Science & Technology - Current Affairs for June, 2016

Defence Minister Shri Manohar Parrikar handed over Varunastra- a ship launched heavyweight torpedo- also known as an underwater missile to the Indian Navy.

• Varunastra has been developed by NSTL, a premier DRDO laboratory based at Visakhapatnam.
• M/s Bharat Dynamics Ltd has been associated as a production partner in concurrent engineering mode.
• Varunastra, a versatile naval weapon which can be fired from the Rajput class destroyers, Delhi class and all future Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) ships capable of firing heavy weight torpedoes and is capable of targeting quiet and stealthy submarines both in deep and littoral waters even in intense countermeasure atmosphere.

Researchers have developed a new, non-invasive method to kill cancer cells in two hours, which will help people with inoperable or hard to reach tumours as well as young children stricken with deadly disease

• Method involves the injection of a chemical compound called nitrobenzeldahyde which turns the tumour into diffused tissues
• A beam of light is focused on the tissue causing the cells to become acidic inside out and kill themselves
• Within two hours, close to 95 percent of the targeted cells are dead or estimated to be so
• Induced cell suicide is the method that therefore works to deal with deadly diseases like triple negative breast cancer

Scientists using a new approach to gas exploration, have discovered a huge helium gas field in Tanzania which could address shortage of vital yet rare element.

• Helium is critical to many things taken for granted including MRI scanners in medicine, nuclear energy, welding and industrial leak detection
• Researchers from Oxford and Durham Universities in the UK worked with Helium One, a Norwegian helium exploration company which has developed a new exploration approach
• The first use of this method resulted in world class helium gas field in Tanzania
• Within the Tanzanian East African Rift Valley, the volcanoes have emitted ancient deep rocks and trapped the helium in shallow gas fields

IBM Researchers have announced a new one step chemical process which converts polycarbonates from smartphones, CDs and other devices into non-toxic plastic

• Recycled plastic is safe for water purification, fibre optics and medical equipment
• World generates more than 2.7 MT of plastic known as polycarbonates to make common household items and devices
• Polycarbonates decompose and leach BPA which has a chemical to exert potential effects of BPA on the brain
• IBM Researchers have added a fluoride reactant akin to baking powder and heat to old CDs to provide new plastic with temperature and chemical resistance superior to original substance.
• When the powder is reconstructed into new forms, the strength prevents the decomposition process which leads to BPA leaching

The gravitational waves or ripples in space time captured by space detectors can be used for discovering when and how some of the largest black holes in the universe were born

• Scientists led by Durham University researchers ran the huge cosmological simulations used to predict the rate at which gravitational waves caused by collisions between monster black holes might be detected
• Amplitude and frequency of these waves could unveil the initial mass of the seeds from which black holes first grew since they were formed 13 billion years ago and provide further clues about the nature of their causation and formation
• Study combined simulations from the EAGLE project to create realistic simulation of the known universe within the computer to compute gravitational wave signals
• Two detections of gravitational wavs cause by collisions between supermassive black holes should be easy each year using space based instruments such as Evolved Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (eLISA) detector due to launch in 2034
• International LIGO and Virgo collaborations have indicated they have detected gravitational waves using ground based instruments and this month reported a second detection
• As eLISA will be in space- and at least 250,000 times larger than Earth detectors- it should detect much lower frequency gravitational waves using ground based instruments and a second detection has been reported.
• Seeds of black holes were the result of growth or collapse of first generation of stars un the universe, collisions between stars in dense stellar clusters or direct collapse of extremely massive stars in the early universe

Brahmos, the world’s most formidable supersonic cruise missile has been integrated and test flown with IAF’s Su-30MKI frontline strike fighter.

• This is a leading cruise missile capable pf hitting targets beyond radar horizons
• This world class missile has the capacity to take on targets by flying combined high-low trajectory thereby evading enemy defence systems

Number of missing cases of microcephaly epidemic country in Zika prone countries has raised questions about the assumed link between the two

• Epidemic of microcephaly- a birth defect where baby’s heads become smaller- has raised serious questions about the assumed link with Zika virus
• Prenatal Zika virus infection has been linked to both birth outcomes and adverse pregnancy namely brain anomalies such as microcephaly
• A new study in Colombia found total number of pregnancies with Zika infection is larger with 11,944 cases of symptoms in clinical settings yet no microcephaly occurred in these pregnancies
• An alternative case of microcephaly in Brazil could be pesticide pyriproxyfen, which is cross-reactive with retinoic acid and is being used in drinking water, the researchers said

Researchers have developed a fresh technology to make the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory to become more sensitive to gravitational waves which are faint ripples in space time.

• MIT and Australian National University team of researchers report on improvements in what is called the squeezed vacuum source
• Injecting the new squeezed vacuum source into the LIGO detector could help to double sensitivity
• Scientists announced the first ever observation of g-waves earlier this year 100 years after Einstein predicted their existence in his general theory of relativity
• In case this is implemented, it will boost the sensitivity of gravitational detectors specifically at higher frequencies vital for understanding the composition of neutron stars

Marking the first entry into multilateral export control regime, India will join MTCR or Missile Technology Control Regime as a full member, three days following the NSG membership on account of stiff opposition from China and some other nations.

• Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar will sign the document of accession into MTCR in the presence of French, Netherlands and Luxembourg ambassadors
• China is not a member of the 34 nation NTCR
• Following the civil nuclear deal with the US, India is being able to enter this export control regime
• Other such regimes include Australia Group, Wassenaar Agreement and NSG
• India’s aim to enter MTCR was boosted after agreement to join Hague Code of Conduct dealing with ballistic missile non proliferation arrangement.

NASA’s Curiosity Rover has discovered tridymite, a mineral in a rock sample on Mars indicating that the red planet hosts explosive volcanoes during its evolution. Mars Science Lab rover Curiosity has been working with Gale Crater rocks since 2012

• Analysis from X-ray diffraction instrument on the rover detected silica mineral called tridymite which is associated with silicic volcanism
• This provides deeper explanation of volcanic activity in Mars

NASA and ISRO are working together to develop synthetic aperture radar satellite for observing and measuring ecosystem disturbances, ice sheet collapses and natural hazards

Data gathered from the mission will be used to build climate resiliency and save lives

Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology Pune is working with NOAA to develop high resolution seasonal and long term climate forecasts to prepare for the monsoon.
Ambassador Rahul Verma said climate change was the foremost problem of the world along with WMD in a conference sponsored by Department of State in partnership with Institute for Sustainable Communicates and CED

Micro-blogging site Twitter has rolled out a new feature letting users see tweets from a specific place such as business, sports stadium or music festival

• Foursquare is a search and discovery mobile application which powers precise place identification for the fresh Twitter feature
• Foursquare will also get prominent branding, link backs and the ability to enhance database according to the technology website TechCrunch.

Pluto’s largest moon Charon is home to an unusual canyon system far deeper and longer than the Grand Canyon on earth according to a new image taken over by NASA New Horizon Probe.

• The deep canyon is named Argo Chasma
• It is around 700 km long while Arizona’s Grand Canyon is 450 km long
• Scientists estimate Argo Chasma to be 9 km deep more than 5 times the depth of earth’s Grand Canyon
• There are locations along the canyon’s length where sheer cliffs reach many miles high and the Verona Rupes on Miranda, a Uranus moon.
• The latter moon is known for the title of the tallest known cliff face in the solar system
• Image was taken by New Horizon LORRI or Long Range Reconnaissance Imager at 2.33 km per pixel.
• This has take a range of 466,000 km from Charon which is 5 hours 22 minutes after the New Horizons closest approach to Charon on July 14 in the previous year
• Charon which is Pluto’s largest moon once had a sub surface ocean long since frozen
• The moon is characterised by pull apart tectonic faults which result in valleys, scarps and ridges

Periods of seismic quiet occur before volcanic eruptions and can be said to forecast impending eruption for restless volcanoes.

• When dormant volcanoes are about to erupt, predictive characteristics are show such as seismic activity beneath the volcano which starts to increase, causing gas to escape through the vent and the surrounding ground to become deformed.
• Till now, there had not been a way to predict the eruption of volcanoes before this.
• Diana Roman, a volcanologist at Carnegie Institution for Science in the US working with Pennsylvania State University, Oxford University and University of Iceland found periods of seismic quiet occur before eruptions and can be used to forecast eruption for restless volcanoes.
• Duration of the silence can indicate level of energy that will be released when the eruption occurs and longer periods may mean bigger eruptions.
• Of 50 explosions that occurred, 35 have preceding quiet periods lasting 30 minutes or more.

Marine biotechnology scientists in Gujarat have discovered 10 new species of fishes including one that has been recorded for the first time in the world.

• New species have been discovered in the first ever major exercise to map and DNA bardcode all fish species along the state’s 1600 km coastline.
• Mapping will create a massive data base of all fish species along with DNA barcode which will conserve the marine biodiversity of Gujarat.
• According to the data of the Gujarat Biodiversity Board, there are estimated 606 species of fish found in the state of which 487 were marine and 119 were freshwater fishes.
• Spiny Loach fish has been found in Veraval for the first time in the world.
• Dr Yususfzai of the Department of Aquaculture leading the research team said every species of marine fish will get a DNA barcode.
• Spiny Loach is now placed in the Barcode of Life Data Systems/BOLD database which is a global reference library of DNA barcodes that can be used to assign identities to space not known.
• Mapping of marine fish biodiversity along the Veraval coast uses MtDNA barcoding funded by Gujarat State Biotechnology Mission
• DNA barcoding is a new system to discover species using a small DNA section from the standardised region of the genome
• DNA sequence is used to identify different species

Using the device just prior to sleep can lead to a condition called transient smartphone blindness according to doctors who reported the case of UK women suffering from temporary vision impairment in one eye after looking at bright phones in an unlit room.

• In the first case, a 22 year old woman had trouble with her right eye at night while in bed
• In another case, a 40 year old woman reported not being able to see with one eye after waking up at sunrise
• In both cases, doctors found that the vision problem occurred only after smartphone viewing in the dark room.

US tech giant Microsoft has finally introduced the mobile wallet feature in its mobile app.

• However, for now, the feature is only available for Windows Insiders using build 14360 or higher.
• Calling it a 'cloud-based payment technology,' the company announced the app in its official blog post.
• According to the blog, the service will be initially rolled out in the US and will be compatible with Lumia 950, 950 XL and 650 smartphones .
• It will also be available at more than a million retail locations with the Microsoft Wallet logo at the point of sale.
• As of now, Microsoft has partnered with a few banks for the service. These include Bank of America, Chase, US Bank and a few others

India has injected 20 satellites including 17 foreign satellites into orbit in a single mission

• Primary payload of the mission is the Cartosat 2 series which provides remote sensing services
• Mission has also injected satellites from Germant, Canada and US into orbit
• India has also set a new record in space mission by successfully injecting 20 satellites into orbit through workhorse PSLV-C34 which set a new record on Wednesday, 22nd June
• The 320 tonne PSLV C34 took off on its 36th flight from Satish Dhawan Space centre with the satellites
• Cartosat-2 was placed in orbit at 9.44am. With Cartosat-2 weighing 727.5kg, PSLV lifted off a total of 1,288kg in to space and began placing the satellites into orbit about 17minutes later.

Twitter known for its 140 character limit on tweets and is now permitting users to post longer videos of 140 seconds. The microblogging site indicated some publishers can create videos as long as 10 minutes

• The microblogging site also launched a new mobile app allowing publishers to analyse interactions with followers called Twitter Engage
• It recently acquired AI firm Magic Pony
• Videos had previously been restricted to 30 seconds
• 140 second limit will apply to video streaming service Vine of Twitter which earlier had a six second limit

Following the success of the Reusable Launch Vehicle-TD in the previous month, ISRO is testing a scramjet engine associated with air breathing propulsion

• Test flight of the indigenously developed scramjet engine will take place at Sriharikota’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre.
• Called Advanced Technology Vehicle, the test platform will comprise a scramjet engine associated with a two stage sounding rocket- RH 560
• Vehicle is being characterised and fabricated at VSSC and ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri
• Air breathing engine will be released at a height of 70 km and ignited during coasting phase.
• Apart from the hypersonic ignition at Mach 6, ISRO sustained the combustion for 5 seconds
• Maintaining combustion in this condition is a technical challenge as the fuel has to be ignited in milliseconds

French firm Cooltech Applications has launched what it claims as the world’s first commercially available magnetic refrigeration system.

• It can serve as a “Superfridge” slashing down both the environmental as well as economic challenges which the current electricity appliances face.
• The Magnetic Refrigeration System (MRS) achieves refrigeration by passing a water coolant through magnetocaloric materials undergoing repeated magnetization-demagnetization cycles.
• Glycol water is used as a coolant fluid to transfer heat between cold and hot sources working on the system of magneto caloric events.

A research paper outlines a method for converting plastic into usable fuel that has been developed in a lab. Research was done by a combined team of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and University of California.

• World produces 299 MT of plastic in 2013-2014, and more thereon. According to UNEP, between 22 to 43 percent of the plastic used worldwide in disposed in landfills
• Method used by teams involve mixing plastic with organometallic catalyst reportedly made by mixing available molecules which are doped with metal iridium
• Reaction causes bonds to weaken and plastic to be torn apart into a state which can be used to create diesel like fuel to bring power to vehicles and other motors

Astronomers have found there are more planets of the hot Jupiter type than previously expected in a cluster of stars called Messier 67, to understand planet formation.

• The open cluster star is the same age as the Sun and it is believed the Solar System operated in a similarly dense environment
• Hot Jupiter is a giant exoplanet with mass of close to more than a third of Jupiter’s mass
• These are hot as they are orbiting close to parent stars indicated by orbital period less than 10 days in duration

Astronomers have announced the discovery of the youngest planet found outside the solar system providing insights into the way planetary systems form

• 11 million year old exoplanet called K2-33b rapidly orbits around the star K2-33 in close to 5.4 days
• Exoplanets indicate planets can quickly finalise orbital distances following formation
• This exoplanet which is 5 times the size of earth is 4.5 bullion years old
• Close to 470 light years from earth, it is called a Super Neptune.

A nearly 10 km wide crater on Mars has been named after one of the villages worst hit by the devastating earthquake in Nepal in the previous year

• International Astronomical Union has named the crater after Langtang which is also a popular trekking site
• Close to 215 people were killed in Langtang where a quake triggered avalanche submerged the village

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle will lift off at 9.25 am on June 22nd from Sriharikota an important mission for ISRO.

• This vehicle has placed 20 satellites into the same orbit- the highest number of satellites to be put into orbit by a PSLV- it will perform experiments as well
• Fifty minutes after the satellites are injected into the orbit from the fourth stage of the vehicle, the engine will be reignited for five seconds
• It will then be shut down for 50 minutes and reignited for another 5 seconds

To achieve more efficient, quieter and environment friendly aircraft compared to a conventional one, the US space agency has unveiled for an electric powered airplane designated as X-57.

• With 14 electric motors turning propellors and integrated into uniquely designed wings, NASA’s reaction will test the new propulsion technology using X-57 nicknamed Maxwell.
• The name Maxwell is to honour James Clerk Maxwell, a 19th century Scottish physicist who did groundbreaking work in electromagnetism
• NASA’s scalable convergent electric propulsion operations research project will build the X-57 by modification of recently obtained, Italian designed Tecnam P2006T twin engine light aircraft.

Scientists have combined 3D printed polymers with methane eating bacteria to create the first reactor that can produce methanol from the green house gas, advancement leading to efficient energy production.

• Researchers removed enzymes from methanotrophs, bacteria that consume methane and mix then with polymers printed or molded into innovative reactors.
• The enzymes retain close to 100 percent activity in the polymer
• Large volume of methane leaks or flares during the operations because the gas is difficult to store and transport compared to more valuable liquid fuels

US scientists have created the world’s first microchip that has 1000 processors and is currently the fastest chip designed in the university laboratory

• Energy efficient microchip designed by University of California researchers is called the KiloCore chip and has maximal computation rate of 1.78 trillion instructions per second and close to 621 million transistors.
• This is the world’s first 1000 processor and is the highest clock rate processor ever designed in a university
• Fabricated by IBM using the 32nm CMOS technology, KiloCore chip’s each processor core can run its own small programme independently of others
• Multiple processor chips have now been created that exceed the previous limit of 300 processors

Discovery marks a milestone accomplished by Hubble, which in 25 years in orbit has made scientific discoveries in the solar system. Deep ocean under the icy crust of Ganymede opened up exciting possibilities of life on earth.

• NASA’s Hubble Space telescope revealed the best evidence for underground saltwater ocean on Ganymede, Jupiter’s largest moon
• Subterranean ocean is thought to have more water than all water on Earth’s surface
• Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system and the only moon with its magnetic field

Scientists have created a new software that rapidly and efficiently models and prints thousands of hair like structures which takes a huge amount of computational time and power through conventional software.

• 3D printers can print anything from a sports car to human skin
• Researchers at MIT have now developed a new technique to bypass a massive design step in 3D printing
• Team created a new software platform called Cilllia that determines the angle, thickness, density and height of thousands of hairs in just a few minutes
• Using Cilllia, researchers designed arrays of hair like structures with resolution of 50 microns about the width of a human hair
• New technology can be used to print wigs and hair extensions, adding 3D printed hair could perform critical tasks such as sensing, adhesion and actuation.
• Work inspired by hair like structures in nature provide benefits in case of human hair and movement in case of cilia which removes dust from lungs

Cells leading to the rise of most complex forms of life on earth including multi-cellular organisms such as animals or plants, indicating result of growing intimacy between single celled relatives

• First living beings on earth were single cell organisms- these were simple cells which during the course of evolution have rise to eukaryotes or cells with a nucleus
• First eukaryote arose when prokaryotes joined forces.
• Prokaryotes are single celled organisms lacking a cell nucleus
• Researchers now hold that molecular machinery essential to eukaryotic life were borrowed
• This proposal is associated with new genomic evidence associated with deep sea vents on the ocean floor.
• Eukaryotic cells differ from that of single celled relatives, archaea and bacteria
• Genome of the archaean known as Lokiarchaeum contain eukaryotic signature proteins than any other prokaryote
• Genome of this organism is now primed for eukaryogenesis with the acquisition of key genes and lipids from a bacterial symbiont

Scientists have worked out novel proteins that work like guided missiles which seek cancel cells and deliver chemotherapy drugs to cure had to reach tumours without harming healthy cells.

• Chemotherapy drugs do kill cancer cells, they damage other quickly dividing cells in the human body causing everything from cosmetic to disabling impact
• Drug dose needed to kill tumour may be more than what the human body can handle
• Dose high enough to infiltrate the tumour could also harm other cells in the human body
• Recently approved therapies deliver drugs directly to the tumours
• Now, researchers are using engineered protein rather than antibodies to direct drug to the tumour
• Specialised protein reaches out faster and is smaller in size than antibodies. Big size limits penetration by antibodies. Smaller molecule could diffuse into the tumour better.

In the first, scientists have grown a living bone in the lab to repair large defects in the head and face of patients, taking a move forward in enhancing treatments for persons with craniofacial defects.

• New technique developed by Columbia University researchers uses autologous stem cells derived from a little sample of the recipient’s fat and replicates the anatomical structure of the bone
• Researchers also include scientists from Louisiana State University and Tulane University in the US fabricated scaffold and bioreactor chamber based on jaw defects to yield perfect anatomical fit
• Scaffold built enabled bone formation without the use of growth factors and also provided mechanical function which has a unique application for clinicians.
• The recipients own stem cells can be isolated from the small fat aspirate and form the bone within a scaffold made from bone matrix in a custom designed perfused bioreactor
• The outcome was that the lab grown bone when implanted was replaced by a new bone formed by the body
• This result was not seen with the implantation of the scaffold alone without cells.
• Researchers now include a cartilage layer in the bio-engineered living bone tissue to study bone regeneration in complex defects of the head and face.

NASA scientists have discovered a tiny asteroid in an orbit round the Sun that is a constant companion of the earth and will remain so for centuries to come

• Size of the object has not been firmly established though it is bigger than 120 feet and smaller than 300 feet
• The new asteroid named 2016 HO3 appears to circle around the earth as well and is considered to be the true satellite of the planet yet it is the best and most stable quasi satellite for earth
• One other asteroid named 2003 YN 107 was following a similar orbital pattern for a decade but it has since departed
• In the yearly trek around the sun, asteroid 2016 HO3 spends half of the time closer to the Sun s against the earth and passes ahead of the planet at half the time from farther away causing the asteroid to fall behind
• Its orbit is titled a little causing it to go up and then down through the earth’s orbital plane
• This small asteroid will stick to earth for at least hundreds of years
• This asteroid was first spotted on April 27 by Pan STARRS 1 asteroid survey telescope on Haleakala, Hawaii

A new, open source computer programming framework making the web significantly more energy efficient permits people to save more battery power while mobile browsing

• Scientists have developed the GreenWeb a set of web programming language extensions enabling web developers to exert flexibility over energy efficiency and energy consumption of the website
• As user awareness is constantly increasing, web developers need to be aware of energy efficiency
• Current web language standards do not provide developers control over device energy use
• Researchers integrated GreenWeb into Google Chrome and reported energy savings of 30 to 66 percent over the default mode of Android.
• Mobile device users spend 2/3rd of their time browsing the web. Amount of energy saving could lead to 20 to 40 percent battery life extension.

Union Minister of State for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy launched Urban Jyoti Abhiyaan mobile app at South Goa’s Conference of Power Ministers

• This app is developed by Power Finance Corporation and increased consumer connect with urban power distribution
• Main focus of app is good governance
• The Union Minister also launched the Pradhan Mantri UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LED for all) Yojana in Goa with a target of replacing approximately 15 lakh LED bulbs, impacting nearly 5 lakh households.
• Under the scheme, consumers are entitled to 3 LED bulbs of 9W each at a subsidized rate of Rs.25/, as against a market price of Rs.300-350.
• Besides, the Union Minister also launched “Vidyut Pravah” App at the event
• The scope of DEEP or discovery of efficient electricity price was further expanded at the meet by covering banking mechanism.

This marks the first recorded extinction of a mammal in the world thought to be due to human induced climate change

• The Bramble Cay melomys was found only on a tiny Great Barrier Reef Island
• This meal is also known as the Australian Great Barrier Reef rodent or Bramble Cay Mosaic tailed rat
• It is a species of the rodent in family Muridae and Australia’s most isolated mammal

Swedish communication technology MNC Ericsson launched the 5G plug ins to meet 5G use cases.

• Ericsson 5G Plug ins include MIMO plug in, multiuser MIMO plug in, RAN virtualisation plug-in, intelligent connectivity plug in and latency reduction plug in.
• These plugins are supported by Ericsson Radio System and focused on capabilities that operators can leverage within current networks to encourage transition to 5G

The meteorite discovered in Sweden’s fossil meteorite packed Thorsberg quarry belongs to a kind never before found on earth

• New meteorite called Ost 65, is from a missing partner in a massive asteroid collision 470 million years back
• The collision led to debris falling on Earth over a million years and influenced great diversification of life in the Ordovician period lasting 45 million years commencing 488.3 million and ending 443.7 million years ago
• An object involved in the collision is the source of L-chondrites, the most common type of meteorite but the identity of the object it hit remains elusive

China is developing a supercomputer capable of billion billion calculations per second operationalised by 2020 according to top officials. As per the national plan for the next generation of high performance computers, China will come up with an excel computer during 2016-2020

• Government of Tianjin Binhai New Area, NUDT and the National Supercomputing centre in Tianjin were working on this project
• It will be called Tianhe-3
• In 2010, China’s first petaflop supercomputer Tianhe- capable of million billion calculations per second started functioning

Researchers at a Kerala veterinary and animal sciences university have discovered antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) to counter MDR or multidrug-resistant microbes

• KVASU officials indicated emergence of multi drug resistant microbes and chemotherapy resistant cancer cells has caused massive damage in healthcare sector
• Antimicrobial peptides hold a promise to deal with the problem
• A messanger RNA has been isolated and developed with an anti microbial motif.
• Traditional antibiotics usually target particular physiological process of bacteria such as cell wall synthesisM DNA replication etc whereby AMP act without specific receptors and are ideal molecules to beat resistance
• AMP are short molecules comprising 12-100 animo acids of the immune system found in all forms of life from microbes to humans to deal with microbial challenge.

Methane emissions from a specific leaking facility on Earth’s surface have been measured by an instrument on board an orbiting spacecraft for the first time.

• The observation has been done by the Hyperion spectrometer on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 (EO-1).
• This is an important breakthrough in our ability to eventually measure and monitor emissions of this potent greenhouse gas from space.
• Part of NASA’s New Millennium Program, EO-1 is an advanced land-imaging mission designed to demonstrate new instruments and spacecraft systems.
• Launched in 2000, EO-1 has validated technologies for the Operational Land Imager used on the Landsat-8 satellite mission and future imaging spectrometer missions, and supported disaster-response applications.
• The mission is managed by NASA Goddard.

The health ministry on June 15 reiterated India continues to be polio free as it has eradicated wild polio virus and no such virus was detected for over five years now.

• This came in the wake of reports about wild polio virus (P2 strain) being found in a Hyderabad drain.
• The ministry said it was a vaccine derived virus and does not change the polio-free status of India.
• However, as a precautionary measure, the ministry will hold a special immunisation drive in the high-risk areas of Telangana.
• Vaccine derived polio virus are rare strain of the polio viruses that have genetically mutated from the strain contained in the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV).

Scientists, including one of Indian-origin, have developed a method of combating motion sickness-like symptoms experienced by some people when they use popular virtual reality headsets.

• Their approach dynamically, yet subtly, changes the user's field of view (FOV) in response to visually perceived motion, as the user virtually traverses an environment while remaining physically stationary.
• The method can be applied to consumer head-worn virtual reality (VR) displays, such as the Oculus Rift and Google Cardboard.
• The study showed that by strategically and automatically manipulating FOV, the degree of VR sickness experienced by participants can be significantly reduced.

A team of international scientists have identified the merger of two black holes yet again - just three months after their first detection, researchers announced on June 15, 2016.

• Scientists detected the cataclysmic black hole merger -- a phenomenon Albert Einstein predicted in his theory of relativity a century ago - by spotting gravitational waves, using an advanced detector known as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO instrument.
• Black holes form in the final stage of most massive stars' evolution. The space bodies are so dense that neither light nor matter can escape them.
• Gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of space time permitting scientists to detect when black holes merge
• The first detection of waves in September 2015 was announced in February 2016, in a landmark discovery for physics and astronomy following decades of efforts
• Researchers announced waves a second time in December produced by black hole collision
• Mysteries which have to be explained include how do such black hole systems form.

Tweaking just one or two genes, Cornell University researchers altered patterns on their wings and showed how colour patterns and other patterns and shapes evolved. By using the new method of CRISPR genome editing, researchers cut out a gene known as spalt, and produced a butterfly lacking the large round markings known as eyespots. In another experiment, they removed a gene known as distal-less and produced more and larger eyespots.

• The experiments also produced changes in other parts of the wing design.
• The distal-less gene in particular revealed itself as a jack-of-all-trades gene that plays roles in shaping several parts of the body. Deleting it not only caused the butterfly to have extra eyespots, but to have shorter legs and antennae.
• Butterfly wing patterns are of special interest to evolutionary biologists because they provide an easily accessible model of how natural selection chooses from many possible variations.
• The researchers worked with the butterflies Vanessa cardui, known as the "Painted Lady" or "Cosmopolitan" and Junonia coenia, the “Buckeye.”

Researchers have found an organic molecule essential to biology in interstellar space for the first time, which could help solve a long time mystery.

• Like humans, the organic molecules that make up the universe can lean left-handed or right-handed, a preference known as chirality. Most molecules on Earth lean left -- but scientists don't know why
• The recently discovered interstellar molecule is the most complex ever discovered outside our solar system, and the first chiral molecule detected in interstellar space.
• Scientists have found chiral molecules in meteorites on Earth and comets in our solar system, but never before in interstellar space.
• The molecule, propylene oxide, was found "near the center of our galaxy in an enormous star-forming cloud of dust and gas," the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) said in a statement.
• Scientists used an extremely sensitive radio telescope to detect the molecule. They presented their findings at the American Astronomical Society meeting in San Diego, California this week, and published a paper in the journal Science.
• The origin of chirality in molecules remains a mystery, but scientists are hopeful that the interstellar discovery could finally solve the puzzle by clearing up what ingredients formed the base of our solar system.

China on 12 June 2016 launched its 23rd satellite it the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS). The satellite launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China's Sichuan Province will support China’s global navigation and positioning network.

• The satellite was taken into orbit by a Long March-3C carrier rocket. It was the 229th launch of the Long March carrier rocket.
• It is being developed as an alternative to US GPS.
• Satellite after entering the designed work orbit and finishing in orbit testing will join others in orbit.

Astronomers have discovered largest planets outside our solar system orbiting two stars, at a distance indicating potential habitability for people.

• Group of NASA astronomers have made the discovery using the Kepler space telescope revealing the finding at a meeting of the San Diego American Astronomical Society.
• The gaseous planet dubbed Kepler 1647 b is the size of Jupiter and has a wide orbit around two stars in 1107 days or around three years.
• Discovery is the eleventh of its kind since 2005
• Planets that orbit these two stars known as circumbinary planets are called Tatooines after a fictional planet in Star Wars where Luke Skywalker was raised.
• Kepler- 1647b is further from the two stars than any other known circumbinary planet, placing the planet in an orbit that places the planet within the so called habitable zone.
• This would make the planet neither too hot nor cold for human habitation and water is prevalent in liquid form
• Kepler 1647b is gaseous indicating possibility of life to be slightly unlikely though any large moons orbiting the planet could host life.
• Astronomer Laurance Doyle of the SETI institute first noticed Kepler-1647 b’s transit in 2011 Business.

Scientists have been baffled by the smarts displayed by birds with tiny brains and birds have more densely packed neutrons than other animals indicating cognitive ability on par with that of primates.

• A macaw’s brain can be the size of a shelled walnut, smaller than that of a macaque monkey which has a brain the size of a lemon.
• Parrots have far more neutrons than either in the forebrain.
• Researchers were the first to measure neutrons in 20 bird species ranging from the tiny finch to the 1.8 m emu.
• Parrots and crows have cognitive abilities akin to those of primates.
• Birds can make certain tools and use them to obtain food and deal with other problems
• Birds especially songbirds and parrots have a large number of neutrons in their pallium explaining why it supports higher cognitive functions such as planning for the future or finding patterns.

Physicists and life scientists from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences in Mumbai have developed a computer algorithm that allows tracking of prehistoric movements of humans based on their habitable needs and current topographical satellite data.

• It may prove a watershed in determining how populations have grown and shrunk even when no genetic information is available, help archaeologists look for prehistoric settlements, and challenge long-held racial beliefs.
• Habitability parameters - closeness to water bodies, lower altitudes and flat land - priorities for moving from one point to another were mapped with satellite-based geographical and hydrological data, all of which were coded into a software program they named SIMPLE (Simulation of Movement of People). This simulation does not take into account wars, technological or industrial advances.

Scientists have found that the hair-like nanoscale filaments on some bacteria have electrical conductivity comparable to that of copper, an advance that may lead to low-cost, non-toxic, biological components for lightweight electronics.

• Although proteins are usually electrically insulating, hair-like nanoscale filaments (called pili) on the surface of Geobacter bacteria exhibit metallic-like conductivity.
• Researchers discovered that electronic arrangement and the small molecular separation distances (about 0.3 nanometres) give the pili an electrical conductivity comparable to that of copper.

A new In Vitro fertilisation based technique is likely to cause normal pregnancies and lower the risk of babies being born with mitochondrial disease.

• Scientists at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Mitochondrial disease conducted the first in-depth analysis of human embryos created using a new technique designed to reduce the risk of mothers passing on a debilitating, life-limiting mitochondrial disease to their children.
• The new technique, called 'early pronuclear transfer', involves transplanting the nuclear DNA from a fertilised egg into a donated egg, which contains healthy mitochondria, on the day of fertilisation.

Scientists have turned carbon dioxide into stone in a matter of months by pumping it deep underground, offering a revolutionary new way of storing the greenhouse gas to tackle climate change.

• The pioneering experiment in Iceland mixed CO₂ emissions with water and pumped it hundreds of meters (feet) underground into volcanic basalt rock — where it rapidly turned into a solid.
• Carbon dioxide is a key factor in global warming
• CarbFix project at Iceland's Hellisheidi plant — the world's largest geothermal facility, which powers Reykjavik — sought to solidify the CO₂ and succeeded in doing so.

A solar powered airplane has finished crossing the US landing in NY city after flying over the Statue of Liberty due to a historic bid to circumnavigate the globe. The single seat aircraft arrived at JFK International Airport at around 4 am local time after it took off close to 5 hours beforehand at Lehigh Valley International Airport in Pennsylvania.

• The solar craft’s cruising speed, similar to that of a car requires pilots to stay alert for long periods

International team of astronomers found an alien world named HATS-18b. It is a giant hot Jupiter exoplanet tidally spinning up its parent star.

• The team led by Kaloyan Penev of Princeton University carried out the observation campaign between April 2011 and July 2013.
• The new findings were published online on 2 June 2016 on arXiv.org.
• The newly discovered planetary system could be a great laboratory for to test the theories of planet–star interactions.

Marking the first direct evidence to support the theory that black holes feed on clouds of cold gas, astronomers have detected billowy clouds of cold, clumpy has streaming into the huge black hole at speeds greater than 80,00 miles per hour

• Using one of the most powerful telescopes in the world- the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submilliter Array or ALMA, team found the feeding process to be chaotic and clumpy, as against a smooth, clean and simple process
• Nature provides a clear view of the complicated process permitting us to understand supermassive black holes in ways never seen before
• Data provides a snapshot of what is happening around the black hole at one precise time so black hole has an even bigger appetite and is devouring more of the cold clouds of gas surrounding it
• Previous models have indicated gradual growth of large black holes(process called accretion) happens when the surrounding hot gas accumulates smoothly onto the black hole, in a manner similar to a slow graze.

The World Health Organization has announced that Thailand became the first Asian country to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV, a milestone in the fight against the disease. The announcement is a boost for a generation of Thai health workers who have transformed the nation from one of Asia’s most HIV-ravaged societies to a pin-up for how to effectively tackle the crisis.

• According to Thai government figures, the number of babies born with HIV has dropped from 1,000 in 2000 to just 85 last year, a large enough fall for the WHO to declare mother-to-child transmission over.
• It is a major turnaround for Thailand.

LISA Pathfinder Mission has tested a key technology to build space based observatory for detecting of gravitational waves

• Mission was led by ESA scientists with the contribution of NASA
• Research was published in Physical Review Letters on June 7, 2016
• Mission demonstrated that two test masses can be put in free fall with relative acceleration free of noise to meet requirements for space based gravitation wave detection
• These tiny ripples in the fabric of space were first seen in 2015 by ground based LIGO
• These ripples were predicted by Albert Einstein a hundred years ago
• The frequency of thermal, seismic and other noise sources limit LIGO to higher frequency gravitational waves around 100 cycles per second (hertz)
• Finding signals from mergers of supermassive black holes in colliding galaxies requires the ability to see frequencies at 1 hertz or less
• Space based observatory works through tracking of test masses that only movie under the influence of gravity

A new smartphone app to alert users to possible terror attacks was launched by the French government on June 8 in time for start of Euro 2016

• The app which is free to download in both French and English will send users a warning in the event of suspected attacks, says the Interior Ministry which piloted and introduced the service
• Users will also be alerted about unexpected events such as breaching of flood defences

Scientists have unveiled an improved method of transferring DNA between human egg cells, a technique called pronuclear transfer or three person IVF to create embryos free of genetic defects and impairments

• Method involves extracting healthy DNA of mother and father from the nucleus of the fertilised egg
• Each egg cell also contains different types of DNA residing in tiny cell structures known as mitochondria
• Sometimes the mitochondrial DNA undergo mutations which can be transmitted to offspring and can cause an array of disorders.
• The nuclear DNA is transferred into a donated egg cell -- with healthy mitochondrial DNA -- from which the nucleus has been removed.
• This marks significant progress towards a safer form of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) for women who carry disease-causing mitochondrial mutations.
• Estimates vary widely, but about one in 5,000 children is thought to be born with these mutations which can affect the muscles, eye, brain or heart.
• Mitochondria are tiny structures inside our cells which turn sugar and oxygen into energy- they are known as powerhouses or batteries of the cells
• Mitochondria have their own DNA separate from DNA within the cell nucleus.
• In 2015, Britain became the first country in the world to legalise pronuclear transfer for women with mitochondrial disorders.
• The new study, using over 500 eggs from 64 donor women, showed that small tweaks to the existing procedure can reduce the risk of mutant mitochondrial DNA transferral.
• It worked best to perform the procedure on the day of the egg's fertilisation, not later, the scientists found and it was better to freeze the egg of the patient, rather than that of the donor.

Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy launched “Surya Mitra” mobile App

• The GPS based mobile app is developed by National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) which is an autonomous institution of Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE).
• The Surya Mitra Mobile App is currently available in Google play store, which can be downloaded and used across India.
• This App is a high end technology platform which can handle thousands of calls simultaneously and can efficiently monitor all visits of Suryamitra’s. The trained Suryamitra’s who opts for entrepreneurship have joined in the Mobile App in several states.
• These Suryamitras are once again sensitised by NISE on soft skills Customer Relations Management, Punctuality and are now ready to deliver the services.

International team of astrophysicists discover new optical Einstein ring
Called Canarias Einstein Ring, it is a distorted image of a galaxy, the source, which is very distant from the Earth.

• The results of the discovery were published in the international journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society on 16 May 2016.
• The discovery was made by a team comprising of doctoral student Margherita Bettinelli from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and the University of La Laguna (ULL) of Spain.
• The rare phenomenon was discovered in the Sculptor constellation, IAC J010127-334319, in the vicinity of the Sculptor Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy.
• The discovered new source of galaxy (Einstein Ring) is an almost complete ring with an angle of 300 degree having a diameter of 4.5?arcsec.

Scientists were trying to unlock this mystery for over 20 years. New research has unlocked the crucial part of mystery as to how human DNA can replicate and repair itself, essential for all life forms.

• Main findings of the research were that Branched DNA were identified in X-Files a TV serial. Researchers showed how Flap EndoNuclease enzymes (FENs) trim branched DNA molecules after cells have divided.
• They found the FEN threads the free end of the branch through a hole in the enzyme before sliding along to the trunk. It acts like a pair of molecular secateurs, trimming the branch and restoring the iconic double-helix.
• The team used the Diamond Light Source called the UK's synchrotron which works like a giant microscope for their discovery.

At least 4 out of 10 computers in Asia-Pacific countries are likely to be infected with malware, a study by Microsoft has found.

• While Pakistan tops the list of countries figuring in the Malware Infection Index 2016, India ranks 8th on the list.
• The index, which was released on June 7, identifies the key malware threats in the region and ranks markets in Asia-Pacific according to how much they are affected.
• Three most encountered malware as Gamarue, a malicious computer worm that is commonly distributed via exploit kits and social engineering; and Skeeyah and Peals which are trojans that try to look innocent to convince you to install them, the index reveals.

Researchers have identified an enzyme that may help protect against the debilitating effects of certain degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer's, an advance which could assist in the development of new drugs.

• This study found that NMNAT2, or nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyl transferase 2, is a key neuronal maintenance factor
• It exerts both an enzyme function to protect neurons from stress caused by over-excitation, and a 'chaperone' function, shown for the first time in this study, to combat the misfolded proteins encountered by the brain during ageing
• Many neurodegenerative disorders are caused by accumulation of proteins in the brain called proteinopathies, which occur when proteins "misfold," causing them to grow "sticky" and clump up in the brain in a form often referred to as "plaques," or "tangles," researchers said.
• As a molecular chaperone, NMNAT2 binds to misfolded proteins to prevent or repair the errors that cause these clumps, they said.
• Common proteinopathies are Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, as well as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, researchers said.

Scientists have assessed the music of the stars. Ancient stars in the Milky way were found to display minute pulses in brightness caused by sound captured inside

• Astrophysicists from the University of Birmingham captured these sounds, according to research published today in the Royal Astronomical Society journal Monthly Notices.
• The research team, from the University of Birmingham's School of Physics and Astronomy, has reported the detection of resonant acoustic oscillations of stars in 'M4', one of the oldest known clusters of stars in the Galaxy, some 13 billion years old.
• They studied resonant oscillations of stars using a technique called asteroseismology.
• These oscillations lead to miniscule changes or pulses in brightness, and are caused by sound trapped inside the stars. By measuring the tones in this 'stellar music', it is possible to determine the mass and age of individual stars.

Scientists have come up with new tools to modify brain activity and memory without the use of chemicals and drugs. The new tool is a protein which can be encoded in animal genomes to switch off inhibitory synapses or connections between neurons increasing electrical activity.

• The GFE3 protein enables researchers map the brain's connections and better understand how inhibitory synapses modulate brain function, said lead author Don Arnold , professor at University of Southern California.
• It may also help them to control neural activity and treat a range of conditions from psychosis to cocaine addiction
• Most brain proteins last only a couple of days before they are actively degraded and replaced by new proteins. GFE3 targets proteins that hold inhibitory synapses together to this degradation system and as a result, the synapses fall apart.

THOR is the world’s first 3 D printed aircraft. Windowless and weighing at 21 kilos with a span of less than 4 meters, THOR stands for Test of High Tech Objectives in Reality

• In Thor the parts printed from a substance called polyamide are electrical elements
• 3D printing is also called additive manufacturing - it includes numerous processes to synthesise a 3-D object

US space agency NASA successfully deployed the first experimental inflatable room attached to the International Space Station (ISS).

• NASA Astronaut Jeff Williams began introducing air into the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module. In total, Williams opened the air valve 25 times for a total time of 2 minutes and 27 seconds to add air to the module in short bursts as flight controllers carefully monitored the its internal pressure.
• The 1,400 kg Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) was built by Las Vegas-based Bigelow Aerospace under a $17 million NASA contract. When manual operations ended, the module added 1.5 metres in length to reach 1.7 metres beyond its packed configuration and an internal diameter of 3.2 metres.

The breeding and conservation of vultures is a significant step in the direction of saving the endangered species. Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar jointly released two Himalayan Griffons into the wild from the Conservation Centre.

The Universe is expanding at the rate of 5-9 percent faster, scientists using NASA Hubble space telescope have discovered

• Researchers made the discovery by refining the universe’s current expansion rates to unprecedented accuracy, reducing uncertainty to 2.4 percent
• They looked for galaxies containing both Cepheid stars and Type Ia supernovae.
• Cepheid stars pulsate at rates that correspond to their true brightness, which can be compared with their apparent brightness as seen from Earth to accurately determine their distance.
• Type Ia supernovae, another commonly used cosmic yardstick, are exploding stars that flare with the same brightness and are brilliant enough to be seen from relatively longer distances.
• By measuring about 2,400 Cepheid stars in 19 galaxies and comparing the observed brightness of both types of stars, researchers accurately calculated distances to roughly 300 Type Ia supernovae in far-flung galaxies.

Astronomers have produced the most detailed radio map yet of the atmosphere of Jupiter, unveiling massive movement of ammonia gas under the colourful bands, spots and whirling clouds visible to the naked eye. The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) researchers used the upgraded Karl G Jansky Very Large Array in New Mexico to measure radio emissions from Jupiter's atmosphere in wavelength bands where clouds are transparent.

• They were able to see as deep as 100 kilometres below the cloud tops, a largely unexplored region where clouds form.
• The planet's thermal radio emissions are partially absorbed by ammonia gas. Based on the amount of absorption, the researchers could determine how much ammonia is present and at what depth.
• By studying these regions of the planet's atmosphere, astronomers hope to learn how global circulation and cloud formation are driven by Jupiter's powerful internal heat source.

In a discovery pointing to exciting geological activity on distant cold planet Pluto, scientists have discovered its icy heart is constantly being renewed by a processes referred to as convention. The prime attraction in the photos of Pluto sent by Nasa's New Horizon spacecraft during its July 2015 flyby was its heart — a large plain informally known as Sputnik Planum .

• The photos show that the surface of Sputnik Planum is covered with icy, churning, convective "cells" 16 to 48km across, and less than one million years old.

Scientists have found the oldest known population of plant root stem cells in a 320 million year old fossil, providing a clue on how ancient roots have developed

• Research marks the first time an actively growing fossilised root has been discovered- an ancient plant frozen in time
• Cells which give rise to the roots of the ancient plant were found in fossilised root tip at UK’s Oxford University
• Stem cells are self renewing cells responsible for the formation of multicellular organisms
• These are located in plants at the tips of roots and shoots in groups called meristems
• 320 million year old stem cells are different to those living today with a unique pattern of cell division unknown until now

Harvard University researchers have created a unique bionic leaf which uses solar energy to split water molecular into oxygen and hydrogen, and the herding eating bacteria to produce liquid fuels from CO₂

FB has built an AI system that can read text as well as a human. The new computer can read through several thousand posts per second in more than 20 languages and understand what they are saying. New tool will be used to let people get more of the site.

• Tool is initially being tested in FB Messenger

A team of researchers devised a new method for stacking microscopic marbles into regular layers which produce intriguing materials scattering light into intense colours and which change colour when twisted or stretched.

• Team led by University of Cambridge used a new method called Bend Induced Oscillatory Shearing to produce hundreds of metres of material called “polymer opals” on roll-to-roll process
• Results have allowed sheets to be manufactured on industrial scale, opening up apps from smart clothing for people or buildings to banknote security.
• The brightest colours in nature can be found in opal gemstones, butterfly wings and beetles. Materials get their colour from the systematically ordered microstructures contained
• When stretched, the material shifts into the blue range of the spectrum and red when compressed. The material returns to original colour on release.

In a rare disorder, a 17 year old Chinese girl has been found with four kidneys after she went to the hospital for recurring back pain. Xiaolin was healthy all her childhood but visited hospital for treatment after having lower back pain regularly. She has been found to suffer from renal duplex monstrosity, a rare disorder with the mortality rate of 1 in 15000 which means post of the people would not even realise they have this problem throughout their entire life.

People with serious asthma can avoid situations that trigger attacks using HET or Health and Environmental Tracker.

• This early warning system is a wearable comprising a wristband and chest patch for monitoring patients bodies and sending alerts when attacks may be imminent
• Adhesive chest patch tracks the wearer’s movement, heart rate, respiratory rate and blood oxygenation and also monitors wheezing sounds in the lungs
• While the wristband detects motion, heart rate and blood oxygen levels, it is more concerned tracking environmental factors such as airborne volatile organic compounds and ozones along with ambient humidity and temperature

Scientists have detected a faint signal emitted by the hydrogen gas in a galaxy more than 5 billion light years away. This measurement is almost double the previous record of distance.

• Scientists have detected a faint signal emitted by hydrogen gas in a galaxy more than 5 billion light years away
• This measurement is double the previous record of distance
• The signals would begin their journey before the planet even existed
• Incredible measurement is almost is double the previous record of distance
• Signals would begin their journey even before the planet existed and after 5 billion years of traveling through space without hitting anything
• The team also found that the distant galaxy contains billions of young massive stars surrounded by clouds of hydrogen gas
• Till now radio telescopes have only been able to detect the emission signal of hydrogen from new galaxies
• Following upgrade of the VLA, scientists have been directly able to measure atomic hydrogen in a galaxy this far from earth

Scientists have developed software turning webcams into eye trackers for making websites more user friendly. Software called WebGazer.js can infer where on the webpage a user is looking and can be added to any website with just few lines of code and run on the browser of the user

• User’s permission is required to access the webcam and no video is shared
• Only the location of the user’s gaze is reported back to the website in real time
• This is a democratisation of eye tracking, according to Alexandra Papoutsaki , a graduate student of Brown University in the US who led the software development
• Anyone can add WebGazer to the site and get a richer set of analytics as against tracking clicks or cursor movements
  
• Using webcams integrated in user computers eliminates the cost factor

A bug, measuring over half-a-metre long, discovered in southern China has been declared the world's longest insect, state media said on 2nd June

• A stick insect measuring 62.4 centimetres found two years ago in the southern province of Guangxi has broken the record for length amongst the world's 807,625 known insects, the official Xinhua agency said, citing the Insect Museum of West China.
• The previous record-holder was a Malaysian 56.7-centimetre-long stick insect discovered in 2008 and now on display in London's Natural History Museum.
• The bug has been dubbed Phryganistria chinensis Zhao in honour of its discoverer Zhao, and a paper about it will soon be published.
• More than 3000 varieties of stick insects have been discovered so far

Cybersecurity firm Symantec has announced the availability of Encryption Everywhere, a web security package geared towards web hosting providers.

• This web security package lets web hosting providers integrate encryption into the websites the moment they are created
• Feature secures 100 percent of customer data placed on the business website

The gene was reported for close to 40 species of butterflies to develop flash bright yellow stripes to ward off hungry birds

• Findings published as a separate set of studies in Nature are important for many reasons
• Heliconius genus of butterflies branches off from moths on tree of evolution 100 million years ago
• This much sought after gene called the cortex has been unbelievably stable over a period of time
• Same gene is responsible for switching colours and patterns in peppered moth

China will launch five new satellites in five years including the first solar exploration satellite for ending dependency on foreign solar data according to top officials.

• Five satellites including the Sino European joint mission called SMILE will focus on observation of solar activities and their impact on the earth environment and space weather analysis of water recycling and probing of black holes, according to the National Space Centre under the Chinese Academy of Sciences
• Of the given satellites, SMILE or Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer will blast off in 2021
• MIT or the magnetospehre-ionosphere-thermosphere coupling exploration aimed at origin of up flow ions and their acceleration mechanism is perfect for discovering key mechanism for the coupling of the three
• WCOM or the Water Cycle Observation Mission understands the earth’s water cycle through fast and simultaneous measurement of key parameters such as ocean salinity, ocean surface exploration and soil moisture
• The other two satellites are Advanced Space Born Solar Observatory and the Einstein Probe. The former is the first solar exploration satellite of China.

New research in the UK has detected sound bubbles in DNA essential to life which will change basic understanding of biochemical reactions within a cell. Research carried out by academics of University of Glasgow published in Nature Communications describes the way double stranded DNA splits using delocalised soundwaves are a hallmark of quantum effects.

• DNA contains the code to life and holds the blue print for each living thing
• Dedicated enzymes responsible for making new proteins read the code by splitting the double strand to access information
• One of the biggest outstanding questions of biology has been how these enzymes find the initial hole or bubble in the double strand to commence reading the code
• It is held that DNA has regions where specific sequences of bases modify the stiffness of double helix favouring the formation of bubbles

Researchers from Duke University have discovered a potential new class of small molecule drugs that simultaneously block key targets in the treatment of pain

• Findings could lead to the development of a new drug for treating conditions such as skin irritation, itching, jaw pain, and abdominal pain stemming from pancreas and colon
• These compounds can be developed for clinical use in humans or animals
• Researchers initially aimed to develop blockers of TRPV4, a molecule precious research has shown transmits skin irritation elicited by sunburn and painful sensations coming from the head and face
• Researchers used a prototype TRPV4 blocker in a 2009 study and set out to develop more potent versions

A scientific breakthrough of the DNA sequencing of the groundnut promises development of improved varieties with enhanced traits such as increased pod and oil yield, drought and heat tolerance and greater disease resistance.

• Close to 51 scientists from 9 institutes in China, India, US and Australia including ICRISAT have decoded the complete DNA sequencing of a groundnut ancestor called diploid A-genome (Arachis duranensis)
• Other significant traits will help in developing aflatoxin-free, nutrition-rich and allergen varieties providing insights into geocarpy which is a unique reproductive process of groundnut, oil biosynthesis and allergens.
• Study has provided the complete genome sequence to assist plant breeders across the globe come up with more productive and resilient groundnut varieties in a faster way.
• The study presented the groundnut lineage was affected by 3 sets of chromosomes since the origin of flowering plants or eudicots.

Scientists have designed new molecules that can modify the sleep/wake cycle, paving the way for improved treatments for jet lag and sleep disorders.Scientists from Nagoya University’s Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (ITbM) in Japan have synthesised molecules that can shorten the circadian period.

• These molecules act directly on one of our “clock proteins”, called CRY
• Most living organisms have a biological clock that resets every 24 hours, regulating functions such as sleep/wake cycles and metabolism.
• When this cycle is disrupted, like in jet lag, sleep disorders occur, they said.
• Long-term sleep loss may affect the cardiovascular, endocrine, immune and nervous systems with severe consequences including hypertension, obesity and mental health disorders, among others

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory has spotted a giant dark area on the upper half of the Sun known as a coronal hole. Coronal holes are areas on the Sun where the solar magnetic field extends up and out into interplanetary space, sending solar material speeding out in a high-speed stream of solar wind.

• Scientists study these fast solar wind streams because they sometimes interact with Earth’s magnetic field, creating what is called a geomagnetic storm, which can expose satellites to radiation and interfere with communications signals.
• Coronal holes are low-density regions of the Sun’s atmosphere, known as the corona. They contain little solar material and have lower temperatures, thus appearing much darker than their surroundings, researchers said.
• Coronal holes are visible in certain types of extreme ultraviolet light, which is typically invisible to our eyes.

Scientists have developed an algorithm that uses DNA strands to automatically build 3D nanoparticles, which may be used in a range of applications such as vaccines, gene editing tools and memory storage.

• Researchers can build complex, nanometre-scale structures of almost any shape and form, using strands of DNA.
• However, these particles must be designed by hand, in a complex and laborious process. This has limited the technique, known as DNA origami, to just a small group of experts in the field.
• The algorithm starts with a simple, 3D geometric representation of the final shape of the object, and then decides how it should be assembled from DNA

Researchers using a contrast-enhanced MRI technique have found that leakages in the blood-brain barrier (BBB) may lead to early onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

• The BBB - a collection of cells and subcellular structures that separates the circulating blood from the brain - is essential to keep brain tissue in healthy condition.
• It regulates the delivery of important nutrients and blocks neurotoxins, while removing surplus substances from the brain.
• The results suggest that increased BBB permeability may represent a key mechanism in the early stages of the Alzheimer's disease, the researchers said.
• Further, the more impairment in BBB lead to greater decline in cognitive performance in patients.

Japanese scientists have developed a new tool to predict Zika virus importation and local transmission across the globe. Countries well connected to Brazil where the case is widespread carry more risk

• However, subtropical and tropical countries with a history of dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases have the greatest risk of the virus spreading once it arrives in the country. This means many nations in South and Central America, as well as the Caribbean, face the highest risk of infection and should take measures to prevent mosquito bites, researchers said.
• France, southern parts of China and the UAE also fall into this category having experienced previous outbreaks.
• The Zika virus was first found in Uganda in 1947, and then detected in 39 countries around the world, including the US, India and Japan, researchers said.