Month: February 2026

    Scientists have taken a major step toward tackling antibiotic-resistant infections by designing bacteria-killing viruses entirely in the laboratory. The breakthrough could speed up the development of precision treatments against deadly superbugs, at a time when conventional antibiotics are steadily losing their power. Bacteriophages, viruses that infect and kill bacteria, have been known for more than a century. Their medical use, however, has remained limited because engineering them is slow, complex, and heavily dependent on naturally occurring viruses. As drug-resistant infections rise worldwide, researchers have been searching for faster and safer ways to create tailor-made phages. Synthetic DNA Turns Phage Engineering on Its Head In a study published in th...

    Octopuses are known as some of the most intelligent creatures in the ocean, but they are also famous for one more trait they prefer to live alone. That belief is now being challenged after scientists uncovered the world’s largest known gathering of octopuses deep beneath the Pacific Ocean. The discovery was made nearly two miles below the surface, close to an underwater volcano off the coast of Monterey, California. The site, now called the Octopus Garden, is spread across an area comparable to 233 soccer fields and is believed to host up to 20,000 octopuses. From solitary hunters to unexpected neighbours The idea that octopuses could live close to one another first surprised scientists more than a decade ago. In 2012, researchers diving near Jervis Bay in Aust...

    A new satellite-based study has revealed a worrying decline in groundwater reserves across High Mountain Asia, a vast region often called the “Asian Water Tower” because it supplies water to hundreds of millions of people downstream. Researchers estimate that the region is losing groundwater at an alarming rate of nearly 24.2 billion tonnes every year, raising concerns about long-term water security. High Mountain Asia stretches across the Himalayas, Karakoram, Hindu Kush and Tibetan Plateau, feeding major rivers such as the Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra and Amu Darya. These rivers support agriculture, cities and ecosystems across more than a dozen countries in South and Central Asia. Two decades of data show widespread decline The study, led by Professor Wang Shu...

    Scientists studying ancient ocean sediments have uncovered an unexpected climate feedback involving the melting of Antarctica’s ice and the Southern Ocean’s role in absorbing carbon dioxide. Contrary to long-standing assumptions, the loss of ice from West Antarctica during warmer periods did not stimulate marine algae growth, despite delivering large amounts of iron into the ocean. The findings come from a new study published on February 2 in Nature Geoscience, led by researchers from the Columbia Climate School and international collaborators. The research focuses on how changes in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, or WAIS, influenced biological activity in the Southern Ocean during past ice ages. Ancient Sediments Reveal a Climate Surprise To understand how Antar...

    The Union Budget 2026-27 has once again underlined the government’s intent to clean and rejuvenate the Ganga, but a closer look at allocations shows that the approach remains firmly infrastructure-driven, with limited attention to restoring the river as a living ecological system. Despite repeated political commitments to revive the Ganga in its entirety, spending priorities continue to favour sewage treatment plants, wastewater networks and externally funded engineering projects over measures that address river flow, floodplains, biodiversity and livelihoods. The budget, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2026, allocates Rs 3,100 crore to the National Ganga Plan under Namami Gange Mission-2 for the coming financial year. While this marks...

On a cold winter morning in late January 2026, a young male tiger met a tragic end near Bihar’s Valmiki Tiger Reserve, raising serious concerns about a growing and largely unchecked threat to big cats in human-dominated landscapes. The two-and-a-half-year-old tiger was electrocuted after coming into contact with illegal electric fencing installed by farmers along the forest boundary in West Champaran district. This incident marks the first recorded case of a tiger dying due to electrocution inside Bihar’s only tiger reserve. Forest officials confirmed that the animal’s body was discovered in a sugarcane field close to Purainia village under the Manguraha forest range during a routine patrol on January 27. The fencing had been illegally connected to grid electricity to protect crops from...