Science Archives - Page 5 of 9

03 Feb

Indian-American Bhavya Lal appointed as Acting Chief of Staff of NASA

The News Horizon0 CommentsScienceacting chief of staff, Bhavya Lal, NASA, space technology

New Delhi : In the newly elected US President Joe Biden’s team there are already 20 people who have some Indian origin connections. This count has further gone up as Bhavya Lal Indian-American Bhavya Lal has been appointed as the Acting Chief of Staff of the US space agency by National Aeronautics and Space and Administration (NASA). A statement released by NASA said Lal brings extensive experience in engineering and space technology, serving as a member of the research staff at the Institute for Defence Analyses Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI) from 2005 to 2020. There, she led analysis…

27 Jan

Researchers find reason behind dense fog and haze in Delhi

The News Horizon0 CommentsScience

New Delhi : Visibility reduction due to fog and haze formation causes severe financial losses and it also jeopardises human lives. Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-Madras) have found Chloride to be the highest inorganic fraction in particulate matter, primarily responsible for haze and fog formation in Northern India including the National capital Delhi. The study explains that complex chemical reactions involving Hydrochloric Acid (HCl), which is directly emitted in the atmosphere from plastic contained waste burning and few industrial processes, is primarily responsible for high PM2.5 chloride level. The HCl from various sources combines with ammonia,…

22 Jan

Development of biodegradable plastic from Marine Seaweed

The News Horizon0 CommentsScienceBiodegradable, Marine, micro-plastics, Seaweed

New Delhi : The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) has developed a bio-plastic film using marine seaweed and PEG-3000 which could have a huge impact on limiting the usage of non-biodegradable plastics and a game-changer in the plastic industry. Bio-plastic films safely breakdown in the environment without leaving any toxicity. The physical and mechanical properties of bio-plastic film meet the properties of conventional plastics. Conventional plastics are posing a grave threat due to their interaction with water resulting in the formation of hazardous chemicals that ultimately leach into the environment. Again, other bio-plastics such as those made from plant…

21 Jan

Researchers identify phenotype to boost ‘nitrogen use efficiency’ in rice

The News Horizon0 CommentsAgriculture, Sciencecrops, nitrogen, nitrogen use efficiency

New Delhi : Crops take only about 30% of the nitrogen fertilizer added and the rest gets washed away to cause pollution, ill-health and climate change. Improving this poor ‘nitrogen use efficiency’ (NUE) was a major global challenge for decades, as there were no simple visual cues or genetic means to differentiate between high and low NUE cultivars in any crop. A team of researchers led by Prof. Nandula Raghuram from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, (GGSIU) New Delhi, has found the ‘phenotype’ or the visually identifiable features determining NUE. They also identified some associated genes that could help in…

19 Jan

Two new radars to give fillip to weather services in India

The News Horizon0 CommentsScienceIMD, ISRO, MoES, Radar, Satellites, Weather

New Delhi (India Science Wire): The principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and climate services in the country—India Meteorological Department (IMD) has launched two new Doppler weather radars at Mukteshwar in Uttarakhand and Kufri in Himachal Pradesh respectively. The launch was announced during IMD’s 146th foundation day event organized January 15. The event was webcast live from New Delhi. Dr Harsh Vardhan, Hon’ble Union Minister for Earth Sciences, Health and Family Welfare, and Science and Technology, was the Chief Guest at the event. Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttarakhand and Shri Jai Ram Thakur, Hon’ble…

15 Jan

Researchers identify heavy metal pollution across Cauvery river basin in Tamil Nadu

The News Horizon0 CommentsScienceCauvery river basin, heavy metal pollution, metal pollutants

New Delhi (India Science Wire): River pollution is a cause of concern in India as almost 45 rivers have at least two toxic heavy metals beyond the permissible limits. A group of researchers from Bharathidasan University, Tamil Nadu, has found that several anthropogenic activities in the recent decades have led to the deposition of metal and other pollutants in Cauvery river basin in Tamil Nadu In the study, traces of elements were detected in water and soil samples of the Cauvery river basin, which might be influenced by several anthropogenic activities. Among other reasons, seasonal idol immersion activity was reported…

14 Jan

Coastal India to witness unprecedented job loss due to heat stress

The News Horizon0 CommentsScienceCoastal India

New Delhi (India Science Wire): In a recently published study in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, it is estimated that there would be a decline of 35% in work performance in the east coast region of India by 2100 due to heat stress caused by extreme heat and humidity. This would be extended to most of the other regions of the country due to increasing anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations and other climate change related factors. The research published in Nature Scientific Reports, December 2020 says that excessive heat stress increases core human body temperature rapidly with damaging effects on the…

06 Jan

Government moots “one nation, one subscription” policy

The News Horizon0 CommentsScience, TechDST, innovation, science, STIP, technology

New Delhi : The draft of the 5th National Science Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP) has been finalized. The draft policy seeks to make scholarly research papers and literature accessible for free to everyone in the country. “The Government of India will negotiate with journal publishers for one nation, one subscription plan whereby, against one centrally negotiated payment, all individuals in India will have access to journal articles. This will replace individual institutional journal subscriptions” said Prof Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, The Department of Science and Technology (DST), in a press conference. The policy drafted through a 4 track process of…

05 Jan

40th Indian scientific expedition to Antarctica launched

The News Horizon0 CommentsScienceAntarctica, COVID-19, Indian Scientific Expedition, NCPOR

New Delhi (India Science Wire): With 43 members on board the 40th Indian Scientific Expedition is set to depart for Antarctica from Mormugao Port, Goa. On this occasion, Dr N. Vinod Kumar, Postmaster General, Goa region, released two special covers and one cancellation to commemorate the 40th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica, and the four decades of India’s Antarctica programme, respectively. Javed Beg, Group Director, National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) said, “Every expedition is different and presents diverse challenges, but the 40th expedition is unique, as it takes place amid the coronavirus pandemic with innumerable logistical challenges. …

04 Jan

ISRO in collaboration with private sector will boost “Atmanirbhar Bharat”: Dr Jitendra Singh

The News Horizon0 CommentsScienceAtmanirbhar Bharat, Dr Jitendra Singh, ISRO

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh stated here today that ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) in collaboration with private sector will boost “Atmanirbhar Bharat”. In a brief about some recent achievements of ISRO and India’s space programme, Dr. Jitendra Singh gave full credit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi whose personal intervention had made it possible to arrive at the historic decision to open up India’s Space sector for participation by private players. He said, the decision to create Indian National Space…