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Oct122017 by adminNo Comments

Reused SpaceX rocket to carries satellite into orbit

Oct. 11 (UPI) -- A used Falcon 9 rocket landed on a droneship in the Atlantic ocean Wednesday after launching a communications satellite into orbit.It was the third time SpaceX depended on a used Falcon 9 rocket to carry out a launch mission.The rocket blasted off at 6:53 p.m. from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.The Falcon 9 rocket previously was used to deliver cargo to the International Space Station in February. This time, the rocket carried a high-powered, hybrid communications satellite shared by SES and EchoStar. The satellite is expected support the delivery of high-definition television broadcasts to viewers across North America.After carrying SpaceX's Dragon capsule to the edge of space last winter, the rocket's first stage detached and fell back to Earth before executing a contr...

Oct92017 by adminNo Comments

Students, researchers turn algae into renewable flip-flops

Science

Oct. 6 (UPI) -- A team of researchers and students at the University of California, San Diego are trying to curb the number of petroleum-based flip flops -- currently, 3 billion every year -- that end up in landfills.Their solution is the world's first algae-based, eco-friendly pair of flip flops."Even though a flip flop seems like a minor product, a throwaway that everyone wears, it turns out that this is the number one shoe in the world," Stephen Mayfield, a professor of biology at UCSD, said in a news release.In India, China and Africa, the flip flop is the most popular shoe."These are the shoes of a fisherman and a farmer," Mayfield said.Flip flops are responsible for a large amount of the polyurethane that ends up in the ocean. But researchers originally set their sights on the pollut...

Sep302017 by adminNo Comments

Scientists are successfully breeding disease-resistance into mosquitoes

Science

Sept. 29 (UPI) -- While other mosquito-borne diseases have captured headlines in recent years, malaria remains the most problematic. Every year, several hundred million people become infected and a few hundred thousand perish.But a recent breakthrough in the genetic modification could help breed disease-resistance into mosquito populations and eradicate malaria altogether.Malaria is caused by a parasitic protozoan called Plasmodium that lives in the guts of mosquitoes. Humans can become infected when bitten by a mosquito carrying the parasite. To stop the disease in its tracks, scientists have been genetically modifying mosquitoes to make the insects resistant to the parasite.While researchers have enjoyed success in breeding malaria-resistant mosquitoes in the lab, scientists were concern...

Sep272017 by adminNo Comments

Piramal Finance enters into housing finance segment

Finance

MUMBAI:Financial services company, Piramal Finance today announced entry into retail housing finance business through its wholly owned subsidiary, Piramal Housing Finance. The housing finance company will offer home loans as well as loans against property and construction finance for small developers. "Given the size, scale and market relevance of the wholesale lending business, it was a natural progression to assess opportunities within the retail lending space," Piramal Finance and Piramal Housing Finance managing director, Khushru Jijina said. The company will initially focus on a product roll out across all major metro cities, and thereafter, seek to establish a pan-India presence, including tier 2-3 towns and cities. The retail construction finance arm will focus on local develo...

Sep232017 by adminNo Comments

Japanese scientists aim to turn ocean wave energy into electricity

Science

Sept. 22 (UPI) -- A team of researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University in Japan want to make the ocean an affordable source of renewable energy.Engineers at OIST have already harnessed the energy of ocean currents using underwater turbines. Now, the group is targeting the kinetic power of waves. The team is preparing to install turbines where the energy of the ocean is most apparent."Particularly in Japan, if you go around the beach you'll find many tetrapods," Tsumoru Shintake, a professor at OIST, said in a news release.Tetrapods are pyramid-like concrete structures designed to dampen the force of incoming waves and protect beaches from erosion.Shintake wants to replace tetrapods with turbines designed to convert wave energy into electricity."Surpr...