Science & technology

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 …