The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report warns that the region is warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, driving more extreme weather and posing serious threats to lives, ecosystems, and economies. In 2024, Asia experienced its warmest or second warmest year on …
THE speed with which new techniques are being introduced in many areas of science, has increased tremendously; whether it is faster techniques for gene sequencing or more efficient image processing algorithms, new methods have made possible many innovations which were hitherto inconceivable. Combinatorial chemistry, introduced a few years ago, was …
A NOVEL technique for storing and studying cold atoms using audio tapes and floppy disks has recently been developed. E Hinds and his colleagues at Yale University, US, have reported creating a magneto-optic trap alongwith a magnetic mirror, with which they have managed to trap rubidium atoms (Physical Review Letters, …
ALTHOUGH fibre-optics has brought a revolution in the field of teleco nications, the stumbling blocks arel the switches in use. Though the move through the fibres at the spi light (300,000 krn per sec), the inter between the electronics and the filll by electronic switches which are extrei slow in …
It is commonplace to find disks with gigabyte capacity. But now, two scientists, C R Stroud and M W Noel, working at Rochester University, have been able to manipulate the position of the electron in an atom. Theyplan to use it to create an atomic memory with letters written directly …
Among the known elementary particles, neutrinos are the hardest to detect and study. But now there are plans to organise 'mass migration' of neutrinos to another detector many miles away. An experiment called NuMl being conducted at Fermilab, Illinois, US will send an intense beam of neutrinos some 1,000 km …
THE ASIAN Haalth Environmental and Allied Databases (AHEAD) - a New Delhi- Mdemonwrtional consortium has planned the commercial release of three database series on Asian environment, health and natural resources, kDqpdmwd every six months. The first batch of CD-ROM disks would contain 600 megabytes of bibilo fal taxt documents, bibliographic …
BEFORErefrigerators became the norm of the day, earthen pots were used to store cool drinking water. The water in the pot reaches the outer surface through the pores in the earthen pots which on evaporation, humidifies, cooling the air around it. This in turn cools the water in the pot. …
TRADITIONAL honey hunters in India have so far relied on crude methods for gathering honey which mainly involves lighting a fire under the hives to drive out the bees. The honey is then manually squeezed out of the combs. While this technique serves the main purpose - gathering honey - …
Drip irrigation may be centuries old NGr but its revival in a novel form deserves mention. The department of horticulture in Orissa has evolved the 'pitcher-method-drip-irrigation' where earthen pitchers filled with water are placed under plants%? which require a constant flow of water. A hole at the bottom of the …
Scientists at Cambridge Universil UK, have announced prc _ developing "single electron logict to herald in chips with data-processing capacity of 1,000 PCs. The principle behind this logicl that small and precise numbers electrons can be controllt form numerous information pri cessing functions. It builds on wo on "single electron …
SRI International, the US contrad research organisation - former known as Stanford Reseai 2 tute - has devised a hardensi luggage container to mitigate ON effect of a terrorist bomb blast on aircraft. The 0.5 inches thick "blanket" is made of materials that can absoic bomb blast debris and fragment …
Researchers have finally brought the controversy around 'gay gene' theory to an end. A study conducted on gay siblings revealed the existence of genetic material on an X-chromosome segment which may be responsible for homosexual preference in males, though not so in females. Dean Hamer and his colleagues at the …
A link has been established between aging and cell division by scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, California. Earlier tests had shown that cells growing in culture medium stopped dividing after a certain number of divisions. Research has shown the presence of an unusual form of enzyme -betagalactosidase -in senescent …
Why do females sometimes reject transplants from males? This mysal tery was partially solved recently, when a cell marker that makes male tissues unacceptable to females was identified by two groups of sciento tists separately -one at the 1e Hammersmith Hospital in London and the other at the Leiden 101 …
THE world, as we perceive it through our senses, appears to be unitary: the final mental picture we have of the world, at any moment, is synthetic, built up from sensory impressions, received through sight and hearing primarily, as well as smell, touch and taste. In daily life, we do …
"INTO every tidy scheme for arranging the pattern of human life, it is necessary to inject a certain dose of anarchism. " This quotation from Bertrand Russell, is certainly appropriate at the beginning of this book on fuzzy logic. If anything, the "anarchism" of fuzzy logic has and continues to …
LIGHT emitting diodes (LEDS) are C0113monly used as displays for many con- Sumer electronics products. In the last few years, tremendous progress has been made in the technology for improving the quality of these display units. LEDs with much higher light intensity and a longer life have been developed now, …
IF WILHELM Roentgen was to see a modern medical imaging laboratory today too years after the first x-ray images he would not recognise it. From ultrasound to magnetic resonance imaging machines, from PET (positron emission tomography) scanners to radionuclides, the range of devices used today for probing the human body …
A GENE test that predicts when one will die? This seemingly speculative theory bas now become a distinct reality, thanks to fresh research carried out at the Rockfeller University, us. Researchers at Rockfeller have identified the apolipoprotein-F, or apo-F gene as the first of a set that roughly determines normal …
THE sun and the moon came together yet again on October 24, 1995, after I long years, in a dazzling display of cele tial reunion. Earthlings watched - awestruck and spellbound. But which the sociocultural significance of th event was well marked, scientists kel their fingers crossed over any new …
