General Awareness

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - March 2018

Mar 2018

Jul 24, 2019

Nasa to Use Chandrayaan-2 Data

Nasa plans to use the data obtained by Chandrayaan-2 in the south pole region of the Moon while working out its next manned lunar mission in a few years.
The Nasa mission plan envisages landing the first set of astronauts on the south pole of the Moon around 2024 under its Artemis programme. The idea is to establish a sustainable human presence on the moon, with the goal of sending humans to Mars.
Isro is using the Nasa's deep space network at Goldstone in California for tracking the Chandrayaan-2 mission.

Jul 23, 2019

Chandrayaan-2 Placed in Orbit Successfully

India's aim of becoming a major space powerhouse got a lift-off as it launched its second lunar mission that, if successful, will make it only the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the moon, and the first to explore its south pole.
At 2.43pm, the 14-storey-tall GSLV Mark III rocket blasted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota with the 3,850kg Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft.
The indigenously designed spacecraft — comprising an orbiter, a lander and a rover — is expected to touch down on the moon's surface in the early hours of the morning of September 7.
The rover, called Pragyan, will examine the lunar surface, search for water, and probe craters and traps that could untangle key questions about the history of the solar system.

Jul 22, 2019

Genome India Project Set for Oct Launch

India will launch its first human genome mapping project by October 2019, a move that will help researchers get closer to developing effective therapies for treating diseases such as cancer.
In the first phase called the Genome India project, the genomic data of 10,000 Indians will be catalogued.
A genome is an organism's complete set of DNA, including all its genes. It contains all the information needed to build and maintain that organism.
By sequencing the genome, researchers can discover the functions of genes and identify which of them are critical for life.
The DBT said it will build on its own experience of genomic cataloguing and rope in 22 partner organisations including public health institutions that have obtained regulatory ethical clearances.
Investigators in hospitals will lead the data collection through a simple blood test from participants and the information will be added to bio banks.
Across the world, predictive diagnosis and precision medicine based on the genetic makeup of patients are emerging fields in the treatment of diseases such as cancer and other genetic disorders.
The Genome India project will aim to make predictive diagnostic markers available for some priority diseases such as cancer and other rare and genetic disorders.
The DBT has started establishing diagnostic labs for genetic testing and counselling services and a programme to train clinicians to produce skilled personnel to set up more such labs.
The department has also initiated an outreach programme to provide genetic diagnosis and counselling to families affected by common genetic disorders in certain districts. The Human Genome Project, which was completed in 2003, was led by an international team of researchers looking to sequence and map all the genes – together known as the genome – of human beings.

Robots help produce new class of antibiotics

Researchers have used robotics to engineer a common gut bacterium to produce a new class of antibiotics, a "breakthrough" that could be vital for the ongoing battle against antimicrobial resistance.
These antibiotics, known as class II polyketides, are also naturally produced by soil bacteria and have antimicrobial properties which are vital in the modern pharmaceutical industry to combat infectious diseases and cancer.
The naturally produced Escherichia coli bacteria are difficult to work with as they grow in dense clumps that are incompatible with the automated robotic systems used for modern biotechnology research, said researchers from The University of Manchester in the United Kingdom.
By transferring the production machinery from the soil bacteria into E coli, the team is now making this class of antibiotics accessible for much more rapid exploration.
This breakthrough could be vital for the ongoing combat against antimicrobial resistance, as recently developed automated robotics systems can now be used to create new antibiotics in a fast and efficient way.
By combining the bacterial production machinery with enzymes from plants and fungi, it was possible to produce new chemical compounds not previously seen in nature.
Using this plug-and-play platform, it will now be possible to explore and engineer polyketides using robotic systems to develop new and diversified polyketides in an automated, rapid and versatile fashion.

Jul 20, 2019

Ant- Sized Robots to Sense Climate Change

Scientists have developed a 3D-printed robot — about the size of the world's smallest ant — that moves by harnessing vibration from ultrasound sources or even tiny speakers.
Swarms of these "micro-bristle-bots" could work together to sense environmental changes, move materials, or repair injuries inside the human body in the future.
The prototype robots respond to different vibration frequencies depending on their configurations, allowing researchers to control individual bots by adjusting the vibration, according to the research published in the 'Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering'.
About two millimetres long, the bots can cover four times their own length in a second despite the physical limitations of their small size.

NASA Aims to Build as a Way Station for Mars Exploration

Unlike the Apollo programme that put astronauts on the moon 50 years ago, NASA is gearing up for a long-term presence on Earth's satellite that will eventually enable humans to reach Mars.
NASA is working to build a sustainable, open architecture that returns humanity to our nearest neighbour.
The next manned mission to the moon will require leaps in robotic technologies and a plan for NASA to work with private companies such as Elon Musk's SpaceX or Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to help cut the cost of space travel.
Using NASA's Space Launch System, a heavy-lift rocket being built for a debut flight in late 2020, the agency is aiming to return humans to the moon by 2024 in an accelerated timeline set in March 2019 by the Trump administration.
No humans have launched from US soil since the space shuttle programme ended in 2011.
NASA officials say exploration of the moon and Mars is intertwined, with the moon becoming a testbed for Mars and providing an opportunity to demonstrate new technologies that could help build self-sustaining extraterrestrial outposts.
Technologies that can mine the moon's subsurface water ice to sustain astronaut crews, but also to be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen for use as a rocket propellant, could be crucial for missions to Mars. The planet is reachable in monthslong missions when at its closest orbital approach of 35.8 million miles from Earth.
The last manned mission to the moon was almost a half-century ago in 1972, when Cold War era tensions underscored President John F Kennedy's push to prove technologies that landed the first humans on the lunar surface.

Jul 19, 2019

Chandrayaan 2 Launch Rescheduled

Three days after the launch of India's second mission to the moon was aborted, the Indian Space Research Organsation (Isro) announced that the glitch was corrected and Chandrayaan 2 is ready for launch on July 22 at 2.43pm.
The new launch timing, however, would leave no margin for error due to a shorter window period.
The July 22 launch would be just two days after the world celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon and Neil Armstrong becoming the first man to walk its surface on July 20, 1969.

Share on

TCY Analytics (View Subscription Plans)

Subscribe to GK Updates

I want to receive

GK Tags

September GK, August GK, July GK, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, ENVIRONMENT, BUSINESS AND ECONOMY, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, SPORTS, NATIONAL AFFAIRS, DEFENCE, PERSONS IN NEWS, DAYS AND EVENTS, AWARDS AND HONOURS, GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND SCHEMES, GENDER/ HEALTH/ EDUCATION, ART AND CULTURE, BOOKS AND AUTHORS, TOURISM AND HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARENESS, ART AND CULTURE, LAW AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Start Discussion

On any topic

Take Tests

Compiled from GK updates

Login

Sign Up

Forgot Password

Download TCY App

Unlock All Services And Enjoy The Premium Benefits

US$ 10

US$ 13

US$ 15

US$ 17

US$ 19

US$ 20

US$ 21

US$ 22

US$ 23

US$ 24

US$ 25

US$ 26