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The story so far: There has been a spate of small earthquakes in Maharashtra over the last fortnight, according to local reports. Of the 29 tremors during this period, 24 were in and around Nashik, four were in Palghar and one was in Nagpur. They weren’t particularly strong — the strongest was in Nagpur on…
Read More “Why is Maharashtra experiencing an earthquake swarm? | Explained” »
Friedreich’s ataxia, or FRDA, is a genetic disorder that progressively damages the nerves and the heart. The affected individuals typically begin to show symptoms between the ages of 5 and 15. They become unsteady and their coordination is impaired. Their speech slows down and slurs. Swallowing becomes difficult. Hearing and vision deteriorates. They feel fatigued, lose sensation,…
Read More “Scientists find why a debilitating genetic disorder affects only Eurasians” »
Once a journal publishes a research paper, other researchers can keep citing that work and build on it to produce more research. Sometimes, this continues even after, say, the journal withdraws the original paper because it contains a mistake or, as is increasingly the case, it was produced by fraudulent means. So simply withdrawing a…
Read More “Why retractions alone do not protect India’s scientific record” »
Most animals in general can recognise individual members of their own species, e.g. using differences in markings or calls. | Photo Credit: JavyGo/Unsplash — Mahua Ray Humans are one of the species whose individual differences are unusually obvious to humans. We can be told apart by skin colour, hair colour, facial proportions, body shape, height,…
People charging their electric vehicles at charging stations in Bengaluru, June 4, 2026. | Photo Credit: ALLEN EGENUSE J./The Hindu Never too soon to switch to an electric vehicle Replacing a functional fossil-fuel vehicle with an EV is almost always better for the climate even if the former car is new, an analysis of lifecycle…
A satellite image shows Qeshm Island following an oil spill at sea, off the coast of Iran, on August 10, 2026. | Photo Credit: REUTERS The Hara forests are a vital ecological treasure of the Persian Gulf. Spanning the Strait of Hormuz, these mangrove forests consist mainly of grey mangrove trees (Avicennia marina), which have…
Read More “Major oil spill threatens Hara mangrove forests in Persian Gulf” »
“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there,” the English novelist L.P. Hartley wrote famously in his 1953 novel The Go-Between. In a peculiar twist, the same cannot be said of the Moon. It is not a foreign country, or even a foreign world: the U.S.’s manoeuvring to beat China to the…
The PSLV-C57 mission lifts off from Sriharikota on September 2, 2023. | Photo Credit: PTI India spends more to put a kilogram of payload into orbit than any other major spacefaring nation, marring its public image as a cost-effective launcher, according to a new peer-reviewed analysis of more than six decades of rocket launches published…
Read More “Despite its reputation, India’s per-unit space launch cost highest: study” »
Prosthetics for peacocks, electro acupuncture for snakes and implants for the de-feathered may seem far-fetched, but are all in a day’s work for the good folk at Bengaluru’s People For Animals Wildlife Hospital (PfA). PfA has been working behind the scenes in Bengaluru for the past 30 years, quietly rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing, furred and…
Read More “PfA@30: Taking the animal kingdom under their wing” »
The story so far: At the ninth meeting of the India-U.S. Civil Space Joint Working Group (CSJWG), held in Bengaluru on August 5 and 6, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) offered a formal invitation to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to be part of its ambitious Moon Base programme under the Artemis Accords….
Read More “Explained | What is NASA’s Moon Base programme, why it wants India to be part of it ?” »