SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY AFFAIRS NOVEMBER 2015
- India test-fires indigenously developed supersonic interceptor missile
India on 22nd November test-fired its indigenously developed supersonic interceptor missile from the Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast. The interceptor, known as Advanced Air Defence (AAD) missile, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is capable of destroying any incoming ballistic missile. The interceptor roared through its trajectory to destroy an electronically prepared target which was fired from the Chandipur Test Range.
DRDO said, the kill effect of the interceptor was being ascertained by analysing data from multiple tracking sources. In April this year, the AAD missile had failed to hit the target missile during a similar test. - Digital India Mobile Science Bus Launched in Kolkata
A Mobile Science Bus has been started by the National Council of Science Museums and an independent organization under the Ministry of Culture for Digital India. The main aim of this ‘Science Bus’ is to popularise the Digital India which is of Government and for highlighting different feature and benefits of digital technology in various sectors.
The ‘Museobus’ is exhibits the 15 accommodates of previously organized the golden jubilee celebrations of the NCSM. The development of technologies related with computers and the internet has been displayed in the exhibition. It is also describes the role of the Internet greatly, regarding World Wide Web and mobile phones in transforming the modern digital world.
The digital technology impact has been showed on various sectors such as banking, health care and other Indian industries via the numerous display panels. - India test-fires nuclear-capable Dhanush missile
The nuclear-capable ballistic missile Dhanush was test fired from warship Subhadra, off the Puri coast of Odisha on 24th November. According to Defence Research and Development Organisation sources it was a perfect mission and the missile splashed down near the target point with high degree of accuracy.
The DRDO sources said Dhanush missile is a naval variant of Prithvi-II, and can carry a nuclear payload of 500 kg. The missile has a length of 8.53 meters and 0.9 meter wide.
The missile has already been inducted into the armed Services and can target both land-based and sea-based targets. Dhanush was one of the five missiles developed by the DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme. Naval variant Dhanush missile was first successfully tested in 2012. - 4 endangered species among 514 spotted in Salim Ali bird count
The Salim Ali Bird Count, which was revived after almost 20 years, recorded over 15,000 observations by people across 22 states. A critically endangered and four endangered species were among the 514 species spotted on November 15.
The nationwide bird count was relaunched by the Bombay Natural History Society-India in association with Bird Count India to commemorate the birth anniversary (November 12) of Dr Salim Ali, popularly known as the Bird Man of India.
Bird-watchers uploaded their observations on the eBird website. BNHS said 15,638 observations were recorded by 280 people. The observations were collated from 549 lists, as each individual had to prepare separate lists for each location covered. Of these, 383 were unique lists while others had multiple contributors. Maharashtra saw maximum participation.
Out of the 514 species spotted during the count, 30 were from the the IUCN Red List of Threatened Birds 2015. The White-rumped vulture was the only bird spotted from the 'critically endangered' category, whereas four birds from the 'endangered' category were spotted. These included the Black-bellied Tern, Egyptian Vulture, Great Knot and Steppe Eagle.
Experts feel bird-count activities will help study the impact of climate change. BNHS said they plan to scale up the initiative on the pan-India level. It will be held on the Sunday after November 12 every year. - Prithvi-II launched successfully
India successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II surface-to-surface missile with a strike range of 350 km as part of a user trial by the army from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Odisha. Prithvi-II missile weighs about 4,600 kg is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of warheads. It has the ability to dodge enemy missiles.
Prithvi-II has been designed to operate with both liquid and solid fuels and is capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear payloads. - Saltwater-tolerant paddy developed
The Scientists at the Rice Research Station of Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) at Vyttila have developed a new variety of paddy tolerant to saline intrusion, a major challenge faced by farmers in the lowlands.
The landmark achievement in rice research was made possible by the introduction of genes tolerant to salinity and iron toxicity into Jyothi, Kerala’s most popular rice variety.
The project which began in 2008 involved the incorporation of the SalTol gene present in Pokkali, the most saline tolerant rice variety in the world, into Jyothi.
Thus Jyothi, known for its superior grain quality, yet restricted by the lack of saline tolerance, has become suitable for Pokkali fields, Kuttanad and kolelands as well, according to the researchers.
The scientists used the introgressive hybridisation technique to move the SalTol gene from Pokkali to the gene pool of Jyothi. The project was part of a long-term programme initiated by KAU for the development of stress-tolerant rice varieties for less favourable environments. The SalTol gene is the donor for salinity-tolerant rice breeding programmes all over the world. - Agni-I missile test-fired successfully in Odisha
India has successfully test-fired the indigenously built nuclear-capable, Agni-I missile from Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast on 27th November.
The surface-to-surface missile was fired from launch pad-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at 10.02 a.m. as part of Strategic Forces Command (SFC) training exercise. The sources of Defence ministry said the trial was successful. The path of the trial was tracked by a battery of sophisticated radars which were installed at various places, telemetry observation stations, electro-optic instruments and naval ships. The missile is at least 15 metres long and is powered by solid and liquid propellants at a speed of 2.5 km per second.
Agni-I missile which weighs around 12 tonnes has already been inducted into the armed forces. It can carry both conventional and nuclear payload of 1000kgs. It was first launched on January 25, 2002 and can be fired from rail and road mobile launchers. The last trial of Agni-I was conducted in September 2014, was also successful. - Government advances roll out of BS-V and BS-VI norms for 4-wheelers
The government on 28th November said it has advanced the date for implementation of the roll out of Bharat Stage (BS) stage V and VI norms for four-wheelers by three years. According to the roadmap earlier laid down by the Auto Fuel Policy, BS-V norms were to be implemented from April 1, 2022 and BS-VI from April 1, 2024, it added.
Accordingly, the ministry has decided to implement BS-V norms from April 1, 2019.
BS-VI norms, which aim at substantial reduction in NOx/4C levels will be implemented from April 1, 2021, it added. This reflects a firm commitment to play a major role in reducing vehicular emissions.
Draft norms for two- and three-wheeler categories will be notified shortly with advanced timeline similar to the four wheeler category, it added. - Fund for developing countries deal with climate change
Commonwealth leaders have agreed to set up a 1 billion dollar green finance facility to support developing countries to access to funds in dealing with climate change. The decision is in sync with India's demand for providing adequate financial resources to poor nations to reduce green house gas GHG emissions.
During Commonwealth Heads of Governments CHOGM meeting in Malta, outgoing Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma said various island nations and small countries are facing difficulty in securing financial support to bring down emissions and this new climate change hub will provide funds to them.
In talks on climate change, Indian officials argued that the Commonwealth must not pre-judge outcome of the negotiations leading to Paris climate conference starting on 30th November. India wishes that commitment of the rich nations towards small islands and poor countries must go beyond the current level. - NASA to grow flowers in space for first time
Flowers could be blooming on the International Space Station (ISS) after the New Year, thanks to NASA's first flowering crop experiment on the orbiting laboratory. NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren activated the Veggie plant growth system and its rooting "pillows" containing Zinnia seeds on the space station on 16th November.
Growing Zinnias in orbit will help provide precursory information about other flowering plants that could be grown in space. It is the first time that a flowering crop will be grown on the orbiting laboratory, NASA said.
Lindgren will turn on the red, blue and green LED lights, activate the water and nutrient system to Veggie, and monitor the plant growth.
The Zinnias will grow for 60 days, which is twice as long as the first and second crop of Outredgeous red romaine lettuce that grew on the space station. During the growth cycle, the LED lights will be on for 10 hours and off for 14 hours in order to stimulate the plants to flower.
Researchers also hope to gather good data regarding long-duration seed stow and germination, whether pollen could be an issue, and the impacts on crew morale. Growing tomato plants on the space station is planned for 2017, NASA said. The Veggie system was developed by Orbital Technologies Corporation (ORBITEC) in Madison, Wisconsin, and tested at Kennedy before flight.
Veggie, along with two sets of pillows containing romaine seeds and one set of zinnias, was delivered to the station by SpaceX on the third cargo resupply mission in April 2014. - World's first `porous' liquid to filter carbon emissions developed
In a breakthrough, scientists have developed the world's first 'porous' liquid that can potentially be used to capture harmful carbon emissions to prevent them from entering the Earth's atmosphere.
Researchers at Queen's University Belfast in UK, along with colleagues at the University of Liverpool and other international partners, invented the new liquid and found that it can dissolve unusually large amount of gas, which are absorbed into the `holes' in the liquid.
The research could pave the way for many more efficient and greener chemical processes, including the procedure known as carbon capture -trapping carbon dioxide from major sources, for example a fossil-fuel power plant, and storing it to prevent its entry into the atmosphere. - WHO warns of confusion on superbugs
People across the world are confused about the major threat to public health posed by drug-resistant superbugs and do not know how to stop that risk growing, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on 16th November.
Ramping up its fight against antibiotic resistance with a survey of public awareness, the United Nations health agency said 64 per cent of those asked believed wrongly that penicillin-based drugs and other antibiotics can treat colds and flu, despite the fact such medicines have no impact on viruses. Around a third of people surveyed also wrongly believed they should stop taking antibiotics when they feel better, rather than completing the prescribed treatment course, the WHO said.
Antibiotic resistance happens when bacteria mutate and adapt to become resistant to the antibiotics used to treat the infections they cause. Over-use and misuse of antibiotics exacerbate the development of drug resistant bacteria, often called superbugs.
Superbug infections -- including multi-drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis, typhoid and gonorrhea -- kill hundreds of thousands of people a year, and the trend is growing.
The WHO surveyed 10,000 people across 12 countries – Barbados, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Sudan and Vietnam -- and found many worrying misconceptions. - Antibiotic resistance
Three quarters of respondents think antibiotic resistance means the body is resistant to the drugs, for example, whereas in fact it is the bacteria themselves that become resistant to antibiotics and their spread causes hard-to-treat infections.
Some 66 per cent believe individuals are not at risk of a drug-resistant infection if they personally take their antibiotics as prescribed. And nearly half of those surveyed think drug resistance is only a problem in people who take antibiotics often. In fact, anyone, anywhere, of any age, can get a superbug infection. - UN report cites huge positive policy potential to cut greenhouse gas emissions
A new report packed with best practice climate policies from across the world was released on 18th November by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), revealing a wealth of existing opportunities to immediately scale up reductions in greenhouse gas emissions while powering up ambition to keep the global average temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius
Science tells that there is one path for us to be able to have a stable planet and a safe stable economy, and that is to get onto a below 2 degree path that is fundamental and policy is actually following science as it should, said Christiana Figueres, the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC
Less than two weeks away from the UN climate conference in Paris, widely known asCOP21, she announced that 168 countries, covering almost 90 per cent of global emissions, have now submitted their national climate targets, known as INDCs.
These do make a huge dent in the projected increase in temperature that we would have by the end of the century, so if these INDCs are fully implemented then we would no longer be on a track of 4 or 5 degrees, it would be on a track of anywhere between 2.7 and 3 degrees, which is a much, much better projection in temperature rise, Figueres continued, but warned that this is not yet two degrees or below 2 degrees, which is what some countries still need for their survival and safety.
Introducing the new UNFCCC report Climate Action Now A Summary for Policymakers 2015, Figueres said it is a solutions guide. It explains how nations can deploy a wide range of proven policies and utilize existing initiatives to meet the common challenge of climate change and sustainable development.
It also highlights both national and international cooperative actions while underling the vital role of non-State actors such as companies, cities, regions and provinces in realizing bigger reductions in current and future emissions.
UNFCC further described the report as providing, at the request of governments, a straightforward, inspiring go-to-reference to assist ministers, advisors and policymakers pursuing climate actions now and over the years and decades to come.
The findings spotlight how effective policies across six key thematic areas not only reduce emissions rapidly but also advance goals in 15 other critical economic, social and environmental areas.
Under the UNFCCC, governments have, over the past few years, led a significant effort during a series of technical expert meetings to identify and scope out the policies that lead to effective climate action this report is the fruit of that effort
It underlines the myriad of remarkable transitions that are already occurring nationally and internationally in areas ranging from renewable energy to transportation and land use.
In doing so it provides governments and their partners with the blueprints and tool-kits to cost-effectively catalyze action now and take the Paris agreement to the next level of long term ambition, she added.
She also noted that the remarkable reality revealed in this report is that the very policies that deal most effectively with climate change also offer a ready-made portfolio of actions that can equally assist the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by UN Member States in September. - India test-fires nuclear-capable strategic ballistic missile Agni-IV
India on 9th November test-fired its nuclear-capable strategic ballistic missile Agni-IV, from the Integrated Test Range at Abdul Kalam Island in the Odisha coast. The indigenously developed surface-to-surface Agni-IV missile is a two-stage weapon system and is capable of hitting a target at a distance of 4,000 kilometers. It is 20 metres long and weighs 17 tonnes. The sophisticated surface-to-surface missile is equipped with modern and compact avionics to provide high level of reliability.
The trial was conducted by Strategic Force Command of the Indian Army. This was the fifth trial of Agni-IV missile. The last successful trial conducted on December 2, 2014. - CO2, greenhouse gases level reach record high in 2014: WMO
Concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a record high in 2014. According to World Meteorological Organization report on 9th November that the relentless fueling of climate change will make the planet more dangerous for future generations.
Graphs issued by the UN agency showed levels of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, climbing steadily towards the 400 parts per million level, having hit a new record every year since reliable records began in 1984. The UN panel of climate scientists estimates that concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are at their highest in at least 8 lakh years. - Climate change could push 100 million into poverty by 2030: World Bank
World Bank says climate change will result in more than 100 million additional people living in poverty by 2030 if sufficient counter measures are not taken.
A report released on 8th November, ahead of a UN climate change conference in Paris, says droughts will hit the farming sector hard driving up food prices in Africa by 12 percent.
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said the number of people in poverty will surge, mainly in Africa and South Asia, as these areas are exposed to floods, which can bring malaria and other infectious diseases. - Talks on Climate Change
Ministers from about 70 countries have failed to bridge their gaps on some major issues ahead of the upcoming UN climate change conference in Paris. The delegates ended three days of preparatory talks in the French capital on 9th November. Japanese officials say the industrialized and developing countries agreed that they need a long-term goal for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and they should review their efforts every 5 years. But the two sides remained divided on whether they should share the same level of responsibility for emission cuts.
The delegates also disagreed on financial support from rich countries for developing nations. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, who will chair the UN conference, said the ministerial meeting was an important step, but much hard work remains. He urged the participants to make further concessions, saying the summit, known as COP 21, must not end without an agreement.
The UN conference will open on November 30th in Paris and aims to reach an accord on a new framework to curb global warming. - GSAT-15 successfully launched
India's latest communication satellite GSAT-15 was successfully launched by Ariane-5 rocket in the early hours on 11th November from the spaceport of Kourou in French Guiana.
The European launcher blasted off at 03:04 AM (IST) and hurled the GSAT-15, designed to deliver telecommunications services, as well as dedicated navigation-aid and emergency services, into space in a flawless flight. GSAT-15 was launched into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) after its co-passenger Arabsat-6B (BADR-7) was injected into space.
GSAT-15, weighing 3,164 kg at lift-off, is a high power satellite being inducted into the INSAT/GSAT system. It carries a total of 24 communication transponders in Ku-band as well as a GPS-Aided GEO Augmented Navigation (GAGAN) payload operating in L1 and L5 bands. - BRAHMOS hits target in maiden test firing
The formidable BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missile on 1st November validated its strike power yet again after being successfully tested from Indian Navy's newest stealth destroyer INS Kochi on the west coast. The second of Project 15A "Kolkata-class" guided missile destroyer test fired the advanced BRAHMOS missile system as part of an Acceptance Test Firing during a naval drill being conducted on the west coast. The world's fastest cruise missile, after performing high-level and extremely complex manoeuvres, successfully hit a decommissioned target ship 'Alleppey' located at nearly full range of the missile (290-km) with high precision.
BRAHMOS as the prime strike weapon will ensure the warship's invincibility by engaging naval surface targets at long ranges, thus making the destroyer another lethal platform of Indian Navy.
The Navy commissioned INS Kochi on September 30, 2015. The 7,500-ton indigenously developed warship incorporates new design concepts for improved survivability, stealth, sea-keeping and maneuverability. - India's carbon emissions rise, even as global rates fall: PwC
The rise in carbon emissions due to electricity generation was the highest in India even as the global economy moved away from carbon based energy sources, a study by international audit giant PwC said on 2nd November.
The Low Carbon Economy Index 2015 by PwC shows carbon emissions from electricity generation in India rose 8.2% in 2014, whereas the corresponding global figure was only 0.5%.
The report said India’s energy emissions, the highest in the world, have been driven by a double-digit growth in demand for coal, as power consumption increased in line with the rapid 7.4% growth in GDP. Global GDP growth was much lower at 3.3%.
The report gathers significance in light of global negotiations on climate change that are scheduled for December in Paris. All countries have submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions or (INDC) with the collective aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions globally to limit the potential for global warming to 2°C by 2100.
India being the fourth largest carbon emitter is expected to be the world’s fastest growing major economy. The report stressed that the country’s carbon intensity or measure of energy related greenhouse gas emissions per million dollars of GDP will have to be managed carefully.
While India’s ambitious INDC program includes stringent emission standards and a fourfold increase in carbon tax, it also targets a 33%-35% reduction in carbon density by 2030, from 2005 levels. The report pointed out India’s carbon intensity or also grew by 0.7% in 2014, as renewable energy adoption remained slow. Globally, the carbon intensity fell by 2.7%, the highest annual fall since 2000, it added.
For the INDC targets to be achieved, a yearly 2.1% yearly reduction in carbon intensity would be required, it said. It added, however, India’s carbon intensity was about half that of China, and is still less than the global average.
Over a longer period, India has reduced its carbon intensity by 1.4% per year between 2000 and 2014. Its rate of reduction in carbon intensity is slightly better than the global average of 1.3% per year during 2000-2014. - Dracula ant in Western Ghats
A group of scientists have obtained the first photographic record of the Dracula ant from Kerala. They believe that their find may be a new species belonging to the Stigmatomma group of predaceous ants.
The ant was identified by Manoj Vembayam, Kalesh Sadasivan and Vinay Krishnan, members of the TNHS Ant Research Group, a wing of the Travancore Natural History Society. The amateur researchers have found the ant from the Western Ghats region of the State.
Dr. Sadasivan, Senior Resident (Non Academic), Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, said three Dracula ant species had been discovered in the past in the country from Kolkata, Himachal Pradesh, and Karnataka. - 3-D printing method to make embryonic stem cells
Scientists have developed a 3-D printing method capable of producing highly uniform 'blocks' of embryonic stem cells. These cells -- capable of generating all cell types in the body -- could be used as the 'Lego bricks' to build tissue constructs, larger structures of tissues and potentially even micro-organs.
The researchers, based at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, and Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA, used extrusion-based 3-D printing to produce a grid-like 3-D structure to grow embryoid body that demonstrated cell viability and rapid self-renewal for 7 days while maintaining high pluripotentcy.
The researchers hope that this technique can be developed to produce embryoid body at a high throughput, providing the basic building blocks for other researchers to perform experiments on tissue regeneration and/or for drug screening studies. - World's pledges to cut carbon emissions not enough to halt global warming, UN warns
Carbon-cutting pledges from 146 nations are "far from enough" to stave off dangerous global warming, the United Nations has warned, three weeks ahead of a crucial climate summit in Paris. Countries have submitted pledges, known as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), to a UN roster that will form the backbone of an agreement to be inked at the November 30 climate talks.
According to Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Program (UNEP), the countries had made "an historic level of commitment" with their pledges. However, they are not sufficient to limit global temperature rise to the recommended level of 2 degrees Celsius this century
To stay within the 2C limit, which scientists say is necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, global emissions levels should not exceed 42 billion tonnes in 2030.
Even if all countries' plans for emission cuts are implemented fully, emissions could rise to 54 billion tonnes in 2030, leaving a gap of 12 billion tonnes, an annual UNEP report said.
The report analysed the difference between projected carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution and the levels required to stay under the UN's 2C target.
It is the first to take into account greenhouse gas reduction promises made ahead of the Paris summit, tasked with delivering the first ever universal climate pact.
Including major emitters China, the United States and the 28-member European Union, the pledges cover some 65 per cent of global emissions, and 43 per cent of the world population.
Australia plans to cut emissions by 26-28 per cent by 2030 based on emissions from the year 2005.According to the report, the submitted pledges "are far from enough, and the emissions gap in both 2025 and 2030 will be very significant". Moreover, it notes, greenhouse gas output would still be rising in 2030. - First-ever census of butterflies in India
India finally has its first comprehensive catalogue of butterflies since 1947. Peter Smetacek, a scientist at the Butterfly Research Centre at Bhimtal, in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, spent years putting together a synoptic list of the 1,318 species found across the country. The exercise is not only to document the variety of butterflies in India, but to help save India’s rivers—a cause that Smetacek has been championing.
The new catalogue is the first butterfly list compiled in India since 1932. After Independence and Partition, no one knew which butterfly species remained in Pakistan and the occupied parts of Kashmir. The Synoptic Catalogue of the Butterflies of India, which has been edited by Smetacek and RK Varshney, retired additional director of the Zoological Society of India, has filled in those information gaps.
The catalogue includes remarkable varieties like the Travancore Evening Brown, a butterfly endemic to India and found only in Kerala and Karnataka. The butterfly is the only existing species in its genus and its closest relative is found in South America, indicating that it belongs to a lineage that went extinct ages ago. - 300 km range Brahmos missile test fired
Army on 7th November successfully test fired the nearly 300-km-range Brahmos supersonic land attack cruise missile at Pokhran in Jaisalmer. A mobile autonomous launcher deployed in full configuration with mobile command post at the ranges launched the missile. Senior Army and DRDO officials witnessed the launch. The Army has already inducted three regiments of Brahmos in its arsenal. The land-attack version of Brahmos has been operationalised in the Army since 2007.
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