News on Science, Technology and Research in India
The researchers at the Indian Institute of Science have found out that hydrogen sulphide gas can suppress the Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV virus. A team from the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology and the Center for Infectious Disease Research in IISc have ascertained that increased hydrogen sulphide in the body reduces the rate at which the HIV virus multiplies in the immune cells.
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras are working on developing new wearable devices that will assist people with hearing impairment and cerebral palsy, and other motor disabilities to communicate independently and enhance their quality of life.
These talking gloves use principles of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to automatically generate speech that is language independent and helps speech-impaired people communicate more effectively.
Arvind Singh, Associate Professor at the Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, a Swarnajayanti fellow of 2020-21, is examining the role of enhancing ocean alkalinity for removing atmospheric carbon dioxide to tackle global climate change problems. Increasing emission of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to anthropogenic and other processes is a global problem that scientists are trying to tackle through various approaches.
Mr. Deepak from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) Bangalore, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India and Professor Emeritus David L. Lambert from the University of Texas at Austin and an Honorary Fellow of IIA Bangalore have for the first time confirmed that all the lithium-rich stars are burning helium in their core. They speculated in their paper published in the journal MNRAS that lithium production is linked to the violent helium-core flash.
Prof. Satyajit Banerjee from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) and his group (Md. Arif Ali) have indigenously developed a unique innovation of a prototype of a Smart Superconducting Fault Current Limiter (SCFLsm), which has a circuit wherein a superconducting element has an array of hall sensors distributed around the superconductor.
SWADESH is supported by JAVA-based workflow environment and Python. Backed by a dedicated storage system, it provides quality control, data analysis reports, and data backups. Its development will facilitate the integration of multi-site data and collaborative research worldwide. Presently, SWADESH has data of 500 AD and MCI patients and 70 PD patients. It also includes data of 600 healthy old individuals and 800 healthy young individuals in the control group.
A first-of-its-kind programme to promote women in the field of research and development through lateral entry was launched yesterday. The programme called Women’s Involvement in Science and Engineering Research (WISER) program was launched by Indo-German Science & Technology Centre (IGSTC) for encouraging women researchers in joint R&D projects.
In just over a year since they completed fabrication of a prototype engine, Skyroot Aerospace, a firm founded and led by former Isro scientists, has successfully tested India’s first privately developed fully Cryogenic rocket engine — ‘Dhawan-I’ — running on two high-performance rocket propellants, Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) & Liquid Oxygen (LoX).
During the welcome address in the inaugural session of the conclave, Dr. K. Sivan, Chairman, ISRO / Secretary, Department of Space (DoS), mentioned a plethora of futuristic technologies like Satellite-Based Quantum Communication, Quantum Radar, Self-Eating-Rocket, Self-Vanishing-Satellite, Self-Healing Materials, Humanoid Robotics, Space-Based-Solar-Power, Intelligent Satellites and Space-vehicles, Make-in-Space concept, Artificial-Intelligence based space applications, etc. where ISRO has initiated its Research & Development initiatives, with well-defined milestones and deliverables.
