Red Planet to Pass Closest to Earth

Mars is zooming in for a close approach to Earth on Wednesday, 27 January 2010 night, offering backyard astronomers their best views of the red planet until 2014.

For the past few months Mars has appeared at night as a ruddy, starlike beacon rising in the east.

On Wednesday, 27 January night, Mars will pass within 61 million miles (98 million kilometers) of Earth—close enough for well-equipped sky-watchers to make out details on the Martian surface.

"With a small telescope of about 6 inches (15.2 centimeters), the polar ice caps and other surface features are visible," said Raminder Singh, staff astronomer at the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia.

"Even a pair of binoculars will show it as a disk, as opposed to a star, which looks like a pinpoint of light."

And on January 29 Mars will reach opposition, which means it will rise in the east just as the sun sets in the west, making the red planet visible all night long.

"When opposition occurs, Mars is on the opposite side [of Earth] from the sun. If viewed from above the solar system, the sun, Earth, and Mars would be in a straight path," Singh said.

Adding to the cosmic spectacle, on the night of opposition Mars will appear fairly close to the full moon, and the pair will glide together across the sky.

Mars Easy to See

The exact distance between Mars and Earth changes over time, because the orbits of the planets are not perfect circles, but elongated ellipses.

This orbital setup means Mars makes a close pass by Earth roughly every two years.

In August 2003 Mars made its closest pass by Earth in 60,000 years, swinging by at a mere 35 million miles (56 million kilometers) away. That event created spectacular views for astronomers but also seems to have spawned the recurring "Mars Spectacular" email hoax.

Wednesday, 27 January night's approach won't be a particularly close pass. Still, the "flyby" will highlight how easy it is to spot Mars even with the naked eye, Singh noted.

"It's the third brightest object in the night sky, aside from the moon and the star Sirius," Singh said.

"People should really go outside and look at it, as it's an easy thing to see in the sky."

Source: NationalGeographic.com

Scientists Capture Haiti Disaster with High-Tech Imaging System

In the aftermath of the January 12, 2010 earthquake that struck Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, scientists from Rochester Institute of Technology are sweeping the leveled city with high-tech imaging integrated into a small aircraft.

Funded by the World Bank, and in collaboration with ImageCat Inc., the five-day flight is meticulously mapping the disaster zone to aid in crisis management and eventual reconstruction of the city. The twin engine Piper Navajo, operated by Kucera International, an Ohio-based aerial mapping company, will fly from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, and refuel daily in the Dominican Republic. The plane flies at 3,000 feet over Port-au-Prince and other areas badly hit by the earthquake. The operation began January 21, 2010.

RIT is coupling an imaging system it created for the U.S. Forest Service to detect wildfires using high-resolution color imagery and thermal infrared with Kucera's LIDAR topographical sensing system. LIDAR makes precise measurements with laser pulses and complements the other modalities in 3-D layered image maps. RIT scientist Jason Faulring is operating the camera system to survey damage, detect fires, chemical spills and surface contamination on lakes or ponds. George Tatalovich and James Bowers are the pilots flying for Kucera International. Bowers is operating the LIDAR sensor operator.

Recovery crews will use the information in the reconstruction of Haiti. RIT is coordinating closely with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, the U.S. Geological Survey and non-governmental organizations that want to make use of this unique data set.

Thermal imaging provides relief and recovery agencies with critical insight not available from standard color photography. "You can tell how much liquid is in a storage tank with a thermal camera," says Don McKeown, scientist in RIT's Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science and project manager. "You can make inferences of tanks that are full, tanks that are empty and tanks that are leaking."

Source: ScienceDaily.com

Major Breakthrough: Stem Cell Therapy found for Leukaemia

In a ray of hope for millions of leukaemia patients, American scientists have developed a technique which multiplies the small number of stem cells in the donor blood, making it much more potent for the treatment of the fatal disease.

It also eliminates the need for a matching donor, whose bone marrow is usually transplanted to the patient, according to a study which appeared in the journal Nature Medicine. Traditionally, there was always a risk that the patient’s body may reject the new cells from a donor.

The alternate path was to introduce cells extracted from umbilical cords as these cells do not have characteristics which would normally trigger immune rejection. So these cells can be used in any patient, without the need for matching.

However, the only disadvantage of this process was that a single cord would not have enough cells to meet the needs of an adult patient.

Source: PTI

President Pratibha Devi Singh Patil Rides Electric Car

President Pratibha Patil left behind her limousine and used a small electric car to go around the Raj Bhavan grounds while on a visit to Itanagar in the first week of April.

As the presidential entourage was getting ready to leave for a forward post called Kibithu near the Sino-Indian border on Friday, 3 April, 2009, an India-made ‘Reva’ car with the Ashoka emblem mounted on it was parked ahead of all the other cars.

Arunachal Pradesh Governor General (retd) J.J. Singh said he would take the President on a tour of the grounds in the car to show her a new golf course besides an organic farm.

“The car is environment friendly and can be easily driven by me inside the Raj Bhavan,” said the Governor about the two cars, which have clocked more than 20,000 km each.

When the President came out, the Governor escorted her to a white-coloured car and himself took the wheels. Separately, President Patil’s husband Devi Singh Shekhawat was driven around in a red car for nearly half an hour. A security official ran along them.

Source: PTI

Young Scientists Exhibit New Inventions

From a new gadget to thwart terror to experimental bringing up of a plant in water for long without soil, several innovative ideas were exhibited by children participating in the Children's Science Congress, one of the major events of the 96th edition of the Indian Science Congress held at NEHU in Shillong.

Topan Kumar Samal, a student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, CRPF, Bhubaneswar, made a model of a 'logical' Close Circuit Camera Television (CCTV) fitted with a killing weapon to identify and gun down terrorists from a control room.

He came up with the idea after he saw TV footage of the Mumbai terror attack at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus where terrorists went on a rampage killing many innocents even as security personnel laid down their lives confronting the terrorists.

''I was thinking how causalities relating to security personnel could be reduced and then came up with the model, where security personnel need not go into the conflict zone but make the best use of available technology,'' he said.

The young scientist made a model of his innovation saying that security agencies need not physically venture into a conflict zone but personnel at the control room could gun down any terrorist after proper identification.

Bharati Singh, of BBL Public School, was fascinated by a history lesson where she learnt that soldiers during World War II applied mosses to their wounds when they were injured to stop infection.

''We did some experimentation on mosses and finally extracted a protein that could prevent multiplication of viruses and were thrilled with the result. We finally applied for patent of our discovery in December,'' she said.

Philawan Shisha Thabah, a student of Meghalaya's Laitumkhrah Presbyterian Higher Secondary School, Shillong, exhibited her invention of 'nutrient film technique'. The nutrient film technique is a method of growing crops in a nutritional rich solution without the use of soil.

The basic idea is to grow plants in a thin film of nutrient which allows the root of the plants to have constant contact with the nutrient and the air layer above at the same time.

The nutrient rich solution is continuously pumped to nurture the plants and any excess is recycled back to a nutrient reservoir.

Another child scientist Sumen K Marak, of St Thomas Higher Secondary School, Mendipathar, East Garo Hills, exhibited organic non-toxic pesticides invented by her which can be used without any side effects to the crops and plants.

According to her, the indigenous, home-made organic pesticides could be promoted among farmers in a large way in the Northeast.

Ms Marak developed chilli, neem, garlic and tobacco based solution to be used as non-toxic pesticides for the growth of these produces.

Dheeraj Kumar, a student of SKD academy, Lucknow, concerned with the waste of energy because street lights are never put off during the day, has evolved a system that will turn off the lights the moment the sun rises.

The system, which prompts the streetlights to automatically turn off and on with the sunrise and sunset, has already been put into use in his locality, claimed Kumar, adding the country's endeavour to save energy will get a fillip if the system is put into use.

Source: UNI

Most Destructive Virus Being Spread Through Email On Osama

Anti-virus software experts of McAfee, leading company in intrusion prevention and security risk management, have detected the ''most destructive virus'' being sent through e-mail invites across the world with pictures of Osama Bin Laden captured/hanged.

''The moment you open e-mails saying ''Osama Bin Laden Captured'' or ''Osama Hanged'', your computer will crash and you will not be able to fix it,'' the experts warned today.

This e-mail is being distributed through countries around the globe, but mainly in the US and Israel, according to experts. 

''It is a virus that opens an Olympic Torch, which ''burns'' the whole C hard disc of your computer,'' they said, adding that CNN and Microsoft have called it the worst and most destructive virus ever respectively.

This virus was discovered by McAfee on 3 January, 2008, and there is no repair yet for this kind of virus, the experts said. 

This virus simply destroys the Zero Sector of the Hard Disc, where the vital information is kept, the experts said.

Source: UNI

Prof MGK Menon Inaugurates PARAM Sheersh Facility

PARAM Sheersh, a supercomputing facility for bio-informatics and computational biology was formally inaugurated at the North Eastern Hill University in Shillong on 5 January, 2009.

Prof MGK Menon, who inaugurated the facility in the absence of former President APJ Abdul Kalam, said the new technology was specifically developed for the North Eastern Region to usher in new benefits for the local population.

Developed by Pune-based Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), the facility will take up in conducting research in strategic areas of Weather, Seismic, Bio-informatics, Physics, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Material Sciences and Life Sciences.

PARAM Sheersh facility consists of 4 TF peak supercomputing power along with 10 TB High Performance storage scratch space and 24 TB on-line storage.

Source: UNI

India To Double Investment In Science: PM

While announcing a doubling of the investment in science from 1 to 2 per cent of the national income, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday, 3 January, 2008, urged the Indian industry to invest in research and development aimed at boosting science and technology so that young minds are attracted to seeking a career in science.

"We need a new wave of investment from the private sector so that young people will be encouraged to seek a career in science," the prime minister said while inaugurating the 96th Indian Science Congress at the Northeastern Hill University in Shillong.

"India is lagging behind not just in comparison to developed Western nations, but also the new industrialising economies of Asia. While the government is doing its bit to ensure quantitative development, the leadership for qualitative development must come from you (students, researchers and scientists)," Manmohan Singh said.

"Today we can say with pride that we have launched five new institutions dedicated to teaching and research in sciences," he said. "New institutes for research in Himalayan glaciology, molecular materials, nano science and technology are to be created."

Stressing that the central government was committed to enhancing the budgetary allocations for science and technology, Manmohan Singh said the budget outlay for the ministries of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences have been trebled in the last four years (2004-2008).

Singh said the parliament recently announced the setting up of a National Science and Engineering Research Board that would work towards formulating plans for scientific research funding in the country.

Stating that the government has placed the highest emphasis on making a career in science attractive to young students, the Prime Minister said that his government has widened the higher education base of the country by investing in the creation of 30 new central universities, five new Indian Institutes of Science, Education and Research, eight new Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) and 20 new Indian Institutes of Information Technology.

There are also proposals from the Ministry of Science and Technology to adopt a Cancer Research Institute in Chennai, Institute for Advanced Study in Science and Technology in Guwahati and the National Innovation Foundation as grantee institutions.

A large number of scientists, engineers and technologists from India and abroad have gathered for the annual science congress, which this year is on the theme of 'Science education and attraction of talent for excellence in research'.

Sibal Calls For Utilitarian And Result Oriented Research: Emphasing that research should be utilitarian and result oriented, Union Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said on 3 January, 2008 that resources should be spent on projects which can offer quick and lasting solutions.

Delivering a key-note address at the 96th edition of the Indian Science Congress held at North Eastern Hill University in Shillong, Mr Sibal said the country needed to continue with its efforts to ensure a strong future supply of scientists, engineers and technologists and to unlock the talents of all people in the country to use science and technology to help them lead their lives more richly.

Expressing concern over the misuse of technology for destructive purpose, the Union Minister said the answer to the problem lies not in embracing a technology denial regime, but act in the belief that technology alone can provide answers to those who seek to misuse it.

Mr Sibal said the challenges for society are formidable and will require substantial information, knowledge, wisdom, and above all collaboration between the scientific community, policy makers and the public.

Observing that the importance of scientific engagement across society and the potential for science to contribute to good policy making and sound governance has never been greater, the Union Minister expressed confidence that it is only science which will help the nation address the challenges facing it.

In this regard, Mr Sibal believed that there is a pressing need to strengthen the level of high quality engagement with the public on all major scientific issues; and increase the number of people who choose to study science subjects and to take up research and scientific careers.

Sibal said scientists of Indian origin scattered in various parts of the world were willing to contribute to Indian science.

"We are devising special programmes to encourage return of scientists to India and work in areas related to life sciences and bio-technology," he said.

The five-day congress will see a galaxy of eminent scientists taking part in various seminars.

Sources: IANS, UNI

Science Removes Mental Barriers: Kalam

Kalam Tells Students Not To Fear About Future

Former President of India, APJ Abdul Kalam asserted that no youth should fear about their future as the ignited mind of the youth is the most powerful resource.

He said that "if we have aim in life and work hard with confidence and has the confidence to defeat the problem then success is surely at hand".

Speaking as the chief guest at the 16th National Children's Science Congress in Dimapur, Nagaland on 27 December, 2008, Dr Kalam exhorted the children to have vision in life and work hard and also shared the story of three eminent scientists from India who struggled hard and achieved their goals thereby putting India on the scientific world map.

Touching on the theme of the programme "Planet Earth? Our home: Explore, Share & Care", Dr Kalam urged the children to plant more trees so as to have a sound environment in their future days.

He also expressed hope that the National Childrens' Science Congress will be a forum to ignite the minds of the young children as far as scientific temperament is concerned. He also hoped that the Science Congress would be a launching pad for the students to grapple with the environmental problems facing by the planet earth.

The oratorical skills of former President APJ Abdul Kalam were at its best, as he kept thousand of students spellbound during his lecture at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Dimapur where he inaugurated the State Science Fair, 2008 on Saturday, 27 December, 2008.

He called upon the students to inculcate a three-fold spirit of observation, experimentation aided by thinking in their endeavours.

Kalam said science helps an individual develop his vision and remove mental barriers.

Dr Kalam, later on, interacted with the child scientists and other participants.

During his interaction with the students who had a variety of questions ranging from launch of Chandrayan-I— India’s first mission to Moon— the future of nuclear technology in the country to the link between science and spirituality, Kalam replied all.

He said the future of nuclear technology lies in devising Thorium-based reactors since the element is found abundant in India.

In his reply to a question by a student, Kalam said corruption was the biggest evil plaguing the country.

“As young children, you have to promise that you will not allow your father and mother to be corrupt. Then we will have a beautiful India,” he told students.

Kalam made his address look like a classroom lecture where he asked questions on inventions and discoveries, made the students repeat his statements and also administered them an oath of service for science and the society.

Queries from students, however, kept pouring in till the end of the programme and almost each child had something to ask.

Kalam also unveiled a wax replica of legendary bio-physicist Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose during the ceremony to mark the 150th birth anniversary of the scientist.

Illustrating the discoveries of Bose, Kalam said the legendary scientist was able to achieve the rare feat because of his will power.

He said knowledge is an amalgamation of creativity, courage and righteousness. Following a righteous path will lead to harmony at home, order in the nation and peace in the world, he added.

Speaking on his Vision 2020, Kalam insisted that a dynamic environment is necessary to reach the dream. He talked about the necessity for creating an environment that can lead the country to massive application in science and technology.

Responding to a question posed by a student as how the country should respond if it is attacked by nuclear weapons, India's missile man asked the students not to worry about the country's capability to face with such an eventuality and suggested the students to concentrate on studies.

Replying to another question on terrorism, Dr Kalam said "In my opinion the terrorism is now a global problem, so a UN mechanism should be set up to deal with this challenge, but at the same time the country should also adopt proper strategy to face this problem".

He pointed out that the young people coming from different parts of the country can learn a lot from Nagaland where the environment and nature has been protected by the Naga warriors with their wisdom.

Dr T Ramasami, Secretary, DST, Govt of India, said that science and technology holds the key for global economy and we have a large number of talented people in the country. He said that to ignite the young minds, the Govt of India has introduced a number of schemes and scholarships so that those children who are interested in the field of science can avail the opportunities.

Prof Yash Pal, President, NCSTC-Network, expressed happiness over the huge turnout of children for the programme and hoped that more children will participate in the future. He said that children should be encouraged to engage themselves on the projects on environment and also learn to communicate and cultivate true spirit of scientific temper through discipline.

He said that children should not imprison themselves with different subjects in Schools but connect with the land, the people and other humanitarian subjects. He further exhorted the children to go forward to the future and not to go back to the past.

Source: Hueiyen News Service/Newmai News Network/Express News Service

Maiden Ride To Sun Via Mars Launched In Tripura

Altogether 35 orphans of Tripura Social Welfare Home took part in a maiden ride on India's fourth simulated spacecraft at Sukanta Academy in Agartala on the evening of December 24, 2008.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar flagged off the 22-minute space ride, christened ''Journey to Sun via Mars'', along with West Bengal Power Minister Mrinal Banerjee as well as state Science, Technology and Environment Minister Joy Gobinda Debroy.

''One can enjoy the thrill of a journey through space,'' Mr Sarkar felt, after availing the ride.

The state-funded project, entailing a cost of Rs 2.5 crore, was implemented by the Tripura Renewable Energy Development Agency (TREDA) and the initiative was the first-of-its-kind in the Northeast, official sources said.

According to sources, the project was aimed at inculcating the ''spirit of enquiry'' among the students and common people about space science.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister informed that the Tripura government was in process of developing a science village, instead of a science city.

Source: UNI