Tag: Science

When working with drug candidates, chemists sometimes like to replace a carbon atom in a ring of atoms with a nitrogen atom. This is because the switch can significantly alter the molecule’s properties, including how well it dissolves or how it interacts with biological targets in the body. But achieving it has been quite difficult,...

Any spacecraft entering the earth’s atmosphere will rely primarily on atmospheric drag to reduce a significant portion of its velocity as it aerobrakes. Towards the terminal phase, to gently touchdown on land or in sea, additional decelerating systems like parachutes have to be activated to further reduce its velocity to acceptable limits. The parachute used...

The National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Srinagar is set to become the first NIT in the country to have a dedicated campus-based observatory equipped with a 14-inch aplanatic Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, officials said on Monday (September 21, 2026). The telescope provides aberration-free, flat-field images for astrophotography and planetary observation, the officials said. The NIT-Srinagar Observatory...

While much of society is preoccupied with animal rights, there is a population facing a significant risk of burnout yet which often goes unacknowledged: veterinarians. Often underestimated as a profession and underfunded as a field, veterinary medicine carries expectations that far exceed what can reasonably be asked of any one individual. Veterinarians are expected to...

The story so far: On September 14, 2026, U.S. Air Force secretary Troy Meink said the country has “space control” weapons deployed in Earth’s orbit to defend U.S. forces against “hostile adversary action”. The disclosure drew backlash from Russia and China, among other quarters. What is a ‘space control’ weapon? As per the U.S. Space...

The story so far: Noisy celebrations have now become a part and parcel of urban as well as rural Indian life. As vehicles packed with powerful new speakers known as DJs are available at lower prices and the competition to play high-volume music has reached all parts of the country, it is posing a challenge...

A researcher at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has found a massive, recently formed crater on the Moon, a rare occurrence that only happens “once in a century or even longer”, according to scientists. The crater, dubbed “McGetchin”, measures 730 feet (222 metres) wide, NASA said in a blog post. It is believed...

The dream of heading out to space and colonising distant celestial bodies isn’t one that is unique to the time we live in. It is one that humans have aspired for long and continue to strive towards, despite the problems plaguing the only known planet that supports life as we know it: Earth. Even as...

 A diminutive wild cat that inhabits Bolivia’s ​cloud forest has been identified as a previously unknown species, marking the first time a new living cat species has been formally ‌named and described in more than a century. The cat, called Tilcayo by local communities, is ​part of a group called tiger cats found across much...