GUWAHATI Researchers across two continents may have given an iron-and-zinc boost for India’s Millets Mission, launched as a concept in 2007 and taken forward a decade later. Nutrition and health specialists in India and the U.S. conducted a nine-month study among toddlers in Mumbai’s urban slums. They found that iron- and zinc-fortified pearl millets fed...
Category: Science & Tech
What a water-wise city would look like – and how India can get there
Urban India’s water emergency will not be fixed by better crisis management alone. Over the coming decades, hundreds of millions more people will live and work in Indian cities, driving a sharp increase in the urban water demand. And unless we change how we design, finance, and govern water systems, we will simply scale up...
NASA astronauts Anil Menon, Jessica Meir undertake spacewalk to upgrade space station
NASA astronauts Anil Menon and Jessica Meir on Friday (August 6, 2026) concluded their spacewalk outside the International Space Station to assemble the modification kit for its power channel that would allow addition of solar arrays. The spacewalk – 281st in support of the space station – sixth for Ms. Meir and first for Mr....
Traditional diets shape unique gut microbes of Indian tribes
The gut microbiomes of eight tribal populations across India have a unique diversity shaped by their traditional diets, and are distinct from those observed in industrialised settings, researchers have reported in Gut Microbiomes. The effects of probiotics depend on a population’s diet and gut composition, and the study offers a baseline for India’s tribal communities....
Why Kerala is witnessing a decline in winter migratory birds
From the Arctic, northern Eurasia and wetlands of Central Asia, flocks of migratory birds undertake journeys spanning thousands of kilometres to reach Kerala’s coasts, wetlands and forests every year. Among them are Greater Sand Plover (Anarhynchus leschenaultii) and Tibetan Sand Plover (Anarhynchus atrifrons), which descend on sandy stretches of Vellanathuruthu in Kollam, and Northern Pintail...
U.S. FDA approves first mRNA flu shot from Moderna
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Moderna’s flu vaccine for people aged 50 and older, the company said on Wednesday (August 5, 2026), marking the first approval of a messenger RNA-based vaccine for seasonal flu. The shot, mFlusiva, was given a traditional approval for adults aged 50 to 64, and an accelerated approval...
What does the new research on Vitamin B12-based therapy for brain cancer reveal?
Despite decades of research, Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) still remains one of the deadliest types of brain cancers. While treatments including surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy exist and have improved over time, the outcomes for patients remain generally poor. One of the major obstacles to treatment lies in the brain’s natural protection – the blood-brain barrier (BBB)...
Space Wrap: Historic Vikram-1 launch puts Indian spaceflight back on track
Five minutes past noon on July 18, the launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota roared back to life after a gap of 187 days. The last launch from the space port was on January 12, 2026, involving the PSLV-C62 mission carrying the EOS-N1 earth observation satellite, which failed to complete its intended...
Quantum shift: On private industry and national research spending
The Department of Science and Technology’s latest figures on India’s research profile record a milestone. In 2023-24, private industry accounted for 51.8% of national research spending — a first in India’s history — overtaking all tiers of government combined for the first time. Moreover, industry now employs more core researchers than government institutions. Transport firms...
SpaceX rocket stage believed to have slammed into Moon
A four-tonne piece of a SpaceX rocket was believed to have unintentionally crashed into the Moon on Wednesday (August 5, 2026), a collision that posed no danger to Earth but is expected to leave behind a lunar crater. While there is not yet official confirmation that the Falcon 9 upper stage struck the lunar surface,...
