NASA gives “go” for space shuttle launch on May 31
By Xinhua,
Washington : U.S. space shuttle Discovery's STS-124 mission to the International Space Station is officially scheduled for launch on May 31, NASA announced Monday after the final Flight Readiness Review.
"Preparations are going really well," Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach said, pointing out that Discovery's remarkably smooth processing flow will allow shuttle work crews to take off the Memorial Day holiday.
Plans afoot for astronauts to orbit moon’s far side
By IANS,
London : Scientists want to explore the far side of the moon using a manned spacecraft for the first time since the Apollo landings of 1968.
Japan’s space lab set, Canada’s new robot next
By SPA
Houston : Spacewalking astronauts will work on assembling a Canadian robotic system on Saturday following the successful installation of the first segment of Japan's lab on the International Space Station.
According to Reuters, Saturday's spacewalk will be the second of five planned during space shuttle Endeavour's busy 16-day mission in space.
The plans had been in doubt until late on Friday when power was restored to the robotic system.
But Friday was Japan's moment of space glory.
I have been concentrating on motivating the youth
By A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, IANS,
I did not realize that I have already completed one year after demitting office on 25 July 2007. This one year has been an extremely eventful one me having visited over 12 states in India and nine countries.
It is pertinent to note here that I have not been able to accept more than 10 per cent of the total invitations received.
China, Brazil to launch jointly Satellite 03
By Prensa Latina
Beijing : China and Brazil will launch in September a jointly developed third earth resources satellite, equipped with high resolution cameras for agricultural, mining and environmental use.
According to China National Space Administration, the Satellite 02B, of Brazilian manufacture, will orbit the earth in September or October 2008.
The takeoff will take place in a launching centre in Taiyuan, capital of the northern Chinese province of Shanxi.
Beijing : China and Brazil will launch in September a jointly developed third earth resources satellite, equipped with high resolution cameras for agricultural, mining and environmental use.
According to China National Space Administration, the Satellite 02B, of Brazilian manufacture, will orbit the earth in September or October 2008.
The takeoff will take place in a launching centre in Taiyuan, capital of the northern Chinese province of Shanxi.
Monster Saturn electrical storm longest on record
By Xinhua,
Beijing : The longest running electrical storm on Saturn recorded by scientists is creating lightning bolts 10,000 times more powerful than any seen on Earth.
The monster storm appeared in Saturn's southern hemisphere five months ago, when it was first spotted by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, and has persevered to become the planet's longest continuously recorded tempest to date.
130 websites blocked in Tajikistan
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Dushanbe: Over 130 websites have been blocked in Tajikistan in connection with "technical repair work", the country's telecom agency said.
HCL Technologies net up 18.5 percent
By IANS,
Mumbai : Software services major HCL Technologies Wednesday said net profit for the quarter ended Sep 30 went up 18.5 percent to Rs.300.75 crore from the like quarter in the previous fiscal.
Total income for the company increased 5.67 percent to Rs.1,295 crore for the first quarter of the company's accounting calendar, up from Rs.1,225 crore it logged in the previous corresponding quarter, the company said in a regulatory statement.
HCL said it bore a forex loss of Rs.151 crore during the period under review compared to Rs.80 crore in the like quarter last year.
Scientists isolate genes that imbue us with uniquely human traits
By IANS,
Washington : Humans and chimpanzees are genetically very similar yet clearly distinct in many ways. Scientists have isolated genes that evolved in humans after branching off from other primates, making us uniquely human.
The prevailing wisdom in molecular evolution was that new genes could only evolve from duplicated or rearranged versions of pre-existing genes. It seemed highly unlikely that evolution could produce a functional protein-coding gene from what was once inactive DNA.
Sify is now Sify Technologies Ltd
By IANS
Chennai : Sify Ltd, Chennai-based leader in consumer Internet and enterprise services, Wednesday changed its name from Sify Ltd to Sify Technologies Ltd, after approval from the ministry of corporate affairs.
"Sify is rapidly growing. In our remote infrastructure management services overseas, we are recognised as a specialist based on our expertise and experience," Raju Vegesna, CEO of Sify Ltd, said here.
Space shuttle Discovery blasts off
By DPA,
Washington : Space shuttle Discovery blasted off in a midnight launch on a mission taking it to the International Space Station (ISS).
Discovery lifted off the launching pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida at 11.59 p.m. Friday (0359 GMT Saturday) after days of postponements due to a questionable valve on the shuttle's external fuel tank and poor weather.
Tackling global warming tougher than thought earlier: study
By IANS
Washington : Reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions that are leading to climate change is going to be a lot more challenging than society has been led to believe, according to a new study.
The challenges of reducing emissions of carbon dioxide - the main greenhouse gas - have been significantly underestimated by the UN appointed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the study has contended.
It says the IPCC is overly optimistic in assuming that new technologies will result in dramatic reductions in the growth of future emissions.
Space photos no proof of Ram Setu: NASA
By Arun Kumar, IANS
Washington : US space agency NASA says pictures taken by its astronauts do not prove the existence or otherwise of a manmade Ram Setu bridge as mentioned in the Hindu epic Ramayana.
"I am not aware of any carbon dating either," said NASA spokesman Michael Braukus, refuting claims by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that the agency had the Adam's bridge in Palk Strait - known as Ram Setu in India - carbon dated as being 1.7 million years old.
Google Earth enables views into the universe
By DPA
Hamburg : A new function in Google Earth has opened up the cosmos to Internet viewers.
The new "sky" portion of the software allows users to view the starry skies, navigating through the galaxies with the click of a mouse, says Google spokesman Stefan Keuchel from the company's Hamburg offices.
Constellations, planets, and nebulae are all offered alongside information about their position, size and orbits.
Indian satellite placed in geosynchronous orbit
By IANS,
Bangalore : India's heaviest communication satellite (GSAT-10) was Wednesday placed in the geosynchronous orbit, about 36,000 km above the earth, the Indian space agency said.
Software embedded in soldier’s helmet pinpoints enemy snipers
By IANS,
Washington : Imagine a squad of soldiers who can pinpoint out-of-sight enemy snipers and identify the calibre and type of weapons being fired, with the help of software embedded in their helmets.
Engineers at Vanderbilt University's Institute for Software Integrated Systems (ISIS) have developed a system that can give soldiers just such an edge by turning their combat helmets into "smart nodes" in a wireless sensor network.
‘India, China don’t pose a challenge to US’
By Arun Kumar, IANS
Washington : Warnings from pundits that the millions of engineers and scientists India and China produce each year would soon challenge the US' technical superiority may be a little premature, according to Newsweek International.
While Delhi and Beijing are slowly moving in the right direction to improve their high-tech and science programmes, "yet getting either country up to speed will be an enormous task", said the magazine.
Making computers more user-friendly for disabled
By IANS,
Washington : Efforts are underway to come up with a more user-friendly computer that responds to physically challenged individuals.
Current designs are particularly frustrating for the disabled, the elderly and anybody who has trouble with a mouse.
A new approach developed by Washington University researchers would put each person through a brief skills test and generate a mathematically based version of the user interface optimised for his or her vision and motor abilities.
Scientists locate breeding ground of rarest bird
By IANS,
Washington : Researchers have located the breeding ground of a species dubbed "the world's least known bird" -- the large-billed reed warbler, in the remote Wakhan reaches of Afghanistan.
The recent discovery represents a watershed moment in the study of this bird. The first specimen of such warblers was discovered in India in 1867, with well over a century elapsing before a second discovery of a single bird in Thailand in 2006.
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.
Future refrigerators to run on heat, not electricity
By DPA
Hamburg : The refrigerator of the future will run on heat, not costly electricity, according to a team of innovative scientists in Germany.
The research could be a boon in hot countries where fridges and air-conditioning systems are vital, said the group of young scientists, who are working on at the Innovationszentrum Wiesenbusch Gladbeck (IWG), in cooperation with the University of Applied Science in nearby Gelsenkirchen.
Russia to encourage patriotism through computer game
By IANS/RIZ Novosti,
Moscow : The Russian government is working on a project to produce computer games aimed at boosting patriotism among young people.
The communication ministry and a leading software firm 1C have presented a project concerning six flight simulator games that they say are helping to improve Russia's international hi-tech image and increase patriotism among teenagers.
Vedomosti, a business daily, quoted 1C CEO Boris Nuraliev as saying that he had already demonstrated a flight simulator game to President Dmitry Medvedev.
India’s Internet access hit after cable damage off Egypt
By IANS
Bangalore/New Delhi : India's Internet connectivity was disrupted Thursday after two undersea cables were damaged in the Mediterranean, although IT majors reported no impact on business. Smaller companies and individual surfers would, however, have to make do with slower speeds till the cables are repaired.
"Slow connectivity, choking and other problems have been caused across India due the cable damage," Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI) President Rajesh Chharia said, adding it may take 10-15 days for normalcy to be restored.
Nepal PM breaks eclipse taboo
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS,
Kathmandu : Nepal's new Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal Wednesday took the lead in watching the much-acclaimed longest solar eclipse of the century, breaking an old taboo that in the past forbade Nepalis from venturing out during the phenomenon.
Researchers predict active Atlantic hurricane season
By Xinhua
Beijing : A noted hurricane research team warned of a "well above average" storm season in the northwest Atlantic with 15 tropical storms, including eight hurricanes, half of them major, according to media reports Thursday.
The University of Colorado team led by William Gray, who has been in the hurricane predicting business for 25 years, said there's a better than average chance that at least one major hurricane will hit the United States.
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.
Apple sells three million iPads over weekend
By IANS,
San Francisco: Apple announced Monday that it sold three million iPad mini and fourth generation iPad when the products went on sale this weekend.
Want to meet T-Rex? Go to Jharkhand
By IANS,
Ranchi : Want to know more about the ferocious T-Rex and his friends? Well, there's good news for you, as the forest department of Jharkhand plans to establish a dinosaur park in the state.
The authorities came up with the idea after footprints resembling those of the big reptiles were discovered in the state.
"Footprints resembling those of dinosaurs have been found in Pithoria in Ranchi and Hazaribagh districts. There is a possibility that the big reptiles might have been roaming in these areas," said Nitish Priyadarshi, a geologist and environmentalist.
India to double allocation for science: PM
By IANS,
Bangalore : India proposes to double the fund allocation for science and technology, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here Wednesday and asked academicians to prepare a blueprint to make basic sciences and mathematics the preferred subjects for children.
He was speaking after dedicating to the nation the International Centre for Materials Science (ICMS), established at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) at Jakkur on the outskirts of Bangalore. He also inaugurated the C.N.R. Rao Hall of Science at JNCASR.
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.
Monday night, hide Moon, Jupiter, Venus behind your thumb!
By IANS,
New Delhi : When the Sun goes down Monday evening, step outside to watch the best sky show of the year. Jupiter, Venus and Moon - three of the brightest objects up there at night - will be closest to each other then.
Jupiter and Venus have been rapidly coming towards each other for the last few days, a phenomenon that will not be visible against till 2012. And soon they will have the Moon for company.
Airbus announced further delays of A380 program
By Xinhua,
Paris : European aircraft manufacturer Airbus on Tuesday announced further delays in the delivery of its A380 super-jumbo jet, saying that the projected production timetable was "not entirely feasible," according to reliable sources.
"Airbus has completed a review of the A380 program and would now like to inform its customers of changes in the timing of the deliveries," Airbus, a subsidiary of the European aerospace group EADS, said in a statement.
Narcissists use Facebook for self-promotion
By IANS,
Washington : People with excess of self-love might choose networking sites like Facebook for unabashed self-promotion and publicity.
They are more likely to choose glamorous pictures for their main profile photos, while others are more likely to use snapshots, according to a Georgia University study.
"We found that people who are narcissistic use Facebook in a self-promoting way that can be identified by others," said Laura Buffardi, a doctoral student in psychology who co-authored the study with associate professor W. Keith Campbell.
Canada gov’t rejects sale of space technology to U.S.
By Xinhua
Ottawa : The Canadian government said Thursday it had rejected the sale of satellite and robotics technology to a U.S. firm, noting it would be against national interest.
Industry Minister Jim Prentice said in a statement that Ottawa cannot agree with selling the space technology division of Vancouver-based MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA) to U.S. rocket-maker Alliant Techsystems Inc. The proposed deal involves 1.325 billion U.S. dollars.
Alliant has been given 30 days to contest the decision.
Technology Frontiers targets retail chains and malls
By IANS
Chennai : City-based Technology Frontiers (I) Pvt Ltd (TFPL) is targeting growing malls and retail chains for its digital kiosks, said a top official here.
"We have signed deals with Future Group to install our kiosks in their malls," M.S. Muralidharan, managing director of TFPL, told IANS on the sidelines of the press conference after launching a multi-broadcast digital kiosk TOUCHME Tuesday.
ISS orbit raised to host spacecraft
By RIA Novasti
Moscow : Russian Mission Control said on Saturday it had successfully adjusted the International Space Station's orbit in preparation for the docking of a Russian cargo spacecraft and a U.S. space shuttle.
Corrections to the space station's orbit are conducted periodically before launches of Russian cargo ships and U.S. shuttles to compensate for Earth's gravity and to ensure successful dockings.
The correction started at 3:42 a.m. Moscow time (00:42 a.m. GMT) with the help of thrusters at the Russian module Zvezda.
Scientists map genes behind bipolar disorder
By IANS,
New York : In a first, scientists have comprehensively mapped the genes believed to cause bipolar disorder.
Indiana University neuroscientists combined data from the latest gene hunting studies for bipolar disorder with information from their own studies to zero in on the best candidate genes for the illness.
Their findings, reported in the latest issue of the American Journal of Medical Genetics, describe how researchers analysed how these genes work together to create a comprehensive biological model of bipolar disorder.
Google launches ‘Instant’ service
By IANS,
London : Google search is now faster than before as the company has launched a live-updating service that will save surfers 2-5 seconds of online search time.
Iranian Scientists produce mouse using stem cells
By NNN-IRNA
Scientists of Iran’s Royan Research Center have successfully produced a mouse using embryonic stem cells.
Director of the center's stem cells group, Hossein Baharvand, said that in the next phase, the experts are expected to produce mice with specific characteristics by genetically changing the mouse embryonic stem cells.
"The mechanism could be used in studying the performance of a specific gene in a living body," Baharvand said.
ISRO eyes manned moon mission by 2015
By NNN-PTI,
Sriharikota, India : Buoyed by the successful launch of Chandrayaan-1, Indian Space Research Organisation today said it would gear up for the complex and challenging task of the proposed manned mission to the moon by 2015.
"Now we have a little bit of breathing time (after today's launch)... We are looking how we can design a capsule, which can carry two astronauts onboard a GSLV rocket," ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair said at a post-launch press meet here.
China launches new search engine
Beijing: A new Chinese-language online search engine --Chinaso.com -- was launched Friday, marking China's first search service set up by the country's major news...
Astronomers discover two extrasolar planets
By Xinhua
Washington : Researchers from 11 countries have discovered two extrasolar planets, each with a mass less than that of Jupiter, orbiting a star about half the size of our Sun.
The new discovery was reported on Thursday and will be published on the Feb. 15 issue of journal Science.
Although there has been a flurry of extrasolar planet discoveries in recent years, most of the planets have been massive bodies much larger than the giants of our own solar system.
GII: A group that tracks Indian cyberspace
By Frederick Noronha, IANS,
Bangalore : Does India have too many "cyber law experts"? What's wrong with the Blackberry service in India? How is BSNL's IPO shaping up? These and several such issues routinely crop up on India-GII.
So what is India-GII? Located in cyberspace, it is a network of techies and others fleshing out cyber issues in the country, tracking its progress from one of the most expensive and monopolistic telecom markets to one of the most competitive.
India-GII describes itself as a "list (that) has existed since 1995".
CSIR need to work for science-society synergy: Swaminathan
By IANS
New Delhi : The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) must help bring about synergy between science and society so as to bridge the urban-rural divide, eminent scientist M.S. Swaminathan said here Wednesday.
Speaking at the 65th Foundation Day of CSIR, the greatest and largest science set-up in India, Swaminathan said: "It would be useful for CSIR to set up a joint scientific panel with the Indian Council of Social Sciences Research in order to bring about the desired synergy between science and society."
Airport scanner can damage diabetes device
By IANS,,
Washington : Full-body scanners used at airports can damage the insulin pump or continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device used by diabetics, caution experts.
Mars rover stuck for good but still working hard
By DPA,
Washington : The Spirit Mars rover has reached its final destination, NASA said after the failure of efforts to free the space probe from sandy soil where it had been trapped for months.
Spirit is stuck but remains functional and will live out its life as a stationary science platform, collecting data on the area where it ran into trouble in April.
NASA had been trying since November to free the rover in an effort to back it out of a patch of sandy soil where its wheels had become embedded.
Parents are always stricter with older kids
By IANS,
Washington : Parents are more inclined to punish their teen's risky behaviour when there are younger kids in the family, just to set an example, according to a new research.
"Interestingly, the youngest sibling, knowing that they can get away with much more than their older brothers and sisters, are more likely to engage in risky behaviours," said Ginger Gin, one of the study's co-authors, a parent of two and herself an older sister.
Kale Consultants to give Finnair new processing system
By IANS
Mumbai : Pune-based airline software solutions provider Kale Consultants Ltd has inked an agreement with northern Europe's leading cargo carrier Finnair Cargo for providing airmail cargo revenue processing systems.
In a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Tuesday, the company said Kale Consultants would provide outsourced airmail cargo revenue accounting services to Finnair Cargo.
In other words, Kale Consultants will scan and process airmail information, documents and invoices in Finland and Mumbai corollary with revenue accounting and management of mail operations.
New tool opens up world of cells in greater detail
By IANS
London : A revolutionary new tool not only allows a better, brighter visualisation of two or more proteins but also helps differentiate young and old copies of a protein within the human cell.
Developed by researchers at Ecole Polytechnique in Lausanne, Switzerland, the procedure is the latest in a line of innovative tools relying on fluorescent molecules to view such biochemical processes.
This tool, called SNAP-tag, can be labelled in living cells using benzylguanine (BG) derivatives bearing a chemical probe.
Scientists collect mysterious creatures in Antarctic waters
By SPA
Sydney : Scientists investigating the icy waters of Antarctica said Tuesday they have collected mysterious creatures including giant sea spiders and huge worms in the murky depths, AP reported Australian experts taking part in an international program to take a census of marine life in the ocean at the far south of the world collected specimens from up to 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) beneath the surface, and said many may never have been seen before.
Internet users reveal more to those they trust
By IANS
London : Here's good news for online vendors. Internet users are not chary of revealing personal information online - provided they trust the person requesting the information, a new study says.
The study, by Britain's Economic and Social Research Council, found that even those "who have previously demonstrated a high level of caution" online will reveal personal information "if they trust the recipient" of the information.
Human brain learns best at night
Sydney, Sep 13 (IANS) The human brain learns more effectively at night than in the morning, a young scientist in Australia has found out.
Martin Sale, an Adelaide University Ph.D student, used magnetic brain stimulation to investigate how the brain learns.
He found that the cerebral cortex, the area of the brain that controls movement, learns best at night.
The findings could have implications for people who are recovering from brain injuries.
Indian technology delegations head for Britain
By IANS,
London : Two high-level Indian technology delegations are to visit Britain next week amid a bid by both countries to deepen their technology ties.
Members of the Indian Semiconductor Association are to visit from Sep 29 to Oct 2 for seminars and networking events organised with Silicon South West, South West Regional Development Agency and East of England International.
The second delegation is from NASSCOM, which is bringing 14 of its members covering a variety of areas, including e-learning and healthcare, for one-to-one meetings with British companies.
Wireless spectrum assessment to be over by September
By IANS
Chennai : The assessment of the availability of the wireless spectrum for communication services is likely to be over by the first week of September, IT and Communications Minister A. Raja said here Thursday.
Raja was speaking on the sidelines of a function to inaugurate global computer giant IBM's sixth global delivery centre in India, to be housed in Chennai.
He said once the defence ministry freed some of the spectrum it held, his ministry would be able to provide more communication depth.
Billions of life bearing planets float in the milky way
By IANS,
London : A few hundred thousand billion free-floating life-bearing earth-sized planets may exist in the space between stars in the Milky Way, says a study.
Shuttle Endeavour to undock from ISS Saturday
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Space shuttle Endeavour will undock from the International Space Station (ISS) Saturday after a nine-day mission, US space agency NASA said.
The shuttle, carrying six astronauts, was launched Feb 8 from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
The STS-130 crew comprises commander George Zamka, pilot Terry Virts and mission specialists Nicholas Patrick, Robert Behnken, Stephen Robinson and Kathryn Hire.
Infosys to develop IT-enabled application for agriculture
By IANS
Mumbai : Software major Infosys Technologies Ltd has partnered with ACDI/VOCA, a non-profit international development organisation, to develop an information and communication technology (ICT)-enabled application to improve the agro supply chain in India.
ACDI/VOCA promotes broad-based economic growth, and develops applications, which fall under growth oriented micro enterprise development (GMED) programme, which is a $6.3 million a USAID-funded initiative.
Astronomy, faith meet in Har-ki-Pauri on solar eclipse
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
Haridwar : Tradition and astronomy fused on the banks of the Ganges during the annular solar eclipse Friday as temples shut their doors and covered the idols in muslin shrouds and bathers completed their morning pre-eclipse rituals by the time the sun went into the shadow of the new moon.
The temples reopened at 4 p.m. after the eclipse ended, and hundreds of thousands of bathers flocked to the river considered holy by Hindus.
India to launch multipurpose scientific sea research vessel
By KUNA
New Delhi : India will soon deploy a state-of-the-art multipurpose scientific vessel for conducting sea research.
The vessel, "Sagar Nidhi," is presently located off the coast of Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu and will be launched soon by India's Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal, Indo Asian News Service reported Friday, quoting an official in India's Earth Sciences Ministry.
The vessel would provide logistic support to India's Antarctic II and Arctic missions during the next five years.
BlackBerry Bold home launch fails to create buzz
By Gurmukh Singh, IANS,
Toronto : Canadian wireless giant Research In Motion (RIM) quietly launched its latest BlackBerry Bold smartphone in the home country Thursday.
The BlackBerry Bold, which is considered to be RIM's response to the iPhone 3G launched here last month, didn't generate the euphoria that the Apple device created here last month.
Like the iPhone 3G, the Blackberry Bold is also supported by third-generation wireless networks.
Rogers, the country's biggest telecom service provider, will support the BlackBerry Bold service across Canada.
IBS Software to open new centre in Bangalore
By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala-based IBS Software Services, provider of new-generation IT solutions to the global travel, transportation and logistics (TTL) industry, plans to open a new development centre in Bangalore by next month.
"This has been on our cards for sometime now and we are opening (another centre) in Chennai in the next fiscal itself," IBS chief V.K. Mathews told IANS Wednesday.
The Bangalore centre would initially have 300 professionals but would be expanded soon, he said.
Exhibition on train to inspire science among youth
By IANS
Chennai : A unique exhibition on board a train will travel to 57 destinations across India to encourage youths into the world of science.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will officially flag off the Science Express here Oct 30.
The journey covering 57 destinations in 200 days, "will enthral everyone into the world of science," said T. Ramasai, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology (DST).
The exhibition is a joint initiative of DST and a chemical firm BASF.
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.
Dinosaur dance floor! Really?
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists who hiked recently to the northern Arizona wilderness site touted as a "dinosaur dance floor" found no sign of the extinct creatures but plenty of eroded potholes.
They saw dinosaur tracks en route, but none in the pockmarked "dance floor".
One of them, paleontologist Brent Breithaupt, director and curator of the University of Wyoming's Geological Museum, said "there simply are no tracks or real track-like features at this site. We will be investigating the formation of these features in the upcoming study."
Feast organised during solar eclipse in Orissa
By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : The Pathani Samant Planetarium in Orissa has arranged a special feast at its campus during the solar eclipse Friday to dispel any superstition, said an official.
"There are superstitions prevalent among people that if you eat during a solar eclipse it will have a bad effect. But we want to dispel superstitions. We have arranged a special feast at the planetarium premises. It will be joined by officials and members of the public during the solar eclipse," said Subhendu Pattnaik, deputy director of the Pathani Samant Planetarium, in Bhubaneswar.
Gmail,Yahoo hit by phishing scheme
By DPA,
San Francisco : Users of Google's Gmail and Yahoo Mail were also targeted in the large-scale phishing attack that harvested at least 10,000 passwords from Microsoft's Live Hotmail, according to reports Tuesday.
Neither of the companies' US representatives responded to requests for information. But in Europe, where most of the Hotmail phishing victims appeared to be located, a spokesman for Google confirmed the targeting of Gmail users.
Notebook computer theft: preparing for the worst
By DPA
Washington, May 13 (DPA) It's every notebook computer user's worst nightmare. You go to retrieve your notebook from where you last left it, only to discover that someone else - a thief -has got it.
Financial records, bank and credit card information, personal data, sensitive files, expensive software - not to mention the notebook computer itself - can be gone in an instant. And the time and stress involved in trying to recover from such a loss can be overwhelming.
India considering manned space mission
By IANS
Bhopal : India is considering a manned mission to space soon, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G. Madhavan Nair said Thursday.
"We are seriously considering a manned space mission. But we will first have to study and prepare a report within a year on newer technologies to develop capsules to send men to space and bring them back safely," Nair told a press conference here.
The study report would be sent to the government for approval, he said.
Car ads don’t tell whole truth about emissions
By IANS,
Sydney : Ads prompting you to buy a swanky new car might not be telling the whole truth; at least not about the bit on greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, despite global concerns.
These findings are based on an analysis of 514 vehicle ads appearing in two popular magazines like North & South and Metro over a five-year period from 2001 to 2005, by the University of Otago, Wellington.
The results showed that only three percent of the ads provided information on fuel efficiency and only four percent on greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide) and air pollution emissions.
Scientists pinpoint presence of female sex hormone in plant
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists have unearthed female sex hormone progesterone in a plant, upsetting conventional wisdom that only animals secreted it.
A steroid hormone produced by the ovaries, progesterone prepares the uterus for pregnancy and maintains it. A synthetic version, progestin, is used in birth control pills and other medications.
"The significance of the unequivocal identification of progesterone cannot be overstated," said the study by Guido F. Pauli, College of Pharmacy, Chicago and colleagues.
China To Launch 3rd Geostationary Weather Satellite Next Week
By Bernama,
Beijing : China will launch its third geostationary meteorological satellite, the Fengyun-2-06, some time next week, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) told Xinhua on Friday.
It will take off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern Sichuan Province.
According to the CMA, Fengyun-2-06 will copy meteorological data from preceding satellites after orbit operation trials.
It is designed to replace Fengyun-2-C which has outlived its service.
New technique developed to ‘milk’ ostrich semen
By IANS,
Sydney : Australian researchers have developed what is being touted as the first “animal- and human-friendly” technique of masturbating an ostrich.
The new technique being used by researchers tasked with collecting semen and artificially inseminating the large and rather fearsome birds - as well as their cousins, the emus - relies on the use of a dummy female.
China launches Yaogan V remote-sensing satellite
bY Xinhua,
Taiyuan : China Monday launched remote-sensing satellite Yaogan V from the Taiyuan launch centre in the northern province of Shanxi.
The satellite was launched with a Long March-4B carrier rocket at 11.22 a.m., the centre said.
It will be used for data collection and transmission involving land resources surveys, environmental surveillance and protection, urban planning, crop yield estimates, disaster prevention and reduction, and space science experiments.
Corals recover – over half a century after nuclear blasts
By IANS,
Sydney : It took over half a century for life to re-assert itself - but not entirely. Corals have sprouted again on Bikini Atoll, a good 50 years after it was ravaged by dozens of nuclear bombs detonated by the US over an eight-year period.
But compared to the early 1950s, some 42 species of corals are missing, a new study has found.
The gaping Bravo crater, some two km wide and 73 metres deep, was gashed by the impact of nuclear weapon 'Bravo' - said to be a thousand times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb.
Broccoli sprouts may help prevent skin cancer
By IANS
Washington : Broccoli sprouts contain antioxidant properties and may prevent skin cancer when applied directly to the skin, scientists in the US have suggested.
Broccoli, which closely resembles cauliflower, is a plant of the cabbage family. It has been cultivated for over 2,000 years and was a favourite food of the ancient Romans.
AsusTek chairman to visit India for first time
New Delhi : AsusTek chairman Jonney Shih will be in India for the first time, according to a mail sent by the company.
The...
Dubai unveils new website for business community
By IANS,
Dubai: Dubai has unveiled a new advanced and user-friendly website for the emirate's business community to improve public access to business-related information and procedures, the WAM news agency has reported.
The new website, developed by the Department of Economic Development (DED), is the first of many steps planned for the near future to improve the business community's interaction with the department, officials said.
India successfully puts spacecraft into lunar orbit
By IANS,
Bangalore : India Saturday successfully put its first unmanned spacecraft Chandrayaan-I into lunar orbit - a major step towards placing it in its designated slot 100 km from the moon, a top Indian space agency official said.
The spacecraft was placed in an elliptical orbit - at 7,500 km aposelene (farthest from moon) and 500 km periselene (nearest to moon) through complex manoeuvres, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) director S. Satish told IANS here.
AMU may get Indo-US energy centre
By IANS,
Aligarh: The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) may soon host the Indo-US energy centre.
European science lab spacewalk delayed for one day – NASA
By RIA Novosti
Washington : U.S. space shuttle Atlantis docked with the International Space Station Saturday but a spacewalk to install a European science laboratory was delayed for a day due an astronaut health problem, NASA said Sunday.
"With no impact to the overall mission objectives, the first spacewalk Monday will be conducted by Rex Walheim and Stan Love, who replaces Hans Schlegel," NASA said but did not specify the health problem.
NASA delays next Mars mission to 2011
By Xinhua,
Washington : NASA's next Mars mission, Mars Science Laboratory, will launch two years later than previously planned, in the fall of 2011.
"A launch date of October 2009 no longer is feasible because of testing and hardware challenges that must be addressed to ensure mission success," NASA explained in a statement on Thursday.
The window for a 2009 launch ends in late October. The relative positions of Earth and Mars are favorable for flights to Mars only a few weeks every two years. So the next launch opportunity after 2009 is in 2011.
Understanding IP addresses in computers
By DPA,
Washington : Internet Protocol or IP addresses are common in today's world of networked computers. That's because every computer connected to a single network has an IP.
An IP address is a number that uniquely identifies a computer on a network. Every computer that's connected to a network, whether that network is the Internet or a private home or office network, has a unique IP address.
Info on Indian diaspora now just a click way
By IANS
New Delhi : The information on groups of professionals of Indian origin based in the US is now just a click away as Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal Wednesday launched a dynamic and interactive website on them.
Launching the portal, www.piousnetwork.com, Sibal said there was a crying need to systematise, diversify and scale up the information available on the diaspora based in the US and this initiative will address the need.
Dying amphibians signal impending biodiversity crisis
By IANS,
Washington : An alarming decline in amphibian species signals an impending biodiversity disaster or a new mass extinction threatening the planet, according to University of California researchers.
"There's no question that we are in a mass extinction spasm right now," said David Wake, professor of integrative biology at University of California. "Amphibians have been around for about 250 million years. They made it through when the dinosaurs didn't. The fact that they're cutting out now should be a lesson for us."
Competition to make micro spying gadget that flies
By IANS,
New Delhi : Can you build a micro spying gadget that flies and can transmit real time video information? This challenge was thrown to engineering students Saturday by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Commemorating its 50th anniversary, DRDO has invited engineering students to design and develop the prototype of a lightweight, low cost, electronic aerial surveillance system.
Google to buy AdMob for $750 mn
By DPA,
San Francisco : Google is to pay $750 million to buy AdMob, a provider of advertising on mobile phones, the internet search leader announced Monday.
The deal is the third largest ever undertaken by Google and underscores the company's strategy of extending its online advertising dominance to the mobile web, where its Android smartphone operating system is becoming increasingly popular. Google said it expected antitrust regulatory review in the US but not in Europe.
Young scientists asked to focus on basic research
By Fakir Balaji, IANS
Visakhapatnam : Young scientists should focus on basic research as India needs more innovation in areas that affect everyone, the government's principal scientific advisor R. Chidambaram said on the second day of the 95th Indian Science Congress (ISC) here Friday.
Laser based chemical sensors make bomb detection safer
By IANS
Washington : Laser based chemical sensors currently under development will sniff out TNT and take the hazard out of bomb detection.
The remote detection scheme relies on highly sensitive, low-cost, battery-free, thin-film sensors that require no electronic equipment or excitation source at the sites where they are installed.
Conventional chemical TNT sensors have no remote capability and must be used close to the site of the suspected bomb, risking the lives of military personnel.
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.
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.
Microsoft unveils Windows 7, a fix for disappointing Vista
By DPA,
Los Angeles : Microsoft released key details Tuesday of the next generation of software that it hopes will run the world's computers.
The software giant, whose dominance is under threat, said Windows 7 will replace the disappointing Windows Vista in January 2010.
Microsoft said the new operating system was designed to function like a tighter version of Vista, which launched in 2006 but was widely derided as a "system hog" that slowed down computers with features that most users never accessed.
‘Heat stroke’ caused India’s lunar probe to fail – report
By RIA Novosti,
New Delhi : India's first lunar mission may have failed as a result of overheating, a national daily reported on Monday.
Chandrayaan-1 was launched in October 2008 and its main mission was conducting geological mapping of the Moon's surface aimed at producing a complete map of the chemical characteristics and 3-D topography. Chandrayaan means Moon Craft in Sanskrit.
Endeavour poised for rare nighttime launch
By Xinhua
Beijing : Space shuttle Endeavour was poised for a rare nighttime liftoff Tuesday from the Kennedy Space Center to the international space station, U.S. media reported.
Technicians at the center began fueling the shuttle late Monday afternoon with more than 500,000 gallons (1.9 million liters) of supercold liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen for the 2:28 a.m. EDT blast off as there were no major problems reported.
It will be the first shuttle launch in darkness since 2006. Only a quarter of all shuttles have been launched at nighttime.
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.
Online learning helps schoolchildren fare better: study
By IANS,
Sydney : Educationists have developed a new web-based tool that helps primary schoolchildren to concentrate better and develop literacy skills.
The interactive educational software called 'Abracadabra' is designed to help struggling school students aged five to eight years learn basic literacy skills to equip them for the future.
The tool has just undergone a 10-week trial that has been described as a success.
India launches new mission to develop antibiotic molecules
By IANS
New Delhi : India has launched a mission to screen and develop antibiotic molecules to tap the over $25 billion global antibiotics market.
The department of biotechnology under the ministry of science and technology Friday said it has launched a network project called "screening for bio-molecules from microbial diversity collected from different ecological niches".
Chandrayaan spacecraft moved further up in space
Chennai, Oct 26 (IANS) India's maiden moon probe spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 has reached nearly half the distance to the lunar orbit, crossing the 150,000-km mark from the earth Sunday morning.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) completed third orbit-raising manoeuvre initiated at 7.08 a.m. Sunday firing the liquid apogee motor for about nine and a half minutes.
With this, Chandrayaan spacecraft has entered a much higher elliptical orbit around the earth.
World’s largest particle collider suffers setback
By Xinhua,
Geneva : The world's most powerful particle collider built for the multi-billion dollar 'Big Bang' experiment to unearth the secrets of cosmos has suffered a new problem and will be out of action for at least two months, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) has said.
CERN, the operator of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), said Saturday the incident occurred at mid-day Friday, resulting in a large helium leak into the tunnel containing the LHC, which was started with great fanfare earlier this month.
Last tune-up for Hubble telescope before space shuttle launch
By IANS,
Washington : From a fuzzy beginning nearly 20 years ago, Hubble Space Telescope has now revolutionised astronomy, its stunning images stirring global imagination.
But as the International Year of Astronomy dawns, the renowned telescope is preparing for its final chapter, starting with the scheduled May 12 launch of the space shuttle Atlantis for NASA's fifth and final service mission to the telescope.
Why women take a detour from engineering
New York : Women who go to college intending to become engineers stay in the profession less often than men, as a result of...
Indian American scientists design bamboo-based fabrics
By IANS
New York : As "sustainable" become the new global buzzword among ethical dressers, it is boom time for eco-friendly bamboo-based fabrics.`
And now giving such fabric the extra edge are Indian American chemists Subhash Appidi and Ajoy Sarkar of Colorado State University.
They have discovered a way of making bamboo fabric - the current leading option in the "ethically produced" clothing market - that is not only resistant to the sun's damaging ultraviolet (UV) radiation but also has anti-bacterial properties.
Scientists discover Milky Way’s most recent exploding star
By DPA,
Washington : A group of scientists has discovered the galaxy's newest supernova - as exploding stars are known - providing clues to what happens when stars die.
The supernova is just 140 years old, a baby in galactic terms, and is "by far the youngest identified supernova in the galaxy and the only one we know at its stage," researcher David Green of Britain's University of Cambridge told reporters Wednesday.
How does brain zero in on single bit of information?
By IANS,
Washington : How does the brain zero in on a single bit of information, out of the tens of thousands that it is bombarded with daily? Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have discovered a mechanism that the brain uses to filter out distracting thoughts to focus on a single bit of information.
Think of your brain like a radio: You're turning the knob on to find your favourite station, but the knob jams, and you're stuck listening to something that's in between stations.
Seismicity study was done before selecting Jaitapur: NPCIL
By IANS,
Mumbai: The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) Tuesday asserted that it had conducted comprehensive seismicity study before selecting Jaitapur for a nuclear power plant.
‘Warning on melting Himalayan glaciers wildly inaccurate’
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : Four leading academics have questioned a warning by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), that Himalayan glaciers could melt to a fifth of current levels by 2035, as wildly inaccurate. The IPCC has also retracted the warning, which had appeared in its 2007 report.
Don’t fear, watch solar eclipse with proper gadgets
By IANS,
New Delhi : It is an excitement coupled with fear and superstition for many in India prior to the solar eclipse Aug 1.
Despite a well known scientific phenomenon behind the solar eclipse, people have not been able to do away with the superstitious beliefs related to the celestial activity.
"There are several false beliefs prevalent in our society regarding solar eclipse. Some people even lock themselves in their homes to avoid 'the bad rays' from the eclipse," Nehru Planetarium Director N. Rathnashree said.
Solar system’s 3rd plutoid named Makemake
By Xinhua,
Beijing : A dwarf planet orbiting outside Neptune has been designated the third plutoid in the solar system and named Makemake, the International Astronomical Union said on Saturday.
The red methane-covered dwarf planet formerly known as 2005 FY9 or "Easterbunny" is named after a Polynesian creator of humanity and god of fertility.
Just last month the IAU, which names planets and other heavenly bodies, decided to create a new class of sub-planets called plutoids.
Camera captures comet’s fiery end as it grazes sun
By IANS,
Washington: NASA's solar observatory caught for the very first time on camera a comet's fiery end as it flew too close to the sun's blazing surface.
Indian-American helps design energy-saving PCs
By IANS,
Washington : Personal computers may soon save large amounts of energy by "sleep talking".
Doctoral researcher Yuvraj Agarwal of the University of California San Diego (UCSD) in collaboration with computer scientists has created a plug-and-play hardware prototype for personal computers (PCs) that induces a new energy saving state known as "sleep talking".
Telangana to develop national repository of smart technologies
Hyderabad: With the central government set to launch its ambitious 100 smart cities project later this month, Telangana plans to develop a national repository...
Hungry fungus shows potential for green fuel
By IANS,
Washington : A spidery fungus feeding ravenously on military uniforms and tents holds the key to improved biofuel production, according to a study.
The finding could enable more efficient and cheaper conversion of maize, switch grass and even cellulose-based municipal waste into ethanol. Ethanol from waste products is a more carbon neutral alternative to petrol.
The fungus T. reesei rose to notoriety during World War II when military leaders found it feeding on clothing and tents in the South Pacific and rendering them useless.
Holiday cleaning can boost speed of PCs
By DPA
Hamburg : Most people have a little free time between Christmas and New Year. If you take 15 minutes to clean up your PC, you will probably be rewarded with a computer that runs faster and has space available for any new games you might find under the Christmas tree this year.
Checking your computer's pre-installed software is a good starting point when looking for ways to free up hard drive space. Many computers come with redundant versions of programmes - for example, several different photo processing programmes even though most computer users use only one.
India to launch dedicated meteorological satellite
By IANS
New Delhi : India is set to launch an advanced meteorological satellite by the end of this year to boost its weather forecasting capabilities.
The satellite INSAT-3D will give "quantum jump in satellite meteorology", P.S. Goel, secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, said Tuesday.
This satellite is almost similar to GOES Satellites of the US and will have six channel imagers.
Goel spoke about the satellite at the ongoing Saarc (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) Workshop on Weather Forecasting Techniques in the national capital.
Astronauts install experiments, observer on Columbus lab
By DPA
Washington : Europe's newest and most important addition to the space station, the Columbus laboratory, was dressed up with added experiments and observatories during a space walk.
US astronauts Rex Walheim and Stanley Love spent nearly seven and a half hours outside of the International Space Station (ISS) in the third and final outing of the Atlantis shuttle crew Friday.
Atlantis is due to undock from the ISS Monday and return to Earth Wednesday.
Russia launches Proton-M carrier rocket with military satellite
By Ria Novosti
Moscow : A Russian Proton-M carrier rocket carrying a military satellite has been launched from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, Russia's space agency (Roskosmos) said on Sunday.
The Proton-M carrier rocket with a Kosmos satellite was launched at 3:16 a.m. Moscow time (00:16 a.m. GMT) on Sunday. The carrier rocket is expected to put the satellite into orbit at 12:17 p.m. Moscow time (09:17 a.m. GMT), Roskosmos said.
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.
Solar activity could spell more trouble for Earth
By Andrei Kislyakov, RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The Sun is beginning another 11-year cycle of activity and considering that the fiery star is to blame for some unfavourable climate changes on the Earth, the coming decade could spell more trouble for our planet.
The first measuring instruments of the Sun's activity made their appearance 440 years ago. They showed that our nearest star treats the Earth to more than just solar eclipses.
NASA says space shuttle repairs not needed
By RIA Novosti
Washington : There is no need to conduct repair work on the space shuttle Endeavour heat shield during the fourth spacewalk, scheduled for Aug 18, a NASA has said.
The damage to the heat shield occurred during Endeavour's launch Aug 8 when a small piece of insulating foam or ice from the shuttle fuel tank struck the spacecraft's underside shortly after lift off.
Shuttle Endeavour Undocks from Space Station
By SPA,
Washington : Space shuttle Endeavour and its crew of seven left the international space station Friday, ending a 12-day mission that made the orbiting laboratory more accommodating to bigger crews of researchers.
Shortly after the undocking, Mission Control advised Endeavour’s crew to delay their third and final rocket firing to avoid a piece of an old Russian satellite. The rocket firing was rescheduled for early evening.
Police to quiz Gwalior scientists over human sacrifice bid
By IANS,
Bhopal : Two senior scientists of the Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE) in Gwalior, who allegedly tried to kill their junior colleague in a human sacrifice bid, will be interrogated as soon they return from leave, police said Monday.
"We can't say anything right now. The picture would be clear after the scientists' statements are recorded," Gwalior Additional Superintendent of Police Manohar Verma told IANS.
Bush ‘shoe attack’ leads to explosion of online games
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Online games inspired by the Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at US President George W. Bush in Baghdad last week have taken the Internet by storm.
Ever since Muntazer al-Zaidi, a reporter for the Cairo-based al-Baghdadiya TV, threw both his shoes at the outgoing US president Sunday, online games have begun to spring up giving players the chance to succeed where the Iraqi journalists failed.
US shuttle Atlantis leaves space station for home
By Xinhua
Washington : The US space shuttle Atlantis undocked from the International Space Station Monday morning, heading home after delivering a new European lab, according to NASA TV live broadcasting.
"We just wanted to thank you again for being a great host and letting us enjoy your station for about a week," Atlantis' Commander Stephen Frick told ISS commander Peggy Whitson.
"It's a great new room (Columbus laboratory) you have added on and we really appreciate it," Whitson replied.
15-yr-old Sahil Khan writes his third book on computer science
By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net
New Delhi: This Delhiite Muslim teenager is very different from millions of boys of his age. Sahil Khan, only 15, has come out with his third book on computer science. His latest book “The Tricks of E. Mail Hacking” was launched today at India Islamic Cultural Centre by its president and renowned Muslim entrepreneur Sirajuddin Qureshi.
Astronauts finish Hubble repairs
By DPA,
Washington : Two US astronauts Monday put the final vital maintenance touches on the Hubble Space Telescope, replacing old insulation and a guidance sensor on the ageing satellite before its scheduled release back into orbit Tuesday.
The seven-hour-plus space walk completed a marathon five straight days of work in a risky mission by the Atlantis shuttle that entailed a stand-by shuttle on the launch pad in Florida for a rescue mission if needed.
‘Even microbes at risk from climate change’
By IANS,
Washington : Not just humans, climate change will also impact the microscopic world of bacteria, fungi and other microbial populations that support life on Earth.
“Microbes perform a number of critical functions for ecosystems ... we are only starting to understand the impact that global climate change is having on them,” said Kathleen Treseder of the University of California.
Treseder studied the effect of rising temperatures and fungi on carbon stores in Alaskan boreal forests, one area of the globe that is experiencing greater warming than others.
World of Warcraft has roots in Everquest
By Heiko Haupt, DPA
San Diego : Start up the computer, go online and explore a strange fantasy world using a gaming character you've created on your own: the idea has become a familiar one thanks to the mass phenomenon known as World of Warcraft.
It may surprise some gamers to learn that the principle is hardly new. The first online role playing games started appearing as far back as the 1990s. Success would have to wait for the developers, however. It wasn't until 1999 that the title Ultima Online and the near-legendary Everquest helped the genre break through.
New Microsoft deal eyes break-up of Yahoo
By DPA,
San Francisco : Microsoft's latest deal proposal to Yahoo envisages the internet portal selling off its valuable properties in Asia and Microsoft buying its search business in the US, media reports said.
The Software giant also proposed buying a minority stake in the whittled down Yahoo that would remain after the sell-off, the Wall Street Journal reported late Monday.
Rocket completes mission, India’s first moon spacecraft now in orbit
By Venkatachari Jagannathan and Fakir Balaji, IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : With a perfect liftoff, India's first spacecraft to the moon entered its scheduled orbit early Wednesday, placing the country in a select group of six. The US, former Soviet Union, European Space Agency, China and Japan have sent spacecrafts to the moon earlier.
Anti-virus software losing effectiveness
By DPA
Hanover : Anti-virus software is increasingly losing ground in the battle to provide reliable protection for PCs.
The Hanover-based c't magazine tested 17 current programmes recently. Each piece of software was tested for recognition of more than a million different pests, including trojans, viruses, worms and bots.
Two products were able to identify more than 99 percent of the malicious intruders. Four other virus scanners caught at least 95 percent and were hence awarded a grade of very good.
To understand dolphins, scientists turn their language into pictures
By IANS,
Washington : Researchers have turned into images the sounds that dolphins make in water, bringing humans closer to deciphering their language.
The key to this technique is the CymaScope, a new instrument that reveals detailed structures within sounds, allowing their architecture to be studied pictorially.
Using high definition audio recordings of dolphins, the research team, headed by British acoustics engineer John Stuart Reid and Florida-based dolphin researcher Jack Kassewitz, has been able to image, for the first time, the imprint that a dolphin sound makes in water.
Endeavour blasts off for mission to space station
By DPA,
Washington : Space shuttle Endeavour lit up the Florida coast before dawn Monday as it blasted off for a mission to the International Space Station.
The start, at 10.14 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time was the final night-time launch for the ageing shuttle fleet, which is to be mothballed later this year.
Endeavour is carrying a six-window viewing area that will give astronauts a panoramic look at earth, the station and visiting spacecraft.
A planned Sunday launch for the shuttle had to be postponed due to low cloud cover at the launch site.
India to launch three satellites next month
By IANS,
Chennai : India will launch three satellites next month and two more by the end of this year, said a senior official here.
One PSLV rocket Monday will carry 10 satellites
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Chennai : One of the three "core alone" Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles (PSLV) to blast off Monday from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh will carry the heaviest luggage - 824 kg - comprising the remote sensing Cartosat-2A satellite, the Indian Mini Satellite and eight nano
satellites.
According to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), core alone configuration means the main/core PSLV rocket minus the hugging six strap-on booster motors that powers the first stage.
Watch out for brightest Jupiter on July 9
By IANS,
New Delhi : Keep your telescopes handy for a wonderful celestial activity - Jupiter will shine at its brightest when it aligns directly with the Sun and Earth Wednesday.
“It is an interesting phenomenon as Jupiter and Earth would be in a straight line. Both the planets come closest at this time of the year and Jupiter, in turn, shines at its brightest,” said Nehru Planetarium director N. Ratnashree.
Ratnashree said if we could see Earth from Jupiter then it would be passing in front of the Sun.
NASA concludes Mars lander programme
By RIA Novosti,
Washington : US space agency NASA said Tuesday its Phoenix Mars Lander had ceased communications after operating for more than five months on the red planet, and announced the termination of the successful space exploration project.
Launched Aug 4, 2007, Phoenix landed on the Martian surface May 25, 2008. The $420-million mission lasted much longer than the planned three months, and verified the presence of water-ice in the Martian subsurface, among other important scientific findings.
Russia puts US satellite in orbit
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia's Proton-M carrier rocket successfully put a US telecom satellite into orbit Monday, space officials said.
Scientists find way to boost nutritional levels of corn
By IANS,
Washington : An international team of agricultural scientists has found a way to boost the nutritional value of corn and prevent blindness among children.
In Africa and other developing regions, corn is a major staple and hundreds of thousands of children become blind, develop weakened immune systems and die because of diets based largely on corn that lacks sufficient beta-carotene.
NASA spacecraft flies by Mercury for second time
By Xinhua,
Washington : NASA spacecraft MESSENGER has successfully made the second of the three planned flybys of Mercury on Monday, taking pictures of most of its remaining unseen surface.
The spacecraft passed 125 miles (about 200 km) above the planet's cratered surface, capturing more than 1,200 pictures and collecting a variety of science data.
Mission scientists hope to begin receiving the new data from MESSENGER in the very early morning on Tuesday.
Firefox celebrates five years
By DPA,
San Francisco : The open source internet browser Firefox marked its fifth anniversary Monday, celebrating its rise from an unknown challenger to Microsoft's Internet Explorer to a formidable competitor that has been downloaded over one billion times by 330 million users around the world.
"Over the last five years we've been setting ourselves up for the next five. The web is moving faster, not slower, and modern browsers are set to handle it," said Chris Blizzard of the Mozilla Foundation.
Kerala to have DNA bar coding centre
By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : A state-of-the-art DNA bar coding centre for all forms of life will start functioning here from June 11, an official said Friday.
"The Western Ghats area is an area of rich biodiversity and the new centre will create a data base of organisms so as to help in future studies. To begin with, the various varieties of ginger and pepper would be bar coded," Prakash Kumar a scientist attached to the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (STEC) told reporters here Friday.
Moon landing myth? Decades later, conspiracy theories remain
By Peer Meinert, DPA,
Washington : Even conspiracy theories must sometimes be taken seriously.
Every week Roger Launius, chief historian at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, devotes his time to debunking one of history's favourite such theories: That astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin never landed on the moon.
The entire July 20, 1969, landing and the spacewalk several hours later was just a show, all lies, filmed in a Hollywood studio or in a desert, the sceptics say.
Few other conspiracy theories have proven so popular or long-lived.
India sets up Rs.10 bn nano-technology mission
By IANS,
New Delhi : India has set up a Rs.10 billion mission to help scientists do research in nano-technology and innovate new products in fields like healthcare, textiles and drug development, an official said Friday.
“We have set up a mission to boost nano-technology in the country. The fund will be utilised over a period of five years,” Science Secretary T. Ramasami said Friday on the sidelines of an event on nano-technology at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).