New group of ancient Siberians identified

Scientists named the group ‘Ancient North Siberians’ and described them as the ‘missing link’ in the Native American …

How the kilogram has changed

Down To Earth tells you how the kilogram's definition has changed

Moon is shrinking, causing moonquakes

In the past millions of years the Earth’s natural satellite has shrunk by almost 46 meters

Space Race 2.0: Littered backyard

There have been about 70 anti-satellite missile missions by four countries, but only a few have been catalogued for creating debris

Notre-Dame de Paris: From searing emotion to the future rebirth of a World Heritage Site

Of all the historic monuments on earth, Notre-Dame de Paris is one of the “superstars”: its unique history, exceptional architecture …

Sergio Canavero: the brain behind first proposed head transplant

Surgeon Sergio Canavero, director of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group in Italy, has been making news for two years after he claimed he …

Why only achievements, attribute modern problems as well to mythologies

A giant of the scientific community who showed how to make sense of the universe

In a first, astronomers detect light from very first stars of the universe

A discovery that could change all that we know about dark matter

A pirate loved by academics

Alexandra Elbakyan's Sci-Hub is putting up a spirited fight against publishers who shackle science behind high cost paywalls

How did gold and silver come into existence?

As we celebrate Dhanteras, auspicious for purchasing gold and silver, here's some perspective on where these metals originated 

Ice Man of Ladakh: Chewang Norphel who builds artificial glaciers

Mr. Norphel is a retired civil engineer from Ladakh. He is popularly known as 'Ice Man of Ladakh' as his innovative method of water conservation …

Seeking a fair price for drugs

The WHO is working on finding a fair pricing model for medicines but will Big Pharma accept it?

Watch: an atlas for the visually impaired

National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organisation (NATMO) released an atlas for the visually impaired earlier this month. Down To Earth enquires …

Sister Solar System and Earth's cousins

After discovering Earth-like planets in 2014 and 2015, the NASA took a step towards finding life outside our own solar system by discovering a …

Wannabe Noahs

Scientists are trying to bring back extinct animals from the dead, throwing open the Pandora's box

Scientific stutter

Do animals have a language, and hence a mind, of their own?

Bet your brain

The market is flooded with brain boosters, even though there is little evidence to show for it

An ode to the cloudy skies

We asked our readers to send photographs of clouds. In response, we received a stunning collection of evocative clicks with clouds as the …

India's first CNG kit for scooters and motorcycles

Sriram M Bhat, Director of iTuk—the company that manufactures CNG kits for two wheelers—talks to Down to Earth on the advantages of …

Nitrogen overload

Human-induced nitrogen emissions have surpassed natural emissions, damaging health and the environment

Octopuses are super-smart ... but are they conscious?

The idea of non-human consciousness raises a host of philosophical questions

Unbuttoning the gender straitjacket

Attempts at subverting the delusions of gender should begin with a progressive fashioning of young minds

When rational thought comes under attack

What is fake meat?

Artificial or lab-made meat will hit our dining tables in the near future. But there are certain issues that will have to be resolved before this …