Dr Harsh K Gupta remembers the sequence of events that led to the establishment of Dakshin Gangotri, India’s first permanent research station in Antarctica, as if it happened yesterday. A year after he had moved to Thiruvananthapuram as director of the Centre for Earth Science Studies in 1982, a call for proposals to carry out scientific work in Antarctica was issued, says the renowned earth scientist and seismologist, who led India’s Third Antarctic Expedition between 1983-84 and successfully established Dakshin Gangotri there.

“I am basically a geophysicist, and my expertise is in earthquake seismology. So, I put up a proposal to set up five stations in Antarctica,” says the Hyderabad-based Harsh, a fellow of the International Science Council (ISC), the President of the Geological Society of India and also a member of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board of India.

He was soon called to make a presentation of his proposal at the Department of Ocean Development (DOD), New Delhi, which, according to him, “everyone liked very much.” However, his proposal was not selected.

Instead, Sayed Zahoor Qasim, the marine biologist who had led India’s very first expedition to Antarctica back in 1981, told him that India was planning to set up a permanent base there and asked him if he was willing to lead the expedition. “My question was why me,” recollects Harsh, on a Zoom call.

In response, he was told he was exactly the sort of person they were looking for to lead the next expedition to Antarctica and also set up a permanent research station there: he was the director of a full-fledged laboratory at only 40 years of age, had an extensive body of work in the Himalayas with an impressive publication record, and was also a good athlete.

Harsh was thrilled with the offer and said yes right away. Soon after, he met with the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. “She was delighted to see that a young man would be the leader of the expedition,” says the Padma Shri awardee, in whose honour South Sudan named its first seismological centre this July.

Harsh and his team left India on December 3, 1983 on the Finnpolaris
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

The task ahead, however, was daunting. India’s Antarctic Programme was only two years old by then, and “no country had, till then, set up a permanent base in Antarctica and populated it in one Antarctic summer, barely two months”, says Harsh, who was excited about the challenge, even though he knew that the odds of success were slim, only 10-15 %.

On December 3, 1983, Harsh and his team set out from Goa aboard the Finnpolaris, a Finnish ice-class cargo ship capable of breaking ice. “Eighty-one families (of the people onboard) were there to bid farewell to us,” he says, adding that once they commenced sea passage, he began brainstorming on how to construct the station in around 30 days, “since out of those 60 days of an Antarctic summer, many would be lost in whiteouts and blizzards.”

Harsh remembers some of the events that took place on that journey: the setting up of a hospital on the ship, which would prove to be exceptionally fortuitous; stopping at Mauritius to pick up material and encountering the rough sea at approximately 40º S latitude (called the “Roaring Forties”), where “almost everyone fell seasick, except Harsh Gupta, because there is something biologically wrong with me,” he quips.

The team got into an accident a few days after arrival
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Special Arrangement

They reached Antarctica in 20-odd days, on December 24 to be precise, and began their construction. Disaster, however, struck on December 29, when one of their Mi-8 helicopters, which was being used to unload the ship, crashed, requiring its occupants to be hospitalised immediately.

Even the Prime Minister called him to check on the situation. “She asked me if I could still do it,” says Harsh, who told her that if he did not do it, he would not return. “There was a long, deafening pause of 40-50 seconds, and she then told me to go ahead.”

And go ahead they did, successfully building a 620-square-meter station complete with living quarters for 12, kitchen, washrooms, gymnasium, water-melt tank, laboratories, generator room housing three generators, and communication facilities by February 25, 1984. This construction, India’s first permanent base there, would go on to shape the future of the country’s Antarctic programme.

In the following few decades, India sent over 40 expeditions to the continent, established two more research stations, and created the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) in Goa.

“Over the years, India has done very well in Antarctica, coming up with many firsts. For instance, we have identified more than half the microbes in Antarctica, “ says Harsh, pointing out that India’s Antarctic programme has impacted our weather forecasting to a large extent, illustrating the importance of this research for our country.

The icy continent is crucial to India, Harsh explains, because 180 million years ago, the supercontinent of Gondwanaland, which includes present-day South America, Africa, Australia, Antarctica, India, Madagascar, and Arabia, began splintering.

“India moved northward and then, about 60 million years ago, collided with Eurasia, giving rise to the Himalayan mountains,” explains Harsh. Between Antarctica and India, he adds, there is mostly only ocean, except for a few small island countries like Mauritius. “Antarctica completely controls the weather of the Indian Ocean, and the Indian Ocean controls the weather of the Indian subcontinent,” says this self-described accidental scientist, who was born in Moradabad and moved to Mussoorie as a child.

Dr Harsh K Gupta 
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

“The last thing I ever thought I would be was a scientist,” says Harsh, who studied at Saint George’s College in Mussoorie, an all-boys school where “everyone tried to become an army or naval officer. I, too, went through that drill.”

He recalls walking to and from school, around five kilometres away; the hours spent in NCC training, boxing, hockey, and swimming; and a strict routine that involved going to sleep by 8 pm and waking up at 4 am each day to study before school. “All that toughened me up.” .

While Harsh qualified for the National Defence Academy, his brother-in-law, himself an army officer, discouraged him from joining the armed forces, he says. So, Harsh chose to follow his older brother and study engineering.

His brother had completed a BE in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, and was working for Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC).

“He had joined ONGC and was sent for advanced training to the US; there, he realised that geophysics is a very important area of research and encouraged me to give it as my first choice when I wrote the entrance at the Indian School of Mines (now Indian Institute of Technology, Dhanbad),” says Harsh. He cleared the exam and joined the institute, which he now thinks was “one of the best things that ever happened to me.”

Antarctica completely controls the weather of the Indian Ocean, and the Indian Ocean controls the weather of the Indian subcontinent
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

There was no looking back from there. He went on to work at the Central Seismological Observatory (CSO) at Shillong, where, “once I started looking at the records of the earthquakes, I got glued to them,” says Harsh. He is the author of several research papers, popular articles and over 20 books, including a two-volume Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics, published by Springer, which he compiled and edited.

“Each one is around 1,000 pages, and the best part is that there hasn’t been a single fault found in it so far,” says Harsh, who has developed several earthquake models, made successful earthquake forecasts, and was also instrumental in establishing India’s Tsunami Early Warning System after the 2004 Sumatra earthquake.

Though in his early 80s, he shows no sign of slowing down. “This work is my hobby, and I am very relaxed while I do it. If someone can play the sitar until the age of 95, I can do the same,” says Harsh, who is currently working on developing a framework for how societies can become earthquake-resilient, which he says requires education and awareness as well as a construction paradigm that needs to be thoughtfully created. “If I tell someone on the coming Sunday, at noon, there will be a seven-magnitude earthquake in Delhi, is it possible for everyone to run away?” he asks rhetorically. “So we have to learn to live with earthquakes, and that is my focus today.”

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Noise-cancelling headphones have become increasingly popular, particularly among younger generations, for their ability to block out ambient noise and enhance the listening experience. Long-haul flights, public transportation, and open-plan offices all use over-ear headphones; concertgoers, bartenders all appear wearing coloured earplugs. Everyone seems to wear headphones as a required item for public spaces, whether they are celebrities or regular folks.

As a result, the market for noise-cancelling headphones is worth billions of dollars worldwide and is expected to continue growing. However, would it damage our eardrums, or is it merely an accessory for our comfort and crystal-clear sound? Well, researchers and scientists think it will have a detrimental effect.

A report by the BBC suggests that noise-cancelling headphones are playing a major part in young people’s hearing problems.

As per the report, Sophie, a 25-year-old administration assistant from London, met a private audiologist for ear testing. She was eventually diagnosed with auditory processing disorder (APD), a neurological condition where the brain finds it difficult to understand sounds and spoken words.

The cause of Sophie’s APD diagnosis is unknown, but her audiologist believes the overuse of noise-cancelling headphones, which Sophie wears for up to five hours a day, could have a part to play.

Other audiologists agree, saying more research is needed into the potential effects of their prolonged use.

It is now common to see people walking outside wearing their noise-cancelling headphones and watching videos online with subtitles, despite perfectly hearing the sound. One YouGov survey showed that 61% of 18-24-year-olds prefer to watch TV with the subtitles on.

Dr Angela Alexander, audiologist and owner of APD Support, a private organisation, is among the audiologists calling for more research into the impact of noise-cancelling headphones on auditory processing, particularly in children.

“What does the future look like if we don’t investigate this link? There are a lot of well-meaning parents and teachers who think the answer to children having problems with noise is to wear earplugs or have noise-cancelling headphones on,” she told BBC.

Dr Amjad Mahmood, the head of audiology at Great Ormond Street Hospital, supported the call for more research.

He said there had been a “significant increase in demand” for assessments at the hospital’s large APD clinic for under-16s. “especially with difficulties noticed at school”.

A new study has found that the X chromosome passed down to the child from the mother might be responsible for accelerated brain ageing, potentially increasing the risk of conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. Only females have two X chromosomes (XX) while males have one X and one Y (XY). Given the natural order, the X chromosome carries a significant amount of genetic material, and any mutation or variation here can have profound effects, especially as one X chromosome in females is randomly inactivated in each cell.

Though women tend to live longer than men and have lower rates of dementia, one exception is Alzheimer’s disease which affects them at higher rates. Even then, some studies suggest that females survive longer with Alzheimer’s than males do. The researchers set out to find the reason and believed that the sex chromosomes, X and Y, could help explain the differences.

“Skewing of the X chromosome is common among humans, and there are certainly women who are walking around with much higher or lower levels of maternal X chromosomes than others, just by chance,” said Dena Dubal, senior author of the paper.

“There has been little research on the potential consequences of this,” she added.

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‘The experiment’

To further explore the idea, the researchers experimented with female lab mice of different ages. In some cases, the paternal X chromosomes were silenced, leaving only the mother’s X active. These mice were compared with others that had a mix of maternal and paternal X’s switched on.

As per the findings, the young “Mom-X” mice were cognitively similar to young mice but the older ones showed steep cognitive decline. In the brains of these mice, the maternal X chromosome sped up biological ageing in the hippocampus – a brain area crucial for learning and memory.

“These findings raise the possibility that some women who express more of their mom’s X chromosome just by pure chance may have more cognitive impairment with aging or an increased risk for diseases like Alzheimer’s,” said Ms Dubal.

“Ultimately, it could also help us find constructive strategies for slowing brain aging in both sexes.”

Though the research was conducted on mice, the findings, if they translate to humans, could point to drivers of cognitive decline related to a particular sex and, eventually, help us fund ways to prevent or treat them.

At least 350 elephants died under mysterious circumstances in Botswana in 2020, sparking global concerns while leaving scientists puzzled about the reason for the mortalities. Four years later, a study conducted at King’s College London may have finally unearthed the answer. As per the research, a “toxic brew” of open water tainted by a species of cyanobacteria that releases cyanotoxins, which contaminated the watering holes in the region, led to mass elephant deaths.

Combining satellite data and spatial analysis the study revealed that as many as 20 watering holes in the Okavango Delta had been contaminated across roughly 6,000 sq km. After drinking, elephants were estimated to have walked an average of 16.5 km from the toxic waterholes and died within about 88 hours of exposure.

“Our results highlight that seasonal, predominantly rain-fed pans, rather than the permanent waterbodies (i.e., lakes, rivers, and lagoons) within the Panhandle, were the likely source of cyanotoxin exposure,” said Davide Lomeo, the lead scientist of the study.

Notably, the dead elephants were of varying ages, with tusks intact which led to scientists ruling out death by poaching. Additionally, no carcasses of other wildlife or livestock species were observed at the time of one of the aerial surveys.

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What promoted algae growth?

Not all cyanobacteria or blue-green algae is toxic but some cyanobacteria produce a type of deadly algal blooms (HABs) in standing water. As per the study, the shift from a dry 2019 (the driest year in decades in the region) to an extremely wet 2020, may have prompted the unprecedented algal growth due to the resuspension of significant amounts of sediments and nutrients from the ground.

“Scientists believe that the production of cyanotoxins is related to certain environmental triggers, for example, sudden rise in water temperature, nutrient loading, salinity,” said Mr Lomeo.

Scientists have warned that such incidents may become frequent in the future owing to climate change.

“Southern Africa is projected to become drier and hotter under climate changes, and as a result, waterholes across this region will likely be drier for more months of the year. Our findings point to the potential negative effects on water quantity and quality, and the catastrophic repercussions on animals, this could have.

The study underscores the severe ecological consequences of toxic algal accumulation while emphasising the critical need for water quality surveillance across water bodies, including the smallest ones.

Orcas, better known as killer whales, have been spotted hunting whale sharks, the world’s largest shark species, that can grow up to 40 feet — which has surprised the scientists. The orca pod, using a novel and cunning technique, was found hunting and killing the whale sharks in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico. Though anecdotal evidence did exist before that orcas were capable of killing whale sharks, this is the first time that marine scientists have documented evidence that details their super ‘apex predator’ behaviour.

While it may seem that whale sharks and orcas battling it out would be one titanic battle, the reality is not as grand. According to the study published in the journal, Frontiers in Marine Science, the orcas gather at feeding sites in the Gulf of California where whale sharks are not fully grown. The young whale sharks measure three to seven metres which allows the killer whales to dominate them.

Additionally, whale sharks have tiny teeth that they do not use for any defence mechanism. Their only defence is flailing or diving down, deep into the waters, nearly 2,000 metres.

“The animals have shown us over and over again that they are extremely good at developing highly specialized strategies to target specific prey,” Volker Deecke, a professor of wildlife conservation at the University of Cumbria in the UK.

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How do orcas hunt whale sharks?

After collating and analysing media footage collected between 2018 and 2024, orcas displayed a collaborative hunting technique to kill whale sharks. They focused on attacking the pelvic area and bleeding out the whale sharks by hitting them at high speed.

The orcas then flip the victim so it is floating up and unable to dive down to escape. After the whale sharks have bled out, killer whales rip their internal organs out and consume the lipid-rich liver.

An individual adult male, nicknamed “Moctezuma” was involved in three of the four hunting events while a female orca was observed and seen participating in one event.

Ocras and their feeding habits

Contrary to popular knowledge, orcas are the largest of the dolphins, immediately recognisable by their unique black-and-white complexion. They sit atop the food chain and have a diverse diet – often consisting of fish, penguins and sea lions.

Their behaviour resembles that of a wolf pack as a deadly pod can contain up to 40 individuals. They all use effective, cooperative hunting techniques which makes them one of the deadliest creatures in the water kingdom.