This undated photo shows Thwaites glacier in Western Antarctica. | Photo Credit: NASA A: Thwaites glacier is a large glacier in West Antarctica, about the size of a large country. Scientists have often called it the “Doomsday Glacier” in the media. It is one of the most important places on the earth for those trying … Read more
1. What is it about Claude’s latest release that has spooked markets and hurt Indian IT stocks? On January 30, Anthropic released 11 open-source plugins for Claude Cowork, its AI workplace suite. Unlike conventional chatbots, Cowork functions as an autonomous digital colleague: it reads files, drafts documents, reviews contracts, and executes multi-step workflows across legal, … Read more
The government of Tamil Nadu’s Directorate of Drug Control recently issued a public notice against a specific batch of Almond Kit syrup, after laboratory tests detected adulteration with ethylene glycol. This finding emerged during routine surveillance. It comes barely five months after India lost over 20 children in Madhya Pradesh last year due to contaminated … Read more
The yeast and filament form of Fungi Fungal infections are among the most underestimated health threats worldwide, contributing to rising hospitalizations and deaths. Beyond human health, fungi also devastate crops, reduce yields, and worsen food insecurity — creating a dual crisis for both public health and agriculture. Now, researchers at the CSIR–Centre for Cellular and … Read more
Watch: Aravalli hills issue: why are the stakes particularly high in Rajasthan?
Image for representation | Photo Credit: AFP On February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the 16th Finance Commission report in the Lok Sabha, setting the framework for tax devolution between the Centre and the States. The Commission also recommended an allocation of ₹3.5 lakh crore to urban local governments (ULGs) for the next five … Read more
What is it? The Zeigarnik effect is a phenomenon which hypothesizes that one has a higher tendency to remember things, actions, or events that were left unfinished than those that were completed. It is something that one probably experiences on a daily basis. The effect can be experienced when you have an unreturned phone call, … Read more
The role of biochemistry Cancer originates at the genetic micro-molecular level within a cell — resulting in a cascade of subtle biochemical and cellular abnormalities that escape internal patrol — and eventually manifests as a detectable disease. Onco-biochemistry involves quantifying tumour markers, enzymes, hormones and metabolites in blood and body fluids for diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring … Read more
Batteries have become deeply embedded in modern life. From laptops, mobile phones, wearable devices such as smartwatches and wireless earphones, to power tools, electric vehicles (EVs), and large-scale battery energy storage systems, batteries now underpin both personal convenience and critical infrastructure. A newer trend is also emerging, with batteries being integrated directly into household appliances, … Read more
Contract teachers hold a protest after the Assembly march to press for job regularisation, in Puducherry on February 03rd, 2026 | Photo Credit: KUMAR SS For more than a week, contract teachers in Puducherry have been protesting about the regularisation of their jobs. On February 3, their protest march towards the Assembly was stopped by … Read more
The thrill of live performances and the euphoric atmosphere of large music events may leave behind more than just memories. New research published in Scientific Reports suggests that prolonged exposure to loud music can cause long-lasting hearing damage. The study conducted by Nele De Poortere, a postdoctoral researcher, and her colleagues at Ghent University in … Read more
Bamboo finds new uses where sustainability is the goal, for example in place of plastics for disposable cutlery. | Photo Credit: Chuttersnap/Unsplash Bamboo (called ‘baans’ in Hindi, and ‘moongil’ in Tamil) is an ancient plant that grows fast in wet soil in broad sunlight. It is well known to people in Asia and Latin America, … Read more
Many mechanisms involved in breast cancer metastasis focus on tumour cell activities. Image used for representational purposes only | Photo Credit: Getty Images A growing body of research is reshaping how scientists understand breast cancer—not just as a disease of rogue tumour cells, but as one that cleverly recruits the body’s own immune system to … Read more
A glacial lake atop the Pir Panchal mountain range that divides Kashmir and Jammu provinces. | Photo Credit: File photo GUWAHATI: A team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-G) has developed a new way to identify where glacial lakes are likely to form in the Himalayas, offering a potential breakthrough in … Read more
The 16th Finance Commission (FC)’s vertical devolution recommendations prioritise the needs of the Centre over the realities of States. By merely acknowledging, rather than heeding, States’ fiscal pressures, the FC has taken a distinctly conservative stance. To grasp the underlying tensions, we must first look deeper into the structural issues. The 16th FC has maintained … Read more
The cheetah is a spotted beast that can burn through savannas like a bolt of lightning to hunt prey vastly bigger than itself. This big cat is the world’s fastest terrestrial mammal, which purrs more than it growls and has been historically tamed and trained by people to hunt game. Cheetahs once roamed most of … Read more
The atmosphere possesses the same momentum as the solid earth. | Photo Credit: ActionVance/Unsplash — GayatriChandrashekar The primary reason is gravity, which acts like an invisible tether. Every molecule of gas in our atmosphere, nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, etc., has mass. Earth’s core exerts a gravitational pull that attracts these molecules towards the center of … Read more
The story so far: On February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a slew of resources for AYUSH in the 2026-27 Union Budget. A week earlier, India’s new free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union opened the door for Indian doctors and products to enter the European market more easily. What has AYUSH received … Read more
Scientists from the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad, have developed an affordable way to check for antimicrobial resistance in sewage. In their study, detailed in a paper published in Nature Communications on December 29, the scientists analysed sewage samples from 381 sites in Assam, Haryana, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal, … Read more
A biosensor capable of detecting myoglobin early, aiding physicians to identify cardiac events | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES A flexible, low-cost biosensor capable of detecting myoglobin — a key cardiac biomarker associated with the early stages of a heart attack — has been developed by a joint doctoral researcher, Mohsina Afrooz, at the Birla Institute … Read more
Singapore will launch its own space agency on April 1 as it bids to “fully harness the value and opportunities of the growing global space economy”, the Trade Ministry announced on Monday (February 2, 2026). “Singapore’s strengths in advanced manufacturing, aerospace, micro-electronics, precision engineering and artificial intelligence position us well to capture new opportunities in … Read more
Japan’s drilling-equipped research vessel Chikyu before its departure from Shimizu port to conduct a test recovery of rare-earth–rich mud near Minamitori Island, marking the world’s first attempt to continuously lift rare-earth seabed sludge from a depth of about 6 km onto a ship, in Shimizu, Shizuoka prefecture, Japan on January 12, 2026. | Photo Credit: … Read more
Paresthesia | Photo Credit: Gemini DALL E Paresthesia, or sleeping limbs, is characterised by a numb, tingling, or a slight burning sensation in your limbs that usually affects hands, arms, and feet. It can also affect joints, pressure points and areas close to a nerve. Science it out So, how does this happen? Well, when … Read more
Billionaire businessman Jeff Bezos is launched with three crew members aboard a New Shepard rocket on the world’s first unpiloted suborbital flight from Blue Origin’s Launch Site 1 in Texas, U.S., July 20, 2021. | Photo Credit: Reuters A: On January 31, Blue Origin, the private space company owned by Jeff Bezos, announced that it … Read more
1,2,3,4,5,6,7…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..∞ The dots lead us to infinity. Or so I can say and immediately end this article here. Try imagining the highest number imaginable (which is, in layman’s terms ‘infinity’). Can you? Let’s hold that thought as it will become a crucial point of departure for our deep understanding of the infinity. The brain-melting vagueness … Read more
This artwork imagines the event designated GW250114, which produced the clearest gravitational wave signal the LIGO instruments have detected to date. | Photo Credit: Aurore Simonnet (SSU/EdEon)/LVK/URI On January 14, 2025, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatories (LIGOs) recorded a cosmic tremor unlike any before. Named GW250114, the signal was the ‘loudest’ gravitational wave scientists had … Read more
A full moon is seen shining over NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) and Orion spacecraft, atop the mobile launcher in the early hours of February 1, 2026, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. | Photo Credit: AP NASA ran into a leak while fueling its new moon rocket Monday (February 2, 2026) in one … Read more
Uganda’s history with mountain gorillas is inseparable from its political turmoil. Mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) are restricted to Central Africa and number around a thousand individuals. They inhabit dense volcanic, bamboo, and montane forests at elevations of 2,200-4,300 m. Yet from Uganda’s independence in 1962 through Milton Obote’s centralisation, Idi Amin’s brutal dictatorship, and … Read more
3D Printed Single Element Thrust Chamber. Picture: isro.gov.in The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has conducted the testing of a sub-scale thrust chamber for LOX-Methane Engine which would be inducted in the next generation of launch vehicles. The test was conducted at the Thrust Chamber Test facility at ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), Mahendragiri on January … Read more
The investigation into the causes behind the consecutive failures of the Indian Space Rearch Organisation’s (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is ongoing, and an external team is also involved in the probe. Image used for representation purpose only. | Photo Credit: PTI The investigation into the causes behind the consecutive failures of the Indian … Read more