Chinese woman with cerebral palsy pens 130,000-word novel Chengdu (China), December 14 (IANS): A 34-year-old woman with cerebral palsy in Chengdu, southwest Chinas Sichuan Province, has penned a 130,000-word novel with a single finger. Chen Yuan could only use the index finger of her left hand to type on the keyboard, China Disabled Persons’ Federation reported. She followed this rather exhaustive method to finish her full-length novel “Grandma on the Clouds”. The novel took three years for its completion. When she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of one, her mother intended to give her up but it was her grandmother who stuck to raising the author by herself, perhaps the reason behind the novel’s title. Yuan’s grandmother taught her how to read and basic arithmetic and tried to help her get educational opportunities. However, Chen dropped out of middle school, as she could not keep up with others. Soon after, her grandma passed away from pancreatic cancer. The double blow worsened her condition. She is now a member of the Writers Association of Sichuan Province. And her novel, published in 2014 and made into a microfilm, won many awards and encouraged many others. Three astronauts return to Earth from space station Washington, December 14 (IANS): Three astronauts landed in Kazakhstan on Thursday after spending nearly five months at the International Space Station. A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying Expedition 53 crewmates Randy Bresnik of NASA, Paolo Nespoli of European Space Agency (ESA) and Sergey Ryazanskiy of Roscosmos landed at 2.37 p.m. Kazakhstan time, NASA said. During his time aboard the orbital complex, Bresnik ventured outside the space station for three spacewalks. Along with NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba, Bresnik lead a trio of spacewalks to replace one of two latching end effectors on the station’s robotic arm, Canadarm2. They also lubricated the newly replaced Canadarm2 end effector and replaced cameras on the left side of the station’s truss and the right side of the station’s US Destiny laboratory. Ryazanskiy conducted one spacewalk with fellow cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin in August to deploy several nanosatellites, collect research samples and perform structural maintenance. Bresnik now has spent 150 days in space on two flights. Ryazanskiy now has 306 days in space on two flights. Nespoli has logged 313 days in space on his three flights. The Expedition 54 crew continues operating the station, with Alexander Misurkin of Roscosmos in command. The three-person crew will operate the station until the arrival of three new crew members on December 19, NASA said.
