Low cost and environment-friendly solar lighting device, Solar Jyoti launched

                On 5 April 2016, Union Government launched the low cost micro solar device, Surya Jyoti. The solar dome would help rural and urban population to have a reliable access to electricity. This low cost and environment-friendly solar lighting device was launched by Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan. The device would light up homes without electricity and save millions of units of power. The device has been developed under the aegis of the Department of Science & Technology.

Scientists discover three 'potentially habitable' planets

                An international team of scientists said on 2 May that they had discovered a trio of Earth-like planers that are the best-bet so far for finding life outside our solar system. The three orbit an ultracool dwarf star a mere 39 light years away, and are likely comparable in size and temperature to Earth and Venus, they reported in a study.

                “This is the first opportunity to find chemical traces of life outside our solar system.” said lead author Michael Gillon, an astrophysicist at the University of Liege in Belgium. All three planets had the “winning combination” of being similar in size to Earth, “potentially habitable” and close enough so their atmospheres can analysed with current technology, he said.

Scientists look to decode secret of Usain Bolt's speed

                Scientists may soon find the secret behind the athletic prowess of Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, the fastest man on Earth, thanks to a new tool that allows them to analyse muscle proteins and observe the molecules at work in unprecedented details. Researchers from Germany’s Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology have further developed cryo-electron microscopy, a technique that can be used to explain the cause of muscle diseases and identify features that make the musculature of top athletes so efficient. A tissue sample from world-record-holder Bolt could enable researchers to discover why some people can run so much faster than others.

Bacteria may soon power micro-machines

                Swarms of bacteria may soon power smart-phones as Oxford researchers have found that natural movement of bugs could be harnessed to assemble and activate tiny ‘windfarms’ in mobile phones. The study uses computer simulations to demonstrate that the chaotic swarming effect of dense active matter such as bacteria can be organized to turn cylindrical rotors and provide a steady power source. Researchers say these biologically driven power plants could be the microscopic engines for tiny, man-made devices that are self-assembled and self-powered.      

A planet with triple sunrises, sunsets

                Imagine a planet with triple sunrises and sunsets every day for part of the year, and non-stop daylight at other times. Astronomers revealed such a place on 7 July: a strange new world in the constellation Centaurus that has not one, not two, but three suns. What’s more a year there lasts half a millennium from Earth’s perspective.

                Discoverer and lead author Kevin Wagner said he’s thrilled “to have seen such a beautiful part of nature that nobody else has seen”. As amazing as three sunsets and sunrises are, “I think nature will have some other surprises in store for us as we continue exploring,” Wager, a doctoral student at the University of Arizona, said via email. Triple-star system with detected planets are rare enough; But the giant gassy world in this one – formally known as Planet HD 131399Ab – has the biggest known orbit in a multi-star system. Its orbit is double Pluto’s – or roughly 550 Earth years. That’s how long it takes to orbit its system’s brightest star, a super-size sun. The two smaller stars orbit one another and, as a pair, orbit with their big stellar brother.

                Planet HD 131399Ab has four times the mass of our own Jupiter. With such a wide orbit and companion stars, scientists would expect a planet like this to be kicked out in a tug of stellar war. Yet that’s not the case. During part of the planet’s orbit, all three stars are visible on the same day, offering triple sunrises and sunsets and allowing for day and night. For about one-fourth of its year – around 100 to 140 Earth years – there’s continuous daylight. That’s because as the big sun is rising, the two smaller ones are setting. 

Researchers developed world's smallest diode

                Researchers from the University of Georgia and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) developed the world’s smallest diode, the size of a single molecule. The breakthrough could impact the development of molecular electronic devices. Their study was published in journal Nature  Chemistry on 4 April 2016. The nanoscale diode or molecular rectifier operates like a valve to facilitate electronic current flow in one direction. A collection of these nanoscale diode, or molecules, contains properties that resemble traditional electronic components, such as a wire, transistor or rectifier.

Tiniest thermometer created using DNA

Scientists have created the world’s tiniest thermometer that is 20,000 times smaller than a human hair, using DNA structures that can fold and unfold at specifically defined temperatures. The advance may aid our understanding of natural and human designed nanotechnology by enabling to measure temperature at the nanoscale, researchers said. Over 60 years ago, researchers discovered that the DNA molecules that encode our genetic information can unfold when heated. “Inspired by those natural nanothermometers….we have created various DNA structures that can fold and unfold at specifically defined temperatures,” said Alexis Vallee-Belisle, professor at University on Montreal, Canada.