What is it? Travel is an amazing activity one can take up to explore beyond the horizons of their knowledge. However, there are two sides to everything, both good and…not so good. Jet lag is one of the major drawbacks when one travels past multiple time zones (five or more) by plane. It is a...
Category: Science & Tech
What are rare-earth elements and why is everyone looking for them? | Explained
Rare-earth elements are a set of metallic elements in the periodic table. Chemists usually refer to a group of 17 elements when they use this label: the 15 lanthanides from lanthanum to lutetium, and scandium and yttrium. In most classroom periodic tables, the lanthanides are shown as a separate row placed beneath the main periodic...
Twenty-first century solutions to snake bites
As India has progressed, the stereotyped image of the “land of snake charmers” has been left behind. We now have snake rescuers. However, in rural areas, snakebites still account for 58,000 deaths every year, affecting workers in paddy fields as much as subsistence farmers in dry landscapes. Snake venoms generally cause three types of damage:...
Just five DNA letters flip chromatin from fluid to solid-like state
DNA inside human cells is not free-floating. Instead, it is tightly wrapped around small protein units forming a long chain, with DNA looping around each unit before moving on to the next. This DNA-protein complex is called chromatin and allows nearly 2 m of genetic material to fit inside a nucleus only a few micrometres...
Africa study catches ‘high-flying’ mosquitoes spreading pathogens
Mosquitoes spread diseases such as malaria and dengue, and these diseases affect billions of people worldwide. Many public health plans assume that pathogens borne by mosquitoes spread over long distances when infected people or animals travel. But there’s another possible route: some mosquitoes regularly fly high above the ground and get carried by winds for...
Science quiz: Giants on whose shoulders Newton stood
Science quiz: Giants on whose shoulders Newton stood 1 / 5 | The work of X on falling bodies and the idea that an object in motion tends to stay in motion set the stage for Newton’s laws of motion. X is also known for trying mathematics to physical measurements in a new way. Newton...
Why do we get goosebumps?
A: Goosebumps, scientifically known as piloerection, occur when tiny muscles called arrector pili contract at the base of hair follicles. This pulls the hairs upright, creating the little harmless bumps on the skin. The response is controlled by the sympathetic nervous system, a branch of the autonomic nervous system that automatically regulates involuntary bodily reactions....
Did an ancient Vaigai flood contribute to Keezhadi’s abandonment?
Along the Vaigai river in southern Tamil Nadu, archaeologists have been excavating an old settlement at Keezhadi. They have already found brick walls, channels that look like drains or small canals, floors made of fine clay, and many pieces of pottery. These finds matter because Tamil poems from the Sangam period talk about busy towns...
Success of LVM-3 mission reinforces India’s growing role in global commercial launch market: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (December 24, 2025) congratulated Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for placing the heaviest satellite in orbit from India using the LVM3 rocket and strengthening the foundation for future missions such as the Gaganyaan. The Prime Minister also said that the success of the heavy-lift LVM3 rocket also reinforced India’s...
BlueBird Block-2 mission: ISRO launches LVM3-M6 rocket
The Indian Space Research Organisation launched the LVM3-M6 rocket with the BlueBird Block-2 mission spacecraft on Wednesday (December 24, 2025) from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota. The mission is being undertaken as part of the commercial agreement signed between NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL) and US-based AST SpaceMobile (AST and Science, LLC). NewSpace India...
