NSA helped British steal cellphone codes

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WASHINGTON -- Britain's electronic spying agency, in cooperation with the U.S. National Security Agency, hacked into the networks of a Dutch company to steal codes that allow both governments to seamlessly eavesdrop on mobile phones worldwide, according to the documents given to journalists by Edward Snowden.

A story about the documents posted Thursday on the website The Intercept offered no details on how the intelligence agencies employed the eavesdropping capability -- providing no evidence, for example, that they misused it to spy on people who weren't valid intelligence targets. But the surreptitious operation against the world's largest manufacturer of mobile phone data chips is bound to stoke anger around the world. It fuels an impression that the NSA and its British counterpart will do whatever they deem necessary to further their surveillance prowess, even if it means stealing information from law-abiding Western companies.

The targeted company, Netherlands-based Gemalto, makes "subscriber identity modules," or SIM cards, used in mobile phones and credit cards. One of the company's three global headquarters is in Austin, Texas. Its clients include AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint, the Intercept reported.

The Intercept offered no evidence of any eavesdropping against American customers of those providers, and company officials told the website they had no idea their networks had been penetrated. Experts called it a major compromise of mobile phone security.

The NSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the past, former agency officials have defended using extra-legal techniques to further surveillance capabilities, saying the U.S. needs to be able to eavesdrop on terrorists and U.S. adversaries who communicate on the same networks as everyone else. The NSA, like the CIA, breaks the espionage and hacking laws of other countries to get information that helps American interests.

Still, the methods in this case may prove controversial, as did earlier Snowden revelations that the NSA was hacking transmissions among Google's data centers. The Intercept reported that British government hackers targeted Gemalto engineers around the world much as the U.S. often accuses Chinese government hackers of targeting Western companies -- stealing credentials that got the hackers into the company's networks. Once inside, the British spies stole encryption keys that allow them to decode the data that passes between mobile phones and cell towers. That allows them to ungarble calls, texts or emails intercepted out of the air.

At one point in June 2010, Britain's Government Communications Headquarters, or GCHQ, as its signals intelligence agency is known, intercepted nearly 300,000 keys for mobile phone users in Somalia, The Intercept reported. "Somali providers are not on GCHQ's list of interest," the document noted, according to the Intercept. "(H)owever, this was usefully shared with NSA."

Earlier in 2010, GCHQ successfully intercepted keys used by wireless network providers in Iran, Afghanistan, Yemen, India, Serbia, Iceland and Tajikistan, according to the documents provided to The Intercept. But the agency noted trouble breaking into Pakistan networks.

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NSA helped British steal cellphone codes

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SIM card makers hacked by NSA and GCHQ leaving cell networks wide open

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The NSA could be able to listen in on your lols.

Christian Rivera

In a new report on some of the confidential documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, The Intercept wrote that operatives from both the National Security Administration (NSA) and the British Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) joined forces in April 2010 to crack mobile phone encryption. The Mobile Handset Exploitation Team (MHET) succeeded in stealing untold numbers of encryption keys from SIM card makers and mobile networks, specifically Dutch SIM card maker Gemalto, one ofthe largest SIM manufacturers in the world. Gemalto produces 2 billion SIM cards a year, which are used all over the world.

Although the SIM card in a cell phone was originally usedto verify billing to mobile phone users, today a SIM also stores the encryption keys that protect a user's voice, text, and data-based communications and make them difficult for spies to listen in on. The mobile carrier holds the corresponding key that allows the phone to connect to the mobile carrier's network. Each SIM card is manufactured with an encryption key (called a Ki) that is physically burned into the chip. When you go to use the phone, it conducts a secret 'handshake' that validates that the Ki on the SIM matches the Ki held by the mobile company, The Intercept explains. Once that happens, the communications between the phone and the network are encrypted.

To steal the SIM encryption keys, MHET exploited a weakness in SIM manufacturers' business routinethat SIM card manufacturers tend to deliver the corresponding Kis to mobile carriers via e-mail or File Transfer Protocol. By doing basic cyberstalking of Gemalto employees, the NSA and GCHQ were able to pilfer millions of SIM Kis, which have a slow turnover rate (your phone's Ki will likely remain the same as long as you keep the SIM in the phone) and can be used to decrypt data that has been stored for months or even years.

Gemalto not only makes SIM cards, but it also makes chips that are placed into EMV credit cards as well as the chips built into next-generation United States passports. Paul Beverly, a Gemalto executive vice president, told The Intercept that the company's security team began an audit on Wednesday and could find no evidence of the hacks. The most important thing for me is to understand exactly how this was done, so we can take every measure to ensure that it doesnt happen again, and also to make sure that theres no impact on the telecom operators that we have served in a very trusted manner for many years, Beverly said. Gemalto's clients include hundreds of wireless networks around the world, including all four major carriers in the US.

According to the documents procured by The Intercept, MHET was able to use the NSA's XKeyscore to mine the e-mail accounts and Facebook profiles of engineers at major telecom companies and SIM card manufacturing companies, looking for clues that would get them into the SIM Ki trove. (XKeyscore is a program designed by the NSA to reassemble and analyse the data packets it finds traveling over a network. XKeyscore is powerful enough to be able to pull up the full content of users' Web browser sessions, and it can even generate a full replay of a network session between two Internet addresses, as Ars reported in 2013.) Eventually, MHET learned enough to be able to plant malware on several of Gemalto's internal servers.

In the course of trying to break into Gemalto's internal network, the NSA and GCHQ looked for employees using encryption as preferred targets. The spy agencies also expanded their surveillance to include mobile phone companies and networks, as well as other SIM manufacturers. The Intercept explained:

In one instance, GCHQ zeroed in on a Gemalto employee in Thailand who they observed sending PGP-encrypted files, noting that if GCHQ wanted to expand its Gemalto operations, he would certainly be a good place to start. They did not claim to have decrypted the employees communications, but noted that the use of PGP could mean the contents were potentially valuable.

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SIM card makers hacked by NSA and GCHQ leaving cell networks wide open

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Can Morgan Spurlock live off Bitcoin?

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Story highlights What is to be made of digital dollars? How does bitcoin work? Might you be able to eat, live and exist entirely through these mysterious moneys?

Watch CNN's "Morgan Spurlock Inside Man" Thursday nights at 9 p .m. ET/PT

In the next airing of "Morgan Spurlock Inside Man," the host sets out to examine all the essential elements of this most modern form of currency. And, in advance of Thursday's episode, here are the 5 W's of bitcoin.

1. What is bitcoin?

Formal definitions aside, how best to explain money that you can't hold, smell or feel, yet has every bit the purchasing power of paper or plastic?

In short, bitcoin was designed as a less expensive way to buy and sell goods, all around the world, while dodging pre-exisiting financial institutions.

"Its founder wanted to create a global currency that existed outside a central bank or government," notes Spurlock. "Just a person to person system that could be used instantly and internationally."

Void of traditional surcharges and fees, but fluctuating like any other currencies, at the time of Spurlock's quest, one unit of bitcoin was equal to roughly $624 U.S. At present, that value has dropped to $235.85 U.S.

Either way, at least it won't weigh down your pockets with a ton of silver and copper.

2. Who uses bitcoin?

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Can Morgan Spurlock live off Bitcoin?

14 million jobs at risk due to global Travel & Tourism talent shortage – WTTC Reports

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Over 14 million jobs globally are at risk in the Travel & Tourism industry, if Governments and private sector companies do not act now to address the talent shortage in the industry.

Research conducted for the World Travel & Tourism Council by Oxford Economics shows that the industry could employ 14m fewer people and contribute $610 billion less in GDP to the world economy over the next ten years, when compared to accepted growth forecasts, if Government and private companies fail to implement policies which promote proactive and careful talent management.

Travel & Tourism currently sustains 266 million jobs, once the indirect and induced impacts are taken into consideration, a figure projected to rise to 347 million by 2024. Similarly, the industry contributed nearly $7 trillion to the global economy in 2014; which is forecast to rise to $11 trillion by 2024.

The research, for the first time, quantifies the sheer scale of the human resource challenge in Travel & Tourism and the potential impact of the skill shortage on the 2024 projections, which are the equivalent of lowering the level of global total Travel & tourism employment by 4% compared to the baseline projected level in 2024.

The research looked at 46 countries, which together account for over 80% of the world's Travel & Tourism employment and GDP, and assessed how well placed these countries are to create the right 'enabling' environment to develop this talent over the next 10 years. It shows that there is a serious shortage of the right people, in the right place, with the right skills, to meet the growth of Travel & Tourism over the next ten years.

This research warns of serious potential economic cost over the next ten years. The total impact of talent gaps and deficiencies, including indirect and induced impacts, could cost the global economy approximately 14 million jobs and nearly US$610 billion in GDP (measured in 2013 prices and exchange rates). This jobs figure is 4% lower than the baseline projected levels of employment in 2024.

The research also underlines that Travel & Tourism's human capital challenges are significantly higher than those faced in other sectors, with 37 out of 46 countries showing a talent 'deficit' or 'shortage' in the industry over the next ten years, compared with only 6 out of 46 for the economy overall.

David Scowsill, WTTC President & CEO, explained the importance of the report's findings:

"Travel & Tourism is one of the world's largest economic sectors. It drives jobs and economic growth; well-being and prosperity. It creates jobs at different skills levels for often-marginalised sectors of society, such as young people and women, and in areas where other employment opportunities are scarce. Failure to plan properly for talent requirements leads to lower growth, reduced investment, less innovation and declining competitiveness for both countries and companies.

"When I speak to the leaders of the world's Travel & Tourism companies, it is clear that the biggest challenge to their growth plans is the supply and retention of talent across all levels of their businesses. That is borne out by this research.

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14 million jobs at risk due to global Travel & Tourism talent shortage - WTTC Reports

A touch of spirituality this Antardhvani

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Delhi University will get a heavy dose of spirituality this Antardhvani (its annual festival), with spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankaral presiding over as the chief guest at the valedictory function.

The chief guest for the valedictory function slated for Sunday will be chief guest Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, confirmed DU media co-ordinator Malay Neerav.

This year, along with the traditional flower show, street plays, dance and cultural programmes for foreign students and its sports plaza, there will also be a skill-development plaza.

The university has signed an MoU with the National Skill Development Council. The council will conduct a seminar and create awareness of job opportunities, he said, adding that the university also signed an MoU with the Software Technology Parks of India which would also have a display of a model of the park.

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A touch of spirituality this Antardhvani

Mental Freedom for the Ordinary Ghanaian. Part I.

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Feature Article of Wednesday, 18 February 2015

Columnist: Sarfo, Samuel Adjei

By Dr. Samuel Adjei Sarfo

Attorney and Counselor at Law Most of the problems that we encounter as a nation could be attributed to our spiritual vulnerabilities. And when I speak of this, I am making no reference to our understanding of God and our communication with him (We cannot understand God, let alone communicate with him). I am talking about the original Hellenistic meaning of psyche which refers to the center of our thinking and how we apply this in the solution of our socio-cultural and political problems. If viewed in this term, we will understand that on any ordinary day, Ghanaians are too vulnerable and spiritually weak: we are ready to believe in so many things without thinking too hard about them. Like our children, we are acculturated not to ask too many questions. Rather, we are trained to define our logic and reasoning by dint of our partisan posture, religious orientation and or ethnic origin. Thus what is right or proper is defined in terms of these constructs, not in terms of some ultimate truths. Our version of the ultimate truth is the truth within our faiths, within our party or within our ethnic origin: the truth that has been construed for us by others we are trained to accept as the godfathers of our mores and ethos. Our educational system has not enabled us to develop the kind of analytical methods that will make us question old-age assumptions and faiths and beliefs and ethnic insecurities. For this reason, the state of mind that will enable us to be original and creative appears lost to us. We appropriate as our own all partisan ideologies without questioning their deeper-level wisdom and use for our circumstances. But if one begins with an ideological construct, ones capacity to think will be distorted toward justifying mere ideological goals, and our intellectual processes will evolve only for the purposes of whole-sale acceptance of the ideological aims, and we will become nothing more than the vessel for the permanent propagation of these ideological goals. Thinking in partisan or ideological terms therefore becomes an obstacle for original and practical ideations. What is more, it shackles up the brain and makes it unable to adapt and advance to resolve novel situations. Our ideological proclivities and partisan predilections also underlie our vulnerability in believing the religious lies that are daily peddled to take from us our money, time and resources. We have been made to cultivate our wholesale faith in a book that was written thousands of years ago by people who were neither our kin nor kith, and whose relationship with their god initially proscribed our ancestors who were then deemed as gentiles or infidels or savages or bondsmen. So in this case, we are one place removed from the origins of the faith, and are hand-me down followers of the creed of our salvation. And in accepting and advancing what has been handed down to us as our faith, we are not required to ask any questions. We are to cede the grounds of any vigorous intellectual debate to a higher power, which is wielded on Gods behalf by his so-called deputies, whose messages from the divine are simply self-serving and self-centered, and glibly articulated to meet their selfish interests. And in our acceptance of these messages from these deputies of God, we are two-places removed from the source of the faith. And so we have become mere chalices for the ingestion and imbibition of a faith which openly spurns and obnubilates our own thinking and creative capacities. Finally, we have not been able to get our psyche away from our ethnicity and skin color. These have come to take a pride of place in how we reason and also accept reasoning from other sources. I have encountered many self-abnegating comments that have consistently traduced the status of a Blacks to the level of a beasts while extolling Whites and ascribing the best of human qualities and inventions to them. Likewise, educated minds have often ascribed sinister motives and interpreted views according to a persons ethnic or language group origins. Often, we do not pause to evaluate the prima facie merits of the propounded views from our adversaries. Rather, our posture has been to impose a generic albeit intellectually ethnic coloration to all ideas and views advanced by a person from the outside. Thus our thinking and worldviews are shaped and circumscribed by our partisan, religious and ethnic origins, but not by any independent and objective inquiries into the ultimate truth. In other words, truth is what has been parceled out to us by the perceptively superior thinkers within our partisan or religious or ethnic factions. That is why the essences of practical education and scholarship are lost upon our minds. We are a people still operating with a medieval herd mentality while living within a time of great enlightenment and radical interrogation of old assumptions. And to us, the greatest threat posed to the society is from a person thinking differently, from the person who dares to disagree with the generally approved facts and conclusions. That is why we are not able to cross the boundaries of the older systems of thinking in order to develop our own original viewpoints. We are captives of settled ideologies, religious philosophies and ethnic propensities that do not originate from our own independent reasoning but that have been parceled and handed down to us to be parceled and handed down to our children and our childrens children. Sometimes we call this ideology, sometimes we call this faith and sometimes we call this our ethnic superiority or peculiarities. But they all operate in the same intellectual plane of utter bankruptcy. And unfortunately, they are the only things that unite us and inform the platform of our thinking. And these also explain our inability as a people to develop original philosophies and create new things or initiate new views. Thus, we are in an ideological, religious and ethnic life imprisonment, where original truths are of no value to us, and where whatever we regard as valuable and exceptional are those things the forebears repeated to us, and which we have kept in our mental caves since time immemorial. But such mental bondage is far more egregious than physical bondage, because mental slaves are oblivious of their conditions and will do nothing about them. But with physical slavery, even a beast will fight it and overcome it if possible. What we have going for us as a people is nothing like physical slavery. It is mental enslavement of gargantuan proportions bequeathed to us by those we have come to regard as right and righteous for all time, for all places, and for all actions. Plato spoke of a group of people who were born chained to a cave and gazing at distorted shadows spread across a wall all their livesuntil one of them broke loose and escaped to the outside world. When he returned to debunk the illusions his fellows were accepting, the rest of the group regarded him as insane. This is the posture of our own people who are trapped by these ideological, religious and ethnic assumptions that have long been rejected by those who know better. They have only contempt for the outsiders views. And this posture accounts for why our people have found little use for our educated scholars and so-called scientists and engineers. These are all chained to those old and archaic assumptions they came to meet, and nothing of the new revelations will enable them to free themselves from their mental caves. This then is the daunting challenge of our times, and the fact that the task appears impossible does not mean that we should not attempt to accomplish it. In the coming future, our task belongs to the struggle to gain psychological/spiritual freedom for the intellectually entombed, and what we do and write must be guided to supplant these age-old vulnerabilities, and to impose on posterity a mind that is free from all austerities a kind of generative tabular rasa upon which will be inscribed the original thinking and the creative propositions that will help tackle all challenges of this new era.

Samuel Adjei Sarfo, JD, MA, BA, etc. is an Attorney and Counselor at Law, a Teacher of Lore, Certified High School English Educator, Researcher and Scholar. He can be reached at sarfoadjei@yahoo.com

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Mental Freedom for the Ordinary Ghanaian. Part I.

Three spacewalks to kick off big year aboard the ISS

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Astronauts Terry Virts, left, and Expedition 42 commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore, right, inside the space station's airlock where they have been readying their suits for three planned spacewalks. The excursions will kick off a busy year of work to ready the station for eventual visits by new U.S. commercial crew ferry ships. NASA TV

NASA space station managers decided Thursday to delay the first two of three planned spacewalks by one day to give flight controllers and engineers a chance to catch their collective breath after exhaustive troubleshooting to verify the health of critical internal spacesuit components.

Expedition 42 commander Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Terry Virts plan to install more than 760 feet of power and data cables needed for new docking mechanisms that will be used by commercial crew ferry ships being built by Boeing and SpaceX. They also plan to install and hook up two sets of antennas, part of a new communications system that will be used by crews approaching and departing the lab complex.

The first spacewalk, originally planned for Friday, will slip to Saturday, starting around 7:10 a.m. EST (GMT-5) and the second outing will move one day to Wednesday. The third EVA remains on track for March 1 as originally planned pending additional review.

The decision to press ahead, albeit with a slight delay, was made after engineers concluded the suits that will be worn by Wilmore and Virts were healthy and not likely to suffer failures due to corrosion like that found in two spacesuit fan/pump/separator assemblies that were returned to Earth for analysis.

The modules in question circulate oxygen and cooling water throughout the spacesuit using a common motor and drive shaft. Each suit also is equipped with an emergency backup system.

After extensive troubleshooting, engineers concluded the drive shaft bearing corrosion seen in the fan assemblies shipped back to Earth likely was the result of additional testing implemented after water backed up into the helmet of spacewalker Luca Parmitano in 2013.

While some bearing corrosion is believed to be present in the fan/pump/separator in Virts' spacesuit, analysis indicates it is well below the threshold that could cause the unit to fail during use. And even if it did, officials said, the astronaut would have more than enough time to get back to the station's airlock using the suit's backup system.

As a result, mission managers cleared the astronauts to proceed after a one-day delay.

"We're not in a big hurry out get out the door on these," said a NASA spokesman. "Twenty four hours will just kind of make life easier."

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Three spacewalks to kick off big year aboard the ISS

Council Rock students talk to astronaut aboard International Space Station

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From almost 250 miles in space, the voice of Italian astronaut Samantha Christoforetti resonated Thursday afternoon through the auditorium of Council Rock High School South in Northampton.

And while her words were hard to hear and often obscured by static, the marvel of being able to communicate with someone traveling 17,100 mph aboard the International Space Station via a Ham radio setup wasnt lost on the students and staff who had gathered for the event.

It was a little fuzzy trying to figure out what she was saying, but just the general idea of being able to talk to someone in space was insane, said Council Rock South senior Jaclyn Timoney, one of seven students who asked questions of Christoforetti.

Jaclyn asked the astronaut how space travel affects economics on Earth. The fact she couldnt clearly hear the answer didnt ruin the experience for the student.

Just the fact of knowing there was an astronaut on the other end was impressive, she said. I still cant believe we were able to do this.

Ten students were scheduled to ask two questions apiece, but only seven questions were asked because the school could maintain contact with the space station for only nine or 10 minutes while it passed over Georgia on its way over Nova Scotia crossing over Pennsylvania on the way said Council Rock science teacher Jerry Fetter.

Some of Christoforettis answers came through more clearly than others.

When a student asked how the space station avoids small meteors and other objects, she said some of it is accomplished through the technical capabilities of the station and the rest through proper navigation and good communication with the ground crew.

I thought the whole thing was really interesting, senior Amanda Ritter said even though she didnt get to ask her question about what type of human impact on Earth is visible from space.

The thought of talking to someone up in space was really cool, Amanda added.

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Council Rock students talk to astronaut aboard International Space Station

MAVEN spacecraft completes first Martian deep dip campaign

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This image shows an artist concept of NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission. (Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center)

Provided by Nancy Neal Jones, NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center

NASAS Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution has completed the first of five deep-dip maneuvers designed to gather measurements closer to the lower end of the Martian upper atmosphere.

During normal science mapping, we make measurements between an altitude of about 150 km and 6,200 km (93 miles and 3,853 miles) above the surface, said Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator at the University of Colorados Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics in Boulder. During the deep-dip campaigns, we lower the lowest altitude in the orbit, known as periapsis, to about 125 km (78 miles) which allows us to take measurements throughout the entire upper atmosphere.

The 25 km (16 miles) altitude difference may not seem like much, but it allows scientists to make measurements down to the top of the lower atmosphere. At these lower altitudes, the atmospheric densities are more than ten times what they are at 150 km (93 miles).

We are interested in the connections that run from the lower atmosphere to the upper atmosphere and then to escape to space, said Jakosky. We are measuring all of the relevant regions and the connections between them.

[Related story: NASA's MAVEN now is Mars' orbit]

The first deep dip campaign ran from Feb. 10 to 18. The first three days of this campaign were used to lower the periapsis. Each of the five campaigns lasts for five days allowing the spacecraft to observe for roughly 20 orbits. Since the planet rotates under the spacecraft, the 20 orbits allow sampling of different longitudes spaced around the planet, providing close to global coverage.

This months deep dip maneuvers began when team engineers fired the rocket motors in three separate burns to lower the periapsis. The engineers did not want to do one big burn, to ensure that they didnt end up too deep in the atmosphere. So, they walked the spacecraft down gently in several smaller steps.

Although we changed the altitude of the spacecraft, we actually aimed at a certain atmospheric density, said Jakosky. We wanted to go as deep as we can without putting the spacecraft or instruments at risk.

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MAVEN spacecraft completes first Martian deep dip campaign

Space Station 3-D Printed Items, Seedlings Return in the Belly of a Dragon

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Newly 3-D printed wrenches, data to improve cooling systems, protein crystals and seedling samples returned Feb. 10 aboard SpaceX's fifth contracted resupply mission to the International Space Station. Researchers will use samples and data returned to improve scientific studies on Earth and build on research that will enable space exploration.

Printed parts and hardware returned from the first phase of operations for the 3-D Printing In Zero-G technology demonstration aboard the station. A study team from Made in Space and NASA demonstrated the first ever 3-D printer in space using relatively low-temperature plastic feedstock on the space station. To conclude the test phase, a ratchet wrench was printed using a design file transmitted from the ground to the printer.

"For the printer's final test in this phase of operations, NASA wanted to validate the process for printing on demand, which will be critical on longer journeys to Mars," explained Niki Werkheiser, the space station 3-D printer program manager at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Insight from demonstrations in microgravity also may help improve 3-D printing technology on Earth.

Many physical science investigations take place aboard the space station. Hardware and data from the recent Device for the study of Critical Liquids and Crystallization Alice Like Insert (DECLIC-ALI) returned aboard Dragon.

On the orbital laboratory, researchers examined liquids at the verge of boiling to understand how the flow of heat in liquids behaves in microgravity. This is important to the development of cooling systems for space exploration with additional applications to waste disposal and recycling processes on Earth.

Samples, hardware and data from several biology and biotechnology studies returned with completion of this SpaceX contracted resupply mission. The Advancing Membrane Protein Crystallization by Using Microgravity (CASIS PCG HDPCG-2) investigation targeted producing high-quality crystals of the cystic fibrosis protein and other closely related proteins.

Since many medically relevant proteins are difficult to crystalize on Earth, researchers attempt to grow them in space to help determine their shape and structure for drug development. Scientists hope to improve drug therapies for cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that causes severe damage to the lungs and digestive system.

The model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, or thale cress, seedlings feature heavily in these next three studies of which samples returned with the SpaceX Dragon. Growing model organisms like these to study plant biology in space may enable future space exploration by serving as a source of food and helping to create breathable air for astronauts.

Samples from the Advanced Plant Experiments 03-1 (APEX-03-1) were returned to help scientists better understand the effects of microgravity on the development of roots and cells on plant seedlings.

Researchers will conduct a detailed analysis on the returned plant samples to scrutinize the molecular and genetic mechanisms that control plant development. With this knowledge, scientists may be able to improve agricultural and bioenergy research on Earth, leading to crops that use resources more efficiently.

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Space Station 3-D Printed Items, Seedlings Return in the Belly of a Dragon

NASA Advanced Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Training and Research (ASTAR) Fellowships

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EONS-14 Amendment 10: New Program Element - Appendix K: Advanced Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Training and Research (ASTAR) Fellowships

The NASA Office of Education Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) solicits proposals from students pursuing graduate degrees in NASA relevant STEM disciplines. NASA OE MUREP ASTAR Fellowship seeks independently conceived fellowship proposals from student applicants, specifically in areas of projected deficiencies in the NASA future STEM workforce. Selected students will perform graduate student research at their respective campuses during the academic year as well as conduct research at a designated NASA field Center during an annual 10 15 week Center based research Experience (CBRE).

Funding is provided for a maximum of three years.

NASA OE MUREP ASTAR Fellowships:

Financially support and advance individuals early in their careers in NASA related disciplines, who demonstrate the potential to contribute to NASA's mission and NASA future STEM workforce, through the use of innovative research ideas;

Increase the number of historically underrepresented and underserved populations, such as women, minorities, persons with disabilities, and veterans, pursuing advanced degrees in STEM disciplines;

Develop a highly trained quadrat of researchers and scientists whose skills and competencies directly contribute to the Nation's STEM work force.

NASA OE MUREP ASTAR objectives are to:

Improve the Nation's future STEM Workforce by developing the skills and competencies of graduate students pursuing degrees in STEM disciplines;

Provide opportunities for a diverse population to participate and contribute to NASA's missions and projects;

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NASA Advanced Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Training and Research (ASTAR) Fellowships

PM visits Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday dedicated to the nation the Centre for Nano Science Engineering at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru.

The Centre is designed to provide research and technology leadership in the areas of nano-electronics and nanotechnology, which is key to the 'Make in India' initiative, in the field of electronics.

The Prime Minister unveiled the foundation stone of the Centre for Brain Research at IISc. This is being established as an autonomous centre of IISc.

The Prime Minister witnessed the signing of an MoU between ONGC and M/s Super Wave Technology Pvt Ltd. The MoU envisages development of new technology for drilling of oil and gas.

Union Ministers Sadananda Gowda, Ananth Kumar, and Dharmendra Pradhan were present.

The Prime Minister was given an overview of the research activities being carried out at IISc. He took keen interest in initiatives in areas such as solar energy, water management, agriculture and enquired about collaborations between IISc and other institutes.

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PM visits Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru