Science Snapshots: September 27, 2026

IIT-Madras tool bridges quake science and dam safety

An IIT-Madras team evaluated 6,545 dams under India’s National Dam Safety Authority and found standard seismic zone maps misjudge earthquake risks. For Himalayan ‘mega-dams’ like Tehri and Bhakra, site-specific modelling revealed previously projected ground accelerations were too conservative. The team achieved this using a combination of a tool it built to perform “probabilistic seismic hazard analysis”, a catalogue of 68,000+ earthquakes from 2,600 BC to 2019, and maps of India’s major faultlines.

‘Forever chemical’ disrupts immune system’s antiviral action

PFOS, a widespread industrial ‘forever chemical’, weakens the body’s ability to fight viral infections, a study has found. Researchers found that it binds to an immune protein called IRF3, which keeps it from triggering the release of interferons, our immune system’s top antiviral defence. As a result, viruses can multiply faster. Tests in human cells and mice showed that everyday levels of PFOS exposure led to more severe infections from viruses like influenza and hepatitis B.

Hot-spring eukaryote sets record for warmest reproduction

Scientists have found a new species of amoeba, Incendiamoeba cascadensis, in hot springs in California that has set a record for the upper temperature limit of eukaryotic life. Scientists previously thought these lifeforms couldn’t reproduce above 60° C. However, I. cascadensis replicates at 63° C. To survive such heat, it activates genes to repair DNA and cell membranes. Its proteins’ chemical properties are such that they don’t clump together, a trick heat-loving bacteria use as well.