Category: Science & Tech

Developments in number theory in the last two weeks illustrate how artificial intelligence is helping advance the frontiers of mathematics, but also raising questions about what mathematics means vis-à-vis humans. The first development is about the Riemann zeta function, a mathematical idea connected to the distribution of prime numbers. The prime numbers, 2, 3, 5,...

Dark matter, the unseen substance that makes up most of the universe’s matter, could play a more dramatic role than previously thought. A new study suggests that heavy dark matter particles trapped inside a dense star could accumulate at its core, collapse into a tiny black hole roughly the mass of a loaded semi-truck and...

A team of Indian researchers has produced the first comprehensive molecular and functional profile of the venom gland of Stegodyphus sarasinorum, a colonial spider species found across the Indian subcontinent, to identify numerous proteins and small molecules that could serve as promising leads for future drug discovery. Published in Springer Nature’s peer-reviewed, open-access journal Scientific Reports,...

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which has had a quiet year so far, is back to winning ways with the successful launch of the state-of-the-art Earth observation spacecraft, EOS-05. The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) on its 19th flight placed the EOS-05 into the intended Sub-Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit 18 minutes after it lifted off...

ISRO’s advanced Earth observation spacecraft, India’s first-ever imaging satellite in geo-orbit, was successfully launched from the spaceport here on Friday (September 4, 2026) by a GSLV rocket. The EOS-05 satellite was successfully placed in the intended sub-geosynchronous transfer orbit, about 18 minutes after it lifted off from the spaceport here, ISRO announced. “The eye in...

A GSLV rocket, carrying ISRO’s Earth observation satellite EOS-05, lifted off from the spaceport in a pre-dawn mission on Friday (September 4, 2026). The 51.7 metre tall GSLV-F17 blasted off from the second launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, about 135 km from Chennai, at a prefixed time of 2.55 am, lighting up the...

Picture this. You are standing on a rotating sphere that is revolving around another bigger sphere. You are then required to shoot an arrow at another smaller sphere, which is revolving around the sphere on which you are standing and is also rotating at its own pace. Given that both your platform and your target...

Despite their best efforts to settle the moon and later Mars, humans may never become a spacefaring species, more than a few experts have said over the years. An important reason for this view is radiation. The earth has a magnetic field that keeps harmful radiation at bay, but astronauts who fly beyond this field...