At least 2,700 people could have died in England and Wales as a result of heatwaves that struck in May and June, according to a study released on Monday (July 13, 2026). Experts from Imperial College London, the Met Office and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine used weather data, climate models and...
Category: Science & Tech
Home
Science & Tech
Post
July 13, 2026July 13, 2026Science & Tech
Lack of trees causing heat waves, other climate-induced events in Karnataka rain monsoon
Environmentalist and president of Bidar Parisara Vani, Shailendra Kavadi, has called for large-scale tree plantation in Kalaburagi district in Karnataka to mitigate rising temperatures and safeguard biodiversity, warning that climate change is already leaving a visible imprint on the region. Addressing an environmental awareness and Van Mahotsava (forest festival) valedictory programme at the Karnataka Public...
Post
July 13, 2026July 13, 2026Science & Tech
Interview | Shubhanshu Shukla on his new book, ‘The Second Orbit’
From the moment he was announced as one of the four astronaut-candidates for India’s maiden human spaceflight programme Gaganyaan, Air Force test pilot Shubhanshu Shukla has been a prolific science communicator. His social media feed is full of amusing yet enlightening quips, videos, and posts about what going to space has been like for him. In his...
Post
July 13, 2026July 13, 2026Science & Tech
Material filters tritium from nuclear wastewater at record speed
In 2023, Japan began a decades-long and controversial process — it began releasing treated wastewater from the ruined Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean. The water had been filtered to remove most heavy radioactive elements, yet one particular contaminant remained: tritium. Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. When it bonds with oxygen,...
Post
July 13, 2026July 13, 2026Science & Tech
Why engineering evolution is a high-stakes race between cure and chaos
A single mosquito carrying malaria parasites can infect dozens of people. A single gene in that mosquito can spread slowly through its population. Gene drives aim to bend this inheritance in our favour by ensuring that a particular genetic change passes to far more than half of the offspring, helping reduce the disease burden. Whether...
Post
July 12, 2026July 12, 2026Science & Tech
ISRO successfully carries out tests of Gaganyaan crew module systems
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday (July 12, 2026) said it had successfully carried out three major tests of the Gaganyaan crew module systems. The first test pertained to ensuring an upright position for the crew module after splashdown in the sea, considered one of the most important crew safety requirements. To do...
Post
July 12, 2026July 12, 2026Science & Tech
Science Snapshots: July 12, 2026
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...
Post
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 —...
Post
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...
Post
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...
