G Blogs
Underwater Robots To Study Indias Notorious Monsoon
Posted by lavanya bharathy / June 15, 2016

NEW DELHI: Scientists from India and Britain will release underwater robots into the Bay of Bengal in a bid to more accurately predict the Indian monsoon, critical to the millions of farmers reeling from two consecutive droughts. Scientists from the University of East Anglia (UEA) will release seven underwater robots from an Indian ship next week to study how ocean processes influence monsoon rainfall, they said on Tuesday. Better forecasting could improve the livelihoods of India's more than 200 million farmers and agricultural labourers. The robots, which have computers onboard and look like miniature yellow submarines, will spend a month moving through a southern secti...

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Wearable Artificial Kidney Could Replace Conventional Dialysis
Posted by lavanya bharathy / June 07, 2016

A wearable artificial kidney could be developed as a viable, new dialysis technology that allows patients to be mobile and untethered during treatment, results of a US Food and Drug Administration-authorised clinical trial suggest. The technology may become an alternative to conventional hemodialysis for people with end-stage kidney disease. Present-day treatment generally requires three sessions a week on a stationary machine that restricts patients\' ability to walk around while it is attached and running. In contrast, a wearable device would allow patients to be mobile and untethered. It could also provide additional treatment benefits from longer sessions or mo...

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Indian-American Teen Wins Intel Young Scientist Award
Posted by lavanya bharathy / May 23, 2016

A 15-year-old Indian-American boy has won the prestigious \'Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award\' for developing a low-cost electronically-aided knee brace that allows a person with a weakened leg to walk more naturally. Syamantak Payra, a Texas resident, won the $50,000 (roughly Rs. 33 lakhs) award along with 17-year-old Kathy Liu. The award was given by Intel Corporation and the Society for Science and the Public (SSP) at the 2016 \'Intel International Science and Engineering Fair\' in Arizona last week. "Our top winners this year Syamantak and Kathy clearly demonstrate that age has no bearing on your ability to conduct research and come up with solutions to impo...

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Wrist-Band Device for Alcohol Monitoring Wins US Prize
Posted by lavanya bharathy / May 23, 2016

A San Francisco-based company has won a US government-sponsored competition with an alcohol monitoring devices that can be worn on the wrist, the latest milestone in the development of wearable technologies that monitor and diagnose medical conditions. BACtrack, a privately held medical device maker, took the $200,000 top prize in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Wearable Biosensor Challenge on Thursday with its wristband monitor, which measures blood alcohol levels via sweat on the skin. The product, dubbed BACtrack Skyn, has not yet been submitted to the Food and Drug Administration for marketing approval. Dr. George Koob, head of the NIH\'s National Insti...

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Scientists Make Sea Water Drinkable, Produce 6.3 Million Litres A Day
Posted by lavanya bharathy / May 06, 2016

HIGHLIGHTS Pilot plant to convert sea water is at Tamil Nadu\'s Kalpakkam Plant has a capacity to produce 6.3 million litres of fresh water a day The fresh water currently being is used at the Kudankulam nuclear reactor MUMBAI: As 13 states struggle with drought, scientists in a corner of India have devised a way to make potable water - 6.3 million litre of it every day - from sea water. They have also developed certain filtration methods that ensure groundwater containing arsenic and uranium are safe to drink. The pilot plant at Tamil Nadu\'s Kalpakkam, built by scientists of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre use waste steam from a nucle...