Satyam to remain stand alone entity, says Mahindra
By IANS,
Hyderabad : Tech Mahindra, the new owner of Satyam Computer Services, Monday said the fraud-hit IT major would remain a stand-alone entity in the foreseeable future.
Excited about the prospects of the fraud-hit IT major, the buyer declared that restoring Satyam's financial health will be its priority.
After the first meeting with the government-appointed board, Anand Mahindra, chief of Mahindra Group, said Satyam would remain a stand-alone unit in the foreseeable future and its leadership would continue with marginal changes.
Want to go north? Ask a cow
By IANS,
London : The cow is considered sacred in India. Now scientists know it is also a dependable, navigational compass.
Scientists watched thousands of Google images of the humble quadruped in India, Britain, Ireland, USA to conclude cows automatically point to the north because they have their own inbuilt compasses aligning with the earth's magnetic field.
Although, in many cases, the images were not clear enough to determine which way the cattle were facing they were aligned on a north/south axis.
Russia fails to put U.S. satellite into target orbit
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Russia failed to put a U.S. AMC-14 telecommunication satellite into its target orbit after a booster rocket malfunctioned during the launch early on Saturday, Russia's Federal Space Agency said.
At 2:28 a.m. Moscow time (23:28 GMT Friday), a few minutes after the Proton-M carrier rocket's launch from the Baikonur Space Center which Russia rents from Kazakhstan, the Breeze-M orbit insertion booster failed during its upper stage, putting the satellite into orbit much lower than required.
Russia earmarks $25 bn for secientific research in 2008-10
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia will spend around 600 billion rubles, or about $25 billion, on scientific research in 2008-2010, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
"We have allocated substantial resources for the development of such promising areas as nano- and biotechnology, nuclear energy, aerospace and other research in 2008-2010. Federal target programmes alone will receive about 600 billion rubles for these purposes," Putin told a meeting of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
India to launch ocean-watching satellite this month
By IANS,
Chennai : Some time between Sep 20 and 25, India will launch a specialised satellite to watch over the Indian Ocean, an official of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said Monday.
Oceansat 2 will be launched by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) into a sun-synchronous orbit 720 km above the earth, the official said on phone from ISRO's launch centre at Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh), 70 km from here.
The PSLV will also carry a number of small "nano" satellites, the official said on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.
Russian archaeologists find unique mummies in Egypt
By RIA Novosti
Al-Fayum (Egypt) : Russian archaeologists have found well-preserved mummies in Egypt, dating back to the Ptolemaic era, the head of the Russian Academy of Science's Egyptology department has announced.
"Well-preserved mummies of this period are extremely rare," Galina Belova said. The discoveries were made in the Egyptian oasis of Al-Fayum, where several mummies, combining traits of Hellenic and Egyptian traditions, have previously been found.
China to launch 15 to 16 satellites in 2009: Official
By Xinhua,
Beijing : China plans to launch 15 to 16 satellites this year, an official said here Monday.
"Though the global financial crisis is taking a toll on the world economy, it has no impact on China's space programmes," said Zhang Jianqi, deputy chief commander of the manned space project.
Zhang said China is at present "batch-producing" three spacecraft - Shenzhou-8, Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10.
ISRO land deal rocks Kerala assembly
By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : The opposition Congress Tuesday walked out of the Kerala assembly over the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) purchasing 82 acres of forest land to set up a space education institute.
The trouble began when senior Congress legislator Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan sought leave for an adjournment motion and sought a discussion into the deal - ISRO purchased the land in Ponmudi, 75 km from here, from high profile businessman Savy Mano Mathew.
The Congress alleges that the land belongs to the forest department of the government.
Arabsat launches its BADR-6
By NNN-KUNA,
Riyadh : The Arab Satellite Communications Organisation (Arabsat) has announced that it will launch its BADR-6 satellite on July 4.
The BADR-6, manufactured by Astrium of France, will be launched by an Ariane 5 Rocket. It will take place in French Cayanne in South America.
Khalid Balkhyour, Arabsat president and CEO, disclosed Monday that the BADR-6 satellite is an Astrium Eurostar E2000 model and is a multipurpose communications satellite designed to serve the Arab world and neighbouring regions and countries.
Earth-sized planets found beyond solar system
By IANS,
Washington : NASA's Kepler mission has discovered the first Earth-sized planets orbiting a sun-like star outside our solar system, the US space agency has announced.
Pune gears up for two-day international robotic competition
By IANS,
Mumbai/Pune : Pune gears up to see robots co-ordinate as a team as they form a pyramid to enact a high-tech 'dahi handi' (taking butter from a pot hanging high above) sequence at the two-day 7th ABU International Robocon Competition Saturday.
The event is the culmination of a yearlong competition among teams from over two dozen colleges spread across 17 countries of the Asia-Pacific region.
Nirma Institute of Technology, Ahmedabad and Maharashtra Institute of Technology, (MIT) Pune are representing India at the event.
Flash in the sky appears and disappears
By IANS,
London : Astronomers have discovered a bizarre celestial object that emitted 40 flashes of light before disappearing again.
Described as a hibernating stellar magnet, this weird object initially misled its discoverers showing up as a gamma-ray burst, suggesting the death of a star in a distant part of the universe.
N-bombs to destroy earth-bound asteroids in space!
By IANS,
Washington : Nuclear bombs - itself a threat to the humanity - to save the earth from dangerous space rocks?
Sounds like a new...
New compound found effective against resistant microbes
By IANS,
London : An active compound, plectasin, from fungi and lower animals may well be suitable as an effective weapon against dangerous bacteria.
Plectasin is a small protein molecule that can even destroy highly resistant bacteria.
Researchers at the University of Bonn, Utrecht, Aalborg and of Danish company Novozymes AS have shed light on how the substance does this. The authors see plectasin as a promising lead compound for new antibiotics.
Malaysia to shelve space programme for lack of funds
By DPA,
Kuala Lumpur : Malaysia's fledgling space programme will be temporarily shelved due to a lack of funds, six months after sending its first astronaut to space, a news report said Tuesday.
Science minister Maximus Ongkili said the initial plan to send a second astronaut to space could not be carried out due to a problem of budgeting.
"There's zero money. The ministry will have to look for money if it wants to continue with the programme," Ongkili was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times daily.
Chang’e-1 photographs dark side of the moon
By Xinhua
Beijing : The charge-coupled device (CCD) camera on Chang'e-1, China's first lunar orbiter, has started imaging probes on the dark side of the moon and captured photos of parts of this region, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced Tuesday.
The CNSA said that the orbiter is operating normally in terms of flying, probing, land control and communication, as well as data transmitting and processing.
Genetic materials of starry origin: study
By IANS,
London : In a first, scientists have confirmed that an important component of early genetic material is extraterrestrial in origin.
In a paper in the latest issue of the journal Planetary Science Letters,they have said that some of the raw materials that went into early genetic material have been found in meteorite fragments.
The materials include the molecules uracil and xanthine, precursors to the molecules that make up DNA and RNA, known as nucleobases.
Chandrayaan in final lunar orbit
By IANS,
Bangalore : India's first unmanned lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 was placed in its final orbit of 100 km from the lunar surface, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced here Wednesday evening.
Astronomers find new planets, including a baby
By ANTARA News
Washington : Astronomers using robotic cameras said on Wednesday they had found 10 new planets outside our solar system, while a second team said they had found the youngest planet yet.
The findings add to a growing list of more than 270 so-called extrasolar planets, they told a meeting of astronomers in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Can genetic research spur racist attitudes?
By IANS,
Toronto : People might be different in many ways but genetically they are quite similar. However, is it possible that genetic research may evoke racist attitudes, asks University of Alberta's Tim Caulfield. He organised a seminar to examine the issue.
Last year, Nobel Prize winning geneticist James Watson claimed there are genes responsible for creating differences in human intelligence. These comments made international headlines and Watson later apologised.
Microsoft launches anti-piracy campaign in 49 countries
By IANS,
New Delhi : In its bid to clamp down on rampant software piracy, Microsoft Tuesday announced a global initiative under the banner of 'Global Anti-Piracy Awareness Day' that will include educating consumers as well as enforcing legal action.
Even though the initiative was rolled out in 49 countries, Microsoft's director of intellectual property in Australia told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper that the Redmond-based software giant would not be able to solve the problem fully ever.
Global warming greatest in the past decade: study
By IANS,
Washington : Surface temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere were warmer over the last 10 years than any time during the last 1,300 years, according to a study.
If climate scientists include the somewhat controversial data derived from tree-ring records, the warming is anomalous (deviating from the normal or common order) for at least 1,700 years.
"Some have argued that tree-ring data is unacceptable for this type of study," said Michael Mann, associate professor of meteorology and geosciences and director of Penn State's Earth System Science Centre.
Chinese to train Bolivians how to operate satellites
By IANS,
La Paz : Seventy-four Bolivians will get training from Chinese scientists on how to operate communication satellites, Bolivia's vice-minister for telecommunications Roy Mendez said.
The trainees will learn the techniques of construction, pre-launch testing and gathering data from the satellites from the space.
He said a newly formed Bolivian Space Agency will also give training to professionals, especially young Bolivians, on how to operate and administrate Tupac Katari satellites, Prensa Latina reported.
Bodhtree partners with CompanyStore for centre of excellence
By IANS,
Hyderabad : Bodhtree Consulting, a leading consulting and technology provider, has forged a strategic software partnership with CompanyStore.IN for its centre of excellence (CoE) for SaaS and Cloud computing.
CompanyStore.IN is a well known logo merchandising company that leverages technology to support marketing and branding for some of the biggest names of the industry.
New technology to detect forged signatures
By IANS
Washington : Think twice if you are about to forge a signature. A newly developed technology will help forensic specialists find out when you signed a cheque, the pen you used, and the origin of the ink.
The technology that is used at present can only trace the ink if a piece of the document is soaked in certain solutions.
Washington : Think twice if you are about to forge a signature. A newly developed technology will help forensic specialists find out when you signed a cheque, the pen you used, and the origin of the ink.
The technology that is used at present can only trace the ink if a piece of the document is soaked in certain solutions.
Chandrayaan-II to be launched by 2013
By IANS,
Kolkata : India's second lunar mission Chandrayaan-II is likely to be launched by 2013, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G. Madhavan Nair said Saturday.
"Chandrayaan-II should take place by 2013. Our first lunar mission, Chandrayaan-I, has given us a substantial understanding about entering the moon's orbit. But ensuring the safe landing of the rover on the lunar surface is still an obstacle," Nair told reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony here.
Women to be inducted as fighter pilots: IAF chief
New Delhi : Women would soon be inducted as fighter pilots in the Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha said here...
Telecom watchdog calls for digitisation of cable television
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Friday forwarded its guidelines for the digitization of cable television networks to the information and broadcasting ministry.
If implemented, the guidelines would enable broadband Internet services to be beamed to 76 million cable homes across India.
The telecom regulator has set a five-year time frame for the digital cable transmission services to be rolled out.
Russia successfully launches two European satellites
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : A Rokot carrier rocket with two European satellites has been successfully launched from the Plesetsk space center in northwest Russia, a spokesman for the Russian Space Forces said on Monday.
"A Rokot carrier rocket with the SMOS spacecraft and the Proba-2 mini-satellite, developed under European Space Agency's initiative, has been successfully launched," Aleksei Zolotukhin said, adding the launch took place at 4:50 a.m. Moscow time (01:50 GMT).
Indians wary of planning vacations on the Internet
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : Indian travellers are still not confident of planning their holidays online.
Call it the fear of the intangible or the chip of technology on their shoulder, Internet travel portals are yet to instil confidence in the Indian globe trotter, who prefers to fall back on offline support networks - the travel agents, says Himanshu Singh, managing director of Travelocity.
The use of e-portals is still restricted to a niche segment, the young and the Internet-savvy.
Plant inspired solar cells to revolutionise energy storage
New York A new technology developed by scientists at University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA) can store solar energy for up to several...
Lockheed extends scientific support programme in India
By IANS,
New Delhi : Leading US fighter jet manufacturer Lockheed Martin Friday announced extension of its scientific support programme in India for the next two years.
Lockheed Martin Corp's (LMC) senior vice-president and chief technology officer Ray O. Johnson said the 'India Innovation Growth Programme', which started last year, was a great success and had helped many young entrepreneurs market their products.
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.
‘Big mistake’ if US blocks overseas skilled workers: Bill Gates
By IANS,
New Delhi : Microsoft founder Bill Gates Friday said it would be a "big mistake" if the US curbs the entry of skilled workers from abroad, rallying behind the "smart people" from countries like India that has a globally recognised outsourcing industry.
He also said Microsoft will like to partner the Indian government in its ambitious plan to give a unique identity number and a biometric card to each of its 1.17 billion people.
Strange molecule in sky cleans acid rain
By IANS,
Washington : Researchers have stumbled upon an unusual molecule that helps break down pollutants, especially the compounds that cause acid rain.
Marsha Lester and Joseph Francisco, of Pennsylvania and Purdue Universities, found the molecule that had exercised scientists for more than 40 years.
Somewhat like a human body metabolising food, the earth's atmosphere has the ability to "burn," or oxidise pollutants, especially nitric oxides emitted by factories and automobiles. What doesn't get oxidised in the air falls back to earth in the form of acid rain.
Google opens new line to internet phone calls
By DPA,
San Francisco : All the fuss about tweeting, texting, Facebook pokes and various other cutting-edge forms of communication can obscure the fact that old-fashioned telephone calls are still a pretty effective way of conveying information.
But the 560 million people who are registered users of internet phone pioneer Skype have never forgotten the value of talk, and now it seems that Google is realizing it, too.
Cuba raps Facebook, YouTube
By IANS,
Havana : Cuba has denounced online social network Facebook and Google-owned video sharing network YouTube for closing its account and censoring video links from the two websites.
Bodhi tree branch cut three years ago: report
By IANS
Patna : A scientific report has vindicated allegations by Buddhists that one of their most sacred religious symbols -- the Bodhi tree at the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya -- had a branch cut off three years ago.
The Dehradun-based Forest Research Institute (FRI), in its detailed report submitted to the Bihar government, said a branch of the sacred Bodhi tree was cut three years ago.
"The report has proved that a branch of the Bodhi tree was cut three years ago instead of last year as claimed," home secretary Afzal Amanullah said Friday.
Software to locate stolen laptops launched
By IANS
Mumbai : Mumbai based Micro technologies have launched India's first laptop tracking system to locate stolen laptops.
Micro Lost Notebook Tracking System (LNTS) is a software product that is embedded on notebook hard drives and is tracked as soon as they are connected to the Internet.
"The software was developed to deter, track and recover stolen laptops, notebooks and personal computers," said P. Shekar, Micro technologies chairperson.
From a Village in West Bengal to University College, London – Remarkable Journey of...
By Mirza Mosaraf Hossain, TwoCircles.net
Dr. Samima Khatun, the daughter of an imam from West Bengal’s East Burdwan district, has been awarded a travel grant...
Russia claims 1.2 million km of Arctic
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Russian scientists have claimed 1.2 million km of potentially energy-rich Arctic territory following preliminary research results released here Thursday.
"Preliminary results of an analysis of the Earth's crust show that the structure of the underwater Lomonosov mountain chain is similar to the world's other continental shelves, and the ridge is, therefore, part of Russia's landmass," the Russian Natural Resources Ministry said.
Software generates faces that display moods, emotions
By IANS,
Washington : A computer model developed by researchers can generate faces that display emotions and moods according to personality traits.
"The aim of this work has been to design a model that reveals a person's moods and displays them on a virtual face," said a co-author of the study, Diana Arellano from University of Balearic Islands (UIB) Artificial Intelligence Unit.
"In the same 3-D space we have integrated personality, emotions and moods, which had previously been dealt with separately," Arellano explained.
Mars comes close to Earth
By IANS
New Delhi : Sky-watchers had a good day out Wednesday as Mars came closest to Earth since 2003 and was visible to the naked eye from the eastern sky.
Astronomers said Mars' closeness to Earth would remain a record at least till 2016. Currently, Mars is some 87 million km away from Earth and experts say it is pretty close.
Nehru Planetarium director N. Rathnasree said Mars was closest to Earth at 5.30 in the morning and sky-gazers across the country also witnessed it in the evening.
Ten technologies which MIT sees as impacting lives
By IANS,
New York : Technology Review, the magazine of innovation brought out by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Tuesday announced its annual list of 10 top emerging technologies, seen to impact the way we live and do business.
"These revolutionary innovations - each represented by a researcher whose vision and work is driving the field - promise fundamental shift in areas from energy to health care, computing to communications," the magazine said.
China’s Long March 2F rocket ready for trip to launch center
By Xinhua,
Beijing : The Long March 2F rocket designed to carry China's third manned spacecraft into space will be sent to Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest Gansu province in a few days, officials with the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) said here Saturday.
The rocket was coated in red, a color to show that it was ready to fulfill its mission, said Jing Muchun, chief designer of the spacecraft, adding that further testing will be conducted to ensure 100 percent safety after the rocket arrives at Jiuquan.
Bangalore’s battle between astronomy and astrology over eclipse
By IANS,
Bangalore : Even as the world looks forward to the rare celestial phenomenon of a total solar eclipse Wednesday, astrologers here say the event could be a bad omen. But brushing aside the fears as superstition, astronomers are urging people to look at it as a scientific phenomenon.
Astrologer Daivajna K.N. Somayaji says the war of Mahabharata, World War II and Indira Gandhi's assassination all followed solar eclipses.
Pakistani Scientist invents world’s lowest profile antenna
By SPA
Islamabad : A Pakistani scientist working at the Institute of Space Technology has invented the world's lowest profile omni-directional antenna with dual polarization that does not require a ground plane.
Dr. Muhammad Amin listed in biographical directory published by Marquis "Who's Who in the World" of the year 2008 has invented the antenna that has adequate signal strength.
The antenna can generate equal vertical and horizontal electric field components and has a helical shape with feed at the centre of the helical section of one side.
Arabian Sea humpback isolated for 70,000 years
New York : In the Arabian Sea, the usually migratory humpback whale has stayed isolated for approximately 70,000 years, says a study.
The findings provide...
Just ten minutes of talking may improve memory
By IANS
New York : Talking to each other for just 10 minutes may boost intellectual performance and improve memory, a new study had found.
The study found that short-term social interaction boosted intellectual performance of people as much as engaging in so-called intellectual activities for the same length of time, reported science portal ScienceDaily.
"Socialising is just as effective as more traditional kinds of mental exercise in boosting memory and intellectual performance," Oscar Ybarra, a psychologist at the University of Michigan said.
Cuba uses biotechnology to revive coffee industry
By IANS,
Havana: Cuban researchers are trying to revive the nation's wilting coffee production by using bio-technology, an expert said.
US scientist gets tech award for intelligent drug delivery
By Jaideep Sarin, IANS,
Helsinki (Finland) : The world's biggest technology award, the euro 1.15 million 2008 Millennium Technology Prize, was Wednesday conferred on Robert Langer of the US for his innovative creation of biomaterials for controlled drug release.
The award was conferred on Langer, touted as the father of the controller drug delivery and tissue engineering, by Finland's President Tarja Halonen at a ceremony at the Finlandia hall here before a select gathering of scientists, industry representatives and others.
China to mass produce Shenzhou spaceship
By XINHUA,
Beijing : China will soon begin mass production of its Shenzhou (Divine Vessel) spacecraft, the chief designer of the spacecraft system of China's manned space programme said Friday.
Zhang Bainan said the mass-produced model will serve as a shuttle between China's space station and the ground, and may also transport astronauts and cargo for other countries.
The Shenzhou 7 spacecraft is currently in orbit with three astronauts one of who, Zhai Zhigang, will undertake a space walk later Friday.
Interactive video games better for kids than computer games: study
By IANS,
Sydney : Worried that your child may be spending too much time playing the Nintendo Wii? Fear not, as the latest research reveals that interactive sports video games are better for children than conventional computer games, but it does not solve the widespread prevalence of childhood obesity.
The study found that playing virtual sports such as boxing and tennis on the Nintendo Wii burned more than 50 percent energy than playing sedentary computer games such as the Xbox.
Donkey work began much later than thought
By IANS
Washington : Domestication of the donkey as a beast of burden might have taken much longer than thought previously, according to a new study.
Researchers, basing their study on 10 donkey skeletons from three 5,000-year-old graves in the Pharaoh's complex at Abydos, Egypt, found that they were then in an early phase of domestication.
They looked like wild animals but displayed joint wear that showed that they were used as domestic animals.
Earlier estimates suggested that the domestication of animals began much earlier.
British varsity to train Indian multimedia students
By IANS
Bangalore : University of Teesside, a leading British university at Middlesborough in northeast England, will train students of Takshaa Academy for the Artist in multimedia, animation and gaming under an agreement signed here Monday by the two partners.
In a statement, Teeside deputy vice-chancellor Cliff Allan said the partnership was aimed at producing graduates with proficiency in the fast-emerging areas of multimedia and gaming to meet the growing demand for skilled artists in the animation industry.
India plans to launch reusable rocket by 2010
By NNN-PTI
Banglore : India plans to launch a reusable rocket for the first time by 2010, says its space agency chief.
"Our target (for the first launch) is before 2010," Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), G Madhavan Nair, told PTI.
The space scientists have already designed a "demonstrator" to measure parameters of the vehicle and further work is in progress, Nair, also Secretary in the Department of Space and Chairman of Space Commission, said.
NASA loses command codes to control space station
By IANS,
Washington : An unencrypted laptop computer stolen from NASA last year contained command codes used to control the International Space Station (ISS), media reports said.
Requiem for Earth, Red Alarm is On
By Prensa Latina,
Washington : No scientific obituary has been published, but according to a recent report resumed by Mike Davis of alternative media Tomdispatch.com, humanity is entering the “Anthropocene”, epoch defined by the emergence of urban-industrial society as a geological force.
The Geological Society of London defines that the new age shows a heating trend and a radical instability expected of future environments.
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.
Microsoft’s Kinect sets record as fastest-selling tech gadget
By DPA,
San Francisco : Microsoft's Kinect has been named the fastest-selling tech gadget of all time after racking up sales of 10 million units since its launch in November.
Nano materials likely to impact environment negatively
By IANS,
Washington : Eco-friendly gains derived from the use of nano materials may be offset partly by their manufacturing process, according to research.
Hatice Sengül and colleagues of Illinois University, Chicago, said strict material purity requirements and lower yields may lead to greater ecological burdens than those associated with conventional manufacturing.
In a separate study, Ohio State University researchers found, for example, that the life-cycle environmental impacts may be as much as 100 times greater per unit of weight than those of traditional materials.
Over 3,000 dinosaur footprints found in China
By IANS,
Beijing : Archaeologists in China claim to have traced the evidence of mass migration of dinosaurs from the country's east more than 100 million years ago.
The large track of over 3,000 dinosaur footprints, which was found in Shandong province, was facing the same direction. This might be a result of migration or panic escape by plant-eating dinosaurs after facing a surprise raid from meat-eating counterparts, according to experts.
Phoenix probe makes scheduled landing on red planet
By DPA,
Washington : NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander arrived on the red planet to an exuberant reaction by mission scientists Sunday on Earth.
The scene at Jet Propulsion Laboratory mission control in Pasadena, California, was punctuated by hoots and high fives as the probe achieved key milestones leading up to the successful touchdown. Radio contact was confirmed and a parachute critical to a soft landing deployed to ease the landing of the craft on three legs.
The robotic probe landed on tundra above the Martian arctic circle, a terrain never before explored, NASA scientists said.
E. coli bacterium model of super industrial efficiency
By IANS,
Washington : E. coli bacterium, one of the best-studied single-celled organisms around, is a master of industrial efficiency. This bacterium can be thought of as a factory with just one product - itself.
It exists to make copies of itself and its business plan is to make them at the lowest possible cost, with the greatest possible efficiency. Efficiency, in the case of a bacterium, can be defined by the energy and resources it uses to maintain its plant and produce new cells versus the time it expends on the task.
3 orbiters being moved into position to watch Mars mission
By Xinhua
Los Angeles : Three satellites from Earth orbiting Mars are getting moved into position to watch the mission of NASA's latest Mars lander which will descend on the red planet in May, local media reported Saturday.
The Phoenix lander, the first robotic spacecraft in the Mars Scout program, was launched on Aug. 4, 2007, and is scheduled to land in the icy northern polar region of Mars on May 25, 2008.
Thinning Himalayan glaciers may deprive half billion Indians of water
By IANS,
Washington : The absence of radioactive signals from all the three ice core drilled in a Himalayan glacier bodes ill for half billion people living downstream in India. They indicate that high-altitude glaciers are no longer accumulating ice due to climate change. This could hit future water supplies.
These missing markers of radiation are remnants from atomic bomb tests a half-century ago, as in the Naimona'nyi glacier in Tibet.
Seasonal runoff from glaciers like Naimona'nyi feeds the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra rivers.
Now websites can track your IP address
By IANS,
London: A new online tracking system will allow websites to pinpoint your location to within a few hundred metres, without your permission.
China’s green pig has two green piglets
By Xinhua
Harbin (China) : A fluorescent green pig in northeast China has given birth to two piglets which share their mother's transgenic characteristic after she mated with an ordinary pig, Chinese scientists said.
"The mouths, trotters and tongues of the two piglets glow green under ultraviolet light, which indicates the technology to breed transgenic pigs via cell nuclear transfer is mature," said Liu Zhonghua, of Northeast Agricultural University in Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang Province Tuesday.
Dell launches ultra-thin laptop computer
By Xinhua,
San Francisco : Dell has officially launched a high-end laptop computer which the company said is the thinnest in the world.
The laptop is the first product under Dell's Adamo brand. Adamo is derived from the Latin word meaning "to fall in love".
With a thickness of 0.65 inches (1.65 cm) and available in onyx and pearl colours, the new Adamo laptop is thinner than Apple's MacBook Air.
Tiny device can help build more powerful computers
By IANS,
Washington : Engineers have fabricated a tiny positioning device that will help build more compact, powerful computer hard drives and practically double the effectiveness of biological sensors.
Called monolithic comb drive (MCD), it can be potentially used as a "nanoscale manipulator" for use in watery environments to probe biological molecules, said Jason Vaughn Clark, an assistant professor of electrical, computer and mechanical engineering at Purdue University, who created the design.
Beware of hacker attacks via Orkut, Facebook
Bangalore, April 22 (IANS) If you belong to the generation of net savvy Indians, beware of browsing social networking sites for long as your PC or laptop could easily fall prey to cyber attacks from hackers.
As per the 2007 Internet Security Threat Report (ISTR) compiled by anti-virus and security solutions major Symantec, social networking sites have become the latest target of hackers to attack home and enterprise computers.
ISRO readies for manned mission by 2014
By IANS
Bangalore : The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has finalised its project report for a manned mission by 2014-15, a top space official said here Friday.
"The report is being submitted to the government for approval and budgetary allocation. The Space Commission, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will meet next week or so to review the report and take a decision. We plan to launch a manned mission in the next seven-eight years," ISRO chairman G. Madhavan Nair told reporters here.
Space hotel to open in 2012
By Xinhua
Madrid : The Galactic Suite, the first hotel in space, will open for business in 2012, its Barcelona-based architects said.
Reservations for the Galactic Suite will begin in 2008, company director Xavier Claramunt said here.
"The Galactic suite will allow clients to travel around the world in 80 minutes," Claramunt said.
Life-changing innovations vie for top global tech honour
By Jaideep Sarin, IANS,
Helsinki (Finland) : Few would know that it is an algorithm that helps us use the mobile phone technology that has made our lives simpler. Or that an optic fibre cable that couldn't send a communication one metre across is now a basis for the global information super highway of over 10,000 km.
These are just two of the four top innovations developed by six scientists and inventors in the last few years, which are in the fray for this year's Millennium Technology Prize - the highest prize in the world of technology and considered Nobel Prize in this area.
Oxygen content in Ladakh up 50 percent: Scientists
By Ritu Sharma, IANS,
Leh (Jammu and Kashmir) : Anyone visiting Ladakh for the first time can be left gasping for breath due to low oxygen levels in the high altitude region. But a successful plantation drive has brought about environmental changes - driving up oxygen content by 50 percent and, most unusually, making it rain, say Indian scientists.
Russia to set world record with 39 space launches in 2009
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia is planning to set a world record by conducting a total of 39 space launches in 2009 despite the current global financial crisis, the head of the Russian Space Agency said on Monday.
"We have scheduled a record number of launches for next year. We are planning to carry out 39 launches, half of them commercial and civilian satellites," Anatoly Perminov said.
Russia conducted 27 space launches in 2008 and 26 launches in 2007, becoming the world's leader in this sphere.
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 develop fast, accurate test to detect bio-terror agent
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists have developed a simple, accurate and highly sensitive test to detect and quantify ricin, a highly lethal toxin with potential use as a bioterrorism agent.
Ricin, a protein extracted from castor beans, can be in the form of a powder, mist, pellet or solution. When injected or inhaled, as little as one-half mg of ricin is lethal to humans.
Astronauts build giant robot to do their jobs
By Xinhua
Beijing : After linking up with the international space station Thursday, astronauts on board the space shuttle Endeavour got to work unloading the parts they will need to build a giant robot that will help maintain the orbiting outpost.
Astronauts Robert Behnken and Gregory Johnson were using the station's robotic arm to pull a pallet containing the Canadian robot, named Dextre, from Endeavour's cargo bay and install it temporarily on a station girder.
Ultrasound to help eliminate Ibuprofen from polluted water
By IANS,
London : An international team of scientists has developed an ultrasound treatment to remove Ibuprofen from waters polluted with this drug.
The new method could be used in water purification plants, which would avoid the emission of pharmaceutical pollutants into rivers, lakes, seas and other surface waters.
The team at the laboratories of the Federal Polytechnic School in Lausanne, Switzerland has developed a novel method for eliminating pharmaceutical products from water.
Largest ice-shelf fractures into three
By IANS,
Toronto : The largest ice-shelf in the northern hemisphere has fractured into three pieces, the first intimation of which has come from images clicked by the Radarsat satellite.
A team of scientists patrolling the area inspected an 18-km long network of cracks running from the southern edge of the Ward Hunt Ice-Shelf to the Arctic Ocean.
A similar large fracture was detected in 2002, prompting concerns that the remaining ice-shelf too would disintegrate within a few years.
Unwrapping ideas at Mumbai’s latest ‘unconference’
By Ridhi D Cruz, IANS
Mumbai : They call it an "unconference", and it's a small but growing rage among techies wanting to share ideas in town. BarCamps are an international network of "user generated conferences" that involve open, participatory workshop events.
Some 200 people from diverse spheres took part in Mumbai's latest BarCamp, where content is provided by participants - often focusing on early-stage web applications, and related free software or open source technologies, social protocols, and open data formats.
Hubble finds young galaxies surprisingly crowded with stars
By Xinhua,
Washington : Using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers say they have detected nine young galaxies in the early Universe, packed with improbable numbers of stars, according to a study published Tuesday.
Astronomers looking at galaxies in the Universe's distant past have discovered these nine galaxies, each weighing in at 200 billion times the mass of the Sun.
The galaxies, about 11 billion light years away, are a fraction of the size of today's grownup galaxies but contain approximately the same number of stars.
Evidence of first Indian settlers found in Tamil Nadu
By NNN-PTI,
New Delhi : A team of Indian scientists have discovered genetic evidence that tribal villagers living in Tamil Nadu were among the first migrants from Africa to settle down in India.
Geneticists led by Prof Ramaswamy Pitchappan of Madurai Kamaraj University have found out that the marker gene in the group of people from a small village Jyothimanickam near Madurai matched those of the first settlers in India.
The findings point to the fact that the villagers are among the direct descendants of the first settlers.
China makes world’s biggest, most powerful smartphones
By IANS,
Washington: Chinese phone-maker Huawei Technologies havs unveiled two phones, terming them the world's "biggest" and the "most powerful" smartphones.
US plans world’s largest biometric database
By DPA
Washington : The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is planning the world's largest databank of biometric information allowing it access to the physical characteristics of thousands of people, the Washington Post reported.
The $1-billion project of the FBI will give the federal police unprecedented access to information about people in the US and abroad in a massive computer database located in Clarksburg, West Virginia.
New language protects home computers
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists have developed a security language to protect home networks from cyber attacks.
Companies, banks and other organisations take internet security very seriously, erecting firewalls and IT departments to protect them from attacks. But domestic and small office networks are just as vulnerable to hacking, malicious computer code, worms and viruses.
Geon Woo Kim of the Electronics and Telecom Research Institute (ETRI) Korea and colleagues who developed the specific codes said home networks have only a single gateway from the internet.
Thuraya to develop high-speed satellite broadband solution
By IANS,
Abu Dhabi : Thuraya is to develop a high-speed broadband terminal for the maritime industry in partnership with Comtech, WAM news agency reported Thursday.
The new terminal, which is designed and built incorporating leading market technology, is set for launch in September.
Moon mission, a great event for India: Abdul Kalam
By IANS,
Hyderabad : Former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Tuesday said the launch of India's maiden unmanned moon mission Chandrayaan-1 was a great event for the country.
"What I am looking for is a great event. It is a very important day. India lacks payload and it is going to land its payload on the moon," he said during a brief chat with reporters on the sidelines of the first world congress on disaster management here.
"It will take eight to 10 days (for landing of payload on moon)," he added.
Tiny tremors can track extreme storms in a warming planet
By IANS,
Washington : Data from faint earth tremors caused by wind-driven ocean waves - often dismissed as "background noise" at seismographic stations - suggest extreme ocean storms have become more frequent over the past three decades, according to a study.
The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other prominent researchers have predicted that stronger and more frequent storms may occur as a result of global warming trends.
India’s moon mission rides on basketballer turned rocket scientist
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Chennai : As a Kerala state player, George Koshy used to shoot the ball into the basket during his college days. Today, as a rocket scientist with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the tall, 58-year-old M.Tech from IIT-Bombay is the project director for Chandrayaan-1, India's maiden unmanned moon mission, and on his broad shoulders rests the venture's success.
Emirates Islamic Bank to use Infosys product
Bengaluru: Dubai-based Sharia-compliant Emirates Islamic Bank has selected Finacle banking software product of Indian IT bellwether Infosys for its operations across the Gulf region.
"Finacle...
As n-deal moves forward, scientists walk down nostalgia lane
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Kalpakkam (Tamil Nadu) : As India readies to seal the nuclear deal with the US to further consolidate its nuclear energy programme, a group of scientists here looked back nostalgically to the time the country indigenously developed its first reactor - using skid rollers to move heavy items and jacks and railway sleepers for lifting the heavy generator.
But it was not always so.
Space Shuttle Atlantis launch set for Feb 7
By DPA
Washington : The launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis has been pushed to Feb 7 in Cape Canaveral, Florida, NASA has said.
The shuttle that is to carry the European Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station was originally set to takeoff Dec 6, but has been delayed numerous times because of technical problems with onboard fuel sensors.
The seven-member crew is to conduct several space walks to install the Columbus laboratory.
PM gives excellence awards to scientists, technologists
By IANS,
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday gave away the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awards to 21 scientists, institutions and to Mahindra and Mahindra for their flagship vehicle Scorpio.
The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awards for 2007 went to 11 scientists, including Narayanaswamy Srinivasan of Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Science for his contributions in the area of computational genomics.
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.
SatNav bags Red Herring 100 Asia award
By IANS
Hyderabad : The city-based SatNav Technologies, an IT products company, has bagged the Red Herring Top 100 Asia 2007 award.
This was announced at a gala dinner at Hong Kong organised to honour 100 cutting-edge private technology companies from across the Asia-Pacific region, said a company statement here.
The winners are based in 16 countries/regions including China, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Australia and Vietnam. This is one of the prestigious awards across Asia, which is announced by the Red Herring Magazine.
Space shuttle Discovery arrives at space station
By DPA,
Washington : Space shuttle Discovery docked Monday at the International Space Station after the day-and-half journey from Earth, carrying an enormous Japanese-made research module and a small Russian-made pump for a malfunctioning lavatory.
"Capture confirmed," said a Discovery crew member to Earth control officials.
At the time of docking at 1803 GMT, the station was orbiting over the South Pacific, 350 km above Earth's surface.
Spacecraft images show rings of Saturn’s 2nd largest moon
By Xinhua
Los Algeles : Saturn's second largest moon, Rhea, may have rings, according to images from a spacecraft managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Los Angeles.
The finding was described in a study published in the March 7 issue of the journal Science.
Scientists at NASA believe the rings may be the remnants of an asteroid or comet collision, which circulated large quantities of gas and solid particles around Rhea.
China’s 1st spacewalk mission to launch in October
By Xinhua,
Beijing : China's Shenzhou VII manned space mission, which will include the first spacewalk by a Chinese "taikonaut," is to launch in October, said a spokesman of the China manned space engineering office here on Thursday.
He would not give the exact date of the launch, but said a day would be selected in October.
A crew of six astronauts had been chosen for the mission, with three manning the spacecraft and three substitutes, said the spokesman.
Two of the astronauts on board the spacecraft would prepare for the historic spacewalk, he said.
How animals react to solar eclipse
By IANS,
Mumbai : Did you know animals and birds often prepare for sleep or behave confusedly during total solar eclipse? Well, here are some other little known facts about solar eclipse.
- The longest recorded duration for a total solar eclipse is 7.5 minutes.
- A total solar eclipse will not be visible until the sun is more than 90 percent covered by the moon.
- When the sun is covered 99 percent, day becomes night in the areas where the eclipse is visible.
- In the 5,000-year period - between 2000 BC and 3000 AD - the earth is supposed to witness 11,898 solar eclipses.
Vast solar system detected 127 light years away
By IANS,
London : A vast solar system orbiting a sun-like star has been detected 127 light years from the earth.
The planetary system is believed to be the largest ever found beyond the sun.
Astronomers have confirmed the presence of five planets and have tantalising evidence of two more, reports the Telegraph.
The distance of the planets from their parent star follows a regular pattern, similar to that seen in our own solar system. The study is scheduled for publication in the journal Astronomy And Astrophysics.
Scientists rule out possibility of asteroid colliding with Mars
By Xinhua
Los Angeles : U.S. scientists ruled out on Friday the possibility of a collision between an approaching asteroid and Mars.
Tracking measurements of asteroid 2007 WD5 taken from four observatories have greatly reduced uncertainties about its Jan. 30close approach to Mars so that the odds of impact have dropped to 1 in 10,000, said the Near-Earth Object Program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory based in Pasadena, California. The program normally looks for asteroids and comets that could pose a hazard to Earth.
Obama hails Apollo 11 crew as ‘genuine American heroes’
By DPA,
Washington : US President Barack Obama welcomed the crew of Apollo 11 to the White House Monday to mark the 40th anniversary of their journey to the moon and called the three men "genuine American heroes."
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first humans to set foot on the lunar surface, while fellow crew member Michael Collins circled the moon in the command vehicle.
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.
Oldest evidence of leprosy traced to India
By IANS,
Washington : A child's 4,000-year-old skeleton that surfaced in India's Rajasthan state could be the oldest evidence of leprosy, says a new study.
The analysis was conducted by biological anthropologist Gwen Robbins from Appalachian State University working with an undergraduate, an evolutionary biologist from University of North Carolina at Greensboro and archaeologists from the Pune-based Deccan College in India.
IIT Kanpur developing robot for India’s moon mission
By Prashant K. Nanda
IANSNew Delhi : When India sends its proposed moon mission in 2011, it will have a unique robot developed indigenously by student-engineers and their professors at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at Kanpur.
37 mummies found in Mexico
By IANS/EFE,
Mexico City : Restoration work on a church and a cathedral in the central Mexican city of Zacatecas has led to the finding of 37 mummified bodies and a Bible from 1575 written in several languages, authorities said.
The mummies were found in the Church of Santo Domingo, along with a small stairway leading to a grotto in which the skeleton of a Spanish colonial official was resting, the Zacatecas state government said Tuesday.
Big Bang experiment to restart in September
By IANS,
London : The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is to begin firing its proton beams once again at the end of September after being shut down abruptly in the midst of recreating conditions in the moments after the Big Bang.
"The new schedule foresees first beams in the LHC at the end of September this year, with collisions following in late October. A short technical stop has also been foreseen over the Christmas period," the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) confirmed in a statement Monday.
Soap that cleans clothes with less water
By IANS
Melbourne : Wasting water to rinse that extra lather from your clothes may be a thing of the past now. Scientists in Australia have developed a detergent that cleans clothes with less water.
Normal detergents contain surfactant molecules, which are oil-friendly at one end to capture dirt and water-friendly at the other to pull it away. They also tend to form bubbles, which require extra water to rinse.
GPS – a new tool to detect clandestine N-tests
By IANS,
Washington : US researchers are unveiling a new tool for detecting illegal nuclear explosions: the earth's global positioning system (GPS).
NASA’s Phoenix Mars lander commanded to unstow arm
By Xinhua,
Washington : U.S. Mars lander Phoenix, which touched down on Sunday at northern polar plains on Mars, successfully unstowed its robotic arm on Wednesday, according to NASA mission updates.
Early Wednesday, scientists leading Phoenix mission from the University of Arizona sent commands to move the lander's robotic arm for the first time after its touchdown.
Russia postpones launch of navigation satellite
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia has postponed the launch of its new-generation navigation satellite Glonass-K until 2011, the defence ministry said.
Somnath congratulates ISRO scientists
By IANS,
New Delhi : Somnath Chatterjee, the speaker of the outgoing Lok Sabha, Monday congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the successful launch of the RISAT-2 spy satellite and an educational satellite.
"The country is proud of ISRO scientists for this remarkable achievement, which will provide a boost to India's capabilities in a number of areas, including disaster management and in better management of cyclones, floods, agriculture-related activities," Chatterjee said in his congratulatory message.
Electrotherm launches new e-bike
By IANS,
Ahmedabad : Engineering firm Electrotherm, which manufactures the electric bike YO Byke, Tuesday launched another battery-operated two-wheeler, the Yoelectron.
Addressing the media at the launch, Electrotherm chairman and managing director Mukesh Bhandari said the success of its YOSmart in the 250W category goaded the company to come out with another premium model.
Spacesuit trouble shortens spacewalk
By DPA,
Washington : Problems with a spacesuit has caused NASA to cut short a spacewalk outside the International Space Station.
Problems with a system that removes carbon dioxide from the air in astronaut Chris Cassidy's spacesuit caused mission control to end the spacewalk at 2031 GMT Wednesday after five hours and 59 minutes. Carbon dioxide levels were beginning to rise in his suit, but he was not in any imminent danger, NASA said. The spacewalk was to have lasted about six and a half hours.
The perfect kid: part computer, part robot
By IANS
New York : Here's one kid who lives up to the dictum that children must be seen and not heard. Meet Wizkid. Part computer, part robot, this Swiss machine is as endearing as any child, but unlike most kids, it doesn't walk or talk, and it pays perfect attention.
More important, it will also hopefully change the way people interact with machines.
Wizkid will be on display at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) here and will be part of its Design and the Elastic Mind exhibit, which opens Feb 24.
Chinese spacecraft docks with orbiting module
By IANS,
Beijing: Chinese astronauts Sunday manually docked a spacecraft with an orbiting module, the first such attempt in China's space exploration history, authorities said.
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.
India needs strong cyber infrastructure: Rajnath
New Delhi: Pitching for a strong cyber infrastructure in the country, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday stressed that India should work towards developing...
India, Brazil, South Africa to develop satellites
By NNN-Bernama,
Brasilia : India, Brazil and South Africa on Friday will jointly develop two satellites and forged closer cooperation on global issues like UN reforms, climate change and world trade talks.
This emerged after the fourth India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) summit here, according to Press Trust of India (PTI).
The two satellites will be used for studying climate to help agriculture sector in the three countries.
Shuttle Endeavour undocks from International Space Station
By Xinhua
Washington : Space Shuttle Endeavour undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday to begin its return trip to Earth, according to NASA TV.
"Physical separation, Houston," shuttle pilot Charlie Hobaugh told Mission Control.
Undocking took place according to schedule at 7:56 a.m. EDT (1156 GMT) as the shuttle and ISS passed 214 miles (about 344 km) over the South Pacific.
Russian rocket sends Germany spy satellite into orbit
By Xinhua
Moscow : A Russian rocket sent a Germany spy satellite into orbit on Thursday night, Itar-Tass news agency reported.
The Russian carrier rocket Kosmos-3M lifted off from the Plesetsk space center in the north of European part of Russia at 20:15 Moscow Time (1715 GMT), carrying into orbit the Germany spy satellite SAR-Lupe-4.
Lieutenant-Colonel Alexei Zolotukhin, a spokesman for Russia's Space Troops said the satellite is expected to get to the designated orbit at 20:43 Moscow Time.
Indian American finds mastermind behind formation of our skin
By IANS,
Washington : An Indian American researcher has discovered the genetic mastermind that controls skin formation. The finding could help address skin disorders like eczema, psoriasis and wrinkles.
Skin is actually the largest organ in the human body, and has important functions in protecting people from infection, toxins, microbes and solar radiation.
NASA Announces End Date for Space Shuttle Missions
By SPA,
Washington : The U.S.’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on Monday set an approximate date for the final space shuttle mission for May 31, 2010.
The date set comes four months before the shuttle fleet retires. NASA has 10 missions remaining for the shuttle fleet, which U.S. President George W. Bush ordered to retire by September 30, 2010.
The remaining schedule includes five flights in 2008, five in 2009 and three in 2010.
200 mn years old skeleton of giant dinosaur discovered
By IANS,
London : Scientists claim to have discovered the first intact skeleton of a dinosaur that is an ancestor to the sauropod, the largest creature ever to walk the planet.
NASA ‘elated’ after ‘previously invisible space objects’ uncovered
By IANS,
London : An array of previously "invisible" space objects have been discovered by one of NASA's newest space telescopes, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), in just six months.
In what has left scientists at the space agency "elated", the $320 million sky-mapping spacecraft has for the first time identified previously thousands of unseen space objects including stars, asteroids, dust clouds, comets and even a new galaxy.
Now a computer programme to keep drug abusers off
By IANS,
Washington : A computer-assisted programme, along with traditional counselling, has helped drug abusers stay straight longer than those who received counselling alone, according to a new study.
As part of the study, 77 people who sought treatment for drug and alcohol abuse were randomly assigned to receive traditional counselling or to get computer-assisted training based on the principles of cognitive behavioural therapy as well as sessions with a therapist.
Nanotubes spun into threads open new possibilities in communications
By IANS,
Washington : Taking already proven technology to grow carbon nanotubes of record lengths, researchers have now found new applications in communications for these fibres by spinning them into strong threads.
David Mast, an associate professor of physics at the University of Cincinnati's (UC) McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, took a 25-micron carbon nanotube thread and created a dipole antenna using double-sided transparent tape and silver paste. He was immediately successful in transmitting radio signals.
Software tweaks to make undersea robots smarter
By IANS,
Washington : A cutting edge software, developed and tested by naval scientists, can help undersea robots become smarter at surveying large swathes of the ocean.
Plants change chemical defences to suit habitat
By IANS,
Washington : Closely related plants produce their own natural chemical cocktails, adapting each set to the individual plant's specific habitat.
Comparing anti-fungals produced by tobacco and henbane, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies discovered that only a few mutations in a key enzyme are enough to shift the whole output to an entirely new product mixture.
Tricolour something new to look for on the moon
By IANS,
Bangalore : A time tested way to mollify crying children in the night has been to show the moon and tell them to spot the 'deer' or the 'old woman' on it. But from Friday night, many mothers in India may well tell the crying children to spot the saffron-white-green colours of the Indian national flag on the moon.
The Indian moon impact probe (MIP) that landed on the lunar surface Friday night has the three colours of the national flag painted on its four sides.
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.
16th-century Mexican Indian map offers key to history
By EFE,
Denver : A map painted by Mexican Indians, or indigenous Indians, in the mid-16th century has become a key document for understanding the migration of Mesoamerican people from their land of origin in what is now the US Southwest, according to a scholar at Harvard University Divinity School.
"Five years of research and writing (2002-2007) by 15 scholars of Mesoamerican history show that this document, the Map of Cuauhtinchan 2, with more than 700 pictures in colour, is something like a Mesoamerican Iliad and Odyssey," David Carrasco told EFE in a telephone interview.
Yahoo Unveils Voice Search Service For Mobile Device Users
By Bernama
Los Angeles : Yahoo has become the first major search engine to let people search the Internet by talking to a mobile device, China's XINHUA news agency quoted a newspaper, as saying on Thursday.
Through the technology from a Massachusetts start-up, Yahoo's mobile search engine, known as oneSearch, could allow users of popular PDAs like BlackBerry Curves, Pearls or the 8800 series to scour the Web with their voice, the San Jose Mercury News daily reported.
India successfully test fires Mars Orbiter engine
Bangalore : India Monday successfully test fired the liquid fuel engine of its Mars spacecraft (Orbiter) after it entered the sphere of Mars influence...
China unveils world’s largest sci-tech museum
By Xinhua,
Guangzhou (China) : China has unveiled the world's largest science and technology museum in the southern city of Guangzhou that will demonstrate the country's newest achievements in the field.
The Guangdong Science Centre, with an area of 450,000 square metres, is situated at the far western tip of Xiaoguwei Island, also the location of Guangzhou University Town in Guangdong province.
With a floor area larger than Beijing's Tian'anmen Square, the steel-structured main building of the museum features a blooming kapok flower.
China sets up background atmosphere station in Antarctica
By Xinhua
Zhongshan Station (Antarctica) : China has set up a background atmosphere observation site at Zhongshan station in Antarctica as part of its 24th scientific expedition to the region.
Researchers at Zhongshan station will be able to observe surface ozone and gases like carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, as well as black carbon aerosol.
Russia launches navigation satellite
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Plesetsk (Russia) : Russia Monday launched a navigation satellite from its Plesetsk Space Centre, Space Forces spokesman Col. Alexei Zolotukhin said.
Google, Bing sidelining Yahoo in search market
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
New York : Once the world's online search leader, Yahoo's share has sharply declined, putting it in danger of losing its relevance in a market increasingly dominated by Google with a staggering 65.6 percent share