A mirror called Down To Earth

In this time of half-truths and no truths, we are determined to offer journalism that is fact-based and rigorous

Simply Put: Rise of the machines

Climate change hardly a burning issue for Indian voters

Indian democracy is yet to breed a new category of ‘climate voters’ as its electoral landscape has very little space for green …

AI has learned how to deceive and manipulate humans. Here’s why it’s time to be concerned

MIT research finds AI systems can strategically withhold information, lie to trick humans into certain actions and even bypass safety tests

Why are algorithms called algorithms? A brief history of the Persian polymath you’ve likely never heard of

Hindu-Arabic numerals are important to the history of computing because they use the number zero and a base-ten decimal system

Digitally immortalising departed loved ones comes with ethical concerns: Study calls for cautious design of AI ‘deadbots’

Can be used as a puppet for advertising, cause psychological distress; paper calls for adoption of safety standards

Simply Put: Maus

Lifting the technology veil: Analysing technology requirements for decarbonising steel & cement sectors in India

Developing countries' achievement of Net Zero goals depends on technology transfer & access

DNA analysis reveals how ancient nomads who disappeared from Europe 1,000 years ago lived

Avar societies meticulously preserved an ancestral memory

Aflatoon and the Avars: How modern science helped solve two historical mysteries

While modern imaging techniques helped point out Greek philosopher Plato’s exact resting place, genomics have revealed the social …

CSE-DTE at Ottawa: INC-4 kicks off in Canadian capital

The initial day of negotiations was uneventful, with member states participating in contact group discussions and working to organise tasks for …

Climate tech: Zimbabwean scientist turns carbon dioxide into methanol to minimise emissions

Making energy materials like formic acid, methanol from carbon dioxide released from factories can be important for emerging economies, says …

Machine language

The past few years have seen a spurt in AI tools that can write. Will future books be composed by computers? How does this development threaten …

‘Indians have largest variety of Neanderthal, Denisovan genes’

Priya Moorjani, assistant professor in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, talks about new findings …

Fair price: UP now uses a calculator to scientifically fix fee for transporting faecal sludge to treatment plants

The calculator’s flexibility allows for its use across India and even in countries that use trucks to handle faecal waste

Milky Way’s largest stellar black hole also second-closest to Earth, scientists discover

Gaia BH3 is 2,000 light years away from Earth

‘Reality is not as fixed as people like to think’

Neuroscientist Nadine Dijkstra talks to Down To Earth about reality and perception

A gene variant could lower chances of developing Alzheimer’s by 70%, could help in design of new treatments: Study

It works by preventing build-up of fibronectin, a component of the blood-brain barrier that controls the movement of substances in and out of the …

Deepfakes: can the AI be harnessed for something good?

While audiences and users need to be educated on the negative implications of deepfakes, the technology can also have positive impacts  

The last over 4-minute-long ‘total solar eclipse’ in the US was used by Tecumseh to unite indigenous Americans

Tecumseh’s brother, Tenskwatawa, an influential shaman, predicted an eclipse on June 16, 1806; it happened, and indigenous people united …

‘We are seeing a sign that dark energy is not a cosmological constant’

Shadab Alam, faculty at the Department of Theoretical Physics of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, on deviations observed with …

Nobel Prize winner Venki Ramakrishnan discusses ageing and death in new book

A restricted diet and proper sleep may play a key role in a long and healthy life

Undersea cables are the unseen backbone of global internet

Also called  submarine communications cables, these fibre-optic cables are laid on the ocean floor and used to transmit data between …

The Gambia may allow female genital mutilation again – another sign of a global trend eroding women’s rights

Proposed changes before parliament could permit medicalised female genital cutting and allow it for consenting adults

Plant roots mysteriously pulsate and we don’t know why – but finding out could change the way we grow things

To really understand how plants grow, you need to look at processes which happen inside cells.