Category: Science

Science

Thanks to two special genes, a single atom can change the colour of a bird

November 12, 2024 admin

Nearly all birds with bright red, orange, and yellow feathers or bills use a group of pigments called carotenoids to produce their colours. | Photo Credit: Shutterstock Across the animal kingdom, birds are some of the most colourful creatures of all. But how did all the amazingly coloured different bird species arise? Nearly all birds…

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Scientists uncover a magnetic misunderstanding about Uranus

November 12, 2024 admin

This NASA Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys image, released on January 22, 2004, of Uranus reveals the planet’s faint rings and several of its satellites. | Photo Credit: AFP/NASA In 1781, German-born British astronomer William Herschel made Uranus the first planet discovered with the aid of a telescope. This frigid planet, our solar…

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IISc scientists find a way to break down ‘biofilm barriers’ by using cow’s gut enzyme to aid entry of drugs

November 11, 2024 admin

Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: The Hindu A team of scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has devised a way to break down ‘biofilm barriers’ to aid entry of drugs. The IISc said that most of the disease-causing bacteria secrete matrix-like layers around themselves called biofilms. These biofilms act as…

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Chamarajanagar varsity to host Kannada Science Congress

November 11, 2024 admin

The event is expected to turn the spotlight on Chamarajanagar University, which was inaugurated in Chamarajanagar on March 28, 2023. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT The 18th Kannada Science Congress (Kannada Vijnana Sammelana) will be held in Chamarajanagar in December. The Chamarajanagar University, Swadeshi Vijnana Andolana, Karnataka and the Karnataka State Open University are jointly organising…

Science

Gluten: animator of the dough

November 11, 2024 admin

Gluten is infamous for the allergic reaction it induces in some people. Representative image. | Photo Credit: Victor Rodríguez Iglesias/Unsplash Many cereal grains — but in particular barley, wheat, and rye — contain specific proteins that, when mixed with water and kneaded, create an elastic mass. This mass is called gluten. Two important types of…

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A guide to COP29 climate jargon

November 11, 2024 admin

Pedestrians walk in front of the venue for COP 29 summit in Baku on November 10, 2024. | Photo Credit: Alexander Nemenov/AFP With the U.N. climate talks tackling complex topics from energy policy to global financial aid, the annual summit has developed its own ever-growing lexicon. Here’s a guide to some of the terms in…

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COP16: Will financial roadblocks continue to hinder conservation efforts? | Explained

November 11, 2024 admin

The 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity recently concluded in Cali, Colombia. Representatives from U.N. countries tried to negotiate measures to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, which threatens both human well-being and the stability of human societies. A key sticking point was who’d…

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How do lightning rods prevent lightning strikes from reaching people?

November 11, 2024 admin

Lightning strikes above the city skyline in Mumbai. | Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI Climate change is making lightning strikes around the world more common and deadlier. Every year, around 24,000 people around the world are killed by such strikes; in India, lightning strikes killed 2,887 people in 2022. There have been petitions to declare this…

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Mpox clade Ia has evolved to jump from humans to humans: new study

November 11, 2024 admin

Since the world eradicated smallpox in 1980, scientists have known that the battle against poxviruses was far from over. Of the multiple types that exist, scientists have been wary of one in particular: mpox. In fact, one of the points in the World Health Assembly’s post-eradication policies was the “continuation of monkeypox surveillance in West…

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India will fail to meet 2025 TB ‘elimination’ target

November 9, 2024 admin

Even in 2023, India has not met the 2020 milestones of the End TB Strategy for both TB incidence and deaths In March 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi set an ambitious goal of “eliminating” TB by 2025, five years ahead of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) deadline set for 2030. Mr. Modi reiterated the…

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