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 …