The Greenland shark can live up to 500 years. The kind of longevity that probably has something to do with its home: cold, dark depths of the North Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. Scientists have been studying the sharks’ biology — from its slow metabolism to cellular repair — to find answers for healthy ageing...
Tag: Science
Earthlife is made of space stuff, studies of asteroid Bennu hint
In October 2020, when the world was beginning to come out of a global lockdown, a spacecraft more than 3 lakh km away performed a pogo-stick jump on a small asteroid called Bennu and collected samples of its surface. The craft, part of NASA’s OSIRIS REx, then launched itself away from the asteroid and towards...
Sex systems drive faster mitochondrial evolution in many insects
Researchers from the University of Guelph in Canada have reported an astonishing discovery: that the number of chromosome sets in their bodies’ cells seems to be linked to the rate at which the species’ mitochondrial genome evolves. This is unusual because mitochondrial DNA sits in a separate genome from the chromosomes in the nucleus and...
Science quiz: Chemistry’s foul fellows
Science quiz: Chemistry’s foul fellows Visual: Name the molecule depicted by this ball-and-stick model. It’s responsible for vinegar’s odour and imparts its sour taste. START THE QUIZ 1 / 6 | Name the molecule depicted by this ball-and-stick model. It’s responsible for vinegar’s odour and imparts its sour taste.
Microbe might spark first stages of ulcerative colitis: new study
Medical researchers have traditionally viewed ulcerative colitis as a disorder driven by an overactive immune response or damage to the gut’s epithelial barrier. But a new study has argued that the disease may actually start earlier, when a normally hidden layer of immune cells just beneath the gut lining begins to become thinner. Specifically, the...
Why do we get headaches?
A: A headache happens when tissues in and around the head that are sensitive to pain become irritated or pushed out of balance. While the brain tissue itself doesn’t feel pain, structures nearby such as blood vessels in the coverings around the brain (the meninges), nerves that carry sensation from the face and scalp, muscles...
How the moon kicked Chandrayaan-3 propulsion module into a new orbit
On December 30, astronomer Jonathan McDowell posted on X.com: “The abandoned Chandrayaan-3 propulsion module, left in a 125000 x 305000 km orbit in 2024, had a bit of a tussle with the Moon in November and has now been found in a 365000 x 983000 km x 22 deg orbit”. Dr. McDowell is well-known for,...
A twist in the tale: are scientists wrong about dark energy?
All major discoveries in cosmology underline the maxim that the universe is not only stranger than we suppose but that it is stranger than we can suppose. The latest example of this is a study by researchers at the Yonsei University in South Korea that said the expansion of the universe is slowing down. The...
DRDO successfully tests 120-km strike range Pinaka rockets
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully test-fired the Pinaka Long Range Guided Rocket (LRGR–120) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Odisha’s Chandipur on Monday (December 29, 2025). Earlier in the day, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, cleared the planned procurement proposals worth ₹79,000 crore, including Long...
Alaknanda: Indian astronomers spot implausibly old spiral galaxy
Astronomers from India have discovered the second farthest spiral galaxy in the depths of the universe, using the powerful James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and have named it ‘Alaknanda’. The galaxy was an unexpected sight during a broader study of galaxy shapes in the early universe. The findings were published in Astronomy & Astrophysics in...
