Science and Tech Weekly Wrap-Up

A weekly round-up of science and technology stories.

Hyderabad: Science and Tech stories of the week

COVID-related Pollution Levels revealed by NASA

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, space- and ground-based observations have shown that Earth’s atmosphere has seen significant reductions in some air pollutants. The reasons for this decline are what NASA researchers have worked upon. Whether this decline is because of human activities during the pandemic or not is what these researchers analyzed. They also compared to a situation of how much decline in pollution would have occurred in a pandemic-free 2020. Read More.

Users can pre-book orders of recently launched Micromax IN Note 1 and In 1b, features and specifications

Pre-orders for the recently launched 'IN note 1' and 'IN 1b' smartphones opened from November 10 at 12 noon on Flipkart during the Big Diwali Sale. Micromax recently launched its first smartphones under the "in mobiles" brand, IN Note 1 in the mid-range, and a budget phone IN 1b. The phones IN Note 1 and IN 1b will go on sale from November 24 and November 26, respectively. Read More.

Black Friday 2020 falls on November 27

Black Friday comes after Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. It started to address the financial crisis which the U.S. faced on September 24, 1869. However, it has evolved as a shopping day where exorbitant discounts and offers are offered by various e-commerce platforms and tech companies. As a result, this has become a great hit among Black Friday Shoppers. Read More.

Artificial Intelligence in Cyber Warfare

There is war on in cyberspace. Cyberspace is entirely human-made and has been designed, created, maintained, owned, and operated both by public and private stakeholders across nations. It is continually changing in response to technology transformation. Artificial Intelligence, unmanned drones, cyber-attacks, and GPS tracking now play a key role in global conflict. For all this a new term seems to be emerging, Cyber Warfare and the details of which are explained by Col. Inderjeet Singh, Cyber Security Expert, Director General, Cyber Security Association of India. Read More.

COVID-19: CALD Assist App for non-English speaking communities

A free mobile app developed by Western Health in Victoria and Australia’s national science agency CSIRO will help support vital COVID-19 screening efforts with patients from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.Read More.

If plants and trees can communicate via their root system, do they get lonely in pots?

Sebastian Leuzinger, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand explains that Plants don't have "feelings" as we know them, because they don't have a nervous system. Yet it would be presumptuous to assume that we have a full understanding of all aspects of plant life, particularly how plants communicate. Read More.

Russia's Sputnik V to cost lower than Pfizer, Moderna's Covid vaccine

According to a spokesman for the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), RDIF is Russia's sovereign wealth fund, the price of the Russian vaccine will be made public next week, TASS news agency reported. Read More.

SpaceX delays launch of Starlink due to poor weather

SpaceX has cancelled its planned launch of a Falcon 9 carrier rocket with 60 Starlink satellites owing to poor weather conditions and is scheduled for a new launch on Monday at 9:34 p.m. Read More.

Some male spiders tie up females to avoid being eaten

Many male spiders engage in courtship rituals during mating, but some attack females instead and tie them up to avoid being eaten. In April 2019, Lenka Sentenská, now at the University of Toronto Scarborough in Canada, was studying the behavior of a spider species (Thanatus fabricii) that is native to Israel. She realized that males behaved oddly during mating, but the action was so quick that it was difficult to observe. Read More.

Tesla CEO, Elon Musk becomes the 2nd richest in the world for the first time

As the shares of the electric car-maker, Tesla soared, Musk has become the 2nd richest in the world, with a $127.9 billion fortune, surpassing Bill Gates at $127.7 billion. Gates was the richest man for four years running till 2017 when Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos overtook him. Read More.

Features of Motorola Nio, to launch next year

Motorola Nio is going to be a high-end phone. Some of the features include; Snapdragon 865,dual-SIM support, may have triple camera setup, etc. Read More.

Celebrating Dr. Verghese Kurien's birthday known as Milkman of India

Dr. Kurein was the man responsible for turning India from a milk deficient country to the largest producer of milk in the world today. He worked towards bringing a White Revolution in India and executed the much-needed program of "Operation Flood". He is also the man behind Amul. Read More.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 4, Surface Pro 8 devices leaked online

Microsoft is planning to launch new versions of its Surface Pro 8 as well as Surface Laptop 4 and now, images of the same devices have surfaced on Internet, along with details about when they are scheduled to arrive. The upcoming products are expected to be officially announced early next year. Read More.

First Smartwatch launched by Redmi

Xiaomi sub-brand Redmi launched its first smartwatch in China for about $45. The smartwatch features a 1.4-inch (320x320 pixels) square display,230 mAh battery, 120 watch face options, etc. Read More.

3D printed tiles create new habitat for disappearing corals

There's something special happening on the seafloor. Hong Kong corals are being given a helping hand to survive with specially made tiles installed at the bottom of the sea. The reef tiles provide a habitat where the delicate and fast-disappearing organisms can grow. Read More.