The ghost of Christmas yet to come: how an AI ‘SantaNet’ might end up destroying the world
Scientists identified a series of behaviours by the AI general intelligence system which, though well-intentioned, could have adverse impacts on …
TIFR Swarnajayanti fellow to study plasticity for better design of materials
Plasticity enables a solid to undergo permanent deformation without rupture under the action of external forces
Three-body problem needs real, and not artificial solution
The equation that has confounded mathematicians for over 300 years needs an elegant and beautiful solution, not something where the end is there …
Eliud Kipchoge's sub-2hr marathon: It all comes down to 15 extraordinary seconds
Kipchoge must put one foot in front of the other, at the frighteningly fast average pace of 2m 52s per km
A new technique to protect copper from corrosion
IIT (BHU) researchers used a technique called ‘floating film transfer method’ to obtain ultrathin films of an organic material, …
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
The horse bit and bridle kicked off ancient empires — a new giant dataset tracks the societal factors that drove military technology
Around 1000 BC, nomadic herders in the steppes north of the Black Sea invented the bit and bridle
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 …
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
Indian space telescope Astrosat completes one year
The ambitious mission, which is expected to last for five years, opens up new vistas for Indian astronomy
Mid -monsoon update
After a sluggish start, the monsoon seems to be moving ahead full steam. Here is all you need to know about this year's monsoon
`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