World

Melinda French Gates grew up in a household where science, engineering and education were closely woven into family life. Her father, Raymond Joseph French Jr., was an aerospace engineer whose career included work connected to NASA’s Apollo programme, giving his daughter an early glimpse into the world of space exploration and advanced technology. But some…

Long before astronauts ever plant a seed on the Moon or Mars, Nasa has been testing a much simpler question here on Earth’s doorstep: what happens when a corn seed germinates with no gravity to tell it which way to grow? Back in the early 1990s, researchers flew dry corn kernels aboard the space shuttle,…

A school bag is full of mud brought in by the recent flash floods, at the Shree Bagheswori Madhyamik School in Nepal. (Photo: AP) Morning assembly was about to begin at Bageshwori Higher Secondary School on August 26 when teachers learned that floodwaters were heading towards Baireni.Principal Prakash Malla told students to move to higher…

The reintroduction and success of sea otters in British Columbia was a story that initially satisfied everyone including conservationists and the natives. The adorable creatures once occupied much of Canada’s Pacific coast, before the fur trade for their exceptionally dense coats turned into a mass death sentence. But now, their population is threatening the availability…

Oregon’s Cascade Range(Representative image by Canva) Beneath the forested slopes of Oregon’s Cascade Range, scientists have uncovered a vast, hidden reservoir of water locked inside volcanic rock. By analysing temperature data from geothermal drill holes, a University of Oregon-led team estimated that at least 81 cubic kilometres of water are stored in the region’s subsurface,…

Laurene Powell Jobs took an unconventional route from Wall Street to becoming one of the most influential philanthropists and investors in the United States. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1985, she spent a year at Merrill Lynch and two years at Goldman Sachs before leaving finance and moving to Florence, Italy, where…

Photo: comobusinesstimes.com When Fred Parry’s late wife, Mary, first saw the stately 1914 mansion on West Broadway in Columbia, Missouri, she fell in love. Years later, after her death, Parry found himself facing a choice: let the historic home be redeveloped or step in to save it. He chose the latter, buying the property with…

PC: By Cepaea_nemoralis/Wikipedia Snails may move slowly, but the mucus they produce is far more sophisticated than it looks. It has been revealed how grove snails can fine-tune this sticky substance for different purposes. Researchers identified five distinct mucus-based materials, each with its own mechanical properties and function. One helps the snails move smoothly by…

Wolf spider on white background. Image Credit: Philip N. Cohen/Wikipedia A study published in ‘Experimental and Applied Entomology’ has explored how spiders could tell what animals are living around them by examining traces of prey DNA left inside their bodies. The research tested how ‘reliable prey DNA’ could be found in wolf spiders after feeding…