Science & technology

Unlike other municipal primary schools in Maharashtra’s Badnera town, the one in Waruda has ‘three teachers’ for its 42 students studying from Classes I to IV. For a similar school, the ratio may have been only two teachers. In Waruda, besides teacher Amol Bhuyar and headmistress Sushma Kapse, there is …

What if one day all buildings could be equipped with windows and facades that satisfy the structure’s every energy need, whether rain or shine? That sustainability dream is today one step closer to becoming a reality thanks to Polish physicist and businesswoman Olga Malinkiewicz. The 36-year-old has developed a novel …

By tweaking the recipe for coaxing human stem cells into insulin-secreting beta cells, researchers have found that the resulting cells are more responsive to fluctuating glucose levels in the blood. The study, published in the journal Stem Cell Reports , showed that transplanted cells produced insulin at levels that effectively …

Future generations face an environmental “time bomb” as the world’s groundwater systems take decades to respond to the present day impact of climate change, scientists warned on Monday. Groundwater is the largest useable source of freshwater on the planet and more than two billion people rely on it to drink …

After experiencing homelessness in 2011, Sarah Eby found herself constantly collecting things so she would never again feel she had nothing to call her own. “When I moved into my apartment, it just felt empty,” the mother-of-one from Arvada, Colorado, said. “I got everything I could to try and make …

An updated list of Indian amphibians was released on the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) website last week, with 19 species being treated as critically endangered and 33 species as endangered. Nirmal U. Kulkarni, a herpetologist and conservationist from Mhadei Reseach Centre said, “Since 2009, the scientists of the ZSI …

A researcher who claimed to have created the world’s first genetically-edited babies will face a Chinese police investigation, State media said on Monday, as authorities confirmed that a second woman fell pregnant during the experiment. He Jiankui shocked the scientific community last year after announcing he had successfully altered the …

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, …

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. …

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 …

NATIONAL Gaganyaan top priority: ISRO SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT NEW DELHI, JANUARY 19, 2019 00:00 IST UPDATED: JANUARY 19, 2019 05:37 IST SHARE ARTICLE PRINT A A A Spreading out:ISRO Chairman K. Sivan, right, addressing the media in New Delhi on Friday.R.V. Moorthy Spreading out:ISRO Chairman K. Sivan, right, addressing the media …

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 …