World’s smallest atomic clock in matchbox size
By IANS,
Washington : Researchers have created an amazing, matchbook-sized atomic clock 100 times smaller than commercial versions with both military and commercial applications.
Indian-American researchers develop system to ease e-mail overload
By IANS,
Washington : Indian-American researchers are taking the help of a computer model called SIMONE to ease e-mail overload in busy organisations and companies.
Ashish Gupta and Ramesh Sharda of Minnesota and Oklahoma State Universities, respectively, described how SIMONE (Simulator for Interruptions and Message Overload in Network Environments) can produce a model of how e-mail flows within a network of knowledge workers.
France to introduce `Google tax’ Jan 1
By DPA,
Paris : France will introduce its so-called "Google tax" on online advertisements Jan 1, parliament decided Tuesday.
ISRO land deal rocks Kerala assembly
By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : The opposition Congress Tuesday walked out of the Kerala assembly over the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) purchasing 82 acres of forest land to set up a space education institute.
The trouble began when senior Congress legislator Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan sought leave for an adjournment motion and sought a discussion into the deal - ISRO purchased the land in Ponmudi, 75 km from here, from high profile businessman Savy Mano Mathew.
The Congress alleges that the land belongs to the forest department of the government.
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.
Life ruled out on Mars after 600 mn year drought
By IANS,
London : Arid conditions on Mars for more than 600 million years may have been too hostile for any life to survive on its surface
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.
UN to turn off lights for Earth Hour Saturday
By IANS,
New York: The UN will observe Earth Hour Saturday in its facilities across the world to show its commitment to action on climate change, WAM news agency reported.
Earth Hour, promoted by WWF (World Wide Fund For Nature), the global conservation organisation, has asked people and organisations to turn off the lights for one hour Saturday night (March 27) between 8.30 p.m. and 9.30 p.m. in whatever time zone they may be located.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called Earth Hour "both a warning and a beacon of hope".
Egypt starts manufacturing new satellite
By NNN-KUNA,
Cairo : Egypt has started to manufacture a new satellite in cooperation with France to meet the growing demand for its satellite in the Arab region, especially after NileSat has used up all existing capacities of the existing Nilesat 101 and NilSat 102.
The Egyptian Satellite Company (Nilesat) said in a statement Thursday that it will launch its new satellite NileSat 201 in the first quarter of 2010, the first second-generation NileSat satellite based on a contract with a French company.
U.S. Space Shuttle Atlantis blasts off
By Xinhua
Washington : After a two-month delay, U.S. space shuttle Atlantis finally blasted off on Thursday from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on a mission to deliver the European Space Agency's Columbus Laboratory to the International Space Station (ISS).
Using bats to help tropical reforestation
By IANS,
London : German scientists have hit upon a novel yet cost-effective idea to revive reforestation in the tropics - by using bats as seed dispersers.
They have designed bat roosts - replicating large, hollow trunks - to boost seed dispersal of a range of tropical plants.
"So far we have found 10 bat species using the roosts, and several of these are common and important seed dispersers," said Detlev Kelm of the Institute of Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin.
Methane found on Jupiter-sized extra-solar planet
By IANS
Washington : For the first time ever, astronomers have detected an organic molecule - which plays a key role in the formation of life - on a planet circling a nearby star.
The methane molecule has been detected by the Hubble Space Telescope in the atmosphere of the Jupiter-sized planet named HD 189733b, located 63 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula, or the little fox.
Under right circumstances, methane can play a key role in pre-biotic (life forming) chemistry
Mars probe fit to peek under Earth’s ice sheets
By Xinhua,
Beijing : A space-based radar aboard a European Mars probe could not only peer under the frozen extraterrestrial seas of moons such as Europa and Titan, but also see beneath the surface of ice sheets on Earth.
The space radar would take its cue from the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS) instrument, which has probed the Red Planet's underground for evidence of water from the European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Express spacecraft.
Big Bang experiment to restart in September
By IANS,
London : The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is to begin firing its proton beams once again at the end of September after being shut down abruptly in the midst of recreating conditions in the moments after the Big Bang.
"The new schedule foresees first beams in the LHC at the end of September this year, with collisions following in late October. A short technical stop has also been foreseen over the Christmas period," the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) confirmed in a statement Monday.
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.
Iran presents first space research satellite
By IANS
Tehran : Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad Monday inaugurated the country's first space research satellite being designed and developed by its scientists, official IRNA news agency reported.
The Omid (Hope) satellite would be launched into orbit in near future, the president said and felicitated the scientists and the engineers for their efforts.
Ahmadinejad said the space research unit would take Iran into the select comity of nations having space expertise and would accelerate the country's progress.
India, Russia in talks on moon exploration
By IANS,
New Delhi : India and Russia are cooperating vis-a-vis the Chandrayaan-2 satellite for joint moon cooperation.
U.S. space shuttle Discovery enters launch countdown
By Xinhua,
Washington : The U.S. space shuttle Discovery enters its official launch countdown at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) on Wednesday, aiming at a targeted launch on Saturday, NASA TV reported.
The launch team at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is tracking no issues as technicians continue preparing Discovery for liftoff on Saturday at 5:02 p.m. EDT (2102 GMT), said NASA's shuttle program.
Saturn moon’s mysterious vapour plumes could be key to alien life
By DPA
Hamburg (Germany) : Scientists on NASA's Cassini mission are counting on the probe's next fly-by to provide them with possible clues to alien life following discovery of water vapour plumes on a moon of Saturn.
The spacecraft will zoom in on the moon Enceladus in March. Its closest approach will be at a mere 50 km from the surface and the altitude will increase to about 200 kilometres as the spacecraft passes through the plumes.
Cassini will sample the plumes directly and find out more about their composition, said German scientists who are monitoring the data.
India to rollout 3G services by mid-2008: A. Raja
By IANS
New Delhi : Indian mobile users will be able to use 3G services by the middle of next year, Communications and IT Minister A. Raja said here Thursday.
"We are hopeful that some spectrum for both 2G and 3G services will be vacated by the end of this year. I hope that could pave the way for a rollout of 3G services by mid next year," the minister said at a 3G summit.
On being asked how much spectrum would be vacated, the minister replied, "That is up to the defence ministry to decide."
Bodhi tree branch cut three years ago: report
By IANS
Patna : A scientific report has vindicated allegations by Buddhists that one of their most sacred religious symbols -- the Bodhi tree at the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya -- had a branch cut off three years ago.
The Dehradun-based Forest Research Institute (FRI), in its detailed report submitted to the Bihar government, said a branch of the sacred Bodhi tree was cut three years ago.
"The report has proved that a branch of the Bodhi tree was cut three years ago instead of last year as claimed," home secretary Afzal Amanullah said Friday.
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.
Google maps ancient Arctic village
By IANS,
New Delhi: Google is surfing new places in the remote northern outposts of the Canada's Arctic region with its mapping device, the search engine said in a statement Thursday.
Japanese scientists plans to send paper airplane into space
By Xinhua
Beijing : Japanese scientists hope to send into space a craft made in the tradition of Japan's ancient art of paper folding and learn from its trip back to Earth, media reported Friday.
A successful flight from space by an origami plane could have far-reaching implications for the design of re-entry vehicles or space probes for upper atmospheric exploration, said project leader Shinji Suzuki, a professor at Tokyo University's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Earth-sized planets found beyond solar system
By IANS,
Washington : NASA's Kepler mission has discovered the first Earth-sized planets orbiting a sun-like star outside our solar system, the US space agency has announced.
NASA gives “go” for Atlantis’ Sunday launch
By Xinhua
Washington : NASA announced Saturday afternoon that it will try to launch the space shuttle Atlantis on Sunday.
The Mission Management Team concluded after a meeting on Saturday that "we are 'go' for a Sunday launch attempt," said a briefing posted by NASA at its official website. Sunday's launch attempt is set for 3:21 p.m. EST (2021 GMT).
India acquires capability to fire missiles from under water
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the country's premier military research organisation, Monday said it had successfully acquired the technology to launch missiles from the ocean depths, becoming the world's fifth country to do so.
The acknowledgement came when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave away the performance excellence award 2007 to A.K Chakrabarti, under whose leadership a team of 86 scientists achieved the success under this project called K-15.
MIT improves fuel cell output 50 percent
By IANS,
Washington : An improved fuel cell, developed by MIT engineers, not only delivers 50 percent greater output, but is also substantially cheaper than older counterparts.
"Our goal is to replace traditional fuel-cell membranes with these cost-effective, highly tunable and better-performing materials," said Paula T. Hammond, who led the research team.
The Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT) team focussed on direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs), in which the methanol is directly used as the fuel and reforming of alcohol down to hydrogen is not required.
AMD sets up silicon design facility in India
By IANS
Bangalore : Leading chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Inc Thursday expanded its research and development (R&D) operations in India by opening a silicon design facility in the country's IT hub.
AMD chairman and CEO Hector Ruiz, who inaugurated the new facility, told reporters that its Indian subsidiary plays a critical role in the company's global design network, including development of its most advanced, next-generation processing solutions.
NASA completes `brain transplant’ on Curiosity rover
By IANS,
Los Angeles : NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, has announced that it has completed "brain transplant" on Mars rover Curiosity.
US spy satellite might hit Earth March 6
By DPA
Geneva : The US ambassador to the United Nations warned Friday the defective US spy satellite was due to enter the Earth's atmosphere March 6 if efforts announced by the Pentagon to destroy it failed.
Christina Rocca, the US permanent Representative to the UN Conference on Disarmament, said it was not possible to say where the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) satellite would strike.
"It could occur in any region on the Earth's surface between 58.5 degrees North and 58.5 degrees South latitudes," she told a special session of the Conference in Geneva.
Soyuz spacecraft moved to launch pad for ISS flight
By RIA Novosti,
Baikonur (Kazakhstan) : A Soyuz-FG carrier rocket due to lift off Sunday to take a crew of three to the International Space Station has been moved to the launch pad at Kazakhstan's Baikonur space center.
The three-stage rocket with the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft was transported from an assembly facility to the launch site Thursday evening for pre-flight preparation procedures.
ISS astronauts’ return delayed after Russian craft failure
Washington : The return of three International Space Station (ISS) astronauts, originally scheduled for later this week, has been delayed due to the failure...
Laptop fashion: Mobile computer makers discover colour
By DPA
Frankfurt : Black, grey or silver: laptop buyers have generally had to accept one of those three options. But colourful times lie ahead. The latest models from laptop makers now feature casings in blue, green, pink and yellow. After all, having increasingly impinged on the domain of the desktop PC, the laptop has now become a lifestyle accessory.
Indian scientists knew about lunar water presence in June
By IANS,
Bangalore : India's first lunar mission, Chandrayaan-I, had made a "path-breaking and real discovery" by establishing the presence of water on the moon in June itself, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said Friday.
India's own Moon Impact Probe (MIP) on board the country's maiden lunar craft had discovered water on the moon in June, a finding confirmed by US space agency NASA's probe that was also on board Chandrayaan-1, India's top space scientist G. Madhavan Nair said here.
Scientists weigh elusive gold atom with nanoscale
By IANS,
Washington : Weighing a single golden atom is now possible, thanks to a nanoscale devised by Berkeley Lab and California University researchers.
Alex Zettl, a physicist with Berkeley Lab, who led the team, said “for the past 15 years... the holy grail of nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) has been to push them to a small enough size with high enough sensitivity so that they might resolve the mass of a single molecule or even single atom.”
Indian software firm develops programmes for four airlines
By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : Four leading airlines have joined hands with IT firm IBS Software to launch an airline manpower management solution that will enable them to plan cost effective and efficient operation of their fleet with an optimal level of trained crew members.
Air Astana, easyJet, Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways together with IBS, formed the Core Group of Influence (CGI) to develop the new IT solution.
New software cuts waiting time at hospitals
By IANS,
Sydney : A new software package, developed by researchers, helps hospital or emergency staff anticipate the rush of patients hour by hour for the day or the next week, even on holidays with varying dates, such as Easter.
The Patient Admission Prediction Tool (PAPT), designed by Australian e-Health Research Centre (AeHRC), can predict accurately how many patients will be present at emergency departments, their expected requirements and the number of admissions.
Duck-billed dinosaurs outgrew predators to survive
By IANS,
Washington : The duck-billed hadrosaur with long limbs and a soft body had virtually no protection against predators like tyrannosaurs. But the latest research on the plant-eating dinosaur suggests that it grew into adulthood much faster than its predators, giving it superiority in size.
Scientists compared growth rate data from the hadrosaur, Hypacrosaurus, to three predators: the tyrannosaur Albertosaurus and its gigantic relative Tyrannosaurus rex, as well as the small Velociraptor-like Troodon.
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.
All India Science Conf. concludes in Bhopal with emphasis on promoting traditional scientific knowledge...
By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net
Bhopal: Curtain was drawn on the three-day Bharatiya Vigyan Sammelan (All India Science Conference) 2007 with 10-point recommendations that emphasized on promoting traditional scientific knowledge along with modern science and increased community participation for balanced and sustainable development here on Sunday.
Group of ministers on 3G meets later Friday
By IANS,
New Delhi : The high-powered ministerial group, set up to decide on issues related with the auction of frequency spectrum for third generation telecom services, is scheduled to meet here for the first time later Friday.
The mandate of the empowered group, which has been set up under Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, is to decide the base price for the spectrum auction and the number of operators to be allowed in each telecom circle for offering third generation, or 3G, services.
Did climatic conditions trigger Angkor’s collapse?
By IANS,
Washington : Decades of drought, alternating with intense monsoon rains, may have sounded the death knell for Cambodia's ancient Khmer civilization at Angkor nearly 600 years ago.
Columbia University researchers say this based on an analysis of tree rings, archaeological remains and other evidence.
Their findings may also shed light on what drives - and disrupts - the rainy season across much of Asia, which waters crops for nearly half the world's population.
Spot five planets in night sky this week
By IANS,
New Delhi : Sky gazers are up for a treat this week as five planets of our solar system will be visible in the night sky for the next few days.
According to scientists, four planets - Venus, Mercury, Mars, Saturn - will be visible in the evenings while Jupiter can be seen in the morning.
"Mercury, which is always hidden in sun's glare would be visible up to April 10 whereas other four planets can be spotted for many months to come," said N. Sri Raghunandan Kumar, general secretary of Planetary Society of India.
21,000 respond to teen’s party invite on Facebook
By IANS,
London : A teenager in Britain set up a Facebook group for his birthday party, but was left stunned when 21,000 people confirmed themselves as guests.
YouTube gets billion hits per day
By DPA,
San Francisco : Google's online video site YouTube now gets a billion hits a day, the site's founder Chad Hurley said in a video posted Friday.
"Three years ago today (YouTube co-founder) Steve (Chen) and I stood in front of our offices and jokingly crowned ourselves the 'burger kings' of media," read the post, which was titled Y,000,000,000uTube.
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.
Algae could be a rich, and unusual, fuel source
By IANS
New York : Soaring fuel prices have prompted scientists to look at unconventional energy sources that are cheap, abundant and renewable.
And a new study suggests that the common algae could be just such a source.
Although ethanol is currently being derived from corn, researchers at the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) have dismissed it as a thermodynamically inefficient process.
They are, instead, examining the production of hydrogen by photosynthesis in algae as a renewable fuel, ScienceDaily reported.
Gallagher pictured by Google’s new mapping service
By IANS,
London : Oasis lead singer Liam Gallagher was photographed by Google's new mapping service as he was having a beer.
The 36-year-old Gallagher was having a drink at Street View, reported thesun.co.uk. He spotted the Google camera car taking his pictures and pointed at it. But his face was blurred since it is Google's policy to not reveal anyone's identity.
A source said: "If there's one man you'd recognise having a pint, it's Liam Gallagher. He's often in The Queens. He must be the most high-profile celeb to be caught on Google Street View."
Railways U-turn on offering exclusive women train coaches to men
Kolkata : In a victory of sorts for female commuters who did not shy to clash with their male counterparts, the Eastern Railway...
PM greets citizens on National Technology Day
New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday greeted the people on National Technology Day and said the use of technology should be...
Stuart Parkin gets 2014 Millennium Technology Prize
Helsinki: Stuart Parkin, a physicist who has enabled vast increase in digital storage, received the 2014 Millennium Technology Prize in Helsinki Wednesday.
Finnish President Sauli...
How does news ebb and flow globally?
By IANS,
Washington : As more and more news appears on the internet as well as in print, it becomes possible to map the global flow of news by observing it online. Using this strategy, computer scientists have managed to track and analyze the "news cycle" -- the way stories rise and fall in popularity.
Jon Kleinberg, professor of computer science at Cornell University, Jure Leskovec and Lars Backstrom tracked 1.6 million online news sites, including 20,000 mainstream media sites and a vast array of blogs.
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.
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.
A perfect 13th successful launch for PSLV
By IANS,
Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) : The launch of Chandrayaan-1, India's first mission to probe the moon, from here Wednesday morning marked the 13th consecutive successful score for the India-built polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) which had failed in its very first attempt.
The 320-tonne PSLV-C11, which roared into skies at 6.22 a.m. from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) with the 1,380-kg Chandrayaan, is a modified version of PSLV, described by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as its "trusted workhorse".
Meteor showers to make sky sparkle Aug 12
By Richa Sharma, IANS,
New Delhi : The night sky will be streaked with light in a celestial spectacle put up by the Perseids meteor showers Aug 12.
Sky gazers can look out for it before dawn when over 100 meteors will sparkle in the night sky.
"Perseids are the most famous and beautiful of all meteor showers that approach from the horizon. They are long, slow and colourful," Nehru Planetaruim director N. Rathnashree told IANS.
Phoenix probe sends 1st pictures from Mars’ north pole
By Xinhua,
Beijing : In the most ambitious mission to date to find life-sustaining minerals on the Red Planet, NASA's Phoenix Mars probe sent back never-before-seen pictures of Mars' north pole Monday, media reported Tuesday.
The pictures from the probe confirmed that the solar arrays needed for the mission's energy supply had unfolded properly, as the craft's batteries would have run out in about 30 hours.
Beijing : In the most ambitious mission to date to find life-sustaining minerals on the Red Planet, NASA's Phoenix Mars probe sent back never-before-seen pictures of Mars' north pole Monday, media reported Tuesday.
The pictures from the probe confirmed that the solar arrays needed for the mission's energy supply had unfolded properly, as the craft's batteries would have run out in about 30 hours.
New technique to help predict Alzheimer’s early
By IANS,
Sydney : A neuroimaging scan called PiB PET can predict the onset of Alzheimer's in individuals at least 18 months earlier than all currently available diagnostics.
PiB PET can show excess of beta-amyloid (molecule) in the brain and potentially allows clinicians to distinguish patients with early Alzheimer's disease, even before signs of memory loss are present.
Indian lunar probe starts remote sensing of Moon
By RIA Novosti,
New Delhi : India's first lunar probe entered its final polar orbit around the Moon late on Wednesday and has now begun remote sensing of the surface, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said on Thursday.
Chandrayaan-1, meaning "Moon Craft" in ancient Sanskrit, was launched on an Indian-built PSLV-C11 rocket on October 22.
An explosion 11 billion years ago, billion times brighter than sun
By IANS,
Sydney : The Zadco telescope has recorded a massive gamma ray burst that happened 11 billion years ago, long before our own planet had even been formed. The burst was a billion times brighter than our sun.
"As if seeing one of the biggest explosions in the universe wasn't dramatic enough, we had a catastrophic computer crash on the night," said David Coward, University of Western Australia (UWA) senior research fellow and Zadko Project leader.
Avesthagen founder receives top French award
By IANS,
Bangalore : Villoo Morawala Patell, founder-chairperson of India's leading life sciences firm Avesthagen Ltd, was late Wednesday honoured with a top civilian award by the French government for her entrepreneurship and significant contribution in the scientific field.
The Officier de L'Ordre National du Merite" (Officer of the National Order of Merit) award was presented to Patell by French ambassador to India Jerome Bonnafont at a felicitation ceremony here.
World’s largest telescope spells golden age of astronomy
By IANS,
Toronto : Hailing it as the beginning of a golden age of astronomy, researchers say the latest data beamed back to earth by the Herschel Space Observatory (HSO) is providing them a rare peep into distant galaxies. Herschel is the largest infrared telescope ever launched into space.
Airborne lasers sharpen mapping of streams, rivers 10-fold
By IANS,
Washington : Lasers beamed from airplanes are greatly sharpening images of streams and rivers and interpreting how well water bodies can help maintain or expand fish stocks, according to a new study.
"It's kind of like going from your backyard telescope to the Hubble telescope," says Boston College Geologist Noah P. Snyder. "Restoring fish habitat is just one example. For the fisherman, backpacker, forester, land-use planner or developer - anyone who uses map data - this new technology is the next revolution in mapping."
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.
Nanotechnology to turn paper into futuristic batteries
By IANS,
Washington : Researchers have found a way to make lightweight paper batteries and supercapacitors cheaply -- by just dipping paper or fabric in a special ink infused with nanoparticles.
Capacitors, like batteries, store energy, but by electrostatic rather than chemical means, as well as stretchable textiles known as 'eTextiles' - capable of storing energy while retaining mechanical properties of paper or fabric.
The type of nanoparticle used in Stanford University engineer Yi Cui's experimental devices varies according to the intended function of the product.
India set for Putin boost, to sign nuclear, Gorshkov pacts
By IANS,
New Delhi: India and Russia will Friday intensify their strategic and economic ties by signing over a dozen agreements, including an umbrella civil nuclear pact and another accord fixing the cost of the refurbished aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov at $2.35 billion.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will Friday evening holds talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who touches down in India close to midnight Thursday for a brief visit lasting less than 24 hours.
Tiny dinosaur tailor-made for running discovered
By IANS,
London : Scientists have discovered a tiny dinosaur tailor-made for running, according to a new Chinese-Canadian-British study.
The fossil skeleton of the tiny animal, named Xixianykus Zhangi, is incomplete but would probably have been half-a-metre long. The specimen comes from Xixia County in Henan province, China.
New educational app rewards users with real cash
Seoul : South Korea-based educational startup BeNative has launched CashEnglish, an app that rewards users with real cash for playing educational games.
The app is...
Our moon uncommon, say astronomers
By IANS
New York : Though moons are common enough in the universe, ours is rather uncommon, according to a new study by US astronomers.
The Earth's moon, the subject of much art, myth and poetry, was formed out of a tremendous collision, a rare event seen in less than 10 percent of moon formations, Sciencedaily.com reported.
The study, based on new observations by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, was undertaken by researchers at the University of Florida and appears in the latest edition of the Astrophysical Journal.
Solar eclipse begins at India’s southernmost tip
By IANS,
Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu) : The longest annular solar eclipse of the millennium began at 11.06 a.m. Friday in this Tamil Nadu city as thousands of people converged here to watch the celestial spectacle.
Annular solar eclipse occurs when the Sun and the Moon are exactly in line, but the apparent size of the Moon's shadow is smaller than the visible disc of the sun, making it appear like a ring of fire. The eclipse is expected to peak to annular eclipse at 1.15 p.m.
Steve Jobs unveils ‘world’s thinnest’ laptop
By DPA
San Francisco : Apple chief executive Steve Jobs unveiled what he called "the world's thinnest notebook computer" in his annual Macworld address that also outlined upgrades to the iPhone, iTunes Movie Rentals and a wireless gadget that automatically backs up data from Mac computers and laptops.
Tuesday's address was seen by analysts as another step in Apple's ultimate goal to dominate the digital living room with an ecosystem of computers and devices that allow users to seamlessly stream movies music and other content from one screen to another.
Indian rocket blasts into space
By Xinhua,
New Delhi : An Indian rocket blasted into space on Monday, carrying a cluster of 10 satellites, according to local media reports.
The PSLV-C9 rocket lifted off at 09:20 a.m. local time (0350 GMT) from the Sriharikota space station in Andhra Pradesh in southern India.
The rocket is carrying an unprecedented payload including an Indian remote-sensing satellite, a mini satellite and eight so-called nanosatellites developed by German and Canadian research institutions.
Astronauts make risky spacewalk to repair broken solar wing
By KUNA
Washington : US Astronauts made risky spacewalk outside the international space station on Wednesday to replace a broken motor needed to tilt a solar wing, clearing a major obstacle to the new module outpost.
During their seven-hour spacewalk Wednesday, Commander Peggy Whitson and fellow NASA astronaut Daniel Tani successfully replaced the broken motor at the base of one of the station's solar wings, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said on its website. It's unclear why the first motor failed.
India calls off Chandrayaan moon mission
By IANS,
Panaji : India Sunday decided to terminate its first unmanned moon mission as contact could not be re-established with the spacecraft Chandrayaan, a top space official said here.
"We are disappointed with what has happened, but we have managed to salvage a large volume of data," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G. Madhavan Nair told reporters here.
"We are content with the result," he said.
Satyam to remain stand alone entity, says Mahindra
By IANS,
Hyderabad : Tech Mahindra, the new owner of Satyam Computer Services, Monday said the fraud-hit IT major would remain a stand-alone entity in the foreseeable future.
Excited about the prospects of the fraud-hit IT major, the buyer declared that restoring Satyam's financial health will be its priority.
After the first meeting with the government-appointed board, Anand Mahindra, chief of Mahindra Group, said Satyam would remain a stand-alone unit in the foreseeable future and its leadership would continue with marginal changes.
Mideast, South Asia Internet Access Jammed
By Prensa Latina,
Cairo : Ruptured submarine optic cables in southern Italy affect, for the second consecutive day, access to the internet and international phone services in the Middle East and South Asia.
Tedata Company confirmed that at least three cables connecting Europe with the Middle East and South Asia were severed.
According to the source, the disruption that affects 80 percent Egyptian connection with the Internet began early Friday and continues Saturday mid day.
Now essence from Ajmer shrine roses
By IANS,
Lucknow: Tonnes of flowers offered at the Ajmer shrine will now be used to make essence from them, thanks to a project undertaken by an institute here.
"Our project would bring into use several tonnes of flowers that are presently being dumped," A.K. Singh, technology and business development head at the Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), told IANS.
Chances of restoring contact with Chandrayaan slim: ISRO
By Fakir Balaji, IANS,
Bangalore : Indian scientists are still trying to restore radio contact with the lunarcraft Chandrayaan-1, but the chances of re-establishing contact are slim, a senior space official said Sunday.
"Efforts are still on to restore the signal with the mooncraft though chances are slim. If we fail to establish the link again, we may call off the mission much earlier than the two-year schedule," Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) director S. Satish told IANS.
Slow moving currents new source of renewable energy
By IANS,
New York : A US engineer has developed the prototype of a device capable of tapping slow-moving ocean and river currents for a new, reliable and affordable alternative energy source.
Called the Vivace, the machine works like a fish and turn vibrations in fluid flows into clean, renewable power. It has been featured in the latest issue of the Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering.
Developed by Michael Bernitsas of the University of Michigan, the device harnesses energy from water currents moving slower than three km per hour.
India to launch two satellites to study climate change
By IANS,
Bangalore : India will soon join a select space club by launching two dedicated satellites in polar orbit to study climate change through atmospheric research and detection of greenhouse gases, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman G. Madhavan Nair said Sunday.
"The satellites will be launched in 2010 and 2011. The first will be a 50 kg micro-satellite to conduct atmospheric research. The second will be a remote sensing satellite to monitor emission of greenhouses gases like methane and carbon dioxide," Nair told reporters here.
Google plans superfast internet
By DPA,
San Francisco : Google plans to build a fibre optic broadband network that will connect customers to the internet at speeds 100 times faster than most existing broadband connections in the US, the company announced on its corporate blog.
"Our goal is to experiment with new ways to help make internet access better and faster for everyone," two Google product managers, Minnie Ingersoll and James Kelly, wrote in the blog post Wednesday.
Researchers teach computers to search photos by subject
By IANS,
Washington : Penn State University researchers have developed a statistical approach, called ALIPR, that one day could make it easier to search the net for photographs.
The public can participate in improving ALIPR or automatic linguistic indexing of pictures in real-time accuracy, by visiting www.alipr.com, uploading photographs, and evaluating whether the keywords that ALIPR uses to describe the photographs are appropriate.
Google India unveils new desktop maps
Bangalore : Google, the world's largest search engine provider, Thursday unveiled a new tool to search, navigate and explore Indian cities, streets, landmarks, restaurants...
‘Warning on melting Himalayan glaciers wildly inaccurate’
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : Four leading academics have questioned a warning by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), that Himalayan glaciers could melt to a fifth of current levels by 2035, as wildly inaccurate. The IPCC has also retracted the warning, which had appeared in its 2007 report.
Google, T-mobile to unveil iPhone competitor next week
By DPA,
San Francisco : Google will next week launch the first mobile phone running its Android software in a joint initiative with T-mobile, the companies have announced.
The open-source Android system is seen as Google's answer to Apple's successful iPhone and as a key initiative in the internet giant's quest to extend its dominance to the mobile web.
Google has worked closely with US carrier T-mobile and Taiwan electronics maker HTC to develop the new phone, which is to be called Dream.
Cheap solar power now within reach, says study
By IANS,
Sydney : It has been called the holy grail of the modern era - cheap solar energy. And scientists say it may be within our grasp soon.
A Queensland University team has grown the world's first titanium oxide nano crystals that are likely to revolutionise the way solar energy is harvested and used.
Creating these highly efficient miniature crystals with large reactive surfaces was thought of as impossible by most scientists.
Max Lu, who led the study, sounded upbeat that they were a step closer to the holy grail of cost-effective solar energy with their discovery.
Orbiting space junk passes International Space Station
By DPA,
Washington : A large piece of space junk flew past the International Space Station (ISS) Friday without posing any threat, US space agency NASA said.
A piece of a European Ariane-5 rocket passed within 1.3 km of the ISS, but not close enough to pose a risk to the station or its crew.
"The flight control team is continuing to monitor that debris, but again it did pass as expected and is no concern to the orbiting complex," said a NASA spokesperson.
Researchers calculate how much carbon can be stored underground
By IANS,
Washington : Trapping carbon dioxide at the source like coal burning power plants and then injecting them underground could be one of the options to cut emissions levels. MIT engineers have come up with a new software tool to determine how much can be sequestered safely in a geological formation.
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.
SPV incorporated for Hyderabad animation, gaming city
By IANS,
Hyderabad : Preparations are on in full swing to set up an Animation and Gaming City near here. The government has incorporated a special purpose vehicle (SPV) - Hyderabad Digital Media City - for this.
The SPV, under a public private partnership model, will have representatives of the government, and animation, gaming, visual effects and digital entertainment sectors.
Officials of the information technology and communication department said a total of 41 animation and gaming companies have shown expression of interest to be part of the SPV.
Mobile internet access booms in New Zealand
By IANS,
Wellington: More than half of New Zealanders are now accessing the internet through their mobile phones, the government statistics agency announced Friday.
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.
Supercomputer set to mimic human sight
By IANS,
Washington : ‘Roadrunner’, the world’s most powerful supercomputer that was unveiled last week, is all set to mimic extremely complex neurological processes.
If successful, researchers believe they can study -- in real time -- the entire human visual cortex, arguably a human being's most important sensory apparatus.
The ‘Roadrunner’ is a petaflop computer, with peta meaning a million-billion -- that's the number of calculations it is capable of performing per second.
Biometric system to monitor endangered species
By IANS,
Washington : Biologists will now be able to identify and monitor endangered animals without capturing or trapping them.
University of Bristol scientists have devised an intelligent, non-intrusive surveillance system that can be integrated with wildlife habitats and provide detailed and reliable data on endangered species.
The research develops computer vision and human biometrics in order to better understand and conserve endangered species, especially the African penguin (Spheniscus demersus).
Flash in the sky appears and disappears
By IANS,
London : Astronomers have discovered a bizarre celestial object that emitted 40 flashes of light before disappearing again.
Described as a hibernating stellar magnet, this weird object initially misled its discoverers showing up as a gamma-ray burst, suggesting the death of a star in a distant part of the universe.
USIBC hails India’s moon mission as a new frontier of cooperation
By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : The United States India Business Council (USIBC) has hailed the launch of India's maiden moon with two US instruments on board as the beginning of long "relationship promoting the opening of the frontier of outer space."
Asteroid 2012 DA14 passes by Earth
By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : The massive 2012 DA14 asteroid came closest to the Earth late Friday and is now heading away from the planet, Russian astronomers said.
ISS crew lands safely in Kazakhstan
By DPA,
Moscow : Three crewmembers of the International Space Station (ISS) returned safely to earth Saturday, the Interfax agency reported.
South Korean scientist Yi So Yeon, US astronaut Peggy Whitson and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malentchenko landed in Kazakhstan at 0951 GMT in a Soyuz capsule, the mission control centre in Moscow said.
The capsule had undocked from the ISS at 0806 GMT for the return journey.
German robot taught to be gentle with humans
By DPA
Hamburg : Like a small child admonished by grownups to be gentle with small animals, a robot in Germany has undergone conditioned programming to ensure that it will not accidentally injure humans.
High-speed industrial robots at factories are still too dumb to know whether they may have injured a human co-worker who inadvertently gets in its way.
"Accidents happen," said robot engineer Sami Haddadin from the German Aerospace Centre Space Agency in Oberpfaffenhofen.
British varsity to train Indian multimedia students
By IANS
Bangalore : University of Teesside, a leading British university at Middlesborough in northeast England, will train students of Takshaa Academy for the Artist in multimedia, animation and gaming under an agreement signed here Monday by the two partners.
In a statement, Teeside deputy vice-chancellor Cliff Allan said the partnership was aimed at producing graduates with proficiency in the fast-emerging areas of multimedia and gaming to meet the growing demand for skilled artists in the animation industry.
Exposed to sunlight, cotton fabric cleans itself
By IANS,
Washington: Scientists from China are developing a cotton fabric that can clean itself of stains and bugs when exposed to ordinary sunlight.
E-mentoring highly effective: study
By IANS,
Sydney : E-mentoring has been found to be more convenient, more direct and better than face-to-face mentoring, according to a study.
“E-mail-based communication is almost instant and helps overcome one of the major obstacles to traditional mentoring - participants finding a suitable time to meet,” said Kim Rickard of Victoria University, who conducted the study.
By using e-mail, participants can go straight to the issues without the need to engage in “polite conversation” beforehand, the study found, ScienceDaily reports.
UAE company to invest $2 bn in solar energy technology
By IANS,
Abu Dhabi : The United Arab Emirates (UAE) based energy company Masdar has announced that it would invest $2 billion in solar energy technology, WAM news agency reported Thursday.
Masdar, which is owned by the Abu Dhabi government, plans to set up two plants for manufacturing solar panels.
The first plant would be based in Germany and would become operational in 2009 while the second one would be set up in Abu Dhabi and would become operational in 2010.
Partial solar eclipse on Jan 26
By IANS,
New Delhi : Sky gazers in some parts of India will get an opportunity to observe a partial solar eclipse Jan 26.
The eclipse, first for the year, will start at 2.15 p.m. Monday and end by 4 p.m.
"The eclipse will be visible only from southern parts of India, eastern coast, most of northeast India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. People in north and west India will miss the celestial activity," N. Rathnasree, director Nehru Planetarium, told IANS.
Don’t panic when fuel warning lights up
Berlin, Sep 13 (DPA) Motorists should not immediately panic when the warning lamp lights up indicating that the fuel tank is empty because most cars have an adequate reserve to last for a stretch of 50 km, according to a test by the German magazine AUTO/Strassenverkehr.
The magazine tested 10 different car models with some vehicles even managing to drive a distance of 150 km before coming to a standstill after the warning lamp lit up.
NASA scientists find smallest, lightest black hole
By Xinhua
Beijing : NASA scientists have identified the smallest, lightest black hole yet found.
The new lightweight record-holder weighs in at about 3.8 times the mass of our sun and is only 15 miles (24 kilometers) in diameter.
Beijing : NASA scientists have identified the smallest, lightest black hole yet found.
The new lightweight record-holder weighs in at about 3.8 times the mass of our sun and is only 15 miles (24 kilometers) in diameter.
NASA scientists isolate clues to the secret of life
By IANS,
Washington : NASA scientists analysing meteorite dust have discovered new clues to a long-standing mystery about how life works on its most basic, molecular level.
"We found more support for the idea that biological molecules, like amino acids, created in space and brought to earth by meteorite impacts help explain why life is left-handed," said Daniel Glavin of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt.
"By that I mean why all known life uses only left-handed versions of amino acids to build proteins," added Glavin, who co-authored the study.
Former ISRO chief Kasturirangan chosen for space academy award
By IANS
Hyderabad : The International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) has selected Rajya Sabha member and former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K. Kasturirangan for the prestigious Theodore Von Karman award for this year.
The award will be presented to Kasturirangan, one of the country's top scientists, here Monday on the first-day of the 58th International Astronautical Congress.
The Theodore Von Karman award is the highest distinction of the IAA given annually to recognise outstanding lifetime achievements in any branch of science.
Shuttle Endeavour blasts off from Cape Canaveral
By SPA
Cape Canaveral, Florida : Shuttle Endeavour and a crew of seven are on their way to the international space station, AP reported.
The space shuttle blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, early Tuesday morning to begin what is expected to be the longest space station mission ever. It is a 16-day voyage to build a two-armed robot and add a float-in closet for a future lab. Five spacewalks are planned.
Liftoff came in the middle of the night, and it was the first shuttle launch in darkness since 2006.
New navigation system to help motorists avoid jams
By IANS,
London : A new car navigation system is being developed to help motorists negotiate rush hour jams by advising them about the best possible routes.
The 'Congestion Avoidance Dynamic Routing Engine' (CADRE) uses “artificial intelligence”, or AI, to interpret live traffic information shared among vehicles fitted with a special GPS, or Global Positioning System.
Nuclear energy the holy grail of lunar explorers
By DPA
Beijing : It may be decades into the future but lunar scientists from China and other nations are already eyeing the immense potential of nuclear fusion from a precious mineral found on the moon's surface, a top scientist said Wednesday.
"To explore the moon is to solve the resource issues of the Earth," Qiao Xiaolin, an adviser to China's lunar exploration programme, told DPA over telephone.
"Nuclear energy is the most hopeful form," said Qiao, a professor at the Harbin Institute of Technology in north-eastern China.
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.
Researchers find ways of making laser more efficient
By IANS,
Washington : A Princeton-led team of researchers has discovered an entirely new mechanism for making common electronic materials emit laser beams.
The finding could lead to lasers that operate more efficiently and at higher temperatures than existing devices, and find applications in environmental monitoring, homeland security, medical diagnostics and other areas that require extremely sensitive detection of different chemicals.
India to spend Rs.7.5 bn for research in earth sciences
By IANS
New Delhi : India will spend Rs.7.5 billion ($187.5 million) for carrying out research in oceanography and meteorological science, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said Friday.
Presenting the 2008-09 budget, Chidambaram said the total outlay for the Ministry of Earth Sciences would include Rs.2.94 billion for oceanographic research, Rs.4.32 billion for meteorology and Rs.240 million for other scientific research.
US space shuttle moves to avoid space junk
By Xinhua,
Washington : The astronauts aboard the International Space Station and space shuttle Discovery have been instructed to move out of the way of a four-inch piece of space junk, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said Sunday.
According to the space agency, Discovery's pilots fired their ship's thrusters to avoid the junk, which is likely to uncomfortably approach the station Monday.
NASA said keeping the spacecraft in this position for about three hours is enough to get the space station and Discovery out of the junk.
Kerala software park land acquisition complete
By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : The Kerala government Monday said all formalities for acquisition of the remaining 245.89 acres for the development of Technocity, the next phase of Technopark software park near here, has been completed.
With this, Technopark's total area will spread across 451 acres, which includes not just space for IT-ITES firms but also residential, commercial, hospitality, medical and educational facilities to make it a complete IT city.
The project is planned as a satellite city that would not strain the resources and infrastructure of the state capital.
Atlantis shuttle mission extended until Feb. 20
By RIA Novosti
Washington : The Atlantis space shuttle will return to Earth on February 20 after its mission to the International Space Station (ISS) was extended, NASA said on Thursday.
"The space shuttle Mission Management Team, at the request of the International Space Station Program, has extended the STS-122 mission to 13 days. Atlantis will undock from the space station on Monday, Feb. 18, and land at 9:06 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20, Kennedy Space Center, Fla," the NASA website said.
Microsoft issues emergency flaw fix
By DPA,
San Francisco : Microsoft issued an emergency patch Monday to correct a critical Windows bug that had allowed attackers to gain control of infected machines via program shortcuts.
Microsoft usually issues patches to fix software flaws just once a month. But the seriousness of the bug forced the software giant to issue an emergency patch outside the normal schedule.
Widely publicized last month, the flaw was used to attack industrial control systems in manufacturing and utility control systems via the so-called Stuxnet worm.
New device fuses cells for stem cell research
By IANS,
Washington : Engineers have developed a highly efficient new way to fuse a pair of cells to create a hybrid version.
The new technique that fuses an adult and embryonic stem cell allows researchers to study the genetic reprogramming that occurs in such hybrids.
The researchers were led by collaboration between Joel Voldman, associate professor of electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Rudolf Jaenisch, professor of biology and a member of the Whitehead Institute.
Indians must search for truth behind myths: scientist
By Madhushree Chatterjee, IANS
New Delhi : A cat has nine lives. Or may be not. A cat can survive death plunges from 32-storey buildings because of variations in speed, heartbeats and energy loss that act as cushions while falling, explains visiting Australian scientist Karl Kruszelnicki.
China to launch 100 satellites during 2011-15
By IANS,
Beijing : China has set a target of completing a space mission of "100 rockets, 100 satellites" between 2011 and 2015, according to a space official.
NASA spacecraft photographs avalanches on Mars
By Xinhua
Washington : A NASA spacecraft in orbit around Mars has taken the first ever image of active avalanches near Mars' north pole, the space agency of the United States announced on Monday.
The image posted on NASA's official website shows tan clouds billowing away from the foot of a towering slope, where ice and dust have just cascaded down.
Washington : A NASA spacecraft in orbit around Mars has taken the first ever image of active avalanches near Mars' north pole, the space agency of the United States announced on Monday.
The image posted on NASA's official website shows tan clouds billowing away from the foot of a towering slope, where ice and dust have just cascaded down.
Dust to dust – outer space makes dust ‘come alive’
By DPA
Hamburg : The biblical admonition of all life going from "dust to dust" has taken a new twist with scientific findings that non-organic cosmic dust particles can in fact "come to life" under certain circumstances.
The new research, published in the New Journal of Physics, found non-organic dust, when held in the form of plasma in zero gravity, formed the helical structures found in DNA.
The particles are held together by electromagnetic forces that the scientists say could contain a code comparable to the genetic information held in organic matter.
U.S. researchers create black that’s really black
By Xinhua
Beijing : U.S. researchers say they have made the blackest substance on Earth. So black it absorbs more than 99.9 percent of light.
The material is made from tiny tubes of carbon standing on end and is almost 30 times darker than a carbon substance used by the National Institute of Standards and Technology as the current benchmark of blackness.
Beijing : U.S. researchers say they have made the blackest substance on Earth. So black it absorbs more than 99.9 percent of light.
The material is made from tiny tubes of carbon standing on end and is almost 30 times darker than a carbon substance used by the National Institute of Standards and Technology as the current benchmark of blackness.
New internet security system no longer secure
By IANS,
London : Researchers have cracked the so-called McEliece encryption system, to potentially secure Internet traffic during the age of quantum computing in future.
The attack succeeded last month by means of a large number of linked computers throughout the world, informed Eindhoven University of Technology (EUT) Netherlands professor Tanja Lange.
Space technology to identify whale sharks off Gujarat
By Sanjeeb Baruah, IANS,
New Delhi : Indian scientists will try to distinguish individual whale sharks off the Gujarat coast, using a technique employed by NASA to identify galaxies.
Just as each tiger is distinguished by its stripes, whale sharks too can be identified through a unique pattern of spots that form points of numerous triangles on their bodies, say experts.
As the whale shark grows, the distance between these spots increases, but angles of these triangles remain the same, thus identifying the whale shark.
The method is also used by NASA to identify galaxies.
Teleperformance mulling expansion in India
By IANS
New Delhi : Teleperformance India, a wholly owned subsidiary of US-based Teleperformance Group Inc., a leading global contact centre, said it is planning major expansion in India.
"The increased penetration of telecom, financial services and consumer products as also growing competition have resulted in the need for stronger customer services to retain customers," Sanjay Mehta, managing director, Teleperformance, said in a statement Saturday.
NZ astronomers measure smallest planet outside solar system
By Xinhua,
Wellington : Researchers in New Zealand have made the initial measurements of the smallest planet found outside the solar system, the New Zealand Press Association reported on Saturday.
Using the new MOA-II telescope at the Mt John Observatory, near Temuka in South Canterbury, they found the planet outside the solar system which is three times bigger than Earth.
More than 300 planets have been found outside the solar system, and the latest is the smallest planet orbiting a normal star, which is as little as one 20th the mass of the Earth's sun.
Google cuts ties with Chinese advertisers
By IANS,
Beijing : Google Inc has cut commercial ties with two of its Chinese advertising agents, raising concerns that the internet giant's recent standoff with the government may scare away more domestic advertisers.
The search engine ended partnerships Monday with the Universal Internet Media and the Xi'an Weihua Network, major advertising agents for Google in east and northwest China, Marsha Wang, spokesperson for Google China, was quoted as saying by China Daily Tuesday.
The two are among 25 of Google's authorised advertising agents in the country.
Passenger train service from Agartala likely from April
Agartala : The much awaited passenger train service between Tripura and the rest of India is likely to start in April, a railway official...
US Scientist to Warn Congress about Global Warming
By Prensa Latina,
Washington : Scientist James Hansen will warn US lawmakers on Monday about the need to stop global warming, 20 years after he first spoke about the issue in Congress.
Although in 1988 he found a very unreceptive audience, Hansen will appeal to the awareness of the members of the House of Representative to promote the idea that it is still possible to defuse "the global warming time bomb".
Notebook and desktop upgrades that make sense
By DPA
Washington : With notebook and desktop computer prices at an all-time low, you have to think carefully about upgrading them.
That's because the cost of a few upgrades may come close to the price of an entirely new system.
In general, aside from adding memory or a new hard drive to your computer, you'll probably want to avoid upgrades designed to improve performance.
Google announces own operating system to take on Microsoft
By DPA,
New York : Internet giant Google announced Wednesday the arrival of its own computer operating system, initially designed for use with Netbook computers.
Google Chrome OS, based on the company's nine-month old browser software, is to be available to consumers from the second half of 2010, a statement on Google's blog said.
Google says that Chrome OS is their "attempt to re-think what operating systems should be", the product is seen as upping the pressure on dominant operating system provider, Microsoft, and its proprietary system, Windows.
A worm in the apple: Macs in crosshairs of hackers
By Sven Appel,DPA,
Munich : It all used to be simpler for Mac users: viruses and other malicious software affected Windows computers, not them. That is slowly changing. "The threats have intensified," says Candid Wuest from anti-virus maker Symantec.
NASA beams chants of ‘Jai Guru Deva’ into outer space
By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS
London : If there were any outer space aliens out there Monday at the crack of dawn Indian time, chances are they were grooving to a song with the words "Jai Guru Deva... Om".
The words form the beautiful refrain of a famous Beatles song, "Across the Universe", which was beamed into outer space in a celebration of the band's music at 0530 Indian time (midnight GMT).
Bangalore declared as ‘nano city’ of India
By IANS,
Bangalore : Vice President Hamid Ansari Saturday declared Bangalore the "nano city of India" after the Karnataka government announced it would take measures to encourage research and development in nanoscience and facilitate development of the nanotechnology industry in the state.
Making the declaration at the second 'Bangalore Nano 2008' conference-cum-exposition here, Ansari said nanotechnology, which was changing the face of industry and economy, would be a transformative force in India in the coming years.
Plans afoot for astronauts to orbit moon’s far side
By IANS,
London : Scientists want to explore the far side of the moon using a manned spacecraft for the first time since the Apollo landings of 1968.
India may launch two more navigation satellites this year
Chennai : India is expected to launch at least two more navigation satellites this year and one more in 2016 to offer satellite navigation...
US astronauts to vote from space
By Xinhua,
Washington : Americans from all over the world will vote for the next US president Nov 4 but some ballots will come from the space also.
Commander Edward Michael Fincke and flight engineer Gregory Chamitoff are living and working onboard the International Space Station.
Although they are 350 km above the earth, orbiting at 28,000 km per hour, they will still be able to participate in the upcoming election, Nasa said Monday.
A 1997 bill passed by Texas legislators has set up a technical procedure for astronauts - nearly all of whom live in Houston - to vote from space.