science and technology

Meta sees strong trend in women entrepreneurs using its apps in India

About 73% of Instagram business accounts that self-identify as a women-owned business were set up in the last three years in India, the company revealed.




science and technology

OpenAI to enable more customizations for enterprise and individual users

Speaking to investors at a Morgan Stanley conference, Altman said the AI company will focus on building a platform that sells APIs to others and creates killer apps like ChatGPT.




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Experts renew calls to save vestiges of ancient metal tech, artefacts of Zawar

India supplied zinc for the industrial revolution of Europe, and the ancient metallurgical remains at Zawar, a geo-heritage site nearly 45 km off Udaipur, lie as a living testimony. Lack of progress in work to preserve this spectacular geological heritage and promote geo-tourism has left experts wondering.




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No petrol/diesel 4x4 SUVs from Tata Motors: Off-road tech to next be seen in electric avatar

Up till now, the automaker reportedly maintained that low demand for 4x4 cars has led to the absence of off-road tech in its products. In a recent conversation with TOI Auto, Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Limited, shed some light on the future of the company’s SUV portfolio and if the 4x4 drivetrain will make a comeback.




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Oppo aims to make GenAI accessible to 50 mn users in 2024, collaborates with Google, Microsoft

Oppo aims to make generative artificial intelligence accessible to 50 million users by 2024 through collaborations with Google and Microsoft, joining other handset makers like Samsung and Xiaomi in leveraging AI for sales growth.




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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang asks SK Hynix to advance supply of HBM4 chips by six months

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has requested SK Hynix to expedite the delivery of HBM4 chips by six months. This request, revealed by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, highlights the surging demand for Nvidia's AI accelerators, which heavily rely on HBM chips.




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Demand for design professionals in semiconductor GCCs dips in July-Sep: Report

Semiconductor design global capability centres (GCC) account for approximately 4 per cent of India's total GCCs, with a growth rate of about 7 per cent in the last two decades.




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Industry urges TRAI to adopt single technology for digital radio roll-out

The association suggested that All India Radio separately assess DRM and HD Radio for MW and SW bands, which fall under its exclusive remit. It also recommended that analogue transmission should not be interrupted until digital receivers are adopted by more than 80% of the population to ensure accessibility.




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Qualcomm chip sales to Chinese smartphone makers fuel strong results

Qualcomm's derived 46% of its revenue in its most recent fiscal year from customers with headquarters in China. Trump has floated second-term plans for blanket tariffs of 10% to 20% on virtually all imports as well as tariffs of 60% or more on goods from China, in a bid to boost US manufacturing.




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India's smartphone market estimated to grow 7-8 pc this year

India's smartphone market is estimated to grow 7-8 per cent this year, driven by strong demand for premium, 5G and AI smartphones, according to a new report.




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Is AI dominance inevitable? A technology ethicist says no, actually

In the business world, AI advocates tell companies and workers that they will fall behind if they fail to integrate generative AI into their operations. In the sciences, AI advocates promise that AI will aid in curing hitherto intractable diseases.




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How fungi help trees tolerate drought

The mutualistic relationship between tree roots and ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi has been shaping forest ecosystems since their inception. ECM fungi are key players supporting the growth, health and stress tolerance of forest trees globally, such as oak, pine, spruce, birch and beech, and help boost the productivity of bioenergy feedstock trees, including poplar and willow. The most common ECM fungus is Cenococcum geophilum, found in subtropical through arctic zones and especially in extreme environments. It is also the only mycorrhizal fungus in the Dothideomycetes, a large class comprised of some 19,000 fungal species, many of them plant pathogens.

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Crab from the Chinese pet market turns out to be a new species of a new genus

Shimmering carapaces and rattling claws make colourful freshwater crabs attractive to pet keepers. To answer the demand, fishermen are busy collecting and trading with the crustaceans, often not knowing what exactly they have handed over to their client.

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Humans may be uniquely identified by the proteins in their hair

Unique protein markers in hair could be used alongside DNA profiling for human identification, according to a study published September 7, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Glendon Parker from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA, and colleagues.

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Critical information needed in fight to save wildlife

With global temperatures rising, an international group of 22 top biologists is calling for a coordinated effort to gather important species information that is urgently needed to improve predictions for the impact of climate change on future biodiversity.

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  • Biology & Nature

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Yellow or black, large or small? Ant color and body size respond strongly to environment

A University of Liverpool study of ants across three continents has revealed that their colour and size is strongly influenced by their environment, and that the dominant colour and average body size can change from year to year as temperatures vary. This finding has implications for how ant communities will cope with rising global temperatures.

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Chinese investigators characterize the world of resistance gene exchange among bacteria

Certain antibiotic resistance genes are easily transferred from one bacterial species to another, and can move between farm animals and the human gut. A team led by Chinese researchers has characterized this "mobile resistome," which they say is largely to blame for the spread of antibiotic resistance. They found that many antibiotic resistance genes that are shared between the human and animal gut microbiome are also present in multiple human pathogens. These findings are published September 9 in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

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The history of beer yeast

Today's industrial yeast strains are used to make beer, wine, bread, biofuels, and more, but their evolutionary history is not well studied. In a Cell paper publishing September 8, researchers describe a family tree of these microbes with an emphasis on beer yeast. The resulting genetic relationships reveal clues as to when yeast was first domesticated, who the earliest beer brewers were, and how humans have shaped this organism's development.

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Bacteria supply their allies with munitions

Many bacteria possess molecular spear guns, which they fire at enemies and rivals, thus putting them out of action. The tips of these nano-spear guns, known as Type VI secretion system (T6SS), are loaded with toxic molecules that lead to death of their adversaries. However, sometimes close related bacteria come under fire.

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Genetic analysis uncovers 4 species of giraffe, not just 1

Up until now, scientists had only recognized a single species of giraffe made up of several subspecies. But, according to the most inclusive genetic analysis of giraffe relationships to date, giraffes actually aren't one species, but four. For comparison, the genetic differences among giraffe species are at least as great as those between polar and brown bears.

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  • Biology & Nature

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A cinematic approach to drug resistance

In a creative stroke inspired by Hollywood wizardry, scientists from Harvard Medical School and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have designed a simple way to observe how bacteria move as they become impervious to drugs.

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Linking RNA structure and function

Several years ago, biologists discovered a new type of genetic material known as long noncoding RNA. This RNA does not code for proteins and is copied from sections of the genome once believed to be "junk DNA."

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Kill them with cuteness: The adorable thing bats do to catch prey

A Johns Hopkins University researcher noticed the bats he works with cocked their heads to the side, just like his pet Pug.

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Male chemistry primes females for reproduction -- but at a cost

A research team led by a Northwestern University scientist has discovered that male animals, through their invisible chemical "essence," prime female animals for reproduction but with the unfortunate side effect of also hastening females' aging process.

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Training human antibodies to protect against HIV

During HIV infection, the virus mutates too rapidly for the immune system to combat, but some people produce antibodies that can recognize the virus even two years after infection. With an eye towards developing a vaccine, in four related papers from multiple groups publishing September 8 in Cell and Immunity, researchers describe a multi-step method for "training" the immune system to produce these antibodies in genetically engineered mice.

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Hippo teeth reveal environmental change

Loss of megaherbivores such as elephants and hippos can allow woody plants and non-grassy herbs and flowering plants to encroach on grasslands in African national parks, according to a new University of Utah study, published Sept. 12 in Scientific Reports. The study used isotopes in hippopotamus teeth to find a shift in the diet of hippos over the course of a decade in Uganda's Queen Elizabeth National Park following widespread elephant poaching in the 1970s.

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Seek and you shall find -- bees remain excellent searchers even when ill

Honeybees are hardwired to efficiently search the landscape enabling them to continue working for the greater good of their hives even when they are sick, according to new research co-authored by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL).

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Snails' speedy insulin

University of Utah researchers have found that the structure of an insulin molecule produced by predatory cone snails may be an improvement over current fast-acting therapeutic insulin. The finding suggests that the cone snail insulin, produced by the snails to stun their prey, could begin working in as few as five minutes, compared with 15 minutes for the fastest-acting insulin currently available. Biologist Helena Safavi, co-author on a paper describing the cone snail insulin published September 12 in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, says that studying complex venom cocktails can open doors to new drug discoveries.

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Study reveals how ionising radiation damages DNA and causes cancer

For the first time, researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and their collaborators have been able to identify in human cancers two characteristic patterns of DNA damage caused by ionising radiation. These fingerprint patterns may now enable doctors to identify which tumours have been caused by radiation, and investigate if they should be treated differently.

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  • Biology & Nature

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Trees recognize roe deer by saliva

In spring, the young, delicate shoots in the forest light up, bright and May green. The buds and shoots are the future of the forests as they allow young trees to grow. The problem for the trees is: Roe deer like to eat them, and especially their buds. With a bit of luck, the young, gnawed saplings will only take a few more years to grow than their non-bitten conspecifics. In the worst case, they will become stunted trees, or they will have to give up their fight for survival after a number of years. In this respect, roe deer can cause a great deal of damage and hinder the regeneration of many deciduous tree species.

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First accurate simulation of a virus invading a cell

For the first time, scientists know what happens to a virus' shape when it invades a host cell, thanks to an experiment by researchers at Penn State College of Medicine and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Understanding how the virus shape changes could lead to more effective anti-viral therapies.

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Study links altered brain chemistry, behavioral impairments in fish exposed to elevated CO2

Study Links Altered Brain Chemistry, Behavioral Impairments in Fish Exposed to Elevated CO2 Research team studied damselfish behavior and physiology under ocean acidification conditions predicted for year 2300

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  • Biology & Nature

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The proteins that domesticated our genomes

EPFL scientists have carried out a genomic and evolutionary study of a large and enigmatic family of human proteins, to demonstrate that it is responsible for harnessing the millions of transposable elements in the human genome. The work reveals the largely species-specific gene-regulatory networks that impact all of human biology, in both health and disease.

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science and technology

Apple announces software tools for developers to create apps for Vision Pro

Apple has announced that starting today, its global community of developers will be able to create spatial computing apps for Vision Pro.




science and technology

Microsoft says new computing service for chemicals can slash R&D time

The new offering uses a combination of existing quantum computers, artificial intelligence and conventional high-performance computing systems.




science and technology

New AI-enabled Outlook app to replace Mail, Calendar apps on Windows 11

On existing devices, users can switch to the new Outlook for Windows from a toggle in the Mail and Calendar applications.




science and technology

Growing wearables production in India bleeds China units

Top wearables brands such as Boat and Gizmore are making most products locally in key categories audio and smartwatch through electronics contract manufacturers such as Dixon Technologies and Optiemus Electronics. Domestic shipments of wearables jumped 81% on-year in the first quarter of calendar year 2023 to 25 million units, with India surpassing China to become the largest market in the world, according to IDC India.




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Apple in talks with NPCI, plans to launch UPI based Apple Pay service in India

According to RBI’s Bulletin for June, UPI transactions in May reached a record Rs 14.3 trillion in terms of value and 9.41 billion in volume. Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is expected to account for 90% of retail digital transactions volume in the next five years.




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Tesla charging technology put on fast track to become US standard

Tesla's charging technology has been gathering momentum for weeks. Volvo Car on Tuesday joined General Motors, Ford and Rivian in embracing Tesla's charging design, shunning earlier efforts by the Biden administration to make the Combined Charging System (CCS) the dominant charging standard in the United States.




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Zoox headcount grows as Amazon's self-driving unit expands testing in Vegas

Amazon's shares were 1.2% higher at $128.84 in early afternoon trading.




science and technology

Microsoft announces AI-powered shopping tools in Bing, Edge

The new tools help users to harness the power of AI "to make it easier to discover, research, and complete your purchase, all in one place with information you need from expert sources," the tech giant said in a blogpost on Thursday.




science and technology

Meta plans to challenge Apple and Google's dominance over apps

Social media giant Meta is looking to challenge Apple and Google's dominance in the app marketplace by considering the creation of its own app store. The move is motivated by the European Union's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which calls for tech giants to open their platforms and allow alternative methods of app downloading. Meta aims to allow users to download apps directly from Facebook ads, resulting in higher conversion rates for developers. Failure to comply with the DMA can result in fines and possible acquisition bans.




science and technology

US lawmaker urges labelling, restrictions on AI content

In the letter to the chief executives of OpenAI, which released ChatGPT, and its partner Microsoft among others, Bennet said it was especially important for Americans to know when AI was used to make political content. US senator Bennet noted that some companies - including OpenAI and Alphabet's Google - have begun marking some content as AI- generated but added that those companies' policies are "alarmingly reliant on voluntary compliance."




science and technology

Microsoft announces AI-powered shopping tools in Bing, Edge

The new tools help users to harness the power of AI "to make it easier to discover, research, and complete your purchase, all in one place with information you need from expert sources," the tech giant said in a blogpost on Thursday.




science and technology

Mark Zuckerberg vs Elon Musk: Meta’s Twitter clone Threads sees 5 million signups in 4 hours

In just four hours of its launch, the social media platform has recorded over five million signups, Zuckerberg announced on Thursday.




science and technology

Google training Bard on scraped web data: Here's what the company has to say

“Our privacy policy has long been transparent that Google uses publicly available information from the open web to train language models for services like Google Translate,” The Verge quoted Google spokesperson Christa Muldoon as saying. This publically available data includes data available on the internet, device type and settings, operating system, mobile network information including carrier name and phone number, and application version number.




science and technology

OpenKylin: China introduces indigenous computer operating system

China has developed OpenKylin, an operating system based on the open-source Linux platform, to reduce its dependence on US technology. OpenKylin 1.0, created by a community of approximately 4,000 developers, has been utilised in various sectors, such as finance, energy, and even in its space program. China's tech industry has prioritised developing an operating system that is not dependent on US technology, and OpenKylin is one of several under development that could replace Microsoft's Windows and Apple's MacOS. Notably, the system provides reliable fundamental software services and ensures security in critical areas such as government affairs and finance.




science and technology

Global IT hardware companies bat for lifting of import restrictions

In a meeting with IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, held earlier this week, the companies said the import licensing requirement puts "unnecessary pressure" since there is no ecosystem in place in India at present to manufacture these products such as laptops, tablets and servers, executives present at the meeting told ET.




science and technology

Flipkart’s Blockchain-based FireDrops seeks more use cases

Walmart-owned ecommerce major Flipkart is collaborating with Polygon for its web3 plans and aims to go deep with this partnership this year, which can help change the way Indians shop and engage with brands online, senior industry executive told ET.




science and technology

Samsung has a plan to stop Exynos chips from overheating

Samsung's FOWLP-HPB cooling tech for Exynos 2500 chipsets, set for Q4 2024, will enhance performance, modeled in Galaxy S25. Galaxy Z Fold 6, Z Flip 6 launching at Glaaxy Unpacked with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, 4000mAh battery, 50MP sensor, and IP48 durability rating aims to combat Exynos 2400 throttling, offering better battery life and consistent performance.