Category: Health & Science

KANPUR (25 February 2026) — A team of scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT-K) and the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), Pune, has developed a groundbreaking method to estimate the distances of pulsars—dense, rotating neutron stars that emit periodic radio pulses. Published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS), the study provides a new tool to overcome one of astronomy’s most persistent challenges: accurately measuring the “third dimension” or distance of celestial objects.

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The Challenge of Cosmic Distancing

While astronomers can pinpoint a star’s position in the sky with extreme precision, determining its distance is notoriously difficult.

• Trigonometric Parallax: The most reliable direct method is limited only to relatively nearby stars.
• Neutral Hydrogen Absorption: Other common techniques often suffer from high levels of uncertainty, particularly for distant objects.

A Multi-Variable Approach: DM and Scattering

The new technique, developed by Dr. Ashish Kumar (NCRA Pune), Prof. Avinash A. Deshpande (formerly of RRI Bengaluru), and Prof. Pankaj Jain (IIT Kanpur), integrates two independent radio-wave effects caused by the Interstellar Medium (ISM)—the thin “fog” of free electrons and gas filling the space between stars.

1. Dispersion Measure (DM): As radio waves travel, free electrons delay different wavelengths by different amounts. DM measures the total “column density” of electrons between the pulsar and Earth.
2. Scatter Broadening: Turbulence in the ISM causes the pulsar’s sharp “clicks” to smear or broaden.

By jointly analysing these two variables, the researchers created a model that is less reliant on existing, often unreliable, Galactic free-electron density models (like NE2001 and YMW16).

Probing the Gum Nebula

The team demonstrated their method by focusing on pulsars located toward the Gum Nebula, a massive emission nebula in the southern sky. Their analysis provided a refined description of the nebula’s morphology and corrected previous inconsistencies. For instance, the new model correctly places the famous Vela Pulsar behind the frontal edge of the Gum shell, resolving an “intriguing” error in earlier models that placed the shell behind the pulsar.

Broader Scientific Impact

The potential applications for this method extend beyond just mapping our local galaxy:

• Pulsar Mapping: The technique can be applied to hundreds of known pulsars where data is already available, improving our understanding of their spatial distribution and intrinsic luminosity.
• Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs): The researchers suggest this method could help constrain the distances and local environments of powerful, mysterious extragalactic radio flashes.
• Galactic Structure: It offers a way to refine maps of electron density throughout the Milky Way, aiding future deep-space navigation and research.

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Sources

• Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS): “Probing the morphology of the Gum Nebula through pulsar observables and a novel distance estimation method” (January 2026)
• Press Trust of India (PTI): “IIT-K, NCRA Pune scientists develop new method to measure pulsar distances” (25 February 2026)
• United News of India (UNI): “Astrophysicists from IIT Kanpur and NCRA Pune develop a new method…” (25 February 2026)
• arXiv:2601.05791 [astro-ph.HE]: Preprint of the research paper (January 2026)

NEW DELHI (25 February 2026) — The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), India’s apex drug regulatory body, has overhauled its protocols for granting testing permissions to significantly reduce the time required for new drug approvals. Under the newly modified norms, pharmaceutical companies can now begin laboratory testing immediately upon filing an application, bypassing the previously mandatory waiting period for detailed regulatory scrutiny.

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Shift from Scrutiny to Instant Issuance

Previously, the CDSCO conducted a comprehensive examination of the detailed specifications and protocols submitted by an applicant before issuing a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for testing. This pre-approval phase often added several weeks or months to the development timeline.

The new circular mandates that the NOC for testing drug samples at designated national laboratories shall be issued “immediately upon receipt of applications” in the concerned division. This “deemed approval” approach shifts the burden of technical compliance to the post-testing phase, where the results and the methodology will be scrutinised alongside the test reports.

Designated National Testing Laboratories

The directive applies to testing at several of India’s premier designated laboratories, including:

• IPC, Ghaziabad: Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission.
• CDTL, Mumbai: Central Drug Testing Laboratory.
• CRI, Kasauli: Central Research Institute (Central Drugs Laboratory).
• NIB, Noida: National Institute of Biologicals.

Impact on the Pharmaceutical Industry

The move is being hailed by industry stakeholders as a major step toward enhancing “Ease of Doing Business” in the pharmaceutical sector. By allowing testing to run in parallel with the initial administrative review, the government expects:

• Reduced Lead Times: Faster transition from the laboratory phase to clinical trials and final market authorization.
• Operational Efficiency: Streamlined resource management for biotech and pharma firms waiting for regulatory “green lights.”
• Global Competitiveness: Aligning India’s regulatory speed with international standards to attract more R&D and clinical research investments.

Safeguards and Compliance

While the NOC is now issued instantly, the CDSCO clarified that this does not imply a relaxation of quality standards. The technical scrutiny that previously occurred before the NOC will now be integrated into the final evaluation of the test results. If the subsequent review finds discrepancies in the initial application or testing protocols, the regulator reserves the right to reject the data or the drug application entirely.

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Sources

• Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO): Official Circular No. 12-01/2026-DC (25 February 2026)
• Press Trust of India (PTI): “CDSCO modifies norms for testing permissions to speed up drug approvals” (25 February 2026)
• The Economic Times: “Govt speeds up drug approvals; NOC for testing to be issued immediately” (26 February 2026)
• Business Standard: “India overhauls drug testing norms to cut regulatory delays” (26 February 2026)

KANPUR (25 February 2026) — A team of scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT-K) and the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), Pune, has developed a groundbreaking method to estimate the distances of pulsars—dense, rotating neutron stars that emit periodic radio pulses. Published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS), the study provides a new tool to overcome one of astronomy’s most persistent challenges: accurately measuring the “third dimension” or distance of celestial objects.

---

The Challenge of Cosmic Distancing

While astronomers can pinpoint a star’s position in the sky with extreme precision, determining its distance is notoriously difficult.

• Trigonometric Parallax: The most reliable direct method is limited only to relatively nearby stars.
• Neutral Hydrogen Absorption: Other common techniques often suffer from high levels of uncertainty, particularly for distant objects.

A Multi-Variable Approach: DM and Scattering

The new technique, developed by Dr. Ashish Kumar (NCRA Pune), Prof. Avinash A. Deshpande, and Prof. Pankaj Jain (IIT Kanpur), integrates two independent radio-wave effects caused by the Interstellar Medium (ISM)—the thin “fog” of free electrons and gas filling the space between stars.

1. Dispersion Measure (DM): As radio waves travel, free electrons delay different wavelengths by different amounts. DM measures the total “column density” of electrons between the pulsar and Earth.
2. Scatter Broadening: Turbulence in the ISM causes the pulsar’s sharp “clicks” to smear or broaden.

By jointly analysing these two variables, the researchers created a model that is less reliant on existing, often unreliable, Galactic free-electron density models (like NE2001 and YMW16).

Probing the Gum Nebula

The team demonstrated their method by focusing on pulsars located toward the Gum Nebula, a massive emission nebula in the southern sky. Their analysis provided a refined description of the nebula’s morphology and corrected previous inconsistencies. For instance, the new model correctly places the famous Vela Pulsar behind the frontal edge of the Gum shell, resolving an “intriguing” error in earlier models that placed the shell behind the pulsar.

Broader Scientific Impact

The potential applications for this method extend beyond just mapping our local galaxy:

• Pulsar Mapping: The technique can be applied to hundreds of known pulsars where data is already available, improving our understanding of their spatial distribution and intrinsic luminosity.
• Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs): The researchers suggest this method could help constrain the distances and local environments of powerful, mysterious extragalactic radio flashes.
• Galactic Structure: It offers a way to refine maps of electron density throughout the Milky Way, aiding future deep-space navigation and research.

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Sources

• Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS): “Probing the morphology of the Gum Nebula through pulsar observables and a novel distance estimation method” (January 2026)
• Press Trust of India (PTI): “IIT-K, NCRA Pune scientists develop new method to measure pulsar distances” (25 February 2026)
• United News of India (UNI): “Astrophysicists from IIT Kanpur and NCRA Pune develop a new method…” (25 February 2026)
• arXiv:2601.05791 [astro-ph.HE]: Preprint of the research paper (January 2026)

NEW DELHI (24 February 2026) — A landmark study led by researchers at Harvard Medical School has revealed that women are at a significant risk of heart attacks even with relatively low levels of artery-clogging plaque. The findings, published this week in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging, suggest that current medical standards for defining “high cardiovascular risk” may be underestimating the danger for women, who typically possess smaller coronary arteries.+1

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Key Findings: The “Plaque Gap”

The study analysed health data from over 4,200 outpatients (including approximately 2,200 women) with stable chest pain and no prior history of heart disease. Researchers used advanced coronary CT angiography to measure total plaque volume and “plaque burden”—the proportion of plaque relative to the size of the blood vessel.+1

The data highlighted a distinct biological discrepancy between sexes:

• Lower Prevalence, Equal Risk: Only 55% of women had detectable plaque compared to 75% of men. Women also had roughly half the median plaque volume (78 mm³ vs 156 mm³). Despite this “cleaner” appearance, women experienced major heart events at nearly identical rates to men.+2
• Lower Threshold for Danger: Cardiovascular risk in women began to rise at a 20% plaque burden, whereas the risk for men did not emerge until it reached 28%.
• Sharper Risk Escalation: Once plaque began to accumulate, the risk of a heart attack or death rose much more steeply for women than for men, especially during the post-menopausal phase.

Why Smaller Arteries Matter

“Our findings underscore that women are not ‘protected’ from coronary events despite having lower plaque volumes,” stated senior author Borek Foldyna, an assistant professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School.

The biological explanation lies in the physical dimensions of the heart. Because women generally have smaller coronary arteries, even a modest amount of plaque can create a disproportionately high obstruction. This suggests that a level of plaque considered “mild” or “moderate” in a male patient could be clinically dangerous for a female patient.+1

Moving Toward Sex-Specific Risk Assessment

The study’s authors and leading cardiologists are now calling for a shift in how cardiac imaging is interpreted. Current uniform thresholds often fail to account for these fundamental biological differences, potentially leading to missed opportunities for early intervention in women.

Stacey E. Rosen, volunteer president of the American Heart Association, noted that this research is an “overdue recognition” of how cardiovascular disease manifests differently across genders. The findings suggest that clinicians should consider lower, sex-adjusted thresholds for initiating preventative treatments like statins or blood pressure medication in female patients showing signs of arterial buildup.+1

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Sources

• Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging: “Risk in Women Emerges at Lower Coronary Plaque Burden Than in Men: PROMISE Trial” (23 February 2026)
• Press Trust of India (PTI): “Even lower levels of artery-clogging plaque may cause heart attack risk in women…” (24 February 2026)
• American Heart Association: News Release – “Women may face heart attack risk with a lower plaque level than men” (23 February 2026)
• Harvard Medical School / Mass General Brigham: Research Brief (24 February 2026)

NEW DELHI (23 February 2026) — A large-scale genetic study has identified that a child’s Body Mass Index (BMI) at age 10 and their overall growth rate between the ages of one and 18 are critical indicators for developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease in adulthood. The research, published in the journal Nature Communications, suggests that these specific developmental windows are more strongly linked to later-life metabolic health than BMI at other stages of childhood.

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Genetic Influence on Childhood Growth

The study, led by Nicole Warrington, a senior research fellow at the University of Queensland, Australia, utilised data from over 42,000 children across Europe and Australia. Researchers modelled how genes influence a child’s BMI over time, rather than looking at weight at a single point in time.

Key findings regarding genetic impact include:

• Heritability Factor: Approximately 25 percent (one quarter) of the variation in how a child’s body weight changes between ages one and 18 is attributable to genetics.
• Distinct Growth Phases: The study found that different sets of genes appear to influence BMI at different ages, with a significant shift occurring around the age of 10.
• Metabolic Prediction: Genes associated with a higher growth rate and a high BMI at age 10 were found to overlap significantly with those that increase the risk of high cholesterol and coronary artery disease in later life.

Clinical Implications for Heart Disease and Diabetes

By identifying the genetic drivers of growth, researchers hope to better understand the underlying biology of healthy childhood development. The study emphasizes that rapid “growth velocity” during adolescence is as significant a risk factor as the final weight achieved at adulthood.

“While BMI at any age is influenced by both environment and genetics, the genetic markers for adult obesity and diabetes begin to manifest most clearly during the middle-childhood to adolescent transition,” Warrington noted. The research highlights that:

1. Age 10 as a Milestone: This age appears to be a biological tipping point where genetic predispositions for metabolic issues become more predictive.
2. Early Intervention: Understanding these genetic trajectories could allow for more targeted public health interventions to prevent chronic diseases before they manifest in adulthood.

Global Context and Future Research

The findings arrive as global health organisations raise alarms over rising rates of childhood obesity. According to report, this study provides a biological map that moves beyond simple caloric intake, explaining why some children may be more predisposed to rapid growth and subsequent metabolic complications regardless of similar environmental factors.

Future research will aim to determine if these genetic patterns hold true across more diverse ethnic populations, as the current study primarily focused on individuals of European ancestry.

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Sources

• Nature Communications: “Genetic architecture of childhood BMI growth trajectories” (February 2026)
• Press Trust of India (PTI): “BMI at age 10, growth rate up to age 18 are important factors…” (23 February 2026)
• The University of Queensland News: “Childhood growth patterns linked to adult disease risk” (February 2026)
• Science Daily: “Genetic study pinpoints childhood BMI milestones for adult health” (23 February 2026)

NEW DELHI (23 February 2026) — A groundbreaking study published in the journal Biotropica suggests that India’s extensive railway network is acting as a “high-speed conduit” for the Western Ghats King Cobra (Ophiophagus kaalinga). Researchers found that these vulnerable snakes are inadvertently expanding their range by hitching rides on trains, often ending up in unsuitable habitats where their survival is threatened.

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Key Findings of the “Snakes on Trains” Study

Led by herpetologist Dikansh Parmar from Germany’s Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, the research team analysed 22 years of rescue records (2002–2024) and sightings in Goa. The study provides the first detailed documentation of the natural history of the newly classified Ophiophagus kaalinga and its interaction with linear human infrastructure.

Critical insights from the research include:

• Unsuitable Dispersal: Of 47 documented localities in Goa, five rescue events occurred along busy railway corridors—areas predicted by ecological models to be entirely unsuitable for the species.
• Accidental Transport: The researchers hypothesize that snakes enter goods wagons or hide beneath stored railway tracks (as seen in Chandor Village, South Goa) for shelter or to hunt rodents.
• Passive Range Expansion: Unlike roads, which often act as barriers or “mortality sinks,” railways may inadvertently facilitate the movement of apex predators over long distances (e.g., from the lush forests of Castle Rock, Karnataka, to the arid coastal areas of Goa).

Conservation and Human-Wildlife Conflict

The displacement of king cobras into human-dominated landscapes poses significant risks. Unlike other venomous snakes in India, there is currently no specific antivenom for the king cobra, and a bite can be fatal within 15 minutes.

The study highlights several urgent concerns:

• Survival Rates: King cobras moved to coastal or urban environments face higher risks of starvation and exposure due to a lack of their specific prey (other snakes) and necessary microclimatic conditions.
• Citizen Science: The researchers advocate for stronger collaboration between rescue NGOs, citizen science networks, and the railway department to monitor these “hitchhiking” events.
• New Taxonomy: The study underscores the importance of the recent reclassification of king cobras into four distinct species, noting that the O. kaalinga endemic to the Western Ghats requires targeted conservation attention.

Broader Implications

The accidental relocation of wildlife via transport networks is not limited to snakes. Experts noted similar instances involving birds, frogs, and lizards being transported via ships, trucks, and trains. However, the sheer size and venomous nature of the king cobra make these specific “railway journeys” a priority for public safety and biodiversity management.

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Sources

• Press Trust of India (PTI): “Study suggests trains inadvertently helping snakes expand habitat in Goa” (23 February 2026)
• Biotropica: “Snakes on Trains: Railways May Sway Goa’s King Cobra Distribution” (January 2026)
• Down To Earth: “Snakes on trains: Are king cobras being transported to new, unsuitable areas?” (05 February 2026)
• The Independent: “How king cobras are spreading across India thanks to world’s busiest railway network” (23 February 2026)
• Popular Science: “King cobras take the train in India” (30 January 2026)