Local climate can be used to predict the venom characteristics of Russell’s viper, a deadly snake that is widespread in India, helping clinicians to provide targeted therapies for snake bite victims, according to a study published by IISc researchers on April 10 in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. Russell’s viper (Daboia russelii) is found across … Read more
The NOAA logo is seen behind Florida governor Ron DeSantis as he talks to the media during a news conference as Hurricane Dorian approaches the U.S. state, August 29, 2019. | Photo Credit: Reuters The administration of President Donald Trump aims to eliminate the arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that oversees research … Read more
Jared Isaacman, billionaire, CEO and nominee to become the next NASA administrator, faced questions on April 9, 2025, from members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation during his confirmation hearing for the position. Should the Senate confirm him, Isaacman will be the first billionaire – but not the first astronaut – to … Read more
When the natural environment is stretched beyond its ability to meet basic human needs for food, clean air, drinkable water and shelter, it is not just a humanitarian concern for the world community. Research shows that these crises are a matter of national security for the U.S. and other countries. The Pentagon and the U.S. … Read more
Typhloperipatus williamsoni was spotted in the Siang Valley in Arunachal Pradesh. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement A team of researchers at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and The Environment (ATREE) had reported rediscovering a long-lost species of the velvet worms (phylum Onychophora), one of the oldest living fossils in the world, after 111 … Read more
A majority of police personnel believe in using intimidation as a law enforcement tool. Misuse of force by the police has long been a contentious issue in India. It often surfaces in public discourse following high-profile cases of custodial deaths or excessive violence. India lacks a specific law to prevent torture, but there is an … Read more
Colossal Biosciences is an American company with an unusual marketing line: combining genomics with conservation — not in its traditional form, but through de-extinction, which is resurrecting species extinct for thousands of years. Leading this project is Harvard geneticist George Church, a prominent promoter of the company, who aims to bring back the woolly mammoth, … Read more
The telescope structure itself is a mix of fiberglass, wood, and steel — materials carefully selected for their strength and practicality. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Two groups in Kolkata related to astronomy have created what they claim to be the largest handmade telescope in the city — a 14.5-inch f/5 Dobsonian that is low-cost, … Read more
In the ongoing debate on delimitation, a conflict between a principle of democracy and one of federalism has become apparent. ‘One person, one vote, one value’ is a principle of India’s electoral system. What this should mean in practice, at a minimum, is that all Lok Sabha constituencies should have roughly the same number of … Read more
Survey reveals that four in 10 police personnel believe that reporting of custodial torture should be mandatory In recent years, concerns over police brutality and custodial torture have intensified, fuelling debates about justice, accountability, and human rights. The findings from a recent study on the ‘Status of Policing in India Report’ conducted by Lokniti-Centre for … Read more
Multiple states in the U.S. were recently in the grip of tornadoes, wildfires, and dust storms. The fires that scorched parts of Texas and Oklahoma burnt through almost 300 homes, reliving the horrors a similar blaze inflicted on Los Angeles in January this year. The fires that raged across Eaton and Palisades in particular claimed … Read more
AI safety, put simply, is the practice of ensuring that AI behaves as intended, particularly in high-risk settings like medicine. Photograph used for representational purposes only | Photo Credit: Getty Images In 1982, a chilling tragedy in Chicago claimed seven lives after Tylenol (paracetamol) capsules were mixed with cyanide—not during manufacturing, but after reaching store … Read more
Scientists at Raman Research Institute (RRI) have developed an affordable electro-fluidic device that aids in preliminary screening of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD). According to RRI, the innovative, cost-effective electro-fluidic micropore device, quantifies whole-cell stiffness with high-resolution and high-throughput, with specific focus on screening for SCD. “This technology has the potential to change preliminary diagnostic methods … Read more
For a long time, researchers have been looking for the sort of task that a quantum computer will be better at doing than a classical computer. Because if a quantum computer shows that it can be superior, it will achieve a milestone called quantum supremacy. Researchers from the University of Oxford and Universidad de Sevilla … Read more
Blood samples were collected from about 20,000 individuals, of which DNA samples from 10,074 individuals were subjected to whole genome sequencing. Photo: genomeindia.in Preliminary findings of the GenomeIndia project, which genotyped 10,074 healthy and unrelated Indians from 85 populations — 32 tribal and 53 non-tribal populations — across India, were published in the journal Nature … Read more
Blood samples were collected from about 20,000 individuals, of which DNA samples from 10,074 individuals were subjected to whole genome sequencing. Photo: genomeindia.in Preliminary findings of the GenomeIndia project, which genotyped 10,074 healthy and unrelated Indians from 85 populations — 32 tribal and 53 non-tribal populations — across India, were published in the journal Nature … Read more
An assortment of fruits lie in a basket. | Photo Credit: Jonas Kakaroto/Unsplash A1: Ripening of fruits is associated with the process of senescence or aging in plants. It involves changes in colour, texture, flavour, sugar content, and acidity, and is influenced by the ripening hormone ethylene. As ripening begins, there is a corresponding increase … Read more
In this handout photo provided by NASA, Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov, bottom, NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, middle, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Zubritskiy, top, wave farewell prior to boarding the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft for launch on April 8, 2025 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. | Photo Credit: Getty Images NASA astronaut Jonny Kim and two Russian crewmates launched … Read more
Data Point: Do schools in north India teach southern languages? | Video Credit: The Hindu With the debate over Tamil Nadu’s refusal to adopt the three-language policy still ongoing, the latest data needed to address key questions on the issue is lacking. Vital data that could help bring clarity is the list of languages currently … Read more
(L) Dire wolf pups, Romulus and Remus, take a nap on the original Iron Throne prop from ‘Game of Thrones’, (R) Jon Snow holds up his dire wolf pup “Ghost”, in a still form ‘Game of Thrones’ | Photo Credit: Colossal Biosciences/ HBO The dire wolf, the legendary beast that once prowled North America and found … Read more
Dressing up is probably one of the most annoying things. You stand in front of a mirror and try to find the right combination of clothes of various colours hoping you look more tolerable to people. This is probably one trait that distinguishes us from other animals: we spend a few good minutes every morning … Read more
(1) Waqf Amendment Bill passes Parliament A Bill to improve the functioning of the Waqf Board and streamline the process of donating waqf properties passed both Houses of the Parliament on Saturday (April 5, 2025) after several hours of debate in the Lok Sabha. The controversial Bill was accused of allowing the government to interfere … Read more
Viburnum grandiflorum flowers in bloom in Kashmir. | Photo Credit: Anzar Khuroo Kashmir’s agroclimatic conditions are distinct from the rest of the country. The valley’s long, harsh winters leave the vegetation in dormancy. When spring arrives, it breathes new life into the landscape. The mountainous region is a home to a variety of endemic plants, … Read more
Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh with directors of CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT), CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute (CSIR-NGRI) and CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB). | Photo Credit: BY ARRANGEMENT Hyderabad has emerged as a thriving ecosystem for scientific research, innovation, and entrepreneurship with the CSIR institutions playing … Read more
Security personnel stand guard following imposition of President’s rule in the state, in Manipur’s Imphal, on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI The statutory resolution for confirming the imposition of President’s Rule in Manipur was adopted by the Rajya Sabha in the early hours of April 4, 2025 (Friday) and by the Lok … Read more
Culture is what we learn from others and pass on to successive generations by practising it over and over. Scientists have found cultural traditions among humans as well as animals, the latter in the way they forage, socialise, use tools, care for themselves, and mate. Among these traditions, the characteristic patterns of behaviour that involve … Read more
A representative illustration of the earth’s Hadean protocrust as it took shape. | Photo Credit: Image created with ChatGPT The Hadean protocrust is the name for the earth’s crust — its outermost layer — when it first formed. The ‘Hadean’ prefix refers to the planet’s first geologic aeon. At this time, within 200 million years … Read more
The late 1970s provided a rare alignment of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune that scientists wanted to use to their advantage. Gravity assists, also known as slingshots or planetary swingby, are spaceflight manoeuvres that utilise the gravitational pull of a planet to change the spacecraft’s trajectory and velocity, thereby travelling farther and faster, while using … Read more
Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a rare and aggressive form of leukemia, a cancer that affects blood cells. It is caused by a genetic mutation where two genes, PML and RARA, mistakenly fuse together. The fusion of the two genes leads to the production of fewer white blood cells and platelets, which reduce the body’s … Read more
Bats do not fatally crash into each other every night, even in colonies of hundreds of thousands of them, squeezing out of caves to forage. Bats perceive their world mostly through echolocation. Many bats echolocate at once when a whole colony emerges from a cave. As a result, the calls of others are drowned out. … Read more