Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a decree abolishing the Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, within the framework of the country's space sector reform, the Kremlin announced.


Putin abolishes space agency


IANS Automatic

While constructing a river dam may destroy the habitat of birds and other creatures that depend on that river for their survival, removing the dam rebounds the ecosystem much faster than expected, new research has found.


River ecosystems recovers fast after dam removal


Wearable activity trackers that promise to monitor physical activity, sleep and other behaviours may be good at counting steps but bad at measuring sleep, says a new study.


Activity trackers may overestimate sleep time


Eating too much is typically considered as one of the prime reasons for obesity but when people eat what they consider to be healthy food, they eat more than the recommended serving size because they associate "healthy" with less filling, say researchers, including one of Indian-origin.


How eating 'healthy' food can make you fat!


There have been products that turn out to be big flops. But still, these products get swept off stores quickly, leaving most consumers to wonder: Who exactly buys these things, anyway?


Are you a 'harbinger of failure'?


Blocking a naturally occurring protein responsible for transporting fats like cholesterol around the body may help increase yout life span, new research has found.


Blocking fat transport could increase lifespan


Contrary to popular perceptions, foodies - those who take time to appreciate the texture, flavour and beauty of food - do not eat larger portions than what the dieters generally eat, says new research.


What makes foodies happy and dieters sad


Drawing lessons from the US response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak, a new study says that a "solidarist" or "communitarian" worldview that sees individuals as needing to depend on each other helps bolster altruism in people in face of risk.


How to make response to Syrian refugee crisis more humane


Pathogens, like salmonella, can survive for at least six months in cookies and sandwich crackers, new research has found.


Harmful bacteria can survive in cookies for months


Interpreting the data collected from volunteers' own smartphones -- which has the potential to emulate randomised trials -- can boost research into human behaviour, finds a new study.


Smartphone monitoring can boost behavioural studies


In an indication that dogs could possess basic levels of empathy, researchers have found that our canine friends, just like humans, are capable of imitating the expression of their play mates.


Dogs can copy their pal's expressions


During 2015, social networking giant Facebook was truly a uniting force through both good times and tragedies and focused its efforts on boosting internet connectivity in India, says its COO in a blog post looking back at the year ready to pass by.


From integrating peoples to Internet.org: Facebook's 2015


Small price differences in food products, which mimic a "fat tax", can be highly effective in shifting consumer demand from high calorie to healthier low calorie alternatives, say authors of a study that included Indians.


'Fat tax' can boost healthy foods' demand: Study


Taking the selfie craze to an all new level, a Los Angeles man went to the brink of an active volcano to click one.


US man clicks selfie near active volcano


Twitter users in India may soon be able to pay their bills though the micro-blogging site, the media reported.


Soon, pay bills through Twitter!


Premature birth, a leading cause of death of newborns worldwide, could be prevented by blocking a molecule in the uterus, suggests a new research.


Blocking molecule may help prevent premature birth


Santiago, Dec 26 (IANS/EFE) A new scientific study has reached the conclusion that the fresh water found in Puerto Williams town in southern Chile's Magallanes region is the purest in the world, the University of Magallanes said.


Fresh water at Puerto Williams in Chile world's purest: Study


Is there a creature that can defeat death? Yes, says new research that confirmed that the tiny hydra - a centimetre-long polyp that inhabits fresh water all over the world - does not show any sign of deteriorating with age and, if kept in ideal conditions, may just live forever.


Meet the animal that may live forever


With 33.9 twins per 1,000 births, the US recorded an all-time high in 2014, a new report said.


Birth rate of twins hits record high in US


Is there a creature that can defeat death? Yes, says new research that confirmed that the tiny hydra -  a centimetre-long polyp that inhabits fresh water all over the world - does not age and, if kept in ideal conditions, may just live forever.


Meet the animal that may never die


Supplemental light-emitting diode (LED) lighting treatment can help greenhouse tomato growers reduce energy cost without affecting fruit quality attributes, new research suggests.

Page 174 -