Growth in most southern States is concentrated in a few districts: Data

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin with Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu during the first day of the Budget 2025-26 session in Chennai. Various southern States have tabled their Budgets and Economic Surveys this year. An analysis of their Surveys shows that economic growth in all of these States lagged behind India’s economic growth in 2023-24. … Read more

Making research inclusive: Bringing patients and the public into the fold

PPIE is not the same as simply taking patient feedback. It involves deep and genuine collaboration, where patients help make research decisions alongside scientists and clinicians. Photograph used for representational purposes only | Photo Credit: Getty Images Imagine you’re at the doctor’s office, discussing your latest test results or asking about a symptom that just … Read more

Sci-Five | The Hindu Science Quiz: On Gemstone

  Sci-Five | The Hindu Science Quiz: On Gemstone 1 / 5 | What is the famous saying about Alexandrite’s colour change? Ruby by day, emerald by night Emerald by day, ruby by night Sapphire by day, topaz by night Opal by day, diamond by night Alexandrite shines red in lamplight and green in sunlight; … Read more

Weird Mongolian dinosaur wielded ‘big, sharp and nasty’ claws

  Fossils unearthed during construction of a water pipeline in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia have revealed one of the oddest members of a rather strange group of dinosaurs, a creature whose two-fingered hands sport a pair of menacing curved claws. Image for Representation. | Photo Credit: AP Fossils unearthed during construction of a water … Read more

China’s glacier area shrinks by 26% over six decades

  Ice is seen on the Pastoruri glacier in the Peruvian Andes, Peru, May 7, 2024. Image for Representation. | Photo Credit: Reuters China’s glacier area has shrunk by 26% since 1960 due to rapid global warming, with 7,000 small glaciers disappearing completely and glacial retreat intensifying in recent years, official data released in March … Read more

ICMR successfully tests drone-based cornea transport to aid eye care

  Representative image | Photo Credit: Getty Images The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), in collaboration with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi and Dr. Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital, in an initiative supported by the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation has successfully conducted a feasibility study to assess the potential of … Read more

Deep-sea mining threatens sea life by dumping debris in midwater zone

  Picture an ocean world so deep and dark it feels like another planet – where creatures glow and life survives under crushing pressure. This is the midwater zone, a hidden ecosystem that begins 650 feet (200 meters) below the ocean surface and sustains life across our planet. It includes the twilight zone and the midnight … Read more

Delimitation could reinforce BJP’s hegemony

An inter-State delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies can potentially also result in a shift of power from non-BJP parties to the BJP. The anxiety about delimitation is not only about the potential reduction of political power for peninsular States to the benefit of heartland ones. An inter-State delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies can potentially also … Read more

ICMR successfully tests drone-based cornea transport to aid eye care

Representative image | Photo Credit: Getty Images The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), in collaboration with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi and Dr. Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital, in an initiative supported by the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation has successfully conducted a feasibility study to assess the potential of using … Read more

Does walking in space lead to weight loss?

Astronaut Sunita Williams uses the treadmill onboard the ISS in 2012. The harness is visible reaching from the treadmill’s base to a ring on her hip. | Photo Credit: NASA Are you trying to lose weight? Because in space you are already weightless. However, it is interesting to think about how astronauts can exercise in … Read more

Eat grass-fed beef, help the planet? Research says not so simple

A cow remains in a corral before being exported to the U.S. through the Jeronimo-Santa Teresa border crossing, as the U.S. allowed Mexican cattle imports to resume after lifting a temporary suspension due to the detection of the New World screwworm, at the Chihuahua Regional Livestock Union facility, outside Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, February 10, 2025. … Read more

Scientific misconduct is on the rise. But what exactly is it?

German anaesthesiologist Joachim Boldt has an unfortunate claim to fame. According to Retraction Watch, a public database of research retractions, he is the most retracted scientist of all time. To date, 220 of his roughly 400 published research papers have been retracted by academic journals. Boldt may be a world leader, but he has plenty of … Read more

AI-powered test can detect silicosis, scourge of mine workers, in minutes

Silicosis is an incurable but entirely preventable lung disease. It has only one cause: breathing in too much silica dust. This is a risk in several industries, including tunnelling, stone masonry and construction. Just last week, ABC reported that 13 workers from tunnelling projects in Sydney have been diagnosed with silicosis. It’s yet another reminder that current … Read more

Why woolly mice won’t bring back mammoths or save endangered species

US company Colossal Biosciences has announced the creation of a “woolly mouse” — a laboratory mouse with a series of genetic modifications that lead to a woolly coat. | Photo Credit: Colossal Biosciences/The Conversation US company Colossal Biosciences has announced the creation of a “woolly mouse” — a laboratory mouse with a series of genetic modifications that lead to … Read more

Scientists have have discovered the oldest meteorite impact crater on Earth, in the very heart of the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

We have discovered the oldest meteorite impact crater on Earth, in the very heart of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The crater formed more than 3.5 billion years ago, making it the oldest known by more than a billion years. Our discovery is published today in Nature Communications. Curiously enough, the crater was exactly where we … Read more

Ocean sediments from Bay of Bengal reveal insights into Indian Monsoon patterns, climate change

The researchers said an important aspect of the study was that it identified significant monsoon cycles linked to solar activity. Representational file image. | Photo Credit: V RAJU A recent study conducted by the Central University of Kerala has provided crucial insights into the historical behaviour of the Indian Summer Monsoon over the past 15,000 … Read more

Why is the Parker Solar Probe trying to ‘touch’ the sun?

A 2018 artist’s concept shows the Parker Solar Probe flying into the sun’s outer atmosphere, called the corona, on a mission to help scientists learn more about the star. | Photo Credit: NASA Among the various places humans have aspired to visit in the solar system, the sun remains the most foreboding. On December 24, … Read more

What are DNA polymorphisms and how do they differentiate between people?

Just like the government uses an Aadhaar number to uniquely identify an individual for social security purposes, a person’s DNA fingerprint can be used for biological purposes. This is why DNA analysis is such a big deal. Today, it is most often (but not exclusively) used together with technologies like PCR, capillary electrophoresis, and fingerprinting. … Read more

As ice frozen for millennia thaws, Kashmir wakes up to new risks

Permafrost melting is emerging as a unique environmental threat in the Kashmir Himalaya. A new study has found that thawing permafrost could affect 193 km of roads, 2,415 households, 903 alpine lakes, and eight hydropower projects in the mountainous region.  Permafrost is any type of ground — soil, sediment, rock, etc. — that has been … Read more

Glaciers lost 9 trillion tonnes of ice since 1975: UN

Ice is seen on the Pastoruri glacier in the Peruvian Andes, Peru, May 7, 2024. | Photo Credit: Reuters Glaciers around the globe are disappearing faster than ever, with the last three-year period seeing the largest glacial mass loss on record, according to a UNESCO report released on March 21. The 9,000 gigatonnes of ice … Read more