‘Facial recognition technology will hamper people’s right to freedom of expression and privacy’
Anushka Jain of non-profit Internet Freedom Foundation, Delhi, talks about the concerns that surround the use of facial recognition …
When did humans first go to war?
Although the first modern Europeans may have been the first humans capable of organised warfare, we can’t say this behaviour was …
How Machilipatnam became site of a pioneering discovery in 19th century
It was in Machilipatnam that the world caught the first glimpse of light from a new material - helium
Murky science of comfort part 2: Why we feel suffocated in a building even when it is pleasant outside
Humans are built to get used to local environments but unfortunately industry interests have come to define what ‘comfortable’ room …
Here is how PC Mahalanobis dabbled with computing in the early 20th century
The founder of the discipline of statistics in India also had a pioneering role to play in nurturing another branch of science
Murky science of comfort part 1: Debunking science behind 'comfortable' temperature
What is a comfortable temperature? The question seems benign on the surface but the answer has far reaching ecological consequences
India’s tryst with numbers is an old one
As the 108th Science Congress ends January 7, an excerpt from Amir D Azcel’s 2015 book, ‘Finding Zero: A Mathematician’s …
How did our Moon get its water? A new study suggests Earth’s magnetic field could be involved
A shower of water ions coming back on Earth through its magnetosphere may combine to form lunar permafrost
Landscape of Saturn’s largest moon ‘Earth-like’ but compositions different: Study
Titan, one of Saturn’s 82 orbiting moons, can be one of the most hospitable regions in solar system
Molecular mechanism of gender differences in sexual behaviour deciphered
Hyderabad researchers study the differences in the central nervous systems of male and female of humans and other organisms and how they …
Only science can help the world achieve sustainable development: UN Report
It says the current development model is not sustainable and only a fundamental and urgent change in the relationship between people and nature …
Here’s how genetics helped crack the history of human migration
Humans evolved in Africa, spread across the world, and then it gets messy. Luckily advances in genetic sequencing have helped …
NASA‘s capsule returns with asteroid Bennu samples
It is likely to provide fresh insights into the formation of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago and possibly how life started
Spending time in space can harm the human body — but scientists are working to mitigate these risks
Space radiation can harm the nervous and cardiovascular systems including heart and arteries
Cryptozoology is not a quest for animals but for monsters: Peter Dendle
Professor of English and expert on folklore at Penn State Mont Alto tells Down To Earth that cryptozoology is not going anywhere as there is a …
India becomes first nation to soft land on south side of moon
India has now joined an exclusive club of countries that have managed a soft landing on the Moon
Explorers of the moon
Five orbiters and one rover are currently active on the moon. Overall, countries have made 47 attempts at soft landing on the moon of which only …
Caroline Herschel was the first female astronomer, but she still lacks name recognition two centuries later
Her story reflects not only the priorities of astronomy but also how credit is assigned in the field
Looking back toward cosmic dawn — astronomers confirm the faintest galaxy ever seen
The early universe was filled with a fog made up of hydrogen atoms until the first stars and galaxies burned it away
Hiroshima Day 2023: The global footprint of nuclear fallout
Nearly 8 decades since the nuclear age started, people around the world, not to mention the flora and fauna, have all been exposed to radioactive …
Understanding solar flares: How explosions on Sun’s surface can lead to radio blackouts
An X-class solar flare on July 2, 2023 led to radio blackout on parts of the US, Pacific Ocean
Nuclear fusion breakthrough: Decades of research still needed before fusion can be used as clean energy
Regardless of the efficiency of a future fusion power plant, taking energy conversions from basic science to the real world will require …
Did life evolve more than once? Researchers are closing in on an answer
Has all of life on Earth evolved only once, or are different living beings cut from different cloths?
Generative AI is forcing people to rethink what it means to be authentic
Generative AI thrives on exploiting people’s reliance on categorical authenticity by producing material that looks like “the real …
Shakespeare by numbers: how mathematical breakthroughs influenced the Bard’s plays
Shakespeare's plays registered the 16th-century crisis of classical mathematics in the face of newer ideas