Science & technology

Probiotics may help treat bipolar disorder and other psychiatric mood disorders, a study has found. Bipolar disorder is a psychiatric condition characterised by dramatic shifts in mood from depression to mania. Currently, the standard treatment includes a combination of psychotherapy and prescription medications. Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-life/probiotics-may-help-treat-bipolar-disorder/article25760057.ece

A camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has captured the image of the InSight lander, which recently touched down on the Red Planet. The InSight lander, its heat shield and parachute were spotted by HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) in one set of images taken on December 6, …

Key questions on whether developed countries would come good on earlier commitments to make available $100 billion annually by 2020 remained unsolved at the end of the Katowice climate summit. Moreover, a fundamental tenet — that developed countries and developing countries have ‘differentiated’ responsibilities towards addressing emissions — appeared to …

Military communication satellite GSAT-7A, due to be launched on December 19 evening from Sriharikota, is expected to add a new space-based dimension to the way Indian Air Force interlinks, operates and communicates with its aircraft. Although all Indian communication satellites offer capacity to the armed forces, GSAT-7A will be the …

Graphene, a form of carbon and a super-strong, ultra-light material discovered in 2004, enables flexible electronic components, enhances solar cell capacity, and promises to revolutionise batteries. Now scientists have added one more use to this list.They have found a potential new application of this material for detecting Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis …

By sequencing the exome (the part of the genome composed of exons that gets translated into proteins) of 32 people from eight families who suffer from mental illness such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and psychosis, Bengaluru-based researchers have identified 42 rare mutations in the genes implicated in very severe mental …

Besides treatment, there is an urgent need for monitoring tuberculosis treatment to achieve better results. Researchers from the National Jalma Institute for Leprosy and Other Mycobacterial Diseases, have succeeded in identifying a couple of cell-based markers to study the response of TB patients to treatment.Currently, studying the sputum of the …

Researchers from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune propose a change in the way epidemiologists estimate the growth and adaptation rate of bacteria. The paper, to be published in Evolutionary Biology, poses this challenge to both theoreticians and experimentalists who are studying the growth of asexual populations …

Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and IIT Kanpur have used a different approach to mimic the development biology pathway by which adult load-bearing, long bones are formed. The bone construct was fabricated by combining tissue engineering and 3D bioprinting. The study also helped in understanding the detailed …

Google has developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) model that can detect diabetic retinopathy with a level of accuracy on par with human retinal specialists, the technology giant said. Verily, an Alphabet-owned company, is working on rolling out the diabetic retinopathy initiative in clinics in India. Source : https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-life/google-s-new-ai-model-to-help-detect-diabetic-retinopathy/article25747996.ece

The Dracula ant, located mostly in the tropics of Africa, Australia and Asia, spend most of their lives burrowed into tree trunks or underground. One could easily beat the Dracula ant in a foot race. But one species,Mystrium camillae, has a pair of ingeniously designed mandibles that can snap at …

The insects are vital as they help fertilise three out of four crops around the world Scientists in Finland have developed what they believe is the world’s first vaccine to protect bees against disease, raising hopes for tackling the drastic decline in insect numbers which could cause a global food …

Time limit for taking down content reduced from 72 to 36 hours The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approached U.S.-based search engine Google for sharing its Application Programming Interface (API) for identifying child sexual abuse material on social media platforms. The MHA is also in talks with Microsoft to …

Take samples of a cavity in Soyuz Using knives and shears, a pair of Russian spacewalkers on Tuesday cut samples of material around a mysterious hole in a Soyuz spacecraft docked on the International Space Station that a Moscow official suggested could have been deliberate sabotage. Roscosmos space agency said …

Signature fossil of modern epoch may be their leftover bones It is one thing to eat chicken every day. It’s something else to have that on your permanent record, as in the geological record, the remnants of our time that archaeologists or aliens of the future will sift through to …

Study raises safety, efficacy concerns; calls for ban on irrational formulations Of the 110 anti-TB (tuberculosis) Fixed Dose Combinations (FDCs) available in India, only 32 (less than 30%) have been approved by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), the country’s drug regulator. In the case of malaria FDCs, only …

Ensures presence of at least one major ship at choke points Against the backdrop of increasing responsibilities in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) with the rising Chinese presence, the Indian Navy has embarked on a major capability upgrade. A Navy officer said that this year, on an average, 35 Navy …

Self-guided, internet-based platforms can help people cope with depression Scientists have found that a series of self-guided, internet-based therapy platforms effectively reduce depression. Researchers from Indiana University (IU) in the U.S. reviewed 21 pre-existing studies with a total of 4,781 participants. In the past several years, many internet-based apps and …

It may trigger cropland expansion, which will further increase greenhouse gas emissions Bioplastics — often promoted as a climate-friendly alternative to petroleum-based plastics — may lead to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, according to a study. According to the study by researchers at the University of Bonn in Germany, …

Astronomers have observed sunspots on the surface of the Sun for nearly 400 years. It is known that sunspots follow a cyclic pattern of growing in number and disappearing in approximately 11 years, known as the sunspot cycle or the Sun’s activity cycle. We are currently in the 24th sunspot …