In April 2029, asteroid Apophis will pass Earth at a distance that sounds almost unreal on paper. About 20,000 miles away from the surface, close enough that it sits inside the region where many satellites already orbit. It is not expected to hit Earth, and NASA has made it clear there is no known risk…
Scientists have intensely studied the Moon’s polar regions due to the ice found in Permanently Shadowed Regions. The newest study in Nature Astronomy confirms that the Moon has been accumulating ice for about 1.5 billion years. Researchers used data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) to determine that the build-up of ice is a steady-state…
From high up in the sky, some of the remotest regions can tell a tale that can be perceived only when viewed from a high vantage point. In one particular photograph, there is a beautiful picture of a small lake hugging the edge of one of the oldest pieces of ice in all of Canada….
Scientists have developed a powerful new technique that acts like a “light switch” for oxytocin, often called the brain’s love hormone, allowing it to be activated with extraordinary precision. The breakthrough, led by researchers at the University of Queensland, enables scientists to release oxytocin in specific parts of the brain using light. This makes it…
Each spring in Kyoto arrives with a quiet anticipation. Buds swell, branches soften, and for a brief, luminous moment, cherry blossoms transform the landscape into something almost unreal. For Prof Yasuyuki Aono, this annual spectacle was not merely a cultural ritual but a lifelong pursuit of precision. A researcher at Osaka Metropolitan University, he spent…
An AI-generated image used for representation purposes only. NEW DELHI: About 1.3 billion people around the world were living with Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) in 2023, marking a 143 per cent increase since 1990, a study published in The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology journal has estimated.The analysis, based on data from the Global…
The cooling effect that volcanoes can have on the environment is often underestimated. Volcanic eruptions produce high-temperature lava and can severely damage the surrounding area, but they may also introduce a large amount of sulfur dioxide gas into the atmosphere due to a massive volume of volatiles and tephra propelled into the atmosphere from the…
The discovery of Earth-sized planets outside our own solar system has completely changed our way of viewing the universe, but none has done so to the degree that TRAPPIST-1 has managed to do. This planetary system is located some 40 light-years from us and comprises seven rocky planets, which share many of the characteristics of…
In April 2026, the early morning sky is expected to show a rare grouping of planets that may attract attention from skywatchers around the world. Mercury, Mars, Saturn and Neptune appear relatively close together in the eastern sky before sunrise between 16 and 23 April, with the strongest visibility around 18 to 20 April. The…
It is worth noting that for many years, the rotation speed of Saturn was seen as unusual by scientists, since it was changing from time to time. Days on the planet were not uniform, contradicting scientific laws and physical principles. Nevertheless, with the help of recent studies of NASA’s mission to Saturn and the James…
