National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has conducted a survey on Household Social Consumption: Education as part of 75th round of National Sample Survey (NSS). Prior to this, surveys on the same subject were carried out during 64th round (July 2007- June 2008) and 71st round …
A TEAM of US scientists has developed a technique to enable hand-held computers that work with a pen to recognise handwriting quickly and more accurately than their present level of literacy allows them (Science Vol 260, No 5115). The new system, which has been developed by Rohini Srihari, Stayvis Ng, …
ANAMICA, a computer software developed by scientists at the Advanced Numerical Research and Analysis Group (ANURAG) in Hyderabad, is poised to revolutionise medical diagnosis and surgery by producing three-dimensional images of the insides of organs such as the brain, heart and even bones. What ANAMICA -- ANURAG's Medical Imaging and …
A GROUP of Japanese companies has developed a robot that can wash and wax 2,000 sq metres of floor in an hour. The machine is first guided around the area to be cleaned, after which it memorises the cleaning route and then automatically washes or waxes the floor, stopping only …
EVERY DAY, in all weather conditions, scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) receive data about the earth from spaceborne satellites that use specialised RADAR equipment. But converting these data into high resolution image of the earth is a mindboggling task: To process an image of a 100 km …
LEWIS Carroll would have been delighted to put Alice into this wonderland. And James Thurber's Walter Mitty would have found in it an excellent refuge from his importunate wife. Virtual Reality (VR) is the latest in fantasyware -- a three-dimensional, computer-simulated landscape in which, unlike the dreamworld created by novelists …
DESIGNER science is coming of age. Scientists are combining the growing understanding of processes and structures at the molecular, atomic and subatomic levels with computer modelling techniques to synthesise new products. And, they are now discovering that their theoretical simulations are borne out by reality. Scientists hitherto used trial-and-error methods …
NEVER in recent history has the world witnessed political and strategic changes as dramatic as those seen between 1986 and 1991. In this short span, a once proud and mighty superpower has not only gone -- quite literally -- to pieces, but has joined the queue of supplicants paying obeisance …
ANTS ARE known for their industriousness, but not many people know about their ability to figure out the shortest path between two points -- that is, along a straight line -- without having a bird's eye view of their surroundings. How ants follow a straight path to their food has …
AS SCIENTISTS make smaller and faster computers, somewhere down the road they are bound to run into barriers erected by the laws of physics. For instance, the ability of modern computers to wipe out files puts a limit on their power efficiency because deleting material consumes energy. Therefore, no matter …
HUNDREDS of small voluntary organisations across the country have dedicated themselves to simplifying the mysteries of science for amateurs and giving them hands-on experience in the subject. NCSTC-Network, a voluntary organisation set up in 1991, has linked 50 such people's science organisations and some government bodies, including the computer section …
NCSTC-Network C/o National Council for Science and Technology Communication and Technology Bhawan New Mehrauli Road New Delhi 110 016 Andhra Pradesh Akademy of Sciences V C Lodge Road Osmania University Campus Hyderabad 500 007 Tamil Nadu Science Forum No 7 (II Floor), Luz Church Road Mylapore Madras 600 014 Science …
THE PERSONAL computer on your desk could soon be processing data at 10 times its present speed following the introduction of the most advanced microprocessor chip for PCs yet -- the Pentium, made by Intel Corp of USA (New Scientist, Vol 138, No 1873). The Pentium, also one of the …
STEVEN Spielberg's latest science fiction blockbuster, Jurassic Park, has already broken records at the box office. It is a thrilling tale of humans encountering dinosaurs. Though the film may take some time to reach India, last month, STAR Plus telecast an hour-long special programme on the making of Jurassic Park, …
IT BEGINS in the spring, when the sun"s rays start to warm the Indian subcontinent. And by June 23, the summer solstice, as the longest day is known, earnest Doordarshan newsreaders recite the familiar litany: "Light or isolated heavy showers are likely in some places, in the next 24 hours. …
TWO US oceanographers have used powerful supercomputers to perform the best-ever simulation of the world's ocean movements -- an important step towards forecasting how changes in ocean circulation will affect global climate over the next century. Albert Semtner of the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey and Robert Chervin of the …
Cables as messengers of information between computers are on their way out. A cableless computer network called WaveLAN, in which each computer is provided with an antenna that picks up data in the form of radiowaves, was launched recently in Britain (New Scientist, Vol 138, No 1874). The new technology …
A computerised up-to-date information system will soon replace cumbersome files and harassed information officers at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The computerised information network, National Agricultural Research System (NARS), will encompass the activities of more than 25,000 scientists at 75 major agricultural research institutes, 27 universities and 1,000 …
WHITE House sources indicate a department of labour (DOL) project to ease immigration rules for professionals in selected industries may be scrapped following objections that it would worsen the lot of unemployed Americans. A host of industry groups led by the American Federation of Labour-Confederation of Industrial Organisations -- the …
TRANSPORT authorities in USA and Europe, where the motor car culture first spawned, are now developing sophisticated technology to monitor and direct traffic in order to reduce congestion on their roads. Several US firms are developing what are called intelligent vehicle highway systems (IVHS) to regulate traffic more efficiently than …
Anybody wanting information about Indian medicinal plants will soon be able to get it at the push of a button. Work on a multidisciplinary, computerised databank, Inmedplan (Indian Medicinal Plants National Network of Distribution of Databases), has started and is due to go on-line by the end of the year. …
