Science & technology

What’s different now is the compute power and the data available, says the general manager of AI at Microsoft At Microsoft’s annual developer event Ignite, last week, every session touched up on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in software products. David Carmona , general manager of AI at the …

Scientists say they have developed a new DNA tool that uses machine learning to accurately predict people’s height and assess their risk for serious illnesses such as heart disease and cancer. The tool, or algorithm, builds predictors for human traits such as height, bone density and even the level of …

The Eastern Ghats spread across Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, has lost almost 16% of its forest area over a span of 100 years, a recently published study shows. Researchers from the University of Hyderabad studied historical maps and satellite images from 1920 to 2015 to understand the …

This is interesting as ants are usually depicted as poor pollinators Bees might be the most well-known pollinators, but researchers have found that common white-footed ants are the best pollinators of a rare evergreen tree in the southern Western Ghats. Syzygium occidentale is a small, wild jamun tree that grows …

Can exercise itself be replaced and substituted with biochemical treatment, thereby supplying patients with ‘bottled exercise’? Over the last 30 years, the longevity of Indians, on average, has shot up remarkably. It was 41 years in the year 1960 and has risen to 68 years of age in 2015. While …

A small molecule attached to carbon nanospheres could cross the blood-brain barrier Using a small molecule that activates two enzymes (CBP/p300 histone acetyltransferases), researchers from India and France have been able to completely recover long-term memory in mice with Alzheimer’s disease. Neuron-to-neuron connections that form the network were re-established leading …

What happened? On September 16, Facebook noticed an unusual spike in the number of times the platform’s ‘View As’ feature was being used. The feature allows users to see how their Facebook page will appear to another user. On September 25, Facebook announced that it had identified this as a …

Ukraine launched on Friday a park of photovoltaic panels at the former Chernobyl power plant as the country seeks to use solar power to give the scene of the world’s worst nuclear disaster a new lease on life. The $1.2-million, one-megawatt plant is located just a hundred metres from a …

NASA has announced the first crewed flight by a SpaceX rocket to the International Space Station (ISS) is expected to take place in June 2019. It will be the first manned U.S. launch to the orbiting research laboratory since the space shuttle program was retired in 2011, forcing U.S. astronauts …

DST institutes awards for best designs The Department of Science and Technology (DST) is commemorating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi with a project to give a fillip to solar cooking. As the first of many activities taken up by the government to uphold Gandhi’s ideals, DST has instituted …

U.S. officials sound a note of caution As India looks to sign several big-ticket defence deals with Russia on Friday, U.S. officials cautioned that even if India manages to get a one-time waiver from the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) law, it cannot expect a “free ticket.” “It …

So many deaths being attributedto a virus is a first in many years While Gujarat officials are grappling with the death of 21 lions in the last month, wildlife experts say that more than the numbers it’s the fear of a mutation in a virus as the likely cause of …

Voluntary facility to be rolled out from Feb. 2019 A mere facial scan will soon enable air travellers to skip long queues and zip through various check points at airports in the country. The Centre is set to introduce the “Digi Yatra” facility at the Hyderabad and Bengaluru airports in …

The German-French observation device is part of a mission to find clues to the solar system’s origins A Japanese probe launched a new observation robot towards an asteroid on Wednesday as it pursues a mission to shed light on the origins of the solar system. The Hayabusa2 probe launched the …

“We urge all of our allies and partners to forgo transactions with Russia that would trigger sanctions under CAATSA. The Administration has indicated that a focus area for the implementation of CAATSA Section 231 is new or qualitative upgrades in capability – including the S-400 air and missile defense system,” …

A team of geneticists, conservation biologists and wildlife officials are in the process of preparing a genetic map — that is, tracing out the sequence of genes — from Machhli’s DNA, which was extracted at the time of her death. “Machhli is an iconic individual, has lived long, has sired …

Will be a game-changer: Air Force chief The acquisition of the Rafale fighter jets and the S-400 air defence system will go a long way in addressing the depleting squadron strength of the Indian Air Force (IAF), Air Chief Marshal (ACM) B.S. Dhanoa said on Wednesday. “We had reached an …

Artificial sweeteners toxic for gut microbes: study Artificial sweeteners and sport supplements may be toxic to digestive gut microbes, a study warns. The study, published in the journal Molecules , indicated relative toxicity of six artificial sweeteners — aspartame, sucralose, saccharine, neotame, advantame, and acesulfame potassium-k.PTI Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-life/artificial-sweeteners-toxic-for-gut-microbes-study/article25107135.ece

‘Wildfires to worsen even if climate goals are met’ Even reaching the most optimistic goals in the Paris climate treaty will still increase the area of southern Europe devastated by forest fires each year by between 40-54%, scientists at the University of Barcelona warned on Tuesday.AFP Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-life/europe-fires-to-worsen-even-if-climate-goals-met/article25107133.ece

Google to let users stream games on Chrome Google has announced that it will test a video game streaming platform with the release of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey this week. The test will be limited to the U.S., where a select number of people will get to play Assassin’s Creed Odyssey …