Old as good as New

Chikungunya

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an arbovirus, of the genus, Alphavirus, that is transmitted to humans by virus-carrying Aedes mosquitoes.

It causes an illness with symptoms similar to dengue fever. CHIKV manifests itself with a prolonged arthralgic disease that affects the joints of the extremities. The acute febrile phase of the illness lasts only two to five days. The pain associated with CHIKV infection of the joints persists for weeks or months.

In Africa, chikungunya is spread via a sylvatic cycle in which the virus largely resides in other primates in between human outbreaks.

Since its discovery in Tanganyika, Africa in 1952, chikungunya virus outbreaks have occurred occasionally in Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, but recent outbreaks have spread the disease over a wider range.

* The first outbreak in India was in 1963 in Kolkata (Calcutta).

What is Net Neutrality?

It is the principle that Internet users should be in control of what content they view and what applications they use on the Internet. The Internet has operated according to this neutrality principle since its earliest days. Indeed, it is this neutrality that has allowed many companies, including Google, to launch, grow, and innovate.

Infact, broadband carriers should not be permitted to use their market power to discriminate against competing applications or content. the neutrality of the Internet is at stake as the broadband carriers want Congress's permission to determine what content gets to you first and fastest. Put simply, this would fundamentally alter the openness of the Internet.

The Current Status of Net Neutrality

Net neutrality is a major issue as the U.S. considers new telecommunications laws. The U.S. House of Representatives passed its telecommunications bill, H.R. 5252, without adequate net neutrality protections. On June 28, the Senate Commerce Committee passed its own telecom bill, S. 2686. The debate now shifts to the full Senate, where advocates will be working to get strong net neutrality language is any bill that the Senate considers.

Green Paper

Green Paper is a paper prepared by the government for discussion/ consultation purposes. A Green Paper is usually followed by a White Paper, which then forms the basis of a Bill to be presented to Parliament.

Geographical Indications (GI) Registry

n December 1999, the Parliament passed the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999. It seeks to provide registration and better protection of geographical indications relating to goods produced and manufactured in India. The Act is administered by the Controller General of Patents, Design and Trade Marks who is the Registrar of Geographical Indications. The Geographical Indications Registry is located in Chennai.

RAPD stands for Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA.

RAPD reactions are PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) reactions but they amplify segments of DNA which are essentially unknown to the scientists as they are random.

Nuke Deal

• The nuke deal aims to lift a three-decade ban on the sale of U.S. nuclear fuel and reactors to India, imposed after it conducted a nuclear test in 1974, while staying out of non-proliferation agreements.
• India needs to conclude a safeguards agreement with the InternationalAtomic Energy Agency approvals from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group and finally the backing of the U.S. Congress before the agreement can come into force.
• Once formalised, the deal would give India access to U.S. nuclear fuel and equipment for the first time in 30 years, even though New Delhi has tested nuclear weapons and has refused to join non-proliferation agreements.
• Three steps are required to operationalise the deal namely, safeguards agreement with the IAEA, amendment in the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group's charter and the passing of the 123-agreement by the US Congress.
• One point of contention is the Hyde Act requirement that the United States cut off nuclear exports to India if it tests another nuclear weapon. The U.S.-India agreement does not make that explicit, but rather gives either side the right to end the pact for any reason with one year's notice.

PSLV-C9

Setting a world record, India's Polar rocket on Monday successfully placed ten satellites, including the country's remote sensing satellite, into orbit in a single mission from Sriharikota, on April 28, 2008 .

The ten pack launch of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) saw the 230-tonne Polar Satellite launch Vehicle (PSLV-C9) carry the heaviest luggage - 824 kgs - and put into orbit an Indian Mini Satellite and eight foreign nano satellites besides the Cartosat-2A remote sensing satellite.

At the end of the 52-hour countdown, the PSLV-C9, with alift-off mass of 230 tonne, blasted off from the launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre and soared into the clear sky in a textbook launch.

1. Remote Sensing satellite, CARTOSAT-2A along with

2. Indian Mini Satellite (IMS-1) and

3. Eight nanosatellites

CARTOSAT-2A weighing about 690 kg capable of taking black-and-white pictures.

The highly agile CARTOSAT-2A is steerable along as well as across the direction of its movement to facilitate imaging of any area more frequently.

CARTOSAT-2A will form a pair with CARTOSAT-2 launched on January 10, 2007 providing more frequent revisit.

Indian Mini Satellite-1 (IMS-1) is developed by ISRO which is weighing 83 kg at lift-off. IMS-1 carries two optical payloads – a Multispectral camera (Mx Payload) and a Hyperspectral camera (HySI Payload).

Eight nanosatellites built by universities and research institutions in Canada and Germany are also being launched under a commercial agreement with Antrix Corporation. The weight of these Nanosatellites vary from 3 to 16 kg with a total weight of about 50 kg.

The launch campaign is progressing satisfactorily at SDSC SHAR and tyhese are being from abroad around 9.20 am on Monday, April 28, 2008 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota.

This was the thirteenth flight of PSLV.

With this the number of satellites launched by India exceeds 50


Sir Arthur C Clarke

Sir Arthur C Clarke was famous for his science fiction writing

British science fiction writer Sir Arthur C Clarke has died in his adopted home of Sri Lanka at the age of 90. Somerset-born author achieved his greatest fame in 1968 when his short story The Sentinel was turned into the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. His visions of space travel and computing sparked the imagination of readers and scientists alike. He has been "great visionary".

Since 1995, the author had been largely confined to a wheelchair by post-polio syndrome.

He died of respiratory complications and heart failure.

The author married in 1953, and was divorced in 1964. He had no children. He moved to the Indian Ocean island of Sri Lanka in 1956 after embarking on a study of the Great Barrier Reef.

There, he pursued his interest in scuba diving, even setting up a diving school at Hikkaduwa, near the capital, Colombo.