In a remarkable feat, a 21-year-old computer science student has harnessed the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to decode letters from scorched scrolls dating back 2,000 years, which were once considered completely unreadable. The discovery was announced on October 19 by Professor Brent Seales, a computer scientist at the University of Kentucky, along with a team of collaborators. They researchers initiated the Vesuvius challenge in March, an endeavour aimed at expediting the deciphering of these ancient texts. The challenge, supported by Silicon Valley investors, offered cash rewards
Software company Adobe, at its annual MAX conference, unveiled a new futuristic “digital dress” that lets wearers change patterns on its surface on the go.At the conference, from October 10 to 12, in Los Angeles, California, Adobe showed major new AI capabilities, highlighting how generative AI can be used by design professionals in their daily workflow. The dress, developed under Adobe’s Project Primrose, is made of sequins that are “reflective light-diffuser modules” built using liquid crystals such as those used in smart lighting. The sequins are basically tiny screens built u
A mobile tower has been installed for the first time at Siachen Glacier, the world’s highest battlefield. In collaboration with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the army personnel established the base transceiver station (BTS) at forward posts on October 6 to extend mobile communication for the soldiers deployed at more than 15,500 feet, said XIV Corps or Fire and Fury Corps responsible for guarding borders with China and Pakistan. Fire and Fury Corps posted the news on social media platform X on October 12. Devusinh Chauhan, Minister of State for Communications, Government of India,
IIT-Bombay and Laurus Labs backed ImmunoACT have received the approval for India’s first CAR-T cell therapy, NexCAR19 (Actalycabtagene autoleucel) — a breakthrough treatment for some types of cancers — from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO). NexCAR19 has been approved for relapsed-refractory B-cell lymphoma and leukemia. The approval will offer hope to thousands of blood cancer and lymphoma (cancers of the lymph system) patients in the country who cannot afford to travel abroad to avail the cutting-edge therapy, an advanced form of immunotherapy first launche
The India-Pakistan ICC World Cup match on October 14 set a global streaming record with more than 3.5 crore people watching the clash on Disney+Hotstar. The new global streaming viewership record has beaten the record set by the Indian Premier League (IPL) final between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans on May 29 with a viewership of 3.2 crore viewers. In the match played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India defeated Pakistan by 7 wickets to register its 8th World Cup victory against the team in a historic rivalry that has been on since 1991. With the massive win, India de
Amazon’s first pair of prototype satellites for its planned Kuiper internet network was launched into space on October 6 from Florida, US. It is the company’s first step towards its mission of deploying thousands more satellites into orbit to beam internet service globally. A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 rocket carrying the satellites lifted off from Cape Canaveral shortly after 2 p.m. Eastern time (1800 GMT). The mission aims to test Amazon’s first pieces of technology in space. The e-commerce and web services giant plans to deploy 3,236 more satellites in the next few years
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will execute the first of multiple test flights ahead of its first manned mission to space, Gaganyaan from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on October 21. The test involves launching the module to outer space and bringing it back to earth and recovering it after touchdown in the Bay of Bengal. The test is intended to test the crew module or the part of the vehicle where the Indian astronauts will be housed. ISRO will launch an empty module before bringing it safely back to Earth. “The success of this test flight will set the s
On October 14, as parts of the world will plunge into partial darkness during the annular solar eclipse, NASA will send rockets flying into the shadow of the eclipse. Under its mission, Atmospheric Perturbations around the Eclipse Path (APEP), the US space agency will launch three rockets to learn how the sudden drop in sunlight affects Earth’s upper atmosphere. On Saturday, the people living near the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico will see sudden bright streaks from the three NASA rockets racing towards the Sun when its brightness will dim to only a bright “ring of fire.”
ISRO on October 6 shared pictures showing how plastic is shredded and mixed to make roads at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota. The Indian space agency said that the Department of Space (DoS) is actively contributing to the Swachhata Campaign by implementing best practices. “Plastic waste is being sustainably utilised for the resurfacing of roads at SDSC-SHAR, Sriharikota, the Spaceport of India,” ISRO posted. Under the Union Government’s ‘Waste to Wealth’ mission and its mission of constructing environmentally sustainable national highways, the National High
A school team from Vadodara, Gujarat has bagged the bronze medal in the World Robot Olympiad (WRO) 2023 national championship. The team of Hriday Parikh and Shreyans Bohora will now represent India at the international championship in Panama. Along with their coach, the 15-year-old boys made a robot, which can solve ocean traffic problems in 85 seconds. The team that was contesting in the senior high age (15-19 years) was given the challenge to create a versatile robot that can help load and unload ships, fuel them and pilot them to open sea - a robot to solve ocean traffic pro