Category: Tech

Israel’s Defense Ministry on August 17 secured its largest-ever defense deal selling a sophisticated missile defense system to Germany for $3.5 billion. The defense system, Arrow 3 is designed to intercept long-range ballistic missiles.

Development and manufacturing of the system was led by the Israel Aerospace Industries, the Defense Ministry’s Homa Administration for air-defense systems, and the US Department of Defense’s Missile Defense Agency. Israel sought approval for the deal from the US State Department before closing it with Germany.

Israeli defense officials said the system would extend Germany’s defense capability, while boosting the defense relationship between Israel and the United States. The director of the Israeli Missile Defense Organization, Moshe Patel told reporters that the components of the missile system will be fully delivered to Germany by 2025, with the system reaching full capability by 2030.

Germany launched the European Sky Shield Initiative last year with 17 other nations, including the United Kingdom and Sweden, which is a joint European air defense system after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Arrow 3, considered the most advanced system of its kind, is meant to intercept long-range ballistic missiles before they re-enter the atmosphere. It has a so-called hit-to-kill capability that enables it to directly intercept the target outside the Earth’s atmosphere.

Space scientists have discovered patterns on Mars that provide evidence of a cyclical climate similar to that of Earth’s, opening up new prospects for research into the origin of life. Using data from NASA’s Curiosity rover, the scientists at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, Université Toulouse III – Paul Sabatier and Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, with the participation of French space agency CNES, made the new discovery.

Using the Mastcam1 and the ChemCam2 instruments on the rover, space scientists have discovered deposits of salts dating from 3.8 to 3.6 billion years ago on Mars. The salt deposits that form a hexagonal pattern in sedimentary layers present new evidence indicating an environment conducive to the emergence of life on the Red Planet.

The surface of Mars, unlike the surface of Earth, is not constantly renewed by plate tectonics, resulting in the preservation of huge areas of terrain abundant in fossil rivers and lakes dating back billions of years.

Since 2012, Curiosity has detected the presence of simple organic molecules that can be formed by geological as well as biological processes. This environment, in which simple organic molecules have already been discovered, may have provided ideal conditions for the formation of complex organic compounds.

The findings of the study were published in the journal Nature on 9 August 2023. This work opens up new prospects for research into the processes underlying the origin of life, of which no vestiges remain on Earth.

In the new study, a team of scientists at Yale University in the US have created a complete human-like liver in a mouse model that could help find ways to regulate cholesterol levels and potentially treat chronic liver diseases.

The team used progenitor stem cells and mature cells known as hepatocytes from a human liver to create this model. According to these researchers, this organ developed into a similar size-adjusted shape and carried out similar cellular functions as a healthy human liver. The cellular functions in the humanised liver could also be manipulated to mimic human fibrosis and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, the researchers added.

The functional human-like liver in living mice could help find ways to regulate cholesterol levels and potentially treat chronic liver diseases. The newly developed liver model can be used by drug companies seeking to assess safety of experimental drugs designed to treat chronic diseases.

Alcoholic and non-alcoholic liver disease, cancer, viral hepatitis, fibrosis and cancer affect more than 1.5 billion people worldwide. In the US, an estimated 30% to 40% of the population has been diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease alone. Yet liver disease has been difficult to study in animal models. The livers of mice, for instance, perform different functions than those of humans.

The findings are published August 9 in the journal Cell.

Indian IT company, Tata Consultancy Services has bagged a contract from the Government of India to redesign and build a new version of public procurement platform Government e-Marketplace (GeM).

The GeM platform provides an end-to-end online marketplace to government entities, including public sector undertakings, for procurement of common-use goods and services in a transparent and efficient manner. In its next avatar, GeM is envisaged to be an all-inclusive platform for government procurement, offering improved ease of doing business and transparency.

The Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of GeM is over Rs 2 lakh crore purchased by 70,000 buyer organisations from more than 65 lakh sellers and service providers, including over 8 lakh medium and small enterprises, TCS said in a statement.

TCS will leverage new technologies such as cloud neutrality and interoperability. It will maintain the current platform and base the new GeM platform on multilingual and open source-based architecture.

 The new platform will be based on e-commerce and e-marketplace principles with multi-tenancy, multi-rule, multilingual, open source, and open-API-based architecture. It will be highly scalable, designed to accommodate the anticipated six-fold growth in GMV over the next six years, the statement said.

The new platform will deploy data analytics to forecast projections and improve supply chain management, and advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to help identify potential fraud.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India is running an Indian Web Browser Development Challenge, which seeks to inspire start-ups and developers in the country to create an indigenous web browser.

The challenge is being run in collaboration with CCA and C-DAC Bangalore. It aims to create a browser with a focus on accessibility, and ensuring support “for individuals with diverse abilities.”

The programme has already seen participation from over 200 participants, including government departments, academia, start-ups and more, the MeitY said in a press release.

The team also envisions the ability to sign digital documents using a crypto token, which would allow for secure transactions.

There are three rounds in the competition. After the preliminary round, 18 of the best ideas will be chosen. In the second round, those 18 ideas will be brought down to 8, and then finally, three entries will fight it out for top three in the final round.

Technical mentorship will be provided to the contestants, and the prize pool will be worth Rs 3.41 crore, of which the winner will take home Rs 1 crore. The winner will also receive government backing and support for the project.

President Droupadi Murmu has given assent to the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023. The landmark legislation is designed to regulate the processing of personal data in the digital realm. It will come into effect upon a date to be duly notified by the Union Government.

This legislation introduces new regulations and amends existing legislation, including the Right to Information Act and the IT Act. At its core, the new Act focuses on the responsible processing of digital personal data to ensure that individuals’ rights are respected. Its key provisions include strict obligations for data fiduciaries or individuals, companies, and government bodies involved in data processing. It also includes safeguards and penalties to hold these entities accountable for any breaches of data rights, duties, and obligations.

There are additional measures for Significant Data Fiduciaries, such as appointing data auditors and conducting Data Protection Impact Assessments, to ensure a higher level of data protection.

According to a circular by the Ministry of Electronics & IT, the legislation is poised to establish a seamless transition to data protection regulations, enhance the quality of life and the business environment, and propel India’s digital economy and innovation ecosystem.

Artificial intelligence (AI) could have a more significant impact on the United Kingdom than the Industrial Revolution, said the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden. The leader warned that the emerging technology could be used by hackers to access sensitive information from the government.

Dowden also said that AI could speed up productivity and perform boring aspects of jobs. A total revolution, it is going to transform almost all elements of life over the coming years, even months in some cases, he added. It is much faster than other revolutions that the country has seen and much more extensive, whether that’s the invention of the internal combustion engine or the Industrial Revolution.

While AI allows for faster future decision-making by governments, with asylum claim applications in the UK already being processed by the Home Office using AI, the technology could be harnessed by terrorists to expand knowledge on dangerous material or conduct widespread hacking operations, Dowden said.

The UK Deputy Prime Minister said, “You can shortcut hacking by AI. The ability to do destructive things – you can use AI to help you do those… We need to be careful not to overstate these things and do it on an evidential basis, but there is the risk there that has to be addressed.”

A team of scientists at the University of California at San Diego, US have used CRISPR-based gene editing to create bacteria they believe can detect tumor DNA in the colons of mice. The researchers note that if the technology is applied successfully to humans, this would represent a non-invasive diagnostic tool that could identify cancer or pre-cancerous DNA. The study was recently published in the journal Science.

The researchers targeted a specific trait that certain bacteria have, i.e. the ability to take free-floating DNA from its environment into itself. The team then engineered a certain bacterium, Acinetobacter baylyi, to specifically ingest the DNA shed by colorectal cancer tumors. If a person has cancerous cells in their body, the engineered bacteria would endure and be able to signal the presence of those cells. If someone were cancer free, the bacteria would not survive to signal back, producing a negative result.

Jeff Hasty, PhD, a study lead and a professor at the UC San Diego School of Biological Sciences and Jacobs School of Engineering, in a press release, said that the research could someday produce a diagnostic tool that can locate tumors before a cancer starts or spreads.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully conducted a series of Drogue Parachute Deployment Tests for India’s proposed human space flight mission, Gaganyaan.

The tests were conducted at the Rail Track Rocket Sled (RTRS) facility of the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory, Chandigarh, in collaboration with Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE)/DRDO from August 8-10.

India’s Gaganyaan mission entails the safe transportation of astronauts to space and back. The mission deploys drogue parachutes, which play an important role in stabilising the crew module and reducing its velocity to a safe level during re-entry, said the space agency on August 11.

Drogue parachutes are packed within pyro-based devices known as mortars. These parachutes are ingeniously designed to eject the parachutes into the air upon command. These conical ribbon-type parachutes of a diameter of 5.8 meters employ a single-stage reefing mechanism, skillfully minimising canopy area and mitigating opening shock, ensuring a smooth and controlled descent.

During the three comprehensive tests conducted at the RTRS facility, a range of real-world scenarios were simulated to evaluate the performance and reliability of the drogue parachutes. The successful tests confirm the parachutes’ readiness for integration into the upcoming mission.

The United Kingdom’s first drone delivery service has been launched on the Orkney Islands off the coast of Scotland. The joint operation, launched by Royal Mail and Skyports Drone Services on August 1, will initially operate on the islands for three months.

Under the new service, mail is being transported from Royal Mail’s Kirkwall delivery office to Stromness, where the drones are delivering items to staff members on Graemsay and Hoy for postal workers to carry out their regular island delivery routes.

The Royal Mail, in a statement, said that the drone service is expected to considerably improve service levels and delivery times to Graemsay and Hoy, as weather and geography can cause disruption to delivery services. It added that the use of electric drones for inter-island delivery will bring significant safety in the system helping postal workers deliver between ports without risk.

While the service will operate for three months in the initial phase, it could be continued permanently under existing regulatory frameworks due to Orkney’s unique landscape and the proximity of the islands to one another.

The world’s first operational drone delivery service was launched in the capital of Iceland,  Reykjavik in 2017. It enabled shoppers to get food and other goods directly at their doorsteps. In 2022, pharmacy retailer Boots became the first community pharmacy in the UK to deliver prescription medicines by drone.