Hardy DNA could mean we're aliens
A team of European scientists have shown that DNA molecules can withstand the rough temperatures and pressures that rockets experience when they reenter Earth’s atmosphere from space. Their finding is…
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How Venus could harbor life: supercritical carbon dioxide
A new study published in the online journal Life says a hotter, pressurized form of carbon dioxide could harbor life in a similar way water does on Earth. This is an interesting find, theoretical thou…
SpaceShipTwo crash brings down Richard Branson with it
Virgin Galactic's commercial spaceflight program was pushed back by more than a year after the test flight of its SpaceShipTwo rocket-plane over the California desert blew up mid-air and killed on…
ALMA telescope catches live planet-forming action for the first time
The ALMA telescope in Chile has, for the first time, observed a star system that might be in the early stages of planet formation. The picture has astronomers drooling over it because the study of the…
Fabiola Gianotti, the first woman Director-General of CERN
The CERN Council has elected a new Director-General to succeed the incumbent Rolf-Dieter Heuer. Fabiola Gianotti, who served as the ATLAS collaboration's spokesperson from 2009 to 2013 - a period…
Feathering malfunction, not hyped motor, suspected in SpaceShipTwo crash
On October 31, a manned suborbital test flight broke up mid-air and crashed into the California desert, a 50,000-foot dive that left it smashed. The pilot was killed and the copilot was critically inj…
Curious Bends - sugarcane cultivation, Ebola in India, the cost of sanitation and more
Curious Bends is a weekly newsletter science, tech. and data news from around South Asia. Akshat Rathi and I curate it. It costs nothing to sign up. If you'd like a sample, check out the one below…
Curious Bends – Hudhud, fewer cyclone deaths, population control and more
Curious Bends is a weekly newsletter science, tech. and data news from around South Asia. Akshat Rathi and I curate it. It costs nothing to sign up. If you'd like a sample, check out the one below…
Earth, unlike Venus and Mars, exhaled nitrogen
One element that forms a unique part of the life-friendly chemical environment on Earth is the gas nitrogen. Its cyclic movement through the soil and the atmosphere via plants is a crucial part of how…
Measuring loudness on Deepavali nights
The Indian festival of Deepavali gets its name from the Sanksrit for "display of lights", "Deepaanaam aavali". These days, the festival is anything but about lights, especially in…
India's OA policy: Learning from Ioannidis
India’s first Open Access policy was drafted by a committee affiliated with the Departments of Biotechnology and Science & Technology (DBT/DST) in early 2014. It hasn’t been implemented yet. Its f…
Second draft of India's OA policy open for comments
The second draft of India's first Open Access policy is up on the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) website. Until November 17, 2014, DBT Adviser Mr. Madhan Mohan will receive comments on the poli…