Mepco bill

What is Helgoland?

In India, we hold a place of reverence for those who study STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, maths). These drive people upwards, through social and financial hierarchies, sometimes enabling people to break through caste. We all know about the STEM gender gap: “Women [in South Asia] are severely underrepresented in the STEM workforce and only … Read more

Fabric coated with old skin oil becomes its own chemical plant. | Photo Credit: Daeva Miles/Unsplash Our daily habits, like how often we shower or change our clothes, depend on our environs and sometimes also on our energy levels. But obviously how dirty we are also affects our immediate environment. Atoms and molecules in the … Read more

A fearful mother On the morning of July 4, 1885, Joseph Meister, a nine-year-old boy from Alsace, France, was bitten by a dog. Not once or twice, but for a total of 14 times. The boy was bitten in his hands, legs, and thighs, and some of the wounds were so deep that Meister had … Read more

Before true cells existed on the earth, organic molecules floated freely in water. The first cell membrane created a compartment so that useful molecules like RNA and proteins could stay close enough to interact with each other, leading to more complex biological functions. However, an important question remains: how did the first protocells on early … Read more

After a day off, astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and others from the Axiom-4 mission on Saturday (July 5, 2025) studied how bones react to microgravity conditions, an experiment that could lead to better treatment of osteoporosis on Earth. FIle | Photo Credit: ANI After a day off, astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and others from the Axiom-4 mission … Read more

The research team had analysed over 8,000 genes from 50 whole genomes across primate species to understand how brain size co-evolved with diet and to identify the specific genes that may have helped make it happen. | Photo Credit: Graphics: SUBYENDHU GANGULY Our ancestors’ shift to higher-quality diets, especially with use of fire and consumption … Read more

The posterior parietal cortex, which helps process information received via one’s senses, is located in the parietal lobe at the top rear of the head | Image used for representational purpose only | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto A new study in young adults has found that stimulating the brain with safe electric currents may help … Read more

Plastics have revolutionised modern living with their convenience and affordability, but this same ubiquity is spawning an invisible, long-term health crisis. Beyond choking oceans and clogging landfills, plastics are now infiltrating our bodies through microplastic particles and a cocktail of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). The evidence is clear and deeply concerning: these substances are interfering with … Read more

An analogue pressure gauge. | Photo Credit: Langspeed (CC BY-SA) A: A barometer is a device to measure pressure. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, most designs had the same working principle: air pressure pushed down on an open column of fluid, which was allowed to move into a second column with a closed … Read more

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla interacts with students via ham radio at a session organised in Thiruvananthapuram. Photo: Special Arrangement Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who is aboard the International Space Station (ISS) had a brief interaction with students who had gathered at the U.R. Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) here on Friday. He interacted with the student … Read more

Police convicted for recent custodial deaths in India: zero | Data Point Ajith Kumar, a security guard, died last Saturday while in police custody in Sivaganga district | Video Credit: Sambavi Parthasarathy, Thamodharan B Ajith Kumar, a security guard, died last Saturday while in police custody in Sivaganga district in Tamil Nadu. Kumar’s death is … Read more

If we tried the same thing, the result would be… well, shocking. So what makes birds different? Let’s understand how electricity works. Electricity flows through metal wires, just like water flows through pipes. It moves from a place with high voltage (electric pressure) to a place with low voltage. For electricity to flow, it needs … Read more

Ever imagined seeing a golf ball on the surface of the moon in an image taken from the earth? This is now possible with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory (VRO), the world’s latest astronomy facility, located on one of the peaks of mountain Cerro Pachòn in northern Chile. Jointly funded by the U.S. National Science … Read more

Fil photo shows reflections of astronaut Neil Armstrong, the U.S. flag, the lunar module and a television camera in the face mask of astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin when his picture was made by Armstrong as they walked across the surface of the moon, July 20, 1969. | Photo Credit: Neil Armstrong/NASA via AP (This article … Read more

Data shows that Tamil Nadu has a long history of police brutality “Even a murderer would not have caused this much injury to a person”, observed the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday during the hearing of a batch of Public Interest Litigation petitions over the custodial death of Ajith Kumar, a … Read more

Young men cool off in a step well amid scorching weather on a hot summer day in Rajasthan | Photo Credit: – Over the last 10 years, traditionally cooler cities such as Bengaluru and Mumbai have been experiencing more days with above-average temperatures than Delhi, as India grapples with increasingly severe heatwaves. A comparison of … Read more

Researchers have sequenced the first whole ancient Egyptian genome from an individual who lived 4,500 to 4,800 years ago — the oldest DNA sample from Egypt to date. The body belongs to an adult male who died more than 4,500 years ago during Egypt’s Old Kingdom. The individual was “genetically male (XY sex chromosomes), consistent … Read more

India’s Shubhanshu Shukla with three other astronauts and the International Space Station crew after the Axiom-4 mission’s SpaceX Dragon spacecraft docked to the ISS, as part of the mission. Photo: X/@SpaceX via PTI The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has said that the Axiom-4 (Ax-04) mission which Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is part of will … Read more

Representational photo | PM Modi’s participation in the BRICS summit is one of the key events to look for during the tour. | Photo Credit: ANI Starting Wednesday, July 2, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a five-nation tour across two continents, covering Ghana, Trinidad and Tobago, Argentina, Brazil, and Namibia. With a wide … Read more

A vertical gas flaring furnace is seen in Ughelli, Delta State, Nigeria September 16, 2020. An $88 million satellite backed by billionaire Jeff Bezos that detected oil and gas industry emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas methane has been lost in space. | Photo Credit: Reuters An $88 million satellite backed by billionaire Jeff Bezos … Read more

In most business environments, telephone calls are typically handled by a receptionist or directed to specific extensions using an internal intercom system. The technology enabling this seamless communication, both within and outside the organisation, is called EPABX. This system allows users to answer, transfer or forward calls as needed. It facilitates internal communication between different … Read more

Human remains found in the northern grave (top) and in the southern grave (bottom) at the Neolithic site in Fujia, China. | Photo Credit: Ning, et al. (2025) Evidence from two Neolithic cemeteries on China’s eastern coast, reported recently by researchers at Peking University in Beijing in Nature, showed that some communities were organised in … Read more

A musician rehearses on a guitar at Stax Music Academy, January 30, 2025, in Memphis, U.S. | Photo Credit: AP The purpose of a string in a string instrument is to vibrate and produce sounds. How it vibrates is decided by its mass per unit length, its stiffness, and how well it allows vibrations to … Read more

Stretching across much of peninsular India, the Deccan Plateau hides a silent, subterranean struggle. Beneath its sunbaked soil lie ancient, fractured layers of basalt and granite — hard rock aquifers that dominate the region’s groundwater story. In Karnataka, this rocky reality is nearly absolute: about 99% of the State relies on these stubbornly unyielding formations … Read more

Analyses of whole-genome sequence data of urban Sinhalese and two indigenous Adivasi clans in Sri Lanka, which live in geographically separated regions in the country, shed light on the migratory history of these populations and their genetic relationship to each other and to many Indian populations. The study published recently in the journal Current Biology … Read more

A fire officer stands next to the crashed Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, in Ahmedabad, India, June 13, 2025. | Photo Credit: Adnan Abidi Earlier this month, a London-bound Air India plane crashed soon after take off in Ahmedabad, killing all but one of the 242 people aboard. This was one of the deadliest … Read more

Axiom-4 pilot Shubhanshu Shukla and Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu enjoy views of Earth from the International Space Station’s cupola. Photo: axiomspace.com Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who is aboard the International Space Station (ISS), is expected to talk to the U.R. Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) in Bengaluru via ham radio on July 4. “Contact upcoming with … Read more

The Election Commission of India (ECI) recently issued an order for holding Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls for Bihar. This exercise will then be carried out in all the States. The order is antithetical to the tradition of this august institution. From the first election held in independent India, the ECI has played a … Read more

Representative image | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto After defence forces realised the need for more precision surveillance during Operation Sindoor, the Union government has ordered the fast-tracking of the launch of 52 dedicated surveillance satellites, enhancing round-the-clock monitoring of coastline and land borders. In October last year, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Cabinet Committee approved … Read more