NASA is preparing to launch its next flagship space observatory — one scientists plan to use to investigate some of the universe’s biggest mysteries, including dark energy and dark matter, while also testing gravity at vast scales and hunting for planets beyond our solar system. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is a roughly $4...
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August 29, 2026August 29, 2026Health, Science & Tech
Do mRNA tumour vaccines herald a new revolution in cancer treatment?
Not long ago, a diagnosis of advanced cancer left doctors with little more than symptom control and hope. Over the course of a few of decades, however, that picture changed dramatically. Chemotherapy delivered the first meaningful survival gains, though at a steep cost in side effects, a cost later softened by a new generation of...
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August 28, 2026August 28, 2026Environment, Science & Tech
Climate change is denuding Indian languages
There is a word in the Nicobarese language that translates into “a calm sea”. Tamra, today, is however only used by the islands’ elders and is at risk of fading away from their language forever. As seasons go awry, species go extinct, and livelihoods change, words and phrases in several Indian languages are at the precipice of...
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August 28, 2026August 28, 2026Science & Tech
Science Snapshots: August 30, 2026
Famous supergiant star Betelgeuse may not be alone Using the Very Large Telescope, astronomers have found strong evidence that Betelgeuse, the famous red supergiant star, has a close companion, now called Betelgeuse B. It seems to be a young star around 2.6-3.1-times as heavy as our sun. And it could explain why Betelgeuse’s brightness changes...
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August 27, 2026August 27, 2026Science & Tech
TikTok aids scientists to report an unknown subterranean fish in the Gangetic Basin
(This article forms a part of the Science for All newsletter that takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Subscribe now!) In 2024 a short video clip circulated on TikTok showed an unknown, tiny, colourless creature emerge from a borewell near the border between India and Nepal, beneath the Indo-Gangetic plain. Scientists...
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August 26, 2026August 26, 2026Environment, Science & Tech
Cyclone frequency may rise over Indian coast from the warming of Pacific: study
Tropical cyclones that originate near the Equator, while being devastating, have been unusually subdued in recent decades. The last major cyclone of this kind in the Indian neighbourhood was the 2017 Cyclone Okchi which devastated Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. However, a combination of global warming and a cyclical event called the Pacific Decadal...
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August 26, 2026August 26, 2026Science & Tech
Why India’s R&D system needs a map of where the money really goes
A recent report by NITI Aayog, about ‘Ease of Doing R&D in India’ revealed some uncomfortable truths about India’s R&D ecosystem. Together with a companion survey with inputs from more than 400 institutional leaders and 850 scientists, it reported that close to 80% of funding under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) — the flagship...
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August 25, 2026August 25, 2026Science & Tech
Escape velocity: On what India’s space sector must focus on
For much of the 20th century, a rocket tearing a white seam through the sky did for India roughly what football did for Argentina and Brazil. Nations shut out of the councils where economic and strategic weight was measured found, in a game of European origin, an arena where their poverty did not disqualify them....
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August 25, 2026August 25, 2026Science & Tech
Dung beetles prefer dog poop, but their children pay the price
Dung beetles are humble insects. They feed on the faeces of other mammals. In many species, a male dung beetle flies to a fresh pile of dung, shapes a piece of it into a ball, and quickly rolls it away from the pile so others don’t grab it. Reputedly, male dung beetles have rolled dung...
