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NASA Instruments Reveal Water Molecules on Lunar SurfacePASADENA, Calif. -- NASA scientists have discovered water molecules in the polar regions of the moon. Instruments aboard three separate spacecraft revealed water molecules in amounts that are greater than predicted, but still relatively small. Hydroxyl, a molecule consisting of one oxygen atom and one hydrogen atom, also was found in the lunar soil. The findings were published in Thursday's edition of the journal Science. NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper, or M3, instrument reported the observations. M3 was carried into space on Oct. 22, 2008, aboard the Indian Space Research Organization's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft. Data from the Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer, or VIMS, on NASA's Cassini spacecraft, and the High-Resolution Infrared Imaging Spectrometer on NASA's Epoxi spacecraft contributed to confirmation of the finding. The spacecraft imaging spectrometers made it possible to map lunar water more effectively than ever before. The confirmation of elevated water molecules and hydroxyl at these concentrations in the moon's polar regions raises new questions about its origin and effect on the mineralogy of the moon. Answers to these questions will be studied and debated for years to come. "Water ice on the moon has been something of a holy grail for lunar scientists for a very long time," said Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "This surprising finding has come about through the ingenuity, perseverance and international cooperation between NASA and the India Space Research Organization."
H1N1 vaccine data shows no side effects
Early data on the H1N1 vaccines show the vaccines to be highly effective with no adverse effects. Two peer-reviewed articles now published in the online first addition of new England Journal of medicine, which has the preliminary data of the monovalent H1N1 vaccine, have shown that the vaccines are working in a large number of healthy adults.
The two rivals, Greenberg et al and Clark et al, describe preliminary data on the immunogenicity of the influenza A (H1N1) 2009 monovalent vaccine. This data has been awaited, as governments, public health officials, and other stakeholders respond to the first influenza pandemic in over 40 years.
The study by Greenberg et al. shows that a single dose of nonadjuvanted vaccine containing the usual 15 �g of hemagglutinin (HA) antigen is immunogenic, or creates immunity, in a high proportion of healthy young and middle-aged adults. The study was conducted in Australia during a time when the virus was circulating, and one participant had laboratory-confirmed infection with the 2009 H1N1 virus.
The report evaluates immunogenicity and safety of the vaccine 21 days after the first of two scheduled doses is given. A total of 240 subjects, equally divided into two age groups, less than and over 50 years of age, underwent randomisation to receive either 15 �g or 30 �g of hemagglutinin antigen by intramuscular injection. No deaths or serious adverse events were reported, but mild discomfort like headaches were reported in a few cases.
The study by Clark et al, involving 175 adults between 18 to 50 years of age, to test the monovalent influenza A/California/2009 (H1N1) surface-antigen vaccine, concluded that the vaccine generates antibody responses within 14 days after a single dose is administered. The antibody tier protection was higher in those who had received two doses of the same vaccine.
Looking forward to a Congress government in Tamil Nadu: Rahul All India Congress Committee general secretary Rahul Gandhi said here on Thursday that he wished to see the Congress party in power in Tamil Nadu and that the party would look at moulding a leadership for its future in the State.
Addressing a public meeting organised by the party in the city, he said: “One day, I look forward to seeing a Congress government in Tamil Nadu”. Inviting youngsters in the State to join the party, he said: “We are going to develop the future leadership of the Congress in Tamil Nadu.”
Mentioning complaints from youngsters during his three-day tour of the State that they did not have opportunities to join politics, he said: “I am here to open the doors of the Youth Congress to the youngsters. I ask the youngsters in Tamil Nadu to join this movement to change the way politics functions in this State.”
“I have seen the energy of the youth in Tamil Nadu over the last three days. I am confident that you have the energy to take Tamil Nadu to a bright future,” he said.
Mr. Gandhi sought to assure the Tamils in Sri Lanka of steps to ensure their rights. “Our government, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and I will do everything possible within our powers to ensure that the Tamils in Sri Lanka got their rights.”
Mr. Gandhi declared that he and his family loved Tamils, not only those in Tamil Nadu but also in Sri Lanka and the rest of the world. “Tamils in every part of the world make us proud. So, we will stand up for you at all times.” He said the people of Tamil Nadu had stood by his grandmother and late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during the political turbulence in 1977.
Mr. Gandhi said the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government had provided Rs.56,000 crore to Tamil Nadu for development works, twice the amount provided by the National Democratic Alliance Government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Mr. Gandhi said he had travelled on the roads in the State laid under Central Government schemes during the UPA regime. “They are as good as the ones anywhere in the world.”
Union Minister for Shipping G.K. Vasan, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K.V. Thangkabalu and Congress Legislature Party leader D. Sudarsanam were among those who spoke at the meeting.
HYDERABAD/NEW DELHI: Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy will be given a state funeral on Friday while the national flag will fly at Congress party workers pay their respects to deceased Andhra CM YS Reddy in Hyderabad. half mast in Delhi and all state capitals on Thursday and Friday, the government announced. Information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni told reporters after a cabinet meeting here that the tricolour would also fly at half mast all over Andhra Pradesh in tribute to the chief minister who died in a helicopter crash on Wednesday. His body was found on Thursday morning in a dense forest in Kurnool district where the accident took place in bad weather. All central government offices in Andhra Pradesh will remain shut on Friday, Soni added.
Thursday's cabinet meeting, presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, observed a two-minute silence in memory of the chief minister. The body of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who was killed in a helicopter crash, will be brought to Hyderabad from Kurnool by 5 pm, finance minister K Rosaiah said on Thursday.
Rosaiah told reporters here that an autopsy will be conducted on all the five bodies that were found in the Nallamalla forests in Kurnool district. The 60-year-old chief minister, popularly known as YSR, was going from Hyderabad to Chittoor, 588 km away, for a mass contact programme when his helicopter went missing in bad weather around 9.30 am on Wednesday in the dense forest range.
In Pics: YSR Reddy (1949-2009)
Flying with YSR, who this May steered the Congress to a second stint in power, were his principal secretary P Subramaniam, chief security officer ASC Wesley and pilots Group Captain SK Bhatia and Captain MS Reddy.
"All the five bodies were charred beyond recognition," Rosaiah said. He added that there was a possibility that "there was a fire" after the crash. After being brought to Hyderabad, YSR's body will be taken to the chief minister's camp office in Begumpet. The bodies of the other four people would be taken to their respective native places. The chief minister’s body will be kept at the Lal Bahadur stadium in Hyderabad from 10 am Friday to enable people to pay their last respects. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi and several union ministers are expected to arrive here tomorrow.
On Friday, at 1 pm, YSR's body will be taken to Pulivendula, his native town in Kadapa district, where he will be cremated with state honours.
Thursday's cabinet meeting, presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, observed a two-minute silence in memory of the chief minister. The body of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, who was killed in a helicopter crash, will be brought to Hyderabad from Kurnool by 5 pm, finance minister K Rosaiah said on Thursday.
Rosaiah told reporters here that an autopsy will be conducted on all the five bodies that were found in the Nallamalla forests in Kurnool district. The 60-year-old chief minister, popularly known as YSR, was going from Hyderabad to Chittoor, 588 km away, for a mass contact programme when his helicopter went missing in bad weather around 9.30 am on Wednesday in the dense forest range.
In Pics: YSR Reddy (1949-2009)
Flying with YSR, who this May steered the Congress to a second stint in power, were his principal secretary P Subramaniam, chief security officer ASC Wesley and pilots Group Captain SK Bhatia and Captain MS Reddy.
"All the five bodies were charred beyond recognition," Rosaiah said. He added that there was a possibility that "there was a fire" after the crash. After being brought to Hyderabad, YSR's body will be taken to the chief minister's camp office in Begumpet. The bodies of the other four people would be taken to their respective native places. The chief minister’s body will be kept at the Lal Bahadur stadium in Hyderabad from 10 am Friday to enable people to pay their last respects. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi and several union ministers are expected to arrive here tomorrow.
On Friday, at 1 pm, YSR's body will be taken to Pulivendula, his native town in Kadapa district, where he will be cremated with state honours.
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