NASA on Friday (June 5, 2026) ordered astronauts to take shelter after a fresh leak was detected aboard the International Space Station. The five astronauts moved into the SpaceX capsule that is docked at the station while cosmonauts worked to fix the leak, which is on the Russian side of the orbiting laboratory. The decision was...
Tag: Science
ISS astronauts in evacuation mode as Russia attempts to fix widening air leak
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station were ordered by NASA to shelter in their spacecraft and prepare for potential evacuation on Friday (June 5, 2026) as a Russian crew attempts to fix a worsening leak of air on its portion of the orbital laboratory, NASA said. The four astronauts of NASA’s Crew-12 mission on the...
Science Snapshots: June 7, 2026
Industrial salt pans threaten Sambhar Lake’s survival Sambhar Lake is India’s largest inland saltwater wetland. When they analysed satellite data from 1984 to 2023, scientists found the lake depends heavily on seasonal rain, with water levels peaking in late summer and shrinking significantly in the dry season. Between 2022 and 2023, the lake’s surface also...
Science Quiz: On unusual properties of light
India losing ability to build its own instruments: climate science report
A group of India’s leading climate scientists has warned that the country has almost lost the ability to build its own scientific instruments, leaving its climate observations dependent on imported equipment that is often run uncalibrated for years. This has led to “incorrect data being reported in national and international journals, often leading to questions...
India’s climate science has lost ‘instrument-making culture,’ leading researchers warn
A group of India’s leading climate scientists has warned that the country has almost lost the ability to build its own scientific instruments, leaving its climate observations dependent on imported equipment that is often run uncalibrated for years. This has led to “incorrect data being reported in national and international journals, often leading to questions...
India vulnerable to chronic aircraft noise thanks to regulatory gaps
Every few minutes, aircraft descend over densely populated neighbourhoods near India’s major airports. For the people here, the noise has been almost constant for years, often even continuing through the night. India’s aviation and environmental regulations require airports to map the aircraft noise exposure using decibel contours — maps showing how the air pressure varies...
How red moved through empires, trade networks, and industrial factories
In 1799, during the storming of the fortress of Seringapatam, British troops broke through the defences of Srirangapatna and killed Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore. The palace inventories compiled in the aftermath record jewels, weapons, manuscripts and textiles of startling colour. Officers wrote with particular fascination about the intensity of the dyed fabrics stored in...
Bursts of rain may deal a double whammy to soil moisture, nitrogen
Two new studies, published in Nature and Nature Geoscience, have found that as climate change concentrates rainfall into fewer, more intense events, the land below may face a double whammy. In their May 13 paper in Nature, Dartmouth College, U.S., researchers concluded that more concentrated rain can reduce the amount of water stored in soils...
What is a birthmark? How does it form?
A: A birthmark is a coloured mark on the skin that is either present at birth or develops shortly afterwards. Most are completely harmless and painless. While some of them may fade over time, others stay for life. Birthmarks are essentially ‘mistakes’ in the development of skin cells or blood vessels. They generally fall in...
