Technology

(ANI): A team of researchers have used a novel astronomical survey software system-the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF) — to link a new stripped-envelope supernova, named iPTF13bvn, to the star from which it exploded.

The iPTF team including Carnegie’s Mansi Kasliwal and John Mulchaey, also pinpointed the first afterglow of an explosion called a gamma-ray burst that was found by the Fermi satellite.

Their findings reflect the first time a star has been linked to the resulting explosion for this type of supernova, called Type Ib.

(ANI): Since smartphones have turned into the government’s alleged ‘snoop-op’ targets, it is highly important to turn off the device’s location sharing functions for a stricter privacy.

A German computer magazine, Chip, warns that criminals can misuse the smartphone’s satellite navigation system, its Wi-Fi connections and mobile connectivity to locate a user for potential mischief.

According to News24, smartphone users should trust only https- secured sites in order to use their passwords and usernames, and emails encrypted with S/ MIME standard.

Smart devices are likely to replace the need of having human workers at business companies, a new study has revealed.

Research company Gartner said that smart machines and systems will dramatically change the way companies do business.

Gartner said that chief information officers at companies must change their mission to address the proliferation of smart machines in a widening range of jobs and consider the impact this trend might have on their career paths and on increasing levels of unemployment, News24 reports.

(ANI): Facebook has reportedly eased the privacy policies for its young users by allowing them to share more information with the general public and have control on how much they want to share.

Earlier, users between ages 13 and 17 were barred from sharing information outside their extended network: their friends or friends of friends, however, the new rules will give them stronger privacy protections and control over their posts.

According to stuff.co.nz, the young users will also have the flexibility to change settings and share their posts with the general Internet audience.

Researchers have discovered that nerve cells have a special ‘pre-assembly’ technique to expedite the manufacture of proteins at nerve cell connections (synapses), enabling the brain to rapidly form memories and be plastic.

Making a memory requires the production of proteins at synapses.

According to the study from The Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital, The Neuro, McGill University with colleagues at the Universite de Montreal, these proteins then change the strength of the connection or pathway.

Small things come in small packages, says Soha Ali Khan, who launched one of the smallest 3D televisions by technology brand AOC.

The actress feels that the new AOC 23 inches Full 3D LED Razor TV will be affordable as well as compact.

“3D TV and HD TV is something that people all over the country want to enjoy. But some people can afford it, and some can’t. Also, some don’t want to have big screen TVs,” Soha told IANS during the launch Wednesday.

“They have launched one of the smallest screens. It is affordable as well,” she added.

Tata Sky, one of the leading direct-to-home service providers in the country, has announced the launch of “Everywhere TV”, which will allow subscribers to enjoy their favourite TV channels and movies-on-demand anytime, anywhere.

Available to Tata Sky subscribers, the service can be availed by downloading Tata Sky’s Mobile app from the Apple and Android stores, said a statement.

HTC has unveiled its latest handset a day earlier than planned after its details were leaked on the Internet. The Android-powered One Max was earlier scheduled to be unveiled at a press conference in China on Tuesday.

A new research by an Indian origin psychologist has revealed that humans can watch 3-D images with only one eye.

Dhanraj Vishwanath from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland said that simply looking through a small hole is enough to experience 3-D, CNN reported.

Currently the 3-D technology that’s used in movies and other media relies on two visual images, one from each eye, combining in the viewer’s brain to produce 3-D’s extra layer of depth, but the new research has suggested that both eyes aren’t needed.

Global warming could increase intensity of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), according to a new study.

The new study has suggested that droughts and floods driven by ENSO are going to be more intense.

Scientists used the newest climate models, and found a consistent projection for the future of ENSO.

Lead author, Dr Scott Power from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, said that global warming interferes with the way El Nino temperature patterns affect rainfall, the BBC reported.

The nearly two-week-long US government shutdown has had a marked effect on NASA as most of its employees were laid off and many programmes and experiments halted, a former NASA official said.

George Abbey, former director of the Johnson Space Center located in Houston, told Xinhua that 97 percent of the center’s staff were furloughed, leaving only a small number supporting the International Space Station (ISS) on line.

The ISS, therefore, has not been affected by the shutdown, Abbey said.

Want to have a better social life? Well, a new app is there to sort out your weekends so that you never miss out on any event happening in London.

Advertising exec Andrew Platt developed free app MyTime that showcases all the interesting and off-beat happenings happening in London and sorts them into an easy-to-use calendar, the Daily Express reported.

The kind of events the app lists include zombie night walks, insect food markets and late night poetry readings.

A scientific expedition has discovered 60 new species including frogs, snakes and fish, in the least accessible jungle region of southeastern Suriname, Conservation International said.

A team of biologists from several countries explored remote areas of Suriname where there is no human presence and came across dozens of species native to that area that have never been catalogued before.

Apple’s former boss John Sculley has reportedly said that the tech giant should use its cash reserves to buy some big companies instead of agreeing to investor Carl Icahn idea of buying back stock.

Sculley, who was the CEO of Apple between 1983-1993, said that if, for example, Apple buys eBay, it could shift the whole landscape of e-commerce.

According to the BBC, Sculley would prefer Apple continuing investing in building and making acquisitions rather than buying more stock or giving more dividends.

The apps on Apple’s latest iPhone5S are more crash-prone as compared to those on the older models of the tech giant’s flagship product.

A mobile app analytics company, Crittercism has revealed that apps running on the iPhone 5S crash twice as often as those available on the iPhone 5 or iPhone 5C, and this data came from analyzing hundreds of millions of apps.

Apple might be planning a makeover for its range of MacBook Air laptops, a research data suggests.

A research note from analyst firm DisplaySearch indicates to a revamped MacBook Air with a 12-inch pixel-packing display, likely to be unveiled in 2014.

According to Cnet, the firm speculates that the tech giant would roll out a ‘new’ MacBook Air with a bigger screen having a much higher resolution.

The sun recently released the most powerful solar flare in nearly two months, which resulted in a small geomagnetic storm, as charged particles from the sun passed by Earth.

According to forecasters at the Space Weather Prediction Center, the sun unleashed the moderate M2.8-class solar flare at 9:48 pm EDT (0148 GMT on Oct. 9).

Tuesday’s eruption, which was the strongest in months due to the sun’s oddly quiet activity, comes under M-class flares that are generally considered to be mid-range solar storms, Fox News reported.

NASA is trying to resolve an international spat over banning Chinese scientists from a planetary conference but efforts are being hampered by the US government shutdown, a meeting organiser has said.

Some leading US astronomers have vowed to boycott the conference next month at a US space agency facility in California because six Chinese scientists were told they could not attend.

Beijing’s foreign ministry has also described the move as “discriminative,” and said academic meetings should remain free of politics.

Some prominent American astronomers are boycotting a NASA meeting next month on exoplanets due to a ban on attendance by Chinese scientists, experts said today.

The restriction is based on a law passed in 2011 and signed by President Barack Obama that prevents NASA funds from being used to collaborate with China or to host Chinese visitors at US space agency facilities.

Among those leading the boycott are Debra Fischer, an astronomy professor at Yale University, and Geoff Marcy, an astronomy professor at the University of California, Berkeley.

A new research has revealed that babies explore their bodies as part of their development and even learn how to anticipate touch while still in the womb.

Nadja Reissland, of the Department of Psychology at Durham University said that during the research they observed sequential events, which show maturation in the development of fetuses, which is the basis for life after birth, Discovery News reported.

Reissland along with her team conducted a total of 60 scans of 15 healthy fetuses at monthly intervals between 24-36 weeks of gestation.

Apple is reportedly set to unveil its latest range of iPads in the coming week, which are touted to be lighter and thinner in design and have better processors.

The latest iPads are set to go for sales on October 22, against Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablets and other gadgets made by Samsung.

According to news.com.au, supply chain sources said that Apple may run into a shortage of the ‘retina’ displays for the iPad mini, which could in turn limit supply of the gadget during the crucial season.

Increasing use of information technology (IT) tools has enabled small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in diverse sectors to create more jobs and shore up revenues during the past three years, a research report said.

“IT-enabled SMEs doubled hiring and grew revenues 15 percent more than their non-IT counterparts. Microsoft Office emerged as the preferred application for enhancing productivity. Adoption of Microsoft Cloud services also enabled them to improve employee mobility, scalability and agility,” the report pointed out.

NASA’s Juno spacecraft is making a quick pass by Earth to get a gravity boost to slingshot itself towards Jupiter.

The time of closest approach is 3:21 p.m. EDT (12:21 p.m. PDT / 19:21 UTC) when Juno will pass about 350 miles over South Africa.

Dr. Scott Bolton of Southwest Research Institute is the Juno principal investigator, said that Juno is a large, massive spacecraft, which has three large solar panels, measuring 9 by 29 feet, and a titanium vault to protect sensitive electronics from the harsh environment around Jupiter.

India on Monday test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear-capable Prithvi-II missile with a strike range of 350 km from a test range at Chandipur, about 15 km from here.

The surface-to-surface missile was test fired from a mobile launcher in salvo mode from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range at about 9.14 AM, defence sources said.

“The missile was randomly chosen from the production stock and the total launch activities were carried out by the specially formed SFC and monitored by the scientists of DRDO as part of practice drill,” the sources said.

Search engine giant Google may reportedly launch a smartwatch called Gem later this month to coincide with the release of its Android 4.4 Kit Kat. According to the popular Android website, Android Police, the watch is a part of the Nexus brand and will reportedly be announced on October 31 this year, despite Google Glass yet to make its appearance on the market.