2 November 2013: Bangladesh makes a controversial turn to begin the construction of a large coal-fired power plant, threatening the fragile ecosystem of the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest. First conceived in 2010, the Rampal power plant is a partnership between the Bangladesh Power Development Board and India's state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), which will share fifty-fifty ownership of the plant, as well as the electricity it produces. Opponents say that the 1,320 megawatt project could devastate the Sundarbans, Bangladesh's largest forest and the nation's last stronghold of the Bengal tiger. Sundarbans is home to at least 330 plant species, 315 bird species, 210 fish species, 49 mammal species, and 59 species of reptiles. Many of the species are endangered, including the Ganges river dolphin and the Bengal tiger. Link: http://www.bpdb.gov
3 November 2013: Scientists have embarked on a project to identify unknown or lesser known oil seeds as new sources of oil for edible and non-edible applications. The project 'Development of sustainable processes for edible oils with health benefits from traditional and newer resources' aims to develop sustainable processes for edible oils and look for health benefits from traditional and new resources. The project presently remains with Centre for Lipid Research at CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology. Under the project, lesser-known oils seeds found across forests in the country are being screened. Also, it will work on development of greener technologies for the extraction of oils and nutraceuticals. India produces as much as 8.5 million tons of edible oils. However, due to short suppl, India imported 10.2 million metric tones, last year.Link: http://www.iictindia.org
4 November 2013: Scientists from the Vaudois University Hospital Centre (CHUV) in Lausanne, Switzerland, investigating Arafat's death submitted the results to representatives of his widow, Suha Arafat, as well as representatives of the Palestinian Authority (PA). As per Swiss scientists, who tested samples taken from Arafat's corpse showed "unexpected high activity" of Polonium-210, 18 times than normal, which "moderately" supported a theory that he was poisoned to death with radioactive Polonium. Many Palestinian officials believe that Israel poisoned Arafat. Arafat died in a French military hospital on November 11, 2004. A subsequent murder investigation in August 2012, by French prosecutors, on Arafat's belongings revealed traces of Polonium-210. The Israeli regime has denied any involvement. Link: http://www.chuv.ch
5 November 2013: Solar Impulse-the solar powered airplane will make New Delhi and Varanasi its landing and departing destinations during its round the world mission in 2015. Solar Impulse, having wingspan of a 747 aircraft, is constructed in such a way that its thousands of solar panels across its wings can harness power from the sun during the day and its lithium-polymer batteries can store that energy for overnight trips.There by it could demonstrate the capabilities of clean technology and renewable energy. The move comes at a time when the governments across the world are looking for alternatives of fossil fuel to not only fight the menace of climate change by drastically cutting greenhouse gas emissions but also to pull themselves out of the vicious trap of oil economy. The around the world mission flights will take place from beginning of March to end of the summer 2015. Link: http://www.solarimpulse.com
6 November 2013: India successfully launched its first mission to Mars 'Mangalyaan' (Mars Orbiter Mission- MOM) on board PSLV C25 at 2.38 pm from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. It was the 25th flight of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle(PSLV). The rocket injected the satellite into Earth's orbit over South America, which was captured by ISRO's sea-borne terminals on board Shipping Corporation of India's vessels SCI Nalanda and SCI Yamuna in the South Pacific Ocean. 'Mangalyaan' is equipped with five instruments, the Lyman Alpha Photometer (LAP), Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM), Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA), Mars Colour Camera (MCC) and Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (TIS). 'Mangalyaan' is expected to reach the Red Planet's orbit by September 24, 2014, making India the fourth country to do so.Link: http://www.isro.org
7 November 2013: Today is the 100th anniversary of the death of Alfred Russel Wallace.Wallace’s place in history comes as the co-discoverer of evolution with Charles Darwin. He discovered what is now known as the Wallace Line that separates the placental mammals of Southeast Asia from the marsupial mammals of Australia. Wallace survived his ship burning in the middle of the Atlantic to escape in a small boat. He spent four years in the Amazon and made it back to England, half alive. But he did not quit but sailed to Southeast Asia to explore the fauna and flora of 17,000 islands in the Indonesian archipelago.Wallace has over 800 species named after him while Darwin has a mere 120. He made five voyages to the Indonesian archipelago just to collect birds of paradise specimens. His book, 'The Malay Archipelago' is in print for more than 140 years.Link:http://wallacefund.info
8 November 2013: The Olympic symbol entered open space for the very first time, the two cosmonauts carrying the Olympic torch, though unlit, during a spacewalk today, in a historic showcasing of Russia hosting the Sochi Winter Olympic Games that is scheduled to be on 7-23 February 2014. It was cosmonaut Oleg Kotov who made a 'spacewalk' outside the International Space Station (ISS) with the Olymoic torch held ceremonially in his gloved hand. Safety precautions meant the torch remained unlit while in space.Torches also left the planet aboard US space shuttle voyages ahead of the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta and the 2000 event in Sydney, but it was the first time an Olympic torch was taken out for a spacewalk. Russia has already sent the Olympic torch to the North Pole aboard a ship. It will soon visit the bottom of Baikal, the world's deepest freshwater lake. Link: http://www.sochi2014.com
9 November 2013: NASA has released a new photograph of Saturn described as "perhaps the most unusual image ever taken in the history of the space programme". Taken four months ago from the Cassini spacecraft, the image, actually a mosaic of images, shows Saturn eclipsing the sun, with Mars, Venus and Earth all appearing as tiny dots besides the second largest planet in the solar system. The photograph is partly a tribute to the famous "Pale Blue Dot" image taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft in 1990. As the craft prepared to leave the solar system US astronomer Carl Sagan requested that it take a "last look back", photographing the Earth as a "fraction of a dot" in the vastness of space. Dr Carolyn Porco, who was instrumental in capturing the original Pale Blue Dot image, referred to the photograph as "acknowledges our coming of age as planetary explorers".Link: http://www.nasa.gov
10 November 2013: The Infosys Science Prize Foundation announced the winners for Infosys Science Prize 2013, in fields of Humanities, Engineering and Computer science, Life Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Physical Sciences and Social Sciences. The winners for this year include V. Ramgopal Rao from IIT Bombay for Engineering and Computer Science, Nayanjot Lahiri from Delhi University for Humanities-Archaeology, Ayesha Kidwai from Jawaharlal Nehru University for Humanities- Linguistics, Rajesh Gokhale from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research for Life Sciences, Rahul Pandharipande from Eidgenossische Technische Hochschul Zurich for Mathematical Sciences, Shiraz Minwalla from Tata Institute of Fundamental Research for physical sciences and Aninhalli Vasavi from Nehru Memorial Museum and Library for social sciences.Link:http://www.infosys-science-foundation.com
11 November 2013: India has declared itself free from Notifiable Avian Influenza (H5N1), commonly called 'Bird flu', and notified the same to World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). India notified outbreak of Avian Influenza (H5N1) at Poultry Production Unit, College of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, Anjora, Durg and Government Poultry Farm, Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh on August 5, 2013. According to a Ministry of Agriculture release, the control measures adopted in the outbreak were stamping out of entire poultry population including destruction of eggs, feed, litters and other infected materials in the radius of 1 k.m. around the outbreak location, restriction on movement of poultry and subsequently issuing of the Post Operation Surveillance Plan (POSP). Even though India is free from bird flu, surveillance will be continued. Link: http://www.oie.int
12 November 2013: The year 2013 is likely to be among the top 10 warmest on record, according to the World Meteorological Organisation. The first nine months, January to September, tied with 2003 as the seventh warmest such period on record, with a global land and ocean surface temperature of about 0.48 degree Celsius above the 1961-1990 average. El Nino/La Nina is a major driver of our climate and the hottest years on record, 2010 and 1998, both had El Nino events. The year 2013 is currently on course to be among the top ten warmest years since modern records began in 1850, according to WMO. WMO's statement confirms that global sea level reached a new record high. Sea level has been rising at an average rate of about 3.2 millimetres per year (mm/yr), since altimeter measurements began in 1993. In Asia, Japan had its hottest summer on record. Link: http://www.wmo.int
13 November 2013: The mountains of the Western Ghats are the second most important shelter in the world for threatened species, according to a new study by scientists from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The study has listed the ghats and Anamalai Sanctuary at number 32 on the irreplaceability index. (The ghats have already been listed as a critical biodiversity hotspot and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.). The study has calculated the "irreplaceability" of various bio-diversity hotspots using data that covers 1,73,000 protected zones and the assessment of 21,500 species which are on the red list of threatened species put out by the IUCN. The researchers identified 78 sites comprising 137 protected areas in 34 countries. Some of the protected areas, including Ecuador's Galápagos Islands are already recognized by UNESCO. Link: http://www.iucn.org
14 November 2013: World's oldest animal, Ming the Mollusc, is dead. It was killed during analysis of its age by experts from Bangor University. Findings reveal that the animal was born in 1499, making it 507 years old. Ming was discovered by the same scientists from North Atlantic, off the coast of Iceland, in 2006. A mollusc’s shell grows a layer every summer when the water is warmer and food plentiful. So by counting the number of rings visible on the inner side of the shell, its age can be calculated. Earlier, it was believed that Ming was 400 years old, and so it was named after the Ming dynasty thought to be ruling China at the time of its birth. However, the news findings mean that mollusc was born seven years after Columbus discovered America. Marine biologist Doris Abele says that the ability to live for centuries could be due to slow metabolism.Link: http://www.werh.org
15 November 2013: Controversial issue of handling of substances like Hydro-Chloro Fluoro Carbon (HCFC) and Chloro Fluoro Carbons (CFC), the climate-damaging gases, remained unresolved in near future as both India and the US stuck to their respective positions today at Warsaw, which hosted the 19th Conference of Parties relating to UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change). As per Montreal Protocol, Ozone-depleting substances like HCFCs CFCs are to be phased out. Though HFC is not an Ozone-depleting gas, it contributes to global warming and consequently its phase-out comes under the Kyoto Protocol. India, however insists that the issue must be kept out of the Montreal Protocol as HFC is not an Ozone-depleting gas. India wants this issue to be within the UNFCCC for "accounting and reporting of emissions" -a crucial clause that works in favour of developing countries. Link: http://unfccc.int
16 November 2013: Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao (CNR Rao), India's highly regarded scientist, has been conferred Bharat Ratna, the highest Civilian Award in India. He is the fourth scientist to be conferred with Bharat Ratna. The other scientists honoured with Bharat Ratna include: Nobel Laureate and physicist CV Raman (1954); Civil engineer and Diwan of Mysore Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya (1955) and most recently APJ Abdul Kalam (1997). Basically a Structural Chemist, CNR Rao currently serves as the Head of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India. Rao has honorary doctorates from 60 universities from around the world. Rao was one of the earliest to synthesize two-dimensional oxide materials such as La2CuO4 which have profound applications in the fields of high temperature superconductivity. Rao was conferred Padma Shri in 1974 and Padma Vibhushan in 1985. Link: http://www.jncasr.ac.in
17 November 2013: The Sun is set to "flip upside down" within weeks as its magnetic field reverses polarity.The sun switches its polarity, flipping its magnetic north and south, once every eleven years. The polarity change is built up throughout the eleven year cycle through areas of intense magnetic activity known as sunspots which gradually move towards the poles, eroding the existing polarity. Eventually, the magnetic field rebounds with the opposite polarity. One of the most noticeable effect on Earth will be a boost in the occurrence, range and visibility of auroras - the Northern Lights. The swap will cause intergalactic weather fronts such as geomagnetic storms, which can interfere with satellites and cause radio blackouts. The impact of this will be widespread well beyond Pluto, even to Voyager, NASA's probes positioned near the edge of interstellar space. Link: http://www.nasa.gov
18 November 2013: NASA successfully launched its Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) to Mars which is an orbiter like India’s ‘Mangalyaan’. It has now begun its 10-month journey towards Mars and it is expected to reach the Red Planet on 22 September 2014, two days before ‘Mangalyaan’ will be reaching there. The probe is different from past NASA missions because it focuses on the never-before-studied upper atmosphere. MAVEN has 8 instruments of which the one called NGIMS (Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer) can analyse the isotopes of Carbon, that forms part of the Methane. If it having a biological source, it will be having Carbon-14 as isotope, and if it is from non-biological sources, it will be having Carbon-13 as isotope. Mangalyaan and MAVEN will be complimenting all the data their instruments would be collecting. Link:http://www.nasa.gov
19 November 2013: Frederick Sanger, the British biochemist who twice won the Nobel Prize, has died at the age of 95. Dr Sanger is considered the "father of genomics" after pioneering methods to work out the exact sequence of the building blocks of DNA. Dr Sanger also developed techniques to determine the structure of proteins. He was the only Briton to win two Nobel Prizes and the only scientist to have been awarded the prize for Chemistry twice. The first came in 1958 for developing techniques to work out the chemical structure of proteins. Dr Sanger's group produced the first whole genome sequence. He was awarded his second Nobel Prize in 1980 for developing "Sanger sequencing" - a technique which is still used today. He was awarded one of Britain's highest honours, the Order of Merit, in 1986, but he declined it as he did not want to be called a "Sir". Link: http://www.nobelprize.org
20 November 2013: Today marked the 15 year anniversary that nations united to build the most advanced space laboratory every created, the International Space Station (ISS). In November 1998, an autonomous Russian Proton rocket took up the first module of the space station, Zarya. This module, also known as the Functional Cargo Block, provided electrical power, storage, propulsion and guidance to the space station.The ISS now weighs around 900,000 pounds and is about the size of a six-bedroom house. The ISS is a milestone in both technology and international collaboration. The international participation includes the Japanese space agency (JAXA), the European Space Agency (ESA), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the Russian Space Agency (Roskosmos) and NASA. Over 69 countries have put research on the space station. Link: http://www.nasa.gov
21 November 2013: Today marked the 50th anniversary of India launching its first rocket, the American-built rocket Nike-Apache which happened on November 21,1963. It is considered as the first step in India's Space Programme. The launch was from the Thuma, a village in the district of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The launch facility was prepared by shifting several fishermen families from Thumba to an adjacent coastal stretch with the then Catholic Bishop playing a vital role in persuading the villagers.The launch site later became TERLS- Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launch Station which in turn became Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). Department of Atomic Energy was entrusted with the task of conducting space research in August 1961. In 1962, a National Space Committee was formed under the chairmanship of Sarabhai which lead to the launch. Link: http://www.vssc.gov.in
22 November 2013: In a ceremony held at the White House today, American President Barack Obama prosthumously awarded the 'Medal of Freedom' for Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, for her role in "keeping America at the forefront of space exploration" and inspiring young girls "to become scientifically literate and to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math." The Medal was accepted by Tam O'Shaughnessy, Ride's partner and the chairwoman of Sally Ride Science, the company Ride founded in 2001. Sally Ride died July 23, 2012. She was 61. She made her first of two space shuttle missions in 1983. Sally Ride is only the ninth astronaut to be awarded the Medal of Freedom, joining the ranks of Mercury astronaut John Glenn, first moonwalkers Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, and Apollo 13 commander James Lovell. Link: https://sallyridescience.com
23 November 2013: Tianhe-2 (meaning milky way), developed by China's National University of Defence Technology, retained the title of the world's fastest computer is capable of 33,863 trillion calculations per second and it was made in China. Tianhe-2 's power is almost double the score achieved by the second most powerful machine: the American Titan supercomputer, which clocked 17.59 petaflop/s. Tianhe-2 has a performance of 33.86 petaflop/s (quadrillions of calculations per second). In comparison, India's fastest computer has a speed of 7.19 petaflop/s (quadrillions of calculations per second). The computer at Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (Pune) has been declared the 44th fastest machine in the world, capable of 719 trillion calculations per second. The list of the world's fastest supercomputer is compiled every two years by the University of Mannheim, using a test known as the Linpack benchmark. Link: http://www.top500.org
24 November 2013: Scientists have discovered the world's most aggressive HIV strain.There are over 60 different epidemic strains of HIV and geographic regions are often dominated by one or two of these. If a person becomes infected with two different strains, they can fuse to form recombined strain.The new strain is found to be the most dangerous has been found in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. The new virus strain was first reported by Joakim Esbjornsson from the University of Oxford. An estimated 4.9 million people were living with HIV in Asia-Pacific in 2012. Twelve countries account for more than 90% of people living with HIV such as India, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. New HIV infections have increased 2.6 times in Indonesia and Pakistan. Link: http://www.lunduniversity.lu.se
25 November 2013: A research group at Bonn University and international collaborators have found that early modern humans inherited an 'immune gene' from Neanderthals that greatly improved our immune systems. The researchers discovered a novel receptor, which allows the immune system of modern humans to recognise dangerous invaders, subsequently eliciting an immune response. The blueprint for this advantageous structure was in addition identified in the genome of Neanderthals, hinting at its origin. The receptor provided these early humans with immunity against local diseases. According to the researchers, the presence of this receptor in Europeans but its absence in early men suggests that it was inherited from Neanderthals. A fourth receptor, abbreviated as HLA-DRaDPb, also has been found.The study was published in Journal of Biological Chemistry. Link: http://www.jbc.org
26 November 2013: A proposal for changing the generic name name of 'Miss Kerala' from Puntius denisonii to Sahyadria denisonii has been made by Rajheev Raghavan et al in a recent taxonomic update. The new genus name ‘Sahyadri’ is the vernacular name for the Western Ghats mountain ranges. 'Miss Kerala' has got a more popular name in the scientific world: the Denison's barb. The specialty of this is that it is endemic to the Achenkovil and Chaliyar rivers in Kerala. They are found in four locations Cheenkannipuzha (a major tributary of Velapattanam River), the Achankovil river, the Chaliyar river and near Mundakayam town. A similar fish, Sahyadria chalakkudiensis also is enlisted as ‘Endangered’ in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.The proposal for name change is proposed in the Journal of Threatened Taxa. Link: http://www.threatenedtaxa.org
27 November 2013: In what could be their most revolutionary project to date, researchers at European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) are set to begin an experiment to determine if antigravity exists. According to some theories, antimatter may generate a gravitational field that repels anything around it rather than attracting it in the way that normal matter does. Antimatter is like the mirror image of matter, with many of its key properties reversed. Now, the CERN researchers are want to find out whether that includes the gravitational properties. For this, the researchers have created a magnetic trap in a specially designed experiment called ALPHA (Anti-hydrogen Laser Physics Apparatus) where atoms of antihydrogen can be held almost stationary in a powerful magnetic field. Link: http://alpha.web.cern.ch
28 November 2013: Comet ISON passed just 1.2 million km from the surface of the sun today. According to NASA, material from the comet appeared on the other side of the Sun, despite not having been seen in observations during its closest approach. Astronomers who used conventional solar telescopes couldnt witness the real plight of the comet. At closest approach, the comet was moving faster than 350 km per second through the sun's atmosphere. At that distance, it reached 2,760 degrees Celsius, hot enough to vaporize not just ices in comet's body, but the rocks as well. Comet ISON also known as C/2012 S1 was discovered by Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok on 21 September 2012. The discovery was made by the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON) and hence the name ISON. Link: http://www.nasa.gov
29 November 2013: A smartphone app designed to give early warning of earthquakes could be ready as early as next year, according to scientists who participated in the World Science Forum at Rio de Janeiro. To do this, the app captures initial energy from the tremor, the so-called P wave or Primary wave, which rarely itself causes damage. The technology uses algorithms to detect rapidly when a quake is starting and determine its strength and location and when it is likely to reach its zenith and alert residents in potentially affected areas.The smartphone app is capable of providing an alert between a few seconds and one minute before a tremor hits, depending on where an individual using it is in relation to the epicenter. The app is based on a technology prepared by Professor Richard Allen, director of the UC Berkeley Seismological Laboratory. Link: http://seismo.berkeley.edu
30 November 2013: NASA is planning to grow plants and vegetables on the Moon. As per NASA, it will be the first ISRU (in situ resource utilization) demonstration. It will also be the first attempt to germinate plants on another world.The seeds will be housed inside a specially made Lunar Plant Growth Chamber, that will carry enough air for 10 days.The initiative is being driven by the Lunar Plant Growth Habitat team. The mission is due to launch in 2015 as part of the Moon Express lander, a commercial project to land on the Moon. Natural sunlight will be used to germinate the plants inside the chamber and the seeds would grow on pieces of filter paper laden with nutrients. The plants selected include Turnip (Brassica rapa), Basil (Ocimum basilicum) and Arabidopsis thaliana (Thale Cress). Link: http://www.nasa.gov
