Author: Science India Bureau
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…
Image Courtesy: NASA News 30 July 2025; 5.40 pm The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite was successfully launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)-F16 rocket carrying the earth observation satellite lifted off from the second launch pad of the space centre at 5.40 p.m. Eighteen minutes later, it injected the satellite into a sun-synchronous orbit. “The GSLV-F16 vehicle has successfully and precisely injected the NISAR satellite weighing 2,392 kg into its intended orbit,” Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman V Narayanan said after the launch. FIRST JOINT VENTURE…
YOUNG SCIENTIST/ Dr JITENDRA K SAHU In the vast and ever-evolving landscape of medical science, some individuals quietly transform the way we understand and address complex health conditions. One such name is Dr Jitendra K Sahu, a renowned child neurologist from PGIMER, Chandigarh, whose trailblazing work in the field of childhood epilepsy has earned him the prestigious Vigyan Yuva Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award 2024 in Medicine. Recognised globally for his research on infantile spasms and genetic epilepsy syndromes, Dr Sahu’s efforts are shaping the future of pediatric neurology not just in India, but across South Asia and beyond. BRAINSTORMS OF…
TECH TALK /POCKET SENSOR FOR SO2 In a significant breakthrough for environmental safety and public health, a team of scientists from the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), Bengaluru, has developed a pocket-sized sensor capable of detecting sulfur dioxide (SO2)—a silent but dangerous air pollutant—at extremely low concentrations. Sulfur dioxide, a toxic gas commonly released from vehicular emissions, industrial processes, and power plants, is notorious for triggering respiratory problems such as asthma attacks, irritation of the airways, and long-term lung damage. Due to its colourless nature and the delay between exposure and visible symptoms, SO2 often escapes detection…
International News As the world approaches a climate tipping point, COP30, held in Belém, Brazil, from November 10-21, 2025, has already been hailed as one of the most consequential United Nations climate conferences since the Paris Agreement of 2015. With escalating extreme weather events, intensifying geopolitical divides, and widening gaps in climate finance, COP30 arrives at a moment of both urgency and opportunity—a juncture where global leadership, equity, and scientific realism must converge. Belém, located in the heart of the Amazon basin, is not just a symbolic venue; it is a statement. The Amazon rainforest, often called the “lungs of…