Science

Washington, Dec 09: Middle-aged parents are more involved in their grown children’s lives than ever before, according to a new research.

“We found that middle-aged parents help each of their grown children with many types of support at least every few weeks,” said Karen Fingerman, professor of gerontology, developmental and family studies at Purdue University.

“This is a dramatic increase from 20 years ago, when young adults received much less support from their parents,” he said.

California, Dec 08: Google has began adding real time results to its Internet search engine, channelling feeds from Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other fresh content into responses to queries.

“We are here today to announce Google real time search,” Google fellow Amit Singhal said at a press event held near the firm’s headquarters in Mountain View, California.

“Users will get results on results page as they are being produced out there. This is the first time ever that a search engine has integrated the real time Web into the results page,” Mr. Singhal said yesterday.

Kolkata, Dec 08: Expressing confidence that India would make much progress in science and technology President Pratibha Patil said here on Monday that this alone would not do. “For a ‘force multiplier effect,’ benefits must accrue to the people in the villages and cities of the country.”

Chennai, Dec 08: The Indian space agency is expected to take a major step in January towards realising its next generation rocket by ground-firing the world’s third largest – in terms of fuel mass and length – solid rocket booster developed in-house.

An Indian Space Reasearch Organisation (ISRO) official said: “The large solid propellant booster project was taken up nearly a decade ago and will achieve its first milestone next month.”

Recently, ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan said the static testing of the booster will happen soon.

New Delhi, Dec 08: American nuclear power companies on Tuesday said they have to take the required authorisation from the Barack Obama administration to commence exports of nuclear technology to India while hoping to start preliminary work during 2010.

London, December 07: A potent new antibiotic has opened up completely new ways of knocking out resistant bugs, says a new study.

It is “an exciting find at a time when resistance to existing antibiotics is growing,” said Tony Maxwell, professor at the John Innes Centre (JIC), an institute of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

The antibiotic molecule slots into pockets in the surface of a bacterial enzyme, DNA gyrase, and inhibits its activity. Gyrase is essential for bacteria to survive and grow.

London,December 07: The earth’s temperature may be 30 to 50 percent more sensitive to atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) than has previously been estimated, says a new study.

The results show that components of the earth’s climate system that vary over long timescales – such as land-ice and vegetation – have an important effect on this temperature sensitivity, but these factors are often neglected in current climate models.

Copenhagen, December 07: The world is entering talks on a new climate pact with unprecedented unity and leaders must seize the moment to create a turning point in the battle against global warming, the UN’s top climate official said Sunday.

New Delhi, December 06: Stem cells have the potential to cure kidney diseases and “incurable” spina bifida (a neurological deficit) said doctors at AIIMS after conducting a five-year study on the potential of stem cells in these areas.

“Stem cells have the potential to repair and regenerate the kidney tissue. It has also shown positive results in cases of spina bifida, where people remain handicapped even after undergoing a surgery for it,” Professor D K Gupta, paediatric surgeon, AIIMS said here today.

Mumbai, December 06: A feasibility report done by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has established that India has the capability to go on a mission to Mars, said former ISRO chariman, G Madhavan Nair. He was speaking during the last day of the international symposium on “science and technology at the frontiers” at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) on Saturday.

New Delhi, December 05: Even as India ponders about the way forward to minimise the catastrophic effects of climate change, latest data from the ISRO has confirmed that sources of India’s perennial rivers are slowly contracting – the Gangotri glacier has receded by 1.5 km in the past 30 years.

San Francisco, December 05: Yahoo! and Microsoft have announced that they have finalised the details of their planned Internet search and advertising partnership.

The companies hope to implement the deal next year with the approval of anti-trust regulators.

“Yahoo! and Microsoft welcome the broad support the deal has received from key players in the advertising industry and remain hopeful that the closing of the transaction can occur in early 2010,” the companies said in a joint statement.

New Delhi, December 05: Even as India ponders about the way forward to minimise the catastrophic effects of climate change, latest data from the ISRO has confirmed that sources of India’s perennial rivers are slowly contracting – the Gangotri glacier has receded by 1.5 km in the past 30 years.

New Delhi, Dec 05: Technology up-gradation by the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) would play a key role in their future growth, said V Ramaswamy, Global head of the small and medium business of Tata Consultancy Services.

Toronto, December 04: It is official: cellphones don’t increase the risk of brain cancer.

A long-term study has found there is no link between brain tumor and the use of cell phones. The study among Scandinavian people from 1974 and 2003 has found that the use of cell phones did not increase brain tumour risk among users.

“We did not observe (notice) an effect of mobile phones on the incidence of brain tumours,” study leader Isabelle Deltour of the Institute of Cancer Epidemiology in Copenhagen told a Canadian television network here Thursday.

New Delhi, December 03: In a disturbing revelation, the Centre on Thursday announced that of all the countries in the world, it was India which was faced the biggest risks occurring due to climate change and the future of Indian society depended on how we respond to this challenge.

In a key address, coming days before the crucial Copenhagen Summit, the Union Minister for Environment and Forests (Independent charge) Jairam Ramesh said that out of the over 190 countries around the world, India was most vulnerable to negative impacts of climate change.

New Delhi, December 03: Four days ahead of the Copenhagen climate summit, India Thursday announced it will reduce its emission intensity by 20-25 percent by 2020 from the 2005 level.

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, in an eloquent exposition of the country’s stand which he said was worked out in concert with some developing countries including China, said India was reducing the emission intensity — the level of greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP — in its own interest.

New Delhi, December 03: With pressure mounting to match China’s public diplomacy over Climate Change, the Indian government is likely to announce on Thursday its plan to reduce carbon intensity, three days before world leaders from 192 countries meet in Copenhagen.

In an interview to a leading US newspaper Shyam Saran, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s special envoy on climate change, said India can reduce energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by as much as 35 percent through that year and make a “similar” cut in carbon dioxide.

Toronto, Dec 03: Hailing it as the beginning of a golden age of astronomy, researchers say the latest data beamed back to earth by the Herschel Space Observatory (HSO) is providing them a rare peep into distant galaxies. Herschel is the largest infrared telescope ever launched into space.

Bhopal, Dec 03: This January, 25 years after the Bhopal gas tragedy, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) invited research to study the effects of methyl isocyanate (MIC) poisoning. After 11 months, ICMR has received only two proposals. A disappointed Council has now decided to keep the ‘call for research proposals’ open till it gets some noteworthy submissions.

Mumbai, December 02: A Nokia E90 communicator is pictured under a plastic case at the CeBIT computer fair… Enlarge Photo A Nokia E90 communicator is pictured under a plastic case at the CeBIT computer fair…

Nokia, the world’s largest cellphone maker, forecast handset market volumes would grow around 10 percent next year, more than analysts’ 8.6 percent consensus.

Nokia also said on Wednesday its market share would be unchanged in 2010.

Washington, December 02: Google, under fire from Rupert Murdoch and some other newspaper owners, said it will let publishers set a limit on the number of articles people can read for free through its search engine.

Google’s announcement came as the News Corp. chairman, who has threatened to block the Internet giant from indexing his newspapers, and other US media heavyweights gathered here to discuss journalism in the Internet age.

Helsinki, December 01: Nokia plans to install Linux software on just one new smartphone next year, a source told reporters, dampening prospects of a quick makeover of the Finnish group’s struggling product line-up.

The Finnish firm has started to invest more in Internet services in recent years, seeking to counter falling handset prices and increased competition in smartphones from the likes of Apple and Blackberry-maker RIM.

London, December 01: If scientists are to be believed, millions of people across the world could soon be eating bread and biscuits made from — cotton which is rich in protein.

Cotton seed is inedible as it contains a poisonous substance called gossypol. Now, the scientists claim to have found a way to reduce the poison which can harm the liver and heart, the ‘Daily Express’ reported.

Beijing, December 01: China will conduct the first large- scale aerial survey of 1,600 square km of the ocean and icebergs in Antarctica using an unmanned plane, a researcher involved with the ambitious project said today.

The dragonfly-like plane, equipped with aerial cameras, infrared radiometers and infrared probes will conduct observations over Prydz Bay near China’s Zhongshan research station in Antarctica, Xie Chengyin, from the robot research institute of Beihang University, said.