Science & Technology Current Affairs July Month 2015- Part 1

Current Affairs of Science & Technology July 2015 Month- Part 1

China Developed First Facial Recognition ATM

• China has unveiled the world’s first ATM with facial recognition technology on June 1, 2015. The ATM machine was developed in a joint venture between Tsinghua University and Tzekwan Technology in China’s Eastern Zhejiang province.
• The ATM is equipped with a camera, which takes a photograph of the user and then compares it to ID photos. It will also be linked to the local police and banks.
• The technology limits people using other people’s |pank cards to withdraw cash won’t be able to. The new ATMs will-also be able to record the serial number of bank notes deposited by clients to guard against counterfeits.

New Human Ancestor Species Discovered

• An international team of scientists have discovered a new human ancestor species named Australopithecus deyiremeda in Afar region of Ethiopia that lived alongside the famous ‘Lucy’ up to 3.5 million-years ago. The research appears in the journal Nature, May, 2015.
• Upper and lower jaw fossils unearthed from the Woranso-Mille area of the Afar region of Ethiopia. The combined evidence from radiometric in paleomagnetic, and depositional rate analyses yields estimated minimum and maximum ages of 3.3 and 3.5 million years.
• The discovered species indicates the presence of more than one closely related early human ancestor species in the middle Pliocene i.e., prior to 3 million years ago. The discovery shows that the new species differed from Lucy’s species in terms of the shape and size.

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World’s First Artificial Molecular Pump Developed

• As on May 25, 2015, the scientists have developed the first man-made molecular pump, which capable of transporting key proteins to the cells that cells need to function. It could be used to power artificial muscles.
• The new machine imitates the pumping mechanism of life-sustaining proteins that move small molecules around living cells to metabolise and store energy from food. For its food, the artificial pump draws power from chemical reactions, driving molecules step-by-step from a low-energy state to a high-energy state—far away from equilibrium.
• This system on carrier proteins was modelled by J. Fraser Stoddart and co-workers at North-Western University. This system basically can pump ions, electrons, protons or molecules across membranes of cells to produce energy.

Scientists Discovered Jahn-Teller Effect

• The scientists from Japan have discovered a new State of matter called the ‘Jahn-Teller-MetaT that appears to be an insulator, superconductor, metal and magnet all rolled into one as on May 14, 2015.
• The discovery is made by studying a superconductor made from carbon-60 molecules or The research could help develop new molecular materials that are superconductors at even higher temperatures.
• The study provides important clues about how the interplay between the electronic structure of the molecules and their spacing within the lattice can strengthen interactions between electrons that cause superconductivity.

Microsoft Launched Edu-Cloud to Make Learning ‘Fun’

• Microsoft launched its K-12 offering Edu-Cloud product on May 5, 2015 which combines a digital learning platform on cloud for teachers and students and software solutions for the schools.
• In this regard, Microsoft has signed its first agreement of classroom on cloud with Sri Chaitanya Schools, a chain of educational institutions with network in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, as its first partner in the K-12 space.
• The base cloud services will provide identity, messaging, voice and video, ‘content management, enterprise social as well as reporting and analytics to monitor student performance. The company will be ready to roll out the services of its three hybrid cloud data centres by the end of calendar year 2015.

Ecology & Environment

Everest Glaciers may Disappear by 2100

• A team of researchers in Nepal, France and the Netherlands have told on May 27, 2015 that Everest glaciers could shrink at least 70% or even disappear entirely by the end of the century if greenhouse-gas emissions continue to rise.
• The team studied glaciers in the Dudh Kosi basin in the Nepal Himalaya, which is home to some of the world’s highest mountain peaks, including the 8848 m high Mt. Everest, and to over 400 sq km of glacier area.
• Increased temperatures will not only increase the rates of snow and ice melt, but can also result in a change of precipitation from snow to rain at critical elevations, where glaciers are concentrated. Together, these act to reduce glacier growth and increase the area exposed to melt.

Antarctica Ice Loss Altering Earth’s Gravity

• A sudden and massive ice loss in a previously stable region 1 of Antarctica is causing small changes in the gravity field ! of the Earth. The changes were observed using the CryoSat-2 satellite, a mission of the European Space Agency dedicated to remote-sensing of ice. It was published in Science Journal in the month of May, 2015.
• Using measurements of the elevation of the Antarctic ice sheets the researchers found that the Southern Antarctic Peninsula showed no signs of change upto 2009.
• But around 2009, multiple glaciers along a vast coastal expanse, measuring some 750 km in length, suddenly started to shed ice into the ocean at a nearly constant rate of 60 cubic km, or about 55 trillion litres of water, each year.

A New Species of Fish Discovered in Western Ghats

• A team of researchers from Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bengaluru have discovered a fresh water species named Pethia striata, from the Kudremukh National Park (KNP) on May 22, 2015.
• The new species was named Pethia striata due to its distinct striations along the sides of the body. It is a relatively small fish of about 3-4 cm in length and generally found in small groups of 3-4 individuals in shallow pools with gently flowing water beneath the shade of dense canopy.
• During the breeding season, the males exhibit a striking red coloration, while the females are coloured a muted greenish-grey. The species belongs to the family Cyprinidae, which includes the common carp (a food fish), the aquarium goldfish and the zebra fish.
• The fish is currently thought to be endemic to the Western Ghats and has been observed in only two streams i.e., Mudb’a and Turad of the Tunga River basin. This finding was published in the journal—American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.

Manipur’s Ngapang Revealed New Catfish Species to the World

• The scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have discovered a new species of catfish named Glyptothorax senapatiensis, in the Chindwin river drainage in Senapati district of Manipur on May 15, 2015.
• It is a small but edible fish with high nutritional value and a lot of oil content. The people of the region have been having the six-cm-long freshwater fish as food.for long, calling it Ngapang.
• The fish has a thoracic adhesive apparatus that helps it cling on to the rocky riverbed in mountains against strong currents. All Glyptothorax-genus fish have this characteristic.
• Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, an international journal published from Germany, recorded the new species in March, 2015.

Driest Place on Earth Found in Atacama Desert

• As per the NASA’s Astrobiology magazine, the researchers have discovered the driest location on Earth known as Maria Elena South (MES) in the Atacama Desert in Chile. The site is reported to be as dry as Mars but some bacteria found living there.
• MES has a mean atmospheric Relative Humidity (RH) of 17.3% and a soil RH of a constant 14% at a depth of one meter. This soil value matches the lowest RH measurements taken by the Mars Science Laboratory at Gale Crater on Mars.
• Earlier, the Yungay region has been considered as the driest area of the hyper-arid Atacama desert, with conditions close to the so-called dry limit for life on Earth. Now, this discovery has toppled the Yungay region.

World’s First Warm-blooded Fish Found

• A team of researchers from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries (NOAA Fisheries) have discovered for the first time a fully warm-blooded named Opah or It circulates heated blood throughout its body much like mammals and birds.
• The warm-blooded opah or moonfish swims by rapidly flapping its large, red pectoral fins like wings through the water. The unique location of the heat exchange within the gills allows nearly the fish’s entire body to maintain an elevated temperature even in the chilly depths.
• Blood vessels that carry warm blood into the fish’s gills wind around those carrying cold blood back to the body core after absorbing oxygen from water. The design is known in engineering as counter-current heat exchange.
• The silvery fish, roughly the size of a large automobile tire, is known from oceans around the world and dwells hundreds of feet beneath the surface in chilly, dimly lit waters. This discovery was published in the journal Science in the month of May, 2015.

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Lion Census 2015

• Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel announced results of Lion Census 2015 on May 10, 2015. The population of the endangered Asiatic lions from Gir forest has gone up from 411 in year 2010 to 523 in the year 2015.
• Population of the species increased even as the Supreme Court of Indian has ordered translocation from Gir forest in Gujarat to Madhya Pradesh in best interest of the species.
• The habitat of these Asiatic lions in Gir forest, other protected areas and revenue areas covered Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Amreli and Bhavnagar districts of Saurashtra region of Gujarat.
• This is the only wild population of Asiatic lions in the world and it is categorised as endagered according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a world body working for conservation of nature and wildlife.

So, This is the Science and Technology Current affairs of July Month. I Hope it will be very useful in your preparation of IBPS, SSC, BAnk, UPSC and other exams.