A striking, electric-blue spider from the Eastern Ghats has spun its way into public conversation after Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan shared a post on Instagram, calling the Peacock Tarantula “a rare jewel of the Eastern Ghats… finally getting the attention it deserves.” The species in focus, Peacock Tarantula (Poecilotheria metallica), is among...
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April 30, 2026April 30, 2026Environment, Science & Tech
What it takes to move heat action plans from advisories to mandates
Large commercial complexes, textile shops, and jewellery showrooms blast cold air onto the high street in T. Nagar, Chennai, where the average summer temperature is over 35 °C. Shoppers dart from one air-conditioned building to another. But these ACs also cause an urban heat-island effect, making it one of the top 20 most vulnerable spots...
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April 30, 2026April 30, 2026Science & Tech
Science Quiz on explorers who undertook ‘impossible’ expeditions
Name this Norwegian adventurer, who set out on April 28, 1947, on the infamous Kon-Tiki expedition, since considered to be racially motivated, to the Polynesian islands. Published – April 30, 2026 05:05 pm IST Read Comments Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit
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April 29, 2026April 29, 2026Science & Tech
A short video helps science reporting, but not India’s newsroom realities
Lara Marie Berger, Anna Kerkhof, and Nikola Noske, ‘Improving science literacy in the newsroom: Experimental evidence’, PNAS Nexus Science journalism is an endlessly fascinating enterprise. Being good at it doesn’t take more than being a ‘decent’ writer (as they say), a good journalist, and navigating science and science communication with a good journalist’s sensibilities. That...
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April 29, 2026April 29, 2026Science & Tech
How decentralising therapy can help bridge India’s treatment gap
India continues to face a large mental health treatment gap, with nearly 85% of individuals with common mental disorders receiving no formal care. However, over the past decade, access to antidepressant medication, especially drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), has improved, marking an important shift toward making treatment more available. This expansion is important...
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April 29, 2026April 29, 2026Science & Tech
The ingredients of India’s biopharma ambitions
The COVID-19 pandemic was a watershed moment for our country. While the pharmaceutical sector was robust, it lacked the capacity to produce specialised molecular components at scale. At the start of 2020, nearly all of the 20-plus reagents and enzymes required for making the vaccine kits were imported. Supplies were also vulnerable as the countries...
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April 29, 2026April 29, 2026Science & Tech
Why does a loud vehicle passing nearby make the heart pound?
The pounding is a neurological reflex as well as due to a physical effect. When we are startled by a sound, the reflex can be activated within 150 ms, which is faster than acting due to conscious thought. This is because the sound travels from the cochlea through the brainstem to the amygdala, which treats...
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April 29, 2026April 29, 2026Science & Tech
NASA’s Artemis II moonship returns home to its launch site after historic voyage
The spacecraft that flew four astronauts around the moon is back where its record-breaking journey began. NASA’s Artemis II capsule returned to Florida’s Kennedy Space Centre on Tuesday (April 28, 2026), almost a month after blasting off on humanity’s first lunar trip in more than a half-century.
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April 28, 2026April 28, 2026Health, Science & Tech
Nano urea and public health: why India must proceed with caution
India’s agricultural transformation has long been driven by technological shifts—from the Green Revolution’s high-yielding varieties to the widespread use of synthetic fertilisers. Today, nano urea is being positioned as the next leap: a precision input that promises higher efficiency, lower environmental damage, and reduced dependence on conventional fertilisers. Backed by policy support and fast-tracked approvals,...
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April 28, 2026April 28, 2026Science & Tech
Why science and scientists must learn to celebrate their failures
Failure is part and parcel of research but many scientists consider discussing it in a scientific forum to be taboo. Laboratories are littered with unfinished experiments and inconclusive facts and theories that failed to stand the test of study. However, when science is being communicated — whether to funding bodies, professional journals or audiences —...
