GS-III

It learns signatures from MRI, genetics and clinical data Scientists — including one of Indian origin — have created an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that can accurately predict whether a person’s cognitive decline will lead to Alzheimer’s disease in the next five years. Researchers from the University of Toronto in …

RMIT varsity developed Sans Forgetica Researchers have created a new type font, called Sans Forgetica, to help people remember more of what they read. Sans Forgetica is believed to be the world’s first typeface specifically designed to help people retain more information and remember more of typed notes, said researchers …

Next influenza outbreak ‘could kill up to 150 million people’ It was the disease to end all others, infecting a third of humanity, killing tens of millions in their beds and prompting panicked talk of the end of days across continents still reeling from war. One hundred years on from …

The Hubble space telescope, which has been in orbit since 1990, is currently out of action because of a gyroscope failure, the U.S. space agency said on Monday. NASA said Hubble went into “safe mode” on Friday because of the failure of another of the six gyroscopes used to orient …

After munching on berries that fermented due to an early frost, they get ‘typsy’ and fly into windows They fall out of trees. They fly into windows. They stumble along branches and wobble their small feathered bodies as if they’ve had one marg too many. Have the drunk birds come …

Takes Rs. 100 crore hit; disallows fresh investment in the scheme till October 31 In what could perhaps be the first such instance of a mutual fund writing off its entire exposure towards troubled IL&FS, BOI AXA Mutual Fund has decided to take a hit of a little more than …

To tap into the festive season sales The battle between retail giant Amazon and homegrown e-commerce firm Flipkart is getting intense to tap the upcoming festive season. Walmart-backed Flipkart said it had added 30,000 direct jobs in its supply chain and logistics arm. The company is expecting its seller partners …

Currency weakens for the fifth straight session; crude prices soften The rupee continued to weaken for the fifth straight session as it hit a fresh closing low on Monday amid strengthening of the dollar and in the absence of aggressive intervention by the Reserve Bank of India. The rupee opened …

Economics Nobel winner Nordhaus says they are lagging way behind what needs to be done U.S. economists William Nordhaus and Paul Romer on Monday shared the 2018 Nobel Economics Prize for constructing “green growth” models that show how innovation and climate policies can be integrated with economic growth. Working independently, …

The deportation of illegal immigrants, the petition argued, is required to restore the “socio-economic, socio-political and socio-cultural equilibrium” of the State. It argued that the petition has been filed in a ‘representative capacity’ of a majority of the indigenous people living in Tripura for enforcement of their fundamental rights. “The …

Petitioners said loan rates were not being reduced in tandem The Supreme Court on Monday directed the RBI to come up with a decision on a representation that banks are delaying passing on the benefit of lower interest rates to those who have taken loans at floating interest rates. A …

‘Rafale aircraft, S-400 missile systems will further enhance our capabilities’ The Indian Air Force is “ever prepared” to meet any contingencies and the recent largest-ever pan-India exercise Gagan Shakti 2018 showcased the “operational capability and readiness of the IAF,” said Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa on Monday. “During the exercise, …

The companies go ahead despite U.S. call for sanctions Seemingly in defiance of the U.S. call for sanctions on Iran, two Indian state-run oil companies have placed orders for Iranian oil to be delivered in November, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday. U.S. sanctions targeting Iran’s crude oil exports …

The attacks on girls and women every day are symptomatic of a deep malaise Where curriculum designers fear to tread, film directors take relaxed, bold strides. Few will consider ghosts and witchcraft as suitable topics for a textbook. Killing of women on the suspicion that they are practising witchcraft occasionally …

Neanderthals passed on viral defences to humans Modern humans inherited genetic defences against viral diseases like hepatitis from Neanderthals, when the two species interbred 50,000 years ago, a study has found. Many modern Europeans and Asians harbour about 2% of Neanderthal DNA in their genomes.PTI Source :  https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-life/modern-humans-inherited-viral-defences-from-neanderthals/article25152190.ece

NASA’s Voyager 2 probe is approaching interstellar space and has detected an increase in cosmic rays that originate outside our solar system, the U.S. space agency said. Launched in 1977, Voyager 2 is a little less than 17.7 billion km away from the earth.PTI Source :  https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-life/nasa-probe-nearing-interstellar-space/article25152188.ece

Scientists have developed a new test that can reveal the amount of DNA people shed, a tool that could be used by forensic experts to nab criminals using genetic clues left at crime scenes. A single tap of a finger on items like door handles, glass or even shaking hands …

The devices will be ‘biodegradable’ Scientists have developed a thin, flexible semiconductor, partly using organic materials, that can efficiently convert electricity into light and could help make bendable smartphones. The invention, by researchers at the Australian National University (ANU), also opens the door to a new generation of high-performance electronic …

They can catch and destroy BPA, a synthetic chemical commonly used to coat the insides of food cans Scientists have created tiny spheres that can catch and destroy bisphenol A (BPA), a synthetic chemical used to make plastics that often contaminates water. BPA is commonly used to coat the insides …

In simulations, robots move around by exploring, observing and drawing from previous experiences As robots may struggle with navigational concepts, a team of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have devised a new way to help them navigate environments more as humans do. The novel motion-planning model lets …