Shivamogga: Man demanding cow loan threatens bank manager with knife
Shivamogga: The manager of Hosalli branch of the Union Bank in Shivamogga taluk was recently threatened by a man demanding a loan from the bank.
The branch manager Niranjan has complained to the officers of Tunga Nagar Police Station that, on Monday afternoon, a man identified as Revu Naik visited the bank and demanded the manager to grant him a loan to purchase cattle. When the branch manager pointed out to the man that he had not applied at the bank for any loan, the man pulled out a knife and threatened to kill the manager if he did not grant the loan.
A case has been registered at the Tunga Nagar Police Station based on the complaint filed by Niranjan.
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Scientists detect “strongest evidence till date” of life outside our solar system
London: Astronomers have reported the strongest evidence yet of potential biological activity on a distant planet named K2-18b, located about 124 light-years away from Earth. The planet, which is more than twice the size of Earth, has shown signs of atmospheric molecules that, on Earth, are produced only by living marine organisms.
The discovery was made by an international team of scientists led by Indian Origin scientist Dr. Nikku Madhusudhan of the University of Cambridge. Using data collected by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the team analyzed the chemical composition of the planet’s atmosphere. They found molecular signatures that suggest the possible presence of life-supporting processes.
“This is certainly the strongest sign we have seen yet,” said Dr. Madhusudhan in a television interview. “I can realistically say that we could confirm this signal within one or two years.” He added that if life is found on K2-18b, it could point to the likelihood of life being common across the galaxy.
The planet K2-18b is located in the habitable zone of its host star, a red dwarf. This is the region where temperatures could allow for the existence of liquid water—a key ingredient for life. The planet is about 2.5 times the size of Earth and sits roughly 700 trillion miles away.
The James Webb Space Telescope, launched in 2021, is equipped to detect and analyze the faint light that passes through a planet's atmosphere as it transits its star. This allows scientists to identify the presence of specific molecules. In the case of K2-18b, the molecules detected appear to be those that, on Earth, are associated with biological activity.
However, experts are urging caution. While the findings are promising, they remain inconclusive. The scientific team is in the process of preparing a detailed paper on the discovery and is expected to seek further observations to validate the results.
Catherine Heymans, the Astronomer Royal for Scotland, noted that even more detailed data might not provide a definite answer. “Even with perfect data, you still won’t be able to say that this is definitely of biological origin,” she said. “There are many unknowns in the universe, and other non-biological processes could produce similar signatures.”
The research team hopes that continued observations using the James Webb Space Telescope and other advanced instruments will offer greater clarity in the coming years.
