1) 3-D vaccine against cancer, infectious diseases
- NIBIB-funded researchers have developed a novel 3D vaccine that could provide a more effective way to harness the immune system to fight cancer as well as infectious diseases. The vaccine spontaneously assembles into a scaffold once injected under the skin and is capable of recruiting, housing, and manipulating immune cells to generate a powerful immune response. The vaccine was recently found to be effective in delaying tumor growth in mice.
2) NIBIB
- The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) is the newest of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) research institutes and centers and was formed in the United States when President Bill Clinton signed it into law on December 29, 2000.
3) New NFC tech to treat uranium ore impurities
- In a bid to treat impurities of uranium ore from Tummalapally deposits, an innovative and cost-effective technology has been developed by the Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC) to produce consistent quality of uranium oxide powder, which is used to make fuel bundles of Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs).
- Tummalapally and its neighboring village Kannampally in YSR Kadapa district where huge uranium deposits were found, would be the mainstay for power production of the PHWRs in the country in future. It is estimated that two lakh tones of uranium deposits are there. They are one of the best deposits in the world in terms of quantity.
- The uranium ore mined from Tummalapally contains large quantities of carbonates and acid insolubles due to which the solvent was getting contaminated and it was not possible to produce pure uranium oxide powder. To convert it into nuclear grade material, NFC developed an innovative technology.
- The NFC was currently supplying 650-700 tones of fuel assemblies to 20 nuclear power reactors in the country, including 18 PHWRS and two BWRs (Boiling Water Reactors).
- There was no increase in manpower even though the production went up by three to four times. Another vital technology was the development of hi-tech seamless tubes for use in Advanced Ultra Super Critical Boilers which were being made by the NTPC, IGCAR and BHEL for thermal power generation. These tubes would facilitate operation of the boilers at high pressure and temperature and improve thermal efficiency by 28 to 47 per cent.
4) LCA navy 2nd prototype makes debut flight
- LCA-NP2, the second prototype of the Navy version of the Light Combat Aircraft, flew for the first time on 7th February. It took off from the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd runway and flew for about 35 minutes, said HAL, the production partner in the indigenous fighter programme.
- HAL Chairman T. Suvarna Raju said a main contribution in it was the new and complex landing gear designed for NP-2 by engineers of the Aircraft Research and Design Centre. Navy test pilot Captain Shivnath Dahiya of the National Flight Test Centre flew the NP-2. The chase aircraft cover was provided by a limited series production aircraft (LSP2) piloted by retd. Gp.Capt. Suneet Krishna.
5) North Korea test-fires new anti-ship cruise missile
- North Korea has test-fired a new anti-ship cruise missile, according to images released by state media on 7th February showed, demonstrating the increased capability of the secretive state`s outdated navy.
- The images were released in the lead-up to U.S.-South Korean military exercises this spring. North Korea routinely seeks to raise tensions ahead of the annual drills, although this year Pyongyang has also offered to suspend nuclear testing if Washington calls off the exercises.
- The images, which were shown on the front page of the ruling Workers` Party Rodong Sinmun newspaper, showed leader Kim Jong Un observing the missile being fired from a small naval vessel.
- The missile appeared identical in design to a Russian anti-ship missile, the KH-35, which is capable of flying at high speeds meters above the sea. North Korea has increased the number of air and naval military drills in recent weeks, ahead of the annual U.S.-South Korean military exercises on the Korean peninsula.