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The Antarctic Peninsula, like many polar regions, is warming faster than the global average, with extreme heat events in Antarctica becoming more common. A study which used satellite data to assess how much the Antarctic Peninsula has been “greening” in response to climate change found that the area of vegetation cover across the Peninsula increased…
A study by Northwestern University researchers have found that showerheads and toothbrushes are teeming with an extremely diverse collection of viruses — most of which have never been seen before. Although this might sound ominous, the good news is these viruses don’t target people. They target bacteria. The microorganisms collected in the study are bacteriophage,…
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Besides protein, milk, eggs and meat also provide vitamin B12 and choline There are many myths about protein in India, emanating from sub-optimal understanding of nutrition biology. The first myth is that Indians are protein deficient. However, an analysis of NSS (National Sample Survey) household food intakes showed that the risk of protein deficiency (adjusted for…
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The 2024 Nobel Prize in chemistry recognized Demis Hassabis, John Jumper and David Baker for using machine learning to tackle one of biology’s biggest challenges: predicting the 3D shape of proteins and designing them from scratch. This year’s award stood out because it honored research that originated at a tech company: DeepMind, an AI research startup that was acquired by Google in 2014. Most previous…
Read More “A new era? The 2024 Nobel Prizes and the power of machine learning” »
Every British citizen has a single health record from birth to death. Representative image. | Photo Credit: Irwan/Unsplash The story so far: In a significant advancement for health data research, Ben Goldacre and his team have developed the OpenSAFELY platform, enabling access to the health records of approximately 58 million people in the U.K. without…
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In a world where even experts are sometimes puzzled by our economic systems, only a tiny fraction of economists truly understand the mechanics that govern them. Imagine what would happen if these experts were replaced by artificial intelligence (AI). Would we still trust our monetary systems? This thought experiment becomes particularly relevant while considering the…
A geomagnetic storm lit up the night sky in parts of the US during the first weekend in October. South Africa’s National Space Agency (SANSA) told reporters that the storm had originated from a solar flare “that erupted from sunspot 3842 on October 3”. It said this was the strongest earth-facing solar flare recorded by…
Read More “Strong geomagnetic storm hit earth – what causes them? | Explained” »
A prototype of a desktop 3D bioprinter that builds 3D living tissue out of human cells. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Q: What is the key difference between bioprinters and traditional 3D printers? Bioprinters work in almost the exact same way as 3D printers, with one key difference. Instead of delivering materials such as plastic,…
Read More “Sci-Five | The Hindu Science Quiz: On Bioprinting” »
This satellite image shows Hurricane Milton on October 8, 2024, as it moved across the Gulf of Mexico. | Photo Credit: NOAA Hurricane Milton became one of the most rapidly intensifying storms on record as it went from barely hurricane strength to a dangerous Category 5 storm in less than a day on a path…
Read More “Climate change and how hurricane Milton became a Category 5 storm” »
Human activity has significantly altered the earth’s landscape — so much so that many scientists have said the planet began a new geological chapter called the Anthropocene era. Many of these changes have been wrought by deposits of materials like industrial waste and construction debris. These materials weather over time and mix with natural sediment,…
Read More “New sedimentary rock made from slag is a carbon-trapping champ” »