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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 9, 2014 at 6:04am

MIT creates magnetic microhair that lets water defy gravity

Researchers have created an elastic material bristling with microscopic strands of nickel that can direct the flow of liquids and light.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 8, 2014 at 6:40am

Why Can’t You Remember Being a Baby?
The fast growth of young brains may come at the expense of infant memories
The results of a study , published in May in the journal Science, neuro-scientists Frankland and Josselyn think that rapid neuron growth during early childhood disrupts the brain circuitry that stores old memories, making them inaccessible. Young children also have an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex, another region of the brain that encodes memories, so infantile amnesia may be a combination of these two factors.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 8, 2014 at 5:20am

Bugs that can co-operate best with each other are most likely to be able to infect new species, including humans, a new study has found.

Scientists have discovered that bacteria co-operate with each other when causing infection, a finding that may help identify animal diseases that transmit to people such as anthrax and the superbug MRSA.

Bacteria interact by releasing molecules to help them adapt to their environment - for example, when killing competing infections in their victim. They co-ordinate these actions by releasing tiny amounts of chemicals as signals.

Bacteria that can co-operate to create an environment in which they can thrive are potentially able to infect lots of different species, including humans, researchers said.

Discovering why some diseases are better equipped to infect more species than others - and therefore could affect humans - could be valuable in predicting and managing health threats.

Most new human infections arise from diseases that transmit from animals to humans. Many of these cause serious infections and are difficult to control, such as anthrax and the superbug MRSA.

Research led by the University of Edinburgh used a combination of mathematical models and scientific analysis of genetic code in almost 200 types of bacteria.

They found that those bugs that carry lots of genes that help them to co-operate are best equipped to adapt to various environments.

"Humans have been able to colonise almost all of their planet by collectively modifying the environment to suit themselves. Our study shows bugs try to do the same - co-operation is important for the spread of bacteria to new species," Dr Luke McNally of the University of Edinburgh' School of Biological Sciences, who led the study, said.

The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 8, 2014 at 5:19am

Scientists turn a brown butterfly purple—in just six generations
Structural and pigment changes combine to turn brown into purple.
The results show that, although the individual structures are tiny and delicate, the butterfly's wing as a whole is remarkably robust and can easily undergo rearrangements that radically change its optical properties. In fact, as the authors point out, a bit of variability in these properties appears to be a normal part of the genetic background of these species. This natural variability means that evolution doesn't have to wait for a fortunate mutation to get to work.
http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/08/scientists-turn-a-brown-butt...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 8, 2014 at 5:14am

Unmanned aerial vehicles or drones will soon fly over India's forests to monitor poaching, track wildlife and even count the population of tigers.

Scientists at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) are coming up with a series of such drones which are being customised indigenously to suit different types of forest landscape.
Under a joint collaboration with the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and international environment body WWF, they are preparing a detailed project report for introducing drone monitoring in 10 wildlife-rich areas across the country.

The primary objectives of these drones would be to track the movements of wildlife and monitor poaching.

They may also be used in counting the population of animals like tiger.
A drone can be put on autopilot mode and sent as far as 40-50 km deep into the forest where it can record images and videos and transmit them on a realtime basis. Its movement can also be controlled through a GPS-based system.

Such drones were recently tested successfully in Panna Tiger Reserve and Kaziranga.
Drones can also be used for night surveillance and tracking of many elusive and shy animals like the red panda and snow leopard, which are very rarely seen by the human eye in their natural wild habitat.

Travelling at a speed of 40 -100km per hour, the drones can be used for around 40-50 minutes.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 7, 2014 at 5:57am

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 6, 2014 at 9:21am

Elderly patients could benefit from pretreatment with imiquimod before seasonal influenza vaccination.
Scientists have found that treating elderly patients with imiquimod before immunizing them against influenza improved the protective effects of the vaccine. This study has been published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.
In a study, a team led by Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, Chair Professor of Department of Microbiology, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine of The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has discovered a simple and practical way of protecting elderly patients with medical illness from seasonal influenza. By applying the Toll-like receptor 7 agonist imiquimod before intradermal injection, the protection by flu vaccine is enhanced, thus decreasing the risk of hospitalization. Imiquimod is a safe immune-stimulatory drug, which has used topically to treat skin warts for many years.
http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2014/07/20/cid.ciu582

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 6, 2014 at 9:18am

Himalayas ‘Too Seismic’ For Big Dams
Scientists have raised concerns that the ambitious dam projects planned in the Himalayan region do not adequately account for seismic activity
http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Volumes/106/12/1658.p

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 6, 2014 at 9:12am

Prof Sir Alec Jeffreys, who discovered DNA fingerprinting, win's the world’s oldest science prize
The man who discovered DNA fingerprinting has won the world's oldest science prize — Royal Society's Copley Medal.

In 1984, Prof Sir Alec Jeffreys stumbled on a method for distinguishing individuals based on their DNA. It was a discovery that went on to transform forensic science and resolve questions of identity and kinship.

He received the medal "for his pioneering work on variation and mutation in the human genome".

The Copley medal was first awarded by the Royal Society in 1731, 170 years before the first Nobel Prize. It is awarded for outstanding achievements in scientific research and has been awarded to eminent scientists such as Charles Darwin, Michael Faraday, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking.

In 1984 Jeffreys discovered a method of showing the variation between individuals' DNA, a technique which he developed and became known as genetic fingerprinting.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on August 6, 2014 at 8:50am

Sunderbans mangrove trees losing capacity to absorb CO2: Study
The vast mangrove forest in the Sunderbans is fast losing its capacity to absorb carbon dioxide, one of the main greenhouse gases, from the atmosphere due to rise in the salinity of water, rampant deforestation and pollution, a study has found.

The mangrove forest, marsh grass, phytoplanktons, molluscus and other coastal vegetation in the world's largest delta are the natural absorbers of carbon dioxide (CO2), according to the study.

The stored carbon in the plants is known as "Blue Carbons". The absorption of CO2 is a process which contributes to reduction of the warming of the earth and other ill effects of climate change.
The research study, "Blue Carbon Estimation in Coastal Zone of Eastern India - Sunderbans", was financed by the Union government and headed by noted marine scientist Abhijit Mitra.

The report took three years to prepare and it was submitted to the government last year.

The scientists involved in the study have sounded an alarm bell, especially in the central Sunderbans, one of the three zones into which the forest was divided for the study, the other two being western and eastern.

"The situation is quite alarming, especially in the central part. The capacity of the mangrove forest, especially the Byne species, to absorb carbon dioxide has eroded to a large extent. This will effect the entire ecosystem of the area," Sufia Zaman, a senior marine biologist who was a part of the team.
-PTI

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