Science

NASA has signalled a significant change in its lunar exploration plans by opening the prestigious US moon landing contract to additional bidders. The decision comes amid growing delays with SpaceX’s Starship lunar lander, which was originally selected in 2021 to carry astronauts back to the Moon under the Artemis 3 mission. Acting NASA administrator Sean…

Astronomers have observed odd and strange lights on the Moon, or Transient Lunar Phenomena (TLPs), for centuries. These TLPs vary from bright, short flashes to weak glows and transitory colour changes, drawing the interest of observers across the globe. More than 3,000 TLPs have been sighted so far, but their precise causes are unknown. Scientists…

Like Tony Stark’s Arc Reactor — the fictional, self-sustaining power source that fuels Iron Man’s suit — a real-life innovation is taking shape in a British lab. Kerala-born biomedical engineer Dr. Arathyram Ramachandra Kurup Sasikala is developing battery-free medical implants that generate electricity from the body’s own movement — a breakthrough that could one day…

We have all heard someone say, “He has his father’s temper” or “Anger runs in the family.” But is this really true or just an excuse for losing your cool? Science suggests there may be more to this saying than we think. A large genome-wide study on over 8,700 adults found that certain genetic markers…

Photograph of sappan heartwood used for the study BENGALURU: A team of chemists at Christ University has turned a traditional Asian dye wood into a scientific tool to tackle one of the most persistent problems in food safety—detecting when milk begins to spoil.Using extracts from Caesalpinia sappan L., or sappan heartwood, the researchers have developed…

China successfully launched a Pakistani remote sensing satellite into orbit on Sunday, accompanied by two of its own satellites, underscoring the deepening space collaboration between the two long-time allies.A Lijian-1 Y8 carrier rocket carrying three satellites—the Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite (PRSS-2) and China’s AIRSAT 03 and 04—was launched from a commercial aerospace innovation pilot zone…

Source: Tropical Natural Survey Scientists exploring northern Thailand’s hidden caves have made an extraordinary discovery: a new millipede species that resembles a tiny dragon. Found in the Pha Daeng Cave of Mae Hong Son Province near the Myanmar border, this unusual creature has attracted global scientific attention for its unique appearance and behaviour. Named Desmoxytes…

Nurse Rod Salaysay works with all kinds of instruments in the hospital: a thermometer, a stethoscope and sometimes his guitar and ukulele.In the recovery unit of UC San Diego Health, Salaysay helps patients manage pain after surgery. Along with medications, he offers tunes on request and sometimes sings. His repertoire ranges from folk songs in…

If life ever existed on Mars, traces of it could still be preserved beneath the planet’s icy surface. Recent experiments conducted by NASA and Penn State University suggest that fragments of biomolecules from ancient microbes may survive in Martian ice for tens of millions of years. Laboratory simulations exposed frozen samples of E. coli to…

Mumbai: Sensex rallied to a 52-week high on Friday at above the 84,100-point mark in early trades but end-of-the-session profit taking pulled the index down a bit and it closed 485 points up at just below the 84k mark. Since Tuesday, the sensex has risen nearly 2,000 points or 2.3%.On NSE, Nifty gained 178 points…