Knowledge Update

​Beijing, Jan 5 (IANS) Chinese scientists are drawing a 1:2.5 million scale geological map of the Moon, a media report said on Thursday.

Ouyang Ziyuan, first chief scientist of China's lunar exploration programme, said five universities and research institutes have set standards for digital mapping and drawing of the Moon's geological structure.

A sketch version of the map, 4.36 metres by 2.2 metres, would be finished by 2018, and released by 2020, Xinhua news agency reported.

The map would provide information on geology, structure and rock types and would reflect the timeline of the Moon's evolution.

Chen Shengbo, a geologist with Jilin University in China, and his team are responsible for drawing the lunar structure outline, which was just one part of the work. 

He said the map would clearly show lunar geography, such as geographic fractures and the size, appearance, and the structure of craters.

Chen said mapping depends on data and images sent by circumlunar satellites from home and abroad. 

Lunar map making was not like drawing a map of the Earth, where scientists can go to the scene in person if they were not sure of their information.

China's satellites have captured images of the Moon, which contribute to the precision of lunar maps. 

New Delhi, Jan 4 (IANS) Aiming to give a technological edge to the small and medium businesses (SMBs) in India, Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Wednesday announced two initiatives 'Digital Unlocked' and 'My Business Website'.

​Las Vegas, Jan 4 (IANS) With the world's biggest annual electronics event -- Consumer Electronics Show (CES-2017) -- commencing here on Tuesday, people expect to see a large range of Artificial Intelligence (AI) devices, robots and self-driving cars open a new window to the future of our increasingly technology-driven world.

​New York, Jan 4 (IANS) As everyone is talking about their new year resolutions, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday resolved to meet people in real life in every US state by the end of the year.

​New York, Jan 4 (IANS) A new technology can wireless charge almost any device including those without in-built wireless charging capabilities, such as Apple's iPhone and iPad.

The wireless charger developed by a French start-up, called Energysquare, was witnessed by CNET during the on-going CES trade show in Las Vegas.

​New York, Jan 4 (IANS) Yahoo on Wednesday rolled out "read receipts" and typing indicator features -- similar to WhatsApp -- on its Messenger to allow users to be sure when their friends are checking their messages.

Las Vegas, Jan 4 (IANS) Chip manufacturer Qualcomm has introduced its newest mobile platform Snapdragon 835 processor with X16 LTE modem, which will provide high performance and enhanced power efficiency.

Las Vegas, Jan 4 (IANS) Printing and personal computer major HP Inc. unveiled new PCs at Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2017)-- world's biggest annual electronics event. Designed for work at home or on the go, the new PCs include HP EliteBook x360, HP Spectre x360 and HP ENVY Curved All-in-One 34. HP EliteBook x360 features 4K UHD display with Windows Hello, pen support and has a battery life of up to 16 hours and 30 minutes. Following the success of HP's 13.3-inch diagonal model, the second generation of HP's 15.6-inch diagonal x360 powers a micro-edge 4K display, Intel Core processors, NVIDIA GeForce 940MX graphics, adds two new front facing speakers tuned by Bang & Olufsen and an IR camera for Windows Hello. HP ENVY Curved All-in-One 34 features a 34-inch diagonal ultra-WQHD micro-edge display and packs four-speaker sound bar tuned by Bang & Olufsen. To better meet the needs of commercial customers, HP also introduced the new Sprout Pro, the second generation immersive all-in-one PC. It incorporates a grounds-up redesign with a 2.2mm thick, 20-point capacitive Touch Mat display with a sharper, near 1080p projected resolution. It also now features an Intel Core i7 processor, 1TB of SSHD storage, up to 16GB of RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M graphics for faster 3D scanning. OMEN X by HP is now bringing gamers closer to their virtual worlds with the new OMEN X 35 Curved Display. As the first OMEN display with NVIDIA G-Sync technology, the device provides higher refresh rates that result in a more natural, realistic, and true-to-life gaming experience, the company said.

New Delhi, Jan 4 (IANS) Apple's iPhone has been named as Indias most reputed mobile phone brand, followed by Samsung and domestic brand Micromax. According to a report "India's Most Reputed Mobile Phone Brands 2017" by media analytics company BlueBytes, in association with business intelligence company TRA Research, Apple's iPhone has the highest positive media appearances in terms of sheer volume. "In a cluttered space like the mobile phone industry, with diverse brands attempting to capture consumer attention, customers buy and recommend on the basis of reputation, making it the most important influencer of buying decisions," said Pooja Kaura, Chief Spokesperson for "India's Most Reputed Brands". China's Xiaomi and Finland's Nokia secured fourth and fifth position respectively. Seventy two mobile phone brands were listed from 12 different countries in the report, of which Indian origin brands held 29 positions. Chinese brands Lenovo, Huawei, and Motorola -- now owned by Lenovo -- ranked sixth, seventh and eighth respectively. LG (South Korea) and Intex Technologies (India) figure last in the list.

​New York, Jan 4 (IANS) Apart from physical problems, people with an impoverished lifestyle in childhood are also likely to suffer significant psychological damage during adulthood.

The findings showed that impoverished children had more anti-social conduct such as aggression and bullying and increased feeling of helplessness, than kids from middle-income backgrounds.

Poor kids also have more chronic physiological stress and more deficits in short-term spatial memory.

"What this means is, if you're born poor, you're on a trajectory to have more of these kinds of psychological problems," said lead author Gary Evans, Professor and child psychologist at the Cornell University in New York, US.

The reason is stress, researchers said.

"With poverty, you're exposed to lots of stress. Everybody has stress, but low-income families, low-income children, have a lot more of it," Evans said. "And the parents are also under a lot of stress. So for kids, there is a cumulative risk exposure."

For the study, Evans tracked 341 participants over a 15-year period, and tested them at ages 9, 13, 17 and 24.

The results revealed that the adults who grew up in poverty had a diminished ability to recall the sequences, tend to be more helpless and had the tendency to give up easily as well as had a higher level of chronic physical stress throughout childhood and into adulthood.

The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.