Technology News Blog

Rewrite of Physics by Einstein on Display

JERUSALEM — There are pasted-on half pages, numerous cross-outs and insertions in meticulous penmanship and an open acknowledgment that some of the mathematics was beyond even him. Albert Einstein personally rewrote the laws of physics in a sparsely furnished central Berlin apartment nearly a century ago and the resulting manuscript, profoundly human and surprisingly moving to examine, has been put on display here for the first time.

A detail of one of the pages. Einstein’s wife Elsa donated the manuscript to the Hebrew University on the occasion of its opening in 1925.

Each of the 46 pages, labored over between November 1915 and their publication in May 1916, has its own case, each lighted dimly in a room that has been darkened to protect the paper. There on Page 1 is the now familiar title in German: “The Foundation of the General Theory of Relativity.”

The display of the work, which forced a redefinition of gravity, predicted the existence of black holes and illuminated how galaxies are formed, is at the center of the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Out of concern for the life of the documents, it will be up only for the next three weeks. (more…)

50pct of Cambridge students sleep with two partners in 7 days

About half of Cambridge University students have slept with two people in the same week, a new survey has revealed.

According to the study, nearly 46 percent of the University’s students had two sexual partners in a week.

The poll for online tabloid student newspaper Tab also found that 20 percent of students had bedded at least three people in seven days.

Three percent of students also confessed to having at least five partners in the same week.

It was found that 20 percent of the students had intercourse every day, while 28 percent said they had a one-night stand at least once a term.

Over three quarters of students at Cambridge said they would rather have “first class sex” than write a first class essay.

“Cambridge is not the work-obsessed, sex starved misery pit it is sometimes portrayed to be,” the Telegraph quoted student Ali Lewis, from Tab, who compiled the results, as saying. (more…)

India needs more parks and corridors for long-term survival of its animals

WASHINGTON: In a new study, an international team of scientists has determined that the long-term survival of many large species in the midst of rapid economic growth in India will require improving existing protected areas and establishing new protected areas and corridors.

The study, carried out by researchers at the Wildlife Conservation Society, Duke University, and other groups, found that country’s protected area system and human cultural tolerance for some species are key to conserving the subcontinent’s tigers, elephants, and other large mammals.

The researchers created models to estimate extinction probability for 25 large mammal species, determining current species distributions along with more than 30,000 historical records from natural history, taxidermy and museum records dating back 200 years.

The models were used to gauge how factors such as protected areas, forest cover, elevation, and human demographics, and cultural attitudes impact extinction predictions. (more…)

Species survival, protected area link found

Large terrestrial mammals are the most threatened taxa, and hence face a greater possibility of becoming extinct the world over — about 25 per cent of them are facing extinction, and 50 per cent are seeing their numbers declining. South Asian species are the most threatened.

A large-scale study of 25 mammals covering the entire country was taken up recently, and the results published on March 10 in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B journal. The study confirms most of the assumptions of the authors.

The paper concludes: “Overall, large-bodied, rare and habitat specialist mammals tend to have higher extinction probabilities.”

Main message

The main message is about the real importance of protected areas in conserving and protecting wildlife. “People are underplaying the importance of protected areas,” said Dr. K. Ullas Karanth. (more…)

Delhi gets remote controlled streetlights

New Delhi: The national capital got remote controlled streetlights that will not only conserve energy but will also cut down on CO2 emission.

The lights were launched by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Tuesday and they will upgrade the streetlights in two phases. The first phase will cover 101 km, and streetlights have been installed on 52 roads including Panchkuian Road, Raja Garden to Pankha Road, Delhi Gate, Dr Krishan Marg etc. In the ongoing second phase, 107 roads will be covered. The total project will be completed by May.

Under the new system, the lights will switch on after sunset and switch off when the sun rises. All the streetlights will be monitored from a central control room and the project is worth Rs 200 crore. (more…)

A recipe for using “the world’s most useful tree” to purify water is being offered for free download, in the hope that this will help get clean drinking water to billions of poor folk around the world.
Moringa tree in Namibia. Credit: Violet Gottrop

The Swiss Army knife of the tree world

The tree in question is the Moringa oleifera (”oily moringa”) aka the horseradish or drumstick tree (also “Mother’s best friend” in some places). The Moringa is cultivated across the tropical world and furnishes food in the form of apparently highly nutritious* pods, leaves and flowers.

It also yields oil which can be used as lighting or cooking fuel (or to make biogas). You can even make a highly effective crop fertiliser out of the miracle Moringa. Handily, the trusty tree is also drought resistant and tolerant of poor soil. (more…)

Recalling old days of premier institute

KANPUR: IIT-K was established by an act of Parliament after independence in the year 1959. The Parliament of India had passed the `Institutes of Technology Act 1961′ declaring that all IITs as `Institutions of National Importance.’

IIT-K was the fourth IIT established by the Parliament after IIT-Kharagpur, IIT-Bombay and IIT-Madras. In the initial days, IIT-K started functioning in Hartcourt Butler Technological Institute (HBTI) situated in the heart of the Industrial City. In the year 1960, the first batch of students joined the institute who were enrolled in mechanical, civil, electrical and chemical engineering branches. The first batch was named as `Pioneer Batch’ that passed out of the institute in 1965.

A renowned name those days, Dr PK Kelkar became the founder director of the institute in the year 1959. Dr Kelkar was a great visionary and, therefore, earned much respect. It was due to his vision and clear thinking that the students of the Pioneer Batch made IIT-K proud after passing out from the institute. (more…)

Over 100 shanties gutted in Kolkata fire

More than 100 shanties were gutted when a huge fire broke out on the eastern outskirts of Kolkata Friday, a senior fire department official said. No casualty was reported in the incident.

At least 20 fire engines were pressed into service for two hours to douse the flames in the slum on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass near Science City auditorium.

‘The slum was full of combustible items, plastics and leather products, which aggravated the fire at a massive pace. The fire broke out at around 11.30 a.m.,’ state Fire Services Director Gopal Bhattacharya said.

‘I was coming from a nearby fire station when I saw spiralling smoke bellowing out of this Tiljala area. I immediately called the fire department,’ the official said. (more…)

Mercury over 30-degree mark in Delhi, rains likely on Thursday

NEW DELHI: The days are gradually becoming warmer in the national capital with the mercury hovering above 30 degree Celsius mark for another day today.

Though the mercury is on an upward trend, the weatherman has some good news for Delhiites as the prediction for tomorrow indicated possibilities of rains with the temperature oscillating between 18 and 32 degree Celsius.

The maximum peaked to 31.5 degree Celsius, four degrees above normal, this afternoon while the minimum was recorded five degrees above normal at 18 degrees, the MeT Department said.

The humidity levels were recorded between 31 and 72 per cent during the day. The maximum has been recorded at over 30 degree Celsius over the past few days.

“Summer has set in two days ago. in the days to come the humidity level will go up further,” a senior MeT official said.

Screen Time May Take a Toll on Kids’ Relationships

TUESDAY, March 2 (HealthDay News) — Too much time in front of computers or televisions increases the likelihood that teens will have poor relationships with their parents and peers, a new study suggests.

The researchers looked at 3,043 New Zealand teens, aged 14 to 15, who provided details about how they spent their free time and how close they were with other people.

The more time the teens spent watching TV or using a computer, the more likely they were to report having difficulty forming a relationship with or an emotional bond to their parents. The likelihood of having what the researchers called “low attachment” to parents increased 4 percent for every hour spent watching TV and 5 percent for every hour spent using a computer.

Teens who spent more time doing homework or reading had a higher level of attachment to their parents, the study authors noted in their report published in the March issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. (more…)

Al Gore takes aim at climate change skeptics

Gore, who has made the fight against climate change his signature issue since leaving the White House in 2001, specifically addressed challenges to the accuracy of findings by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

“I, for one, genuinely wish that the climate crisis were an illusion,” Gore wrote in an op-ed piece in The New York Times.

“But unfortunately, the reality of the danger we are courting has not been changed by the discovery of at least two mistakes” in reports by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Climate change skeptics have pointed to errors in the panel’s landmark 2007 report — an overestimate of how fast Himalayan glaciers would melt in a warming world and incorrect information on how much of the Netherlands is below sea level — as signs that the report’s basic conclusions are flawed. (more…)

Paperless boarding debuts on UK – US flights

Continental Airlines has expanded its paperless boarding pass system to Heathrow, becoming the first carrier to offer the service on UK – US flights.

The airline, which debuted the technology on transatlantic flights from Germany’s Frankfurt Airport in December, says that passengers will no longer need a paper printed pass and will instead be able to show their phone or PDA to security and check-in officials. Mobile boarding passes display a two-dimensional bar code along with passenger and flight information, which cannot be manipulated or duplicated.

“We are pleased to add Heathrow to the growing list of airports we serve with mobile boarding passes,” said Continental’s Martin Hand. “Customers have told us this is the type of product improvement they want, and we will continue to expand the self-service technology to more of our domestic and international destinations.” (more…)

Results out, students await CAT calls now

CHANDIGARH/AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI: The CAT is out of the bag, and Ankit Garg is rolling in the satin. The 21-year-old from Chandigarh is among the rarest of the rare who landed cent per cent marks in the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2010, the entrance exam to India’s elite B-schools, including the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).

The results were out on Sunday after three false alarms, and within hours, the oldest among the IIM campuses—Ahmedabad—and the youngest—Shillong—announced the names of shortlisted candidates. The other six IIMs will announce their lists in the coming days.

The exam, taken by around 2.15 lakh candidates, migrated this year from the traditional pencil-and-paper format to the online platform, a change that saw a series of software glitches that made the original CAT schedule go haywire. (more…)

Security breach at IGI:Drunk man enters scaling wall

New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) In a security breach, a naked man, allegedly in an inebriated condition, managed to come near a runway after jumping over the periphery wall of the IGI airport here, forcing an aircraft to abort landing.

The incident happened at around 8 pm last evening, when 33-year-old Arun Rai, a resident of Bihar’s Begusarai district, was found near the new runway 29 at a time when an aircraft from Hyderabad was about to land, a senior airport official said.

This forced the air traffic controller to ask the aircraft to abort landing.

Rai was apprehended and was handed over to Delhi Police for interrogation.

At present, he is staying with his brother in Rajnagar locality of Gurgaon. According to sources, police has taken Rai to Gurgaon to ascertain the facts.

CAT score cards out tomorrow

MUMBAI: The Indian Institutes of Management have decided to upload CAT score cards on Sunday but this time, too, they are not able to tell the exact time.

Officers in the CAT office, however, were sure the scores would be released on February 28. Individual IIMs will then send out call letters to shortlisted students for phase two, which comprises group discussion, personal interview and essay-writing. Earlier, CAT officials had assured students and other B-schools that CAT scores would be out before the weekend.

“But on Friday, IIM officials informed us they were taking time to upload pictures of lakhs of candidates. They said the process of uploading each and every score card online would be completed only by Sunday,” said a director of a B-school.

Babies ‘change their cry to signify if they are hungry, sad or in pain’

Identifying the changes could lead to the development of baby monitors capable of diagnosing an infant’s complaint, they claim.

Researchers in Japan recorded the sound of babies crying and their emotional state.

The sound waves they have captured will lead to a simple formula to work out exactly what a baby wants when it cries, they say.

The team claims that they have already successfully identified the difference between cries of pain and other types of cry.

While the researchers are currently using large computers to work out the meaning of babies’ cries, they say they could one day produce hand-held baby monitors to do the same job.

The findings are published in the International Journal of Biometrics.

Prof Tomomasa Nagashima, from Muroran Institute of Technology, in Hokkaido, said: “Baby monitors of the future could translate infant cries, so that parents will know for certain whether their child is sleepy, hungry, needing a change, or in pain.

“As any new parent knows, babies have a very loud method of revealing their emotional state – crying.

“Unfortunately, the parenting handbook does not offer guidance on how to determine what the crying means.”

One of the problems is that infants cannot speak to confirm why they are crying, Prof Nagashima said. (more…)

TTSL No. 1 telecom operator in the country for the sixth consecutive month

Tata Teleservices Limited(TTSL) emerging as the top grosser in the industry in terms of new subscriber additions.Teleservices Limited Crosses 60 million subscriber base and becomes the 5th-largest telecom service provider in India. The Company added nearly 3 million subscribers in January. Tata Teleservices Limited, India’s youngest and fastest growing pan-India dual-technology telecom service provider, emerged as the Number One telecom operator in the country for the sixth consecutive month in terms of new subscriber additions. In January month the company has added more than 2.98 million subscribers.
Tata Teleservices Limited added 2,981,853 new subscribers in January 2010 from its CDMA and GSM operations put together. In December 2009 too, TTSL had showed a healthy growth in new subscriber additions, adding 3,336,476 new subscribers.

The Bloom Box – innovation or replication?

The long-heralded announcement of Bloom Energy’s solid oxide fuel cell on February 24th generated huge amounts of excitement. Many compared the launch of the Bloom Box to the arrival of a new Apple product. Is it as innovative as the company claims?

The technology may be good and the product reliable. The claims at the press conference were for a technology that will eventually revolutionise power production. Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) are indeeed an extremely interesting way of generating small quantities of electricity for homes and offices at attractive running costs and low carbon emissions. Other developers, such as Ceres Power in the UK and Ceramic Fuel Cells in Australia/Germany, have products close to market launch and – so far – it is completely unclear whether Bloom’s product is better or likely to be more attractively priced or more long-lasting.

SOFCs take a hydrocarbon fuel and split at very high temperature (perhaps 600 degrees C) into hydrogen and carbon. The carbon combines with oxygen to make CO2 and the hydrogen reacts with oxygen from air to make water. This later process causes electrons to flow through the ceramic electrolyte and generate a usable current. The crucial problem is making the cell robust, cheap and durable at the high temperatures experienced in the cell. (more…)

Mounting threat from e-waste

India, one of the two largest markets for mobile phones in the world along with China, faces a mounting problem — how to get rid of the discarded mobiles.

For, by the year 2020, the size of the discarded mobile mound will grow by 18 times from the 2007 level, says a United Nations Environment Programme study.

Health problems

If no proper e-waste recycling mechanism is put in place, these abandoned phones are going to create environmental damage and health problems, the study warns.

The study, ‘Recycling from e-waste to resources,’ was released at a combined meeting of the bodies of UN Conventions on hazardous chemical wastes, organized by the UNEP, at Bali on February 22. It warns developing countries, especially fast growing economies like India, China, Brazil and South Africa, that if efforts are not made to recycle the abandoned electronic equipment, they will be in for big environmental trouble. (more…)

‘2010 will be the year of growth for us in India’

The London-headquartered Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is moving away from Greek mythology-based content and is betting big on the Indian market with culture-specific gaming software. The company, which is responsible for distribution, marketing and sales of leading gaming consoles like PlayStation3, PlayStation2 and PlayStation Portable (PSP) across Europe, West Asia, Africa and Oceania, believes there is no lack of local content in India. In an interview with K Rajani Kanth, Sony Computer Chief Operating Officer Jim Ryan shares the company’s strategies — including for price cuts and collaborations with local game developers — and its growth trajectory. Edited excerpts:

Where does India stand in terms of Sony’s console installations?
North America, Japan and Europe are the biggest markets for us, while India is growing steadily over the years. On the back of our culture-specific focus and local collaborations, we expect 2010 to be the year of growth for us in India. So far, we have made half-a-million PlayStation2, 180,000 PSP and 50,000 PlayStation3 installations. We expect to see about 90 per cent growth here this year.

The potential is immense in the domestic market, which — according to Nasscom estimates — is around Rs 500 crore for both software and hardware. Abundant skill sets are available here and the richness of stories that make good games is a global opportunity for us. Even as we expand our collaborations with more local developers for creating content, targeting consumers in South Asia and the Indian diaspora, we are also looking at using these resources to develop games across genres for the global audience in the mid-term. We currently have four active developers locally and are in advanced talks with five more, which we expect to sign up in a couple of months. (more…)