Science

We’ve been talking about aliens on Mars for decades. If the Red Planet has got something to show, Earth’s rovers will surely find a hint of it — this has been our belief for years. It seems like NASA’s Curiosity rover is already finding some sneaky details on the planet. Curiosity keeps sending images from

A quake of magnitude 5 shook the surface of Mars on May 4, as per a seismometer placed by NASA’s InSight lander on the planet. The seismic event has been dubbed a “monster” quake by the space agency given that it is the strongest temblor ever detected not just on Mars but also on any

Boeing is feuding with Aerojet Rocketdyne, a key supplier for its Starliner spacecraft, as the US aerospace giant races to test launch the uncrewed astronaut capsule and mend its reputation in the space sector, people familiar with the matter said. The CST-100 Starliner is scheduled for a May 19 Florida launch atop an Atlas 5

The first ever photograph of a black hole — a fiery ring of light that surrounded a black pit of emptiness — stunned the world three years ago. The Event Horizon Telescope, a global network of synchronised radio dishes serving as one large telescope, brought that image of the black hole at the centre of

NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope’s Infrared Array Camera achieved great feats for the American Space agency. The retired observatory has captured several spectacular images of the deep space until recently. It was the first of its kind to provide high-resolution images of the near- and mid-infrared universe. And, now, we are glad that it has received

The intrigue around black holes is something that fascinates every space enthusiast. The physics behind it has troubled scientists for decades. These mysterious space elements are known as powerful cosmic engines because they provide the energy for quasars and active galactic nuclei. We may be discussing the magnetic field of black holes, but black holes

A unique characteristic of the geology of Mars has been revealed in breathtaking clarity in the latest release from the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Mars Express orbiter. The surface of the Red Planet appears to have enormous scratches across it. These marks, however, are part of the Tantalus Fossae, a massive fault system on Mars. Apart

While scientists all over the world are exploring the Moon to find ways to maintain a sustainable human presence, researchers from China have claimed that the lunar soil has the potential to generate oxygen and fuel. They say the soil on the Moon contains active compounds that can convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and fuels.

Researchers at the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) here in collaboration with the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) have developed an optogenetic tool which can help understand brain disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, depression and schizophrenia. In a statement, the JMI said that the tool can study molecular trafficking in neurons and has been developed by

Science is an important but less popular part of sports. We, as viewers, often overlook the techniques employed by players in the excitement to enjoy the spirit of the game. However, a team’s support staff is keenly on the lookout for the finer details. Consider cricket for instance. While most viewers are interested in how

With the rapid advancement of technology, the manipulation of electromagnetic waves and information has become key to the modern lifestyle. This has called for the development of intelligent metasurfaces – those that do not require manual intervention to control wave-information-matter interaction. To this end, a group of researchers tried to study the development of intelligent

The most comprehensive genetic assessment to date of the vaquita, the world’s rarest marine mammal, is offering a glimmer of hope that this small tropical porpoise native to Mexico’s Gulf of California may avoid extinction despite its population dwindling to about 10. Researchers said on Thursday genome data from 20 vaquitas showed that while the

The third long-duration astronaut team launched by SpaceX to the International Space Station (ISS) safely returned to Earth early on Friday, splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico off Florida to end months of orbital research ranging from space-grown chilies to robots. The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying three US NASA astronauts and a European

The universe is full of enigma and mysteries. Millions of objects move around undetected. In fact, there’s no dearth of such objects lurking in our very own Milky Way galaxy. We know very little of them, yet they continue to impact our lives in a number of ways. While the effort to study these objects

Autism, a development disorder, can end up impairing a person’s ability to communicate and interact. It affects the nervous system and affects cognitive, social, emotional and physical well-being of an individual. To understand the symptoms disorder in detail, a team of researchers studied lab-grown brains developed from human cells and uncovered changes in neurological structure that

A robot “chef” is being trained by Cambridge University researchers to taste food and determine if it is adequately seasoned while cooking it just like a human. The robot is being trained to even develop the ability to alter the flavour of the food, based on the preferences of the user. So, does this mean

Two Indian student groups have won the NASA 2022 Human Exploration Rover Challenge to recognise a new generation of potential space explorers. Announced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration during a virtual awards ceremony on April 29, the challenge involved as many as 91 teams, including 58 colleges and 33 high schools. Decent Children

Black holes are intriguing and mysterious objects. They are dreaded, too, because their gravitational pull is so strong that they do not allow anything to pass through them, not even light, except on the rare occasions when they feed. When a black hole pulls in gas and dust from an orbiting star, it sends out

Google said on Monday it had recently fired a senior engineering manager after colleagues, whose landmark research on artificial intelligence software he had been trying to discredit, accused him of harassing behaviour. The dispute, which stems from efforts to automate chip design, threatens to undermine the reputation of Google’s research in the academic community. It

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter, the first probe to ever fly on another planet, has captured images of the landing gear that helped it and its companion, the Perseverance rover, land on Mars in February 2021. NASA has shared the images, saying the copter snapped at the wreckage during its 26th flight on the Red Planet. The