Eleanor Pinkney Oddie PG Scholarship http://ping.fm/IyldQ
Dec 16, 2010
Nov 6, 2010
Aug 16, 2010
Aug 14, 2010
Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot Admission Notice 2010 – BPT/BMLT http://ping.fm/WOpph
BCA Ist Year Examination Results J.R.N. Rajasthan Vidyapeeth University (Udaipur) http://ping.fm/OOoVw
JEE B.Ed 2010 1st Round Counseling Dates 4 Lucknow University – Schedule and Procedure http://ping.fm/fpHrR
Alagappa University Notification for Pre-Registration Qualifying Entrance Examination for Ph.D Programs – August 2010 http://ping.fm/ePCTw
M.A. Pol. Science Part 2nd & M. Sc. Geography Sem. 2nd Examination Results Punjabi University http://ping.fm/tDz5R
Jul 24, 2010
Admission Notice For MBBS/BDS Courses 2010 against NRI Seats Pt. B.D. Sharma, PGIMS, Rohtak http://ping.fm/srbey
A.P. State Council of Higher Education|Osmania University Post- graduate Engineering Common Entrance Test Result 2010 http://ping.fm/LEONt
Banaras Hindu University MBA & MIBA Admission Result 2010 |Banaras Hindu University MBA & MIBA Merit List 2010 http://ping.fm/UPlG3
Jai Narain Vyas University (JNVU) Pre Teachers Entrance Test (PTET) Results 2010 http://ping.fm/Ib1vB
Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey Women’s University B.ED CEE Results 2010 http://ping.fm/bD2Fm
University of Rajasthan B.ED, MA Final Museology & Consevation Exam Result 2010 http://ping.fm/uStLn
List of Top 25 Business Schools in UK|List of MBA Universites In United Kingdom|Top MBA Universites In UK|MBA Colleges In UK http://ping.fm/2c03q
Jiwaji University B.Sc. Home Science Frist Sem, P.G. Diploma In Yoga Therapy Examination Results June 2009 http://ping.fm/ETSle
JU MSC (I.C.A.) II Semester & MSC (Mathe Matics) II Semester (B.P.) Examination Results 2010 http://ping.fm/VJ1yx
Jul 21, 2010
Jiwaji University M.Sc.(Petrochemical) 1st, 3rd Semester Exam & M.A.(PREV.) Drawing & Painying Examination results 2010 http://ping.fm/sRD01
Chhattisgarh Swami Vivekanand Technical University Results 2010 | CSVTU BE 8th (Reg) Total Results 2010 http://ping.fm/OD8w1
Jul 19, 2010
Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand University (MJPRU) MSC Entrance Test Results 2010 http://ping.fm/m4o7N
Annamalai University M.Sc Hotel Management DDE / OUS / Overseas Examination Results Dec 2010 http://ping.fm/g05zc
School Service Commission Revised Counseling Schedule| SSC Revised Counseling Notification http://ping.fm/J2gBJ
School Service Commission Revised Counseling Schedule| SSC Revised Counseling Notification http://ping.fm/0hwpt
Jul 10, 2010
Jun 17, 2010
May 17, 2010
Admission Notice 2010-11 Sumandeep Vidyapeeth MBBS / BDS / B.Pharm / B.Sc (Nursing) / BPT http://ping.fm/SqwXz
THE ENGLISH AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES UNIVERSITY |160-hour Proficiency Course in English http://ping.fm/lqFKx
May 12, 2010
Results 2010 Kerala,Kerala HSE Results 2010,Kerala Higher Secondary Results 2010 http://ping.fm/nv7Ck
Admission For B.Tech in Shri Jagdishprasad Jhabarmal Tibrewala University (SJJTU) http://ping.fm/sUhPB
Apr 27, 2010
Apr 26, 2010
Recruitment for Technical Positions In Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) http://ping.fm/yXeca
Apr 18, 2010
Apr 17, 2010
Apr 16, 2010
Recruitment For Specialists in various specialties for ESI Hospital, Basaidarapur http://ping.fm/IZ4Kc
Apr 15, 2010
Orissa Power Transmission Corporation Limited (OPTCL) Management Trainees vacancy April-2010 http://ping.fm/bQKcX
Ph. D. Admissions For 2010, Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology (SVNIT), Surat http://ping.fm/7iq3p
Post Graduate Diploma in Life Insurance, General Insurance, Risk Management Admission 2010 - IIRM http://ping.fm/psnz7
Apr 14, 2010
Apr 13, 2010
Punjab Technical University Jalandhar,PTU Date Sheet, May 2010 - B.Tech, B.Arch, BBA, B.Sc, MBA, BCA, MCA, M.Sc, M.Tech, B.Pharm, M.Pharm & Other Courses http://ping.fm/oczoS
Bharati Vidyapeeth's Institute of Management & Information Technology,PGDBM 2010-12, BVIMIT http://ping.fm/BCQvH
Admission Notification-2010 For Pearl Academy of Fashion,BA(Hons) and PG Diploma http://ping.fm/OSl9p
Apr 12, 2010
Apr 1, 2010
Mar 28, 2010
Bank of Baroda Sample Question Paper For Marketing And Bank Entrance ExamsBank of Baroda Sample Question Paper For Marketing And Bank Entrance Exams http://ping.fm/ypWHs
Mar 24, 2010
Mar 23, 2010
Mar 12, 2010
Kevin Kelly tells technology’s epic story
In this wide-ranging, thought-provoking talk from TEDxAmsterdam, Kevin Kelly muses on what technology means in our lives — from its impact at the personal level to its place in the cosmos.
The LXD: In the Internet age, dance evolves …
The LXD (the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers) electrify the TED2010 stage with an emerging global street-dance culture, revved up by the Internet. In a preview of Jon Chus upcoming Web series, this astonishing troupe show off their superpowers.
Motorola DEVOUR A555 Review
Motorola DEVOUR A555 for Verizon Wireless. It takes advantage of the manufacturer’s social networking oriented MOTOBLUR user interface and packs a must-have features like Wi-Fi, GPS and microSDHC slot. In addition, a 3MP camera and a 3.5mm jack are also on board.
Move into Iran, Sudan would be an accomplishment: Google
An executive at internet giant Google said Tuesday that Washington’s latest move to encourage service providers to expand their work into Iran, Cuba and Sudan was a “great accomplishment”.
“Hopefully it will help… activities all over the world take a small step in what is certainly a long road ahead,” said Robert Boorstin, a head of the communications division at Google.
He was speaking at a human rights forum in Geneva.
Boorstin said that Internet freedoms were under threat in both Western democracies and countries with fewer liberties, in different ways. He cited China and Italy as countries that have recently taken steps against what he perceived as online rights.
The US Treasury Department said Monday it was easing restrictions on US companies that export Internet services and software to Iran, Cuba and Sudan, long-time foes of Washington.
The administration hopes that access to web-based communications will foster more open societies.
Companies like Microsoft, Google and Yahoo are expected to gain from the move, having been stifled by strict export controls.
“Hopefully it will help… activities all over the world take a small step in what is certainly a long road ahead,” said Robert Boorstin, a head of the communications division at Google.
He was speaking at a human rights forum in Geneva.
Boorstin said that Internet freedoms were under threat in both Western democracies and countries with fewer liberties, in different ways. He cited China and Italy as countries that have recently taken steps against what he perceived as online rights.
The US Treasury Department said Monday it was easing restrictions on US companies that export Internet services and software to Iran, Cuba and Sudan, long-time foes of Washington.
The administration hopes that access to web-based communications will foster more open societies.
Companies like Microsoft, Google and Yahoo are expected to gain from the move, having been stifled by strict export controls.
Mar 5, 2010
Google Buys Picnik.com
There’s some good and some bad news regarding Apple’s iPad. Also, Google buys the very popular PIcnik which may upset Yahoo’s Flickr. Finally, Palm Pre and Pixi users rejoice with a BRAND NEW, packed-full update is coming to their phones – webOS 1.4!
3 Spaniards charged with running illegal computer network
Three Spanish nationals ran a network of more than 13 million “zombie computers” that accessed the bank-account information of upwards of 800,000 people, authorities here said.
Zombie computers are virus-infected PCs hijacked by hackers to steal data, conduct illegal transactions or carry out coordinated attacks on institutional websites and servers.
The “Mariposa” network, which was dismantled by Spain’s Guardia Civil national police in collaboration with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, penetrated the computer systems of 500 companies, including more than 40 major banks, Spanish cybercrime unit chief Juan Salom told a press conference in Madrid Wednesday.
The three suspects arrested Tuesday in Spain were released on bail pending trial.
Ranging in age from 25 to 31, the suspects apparently earned a comfortable living from renting out the zombie network to other computer pirates, Spanish authorities said.
They said the suspects, who adopted the online aliases “Netkario”, “OsTiaToR” and “Johnyloleante”, created the network with a software programme they bought on the black market.
Defence Intelligence, a private Canadian firm, detected the activity of the Mariposa network last May and alerted the FBI, which in turn notified the Guardia Civil that the illicit net appeared to be run from Spain.
The Guardia Civil then launched a probe that led eventually to “Netkario”.
Last December, the FBI, Guardia Civil and information-security companies joined in an operation to dismantle the illicit network.
Within days, however, the pirates regained control of some of the zombie computers and mounted a cyber-attack that crippled the servers of Defence Intelligence.
In light of the potential for greater harm, the Guardia Civil referred the case to Spain’s National Court, which ordered the arrest of the three suspects.
China plans to launch unmanned space module next year
China plans to launch an unmanned space module in 2011. It is expected to complete the country’s first space docking which is regarded as an essential step toward building a space station, an official said Wednesday.
Tiangong-1, or the Heavenly Palace, would be later converted into a manned space lab after experimental dockings with three Shenzhou spacecraft. The spacecraft are expected to be put into space within two years following the module’s launch, said Qi Faren, former chief designer of Shenzhou spaceships.
Xinhua news agency reported that Qi, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), made the remarks on the sidelines of the annual full session of the top political advisory body that opened Wednesday.
Weighing about 8.5 tons, Tiangong-1 is able to perform long-term unattended operations.
When transformed into a manned space lab, Tiangong would provide a “safe room” for
Chinese astronauts to live in and conduct research in zero gravity, Qi said.
Its scheduled docking with unmanned Shenzhou-8 spacecraft would be the country’s first space docking. Scientists on the ground would control the docking between the orbiter and the unmanned spaceship.
Qi said Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10, the two other spaceships to dock with Tiangong-1, would carry two or three astronauts each.
Experts say space docking has been widely recognised as one of the most sophisticated space technologies as it requires precise controlling of two high-speed spacecraft which meet and dock in space.
Qi said other key technologies are replenishment of propellant, air, water and food.
Liang Xiaohong, party chief of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, said Tiangong-1 would be launched on a technologically-modified Long March II-F carrier rocket.
Researchers have made close to 170 technological modifications, including 38 major ones, to the original Long March II-F model, Liang said.
An experimental model of the improved rocket has already been assembled, and would be sent to a satellite launch centre for training missions to test its accuracy, reliability and safety capabilities.
In September 2008, China successfully launched its third manned spacecraft Shenzhou-7, following Shenzhou-5 in 2003 and Shenzhou-6 in 2005.
Taikonaut Zhai Zhigang performed the country’s maiden space walk.
Mar 2, 2010
LG Mini GD880 Preview
LG Mini GD880. It was introduced by the manufacturer as the smallest phone with 3.2-inch display. The handset resembles the LG Pop’s design language, but is slightly more angular. It pack some nice features such as 5MP camera and Wi-Fi, along with some special apps for social networking.
Sony Ericsson Xperia Pureness Review
Sony Ericsson Xperia Pureness. It stands out from the crowd thanks to its transparent display and untraditional overall design. Specs-wise, it doesn’t pack anything special, sporting basic features only.
Operate multiple accounts with single password
A little-used internet authentication system from the 1980s could enable web users to securely log in only once per internet session, says a new study.
PhD researcher S. Suriadi from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Information Security Institute said a secure single sign-on system was more than simply using the same password for multiple accounts.
Suriadi said any future single sign-on system, which could potentially give web users
access to a multitude of accounts, including e-mail, bank and shopping, would require
extreme privacy to avoid information spies and account hackers.
“Single sign-on systems are already being used by organisations,” he said. “For example, a bank could link their internet banking site to an online trading site, thus relieving users from having to perform an extra log in step.
“However, if one of the parties is compromised, for example by a virus, a ‘denial of
service’ attack or insecure set-up, it puts all the user’s linked accounts at risk.”
Suriadi said his research investigated a little-used “anonymous credential system”, which dates back to the 1980s, but recently received renewed interest from the research community.
“Using this credential system, we could enhance the security and privacy of a single
sign-on system,” he said.
“The system works by revealing as little information about who you are as necessary for
logging into an account, therefore allowing you to remain anonymous.
“This way, a company wouldn’t be able to track your shopping habits and target spam or
marketing at you. This method could also confirm you are over 18 and not reveal your
birthday.”
Suriadi said a single sign-on system backed by the anonymous credential system
required the cooperation of businesses and organisations to enable it.
“One use of this could be for the research community, with online libraries and databases applying the anonymous credential system so that the privacy of researchers
can be preserved,” he said, according to a QUT release.
Chandrayaan-I finds ice near Moon’s north pole
Using data from a NASA radar that flew aboard India’s Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, scientists have detected ice deposits totalling at least an estimated 600 million metric tons near the moon’s north pole. NASA’s Mini-SAR instrument, a lightweight, synthetic aperture radar, found more than 40 small craters ranging in size from 2 to 15 km in diameter with water ice, the US space agency announced Monday.
“The emerging picture from the multiple measurements and resulting data of the instruments on lunar missions indicates that water creation, migration, deposition and retention are occurring on the moon,” said Paul Spudis, principal investigator of the Mini-SAR experiment at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston.
“The new discoveries show the moon is an even more interesting and attractive scientific, exploration and operational destination than people had previously thought.”
“After analysing the data, our science team determined a strong indication of water ice, a finding which will give future missions a new target to further explore and exploit,” said Jason Crusan, programme executive for the Mini-RF Programme for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate in Washington.
The Mini-SAR’s findings are consistent with recent findings of other NASA instruments and add to the growing scientific understanding of the multiple forms of water found on the moon, NASA said.
The agency’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper discovered water molecules in the moon’s polar regions, while water vapour was detected by NASA’s Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS.
Mini-SAR, a lightweight (less than 10 kg) imaging radar, and Moon Mineralogy Mapper are two of 11 instruments carried by the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan-1.
The Mini-SAR has imaged many of the permanently shadowed regions that exist at both poles of the moon. These dark areas are extremely cold and it has been hypothesised that volatile material, including water ice, could be present in quantity there.
The main science object of the Mini-SAR experiment is to map and characterise any deposits that exist.
Numerous craters near the poles of the moon have interiors that are in permanent sun shadow. These areas are very cold and water ice is stable there, essentially indefinitely.
Fresh craters show high degrees of surface roughness (high circular polarisation ratio – CPR) both inside and outside the crater rim, caused by sharp rocks and block fields that are distributed over the entire crater area, NASA said.
However, Mini-SAR has found craters near the north pole that have high CPR inside, but not outside their rims. This relation suggests that the high CPR is not caused by roughness, but by some material that is restricted within the interiors of these craters.
“We interpret this relation as consistent with water ice present in these craters. The ice must be relatively pure and at least a couple of metres thick to give this signature,” NASA said.
The estimated amount of water ice potentially present is comparable to the quantity estimated solely from the previous mission of Lunar Prospector’s neutron data (several hundred million metric tons).
The variation in the estimates between Mini-SAR and the Lunar Prospector’s neutron spectrometer is due to the fact that it only measures to depths of about one-half metre, so it would underestimate the total quantity of water ice present, NASA said.
At least some of the polar ice is mixed with lunar soil and thus, invisible to the NASA radar, it said.
Mar 1, 2010
Global warming likely to impact rainfall patterns
Climate models project that the global average temperature will rise about 1 degree C by mid-century, if we continue with business as usual and emit greenhouse gases.
The global average, though, does not tell us anything about what will happen to regional climates.
Analysing global model warming projections in models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a team headed by meteorologist Shang-Ping Xie at the University of Hawaii finds that ocean temperature patterns in the tropics and sub-tropics will change in ways that will significantly alter rainfall patterns.
Scientists have mostly assumed that the surfaces of oceans will warm rather evenly in the tropics. This assumption has led to “wetter-gets-wetter” and “drier-gets-drier” regional rainfall projections.
Xie’s team has gathered evidence that, although ocean surface temperatures can be expected to increase mostly everywhere by mid-century, the increase may differ by up to 1.5°Cdepending upon the region.
“Compared to the mean projected rise of 1°C, such differences are fairly large and can have a pronounced impact on tropical and subtropical climate by altering atmospheric heating patterns and therefore rainfall,” explains Xie.
“Our results broadly indicate that regions of peak sea surface temperature will get wetter, and those relatively cool will get drier,” adds Xie, according to the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
The study is slated for publication in the Journal of Climate this month.
T-Mobile myTouch 3G Review
T-Mobile myTouch 3G. This is a version is designed for the music lovers. It comes with a 3.5mm jack for richer music experience, 8GB memory card and upgrades the RAM memory to 288 MB.
Samsung Wave Preview
It is the first official bada phone. It sports sleek design with 3.3-inch Super AMOLED display that delivers even greater image quality with reduced energy consumption. The Wave is also equipped with a 1GHz Samsung processor that should allow for smooth 3D gaming and HD video playback. Its 5MP camera is capable of capturing HD video clips.
Feb 28, 2010
Scientists spot ‘alien’ invaders in Milky Way
Scientists have spotted ‘alien’ invaders in Milky Way, comprising as many as a quarter of the star clusters in our galaxy, many more than previously thought, says a new study.
The report also suggests that there may be as many as six dwarf galaxies yet to be discovered within the Milky Way, besides the two that were previously found.
“Some of the stars and star clusters you see when you look into space at night are aliens from another galaxy, just not the green-skinned type you find in a Hollywood movie,” says Terry Bridges, astronomer at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada.
“These ‘alien’ star clusters (are ones) that have made their way into our galaxy over the last few billion years,” adds Bridges.
Previously, astronomers had suspected that some star clusters, each of which contains between 100,000 and a million stars, were foreign to our galaxy, but it was difficult to identify which ones.
Using mostly Hubble Space Telescope data, Bridges and Duncan Forbes, co-author, from Swinburne University of Technology, Australia, examined old star clusters within the Milky Way galaxy.
From the research they compiled the largest ever high-quality database to record the age and chemical properties of each of these clusters.
“We looked at all the data we could find. The best data are from the Hubble Telescope because it has the best imaging,” Bridges says. “We looked at the ages and the amounts of heavy elements in these clusters, which can be measured from their stars.”
The researchers’ work also suggests that the Milky Way may have swallowed up more dwarf galaxies than was previously thought, said a Queen’s varsity release.
They found that many of the foreign clusters originally existed within dwarf galaxies — ‘mini’ galaxies of up to 100 million stars that sit within our larger Milky Way.
The study is slated for publication in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Feb 21, 2010
Feb 10, 2010
Online social networks can help in disasters too
Online social networking sites could solve many problems plaguing information dissemination and communications when disaster strikes, according to a US report
In the wake of natural disasters such as the Haiti earthquake and terrorist activity, online services became increasingly prominent as useful tools to get the news out faster than traditional media, to provide timely information sources, etc.
But, are social networking tools such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and ad hoc sites set up in the wake of a major event really useful tools or are they simply riding a publicity wave?
According to Connie White of the Institute for Emergency Preparedness at Jacksonville State University in Alabama and colleagues there and at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, online social networks permit the establishment of global relationships that are domain related or can be based on some need shared by the participants.
They have investigated whether or not the social network paradigm can be used to enable individuals and organisations to collaborate in mutually beneficial ways, in all stages of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.
There are already dozens of groups on two of the most popular social networking sites, Facebook and LinkedIn, that are allowing individuals involved in various aspects of emergency awareness and preparedness to connect, discuss, and share knowledge in specific fields, said a university release.
For instance, an emergency online network would need to be able to share documents and digital resources, allow members to communicate efficiently, provide a way to find specific experts in the field and beyond, share photos and video for status reports and locating missing persons, as well as allow the news media to be kept informed.
These findings were published in a recent issue of the International Journal of Emergency Management.
NASA ready to launch satellite to explore sun
NASA planned to launch a solar probe Wednesday to help unlock more secrets about the sun, whose massive storms affect earth’s weather and can pose danger to earth dwellers.
The Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) is the “crown jewel” of a fleet of NASA satellites planned to collect more details about what’s going on underneath and above the surface of the sun, said Michael Luther, a NASA official who is overseeing the programme, in a webcast briefing.
Called the Living With a Star programme, scientists said they hope to better predict the sun’s periodic release of billions of tons of matter that can endanger human life and health, corrode oil pipelines, disrupt communications and cause power surges.
After an earlier launch was delayed due to bad weather, a NASA meteorologist said high winds could also threaten Wednesday’s launch.
From Earth’s orbit, the SDO will collect data over five years and download 1.5 terabytes every day – the equivalent of 500,000 songs onto an iPod, said Elizabeth Citrin, project manager.
A special receiving centre on earth will manage the data.
“This is way cool,” said Madhulika Guhathakurta, lead programme scientist for Living With a Star, holding up an iPhone.
While various elements of the sun have been studied over the years, the SDO will be the first to present a “comprehensive view” of all the elements, she said.
“This is the whole picture,” she said. It will show “what happens on the sun and what happens to us here.”
Shuttle Endeavour blasts off
The space shuttle Endeavour has set off for the International Space Station on a repair mission.
Acer Aspire Timeline
Experience the perfect balance of go-anywhere mobility and do anything performance with this Acer Aspire Timeline AS1810TZ-4906 Notebook PC.
Samsung Monte S5620 Preview
Samsung Monte S5620. It is a mainstream cell phone, equipped with 3G and Wi-Fi. Its design is eye-riveting, while the refreshed TouchWiz interface offers several, truly nice extra features..
Google buzz
Google on Tuesday released Buzz (news), its Twitter competitor. Or is it a swipe at FriendFeed? The new platform has elements of both. It joins other Google communication tools inside the Gmail service, so you can’t miss it if you’re a Gmail user.
Feb 2, 2010
Obama proposing NASA cuts
Obama is expected to announce Monday that he will allocate $6 billion to hire people to take astronauts to the International space station. NASA will also experience some cuts, including a cancellation of the NASA Constellation program to develop spacecraft to replace the Space Shuttle.’ NASA will be getting an additional $6 billion over the next five years.
LG Lotus Elite Review
The LG Lotus Elite for Sprint. It’s a clamshell phone, sporting a QWERTY keyboard, an external touchscreen and a microSD slot with support for cards of up to 32GB.’
Feb 1, 2010
Anthony Atala on growing organs
Anthony Atala’s state-of-the-art lab grows human organs — from muscles to blood vessels to bladders, and more. At TEDMED, he shows footage of his bio-engineers working with some of its sci-fi gizmos, including an oven-like bioreactor (preheat to 98.6 F) and a machine that “prints” human tissue.
Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 Review
Phone Arena reviews the Sony Ericsson Xperia X2. It takes the 3 inch screen from the X1, and upgrades it to a 3.2 inch WVGA TFT display. The handset will be powered by a custom version of Windows Mobile 6.5. Other features include a 3.5 mm audio jack, accelerometer and 8.1MP camera with AF.
Samsung Shark 2 Review
The Samsung Shark 2 S5550. It is a quad-band 3G enabled slider phone with an AMOLED display, 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, and integration with social networking services.
India building antenna for satellite phone services National/Technology
India is building a dedicated high-beam, antenna to provide satellite phone services, a senior space scientist said Monday.
“We are in the process of building a high-beam antenna to be deployed on board a satellite for providing satellite phone (satphone) services using S-band transponder. We can connect handheld devices when it is launched in a year or so,” former Indian space agency chairman G. Madhavan Nair told reporters here.
The state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has already designed the huge antenna that will be mounted on the spacecraft for dedicated satphone services.
“Currently, some foreign satellites are being used for satphone services in the country. Development work is going on to synthesize the antenna. It will be deployed in one of the communication satellites with S-band transponder,” Nair said on the margins of a summit on the Indian semiconductor industry.
Telecom revolution in the past decade has led to a phenomenal growth of mobile services in India using GPRS (general packet radio service) CDMA (code division multiple access) technologies.
As the world’s fastest growing telecom market, India already has about 500 million mobile users for a billion-plus population.
INMARSAT (International Maritime Satellite Organisation) operates a constellation of geo-stationary satellites designed to extend phone, fax and data communications the world over through handheld devices.
Asked about the weaponization of space by countries like China, which had developed an anti-satellite weapon, Nair said space-based assets built by India were used for only national development.
“Though we have to ensure the security of our satellites, our declared policy is to use the space assets for peaceful purposes. I don’t thing that the government has changed its policy,” Nair said after inaugurating the two-day semicon summit, organised by the Indian Semiconductor Association (ISA).
NASA’s new mission to unlock secret of solar storms
NASA is sending a new mission in the space to observe the surface of the sun so as to unlock the secret of solar storms and other chaotic activities.
The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), scheduled to be launched Feb 9, will spend five years in the space to observe how sunlight is generated. It will try to trace causes of extreme solar activities, such as sun spots, solar winds and flares.
By understanding how such solar phenomena are created, they hope to be able to produce reliable forecasts of “space weather” and provide advance warnings of any threat, The Sunday Times reported.
Orbiting the earth at a distance of 22,300 miles, the observatory will measure fluctuations in the sun’s ultraviolet output, map magnetic fields and photograph its surface.
The “giant microscope” mission, will capture for the first time every nuance of the sun’s exterior. The images relayed to earth will be 10 times clearer than high-definition television, experts claims.
“It is Nasa’s first weather mission and it aims to characterise everything on the sun that can impact on the earth and near earth, said Barbara Thompson, project scientist.
“We know things happen on the sun which affect spacecraft, communications and radio signals. If we can understand the underlying causes of what is happening then we can turn this information into forecasts,” Thomson said.
NASA estimates that the SDO will transmit as much as 50 times more scientific data than any other mission in the space agency’s history. The agency has set up a pair of dedicated radio antennae near Las Cruces, New Mexico to process the data.
The UK-based Science and Technology Facilities Council is supplying some of the equipment for the observatory.
Understanding the impact of the sun’s magnetic fields was key to the mission, Professor Richard Harrison of the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire said.
“The idea is to image different layers of the sun’s atmosphere all the way down to the surface and measure magnetic fields,” he said.
“The bottom line is that you are trying to understand how this atmosphere works. We can already see phenomena like the flares. The question is how does the magnetic field form to allow this sort of thing to happen.”
Obama may abandon NASA’s moon mission plan
NASA’s plan to send another mission to the moon by 2020 may take a U-turn as US President Barack Obama is expected to propose the closure of the space agency’s programme in his new budget to be presented before the Congress Monday.
With the release of President Obama’s budget request, NASA will finally get the new marching orders, and there won’t be anything in there about flying to the moon, The Washington Post reported.
The US administration has planed to kill the Constellation programme of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that called for the re-launch of a space shuttle to the moon by 2020. The budget is a death knell for the Ares 1 rocket, NASA’s planned successor to the space shuttle.
According to an official, Obama’s budget will call for spending $6 billion over five years to develop a commercial spacecraft that could ferry astronauts to low earth orbit.
“The President is committed to a robust 21st century space program, and his budget will reflect that dedication to NASA. NASA is vital not only to spaceflight, but also for critical scientific and technological advancements,” White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said Sunday.
“The expertise at NASA is essential to developing innovative new opportunities, industries, and jobs. The President’s budget will take steps in that direction,” he was quoted as saying.
The Obama administration believes that new funding for the commercial programme would create up to 1,700 jobs, which could help offset the expected loss of 7,000 jobs in Florida when the space shuttle is retired next year.
Could waste be a source of our energy requirements?
Scientists are trying to find answers to one of the most challenging problems existing today — generating energy without worsening climate change or harming food output.
Researchers are investigating biofuels generated from waste, which is perceived by many as the ‘green alternative’ to using fossil fuels.
Biofuels seem to be the perfect solution because they are not net producers of harmful by-products, but they can tempt farmers into growing energy crops at the cost of badly-needed food, particularly in poorer countries.
Looking for an answer to the ‘food-fuel conflict’ is at the heart of research led by Komang Ralebitso-Senior, who teaches molecular biology at Teesside University.
Her team of six researchers based at the TU Institute is looking at whether biofuel production could use waste materials, viz domestic refuse and sewage sludge, instead of energy crops to generate biogas.
The biogas could then be used directly or to produce alternative energy sources such as electricity.
“We’re carrying out laboratory investigations to optimise the production of biogas through a process known as anaerobic (without oxygen) digestion. This uses naturally- occurring micro-organisms to break down waste in closed vessels,” she says.
Ralebitso-Senior believes that, although anaerobic digestion is an established process already being used by some waste-to-energy companies, its full potential has not yet been realised in solving many of the problems associated with growing biofuel crops.
“We can produce most biofuels using crops — but the big issue is whether the land could be used for food instead. The loss of agricultural crops is a major concern.
“We call this the food-fuel conflict as the economic returns of growing crops for fuel are often higher and with more farmers choosing this option, foodstuffs inevitably become more expensive.”
“Using anaerobic digestion is an alternative method which has considerable potential, but we still do not understand a lot about how it works,” she says,” according to a university release.
“That is what we are investigating in the laboratory, seeking ways in which we can optimise and, therefore, exploit the process effectively,” she adds.
Researchers crack key HIV riddle after decade
Researchers have cracked a key riddle that has foxed scientists for decades, potentially opening the way to better treatment of HIV, says a new study.
Imperial College London and Harvard University researchers have grown a crystal that reveals the structure of an enzyme called integrase, which is found in retroviruses like HIV.
When HIV infects someone, it uses integrase to paste a copy of its genetic information into their DNA.
Prior to the new study, funded by the Medical Research Council and the US National Institutes of Health, many researchers had tried and failed to work out the 3-D structure of integrase bound to viral DNA.
New antiretroviral drugs for HIV work by blocking integrase, but scientists did not understand exactly how these drugs were working or how to improve them.
Researchers can only determine the structure of this kind of molecular machinery by obtaining high quality crystals.
For the new study, researchers grew a crystal using a version of integrase borrowed from a little-known retrovirus called Prototype Foamy Virus (PFV). Based on their knowledge of PFV integrase and its function, they were confident that it was very similar to its HIV counterpart.
Over the course of four years, the researchers carried out over 40,000 trials, out of which they were able to grow just seven kinds of crystals. Only one of these was of sufficient quality to allow determination of the 3-D structure.
Peter Cherepanov, who led the study at the Department of Medicine at Imperial College, said: “It is a truly amazing story. When we started out, we knew that the project was very difficult, and that many tricks had already been tried and given up by others long ago.”
“Therefore, we went back to square one and started by looking for a better model of HIV integrase, which could be more amenable for crystallisation,” said Cherepanov, according to an Imperial College release.
“Despite initially painstakingly slow progress and very many failed attempts, we did not give up and our effort was finally rewarded,” he added.
The study was published in Nature.
Healthy adults can manage with less sleep with age
Healthy adults can manage with reduced sleep as they age and also feel less drowsy than their younger counterparts rebutting the concept that it’s normal for older people to feel drowsy during the day, a study has revealed.
Results show that during eight hours in bed, total sleep time decreased significantly and progressively with age.
Older adults slept about 20 minutes less than middle-aged adults, who slept 23 minutes less than young adults.
“Our findings reaffirm the theory that it is not normal for older people to be sleepy during the daytime,” said principal investigator Derk-Jan Dijk, professor of sleep and physiology at the University of Surrey, Britain.
“Whether you are young or old, if you are sleepy during the day you either don’t get enough sleep or you may suffer from a sleep disorder,” added Dijk.
The number of awakenings and the amount of time spent awake after initial sleep onset increased significantly with age, and the amount of time spent in deep, slow-wave sleep decreased across age groups.
Yet even with these decreases in sleep time, intensity and continuity, older adults displayed less subjective and objective daytime sleep propensity than younger adults.
Furthermore, two additional nights involving experimental disruption of slow-wave sleep led to a similar response in all age groups.
Daytime sleep propensity increased, and slow-wave sleep rebounded during a night of recovery sleep, said a Surrey release.
According to the study authors, this suggests that the lack of increased daytime sleepiness in the presence of an age-related deterioration in sleep quality cannot be attributed to unresponsiveness to variations in homeostatic sleep pressure.
The study was conducted at the Clinical Research Centre of the University of Surrey and involved 110 healthy adults without sleep disorders or sleep complaints — of them 44 were young (20 to 30 years), 35 were middle-aged (40 to 55 years) and 31 were older adults (66 to 83 years).
Browse: Home / Science and Tech / Obesity in 20s can cause heart attack in 40s Obesity in 20s can cause heart attack in 40s
Obese people who have type 2 diabetes in their 20s are likely to be at higher risk of a heart attack or stroke in their 40s, if they do not change their lifestyle, warn health experts.
“If your blood pressure (BP) is 136/88 and you’re a man with a waist over 40 (inches) or a woman with a waist over 35 (inches), it spells trouble,” said Dale J. Hamilton, diabetes clinical services chief at The Methodist Hospital in Houston.
“These are two of the five symptoms of metabolic syndrome, a problem that can lead to type 2 diabetes. All you need is three to begin seeing increased atherosclerosis.”
High triglyceride levels over 150, insulin resistance and a low LDL (good cholesterol) are factors of metabolic syndrome, along with high BP and central obesity. This condition afflicts 47 million Americans, says American Heart Association.
Many of them will end up with type 2 diabetes, which can eventually lead to coronary artery disease and stroke. “Small changes every day can help curb big problems later on,” said Hamilton.
“Losing five to 10 pounds will help lower blood pressure. Reducing saturated fats, carbohydrates, and eating about two-thirds the amount you eat now will help you lose weight around the middle. Walk 45 minutes a day instead of 30,” added Hamilton.
Some experts believe replacing sugar with high fructose corn syrup in processed foods in the US and Canada in the 1990s has played a role in the rise of type 2 diabetes cases.
High fructose corn syrup is made by changing the sugar in corn starch to fructose, another form of sugar. It has become popular because it extends the shelf life of processed foods and is cheaper than sugar. It has also become a popular ingredient in many sodas and fruit-flavoured drinks.
“The problem with high fructose corn syrup is that it promotes central obesity,” Hamilton said, according to a Methodist Hospital release.
“Another problem with it is that it fools your body into thinking you are hungry. I don’t think you need to eliminate it from your diet, you just need to be aware of how much of it you are consuming on a daily basis because too much can lead to serious weight gain.”
Keep in mind, he said, type 2 diabetes symptoms often go untreated because there are few or no symptoms until it is too late.
Jan 30, 2010
Space Rocks
Space Center Houston was the scene Jan. 6 of a special presentation by former NASA astronaut Scott Parazynski to Space Shuttle Endeavour Commander George Zamka. Parazynski gave a moon rock and a rock from Mt. Everest to Zamka, commander of the upcoming shuttle mission STS-130. Zamka and his crew will carry the rocks with them on their Feburary mission to the International Space Station as they deliver the stations Tranquility module. The rocks will be displayed aboard the station. Parazynski carried the Apollo 11 lunar sample on a climb to the summit of Mt. Everest last May during which he also gathered the Everest rock.
SOHO and TRACE Solar Discoveries
The discoveries of the SOHO and TRACE satellites, and features NASA solar scientists Alex Young and Dawn Meyers, describing how both satellites view the sun in their own unique way
NASA’s Mars rover Spirit begins new chapter
After six years of unprecedented exploration, NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit will no longer be a fully mobile robot.
NASA has designated the once-roving scientific explorer a stationary science platform after efforts during the past several months to free it from a sand trap were unsuccessful.
The venerable robot’s primary task in the next few weeks will be to position itself to combat the severe Martian winter.
If Spirit survives, it will continue conducting significant new scientific research from its final location. The rover’s mission could continue for several months to years.
“Spirit is not dead, it has just entered another phase of its long life,” said Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
“We told the world last year that attempts to set the beloved robot free may not be successful. It looks like Spirit’s current location on Mars will be its final resting place.”
Ten months ago, as Spirit was driving south beside the western edge of a low plateau called Home Plate, its wheels broke through the crusty surface and churned into soft sand hidden underneath.
After Spirit became embedded, the rover team crafted plans for trying to get the six-wheeled vehicle free using its five functioning wheels. The sixth wheel had quit working in 2006, limiting Spirit’s mobility.
The planning included experiments with a test rover in a sandbox at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, plus analysis, modelling and reviews. In November, another wheel quit working, making a difficult situation even worse.
Recent drives have yielded the best results since Spirit became embedded. However, the coming winter mandates a change in strategy.
It is mid-autumn at the solar-powered robot’s home on Mars. Winter will begin in May. Solar energy is declining and expected to become insufficient to power further driving by mid-February, said a NASA release.
The rover team plans to use those remaining potential drives for improving the rover’s tilt. Spirit currently tilts slightly toward the south. The winter sun stays in the northern sky, so decreasing the southward tilt would boost the amount of sunshine on the rover’s solar panels.
The Gadget Show: Sony Blu-ray CES
Check out Sony’s latest Blu-ray players with apps announced at this year’s CES in Las Vegas.
3-D TVs and Tablet Computers
Consumer Electronics Show with 3-D TVs, tablet computers, solar-powered chargers and more.
Revolutionary devices at CES 2010
Take a peek at the cool new revolutionary devices that are going to enter our lives very soon.
Blackberry Bold 9700 Review
Blackberry Bold 9700 Review – Multimedia/ Web Browsing,BlackBerry Bold 9700 to Vodafone customers in India
Sony Ericsson Satio Review
Sony Ericsson Satio review. This part features the body, the main menu and the camera
Sony Ericsson Vivaz
The Sony Ericsson Vivaz is a very attractive Symbian touchscreen phone with HD video capture and a very rich feature set.
‘Block the sun, control global warming’
Canadian and US scientists want to block the sun to cool the earth and limit global warming.
Research and field-testing on what they call “geo-engineering” of the earth’s atmosphere to limit risk of climate change must begin quickly, say scientists from the University of Calgary in Canada, and the University of Michigan and Carnegie Mellon University in the US.
Studies on geo-engineering or solar radiation management (SRM) should be undertaken collectively with government funding, rather that unilaterally by nations, argue the scientists.
They say SRM would involve releasing mega-tonnes of light-scattering aerosol particles in the upper atmosphere to reduce earth’s absorption of solar energy, thereby cooling the planet.
Another technique would be to release particles of sea salt to make low-altitude clouds reflect more solar energy back into space, the scientists say.
“Collaborative and government-supported studies on solar-radiation management will help identify technologies to combat climate change,” writes David Keith of Calgary university in an article in Nature this week.
“Solar-radiation management may be the only human response that can fend off rapid and high-consequence climate change impacts. The risks of not doing research outweigh the risks of doing it,” says Keith, who has co-authored the opinion piece with Edward Parson at the University of Michigan and Granger Morgan at Carnegie Mellon University.
However, SRM should not take the place of deep cuts in industrial greenhouse gas emissions and taking action to adapt to climate change, say the scientists.
They say: “We must develop the capability to do SRM in a manner that complements such cuts, while managing the associated environmental and political risks.”
The scientists want governments worldwide to establish a global research budget for SRM. This budget should grow about $10 million to $1 billion a year between now and 2020, they say.
They say research results should be made available to every nation and risk assessments be as transparent and international as possible.
NASA’s Mars rover Spirit begins new chapter
After six years of unprecedented exploration, NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit will no longer be a fully mobile robot.
NASA has designated the once-roving scientific explorer a stationary science platform after efforts during the past several months to free it from a sand trap were unsuccessful.
The venerable robot’s primary task in the next few weeks will be to position itself to combat the severe Martian winter.
If Spirit survives, it will continue conducting significant new scientific research from its final location. The rover’s mission could continue for several months to years.
“Spirit is not dead, it has just entered another phase of its long life,” said Doug McCuistion, director of the Mars Exploration Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
“We told the world last year that attempts to set the beloved robot free may not be successful. It looks like Spirit’s current location on Mars will be its final resting place.”
Ten months ago, as Spirit was driving south beside the western edge of a low plateau called Home Plate, its wheels broke through the crusty surface and churned into soft sand hidden underneath.
After Spirit became embedded, the rover team crafted plans for trying to get the six-wheeled vehicle free using its five functioning wheels. The sixth wheel had quit working in 2006, limiting Spirit’s mobility.
The planning included experiments with a test rover in a sandbox at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, plus analysis, modeling and reviews. In November, another wheel quit working, making a difficult situation even worse.
Recent drives have yielded the best results since Spirit became embedded. However, the coming winter mandates a change in strategy.
It is mid-autumn at the solar-powered robot’s home on Mars. Winter will begin in May. Solar energy is declining and expected to become insufficient to power further driving by mid-February, said a NASA release.
The rover team plans to use those remaining potential drives for improving the rover’s tilt. Spirit currently tilts slightly toward the south. The winter sun stays in the northern sky, so decreasing the southward tilt would boost the amount of sunshine on the rover’s solar panels.
Jan 29, 2010
Hands-on with the T-Mobile myTouch 3G Fender Limited Edition
Its first impressions of the T-Mobile myTouch 3G Fender Limited Edition. This Android-based music oriented handset is different from the original one by sporting a new slick looking design.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)