Science & Technology

Bonn, Jan 13 (PTI) Scientists have identified and further developed novel antibody fragments from llamas and alpacas that can be used against the SARS CoV-2 virus which causes COVID-19.

These "nanobodies" identified by an international team led by the University of Bonn in Germany are smaller than classic antibodies.

They can penetrate the tissue better and can be produced in larger quantities.

The Turkish Presidency and military have moved their messaging systems away from WhatsApp and onto a local Turkish messaging app due to new private data concerns, Anadolu Agency reports.

Officials said that the media office will update journalists via BiP, a unit of Turkish communication company Turkcell, from today.

08 Jan 2021; MEMO: American Aerospace Manufacturer SpaceX yesterday launched a Turkish communication satellite called as TURKSAT 5A, state agency Anadolu reports.

According to the news site, the technology company's Falcon 9 Rocket blasted off Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in the US state of Florida, carrying the TURKSAT 5A satellite.

The brief delay was due to a downrange tracking issue, SpaceX said during its live launch broadcast.

Tehran, Jan 4, IRNA – Government spokesman Ali Rabiei said on Monday that Iran has started the pre-processing stage of gas injection a couple of hours ago in Fordow nuclear site, noting that the first UF6 enriched uranium will be produced in a few hours.

Speaking to IRNA, Rabiei said that Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has issued the order to implement the law of strategic measure passed by Majlis to remove the sanctions in the past few days.

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese lunar capsule returned to Earth on Thursday with the first fresh rock samples from the moon in more than 40 years, offering the possibility of new insights into the history of the solar system and marking a new landmark for China’s rapidly advancing space program.

The capsule of the Chang’e 5 probe landed just before 2 a.m. (1800 GMT Wednesday) in the Siziwang district of the Inner Mongolia region, the China National Space Administration reported.

14 Dec 2020; AA: With a 30-year lifetime, Turkey's fifth-generation satellite, the Turksat 5A, will have the country's orbital rights secured, an executive at Airbus told Anadolu Agency.

Jean-Marc Nasr, Head of Space Systems within Airbus, said: "Turksat 5A will secure the orbital rights of Turkey."

Citing a production contract for the Turksat 5A between Turksat and Airbus Defense and Space, Nasr said efforts to produce the satellite had started immediately after the deal was signed on Nov. 9, 2017.

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian nuclear submarine on Saturday successfully test-fired four intercontinental ballistic missiles in a show of readiness of Moscow’s nuclear forces amid tension with the U.S.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A Virgin Galactic test flight Saturday ended prematurely as the spacecraft’s rocket motor failed to ignite and it then glided down safely to its landing site in southern New Mexico.

The spacecraft’s engine is supposed to ignite moments after the craft is released from a special carrier jet, sending it in a near-vertical climb toward the edge of space.

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese space capsule bringing back the first moon rocks in more than four decades started its three-day return to Earth on Sunday.

The Chang’e 5 lunar probe, which had been orbiting the moon for about a week, fired up four engines for about 22 minutes to move out of the moon’s orbit, the China National Space Administration said in a social media post.

06 Dec 2020; MEMO:  Once Turkey starts to mass-produce its own turboshaft helicopter engines, it will avert annual hi-tech imports worth $60 million, a senior official in the country said on Saturday, reported by Anadolu Agency.