In 1974, farmers in Shaanxi, China, digging for water near the Li Mountains, unearthed fragments of terracotta figures. A terrible drought struck the province of Shaanxi in 1974. The farmers there, who wanted to help themselves out, began to dig a well on the hills around Li Mountains, not far from Xi’an. No water came…
In 1996, two students discovered an ancient skeleton, dubbed “The Ancient One,” near the Columbia River. DNA analysis revealed the 9,000-year-old remains are genetically linked to Native Americans, resolving a long-standing debate. Representative Image (Image Credits: Google Gemini) In the year 1996, two young college students, struggling with the intense heat of July on a…
Astronomers announced they discovered the TOI-201 planetary system, which greatly expands our understanding of how solar systems form and develop. It is located 370 light-years from Earth, has three distinct objects (a super-Earth, a warm Jupiter, and a very massive brown dwarf) and contains a dynamic gravitational interaction. Unlike the solar system we inhabit, as…
Among the myriad of actions performed exclusively by humans, crying appears to be the most enigmatic. While no other animals are known to cry, humans shed emotional tears from birth throughout life. As suggested by some scientists specialising in evolutionary biology, rather than being an act of vulnerability, crying is, in fact, a highly developed…
The latest imaging work on ancient Egyptian remains has brought unusual clarity to mummified body parts that were sealed for over two millennia. Scientists using advanced CT and 3D scanning technology have examined limbs, skulls, and a foot that dates back more than 2,300 years. The remains, reportedly from between 401 and 259 BCE, were…
Ernst Öpik’s journey from Estonia to Northern Ireland is a story shaped by war, forced migration and scientific achievement. A respected astronomer and astrophysicist, he left his homeland during the Second World War as Soviet forces advanced across Eastern Europe. Like thousands of Estonians in 1944, he fled the Red Army and began a long…
Researchers in China have discovered the 11th new lunar mineral, ‘Cerium–Magnesium Changesite,’ from the first Moon meteorites recovered in China. This important advancement, announced by the China Geological Survey, represents a major development within extraterrestrial geology. The new mineral is colourless, transparent and brittle, with unusual physical characteristics such as a distinct fluorescence effect and…
Antarctica has long been seen as Earth’s frozen shield, vast, remote, and seemingly unbreakable. Yet scientists are now warning that some of its most fragile regions may have crossed a dangerous threshold. What was once a slow, measurable retreat of ice is increasingly being described as something far more serious: a tipping point. This so-called…
The recent failure of a Blue Origin mission has raised fresh questions about the timeline of NASA’s Artemis programme, even though the space agency was not directly involved in the launch. The company’s heavy-lift New Glenn rocket lifted off successfully but failed to place a commercial satellite into the correct orbit, ultimately leading to the…
BENGALURU: Inside a seminar room at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) on Monday, astronaut Group Captain Angad Pratap laid out a scenario spacecraft designers prefer never to confront: a crew module hurtling back to Earth with its primary Navigation, Guidance and Control (NGC) system compromised.His answer is not to replace automation, but to add…