An ode to the cloudy skies
We asked our readers to send photographs of clouds. In response, we received a stunning collection of evocative clicks with clouds as the …
India's first CNG kit for scooters and motorcycles
Sriram M Bhat, Director of iTuk—the company that manufactures CNG kits for two wheelers—talks to Down to Earth on the advantages of …
Unbuttoning the gender straitjacket
Attempts at subverting the delusions of gender should begin with a progressive fashioning of young minds
Nitrogen overload
Human-induced nitrogen emissions have surpassed natural emissions, damaging health and the environment
What is fake meat?
Artificial or lab-made meat will hit our dining tables in the near future. But there are certain issues that will have to be resolved before this …
25 years of the Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope has completed its 25 years in the lower Earth orbit. In all these years, the telescope has sent some stunning pictures …
Cutting-edge superconductors
Experiments aim at developing materials that are superconductive at close to room temperature
Methane's metal link
Fresh evidence suggests that the presence of certain metals is essential for the natural production of methane
Curtain falls over aurora borealis
The aurora borealis is caused not by solar flares but by gigantic portions of the corona flowing out of the Sun
On Stygian shores
Technology is opening up new vistas for the world's underworld, as crooks learn to manipulate it to outwit their pursuers and captors
A will where there is a hill
Ants have found ways by which to make up for the loss of the queen. The perpetuation of the species and the continued use of the elaborate nests …
An ink to baffle cheats
Secret documents are now safe from the threat of being duplicated as a new ink has been developed which disappears when exposed to the bright …
Friendly home-spy
A radar which can check oil in your car engine and can be used in many of your daily chores has been developed by the Lawrence Livermore …
Flexible software
A new software which is less expensive, swift and easily adaptable will soon be used in computer-assisted clinical trials
Slick click
Five famous brands of the photographic industry are throwing their combined weight behind a new innovation. The camera they have developed will …
Seeing small
A fresh innovation by IBM now allows the ordinary microscope to see minutest things like genes and single atom spectrums
Chip beats
The new computer-aided tabla (an Indian percussion instrument) may not give the human gurus a run for their money, but it is linking hi-tech …
A wonderful storm
The cyclone-type furnace capable Of achieving greater combustion efficiency and producing high temperatures is sure to be a hot favourite …
Mighty magnets
Smaller and more powerful than the conventional, 'neo' magnets may capture half the world market for permanent magnets by AD 2000
Many-faced workers
A British inventor has come up with a concept which could lead to robots that can build cars, bridge rivers and even explore Mars
The file drawer bust
Daniele Fanelli, researcher at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, probes the problem of quantity versus quality in scientific research. …
2008 A lunar odyssey
From a pariah after Pokhran II to scientific self esteem, India raced its way to the moon. Archita Bhatta tracked the nation's voyage to find …
Investigating the 'Encultured' spaces of scientific labs in India
Pankaj Sekhsaria’s lucid narrative style explanation breaks down the complexity of science and facilitates a wide audience to engage with …
Genetically modified mosquitoes; WHO issues new guidance for research
The WHO standards are mainly about ethics, safety, affordability and effectiveness of genetically-modified mosquitoes
In a whitewashed country
We begin the new year with this piece on the ‘modern’ and 'traditional' from the Anil Agarwal reader (Vol.2)