Definition of kilogram set to change
Since 1879, the kilogram has been defined as the weight of Le Grand K, a cylinder of platinum and iridium weighing a little over 2 ounces and …
Meet Bandicoot India's new robot that can end manual scavenging
A robotics start-up from Kerala called GenRobotic Innovations has developed a solution to end manual scavenging
Three scientists share Nobel for Chemistry for research on DNA repair
Tomas Lindahl of UK’s Francis Crick Institute, Paul Modrich of USA’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Aziz Sancar of the …
Pluto flyby: The mystery deepens after New Horizons’ encounter
The NASA mission is the first-ever foray into the “third region” of the solar system, also called the Kuiper Belt, containing …
Roots, barks and leaves
CHANDRA PRAKASH KALA spent three months with the Baiga tribe in the forests of Chhattisgarh. He learnt how they use plants to their advantage
Adam’s luck
Men, after all, may not become extinct. Y chromosome has lost only one gene in 25 million years
Feat of filigree
Even modern technology cannot equal the uniformity discovered in fine gold and silver threads found in a 17th century Mughal tent
Big is out, small is in
A financially squeezed NASA has been forced to look for cheaper ways to explore the solar system
Fingering the keyboard
Indian scientists are developing computers that can understand and respond to the spoken wordIndian scientists are developing computers that can …
Sweet rediscovery
A staple for many Asian and African nations, sweet potato is only now beginning to catch the attention of scientists
Smaller and faster
A new technique could result in particle accelerators small enough to be accommodated in any university laboratory
Eating oil
Fertilisers accelerate growth not only in plants but also in certain microbes that feast on oil
Antidote to cancer
Scientists have discovered an oestrogen derivative that controls tumours and could be effective against other diseases like arthritis
How much of the world did the muskox see?
Recent evidence suggests that the muskox, believed to have become extinct 10,000 years ago, may have actually survived till much later.
A gene that follows its own drum-beat
A team of Russian scientists have found in mice a gene, which, unlike others, decides when to express itself
Ants take the shortest route to success
An Israeli mathematician offers proof of how ants, without a bird's eye view of their terrain, are still able to follow a straight route to food
Faster than the Concorde, bigger than the jumbo
The aviation industry is working on producing two 21st century aircraft: the HSCT, which can cut flying time by half; and the super jumbo, which …
Just a radio signal to whisk you to office
The concept of teleportation or moving people and objects instantaneously, which was made popular by the American serial Star Trek, is now …
Was the Archaeopteryx: Bird or dinosaur?
An American ornithologist says he has found fresh evidence that the world's oldest bird-like creature, the Archaeopteryx, was undoubtedly a bird. …
Ancient Mexican script yields up its secrets
A hieroglyphic script in which the earliest Central American texts were written has been partly deciphered, thanks to an engraved slab found by …
New form of carbon opens up exciting possibilities
The discovery of a simple procedure for synthesis of a new crystalline form of carbon has opened up immense possibilities in the field of …
A long step forward in nerve communications
Agrin, a protein released by nerve cells, helps in triggering off the formation of a machinery through which neurons communicate.
Geysers can help predict quakes
Erratic eruptions of gushing hot springs have been recorded before the occurrence of tremors. Though scientists are not sure why this happens, …
Dead brain cells may be replaceable
Certain mouse brain cells have been found to be capable of producing neurons. Scientists say if similar cells are found to exist in the human …
New theory explains the evolution of sexes
An Oxford biologist says sexes exist to prevent chaos within cells during reproduction. And why only two sexes? Because life would get too …