Indian rocket puts in orbit 10 satellites at one go
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : India's space programme made history Monday with the successful launch of a Rs.700 million ($17.4 million) rocket that placed in orbit 10 satellites - two Indian and eight foreign.
At precisely 9.23 a.m., the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV)-C9 rose into the sky, emitting thick orange flame, and placed in orbit an Indian cartography and a mini satellite to maintain leadership in the remote sensing domain. It also slung eight nano satellites into outer space - marking the world's second largest such mission.
We need clear space vision: Senators to Obama
By DPA,
Washington : A group of senators has called for a clear vision for the future of the US space programme, characterising President Barack Obama's plans for space agency NASA as "without a mission".
Earlier this month, Obama's 2011 budget proposal included the scrapping of existing plans for next-generation spacecraft to return to the moon. The move unleashed a stream of criticism from politicians who supported the plans, but NASA officials defend the move as allowing NASA to focus on longer term goals.
Germany, India to develop jointly new-era technologies
By DPA
Berlin : Germany and India plan to jointly develop new technologies as part of a "new era" in their science cooperation, Germany's minister of science, Annette Schavan, said Monday.
She spoke just hours before Chancellor Angela Merkel was to land in India for a four-day visit.
Schavan is a member of the delegation accompanying the chancellor. During the visit, an agreement is to be signed to establish the German-Indian Science and Technology Centre, set to open next summer in Delhi.
Zen Mobile launches Sonic 1 exclusively on eBay India
New Delhi : Zen Mobiles on Wednesday launched a new smartphone named Sonic 1 at a price of Rs.5,999 exclusively on eBay India.
The new...
Educating young on Internet risks – in their language
By Venkata Vemuri, IANS,
London : txtN skul kds n net lngwij bout internet rskz... Go to if you can't understand this.
When you can't beat 'em, join 'em. That's what a London awareness group has gone ahead and done, using mobile phone texting to communicate with school children about Internet risks.
Thousands of posters are on display in corridors and classrooms in nearly 2,000 secondary schools in London telling students how to use the Internet in a safe manner.
Moon may be shrinking
By DPA,
Washington : The moon is smaller than it used to be and could still be shrinking, NASA scientists said Thursday pointing to new evidence that the moon has contracted relatively recently.
New high-resolution images have turned up geographical features on the moon that indicate it has shrunk within the last 800 million years - or practically yesterday in astronomical terms, said Tom Watters, a scientist at the Centre for Earth and Planetary Studies at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington.
MIT edges closer to making fusion power real
By IANS,
Washington : The prospect of fusion as a future power source is still decades away, but MIT scientists have edged closer to making it a reality.
Fusion has enormous potential because it produces no emissions, fuel sources are abundant and it produces relatively little (and short-lived) radioactive waste. But it still faces great hurdles.
"There's been a lot of progress," said physicist Earl Marmar, division head of the Alcator Project at the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Centre (PSFC). "We're learning a lot more about the details of how these things work."
Cell phone batteries that won’t overheat
By IANS
London : Remember the scare last year caused by some Nokia batteries that were found to be overheating while charging -- leading to their worldwide recall?
Such scares will soon be a thing of the past.
German researchers have developed a safer lithium-ion battery that is virtually non-inflammable, addressing concerns of mobile phones users worldwide.
The new prototype is based on a polymer electrolyte, which unlike liquid electrolyte in conventional cell phone batteries is not inflammable.
Drop in CO2 triggered polar ice sheet formation
By IANS,
Washington : A drop in carbon dioxide (CO2) levels seems to have triggered Antarctic ice sheet formation.
Customising Windows Vista: Have it your way
By DPA
Washington : Let's face it - If you're a PC user, sooner or later you'll have to switch to Windows Vista. Microsoft routinely drops support for older operating systems and Windows XP's days are numbered.
Vista will ultimately be the only option for many. But that doesn't mean you have to go to Vista cold turkey. You can install the operating system and set it up to work the way you want it to - even making it look like the operating system you're used to. All it takes is a little time and a bit of know-how.
Medieval stained glass windows acted like nano air purifiers
By IANS,
Sydney : Stained glass windows in churches dotting Europe and painted with gold purified the air when lit up by sunlight, according to Queensland University of Technology experts.
"For centuries, people appreciated only the beautiful works of art, and long life of the colours, but little did they realise that these works... are also... photocatalytic air purifier with nanostructured gold catalyst," said Zhu Huai Yong, of Queensland's School of Physical and Chemical Sciences.
Use of nanoparticles fraught with risks, warn scientists
By IANS
New York : The inevitable has happened - as the use of nano particles grows, scientists have sounded a warning on their impact on the environment and on human health.
Take, for instance, the case of nanoparticle silver. Known for its antibacterial and odour-fighting properties, this nanoparticle is now being extensively used in products ranging from socks to bandages to washing machines.
Now, concerned scientists are urging a closer look at the unforeseen consequences of ordinary laundering washing off substantial amounts of the nanosilver particles into natural waterways.
First letter of email address determines spam load
By IANS,
London : How much spam you get depends on the first letter in your e-mail address, a Cambridge study reveals.
Analysis of more than 500 million junk messages has found that addresses that began with more common letters were likely to receive 40 per cent of their mail from spammers. Those starting with less common letters, by contrast, would receive less than a fifth of their mail as spam.
MESSENGER unveils hidden side of Mercury
By Xinhua
Beijing : NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft sent back to Earth new images of Mercury, unveiling a side of the planet never seen before, media reported Thursday.
The car-sized spacecraft zipped past Mercury in a Monday flyby and is relaying more than 1,200 new images and other data back to eager scientists on Earth.
The car-sized spacecraft zipped past Mercury in a Monday flyby and is relaying more than 1,200 new images and other data back to eager scientists on Earth.
Low coastal regions will be flooded by 2100: Scientists
By IANS,
Copenhagen : Even in the best case global warming scenario, low lying countries and coastal regions will be regularly flooded by 2100, when the sea is expected to rise by at least 50 cm.
This implies that if emissions of greenhouse gases is not cut down quickly and substantially, low lying coastal areas will be flooded, hitting 10 percent of the global population really hard. The emissions are leading to climate change.
India to launch US-made satellites on commercial terms
By IANS,
Bangalore : The technology safeguard agreement (TSA) signed recently paves the way for India to launch US-made satellites from its spaceport at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, a top space agency official said Wednesday.
"Space cooperation with the US has been high on the government agenda. We have negotiated and signed the TSA with the US State Department to enable us launch US-made satellites and satellites carrying US components on commercial terms," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G. Madhavan Nair told IANS here.
Supercomputer cracks Rubik’s Cube in 26 moves
By IANS
New York : A month after checkers was solved by a supercomputer, the machines have an answer to the Rubik's Cube too. A high-speed machine at Northeastern University, Boston, has proved that any of the cubes - no matter how intangible they look - can be properly aligned within just 26 moves.
Till now, the best way to crack the Rubik's Cube was in 27 moves. But Dan Kunkle and Prof Gene Cooperman at Northeastern University believe that with more work they could push the count even lower.
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.
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.
UAE to launch joint remote-sensing satellite with GCC countries
By Xinhua,
Abu Dhabi : A senior official of the Defense Ministry of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said that the ministry plans to launch a joint remote-sensing satellite with other member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), local newspaper Gulf News reported on Tuesday.
The plan was revealed by Brigadier Khalifa Mohammad Al Rumaithi, Chief of Military Works of the UAE Armed Forces, at the Defense Geospatial Intelligence Middle East opened on Monday in Dubai.
Space Shuttle Discovery lands in Florida
By DPA
Washington : The Space Shuttle Discovery touched down at the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida after a 15-day mission that focussed on construction of the International Space Station.
Discovery, with a seven-member crew led by Pamela Melroy, the second woman to command a shuttle, landed at 18:01 GMT Wednesday.
"Well hello there, it's nice to be back in Florida," Melroy, who steered the craft to the runway, said over the radio after the safe landing.
‘India’s per capita carbon emissions to rise threefold by 2030’
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's per capita emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) will increase from the present 1-1.2 tonnes to 3-3.5 tonnes of carbon per year by 2030, predicts the country's annual Economic Survey released Thursday.
Quoting climate modelling studies, the survey predicted that per capita emissions would be 2-2.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2020. It will go up to 3.3.5 tonnes by 2030, still lower than 4.5 tonnes per capita that China now emits every year.
Aim to create positive influence for women within the boundaries of Shari’ah: The Muslimah...
The Muslimah Network is a website dedicated to stories and commentary on Muslim women from an Islamic perspective. Started by the UAE-based writer/graphic designer...
Apple share tops $700 on iPhone 5 success
By IANS,
New York: Apple's stocks closed higher than $700 per share for the first time after Tuesday's trading, as orders for its new iPhone 5 hit a new record.
Astronomers build world’s largest radio telescope network
By Wang Aihua, Xinhua,
Shanghai : Astronomers from China, Japan and South Korea are building the world's largest radio telescope array to study the Milky Way Galaxy and black holes as well as to determine the orbits of lunar probes such as China's Chang'e-1.
The array, called the East Asia Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) consortium, consists of 19 radio telescopes from China, Japan and South Korea that cover an area with a diameter of 6,000 km from northern Japan's Hokkaido Island to western China's Kunming and Urumqi regions.
Scientists probe earth’s core with quake ‘whispers’
By IANS,
London : Scientists are observing distant earthquakes by 'listening' to them to reveal new clues about the top of the earth's core.
The approach is akin to hearing a conversation across a whispering gallery, such as those in the domes of some large cathedrals.
Using a novel digital processing approach, researchers at the University of Calgary (U-C) analysed faint signals produced by 44 earthquakes. They were able to measure the sound speed at the top of earth's core with unprecedented accuracy.
Requiem for Earth, Red Alarm is On
By Prensa Latina,
Washington : No scientific obituary has been published, but according to a recent report resumed by Mike Davis of alternative media Tomdispatch.com, humanity is entering the “Anthropocene”, epoch defined by the emergence of urban-industrial society as a geological force.
The Geological Society of London defines that the new age shows a heating trend and a radical instability expected of future environments.
Sonalika develops hydrogen-powered three-wheeler
By IANS,
New Delhi : Indian tractor maker Sonalika group says it has developed a pollution-free three-wheeler that will run on hydrogen and emit only vapour.
The engine has been developed in technical collaboration with Banaras Hindu University. Around 20 scientists and engineers of Sonalika Group and Banaras Hindu University have worked for seven years to make the project viable, the company said.
"The new three-wheeler will run on hydrogen and emit only vapour," said company managing director Deepak Mittal.
NASA’s Mars lander delivers 1st soil sample to microscope
By Xinhua,
Washington : NASA said images received on Thursday confirmed that its Phoenix Mars lander has sprinkled a spoonful of Martian soil onto the sample wheel of the spacecraft's robotic microscope station.
Robot goalkeeper better than the Bundesliga’s human goalies
By DPA,
Stuttgart (Germany) : A robotic goalkeeper is better than human keepers in Germany's football Bundesliga, its inventors boasted Monday as they demonstrated the computer-controlled device, Goalias, to the media.
Players from first-division side VfB Stuttgart, including Germany team player Mario Gomez, tried last week to outwit Goalias, shooting indoors at a full-size goal mouth from 11 metres out. Scientists have since fine-tuned Goalias.
Russian Proton-M rocket to launch Japanese satellite
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : A Russian Proton-M carrier rocket will put a Japanese telecommunications satellite into orbit in September, a leading Russian space company said Tuesday.
JCSAT-11, an A2100 satellite built by US-based Lockheed Martin Commercial Space Systems, will join a cluster of nine satellites operated by Japan's JSAT Corporation.
The new satellite will provide broadcast and transponder capacity for a number of telecom companies, including SKY Perfect TV, a leading digital broadcasting service provider in Japan.
Earth can recover faster from CO2 emissions
By IANS,
Washington : Cheer up -- the earth may yet be able to recover faster from rising carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions than previously thought.
Chennai to host ‘AI’ conference for software architects
Thiruvananthapuram: Nasscom has joined hands with US-headquartered Envestnet, Inc. to host the Architecting Intelligence (AI) conference for software architects here on Saturday.
Envestnet is a...
Scientists invent bionic eyeball to cure blindness
By DPA,
Hamburg : German scientists have invented a wireless bionic eyeball that can restore vision to patients who have become blind due to retina damage or disease.
The new prosthetic device caps 12 years of research to help these patients. This work has resulted in a unique system - a fully implantable visual prosthesis.
The scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems in Duisburg, Germany, say that the bionic eye can bypass the damaged retina.
The system comprises an implant and an external transmitter integrated in an eyeglasses-frame.
Microsoft warns of Excel security flaw
By Xinhua
Beijing : Microsoft Corp. has issued a security advisory warning of a vulnerability that lies within older versions of the Excel spreadsheet program, media reports said Thursday.
The affected versions include Microsoft Office Excel 2003 Service Pack 2, Microsoft Office Excel Viewer 2003, Microsoft Office Excel 2002, Microsoft Office Excel 2000, and Microsoft Excel 2004 for Mac.
Microsoft said Tuesday that it is investigating reports of such attacks, but has not yet determined whether it will patch the hole, or when.
India has just two unique IP addresses per 1,000 people
By IANS,
New Delhi : India has only two unique Internet Protocol (IP) addresses per 1,000 people. But a just-released study says the country's net penetration could "significantly increase in the coming years", with its economic boom and growing IT adoption.
Every machine that is permanently connected to the Internet has a unique identifying number, called an IP address. A typical IP address looks like this: 59.95.29.46.
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.
Indian space agency’s top official dies in road mishap
By IANS
Bangalore : Rajeev Lochan, scientific secretary to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), was killed late Friday in a road mishap in Andhra Pradesh, it was announced Saturday.
An ISRO official told IANS on phone that Lochan died along with driver Chandran when the Ambassador car in which they were travelling to Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh from Bangalore on an official trip met with an accident near Pakala, about 40 km from Tirupati.
ISS orbit adjustment complete – mission control
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The International Space Station's orbit has been adjusted to prepare for the docking of the Progress M-65 cargo module, due to be launched September 10, Russia's Mission Control Center said Wednesday.
Corrections to the space station's orbit are conducted periodically before launches of Russian cargo modules and U.S. shuttles to compensate for Earth's gravity and to ensure successful dockings.
Mother’s care important for plants too
By IANS
New York : Mother's care is important even for plants, a new study says.
A study by researchers at the University of Virginia shows that maternal plants give cues to their offspring that help them adapt to their environmental conditions.
Findings of the study have been published in the latest issue of the journal Science.
The researchers found that plants grown in the same setting as their maternal plant performed almost three-and-half times better than those raised in a different environment.
NASA delays Martian soil gathering due to communication glitch
By Xinhua,
Washington : NASA has delayed gathering of Martian soil samples by the Phoenix Mars Lander due to a communication glitch on a satellite.
The NASA Phoenix team was confident to start delivering soil samples to instruments on the Lander's deck on Wednesday, using its robotic arm after two practice rounds of digging and dumping the clumpy soil at the Martian arctic site this week.
Endeavour astronauts begin last spacewalk
By DPA,
Washington : Two space shuttle Endeavour astronauts on Monday began the last of four scheduled spacewalks at 1.24 p.m. (1824 GMT) to work on joints on the solar panels that power the International Space Station (ISS).
In the six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk, astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Steve Bowen were to complete the installation of trundle-bearing assemblies on the starboard Solar Alpha Rotary Joint (SARJ), which has occupied much of the previous three spacewalks during the current Endeavour mission.
Astronomers find young exploding star in Milky Way
By Xinhua,
Beijing : Astronomers have located the youthful remains of a stellar explosion that sent out powerful shock waves and lighted our galaxy with a blinding flash about 140 years ago.
The newly discovered remains are the youngest known supernova remnant in the Milky Way, snagging the record from the previous holder, 330-year-old Cassiopeia A.
Endangered fish may face new threat: sexual harassment
By Xinhua
Beijing : Scientists revealed that the critically endangered Mexican fish Skiffia bilineata might face new threat: male Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) are constantly sexually harassing the endangered females, media reported Saturday.
Scientists knew that male Trinidadian guppies sexually assault females of their own species, and were concerned over whether they harassed the endangered fish as well.
Beijing : Scientists revealed that the critically endangered Mexican fish Skiffia bilineata might face new threat: male Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) are constantly sexually harassing the endangered females, media reported Saturday.
Scientists knew that male Trinidadian guppies sexually assault females of their own species, and were concerned over whether they harassed the endangered fish as well.
Aging Ulysses probe frozen out
By Xinhua
Beijing : The Ulysses solar probe, after 17 years of studying the sun and solar system, is about to die by freezing to death, NASA and the European Space Agency have announced.
The satellite had long outlasted the five-year mission it began in 1990, but it continued to transmit useful data on solar winds.
More recently, its plutonium power source had slowly weakened and its fuel was freezing as the probe made a wide circle of the sun, traveling as far as Jupiter.
Scientists finds water ice on asteroid’s surface
By IANS,
Washington : Asteroids may not be the dark, dry, lifeless chunks of rock. According to recent research, there is evidence of water ice and organic material on the asteroid 24 Themis.
The research led by Josh Emery, assistant professor with the earth and planetary sciences department at the University of Tennessee (UT), found evidence that supports the idea that asteroids could be responsible for bringing water and organic material to earth.
BMW to run on LPG
By DPA
Saarbruecken (Germany) : A German research and development team is planning to build a record-breaking car based on the BMW 1 Series car using an engine which runs on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
Busy but dying to read? Try an e-reader
By IANS,
New Delhi : Technology is changing the way we read. Italica, a German company, is promoting an e-book reader and archive in India for young professionals whose rigorous work schedules and tight holidays leave little room for reading.
Ruchita Puri, an Amsterdam-based entrepreneur and promoter, who is marketing the device in India, said: "It has a library section which the reader can navigate with ease to find the book. The library can store up to 1,000 books."
The Italica e-reader was launched at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The device costs 250 euros or Rs.15,991.
China’s 1st spacewalk mission to launch in October
By Xinhua,
Beijing : China's Shenzhou VII manned space mission, which will include the first spacewalk by a Chinese "taikonaut," is to launch in October, said a spokesman of the China manned space engineering office here on Thursday.
He would not give the exact date of the launch, but said a day would be selected in October.
A crew of six astronauts had been chosen for the mission, with three manning the spacecraft and three substitutes, said the spokesman.
Two of the astronauts on board the spacecraft would prepare for the historic spacewalk, he said.
World misled over glacier meltdown: Report
By IRNA,
New Delhi : A warning that most of the Himalayan glaciers will melt by 2035 owing to climate change is likely to be retracted after the United Nations body that issued it admitted to a series of scientific blunders.
Two years ago, the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) headed by India's Rajendra Pachauri, issued a benchmark report that claimed to have incorporated the latest and most detailed research into the impact of global warming.
A central claim was that world's glaciers were melting so fast that those in the Himalayas could vanish by 2035.
Lunar eclipse fails to hamper New Year revelry plans
By Nabeel A. Khan and Ankur Tewari, IANS,
New Delhi : The lunar eclipse that will start within minutes of the ushering in of 2010 may matter a lot to astrologers but is unlikely to affect plans of revellers who have booked pubs, lounges and restaurants in advance to party through the night.
"There is no effect of lunar eclipse on this New Year celebrations. We have already booked 50 percent of our seats at our branches," Sanjeev Anand, general manager of the bar BUZZ, told IANS.
Facebook reaches 500 mn users
By DPA,
San Francisco : Social networking site Facebook officially has 500 million users, the company announced Wednesday.
The milestone means that the six-year old website now reaches eight percent of the planet's population, just 18 months after it passed the 150 million user mark.
Last month Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said there is a "good chance" that the social networking site could boast one billion users within three to five years.
US scientist wins Finnish award for drug delivery systems
By DPA,
Helsinki : Bioscientist Robert Langer of the US Wednesday won the Finnish Millennium Technology Prize for his contributions to developing drug delivery systems.
In all six researchers in four categories were nominated for the prize worth a total of 1 million euros ($1.5 million).
Langer collected 800,000 euros ($1.2 million), becoming the third winner of the prize that was created in 2004, and is awarded every two years. The first winner was Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the worldwide web.
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".
Plants can sense, formulate reaction to temperature change
By IANS,
London : Plants are highly sensitive to changing temperatures and can coordinate an appropriate response for variations as little as one degree Celsius, according to a new finding that can help explain how plants will respond in the face of climate change.
The report shows how plants not only 'feel' the temperature rise, but also coordinate an appropriate response by activating hundreds of genes and deactivating others.
The findings will offer scientists new leads in the quest to create crop plants better able to withstand high temperature stress, the researchers say.
Agra based firm launches free astrology software for mobiles
By IANS,
Agra : Star gazers and those interested in astrology can now prepare their horoscopes on their mobile phone itself, and that too free of cost.
A free software developed by Ojas Softech's research wing in Agra, was Wednesday launched by Surendra Sharma of the Brahmin Maha Sabha.
"With the number of star gazers going up and the younger generation getting hooked to astrology, the new software will prove a useful tool," Sharma said.
For those who follow Jyotish (astrology) personally and professionally, Ojas has launched free Jyotish software for mobile phones.
Accompanying satellite begins orbiting Shenzhou-7 spaceship on Sunday
By Xinhua,
Beijing : Chinese scientists on Sunday successfully directed the accompanying satellite BX-1 to begin circling the Shenzhou-7 spaceship, on an elliptical track of 4 kilometers multiplying 8 kilometers.
It is the first time that China has succeeded in maneuvering this kind of space orbiting, official sources say.
The accompanying satellite began orbiting the orbital capsule of the Shenzhou-7 at 18:14 pm, under the close monitoring and precise control of the Beijing Aerospace Control Center.
APJ Abdul Kalam to inaugurate ‘Aero Tech 2008’
By IANS,
Chandigarh : Enthused by the success of Chandrayaan-I mission, the aero scientists of India are all geared up to discuss advances in aerospace technologies at the two-day national level seminar, 'Aero Tech 2008' that will start here Friday. APJ Abdul Kalam, former president of India, will inaugurate the Aero Tech 2008 Nov 14.
Google says 300,000 Android devices activated daily
By DPA,
San Francisco : Google smartphone chief has said that carriers are activating over 300,000 Android devices every day.
Arianespace Sends Its First Mission To International Space Station.
By Bernama
Kuala Lumpur : Arianespace, the launcher of Malaysia's Measat-I & -II, successfully launched the European Space Agencys first ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle), dubbed Jules Verne ATV to the international space station on Sunday, March 9.
In a statement today, Arianespace said the mission marked Arianespaces first mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
The Guiana Space Center from where the mission was launched has now joined the select club of launch sites serving the ISS, along with Baikonur and the Kennedy Space Center (Cape Canaveral).
Endeavour shuttle roars back to Earth
By IANS
For minutes after the precisely timed landing, fire spewed from the spacecraft's engines - a standard phenomenon that often goes unremarked by ordinary viewers during the more common daylight landings.
The shuttle landed at 0039 GMT Thursday.
A crewmember called the mission "rewarding and exciting from start to ending", according to the audio transmission from the landing monitored in Washington.
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.
U.S. expert: short-term earthquake prediction “very difficult”
By Xinhua,
Washington : After last week's deadly earthquake in southwest China's Sichuan province, quake prediction has become an issue of intense public concern. However, accurate predictions in the short term are indeed "very difficult," said Lucile Jones, a seismologist at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS),in a recent interview with Xinhua.
When asked what factors affect the prediction of earthquakes, she said: "This depends on what you mean by predict."
Now a computer programme to keep drug abusers off
By IANS,
Washington : A computer-assisted programme, along with traditional counselling, has helped drug abusers stay straight longer than those who received counselling alone, according to a new study.
As part of the study, 77 people who sought treatment for drug and alcohol abuse were randomly assigned to receive traditional counselling or to get computer-assisted training based on the principles of cognitive behavioural therapy as well as sessions with a therapist.
World’s oldest submerged town dates back 5,000 years
By IANS,
London : Archaeologists surveying the world's oldest submerged town have found ceramics dating back to the end of the Neolithic era.
Their discovery suggests that Pavlopetri, off the southern Laconia coast of Greece, was occupied some 5,000 years ago - at least 1,200 years earlier than originally thought.
These remarkable findings have been made public by the Greek government after the start of a five-year collaborative project involving the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and The University of Nottingham.
Now ICMR is headless
By K. Jayaraman, IANS
Bangalore : After remaining headless for 10 months, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) finally got its chief 10 days ago, but now it is the turn of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the country's apex medical body, to be without a head.
Nirmal Kumar Ganguly, who had been director general of ICMR for over five years retired on Nov 10. The ICMR has been headless since then and the agency's scientists say they do not know what is happening.
India calls for transparency in internet surveillance
By Arul Louis
United Nations : India has called for transparency and accountability in internet security surveillance and for striking balance between human rights and...
Russian scientists offer hope for HIV vaccine
By RIA Novosti
Novosibirsk (Russia) : Russian scientists have developed a potential HIV vaccine.
"As we know there is no HIV vaccine. The Americans had high hopes of developing one, but the three vaccines developed most recently all failed trials. The specialists from Vector said there is a hope for an effective vaccine," said a leading geneticist, Vladimir Shumny.
Vector stands for the Russian Virology and Biotechnology Research Centre. It is located at Novosibirsk in West Siberia.
Arctic region needs major cleaning, says Putin
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The Arctic region, a strategic area for Russia, is heavily polluted and needs "major cleaning", Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
Putin visited Alexandra Land, one of the islands in Russia's far north, and found that over 40,000-60,000 tonnes of used lubricants in thousands of barrels as well as plane, car and other wreckage had been piled up in the Arctic for years.
"The reduction of military cooperation after the collapse of the Soviet Union resulted in this scrap heap," the premier said.
Concerns over ‘surveillance state’: Can excessive data monitoring lead to discrimination?
By Padmakumar M.M. & Om Prakash L.T. for IANS:
The Supreme Court on July 13 took strong note of the Ministry of Information and Broadcastings...
Toy rocket inspires variable-speed bullets
By IANS,
Chicago : A US company is developing a gun that can fire bullets with variable speed and can be set to kill, wound or just cause a bruise.
Lund and Company Invention, a Chicago-based toy design studio, which makes toy rockets that are powered by burning hydrogen, is receiving funding from the US army to adapt the same technology for firing bullets as the army is interested in weapons that can be switched between lethal and non-lethal modes, NewScientist reported.
China to launch third manned spacecraft Thursday
By Xinhua,
Jiuquan (China) : China will launch its third manned spacecraft Shenzhou-7 Thursday, a spokesperson of the space programme said Wednesday.
The Shenzhou-7, carrying three astronauts, will be launched on a Long March II-F carrier rocket from Jiuquan launch centre in the northwest province of Gansu and then moved into orbit at an altitude of 343 km, Wang Zhaoyao, who is also the deputy chief of the manned space programme, told reporters.
Two astronauts would enter the orbital module, where they would prepare for a spacewalk Friday.
Scientists develop brightest ever x-ray source
By IANS,
Washington : The x-ray has just got 100 million times brighter, thanks to next-generation light sources like free electron laser oscillator - or the X-FELO.
X-FELO will open up breakthrough scientific opportunities in various research fields. Its characteristics are ideally suited for bulk-sensitive, hard x-ray photo-emission spectroscopy.
Existing technology uses undulators to create bright x-ray beams of spontaneous emission at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) at Argonne.
China’s second lunar probe blasts off
By IANS,
Beijing : China Friday launched its second unmanned lunar probe, Chang'e-2. This was the second of the country's three-phase moon mission which will culminate in a landing on the moon.
3G, Wimax guidelines in a week: minister
By IANS,
New Delhi : The broad guidelines for implementation and auctioning of radio spectrum for 3G and Wimax have been devised and the final draft will be approved and released within a week, telecom minister A. Raja said here Friday.
"Broad guidelines for rolling out 3G services have been devised and we need some inputs from the finance ministry after which the guidelines will be forwarded to the Telecom Commission," Raja told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
"Expect the final norms to be announced within a week," he added.
NASA Announces End Date for Space Shuttle Missions
By SPA,
Washington : The U.S.’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on Monday set an approximate date for the final space shuttle mission for May 31, 2010.
The date set comes four months before the shuttle fleet retires. NASA has 10 missions remaining for the shuttle fleet, which U.S. President George W. Bush ordered to retire by September 30, 2010.
The remaining schedule includes five flights in 2008, five in 2009 and three in 2010.
Advantage India after Israeli satellite launch
By Fakir Balaji, IANS
Bangalore : India has a cost advantage among the five nations that can make commercial launches of satellites in polar orbit, a top Indian space agency official said after the successful launch of an Israeli "spy satellite" Monday.
"India is now one among the five countries in the world to commercially launch any kind of satellite into polar orbit at around two-thirds of the international cost," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G. Madhavan Nair told IANS on phone from Sriharikota.
3-D glimpse of Shanghai World Expo a mouse click away
By IANS,
Beijing : Now visiting the Shanghai World Expo will be possible through internet as the organiser has decided to launch its new website to display the event with three-dimensional (3-D) vision.
The organising committee is trying to provide a 3-D Shanghai World Expo garden in the virtual world so as to make the 159-year-old traditional exhibition accessible to every netizen across the world.
"The 3-D website is unprecedented in the World Expo history," said Wang Liping, who is in charge of the 3-D Shanghai World Expo website program.
Indian crust sank 200 km after hitting Asian landmass
By IANS,
London : The collision of the Indian and Asian landmasses some 90 million years ago forced the Indian tectonic plate down under the Asian plate to a depth of 200 km - around double of previous estimates - in the earth's mantle, according to a new geological study.
Arctic methane may trigger abrupt climate change
By IANS,
Washington : An abrupt release of methane from ice sheets 635 million years ago triggered a spell of global warming, says a study that contends something similar is just waiting to happen.
Researchers believe the greenhouse gas was released gradually and then abruptly from clathrates - methane ice that forms beneath polar ice sheets. The release had resulted in a series of cataclysmic events and ended the last Ice Age.
Days of silicon chip numbered, warns Indian American scientist
By IANS
Washington : Micro miniaturisation of computer circuitry will drive the silicon chip out of reckoning in just four years, Indian-American scientist Suman Datta has warned.
The silicon chip, which has propelled decades' of remarkable increases in computing power and speed, seems incapable of sustaining this pace for long, Datta said Thursday at a conference on 'Condensed Matter and Materials Physics' at the Royal Holloway College, London.
Discovery shuttle cleared for landing despite loss of part
By DPA,
Washington : The shuttle Discovery was cleared for landing after NASA concluded Friday that a small part that broke off the spacecraft did not pose any safety concerns, the agency said.
The Discovery crew spotted the small, rectangular object floating away from the shuttle early Friday, NASA officials said.
After analysing the video footage, NASA determined it was a metal clip used to protect the rudder's speed brake during take-off and its loss would not affect landing.
‘France to provide Pakistan nuke technology’
By IANS,
Islamabad : France has agreed to provide Pakistan with civilian nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, state-owned PTV reported Friday, quoting Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
According to Qureshi, France has expressed its readiness for cooperating with Pakistan in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
The affirmation came during President Asif Ali Zardari's discussions with his French counterpart Nicholas Sarkozy.
Further negotiations on this will be held in July this year, Qureshi said.
Som Mittal stays as Nasscom president till 2014
By IANS,
New Delhi: Som Mittal will continue as president of the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) for two more years.
Phoenix spacecraft on track for Mars landing
By Xinhua,
Beijing : NASA's Phoenix lander closed in on Mars Saturday, healthy and on course for touchdown Sunday evening near the Red Panet's northern polar cap.
Engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., decided to forego a course-correction rocket firing late Saturday but left open the option for a final trajectory tweak Sunday eight hours before atmospheric entry.
New technique to stamp out microchip piracy, save billions
By IANS
Washington : A new technique developed by Rice University will block piracy of microchips, something that causes billions of dollars in losses to chipmakers every year.
The cutting edge technology will allow designers to lock and remotely activate chips with a unique ID tag. Only the patent-holder can decipher the key and activate the chip, rendering stolen chips worthless.
Hardware piracy has worsened as the skyrocketing costs of microchip production have led chip-design companies to get out of the manufacturing business.
Japanese moon orbiter videos 1st “Full Earth-rise”
By Xinhua,
Beijing : A high-definition video camera on Japan's lunar orbiter captured a rare view of the full Earth as it rose above the moon's horizon on April 5, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) officials said in a recent statement after releasing a short video of the event.
"This is the first time that a high-[definition] image of the 'Full Earth-rise' has been captured from space," JAXA officials said.
China to bring 3rd generation n-reactors to service in 2013
By IANS,
Beijing: China will bring third generation nuclear reactors to service in 2013, a top Chinese nuclear company official has said.
‘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.
Russia to launch its first weather satellite
By RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia is set to launch its first weather satellite, Meteor-M1, in the fourth quarter of 2008, the satellite's manufacturer said Wednesday.
Russia currently has no weather satellites and gets its information from foreign sources.
The Russian state research and development company VNIIEM said its specialists had assembled the satellite and launched "the final stage of complex tests".
The 2.7-tonne Meteor-M1 will be put into a 830-km orbit by a Soyuz-2 launch vehicle and a Frigate upper stage.
Its service life will be five to seven years.
Cooling of unique arctic biodiversity vault begins
By IANS
Geneva : Work on cooling an underground vault that will preserve seeds of vital food crops from around the world for up to 1,000 years has begun in an arctic archipelago off Norway.
Refrigeration units Friday began pumping cold air deep into a mountain on the Svalbard archipelago that lies midway between Norway and the North Pole so as to speed up the opening of the fail-safe repository of vital crops.
Google India launches text messaging service
By IANS
Bangalore : Google India, the Indian subsidiary of the world's largest search engine, Tuesday launched the beta version of its short messaging service (SMS) for mobile users in India for accessing information on the move without an Internet-enabled phone or a computer.
The company said in a statement that through the service (GoogleT search), users could get business listings, movie show timings and more by sending a text message to 54664 from their mobile phones.
Kalam favours generating nuclear energy from thorium
By Fakir Balaji, IANS
Hyderabad : Former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Thursday advocated the use of thorium deposits apart from uranium to generate nuclear energy for meeting India's burgeoning needs.
Interacting with about 1,000 students at the 58th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2007) here, Kalam said if India had to generate about 400,000 MW of power by 2020, it was essential to utilise thorium deposits, which were abundantly available in the country, especially in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
1969 moon landing remastered video shown for first time
By IANS,
London : After six years of searching and digital restoration, scientists have finally completed remastering footage of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
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.
Vodafone M-Pesa joins hands with Walmart India
New Delhi: Vodafone India has entered into a strategic tie-up with Walmart India that will enable its business members of six Best Price Modern...
Shuttle Discovery carries out safety checks
By RIA Novosti,
Washington : The Discovery crew have carried out a partial-wing inspection of the space shuttle to check for launch damage prior to docking with the International Space Station, a NASA spokesperson said.
The 14-day Discovery mission will deliver its heaviest payload to the ISS, the Japanese Pressurized Module (JPM), which is the second unit of the massive Kibo laboratory complex. Discovery will also deliver a pump and parts for the ISS toilet, which has been malfunctioning.
China sends up 1st data relay satellite
By SPA,
Beijing : China has launched its first data relay satellite in preparation for the inaugural spacewalk by a Chinese astronaut scheduled for later this year, a state news agency said Saturday.
The Tianlian I satellite was launched on a Long March-3C carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province late Friday night, Xinhua News Agency said.
India launches Oceansat-2, six European satellites
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : India Wednesday successfully launched its 16th remote-sensing satellite, Oceansat-2, to study oceans and climate, and six small Europeans satellites on board a rocket that blasted off from here.
Under a clear blue sky, the 44.4-metre tall, 230-tonne Indian rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) freed itself from the launch pad at the spaceport, 70 km from Chennai, at 11.51 a.m. and soared upwards with a deep throated growl lugging the 960-kg Oceansat-2 and the six nano satellites all together weighing 20 kg.
ISRO to launch more satellites this year
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : After successfully placing five satellites in orbit Monday, India's space agency ISRO said it will launch more satellites this year and efforts were on to put two Indians in space orbit.
"We will launch GSat-5, a communication satellite, using GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) rocket. The other launch will be Resourscesat-2, a remote sensing satellite, using the rocket PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle)," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K. Radhakrishnan said here.
Singapore welcomes Iran nuclear agreement
Singapore: Singapore welcomes the agreement reached by Iran and the major world powers over the Islamic republic's nuclear programme, the ministry of foreign affairs...
Pluto’s moons tumbling in absolute chaos: NASA
Washington : NASA's Hubble space telescope has provided the first glimpse of Pluto's moons that wobble unpredictably, tumbling in absolute chaos.
It means if you...
Phoenix lander finds water on Mars
By DPA,
Washington : The Phoenix Mars mission has found water in a soil sample after spending the last two months examining the red planet for evidence that it could support life, NASA scientists said Thursday.
The spacecraft's robotic arm has dug several trenches in the Martian soil near the planet's north pole and been heating soil samples in a series of small "ovens."
It had earlier spotted chunks outside the rover that scientists had identified as ice, but data sent back by the most recent soil sample for the first time showed water inside Mars' dirt, researchers said.
Yahsat signs letter of intent with Arianspace to launch satellite in 2010
By NNN-WAM
Abu Dhabi : Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PrJsc (Yahsat), a wholly owned subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company, has signed a letter of intent with Arianespace, the world's leading launch service and solutions company, to launch the Yahsat 1A communications satellite.
The satellite is currently being manufactured by the consortium of EADS Astrium and Thales Alenia Space. The expected launch date is the second half of 2010.
Cyber attack targeted Chinese citizens with US links: Report
Washington: The massive cyber attack, which was revealed last week and which compromised information on up to four million US federal employees, sought data...
China launches communication satellite
By IANS,
Beijing : China Wednesday night successfully launched a communication satellite into space.
Swiss solar plane makes first flight
By DPA,
Geneva : A solar-powered airplane took off on its first major test flight Wednesday morning, from an airfield in western Switzerland.
The flight of the plane, named Solar Impulse, comes ahead of plans to use a similar solar-powered plane to fly around the world in 2012.
"We want to demonstrate what can be achieved with renewable energy," Bertrand Piccard, the man behind the project, was quoted by the Swiss ATS news agency as saying.
The plane has the wing span of an Airbus A340, the weight of an average car, and is powered by some 12,000 solar cells.
Software to stop you writing e-mails when drunk
By IANS,
London : A new software can now stop you writing e-mails or posting messages when you are drunk.
Microsoft sees record revenue through Windows 7
By DPA,
Seattle : The launch of Windows 7 propelled Microsoft to record third-quarter revenue of $14.5 billion, a 6-percent increase from a year ago, the world's largest software company said Thursday.
Microsoft earned $4 billion in net income, a rise of 35 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago.
Researchers convert carbon into green energy
By IANS,
Singapore : Scientists here have succeeded in converting a greenhouse gas like carbon dioxide into a green energy source.
Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) researchers said they used organocatalysts to help carbon dioxide (CO2) produce methanol, a widely used industrial feedstock and clean-burning biofuel.
Organocatalysts are catalysts that comprise non-metallic elements found in organic compounds. They can be produced easily at low cost.
British scientists unfold new frontiers of biotechnology
By IANS
Chennai : Will duckweed and algae be floating down Indian rivers soon, cleaning up waste and generating bio-fuel?
That is what researchers in Britain are doing, and some of Britain's top cell scientists are on a weeklong tour of India to talk about frontiers biotechnology.
Their effort is being matched by some of India's own scientists explaining the country's attempts in the field, in a joint initiative of the British Council and the Centre for Biotechnology (CBT) at the Anna University here.
Rousing reception for Sunita Williams at space congress
Hyderabad, Sep 28 (IANS) American astronaut of Indian origin Sunita Willams drove into Cyberabad Friday on the outskirts of this city to a rousing reception by hundreds of delegates participating in the 58th International Astronautical Congress (IAC).
NASA starts back to moon
By DPA,
Washington : NASA launched its dual moon mission Thursday that will pave the way for humans to return to the moon.
The Atlas V rocket launch lifted off at 05:32 p.m., just 20 minutes after planned, from NASA's Cape Canaveral in Florida.
A scheduling conflict with the Endeavour shuttle delayed the launch by a day.
Infosys bags Australian CSR award
Bangalore: Indian IT bellwether Infosys Ltd won the 2013 Ian Kiernan award for enhancing its corporate social responsibility (CSR), becoming inclusive and meaningful to...
NASA ‘elated’ after ‘previously invisible space objects’ uncovered
By IANS,
London : An array of previously "invisible" space objects have been discovered by one of NASA's newest space telescopes, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), in just six months.
In what has left scientists at the space agency "elated", the $320 million sky-mapping spacecraft has for the first time identified previously thousands of unseen space objects including stars, asteroids, dust clouds, comets and even a new galaxy.
Two NASA rovers weathered Martian dust storm
By Fakir Balaji
Hyderabad, Sep 25 (IANS) Two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, launched in 2003 by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), weathered a massive dust storm on that planet this July, a senior NASA scientist told the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) here Tuesday.
Chandrayaan-1 has given space exploration a huge boost: Royal Astronomical Society
By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS,
London : The discovery of water on the moon by Indian maiden lunar craft Chandrayaan-1 is just the breakthrough international space scientists were waiting for in order to kick start the moon exploration programme again, the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) said Thursday.
"This is a massively impressive accomplishment," RAS Secretary Martin Barstow, a leading British astronomer, told IANS after American scientists made the stunning announcement that the Indian mooncraft had sent evidence of water on the lunar surface.
Scientists find solar system similar to ours
By Xinhua
Beijing : An international team of astronomers has discovered a miniature version of our own solar system nearly 5,000 light years away, according to a report published Friday in the journal Science.
"We found a solar system that looks like a scaled-down analog of our solar system," Scott Gaudi of Ohio State University, who led the study, told reporters.
Beijing : An international team of astronomers has discovered a miniature version of our own solar system nearly 5,000 light years away, according to a report published Friday in the journal Science.
"We found a solar system that looks like a scaled-down analog of our solar system," Scott Gaudi of Ohio State University, who led the study, told reporters.
UAE’s first artificial battery-powered heart transplant
Dubai: A 21-year-old student in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) city of Sharjah, has received the country's first artificial heart transplant, a media report...
World’s tiniest, lightest microscope designed
By IANS,
Washington : A miniature lensless microscope, the world's smallest and lightest - weighing only 46 grams - was created by an engineer for telemedicine applications.
The microscope builds on imaging technology known as LUCAS (Lensless Ultra-wide-field Cell monitoring Array platform based on Shadow imaging), which was developed by Aydogan Ozcan, assistant professor of electrical engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
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."
Human intervention alters natural systems: NASA study
By IANS,
Washington : Human intervention has caused widespread climatic alterations like permafrost thawing, premature blooming of plants across Europe and declining lakes in Africa, according to a NASA study.
Cynthia Rosenzweig of NASA and co-author of the study, said it is the first to co-relate global temperature data sets and observed changes in a broad range of physical and biological systems with humans, climate, and impact.
Eclipse makes driving on Bangalore roads a pleasure
By IANS,
Bangalore : It was a pleasure driving on the usually choked Bangalore roads Friday, thanks to the rare annular solar eclipse.
Movement of vehicles and people began thinning as the clock struck 11.
The moon started eclipsing the sun 16 minutes past 11 and for the next nearly four hours few vehicles were on the roads.
In many areas, shops, particularly eateries, shut doors for almost an hour before the eclipse began. They reopened around 4 p.m. as vehicular and people movement picked up.
US Malayalees launch alliance to make Kerala an IT hub
By IANS
New York : The Kerala Information Technology Alliance (KITA) has been launched here to make Kerala a premier global technology hub.
Ommen Chandy, a former chief minister of Kerala, inaugurated KITA at the Kerala Centre in the presence of over 150 IT professionals and community leaders.
Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan said in a message: "I hope KITA will provide a platform for IT professionals of Kerala origin to share best practices, ideas and thereby influence and accelerate the growth of Kerala in key industries."
Bio-monitoring to track pollutants, trace elements
By IANS,
London : Bio-monitoring can be used in environments where a technological approach to monitoring pollutants, particulates and trace elements is not only difficult and costly but may be impossible, say scientists.
"It allows continuous observation of an area with the help of bio-indicators, an organism that reveals the presence of a substance in its surroundings with observable and measurable changes, such as accumulation of pollutants, which can be distinguished from the effects of natural stress," said Borut Smodis of the Jozef Stefan Institute in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Chennai watches transit of Venus
By IANS,
Chennai : The passage of planet Venus across the face of Sun is once in a life time celestial event and many viewed it here, an official said Wednesday.
Chandrayaan on course, will begin moon orbit by Saturday
By IANS,
Gandhinagar : Indian space scientists are hopeful that Chandrayaan-1 will Saturday start orbiting the moon.
"If everything goes right, by Nov 8, Chandrayaan-1 will start circling the moon," said Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman Madhavan Nair here Tuesday.
The last orbit-raising manoeuvres to enter the lunar transfer trajectory were completed Tuesday by the Spacecraft Control Centre at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bangalore, he said.
Insulation material named NASA gov’t invention of 2007
By Xinhua,
Washington : The U.S. space agency announced on Tuesday that NASA Government Invention of 2007 is a heat shield material slightly more dense than balsa wood that is designed to protect spacecraft during their fiery re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.
The Lightweight Ceramic Ablator material (LCA) was developed at NASA's Ames Research Center. It is a low-density material that weighs one-fifth as much as conventional heat shields, but can withstand temperatures up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius), according to project engineers.
Global warming affecting world’s largest freshwater lake
By Xinhua,
Washington : Russian and American scientists have discovered that the rising temperature of Lake Baikal, the world's largest lake located in freezing Siberia, shows that this region is responding strongly to global warming.
The research team reported their results Thursday on-line in the journal Global Change Biology. "Warming of this isolated but enormous lake is a clear signal that climate change has affected even the most remote corners of our planet," said Stephanie Hampton, a leading author of the study.
After India lands probe on moon, focus back on spacecraft
By IANS,
Bangalore : A day after landing India's first probe instrument on the surface of the moon, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was Saturday getting ready to activate eight other scientific instruments on board the country's first unmanned lunar spacecraft, Chandrayaan-1, that is now orbiting the moon and will do so for the next two years.
China’s controversial internet filter ‘full of holes’
By DPA,
Beijing : China has ordered software producers to create security patches following reports that its controversial new internet filtering system could allow remote monitoring and control of users' computers, and the stealing of personal information, state media said Monday.
"The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology told us to make the software safer after a series of security vulnerabilities were found," the official China Daily quoted Zhang Chenmin, manager of Jinhui Computer System Engineering, as saying.
Two more satellite launches this year: ISRO chief
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : Two more navigational satellites will be launched this year, said ISRO chairman K.Radhakrishnan Friday after an Indian rocket successfully placed...
Meteor bombardment may have made earth more habitable
By IANS,
London : Large bombardments of meteorites nearly four billion years ago probably made earth and mars more habitable by modifying their atmosphere.
When a meteorite enters a planet's atmosphere, extreme heat causes some of the minerals and organic matter on its outer crust to be released as water and carbon dioxide before it breaks up and hits the ground.
Google to sell e-books to challenge Amazon.com
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : Seeking to find common ground with authors, who have complained about copyright violations through search services, Google plans later this year to begin distributing and selling e-books on behalf of its publishing partners.
"We've consistently maintained that we're committed to helping our partners find more ways to make their books accessible and available for purchase," Google spokesman Gabriel Stricker said Monday confirming the move first reported by the New York Times.
Egypt discovers 2,000-year-old bronze coins
By IANS,
Cairo : Archaeologists have discovered bronze coins dating back to the era of King Ptolemy III Euergetes who ruled Egypt in the 3rd century B.C., a media report said.
An Egyptian archaeological team has found 383 bronze coins in northern Qaroun Lake in Fayoum, 80 km southwest of Cairo, Xinhua reported Thursday citing Egypt's state-run MENA news agency.
Egyptian Culture Minister Farouq Hosni said the bronze coins are in good condition and were unearthed by a team of the Egyptian Supreme Council for Antiquities.
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.
Computer virus accuses victims of viewing child porn
By IANS,
London: Police in Germany are warning people about a computer virus that accuses victims of viewing "juvenile pornography", BBC reported.
Use memory tricks to manage your computer passwords
Bonn, Sep 17 (DPA) A password-secured computer probably should not be covered with post-its which reveal passwords, but many of today's computers look exactly like that.
A flood of passwords for everything from e-mail accounts to PIN numbers to customer IDs for online purchases has most computer users engaged in a never-ending memory game. But now software is available that can help some people control the tide.
Cuba raps Facebook, YouTube
By IANS,
Havana : Cuba has denounced online social network Facebook and Google-owned video sharing network YouTube for closing its account and censoring video links from the two websites.
Smartphones can help improve kids numeracy skills
New Delhi: Smartphone and tablet-based games can help improve literacy and numeracy skills of children, a study done in India has found.
The study was...
Kerala-based SunTec ties up with eServGlobal
By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : Communication and payment service major eServGlobal has signed a partnership agreement with the city-based billing solutions provider SunTec, the latter announced here Tuesday.
SunTec said in a statement that the global WiMax market is rapidly evolving and more than 200 networks were now being deployed and over 100 other trials were in progress.
eServGlobal will use SunTec's TBMS-T product suite, which is designed to help service providers of the communications, media and entertainment industry launch new services quickly and achieve customer growth.