Thursday, January 2, 2014

SCIENCE OF THE MONTH: DECEMBER 2013

1 December  2013: In what could be their most revolutionary project to date, CERN physicists are set to begin an experiment to determine if antigravity exists. Researchers will use the unique ability of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) to produce and store antimatter . The scientists are using an experimental set up, ALPHA to trap atoms of antihydrogen - neutral antimatter atoms held in place with a strong magnetic field for up to 1000 seconds. The CERN team plans to trap up to 100 antihydrogen atoms in a magnetic field - and then gently turn it off.  The ALPHA Collaboration is a group of physicists from about 11 universities who collaborate to try to trap neutral antimatter. Link: http://alpha.web.cern.ch
2 December  2013: China launched its first ever extraterrestrial landing craft into orbit en route for the moon, in a major milestone for its space programme. The Chang'e-3 lunar probe, which includes the Yutu or Jade Rabbit buggy, will be China's first spacecraft to make a soft landing beyond Earth. In 2007, China launched its first moon orbiter, the Chang'e-1 which took images of the surface and analysed the distribution of elements. Jade Rabbit is the companion of the goddess Chang'e. China has now became the third country, after the United States and the former Soviet Union, to soft-land on the moon. Link:http://english.cntv.cn
3 December 2013: Scientists at the the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) have discovered a wonder gene that could dramatically increase yields of rice. Preliminary tests show that yields can rise by 13-36 percent when infused with the so-called SPIKE gene. Although the gene was first discovered in the japonica variety of rice, tests are underway to introduce it in the modern long-grain indica rice varieties, the world's most widely grown types of rice.Tropical japonica rice accounts for just 10 percent of global rice production. The rest is indica variety. India, the world's second largest producer of rice after China mostly cultivates the indica variety.Link:http://www.irri.org
4 December  2013: NASA has reported that "faint signatures of water" have been found in the atmospheres of five planets outside our solar system, marking a further development in the search for planets supporting alien life. The presence of atmospheric water on exoplanets has been reported before, but this is the first  that conclusively measured the water signatures on planets outside our solar system. The five exoplanets in question are WASP-17b, HD209458b, WASP-12b, WASP-19b and XO-1b which are 'hot Jupiters', a class of exoplanets that orbits close to their star and consequently have very high temperatures. The finding is published in Astrophysical Journal. Link:http://iopscience.iop.org
5 December  2013: NASA satellites have found the coldest place on earth. At a desolate and remote ice plateau in East Antarctica, temperatures hit a "soul-crushing" -93.2 degrees Celsius. This beat the previous record of -89.2 degrees Celsius measured at the Vostok Research Station in East Antarctica on July 21, 1983. The measurements were by the MODIS sensor on board NASA's Aqua satellite and by Landsat 8, a new NASA satellite belonging to US Geological Survey. The hottest spot on Earth is the Dasht-e Lut salt desert in southeast Iran, where it reached 70.7 degrees Celsius in 2005. Temperatures of minus 238 degrees Celsius have been detected on the Moon. Link:http://www.nasa.gov
6 December  2013: The European Space Agency has set a tentative date for the first landing of a spacecraft on a comet. ESA says its comet-chasing probe Rosetta will wake up from deep-space hibernation on January 20 before chasing down comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Once it has reached the huge mass of ice and rock, the team will try to deploy a lander on the comet's surface. If all goes according to plan, Rosetta will launch a lander onto the surface of the comet on November 11, 2014. The Rosetta probe was launched in March 2004. It has orbited the Earth three times and then performed a slingshot around Mars to travel towards comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.Link:http://sci.esa.int
7 December  2013: Scientists have sequenced the entire genome of the world’s longest poisonous snake, King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) and uncovered the secrets behind its deadly venom. King cobras, capable of growing up to 18.5 feet in length, can be found in forests of India and throughout southeast Asia. Researchers from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, along with a team of international biologists, also analysed the genome of the Burmese Python (Python molurus bivittatus). The study provides an insight into the biology of snake venoms  and the evolution of venom genes. The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Link:http://www.pnas.org
8 December  2013: NASA’s Curiosity rover on Mars had successfully performed its first rock-dating experiment outside Earth. This is a major breakthrough since most rock analysis has usually used samples that are found on Earth.The Martian rover took a rock sample from an outcrop in Gale Crater near its landing location and subjected it into heating at high enough temperatures. The gases released were studied by the mass spectrometer that is on-board in the Curiosity.The researchers named the rock as ‘Cumberland’ which is aged between 3.86 billion to 4.56 billion years. It is the second rock drilled in the planet.The study is published in Science Express.Link:http://www.sciencemag.org
9 December  2013: Life from earth may have been carried to moons of Jupiter and Saturn on rocks that blasted off our planet.  The notion that life might travel on rocks knocked off a world's surface is known as 'lithopanspermia'.Meteoroids could encase organisms and seed life on another planet.A great many of meteoroids were either swallowed by the Sun or left the solar system entirely.Scientists calculated about 83,000 meteoroids from Earth could have struck Jupiter after travelling 10 million years or less.These findings suggest the possibility of transfer of life from the inner solar system to moons of Jupiter and Saturn.The study is published in Astrobiology Magazine. Link:http://www.astrobio.net
10 December  2013: Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission, MOM) today successfully executed a 'course correction' manoeuvre, the first of a series of four planned to eliminate minor deviations in its trajectory. The Mars Orbiter Mission commanded the thrusters on board to fire in order to attain the necessary incremental velocity. During this critical exercise MOM was about 2.9 million km away from earth.Three more such manoeuvres have been have been planned, in April, August and the final one in September, prior to the nail biting Mars orbit insertion (MOI). The MOM navigation team triggered the corrective manoeuvre to eliminate minor deviations in the trajectory. Link:http://www.isro.org
11 December  2013: Tropical Cyclone Madi began its landfall in southeastern Tamil Nadu, India. NASA's Aqua satellite had captured an image of the same. The MODIS or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer instrument aboard Aqua captured a visible image of Madi showed the strongest thunderstorms were wrapped around the center of circulation. This strongest thunderstorms have weakened since Aqua passed overhead and Madi was devoid of any strong convection. The southern extent of the tropical cyclone's clouds were over extreme northern Sri Lanka. The final advisory on the tropical cyclone was issued by the Joint Typhoon Warning Center on December 11. Link:http://www.nasa.gov
12 December  2013: Comet ISON, once optimistically called the comet of the century, is dead, the victim of a way-too-close brush with the Sun. The comet, which excited astronomers and the media as it zipped within 730,000 miles of the Sun, was pronounced dead at a scientific conference today. ISON was first detected in September 2012 by two Russian astronomers, Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok. It was about half a mile wide and probably smaller than originally estimated. ISON was on its first trip from the Oort cloud on the distant fringes of the solar system. Unlike comets that are "hardened" by several trips, ISON just couldn't survive its maiden voyage.Link: http://www.nasa.gov
13 December  2013: Scientists have discovered a long-lived manmade greenhouse gas that appears to have the highest global-warming impact of any compound to date. The chemical, perfluorotributylamine (PFTBA), is the most radiatively efficient chemical found to date, breaking all records for its impact on climate. According to researchers from University of Toronto,‘Radiative efficiency’which describes how effectively a molecule can affect climate, is determined by multiplying its atmospheric concentration to determine its climate impact. Researchers uses ‘Radiative efficiency’ of CO2 as a baseline, as it is the most important greenhouse gas.Link:http://media.utoronto.ca
14 December 2013: Scientists have revealed the first high-quality genome sequence from a Neanderthal woman.The DNA from the toe bone was sequenced reveals that inbreeding may have been common among the ancestors of the Neanderthals. Although modern humans are the world's only surviving human lineage, others also once lived on Earth.These included Neanderthals, the closest extinct relatives of modern humans, and the newfound Denisovans, whose genetic footprint extended from Siberia to Oceania. Both Neanderthals and Denisovans descended from a group that diverged from the ancestors of all modern humans. The findings are published in Nature. Link:http://www.nature.com
15 December  2013: China's Yutu or Jade Rabbit rover sent back its first pictures from the moon. Jade is part of the Chang'e, the recently launched orbiter of Moon.  China first sent an astronaut into space a decade ago and is the third country to complete a lunar rover mission after the United States and the former Soviet Union.  The Yutu was deployed, several hours after the Chang'e-3 probe landed on the moon.  The Chang'e-3 mission is named after the goddess of the moon in Chinese mythology and the rover vehicle is called Yutu, or Jade Rabbit, after her pet. The Chang'e-3 mission follows Chang'e-1 in 2007 and Chang'e-2 in 2010, probes that were sent to orbit the moon. Link:http://english.cntv.cn
16 December  2013: To mark the centenary celebrations of home science discipline in India, country's first faculty for home science - will host a national conference. M S University's Faculty of Family and Community Science (FFCS), Vadodhara, which was earlier known as Faculty of Home Science, is hosting a three-day biennial national conference. The conference, which is being hosted by the faculty for the fourth time, is a joint collaboration of Home Science Association of India (HSAI) and FFCS. The theme of the conference entitled '100 years of Home Science: Retrospect and Prospects' is a mark of centenary celebration of home science in the country.Link: http://homescienceassociationofindia.com
17 December  2013:Astronomers have detected the first noble gas molecules in space in the Crab Nebula, a supernova remnant. Their measurements of regions of cold gas and dust led them to the discovery of the chemical fingerprint of argon hydride ions. Before the discovery, molecules of this kind have only been studied in laboratories on Earth. The discovery came from Herschel's SPIRE instrument. The light coming from certain regions of the Crab Nebula showed extremely strong and unexplained peaks in intensity around 618 Gigahertz and 1235 GHz. The scientists found that the only possible explanation was that the emission was coming from spinning molecular ions of argon hydride. Moreover, the only isotope of Argon whose hydride could rotate at that rate was argon-36. Link:http://herschel.cf.ac.uk
18 December  2013: Replying to a question on India's space programme vis-a-vis China's, Minister of State in the PMO V. Narayanaswamy told the Lok Sabha that India is hoping that its own regional navigation satellite, on the lines of China's, in July this year. However China's strength lies in the launch vehicle domain. An Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) initiative, the IRNSS is designed to provide better accuracy from 10 miles over India and the region extending about 1,500 km around India. According to the minister, India has strength in space applications and India's constellation of remote sensing and communication satellites are considered to be the largest in Asia-Pacific region. Link:http://www.isro.org
19 December  2013: In a major find, researchers have discovered a second code was hiding within DNA.The discovery may help change how scientists read the instructions contained in DNA and interpret mutations. Since the discovery of genetic code in the 1960s, researchers believed that genetic code was used exclusively to write information about proteins. University of Washington scientists were surprised to discover that genetic code is written in two separate languages. One describes how proteins are made, and the other instructs the cell on how genes are controlled. One language is written on top of the other, thats why it remained hidden for so long. Link: https://www.sciencemag.org
20 December  2013: Scientists have found a link between high levels of Perfluorinated compounds, widely used in non-stick cookware and diabetes. In a new study, a research team led by Uppsala University said perfluorinated compounds are environmental toxins and there is a link between their high levels in blood and diabetes. The research group at Uppsala University has previously shown associations between high levels of environmental toxins, such as PCB, pesticides, and phthalates and diabetes. Perfluorinated compounds are used in a wide variety of industrial and consumer products, including non-stick cookware, and water-repellent materials. Link:http://www.uu.se/en
21 December  2013: A type of rock that often bears diamonds has been found in Antarctica for the first time, giving a hint of mineral riches in the icy continent that is off limits to mining. An Australian-led team reported East Antarctic deposits of Kimberlite, a rare type of rock named after the South African town of Kimberley famed for a late 19th century diamond rush. Kimberlite, a volcanic rock from deep below the Earth's surface, has now been discovered on all continents. Antarctic Treaty of 1991 however bans mining for at least 50 years preserving the continent for scientific research and wildlife. The study is published in the journal Nature Communications. Link: http://www.nature.com
22 December  2013: A new frog species has been discovered in the biodiversity-rich Western Ghats, by scientists of the city-based MES Abasaheb Garware College and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER). The new species is named as Raorchestes ghatei, after the herpetologist  H V Ghate, in recognition of his contributions to the herpetology of the Western Ghats of Maharashtra. It will assume the common name, 'Ghate's Shrub Frog'. Raorchestes ghatei is genetically and morphologically different from all known species of Raorchestes frogs. The main body difference is a boney enlargement on the upper arm bone, which is present only in the male. Link:http://threatenedtaxa.org
23 December  2013: For the first time, an artificial heart that may give patients up to five years of extra life has been successfully implanted in a 75-year-old French man. The artificial heart, developed by Dutch-based European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), is powered by Lithium-ion batteries that can be worn externally. This device is intended to replace a real heart for as many as five years. The device mimics heart muscle contractions and contains sensors that adapt the blood flow to the patient's moves. The heart surfaces are made partly from bovine tissue instead of synthetic materials such as plastic, which can cause blood clots. Link: http://www.fda.gov
24 December  2013: Beatles legend John Lennon is among the 10 famous people who are having craters on Mercury , the planet closest to the Sun, named after them. Lennon rose to worldwide fame as a founder member of the Beatles, the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed band in the history of popular music. He died in 1980 aged 40 in New York. The name ‘Lennon’ was suggested by Sean Solomon of Columbia University. 'Lennon' is one of the 114 other craters named since NASA's Messenger spacecraft's first Mercury flyby in January 2008.  The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has also named an additional 10 impact craters on Mercury. Link:http://www.nasa.gov
25 December  2013: Researchers, led by a scientist from Chandigarh, Alka Choudhary, at University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, Madison, Wisconsin, USA, claim to have discovered a new form of cell division in human cells. Until now, Choudhary and most cell biologists accepted a century-old hypothesis developed by German biologist Theodor Boveri, who studied sea urchin eggs. Boveri surmised that faulty cell division led to cells with abnormal chromosome sets, and then to the unchecked cell growth that defines cancer. With accumulated evidence over the years, most scientists have come to accept the hypothesis. The new  finding is published in Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences. Link: http://www.pnas.org
26 December  2013: Earth's upper atmosphere is still so saturated with Ozone-eating chlorine that it will take about another decade for evidence that a nearly 25-year-old ban on such destructive chemicals is working, scientists say. Full recovery of the ozone layer, which shields Earth from the Sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation, should occur around 2070. In 2012 for example, the ozone hole was the second smallest on record, an apparently positive sign that the 1989 Montreal Protocol agreement which called for the phasing out of Freon and other damaging Chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs.The year before, they point out, the ozone hole was nearly as big as it was in 2006, the largest on record. Link: http://esciencenews.com
27 December  2013: Chinese farmers may have been one of the first in the world to domesticate cats, employing the felines more than 5,000 years ago to protect their grain stores from rodents, a new study suggests. Cat bone fossils found at an ancient village site in Central China show that they were domesticated 5,300 years ago, much earlier than previously thought. Cats were thought to have first been domesticated in ancient Egypt, where they were kept some 4,000 years ago, but more recent research suggests close relations with humans may have occurred much earlier, including the discovery of a wild cat buried with a human nearly 10,000 years ago in Cyprus. Link:http://www.pnas.org
28 December  2013: NASA has developed a new gen-next spacesuit, which is much lighter and mobile, for its first ever mission to allow astronauts to spacewalk on an asteroid. NASA engineers are now testing the modified version of the pumpkin-orange Advanced Crew Escape System (ACES) worn by space shuttle astronauts during launch and re-entry for use by future crew in the Orion spacecraft. As the agency plans human deep space missions, including a voyage to a relocated asteroid, care is being taken to efficiently use the space inside Orion. The tests are helping with the evaluation of options for spacewalking techniques like how best to traverse the spacecraft. Link: http://papers.sae.org
29 December  2013: The Shaheen falcon, also known as the Indian Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) was found in Nelliampathy, Palakkad, Kerala.  It is said to be the first sighting of this species from Kerala in a decade. It was found during a bird survey conducted by Zubair Medammal, falcon researcher from Department of Zoology, University of Calicut. Falcons are migratory birds and they have two major migratory routes to Arabian Peninsula. The first route draws from Europe and Baltic states to the Mediterranean through Syria, Lebanon and the Red Sea. The second draws from the Caucasus, crossing Afghanistan, through the Gulf area to Africa. Link:http://www.birdlife.org
30 December  2013: The reference genome of Sugar Beet (Beta vulgaris) is published. It was generated by researchers from the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics and the University of Bielefeld. Sugar beet accounts for nearly 30% of the world's annual sugar production. The Sugar Beet genome provides insights into how the genome has been shaped by artificial selection along time. Sugar beet belongs to Caryophyllales, comprising 11,500 species. 27,421 protein-coding genes were discovered within the Sugar Beet genome, more than those in human genome. The study is published in the journal Nature. Link: http://www.nature.com
31 December  2013: The countdown for the launch of India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) the 414.75 ton rocket that would carry communication satellite GSAT-14 is set to begin on 2014 January 4. One of the GSLV rockets was fitted with the Indian cryogenic engine and the other with a Russian engine. The GSLV is a three-stage/engine rocket.The successful launch of this rocket is crucial for India as it will be the first step towards building rockets that can carry heavier payloads, up to four tonnes. When that happens, India will join a select club of spacefaring nations having the cryogenic engine technology necessary to carry heavy satellites up into space. Link: http://www.isro.org


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