Since 2012, six bridges have collapsed in Mumbai, killing 28 people and injuring hundreds. Often, news of flyovers and pedestrian bridges tumbling down have made it to the headlines across the country. Although durable materials like steel and concrete are used in today’s structures, poor quality of construction and lack of maintenance are often blamed for such catastrophes. Contrast this with the rock-solid centuries-old root bridges found in Meghalaya—many as old as 250 years and still growing strong—built without modern tools or design. Could the structure of these bridges unravel architectural clues for urban construction? In a recent study, researchers from Germany and the USA have tried to understand the morphology and structure of these root bridges, built out of the aerial roots of strangler figs, and that have endured floods, earthquakes, landslides and fires.
Engineering
In a recent study, researchers from Anna University, Chennai, quantified the volume of virtual water trade in India. The study, published in the journal Groundwater for Sustainable Development, focussed on the trade exchange of popular crop and livestock products during the years 2006–2016.
Prof R B Sunoj of the Department of Chemistry of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay has received the 2019 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize by Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The prize recognizes his outstanding contributions for providing molecular level insights on organic reaction mechanisms.
Dr Siddhesh Kamat, Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune, is among the 27 recipients of the European Molecular Biology Organization's (EMBO) Young Investigators Grant. EMBO is an organization headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany, and promotes international collaboration among life sciences researchers.
In a recent study, researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur have explored the use of a new blend of chromium (III) as an eco-friendly electrolyte for depositing chromium-based coatings on metallic barrels. They reinforced chromium with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and a ceramic compound called yttria stabilised zirconia (YSZ), to improve the properties of the coat.
IIT Bombay researchers develop techniques to make tiny, inexpensive lenses that can be used on smartphones.
Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) suggest that better conductivity of oil may help water droplets come together. Their findings may impact the design of electric field-based oil dehydrators.
Researchers from IISc, Bengaluru, have investigated whether renewable energy sources and their large-scale integration into the electricity grid can help transition our electricity system into a ‘clean energy’ system.
A theoretical study from IIT Bombay can help make our military communication more robust.
A team of researchers, led by Prof. Keith Bannister at the Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia, observed a burst of radio waves, three-billion light years away, using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope. This could shed light on the ‘missing matter’.