2008: Science takes a leap

If for anything, 2008 will be remembered as the year when the human race got closer to the space. Sciencists were also engaged in making newer discoveries. Many more such achievements made the year worth remembering.

Sushmita, Devika & Moumita

When ISRO chairman, G Madhavan Nair was grinning like a child and making announcement of the Chandrayaan launch, India had already stepped into a bigger league. Everyone knew why 2008 will be etched in the annals of science. If for anything, 2008 will be remembered as the year when the human race got closer to the space. It was not only India romancing the moon but other countries were also busy in different space explorations. US wanted to make the space cosier with its Endeavour mission and China wasn’t far behind with its space walkers. But it was not only about space explorations. Sciencists were also engaged in making newer discoveries. Many more such achievements made the year worth remembering. Here are a few highlights of the year just gone by:- Chandrayaan 2008 has been one of the greatest years if India space programme is anything to go by. Over the ages the Moon, has been the only celestial body looked with utmost curiosity. With a heroic aim to map the moon, India successfully launched its maiden moon mission ‘Chandrayaan’ on 22nd October 2008. With this attempt India proved its mettle in the international space race and joined the exclusive lunar club. ISRO made every Indian proud who were waiting to get into that very elite club that only few countries have been part of. Endeavour On 14th November, Endeavour, the last orbiter of 2008, was launched amidst much fanfare from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, with shining light that was visible for miles around. But this is no regular exploration mission; it is more of a lifestyle mission. Something that might be more precisely called a home makeover mission. Scientists at NASA are quite excited since nothing of this sort has ever been done before. After a few initial glitches which almost postponed the launch, Endeavour was successfully blasted of to space against the backdrop of a full moon sky. It was a feast for the eyes. China’s space walk From their debut in space in 2003 to their spacewalk this year China has come a long way in space explorations. But this time they have sent three people to space and have successfully managed a spacewalk, a rare achievement. On 27th September 2008, Zhai Zhigang became the first Chinese astronaut to spacewalk for about 20 minutes. The mission was slated for a total of three days, and was successfully accomplished hurling China into the biggies of space science. Phoenix NASA`s Phoenix lander on 26 May ‘08 did a great job in the history of the robotic probes done on Mars ever before. Phoenix for the first time explored the polar region of Mars. While examining the soil sample on Mars, a large concentration of ice and water was found. Space Tourism The space tourism gained an enormous boost this year with Richard Garriot becoming the 6th person to go to as space tourist. Soyuz TMA-13, the spacecraft, carrying Garriot and his two crewmates were launched from Kazakhstan’s Baikonour facility. Richard Garriot is the first American space tourist to follow his father into space. He spent a total of 10 days in the International Space Station. In the meanwhile Richard Garriot will be photographing the Earth to compare the changes since his father got the snaps in 1973. Exoplanets In the last 13 years scientists by thorough monitoring of the changes in the gravitational force, speed and light around the stars have discovered about 300 exoplanets. Exoplanets are those planets that do not circle the sun. Get invisible Scientists at the University of California are working on a technology to make invisibility happen. By fusing physics and optical technology, they have managed to wrap an object and bend the light waves making it invisible. Stone Age people The fact that families have existed for ages were confirmed when researchers in Germany unearthed a 4600 year old grave. It was group of Stone Age people who looked to have been killed in a raid together. Among the graves was found a grave of a man, women and two kids. Analyzing the DNA of the skeletons it was been able to establish that it was a family. Oldest tree In the mountains of Sweden scientists have discovered the oldest tree on the planet. It is a 9,550 year old Christmas tree. This tree took root at the end of the last Ice Age. The longest insect In the islands of Borneo in South-east Asia scientists have found the world’s longest insect - a stick bug. This particular stick bug is 22 inches long with its legs and has a 14 inch long body. This specimen is now at the Britain’s Natural History Museum. Since this discovery was made by a Malaysian scientist, the species has been named Chan’s megastick or Phobaeticus Chani. Gadgets & Gizmos Bill Gates once rightly said, `Technology makes it possible for people to gain control over everything, as science today, is technology tomorrow`. Technology has revolutionized the world. Whether we talk of handy mobile sets, smart PC`s or simple gadgets used in our daily routines, technology has transformed the way we think, work, contribute and achieve. With so many gizmos and gadgets forming part of your curricular activities life has become so convenient, so handy, and so trouble-free as if the whole world has come into your pockets and all the problems could be effectively solved with just the click of a mouse- the mouse, which also turned 40 this year. Technology has transformed our lives in a manner, we never imagined before. Be it our kitchen or our bedroom technology can be credited with the role of changing our lives tremendously. Mobile phones that rocked 2008 With human lifestyle increasingly getting advanced, mobiles have assumed a prominent place in society than it had in the yesteryears. Today mobile is everything for everyone. Be it used for e-mails, music, and photography or as a style icon, mobile has become the cherry of all eyes. Basically two phones stole the limelight this year. First Apple i-phone- The much-hyped phone was launched last year. However, its 3G version came up in the market this year in July in nearly 70 countries. This high-tech mobile supports several features. You can make a call by tapping a name or send a text with the intelligent keyboard. Simultaneously you can enjoy music and video on a widescreen display and shop for music with a tap. You can also browse the web, get HTML email, and find yourself with GPS maps. Other one is the compact Google i-phone-This phone bagged the power of internet in your pocket, in a simple and intuitive device. It combined the traditional voice and SMS capabilities of phones with all the exciting Google services from the PC such as Search, Gmail, Maps, Blogger….. Bill Gates bids adieu Bill Gates let his emotions get the better of him as he announced his pending resignation in a press conference in July 2008. Gates made a transition from his day-to-day role as Chief Software Architect and Chairman of Microsoft to just being the Chairman. Rumbling Giants: Google, Yahoo and Microsoft deal Microsoft withdrew their offer to acquire Yahoo after talks between the two companies and their advisors broke down after a failure to come to agreement on price and other terms. However, Yahoo said it ended the talks because Microsoft was interested only in acquiring Yahoo`s search business, not the entire company. Finally the non-exclusive deal united the online advertising businesses of Google and Yahoo and came as a setback to Microsoft, which tried hard to acquire all or part of Yahoo to strengthen its own online business and compete better with Google. Mouse completed 40 yrs on Dec 2 One computer device could be called as being most "in touch" with humans - the mouse, which celebrated it`s 40th birthday on Dec 2. The first computer mouse, developed four decades ago, was a little wooden box with a single red button on top and a wire hanging from the back, because of which it was likened to a rodent. And while computers have transformed from big white boxes to cool flat screens and laptops, the mouse has stayed the same. 3G enters India with MTNL Much awaited 3G services finally saw the light of the day as PSU, MTNL launched the services in Delhi. The service clubbed as ‘Jadoo’ would be initially on offer in Delhi to be followed by Mumbai launch. Motorola is the technology partner for MTNL in this initiative. With 3G, the next-generation mobile service launched in Delhi, your handset becomes an all-purpose device. 3G supports high-speed data of at least 144 kbps enabling broadband Internet access on the mobile, and "triple play" features like mobile TV and converged communication services. Big Bang Machine which didn’t destroy the Earth This year, fear grasped the world with the news of the scientific experiment of Hadron Collider taking place, as many argued that it might release particles called “strangelets,” which could gobble the globe. The ‘Big Bang’ experiment – which many said, including some scientists, would result in the end of the world did succeeded initially but ultimately failed. The Large Hadron Collider tested doomsday on Sep 11 as a 30-ton transformer, which is used to power coolants in the 17-mile underground, vacuum-sealed loop in the world`s most powerful particle accelerator, failed on Sept. 11. Because of the failure, the collider switched off the main cryogenic compressors for two sectors of the machine. Hence the doomsday failed!!! Ecology Global Warming If you thought that year 2008 was a good climatic year perhaps you were not wrong because the last 12 months have been the coolest since 2000, according to an analysis by Nasa`s Goddard Institute for Space Studies.According to Met Office figures for the last 11 months, the global mean temperature for 2008 is 14.3C, which is 0.14C below the average temperature for 2001-07. Although 2008 is cool by recent standards, it is still in the negative zone. 10 warmest years have occurred since 1997 and world average temperature for the current decade is nearly 0.2C warmer than the average for the last decade. India has been adversely affected owing to this climate change. It has lost more people due to extreme weather events caused by climate change than any other country, with an average of 4,532 people killed every year. Earth has warmed by 0.4 degrees Celsius in 30 Years: A 30-year map of the Earth’s climate changes has indicated that the planet’s atmosphere warmed an average of about 0.4 degrees Celsius. Disasters in 2008 Weather related disasters and earthquakes made the year 2008 most expensive year after 2005. Cyclone Nargis, which hit Myanmar in May, was the most deadly event of 2008 so far, claiming an estimated 84,500 lives. The most costly was May`s earthquake in China. This natural catastrophe killed Over 67,000 people and injured hundreds of thousands. Hurricane Fay set records by hitting Florida four times and dumping almost 30 inches of rain on some areas in 2008. Kosi changes course: The month of August witnessed the one of the worst disasters ever to hit India, when Kosi river in Bihar changed its course, killing hundreds and displacing over 2 million. Health In 2008, world focused on the need to protect health from the worst effects of climate change. WHO selected this theme for World Health Day in respect that climate change is posing an ever growing threat. The year 2008 also brought many of the important inventions and modern techniques to fore- from face transplant to stem cell operations. The most important thing which took place in this year in India was the ban on smoking in public places from 2nd October. The first face transplant took place in the US in the month of December, 2008. A team of eight transplant surgeons in Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, USA, led by reconstructive surgeon Dr. Maria Siemionow, age 58, successfully performed the first almost total face transplant in the US, and the fourth globally, on a woman so horribly disfigured due to trauma, that cost her an eye. Stem cell operation In the last half of this year, doctors in UK successfully carried out the world`s first airway transplant on a young woman using an organ partly grown from her own stem cells in a groundbreaking operation which scientists believe will transform the future of surgery. Smoking Ban in India The current ban on smoking has witnessed several hiccups from all quarters foiling even the bollywood industry. In the beginning of the year Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss urged Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan to desist from smoking in their films. He urged this keeping in mind that films are the most responsible and inspiring media for encouraging smoking. So it should not have smoking scenes as the Government bore statistics which showed that 52% of children have their first puff of a cigarette, influenced by movie celebrities. Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan however retaliated by taking dig at Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss for the latter’s quit-smoking-on-screen appeal to him, saying he does not like anyone telling him what to do and what not to do in an interview to a news Channel. Finally ban was imposed on Smoking with effect from 2 nd of October this year. The ban includes offices and restaurants, schools and colleges, pubs and discotheques, hospitals and bus stops. Offenders were to be bracketed under a fine of 200 rupees (USD 4), ironically while on an average, a packet of cigarettes costs around 50 rupees. Ban of smoking was the government’s second try in four years and came on the occasion of the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, who did not smoke or drink. Nobel Prize The Nobel Prize Award Ceremony is traditionally held on 10 December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel`s death. Nobel prize was given away in Physics, Chemistry and Medicine but this eminent award was caught in controversy following allegation by a Swedish prosecutor regarding a radio report that said that three jurors from the medicine chemistry and physics committees were invited to China to explain the selection process and explain what it takes to win a Nobel prize. Allegedly the Chinese authorities paid for their plane tickets, hotels and meals. The last time China claimed a science prize was in 1957, when two Chinese researchers won the physics award, according to the Nobel website. Conclusion So it is clear that 2008 was definitely a year of celebration for space lovers. Astronaut Alan Bean once said, “We knew it was going to be difficult to get to the moon. We didn`t know how difficult.” India just lived through it and after years of relentless hardwork finally touched the Moon. ISRO has already started work on its next dream of manned moon mission. Similar quests are taking place all over the world not only in space but also every field. Science is working overtime to make our lives a little bit more comfortable and in the coming years it will, as always, make lot of difference in our living.