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Showing posts with the label Science and Technology

NASA's Parker Solar Probe

Is scheduled for launch in 2018 to explore the sun's outer atmosphere.

Sarick effect

This refers to a form of persuasion wherein a person who wishes to convince a hostile audience about an issue can do so effectively by first arguing against his own idea. This finds mention in the book "Originals" authored by American psychologist Adam Grant,and is attributed to social scientist Leslie Sarick. Arguing first against one's own idea ,Grant says,disarms the audience and makes the speaker look more credible in their eyes..It also prevents the audience from seeing the speaker as a motivaterd salesman with biased views,and discourages them from trying to think of additional negatives about the speaker's idea.

Big Bubble Theory

Solar System was born in a shell made of material flung off a giant star called a Wolf-Rayet star. They burn the hottest of all stars,producing tonnes of elements which are flung off the surface in an intense stellar wind. As the Wolf-Rayet star sheds its mass,the stellar wind ploughs through the material around it,forming a bubble structure with a dense shell. The shell of such a bubble is a good place to produce stars because dust and gas become trapped inside where they can condense into stars. The researchers estimate that 1% to 16% of all sun like stars could be formed in such stellar nurseries. Study addresses a nagging cosmic mystery about the presence of two elements in our solar system compared to the rest of the galaxy. Meteorites left over from the early solar system suggests there was a lot of aluminium-26.In addition,studies increasingly suggest the solar system had less of the isotrope iron-60.According to prevailing theory solar system was formed billions of years...

George Schaller

Is a celebrated wildlife biologist who has studied wildlife across the world,including the snow leopards of the Himalayas and central India's tigers.Schaller's wood scorpions are found in low elevations in parts of Tripura,including Trishna and Bison National Park.

Genes

Genes are built up by a definite DNA sequence of the four bases A,G,C and T.They code for proteins that are responsible for making the cell perform various functions. The mitochondria are also known as the power houses of the cell.

Soft Robots

They are more malleable and can bend and flex and interact better with living organisms.Their weakness,however is reduced strength.There are now origami inspired "artificial muscles" that add strength to soft robots allowing them to lift objects that are upto 1,000 times their own weight using only air or water pressure.Thanks to such biceps,the soft robots can be made from metal springs,packing foam and sheets of plastic and can contract down to 10% of their original size,lift a delicate flower off the ground, and twist into a coil. Source:The Hindu