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Hindustan Times
39 minutes ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
At UN meet, India counters Pak over references to Indus treaty
New Delhi: India sharply criticised Pakistan on Saturday for attempting to inject 'unwarranted references' into the International Glacier Conference in Tajikistan, marking the first time the two nations have publicly clashed over the Indus Water Treaty at an international forum over the issue. The confrontation unfolded at the High-Level International Conference on Glaciers' Preservation, where minister of state for environment Kirti Vardhan Singh accused Pakistan of misusing the scientific platform to raise issues beyond its scope. 'India strongly objects and condemns Pakistan's attempt to use the International Glacier Conference to bring in unwarranted references to issues which do not fall within the purview of the forum,' Singh said during his address at the plenary session. The diplomatic spat comes after India decided on April 23 to keep the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance following a terrorist attack in Kashmir's Pahalgam. Singh argued that fundamental changes since the treaty's execution—including technological advancement, demographic shifts, climate change, and persistent cross-border terrorism—necessitate reassessment of obligations. 'The treaty's preamble says it is concluded in the spirit of goodwill and friendship. However, the unrelenting cross-border terrorism from Pakistan interferes with our ability to implement the treaty as per its provisions,' Singh said, adding that Pakistan itself violates the treaty while blaming India for breaches. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had fired the opening salvo on Friday, declaring his country would not allow India to cross 'red lines' by holding the treaty in abeyance and 'endangering millions of lives for narrow political gains.' Dawn newspaper quoted Sharif calling India's decision 'unilateral and illegal.' The dispute gains urgency from emerging scientific evidence that climate change is fundamentally altering the Indus basin's hydrology. HT had reported on May 3 that recent research shows western tributaries like the Indus, Kabul, Jhelum and Chenab are fed by glaciers with substantially more stored water than eastern tributaries including the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej — that are in India's share – could have their flow diminished. Crucially, glacial melt accelerates faster in the Western Himalayas that feed eastern rivers compared to the Upper Indus basin. This east-west disparity challenges core assumptions of the treaty, which allocated rivers based on historically stable flow patterns. 'From an entirely scientific perspective, water-sharing practices need revisiting given climate change can alter flow and increase downstream disasters,' said Anil Kulkarni, distinguished visiting scientist and glaciologist from the Indian Institute of Science said in the May 3 report. Singh, in his remarks at the UN event, emphasised that glacial retreat represents an immediate reality with far-reaching implications for water security, biodiversity and billions of livelihoods. The Himalayan glaciers feed critical rivers including the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Indus. India is responding through strategic initiatives under the National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem, a key component of the National Action Plan on Climate Change, Singh said. The country has established a Centre for Cryosphere and Climate Change Studies to advance glacial research and monitoring. The Indian Space Research Organisation leads systematic monitoring using advanced remote sensing and Geographic Information System technologies. Research efforts coordinate across national institutions including the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, National Institute of Hydrology, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, and G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, the minister explained. 'India has strengthened disaster preparedness in the Himalayan region through improved early warning systems and Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) risk mapping, coordinated by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Regional cooperation was underscored as vital for strengthening resilience, improving data-sharing frameworks, and fostering coordinated responses to the challenges facing mountain ecosystems,' Singh informed. Singh stressed India's commitment to the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR–RC) in international climate action, noting that while South Asia contributes minimally to global cumulative emissions, it remains highly vulnerable to climate change impacts.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bacteria and Beans Could Be the Secret Sauce for Moon Bricks
Bacteria can strengthen lunar soil for making bricks on the moon, cutting down on costs. Bacteria produce calcium carbonate to help fill cracks in building materials. Adding guar bean extract to lunar material drastically increases brick strength. Humanity has been reliant on bacteria for centuries. From fermentation and agriculture to making vaccines and genetic engineering, bacterial strains have found widespread industrial and lifestyle applications. In the near future, they could help make resilient bricks to build habitats on the Moon's surface. A team from India has developed a process reliant on bacteria to make stronger brick-like structures that can survive the harsh atmosphere of the moon. The approach is notable because it uses the lunar soil as the base material. Or in the words of NASA, In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU). One of the biggest challenges in the quest to build a settlement for humanity away from Earth is hauling all the material and equipment to an extraterrestrial body. According to Jennifer Edmunson, acting Program Manager for NASA's Centennial Challenges, flying from Earth to the Moon can cost $1-1.12 million per kilogram of cargo. To avoid that, NASA has actively explored in-situ ideas that can exploit the material locally available on the Moon, and even Mars. Building on that approach, a team of experts at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has developed a method to create what they refer to as 'space bricks.' The fundamental material used to make these bricks is lunar soil, combined with urine (as the source of urea) and guar bean, which is commonly grown in India and used to produce a food thickening powder called guar gum. This plant extract is used in powdered form as an additive to boost the material's strength. This is where the bacteria, a species named Sporosarcina pasteurii, come into the picture. It combines the calcium and urea in the building material to create calcium carbonate crystals that fill the cracks developing in the brick over time. 'The final product obtained after a few days of incubation was found to possess significant strength and machinability,' says the team. Broadly, the process is called bio-cementation, while the repair process is known as Microbially Induced Calcium Carbonate Precipitation (MICP). As per a paper published in the Frontiers journal, the bacterial repair can extend the functional lifespan of lunar bricks on the lunar surface. Interestingly, this won't be the first time that urine, or the aforementioned bacterial species, has appeared in space research. Experts at the University of Manchester created a material called AstroCrete that would essentially combine Martian soil with urine and astronaut blood. Interestingly, the biocomposite material turned out to be nearly as strong as concrete. As far as the bacterial species goes, it's a special one, and the strengthening properties of this bacterium have already been demonstrated with Earth-based projects. During a TED Talk, Magnus Larsson demonstrated an award-winning method of using bacteria to make solid dunes and prevent the expansion of the Sahara desert. Ginger Krieg Dosier, an assistant professor at the American University in Sharjah, has also developed a method to produce biobricks using the same bacterial species, urine, and sand. The core role of Sporosarcina pasteurii is to produce calcium carbonate, which is deemed extremely compatible with the constituents of concrete. When cracks appear in concrete, the bacterial material triggers the formation of calcium carbonate to fill the cracks and seal them. In a separate paper published in the PLOS Journal, the team tested another bacterial species named Bacillus velezensis. It is approximately ten times more affordable, and during lab tests, it produced twice the amount of the crack-filling material. Calcium supplements are recommended by doctors worldwide to boost the strength and growth of bones. In nature, calcium's role in minerals isn't too different. The teams at IISc and IIT began their work on space bricks with bacteria, urea, and calcium. The base material was lunar soil simulant (LSS), which is rich in silicon, carbon, oxygen, and aluminum. The guar gum, extracted from guar beans, plays a crucial role in making the construction material due to its role as a polymer additive. In fact, as per the research paper published in the Ceramics International journal, the organic gum increased the brick's strength by nearly six times. 'In independent experiments performed under flask conditions, it was observed that guar gum accelerated both bacterial growth and MICP related activity,' says the research paper. Another impressive aspect of these space bricks is that they are quite machinable and allow free-form shaping to suit the construction needs. A simple lathe is all that's needed to shape the material, which opens the doors for easily making interlocked designs and reducing the hassle of specialized molds. The team is now looking forward to making larger bricks and scaling up the manufacturing process beyond labs. The focus ahead will be on making the bricks stronger so that they can brush off seismic activity on the lunar surface. Yes, the moon is full of surprises, and 'moonquakes' are one of them. Interestingly, the same team is also working on a similar bacteria-driven strategy for making bricks using the Martian soil. The real challenge, of course, will be transporting the machinery that can harvest the lunar regolith and turn it into space bricks. Let's hope the Artemis mission brings back the glory days of mankind on the moon and opens the doors for long-term settlements.
Time of India
14 hours ago
- Science
- Time of India
Beyond space station: Shukla's on-ground research aims for habitats on Mars
BENGALURU: As Group Captain prepares for his historic flight to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard Axiom-4 Mission (Ax-4) on June 8, his days in quarantine are being watched closely. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now But what's flown under the radar is that this Indian Air Force pilot turned astronaut has also donned the researcher's hat—co-authoring two scientific papers that aim to push the boundaries of extraterrestrial living. Both studies, conducted while Shukla was at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, tackle two key challenges of future Mars missions : how to build habitats and how to survive the planet's harsh soil chemistry. In one study accessed by TOI, researchers developed a concept for a modular Martian habitat called BHEEM—short for Bhartiya Extraterrestrial Expandable Modular Habitat. This innovative design proposes stackable geometric modules made from triangles, squares and pentagons that can be launched compactly and expanded onsite to house astronauts. Aside from Shukla, this study is authored by Mritunjay Baruah, Amogh Ravindra Jadhav, Bimalendu Mahapatra and Aloke Kumar. Designed with a deep understanding of human-centred needs in space, BHEEM offers a reconfigurable living space that prioritises mission efficiency and astronaut comfort. Each module supports essential tasks—ranging from mission planning and hygiene to exercise and medical care—and is built to withstand the structural stresses of extraterrestrial environments. But building habitats is only half the battle. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now What will they be made of, especially in an environment where every kilogram launched from Earth comes at a premium? That's where the second study steps in. Alongside researchers Swati Dubey, Nitin Gupta, Rashmi Dixit, Punyasloke Bhadury and Aloke Kumar, Shukla investigated how 'Sporosarcina pasteurii', a biocementation-capable bacterium, can be used to make 'Martian bricks' by consolidating Martian soil simulant with a process known as 'Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP)'. The twist? They tested how well this microbe performs in the presence of perchlorates—oxidising salts found in actual Martian soil. The findings — as per a pre-print of the study accessed by TOI — were striking. While perchlorates are typically hostile to life, they induced an unexpected behaviour in the bacteria: the formation of multicellularity-like clusters and the release of protective extracellular matrix. Even more surprisingly, when combined with a natural adhesive like guar gum, the bacteria helped produce bricks with twice the compressive strength in the presence of perchlorates compared to those without them. 'This suggests that with the right additives, Martian soil could be turned into durable construction material using local resources,' the study has found. These two studies—one architectural, the other microbial—highlight a systems-level approach to planetary colonisation. While BHEEM lays the structural blueprint for lunar or Martian habitats , the MICP work provides a sustainable method to build those habitats using Mars' own soil. For Shukla, who is currently in pre-launch quarantine, this dual role as astronaut and scientist underscores the multidisciplinary nature of modern spaceflight. His upcoming mission to the ISS may be a leap for India's human spaceflight programme, but his ground-based research has also been trying to lay the bricks—quite literally—for India's future on Mars.
Scroll.in
a day ago
- Science
- Scroll.in
IISER IAT answer key 2025: Objection window opens till June 1, direct link here
Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) has opened the objection submission window for the aptitude test 2025 (Hindi and English) answer key on the official website Applicants can submit suggestions, if any, till June 1 up to 5.00 pm. A fee of Rs 100 per suggestion is applicable. There is no upper limit on the number of objections that can be filed. Remember that for each objection, candidates have to make a separate application and pay an amount of Rs 100, reads the notification. The computer-based test was conducted on May 25, 2025. IAT 2025 is being conducted for admissions to the Bachelor of Science (Research) program of Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, and the BS-Medical Sciences and Engineering program of Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IITM). Steps to submit objections for IAT answer key 2025
Scroll.in
5 days ago
- Science
- Scroll.in
IISER IAT answer key 2025 released; here's direct link
Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) has released the answer key for the aptitude test 2025 (Hindi and English) on the official website The computer-based test was conducted on May 25, 2025. IAT 2025 is being conducted for admissions to the Bachelor of Science (Research) program of Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, and the BS-Medical Sciences and Engineering program of Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IITM). Steps to download IISER IAT answer key 2025
