A colossal brown ribbon of seaweed, the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, stretches across the Atlantic Ocean. This massive bloom is growing due to increased nutrients from land and changing ocean currents. It harms marine life and coastal economies. Scientists are now studying its causes and potential uses, highlighting the connection between human actions and ocean health.
SpaceX's Starship rocket completed a significant test flight, traveling halfway around the globe and deploying mock satellites before landing in the Indian Ocean. This eleventh mission, crucial for NASA's lunar landing goals by 2030, saw the massive rocket successfully separate its booster and test entry procedures over the ocean.
India is experiencing a significant decline in sunshine hours, with northern plains seeing the steepest annual drop. Researchers attribute this dimming to rising air pollution from industrial emissions, vehicle exhaust, and crop burning, compounded by increased monsoon cloud cover. This trend poses challenges for solar power generation and agricultural productivity, necessitating urgent action on air quality.
Scientists have pinpointed specific neurons and microglia, crucial for emotion and inflammation, as key players in depression. This breakthrough, using advanced brain tissue analysis, reveals disrupted gene activity in these cells. The findings offer a biological foundation for the disorder, paving the way for more targeted and effective future treatments for millions worldwide.
NASA's Artemis program is set to explore the Moon's south pole, a region of perpetual darkness holding clues to the solar system's formation. Missions will seek water ice and other frozen volatiles, potentially revealing how Earth acquired its water. This discovery could revolutionize space exploration, enabling lunar bases and Mars missions.
Scientists have captured the first image of two black holes orbiting each other in the quasar OJ287, confirming a long-held astronomical theory. Using radio telescopes, researchers detected particle jets from the 18-billion-solar-mass and 150-million-solar-mass black holes, locked in a 12-year orbit. This unprecedented observation offers a glimpse into binary supermassive black hole dynamics.
A remarkable conservation success story unfolds as green turtles, once on the brink of extinction, are now classified as Least Concern. Decades of global efforts, including beach patrols and bycatch reduction, have led to significant population rebounds. This inspiring comeback highlights the power of sustained protection and community involvement in safeguarding marine life, though ongoing vigilance remains crucial.
Fiery streaks are lighting up the night sky as Elon Musk's Starlink satellites reenter Earth's atmosphere daily. While visually captivating, scientists express serious concerns about potential environmental impacts on the upper atmosphere and space safety. The growing number of these reentries highlights the scale of modern satellite constellations and the need for careful orbital management and stricter regulations.
A massive NASA research object landed unexpectedly on a Texas farm. Ann Walter of Edmonson, Texas, witnessed the large parachute guiding the equipment. The object, comparable to an SUV, was part of a scientific mission. NASA confirmed it was lost equipment from a high-altitude balloon launch. The team recovered the astronomical study device.
Astronaut Don Pettit captured a stunning video from the ISS of a SpaceX Starlink satellite train streaking over Earth's auroras. The satellites appeared as bright as Jupiter against the green northern lights, highlighting the growing visibility of the expanding satellite network. Pettit's footage offers a unique perspective on human-made objects transforming the night sky.
New research reveals fungi, not plants, were Earth's first land colonizers, emerging hundreds of millions of years earlier. These ancient fungi partnered with algae, recycled nutrients, and built proto-soils, stabilizing surfaces and releasing essential elements. This groundbreaking discovery shows fungi created the foundational ecosystems that paved the way for plants and all terrestrial life.
Witnessing a meteor, or "shooting star," is a dazzling event caused by tiny space rocks burning up in Earth's atmosphere. These celestial fragments, originating from comets or asteroids, offer crucial insights into the early Solar System. Astronomers distinguish between meteoroids (in space), meteors (burning in the atmosphere), and meteorites (those that land on Earth).
Astronomers have identified the most pristine star ever observed, located in the Milky Way's halo. This ancient star, with exceptionally low levels of heavy elements, offers a rare glimpse into the universe's earliest moments, potentially formed from the remnants of the first generation of stars.
A remarkable yellow worm, Paralvinella hessleri, thrives near boiling, toxic hydrothermal vents in the Pacific. This deep-sea dweller ingeniously converts deadly arsenic and sulphide into a golden mineral called orpiment, forming a natural shield. This unique adaptation allows the worm to flourish in an otherwise uninhabitable environment, showcasing nature's extraordinary chemical resilience.
Skywatchers are in for a rare treat this October as Comet SWAN and Comet Lemmon approach Earth, potentially visible on the same night around October 21. This celestial event coincides with the peak of the Orionid meteor shower and a new moon, promising exceptionally dark skies for optimal viewing of both comets and meteors.
Astronomers are stunned by interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS releasing water vapor unusually far from the Sun. This rare event, detected by NASA's Swift Observatory, suggests microscopic ice grains are sublimating, challenging existing cometary models. The discovery offers vital insights into how life's building blocks travel across the galaxy, highlighting the diverse origins of planetary materials.
Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar Yaghi have been awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their groundbreaking work on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). These innovative materials, with exceptionally large surface areas, offer solutions for critical global challenges like water scarcity and climate change.
Today marks the birth anniversary of G.N. Ramachandran, a brilliant Indian scientist whose work revolutionized protein structure and medical imaging. His groundbreaking collagen model and the Ramachandran plot are vital tools in biology and medicine. Despite his immense contributions, he remained largely unrecognized in India, a testament to his enduring, yet underappreciated, genius.
The Soyuz 11 mission tragically ended with the deaths of three cosmonauts due to a rapid depressurization during re-entry. A faulty valve opened, venting the capsule's air into space. This disaster led to crucial safety upgrades, including mandatory pressure suits for all future missions.
Millions of years ago, the Red Sea vanished, becoming a vast salt desert for 100,000 years. Around 6.2 million years ago, a colossal flood dramatically refilled the basin, carving the Bab el-Mandab Strait and restoring its vibrant marine life. This ancient desiccation and subsequent revival underscore the ocean's remarkable resilience and the profound impact of geological forces.
US scientists John Clarke, Michel Devoret, and John Martinis have won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics for groundbreaking experiments demonstrating quantum physics in action. Their work, proving quantum tunneling and energy quantization in a visible system, laid the foundation for technologies like cellphones and current quantum computing efforts.
Finnish researchers discovered tiny gold nanoparticles within Norway spruce needles, a process seemingly driven by microbes. Specific bacteria, living in biofilms inside the needles, transform soluble gold from soil into solid particles. This groundbreaking finding could revolutionize gold exploration, making it greener and more sustainable by using plants as indicators and potentially for metal recovery.
A remarkable fossil, Breugnathair elgolensis, unearthed on Scotland's Isle of Skye, offers crucial insights into snake evolution. This 167-million-year-old reptile exhibits a unique blend of lizard-like bodies and limbs with snake-like jaws and teeth, challenging previous assumptions. The discovery bridges the evolutionary gap, revealing how ancient lizards transformed into the slithering predators of today.
A groundbreaking universal snake antivenom, derived from rare human antibodies, offers hope against deadly bites worldwide. Developed using blood from a hyper-immune individual, this innovative approach targets multiple venom toxins, potentially saving thousands of lives in underserved regions. Early tests show broad efficacy, marking a significant leap from traditional, species-specific treatments.
NASA's Perseverance rover may have captured early images of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. While a viral photo shows a bright, cylindrical object, experts suggest it's likely a photographic artifact from long-exposure imaging. Amateur astronomers are analyzing data from the comet's October 3, 2025, flyby, offering a rare glimpse of this unusual visitor.
Anna Menon, a pioneering engineer and astronaut candidate, has made history by becoming the first NASA astronaut selected after flying on a private orbital mission. Her career spans crucial roles at NASA and SpaceX, including managing astronaut operations and serving as a mission specialist on the historic Polaris Dawn mission.
Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi have been awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance. Their work identified regulatory T cells, crucial for regulating the immune system and preventing autoimmune diseases. This groundbreaking research reshaped immunology, opening new avenues for treating autoimmune conditions and advancing cancer therapies.
Your immune system is your body’s army. It fights off viruses, bacteria, and infections every day. Its elite soldiers are called T cells. Some T cells attack invaders directly, while others coordinate the fight like generals. But sometimes, the army makes a terrible mistake — it attacks its own country.
Scientists are developing PoET, a new EU-funded solar telescope, to overcome stellar noise hindering the search for Earth-like exoplanets around Sun-like stars. This project will analyze the Sun's surface to refine detection techniques, critically supporting the upcoming PLATO mission in identifying habitable worlds and paving the way for future exoplanet exploration.
Jane Goodall's revolutionary Gombe research revealed chimpanzees' complex emotions and intelligence, challenging human-animal distinctions. Like Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking, she made science accessible, expanding public understanding of our interconnectedness with nature and the cosmos. These scientists illuminate our minds, fostering a profound appreciation for life's vastness.
Marine biologists identified a new deep-sea coral species, Iridogorgia chewbacca. This coral was found near Molokaʻi and the Mariana Trench. Its long, shaggy branches resemble Chewbacca's fur. It thrives 400 to 1,000 metres deep. This discovery expands marine life knowledge and highlights deep-sea conservation needs.
US researchers successfully created early-stage human embryos from adult skin cells, bypassing traditional egg cells through advanced DNA manipulation. This groundbreaking OHSU study, mirroring cloning techniques, generated functional eggs that developed into early embryos. The innovation offers significant hope for infertility and same-sex couples, despite current low success rates and ethical considerations requiring further refinement.
NASA scales back most operations due to a US government funding deadlock. This action impacts many ongoing projects. Essential tasks like monitoring astronauts on the ISS continue. However, research and mission planning face delays. Programmes like Artemis could see postponed timelines. Past shutdowns show similar disruptions. This situation affects global scientific collaboration.
Blue is remarkably rare in nature because true blue pigments are almost non-existent in living organisms. Instead, most natural blue results from structural coloration, where microscopic arrangements scatter light. This complex process, along with chemical challenges and high energy costs, explains its scarcity across plants, animals, and minerals, making it a source of human fascination.
An interstellar comet, 3I/ATLAS, is speeding through our solar system in 2025, marking only the third such visitor. Traveling at 130,000 mph, it will make close approaches to Mars and Jupiter, offering scientists a rare chance. ESA and NASA missions will observe its unique composition to unlock secrets of interstellar chemistry and planetary formation beyond our Sun.
The Hubble Space Telescope captured a detailed image of NGC 6000, a barred spiral galaxy. It displays a yellow core of old stars and blue arms with young stars. Two supernovae, SN 2007ch and SN 2010as, occurred in this galaxy. An asteroid from our Solar System also appeared in the image.
NASA's Artemis II mission, targeting April 2026, will send the first humans around the Moon in over 50 years. Engineers have integrated the Orion stage adapter with the SLS rocket, preparing for this critical 10-day lunar flyby. The mission will test vital systems and deploy CubeSats, paving the way for future lunar landings and Mars exploration.
Asteroid 2025 TC will pass Earth on October 3, 2025. This house-sized space rock measures 44 feet across. It travels at over 36,000 miles per hour. The asteroid poses no threat to our planet. It will pass at 53,300 miles, a quarter of the Moon's distance. Scientists monitor such objects for research.
MIT geochemists offer compelling evidence that ancient sea sponges were Earth's first animals, emerging over 541 million years ago. By analysing chemical fossils in rocks, researchers identified molecular traces unique to sponges, predating the Cambrian explosion. This discovery, validated globally and through lab experiments, reshapes our understanding of multicellular life's origins, establishing these humble filter-feeders as evolutionary pioneers.
Scientists uncovered two new prehistoric shark species, Troglocladodus trimblei and Glikmanius careforum, in Kentucky's Mammoth Cave. Preserved for 325 million years, these fossils offer a rare glimpse into Carboniferous marine life and early shark evolution. The cave's unique conditions acted as a natural time capsule, safeguarding these crucial insights into Earth's ancient past.
Asteroid 2025 SA3, a 54-foot space rock, will safely pass Earth on September 30, 2025, at a distance of 1.67 million miles. This close approach, while posing no threat, underscores the critical importance of continuous monitoring of near-Earth objects by international agencies like NASA and ISRO for planetary defense and scientific research.
The Harvest Moon, a unique celestial event historically vital for farmers, will appear unusually late in October 2025, gracing skies on the 6th and 7th. This rare occurrence, happening only 18 times between 1970-2050, offers a prolonged presence near sunset due to a shallow ecliptic angle. Visible globally, it connects skywatchers to nature's enduring cycles and ancient traditions.
Scientists found rare glass fragments in Australia. These ananguites reveal a massive ancient asteroid impact. The collision occurred millions of years ago. The crater remains undiscovered. This discovery suggests more hidden impacts on Earth than previously thought. It helps understand our planet's cosmic history. This finding also aids in assessing future asteroid risks.
Expired medications pose serious health risks due to reduced potency, contamination, and unpredictable side effects, particularly for liquid forms. Taking them can worsen conditions or cause adverse reactions. Always check expiration dates, consult a doctor if accidentally ingested, and dispose of drugs safely to ensure health and effectiveness.
SpaceX launched 28 Starlink satellites on September 28, 2025. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base. This mission added to the growing Starlink constellation. Booster 1063 completed its 28th flight, landing successfully. This demonstrated reusable rocket technology. The launch marked SpaceX's 124th Falcon 9 mission of 2025. It expanded global internet connectivity.
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope confirmed Earendel, the most distant star, shining just one billion years after the Big Bang. Gravitational lensing magnified this massive B-type star, offering unprecedented insights into the early universe's star and galaxy formation. Webb's observations also revealed a possible companion star and detailed structures within Earendel's host galaxy.
Stanford University and Elsevier's 2025 list of top 2% global scientists features 6,239 Indian researchers, showcasing India's growing influence in diverse scientific fields. This prestigious ranking, based on comprehensive bibliometric data, highlights significant contributions from institutions like IISc and IITs, underscoring India's rising research quality and international impact.
Preliminary results from the Suite Ride study on the International Space Station confirm continuous glucose monitors and insulin pens work reliably in space. This breakthrough, involving Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, paves the way for diabetic astronauts and revolutionizes remote diabetes care on Earth.