Science

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Polished white rice may soon get a healthy makeover, as CSIR–NIIST’s designer rice aims to transform a household staple into a protein- and micronutrient-rich food while reducing its glycaemic impact.The CSIR–National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR–NIIST) is set to hold a technology transfer ceremony, “CSIR–NIIST Tech Connect: From Lab to Market,” on…

Positive affirmations, phrases such as “I am worthy” and “I choose happiness” widely shared and talked about on social media are often promoted as tools for improving wellbeing.These upbeat phrases promise a gradual shift in mindset, suggesting that repeating them consistently over time can significantly improve mood and help a person become healthier and happier….

Who was Lise Meitner, the physicist who explained nuclear fission but was denied a Nobel Prize (Image Source – Wikipedia) Work on nuclear physics in the early twentieth century moved across borders, institutes and private letters. Lise Meitner was part of that movement for decades, first in Vienna, then in Berlin, later in Stockholm. Trained…

The universe has delivered the loudest gravitational wave ever recorded, and it appears to have given Einstein’s theory of general relativity one of its toughest tests so far. According to the study published in the APS Journal, the signal, known as GW250114, travelled roughly 1.3 billion light-years before reaching Earth. It was produced by the…

The secret US plan to detonate a nuclear bomb on the Moon In 1958, as Cold War tensions shaped decisions in Washington and Moscow, a study quietly examined whether a nuclear device could be exploded on the Moon. The proposal, known as Project A119, did not move beyond paper. Still, it reflected the climate of…

What will humans look like in a million years? The answer may surprise you Thinking about human appearance far into the future tends to drift into science fiction, but the question is rooted in real science. Human bodies have never been fixed. They have shifted with climate, food supply, disease, movement and technology. A million…

Astronomers have long wondered why planets orbiting two stars like the iconic Tatooine in Star Wars are so rare. You would expect them to be everywhere, really. Most stars form with planets, and a large fraction are born in pairs. Yet double-sun worlds are elusive. New research by University of Berkeley, suggests that the laws…

The International Space Station is back to full strength. Four new astronauts arrived over the weekend, sliding into orbit to replace a crew that left earlier than planned after a sudden medical emergency. It was a tense few weeks for NASA. For the first time in 65 years of human spaceflight, an astronaut had to…

BENGLURU: The Nasa-Isro Synthetic Aperture Radar (Nisar) is now systematically scanning the Indian landmass, offering a new way to track one of agriculture’s most critical but invisible factors: soil moisture.Using advanced radar instruments operating in S- and L-bands, the satellite images the country every 12 days, covering wide swathes at high resolution. Scientists have demonstrated…

This critically endangered ‘monkey-eating bird’ ranks among the largest raptors on Earth The monkey-eating bird is the common nickname for the Pithecophaga jefferyi, better known as the Philippine eagle. The name came from early reports that the bird hunted monkeys in the forests where it lives. The bird is regarded as one of the biggest…