New Delhi: Violations of norms during the construction of hydropower projects in the fragile Himalayan region are fuelling disasters in the hilly states, environment experts and activists have warned. A glacial lake outburst flood in Lhonak Lake in Sikkim last week resulted in severe damage in Mangan, Gangtok, Pakyong, and Namchi districts. The incident also resulted…
New Delhi: Scientists in the UK have successfully used gene editing techniques to limit the spread of bird flu in chickens. The researchers were able to restrict, but not completely block, the avian influenza virus from infecting the birds by precisely altering a small section of their DNA. According to the study published in the…
New Delhi: The number of people who die from stroke globally is estimated to increase by 50 per cent by 2050 to 9.7 million per year, with annual costs possibly as high as USD 2.3 trillion, unless urgent action is taken, according to a new study published in the Lancet Neurology journal. The analysis forecasts…
New Delhi: Scientists are exploring whether the strong earthquake that struck Nepal and the surrounding region on Tuesday is responsible for the south Lhonak lake outburst, which triggered a flash flood in the Teesta river basin in Sikkim. The lake outburst also resulted in the breach of the Chungthang dam, which is the largest hydropower project…
New Delhi: Exposure to natural light may help treat and prevent type 2 diabetes, according to a small study. The research, presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Germany from October 2-6, carried out a range of metabolic tests on a group of people with type…
New Delhi: Pollen grains analysis helps understand how the first humans migrated from Africa across Europe and Asia, research in Science Advances says. The pollen data showed that warming temperatures supported forests that expanded into Siberia and facilitated early human migration there, researchers from the University of Kansas, US, said in their study. They compared Pleistocene…
New Delhi: Failures are a very natural part of the space sector but no individual is penalised for it at ISRO which encourages scientists to take novel approaches in decision-making, the space agency’s chairman S Somanath said on Wednesday. Speaking at the 50th anniversary of the All India Management Association (AIMA), Somanath, who played a key…
New Delhi: Scientists have transplanted stem cells into mice and found reduction of brain abnormalities typical of Alzheimer’s disease. The team, led by researchers at the Stanford University in the US, transplanted blood stem and progenitor cells into mice, effectively leading to the replacement of a type of neural cell, called microglia, that’s defective in…
Bengaluru: Aditya L1 spacecraft, India’s first space-based mission to study the Sun, got a “send-off” from the Earth after orbiting it since its September 2 launch as it underwent a key manoeuvre in the early hours of Tuesday, ISRO said. The Trans-Lagrangian Point 1 Insertion manoeuvre marks the beginning of the spacecraft’s about 110-day trajectory to…
Bengaluru: India’s Aditya-L1 solar mission spacecraft has commenced collecting data that will help scientists analyse the behaviour of particles surrounding Earth, ISRO said on Monday. The sensors of an instrument on board India’s first solar observatory have begun measuring supra-thermal and energetic ions and electrons at distances greater than 50,000 km from Earth, it said. “This…
