SARAL to boost remote sensing ability of India

SARAL (Satellite with Argos  and  ALtiKa)

With the launch of SARAL satellite carrying AltiKa and an Argos-3 instrument2 is scheduled to be launched on December 2012 and with this the remote sensing ability of the country will get a boost up.

The SARAL Mission:

“1000 Genomes Project”

What is the “1000 Genomes Project”?

§  Scientists working for The 1,000 Genomes Project have decoded the genomes of more than 1,000 people from 14 ethnic global groups. It is the largest and most detailed compilation of human DNA variations, to track origin of rare and common diseases.

§  Launched in January 2008

§  An international research effort to establish by far the most detailed catalogue of human genetic variation.

§  The project has generated raw information to the tune of 180 terabytes. All of the information is freely available on internet.

§  The sequencing of 1092 genomes was announced in a Nature publication in October 2012.

Scientist a synthetic molecule to quell allergy

Scientists have discovered that a new synthetic molecule named “DARP E2-79” could pave the way for quick-acting remedies for a number of acute allergic reactions.

What is Allergy?

Allergy is a hypersensitivity disorder of immune system. These reactions occur when a person’s immune system  reacts to normally harmless substances in the environment. The substance which incites such a reaction is called an allergen. These reactions are acquired, predictable, and rapid. When exposed to the allergen, the immune system produces a type of antibody (IgE). IgE incites certain cells in our body (mast cells and basophils) to produce chemical called histamine. Histamine is what is responsible for the symptoms of your allergy.

Flu vaccine may cut risk of heart disease and death

Getting a flu shot this season may not only lower your risk of influenza, but it may also help protect against heart disease, according to a new review.

Two Toronto-based researchers presented studies at the 2012 Canadian Cardiovascular Congress that found that the influenza vaccine could be an important treatment for maintaining heart health and warding off cardiovascular events like strokes and heart attacks.

Dr. Jacob Udell, a cardiologist at Women’s College Hospital and the University of Toronto, and his team from the TIMI Study Group and Network for Innovation in Clinical Research looked at published clinical trials on this subject, dating back to the 1960s.

"For those who had the flu shot, there was a pretty strong reduction,” said Dr. Udell.

The flu vaccine provided an approximate 50 per cent reduction in the risk of a major cardiac event (heart attack, stroke, or cardiac death) compared with placebo after one year of follow-up. A similar trend was seen for the flu vaccine reducing death from any cause (approximately 40 per cent).

The influenza vaccine reduced cardiovascular events and cardiovascular death in people with or without heart disease.

The combined studies examined a total of 3,227 patients, with an almost equal split between patients with and without established heart disease. Half of the participants were randomly assigned to receive flu vaccine and those that did not typically received a placebo vaccine.

SpaceX capsule completes successful first mission

The unmanned SpaceX capsule returned to Earth today after successfully delivering its first commercial payload to the International Space Station commanded by Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams.

The Dragon spacecraft parachuted into the Pacific at 0052 IST after an 18-day mission to resupply the station with payload including hardware, supplies, and a GLACIER freezer packed with scientific samples.

8 % of male infertility due to genetic deletions in Y chromosome

A recent study found that two spontaneously recurring deletions along a complex region of the Y chromosome are responsible for around 8 % of cases of failed sperm production.

Although research was already available which established the relation b/w AZFc (Azoospermia Factor c) and Severe Spermatogenic Failure (SSF), the current research determines the prevalence of these deletion in general population.

Researchers identify new molecules which can malarial parasites rapidly

Researchers have discovered two new chemical compounds that can speedily kill the Plasmodium parasites that cause malaria.

Around 3 million deaths are caused by Malaria every year, and it is dominant in tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Windows 8 in India (Win 7 v/s Win 8)

Microsoft launched the latest version of its Operating System (OS) Windows 8 in India.

Windows 8 is designed to work across PCs, tablets as well as for smart phones.

India opposes balkanization of Internet

In recent development, India has distanced itself from any model that promulgates governments control over internet.

What is the background of the issue?

The issue is regarding the control of the internet related tasks and its governance. Initially, till 1998, other organization on behalf of U.S. government used to oversee internet related tasks. Later, a non-profit private organization was established by the U.S. to govern the task. The organization is called Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Alternatives to Endosulfan available

The Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) Review Committee to theStockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants approved the assessment of 100 chemical alternatives to insecticide and acaricideEndosulfan.  The committee also suggested its non-chemical alternatives.

‘ Valles Marineris ‘: Largest canyon in solar system

Mars’ Valles Marineris is the largest canyon in our solar system. It is over 4000 km long and 200 km wide, and with a depth of 10 km. This size makes it some ten times longer and five times deeper than Earth’s Grand Canyon. 

Austrian skydiver breaks sound barrier

 

 

 

 

 

In a giant leap from more than 24 miles up, a daredevil skydiver shattered the sound barrier while making the highest jump ever — a tumbling, death-defying plunge from a balloon to a safe landing in the New Mexico desert.

Felix Baumgartner hit Mach 1.24, or 1,342 kph, on Sunday, according to preliminary data, and became the first man to reach supersonic speed without travelling in a jet or a spacecraft after hopping out of a capsule that had reached an altitude of 128,100 feet above the Earth.

Landing on his feet in the desert, the man known as “Fearless Felix” lifted his arms in victory to the cheers of jubilant friends and spectators who closely followed his descent in a live television feed at the command centre.

Scientists discover the source of water on Moon

Scientists have discovered that the most likely source of water on Moon is the constant stream of charged particles from the Sun known as the solar wind.

The findings by researchers from the University of Michigan imply that ice inside permanently shadowed polar craters on the Moon, sometimes called cold traps, could contain hydrogen atoms ultimately derived from the solar wind.

Quick Response (QR) codes take the concept of barcodes to the next level

Over the past few decades, we’ve focussed our energies on migrating information from the physical world on pen-and-paper into digital formats. In the process, we’ve created large information troves on the Internet using computers to be able to organise and store all the data we have. And computers have merely been helping us process this information.

But the future is in the converse: where computers begin to observe, assimilate and report the physical world.

Of course, computers don’t interact with the physical world like us; so we create tools that allow computers to do so. Take, for instance, barcodes. Here, vertical lines are scanned using a thin beam of light (usually laser), and this allows a computer to identify a book or a product without having to feed this information into the computing system. We see this at counters at grocery stores, supermarkets and libraries. The future of the Web will be somewhat similar but far more sophisticated, wherein computers will identify our physical world by looking at it, much like we do: with ‘digital eyes’ using semiconductor-based cameras.

New sensor detects glucose in saliva, tears of diabetics

A new type of bio-sensor can detect minute traces of glucose in saliva, tears and urine, doing away with pinpricks for diabetes testing.

“It’s an inherently non-invasive way to estimate glucose content in the body,” said Jonathan Claussen, former Purdue University doctoral student and now a research scientist at the US Naval Research Lab.

Curiosity rover finds ancient riverbed on Mars

Latest images from Nasa's rover show trail of pebbles that were once dragged by water from crater rim to base of mountain. A shallow river once coursed through a great crater on Mars, according to the latest surface images, which suggest the dusty planet was more hospitable in ancient times.

India’s heaviest satellite GSAT-10 launched

GSAT-10, the country's newest and heaviest satellite, was launched September 29th from the Kourou launchpad in French Guiana in South America. It will directly boost telecommunications and direct-to-home broadcasting among others.

The satellite, 9th in ISRO's present fleet, will be operational in November and add 30 transponders to the domestic INSAT system, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said soon after the launch.