Why is Central TB Division pushing an untested AI tool for screening?

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

What makes us remember our dreams?

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

How glacier ice algae accelerate Greenland ice sheet melting

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

Innovators come together in Bengaluru to find ways to ensure access to effective antibiotics 

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

Harnessing AI to generate patterns of antibiotic resistance in real time

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

Agricultural protectionism pushes up India’s import tariff: Data

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 perception shift against the AAP in the Delhi election

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

Neither ecologically sustainable nor ethical, says study over translocation of African cheetahs to India

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

Centre’s allocations for justice-related schemes fluctuate

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

Most deportees from the U.S. are from Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat

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

Anomaly found in the Pacific Ocean could be global ‘time marker’

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

Webb telescope observes violence around Milky Way’s central black hole

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

Where is ISRO heading – The Hindu

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

Zeiss India sets up research lab for AI in eyecare at IISc

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

What is an earthquake swarm?

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

China contributes substantially to U.S.’ biggest imports

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

China’s EAST reactor keeps the fire of magnetic fusion burning

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

Research discovers ancient Egyptian remains smell nice

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

Tracking Trump’s executive orders, OpenAI rejects Musk’s $97.4 billion offer, and more: The week in 5 charts

(1) President Trump’s Executive Orders U.S. President Donald Trump assumed office on January 20, 2025 and as of February 11, he has signed 63 executive orders, which is more than those signed by any recent President in their first one hundred days in office, even surpassing the number of executive orders he signed during his first term … Read more

Odisha tribal healer’s remedies for chronic diseases to undergo scientific validation under Ministry of Ayush initiative

Hari Pangi, the tribal healer, in Odisha‘s Koraput district. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement  In the quiet foothills of Tentuliguda, a remote village in Odisha’s Koraput district, where age-old wisdom thrives around leaves, epidermal plant tissues, and roots, a humble four-room building serves as a laboratory for a tribal healer. Recently, this unassuming space hosted 17 … Read more