Category: Science

Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology (DST): The Budget provides an overall and possibly unprecedented thrust on research and innovation by setting aside Rs 20,000 crore for DST towards research in the private sector, including corporates and startups. There is a focused attempt to bring together academia, private sector and startups  to work…

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The Palisades Fire burns a beach front property, January 8, 2025, in Malibu, California. | Photo Credit: AP The world warmed to yet another monthly heat record in January, despite an abnormally chilly United States, a cooling La Nina and predictions of a slightly less hot 2025, according to the European climate service Copernicus. The…

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It was in his blood that the 30-year-old male should create history. Literally. In mid-2024, the patient underwent a kidney transplant. Though he was relatively young for a transplant, that’s not where he stands unique. He had the extremely rare Bombay blood group, which prevented him from receiving organs or even blood transfusions from anyone…

Read More “Round peg in a square hole: How doctors pulled off cross-blood transplant in patient with rare Bombay blood group” »

Will the baby be a girl or a boy? What decides the outcome? These might well be among the earliest questions asked by ourancestors. We can now offer a fairly comprehensive two-line answer. The SRY gene, located on the Y chromosome, triggers development along the male pathway. In its absence, development proceeds along the default…

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Docking in space or space docking is a space-tech marvel that enables us to join two spacecraft together in space. An important step for various missions, especially those that are exploratory in nature or involve space stations, only a handful of countries have mastered this art. India is now one of them, having become just…

Read More “The many firsts of the near-Mir mission” »

Wandering salamanders are known for gliding high through the canopies of coastal redwood forests, but how the small amphibians stick their landing and take off with ease remains something of a mystery. As per a new study, the answer may have a lot to do with blood-powered toes of wandering salamanders. Researchers discovered that wandering…

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Women who go through menopause later in life have healthier blood vessels for years to come than those who go through it earlier, a study by the University of Colorado Boulder researchers found. The study published in the journal Circulation Research, offers new insight into why females who stop menstruating at age 55 or later are significantly…

Read More “Later-onset menopause linked to lower heart disease risk” »

The extensive use of antibiotics in health care has resulted in a rise in pathogenic bacteria and other microorganisms that are resistant to antibiotics. In the year 2021, about 1.2 million deaths worldwide were attributed to antimicrobial resistance to existing antibiotics. Surveys in Indian hospitals show that infections with drug-resistant bacteria have a 13% mortality…

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Data from India’s first nationally representative heart failure registry with prospective follow-up data has found that heart failure patients in India are almost 10 years younger than their counterparts living in high-income countries. One in four heart failure patients in India die within one year of follow-up, with a wide variation in the one-year mortality rate…

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