Dams make rivers warmer downstream: satellite data Satellite data from 2013 to 2024 revealed that 71% of 287 large dams across the U.S. significantly altered water temperature downstream. In most cases, the water became warmer and — notably — maintained that temperature for at least 20 km downstream. The most extreme shifts occurred at dams...
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July 12, 2026July 12, 2026Science & Tech
U.S. regulator green-lights mission to launch giant mirror to orbit
On July 9, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorised a company named Reflect Orbital to launch and operate a test satellite designed to deploy a large mirror in orbit around the earth, despite the controversy and debate surrounding its aims. Eärendil-1 — named for a character in the Tolkien fantasy epic The Silmarillion —...
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July 12, 2026July 12, 2026Science & Tech
Fading research hubs are stalling Kerala’s leap into the bio-economy
Kerala has long taken pride in its literacy, scientific temper, and environmental consciousness. Home to the biodiverse Western Ghats and centuries of traditional knowledge, it should have emerged as India’s leading hub for biological research and the bioeconomy. But instead, many of its premier biological research institutions are today on the decline. The reasons are...
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July 11, 2026July 11, 2026Science & Tech
From Madurai to Mars: Student’s bacteria-powered energy project chosen by NASA
What is there in deep space? Wondered Akilesh Chandrasekaran when he was in his fifth standard? Now, a Class XII student, Akilesh Chandrasekaran of Sivakasi Nadar Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Madurai, has proved through a Martian regolith analogue that cultured bacteria can generate electricity on Mars. This project of his was selected for the...
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July 10, 2026July 10, 2026Science & Tech
China’s temporary export ban on helium| Explained
The story so far: On July 10, the Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs, China, has temporarily but immediately banned helium exports from the country. As of 4.30 pm IST on July 10, Beijing had not published any other information as to why it took this step now or its scope. Is China a...
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July 10, 2026July 10, 2026Science & Tech
Science should reach society with integrity and transparency: Soumya Swaminathan
The challenge before scientists and researchers is to ensure that science reaches society with “integrity, transparency and compassion”, said Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chairperson of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF). She was virtually delivering the convocation address at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, on Friday (July 10, 2026). “The challenge before us is...
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July 10, 2026July 10, 2026Science & Tech
China successfully tests sea-based rocket booster recovery system, says state media
China on Friday (July 10, 2026) successfully tested an experimental rocket retrieval system using a net attached to a sea platform, state media reported, in the hopes of breaking U.S. dominance in reusable rockets. The Long March 10B rocket lifted off from the Hainan commercial space launch site in southern China and, about six minutes...
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July 10, 2026July 10, 2026Science & Tech
What a dolphin’s death in Kerala reveals about India’s marine plastic pollution
Around noon on July 4, 2026, local residents found an Indian Ocean humpback dolphin (Sousa plumbea) and an Indo-Pacific finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) dead at separate locations on the Kozhikode beach in Kerala. Alerted by the public, officials recovered the carcasses for a post-mortem examination. The necropsy of the roughly 200-kg dolphin, an endangered species...
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July 9, 2026July 9, 2026Science & Tech
Science quiz: The more things change, the more they stay the same
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July 9, 2026July 9, 2026Environment, Science & Tech
Deadly bird virus PaBV-4 identified for first time in India
A team of scientists has, for the first time in India, identified and genetically characterised a virus that often causes rapid death in captive psittacine birds, raising concerns about the health of exotic pets and conservation of threatened parrot species. Psittacine, which means relating to or resembling a parrot, describes the bird family Psittacidae and...
