Science

Not long ago, bipedal robots that can manage to walk without falling were considered to be the most advanced in the field of robotics. But an acrobatic humanoid robot that researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are working on will give them a run for their money (only if that was possible). The

A team of researchers has developed a new, economically viable system to extract lithium from seawater, while also creating freshwater. The demand for lithium — an extremely crucial element used in batteries that power electric vehicles — has been soaring for quite some time now and its land-based reserves are likely to be exhausted by

A gigantic dinosaur discovered in Australia’s outback has been identified as a new species and recognised as one of the largest to ever roam the Earth, according to palaeontologists. The Australotitan cooperensis, part of the titanosaur family that lived about 100 million years ago, has finally been named and described 15 years after its bones

New research has found that it is possible for people to learn click-based echolocation in just 10 weeks. This worked for people at very different ages, and this was shown to be a skill anyone could learn, not just the visually impaired. For the longest time, bats and dolphins were the two commonly cited examples by

Jeff Bezos has announced he will be flying to space with his brother on July 20. The former Amazon CEO will be among the travellers on the first passenger flight of Blue Origin. Blue Origin’s reusable suborbital rocket system named New Shepard will take its first astronaut crew to space along with Bezos and his

A team of scientists from Bengaluru’s Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) has developed a device that can emulate the cognitive actions of a human brain, and is more efficient than conventional techniques. The new AI technology enhances computational speed and power consumption efficiency. The team fabricated an artificial synaptic network (ASN), resembling the

Nasa’s 31-year-old Hubble Space Telescope has made another incredible discovery — it has found a “lopsided” spiral galaxy that has been deformed by the gravitational tug of another nearby galaxy. NASA has shared the stunning image of the galaxy called “NGC 2276”, which is located in the constellation Cepheus, about 120 million light-years away from

Whatever or whoever they are, they’re still out there. US intelligence is after them, but its upcoming report won’t deliver any full or final truth about UFOs. The tantalising prospect of top government intel finally weighing in — after decades of conspiracy theories, TV shows, movies and winking jokes by presidents — will instead yield

A new study has found that a single mysterious event about 19 million years ago wiped nearly the entire population of sharks. Scientists behind the new research say that studying the shark teeth buried in deep-sea sediment, revealed that the current diversity among sharks is only a tiny remnant of a much larger variety that

NASA’s long-awaited flagship observatory — the James Webb Space Telescope — is slated for take-off after October this year, as the space agency continues its talks with the European Space Agency (ESA) to fix a final launch date. This comes after their initial announcement in July last year in which the Webb Telescope was due

Researchers at Australia’s Queensland Museum have found a new, adorable frog species in the swampy, lowland forests of New Guinea. Named the “chocolate frog”, it has big, cartoonish eyes and its skin is the colour of milk chocolate. The candy-coloured amphibian is closely related to the green tree frog that’s common in Australia. The researchers

SpaceX launched thousands of tiny sea creatures to the International Space Station on Thursday, along with a plaque-fighting toothpaste experiment and powerful solar panels. The 7,300-pound (3,300-kilogram) shipment — which also includes fresh lemons, onions, avocados, and cherry tomatoes for the station’s seven astronauts — should arrive Saturday. SpaceX’s Falcon rocket blasted into the hazy

A team of researchers at the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research in Kobe, Japan, may have just found an answer to hair loss and baldness woes. While many methods have been devised in the past to address hair-related issues, this one is unique, for it’s a recipe for continuous cyclical regeneration of hair follicles

NASA is conducting a study to see how astronauts feel about growing their own vegetables aboard the  International Space Station (ISS). Growing your own vegetables and eating them fresh has multiple benefits, health and nutrition-wise. The space agency says the study will also allow it to understand whether gardening in leisure time can help astronauts

NASA on Wednesday shared a stunning image, captured from space, of the 2019 Hurricane Dorian to mark the beginning of the Atlantic hurricane season. Dorian was the most powerful storm to hit the Bahamas since records began. In a long Instagram post, the American space agency explained through five pointers how it is preparing to

Scientists in Israel has successfully experimented on 250 mice, boosting their life expectancy by nearly 23 percent, something they believe can be replicated on humans too. Scientists achieved these incredible results by increasing the supply of SIRT6, a protein that starts declining with age. “These findings show that SIRT6 optimises energy homeostasis in old age