Satellite link
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Old shine
Indian scientists have found a chemical that cleans antique metallic objets d'art without damaging the patina
Mushroom boom
Indian farmers are busy harvesting the booming demand for mushrooms. The problem is that it is a delicacy that is rather fastidious about its …
Light information
Optic fibres enable transmission of information at the speed of light and without any interference
Mars' water connection
Channels and valleys observed on the Martian surface and meteorites of Martian origin indicate that once there might have been water on the planet
Automatic warning
Posting humans to inhospitable sites in the Himalaya to monitor snow and wind patterns may soon be unnecessary
Ironing out pollution
A recently-developed cheap and environmentally-benign iron compound helps dispose of polluting nitrogen oxides
Rock-hard sandwiches
Thin film, no more than a few microns thick, can endow substances with hardness, magnetic, superconducting and optical properties
Endurance test for microorganisms
A technology for preserving food relies on creating a hostile environment for bacteria and fungi in whose presence food goes bad
Is Cauvery a composite river?
Scientists think an upsurge of land may have brought two rivers together to form what is today the Cauvery.
Male flowers enhance pollination
Plants normally have only bisexual flowers. Some species, however, also produce male flowers to make the dispersal of pollen more efficient.
Smoke gets in your eyes - and forms cataracts
The oxidising property of cigarette and chulha smoke is one of the factors being linked by researchers to the formation of eye cataract.
Eight hearts do the work of one
US scientists postulate the Barosaurus needed more than one heart to pump blood throughout its 15-metre height
Air losing self-cleaning ability
Recent studies indicate increasing pollution may be hampering the atmosphere's inherent cleansing abilty
Perfecting crystals
When cultivated in gravity-free space, crystals have more perfect protien structures that help help in designing better drugs
New gene promises kidney stone cure
Scientists have isolated a gene that can break down oxalic acid, the primary culprit that damages tissue and leaves the victim gasping in pain
Confronting cholera in Peru
The year-long cholera epidemic in Peru refocussed scientific attention worldwide on the causes of the disease and the various strains of cholera …
Climate changes alter height of Himalayan range
The average height of the Himalay has been going down over the last two million years because of climatic changes, surveys indicate.
Yeast genes spring surprise on scientists
Chromosome III in yeast, the first to have its DNA fully described, opened up a wealth of new genes whose functions are completely unknown
Learning from lasagne
Porous layers of slurry, zapped with electricity, may revolutionise the treatment of contaminated clay soils
What shaped human intelligence?
Scientists are trying to uncover the adaptive pressures that transformed primates into intelligent humans
Spin-off to space
The billion-dollar Star Wars programme lies abandoned, but the technology will now be used to combat asteroids
The strength of the future
Composite materials, which can be tailored to specifications and strengths and ultimately replace even steel, have come of age in India.
It's mama's fault
Scientists suggest a disorder that causes periods of ecstasy and depression is passed on through mothers.
Lung power
What does it take for a lay athlete to take on a Serge! Bubka or a Carl Lewis? Good,powerful lungs, say scientists