Data and AI experts take part at a session, titled ‘Data Privacy as a Pillar of Resilience: Building Trust in a Digital Age’, at The Hindu Tech Summit 2026 in Chennai on Friday | Photo Credit: B. Velankanni Raj In a world where data are extracted from individuals with or without informed consent, data and AI … Read more
Venkatesan Vijayaraghavan, COO, Virtusa, is in a conversation with John Xavier, Tech Editor, The Hindu, at a session on ‘Managing the post Anthropic Plug-in Era’ at The Hindu Tech Summit 2026 on Friday (February 13, 2026). | Photo Credit: M. SRINATH Large enterprises have to unravel business processes to make them AI-first and to rewire business … Read more
On February 3, 2026, the US FDA issued a ‘refusal to file’ (RTF) letter to Moderna Inc. regarding their new mRNA vaccine developed against influenza. This decision generated considerable controversy worldwide, particularly given the current direction of vaccination policy in the United States towards a more conservative approach. However, that does not necessarily mean that … Read more
Science Quiz: On Charles Darwin Julia Margaret Camero, a pioneer of close-up photography who also captured the famous 1862 image of Charles Darwin with a big beard. Photo: Public Domain START THE QUIZ 1 / 5 | Charles Darwin originally went to the University of Edinburgh to study ________, but he disliked the experience so … Read more
While rural Indians began the year feeling relatively confident, their urban counterparts remained cautious, according to a reading of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s consumer confidence survey. While the rural population is driving consumption beyond essentials, urban consumers remain financially conservative, despite enjoying slightly better income stability, the survey results suggest. The conclusions are … Read more
An Asiatic lioness with her two seven-month-old cubs at Sakkarbaugh Safari breeding centre in Junagadh, May 6, 2025. | Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI/The Hindu — N. Ramalakshmi A: The answer is a combination of how many eggs are released or ovulated and the species’ survival strategy. Many large mammals like elephants, cows, and humans usually … Read more
Rohan Chakravarty is a cartoonist and illustrator from Nagpur. His series, ‘Green Humour’, consists of cartoons and comics on wildlife, nature conservation, environmental issues, sustainability, and all things green. Published – February 12, 2026 04:55 pm IST
A molecular biologist from Madurai, our quizmaster enjoys trivia and music, and is working on a rock ballad called ‘Coffee is a Drink, Kaapi is an Emotion’. @bertyashley Quiz | Easy like Sunday morning: All you need to know about Galileo What are the Galilean moons, the first objects discovered in the Solar System using … Read more
It is not a giant balloon. It is not an airplane. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto It is not a giant balloon. It is not an airplane. Well, it is in spirit, both. A blimp is a type of airship. Airships are, simply said, lighter-than-air pressure ships. Technically, it is a powered (like how we … Read more
Prof. Bonnie Bassler delivering a lecture at IISc in Bengaluru on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: ALLEN EGENUSE J. Bacteria can get into us, make us sick, and they can even kill us – but they give us our life too. Bonnie Bassler, renowned molecular biologist and professor of Princeton University, best known for her work … Read more
Media members walk by the press site video display showing NASA’s Crew-12 astronauts in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., February 11, 2026. | Photo Credit: Reuters NASA is now aiming to launch four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday (February 13, 2026), in another delay over weather conditions, the U.S. agency announced. It … Read more
More than 20,000 persons (including close to 6,000 children) were reported missing in Delhi each year in the 2017-2023 period with the exception of 2020 | Photo Credit: Karma Bhutia The National Human Rights Commission on Monday issued notices to the Delhi government, Chief Secretary, Commissioner of Police seeking a detailed report on missing person … Read more
US President Donald Trump meets with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on October 7, 2025. | Photo Credit: JIM WATSON On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to stop the opening of the new bridge, costing $4.6 billion and connecting Windsor in Canada and … Read more
States such as Rajasthan, Tripura, and Jharkhand saw less than 40% of the candidates placed. | Photo Credit: VectorMine Less than half of the students trained under the PM-DAKSH scheme between 2021 and 2024 were placed, as per data released in the Lok Sabha on February 3. Under the Scheme, training institutes are required to … Read more
U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands as they attend a joint press conference at the White House on February 13, 2025. | Photo Credit: KEVIN LAMARQUE Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign visits between 2021 and 2025 incurred a total expenditure of ₹462.58 crores, according to government data. Spanning 43 … Read more
In settings where rapid, affordable diagnostics are unavailable, antibiotics often substitute for testing instead of complementing it. | Photo Credit: Volodymyr Hryshchenko/Unsplash Charles Darwin’s central insight wasn’t just that species evolve but that they can’t but adapt in the presence of selection pressures. In practical terms, organisms don’t choose to change: they respond to the … Read more
Did the 2026-27 Union Budget live up to India’s science ambitions and scientists’ expectations? The views vary depending on what specific sectors have received and the initiatives announced, and they’re not all rosy. Here are comments from seven leading scientists from around India, including heads of key departments, institutes, and a leading State university, compiled … Read more
The Union Budget 2026-27 presented science as an instrument of growth, with large numbers on biopharma, semiconductors, carbon capture, and research-linked industrial finance on paper. However, expert reactions to this budget point to a more fragile reality. As the state attempts to move from adopting technologies to creating them, by building mission-linked platforms in biopharma, … Read more
An annular solar eclipse. | Photo Credit: AP The first solar eclipse of 2026 will occur on Tuesday, February 17. It will be an ‘annular solar eclipse’ and the world is eagerly awaiting the celestial event. Here’s all you need to know about it. What is a solar eclipse? A solar eclipse is when the … Read more
Drug-resistant pneumonia remains a serious complication in intensive care units, where treatment options are limited. Pseudomonas aeruginosa in particular causes about one in five hospital pneumonias and often resists multiple drugs. A research team at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, affiliated with Harvard Medical School, has reported that a gas already used in neonatal care … Read more
In India, the story of women and girls in science is organised around a mismatch between a widening pipeline and stubborn barriers. Put differently, the country is getting better at bringing girls and young women into STEM education but it has been much less consistent at converting those aspirations into long careers in scientific work. … Read more
The colours of the natural world are not what they once were. More than half of the oceans have become greener over the last 20 years, and forests are turning brown prematurely. Various species of flora and fauna have also been changing their colours to adapt to rising temperatures, loss of habitats, and pollution. This … Read more
ISRO Chairperson V. Narayanan addressing the US-India Space Business Forum, in Bengaluru on February 10, 2026. V. Narayanan, Secretary, Department of Space, Government of India, emphasised that collaboration is crucial for progress while speaking at the inaugural session of the US-India Space Business Forum in Bengaluru on Tuesday. Stressing the importance of collaboration, Mr. Narayanan pointed … Read more
The quantum computer It’s time to introduce the star of this article! The quantum computer is quite different from the regular computer you would use at home, the office, or in a school computer lab. It is a device that utilises quantum mechanics (a field of physics where the behaviour of matter and energy is … Read more
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, secured to the mobile launcher, are seen at Launch Pad 39B on January 17, 2026, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. | Photo Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky A week ago, NASA found a hydrogen leak during a wet dress rehearsal of its Artemis II mission. A … Read more
A person poses for a photo in front of a maple tree displaying fall colours in Kansas City, Missouri. | Photo Credit: Charlie Riedel/AP For a moment, close your eyes and imagine yourself in the fall season. The cold, chilly wind kisses your face, and the leaves begin to dance gracefully as they fall off … Read more
ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan on Tuesday (February 10, 2026) said that India’s space programme was conceived as a people-centric and application-driven initiative, rooted in international cooperation rather than competition. Highlighting six decades of the country’s space journey, Mr. Narayanan said the programme had evolved from modest beginnings into a globally respected ecosystem that serves not … Read more
What explains the SpaceX, Blue Origin moonward pivot? | Explained
A fresh year has just started, and we are already a month old. Year endings and startings are always occasions to ponder. Here in IIT Kanpur, where some of us teach, the first week of January is always hectic. A new semester just started, students are back after winter breaks, and people are rushing through … Read more
A Lok Sabha (LS) majority is often mentioned as monolithic fact, a number that can be nothing but objective. The objectivity of the number in this case is rather superfluous. An absolute majority in the LS requires 272 members, i.e more than half of its total strength of 543, wherever those come from; but where … Read more