One puff of a cigarette, within seconds, infuses the human bloodstream (via the lungs) with nicotine, the acutely addictive and carcinogenic chemical in tobacco. Nicotine binds to the brain’s cellular receptors, sparking the dopaminergic reward system to keep smokers hooked. And then there are additives in cigarettes, such as menthol, which gets nicotine to linger … Read more
On January 20, 2026, Rev. Dr. Leo D’Souza, a Jesuit scientist based in Mangaluru, died aged 93. Dr. D’Souza, fondly known as Fr Leo, trained in the 1960s at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research in Cologne, working alongside stalwarts in the field such as Ingo Potrykus, Joseph Straub, and Sudhir Kumar Sopory. … Read more
A new species of dragonfly discovered in Kerala has been named Lyriothemis keralensis in appreciation of the State’s rich biodiversity. Researchers have discovered a new species of dragonfly from Kerala and named it Lyriothemis keralensis, recognising the State’s exceptional biodiversity. The species was recorded from Varapetty near Kothamangalam in Ernakulam district, where it inhabits vegetated … Read more
A scaled-down model of Chandrayaan-4 was displayed at the ISRO stall at the 8th edition of the Bengaluru Space Expo 2024 (BSX), in association with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), in Bengaluru. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu The Chandrayaan-4 Mission is at least two years away, but the ISRO has identified a location … Read more
A scaled-down model of Chandrayaan-4 was displayed at the ISRO stall at the 8th edition of the Bengaluru Space Expo 2024 (BSX), in association with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), in Bengaluru. File | Photo Credit: The Hindu The Chandrayaan-4 Mission is at least two years away, but the ISRO has identified a location … Read more
Researchers have discovered a new species of dragonfly from Kerala and named it Lyriothemis keralensis, recognising the State’s exceptional biodiversity. The species was recorded from Varapetty near Kothamangalam in Ernakulam district, where it inhabits vegetated pools and irrigation canals within well shaded pineapple and rubber plantations. The study was conducted by Dattaprasad Sawant of the … Read more
Palaeontologist Sebastian Apesteguia measures a footprint made by a meat-eating dinosaur some 80 million years ago at the Maragua Syncline, Bolivia, July 21, 2016. | Photo Credit: Reuters Footprints are among the most common kind of dinosaur fossils. Sometimes scientists find a single, lonely footprint. Sometimes they come across a chaotic jumble of tracks resembling … Read more
A file image of Elon Musk with a logo of SpaceX. | Photo Credit: Reuters SpaceX is putting its longstanding focus of sending humans to Mars on the back burner to prioritise establishing a settlement on the Moon, founder Elon Musk said Sunday (February 8, 2026). The South Africa-born billionaire’s space company has found massive … Read more
False-coloured SEM image of the microstructured device of PdGa made using focused-ion beam techniques, showing the three-arm geometry. The scale bar is 10 μm. | Photo Credit: Dixit, A., Sivakumar, P.K., Manna, K. et al. Nature 649, 47–52 (2026) In a new study in Nature, scientists from IIT-Delhi and Germany have demonstrated a device to separate … Read more
A file image of Elon Musk with a logo of SpaceX. | Photo Credit: Reuters SpaceX is putting its longstanding focus of sending humans to Mars on the back burner to prioritise establishing a settlement on the Moon, founder Elon Musk said Sunday (February 8, 2026). The South Africa-born billionaire’s space company has found massive … Read more
The budget has brought some cheer to India’s research community, particularly for those involved in astronomy and space research, as it has earmarked ₹13,416.20 crore for the Department of Space for 2026-27. A large chunk of the allocation has been set aside for deep-space exploration and astrophysics, including to build two advanced telescope facilities: the … Read more
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