In 2017, the annual economic costs of all tobacco products for the population aged 35 years and above in India were estimated at ₹1,773.4 billion (1.04% of GDP), in addition to ₹566.7 billion (0.33% of GDP) in annual healthcare costs attributable to second-hand smoking. (These costs include “direct medical and nonmedical expenditures, indirect morbidity costs, … Read more
Representative image | Photo Credit: The Hindu The story so far: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) will initiate wastewater surveillance for 10 viruses across 50 cities over the next six months. Currently, five cities are being monitored. The move is aimed at identifying any increase in virus growth trend at the earliest, said … Read more
NVS-02 undergoing a vibration test. Photo: ISRO Officials at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) say they are looking to launch at least three satellites before 2026-end, to replace defunct satellites that are part of the ‘Indian GPS’ or Navic (Navigation with Indian constellation) system. However, there seems to be a key element impeding the launch … Read more
In this screengrab from a video posted on August 23, 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks on the occasion of ‘National Space Day’. | Photo Credit: PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday (August 23, 2025) asked space scientists to prepare for a deep space exploration mission to unravel the secrets that brighten the future … Read more
At around 6 pm IST on August 23, 2023, the Vikram lander of the Chandrayaan-3 mission of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) gently touched down on the moon. Thus, India became only the fourth country with a national space agency that had executed a controlled lunar landing. In honour of the occasion, Prime Minister … Read more
An artist’s rendering of the seven planets that orbit the star Trappist-1. | Photo Credit: NASA Astronomical temperatures are usually estimated from spectroscopic measurements. The spectroscope was invented in 1859 by two German scientists, Robert Bunsen and Gustav Kirchhoff. It was first used to analyse the elements in a substance heated to incandescence. Each element … Read more
When we cut our fingernails every so often, using a nail clipper, for convenience or in a cosmetic procedure, they grow back. Made of the protein keratin, nails offer us protection from damage. When an infant’s fingertip is amputated, but only the part beyond the last joint, it grows back to its original shape. A … Read more
This plot between the absorbance (y-axis) and concentration of a solution illustrates the X-Lambert law. X, named August Beer, whose last name is also a popular beverage. Students often use it as a humorous measure of absorbance. Q: Radiation exposure is usually measured in sieverts, but scientists sometimes explain tiny doses in a lighter way, … Read more
The story so far: The African Union (AU) has endorsed the ‘Correct the Map’ campaign to replace the Mercator map projection with alternatives such as the Equal Earth map. At the heart of this demand is the charge that the Mercator projection, still widely used in schools, media, and online platforms, systematically distorts the sizes … Read more
ISRO chairman V. Narayanan addresses an ISRO Press Meet, at the National Media Centre in New Delhi on August 21, 2025. | Photo Credit: ANI The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman, V. Narayanan, on Thursday (August 21, 2025), said the Falcon 9 rocket team that launched Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla to the … Read more