Researchers including one of Indian origin from North Carolina State University in US have found that antibiotic resistance can be passed between bacteria found in the soil.
Reasons for spread of antibiotic resistance through soil: Bacteria contain small DNA molecules known as plasmids. These plasmids are separate from bacteria's actual DNA and can pick up and exchange genes between bacteria. Thus, these plasmids in bacteria's are responsible for antibiotic resistance in soil also.
Antibiotic resistance: Antibiotics are medicines used to prevent and treat bacterial infections. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in response to use of these medicines. Antibiotic resistance occurs naturally, but misuse of antibiotics in humans and animals is accelerating the process. Poor infection prevention and control further accelerate it.
Japan Launches Fourth Michibiki Satellite For Hi-Tech GPS
Japan has launched a fourth satellite for a new high-precision global positioning system (GPS).
An H-2A rocket carrying Japan’s fourth and final quasi-zenith satellite, the Michibiki No. 4, lifts off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan.
Having four satellites that loop over Japan and Australia in a figure of eight orbit will allow for uninterrupted coverage. Japanese GPS can locate devices to within centimetres compared with the US system, which has an accuracy of about 10m.
Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS)
It is own version of GPS and is dubbed as Michibiki system. Michibiki means guidance in Japanese. It is intended for civilian use, with a claimed positioning accuracy down to mere centimetres.
The QZSS constellation of 8 satellites will trace out a figure-8 pattern over Japan, the Western Pacific, and Australia. The Michibiki system can cover the Asia-Oceania region and works with the US-operated GPS to provide higher level of precision than previously possible with fewer satellites in visible range.
Experimental Ebola Vaccines Found Safe, Effective In Human Trial
Two experimental vaccines (cAd3-EBOZ and rVSV-ZEBOV) against the Ebola virus have demonstrated both safety and the ability to elicit an immune response that would last for at least one year.
This clinical trial has yielded valuable information that is essential for the continued development of these two Ebola vaccine candidates and also demonstrates that well- designed, ethically sound clinical research can be conducted during an epidemic.
Responses at one week were modest with both vaccines. However, by one month, 71 per cent of cAd3-EBOZ recipients and 84 per cent of rVSV-ZEBOV recipients developed an antibody response compared to 3 per cent of placebo recipients.
At one year, antibody responses were largely maintained in both groups: 64 per cent of cAd3-EBOZ recipients and 80 per cent of rVSV-ZEBOV recipients had an antibody response compared with seven percent of placebo recipients.
About Ebola Virus
Ebola virus disease (EVD), formerly known as Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is a severe, often fatal illness in humans.
It is thought that fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family are natural Ebola virus hosts. Ebola is introduced into the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals such as chimpanzees, gorillas, fruit bats, monkeys, forest antelope and porcupines found ill or dead or in the rainforest.
Ebola then spreads through human-to-human transmission via direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and with surfaces and materials (e.g. bedding, clothing) contaminated with these fluids.
The average EVD case fatality rate is around 50%. Case fatality rates have varied from 25% to 90% in past outbreaks.
The first EVD outbreaks occurred in remote villages in Central Africa, near tropical rainforests. The 2014–2016 outbreak in West Africa involved major urban areas as well as rural ones.
World’s Largest Combustion Research Centre At IIT Madras
The world’s largest combustion research centre which will impart a major boost to the Indian scientific community was inaugurated at the Indian Institute of Technology.
It will provide an impetus to research in Alternative Energy and Environmental Protection by focusing on effective utilisation of combustion as a means of thermo-chemical energy conversion.
IIT Madras researchers construct their own algorithm that learn like human beings. What they build into the algorithm is not just learning, but learning from mistakes as well.
There are two parts to engineering this – one involves incorporating features into the neural network that will get the program to recognize parts of the screen .The other part involves making associations between utilities and action – for instance deciding whether to move left or right based on a specific pattern on the screen.
What Is Deep Reinforcement Learning
Deep learning or machine learning is the ability of computers to assimilate large amounts of information independently, without any human interference or influence.
There are different branches of machine learning. These branches include supervised learning, unsupervised learning and reinforcement learning.
In the case of supervised learning, the learner is told what its response should be. In reinforcement learning, the learner is going to be receiving a form of feedback concerning how appropriate its response is.
The Kilogram Will Get A New Measure
The International Conference of Heads of Metrology Institutes has announced that the kilogram will not be pegged to the cylinder made of 90% platinum and 10% iridium from 2019.
Kilogram is the only international measurement system that's still defined by a physical artifact, known as the International Prototype Kilogram.
The need for finding a new measure of Kilogram arose after scientists found that the BIPM ( the intergovernmental organization through which Member States act together on matters related to measurement science and measurement standards)prototype is losing mass.
There was a slight change in the weight of the artifact -- the reason could be anything from loss of impurities in the metals, to the witnesses gaining mass by accumulating contaminants.
More About The New Measure Of Kilogram
Scientists want to redefine the kilogram using Planck's Constant, a value from quantum mechanics .
They are also using a tool called a Kibble balance. Instead of balancing the scale with weights, they use electromagnetism.
In this method, an electrical current is sent through a coiled wire, generating a magnetic field that creates the upward force needed to balance the scale.
Scientists can figure out the strength of that field by pulling on the coil. If we know the voltage, the current and the velocity at which the coil was pulled, we can calculate the Planck constant with extreme precision.
