Astronomers are excited to be poring over the first ever detailed geological map of the moon’s south polar region, where India’s Chandrayaan-3 lunar module, Vikram, touched down on August 23, 2023. The map is expected to throw new light on the moon’s origin and evolution. Researchers from the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad, Panjab … Read more
The human body was not built for spaceflight, with its microgravity conditions, exposure to high-energy radiation and other issues. As a result, trekking beyond the the earth’s confines causes many physiological changes that affect an astronaut’s health. Here is an explanation of some of the effects on human health caused by space travel. Why is … Read more
The three most common phases of matter or visible in this image: the solid earth, the liquid water, and a vaporous mist encircling the waterfall. | Photo Credit: Joshua Sortin Condensed matter physics is one of the largest, most active branches of contemporary physics research. Simply speaking, scientists in this field study the properties and … Read more
A view of Microsoft’s Majorana 1 chip. | Photo Credit: Microsoft In a head-turning announcement earlier this week, Microsoft unveiled a new quantum chip called Majorana 1. According to its press release, it consists of four qubits made of a “new state of matter”. Qubit is short for ‘quantum bit’, the fundamental unit of operations … Read more
Even as time is running out to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s goal of “eliminating” TB by 2025, the Health Ministry appears to be moving at glacial speed and is largely disinterested. A report submitted by the Health Technology Assessment of India (HTAIn) committee in February 2024 on two indigenously developed solutions to screen people … Read more
Some people wake up vividly recalling their dreams from the night, and can tell precise stories experienced during the night, while others struggle to remember even a single detail. A new study has explored the factors that influence ‘dream recall’ — the ability to remember dreams upon awakening — and uncovers which individual traits and sleep … Read more
A new study reveals that dark-pigmented microalgae, which contribute to the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, are highly efficient at nutrient uptake and growth, allowing them to rapidly colonise expanding areas of exposed ice. The findings suggest that these algae can persist and spread without the need for additional nutrient inputs, intensifying ice sheet … Read more
Prayagraj: An aerial view of devotees taking a holy dip at Sangam amid the ongoing ‘Maha Kumbh Mela’ festival, in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has released data on the assessment of water quality at five different locations in and around the confluence … Read more
More often than not, you may happen to hear a crack or a pop from your joints, especially during your PT or PE period and yoga classes. You might have been chided or even scolded for cracking your knuckles and been told it’ll lead to arthritis. Today, let’s explore the real reason behind our noisy … Read more
The workshop was organised by the Trinity Challenge, a charity supporting the creation of data-driven solutions to help protect against global health threats, and the One Health Trust to explore community access to effective antibiotics. | Photo Credit: Photo for representation only Healthcare leaders, researchers, tech specialists, and other experts came together at a workshop … Read more
Photograph used for representational purposes only | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto A team of researchers from IIIT- Delhi have come up with AI-powered data integration and predictive analytics tools, to understand the patterns of antibiotic resistance in real time, enabling various agencies to act on them speedily. As part of a collaboration between Indraprastha … Read more
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House, in Washington, DC. | Photo Credit: PTI Tariffs levied on imports into India are five times higher than what the United States levies on its imports. The average duty levied by India was 17% in 2023, compared to 3.3% levied by the U.S. … Read more
The 2025 Delhi Assembly election was nothing short of a political turning point, reshaping the electoral landscape of India’s capital in ways few had anticipated. Data from Codemo and PeoplesPulse’s survey reveal major shifts in voter behaviour, gender-based voting patterns, and the underlying factors that influenced the outcome at the polls. The survey was conducted … Read more
Many nocturnal animals, including insects like ants and bees, follow the moon’s position to find their way when they go foraging. But the moon waxes and wanes in a cycle and can be obscured by clouds or overhanging tree canopies, so the animals can’t always directly track its position. Now, for the first time, scientists … Read more
A file photo of cheetahs at Kuno National Park (KNP) in Madhya Pradesh’s Sheopur district. | Photo Credit: PTI A new study by the Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS), which examines the ethical, ecological and welfare challenges associated with the translocation of African cheetahs to India, has expressed concern over the translocation of the animals … Read more
Only a fraction of the envisaged allocations was actually spent on justice-related schemes The Central government has consistently reduced budget allocations to certain justice-related schemes and projects since 2019, shows the recently released India Justice Report 2025-26. Data also show that not only have allocations reduced, but also, only a fraction of the envisaged allocations … Read more
An Indian deported from the U.S. leave the airport upon their arrival in Amritsar | Photo Credit: – Of the 332 undocumented Indian immigrants who have been deported from the U.S. in 2025, people from Punjab accounted for the highest share (38%), followed by people from Haryana (33%), and Gujarat (22%), as shown in Chart 1. The … Read more
The earth must have experienced something exceptional 10 million years ago. Our study of rock samples from the floor of the Pacific Ocean has found a strange increase in the radioactive isotope beryllium-10 during that time. This finding, now published in Nature Communications, opens new pathways for geologists to date past events gleaned from deep … Read more
A debate about the age of Saturn’s resplendent rings has been raging for a few decades now, with no end in sight. A new study by researchers at the Institute of Science Tokyo and the Paris Institute of Planetary Physics has fresh spin to offer now that could recast the conversation. Saturn’s rings are an … Read more
An artist’s concept shows the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy, known as Sagittarius A*, surrounded by a swirling accretion disk of hot gas, in this undated illustration obtained by Reuters on February 18, 2025. | Photo Credit: Reuters NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is providing the best look yet at the chaotic … Read more
Only three decades ago, the Indian space programme was a diminutive affair, dominated by the newfound successes of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and a then-fledgling clump of communications satellites. Today, the programme is a large tree with a flourishing canopy. There is a slew of ongoing projects accompanied by projects being ideated, developed, … Read more
Attentive ophthalmologist examines a patient’s eyes using specialized equipment during a comprehensive eye examination | Photo Credit: Getty Images Optics and optoelectronics technology company Zeiss India has collaborated with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to start a research lab for AI in eye care at the IISc campus. The initiative aims to leverage AI … Read more
In the middle of this image, the fuzzy-looking bulb of light in a warm shade of yellow extends around a small bright spot, nestled within a thin light circle that appears to be drawn closely around it. The circle is an Einstein ring. | Photo Credit: ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA More than a century ago, Albert Einstein … Read more
In his inauguration speech in January, United States President Donald Trump declared the US would “plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars”. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. In 2017, in Trump’s previous term of office, he promised to “establish a foundation for an eventual mission to Mars”. And his billionaire adviser Elon … Read more
A bell tower of an Orthodox church in the town of Oia on the earthquake-truck island of Santorini, Greece, is visible as the main town of Fira is lit by the sun in the background, February 4, 2025. | Photo Credit: AP An earthquake swarm occurs when multiple seismic events of comparable intensity strike a … Read more
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with China’s President Xi Jinping at the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, | Photo Credit: KEVIN LAMARQUE Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced additional tariffs on imports from China, Canada, and Mexico amidst what the White House referred to as a national emergency caused by “illegal aliens and drugs”. … Read more
Over 80% of urban consumers said spending on essential items has increased. | Photo Credit: STAFF Urban consumers in India began the new year with both hope and concern. On the one hand, India’s retail inflation eased to a five-month low of 4.31% in January, providing some relief to consumers by reducing the pressure on … Read more
On January 20, Chinese scientists reported that they were able to maintain a plasma at a temperature of 100 million degrees C for about 1,066 seconds in a nuclear fusion reactor called the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). In 1938, physicists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann found that energy is produced when the nucleus of … Read more
In this undated photo provided by Abdelrazek Elnaggar, Emma Paolin, PhD student at University of Ljubljana, sets up active air sampling with sorbent tubes and pumps. | Photo Credit: Abdelrazek Elnaggar/AP At first whiff, it sounds repulsive: sniff the essence of an ancient corpse. But researchers who indulged their curiosity in the name of science … Read more
