Microbes in space: concerns raised about bacteria in the ISS: Five strains of the bacterium Enterobacter recovered from areas on board the International Space Station (ISS) have been identified, with researchers urging further careful research to determine whether continuous exposure to microgravity could induce potentially dangerous mutations. In a paper published in the journal BMC Microbiology, a team led by Nitin Singh and Daniela Bezdan from the Biotechnology and Planetary Protection Group at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory of the California Institute of Technology, US, detail genomic analyses of Enterobacter gathered from the toilet and gym areas of the space station. Sequencing of the ISS samples revealed that all five strains belonged to a single species, E. bugandensis.
Motor Accident Claims Tribunal has awarded RS. 3.07 crores as compensation to families of three men who died in motor accident (Advocate Ira Gupta): On 24.11.2018, a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) has awarded Rs 3.07 crore as compensation to families of three men who died in a road accident while travelling from Noida to Kotdwar in Uttarakhand. MACT Presiding Officer M K Nagpal awarded Rs 3,07,27,000 crore in total to the next kin of the three victims who were killed when their car collided with a tractor near Bijnaur in Uttar Pradesh nearly six years ago.
The tribunal held that the accident was a result of the "rash and negligent driving of the tractor" and directed the driver, owner and insurer – the Oriental Insurance Company Limited – of the offending vehicle to "jointly and severally" pay the compensation. It clubbed together the pleas moved by the kin of the three victims and awarded varying compensation amounts to the families based on the income of the deceased.
On Dec 29, 2012, Sandeep Balodi, Satish Kumar and Deepak Kainthola were travelling along with two others in a Maruti Swift from Noida to Kotdwar when their car collided with a tractor coming from the opposite direction. All five occupants suffered injuries and Balodi, Kumar & Kainthola were declared brought dead at the hospital.
The tribunal awarded Rs 10,83,000 to the aged parents of 25-year-old Balodi and 53,65,000 to the family of 30-year-old Kumar.
It awarded Rs 2,42,79,000 to the aged parents of Kainthola, a software engineer, who was 33-years-old when the accident took place.
NIH researchers discover neural code that predicts behaviour: Scientists at the National Eye Institute (NEI) have found that neurons in the superior colliculus, an ancient midbrain structure found in all vertebrates, are key players in allowing us to detect visual objects and events. This structure doesn't help us recognize what the specific object or event is; instead, it's the part of the brain that decides something is there at all. By comparing brain activity recorded from the right and left superior colliculi at the same time, the researchers were able to predict whether an animal was seeing an event. The findings were published Nov. 26, 2018 in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
UNAIDS is working to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 3, Target 3. It unites the efforts of: the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA), the UN Office on Drugs and Crime(UNODC), UN Women, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Bank.