Science & Technology

ISRO placed the 2,367-kg EOS-05 in a sub-geosynchronous transfer orbit on 4 September, about 18 minutes after lift-off at 2.55 a.m. from Sriharikota. It is India’s first imaging satellite designed to observe the earth from geosynchronous orbit, about 36,000 km up, and replaces the EOS-03 lost in 2021. GSLV was on its 19th flight.

Researchers produced the first comprehensive molecular and functional profile of the venom gland of Stegodyphus sarasinorum, a colonial spider found across the Indian subcontinent. Published in Scientific Reports, the study identified bioactive compounds with anti-cancer potential that could serve as leads for drug discovery.

Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan launched India’s first indigenous, non-genetically- modified, high-expansion popcorn maize hybrid seed on 24 August at Musunuru in Andhra Pradesh’s Eluru district. India currently depends on imported popcorn maize seed, and the Vice-President said the hybrid would help reduce that dependence and conserve foreign exchange.

The Indian Council of Medical Research said no new strain of H1N1 has been identified and there is no cause for panic. It added that the influenza strains currently circulating are well matched with the vaccine strains recommended for the Northern Hemisphere. The ICMR chief said H1N1 makes up 98% of Influenza A cases in India.