Current Affairs March 2017 - Technology
News 1 - EU successfully launched the 5th satellite of Copernicus Observation Program
The European Union launched the fifth satellite, Sentinel-2B satellite, of the Copernicus observation program on 7th March, 2017. It will help improve services for farmers, fishermen and other users of land and sea maps.
The Copernicus earth observation program, created by the European Union, is served by a set of satellites, the program is aimed at improving the life of EU communities by providing near-real-time global environment data.
News 2 - IBM Researchers Create World's Smallest Magnet
IBM announced it has created the world’s smallest magnet using a single atom – and stored one bit of data on it. Currently, hard disk drives use about 100,000 atoms to store a single bit.
The ability to read and write one bit on one atom creates new possibilities for developing significantly smaller and denser storage devices, that could someday, for example, enable storing the entire iTunes library of 35 million songs on a device the size of a credit card.
News 3 - Google acquired Kaggle to boost data play
Kaggle was founded in 2010 and is the home to the world's largest community of data scientists.
More than 8 lakh data experts use Kaggle to explore, analyse and understand the latest updates in machine learning and data analytics.
Kaggle will maintain independent brand for a while. Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure also offer data science services.
News 4 - SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launches EchoStar 23 Satellite
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has carried the EchoStar XXIII satellite into orbit for EchoStar Corporation from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
The EchoStar XXIII was the heaviest geosynchronous payload launched by the Falcon 9 with a mass of around 5,500 kilograms.
The EchoStar XXIII was constructed by Space Systems Loral (SSL). The satellite has a design life of fifteen years.
News 5 - First Blood Test for Autism developed by Scientists
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed an algorithm which is based on levels of metabolites found in a blood sample. It can help predict whether a child is on the Autism spectrum of disorder (ASD).
Autism Spectrum Disorder is estimated to affect approximately 1.5 percent of individuals. People with ASD “may communicate, interact, behave, and learn in ways that are different from most other people.”
News 6 - Amitabh Bachchan launched world's first app for breast health
Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan launched a mobile application named 'ABC of Breast Health' at an event in Mumbai. The App provides detailed information about breast cancer in 12 Indian languages.
This is the first-ever mobile app in the world. The app is created and designed by Ushalaskhmi Breast Cancer Foundation.
This app is available on Google Play as well as for the iOS for free downloading.
News 7 - ISRO commissioned two major facilities at VSSC
ISRO has commissioned two major facilities– a Hypersonic Wind Tunnel and Shock Tunnel– at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre at Thiruvananthapuram. The facilities are the third largest in terms of size and simulation capability in the world.
These facilities would provide adequate data for design and development of current and future space transportation systems in the country. The facilities are indigenously designed, developed and ‘Made in India’.
News 8 - IIT-Kharagpur to get a Supercomputing Facility
The Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, became the first academic institution to get a supercomputing facility under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM). It will provide about 1.5 Peta-Flop capacity support.
The institute is in the process of setting up a new Centre for Computational and Data Sciences (CCDS) around the supercomputing platform to build, manage, and operate the high-performance computing facility.
News 9 - US Astronaut breaks the record for most Spacewalks by a woman
American Astronaut Peggy Whitson made history when she floated outside the International Space Station, breaking the record for the most spacewalks by a woman.
Whitson made her 8th career spacewalk, surpassing the record of seven previously held by American Sunita Williams.
The goal of the spacewalk is to continue upgrading the International Space Station for the arrival of commercial spaceships in the years to come.
News 10 - The Maiden Flight of China-built Amphibious Aircraft set for May
China's amphibious aircraft, stated to be the world's largest, will embark on its maiden flight in May from southern Chinese City of Zhuhai. The AG600 will conduct a full resonance test before its maiden flight over land on May in Guangdong province and on water in the second half of 2017.
The 37-meter aircraft, with a wingspan of 38.8 meters, has a maximum take-off weight of 53.5 tonnes. The AG600 will be very useful for marine resource exploitation, marine environmental monitoring, resource detection and transportation.
