The year 2019, the 150th year of the invention of the periodic table by Dmitri Mendeleev has been proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements. Year-long celebrations are planned across the world to celebrate the invention of the periodic table. CSIR-NISCAIR joined the celebrations by organizing a science film screening-cum-interactive session on the periodic table on 25 January 2019. Dr. D.K. Aswal, Director, National Physical Laboratory who was the Chief Guest of the function explained the science behind the…
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Ethical framework and standards needed for AI systems: experts
India Science Wire If India wants to catch up with China and other countries in the emerging field of Artificial Intelligence it will have to make huge investments in developing all enabling technologies and necessary eco-system, and also develop a framework for ethics and standards in AI. This was stated by experts participating in a two-day international colloquium on ‘Ethics and Governance of Autonomous Al Systems for a Better World,’ which was inaugurated by commerce minister Suresh Prabhu and Prof K Vijaya Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the government on…
Read MoreJenga in Robo World
Making the machine win over humans has always been a wild dream in human beings fantasy, since there will be extinction threats; we are limiting ourselves to lose in games for now. Early times, machines were capable of winning us over chess, rubix cube, now there is an all new addition to these blood shedding battle ground (not really), MIT researchers have successfully tested a machine capable of playing the balancing tower game, Jenga. “Playing the game of Jenga also requires mastery of physical skills such as probing, pushing, pulling,…
Read MoreNext-gen astronauts: robots becoming robonauts
Robots have been shaping our world and changing the way we explore the space. Now there are robots for all the significant work at International Space Station. They have plenty of sensors that helps astronauts. These are highly functioning machines with inherited intelligence are now on the way to switch places with human astronauts. Robonaut Robonaut is a joint project by DARPA–NASA designed to create a humanoid robot, which can function and perform task equivalent to humans during the 1970s and exploration. The large goal of the Robonaut project is…
Read MoreA 3D Robot that Sweats
Three-dimensional printing is an important and amazing application of the discipline of robotics. It gives the designer the freedom to provide new functionality to the robots they create. This also aids the user to blend there robots with new customization and functionalities according to their needs. The field of robotics is an expanding industry today because of additive manufacturing industry. The University of Tokyo has designed an advanced three dimensional printed robot named Kengoro. This robot really sweats. It is embedded with cooling process that helps it to cool down…
Read MoreAccuracy in spinal surgery is a must: go for robotics aided surgery
Doctors have struggled for years in doing spinal surgery with accuracy. They have succeeded several times but there are incidences of failure as well. Robots can undertake the job of spinal surgery with great degree of accuracy. A robot for spinal surgery has been created by the Nottingham Trent University. The team that has created this robot is lead by Professor Philip Breedon. He is the head of Medical Design Research Group. His team has come up with a robot that can drill holes in vertebrae of human being in…
Read MoreHow will global warming affect El Niño in the 21st Century?
India Science Wire El Niño remains the largest climate phenomenon that appears frequently producing droughts, floods, wildfires, dust and snow storms, fish kill, and even elevated risks of civil conflicts. The theater of action for El Niño is the tropical Pacific Ocean but its global reach costs the global community tens of billions dollars each time. El Niño’s occur every two-to-seven years with very strong El Niño’s occurring about every 15 years. How the frequency or the time between two events and strength will change because of global warming…
Read MoreBiodegradable film developed from whey, isabgol and lotus stem starch
India Science Wire Indian researchers have developed a biodegradable film using lotus stem starch, whey protein concentrate, and psyllium husk that has high structural integrity and low solubility. Starch can form continuous matrix and has been considered an important polymer due to low cost and renewability. But films made from starch alone have low-mechanical strength and high water vapour content. In this study, researchers used starch along with whey protein and psyllium husk (isabgol) to make a biodegradable film. The stem of lotus plant was used as a source of…
Read MoreIndia and China are greening faster than rest of the world
Science Wire China and India – two economic powerhouses of Asia – are contributing significantly to the greening of the planet, a new global study released on Monday has found. The world now has about 5.5 million square kilometers of extra green leaf area round the year compared to 2000. A bulk of this increase is due to greening in China and India. China has contributed 25 percent to this increase, while India added 6.8 percent of the total global net increase in leaf area between 2000 and 2017. The…
Read MoreScientists synthesize new compound to fight stomach infections
India Science Wire Scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar have synthesized a new compound that may help treat stomach infections caused by common bacteria, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). The inhibitor is based on an aromatic chemical compound, indole, and may help in treating H. pylori infection, which is a cause for gastritis, peptic ulcers and stomach cancers, according to researchers. The new inhibitor synthesized by researchers targets a gene known as Inosine-5′-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) involved in the nucleotide synthesis of H. pylori. In initial studies, the inhibitor has…
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