Mars Orbiter Mission

Mars Orbiter Mission

The Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also called Mangalyaan "Mars-craft" (Sanskrit मंगल maṅgala "Mars" + यान yāna "craft) is a Mars orbiter launched into Earth orbit on 5 November 2013 by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was successfully inserted into orbit of Mars on 24 September 2014, making India the first country in the world to successfully send a spacecraft to Mars on its very first attempt.

 

 

The success of the Mars Orbiter Mission, lauded for its low price tag of Rs 450 crore, will boost India's five-decade-old space programme.

With a spacecraft around Mars, India joins a small group of nations that have successfully sent probes to orbit or land on Mars. Others, however, failed several times initially.

44-Year-Old Fetus in 84 –Year-Old Woman

44-Year-Old Fetus in 84 –Year-Old Woman



44-Year-Old Fetus in 84 –Year-Old Woman

A 44-year-old fetus has been found in an 84-year-old Brazilian woman. The discovery came last Friday, when the woman's intense stomach pains landed her in a hospital in Tocantins state in central Brazil.

X-rays revealed the unthinkable: a "stone baby." This is a rare phenomenon known as lithopedion, in which the fetus grows and then dies outside of the uterus. With the body unable to rid itself of it, the dead fetus is instead covered in calcium as a means of protection, resulting in the "stone baby."

The X-rays discovered the face, the bones of the arms, of the legs, the ribs, and the spine of the fetus, which is believed to have died at between 20 and 28 weeks. That woman says she does not want the fetus removed.

Dolly - First mammal to be cloned

Dolly - First mammal to be cloned

Dolly was a female domestic sheep, and the first mammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell, using the process of nuclear transfer. She was cloned by Ian Wilmut, Keith Campbell and colleagues at the Roslin Institute, part of the University of Edinburgh. She was born on 5 July 1996 and she lived until the age of six, at which point she died from a progressive lung disease. The cell used as the donor for the cloning of Dolly was taken from a mammary gland, and the production of a healthy clone therefore proved that a cell taken from a specific part of the body could recreate a whole individual.

Dolly was created using the technique of somatic cell nuclear transfer, where the cell nucleus from an adult cell is transferred into an unfertilised oocyte (developing egg cell) that has had its nucleus removed. The hybrid cell is then stimulated to divide by an electric shock, and when it develops into a blastocyst it is implanted in a surrogate mother. Dolly was the first clone produced from a cell taken from an adult mammal. The production of Dolly showed that genes in the nucleus of such a mature differentiated somatic cell are still capable of reverting to an embryonic totipotent state, creating a cell that can then go on to develop into any part of an animal. Dolly's existence was announced to the public on 22 February 1997.

Dolly lived her entire life at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh. There she was bred with a Welsh Mountain ram and produced six lambs in total. Her first lamb, named Bonnie, was born in April 1998. The next year Dolly produced twin lambs Sally and Rosie, and she gave birth to triplets Lucy, Darcy and Cotton in the year after that. In the autumn of 2001, at the age of four, Dolly developed arthritis and began to walk stiffly, but this was successfully treated with anti-inflammatory drugs.

On 14 February 2003, Dolly was euthanized because she had a progressive lung disease and severe arthritis. A Finn Dorset such as Dolly has a life expectancy of around 11 to 12 years, but Dolly lived to be only six years of age. A post-mortem examination showed she had a form of lung cancer called Jaagsiekte, which is a fairly common disease of sheep and is caused by the retrovirus JSRV. Such lung diseases are a particular danger for sheep kept indoors, and Dolly had to sleep inside for security reasons.

After cloning was successfully demonstrated through the production of Dolly, many other large mammals have been cloned, including horses and bulls. Cloning may have uses in preserving endangered species and may become a viable tool for reviving extinct species. Cloning of domesticated animals could be important in the future production of transgenic livestock.

Gold growing in eucalyptus trees

Gold growing in eucalyptus trees

The discovery, the first of its kind in the world and the first time gold particles have been found in living material.

Geoscientists in Perth, Australia have discovered gold particles in the leaves, twigs and bark of eucalyptus trees, claiming a "eureka" moment that could revolutionise gold mining. CSIRO researchers believe the trees, sitting on top of gold deposits buried deep underground, suck up the gold in their search for moisture during times of drought.

Scientists said, "To actually see the gold particles in the leaves was quite a eureka moment for us and they were not expecting it"

The trees appear to be telling scientists what is happening under the earth's surface. The particular trees that were researched upon appear to be bringing up gold from 30 metres depth, which is about the equivalent of a 10-storey building.

The research group used the CSIRO's Maia detector for x-ray elemental imaging at the Australian Synchrotron in Melbourne to analyse extremely small particles at high resolution.

The portions of gold are about one-fifth the diameter of a human hair. The researchers said they have also found gold in the leaves of other trees, such as the Acacia mulga.

Gold existed not only in trees but in shrubs that are growing beneath the trees as well.

Li-Fi to replace Wi-Fi in China

Li-Fi to replace Wi-Fi in China

Chinese scientists have successfully developed a new cheaper way of getting connected to internet by using signals sent through light bulbs instead of radio frequencies as in 'Wi-Fi', a move expected to radically change process of online connectivity.

Four computers can be connected to internet through one- watt LED bulb using light as a carrier instead of traditional radio frequencies, as in Wi-Fi.

Under the new discovery dubbed as 'Li-Fi', a light bulb with embedded microchips can produce data rates as fast as 150 megabits per second, which is 20 times faster than the average broadband connection in China.

Plants Are Good At Math

Plants are good at math

According to scientific research plants do complex arithmetic calculations to make sure they have enough food to get them through the night.

According to scientists at Britain's John Innes Centre plants adjust their rate of starch consumption to prevent starvation during the night when they are unable to feed themselves with energy from the sun. They can even compensate for an unexpected early night.

During the night, mechanisms inside the leaf measure the size of the starch store and estimate the length of time until dawn. Information about time comes from an internal clock, similar to the human body clock. The capacity to perform arithmetic calculation is vital for plant growth and productivity.

(Source)

Bring Future To You

Bring Future To You

Want to bring the future to yourself? See what’s going to happen in your life in next eight years with a time machine. Yes, a time machine that will not take you into the future, it will bring the future to you.

An Iranian scientist, Ali Razeghi claims to have invented a ‘time machine’. The machine can predict up to eight years in the future with 98 per cent accuracy.

The machine, dubbed ‘The Aryayek Time Traveling Machine’ supposedly works by using a complex set of algorithms which he says took him ten years to develop.

The device easily fits into the size of a personal computer case and can predict details of the next five to eight years of the life of its users. A government can see five years into the future and would be able to prepare itself for challenges.

The scientist is expecting to market this invention among states as well as individuals once they reach a mass production stage.

(Source)

Scientists Discovered a Super-Earth

Scientists Discovered a Super-Earth

Scientists have discovered a ‘super-earth’ which could have a life-supporting climate.

The planet lies in a multi-world solar system 42 light years from the sun and is seven times the size of earth. The planet's 197-day year means its climate might be sufficient for life. The longer orbit of the new planet means that its climate and atmosphere may be just right to support life.

It is, of course, too early to confirm any other similarities but the discovery will give hope to scientists of discovering other exoplanets – ‘super-earths’ circling sun-like stars.

The scientific team used the Harps instrument at the La Sill facility in Chile to make the discovery.

(Source)

Mars incredible photos

Mars incredible photos

NASA's newly landed Mars science rover Curiosity snapped the first colour image of its surroundings while an orbiting sister probe photographed litter left behind during the rover's daring do-or-die descent to the surface, scientists said Tuesday. Curiosity's colour image, taken with a dust cover still on the camera lens, shows the north wall and rim of Gale Crater, a vast basin where the nuclear-powered, six-wheeled rover touched down Sunday night after flying through space for more than eight months.

(Source)

Human Immortality

Human Immortality

Russian entrepreneur Dmitry Itskov's 2045 Initiative could fulfill the dream of humans becoming immortal. The 31-year-old claims he has assembled a team of top scientists to work on the initiative — a six-stage project that would ultimately see our brains housed in a fully functional holographic human avatar by the year 2045.

Itskov claims his idea will "free" the majority of people on the planet from "disease, old age and even death" through advanced neuroscience, nanotechnology and android robotics.

He projects a human brain will be successfully transplanted into an artificial body in just eight years.

(Source)

NASA Camera captures historic lunar flags

NASA Camera captures historic lunar flags

Forty years after astronauts landed on the moon for the last time, a lunar camera has revealed what happened to the flags they left behind.

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera has captured images showing that all but one of the six American flags remain in place on their poles.

The flags were left on the moon during the six lunar landings to symbolise the United States' scientific and engineering achievement.

The first was the monumental July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 landing in which Neil Armstrong declared on live television, 'one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.’ Apollo 17 took part in the final mission in 1972.

From the LROC images it is now certain that the American flags are still standing and casting shadows at all of the sites, except Apollo 11.

(Source)

Chagas: The new AIDS

Chagas, a tropical disease spread by insects has infected more than 8 million people, most of them in Latin and Central America.

The editorial, published by the Public Library of Science's Neglected Tropical Diseases, said the spread of the disease is reminiscent of the early years of HIV.

Both diseases disproportionately affect people living in poverty, both are chronic conditions requiring prolonged, expensive treatment, and as with patients in the first two decades of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, most patients with Chagas disease do not have access to health care facilities.

Unlike HIV, Chagas is not a sexually-transmitted disease. It is caused by parasites transmitted to humans by blood-sucking insects. The insect, known as the kissing bug bites you on the face. When you wake up and scratch the itch, the parasite moves into the wound and you're infected.

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Dark chocolate could prevent heart problem

According to researchers based in Melbourne, eating about 100g of dark chocolate daily could help prevent heart problems in high risk people. Dark chocolate is rich in components called polyphenols, especially flavonoids, which can have anti-inflammatory and blood pressure lowering effects.

Melbourne researchers surveyed data on 2000 people at risk of developing heart disease and estimated the benefits to their health of eating 100g of dark chocolate a day after a decade.

Using a best-case scenario of 100 per cent compliance, the researchers showed that daily dark chocolate consumption could avert about 85 fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes, per 10,000 people treated over 10 years.

It also showed that spending $40 per person a year on prevention strategies using dark chocolate would be cost-effective.

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Bombay Blood Group

Bombay blood group is a rare blood group also called Hh blood group. This blood phenotype was first discovered in Bombay, now known as Mumbai, in India, by Dr. Y.M. Bhende in 1952. A patient was admitted to KEM Hospital and required blood transfusions. A sample of blood was sent to the Blood Bank for grouping as is the usual practice. The red cells grouped like O group and hence O group blood was administered. The patient developed haemolytic transfusion reaction, and therefore transfusion had to be stopped.

A detailed study of the patient’s blood revealed a rare genotype (blood group), which was neither ‘A’ nor ‘B’ nor ‘AB’ nor ‘O’. Since the first case was detected in Mumbai (then Bombay), the blood group came to be called as Bombay Blood Group. Blood from a Bombay Blood Group individual only should be transfused to a Bombay Blood Group patient.

Individuals with the rare Bombay phenotype (hh) do not express H antigen (also called substance H), the antigen which is present in blood group O. As a result, they cannot make A antigen (also called substance A) or B antigen (substance B) on their red blood cells, whatever alleles they may have of the A and B blood-group genes, because A antigen and B antigen are made from H antigen; For this reason people who has Bombay phenotype can donate RBCs to any member of the ABO blood group system (unless some other blood factor gene, such as Rhesus, is incompatible), but they cannot receive any member of the ABO blood group system's blood (which always contains one or more of A and B and H antigens), but only from other people who have Bombay phenotype.

This very rare Phenotype is generally present in about 0.0004% (about 4 per million) of the human population, though in some places such as Mumbai (formerly Bombay) locals can have occurrences in as much as 0.01% (1 in 10,000) of inhabitants and 1 in a million people in Europe.

(Source)

Google Driverless Car

The Google Driverless Car is a project by Google that involves developing technology for driverless cars. The project is currently being led by Google engineers at Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.

The U.S. state of Nevada passed a law in June 2011 concerning the operation of driverless cars in Nevada. The Nevada law went into effect on March 1, 2012, and the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles issued the first license for a self-driven car in May 2012. The license was issued to a Toyota Prius modified with Google's experimental driver-less technology.

The system combines information gathered from Google Street View with artificial intelligence software that combines input from video cameras inside the car, a LIDAR sensor on top of the vehicle, radar sensors on the front of the vehicle and a position sensor attached to one of the rear wheels that helps locate the car's position on the map. As of 2010, Google has tested several vehicles equipped with the system, driving 1,609 kilometres (1,000 mi) without any human intervention, in addition to 225,308 kilometres (140,000 mi) with occasional human intervention. Google expects that the increased accuracy of its automated driving system could help reduce the number of traffic-related injuries and deaths, while using energy and space on roadways more efficiently.

(Source)

Scientists have found soft tissue on dinosaurs

After 68 million years in the ground, a Tyrannosaurus rex found in Montana was dug up, its leg bone was broken in pieces, and fragments were dissolved in acid in Schweitzer’s laboratory at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

The discovery was astonishing.  The scientist Dr. Mary Schweitzer discovered blood vessels and structures that looked like whole cells inside that T. rex bone—the first observation of its kind. No one ever imagined that even a trace of still-soft dinosaur tissue could survive. When an animal dies, soft tissues such as blood vessels, muscle and skin decay and disappear over time, while hard tissues like bone may gradually acquire minerals from the environment and become fossils. Schweitzer, one of the first scientists to use the tools of modern cell biology to study dinosaurs, has upended the conventional wisdom by showing that some rock-hard fossils tens of millions of years old may have remnants of soft tissues hidden away in their interiors.

(Source)

Baby born without blood

You can hardly tell today, but when six-month-old Olivia Norton was born, doctors were shocked by her 'ghost white' body.

Olivia was born with a condition so rare it is likely to be written in to medical textbooks – she was born without blood.

The condition known as fetomaternal haemorrhage meant Olivia's blood ran back into her mother's system, leaving her with such a low heamoglobin count it couldn't actually be considered blood.

Fetomaternal haemorrhag is found in around one every 5000 babies, and can occur spontaneously or due to trauma.

Doctors gave Olivia less than two hours to survive, but thanks to rapid blood transfusions, her skin returned to a normal shade of pink within hours.

(Source)

Mosquito Laser

The mosquito laser is a device invented by astrophysicist Lowell Wood to kill large numbers of mosquitoes to reduce the chance of people being infected with malaria. Although originally introduced in the early 1980s, the idea was not substantially researched until decades later. In 2007, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation requested Intellectual Ventures LLC to find a way to fight and eventually end malaria. Intellectual Ventures resurrected the idea of using lasers to kill mosquitoes and now has a working prototype.

The device works by using infra-red Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps on a fence post to create a field of light. This field of light reflects from retroreflective material on another fence post, much like that used on roads and highway signs, and bounces back to its source. This field of light is monitored by charge-coupled devices (CCDs) similar to the ones used in consumer digital cameras. These cameras are situated on both fence posts and detect shadows in the light between the posts. Once an insect is detected, a non-lethal laser is fired at it. This non-lethal laser is used to determine the size of the insect, and the frequency at which its wings are beating.

The information gathered by the non-lethal laser can be used to determine the type of insect and even its gender because wing beat patterns are unique to each species and gender. This is important in preventing malaria because only female mosquitoes bite humans.

(Source)

Sun Mirror at Viganella

Viganella is a small town in Italy whose inhabitants dread arrival of the winter season. The reason being that each year for 84 days in a row, the sun would not shine in the town as it went behind the 1,600-Meter high mountain that covered the town. The 197 inhabitants were plunged into a near darkness and just waited for the 84 days to pass so that they can once again feel the heat of the sun. With the sun not shining in the town the inhabitants lived a depressed life a scenario which docs call the 'Seasonal Affective Disorder' or SAD.

But finally their pain has been heard of and the authorities have just installed a 8-meter wide and 5-meter tall mirror that has been installed on a mountain so that it can reflect the sun's light on to the town for approximately 8 hours every day. The gargantuan sun mirror is made of an eight-by-five meter (26x16ft) sheet of steel and positioned above a nearby peak to reflect sun rays onto Viganella's main square. This enormous mirror is completely operated by a computer that regularly tracks sun's path. The result is that starting in 2006, the town was able to celebrate the first winter sun in 800 years!

(Source)

Jellyfish Lamps

A company in the United States has found a use for dead jellyfish by turning them into glow-in-the-dark lamp paperweights.

The Amazing Jellyfish encases the bodies of jellyfish that have died of natural causes to preserve their glowing properties.

The company says they are made of crystalline epoxy so they will never break or shatter.

Jellyfish absorb light naturally and glow when darkened because of natural proteins in their bodies.

They contain bioluminescence, a defence mechanism that causes them to glow in the dark to frighten predators, according to the company.

(Source)