Science News

Even today, COVID-19 remains a concern, though at significantly reduced levels.

Updated : Jun 9, 2025

'Small step away...': New bat virus similar to Covid emerges in China, raising fresh pandemic fears

The discovery of HKU5-CoV-2 comes amid heightened global vigilance over emerging infectious diseases, a caution rooted in the collective trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic that claimed millions of lives. Since then, several viruses have triggered momentary alarm.

Fusion differs fundamentally from fission, the process used in current nuclear power plants.

Updated : Jun 8, 2025

Nuclear fusion milestone: Germany's Wendelstein 7-X fusion reactor achieves 43-second plasma run, sets new triple product record

Developing nuclear fusion for practical energy use has long challenged researchers. Achieving the extreme conditions required — temperatures above 100 million degrees Celsius — and sustaining them without consuming more energy than produced has remained elusive.

The Axiom-4 (Ax-4) mission will be the first time an Indian astronaut heads to space since Rakesh Sharma flew aboard a Russian Soyuz in 1984.

Updated : Jun 8, 2025

'Hopes of a billion hearts....': India returns to space after 41 years with Shubhanshu Shukla. Watch Axiom-4 mission launch here

Onboard, Shukla will lead food and nutrition-related experiments developed jointly by ISRO and the Department of Biotechnology, with support from NASA. These include sprouting methi and moong in microgravity and returning the seeds for generational cultivation under Earth conditions.

India’s COVID-19 numbers continue to inch slowly towards the 6,000-mark. Active cases now stand at 5,755, with 73 new infections reported in Delhi over the past 24 hours.

Updated : Jun 7, 2025

Covid-19 breakthrough: IIT Guwahati invents low-cost clay test to detect virus faster and more accurately

Calling it a "simple and affordable" approach, the team positioned it against current detection methods that are either too complex or insufficiently accurate. The method, as unassuming as watching sediment settle in saltwater, hinges on how viral presence alters clay particle behaviour, offering a novel, low-cost alternative to conventional testing.

Rising sea levels have become one of the most visible consequences of climate change, driven by melting polar ice and expanding oceans.

Updated : Jun 2, 2025

New York, Dallas, Seattle among US cities sinking fast, study warns 34 million at risk from floods

The report finds that nearly 20% of urban land across the US is experiencing this descent, largely due to the excessive extraction of groundwater. This phenomenon doesn't just compound flood risks along coastlines; it poses a grave threat to inland cities as well.

The Starliner had launched on June 5. By June 6, they were docked to the ISS. But with safety in question, NASA ultimately ruled out using the same capsule for their return, deeming it too risky.

Updated : Jun 1, 2025

‘Definitely went through our minds...’: Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore recounts chilling possibility

Their first critical hurdle came within minutes of arrival. As the Starliner struggled to move forward, ground control managed to reboot the failing thrusters, allowing a successful dock. Still, the uncertainty lingered.

Earth fares better in isolation, but the danger rises if another destabilised planet knocks it off course.

Updated : Jun 1, 2025

Cosmic chaos: NASA simulations reveal Earth could be ejected by a rogue star before the Sun dies

Mercury, for instance, is already the wild card of the inner planets. Its orbit grows more eccentric over time, increasing the chance it could crash into Venus or fall into the Sun. With a rogue star in the mix, Mercury is often the first to go.

Remarkably, it’s ready for industrial use now.

Updated : May 31, 2025

Clean energy revolution: Scientists unveil enzyme shaped by nature that could supercharge global biofuel efficiency

The discovery came from soil samples hidden beneath sugarcane bagasse, the fibrous byproduct left after juice extraction. Here, scientists found a microbial community finely adapted to digesting plant biomass. Within it was CelOCE, a powerful catalyst that wasn’t engineered in a lab but shaped by nature over time.

Causes of the darkening differ by region. Along coastlines, fertiliser runoff and heavy rains stir up sediments, spurring plankton blooms that cloud the water.

Updated : May 30, 2025

‘Over 75 million sq km’: Scientists warn darkening of ocean threatening survival of marine species

Experts used satellite imaging and computer models to study how light penetrates the ocean. They focused on the photic zone — the sunlit layer that supports much of marine life. In 9% of ocean areas, this zone has shrunk by more than 50 metres. In another 2.6%, it has thinned by over 100 metres.

Clinical trials are now underway at Sakai’s lab, with volunteers receiving between 100 and 400 milliliters of the artificial blood.

Updated : May 30, 2025

Revolutionary discovery: Japan’s artificial blood raises hope for global medical game-changer by 2030

The implications are vast. This synthetic blood can be stored for up to two years, a staggering improvement over the typical one-month viability of donated blood. More surprisingly, it’s purple — an unusual twist on the red fluid we associate with life itself.

Unlike typical near-Earth objects, these asteroids don’t follow stable trajectories. (Representational photo)

Updated : May 29, 2025

Three city-killer asteroids hidden behind Venus could strike Earth with nuclear-level impact, scientists sound alarm

Their synchronised orbit with Venus means they could intersect Earth’s path at any time. Of particular concern is their Minimal Orbital Intersection Distance (MOID) — the shortest gap between their orbit and Earth’s — which is alarmingly small, less than 0.0005 astronomical units. That’s even closer than the Moon.

China, Russia, and the US are locked in a tight race for hypersonic dominance. (Representational photo)

Updated : Jun 5, 2025

Racing ahead of US: China claims 600-second RDE test in hypersonic push, raising global military stakes

China’s recent breakthrough, reported by its state media, was achieved by researchers from the National University of Defense Technology. Their small-scale RDE, tested in a wind tunnel, reportedly maintained continuous operation for 10 minutes — an unprecedented duration.

The lenses rely on nanotechnology to transform invisible near-infrared light into visible images

Updated : May 25, 2025

Sci-fi vision unlocked: These $200 lenses let users see invisible light, hinting at aid for colour blindness

Night-vision goggles allow humans to see infrared, but they're bulky, require power, and offer only green-tinted images. These new lenses are lightweight and power-free — and they deliver infrared visuals in multiple colours.

LF.7 and NB.1.5, both sub-lineages of JN.1, are now under the World Health Organization’s radar as Variants Under Monitoring.

Updated : May 24, 2025

COVID-19 makes a quiet return: India detects NB.1.8.1 variant as JN.1 drives 53% of infections

The JN.1 strain, a descendent of the BA.2.86 lineage (also known as 'Pirola'), has outpaced earlier variants due to its ability to spread rapidly and partially evade existing immunity. It carries more than 35 mutations in its spike protein, especially in the receptor-binding domain, which helps it latch onto human cells more effectively.

And when it does, the consequences could ripple through agriculture, disaster response, and entire economies — starting in 2025.

Updated : May 23, 2025

Alarming bells ringing: Scientists warn Atlantic cycle may flip cool by 2025, triggering global weather shocks

What makes the AMO unique is its scale and stealth. It doesn’t show up in weather apps. It doesn’t get the attention of melting glaciers or record heat waves. But it works in the background, rearranging the climate chessboard.

For now, this flyby is a cosmic near-miss — and a potent reminder that in space, safety is never guaranteed.

Updated : May 23, 2025

NASA issues alert: Eiffel Tower-sized asteroid to make 'close encounter' with Earth at 30,000 km/h this weekend

Just days earlier, on May 21, a smaller asteroid named 2025 KF made an even closer pass — just 111,000 kilometres from Earth, or less than a third of the distance to the Moon.

Although it’s unclear whether the bacterium poses any health risk to Tiangong’s crew, the discovery underscores the importance of monitoring microbial life in spacecraft.

Updated : May 22, 2025

Guest from space: Bacteria found on Chinese space station resists radiation. Will it threaten astronauts?

Researchers highlighted that the new microbe differs structurally and functionally in two key proteins. These differences may boost its ability to form biofilms, handle oxidative stress, and repair radiation-induced damage — key survival skills in the space environment.

A similar technique was also recently shown to be effective in tracking colon cancer therapies, suggesting the potential for even broader applications. (Representational photo)

Updated : May 22, 2025

Pancreatic cancer breakthrough: AI-based blood test proves faster, simpler than biopsies

Traditional imaging can be slow and is often unreliable for patients undergoing immunotherapy. The new testing method on the other hand, can show signs of response as early as four weeks into treatment, confirmed by its performance in the PACTO trial.

Until now, the origin of dark matter remained purely speculative.

Updated : May 18, 2025

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