Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have identified factors influencing the probability of extreme rain events and developed a tool that can improve the forecasting of such events. Extreme rain events, principally those that lead to flash floods in the south and east of Israel in spring and fall are specifically difficult to forecast even a short while in advance. In April 2018, a flash flood had killed 10 students from an army preparatory program while they hiked in Nahal Tzafit, a riverbed in the Judean Desert close to the Dead Sea. The new research – led by Dr Assaf H
Scientists from the European Space Agency (ESA) have learned to fry food in space. In a new study, they have found that frying works even in the microgravity experienced in space. Experimenting with frying food in space for a while, the ESA scientists recently conducted a study in microgravity conditions at a height of 2,000 feet to test if potatoes can be fried in space where there is no gravity to create buoyancy. During the experiment, they found that vapour bubbles still formed on the potatoes’ surface, allowing the hot oil to fry them. The scientists have clarified that without b
Oncologists from the University of Oxford tested the Galleri blood test, which can detect 50 types of cancer. A product of US firm Grail, the test was tested in an NHS trial on more than 5,000 people. The experimental blood test will now be introduced to more people next year, said the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). In the NHS trial, the test could correctly reveal two out of every three cancers among 5,000 people who had visited their doctors with suspected symptoms in England or Wales. It could also identify the original site of cancer in 85 percent of the positive cases. The test
Transmission tower manufacturer KEC International has got two orders for Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), also known as the Kavach System, worth Rs 600 crore, said MD and CEO Vimal Kejriwal in an interview on June 6. The KEC orders come after the recent tragic three-train collision in Balasore, Odisha, which has brought attention to the implementation of TCAS systems. The accident claimed 288 lives and injured around 1,000. It was reported that the route did not have Kavach. Kavach is currently installed on a limited percentage of trains, estimated to be around 5-7 percent of th
Under a new partnership with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), telcos in Singapore will soon revamp existing fibre networks to fend off attacks by quantum computers in the future. Quantum computers, or the next generation of computers, use the properties of light to solve problems too complex for traditional computers. Observers believe this will lead to new breakthroughs in medicine, materials and better artificial intelligence. However, the systems can also be used to crack passwords and encryption technology in seconds, creating risks for hospitals, banks and organisation
Iran's Revolutionary Guards unveiled an intermediate range ballistic missile on June 6 that is capable of travelling at hypersonic speeds of up to 15 times the speed of sound, said a state television report. The range of the Fattah missile is 1,400 kilometres. President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi hailed the new missile’s hypersonic capability, saying it would boost the country's “power of deterrence” and “bring peace and stability to the countries of the region.” The official IRNA news agency published photographs of the ceremony in a closed area. Several top military commanders w
The Indian Navy is participating in a commemorative event to mark 130 years of the beginning of the struggle against apartheid at Pietermaritzburg Railway Station near Durban. INS Trishul, a frontline warship of the Indian Navy, is in Durban till June 9, to commemorate the anniversary of the June 7, 1893 incident and 30 years of re-establishment of diplomatic relations between India and South Africa. The event at Pietermaritzburg Railway includes paying floral tributes at the plinth of Mahatma Gandhi and a performance by the Indian Navy band. The ship will also participate in other profess
India will soon acquire its fastest supercomputer worth Rs. 900 crore that is expected to be operational by March next year. With the acquisition, India will get the weather monitoring mechanism with the highest resolution of probabilistic forecast, said Earth Sciences Minister Kiren Rijiju on May 24. The country is set to scale up its super-computing prowess significantly and install an 18-petaflop system over the course of this year. The ‘flops’ stand for floating point operations per second, and are an indicator of computers’ processing speed. A petaflop is equal to 1,000 trillion
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched the NVS-1 satellite on May 29. The NVS-1 is part of the second-generation of satellites called Navigation Indian Constellation (NavIC), which succeeds the first-generation Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS). It has both civilian and strategic uses. The ISRO has already launched nine first-generation navigation satellites, one of which could not be placed as the launch vehicle crashed into the sea. The NavIC will have increased lifespan, technical capabilities, and applications. Envisioned as a region
A paralysed man has regained the ability to walk smoothly using only his thoughts for the first time, researchers said on May 24, with two implants that restored communication between brain and spinal cord. Gert-Jan Oskam has been paralysed in his legs for more than a decade after suffering a spinal cord injury during a bicycle accident. Now, with a combination of devices, the 40-year-old Dutchman has gained control over his lower body again. With the new system, he can now walk “naturally”, take on difficult terrain and climb stairs, said a study published in the journal Nature. Th