India's biggest software exporter Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) became a victim of cyber attack on Sunday, after the company’s Internet website was hacked and the domain name was put up for sale.
While in the recent past, hackers have attacked top government websites, including telecom regulator’s trai.gov.in, this is the first time a large IT company’s website has been hacked.
The company’s official website www.tcs.com displayed the message ‘this domain name is for sale’ for nearly three hours, before the portal was restored by around 7 am.
A TCS spokesman said the attacks happened at the domain name registrar’s end, which is Network Solutions in this case. Network Solutions is one of the top five domain name registrars on internet, managing almost 6.4 million domains.
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
National Institute of Plant Genome Research develops tomatoes that stay fresh for 30 days longer
Researchers at National Institute of Plant Genome Research in New Delhi have developed tomatoes genetically modified to stay fresh for 30 days longer.
Dr Asis Datta and colleagues found a way to keep tomatoes firm for 45 days, when usually they would start to go soft after 15, reports the Scotsman.
Boffins believe the breakthrough could apply to other fruit - including bananas, mangoes and papaya.
The researchers made the breakthrough after identifying chemicals that make tomatoes go soft. By suppressing two enzymes, known as A-Man and B-Hex, which accumulate at critical stages during ripening, the researchers were able to extend shelf-life by a month.The findings are published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Dr Datta said: "Overall the results demonstrate a substantial improvement in fruit shelf-life."
He emphasized that there were no "ill effects". "In conclusion the engineering of plants provides a strategy for crop improvement that can be extended to other important fruit crops," he said.
Dr Asis Datta and colleagues found a way to keep tomatoes firm for 45 days, when usually they would start to go soft after 15, reports the Scotsman.
Boffins believe the breakthrough could apply to other fruit - including bananas, mangoes and papaya.
The researchers made the breakthrough after identifying chemicals that make tomatoes go soft. By suppressing two enzymes, known as A-Man and B-Hex, which accumulate at critical stages during ripening, the researchers were able to extend shelf-life by a month.The findings are published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Dr Datta said: "Overall the results demonstrate a substantial improvement in fruit shelf-life."
He emphasized that there were no "ill effects". "In conclusion the engineering of plants provides a strategy for crop improvement that can be extended to other important fruit crops," he said.
Tuesday, 19 January 2010
Affiliating system, an outdated practice
Terming the dominance of the affiliating system as a practice that was outdated and anachronistic, VC Kulandaisamy, chairman, Tamil Virtual University, said this was "sapping the energy of the Indian higher education system and inhibiting its march towards excellence."
Speaking at the 152nd convocation of the University of Madras, he said the weakness of higher education in India it is imparted in affiliated colleges, unlike in the developed countries where higher education happens on university campuses.
"All over the world, higher education happens on university campuses. Even the humblest of universities have a modest strength of students, infrastructure, academic manpower and an atmosphere of inquiry, investigation and research. The entire faculty has research as part of its duty. In India, higher education is in a large number of small institutions, most of which do not meet even the modest requirements of university-level academic function," he said.
The bulk of the faculty in higher education -- almost 84% -- is not expected to do research in India. The strength of PG students is only 9.3 and even among them, 67% do not have an atmosphere of research which is a prerequisite for PG education. The universities which constitute the fertile soil for research have only a fraction of the total higher education faculty (16%), Kulandaisamy said.
A total of 596 graduates received degrees, prizes and medals at the ceremony in person while 86,806 did so in absentia. University of Madras vice-chancellor G Thiruvasagam said that new infrastructural facilities were going to be established at the various campuses of the university at a cost of Rs 90.25 crore. These include the construction of a multi-storeyed building and a students' amenities centre at Chepauk and the construction of an indoor stadium at Chetpet Union Grounds.link
Speaking at the 152nd convocation of the University of Madras, he said the weakness of higher education in India it is imparted in affiliated colleges, unlike in the developed countries where higher education happens on university campuses.
"All over the world, higher education happens on university campuses. Even the humblest of universities have a modest strength of students, infrastructure, academic manpower and an atmosphere of inquiry, investigation and research. The entire faculty has research as part of its duty. In India, higher education is in a large number of small institutions, most of which do not meet even the modest requirements of university-level academic function," he said.
The bulk of the faculty in higher education -- almost 84% -- is not expected to do research in India. The strength of PG students is only 9.3 and even among them, 67% do not have an atmosphere of research which is a prerequisite for PG education. The universities which constitute the fertile soil for research have only a fraction of the total higher education faculty (16%), Kulandaisamy said.
A total of 596 graduates received degrees, prizes and medals at the ceremony in person while 86,806 did so in absentia. University of Madras vice-chancellor G Thiruvasagam said that new infrastructural facilities were going to be established at the various campuses of the university at a cost of Rs 90.25 crore. These include the construction of a multi-storeyed building and a students' amenities centre at Chepauk and the construction of an indoor stadium at Chetpet Union Grounds.link
Monday, 18 January 2010
Stem cell therapy found for leukaemia
In a ray of hope for millions of leukaemia patients, American scientists have claimed to have developed a technique which multiplies the small number of stem cells in the donor blood, making it much more potent for the treatment of the fatal disease.
It also eliminates the need for a matching donor, whose bone marrow is usually transplanted to the patient, according to a study which appeared in the journal Nature Medicine. Traditionally, there was always a risk that the patient’s body may reject the new cells from a donor. The alternate path was to introduce cells extracted from umbilical cords as these cells do not have characteristics which would normally trigger immune rejection. So these cells can be used in any patient, without the need for matching. However, the only disadvantage of this process was that a single cord would not have enough cells to meet the needs of an adult patient.
Now, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle have developed a process in which using a protein they multiply the stem cells in the blood from the umbilical cord before they are transplanted to the patient. The technique has been tested on humans after successful trials on animals.
leukaemia is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow and is characterised by an abnormal proliferation of blood cells, usually white blood cells — leukocytes. As part of the treatment, the infected bone marrow cells of the patient are killed off and new cells are introduced in their place.
Hailing the development, UK-based charity Leukaemia Research said this could be the “holy grail” for doctors. “This is a promising development towards this because the concern has been that once stem cells start ‘growing’ they lose their stem cell properties and progress to ordinary blood cells with a very limited lifespan,” said Dr David Grant, Scientific Director of the charity.
“The holy grail is to have an ‘off the peg’ source of unlimited numbers of ‘neutral’ stem cells which can be given to any patient safe in the knowledge that they will not cause the very difficult ‘graft versus host’ problems that lead to rejection and often the death of the patient,” Grant said.link
It also eliminates the need for a matching donor, whose bone marrow is usually transplanted to the patient, according to a study which appeared in the journal Nature Medicine. Traditionally, there was always a risk that the patient’s body may reject the new cells from a donor. The alternate path was to introduce cells extracted from umbilical cords as these cells do not have characteristics which would normally trigger immune rejection. So these cells can be used in any patient, without the need for matching. However, the only disadvantage of this process was that a single cord would not have enough cells to meet the needs of an adult patient.
Now, researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle have developed a process in which using a protein they multiply the stem cells in the blood from the umbilical cord before they are transplanted to the patient. The technique has been tested on humans after successful trials on animals.
leukaemia is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow and is characterised by an abnormal proliferation of blood cells, usually white blood cells — leukocytes. As part of the treatment, the infected bone marrow cells of the patient are killed off and new cells are introduced in their place.
Hailing the development, UK-based charity Leukaemia Research said this could be the “holy grail” for doctors. “This is a promising development towards this because the concern has been that once stem cells start ‘growing’ they lose their stem cell properties and progress to ordinary blood cells with a very limited lifespan,” said Dr David Grant, Scientific Director of the charity.
“The holy grail is to have an ‘off the peg’ source of unlimited numbers of ‘neutral’ stem cells which can be given to any patient safe in the knowledge that they will not cause the very difficult ‘graft versus host’ problems that lead to rejection and often the death of the patient,” Grant said.link
Saturday, 16 January 2010
Centre to introduce short-term medical course
The Centre has decided to introduce a short-term medical education course at district level, in government-run schools, to reach out to rural population across the country.
“The Central government will soon launch a three and half year medical education cadre and open district level schools to impart it to produce doctors who will be later posted in rural areas,” Union Health and Family Welfare minister Gulam Nabi Azad told reporters.
This short term medical course, including medicine and surgery (in the curriculum) will be imparted only at government-run schools and the degrees will be awarded by the Universities, he said.
At present Primary Health Centres (PHC) are manned by only one Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) who is in charge of all the work. But from now, doctors of short-term course after completion, would be posted at PHC and sub centres, Mr. Azad said.
Acknowledging the scarcity of qualified doctors, Mr. Azad said the intake capacity of government-run medical colleges is being increased from 150 to 250 seats at graduation level.
Further, in post-graduation instead of one student, the guide will be allowed to have two students, he said.
The Health minister said that UPA government is committed to set up medical institutes on the lines of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and necessary tenders have been floated in this regard.
The government-run Medical College and Hospital in the city are among 19 such colleges which are being upgraded to AIIMS level.
The Maharashtra government has signed an MOU with Centre for upgradation and purchase of highly sophisticated equipments, he said.
Nagpur will get Rs 150 crores out of which Rs 100 crores is for procuring medical equipments, he added. link
“The Central government will soon launch a three and half year medical education cadre and open district level schools to impart it to produce doctors who will be later posted in rural areas,” Union Health and Family Welfare minister Gulam Nabi Azad told reporters.
This short term medical course, including medicine and surgery (in the curriculum) will be imparted only at government-run schools and the degrees will be awarded by the Universities, he said.
At present Primary Health Centres (PHC) are manned by only one Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) who is in charge of all the work. But from now, doctors of short-term course after completion, would be posted at PHC and sub centres, Mr. Azad said.
Acknowledging the scarcity of qualified doctors, Mr. Azad said the intake capacity of government-run medical colleges is being increased from 150 to 250 seats at graduation level.
Further, in post-graduation instead of one student, the guide will be allowed to have two students, he said.
The Health minister said that UPA government is committed to set up medical institutes on the lines of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and necessary tenders have been floated in this regard.
The government-run Medical College and Hospital in the city are among 19 such colleges which are being upgraded to AIIMS level.
The Maharashtra government has signed an MOU with Centre for upgradation and purchase of highly sophisticated equipments, he said.
Nagpur will get Rs 150 crores out of which Rs 100 crores is for procuring medical equipments, he added. link
PSBs' education loans rise 15% in first half
If you are looking for an education loan, public sector banks (PSBs) may be your best bet. In a report to the finance ministry, the Indian Banks Association has said that education loan disbursal by the stateowned banks in the first half of this financial year has increased by Rs 4,200 crore, an increase of 15%. More than 95,000 accounts have been opened during this period.
"The loan disbursal during the period June-August is mostly high because all major institutions in India start their semesters during the period.Besides , public sector banks have been offering better terms than private sector banks and that is why the surge," said CGM Personal Banking, SBI, P Nanda Kumaran.
The total education loan disbursed by PSBs have reached around Rs 32,000 crore with 16,98,601 benefactors. The government has been concerned about the tardy approach to education loans and has sought information on it.
Three major private sector banks, AXIS, ICICI and HDFC refused to divulge their education loan portfolio. "We offer education loans but will not be able to share product details," said an ICICI spokesperson .
In the public sector space smaller banks such as Corporation Bank, Andhra Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce has also shown a surge in their education loan portfolio.
According to a finance ministry official, who did not wish to be named, the surge is a direct implication of sops provided in the previous union budget . The government had provided for full interest subsidy for education loans taken by the weaker section. It has also extended the income-tax waiver on interest accrued on all loans covering vocational studies as well.
"There were other concessions such as low interest rate for girl students which is reflective in the figures," the official said.
Education institutes also feel that the thrust from the government encouraging banks to give more education loans has worked. "Also , more students are now comfortable with the idea of availing an education loan, which, until a few years ago, was not the case. For instance, students now prefer to take a loan and pay, whenever they get a job or graduate.link
"The loan disbursal during the period June-August is mostly high because all major institutions in India start their semesters during the period.Besides , public sector banks have been offering better terms than private sector banks and that is why the surge," said CGM Personal Banking, SBI, P Nanda Kumaran.
The total education loan disbursed by PSBs have reached around Rs 32,000 crore with 16,98,601 benefactors. The government has been concerned about the tardy approach to education loans and has sought information on it.
Three major private sector banks, AXIS, ICICI and HDFC refused to divulge their education loan portfolio. "We offer education loans but will not be able to share product details," said an ICICI spokesperson .
In the public sector space smaller banks such as Corporation Bank, Andhra Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce has also shown a surge in their education loan portfolio.
According to a finance ministry official, who did not wish to be named, the surge is a direct implication of sops provided in the previous union budget . The government had provided for full interest subsidy for education loans taken by the weaker section. It has also extended the income-tax waiver on interest accrued on all loans covering vocational studies as well.
"There were other concessions such as low interest rate for girl students which is reflective in the figures," the official said.
Education institutes also feel that the thrust from the government encouraging banks to give more education loans has worked. "Also , more students are now comfortable with the idea of availing an education loan, which, until a few years ago, was not the case. For instance, students now prefer to take a loan and pay, whenever they get a job or graduate.link
Friday, 15 January 2010
UK wants to strengthen ties with India in education
UK wants to "push forward" its relationship with India in the education sector and British universities are increasingly interested in coming to the country to collaborate like "never before", Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal has said.
After an extensive visit to the University of Surrey and the Imperial College of London, Sibal, on a visit here, told newsmen: "in both institutions we felt these institutions are ready to collaborate with us".
"They (the institutions) are exceptionally serious about coming to India in a very substantive way," he told newsmen.
He said the Imperial College had some substantial projects to offer and "they did tell me in confidence about these projects".link
After an extensive visit to the University of Surrey and the Imperial College of London, Sibal, on a visit here, told newsmen: "in both institutions we felt these institutions are ready to collaborate with us".
"They (the institutions) are exceptionally serious about coming to India in a very substantive way," he told newsmen.
He said the Imperial College had some substantial projects to offer and "they did tell me in confidence about these projects".link
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
