Find My Phone: How to Find Your Lost iPhone

The Apple iPhone is the most popular smartphone range in the world, fetching a good sum even for pre-used models. So it comes as no surprise that iPhones are among the top targets for thieves looking for a quick buck. If you are concerned about the security of your iPhone as well as the personal and official data on it, Apple has you covered. The company has had the Find My iPhone feature integrated in iPhones and iPads for several years to help you find your lost iPhone.
Not sure how to ensure that you can find your lost iPhone? Follow the simple steps below to safeguard your iPhone and the data on it.

Settings to help you find your lost iPhone

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone, head to iCloud
2. Here, tap on Find my iPhone
3. Turn on the Find My iPhone and Send Last Location functionalities
4. Go back to the Settings and open Privacy
5. Under Privacy, open the Location Services

How to find your lost iPhone

1. If your iPhone is lost somewhere, you either use the Find My iPhone app on another device or open the https://www.icloud.com/ website and select the Find My iPhone option
2. Choose the iPhone you lost from the list of your devices that appears on the screen
3. The Find My iPhone tool will show you the last known location of your lost iPhone, along with options to lock it, wipe out the data on board, and sound out an alarm
   
   With these, you can ensure that none of your personal data is not stolen by a thief who gets his/ her hands on your iPhone, and maybe even recover it. 

PM Narendra Modi likely to address the nation today

PM Modi is expected to announce the future road-map after 50-day deadline comes to an end.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to address the nation on Saturday evening, a day after 50-day deadline post demonetisation came to an end on Friday. In his address, PM Modi is expected to throw light on the post-demonetisation steps to further curb the scourge of black money and counterfeit currency.

Yadavs Make Peace, Akhilesh Back In Party Less Than 24 Hours Later: 10 Facts

LUCKNOW:  A day after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav was expelled from the Samajwadi Party by his father Mulayam Singh Yadav, he has been taken back in the party. The decision was announced after the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister met Mulayam Singh this afternoon at the party chief's residence. The meeting was organised by senior Samajwadi Party leader and cabinet minister Azam Khan. Akhilesh Yadav's close aide Ram Gopal Yadav, who was expelled alongside the chief minister yesterday, has been taken back as well.

Here are the 10 latest developments in this story:

1. "I have just met Netaji (Mulayam Singh) and Akhilesh and Azam were also there. Netaji has told me to revoke Akhilesh's expulsion. Now we will all fight UP polls united and will form the government with majority. Now all misunderstandings are over and we will discuss all the things again and take decisions. We will discuss on ticket distribution," Akhilesh Yadav's uncle and Mulayam Singh's brother Shivpal Yadav said.
2. Sources say, in the meeting with Mulayam Singh, Azam Khan had asked for the revocation of Akhilesh Yadav's expulsion. Akhilesh Yadav camp also wants Amar Singh out of Samajwadi Party, sources added.
3. This morning, Akhilesh Yadav met many lawmakers and other leaders of the party at his 5 Kalidas Marg residence cum office in Lucknow.
4. The Akhilesh camp claimed that over 190 lawmakers came to meet the chief minister.
5. Mulayam Singh Yadav had also called a meeting this morning at his residence - about a kilometre away - of all the candidates that he has named for the UP assembly elections, which will be announced any day now. Mulayam Singh's list of candidates includes many sitting MLAs. But only about 20 legislators showed up for the meeting, along with about 60 other candidates.
6. Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, who had earlier today spoken to both Mulayam Singh and Akhilesh Yadav to facilitate a patch-up, said, "I am very happy to know that the matter is sorted now. It's my responsibility to give right suggestion as he is my family member."
7. On Friday evening Mulayam Singh Yadav had expelled Akhilesh from the party for six years, for refusing to accept the candidates he had chosen for the UP elections. Mulayam Singh said he had no choice and wanted to "save the party".
8. Friday's fast-paced and dramatic events came after months of a bitter tussle for control in the party between Akhilesh Yadav, 44, and his uncle Shivpal Yadav, who is Mulayam Singh's younger brother. Mulayam Singh has consistently sided with Shivpal, who replaced Akhilesh as the party's UP chief some months ago.
9. Earlier this week, Mulayam Singh announced a list of candidates for the UP elections, excluding several of Akhilesh Yadav's key aides. Candidates recommended by Shivpal Yadav were favoured, including some with criminal backgrounds who were fiercely opposed by the chief minister.
10. An upset Akhilesh first tried to reason with his father and then released a separate list of candidates. It was when his staunch supporter and Mulayam' cousin Ram Gopal called Sunday's meeting without the party chief's consent that both Akhilesh and Ram Gopal were expelled.

Donald Trump's Praise Of Vladmir Putin Could Signal A New Day For US Policy

Vladimir Putin has put relations with the US on hold until Donald Trump replaces Barack Obama.

HONOLULU:  Moscow is hoping Donald Trump will reconsider the sanctions the U.S. is levying in response to its finding of election hacking, a wait-and-see strategy bolstered by the American president-elect's own approving words for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin has essentially put relations with the U.S. on hold until Trump replaces President Barack Obama on Jan. 20. Though his foreign minister encouraged him to slap back at Washington for the sanctions imposed by Obama, Putin decided that Russia wouldn't immediately retaliate.

"Great move on delay (by Putin)," Trump wrote Friday on Twitter. "I always knew he was very smart!"
Praise for a longtime adversary at odds with a sitting American president is remarkable for a president-elect - and the latest signal that U.S.-Russia relations, among other policies, could be getting a makeover from Trump.

Whether he steers the U.S. toward or away from Russia is shaping up as the first major test of his foreign policy disposition and his willingness to buck fellow Republicans, who for years have argued Obama wasn't being tough enough on Russia.

In response to the election hacking he blames on Russia, Obama ordered sanctions on Russian spy agencies, closed two Russian compounds and expelled 35 diplomats the U.S. said were really spies. Brushing off Obama, Putin said Russia would plan steps to restore U.S. ties "based on the policies that will be carried out by the administration of President D. Trump." Not only would Russia not kick Americans out, Putin said, he was inviting the kids of all U.S. diplomats to the Kremlin's New Year's and Christmas parties.

"At this point, they're trolling Obama," said Olga Oliker, who directs the Russia program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The Obama administration said it had seen Putin's remarks but had nothing more to say.
Russia denies the U.S. intelligence community's assessment that in an attempt to help Trump win the presidency, Moscow orchestrated cyber breaches in which tens of thousands of Democrats' emails were stolen and later made public. Trump, too, has refused to accept that conclusion and insisted the country should just "move on," though he has agreed to meet next week with intelligence leaders to learn more.

Notably, after the U.S. on Thursday issued a report it said exposed Russia's cyber tactics, Putin's aides didn't offer any specific rebuttal. The report included detailed technical information like IP addresses and samples of malware code the U.S. said Russia uses.

One utility company, Burlington Electric Department in Vermont, reported Friday that it had detected the malware on a company laptop that was not connected to its grid systems. Burlington said, "We took immediate action to isolate the laptop and alerted federal officials of this finding."

There's little certainty about how Trump will actually act on Russia as president. Though he's praised Putin as a strong leader and said it would be ideal for the two countries to stop fighting, he also suggested this month the U.S. might mount a new nuclear arms race, triggering fresh anxieties about a return to Cold War-style tensions.

Ambassador Michael McFaul, Obama's former envoy to Russia, said while Trump has defined his top objective as "getting along with the Kremlin," Putin has higher goals, including the lifting of economic sanctions and, ideally, U.S. recognition of Russia's annexation of Crimea.

"Obviously, Putin's not responding because he's waiting for Jan. 20," McFaul said in an interview. "He's got these much more important objectives to him than getting into a tit-for-tat response with the outgoing administration."

Trump's warm outreach to Putin, combined with picks for secretary of state and national security adviser who are seen as friendly to Russia, have left hawkish Republicans with a particularly unpleasant choice: look hypocritical for backtracking on their own tough talk, or risk a public rift with their party's new president.

In the House, many Republicans who have long called for tougher sanctions have been silent or vague about Obama's penalties and Trump's positions. But a handful of GOP senators have shown they have no intentions of letting up pressure on the Kremlin.

"We intend to lead the effort in the new Congress to impose stronger sanctions on Russia," Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said in a statement. McCain, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, scheduled a hearing next week on "foreign cyber threats" in an attempt to further spotlight Russia's actions.

Even if Trump opts to pull back Obama's sanctions and overlook hacking allegations, he may find rapprochement with Russia isn't that simple. The past two presidents both tried to reach out to Russia early in their terms but left office with relations in no better shape.

Though Trump has suggested the U.S. and Russia should align strategies in Syria by focusing on their mutual enemy, the Islamic State group, Russia's military campaign has almost exclusively targeted American-backed Syrian rebels, the U.S. has said. Nor is it clear whether Trump and Putin share a common approach to Europe's security issues.

And if Trump follows through on his vow to renegotiate the Iran nuclear deal, he won't find a receptive audience in Moscow. Putin's government brokered the deal with the U.S., Iran and other world powers and has no intention of slapping sanctions back on Iran.

(Reported by Josh Ledereman, Associated Press)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

How Amazon, Google, and Facebook Will Bring Down Telcos

JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING YOU see on TV is presented by one of a handful of media conglomerates. A similarly small number of telecommunication companies provides your cable service. If you have Comcast and you’re watching NBC, the content and the delivery infrastructure are owned by the same people. This tiny world will concentrate further if regulators approve AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner.

The internet was supposed to alleviate this. Instead, it may compound it. Amazon, Facebook, Google, and a handful of others are displacing media companies and telcos. They already host much of the content you consume, and produce more and more of it. They own much of the infrastructure carrying that data, and they’re starting to sell Internet access.

These tech titans didn’t plan to take down the telcos. But they depend upon you having fast, reliable internet, so they’re bringing everything in-house. This promises to make things drastically better for you as a consumer, so if you hate big telecoms, you’ll feel schadenfreude at their demise. But you might end up with more of the same as the new guard becomes the old guard.

May the Best Signal Win

You’ve probably heard about Google Fiber and its shift toward wireless Internet over fiber-optic cables. Google Fi mobile service could be even more radical. Instead of building cell towers, Google resells access to Sprint and T-Mobile networks. Companies like Cricket and TracFone do this too, but Google-Fi lets your phone use the best signal available at any moment.

Granted, most mobile devices hop among networks as you roam—but only if your carrier’s signal is unavailable. If you’ve got one lousy bar of signal with your carrier, tough luck. Traditional roaming won’t let you switch to another carrier’s stronger signal. Google-Fi offers the best signal, period, no matter where you are.

That could change the economics of wireless service. Instead of signing up with a single carrier, you’d sign-up with a broker—called a mobile virtual network provider—and use the best network available. Today’s carriers would become invisible wholesalers competing to offer access at the cheapest rates. That could save you big money while providing superior service.

Falling in Line

The big carriers will resist this, of course, but it creates opportunities for smaller players like Artemis Networks. The company created a wireless network using what it calls pCell technology. Traditionally, it would have to offer people service plans, just like AT&T and Verizon. Instead, founder Steve Perlman plans to sell the service to virtual network providers.

Google is also building a service that would let people connect to public Wi-Fi using a common login. Obviously, a blanket of public WiFi connections will make Google-Fi more viable. But before Google can stitch this massive network together, others must build pieces of that network. That’s where Facebook comes in.

Earlier this year, Facebook unveiled networking gear designed to beam the internet into remote locations and dense urban areas. It isn’t interested in becoming an internet service provider; instead it sees others using these open source tools to deliver high-speed wireless internet to new areas.

As new technologies and expanded access to the wireless spectrum drive down the cost of operating cell services, Google and other wireless brokers will be able to create nationwide–even worldwide–networks. That would make wireless service a commodity and shift the balance of power from incumbents like AT&T to companies like Google.

Dark Fiber

Even if tech companies don’t wrest wireless service from the telco’s grasp, they can weaken the giants in other ways.  Amazon, Facebook and Google have long built their data centers and leased or bought unused fiber-optic infrastructure–so-called “dark fiber”–to connect them, bypassing traditional telcos.

This has big implications. Amazon, for example, runs what most experts consider the world’s biggest cloud hosting service. Untold numbers of apps and websites rely upon this service to carry their data. Traditional telcos have no part of that. Google and Facebook hope to lure more companies into hosting content on their AMP and Instant Articles services, respectively.

It’s hard to determine the scale of this private infrastructure. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2013 that Google had about 100,000 miles miles of fiber-optic routes–far more than Sprint’s 40,000 miles. Meanwhile, the research firm Telegeography reports that private networks account for about 60 percent of trans-Atlantic data traffic. If Amazon, Google and Facebook don’t already control more telecommunications infrastructure than the largest national telcos, they soon will.

Oligopoly

Put it all together and you can see a day when you’re watching content that Google produced disseminated via infrastructure that Google owns on a phone that Google made using wireless service Google brokered.

Many people find this appealing. Its hard to find an industry loathed more than telcos, which have a reputation for lousy service, opaque billing, and rising rates. Tech companies, on the other hand, generally are seen as innovators. And they’re making things better. Comcast and AT&T already offer faster connections in areas where they compete with Google Fiber.

Google-Fi, Amazon’s rumored Internet service and Facebook’s open source hardware could spur greater innovation from entrenched telcos. The risk, of course, is that those tech companies simply replace telcos as the new oligopoly.

Moto G4, G4 Plus users in India start receiving Android 7.0 Nougat update

Motorola has started rolling out Android 7.0 update for Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus users in India. The update comes with November Android Security Patch and brings about several changes to performance, notifications, usability etc. The company had earlier announced the Android 7.0 upgrade for Moto Z users in India. It was rolled out for Moto Z and Moto Z Force users in the US as well.

Motorola recommends installing the update the update when the battery level in your smartphone is at least 50 per cent and you’re connected to a Wi-Fi network. Moto G4 and G4 Plus users should receive a notification for the Android 7.0 Nougat update. Click on ‘Yes, I’m in’ to download the Nougat update. Next, you’ll be prompted to install the update. Click on ‘Install now’ and Android 7.0 Nougat will be installed to your smartphone.

To check for the update manually, go to Settings > About Phone > System Updates. Now, check for any new update and install it.

Motorola had promised in October that it will roll out Android 7.0 Nougat for its smartphones by the end of this year. Motorola started rolling out Android Nougat update for its Moto G4 and Moto G4 Plus smartphones globally in October. Now, the upgrade has made its way to India.

Here’s a quick looks at some other changes that will come with the new update:

1. Quick switch between apps – Double tapping on the overview/ recent apps button will allow users to switch between two most recently used apps.

2. Multi-window view – This will allow two apps to run side by side. Now you will be able to text a friend while watching a video side by side on your screen.

3. Work Mode – This new feature allows users to turn off the phone’s work apps when not at your work, making for a balanced work-life balance.

Other Motorola phones that will be receiving the Nougat update are: Moto G Play (4th Gen), Moto X Pure Edition (3rd Gen), Moto X Style, Moto X Play, Moto X Force, Droid Turbo 2, Droid Maxx 2, Moto Z Droid, Moto Z Play, Moto Z Play Droid and Nexus 6.

PM Narendra Modi launches BHIM app for UPI: All your questions answered

BHIM UPI App: How to link bank accounts, pay via app, banks supported and more. Here's everything you need to know.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a new digital payments app called BHIM based on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). The app is currently available only on Android; so iOS, Windows mobile users etc are left out. BHIM is also supposed to support Aadhaar-based payments, where transactions will be possible just with a fingerprint impression, but that facility is yet to roll out.

So what can BHIM app do?

BHIM is a digital payments solution app based on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). If you have signed up for UPI based payments on your respective bank account, which is also linked to your mobile number, then you’ll be able to use the BHIM app to conduct digital transactions.

BHIM app will let you send and receive money to other non-UPI accounts or addresses. You can also send money via IFSC and MMID code to users, who don’t have a UPI-based bank account. Additionally, there’s the option of scanning a QR code and making a direct payment. Users can create their own QR code for a certain fixed amount of money, and then the merchant can scan it and the deduction will be made.

So BHIM app is like another mobile wallet?

No, BHIM app is not a mobile wallet. In case of mobile wallets like Paytm or MobiKwik you store a limited amount of money on the app, that can only be sent to someone who is using the same wallet. So if I have a Paytm account it won’t be possible for me to send money to someone on MobiKwik.

But BHIM is based on UPI, which is the Universal Payments Interface and thus linked directly to a bank account. Your friend, relative or even a merchant who you’re trying to pay doesn’t necessarily need to be on the BHIM app. All they need is a bank account to receive the payment.

If they have UPI activated, you can just ask for their VPA or virtual payment address, and just make a payment to that account. So for instance, if I have a VPA at SBI which could be called shrutid@SBI, then I can just send my friend that bit of information and he/she can transfer it straight from BHIM. Otherwise there’s the option of IFSC code or MMID for sending/ receiving money.

The advantage is I don’t need to remember my account number or share that with everyone. This VPA is all that is needed to transfer funds.

Which banks are supported by BHIM app?

There’s a pretty comprehensive list of banks that are supporting BHIM app for UPI-based payments. The list includes Allahabad Bank, Andhra Bank, Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, Catholic Syrian Bank, Central Bank of India, DCB Bank, Dena Bank, Federal Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, IDFC Bank, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, IndusInd Bank, Karnataka Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Punjab National Bank, RBL Bank, South Indian Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, State Bank of India, Syndicate Bank, Union Bank of India, United Bank of India, and Vijaya Bank.

So exactly does BHIM work? How many accounts can I link to the BHIM app to make payments?

BHIM lets you choose your preferred bank after it has verified your mobile number. The app sends an SMS via the SIM in your phone. So it is best if your phone has the same mobile number as the one that is linked to a bank account.

Make sure there is enough balance for BHIM to send out an SMS. In our case, we’ve gotten some cases of device binding failure, but after a couple of tries the app got synced in one of phones. The app will then ask you to set a passcode (4 digit), which you can choose. Keep something you don’t forget easily because you will need the code every time you open the app.

Your friend, relative or even a merchant who you’re trying to pay doesn’t necessarily need to be on the BHIM app.

Once that is done, the app will ask you to select from the relevant bank. Choose your bank, if UPI is activated it will reflect the relevant account number, and you’ll be able to see an option to send money, receive money, share via IFSC code.

If UPI is not activated, you can just put in six digits of your debit card and the expiry date. You then create a UPI pin. Once done, the app will let you perform the needed functions.

Then just click on send money. Type in the mobile number or bank VPA address. It will also verify the user to whom you are sending the money. Type in the amount, and hit pay.

BHIM also has options to transfer via IFSC, MMID as well for non-UPI banks.

If your friend doesn’t have UPI, on top of the send money option, you will see three dots. Tap on that and the ACCOUNT+IFSC option will open up. Put in the details there, and you’ll be able to transfer money.

The problem is that if your mobile number is linked to two accounts, you can only access one for now. If you want to switch, you have to disable the selected one and go back to the bank selection option again. To transfer money you just need your friend or even merchant’s mobile number or VPA which they should be able to give if they have a UPI account..

Ok so what is this UPI and how do I check if my bank supports it?

According to NPCI’s own website, when UPI went live in August 2016, the list of banks with supporting apps on Google Play Store Store looked like this: Andhra Bank, Axis Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, Bhartiya Mahila Bank, Canara Bank, Catholic Syrian Bank, DCB Bank, Federal Bank, ICICI Bank, TJSB Sahakari Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Karnataka Bank, UCO Bank, Union Bank of India, United Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, South Indian Bank, Vijaya Bank and YES Bank.

HDFC bank’s Android app also started supporting UPI. Then in November, SBI’s own UPI-support app called SBI Pay went live. So far thirty apps have signed up for UPI. Also as Indian Express had noted in a report, “five other public sector banks are yet to join the UPI interface.” This is an issue because many people in India still have bank accounts in a PSU.

The other problem is that UPI based payments only work on Android phones, which means iOS users can forget about conducting these sort of transactions.

So how do I go about creating a VPA for UPI on bank account?

First up you need to support app-based mobile banking. Make sure you mobile number is linked to your bank account, and then go on to install your bank’s official app from the Google Play Store. Do check the developer, etc before installing because you need to make sure you are not downloading a malicious or fake app masquerading as one from your bank. If unsure which is the right app, check with the bank about the same.

Once you have the app from a bank that supports UPI-based payments on Android, you’ll be able to locate a tab regarding UPI payments. In this you can go and create a VPA, which is what will be used to conduct all UPI-based transactions. Keep VPA simple so that you don’t forget it in the future; as we explained VPA will look something like this shruti@icici or shruti@sbi, etc depending on bank. Then create a UPI pin as well for conducting future transactions.

After your VPA is created, you’ll see options to send, receive money or pay via scanning QR code. If you have more than one bank account with the same bank, you can also choose which one will be the default account for transactions via UPI.

Essentially this VPA is all you need to conduct a transaction, no need to put in a debit card when making payments to someone else. Even mobile wallets like Paytm accepting loading via UPI, and given the government wants to promote this, don’t be surprised if more merchants starting accepting UPI soon.

So what’s so special about BHIM then?

BHIM also has options to transfer via IFSC, MMID as well for non-UPI banks. It also means the government has decided to go with one app that will enable digital payments. Of course until everyone starts accepting and activating UPI as a payment method, BHIM won’t be of use to a majority of people.

Let’s not forget that Apple iOS users are out of this system for now, and that is a significant set of affluent users, who are likely doing a lot more digital transactions than Android folks. It also means even if most merchants accept UPI, a user will still need a smartphone, internet connectivity etc to conduct transactions.

In India, not everyone has a smartphone, and even most smartphone users face poor connectivity problems. From an infrastructure point of view, it is a still long way to go before BHIM becomes the default app for India’s 1 billion plus population. For now BHIM is another app to facilitate digital payments. Also the Aadhaar-based payments part for BHIM is yet to full roll out.

LIFE ON MARS: NASA’S CURIOSITY ROVER HITS ‘JACKPOT’ IN CRATER, STRONG INDICATORS OF HABITABILITY

Detecting alien life in the universe has been a seeming thankless and frustratingly nonproductive chore thus far, but NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover has gathered what looks to be quite a bit of promising data regarding the Red Planet’s former habitability, scientists revealed recently. In fact, they are referring to the findings as a “jackpot” of mineral deposits that present a geological history of the planet for millions of years and everything is pointing to Mars having once — if not actually being a home to living organisms — had the capability of sustaining life.

Astrobiology magazine reported this month that NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover, in its steady journey ascension up Gale Crater’s central peak, has, according to its mission handlers, gathered considerable evidence from ancient lake beds and groundwater environments that are promising for the possibility of life. Announcing the rover’s Mars findings at the American Geophysical Union’s annual fall meeting in San Francisco, scientists said they had “hit a jackpot” of mineral deposits.

John Grotzinger, a geologist from the California Institute of Technology, said it “all” looked good for Mars’ habitability in the long-term.

“We see all of the properties in place that we really like to associate with habitability. There’s nothing extreme here. This is all good for habitability over time.”

The Curiosity Rover is now taking samples of the Martian surface every 25 feet as it makes its way uphill. As it progresses, the rover obtains samples of younger and younger rock.

Scientists believe Gale Crater is one of the most likely spots on Mars to have supported living organisms. It is the lowest point on the planet within thousands of miles, and scientists believe a lake of water was once present in the crater and that it also seeped underground. It is believed that groundwater may have lingered after the surface water dried up or evaporated. This would have provided more time for life to persist in the area.

The changing conditions are evident in the type of iron oxide that has been detected in the rocks as the NASA rover ascends the peak. The lower, older layers of Gale Crater have a preponderance of mineral magnetite, which is indicative of less weathering. The upper layers of the crater show evidence of a greater amount of oxidizing hematite, which indicates a more acidic environment (though not one too extreme). Grotzinger said it was “acidic but never super acidic. It’s totally the kind of environment where an acidophilic organism could enjoy it.”

NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover is collecting samples to better determine if life has ever existed on the Red Planet. [Image by Kirschner/Thinkstock/Getty Images]

Besides the iron oxides, the element boron has been found on Mars for the first time inside the crater. Although good news in that boron, when found on Earth, is often found in arid sites (like Death Valley in California) and is associated with the formation of RNA (ribonucleic acid), the type of boron being found on Mars is as yet unknown. If it is found to be like the boron on Earth, it would suggest that the crater was able to at least at some point sustain life.

All the different minerals and the boron, which was identified by firing the Mars Curiosity’s laser (the ChemCam) and spectrographically analyzing the elemental components of a sample, all point to complexity. And in the search for alien life, complexity is good, according to Grotzinger.

“We are seeing chemical complexity indicating a long, interactive history with the water. The more complicated the chemistry is, the better it is for habitability. The boron, hematite and clay minerals underline the mobility of elements and electrons, and that is good for life.”

The element boron has been detected on Mars for the first time and may, along with other mineral deposits, indicate life may have once existed on Mars. [Image by Shocktrek Images/Thinkstock/Shutterstock]

It is all indicative of “a dynamic system,” Grotzinger said, according to Astronomy magazine. “They interact with groundwater as well as surface water. The water influences the chemistry of the clays, but the composition of the water also changes. The more complicated the chemistry is, the better it is for habitability.”

As complex and complicated as the habitability indicators might be on Mars, there still exists no empirical proof that life is extant or has ever prevailed there. At the same time, it is in the ever-increasing number of tantalizing findings that offer the promise of the possibility of discovering life on Mars that continue to provide scientists with the fuel to persist in their search.

Wait a Moment, 2016 Will Be a Second Longer

For people who can't wait for this year to end, here is the science behind the Earth's leap second.

By Darryl Veitch

To the time-poor of the world: take heart, for 2016 is a generous year. Not only were you granted a leap day on February 29, you will soon score a New Year's Eve countdown bonus, a leap second, to hold off 2017 for a final sip or regret.

Whereas leap years add a day to align the calendar with the seasons, leap seconds align our everyday clocks with the Sun's position in the sky, that is, with the Earth's rotation.

Currently our planet takes roughly 86,400.00183 seconds (on average) to turn, instead of the expected 86,400 seconds you get by multiplying 24 hours by 60 minutes by 60 seconds. This may not sound like a great difference, but it amounts to a full second every 18 months. If left unchecked, it would become noticeable over time, and ultimately become problematic.

[READ: The Defining News Stories of 2016]

How did we get into this awkward situation? Why not just define a second so that there are exactly the right number? This sensible idea was tried in 1874, but hit a snag: the Earth keeps changing.

In terms of today's standard SI second (defined via atomic physics), the above discrepancy is due to the fact that the day is losing about 0.0015 seconds per century, due largely to tidal friction.

Not only that, it also changes quite erratically due to mass redistribution. For example, it is slowed by oceanic thermal expansion due to global warming, just as a playground spinning seat slows, via the conservation of angular momentum, when you place your body farther from the center.

Here's why a healthy diet may not always work

People accustomed to a calorie-rich diet may not be able to reap the full benefits of switching to a healthy dietimmediately due to the works of the bacterial community inside the gut, suggests new research.

Certain human gut bacteria need to be lost for a diet plan to be successful, said the study that identified the organisms that help promote the effects of a particular diet.

"If we are to prescribe a diet to improve someone's health, it's important that we understand what microbes help control those beneficial effects," said study senior author Jeffrey Gordon from at Washington University in St. Louis.

"And we've found a way to mine the gut microbial communities of different humans to identify the organisms that help promote the effects of a particular diet in ways that might be beneficial," Gordon noted.

In order to study how dietary practices influence the human gut microbiota and how a microbiota conditioned with one dietary lifestyle responds to a new prescribed diet, Gordon and his collaborators first took faecal samples from people who followed a calorie-restricted, plant-rich diet and samples from people who followed a typical, unrestricted American diet.
The researchers found that people who followed the restricted, plant-rich diet had a more diverse microbiota.

In the study, published in the journal Cell Host and Microbe journal, researchers also described how they found a way to mine the gut microbial communities of different humans to identify the organisms that help promote the effects of a particular diet in ways that might be beneficial.

The scientists are optimistic that their approach will help guide the development of new strategies for improving the effectiveness of prescribing healthy diets.

"We hope that microbes identified using approaches such as those described in this study may one day be used as next-generation probiotics," Gordon said.

Demonetisation To Have Transformative Effect On Economy: Urjit Patel

He said the stress shown by the domestic banking system is partly reflective of "legacy issues" but also said that "enhanced transparency has helped to reinforce the stability of India's financial system".

Mumbai: Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel on Thursday said the demonetisation exercise will have "far reaching changes" towards a transformative effect on the economy going forward, despite some short-term disruptions and "public hardship".

He also cautioned that there was "little room for complacency and it is important to guard against sporadic volatility in financial markets".

"The withdrawal of specified bank notes will impart far reaching changes going forward. It is expected to significantly transform the domestic economy," Mr Patel said in his foreword to the half-yearly Financial Stability Report. 

He said the increasing adoption of digital modes of payments will lead to greater intermediation, efficiency gains, accountability and transparency.

The RBI governor acknowledged there have been short-term disruptions and hardship to the public because of the move to scrap the high denomination notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 announced on November 8 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Banks are accepting the scrapped notes till Friday. 

In an interview to PTI on November 27, Mr Patel had said that the central bank is committed to easing honest citizens' pain.

In the foreword, Mr Patel said introduction of reform measures like the Goods and Services Tax on indirect taxation and the Bankruptcy Code for resolving asset quality stress will impart resilience to the economy.

On the domestic macroeconomic front, condition remain "stable" with a cool-down in inflation but Patel acknowledged that the growth momentum has "slackened" recently. 

He said the country is adhering to international standards in banking without "losing sight of domestic 
compulsions".

Mr Patel said the global financial crisis led banks to do stress test and match risk appetites with risk taking capacity, and added that last year's asset quality review and the subsequent corrective actions, which led to a spike in bad assets and shaving profits, are efforts in the same direction.

He said the stress shown by the domestic banking system is partly reflective of "legacy issues" but also said that "enhanced transparency has helped to reinforce the stability of India's financial system".

The global uncertainties are on the rise and the hardening of interest rates in the US and rise in commodity prices, particularly crude oil, will only increase the risk of a spillover to emerging markets, he added.

"There is little room for complacency and it is important to guard against sporadic volatility in financial
markets," Mr Patel said.