Category: Life & Style

Researchers have developed a method that could one day be used to build roads on the moon. Their experiment involved melting lunar soil with focused sunlight to turn it into a more solid substance. The approach, based on proof-of-concept experiments involving lasers and a substance resembling Moon dust and outlined in Scientific Reports on October 12, could be used to build other infrastructure such as landing pads.

Engineer Juan-Carlos Ginés-Palomares and his colleagues, based at the Technical University of Berlin, conducted experiments that involved manufacturing tiles by heating and melting the moon dust substitute. These tiles were then allowed to cool, producing a strong, consolidated piece with an interlocking design that measured around 25 millimeters in thickness. Such tiles could be placed alongside each other to cover a wide area of lunar soil.

In the experiments, the researchers used high-powered carbon dioxide laser beams to heat the dust substitute, replicating the effects of concentrated sunlight. The spot of the beam had a maximum diameter of 100 millimeters and 12 kilowatts of maximum power.

To reproduce this approach on the moon, the scientists suggest using a special type of lens measuring over 7 feet across that would focus sunlight like a magnifying glass. This lens would enable the manufacture of tiles using only sunlight and lunar soil.

On October 16, Madame Tussauds Singapore unveiled a lifelike wax figure of cricket superstar Virat Kohli. Dressed in his official Indian cricket kit, generously donated by the sportsman himself, the figure is showcased in the Sports Zone, alongside figures of legends such as Ronaldo, Yao Ming, and fellow cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest contemporary batsmen in international cricket, Kohli is known for his exceptional batting skills, masterful leadership, and fiery on-field personality. He made his debut for the Indian cricket team in 2008 and has since been one of the most important players that help to reinforce India’s status as one of the world’s top cricketing nations.

Virat Kohli, known for his remarkable achievements and leadership in the cricketing world, expressed his gratitude and appreciation for the honour.

The extraordinary lifelike figure, meticulously crafted by a team of skilled artists, will provide fans and visitors with a unique opportunity to get up close and personal with one of India’s most beloved sports icons.

Members and players from the Singapore Cricket Association were one of the first to witness the unveiling right before the ICC World Cup match between India and Pakistan.

Ferrari has begun to accept payment in cryptocurrency for its luxury sports cars in the US, and will extend the scheme to Europe after receiving requests from its wealthy customers.

Many leading corporations have avoided crypto due to the unpredictable nature of Bitcoin and similar tokens, making them unsuitable for business transactions. Inconsistent regulations and significant energy consumption further hinder crypto’s adoption as a payment method. Although Tesla, the electric vehicle manufacturer, started accepting Bitcoin in 2021, it later suspended this option because of environmental issues.

In a media interview, Ferrari’s Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer Enrico Galliera said that cryptocurrencies had made efforts to reduce their carbon footprint through the introduction of new software and a larger use of renewable sources. Due to their green focus, Ferrari hopes to accomplish its target to reach carbon neutrality by 2030, he said.

For the initial phase in the US, Ferrari has turned to one of the biggest cryptocurrency payment processors, BitPay, and will allow transactions in bitcoin, ether and USDC. The carmaker might use other payment processors in different regions. Prices will not change, no fees, no surcharges if you pay through cryptocurrency, the company has assured. Bitpay will immediately turn cryptocurrency payments into traditional currency on behalf of Ferrari’s dealers, so they are protected from price swings.

Actors Allu Arjun, Alia Bhatt, and Kriti Sanon, and the teams of the films RRR, Sardar Udham, Gangubai Kathiawadi and The Kashmir Files received theirNational Film AwardsfromPresident Droupadi Murmu atthe 69th National Film Awards ceremony in New Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan on October 17. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest film honour, went to legendary actress Waheeda Rehman.

The winners of the National Awards for the year 2021, announced in August, include Rocketry: The Nambi Effect won Best Feature Film.

Alia Bhatt received the Best Actress award for her performance in and as Gangubai Kathiawadi. She shares the award with Kriti Sanon, who was recognised for her performance in the film Mimi, in which she played a surrogate mother. Allu Arjun, who received the Best Actor award for Pushpa: The Rise.

The other winners include Nikhil Mahajan (Best Director – Godavari), Pallavi Joshi (Best Supporting Actress – The Kashmir Files), Pankaj Tripathi (Best Supporting Actor – Mimi), Bhavin Rabari (Best Child Artist – Chhello Show), Vishnu Mohan (Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut of a Director – Meppadiyan), and Shershaah (Special Jury Award).

Under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the Union Ministry of Education has come up with a plan to create unique ID numbers for school students across India. The ‘One Nation One Student ID’ called Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry (APAAR) will be for every student, from pre-primary to higher education. This is in addition to the 12-digit Aadhaar ID that every student has.

The APAAR ID, an Education Ecosystem Registry or edulocker, is to be treated as a lifelong ID number and will track students’ academic journey and achievements.

The Union Ministry has directed all states and Union Territories to begin the process of creating APAAR IDs for students. APAAR and National Credit Framework will be the QR code for learners across India and register every skill the students pick up.

The state school education department has asked educational institutions to organise a meeting of parents and teachers between October 16 and 18 to discuss the importance of creating the APAAR ID.

Data captured on the Aadhaar ID will be the basis of the APAAR ID. While parents’ consent will be required, the government has assured the data will stay confidential and shared only with government agencies, where required. Parents who give their consent can withdraw it any time. After the consent, it becomes the school’s responsibility to upload the same on the central Unified District and Information System for Education Plus portal.

A family’s quest to find a missing gold earring in Norway led its members to well-preserved artifacts from the Viking era in their garden, piquing the interest of the Cultural Heritage of Vestfold and Telemark County Council and shedding new light on the history of Jomfruland, Norway.

The Aasvik Family in Jomfruland stumbled upon relics dating back more than 1,000 years when they activated their metal detector. Settlements have existed on Jomfruland for many years. It is believed that the island was inhabited during the Viking era, but evidence previously extended only to the early Middle Ages. The recent discovery confirms this belief.

The family discovered a very well-preserved bowl-shaped buckle and another item that matches both in dating and style. Researchers believe the discovery to be the preserved grave of a woman buried there in the 800s.

The Cultural Heritage of Vestfold and Telemark County Council praised the family for their responsible actions in contacting the authorities and sharing the news of their discovery. The council’s Facebook post highlighted the historical significance of the find and included a series of images showcasing the relics and the family responsible for the discovery.

To own a car in Singapore, a buyer must bid for a certificate that now costs $106,000, as a post-pandemic recovery has driven up the cost of its vehicle quota system to record highs.

The city-state has a 10-year “certificate of entitlement” (COE) system. Introduced in 1990, the COE controls the number of vehicles in the country, which is home to 5.9 million people and can be covered by road in less than an hour.

The quota, offered through a bidding process, has made it the most expensive city in the world to buy a car, with the COE more than quadrupling from 2020 prices for a large car on October 4 to S$146,002 ($106,376.68).

Besides COE, registration fees and taxes, a new standard Toyota Camry Hybrid currently costs S$251,388 ($183,000) in Singapore – much higher than $28,855 in the US and a small, government-subsidised flat in the city-state at about S$125,000.

In 2020, when fewer people in Singapore were driving, the price of COEs dropped to about S$30,000. A post-COVID increase in economic activity has led to more car purchases, with the total number of vehicles on the road capped at about 950,000. The number of new COEs available depends on how many older cars are deregistered.

Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman (Medicine); Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier (Physics); Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus and Alexei Ekimov (Chemistry); Jon Fosse (Literature); and Claudia Goldin (Economics) are the winners of Nobel Prize for 2023.

The US-based duo of Hungarian-born Kariko and American Weissman won the Nobel Prize in Physiology on October 2 for research that led directly to the first mRNA vaccines to fight COVID-19. They began researching this in the late 1990s and published a key finding in 2005. Their research enabled the development of COVID-19 vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna.

The trio of Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier won the prize in physics on October 3 for conducting experiments that produced pulses of light so short that they were measured in attoseconds, i.e. one-billionth of one-billionth of a second. Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus and Alexei Ekimov won the award in chemistry on October 4 for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots, which can pave the way for the development of flexible electronics, tiny sensors, thinner solar cells and encrypted quantum communication.

Norwegian author and dramatist Jon Fosse won the Nobel Prize in Literature on October 5. Iranian rights activist Narges Mohammadi has won the Nobel Peace Prize, and Claudia Goldin won Nobel in Economics for studying women in the workforce.

Scientists from the University of Southern California have discovered a sixth basic sense the human tongue can feel – ammonium chloride. Their research published in the journal Nature Communications on October 5 suggests that protein receptors on the tongue that help detect the sour taste also respond to ammonium chloride, which is a popular ingredient in some Scandinavian candies.

Salt licorice has been a popular candy in some northern European countries at least since the early 20th century and its ingredients consist of salmiak salt, or ammonium chloride.

The recent research uncovered the protein OTOP1, which plays a vital role in detecting sour tastes. It functions as a channel for hydrogen ions when exposed to acidic sour foods, like lemonade and vinegar. The team hypothesised that ammonium chloride might also activate OTOP1 due to its impact on hydrogen ion concentration within cells.

The research then introduced the gene responsible for the OTOP1 receptor into lab-grown human cells, allowing them to produce the OTOP1 receptor. These cells were then exposed to ammonium chloride exposure. The study found that ammonium chloride strongly activated the OTOP1 channel, leading to a rise in pH and fewer hydrogen ions. This pH difference led to an influx of hydrogen ions through OTOP1, detectable through changes in electrical conductivity across the channel.

Singapore has become the newest and sixth member of the Blue Zone – an elite club of regions in the world where people live healthier and longer lives – according to Dan Buettner, a journalist and researcher who popularised the use of the term.

Regions in the Blue Zone have several traits in common that let them achieve longevity. The traits include moving regularly, depending on a plant-based diet, and living with purpose.

The original five Blue Zone regions are Okinawa in Japan, Sardina in Italy, Ikaria in Greece, Nicoya in Costa Rica, and Loma Linda in California.

Unlike the original five regions, which developed organically through practices and traditions, and managed to flourish over the years, Singapore is a ‘manufactured city,’ described Buettner in the Netflix documentary, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones.

According to the latest government data for 2022, life expectancy in Singapore stands at 80.7 years for men and 85.2 years for women. The researcher underlined government policies, such as transportation, housing, and hawker centres, to have come together to create a ‘Blue Zone 2.0’ in the Southeast Asian city-state.

More than 80% of Singapore’s population lives in high-rise public housing apartment blocks. These estates have been intentionally designed to encourage social interaction among residents. The Singapore Government also has in place a housing grant, which encourages couples buying resale apartments on the open market to allow them to live with or near their parents or children.