‘Aakash’ tablet – The world’s cheapest tablet
India’s very own low-cost tablet, named Aakash, was launched amidst much fanfare, in October 2011 in the national capital. This move by the government earned it a lot of admiration from tech enthusiasts and the layman alike, since it looked [...]
The day Buddha smiled at Pokhran
Former Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) chairman and one of the guiding lights behind India’s first nuclear test, Homi Nusserwanji Sethna, helped India conduct its first nuclear test way back in 1974.
A pillar of Indias nuclear programme, Sethna’s [...]
Dr Homi Nusserwanji Sethna: Pokhran-I scientist
A nationalist who was wary of the US, a no-nonsense man and a bold and quick decision-maker. This is how colleagues described 86-year-old Homi Nusserwanji Sethna, the man behind India’s first peaceful nuclear test in Pokhran in 1974 that [...]
Testing for Disease, for Under a Penny, Using Bits of Paper
While other scientists successfully shrank beakers, tubes and centrifuges into diagnostic laboratories that fit into aluminum boxes that cost $50,000, George Whitesides had smaller dreams.
BIG DEAL A nonprofit company produces diagnostic [...]
Chennai ATC enjoys the navigation of entire South Indian skies
Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) in Chennai now have the entire South Indian region on their radar screens. Thanks to a highly advanced integrated radar technology that became accessible from Thursday last, flight movements above 26,000-46,000 [...]
A greener way to keep flames away
Flame retardants are used to protect clothing and furniture from fire. But the chemicals are also used to fight forest fires: Special planes may dump thousands of gallons of flame retardants on a blaze to try to get it under control. Credit: [...]
BepiColombo:#02: Mercury Planetary Orbiter wraps up for hot work
The installation of high-temperature thermal blankets on the Structural and Thermal Model of the BepiColombo Mercury Planetary Orbiter has been completed. The spacecraft has been mounted on its Thermal Test Adapter and transferred to the Large [...]
EChO:Call for declaration of Interest in Science Instrumentation – Cosmic Vision Mission: Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory (EChO)
This Call for declaration of Interest in Science Instrumentation (CISI) is open to the European science community for enabling assessment studies of the science instruments of the EChO mission. EChO, the Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory, [...]
8,000 Year Old Civilization on Konkan Coast, India?
Are these man-made structures — walls? Did the coastline of the Konkan, from Shrivardhan in Raigad to Vengurla in Sindhudurg, have human habitation around 8,000 years ago? Did that population have well-developed engineering skills? Was [...]
Top Ten Myths About the Brain
When it comes to this complex, mysterious, fascinating organ, what do—and don’t—we know?
1. We use only 10 percent of our brains.This one sounds so compelling—a precise number, repeated in pop culture for a century, implying that we [...]
