Did a hunting technique make humans more artistic than Neanderthals?
Throwing spears from long distances to hunt big prey helped evolve hand-eye coordination in humans, which also allowed them to make art in caves, …
Stone Age tools found in Tamil Nadu suggest re-framing of ‘Out of Africa’ theories
New evidence suggests that a Middle Palaeolithic culture was present in India around 385,000 years ago—roughly the same time that it is …
Bacteria can breakdown biodiesel waste into useful products
Indian scientists have developed a technique to breakdown glycerol into commercially-useful products using bacterial strains
Neolithic artifacts from Northeast India are 2,700 years old: study
A new study confirms that the corded pottery and polished stone tools recovered from Assam and Meghalaya were more than 2,000 years-old
Yashpal wore many hats and fit them all
As a defender of the scientific temper, his major concern was the rise of irrationality even among the educated Indians
Yashpal: a people’s scientist
Instead of going in for easy option like importing equipment, Yashpal pushed the envelope and developed indigenously the technology for satellite …
Beyond DNA
Maurizio Meloni's book is a fascinating social and political history of human heredity spanning over 150 years
Rare plant species rediscovered in Western Ghats after more than 100 years
The wild plant was redicsovered in a biosphere reserve in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu
Holy cow! So many patents
ICAR and CSIR laboratories are helping a Nagpur cow research institute to patent therapies based on cow excreta
Have scientists stumbled upon the brain of a plant?
Scientists have shown how a 'decision making centre' of a plant that assesses environmental conditions and determine when seeds will germinate
The brew of `post-truth'
Popular opinion can now be engineered using fake news grapevines spawned by new technologies. Here's how
From the world to worlds
Orbits of TRAPPIST-1’s seven plant system are compact, yet they are not roasted wastelands like Mercury
Clean technology: overcoming the growth v environment debate
Sustainable development is a multi-dimensional concept with three interacting aspects—ecology, economics and ethics
Yoshinori Ohsumi wins Nobel Prize for experiments on cell recycling system
Ohsumi’s experiments helped us understand that mutations in autophagy genes can cause diseases like cancer
No consensus on consciousness
Despite fanciful theories by psychologists, physicists, neuroscientists and computer scientists, consciousness remains an abiding mystery
The `feeling' in nature
Andrea Wulf resurrects the forgotten intellectual explorer, Alexander von Humboldt, whose work has left a lasting imprint on our understanding of …
The fine science of copying
Scientists and academics in India plagiarise liberally and come up with ingenious excuses for unethical practices
What's the best way to go to the toilet – squatting or sitting?
Pauline Hanson’s concern about the ATO installing squat toilets to cater for its increasingly diverse workforce has prompted debate about …
Monsoon to arrive on time in A&N islands; weakening El Niño may increase rainfall
As neutral conditions are restored after a strong El Niño event, hopes for a better monsoon increase
Tropical depression forms in the Arabian Sea
An interesting fact about the present depression is that it is the first-ever to form in the Arabian Sea in October after seven years
DNA and grey cells
Book>> GENES, CELLS AND BRAINS, THE PROMETHEAN PROMISES OF THE NEW BIOLOGY • by Hillary Rose and Steven Rose • Verso • Rs 1,550
Our complex world
Book>> The quantum universe, everything that can happen can happen •Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw • Allen Lane • Rs 699
Power shoe
Apart from fitness there is another good reason one should walk: charging mobile phone. Mandar Tulankar, an engineering student in Nagpur, has …
Perils of herd mentality
Book>> You are not a gadget • by Jaron Lanier • Alfred Knopf, US $16
Rock stars
Book>> Written in Stone, the Hidden Secrets of Fossils and the Story of Life on Earth • by Brian Switek • Icon Books • Rs 5,499