Author: Science India Bureau
Image Courtesy: Twitter The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has stunned astronomers once again as it has found the most distant galaxy ever observed, named MoM-z14. According to NASA, the newly discovered galaxy existed just 280 million years after the Big Bang. Scientists say that MoM-z14 is brighter, denser, and more chemically rich than expected. The discovery offers new clues to the early universe’s evolution. By now Webb has established that it will eventually surpass virtually every benchmark it sets in these early years, but the newly confirmed galaxy, MoM-z14, holds intriguing clues to the universe’s historical timeline and just…
The brochure of Vidyarthi Vigyan Manthan (VVM), a flagship programme of the Vijnana Bharati (Vibha) was launched at the Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi on 17 July. VVM is an initiative of Vibha, in collaboration with the National Council of Educational Research and Training and National Council of Science Museums. VVM is a national programme for popularising science among school students of standard VI to XI, conceptualised with the intent of identifying “ignited minds”, to use the words of former President of India and celebrated scientist Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, with a scientific aptitude from amongst the student community.…
Image Courtesy: PIB YOUNG SCIENTIST / DR SATENDRA KUMAR MANGRAUTHIA The conferment of the Vigyan Yuva Award upon Dr Satendra Kumar Mangrauthia marks a significant moment in India’s rapidly evolving agricultural research landscape. Dr Mangrauthia’s recognition is rooted in his pioneering contributions to rice biotechnology, genome editing, and climate-resilient agriculture, areas that are central to India’s food security in the 21st century. Dr Mangrauthia’s research centres on molecular biology and biotechnology of rice, with a strong focus on genome editing, RNA interference (RNAi), and functional genomics. His work addresses some of the most pressing challenges faced by Indian agriculture today—declining…
TECH TALK / MULTIFUNCTIONAL SENSOR Sensors have quietly become integral to modern life, embedded in smartphones, wearables, medical devices, and agricultural systems. Yet, most commercially available sensors are built on rigid substrates, depend on precious metals such as gold or platinum, and require sophisticated cleanroom fabrication. These factors make them expensive, difficult to scale, and impractical for large-area or disposable applications, especially in sectors like agriculture and community healthcare. Addressing this challenge, a research team led by Dr Hemen Kumar Kalita, along with doctoral researchers Rajnandan Lahkar and Biswajit Dehingia, at the Department of Physics, Gauhati University, has developed an…
Image Courtesy: PIB Dr Dibyendu Das, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical Sciences at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata, has been selected for the Vigyan Yuva Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award 2025. He is the sole recipient of the award in Chemistry, under the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar (RVP) scheme. This honour, among the nation’s highest recognitions for scientific achievement, acknowledges his pioneering research and global impact in the rapidly growing field of systems chemistry. Trained as an organic and supramolecular chemist with a deep interest in molecular self-organisation, Dr Das has established an internationally visible…
TECH TALK / GLOWCAS9 For decades, gene therapy has held the promise of curing some of humanity’s most devastating hereditary diseases. Yet, while CRISPR-Cas9 revolutionised genome editing by making DNA cuts with extraordinary precision, one major limitation persisted: scientists could not observe the Cas9 enzyme at work inside a living cell. Traditional methods required breaking open or fixing cells destroying the system they hoped to study. Real-time tracking remained out of reach. A team at the Bose Institute, Kolkata, led by Dr Basudeb Maji, has now solved this long-standing problem by developing GlowCas9, a bioluminescent version of Cas9 that produces…
Image Courtesy: Twitter International News A concerning rise in ‘energy imbalance’ is fuelling global warming, as the Earth is taking in more energy than it releases back into space. A new study led by scientists at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science finds that recent changes in air pollution are not the main reason for an increase in this imbalance. Aerosols—tiny airborne particles from sources such as pollution, wildfires, and volcanoes—can affect how clouds form and how much sunlight Earth reflects back to space. While aerosols can influence climate regionally, the new research shows…
PHOTO FEATURE The 11th India International Science Festival 2025 (6-9 December) concluded successfully at Panchkula in Haryana. The four-day festival saw enthusiastic participation by people from all age groups, especially the young, and from all walks of life. With a packed melange of workshops, lec-dems, discussions, deliberations, Matsya 6000 of Deep Ocean Mission, Expo and more, peppered with a medley of cultural performances, the festival became an affair to remember. These pictures provide a delightful walkthrough for readers to absorb its grandeur.
Image Courtesy: Vijnana Bharati IISF 2025 TAKEAWAYS The 11th edition of the India International Science Festival (IISF) 2025 concluded in Panchkula (Haryana) in December 2025 with a resounding message: Science in India is no longer confined to laboratories, but is increasingly shaping national policy, societal transformation and India’s civilisational journey towards becoming a developed nation. Held at the Dussehra Ground in Panchkula from 6 to 9 December, IISF 2025 emerged as one of the largest science outreach events in the country, drawing scientists, policymakers, students, innovators, start-ups and citizens from across India and several foreign delegations. Organised by the Ministry…
Image Courtesy: NASA Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla—affectionately known as Shux—returned to the Earth on July 15 aboard SpaceX’s Dragon Grace, concluding an 18‑day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS) under the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax‑4). The capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off California at approximately 3:01 pm IST (2:31 a.m. PDT), completing a 22‑hour re-entry journey from undocking on July 14. The Ax‑4 crew, led by veteran US astronaut Peggy Whitson and accompanied by Poland’s Sławosz Uznanski‑Wisniewski and Hungary’s Tibor Kapu, conducted more than 60 scientific experiments during its stay, representing contributions from 31 countries. Shukla’s mission…