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This handout photograph released by the CEA on September 7, 2023, shows a 3D representation of the galaxy “Bubble”, coloured in brown. The image shows the position of the Milky Way, with a small white dot located outside the bubble on the right, in a white cloud. The blue wisps represent the “cosmic web”, the…
A mosquito hangs from a leaf, Bengaluru, October 28, 2019. | Photo Credit: Syed Ali/Unsplash Throughout human history, mosquitoes have constantly buzzed in the background of human existence, irritating us with their incessant bites and occasionally wreaking havoc by transmitting deadly diseases. The earliest known mosquitoes from the fossil record date back at least 70…
Read More “Buzzing breakthrough: genetic engineering gives mosquito control an upgrade” »
A recent study (Nature) has reported how ancient coastal habitats adapted as the last glacial period ended more than 10,000 years ago and projected how they are likely to change with this century’s predicted sea level rise. By examining the ocean sediments of ancient shorelines from a time when oceans rose rapidly, mainly because of…
Read More “What are the predicted effects of rising sea level on coastal habitats?” »
Due to ethical reasons and technical challenges, studying human post-implantation development has been limited. The closest that scientists have come to understand intrauterine development after implantation is by using mouse naïve embryonic stem cells (ESCs) that gave rise to embryonic and extra-embryonic stem cells capable of self-assembling into mouse structured stem cell-based embryo models at the…
Read More “Scientists grow a model of human embryo in the lab” »
The low incidence rate of leprosy (0.45 per 10,000 population) in India makes it a rare disease. | Photo Credit: Getty Images Much of our conversation about health leads to the talk of a few common ailments that afflict several of our acquaintances — diabetes probably tops this list. Yet, for each of the few ailments that…
Read More “India reports far fewer people with orphan diseases” »
On July 22, 2019, India successfully launched Chandrayaan-2, the second mission to the moon. Twenty-two days later (August 14), after a series of orbit raising manoeuvres, the spacecraft finally escaped the earth’s gravity and followed a path towards the moon. Six days later, Chandrayaan-2 was successfully inserted into lunar orbit. Finally, on September 2, the…
Read More “What helped Vikram lander to soft-land on the moon” »
Watch | Indians are buying land on the moon… but can one ‘own’ lunar land? India’s successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 rover on the moon is encouraging some of its people to also grab a slice of it, literally. Now, several middle-class Indians, who may have never owned land on earth, are looking to buy…
Read More “Watch | Indians are buying land on the moon… but can one ‘own’ lunar land?” »
Questions: 1. Name the German physicist who is widely credited with first studying the general theory of relativity in five dimensions, creating the precursors of some ideas that later appeared in string theory. 2. Name the mathematician who was awarded the Fields Medal in 1998 for explaining ‘monstrous moonshine’, a strange connection between the monster…
Read More “Science Quiz | The obscure mathematics of string theory” »
A good old game of carrom has really stood the test of time. Set up a board and people around will flock to it while practising their finger gymnastics. You may not have noticed but the game often starts with an underappreciated ceremony: a pinch of magic powder strewn over the board that somehow energises…
Read More “The physics of friction, the ‘necessary evil’ that bedevils daily life” »
The interaction between a supermassive black hole in a galaxy named 2MASX J02301709+2836050 and a star orbiting it is seen in this image captured by the Pan-STARRS telescope, in Hawaii, U.S., in an undated handout image provided by NASA. | Photo Credit: Reuters Black holes, celestial objects known for their gluttony, usually eat stars unlucky…
Read More “Black hole is observed snacking on sun-like star, bite by bite” »
