Science Quiz: Properties of light

Science Quiz: Properties of light 1 / 6 | Name this scientist in the picture, who was awarded a Nobel Prize in 2018 for her work in developing a technique that revolutionised high-intensity laser physics and boosted fundamental research in optics. 2 / 6 | Certain transparent crystals, such as calcite, can split a single … Read more

Group Captain Shukla extracted in stable condition from capsule, undergoing post-mission medical evaluation: ISRO

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and Axiom-4 crew assisted out of the Dragon Spacecraft onto the recovery vehicle, after their return to earth from the International Space Station 18 days later, on July 15, 2025. | Photo Credit: ANI The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Tuesday (July 15, 2025) said that Indian astronaut Group Captain … Read more

ANRF unveils PM Professorships to bolster research in State universities

To tap into the expertise of retired scientists, the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) — the newly constituted body for funding scientific research — has announced the Prime Minister Professorships. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto To tap into the expertise of retired scientists, the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) — the newly constituted body for … Read more

AIC-CCMB planning trials for Chikungunya vaccine with indigenously developed mRNA technology

CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) Atal Incubation Centre (AIC) is planning to go ahead with the next stage larger-scale trials of the indigenously developed mRNA vaccine technology for tackling Chikungunya. “Chikungunya is a serious, major debilitating disease in India and it does not yet have a vaccine. We have already demonstrated the ability to … Read more

Axiom-4 mission: SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, crew members return to earth

A view of the SpaceX Dragon spaceship after it spalshed down off the coast off San Diego on July 15, 2025. Photo: YouTube/ Axiom Space Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and his Axiom-4 mission 4 (Ax-4) crew members returned to earth on Tuesday (July 15, 2025) as their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft splashed down at … Read more

What is a black hole merger?

The impending collision of two black holes is seen in this still image from a computer simulation released by the LIGO collaboration in 2016. | Photo Credit: Reuters A: A black hole merger happens when two black holes — extremely dense objects with gravity so strong that not even light can escape — get close … Read more

Axiom-4 crew return LIVE: SpaceX Dragon spaceship to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and splash down at 3:01 p.m.

Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) Group Captain Shukla and crew on track to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and splash down today: SpaceX Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and his Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew members who departed from the orbiting laboratory on Tuesday (July 14, 2025) onboard the SpaceX Dragon are on track to re-enter the … Read more

New study shows cysteine withdrawal causes rapid weight loss in mice

Varghese, A., Gusarov, I., Gamallo-Lana, B. et al, ‘Unravelling cysteine-deficiency-associated rapid weight loss’, Nature (2025). doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08996-y In the 1930s, when scientists were beginning to uncover the molecular basis of nutrition, they already knew that proteins were a vital part of the diet, but they didn’t fully understand why. More specifically, they didn’t know whether all … Read more

On track to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and splash down: SpaceX

Axiom-4 mission, featuring Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and Crewmates — veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson (U.S.) as commander, Polish engineer Sławosz Uznański, and Hungarian researcher Tibor Kapu pose for a picture ahead of undocking from the International Space Station, on Sunday (July 13, 2025). Photo: X/@NASA via ANI Video Grab Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) Group Captain … Read more

Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology researchers gear up to study seeds that were sent to space

Seeds of two rice varieties, horse gram, tomato, sesame and brinjal were sent to the ISS. Photo: Special Arrangement With Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and the rest of the Axiom-4 crew expected back on earth on Tuesday, the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) here is preparing for post-flight field studies using the … Read more

Group Captain Shukla has completed all seven microgravity experiments onboard ISS: ISRO

Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who is headed back to earth after an 18-day stay at the International Space Station (ISS), has completed all seven microgravity experiments. Photo credit: X/@ISROSpaceflight Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who is headed back to earth after an 18-day stay at the International Space Station (ISS), has completed … Read more

Train collides with school van in Cuddalore, Vadodara bridge collapse kills at least 20, and more: The week in 5 charts

Three schoolchildren were killed and two others, including the driver, sustained serious injuries after a passenger train rammed into a school van — carrying four students — which was attempting to cross a manned gate at Semmankuppam in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday (July 8, 2025). The Villupuram-Mayiladuthurai passenger, travelling at a speed … Read more

Axiom-4 mission: Shubhanshu Shukla, crew members prepare to leave ISS

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is seen inside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as he and his crew members prepare to leave the International Space Station. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and his Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew members Peggy Whitson, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Tibor Kapu, are preparing to leave the … Read more

Axiom-4 mission: Shubhanshu Shukla, crew members prepare to leave ISS

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is seen inside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as he and his crew members prepare to leave the International Space Station. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and his Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew members Peggy Whitson, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Tibor Kapu, are preparing to leave the … Read more

Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla prepares to head back home

Ahead of his journey back to Earth, Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on Sunday (July 13, 2025) said that today’s India looks ambitious, fearless, confident, and full of pride. “Forty-one years ago, an Indian went to space, and he also described how India looks from above, and you all want to know how India … Read more

New butterfly species, Zographetus mathewi, discovered in Western Ghats

Zographetus mathewi, the newly discovered skipper butterfly from the Western Ghats. A team of lepidopterists have identified a new butterfly species in the Western Ghats, one of the world’s eight “hottest hotspots” of biological diversity. Named Zographetus mathewi, this newly described skipper butterfly belongs to the family Hesperiidae and adds a new entry to the genus … Read more

Why must India recognise its open ecosystems? | Explained

Goats graze near windmills on the outskirts of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, in 2024. | Photo Credit: AFP The story so far: Deserts are often imagined as failures of nature, and barren wastelands in need of redemption. This worldview fuels grand ambitions to “green” the desert, through afforestation, irrigation schemes, or even climate engineering. This gives way … Read more

Climate change is changing where and how Indians are living

Two features mark the geography of Bundelkhand, the region in Central India spread over 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh: the steep hills of the Vindhyas and progressively scanty rainfall and increasingly frequent droughts. Consider Panna district in Madhya Pradesh. According to data from the India Meteorological Department, Panna has been receiving progressively … Read more

Possibly oldest known comet streaks through solar system

A snapshot of the orbit of 3I/ATLAS (light blue) through the solar system. The concentric rings at the centre depict the orbits of the solar system’s inner planets. The orange ring is Jupiter’s orbit. | Photo Credit: CSS, D. Rankin (CC BY-SA) On July 1, scientists using the ATLAS survey telescope in Chile reported they … Read more

The peopling of the Indian subcontinent

Figure 1 in the 2009 study showing a map of India with the origins of the 25 groups examined. | Photo Credit: DOI:10.1038/nature08365 How and from where did we, the people of India, come from? Based on genetic analysis of 25 diverse groups in India, a paper in 2009 titled ‘Reconstructing Indian Population History’, jointly … Read more

A probe that penetrated Jupiter’s atmosphere

Getting there The Galileo Jupiter atmospheric probe was part of NASA’s Galileo mission – among the agency’s most ambitious deep space missions up until then. Before the probe could become Earth’s first ever emissary to penetrate the atmosphere of any of the outer gas giant planets, there was the task of getting the Galileo spacecraft … Read more

Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to undergo seven-day rehabilitation post return to Earth on July 15

Axiom-4 crew, including Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, scheduled to undock from ISS on July 14. It is stated that Shubhanshu Shukla will be undergoing seven-day rehabilitation after returning to Earth. Photo: YouTube/Axiom Space/ANI Photo Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will undergo a seven-day rehabilitation programme after his splashdown off the California coast on July 15 as he … Read more