Archive for August 2011
‘Need to innovate science to benefit society at low cost’
29 August 2011
CHENNAI:With the advent of latest technologies in the field of science, there is a need to innovate high—science that would benefit a larger section of audience at minimal cost, a top government official said here on Monday.
Department of Science and Technology Secretary, T Ramaswami, said just as the innovation of Marie Curie and Alexander Graham Bell had led to the discovery of radium and invention of the first practical telephone respectively and benefited a large section of society, there is a need to develop science that would help a wider section of the population.
Mr. Ramaswami was delivering his inaugural address at the three—day symposium titled “Chemistry in Societal and Environmental Needs” organised at Central Leather Research Institute as part of International Year of Chemistry Celebration…
Read more: http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/article2408957.ece
Six new genes found that trigger diabetes
29 August 2011
CHENNAI: Scientists have found six new genes that trigger diabetes mellitus in South Asians. These genes are responsible for the early onset of diabetes in South Asians, including Indians. Scientists from the UK collaborated with doctors in India, Singapore, Pakistan, Mauritius and Sri Lanka on the study.
This is the first time studies have been conducted in South Asia, where more than 55 million people have diabetes, a majority of them from India and China. So far, scientists have discovered 42 genes associated with diabetes but all these studies were done on Europeans.
……New-Delhi-based Dr Dwaipayan Bharadwaj of Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology said this approach helps unravel complex gene relationships. “These studies don’t take into account environmental factors but reveal gene associations,” he said. Dr Bharadwaj is working on a GWAS study exclusively for Indians..
Civil aircraft market growing: Minister
23 August 2011
The market for civil aircraft is growing exponentially in India with projections that over $ 100 billion worth of civil aircraft will be needed by 2025; but no major civil aircraft industry has been able to support this growth, Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Vilasrao Deshmukh has said.
In terms of numbers, the demand would translate into more than 1,000 aircraft in different capacities, he added. Mr. Deshmukh, who is also vice president of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) was delivering the keynote address at CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) Foundation Day celebrations on Monday….
Read more: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article2386190.ece
Nuclear safety: India conducts out-of-pile tests
28 August 2011
Test proves under-construction Kalpakkam n-reactor will shut down in event of a quake
28 August 2011
CHENNAI: Will the nuclear reactor being built in Kalpakkam shut down in the event of a severe earthquake? A test at the Structural Engineering Research Centre (SERC) in Taramani on Saturday proved it would – in a matter of seconds. It also proved that the type of crisis in the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan after the recent earthquake and tsunami could be avoided in Tamil Nadu.
The SERC and the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) in Kalpakkam jointly conducted the test to see if the 500 MW Prototype Faster Breeder Reactor (PFBR) being built would stop generation. “In case of a snag in the facility or an earthquake, the nuclear power generation has to shut down. Otherwise, a major catastrophe will result. The production is stopped using shutdown systems having rods made of ‘boron’ (a metalloid element),” said IGCAR director S C Chetal. As per the safety culture in the Department of Atomic Energy, the safety of existing nuclear plants and those under construction is to be reviewed periodically…..
NIO makes underwater investigations easier
26 August 2011
PANAJI: The National Institute of Oceanography has developed an innovative Autonomous Vertical Profiler (AVP), a device that would make underwater investigations easier and safer for the marine scientists.
Coming out with this information on its website, the National Institute of Oceanography further informs that the AVP is a US-patented technology development of the Marine Instrumentation Group at the NIO. “By design, the AVP floats vertically on the sea surface, and when in motion it is propelled in a downward direction by a brushless underwater motor run at a constant speed,” the web information adds. The NIO is one of the constituent laboratories of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi….
Read more: http://www.navhindtimes.in/goa-news/nio-makes-underwater-investigations-easier
NIO profiler to aid researchers in under-water investigations
25 August 2011
PANAJI: India’s premier ocean research institute, NIO has developed an Autonomous Vertical Profiler (AVP) that would make underwater investigations, more easier and safe for the scientists. Goa-based National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) has developed the AVP, which is a US-patented technology development of the Marine Instrumentation Group here.
“By design, the AVP floats vertically on the sea surface, and when in motion it is propelled in a downward direction by a brushless underwater motor run at a constant speed,” the NIO website, http://www.nio.org, mentions….
Source: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/186157/nio-profiler-aid-researchers-water.html
