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On March 27, one of the pioneers of psychology and economics research, Daniel Kahneman, passed away. Kahneman was a psychologist who spent a large part of his career at Princeton University. He did some of his best known work with Amos Tversky, a mathematical psychologist who passed away in 1996. No stranger to fame Kahneman…
Read More “How has Daniel Kahneman’s work in psychology withstood the test of time?” »
On March 9, 2024, Dr Vinod Scaria wrote an article in science page of The Hindu urging for a strong regulatory crackdown to prevent Indian biological samples from being analyzed by foreign commercial entities. His chain of reasoning includes protection of privacy, anti-discrimination, and promotion of Indian biotech ventures to provide genomics access for the…
Read More “‘Underwhelming Indian genomics research, and gatekeeping’” »
The largest-ever study of bird genomes has produced a remarkably clear picture of the bird family tree. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement The largest-ever study of bird genomes has produced a remarkably clear picture of the bird family tree. Published in the journal Nature today, our study shows that most of the modern groups of birds…
Read More “Bird species exploded after dinos’ doom, largest yet bird genetics study says” »
An international team of scientists, including from India, has discovered strong evidence indicating the presence of ozone on Jupiter’s moon Callisto, shedding light on the complex chemical processes taking place on icy celestial bodies in the Solar System. The study was published in the March 2024 issue of the journal Icarus. It outlines the researchers’…
Read More “Team led by PRL Ahmedabad finds ozone on Jupiter’s moon Callisto” »
In this Punnett square, the colour green in unripe pods is determined by the dominant allele ‘G’ and the colour yellow in unripe pods is determined by a recessive allele ‘g’. The little four-square grid we drew in school while learning about genetic crossing has a name: the Punnett Square. These squares are a way…
Anthropogenic climate change is turning ambient heat, a relatively banal manifestation of the sun, into an inevitable environmental hazard. In 2023, with the atmospheric carbon dioxide level reaching new heights of 425 ppm, we witnessed the warmest decade on record spanning from 2014 to 2023. Until a few decades ago, hazards of high heat largely existed…
Read More “As India’s summer begins, understanding the heat and health conundrum” »
Elon Musk’s N1 implant, introduced to facilitate operating devices by just intending it in the brain, has jolted many into realising how far seemingly exotic neuroscience has been put to practical, commercial use. While the implant may be the outlier in neuroscience, what’s common and par for the course today is mapping the brain to…
Read More “How neuroscience reshapes marketing strategies in India” »
Human activities have caused the earth to slowly heat up, and now it looks like war – another very human phenomenon – is preventing scientists from accurately measuring how rapidly our climate is changing. Global temperatures are rising, but temperatures in the Arctic region are rising even faster. Studies suggest a grim reality: that the Arctic is…
Read More “Russia’s war is weakening scientists’ ability to track the climate” »
Passage through the digestive system of birds is good for the seeds as they germinate quickly and have better chances of maturing into trees Sandalwood hardly needs an introduction to the readers of The Hindu. It has been valued for many centuries, for its fragrant oil, its prized wood, and the many medicinal uses it has…
Researchers have recovered remarkably preserved microbiomes from two teeth dating back 4,000 years, found in an Irish limestone cave. Genetic analyses of these microbiomes reveal major changes in the oral microenvironment from the Bronze Age to today. The authors identified several bacteria linked to gum disease and provided the first high-quality ancient genome of Streptococcus mutans, the…
Read More “When did an uptick in dental cavities in humans begin?” »