Science

Goblin shark near Tonga Trench (2024). Credit: Minderoo-University of Western Australia Deep-Sea Research Center and Inkfish For the first time, scientists have filmed live goblin sharks swimming freely in their natural deep-sea habitat, giving researchers a glimpse of one of the world’s rarest and most mysterious sharks without removing it from the ocean. The discovery…

Bumblebees may be carrying a far heavier burden of toxic metals than honeybees, even when both species forage in the same countryside. The research found that pollen collected by bumblebees contained between two and seven times higher concentrations of several harmful metals, including arsenic, chromium, lead and tin, compared with pollen gathered by nearby honeybees….

Isaac Newton (Image: Wikipedia) Isaac Newton spent his entire career proving that the universe follows precise, predictable laws. Then he lost a fortune betting on people, and admitted the difference out loud. “I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies but not the madness of people,” he is reported to have said, after watching his…

BENGALURU: Isro has completed the fifth Integrated Main Parachute Airdrop Test (IMAT-05), clearing another milestone towards the first uncrewed Gaganyaan mission by qualifying the crew module’s main parachute system to withstand the maximum expected loads during descent.“The test, conducted on July 7 at the Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE) drop zone in Sheopur…

Seaweed is no longer just an aquatic flora, it has now transformed into a nuisance, especially for scientists. Sargassum, a genus of brown macroalgae that was once largely confined to the Sargasso Sea has evolved into the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt that stretches across 5,000 miles. In May alone, scientists detected 37.5 million tons of…

Mangrove forests rank among the world’s most valuable coastal ecosystems, shielding communities from storms, storing vast amounts of carbon and providing nurseries for countless marine species. For decades, scientists warned that these unique forests were disappearing faster than many tropical rainforests because of coastal development, aquaculture and pollution. Now, new satellite observations from Nasa present…

When roads, railways or new buildings are planned, centuries-old trees are often among the first casualties of development. In Japan, however, some of the country’s most valuable trees are given a second chance. Rather than cutting them down, arborists and horticultural experts sometimes relocate them using a painstaking process that can take months or even…

From luxury truffles to everyday chocolate bars, foil has long been one of the most recognisable forms of chocolate packaging. While its glossy metallic appearance adds a premium feel, its purpose goes far beyond aesthetics. Chocolate is highly sensitive to heat, moisture, oxygen and strong odours, all of which can affect its texture, flavour and…

For years, the idea that Mars once held vast amounts of water has remained one of planetary science’s most persistent questions. Dry river valleys, mineral deposits, and ancient lake basins have all hinted that the planet looked very different billions of years ago, but proving the existence of a true ocean has been far more…

Football has a habit of borrowing the language of space. Players become stars, matches are described as astronomical, and careers are measured by how brightly they shine. Every so often, though, the comparison drifts into something more literal. More than a decade ago, astronomers studying one of the earliest known galaxies in the universe chose…