Science& Technology

1.A team of USA researchers decoded brain activity patterns of word

meanings within sentences using   functional magnetic resonance

 imaging (fMRI) to measure human brain activation. Researchers

can now predict 70% brain activity patterns and it may help treat

persons with brain injury and stroke patients to communicate better.

2. BARC has developed a simple and cost effective kit for onsite

determination of Cr(VI) that provides much needed solution to

 measure level of Chromium contamination in water.Chromium

is widely used in various industries like leather, steel, chrome

plating, paint manufacturing,  wood preservation etc. technology

of the BARC kit for Cr(VI) detection has been transferred to

LTEK Industries, Nagpur.

3. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CEEA) approved

    development of Advanced Ultra Super Critical (AUSC) technology

    for thermal power plants, with a grant of 900 crore rupees for over

    3 years for an Research.

4. Chinese scientists (Xiamen University and Peking University )

discovered a small molecule named XMU­MP­1 that can regenerate tissues

and help eliminate transplants of some organs such as liver, intestines

 and skin. It was found that it has ability to inhibit the activity of two

enzymes MST1 and MST2, central component of this pathway which 

normally prevent cells from proliferating.

5. Chinese scientists performed world’s first genetic editing trial on 

humansin an attempt to find a cure for lung cancer, by injecting cells

 that havebeen modified using the CRISPR­Cas9 gene­editing technique 

into the patients.

6. ISRO inaugurated a 'C Band Polarimetric Doppler Weather Radar'

at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram It is first of

 its kind in South India. First Doppler weather radar in India was

inaugurated in Cherrapunji in May. This Doppler weather radar

 can provide advance information about storms, cyclones, and other

 severe weather conditions.

7. Indian researchers' team at IISc Bengaluru found that

endosulfan, an organochlorine pesticide, causes DNA damages in animals.

They have revealed that mice and rats exposed to endosulfan suffer from

DNA damage and genomic instability, and impaired DNA damage response.

8. Intel unveiled Project Alloy, a device that creates merged reality. Project

Alloy is a headset that uses RealSense technology to enable people to use

their hands to interact with elements of the virtual world without

 using cables. Merged reality is a new way of experiencing virtual reality

 and real world together. It digitises real world and allows people to

 experience virtual world without coming into conflict with real world.

9. NASA’s solar­powered Juno spacecraft successfully executed its first

flyby of Jupiter, just 4,200 kilometres above clouds of our solar system’s

biggest planet. It traveled spped of 208,000 kilometres per hour.

10. Researchers from Pune­based National Centre for Cell Science

 (NCCS) successfully isolated cancer stem cells that cause skin cancer.

They demonstrated that Andrographolide isolated and purified from

Andrographis paniculata (a herb) found in India is effective in

inhibiting tumour growth both in skin cancer and lung metastasis in mice.

11. Researchers from United States developed a mechanism to convert

 greenhouse gas (GHG) Carbon dioxide (CO2) into carbon monoxide

 (CO) that can be recycled into usable fuel. Mechanism was

developed by US Department of Energy’s Argonne National

 Laboratory and University of Illinois at Chicago. It is

based on natural photosynthesis process that take place in

green plants in which CO2 is converted into sugars.

12. Scientists discovered Gymnothorax indicus (proposed name

Indian unpatterened moray), a new species of eel (a snake­like fish)

in northern Bay of Bengal region along West Bengal coast.

13. Scientists for first time developed LASER (light amplification by

 stimulated emission of radiation) from fluorescent jellyfish proteins

 that were grown in bacteria. It is a breakthrough in so­called polariton

 lasers operating at room temperature.

14. World’s longest aircraft Airlander 10 made its first flight in Cardington

in England, filled with helium gas. It is 92­metre­long and 43.5m wide and

can fly at up to 4,880 metres and reach speeds of 148 kilometres per hour.