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Research Institute (<keyword id="20370739" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cmfri" source="keywords">CMFRI</keyword>) have successfully deciphered the genome of the <keyword id="23138296" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="asian-green-mussel" source="Orion">Asian green mussel</keyword> (Perna viridis), a discovery poised to revolutionise the understanding of this vital <keyword id="662896" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="marine-species" source="Orion">marine species</keyword>. This is the first-ever <keyword id="184804" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="chromosome" source="Orion">chromosome</keyword> level genome sequencing of a marine invertebrate species from India. Earlier, CMFRI had come out with a similar genome finding for Indian oil sardine. The Asian green mussel, Kallummakkaya in local parlance, is an important aquaculture species in the family Mytilidae contributing substantially to molluscan aquaculture. CMFRI's research found that the mussel's genome contains 723.49 Mb in size and is anchored into 15 chromosomes, according to a CMFRI release here on Thursday. The research was published in the journal Scientific Data by Nature Group. "The development will be a game-changer in boosting sustainable mussel aquaculture in the country, as this research will help gain insights into its growth, reproduction and disease resistance", said Dr Grinson George, Director of CMFRI. The findings will benefit the aquaculture sector by improving genomic selection and breeding practices, leading to enhanced productivity and resilience in fisheries, he added. A team of researchers from CMFRI led by Principal Scientist Dr Sandhya Sukumaran carried out this study with funding support from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), New Delhi. The team includes Dr A Gopalakrishnan, V G Vysakh, Dr Wilson Sebastian, Dr Lalitha Hari Dharani, Dr Akhilesh Pandey, Dr Abishek Kumar and Dr J K Jena. According to scientists, this will help develop new strategies to combat diseases in the mussel. "Genomic investigations on this species are vital to understand genes, gene combinations and signaling pathways leading to the parasitic diseases, which constitute a major threat to Asian green mussel aquaculture in India causing substantial mortalities in farms," said Dr Sandhya Sukumaran. According to the scientists, the genome assembly of green mussels will emerge as a valuable tool for exploring <keyword id="6355291" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cancer" source="Orion">cancer</keyword> mechanisms and developing new therapeutic strategies. "A total of 49654 protein-coding genes were identified, including 634 genes associated with the cancer pathway and 408 genes associated with viral carcinogenesis. This indicates that this species is a novel model organism for cancer research," Sukumaran said. This advancement promises to significantly enhance our understanding of cancer pathways and facilitate the discovery of novel treatments, she added. Apart from its aquaculture prospects, Asian green mussels play a vital role as a bio-monitor as it is capable of accumulating heavy metals and other environmental pollutants in large quantities. Understanding the genome assembly will provide valuable information about the genomic pathways involved in response to pollutants. "The genetic markers to be developed from this research could be used to monitor pollutants in aquatic bodies, a significant milestone in safeguarding the aquatic environment," Sandhya said. Scientists believe that the genome decoding of this species would enhance knowledge regarding the effect of environmental pollutants on biological systems, as this bivalve is adaptable to local environmental stressors like variations in pH, temperature, salinity and air exposure.

CMFRI scientists crack genetic code of Asian green mussel

Researchers from the <keyword id="22456634" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Botanical-Survey-of-India" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Botanical Survey of India" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Botanical Survey of India">Botanical Survey of India</keyword> (BSI) have discovered a <keyword id="22456632" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="new-plant-species" source="keywords">new plant species</keyword> from a wildlife sanctuary in <keyword id="19915575" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Arunachal-Pradesh" source="keywords">Arunachal Pradesh</keyword>, officials said. '<keyword id="22456633" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Phlogacanthus-Sudhansusekharii" source="keywords">Phlogacanthus Sudhansusekharii</keyword>', the plant species recently discovered from <keyword id="19949553" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Itanagar" source="keywords">Itanagar</keyword> Wildlife Sanctuary in Papum Pare district, belongs to the family 'Acanthaceae' and the 'Phlogacanthus' genus, they said. The species is named to honor Dr Sudhansu Sekhar Dash, a scientist at the BSI, for his "significant contribution" to plant and ecological research in the Indian Himalayan region, the BSI officials said. The detailed research paper on the new species has been published by the authors Samrat Goswami and Rohan Maity in the Indian Journal of Forestry. The genus 'Phlogacanthus' comprises 13 species in India and is spread over mainly the northeastern and eastern Himalayan states, they said. "The newly described species is closely allied to Phlogacanthus Guttatus (Wall) Nees, but differ in various morphological characters, mainly in its shape and size of calyx, staminodes and strikingly different corona colour," a BSI official said. Chief Minister Pema Khandu has expressed delight over the development. "The biodiversity of Arunachal Pradesh is wide &amp; varied. In addition to the findings of new flora, researchers from @bsi_moefcc have identified a new plant species, named Phlogacanthus sudhansusekharii, in the Itanagar Wildlife Sanctuary," Khandu said in a post in X. "This discovery reminds us of our rich natural heritage &amp; our responsibility to preserve it for future generations," he added. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/samsung-galaxy-m35-5g-with-6000mah-battery-launched-in-india-starting-at-16999/slidelist/111806447.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/samsung-galaxy-m35-5g-with-6000mah-battery-launched-in-india-starting-at-16999/slidelist/111806447.cms" target="_blank">Samsung Galaxy M35 5G with 6,000mAh battery launched in India starting at ₹19,999</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/oneplus-nord-4-vs-realme-gt-6t-which-mid-range-phone-should-you-buy-under-35000/slidelist/111803604.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/oneplus-nord-4-vs-realme-gt-6t-which-mid-range-phone-should-you-buy-under-35000/slidelist/111803604.cms" target="_blank">OnePlus Nord 4 vs Realme GT 6T – which mid-range phone should you buy under ₹35,000?</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/reliance-jio-and-airtel-added-3-45-million-subscribers-in-may-2024-while-vi-lost-nearly-a-million/articleshow/111800758.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/reliance-jio-and-airtel-added-3-45-million-subscribers-in-may-2024-while-vi-lost-nearly-a-million/articleshow/111800758.cms" target="_blank">Reliance Jio and Airtel added 3.45 million subscribers in May 2024, while Vi lost nearly a million</a>

Scientists discover new plant species in Arunachal Pradesh

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (<keyword id="41780" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="iisc" source="Orion">IISc</keyword>) have developed a brain-inspired analog computing platform capable of storing and processing <keyword id="6355729" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="data" source="Orion">data</keyword> in an astonishing 16,500 conductance states within a molecular film. Published on September 11 in the journal Nature, this breakthrough represents a huge step forward over traditional digital computers in which data storage and processing are limited to just two states, the IISc s<keyword id="6355999" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ai" source="Orion">ai</keyword>d. In a press release, the institute said that such a platform could potentially bring complex AI tasks, like training Large Language Models (LLMs), to personal devices like laptops and smartphones, thus taking us closer to democratising the development of AI tools. These developments are currently restricted to resource-heavy data centres, due to a lack of energy-efficient hardware. With silicon electronics nearing saturation, designing brain-inspired accelerators that can work alongside silicon chips to deliver faster, more efficient AI is also becoming crucial. "Neuromorphic computing has had its fair share of unsolved challenges for over a decade," explained <keyword id="23122611" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sreetosh-goswami" source="keywords">Sreetosh Goswami</keyword>, Assistant Professor at the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE), IISc, who led the research team. "With this discovery, we have almost nailed the perfect system - a rare feat," he said. According to IISc, the fundamental operation underlying most AI algorithms is quite basic - matrix multiplication, a concept taught in high school maths. But in digital computers, these calculations hog a lot of energy. The platform developed by the IISc team drastically cuts down both the time and energy involved, making these calculations a lot faster and easier. The molecular system at the heart of the platform was designed by <keyword id="23122609" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sreebrata-goswami" source="keywords">Sreebrata Goswami</keyword>, Visiting Professor at CeNSE. As molecules and ions wiggle and move within a material film, they create countless unique memory states, many of which have been inaccessible so far. Most digital devices are only able to access two states (high and low conductance), without being able to tap into the infinite number of intermediate states possible. By using precisely timed voltage pulses, the IISc team found a way to effectively trace a much larger number of molecular movements, and map each of these to a distinct electrical signal, forming an extensive "molecular diary" of different states. "This project brought together the precision of electrical engineering with the creativity of chemistry, letting us control molecular kinetics very precisely inside an electronic circuit powered by nanosecond voltage pulses," explained Goswami. "Tapping into these tiny molecular changes allowed the team to create a highly precise and efficient neuromorphic accelerator, which can store and process data within the same location, similar to the human brain. Such accelerators can be seamlessly integrated with silicon circuits to boost their performance and energy efficiency," the IISc said. IISc researchers said the key challenge that the team faced was characterising the various conductance states, which proved impossible using existing equipment. The team designed a custom circuit board that could measure voltages as tiny as a millionth of a volt, to pinpoint these individual states with unprecedented accuracy. It also turned this scientific discovery into a technological feat. The team was able to recreate NASA's iconic "Pillars of Creation" image from the James Webb Space Telescope data - originally created by a <keyword id="6537818" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="supercomputer" source="Orion">supercomputer</keyword> - using just a tabletop computer. They were also able to do this at a fraction of the time and energy that traditional computers would need. Using their AI accelerator, the team recreated NASA's iconic "Pillars of Creation" image from the James Webb Space Telescope data on a tabletop computer - achieving this in a fraction of the time and energy required by traditional systems, it said. The team includes several students and research fellows at IISc. They also collaborated with Stanley Williams, Professor at Texas A&amp;M University and Damien Thompson, Professor at the University of Limerick, it added. The researchers believe that this breakthrough could be one of India's biggest leaps in AI hardware, putting the country on the map of global technology innovation. Navakanta Bhat, Professor at CeNSE and an expert in silicon electronics led the circuit and system design in this project. "What stands out is how we have transformed complex physics and chemistry understanding into groundbreaking technology for AI hardware," Goswami explained. "In the context of the India Semiconductor Mission, this development could be a game-changer, revolutionising industrial, consumer and strategic applications. The national importance of such research cannot be overstated," he said. With support from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the IISc team is now focused on developing a fully indigenous integrated neuromorphic chip. "This is a completely home-grown effort, from materials to circuits and systems," he emphasised. "We are well on our way to translating this technology into a system-on-a-chip," he added.

IISc scientists develop brain-inspired analog computing platform capable of storing, processing data

The mission, known as <keyword id="19026307" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="atmospheric-perturbations" source="Orion">Atmospheric Perturbations</keyword> around the Eclipse Path or APEP, is led by <keyword id="19026308" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="aroh-barjatya" source="Orion">Aroh Barjatya</keyword>, will study how the sudden drop in sunlight affects our upper atmosphere, the space agency has said. On October 14, people viewing the annular solar eclipse will experience the sun dimming to 10 per cent its normal brightness, leaving only a bright "ring of fire" of sunlight as the moon eclipses the sun. Some 50 miles up and beyond, the air itself becomes electric. Scientists call this atmospheric layer the ionosphere because it is where the UV component of sunlight can pry electrons away from atoms to form a sea of high-flying ions and electrons. The sun's constant energy keeps these mutually attracted particles separated throughout the day. But as the sun dips below the horizon, many recombine into neutral atoms for the night, only to part ways again at sunrise. During a solar eclipse, the sunlight vanishes and reappears over a small part of the landscape almost at once. In a flash, ionospheric temperature and density drop, then rise again, sending waves rippling through the ionosphere. "If you think of the ionosphere as a pond with some gentle ripples on it, the eclipse is like a motorboat that suddenly rips through the water," said <keyword id="40286" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="barjatya" source="Orion">Barjatya</keyword>, a professor of engineering physics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida. "It creates a wake immediately underneath and behind it, and then the water level momentarily goes up as it rushes back in." The APEP team plans to launch three rockets in succession -- one about 35 minutes before local peak eclipse, one during peak eclipse, and one 35 minutes after. They will fly just outside the path of annularity, where the moon passes directly in front of the sun. Each rocket will deploy four small scientific instruments that will measure changes in electric and magnetic fields, density, and temperature. If they are successful, these will be the first simultaneous measurements taken from multiple locations in the ionosphere during a solar eclipse. Barjatya chose sounding rockets to answer the team's science questions because they can pinpoint and measure specific regions of space with high fidelity. They can also measure changes that happen at different altitudes as the suborbital rocket ascends and falls back to Earth. The APEP rockets will take measurements between 70 to 325 kilometres) above the ground along their trajectory. In addition, a ground-based observation will collect ionospheric density and neutral wind measurements. A team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Haystack Observatory in Westford, will run their radar to measure ionospheric perturbations farther away from the eclipse path. Finally, a team of students from Embry-Riddle will deploy high-altitude balloons (reaching 100,000 feet) every 20 minutes to measure weather changes as the eclipse passes by. The APEP rockets launched in New Mexico will be recovered and then relaunched from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, on April 8, 2024, when a total solar eclipse will cross the US from Texas to Maine.

Riding into the sun: Indian-origin NASA scientist to lead rocket mission into 2023 solar eclipse

US President <keyword id="99719" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="joe-biden" source="Orion">Joe Biden</keyword> has honoured two Indian-American scientists -- <keyword id="19253515" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ashok-gadgil" source="Orion">Ashok Gadgil</keyword> and <keyword id="165227" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="subra-suresh" source="Orion">Subra Suresh</keyword> -- with the country's highest scientific awards for their contribution to the field of science and technology. Biden presented the prestigious <keyword id="6356037" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="White-House" source="Orion">White House</keyword> National Medal for Technology and Innovation to Gadgil, a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Civil and Environmental Engineering at <keyword id="201630" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="uc-berkeley" source="Orion">UC Berkeley</keyword>, on Tuesday for providing life-sustaining resources to communities around the world. The award, bestowed on leading US innovators, recognises those who have made lasting contributions to America's competitiveness and quality of life and helped strengthen the nation's technological workforce. Suresh, a professor at large at <keyword id="107088" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="brown-university" source="Orion">Brown University</keyword>'s School of Engineering, was awarded the National Medal of Science for pioneering research across engineering, physical sciences and life sciences, and particularly for advancing the study of material science and its application to other disciplines. Gadgil was one of 12 recipients of the White House National Medal for Technology and Innovation. Gadgil has developed low--cost solutions to some of the developing world's most intractable problems, including safe drinking water technologies, energy-efficient stoves, and ways to make efficient electric lighting affordable. He focuses on robust inventions that can be deployed as widely as possible, and together, his projects have helped more than 100 million people. Gadgil is also an expert in building energy efficiency and computational fluid dynamics of indoor air and pollutant flows. The White House said Gadgil was presented the medal "for providing life-sustaining resources to communities around the world. His innovative, inexpensive technologies help meet profound needs, from drinking water to fuel-efficient cookstoves. His work is inspired by a belief in the dignity of all people and in our power to solve the great challenges of our time." Gadgil's award is the 17th national medal overall and the second National Medal of Technology and Innovation that Berkeley Lab researchers have earned. "The world is not a fair place. I try to bend my knowledge of science, engineering, and creativity to make it a little less unfair for the people who are holding the short end of the stick. If I can make that difference, go even a little bit in that direction, I think that's fantastic," Gadgil told Barkley Lab in an interview. Gadgil earned degrees in physics from the University of Bombay (now Mumbai), the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, and his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley. He then joined Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) in 1980 and retired earlier this year as a faculty senior scientist; he is now an affiliate retiree of the Berkeley Lab. He formerly served as the division director of the Environmental Energy Technologies Division - now the Energy Technologies Area (ETA). He is also a distinguished professor emeritus of civil and environmental engineering at UC Berkeley. The announcement from the National Science and Technology Medals Foundation noted Suresh's commitment to research and collaboration across international borders, which has demonstrated how science can forge understanding and cooperation among people and nations. "It's very satisfying," said Suresh, who said he takes special pride in the recognition because of what the medal signifies, according to a Brown University statement. Suresh, the former head of the National Science Foundation (NSF), was presented with the prestigious science medal along with eight others. Born in India in 1956, Suresh graduated from high school at 15 and by age 25, had earned his undergraduate degree, master's degree and Ph.D., which he earned in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in just two years. Suresh became a faculty member at Brown University in 1983 as the youngest member of the engineering faculty. After 10 years at Brown, Suresh went on to become the first Asian-born American to lead the National Science Foundation (NSF), serving as its 13th director after he was nominated by then-president, Barack Obama. He returned to Brown's School of Engineering in September 2023, and earlier this month, the school announced a biennial symposium in his honour focused on the frontiers of technology and society. Under his leadership, NSF launched the Global Research Council, a virtual organisation of heads of science and engineering funding agencies from more than 50 countries, aimed at fostering global collaboration and data sharing. He also oversaw the establishment of the Centre-Life Balance programme, an initiative to increase the number of doctoral-level women in the science and engineering fields from 26 per cent to 40 per cent between 2011 and 2021.

Biden honours two Indian-American scientists with America's highest scientific awards

An affordable <keyword id="9107118" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tuberculosis-testing" source="Orion">tuberculosis testing</keyword> technology that can detect the disease using a patient's sputum for just Rs 35 has been developed by apex medical research body <keyword id="19918794" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ICMR" source="keywords">ICMR</keyword>'s regional centre in Assam's Dibrugarh. The 'A <keyword id="19986036" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="CRISPR" source="keywords">CRISPR</keyword> case-based TB detection system' is light, portable and involves three steps of testing. Over 1,500 samples can be tested in one single run in around two-and-half hours, ICMR sources said. Conventional diagnostic techniques for TB commonly rely on culture, which requires 42 days to confirm as TB negative, microscopy, and nucleic acid-based methods. These are also time-consuming and may require sophisticated equipment. An official said, "<keyword id="19992404" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tuberculosis" source="keywords">Tuberculosis</keyword> (TB) remains a global health challenge, necessitating the development of accurate and rapid diagnostic tools for effective disease management. Current <keyword id="22921102" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="diagnostic-methods" source="keywords">diagnostic methods</keyword> often exhibit limitations in terms of sensitivity, specificity, speed and cost, emphasising the need for innovative approaches". Additionally, some molecular diagnostic methods, while offering improved sensitivity, may lack the desired specificity or face challenges associated with cost and ease of handling. "Considering these problems, the CRISPR-Cas12a-based molecular diagnostic system 'GlowTBPCRKit' coupled with an amplification step (using thermal cycler) and the '<keyword id="22921103" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="RapidGlow-device" source="keywords">RapidGlow device</keyword>' provides a promising solution," the official said. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has now invited Expression of Interest (EoI) from eligible organisations, companies, manufacturers for undertaking 'Transfer of Technology' for commercialisation of the 'A CRISPR case-based TB detection system' for the detection of <keyword id="20115212" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mycobacterium-tuberculosis" source="keywords">Mycobacterium tuberculosis</keyword>. The ICMR-RMRCNE institute will provide expert guidance and technical support for the production of 'A CRISPR Cas based TB detection system' in all phases. Such technical oversight by the institute would accelerate the development of the product and its commercialisation. The ICMR would also provide technical support through its team of experienced scientists in study, planning, product development, development of study protocol, results or data analysis, outcome assessment, safety and efficacy assessment, product improvement, etc., if deemed fit upon the mutual understanding between ICMR and collaborative company. The apex health research body through its institutes would provide support and facilitation to conduct the research and development or clinical study of new technology or product in India through its affiliates or institutes, in collaboration with the company and institutions in a professional and mutually agreed upon manner and timelines.

ICMR's regional centre develops technology that can test for tuberculosis in just Rupees 35!

An Indian researcher in the US has developed a small and low-cost acidity sensor that can tell in real time when food has spoiled. The <keyword id="16846257" type="General" weightage="90" keywordseo="flexible-ph-sensor" source="Orion">flexible pH sensor</keyword> is just two millimetres in length and 10 millimetres wide, making it possible to incorporate the device into current food packaging methods, such as plastic wrapping. Industries typically use much bulkier metres - roughly one inch long by five inches tall - to measure pH levels or how acidic or basic the food is, so they are not suitable to be included in every package of food to monitor its freshness in real time. "The pH sensors we developed work like a small wireless radio-frequency identification device - similar to what you find inside your luggage tag after it has been checked at airports," said Khengdauliu Chawang, a PhD student at the Southern Methodist University in Texas, US, who created the device. "Every time a food package with our device passes a checkpoint, such as <keyword id="16846077" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="shipping-logistics" botkeyword="" source="ET" sourcekeytype="COMPANY" meta.keywordsubtype="EQ" meta.aliasname="shipping logistics" meta.entityname="Shreyas Shipping &amp; Logistics Ltd." meta.entityid="8578" meta.seoname="shreyas-shipping-logistics-ltd">shipping logistics</keyword> centres, harbours, gates or supermarkets' entrances, they could get scanned and the data could be sent back to a server tracking their pH levels," Chawang said in a statement by the university. Such configuration, Chawang said, would allow continuous pH monitoring and accurately detect freshness limits along the entire journey -- from farms to consumers' houses. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, roughly 1.3 billion metric tonnes of food produced around the world goes to waste every year. Creating the device was personal for Chawang, who is originally from Nagaland where the population relies heavily on agricultural crops. "Food waste in Nagaland means undernourished children and extra fieldwork for the elderly to compensate for the loss," Chawang said. "The need to prevent food waste motivated me to think of a device that is not expensive or labour-intensive to develop, is disposable and can detect freshness levels." Not only does food waste contribute to food insecurity and lost profits to food manufacturers, but food wastage is also bad for the environment, the researcher noted. Food freshness level is directly correlated to pH levels, Chawang explained. For example, food with a pH level higher than the normal range indicates spoiled food, as fungi and bacteria thrive in high-pH environments. Sudden pH changes in food storage during production and shipping can indicate possible food spoilage. The pH level is measured by the concentration of hydrogen ions found in a substance or solution. The latest pH sensor has successfully been tested on food items like fish, fruits, milk and honey, Chawang said. The sensor is made with a very small amount of biocompatible materials and uses printing technologies on flexible films. "The entire process is similar to printing newspapers. The processing does not require expensive equipment or semiconductor cleanroom environment. Thus, the costs are low and make the sensor disposable," said J C Chiao, a professor at the university, who helped in the development of the device. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer's (IEEE) Big Ideas competition at the 2022 IEEE Sensors Conference honoured Chawang with the Best Women-owned Business Pitch for her invention, the university added. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/milk-prices-spiked-in-last-6-months-and-will-continue-to-increase-says-an-emkay-report/articleshow/98802185.cms">Milk prices spiked in last 6 months, and will continue to increase says an Emkay report</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/indian-bank-deposits-better-protected-than-in-us-sbi-report/articleshow/98802859.cms">Indian bank deposits better protected than in US: SBI report</a>

A tiny sensor developed by Indian researcher can now tell if food is spoiled, real-time

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A tiny frog baffled scientists by growing a mushroom on its side.</li><li>The frog seemed to be living its life unaware of its companion. </li></ul>Scientists were stunned when they came across <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/frogs-fully-regrow-amputated-legs-in-new-lab-study-2022-1">a frog</a> with what seemed to be a mushroom sprouting from its side.The amphibian, a Rao's intermediate golden-backed frog, was spotted by rivers and wetlands specialist Lohit Y.T. during a survey of amphibians in the foothills of the Western Ghats in India.Rao's intermediate golden-backed frog is a small frog that is endemic to India."When I first observed the frog with the mushroom, I was amazed and intrigued by the sight," Lohit<a target="_blank" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/29/world/mushroom-frog-growth-chytrid-disease-scn/index.html"> told CNN</a>."My thought was to document it, as this phenomenon is something we have never heard of. We just wanted this to be a rare incident and not a dangerous phenomenon for the frog," he said.<div type="image" title="A close up of the frog shows the mushroom sprouting out of its side." height="2725" width="2000" msid="108140322" hostid="261" sizebytes="151828"></div>The frog, sitting atop a twig, seemed content with the mushroom. It was moving around and very much alive, Lohit and his co-author Chinmay C Maliye said in <a target="_blank" href="https://journals.ku.edu/reptilesandamphibians/article/view/20966/19496">a note reporting their finding.</a>"To the best of our knowledge, never has a mushroom sprouting from the flank of a live frog been documented," the authors said in their paper.A mycologist's examination of the pictures first suggested that the mushroom was a common bonnet, which tends to grow on rotting wood. Others have debated the species of mushroom, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/12/science/mushroom-frog-growth.html">The New York Times reported.</a><div type="image" title="A picture shows the frog from the front." height="1542" width="2000" msid="108140324" hostid="261" sizebytes="80520"></div>The reason why this is so peculiar is that only a few species of fungi sprout mushrooms, Matthew Smith, a fungal biologist at the University of Florida who was not involved with the finding, told The Times.Many will make mycelia, but to sprout a fully formed mushroom, they need to be deeply rooted and have access to the right nutrients.When it comes to animals, scientists are more attuned to finding fungi inside the body or on the skin, not sprouting out of them.Smith said he'd never heard of an example of a mushroom growing on animal tissue, per The Times."I was very surprised to see it," he said.<div type="image" title="A close up of the mushroom sprouting out of the frog's side" height="1000" width="2000" msid="108140326" hostid="261" sizebytes="59792"></div>Alyssa Wetterau Kaganer, a postdoctoral associate at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, told CNN that she found the discovery fascinating."Fungi are dynamic organisms that adapt to changes in their environment, and with exposure to new potential hosts in different environments or climates they may grow in places we hadn't previously expected," she said. Karthikeyan Vasudevan, chief scientist for the Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Telangana, India, told CNN he initially thought the mushroom was stuck on the frog, but a closer look at the pictures convinced him it was indeed embedded in the skin."But one of the possibilities is that there is a small piece of woody debris under the skin of the frog after it got lodged in the skin and it has sprouted a mushroom from it," he said.Whether the frog continued to live with the mushroom on its side will remain a mystery. The scientists didn't capture the small specimen, which carried on with its life.Kaganer expects the frog could withstand a local infection, but if the mushroom were to continue to burrow into its skin, it may be spell trouble for the amphibian.Hopefully, this isn't a new type of infection that is sweeping across Indian frogs. India has been ravaged with an epidemic of a fungal disease called chytridiomycosis which is affecting more than 700 species in India, per CNN.Frog numbers worldwide <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/frogs-amphibians-dying-6th-mass-extinction-photos-2019-6">have been dwindling </a>with more than <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=aa03dbcda091dc83b9b0bfc6897ff5619b5b36646b3f1c50feda0267bf297572&amp;postID=65e1a7c3598842733a32e209&amp;postSlug=mushroom-sprouting-side-frog-scientists-baffled-raos-golden-backed-mystery-2024-3&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nature.com%2Farticles%2Fs41586-023-06578-4">40% of known species</a> now threatened, in part because of the climate crisis and other threats to their environment.The findings in the peer-reviewed journal Reptiles and Amphibian in January

A frog was found with mushroom sprouting from its side, leaving scientists baffled

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Indian Ocean has a gravity hole where sea levels are about 300 feet lower than nearby areas.</li><li>Local gravity is slightly lower there, which has puzzled scientists for decades.</li></ul>There's a huge gravity hole in the middle of the Indian Ocean that has stumped scientists for decades.The million-square-mile anomaly isn't a physical hole but an area of the ocean where the Earth's gravity is lower than average.Scientists studying the "hole" have long thought that something underneath was causing the strange effect.But a new study suggests researchers should have been looking around — not under — the gravity hole to solve the mystery of how it formed.The study says plumes of molten rock rising from the remnants of an ancient ocean bed could be to blame.<h2>A million-square-mile gravity hole is lowering the oceans</h2><div type="image" title="A map of the world is superimposed over a heat map of local gravity variations. A blue dot appears in the Indian Ocean." height="428" width="856" msid="101573332" hostid="261"></div>Gravity varies very slightly over the surface of the globe.Most of these variations can be easily explained. But scientists have struggled to explain the gravity hole in the Indian Ocean, known as the Indian Ocean geoid low.The difference in gravity is not huge. You certainly wouldn't be able to notice it if you were standing right in the middle of the anomaly, Bernhart Steinberger, a geodynamics researcher at the GFZ German Research Centre of Geosciences, told Insider.But it is significant enough that ocean levels in the <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/giant-gravity-hole-in-the-ocean-may-be-the-ghost-of-an-ancient-sea1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1.1-million-square-mile</a> patch are about 300 feet lower than in the surrounding oceans."I think what people generally assume is that there must be something low density underneath that's causing that," Steinberger said."But in that paper, they have actually a different theory," he said.<h2>To understand the anomaly, scientists had to look around the hole</h2><div type="image" title="A gif shows areas of high and low gravity plotted around a map of the globe, rotating around." height="338" width="450" msid="101573335" hostid="261"></div>To understand what was causing the hole, the geophysicist Attreyee Ghosh and the doctoral student Debanjan Pal at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore asked a computer to simulate what may have happened.They plotted 19 scenarios of how tectonic plates may have moved around the hole in the past 140 million years.Their study, published in <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2022GL102694" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Geophysical Research Letters</a> in May, found that only a few scenarios could account for the gravity hole, and in none of these models was the low gravity caused by what was directly underneath it.Instead, they found the hole was likely shaped by plumes of low-density magma."It's something you could have thought of before, you just wouldn't think of it because you tend to think there must be something underneath," Steinberger, who was not involved in the study, said."You have like a negative cutout," he said.<h2>It goes back 120 million years ago</h2>The most likely explanation for the gravity hole goes back to the separation of Gondwana, the supercontinent at the origin of Africa, Australia, and India, about 120 million years ago, according to the study.As India separated from Africa and smashed into the European plate, the ocean that used to be there, called Tethys, was split apart and squished between the continental plates.Some tiny parts of the plate are still present in the Mediterranean, but most of that plate is still slowly melting back into the deep Earth's interior around Eastern Africa.This pulls the surface down, causing a large area of lower gravity, said Steinberger.As the dense mantle melts away, it creates plumes of low-density magma. These and other surrounding masses like the Tibetan plateau create a relative gravity high, amplifying the effect, Steinberger said.Himangshu Paul, a scientist at the National Geophysical Research Institute in India, <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2379320-theres-a-gravity-hole-in-the-indian-ocean-and-now-we-may-know-why/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> NewScientist that future ocean surveys would have to confirm whether these plumes exist in real life, not just on computers.Correction — July 7, 2023: A previous version of this story erroneously stated that continents are denser, hence they exert more gravity locally. This has been removed from the copy. A quote explaining how the Tethys slab pulls the ocean floor down and therefore contributes to amplifying the area of low gravity was also added to provide the full context of the scientific findings. An earlier version of this story misidentified the space agency that operates the GOCE satellite. It is the European Space Agency, not NASA.

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A frog was found with mushroom sprouting from its side, leaving scientists baffled

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