Early birds
Rocks -- 3.85 billion year old --show that battered by meteors and supposedly sterile, ancient Earth still harboured life-forms
Faking history
Most fossils, repositories of early life on Earth, may not be fossils at all. Existing evolutionary theories stand to lose ground
The discovery machine
Ultra-smart software is outdoing humans, making scientific discoveries and helping drivers cope with bad driving
Nanotechnology can make biopesticides more effective
This means farmers would be required to use very small quantities of biopesticide in its nano form
Scientists find new bacterium from Sundarbans
New bacterial species could have wider applications in industrial sectors such as leather and textile industry
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 …
Why using AI tools like ChatGPT in my MBA innovation course is expected and not cheating
We need the various manuals of style to update their rules to include work generated by an AI
Death: How long are we conscious for and does life really flash before our eyes?
A recent research speculated about life ’flashing’ past moments before death; how sound might it be?
The horse bit and bridle kicked off ancient empires — a new giant dataset tracks the societal factors that drove military technology
Around 1000 BC, nomadic herders in the steppes north of the Black Sea invented the bit and bridle
Three-body problem needs real, and not artificial solution
The equation that has confounded mathematicians for over 300 years needs an elegant and beautiful solution, not something where the end is there …
Eliud Kipchoge's sub-2hr marathon: It all comes down to 15 extraordinary seconds
Kipchoge must put one foot in front of the other, at the frighteningly fast average pace of 2m 52s per km
A new technique to protect copper from corrosion
IIT (BHU) researchers used a technique called ‘floating film transfer method’ to obtain ultrathin films of an organic material, …
What determines height of mountains?
Height of the mountains stops increasing after crossing a threshold, influenced by erosion of the areas between mountains, finds the study
The dark side of 'racial science'
Angela Saini exposes how some scientists even today use race to define intelligence, behaviour, predisposition to diseases and even creativity
In thunder, lightning, or... Gamma rays may warn you of the next hurlyburly
Radiation sensors can predict lightning within 10 minutes and around 2 kilometers of where they happen
‘Potentially hazardous’ space rock to fly past Earth on June 24
Named 441987 (2010 NY65), the rock has a diameter of 130 to 300 metres and will pass the Earth at a speed of more than 45,000 kilometres per …
Diamonds are forever. But where do they come from? Watch
Do you know the diamond on your finger is most likely made recycled minerals by Earth below the ocean floor?
Russia to grow 30 gene-edited plants, animals by 2027
The country aims to create 10 new varieties of such crops as well as animals by 2020; another 20 by 2027
Holding the mirror, truthfully, for 28 years
Down To Earth's mission is not hidden in reams of corporate gloss. It is open. It is a dare, writes our editor, Sunita Narain.
World Earth Day: A new landscape on the horizon
Changes in the East African rift system suggest that the African continent could split into two
Researchers convert carbon dioxide in to coal
Researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia have for the first time developed a process to turn CO2 into coal. The new process uses …
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
State Science & Technology councils should work in synergy: Harsh Vardhan
At the S&T ministers’ conclave at India International Science Festival 2018, Vardhan said every year 4-5 states should hold a science …