Page 763 - Environment

Scientists create plastic-eating enzyme

Pollution has become a serious health issue and certain ways have been discovered to reduce it but the best way is by recycling plastic.The scientists of the University of Portsmouth accidentally created a super-powered version of the plastic-eating enzyme, a substance that is capable of "eating" plastic that could help tackle the world's pollution problem.The substance is based on an enzyme, a "biological catalyst", which was first produced by bacteria living in a Japanese recycling center that researchers suggested had evolved it in order to eat plastic, says Independent.The production of this enzyme allowed a research team to produce something capable of digesting plastic more effectively than anything found in nature.Plastic pollution adversely affects wildlife, wildlife habitat, or humans."Serendipity often plays a significant role in fundamental scientific research and our discovery here is no exception," said Professor McGeehan.The scientists suggest their method could be ...

Lloyds Metals & Energy receives acknowledgment under IEM section

For proposed 15 MW Electric Power Generation using other than Non-Conventional Sources

Mass extinction event triggered dinosaur expansion 232 million years ago

A mass extinction event 232 million years ago may have triggered an expansion of dinosaurs, according to a study that sheds light on the origin of the giant prehistoric animals. It is commonly understood that the dinosaurs disappeared with a bang - wiped out by a great meteorite impact on the Earth 66 million years ago. However, their origins have been less understood. In a study, published in the journal Nature Communications, scientists from MUSE - Museum of Science, Universities of Ferrara and Padova in Italy and the University of Bristol in the UK showed that the key expansion of dinosaurs was also triggered by a crisis - the mass extinction, called the Carnian Pluvial Episode. Dinosaurs had originated much earlier, at the beginning of the Triassic Period, some 245 million years ago, but they remained very rare until the shock events in the Carnian 13 million years later. The study shows when dinosaurs took over by using detailed evidence from rock sequences in the Dolomites, in ..

India probes dumping of EVA sheets for solar modules by 5 nations

India has initiated a probe into the alleged dumping of EVA sheets used in solar cell industry, imported from China, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Thailand. The investigation on imports of 'Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) sheets for solar modules' is carried out by the Directorate General of Antidumping and Allied Duties (DGAD), which is an arm of the commerce ministry. In the probe, the directorate would determine the existence, degree and effect of the dumped products on the domestic industry. If established that dumping had caused material injury to domestic players, the DGAD would recommend imposition of anti-dumping duty on the imports of the sheet from these nations. In a notification, the DGAD said that it has found sufficient evidence of dumping of the products from these five countries. "The authority hereby initiates an investigation into the alleged dumping, and consequent injury to the domestic industry... to determine the existence, degree and effect of alleged ...

J-K government introduces kitchen garden

The Jammu and Kashmir Government is looking to revamp the agriculture in the Valley as it introduced different schemes including kitchen garden to make people aware about importance and benefits of organic vegetable cultivation.The kitchen garden is a space which is separate from the rest of the residential garden and is also different in design.The experts of agriculture department have come forward to provide all kind of facilities to the people regarding the organic vegetable cultivation, aimed to produce fresh vegetables without any chemical at their residential houses.The authorities of agriculture department have set their specific center where the number of employees both male and females are working on organic vegetable cultivation.Locals have been visiting these centers regularly and learning lot of methods practically about the organic vegetable cultivation.Earlier, the government also advised farmers to not grow paddy due to water scarcity in the Kashmir Valley.

Giant asteroid makes surprise flyby past Earth

A giant asteroid gave Earth a surprise close shave this week, flying by at a distance of 192,000 kilometers, just a day after astronomers discovered the object, scientists say. NASA estimated that the asteroid measures 48 to 110 meters wide - 3.6 times the size of the one that levelled 2,000 square kilometers of Siberian forest when it exploded over Tunguska in 1908. Designated 2018 GE3, made its closest approach to Earth at around 0641 GMT on April 15 (12:11 am, April 16 in Indian Standard Time) whizzing by at about half the average distance between Earth and the moon, according to NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS). The asteroid is three to six times as big as one that broke up over Russia in 2013, injuring over 1,200 people and damaging thousands of buildings up to 93 km away from the impact site, 'Space.com' reported. The asteroid 2018 GE3 was first spotted on April 14 by astronomers at the Catalina Sky Survey, a NASA programme based at the University of Arizona ..

Novel plastic-eating enzyme created

Scientists have created an enzyme which can digest some of the most commonly polluting plastics, providing a potential solution to one of the world's biggest environmental problems. The discovery could result in a recycling solution for millions of tonnes of plastic bottles, made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) which currently persists for hundreds of years in the environment. Researchers at University of Portsmouth and the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US decoded the crystal structure of PETase - a recently discovered enzyme that digests PET - and used this 3D information to understand how it works. They inadvertently engineered an enzyme that is even better at degrading the plastic than the one that evolved in nature. The researchers are now working on improving the enzyme further to allow it to be used industrially to break down plastics in a fraction of the time. "Few could have predicted that since plastics became popular in the ...

Japanese island's mud could alter global economy: Study

An estimated 16 million tonnes of mud containing massive, "semi-infinite" stores of valuable rare earth minerals, found in a small Japanese island in the Pacific Ocean could alter global economy, a new study has revealed.

Scientists accidentally develop plastic-eating enzyme

Scientists have accidentally developed a plastic-eating enzyme that may be used to combat one of the world's worst pollution problems, a media report said.

Huge asteroid gives Earth surprise flyby

If you are not aware that a giant asteroid the size of a football field flew past Earth over the weekend, you are not alone as even NASA scientists got to know about the flyby only a few hours before it happened, media reported.

Launch of NASA's next planet-hunting mission postponed

NASA is now targeting Wednesday for the launch of its next planet-hunting mission, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or Tess.

Multilateralism crucial in protecting marine biodiversity: UN

UN General Assembly President Miroslav Lajcak has said that multilateralism was crucial in solving challenges to the protection of marine biodiversity.

Launch delay for NASA's newest planet-hunting spacecraft

NASA's newest planet-hunting spacecraft will have to wait another two days before lifting off. Two hours before today's scheduled liftoff, SpaceX announced it was delaying the launch for additional rocket analysis. The next attempt will be on Wednesday. The satellite known as Tess will survey almost the entire sky, staring at the brightest, closest stars in an effort to find any planets that might be encircling them. These mysterious worlds beyond our solar system, called exoplanets, could harbour life. Scientists expect Tess to discover thousands of rocky and icy planets and gas giants, maybe even water worlds and places defying imagination. Bigger and more powerful observatories of the future will scrutinise these prime candidates for potential signs of life. The name Tess is short for Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite.

Explainer: Why the monsoon is so crucial for India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's monsoon rains are likely to be 97 percent of their long-term average in 2018, its meteorological department said on Monday, reassuring farmers ahead of summer planting in a country where only half of the farmland is irrigated.

Actor Siddharth Malhotra visits Mathura elephant rescue centre

Bollywood actor Sidharth Malhotra on Monday extended his full support to elephant rescue efforts, after a visit to the rescue and rehabilitation centre run by Wildlife SOS.

UK joins International Solar Alliance to mark Modi visit

The UK today joined the India-led International Solar Alliance (ISA) ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's four-day visit to Britain. At an event held at the London Stock Exchange as part of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018 (CHOGM), Britain formally announced its membership of the alliance, which aims to raise USD 1 trillion of private and public finance to provide affordable and sustainable energy for all by 2030. The UK's partnership will involve providing expertise and advice to the alliance, but no monetary contributions. The Department for International Development (DfID) said its partnership of ISA, which it described as Modi's flagship climate treaty, is aimed at giving over 1 billion of the world's poorest people access to cheap, clean, and renewable energy. Without India's leadership, the alliance would not have come so far and so fast. By increasing access to solar energy, millions more babies will now be delivered safely, millions of farmers will be able .

Maharashtra to get plastic waste management committee

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met a delegation of Plastic Manufacturers' Association here on Monday and ordered the formation of a committee of secretaries to consider the feasibility of plastic waste management and disposal.Ministers Subhash Desai, Ramdas Kadam and Aditya Thackeray were also present in the meeting.This meeting was in compliance with the Bombay High Court's last week order when it refused to stay the ban on plastics in the state but asked the manufacturers to give a representation to the state government about their grievances.On April 13, the high court had called the ban 'reasonable' after seeing a quantity of 1200 metric tons of waste every day in the state.On March 23 this year, the government had issued a notification, in which it imposed a ban on the manufacture, use, sale and distribution of all plastic materials like plastic bags, spoons, plates, bottles and thermacol items.A three-month notice period was given to the manufacturers, distributors

Env Ministry notifies amended Rules on plastic waste management

The Environment Ministry has notified the amended rules on plastic waste management that prescribe a central system for the registration of producers and importers. The ministry has notified the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2018, which specifies phasing out of those multi-layered plastics (MLPs) that are "non-recyclable, non-energy recoverable or with no alternate use", an official statement said. MLPs are made up of a layered composition of various types of plastics. Based on several representations received from various stakeholders, the ministry had constituted a committee on issues faced with regard to the implementation of the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, and the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. The committee deliberated on several issues related to the rules and its implementation by various stakeholders, and submitted its recommendations to the ministry after which the amended rules were notified. "The amended rules lay down that the phasing out of ...

Construction work of Dwarka Express Highway to begin soon: Gadkari

Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari today said that the construction work on Dwarka Express Highway would begin within next one month. About Rs 7,000 crore would be spent on this 17 km long highway, said Gadkari, who was speaking as chief guest in a function organised here. He said work on different projects was under progress to reduce traffic congestion in Gurugram. In this direction, the Dwarka Express Highway would prove to be a boon for residents of Gurugram, he said, according to a Haryana government release. He said another project was Eastern Peripheral Road (EPR). This project included land acquisition worth Rs 2,000 crore. He said the EPR had been completed at a cost of about Rs 15,000 crore and it would be inaugurated by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi next week, the release quoting Gadkari said. The Union Minister said that a flyover would be constructed at a cost of about Rs 170 crore at Shankar Chowk on National Highway number 8 making way towards .

Andhra CM seeks to speed up Polavaram project

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Monday urged his officials to send letters to Union Water resources minister Nitin Gadkari and Finance minister Arun Jaitley so that funds can be disbursed at the earliest in order to speed up the Polavaram project.The Polavaram Irrigation Project has reached an overall progress of 52.2% till now, which includes the headworks, the right main canal and the left main canal."Out of the different elements of the project, the most progress was seen in the construction of the diaphragm wall. Out of a total 1,427m, this week saw the completion of 42m which leaves 251.4m remaining," said Naidu on the 57th review of the Polavaram project."71.3% of the excavation for the spillway and spill channel has been completed, i.e., 795.39 lakh cubic metres out of 1,115.59 lakh cubic metres. Overall, 2.29 lakh cubic metres of earthwork was excavated for the spill channel, pilot channel, spillway, left bank and approach channel," he added.Out of the 45