Down To Earth recaps the primary environment, health and developmental news from 2023
Libya saw devastating floods in September 2023. Photo: @UNDP / X (previously Twitter) Down To Earth (DTE) unveiled groundbreaking research and cutting-edge advancements in 2023, keeping us informed on the future unfolding before us. India made history by landing on Chandrayaan-3 on the south side of the moon, an interview explained the importance of weather attribution studies, reportage on a new evolutionary law for species and sustainability of technologies were some of the stories that were broached this year.
Below is a selection of DTE stories on scientific developments worldwide:
DTE talked to Wenxia Zhang, author of a paper on the attribution of extreme heat and drought events in 2022, at 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Zhang spoke about why extreme weather attribution studies are important, what improvements they have seen in the recent past and how such studies feed into COPs.
Scientists proposed a new evolutionary law that can explain the evolution of living and non-living entities, from minerals to stars. Natural systems, living and non-living entities, evolve to states of greater patterning, diversity and complexity, a study noted.
A test satellite launched in 2022 is the brightest object in night sky, making it hard for astronomers using ground-based telescopes to solve the great mysteries of the cosmos.
As the Indian Space Research Organisation scripted history with the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 near the lunar south pole, DTE spoke to Ranjana Kaul, partner at Dua Associates, a firm specialising in the international law of outer space.
At least 20 per cent of COVID-19 patients remain asymptomatic, puzzling scientists. A mutation in a gene linked to the immune system may explain why some who get the novel coronavirus COVID-19 show no symptoms of it.
Scientists also discovered more about our neighbouring Red Planet. Mars’ innermost layer — the core — is likely in a liquid state. It is also smaller and denser, a study discovered.
India’s marine fisheries are greener compared to the rest of the world. It produced 1.32 tonnes of carbon dioxide to produce one kilogramme of fish in 2016, lower than the global average of 2 tonnes.
DTE also talked to a Bengaluru-based deep-tech startup founder who harvests water from air entirely powered by renewable energy.
Venus and Earth are often called sister planets due to similarities in size, mass, density and volume. A study looking into decades-old radar images has presented new evidence to indicate they have another feature in common: Active volcanoes.
Researchers recorded marine organisms in coral reefs off the coast of south Goa to understand their behaviour and found certain fish communities are loud during the day, while others are more vocal at night.
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