— Jesica Sandhu, New Delhi A: Not everyone senses a bitter aftertaste after eating sweet foods but some do. There are a few reasons. First, sweet foods activate your sweet taste receptors but not your bitter taste receptors. But once the sweet food has passed, the sweetness receptors become less responsive for a short amount...
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August 4, 2026August 4, 2026Science & Tech
To live better, never stop learning
It is estimated that in India on an average day, about 19,500 people celebrate their 60th birthday. The size of India’s population aged 60 and above is expected to surpass the population aged 0-14 years by 2046. Accompanying this ‘silver tsunami’ is the dizzying pace of new technologies, which go from being useful to becoming...
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August 4, 2026August 4, 2026Science & Tech
Hold tight! How two hurricanes forced a lizard to change its grip
Picture a lizard the length of your finger clinging to a tree branch. The cause of its desperation is a 265 km/hr wind tearing through the air, threatening to peel it off like a loose sticker. Just this happened twice in two weeks to a population of small brown anoles in the Turks and Caicos...
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August 4, 2026August 4, 2026Science & Tech
As SpaceX rocket stage is about to hit moon, astronomers prepare
Astronomers are closely monitoring a SpaceX rocket stage that is on the way to striking the moon. This Falcon 9 rocket had launched two satellites towards the moon in January 2025. Then SpaceX abandoned the rocket’s spent upper stage in an unstable orbit as it lacked enough fuel to return to the earth or head...
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August 4, 2026August 4, 2026Science & Tech
Astronomers prepare as SpaceX rocket stage nears moon strike
Astronomers are closely monitoring a SpaceX rocket stage that is on the way to striking the moon. This Falcon 9 rocket had launched two satellites towards the moon in January 2025. Then SpaceX abandoned the rocket’s spent upper stage in an unstable orbit as it lacked enough fuel to return to the earth or head...
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August 3, 2026August 3, 2026Health, Science & Tech
Why you get better care when you stop nodding and start asking why
Priya walks into an orthopedician’s clinic with knee pain that she says she has had for three months. The doctor spends eight minutes with her, orders an MRI, and asks her to come back with the images. MRI shows signs of early osteoarthritis. The doctor lists three options: injections, physiotherapy or wait and watch. Priya...
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August 3, 2026August 3, 2026Science & Tech
Why lab-grown diamonds are a sustainable alternative to mined stones
For centuries, diamonds have been regarded as symbols of eternal love, characterised by their rarity, scintillation and lustre. But behind the glamour of these stones lies a cold, hard truth: an industry plagued by forced labour, civil violence, and pollution. Some of the world’s largest diamond mines, such as the Argyle mine in Australia and...
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August 3, 2026August 3, 2026Environment, Science & Tech
‘Water bombers’ take to skies as Greece battles wildfires
Water-bombing aircraft resumed firefighting operations in Greece on Monday after winds eased, joining hundreds of firefighters battling multiple blazes that have already claimed five lives. Greece, which had largely avoided major blazes at the start of the summer unlike France and Spain, is now grappling with a second consecutive week of wildfires that have scorched...
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August 3, 2026August 3, 2026Science & Tech
Science Snapshots: August 2, 2026
Study ‘proves’ colonists brought smallpox to South America Scientists have found direct molecular evidence that European colonisers brought smallpox to South America after recovering the first ancient smallpox genomes from the Americas, in the remains of individuals in Chile. The strains belonged to a now-extinct lineage that branched from European strains around 1296. Analysing the...
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August 3, 2026August 3, 2026Science & Tech
Science must become priority of space missions, we need more money for it: ISRO chief Somanath
S. Somanath, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), told The Hindu that scientific missions ought to be more important in the future. Excerpts: The LVM3 launch vehicle successfully placed 36 satellites of the privately owned OneWeb consortium. However, you have recently indicated that the Chandrayaan-3 mission (to place a rover on the moon)...
