Science/Tech

Kolkata Tagore hub praised for starting without 'much money' (21:34)
Kolkata, June 19 (IANS) A central government official Wednesday lauded the efforts of the Tagore Centre for Natural Sciences and Philosophy (TCNSP) to go forward with its establishment "without much money".

President to visit Tripura (15:34)
Agartala, June 19 (IANS) President Pranab Mukherjee will undertake a two-day visit to the Left Front ruled Tripura from Thursday, an official said here Wednesday.

Scientists discover new TB drug (14:14)
Washington, June 19 (IANS) Scientists have hit upon a novel drug that attacks the tuberculosis bacteria, a finding that could prove to be an effective tool in treating the dreaded disease, says a study.

Himachal hydropower units remain shut for fourth day (13:52)
Shimla, June 19 (IANS) The country's largest hydropower plants in Himachal Pradesh remained shut for the fourth consecutive day Wednesday following a high silt level in the Sutlej river, triggering a power crisis in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.

'India's LED lighting demand to rise by 40 percent' (13:10)
Bhubaneswar, June 19 (IANS) The demand for light emitting diode (LED) lighting in India is expected to grow by about 40 percent per annum over the next five years, lighting solutions manufacturer NTL Lemnis said Wednesday.

3D-printed tiny batteries developed (12:38)
Washington, June 19 (IANS) US researchers announced they have successfully used the three-dimensional (3D) printing technique to print lithium-ion microbatteries the size of a grain of sand.

Cisco set to open new centre in Israel (12:14)
Jerusalem, June 19 (IANS) The US technology giant Cisco plans to open a new research and development center in Israel, the company's CEO John Chambers said during his meeting with Israel's Minister of Finance Yair Lapid.

Japanese firm to mass-produce synthetic spider silk (11:18)
Tokyo, June 19 (IANS/EFE) A Japanese company has developed a synthetic protein based on spider silk and plans to use it to mass-produce a highly resistant and flexible fiber in the near future.

Scientists identify 280 craters on moon (10:54)
Sydney, June 19 (IANS/EFE) A team of Australian scientists has identified 280 craters on the moon's surface using a combination of gravitational data and topographical images from satellites, media reports said.

New surgery for easy knee replacement (19:08)
New Delhi, June 18 (IANS) Surinder Rawat, a physical education teacher who had rheumatoid arthritis, got a new lease of life after doctors here performed a replacement surgery on both her knees using a new technology, a doctor said Tuesday.

TCS holds camp in US for science, maths students (18:56)
Washington, June 18 (IANS) India's leading IT services, Tata Consultancy Services, held its goIT summer camp programme in the Cincinnati area exposing students to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) related career paths.

Saudi Arabia e-security centre to prevent hacking (16:44)
Riyadh, June 18 (IANS) Saudi Arabia has set up a national e-security centre to protect the country's e-system from hackers, a media report said Tuesday.

280 new moon craters identified (16:24)
Sydney, June 18 (IANS) Using ultra-high resolution mapping techniques, scientists from Australia have identified 280 craters on the moon that have never been mapped before.

Half of NASA's new astronaut class are women (11:12)
Washington, June 18 (IANS/EFE) NASA announced Monday that it has selected its first new contingent of potential astronauts in four years and half of them are women.

Obama defends surveillance of American communications (09:30)
Washington, June 18 (IANS) As the US whistleblower accused President Barack Obama of worsening "abusive" practices, Obama defended extensive surveillance of US communications, saying it had disrupted multiple terrorist plots and had adequate checks and balances.

Facility to test bird hits on aircraft in Bangalore (23:10)
Bangalore, June 17 (IANS) The state-run Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and its National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) have jointly set up a research facility here to test bird strikes on aircraft using air guns, the institute said Monday.

Google offers new format to advertise Indian products (22:16)
Bangalore, June 17 (IANS) Global search engine Google is offering a new format in India to advertise products and brands for users, the company's Indian subsidiary said Monday.

North India power hit as Himachal hydro plants shut (19:22)
Shimla, June 17 (IANS) Himachal Pradesh's two major hydropower projects remained shut Monday due to high silt level in the Sutlej river, sparking a power crisis in Punjab, Haryana and Delhi.

China builds world's fastest supercomputer (16:02)
Beijing, June 17 (IANS) China Monday announced that it has built the world's fastest supercomputer which is capable of performing 33.86 quadrillion operations per second, surpassing the US Titan supercomputer.

Fauna that lived in Mayan times survive climate change (09:58)
Guatemala City, June 17 (IANS/EFE) Fauna that was prevalent at the height of the ancestral Mayan culture has survived prolonged droughts, hurricanes and the deleterious effects of climate change on biodiversity in the areas where the cities of that millennial culture stood, experts say.

Telecom scam fallout: Higher tariff, dented image (16:56)
By Aparajita Gupta
New Delhi, June 16 (IANS) The so-called 2G scam, where suspected government corruption in the award of telecom spectrum led to the cancellation of 122 service licences across the country by the Supreme Court, is one of the reasons for recent tariff hikes, apart from denting the global image of India's flourishing mobile phone industry, experts maintain.

Sam Pitroda awarded (20:16)
New Delhi, June 15 (IANS) Sam Pitroda, advisor to the prime minister, has been conferred with the Seventh IILM Distinguished Global Thinker award.

Scientists identify memory-boosting molecule in mice (12:02)
Los Angeles, June 15 (IANS) Scientists have identified a key memory-enhancing molecule in mice that could pave the way for boosting cognitive functions in humans, says a study.

Kudankulam's commissioning shifted to next month (21:50)
Chennai, June 14 (IANS) India's atomic power plant operator, the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) has again shifted the commissioning of the first unit at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) to the next month, instead of end June.

Bigflix's to beef up movie library size (18:36)
C0hennai, June 14 (IANS) With the number of registered users on its website touching around one million, the internet connectivity increasing in tier-two cities in the country and the subscriber numbers going up, Big Flicks Pvt. Ltd. is planning to increase the number of movie titles in its library by 1,000 to 3,000 this year, said a senior official.