Mepco bill

What are sentinel species? – The Hindu

by

On April 9, the International Union for Conservation of Nature declared the emperor penguin to be an endangered species. | Photo Credit: KSL A sentinel species is a species whose members’ health signals the condition of the ecosystem in which they live. Scientists monitor them because they are among the first to respond to stressors … Read more

Science Snapshots: April 12, 2026

by

A view of night lights in India in 2016. | Photo Credit: NASA Night time lights are not just getting brighter New data challenge the traditional view that nightlights are becoming brighter everywhere. Based on satellite data from 2014 to 2022 of artificial nightlight, researchers found a nightscape both brightening and dimming. While global brightening, … Read more

Prototype fast breeder reactor | Nuclear paradox

by

A massive turbine-generator of the 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR), in Kalpakkam. | Photo Credit: R. Ragu A fast breeder reactor (FBR) gets its name from two features. First, it ‘breeds’ more nuclear fuel than it consumes. Second, it uses fast neutrons — ones that haven’t been slowed — to initiate nuclear fission. … Read more

How does the internet always have an answer?

by

Representative picture. | Photo Credit: Creative Commons Bill Murray has once said, “If Google does not know the answer, it is not a question.” Even though an absolutely untrue quote, it definitely makes one wonder what all the internet knows. An encyclopedia larger than any book at your fingertips, that’s what the internet is. However, … Read more

Artemis II: Indian-American Amit Kshatriya, senior NASA official behind U.S.’s moon mission

by

NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya speaks during a press conference at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., February 27, 2026. | Photo Credit: Reuters From admiring rocket launches as a child growing up in Houston to steering the operations at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Indian-American scientist Amit Kshatriya has … Read more

After Artemis II, NASA looks to SpaceX, Blue Origin for Moon landings

by

NASA’s Orion spacecraft is seen as recovery teams work to secure the spacecraft ahead of transferring Artemis II crew members Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, unseen, following splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, United States. | Photo Credit: NASA via PTI With Artemis II successfully completing its … Read more

In Pictures | Artemis II’s voyage to the moon and back

by

On April 10, 2026, NASA astronauts Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover and Mission Specialist Christina Koch and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, splashed down in the Pacific, successfully concluding their journey to the moon and back.  It was the first time in over 50 years that humans had been in the … Read more

Artemis astronauts splash down into Pacific Ocean

by

The Artemis II crew capsule splashes down in the Pacific Ocean in this screengrab from a livestream video after the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon, April 10, 2026. | Photo Credit: Reuters The NASA spacecraft that carried four astronauts around the Moon splashed down as planned Friday (April 10, 2026) into the Pacific … Read more

Artemis astronauts gird for re-entry and splashdown

by

The NASA Artemis II crew, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, Commander Reid Wiseman, and Pilot Victor Glover, pose for a group photo inside the Orion spacecraft on their way home following a flyby of the far side of the Moon. Photo: NASA/Handout via REUTERS The Artemis II astronauts conducted a historic lunar … Read more

In breakthrough, cheap aluminium may replace costly catalysts in pharma

by

Catalysts are required to speed up important processes in industrial chemistry, including drug manufacturing. Representative image. | Photo Credit: Mina Rad/Unsplash For more than a century, aluminium has been chemistry’s workhorse — useful, abundant, cheap, albeit limited in its abilities as a catalyst. New work reported in Nature may change that. Transition metals such as … Read more

Poll-bound Assam trails in health and education indicators

by

Poll Prep: Officials check their EVMs and other election materials as they depart for their respective polling stations on the eve of Assam Assembly Election, in Guwahati on April 8, 2026. | Photo Credit: PTI With Assam set to vote on April 9, for its 126-member Assembly, in a contest between the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and … Read more

An increase in colleges, students but not enough teachers

by

College expansion has not been matched by a commensurate expansion in teaching capacity. | Photo Credit: lakshmiprasad S While India’s higher education sector has expanded rapidly in recent decades, with many new institutions and more students enrolled than ever before, has this expansion truly translated into equitable access alongside adequate capacity for delivering quality education? … Read more

Indian scientists find new way to measure distances in deep space

by

The Vela pulsar wind nebula. Light blue represents X-ray polarisation data from the NASA Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer. Pink and purple colours correspond to data from the NASA Chandra X-Ray observatory. | Photo Credit: NASA Indian astronomers, including from IIT-Kanpur, have developed a new way to measure distances in the universe using the pulsating cores … Read more

Poll-bound Assam trails in health and education indicators

by

Poll Prep: Officials check their EVMs and other election materials as they depart for their respective polling stations on the eve of Assam Assembly Election, in Guwahati on April 8, 2026. | Photo Credit: PTI With Assam set to vote on April 9, for its 126-member Assembly, in a contest between the incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and … Read more

Launch date of first uncrewed mission of Gaganyaan to be announced this week: ISRO Chairperson

by

The Human-Rated Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (HLVM3) for Gaganyaan’s first un-crewed flight, at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota. | Photo Credit: File photo Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairperson Dr V. Narayanan said that the launch date for the first uncrewed mission of Gaganyaan would be announced this week. The HLVM3 G1/ OM1 … Read more

Semaglutide guidelines based on BMI may exclude at-risk Indians

by

Global semaglutide eligibility criteria based on BMI may not reflect Indian risk patterns, potentially excluding high-risk patients who develop cardiovascular disease at lower body weights |Image used for representational purpose only | Photo Credit: AFP The SELECT trial, led by A. Michael Lincoff and published in The New England Journal of Medicine (2023), showed that … Read more

Fast-moving cornstarch acts like a liquid before hardening

by

When cornstarch water is deformed quickly, it behaves like a solid. This series of images shows a hammer pulling a nail out of the mixture. | Photo Credit: A. Baumgarten, K. Kamrin, and J. Bales/MIT If you mix cornstarch and water, you will have a substance that defies common sense. If you punch it with … Read more

Why do the oceans have currents?

by

A map showing the various ocean currents on the earth. | Photo Credit: Public domain A: The earth formed as a molten world. Around 4 billion years ago, its surface cooled enough for water vapour to condense. Torrential rains then fell for centuries, filling basins to create the first oceans around 3.8 billion years ago. … Read more

Amid welfare pitch, Kerala ranks highest in most indicators

by

Political party symbols are displayed for sale at a shop in Palakkad on Sunday, as campaigning for the Assembly elections enters its final phase. | Photo Credit: K K Mustafah Kerala is set to hold its Legislative Assembly elections on April 9, and the results will be announced on May 3. The stage is set … Read more