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Conditional WHO nod for new multi-drug resistant TB drug

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed a new drug to stem the global spread of multi-drugresistant (MDR) tuberculosis, but has cautioned that its use must follow a set of guidelines issued by it.

information about this new drug, Delamanid, remains limited,

According to the WHO 4,80,000 people developed MDR-TB in the world in 2013 and more than half ofthese cases occurred in India, China and the Russian federation.

The new drug is being described as “a novel mechanism of action” for treatment of adults with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). (MDR-TB is TB that does not respond to at least isoniazid and rifampicin,the two most powerful anti-TB drugs.)

tuberculosis, The Hindu, science & tech, health, MDR TB,Thu, Oct 30, 2014

GSAT-6 slated for March launch

GSAT-6, the advanced communication satellite that got ISRO’s arm Antrix Corporation embroiled in acontroversy with erstwhile partner Devas Multimedia P Ltd in 2011, is slated for a March 2015 launch.

The S-band GSAT-6 satellite with five special transponders for multimedia services

s band, The Hindu, science & tech, space,Thu, Oct 30, 2014

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The 2,000-odd-kg satellite is to be launched on a GSLV launcher from Sriharikota. It was conceived in 2005along with a follow-on GSAT-6A. The Centre cancelled the contract with Devas in February 2011, reservedGSAT-6 for military use;

ISRO has lined up a series of communication and Earth observation satellites over the next two or threeyears

These satellites promise to fill a much needed demand for satellite capacity and continuation of servicesfor users in the country. Currently, a third of the satellite capacity comes from on transponders leased onforeign satellites.

Among Earth observation satellites, Cartosat-2C will be the next to be flown in a year's time; it will have thehighest ever resolution for an Indian satellite so far, of 62 cm

With the GSLV-MkIII launcher set for a test flight in the coming weeks, Dr. Shivakumar said it was expectedto launch ISRO satellites of up to 4,000 kg in two years. The GSLV with a 2,000-kg capability is yet tobecome operational.

WHO releases new guidelines on breast cancer

According to WHO, breast cancer kills more than 500,000 women around the world every year. Inresource-poor settings, a majority of women with breast cancer are diagnosed at an advanced stage,lowering their survival rate.

It states that breast cancer mortality can be reduced by 20 per cent with “organised, population-basedmammography screening programmes”.

The emphasis on mammography screening stems from the controversy surrounding the most effectivemethod of early detection of breast cancer.

breast cancer, Down to Earth, science & tech, health,Thu, Oct 30, 2014

Birth of Salk and death of poliopolio vaccine, The Hindu, science & tech,

Wed, Oct 29, 2014

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In 1954, over 300,000 doctors, nurses, schoolteachers and other volunteers across the United States,Canada and Finland took part in one of the most complex and monumental medical trials in history.

It was a mammoth task -- a double-blind experiment, in which 650,000 schoolchildren were given thevaccine, 750,000 were given a placebo, and over 400,000 children acted as a control group and were givenneither. The results, announced in 1955, were just as monumental: the vaccine was safe and effective. As adirect result of the development of the vaccine, polio was completely eradicated in the US by 1979.

It is therefore a sad and strange irony that there now appears to be a growing backlash against vaccines inthe US and UK -- particularly the MMR vaccine. Since Andrew Wakefield published a fraudulent paper in1998 purporting to show a link between the MMR vaccine and autism , incidences of measles and mumpshave risen greatly. Despite this, and despite studies showing clear costs to society when vaccine rates drop,antivaccinationists still insist on ignoring the evidence when it comes to immunising children. It thereforeseems like the celebration of Salk’s 100th birthday is an apt time to remember how hugely importantvaccination is -- not just on an individual level, but for public health as a whole.

China prepares for lunar sample return mission

China has launched a spacecraft that will act as a precursor for a robotic lunar sample return mission andperhaps also help prepare for subsequent manned exploration of the Moon.

Last Friday, a Long March-3C rocket lifted off from China's Xichang Satellite Launch Centre and set thespacecraft on a course for the Moon. The spacecraft’s trajectory sends it swinging around the Moon beforeheading back to Earth. Once back, its re-entry module will separate and descend through the atmosphereto touch down on the ground.

China embarked on lunar exploration with the launch in 2007 of Chang'e-1, a probe that imaged the Moonfrom orbit. Chang'e-2, another orbiter, followed three years later. Last December, the Chang'e-3successfully put a lander and a small rover on the lunar surface; a malfunction, however, left the roverunable to move around soon afterwards. Chang'e-5, a robotic mission to bring back lunar soil and rocksamples, is scheduled for 2017.

Although China has sent astronauts into orbit around Earth and brought them safely back using itsShenzhou spacecraft, those spacecraft would have been moving less rapidly (close to 8 km/second). So thecountry's space scientists clearly want to prepare for re-entry at higher velocities.

The Hindu, science & tech, space, China, lunar return mission,Wed, Oct 29, 2014

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Reports from the official Xinhua news agency indicate that a ‘skip re-entry’ manoeuvre will be attempted toslow the Chang'e-5-T1's re-entry module. The reentry module will be oriented such that it enters Earth'satmosphere, dissipates energy in the form of heat as it does so and then exits the atmosphere.

The cloud rush

The Internet of Things (IoT) is shaping up to be one of the more disruptive market opportunities since thecreation of the Internet itself, connecting billions of smart devices around the globe and creating billions —some say trillions — of dollars in product and service opportunities globally.

Because of its significance as both an end market as well as a leading source of innovation in the globaltechnology industry, India will exert considerable influence on the development of IoT.

The country possesses a huge pool of extremely talented engineers that are eager to innovate and createnew products in the IoT space.

The next change

IoT is simply the next logical progression in the consumer electronics industry which leverages the fact thatsemiconductor and sensor technology inexorably gets smaller, smarter, cheaper and lower-power.

Unlike computers, laptops and smartphones which are designed by multinational corporations with teamsof hundreds of engineers assigned to each product, IoT devices are dramatically simpler and can bedesigned by a handful of bright young engineers working in a garage.

Because of the vast scope of the IoT — everything from enterprise applications that analyze real-time datafrom millions of devices and sensors, to personal fitness and health accessories that communicate overwireless home networks

Supported by proven technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Smart, NFC and GPS, efficient radio designscontinue to reduce the processing requirements and power needs of countless IoT devices.

One of the more important hurdles to overcome to enable the rapid growth of the IoT market is theavailability of interoperable standards that will allow products from multiple vendors to discover, connect,and interact with one another regardless of the brand, operating system, platform, device type ortransport layer.

internet of thing, internet , science & tech, Businessline,Wed, Oct 29, 2014

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India launches diagnostic kit that detects celiac disease in 20 minutes

The department of biotechnology (DoB) of Government of India on Tuesday launched a diagnostic kitwhich can identify celiac disease within 20 minutes; it is also more affordable.

almost one per cent of north Indian population is suffering from the disease in which the inner lining of thesmall intestine (where food is digested and absorbed) gets damaged and food is not absorbed properly.Non-absorption of food leads to weight loss, prolonged diarrhea, abdominal fullness, bulky stools, andanaemia.

Celiac disease is a relatively new health disorder in India and experts claim that only a handful of patientsare diagnosed. Majority of patients are still undiagnosed.

At present, diagnosing the disease needs sophisticated equipment and trained laboratory personnel. Manyhospitals, especially small centers across the country do not have access to the conventional expensivelaboratory-based tests for identifying antibodies in the blood.

One estimate says 2.2 million children under age of five are affected by celiac disease across the world. InEurope, 0.4-0.75 per cent of the general population is affected by celiac disease. The prevalence of thedisease in Latin America, north Africa, and West Asia is somewhere in the range of 0.6 to 0.8 per cent.Saharawi tribe (living in western part of Sahara Desert) has a high prevalence of 5.6 per cent.

There are two main causes of this disease. Firstly, it occurs in those people who have a special geneticcharacteristic. Secondly, ingestion of a protein called gluten. Gluten is present in cereals such as wheat andbarley.

Down to Earth, Celiac disease, science & tech,Wed, Oct 29, 2014

'Space technology can benefit agriculture, government decision-making in Africa'

Satellite imagery has the potential to benefit agriculture in African nations. "Precision agriculture is aboutproducing food efficiently, and for that you need information. Inputs from space can predict the right timeto plant your crop and when to harvest it. Billions can be saved by buying ahead and making informeddecisions,

Down to Earth, science & tech, Africa, space,Wed, Oct 29, 2014

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The use of space technology is growing in Africa with countries like South Africa, Algeria, Nigeria and Egypthaving established their own space agencies.

Dr. Jitendra Singh Launches First Indegenously Developed Diagnostic Test Kit forIntestinal Disord

launched an indigenously developed, cost-effective diagnostic test kit, the first of its kind in India, for theautoimmune “Celiac disease”, which is a lifelong intestinal disorder manifesting as intolerance to certainfoods such as wheat, barley, etc. with symptoms like recurring abdominal pain, diarrhoea and weight loss.

Celiac disease, PIB, science & tech,Wed, Oct 29, 2014

Acquisition of a Polar Research Vessel

The Ministry of Earth Sciences felt necessary to have the country's own polar research vessel consideringthe need to sustain two Indian research bases in Antarctica (Maitri and Bharti); dovetailing researchinitiatives in the Southern Ocean domain with those in the proximal regions of the Antarctic continent;widen the thrust on Arctic research disciplines undertaken through Indian Station Himadri, and to providea suitable research platform for other tropical sea programmes.

Such a vessel, it is envisaged, can not only perform dual functions, research and logistics, in the polarregion but can also serve as a research platform for scientists to undertake scientific research in the oceanrealm including the Southern Ocean. In the context of India having expanded its scientific presence to theArctic as well and the country's growing strategic interests in the polar and ocean domain, a polar researchvessel would certainly serve as the perfect vehicle for building up on India’s sustained presence andincreased visibility in the ocean sector.

Indian Antarctic expeditions have been undertaken every year onboard ice-class vessels/ice-breakerschartered from the international market. These vessels have largely been cargo ships capable oftransporting men and material and unable to serve as a research platform.

With increased demand for cargo vessels and their dwindling availability, the charter charges of thesevessels have been escalating over the years.

Indian scientists have had a sustained presence in the Arctic. With India's entry into the Arctic Council as anObserver along with China, Singapore, Japan and South Korea, it has become strategically important to

PIB, Polar Research Vessel, science & tech,Wed, Oct 29, 2014

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have increased visibility in the Arctic too. This will facilitate India to assume a lead role among Asiannations active in the polar regions.

Preparing for prevention without panicking

As Ebola continues unabated in three West African countries and the number of cases and deaths increaseexponentially, alarm bells are ringing across the world. The actions of the national governments of Guinea,Liberia and Sierra Leone, supported by the international community, are yet to yield the desired results.

To prevent Ebola cases in unaffected countries, strong and comprehensive national preparedness is aprerequisite. The preparedness plans should be developed and implemented under the guidance ofnational, multi-sectoral, high-level and empowered coordination committees. Items on the checklistinclude infection prevention control, contact tracing, case management, surveillance, laboratory capacity,safe burial, public awareness, community engagement, and national legislation and regulation to supportcountry readiness.

To prevent the spread of infection, WHO recommends exit screening, which is being implemented incountries that are currently affected. In unaffected countries, national public health authorities havealready initiated screening of passengers coming from Ebola-affected countries.

However, given the nature of the virus and the disease, the likelihood of missing a few infected patientsduring point-of-care screenings must be considered and planned for. Detection of such cases and theirquick isolation warrants intensive and sustained surveillance which can be undertaken by rapid responseteams.

Depending on the population density and geographical characteristics of a country, a sufficient number ofwell-equipped health care facilities are required to isolate and manage suspected Ebola patients. Thesefacilities must be managed by staff who have been provided rigorous training in the proper use ofPersonal Protective Equipment (PPE). Health care workers must be trained to apply recommendedinfection control practices. We must recognise that health care staff — our frontline workers — arevulnerable to this infection and require greater support in enhancing their skills to efficiently look after thepatients, contain the disease, and at the same time protect themselves, their families and communities.

Knowledge of two aspects of Ebola must be shared with the public. It is extremely dangerous to take careof an Ebola patient at home. It not only spreads infection to family members and those who visit thesehomes but is also detrimental to the recovery of the patient. Ebola patients require intensive treatment byskilled and trained health professionals in health facilities.

The Hindu, science & tech, ebola,Tue, Oct 28, 2014

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Secondly, avoiding contact with body fluids of a patient who is suspected to have Ebola and applyingsimple infection-control practices at homes are advocated. In day-to-day routine, hand washing is the mostbasic and extremely useful infection-control practice that everybody should practice. It protects against alarge number of infections.

UK to build supercomputer for weather forecasting

The “Cray XC40” machine will have 480,000 central processing units or CPUs, which is 12 times as many asthe current Met office supercomputer, made by IBM. It will also be three times heavier than the currentsystem. “It will be one of the best high-performance computers in the world,” Science Minister Greg Clarktold journalists at the announcement on Tuesday, adding that it would “transform the analytical capacity ofthe Met office”.

The computer will also enable forecasters to pinpoint potential floods with much greater accuracy andreliability, the Met office said.

weather forecasting, Down to Earth, science & tech, supercomputer,Tue, Oct 28, 2014

Unpacking europium, the mainstay of the lighting industry

The rare earth metal is all around us—in flouorescent lamps, display screens, televisions to smart tabletsand phones. But is deep mining the only way to obtain it

incandescent sources – ways of getting light as a byproduct of something hot and glowing. It was how welit up our days—sunlight from a star that is essentially a giant ball of bright, hot gases—and it was how welit up the moments after dark.

samarium and gadolinium. He noticed that it gave out spectral lines – signals that are unique tosubstances – that were not of samarium or gadolinium.

I propose the name Europium for the new element,” he wrote, “with symbol Eu, and atomic weight 151(approx.).” He also noticed that a compound of this new europium (named after the continent Europe)glowed a bright red when exposed to light. It was a phosphor, a word derived from ancient Greek thatmeans light-bearing.

Europium is all around us, sprinkled inside billions of fluorescent sources around the world. Fluorescent

Down to Earth, science & tech, europium,Mon, Oct 27, 2014

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lamps are coated with a variety of phosphor compounds, including europium, and filled with a mercuryvapor. Electric current excites the mercury, and the energy is released again as ultraviolet light. When thisultraviolet light strikes the phosphor compound coated on the inside of the lamp, it glows with a uniquecolor.

Europium emits bright reds and blues that really stand out. Another element, terbium, gives out greens. Bycombining the reds, greens and blues from different compounds, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) canemit white light, and run for hundreds of hours longer than incandescent bulbs. The same europium ionsalso enable bright reds and blues on a wide variety of display screens, from televisions to smart tabletsand phones.

It doesn't take much europium to do this job. Usually, less than a gram of europium goes into every CFL orflat panel display. All of the world's devices only need about about 500 tonnes, a mere 0.4 per cent of therare earth mining industry. But it's a valuable and growing market. And in an economy that depends somuch on europium's light-bearing properties, the options are clear – dig for more europium, find asubstitute or recycle what's out there.

Most of the world's europium comes from mines in China, where it is extracted from the huge mineraldeposits of bastnäsite and monazite. Up to 2008, China was mining and producing more than 95 per centof all rare earth metals. five metals, including europium, are at a critical state: they are indispensable andhave a high supply risk.

That leaves recycling. Less than one per cent of such rare earth metals are recycled, according to a 2011United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) report. There is very little incentive for companies to invest ingetting the fraction of a gram of europium embedded in every lamp or LCD screen. Digging deeper andwider for more new ore takes up about seven per cent of the world's energy consumption, and, in the longterm, recycling a metal may be two to 10 times more energy efficient than refining it from new ore,according to the 2011 UNEP report.

The story of europium over the last century has aligned with that of clean energy lighting technologies. Tobe more energy and cost efficient and to get the right kind of light, the irony is that we dig in the darkdepths of far away mines for tiny specks of an expensive element. A natural next step would be toefficiently recycle the europium, a way to harness the earth's dust into re-usable light.

Pellets can become a substantial global fuelDown to Earth, science & tech, wood pellets,

Mon, Oct 27, 2014

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Biomass pellets, which are small, rounded, compressed mass of a substance, usually made of wood waste,have the potential of becoming a fuel with a significant importance in the global energy balance,

Pellets are a well-packaged bioenergy carrier—they have high energy content, standardized properties andare easy to transport long distances. The use of sustainably produced pellets to replace fossil fuels isenvironmentally and economically attractive. There has been a tremendous growth in pellet productionand use in the past decade and they will play a vital role in climate change mitigation and energy security

The availability of wood (a major feedstock for pellets) as raw material is substantial and could be furtherextended by the establishment of plantations of fast growing trees. Also, the possibility of usingagricultural by-products offers a vast amount of resources.

WBA says pellets are slightly more expensive than coal but are cheaper than heating oil. “The use of pelletsinstead of coal for generating heat is economic on its own while the electricity generation needs to besupported,” reads the WBA press release.

GSAT-16 in French Guiana ahead of launch

GSAT-16, the next national communications satellite, reached French Guiana this week and is on its way tothe space port near Kourou ahead of an early December flight, European launch service companyArianespace has said.

The satellite carries C-band and Ku-band transponders which will support VSAT (very small apertureterminal) services, television services and emergency communications across the country.

ISRO advanced the launch date of GSAT-16 by about six months to meet increasing demand forINSAT/GSAT transponder capacity from various industry and government users,

he national space agency is still perfecting its two-tonne-class launcher, the GSLV, and cannot launch thesethree-tonne-class spacecraft.

It is also working on the GSLV Mark-III that can lift four-tonne payloads. The first experimental flight ofMkIII is slated for November or December.

The GSAT-16 will be put in orbit along with DIRECTV-14, a satellite that will provide direct-to-hometelevision broadcasts across the U.S.

The Hindu, science & tech, ISRO, space, GSAT,Sat, Oct 25, 2014

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China launches experimental moon orbiter

China has launched an experimental spacecraft to fly around the moon and back to Earth in preparationfor the country’s first unmanned return trip to the lunar surface.

The eight-day program begun on Friday is a test run for a 2017 mission that aims to have a Chinesespaceship land on the moon, retrieve samples and return to Earth. That would make China only the thirdcountry after the United States and Russia to have carried out such a mission.

The Hindu, science & tech, space, China,Fri, Oct 24, 2014

Cosmic rays a serious threat to manned Mars missions, warn researchers

As Mangalyaan successfully completes one month in space, a recently-released study brings forth one ofthe greatest challenges in the world's race to send a manned missions to Mars and elsewhere in deepspace.

The researchers have found that due to a highly abnormal and extended lack of solar activity, solar wind (astring of ironised particles that escape from the solar atmosphere) is exhibiting extremely low densitiesand magnetic field strengths, which causes dangerous levels of hazardous radiation to pervade theenvironment of space

Due to high radiation levels seen during the solar minimum periods, the allowable days in space forastronauts are dropping and estimated to be 20 per cent lower in the coming solar minimum cycle ascompared to the last minimum cycle.

Down to Earth, science & tech, Mars, cosmic rays, space,Fri, Oct 24, 2014

China to send spacecraft to moon and back

China plans to launch a new lunar mission in the next few days to test technology that is likely to be usedin Chang’e-5, a future lunar probe with the ability to return to Earth.

moon, science & tech, Chang , space, Businessline, China,Thu, Oct 23, 2014

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The experimental spacecraft is expected to reach a location near the moon and return to Earth, the StateAdministration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (ASTIND) said.

It is the first time China has conducted a test involving a half-orbit around the moon at a height of 3,80,000km before having the craft return to Earth.

The return mission will involve the spacecraft entering, exiting, and re-entering Earth’s atmosphere andlanding, ASTIND said in a statement.

During this process, the spacecraft’s speed will be slowed down so it can land safely at a determinedlocation, a key capability needed for Chang’e-5, which is expected to return from the moon at a velocity of11.2 kms per second.

The Chang’e-5 probe, expected to launch in 2017, will be tasked with landing on the moon, collectingsamples and returning to Earth.

Prozac has negative effect on bird population, finds study

Earlier this month, in a similar study [2] it was found that medicines that get flushed into the environmentthrough sewage might be the reason for the rapid decline in wildlife population. The study team includedArnold.

The 2014 Living Planet [3] report recently warned that the global animal population has more than halvedin the past 40 years; and now studies by scientists who attended the seminar reveal that commonmedicines are harming animals.

Down to Earth, science & tech, wildlife,Wed, Oct 22, 2014

Embracing Mars

India reached Mars in its debut attempt. The Soviet Union failed in its initial attempts in the early 1960s toput a spacecraft around Mars. The U.S.’ Mariner-3 failed in November 1964 to reach Mars. In 1998, Japansent its Nozomi spacecraft to Mars, but the orbiter failed to make it. In 2003, the European Space Agency

mars, Frontline, science & tech, ISRO, space,Sat, Oct 18, 2014

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put the spacecraft called Mars Express into an orbit around the Red Planet, but its lander, called Beagle-2,crashed. A Chinese payload could not reach Mars in 2011 after the Russian mission called Phobos-Grunt,on which it was riding piggyback, failed. Phobos-Grunt’s main engine did not fire after lift-off.

India made it to Mars by executing with effortless ease the most crucial and complex manoeuvre of themission, the Mars Orbit Insertion (MOI). The MOI had been the bane of several initial U.S. and Russianmissions. What added to India’s success was that the LAM, which was hibernating aboard the spacecraft,ignited into life after a gap of 300 days. ISRO had subjected the LAM to a battery of tests on the ground,simulating deep-space conditions, to ensure that it woke up after its long slumber.

The MOM demonstrated ISRO’s ability to navigate the orbiter through 66 crore km, covering theearthbound phase, its sun-centric phase and then the cruise towards Mars. Indeed, as Prime Minister Modisaid, ISRO had taken “a route known to very few”. ISRO excelled in deep-space communication, too, withthe orbiter through 300 days of its interplanetary voyage.

“Our ability to communicate over 224 million km of radio distance [that is, 66 crore km of ‘road distance’]was successfully demonstrated in this mission,” The accuracy of our prediction comes from ourcommunication system, which has worked to perfection. We were able to communicate about 224 millionkm of radio distance with our orbiter. Our ability to communicate can go up to 375 million km of radiodistance,”

The third remarkable feature of MOM was the spacecraft’s “autonomy”. It would take more than 26minutes for a radio signal from the ground to reach the orbit and return to the ground station. This madereal-time rectification of a case of “misbehaviour” by any system on board the spacecraft impossible. Sothe spacecraft was vested with its own intelligence to manage crucial operations such as the MOI, detectfaults, isolate them and rectify them, and conduct operations during periods when the spacecraft wouldnot be visible from the earth.

Giant leap

The achievement is even more remarkable because, notwithstanding its modest mission objectives andcorresponding relatively small-sized spacecraft, such a complex mission was put together in just 18months. The mission objectives required the development of 22 new software modules, modification of 42modules and usage of 19 existing modules, a process that began only in November 2012 after the projectwas sanctioned in July.

mars, Frontline, science & tech, isro, space,Sat, Oct 18, 2014

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This total autonomy was essential to the mission given the Earth-Mars distance of about 224 millionkilometres at the time of Mars capture to a maximum of 375 million km after six months. This means therewould be a communication delay of 25 to 42 minutes given the time that an electromagnetic signal willtake for its round trip. So any real-time intervention would be impossible. Further, the geometry of Mars,the earth and the satellite during Mars Orbit Insertion (MOI) was such that the manoeuvre would have tobe performed when there was an occultation of the satellite by the planet when the satellite would be outof visibility for ground systems and there would be a total communication blackout.

Complete autonomy means that all the commands that are uploaded into the on-board computer aretime-tagged and are sitting in the spacecraft’s command processor, and any major problem in the ground-to-satellite link will not affect the firing, Spacecraft autonomy is also essential during the lifetime of thesatellite because, as the satellite goes round in its Martian orbit, eclipses, whiteouts and blackouts willrecur.

A commendable effort

India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), placed the third Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System(IRNSS) spacecraft into orbit which was originally developed to put remote sensing satellites into orbits sothat it could carry heavier satellites than before, inject them into orbit with greater accuracy and take on arange of missions including launching the lunar probe, Chandrayaan-1, as well as the Mars Orbiter MissionIts record of 27 consecutive successful flights is a tribute to the meticulous preparations and attention toevery tiny detail that goes on behind the scenes before each launch.

The IRNSS constellation will give India guaranteed access to what has become a critical service in thepresent day – navigation satellite signals. America’s Global Positioning System (GPS), with worldwidecoverage, is the leader in the field. Russia, for its part, established a similar capability with the GlobalNavigation Satellite System (GLONASS). Europe is therefore in the process of putting its own constellationof Galileo navigation satellites in place. China is likewise creating the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System; aregional service has already been launched and it intends to achieve global coverage by around 2020.Using its seven satellites, the IRNSS system will beam accurate navigation signals over India and up to1,500 km from its borders. Three of those satellites have already been launched and ISRO plans to havethe remaining satellites in place by the middle of next year. By adding four more satellites, India has theoption to extend the area covered by its navigation system. Efforts are also going into chipsets for portabledevices that will utilise those signals. A market assessment carried out by a well-known consultancycompany indicates that there is potentially a huge market available in the subcontinent.

PSLV, The Hindu, science & tech, IRNSS, ISRO, space,Fri, Oct 17, 2014

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Turning human waste into clean energy

They are building bio-centres — toilet facilities where human slurry is collected and put in a digester whichcollects the methane emitted from poo as it breaks down. The methane is sold back to the slum dwellersas biogas, used for cooking within the centres or to power hot showers.

Methane is a greenhouse gas. If released into the atmosphere it is many times worse for the environmentthan CO.

sanitation, clean energy, human waste, The Hindu, science & tech,Fri, Oct 17, 2014

ISRO notches another success with PSLV-C26

On October 15, 1994, India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-D2) for the first time successfully placedan Indian Remote-sensing Satellite into orbit.

Twenty years later, on October 16, 2014, the PSLV-C26 lobbed the 1,425 kg Indian Regional NavigationSatellite System (IRNSS-1C) satellite into its precise orbit.

The IRNSS-1C is the third among seven navigation satellites, with a wide range of applications from helpingtruck drivers to submarines, missiles and battle tanks locate their positions.

PSLV, The Hindu, science & tech, ISRO, space,Fri, Oct 17, 2014

India launches third navigation satellite

India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C26) lifted off with aplomb from the Satish Dhawan SpaceCentre (SDSC) in Sriharikota at 1.32 a.m. on Thursday and precisely put the Indian navigation satellite,IRNSS-1C into its perfect, pre-designated orbit. This was the 28th successful launch of the Indian SpaceResearch Organisation.

M.Y.S. Prasad, Director, SDSC, said the sub-orbital flight of ISRO’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle(GSLV MarkIII) will take place from Sriharikota in the next 30 to 45 days. The GSLV MkIII is the heaviest andbiggest launch vehicle built by ISRO. It is 42.4 metres tall and weighs 630 tonnes. It will carry a crewmodule, which is a forerunner to India sending its astronauts into space.

The Hindu, science & tech, navigation satellites, IRNSS, ISRO, space, GSLV Mark III flight,Thu, Oct 16, 2014

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The crew module, however, will not carry any Indian astronauts in the coming GSLV-Mark III flight. Thecrew module will return to the earth. It will splash down in the sea near Port Blair and recovered.

The IRNSS-1C, the third of the seven navigation satellites in the Indian Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS),has wide-ranging applications in terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation. From vehicle tracking to fleetmanagement and from disaster management to mapping, the satellite extends services to its clients.

The IRNSS-C1 carried two types of payloads, one for transmitting navigation service signals to the usersand another consisting of a C-band transponder to facilitate Cube Retro Reflectors for laser ranging.

The first two satellites in the series, IRNSS 1A and IRNSS 1B were launched from Sriharikota on July 1 2013and April 4 this year respectively.

GSLV-Mark III launch in 45 days, says ISRO chief

In just 45 days from now, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) would launch its most ambitioussuborbital — less than the usual orbit- test flight — Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) MarkIII.

It will be an unmanned crew module. This will unleash India’s dream of sending its astronauts into spacecome true.

The GSLV Mark III will help ISRO put heavier communication satellites of INSAT-4 class into orbit. Thesesatellites weigh anywhere between 4,500-5,000 kg. The vehicle is 42.4 metre tall compared to the otherGSLV which is 49 metre. It will be a three-stage vehicle.

The launch of GSLV Mark III will enhance India’s capability to be a competitive player in the multimilliondollar commercial launch market.

The vehicle envisages multi-mission launch capability for GTO (geo transfer orbit), LEO (low earth orbit),Polar and intermediate circular orbits.

GSLV Mark III, The Hindu, science & tech, ISRO, space,Thu, Oct 16, 2014

Comet Siding Spring: ISRO re-positions its Mars Orbitersiding spring, MOM, Mars Orbiter , The Hindu, science & tech, ISRO, space,

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ndian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has repositioned its Mars Orbiter, as the national space agency,along with its counterparts around the world, is expecting Comet Siding Spring to fly by the Red Planet onOctober 19.

ISRO, NASA and other space agencies in the world, which have sent their missions to the Red Planet havetaken precautionary measures to save their satellites from any possible collision with the space debris,which might be facilitated by the movement of the Comet near Mars.

Thu, Oct 16, 2014

Lockheed makes breakthrough in nuclear fusion

Lockheed Martin Corp said on Wednesday it had made a technological breakthrough in developing apower source based on nuclear fusion, and the first reactors, small enough to fit on the back of a truck,could be ready for use in a decade.

Initial work demonstrated the feasibility of building a 100-megawatt reactor measuring seven feet by 10feet, which could fit on the back of a large truck, and is about 10 times smaller than current reactors

it would build and test a compact fusion reactor in less than a year, and build a prototype in five years.

Lockheed’s work on fusion energy could help in developing new power sources amid increasing globalconflicts over energy, and as projections show there will be a 40 to 50 per cent increase in energy use overthe next generation,

nuclear fusion as a potential energy source that is safer and more efficient than current reactors based onnuclear fission.

Lockheed sees the project as part of a comprehensive approach to solving global energy and climatechange problems. Compact nuclear fusion would produce far less waste than coal-powered plants since itwould use deuterium-tritium fuel, which can generate nearly 10 million times more energy than the sameamount of fossil fuels, the company said.

Ultra-dense deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen, is found in the earth’s oceans, and tritium is made fromnatural lithium deposits. It said future reactors could use a different fuel and eliminate radioactive wastecompletely.

nuclear fusion, nuclear, The Hindu, science & tech, energy,Thu, Oct 16, 2014

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ISRO launches IRNSS-1C from Sriharikota

It was yet another text book launch of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C26) carrying the 1,425-kgIndian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS-1C) from Sriharikota at 1.32 a.m.

The IRNSS-1C was the third satellite (of the total seven) of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite Systemwith four more such satellites planned to be launched before 2015.

IRNSS-1C is part of the series of seven satellites the ISRO is planning to launch to put in place what is calledthe Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System. Today’s launch marked the first time that India hasconducted four orbital launches in a year.

ISRO had aimed to launch the satellite into a sub-Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit with a 284 km perigee(nearest point to Earth) and 20,650 km apogee (farthest point to Earth) with an inclination of 17.86 degreewith respect to the equatorial plane.

“PSLV C26 has precisely placed IRNSS-1C in its orbit,” ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan said, describing thesuccessful launch.

The IRNSS system, which would ultimately have seven satellites and ground stations, was targeted to becompleted by 2015 at a total cost of Rs 1,420 crore, ISRO sources said.

The fully deployed IRNSS system would consist of three satellites in geostationary orbit and four in inclinedgeosynchronous orbit, about 36,000 km altitude above the earth.

The first two satellites in the series — IRNSS-1A and IRNSS-1B were launched in July last year and April thisyear, respectively.

With GSAT-14 launched in January, IRNSS-1B in April and SPOT-7 in June, today’s was the fourth orbitallaunch this year.

The IRNSS navigational system would provide two types of services — Standard Positioning Service, whichis provided to all the users and Restricted Service, which is an encrypted service provided only to theauthorised users.

IRNSS’ applications include terrestrial and marine navigation, disaster management, vehicle tracking andfleet management, navigation aide for hikers and travellers, visual and voice navigation for drivers.

Regional Navigational Satellite, science & tech, IRNSS, ISRO, space, Businessline,Thu, Oct 16, 2014

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While India is developing its navigation system, a select group of countries have their own navigationsystems — Russia’s Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), United States’ GlobalPositioning System (GPS), European Union’s Galileo (GNSS), China’s BeiDou Satellite Navigation System andJapan’s Quasi-Zenith Satellite System.

The ISRO chairman also said GSLV Mark III, one of Indian Space Research Organisation’s biggest projectsthis year, which would test India’s ability to launch four plus tonne payload, would be launched within thenext 45 days.

“After GSLV Mark III launch, we have GSAT 16 launch from French Guyana, which will carry 48transponders. Next is the launch of IRNSS-1D in December,” he added

IRNSS-1C successfully put in its orbit

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is gearing up for the first suborbital test flight of GSLV MarkIII experimental mission with unmanned crew module within 45 days taking a step closer to sendingastronauts into space.The Mark III will be one of the heaviest indigenous launch vehicles, The MARK IIIlaunch is designed to make ISRO self-reliant in launching heavier communication satellites weighing 4,500to 5,000 kg and enhances the country’s capability to be a competitive player in the multi-million dollarcommercial launch market.

PSLV C26 has precisely placed IRNSS-1C in its orbit. In the last four days, nearly 1,000 members wereinvolved round-the-clock in making the mission a success, said Radhakrishnan.

The PSLV C26 carried the 1,425-kg Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS-1C). It was the 27thstraight successful launch of ISRO’s workhorse vehicle.

The IRNSS-1C was the third satellite (of the total seven) of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite Systemwith four more planned to be launched before 2015. Similar in composition to its predecessors 1A and 1B,it is an independent regional satellite system designed to provide accurate position information service tousers in the country as well as the region extending up to 1,500 km from its boundary.

The IRNSS-1C carried two types of payload – navigation and ranging. The navigation will transmitnavigation service signals.

Regional Navigational Satellite, science & tech, isro, IRNSS, space, Businessline,Thu, Oct 16, 2014

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It is “Make In India” In Space, Said Dr Jitendra Singh Soon After the SuccessfulLaunch of Pslv-C26

this is not only the 27th consecutive successful PSLV launch but this has also successfully placed in the skythe third Navigation Space Satellite prepared by Indian scientists through indigenous means and with thelaunching of the fourth such Navigation Satellite scheduled in December, it would be possible to initiatenavigational operations by India successfully through its own self-sufficient means.

There are four more such navigation satellites to be placed in the sky and with the completion of all theseven in the series of Indian Research Navigation Space Satellite (IRNSS),the Indian space scientists will beable to focus on the region comprising India and surrounding areas, which would also give it a leadershiprole in the area of Space Technology in the Indian subcontinent,

irnss, Pslv, make in india, PIB, science & tech, ISRO, space,Thu, Oct 16, 2014

PSLV-C26 Successfully Launches India's Third Navigation Satellite IRNSS-1C

ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C26, successfully launched IRNSS-1C, the third satellite in theIndian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS)

After a flight of about 20 minutes 18 seconds, IRNSS-1C Satellite, weighing 1425 kg, was injected to anelliptical orbit of 282.56 km X 20,670 km, which is very close to the intended orbit.

IRNSS-1C is the third of the seven satellites constituting the space segment of the Indian RegionalNavigation Satellite System. IRNSS-1A and IRNSS-1B, the first two satellites of the constellation, weresuccessfully launched by PSLV on July 02, 2013 and April 04, 2014 respectively. Both IRNSS-1A and 1B arefunctioning satisfactorily from their designated geosynchronous orbital positions.

IRNSS would provide two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning Services (SPS) - provided to allusers – and Restricted Services (RS), provided to authorised users.

The entire IRNSS constellation of seven satellites is planned to be completed by 2015.

PSLV, PIB, science & tech, IRNSS, ISRO, space,Thu, Oct 16, 2014

WTO ‘for’ US meat exports; Indian poultry eaters at increased risk of antibioticresistanceWTO, Down to Earth, antibiotic resistance, science & tech,

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India’s measures against avian influenza were termed as ‘inconsistent’ by WTO

ndian consumers are at a greater risk of exposure to antibiotic resistance from the consumption of poultrymeat reared with antibiotics. This is due to Tuesday’s ruling of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on thedispute between India and the US on the former’s avian influenza-related restrictions on importing USagricultural products.

The WTO termed India’s avian influenza (AI) restrictions as “inconsistent”, saying that they are not based onrelevant international standards or on scientific risk assessment. In addition, the WTO also said theseprotection measures “constitute a disguised restriction on international trade”.

This ruling opens the door to an increased market access for US agricultural products, including poultry.The export of poultry products, including poultry meat and eggs, alone could contribute to US $300 million.Under the WTO rules, India has 60 days to appeal against the ruling.

In 2007, India had restricted the import of US products, including poultry meat, eggs and live pigs, in orderto prevent the entry of AI from the US. The US, in 2012, requested for consultations with India under thedispute settlement provisions of WTO.

This is in contrast to the revelations made by a Reuters investigative report [3] , released last month, onhow poultry firms in the US routinely feed antibiotics to chickens.

The report revealed the systematic administration of antibiotics in feed by major US poultry firms. Somefarms also administered antibiotics termed “critically important” in human medicine by the US Food andDrug Administration (FDA).

Eighty per cent of all antibiotics sold in the US are used for the production of food-producing animals andnot for humans The absence of mandatory measures by the US government increases the rampant use ofantibiotics for the production of food-producing animals.

The US FDA has put in place only voluntary guidelines, since 2013, for limiting the non-therapeutic use ofantibiotics.This includes growth promotion and disease prevention in food-producing animals.

Thu, Oct 16, 2014

PSLV launch on October 16; to carry navigation satelliteRegional Navigational Satellite, The Hindu, PSLV, science & tech, isro, IRNSS, space,

Wed, Oct 15, 2014

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A Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C26) carrying the 1,425-kg Indian Regional Navigational SatelliteSystem (IRNSS-1C) will be launched from Sriharikota at 1.32 a.m. on Thursday.

The PSLV-C26 is a four-stage vehicle, with the first and third stages using solid propellants and the secondand fourth, liquid fuel.

The IRNSS-1C, part of a constellation of seven satellites, will help in terrestrial, aerial and sea navigation.Civilian aircraft can use them for cruising, approaching an airport to land and during landing. In defence,they will aid missiles to reach their targets accurately or in way-pointing them to circumvent hills. Theatomic clocks on the satellites will help missiles in executing their manoeuvres at the appointed time.

MAVEN beams first images from Martian atmosphere

NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft has provided scientists their first lookat a storm of Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs) in the Red Planet.

The SEPs are streams of high-speed particles blasted from the sun during explosive solar activities likeflares or coronal mass ejections (CMEs).

Around Earth, SEP storms can damage the sensitive electronics on satellites. At Mars, they are thought tobe one possible mechanism for driving atmospheric loss.

MAVEN has clicked unprecedented ultraviolet images of the tenuous oxygen, hydrogen, and carboncoronas surrounding the Red Planet, and yielded a comprehensive map of highly-variable ozone in theatmosphere underlying the coronas,

“With these observations, MAVEN has obtained the most complete picture of the extended Martian upperatmosphere ever made,

MAVEN, solar energetic particles, NASA, The Hindu, science & tech, space,Wed, Oct 15, 2014

Dr. Jitendra Singh Launch’s A Joint Indo-Canadian Science Programme Focusing onClean Water Technolocanada, clean water, PIB, science & tech, drinking water,

Wed, Oct 15, 2014

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joint collaboration between the Department of Science & Technology under his ministry and the NationalScience and Engineering Council of Canada. This joint venture would enable building up of ‘Safe andSustainable Infrastructure’ and ‘Integrated Water Management’, thus addressing the vital aspects related toeffective water management and clean water supply,

MOM gears up for comet fly-by

A little past midnight on October 20, MOM — millions of kilometres from its earthly home — will be privyto an astronomically significant fly-past of Comet Siding Spring. MOM will duck for cover behind Mars, likethe NASA missions there;

Comet watchers say Siding Spring is passing through the Solar System for the first time and that it willapproach Mars at a tenth of the distance any comet has visited Earth.

For MOM, as well as the handful of NASA missions exploring Mars, the comet’s fly-by is both a spectacleand a hazard. As it departs, Siding Spring’s large dust trail can potentially wreak havoc on the sensitiveelectronic devices of earthly spacecraft and disable them.

Siding Spring, The Hindu, science & tech, ISRO, space, MOM Mission,Tue, Oct 14, 2014

PSLV-C26 to be Launched in the Early Hours of 16th Oct

ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C26, is now scheduled on Thursday, October 16, 2014 fromSatish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota.

IRNSS-1C, the third satellite of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, has already been integratedwith PSLV-C26 and the final phase of checks is progressing.

Regional Navigation Satellite, PSLV, PIB, science & tech, IRNSS, ISRO, space,Tue, Oct 14, 2014

Jharkhand government fails to control spread of Japanese encephalitisDown to Earth, japanese encephalitis, science & tech, health,

Tue, Oct 14, 2014

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In September, the district health department had claimed that the disease has been controlled after amassive fogging drive. This morning he, however, confessed, “We are trying our best to control the spreadof JE. The district will now start another fogging drive to kill mosquitoes.”

JE is a vector-borne disease and is transmitted by mosquitoes. At that time, the district administration hadlaunched a public awareness campaign in Hindi and Santhali language to control its spread. The disease,however, gradually spread to 11 districts.

Suspected Ebola case in Manipur; Northeast mounts strict vigil

Scrutiny has been increased after a Japanese tourist, suspected of having Ebola, was shifted to isolation atImphal in Manipur.

Doctors suspected that her symptoms were identical to that of Ebola and immediately admitted her to theJawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS)

All tests for kidney and liver function, malaria, typhoid and complete haemogram have turned out negativeso far.

The Manipur government, meanwhile, has set up Ebola screening gates for passengers at the Imphalairport and at the international border with Myanmar at Moreh.

The state government is also monitoring the health of foreign football players who are associated withseveral football clubs in the state.

“We are monitoring the players’ health for any symptoms associated with Ebola.

Tripura receives a large number of people from Bangladesh. Since many Bangladeshis also work in Africancountries where there is an Ebola outbreak, Chatterjee fears an outbreak of the disease in theneighbouring country.

Down to Earth, Ebola outbreak, science & tech,Tue, Oct 14, 2014

Not so Nobel recordscience & tech, Nobel Prize, Businessline,

Mon, Oct 13, 2014

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Why does India, with its army of engineers and doctors, bag so few science Nobels? Unlike the Nobelawards for literature and peace, excellence in science (and economics, for that matter) is linked to acountry’s quality of education. We have killed the basic sciences in our pursuit of applied science courses,only to be left with many mediocre engineers who would prefer being marketing managers. The only hopefor science education lies in reversing this bias against basic science. The opening of five Institutes ofScience Education and Research (IISER) since 2006 is welcome, but more are needed. Besides, the entranceexam for the IISERs is the same as that for the IITs (the IIT-JEE), reinforcing the prevailing bias in favour of‘technology’ courses. After the top few make it to the IITs, the rest qualify for the IISERs. These institutes,however, confront a major problem: the wall between science teaching and research, even as each needsthe other to survive.

Unwilling to take on cussed university bureaucracies, the government created separate research institutessuch as the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, National Physical Laboratory and NationalChemical Laboratory while leaving teaching to the universities. Today, both university science departmentsand research establishments are in bad shape. The same holds true for opening pure science colleges aspart of universities. Science teaching should be thrown open to foreign faculty. This will challenge thelethargy and power of vested interests in academia, creating an enabling atmosphere for researchers andteachers, who may otherwise explore options in the US and Europe.

Institutions such as IISER should be located in a university ambience, which offers courses in socialsciences and the humanities. That our universities are unable to offer a flexible combination of subjects, asin the US, suggests that they need to be exposed to competition.

New research brings superfast quantum computers closer

Australian researchers have developed two new types of ‘quantum bits’ that process data with more than99 per cent accuracy, overcoming a critical challenge that has held back the realisation of super powerfulquantum computers.

have created the quantum bits, or “qubits” — the building blocks for quantum computers — that eachprocess quantum data with an accuracy above 99 per cent.

The high-accuracy operations for both natural and artificial atom qubits is achieved by placing each insidea thin layer of specially purified silicon, containing only the silicon-28 isotope.

This isotope is perfectly non-magnetic and, unlike those in naturally occurring silicon, does not disturb thequantum bit.

science & tech, computing, quantum computers, Businessline, nanotechnology,Mon, Oct 13, 2014

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Lab-made stem cells provide breakthrough in type 1 diabetes cure

Scientists have succeeded in transforming stem cells into insulin-producing cells, in a significantbreakthrough towards finding the cure for type 1 diabetes. In this disease, the body is unable to produceinsulin, a hormone that controls metabolism of carbohydrates and fats. Type 1 diabetes is usuallydiagnosed in children and young adults and requires that insulin injections are given after each meal.

showed that the lab-made cells were able to produce insulin and regulate glucose levels for severalmonths.

More research is, however, required to develop this breakthrough into a cure for humans. If these cellswere injected into a patient in their current form, the body’s immune system would destroy them.

stem cells, Down to Earth, diabetes, science & tech, health,Mon, Oct 13, 2014

Brightness at night

This year’s Nobel Prize for physics awarded to Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano of Nagoya University inJapan and Shuji Nakamura of the University of California at Santa Barbara, goes beyond recognising theirinvention that is of “greatest benefit to mankind”. It befittingly rewards them for their perseverance andtenacity and for daring to “challenge established truths”. The first major practical difficulty to be overcomewas growing high-quality gallium nitride crystals using a suitable substrate. The duo finally tasted successin 1986 even as others moved on to different materials;

If the arrival of brighter fluorescent lamps in the 20th century reduced electricity consumption comparedwith tungsten lamps, the advent of compact fluorescent lamps led to a further substantial drop inelectricity consumption. However, LED technology has made all the other lamp technologies redundantwith the superior brightness per wattage that it offers; the white light produced by LED has become agame-changer in lighting technology. Unlike the other lighting options, where a certain proportion of theelectricity is converted into heat and is wasted, LED technology allows for direct conversion of all electricityinto light, thereby increasing efficiency. With nearly 20 to 30 per cent of electricity worldwide being usedfor lighting, the widespread use of LEDs will lead to significant gains. Besides being energy-efficient, LEDsare environment-friendly as no mercury is used to make them. Currently, blue LED is used to produce redand green light by exciting phosphor. But dynamic control of colour composition can be achieved by using

LEDs, nobel prize, The Hindu, science & tech,Fri, Oct 10, 2014

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LEDs of all the three colours; this may happen in the future. In about two decades after blue LED came intobeing, it has revolutionised white light production. It remains to be seen if any another path-breakingtechnology can ever displace the LED

Turning an optical microscope into a nanoscope

Nobel Prize for Chemistry has been equally divided among the Laureates Eric Betzig, Stefan W. Hell andWilliam E. Moerner for having bypassed a presumed scientific limitation stipulating that an opticalmicroscope can never yield a resolution better than 0.2 micrometres (half the wavelength of light).

Using the fluorescence of molecules, scientists can now monitor the interplay between individualmolecules inside cells; they can observe disease-related proteins aggregate and they can track cell divisionat the nanolevel.

Despite the advantages, the optical microscope suffers from a major drawback — a physical restriction asto what size of structures is possible to resolve. Ernst Abbe in 1873 said that microscope resolution islimited by, among other things, the wavelength of the light (0.2 micrometres).

The three have taken optical microscopy into a new dimension using fluorescent molecules. Two differentprinciples have been able to do this and they developed independently of each other.

The Hindu, science & tech, Nobel Prize,Wed, Oct 8, 2014

A prize for illuminating lives with blue light

A prize for illuminating lives with blue light

This year the Nobel prize in physics goes to Isamu Akasaki, Meijo University and Nagoya University, HiroshiAmano, Nagoya University, and Shuji Nakamura, University of California, Santa Barbara, for inventing theblue light emitting diode (blue LED) 20 years ago.

After the announcement, when asked how he felt on being awarded the Nobel Prize, Akasaki said “It’sunbelievable.”

“Their inventions were revolutionary. Incandescent bulbs lit the 20th century; the 21st century will be lit byLED lamps,” notes a statement by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards the Nobel Prizes.

LEDs, nobel prize, The Hindu, science & tech,Wed, Oct 8, 2014

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This is a prize that would be after Alfred Nobel’s own heart, because he had intended that the prizesshould go to those who have “conferred the greatest benefit to mankind.”

The blue LED forms the long-awaited third in the set (red, green were already produced) of coloured LEDsthat can together produce white light, in a way that is environment-friendly and energy-efficient. The blueLED can also be made to excite a phosphor into emitting red and green lights, with the mixture yieldingwhite light.

LEDs basically consist of a junction of p-type (electron deficient or hole rich) and n-type (electron rich)semiconductors. When a voltage is applied across this junction, the holes and electrons flow across thejunction and recombine, in the process, releasing light.

They do not use mercury or any such gas as is used in the fluorescent light. This makes them environmentfriendly. They do not require a filament to get heated and glow to shed light unlike the case of the tungstenlight bulb.

the LEDS directly convert electricity to light particles. As a result, there is greater efficiency; in the other twocases, a great part of the electricity gets converted to heat.

Yet, the extraordinary difficulty in making LEDs that give off blue light of significant strength delayed thefabrication of the blue LED to the early 1990s,

How we get a sense of place and navigate

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2014 has been divided among three scientists with one halfbeing awarded to John O'Keefe of University College, London, and the other half shared by May-BrittMoser of the Centre for Neural Computation, Trondheim, Norway and Edvard I. Moser of Kavli Institute forSystems Neuroscience, Trondheim, Norway “for their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioningsystem in the brain.”

Their discoveries tell us how we are able to get a sense of place in any given environment and an ability tonavigate. If the sense of place gives us a perception of the position with respect to the environment, theability to navigate is linked to the direction and distance from the previous positions. In effect, the twotogether provide us with an internal positioning or “inner GPS” with respect to the environment.

The Hindu, science & tech, Nobel Prize,Wed, Oct 8, 2014

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2 Americans, 1 German win Chemistry Nobel

American scientists Eric Betzig and William Moerner and Germany's Stefan Hell won the 2014 Nobel Prizefor chemistry for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy, the award-giving body saidon Wednesday.

the three scientists' research had made it possible to study molecular processes in real time.

"Due to their achievements the optical microscope can now peer into the nanoworld,"

nobel prize, science & tech, fluroescence microscopy, Businessline,Wed, Oct 8, 2014

IISc develops system to deliver drugs to individual cells

A system to package and deliver drugs to each cell of human body

The “Nanocapsules”, made from a special type of material, can now deliver drugs right inside cancer-affected cells in the body, says a Gubbi Labs release

“Drug delivery systems” are mechanisms that can be programmed to release drug molecules at targetedcells in the body, using physiological cues present in the body itself.

There are three ideal characteristics that a drug delivery system should have — the entire drug moleculeshould be encapsulated, which would prevent its premature release or degradation; it should carry thedrug safely — and specifically — to the target site; and at the target site, it should release the drugmolecules using the local physiological cues available.

Hollow nanocapsules were fabricated from special materials called biopolymers, which are materials thatdo not react with body tissues.

These nanocapsules contain components that can respond to local cues integrated in the walls. To avoidpremature release of the drug, the walls are cross-linked; this sort of architecture gives scope to load largeamounts of drugs into the capsule.

The wall structure also makes it possible for a small amount of local cues, like enzymes, to trigger therelease of a large number of drug molecules.

science & tech, drug delivery system, health, Businessline, nanocapsules,Wed, Oct 8, 2014

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Eric Betzig, William Moerner, Stefan Hell win 2014 Nobel Prize in chemistry

US scientists Eric Betzig and William Moerner and German scientist Stefan Hell won the 2014 Nobel Prize inchemistry on Wednesday for their contribution to nanoscopy with their development of “super-resolvedfluorescence microscopy”.

optical microscopy was held back by a presumed limitation: that it would never obtain a better resolutionthan half the wavelength of light.

In nanoscopy, scientists visualize the pathways of individual molecules inside living cells. They can see howmolecules create synapses between nerve cells in the brain; can track proteins involved in Parkinson’s,Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s diseases as they aggregate; they follow individual proteins in fertilized eggsas these divide into embryos. In 1873, microscopist Ernst Abbe had stipulated the physical limit for themaximum resolution of traditional optical microscopy could never become better than 0.2 micrometres.But Betzig, Hell and Moerner have successfully bypassed this limit.

This has been achieved through two separate principles. One enables the method stimulated emissiondepletion (STED) microscopy, developed by Stefan Hell in 2000. Two laser beams are utilized; onestimulates fluorescent molecules to glow, another cancels out all fluorescence except for that in ananometre-sized volume. Scanning over the sample, nanometre for nanometre, yields an image with aresolution better than Abbe’s stipulated limit. German scientist Hell is the director at the Max PlanckInstitute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen, and division head at the German Cancer Research Center,Heidelberg, Germany.

Eric Betzig (54 years) and William Moerner (61 years), working separately, laid the foundation for thesecond method, single-molecule microscopy. The method relies upon the possibility to turn thefluorescence of individual molecules on and off. Scientists image the same area multiple times, letting justa few interspersed molecules glow each time. Superimposing these images yields a dense super-imageresolved at the nanolevel

fluorescence microscopy, Down to Earth, science & tech, Nobel Prize,Wed, Oct 8, 2014

Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano, Shuji Nakamura win physics NobelThe Hindu, science & tech, Nobel Prize,

Tue, Oct 7, 2014

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Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano of Japan and U.S. scientist Shuji Nakamura won the Nobel Prize inphysics on Tuesday for the invention of blue light-emitting diodes a new energy efficient and environment-friendly light source.

The laureates triggered a transformation of lighting technology when they produced bright blue light fromsemiconductors in the 1990s, something scientist had struggled with for decades, the Nobel committeesaid.

Using the blue light, LED lamps emitting white light could be created in a new way.

“As about one fourth of world electricity consumption is used for lighting purposes, the LEDs contribute tosaving the Earth’s resources,” the committee said.

NASA selects new science teams for astrobiology research

NASA has awarded five-year grants totalling almost US $ 50 million to seven research teams in the U.S. tostudy the origins, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe.

“With the Curiosity rover characterising the potential habitability of Mars, the Kepler mission discoveringnew planets outside our solar system, and Mars 2020 on the horizon, these research teams will providethe critical interdisciplinary expertise to help interpret data from these missions and future astrobiology-focused missions,

The team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California will conduct laboratory experimentsand field research in environments on Earth, such as The Cedars in Northern California, to understandhabitability of extraterrestrial icy worlds such as Europa and Ganymede.

The SETI Institute in Mountain View, California will conduct research to produce guiding principles to betterunderstand where to search for life, what to search for, and how to recognise finding evidence of past orcurrent life.

NASA, science & tech, astrobiology, Businessline, Space,Tue, Oct 7, 2014

Three find their way to Nobel Prize in physiology and medicinenobel prize, Down to Earth, science & tech, health,

Tue, Oct 7, 2014

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John O´Keefe from the US, May-Britt Moser and Edvard I Moser from Norway share this year's Nobel Prizein physiology and medicine for deciphering how our brain works to help us find our way around.

We do this with the help of cells in our brains. These help us figure out where we are and how we go fromone place to another. The cells also save this information. John O´Keefe was the first to identify these cellsin 1971. He found that a type of nerve cell in an area of the brain called the hippocampus, was alwaysactivated when a rat was at a certain place in a room.

Both these findings explain how the brain creates a map of the space surrounding us and how we navigateour way through a complex environment. The research has opened new avenues for understanding othercognitive processes, such as memory, thinking and planning. In patients with Alzheimer´s disease, cells inthe hippocampus and entorhinal cortex are affected in the early stages of the disease and are not allowedto find their way. Knowledge about the GPS in our brain may help us understand how the disease affectsmemory in patients and eventually help find treatments.

Inventors of blue LEDs win Nobel Prize in physics

This year’s Nobel Prize in physics has been awarded to Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano from Japan andShuji Nakamura from the USA for their invention of blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs) which made itpossible to make white LED lamps.

Though red and green diodes had been around for a long time, without blue light, white lamps could nothave been made. Despite considerable efforts both in the scientific community and industry, the blue LEDhad remained a challenge for three decades.

The trio produced bright blue light beams from their semi-conductors in the early 1990s and triggered afundamental transformation in lighting technology. These emit a bright white light, are long-lasting andenergy-efficient.

They have high luminous flux (measured in lumen) per unit electrical input of power (measured in watt).The value is as high as 300 lm/W compared to 16 lm/W for regular light bulbs and less than 70 forfluorescent lamps. LEDs last up to 100,000 hours, compared to 1,000 for incandescent bulbs and 10,000hours for fluorescent lights. As LED lamps require less power, they can be powered by cheap local solarpower and can help people who have not yet been connected to the grid.

LEDs, Down to Earth, science & tech, Nobel Prize,Tue, Oct 7, 2014

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Billions of people around the world have no access to electricity yet and are forced to mould their lives tonatural light.

Three share Nobel for medicine

U.S.-British scientist John O’Keefe and Norwegian married couple May—Britt Moser and Edvard Moser wonthe Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for discovering the brain’s positioning system.

This “inner GPS” helps explain how the brain creates “a map of the space surrounding us and how we cannavigate our way through a complex environment,” the Nobel Assembly said.

O’Keefe, of University College London, discovered the first component of this positioning system in 1971when he found that a certain type of nerve cell was always activated when a rat was at a certain place in aroom.

It said that knowledge about the brain’s positioning system may “help us understand the mechamismunderpinning the devastating spatial memory loss” that affects people with Alzheimer’s disease.

The Hindu, science & tech, Nobel Prize, health,Mon, Oct 6, 2014

India among five nations to build world's largest telescope

India along with Japan, the US, China and Canada will start work on the world’s biggest telescope on HawaiiIsland that will enable to identify an object as small as coin from a distance of 500 kms.

The 30-meter telescope will be established near the summit of the Mauna Kea volcano with a cost of $1.4billion.

The construction is expected to be completed by March 2022. Japan is expected to cover about a quarterof the construction costs.

The telescope will be larger than Japan’s Subaru Telescope, one of the world’s biggest, which was also builton the summit of Mauna Kea and started observation in 1999.

The Hindu, science & tech, largest telescope,Mon, Oct 6, 2014

8/12/2015 kiwipaper


The Subaru Telescope’s single main mirror measures 8.2 meters in diameter, while the new telescope willbe composed of 492 hexagonal mirrors, each measuring 72 cm across.

The telescope’s light-condensing capabilities will be 13 times greater than the Subaru telescope’s, enablingthe identification of an object as small as a coin from a distance equivalent to 500 kms.

A telescope with greater light-condensing capabilities can search for stars that are less bright or fartherfrom Earth. The most distant and oldest star observed to date was born some 800 million years after theBig Bang.

Indian navigational satellite’s launch postponed

The Indian rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) was slated to carry the Indian Regional NavigationalSatellite System-1C (IRNSS-1C) in the early hours of October 10.

The satellite is one of the series of satellites to be launched by India to build its own regional navigationalsystem.

Regional Navigational Satellite, The Hindu, science & tech, isro, space,Mon, Oct 6, 2014

ISRO to launch Canadian satellite

In view of the international restrictions on Russia over Ukraine, Canada has decided to sign a contract withAntrix, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), for the launch of its satellite,industry sources said here on Saturday.

t Antrix would be given the contract for the July 2015 launch of its M3M (Maritime Monitoring andMessaging Micro-Satellite) communications satellite.

The Hindu, science & tech, ISRO, space,Sun, Oct 5, 2014

Dr. Jitendra Singh says India’s youth is destined to lead tomorrow’s sciencePIB, science & tech, youth,

Sun, Oct 5, 2014

8/12/2015 kiwipaper


while India’s youth is destined to lead tomorrow’s science, it is the youth scientists who will leadtomorrow’s India.

Dwelling on the wide dimensions of “INSPIRE” (Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research)programme for the youth,

he cited the introduction of a scheme called “SEAT” – Scheme for Early Attraction of Talent, which aims toattract talented youth to study science by awarding them for their work and another scheme called “SHE” –Scholarship for Higher Education, which aims to encourage talented youth to undertake higher educationin science programmes by providing them scholarships and arranging for them summer attachment/fellowship with established researchers.

initially two students are selected from each middle and high school of the country, who then participate indistrict-level project competition, following which the best 5-10% entries from the district level are selectedfor participation at the State level and eventually the best 5% entries from the State go on to participate atthe national level.

ISRO's Mars Mission

The Indian Space Research Organisation's Mangalyaan mission is a remarkable success story. Over the lastfive decades of its existence, ISRO has notched up many successes and has played a key role in indigenousdevelopment of various technologies. However, one has yet to see any specifi c spin-offs in the civiliandomain of these fairly advanced technologies. ISRO was earlier closely involved in the development ofdual-use technologies, that involvement continues though the organisation has tended to downplay itsrole in military applications as it seeks to obtain a larger share of the global civilian space market.

The haste was understandable. Ideally, the more powerful Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)which would have put the spacecraft into a much higher orbit should have been used. However, given thatour indigenous GSLV is still not considered reliable (more on this later), the workhorse of the Indian spaceprogramme, the much less powerful Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) was used to launch thespacecraft into a lower orbit around the earth.

The spacecraft will now orbit Mars using its payload of scientific instruments to record variousobservations about the Martian atmosphere as well as the Martian soil. These observations, specificallyabout the presence of methane in the atmosphere, will lead to a better understanding of the chemistry of

mars, EPW, science & tech, ISRO, space,Sat, Oct 4, 2014

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Mars. The scientific objectives of the mission are modest and not much new insight is expected to begained about the Red Planet. However, the fact that the instruments are indigenously developed issignificant.

India’s space programme has come a long way from the setting up of the Indian National Committee forSpace Research (INCOSPAR) in 1962 under the chairmanship of Vikram Sarabhai. Just as India’s atomicenergy programme got to be identified with Homi Bhabha, Sarabhai’s name was synonymous with spaceresearch in India. In 1969, ISRO was founded and INCOSPAR disbanded.

From modest beginnings of launching sounding rockets from Thumba, near Thiruvananthapuram, to themassive infrastructure that exists today, ISRO has come a long way. With a budget of about Rs 7,500 croreand employing about 18,000 people directly, ISRO has fabricated satellites, developed launch vehicles andeven launched Chandrayaan, a successful unmanned mission to the Moon. It is developing the expertisefor a landing on the Moon as well as a human spaceflight programme though that is still sometime in thefuture.

Satellites need launch vehicles and it is here that ISRO’s report card is mixed. Though the first satellitelaunch vehicle (SLV) was successfully launched in 1979, it was with the development and deployment of thePSLV in 1993 that the programme really took off. The PSLV remains the most successful launch vehicledeveloped by ISRO with more than 25 successful launches which have taken 65 spacecrafts or satellitesinto orbit. This includes the Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan.

However, the PSLV does not have the capability to launch heavier satellites thereby severely restricting thescope of its use. For launching heavy payloads into space (like, for instance, the INSAT series satelliteswhich weigh around 2,000-2,500 kg), a much more powerful vehicle is required and this was what led tothe start of the GSLV programme. Started in 1990, the purpose of the programme was to develop a launchvehicle to deploy geosynchronous satellites, the ones which are most useful for communications andbroadcasting. For this purpose, the crucial piece of technology was the cryogenic engine which is added asa third stage to the existing components from the PSLV.

The cryogenic engine and its related technological infrastructure were to be initially supplied by theRussians and thereafter developed indigenously with the transfer of technology. In 1992, the USthreatened to impose sanctions on both the Russian agency Glavkosmos and ISRO for violating the MissileTechnology Control Regime (MTCR) if the technology was sold to India. Though ostensibly the reason forthe sanctions was the dual-use nature of the technology (in satellite launch vehicles as well as missiles),there was undoubtedly a commercial angle to the threat. The satellite launch business is very lucrative andthe US did not want another competitor.

After a series of failures, it was only in January 2014 that the first indigenously produced GSLV wassuccessfully launched.

8/12/2015 kiwipaper


“Like nuclear energy, we could cross the divide whenever we wanted.” The Defence Research andDevelopment Organisation (DRDO) and ISRO had very close links as was evident from the movement ofpersonnel between these organisations, the most notable being A P J Abdul Kalam who started with theDRDO before going to ISRO and then returning to the DRDO.

The use of rocket technology for defence became important once India crossed the nuclear rubicon sincenuclear weapons without delivery vehicles are not of much use. The development of ballistic missiles likePrithvi and Agni, capable of carrying nuclear warheads, was deemed to be essential for deterrence whichformed an integral part of the defence doctrine. The close links between the missile and the spaceprogramme proved to be essential not just for engine development but also for guidance and trackingsystems. This indigenous development of all the systems was especially crucial since the MTCR regimeprohibited the import of certain critical components.

GSLV development too had a very definite military objective. An essential component of the strategicdefence doctrine was inclusion of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), which is the Agni series with anenhanced range. The capability to hit targets in the 5,000-km range with nuclear missiles was deemed tobe important especially to deter China.

ISRO’s not-so-stellar record in the widespread dissemination of technology has not stopped the drumbeaters to use it as an example of Indian ingenuity and “frugal engineering” to attract foreign capital toIndian manufacturing. Sending a successful mission to Mars is obviously something to be proud of.However, it is not clear whether it can be used as an example of manufacturing prowess required for the“Make in India” slogan to work. The gap between running a dedicated, focused technological mission andimproving the general level of manufacturing competence and quality is huge. Slogans alone will do littleto bridge this gap.

ISRO to launch IRNSS 1C on Oct 10

ISRO will launch the third of seven series of satellites to put in place India’s own navigation system on parwith US’ Global Positioning System (GPS) from the spaceport of Sriharikota on October 10.

The IRNSS 1C satellite would be launched on the 28th flight of India’s PSLV-C26 from the Satish DhawanSpace Centre at Sriharikota, some 100 km from here.

As part of its aspirations to build a regional navigational system equivalent to Global Positioning System ofthe US, ISRO plans to send seven satellites to put in place the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System(IRNSS).

science & tech, IRNSS, ISRO, space, Businessline,Fri, Oct 3, 2014

8/12/2015 kiwipaper


The first two satellites in the series, IRNSS 1A and IRNSS 1B were launched from Sriharikota on July 1 2013and April 4 this year respectively.

ISRO needs to launch at least four of the seven satellites to start operations of the IRNSS, ISRO officialssaid.

Being developed by India, IRNSS is designed to provide accurate position information service to users inthe country as well as the region extending upto 1,500 km from its boundary, which is its primary servicearea.

IRNSS’ applications include terrestrial and marine navigation, disaster management, vehicle tracking andfleet management.

IRNSS is similar to US’ Global Positioning System, Russia’s Glonass and Europe’s Galileo. China and Japanalso have similar systems, ‘Beidou’ and ‘Quasi Zenith’, ISRO officials said.

ISRO set for Oct. 10 launch of navigation satellite

Indian Space Research Organisation, fresh from the success of its Mars mission, has unveiled its nextmundane campaign starting with the launch of the third regional navigation satellite on Oct. 10.

IRNSS-1C will be the third piece in the Indian navigation fleet dubbed the “Indian GPS”.

It will be flown on the indigenous PSLV-C26 rocket from Sriharikota at 1.56 a.m., according to an ISROupdate on Wednesday.

The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System is a seven-satellite fleet. It is being put up to ensure preciseinformation on location and time for civil and military users on land, sea and air.

It will also help manage transport fleet, provide aid for hikers and travellers, in disaster management, cellphone applications, mapping and driving. It can also support operations within a radius of 1,500 km in thesub-continent. The navigation fleet forms the troika of Indian satellites along with communication andearth observation (remote sensing) satellites. IRNSS-1A was sent to space in July 2013 and 1B in April thisyear. ISRO plans to complete the navigation ring within two years.

The Hindu, science & tech, navigation satellite, ISRO, space,Thu, Oct 2, 2014

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First US child dies from enterovirus D68

ongoing outbreak of a respiratory virus, enterovirus D68,

Enterovirus D68 typically causes flu-like symptoms, but in some cases it can cause wheezing and breathingproblems that may require hospitalisation.

Some enteroviruses, including D68, have been shown in rare cases in the past to be capable of causingneurologic symptoms and sudden muscle weakness.

Viruses in this family typically circulate in the late summer to early fall, before flu season begins in earnest.

If the seasons start to overlap, experts say the potential for dual infections could be particularly dangerousfor children with asthma.

There is no vaccine to prevent EV-D68, and frequent hand-washing is the best way to prevent it, expertssay.

enterovirus d68, science & tech, Health, Businessline,Thu, Oct 2, 2014

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