SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY AFFAIRS APRIL 2016
- Rare primate species of white cheeked Macaque found in Anjaw, Arunachal Pradesh
A team of researchers has reported the discovery of a new species of primate in India, white cheeked Macaque, in Arunachal Pradesh. According to reports, the unprecedented discovery of primates was spotted in the Anjaw district, lying in the Eastern corner Arunachal Pradesh.
Though their discovery is no random spotting but a careful observation of the photos proved the existence of this rare white cheeked Macaques.
This discovery by biologists and wildlife photographers shows India’s rich biodiversity. This discovery of the primate came after a year, the photos of the white-cheeked macaque (Macaca leucogenys) were taken in March 2015, it took a year’s time to confirm if it matches the present species or not.
This Macaque species is new in India itself and what is different about the species is its body is covered with fur. It has uniform dorsal hair patterns, round facial appearance, dark facial skin, long and thick hair on its neck, prominent pale to white side, and chin-whiskers with a white cheek while it has small hairless tail. Experts also believe that this species at present is endangered due to illegal hunting by humans. - Existence of ancient Himalayan wolf in Nepal confirmed
Scientists have confirmed the presence of the critically endangered Himalayan wolf - the most ancient wolf lineage known - in Nepal's largest protected area.
Although the Himalayan wolf is visibly distinct from its European cousin, its current distribution has mostly been a matter of assumption, rather than evident truth, researchers said.
The most ancient wolf lineage known to science has been listed as critically endangered in Nepal's National Red List, they said. Now, an international research team, led by Madhu Chetri, graduate student at the Hedmark University of Applied Sciences, Norway, report the wolf from Nepal's largest protected area, thus confirming its existence in the country.
When compared to the European wolf, this one stands out with its smaller size, unusually longer muzzle and stumpy legs. Another clearly distinctive feature is the white colouration around the throat, chest, belly and inner part of the limbs. On the other hand, its characteristic woolly body fur has given the subspecies the common name 'woolly wolf'.
However, the distinctiveness of the Himalayan wolf is far more than skin-deep. Researchers note that recent studies have already showed that these wolves have split as a separate branch within the 'tree of life' so long ago that they are divergent from the whole globally distributed wolf-dog clade. - Scientists build world's tiniest thermometre using DNA
Rsearchers have created a programmable DNA thermometre that is 20,000 times smaller than a human hair. This scientific advance reported in the journal Nano Letters may significantly aid our understanding of natural and human designed nanotechnologies by enabling to measure temperature at the nanoscale.
Over 60 years ago, researchers discovered that the DNA molecules that encode our genetic information can unfold when heated.
In recent years, biochemists also discovered that biomolecules such as proteins or RNA (a molecule similar to DNA) are employed as nanothermometres in living organisms and report temperature variation by folding or unfolding
Inspired by those natural nanothermometers, which are typically 20,000x smaller than a human hair, we have created various DNA structures that can fold and unfold at specifically defined temperatures
One of the main advantages of using DNA to engineer molecular thermometers is that DNA chemistry is relatively simple and programmable. The researchers believe that these nanoscale thermometres open many exciting avenues in the emerging field of nanotechnology, and may even help us to better understand molecular biology. - Three new primate species found in Madagascar
Scientists have identified three new species of mouse lemurs in Madagascar, taking the total number of known mouse lemur species to 24. As little as 20 years ago, only two species of these small, nocturnal primates were known.
The newly identified species live in the South and East of Madagascar and increase the number of known mouse lemur species to 24, researchers said.
Mouse lemurs are small, nocturnal primates, which are found only in Madagascar — and they all look very similar with their brown fur and large eyes. Different species can be distinguished reliably only by means of genetic methods.
By using new, objective methods to assess genetic differences between individuals, we were able to find independent evidence that these three mouse lemurs represent new species,” according to the Peter Kappeler, from the German Primate Centre (DPZ). In addition, the analysis confirmed the status of the previously described 21 species.
The genetic techniques we used could facilitate species identification, thus also contributing to further new descriptions in other animal groups. - Fastest Supercomputer ‘Param Kanchenjunga’ Unveiled At NIT Sikkim
The National Institute of Technology (NIT) Sikkim has recently unveiled a supercomputer called ‘Param Kanchenjunga’. This Supercomputer is said to be the fastest among all 31 NITs in India
This computer is named after the third-highest mountain in the world, Mt. Kanchenjunga. The supercomputer is an invention by the collaboration between Pune-based Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) and the NIT Sikkim
It is aimed to help in research and academics. Since NIT Sikkim has research areas like climate modeling etc., the supercomputer would aid in these fields as well. It is the fastest and most powerful among the NITs. The total cost estimated cost to build the supercomputer is around Rs. 3 crores. - Low -cost solar cells developed
In a breakthrough, scientists have set a new world record for fullerene-free polymer solar cells that are cheaper and more efficient. Polymer solar cells have in recent years emerged as a low-cost alternative to silicon solar cells.
In order to obtain high efficiency, fullerenes are usually required in polymer solar cells to separate charge carriers. However, fullerenes are unstable under illumination, and form large crystals at high temperatures.
Researchers led by Professor Jianhui Hou at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) developed a unique combination of a polymer called PBDB—T and a small molecule called ITIC. - Scientists, led by Indian-origin researcher discover way to forecast earthquakes
Scientists, led by an Indian-origin researcher, have discovered a way to forecast earthquakes based on slow fault movements caused by moving sub layers of Earth.
So far, scientists believe that larger earthquakes are unlikely to occur following tremors or earthquakes below a Richter scale of 2 that are caused by small vibrations or slow fault movements.
However, researchers from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore found that not only do these vibrations potentially point to an impending earthquake, they also discovered a discernible pattern to them. The study, led by Deepa Mele Veedu has major significance on the prediction of earthquakes.
The team's latest findings could potentially be applied in the seismic monitoring of the the Southeast Asia region to help better forecast large earthquakes in the region. The study was published in the journal Nature. - NASA's Kepler spacecraft goes into emergency mode
NASA's Kepler spacecraft, that hunts for Earth-like planets orbiting other stars, has gone into emergency mode (EM) some 75 million miles from Earth.
The US space agency said, the lowest operational mode EM was discovered during a scheduled contact on April 7th. NASA said, recovering from EM is the team's priority at this time.
Initial indications, according to NASA officials, are that Kepler entered EM before mission operations began the manoeuvre to orient the spacecraft to point towards the centre of the Milky Way.
It was undertaking K2 mission's microlensing observing campaign. The last regular contact with the spacecraft was on April 4 when the spacecraft was operating as expected. - The world tiger population has increased for the first time in 100 years
For the first time in a century, the global wild tiger population has increased, giving hope to conservation efforts after many decades of seeing numbers dwindling. According to figures provided by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), there are now a minimum of 3,890 tigers in the wild, representing a substantial increase since 2010, when estimates put the global population at as few as 3,200
The WWF attributes the higher tally – which has been compiled from a number of national tiger surveys – to a range of factors, including enhanced protections of the animals and improved surveying techniques. The overall increase is primarily due to larger tiger populations in India Russia, Nepal, and Bhutan.
By far, the majority of the animals are in India, followed by Russia, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Nepal, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Bhutan all play host to smaller numbers, as do China, Myanmar, Lao, and Vietnam.
The above nations are all members of the Global Tiger Forum (GTF), which in 2010 saw world leaders joining an international effort called the Tiger Initiative Tx2 to double wild tiger numbers by 2022
While the boost in tiger populations since 2010 means we're headed in the right direction, those involved say it still won't be easy to double the numbers in such a short space of time.
The global tiger count is based on data from 2014. Here is the tally broken down by country:
Bangladesh, 106; Bhutan, 103; Cambodia, 0; China, more than 7; India, 2,226; Indonesia, 371; Laos, 2; Malaysia, 250; Myanmar, no data available; Nepal, 198; Russia, 433; Thailand, 189; Vietnam, fewer than 5. The experts said the Myanmar government's count of 85 tigers in 2010 was not included because the data was considered out of date. - India to adopt statute of SAWEN: PM
India is all set to adopt the statute of South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN), an inter governmental wildlife law enforcement support body, laying down an action plan to work together to fight wildlife crimes.
India is also creating a national repository of Tiger camera trap photo database that will help study the movement of Tigers and keep a check on the crime against them.
Indian Prime Minister inaugurated the three day 3rd Asia Ministerial conferenceon tiger conservation in New Delhi, on 12th April, during this summit he said that India moving towards formally adopting the statute of South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network
Modi said Tiger Range countries are signatories to other international conventions to address international trade on endangered species. He said National Tiger Conservation Authority has taken many landmark initiatives and use of modern technology, including intelligent, infrared and thermal cameras on a 24x7 basis is being promoted for surveillance against poaching in sensitive tiger reserves.
Assuring India's 'fullest support' to tiger conservation, he said, it will also be happy to support capacity building of wildlife personnel at the Wildlife Institute of India. India along with several Tiger Range Countries is a founder member of the Global Tiger Forum, the only inter-governmental organisation of its kind headquartered in New Delhi.
SAWEN is a platform for its eight member countries to cooperatively work together in the fight against the burgeoning wildlife crime and its statute lays down an action plan for them to adopt and adhere in the next six years to check wildlife crime.
Besides India, it has Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as member countries. It focuses on harmonization of policies and laws; strengthening institutional capacity; sharing of knowledge, experiences and technologies among the member countries; and promoting collaboration with national, regional and international partners to enhance the wildlife law enforcement in the region. - India’s tiger population rises to nearly 2,500
India’s tiger population has grown to around 2,500, up from 2,226 in 2014, Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar said. India started Project Tiger in 1972 after the tiger population fell below 300 across nine tiger reserves. Currently, India has 49 tiger reserves.
About 100,000 tigers roamed the forests of the world in 1900, but their numbers dwindled steadily, hitting a low of 3,200 in 2010 when the last estimates were compiled. On Monday, a report by WWF and Global Tiger Forum revealed that globally, the number of tigers in the wild are 3,890.
The minister pointed out that the National Democratic Alliance government has increased the budget for Project Tiger from Rs.185 crore last year to Rs.380 crore this year. A scheme to improve tiger corridors with help from industry was also announced at the conference. - Unique machine converts pollutants into ink
While the world is looking for innovative ways to reduce pollution in the environment, four students of chemical engineering in IIT Delhi have found a unique way to curb pollution from diesel generators. In fact, they have developed a machine that helps in converting pollutants in to usable ink
The students Ishani, Prateek, Kushagra and Arpit. They have created this unique device called Ink.
As per a survey, over 14000 mobile towers in Delhi are run by diesel engines. After running for 8 to 10 hours every day, these generators produce about 2100 ton particulate matter. And this is a major contributor to air pollution. The device invented by the IIT students prevents the particulate matter from being released in the air.
This device is connected to the exhaust pipe of the generator. With the help of a special solution, this device collects 70% of the soot from smoke.
This collected particulate matter is then used to make ink. This was one of the projects selected during the initiation of the StartUp India program. The popularity of this unique device has also reached China.
The ink produced using this machine is very useful. This can be ised to create design on cloths or paint objects of domestic use. And the biggest benefit of course is how the environment is saved from more pollution. - Ultra-thin graphene sensor to detect air pollution in homes
Scientists, including one of Indian-origin, have developed a graphene-based sensor and switch that can detect air pollution inside homes.
The sensor detects individual carbon dioxide (CO2) molecules and volatile organic compound gas molecules found in buildings, furniture and even household goods.
These harmful chemical gases are measured in parts per billion and are extremely difficult to detect with current environmental sensor technology, which can only detect concentrations of parts per million (ppm).
In recent years, there has been an increase in health problems due to air pollution in personal living spaces, known as sick building syndrome (SBS), along with other conditions such as sick car and sick school syndromes
Manoharan Muruganathan of Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and a team of researchers developed the sensor to detect individual CO2 molecules adsorbed (the bond of molecules from a gas to a surface) onto the suspended graphene, one by one, by applying an electric field across the structure. - Scientists find new planet with triple-star system
Scientists have discovered a rare triple-star system with a gas giant planet similar in size to Jupiter. Researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics in US found that a binary system once thought to be a single star was actually a pair of stars orbiting one another, and are a part of the triple-star system.
Known planets with three stars appearing in their sky are rare — the new discovery is just the fourth and the closest one yet, allowing for a better look than has been possible, researchers said. The main star is also brighter than the others that serve as suns for their planets, making it easier to study both the star and the planet.
In the new system KELT-4Ab, a gas giant planet, similar in size to Jupiter takes approximately three days to make its way around the star KELT-A, which serves as its sun.
The other two stars, named KELT-B and C, are much farther away and orbit one another over the course of approximately 30 years. It takes the pair approximately four thousand years to orbit KELT-A, ‘Phys.org’ reported.
The view from KELT-4Ab would likely be one where its sun, KELT-A, would appear roughly forty times as big as our sun does to us due to its close proximity, researchers said.
On the other hand, the two other orbiting stars would appear much dimmer due to their great distance, shining no brighter than our moon, they said.
Scientists have known of the existence of the KELT system for several years, but it was thought that the binary stars were actually just one star.
The triple-star system offers a unique opportunity for scientists trying to understand how it is that gas giants, such as KELT-4Ab, manage to orbit so close to their star. - ISRO and NASA join hands
ISRO and NASA have joined hands to launch a satellite that will help study earthquake and its patterns. To deal with the unprecedented rise in world temperatures 11 of the world’s space agencies have agreed to launch a constellation of satellites to monitor the menace of climate change. The satellite is called NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, orNISAR and is designed to observe earth over the periods of time to spot differences.
The satellite will help taking measurements of some of the earth’s most complex processes, like ecosystem disturbances, melting ice sheets, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes and landslides. So both the space agencies have agreed to launch from India a jointly made earth observing satellite four years from now.
This project will not only help both the space agencies to understand seismic activity but also monitor landslides, estimate biomass and look for sea level changes. So far there are 130 Earth observing satellites in all but with no single coordinated effort. - WWF claims that half the world heritage sites are threatened
A new report from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) claims that 114 of the 229 World Heritage Sites protected by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) are threatened by industrial activities.
Nearly half of the World Heritage Sites are threatened according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Overfishing, illegal logging, mining and oil exploration are the biggest industrial culprits according to the report released on 6th April.
The United Nations provides money to the country that houses the heritage sites for their protection. Unfortunately, all too often (personal experience) these funds are handed down to corrupt nations like Guatemala and the suggestion that the United Nation’s money makes it to the desired destination is the acme of folly. - SpaceX successfully lands its rocket on a floating drone ship for the first time
SpaceX has finally landed its Falcon 9 rocket on a drone ship at sea, after launching the vehicle into space on 8th April. It's the first time the company has been able to pull off an ocean landing, after four previous attempts ended in failure. this success is a crucial milestone for SpaceX, as it shows the company can land its rockets both on solid ground and ocean.
This is the second time SpaceX has successfully landed one of its rockets post-launch; the first time was in December, when the company's Falcon 9 rocket touched down at a ground-based landing site in Cape Canaveral, Florida, after putting a satellite into space. Now that SpaceX has demonstrated it can do both types of landings, the company can potentially recover and reuse even more rockets in the future. And that could mean much greater cost savings for SpaceX. - Hubble unveils half a million stars at Milky Way's heart
So packed with stars, it is equivalent to having a million suns crammed into the volume of space between us and our closest stellar neighbour, Alpha Centauri, researchers said. At the very hub of our galaxy, this star cluster surrounds the Milky Way's central supermassive black hole, which is about 4 million times the mass of our Sun.
Astronomers used Hubble's infrared vision to pierce through the dust in the disk of our galaxy that obscures the star cluster.
In the image obtained by the Hubble telescope, scientists translated the infrared light, which is invisible to human eyes, into colours our eyes can see.
In the image, extremely dense clouds of gas and dust are seen in silhouette, appearing dark against the bright background stars. The clouds are so thick that even Hubble's infrared capability could not penetrate them. Hubble's sharp vision allowed astronomers to measure the movements of the stars over four years.
Using this information, scientists were able to infer important properties such as the mass and structure of the nuclear star cluster.
The motion of the stars may also offer a glimpse into how the star cluster was formed - whether it was built up over time by globular star clusters that happen to fall into the galaxy's centre, or from gas spiralling in from the Milky Way's disk to form stars at the core.
The image, spanning 50 light-years across, is a mosaic stitched from nine separate images taken in 2010 through 2014 with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3. The centre of the Milky Way is located 27,000 light-years away. Astronomers estimate that about 10 million stars in this cluster are too faint to be captured in the image.
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