IIT Madras Professor Thalappil Pradeep has bagged the VinFuture Special Prize for Innovators from Developing Countries for his development of a low-cost filtration system, which can remove arsenic and other heavy metals from groundwater, in Vietnam on December 20, 2022. Attracting 970 nominations from over 70 countries across six continents, the four most outstanding scientific works, aligned with this season’s theme of “Reviving and Reshaping”, were chosen as the winners. The winners include the breakthroughs that have made global network technology a reality, 3D protein structure p
The Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) have started providing 5G services in the country and a total of 20,980 base stations services were installed in 14 states and union territories till November 26, 2022, Minister of State for Communications Devusingh Chauhan told the Parliament. In a written reply to a question on 5G towers, the minister said the TSPs are installing approximately 2,500 base stations per week on average. The highest number of 5G base stations have been installed in Delhi at 5,829 (938 Airtel, 4,891 Reliance Jio), followed by Maharashtra with 4,051 base stations already se
The Geneva-based European Organisation for Nuclear Research, Cern, has expressed hopes that Singapore could become its partner one day, helping it tap the minds of top scientists. Professor Emmanuel Tsesmelis, Head of Associate Member and Non-Member State Relations at Cern, in an interview said this citing the strong physics, engineering and computing departments of eminent Singapore universities such as NUS (National University of Singapore) and NTU (Nanyang Technological University). Cern has formal partnerships with 80 countries: 23 members finance and decide the centre’s activitie
US scientists at the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California have successfully produced a nuclear fusion reaction resulting in a net energy gain, say reports. Net energy gain indicates that this technology could provide an abundant zero-carbon alternative to fossil fuels. "Last week at the Lawrence Livermore National Library, scientists at the National Ignition Facility achieved fusion ignition," US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said at a press conference, adding, “That is creating more energy from fusion reactions than the energy used
Japanese space startup, ispace Inc launched its own private lander to the Moon on board a SpaceX rocket on Sunday from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Tokyo-based start-up designed its craft to use minimal fuel to save money and leave more room for cargo. It is taking a slow, low-energy path to the Moon, flying 1.6 million km (one million miles) from Earth before turning back to make a planned landing by the end of April. In opposition, NASA’s Orion crew capsule with test dummies took five days to reach the Moon last month. The US lunar flyby mission splashed down in the Pacific Ocean
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Headquarters, Integrated Defence Staff jointly conducted hypersonic vehicle trials on Friday. The trials achieved all required parameters and demonstrated hypersonic vehicle capability, ISRO said in a statement. A hypersonic vehicle travels at least five times faster than the speed-of-sound, or greater than Mach 5. This vehicle can be an airplane, missile, or spacecraft. Considered to be the latest cutting-edge technology, hypersonic technology is a focus for many countries, including China, India, Russia and the US, which are engaged in fu
Onkar Batra, a 12th-standard student from Jammu, has launched a nano-satellite with the help of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Batra, a student at BSF Senior Secondary School Jammu, has developed India’s first open-source satellite, InQube. This satellite, prepared under the banner of Paradox Sonic Space Research Agency, will be launched this month. The satellite has been developed with nanotechnology and weighs one kilogram. Its launch in India cost Rs. 20 to 80 lakh. The price in foreign countries is into crores of rupees. In an interview, Batra said that the sate
The European Union has announced plans to provide in-flight network connectivity to passengers. The move will allow airlines across EU countries to give 5G connectivity in flights. The EU has ordered its member states to make 5G frequency bands available in planes by June 30, 2023 and implement the new directives. Once the directives are in place, air travellers will be able to call, surf the internet, and stream and use apps on the internet. The new order of mid-flight connectivity comes under EU’s Digital Future Strategy and will affect all EU member states. While there are some air
In a real breakthrough in the renewable energy sector, researchers at IIT Madras have created a device that can generate electricity from sea waves. The development might help India achieve its goal to deliver on its climate change targets by generating 500 GW of renewable energy by 2030. Called the ‘Ocean Wave Energy Converter’ or Sindhuja-1, this device was deployed at a remote location 6 km off the coast of Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, and placed at a depth of 20 metres. The IIT-M team completed trials of this device in the second week of November, and now targets generating 1 MW of power
A team of researchers in Canada have discovered two new minerals in a slice of a 15-tonne meteorite that landed near the town of El Ali, in the Hiraan region of Somalia in east Africa. A potential third mineral is also being looked at. The meteorite is the ninth largest celestial rock recorded at over 2 metres wide. It was unearthed in Somalia in 2020 and named the El Ali meteorite. The minerals have officially been named elaliite after the meteorite’s location and elkinstantonite after Lindy Elkins-Tanton, Vice President, Arizona State University Interplanetary Initiative and Principal