Category: Science

Science

More than a third of urban Chinese living in sinking cities, study finds

May 14, 2024 admin

People walk on an overpass past office towers in the Lujiazui financial district of Shanghai, China October 17, 2022. | Photo Credit: Reuters Across the world, many cities are slowly sinking. Most are on the coast, including tropical megacities like Jakarta in Indonesia or Manila in the Philippines, or places like New Orleans, Vancouver or…

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Why is wax better than water to soothe an injury?

May 14, 2024 admin

Q: I had a fracture in my ankle about five months back. Under continuous stress, like hanging for an hour or so, it swells. As per doctor’s advice, I undergo wax treatment. What is the basis for using wax? Can one not use hot water instead of wax? A: The swelling in the ankle and…

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Australian weather bureau sees 50% chance of La Nina this year

May 14, 2024 admin

A La Nina would have significant consequences for global agriculture because it typically brings wetter weather to eastern Australia and southeast Asia and drier conditions to the Americas. | Photo Credit: Ritu Raj Konwar/The Hindu There are early signs that a La Nina weather event may form in the Pacific Ocean later this year, Australia’s…

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New breast cancer genes found in women of African ancestry, may improve risk assessment

May 14, 2024 admin

Twelve breast cancer genes identified in women of African ancestry in a large study published on Monday may one day help better predict their risk for the disease and highlights potential risk differences from women of European descent. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto Twelve breast cancer genes identified in women of African ancestry in a…

Science

For elephants, like people, greetings are a complicated affair

May 14, 2024 admin

The male savannah elephant Doma and the male savannah elephant Mainos engage in greeting behaviour at Jafuta Reserve in Zimbabwe, in this undated handout picture. | Photo Credit: Reuters People greet each other in a variety of ways. They might say “hello,” “guten tag,” “hola,” “konnichiwa” or “g’day.” They might shake hands, bump fists, make…

Science

For Udaipur’s Holi, Rajasthan’s semal trees are going up in flames

May 14, 2024 admin

On the eve of Holi in Udaipur, Subash Chowk, a prominent intersection surrounded by luxury hotels, is transformed. Bhajans and Bollywood songs blare from speakers and firecrackers fly into the sky. In the centre stands tall the Holika Dahan, a 50-foot-high tree sheathed in hay and set ablaze, sending tongues of flame leaping over a…

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This worm develops food habits and its offspring ‘inherit’ them

May 13, 2024 admin

Researchers fondly call the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans “the worm” because of its widespread use in research to understand neuronal and molecular biology. It was the first multicellular organism to have its full genome sequenced and neural wiring mapped. C. elegans grows within 3-5 days from a fertilised egg to a millimetre-long adult, and it has…

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New book throws light on the people who helped build India’s first rockets

May 12, 2024 admin

The front cover of Indian Rocketinte Shilpikal. Building a nation’s space programme from scratch is no mean feat. Once, in the early days of India’s own attempts in this direction, two of its scientists were asked to get ready to leave for Australia in one or two days. The idea was to make the most…

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Can heavy snowfall and rain contribute to some earthquakes?

May 11, 2024 admin

A recent study has found that episodes of heavy snowfall and rain likely contributed to a swarm of earthquakes over the past several years in northern Japan. This is the first time that climate conditions have been found to initiate some quakes. The seismic activity in the region was surprisingly found to synchronise with certain changes…

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30-year study links ultra-processed food to higher risk of early death

May 11, 2024 admin

Higher consumption of most ultra-processed foods is linked to a slightly higher risk of death, with ready-to-eat meat, poultry, and seafood based products, sugary drinks, dairy based desserts, and highly processed breakfast foods showing the strongest associations, finds a 30-year U.S. observational study. The results were published in the journal The BMJ. The researchers say not all…

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