Aerosols such as smoke or dust suspended in the lower layers of the atmosphere can either heat up the planet by trapping solar radiation, or cool it by reflecting sunlight back into space. Little is known, however, about how much aerosols that are present much higher up — above the clouds — contribute to this warming. 

Researchers from the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences Calcutta, Kolkata, and the Indian Institute of Technology Patna, have examined the practice of outsourcing in the Indian context. They found that the outsourcing model helps companies remain viable, particularly during economic crises.

If ever the Beatles were to be formed again, they would definitely agree to rope in field crickets, the distant rockstar relatives of grasshoppers, into their influential band. The male members of the Gryllidae family are noted in the animal world for the music they make with their forewings. As the sun goes down and the dark is welcome, the musical concert of adult male field crickets goes live. Some sing continuous trills, the others produce periodic chirps to enchant the ladies of their own species for mating.

Researchers at IISc, Bengaluru, claims that wind turbines, installed to harness renewable energy from the wind, are instead creating deleterious effects on predatory birds and their prey. 

It was just another microsecond in Atomos. If looked closely enough, one would find the central town of Nucleuster amongst the clouds of Electros. Granted, Nucleuster might not be a fancy metropolitan, but it is a dense, closely-knit niche of positivity sheltering the likes of two types of inhabitants, the Prots and the Neutros.

Bringing a great relief to food lovers, particularly fans of processed foods, scientists from the USA and India have reported having found a herbal compound to fight botulinum, the most poisonous bacterial toxin that causes food poisoning. The study was published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

Researchers from the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad and the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR- IICT), Hyderabad found a link between insufficient vitamin D and coronary artery diseases in people having type 2 diabetes mellitus.

In a recent study, researchers from the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (InStem), Bengaluru, National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru, Christian Medical College, Vellore and the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, have described how a type of virus, called adeno-associated virus, behaves when injected into the mouse testis.

In a recent study, researchers from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune have investigated the role of an enzyme in the cells of individuals with PHARC. PHARC is a neurodegenerative disease characterised by polyneuropathy (damage to multiple nerves outside the brain and central nervous system), hearing loss, ataxia, retinitis pigmentosa (loss of cells in the retina) and cataract.

Dolphins ‘see’ using sound, like bats. Each individual has a signature whistle that is unique to them, sort of like a name. They sleep with half their brain awake, and their eyes operate independently of each other. Oh, and they have an infanticidal streak.