What determines height of mountains?
Height of the mountains stops increasing after crossing a threshold, influenced by erosion of the areas between mountains, finds the study
The dark side of 'racial science'
Angela Saini exposes how some scientists even today use race to define intelligence, behaviour, predisposition to diseases and even creativity
Diamonds are forever. But where do they come from? Watch
Do you know the diamond on your finger is most likely made recycled minerals by Earth below the ocean floor?
Russia to grow 30 gene-edited plants, animals by 2027
The country aims to create 10 new varieties of such crops as well as animals by 2020; another 20 by 2027
Holding the mirror, truthfully, for 28 years
Down To Earth's mission is not hidden in reams of corporate gloss. It is open. It is a dare, writes our editor, Sunita Narain.
World Earth Day: A new landscape on the horizon
Changes in the East African rift system suggest that the African continent could split into two
Researchers convert carbon dioxide in to coal
Researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia have for the first time developed a process to turn CO2 into coal. The new process uses …
Definition of kilogram set to change
Since 1879, the kilogram has been defined as the weight of Le Grand K, a cylinder of platinum and iridium weighing a little over 2 ounces and …
Meet Bandicoot India's new robot that can end manual scavenging
A robotics start-up from Kerala called GenRobotic Innovations has developed a solution to end manual scavenging
State Science & Technology councils should work in synergy: Harsh Vardhan
At the S&T ministers’ conclave at India International Science Festival 2018, Vardhan said every year 4-5 states should hold a science …
New technology to detect chikungunya virus
Indian scientists have developed a biosensor technique, which can be used to develop a point of care device for rapid identification of the …
Scientists a step closer to potential vaccine against Leptospirosis
Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre scientists used tools to identify important regions on the bacteria that could play an important role in …
The dark side of big data
Latest Facebook data breach episode is a reminder that rise of Big Data represents a massive engineering of society with ominous implications for …
Nanotechnology can make biopesticides more effective
This means farmers would be required to use very small quantities of biopesticide in its nano form
Scientists find new bacterium from Sundarbans
New bacterial species could have wider applications in industrial sectors such as leather and textile industry
Mortal combat
Can life be extended indefinitely? There is a renewed vigour among scientists looking for ways and means to cheat death
Seeking many more Hedy Lamarrs
The number of women inventors is finally rising the world over but their percentage is still too small to be celebrated
Four new elements added to periodic table
These elements with atomic numbers 113, 115, 117 and 118 were all synthesised in laboratories
`Aditya-1 will take images every second'
Dipankar Banerjee of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru, which is one of the institutions working on Mission Aditya-1, speaks …
Cultural calling
Henrich attempts a thrilling adventure in the fierce interplay between genes and culture in human evolution
Gravitational Waves: Explained
Hundred years after Albert Einstein’s prediction of the presence of gravitational waves in his Theory of Relativity, a team of scientists …
Three scientists share Nobel for Chemistry for research on DNA repair
Tomas Lindahl of UK’s Francis Crick Institute, Paul Modrich of USA’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Aziz Sancar of the …
Pluto flyby: The mystery deepens after New Horizons’ encounter
The NASA mission is the first-ever foray into the “third region” of the solar system, also called the Kuiper Belt, containing …
Roots, barks and leaves
CHANDRA PRAKASH KALA spent three months with the Baiga tribe in the forests of Chhattisgarh. He learnt how they use plants to their advantage
Adam’s luck
Men, after all, may not become extinct. Y chromosome has lost only one gene in 25 million years