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A Bengaluru space company unveiled India's first privately built 800 kN FFSC engine on Friday. Named EVEREST, the engine makes India the fourth nation to possess this technology. Neeraj Khandelwal said, "The engine has been developed by Astrobase making it only the fourth commercial company to successfully develop a high thrust."
Scientists discovered a natural particle accelerator named LHAASO J1912+1014u in the Milky Way. First spotted in 2024, it blasts energy 1,000 times stronger than the LHC. Tsunefumi Mizuno said, "In this study, three arrows are bundled together, revealing that our target is a cosmic-ray proton PeVatron." Many more such accelerators exist.
NCBS researchers developed a non-invasive method to monitor tigers and leopards using chemical signatures from urine and scat. This study, published in the Journal of Chemical Ecology, helps track elusive big cats. "The advantage of our method is its simplicity," said B.V. Aditi Prasad, making it easy for field teams.
Sumana Roy translated Jagadish Chandra Bose’s 1922 Bengali essays into The Man Who Made Plants Write. Bose used his own instruments to show that plants feel pain and fatigue like humans. While many scientists mocked his work, these rediscovered writings show his grand ambition to link all living things.
Complex life on Earth started nearly 540 million years ago because of fossilised faeces. Scientists said this poop distributed nutrients throughout the ocean, creating conditions for the Cambrian explosion. Russell Bicknell noted, "The importance of faeces in ancient ecosystems is often overlooked." This feedback loop helped many animal groups evolve.
Scientists announced on Thursday that they engineered lettuce and tobacco plants to produce myoglobin, the protein that gives meat its taste and colour. Dr. Alexia Groff said, "Chloroplasts are generally much better at making large amounts of protein than the cell nucleus." This breakthrough could finally improve plant-based meat alternatives.
The James Webb Space Telescope captured a new image of the Carina Nebula on Aug. 7, 2026. This snapshot shows a cluster called the Treasure Chest, which holds about 70 young stars. Scientists said these observations help us understand the cosmos better as the stars grow and shine more brightly.
On Aug. 7, 1980, NASA’s Viking 1 orbiter shut down after four years of exploring Mars. Launched in 1975, the mission lasted far beyond its planned 90-day life. It captured thousands of photos and helped scientists map the planet. This historic mission proved that spacecraft could successfully land on the Red Planet.
New maps now bring satellite data down to Earth using images from a 2000 space shuttle mission. Researchers said, "We have so much satellite-based data now, but ecologists receive very little training on how to work with it." These complex maps help experts predict where many species will likely thrive.
Chinese company Landspace targets Aug. 10 for a historic rocket launch and landing attempt. The startup plans to catch its Zhuque-3 orbital booster after a previous test failed in December 2025. This mission from the Jiuquan spaceport follows a successful static fire test that showed all systems operated normally.
Researchers at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory used the XENONnT detector to search for dark matter. By using nearly 9 metric tons of liquid xenon, the team pushed sensitivity to new levels. While they found no signals, the results narrowed the hunt for elusive particles like axions and dark photons.
Researchers at ICAR-CTCRI and IARI identified a mycobiome-based strategy to fight cassava stem and root rot disease. This condition, which causes tubers to decay, emerged as a major concern in Kerala in 2020. Experts said, “The disease has been observed across Kerala, especially in wetlands under poorly drained conditions.”