Monthly Current Affairs February 2016 “SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY” key points to Remember.
1) Facebook has announced the Telecom Infra Project, which will look at developing new and alternative technologies to build and deploy telecom infrastructure, with partners including Aricent, HCL Technologies, Intel, Nokia and T- Mobile.
2) The first fast-acting anti-rabies drug of the world, which instantly deactivates the rabies virus and provides immediate protection in severe dog bite cases, is set for a launch in India this year.
3) Astronaut Scott Kelly is preparing to return to Earth after spending an unprecedented year on the International Space Station.
4) World’s first fast-acting anti-rabies drug Rabies Human Monoclonal Antibody (RMAb) will be launched in India.
5) Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is working towards the establishment of a Satellite Tracking & Data Reception Station and Data Processing Facility in Vietnam for ASEAN Member countries.
6) India has successfully test fired its indigenously developed Prithvi-II missile from Chandipur off the Odisha coast.
7) Scientists claim to have developed the world’s first wireless flexible smartphone that allows users to feel the buzz by bending their apps.
8) Japan has successfully launched a jointly developed space observation satellite tasked with studying mysterious black holes.
9) France’s Parliament has overwhelmingly approved a three-month extension of its state of emergency imposed after deadly attacks around Paris in November, even as rights groups said it undermines fundamental freedoms.
10) TAL Manufacturing Solutions, a Tata Group company, is expected to launch first ever India-made robot before May 2016.
11) The Space Applications Centre (SAC) of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and space flight laboratory (SFL) of University of Toronto’s Institute for Aerospace Studies are collaborating on developing the Next Generation Earth Monitoring and Observation and Aerosol Monitoring (NEMO-AM) satellite.
12) A team led by an Indian-origin scientist in US has discovered a new kind of 2D semiconducting material for electronics that opens the door for much speedier computers and smartphones that consume a lot less power.
13) Microsoft has officially rolled out its group video calling feature in Skype after a very long wait.
14) The Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences and Vice President, CSIR Dr. Harsh Vardhan dedicated Systems for Detection of Adulteration and analysis of Milk.
15) Google has introduced a new flood alerts feature in India as a part of its efforts to make critical information around natural disasters more accessible to everyone.
16) Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV III) developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will be launched by December 2016.
17) Microsoft has released an app which utilises facial recognition and artificial intelligence to recognise your dog’s breed – Fetch.
18) University of California, Berkeley scientists have developed an Android app that can detect earthquakes using smartphones. The app is called – MyShake.
19) A mobile-based application has been launched by the customs to inform people about all Indian customs rules including those related to Import of pets and goods.
20) Dr Reddy’s Laboratories has received the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) nod for ZembraceSymTouch (sumatriptan succinate) injection, a drug-device combination product intended for the treatment of acute migraine in adults.
21) NASA’s first-ever “integrated-photonics” modem will be tested aboard the International Space Station beginning in 2020 as part of Nasa’s multi-year Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD).
22) France will partner India in its next Mars mission, which the Indian Space Research Organisation plans to launch in 2018.
23) A Japanese firm plans to open the world’s first fully automated, human-free farm – which means robots will do almost every job from watering seedlings to harvesting crops to start operating the farm by 2017.
24) Scientists, led by an Indian-origin researcher, have created an artificial material with a structure similar to the ‘wonder material’ graphene.
25) The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has launched India’s first antidiabetic ayurvedic drug for type two Diabetes mellitus. The drug named BGR-34.
26)Iran has asked Indian refiners such as Essar Oil and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) to clear its past oil dues amounting to over $6 billion in euros within six months.
27)Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman A S Kiran Kumar signaled country’s readiness for Chandrayaan II mission, which will be India’s second mission to the moon.