SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY AFFAIRS JUNE 2014

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY AFFAIRS JUNE 2014

• A giant Major Atmospheric Cherenkov Experiment (MACE) Gamma- Ray Telescope, which weighs approximately 180 tones, designed, developed and manufactured by ECIL, Hyderabad for Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, has undergone all the field trails successfully. Now it is going to install at Hanle Site in Ladakh Region of Jammu and Kashmir. When installed, this MACE Telescope will be the second largest Gamma-ray Telescope in the world and it would help the scientific community of the country to enhance their understanding in the fields of Astrophysics, Fundamental Physics and Particle Acceleration Mechanisms.
  
• Researchers from North western University and University of New Mexico have discovered our planet's largest water reservoir 640 km beneath our feet - bound up in rock deep in the earth's mantle. Researchers have found deep pockets of magma located beneath North America, a likely signature of the presence of water at these depths. This water is not in a form familiar to us - it is not liquid, ice or vapour. This fourth form is water trapped inside the molecular structure of the minerals in the mantle rock. The discovery suggests water from the Earth's surface can be driven to such great depths by plate tectonics, eventually causing partial melting of the rocks found deep in the mantle. The findings, published in the journal Science, will aid scientists in understanding how the earth formed, what its current composition and inner workings are and how much water is trapped in mantle rock.
  
• India on 19 June successfully test fired the medium-range surface-to-air missile Akash on from a defense base in Odisha. The indigenously developed missile, with a 27-km range and an effective ceiling of 15 km, was test fired from the Integrated Test Range in Balasore district, 230 km from Bhubaneswar. The sophisticated multi-function radar with built-in features tracked the low flying target continuously throughout its course. With this flight trial, the Indian Army accomplishes all the validation trials on the first-off production models and the system is being delivered for induction.
  • The 700-kg all-weather Akash missile can carry a 60-kg warhead at speeds of up to Mach 2.5. It can operate autonomously and simultaneously engage and neutralise different aerial targets.
  • It can be launched from static or mobile platforms, enabling flexible deployment by the armed forces.
  • The Akash mobile air defence weapon system has been designed, developed and led to production by DRDO.
  • Avinash Chander is the DRDO chief and scientific advisor to defence minister.
    
• India on 9th June successfully test-fired the 290 km-range BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missile from the country's largest indigenous warship INS Kolkata off the coast of Karwar in Karnataka. The missile was test-fired from INS Kolkata, which is a new ship under Project 15-Alpha series, off the coast of Karwarand all the parameters were met during the test. The Mazagon Dockyards Limited-built INS Kolkata is yet to be formally inducted into the Navy and will have the capability to launch 16 BrahMos missiles in one attempt when it enters operational service.INS Kolkata is the first of its class of warships in the country and is undergoing extensive trials before its planned induction into the Navy in July. The Navy has already deployed BrahMos weapon systems on several of its warships including the Russian-origin Talwar Class vessels. The missile has also been inducted into the Army and the Air Force and is being readied for firing from a Su-30MKI combat aircraft. The Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace has developed several variants of the missile for different kinds of warfare and is now developing a much-faster hypersonic version of the weapon system.
  
• Indian origin scientist Rasik Ravindra on 13th June elected as member of the UN's body that centres on Oceans and Law of the Sea - UNCLCS. Ravindra was India's candidate for member of the Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf (CLCS). The selection of Rasik Ravindra was unanimous when he was elected during the 24th Meeting of States Parties of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Rasik Ravindra is a graduate of the Jammu and Kashmir University, and has won many prestigious awards including the National Award for Polar Sciences and Cryosphere in the year 2013 and National Mineral Award in the year 1990. He is among India's highly qualified scientists and has got wide experience of over four decades in different domains of geosciences that includes geological studies in Antarctica, India and Bhutan. 
  • The Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf (CLCS) has 21 members, who are specialists in the field of geophysics, geology, or hydrography, and are chosen for a term of five years by States Parties to the Convention from among their nationals.
  • It is the UN body that has the authority to allocate new seabed territory to nations.
    
• In a study, researchers have found the 28th chemical element (Bromine) essential for tissue development in all animals from primitive sea creatures to humans. Till now, twenty-seven chemical elements are considered to be essential for human life. Now, it is believed that there is a 28th chemical which is essential is bromine. Billy Hudson, Elliott V. Newman professor of medicine at Tennessee-based Vanderbilt University in the US has found the new fact. Researchers have established for the first time that bromine, among the 92 naturally-occurring chemical elements in the universe, is the 28th element essential for tissue development. This finding has important implications for kidney diseases. Bromine supplementation may improve the health of patients on dialysis or total parenteral nutrition (TPN).