India Special News in English

Toy libraries offer cost-effective alternatives to buying new toys, access to diverse selection, and teach responsibility. Despite the advantages, they find few takers. Challenges include cultural mindset of individual ownership and lack of awareness. We look at a few players in Bengaluru such as Toyflix, ThinkBox, Unnati Books and Toy Library

Wearable lockets with QR code to help track people with dementia and those with special needs

At the Collage X Artmosphere collaboration find handcrafted dinner sets and lamps for Deepavali

Phosphorus is a non-renewable resource that we are rapidly running out of. This is a big problem because it is an essential ingredient in fertilisers – even as it is a major pollutant. We must address both problems with systemic change, not incremental steps.

Kufos scientists develop artificial breeding technology for Indigo barb, a threatened species native to western India. Tech enables production of 75-100 young fish from a mother fish, providing alternative livelihoods to local communities. Project funded by Kerala govt. Plan fund. Handed over to CCARI Director Parveen Kumar by Kufos Director of Extension Daisy C. Kappan.

Fossilised urine from a small African mammal helps us understand past environments

French and Canadian scientist Michel Sadelain was announced as a winner of the prestigious Breakthrough Prize for his pioneering work in CAR T-cell therapy

Known for its hand-embroidered, wedged sneakers, Anaar collaborated with four designers for their runway collection

Controversial technologies intended to offset the effects of atmospheric carbon should banned until properly assessed, a group of politicians and scientists have warned

Controversial technologies intended to offset the effects of atmospheric carbon should banned until properly assessed, a group of politicians and scientists have warned

A video on the K-Circle Quiz Club in Hyderabad and its members who have sustained this group for over 50 years

ISRO's Aditya-L1 mission to Sun's L1 point successful; data collection by STEPS payload begins. ISRO's Aditya-L1 mission to study Sun from L1 point successful; STEPS payload begins data collection.

This flash one of the brightest ever recorded on the giant gas planet, was observed last month.

Birds in India are facing poor conditions due to many factors, including cats. Studies have found cats to be the "single greatest source of anthropogenic mortality" for birds and mammals in the US. Ecologist Monica Kaushik has studied cats' hunting habits in Dehradun and found pet cats hunt birds the most. Cats maintain a 'landscape of fear' and their saliva contains bacteria lethal to birds. Debate on the proper way to deal with cats has spiralled in the West, but India has nearly no data.

Check out The Hindu’s science wrap featuring top 7 stories on new discoveries, findings, and studies in the scientific world from this week.

Germany became the 29th country to sign the Artemis Accords, a U.S.-led multilateral agreement meant to establish norms of behaviour in space and on the lunar surface

Aratrik Dev Varman’s latest collab, which was launched at the 2023 AD Design Show, features tropical landscapes and hat tips to Henri Rousseau, French toile de Jouy textiles and Japanese woodcuts

As more people strap on designer rucksacks, trekking groups in India are innovating to be less intimidating. Luxury trekking companies now host smaller groups, provide lavish meals, roomier tents and network connectivity up in the hills

The launch of the first test vehicle mission is a significant milestone in the Gaganyaan program.

Pooja & Piyush Associates' steel construction projects demonstrate green quotient, fast execution, flexibility, and recyclability. Their Heer Radha Residence and Nuts and Bolts Residence feature steel columns, salvaged wood, PVC, clay blocks, and rotatable louvres. These projects are climate-responsive, use natural insulation, and reduce the carbon footprint.

Fragrances evoke memories, soothe nerves, and energise. From Veeda's 'Bombay luxury' to Rosemoore's 'luxurious yet affordable' range, Niana's 'subtle, evocative, and eclectic' aromas, to Armatuer's 'whittled effect' containers and Maeva's 'collection of keepsakes', there's something for everyone.

Rajesh Thaithara's biggest project yet, Jawan, is a 135-ft dummy train built in 26 days with 80 people. He researched the Mumbai Metro, built the 'iron cage' & 8 doors, and got to watch SRK from a distance. He built vehicles for 2.0, Madras Cafe & more.

The calculated dark energy content of the universe, based on theory, is bizarrely off the mark. In the simplest estimate, there should be enough energy in a cube with sides of length 10^-21 cm to unbind the entire Milky Way, yet in reality there appears to be much, much less. Nobody knows a convincing way to get around this. This is to say that while the universe is observed to be incredibly big, physicists calculate that it must be tinier than a proton. This, in a nutshell, is the cosmological constant problem.

The findings of these studies have been published in various international journals including the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Chemosphere, and Critical Reviews in Biotechnology. 

Reuse, recycle. Hyderabad’s The Bartan Company, founded by Nidarshana Saikia Das, tries to minimise wastage, one event at a time by avoiding plastic plates, glasses and cutlery. Waste is segregated at source and either recycled or composted

This week’s Sci-Five quiz is on famous mathematicians.

Why #bathroomselfie is trending in Bengaluru

Devagi likes to know her condiments and tells us all about ‘spice appreciation’ across Asian cuisines

The auction, expected to fetch around $980,000-1,400,000 (Rs 8.13-11.61 crore), will be held at the Waldorf Astoria Shanghai.

Sir Ian Wilmut, cloning pioneer, dies at 79. He created Dolly the Sheep in 1996, sparking global discussion on cloning ethics. His work at the Roslin Institute for animal biosciences was critical to research on regenerative medicine, gene editing, and cloning of animals, humans, and extinct species. He was knighted in 2008 and retired in 2012. His legacy continues to fuel advances in the field of regenerative medicine.

The winners of the 2022 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize awarded for Science and Technology were announced on Spetember 11, 2023.

The researchers indicated that their findings imply that white-tailed deer may function as a "reservoir" for the coronavirus.

A video on what Indians have to say about buying real estate on the moon, and what the law says

Science Quiz | The obscure mathematics of string theory

After 22 years of marriage, the couple has a healthy social life and mutual understanding. The wife is uncomfortable with the writer's colleague, Bella, who transitioned genders. The writer must find a way to cancel the rendezvous or risk his wife's disapproval.

Astronomers have discovered the first “bubble of galaxies,” an almost unimaginably huge cosmic structure thought to be a fossilised remnant from just after the Big Bang sitting in our galactic backyard

Britain on Thursday said it would join the European Union’s flagship Horizon science research programme and its Copernicus earth observation programme, but not the Euratom nuclear research initiative

Beer has a long history, with many styles and variations. It is the third most consumed beverage in the world, behind tea and water. Beer is made from malt, water, hops and yeast, and can be served as a draught or in cans/bottles. It is often seen as a party-starter, but should be consumed in moderation. Beer has complex styles and definitions, and can be sessionable or not. It is a beverage with a ten-thousand-year history, and is still enjoyed today.

Vaginismus is a psychosomatic condition where involuntary contractions of the vaginal muscles cause pain during penetration, often due to societal taboos and lack of sex education. Dr. Jindal's four-step program, which includes therapy, dilators, pelvic floor exercises, and support groups, has helped over 370 women heal from vaginismus. Open dialogues, age-specific sex ed, and government schemes in regional languages are needed to reduce the prevalence of this condition.

These asteroids aren't expected to threaten the planet, the American space agency said.

Vaginismus is a psychosomatic condition where involuntary contractions of the vaginal muscles cause pain during penetration, often due to societal taboos and lack of sex education. Dr. Jindal's four-step program, which includes therapy, dilators, pelvic floor exercises, and support groups, has helped over 370 women heal from vaginismus. Open dialogues, age-specific sex ed, and government schemes in regional languages are needed to reduce the prevalence of this condition.

The U.N.’s Outer Space Treaty bars private ownership in space, but that isn’t stopping India’s middle-class from buying a slice of the satellite. What’s driving this? And who will have the last laugh?

Kama Ayurveda has also entered a partnership with British retailer Harrods, where it will launch a counter on the fifth floor of the iconic luxury departmental store in October.

U.K. and EU reach deal for Britain to rejoin Horizon Europe science research programme.

Fujianvenator prodigiosus, a pheasant-sized dinosaur, sheds light on the evolutionary stage of birds. It had a puzzling anatomy suggesting it was either a fast runner or lived a lifestyle like a modern wading bird.

A compilation of videos showing Chandrayaan-3’s journey from the Moon’s orbit to its surface

According to scientists, the possibility exists that an Earth-like planet may be concealed within the Kuiper Belt.

On a mission to popularise the cuisine from her Gaud Saraswat Brahmin community, Shubra Shankhwalker believes Goan cuisine is often misrepresented in today’s world. Which is what she aims to change at the event. The four-course menu (non vegetarian and vegetarian versions are available) features dishes such as a pineapple karam, chopped with a mustard chutney; karatyache raite, a bitter gourd raita with peanuts; visvanache hooman, a kingfish curry; aluchi bhaji with colocasia leaves, jackfruit seeds and coconut masala; barille bangde, a stuffed mackerel dish; shirvyo, a dessert with rice noodles and sweetened coconut milk.

Allowing forests to regenerate on their own has been championed as a strategy for reducing planet-heating carbon in the atmosphere while also boosting biodiversity, the benefits ecosystems offer and even the fruitfulness of livelihoods.

As typhoons and hurricanes loom over shorelines around the world, here is a quiz on the scales used to measure their strength.