The science of taste The Miracle Berry contains a compound called miraculin that binds to sweet receptors and can make acidic foods like lemon taste sweet for about an hour. START THE QUIZ 1 / 5 | You don’t ‘taste’ most of what you call taste. Instead, a large share of the flavour comes from … Read more
Mathematicians have announced a milestone in the effort to thoroughly verify the solution of the sphere-packing problem — for which the Ukrainian mathematician Maryna Viazovska won the Fields Medal in 2022 — using a machine. This version of the problem asks what the best way is to pack a bunch of spheres in eight dimensions. … Read more
When Isaac Newton wrote Opticks, published in 1704, he divided the colour spectrum into the now famous VIBGYOR, a set of seven colours (the decision was not, as such, scientific because Newton’s choice was dictated by ‘7’ being a significant number in alchemy.) What Newton observed was a series of hues merging into one another, … Read more
In a 1953 experiment, two scientists named Stanley Miller and Harold Urey attempted to recreate the conditions of the early earth long before life existed. They showed that organic molecules such as amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, could form spontaneously in the conditions that prevailed on a primitive earth, 3.5-4 billion years ago. … Read more
In 1987, four years after the discovery of HIV as the causative agent of AIDS, scientists reported the first drug effective against the virus, called zidovudine. Zidovudine targeted a viral enzyme called reverse transcriptase, and prevented the virus from completing its life-cycle. However, zidovudine was no magic bullet. It could hold the virus at bay … Read more
Hand preference reflects how the brain organises movement control | Photo Credit: Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash — Gayatri Chandrashekar A: There’s a neural basis for handedness but it’s not due to any single part of the brain. Hand preference reflects how the brain organises movement control. In most right-handed people, the left hemisphere has stronger control over … Read more
The story so far: India and Brazil signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on rare earths and critical minerals during President Lula da Silva’s state visit to India on February 21, 2026. The joint statement said the two countries want to work together across the full mineral “value chain” and that the understanding includes exploration, … Read more
(1) U.S. Supreme Court rules against President Trump’s tariffs The U.S. Supreme Court ruled President Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs illegal on Friday last week (February 20, 2026), calling them an overreach of Presidential authority using a law meant for national emergencies. The verdict came in a 6-3 ruling. Following the verdict, the President imposed … Read more
In many animals, sex is decided by obvious physical differences in the chromosomes. But in ants, bees, and wasps, sex is often decided in a more unusual way: by whether an embryo carries two different versions of a specific DNA region or two matching ones. Two studies, one in Science Advances in 2024 and the … Read more
“Scientists have long known that emotional states such as stress and anxiety can influence the intensity of these sensations. While the neural mechanisms linking stress and pain have been studied extensively, the effect of stress on itch has remained poorly understood,” IISc said. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu Researchers at the Indian Institute of … Read more
A committee that includes K. VijayRaghavan, former Principal Scientific Advisor, and S. Somanath, former Chairman, India Space Research Organisation (ISRO), will probe “systemic issues” underlying the successive failures of ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). While technical committees probe and submit ‘failure analysis reports’ when mishaps occur, this committee, The Hindu has reliably learnt, will … Read more
For decades, fluorescent proteins have been among the most powerful tools in biology. They glow when illuminated, allowing scientists to see where molecules are inside cells and how they move. From tracking cancer cells to mapping neural circuits, these luminous markers transformed the life sciences, work recognised with a Nobel Prize in 2008. Now, two … Read more
Scientists find bouba-kiki effect in three-day chicks Humans often match “bouba” with round shapes and “kiki” with spiky ones. Researchers raised baby chicks, then played the sounds while showing them the two shapes. Three-day-old chicks chose the round shapes more often when they heard “bouba” and spiky shapes more often when they heard “kiki”. The … Read more
A group of quantum researchers has issued a manifesto urging colleagues to resist what it calls the “militarisation” of quantum science. The authors, who describe themselves as “Quantum Scientists for Disarmament”, say they oppose military uses of quantum research, reject military funding for academic work, and want universities to disclose which quantum projects take defence … Read more
Wildfire smoke in the northeast Pacific Ocean, September 2020. | Photo Credit: NASA A: Sometimes wildfire smoke in the stratosphere collects into a compact bubble of smoke that spins in a coherent vortex, clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counter-clockwise in the southern hemisphere. Two new studies, published in Weather and Climate Dynamics and presented … Read more
Malabar Trogon | Photo Credit: Special arrangement A total of 238 bird species were documented across Thiruvananthapuram district during the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), an annual four-day global citizen science initiative held from February 13 to 16. Endemic species such as Grey-fronted Green-Pigeon, Malabar Imperial-Pigeon, Malabar Grey Hornbill, Malabar Flameback, Malabar Parakeet, Malabar Woodshrike, … Read more
The Food and Drug Administration plans to drop its longtime standard of requiring two rigorous studies to win approval for new drugs, the latest change from Trump administration officials vowing to speed up the availability of certain medical products. Going forward, the FDA’s “default position” will be to require one study for new drugs and … Read more
The project is an integrated infrastructure development plan proposed by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation Limited (ANIIDCO). | Photo Credit: Getty Images/istockphoto The story so far: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) recently concluded a high-stakes legal battle over the ‘Holistic Development of Great Nicobar Island’, and ruled that all environment safeguards are … Read more
There aren’t many everyday routines that are both overtly essential, while at the same time almost a form of art. Cooking, however, is one such routine that blends creativity, skill, and science to transform individual ingredients into dishes that are not just essential for our consumption and living, but also double up as unique, flavourful … Read more
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (L) holds a press conference with (L-R) Artemis II mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, Christina Koch, pilot Victor Glover, and Commander Reid Wiseman, as NASA’s Artemis II (behind them) is rolled from the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on January 17, 2026 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. | Photo Credit: … Read more
India is among just four countries that contribute almost 70% to the world’s total applied toxicity (TAT) in the form of pesticide, which is directed at agricultural pests, but in affect unleashes huge collateral damage among “non-target” species (that is, species that pesticides claimed as collateral). In 2022, at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference, countries … Read more
NASA on Thursday (February 19, 2026) released a sweeping report on Boeing’s botched Starliner mission that left two astronauts stuck on the International Space Station for nearly a year, detailing communication breakdowns and “unprofessional behavior” as the agency and its longtime contractor struggled to agree on how to safely return the crew to Earth. NASA … Read more
People who score better for optimism have been shown to have healthier hearts. | Photo Credit: Pablo Guerrero/Unsplash Helen Keller, the American author and activist who was deaf and blind, became an international symbol of human potential. She wrote, “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” … Read more
A file photo of the image of the Sun captured by Aditya-L1 during May solar storm. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Observations and measurements made by India’s maiden solar mission, Aditya-L1, have helped to decode the unusual dawn-time geomagnetic disturbances during strong solar storms. Geomagnetic storms are large disturbances in Earth’s magnetic field caused by … Read more
File photo shows Space Launch System (SLS), with the Orion crew capsule, stands at launch complex 39B as preprations continue for the Artemis 2 mission to the Moon at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral | Photo Credit: Reuters NASA on Thursday (February 19, 2026) said it successfully rehearsed the launch of its massive SLS … Read more
President Donald Trump said that he’s directing the Pentagon and other government agencies to identify and release files related to extraterrestrials and UFOs because of “tremendous interest.” Image used for illustration purpose only. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto President Donald Trump said on Thursday (February 19, 2026) that he’s directing the Pentagon and other government … Read more
Fatigue, brain fog, irritability, headaches, and palpitations are not isolated symptoms. Doctors report seeing these especially among young professionals who stay up past midnight juggling project deadlines and household responsibilities, working long shifts, where restorative sleep feels impossible. Over time, this continuous lack of rest gradually alters the brain and body, affecting cognition, mood, metabolism, … Read more
There continues to be intense debate worldwide about the definition of biological sex, boosted by some recent executive orders. The official theme of LGBTQ+ History Month (February) this year is ‘Science & Innovation’ and the natural universe is replete with examples of how the simple binary of sexes and genders to which some people would … Read more
The story so far: In 1999, California-based Nvidia Corp. marketed a chip called GeForce 256 as “the world’s first GPU”. Its purpose was to make videogames run better and look better. In the 2.5 decades since, GPUs have moved from the discretionary world of games and visual effects to becoming part of the core infrastructure … Read more
Pruning to let more light into the canopy often reduces one-sided flowering. | Photo Credit: Kevin Saunders/Unsplash – Gayatri Chandrashekar Shrubs and trees often flower and fruit more on the sunlit side because the planet’s energy budget on that side is different. Sunlit leaves capture more usable light so they photosynthesise more and make more … Read more