Mepco bill

Heiner Linke (left), Chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, explains a model as Hans Ellegren (centre), Secretary General of The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and Olof Ramstroem, Member of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, listen during a press conference on the announcement of the winners of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry at … Read more

The planet’s skies and seas have seen much more than any of us combined, more than the average weather forecast can predict. These rare, questionable phenomena leave not just us baffled, but also meteorologists questioning what is real and what is magic. Let us explore just what more nature is capable of showing us. … Read more

Susumu Kitagawa (Japan), Richard Robson (UK), Omar M. Yaghi (USA). | Photo Credit: ©Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is being awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi “for the development of metal–organic frameworks.,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Wednesday (October 8, 2025). … Read more

The newly discovered species (from left): Zeuxine seetharamii; Oberonia marnkuliensis; Parasopubia gorensis, and Utricularia kumtensis. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement A team of researchers led by botanist Prof. K. Kotresha from Karnatak Science College, Dharwad, has discovered four news species of plants in the Western Ghats of Karnataka during floristic explorations. According to a release … Read more

Accessible Science Corner at the Periyar Science and Technology Centre in Chennai A sea of blue invites you to the Accessible Science Corner at the Periyar Science and Technology Centre in Chennai with corals, silicone dolphin and 3D model of fishes. This corner enables visually-impaired people to experience and understand the underwater world. Inaugurated by … Read more

One must never underestimate the power of technology in impacting society. Today, the revolution of AI has been making our lives easier, but over centuries ago, one machine not only came to be a technological breakthrough, but also geared society to where it is today — democratised education, individual thinking, and communication on a mass … Read more

If you have studied almost any European language, you will have noticed words that felt oddly familiar. French mort (dead) recalls English murder. German Hund (dog) is a dead ringer for hound. Czech sestra resembles English sister. No prizes for guessing the meaning of Albanian kau (it’s actually ox). You might have wondered: could these … Read more

Quantum mechanics is usually described as the science of the very small — of electrons, atoms, and photons that behave in ways that defy the rules of everyday experience. Yet one of the most striking results of modern physics is that this quantum behaviour doesn’t vanish abruptly when systems become large. Instead, it continues to … Read more

A woman cries outside a police station after her husband was arrested by police amid Assam government’s statewide crackdown on child marriages | Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR In 2023, cases of crimes against children recorded the sharpest rise in three States — Assam, Rajasthan and Kerala, according to the latest data from the National … Read more

Bats are the only mammals capable of true powered flight, yet their wings have evolved from the same basic five-digit limb structure found in all mammals. How, then, can they alone fly? “At first, when scientists started comparing animals, we thought big anatomical differences must come from big differences in DNA,” Christian Feregrino, a lead … Read more

Focused experiments demonstrated that the Sri Lankan Land Mass (SLLM), situated in the southeastern part of the Indian peninsula, actively blocks long-period swell waves from the Southern Ocean from reaching India’s southeast coast. Photo: Google Maps Sri Lanka, located to the south of India, acts as a natural land barrier and plays a crucial role … Read more

Focused experiments demonstrated that the Sri Lankan Land Mass (SLLM), situated in the southeastern part of the Indian peninsula, actively blocks long-period swell waves from the Southern Ocean from reaching India’s southeast coast. Photo: Google Maps Sri Lanka, located to the south of India, acts as a natural land barrier and plays a crucial role … Read more

A new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association has found that viridans streptococci, a group of common oral bacteria, can form sticky bacterial layers called biofilms deep inside atherosclerotic plaques, remaining hidden from the immune system until the moment of rupture. The findings suggest that oral bacteria could persist in coronary … Read more

The story so far: Quantum mechanics says that particles can sometimes cross barriers they don’t have the energy to climb, like boring through a mountain instead of scaling it first. This process, called tunnelling, is common in nuclear and atomic physics. The 2025 physics Nobel Prize laureates John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martinis showed … Read more

PHOTO: Getty Images/iStockphoto Why do they peck? First things first, why do they constantly knock their heads against wood? Knocking one’s knuckles against wood is understandable, since it’s considered a source of good luck. But woodpeckers don’t have knuckles, so do they use their bills as a substitute? Not really. The birds hold the ability … Read more

Bubble wrap. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT There’s no resisting the sound when our hands get on to attack some bubble wrap. It’s addictive and satisfying for anyone and everyone who wants an excuse to fidget with some bubble wrap. You get your hands on it and before you even think about it – Pop! … Read more

PHOTO: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR / The Hindu What is it? What exactly are nightshades? Simply put, they are plants, herbs, and vegetables that belong to the Solanaceae plant family. This is a plant family where nearly all members of its flora contain naturally occurring organic compounds known as alkaloids, which makes them toxic in nature. … Read more

A double rainbow | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement. Double rainbows are two arcs of colour decorating the sky – literally two for the price of one. The main rainbow is usually brighter and of the usual pattern (red on top, violet at the bottom), and the second rainbow — which is called the secondary arc … Read more

Magnus effect diagram | Photo Credit: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Have you ever wondered the secret to Messi’s curved free kick? Or any of our spin bowlers with their masterly bowling? It may look like magic, but it’s actually something physics calls the Magnus effect. From cricket pitches to football stadiums, this phenomenon plays an important role … Read more

What is Terraforming? 

PHOTO: Getty Images/iStockphoto The chariot that started it all… Why are all athletes made to run in an anti-clockwise direction when they race? Every natural occurrence in the universe has a reason behind it. To understand that, we need to take a jump into the past in Rome. The truth behind the story that follows … Read more