Science

Evolution is a continuous process by which species adapt to their changing environment. English naturalist Charles Darwin expanded this simplistic understanding to say that species evolve by way of natural selection, which leads to genetic changes in individuals that favour the survival and reproduction of the same traits. It also meant that various species originated

In a recent discovery, astronomers have spotted an exoplanet or a super-Earth that is four times the size of our planet. The exoplanet named Ross 508 b revolves around a red dwarf star called Ross 508. Although the star is located just 36.5 light-years away, it is too dim to be seen with naked eyes.

Ever wondered why watching someone yawn instantly triggers a similar urge in you to open your mouth? While scientists have understood the physiological purpose behind yawning, the reason why it is so contagious among social animals has kept them puzzled. According to Andrew Gallup, an evolutionary biologist from the State University of New York Polytechnic

Ever since NASA confirmed the presence of water on the moon, a number of researches have been conducted to understand the source of water on the surface. And, now, a new research has suggested a very unlikely source for this water. It stated that the presence of water on the Earth’s closest neighbour could be

Global warming is posing an existential threat to the Siberian tundra, the frozen lands near the Arctic Circle, researchers have said in a new study. The researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Germany, prepared a computer simulation of how global warming could affect the tundra — a special ecosystem consisting

As we age, the retention power of our memory often degrades. This makes performing everyday tasks difficult. It gets very difficult to remember things. For instance, elderly people could forget by afternoon what they ate for breakfast. They may even find it difficult to recall a conversation they had with someone. One key brain region

Coral reefs hide within them several secrets that are difficult for scientists to record and study. Experts must do rigorous analyses to determine reef health based on sound recordings because coral reefs have a complex soundscape. Now, in a new research, artificial intelligence (AI) can track the health of coral reefs by learning the “song

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the USA’s space agency, has conducted several probes and expeditions over the years to find answers to several hidden answers. In 1977, NASA launched Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 to fly across the solar system and give humanity unprecedented access to the world far away from us. On each

Black holes are thought to reside at the centre of most galaxies, including our Milky Way, holding important clues to the functioning of these giants. A group of researchers has now found a previously overlooked trove of massive black holes in dwarf galaxies. Black holes are usually detected when they actively grow by consuming gas

On August 15, 1977, a mysterious ‘Wow!’ signal had briefly blared through a radio telescope that lasted for 72 seconds. Now, almost half a century later, researchers may have discovered the source of the alleged alien broadcast. A study recently published on May 6 indicates that the signal likely came from a Sun-like star located

Artificial intelligence or AI algorithms trained on real astronomical observations speed up the pace of discoveries. However, astronomers at the University of California, Berkeley, discovered that AI can reveal unsuspected connections hidden in complex mathematics arising from general relativity — in particular, how that idea is applied to the discovery of new planets around other

For many people around the world, watching television has long been a favourite pastime. But if you’re watching television for long periods of time, it’s time to reconsider your daily routine. According to a new study, watching TV for lengthy durations can increase the risk of coronary heart disease, regardless of one’s genetic composition. The

An international group of astronomers has revived an alternative gravity theory, known as Milgromian Dynamics or MOND. A majority of astronomers agree that there’s something out there, called a ‘dark matter’, which causes spiral galaxies to rotate faster than they should. If we follow the rules of physics, galaxies rotate so quickly that they should

A mirror world is a common trope in fantasy and fiction, but it may also be the answer to one of Space’s biggest mysteries today. A group of scientists behind a new research paper suggest that a “mirror world” of particles that remains unseen from us may be the answer to the Hubble Constant problem.

Aerospace firm SpaceX is looking to raise $1.7 billion (roughly Rs. 13,192 crore) in fresh funding, a massive initiative as its controversial founder Elon Musk continues to make news, television channel CNBC reported Sunday. Citing a company-wide email the network said it obtained, CNBC reported the space travel pioneer would be paying $70 (roughly Rs.

Scientists have long tried to create new allotropes (forms) of carbon because of their versatility and usefulness for the industry. But only limited success was achieved so far. That is set to change now. In a major breakthrough, researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder, US, have successfully synthesised the long-hypothesised “next-generation wonder material” graphyne.

NASA is planning to make another attempt at testing the Artemis 1 SLS rocket in early June for the last time before launching it into space. The space agency said it will bring the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft to the launchpad at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida in early June

NASA will soon be scaling up its documentation of environmental and societal changes on Earth. The space agency will achieve this by working in collaboration with its partners in Europe and Japan, namely ESA (European Space Agency) and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency). The collaboration will include utilising all the Earth-observing satellite data available so

Auroras are natural light displays, forming dynamic patterns of brilliant lights in the Earth’s sky because of disturbances in the magnetosphere caused by the solar wind — jet of charged particles coming from the Sun. The magnetosphere is an area of space controlled by a planet’s magnetic field. Except Mercury, almost all planets in the

Photonic materials are the ones that emit, detect or manipulate light. These materials play a crucial role in various sectors such as telecommunications, data processing and storage, and solar cells. Because of their vast usage, there is a continuous need to make them efficient. Researchers, at the University of Central Florida (UCF), are developing new

Billionaire Elon Musk took to Twitter late on Thursday to denounce as “utterly untrue” claims in a news report that he had sexually harassed a flight attendant on a private jet in 2016. Business Insider reported earlier on Thursday that Musk’s SpaceX paid $250,000 (roughly Rs. 2 crore) in 2018 to settle a sexual harassment

NASA’s Cold Atom Lab aboard International Space Station (ISS) has come up with a discovery that can give a new direction to quantum research. In this lab, researchers have experimented with gas to form an exotic material. Gas, when cooled to nearly absolute zero (minus 459 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 273 degrees Celsius) formed small,

NASA astronauts and officials on Wednesday said Boeing’s Starliner space capsule is ready for its uncrewed launch this week to the International Space Station, a long-delayed test mission meant to demonstrate the aerospace giant can safely fly humans in space. Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner capsule, a gumdrop-shaped astronaut pod, has experienced multiple setbacks in recent years.

Unidentified flying objects or UFOs have always been a subject of mystery and intrigue for the scientific community. Yet, studying these objects has often been dismissed as a non-serious discipline or pseudoscience. However, things changed this week. For the first time in 50 years, the US Congress held an open hearing on unidentified aerial phenomena

Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness across the globe. People suffering from glaucoma have their optical nerves damaged. This nerve damage, which curbs the relay of visual information to the brain, is often caused by abnormally high pressure in the eye. Wouldn’t it be useful if there’s a way to reduce eye

As we gradually move towards the Internet of Things (IoT), the volume of data is set to skyrocket. With it, the demand for lightweight, high-performance, mobile data processing devices will also increase. To develop such devices, we would first need organic integrated circuits with organic transistors. However, the integration density of these circuits has been

Supernovas are one of the most mysterious as well as luminous explosions of a star in space. In fact, they are the biggest explosions that humans have ever seen. They take place so far away that it requires powerful telescopes to spot them. A supernova typically occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive

Everyone needs a good night’s sleep, more so in the rapidly changing world where lifestyle changes are taking a toll on physical and mental health. It is well documented how an adequate amount of sleep can help us feel better and perform our daily chores efficiently. It makes us feel full of energy. But why does

In its over 30 years of service, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has captured some intriguing images of the cosmos, helping astronomers in understanding the mysterious events taking place up there. One of these images is of the spiral galaxy named NGC 3147. This majestic galaxy is located about 130 million light-years away in the constellation

Space is a mysterious place and many people around the world are working to uncover it layer by layer. Still, quite a few puzzling events up there remain unexplained. Scientists now believe there may be invisible walls in space. However, these walls are not anything like the walls of a room. Instead, they are more

The biggest question that scientists are grappling with in relation to Mars is this: Did the Red Planet ever host life? While the quest for finding life on Mars is underway, and with more vigour than ever before, it is unlikely any conclusive result will be found soon. NASA aims to bring back Martian samples

The energy industry is continuously evolving, sometimes throwing out astonishing results. As the current sources of energy are depleted, mankind has been pushed into the top gear to find new and reliable sources to sustain life as we know it today. One of the most promising developments has been a renewed effort to harness solar

Our updates on social media gives world an insight into our personality in general and our needs and perspectives on those issues in particular. But what if there’s also a way to judge how we were feeling exactly at the time we shared an image, a video or any other post. To be able to