May 21, 2026

Science Chronicle

A Science and Technology Blog

May 21, 2026

Science Chronicle

A Science and Technology Blog

Month: September 2025

Endoplasmic reticulumHealthTissue integrityWound healing

How Cells Sense Shape to Heal Wounds — The Role of Endoplasmic Reticulum

The endoplasmic reticulumun has an expected role in orchestrating cell migration during tissue repair. At convex edges, where lamellipodial crawling occurs, the endoplasmic reticulum reorganised into thin tubules. At concave edges, where cells contract to close the gap, the endoplasmic reticulum formed sheet-like domains that worked with actin bundles

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Climate changeEnvironmentExtreme rainfallLand-use changesLandslide

Kerala’s 2024 Wayanad Landslide: Understanding the Triggers, Contributors

An extreme rainfall event — about 572 mm of rainfall in just over 48 hours — was identified as the immediate trigger for the disaster. But the occurrence of a landslide is not determined by rainfall alone. It is the result of a complex interaction between this climatic trigger and pre-existing terrain vulnerabilities

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CamouflageEcologyEnvironmentWarning colouration

Camouflage, Warning Colouration: A Large-Scale Global Experiment On The Success Of Prey Defense Strategies

While warning colouration fared better in environments with low predation intensity, camouflage strategy helped when camouflaged prey species were less common and when light levels were low. Climatic seasonality had no effect on predation risk, and predation was not lower for warning-coloured prey at lower latitudes

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Climate changeDroughtEnvironmentGanga RivergroundwaterMonsoon rainfall

Ganga River witnessed unprecedented drying during 1991-2020 in the last 1,300 years

The Ganga River has been through unprecedented drying for 30 years between 1991 and 2020 in the last 1,300 years (700 to 2012). The drying seen during 1991-2020 is 76% more intense than the last severe drought that occurred in the 16th Century — between 1501 and 1530. The lastest 30-year period stands out as the driest period not only because of the number of drought years but also because the drought prolonged for a few years without a break

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Artificial intelligence (AI)CancerCancer diagnosisCervical cancerDiagnostics

An AI-powered, lightweight App offers hope for early-stage cervical cancer diagnosis

An AI-powered, lightweight, diagnostic, web-based App — CerviSpectraDiag — developed by researchers from IIT Kharagpur and KIIT University for early detection of cervical cancer has an accuracy of 84.73%. It offers diagnosis in near real time while maintaining privacy and data security as processing of spectral data of cervical tissue happens at the device level

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Climate changeEnvironmentGlacier retreatGlaciers

Durung Drung and Pensilungpa: The Changing Face of Ladakh’s Glaciers

Though located in the same climatic zone, aspect, and slope, Durung Drung glacier lost over eight sq. km area and retreated more than 800 metres, while the Pensilungpa glacier lost just over two sq. km and retreated only about 200 metres. Besides the warming climate, other factors too have a role to play

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Candida albicansCandidiasisDrug discoveryFungal infection

ICMR-NIRRCH, IIT Madras researchers prevent Candida infection by identifying, targeting a chink in its armour

An integrated metabolic model combined with experimental studies using cell lines and mice model helped identify arginine metabolism as a key driver of disease-causing ability of Candida and the ALT1 enzyme as being crucial for the pathogen’s survival and virulence

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Cardiovascular diseaseExome-Wide Association StudiesGenetic screeningGenome-Wide Association StudiesLipid profile

How genetic study of lipid profile in Indian adolescents can Influence Heart Disease, Stroke

Although usually seen as an adult problem, genetic roots of dyslipidemia start in childhood. Studying lipid levels in Indian children is not only important for predicting future cardiac complications but can also provide critical insight into how genetic risks are inherited and further amplified by lifestyle factors common in India

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EcologyEvolutionary biologyInsectivorous batNew species

Discovering India’s newest flying mammal — the Himalayan Long-tailed Myotis bat

The newly discovered Himalayan Long-tailed Myotis bat from Uttarakhand is a small, insectivorous bat weighing 6 grams and less than 5 cm long from snout to vent. The tail is nearly as long as the body. Like all insectivorous bats in India, this species is a fluffball with dark brown hair, and its face is bare and salmon pink

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GraphenePhysicsWiedemann-Franz law

IISc research finds graphene electrons violate a fundamental law of Physics

Not only did the electrons in ultrapure graphene flow in a fluid state, they violated the Wiedemann-Franz law. As per the law, when electrical conductivity increases, thermal conductivity should also increase, and when one reduces the other should also reduce. But in ultrapure graphene, electrical and thermal conductivities shared an inverse relationship — as electrical conductivity increased, thermal conductivity decreased and vice versa

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Human spermMale infertilityParasiteToxoplasma gondii

Risk to male fertility: Common parasite Toxoplasma gondii found to decapitate human sperm

After only five minutes of direct contact between Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites and sperms, 22.4% of spermatozoa were headless, compared with just 1.6% in controls. By 10 minutes, the proportion of headless sperm became fourfold relative to controls, and by 15 minutes, it had increased eightfold. Many sperm developed twisted, rolled, or shortened tails, impairing their motility

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AmoebaAmoebiasisBrain-eating amoeba

Beyond the ‘brain-eating’ amoeba: India’s silent struggle with neglected amoeba infections   

Globally, Entamoeba histolytica, the parasite behind amoebiasis, causes 55,000-1,00,000 deaths annually — 9,229 deaths in India alone in 2021 — making it the third deadliest parasitic disease after malaria and schistosomiasis. Yet, neither has WHO listed it under Neglected Tropical Diseases nor has any country, including India, launched a national eradication programme against this amoeba

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Congenital heart diseaseInfant mortality rateNeonatal mortalityPrematurity

How Kerala’s infant mortality rate fell to remarkably low levels

Despite best efforts, Kerala was not able to further reduce IMR from 12-10. This was due to the persistently high neonatal mortality (death before 28 days of birth) rates. Focused initiatives helped reduce neonatal mortality and thus bring down IMR to seven per 1,000 in 2018, six in 2019, and five in 2023

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