SCIENCE OF THE MONTH: JUNE 2011

The engineering and planning  marvel: FLOOD with the first monsoon drop!

Photo Courtesy: http://india.courier-journal.com

1 June 2011: The south-west monsoon has touched the Kerala coast, ahead of the normal schedule just like the Indian Meteorological Department had forecast. Weathermen have predicted that India might receive 98 per cent normal rainfall in the June 1-September 30 monsoon season. A normal monsoon means the country receives rainfall between 96 and104 per cent of a 50-year-long period average of 89 cm during the season. All  factors point to the possibility of an on-schedule progress of the monsoon. Link: http://www.imd.gov.in/
 
2 June 2011: The eastern UP district, Rampur, is going to be the home of country's first laser planetarium. The technology, claim experts, is latest in the world in the field and promises a 3-D experience in a multiplex sort of ambience. Being built by department of science and technology, the planetorium uses the same projection technology used in Northern Kentucky University's ’s Haile Digital Planetarium. Rampur's planetarium would be able to run topical show which would give it a diverse character and has cutting edge technology. Link: http://campusdigest.nku.edu/
 
3 June 2011: The Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests proposes to rise a “Bio-Cultural Park” in Bhuvaneshwar, the capital of Orissa. It will be the first of  its kind in the world. The park will be highlighting all the cultural traditions of India, not only of  Hindu tradition but of  Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, Islamic, Christian and tribal. The bio-cultural park will be having ‘nakshatravanams,’ ‘navagraha vatikas’ which would be contemplatives of our fabulous informative traditions. Link: http://www.moef.gov.bd/

4 June 2011: A day after the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned of the possibility of mobile phone handsets causing cancer, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said that there was “no reason to panic” as a study conducted in the Western countries could not be extrapolated on the Indian population.The people are genetically different, the technology in India is different, so are the environmental conditions, R.S. Sharma, chief coordinator of the ICMR's study said. Link: http://www.icmr.nic.in/
 
5 June 2011:  Ministry of Environment and Forests, India targets five million hectares of new forest cover and five million hectares of improved forest cover under the newly launched the Green India Mission. The mission is different from the earlier programmes as it will be implemented by the Gram Sabhas (village local bodies) with direct allocation of funds to them. The mission would share technical and managerial support of the State Forest Departments. Link: http://moef.nic.in/
 
6 June 2011:Chinese scientists have fully sequenced the genome of the new E. coli spreading throughout Europe. They announced that they have found genes in the bacteria that gave it resistance to eight classes of antibiotics. Researchers with the Beijing Genomics Institute, the world's largest DNA sequencing center, have found genes in the newly identified 0104 strain of E. coli bacteria that made it resistant to major classes of antibiotics including sulfonamide, penicillin and streptomycin. Link: http://www.genomics.cn/
 
7 June 2011: Reappearance of a frog after 136 years boosted the wildlife of India, when the biologists found it in Tamil Nadu. It is the rediscovery in the entire global wildlife history. Two leading wildlife groups, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Conservation International have acknowledged India as being the only place suspected as being home to these frogs. These were lost about 30 to 136 years ago and are now been found again. Link: http://www.iucn.org/
 
8 June 2011: In a path-breaking trial, Indian scientists performed micro surgery in fresh water prawns to develop superior "neo-female" species. it is expected to  revive India's aquaculture sector. The scientists at the Rajiv Gandhi Centre of Aquaculture (RGCA) in Andhra Pradesh fruitfully developed neo-female (sex reversed male) progeny can easily mate with normal males to produce all-male offspring, a strain largely preferred by farmers due to the fast g superior quality. Link http://www.rgcb.res.in
 
9 June 2011: One of the world’s largest species of bird is on the brink of extinction according to the 2011 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ for birds, just released by BirdLife International, an IUCN Red List partner. The Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps) has been uplisted to Critically Endangered, the highest level of threat.This year’s update brings the total number of threatened bird species to 1,253, an alarming 13% of the world total. Link: http://iucn.org/
 
10 June 2011: Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have developed a desktop genome analyzer. It works in conjunction with a browser that allows biologists to rapidly and easily analyze and process their high-throughput information. The open-source software is called GenPlay. It is described in the May 19 online edition of Bioinformatics. The paper is titled “GenPlay, a Multi-Purpose Genome Analyzer and Browser.” Link: http://genplay.einstein.yu.edu/wiki/index.php/
 
11 June 2011: Argentina created the world's first transgenic cow, using human genes that will allow the animal to produce the equivalent of mothers' milk. The cloned cow, named Rosita ISA, is the first cow born in the world that incorporates human genes that contain the proteins present in human milk. The cloning was done by the Burns Aires-based Argentine institute and the country's National University of San Martin. Link: http://www.unsam.edu.ar/ 
 
12 June 2011: A group of Indian scientists at the National Institute of Oceanography developed a technology to treat ballast water coming out from ships which is causing disturbance to marine eco systems. Pune-based National Chemical Laboratory and University of Bombay's Institute of Chemical Technology collaborated in the research. The technology will be expanded to eight major ports in the country by 2016. Link: http://www.nio.org/

13 June 2011: The European Union (EU) and its member states will organise an information seminar at IIT Jodhpur today as part of their the 7th Research Framework Programme (2007-2013) to showcase opportunities they can offer to Indian researchers and innovators for cooperation. Similar information seminars will be held in 27 Indian cities and will culminate on June 24. So far, the FP7  has funded 127 projects with Indian participation. Link: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/home_en.html
 
14 June 2011: World Food Prize of this year goes to two former presidents who led dramatic reductions in hunger and poverty in their countries in the past decade. Ghana's President John Agyekum Kufuor and Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva will share the $250,000 prize, which will be awarded at a ceremony in October in the U.S. state of Iowa. The World Food Prize was established by plant breeder and Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug. Link: http://www.worldfoodprize.org/
 
15 June 2011: Total lunar eclipse is there tonight in almost all parts of the globe. According to the Indian astronomers, the total lunar eclipse will take place in the country between 00:52:30 IST and 02:32:42 IST. The partial eclipse will commence at 23:52:56 IST and end at 03:32:15 IST. Today's night lunar eclipse is considered as the longest and darkest one in the century. There will be a similar lunar eclipse only in 2141, in the 22nd century. Link: http://www.nehru-centre.org/planetarium.html
 
16 Jun 2011: In a move to extend its global publishing platform to Indian authors, Springer, the world’s second largest publisher in the field of science, technology and medicine, has announced new publishing initiatives in India which will expand and extend content distribution amongst its customers by offering them the choice of electronic or print format. Overall, Springer publishes more than 2,000 journals and 7,000 new book titles per year and currently has over 45,000 e-books available. Link: http://www.springer.com/
 
17 June 2011: Priya Natarajan, the Indian cosmologist at Yale University and her team ofastronomers have discovered the earliest ever black holes, the exotic regions in space that eat up everything, including light. The team of scientists detected high-energy X-rays from the earliest black holes using a technique that allows the detection of weak signals emitted by the central black holes of galaxies, the farthest of which are 13 billion light years away from earth. Link: http://www.yale.edu/
 
18 June 2011:India is remaining silent on the listing of endosulfan under the Rotterdam Convention at the fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties which opened in Geneva today.The Convention agreed to list endosulfan under the Convention. However, final decision had been delayed because Cuba would not agree to the listing unless decision included need for technical and financial assistance. An agreement might be worked out before the closure of the conference on Friday. Link: http://www.pic.int/
 
19 June 2011:Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has set up a ‘virtual’ nuclear data physics centre to foster basic nuclear data physics research which is essential in shaping concepts of nuclear power of advanced reactor designs and safety. India became the 14th member of the International Network of Nuclear Reaction Data Centres (NRDC) in 2008 after being invited to join the international network. NRDC constitutes a worldwide cooperation of nuclear data centres under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Link: http://www-nds.iaea.org/
 
20 June 2011: The 5000 Insect Genome Project(i5k), an initiative that aims to sequence the genomes of 5,000 insects and arthropods over the next five years, could reap similar rewards--but for a fraction of the price. The initiative is launched by the European Bioinformatics Institute and Kansas State University. Though this is just a fraction of the million or so insect species in existence. So,the leaders of the i5K initiative invite entomologists around the world to sign up to: http://arthropodgenomes.org/wiki/i5K
 
21 June 2011: Today marks the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere and is called the summer solstice.It is the longest day for people living in the northern hemisphere. In 2011, the solstice occurs in the Northern Hemisphere on June 21, at 17:16 UT (22:46 IST).The name is derived from Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstice, the Sun appears to stand still in its movement during its motion.Cultures around the world, starting from historical times, mark this special day in celebration of the sun's powers. Link:http://geography.about.com
 
22 June 2011: According to the scientist who attend the Evolution 2011 Annual Conference, in Norman, the heart of Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus) undergoes a 72-hour metabolic cycle, enabled by very rapid changes in gene expression of their heart tissues. This information is useful in therapeutica related to human heart diseases.  However, more work remains to be done before these new findings can be translated into potential drugs for heart disease in humans. Link: http://www.evolution2011.ou.edu/   
 
23 June 201:  Huawei Technologies, a Chinese company, has been enlisted to know whether the mobile and telecom equipment can be used to snoop on India and even launch cyber attacks. Huawei and the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, where the testing lab will be housed, will soon sign a memorandum of understanding under which the Chinese company will provide documentation, expertise, methods and standards for studying telecom equipment. Link: http://www.huawei.com/en/   
 
24 June 2011: Citing significant improvements in preservation, the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) has withdrawn India's Manas Wildlife Sanctuary from its List of World Heritage in Danger. Situated on the foothills of the Himalayas, the Manas sanctuary, home to a great variety of wildlife, including many endangered species, such as the tiger, pygmy hog, Indian rhinoceros and Indian elephant, was inscribed on the List in Danger in 1992, seven years after it had entered UNESCO's World Heritage List. Link: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list      
 
25 June 2011: Scientists have found a way to take the temperature of dinosaurs that have been extinct for millions of years. Studying the teeth of the long-necked Brachiosaurus, they discovered it had a temperature of about 100.8 degrees F and the smaller Camarasaurus had a temp of 98.3 degrees. Humans average about 98.6.The study is published in the online edition of the journal Science. Link: http://www.sciencemag.org/
 
26 June 2011: Uttar Pradesh officials have devised a novel method to clean up the highly-polluted Yamuna river: excavate 10 ponds to store waste water that was hitherto flowing into the river from 19 drains, treat this and then use it to create clusters of greenery along the river. Around 30 million litres of water from the 19 drains will be treated every single day. Link: http://www.yap.nic.in/
 
27 June 2011:  A rare celestial spectacle awaits skygazers on today when a newly-found asteroid 2011-MD, a chunk of rock estimated to be 8 to 18 m across, will pass between 10,000-12,000 km above earth. It will be visible in India. At its closest point, 2011-MD will pass in daylight over the southern Atlantic Ocean, near Antarctica.Though it will pass through the zone of geosynchronous satellitesn as it retreats, there is little chance of  collision with a satellite or manmade space-junk. Link: http://www.agc-astro.org/
 
28 June 2011: South Korea is hosting the 2011 edition of Asian  Science Camp at Dajeon  from August 7- 13. The camp will provide a platform for talented youth to interact with top scholars in the world, and promote international friendship and cooperation among students of the next generation in Asia. It has invited entries for suitable candidates.India will participate in the event with 30 students and two coordinators. Link: http://www.hbcse.tifr.res.in
 
29 June 2011: While interacting with the students of an engineering college at Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu, former president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam said that nuclear power should be abandoned for the risks it poses to man. The damaging impacts of nuclear power can ruin interests of several generations of human beings and other forms of life, on which man depends for his survival, he added.  However, the director of Center for Environmental Studies, GITAM University here, Prof Shivji Rao has opposed Kalam's view. Link:   http://www.abdulkalam.com/kalam/
 
30 June 2011: Planet Venus will be eclipsed by the Moon, as seen from the earth today. This eclipsing is called occultation. There have been many night-time lunar occultation of Venus but this time its special as it is happening in broad daylight in India. In India, the occultation would take place from 1.18pm to 2.41pm. Across the globe, this phenomena will be visible in Africa, the Middle East and Asia.The first location where the Moon eclipses Venus will be Tripoli.Link:  http://www.starpeace.org/