A: The null hypothesis is a cornerstone of scientific experiments. It is the hypothesis that an experiment tests. For example, if a hospital is testing a new drug, the null hypothesis will be that the drug has no effect. In this scenario, scientists are vulnerable to making two kinds of mistakes. One, the type I...
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October 13, 2026October 13, 2026Science & Tech
What are type I and type II errors?
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October 13, 2026October 13, 2026Science & Tech
Why are the whites of human eyes white?
A: The tough outer covering of the eyeball is called the sclera. In humans, the sclerae (in both eyes) are white. This allows someone standing a distance away to easily say which way a person is looking. Scientists are not sure why human sclerae are white. Chimpanzees may have white, brown or darker sclerae. Bonobos...
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October 13, 2026October 13, 2026Science & Tech
Top AI researchers demand action to prevent models going ‘rogue’
More than 200 artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity researchers have called for immediate action to prevent further cases of AI models going rogue and posing a risk to critical infrastructure. The letter signed by luminaries in the field including Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton and Turing Award winner Yoshua Bengio, called for models relating to cybersecurity...
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October 13, 2026October 13, 2026Environment, Science & Tech
India’s water plants are failing to catch elusive ‘forever chemicals’
Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemical compounds that contain multiple carbon-fluorine bonds. PFAS materials are used in coatings, textiles, and several industrial products. They are also notorious for resisting degradation and can contaminate the environment for a very long time. Many studies from different parts of India have already found PFAS in water sources. Conventional...
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October 13, 2026October 13, 2026Science & Tech
IISc study says strong magnetic fields could allow white dwarfs to grow beyond the Chandrasekhar limit
Simulations by researchers of Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and their collaborators show that strong internal magnetic fields could allow some white dwarfs to grow to substantially higher masses than determined by the Chandrasekhar limit. When a dying star runs out of fuel and sheds its outer layers, its remaining core can become an approximately...
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October 12, 2026October 12, 2026Education, Science & Tech
Indian researcher recalls lifechanging mentorship of late Nobel laureate Ada Yonath
In science, some discoveries change the way we understand life. Others change the lives of the people who make them. For Tanaya Bose, her years in the laboratory of late Nobel laureate Ada Yonath were marked by both. Yonath passed away on August 31, 2026 at 87. (Sign up for THEdge, The Hindu’s weekly education newsletter.) Yonath,...
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October 12, 2026October 12, 2026Science & Tech
IISER researchers make solid material that releases two fuel gases
Scientists at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram, have developed a chemical compound that releases hydrogen and methane when heated moderately. Per the team, the work is a step towards new, better methods to store and transport these fuel gases. The findings were published in Science Advances on October 7. Both in...
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October 12, 2026October 12, 2026Science & Tech
World’s top climate body deadlocked over inclusivity concerns
The decision was expected to take minutes. But after nearly three years of debate, members of the world’s leading authority on climate change still can’t agree on a timeline to publish its next review of the latest science on the warming planet. Such assessments from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have informed every...
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October 12, 2026October 12, 2026Science & Tech
Why science’s contract with society needs citizens as research partners
For hundreds of years, science has operated with a social contract: science develops knowledge that improves the human condition and expands the range of what is possible while society provides public funds, infrastructure, and institutional support. Sustained investments in research have paid dividends to society, in the form of inventions and discoveries, new technologies, and...
