GS-III

The Flamingo Festival had a flying start on Sunday with tourists, both domestic and foreign, making a beeline for the picturesque Pulicat lake, a safe haven for migratory birds. It was a virtual treat for bird watchers as over 90,000 birds have come from far away places to the lake …

The excise and prohibition officials are going ahead with the special drive to destroy the ganja plantations in the Agency areas Visakhapatnam district, despite the stiff resistance from the tribal people. The drive was launched around two months ago with the aim of curbing ganja smuggling in the Agency and …

Reactions to bitter and sweet taste differ widely Deciphering how the fruit fly brain works has been a significant branch of study in the biological sciences for several decades now. In this, a team of researchers from National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute for Fundamental Research, Bengaluru (NCBS-TIFR), have …

Researchers deduced this from a small fragmented tooth unearthed in Madhya Pradesh Nearly 5.9 million to 9,000 years ago, India was home to the hippopotamus. These entered Eurasia from Africa, then diversified in South Asia before going extinct. Now, studying a small fragmented tooth unearthed in Madhya Pradesh, an international …

A thematic issue in the Indian Journal of History of Science describes the evolution of modern science in pre-colonial and colonial India Considerable debate and discussion have been going on in recent weeks about the practice of technology and science in India from ancient times to today. Sadly enough, some …

The machine-learning algorithm to detect shock by thermal imaging has 75% accuracy Predicting shock (less blood and oxygen supply to major organs, which can lead to death) even 12 hours before it can be clinically recognised by doctors by using the current gold standard (intra-arterial blood pressure) is now possible, …

In February 2013, after three years of suffering seizures and 27 hospital admissions, Ella Kissi-Debrah, a nine-year-old girl living in southeast London, died. She had been looking forward to attending her school’s end-of-term disco and had even chosen an outfit for it, but never made it to the event. An …

ISRO to demonstrate cost-saving technology The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will demonstrate a cost-saving Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) technology in a few months. “A helicopter will take the shuttle to a height and then release. The RLV will land automatically on the runway,” ISRO Chairman K. Sivan told reporters. …

Plea by Numaligarh Refinery Ltd. in Assam rejected The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an appeal filed by Numaligarh Refinery Ltd. (NRL) and ordered demolition of a 2.2-km boundary wall erected on an elephant migration corridor in eastern Assam’s Golaghat district. Environmentalists had objected to the wall the refinery had …

Activity-based tourism is set to create waves in Kerala, with the State’s Department of Tourism focused on promoting two core sectors — adventure tourism and ‘Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibition’ or MICE tourism this year. The aim is to woo visitors back to Kerala, after the August 2018 deluge dealt …

A rocket carrying a satellite on a mission to deliver the world’s first artificial meteor shower blasted into space on Friday, Japanese scientists said. A start-up based in Tokyo developed the micro-satellite for the celestial show over Hiroshima early next year as the initial experiment for what it calls a …

India ranks third in the world in terms of high quality research publications in artificial intelligence (AI) but is at a significant distance from world leader China, according to an analysis by research agency Itihaasa, which was founded by Kris Gopalakrishnan, former CEO and co-founder of Infosys. The agency computed …

They developed in roughly the final 2% of the planet’s current age, say scientists Saturn’s rings are one of our solar system’s magnificent sights, but may be a relatively recent addition, according to data obtained from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft before the robotic explorer’s 2017 death plunge into the giant gas …

Policy action is required on corporate governance in banks, cyber risk a major challenge: Das Amid a growing demand for a reduction in interest rate in the upcoming monetary policy review scheduled for February 7, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said wide divergences and volatility in inflation …

Flagging concerns about increasing data colonisation by global corporations, Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani on Friday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take steps against the way some global corporations were ‘colonising data’ of Indian users in the rapidly growing digital economy in the country. He also insisted that Indian …

Chilika Lake is claimed to have 20% of India’s seagrass distribution, which plays a vital role in oxygen production and absorption of carbon dioxide and acts as a purifier in aquatic ecology. According to the Chilika Development Authority, the apex body for the Lake’s management, seagrass species such as Holodule …

As complaints of power cuts continue to pour in even before the onset of summer, the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) is preparing to put in place a new army — AI (artificial intelligence)-powered chatbots — to deal with the innumerable calls and messages that its multiple helplines receive. Bescom …

High-resolution satellite data can precisely assess the status of poverty at household level in rural areas of developing countries, according to a study. If countries are to achieve the U.N. sustainable development goals, it is particularly important to track the living conditions in poor nations around the world where the …

The environment holds the key: study Scientists have uncovered why the venom of some snakes makes them so much deadlier than others. Some species, such as cobras, boomslangs and rattlesnakes, have far more venom than they apparently need. Why venoms vary so much in their ability to kill or incapacitate …

2,000 assessments showed that her gaze is not straight but to the viewer’s right German researchers say they have finally cracked the intriguing question of whether the Mona Lisa ’s eyes follow viewers around the room. The answer is a disappointing ‘no’. In science, the “Mona Lisa Effect” refers to …