Biologist Finds Beautiful Blue Gecko, Named the New Species 'Vangoghgi'

Cnemaspis vangoghi – Akshay Khandekar

In India’s remote Western Ghats, a gorgeous blue and yellow gecko species has been named in honor of Vincent Van Gogh, whose painting Starry Night, was the first thing that entered Ishan Agarwal’s mind when he saw it.

Found during one of many expeditions into these underdeveloped, underexplored mountains running parallel to India’s western coastline, it enriches both the eyes and the scientific literature.

Belonging to the genus Cnemapsis, it is one of 2,300 members worldwide and over one hundred in India alone. Not so long ago, however, there were only a few dozen.

“We have incredibly diverse fauna, but we know little about it,” Agarwal told Nat Geo of the Western Ghats, in which he has spent 12,400 hours exploring.

Cnemapsis vangoghi was found during one such exploration, after the flash of indigo and mustard yellow which caught Agarawl’s eye.

It looked similar to another gecko of the same genus, C. galaxia, but during lab work, his suspicions were confirmed that it was actually a new species. It and a second, closely related species, are described for the first time in a study published in the natural ZooKeys.

Found in the Srivilliputhur-Megamalai Tiger Reserve, Agarawl suspects that this gecko is receiving much greater protection than many of India’s native reptiles because of its location under the ‘umbrella’ of the charismatic cat.

Umbrella conservation strategies allow naturalists to advocate for the conservation of a single species whose needs of territory, prey species, and protection are largest, and ipso facto helps conserve dozens or even hundreds of other species that share that territory.

In this case, protecting tigers means protecting geckos.

Agarwal says that new techniques for studying DNA allow for much greater specificity in describing species, and that the genus Cnemapsis is “ridiculously diverse.”Biologist Finds Beautiful Blue Gecko, Named the New Species 'Vangoghgi'

Read More........→April 16, 2024

Indian American scientist hoping to be first woman to jump from stratosphere

Swati Varshey has a PhD in materials science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has made over 1,200 jumps with a speciality in vertical freefall, according to Space.com. Swati Varshney. PHOTO: @risingunited.org An Indian-American scientist is hoping to become the first woman to skydive from the stratosphere at an altitude of 42.5 km above the Earth, and shatter four records in the process. Swati Varshey has been selected as one of the three candidates selected by the Hera Project of Rising United that seeks to empower women in science and technology, the organization has announced. - If she makes it to the skydive in 2025, Hera Project expects her to break four current records: The free fall record by 1.1 kilometer from the highest altitude; endure the longest free fall time; break the sound barrier unaided by 264 kph; and the highest crewed balloon flight by over 1 kilometer. “At Rising United, we’re embarking on a historic journey, shattering records and ceilings to advance women’s equality and inspire young women’s interest in STEAM education”, the organization said. Swati Varshey has a PhD in materials science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has made over 1,200 jumps with a specialty in vertical freefall, according to Space.com. Billed as the “First Female Mission to the Edge of Space”, the project seeks to have minority women smash the records, and the other two contenders are of Latino descent, Eliana Rodriquez and Diana Valerín Jiménez. The project will include educational programs for schools to increase interest in science and technology among girls, especially from minority groups. Varshney told Space.com that for her skydiving “is a lot more similar to my scientific training than I ever thought it would have been in the first place. It was just another avenue for me to pursue this goal of lifelong learning”. Varshney, who has spent a decade skydiving, told the media outlet, “My academic progression and my career trajectory has been really intertwined with skydiving as it went along. So I started skydiving”. She tried tandem jumping and found it such a “blast”, that she took it up as a hobby. “ I really just wanted something that was totally different, and as a release to — this is a really cliché way to say it — cut away right from what I was doing in my day-to-day life”, she told Space.com. “It became this never-ending journey of another pursuit of knowledge that went alongside my academic career”, she added. The stratosphere is from about 6 kilometers to 50 kilometers above the earth where it gives way to the mesosphere. Indian American scientist hoping to be first woman to jump from stratosphere:

Read More........→September 15, 2023

WhatsApp bans 2.4 million Indian accounts in July

WhatsApp banned 2.39 million Indian accounts in July, the highest so far this year, the Meta-owned popular instant messaging app said late on Thursday in its monthly report.

The Asian nation’s stricter IT laws have made it necessary for large digital platforms to publish compliance reports every month.

Draft rules circulated in June proposed setting up a panel to hear user appeals, and said that significant social media messaging platforms shall allow identification of the first originator of information if directed by courts to do so.

Of the accounts barred, 1.42 million were ‘proactively banned,’ before any reports from users.

Several accounts were banned based on complaints received through the company’s grievances channel and the tools and resources it uses to detect such offenses, the social media platform said. In July, WhatsApp received a total of 574 grievance reports.

The messsaging platform, which has been criticised earlier for spreading fake news and hate speech in the country, as well as elsewhere in the world, had taken down 2.21 million accounts in India in June WhatsApp bans 2.4 million Indian accounts in July: WhatsApp bans 2.4 million Indian accounts in July: 

Read More........→October 09, 2022

Use Neem Ki dali without neem leaves to get rid of stomach bloating, gas problem instantly.

Date Of Publication: 15/09/2022, Country: India, Place Ahmedabad-Gujarat, Researcher: Ashish Bordia, Education: B.sc, MBA, Experiment: Self experience.

If you are suffering from serious Stomach Bloating, Gastric problem and Allopathic medications are not working then can use 3-4 fresh washed thick Neem ki dali (Hindi Word, where Neem leaves connects) without Neem leaves and crush the same inside your mouth and suck its liquid for some of minutes, will provide you magical result in the case of Stomach Bloating, Gastric Problem. this research is done & applied on myself & got an amazing results. you must need to take 3-4 neem ki dali dose three time in a day (Morning, Afternoon and Evening) for some of days to get rid of Stomach Bloating, Gastric problem completely. as if you face immediate problem then use the same for instant relief. Image : Pixabay License, Free for commercial use,

Read More........→September 15, 2022

DRDO Celebrates 63rd Foundation Day; Chairman Reddy Calls To Focus On Cyber Security, Space, AI

New Delhi: The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) observed the 63rd Foundation Day of its establishment on Friday, 1st January 2021. G. Satheesh Reddy, Secretary DDR&D & Chairman DRDO met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and presented him with a model of the Akash Missile System, which was recently cleared for export. On the occasion, the Chairman of DRDO along with DGs and Directors of DRDO HQ paid floral tributes to former President APJ Abdul Kalam at DRDO Bhawan, according to a press statement from the Ministry of Defence. The Ministry stated that DRDO was established in 1958 with just 10 laboratories to enhance the research work in the Defence sector and was tasked with designing and developing cutting-edge defence technologies for the Indian Armed Forces. The Defence Ministry stated that today, the DRDO is working in multiple cutting-edge military technology areas, which include aeronautics, armaments, combat vehicles, electronics, instrumentation, engineering systems, missiles, materials, naval systems, advanced computing, simulation, cyber, life sciences, and other technologies for defence. Addressing the DRDO fraternity, the DRDO Chairman Reddy extended warm wishes to DRDO employees and their families. He stated that an eventful year has passed and a new one is about to begin, and asked scientists to innovate and create for the nation. He said that efforts of DRDO have given a quantum jump to India’s self reliance in defence, contributing towards Atmanirbhar Bharat. He declared ‘Export’ as the theme of DRDO for 2021 and mentioned that many products based on DRDO technologies have already been exported by DPSUs and industry. He said that in 2020, the DRDO achieved many milestones such as the maiden landing of LCA Navy onboard INS Vikramaditya, demonstration of Hypersonic Technology Demonstration Vehicle (HSTDV), Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) & QRNG developments in the area of Quantum Technology, Laser Guided Anti Tank Guided Missile (ATGM), Supersonic Missile Assisted Release of Torpedo (SMART), Anti Radiation Missile (NGARM), enhanced version of PINAKA Rocket System, Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM), Maiden launch of MRSAM, 5.56 x 30 mm Joint Venture Protective Carbine (JVPC), and many other milestones. He highlighted the contributions of DRDO during the Covid-19 pandemic and said that nearly 40 DRDO laboratories developed more than 50 technologies and over 100 products on a war footing for combating the Novel Coronavirus pandemic in India. These included PPE kits, sanitizers, masks, UV-based disinfection systems, Germi Klean, and critical parts of ventilators leading to ventilator manufacturing in the country in a very short span of time. He further said that DRDO has established three dedicated Covid hospitals at Delhi, Patna, and Muzaffarpur in a record time for strengthening the medical infrastructure. In addition, Mobile Virology Research and Diagnostics Laboratory (MVRDL) were developed to speed-up the Covid-19 screening and R&D activities at various locations for strengthening the Covid testing capabilities. The DRDO Chairman mentioned that new policies and procedures were launched for increasing the efficiency and ease of engagement with various stakeholders in the development, saying DRDO has also taken major steps for further strengthening its base for taking up technological challenges for the defence systems development and will continue to strive for the best in defence technology and ensure the system development in the shortest time. While congratulating DRDO scientists and all other personnel who worked in close coordination with the armed forces for user trials, he set many targets for them. He talked about the flagship programmes of DRDO such as Hypersonic Cruise Missile, Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), New Generation MBT, Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle, Enhanced AEW&CS, LCA MK II, and many other systems. In his speech, Chairman Reddy called upon DRDO scientists to focus on next generation needs including cyber security, space and, artificial intelligence. The immense potential available in DRDO has been a catalyst for the development of industries in defence manufacturing sector, he said, as per the Defence Ministry statement. The Chairman highlighted that the academic institutes, R&D organisations and industry need to work together on the advanced and futuristic technologies to make India self-reliant in defence sector. He mentioned that a number of SMEs and MSMEs are supplying small components to subsystems for all DRDO projects and have been nurtured by DRDO. Now they have become partners in all new developments. He stated that DRDO conducted a competition called ‘Dare to Dream’ for startups and very enthusiastic response have been received. He further added that at least 30 startups should be supported every year to develop innovative products for the armed forces. He said that DRDO should make efforts towards strengthening long term ties with academia and aim to leverage the academic expertise available in the country and increase the synergy with them, remarking that DRDO should concentrate on applied research and translational research and then make prototypes from the applied research. He further said that the industry should be in a position to adopt these technologies and have necessary infrastructure, and scale these up to market with sustained quality. He underlined the need to focus on documentation and production for faster induction, and said that many new initiatives towards enabling the industry and empowering youth for Defence R&D will be taken by DRDO.DRDO Chairman Reddy also launched an Online Industry Partner Registration Module to simplify the process of vendor registration. He released the DRDO Monograph on ‘Issues on Development of Communication Technology using Orbiting Satellites’ and also the Environmental Safety Manual and Guidelines for Disposal of Life Expired Chemicals and Gases at DRDO Laboratories. Source: https://indusdictum.com/: 

Read More........→August 09, 2022