Tag: Science

As hotels, hostels, and community kitchens grapple with the unexpected shortage of LPG, those with electric cooking equipment feel they are in a safer position. Achal Sridharan, founder of CovaiCare retirement communities in Coimbatore, says if the situation turns worse, there will be no option but to go for electrical cooking. “It is a question...

– Sai Karthikeya Duggirala Albert Einstein’s equation E = mc2 says energy and mass are linked. If you push an object to go faster, you add energy to it. At everyday speeds, this just increases the object’s velocity. But as you approach the speed of light, the extra energy starts adding up to the object’s...

Test disfavours acrylonitrile cells in Titan lakes Computer models have suggested that acrylonitrile, an organic compound present on Saturn’s moon Titan, can self-assemble into cell-like structures. When scientists mixed it with liquid methane and ethane in cryogenic conditions like those on Titan, and observed no signs of membrane formation. Instead, acrylonitrile interacted with ethane to...

Researchers have found a way to hijack the natural protein-making facilities of bacteria to manufacture specific proteins of interest. They did this by turning a ‘nutrient gate’ on a bacterial cell into a Trojan horse that could ferry artificial amino acids into cells to make these proteins. The study, conducted by teams at ETH Zurich...

If the idea of lunar hummus seems far-fetched, think again. Scientists working to cultivate the field of extraterrestrial agriculture have grown chickpeas in dirt made mostly of simulated lunar soil, a step toward enabling astronauts on ‌long-term moon missions to produce their own food. Researchers said harvestable chickpeas were grown in soil mixtures composed primarily...

NASA has officially ruled out the possibility of asteroid 2024 YR4 colliding with the moon in 2032. This update settles concerns that first surfaced after the asteroid’s discovery in late 2024. For several months, orbital models suggested a small but notable 3.8% to 4.3% chance that the rock would strike the lunar surface on December...

The construction and upgrade of the four major astronomical facilities, which was announced in the Union Budget, is expected to cost about ₹3,500 crore, and a proposal for approval of the project will be placed before the cabinet. A Department of Science and Technology official, while participating in the post-budget webinar on Telescope Infrastructure Facilities,...

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the European Space Agency (ESA) have jointly signed an agreement on ‘ESA-ISRO Arrangement concerning Joint Calibration and Validation Activities and Scientific Studies for Earth Observation Missions’. The agreement was signed on March 4 by M. Ganesh Pillai, scientific secretary, ISRO, and Simonetta Cheli, director, Earth Observation Programme, ESA,...

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) researchers have reported that a new kind of nuclear fuel, touted for being able to allow India to take advantage of its vast thorium reserves, will not fit in the country’s three-stage programme and could entail expensive reactor redesigns. The study was published in Current Science. The composition the team...

In early 2021, as COVID-19 vaccines were being rolled out across the world, reports began to surface of a rare but alarming complication. Some people who received the shots were developing unusual blood clots. The cases were first identified in Europe and later in the U.S. Notably, they were reported mainly among recipients of the...