Who is the father of Twitter, the popular social networking site and micro-blogging service?

So far, the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) had only been using Russian cryogenic engines in its Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicles. The GSLV-D3 was the first launch vehicle to use a cryogenic engine developed entirely in India. Russia had refused to transfer cryogenic engine technology to India under the Missile Technology Control Regime.

When a current of charged ions is passed through an ion-selective membrane, a force is created that moves the charged ions and particles in the water, like salt ions, cells, viruses, and micro-organisms, to the side. This saltier water is drawn off and the water in the main channel is 99% purified. This nano plant is cost-effective and can even be operated by battery.

With ageing, proteins in the lens change and develop chromophores that reduce the amount of light reaching the retina and also cause the light to scatter, which is commonly known as a cataract. Line Kessel, an ophthalmologist in Denmark, has developed a cost-effective cataract therapy wherein infrared pulses, delivered by an extremely fast pulse laser, are made to hit a target molecule simultaneously and ‘bleach clean’ the lens. This treatment reduces the light absorption and helps to restore the lens proteins to their proper structure.

Chennai-born Shankar Balasubramanian of Cambridge University has been awarded this prestigious award by the Bio-tech and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Britain . The award carries a cash prize of £10,000. Solexa sequencing deals with low-cost, high-speed genome sequencing technology.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is one of the largest philanthropic trusts in the world. This foundation has substantially invested in health-related fields, HIV-Aids prevention, maternal & newborn babies’ health, etc. Melinda Gates has signed an MoU with Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati to effect a ‘cultural change’ to bring down the death rate among children under five in the state. A similar MoU has been signed with Bihar. Global Alliance for Vaccine Immunisation (GAVI) is one of the initiatives of the foundation, wherein, in conjunction with pharmaceutical and bio-tech agencies, newly developed vaccines are provided to the developing world.

This bacterium produces a protein which is toxic to lepidopteron insect pests in most agricultural and horticultural crops. A number of crystalline toxin-protein genes or Bt genes isolated from this bacteria are transferred to many crops globally to achieve environmental safety, productivity, and profitability. Brinjal, or eggplant, too, is prone to insect pests like fruit and shoot borer (FSB). To counter the menace, the University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, developed six varieties of Bt brinjal. Farmers, though, have apprehensions about these varieties.

All individuals have unique profiles of gut flora, consisting of yeast or bacteria. Good bacteria are depleted by stress, drugs, alcohol, etc. Boosting them will have direct positive effects on the cells lining the intestines. They switch off inflammation, strengthen immunity, and even change the way the white blood cells and antibodies in the blood work. Probiotics are extremely beneficial against bowel-related disorders. Prebiotics are the food sources for probiotics, eg, unripe fruits, cooked and cooled pasta, & potatoes. Curd and bread are good sources of both pro- and prebiotics.

Kuala Lumpur is Malaysia’s capital as well as the commercial and financial centre. But owing to overcrowding and congestion, the seat of government was shifted to the planned city of Putrajaya in 1999. It is named after Malaysia's first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra.

The term ‘mechatronics’ was coined by Tetsuro Mori, senior engineer of a Japanese company, Yasakuwa, in 1969. It is the synergised combination of mechanical, electronic, computer control and system design engineering divisions to create, design, and manufacture useful products. An industrial robot is an example of a mechatronics system.

Twitter, the social networking and micro-blogging service, enables an ‘author’ to publish posts known as ‘tweets’ to his ‘followers’. In 2006, during a board meeting of the pod-casting company Odeo, Jack Dorsey introduced this idea of using an SMS to communicate with a group.