Category: Science

Science

IIA researchers find evidence of interaction between a radio jet and interstellar gas

September 27, 2024 admin

The Department of Science and Technology said this finding challenges the hypothesis that only large and massive galaxy jets which regulate star formation host AGN powered by massive black holes. Representational file image. | Photo Credit: Reuters Researchers from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) have found evidence of an interaction between a radio jet…

Science

The Science Quiz: The stuff semiconductors are made of

September 27, 2024 admin

Questions: 1. Cubic boron arsenide is an ____________ semiconductor, meaning it can efficiently transport both electrons and holes. Fill in the blank. 2. Graphene lacks a critical property called a natural _______. This lacuna poses a significant challenge to its use as a traditional semiconductor despite its excellent electrical conductivity, high thermal conductivity, flexibility, and…

Science

Science and the City: Sci560 captures Bengaluru’s rich legacy

September 27, 2024 admin

“Objects, irrespective of which period they belong to, carry layers of history… are almost archaeological in nature,” says Jahnavi Phalkey, the Founding Director of Science Gallery Bengaluru. Jahnavi Phalkey | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Objects embody multiple things — the ambitions of the individual who created or used it, the institution that it might belong…

Science

Exploring the ‘wonderful world’ of symplectic geometry to solve problems in mechanics

September 26, 2024 admin

Yakov Eliashberg speaking at the TNQ Distinguished Lecture in Mathematics at IIT Madras on September 26, 2024. | Photo Credit: B. Velankanni Raj Russian-American mathematician and Wolf Prize laureate Yakov Eliashberg delivered a public talk at IIT Madras on Thursday, as part of the inaugural annual TNQ Distinguished Lecture in Mathematics. The talk was part…

Science

Sci-Five | The Hindu Science Quiz: On Electroreception

September 26, 2024 admin

Sci-Five | The Hindu Science Quiz: On Electroreception A bee flies over a cosmos flower at a park in Seoul, South Korea, September 23, 2024. START THE QUIZ 1 / 5 | What is electroreception? The ability to perceive lightning The biological ability to perceive electricity The ability to perceive magnetic field The ability to…

Science

Could rotating black holes be the wind turbines powering the distant future?

September 26, 2024 admin

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) collaboration, who produced the first ever image of our Milky Way black hole released in 2022, has captured a new view of the massive object at the centre of our Galaxy: how it looks in polarised light. This is the first time astronomers have been able to measure polarisation, a…

Science

Scientists are using ancient DNA to reveal the Iberian lynx’s ‘weapon’ against extinction

September 26, 2024 admin

Many large mammals have lost genetic diversity, often thanks to the actions of people shrinking their populations. The implications can be severe because without genetic diversity, a population does not have a “genetic database” to fall back on to adapt to environmental change. The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) is no stranger to this reduction in diversity. Human…

Science

Octopuses, fish hunt together using surprisingly complex decision-making

September 26, 2024 admin

A new study lifts the veil on what happens when octopuses and fish hunt together. As it turns out, this cross-species relationship is more complex than anyone expected. | Photo Credit: The Hindu A new study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution lifts the veil on what happens when octopuses and fish hunt together. As it turns out, this…

Science

Extinct volcanoes could help sate humanity’s hunger for rare earth elements

September 26, 2024 admin

Scientists found that some rare magma types are surprisingly efficient at concentrating rare earth elements. | Photo Credit: Shutterstock Extinct volcanoes are hard to study – we never see them erupt. Using a unique experimental technique, we were able to recreate a certain type of extinct volcano in a lab, learning more about the magma…

Science

Evolution can change how an ecosystem collapses, study finds

September 25, 2024 admin

Dying coral reefs, rainforests transforming into savannas, grasslands turning into deserts – these are ecosystem “tipping points”, boundary lines we’re desperate not to cross. In dynamic systems filled with life, these critical thresholds aren’t set in stone. Since organisms can evolve, the tipping points within these ecosystems might evolve too. Most of us think of…

Science