ISRO made world's lightest material 'Silica Aerogel'

Scientists at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram indigenously manufactured the world’s lightest synthetic material called ‘silica aerogel’ or ‘blue air’ or ’frozen smoke’. It was in news in the third week of April 2016. Silica Aerogel is the lightest synthetic material ever made by man.

Key Characteristics:

·         The material is so light weight that it can be delicately placed on a flower head.

·         It has an excellent thermal resistance and if it is used as filler in soldiers’ uniforms it can save many lives at the Siachen glacier.

·         The material can be used both in space and on Earth. Scientists also hope it can be used to insulate rocket engines.

·         Frozen smoke can be also used to make light weight clothing, if painted on windows it can keep buildings cool or warm.

·         The matrix of aerogel is made up of 99 percent air. The material is likely to be used on moon rover in Chandrayaan-2 mission of India.

Grandpa's obesity can affect health of children

Scientists in Australia have discovered that a man’s metabolic health can be passed on through multiple generations, affecting nor only his children, but also grandchildren. According to researchers at Victor Chang Institute and Garvan Institute of Medical Research, male mice who are obese at the time of conception put their children and grandchildren at significant risk of developing metabolic diseases long before they are even born. The lead author of the study said the breakthrough discovery could have immediate ramifications for public health. “A baby’s health has long been considered the mother’s responsibility as soon as she falls pregnant. But little attention has been paid to how a father’s health might impact his unborn child,” said associate professor Catherine Suter from Victor Chang Institute.

ISRO's Seventh Navigation Satellite IRNSS 1G Launched

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on 28 April 2016 launched India’s seventh navigation satellite of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS 1G) into a Sub-Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (Sub-GTO) on-board PSLV-C33. The satellite was launched from the First Launch Pad (FLP) of the, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, which is situated 90 kms from Chennai. With this launch, India successfully joined the elite group of countries that have their own navigation system technology to cater to the mammoth navigational needs. As in the previous six launches of IRNSS satellite, PSLV-C33 used ‘XL’ version of PSLV equipped with six strap-ons, each carrying 12 tons of propellant.

Features of IRNSS:

·         Its consists of seven satellites to provide real time data on the position of objects to aid road, air and maritime traffic apart from providing mapping and tracking services.

·         It is an independent regional navigation satellite system designed to provide position information in the Indian region and 1500 km around the Indian mainland.

·         It would provide two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning Services (SPS), which will be provided to all users and Restricted Services (RS) that will be provided to authorized users only.

·         Out of the seven satellites of the system, three are geostationary and four are non-geostationary.

·         By using the IRNSS as a platform, the Government of India is planning to launch its own Global Navigational Satellite Services, GINS (Global Indian Navigation Satellite) system. It is similar to the Global Positioning System (GPS) of the USA.

While many countries in the world have more than 20 satellites in serving the navigational purpose Indian scientists can boast of by achieving the goal by launching the seventh satellite which in a way completes the constellation which was earlier planned. This constellation will help ISRO to take help from the civilian needs to security or defense needs. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi who congratulated ISRO for the launch termed the system as NAVIC (Navigation with Indian Constellation). This launch also made into the selected nations that have their own GPS (Global Positioning System) or Navigation system.

The other selected countries in the league includes:

·         US Air Force owns Global Positioning System (GPS)

·         Russian owns GLONASS

·         China owns BeiDou, which is expanding into a global system. It is also operated by its military.

·         Europe – GALILEO is a civil global system.

Non-toxic Hydrogel bonds for healing?

Researchers have developed a new kind of tough, non-toxic hydrogel that bonds spontaneously and strongly to defected bones, an advance that may have potential use in the treatments of joint injuries. Researchers from Hokkaido University in Japan had previously developed a tough, high-strength network gel, called double-net-work gel (DN gel), that exhibited excellent performance sich as low wear and inductive function for cartilage regeneration. However, as the gel’s main components is water, it was difficult for it to bond with other surfaces – a major stumbling block in its practical application. The new gel, however, overcomes this problem.