the largest such exercise under its new policy on oil and gas exploration.
The 70 oil and gas blocks under round number eight of the new policy include 24 in deep waters, 28 in shallow waters and 18 on-land blocks, Petroleum Secretary R.S. Pandey told reporters here. For coal-bed methane, this is the fourth round of auctions.
The bids from both domestic companies and multinational corporations will be accepted till Aug 10.
Social Media backlash over Toyota’s silence in Service Centre death
By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net
New Delhi : Three weeks after the alleged hate crime in...
Chandrayaan may explain origins of Moon: British scientist
By IANS,
London : A British scientist who helped design a camera on board India's Chandrayaan-1 says he hopes images from it will help answer two tantalising questions about the Moon.
“Where did the Moon come from? And could it ever sustain human life?” Maneul Grande of Aberystwyth Universtiy told the Times newspaper.
“After the Apollo landings, people thought they knew a fair bit about the Moon - they'd seen people walking around up there,” said Grande, who helped to design the European Space Agency's camera that will take X-ray images of the Moon's surface.
NASA’s Phoenix lifts first scoop of Martian soil
By Xinhua,
Washington : One week after landing on far-northern Mars, NASA Phoenix spacecraft lifted its first scoop of Martian soil as a test of the lander's Robotic Arm, NASA reported on Monday.
The practice scoop was emptied onto a designated dump area on the ground after the Robotic Arm Camera photographed the soil inside the scoop. The Phoenix team plans to have the arm deliver its next scoopful, later this week, to an instrument that heats and sniffs the sample to identify ingredients.
Astro-pundits debate do’s and don’ts for solar eclipse
By IANS,
New Delhi : Chant the surya mantra, avoid eating out and postpone work and any major assignments, some astrologers warn about the impending eclipse Wednesday. Others, however, dismiss these warnings as "eclipse hysteria".
Astro-pundits are predicting a mixed bag when it comes to the solar eclipse.
The solar eclipse hemmed in between two lunar eclipses - one on July 7 and another Aug 6 - will affect those with Cancer in their birth charts, according to some astrologers.
In Argentina, a fungus that produces diesel
By IANS,
Washington : Researchers have isolated a fungus that produces a new kind of diesel fuel, describing the find as promising.
The discovery may offer an alternative to fossil fuels, said Gary Strobel, Montana State University (MSU) professor of plant sciences. The find is even bigger, he said, than his 1993 discovery of fungus that contained the anticancer drug taxol.
Abu Dhabi hosts information technology summit
By IANS,
By WAM,
Abu Dhabi: The 6th information and communication technology summit of the Middle East's oil and gas sector opened in Abu Dhabi Tuesday.
New long-life battery laptops from Dell
By DPA,
Frankfurt : Dell has released two new laptops from the nascent ULV class. The 13z and 15z are members of the Inspiron series and cost $550 and $580 respectively. ULV stands for Ultra Low Voltage and refers to processors designed to work at lower voltages and use less power.
In the case of the new Dell laptops, that translates into respective battery lives of 11 hours (13z with a 13.3 inch monitor) and 10 hours (15z with 15.6 inch monitor).
New technology purifies exhaust gas from diesel engines
By IANS,
London : The bulk of Danish vehicles fleet runs on diesel, which is causing air pollution in urban areas, from carbon particles, nitrogen oxides and unburned hydrocarbons.
A new four-year project at Ris� DTU (Danish Technical University) is developing an effective method for purifying flue gases, especially exhaust gases, from diesel engines.
ISRO to launch rockets to study solar eclipse
By IANS,
Chennai : The Indian space agency will launch a series of rockets from its two centres between Thursday and Sunday to study Friday's solar eclipse and its aftereffects.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is getting ready to send up a series of sounding rockets - rockets carrying instruments to measure the physical parameters of the upper atmosphere - from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh and Thumba in Kerala to study the effects of the solar eclipse.
Memory chip of future promises massive storage capacity
By IANS,
New York : A hardy, heat-resistant, graphite-based memory device holds the potential of making massive amounts of storage available for computers, handheld media players, cell phones and cameras.
Rice University researchers, who are currently developing the device, said the solid-state device takes advantage of the conducting properties of graphene and would have many advantages over today's state-of-the-art flash memory and other new technologies.
Telecommunication interconnection regulation revised
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's telecom watchdog Tuesday revised the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection Regulation, 2004, making it mandatory for all broadcasters to have reference interconnect offers (RIOs) for their addressable systems.
The Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection (Fifth Amendment) Regulations, 2009, released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), covers regulatory provisions on issues relating to inter-connection for addressable platforms and registration of inter-connection agreements.
Indian Scientists clone world’s ‘first’ buffalo calf
By NNN-PTI,
New Delhi : Scientists at India's National Dairy Reserach Institute today said they have cloned the world's first buffalo calf using a technique superior to the one used in cloning 'Dolly' - the sheep.
In a statement, scientists of the Animal Biotechnology Centre at the Karnal-based NDRI said the "handguided cloning technique" was an advanced modification of the "conventional cloning technique" used in cloning Dolly.
The buffalo calf was born on Feb. 6 at NDRI campus.
"The new technique is less demanding in terms of equipment, time and skill," the statement said.
Scientists turn animal waste into ‘bio-plastic’
By IANS,
Sydney : A new process developed by scientists converts low grade animal waste like feathers into plastic products that are bio-degradable.
The “bio-plastic”, as it is being called, would be suitable for agricultural plastic sheeting, seedling trays, plant pots and even biodegradable golf tees, ScienceAlert reported.
New star forming regions found in Milky Way
By IANS,
Los Angeles : Astronomers have discovered a large number of previously unknown regions in the Milky Way where massive stars are being formed.
The star-forming H II regions are sites where hydrogen atoms are stripped of their electrons by intense radiation from young stars.
With the helo of infrared and radio telescopes Spitzer Space, the researchers traced these regions which remain hidden due to gas and dust clouds around the Milky Way, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said Wednesday.
‘Sarah Palin’ most searched-for political term on Internet
By DPA,
San Francisco : Sarah Palin has taken the political world by storm since she was named the running mate of Republican presidential candidate John McCain last month. Now comes evidence that she's also sparking record interest in the online world.
According to online tracking firm Hitwise, "Sarah Palin" was the most searched-for political term, accounting for two percent of all political searches in the four weeks ending Sep 6, the Saturday after the Republican National Convention. At that time, the previously-unknown Palin had been in the national headlines for only eight days.
India launches satellite-based navigation system
By IANS,
New Delhi : India Tuesday launched a satellite-based navigation system to aid air traffic in the region and joined a select club of nations which have similar capabilities.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel launched the Global Position System Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) based on a constellation of 24 satellites positioned in six earth-centred orbital planes.
X-rays to bring nanoscale materials and bio specimens up close
By IANS
New York : X-rays have taken pictures of broken bones for decades, but scientists have now refined them to capture images of ultra-small particles in nano and bio-materials, including cellular nuclei.
This development will facilitate understanding of how materials behave electrically, magnetically and under thermal and mechanical stress. Besides, its applicability to biology and biomedicine will also contribute to our understanding of disease and its eradication, healing after injury, cancer and cell death.
Space station opens to Tranquility and its picture window
By DPA,
Washington: Astronauts Saturday opened the hatch to the space station's newest room - the Italian-built Tranquility node that will eventually offer a six-sided picture window on space.
NASA television showed the space station and Endeavour shuttle astronauts moving around the opened hatch, through which they installed an airflow system and exercise equipment into the new room. They were also taking dust samples from Tranquility.
Sea urchin holds key to getting minerals from animals
By IANS,
Washington : Mammal teeth and bones, protective shells of molluscs and needle-sharp spines of sea urchins are made from scratch by nature.
The materials of which shells, teeth and bones are composed are the strongest and most durable in the animal world, and scientists and engineers have long sought to mimic them.
Now, biomineralisation may be closer to reality. An international team of scientists has detailed a key and previously hidden mechanism to transform amorphous calcium carbonate into calcite, the stuff of seashells.
New global map most comprehensive ever
By IANS
New York : A new global map that details the planet's land cover with a resolution 10 times sharper than any of its predecessors is also the most comprehensive ever.
The map is based on 20 terabytes of imagery - the equivalent of data in 20 million books - acquired from May 2005 to April 2006 by Envisat's Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) instrument.
There are 22 different land cover types shown in the map, including croplands, wetlands, forests, artificial surfaces, water bodies and permanent snow and ice.
Toy rocket inspires variable-speed bullets
By IANS,
Chicago : A US company is developing a gun that can fire bullets with variable speed and can be set to kill, wound or just cause a bruise.
Lund and Company Invention, a Chicago-based toy design studio, which makes toy rockets that are powered by burning hydrogen, is receiving funding from the US army to adapt the same technology for firing bullets as the army is interested in weapons that can be switched between lethal and non-lethal modes, NewScientist reported.
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.
India’s own probe also found water on moon: ISRO
By IANS,
Bangalore : India's own Moon Impact Probe (MIP) on board the country's maiden lunar craft had discovered water on the moon, a finding confirmed by US space agency NASA's probe that was also aboard Chandrayaan-1, India's top space scientist G. Madhavan Nair said here Friday.
India's first lunar mission had made a "path-breaking and real discovery" by establishing the presence of water on the moon, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman Nair said.
Scientists blame lack of political will for death of oceans
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists blamed "lack of political will and greed of special interests" for the gradual death of oceans and outlined a slew of immediate steps to reverse the process.
Some of these measures include establishing marine reserves, enforcing fishing regulations, limiting fossil fuel consumption, removal of fertiliser subsidies, implementing aquaculture and establishing local conservation measures.
Mixing plant extracts for treatments could be harmful
By IANS
London : Scientists in Britain have warned that treatment of individual health problems by mixing different combination of plant extracts could cause more harm then good to the patient.
Herb practitioners in different parts of the world, including India, mix different combinations of plant extracts to treat ailments, including asthma and arthritis.
The researchers looked at 1,300 published articles on the subject and analysed the only three found to be randomised clinical trials.
Orbiting ISS crew begins space walk mission
By DPA,
Washington : Two crew members aboard the International Space Station (ISS) began a space walk late Monday to collect science experiments attached to the outside of their orbiting home.
US Commander Mike Fincke and Russian flight engineer Yury Lonchakov used the Pirs airlock to leave the space station and begin a six-hour retrieval mission.
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."
Class 4 Gurgaon student’s doodle to feature on Google
By IANS,
New Delhi : A Class 4 student of Gurgaon will have his doodle featured on Google all day Nov 14. This is the first time that a 'made in India' doodle will be featured on the popular search engine.
Beating a good 4,000 other competitors, Puru Pratap Singh's doodle is based on the theme 'My India - Full of Life'.
A Google doodle is a creative Google logo that appears on some special days, to commemorate scientific and artistic achievements, historic or seasonal events, and other local occasions.
China plans third manned spaceflight in October
By RIA Novosti,
Beijing : China plans to launch its third manned space flight in October, the Xinhua news agency said on Thursday.
The Shenzhou-VII spacecraft will be manned by a crew of three Chinese astronauts or 'taikonauts,' two of which who will carry out China's first spacewalk.
Six people have been chosen for the mission - three main crew members and three back up crew.
Days of pirated CDs, DVDs numbered
By IANS,
Washington : The days of pirated CDs and DVDs are numbered, thanks to a novel optical technique developed by researchers in Spain that can differentiate pirated works from the original.
A technique developed by researchers at the University of Grenada makes it easy to identify whether a CD has been recorded through legitimate channels or just copied.
The cheap, fast and effective method relies on light diffraction on a CD surface to differentiate between original record and illegal copies, a University of Grenada statement said.
Endeavour heads for International Space Station
By DPA
Washington/Moscow : US space shuttle Endeavour blasted off early Tuesday, carrying major additions to the International Space Station from Japan and Canada.
Endeavour launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 2:28 am (0628 GMT).
"This is a great launch and a real tribute to the team to get it ready to go fly," Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for Space Operations, said of the rare night launch.
New ‘space truck’ hailed as precursor to Mars mission
By DPA
Darmstadt (Germany) : A heavy-duty European spacecraft that will make its maiden flight Sunday has been hailed as a precursor to a spaceship that could one day carry robots to the planet Mars.
The Jules Verne, which will haul nine tonnes of food, fuel and other supplies to the International Space Station (ISS), then depart with the station's accumulated garbage, is the first automated transfer vehicle (ATV) in a series of five.
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.
Obama may abandon NASA’s moon mission plan
By IANS,
Washington : NASA's plan to send another mission to the moon by 2020 may take a U-turn as US President Barack Obama is expected to propose the closure of the space agency's programme in his new budget to be presented before the Congress Monday.
With the release of President Obama's budget request, NASA will finally get the new marching orders, and there won't be anything in there about flying to the moon, The Washington Post reported.
Arctic boulders confirm that glaciers are thinning
By IANS
London : Huge boulders could enable scientists to predict the contribution of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) to sea level rise, according to the latest issue of Geology.
These boulders - deposited by three glaciers in the Amundsen Sea region - are currently being studied by scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), Durham University and Germany's Alfred Wegener Institute.
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.
UAE firm develops robot that can talk
By IANS,
Abu Dhabi : A United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based company has unveiled a new generation humanoid robot that can converse with humans.
Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan attended a function organised by the Abu Dhabi-based Pal Technology Wednesday night to launch the next generation humanoid robot Reem B, the state-run Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.
Reem B is the evolution of the first humanoid robot Reem A, created by Pal Technology Robotics.