The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexei I. Ekimov for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in Stockholm.

Quantum dots have unique properties and now spread their light from television screens and LED lamps. They catalyse chemical reactions and their clear light can illuminate tumour tissue for a surgeon, the Academy said in a press release.

Researchers have primarily utilised quantum dots to create coloured light. They believe that in the future quantum dots can contribute to flexible electronics, miniscule sensors, slimmer solar cells and perhaps encrypted quantum communication.

A supremely confident Ojas Pravin Deotale and Jyothi Surekha Vennam dropped just one point to defeat their South Korean opponents by one-point and clinch their second gold medal in archery at the Asian Games in Hangzhou on Wednesday.

With this, Indian archers are set to win at least four medals from the ongoing Games, which will better their previous best show at Incheon in 2014 when they bagged a men's team compound gold, one silver and a bronze.

Every year World Animal Day is observed globally on October 4 with an aim to celebrate animal rights and welfare around the world. This day unites the animal welfare movement, mobilising into a global force to make the world better for all animals. It offers everyone a chance to make a difference and bring awareness to any type of animal that shares our planet. 

The CALIPSO mission that analysed climate, weather, and air quality ended on August 1, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced Tuesday.

The CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation) mission recorded more than 10 billion LIDAR measurements and helped create thousands of scientific reports over its 17 years of operation. It was launched jointly by NASA and France’s CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales) along with the cloud-profiling radar system on the CloudSat satellite.

“We had to build, for the first time, a sophisticated lidar capable of operating in space. Then we intended to fly that satellite in close formation to match the CALIPSO lidar profile measurements with the radar profile measurements from CloudSat,” Chip Trepte, NASA’s project scientist for CALIPSO, said in a press statement.

As per an order issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Amit Agrawal, a 1993-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre, has been given in extension of his service as the CEO of UIDIA for a period of one year beyond November 2, 2023, to November 2, 2024, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

"The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved extension in central deputation tenure of Amit Agrawal, lAS (CG:93), Chief Executive Officer, Unique Identification Authority of India for a period of one year beyond November 2, 2023 i.e. up to November 2, 2024 or until further orders, whichever is earlier," reads the order.

An athlete from China broke the world record for the ‘fastest 100 metres slackline walk’. Shi Hailin accomplished this feat by walking on a slackline suspended 100 metres above the ground between two hills in only 1 minute 14.198 seconds. With this, he surpassed the previous record of 1 minute 59.73 seconds held by Lucas Milliard of France in 2016.

The world record took place 1,600 m above sea level at the Guanyindang camp in Mount Wugong, Pingxiang. Though Hailin walked more than 222 m in total, he was timed specifically within a marked 100 m area, reported Guinness World Records (GWR).

The state government has decided to launch a project to develop 10 schools as ‘Demo Schools’, which will be used to ‘demonstrate’ the implementation of the new education policy (NEP-2020) in the state to delegates and visitors from other states of the country and abroad, according to a government press release.

These schools, most of which will be in the key areas of the state capital and some in the neighbouring Barabanki, will also showcase facilities provided to primary schools by the government, to the visitors

The Indian duo of Arjun Singh and Sunil Singh Salam secured the bronze medal in the men's canoe double 1000m final at the 2023 Asian Games, with a time of 3:53.329.

This was India's second Asian Games medal in canoeing, following a bronze medal by Johnny Rommel and Siji Kumar Sadanandan in the same event in Hiroshima in 1994.

Competing at the Fuyang Water Sports Centre on Tuesday, Sunil Singh Salam and Arjun Singh completed their course in 3:53.329 to earn the podium spot.

India’s Annu Rani won the gold medal in the women’s javelin throw with a 69.92m throw at the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou on Tuesday.

She became the first Indian woman to win a javelin gold in Asian Games history.

Sri Lanka’s Nadeesha Dilhan Lekamge Hatarabage, with 61.57 metres throw, and China’s Huihui Lyu, with 61.29 metres throw, won silver and bronze, respectively.

Rest of India beat Saurashtra by 175 runs to win the Irani Cup as 21 wickets fell on the third day at the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) stadium in Rajkot on Tuesday.

Parth Bhut’s seven-wicket spell in the second session hit the Rest of India (RoI) like a zooming bus as he ended up with figures of seven for 53. The RoI camp would have clutched at anything that looked like a lifeline as it lost nine wickets for 64 runs in the session to be bowled out for 160 in its second innings.

Chasing 255, though, Saurashtra was tasered and tied up in the third session as it was bowled out for 79, courtesy of left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar (six for 43, match haul of ten for 108).