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
Since the 1990s, scientists have discovered hordes of planets outside the solar system together with tantalising hints of life — or more accurately hints of hints of life. So far, however, there exists no proof that there’s life anywhere in the universe except on the earth. Does that mean our quest for alien life has … Read more
People in Kolkata on July 15, 2025 watch the live screening of the Dragon “Grace” capsule’s splashdown off San Diego in California. | Photo Credit: PTI Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday lauded the success of the Axiom Mission 4 and the achievement of Indian Air Force pilot and astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, who travelled to … Read more
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. File | Photo Credit: PTI Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday (July 15, 2025) said Shubhanshu Shukla has not just touched space, he has lifted India’s aspirations to new heights. Axiom-4 crew return highlights Group Captain Shukla, along with his three crew members of the Axiom-4 mission, returned from the … Read more
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
Human societies have struggled to fend off locust infestations for millennia. The insects’ destructive effects persist to this day, especially when they collect in large swarms and eat through thousands of hectares of crops in a matter of days. Such swarms have occurred once every few years of late. Most recently, in 2019-2020, a record … Read more
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
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
Filmmaker Peter Jackson owns one of the largest private collections of bones of an extinct New Zealand bird called the moa. His fascination with the flightless ostrich-like bird has led to an unusual partnership with a biotech company known for its grand and controversial plans to bring back lost species. On July 8, Colossal Biosciences … Read more
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder and a form of dementia that affects memory, thinking, and behaviour. As symptoms become more severe, the disease can seriously affect a person’s ability to perform tasks that would otherwise be deemed routine, like brushing teeth, making a meal or even recognising family members. For many years, the … Read more
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
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
A ram air turbine deployed in an Airbus A320. | Photo Credit: Curimedia (CC BY) A preliminary investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has said the Air India Boeing 787-8 crash near Ahmedabad on June 12 followed fuel to the vehicle’s two engines being cut off. The engines on the 787-8 are the main … Read more