Science & technology

CONTEXT: Eleven teams of Indo-US scientists selected to jointly scout for COVID 19 solutions The teams have been selected to take up these initiatives through a rigorous binational review process of proposals received for an invitation under COVID-19 Ignition Grants in April 2020 issued by the U.S.-India Science and Technology …

Two-thirds of people in the rural area who developed cardiovascular disease died Contrary to the general notion, cardiovascular disease is becoming an important preventable cause of events (heart attacks and stroke) and death even among the rural population in India, a study shows. The study involved 5,641 adults aged 25-64 …

Six machine learning models were used to validate the genomic signatures Using the expression of 17 key genes (messenger RNAs) it is now possible to distinguish primary and metastatic cutaneous melanoma, which is the most common type of skin cancer. While 11 of the 17 genes have already been reported …

Observations of a jelly fish galaxy, JW100, by Astrosat using its Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope have thrown up interesting puzzles. These puzzles involve star formation in hostile environments containing X-ray-emitting hot plasma. JW100 is located far away in the galaxy cluster Abell 2626. A recent work describes this analysis and poses …

Potency of TB drugs improved many times when two receptors of the immune cells were activated Instead of using drugs to directly kill TB bacteria, researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar have directly stimulated the immune system to kill the bacteria. This was achieved by using small …

A new side to the triangular story of interactions among plant, pest and predatory insect emerges as a result of a study carried out by researchers from the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru. The team finds a link between the boosting of immunity levels in pest (cotton leaf worm, …

Thailand has reopened the cave where 12 young footballers and their coach were trapped last year in a rescue saga that captivated the world. The Tham Luang cave had been closed to visitors since the Wild Boars football team were rescued after nearly three weeks inside the grotto’s waterlogged corridors. …

Social connections between animals, including those belonging to competing species, play a much bigger role in ecology than previously believed, according to a study. Researchers found that some animals in the wild like gazelles, wildebeests or zebras become aware of the presence of a predator such as a lion by …

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning another mission to safely land a vehicle on the moon, its chief K. Sivan said on Saturday. In the Chandrayaan-2 mission, a lander called Vikram crash-landed on September 6, after a 46-day journey. Vikram contained a robotic vehicle ‘Pragyaan’ that was to …

Sources say the communication had no mention of Pegasus While WhatsApp provided information to CERT-IN, a government agency, in May about the hacking of phones using malware through its messaging platform, the communication was in technical jargon without any mention of Pegasus or the extent of the breach, sources say. …

The Louvre museum has made an “offer” to the owner of the world’s most expensive painting, Salvator Mundi , to allow it to be displayed in a Leonardo da Vinci exhibition in Paris, said Chris Dercon, president of the French government-run cultural body Rmn Grand Palais. The painting has not …

The “hero” dog wounded in the U.S. commando raid that culminated in the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is getting a White House homecoming next week, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday. Mr. Trump revealed that the military dog, a Belgian Malinois, is named “Conan” — …

An experimental vaccine proved 50% effective at preventing latent tuberculosis infection from turning into active disease in a three-year study of adults in Africa. Doctors were encouraged because protection declined only a little after two years, and even a partially effective vaccine would be a big help against TB. The …

A young Afghan mother of seven sits on a red woollen rug alongside four other women who are slicing huge slabs of handmade, flowery soap into smaller bars. She is one of about 20 female employees — many of them recovering drug addicts — working part time on an organic …

India has emerged as the least active country among 18 countries including the U.S., the U.K., Japan and Singapore, according to a report by fitness solutions firm Fitbit. It said an Indian user walked an average of 6,533 steps daily. Indians were also the second-most sleep deprived after Japan, getting …

Even short-term use of e-cigarettes may cause cellular inflammation — a driver of lung cancer and other respiratory diseases — in non-smokers, according to a study. Researchers at the Ohio State University in the U.S. found the first evidence of biological changes linked to e-cigarette use.PTI Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-life/even-short-term-vaping-may-cause-inflammation-in-non-smokers-study/article29730605.ece

The tuberculosis incidence rate in India has decreased by almost 50,000 patients over the past one year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)-2019 edition of the Global Tuberculosis (TB) Report released on Thursday. The report notes that in 2017, India had 27.4 lakh TB patients which came down to …

Tears may help detect peripheral neuropathy A new Australian study has suggested that tear samples might be the next screening method to screen diabetic patients for peripheral neuropathy. The study conducted by a team from Sydney-based University of New South Wales was recently published in the Ocular Surface journal.PTI Source …

‘Clean drinking water and sanitation as imporant as food’ Deaths due to severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in India could be about a tenth of what was earlier believed, which implies that instead of taking emergency measures such as providing Ready To Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), there needs to be a …

Mechanism is similar to how a home thermostat can be used to turn up or down room temperature Pain perception is essential for survival, but how much something hurts can sometimes be amplified or suppressed: for example, soldiers who sustain an injury in battle often recall not feeling anything at …