2020 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2020 – January

 

SATELLITES LAUNCHES
SATELLITE NAME	COUNTRY	PURPOSE
Tongxin Jishu Shiyan Weixing -5 (TJSW-5)	China	China has successfully launched a new communication technology experiment satellite by its Long March-3B (also known as CZ [Chang Zheng]-3B) carrier rocket. The mission lifted off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province, a southwestern Chinese province. It was the 324th mission for the Long March series of carrier rockets.
GSAT- 30(Geosynchronous Satellites)	Guiana space center, French Guiana, South America (SA).	Arianespace, French Company launched a pair of communication satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) through Ariane 5 rocket, consisting of ISRO(Indian Space Research Organization) communication satellite GSAT-30(Geosynchronous Satellites) and EUTELSAT KONNECT.
		AIM: To provide high quality television, telecommunications and broadcasting services. The 3,357 Kg GSAT-30 derives its heritage from ISRO’s earlier INSAT/GSAT (Indian National Satellites/Geosynchronous Satellites) satellite series and will replace INSAT-4A in orbit equipped with 12 C(covers Gulf countries, Asian and Australian countries) and 12 Ku band(covers Indian mainland and island) transponders.

 

 

OTHER SCIENCE NEWS

 

ISRO to set its 2nd launch port in Thoothukodi district of Tamil Nadu

During the press conference in Bengaluru, Karnataka with ISRO Chairman K. Sivan, it has been announced that the second launch port of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) will be established in Thoothukodi district of Tamil Nadu to launch small satellite vehicles. This will come up in 2300 acres.

 

ISRO sets its fourth RAC-S in Karnataka

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) sets its fourth Regional Academic Centre for Space (RAC-S) at the National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NIT-K) at Surathkal in Mangaluru taluk. The centre helps for the advanced research in the areas of relevance to the future technological and programmatic needs of the Indian Space programme. ISRO has set its first RAC-S in Jaipur, second at Guwahati and third at Kurukshetra.

 

Two Coast Guard ships Annie Besant and Amrit Kaur commissioned at Kolkata

The two Indian Coast Guard Ships (ICGS) namely Annie Besant and Amrit Kaur were commissioned and deployed along the eastern coast by Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar at Khidderpore park, Kolkata, West Bengal. Annie Besant will be based at Chennai, Tamil Nadu under the operational and administrative control of the Commander, Coast Guard Region(East). It is commanded by Commandant (JG) Sunny Deo.Amrit Kaur will be based at Haldia, West Bengal under the operational and administrative control of the Commander,Coast Guard Region (North East). It is commanded by Commandant (JG) Himanshu

Mishra.

 

Shopper malware affects 14.23% Indian users: Kaspersky report

According to the researchers from cybersecurity and anti-virus solutions provider Kaspersky, a new Trojan malware application called ‘Shopper’ (‘Trojan-Dropper. AndroidOS.Shopper.a' ) has affected more than 14.23% Indian users. This malware boosts shopping app ratings, spreads ads, installs apps without the permission of the smart phone user. The malware has infected 28.46% (the most) of the users in Russia who use shopaholic app from October - November 2019. It is followed by Brazil (18.70%) and India (14.23%).

 

India lands LCA Tejas on INS Vikramaditya for the first time

Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas has made a successful landed on the India's biggest warship INS Vikramaditya. The maiden landing was conducted by Commodore Jaideep Maolankar.India becomes sixth nation to master the art of an arrested landing and ski-jump take off on the deck of a carrier after Russia, the United States (US), France, the United Kingdom (UK)and China.LCA was developed by Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) long with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

 

H9N2 virus: Indian scientists detect India's 1st case of infection in Maharashtra

Scientists of the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, Maharashtra have detected the 1st case of H9N2 virus ,a rare subtype of influenza virus A, in a 17-month-old boy in Maharashtra. The discovery has been published in the December 2019 issue of journal ‘Emerging Infectious Diseases’ of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr Varsha Potdar, senior scientist at NIV, is the lead author of the study along with Dr Pragya Yadav and Dr M S Chadha.

 

A 17-year-old intern at NASA, Wolf cukier discovers new planet ‘TOI 1338b’ 1300 light years away Wolf Cukier, a 17-year-old boy from New York (United States), has discovered a planet named “TOI 1338b” that is 1,300 light years away & about 6.9 times larger than Earth, on the 3rd day of his internship at NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). He used NASA's alien-hunting

space telescope TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) for his record breaking discovery. Another special thing is that the planet, which lies in the Pictor constellation, orbits 2 stars, one of which is 10 % larger than our Sun, while the other is much smaller and less bright. The planet orbits the pair of stars every 93 - 95 days.

 

IOC launches special NATO class diesel for Indian Navy

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has developed a special class diesel (HFHSD- IN 512) High Flash High Speed Diesel conforming to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) grade for use in ships and vessels of Indian Army. Vice Admiral Gurtej Singh Pabby, Indian Navy launched the HFHSD- IN 512 during an occasion in New Delhi. The new diesel results in a reduced carbon footprint.

 

NASA Discovers Potentially Habitable Earth-Sized World “TOI 700 d” in Star's 'Goldilocks' Zone Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has discovered an Earth-sized world ‘Goldilocks’ zone within the habitable range of the star. Scientists confirmed the find as TOI 700 d by using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope (SST). First, habitable-zone Earth-sized planet is TOI 700 d, the outermost planet 20% larger than Earth and orbits its star in 37 days. TOI 700 d is 100 light-years away from earth.

 

Gaganyaan Mission: ISRO to launch IDRSS satellites for space communication purpose

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO),the space agency of the Government of India (GoI), has planned to launch a new satellite series called “Indian Data Relay Satellite System (IDRSS)” for seamless communication for India’s first manned space mission ‘Gaganyaan’, which have a schedule to take off in 2022.

      IDRSS For Gangayaan Mission: It consists of 2 satellites, which will be deployed in phases. The 1st one planned to launch by the end of 2020 to track . Then the 2nd IDRSS satellite will be launched in 2021, which will set the platform for the main mission launch in 2022.

      4 astronauts have been selected from the India Air Force (IAF) for India's first manned space mission 'Gaganyaan', a Rs 10,000-crore project. The training will be provided to these astronauts in Russia in the third week of January 2020 after the medical test.

India’s 1st indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant to be commissioned by early 2021

The manufacturing of the country’s first indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant is likely to be commissioned by early 2021. Vikrant is currently under phase three of construction which involves setting to work of machinery and other equipment like power generation, propulsion and machinery. This carrier is being built at the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) Kochi, Kerala. The third phase of construction will go till acceptance of harbour, sea trials and aviation trial will also take a year and it will be fully operated by 2022.

 

LIGO detects collision of neutron stars for the 2nd time

A team of Scientists with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) and Virgo collaborations have detected gravitational waves due to collision of two neutron stars for the 2nd time. The first such gravitational-wave detection of merging neutron stars, called GW170817, took place in August 2017.

 

India's 1st Sukhoi-30 squadron to be stationed in Thanjavur, TN: IAF chief RKS Bhadauria

As per the Chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF), Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh (RKS) Bhadauria, the induction ceremony of a Sukhoi-30 MKIs (Su-30 MKI) squadron in the southern skies will take place in the presence of Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu (TN) on January 20,2020. The range of this will be in the Indian ocean region (IOR) up to Suez Canal. The Indian Air Force ‘s 222 Squadron, ‘The Tigersharks’ has been resurrected to be opertionalized Brahmos equipped Sukhoi-30 air superiority fighter with twin-engine.

 

WHO: TB diagnostic test ‘TrueNat’ developed in India has high accuracy

World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) Global Tuberculosis Programme has included an Indian Molecular assay (test or analysis) named “TrueNat” as its initial test to identify strain resistance of TB bacteria. The assay has been included in rapid communication document on Molecular Assays of the mentioned global TB programme and has high accuracy. It is a molecular diagnostic test for pulmonary and extrapulmonary TB and rifampicin-resistant TB developed by Goa-based Molbio Diagnostics with technical assistance from Global non-profit organisation (NPO) called Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND). The diagnostic tool was assessed by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). It is highly cost effective when compared to the GeneXpert test. Read full details here: WHO: TB diagnostic test ‘TrueNat’ developed in India has high accuracy.

 

Xenobots: World’s first living, self-healing robots

Scientists of the University of Vermont and Tufts University have created the world’s first living and self-healing robots Xenobots, using stem cells from frogs. It is named after the African clawed frog,

Xenopus laevis from which they took stem cells. Xenobots are new class of artifact: a living, programmable organism, which don't look like traditional robots. These are machines which are less than a millimeter (0.04 inches) in width and are small enough to travel inside human bodies. They can walk and swim, survive for weeks without food, and work together in groups.

 

Health ministry takes action for the recent novel coronavirus outbreak in China

Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) of govt. of India has initiated various measures as a precaution for the recent outbreak of the 2019 Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in China including screening at airports. The Joint Monitoring Group (JMG) under the Chairmanship of DGHS has also to assess the risk and also to review the preparedness in combating the virus. National Institute of Virology, Pune (Maharashta) will test samples of nCoV. Apart from China, Japan, Thailand and South Korea have reported cases of coronavirus and there are some suspected cases in Vietnam and Singapore also.

 

In a 1st, TSEC to use face recognition app in 2020 Telangana Municipal polls on pilot basis

The Telangana State Election Commission (TSEC) of the Indian state of Telangana, for the first time in India will use facial recognition in the Telangana Municipal polls to counter impersonation by the voters. This will be done on a pilot basis in selected 10 polling stations of Telangana’s Kompally Municipality of Medchal Malkajgiri district. The pictorial data collected during the process will be deleted from the memory of mobile phone used and also from the server of Telangana State Technology Services (TSTS).

 

POLNET 2.0 was inaugurated by the Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs (MHA) Nityanand Rai inaugurated revamped police communication services POLNET 2.0. It is armed with robust multi-media facility. POLNET 2.0 is a captive satellite-based network that provides video, audio and data connectivity across the country, especially in times of disasters when regular communication either gets jammed or crashes. POLNET

2.0  provides video-conferencing facility to four entities sitting at different locations across the country with Internet-enabled multimedia services.

 

World’s oldest ever mushroom fossil discovered in Congo, Africa

The researchers from the Universite Libre de Bruxelles in France have discovered the world’s oldest ever mushroom fossil in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Africa. The detail of fossilised remains of microscopic mushroom called mycelium in rocks dates between 715 and 810 million years ago and is published in the journal ‘Science Advances’.

 

1st unmanned mission will be launched in December 2020 as a preparation for 'Gaganyaan': ISRO According to the ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), chairman Dr Kailasavadivoo Sivan, ISRO would launch 2 unmanned missions in December 2020 and June 2021 in view of the launch of India’s first manned spacecraft “Gaganyaan” in December 2021. For this, ISRO has prepared women

robot ‘Vyom Mitra’ (means a friend in Sky) for sending into space. It is designed & developed by the ISRO’s Inertial Systems Unit in Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) in collboration with Indian Institute of Science (IIsc) Bengaluru, Karnataka, is half-humanoid and its body stops at the torso (the part of the human body where the limbs are attached) and without legs. France to train Indian flight surgeons for Gaganyaan expedition.

 

New mission launched by NASA & ESA to take first pics of Sun’s poles

NASA (National Aeronautics & Space Administration) and ESA (European Space Agency) will jointly launch a new spacecraft- “The Solar Orbiter Spacecraft” to take first pictures of Sun’s north and south poles. Its outlay is $1.5 billion. The spacecraft will be launched from Cape Canaveral, United States (US) on Feb 7, 2020 on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V Rocket. The solar orbiter mission has 7 year lifetime and will reach 24 degrees above the sun’s equator increasing to 33 degrees with additional 3 years extended mission operations. Solar Orbiter is built by Airbus Defense and Space, and contains 10 instruments.

 

Researchers at IIT-H develops essential-oil-based drug carrier to treat fungal diseases

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IIT-H), Telangana has developed a new essential-oil-based system of delivering medicines to the body for the treatment of fungal infections such as vaginal infections, diaper rash, athletes foot and nail fungus caused by the Candida family of fungi. Supported by the SERB (Scientific & Engineering Research Board) under

the Department of Science and Technology (DST) & Corporate social responsibility (CSR) support from AT&T, an American multinational conglomerate, this medication can even fights against fungi that have created immunity against traditional medicines. The research, published in the journal Materialia, has been led by Mudrika Khandelwal.

 

Qualcomm launches 3 new chipsets – Snapdragon 720G, 662 &460 with Indian GPS system NavIC

In a major step to Made in India GPS (Global Positioning System) alternative, Qualcomm, an american multinational chipset manufacturer, has launched 3 chipsets in India – Snapdragon 720G, 662 and 460, along with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). All 3 chipsets feature Wi-Fi 6 connectivity and Bluetooth 5.1 support &the most important thing is that these 3 chipsets of Qualcomm have been developed with support for ISRO’s Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC), a technology considered an advanced location positioning and navigation system than the GPS technology currently in use. Apart from NavIC, these chipsets will also support the widely used GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System).

 

NCRB Launched ‘Searching the missing persons’ & ‘Generate Vehicle NOC’ services.

NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) launched 2 police related Citizen centric services-- “Searching the missing persons" & "Generating vehicle NOC (No Objection Certificate)" on CCTNS (Crime & Criminal Tracking Network and Systems) platform. Shri Arvind Kumar, Director, Intelligence Bureau launched the online services and inaugurated Cyber Tipline Monitoring facility in NCRB, New Delhi. The online services can be accessed through ‘digitalpolicecitizenservices.gov.in’ portal or through a link in the existing ‘Digital Police Portal’.

      Missing Person Search:The citizens can search for their missing child/person in the national database in order to recover the unidentified person.

      Generate Vehicle NOC:It helps the buyer to know the status of the vehicle before its second hand purchase (suspicious or clear from police records).

 

OPPO signs MoU with IIT Hyderabad for research on 5G, AI

Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corporation Ltd (commonly referred as OPPO signed an MoU with the Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H), Telangana for research on new technologies such as 5G (5th Generation) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). It was signed by Mr. Tasleem Arif, Vice President and Head (R&D), OPPO India and Dr. Sumohana S. Channappayya, Dean (Research and Development), IIT Hyderabad.

 

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2020 – February

 

NATIONAL

In a first IAF’S AN-32 aircraft landed at Leh with indigenous bio-jet fuel

Indian Air Force’s (IAF) successfully operated AN-32 aircraft powered with 10% blend of Indian bio-jet fuel. This is the 1st time both engines of the aircraft were powered by bio-jet indigenous fuel. Aircraft was took-off from Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport, Leh because it was considered to be one of world’s highest and most difficult operational airfield. The test was conducted by a team of pilots from the Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE), Bengaluru, Karnataka.Bio-jet fuel is produced from non-edible ‘Tree Borne Oils’. They are grown and procured from the tribal areas of Chhattisgarh.

 

ISRO to unveil low-cost satellite launch vehicles

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced preparing low-cost launch vehicles where the first launch is expected to take place in the next four months in 2020. The cost of the launch vehicles ranges from Rs. 30-35 crores each and weighs 500kgs. ISRO has also announced in public at a 2-day space conclave named EDGE 2020, that it has built up the capacity to manufacture such launch vehicles in a turnaround time of around three weeks.

 

ICAR & IVRI released Classical Swine Fever (CSF) cell culture vaccine in New Delhi  Dr.Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary, Departments of Agricultural and Research Foundation (DARE) & Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Shri Atul Chaturvedi, Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD) released the Live attenuated Classical Swine Fever (CSF) cell culture Vaccine at Krishi Bhavan, New Delhi. The vaccine was developed by ICAR and IVRI (Indian Veterinary Research Institute).

 

IIT-Madras develops new AI tech to convert speech Impaired Humans Brain Signals into Meaningful Language

Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) researchers team lead by Vishal Nandigana, assistant Professor in Fluid Systems Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering have developed an Artificial Intelligence technology to convert Brain signals of Speech-Impaired Humans into simple Human Language English. This technology also helps the researchers to collect the information or action of Natural Reactions like Plant Photosynthesis and also what Nature is trying to communicate with us, this helps to predict Monsoons, Earthquakes, Tsunami and other Natural calamities by converting their signals into Human Language.

 

IIT-H finds molecule to cure rare ALS neurodegenerative disease

Researchers from IIT-H, Telangana (Indian Institute of Technology- Hyderabad) had found a molecule called “AIM-4” that can help in the treatment of rare neurodegenerative disease called “Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis” (ALS) known as “Lou Gehrig’s disease”. ALS is a neurodegenerative disorder that severely affects voluntary movement of muscles & leads to paralysis and death.

 

IT department introduced e-calculator to compare due tax under new and old regime

Income Tax (IT) Department launched an e-calculator for individuals to estimate their tax liability for new tax slabs without claiming deductions & exemptions for ITR (Income Tax Return) filing. The calculator, with a comparative table comparing the taxes of the old and new tax for the financial year (2020-21) has been hosted on the official e-filing website of the department. The web portal is used for filing electronic income tax returns (ITRs) by individuals and various other taxpayers.

Indian leopard population declined by 75-90% as per study conducted by CWS & WII

Scientists found that the Leopard population has decreased to 75-90% in India over the past 120 to 200 years, suggesting that leopards need similar conservation attention like tigers in India. The study was conducted by scientists from the Centre for Wildlife Sanctuaries (CWS), Bengaluru, Karnataka and the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) Uttarakhand, Dehradun.

 

NCL sets up R&D centre for sustainable coal mining

Coal India Limited (CIL) subsidiary NCL (Northern Coalfield Limited) sets up a R&D (Research and Development) centre named ‘SARAS’ (Science and Applied Research Alliance and Support) in collaboration with IIT (BHU)-Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh (UP). Shri. Prabhat Kumar Sinha, NCL, CMD (Chairman and Managing Director), announced the new (R&D) centre, at the World Confederation of Productivity Science seminar, New Delhi, India.

 

Ananth Technologies first Indian private firm to build foreign-owned satellites

Aerospace firm Anand technologies (ATL), Hyderabad has signed a deal to build 6 foreign-owned satellites in India. This is the 1st time a private firm is making satellites for global customers. The firm will soon open a satellite making facility in Bengaluru. Ananth Technologies will build a foreign-owned satellite weighing between 50 kg and 250 kg for customers in Sweden and France & integrate satellites around 30% lower costs. The company is a supplier of systems to Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

 

BARC’s Bhabha Kavach inducted in CISF

During a ceremony held at CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) UNIT, BARC Camp, Trombay in Mumbai, Maharashtra, Dr. Ajit Kumar Mohanty, Director BARC handed over 55 Bhabha Kavach bullet proof jackets to Rajesh Ranjan, Director General, CISF. Developed by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), it is India’s lightest level III plus bullet proof jacket (6.8 kgs nominal weight) based on indigenous hot pressed boron carbide and carbon nanotube technologies. It can stop 7.62 x 39 mm hard steel core bullets fired from AK 47 rifles, 5.56 x 45mm Ball MK M bullets of Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) rifles and Self Load Rifles (SLR)/Bolt action rifles with a back face signature of less than 15 mm.

 

ISRO to launch 10 surveillance satellites in 2020-21

As per the annual report of the Department of Space, ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) is planning to launch 10 earth observation satellites space surveillance feature during 2020-21 including first ever Geo Imaging Satellite GISAT-1. For FY20-21, ISRO has been allotted the highest-ever budgetary outlay of Rs 13,480 crore by Union Ministry of Finance.

 

Lithium reserve found in Mandya near Bengaluru

The Researchers of India’s Atomic Energy Commission have found lithium reserves of 14,100 tonnes in Mandya, Bengaluru, Karnataka. Lithium is a rare metal used for manufacturing batteries for electric vehicles. India currently imports all its lithium needs, and these reserves will be useful to promote clean-energy vehicles. India has set up Khanij Bidesh India Limited to source and acquire mines in Argentina (Buenos Aires), Bolivia (Sucre) and Chile (Santiago).

 

Cabinet approved Procurement of 24 US made MH-60R Seahawk helicopters

The Cabinet Committee on Security headed by the Prime Minister of India Shri. Narendra Modi has approved the acquisition of 24 Sikorsky MH (Maritime Helicopters)-60R(Romeo) seahawk multi-role Helicopters from The United States, worth of USD 2.6 billion (approximately Rs.1871 crores) for Indian Navy. Lockheed Martin, who built the helicopters for the US, will be the principal contractor for the sale. The helicopters will be procured through the foreign military sales (FMS) method administered by The US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).

IRCTC ‘ASKDISHA’ upgraded to converse with Railway Customers in Hindi Language

Indian Railways Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) upgraded ASKDISHA (Digital Interaction to Seek Help Anytime) in Hindi language by voice as well as text in order to enhance the customer services and also converse with customers in the e-ticketing site (www.irctc.co.in). In order to resolve the queries of railway passengers over the internet related to the various services offered, IRCTC introduced Artificial Intelligence based ASKDISHA chatbot in October 2018. It was initially launched in English language.

 

4,000-year-old crafts village unearthed near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh by Banaras University The Banaras Hindu University (BHU) Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology Professor, Anil Kumar Dubey and his team discovered a 4000-year-old urban settlement, which is mentioned as craft villages as per Ancient texts, in Babhaniyav village, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. On the preliminary survey of the site, BHU found a temple which belongs to the 5th Century AD through 8th Century AD, potteries which are 4000-year-old and walls which are 2000-year-old.

 

INCOIS launched three new advance warning systems

The Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad has launched 3 new ocean based specialised products for the benefit of fishermen & people living in the coastal areas of South India. The 3 warning systems are Small Advisory and Forecast Services System (SVAS), Swell Surge Forecast System (SSFS) and Algal Bloom Information Service (ABIS).

      SVAS is aimed at improving the operations of numerous small marine vessels, particularly fishing vessels.

      SSFS is designed to predict the kallakkadal or swell waves in the coastal region.

      ABIS provides information on harmful algal blooms that tend to cause respiratory problems in the coastal population.

 

Union Minister of Defence Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurates new Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Production Hangar at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) complex in Bengaluru

Union Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the new Light Combat Helicopter

(LCH) Production Hangar at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) complex in Bengaluru, karnataka. LCH is designed & developed by HAL, a Defence Public Sector Undertaking (DPSU). LCH is a 5.5 ton class combat helicopter powered by 2 Shakti engines. LCH TD (Technology Demonstrator) – 1 is the first attack helicopter in India to land in Forward bases at Siachen, 4700 metres above the sea level with 500 kg Load on March 29,2010.

 

Astronomers detect biggest explosion in the Universe since the Big Bang in Ophiuchus galaxy cluster

An international team of Astronomers including from the Curtin University node of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research in Perth, Australia, have discovered biggest explosion seen in the universe since the Big Bang. The explosion occurred in the Ophiuchus galaxy cluster, 390 million light- years from Earth. The discovery has been published in The Astrophysical Journal & Lead author of the study was Dr Simona Giacintucci, from the Naval Research Laboratory in America. Astronomers used 4 telescopes for the discovery of explosion including Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) in India.

 

INTERNATIONAL

NASA decommissioned its Spitzer Space Telescope after 16 years

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has decommissioned its Spitzer Space Telescope. The telescope which was used to study the universe by detecting cosmic infrared radiation for more than 16 years was first launched in 2003. Spitzer was planned to be decommissioned in 2018 in anticipation of the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), but as JWST launch mission was postponed spitzer was given 5th and final extension till 2020.

 

UAE discovers new natural ‘Jebel Ali gas field’ between Abu Dhabi, Dubai

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has discovered huge shallow gas resources called ‘Jebel Ali gas field’ with estimated reserves of 80 trillion standard cubic feet spanning an area of 5,000 square kilometres (sqkm) in the cross-border area of the Emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), the government-owned energy giant, will jointly develop the reservoir with distributor the Dubai Supply Authority (DSA).

 

World’s oldest Bamboo Fossil Discovered turns out to be Conifer

A fossil of leafy branch was discovered in Eocene, Patagonia in 1941, at that time of Examination it considered as bamboo’s fossil and still it became the oldest bamboo of the world, but in recent Examination of that fossil by Dr. Peter Wilf from Pennsylvania state university revealed the real nature of the plant’s fossil (chusquea oxyphylla name of the fossil) and it was published in open-access journal Phytokeys. It needs a new name, with the priority of the older name, he combined Chusquea oxyphylla with Retrophyllum spiralifolium (fossil’s genus discovered by Wilf) to come up with Retrophyllum oxyphyllum. Retrophyllum is a genus of six living species of rainforest conifers.

 

NASA astronaut Christina Koch returns to Earth after record longest stay in ISS

NASA’s (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) astronaut Christina Koch(41 years) from United States(US)who made the 1st all female space walk in 2019 landed in Kazakh desert steppe of Kazakhstan in a Soyuz MS-13 capsule. She has landed after making a record of longest stay on the International Space Station (ISS). She made her landing after ending a 328 days mission in space.

 

Astronomers discover monster galaxy XMM-2599 from early universe

International team of astronomers led by scientists at the University of California, United States (US) has discovered a monster galaxy dubbed as XMM-2599. This galaxy existed around 12 billion years ago just 1.8 billion years after the formation of the universe. The details of this discovery have been published in the Astrophysical Journal. The detailed measurement of XMM-2599 was taken using spectroscopic observations from the W. M. Keck Observatory’s powerful Multi-Object Spectrograph for Infrared Exploration or MOSFIRE.

 

Iran unveils new ballistic missile ‘Raad-500’; dedicated to former Major General Qasim Sulemani

In the midst of increased tension with the US (United States), Iran’s Revolutionary Guards has launched a short-range ballistic missile, “Raad-500” having a power generation engine ‘Zoheir’ (which is made of alloy) to put the satellite into orbit. Zoheir is lighter than the steel engine built earlier, so it is much easier for the missile to catch fast speed. It has been dedicated to the former head Quds Force, a unit of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Major General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a drone strike by the US in Baghdad airport on January 3, 2020.

 

NASA’s ‘SuperCam’ to study mineralogy of Mars during Mars 2020 rover mission

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is all set to send a new laser-toting robot named ‘SuperCam’ to Mars for studying mineralogy and chemistry from up to about 20 feet (7 meters) away, to help scientists in finding the signs of fossilized microbial life on the Red Planet i.e. Mars. SuperCam, a rock-vaporizing instrument is a part of seven instruments aboard the Mars 2020 rover.

 

US scientists discover the newborn massive planet closer to earth called “2MASS 1155-7919 b” Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), in Rochester, New York, US (Uinted States) have detected the nearest-known ‘baby giant planet’ called 2MASS 1155-7919 b, just 330 light-years from Earth. It is located in the Epsilon Chamaeleontis Association.The scientists discovered this very young exoplanet by using data from Gaia space observatory. The study has been published in the journal Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society.

 

Netherlands Scientists discovered new snail species; named after Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg

A group of scientists with Naturalis Biodiversity Center,a research center on biodiversity based in Leiden, the Netherlands, have discovered a new species of land snail and named it “Craspedotropis gretathunbergae” in honour of the young Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg for her efforts to raise awareness about climate change. The snails have been found near the research center at Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre in Brunei. The newly discovered species belong to the group of caenogastropods. The description of the snail published in the Biodiversity Data Journal.

 

Scientists discover breathable oxygen in galaxy outside of Milky Way for 1st time

A team of astronomers at China’s Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, led by Junzhi Wang has identified molecular oxygen in a galaxy outside the Milky Way.The team identified the presence of molecular oxygen by analyzing light waves that had reached Earth from Markarian 231, a galaxy around 581 million light years away. The discovery has been published in Astrophysical Journal. The light wave readings were taken at two different locations: the IRAM (Institute for Radio Astronomy in the Millimeter Range) 30-meter telescope in Granada, Spain, and the Northern Extended Millimeter Array telescope in the French Alps.

 

HPF validated its 1st exoplanet called G 9-40b

Habitable-Zone Planet Finder (HPF) ,an astronomical spectrograph installed on the 10-meter Hobby- Eberly Telescope at McDonald Observatory in Texas, Unites States(US) & built by Penn State University scientists, has validated its 1st planet (exoplanet) called G 9-40b. The planet G 9-40b, is about twice the size of the Earth, but likely closer in size to Neptune, orbiting a nearby low mass bright M-dwarf star (100 light years from Earth) with an orbital period of 6 Earth-days.

 

Astronomers discovered a mini-moon or planet’s 2nd moon, “Dubbed 2020 CD3”

Mini- moon or planet’s 2nd moon “Dubbed 2020 CD3” was discovered by Kacper Wierzchos and Teddy Pruyne of the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) in Arizona, US.It is an asteroid about the size of the car & its diameter is about 1.9-3.5 metre. It is a temporary moon, dissimilar to our permanent moon which will break free of Earth’s orbit & go off on its own way.

 

Astronomers at UBC Astronomy club discovers 17 new planets, including earth-sized world A team of Astronomers including a student Michelle Kunimoto at University of British Columbia (UBC) astronomy in Canada has discovered 17 new planets, including a potentially habitable Earth- sized rocky body that may have liquid water, by combing through data collected by NASA’s (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Kepler Space Telescope, which was launched in 2009, and retired in October 2018. The findings has been published in ‘The Astronomical Journal’.The finding also includes one such rare planet named ‘KIC-7340288 b’ which is one and a half times the size of Earth and in the habitable zone of its star & one of only 15 small habitable zone planets found in the Kepler Telescope data till now, however it is 1,000 light-years away.

 

8,000 years old Carbon founded inside The Yongle Blue Hole (YBH)

Peng Yao & his team at the Ocean University of China in Qingdao found 8,000 years old Carbon inside The Yongle Blue Hole (YBH), the world’s deepest blue hole, in the South China Sea. YBH has a depth of 300 metres from top to bottom which puts down Dean’s Blue Hole in Bahamas of 202 metres depth from the position of the world’s deepest blue hole.

 

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2020 – March

SATELLITES LAUNCHES

 

SATELLITE NAME	COUNTRY	PURPOSE
Chandrayaan-3	India	According to the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Jitendra Singh, a possible schedule for the launch of Chandrayaan-3 is planned to be implemented in the first half of 2021. Chandrayaan-3 will be designed to increase design, capacity with a cost of around Rs 610 crore, including Rs 360 crore for the launch rocket. ISRO also decided to launch in the same area where Chandrayaan-2 launched, and would have a lander, rover and propulsion module like its predecessor.
Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF)-6	United States (US)	The United States (US) Space Force launched its 1st national security mission on March 26, 2020 by sending an ultra-secure military communication satellite into orbit called Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF)-6 (developed by Lockheed martin) from Cape Canaveral, Florida on the Atlas V551 rocket.

 

NATIONAL

 

RaIDer-X, a new explosive detection device unvieled in National Workshop on Explosive Detection (NWED-2020) held in Pune, Maharashtra

RaIDer-X (Rapid Identification Detector), is a new explosive detection device with a capability to detect explosives from a stand-off distance was unveiled during the National Workshop on Explosive Detection (NWED-2020). It is co-developed by High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) Pune and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, Karnataka.

      National Workshop on Explosive Detection (NWED-2020) was held in Pune, Maharashtra which was inaugurated by Secretary, Department of Defence Research &Development and Chairman Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) Dr G Satheesh Reddy. The two-day workshop has been organised by HEMRL in Pune, Maharashtra on its diamond jubilee celebration.

 

SCTIMST develops Flow Diverter Stents Technology for the treatment of Aneurysms of brain

A research team of Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute of Medical Science and Technology (SCTIMST),Thiruvananthapuram, an Institute of National Importance under the Department of Science and Technology has developed an innovative intracranial flow diverter stent named as Chitra Flow Diverter for the treatment of aneurysms of the blood vessels of the brain. The new technology is ready for transfer & further testing in animals, followed by human trials. Intracranial aneurysm is a localized ballooning, bulging or dilation of arteries in the brain caused by progressive weakening of the inner muscles of the wall of blood vessels.

 

AI-powered drone developed by IIT Madras team counters rogue drones

Researchers of IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Madras team developed AI (Artificial Intelligence) powered drone to counter ‘rogue drones’ (unregulated unmanned aerial vehicles). The AI-powered drone was designed by a team mentored by Dr Ranjith Mohan, Assistant Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering. The AI-powered drone tracks rogue drones visually and hack their GPS (Global Positioning System) navigation system & also changes the latitude, longitude, altitude & time of the rogue drones

 

IASST researchers have found endophytic Actinobacteria -to replace fertilizers & fungicides in tea plants

Researchers team led by Dr. Debajit Thakur from Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST) Guwahati, an autonomous institute under Department of Science & Technology found endophytic Actinobacteria in relation to tea plants & related genera, Eurya to find potent plant growth-promoting strains. The application of this bacterium will reduce chemical inputs in Tea plantation & can be used in management & sustainability of Tea crops.

 

ARCI develops Fuel Cell Technology for Disaster Management

Scientist of International Advanced Research for Powder Metallurgy & New Materials (ARCI) an autonomous Research & Development (R&D) centre of Department of Science and Technology (DST), developed Fuel Cell Technology named as Polymer Electrolyte Membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) for Disaster Management. PEMFC has operational capability even at low-temperatures with applications in decentralised power generation systems.

 

Scientists at ARCI- Hyderabad develops ‘solar receiver tube technology’ for industrial process heat

Scientists at the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), Hyderabad (Telangana), has developed a cost-effective ‘solar receiver tube technology’ that absorbs solar radiation and converts it into heat for the targeted applications, especially in industries. ARCI has filed 2 patent applications for this technology and inked an MoU with Greenera Energy India Private Limited for technology transfer, that aims to develop the solar receiver tube for wider market absorption.

Scientists from INST develops starch-based ‘hemostat’ material to stop rapid blood loss during accidents

Scientists from the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science & Technology, developed a starch-based ‘hemostat’ material which absorbs excess fluid by concentrating the natural clotting factors in the blood that stops the rapid blood loss.

The Product is developed Dr. Ghosh’s Team.

Microsoft & US CDC ties-up to create a COVID-19 self-screening bot, “Clara”

The United States Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) partnered with CDC Foundation and Microsoft’s Azure healthcare bot service has introduced an AI (Artificial Intelligence) based bot named “Clara” [the coronavirus self-checker]. The bot is currently available in the US on the CDS website. In India, Apollo hospitals have introduced a similar self-assessment test based on advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO) & the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare India for the users to know the risk level of getting the infection.

 

Pune based ARI scientists develop biofortified high-protein wheat variety ‘MACS 4028’

A team of Scientists from Agharkar Research Institute (ARI) in Pune, Maharashtra, have developed ‘MACS 4028’, a biofortified wheat variety, which shows high-protein content of around 14.7% good nutritional quality having zinc 40.3 ppm, and iron content of 40.3 ppm and 46.1ppm (parts per million) respectively. The development done by the scientist has been published in the Indian Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding.

ARCI, Hyderabad develops ‘ultrafast laser surface texturing technology’ to improve the fuel efficiency of IC engines

International Advanced Centre for Powder Metallurgy & New Materials (ARCI), Hyderabad (Telangana), which functions as a grants-in-aid institution of the Government of India’s Department of Science & Technology (DST), has developed ‘ultrafast laser surface texturing technology’, which can enhance the efficiency of fuel in internal combustion (IC) engines by reducing friction.

 

INTERNATIONAL

 

Doctors uses CRISPR technology to cure blindness for the very first time

Doctors from Oregon Health and Science Institute, Portland uses gene editing tool CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) technology to cure blindness who have suffered from Leber congenital amaurosis. Leber congenital amaurosis is the Blindness in early childhood.

 

Nasa’s named Mars 2020 rover as Perseverance

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) announced the name of the 5th Mars (red planet) rover as Perseverance. Previously the rover was known by its codename as Mars 2020. The name was suggested by Alexander Mather, 7th standard student and was announced by Nasa’s director of science, Thomas Zurbuchen at an event in Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia.

 

Swiss scientists discover rain of molten iron on distant exoplanet ‘WASP-76b’

A team of Scientists from the Astronomy Department of the University of Geneva (Switzerland) along with the teams in Portugal, Italy and Spain, have detected liquid iron rain on the highly heated exoplanet WASP-76b. The finding has been published in Journal Nature.

 

NASA’s CNEOS detects 4 asteroids approaching the earth

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Centre for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) identifies 4 asteroids namely, 2020 FK, 2020 FS, 2020 DP4 & 2020 FF1 approaching the earth which follows Earth-intersecting orbits.

 

After Covid-19 pandemic “Hantavirus” death reported in China

China’s Yunnan province has reported a death due to Hantavirus infection (which spreads from rodents), this is just few days after spread of deadly Coronavirus around the world. Rodents are a type of small mammal with sharp front teeth which include mouse, squirrel, or beaver, hamster etc.

Hantavirus is not a new virus and it does not spread from person to person. As per United States’ (US) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Hantavirusis spread mainly by rodents and can cause hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS), and haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) to the infected person.

 

 

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2020 – April

SATELLITES LAUNCHES

 

SATELLITE NAME	COUNTRY	PURPOSE
Falcon 9 rocket	Kennedy Space Center in Florida, US	SpaceX a private American aerospace company, has successfully launched 60 Starlink broadband satellites aboard Falcon 9 rocket from the Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Kennedy Space Center in Florida, US (United States). Starlink aims to provide low cost internet in some parts of US and Canada.
Noor	Iran	Iran launched its 1st military satellite into orbit named “Noor” (means ‘light’). The satellite has successfully reached an orbit of 425 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. It was launched by launch vehicle named Qased (means ‘messenger’) from a space center in Dasht-e Kavir, Iran’s largest desert.
Tainwen-1	China	China National Space Administration (CNSA) has named its first Mars exploration mission as “Tainwen-1” and also released its logo “Lanxingjiutian” during the online celebration of “Space Day” which marks the 50th anniversary of the launch of the country’s first satellite Dong Fang Hong-1 in 1970.

 

NATIONAL

Pune Woman behind First Indian made testing tool “Pathodetect Covid-19 Kit”

Virologist Minal Dakhave Bhosale the research and development chief of Mylab Discovery Solutions in Pune, headed the team which designed corona virus testing kit called ‘Mylab PathoDetect COVID-19 Qualitative PCR kit’ in just 6 weeks and it can provide results in just 2.5hours. The kit is also known as the Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests. MyLab is the first Indian company has received full approval to make and sell Covid-19 testing kits.

 

IISc Bengaluru develops indigenous ventilator prototype: COVID-19 crisis

The scientists and students of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru have developed a prototype of an indigenous ventilator under project “Praana”, to help patients with lung damage due to COVID-19 infection. Ventilators are developed to avoid a shortage of internationally imported components (pneumatic and electronic hardware, sensors & actuators) that will halt the mass production of ventilators in the country. DRDO develops bio suit with seam sealing glue for personnel in front line combat COVID-19 safe The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed a bio suit with self-sealing seam to keep the medical, paramedical and other personnel engaged in combating COVID-19, safe from the deadly virus. This Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) has been prepared with the help of textile, coating and nanotechnology. The suit has cleared the testing for protection against synthetic blood which follows the criteria defined for body suits by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).

 

PIB sets up COVID-19 fact check unit, started daily bulletin

Press Information Bureau (PIB) under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has constituted a COVID-19 Fact Check Unit (FCU) to prevent dissemination of fake facts and news related to the COVID- 19 pandemic. The unit is headed by the PIB Director General (DG), Nitin Wakankar.

 

Pune based company develops technology- “Scitech Airon negative ion generator”

Jclean weather Technology private limited, company of Science & Technology (Scitech) Park, Pune has developed a technology- “Scitech Airon negative ion generator” to control viral, bacterial and fungal infections in closed environments can clean the air & disinfect areas caused by COVID-19 positive cases & suspects. It is devoped under Department of Science and Technology’s (DST) NIDHI-PRAYAS program.

 

Bione launches India’s 1st home screening test kit for COVID-19

Bengaluru based startup Bione, a genetic and microbiome testing firm has launched India’s 1st home screening test kit for COVID-19 & is approved by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The catridge provided can read the results within 5-10 minutes. The prices of the kit range from Rs 2,000 to 3,000 & it will be delivered within 2-3 days of ordering.

 

Coronavirus: IIT Roorkee in association with AIIMS-Rishikesh prepares low-cost portable ventilator ‘Prana-vayu’

IIT (Indian Institute of Technology)- Roorkee, Uttarakhand in collaboration with AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Science) Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, has developed a low-cost portable ventilator called ‘Prana-vayu’ costing just Rs.25,000.

 

Indian Railways’ RCF unit developed low-cost ventilator ‘Jeevan’ to fight COVID-19

The Indian Railways’ coach producing unit Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala in Punjab has developed a low-cost ventilator ‘Jeevan’ to combat covid-19 crisis. The cost of “Jeevan” is around Rs 10,000 without the compressor and it will not rise over Rs 30,000 even after adding a few more indicators. The ventilator is now awaiting the final clearance from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Jeevan will produce low cost-effective service as other ventilators cost between 5-15 lakhs.

 

Start-up Aerobiosys Innovations at IIT-Hyderabad develops low-cost ventilator called ‘Jeevan Lite’

Aerobiosys Innovations Private Limited, a start-up incubated at The Center for Healthcare Entrepreneurship (CfHE) in the Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H)– Telangana, has designed a low-cost portable emergency ventilator called ‘Jeevan Lite’ which can be run through mobile app with Internet access and it can run on battery for 5 hours in case of power cut.

 

DRDO develops Personnel Sanitisation Enclosure & Full-Face Mask: COVID-19

Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) has developed Personnel Sanitisation Enclosure (PSE), Full Face Mask (FFM) for healthcare professionals against the COVID-19 pandemic. PSE is a portable full body disinfection chamber which enables decontaminating a person at a time, it is developed by Vehicle Research Development Establishment (VRDE), Ahmednagar with the help of of DH Limited. FFM was developed by DRDO’s Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad and Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL), to protect healthcare professionals handling COVID-19 patients.

 

DST set up CAWACH at SINE, IIT-B for supporting startups with funding to tackle COVID-19

The National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) of Department of Science and Technology (DST) has nominated Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE), an umbrella organisation at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay for the formulation of Centre for Augmenting WAR with COVID-19 Health Crisis (CAWACH).

 

Commerce Ministry designs online platform to issue certificate of origin for exporters

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has created an online platform to issue key documents required for exports to countries with which India has trade agreements. It is designed as a single-point access for all Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs), all designated Certificate of Origin (CoO) issuing agencies and for all export products to facilitate shipment during the COVID-19 crisis. It is accessible at https://coo.dgft.gov.in, with effect from April 7, 2020.

 

Larsen & Toubro gets big contract from Indian Army to install state-of-the-art IT enabled network

Indian multinational conglomerate company Larson & Toubro has received a large order from the Indian Army to install state-of-the-art IT (Information Technology) based state-of-the-art systems, which will be used to operate the armed force network under the ‘Network of Spectrum (NFS)’.

 

DRDO & Wipro 3D team together to create full face shield for healthcare personnel treating coronavirus patients

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), an agency under Defence Ministry has partnered with private firm Wipro 3D to create a full-face shield, which is meant to be helpful for doctors and nurses who are treating patients infected with COVID-19.

 

CSIR- National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) Pune ties up with BEL to produce medical devices The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) constituent Lab, CSIR-NCL (National Chemical Laboratory) Pune, Maharashtra has developed two new medical components in collaboration with Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), Pune viz: Digital IR Thermometer & Oxygen enrichment unit (OEU) - developed by CSIR-NCL with Genrich membranes.

 

COVID-19: JNCASR develops antimicrobial coating to stop spread of viruses

The Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore, an autonomous institute under Department of Science and Technology (DST) developed an antimicrobial coating, which controls the spread of deadly influenza virus and COVID-19.

 

Indian Immunologicals ties up with Australian university to develop vaccine for Covid-19 Hyderabad- based Indian Immunologicals Limited (IIL), a subsidiary of National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), has inked agreement with Australia’s Griffith University to develop a Live Attenuated SARS CoV-2 Vaccine or COVID- 19 vaccine using the latest codon de-optimisation technology.

 

Centre launched Aarogya Setu IVRS for non-smart phones in collaboration with TN govt and IIT- Madras

Department of Telecommunication (DoT) under Ministry of Communications in partnership with Tamil Nadu (TN) government and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has launched its complementary initiative named “Aarogya Setu Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS)”. The basic difference between both apps is that Aarogya Setu is for smartphones while IVRS is its helpline version for non-smart phones. The Aarogya Setu IVRS helpline number is 9499912345. Currently, this is available only in Tamil Nadu.

 

Biofortified carrot variety ‘Madhuban Gajar’ developed by Vallabhhai Vasrambhai Marvaniya- farmer scientist

Vallabhhai Vasrambhai Marvaniya, a farmer scientist from Junagadh district, Gujarat has developed Biofortified carrot variety named ‘Madhuban Gajar’ with high β-carotene (277.75 milligram per kilogram-mg/kg) and iron content (276.7 mg/kg). He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2019 for his extraordinary work & National Award in 2017.

 

Bharat Biotech ties-up with FluGen & US virologists to develop intranasal vaccine for coronavirus ‘CoroFlu’

Hyderabad based Bharat Biotech International Ltd, a leading vaccines & bio-therapeutics manufacturers in India, has joined hands with FluGen Inc, US and virologists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Wisconsin, US, to begin the development and testing of a new intranasal vaccine for COVID-19 called ‘CoroFlu’.

 

DST to fund for development of Nasal passage gel for COVID-19

The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has approved the funding of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay team to develop a Nasal passage gel to limit transmission of the Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus, the causative agent of COVID-19.

 

COVID-19: SCTIMST scientists develop disinfection gateway & face mask disposal bin

Kerala based Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Science and Technology (SCTIMST) an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) have designed two technologies of- disinfection gateway and face mask disposal bin to fight COVID-19 pandemic.

 

BEL & AIIMS- Rishikesh jointly develops remote health monitoring system for coronavirus cases The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)– Rishikesh (Uttarakhand) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), an Indian state-owned aerospace and defence company, have jointly developed India’s 1st remote health monitoring system. With this help, the remote parameters of coronavirus (COVID-19)- infected patients quarantined in homes and hospitals can be detected from anywhere.

 

COVID-19: IIT-Bombay researchers develop ‘digital stethoscope’ which can hear heartbeat from a distance

A team from Biomedical Engineering & Technology incubation Centre (BETiC) at the Indian Institute of Technology of Bombay (IIT-B) has developed a “digital stethoscope” that can listen to hear beats from a distance and record. It minimises the risk to doctors and health care professionals who are handling COVID- 19 patients.

 

Google and Apple ties-up to create coronavirus contact tracing technology by smartphone

Apple Inc., an American multinational technology company, has partnered with Google LLC have jointly create a COVID-19 contact tracing technology using Bluetooth signals. Both companies are launching a tracing tool for Google Android phones and Apple iPhones through which it will be easy to notify people via smartphone if they meet any patient infected with covid-19.

Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog & National Informatics Centre (NIC) jointly launches CollabCAD in ATL schools

Atal Innovation Mission, NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog and National Informatics Centre (NIC) jointly launched online tool named CollabCAD in ATL (Atal Tinkering Lab) schools. The aim of this initiative is to provide a great platform to students of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) across the country to create and modify 3D (3- Dimension) designs with free flow of creativity and imagination.

 

DST funds SBPL to develop Immunodiagnostic kits & Active Virosome Vaccine: COVID-19

The Department of Science &Technology (DST) has funded a Pune based startup, Seagull BioSolutions Private Limited (SBPL) is supported under Seed Support System of the Technology Development Board (TDB) to develop Immunodiagnostic kits & Active Virosome (AV)-Vaccine for COVID-19 emergencies.

 

NIF developed herbal dewormer “wormivet” for livestock owners

National Innovation Foundation India (NIF) has developed “wormivet” an indigenous herbal medication (dewormer) in form of commercial product for livestock owners as an alternative to chemical method of treatment of worms. This dewormer will treat endoparasite (worm) infestation among livestock which was found to be unique.

 

C-DOT and Telecom Service Providers develop COVID Quarantine Alert System

The Department of Telecommunication and C-DOT (Centre for Development of Telematics) in coordination with Telecom Service Providers have developed and tested COVID Quarantine Alert System application which automatically triggers an email (Electronic Mail) or SMS (Short Message Service) if any identified corona positive person moves away from their quarantine location.

 

DRDO develops COVSACK for COVID-19 sample collection

The Hyderabad based - Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL), which functions under Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed COVID Sample Collection Kiosk (COVSACK) in consultation with the doctors of Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), Hyderabad, for healthcare workers to safely collect COVID-19 samples from suspected patients.

 

Researchers at NIT-Karnataka develops cost-effective disinfectant chamber called ‘ZERO-COV’ A team of researchers headed by Professor M Isloor from National Institute of Technology-Karnataka (NIT-K) at Surathkal, has designed a disinfection chamber called ‘ZERO-COV’ to disinfect personal protective equipment (PPE) tools, surgical masks, vegetables, packaged food items, currency notes and other day-to-day items within 15 minutes.

 

Government launches ‘CovidGyan’ a science communication initiative

Government launches a multi-institutional, multi-lingual science communication initiative, ‘CovidGyan’ to bring together the collection of resources, which are generated by public supported research institutions in India & associated programs in response to the outbreak of COVID-19 so as to create public awareness, & to conduct a complete approach to understand the disease & ways to mitigate it.

 

Central Government unveils PUSA decontamination, sanitizing tunnel

Minister of State (MoS) for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary inaugurated a “PUSA decontamination and sanitizing tunnel” in Delhi and was developed by the government research body ICAR-IARI (Indian Council of Agricultural Research - Indian Agricultural Research Institute). The sanitization protocol includes hand washing with foot operated soap and water dispenser and fogging in a sanitizing tunnel for 20 seconds.

 

‘Bat coronavirus’ in 2 Indian bat species: ICMR

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) in a 1st of its study in collaboration with a team of scientists from the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, have found the presence of different kind of ‘Bat coronavirus’ (BtCoV) from 25 bats in 2 Indian bat species namely, Pteropus (Indian Flying Fox) and Rousettus (old world fruit bats).

 

COVID-19: Kerala institute develops Chitra GeneLAMP-N test kit gives results in 2 hours

The Kerala based Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has developed a low-cost diagnostic test kit “Chitra GeneLAMP-N” that can confirm COVID-19 in just 2 hours.

 

Automatic Mist Based Sanitisers Dispensing Unit & UV Sanitisation Box and Hand-held UV device introduced: DRDO

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has introduced Automatic Mist Based Sanitiser Dispensing Unit [developed by The Centre for Fire Explosive & Environment Safety (CFEES)] & UltraViolet (UV) Sanitisation Box and Hand-held UV device [designed & developed by Defence Institute of Physiology & Allied Sciences (DIPAS) and Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences (INMAS)] to enhance the operations at public places during the pandemic.

 

Gujarat’s GBRC: 2nd Indian institute to decode COVID-19 genome sequence; 3 new mutations found

Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC) has become the second institute in India after the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune, Maharashtra to decode the entire genome sequence of the COVID-19 virus. GBRC has totally found 9 mutations in its genome sequence. However, 6 of the mutations were already found by other research institutes globally but the three new mutations may help in developing medicines. The first genome sequence of the COVID-19 virus was found by China CDC in Bejing, China on January 10, 2020.

 

Indian Navy develops air evacuation pod for COVID-19 patients

Indian Navy’s Southern Command, Kochi has developed an air evacuation pod (AEP) to airlift COVID-19 infected patients safely from remote areas such as islands and ships in a fully sealed patient transfer capsule. The pod is made up of aluminium, nitrile rubber and perspex. It weighs only 32 kg and has incurred a manufacturing cost of Rs 50,000.

 

Researchers at CeNS designs portable sensor to detect heavy metal in water

A team of researchers at the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), an autonomous research institute based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, has developed a portable compact solid-state sensor to identify the heavy metal ions such as lead (Pb2+), mercury and cadmium in water up to 0.4 parts per billion (ppb).

 

Researchers at IIA, Bengaluru discovers hundreds of Li-rich giant stars

A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru, Karnataka, have discovered hundreds of Lithium (Li) rich giant stars, which proves it is being produced in the stars and accounts for its abundance in the interstellar medium. The study has been published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

 

New model to predict ionospheric electron density to help communication & navigation

The Researchers from Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG), Navi Mumbai, an autonomous Institute under the Department of Science & Technology (DST) have developed a global model to predict the ionospheric electron density with larger data coverage- a crucial need for communication and navigation.

 

Road Ministry launches dashboard link in its website with list of Dhabas and Truck Repair Shops The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has created & launched a dashboard link in its website which lists details of Dhabas and Truck Repair Shops available across the country by various organisations like National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), States, Oil Marketing companies. Also, NHAI’s centralized call number 1033 is also enabled to answer calls and help drivers/cleaners to find information about the dhabas and repair shops along National Highways.

 

CSIR-NAL develops Personal Protective Coverall suit to fight against COVID-19

Bengaluru based - Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR- NAL) along with MAF Clothing Private Limited, developed and certified a polypropylene spun-laminated, multilayered non-woven fabric-based coverall to protect the medical personnel fighting against the COVID-19, which is highly cost-effective than the other manufacturers.

 

Fish gills used to develop efficient low-cost electro-catalysts: INST

The Scientists at the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Mohali, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) developed an efficient, low-cost electro-catalyst from fish gills that helps to develop environment friendly energy conversion devices & it is better than commercial Platinum on carbon (Pt/C) catalyst.

 

TDB approves funds for MYLAB for production of COVID-19 diagnostic kits

The Technology Development Board (TDB) under Department of Science and Technology (DST), has approved financial support to MyLab Discovery Solutions, Pune to increase the production of COVID-19 diagnostic kits developed by them. The efforts were made to increase the production rate of diagnostic kits from 30,000 tests per day to 1 lakh tests per day. The kit has been approved by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).

 

IIT-Mandi team develops magnetic RAM to enable higher data storage & faster computation Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)- Mandi team, developed a magnetic Random Access Memory (RAM) using spintronic technology which is faster, more energy-efficient and capable of storing more information in a smaller volume than existing data storage technologies. The research by the team has been published in IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, a reputed international journal.

 

ARI researchers developed “bug sniffer” for detection of pathogens in 30 minutes

Researchers at the Agharkar Research Institute (ARI) of Pune, Maharashtra have developed a low-cost biosensor namely “bug sniffer”to rapidly detect bacteria. This portable device can detect 10 bacterial cells from a sample size of one millilitre in just 30 minutes. This research is led by Dr. Dhananjay Bodas, and has been published in the Journal of Biotechnology.

 

CSIR-IGIB scientists develops” Feluda” a low-cost coronavirus test strip

The Scientists at Council of Scientific and Industrial Research - Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB) has developed” Feluda” a low-cost coronavirus test strip which will not require any expensive machines & is a simple way of detecting SARS-coV2. It is developed by Debojyoti Chakraborty and Souvik Maiti & the total time required for the test is less than an hour. RT-PCR’s price is capped at Rs. 4,500 in private labs whereas the ‘Feluda’ test will cost just Rs. 500.

 

Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute developed magnetic nanoparticle-based RNA extraction kit for PCR and LAMP tests for COVID-19

Kerala Based Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) has developed Ribonucleic acid (RNA) extraction kit namely “Chitra Magna” for segregating RNA from swabs samples for COVID-19 tests that will enhance the chances of identifying positive cases of the contagion. The

Institute has filed for a patent for this technology. It is developed by Dr Anoop Thekkuveettil and his team, which has earlier, came up with Chitra GeneLAMP-N. The technology of Chitra Magna has been transferred to the Agappe Diagnostics Ltd Ernakulam.

 

IIT-Delhi develops first low-cost probe free detection assay approved by ICMR

The Researchers at Kusuma School of Biological Sciences (KSBS) of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, develops the first probe free real time PCR diagnostic assay for detecting the COVID-19 to help reduce the cost of testing has got approval from the Indian Medical Council of Medical Researches (IMCR).

 

IIITM-K develops AI search engine, ‘vilokana’ for COVID-19 studies

The Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management- Kerala (IIITM-K) has developed an AI (Artificial Intelligence) semantic search engine named “Vilokana” to enable researchers to get deeper insights into scientific studies and to find an early solution to the COVID-19 crisis.

 

IIT Delhi develops Dashboard PRACRITI to predict Covid-19 spread

The Researchers of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Delhi has developed a web-based mobile- friendly dashboard named “PRACRITI” (Prediction and Assessment of Corona Infections and Transmission in India) to predict the spread of Covid-19 in India & for state-wise and district-wise predictions.

 

ARCI in collaboration with Nanomechanics Inc., has developed NanoBlitz 3D

Scientists from Hyderabad based International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI) in collaboration with Nanomechanics Incorporated (Inc.,) have developed NanoBlitz 3D, an advanced tool to map nano-mechanical properties of constituent phases, features or components of multiphase alloys, composites, multi-layered coatings & others.

 

CSIR-IICT collaborates with LAXAI Life Sciences to reduce dependency for APIs and drug intermediates

Indian Institute of Chemical Technology(IICT), a laboratory under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR) has collaborated with LAXAI Life Sciences Private Limited, an integrated pharmaceutical company, to develop and manufacture Active pharmaceutical ingredients(APIs) and drug intermediates, which will help to reduce dependency of the Indian pharmaceutical sector on Chinese imports of these ingredients.

 

CeNS develops TriboE masks to protect healthy individuals from COVID-19

A team of researchers at the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), Bangalore, has come up with face masks, termed as TriboE Mask (comprising of polypropylene layers on the outside and nylon layer in between) that can hold electric charges to restrict the entry of infections, without any external power. Mask is expected to reduce the transmission of micro-droplets that linger in the air.

 

National Innovation Foundation (NIF) boosts new varieties of Anthurium, by VasiniBai, lady innovator from Kerala

D VasiniBai, a women innovator from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, has developed 10 varieties of Anthurium by cross-pollination. The salient features of the Anthurium varieties are large beautiful flowers, different colors of spathe and spadix, long stalks, better shelf life and good market value.

 

Low-cost mechanical ventilator Ruhdaar developed by a team led by IIT Bombay

A team of engineering students from National Institute of Technology (NIT), Srinagar and Islamic University of Science & Technology (IUST), Awantipora, Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) led by

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay under the assistance of Design Innovation Centre (DIC), IUST has developed a low-cost ventilator named “Rudhaar” using locally available materials.

 

IIT Ropar designs ‘WardBot’ to deliver food, medicines to COVID-19 patients

A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Ropar, Punjab has come up with a design of an autonomous ‘WardBot’ which can deliver medicines and food to COVID-19 patients in isolation wards without human intervention. The Ward bot is fitted with sensors, can work on a known path and can carry food items and medicines, necessary equipment for delivery to patients at different beds from one room to the other from the remotely located control room.

 

Scientists at JNCASR develop Berberine based Alzheimer inhibitor ‘Ber-D’

According to the research work published in the scientific journal iSceince, a team of scientists led by Prof. T. Govindaraju at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre For Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR – Bengaluru, Karnataka) has developed an Alzheimer’s disease inhibitor called ‘Ber-D’.

 

MyGov, VMate collaborates to disperse information on Covid-19

Short video application (app) VMate joined hands with the Government’s citizen engagement platform MyGov to support the Central Government efforts against the spread of Coronavirus pandemic. MyGovIndia has been launched on VMate to provide the official information related to the novel virus outbreak and the efforts being made to control its impact.

 

IIT-Roorkee professor develops software to detect COVID-19 within 5 seconds using X-ray scan Kamal Jain, professor IIT Roorkee, Uttarakhand, has developed a software which can detect COVID-19 within 5 seconds using x-ray scan of the suspected patient. The software will not only reduce testing costs but will also reduce the risk of exposure to healthcare professionals.

 

INTERNATIONAL

 

NASA to launch new mission ‘SunRISE’ to study the Giant Solar Particle Storms

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to launch its new mission called the Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment (SunRISE), a very large radio telescope to study how the sun generates & releases the giant space weather storms (solar particle storms) into planetary space. The study will help to protect the astronauts that travel to the moon & mars by providing better information on how the Sun’s radiation affects the space environment in which they travel.

 

NASA’s Artemis: First human base camp on Moon’s South Pole by 2024

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) unveiled its plan to setup ‘Artemis’, the first human base camp on Moon’s South Pole by 2024 through a 13-page report titled “NASA’s Plan for Sustained Lunar Exploration and Development”. The Artemis program aims to land first woman and next man on the moon by 2024. The program is carried out by NASA along with European Space Agency (ESA), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the Australian Space Agency (ASA).

 

For the first time, NASA scientists measure wind speed on a brown dwarf

Scientists at the American space agency, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), has measured wind speed on a brown dwarf named 2MASS J10475385+2124234, which is located 32 light- years from Earth, by using the National Science Foundation’s Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) & NASA’s recently retired infrared observatory and the Spitzer Space Telescope. The details of finding were published in Journal Science.

 

US clears sale of Harpoon missile and torpedoes priced a total of $155 million to India

The US (United States) President Donald Trump’s administration has approved the sale of Harpoon Block II missiles & MK 54 lightweight torpedoes priced a total of $ 155 million to India to combat regional threats and increase the security of its soil. US approves sale of anti-ship missiles, In this regard, 10 AGM- 84L Harpoon Air Launched Missiles priced at $ 92 million, while 16 MK (Mark) 54 All Up Round Lightweight Torpedoes and three MK 54 Exercise Torpedoes will be given to India for $ 63 million.

 

Pharma majors Sanofi & GlaxoSmithKline joined hands to prepare vaccine for coronavirus British multinational pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline plc, has tied-up with France’s Pharmaceutical company Sanofi S.A., to develop the COVID-19 vaccine to deal with the current epidemic. Both companies plan to conduct the first phase clinical trials in the second half of 2020.

 

Scientists observe biggest star explosion ever seen

An international team of scientists led by the University of Birmingham, UK and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, United States, have observed the biggest supernova (stellar explosion) named SN2016aps. This supernova is 10 times more powerful than a normal supernova but is also about 500 times brighter than that & was detected by the Pan-STARRS (Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System Survey). The findings have been published in peer reviewed journal Nature Astronomy.

 

Scientists at NASA discovers Earth-like planet ‘Kepler-1649c’ found to be hidden in early Kepler data

A team of scientists at the US (United States) space agency NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), has discovered an Earth-size exoplanet (1.06 larger than Earth & 300 light years away), called Kepler–1649c, orbiting in its red dwarf star’s habitable zone. The findings have been published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

 

NASA to launch 1st US astronaut mission to ISS since 2011

For the first time since July 21, 2011, a human mission from American Earth will go into space. That is after 9 years, the US space agency NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) & SpaceX will send two veteran astronauts –Bob Behnken & Doug Hurley- from the Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre in indigenous 23-story Falcon 9 rockets to the International Space Station (ISS) on May 27, 2020. The name of the mission is Demo-2.

 

Swiss scientists discovered six-planets system with near 3:2 resonance

A team of Scientists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, have discovered a six-planet system (a ‘super-Earth’ & five ‘mini-Neptunes’) orbiting the star HD 158259 in the Draco constellation. The discovery was done by using the SOPHIE spectrograph installed at the Haute-Provence Observatory in the South of France and TESS exoplanet-hunting space telescope. Every planet in the HD 158259 star has the same orbital resonance from its later planet and it is 3:2. This would be 1.5 according to Period Ratio.

 

NASA develops VITAL, a high-pressure ventilator to fight COVID-19

NASA engineers has developed a new, easy-to-build high-pressure ventilator named VITAL (Ventilator Intervention Technology Accessible Locally) specifically to treat COVID-19 patients. VITAL is designed to treat patients with milder symptoms, thereby keeping the country’s limited supply of traditional ventilators available for patients with more severe COVID-19 symptoms.

Unified Geologic Map of the Moon: 1st ever digital geological map of moon released by US Geological Survey

The scientists from USGS (United States Geological Survey) Astrogeology Science Center, in collaboration with US space agency, NASA and the Lunar Planetary Institute have virtually released the first ever digital, unified, global, geological map of the moon namely “Unified Geologic Map of the Moon”. It should be noted that the moon is the closest cosmic body to Earth. The 1:5,000,000 scale map is color-coded to help you quickly identify geological features, including multiple crater types, plains and other features.

 

Brazilian Astronomers discover 19 interstellar asteroids between Jupiter & Neptune Astronomers at the Universidade Estadual Paulista in Brazil, have discovered 19 interstellar asteroids (asteroids from outside our solar system) orbiting the sun between Jupiter and Neptune. These asteroids, the first known permanent population, are belong to a group of space objects called Centaurs. The findings have been published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

 

Pak Navy successfully test-fires anti-ship missiles in North Arabian Sea

The Pakistani Navy has successfully test-fired a series of anti-ship missiles in the North Arabian Sea from surface ships, fixed and rotary-wing aircraft. The announcement was made by Pakistan Navy spokesperson Rear Admiral Arshid Javed and didn’t reveal the details of the drill.

 

First black hole merger of uneven massed observed by LIGO-VIRGO; indicated by GW190412 signal in April 2019

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Laboratory (LIGO) Scientific Collaboration and the Virgo Collaboration also known as LVC (LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration) discovered binary black hole (BBH) merger with different masses for the first time. This study has been published in preprint server ArXiv.

 

Near-Earth asteroid 1998 OR2 to pass within 3.9m miles of Earth: NASA

According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), asteroid 1998 OR2 a large near- Earth asteroid, measuring about 1.5-mile-wide (2-kilometer-wide) will pass by earth within 3.9 million miles (6.3 million kilometers), which is about 16 times farther away than the moon. Near-Earth small asteroid 2020 HS7, estimated to be 13 to 24 feet (4 to 8 meters) in size, safely passed Earth on April 28.

 

 

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2020 – May

SATELLITES LAUNCHES

 

SATELLITE NAME	COUNTRY	PURPOSE
Arktika-M	Russia	Russia will launch its 1st Arktika-M satellite by December 9, 2020, to monitor the Arctic climate and environment. It will be launched from Baikonur space centre (Kazakhstan) using a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with a Fregat booster. The plan for launch of 2nd Arktika-M satellite which is still under development is in 2023. The capital and currency of Russia is Moscow and Russian Rouble respectively.
Long March 5B	China	China has successfully launched a powerful white-large cargo rocket ‘Long March 5B’and prototype spacecraft towards the space from the Wenchang Space Launch
		Centre on the coast of southern China’s island province of Hainan.
Xingyun-2 01 and 02	China	China launches two satellites Xingyun-2 01 and 02 into the orbit by Kuaizhou-1A (KZ-1A) carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre to test the space-based Internet of Things (IoT) communication technology. The Rocket is developed by an affiliated company of Sanjiang Group under the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) used to launch low-orbit small satellites.

 

 

OTHER SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY NEWS  [NATIONAL]

 

COVID-19: Glenmark Pharma becomes the first company to get Nod from DCGI for clinical trials of Favipiravir tablets

Mumbai based Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has become the first pharma company in India to receive approval from Drug Controller General of India (DCGI – VG Somani) to conduct clinical trials of Favipiravir antiviral tablets for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

 

IMD releases list of 169 names for upcoming tropical cyclones: North Indian Ocean

India Meteorological Department (IMD), an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India (GoI), has released a detailed list containing 169 names (list comprises names of 13 cyclones each for the 13 member nations) of upcoming tropical cyclones that are likely to occur over the north Indian Ocean including the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. The 13 names for India include Gati, Tej, Murasu, Aag, Vyom, Jhar, Probaho, Neer, Prabhanjan, Ghurni, Ambud, Jaladhi and Vega.

 

COVID-19: HCARD, a robot, to assist frontline healthcare warriors

Durgapur, West Bengal based CSIR- Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI) has developed the robotic device named HCARD (Hospital Care Assistive Robotic Device) which helps the frontline healthcare workers in maintaining physical distance from those infected by COVID-19.

 

Pune-based defence institute develops microwave steriliser Atulya to kill COVID- 19

The Defence Ministry announced that the Pune-based Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) university under Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed a microwave steriliser ‘Atulya’ that can disintegrate the novel Coronavirus within 30 seconds by differential heating in the range of 56 degrees to 60 degrees Celsius temperatures.

 

35 thousand-year history of river erosion in Ladakh Himalayas revealed: WIHG

Scientists and students from Dehradun, Uttarakhand based Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science &Technology, in the study, published in the Global and Planetary Changes journal has revealed a 35 thousand-year history of river erosion and identified hotspots of erosion and wide valleys that act a buffer zones in Ladakh Himalayas.

 

CSIR-CSIO transfers its Electrostatic Disinfection Technology for commercialization

The Chandigarh based Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) – CSIR’s Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO) has transferred the Electrostatic Disinfection Technology, an innovative and effective disinfection and sanitization technology developed by them to Rite Water Solutions Private Limited a Nagpur based company for commercialization and large-scale production to fight COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Indian-origin girl Vaneeza names NASA’s 1st Mars helicopter as ‘Ingenuity’

A 17-year old Indian-origin girl Vaneeza Rupani has named the 1st helicopter to be built for Mars as ‘Ingenuity’ (in Hindi it means the inventive character of a person). She received this credit when she submitted her essay in NASA’s ‘Name the Rover’ competition. Before this new name, it was just named as “Mars Helicopter”. NASA in March 2020 announced that its next rover would be named ‘Perseverance’, based on an essay by seventh-grade student Alexander Mather.

 

NIAB develops portable coronavirus detection kit “eCovSens”

The researchers from the Department of Biotechnology(DBT), National Institute of Animal Biotechnology(NIAB), Hyderabad developed a biosensor “eCovSens” to detect the novel coronavirus within 30 seconds using 20 microliters of the sample of saliva The Biosensors is currently used to detect toxins, narcotic drugs and used as a reliable tool to detect infectious diseases.

 

IIG developed 1D fluid simulation code to study electric field structure in Earth’s Magnetosphere The Scientists at Mumbai based Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG) have developed a generalized one-dimensional (1D) fluid simulation code capable of studying a wide spectrum of coherent electric field structures in near-earth plasma environment or earth’s magnetosphere. This development will help in the planning of future space missions. The results obtained through fluid simulation code, published in the journal Physics of Plasmas

 

DRDO Develops “UV blaster”, an Ultraviolet Disinfection Tower

The Laser Science & Technology Centre (LASTEC), Delhi-based, laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO), with the assistance of New Age Instruments and Material Private Ltd., Gurugram developed “UV blaster” an ultraviolet (UV) disinfection tower for a quick and chemical-free sanitization of areas that are highly prone to the infection of novel coronavirus in method.

 

SNBNCBS develops Nanomedicine to alter oxidative stress to treat COVID-19

The Scientists of S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences (SNBNCBS), Kolkata developed a nanomedicine, safe and cost-effective, to treat many diseases by altering oxidative stress in the body and the research will support the combat against the COVID-19 in India.

 

COVID-19: CIMAP’s Herbal products ‘CIM-Paushak’ and ‘Herbal Cough Syrup’ boost immunity Researchers at Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) - Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Lucknow, have developed scientifically proven two herbal products ‘CIM- Paushak’ and ‘Herbal Cough Syrup’ which can boost the immunity of the persons as well as helps in reducing the dry cough symptom generally associated with the coronavirus infection.

 

SCTIMST develops 2 types of swabs and viral transport medium for COVID-19 testing

Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, is an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India (GOI) have developed two types of nasal and oral swabs and viral transport medium for COVID- 19 testing. ChitraEmBed & ChitraEnMesh are the name of swabs.

JNCASR Researchers Invent Economical, Energy-Efficient Wafer-Scale Photo detector for security

The Researchers at Karnataka based Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) under the Department of Science and Technology, has invented an economical and energy efficient wafer- scale photo detector to detect weak scattered light and indicate unwanted activity for security-based applications.

 

IIT-Delhi start-up launches reusable antimicrobial mask NSafe

Nanosafe solutions the start-up company at IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) - Delhi has developed and launched an antimicrobial and washable face mask “NSafe” that can be reused upto 50 launderings.

 

CSIR receives approval for clinical trial of two drugs, ‘phytopharmaceutical & favipiravir’ to treat COVID-19

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has received approval from Drug Controller General of India (DCGI – VG Somani) for its two clinical trial drugs- “favipiravir” and “phytopharmaceutical”- to combat COVID-19.

 

ICMR-NIV develops 1st indigenous antibody detection kit “COVID KAVACH ELISA” for COVID-19 Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has announced the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)- National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune has developed the 1st indigenous anti-Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) human Immunoglobulin G (IgG) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test kit, “COVID KAVACH ELISA” for antibody detection of COVID-19. Also, ICMR has partnered with Zydus Cadila, a global healthcare company for mass-scale production of the ELISA test kits after its development.

 

Parakh: DRDO- DFRL’s mobile microbial containment lab handed over to MMCRI

Mysuru based Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL), a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has handed over an innovative, state of the art Mobile Microbial Containment (BSL-3) Laboratory ‘PARAKH’ to the Mysuru Medical College and Research Institute (MMCRI) to test samples of Covid-19 at its hi-tech Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL).

 

DRDO lab develops DRUVS, an automated UV system to sanitise electronic gadgets, papers & currency notes

Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad based Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) premier lab, developed an automated contactless Ultraviolet C (UVC) sanitisation cabinet called Defence Research Ultraviolet Sanitiser (DRUVS). It has been designed to sanitise mobile phones, iPads, laptops, currency notes, cheque leaves, challans, passbooks, paper, envelopes, etc.

 

ICMR ties up with BBIL to develop the 1st fully indigenous COVID-19 vaccine

Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) announced its tie-up with Bharat Biotech International Ltd (BBIL) to develop the 1st fully indigenous COVID-19 vaccine by using the virus strain isolated at the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune. The strain has been successfully transferred from NIV to BBIL. Earlier, the company announced that it has been working on CoroFlu, a one-drop COVID-19 nasal vaccine built on a flu vaccine backbone which has proven to be safe for humans.

CSIR approves project to develop ‘hmAbs’ that can neutralize SARS-CoV-2 in patients; BBIL to lead

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) through its New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (NMITLI) program has approved a project for the development of human monoclonal antibodies (hmAbs) that can neutralize SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) in patients. It will be implemented through a collaboration of National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS) Pune; IIT Indore; PredOmix Technologies Ltd, Gurugram and Bharat Biotech International Ltd (BBIL), Hyderabad. The project will be led by Vaccines and biotherapeutics maker BBIL.

 

CSIR-NAL develops BiPAP non-invasive ventilator ‘Swasth Vayu’

The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research – National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL), Bengaluru develops a cost effective, easy to use, compact, non-invasive Bi-level Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP) ventilator ‘Swasth Vayu’ in 36 days to treat the patients tested positive for COVID-19.

 

Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank launches Central University of Odisha helpline ‘Bharosa’ to help students in distress

Union Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD) Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank launched Central University of Odisha (CUO) Helpline “Bharosa” and its Helpline Number 08046801010 through a virtual platform to relieve the distress of student community during the troubled time of the COVID-19.

 

TVS Group, IIT-M develop automated respiratory assist device “Sundaram Ventago”

The Sundaram Medical Foundation of TVS group and IIT (Indian Institute of Technology)- Madras, have jointly developed a low-cost, automated respiratory assistance device named “Sundaram Ventago” that will be useful in remote and rural areas where ventilator facilities are not available and would have a great impact of post COVID-19. The device has been designed according to internationally accepted medical standards in collaboration with the Madras Medical College (MMC), Kauvery Hospital and with guidance from MIT-Boston.

 

IITGN develops interactive dashboard “MIR AHD Covid-19 Dashboard” to help contain COVID-19 community infection post lockdown

The Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)- Gandhinagar (IITGN), Gujarat, have developed an interactive COVID-19 dashboard named “MIR AHD Covid-19 Dashboard”, that can help administrators, hospitals as well as public in planning optimised testing for the COVID-19 and containing community infection in various post-lockdown scenarios.

 

CSIR collaborates with Intel India and IIIT-Hyderabad to develop solution and strategies to combat COVID-19

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) working with Intel India and International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Hyderabad in developing a faster and cost efficient COVID-19 diagnostic solution, an IT technology to understand epidemiology and AI based risk stratification for the patients. To perform comprehensive diagnostics the constituent labs of CSIR like, IGIB, CCMB, IMTECH, CLRIT are collaborating with various hospitals and diagnostic chains.

 

Scientists of JNCASR Develops Injectable Silk Fibroin-based hydrogel for Insulin delivery in diabetic patients

The Research team of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Karnataka headed by Prof. T. Govindaraju developed the Silk Fibroin (SF) formulated using biocompatible additives and an injectable SF hydrogel (iSFH) to ease the insulin delivery for diabetic patients.

 

Bhopal’s CSIR-AMPRI faculty Rajeev Kumar develops lightweight carbon foam that can replace lead batteries

Dr. Rajeev Kumar of the Bhopal based Council of Scientific and Industrial Research -Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute (CSIR -AMPRI), who received the Inspire Faculty Award, constituted by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), has developed a porous lightweight carbon foam with a density of less than 0.3g/cc that can replace lead-grids in lead acid batteries.

 

COVID-19: University of Hyderabad, CSIR-CCMB ties up with Vins Bioproducts for antibody therapy

University of Hyderabad (UoH) and Hyderabad based CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), have tied up with Vins Bioproducts Limited, an antisera manufacturing company incubated at UoH’s BioNEST incubation centre, to develop antibody- based immunotherapy for immediate treatment for Covid-19 pandemic.

 

A novel tool to help gain deeper insights into Parkinson’s disease

Scientists of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) (Indian School of Mines ISM) Dhanbad, Jharkhand and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB), Kolkata has teamed up to find a solution to understand Parkinson’s disease which is a common neurodegenerative disease with no cure.

 

NDMA developed an online Dashboard National Migrant Information System to track migrants’ movements

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) developed an online dashboard National Migrant Information System (NMIS) on the existing NDMA-Geographical Information System (GIS) portal to capture the information regarding movement of migrants and facilitate the smooth movement of stranded persons across states.

 

CSIR-CMERI develops two mobile indoor disinfection sprayers: BPDS and POMID to combat COVID-19

The CSIR – Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-CMERI), Durgapur, West Bengal has developed two mobile indoor disinfection sprayer units Battery Powered Disinfectant Sprayer (BPDS) and Pneumatically Operated Mobile Indoor Disinfection (POMID) for cleaning and disinfecting pathogenic micro-organism.

 

ARCI & SCTIMST jointly develops next-generation biodegradable metal implants for use in humans

The Hyderabad based International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI) and Thiruvananthapuram based Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and technology (SCTIMST) – autonomous institutes under Department of Science and Technology (DST) have jointly developed new generation Iron-Manganese (Fe-Mn) based alloys for biodegradable metal implants for use in humans. The newly developed alloys are suitable for biodegradable stent and orthopaedic implant applications.

 

SCR develops robot “Rail-BOT (R-BOT)” to assist railway doctors

South Central Railway (SCR) zone developed a robotic device, “RAIL-BOT” (R-BOT) to assist in hospital management functions towards patient care in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak. The robot provides medicines, medical accessories & to serve food to the patients, without any need for physical contact. Also, Jaipur-based Club First, has developed robots to help the healthcare workers and to contain the spread of the virus. It is the world’s first robot that is based on spine technology which helps robots balance anything it handles. A hospital in Bengaluru deployed the ‘Mitra’ robots to check and screen the patients for COVID-19 symptoms.

 

IIT Guwahati discovers methods to prevent memory loss due to Alzheimer

The research team of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati headed by Professor Vibin Ramakrishnan, Department of Bioscience and Bioengineering worked on a new idea to help in preventing or reducing the short-term memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

 

Scientist at Pune based ARI maps 2 alternative dwarfing genes in wheat that can eliminate rice crop residue burning

According to the research published in The Crop Journal and Molecular Breeding, a team of Scientists at Pune based the Agharkar Research Institute (ARI) have mapped two alternative dwarf genes – Rht14 and Rht18– in wheat that can eliminate rice crop residue burning.

 

SCTIMST commercially launched RNA extraction Kit ‘Agappe Chitra Magna’ for detection of COVID-19

Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Science and Technology (SCTIMST), Trivandrum, Kerala with Agappe Diagnostics Ltd, Cochin organised the commercial launch of ‘Agappe Chitra Manga’, a magnetic nanoparticle-based RNA extraction Kit for the detection of COVID-19 at the Biomedical Technology Wing of  SCTIMST.

 

Researchers at IIT-M develop solar parabolic trough collector

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M), developed a solar ‘parabolic trough collector’ (PTC) system for concentrating solar energy for industrial applications like desalination, space heating and space cooling.

 

A rare palm from Andamans ‘Pinanga andamanensis’ replanted at Kerala’s JNTBGRI

A rare palm of South Andaman Island ‘Pinanga andamanensis’ will be grown in Palode (Kerala) with the help of Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI). The Pinanga, recorded as a time-extinct species, is related to Areca Palm. Around 600 plants are found in a small area of ‘Mount Harriet National Park’ in South Andaman.

 

Electrochemical sensing platform developed to detect carcinogenic & mutagenic compounds in food: IASST

The Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST), Guwahati, Assam has developed an electrochemical sensing platform to detect carcinogenic or mutagenic compound N- nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) and N-nitrosodiethanolamine (NDEA) that are found in food items like cured meat, bacon, some cheese, and low-fat milk.

 

Researchers of INST found a route to fabricate precisely controlled nanostructure of desired geometry and location on 2D materials

The Researchers team from Mohali based Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST) an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) found an innovative route to fabricate precisely controlled nanostructure of the required geometry and location on two dimensional (2D) materials using one-step low power laser writing process.

 

Mumbai based start-up VAMS Global develops world’s 1st contactless visitor management software ‘VAMS SafeGuard’

The Mumbai based start-up named VAMS (Visitor Authentication & Management Systems) Global has developed world’s 1st contactless Visitor Management Software named ‘VAMS SafeGuard’ that checks body temperature, scan faces with mask compliance & monitors social distancing on the premise. The software can be deployed in pharmaceuticals, hospitality, manufacturing, transportation and logistics, educational institutions, etc.

 

CSIR-IIIM & Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) to develop RT-LAMP based test for Coronavirus The Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) in Jammu has collaborated with Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) to develop and increase a new Reverse Transcriptase-Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP)- based COVID-19 diagnostic kit. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has also been signed between CSIR-IIIM, Jammu and RIL.

 

IIT Madras develops magnesium alloy to replace steel, aluminium in cars

The research team of Dr. Sushanta Kumar Panigrahi at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras belonging to IMPCRG group and Professor Rajiv Mishra, University of North Texas and K. Cho, the United States(US) Army Research Laboratory has engineered a magnesium alloy to replace the steel and aluminium in the automobile industry to reduce the carbon footprint and increase fuel efficiency. The magnesium alloy contains rare earth elements like Gadolinium (Gd), Yttrium (Y) and Zirconium (Zr)

 

AI virtual assistant PAi launched: NPCI

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched an artificial intelligence (AI) based chatbot named ‘PAi’, to create awareness around its products like FASTag, RuPay, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) on a real time basis & to improve digital financial inclusion in India. The chatbot was developed by Bengaluru based startup CoRover Private Limited.

 

ISRO receives patent for highland soil simulant for future lunar missions

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has received a patent for its method of manufacturing highland lunar soil simulant or “moon soil” which was prepared to create an artificial moon surface as a part of 2019’s Moon landing mission Chandrayaan-2 so that the Vikram lander and Pragyaan rover could be tested. It is made in bulk from anorthosite rocks, a sample similar to regolith identified and picked out from Sittampundi Anorthosite Complex, TN.

 

Kochi Startup Devaditek Innovations develops decontamination device ‘Lumos’ to check COVID- 19 spread

The Devaditek Innovations Private Limited, a start-up company focusing on technology transfer in the areas of medical devices, based in Maker village Kochi (Kerala), has developed a multi-purpose decontamination device named ‘Lumos’ that can sanitize items ranging from N95 masks to vegetables by using UVGI (ultraviolet germicidal irradiation) technology. The device was developed in collaboration with the Collegiate Congress under the United Nations Master Plan initiative.

 

Indian researchers explore new possibilities to increase paddy yield

A team of researchers from the Department of Biotechnology’s National Institute of Plant Genome Research (DBT-NIPGR) of New Delhi, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), ICAR-National Rice Research Institute (ICAR-NRRI), Cuttack and University of Delhi South Campus (UDSC), have identified a part in the paddy genome through which there is a possibility of increasing yields. The study has been published in ‘The Plant Journal’.

 

India Observatory launches GIS-enabled dashboard, CoAST India

India Observatory, an open-source database, launched a GIS-enabled dashboard, CoAST India (Collaboration / Covid Action Support Group) in collaboration with Anand-based Forest Ecological Security(FES) as its main nodal point, to help administrators, civil society organisations & volunteers to plan urgent steps to get the stranded migrant population to safety & care.

 

INTERNATIONAL

Jupiter like cloud bands on closest brown dwarf discovered by astronomers

A team of astronomers at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) discovered that the Luhman 16A, closest known brown dwarf showing signs of cloud bands similar to the Jupiter and Saturn using the technique of polarimetry to determine the properties of atmospheric clouds outside the solar system or typically. The Astrophysical Journal has accepted this study. James Webb Space Telescope, an upcoming NASA project will enable the study system like Luhman 16.

 

Astronomers of the University of Canterbury discovered new one in a million Super-Earth Astronomers at the University of Canterbury (UC) have found a new “one in a million” Super-Earth planet towards the genre of the galaxy. The planet-hunters’ research has been published in The Astronomical Journal, which states that the size and orbit of this planet are comparable to that of Earth. The newly discovered planet is among only a handful of extra-solar planets that have been detected with both sizes and orbits close to that of Earth.

 

South African & US scientists use MeerKAT telescope to solve the mystery of ‘X galaxies’

A team of astronomers from the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO), the (US) National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), the University of Pretoria, and Rhodes University, (both in SA), have used the MeerKAT telescope to solve a longstanding puzzle in ‘X’-shaped radio galaxies. The results have been published in the journal ‘Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society’.

 

Researcher of CSIRO develops “heat resistant” coral to fight bleaching

A team of scientists of CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) and Australia’s national science agency, the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the University of Melbourne successfully discovered corals with increased heat tolerance which has potential to reduce the impacts of coral reef bleaching due to climatic change.

 

NASA renames its WFIRST Telescope after ‘Mother of Hubble’ Nancy Grace Roman

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) renamed its Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), a next-generation space telescope as Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope or Roman Space Telescope to honour Nancy Grace Roman (“Mother” of Hubble Space Telescope), NASA’s 1st chief astronomer, who paved way for space telescopes focused on the broader universe.

 

 

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2020 – June

SATELLITES LAUNCHES

 

SATELLITE NAME	COUNTRY	PURPOSE
BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS)	China	China has successfully launched the last Satellite of its BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), The satellite was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch centre in Sichuan Province. BDS is one of the four global navigation networks among the US’s GPS, Russia’s

GLONASS and European Union’s Galileo. India is building its Indian Regional Navigation Satellite system (IRNSS), with operational name NAVIC.

 

OTHER SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY NEWS NATIONAL

 

Irrawaddy Dolphin population at Odisha ‘s Chilika lake increased with the help of IIT Madras’ dredging methodology

A research project undertaken by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has helped triple the number of Irrawaddy dolphins in Odisha’s Chilika lake, Asia’s largest natural water reservoir. The project involved the excavation (loosening or dislodging) of unwanted substances from the foothills without damaging the lake’s ecosystem, removing the loosened material to the dredge vessel & transportation of the material to the placement area.

 

Karnataka launches COVID-19 tracking platform built by NASSCOM

The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) announced that it has delivered an end-to-end coronavirus tracking platform for Karnataka, called the Karnataka Listening Dashboard for COVID-19. As part of the launch, NASSCOM has provided the 1st set of dashboards to state government’s use recently.

 

DRDO develops ‘Ultra Swachh’ to disinfect PPE and other materials

Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Science (INMAS) a Delhi based laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in association with M/s Gel Craft Healthcare Private Ltd., Ghaziabad developed “Ultra Swachh”, a disinfection unit to disinfect Personal Protective Equipments (PPEs), electronic items, fabrics and other materials.

 

For the comfort of PPE Wearers DRDO Develops “SUMERU-PACS”

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) developed “SUMERU-PACS”, a personal air circulation system to provide comfort for the doctors and healthcare workers who wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for more than 6 hours and suffer due to sweating.

 

ASI team discovers 1100-year-old Shiva lingam in Vietnam during temple excavation

A 4-member team of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has discovered a 1100-year-old monolithic sandstone Shiva lingam, a representation of the Hindu deity Shiva, at the Cham Temple Complex located in My Son Sanctuary of Quang Nam Province, Vietnam. It was built by the powerful Champa kingdom between the 4th century and the 13th century in My Son. The capital and currency of Vietnam are Hanoi & Vietnamese Dong respectively.

 

Scientists at ARCI develops magnetocaloric material for the treatment of Cancer

According to the research work published in the Journal of Alloys and Compounds, a team of Scientists from the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), Hyderabad has developed a magnetocaloric material (a rare-earth-based material that can be heated or cooled by applying or removing a magnetic field) that can be used in the treatment of cancer.

 

Thane engineer develops world’s first ‘Internet-controlled’ robot ‘Coro-bot’ for COVID-19 hospitals

Pratik Tirodkar (23), Thane based engineer & founder of a start-up PNT Solutions, Dombivali developed the world’s 1st ‘Internet-controlled’ robot named ‘Coro-bot’ to address the needs of the hospitals treating COVID-19 patients. It is deployed for the 1st time in Holy Cross Hospital, Maharashtra.

 

DIAT Develops “ANANYA” nanotechnology based disinfectant spray to fight COVID-19

The Pune based Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) developed “ANANYA” water based disinfectant spray with nanotechnology assisted formulation. This can be used by the general public and healthcare workers and can be used for individual and large scale purposes.

 

GRSE delivered 5th & final ship in FPV series, ICGS Kanaklata Barua; 4th FPV to be exported to Seychelles Coast Guard

The 5th and last ship in the series of Fast Patrol Vessels (FPV) namely “ICGS Kanaklata Barua” or “Yard 2117” for the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has been delivered by Kolkata based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd. This was the 105th vessel delivered by GRSE. It was named after a freedom fighter from Assam. 4th in the series FPV, “Yard 2116” is set to export to Seychelles Coast Guard (SCG).

 

Kerala Startup ties up with SCTIMST to launch IoT based BIN-19 & UV SPOT: COVID-19

The Kerala based start-up VST Mobility Solutions, has launched Internet of Things(IoT) based (facility that works without any human touch) automated mask disposal machine, “BIN-19” & “Ultra Violet (UV) SPOT”, a UV light-based multipurpose disinfector in association with Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST).

 

Central Railway Launched Robotic ‘CAPTAIN ARJUN’ to Boost Screening, Surveillance in Pune along with ‘FebriEye’ in Mumbai

The Railway Protection Force of Central Railway (CR), Pune division, Maharashtra launched a Robotic ‘Captain Arjun’ (Always be Responsible and Just Use to be Nice) to intensify the screening and surveillance of passengers. The Brainchild behind this innovation is Alok Bohra DIG/RPF, Central Railway. Also, the “FebriEye thermal cameras”, developed by Vehant Technologies was set up by central railway to ensure contactless entry.

 

Union MoS of Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy launches ‘GermiBAN’ device to kill viruses

G Kishan Reddy, (MoS - Home Affairs) has launched a device, ‘GermiBAN’ that kills viruses & other germs by sterilising, sanitising & disinfecting in large areas. It also acts as an Air Purifier effective against viruses like COVID-19 which will stop the spread of it.

 

Indian Railways installs Automated Ticket Checking and Managing Access Machine, 1st of its Kind at Nagpur station

Indian Railways’ Central Railway zone has installed an Automated Ticket Checking & Managing Access (ATMA) machine, 1st of its kind at Nagpur station. The machine has been introduced at the station under the New, Innovative Non-Fare Revenue Ideas Scheme (NINFRIS) policy to prevent transmission of COVID-19.

 

IIT Mandi Develops Herbal Infusion Technology to Help Farmers in the Mid-Himalayan Region The Researchers of IIT Mandi have developed an herbal infusion technology, as a source of income for local marginal farmers in the mid-Himalayas. The technology is ready to license industries interested in working with Enabling Women of Kamand (EWOK)- a rural incubator at IIT Mandi.

 

ISRO Receives Patent for Liquid Cooling and Heating Garment for Astronauts

The ISRO has initiated a 10,000 crores project- Gaganyaan to send humans to space by 2022, in accordance to which, ISRO has received a patent for its Liquid Cooling and Heating Garment (LCHG) for astronauts to use in space for protection from hot and cold environments.

500 Years Old Temple Found Submerged in Mahanadi River of Odisha

The Researchers at Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage (INTACH) along with heritage enthusiast of Odisha, Rabindra Rana have located the 500-year-old submerged temple in the Mahanadi river near Baideswar in Padmavati area, Cuttack, Odisha. This is a pilot project of INTACH and the first of its kind study on any river in India.

 

IIT Bombay Researchers Develops Chip ‘Dhruva’ to Navigate Locations

Researchers at IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Bombay have created a chip named ‘Dhruva’ that can be mounted in smartphones and navigation devices to find places and routes within the country. Dhruva sends and receives radio signals to India’s NAVIC group of navigation satellites as well as GPS-based satellites to accurately determine these under all weather conditions.

 

HRD Ministry Launches YUKTI 2.0 for Higher Education Institutes

Union HRD minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched “YUKTI 2.0” – (Young India combating COVID with Knowledge, Technology and Innovation 2.0), a platform to support the start-ups incubated in the institutes of higher education over the virtual platform. YUKTI 2.0 is a logical extension of YUKTI, which will help in fostering the innovation and entrepreneurship culture in the academic institutions.

 

Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport becomes the 1st airport in India to get AWMS at both ends of the runway

The Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (KIAB/ BLR Airport) becomes the 1st airport in India to get an indigenously-developed Aviation Weather Monitoring System (AWMS) at both ends of the runway. AWMS is installed by Bangalore International Airport (BIAL). The technology is developed by Bengaluru-based CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL).

 

India to be World’s First Country to Use Drone Mounted ULV Sprayer for Locust Control

Under the Make in India initiative the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare (DAC&FW - Mechanization and Technology Division) has initiated to develop a vehicle mounted ultra- low volume (ULV) sprayer for locust control to reduce the limitations of importing equipment. With that India has become the first country in the world to control desert locusts using drones. Currently the Micron Sprayers, of United Kingdom (UK) is the supplier of Vehicle mounted sprayer to India.

 

 

INTERNATIONAL

 

NASA astronauts fly SpaceX spacecraft ‘Dragon’ first private company to dock with ISS

The US based SpaceX became the first private company to fly astronauts into orbit. NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley docked the SpaceX “Dragon” spacecraft with the International Space Station (ISS). The astronauts named the SpaceX Crew Dragon Capsule, “Endeavour” after the retired winged orbiters, stating that they both had their first flight on the shuttle Endeavour.

 

SANSA & NASA collaborates to support human spaceflight missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond

The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) has partnered with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to host a deep-space ground station to support human spaceflight missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond. South Africa became the 4th country after the United States of America, Spain and Australia to host a deep space ground station.

 

Rare ‘first of its kind’ Trojan asteroids called 2019 LD2 detected near Jupiter’s Orbit by astronomers at the “ATLAS” Institute of Astronomy

The Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii’s Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) revealed the discovery of a rare asteroid named ‘2019 LD2’ with a comet-like-tail among the Jupiter Trojans, moving in the same orbit as Jupiter moves around the sun. This was the first time astronomers had ever seen a Trojan spewing out gas as a comet, 2019 LD2 is a” first-of-its-kind” Trojan as most Jupiter Trojans were captured billions of years ago.

 

Scientists discover new star Kepler-160 & planet KOI-456: ‘mirror image’ of Earth and Sun According to the research published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, a team of scientists led by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Gottingen (Germany) have discovered a new planet named KOI-456.04 & its host star called Kepler-160 by using Kepler Space Telescope.

 

For the first time in human history, French astronomers witness signs of planet birth

According to the study published in Astronomy & Astrophysics journal, a team of Scientists from University in France, have witnessed a birth of a new planet around a distant star called ‘AB Aurigae’ for the first time in human history by using photographs of the SPHERE (Spectro - Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet Research) instrument on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile.

 

NASA Scientists Observe Bose-Einstein Quantum “Fifth State of Matter” in Space for The First Time

According to the research published in the journal Nature, a team of scientists at NASA’s Cold Atom Lab (CAL), have found the evidence of ‘Fifth State of Matter’ (also known as Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) in the space for the 1st time. This special state of matter occurs when the atoms of some elements are cooled to absolute zero (0 Kelvin or -273.15 ° C).

 

NASA Astronomers Discover 240-year-old Neutron Star ‘Swift J1818.0−1607’ After Recent X-ray Burst

Astronomers at the US based space agency NASA have discovered the youngest known magnetar (a type of neutron star) named “Swift J1818.0-1607” which is about 16,000 light years away from Earth. The study has been published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

 

Astronomers of RedDots Team Discovered Super Earths Gliese 887b and Gliese 887c Near Red Dwarf

In the research of the RedDots team of Astronomers led by the University of Göttingen, Germany detected two super Earths Gliese 887b and Gliese 887c orbiting around the Gliese 887, the brightest red dwarf star in the sky. The results of the research are published in the journal Science.

 

Russia is Set to Take First Tourists on Space Walk in 2023

Russia’s Space Corporation RSC Energia in contract with Space Adventures of US announced that it is set to take its first tourist on space walk in 2023. Note: Roscosmos and RSC Energia in collaboration with Space Adventures took 8 tourists to ISS between 2001 and 2009.