General Awareness

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY - January 2020

Jan 2020

Jan 25, 2020

Use of Ozone-depleting Chemical Phased Out

According to the Union environment ministry, India has completely phased out the use of Hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)-141b, a chemical used by foam manufacturing industries and one of the most potent ozone depleting chemicals.
The ministry had issued a notification in December 2019 saying the issuance of import licenses for HCFC-141b will be prohibited from January 1 under Ozone Depleting Substances (Regulation and Control) Amendment Rules, 2019, issued under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
The chemical is used mainly as a blowing agent in the production of rigid polyurethane (PU) foams.
HCFC-141b was not produced in India and all domestic requirements were met through imports. With this notification, the import has been prohibited.

Jan 24, 2020

System to Turn Moondust into Oxygen

The European Space Agency (ESA) is developing a prototype system to help humans breathe on the Moon by turning moon dust into oxygen.
The facility being developed in the Netherlands will create oxygen using simulated lunar material, not only to help astronauts breathe, but also for rocket fuel.

Jan 23, 2020

ISRO Unveils Female Humanoid for Gaganyaan Mission

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) unveiled the female humanoid to be placed in the first unmanned mission under the Gaganyaan mission. Gaganyaan is India's first human space mission.
Named Vyommitra, the robot is a prototype of humanoid and will go as a trial before the Gaganyaan goes up with the astronauts. 'Vyommitra' will simulate most of the human body functions and report back to ISRO.

Scientists Date World's Oldest Meteor Crater

According to a new research, a crater in western Australia was formed by a meteor strike more than 2.2 billion years ago and is the world's oldest known impact site. The study marks the first time that the Yarrabubba crater has been precisely dated, at 2.229 billion years old, and means it is 200 million years older than any similar site known on Earth. The revelation also raises the intriguing possibility that the massive impact could have significantly altered the Earth's climate, helping end a period of global deep freeze.

Jan 22, 2020

Qualcomm Phones to Use ISRO Satellite Signals

New smartphones in India running on Qualcomm chipsets will be able to use signals from ISRO'S satellites for navigation. The three new chipsets — Snapdragon 720G, 662, and 460 — will be the first to support the Indian NavIC.
NavIC (or Navigation with Indian Constellation) is a seven-satellite regional navigation system developed by ISRO that will provide positioning services over India and countries up to 1,500 km around it.
These chipsets were developed by Qualcomm, the US-based multinational company, in consultation with the space agency.

Jan 21, 2020

Scientists' brains shrank after a long stay in Antarctica

A portion of the brains of people living at an Antarctic research station shrank during a long stay, a small study finds. Social isolation and the unchanging white landscape may be to blame.
"It's very exciting to see the white desert at the beginning," says Alexander Stahn. A physiologist, he began the research while working in Berlin, Germany. "But then it's always the same."
A crew of eight scientists and a cook lived and worked at the German research station Neumayer III for 14 months. Although joined by other scientists during the summer, the crew alone endured the long darkness of polar winter. Temperatures can plummet as low as –50° Celsius (–58° Fahrenheit). Such harsh conditions make it impossible for people to leave.
This creates a lot of isolation. That and the static environment create the closest thing on Earth to what a space explorer might experience, says Stahn. He now works at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Stahn wants to understand how long-term travel in space might affect the brain.

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