Rain drain
By leaching essential nutrients from top soil, acid rain threatens forests in more ways than previously thought
Caught by the gen(i)e
Scientists develop genetically modified mosquitoes that are unable to transmit malaria parasite
Poets in lab coats
Book>> The Age of Wonder, How The Romantic Generation Discovered The Beauty And Terror Of Science Pantheon Books, New York Indian Price Rs 1,000
The man and his machine
Book>> The man who invented the computer • by Jane Smiley • Doubleday • Indian Price Rs 750
Science meets fiction
Down To Earth invites sci-fi buffs and writers to take its readers on a guided tour of the world of science fiction that throws a mirror to the …
It’s reassuring to think humans are evolution’s ultimate destination – but research shows we may be an accident
Modern biologists agree most complex organisms have become more complex over the last 4 billion years, disagree over the process that accounts …
Dianna Cowern: The Wonder Woman who teaches science
At a time of increasing scientific ignorance, Cowern has leapt highest wall of all — one between scientists and everyone else
Bacteria from rotten pomegranade can help produce cellulose
Bacterial strain from rotten pomegranate promises to help produce bacterial cellulose not just on a large scale but 4 times cheaper than made …
Insect stings inspire syringe-needle designs
Indian and interntaional scientists say that bee and wasp sting mechanism could help in developing a syringe-needle system, which can be used in …
Teen makes device that predicts heart attack six hours in advance
It keeps a tab on biomarker level and if it crosses the critical point, the device alerts the patient
Charles Kao Kuen: The man who paved way for development of Internet
Known as the ‘Godfather of Broadband’, Professor Kao is known for discovering fiber-optic communication
Scientists develop high-yielding pea variety
Scientists from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research developed a pea variety that bears more flowers per stalk and therefore yields more …
Is brain science romanticised?
Jasanoff's book takes on the enduring mystique about the human brain being abstract, sovereign and piecemeal
World’s smallest terrestrial fern found in Western Ghats
The newly-found fern is one cm long and has different genetic and physical characters compared to other known fern species
Half of Earth's satellites restrict use of climate data
Satellite data can contribute to a wide range of areas–climate change, weather, natural disasters, agricultural development and more–…
How the topmost scientific advisory body gradually slipped into oblivion
After the NDA came to power under Narendra Modi in 2014, the SAC-PM went defunct as the new government failed to reconstitute the council
Loyalty to scriptures should not breed hostility to science
Lately, a slew of remarks by political leaders in the country had nixed established scientific principles
Scientists uncover mechanism of joint cartilage formation
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur have made headway towards finding a molecule that can help treat …
Concern over gender bias in research, academic institutions on astronomy
The Working Group on Gender Equity presented results of its first survey on gender equity in the field of astronomy in India
The origin of 'us': what we know so far about where we humans come from
The story of where humans come from is growing as new evidence—and new methods of analysis—emerge all the time
How to curb illicit trade in endangered plants? DNA barcoding could help
DNA barcodes can identify species even from a minute amount of tissue, which can help in tackling illegal trade
Will machines ever take over?
Robots that can think are here, almost. But many see artificial intelligence as humanity's biggest existential threat
Wild tomatoes can help in making commercial varieties disease-free
Indian and Israeli scientists found a way to develop tomatoes resistant to the most common disease, Early Blight
Nobel Prize for physics awarded for gravitational waves detection
Scientists Rainer Weiss and Kip Thorne, together with Barry Barish, whose effort led to the discovery 100 years it was …
Magnetic streamers to decorate eclipsed sun, scientists predict
If the prediction comes true, it will mark a major scientific achievement and could facilitate forecasting of space weather in future