Asian Lite News Archive

Category: Science

  • 8 Nations Join NASA’s Lunar Exploration Programme

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    While NASA is leading the Artemis programme, which includes sending the first woman and next man to the surface of the Moon in 2024, international partnerships will play a key role in achieving a sustainable and robust presence on the Moon later this decade while preparing to conduct a historic human mission to Mars…reports Asian…

  • How the brain register memories of real-life events

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    Neurons in a brain region called the medial temporal lobe play a key role in our ability to quickly form memories about real-life events and experiences, new research says. The findings could lead to development of new therapies to improve the lives of neurological patients with memory impairment, such as in Alzheimer’s disease, traumatic brain…

  • NASA unveils plane to fly on Mars

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    The US space agency is planning to send a boomerang-shaped aircraft to Mars first to check if the conditions are ripe for the humans to land on the Red Planet. Proposed to make its first flight to Mars in the 2020s, a prototype of the “Preliminary Research Aerodynamic Design to Land on Mars” (Prandtl-m) will…

  • ‘Embrace yoga for a super sex life’

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    By Nishant Arora  While the first International Yoga Day has rightfully positioned the nearly 5,000-year old Indian system of physical and mental rejuvenation on to the global mat, little do people know that there are some postures that, if done under proper guidance, can ramp up their sex life too. For sound love-making, the whole…

  • NASA explore safe landing sites on Mars

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    In its bid for the next giant leap to Mars, NASA is seeking ideas for enabling human explorers to safely land, live and work on the Red Planet. NASA’s first “Landing Site/Exploration Zone Workshop for Human Missions to the Surface of Mars” will be held October 27-30 at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston.…

  • Silk can repair nerve damage: Indian scientists

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    By Sahana Ghosh  The exquisite fibres of the famed mulberry silk can trigger regeneration of nerves and restore activity in limbs affected by traumatic injuries, courtesy a new technology developed by Indian scientists. A team of researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati (IIT-G) have fabricated tube-like hollow structures out of silk fibres doped with…

  • Sixth mass extinction has begun: Study

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    The world is witnessing the sixth mass extinction that threatens even our very own existence, warns a new study. The new study, published in the journal Science Advances, shows that even with extremely conservative estimates, species are disappearing up to about 100 times faster than the normal rate. The world has seen five recognisable mass…

  • What makes siblings so different

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    Ever wondered what makes siblings so different though they may share a lot of habits? A study finds that the answer lies in the parents’ beliefs about their children — and the comparisons they make may cause differences to be magnified. “Parents’ beliefs about their children, not just their actual parenting, may influence what their…

  • Large parental age gap ups autism risk

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    Children born to teenage mothers and whose parents have a large gap between their ages are at an increased risk of developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD), says a large study involving 5.7 million children in five countries. The study also confirmed that older parents are at higher risk of having children with ASD which is…

  • Glass deposits show Mars had life

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    In a pioneering feat, researchers have discovered glass deposits on the Red Planet, providing a delicate window into the possibility of past life on the Red Planet…..reports Asian Lite News Using data from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), the team from Brown University detected deposits of glass within impact craters on Mars formed in the…

  • NASA ‘flying saucer’ parachute fails

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    The parachute has failed during a NASA test of new technology for landing larger spacecraft and eventually astronauts on Mars. The test off the Hawaiian island of Kauai was investigating technology designed to slow down a large landing vehicle falling through the atmosphere at supersonic speeds reports BBC. But shortly after the test re-entry started, the…

  • NASA to build supersonic eco-friendly jets

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    The US space agency NASA said it is spending over $6 million to fund research into cheaper and greener supersonic travel, reports Asian Lite News. While modern fighter jets can fly faster than the speed of sound, the environmental impact is relatively small as not many fighter jets are in operation at a given time. However,…

  • Trial begins for new Type-1 diabetes vaccine

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    The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a phase II clinical trial for testing the ability of a promising vaccine to reverse advanced Type-1 diabetes, researchers said. The generic vaccine called Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) was earlier found effective in reversing advanced Type-1 diabetes in mice and subsequently completed a successful phase I human…

  • New treatment for inherited kidney disease

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    A new treatment which involves targeting tiny blood vessels inside the kidneys may slow down the progression of an inherited kidney disease that is affecting around 12.5 million individuals worldwide, research has found. Polycystic kidney disease (PKD), the world’s most common inherited kidney disease, is a genetic disorder where fluid filled cysts grow in kidneys…

  • Nobel laureate Irwin Rose passes away

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    American biochemist and Nobel laureate Irwin Rose has died at the age of 88, said the University of California, Irvine (UCI), where Rose had been a researcher. According to his family members, Rose passed away in his sleep on Tuesday in Deerfield , Massachusetts. Rose was the winner of the 2004 Noble Prize in Chemistry,…

  • New vaccine may prevent Type 2 diabetes

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    In an important research that could lead to the development of vaccine to prevent one of the most prevalent diseases of our time – Type-2 diabetes, US researchers have found that toxins produced by a bacterium may cause the disease. The researchers found that prolonged exposure to a toxin produced by Staphylococcus aureus (staph) bacteria…

  • Britain’s oldest vegetarian dinosaur found

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    Scientists have identified Britain’s oldest sauropod (plant-eaters) dinosaur from a fossil bone discovered on the Yorkshire coast. The vertebra (backbone) originates from a group of dinosaurs that includes the largest land animals to have ever walked on the Earth. This new sauropod dinosaur, from the Middle Jurassic Period at about 176 million years old, was…

  • NASA set for ‘flying saucer’ test flight

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    NASA is all set to test its low-density supersonic decelerator (LDSD) – a flying saucer designed to check out landing technologies for future Mars missions – over Hawaii. If weather permits, the LDSD test vehicle will be carried aloft by a large weather balloon at 10 p.m. (Indian standard time) on Tuesday from the US…

  • New cancer breakthrough hailed by Doctors

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    The results of new cancer drugs trials have been hailed as spectacular, with one expert claiming the potential for a cure for the disease is “definitely there”. Immunotherapy, which uses the body’s immune system to attack cancerous cells, proved so effective that in one British-led trial, more than half of patients with advanced melanoma saw…

  • Eurasians’ forefathers came from Egypt: Stydy

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      Egypt was the major gateway for modern humans out of Africa and that migration followed a northern rather than a southern route, a new study suggests. The latest findings are based on new genomic analyses of people currently living in Ethiopia and Egypt. Although scientists are confident that all modern human populations can trace…

  • India to revive cold fusion

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    By K.S. Jayaraman  India is poised to revive research on controversial cold fusion two decades after abandoning what was then billed as a potential source of clean energy. Recommendations for restarting cold fusion experiments have been made by a ‘high level group’ that included two former chairmen of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE): Anil…

  • 50 Years since the first US spacewalk

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    Famous Hollywood actor Jon Cryer has given his voice to a new NASA film celebrating 50th anniversary of the first spacewalk by a US astronaut. On June 3, 1965, NASA astronaut Ed White became the first American to walk in space. NASA is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the US’ first extravehicular activity (EVA) —…

  • Scientists discover ‘key’ protein to treat Ebola

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    Scientists have found a protein that acts like a “key” allowing the Ebola virus to infect cells, according to an article published in the journal mBio. A study by a group of scientists from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in New York and the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious…

  • NRI scientist creates first single-molecule device

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    A team of Columbia Engineering researchers led by an Indian-American scientist Latha Venkataraman has created a single-molecule electronic device which has a potential of real-world technological applications for nanoscale devices. Under the direction of Venkataraman, researchers created a single-molecule diode which performs 50 times better than all prior designs. Constructing a device where the active…

  • New hope for people with diabetic blindness

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    US researchers said they have found a new way to restore the eyesight in patients who have a blinding eye disease caused by diabetes. The key is to block a second blood vessel growth protein, along with one that is already well-known, when it comes to treating and preventing diabetic retinopathy, the most common diabetic…

  • Rover begins new journey on Mars

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    Unable to reach a comparable geological contact farther south on Red Planet, NASA’s Curiosity rover has now approached an alternative site for investigating a geological boundary. Such geological contacts can reveal clues about how environmental conditions that produced one type of rock were related to conditions that produced the other. Two weeks ago, Curiosity was…

  • NRI Surgeon re-attach British man’s head to spine

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    A team of surgeons has helped a British man survive after his head snapped off from his spine in a car crash. They re-attached his skull to his spine in a rare surgery, a media report said. Neurosurgeon Anant Kamat led the critical surgery, re-attaching Tony Cowan’s skull to his spine with a metal plate…

  • Paralysed man controls robotic arm

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    In a pioneering feat, a team of US scientists has developed a novel system that allows a patient to control the movement of his robotic arm with his intention. The researchers from California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Keck Medicine of University of Southern California surgically implanted a chip in that portion of the brain…

  • NRI scientist turns blood into nerve cells

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    Stem cell scientists led by Mick Bhatia from the McMaster University have successfully converted adult human blood cells into neural cells. The team directly converted adult human blood cells to both central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) neurons as well as neurons in the peripheral nervous system (rest of the body) that are responsible…

  • US launches secret space plane X-37B

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    The US Air Force’s mysterious X-37B space plane was launched  for its fourth secret space mission. The reusable, unmanned X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle lifted off atop an Atlas V rocket at 11:05 a.m. from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The US Air Force did not say how long the X-37B will remain in orbit, but each of…

  • NASA certifies SpaceX

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      NASA has formally certified US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corporation’s (SpaceX) Falcon 9 rocket to launch the most ambitious science missions. The Falcon 9 is now certified by NASA as a “Category 2” launch vehicle. SpaceX has successfully launched six re-supply missions to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the NASA contract. NASA…

  • Indian students wins Intel awards for science

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    An Indian American student won the prestigious Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award, while nine students from across India won awards in various categories and five US students were awarded science trips to India at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (IISEF) in Pttsburgh. The IISEF honors the world’s most promising high school student scientists,…

  • Flight through Venus in the offing

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    A Virginia-based global aerospace company is planning to build a plane that will fly through Venus’s atmosphere in 2021. Gearing up to enter NASA’s New Frontiers planetary science competition, Northrop Grumman Corporation is developing the inflatable, propeller-powered aircraft for a years-long cruise in the skies of Venus, Space.com reported. The plane, that will have almost…

  • Indian suggests winning name for Mercury crater

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    Enheduanna, the name suggested by Gagan Toor of India, is one of the winners of a contest to name five new craters on the planet Mercury. Toor chose the name after Enheduanna, a princess of the Sumerian city of Ur in ancient Mesopotamia (modern Iraq and Kuwait), the first known poet and author, according to…

  • NRI scientist develops new tool for cancer diagnosis

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    Rohit Bhargava, an IIT-Delhi graduate and now with University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has developed stainless staining that provides a new tool for clinicians and researchers for better diagnosis of cancer. Till date, prepared biopsy samples are stained and examined under a light microscope. Using infrared spectroscopic imaging for microscopy, Bhargava has reported the development…

  • SpaceX astronaut escape system tested successfully

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    The California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) has successfully tested an astronaut escape system for its Crew Dragon spacecraft. A loud whoosh, a faint smoke trail and billowing parachutes marked the successful demonstration by SpaceX of its Crew Dragon spacecraft abort system – an important step in NASA’s endeavour to launch crews to the International…

  • SpaceX Tests Astronaut Escape System for Crew Dragon Spacecraft

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    A loud whoosh, faint smoke trail and billowing parachutes marked a successful demonstration Wednesday by SpaceX of its Crew Dragon spacecraft abort system – an important step in NASA’s endeavor to rebuild America’s ability to launch crews to the International Space Station from U.S. soil. The successful test of the spacecraft’s launch escape capabilities proved…

  • First proof of planetary formation

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    Researchers from the University of Toronto have offered first-ever proof of a planetary system under formation. The team led by Daniel Tamayo found that circular gaps in a disk of dust and gas swirling around the young star HL Tau are, in fact, made by forming planets. “HL Tau likely represents the first image taken…

  • NASA’s New Horizons already started imaging Pluto

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      Though the images are still not large enough, but for the first time in the space history we are seeing our dwarf planet Pluto clearer than ever before. New Horizons – NASA’s one of the leading and one of the longest projects, has already been sending images of Pluto from thousands of miles away. And within a…

  • NASA records ‘alien sounds’ above Earth

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    Ultra-sensitive microphones aboard a NASA student balloon, floating at the edge of space has captured infrasonic sounds whose source has not been ascertained as yet. Theories for the sounds range from wind in the balloon’s path, to ocean waves, gravity waves and clear air turbulence. Others suggest the noises may be coming from movements from…

  • Huge lava lake on Jupiter’s moon

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    An extremely powerful telescope on Earth has revealed in detail a huge lava lake on Io – the innermost of the four moons of Jupiter discovered by Italian scientist and scholar Galileo (Galilei) in 1610. Io is the most geologically active body in our solar system. Hundreds of volcanic areas dot its surface, which is…

  • How India drifted towards Eurasia

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    For years, scientists have struggled to explain how India could have drifted northward so quickly. Now, geologists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have unearthed India’s rapid move toward Eurasia 80 million years ago that later gave rise to the Himalayas. According to them, India was pulled northward by the combination of two subduction…

  • SpaceX to test life-saving crew capsule

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    The Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX), a California-based space transportation firm, is set for first-ever “pad abort” test that will help NASA save lives in case of an emergency in a human spaceflight. The test of “Crew Dragon” spacecraft, scheduled for May 6, will help NASA abort from a launch or pad emergency and safely…

  • Mercury mission comes to a crashing end

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    Running out of fuel, NASA’s Messenger spacecraft crashed into Mercury’s surface, thereby putting a historic end to its four years of orbital operations. The Messenger was the first ever to orbit the planet Mercury, and the spacecraft’s seven scientific instruments and radio science investigation are unravelling the history and evolution of the Solar System’s innermost…

  • Protein-rich breakfast helps control sugar in diabetics

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    If you are suffering from Type-2 diabetes, having a breakfast rich in protein — 25 to 30 grams — can reduce glucose spikes at both breakfast and lunch, a new research has found. Individuals with Type-2 diabetes generally have difficulty regulating their glucose, or blood sugar, levels, particularly after meals. “The first meal of the…

  • NASA to find alien life

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     The US space agency has launched an ambitious project to hunt for signs of life beyond our solar system. The Nexus for Exoplanet System Science (NexSS) project will not only expand the network of researchers collaborating on exoplanets but also help NASA develop missions to hunt for exoplanets in the 2020s and beyond. It will…

  • NRI duo develop app to detect sleep apnoea

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    A team of Indian-American researchers from the University of Washington (UW) has developed an app that uses a smartphone to wirelessly test for obstructive sleep apnoea in a person’s bedroom. Unlike other home sleep aponea tests in use, “ApneaApp” uses inaudible sound waves emanating from the phone’s speakers to track breathing patterns without the need…

  • Swedish lab creates the Invisible Man

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    Swedish scientists have created for the first time in the lab a perceptual illusion of having an invisible body among humans. The experiment involved 125 participants standing up and wearing a set of head-mounted displays. The participants were then asked to look down at their bodies but instead of their real bodies, they saw empty…

  • Celestial fireworks mark Hubble birthday

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    NASA has unveiled stunning celestial fireworks as an official image to commemorate the 25th anniversary of its Hubble space telescope that was launched on April 24, 1990. The brilliant tapestry of young stars flaring to life resemble a glittering fireworks display in the image taken by Hubble. “Hubble has completely transformed our view of the…

  • Indian scientists develop new drug for Parkinson’s

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    Indian researchers have developed a new therapy that has been found to reverse Parkinson’s-like symptoms in rats and the researchers believe that the findings could one day lead to a new therapy for human patients. The researchers found that infusing the chemical dopamine into the brain can relieve symptoms in animal models of the disease.…