News on Science, Technology and Research in India
The research focuses on molybdenum carbide, written as Mo₂C, an earth-abundant material studied as a catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction. This reaction is a key step in water electrolysis, where electricity is used to split water and release hydrogen. Green hydrogen becomes especially important when the electricity used in this process comes from renewable sources such as solar, wind or hydropower.
The importance of this meeting lies in its timing and subject matter. Global technological power is increasingly shaped by nations that can build secure communications, advanced sensors, high-speed computing systems, precision optics, satellite networks and deep-tech manufacturing capacity.
Mesalina lizards are small, swift, day-active reptiles usually associated with arid and semi-arid regions. They are adapted to dry terrain, open ground, sparse vegetation and harsh desert conditions. Until now, the presence of this genus in India remained uncertain. A historical reference by British zoologist Malcolm A. Smith in 1935 had mentioned Mesalina watsonana from Jaisalmer, but that record lacked specimen-based confirmation. The new discovery from Bikaner now provides verified scientific evidence that Mesalina occurs in India.
Majuli occupies a unique place in India’s geography and culture. Located within the powerful river system of the Brahmaputra and Subansiri, it is known for its living cultural heritage, tribal settlements and Neo-Vaishnavite traditions. At the same time, the island has been deeply shaped by floods, erosion and changing river courses. Its landscape carries both civilisational richness and ecological vulnerability, making it one of the most important riverine regions for studying climate adaptation.
The discovery was made from Kiphire district in Nagaland, a part of the eastern Himalayan and Indo-Burma biodiversity landscape. This region is known for its forested hills, streams, waterfalls and moist habitats that support a rich variety of amphibians. Cascade frogs usually live around fast-flowing hill streams and waterfalls, where they cling to wet rocks, breed in flowing water and depend on clean aquatic ecosystems for survival.
The project has been approved under the Telecom Technology Development Fund through Digital Bharat Nidhi. SAMEER Kolkata, an autonomous research and development organisation under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, is working with the three IITs on a testbed that explores one of the most advanced frontiers in future wireless communication: the terahertz band.
Modern chemical manufacturing often depends on high temperatures, toxic solvents and energy-intensive processes. These conditions increase cost, environmental burden and industrial complexity. The new nano-catalyst offers a more sustainable route by using light energy to drive chemical reactions under milder conditions. The PIB release says the technology could reduce the use of toxic solvents, lower energy consumption and make chemical production more environmentally friendly.
The core of the new facility is a hybrid wind and circulating water channel system. It provides a stable, uniform-flow test section for hydrodynamic investigations involving ship models, propellers, bluff bodies, underwater structures, offshore systems and marine vehicles. In simple terms, the tunnel allows engineers to recreate and study water-flow behaviour around maritime objects before those designs are scaled up for real-world use.
Traditional immunofluorescence imaging has been one of the most useful tools for studying proteins in their natural cellular environment. Its limitation, however, has been multiplexing capacity. Conventional methods are usually restricted to around four or five protein targets because different fluorescent dyes overlap spectrally and become difficult to separate cleanly. The CLEAR platform tackles this bottleneck by allowing the same sample to be labelled, imaged, erased and labelled again in repeated cycles.
The study was conducted by researchers from the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology. The team used a multi-proxy approach that combined palynofacies analysis with advanced molecular techniques such as Raman spectroscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy. In simple terms, the scientists studied tiny fragments of organic matter preserved inside sedimentary rocks and then used molecular tools to identify whether those particles were linked to ancient fire events.
