How does your body protect itself? How does the immune system fight threats? And how much do you know about this process? Take this quiz and find out. Science Quiz: On the immune system 1 / 6 | A number of organs and cells make up your body’s immune system. What are the small, bean-shaped … Read more
India suffered a substantial net loss in forest cover between 2015 and 2019, revealed a new study conducted by researchers from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and SASTRA Deemed University. The study said that for every 1 square kilometre of forest gained during the four-year period, the country lost nearly 18 square kilometres—an alarming … Read more
A blockbuster study published in top science journal Nature last year warned that unchecked climate change could slash global GDP by a staggering 62 percent by century’s end, setting off alarm bells among financial institutions worldwide. But a re-analysis by Stanford University researchers in California, released Wednesday (August 6, 2025), challenges that conclusion — finding … Read more
A general view of a cogeneration plant in Schwerin, Germany. File | Photo Credit: Reuters Germany’s Cabinet approved a draft law on Wednesday (August 6, 2025) aimed at fast-tracking the rollout of geothermal energy projects, as part of its goal to eliminate fossil fuel-based heating by 2045. Interest in geothermal energy has surged since Russia’s … Read more
U.S. President Donald Trump. File | Photo Credit: Reuters The Trump administration is moving to shut down two NASA missions that monitor a potent greenhouse gas and plant health, potentially shutting off an important source of data for scientists, policymakers and farmers. U.S. President Donald Trump’s budget request for fiscal year 2026 includes no money … Read more
The Great Barrier Reef has experienced its greatest annual loss of live coral across most of its expanse in four decades of record-keeping, Australian authorities say. Also Read | Australia’s Great Barrier Reef off UNESCO danger list, still under ‘serious threat’ But due to increasing coral cover since 2017, the coral deaths — caused mainly … Read more
As per the draft roll published on Friday, the number of voters in Bihar had dropped by 56 lakh. | Photo Credit: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP On August 1, the draft electoral rolls for Bihar, following the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, were released. A total of 7.24 crore electors are part of … Read more
When Rajula Srivastava was first notified about a prestigious prize, she was quick to dismiss it. All she got was a cryptic email from the personal email address of mathematician Terence Tao asking if she was free for a chat. Tao, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, is widely considered one of … Read more
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, economist Montek Singh Ahluwalia, former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi and others during book launch of “The Man Who Fed India” by Priyambada Jayakumar, a book that offers a detailed work of M.S. Swaminathan, on the occasion of his birth centenary, at India International Centre in New … Read more
The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), through the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), conducted field surveys along India’s coastline between 2022 and 2025 to assess microplastic and marine debris levels. Image for representation. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto The major sources of ‘microplastic’ pollution along India’s coasts are “riverine inputs” and abandoned, lost, and … Read more
U.S President Donald Trump upped the ante on tariff pressure on India, by saying that he would raise it more than the 25% already imposed on imports from a country which is now seen as a major U.S. ally. He specifically cited India’s high dependence on Russia for cheap crude imports as a major reason … Read more
Representative image. | Photo Credit: Murali Kumar K./The Hindu Conflicts lurk inside every flower with multiple seeds. The embryos jostle for food, the maternal and paternal genomes bargain over control, and pollen grains compete to be fertilised. Scientists have therefore wondered whether natural selection encourages one-parent broods that keep such quarrels to a minimum and, … Read more
Teak defoliator larva (Hyblaea puera) killed using HpNPV | Photo Credit: special arrangement A revolutionary technology developed by the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) can transform the way teak plantations are protected from their most notorious pest – the teak defoliator moth (Hyblaea puera). The institute has successfully identified, mass-produced and patented a naturally occurring … Read more
Some events are etched so deeply in history that each time we recall them, we pause with a sigh. It’s as though we’re watching a silent film, one that aches, teaches, and lingers. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is one such moment. As time passes, the memory of what happened on those two days … Read more
(1) U.S. slaps 25% tariffs on Indian imports U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariff rates for imports into the U.S. from countries across the world on August 1, 2025 after a 90-day pause ended. On Indian imports, Mr. Trump announced a 25% tariff. He pointed to India’s trade with Russia in oil and military equipment, … Read more
A meticulous new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on August 4 has warned that systematic scientific fraud is no longer a fringe concern but a pervasive, organised, and rapidly growing threat that jeopardises the foundations of research worldwide. The study has revealed a fine-grained break-up of the actors, methods, … Read more
The latest World Bank report has commended India for pulling 171 million people out of poverty. Using the formulation of $2.15 a day as the poverty line, it has said that extreme poverty fell from 16.2% in 2011-12 to 2.3% in 2022-23. However, how has the consumption basket of India changed? The Household Consumption Expenditure … Read more
In September 2013, whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed that American and British intelligence agencies had successfully cracked much of the online encryption internet users used to keep their personal data private. Snowden’s solution appeared ironic to many: to adopt end-to-end encryption en masse, rendering mass surveillance prohibitively expensive and cumbersome. In end-to-end encryption, an algorithm converts … Read more
A parachute lets you float in the sky, gazing at the vast lands below, before gently landing back on your feet. For adventure lovers, it’s an adrenaline rush and a moment to cherish forever. The purpose: Slow and steady A parachute’s main purpose is simple but life-saving: it slows you down in mid-air. When someone … Read more
A SpaceX Falcon Nine rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A carrying NASA’s Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., August 1, 2025. | Photo Credit: Reuters Seeds of seabuckthorn and buckwheat grown in the cold desert of Ladakh are part of the experiments on board the International Space Station … Read more
Researchers have found a ‘cold rain zone’ in the western Pacific and Indian Oceans where rain was associated with more heat loss. | Photo Credit: Hassan Rafhan/Unsplash When it rains over the ocean, does it make the surface water more buoyant? Scientists have long assumed so because rainwater is fresh and freshwater is lighter than … Read more
In the first half of 2025, India added around 3.5 GW to the wind sector – an 82% year-on-year growth – taking the total installed capacity to 51.3 GW. Even so, India’s wind power remains largely untapped. According to the National Institute of Wind Energy, India’s gross wind power potential is 1163.9 GW at 150 … Read more
A supervisor inspects pre-filled syringes of a biosimilar of Adalimumab at a Zydus Group facility in Changodar, Gujarat, 2014. The biosimilar is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. | Photo Credit: AFP Most of the drugs that we consume are called ‘small molecule drugs’. Their chemical structure is reasonably simple. Disprin, for instance, has a molecular … Read more
Search for power The concept of underwater transport is deeply embedded in human history. It wasn’t until the 17th Century, however, that the first practical submarine was built. And it was only during World War I that submarines became a huge factor in naval warfare. Even in the decades after World War I, the submarines … Read more
ISRO Chairman V Narayanan in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. | Photo Credit: PTI The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is aiming for a 2027 launch for its first LVM3 launch vehicle equipped with a semi-cryogenic propulsion stage. “Right now we are on track. The power head tests (on the engine) are progressing with great success. Five … Read more
This image made from video provided by NASA and SpaceX shows from right in blue, Japan’s Kimiya Yui, NASA’s Zena Cardman, NASA’s Mike Fincke and Russia’s Oleg Platonov, with colleagues up there since March at the International Space Station during a welcome ceremony, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. | Photo Credit: AP SpaceX delivered a fresh … Read more
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump deliver a joint press statement after their meeting at the White House, in Washington, DC on Feb. 13, 2025. | Photo Credit: ANI U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday (July 31, 2025) announced a 25% tariff on Indian imports into the U.S., effective August 1, following … Read more
A colourised scanning electron micrograph of a T cell. | Photo Credit: NIAID A team of Harvard scientists has used artificial intelligence (AI), in the form of AI-designed proteins, to generate large numbers of immune cells and enhance immunity against diseases ranging from cancer to viral infections, a new research paper published in Cell said. … Read more
Deep-sea animals called giant tubeworms rely on hydrothermal vents to survive. | Photo Credit: US NOAA A: Life often finds a way to survive even in extreme conditions. For example, in 1960, when Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard explored the bottom of the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, they spotted a small fish at … Read more
Indian Railways is keen on increasing the number of AC three-tier coaches in long-distance trains In the last decade, the share of air-conditioned (AC) berths/seats in non-suburban trains (long-distance trains) has doubled, while the share of non-AC berths/seats has declined considerably in India. In parallel, the share of passengers who travelled in AC coaches has … Read more