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
Bank of Baroda accounted for 16% of all such charges collected for non-maintenance of minimum balance between FY23 to FY25 | Photo Credit: ANUSHREE FADNAVIS More than Rs 8,000 crore was collected as charges by 12 Public Sector Banks (PSBs) for non-maintenance of minimum balance in the last three financial years, Parliament data showed. With over … Read more
A decade ago, I heard a talk by an environmental activist in Chennai. This person almost always worked in settings with significant resource constraints and on activities that society had a tendency to overlook. Jeffrey Epstein had not been the well-known name it has become in India, and around the world, today. But the activist … Read more
Grok has faced a global backlash after it emerged that its image creation feature allowed users to sexualise pictures of women and children using simple text prompts [File] | Photo Credit: REUTERS Indonesia will restore access to Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok after the billionaire’s social media platform X promised to comply with the country’s … Read more
The website tracks outages by collating status reports from a number of sources [File] | Photo Credit: REUTERS Elon Musk’s social media platform X was back up after a brief outage affected more than 19,000 U.S. users on Sunday, according to outage tracking website Downdetector.com. The outage lasted about 45 minutes and was largely resolved … Read more
Ultra-precise “POMbranes” sieve out larger molecules (red) and allow only 1-nm species (green) to pass through, enabling sharp molecular sorting. | Photo Credit: CSIR-Central Salt and Marine Chemical Research Institute, Bhavnagar Imagine trying to filter sand from pebbles using a fishing net: it won’t work because the holes are too big and uneven. In chemistry, … Read more
A view of a waste-to-energy plant at Bidadi, near Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: RAVICHANDRAN N./The Hindu A: Waste-to-energy (WtE) is a technology to convert non-recyclable waste materials into usable fuel, typically heat or electricity. A common method is incineration in which trash is burned at a high temperature to boil the water off, creating steam … Read more
For centuries, ecology and biology have been built on muddy boots, mosquito bites and long days spent in forests, wetlands and oceans. Fieldwork was not just a method; it was an identity. To be an ecologist meant to be outdoors, immersed in nature, observing life in its raw, unpredictable complexity. But the age of artificial … Read more
India’s electric mobility (e-mobility) initiatives saw a significant dip in FY27 budget | Photo Credit: – In the Union Budget 2026, allocations for India’s electric mobility (e-mobility) initiatives saw a significant dip, marking a departure from the recent years. Collective allocation for such schemes declined by over 3,700 crores in the 2025-26 Revised Estimates (RE) … Read more
The Indian space program has moved out of its post-pandemic slump and is entering a phase of sustained, if also cautious, consolidation. Since 2012-2013, the national space budget has grown by 182%. This sounds massive but most of the growth actually happened in the last decade, especially between 2014 and 2019. Allocations have increased more … Read more
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with Union Budget. | Photo Credit: Ravi Choudhary A total outlay of over ₹50 lakh crore for all Ministries was given in the 2026-27 Union Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament today. Here is how each Ministry’s allocations shaped up. Looking at allocations, the Ministry of Finance … Read more
The FM mentioned in her Budget speech that Odisha, Karnataka, and Kerala will develop Turtle Trails to protect and promote nesting sites. | Photo Credit: Asit Kumar In her Union Budget 2026 speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman explicitly named 14 States. However, when accounting for the States and Union Territories associated with the 27 specific … Read more
The FM mentioned in her Budget speech that Odisha, Karnataka, and Kerala will develop Turtle Trails to protect and promote nesting sites. | Photo Credit: ASIT KUMAR In her Union Budget 2026 speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman explicitly named 14 States. However, when accounting for the States and Union Territories associated with the 27 specific … Read more
Image used for representative purpose only. | Photo Credit: Reuters Industry body CII on Sunday (February 1, 2026) welcomed the Union Budget proposal to establish dedicated rare earth corridors in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha stating it would help India’s leadership in rare earth magnets. The Union Budget 2026 proposal towards establishment of Rare … Read more
Image used for representation purpose only. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto The total budget allocation for the Department of Space has seen a marginal increase compared to 2026-2027 but a double-digit jump compared to actual revised spending. Importantly, while the allocation of ₹13,705.63 crore represents a modest growth of 2.16% from 2025-2026, there is a … Read more
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman mentioned “Artificial Intelligence” (AI) a record-breaking eleven times, marking the highest frequency the term has appeared in any Indian budget speech to date. | Photo Credit: Dado Ruvic It was Arun Jaitely who first mentioned the term Artificial intelligence (AI) in a Finance Minister speech in the 2018-19 Budget. It was … Read more
Over 45% of India’s rare earths are imported from China | Photo Credit: Steve Marcus Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in her Union Budget 2026 speech that the government will support the mineral-rich States of Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu in establishing rare earth corridors to promote the mining, processing, research, and manufacturing … Read more
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to support the mineral-rich states of Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu in establishing dedicated rare-earth corridors. Image used for representative purpose only. | Photo Credit: Reuters Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to support the mineral-rich states of Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu in establishing … Read more
The history of India’s Union Budget is effectively the biography of a nation in transformation. This timeline traces the shifting centre of economic gravity through five decisive phases and how the ‘Briefcase’ has carried India’s destiny — from grain sacks to smartphones — in each Finance Minister’s own words. Year: 1947-48 | A free nation … Read more
India’s Labour Codes came into force in November 2025, marking the most significant labour law reform since Independence. By consolidating 29 central laws into four Codes, the reform aims to simplify compliance, universalise minimum wages, expand social protection, and modernise workplace regulation. Policy debates often portray the Codes as a balancing act between labour flexibility … Read more