Rajya Sabha TV – Science Monitor (10 Jan 2015)

Weekly update on all the happening in Science & Technology, in and around the nation;

Headlines

1. 102^nd Indian Science Congress started - Mumbai;

Prestigious event - Crucial role in deciding the scientific policy of India;

Technology must reach the poorest, remotest, most vulnerable people;

Chief Guest: UP Gov Ram Nayak – release the souvenir – Theme: S & T for Human Development;

(Note: Indian Science Association – first meet 1914 – Asiatic Society, Calcutta)

2. Cabinet approved India based Neutrino Observatory (INO) in Tamil Nadu;

First biggest basic science experimental project in the country – world class underground laboratory to be set up to study neutrinos – fundamental physics project - to be set up near pottipuram village in TN – Estimated budget of project 1500 crore rupees – project jointly supported by DAE & DST – infrastructure support by the Govt. of TN; Project consist of complex of cavern – main cavern with detector, iron calorie meter detector – to host experiments like – neutrino less double beta decay – search for dark matter; (Fundamental research on Neutrino which belong to the Lepton family)

3. Student of IIT madras – set to launch their own satellite;

Low earth orbit - Nano satellite under IITMSAT project – started in 2010 – to be launched by ISRO by 2015 or 2016 (MoU between IITM & ISRO) – high energy particle detector (from Van Allen Belt in upper ionosphere);

Note: Van Allen radiation belt. A radiation belt is a layer of energetic charged particles that is held in place around a magnetized planet, such as the Earth, by the planet's magnetic field. The Earth has two such belts and sometimes others may be temporarily created.

4. Novel antibiotics to fight superbugs discovered;

To fight drug resistant bacteria – New antibiotics called Teixobactin – using a unique technique called iChip method -

5. 25 years of Hubble telescope – overview of the scientific journey;

It was launched in 1990 – over the past two decades - contributed to space research – named after renowned astronomer Edwin P. Hubble – observed more than 30,000 celestial objects since its launch;

Discoveries: Ring around supernova, intergalactic cloud –proto planetary disc – nebula, comet shoemaker levy collision with Jupiter, brown dwarf stars, deepest view of universe, universe expansion rate, understanding of the space; (Refer: Blue shift & Red Shift)    

6. Scientific challenges in the year 2015(IN FOCUS)

·         Large hadron collider of CERN to restart in March 2015 – aims to discover the origin of the universe

·         Environmental concern – 2014 – US & China – largest emitter of carbon di oxide – UN conference – Paris – Dec 2015;

·         Ebola – major health issue – incurable epidemic in west Africa  - Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia;

·         US Space probe Dawn expected to land on Ceres in March 2015; Note: Ceres is the largest dwarf planet between Mars & Jupiter; Refer: Asteriod Belt, Proto-Planet, Dwarf planet;

·         Four major contribution from India – expected in 2015

o   IRNSS – Indian GPS system;

o   TMT – world largest telescope – India’s 10% participation;

o   India’s contribution to the CMS experiment at CERN – IIT Madras full time participant;

o   India’s FBR to be active during 2015;

7. History of Science
1. First Indian to Space – Rakesh Sharma – born on 13 Jan 1949 – ISRO choose him for the USSR’s Inter-cosmos space programme;
2. First meeting of the Indiad Science Congress held on 15^th Jan 1914 – at Asiatic Society, Calcutta – Chief Guest: Ashtosh Mukherjee – VC of University of Calcutta;
3. American Zoologist Dian Fossey – born on 16^th Jan, 1932 – Book on her “Gorillas in the Mist”

Watch it here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o56EeC9518g&index=11&list=PLVOgwA_DiGzpd3_Iz7J-81Vh4QqU-ZGA9