General Awareness

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - January 2016

Jan 2016

May 18, 2022

Scientists Grow Plants in Soil from Moon

For the first time, scientists have grown plants in lunar soil brought back by astronauts in the Apollo missions. It is a step towards producing food and oxygen on the Moon. Researchers designed a simple experiment: plant seeds in lunar soil, add water, nutrients and light, and record the results.
Researchers had no idea whether anything would sprout in the harsh moon dirt and wanted to see whether it could be used to grow food by the next generation of lunar explorers. The results stunned them.

Ransomware Gang Threatens to overthrow Costa Rica Government

A ransomware gang that infiltrated some Costa Rican government computer systems upped its threat, saying its goal is now to overthrow the government. The Russian-speaking Conti gang attacked Costa Rica in April 2022, accessing multiple critical systems in the finance ministry, including customs and tax collection.
Other government systems were also affected and not all are fully functioning. President Rodrigo Chaves declared a state of emergency over the attack as soon as he was sworn in May 2022. The US state department offered a $10 million reward for information leading to the identification or location of Conti leaders. Conti responded by writing, "We are determined to overthrow the government by means of a cyber attack, we have already shown you all the strength and power, you have introduced an emergency. " The gang also said it was raising the ransom demand to $20 million. It called on Costa Ricans to pressure their government to pay.

May 17, 2022

ISRO Successfully Tests Human-rated HS200 Solid Rocket for Gaganyaan

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully completed the static test of the human-rated solid rocket booster (HS200) at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota The test was for ISRO's Gaganyaan programme. The booster engine is part of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle MkIII (GSLV Mk III) rocket that will carry Indian astronauts to space. The GSLV MK III rocket is a three-staged vehicle. The first stage is powered by solid fuel, the second by liquid fuel and the third is the cryogenic stage powered by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
India's first manned space flight mission - 'Gaganyaan' - is expected to launch in 2023.

May 16, 2022

Scientists discover almost 35 million years old rare snake fossil from Ladakh

Scientists have discovered the fossil of a Madtsoiidae snake in the Himalayan mountains in Ladakh, which sheds fresh light on the prevalence and existence of this rare serpent species in the Indian subcontinent. Madtsoiidae is an extinct group of medium-sized to gigantic snakes, firstly appeared during the later part of the Cretaceous period, that began 145 million years ago and ended 66 million years ago. They are thought to grow up to 30 feet in length.
Madtsoiidae were mostly found in the Gondwanan landmasses, an ancient supercontinent that broke up about 180 million years ago and eventually split into landmasses that are today known as Africa, South America, Australia, Antarctica, the Indian subcontinent and the Arabian Peninsula.
- The study was undertaken by researchers from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, Panjab University, Chandigarh, Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar and Comenius University, Slovakia. The newly discovered specimen has been housed in the repository of Wadia Institute.

May 15, 2022

Chinese Findings on Mars Suggest Water Existed for Longer on Planet's Surface

Hydrated minerals discovered by China's robotic rover on Mars in a vast basin believed to be the site of an ancient ocean suggest water was present on the planet's surface for longer than previously thought, said Chinese scientists.
According to an analysis of data sent back by the rover, Zhurong, signs of water were detected in sampled minerals from just 700 million years ago. Mars is believed to have been wet until about 3 billion years ago, when the planet's second geological age, known as the Hesperian Epoch, ended. In the current Amazonian period, there is no surface water. The soil containing the minerals Zhurong sampled had a hard crust that could have been formed by rising ground water or melted ice that had since evaporated.
The Chinese rover has been exploring the vast plain of Utopia Planitia since its landing on the planet in May 2021. Zhurong has travelled about 2 kilometres from its landing site as it gathers data on the terrain.

May 14, 2022

First Image of Black Hole at Heart of Milky Way

Scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope(EHT) facility, a collaboration of over 300 researchers, revealed the first image of the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. This image of the black hole referred to as Sagittarius A* (SgrA*) gave further support to the idea that the compact object at the centre of our galaxy is indeed a black hole. This strengthens Einstein's general theory of relativity.
In 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope made history by releasing the first ever image of a black hole M87* – the black hole at the centre of a galaxy Messier 87, which is a supergiant elliptic galaxy.

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