Video: Huge cloud of smoke emerges as Air India plane crashes in Ahmedabad
The Strawberry Moon will rise tonight, June 11, visible across Indian cities after sunset. This rare lunar phenomenon, occurring lowest since 2006, marks the end of spring and signals the start of summer, with cultural significance rooted in Native American traditions.
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India Today
42 minutes ago
- India Today
How viruses can help the fight against antibiotic resistance
Phage therapies are currently used only in compassionate cases, where all antibiotics have failed and the patient's condition is critical. () Phage therapy uses viruses that specifically infect bacteria India currently relies mostly on antibiotics for infections AI helps identify and analyse over 1.3 million viral genomes Antimicrobial resistance isn't just a silent pandemic â€' India bears one of the heaviest burdens globally. While the country continues its search for new antibiotics to combat the crisis, researchers are now turning to naturally-occurring viruses in the environment as a promising tool to attack and kill multi-drug-resistant bacteria. Karthik Anantharaman, a visiting professor at Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI at IIT Madras, is spearheading such a project in the US by studying the nature of viruses in their natural habitat to attack and kill bacteria, a process called phage therapy. "One approach is to create more antibiotics but this only postpones the problem. New antibiotics also can lead to new forms of resistance, creating a never-ending cycle. An alternative and promising solution is phage therapy, which uses viruses called bacteriophages (or simply phages) to kill specific bacteria," Dr. Anantharaman, who is also a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told FINDING VIRUSES THAT KILL BACTERIA Anantharaman and his team discovered that viruses have yearly cycles and can affect other organisms in the ecosystem. As part of their study, some viruses were found to carry genes they had taken from the organisms they infected, which helped them carry out important biological functions. The research team also put together over 1.3 million viral genomes â€' the largest collection of its kind so far. Lake Mendota in the US has been monitored consistently since the late 1800s (Photo: Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin–Madison) "In our lab, we are exploring how phages behave over time. We conducted a 20-year study of a single lake, using DNA sequencing and artificial intelligence (AI) to track how phage populations changed. By sequencing environmental DNA and using AI tools, we identified over 1.3 million viral genomes. This allowed us to see how viruses shift month to month, season to season, and year to year, and to predict their future behaviour," Dr. Anantharaman said. While phage therapy might seem like a relatively new concept to Indian populations and even the West who rely heavily on antibiotics, Anantharaman mentioned that the phenomenon of using viruses to kill bacteria has been used in countries like Russia, Poland, Ukraine, and Georgia for decades. VIRUSES AS ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANER "Our goal is twofold: to improve human health and environmental health. Just as phages (virus) can target harmful bacteria in the human body, they can also be used to clean polluted ecosystems," University of Wisconsin-Madison professor said. For example, if a lake turns black or emits a smell like rotten eggs, a sign of hydrogen sulfide produced by bacteria, phages can be used to selectively kill those bacteria and restore the lake's health. Anantharaman lab group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, US, pictured by Lake Mendota. Despite their promise, phage therapies are currently used only in compassionate cases, where all antibiotics have failed and the patient's condition is critical. HOW DO PHAGES OR VIRUSES WORK AGAINST BACTERIA? One major reason phages haven't entered mainstream treatment is that researchers still don't fully understand how they evolve over time. Consequently, there are no approved phage-based therapeutic products in India, the US, or Europe. But phages hold great promise, especially when used in combination with antibiotics. Here's how it works: when bacteria face antibiotics, they come under stress. Sometimes, this stress causes genetic changes that make them resistant. But in that process, bacteria may also become vulnerable to phages. So, using both antibiotics and phages together creates a powerful, complementary treatment strategy. In some cases, antibiotics work where phages don't and vice versa. Anantharaman lab member Patricia Tran sampling Lake Mendota, US. over frozen ice in the Winter. "One major advantage of phages is their precision. Unlike antibiotics, which kill both harmful and beneficial bacteria, phages target only one specific strain. If a person is infected with Pseudomonas, the phage used will kill only Pseudomonas, sparing the rest of the body's microbiome. That's a game-changer for preserving overall health during treatment," Anantharaman explained. Another surprising fact is that viruses are everywhere - even inside us. There are 10 to 100 times more viral particles in and on our bodies than human cells. These include many harmless phages that silently regulate bacterial populations. Phages are found in lakes, rivers, soil, oceans, and even in our intestines and on our skin. Anantharaman lab member Dinesh Kumar Kuppa Baskaran sampling Lake Mendota in the Summer. "In our lab, we use AI â€' both machine learning and deep learning â€' to rapidly identify phages from environmental samples. This process, which used to take years, now takes just a day. AI allows us to sift through millions of DNA sequences and pinpoint the viruses that can infect specific harmful bacteria," Anantharaman said. BARRIERS PERSIST However, awareness remains a major barrier. The medical community and industry are still focused on antibiotics. There's limited investment in phage therapy, and the necessary research infrastructure hasn't yet been built. For phage therapy to move forward, government support and academic research are essential. "Industry isn't currently interested in developing phage-based treatments â€' it's mostly up to institutions and public funding. But as the threat of antibiotic resistance grows, this is expected to change," Anantharaman opined. Phage therapy isn't just a scientific curiosity. It could be a major pillar of future medicine â€' if we choose to invest in it. Antimicrobial resistance isn't just a silent pandemic â€' India bears one of the heaviest burdens globally. While the country continues its search for new antibiotics to combat the crisis, researchers are now turning to naturally-occurring viruses in the environment as a promising tool to attack and kill multi-drug-resistant bacteria. Karthik Anantharaman, a visiting professor at Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI at IIT Madras, is spearheading such a project in the US by studying the nature of viruses in their natural habitat to attack and kill bacteria, a process called phage therapy. "One approach is to create more antibiotics but this only postpones the problem. New antibiotics also can lead to new forms of resistance, creating a never-ending cycle. An alternative and promising solution is phage therapy, which uses viruses called bacteriophages (or simply phages) to kill specific bacteria," Dr. Anantharaman, who is also a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told FINDING VIRUSES THAT KILL BACTERIA Anantharaman and his team discovered that viruses have yearly cycles and can affect other organisms in the ecosystem. As part of their study, some viruses were found to carry genes they had taken from the organisms they infected, which helped them carry out important biological functions. The research team also put together over 1.3 million viral genomes â€' the largest collection of its kind so far. Lake Mendota in the US has been monitored consistently since the late 1800s (Photo: Center for Limnology, University of Wisconsin–Madison) "In our lab, we are exploring how phages behave over time. We conducted a 20-year study of a single lake, using DNA sequencing and artificial intelligence (AI) to track how phage populations changed. By sequencing environmental DNA and using AI tools, we identified over 1.3 million viral genomes. This allowed us to see how viruses shift month to month, season to season, and year to year, and to predict their future behaviour," Dr. Anantharaman said. While phage therapy might seem like a relatively new concept to Indian populations and even the West who rely heavily on antibiotics, Anantharaman mentioned that the phenomenon of using viruses to kill bacteria has been used in countries like Russia, Poland, Ukraine, and Georgia for decades. VIRUSES AS ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANER "Our goal is twofold: to improve human health and environmental health. Just as phages (virus) can target harmful bacteria in the human body, they can also be used to clean polluted ecosystems," University of Wisconsin-Madison professor said. For example, if a lake turns black or emits a smell like rotten eggs, a sign of hydrogen sulfide produced by bacteria, phages can be used to selectively kill those bacteria and restore the lake's health. Anantharaman lab group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, US, pictured by Lake Mendota. Despite their promise, phage therapies are currently used only in compassionate cases, where all antibiotics have failed and the patient's condition is critical. HOW DO PHAGES OR VIRUSES WORK AGAINST BACTERIA? One major reason phages haven't entered mainstream treatment is that researchers still don't fully understand how they evolve over time. Consequently, there are no approved phage-based therapeutic products in India, the US, or Europe. But phages hold great promise, especially when used in combination with antibiotics. Here's how it works: when bacteria face antibiotics, they come under stress. Sometimes, this stress causes genetic changes that make them resistant. But in that process, bacteria may also become vulnerable to phages. So, using both antibiotics and phages together creates a powerful, complementary treatment strategy. In some cases, antibiotics work where phages don't and vice versa. Anantharaman lab member Patricia Tran sampling Lake Mendota, US. over frozen ice in the Winter. "One major advantage of phages is their precision. Unlike antibiotics, which kill both harmful and beneficial bacteria, phages target only one specific strain. If a person is infected with Pseudomonas, the phage used will kill only Pseudomonas, sparing the rest of the body's microbiome. That's a game-changer for preserving overall health during treatment," Anantharaman explained. Another surprising fact is that viruses are everywhere - even inside us. There are 10 to 100 times more viral particles in and on our bodies than human cells. These include many harmless phages that silently regulate bacterial populations. Phages are found in lakes, rivers, soil, oceans, and even in our intestines and on our skin. Anantharaman lab member Dinesh Kumar Kuppa Baskaran sampling Lake Mendota in the Summer. "In our lab, we use AI â€' both machine learning and deep learning â€' to rapidly identify phages from environmental samples. This process, which used to take years, now takes just a day. AI allows us to sift through millions of DNA sequences and pinpoint the viruses that can infect specific harmful bacteria," Anantharaman said. BARRIERS PERSIST However, awareness remains a major barrier. The medical community and industry are still focused on antibiotics. There's limited investment in phage therapy, and the necessary research infrastructure hasn't yet been built. For phage therapy to move forward, government support and academic research are essential. "Industry isn't currently interested in developing phage-based treatments â€' it's mostly up to institutions and public funding. But as the threat of antibiotic resistance grows, this is expected to change," Anantharaman opined. Phage therapy isn't just a scientific curiosity. It could be a major pillar of future medicine â€' if we choose to invest in it. Join our WhatsApp Channel
India Today
3 hours ago
- India Today
Shubhanshu Shukla's space launch delayed six times: Here are the reasons
The much-awaited launch of Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla was postponed indefinitely on Thursday by Nasa. The Ax-4 mission was planned to launch on June 11, after which a postponement was issued due to technical mission, which would mark India's return to human spaceflight after 41 years, was re-scheduled for June 11, 2025, but now faces an indefinite delay as Nasa, Axiom Space, and Isro prioritise crew safety and technical and Axiom Space announced the postponement after a new pressure signature was detected in the aft segment of the ISS's Zvezda service module, following recent repairs. REASONS BEHIND DELAY The launch, originally targeted for May 29, 2025, was deferred to June 8, 2025, due to observations related to the electrical harness in the Crew Dragon module. The launch was further postponed by one day to June 9, 2025, due to delays in the readiness of the Falcon 9 vehicle. advertisement The launch date was subsequently postponed to June 10, 2025, owing to unfavourable weather conditions in the ascent corridor. During preparations for the hot fire test on June 8, 2025, an additional oxygen leak was observed in the engine bay. Furthermore, an anomaly was detected in one of the engine actuators, which was replaced along with its controller. With expectations of a swift resolution to the LOX leak issue, the launch was rescheduled to June 11, 2025. On June 10, 2025, during a technical review between Axiom, SpaceX, and the Isro delegation, ISRO recommended performing in-situ repairs or replacements and conducting a low-temperature leak test to verify system performance and integrity before granting launch clearance. On June 11, 2025, Nasa reported that it is coordinating with Roscosmos to assess a new pressure signature suggesting a leak in the aft-most segment of the ISS Zvezda Russian Service Module, following a recent repair attempt. To allow further evaluation and determine if additional troubleshooting is needed, the Axiom-4 mission launch is being postponed. Nasa officials have emphasised that multiple launch windows are available through June and July, but a new date will only be announced once all safety concerns are cautious approach highlights the complexities and high stakes of human spaceflight, especially as commercial and international partnerships expand the frontier of space InTrending Reel
Indian Express
4 hours ago
- Indian Express
Axiom-4 mission: Leak on ISS, not oxygen leak from launch vehicle behind indefinite delay
While problems in electricals, oxygen leak, and unfavourable weather conditions were initially behind the delays of Axiom-4 space mission, it was an issue related to pressurisation in one of the modules of the International Space Station (ISS) that has now led to the mission being delayed indefinitely. 'The revised launch schedule will be announced by Nasa and Axiom after the activities and technical reviews are satisfactorily completed,' the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) said in a statement. Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is set to travel to space on board the Axiom-4 mission, making him the country's second astronaut in space and the first on the ISS. Shukla will spend nearly 14 days at the ISS, conducting science experiments. On Friday, Isro provided a timeline of what led to the delays. The launch was initially targeted for May 29 but was deferred due to an 'observation in the electrical harness' of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft — the module where the crew is seated for their journey to the ISS. The launch was then pushed to June 8 and then again by another day due to the delay in preparedness of the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The space agency said the launch was again pushed for a day due to unfavourable weather conditions on the ascent path of the rocket. In parallel, when the engines were test-fired on ground on June 8, an oxygen leak was observed in addition to an anomaly in one of the actuators. 'Anticipating the quick resolution of LOX (liquid oxygen) leak issue, the launch was rescheduled to June 11, 2025,' the space agency said, adding that it had suggested that the repairs and replacements could be carried out without moving or disassembling the vehicle. The Indian space agency suggested a low temperature leak test — a test that could assess the integrity of the components at very low temperatures — to validate the performance before moving for the final launch. On June 11, however, Nasa informed that it was working with the Russian space agency to evaluate a 'new pressure signature' that could indicate a leak in the back section of one of Russian modules of the space station — ISS Zvezda. This comes after a recent repair effort. The leak in the Zvezda module was first detected in 2019 and the space agencies have been working for years trying to fix it. Now, cosmonauts on board the space station have conducted inspections of the pressurised interior surfaces of the module, sealed off some 'additional areas of interest', and measured the current leak rate. 'The segment now is holding pressure,' Nasa said in a statement. The Axiom-4 mission was postponed, nonetheless, to provide additional time to Nasa and Roscosmos to evaluate the situation and determine if any additional troubleshooting might be needed.
