Sci&Tech September

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Notes by vineetpunnoose on www.kiwipaper.com
Content
'Mandatory for scientists to give lectures in schools' 1
Free lectures in schools, colleges mandatory for scientists 1
Bacteria that may help tackle nuclear waste found 1
'India for non-discriminatory nuclear regime' 2
Health Minister says Rota Virus vaccine will prevent infant deaths 2
Artificial sweeteners may be contributing to diabetes epidemic 3
After successful monkey trials, new Ebola vaccine being tested on hum 3
Ozone: good news and bad news 4
TB a "national emergency" says Dr Harsh Vardhan Calls for email repository 4
Antibiotics in the chicken we eat 5
New drug formulations to fight respiratory illnesses, superbugs 5
What genes do we share with fruit flies, roundworms? 6
Odisha's soil leads to landmark discovery about early life evolution 6
Japanese encephalitis on the rise in Assam, spreads to almost all dis 7
US move to curb antibiotic resistance not enough to address use of dr 7
A week dedicated to space discoveries and feats 8
Surveillance likely to be key issue in 2014 Internet conference 8
Activists want rabies to be declared notifiable disease 9
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Content
First Indigenous Rotavirus Vaccine and also an Injectable Polio Vaccine Dev 9
The Ever-Mutating Enemy 10
Artificial sweeteners linked to diabetes, obesity 13
More dangerous variant of antibiotic resistant superbug detected in I 13
Cardiovascular risk factors low but mortality high in India 14
Pacific garbage patch: scientists find a way to nail ocean polluters 15
New avian influenza strain in Southeast Asia 'travelling fast', warns 15
New blood test to detect TB in kids 16
Victory is certain, yet the struggle continues 16
Mars Curiosity rover reaches its primary destination 18
NASA's Curiosity rover reaches its primary destination 18
Mars spacecraft to be ordered into orbit 18
A faster, cheaper Mars orbiter 19
SpaceX Falcon rocket lifts off with communications satellite 20
NASA to make ISS an Earth-observing platform 21
NASA to turn ISS into perfect Earth-observing platform 21
European Space Agency sets November 12 date for comet landing 22
NASA, ISRO in talks to set up Joint Mars Working Group 23
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GSLV-MkIII is ISRO's next 24
Mangalyaan is now in orbit of Mars 24
Loading of commands for Mars orbiter begins 25
NASA's Maven reaches Mars 25
SpaceX cargo ship blasts off carrying 3-D printer 25
Space exploration not a prerogative of the West 26
Lessons to be learnt 27
Unit 5 of RAPS becomes world's 2nd longest running reactor 27
On the debate over 'Antibiotics in the chicken we eat' 27
'U.S. monopoly over Internet must go' 29
ISRO's Mars orbiter enters Mars' Sphere of Influence 30
India's Mission to Mars: Ready to Land 30
MOM set to hunt for methane on Mars 31
Mars' orbiter's main engine test-fired successfully 31
'GSLV Mark III will make India self-reliant in space' 31
NASA's Maven explorer arrives at Mars after a year 32
Mars mission success 32
First comet landing site to be revealed 33
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Content
Strong solar flare making its way towards Earth 34
Super cyber intelligence body soon, announces IT Minister 34
India's Arctic observatory toaid climate change studies 34
A smarter way to find new drugs 35
Ozone layer showing signs of recovery: UN 36
Internet Governance Forum Meeting to Focus on Policies Enabling Access, Gro 37
Australia's first fuel cell bicycle 38
RAPS Unit-5 sets a record 38
Trailblazing Performance of 765 Days of Continuous Run Yields Second Place 39
'God particle' could destroy the universe: Hawking 40
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Notes by vineetpunnoose on www.kiwipaper.com Page 1
'Mandatory for scientists to give lectures in schools'
Tue, Sep 9, 2014
The Hindu, science & tech, kiran, education,
For this, departments, particularly publicly-funded national institutes, will enter into
an agreement with schools and colleges. The Ministry of Human Resource Development
will collaborate with departments concerned.
"The experiment will help catch young talent," he added. The CSIR system and the
DST have about 6,000 scientists and researchers on their rolls. Dr. Singh said the
performance of scientists and researchers would be evaluated every three years.
A special promotion scheme for women scientists, KIRAN (Knowledge and Involvement
in Research Advancement through Nurturing), would allow public sector institutions
to make alternate offers to women who have had a break in their career or a change of
residence.
Free lectures in schools, colleges mandatory for scientists
Mon, Sep 8, 2014
The Hindu, science & tech, kiran, education,
"It will be mandatory for them to deliver 12 hours of lecture every year to Class IX and
under-graduate college students. The scientist will devise a methodology in his or her
area of expertise to make the subject interesting for students,'' he said at a press
conference.
At the same time, a special promotion scheme for women scientists, KIRAN (Knowledge
and Involvement in Research Advancement through Nurturing), will allow public sector
institutions to make alternate offers to women who have had a break in their career or
have had a change of residence.
"This is for gender parity and to bring forward women in leadership positions,'' Dr.
Singh said. "We will try to have a mobility mechanism for women scientists who have
had a change of residence to enable them to continue in their positions. The government
does not want to lose trained women scientists for such reasons.''
Bacteria that may help tackle nuclear waste found
Wed, Sep 10, 2014
nuclear, The Hindu, bacteria, science & tech,
The bacteria were found in a highly alkaline industrial site in the Peak district in Britain.
The extremophile - organism that thrives in physically or geochemically extreme
conditions that are detrimental to most life on the Earth - bacteria can thrive under the
alkaline conditions expected in cement-based radioactive waste, the researchers said.
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Although bacteria with waste-eating properties have been discovered in relatively
pristine soils before, this is the first time that microbes that can survive in the very harsh
conditions expected in radioactive waste disposal sites have been found.
he organisms are not only superbly adapted to live in such hostile environments but
they can use the ISA as a source of food and energy under conditions that mimic those
expected in and around intermediate level radioactive waste disposal sites.
'India for non-discriminatory nuclear regime'
Sun, Sep 7, 2014
nuclear, The Hindu, science & tech,
Earlier, Australia was insisting that it would not supply natural uranium to India unless
India signed the NPT. (Natural uranium is the fuel used in India's Pressurised Heavy
Water Reactors - PHWRs ).
Mr. Sinha said: "We cannot sign the NPT, [with India] having been a strong supporter
of the non-discriminatory [nuclear] regime. All our international agreements have got
a few common elements. It means that cooperation will extend to full civil nuclear
cooperation. We will be bound by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
safeguards in respect of facilities in which these equipment, material or fuel will be
used if they are coming through the international cooperation but not beyond that."
As already indicated at the time of India signing the civil nuclear agreement earlier,
the AEC Chairman said, "We are declaring certain facilities, under the Separation Plan,
to come under the IAEA international safeguards agreement." These facilities were
eligible to receive international supplies of uranium. India had already been receiving
supplies of uranium from Areva of France, Russia and Kazhakasthan. These supplies
of uranium could be used, in principle, in any of the safeguarded facilities in India, he
explained.
Health Minister says Rota Virus vaccine will prevent infant deaths
Wed, Sep 3, 2014
Rota Virus vaccine, The Hindu, science & tech, health,
Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan called for strengthening universal immunisation
programme (UIP) to eradicate infant mortality in the country and said there should be
more research to fight disease burden.
He said the introduction of the Rotavirus vaccine in the UIP should be considered one
of the most "pro-people decisions" taken by any government in recent years because
it has the potential to drastically reduce infant mortality, particularly among the poorest
sections of society.
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"Earlier Rotavirus vaccines were expensive and beyond the reach of ordinary Indians.
We are losing 52 children per 1000 live births every year. On top of that Rotavirus
Diarrhoea snatches at least 1 lakh. This government did not lose time before introducing
the vaccine in the UIP. The plan of action on its deployment has also been put in place,"
he said.
Beginning 2015, the Rotavirus vaccine will be introduced as an additional dose along
with the first, second and third doses of DPT in the UIP. It is also proposed to establish
an expert committee to assess the progress in a few states and union territories on the
basis of the disease burden and vaccine availability.
Artificial sweeteners may be contributing to diabetes epidemic
Thu, Sep 18, 2014
Down to Earth, diabetes, science & tech, health,
The world is facing a diabetes epidemic. A study reveals that the artificial sweeteners
that people use to control diabetes could be exacerbating the epidemic. The researchers
found that the chemicals change the composition and function of the microbes in the
gut and hasten glucose intolerance and metabolic disorder. Even people who do not
consume these sweeteners directly are exposed to the chemicals such as saccharin,
aspartame, sucralose and Acesulfame K as they are part of processed foods.
They then conducted a controlled experiment and asked a group of volunteers who did
not generally eat or drink artificially sweetened foods to consume them for a week and
then undergo tests of their glucose levels as well as their gut microbiota compositions.
Some of these volunteers developed glucose intolerance after just one week of artificial
sweetener consumption. The chemical affected two different populations of human gut
bacteria - one that induced glucose intolerance when exposed to the sweeteners, the
second that had no effect either way. The researchers believe that certain bacteria in
the guts of those who developed glucose intolerance reacted to the chemical sweeteners
by secreting substances that then provoked an inflammatory response similar to sugar
overdose, promoting changes in the body's ability to utilize sugar.
After successful monkey trials, new Ebola vaccine being tested on hum
Tue, Sep 9, 2014
Down to Earth, Ebola vaccine, science & tech,
The vaccine uses a chimp adenovirus, closely related to a human version that causes
upper respiratory tract infections, into which scientists spliced an Ebola gene. The drug
is reportedly similar to the one currently being developed by pharmaceutical giant
GlaxoSmithKline, but offers much longer protection.
Ebola, the deadly virus that struck West Africa in a fresh outbreak, in February this
year, has claimed nearly 2,000 lives in four countries. About 3,700 cases of the disease
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have been detected till now.
Ozone: good news and bad news
Fri, Sep 12, 2014
ozone, Down to Earth, science & tech,
Hole in the ozone layer is healing, but ground level ozone is destroying crops that could
feed a third of India's poor
First, the news about good ozone: the hole in the ozone layer is finally starting to heal,
UNEP/WMO reported [2] . This layer is about 20-30 km up in the air, protects life from
sun's harmful ultraviolet light by absorbing the radiation which otherwise would
potentially damage exposed life forms near the surface.
Now, the news about the bad ozone--this time it comes from India. According a new
study published in Geophysical Research Letters [3] , the ground level ozone pollution
damaged 6 million tonnes of crops in India. This ground-level ozone is formed in the
air by nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbon emitted from vehicles and other sources like
cook stoves reacting in the presence of sunlight.
This ozone is close to ground, so as a strong oxidant it is notorious for damaging lungs
and vegetation. This ground-level ozone is the main component of smog. Even at
relatively low levels, ozone can cause health effects. People with lung disease, children,
older adults, and people who are active outdoors may be particularly sensitive to ozone.
But in the case of plants, ground-level ozone causes havoc. It is known that ground-level
ozone causes more damage to plants than all other air pollutants combined. Ozone's
movement in air is also out of the ordinary. Ozone concentrations in rural areas can be
higher than in urban areas.
The study found that the high concentrations of ozone damaged millions of tonnes of
the India's major crops such as wheat, rice, soybean and cotton crops. This caused
losses of more than a billion dollars and destroyed enough food to feed tens of millions
of people living below the poverty line.
satellite-based studies show ozone has increased over the country in the last two decades.
TB a "national emergency" says Dr Harsh Vardhan Calls for email repository
Sat, Sep 6, 2014
tuberculosis, PIB, science & tech, health,
Building up an email repository would especially help in the national fight against TB,
a notifiable disease. It would facilitate instant transmission of news to all health
authorities, public health and healthcare providers, public health laboratories and
healthcare professionals.
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The Minister said India accounts for 99,000 of the global burden of 390,000 multi-drug
resistant (MDR) TB cases annually - 25 percent of the total burden. The mortality
associated with this form of TB is higher than drug-susceptible TB. Now, an even bigger
challenge has emerged called "Extensively drug-resistant TB" (XDR-TB).
Antibiotics in the chicken we eat
Thu, Sep 4, 2014
antibiotics, poultry, The Hindu, science & tech, health,
But there is a danger here. Just as with chemicals in the mango, or oxytocin in milk (a
hormone that supposedly increases milk output in cows and buffalos), we now have a
health hazard looming large in commercially produced chicken. The hazard here is the
use of antibiotics in the feed given to the chicken for faster growth and to prevent any
infection during hatching. Famous hatcheries such as Venky's, Vetline India and Skylark
Hatcheries regularly use antibiotics in order to reduce feed conversion ratios.
Why are these dangerous? Repeated and prolonged exposure will lead to the emergence
of resistant strains of bacteria. And these resistant strains will be passed on to the humans
who consume them. Even the un-mutated bacteria in the meat can directly unleash an
assault on the microbes in our guts. And note too that the antibiotics used in poultry
are the same as the ones used for humans.
Some of these are: (i) Ban the use of antibiotics for growth promotion, (2) Do not allow
the use of antibiotics in feed and improve the regulations of the Bureau of Industrial
security (BIS) accordingly, (3) Do not allow the use of antibiotics critical for humans
in animals, (4) Train veterinarians on the judicious use of antibiotics, (5) Set pollution
standards and install pollution control systems to limit transfer of resistant bacteria and
antibiotics from poultry farms to the environments, (6) Encourage development,
production and use of alternative antibiotic-free growth promoters such as herbal
supplements and better farm management practices, and (7) Develop an integrated
surveillance system to monitor antibiotic-resistant trends in humans, animals and the
food chain.
New drug formulations to fight respiratory illnesses, superbugs
Thu, Sep 18, 2014
Down to Earth, superbugs, science & tech, antibiotic,
The drugs are much more effective than presently available drugs because of which
patients can be prescribed smaller doses; used interchangeably, these drugs can prevent
the bacteria from developing a resistance
A team of researchers from Singapore has developed four new drug formulations to
fight pulmonary disease-causing bacteria, and antibiotic resistant superbugs,
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Superbugs [8] is the name given to strains of microbes that have developed a resistance
to the drugs previously used to treat them, due to the misuse or overuse of the drugs.
The rapid emergence [9] of the resistant bacteria poses a major threat to human health,
possibly rendering even the most easily treatable diseases untreatable by existing
medicine.
What genes do we share with fruit flies, roundworms?
Mon, Sep 1, 2014
Down to Earth, genes, science & tech, fruit flies,
Though the genomes of species such as the fruit fly and roundworms are much smaller
than that of humans, there are several common genes and biological pathways. Scientists
have been studying them to find out how the information coded in the genome makes
an organism what it is. "The results add billions of entries to a publicly available archive
of functional genomic data," says the news release.
They also found a similar pattern of gene expression at an early stage of embryonic
development in all three organisms. The comparison of transcriptomes involved 575
experiments that gave more than 67 billion sequence reads. The results were published
online in Nature in an article titled " Comparative analysis of the transcriptome across
distant species" [2] .
Odisha's soil leads to landmark discovery about early life evolution
Fri, Sep 5, 2014
Odisha, Down to Earth, science & tech, evolution,
India have discovered that oxygen-producing life forms were present on Earth some 3
billion years ago--a full 60 million years earlier than previously thought. These life
forms were responsible for adding oxygen (O2) to our atmosphere.
The geologists found evidence for chemical weathering of rocks leading to soil formation
that occurred in the presence of O2. "Using the naturally occurring uranium-lead isotope
decay system, which is used for age determinations on geological time-scales, the
authors deduced that these events took place at least 3.02 billion years ago," The pattern
of chemical weathering preserved in the ancient soils (or paleosols) is compatible with
elevated atmospheric O2 levels at that time. Such substantial levels of oxygen could
only have been produced by organisms converting light energy and carbon dioxide to
O2 and water.
This particular example is the oldest known example of oxidative weathering from a
terrestrial environment, occurring about 600 million years before the Great Oxidation
Event that laid the foundations for the evolution of complex life
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Japanese encephalitis on the rise in Assam, spreads to almost all dis
Mon, Sep 29, 2014
Down to Earth, japanese encephalitis, science & tech,
JE is characterised by inflammation of the brain and high fever and is a type of Acute
Encephalitis Syndrome (AES). While Japanese encephalitis is transmitted by Culex
mosquitoes, AES is a disease of uncertain etiology and includes Japanese encephalitis.
"A moderate temperature, ideal for breeding of Culex mosquito, was earlier seen between
May and end of July. Now the temperature remains warmer after that as well, which
is ideal for the breeding of the mosquito till around September,"
US move to curb antibiotic resistance not enough to address use of dr
Tue, Sep 23, 2014
antibiotics, Down to Earth, science & tech,
In the past few weeks, first the EU and then the US have adopted measures to address
growing concern over antibiotic resistance. The measures adopted in the US, among
others, advocate implementation of voluntary guidelines set by the FDA to curb use of
antibiotics in food-producing animals; the initiatives by the EU will further strengthen
its mandatory regulations on animal feed.
This is the first time that the issue of antibiotic resistance has received this much attention
in the US. Five goals set in the strategy are: to slow the development and spread of
resistant infections; to strengthen surveillance efforts; to develop rapid and innovative
measures for identification of resistant bacteria; to accelerate research aimed at developing
new antibacterials, therapeutics and vaccines; and improve international collaboration
and capacity. PCAST also sets specific objectives to be met by 2020. These include
implementing antibiotic stewardship and eliminating the use of medically important
antibiotics for growth promotion in animals.
he executive order talks about the role of the US government in addressing the serious
threat to public health and economy emanating from growing antibiotic resistance. It
is estimated that 2 million illnesses and 23,000 deaths are caused by antibiotic resistant
bacteria in the US each year. A task force is to be formed that will submit a national
action plan to the president by mid-February 2015 and provide him with annual updates
on government's actions. The action plan would focus on how the goals can be met.
Also, a Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria shall
provide advice, information, and recommendations to the US government on programs
and policies intended to combat antibiotic resistance.
The national strategy on combating antibiotic-resistant bacteria suggests implementing
the guidelines for industry set in 2013 by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA).
These involve phasing-out medically important antibiotics for growth promotion and
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asking drug companies to remove "growth promotion" from their product labels. The
guidelines have been criticised for being voluntary and allowing antibiotics to be used
for disease prevention. A recent investigation by Reuters, a news agency, also points
to the ineffectiveness of the overall measures taken by FDA so far. The investigation
revealed routine administration of low doses of antibiotics to chickens via feed by some
of the largest poultry producers in the US.
The importance of mandatory regulations over the voluntary measures in the context
of Netherlands has also been advocated in the US media by those who have expressed
dissatisfaction with the voluntary US measures. Netherlands, after having realized the
ineffectiveness of voluntary restrictions, introduced a mandatory reduction and reduced
animal antibiotic use by about 50 per cent during 2009-2013.
A week dedicated to space discoveries and feats
Sat, Sep 27, 2014
Down to Earth, science & tech, space,
Mangalyaan reaches Mars' orbit, scientists discover smallest known exoplanet to contain
water, Curiosity finds a "ball" on the Red Planet
Mangalyaan has been safely placed in the orbit of Mars and is busy looking for signs
of methane on the Red Plant and carrying other operations it has been programmed to.
Surveillance likely to be key issue in 2014 Internet conference
Tue, Sep 2, 2014
Down to Earth, science & tech, internet,
Discussions relating to global mass surveillance and privacy of Internet users are likely
to dominate the ninth annual meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), underway
in Istanbul, Turkey, till September 5, reports The Hindu.
"The Global Information Society Watch report shows how most people and governments
have completely missed the point of mass surveillance: it is ubiquitous, widespread
and involves everyone, whether or not you are a 'threat to the state', or engaged in
criminal activities," The Hindu quotes Elvira Tiguru, spokesperson for Association for
Progressive Communications, a global network of civil society organisations.
"American technological and military concerns heavily influence Internet governance
policy. China and Russia are capable of challenging this dominance. But, despite being
a strong commercial power, China has not deployed Internet technology across the
world," he says.
The conference in Istanbul will bring together government officials, policymakers,
mediapersons, industry and civil society representatives and academia to discuss and
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deliberate on issues like surveillance, censorship and network neutrality. "The revelations
by Snowden have proved beyond doubt that user data held by Internet companies today
are subject to pervasive surveillance," Pouzin says.
According to a Forbes report, open access has been a recurring theme at IGF, where
participants have time and again agreed that the Internet should be open to all ideas
and not censored by governments.
Activists want rabies to be declared notifiable disease
Sat, Sep 13, 2014
The Hindu, science & tech, health, rabies,
Animal welfare activists on Saturday asked the government to declare rabies, one of
the most dreadful disease, as a notifiable disease both for humans and animals.
It is the tenth biggest cause of infectious disease and the most effected areas are Africa,
Asia and South America.
The control of stray dog population by neutering and immunization by mass vaccination
of stray animals with annual boosters holds the promise of controlling and eventually
eradicating the disease from the country.
Mission Rabies, another global welfare organisation that is working in Goa hopes to
eliminate rabies from the world by 2030. Mission Rabies experts Iilona Otter and Kate
Shervil said that under a massive programme undertaken in September 2013 in India,
60,000 dogs were vaccinated.
First Indigenous Rotavirus Vaccine and also an Injectable Polio Vaccine Dev
Wed, Sep 3, 2014
rotavirus, PIB, science & tech, health,
it is a matter of pride for the country that the first indigenous Rotavirus Vaccine from
an Indian strain 116E and also an injectable polio vaccine developed with the support
of Department of Biotechnology
Rotavirus infection normally affects children with symptoms like fever, vomiting,
abdominal pain and profuse watery diarhoea sometimes leading to severe dehydration
and death resulting in great agony to parents and therefore, the new vaccine will serve
as a major breakthrough in the field of prevention and control of infections particularly
in tropical regions like the Indian sub-continent,
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The Ever-Mutating Enemy
Sat, Sep 6, 2014
EPW, science & tech, Tuberculosis, health,
A new candidate anti-TB drug proposed to be tried by the Open Source Drug Discovery
initiative with the Council of Scientifi c and Industrial Research offers a ray of hope.
Tuberculosis (TB) spreads through the air and respects no border, the World Health
Organisation's (WHO) Stop TB department has warned. Reports from around the world
reinforce the warning.
The mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria that usually attack the lungs can also attack
the kidneys, spine and brain. The deadly airborne disease is making a comeback with
added vigour and putting a huge burden on already strained healthcare systems, according
to reports from different regions around the globe. Also, it is no longer a disease that
afflicts only the poor with the economically well off also falling prey to it increasingly.
A person is said to have drug-resistant TB when the bacteria that he/she is infected with
do not respond to and are resistant to at least one of the main TB drugs. But the resistance
can be of different degrees and extent. A section of medical professionals argue that
terminology like "multi-drug-resistant (MDR)" TB and "extensively drug-resistant"
(XDR) TB can cause patients to be labelled and further stigmatised by their disease.
However WHO and other organisations consider it necessary to spell out the two distinct
types of TB. Another type variously referred to as totally drug-resistant (TDR) TB or
extremely drug-resistant (XXDR) TB has also now been reported.
MDR-TB is defined as resistance to isoniazid and rifampicin, with or without resistance
to the other first-line drugs. XDR-TB is defined as resistance to at least isoniazid and
rifampicin, any of the three second-line injectables (amikacin, capreomycin, and
kanamycin), and to any one drug of the fluoroquinolone class.
Both MDR and XDR-TB do not respond to the standard six-month treatment with these
first-line drugs, and need treatment for up to two years or more and require other drugs
that are less potent, more toxic and much more expensive. Only a few thousand patients
with MDR and XDR-TB are treated worldwide each year.
The resistance to drugs can be developed in two ways; during treatment, the bacteria
may acquire resistance or a person may be directly infected with a resistant strain. If
the drugs are not taken as prescribed, the bacteria get a chance to become resistant by
mutation or by picking up resistance genes from other organisms. Resistance can also
be acquired due to factors apart from the patient's failure to adhere to proper course of
treatment. These include prescription of wrong drugs, or the use of substandard drugs
for treatment. This is indeed a serious problem in developing countries, like India.
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The patient's non-compliance with the treatment schedule has many causes such as
poverty, gender discrimination, homelessness and side effects of the anti-TB drugs
themselves since they affect individuals in different settings, differently. Experts point
out that the functioning of a person's immune system depends greatly on his/her
nutritional status. A poor nutritional level adversely affects drug absorption which may
lead to poor or no-response to the treatment. Side effects of the drugs and the time span
of treatment increase further in the case of MDR-TB and with that the patient's
non-compliance rate also increases.
Ignorance of the disease and social stigma lead to the victims' reluctance to approach
government facilities. Even when there is good response to drugs, patients tend to
discontinue treatment as soon as they experience an improvement. Similarly proper
rest and abstaining from hard physical work is also very important in combating the
disease. But if the patient is the sole breadwinner of the family or has to do the household
tasks without help it may not be easy to adhere to these requirements.
t is mandatory for a private institution where a new TB patient is detected to inform
the government about the each case and the kind of treatment provided to these patients.
TDR-TB is resistant to all the first- and second-line TB drugs. It is sometimes referred
to as XXDR-TB, and is very difficult, although not always totally impossible to treat.
Within a year of the first reports of XDR-TB, isolated cases were reported in Europe
that had resistance to all first-line anti-TB drugs (FLD) and second-line anti-TB drugs
(SLD) that were tested.
TB kills two Indians every three minutes and takes a daily toll of about 1,000. Nearly
40% of India's population is infected with the TB pathogen; the vast majority of whom
have latent rather than active TB. The estimated number of people in India who are
living with active TB (prevalence) for 2011 is 3.1 million, among which 73,000 are
MDR-TB patients. About 60% of the 3.1 lakh MDR-TB cases around the globe were
from only three countries - India, China and Russia.
Directly observed treatment, short-course (DOTS) is the WHO recommendedTB control
strategy and is incorporated in theRNTCP of the central government. It remains at the
heart of the Stop TB Strategy and tries to address the issue of acquiring resistance during
the course of treatment and includes case detection by sputum smear microscopy,
uninterrupted supply of high-quality anti-TB drugs and standardised treatment schedule
with directly observed treatment for at least the first two months.
The failure of standard TB treatment using first-line drugs primarily is because of the
increasing prevalence of diabetes. In the state the detection rate stands at 68% while
the cure rate is 84% which is lower than the RNTCP standards. Diabetes and poly drug
resistance are identified as the main reasons for the failed TB treatment. A WHO survey
also indicates improper therapy and improper follow-up of standardTB treatment as
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reasons for the problem of drug resistance.
A skin test can detect whether a person has TB even before the full-blown disease
appear. But it is not very accurate and can produce false positive as well as false negative
results. Besides latent TB infection may not require medical treatment. Many private
practitioners employ the blood serum test for detectingTB. An eight-member committee
set up by the The manufacture, sale and import of diagnostic kits for determining
pulmonary or extra-pulmonary TB through blood tests have been banned from June
2012 due to the unreliable and inconclusive nature of the tests. However, lack of
awareness and the vested interests of pharma giants manufacturing the kits are inducing
the ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) tests despite a blanket ban on them.
Control of Drug-Resistant TB
The cost of treating the average MDR-TB patient can be 50 to 200 times higher than
the cost of treating a drug susceptible TB patient.
WHO has pointed out that there is a need to directly confront MDR-TB and XDR-TB
whereas emphasis in the past was on strengthening the TB control programmes assuming
that thereby MDR- and XDR-TB would be brought down. At local, national and global
levels
Open Source Drug Discovery
The Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD) initiative, led by the Council of Scientific
and Industrial Research (CSIR), is an initiative for affordable healthcare. It is concentrating
on neglected tropical diseases.TB is OSDD's first target for drug discovery. The
consortium connects a large number of institutions in public and private sectors, to
promote innovation in TB drug discovery. The OSDD in collaboration with GATB is
initiating clinical trials of new drugs and combinations for the treatment of MDR-TB
patients in India.
A new candidate drug againstTB is all set to be tried on drug-resistant TB patients in
India. Scientists are moving ahead with the plan to start a phase-IIB clinical trial of the
molecule -Pa824 - following encouraging phase-I trials that assessed the drug's safety.
This will be the first clinical trial (with nearly 300 MDR-TB patients at Delhi) of a TB
drug in India by a public-funded organisation after approval from the Drug Controller
General of India. The moleculePa824 was synthesised in India decades ago. Following
a succession of ownership changes, it was finally licensed to CSIR for further development
and clinical trial by the international non-governmental organisation, the TB Alliance.
So far eight phase-I trials were conducted in the US and South Africa in the last five
years. It was found to be safe except in higher doses. Two phase-II trials were conducted
in Brazil and South Africa which showed encouraging results. The trial in India is to
have three sections, each comprising 60-100 patients.
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The OSDD funds appropriate scientific projects that are involved in TB research and
helps in drug discovery for TB. All projects are subject to open review by the community.
Anyone who has a quest to contribute in some way can join the community. Scientists,
researchers, faculty members, students from institutions across the nation and abroad,
people working in other areas and housewives with some science background and
genuine interest are part of the community. They contribute to different aspects of the
whole drug discovery process. All the knowledge created will be open to the mankind
and the community will hold the patents acquired. Anyone will be free to manufacture
and distribute the drugs developed under open general licence. We can hope this model
succeeds in discovering, developing and making new drugs available to patients, thus
finding new cures forTB and other neglected diseases.
Artificial sweeteners linked to diabetes, obesity
Thu, Sep 18, 2014
diabetes, science & tech, health, Businessline,
Scientists have found that after exposure to artificial sweeteners our gut bacteria may
be triggering harmful metabolic changes that can lead to diabetes and obesity.
artificial sweeteners, even though they do not contain sugar, nonetheless have a direct
effect on the body's ability to utilise glucose.
Glucose intolerance -- generally thought to occur when the body cannot cope with large
amounts of sugar in the diet -- is the first step on the path to metabolic syndrome and
adult--onset diabetes.
The findings showed that many -- but not all -- of the volunteers had begun to develop
glucose intolerance after just one week of artificial sweetener consumption.
Researchers believe that certain bacteria in the guts of those who developed glucose
intolerance reacted to the chemical sweeteners by secreting substances that then provoked
an inflammatory response similar to sugar overdose, promoting changes in the body's
ability to utilise sugar.
More dangerous variant of antibiotic resistant superbug detected in I
Thu, Sep 4, 2014
antibiotics, Down to Earth, science & tech, health,
A team of scientists from Aligarh Muslim University have detected NDM-4 in bacteria
in sewage samples obtained from Aligarh Hospital
A research team at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has, reportedly, detected
New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-4 (NDM-4) in bacteria generally found in sewage.
Metallo-beta-lactamases are a category of enzymes which turn bacteria into superbugs.
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They are known to prevent the action of several antibiotics, rendering them ineffective.
NDM-4 was found in Escherichia coli (E. coli), a bacteria which commonly causes
gastrointestinal and urinary tract infections. This is the first time that NDM-4 has been
reported in India.
Earlier, a variant of metallo-beta-lactamases, NDM-1, was found in Enterobacteriaceae
in Swedenfrom an Indian patient hospitalized previously in New Delhi in 2008 ( see
'Superbug: India gets bugged'. [2]
When contacted, Khan confirmed NDM-4 is more dangerous than NDM-1. Bacteria
carrying NDM-4 is resistant to carbapenems, cephalosporins and aminoglycoside classes
of antibiotics as per the study. Khan said overuse of antibiotics in humans leads to the
development of resistant strains of bacteria and that antibiotic resistance is spreading
rapidly in India. "The significance of this study lies in the emergence of NDM-4 in
India, but not the number of positives that were detected. People will now be aware of
the start of the spread of NDM-4 in the country," said Khan.
Besides a bacterium having the potential to become resistant to multiple drugs, the
genes coding for resistance can transfer from one bacterium to another and even between
bacteria of different types. For example, NDM-1 gene is now found in different bacteria
such as Klebsiella pneumonia, E. coli and Enterobacteriaceae, meaning antibiotics are
likely to be ineffective in a wide-range of illnesses caused by these bacteria. It is possible
that NDM-4 is also present in bacteria other than E. coli in India and is already contributing
to failing treatments against several diseases. Increasing reservoirs of resistant bacteria
in the environment amplify the possibility of emergence and spread of resistance in
different bacteria against multiple antibiotics.
Cardiovascular risk factors low but mortality high in India
Thu, Sep 4, 2014
The Hindu, science & tech, Cardiovascular risk factors, health,
People living in low-income countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe
have the lowest risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) compared with those
living in high-income countries like Canada, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates.
Yet, the rate of deaths from CVD is highest in the low-income countries, not in the
high-income countries. The risk factors and the rate of deaths are intermediate in 10
middle-income countries.
However, the incidence of nonmajor cardiovascular events was highest in the high-income
countries. The risk factors for cardiovascular problems include smoking, high cholesterol,
high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, stress, insufficient intake of vegetables and fruits
and sedentary lifestyle.
There are two main reasons why the high risk factors for CVD did nottranslate into
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higher death rates in high-income countries. First, there was better control of risk factors
and "frequent use" of proven drugs to reduce the risk of deaths. Second, people living
in the high-income countries had greater chances of undergoing interventions like
bypass surgery/angioplasty to prevent death.
What is surprising is that while the mortality rate was nearly the same in rural and the
urban areas in the high-income countries, the low-income countries too showed the
same trend.
"Everyone thought the prevalence of risk factors has come down in the high-income
countries as there are fewer deaths. But this study shows the risk factors have not come
down but are tackled better,"
"As the risk factors increase in India, the mortality goesup. So the cardiovascular crisis
is waiting to worsen unless we improve the healthcare system,"
Pacific garbage patch: scientists find a way to nail ocean polluters
Wed, Sep 3, 2014
Down to Earth, ocean pollution, science & tech,
he garbage patch is a collection of marine debris, mainly consisting of plastic litter, a
major hazard for marine animals that feed on them. The garbage patch is a result of
garbage discarded in the sea which accumulates at one place due to the formation of
oceanic gyers--a large system of rotating oceanic currents, formed by wind movements.
The researchers have identified the five major ocean garbage patches. They also divided
the entire ocean into seven regions whose waters mix very little. They then used a
mathematical method that is usually used to partition interconnected systems like the
Internet, computer chips and human society to understand the movement of garbage.
"The take-home message from our work is that we have redefined the borders of the
ocean basins according to how the water moves," said van Sebille. The geography of
the new basins could yield insights into ocean ecology in addition to helping track
ocean debris. The researchers say their modelling technique could also be used to
exaplain how much Canadian and American waters mix in the Great Lakes or how an
oil spill might spread in the Gulf of Mexico.
New avian influenza strain in Southeast Asia 'travelling fast', warns
Mon, Sep 22, 2014
Down to Earth, science & tech, avian influenza,
In less than six months after first reported in China, the H5N6 virus has been detected
in poultries in Lao and Vietnam
"Influenza viruses are constantly mixing and recombining to form new threats,
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"It's been detected in multiple places in poultry, yet we only have one human infection
reported. This suggests that the virus does not easily jump from animals to humans. Of
course, we still need to remain vigilant, because prevalence in poultry and therefore
human exposure could increase during the winter."
FAO and WHO have recommend poultry consumers to follow appropriate hygiene,
food preparation and food safety guidelines. These include: washing hands often,
cleaning utensils and surfaces used during food preparation, and eating only well-cooked
poultry meat products. People should also avoid handling sick birds or those that have
died of illness.
New blood test to detect TB in kids
Mon, Sep 1, 2014
tuberculosis, science & tech, Businessline,
The newly developed test (TAM-TB assay) is the first reliable immunodiagnostic assay
to detect active tuberculosis in children, researchers said.
The test features excellent specificity, a similar sensitivity as culture tests in combination
with speed of a blood test, they said.
Tuberculosis in children is a serious public health problem especially in low-resource
countries. About one million children per year develop tuberculosis worldwide.
Unfortunately, the diagnosis of paediatric TB poses a major challenge. TB symptoms
in children are often non-specific and similar to those of common paediatric illnesses,
including pneumonia and malnutrition. Further, obtaining adequate respiratory specimens
for direct mycobacterial confirmation is problematic.
Consequently, there is an urgent need for a more precise, rapid and affordable diagnostic
test for childhood tuberculosis. The new TAM-TB assay is a sputum-independent blood
test.
Sputum and blood samples were obtained from children with tuberculosis symptoms
to compare the performance of the new assay with culture tests.
Victory is certain, yet the struggle continues
Wed, Sep 24, 2014
Down to Earth, science & tech, Mars, ISRO, space,
But before the engine can be fired, the MOM has to do a somersault in space. Currently
the LAM's nozzle is pointing away from the direction of the motion. If the engines are
fired in this orientation, the spacecraft will gain velocity, however, the purpose is to
decrease it. Hence exactly at 6:56 IST the spacecraft will commence its attitude correction
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to make the nozzle points against the direction of the motion. This tricky manoeuvre
which will be achieved by firing the small thruster and using the wheels in the MOM
will take about 21 minutes.
Secondly, when the spacecraft is at an altitude of about 1,847 km from the surface of
the Mars the LAM and eight thrusters have to fire in unison. From a velocity of 5.127
km per second relative to Mars, the velocity has to be reduced to 4.316 km per second.
Only then the spacecraft will be captured by the gravity of Mars, resulting in a closed
elliptical path. For this, ISRO has estimated that the burn duration has to be around
1,454 seconds (about 24 minutes). However, the fuel flow or actual burn rate may vary
and, hence, the accelerometers in the spacecraft will monitor the acceleration achieved
every 520 milliseconds and once the acceleration achieved is 1,098.7 metre per second,
the engines will be shut down.
As the spacecraft nears Mars and due to the negative thrust, it will descend towards the
surface at first and bounce back. The timing of the burn should be such that the mid-point
of the burn should occur when the altitude of the spacecraft is at its lowest.
Even if the spacecraft was not in radio shadow, given that the distance of the MOM
will be around 200 million km, ISRO engineers will not be able to command the
spacecraft as you control remote car. The two way time delay will be about 24 minutes.
Hence, taking into consideration various contingencies, commands have been loaded
into the spacecraft and all manoeuvres will have to take place automatically.
After the burn is complete, once again spacecraft should roll-over to the position wherein
the nozzle once again points against the direction of the motion. However, this reverse
maneuver will take only 10 minutes.
MOM was launched using ISRO's workhorse rocket, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
(PSLV), designed for putting satellites into low Earth orbit. Therefore, unlike MAVEN,
which was launched by NASA directly towards Mars, Indian MOM had to take help
from Earth's gravity through a novel space manoeuvre called 'gravity assist' to free
itself from the clutches of Earth's gravity. MOM went around Earth seven times before
it was hurled at Mars. This implied the route to Mars was circuitous and long.
As PSLV was less powerful it could launch only a 1.3 tonne spacecraft. The bulk of
the spacecraft load is fuel, and hence the actual payload, that is the scientific instruments
that could be accommodated, was just 15 kg. ISRO used miniaturized components and
composite materials to pack the limited payload with five instruments that included a
colour camera to obtain high resolution pictures, instrument to detect presence of
methane in upper atmosphere and an instrument to measure ratio of deuterium to
hydrogen. Indeed the scientific goals of MOM are modest compared to MAVEN (Mars
Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution), which has eight instruments and would be the
first spacecraft to examine questions such as how the solar wind has stripped away the
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Martian atmosphere.
Mars Curiosity rover reaches its primary destination
Sun, Sep 14, 2014
The Hindu, science & tech, Mars, space, Mars Curiosity rover,
After more than two years of touching down on Mars, NASA's Curiosity rover has
finally reached the foothills of Mount Sharp, the primary destination it was designed
to explore.
Mount Sharp is a Mount-Rainier-size mountain at the centre of the vast Gale Crater
and the rover mission's long-term prime destination.
Compared to neighbouring crater-floor terrain, the rock of the Murray formation is
softer and does not preserve impact scars, as well. As viewed from orbit, it is not as
well-layered as other units at the base of Mount Sharp.
Curiosity reached its current location after its route was modified earlier this year in
response to excessive wheel wear.
In late 2013, the team realised a region of Martian terrain littered with sharp, embedded
rocks was poking holes in four of the rover's six wheels.
After landing inside Gale Crater in August 2012, Curiosity fulfilled in its first year of
operations its major science goal of determining whether Mars ever offered environmental
conditions favourable for microbial life.
NASA's Curiosity rover reaches its primary destination
Sun, Sep 14, 2014
nasa, mars, science & tech, space, Businessline, Curiosity,
After more than two years of touching down on Mars, NASA's Curiosity rover has
finally reached the foothills of Mount Sharp, the primary destination it was designed
to explore.
After landing inside Gale Crater in August 2012, Curiosity fulfilled in its first year of
operations its major science goal of determining whether Mars ever offered environmental
conditions favourable for microbial life.
Mars spacecraft to be ordered into orbit
Fri, Sep 12, 2014
mars, The Hindu, science & tech, isro, space,
We are doing a re-start of the 440 Newton engine for four seconds at 2 p.m. on September
22. We are doing that re-start to confirm [that the engine will erupt into life on September
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24]," he said.
The Mars spacecraft and its five scientific instruments are in good health. On September
11, the spacecraft was just about 35 lakh km away from Mars while it had already
covered more than 64 crore km in its epic voyage.
A faster, cheaper Mars orbiter
Thu, Sep 25, 2014
The Hindu, mars orbiter, science & tech, isro, space,
No other country that has attempted a mission to Mars has succeeded in reaching the
planet on debut. So, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) can claim that it
has done a shade better than accomplished space powers such as the United States and
Russia in reaching Mars.
India's Mangalyaan has cost the country Rs.450 crore or about $70 million; it is without
doubt the cheapest inter-planetary mission ever to be undertaken since Martian exploration
began. On September 22, a mission by NASA called the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile
Evolution (MAVEN), made at a cost of over $670 million, reached Mars. This Indian
marathon took 300 days to cover a distance of over 670 million kilometres -- a sprint
really in a record time of 10 months.
Many have questioned why India should be sending a robotic mission to Mars when
there is so much poverty, malnutrition, death, disaster and diseases among its 1.2 billon
population. Some have even called this mission as being a part of India's "delusional
dream" of becoming a superpower in the 21st century.
India's Mars Orbiter mission has paved the way for cheaper and faster inter-planetary
probes. During his upcoming U.S. visit, Mr. Modi and U.S. President Barack Obama
are likely to sign a new agreement for the making of the joint Indo-U.S. Radar Satellite
Mission. China and India recently signed an agreement on "peaceful uses of outer
space." So, many are now wanting to partner in ISRO's success.
The mission, within minutes of reaching Mars, has already taken its first images of the
Martian surface. The Mars colour camera, which is essentially an Indian eye to track
Mars, will bring back the first tangible truths to Indian taxpayers that their money has
been well spent.
If the 20th century witnessed a "space race" between the U.S. and the USSR, the 21st
century is seeing an Asian space race. In most aspects of space technology, China is
way ahead of India. It has larger rockets, bigger satellites and several rocket ports. It
even launched its first astronaut in space way back in 2003 and has a space laboratory
in the making.
In 2008, when India undertook its first mission to moon Chandrayaan-1, China raced
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ahead and orbited its Chang'e-1 satellite ahead of India. But in this Martian marathon,
India has reached the finish line ahead of China. This now puts India in the pole position
as far as Asian Martian exploration goes. In 2012, the first Chinese probe to Mars
Yinghuo-1 failed. It was riding atop a Russian satellite called Phobos-Grunt. But the
Chinese probe failed to even leave earth. Earlier in 1998, a Japanese probe to Mars ran
out of fuel.
Coming up in the next few weeks is the test firing of India's monster rocket, the
Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III, a rocket capable of carrying heavy
payloads into space. This flight will carry a dummy crew module, which is part of a
programme for the development of critical technologies that ISRO seeks to develop as
part of its human space flight programme.
As ISRO says, the first astronaut could well be a woman. In a few weeks, an Indian
navigation satellite will be also launched into space. By 2017, ISRO wants to undertake
India's second mission to moon Chandrayaan-2 which will have an Indian lander and
a rover. Subsequently, it also wants to launch dedicated missions to study the Sun and
the planetary bodies in the solar system.
It is an eye-opener that a country which can undertake a mission to Mars is unable to
provide electricity to 400 million citizens. What is worse is that 600 million Indians
still don't have access to toilets. It is hoped that Mr. Modi would have learnt a lesson
or two from the Indian space agency on how to undertake cost-effective projects with
no time or cost overruns. If only Mr. Modi internalises this big learning can his dream
of having "Swachh Bharat" by 2019 become a reality.
SpaceX Falcon rocket lifts off with communications satellite
Sun, Sep 7, 2014
science & tech, falcon, space, spaceX, Businessline,
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Sept 7:
A Space Exploration Technologies Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral
Air Force Station in Florida on Sunday to put a commercial communications satellite
into orbit.
Tucked inside the rocket's nosecone was the second of two satellites owned by Hong
Kong-based Asia Satellite Telecommunications Holdings Ltd, or AsiaSat.
The first satellite, AsiaSat 8, was successfully delivered into an orbit some 22,200 miles
(35,700 km) above Earth on Aug. 5.
"With the two satellites coming out of the factory approximately the same time we were
able to book back-to-back missions," said AsiaSat chief executive William Wade. The
two launches cost AsiaSat about $110 million, Wade said.
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Privately owned SpaceX, as the company is known, planned to launch the second
satellite, AsiaSat 6, two weeks ago, but delayed the flight to recheck the rocket's systems
following an unrelated accident that claimed the company's prototype Falcon 9R reusable
lander during a test flight on August 22.
The satellite launched on Sunday is outfitted with 28 high-power C-band transponders
for video distribution and broadband network services in China and Southeast Asia.
Half of the transponders are reserved for Thaicom PLC , which owns the orbital slot
AsiaSat 6 will use, Wade said.
The new satellite, which is designed to last 15 years, is the sixth member of AsiaSat's
current orbital network, half of which were launched by Russian Proton rockets.
NASA to make ISS an Earth-observing platform
Tue, Sep 9, 2014
nasa, The Hindu, ISS, science & tech, space,
In a bid to monitor Earth better, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) is adding a number of Earth-observing instruments to the International Space
Station (ISS) that will increase the leverage of the space station's unique vantage point
in space.
Scheduled to be launched this month, the first NASA Earth-observing instrument called
ISS-RapidScat will monitor ocean winds for climate research as well as weather
predictions and hurricane monitoring.
The second instrument scheduled for a December launch is the Cloud Aerosol Transport
System (CATS), a laser instrument that will measure clouds and the location and
distribution of airborne particles such as mineral dust and smoke in the atmosphere,
the U.S. space agency said in a statement.
ISS-RapidScat and CATS follow the February launch of the Global Precipitation
Measurement Core Observatory, a joint mission with the Japan Aerospace Exploration
Agency, and the July launch of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2.
NASA to turn ISS into perfect Earth-observing platform
Tue, Sep 9, 2014
nasa, ISS, science & tech, space, Businessline,
In a move to monitor our planet better, NASA is adding a number of Earth-observing
instruments to the International Space Station (ISS) that will increase the leverage of
the orbital laboratory's unique vantage point in space.
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ISS-RapidScat will monitor ocean winds for climate research, weather predictions and
hurricane monitoring from the space station, NASA said.
The second instrument is the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS), a laser instrument
that will measure clouds and the location and distribution of airborne particles such as
pollution, mineral dust, smoke, and other particulates in the atmosphere.
CATS will follow ISS-RapidScat on the fifth SpaceX space station resupply flight,
planned for December.
The space station-based instruments join a fleet of 17 NASA Earth-observing missions
currently providing data on the dynamic and complex Earth system.
ISS-RapidScat and CATS follow the February launch of the Global Precipitation
Measurement Core Observatory, a joint mission with the Japan Aerospace Exploration
Agency.
European Space Agency sets November 12 date for comet landing
Sat, Sep 27, 2014
Rosetta, science & tech, space, Businessline,
Europe's Rosetta spacecraft will attempt on November 12 to land a robot lab on a comet
hurtling through deep space in a first for humankind,
Ten days after unveiling the preferred landing spot on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko,
the European Space Agency (ESA) has now set a firm date for the high-stakes operation
more than 450 million km (280 miles) from Earth.
If all goes according to plan, Rosetta will release Philae at 0835 GMT on November
12 at a distance of 22.5 km from the comet's centre, to land seven hours later.
A delay of 28 minutes and 20 seconds in the one-way signal from Rosetta means that
confirmation of landing will arrive on Earth at about 1600 GMT.
Rosetta is equipped with 11 cameras and sensors that have already yielded astonishing
images of the comet.
But experts are hoping for even bigger discoveries from the 10 instruments aboard
Philae.
They would like to learn more about comets, icy bodies that were born along with the
Solar System some 4.6 billion years ago, and are credited by at least one theory of
bringing life to Earth.
Comet 67P is on a 6.5-year Sun orbit.
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Rosetta caught up with it after a six-billion-km trek that required four flybys of Earth
and Mars, using the planets' gravity as a slingshot to build up speed.
At their closest approach on August 13, 2015, the comet and Rosetta will be 185 million
km from the Sun.
NASA, ISRO in talks to set up Joint Mars Working Group
Thu, Sep 11, 2014
nasa, mars, science & tech, ISRO, space, Businessline,
America's premier space agency NASA and its Indian counterpart ISRO are talking
about setting up a Joint Mars Working Group, a top US space official has said ahead
of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US.
NASA is in discussions with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) regarding
potential scientific collaboration with their Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), due to enter
Mars' orbit about two days after MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution
(MAVEN) orbiter, which will arrive at Mars later this month," said James Green
Director, Planetary Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA.
Testifying before the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Space Committee on
Science, Space and Technology, he said while primarily a technology-demonstration
mission, MOM includes five science instruments to study the Martian atmosphere,
mineralogy and surface features.
Both the missions of NASA and ISRO will arrive at the Red Planet just in time to join
the fleet of Mars--based spacecraft that could witness the effects of comet Siding Spring,
Green told lawmakers.
MAVEN, he said, will explore the Mars' upper atmosphere, ionosphere and interactions
with the sun and solar wind.
Scientists will use MAVEN data to determine the role that loss of volatiles from the
Mars atmosphere to space has played through time, giving an insight into the history
of Mars' atmosphere and climate, liquid water, and planetary habitability, he added.
"In the coming decade, China is preparing a series of robotic lunar missions, Russia is
preparing lunar, Venus and Mars missions, India has plans to go to the Moon and Mars,
Japan is planning a second asteroid sample-return mission, and the Europeans are headed
to Mercury, Mars, the asteroids and Jupiter," Bell said.
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GSLV-MkIII is ISRO's next
Fri, Sep 26, 2014
GSLV, The Hindu, science & tech, ISRO, space,
Team ISRO has, meanwhile, got down to brass tacks and expects to get one of its biggest
projects off the mark this calendar year -- GSLV-Mark III.
Success of this heavy-lift, four-tonne satellite launcher is imperative to make India
capable of launching its future communication satellites from its soil.
The first flight of the new vehicle is being considered for October-end if good weather
holds, he said. The stages of the vehicle are being put together at Sriharikota.
The date of its launch depends on an earlier flight of the PSLV-C26, which will put
into orbit the third regional navigation spacecraft, the IRNSS-1C. If the PSLV is flown
in the week starting October 9 as planned, GSLV-MkIII can follow on the second launch
pad a fortnight after it, Dr. Radhakrishnan said. The C-26 vehicle is also getting assembled
at Sriharikota.
MkIII will test the recovery of a dummy crew module from sea. The module is the core
of a future Human Space Project, in which a couple of astronauts will fly close to Earth
for a few days.
Mangalyaan is now in orbit of Mars
Wed, Sep 24, 2014
Down to Earth, science & tech, Mars, space,
ISRO spacecraft joins three other orbiters of European Space Agency and NASA;
The Mangalyan is now in the orbit of the planet Mars. All manoeuvres went smoothly.
India is now the fourth country to have achieved this. India managed to achieve this
successfully in the first g About two-thirds of the missions have failed.
On November 5, the rocket PSLV-C25 successfully carried the orbiter to Earth's orbit
and released it. The orbiter continued to move in the Earth's orbit for the next 25 days,
gaining velocity with each of the five revolutions. In December, it was released into
the space. Its 300 day space journey began. ISRO touched base with the orbiter again
on September 22 to ensure that the engines could be fired to insert it in the planet's
orbit.
Now that the orbiter is in the planet's orbit, the five instruments on board will become
crucial. Signals sent from the orbiter to Earth would take around 20 minutes to reach
but would bring in valuable information about the planet. Most awaited is the information
on the levels of methane in the planet's atmosphere. This is the first time that methane
in the atmosphere of the planet will be measured by a satellite. The orbiter would be
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monitored for the next six to 10 months and at least one terabyte of data is likely to be
received from Mangalyaan.
Loading of commands for Mars orbiter begins
Sun, Sep 14, 2014
The Hindu, science & tech, Mars orbiter, ISRO, space,
the primary objective" of India's Mars Orbiter Mission was to put the spacecraft into
a Martian orbit, its scientific objective was empirical observation of the planet. The
ISRO-built orbiter carries five instruments to detect methane on Mars, to study its
geological activity, to study the Martian atmosphere and so on.
ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle put the spacecraft into an initial orbit on November
5, 2013.
NASA's Maven reaches Mars
Mon, Sep 22, 2014
Down to Earth, science & tech, Mars, MAVEN spacecraft, space,
It is believed that Mars was covered with a layer of air which kept it warm and wet.
But gradually the atmosphere lost the protective layer of air and is now dry and cold.
It is hoped that the existing atmosphere would give a clue about what happened.
MAVEN was launched aboard an Atlas V launch vehicle on November 18, 2013--13
days after India launched its Mars orbiter. The spacecraft travelled a total of 442 million
miles in the past 10 months to reach the Mars orbit. Maven managed to reach earlier
as it was shot off into the space directly unlike India's orbiter which circled around the
Earth for 25 days to gain appropriate velocity. The Indian spacecraft is expected to be
injected into the planet's orbit on September 24. ISRO's orbiter, too, would be studying
the planet's atmosphere.
SpaceX cargo ship blasts off carrying 3-D printer
Sun, Sep 21, 2014
nasa, The Hindu, science & tech, space, 3d printing, spacex,
A SpaceX cargo ship rocketed toward the International Space Station on Sunday,
carrying the first 3-D printer for astronauts in orbit.
In all, the unmanned Dragon capsule is delivering more than 5,000 pounds (2,300
kilograms) of space station supplies for NASA. Dragon is expected reach the space
station on Tuesday. It is the fifth station shipment for the California-based company
SpaceX, one of two new commercial winners in the race to start launching Americans
again from home soil.
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The space station-bound 3-D printer is sturdier than earthly models to withstand the
stresses of launch, and meets NASA's strict safety standards. The space agency envisions
astronauts one day cranking out spare parts as needed. For now, it's a technology
demonstrator, with a bigger and better model to follow next year.
A $30 million device for measuring ocean winds is also flying up on Dragon, along
with 20 mice and 30 fruit flies for biological research and metal samples for a golf club
manufacturer looking to improve its products.
Just this past week, SpaceX led by billionaire Elon Musk won an even bigger and more
prestigious contract to transport U.S. astronauts to the orbiting outpost, along with
Boeing. Dragon rides could begin as early as 2016 or 2017.
NASA's ability to launch its own crews ended with the shuttle program in 2011. Russia
has been providing rides on its Soyuz spacecraft for a hefty price.
Another American astronaut is scheduled to blast off from Kazakhstan aboard a Russian
Soyuz later this week, along with two Russians, one of them a woman, a rarity for
Russia. They will join the one American, one Russian and one German already in orbit.
Space exploration not a prerogative of the West
Fri, Sep 26, 2014
The Hindu, science & tech, space,
India's space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation, is a late entrant to the
space race, and the success of Mangalyaan makes the country an Asian leader in space
exploration, if not yet a global one.
The Economist not a known advocate of the poor or of government spending on social
welfare, demanded to know -- not only of India but of Sri Lanka, Belarus, Bolivia and
Nigeria, all "minnows" with fledgling space aspirations: "How can poor countries afford
space programmes?" Cut aid to such over-reaching parvenus, some in Britain have
suggested.
But inquiry and exploration are not the prerogative of advanced capitalist western
nations -- with the rest of the world eternally condemned to be a footnote in the history
of science, even as its historical contributions to knowledge are forgotten.
Serious questions remain about whether science and technology -- and not just in poorer
countries -- can have a greater good in mind when the bottom line is profit. The space
race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union was not an affordable luxury undertaken
for the sake of knowledge, but intrinsically tied to the military-industrial complex.
Yet India is fortunate in having a long and diverse history of campaigning science
movements that have sought to draw both on indigenous knowledge traditions and
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direct modern scientific research towards progress in health, literacy, environment,
nutrition and sanitation.
Lessons to be learnt
Wed, Sep 10, 2014
The Hindu, science & tech, ebola,
As on September 5, at least 3,967 cases and 2,105 deaths were reported from the four
countries. The number of cases and deaths has spiked over the last fortnight. There was
a sudden spurt of deaths, numbering 400, during the period from August 28 to September
3, and the month of August alone accounted for over 40 per cent of all Ebola cases
found since December 2013. There is every reason to believe that the count of the
number of infected cases belies the ground reality. What is particularly poignant is that
the community's confidence in health workers continues to remain low, and people
are largely unwilling to seek medical attention. WHO estimates that it may take six to
nine months to contain the outbreak, which is estimated to have infected up to 20,000
people.
Unlike the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in February 2003 and
H1N1 influenza that was declared a pandemic in June 2009, the Ebola virus disease
spreads only through direct contact with the body fluids of a diseased person. Its spread
could thus be checked easily, but the weak public health systems in the four countries
lack the infrastructure to handle the crisis.
Unit 5 of RAPS becomes world's 2nd longest running reactor
Sat, Sep 6, 2014
raps5, science & tech, Businessline,
India's nuclear power programme today reached a new milestone after Unit 5 of the
Rajasthan Atomic Power Station become the second longest running reactor in the
world by being in operation for 765 days continuously.
The Unit 5 of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS), a 220 MW Pressurised
Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR), in Rawatbhata has been in uninterrupted operation
since August 2, 2012 and it has been operating at full power with a capacity factor of
105 per cent.
On the debate over 'Antibiotics in the chicken we eat'
Wed, Sep 17, 2014
poultry, The Hindu, science & tech, Antibiotics,
The very first is about the use of calcium carbide to hasten the ripening of fruits,
particularly mangoes. Calcium carbide, upon reaction with water, generates the gas
acetylene which, along with the gas ethylene (produced through biotic reactions in the
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fruit), acts as a fruit- ripening hormone, thus hastening the process of ripening. The
large scale mango marketer plucks the unripe mangoes from trees, stores them in bins
containing calcium carbide which generates acetylene upon spraying with water. While
acetylene and ethylene are not toxic, calcium carbide is suspected to be, It is reported
to cause skin rash, dermatitis and inhaling it can cause pulmonary edema (a medical
emergency). And commercial calcium carbide contains traces of arsenic and phosphorus
compounds as impurities, both of which are health hazards for animals and humans.
use of oxytocin in dairy farms. This "love hormone" as it is dubbed, is a small peptide
molecule whose main effect is to help in the delivery of babies. Naturally released in
the body of the mother-to-be, this hormone, among other things, induces labour by
increasing the contractions of the muscles of the womb, controls post-partum haemorrhage
and stimulates milk release. But it is to be administered by the doctor only in cases of
emergency, since it does have side effects. Thankfully however, being a peptide molecule,
oxytocin does not last long in the body when injected, but gets hydrolysed into amino
acids
, the general belief is that is causes more milk production.
But what oxytocin does to the cow is to increase muscle contraction in the udders and
make milk ejection faster. Many greedy dairymen also try and keep cows permanently
lactating so as to keep the milk flow on a continuous commercial basis
some people have taken oxytocin use from the animal to the plant kingdom. This is
with the belief that the animal hormone may have growth stimulating effect in plants.
Coming finally to the use of the antibiotics in the poultry industry, several readers
wondered whether these molecules are not destroyed by the high temperatures involved
during cooking, and thus making it safe enough to eat the chicken.
Yes, this would be true for most of the molecules, and also for many of the bacteria
present in the chicken itself. But recall that the inside of the chicken is a warm, hospitable
reactor, or the genetic playground for microbes, where not only growth of the normal
but also of mutant strains occurs. Some of these mutants can be heat-resistant while
others are multi drug resistant strains.
Even if you burn off most of these in cooking, what about those in the inedible parts
of the chicken which are disposed off into the environment?
Some are burnt off in incinerators, but those left in the soil and water bodies will affect
the life forms there. And more often than not we encounter such germs infecting animals
and moving from there to humans. Salmonella, and the more dangerous H1N1 and HIV
are three such zoonotic invaders. Given this backdrop, is the appeal for banning the use
of antibiotics in poultry farms an overreach?
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'U.S. monopoly over Internet must go'
Tue, Sep 2, 2014
surveillance, The Hindu, science & tech, internet,
Unfortunately, the Brazil Netmundial convened in April, 2014, with the Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), following objections raised
by [Brazilian] President Dilma Rousseff to the National Security Agency (NSA) spying
on her government, only handed us a non-binding agreement on surveillance and
privacy-related concerns.
Today, China and Russia are capable of challenging U.S. dominance. Despite being a
strong commercial power, China has not deployed Internet technology across the world.
The Chinese have good infrastructure but they use U.S. Domain Naming System, which
is a basic component of the functioning of the Internet. One good thing is because they
use the Chinese language for domain registration, it limits access to outsiders in some
way.
India too is a big country. It helps that it is not an authoritarian country and has many
languages. It should make the most of its regional languages, but with regard to technology
itself, India has to tread more carefully in developing independent capabilities in this
area.
As far as European countries are concerned, they are mostly allies of the U.S. and may
not have a strong inclination to develop independent capabilities in this area. Africa
again has potential; it can establish its own independent Internet network which will
be patronised by its burgeoning middle classes.
The ICANN Domain Naming System (DNS) is operated by VeriSign, a U.S. government
contractor. Thus, traffic is monitored by the NSA, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) can seize user sites or domains anywhere in the world if they are hosted by U.S.
companies or subsidiaries.
The U.S. government is adamant on controlling the ICANN DNS. Thus, copies (mirrors)
should be made available in other countries out of reach from the FBI.
Fragmentation of the Internet is not such a bad thing as it is often made out to be. The
bone of contention here is the DNS monopoly.
In this context, a usual scarecrow brandished by the U.S. government is fragmentation,
or Balkanisation, of the Internet. All monopolies resort to similar arguments whenever
their turf is threatened by a looming competition. Furthermore, the proprietary naming
and unstable service definitions specific to the likes of Amazon, Apple, Facebook,
Google, Twitter, and more, have already divided the Internet in as many closed and
incompatible internets of captive users.
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Unfortunately, the phrase "Internet governance" is too abstract for most people and
governments to be interested in. The most crucial question is what kind of society do
you want to live in? Should governments allow citizens to end up as guinea pigs for
global Internet corporations? The revelations by NSA contractor Edward Snowden
have proved beyond doubt that user data held by Internet companies today are subject
to pervasive surveillance. Conducting these intrusive activities by controlling the core
infrastructure of the Internet without obtaining the consent of citizen users is a big
concern and should be debated in public. Therefore, debates about Internet governance
are no longer alien; they involve all of us who are part of the network.
ISRO's Mars orbiter enters Mars' Sphere of Influence
Mon, Sep 22, 2014
The Hindu, science & tech, Mars, ISRO,
Cruising towards its historic rendezvous with the Red Planet, India's Mars Orbiter
Mission (MOM) on Monday entered Mars' gravitational Sphere of Influence ahead of
its scheduled Orbit Insertion on September 24.
Now that the spacecraft has entered the Mars' influence, its velocity has to be controlled
so that it does not escape the Mars' influence, an official said, adding, the spacecraft
is scheduled to enter the Mars Orbit Insertion at 7.30 AM IST on September 24.
The MOM, India's first interplanetary mission, was launched by India's workhorse
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh last year.
India's Mission to Mars: Ready to Land
Sat, Sep 20, 2014
mars, IDSA, science & tech, isro, space,
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched its maiden mission to Mars
- the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) - on November 5, 2013. This mission is expected
to reach the 'Red Planet' on September 24, 2014 after a ten month long space journey.
What does the possible success with the Mars mission mean for India? What if ISRO's
mission fails? Would it be considered as a major blow to India's space programme?
In fact, judging by the progress made by the MOM it could be comfortably claimed
that ISRO has already achieved around 30 to 40% of the success: first by flawlessly
launching the MOM on Nov 5, 2013 and subsequently taking this spacecraft out of the
sphere of influence of the earth. Here the primary gravitational influence of earth which
is experienced by spacecraft diminishes and slowly the satellite starts under the influences
of other planets. For the last ten months, the MOM is following a correct trajectory
towards its travel to Mars. Ultimately, what remains is to succeed with correct Mars
orbital insertion on September 24 and subsequently taking scientific observations to
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high levels of space research.
ISRO's space programme agenda has seen some great successes particularly in the last
few decades. The successful Moon mission in 2008 is a landmark achievement. Surely
the Mars mission would mean an additional feather in ISRO's cap and would boost
India's global standing in space and technology. It may be noted that no Asian state
has yet achieved the distinction of reaching the Mars. India could be the first.
India needs to expand its Mars agenda further. It is for scientific, technological and
commercial gains purposes. The political gains are incidental. The best window to
undertake a mission to Mars, arises only once in 26 months. This is because owing to
the different orbital motions of the planets, Mars comes closer to Earth only once in
every 26 months. In the near future there would be such opportunities available in 2016,
2018 and 2020 and India should utilise all these opportunities gainfully.
Any major success achieved by India could assist the global efforts towards the possible
human colonization of Mars. This would automatically increase India's status. Strategic
superiority is not only about the display of nuclear weapons but also of alternative ideas.
Mars is an idea whose time has come and any major success in this field holds the
potential to transform a rising power like India into a great power.
MOM set to hunt for methane on Mars
Sat, Sep 27, 2014
mars, The Hindu, Mars Orbiter Mission, science & tech, isro,
The two scientific instruments that will become operational on Saturday are the Methane
Sensor for Mars and the Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer. The former will look
for signs of methane in the Martian atmosphere, which is an indicator of possible
microbial life there, and the latter will map Mars' surface composition and its mineralogy.
Mars' orbiter's main engine test-fired successfully
Mon, Sep 22, 2014
mars, Down to Earth, science & tech, ISRO, space,
the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully test-firing the main liquid
engine of its Mars orbiter spacecraft or Mangalyaan.
'GSLV Mark III will make India self-reliant in space'
Sat, Sep 27, 2014
GSLV Mark III, science & tech, ISRO, space, Businessline,
India does not need to rely on foreign countries for launching heavier communication
satellites once its experimental mission of GSLV Mark III tasted success, Vikram
Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) Director M Chandra Dathan today said.
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He said the country had been launching heavy communication satellites from French
Guiana (through Arianespace) at present and once the experimental mission was a
success there was no need to depend on them.
On other post-Mars Orbiter Mission projects of ISRO, he said the launching of PSLV--C26,
which would carry IRNSS 1C satellite, had been scheduled on October 10 from
Sriharikota.
It was the third in the IRNSS series and four more satellites were under plans, he said.
"With the launching of all seven in the IRNSS series, we can achieve self-reliance in
the field of navigation,"he said.
Stating that ISRO's programmes for the next 25 years were well defined, he said
Chandrayaan 2 and Solar Mission were also among the major projects in the offing.
NASA's Maven explorer arrives at Mars after a year
Mon, Sep 22, 2014
Maven spacecraft, mars, NASA, The Hindu, science & tech, space,
The Maven spacecraft arrived at the red planet late on Sunday night after a 442
million-mile (700 million kilometres) journey that began nearly a year ago . NASA
confirmed that the robotic explorer slipped into Martian orbit as planned. Now the real
work begins for the $671 million mission.
Flight controllers will spend the next six weeks adjusting Maven's altitude and checking
its science instruments. Then Maven will start probing the Martian upper atmosphere.
The spacecraft will conduct its observations from orbit; it's not meant to land.
Scientists believe the Martian atmosphere holds clues as to how Earth's neighbour
went from being warm and wet billions of years ago to cold and dry. That early moist
world may have harboured microbial life, a tantalizing question yet to be answered.
Mars mission success
Thu, Sep 25, 2014
The Hindu, science & tech, mars mission,
Thus far, only the United States, the former Soviet Union and the European Space
Agency have succeeded in doing so. India and its space agency, the Indian Space
Research Organisation (ISRO), now proudly join their ranks. Although ISRO could
draw on its experience with the lunar probe, Chandrayaan-1, launched six years back,
the challenges involved in sending a spacecraft all the way to Mars are far greater. That
includes propelling the spacecraft with sufficient velocity to escape Earth's gravitational
grasp, guiding it along the proper trajectory over vast distances, and then slowing it
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down sufficiently to go into orbit around that planet. It is a tribute to ISRO and the
professionalism of its scientists and engineers that every minute detail for such a complex
mission could be attended to in the course of a project completed in just one and a half
years. India's Mars effort costs Rs.460 crore, an economical price tag by Western
standards.
The Indian probe joins four spacecraft already circling Mars, including America's
MAVEN (acronym for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) that went into orbit
just two days earlier, as well as two U.S. rovers exploring the planet's surface. The
Indian and U.S. space agencies are holding discussions on possible scientific collaboration.
Success with the Mars Orbiter will give ISRO the confidence and capability to undertake
more challenging missions. However, if the country wants to send heavier and more
powerful spacecraft to Mars, it cannot do so with the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
(PSLV) that was used for the current mission. However, the Geosynchronous Satellite
Launch Vehicle (GSLV) equipped with an indigenous cryogenic stage made its first
successful flight only in January this year, and a few more flights will be necessary to
establish its reliability. Further improvements to the rocket may also prove essential.
ISRO has achieved much, and more will be expected of it in the years to come.
First comet landing site to be revealed
Mon, Sep 15, 2014
comet, Rosetta, The Hindu, science & tech,
Philae, a landing module weighing about 100 kg that is part of Rosetta (robotic space
probe), will probably touch down on Nov 11 on the surface of Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko,
which the unmanned spacecraft has been orbiting and observing from a distance of less
than 100 km since Aug 6.
To do that, Rosetta approached to about 50 km from the comet, which allowed scientists
to "gather more detailed information about each site", in particular high-definition
photos of the comet's rocky, dusty and uneven surface, temperature readings and
pressure measurements of the density of the gas surrounding the nucleus.
Authorities have warned that the landing manoeuvre will be "complicated" and could
last several hours because of the relatively small mass -- and corresponding very light
gravity -- of the comet, which looks something like a potato the size of a mountain.
Rosetta was launched in 2004, and, over the past 10 years, has travelled almost 6.4
billion km on its odyssey to try and obtain data relating to the solar system's origin.
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Strong solar flare making its way towards Earth
Thu, Sep 11, 2014
The Hindu, science & tech, solar flare,
A strong solar flare is blasting its way to Earth, but the worst of its power looks like it
will barely skim above the planet and not cause many problems.
So while the power grid may see fluctuations because the storm will cause changes in
Earth's magnetic field, it won't knock power systems off line, Mr. Berger said. It may
cause slight disturbances in satellites and radio transmissions but nothing major.
Super cyber intelligence body soon, announces IT Minister
Sun, Sep 14, 2014
Cyber Security, The Hindu, science & tech,
India will soon get an overarching body for cyber intelligence and security, IT and
Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said here on Saturday.
The concept note for the Rs. 800-crore project has been sent to various Ministries for
inputs. "Once we receive their comments, we will make a note for the Cabinet's
consideration," Mr. Prasad said.
A year in the works, the National Cyber Security and Coordination Centre (NCSC) will
analyse Internet traffic data scanned and integrated from various gateway routers at a
centralised location. It will facilitate real-time assessment of cyber-security threats and
generate actionable reports for various agencies.
As a multi-agency body under the Department of Electronics and IT, the NCSC will
include the National Security Council Secretariat, the Intelligence Bureau, the Research
and Analysis Wing (RAW), the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In),
the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), the three armed forces and the
Department of Telecommunications.
It is expected to subsume the work done by CERT-In as well as issue alerts in the event
of a cyber-attack.
India's Arctic observatory toaid climate change studies
Fri, Sep 12, 2014
monsoon, The Hindu, science & tech, Arctic observatory,
Deep in the frigid waters of the Arctic Ocean, an Indian observatory is quietly churning
out data that is expected to help scientists understand the Arctic climate process and
its influence on the Indian monsoon system.
The deployment of IndARC, the country's first underwater moored observatory in the
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Kongsfjorden fjord, half way between Norway and the North Pole, represents a major
milestone in India's scientific endeavours in the Arctic region, says Shailesh Nayak,
Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences.
Designed and developed by scientists from the Earth System Science Organisation
(ESSO), National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), National Institute
of Ocean Technology (NIOT) and Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services
(INCOIS), IndARC was deployed from RV Lance, a research vessel belonging to the
Norwegian Polar Institute on July 23.
The Kongsfjorden is considered a natural laboratory for studying the Arctic climate
variability. Scientists predict that melting of the Arctic glaciers will trigger changes in
weather patterns and ocean currents that could affect other parts of the world.
A smarter way to find new drugs
Mon, Sep 22, 2014
drugs, pharma, science & tech, Businessline,
The pharma sector needs to embrace emerging technologies like Big Data analytics
and cloud computing
What is the secret sauce of accelerating innovation when it comes to critical areas such
as drug discovery, personalised medicines or simulated healthcare?
A cross-pollination of ideas across the ecosystem is vital as pharmaceutical companies
are caught in the conundrum of navigating an increasingly complex global environment
driven by competing market and consumer pressures, regulatory changes and a constant
need for life-saving innovations.
The truth is with investors getting wary, the price of drugs being perceived as high, and
regulatory compliance getting increasingly stringent, R&D productivity is under
tremendous pressure.
What compounds the woes is a high failure rate. Of every 5,000 projects, only one
completes the drug development process and only one in five of these actually returns
its R&D investment.
The time from drug discovery to approval can take up to 15 years; the average cost of
bringing a pharmaceutical product to the market is $800 million and growing. The key
to reducing costs lies in compressing the discovery cycle by eliminating redundant
research and identifying new business models.
To sail smart in the new normal and thrive, pharmaceutical companies must tap emerging
technologies such as big data analytics and cloud to streamline their IT operations and
deliver safer and affordable healthcare for all. Advanced analytics, mathematical
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modelling and simulation tools and machine-based discovery technologies, enable
enterprises to mine terabytes of data, uncover innovation opportunities and predict the
most profitable research outcomes.
The good news is that with rising healthcare costs becoming a key constraint, enterprises,
practitioners and policymakers are keen on exploring disruptive technologies to help
solve critical, healthcare challenges.
For instance, a novel cloud-based clinical trial supply management solution helps life
sciences companies significantly enhance efficiency of clinical trial processes by driving
greater collaboration between pharmaceutical companies and contract research
organisations.
Besides improving the productivity of the overall drug development process, this ensures
timely and accurate supply of drugs to patients at reduced costs. As a result, enterprises
can price products competitively while adhering to the stringent standards required to
bring products safely to consumers.
Likewise, Big Data promises smarter healthcare -- a paradigm shift from corrective to
preventive medicine and personalised medicine, as silos of disparate information gives
way to novel actionable insights for medicos.
With sophisticated data analytics technologies, machine learning software can point to
abnormalities and predict health issues while smartphones and "iAnythings" are
empowering the patient to monitor his health. As doctors rely on such technology for
diagnosis and decision-making, there is a marked improvement in procedure performance,
decreased healthcare costs, and improved patient-centric care.
Indeed, the emergence of advanced simulation technologies is proving a boon for better
diagnosing osteoporosis and accurately quantifying fracture risk. This provides medical
practitioners with a new, comprehensive and non-invasive way to examine individual
bones and skeletal structure, and determine the best course of action.
Ozone layer showing signs of recovery: UN
Thu, Sep 11, 2014
ozone, Montreal Protocol, The Hindu, science & tech,
The Earth's protective ozone layer is well on track to recovery in the next few decades
thanks to concerted international action against ozone depleting substances, the latest
assessment by scientists across the world has said.
According to the assessment, carried out by the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), without the Montreal
Protocol and associated agreements atmospheric levels of ozone depleting substances
could have increased tenfold by 2050.
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There have in fact been decreases in atmospheric abundance of gases such as
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halons, which are used in refrigerators, spray cans,
insulation foam and fire suppression. The full report will be issued in early 2015.
The Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion, 2014 was prepared and reviewed by
282 scientists from 36 countries. In 1987, ozone-depleting substances contributed about
10 gigatonnes CO2-equivalent emissions per year.
The Montreal Protocol, which was adopted that year with the aim of reducing ozone
depleting substances, has been successful in reducing these emissions by more than 90
per cent. This decrease is about five times larger than the annual emissions reduction
target for the first commitment period (2008-2012) of the Kyoto Protocol.
This is the first comprehensive update in four years, and the summary document says
the phase-out of ozone depleting substances has had a positive spin-off for the global
climate because many of these substances are also potent greenhouse gases.
However, the report cautions that the rapid increase in certain substitutes, which are
themselves also potent greenhouse gases, has the potential to undermine these gains.
Internet Governance Forum Meeting to Focus on Policies Enabling Access, Gro
Thu, Sep 4, 2014
internet governance, PIB, science & tech,
9th Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum, 2014 in Istanbul, Turkey. The main
theme of the panel was "Policies enabling access, growth and development on the
Internet".
Mr. Sharma noted that currently, close to 4 billion people in the world do not have
regular access to the Internet. 25% of those people are in India that is close to 1 billion
people. This should be treated as an opportunity and not a challenge. More than 800
million mobile subscribers and they are connected to the telecommunication backbone.
All possible steps are being taken to connect everyone to the Internet.
He mentioned that the new Government has embarked on a very ambitious initiative
called "Digital India" - which aims to transform India into a digitally empowered society
and a knowledge economy. While elaborating on the component of Digital India, he
talked about National Optical Fiber Network (NOFN), National Information Infrastructure
(NII) and other efforts of the Government of India. Broadband to every citizen as a
core utility was one of the most important components of the program to improve access
to digital resources, one of the main themes of the Conference. The Digital India initiative
by our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will not only ensure high speed connectivity
through a robust internet backbone but also set up Wi-Fi hotspots. The hotspots will
help in connects various institutions such as schools, colleges, universities, hospitals,
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libraries, etc.
Some other important components of Digital India, all of which contributed to the
improved access mentioned were: Cradle to Grave Digital Identity to every person,
Mobile phone and bank account to everyone, creation of digital resources in Indian
languages, setting up of Common Service Delivery Centres in each panchayat. This
will allow transparent and efficient electronic service delivery. In this regard regulations
related to Electronic Service Delivery are being prepared and will be implemented in
the near future. Additionally, Post Offices will also be used as Common Service Delivery
Centres. Many countries have appreciated India's excellent public delivery system
model.
Australia's first fuel cell bicycle
Mon, Sep 8, 2014
hydrogen fuel cell, science & tech, Businessline,
A standard metal hybride inside the canister enables safe, user--friendly storage of the
hydrogen.
One kilogram of the standard metal hybride is capable of storing 100 litres of hydrogen,
but researchers at the Material Energy Research Laboratory in nanoscale (MERLin) at
UNSW are now developing borohydrides that could store the same amount of hydrogen
using just 50 grams of storage material.
Hydrogen for the 'Hy--Cycle' can be produced with as little as 100 millilitres of water.
The water is split into its elements -- oxygen and hydrogen -- and the fuel cell recombines
the hydrogen with oxygen to produce electricity.
The researchers believe hydrogen power should be used similar to other renewable
energy technologies such as solar.
RAPS Unit-5 sets a record
Sun, Sep 7, 2014
nuclear, The Hindu, science & tech, raps,
In a demonstration of operational excellence and robustness of the Indian nuclear power
reactors, the fifth unit at Rawatbhatta of the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS)
recorded a continuous run of 765 days on Saturday at its full capacity of 220 MWe.
This is the second highest operating record after a unit (500 MWe) of the Pickering
Nuclear Generating Station in Canada achieved a continuous run of 894 days which
ended in 1994.
While the first unit at Kudankulam, Tamil Nadu, reaching criticality was an emotional
moment for the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), RAPS-5's record was a different
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kind of proud achievement, he said.
Vinod Kumar, Station Director, RAPS-5 and 6, told The Hindu in the Control Room
of the unit 5, that the factors behind the record were micro and meticulous planning
done by the reactor engineers during its bi-annual shutdown, improvement in the
ventilation systems, dust control and assessing the health of the critical equipment.
d the record run demonstrated the maturity of the indigenous technology of the Pressurised
Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRS), which use natural uranium as fuel, and heavy water
as both coolant and moderator. RAPS-5 would be shut down on Saturday night to assess
the health of its critical equipment, to perform in-service inspection and leak tests in
the reactor building.
Trailblazing Performance of 765 Days of Continuous Run Yields Second Place
Sat, Sep 6, 2014
Nuclear, RAPS 5, PIB, science & tech,
RAPS-5, the unit-5 of Rawatbhata Rajasthan Site (RR Site) today recorded safe reactor
operation of 765 days. Thus it has a trailblazing Performance that has earned second
position Globally for the Unit.
It has surpassed the earlier second best continuous operation record of 739 days. During
the period of continuous run, since 02nd August 2012 up to today the unit has operated
at full power. In all, Indian nuclear power reactors have recorded more than a year of
continuous operation on fourteen occasions so far.
He said so far only 10 rectors in the world have accomplished uninterrupted production
for more than 500 days and of which India has 03 such reactors. the remaining 02 are
from Canada and rest five are from USA, Dr. Sinha added.
RAPS-5, an indigenously designed Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR) of 220
MW is fuelled with natural Uranium and moderated and cooled by Heavy water. It was
first synchronized to grid on December 22, 2009 and began its commercial operation
on February 04, 2010.The unit has generated about 8663 Million Units of electricity
till today to Northern grid since its commercial operation, benefitting Rajasthan, Uttar
Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh
and Uttrakhand.
RR Site is the harbinger of PHWRs in India. The site also has a special place in the
history of Rawatbhata Rajasthan Site hosts eight PHWRs, of which two 700-MW
PHWRs are under construction, making RR site India's first and largest nuclear park
in terms of number of reactors hosted at a site. Indian nuclear power programme for
being the home to the first and latest PHWRs. Of the 1080 MW capacity in operation
currently, about Fifty Percent of the Power generated at the site is supplied to Rajasthan
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State.
Later addressing media persons Dr. Sinha elaborated the expansion plans for the
upcoming unit 7 and 8 of RAPS which are under construction. They will produce700
MW power seperately. He said plans to produce Radio Isotops from the literally defunct
Unit one RAPP are under consideration. He said since India has emerged as a responsible
atomic energy entity hence the out look of foreign suppliers has changed. Hence the
Uranium Suppliers are extending their support unconditionally and power production
from our reactors will definitely increase in leaps and bounds. He said the decision
regarding the use of Australian Uranium supply will be taken in future. Shri Sinha also
informed that last year the Uranium Corporation of India has produced nearly 460
tonnes of Uranium.
'God particle' could destroy the universe: Hawking
Mon, Sep 8, 2014
physicist Stephen Hawking, god particle, science & tech, Businessline,
"The Higgs potential has the worrisome feature that it might become megastable at
energies above 100bn giga-electron-volts (GeV)," Hawking wrote in the preface to a
new book called Starmus.
"This could mean that the universe could undergo catastrophic vacuum decay, with a
bubble of the true vacuum expanding at the speed of light.
Hawking said the likelihood of such a disaster is unlikely to happen in the near future,
however, the danger of the Higgs becoming destabilised at high energy is too great to
be ignored.

Sci&Tech September

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