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- A team of scientists from the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, discovered a sub-Saturn or super-Neptune size exoplanet, which is about 27 times the mass of Earth and six times the radius of Earth. The planet revolves around a Sun-like star, some 600 light years away from Earth.
- The discovery was made by measuring the mass of the planet using the indigenously designed ‘PRL Advance Radial-velocity Abu-Sky Search’ (PARAS) spectrograph integrated with 1.2m telescope at PRL’s Gurushikar Observatory in Mount Abu. With this discovery, India has joined a select league of countries which has discovered planets around stars.
- In a post on the website of the Indian Space Research Organisation, scientists said the name of the host star is EPIC 211945201 or K2-236 and the planet will be known as EPIC 211945201b or K2-236b. The planet was found to go around the star in about 19.5 days.
- The surface temperature of the planet was found to be around 600 degrees Celsius, as it is very close to the host star. It is seven times nearer to its star, in comparison with Earth-Sun distance. This might make it uninhabitable
- The discovery is of importance for understanding the formation mechanism of such super-Neptune or sub-Saturn kind of planets, that are too close to the host star, according to scientists
- Paras spectrograph made an independent measurement of the mass of the planet body, as it was necessary for discovery after data from Nasa’s K2 (Kepler2) photometry could not confirm the planetary nature of the system.
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- The Mediterranean could become a "sea of plastic", the WWF warned on 8 june in a report calling for measures to clean up one of the world's worst affected bodies of water.
- The WWF said the Mediterranean had record levels of "micro-plastics," the tiny pieces of plastic less than five millimetres (0.2 inches) in size which can be found increasingly in the food chain posing a threat to human health.
- "The concentration of micro-plastics is nearly four times higher" in the Mediterranean compared with open seas elsewhere in the world, said the report, "Out of the Plastic Trap: Saving the Mediterranean from Plastic Pollution."
- The problem, as all over the world, is simply that plastics have become an essential part of our daily lives while recycling only accounts for a third of the waste in Europe.
- Plastic represents 95 percent of the waste floating in the Mediterranean and on its beaches, with most coming from Turkey and Spain, followed by Italy, Egypt and France, the report said.
- To tackle the problem, there has to be an international agreement to reduce the dumping of plastic waste and to help clear up the mess at sea, the WWF said.
- All countries around the Mediterranean should boost recycling, ban single-use plastics such as bags and bottles, and phase out the use of micro plastics in detergents or cosmetics by 2025
- The plastics industry itself should develop recyclable and compostable products made out of renewable raw materials, not chemicals derived from oil.
- Indidviduals too have their role to play, making personal choices such as to use combs or kitchen utensils made of wood, not plastic, the WWF said.
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- Even with a highly skilled neurosurgeon, the most effective anesthesia, and all the other advances of modern medicine, most of us would cringe at the thought of undergoing cranial surgery 8 june.
- After all, who needs a hole in the head? Yet for thousands of years, trepanation the act of scraping, cutting, or drilling an opening into the cranium was practiced around the world, primarily to treat head trauma, but possibly to quell headaches, seizures and mental illnesses, or even to expel perceived demons.
- But, according to a new study led by the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine's David S. Kushner, M.D., clinical professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation, trepanation was so expertly practiced in ancient Peru that the survival rate for the procedure during the Incan Empire was about twice that of the American Civil War when, more three centuries later, soldiers were trepanned presumably by better trained, educated and equipped surgeons.
- "There are still many unknowns about the procedure and the individuals on whom trepanation was performed, but the outcomes during the Civil War were dismal compared to Incan times," said Kushner, a neurologist who has helped scores of patients recover from modern-day traumatic brain injuries and cranial surgeries. "In Incan times, the mortality rate was between 17 and 25 percent, and during the Civil War, it was between 46 and 56 percent. That's a big difference. The question is how did the ancient Peruvian surgeons have outcomes that far surpassed those of surgeons during the American Civil War?"
- In their study published in the June issue of World Neurosurgery, "Trepanation Procedures/Outcomes: Comparison of Prehistoric Peru with Other Ancient, Medieval, and American Civil War Cranial Surgery," Kushner and his co-authors biological anthropologists John W. Verano, a world authority on Peruvian trepanation at Tulane University, and his former graduate student, Anne R. Titelbaum, now of the University of Arizona College of Medicine can only speculate on the answer.
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- Tourists walk past a discolored wall of the Taj Mahal caused by environmental pollution. New Delhi: A four-seater solar car that can attain a top speed of 30 kmph has been developed by students of an engineering college here to protect the Taj Mahal which, as per some reports, is slowly turning brownish-yellow due to rising air pollution in the city.
- Priced at Rs 50,000, the car named 'Nexgen' has been created by students of ACE college of engineering and management, Agra using recycled and and scrap materials.
- However, the vehicle is sturdy enough to be used ion rural areas, Sanjay Garg, Chairman of the college told PTI.
- With petrol and diesel vehicles contributing overwhelmingly to the city's already polluted skyline, the zero-fumes solar car can help clean up the air, Garg said.
- "Our solar car can help a lot in bringing down pollution levels. It can be used in the night as well as a battery has been provided," said Sanyam Agarwal, project director."India has enough sunlight round the year. It can be widely used even in rural areas," Agarwal added.
- The students said solar cars for one or two people have been developed abroad, but theirs can easily seat four.
- The maximum speed is 30 kmph, more than enough for cities like Agra with perpetual traffic snarls, the students said.
- The operational costs and the maintenance expenses are low and the spare parts are easily available, they added."If solar cars become popular, our dependence on petrol and diesel will reduce and emissions will remain under control," Akash Gupta, team leader said.
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- A new system devised by MIT engineers could provide a low-cost source of drinking water for parched cities around the world while also cutting power plant operating costs.
- About 39 percent of all the fresh water withdrawn from rivers, lakes, and reservoirs in the U.S. is earmarked for the cooling needs of electric power plants that use fossil fuels or nuclear power, and much of that water ends up floating away in clouds of vapor. But the new MIT system could potentially save a substantial fraction of that lost water and could even become a significant source of clean, safe drinking water for coastal cities where seawater is used to cool local power plants.
- The principle behind the new concept is deceptively simple: When air that's rich in fog is zapped with a beam of electrically charged particles, known as ions, water droplets become electrically charged and thus can be drawn toward a mesh of wires, similar to a window screen, placed in their path.
- The droplets then collect on that mesh, drain down into a collecting pan, and can be reused in the power plant or sent to a city's water supply system.
- The system, which is the basis for a startup company called Infinite Cooling that last month won MIT's $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, is described in a paper published today in the journal Science Advances, co-authored by Maher Damak PhD '17 and associate professor of mechanical engineering Kripa Varanasi. Damak and Varanasi are among the co-founders of the startup.
- Varanasi's vision was to develop highly efficient water recovery systems by capturing water droplets from both natural fog and plumes of industrial cooling towers. The project began as part of Damak's doctoral thesis, which aimed to improve the efficiency of fog-harvesting systems that are used in many water-scarce coastal regions as a source of potable water.
- Those systems, which generally consist of some kind of plastic or metal mesh hung vertically in the path of fogbanks that regularly roll in from the sea, are extremely inefficient, capturing only about 1 to 3 percent of the water droplets that pass through them. Varanasi and Damak wondered if there was a way to make the mesh catch more of the droplets and found a very simple and effective way of doing so.
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- Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India increased by about 3 per cent to $61.96 billion in 2017-18 on account of steps taken by the government to improve business climate and liberalised policy norms.
- FDI inflows stood at $60 billion in the previous fiscal. The figure includes equity inflows, reinvested earnings and other capital.
- Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Ramesh Abhishek said that during the four years of the Modi government, foreign inflows jumped to $222.75 billion from $152 billion in the previous four-year period.
- In the last four years, the government has liberalised FDI norms in sectors such as defence, medical devices, construction development, retail and civil aviation. The main sectors that received maximum foreign inflows include services, computer software and hardware, telecommunications, construction, trading and automobile.
- Major sources of foreign inflows include Mauritius, Singapore, Japan, the Netherlands, the US, Germany, France and the UAE.
- However, according to an UNCTAD report yesterday, foreign direct investment (FDI) to India decreased to $40 billion in 2017 from $44 billion in 2016, while outflows from India, the main source of investment in South Asia, more than doubled.
- Foreign inflows are crucial for India, which needs huge investments to overhaul its infrastructure such as ports, airports and highways to push growth. It helps improve the country's balance of payments situation and strengthen the rupee value against other global currencies, especially the US dollar.
- Speaking on FDI issues, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said that the government abolished foreign investment promotion board to facilitate overseas investments.
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- President Xi Jinping on 8 june awarded China’s first friendship medal to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as the two leaders firmed up their alliance amid mounting US diplomatic and economic pressure on them.
- Xi presented the medal described by the official media as the “highest state honour of China” at a special ceremony at the Great Hall of People during which he expressed his respect and admiration for Putin’s contributions and efforts to building a peaceful world.
- Last year Putin awarded Xi the Order of St Andrew for his distinguished service to the peoples of China and Russia. The Order of St Andrew, the Apostle of the First-Called was presented to Xi during his visit to Moscow.
- On his 19th visit to China after his recent re-election, Putin held talks with Xi while on his way to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting at Qingdao on Saturday.
- China and Russia expanded their ties manifold in recent years as Putin is under increasing pressure from the US and Europe. Their alliance grew further as US President Donald Trump stepped up pressure specially on China both on the trade and North Korean fronts.
- Presenting the medal, Xi congratulated Putin on winning the first Friendship Medal, and also expressed his respect and admiration for Putin’s contribution and efforts to building a peaceful world, official media reported. He called Putin his best sincere friend and most respected in China. In his interview to state-run CGTN, Putin described Xi as “approachable and sincere” and “a very dependable man to work with”.
- No matter how international situations change, China and Russia always firmly support each other in defending their respective core interests, deepen cooperation in all areas, jointly and actively participate in global governance, and play a pivotal role in establishing a new type of international relations and building a community with a shared future for humanity, Xi said in his talks with Putin.
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- President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday declared Tripura's queen variety pineapple as state fruit and said its export was a major step in connecting the state with world trade.
- The state holds good potential in world trade. Export of the pineapple to foreign countries is a major step in connecting with world trade, Kovind said during his address at a reception programme here this evening.
He hoped the queen variety pineapple will find good acceptance among different countries including neighbouring Bangladesh.
- Tripura exported its first consignment of one tonne pineapples to Dubai earlier this month."I am very happy to declare queen pineapple as state fruit of Tripura. I was told the first consignment of the fruit was sent abroad few days back. This is a major step in connecting to world trade. I hope pineapple from Tripura will get good response elsewhere as well, the president said.
- He said Tripura holds a very important position to develop trade with ASEAN countries including neighbouring Bangladesh adding the central government was serious about developing the Northeast through its 'Act East' policy.
- Kovind met sports personalities including Olympian Dipa Karmakar, kick boxer Nistha Chakraborty who clinched gold medal in Russia, gymnast Ashmita Paul, soccer player Laxmita Reang, tennis player Somdev Kishore Dev Barman and others.
- He urged everyone to uphold peace and said it was a pre-requisite for development."I feel proud for these children. I asked them what they wanted to do in life. They said they wanted to play for India," he said.
- He praised Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb for his efforts to develop Tripura."The chief minister is an enthusiastic leader himself. I am confident that Tripura will be further developed under his leadership," he said.
- Recounting his visit to Udaipur earlier in the day, Kovind said he found Tripura's history very fascinating.Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur introduced modern rule in Tripura and helped India's struggle for Independence. People of the state showed extraordinary contribution to support refugees during 1971 War and faced attacks, which is commendable, he said
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