Assorted

Washington, Jan 2: A rare comet discovered by NASA scientists will be visible using just binoculars to skywatchers on Earth this week for the first time, before the object heads back into outer reaches of the solar system for an orbit lasting thousands of years. The comet, C/2016 U1 NEOWISE, "has a good chance of becoming visible through a good pair of binoculars, although we can't be sure because...

London, Jan 1: The real reason for Titanic's tragic sinking that claimed over 1,500 lives in 1912 was a fire in the ocean liner's boiler room and not simply a collision with a giant iceberg, a new documentary has claimed. The Titanic's hull was fatally weakened by a fire that had been smouldering in the coal bunker in the boiler room since she left the shipyard in Belfast, Irish journalist and...

New Delhi, Dec 30: The district court has acquitted the MIM leaders who were allegedly involved in openly abusing the District Collector. The case was struck down as there was no evidence. According to Nizamuddin, lawyer of the MIM leaders, his clients were acquitted as the government pleader had failed to produce evidence. MIM Lok Sabha member Asaduddin Owaisi and others had staged a dharna on...

Washington, Dec 30: This year will last a second longer as a "leap second" will be added to the world's clocks on New Year's Eve by the timekeepers. The extra second will be inserted at the US Naval Observatory's Master Clock Facility in Washington, DC at 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) which corresponds to 5:29:59 am Indian Standard Time on January 1...

Beijing, Dec 30: A 64-year-old woman in China is believed to have become the oldest mother in the country to give birth to a baby. The mother, who has not been identified, delivered a boy weighing 3.7 kgs through cesarean section at a hospital in Jilin province, official media here reported. She conceived the baby after receiving in vitro fertilisation abroad. Photos uploaded to social media...

Los Angeles, Dec 27: Scientists have developed a transparent, self-healing, highly stretchable conductive material that can be electrically activated to power artificial muscles and used to improve batteries, electronic devices and robots. The low-cost, easy to produce soft rubber-like material can stretch 50 times its original length, researchers said. After being cut, it can completely re-attach...

London, Dec 25: Scientists have identified materials that can withstand temperatures of nearly 4,000 degrees Celsius, an advance that may pave the way for improved heat resistant shielding for the faster-than-ever hypersonic space vehicles. Researchers from Imperial College London in the UK discovered that the melting point of hafnium carbide is the highest ever recorded for a material. Tantalum...

New Delhi, Dec 24: Social networking giant Facebook received 6,324 requests from Indian government agencies for 8,290 users/accounts in the first half of 2016. This is the second highest after the US, which made 23,854 requests for 38,951 users/accounts during January-June 2016, according to Facebook's Government Requests Report. Requests from India have increased, a trend seen globally as well...

Washington, Dec 22: Scientists have launched a powerful new tool in the fight against the spread of fake news through social networking sites. The tool, called Hoaxy, visualises how claims made in fake news spread online. "In the past year, the influence of fake news in the US has grown from a niche concern to a phenomenon with the power to sway public opinion," said Filippo Menczer, a professor...

Mangaluru, Dec 22: ‘Dabak Daba Aisaa’ tulu movie produced and directed by Prakash Pandeshwar, under the banner of Jayakirana Films is to be screened in Krishna Theatre, Kasaragod from December 23 onwards. The Movie ‘Dabak Daba Aisaa’ has already been released in Mangaluru , surroundings and has been successfull in attracting large number of Tulu language and movie lovers towards the theatre...