Submarine variant of BrahMos test-fired - The Hindu

The maiden flight of the submarine variant of the Indo-Russian supersonic cruise missile, BrahMos, was successful on Wednesday when it was test-fired from a pontoon off Visakhapatnam in the Bay of Bengal.

It marked a global first in the vertical launch of a supersonic cruise missile from an underwater platform.

The anti-ship version of the potent missile, with a range of 290 km BrahMos in vertical launch mode would add teeth to submarines as it wouldnt compromise on their defensive capability. This will make submarines doubly potent and most lethal

BrahMos has already been inducted into the Navy and the Army, while its air version is under development for arming the Su-30 MKI fighter. The naval variant of the missile comes in vertical and inclined launch configurations.

Drastically greener Arctic predicted in coming decades - Times Of India

Rising temperatures will lead to a massive "greening," or increase in plant cover in the Arctic, a new research has predicted.

cientists have revealed new models projecting that wooded areas in the Arctic could increase by as much as 50 percent over the next few decades.

The researchers also showed that this dramatic greening would accelerate climate warming at a rate greater than previously expected.

Such widespread redistribution of Arctic vegetation would have impacts that reverberate through the global ecosystem

Plant growth in Arctic ecosystems has increased over the past few decades, a trend that coincides with increases in temperatures, which are rising at about twice the global rate.

The models reveal the potential for massive redistribution of vegetation across the Arctic under future climate, with about half of all vegetation switching to a different class and a massive increase in tree cover.

These impacts would extend far beyond the Arctic region. For example, some species of birds seasonally migrate from lower latitudes and rely on finding particular polar habitats, such as open space for ground-nesting

the researchers investigated the multiple climate change feedbacks that greening would produce. They found that a phenomenon called the 'albedo effect', based on the reflectivity of the Earth's surface, would have the greatest impact on the Arctic's climate. When the sun hits snow, most of the radiation is reflected back to space. But when it hits an area that's "dark" or covered in trees or shrubs, more sunlight is absorbed in the area and temperature increases. This has a positive feedback to climate warming: the more vegetation there is the more warming will occur.

By incorporating observed relationships between plants and albedo, we show that vegetation distribution shifts will result in an overall positive feedback to climate that is likely to cause greater warming than has previously been predicted,

Abel Prize for Belgian Pierre Deligne - The Hindu

Belgian mathematician Pierre Deligne, who is regarded as one of the most celebrated mathematicians of the 20th century, has been chosen for this years prestigious Abel Prize in Mathematics.

The 69-year-old professor emeritus of the Institute of Advanced Study, Princeton, is being awarded for his seminal contributions to algebraic geometry and for their transformative impact on number theory, representation theory and related fields.

The Abel Prize is considered equivalent to the Nobel Prize, which is not awarded in the field of mathematics.

It carries a cash award of 6 million Norwegian krone (about 800,000 or $1 million). The prize will be given by His Majesty King Harald V of Norway at an award ceremony in Oslo on May 21.

The prize, which was given for the first time in 2003, recognises contributions of extraordinary depth and influence in mathematical sciences.

Question corner - The Hindu

Why is skin oiliness restricted only to the face? The skin of the face is oily because of the presence of sebum, an oily secretion produced by the sebaceous gland.

These glands are present throughout the body except the palms of hand and soles of feet. Sebaceous glands are more commonly found in hair-covered areas, where they are connected to hair follicles. Hence the maximum concentration of this sebaceous gland is in the face and scalp

The sebum reaches the skin surface through the hair follicles or the sweat pores. The sebum contains fat, triglyceride oils, wax, squalene, metabolites of fat-producing cells, etc. giving it an oily character.

the surface feels greasy to touch while the appearance is shiny, often with visible pores. The sebum synthesized by the gland is odorless and the bacterial action on then releases products of specific odor. The role of sebum is to provide anti- bacterial lipids, antioxidants, hydration of the superficial layers of skin, supply of vitamin E and also has temperature regulation properties.

The secretion of the gland is influenced by the sex hormones, temperature, stress and genetic factors.

Increased production of sebum occurs during adolescence, pregnancy and menopause due to hormonal changes.

People have more oily skin in summer because hot and humid climate will stimulate the oil glands producing more sebum.

Rarely deficiency of vitamin B2 and B5 can also cause oily skin. Acne and black heads are conditions associated with these sebaceous glands and they are common in face.

How to make it work - The Hindu

There's a big difference between working hard and working smart and thats where technology comes into play

As humans, most of us spend over 30 per cent of our lives at work. Spending half our lives in the office is bad enough, so why make it worse by working hard as well?

The problem is, most of us dont know the difference between working hard and working smart.

This is explained better by Gates Theory of Diminishing Productivity, which states that 20 per cent of all employees spend 80 per cent of their time staring at Windows Office while the other 80 per cent spend 100 per cent of their time staring out of their office windows.

In other words, what you choose to stare at determines how hardworking you are.

Making the electric grid that much smarter - The Hindu

In

the late 19th century, two of the leading minds then engaged in the war of currents to design the electric grid.

The maverick

entrepreneur, Thomas Edison, held many patents on the direct current (DC)

technology and favoured a grid based on it.

Nikola Tesla,

a former employee of Edison and an engineer, proposed the alternating

current (AC) technology.

The DC

system was safer than AC Edison famously demonstrated the dangers of AC

by electrocuting
But

AC was eventually chosen as the technology for the grid owing to its efficiency in

transmitting power.
The electric

grid is counted among the most important innovations of the 20th century. have woken up to the reality of an ageing infrastructure controlling their

Many countries

grid and have embarked on an ambitious programme to redesign and modernise it

 The new

design employs the latest advances in IT, is more reliable, affordable and

efficient than the old one, and is aptly titled the smart grid.
The smart

grid will incorporate clean sources of energy and will be secure against

malicious attacks.
Real-time One of

pricing

the main drawbacks of the existing grid is an imbalance between supply and

demand of power
The smart

grid will have mechanisms for communication and control to solve this

problem.
An

example is real-time pricing of electric power according to its demand. This is in

contrast with todays grid where the cost of electricity does not vary with load.
The electric meter

at home will be transformed to a smart meter capable of

communicating with the utility company and updating the price of power on a regular basis.
Going

green of electricity contributes to 40 per cent of the greenhouse emissions and the

Generation

smart grid reduces this percentage by incorporating renewable sources such as solar and wind.
It

is proposed to increase the contribution of renewables to 80 per cent of total electricity output.

This

poses a challenge as the energy from a renewable source varies during the day and

does not follow the cycle of demand. Also, electricity cannot be efficiently stored for future use and must be consumed as soon as it is produced. Hence, inducting renewables into the grid and matching them with the demand will require research on control mechanisms to ensure stability of the grid.

 The smart

grid offers incentives to consumers to install solar panels or windmills at home

and sell excess power to the utility companies, thereby allowing the consumer to become a producer of electricity.
Faulty meters, the

pilferage

antiquated grid is poorly managed and suffers from 30 per cent losses during

transmission and distribution (T&D). In comparison, the U.S. experiences T&D losses of 7 per cent.
The losses

in India are mostly ascribed to faulty meters and pilferage of electricity. holds a dubious record for the largest blackout in history, when half the

The country also

population went without power for a few days in July 2011. The cause was an imbalance between supply and demand, which tripped a part of the grid, followed by a domino effect that led to the collapse of the northern and eastern grids.
The newly set

up India Smart Grid Task Force (ISGTF) has the mandate to introduce

initiatives for a smart grid in India.

A

smart grid in India will reduce the T&D losses, prevent blackouts, and light up homes of a third of the population who have no access to electricity.

The

ISGTF should listen to the clarion call to modernise the grid.

Quantum computers turn mainstream - The Hindu

Quantum computing is so much faster than traditional computing because of the unusual properties of particles at the smallest level.

Instead of the precision of ones and zeros that have been used to represent data since the earliest days of computers, quantum computing relies on the fact that subatomic particles inhabit a range of states.

Different relationships among the particles may coexist, as well. Those probable states can be narrowed to determine an optimal outcome among a near-infinitude of possibilities, which allows certain types of problems to be solved rapidly.

Self-organising single-dimensional lattice - The Hindu

A recent paper in the Physical Review Letters journal proposes a model of a selforganised one-dimensional lattice which does not require lasers to hold the atoms in place, unlike the case of optical lattices

is to allow atoms to spread between two thin nanoscale optical fibres. These fibres act as nanophotonic waveguides that is, pipes through which the electromagnetic field is channelled.

The electromagnetic field leaks slightly out of the fibres. The leaking field interacts with the atoms and trap them along its length spaced evenly.

The researchers go further and study what happens when the atoms are excited by lasers. They propose exciting the atoms using pump lasers.

By tuning the laser, the atoms would absorb light quanta and go to an excited state and then subsequently drop back to the ground state by emitting light. These emitted light quanta are channelled by means of the optical fibres (waveguide) and eventually will be absorbed by another atom. Thus the atoms can interact with one another and exchange momentum.

The theory presents an exciting interface between optics and condensed matter physics and may contribute to yet another field quantum computation, by suggesting a model for qubits (quantum bits) in a quantum computer.

WHO-approved TB test, now at a subsidised price - The Hindu

GeneXpert can provide results in just two hours and identify resistance to rifampicin drug Providing accurate diagnosis for TB and thereby enabling earlier initiation of treatment has got a big boost.

WHO-approved GeneXpert MTB/RIF molecular test to diagnose active TB Another WHO-approved test that will soon be available at a subsidised ceiling price is the MGIT Liquid Culture

The Hain Genotype and MGIT Liquid Culture will help in deciding which alternative drugs should be given to patients who are resistant to first-line TB drugs

The GeneXpert test, on the other hand, has 98 per cent sensitivity (ability to detect every positive TB case) in smear-positive cases. And specificity (ability to correctly diagnose only the positive cases) is 99 per cent. The molecular test can provide reliable results in just about two hours.

the biggest advantage is its ability to identify rifampicin drug resistance. Rifampicin is one of the first-line drugs given to TB patients. And patients who are resistant to the drug are generally resistant to isoniazid drug (another first-line drug) too. Hence, the molecular test can serve as an excellent marker of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB).

MDR-TB is 1-3 per cent among fresh pulmonary cases and 13-17 per cent among previously treated cases in India

Largest space telescope to turn blind soon - The Hindu

The largest space telescope ever launched is due to stop operating later this month, bringing to a close more than 22,000 hours of observation in the far infrared and submillimetre wavelengths.

The Herschel Space Observatory, launched in May, 2009, will run out of its stores of liquid helium onboard, used to cool its three instruments to temperatures just above absolute zero the lowest temperature possible.

The frigid conditions are necessary to allow the instruments to track traces of cold gases and dust in the many star-forming pockets of the universe as well as probe the innards of distant supernovae.

An Ariane 5 rocket launched the telescope into the Lagrangian point L2 1.5 million km away, where gravitational pulls due to Earth and the Sun match to lock Herschel into a fixed point above Earth

It has three on-board instruments called PACS, SPIRE and HIFI. These instruments they have amassed a wealth of data, not to mention stunning images of budding stars and galaxies.

A rare phenomenon on the sea - The Hindu

Coral spawning, a rare phenomenon that is popularly referred to as sex-on-the-reef, has been recorded scientifically for the first time along the Lakshadweep islands on Indias west coast,

The occurrence, generally observed after full-moon nights once a year, is a magnificent phenomenon, which involves mass expulsion of colourful eggs and sperm clouds into the water by corals.

The gametes then rise to the ocean surface, spreading a colourful slick. During spawning, the eggs are fertilised and larvae formed. The larvae then float till they find suitable substrates (a place for an organism to live), settle there and form their own colonies, helping the corals to thrive.

End of R&D - The Hindu

Novartis will not invest in research and development (R&D) in India as the ecosystem to encourage innovation does not exist here, the company has said

The pharma major, which was denied a patent for its anti-cancer drug Glivec by the Supreme Court on Monday, said that while it would continue to invest in R&D globally, it hoped to get the right environment to do so here

India is a developing country and needs to encourage innovation. The verdict is not very encouraging and shows that the ecosystem to encourage innovation does not exist here. If investments have to flow into R&D, the ecosystem has to be right,

Patented products constitute a very small percentage of drugs sold in India and Indian companies such as Cipla and Natco Pharma make generic versions of Glivec and sell it at a fraction of the price sold by Novartis.

Right to affordable drugs upheld: activists - The Hindu

The court has recognised the right of patients to access affordable medicines over profits for big pharma companies

the Supreme Court delivered its judgment dismissing Swiss multinational company Novartis appeal for patent for its anti-cancer medicine imatinib mesylate or Gleevec.

the apex court has recognised the right of patients to access affordable medicines over profits for big pharmaceutical companies through patents

Our access to affordable treatment will not be possible if the medicines are patented. Novartis was seeking patent for the beta-crystalline form of imatinib mesylate, a drug used to treat chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), a type of blood cancer.

The Swiss companys price for its version of the drug, sold under the brand name Gleevec or Glivec, is Rs 1,20,000 or US $ 2,400 per month per patient, while generic versions are available at a cost of Rs. 8,000 (US $ 160) to Rs 12,000 (US $ 240) per month

The case is pertinent as it involved the interpretation of Section 3 (d) of the Patents Act, 1970, a public heath safeguard introduced by Parliament in 2005 to prevent evergreening or patenting of new forms of already known molecules.

It gives life to Parliaments intent of facilitating access to medicines and incentivising only genuine research. By refusing patent monopolies on minor changes to known molecules, this judgment will facilitate early entry of generic medicines into the market for other medicines and diseases too. The impact will be felt not only in India, but also across the developing world.

In the past, Section 3 (d) was used to disallow patents for minor modifications of several antiretroviral medicines used to treat HIV patients.

Right to affordable drugs upheld: activists - The Hindu

The court has recognised the right of patients to access affordable medicines over profits for big pharma companies

the Supreme Court delivered its judgment dismissing Swiss multinational company Novartis appeal for patent for its anti-cancer medicine imatinib mesylate or Gleevec.

the apex court has recognised the right of patients to access affordable medicines over profits for big pharmaceutical companies through patents

Our access to affordable treatment will not be possible if the medicines are patented. Novartis was seeking patent for the beta-crystalline form of imatinib mesylate, a drug used to treat chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), a type of blood cancer.

The Swiss companys price for its version of the drug, sold under the brand name Gleevec or Glivec, is Rs 1,20,000 or US $ 2,400 per month per patient, while generic versions are available at a cost of Rs. 8,000 (US $ 160) to Rs 12,000 (US $ 240) per month

The case is pertinent as it involved the interpretation of Section 3 (d) of the Patents Act, 1970, a public heath safeguard introduced by Parliament in 2005 to prevent evergreening or patenting of new forms of already known molecules.

It gives life to Parliaments intent of facilitating access to medicines and incentivising only genuine research. By refusing patent monopolies on minor changes to known molecules, this judgment will facilitate early entry of generic medicines into the market for other medicines and diseases too. The impact will be felt not only in India, but also across the developing world.

In the past, Section 3 (d) was used to disallow patents for minor modifications of several antiretroviral medicines used to treat HIV patients.

3D printing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Additive manufacturing or 3D printing[1] is a process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model.

3D printing is achieved using an additive process, where successive layers of material are laid down in different shapes.[2] 3D printing is considered distinct from traditional machining techniques, which mostly rely on the removal of material by methods such as cutting or drilling (subtractive processes)

A materials printer usually performs 3D printing processes using digital technology.

The technology is used in jewelry, footwear, industrial design, architecture, engineering and construction (AEC), automotive, aerospace, dental and medical industries, education, geographic information systems, civil engineering, and many other fields.

What is 3D Printing?

3D Printing is a form of additive manufacturing where a 3-dimensional object is created by laying down multiple layers of a material.

traditional manufacturing, additive manufacturing refers to any process that adds on layers instead of cutting them away. Additive manufacturing has been used for decades for rapid-prototyping, but had always been prohibitively expensive.

with the advent of 3D-printers, the creation of 3D objects has become much more accessible now even hobbyists, artists and small businesses can afford their own machines.

Designers and engineers continue pushing the limits of 3D printing. 3D Printers are still mainly used for rapid prototyping, but with vast improvements in speed, accuracy and pricing, its becoming increasingly common to see them used for final products.

With 3D Printing, almost anything can be produced. But some of the most common items include sculpture, machine parts, jewelry, furniture, medical casts (dental crowns), recreational goods (snowboards) and even clothing (body armor).

Promise of lithium batteries - The Hindu

Lithium (Li), the lightest metal known It is part of the batteries in cell phones, sensors in medical devices, laptops, automobiles, defence equipment and aircrafts.

Li-ion battery is in the news because of two incidents in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft

There was a fire in one aircraft parked in the airport and in the other smoke was detected after take-off. The US Federal Aviation Administration issued a directive to ground these planes and the National Transportation Safety Board is doing a complete investigation

Li-ion batteries are reliable and their failure rate is 1 in 10 million cells A battery contains several cells. Each cell consists of a cathode, an anode and a separator between the two, electrolyte and current collectors. The cell generates power due to the motion of Li-ions. The anode is graphite containing Li. A typical cathode (and the one used in dreamliner battery) is made up of lithium cobalt oxide. The electrolyte contains lithium salts in an organic solvent, which is flammable.

This is because Li reacts with water violently Li-ion battery delivers high power per volume or weight to start a jet engine fast But how do we make it safer? Energy is generated by a cell due to the motion of Li-ions from anode to cathode through the electrolyte and a separator which is a polymer of micrometer thickness. There are safer cathodes like lithium manganese oxide and lithium iron phosphate, but the voltage and energy density are lower

In general cathodes with high voltage have high oxidation strength which means poor safety.

There are many factors that lead to a short circuit with a consequent increase in temperature in the cell and ignition of electrolyte. Contaminants from manufacturing processes can form short circuit between electrodes.

Overcharging can cause reaction between cathode and electrolyte resulting in gases leading to thermal runaway. It can drive more ions from the cathode to anode leading to lithium metal plating.

There are many methods available to switch off the battery when it gets heated. In one approach polyethylene with a melting point of 135 degree C is inserted between two layers of separator. When the temperature rises to this value, polyethylene melts and closes the pores in the separator which prevents motion of Li ions and battery stops.

Non-flammable ionic liquid electrolytes can be used.

Green building blocks - The Hindu

Indias fast-growing cement industry can reduce its carbon emissions by nearly half by the middle of the century, according to a technology roadmap issued recently by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

Faced with massive infrastructure and housing requirements, India is the worlds fastest growing cement market and will likely remain in that position for the foreseeable future

This transition will also have energy benefits, reducing energy consumption by at least 275 petajoules,

The Indian cement industry has made a strong effort to reduce its carbon footprint. The milestones set out in this roadmap would enhance the countrys energy security by limiting the growth in energy consumption, and would further reduce the direct CO2 emissions intensity by about 45 per cent from current levels by 2050.

to achieve the proposed levels of efficiency improvements and emissions reduction, the government and industry must join hands to take collaborative actions in creating an investment climate that will stimulate the scale-up of financing required.

Successful ignition of indigenous cryogenic engine - The Hindu

Successful ignition of an indigenous cryogenic engine on Wednesday at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadus Kanyakumari district, in conditions simulating the high altitude atmosphere, has boosted the confidence of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to go ahead with the launch of a Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D5)

The hot-test took place in the newly-built high altitude test facility (HAT) at ISROs Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) at Mahendragiri.

The engine, which uses liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as propellants and develops a thrust of 7.5 tonnes, powers the GSLVs upper stage.

GSLV-D5, with the indigenous cryogenic engine, will put into orbit a communication satellite called GSAT-14.

the HAT facility was realised in a record time of one year. This facility is a unique one in the country for testing cryogenic engines, simulating the high altitude conditions.

Care that counts - The Hindu

ASHA workers are being trained to play life-saving roles in child-birth to help reduce maternal and infant mortality rates in a pilot project in Uttar Pradesh

The rising rates of maternal and neo-natal mortality are a concern and effective ways to stem the incidents are being sought after

Voluntary organisation Shramik Bharti launched a project called Home Based Post Natal Care (HBPNC) that provides better training to women community health workers (ASHAs) and family members to recognise post-delivery life threatening conditions at an early stage

provide some initial care and then rush for institutional medical help. It is known that the first six weeks are of critical importance for a mothers life and the first four weeks are equally so for a newborns life. The first 24 hours are regarded as extremely critical for both.

As a result post-delivery complications for mothers and children are quite common, the most frequent complaint being excessive bleeding. This is a frequent cause of maternal mortality.

In order to address this, Janni Suraksha Yojna has provided for regular visits by ASHAs to the homes of new mothers to provide them essential care before and after delivery.

As the ASHAs are not adequately trained to recognise life-threatening symptoms among new mothers and newborns in their training, the HBPNC project prepared a training module where 200 ASHAs of Rasoolabad were trained for thee days. Since ASHAs are encouraged to keep in touch with transport owners and community leaders in the village for emergencies

Two H7N9 avian flu deaths in China - The Hindu

Two men in Shanghai were reported to have died after contracting the H7N9 avian flu, marking the first known deaths from a rare and little-known type of bird flu.

the first known instances of the H7N9 flu being reported in humans. tests of the patients contacts had shown there were no signs that the flu could be contagious.

little research had been carried out on the rare flu so far and there was, as yet, no vaccine.