Varghese, A., Gusarov, I., Gamallo-Lana, B. et al, ‘Unravelling cysteine-deficiency-associated rapid weight loss’, Nature (2025). doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08996-y In the 1930s, when scientists were beginning to uncover the molecular basis of nutrition, they already knew that proteins were a vital part of the diet, but they didn’t fully understand why. More specifically, they didn’t know whether all … Read more
Axiom-4 mission, featuring Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and Crewmates — veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson (U.S.) as commander, Polish engineer Sławosz Uznański, and Hungarian researcher Tibor Kapu pose for a picture ahead of undocking from the International Space Station, on Sunday (July 13, 2025). Photo: X/@NASA via ANI Video Grab Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) Group Captain … Read more
Seeds of two rice varieties, horse gram, tomato, sesame and brinjal were sent to the ISS. Photo: Special Arrangement With Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and the rest of the Axiom-4 crew expected back on earth on Tuesday, the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) here is preparing for post-flight field studies using the … Read more
Human societies have struggled to fend off locust infestations for millennia. The insects’ destructive effects persist to this day, especially when they collect in large swarms and eat through thousands of hectares of crops in a matter of days. Such swarms have occurred once every few years of late. Most recently, in 2019-2020, a record … Read more
Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who is headed back to earth after an 18-day stay at the International Space Station (ISS), has completed all seven microgravity experiments. Photo credit: X/@ISROSpaceflight Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who is headed back to earth after an 18-day stay at the International Space Station (ISS), has completed … Read more
Three schoolchildren were killed and two others, including the driver, sustained serious injuries after a passenger train rammed into a school van — carrying four students — which was attempting to cross a manned gate at Semmankuppam in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday (July 8, 2025). The Villupuram-Mayiladuthurai passenger, travelling at a speed … Read more
Filmmaker Peter Jackson owns one of the largest private collections of bones of an extinct New Zealand bird called the moa. His fascination with the flightless ostrich-like bird has led to an unusual partnership with a biotech company known for its grand and controversial plans to bring back lost species. On July 8, Colossal Biosciences … Read more
Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is seen inside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as he and his crew members prepare to leave the International Space Station. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and his Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew members Peggy Whitson, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Tibor Kapu, are preparing to leave the … Read more
Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is seen inside the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as he and his crew members prepare to leave the International Space Station. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and his Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew members Peggy Whitson, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Tibor Kapu, are preparing to leave the … Read more
Ahead of his journey back to Earth, Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on Sunday (July 13, 2025) said that today’s India looks ambitious, fearless, confident, and full of pride. “Forty-one years ago, an Indian went to space, and he also described how India looks from above, and you all want to know how India … Read more
Zographetus mathewi, the newly discovered skipper butterfly from the Western Ghats. A team of lepidopterists have identified a new butterfly species in the Western Ghats, one of the world’s eight “hottest hotspots” of biological diversity. Named Zographetus mathewi, this newly described skipper butterfly belongs to the family Hesperiidae and adds a new entry to the genus … Read more
Goats graze near windmills on the outskirts of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, in 2024. | Photo Credit: AFP The story so far: Deserts are often imagined as failures of nature, and barren wastelands in need of redemption. This worldview fuels grand ambitions to “green” the desert, through afforestation, irrigation schemes, or even climate engineering. This gives way … Read more
Two features mark the geography of Bundelkhand, the region in Central India spread over 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh: the steep hills of the Vindhyas and progressively scanty rainfall and increasingly frequent droughts. Consider Panna district in Madhya Pradesh. According to data from the India Meteorological Department, Panna has been receiving progressively … Read more
Ahead of his journey back to Earth, Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on Sunday (July 13, 2025) said that today’s India looks ambitious, fearless, confident, and full of pride. “Forty-one years ago, an Indian went to space, and he also described how India looks from above, and you all want to know how India … Read more
A snapshot of the orbit of 3I/ATLAS (light blue) through the solar system. The concentric rings at the centre depict the orbits of the solar system’s inner planets. The orange ring is Jupiter’s orbit. | Photo Credit: CSS, D. Rankin (CC BY-SA) On July 1, scientists using the ATLAS survey telescope in Chile reported they … Read more
Figure 1 in the 2009 study showing a map of India with the origins of the 25 groups examined. | Photo Credit: DOI:10.1038/nature08365 How and from where did we, the people of India, come from? Based on genetic analysis of 25 diverse groups in India, a paper in 2009 titled ‘Reconstructing Indian Population History’, jointly … Read more
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder and a form of dementia that affects memory, thinking, and behaviour. As symptoms become more severe, the disease can seriously affect a person’s ability to perform tasks that would otherwise be deemed routine, like brushing teeth, making a meal or even recognising family members. For many years, the … Read more
Getting there The Galileo Jupiter atmospheric probe was part of NASA’s Galileo mission – among the agency’s most ambitious deep space missions up until then. Before the probe could become Earth’s first ever emissary to penetrate the atmosphere of any of the outer gas giant planets, there was the task of getting the Galileo spacecraft … Read more
Axiom-4 crew, including Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, scheduled to undock from ISS on July 14. It is stated that Shubhanshu Shukla will be undergoing seven-day rehabilitation after returning to Earth. Photo: YouTube/Axiom Space/ANI Photo Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will undergo a seven-day rehabilitation programme after his splashdown off the California coast on July 15 as he … Read more
A ram air turbine deployed in an Airbus A320. | Photo Credit: Curimedia (CC BY) A preliminary investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau has said the Air India Boeing 787-8 crash near Ahmedabad on June 12 followed fuel to the vehicle’s two engines being cut off. The engines on the 787-8 are the main … Read more
A fire officer stands next to the crashed Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft in Ahmedabad, June 13, 2025. | Photo Credit: Reuters The fuel control switches on a Boeing 787-8 aircraft are critical cockpit controls that regulate the flow of fuel to each of the two engines. Their primary purposes are to start or … Read more
Why does a haircut not take away the hairs’ pattern?
Members of the Rajyaguru lab at IISc with Stephan Vagner of Institut Curie. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement When ultraviolet light, certain chemical compounds or even normal copying mistakes harm our DNA, cells rush to fix the damage. Doing so means making the right repair proteins — but also not too many. Using baker’s yeast … Read more
The developer of the device was guided virtually by experts from KSOU, who selected and validated the appropriate biomarkers for cardiovascular health monitoring. | Photo Credit: M.A. SRIRAM The faculty of Department of Studies in Microbiology in the Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) in Mysuru has played a key role in the development of an … Read more
The Independence Day weekend starting from July 4 to 6 and including July 7, was a particularly disturbing time in Pennsylvania’s most populated city, Philadelphia. Videos of several shootings across the city went viral, and news reports confirmed that there had been at least 15 shootings recorded, as shown in the map below. Data from … Read more
On her first dedicated scientific voyage to Antarctica in March, the Australian icebreaker RSV Nuyina found the area sea-ice free. Scientists were able to reach places never sampled before. Over the past four summers, Antarctic sea ice extent has hit new lows. I’m part of a large group of scientists who set out to explore … Read more
James McCully was in the lab extracting tiny structures called mitochondria from cells when researchers on his team rushed in. They’d been operating on a pig heart and couldn’t get it pumping normally again. McCully studies heart damage prevention at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School and was keenly interested in mitochondria. These power-producing … Read more
A notice announcing the fuel ban on overage vehicles displayed at a fuel station in New Delhi. | Photo Credit: ARUN SANKAR On July 1, 2025, Delhi launched a policy: petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years were no longer allowed to refuel at city petrol stations. Over 500 … Read more
NITI Aayog vice-chairperson Suman Bery with member V.K. Saraswat and Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh during release of a report on ‘A Roadmap for Strengthening State S&T Councils’ in New Delhi on July 10, 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI The NITI Aayog has recommended that the Department of Science and Technology (DST) cut its … Read more
In this screenshot via @Axiom_Space on X on June 7, 2025, Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and others aboard the International Space Station as part of a commercial mission by Axiom Space. | Photo Credit: @Axiom_Space via PTI Photo Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three other crew members of the Axiom-4 mission are set to return to … Read more