Brasa appointed Indian men’s hockey coach ( 1st May 2009)- Spain’s
master coach Jose Brasa has been appointed as the new chief coach of the
Indian men’s hockey team. Pravir Krishna, the Joint Secretary of Union
Ministry of Sports said “Brasa will soon join the Indian men’s hockey
team as the chief coach”. He also informed that Brasa was handed a
two-year contract, but didn’t rule out the chances of his agreement
being extended till the 2012 London Olympics. The Spaniard put forth a
list of demands, including a free hand in running the team, the need for
technology and a good physiotherapist, and a support staff of 14
people, including two from Spain. The Sports Ministry accepted his
demands. The official also informed that Brasa would be coming to India
early next week to formally take charge of his duties.
UK scientists to develop Swine Flu vaccine (4th May 2009)- As the world is getting ready to fight against Swine Flu (H1N1 virus), researchers from all over the world have stepped up to build a vaccine to fight the scary disease. A team from National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) in Hertfordshire had started their work for developing a vaccine against the H1N1 virus. The researchers aim to drill a hole in hen’s egg, considered for growing up flu viruses. The process involves injecting a small amount of virus into each egg. The scientists are using two different techniques for the process. The first one is ‘reverse genetics’, where scientists take the H and the N surface proteins from the H1N1 virus and mix them with a laboratory virus known as PR8. This leads to a creation of a harmless hybrid virus, which can be used for the vaccine.
The second technique involves injecting both the H1N1 and PR8 viruses into eggs and allowing the hybrid strain to be created through a natural re-assortment of their genes. The vaccine will work by dodging the immune system into it has been infected with the H1N1 swine flu virus so that it creates antibodies against it. The researchers hope that the first seed strain of H1N1 swine flu vaccine will be ready in three to four weeks. It will then take another four or five months for vaccine manufacturers to produce the vaccine in bulk
First face transplant patient in US shows face ( 6th May 2009)- Five years ago, Connie Culp, 46-year-old woman in a shotgun blast left a ghastly hole in the middle of her face. Five months ago, she received a new face from a dead woman. She stepped forward to show off the results of the nation’s first face transplant, and her new look was a far cry from the puckered, noseless sight that made children run away in horror. Culp’s expressions are still a bit wooden, but she can talk, smile, smell and taste her food again. Her speech is at times a little tough to understand. Her face is bloated and squarish, and her skin droops in big folds that doctors plan to pare away as her circulation improves and her nerves grow, animating her new muscles.
Escaped Bali Terror Suspect Is Caught in Malaysia (8th May 2009)- A suspected terrorist leader who embarrassed Singapore last year by disappearing through a bathroom window in a high-security prison has been caught in Malaysia. Mas Selamat bin Kastari, 47, was arrested early last month, after Singapore Police failed to capture him. The Singapore government has described Mr. Mas Selamat as the local leader of the regional Islamist terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, which carried out the 2002 bombings in Bali, Indonesia. He was captured in southern Malaysia, just across the Johor Strait from Singapore. An official investigation found that by letting the water run in the bathroom and hanging a pair of pants over a ledge above the door, Mr. Mas Selamat gave himself 11 minutes to make his getaway, even as a guard waited just outside the door. The prisoner squeezed through the window, shinnied down a drainpipe onto a cushion of rolls of toilet paper, climbed a fence and disappeared. He had asked for privacy in a bathroom as he changed.
Largest ever telescope launched from French Guiana ( May 15 2009)- Ariane 5 rocket, the world’s largest telescope was launched on May 15 from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana to investigate the origins of the universe. The Herschel telescope was developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) at a cost of 1.1 billion euros ($1.49 billion). The main objective of the telescope is to determine how the stars and galaxies are formed in the universe. The Physicist Albrecht Poglitsch, of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, worked on the development of Herschel’s instruments. The stars are comprised of gas and dust, a mix that makes it impossible to see into the star itself with light. Herschel’s strength is to enable a look into the gas-dust clouds. The primary mirror of the Herschel telescope is 3.5 meters in diameter, more than four times larger than those of previous infrared space telescopes and almost one and a half times larger than the Hubble space telescope. Herschel will tap into previously unexplored wavelengths and examine phenomena that had been out of reach for other observatories. The telescope will begin to carry out its three-and-a-half-year mission in about a month.
LTTE chief Prabhakaran’s body found (18th May 2009)- The Tigers of Tamil Eelam “Velupillai Prabhakaran” has been shot dead and his body has also been found by the Lankan army. His son “Charles Antony” has also been shot dead. Prabhakaran’s top aides came out of their last hiding place in a small convoy of van and an ambulance and tried to drive out of the war zone, but were gunned down. The Tiger chief was killed with two others, who are believed to be his closest associates – LTTE intelligence chief Pottu Amman and Sea Tigers’ chief Soosoi. The deaths of the top LTTE leaders came a day after Tamil Tigers conceded defeat saying the decades-old battle has reached its “bitter end” and they have decided to “silence” their guns.
UK scientists to develop Swine Flu vaccine (4th May 2009)- As the world is getting ready to fight against Swine Flu (H1N1 virus), researchers from all over the world have stepped up to build a vaccine to fight the scary disease. A team from National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) in Hertfordshire had started their work for developing a vaccine against the H1N1 virus. The researchers aim to drill a hole in hen’s egg, considered for growing up flu viruses. The process involves injecting a small amount of virus into each egg. The scientists are using two different techniques for the process. The first one is ‘reverse genetics’, where scientists take the H and the N surface proteins from the H1N1 virus and mix them with a laboratory virus known as PR8. This leads to a creation of a harmless hybrid virus, which can be used for the vaccine.
The second technique involves injecting both the H1N1 and PR8 viruses into eggs and allowing the hybrid strain to be created through a natural re-assortment of their genes. The vaccine will work by dodging the immune system into it has been infected with the H1N1 swine flu virus so that it creates antibodies against it. The researchers hope that the first seed strain of H1N1 swine flu vaccine will be ready in three to four weeks. It will then take another four or five months for vaccine manufacturers to produce the vaccine in bulk
First face transplant patient in US shows face ( 6th May 2009)- Five years ago, Connie Culp, 46-year-old woman in a shotgun blast left a ghastly hole in the middle of her face. Five months ago, she received a new face from a dead woman. She stepped forward to show off the results of the nation’s first face transplant, and her new look was a far cry from the puckered, noseless sight that made children run away in horror. Culp’s expressions are still a bit wooden, but she can talk, smile, smell and taste her food again. Her speech is at times a little tough to understand. Her face is bloated and squarish, and her skin droops in big folds that doctors plan to pare away as her circulation improves and her nerves grow, animating her new muscles.
Escaped Bali Terror Suspect Is Caught in Malaysia (8th May 2009)- A suspected terrorist leader who embarrassed Singapore last year by disappearing through a bathroom window in a high-security prison has been caught in Malaysia. Mas Selamat bin Kastari, 47, was arrested early last month, after Singapore Police failed to capture him. The Singapore government has described Mr. Mas Selamat as the local leader of the regional Islamist terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, which carried out the 2002 bombings in Bali, Indonesia. He was captured in southern Malaysia, just across the Johor Strait from Singapore. An official investigation found that by letting the water run in the bathroom and hanging a pair of pants over a ledge above the door, Mr. Mas Selamat gave himself 11 minutes to make his getaway, even as a guard waited just outside the door. The prisoner squeezed through the window, shinnied down a drainpipe onto a cushion of rolls of toilet paper, climbed a fence and disappeared. He had asked for privacy in a bathroom as he changed.
Largest ever telescope launched from French Guiana ( May 15 2009)- Ariane 5 rocket, the world’s largest telescope was launched on May 15 from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana to investigate the origins of the universe. The Herschel telescope was developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) at a cost of 1.1 billion euros ($1.49 billion). The main objective of the telescope is to determine how the stars and galaxies are formed in the universe. The Physicist Albrecht Poglitsch, of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, worked on the development of Herschel’s instruments. The stars are comprised of gas and dust, a mix that makes it impossible to see into the star itself with light. Herschel’s strength is to enable a look into the gas-dust clouds. The primary mirror of the Herschel telescope is 3.5 meters in diameter, more than four times larger than those of previous infrared space telescopes and almost one and a half times larger than the Hubble space telescope. Herschel will tap into previously unexplored wavelengths and examine phenomena that had been out of reach for other observatories. The telescope will begin to carry out its three-and-a-half-year mission in about a month.
LTTE chief Prabhakaran’s body found (18th May 2009)- The Tigers of Tamil Eelam “Velupillai Prabhakaran” has been shot dead and his body has also been found by the Lankan army. His son “Charles Antony” has also been shot dead. Prabhakaran’s top aides came out of their last hiding place in a small convoy of van and an ambulance and tried to drive out of the war zone, but were gunned down. The Tiger chief was killed with two others, who are believed to be his closest associates – LTTE intelligence chief Pottu Amman and Sea Tigers’ chief Soosoi. The deaths of the top LTTE leaders came a day after Tamil Tigers conceded defeat saying the decades-old battle has reached its “bitter end” and they have decided to “silence” their guns.
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