business

These days, an inky, sightless night is a rare sight in much of the world. From the harsh glare of streetlamps that make us squint to the gaudy flicker of neon billboards that force sunglass shields, artificial light is blurring the line between day and night. This has meant birds stay active for almost an … Read more

In a small persimmon orchard in northern Greece, scientists carefully open paper bags to release thousands of flies, in an experiment aimed at blunting the destructive impact of new invasive species. The insects are sterile male Mediterranean fruit flies (Ceratitis capitata), a pest that annually causes significant damage to crops in Naousa, where a large … Read more

In 1905, German physician and microbiologist Robert Koch was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for his investigations and discoveries in relation to tuberculosis.” At a time when TB claimed millions of lives, Koch’s identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis as the causative agent transformed medical science and confirmed that the disease was infectious, not … Read more

The U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls mosquitoes the “world’s deadliest animals”. They have good reason. Small, annoying but dangerous: this disease-carrying insect helps kill more than a million people in the world every year. Now, as the world becomes warmer, their domain could be expanding. Previously, mosquitoes were only a concern … Read more

The story so far: The Supreme Court, in Kattavellai @ Devakar v. State of Tamil Nadu, recently issued guidelines to maintain the integrity of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) samples in criminal cases. The court directed the Director Generals of Police of all States to prepare sample forms of the Chain of Custody Register and all other necessary documentation … Read more

A regulator has approved a world-first vaccine to protect koalas from chlamydia infections, which are causing infertility and death in the iconic native species that is listed as endangered in parts of Australia. The single-dose vaccine was developed by the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland state after more than a decade of research … Read more

Fashion is a part of our lives, we breathe it every day. Look around, and you’ll find garment stores everywhere: from small roadside stalls to giant malls, from local shops to global brands. Fashion never goes out of trend. But have you heard of the term fast fashion? Let’s find out what it means. What … Read more

Is Science the only route to getting into high-growth careers these days? Contrary to popular belief, it is not. The world isn’t divided into Science vs. everything else anymore. From apps that track climate change to the psychology behind user-friendly design, today’s problems need minds that are creative, analytical, and tech-aware, regardless of whether they … Read more

In 1994, a landmark paper in Science reported the isolation of an antibody called b12from an HIV-infected individual. The study showed that while pooled plasma containing billions of antibodies from HIV patients could neutralise viruses isolated from only 3 of 12 patients, b12 alone achieved similar neutralisation in 8 of the 12, and that, with … Read more