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...
Tag: Science
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...
What is a frequency comb?
A frequency comb is a special kind of laser light whose spectrum, or set of frequencies, resembles the teeth of a comb. Instead of containing just one colour (one frequency), it emits a large number of evenly spaced frequencies. The spacing is extremely regular. One way to make a frequency comb is using a mode-locked...
How the Aravalli Hills formed and why they look the way they do
The Aravalli Hills look modest today but they sit on some of the oldest and most studied rocks in India. Geologists care about them because they preserve a long record of how a piece of the earth’s crust in northwestern India was built, deformed, heated, and intruded by magma, then worn down. The Hills’ features...
