More than a century ago, a 26-year-old Albert Einstein explained Brownian motion in one of four papers he published in his annus mirabilis, the miraculous year, called because these papers shot him to fame. Brownian motion is the random jittering of small particles in a fluid, caused because they’re constantly colliding with molecules around them. … Read more
Where it all began… Did you know that a rough conservative estimate of India’s tiger population at the start of the 20the Century was around 40,000? The top end of the estimates even placed the number of tigers in the Indian subcontinent in 1900 at around 1,00,000! That number, however, nosedived to a mere 1,827 … Read more
The story so far: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to launch the NISAR satellite from Sriharikota on July 30 onboard a GSLV Mk-II rocket. ‘NISAR’ stands for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar and is a joint mission of the two space agencies. It is a sophisticated earth-observation satellite designed to study changes on … Read more
Crates of tomatoes lined up at the Rayakottai mandi in Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu. | Photo Credit: N. Bashkaran/The Hindu The evolution and growth of the humble tomato as an essential ingredient of our daily diet across the world is a fascinating story. Yolanda Evans writes in the June 5, 2025, issue of National Geographic magazine … Read more
Android smartphones around the world have been actively helping provide earthquake alerts using their acceleration sensors. Between 2021 and 2024, these phones sent thousands of successful warnings to people living in quake-prone regions in 98 countries. Since 2020, Google has included its Android Earthquake Alert (AEA) system in its phones to detect seismic P- and … Read more
The story so far: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to launch the NISAR satellite from Sriharikota on July 30 onboard a GSLV Mk-II rocket. ‘NISAR’ stands for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar and is a joint mission of the two space agencies. It is a sophisticated earth-observation satellite designed to study changes on … Read more
M. Jayashree, second from left, receiving the President’s Medal for overall highest CGPA in B. Tech from V. Narayanan, ISRO Chairman, at the NIT-Tiruchi convocation on Saturday. NIT-Tiruchi Director G. Aghila is at right. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT India has made great strides in space technology and attained global leadership through sheer hard work … Read more
Across India’s coasts, from the languid channels of the Sundarbans delta to Mumbai’s stifled creeks, mangroves form a barrier between land and sea. These coastal forests are critical in India’s pursuit of climate resilience, biodiversity conservation, and the empowerment of coastal communities. However, in the face of urban expansion, climate change, and development, how are … Read more
The confusion comes from how our brains interpret the reflection. | Photo Credit: Andre Mouton/Unsplash A: This classic question has a surprisingly interesting answer. The fact is mirrors don’t actually flip left and right, much less up and down. Instead, they flip the image of the world you see front to back. When you stand … Read more
A pedestrian wears a face mask amid a thick blanket of smog in New Delhi, November 18, 2024. | Photo Credit: AP A: Air pollution is increasingly being recognised as an important threat to brain health. Research has demonstrated that exposure to airborne pollutants like fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone can … Read more