Technology

New Delhi: A French start-up has become the first company to start factory production of hydrogen-powered bicycles for use in corporate or municipal fleets.

Pragma Industries, which is based in Biarritz, France and makes fuel cells for military use, has sold some 60 hydrogen-powered bikes to French municipalities including Saint Lo, Cherbourg, Chambery and Bayonne.

“Many others have made hydrogen bike prototypes, but we are the first to move to series production,” said founder and chief executive Pierre Forte.

New Delhi:Last week, an experimental tower over 100 metres (328 feet) high in northern China supposedly brought a noticeable improvement in air quality, at least,according to the scientist leading the project.

The tower has been built in Xian in Shaanxi province and is undergoing testing by researchers at the Institute of Earth Environment at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

A student studying environmental science at Shaanxi Normal University, also a few hundred metres from the tower, said the improvement was quite noticeable.

New Delhi: The Pune chapter of the Forum for IT Employees (FITE) has become the first officially registered trade union for the IT sector in India. FITE, which has been at the forefront of fights against massive layoffs in the sector, was registered as a trade union by the office of the state Labour Commissioner in December.

 An organisation of IT employees, FITE was formed in Bengaluru a few years ago to fight the layoffs in IT sector. The Forum later set up chapters in other IT hubs like Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad. It used Facebook and other social media platforms to garner support and help laid-off employees seek legal recourse.

New Delhi: Scientists have revealed that the ability of some spiders to produce a rainbow of colours no their bodies may help humans make advances in the field of optics.

As reported in a new Nature Communications study, an international team of researchers has been closely examining two miniature Australian peacock spiders: the rainbow peacock spider Maratus robinsoni and Maratus chrysomelas.

These tiny peacock spiders which don’t grow longer than 5 millimeters, are famous for its intricate body colorations and courtship patterns. They also have large eyes, which are necessary for good color vision, and which also make them look extremely cute.

New Delhi: The Indian Space Research Organisation (or popularly known as ISRO) launched its first satellite of 2018, the PSLV-C40 carrying Cartosat-2 series satellite on Friday. ISRO kicked off the countdown for the launch of PSLV-C40.

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle or PSLV-C40 lifted off successfully from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. 

The PSLV carries 31 satellites in total from countries including India and six other countries. Among is the satellites that the PSLV is carrying is India's 100th satellite, Cartosat 2 -- a surveillance satellite. The satellites are to be launched in two orbits which makes the mission a unique one according to scientists.