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,...
Category: Science & Tech
Nepal floods: Engineers in a WhatsApp group are guiding tunnel rescue efforts
An army of experts in a WhatsApp group is guiding rescue workers scouring a Nepali valley after a massive flash flood more than a week ago, as they desperately search for anyone who may still be alive inside the tunnels of devastated hydropower plants. The messaging group was set up by engineers before the wall...
ISRO successfully launches Earth observation satellite EOS-05
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 satellite launched successfully
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...
ISRO’s GSLV-F17 carrying EOS-05 lifts off from Sriharikota
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...
Luna 2: touched by humans, touches the moon
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...
‘AstroRad’ vest offers astronauts lighter shield against solar storms
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...
Fixing the holes in the education system
Imagine a classroom where you are given the space to explore and understand concepts on your own with the guidance of a teacher and the internet. Imagine the amount of knowledge which will open up if this non-traditional education style is adopted. That is exactly what Professor Sugata Mitra, a computer scientist and educational theorist,...
A first step towards a universal vaccine against pneumonia, meningitis
There is a bacterium called Streptococcus pneumoniae. It comes in at least a hundred different forms, or serotypes, and lives in the tissue lining our nose and throat. S. pneumoniae is normally harmless. But when your body’s immune system becomes weaker, for example when you have a viral fever, these bacteria may invade your lungs...
CERN Chief in India: Why mega-science projects matter
The world needs more mega-science projects, said Director-General of CERN, Mark Thomson, during his visit to Mumbai on Monday (August 31, 2026) for the India premiere of ‘The Peace Particle’, a documentary on CERN. The documentary premiered at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. During the programme, Dr. Thomson also delivered an address titled ‘Particle...
