#environment26 The Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) is the largest hard-shelled sea turtle. Legal Status: Protected under Schedule I of India’s Wildlife Protection Act (1972), Appendix I of CITES, and listed as Vulnerable (IUCN Red List) + Indian Context: Unlike Olive Ridleys, they are not major mainland nesters; sightings are limited to the Gulf of Mannar and Andaman waters +They navigate using Earth's geomagnetic field + Climate Threat: Rising temperatures skew sex ratios (producing more females) and lead to smaller body/clutch sizes + They have the widest geographical range of any sea turtle, spanning the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.

Source: The Hindu

#science26 Hibiscus often flowers more on the sunlit side due to light-driven resource allocation. Higher light exposure increases photosynthesis, producing more carbohydrates that support bud formation. Auxin-mediated phototropic responses and better energy availability enhance growth and flowering on illuminated branches. Shaded regions receive fewer resources, limiting bloom density. Pruning improves light penetration, reducing asymmetrical flowering and promoting uniform canopy productivity.

Source: The Hindu

#social26 The Urban Policy calls for integrating climate resilience and disaster vulnerability into every layer of urban planning, such as land use, infrastructure design and investment decisions.

Source: The Indian Express

#culture26 The Royal Indian Navy Mutiny occurred 18–23 February 1946, beginning at HMIS Talwar (Bombay). It was triggered by grievances over poor food, low pay, and racial discrimination, and intensified by anger over the INA trials. Prominent figures include B.C. Dutt and M.S. Khan, with a Naval Central Strike Committee formed. The revolt spread to ~78 ships and 20 shore establishments across Bombay, Karachi, Calcutta, and Madras. Ratings hoisted Congress, Muslim League, and Communist flags. Congress (Sardar Patel) and Muslim League (Jinnah) urged surrender.

Source: The Hindu

#culture26 The Naneghat caves, dating back to the 1st century BCE, are known for their early Brahmi inscriptions that provide valuable insights into the Satavahana dynasty and ancient trade routes. Archaeologically, they are crucial for understanding the region’s role as a corridor between the Deccan plateau and the western coast.

Source: The Indian Express

#security26 The Airbus H125 is a high-performance single-engine light utility helicopter designed for hot-and-high and extreme-altitude operations, powered by the Safran Arriel 2D engine with FADEC and featuring a lightweight composite airframe with a Starflex rotor system for superior hover capability. Under the India–France partnership, H125 helicopters will be assembled at the Final Assembly Line in Vemagal, Kolar district, Karnataka (near Bengaluru).

Source: The Indian Express

#environment26 The first scientific assessment of the fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) has established Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve as a stronghold of the small feline species. The study of the globally vulnerable fishing cat, protected under Schedule I of India’s Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, was based on camera-trap images available from all-India tiger estimation data. It was conducted by Kaziranga’s Tiger Cell in collaboration with Tiasa Adhya, a scientist with the Fishing Cat Project.

Source: The Hindu

#science26 Now, two major studies published in Nature suggest that fluorescent proteins can do more than glow. Certain fluorescent proteins can be modified to detect magnetic fields and radio waves from inside living cells. In effect they behave as quantum sensors, devices whose operation depends on the behaviour of electrons at the smallest scales. Researchers have engineered fluorescent proteins to act as quantum sensors by exploiting their quantum-mechanical properties such as electron spins and optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR).

Source: The Hindu

#global26 In 2015, IEA opened the doors for non-OECD countries to become associate members. The associate members participate in the policy discussions and activities, but do not have decision-making rights. India became an associate member in 2017. There are 13 associate members right now.

Source: The Indian Express

#global26 Possible evidence of cancer and non-cancer effects at low doses have also appeared in more recent studies, such as the ongoing ‘Million Person Study’. Another study of nearly a million young individuals revealed that a few of them may suffer blood related cancers at very low doses (Nature Medicine, 2023). One expects the ICRP will take note of such work. India has been at the forefront of complying with internationally accepted radiation protection practices and must continue to do so.

Source: The Hindu

#global26 The tiny islets, known as Takeshima in ‌Japan ⁠and Dokdo in South Korea, which are controlled by ⁠them, have long been a source of tension between the two neighbours, whose relations remain strained by disputes rooted ​in Japan’s colonial rule ‌of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945.

Source: The Hindu

#environment26 The Smew (Mergellus albellus) breeds in northern Europe and Siberia. It usually winters in Europe, Central Asia, and parts of North India.
It is a diving duck, meaning it feeds underwater on fish and aquatic insects. The sighting of a rare Eurasian diving duck (Smew) in Kaziranga suggests climate change may be altering migratory patterns, reinforcing the need to protect wetlands as critical biodiversity buffers.

Source: The Hindu

#global26 The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Israel’s agency for international development cooperation, MASHAV, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up the India–Israel Innovation Centre for Agriculture (IINCA) at ICAR.

Source: The Indian Express

#science26 Police in India are using gait analysis to identify suspects, especially when CCTV footage does not reveal facial features. Though a relatively new field of forensic science, gait analysis is generally considered corroborative rather than conclusive evidence. Courts have raised concerns over its reliability and scientific validity, with notable cases overturning convictions based largely on gait evidence. Despite this, the method is gaining acceptance in some legal contexts, such as bail decisions.

Source: The Indian Express

#science26 On June 18, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved lenacapavir, the world’s first capsid-based HIV inhibitor. Its poor solubility, once a liability, became its greatest strength. Instead of being taken daily, lenacapavir is injected under the skin of the abdomen just once every six months, forming a slow-release reservoir that steadily delivers the drug into the bloodstream.

Source: The Hindu

#global26 Salar de Pajonales is a high-altitude salt flat in Chile’s Atacama Desert, an extreme hyper-arid region and Mars analogue site. It contains abundant gypsum (CaSO₄·2H₂O). Studies show endolithic microorganisms survive within gypsum crystals. Gypsum protects life by attenuating ultraviolet radiation and retaining crystallisation water, creating microhabitats in hostile conditions. The mineral can trap and preserve biosignatures. Since sulfates, including gypsum, have been detected on Mars, findings strengthen astrobiological prospects and guide life-detection missions.

Source: The Hindu

#environment26 The Nilgiri Wood Pigeon (Columba elphinstonii) is a large, endemic forest pigeon of the Western Ghats in India. It inhabits shola forests and evergreen montane forests, usually above 1,000 m elevation (Nilgiris, Anaimalai, Palani, Agasthyamalai hills). It is listed as Vulnerable (IUCN Red List) due to habitat loss, fragmentation and now climate change. The species is largely arboreal and frugivorous, playing a key role in seed dispersal.

Source: The Hindu

#global26 Russia has been using the Shahed 131s and Shahed 136s versions of the Iranian drones to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defences. Since early this year, Moscow has been reported to have begun using a modified version of these drones – the new Shahed 101 suicide drone – in frontline areas with Ukraine, one that is a more compact and technologically advanced version of the more widely-used Shahed UAVs. The UAV was reportedly equipped with a four-element antenna – the CRPA or controlled reception pattern antenna, which are active antenna designed to resist radio jamming.

Source: The Indian Express

#global26 With reports of strikes in Tehran, Iran is also using the Russia-made Tor-M1 short-range missiles to intercept precision-guided bombs and the Majid and Azarakhsh systems to counter low-flying drones and cruise missiles

Source: The Hindu

#global26 Cheongung II

Source: The Hindu

#global26 AIM-9X and PAC-3

Source: The Hindu