The Competition Master: Science and Tech

Showing posts with label Science and Tech. Show all posts

Decision on Bt. Brinjal not influenced by NGO: Jairam Ramesh

Decision on Bt. Brinjal not influenced by NGO: Jairam Ramesh

Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh denied any NGO influencing his decision to put a moratorium on Bt Brinjal. He was responding quer...

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CERN to re-run Einstein tests in May after cable

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Physicists are to run new tests in May  after the CERN research institute said that its startling findings  appearing to show that one of Einstein's fundamental theories was wrong  could have been caused by a loose cable.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The CERN lab near Geneva appeared to contradict Albert Einstein's  1905 Special Theory of Relativity last year when they reported that  sub-atomic particles called neutrinos could travel fractionally faster  than light.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Einstein's theory, which underpins the current view of how the  universe works, says that nothing can travel faster than light, and  doing so would be like traveling back in time. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>CERN said two possible effects had been identified that could have  an influence on its neutrino timing measurement during its OPERA  experiment. "New measurements with short pulsed beams are scheduled for  May," it said in a statement.<br />
</li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>One effect concerned an oscillator used to provide the time stamps  for GPS (Global Positioning System) synchronizations, which could have  led scientists to overestimate the neutrino's time of flight.<br />
</li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>However, the other effect appeared to be more significant in the faster-than-light finding of the original OPERA experiment.<br />
</li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The second concerns the optical fiber connector that brings the  external GPS signal to the OPERA master clock, which may not have been  functioning correctly when the measurements were taken. If this is the  case, it could have led to an underestimate of the time of flight of the  neutrinos.<br />
</li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The faster-than-light finding was recorded when 15,000 neutrino  beams were pumped over three years from CERN to an underground Italian  laboratory at Gran Sasso near Rome.<br />
</li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Physicists on the experiment said when they reported it last  September that they had checked and rechecked over many months anything  that could have produced a misreading before announcing what they had  found. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span>Edward Blucher, chairman of the Department of Physics at the  University of Chicago, said the original finding would have been  breathtaking if it had been true. As it was, the research inspired many  spirited discussions, if few believers. </span></li>
</ul></div>

CERN to re-run Einstein tests in May after cable

Physicists are to run new tests in May after the CERN research institute said that its startling findings appearing to show that one of Ei...

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Five planets to be visible in rare celestial event

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="6067" style="display: block;">                                          <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span id="advenueINTEXT"> In a rare celestial  coincidence, as many  as five planets including Saturn will be visible in  the night for two  weeks starting from February 23.</span></li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span id="advenueINTEXT"> The planets that would be visible to naked  eye are Mercury, Venus,  Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Mars and Saturn are  already visible without  any optical aids....Mars can be seen in the  East with the naked eye  while Venus could be spotted towards west after  sunset till 9 pm and  Jupiter can be seen above Venus till 11 pm  (during two weeks).</span></li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span id="advenueINTEXT"> Mars is in Leo constellation and rises  about an hour after the sunset in  the eastern horizon. It can be  identified by its reddish hue and will  be seen almost throughout the  night and gradually moving closer to star  Regulus (Magha). In the  coming days Saturn will be seen in the east  close to midnight.</span></li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span id="advenueINTEXT"> Uranus which is normally faint in  appearance will be close to Venus and  hence can easily be spotted  without help of any specialised maps.</span></li>
</ul></div></div>

Five planets to be visible in rare celestial event

In a rare celestial coincidence, as many as five planets including Saturn will be visible in t...

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X-rays reveal why Moon has no active volcanoes

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span id="advenueINTEXT">Using powerful X-rays to  measure lunar  rock densities, a team of scientists have found why our  Moon, contrary  to Earth, has no active volcanoes, and traces of its past  volcanic  activity.</span></li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span id="advenueINTEXT"> The team led by Mirjam van Kan Parker and  Wim van Westrenen from VU  University Amsterdam suggest that the hot,  molten rock in the Moon’s  deep interior could be so dense that it is  simply too heavy to rise to  the surface like a bubble in water.</span> </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span id="advenueINTEXT">The driving force for  vertical movement of  magma is the density difference between the magma  and the surrounding  solid material, making the liquid magma move slowly  upwards like a  bubble. The lighter the liquid magma is, the more violent  the upward  movement will be.</span></li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span id="advenueINTEXT"> To determine the density of lunar magma,  Wim van Westrenen and his  colleagues synthesised moon rock in their  laboratory in Amsterdam, using  the composition derived from Apollo  samples as their recipe.</span></li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span id="advenueINTEXT">Small droplets of  titanium-rich glass  first found in Apollo 14 mission samples produce  liquid magma as dense  as the rocks found in the deepest parts of the  lunar mantle today. This  magma would not move towards the surface. And thats the reason volcanos  are not found on the moon.</span></li>
</ul></div>

X-rays reveal why Moon has no active volcanoes

Using powerful X-rays to measure lunar rock densities, a team of scientists have found why our Moon, contrary to Earth, has no active vo...

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Phytoplankton crucial to healthy planet

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Marine phytoplankton – the tiny,  single-celled algae, which act as a natural sponge for carbon dioxide  and are a critical part of the global carbon cycle – may play a key role  in ensuring the health of the planet, say a Canadian scientist.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>According to Maria (Maite) Maldonado, Canada Research Chair in  Phytoplankton Trace Metal Physiology at The University of British  Columbia, phytoplankton form the base of the ocean food chain, have an  integral role in controlling global warming and provide more than half  of our oxygen supply.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Each year, phytoplankton are responsible for converting about 45  gigatons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to organic carbon. Of  this, approximately 16 gigatons is transferred to the waters of the deep  ocean in a process commonly referred to as a “biological carbon pump.”  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The deep ocean is one of the Earth’s natural carbon “sinks” and will  hold carbon from the atmosphere for centuries. The biological carbon  pump controls the carbon dioxide content in the upper ocean, which in  turn regulates atmospheric carbon dioxide levels—and, as a result,  climate change.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Scientists have established that low iron concentrations in ocean  water limit phytoplankton growth, since phytoplankton use iron to  photosynthesize and grow. In these iron-limited environments (which make  up approximately 30 per cent of the global ocean), the biological pump  becomes inefficient and the ocean’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide  from the atmosphere is reduced. </li>
</ul></div>

Phytoplankton crucial to healthy planet

Marine phytoplankton – the tiny, single-celled algae, which act as a natural sponge for carbon dioxide and are a critical part of the glob...

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China loans two pandas to Canada

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;">China has loaned two rare giant pandas to Canada for a research program. </span></li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">The Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens (CAZG) on Feb 11  signed an agreement with two Canadian zoos in this regard in Chongqing  municipality in southwest China. </span></li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">The panda pair, both about five years old, will stay in Toronto and  Calgary zoos for five years each after they arrive in Canada early next  year, Xinhua reported. </span></li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">The male panda, named “Er Shun”, is from a zoo in Chongqing and the female “Ji Li” lives at a research centre in Chengdu. </span></li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Giant pandas are the world’s most endangered species. Currently,  only about 1,590 Giant pandas live in the wild, mostly confined to the  jungles in south-western China’s Sichuan province. About 300 others have  been bred in captivity. </span></li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper witnessed Saturday’s signing  ceremony. “They will be the first pair of pandas to visit Canada since  the 1980s,” Mr. Harper said. </span></li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Mr. Harper arrived in Beijing Tuesday on a five-day trip as a state  guest. He held talks with top Chinese leaders and witnessed the signing  of several bilateral agreements. He visited the southern economic hub of  Guangdong province before heading to Chongqing.</span></li>
</ul></div>

China loans two pandas to Canada

China has loaned two rare giant pandas to Canada for a research program. The Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens (CAZG) on Feb 11 si...

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Forest cover decreases by 376 sq km in the country

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="5942" style="display: block;">                                          <ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Twelve states and union territories of  the country have shown considerable decrease in forest cover to an  extent of 867 square kilometers. The forest cover in the country has  decreased by 376 square kilometers in comparison to the year 2009.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>It was revealed in the India State of Forest Report 2011, released  by the Secretary, Environment and Forest, T. Chatterjee in New Delhi. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li> The report says, the forest cover of the country is over 78 million  hectares which is 23.81 percent of the geographical area of the  country. It also further said that 15 states have registered an  aggregate increase of 500 square kilometers in their forest cover with  Punjab leading with increase of 100 square kilometers.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>On the other hand, 12 states have shown decrease to the extent of  867 square kilometers. The biennial report observed that decline of 281  square kilometers in forest cover of Andhra Pradesh, is mainly  attributed to harvesting of mature plantation of Eucalyptus and other  species.  </li>
</ul><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">While, decline has been observed in north east region due to prevailing practices of shifting cultivation in the region.</li>
</ul></div></div>

Forest cover decreases by 376 sq km in the country

Twelve states and union territories of the country have shown considerable decrease in forest cov...

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Climate change may shrink wheat crop yields

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">More intense heat waves due to global  warming could diminish wheat crop yields around the world through  premature ageing, according to a study published today in Nature Climate  Change.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Current projections based on computer models underestimate the  extent to which hotter weather in the future will accelerate this  process, the researchers warned.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Wheat is harvested in temperate zones on more than 220 million hectares, making it the most widely grown crop on Earth.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Greenhouse experiments have shown that unseasonably warm  temperatures -- especially at the end of the growing season -- can cause  senescence, the scientific term for accelerated ageing. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Excess heat beyond the plant's tolerance zone damages photosynthetic cells.<br />
</li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Fluctuations in wheat yields in India have also been attributed by  farmers to temperature, most recently a heat wave in 2010 blamed for  stunting plant productivity.<br />
</li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>To further test these experiments and first-hand observations, a  trio of researchers led by David Lobell of Stanford University sifted  through nine years of satellite data for the Indo-Ganges Plains in  northern India and then used statistical methods to isolate the effects  of extreme heat on wheat.<br />
</li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>They found that a 2.0 Celsius increase above long-term averages  shortened the growing season by a critical nine days, reducing total  yield by up to 20 per cent. </li>
</ul></div>

Climate change may shrink wheat crop yields

More intense heat waves due to global warming could diminish wheat crop yields around the world through premature ageing, according to a s...

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How HIV hijacks body's defences 'unravelled'

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Scientists in the US claim to have  unravelled how HIV hijacks the body's own defenses to promote infection,  a finding which may pave the way for curbing the spread of AIDS. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>A team at University of California, led by Nevan Krogan, has  described how HIV commandeers restriction factors -- a class of human  proteins that evolved to block viruses -- to weaken the body's defenses  and enhance the virulence of HIV infection, the 'Nature' journal  reported. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>"One of the keys to HIV's success is how quickly it can evolve new  attack strategies -- and the way in which it uses our own proteins  against us is a prime example of that," said Dr Krogan. He added:  "However, now that we've shed light on this complex process, we are one  step closer to developing new drugs that will help us pull ahead in this  evolutionary arms race." </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>AIDS has killed more than 25 million people around the world since  first being identified some 30 years ago. In the US alone, more than one  million people live with HIV/AIDS at an annual cost of US dollars 34  billion. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Dr Krogan's experiments show promise for the development of more  effective antiretroviral therapies for people with HIV. Further, the  scientists have laid the foundation for future research. In their  experiments, the scientists performed a two-part investigation of  protein interactions. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>First, they conducted a systematic, global analysis of all potential  interactions that occur between proteins made by the body (human  proteins) and proteins made by the virus (HIV proteins). Second, they  whittled down these 500 interactions to the one that appeared most  likely to fuel HIV infection - the interaction between human protein CBF  and HIV protein Vif. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Normally during HIV infection, a restriction factor called APOBEC3G  acts as a molecular roadblock, preventing the virus from reaching its  target -- the CD4 T white blood cells that are a major component of the  immune system. But Dr Krogan found that when the HIV protein Vif binds  to the human protein CBF, Vif is strengthened and APOBEC3G degrades. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>This degradation weakens ABOBEC3G's ability to stop HIV and the  virus is free to infect the CD4 T cells. "This is the first  comprehensive look at how HIV interacts globally with components of the  cell," said Judith H Greenberg of National Institutes of Health's  National Institute of General Medical Sciences.</li>
</ul></div>

How HIV hijacks body's defences 'unravelled'

Scientists in the US claim to have unravelled how HIV hijacks the body's own defenses to promote infection, a finding which may pave t...

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Protein Key to Storing Long-Term Memories

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Some billions of synapses connect our  nerve cells and keep our memories intact and alive for decades with the  help of self-copying clusters or oligomers of a synapse protein, a study  has revealed. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The finding is based on a study on fruit flies conducted by  neuroscientists at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Kansas  University. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>It supports a surprising new theory about memory and may have a  profound impact on explaining other oligomer-linked functions and  diseases in the brain, including Alzheimer's disease and prion diseases,  the journal Cell reported.</li>
</ul><ul><li>"Self-sustaining populations of oligomers located at synapses may be  the key to the long-term synaptic changes that underlie memory," said  Kausik Si, associate investigator at the Stowers Institute. </li>
</ul><ul><li>In the new study, Kausik and his colleagues examined a Drosophila  fruit fly CPEB protein known as Orb2. Like its counterpart in Aplysia,  it forms oligomers within neurons (nerve cells). </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>"We found that these Orb2 oligomers become more numerous in neurons  whose synapses are stimulated, and that this increase in oligomers  happens near synapses," said Amitabha Majumdar, postdoctoral researcher  in Si's lab, who led the study.</li>
</ul></div>

Protein Key to Storing Long-Term Memories

Some billions of synapses connect our nerve cells and keep our memories intact and alive for decades with the help of self-copying cluster...

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Philippines underground river named new wonder of nature

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="5815" style="display: block;">                                          <ul><li style="text-align: justify;">An underground river in the western  Philippines was confirmed to be among the world’s new seven wonders of  nature, the head of a global competition said. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The <strong>Puerto Princesa Underground River</strong> in Palawan  province is the second of the new seven wonders of nature to be  confirmed after provisional results were announced last November. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Bernard Weber, founder and president of the New7Wonders, announced  the confirmation in Manila and hailed the support for the nomination in  the global competition. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the campaign has raised  awareness about the river, where visitor arrivals have “increased  tremendously.” “This is proof positive of how effective a national  effort of this sort can be, to build awareness, express pride, and  achieve results,” he added. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The 8.2-kilometre navigable underground river is the world’s  longest. The Geneva-based New7Wonders earlier confirmed Jeju Island as  one of the winners of the competition. The other five provisional  winners — the Amazon, Halong Bay, Iguazu Falls, Komodo and Table  Mountain — are now undergoing the final verification process for their  confirmation. </li>
</ul></div></div>

Philippines underground river named new wonder of nature

An underground river in the western Philippines was confirmed to be among the world’s new seven w...

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Climate: UN launches online database for business

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="5802" style="display: block;">                                          <ul><li style="text-align: justify;">The UN has launched a new online  database to showcase successful strategies that businesses and  communities are using to adapt to climate change while simultaneously  increasing their profits and using their resources more efficiently. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The database, which can be accessed through the UN Framework  Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) website, features more than 100  examples from companies such as Coca-Cola, Levi's, Microsoft and  Starbucks, which share the details of their business-friendly adaptation  practices. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Climate risks which affect communities around the world are always  also business risks.Examples of best practices in the database include  efforts to make drinking water clean and safe in developing countries  and efforts to improve the yield of coffee beans in regions that are  particularly vulnerable to climate change, said the officials.</li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span></span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The database also covers activities such as the development of  climate-friendly goods and services and climate proofing the supply  chains of companies.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The initiatives detailed in the database both show how the private  sector can secure early advantages by adapting without waiting for  absolute policy certainty at the international level, and how  governments and the private sector can work together to respond to  climate change now. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Public-private partnerships and cooperation with a wide range of  stakeholders is becoming increasingly important to ensure successful  implementation. </li>
</ul></div></div>

Climate: UN launches online database for business

The UN has launched a new online database to showcase successful strategies that businesses and ...

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Kepler telescope team finds 11 new solar systems

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="5803" style="display: block;">                                          <ul><li style="text-align: justify;">NASA's planet-hunting Kepler space  telescope has found 11 new planetary systems, including one with five  planets all orbiting closer to their parent star than Mercury circles  the Sun, scientists. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The discoveries boost the list of confirmed extra-solar planets to  729, including 60 credited to the Kepler team. The telescope, launched  in space in March 2009, can detect slight but regular dips in the amount  of light coming from stars. Scientists can then determine if the  changes are caused by orbiting planets passing by, relative to Kepler's  view.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Kepler scientists have another 2,300 candidate planets awaiting additional confirmation.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>None of the newly discovered planetary systems are like our solar  system, though Kepler-33, a star that is older and bigger than the Sun,  comes close in terms of sheer numbers. It has five planets, compared to  our solar system's eight, but the quintet all fly closer to their parent  star than Mercury orbits the Sun.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The planets range in size from about 1.5 times the diameter of Earth  to five times Earth's diameter. Scientists have not yet determined if  any are solid rocky bodies like Earth, Venus, Mars and Mercury or if  they are filled with gas like Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.  </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The Kepler team previously found one star with six confirmed planets  and a second system with five planets, said planetary scientist Jack  Lissauer, with NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field,  California.  </li>
</ul><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">Nine of the new systems contain two  planets and one has three, bringing the total number of newly discovered  planets to 26. All are closer to their host stars than Venus is to the  Sun. </li>
</ul></div></div>

Kepler telescope team finds 11 new solar systems

NASA's planet-hunting Kepler space telescope has found 11 new planetary systems, including on...

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Big quake could hit Tokyo within years

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">The group at the university’s  earthquake research institute said the number of moderate quakes in the  capital region measuring magnitude 3 or bigger surged to 343 in the  six-month period after the March quake, up from 47 in the previous six  months. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Based on a theory that the probability of bigger earthquakes rises  in proportion to an increase in smaller quakes, the team calculated a 98  per cent likelihood of a magnitude 6.7 to 7.2 earthquake striking Tokyo  over the next 30 years. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>A separate government study estimates that the chance of a magnitude  7 quake striking Tokyo is 70 per cent over the next 30 years. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Sakai said the two studies use different methods to calculate  earthquake likelihood. While the university study factored in the recent  increase in moderate seismic activity, the government estimate only  looked the pattern of magnitude 6.7-7.2 quakes over the past 150 years.  Since no quake that big has occurred in the Tokyo area since March,  there is no change in the government estimate, Sakai said. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Japan is one of the most  earthquake-prone countries in the world. Tokyo’s last major quake was  the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake that killed 140,000 people.</li>
</ul></div>

Big quake could hit Tokyo within years

The group at the university’s earthquake research institute said the number of moderate quakes in the capital region measuring magnitude 3...

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Yeast evolves to multicellular variety in 60 days in the lab

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="5703" style="display: block; text-align: justify;">                                          <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Scientists have experimentally proved  the ease with which initial evolution from unicellular to multicellular  life had taken place. </span></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">"The first crucial steps in the transition can take place remarkably  quickly under an appropriate selective condition,” the scientists write  in their paper published recently in the <em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</em>. </span></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">In this case, the scientists used gravity as a selection pressure as  it was easy to observe, study and replicate in a lab using test tubes. </span></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">The proof that the clusters were formed by the division of  individual cells came through 16 hours of microscopic examination for  growth. Cells taken from the clusters proved their hallmark  characteristic — each cell giving “rise to a new snowflake-like  cluster". </span></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Cells did not divide at random. While  cells in the juvenile stage grew rapidly to multiple cells, and hence  helped in increasing the size of the cluster, the fully-grown adult  stage was marked by division of the matured cells into daughter cells.  The presence of both juvenile and adult stages is a mark of true  multicellularity.</span></li>
</ul></div></div>

Yeast evolves to multicellular variety in 60 days in the lab

Scientists have experimentally proved the ease with which initial evolution from unicellular to m...

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Wi-Fi networks under virus risk: IT analysts

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Indian computer security analysts have detected and  alerted Wi-Fi users in the country against a possible virus attack that  could lead to crashing and hacking of secure networks. </li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>The <strong>Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In)</strong>, country’s national agency to respond to computer security incidents, has found that the “<strong>Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS)</strong>  contains a design error that could allow a weaker-than-expected defence  against brute-force attacks, which could allow an attacker to gain  unauthorised access to the affected system.”</li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><em>What is brute force attack?</em></li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span>A <strong>brute-force attack</strong>, in computer  terminology, is a programme that is used to crack and stealthily enter  into an encrypted and password protected system while WPS is a popular  method for setting up a new wireless router for a home network.</span></li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><em>What is happening?</em></li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span>“The virus is streaming in the Indian Internet  networks with a high severity. The combat mechanisms are being  deployed,” a computer security analyst with a government agency said.</span></li>
<li> </li>
</ul></div>

Wi-Fi networks under virus risk: IT analysts

Indian computer security analysts have detected and alerted Wi-Fi users in the country against a possible virus attack that could lead to ...

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Rare moon rock found on earth

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Scientists have stumbled upon  tranquillityite, a mineral considered unique to the moon, in the remote  Pilbara region of Western Australia.  </span></li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Researchers at The University of Western Australia's Centre for  Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis (CMCA) identified the  mineral.  </span></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Tranquillityite</strong>, named after the Sea of  Tranquillity, where the Apollo 11 moon-walkers landed in July 1969, was  tentatively identified by Birger Rasmussen, professor from Curtin  University, while studying a polished slice of earthly rock in a  scanning electron microscope, according to a Western Australia  statement.  </span></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">To confirm the identity of the Pilbara mineral, Muhling analysed its  composition by collecting X-rays emitted when the sample was targeted  by an electron beam in the electron microscope. </span></li>
</ul><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">This showed that the terrestrial mineral was made up of the same  elements as lunar tranquillityite. Electron diffraction showed that the  two minerals have the same crystal structure.  </span></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Previously, tranquillityite was thought to exist only in returned  moon samples and lunar - and possibly Martian - meteorites. The  researchers believe tranquilliltyite is the final 'lunar' mineral to be  found on earth because it is rare, small and prone to change. </span></li>
</ul></div>

Rare moon rock found on earth

Scientists have stumbled upon tranquillityite, a mineral considered unique to the moon, in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia....

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Ajit Singh bats for FDI in agriculture sector

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Supporting foreign investment in agriculture sector, Civil Aviation  Minister Ajit Singh said it will benefit farmers as investment in this  sector is diminishing and the sector has become non-profitable.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">“Farmers would be benefitted if FDI is allowed in agriculture sector  which has become non-profitable and investment is diminishing. I am  always in favour of FDI,” Mr. Singh told reporters after BSP and SP  workers from Meerut and adjoining areas joined Rastriya Lok Dal.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">“Today, farmers are facing problem of improper marketing of their  produce. They get a meagre amount while middlemen make a lot of money.  When big companies come, they would directly buy from them, so farmers  would be benefitted,” Mr. Singh said.</span></li>
</ul></div>

Ajit Singh bats for FDI in agriculture sector

Supporting foreign investment in agriculture sector, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said it will benefit farmers as investment in this ...

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Global warming not sole reason for glacier melting

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div id="5650" style="display: block; text-align: justify;">                                          <ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;"> Questioning the theory that Himalayan  glaciers are fast receding entirely due to global warming, a top climate  official of the country says there could be other reasons as well for  melting of snow in the youngest mountain systems of the world.  </span></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Dismissing suggestions that Gangotri glaciers are receding faster  than in any other part of the world, Gupta, who is also Coordinator of  the Climate Change Programme, Dept. of Science and Technology, said,  "(Scientific) Observations (by the government agencies) in the past 5,  10 years show that the rate of receding has come down substantially."  </span></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">The government has already launched a National Mission for  Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem to evolve management measures for  sustaining and safeguarding the Himalayan glacier and mountain  eco-system under the National Action Plan on Climate Change.  </span></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">Ganges, Brahmaputra, Yamuna, and other  major river systems originate in the Himalayas. Any changes in the  Himalayan glacier dynamics and melting are expected to severely affect  about 1.3 billion of people. </span></li>
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Global warming not sole reason for glacier melting

Questioning the theory that Himalayan glaciers are fast receding entirely due to global warming,...

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No new wild polio case for a year, India beats down deadly virus

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtcUzlAuWW1dw7d6Ju9SrgrsZPNB8zLYpvJaBvwAmNe4jl1AHYX3a2odxEHXpsxHKrhV0WJ1AHAMsRI8grEFe3aKtc_w81MonD0kR35jYjlz3RopT_e-7URkr43tE-TsWCF24xVuQ5aAM/s1600/Polio-graphic_891491e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtcUzlAuWW1dw7d6Ju9SrgrsZPNB8zLYpvJaBvwAmNe4jl1AHYX3a2odxEHXpsxHKrhV0WJ1AHAMsRI8grEFe3aKtc_w81MonD0kR35jYjlz3RopT_e-7URkr43tE-TsWCF24xVuQ5aAM/s1600/Polio-graphic_891491e.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Mass public campaign a success but experts warn of need for continued vigilance</div><div class="articleLead" style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="body" style="text-align: justify;"> Not even superstition can render this Friday the 13th unlucky for India.  Today, the nation will reach a major milestone in the history of polio  eradication – a year without any case of wild polio being recorded. For a  nation that notoriously had, only two years ago, the largest number of  polio cases in the world (741), this is clearly an unprecedented  achievement. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="body" style="text-align: justify;"> Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease which mainly  affects young children. The virus is transmitted through contaminated  food and water, and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can  invade the nervous system. Even those who do not show any symptoms can  excrete the virus, thereby spreading the infection. Acute Flaccid  Paralysis is a disabling condition where there is absence of muscle tone  in one or both limbs, and tendon reflexes. While no ‘cure' exists for  polio, the oral polio vaccine prevents the transmission of infection  effectively. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="body" style="text-align: justify;"> As India reaches this ‘no wild case' mark, it will no longer be  considered ‘endemic' to polio, a status it has harboured thus long, with  three other nations — Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. If all tests  for the wild polio virus in India — including laboratory analysis of  acute flaccid paralysis cases with onset up to mid-January and  environmental sewage sampling — return negative, India will officially  be deemed to have stopped the transmission of the indigenous wild polio  virus. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="body" style="text-align: justify;"> Following this, the World Health Organisation will remove India from the  list of endemic nations, probably by mid-February. “India's success is  arguably its greatest public health achievement and has provided a  global opportunity to push for the end of polio,” said WHO  Director-General Margaret Chan. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="body" style="text-align: justify;"> Responding to the achievement, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad  said: “This giant leap towards polio containment in a short span of two  years is an endorsement of India's tireless and persistent efforts.”  India had set an example with the highest level of political commitment  to the programme — with resource allocation, continuous efforts to  identify and reach out to vulnerable children with tailored strategies  for maximum reach, optimum use of available vaccines under the guidance  of top national and international experts, an extra-ordinary  communication strategy and strong partnerships, he added. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div class="body" style="text-align: justify;"> According to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), the next  step would be to look at a polio-free South East Asian Region in 2014:  Over the next 24 months, the Regional Certification Commission of the  WHO South East Asian Region (of which India is a part) will start  examining the surveillance and programme performance for polio  eradication across the region to determine whether it can be certified  as having eradicated the indigenous wild poliovirus. </div></div>

No new wild polio case for a year, India beats down deadly virus

Mass public campaign a success but experts warn of need for continued vigilance Not even superstition can render this Friday the 13th unl...

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