The BRICS Heads of Space Agencies (HOSA) 2026 meet is being hosted in Bengaluru. India, as Chair of BRICS for 2026, is hosting HOSA on June 23 and 24. Heads and senior representatives of the space agencies of the 11 BRICS member countries — Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South...
Category: Science & Tech
Home
Science & Tech
Post
June 23, 2026June 23, 2026Science & Tech
An industrial risk the Qatar blast shares with accidents in India | Explained
The story so far: An explosion at the Barzan gas facility in Ras Laffan, Qatar, claimed the lives of 12 Indian workers and one Pakistani worker on June 21. While local authorities have just begun their investigation, QatarEnergy, the country’s national energy company that maintains the gas facility, said the blast occurred when workers were...
Post
June 23, 2026June 23, 2026Science & Tech
A Trojan horse has breached the IITs
For a few decades now, a project called the ‘Indian Knowledge System’ (IKS) has sought to integrate traditional Indian wisdom into modern educational curricula. There is a legitimate quest to reclaim India’s indigenous intellectual history and to elevate an informal cultural aspiration into a part of education — but the IKS of today is not...
Post
June 22, 2026June 22, 2026Science & Tech
Laser strums atoms trillions of times in search for better computers
The world is constantly looking for faster and more efficient computers. Since the technologies of today have nearly maximised the use of electric currents for this purpose, scientists are looking beyond. One critical area that may fit our needs is called strain engineering: it uses mechanical pressure at the atomic level to alter a material’s...
Post
June 22, 2026June 22, 2026Science & Tech
The world is moving on from paying publishers — India should too
A number of activities are underway in the global scholarly publishing policy space. Within a span of 18 months, from late 2024 to mid-2026: the United States has placed the economics of academic publishing under Congressional scrutiny, Australia has mandated immediate open access to all publicly funded peer reviewed research, Europe has launched a publicly...
Post
June 21, 2026June 21, 2026Health, Science & Tech
Hypermetabolism linked to early-life adversity can be harmful in long term: Study
Mitochondria, responsible for producing energy in a cell, may have an increased respiratory capacity in adults who experienced adversities in early childhood but the ‘hypermetabolism’ can be harmful in the long term, according to a study. Findings published in the journal Biological Psychiatry suggest that while mitochondria might be better able to respond to cellular...
Post
June 21, 2026June 21, 2026Science & Tech
Capturing sunlight in a bottle and using it when needed
Thanks to the initiatives of UNESCO and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), most countries across the world have adopted ‘green’ solutions that reduce environmental carbon dioxide. The use of solar panels to capture sunlight and turn it into electricity has been a particularly successful strategy. Many countries across the world have...
Post
June 21, 2026June 21, 2026Environment, Science & Tech
Say hello to Libex, a bold new coffee hybrid built to beat the heat
While the world’s coffee drinkers favour Arabica or Robusta, a newly identified hybrid called Coffea x libex (the X denotes its hybrid status) — or just Libex — could be their brew of choice in future. The world drinks roughly 17,000 tonnes of Arabica and 10,000 tonnes of Robusta beans (pre-roasting) every day. Together, they...
Post
June 21, 2026June 21, 2026Environment, Science & Tech
Why France has banned alcohol in places with high heat
In response to a new heatwave alert across Europe, France has partially banned the consumption of alcohol. Why? The restriction is a public health measure as part of reducing heat-related illnesses. Alcohol affects the body in many ways that become more dangerous if the person is also exposed to extreme heat. It causes the body...
Post
June 21, 2026June 21, 2026Environment, Science & Tech
Biochar offers a way to turn India’s farm smoke into ‘black gold’
India’s agriculture faces a serious paradox: a large amount of biomass that could improve soil health is instead being burned. This threatens soil health and food security. Punjab and Haryana burn more than 20 million tonnes of paddy straw in their open fields every year. This is due to the short post-harvest periods and a...
