Category: Science

Science

Why did Anthropic’s Claude Cowork plugins spook markets? | The Hindu Explains

February 8, 2026 admin

1. What is it about Claude’s latest release that has spooked markets and hurt Indian IT stocks? On January 30, Anthropic released 11 open-source plugins for Claude Cowork, its AI workplace suite. Unlike conventional chatbots, Cowork functions as an autonomous digital colleague: it reads files, drafts documents, reviews contracts, and executes multi-step workflows across legal,…

Science

When institutional reliability matters: the story of di-ethylene glycol

February 8, 2026 admin

The government of Tamil Nadu’s Directorate of Drug Control recently issued a public notice against a specific batch of Almond Kit syrup, after laboratory tests detected adulteration with ethylene glycol. This finding emerged during routine surveillance. It comes barely five months after India lost over 20 children in Madhya Pradesh last year due to contaminated…

Science

CCMB scientists identify metabolism as new target for antifungal therapies

February 7, 2026 admin

The yeast and filament form of Fungi Fungal infections are among the most underestimated health threats worldwide, contributing to rising hospitalizations and deaths. Beyond human health, fungi also devastate crops, reduce yields, and worsen food insecurity — creating a dual crisis for both public health and agriculture. Now, researchers at the CSIR–Centre for Cellular and…

Science

What is the Zeigarnik effect?

February 6, 2026 admin

What is it? The Zeigarnik effect is a phenomenon which hypothesizes that one has a higher tendency to remember things, actions, or events that were left unfinished than those that were completed. It is something that one probably experiences on a daily basis. The effect can be experienced when you have an unreturned phone call,…

Science

The holy trinity of cancer care: biochemistry, microbiology and pathology

February 6, 2026 admin

The role of biochemistry Cancer originates at the genetic micro-molecular level within a cell — resulting in a cascade of subtle biochemical and cellular abnormalities that escape internal patrol — and eventually manifests as a detectable disease. Onco-biochemistry involves quantifying tumour markers, enzymes, hormones and metabolites in blood and body fluids for diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring…

Science

Rethinking battery strategy in India: the case for sodium-ion technology

February 5, 2026 admin

Batteries have become deeply embedded in modern life. From laptops, mobile phones, wearable devices such as smartwatches and wireless earphones, to power tools, electric vehicles (EVs), and large-scale battery energy storage systems, batteries now underpin both personal convenience and critical infrastructure. A newer trend is also emerging, with batteries being integrated directly into household appliances,…

Science

Study by Indian researchers finds that body’s immune cells ‘betray’ it to help breast cancer spread

February 5, 2026 admin

Many mechanisms involved in breast cancer metastasis focus on tumour cell activities. Image used for representational purposes only | Photo Credit: Getty Images A growing body of research is reshaping how scientists understand breast cancer—not just as a disease of rogue tumour cells, but as one that cleverly recruits the body’s own immune system to…

Science

Study maps future glacial lakes

February 5, 2026 admin

A glacial lake atop the Pir Panchal mountain range that divides Kashmir and Jammu provinces. | Photo Credit: File photo GUWAHATI: A team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-G) has developed a new way to identify where glacial lakes are likely to form in the Himalayas, offering a potential breakthrough in…

Science

Could the near-extinct Asiatic cheetah rewild Saudi Arabia?

February 4, 2026 admin

The cheetah is a spotted beast that can burn through savannas like a bolt of lightning to hunt prey vastly bigger than itself. This big cat is the world’s fastest terrestrial mammal, which purrs more than it growls and has been historically tamed and trained by people to hunt game. Cheetahs once roamed most of…

Science

Rediscovering the virtues of bamboo, an ancient plant

February 4, 2026 admin

Bamboo finds new uses where sustainability is the goal, for example in place of plastics for disposable cutlery. | Photo Credit: Chuttersnap/Unsplash Bamboo (called ‘baans’ in Hindi, and ‘moongil’ in Tamil) is an ancient plant that grows fast in wet soil in broad sunlight. It is well known to people in Asia and Latin America,…

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