World Cities Day: How humans and robots can co-exist in cities
Robots are taking on more tasks in the world’s cities but create more challenges for policymakers
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)
Bankruptcy of ideas and innovation: What India’s recent science & tech indicators show
Indians have shown little innovation over the decades. They are content to copy successful ideas from elsewhere or …
Study peeks into thermal mechanisms of droplet type cooling for microchips
Low-temperature gradient of water droplets generate hydrothermal waves in the nanoscale range, shows Indian research
Scientific researchers must maintain integrity
These soldiers of science must understand that they may not have taken the Hippocratic Oath to serve patients, but their research determines the …
Biggest hunt for highly intelligent aliens yields no results
The search was conducted as part of the Breakthrough Listen Initiative which kicked off in 2015
Engineering this fungi may produce eco-friendly alternative to synthetic dyes
Lab-cultured Rhodosporidium toruloides produces 86 grams indigoidine per litre
New laser-based technique to replace pressure’s 400-year-old measuring standard
The fixed-length optical cavity sensor is 100 times faster, mercury-free and has a higher resolution — compared to standard mercury manometres
What is the summer solstice? An astronomer explains
It brings the longest day and shortest night of the year for the 88 per cent of Earth’s people who live in the Northern Hemisphere
Human brains distinctively attuned to musical tones: Study
Certain brain regions in humans show stronger preference for sounds with pitch than macaque monkey brains
Scientists vote to recognise Anthropocene as Earth’s new epoch
The move signals the end of the Holocene epoch, which began 12,000 to 11,600 years ago
Lotus-inspired biodegradable water repellent material developed
A water-repelling, biodegradable material inspired by lotus leaves has been developed by a joint team of researchers from India, Switzerland and …
A mango database developed for plant breeders
Kerala Agricultural University scientists have developed a database that lists 40 mango varieties based on features like the type of flower, seed,…
Theoretical physicist E C G Sudarshan passes away
A professor at the University of Texas, he was nominated for Nobel Prize several times. If found true, his theory of particles travelling faster …
The emerging science of nanoflowers
Nanoflowers can find applications in optoelectronics devices or sensors, catalysis and solar cells and also have great potential for possible …
The Chinese patent juggernaut
China has toppled Japan from No 2 spot and is set to become the leader in global patent filings, specially in future technologies
Outer space: Rwanda & Nigeria sign an accord for more responsible exploration — why this matters
It also enables the countries to participate in events where decisions on outer space are made
Billions have been sunk into virtual reality. To make it worth it, the industry needs to grow beyond its walled gardens
VR needs to increase its interoperability — the ability for programs and applications to be able to integrate and for software to run …
Are black holes time machines? Yes, but there’s a catch
Black hole is an extremely massive object that is typically formed when a dying star collapses in on itself
What’s the mysterious light up above? A supermassive black hole ripping a star apart
Halfway across the universe, this is brightest and farthest tidal disruption event ever detected
Detecting tropical cyclones in north Indian Ocean earlier than satellites: IIT-Kharagpur researchers find a way
The technique could help in early detection of development of tropical cyclones in atmospheric column over ocean surface in the North Indian …
ISRO’s new space company gets its first order
American space rideshare company Spaceflight bought payload slot on the first commercial launch of ISRO’s newest rocket, Small Satellite …
Chandrayaan-2 in orbit, now focus on Sept 7 moon landing
The satellite will, in the next 23 days, burn its internal thrusters six times raising its height