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Tracing the Origins of Adult Stem Cells

For decades, researchers have studied the planarian worms Schmidtea mediterranea to understand adult stem cells and regenerative capabilities. Instead, new research on Hofstenia miamia worms has helped researchers answer several questions.  

More Fun Than Fun: Science Is Impoverished Without Its Tales

History informs practising scientists of how and why the questions and techniques they pursue came to be privileged over others and how ideas and theories rise and fall with time. Even more importantly, a historical perspective gives us a sense of purpose and a feeling that we are part of a grand narrative.

We Need Viable Pathways for Recycling and Composting Bioplastics

If you use compostable bags for kitchen waste, that’s a useful option. But for most other uses, it’s far better to just not use plastic at all. Your reusable coffee cup and shopping bags are the best option.

Watch: COVID-19 Has Become Endemic, Says Virologist Gagandeep Kang

The virologist tells Karan Thapar that the daily increase in coronavirus infections is “not a matter of concern”. She said though active cases have risen manifold over the past few weeks, “we are starting from a very low base”.

COVID Origins Debate: What To Make of New Findings Linking Virus to Raccoon Dogs

While this latest data is one additional piece of the puzzle that supports an origin of the pandemic linked to Wuhan’s animal trade, it is unlikely to provide irrefutable evidence.

How Parenting Became ‘Optimised’ and Made Mothers Miserable

In spaces where scientific evidence is incomplete or unclear, the default is to subject women to more — not fewer — restrictions.

The Rise and Fall of a Commercial Seaweed – and a Community’s Fortunes With It

Kappaphycus alvarezii proved to be a commercially viable livelihood option for the people of Rameswaram. But it also poses a danger to coral reefs in the biodiversity hotspot of Gulf of Mannar region.

Further Warming in Disaster-Hit Himalayas Will Have ‘Severe Consequences’: IPCC

Exceeding a 1.5C rise in global temperature imperils already vulnerable Hindu Kush Himalayan region, experts say after IPCC synthesis report, as UN chief demands more from G20 countries

To Eliminate TB, India Needs To Look Beyond Just Lung Disease

When the bacillus affects other parts of the body, it is called extrapulmonary TB. The bacteria can infect virtually every other organ in the body. Non-pulmonary cases accounts for 15-20% of all reported TB cases.

Asteroid Ryugu Findings Suggest Building Blocks of Life on Earth Came From Space

A team of Japanese and American scientists has analysed samples taken from the asteroid Ryugu in 2018 by the Hayabusa2 mission and found uracil, one of the five key bases of the RNA and DNA molecules that are crucial to life as we know it.

Saliva: The Next Frontier in Cancer Detection

Scientists are finding tumor signals in spit that could be key to developing diagnostic tests for various types of cancer.

Opinion: How To Recover From the Great Education Disruption

Children around the world were out of school for months, with big impacts on learning, well-being and the economy. How do we avoid a ‘generational catastrophe’?