Many people have reported moments when the sense of being a distinct self ‘loosens’. Among astronauts, it is called the overview effect while deep-sea explorers report a similar shift sometimes called the underview effect. Both involve sudden changes in perspective in which the usual boundary of ‘me’ briefly softens, as if the vastness they encounter...
Tag: Science
Dwarka Basin: an ancient haven
In February, researchers from IIT-Bombay, the Indian Statistical Institute, and IISER-Kolkata reported that fossil beds in the Dwarka Basin date back to the early Miocene epoch. They identified 42 species of snails, including four new to science, that indicated the area was once warm and rich in nutrients. The findings are expected to help scientists...
Why do octopuses have a ‘mating arm’?
A: Octopuses often live solitary lives and rarely encounter mates, which means they need to be very good at recognising other octopuses if they are to have reproductive success. Now, researchers have found that male octopuses have a specialised arm, known as the hectocotylus, as a sophisticated sensory organ to identify females. Scientists previously thought...
Artemis astronauts to study the Moon’s surface using mainly their eyes
More than 50 years after humans first flew around the Moon, Artemis astronauts will repeat the feat on Monday (April 6, 2026) and use the most basic instrument to study it: their eyes. Despite the technological advancements since the Apollo missions, NASA still relies on the eyesight of its astronauts to learn more about the Moon....
How energy efficiency drives seasonal mountain bird migration worldwide
Migration is the movement of birds across long distances, from temperate to tropical regions during winters, and vice versa. The birds move to areas with more or increasing resources and to stay within the climate niche to which they are adapted. They also migrate short distances up and down mountains around the world. And a...
Artemis II astronauts preparing for historic lunar flyby
The Artemis astronauts were gearing up Saturday (April 4, 2026) for their long-anticipated lunar flyby, including reviewing the surface features they must analyze and photograph during their time circling the Moon. “Morale is high on board,” commander Reid Wiseman told Houston’s Mission Control center as the space crew’s work day began. Upon waking around 1635...
The discoverers of radio emissions from Jupiter
Does Jupiter have a “voice”? When we say discovery of Jupiter’s “voice”, it corresponds to the discovery that the planet Jupiter is a strong source of radio waves. This discovery was made in the 1950s by two scientists at the Carnegie Institution in Washington D.C. – Bernard F. Burke and Kenneth Linn Franklin – when...
Artemis II astronauts pass half-way point on way to Moon
The four Artemis astronauts have passed the halfway point between Earth and the Moon on the way to their planned lunar flyby, NASA said on Friday (April 3, 2026) evening. “You are now closer to the moon than you are to us on Earth,” mission control told the astronauts at around 11 p.m. (0400 GMT),...
Artemis II’s moon-bound astronauts capture Earth’s brilliant blue beauty as they leave it behind
The Artemis II astronauts have captured our blue planet’s brilliant beauty as they zoom ever closer to the moon. NASA released the crew’s first downlinked images Friday, 1 1/2 days into the first astronaut moonshot in more than half a century. The first photo taken by commander Reid Wiseman shows a curved slice of Earth...
Dinosaur collagen used to create one-of-a-kind handbag
Scientists and designers unveiled on Thursday (April 2, 2026) a handbag made with collagen derived from Tyrannosaurus rex fossils from the U.S. in a unique creation intended to demonstrate the value of laboratory-grown leather. The teal-coloured bag will be displayed on a rock in a cage under a replica of a T. rex at Amsterdam’s...
