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“You might think some of these are AI-generated or a different animal species but I want you to tell me if these are bats,” Rohit Chakravarty, asks a room of full people sipping wine, cocktails and beers. He proceeded to show a series of pictures featuring tiny wrinkly faces, lopsided heads and creatures that frankly…
Read More “Bat tales over a pint: science gets a social twist” »
Something unusual has been going on in the wild. Many members of the largest species of dolphins, commonly called killer whales (Orcinus orca), have been found sharing freshly killed prey with humans. And they don’t just offer their prey: the dolphins have waited for the humans to respond. In a new study reported in the…
Read More “Killer whales are offering humans prey and waiting for a reply. Why?” »
Rising seas are a major consequence of global warming, with many implications for low-lying coastal areas. Coral reefs, which are highly sensitive to their environment, are also particularly vulnerable to fluctuations in sea level. When the sea level rises, sunlight may no longer penetrate the water to reach a coral reef that it could reach…
Read More “Data show seas rising faster around Maldives, Lakshadweep than believed” »
A labelled diagram of the human pelvis. | Photo Credit: Public domain Walking on two legs is the single most distinctive trait that separates humans from other primates. Unlike apes, our pelvis is short, broad, and bowl-shaped, and thus stable for walking upright while supporting internal organs and holding space to deliver large-headed infants. For…
Read More “Ancient humans evolved to walk on two legs in two steps” »
The Jinshajiang River ravine in Yunnan province in China, November 2018. | Photo Credit: Rod Waddington (CC BY-SA) A range of natural and human-induced factors have caused declines in the flows of at least 70% of hydrological stations in China, the most comprehensive analysis of this kind attempted in the country has found. Changes in…
Read More “Climate, land-use change reduced flows in 70% of China’s river stations” »
Plastic is cheap, versatile, and used almost everywhere, from packaging and textiles to medical supplies. But unlike natural materials, plastic doesn’t simply decay; instead, it breaks down into smaller fragments called microplastics (<5 mm) and nanoplastics (<1 µm). These particles persist for decades or longer, accumulate in water bodies, and attract other pollutants like heavy…
Read More “Microbes that digest plastic may also fuel antibiotic resistance” »
Picture shows Gaumukh, snout of the Gangotri glacier, surrounded by the Bhagirathi peaks of Garhwal Himalayas, at an altitude of over 4255 metres. | Photo Credit: Vidya Venkat The story so far: A recent study has reconstructed the long-term discharge flow of the Gangotri Glacier System (GGS), the source of the upper Ganga basin which…
Read More “Is the Gangotri glacier losing snow earlier than usual?” »
The Starship megarocket lifts off on its 10th test flight from the SpaceX Starbase in Texas, August 26, 2025. | Photo Credit: AP On a humid Texas evening on August 26, after many weather delays and ground system hiccups, the world’s largest rocket finally rose from its pad as part of Flight 10. The 379-feet-tall…
Read More “SpaceX Starship, the brash giant that could redefine the plot” »
Life as a Dream Born on March 14, 1854 at Strehlen, Germany (now Strzelin, Poland), Paul Ehrlich was the son of Ismar Ehrlich and his wife Rosa Weigert. Educated at the gymnasium at Breslau, he went on to study at the Universities of Breslau, Strassburg, Freiburg-im-Breisgau and Leipzig. With a dissertation on the theory and…
People walk at Marine Drive as dark clouds hover in the sky, Mumbai, August 20, 2025. | Photo Credit: PTI A: A cloud is not a big pool of liquid water but consists of minuscule droplets (~10 microns each) and sometimes ice crystals. These particles are so small and light that they are easily suspended…
Read More “Why doesn’t water fall in one go from a cloud?” »