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On September 22, India will simplify its GST rates into two main slabs, 5% and 18%, with a special 40% bracket for “sinful” and ultra-luxury goods. Many everyday foods get cheaper. For example, pizza bread will drop from 5% to zero and a long list of sugar-based products, including sugar-boiled confectionery, chocolates, jams, and fruit…
A French doctor accused of intentionally poisoning 30 child and adult patients, 12 of whom died, went on trial on September 8, saying before the hearing he was not responsible for the “distress” of his alleged victims and their families. Frederic Pechier, 53, worked as an anaesthetist at two clinics in the eastern city of…
Read More “Trial of doctor accused of poisoning 30 patients begins in France” »
If you’re lost somewhere on the earth, you can use GPS or public landmarks to find your way back. Navigation in the vastness of space isn’t so easy, however — especially if you’re on a spacecraft racing billions of kilometres away from the earth. There is no GPS in space and where a landmark is…
Read More “Lost in space? You might need just two stars to find your way” »
What makes lunar eclipses interesting and worth observing? “There’s the whole spectacle itself,” says Obuli Chandran, founder of Mango Education. “The moon that falls in the earth’s shadow acquires a blood red or copper red colour, which is quite a sight to watch, and the causes for the shift in colour have kept scientists guessing.” …
Read More “Witness the lunar eclipse 2025 through telescopes at a guided session in Coimbatore” »
The paradox has become a useful tool across science to explain how merging two bad options can create a better result. | Photo Credit: Lance Grandahl/Unsplash A: Parrondo’s paradox is a strange idea from game theory (and before that from physics). It shows that when two losing strategies are alternated in a particular sequence, the…
If amino acids are imagined as the beads and RNA as the thread, enzymes like the one shown here (leucyl-tRNA synthetase) string them together. | Photo Credit: Public domain Life depends on a partnership between RNA, which stores instructions, and proteins, which do the work of building and running cells. But how this partnership began…
Read More “Uncovered: how RNA, amino acids may have linked on early earth” »
A facility in Jind will soon produce green hydrogen to be used as fuel for a locomotive. | Photo Credit: Miguel Baixauli/Unsplash The Indian Railways recently announced that a hydrogen-powered train, developed at the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, has successfully completed all tests. This is a welcome sign of progress for the National Green…
The moon is seen during a full lunar eclipse on May 15, 2022, over Idaho in the US, with the reddish colour caused by it passing into the shadow of the earth. | Photo Credit: AP Sky gazers in India and in other parts of the world will be able to witness a blood moon…
A truck inside a sinkhole on Gurugram’s Southern Peripheral Road after a part of the road caved in following heavy rain. | Photo Credit: ANI A: Sinkholes appear in urban areas when the ground beneath streets, buildings or pipelines suddenly gives way. They can form naturally but in cities they’re often linked to human activity….
The Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave may ‘replace’ the Indian Science Congress, the oldest congregation of scientists in India with a rich history predating Independence. Photo: estic.dst.gov.in Signalling a break from the past, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) is set to organise the first-ever Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave (ESTIC) in November….