Science and Technology News Digest 26 Aug – 13 Sep 2020

Indian physicist discovers bacterium-sized deformity in neutron star 4,500 light years away

August 27, 2020

A tiny change in the cosmos has far reaching implications. A physicist at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) has measured a tiny deformation the size of a bacterium in a neutron star located over 4,500 light years away — a feat that opens up a new window into the world of physics. The study has got published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Click here to read... [2]

Neuralink: Elon Musk unveils pig with chip in its brain

August 29, 2020

Elon Musk has unveiled a pig called Gertrude with a coin-sized computer chip in her brain to demonstrate his ambitious plans to create a working brain-to-machine interface. The interface could allow people with neurological conditions to control phones or computers with their mind. Click here to read... [3]

Physicists Detect Gravitational Waves From Heaviest Black-Hole Merger Yet

September 2, 2020

On September 2, physicists from the collaborations announced that they had detected the most massive black hole merger ever observed using gravitational waves. The event has been designated GW190521. The latest gravitational waves announcement from the LIGO-Virgo collaborations could overcome the perceived mass gap in the evolution of black holes. Click here to read... [4]

NASA launches most powerful rocket booster for future Moon missions

September 2, 2020

The latest moon rocket of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) completed the flight support booster (FSB) test on September 2 as the American space agency prepared its Space Launch System (SLS) to fly astronauts for the Moon mission in the near future. Click here to read... [5]

Scientists discover three stars ripping apart their planet-forming disc

September 4, 2020

Astronomers have observed, for the first time, a group of stars tearing apart their planet-forming disc. The force of these stars leaves behind material in the form of twisted rings, and the astronomers suggest that this could potentially produce planets with multiple star systems. The study was a collaboration between researchers from the UK, Belgium, Chile, France and the US, who studied the three newborn stars in the GW Orionis system using the AMBER (Astronomical Multi-BEamcombineR) and GRAVITY instruments on the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile.The findings, made over 11 years, give us unique insights into planetary formation and evolution.Click here to read... [6]

DRDO successfully tests Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle

September 7, 2020

The hypersonic air-breathing scramjet technology was successfully demonstrated by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) with a flight test of the Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV), which will lead to the development of hypersonic cruise missiles and vehicles in future. Click here to read... [7]

Moon may be rusting along poles, suggest images sent by Chandrayaan-1

September 6, 2020

Images sent by Chandrayaan-1, India’s first lunar mission, suggest that the moon may be rusting along the poles, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on September 6. Scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) say that this could be because the Earth’s atmosphere is lending a helping hand which, in other words, means that the Earth’s atmosphere could be protecting the moon as well, the statement said. Click here to read... [8]

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) researchers have developed a simple technique for assembly of Nanorods

September 8, 2020

Small nanomaterials are helping us to solve the bigger issues of mankind such as air pollution, wastewater treatment, drug delivery etc. The field has found applications in all major sectors such as electronics, agriculture, medicine, textiles etc. In this research, scientists have overcome this hurdle of assembling the gold nanorods into the surface which opens up their avenues for various applications. Click here to read... [9]

Guwahati Gets an Experimental Flood Warning System

September 10, 2020

In August, the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in New Delhi, along with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), launched a fully automated web-based flood warning system for Guwahati. Every year without fail, flash floods ravage the capital city of the Indian state of Assam. Currently, at an experimental phase, the Flood Early Warning System (FEWS) has been designed to alert local authorities about flash floods, heavy rainfall and waterlogging, which will help them take measures to prevent untoward incidents and prepare for flood conditions. If successful, the tool will be replicated by other cities across India. Click here to read... [10]

US Spacecraft Named After Late Indian-American Astronaut Kalpana Chawla

September 10, 2020

Northrop Grumman, an American global aerospace and defence technology company, announced that its next Cygnus capsule will be named the “S.S. Kalpana Chawla”. Click here to read... [11]

China is building a floating spaceport to launch rockets

September 11, 2020

The “Eastern Aerospace Port” is being developed by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the nation’s largest defense contractor. Apart from launching smaller rockets, the port will also be used for building and maintaining rockets, satellites, and other space-bound vehicles. Click here to read... [12]