Advancements in Science and Technology

 

Serial No.	Invention/Development	Date	About the Development
1	Titan drifting away faster than ever before	10.06.20	Titan, the moon of Saturn has been drifting faster than ever before, The development has been confirmed by NASA and the Italian Space Agency. The drift of Titan from Saturn has been recorded by the satellite, Cassini which is a joint mission between NASA, Italian Space Agency, and the European Space Agency.
2	Disinfectant spray developed by Defence Institute	09.06.20	A Nano-Technology based Disinfectant has been developed by Defence Institute of Advanced Technology(DIAT)  based in Pune. It has been developed to fight the spread of Covid-19 and has been named as “Ananya”.
3	Development of Psychological Parameter Monitoring System for Covid-19 patients	09.06.20	Shri Jitendra Singh, Union Minister launched a Psychological Parameter Monitoring System created for Covid-19 patients. The system called “ COVID BEEP” incorporates Blood Pressure monitoring and Respiratory monitoring.
4	Low-Cost Catalyst for Hydrogen generation	06.06.20	The scientists at the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences who have been operating under the Department of Science and Technology have come up with a low cost and effective way for Hydrogen from water by the use of Molybdenum Oxide.
5	DRDO scientists develop personal air circulation system	05.06.20	The Defence Research Development Organization has developed the SUMERU PACS,   which will make personal Air Circulation within PPE kits possible, helping Doctors and the Health workers who are on the frontline. It has been created primarily to deal with suffocation which comes in with wearing the PPE for prolonged periods of time.
6	New Asteroid discovery near Jupiter	01.06.20	Astronaut have discovered a space near Jupiter which looks both like an asteroid and comet. The new space object  has been named as 2019 LD2. It has an orbit like an asteroid and a tail like that of a comet. This is the first space object which has been found to be emitting gas like a comet. The asteroid was discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS).
7	Space X becomes the first private Space company to send astronauts into space	01.06.20	Tesla owned company Spacex launched Astronauts into space. This is for the first time that Astronauts have been sent into space from America in over a decade. Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken are onboard the spacecraft. This private partnership with NASA is supposed to end dependence on Russian Rockets from NASA and engage in the Private-Public model of Space Research and Development.
8	Earth-like planet confirmed around Proxima Centauri	31.05.20	Scientists have confirmed the existence of an Earth-like Planet which is revolving around Proxima Centauri. The Planet is supposed to be of the size of the Earth. Proxima Centauri is located 4.2 light-years away from the Sun. The mass of the planet was measured by using a Spectrograph named “ ESPRESSO”.
9	Department of Science & Technology launches “Indian National Super Model”	31.05.20	The Department of Science & Technology under the Ministry of Science & Technology launched the “Indian National Super Model” which has been launched to track the spread of Covid-19 cases in the country. The Model integrates into Statistics and other developments relevant to Covid-19 to track the cases.
10	Synthetic Blood Penetration equipment has been launched by the Textiles Committee	21.05.20	The Textile Committee has launched the Synthetic Blood Penetration equipment to monitor the PPE’s. The equipment is supposed to test the resistance of PPE to synthetic blood which is released at different pressure levels.
11	Rare Palm brought from Andaman planted in Kerala to save it from extinction	19.05.20	A rare Palm by the name of, Pinaga Andamenisis has been brought from the South Andaman islands to the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Centre( JNTBGRI) in Palode, Kerala to save it from extinction.
12	“Troglomyces Twitteri”, a new species of fungus has been discovered	17.05.20	A new fungus was discovered by a Biologist in Denmark, who identified the Fungi on Twitter. The photo was posted by an Entomologist on Twitter, telling it was a millipede. Later, the Danish Biologist confirmed it to be a new species of fungus that belongs to an order called Laboulineales.
13	IIT Dhanbad and CSIR team up to develop a tool to chart the further course of Parkinson’s Disease	15.05.20	Scientists from IIT Dhanbad and CSIR have been able to develop a tool that allows them to chart the causes of Parkinson’s Disease. This development will make the process of detection easier while adding more discourse towards understanding the causes behind the neurodegenerative disease.
14	India develops its first Automatic Covid-19 testing machine	14.05.20	Union Health Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan unveiled the automated Covid-19 testing machine; COBAS 6800 RT-PCR, and dedicated it to the nation. The machine has been developed by Roche Diagnostics in a bid to increase the testing capacity of India and reduce testing time.
15	India develops its indigenous ELISA Test Kit for Covid-19	10.05.20	The National Institute of Virology( NIV) has developed the ELISA ( Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay ) test kit for Covid-19 which is an Antibody detection test kit, it has been named as “COVID KAVACH”. It will be mass-produced by the Gujarat based Zydus Cadila and would allow better surveillance of the Covid-19 infection.

Other Advancements in Science and Technology

List Of Scientific and Technological Developments 2015-16
Discovery/ Development	Country/ Organization	Trivia/ Description
Space Research and Discovery
High-thrust cryogenic engine CE20	ISRO, India	To be used in heavy launch vehicle GSLV Mk-III.
X-Ray Astronomy satellite ASTRO-H	JAXA, Japan	Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launched it from Tanegashima Space Centre.
5 new Jupiter-like planets	UK	Exhibit properties similar to Jupiter.
Widest planet system	US,UK, Australia	It has 7,000 astronomical units (AU) width. (Neptune is 30 AU from the Sun)
2nd largest black hole in Milky Way	Keio University Japan	Signs of an invisible black hole with mass 105 times the mass of Sun.
IRNSS 1-E Satellite	ISRO, India	Polar Satellite Launch Vehicale, in its 33rd flight (PSLV C-31) launches the IRNSS 1-E, the next step in the Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System.
Galactoseismology	India	Method to detect dwarf galaxies dominated by dark matter. Also explains ripples on outer disk of galaxy.
Presence of Neon gas in Moon’s atmosphere	NASA	NASA spacecraft LADEE (Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer) confirmed the presence of Neon gas in Moon’s atmosphere.
EKS Kosmos 2510	Russia	1st satellite having early warning system. Will detect missiles heading towards Russia.
Liquid Water on Mars	NASA	Images by Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) show dark, narrow streaks running downhill.
ASTROSAT	ISRO, India	India’s 1st dedicated multi wavelength space observatory.
Prandtl-m aircraft	NASA	A glider prototype that would be deployed on Mars for agency’s missions.
CR7 Galaxy	Portugal	The brightest galaxy in the early universe, named after Cristiano Ronaldo.
World’s largest asteroid impact zone	Australia	Found in Warburton Basin of central Australia.
Kepler 438b and Kepler 442b	USA	2 Earth-like planets spotted by Nasa’s Kepler space telescope.
Gravitational Waves Detected	LIGO, US	2 arms of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory in the US directly detected gravitational waves predicted by Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity. Third arm planned in India.
Defence and Combat
Dhanush Ballistic Missile	India	It is a naval variant of India’s indigenously-developed Prithvi missile. Missile has a strike range of 350km.
INS Astradharini	India	1st indigenously-designed and built torpedo launch and recovery vessel.
INS Kochi	India	Indigenously built largest destroyer warship.
Akash Missile	India	Indigenously-built surface-to-air missile. Strike range of 25km and can carry warheads up to 60kg.
BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile	India	Successful 48th test firing of BrahMos. Has a range of 290km and a Mach 2.8 speed.
Akash Weapon System (AWS)	India	Indigenously developed and inducted into the Indian Army.
Health and Medicine
ZikaVac	Bharat Biotech, India	World’s first vaccine for Zika Virus.
BGR-34	India	1st Ayurvedic anti-diabetic drug. BGR is acronym for Blood Glucose Regulator.
Artificial Liver Tissue	India	India’s 1st artificial liver tissue using 3-D printing technology.
Mosquirix	UK	World’s 1st Malaria vaccine.
Cardiac Microphysiological System (Mini heart)	USA	Mini heart on a microchip using human stem cells. Led by Indian-origin scientist Anurag Mathur.
Treatment for Fungal Keratitis	CCMB Hyderabad, India	A Nano-particle-based drug delivery method to fight Fungal Keratitis
DNA sequencing based blood test	USA	Will help diagnose Ebola & other pathogens.
Science and Technology
A new kind of 2D semiconducting material	USA	Made of tin & oxygen or tin monoxide (SnO). Material will be used in electronics.
NBeG 47	India	First machine harvestable chickpea variety. To address labour shortage & reduce hard work.
Elements 113, 115, 117 & 118	IUPAC	Added to 7th Row of the Periodic Table by International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.
Pruthvi Chip	Saankhya Labs, India	Chip powers a system that can use TV White Space or wasted spectrum bandwidth to beam Internet to scores of households.
Quantum Dot (QD) Spectrometer	USA	Small enough to fit inside a smartphone camera. Spectrometers measure properties of light.
Leap Second 2015	India	30th June 2015 clocked 1 second longer as an extra second was added to the clocks world-wide at 23:59:59.
World’s first water-based computer	India-America	Synchronous computer that operates using the unique physics of moving water droplets.
World’s first facial recognition ATM	China	ATM will not allow users to withdraw cash unless their face matches their IDs
Edge Web Browser	USA	Announced by Microsoft. Claimed to enhance user experience.
Research and Discovery
Tree frog Ghatixalus magnus	India	Discovered in the high ranges of Idukki district in the Western Ghats of Kerala.
Himalayan Forest Thrush	China	The bird has been named Himalayan forest thrush Zoothera salimalii. The scientific name honors the great Indian ornithologist Sálim Ali.
Musa Indandamanensis	India	Sweet banana species. Bananas of this species are very sweet and are eaten by tribal people of the island.
4 new species of Fish; Puntius Nelsoni, Puntius Nigronotus, Systomus Chryseus and Systomus Rufus	India	Four new species of Fish discovered in Kerala.
Butterfly called Banded Tit	India	Tiny butterfly species discovered in forests of Changlang, Arunachal Pradesh.
Snow Leopard	India	Spotted the endangered snow leopards for the 1st time in the North Sikkim Plateau.
New tree frog genus	India	Discovered a new genus of tree hole-breeding frogs in the forests of northeast.
Dracula Ant	India	Discovered by a group of citizen scientists in the Western Ghats region of Kerala.
New species of Giant Tortoise named Chelonoidis donfaustoi	Galapagos islands	Giant tortoises in the Galapagos weigh up to 250kg and live longer than 100 years.
World’s longest Continental Volcanic Chain	Australia	Longest chain of continental volcanoes. Stretching almost 2000 km along east coast.
Mount Aso Volcano	Japan	The largest active volcano of Japan. Erupted on 14 September 2015.
New fish species named Puntius Dolichopterus	India	Discovered from a small water stream in Kayamkulam city of Kerala.
1st species of Yeti Crab named Kiwa tyleri	Antarctica	Discovery of the first species of Yeti Crab in Antarctica in the journal PLOS ONE.
Blue whales	India	1st time after 100 years Blue Whales were sighted off the coast of Maharashtra.
New species of fish called Pethia Striata	India	Discovered in the Kudremukh National Park, Karnataka.
Maria Elena South (MES)	Chile	Driest place on the Earth, Atacama Desert in Chile.
New Catfish Species Glyptothorax Senapatiensis	India	New catfish species in the Chindwin river drainage in Senapati district of Manipur.
Opah, world’s first fully warm-blooded fish species	US, Australia	Researchers from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration discovered world’s first fully warm-blooded fish species
New species of Geckos, Cnemaspis Adii	India	Spotted at the ruins of the World Heritage Site of Hampi, Karnataka.
Grey Hypocolius	India	Small passerine bird species and sole member of the genus Hypocolius.
Rare Spiders Martensopoda Sanctor and Stenaelurillus Albus	India	The spiders belong to the Sparassidae and Salticidae families.
2 bloom-forming algal species, Ulva Paschima Bast and Cladophora Goensis Bast	India	Discovered off the west coast of India
Endangered forest owlet, Athene Blewitti)	India	Species belongs to the typical owls’ family, Strigidae that is on the verge of extinction.
World’s smallest goanna lizard species	Australia	Named Dampier Peninsula Goanna while its scientific name is Varanus sparnus.
Plant Species Nepenthes Zygon	UK	Growing for almost a decade and helping to keep down cockroaches.