China’s army goes digital
By Xinhua
Nanning (China) : While digital technology allows commanders of China's People's Liberation Army's (PLA) to electronically monitor borders round the clock, cooks in the barracks conjure up tasty dishes using recipes from e-books through computers in the kitchen.
Cockroach essential to earth’s delicate ccoystem
By IANS,
London : People need to stop stamping on cockroaches, as one of the most despised of all insects is essential to our planet for converting nitrogen into fertiliser, experts have said.
TiEcon 2014 in Santa Clara ends with Shahid Khan keynote
By Ras H. Siddiqui, TwoCircles.net,
San Francisco: The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) held its annual conference known as TiEcon in Silicon Valley, the technology world way beyond just the South-Asian Diaspora noticed. Over 4000 people attended TiEcon 2014 at the Santa Clara Convention Center with many of the heavyweights in the technology arena present. Those who presented Grand Keynotes included Steve Mollenkopf (CEO Qualcomm), Michael Rhodin and Manoj Saxena (IBM), Steve Lucas (President SAP), Romesh Wadhawani (Chairman & CEO Symphony Technology Group), Sanjay Poonen (EVP and GM of VMware) and Shahid KhanPresident of Flex-N-Gate and owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars NFL football team.
Online dating first empowers, then disappoints
By IANS,
Sydney : Internet dating, which sparks such a rush of emotions between people even before they have met, often ends in disappointment and failure.
According to a new study, the initial spate of replies a person gets on net dating sites makes them seem very popular.
The kind of attention is a lot more “than if they had walked into a bar”, said Matthew Bambling of the Queensland University of Technology, who led the study,
China to introduce nuclear power technologies from Westinghouse
By Xinhua
Beijing : China's State Nuclear Power Technology Co. (SNPTC), officially inaugurated Tuesday, is set to introduce third-generation nuclear power technologies from the Westinghouse Electric Co.
40 years after Aryabhata: Nothing too far for India
By Venkatachari Jagannathan,
Chennai : India's first satellite - Aryabhata - was launched successfully by a Russian rocket on an April day 40 years ago,...
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.
Scientist sets Large Hadron Collider data to ‘music’
By IANS,
London : Scientists working at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's biggest particle smasher, have turned masses of data produced by the collider into sound for the first time.
Apple stock reaches all-time high, Google within striking distance
By IANS,
New York : With a huge Christmas-eve surge in its stock Thursday, Apple Inc. has almost reached market parity with Google and Wal-Mart.
The 3.4 percent or $6.94 rise in Apple's stock during the day took its market value to $188 billion. The Apple stock sold for $209.04, surpassing the previous high of $207 last month.
The stock surge brought Apple within striking distance of Google Inc. ($196 billion) and Wal-Mart ($204 billion).
Yahoo signs deal with Google after Microsoft talks end
By DPA,
San Francisco : Yahoo has entered an agreement to run some Google's ads on its search pages after acquisition talks with Microsoft
ended in failure, the web pioneer has said.
The deal reached Thursday may add $800 million a year to Yahoo's sales, but the companies will delay implementation till October to give the US Justice Department time for review, Yahoo said.
Bangalore kids send 25-metre ‘green’ message to Copenhagen
By IANS,
Bangalore : "Go green, save planet Earth", "Save planet Earth before it's too late" are some of the appeals a group of Bangalore children has made on a 25-metre long khadi scroll, planned to be sent to the leaders at the ongoing Copenhagen climate summit.
"The 25-metre khadi scroll containing messages and signatures of children has been especially designed as an appeal to the world leaders gathered at Copenhagen summit to save the Earth from an imminent environmental crisis," a member of Rotary Green Brigade, a Bangalore-based voluntary organisation, told IANS.
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.
Class 4 Gurgaon student’s doodle to feature on Google
By IANS,
New Delhi : A Class 4 student of Gurgaon will have his doodle featured on Google all day Nov 14. This is the first time that a 'made in India' doodle will be featured on the popular search engine.
Beating a good 4,000 other competitors, Puru Pratap Singh's doodle is based on the theme 'My India - Full of Life'.
A Google doodle is a creative Google logo that appears on some special days, to commemorate scientific and artistic achievements, historic or seasonal events, and other local occasions.
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.
Russia launches navigation satellites
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia Thursday launched a rocket carrying three navigation satellites from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan.
The Proton-M carrier rocket with three Glonass satellites blasted off from the space centre at 4.53 a.m. Moscow time (0053 GMT), said Lt. Col. Alexei Zolotukhin, spokesman for Russian Space Forces.
Glonass - the Global Navigation Satellite System - is the Russian equivalent of the US Global Positioning System (GPS) and is designed for both military and civilian use.
After US tests, India to get first e-passport in June
By Devirupa Mitra, IANS,
New Delhi : India's first e-passport, which will make travel easy, is expected to be issued next month.
It will be issued to diplomats and officials first. Others may have to wait for about 10 months -- or even more.
If all goes well, the first e-passport will be issued around June 15 to President Pratibha Patil or Prime Minister Manmohan Singh -- or both.
The e-passport project is on a roll. A recent test conducted in a US government laboratory was so impressive that American officials remarked that they would need to study the Indian technology.
Little fossils show how cooling oceans increased life forms
By IANS,
Sydney : Microscopic tooth-like fossils have helped scientists correlate cooling climate and increasing biodiversity in ancient oceans 500 million years ago.
An international team led by Julie Trotter of Australian National University (ANU) Research School of Earth Sciences (RSES) measured the oxygen isotope ratio of the fossils, less than two mm long, from extinct eel-shaped sea creatures called conodonts.
The oxygen isotope ratio in a conodont depends on the temperature of the water which the creature inhabited.
Indian space programmes on demand worldwide: ISRO
By Fakir Balaji, IANS
Hyderabad : Indian space programmes for education, healthcare, management of natural resources and weather forecast and disaster management are in great demand the world over due to their domino effect on living standards, a top Indian space agency official said here Thursday.
"Nations across Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific are making a beeline to seek our expertise and resources for replicating the success of our space programmes and applications.
‘Block the sun, control global warming’
By IANS,
Toronto : Canadian and US scientists want to block the sun to cool the earth and limit global warming.
Research and field-testing on what they call "geo-engineering" of the earth's atmosphere to limit risk of climate change must begin quickly, say scientists from the University of Calgary in Canada, and the University of Michigan and Carnegie Mellon University in the US.
Studies on geo-engineering or solar radiation management (SRM) should be undertaken collectively with government funding, rather that unilaterally by nations, argue the scientists.
Carbon from smokestacks could help produce DVDs cheaply
By IANS
Washington : A US scientist has come up with an innovative idea to cut down on global warming and slough off million of tonnes of carbon from industrial smokestacks for productive use.
The procured carbon could be the raw material for a vast quantity of polycarbonates, required every year for the manufacture of DVDs, beverage bottles, car headlights, eyeglass lenses and other consumables.
Mars to be closest, brightest Jan 27
By IANS,
New Delhi : Skygazers will get to watch the red planet Mars from close quarters as it comes closest to Earth and shines brightest Jan 27. It will not be so close or so bright over the next two years.
Look towards the east an hour after sunset Jan 27 and Mars would be shining brighter than every other star in the sky except Sirius, which is slightly more dazzling in brilliant bluish white.
Insects use plants as ‘green telephone lines’
By IANS,
New York : Some insects that live above and below the ground communicate with each other by using plants as "green telephone lines", a new study has found.
Subterranean insects issue chemical warning signals via the leaves of the plant. This way, insects above the ground are alerted that the plant is already "occupied", according to the study by Dutch scientists.
This messaging enables spatially-separated insects to avoid each other, so that they do not unintentionally compete for the same plant, ScienceDaily reported.
BlackBerry Bold home launch fails to create buzz
By Gurmukh Singh, IANS,
Toronto : Canadian wireless giant Research In Motion (RIM) quietly launched its latest BlackBerry Bold smartphone in the home country Thursday.
The BlackBerry Bold, which is considered to be RIM's response to the iPhone 3G launched here last month, didn't generate the euphoria that the Apple device created here last month.
Like the iPhone 3G, the Blackberry Bold is also supported by third-generation wireless networks.
Rogers, the country's biggest telecom service provider, will support the BlackBerry Bold service across Canada.
Chinese astronauts for Shenzhou-7 mission arrive at launch center
By Xinhua,
Jiuquan, Gansu : A panel of six Chinese astronauts arrived at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern Gansu Province on Sunday, making the last-minute preparations for the country's third manned space mission.
Taking a special flight to the remote center, three qualified spacemen and three substitutes said they had "full confidence to successfully accomplish the mission" after various trainings and tests.
The astronauts will pilot spacecraft Shenzhou-7 to carry out the mission during which one of them will spacewalk outside the capsule.
New medical weapons against anthrax attacks
By IANS,
London: The 2001 anthrax attacks in the US are fostering development of a new generation of vaccines and antibiotics to protect people against deadly bacteria in future bio-terrorist incidents.
Dimitrios Bouzianas, molecular endocrinologist, AHEPA University Hospital in Macedonia, Greece, notes that several existing antibiotics are available to combat an anthrax infection.
Solar activity could spell more trouble for Earth
By Andrei Kislyakov, RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The Sun is beginning another 11-year cycle of activity and considering that the fiery star is to blame for some unfavourable climate changes on the Earth, the coming decade could spell more trouble for our planet.
The first measuring instruments of the Sun's activity made their appearance 440 years ago. They showed that our nearest star treats the Earth to more than just solar eclipses.
Are there any extra terrestrials out there?
By IANS,
London : Is there anybody out there? The odds of finding life on other planets are low, given the time it has taken for earthlings to evolve and the ebbing lifespan of our planet.
Complex life is separated from the simplest forms by several very unlikely steps and therefore will be much less common. Intelligence is one step further, so it is still much less common," Andrew Watson of University of Anglia said Saturday.
NRI scientist offers tech solution to clean up Yamuna
By IANS
Agra : US-based Indian environmental scientist Subijoy Dutta Monday offered a low-cost, high-result water cleaning technology to cleanse the Yamuna River in the city of the Taj Mahal.
Founder president of Yamuna Foundation for Blue Water in the US and author of "Environmental Treatment Technologies", Dutta told IANS of his passion and commitment to restore the pristine purity and glory to Yamuna River, one of the worst polluted rivers in the world.
Scientists observe major climate changes in Arctic
By RIA Novosti
St. Petersburg : Scientists have reported substantial changes in the climate of the Arctic Region, a senior official at the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) said Thursday.
"We have observed global climate changes in the Polar Ocean," said Igor Ashik, acting head of the AARI ocean science department.
He said the ocean was clearing itself of drifting ice "for the first time in decades of Polar research".
Googlephone is coming next week for $530
By DPA,
San Francisco : A day after Google announced a media event for its Android mobile phone system next week, new details leaked out Wednesday about the first ever phone to be sold directly by the web search giant.
According to technology blog Gizmodo the Nexus One will be sold unlocked on a Google website for $530. The phone will work on GSM cellphone networks and will be offered at a subsidised price of $180 in the US by fourth-ranked carrier T-Mobile with a two-year talk and data contract costing $80 a month.
Biogas – from your kitchen, in your backyard
By V. Vijayalakshmi, IANS
Pune : Think twice before you dump that banana peel or spinach stem into the bin. That and more waste from your kitchen can be converted into biogas to supplement your energy needs -- that too in your own backyard.
Anand Karve, director of the Pune-based Appropriate Rural Technology Institute (ARTI), tells you how.
IIT alumnus takes software to battlefront and beyond
By Frederick Noronha, Indo-Asian News Service
Bangalore, May 13 (IANS) An Indian expatriate trained at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Kharagpur is playing a crucial role in taking software to the battlefront.
San Jose-based LynuxWorks is chaired by Inder Singh, the IIT alumnus, and produces embedded operating systems and tools for industrial, networking and military and aerospace uses.
India adds record 15.6 mn new phone users in March
By IANS,
New Delhi : Showing no signs of any slowdown and backed by heavy rural demand, India added a record 15.87 million new phone connections in March, to take its telecom density to nearly 40 percent, fresh data said Wednesday.
India, which already boasts of the second-largest telecom user base in the world after China's and ahead of the US, now has 429.72 million telecom subscribers, both in the wireless and mobile segments, with a record growth of 59.48 percent last fiscal.
Plant roots being modified to be better at finding water
By IANS,
London : Most of the water brought by irrigation to grow crops evaporates even before reaching plant roots, a huge waste of resources that contributes to the global food crisis. Scientists are now modifying roots to improve the plants' ability to find water.
Tel Aviv University researchers are genetically modifying plants' root systems to improve their ability to find the water essential to their survival.
Indo-US Air Force conference in Kerala Monday
By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram: The 15th Indo-US Air Force Executive Steering Group (ESG) conference will begin Monday at the Southern Air Command Headquarters here.
The three-day conference allows the delegations of the two countries to discuss policies and mutual exchange programmes for bilateral defence cooperation, a defence spokesperson said Sunday.
The annual conference is held alternatively in the two countries and this year the Southern Air Command has been chosen as the venue.
British team building car to run at 1,600 km an hour
By IANS,
London : A team of British engineers plans to build a car that will run at the speed of 1,600 km an hour, outracing a handgun bullet.
The ambitious project comes from the team that holds the world's land speed record and has the full backing of the Science Minister Lord Drayson, who believes it will be an inspiration to young people looking for a career in science or engineering, The Independent daily reported Thursday.
Breakup of the $78.5 mn Chandrayaan bill
By IANS,
Chennai : Break-up of the Rs.3.86 billion ($78.5 million) bill for India's maiden moon mission:
Deep Space Network: Rs.1 billion ($20 million)
Rocket: Rs.1 billion ($20 million)
Payload development: Rs.530 million ($11 million)
Spacecraft bus: Rs.830 million ($17 million)
Scientific data centre, external network support and project management expenses: Rs.500 million ($10 million)
Satellite collision reflects necessity for int’l laws: Russian expert
By Yu Maofeng, Nie Yunpeng, Xinhua,
Moscow : The collision between a Russian satellite and a U.S. satellite highlights the growing importance of making international laws to monitor human activities in space,a Russian military expert told Xinhua in an interview on Friday.
The root cause of the Russia-U.S. satellite collision is the lack of international rules on space activities, said Leonid Ivashov, the president of Russia's Academy on Geopolitical Affairs.
Gene mutation in worms key to alcohol tolerance
By IANS,
London : Liverpool University reseachers, picking up from a study by the Oregon Health and Science University on the linkage between gene mutation and tolerance to alchohol in mice, investigated it in worms.
This gene specifies the ways in which amino acids arrange themselves into a protein called UNC-18 - or Munc18-1 - in humans, an essential component of the nervous system.
Researchers found that a naturally occurring change in this gene can result in a change in the nature of one of the amino acids, which then alters communication between cells in the nervous system.
Now disabled could operate wheelchairs, computers with tongue
By IANS,
Washington : People with severe disabilities will soon be able to operate a computer or control a powered wheelchair simply by moving their tongues, thanks to a new magnetic device.
This device could help individuals "with high-level spinal cord injuries, return to rich, active, independent and productive lives", said Maysam Ghovanloo of Georgia Tech School who developed the new system with graduate student Xueliang Huo.
Waterloo rated as Canada’s top research university
By IANS,
Toronto : The University of Waterloo, based in the city of Blackberry near here, has been rated as the top research institution in Canada.
In the annual ``Canada Top 50 Research Universities,'' Waterloo edged out many top universities in a survey which tracks sponsored research at these institutions. The university is quite popular with Indian students. It has some prominent Indians on its faculties also.
In a release before the publication of the survey at the weekend, the university said its total research ranked in the ``elite $100 million club'' in 2007.
Our oceans home to 750,000 undiscovered species
By IANS,
London : The oceans are bustling with far greater diversity of life than previously thought, says the first Census of Marine Life -- 10 years in the making.
Carbon dioxide levels already in danger zone
By IANS,
Washington : Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere have entered the danger zone and must be reduced if climate disasters are to be averted, according to researchers.
US, British and French scientists, including two from Yale, said in a study that optimum CO2 level should be less than 350 parts per million (ppm) - a dramatic change from most studies that have pegged the danger level for CO2 at 450 ppm or higher.
Atmospheric CO2 is currently 385 ppm and is increasing by about two ppm every year from the burning of coal, oil, gas and forests.
Telecommunication interconnection regulation revised
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's telecom watchdog Tuesday revised the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection Regulation, 2004, making it mandatory for all broadcasters to have reference interconnect offers (RIOs) for their addressable systems.
The Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection (Fifth Amendment) Regulations, 2009, released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), covers regulatory provisions on issues relating to inter-connection for addressable platforms and registration of inter-connection agreements.
Wireless sensor EcoNet to monitor environment
By IANS,
Toronto : A wireless sensor network under development will not only collect data from remote environmental locations but also help monitor them anywhere in the world.
A University of Alberta research team recently launched EcoNet, a functional model of a wireless sensor network (WSN) for environmental monitoring in the display house at the University's Agriculture/Forestry Centre.
Indian, US scientists question Big Bang theory
By Vishnu Makhijani, IANS,
New Delhi : An Indian and an American scientist have questioned the Big Bang theory, saying it does not serve as a viable explanation for the origin of the universe.
The research papers of Ashwini Kumar Lal of India's Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and Rhawn Joseph of Northern California's Brain Research Laboratory have been accepted for publication in the April issue of the peer-reviewed Harvard journal, Journal of Cosmology.
Failure of imported components behind loss of satellites?
By V. Jagannathan, IANS,
Chennai : The recurring loss of Indian satellites because of power supply glitches may be due to the failure of imported components, according to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists.
ISRO has lost two of its satellites earlier -- Chandrayaan in 2009 and INSAT-2D in 1997 -- and INSAT-4B partially now.
Scientists of the Indian space agency are working to fix the power snag that switched off 12 transponders of the INSAT-4B communications satellite Wednesday night.
Tiny refrigerators to cool future computers
By IANS,
Washington : Laptops and personal computers of the future will be cooled by tiny fridges sitting snugly inside them, according to an Indian American computer scientist.
Unlike conventional fan-based systems, these miniatures would ensure the removal of a greater volume of heat and also improve the performance of the machines, said Indian American Suresh Garimella, of Purdue University, in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Plant hormone that controls shoot branching discovered
By IANS,
Sydney : The discovery of a new plant hormone that controls shoot branching is likely to impact forestry, plant science and agriculture industries.
A molecule with a specific four-ring structure in plant hormone strigolactone has been shown to inhibit shoot branching in plants.
"It could be used to increase yield in horticultural industries and manual pruning may be circumvented through the use of the natural strigolactones," said principal investigator Christine Beveridge of University of Queensland (UQ).
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.
Indian-American devises way to cool hybrid cars
By IANS,
Washington : A team of scientists led by an Indian-American has found out a new way of cooling microchips in electric and hybrid cars, aircraft, computers and other devices by understanding how the fluid overheats in tiny microchannels.
The new type of cooling system, devised by a Purdue University team, will be used to prevent overheating of devices called insulated gate bipolar transistors -- high-power switching transistors used in hybrid and electric vehicles.
NASA camera yields most accurate Mars map
By IANS,
Washington : A camera on board NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft has helped develop the most accurate global Martian map ever.
Researchers and the public can access the map via several websites and explore and survey the entire surface of the Red Planet.
The map was constructed using nearly 21,000 images from the Thermal Emission Imaging System, or THEMIS, a multi-band infrared camera on Odyssey, says a NASA release.
New smartphones with killer applications could replace PCs
By Andy Goldberg, DPA
Las Vegas : Think that cellphone in your pocket is pretty neat? Think again. Spurred by the phenomenal launch of the iPhone, the prospect of a Google phone and open networks, inventors and entrepreneurs around the world are feverishly developing plans to expand what mobile phones can do.
"They want to combine the computing power of the latest phones with social networks and location-tracking technologies to create a new generation of cell phones," says Simon Blitz, who runs a large cell phone wholesale company in the US.
HD DVD may give up stage to Blu-ray format
By Xinhua
Beijing : HD DVD may disapear from our lives while Toshiba Corp is planning to give up on its HD DVD format for high definition DVDs, conceding defeat to the competing Blu-Ray technology backed by Sony Corp, media reported Monday.
The move will likely put an end to a battle that has gone on for several years between consortiums led by Toshiba and Sony vying to set the standard for the next-generation DVD and compatible video equipment.
Russia to develop new rocket for manned space flight
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Russia's space agency will soon invite a tender to develop a new carrier rocket for its manned flight programme, a top space official said Wednesday.
"A special commission will determine the design criteria (for the new space vehicle) and the domestic companies eligible for participation in the tender," said Anatoly Perminov, the head of the Federal Space Agency.
Zenit rocket to orbit Israeli satellite in late April
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : The launch of a modified Zenit rocket to put an Israeli communications satellite into orbit has been scheduled for April 24, Russia's Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) said on Monday.
Russia started preparations for the launch of a Zenit-3SLB rocket with a DM-SLB booster and Israeli AMOS-3 satellite on board from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan in October last year.
"This weekend, the booster was delivered to site 31 [at Baikonur] for fuelling and fitting with the AMOS-3 satellite," Roscosmos said in a statement.
Beetle ancestors 70 mln years older than dinosaurs
By Xinhua
Beijing : Researchers have discovered that when it comes to longevity dinosaurs can't hold a candle when compared to beetles.
Prior to the latest study, beetle species were thought to have begun scurrying around some 140 millions years ago, about the same time as the rise of flowering plants.
Prior to the latest study, beetle species were thought to have begun scurrying around some 140 millions years ago, about the same time as the rise of flowering plants.
US commercial cargo capsule launched to space station
By IANS,
Washington : An unmanned rocket carrying the Dragon cargo capsule blasted off Friday to deliver the second commercial shipment to the International Space Station.
Scientists trigger 52 downpours in Abu Dhabi desert
By IANS,
London : Scientists triggered 52 downpours last year in Abu Dhabi's eastern Al Ain region using technology designed to control weather.
Jupiter possibly hit by object, NASA says
By DPA,
Washington : Jupiter appears to have again been hit by a speeding celestial object that left a giant dark scar in the giant gaseous planet's atmosphere, NASA astronomers said.
The US space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory received a tip early Monday from Australian amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley who had spied the spot near the planet's south pole. Scientists then pointed NASA's infrared telescope in Hawaii at the planet and detected signs - including particles in the upper atmosphere and a warming of the lower atmosphere - that it may have been struck by a comet.
Google, HTC and Verizon set to challenge iPad
By DPA,
San Francisco : Google is teaming up with Taiwanese phone-maker HTC and the largest US cellphone carrier Verizon to launch a challenger to Apple's iPad in time for the holiday season, PC World reported Wednesday.
The as-yet-unnamed tablet would run on Google's Chrome operating system, and is likely to be heavily subsidized for buyers who opt to purchase the device along with a monthly data plan from Verizon, the report said.
China to launch space laboratory
By IANS,
Beijing : China will launch its first space laboratory module Thursday, a step which will pave the way for its own space station, China Daily reported.
Mars, Venus very different, very similar
By Xinhua
Beijing : Two nearly identical spacecraft orbiting Mars and Venus has sent back data that reveals the two planets have more in common than heretofore thought.
The ESA's Mars Express and Venus Express have discovered the two worlds'atmospheres, while quite different, are much alike as to how they interact with solar radiation. The data show that charged particles from the gas layers around both planets are being scavenged by solar wind and storms.
NASA set to give update on long-delayed Atlantis mission
By KUNA
Washington : NASA will hold a meeting Thursday to discuss the status of the shuttle Atlantis and ongoing work to repair a fuel circuitry problem that grounded the mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in early December.
Last week, NASA's space shuttle Atlantis was still no closer to lift off. Officials pushed-back the Atlantis mission's target launch date of January 10, stating that date was "no longer achievable", but they did not indicate when it will be ready for the mission to carry a new European Columbus space laboratory up to the ISS.
Sixty years of world’s first modern computer
By IANS,
London : Do you know that Saturday is the 60th birthday of the world's first modern computer? Manchester Baby, a computer that could store a programme, was built in Britain's University of Manchester June 21, 1948.
It was the first machine - invented by Frederick Williams and Tom Kilburn - that had all the components now regarded as the characteristics of a basic computer. Most importantly, it was the first computer that could store not only data but also a short user programme in electronic memory and process it at electronic speed.
China to broadcast spacewalk live
By Xinhua,
Beijing : China will broadcast live the spacewalk by one of its astronauts aboard the Shenzhou spacecraft now in orbit, according to Wang Zhaoyao, spokesperson of the manned space programme.
The spacewalk, or extra-vehicular activity (EVA), slated for 4.30 p.m. Saturday will last about 30 minutes, he told a press conference here Friday.
One of the three astronauts aboard the Shenzhou 7 spacecraft, Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng, will undertake the spacewalk, Wang said.
ISRO scientists to meet Sunday to discuss cryo failure
By IANS,
Chennai : Indian space scientists will meet in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday to discuss the reasons for the failure of Thursday's rocket mission, which was for the first time powered by an Indian-built cryogenic engine.
Meanwhile, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is collecting data on the rocket launch to arrive at the reason for the failure.
The scientists will start reviewing the data at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram Saturday.
Scientists said they have to "work overtime" to arrive at a conclusion on why the mission failed.
IIT Delhi to conduct 12th edition of Open House
New Delhi : The Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, has announced the 12th edition of Open House which will be held on April 23...
Samsung’s tablet looks to take on iPad
By IANS,
London : Samsung and Google have launched their version of a tablet computer designed to take on Apple's iPad, the market leader.
Sky gazers gather in Shimla to see solar eclipse
By IANS,
Shimla : A large number of skygazers gathered in this Himachal Pradesh capital Friday for a glimpse of the rare celestial spectacle - the annular solar eclipse, officials said.
Kamraj Kaisth, principal scientific officer of Himachal State Council for Science Technology and Environment, said a large number of people, especially school children, gathered on the historic Ridge to catch a glimpse of the phenomenon.
University students win robotic car race
New York, Nov 5 (IANS) A robotic car built by university students won a $2 million US military-sponsored race in California, it was announced Sunday.
Backed by General Motors (GM), a team called Tartan Racing -- formed by Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania -- built the robotic car nicknamed 'Boss'. It won Saturday by covering a distance of about 85 km in less then six hours on a simulated town created on a disused US Air Force base in Victorville, California.
Astronauts repair space station solar panel
By DPA
Washington : Astronauts working outside the International Space Station (ISS) succeeded in repairing a torn solar array in one of the riskiest space walks ever.
A National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) spokesperson said Saturday that the procedure, one of the most complicated in the history of the space station, was declared a success after US physician-astronaut Scott Parazynski managed to install five links to repair the two rips in the panel.
Solar tsunami presents an energy spectacle
By IANS
London : A fiery tsunami that raged across the sun last May at nearly 2,800 km per second released the equivalent of two billion times the annual world energy consumption in just a split second.
According to researchers, the tsunami, ignited by huge explosions near the sun's atmosphere, covered almost the full disc of the sun-nearly a million kilometre away from the epicentre - in just 30 minutes.
New addition to solar system may be bigger than Jupiter
By IANS,
London : A new planet in our solar system's outer reaches could be four times as large as Jupiter, the biggest planet in the system, scientists believe.
Post-1947 no science Nobel for India: Sibal
By IANS
New Delhi : India has not received a single Nobel Prize in the field of science after independence but efforts are on to spur innovation and research, Minister of Science and Technology Kapil Sibal said Monday.
To a question in the Rajya Sabha on whether it is fact that no Nobel Prize has been awarded to India in science after independence, Sibal said: "Yes Sir".
However, Sibal said his ministry was making efforts to strengthen research and innovation in the field of science.
INSAT 3D to boost weather forecasting accuracy
By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : India is expected to launch the INSAT 3D satellite later this year to boost its weather forecasting accuracy, Shailesh Naik, Secretary in the Ministry of Earth Sciences, said here Tuesday.
"The country will achieve more accuracy level within a few years in short-term and long-term weather forecasts," Naik said while delivering a lecture on 'Weather, Climate and Environment' at the ongoing 97th Indian Science Congress.
Revealed: secrets of mimic butterfly’s wing pattern
By IANS
London : The mocker swallowtail butterfly's unique ability to hoodwink predators by sporting wing patterns and colours mimicking those of poisonous species is thanks to a developmental gene, say scientists.
In a new study, biologists contend that an understanding of how these mimic patterns evolved may shed new light on whether such evolutionary changes occurred in small gradual steps, or in sudden leaps.
A team of biologists used molecular tags and DNA sequencing to pinpoint the part of its genetic code that determines wing pattern and colour.
National Solar Mission targets Nov 14 launch
By IANS,
Kolkata : India's ambitious National Solar Mission, which aims to generate 20,000 megawatts of solar power by 2020, has a target launch date of Nov 14, a top official said here Friday.
"The overall structure and draft of the National Solar Mission have been approved by the prime minister (Manmohan Singh). The target date for the launch is Nov 14," said Prime Minister's Special Envoy on Climate Change Shyam Saran.
Wonder drug eases pressure, lifts heart
By IANS,
Washington : Employing a powerful supercomputer, researchers screened 140,000 prospective drug compounds to identify one that dramatically lowers blood pressure, improves heart function and prevents damage to the organ.
These findings could spur development of a new class of anti-hypertensive drugs to overcome two major problems associated with cardiovascular disease: high blood pressure (BP) and tissue damage or fibrosis.
Large companies snooping on employees’ e-mails
By IANS,
New York : If you are an employee in a large company and are thinking of using your work e-mail for job hunting or online dating, watch out.
A new survey finds that 41 percent of large companies (those with 20,000 or more employees) are employing staffers to read or otherwise analyse the contents of employees' outbound e-mail, technology website cnet.com reports.
Hackers help fight natural disasters too!
By IANS,
Washington : During the biannual event called the Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK), hackers worldwide develop software that can help identify and reduce risks from natural hazards.
After the Moon, India eyeing human space flight
United Nations, Oct 22 (IANS) After the success of its first Chandrayaan moon mission, India is now looking at exploration of outer space using planetary missions including a human space flight programme, a UN panel was told.
"Having achieved self-reliance in end-to-end space programme, the Indian space programme is entering into space exploration phase mainly to explore inner solar system and build such capabilities for exploring outer solar system," a member of the Indian parliament said Wednesday.
Solar-powered plants promise water for world’s poorest
By Ernest Gill, DPA
Hamburg (Germany) : A team of German scientists has come up with a revolutionary design for a small solar-powered mobile water treatment plant which could bring hope to drought-affected areas of the world.
The researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) in Freiburg said they have been carrying out tests on their small, decentralised water treatment plants with an autonomous power supply in recent weeks and that they hope they will move into production in the coming months.
Water on moon in daylight a ‘huge surprise’ for scientists
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : Discovery of water on the moon by India's first lunar mission Chandrayaan-1 with a thin layer of surface 'dew' appearing to form and then dissipating each day has set the scientific community agog.
"Finding water on the Moon in daylight is a huge surprise, even if it is only a small amount of water and only in the form of molecules stuck to soil," writes University of Maryland astronomer Jessica Sunshine.
NASA extends Cassini’s probe of Saturn’s moons
By Xinhua,
Beijing : Finished with its four-year primary mission to Saturn, the Cassini orbiter has turned its cameras upon the ringed planet's mysterious moons as it kicks off a two-year extended mission.
Humans responsible for third of nitrogen in oceans
By IANS,
London : Human activity is responsible for a lot of the nitrogen finding its way into the sea from the atmosphere and influencing the nitrogen cycle, according to the latest findings by an international team of scientists.
The presence of nitrogen in the sea influences global climate as it increases marine biological activity and carbon dioxide uptake, which in turn produces the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide.
Virus of infidelity infects 76 percent of relationships: Study
By IANS,
Washington : Infidelity is widespread with people tending to cheat on their partners very often, which may be as high as 40 to 76 percent, according to a study.
The probability of someone cheating... (is) very high," said Geneviève Beaulieu-Pelletier, doctoral student at the Université de Montréal's Department of Psychology.
Facebook in trouble again over privacy issues
By IANS,
Toronto : Facebook, which agreed last August to implement new privacy safeguards ordered by Canada's privacy commission, is again under investigation over its handling of users' data.
The world's biggest social networking site, which claims to have 350 million users worldwide, was hauled up before Canada's Privacy Commission by Canadian law students in 2008 for violating the country's privacy laws.
Indicting the networking site last August, the privacy commission had ordered Facebook to comply with its recommendations within a month.
Singapore Airlines superjumbo A380 rolls off runway
Singapore, January 11, SPA -- Singapore Airlines' A380 superjumbo jet sustained superficial damage when it rolled off a runway in the first glitch for the world's biggest passenger plane since going into service in October, AP quoted the airline as saying today.
The plane was getting ready to depart from Singapore's Changi Airport to Sydney late Thursday. It was carrying 446 passengers who disembarked, and no injuries were reported, the airline said.
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.
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...
Kolkata couple invent fuel-less, battery-less auto engine
By Aparajita Gupta, IANS,
Kolkata : Kanishk Sinha, 30, and his wife Lipika, 25, chose to do something different from looking for jobs - they invented a fuel-less environment-friendly auto engine.
"This engine is switched on by a chemical reaction between zinc and oxygen; hence it is pollution-free. This technology also increases the durability of the engine," Kanishk Sinha, chairman of the Jasper Motor Vehicle company, told IANS.
He said the engine can be used in cars as well as other vehicles like three-wheelers, apart from water pumps.
Mars’ violent, volcanic past comes to light
By IANS
London : Mars has undergone massive volcanic upheavals that alternatively spewed lava and water onto its surface, giving the red planet its current contours.
German scientists have come to this conclusion after viewing the latest images of those contours - captured by the high-resolution stereo camera (HRSC) of Mars Express, the European Space Agency's (ESA) spacecraft circling the planet, reports Scincedaily.
‘Creating diverse workforce greatest challenge for global firms’
By IANS,
Bangalore : Creation of diverse workforce would be the greatest challenge for corporations in a globalised world, Infosys Technologies chairman and chief mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy said here Saturday.
"As corporations grow and globalise, I am convinced that the greatest challenge they will face will be the creation of a diverse workforce," Murthy told shareholders at the company's 27th annual general meeting (AGM) for fiscal 2008.
Endeavour astronauts prepare for Sunday landing
By DPA,
Washington : The seven astronauts on space shuttle Endeavour were to complete their mission to the International Space Station (ISS) with landing scheduled at NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida Sunday.
The shuttle undocked from the ISS at 9.47 a.m. (1447 GMT) Friday, and was expected to land at the Kennedy Space Centre at 1.19 p.m. (1819 GMT Sunday.
On Saturday, US space agency NASA was closely monitoring a cold front, which might bring rain, thunderstorms and cross-winds, and could affect Sunday's entry and landing at the Kennedy Space Centre.
Internet dating more intense, says study
By IANS,
Sydney : The web is altering the very nature of intimacy, emotion and dating, according to a new study.
An audit of online dating sites as part of the study has found that they are informal and are fast emerging as an effective way of developing one's “social and intimate circle”.
The study, which audited 60 sites and conducted in-depth interviews with users, also found that the online communication had more intensity and immediacy, and, in some ways, was almost addictive in nature.
NASA probe flies by Mercury in 1st visit since 1975
By Xinhua
Beijing : NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft on Monday flew within 200 kilometers above the surface of Mercury, making the first pass of the planet since 1975, media reported.
The car-sized probe traveled at about 25,800 kilometers miles per hour as it passed over Mercury on a mission designed to resolve some of the mysteries about the solar system's innermost planet, officials said.
Beijing : NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft on Monday flew within 200 kilometers above the surface of Mercury, making the first pass of the planet since 1975, media reported.
The car-sized probe traveled at about 25,800 kilometers miles per hour as it passed over Mercury on a mission designed to resolve some of the mysteries about the solar system's innermost planet, officials said.
Frog fossil in Madagascar big as bowling ball
By Xinhua
Beijing : U.S. scientists' finding of a frog fossil with the size of a bowling ball in Madagascar provides evidence for competing theories that some bridge still connected South America with Africa about 70 million years ago, perhaps via an Antarctica that was much warmer than today, media reported Tuesday.
Beijing : U.S. scientists' finding of a frog fossil with the size of a bowling ball in Madagascar provides evidence for competing theories that some bridge still connected South America with Africa about 70 million years ago, perhaps via an Antarctica that was much warmer than today, media reported Tuesday.
Intel unveils new laptop chips
By DPA
Las Vegas : Intel Monday unveiled a new line of laptop chips that run at higher speeds and use less power.
The Penryn chips combine the company's Core 2 Duo processors with a 45-nanometer manufacturing process that provide laptops with better performance and improved battery life, said Mooly Eden, vice president and general manager of Intel Mobile Platforms Group.
Intel announced the new chips at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where 140,000 industry professionals are attending the world's biggest technology trade show.
Advanced Micro Devices sells off manufacturing units to UAE firm
By IANS,
Dubai : Leading American chip maker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has spun off its manufacturing facilities to a United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based company to create a new semiconductor manufacturing firm.
Advanced Technology Investment Co (ATIC) of Abu Dhabi and AMD Tuesday announced the creation of a new US-headquartered company, temporarily named The Foundry Co (TFC), to meet demand for independent and leading-edge foundry production capabilities.
Japanese astronaut escorting storage room to ISS
By Xinhua
Beijing : Japanese astronaut Takao Doi is looking forward to his country's entry into human spaceflight next week when he helps deliver a small storage room for Japan's massive Kibo lab at the international space station.
Doi and six crewmates are set to launch toward the station aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on March 11 during a predawn liftoff from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
Russia needs $5 bn to complete its space station segment
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Russia will need an additional $5 billion to complete construction of its segment of the International Space Station (ISS) by 2015, the head of Russia's rocket and space corporation Energia said.
The ISS is a joint project of space agencies from the US, Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan. The orbital station is likely to remain operational until 2020.
Scientist Jagadish Bose inducted into Pioneers Hall at US museum
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : With India and the United States recognising a strategic partnership as "indispensable and inevitable", Indian Ambassador to the US Ronen foresees the two nations working more closely in harnessing space and nuclear energy.
"India and the United States recognise that a strategic partnership between the two countries is both indispensable and inevitable in 21st century," he said in an address to the Historical Electronics Museum in Baltimore.
Watch that big, bright Jupiter tonight
By IANS,
New Delhi : As the sun goes down Monday, Jupiter, the largest celestial body after the Sun in the solar system, can be seen in the sky with naked eye.
NASA set to conduct largest airborne polar ice survey
By IANS,
Washington : NASA will conduct a massive polar survey from Oct 15 to examine changes to Antarctica's sea ice and glaciers.
The flights are part of Operation Ice Bridge, a six-year campaign that is the largest airborne survey ever made of ice at the polar regions.
Researchers will work from NASA's DC-8, an airborne lab equipped with laser mapping instruments, ice-penetrating radar and gravity instruments.
Online swap sites offer the sensible and surreal
By DPA
Ahrensburg (Germany) : Many things end up in the garbage can even though they are still in fine working condition because the search for a recipient of used objects can be toilsome.
Yet, online swap sites are riding to the rescue, helping people find a new home for grandma's quirky dresser, an old aquarium or even a broken down computer.
"Offering super good-looking male iguana for a laptop" - that was one user's attempt to make a deal on the online swap site Bambali.
Interstellar dust darkens the universe
By Xinhua,
Beijing : The universe is dustier than previously thought, which is why astronomers now suggest it is twice as bright as it appears.
Astronomers have known about interstellar dust for a while, but they haven't been able to quantify just how much light it blocks. Now a team of researchers has studied a catalogue of galaxies and found that dust shields roughly 50 percent of their light.
First cloned buffalo dies but Indian scientists happy
By IANS,
Karnal (Haryana) : Even though scientists at the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) here received a setback Thursday after the country's first cloned buffalo calf died just five days after its birth, they are happy that the "superior technology" they used for cloning was "tested".
The female buffalo calf died at the NDRI centre here, 150 km from the national capital, Wednesday night, scientists said.
China’s first lunar probe completes long journey to moon successfully
By Xinhua
Beijing : China's first lunar probe, Chang'e-1, completed its nearly two-million-km journey to the moon successfully Wednesday and entered its working orbit.
The probe, following instructions of the Beijing Aerospace Control Centre (BACC), started its third braking at 8.24 a.m. and entered a 127-minute round polar circular orbit at 8.34 a.m.
"It marks success of the probe's long flight to the moon," said Luan Enjie, chief commander of China's lunar probe project.
Bolivia to produce electric-car batteries
By EFE,
La Paz : Bolivia is planning to begin the production of lithium batteries for electric cars by 2018, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Roger Carvajal said here, according to a report.
Carvajal said that President Evo Morales' government has settled on a basic strategy for exploiting the vast lithium deposits in the Uyuni Salt Flats.
He discussed the plan on the eve of an international forum in La Paz on the industrialisation of lithium, the report added Wednesday.
Indian American’s Bloom Box churns out power from sand
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : An India-born rocket scientist has lifted the veil off Bloom Box fuel-cell, a revolutionary new technology that holds the promise to supply the world with abundant clean, cheap energy.
"The core of our technology is simply sand," said K.R. Sridhar, 49, founder of the Silicon Valley clean tech start-up Bloom Energy at Wednesday's unveiling of his invention in San Jose, California on the campus of eBay, one of Bloom's first customers.
Sterlite bags contracts worth Rs.600 crore
By IANS,
New Delhi : Optical fibre cable maker Sterlite Technologies Tuesday said it has bagged contracts worth Rs.600 crore ($130 million) in India and Africa.
In a regulatory statement, the company said it received contracts for its telecom and power products.
Following the announcement, the company's scrip hit a 52-week high at Rs.334.90 on the Bombay Stock Exchange during the day, but settled lower at Rs.328, up 5 percent over its previous close.
Shuttle Endeavour blasts off for space station
By DPA
Washington : The US space shuttle Endeavour has lifted off from the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral, Florida, bound for the International Space Station (ISS).
The spacecraft with seven astronauts on board is on an 11-day mission to install a 2.5-tonne solar panel on the ISS, conduct repairs on the orbiting station and deliver of supplies.
Seminar on Scientific Arbitration in offing
By SPA
Riyadh : The Riyadh-based Imam Mohammed bin Saud Islamic university will organize on Zil-Hajjah 28-29, 1428 AH, a seminar on the scientific arbitration with the participation of a number of researchers and arbitrators from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and abroad in addition to a number of heads of the scientific councils at the academic and research institutions and editors-in-chief of scientific magazines in some Arab and foreign countries.
Ariane 5 rocket blasts off, taking Brazilian, Vietnamese satellites into space
By Xinhua,
Paris : An Ariane 5 rocket blasted off Friday at the Kourou launch center, French Guiana, on the northeast coast of South America, carrying Brazilian, Vietnamese satellites, Arianespace said.
It was the 24th consecutive successful mission by an Ariane 5 rocket, and the second of seven planned flights for 2008.
Endeavour shuttle returns from mission to ISS
By RIA Novosti
Washington : U.S. space shuttle Endeavour touched down in Florida after a 16-day trip to deliver part of a Japanese research lab and a Canadian robot to the International Space Station.
NASA said the shuttle landed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 8:39 p.m. EDT on Wednesday (00:39 GMT Thursday) just after sunset, "bringing the STS-123 mission to a flawless end."
The landing was slightly delayed due to cloud cover over Florida, and the shuttle made an additional orbit of the Earth before entering the atmosphere.
Plant inspired solar cells to revolutionise energy storage
New York A new technology developed by scientists at University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA) can store solar energy for up to several...
Google Earth helps youth to trace lost home – after 13 years
By Brij Khandelwal, IANS
Agra : Orphaned at seven, he ran away from home to escape the tyranny of his uncle and was taken care of by an affluent Muslim family in northern India. Now at 20, Rakesh Singh has through Google Earth traced his village near Agra and is fighting to get his property back.
Rakesh, who developed an early fascination for computers, has found his village in Kiraoli, about 22 km from the Taj Mahal city, thanks to his interest in the internet.
Giving thought for food on space mission
By IANS,
Washington : Most people are familiar with the awe-inspiring images of space shuttle launches or images of the earth from the International Space Station. But how many people have paused for even a second to think about what those astronauts eat when they're on a two-week space shuttle mission or are living for months on the International Space Station?
The Astronaut's Cookbook - Tales, Recipes, and More - written by NASA veterans Charles T. Bourland and Gregory L. Vogt gives a first look at what astronauts eat while being in space.
Adlabs launches India’s first 6-D movie screen in Agra
By IANS,
Agra/Mumbai : Adlabs Cinema Friday launched India's first six-dimension (6-D) movie screen at Agra, where cutting edge technology would provide a multi-sensory cinematic experience as never experienced by the audience.
Indian satellite launch postponed to June
By Venkatachari Jagannathan, IANS,
Chennai : The Indian space agency is likely to launch its rocket, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C15), carrying its cartography satellite Cartosat-2B and couple of other payloads, sometime in June.
Originally scheduled for launch May 9, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Thursday decided to postpone the flight to a future date as it found "a marginal drop in the pressure in the second stage of the vehicle during mandatory checks".
The eclipse behind the clouds – and a dejected Taregna
By Imran Khan, IANS,
Taregna (Bihar) : The overcast skies cast a dampener and the rare celestial event unfolded behind rain clouds, disappointing the many thousands from India and the world. But the clouds did part momentarily to let the crowds glimpse the century's longest solar eclipse. And for some that was enough.
As the morning skies darkened into night over the village, touted as the best place to watch the eclipse, a moved Gaurav Singh said: "It was a memorable moment when I saw the skies dim into night in the early morning and the solar eclipse reached its totality."
New satellite being developed for rural net connectivity: ISRO
By NNN-PTI,
Bangalore, India : India is developing an "unconventional" satellite which would focus on providing internet connectivity to the rural masses and render timely advice on various aspects of agriculture.
It's a fast-track spacecraft for rural connectivity, Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation, G Madhavan Nair told PTI here.
"You know, if you take the country, even today more than 30,000 villages don't have proper connectivity. (With) Conventional type of satellites, we cannot meet that requirement", he said.
NASA SpaceX mission to ISS explodes after launch
Washington : The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket-propelling Dragon spacecraft laden with crucial supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) exploded shortly after lift-off in...
Over 1,000 aircraft needed in India by 2028: Airbus, Boeing
By IANS,
Hyderabad: Airbus and Boeing, the two leading aircraft makers in the world, Thursday forecast robust growth of Indian civil aviation, projecting the aircraft demand of over 1,000 by 2028.
Raising India's plane demand forecast for next two decades following signs of recovery, Airbus Industrie projected that the country will require 1,032 aircraft valued at $138 billion while its competitor Boeing put the figure at 1,000 valued at $100 billion.
Airbus said the requirement would be to serve strong demand for passenger air travel and freight, and to replace ageing fleets.
NASA packs new toilet pump on shuttle Discovery for ISS
By Xinhua,
Washington : NASA packed a new toilet pump aboard the space shuttle Discovery on Thursday to be sent to the International Space Station to fix its faulty Russian toilet, the U.S. space agency said Thursday.
The new toilet pump and some other replacement parts were rushed in from Russia to the United States last night and were stowed inside the payload bay of Discovery, which is perched at the launch pad of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Mexico to build space port
By DPA,
Mexico City : Mexico plans to begin construction of a space port to send satellites in space this year, an official said Monday.
The facility will be located in the southern state of Quintana Roo on the border with Belize, said state planning minister Jose Alberto Alonso Ovando. The location was chosen after extensive studies in part because of its proximity to the Equator, he said in an
interview.
‘Switch off TV, save 10 percent of your power bill’
By Joydeep Gupta, IANS,
Poznan (Poland) : Simple things like switching off your TV and computers, instead of keeping them on standby, can help save 10 percent of your electricity bill.
"I don't understand why people aren't doing it," says Diana Urge-Vorsatz, expert member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), referring to simple things that people can do every day to reduce power bills and fight climate change at the same time.
Russia tracks rogue U.S. satellite, contains nuclear material
By RIA Novosti
Moscow : Russia's Defense Ministry is closely monitoring a U.S. spy satellite that has gone out of control and may have nuclear material on board, a high-ranking defense source said on Friday.
"The Defense Ministry is using its space surveillance systems to track the satellite's movement in orbit," he said.
Russian military experts suggest the satellite could have an on board nuclear power source, a senior parliament member said.
Tiny gold clusters can help clean car exhaust
By IANS,
Washington : Researchers are exploiting gold's exceptional ability to catalyse a wide variety of chemical reactions, including conversion of the poisonous pollutant carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide at room temperatures.
That process, in industrial terms, could potentially improve the effectiveness of catalytic converters that clean automobile exhaust and breathing devices, protecting miners and firefighters.
For this purpose, nanoclusters - gold atoms bound together in crystals smaller than a strand of DNA - are the size most treasured.
Scientists discover Milky Way’s most recent exploding star
By DPA,
Washington : A group of scientists has discovered the galaxy's newest supernova - as exploding stars are known - providing clues to what happens when stars die.
The supernova is just 140 years old, a baby in galactic terms, and is "by far the youngest identified supernova in the galaxy and the only one we know at its stage," researcher David Green of Britain's University of Cambridge told reporters Wednesday.
Indian IT industry on alert to prevent swine flu fallout
By Pupul Dutta and Fakir Balaji, IANS,
New Delhi/Bangalore: The $60-billion Indian IT industry is on an alert mode on account of the pandemic swine flu that has affected travel and led to postponement of events, according to a top industry official.
"Though we are taking preventive measures, we have postponed a few events, including one in Pune," said Som Mittal, president of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), the industry's representative body.
NASA Rover finds clue to Mars past
By IANS,
Washington : Rocks examined by NASA's Spirit Mars Rover hold evidence of a wet, non-acidic ancient environment that may have been favourable for life.
Confirming this mineral clue took four years of analysis by several scientists.
An outcrop that Spirit examined in late 2005 revealed high concentrations of carbonate, which originates in wet, near-neutral conditions, but dissolves in acid. The ancient water indicated by this find was not acidic.
Fresh estimates of Earth’s liquid assets revealed
Washington : Using NASA's fleet of Earth-observing satellites, scientists have provided estimates for the global water cycle budget for the first decade of the...
Aliens exist on Saturn’s moon: NASA
By IANS,
London : Scientists at US space agency NASA have found vital clues that primitive aliens could be living on Titan, one of Saturn's biggest moons.
On the basis of chemical composition found on Titan's surface, the experts believe that life forms have been breathing in the planet's atmosphere and also feeding on its surface's fuel.
The research based on the analysis of data sent from NASA's Cassini probe has been detailed in two separate studies.
Andhra to use drone cameras to check red sander smuggling
Hyderabad : The Andhra Pradesh government is planning to use drone cameras in Rayalaseema region to increase surveillance on red sander smuggling, Chief Minister...
New ‘space truck’ hailed as precursor to Mars mission
By DPA
Darmstadt (Germany) : A heavy-duty European spacecraft that will make its maiden flight Sunday has been hailed as a precursor to a spaceship that could one day carry robots to the planet Mars.
The Jules Verne, which will haul nine tonnes of food, fuel and other supplies to the International Space Station (ISS), then depart with the station's accumulated garbage, is the first automated transfer vehicle (ATV) in a series of five.
Saudi prince buys into Twitter
By IANS,
London: Saudi billionaire prince Alwaleed bin Talal has invested $300 million in the microblogging company Twitter, becoming its latest major investor.
Earth hit by 556 fiery asteroids in last 20 years: NASA
Washington : A new NASA map has revealed that over 556 asteroids smashed into the atmosphere over a 20-year period between 1994 and 2013,...
Kashmir varsity produces world’s first cloned pashmina goat
By IANS,
Srinagar : Scientists at the agricultural university in the Jammu and Kashmir capital have successfully produced the world's first cloned pashmina goat, a statement said Tuesday.
Star attacks planet with radiation
By IANS,
Washington : A nearby star is bombarding its companion planet with a barrage of X-rays, hundred thousand times more intense than the earth receives from the Sun, a NASA discovery says.
Moon landing myth? Decades later, conspiracy theories remain
By Peer Meinert, DPA,
Washington : Even conspiracy theories must sometimes be taken seriously.
Every week Roger Launius, chief historian at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, devotes his time to debunking one of history's favourite such theories: That astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin never landed on the moon.
The entire July 20, 1969, landing and the spacewalk several hours later was just a show, all lies, filmed in a Hollywood studio or in a desert, the sceptics say.
Few other conspiracy theories have proven so popular or long-lived.
ISRO entering next phase of space vision: Madhavan Nair
By IANS
Hyderabad : The chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) G. Madhavan Nair believes that the organisation is entering the second phase of space vision with components of advanced technologies for low cost access to space planetary exploration and manned mission initiatives in the next few decades.
Addressing the inaugural session of the 58th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) 2007 here Monday, Nair said the proposed launch of the mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-I, is part of this second vision.
‘Black gold’ may revolutionise farming, curb global warming
By IANS
Washington : Scientists have discovered an extraordinary source of some of the richest, most fertile soil in the world, often called 'black gold'. They simply have to mix charcoal in the soil.
And it can battle global warming as well by holding the carbon in the soil instead of letting it escape into the atmosphere, according to a new study.
The discovery goes back 1,500 years to the central Amazon basin where tribal people mixed their soil with charcoal derived from animal bone and tree bark.
Data on disk drive from Columbia space shuttle survived
By Xinhua,
Beijing : Precious information was found on a melted disk drive from Columbia space shuttle which broke up while returning to the earth on Feb. 1, 2003, media reported on Saturday.
The hard drive contained data from the CVX-2 (Critical Viscosity of Xenon) experiment, designed to study the way xenon gas flows in microgravity.
India now aims for manned space mission
By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : India is aiming to send a manned mission into the space after the success of its first unmanned mission to the moon, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRo) chairmain G. Madhavan Nair said here Sunday.