New butterfly species, Zographetus mathewi, discovered in Western Ghats

Zographetus mathewi, the newly discovered skipper butterfly from the Western Ghats. A team of lepidopterists have identified a new butterfly species in the Western Ghats, one of the world’s eight “hottest hotspots” of biological diversity. Named Zographetus mathewi, this newly described skipper butterfly belongs to the family Hesperiidae and adds a new entry to the genus … Read more

Why must India recognise its open ecosystems? | Explained

Goats graze near windmills on the outskirts of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, in 2024. | Photo Credit: AFP The story so far: Deserts are often imagined as failures of nature, and barren wastelands in need of redemption. This worldview fuels grand ambitions to “green” the desert, through afforestation, irrigation schemes, or even climate engineering. This gives way … Read more

Climate change is changing where and how Indians are living

Two features mark the geography of Bundelkhand, the region in Central India spread over 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh: the steep hills of the Vindhyas and progressively scanty rainfall and increasingly frequent droughts. Consider Panna district in Madhya Pradesh. According to data from the India Meteorological Department, Panna has been receiving progressively … Read more

Today’s India looks ambitious, fearless, confident, and full of pride, says astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla

Ahead of his journey back to Earth, Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on Sunday (July 13, 2025) said that today’s India looks ambitious, fearless, confident, and full of pride. “Forty-one years ago, an Indian went to space, and he also described how India looks from above, and you all want to know how India … Read more

The peopling of the Indian subcontinent

Figure 1 in the 2009 study showing a map of India with the origins of the 25 groups examined. | Photo Credit: DOI:10.1038/nature08365 How and from where did we, the people of India, come from? Based on genetic analysis of 25 diverse groups in India, a paper in 2009 titled ‘Reconstructing Indian Population History’, jointly … Read more

Immune cells’ fat blocks brain’s ability to clean Alzheimer’s plaques

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder and a form of dementia that affects memory, thinking, and behaviour. As symptoms become more severe, the disease can seriously affect a person’s ability to perform tasks that would otherwise be deemed routine, like brushing teeth, making a meal or even recognising family members. For many years, the … Read more

A probe that penetrated Jupiter’s atmosphere

Getting there The Galileo Jupiter atmospheric probe was part of NASA’s Galileo mission – among the agency’s most ambitious deep space missions up until then. Before the probe could become Earth’s first ever emissary to penetrate the atmosphere of any of the outer gas giant planets, there was the task of getting the Galileo spacecraft … Read more

Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla to undergo seven-day rehabilitation post return to Earth on July 15

Axiom-4 crew, including Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, scheduled to undock from ISS on July 14. It is stated that Shubhanshu Shukla will be undergoing seven-day rehabilitation after returning to Earth. Photo: YouTube/Axiom Space/ANI Photo Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will undergo a seven-day rehabilitation programme after his splashdown off the California coast on July 15 as he … Read more