-

1. New Earth-like planet may have water, life

Scientists claim to have discovered a potentially habitable planet which has an environment
much similar to that oI the Earth and may contain water and even liIe.
The exoplanet, called Gliese 581g, is located around 123 trillion miles away from the
Earth and orbits a star at a distance that places it squarely in the habitable or the Goldilocks
zone, the scientists said.
The research, published in the Astrophysical Journal , suggests that the planet could contain
liquid water on its surIace, meaning it tops the league oI planets and moons rated as being
most like Earth, they said.
ompelling case
'Our Iindings oIIer a very compelling case for a potentially habitable planet, said lead
researcher Steven Vogt, a proIessor oI astronomy and astrophysics at the University oI
CaliIornia, Santa Cruz.
'The Iact that we were able to detect this planet so quickly and so nearby tells us that planets
like this must be really common, ProI. Vogt was quoted as saying by aily Mail .
The new Iindings are based on 11 years of observations oI the nearby red dwarf star
Gliese 581 using the HIRES spectrometer on the Keck I Telescope by a team Irom UC
Santa Cruz and the Carnegie Institution oI Washington.
The team reported the discovery oI two new planets around Gliese 581. This brings the total
number oI known planets around this star to six, the most yet discovered in a planetary
system outside oI our own.
Like our solar system, the planets around Gliese 581 have nearly-circular orbits, the team
said. Gliese 581 has a mass three to four times the Earth's and orbits its star in just
under 37 days.
Its mass indicates that it is probably a rocky planet with a definite surface and enough
gravity to hold on to an atmosphere, they said. PTI
2. DRDO devices to enhance quality of life in five years
Several applications oI immense use to the common man being developed by the DeIence
Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) will be available to the public in the next
Iive years, A. Sivathanu Pillai, ChieI Executive OIIicer and Managing Director, Brahmos
Aerospace Ltd., said on Monday.
He was delivering the inaugural address at a three-day international conIerence on
nanoscience, engineering and technology at Sathyabama University in Sholinganallur. From
unbreakable bones in the human body, unmanned aerial surveillance to reconnaissance
vehicles the size oI a humming bird, all could be possible in the Iuture.
The DRDO had created a number oI equipment, kits and other devices over the past Iew
years, including a typhoid detection kit, Sanjeevani liIe detection kit to trace people trapped
underneath buildings during earthquakes and many other devices.
Stating that research on creating applications using nanoscience was going on in the country
Ior only Ior a Iew years, Dr. Pillai said that in Iive years, a number oI devices that could be
used by the people Ior enhancing the quality oI their lives would be available. India, along
with The Netherlands, Russia, Italy and Brazil among other nations were in the minor league
oI nations in terms oI nanoscience, technology and research, while the dominant nations were
the U.S., Japan, Germany, South Korea and Taiwan. Worldwide, the market oI Iinal products
incorporating nanotechnology now was $254 billion and this would go up to $ 3 trillion by
2020 and emerging economies and countries like India had to use this opportunity, Dr. Pillai
said. The Centre had already created the Nanomission and its Iinal objective was to increase
India's competitive edge through technological excellence. This could be achieved through a
synergy oI the industry, the academia, research and development laboratories and large scale
inIrastructure at special zones.
A.K. Tyagi, Head, SurIace and Nano Division, Materials Science Group, Indira Gandhi
Centre Ior Atomic Research, Kalpakkam, received an award Ior excellence in nanoscience
and technology. Dr. Pillai and Jeppiar, Chancellor oI the private university handed over the
award, that included a medal, a citation and Rs.1 lakh.
G. Sundararajan, Director, International Advanced Research Centre Ior Powder Metallurgy
and New Materials, delivered the key-note address. Dra Erlina Handal Vega, Minister oI
Education, Republic oI El Salvador, delivered a special address and lauded India's
commitment to science and knowledge.