An artist’s concept of the NISAR satellite in earth orbit. The radar antenna reflector is deployed on top. | Photo Credit: NASA Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a way to make sharp pictures even when it’s dark or cloudy. Instead of using visible light like a regular camera, SAR systems send out microwave pulses and … Read more
While online booking has help reduce the long queues at reservation counters, it has also become a double-edged sword, especially in the context of Tatkal tickets. The recent changes to the Tatkal ticket booking system are significant and necessary. Under the new rules, OTP authentication using Aadhaar will be mandatory for all Tatkal bookings made … Read more
The region called Arabia sits at the heart of the earth’s driest deserts, stretching from the Sahara in the west to India’s Thar Desert in the east. It holds the distinction of being the largest biogeographical barrier on the planet. Over millennia, the arid conditions of the Saharo-Arabian Desert are expected to have prevented hominins … Read more
With the launch of Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla’s mission to the International Space Station (ISS) scheduled for June 19, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is coordinating with Axiom Space to refresh time-sensitive experimental specimens. | Photo Credit: Reuters With the launch of Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla’s mission to the International … Read more
A pod of sperm whales. | Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons When archaeologists were digging a new library site at Valencina de la Concepción in southwest Spain in 2018, they uncovered an unusual item: half of a large sperm-whale tooth lying in a 4,000-year-old pit. Because nothing like it had ever been reported from Copper-Age Iberia, … Read more
Successful test trials of rocket launch systems were conducted in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, as part of the preparations for a student competition in model rocketry scheduled to be held in October this year. The launch trials were conducted on Saturday and Sunday (June 14 and 15, 2025) by the Astronautical Society of India in association … Read more
More than four years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the disease remains a global health concern — not because of new surges but because of what persists. Long COVID, or technically post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), refers to symptoms that continue for weeks or months after the initial illness clears. These include fatigue, breathing … Read more
India stands at a pivotal juncture in its quest to harness artificial intelligence (AI) for biotechnology innovation. On one hand, initiatives like the BioE3 Policy and the IndiaAI Mission reflect a bold vision to position the country as a global leader in AI-driven biomanufacturing and ethical AI development. On the other, fragmented regulations and lagging … Read more
Sarcopenia affects millions of people and contributes to frailty, slow recovery, and hospital readmissions in older adults. | Photo Credit: Alan Calvert/Unsplash As we age, it gets harder to recover from a fall, injury or even a tough workout because the body’s muscle-repair system starts to falter. Muscle stem cells (MuSCs), the in-house repair crew, … Read more
Axiom-4 astronauts, commander Peggy Whitson of U.S., pilot Shubhanshu Shukla of India, mission specialist Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and mission specialist Tibor Kapu of Hungary, are pictured on the countdown video clock, as the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands at Launch Complex 39-A after a delay of its mission to the International Space Station, in … Read more
Space agency ISRO successfully conducted a rocket launching test here, marking the first time a payload was launched via a rocket from the soil of Uttar Pradesh, officials said. The test conducted on Saturday in collaboration with Thrust Tech India Limited saw the rocket ascend 1.1 km at 5:14:33 p.m., a complete success. Indian Space … Read more
To rebuild public trust, scholars at large have recommended research groups and journals adopt open-data policies and preregister studies. | Photo Credit: Dan Dimmock/Unsplash As if political broadsides weren’t enough to undermine public confidence in science, a deep-seated issue became apparent from within science itself in the 2010s: the replication crisis. Researchers began to realise … Read more
Vegetable oils of the kinds used in our daily cuisine contain organic fatty acids like linolenic and oleic acids. | Photo Credit: Joyce Romero/Unsplash In families across the world, silver is used as a precious metal, next to gold. Happy occasions in most families are celebrated with gold and silver garlands and rings. Silver is, … Read more
Lasers are used to position a patient model wearing a face mask in a CT scanner to obtain images of a tumour before radiation therapy. Representative image. | Photo Credit: USNCI A team of experts in the U.S. has successfully used a technique called step-and-shoot spot-scanning proton arc therapy (SPArc) to treat a patient’s adenoid … Read more
In May 2024, OpenAI released HealthBench, a new benchmarking system to test the clinical capabilities of large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT. On the surface, this may sound like yet another technical update. But for the medical world, it marked an important moment—a quiet acknowledgement that our current ways of evaluating medical AI are … Read more
A Falcon 9 rocket stands at the pad before its upcoming launch of the Axiom-4 crewed mission to the International Space Station at Launch Complex 39-A in Cape Canaveral, Florida. | Photo Credit: Reuters The much-delayed Axiom-4 commercial mission to the International Space Station, carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three others, is now targeting … Read more
Soft materials’ behaviour is on the border between solids and liquids. | Photo Credit: Shali/Unsplash Soft matter is the branch of science that studies materials that can be shaped, stretched, squished or flowed by applying small forces. Everyday examples include curd, toothpaste, shampoo, soap bubbles, and living cells. Unlike hard crystals like quartz or steel, … Read more
The Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) has partnered with Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), a not-for-profit research and development organisation, to accelerate the clinical development of a monoclonal antibody (mab) treatment for dengue that will be affordable and accessible in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Mab are lab-produced antibodies, meant to mimic the … Read more
This article forms a part of the Data Point newsletter curated by The Hindu’s Data team. To get the newsletter in your inbox, subscribe here Welcome back, data enthusiasts! As US President Donald Trump continues imposing restrictions on universities in the face of alleged anti-semitism, Indian students abroad and aspirants in the subcontinent have had … Read more
An Air India flight to London crashed into a residential neighbourhood in Ahmedabad shortly after takeoff on Thursday, erupting in a huge fireball and killing all on board, except one. Miraculously, one passenger ejected from the aircraft survived. The victims included medical students who were staying in a college hostel struck by the plane. Air … Read more
In this March 9, 2020, file photo, IAEA director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi from Argentina addresses the media after a meeting of the Board of Governors in Vienna, Austria. | Photo Credit: Ronald Zak/AP On June 12, 19 the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) voted in favour of declaring “that Iran … Read more
A Falcon 9 rocket stands at the pad before its upcoming launch of the Axiom-4 crewed mission to the International Space Station at Launch Complex 39-A in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., June 10, 2025. | Photo Credit: STEVE NESIUS Bengaluru The launch of Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla’s mission to the International Space Station (ISS) has … Read more
This photo released on November 5, 2019, by the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran shows centrifuges in the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran. | Photo Credit: AP On June 13, Israel said it commenced a campaign to strike “dozens” of nuclear and military targets in Iran even as the U.S. and Tehran were … Read more
The Union Ministry of Power has said it is mulling restricting the temperature range of new air conditioners (ACs) in the country to between 20 degrees and 28 degrees Celsius. In a press conference on Tuesday, Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar told presspersons the restriction would apply to ACs in households, hotels, and cars. The … Read more
Adolescence, a British mini-series released a few months ago, tells the chilling story of a 13-year-old boy, Jamie, who murders his classmate, Katie. It was critically acclaimed for its single-take format, powerful performances, seamless direction, and excellent storytelling. More importantly, the series sparked conversations not just in the U.K. but worldwide about issues such as … Read more
At 1.38 pm on June 12, Air India flight AI171 bound for London from Ahmedabad crashed five minutes after taking off just outside the Ahmedabad airport. The flight had 230 passengers and 12 crew. Videos of the incident showed a large orange fireball erupting moments after the crash at the site in Meghaninagar. The exact cause … Read more
Image used for representation (This article forms a part of the Science for All newsletter that takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Subscribe now!) Scientists use a powerful technique called cryo-electron microscopy to see the 3D shapes of biological molecules, but the technique normally needs the molecules to be extremely … Read more
A tiger and a dog trapped in a pit on a cardamom plantation at Kadukkacity, near Nettithozu, in Idukki on Sunday Everybody wondered why the tiger didn’t eat the dog — after all, they were stuck barely a foot apart in a deep pit on a private cardamom plantation at Kadukkacity in Vandanmedu grama panchayat … Read more
This photo provided by Axiom Space shows Axiom-4 crew members (L-R) Shubhanshu Shukla, Peggy Whitson, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, and Tibor Kapu. | Photo Credit: AP The story so far: On June 10, Axiom Space announced that the launch of its Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) would be postponed indefinitely. The mission crew included … Read more
What truly stood out on Sunday was Alcaraz’s extraordinary comeback from being two sets down. | Photo Credit: JULIAN FINNEY Grand Slam finals carry an unmistakable aura. When a Slam final stretches into a five-setter, it signifies an enthralling contest between evenly matched rivals. Add multiple tie-breakers into the mix, and the sense of parity … Read more