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There’s a lot to look out for in February | Photo Credit: AFP This is a lucky month for amateur astronomers as it offers a chance to spot at least six planets in the night sky. That’s not all. Here’s the list of all you can see in the February skies. Full Moon: The Moon will…
Artist’s concept of the finished ELT, currently under construction in northern Chile. | Photo Credit: ESO A: The Extremely Large Telescope is planned to be one of the most capable astronomical observatories ever assembled. The telescope, currently about 60% complete, is intended to search for evidence of potential life on exoplanets and peer back in…
Astronomers have discovered a gigantic black hole named Gaia BH3 hiding close to the earth, the third of its kind. All three were discovered by the European Space Agency’s Gaia telescope, which has been constantly monitoring the motions of billions of stars in our galaxy since 2013. Black holes are fascinating to non-scientists and astronomers…
Read More “Scans of seemingly empty space reveal black holes not far from earth” »
Genetically modified polo horses stand in San Antonio de Areco, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, January 30, 2025. | Photo Credit: Reuters Argentina’s award-winning mare Polo Pureza will have her genes, or at least most of them, live on in five genetically edited horses designed to outrun the polo legend herself. Scientists at…
Read More “Argentine biotech firm breeds gene-edited polo super ponies” »
Over the past decade, furtive commercial entities around the world have industrialised the production, sale and dissemination of bogus scholarly research. These paper mills are profiting by undermining the literature that everyone from doctors to engineers rely on to make decisions about human lives. It is exceedingly difficult to get a handle on exactly how…
Read More “Bogus scientific papers slowing lifesaving medical research” »
The amplifier remains a transformative invention for being able to receive the human voice and boost it so thousands of people can hear it at once. Without the microphone, politics itself may have evolved differently; the device has been ubiquitous in everything from public protests to political rallies. Amplifiers have also transformed entertainment, astronomy, search…
Read More “On amplifiers: how do they work and what are the different kinds?” »
During her time in a drug discovery lab, structural biologist Kavyashree Manjunath first started thinking about how much plastic her group used, even for a single experiment. From the smallest of tips used to draw solutions to pipettes, bottles, and more — the plastic waste from her lab alone was enough to shock the average…
Read More “The promises and problems of using bacteria to get rid of plastic” »
Ambergris, often called whale vomit, is one of nature’s most bizarre occurrences. Produced by sperm whales, this waxy substance has been prized for centuries. If you’re fortunate enough to find ambergris, you’re holding something worth millions. Known for its rarity, ambergris is highly sought after in the perfume industry, as it helps make fragrances last…
Cracks in paint coatings could soon become a thing of the past. In a new study, researchers from the Raman Research Institute (RRI) in Bengaluru have found a way to delay the onset of cracks after studying them in great detail. As playful as this sounds, the technique has potential applications in diagnosing diseases and…
Read More “Study cracks when cracks come and go in paint, clay, milk, blood” »
The NVS-02 navigation satellite in Sriharikota. | Photo Credit: ANI The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has been unable to perform the intended orbit raising operations for the NVS-02 satellite due to a valve malfunction. The NVS-02, the second satellite in the NVS series, was launched by the ISRO on January 29 as part of…
Read More “ISRO’s orbit raising operations for NVS-02 satellite disrupted by valve malfunction” »