Mepco bill

The naked mole rat is famous for living nearly 10x longer than other mammals of similar size. | Photo Credit: Tim Evanson The naked mole rat (Heterocephalus glaber) is a small, hairless rodent native to East Africa, and famous for living an astonishingly long time, up to around 37 years, nearly 10x longer than mammals … Read more

In March this year, the Japanese mathematician Masaki Kashiwara found out over a Zoom call that he had been awarded the Abel Prize, one of mathematics’ highest honours, for “his fundamental contributions to algebraic analysis and representation theory”. Dr. Kashiwara had started developing parts of his Abel-winning work when he was 23. He is now … Read more

The story so far: The Nobel Prize season for 2025 began with the announcement of the Physiology or Medicine Prize on October 6. The three awardees — U.S.-based researchers, Mary E. Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell, and Japan’s Shimon Sakaguchi — were chosen for their “discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance.” Their discovery enabled a fundamental understanding … Read more

A sample of honey (L) besides the coloured ones. | Photo Credit: Reuters Imagine trying to collect some honey and finding it in colours of green, blue and the brightest hues you can find instead of the typical golden yellow. This was exactly the kind of fix that beekeepers in France found themselves in! The … Read more

Academician and scientist P. Balaram speaking at a programme in SRM University-A.P. on Friday. | Photo Credit: BY ARRANGEMENT Mendelian genetics and Darwinian evolution are closely linked with chemistry, said Padma Bhushan awardee P. Balaram. Delivering a lecture on “Evolutionary Inventions and Innovations That Drove the Rise of Chemistry, the Birth of Biology, and Determine Human History” at … Read more

John Clarke (University of California, Berkeley), Michel H. Devoret (Yale University, Connecticut and University of California, Santa Barbara), and John M. Martinis (University of California, Santa Barbara) have shared the 2025 Nobel Prize in physics. The prize recognises their contributions to experimentally demonstrating the manifestation of quantum effects in macroscopic systems, confirming our faith that … Read more

Air samples collected on clean days were often more toxic to lung cells than those collected on polluted days thanks to MCFPs, whose sources include vehicular emissions. | Photo Credit: Previn Samuel/Unsplash Governments and scientists often judge air quality by the amount of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in it. These particles can enter deep into … Read more

A wafer of quantum computers. Representative image. | Photo Credit: Steve Jurvetson Randomness is essential today. From encrypting sensitive information to simulating biological systems, unpredictable numbers are indispensable. Yet most everyday random numbers aren’t truly random. Conventional computers use algorithms called pseudorandom number generators to produce sequences that look random but are ultimately predictable if … Read more

Border Security Force (BSF) personnel patrol on a boat at Chenab river ahead of Diwali festival near India-Pakistan border on October 10, 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI An apex committee of the Environment Ministry has accorded a fresh environmental clearance to the Sawalkote hydroelectric project, proposed to come up on Chenab river in Ramban, Jammu … Read more

Border Security Force (BSF) personnel patrol on a boat at Chenab river ahead of Diwali festival near India-Pakistan border on October 10, 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI An apex committee of the Environment Ministry has accorded a fresh environmental clearance to the Sawalkote hydroelectric project, proposed to come up on Chenab river in Ramban, Jammu … Read more

Paleoseismology helps scientists understand how frequently large earthquakes have occurred in the past — especially in regions with incomplete or no historical seismic records. By studying traces of ancient earthquakes preserved in the ground, researchers can determine when they occurred, how strong they were, how often they might recur, and how geological faults evolve over … Read more

You are sitting in your class, and your teacher is writing on the board using chalk. Sqqqqquuuueeeaaakkkkk — there’s a sudden disturbance as the chalk scratches the board loudly. You automatically put your hands over your ears to escape the loud screeching noise. This is a common scenario you would have faced in your school. … Read more

Daily Quiz | On Kepler’s Supernova Johannes Kepler’s original drawing from his book ‘De Stella Nova in pede Serpentarii’ (1606) depicting the location of the stella nova. START THE QUIZ 1 / 6 | In which constellation did SN 1604 occur? 2 / 6 | What type of supernova was SN 1604 classified as? 3 … Read more

Women protest violence against Kuki women in Churachandpur district of Manipur in July 2023. | Photo Credit: RITU RAJ KONWAR During the peak of the ethnic conflict in Manipur in 2023, buildings were torched, riots were widespread, and crimes such as burglaries, robberies, murders, and attempted killings surged. Alongside reports of this violence, there were … Read more

Science quiz: Scientific terms that are palindromes Visual: In 1977, a telescope in the US picked up the signal whose intensity is depicted here. It’s been called the ____ signal because of its highly unusual strength and long duration. Such a signal has never been detected since and scientists are still looking for an explanation.  … Read more

Onions cut by steel blades of varying sharpness and speed matter, according to a new study. | Photo Credit: Becca Tapert/Unsplash Onions eject eye-irritating chemicals that have a tear-inducing property. When you pierce the skin of an onion, you are left with stinging eyes caused by chemicals released from the onion that affect your nerves … Read more

In 2010, India woke up to a scientific storm. A research paper published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases described a new enzyme that could make bacteria resistant to nearly all antibiotics, including our last-resort drugs. This enzyme was named New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactamase, or NDM. Overnight, the gene’s name became a political issue. The Indian government … Read more

Rich Lyons (right), chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, hands a lifetime parking pass to John Clarke, an Emeritus Professor of Physics who won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics on October 7, 2025. | Photo Credit: AFP The Nobel Prizes were announced this week. They have become a fixture of my professional life. … Read more

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also announced that real-time AI systems such as, such as Sansad Bhashini, will soon enable MPs to communicate in their native languages. File | Photo Credit: Allen Egenuse J. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla called on Commonwealth parliamentarians, on Thursday (October 9, 2025), to promote the responsible and ethical use … Read more

Much has been written about the universally loved Jane Goodall, primatologist and animal rights campaigner, on whom awards and honours far too numerous to list have been showered. She passed away on October 1 aged 91. One recognition, however, she did not but should have received is the Nobel Peace Prize. For all her life, Goodall worked for … Read more

The announcement was made as Imperial’s president joins a U.K. delegation led by the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is making his first official visit to India. | Photo: Leon Neal/Pool via REUTERS The Imperial College, London, has partnered with Science Gallery Bengaluru (SGB) to co-develop open research facilities, boost U.K.-India and global talent … Read more

Amanda Wolthuizen, Vice-President (Strategic Engagement) at Imperial College Londong along with Jahnavi Phalkey, Founding Director at Science Gallery, Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: Special arrangement Imperial College London and Science Gallery Bengaluru (SGB) have announced a partnership to facilitate the exchange of talent and knowledge with the development of new facilities, a joint fellowship programme, and … Read more