1) World’s 1st robotic eye operation performed in Britain.
- British surgeons have carried out the world`s first robotic operation inside the eye potentially revolutionising the way vision conditions are treated.
- The procedure was carried out at John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford.
- The surgeons used a joystick and touchscreen outside the eye to control the robot while monitoring its progress through the operating microscope.
- Current technology with laser scanners and microscopes allows us to monitor retinal diseases at the microscopic level, but the things we see are beyond the physiological limit of what the human hand can operate on.
- With a robotic system, we open up a whole new chapter of eye operations that currently cannot be performed.
2) Joint Indian-US army exercise to begin in Uttarakhand.
- As part of the ongoing Indo-US defence cooperation, a joint military training exercise, `Yudh Abhyas 2016` is set to be conducted in Chaubattia, Uttarakhand.
- The exercise is aimed at stimulating a scenario where both nations were working together to counter insurgency and terrorism in mountainous terrain under UN charter.
- It is the 12th edition of the joint military exercise hosted alternately by the two countries.
3) ISRO to launch satellite made by IIT-Bombay student.
- A team of students from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) have designed a microsatellite Pratham which will be launched into space by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro).
- The satellite will measure the total electron count of the ionosphere.
- The data from the satellite will help in scientific studies, to correct communication errors and give tsunami warnings.
4) UK`s 1st robotic kidney transplant performed.
- Robots have been used to perform kidney transplants for the first time in the UK.
- Transplant surgeon Nizam Mamode led the team performing the operations using the hospital’s Vinci Xi robots.
- Open surgery involves making a large incision in the abdomen it is very painful and the patient can take weeks to recover.
- Using a robot to help us perform keyhole surgery completely changes the landscape of transplant surgery it significantly reduces pain and recovery time.
5) NASA using aircraft to measure mid-Atlantic greenhouse gases.
- US space agency NASA is conducting low-level aircraft flights to measure greenhouse gas concentrations over the mid-Atlantic region.
- The flights are for the CARbon Airborne Flux Experiment or CARAFE, which will measure the exchange of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane between the Earth and the atmosphere in the region.
- The measurements would help analyses the performance of existing atmospheric models.
6) LinkedIn Launches ``Lite`` Version for Mobile Browsing in India.
- LinkedIn Corp, the operator of the world`s largest online business networking service, has launched in India a "Lite" version of its website for mobile browsing.
- The company, which is being acquired by Microsoft Corp.
- The version was aimed at helping users browse its website faster on their smartphones in areas with slow or poor internet connectivity.
- "LinkedIn Lite" loads four times faster and provides a better experience to users in urban and rural areas with patchy networks.
- LinkedIn launched two more services ``LinkedIn Placements" is aimed at students looking for jobs while "LinkedIn Starter Pack" will connect startups and small and mid-sized businesses with job seekers.
7) Indian scientists recycle fish scales into green energy.
- A team of researchers at Jadavpur University has developed a biodegradable energy harvester from raw fish scales which could be tapped as a sustainable green energy source for next generation self-powered implantable medical devices.
- It also has the potential for personal portable electronics with reduced e-waste elements.
8) Mind-reading technology allows monkeys to type.
- Scientists have developed a new technology that can read brain signals, allowing monkeys to type out English passages an advance that may help people with movement disabilities easily communicate with others.
- Earlier versions of the technology have already been tested successfully in people with paralysis, but the typing was slow and imprecise.
- The technology, developed by researchers, including Stanford scientist Krishna Shenoy, directly reads brain signals to drive a cursor moving over a keyboard and allowed monkeys to transcribe passages at a rate of up to 12 words per minute.
9) Iran unveils new helicopter-carrying catamaran ship.
- Iran country`s Revolutionary Guard has unveiled a new high-speed vessel capable of carrying a helicopter and up to 100 people.
- Catamaran-type ship described as 55 meters (yards) long and 14 meters (yards) wide, carrying a light civilian helicopter. its speed capability is 28 knots.
- It was painted with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
10) China successfully launches Tiangong-2 space lab.
- China successfully launched space lab the Tiangong-2 from the Jiuquan satellite launch center in northwest China.
- Tiangong-2 space lab to develop expertise for a future space station and conduct science experiments.
- The mission is part of China`s ambitious space program to build a permanent manned space station around year 2022.
11) Navy`s Most Advanced Guided Missile Destroyer `Mormugao` Launched In Mumbai.
- Indian Navy’s guided missile destroyer, Mormugao was launched in Mumbai. Mormugao was built by the Mazgaon Shipyard.
- The bedecked ship was launched by Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba’s wife Reena at a function at Mazagaon Docks.
- Mormugao is the second ship of Project 15B and will be one of the most advanced warships of the force.
- The warship is equipped with surface- to-surface missiles, surface-to-air missiles and anti-submarine rocket launchers. It is also capable of carrying two anti-submarine warfare helicopters.
- Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba’s wife Reena launched the bedecked ship at a function at Mazagaon Docks.
12) Mobile game `Jrump` based on Donald Trump launched.
- A new mobile game based on US Presidential election candidate Donald Trump called `Jrump` has been launched, with the tagline `Make the galaxy great again`.
- The game Jrump designed by New Zealand based developers, is a mobile game that challenges players to build walls that help a character that looks like Trump to jump higher into the sky and eventually into outer space.
- Along the way, he is attacked by caricatures of the US President Barack Obama, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders, scientists on jetpacks looking to stop Jrump.
- If players fail to achieve significant distance from Earth, Trump falls and the game ends with insults like "Weak!" and "Loser".
13) IIT Hyderabad develops sanitary napkins that absorb better.
- Eco-friendly sanitary napkins which have better absorbing capacity may soon be a reality as a team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IIT-H) have developed napkins with nanofibers.
- While the commercially available napkins are made of Superabsorbent Polymers (SAP) that are petroleum-based products and therefore do not degrade readily in landfills and are also not eco-friendly.
- The one developed by the team of researchers from IIT-H is easily degradable and has higher absorption capacity.
14) Scientists use stem cells to successfully grow human lungs in a dish.
- A team of Researchers University of California has created three-dimensional lung ``organoids`` laboratory-grown lung-like tissue to study diseases, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
- The three dimensional drug has been created by coating tiny gel beads with lung-derived stem cells and allowing them to self-assemble into the shape of air sacs found in human lungs.
- To show that these tiny organoids mimicked the structure of actual lungs, the researchers compared the lab-grown tissues with real sections of human lung.