Exploring the Sun...

Space probe Ulysses reaches end of odyssey

Paris: European and US scientists will bid a fond farewell on July 1 to the space probe Ulysses, which has circled the Sun gathering data for 17 years, almost four times its expected lifetime.

The first major collaboration between Nasa and the European Space Agency (ESA), launched in 1990, “changed forever the way we view the Sun and its effect on the surrounding space,” David Southwood, ESA’s director of science, said in announcing the end of mission.

Stuffed with 10 observational instruments, the 370-kg probe is the only satellite to have circled the Sun’s poles.

Its principle objective was to explore the boundaries and impact of the Sun’s sphere of influence, called the heliosphere. One of its many findings was that the Sun’s magnetic fields, thrust outward by solar wind, extends into the Solar System in ways that were previously not suspected.

“This is very important because regions of the Sun not previously considered as potential sources of hazardous particles for astronauts and satellites must now be taken into account,” noted the Parisbased ESA’s Richard Marsden.

Scientists originally thought that the speed of solar wind — a constant stream of particles
emitted by the sun — was about 400km per second. But Ulysses proved that during much of the Sun’s 11-year solar cycle, wind travels at nearly double that speed.

The mission was originally designed to last five years, but engineers were able extend the life
of the on-board generators powering the equipment by more than 12 years. Power has now dwindled to the point where fuel will soon freeze in the spacecraft’s pipelines. AFP

HERE COMES THE SUN: A computer-generated image released by Nasa shows the spacecraft ‘Ulysses’ near the Sun

Existence...

You can now exist forever... in a DNA storage vault

Melbourne: After storing DNA samples for thousands of defence personnel, an Aussie company is now planning to do the same for the general public, with more and more people wishing to exist forever.

Under a contract, the company DNA Solutions, started off by taking delivery of samples from more than 70,000 full-time and reserve military personnel. The DNA business is witnessing a boon, as people move to place a small part of themselves into storage for eternity.

Under a voluntary scheme implemented by defence, DNA is collected from a large number of defence personnel by using a technology developed by the Melbourne-based firm. However, these samples will be used only to positively identify dead troops.

Vern Muir, Company chief, said that defence has asked him that they may have to store DNa samples from as many as 20,000-30,000 defence pesonnel. They collect the DNA by taking a drop of blood on a card containing a chemical compound that traps DNA at room temperature. This card can store the sample for at least 100 years. ANI

Playin God...

Pomi the robot penguin has hidden depths

Seoul: South Korean researchers have unveiled a penguin which can interact with humans.
Pomi (Penguin Robot for Multimodal Interaction) can see, hear, touch and emit smells as well as making faces, Korea Times reported.
It was developed by the state-run Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute which plans to put Pomi to commercial use.
The robot can move its lips, eyebrows and even pupils freely to make faces and can emit two kinds of fragrances to match its emotions. A “heart box” on the chest will feature different kinds of heartbeats depending on its mood when it is touched, the paper reported. AFP

HUMAN TOUCH: Pomi can see, hear, touch and emit smells as well as make faces

Asia’s first human DNA bank comes up in Lucknow

Lucknow: Be it a terrorist attack, mass tragedy or police verification, this bank can be of great use for security agencies and doctors. Combining biometric, anthropology and information technology together, Asia’s first human DNA bank has been set up in Lucknow. The unique bank stores all information of a person, collected from four drops of blood in a SIM card, which is transferred to a smart card to be read through special readers. “The information will be stored for 50 years,” chief executive officer, biotech park, P K Seth said.

“This is Asia’s first and world’s second bank having DNA identification system (DIS) and has been established in the biotech park under the public private partnership with IQRA Biotech Services,’’ Seth said, adding that the FBI is so far the only agency that could boast of a DNA bank. AGENCIES

Jaago Grahak Jaago!

HELP FOR CONSUMERS

New kit to test milk

Kumar Sambhav I TNN

Mumbai: If you are tired of your vendor selling adulterated milk, here is a way to catch him red-handed.

The Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI) released a ‘doit-yourself-milk-testing-kit’ on Saturday to examine adulteration of milk at home. It is part of a project, which also invites complaints from citizens against misleading advertisements and fake-degreeholder medical practitioners.

Honorary secretary of CGSI Dr M S Kamath announced that the milk-testing kit will be available for Rs 30 at their office as well as a few selected places across the city. Every kit can be used to examine five samples of milk and the procedure is also mentioned on a document provided with it.

“These tests can be easily conducted. However, the chemicals in the kit have to be handled with care,’’ said Sitaram Dixit, managing committee member, CGSI.

The CGSI also invited complaints from citizens against misleading advertisements and those doctors who have fake degrees or are using misleading qualifications on their boards.