Science & technology

In a bid to reduce global air pollution, Swedish home furnishing company IKEA on Thursday announced its plan to turn rice straw into a new renewable material source for its products. The project, part of the company’s ‘Better Air Now’ initiative, will begin from India and is focussed on New …

The human lifespan is increasing by approximately three years every generation — a trend likely to continue, a Stanford study has found. A team of researchers analysed life expectancy data from the past 50 years and found that people who survive to age 65 are continuing to live longer than …

But the technological and medical hurdles are immense Deadly radiation from the cosmos, potential vision loss, and atrophying bones are just some of the challenges scientists must overcome before any future astronaut can set foot on Mars, experts and top NASA officials said on Tuesday. The U.S. space agency believes …

U.S. FDA is giving companies two years to purge products that use any of the six artificial flavours Six artificial flavours are being ordered out of the food supply in a dispute over their safety, but good luck to anyone who wants to know which cookies, candies or drinks they’re …

Heaviest satellite to be carried on indigenous rocket Amid concerns of Cyclone Gaja spoiling the launch of the country’s heaviest satellite to be carried on board an indigenous rocket from Indian soil, the Indian Space Research Organisation pulled off the feat to perfection on Wednesday, a crucial launch for ISRO …

Committee to submit report to government to alleviate woesof victims The Assurances Committee of the Legislative Council on Wednesday directed the Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner to get the surface and the groundwater of endosulfan-affected areas tested to verify whether they are the still contaminated with the chemical. Chairing a review …

Wants IONS members to be part of it The Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) being commissioned by the Indian Navy as an adjunct to its Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) in Gurugram will be independent of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) forum, but the …

Refrigerants are the major contributors to global warming By 2022, India is expected to have a fourth of the world’s air conditioning units, and the risks to climate from this could be immense, according to a report. The refrigerants used for cooling are the major contributors to global warming, and …

Mars sunrise recreated with musical piece Scientists have created the soundtrack of the 5,000th Mars sunrise captured by NASA’s rover, Opportunity, using data sonification techniques. Researchers from the Anglia Ruskin University and the University of Exeter in the U.K. created the two-minute piece of music, titled Mars Soundscapes. It will …

Pedal desks can help sedentary employees achieve their health goals, and lower the risk of diseases linked to physical inactivity, such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease, a study has found. Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in U.S. found that pedalling while conducting work tasks improved insulin responses …