Science

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pennsylvania, US, said in a recent paper that they have developed an “effective, low-cost therapeutic intervention” to block the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Syrian hamsters. The therapy, called the Pittsburgh inhalable Nanobody 21 (PiN-21), could provide a needle-free alternative to monoclonal antibodies for treating early

The launch of a Soyuz rocket carrying 36 UK telecommunication and Internet satellites has been postponed until Friday, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said. OneWeb, a London-headquartered company, is working to complete the construction of a constellation of low Earth orbit satellites providing enhanced broadband and other services to countries around the world. The launch

Lockheed Martin and General Motors have come together to develop lunar rovers for NASA’s upcoming Artemis missions to the Moon. This will be the first manned mission to the moon since the last Apollo mission in 1972, and is aiming to land astronauts on the Moon in 2024. The companies have developed an autonomous rover

A team of researchers appears to have identified the total lifespan of a human body. They believe the upper limit of a human body could be as much as 150 years, which leaves Jeanne Calment, the oldest human to have lived, behind by some years. Calment passed away in 1997 at the age of 122

Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station (ISS), said in an interview landing a rover on Mars is “almost indescribably difficult,” but humans are going to get there eventually to find out whether we’re alone in the universe. He also addressed the curiosity over the recent sightings of UFOs, saying he has seen

From carrying parts of the first rocket on a bicycle to finding water on the Moon, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has come a long way since its inception and has been pioneering space missions with untiring zeal. Following its incredible success over the years, it is worthwhile to also celebrate its journey, its

In a first and what is truly a breakthrough in medicine, a team of doctors has succeeded in partially restoring the vision of a patient using optogenetic therapy. The patient, who was part of a study, had retinitis pigmentosa, a neurodegenerative eye disease where the loss of photoreceptors could lead to complete blindness. Following the

The UK space agency is aiming to send a spacecraft to Mars in roughly half the time it takes now to reach the Red Planet, using nuclear powered-engines to be built by Rolls Royce. It said its research with the engineering company will explore the “game-changing potential” of nuclear power to send astronauts to Mars

China’s first Mars rover has driven down from its landing platform and is now roaming the surface of the red planet, China’s space administration said Saturday. The solar-powered rover touched Martian soil at 10:40am Saturday Beijing time (8:10am IST), the China National Space Administration said. Now I’m “literally” on Mars surface. At UTC 2:40, May 22,

Inspired by iconic laser displays seen in science-fiction movies, such as Star Trek and Star Wars, US researchers have figured out how to create real-life images that move in the air. And the results are truly out of this world. They used lasers and a tiny particle free-floating in the air to create digital images

NASA has released a stunning image of a galactic cluster — ACO S 295 — that is 3.5 billion light-years away from the Earth taken by the Hubble telescope. It is in the middle of an overwhelming number of other galaxies and a similar number of stars in the small southern constellation of Horologium, also

A few years ago if someone asked you to imagine spaceships as a mode of everyday transport, you would dismiss the idea, right? But the Japanese government, along with private companies, is all set to develop an intercontinental passenger spaceship network that will enable people to fly to the major cities of the world in

A new research with an artificial thumb attached to the palm has yielded surprising results in understanding human brain functions. It showed that people using the robotic extra thumb were able to naturally perform complex tasks, like building towers from wooden blocks and stirring coffee while holding it, in just a few days. The participants

The favorite space travel maneuvers in and out of a wormhole of science-fiction fables could be more real than we thought. Physicists initially did not know whether black holes existed in the real world. Over the years, they said black holes are very real and then showed they even exist in our galaxy, using the theory

COVID-19 has completely upended our lives. Apart from the unimaginable loss of human lives, the coronavirus pandemic has also impacted the environment in many ways. For example, the enormous amount of medical waste generated due to the crisis definitely has had a huge impact on our environment. But the scale of this is yet not known. So,

US Air Force (USAF) is trying to make space-based solar power a reality. The USAF aims to achieve something that it believes will go a long way in addressing the energy demand of its military personnel deployed at remote bases in the short term. However, it would ultimately be made available for civilian use. It

NASA has announced that plans for its Ingenuity Mars helicopter to make its sixth flight on the Red Planet next week are underway. This comes two weeks after the helicopter made its fifth flight on May 7 when it completed its first one-way trip, travelling 423 feet (129 metres), then reaching an altitude of 33

European Space Agency (ESA) is set to launch a new spacecraft, but they haven’t officially named the mission yet. And for that, they need your help. ESA has invited people to propose names for its new spacecraft, that for the time being is referred to as “Lagrange.” The first-of-its-kind spacecraft is tasked with spotting potentially

A huge iceberg, the world’s largest, has broken off from an ice shelf in Antarctica and is floating through the Weddell Sea, the European Space Agency said.  Called A-76 and roughly the shape of Manhattan but more than 70 times bigger, it was picked up on satellite images and is “currently the largest berg in

Daniel Kahneman, the Nobel laureate famous for his research on how cognitive biases lead us to make irrational decisions, has stated that humans stand no chance against artificial intelligence (AI). The 87-year-old Israeli-born psychologist said he believes AI will lead to a massive disruption because the technology is developing very rapidly for people to adjust

Blue Origin, billionaire Jeff Bezos’ rocket company, disclosed $2 million (roughly Rs. 15 crores) as the current highest bid for a seat on its New Shepard spacecraft after the startup closed the first phase of its auction. The second phase of the auction is underway and will last until June 10. The process will conclude

NASA shared stunning footage of its Ingenuity Mars Helicopter taking flight on the red planet a few weeks ago. Now, the agency’s engineers have rendered the flight in 3D and shared a video of the same on their YouTube channel. The helicopter takes off vertically, hovers for a few seconds before zooming past our eyes

Google Health received new tools that will help users identify different dermatology issues through Artificial Intelligence (AI) and a smartphone’s camera. Additionally, the AI will also help in screening Tuberculosis (TB) to identify potential patients for follow-up testing. Google’s AI technology will help users identify issues related to a user’s skin, hair, and nails. The

European Space Agency (ESA) is focussing hard on building its own version of low-cost reusable rockets with their Prometheus and Phoebus demonstration projects. This week, the space agency signed two contracts worth a total value of EUR 149.5 million (roughly Rs. 1,333 crores) with ArianeGroup that it said will benefit Europe’s new Ariane 6 launcher

While the pandemic has led to people and authorities shifting their focus on fighting the coronavirus, some technology companies are trying to use this situation as a pretext to push “unproven” artificial intelligence (AI) tools into workplaces and schools, according to a report in the journal Nature. Amid a serious debate over the potential for

Blood Moon 2021 is set to appear on May 26. Commonly known as total lunar eclipse or purna chandra grahan in Hindi, a Blood Moon appears when the Moon moves into the Earth’s shadow and reflects a reddish colour light in the sky. The first — and the last — Blood Moon of 2021 will

The biodiversity we see around us is a product of millions of years of evolution on the earth. To understand how animals and plants have evolved or come to exist on this planet, one can make use of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecules that are present in cells of most living organisms. DNA provides biological

An uncrewed Chinese spacecraft successfully landed on the surface of Mars on Saturday, state news agency Xinhua reported, making China the second space-faring nation after the United States to land on the Red Planet. The Tianwen-1 spacecraft landed on a site on a vast plain known as Utopia Planitia, “leaving a Chinese footprint on Mars

When astronauts go for spacewalks aboard the International Space Station (ISS), they not only have to share their spacesuits, but also the garment worn underneath. Known as the Liquid Cooling and Ventilation Garment (LCVG), it resembles a long underwear, and helps keep the astronauts cool and comfortable when they’re out working on the station. Now,

NASA and its peers around the world conducted a “table-top” exercise last month to determine the time scientists will take to understand and find ways to prevent a catastrophic collision of an incoming asteroid into the Earth. The simulation was hypothetical and intended to allow scientists time to prepare for such situations if that were