SCIENCE
Countdown for ISRO rocket launch progressing smoothly
According to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the filling of fuel and oxidizer for the second stage of the rocket has been completed. The countdown for the launch is progressing smoothly at the Sriharikota rocket port in Andhra Pradesh. The 44-metre-high four staged/engine PSLV-C50 is the 22nd flight of PSLV in 'XL' configuration (with six strap-on motors hugging the first stage).
NASA posts image of supermassive black holes merging
The official Instagram account of NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory shared a pair of images which showed two supermassive black holes in the process of merging.
Repurposed anti-protozoal drug emetine effective against Covid-19, say Indian scientists
Emetine is an FDA-approved drug which is used to treat amebiasis, a parasitic disease. Besides, it is also used to induce vomiting in the cases of poisoning. A team led by senior scientist Dr Naveen Kumar identified Emetine as one of the candidate drugs.
Japan confirms asteroid gas sample from Hayabusa2 probe
The Hayabusa2 re-entry capsule was recovered in Woomera, Australia on December 6 and delivered to the JAXA Sagamihara campus in Japan on December 8. Work then began to open the sample container inside the re-entry capsule.
Quarter of world may not get Covid vax until 2022: Study
The findings, published in the journal The BMJ, suggest that the operational challenges of the global Covid-19 vaccination programme will be at least as difficult as the scientific challenges associated with their development.
AstraZeneca, Qure.ai to bring AI solutions to detect lung cancer
As part of the strategic collaboration, AstraZeneca will work with Qure.ai to explore the application of deep learning algorithms to identify patients with suspicious radiographic lung abnormalities and support their referral to arrive at a firm diagnosis.
Researchers find 5 key genes linked to severe Covid-19
According to a study, published in the journal 'Nature', genetic evidence is second only to clinical trials as a way to tell which treatments will be effective in a disease. The existing drugs that target the actions of the genes reveal which drugs should be repurposed to treat Covid-19 in clinical trials, the researchers said.
Arianespace to launch 36 sats of OneWeb of Bharti-UK government on December 18
OneWeb, a low earth orbit (LEO) broadband satellite communications company, is a consortium between the UK government and Indian telecom group Bharti Global Ltd. In November 2020 OneWeb announced that it has emerged from US Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. A consortium of UK Government and Bharti Global, has invested $1bn of new equity to offer broadband connectivity services, via a constellation of 650 LEO satellites.
SpaceX Crew-3 mission: Indian-American Raja Chari among three astronauts selected by NASA
Indian-American Raja Chari has his roots in Hyderabad but was born in Milwaukee, America after his father immigrated to the US. Chari graduated from the US Airforce Academy, MIT and later went to US Naval Test Pilot School. He has over 2,500 hours of test-flight experience under his belt.
China's Mars probe over 100mn km away from Earth
As of 9 p.m. on Monday, the Mars probe had flown in space for 144 days and travelled more than 360 million km, reports Xinhua news agency. It was more than 100 million km away from Earth and about 12 million km away from Mars.
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