Railway plans hi-tech security gadgets in Orissa

By IANS, Bhubaneswar : East Coast Railway authorities have decided to install high tech security gadgets at leading stations of Orissa in view of the recent terror attacks in different places of Mumbai, a railway official said Monday. A high level meeting was conducted by East Coast Railway authorities Monday to review the security situation at railway stations, especially in Bhubaneswar, Puri and Cuttack. The meeting took stock of the security scenario at these stations and additional measures required to be taken were discussed, an East Coast Railway press release said.

‘Consciousness is brain’s Wi-Fi network’

By IANS, Washington : Your fingers start to burn after picking up a hot plate; should you drop the plate or save your meal? New research suggests it is your consciousness that resolves these dilemmas by serving as the brain's Wi-Fi network. "If the brain is like a set of computers that control different tasks, consciousness is the Wi-Fi network that allows different parts of the brain to talk to each other and decide which action 'wins' and is carried out," said Ezequiel Morsella. Morsella, who led the study, is professor of psychology at San Francisco State University (SFSU).

Indonesia to develop 2nd generation version of satellite

By Xinhua Jakarta : After successfully launching its LAPAN-TUBSAT satellite last year, the Indonesian National Aeronautics and Space Agency (Lapan) is preparing to construct a second generation version of the earth surveillance satellite for orbit in 2010. While the construction of the first satellite took place in Germany, the construction of the next, named LAPAN-A2, will take place in Indonesia entirely under Indonesian engineers, the Jakarta Post daily on Friday quoted Lapan's head Adi Sadewo Salatun as saying.

Man thinks moon is UFO, calls emergency

By IANS, London : A Briton rang up emergency number 999 to report an UFO hovering above his house, but later said the "mysterious object" was only the moon.

Indian nuclear scientists to benefit from end of British ban

By IANS, London : The end of a British ban on exporting sensitive nuclear technology to India will facilitate greater exchanges between nuclear scientists from the two countries, a British minister said. After a six-year-freeze, Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell said Britain will “encourage contacts between UK nuclear scientists, academics and those working in or with the UK nuclear industry with their Indian counterparts, except where we consider that such contacts might be of assistance to the weapons-related aspects of its nuclear programme."

New Chinese law to encourage innovation

By Xinhua Beijing : China's top legislature Saturday adopted an amendment to the Law on Science and Technology Progress that shows more tolerance of failures in scientific projects but brooks no fraud or manipulation of data. The law, for the first time, allows scientists to report failures in innovative researches without harming their eligibility for future funding. The amendment, which is to take effect July 1, 2008, was approved at the seven-day meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) that ended Saturday.

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.

Fingerprint could identify smoker, drinker

By IANS

London : Fingerprint could help identify a smoker, drinker, an avid coffee drinker or even a drug addict, scientists say.

Computer spies breach $300 bn US fighter jet project: WSJ

By Arun Kumar,IANS, Washington : Computer spies have broken into the US Defence Department's costliest weapons programme ever, the $300 billion Joint Strike Fighter project, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Similar incidents have also breached the Air Force's air traffic control system in recent months, it said citing unnamed "current and former government officials familiar with the attacks.

Marine organism bypasses photosynthesis for survival

By IANS Washington : Some marine organisms are able to get much of their energy bypassing photosynthesis - the most vital biological process on earth, responsible for all our food. Two recent studies by Carnegie Institution scientists suggest that these micro-organisms neither release oxygen nor take in carbon dioxide. If true, this discovery impacts not only our basic understanding of photosynthesis, but also how micro-organisms in oceans affect rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, Sciencedaily reported.

Symantec to launch next generation security software

By IANS

Chennai : IT security services major Symantec Corporation will release its next-generation enterprise security software, codenamed Hamlet, in September, a top company official said here Wednesday.

Microbes from Earth likely to contaminate Mars

By IANS, Washington : Bacteria common to spacecraft sent from the Earth may be able to survive the harsh environs of Mars, long enough to contaminate it with terrestrial life, research says. The search for life on Mars remains a stated goal of NASA's Mars Exploration Program and Astrobiology Institutes. To preserve the pristine environments, the bioloads on spacecraft headed to Mars are subject to sterilisation, designed to prevent the contamination of the Martian surface.

Five more exoplanets found in Milky Way

By DPA, Washington : NASA scientists said Monday they have identified another five planets orbiting stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. But none of them appears to be the long sought after Earth-twin that could support life the way the home planet does, Kepler telescope specialists said at a news conference in Washington.

Chang’e I survives its darkest hour

By Xinhua Beijing : Chang'e I, China's pioneering lunar probing satellite, came through its first lunar eclipse yesterday and has regained full operations. The moon orbiter was temporarily hidden from solar rays and lost contact with Earth for two-and-half hours during a blackout that started at 10 am, Ye Peijian, chief commander and designer in charge of the satellite system, said. Chang'e I had to switch off some of its equipment and rely on onboard batteries during this challenging time, when it was blocked from solar energy, Ye said.

Organic foods fight diseases better, says study

By IANS London : Food produced organically have up to 40 percent more disease-fighting properties than non-organically grown produce, researchers have found. Scientists at Newcastle University in Britain raised cattle and grew fruits and vegetables on 725 acres of organic and non-organic farms situated next to each other over a period of four years.

India’s probe first to sniff water on moon

By IANS, Bangalore : India's Moon Impact Probe (MIP) was the first instrument to detect water on the moon - way back in November last year when the spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 entered lunar orbit, space agency chief G. Madhavan Nair said here Friday. "I am happy to share for the first time with all of you that the MIP, while it was descending from Chandrayaan to the moon Nov 14, 2008, picked up strong signals of water particles on the lunar surface," the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman told reporters here.

Mild tremors felt in Delhi, parts of north India

By IANS, New Delhi : Mild tremors were felt Monday in parts of North India, including New Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh at 11:57 a.m.

YouTube gets billion hits per day

By DPA, San Francisco : Google's online video site YouTube now gets a billion hits a day, the site's founder Chad Hurley said in a video posted Friday. "Three years ago today (YouTube co-founder) Steve (Chen) and I stood in front of our offices and jokingly crowned ourselves the 'burger kings' of media," read the post, which was titled Y,000,000,000uTube.

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.

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.

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.

Not all forests act against global warming

By IANS, Washington : The notion that forests remove carbon dioxide from the air and prevent global warming has some complications, says a new study. There's a kind of forest that does remove carbon dioxide, but does not help prevent global warming because it heats up so much itself. Forests can directly absorb and retain heat, and, in at least one type of forest, these effects may be strong enough to cancel out a good part of the benefit in lowered carbon dioxide, says a discovery by chemistry researchers at the Weizmann Institute (WI), Israel.

Ice Age park? Scientists sequence mammoth genome

By IANS, Washington : Scientists have sequenced the genome of the woolly mammoth of the Ice Age, bringing to reality the possibility of an Ice Age park in the lines of the fictional Jurassic Park of Michael Crichton. With four billlion DNA bases, the sequencing has been done for the first time, using new generation tools and a novel technique that reads the DNA bases far more efficiently. Mammoths roamed the northern hemisphere during the last Ice Age.

Australian knowhow to ensure ‘live’ coverage of US manned Mars mission

By IANS, Washington : Whenever the US manned Mars mission materialises, the whole world can watch live TV coverage of the event, thanks to the knowhow provided by an Australian outfit. John Bunton, senior member of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation's (CSIRO) ICT Centre Wireless Technology lab has designed a novel 'beamformer' capable of providing a live video link from Mars, for which he will be honoured by NASA with its Space Act Board Award Oct 28 in California.

Google Helps US Intelligence Expand

By Prensa Latina Washington : US intelligence bought Google data base to enhance espionage on the Internet through restricted Intellipedia network for the 16 intelligence agencies. San Francisco Chronicle says several branches within the community, among them the National Security Agency, the CIA and FBI, are now able to process information collected from Google. The contracts are part of the accords the company sales team promoted with the Feds that already signed similar pact with the Coast Guard, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

Century’s longest eclipse sweeps into clouds in Himachal

By IANS, Shimla : Partly cloudy sky Wednesday morning in most parts of Himachal Pradesh marred the early moments of one of nature's greatest spectaculars - the century's longest total solar eclipse, weather officials here said. "Clouds in most parts of the hill state remained an intermittent problem, with most areas reporting partly overcast conditions," meteorological office Director Manmohan Singh said. On the historic Ridge in Shimla, a large number of people, especially schoolchildren, have gathered to witness the eclipse through clouds.

First identical twin camels bred in UAE

By IANS, Dubai : Scientists here have successfully produced United Arab Emirates' first identical twin camels using embryo splitting technology, WAM news agency reported Wednesday. According to scientists at Dubai Camel Breeding Centre, the genetically identical twin camels, Zahi and Baih, were naturally born to two surrogate camel mothers Feb 10 and 23. Both are in good health. For the first time scientists in the Gulf region used a sophisticated technology called embryo splitting technology to produce the identical twin camels from a six-day-old camel embryo.

India launches satellite-based navigation system

By IANS, New Delhi : India Tuesday launched a satellite-based navigation system to aid air traffic in the region and joined a select club of nations which have similar capabilities. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel launched the Global Position System Aided Geo Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) based on a constellation of 24 satellites positioned in six earth-centred orbital planes.

Now, Smart City app for Kolkata suburb

Kolkata: Say goodbye to confusing roadmaps and guidebooks! A new app will ensure residents and visitors to West Bengal's New Town suburb -- nominated...

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.

There is ‘contemporary’ life on Mars: leading space scientist

By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS, London : A leading international space scientist says there is now clear evidence of life on Mars but that American authorities are hesitating from announcing it for political reasons. "The discovery of liquid water on Mars combined with earlier discoveries of organic substances in a meteorite that came from Mars, and also of methane in the Martian atmosphere all point to the existence of life - contemporary life - on the Red Planet," said Chandra Wickramasinghe, a globally renowned astrobiologist.

Kerala’s first Active Web GIS Service launched

By IANS Thiruvananthapuram : The state-run Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management-Kerala (IIITM-K) Saturday launched Kerala's first Active Web Geographical Information System (GIS) service in public domain. The GIS has been developed using Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) technology. "The main objective of Active Web GIS is to make the dynamic geographical information available in a simplified, open Web interface," said IIITM-K Director K.R. Srivathsan, announcing the launch at the concluding session of three-day Free Map Workshop here.

Yahoo! to develop nest-generation products from India lab

By IANS Bangalore : Leading search engine and news and entertainment portal Yahoo! has set up a laboratory here to develop next-generation products for its global customers and users, a company official said Tuesday. "As an extension of our research and development (R&D) operations here, Yahoo! India Lab will initially have 100-member team of scientists and engineers. They will work on multiple projects to make the Web more relevant and simple for users and advertisers worldwide," Yahoo! India Research head Prabhakar Raghavan told reporters here.

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.

ISRO short of 230 scientists

By IANS, New Delhi : The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is short of 230 scientists and engineers, the Lok Sabha was told Wednesday.

Could waste be a source of our energy requirements?

By IANS, London : Scientists are trying to find answers to one of the most challenging problems existing today -- generating energy without worsening climate change or harming food output. Researchers are investigating biofuels generated from waste, which is perceived by many as the 'green alternative' to using fossil fuels. Biofuels seem to be the perfect solution because they are not net producers of harmful by-products, but they can tempt farmers into growing energy crops at the cost of badly-needed food, particularly in poorer countries.

$40,800 bid to name butterfly after a loved one

By IANS New York : An unidentified person bid $40,800 for the naming rights of a new species of butterfly -- and scientists will use the money to continue their research. Researchers at the University of Florida discovered the new owl butterfly in Mexico's Sonoran desert earlier this year and decided, in a first, to offer its naming rights in an online auction. The new butterfly's scientific name is Opsiphanes blythekitzmillerae, but its popular name, chosen by the winning bidder, is Minerva -- in memory of Margery Minerva Blythe Kitzmiller of Ohio.

Yahoo settles lawsuit with Chinese dissidents

By DPA San Francisco : Yahoo has settled a lawsuit brought on behalf of two Chinese dissidents who were arrested and allegedly tortured after the company gave their details to Chinese authorities. The settlement came just a week after Yahoo was lambasted in a congressional hearing for supplying information that enabled the Chinese government to identify Shi Tao and Wang Xiaoning, who had written anti-government comments on a Yahoo website.

O, Texas clock boy’s family ! Stay put in U.S., use the moment as...

By Dr Syed Zafar Mahmood The 13 year American Ahmad Mohamed, inventor of home-made clock with digital display, was expecting a pat on the back...

Scientists tag sharks to gather more detailed data

By IANS, Sydney : Scientists have tagged a nearly four-metre long white shark, nicknamed Thomas, to track its movements across the ocean and gather more detailed information. The tag popped up at Swaub Reefs off Rockhampton and transmitted data late in August. Department of Conservation (DOC) Scientist Clinton Duffy had tagged Thomas off Ruapuke Island in Foveaux Strait in February. "This is only 100 kilometres from where another tag popped up last year from a shark tagged at Stewart Island after having travelled over 3,000 km," said Duffy.

Bangalore IT expo starts on subdued note

By IANS Bangalore : The tenth edition of Bangalore IT.in, arguably Asia's biggest technology expo, got underway Monday on a restrained note due to the political crisis in Karnataka. In the absence of an executive government and the IT-savvy state under President's rule, Karnataka Governor Rameshwar Thakur inaugurated the four-day technology event at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre on the outskirts of the city.

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.

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.

Can we get oil from space?

By Andrei Kislyakov, RIA Novosti, Moscow : Scientists from the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh have said that judging by the chemical composition of stars in the Milky Way, our galaxy could contain anywhere between 300 and 38,000 highly developed extraterrestrial civilizations potentially capable of contacting planet Earth. Although current generations are unlikely to shake hands with little green men from Mars, humankind has already discovered sizeable mineral deposits on other planets. But should we pin any hopes on them?

New technique to help predict Alzheimer’s early

By IANS, Sydney : A neuroimaging scan called PiB PET can predict the onset of Alzheimer's in individuals at least 18 months earlier than all currently available diagnostics. PiB PET can show excess of beta-amyloid (molecule) in the brain and potentially allows clinicians to distinguish patients with early Alzheimer's disease, even before signs of memory loss are present.

Scientists explain obscene growth of black holes

By IANS, Washington : A new theory about why black holes become so hugely massive has been put forth by astronomers from University of Leicester, UK and Monash University, Australia.

Agenda for India: Telecom

TwoCircles.net presents “Agenda for India”. Series editor is Charu Bahri. Challenges & Solutions “I would cite the issue of spectrum allocation and management as one of the foremost challenges of India’s telecom sector,” says Yusuf Motiwala, Founder & CEO, TringMe. “The government must wake up to the losses accumulating on account of under-utilization of spectrum and due to the delay in rolling out 3G services.”

High tension in NASA before Sunday’s Mars landing

By DPA, Washington : For nearly 10 months, the US space probe Phoenix has been travelling the 195 million km from Earth to Mars. On Sunday comes the tense moment of truth. That's when NASA's planetary probe is to land on the north pole of Mars. Phoenix's mission is to look for signs of life in a region of the red planet where earlier missions showed evidence of ice. But before it gets that far, it must land successfully, and nerves were strained in the run-up to touch down.

Rover technology could improve solar power efficiency

By IANS, London : Technology designed for Mars exploration could hold the key to solving the world's energy problems by boosting solar power efficiency. A self-cleaning system developed for NASA's Mars rover robots could keep solar panels free of dust and grime which hampers energy output. The devices exploring Mars have sensors which detect dust build-ups and zap the surface of their solar panels with an electrical charge to keep them shiny, reports the Telegraph.

India exploring commercial satellite launches

By IANS, New Delhi : India is exploring commercial opportunities by providing facility of satellite launch to other countries at viable rates, the Lok Sabha was informed Wednesday. "Our space programme's commercial wing Antrix is looking at opportunities to launch satellites for other countries. India is one of the foremost countries in space technology," said Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office.

Plastic nanosheets can capture solar energy cheaply

By IANS, Washington : Plastic sheets arrayed with billions of nanoantennas will help collect abundant heat energy generated by the sun and other sources cheaply. The technology, developed at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), is the first step toward a solar energy collector that could be mass-produced on flexible materials.

India plans to launch 10 satellites every year

By Fakir Balaji, IANS, Bangalore : Indian space scientists and engineers are bracing up to launch an average of 10 satellites per year to meet the rising demand for various space applications, including communications and remote sensing, a top space scientist said. "We are planning to launch 10 satellites per year, beginning fiscal 2010-11. We have a series of satellites and launch vehicles at various stages of preparation," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K. Radhakrishnan told IANS.

China’s IT giants to hedge against Windows XP shutdown

By IANS, Beijing: Tencent will join hands with other IT giants to "build a hedge" for Chinese users against potential internet attacks on them after...

Yahoo! Buzz offers buzz-worthy stories

By Arun Kumar, IANS Washington : Leading global internet brand Yahoo! Inc. has introduced Yahoo! Buzz, offering the most interesting and relevant content from websites across the worldwide web and bringing more buzz-worthy stories to the homepage of Yahoo! Currently in beta, Yahoo! Buzz measures consumer votes and search patterns to identify interesting and timely stories and videos from large news sources as well as niche blogs around the web, the firm announced Wednesday.

Russian spaceship delivers food, water to International Space Station

By Xinhua, Moscow : A Russian cargo spaceship has docked with the International Space Station (ISS) to deliver food, water, fuel and equipment for the crew, the Mission Control said Saturday. The Progress M-14 spaceship docked with the station at 1.39 a.m. Moscow time Saturday. The spaceship delivered some 2.5 tons of cargo as well as gifts from the crews' families to Russian cosmonauts Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko and NASA astronaut Garrett E. Reisman.

Iran tests sounding rocket, unveils first homemade satellite

By RIA Novosti Tehran/Moscow : Iran successfully launched on Monday a sounding rocket as a preliminary step toward sending its first homemade research satellite into orbit, national media said. Iran's state television earlier reported that Iranian scientists had built the Omid (Hope) research satellite under a project that took 10 years to complete. The satellite was unveiled on Monday during an official ceremony and may be launched by March 2009.

Space junk may crash earth’s communication networks

By IANS, Washington/London : Junk of abandoned rockets, shattered satellites and missile shrapnel in space may cause collision between satellites, destroying communication facilities on earth, the US defence department has warned. According to scientists, the debris scattered in the earth's orbit is reaching a "tipping point" and pose a threat to the $250 billion space services industry. A single collision between two satellites or large pieces of "space junk" can send thousands of pieces of debris spinning into orbit, triggering an "uncontrolled chain reaction".

Botanist on mission to save rare Indian herbal remedies

By Shudip Talukdar, IANS, Lucknow : Ethno-botanist Deepak Acharya has spent eight years in the Satpura mountains in Madhya Pradesh, parts of which lie cut off from civilisation, driven by a single goal -- documenting and salvaging India's traditional herbal remedies before they are lost to the world.

How to keep your PC cool during summer

By DPA, Washington : Computers hate heat. So this summer, be sure to think about keeping your computer cool. Computer components themselves run hot, and yet they're not designed to operate above a certain temperature. When the temperature outside gets uncomfortable for humans, you can be sure that your computer isn't liking the situation any better. So for a trouble-free summer of computing, take steps now to ensure that your PC stays cool.

India emerging as global hub for data hosting services

By Fakir Balaji, IANS, Mumbai/Bangalore : Convergence of technologies, domain expertise and falling bandwidth tariffs are making India a hot data hosting and remote infrastructure management (RIM) site for global enterprises, says a top industry player. For the next wave of outsourcing in back office operations, top Indian players such as Reliance Infocomm, Tata Telecommunications, Sify and Netmagic Solutions are bracing up to provide a range of IT managed services, including data hosting, mission critical applications, networking and RIM to domestic and overseas enterprises.

Hubble discovers methane on exo-planet

By DPA Garching (Germany) : The Hubble space telescope has discovered methane gas, a useful fuel and precursor of life, on a planet outside the Solar System. The European Hubble Centre at Garching, near Munich, said Wednesday it was the first time any organic molecule had been found on the new class of heavenly bodies, the exo-planets. The orbiting telescope detected methane (chemical formula CH4) by analysing light shining through the atmosphere of exo-planet HD 189733b, which is 63 light years from earth, in the constellation Vulpecula.

Saturn’s moon Rhea also may have rings, research shows

By Xinhua Washington : NASA's Cassini spacecraft has found evidence of material orbiting Rhea, Saturn's second largest moon. This is the first time rings may have been found around a moon, said NASA on Thursday. A broad debris disk and at least one ring appear to have been detected by a suite of six instruments on Cassini specifically designed to study the atmospheres and particles around Saturn and its moons.

Fangs evolving from teeth helped snakes spread worldwide

By IANS, Sydney : Fangs which had evolved from early teeth enabled snakes to expand across all continents except Antarctica nearly 60 million years ago, according to a new study. "Understanding the evolution of fangs sheds light on how snakes colonised new environments or adapted to feed on new prey," said Bryan Fry of the department of biochemistry and molecular biology in Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne. Fry worked on the study with a team from the Netherlands, US, Israel and Australia.

Plants cope with stress too

By IANS, Washington : Plants, very much like humans, have to cope with stress - and scientists are in the process of developing plants that handle stress better, says a new study. For plants, stress comes in the shape of too much salt or too little iron, both widespread environmental challenges for crops around the world. "High salinity and low iron are both important problems for food security, particularly in developing countries," said Philip Benfey of the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences and Policy.

Amazing super 3-D camera to revolutionise photography

By IANS Washington : Imagine a camera that sees the world through thousands of tiny lenses, each a miniature camera unto itself. Now stop imagining and start imaging. Researchers at Stanford University already have the prototype of just such a gadget: a 3-megapixel chip, with all its micro-lenses adding up to a staggering 12,616 cameras. The multi-aperture camera looks and feels like a small cell phone camera. And the final product may cost less than a digital camera, the researchers say, because the quality of its main lens is no longer of paramount importance.

Astronomy fair at Jantar Mantar Sunday

By IANS, New Delhi : The Nehru Planetarium is organising a fair at Jantar Mantar here Sunday to educate people on the astronomical instruments at the 17th century heritage site. The fair is a part of several activities planned during the International Year of Astronomy, being observed globally this year. "The fair will highlight and spread awareness about the usage of Jantar Mantar observatory instruments among people in the country," Nehru Planetarium Director N. Rathnasree said. The fair will start at 11 a.m. Sunday and will go on till sunset.

Shuttle Endeavour blasts off from Cape Canaveral

By SPA Cape Canaveral, Florida : Shuttle Endeavour and a crew of seven are on their way to the international space station, AP reported. The space shuttle blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, early Tuesday morning to begin what is expected to be the longest space station mission ever. It is a 16-day voyage to build a two-armed robot and add a float-in closet for a future lab. Five spacewalks are planned. Liftoff came in the middle of the night, and it was the first shuttle launch in darkness since 2006.

Obama views India’s moon mission as a challenge

By Arun Kumar, IANS, Washington : As the White House hailed India's maiden moon mission as "encouraging" and "exciting", Democratic presidential hopeful, Barack Obama saw it as a reminder to revitalise the US space programme and not let other countries surpass it. "I haven't spoken to the President (George Bush) about it. I saw that story, it was very interesting," White House spokesperson Dana Perino said Wednesday. "We noted it's very encouraging for India, I'm sure, very exciting."

Office 2010: Did Microsoft get it right?

By Jay Dougherty, DPA, Washington : Will Office 2010 rescue Microsoft's ubiquitous productivity suite in the same way that Windows 7 resuscitated the reputation of Windows? That's the billion-dollar question. And this week, with the official unveiling of Office 2010, answers begin to emerge. Boasting a host of collaborative features, interface improvements, and seamless integration with the new, free Office 2010 Web Apps, Office 2010 is Microsoft's best attempt to redress the complaints that users had about Office 2007 while not throwing out the 2007 experiment entirely.

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.

Facebook makes Timeline feature compulsory

By IANS, London: Social network Facebook has made compulsory its Timeline feature through which all of a user's photographs and wall posts would be seen by friends on their homepage.

Dancing electrons could open way to new devices

By IANS, Washington : Researchers have discovered a new way that electrons behave in materials, which could spur the development of futuristic electronic devices. A team led by N. Phuan Ong, professor of physics at Princeton University, has shown that electrons in an element like bismuth display a highly unusual pattern - a dance of sorts - when subjected to a powerful magnetic field at ultra-low temperatures.

Plant breeding technique can help beat hunger trap

By IANS, London : Increased investment in plant breeding technique can help boost efforts to pull millions of people out of the hunger trap, said International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) scientists. IAEA scientists use radiation to produce improved high-yielding plants that adapt to harsh climate conditions such as drought or flood, or that are resistant to certain diseases and insect pests. Called mutation induction, the technique is safe, proven and cost-effective. It has been in use since the 1920s.

New technology will help crack E. Coli’s gene code

By IANS, New York : E. coli has remained a mystery for long as a fourth of the roughly 4,000 genes it carries are unknown to researchers. But 'GIANT-Coli,' short for genetic interaction analysis technology for E. coli, a new technique, has the potential to speed up the discovery of new gene functions and help crack its code, says a new study. The principle behind this technique is to track interaction among genes that produces observable effects, and helping identify gene functions. Harmless E. coli strains are found in many animals and human intestines, but some can cause diseases.

Mars message mocks many

By IANS, Ahmedabad : It was an e-mail message that promised a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gaze Tuesday night at the unique celestial event of Mars coming closest to Earth in 5,000 years. But, it turned out to be a hoax. The e-mail message read: "Planet Mars will be the brightest in the night sky starting Aug 27 when Mars comes within 34.65 million miles off Earth."

Methane found on Jupiter-sized extra-solar planet

By IANS Washington : For the first time ever, astronomers have detected an organic molecule - which plays a key role in the formation of life - on a planet circling a nearby star. The methane molecule has been detected by the Hubble Space Telescope in the atmosphere of the Jupiter-sized planet named HD 189733b, located 63 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula, or the little fox. Under right circumstances, methane can play a key role in pre-biotic (life forming) chemistry

Percept Talent to promote CWG winners, non-cricket events

By IANS, New Delhi: Percept Talent Management (PTM) has decided to promote non-cricket disciplines and medal winning athletes of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2010.

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.

IBM labs unveil digital transportation solutions

By IANS

Bangalore : The research division of the global IT major IBM has come out with a slew of innovations that have the potential to change the way people travel.

The next-generation transport innovations revolve around driver-assist technologies, intelligent traffic systems using sensor technologies, advanced mass transit systems connected to mobile phones, ultra sophisticated voice recognition systems and smart airport system.

NASA’s Spitzer detects light of alien ‘Super-Earth’

By IANS, Washington : NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has detected light emanating from a "super-Earth" planet beyond our solar system for the first time.

Now a TV with an inbuilt Quran

By IANS, Dubai : A leading global consumer electronics major Tuesday launched what it claims to be the world's only television with the holy Quran built in. LG Electronics unveiled the new plasma series TV with the built-in Quran in Saudi Arabia Tuesday to mark the ongoing Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The TV allows viewers to read the Quran, search and bookmark passages and listen to scriptures, an LG statement said. It also includes LG's 'Time Machine DVR' technology for recording and playing back TV shows.

Iran parliament approves law to implement n-deal

Tehran: Iran's parliament on Tuesday approved a legislation which asks the government to implement the recent nuclear deal reached between Tehran and the...

Internet will reach capacity limits by 2010: AT&T

By IANS, London : US telecommunications giant AT&T has warned that the Internet's current network architecture will reach the limits of its capacity by 2010 if proper investment is not made. Speaking at a Westminster eForum on Web 2.0 in London, Jim Cicconi, vice-president of legislative affairs for AT&T, warned that the current systems that constitute the Internet would not be able to cope with the increasing volumes of video and user-generated content being uploaded.

U.S. Space Shuttle Atlantis blasts off

By Xinhua Washington : After a two-month delay, U.S. space shuttle Atlantis finally blasted off on Thursday from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on a mission to deliver the European Space Agency's Columbus Laboratory to the International Space Station (ISS).

Indian IT solutions firm forays into Egypt

By IANS, Bangalore : Leading IT solutions provider IDS Softwares Ltd has forayed into Egypt to automate the hospitality industry and extend its footprint in North African countries, a top company official said. “We have already bagged a deal from Egypt’s leading hotel chain Pyramisa Hotels to deploy our suite of products developed at our global R&D facility in Bangalore to automate its operations,” IDS general manager Rajesh P. Yadav said in a statement here late Thursday.

NASA to launch Mars rover in November

By IANS, Washington : NASA will launch its car-sized Mars rover named Curiosity later this month.

Scientists working on vaccine without needle

By IANS

Melbourne : Australian scientists are working to develop vaccine delivery through a small skin patch rather than a needle.

Indian teen in Finland, bringing Facebook, Twitter closer

By Rahul Dass, IANS, Helsinki : Want to know from your mobile phone where to hangout in Delhi or eat out in Beijing? Three teens in Finland, including one from India, are giving final touches to a system that integrates social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. They are part of a team of 30 brainy teens who have come to Finland from 16 countries to take part in the week-long Millennium Youth Camp being held in a forested area, abutting a lake, about an hour's drive from capital Helsinki.

‘Chandrayaan orbit to be raised to 267,000 km Wednesday’

By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS, Chennai : The earth orbit of India's first lunar spacecraft will be raised to 267,000 km Wednesday, an official here said. "The Chandrayaan spacecraft, orbiting at a distance of around 165,000 km apogee (farthest point from earth) will be raised Wednesday to around 267,000 km. As of now, everything is normal and as per our expectations," Chandrayaan-1 project director M. Annadurai told IANS.

IBM’s Lx86 allows Linux applications run on Unix servers

By Xinhua Beijing : The "Lx86" capability, to be included in IBM's PowerVM virtualization software, allows x86-based Linux applications to run on IBM's System p and Power-based Unix systems without modification, media reported Thursday. "The capability will simplify the consolidation of Unix and Linux server sprawls," said Scott Handy, vice president of marketing and strategy for IBM Power Systems. "Running Linux applications in the Unix environment can reduce the cost of server consolidation and energy consumption and increase asset utilization."

Taking hi-tech solutions to poor villages

By Frederick Noronha, IANS

Bangalore : Ekgaon, a technology and management services firm for independent rural communities, is run by young Indian techies spanning the globe, some of whom are expatriates keen to help their home country.

Scientists find way of protecting computers against virus

By IANS, Washington : Code Red, a virulent computer virus, wreaked havoc, infecting more than 350,000 machines in 14 hours in 2001, besides causing a worldwide loss of $2.6 billion. Now techies at Ohio State University have discovered a way to contain worms like Code Red, which blocked network traffic to subway stations and 911 call centres in the US, and also sought to target the White House website. "We wanted to find a way to catch infections in their earliest stages, before they get that far," said Ness Shroff, who led the team that worked on the project.

India marks ‘Ring of Fire’ spectacle with faith and science

By IANS, New Delhi : Millions of Hindus bathed in holy rivers and tanks across India after a four-hour celestial spectacle that turned the sun into a 'Ring of Fire', bringing out science enthusiasts to view and record the rare event. Hundreds of thousands of temples all over the country closed their doors and covered their deities with muslin shrouds during the period when traffic on roads in many cities thinned as people kept indoors.

Youngsters use Facebook, MySpaceTeens to create flattering self-images

By IANS, Washington : Youngsters are using popular networking websites like Facebook and MySpace to create flattering self-images, one that they would like to be but are not. "People can use these sites to explore who they are by posting particular images, pictures or text," said University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) psychology graduate Adriana Manago, researcher with the Children's Digital Media Center, Los Angeles (CDMCLA), and co-author of the study.

Lucknow geologist selected for second Indian trip to Arctic

By IANS, Lucknow : Dhruv Sen, a Lucknow University geologist, Saturday said he had again been selected for the second Indian expedition to the Arctic. "It is really a privilege for me as I am one of the eight scientists of the country who will be going on the Arctic expedition," an elated Sen told IANS. All the eight members of the team would meet in Delhi and leave for the trip July 30, he said. Sen said: "Geologically, the Arctic region is very interesting." He was also a part of the first Indian Expedition to the Arctic in 2007.

New Year’s Eve revelers to be treated to rare ‘blue moon’

By DPA, New York : Times Square revelers will be treated to a rare "blue moon" on New Year's Eve Thursday night. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to watch the ritual descent of the crystal ball in Times Square to usher in 2010 at midnight. But what many of them may not yet expect is a special full moon above their heads, the second this month.

Yahoo! paints rosy picture, partner thinks Microsoft will prevail

By IANS New York : Yahoo! Inc looked to a bright future over the next three years to bolster its argument that it is worth more than what Microsoft Corp offered, but the moves by its Chinese partner underscore investor doubts that the web portal can stay independent. Yahoo! forecast released in a regulatory filing was intended to convince investors that it has a bright future as an independent company, despite a series of recent struggles.

India to launch maiden mission to moon on April 9 next year

By NNN-APP New Delhi : India has planned to launch its maiden mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-I on April nine next year. Media reports said the mission planned by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Hyderabad. Quoting Mylswamy Annadurai, Project Director of Chandrayaan-I, the reports said “a launch windows are available for the next two days in case the launch does not happen on that day.”

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.

How old is your oldest bulb? This one’s 70

By Asit Srivastava, IANS, Lucknow : Seventy years old and still glowing. It's a light bulb, which has recently become the most prized possession of Lucknow resident Girish Chandra Gupta, who now aims to enter the record books, claiming to have a "rare bulb". "It was only last month that I came to know the importance of the bulb after coming across an article in a Hindi daily," says Gupta, who runs a grocery shop from his small house located in a congested lane in the Hussainganj locality of this Uttar Pradesh capital.

Rain or shine, India’s moon mission will keep its Oct 22 date

By IANS, Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : Come rain or shine, India's maiden moon mission will be launched from here Oct 22 as scheduled, officials said. Except for a a severe cyclone, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C11 will blast off from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) here as scheduled.

Crush of people kills two eclipse watchers in Varanasi

By IANS, Varanasi : Two people were killed here Wednesday morning when thousands of people gathered at the banks of the Ganges to watch the solar eclipse. "One person died because of drowning and the other got crushed in a stampede. The names of the deceased are yet to be determined" said P.C. Meena, deputy inspector general of police (DIG).

Colliding galaxies send black holes packing

By Xinhua, Beijing : A huge black hole has been seen leaving its home galaxy after a colossal cosmic merger occurred. The event, seen for the first time, was announced Tuesday. When two colliding galaxies finally merge, it is thought the black holes at their cores may fuse together too. Astronomers have theorized that the resulting energy release could propel the new black hole from its parent galaxy out into space, but no one has found such an event.

Scientists create waterproof paper out of sugarcane waste

By IANS, Sydney : Brisbane biotechnologists have found a way to utilise cellulose in unused sugarcane plant material to produce waterproof papers and industrial cardboards. Fully recyclable, waterproof paper board could reduce billions of tonnes of landfill around the world. Today, the only technology available to manufacturers is cardboard coated with a petroleum-based wax which renders the packaging non-recyclable or petroleum based plastics.

Last decade warmest on record, says NASA

By IANS, Washington : The last decade from January 2000 to December 2009 was the warmest on record, according to a NASA analysis. Looking back to 1880, when modern scientific instrumentation became available to monitor temperatures precisely, a clear warming trend is present, although there was a levelling off between the 1940s and 1970s.

AIIMS performs India’s ‘first’ robotic chest surgery

By IANS, New Delhi : Ela Srivastava had been suffering from double vision, chewing problem and weakness in the nervous system, but no more - thanks to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) doctors and a four-arm robot. “It's the first robotic chest surgery in India,” claimed Arvind Kumar, professor of surgery at AIIMS. “In the last four days (since Saturday) we have performed chest surgeries on seven patients using the robot and have achieved complete success. This is a milestone for Indian medical fraternity,” Kumar told IANS.

Indian nano-tech group in US to create big splash

New York(IANS) : A group of Indian Americans well placed in the nano-technology industry have formed The Indus Nanotechnology Association (TINA) to create a bigger impact in the market, estimated to be worth $1 trillion (Rs.39.25 trillion) by 2015. TINA arose from the Nanotechnology and Nano-Bio Convergence Conference held here last week, where seven of the 14 featured speakers were Indian Americans in academics, research, government and industry.

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.

India: with newer tech, language users log on to Internet

By NNN-PTI, New Delhi : Not familiar with English but still keen to access the Internet and communicate through the medium? Not a problem, thanks to localisation of the online medium one can access favourite content-related features in various regional languages. Corporates are now bending over backward to tap the huge regional language section of the online medium with a host of keyboards and software applications designed to cater to the needs of regional language users.

Botanical institute setting up on-line herbarium

By IANS, Lucknow : The National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) here is setting up a digital herbarium through which about 250,000 plant specimens would be made available on-line to scientists across the globe. "In order to facilitate research work, we decided to set up the herbarium that will provide the desired plant specimen at the click of the mouse," Tariq Husain, a scientist in the taxonomy and biodiversity division of the institute, told IANS.

White House cites India’s support to sell Iran nuclear deal

By Arun Kumar Washington : The White House has again warned that if the Republican controlled Congress kills the historic nuclear deal with...

When WhatsApp, BBM foxed poll officials

By Mohit Dubey Lucknow: How does one prevent hate speeches and inflammatory videos from being shared through applications like WhatsApp and on BlackBerry Messenger (BBM)?...

Indian-American scientist hopeful CO2 emissions can be reined in

By IANS, Washington : The burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas accounts for 80 percent of the rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide since pre-industrial era. But an Indian-American researcher has identified feasible scenarios that could rein in carbon dioxide emission below levels considered dangerous for the climate. Pushker Kharecha and James Hansen of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, considered a wide range of fossil fuel consumption options.

New green building material set to arrive in India

By IANS, Sydney : Scientists have turned the ash waste from coal-fired power stations into a global environmental solution which promises to slash emissions in the carbon-hungry construction sector by at least 20 percent. The solution is soon likely to be seen in India, with its creators in the process of negotiating a manufacturing license in the country. Researchers at the University of New South Wales converted the pollution from coal furnaces, known as fly ash, into a new range of high-strength, lightweight building materials, ScienceAlert reported.

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.

PayPod targets Indian Internet ad space

By IANS

Chennai : PayPod Technologies, a US-based IT solutions provider with offshore development facilities in Chennai and Minsk, Belarus, has launched a technology-driven advertising service to tap the growing Indian market for ad space on the Internet.

Meteorite hit caused unusual rock formations in Britain

By IANS London : Unusual rock formations, long suspected to be an outcome of volcanic activity in the British Isles, were caused by a massive meteorite hit 1.2 billion years ago, spewing debris over a 50 square km area near Scottish town of Ullapool. A research team from the universities of Oxford and Aberdeen found the evidence buried in a layer of rock they now believe is the material thrown out during the formation of a meteorite crater.

180 Google satellites to bring entire planet online

California : When you are busy chatting or surfing the internet, do you know that nearly 4.8 billion people - or two-third of the...

Revamp ‘white elephant’ CSIR, universities: Kasturirangan

By Prashant K. Nanda, IANS New Delhi : The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Indian universities have become "white elephants" and need to be revamped to achieve successes in science, says eminent space scientist K. Kasturirangan. Many of the laboratories in CSIR, the country's biggest scientific body, need a complete overhaul and their mission, organisational set-up and infrastructure need to change for the better, Kasturirangan said in an interview.

China approves second-phase lunar probe program

By Xinhua Beijing : China's State Council, the cabinet, has approved the country's second-phase lunar probe program, the Beijing Times reported on Wednesday. It cited Luan Enjie, the director-in-chief of the China Moon-orbiting Program. "We are organizing people to make detailed plans for the program," Luan told a conference on Tuesday. He also said that investment in the second phase would exceed that for the first lunar probe but didn't give specific figures, the Times said.

Microsoft launches local data centres in two states

Chennai/New Delhi: Microsoft on Tuesday launched its public cloud services from newly inaugurated local data centres in two states -- Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra...

Bajaj Auto, TVS feud over patent violation

By IANS New Delhi : Two-wheeler major Bajaj Auto Saturday said that it would sue its rival TVS Motors for allegedly violating its patented digital twin spark ignition (DTSi) technology, even as the latter denied any such alleged infringement. The charges by Bajaj, two days after TVS launched its 125 cc bike 'Flame' with controlled combustion variable timing intelligent (CCVTi) technology, said its intellectual property right (IPR) on a digital twin spark ignition technology had been infringed.

Researchers take a peep into bloggers’ world

By IANS Washington : Researchers have turned the spotlight on a fascinating community of bloggers who exchanges ideas, information and knowledge on the web. A University of California team examined the reading habits of 15 bloggers of various ages to determine how they consume content and interact with blogs and other blog writers. Previous studies typically centred on blog writers, largely overlooking those who go online to read, comment and participate. Blog readers feel a responsibility to make insightful contributions.

Microsoft to launch social networking phone in US

By DPA, San Francisco: Software giant Microsoft is to launch its own mobile phones in the US later this year as it aims to challenge the growing smartphone dominance of its main rivals Apple and Google, the technology blog Gizmodo reported Friday.

New dinosaur species discovered

By IANS, Washington : A team of paleontologists in the US has discovered a new dinosaur species they're calling Abydosaurus. Abydosaurus belongs to the group of gigantic, long-necked, long-tailed, four-legged, plant-eating dinosaurs such as Brachiosaurus. In a rare twist, they recovered four heads - two still fully intact - from a quarry in Dinosaur National Monument in eastern Utah in the US. Complete skulls have been recovered for only eight of more than 120 known varieties of Sauropod dinosaurs.

Wireless broadband will be a game changer in India

By Prasanto K. Roy, IANS, In India's spectrum auction, broadband wireless access hitched on to third generation (3G) telephony as a poor cousin - a seemingly dull sequel of the high-profile 3G spectrum auction last month that brought nearly $15 billion into the government's kitty.

Stem cells replicate, but not the way we think: Study

By IANS, Washington : New findings have shed light on the little known process of embryonic stem cell replication and would help scientists control tumour cell growth more effectively. “Our study suggests that what we believe about how embryonic stem cell self-renewal is controlled is wrong. Our findings will likely change the research direction of many stem cell laboratories,” said Qi-Long Ying, of University of Southern California and co-author of the paper.

Pirated Windows 7 generates $100,000 in India

By Rajat Rai, IANS, Lucknow : About 50,000 pirated DVDs of Microsoft Windows 7 are estimated to have been sold here since the official launch on Oct 22, generating unaccounted business of around Rs.50 lakh (nearly $100,000). The reason for the allure of the pirated versions: These cost Rs.40-Rs.250 in Naza Market in Hazratganj here, drawing buyers from not only the rest of Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring states like Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttarakhand but also Nepal and Bangladesh.

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.

‘India to have own satellite navigation system by 2015’

Chennai : India is expected to have its own satellite navigation system by the first quarter of 2015 with four of its satellites in...

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.

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.

Disconnected in Hyperconnected World: How Work, Family Shifts Fuelling Loneliness Epidemic in Post-Pandemic Era

Devanshi Batra, TwoCircles.net New Delhi: Why does it feel like we are more alone than ever in a world where we are constantly plugged in? Despite...

Polaris Software to enter real estate business

By IANS, Chennai : Banking software company Polaris Software Lab Ltd has decided to get into the real estate business, subject to regulatory approvals. A decision to this effect was taken by the company's board here Thursday, Polaris said in a stock exchange filing. While Polaris executives were not available to comment on the diversification, sources close to the development told IANS that the company has some surplus land in Gurgaon near the national capital after building its software development centre.

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.

Scientists find black hole “missing link” in galaxy

By Xinhua, Washington : Scientists have found the "missing link" between small and super-massive black holes in a galaxy, according to a study published in Sept. 18 issue of journal Nature. For the first time researchers from Durham University have discovered that a strong X-ray pulse is emitting from a giant black hole in a galaxy 500 million light years from Earth. The pulse has been created by gas being sucked by gravity on to the black hole at the center of the REJ1034+396 galaxy.

Apple’s third generation iPhone launches in India

By IANS, New Delhi/Gurgaon : Reminiscent of the craze that follows the release of Harry Potter books, crowds lined up outside a Gurgaon mall and a few shops in Delhi to pick up the latest Apple iPhone that went on sale at midnight Thursday in India. And no one was daunted by the Rs.30,000-plus price. The Apple iPhone 3G (third generation) was launched across India by telecom majors Bharti Airtel and Vodafone.

US forests can soak up 50 year-equivalent of CO2 emissions

By IANS, Washington : Forests and soils in the US could soak up additional quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2) and mitigate climate change, says a new estimate. The 48 US states can potentially store an additional three to seven billion tonnes of carbon, if farmlands were converted into forests. This is equivalent to two to four years of its current CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels. US Geological Survey (USGS) scientists also found that the country stores 73 billion metric tonnes of carbon in soils and 17 billion metric tons in forests.

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.

Railways U-turn on offering exclusive women train coaches to men

Kolkata : In a victory of sorts for female commuters who did not shy to clash with their male counterparts, the Eastern Railway...

Social networking in outer space

By Venkata Vemuri, IANS, London : Get yourself a Bebo account right away if you want to send a message to outer space. An interstellar radio telescope normally used to detect asteroids that could hit Earth is being taken off duty Oct 9 to transmit messages from Bebo users into space. The messages are expected to reach a recently discovered planet in 2029. They will be sent from a telescope of the Russian National Space Agency in Ukraine.

Solar plane takes off for Hawaii from Japan

Tokyo : The Swiss-made solar-powered plane, Solar Impulse 2, on Monday started its second bid at a record-breaking flight across the Pacific Ocean. According to...
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