Tag: Science

The scale of a project often determines the size of the problems too. Agreed, all or most projects are confronted with hurdles, but overcoming them is often easier in the case of smaller projects. When the stakes are higher and things take a downward turn, problems might seem insurmountable on occasions. The Jodrell Bank Observatory...

The story so far: The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) on September 17, 2026, released a document titled Norms, Guidelines and Procedures for implementation of the Indian Space Policy 2023 in respect of authorisation for establishment and operation of hosted-payloads. Why has IN-SPACe released the document ? IN-SPACe, which is the single-window...

Wild animals have for long been known for their intuitive pharmacological knowledge: orangutans balm their wounds with plants; chimpanzees consume bitter antibacterial leaves; Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins queue up to rub against selected corals; and birds smear their nests with insecticidal plants to fend off anaemia-causing mites.  Scientists term this behaviour zoopharmacognosy, where animals seek out...

The Starship engine failure that nearly foiled the orbital debut of SpaceX’s next-generation spacecraft on its 14th uncrewed test flight may complicate NASA‘s ‌ability to meet its time frame for astronaut missions to the moon. Starship, designed in part to carry ​large payloads to space, is one of two vehicles vying to become the first...

A group of Indian school students are among the five winning teams of the 13th edition of the ‘Beamline for Schools’ competition, a physics competition for high school students from all around the world organised by CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, in Geneva. The Indian team, named “attoPION”, comprises Nenavath Abhay Vivek, Sidhartha...

Each rare disease affects very few people. However, there are around 8,000 rare diseases, and they cumulatively affect hundreds of millions of people. In India, 1,004 rare genetic disorders have been reported so far. It used to be that because the number of patients for a rare-disease drug was very small, so the pharmaceutical industry’s...

Two Pakistani pilots are memorising Mandarin, spinning in centrifuge drills, and learning to eat, sleep and repair equipment while weightless ​as a decision nears on which one will become the first foreign astronaut aboard China’s Tiangong space station. The voyage into space would be a first for the ‌South Asian nation. It is part of...

On September 3, a dozen people from various countries were declared to be the recipients of the Ig Nobel Prizes for 2026. Some readers may wonder what an Ig Nobel Prize is. The Ig Nobel Prizes are a light-hearted parody of the actual Nobel Prizes. They were instituted in 1991 by Marc Abraham, editor of The Journal...

A: When you physically exert while doing a task, you may also briefly hold your breath, releasing it as the effort eases. Your body may also contract the muscles around the trunk, making the torso more rigid and giving your arms and legs a more stable base from which to work. When the trunk stiffens,...