Award and Honors

  Girpremi, a city-based mountaineering organisation, is organising a conclave on the future of glaciers, the impacts of climate change, and possible solutions on December 11 at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute. The conclave titled ‘Melting Giants: A Wake-Up Call for Our Generation’ is being held as part of International Mountain Day, which falls on December 11. Geologist Prof (Dr) Nitin Karmalkar, former Vice-Chancellor of Savitribai Phule  Pune  University, is the chief guest of the event, which focuses on mountain protection, glacier conservation, and environmental awareness. “This year has been declared the International Year of Glacier Preservation, and the theme is ‘The Role of Glaciers in Mountain Ecosystems for Water, Food, and Livelihoods’. Due to the increasing impact of climate change, glaciers across the world are melting rapidly. Against this backdrop, Giripremi aims to raise public awareness through a conclave and exhibition titled ‘Frozen Lifeline...

  A Rocket Lab Electron rocket lifts off from Mahia, New Zealand, to begin the ‘Follow My Speed’ mission on Nov. 20, 2025. Image: Rocket Lab Earth observation company BlackSky revealed it was the ‘confidential customer’ whose satellite flew on a recent Rocket Lab Electron rocket. A BlackSky spokesperson confirmed to Spaceflight Now on Tuesday that its Gen-3 satellite was the payload onboard. The mission, dubbed ‘Follow My Speed’ by Rocket Lab, lifted off from Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand at 1:43 a.m. NZT on Nov. 21 (7:43 a.m. EST / 1243 UTC on Nov. 20). This was Rocket Lab’s 18th launch so far in 2025 and its 76th Electron launch to date. Leading up to the mission’s launch and during the broadcast, the company referred to the payload owner simply as a “confidential commercial customer.” After the satellite was deployed, the U.S. Space Force cataloged it into a 468 x 477 km orbit at a 42 degree inclination. Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer and expert orbital tracker, noted on X (...

  An international study led by the University of Basel has discovered that nuclear pore complexes—tiny gateways in the nuclear membrane—are not rigid or gel-like as once thought. Their interiors are dynamically organized, constantly moving and rearranging. The findings reshape our understanding of a vital transport process in cells and have implications for diseases and potential therapies. Imagine the cell's nucleus as a bank vault protected by a highly sophisticated security system: the nuclear pore complex (NPC). Only proteins carrying the correct "key"—specialized transport factors—are granted exclusive access  This selective control over what enters and exits the nucleus is essential for ensuring proper communication between the genome protected inside it and the cellular machinery outside. Nanoscience leads to new biological insights Despite its importance, the NPC's inner workings have remained a mystery. Its transport channel is lined with highly flexible pro...

  Mitochondria are tiny structures inside cells that act as energy producers, supplying the power the body needs to grow, move, and stay healthy. Because a cell’s energy demand changes constantly, mitochondria must continually adjust their activity to keep up. This flexibility depends on the nutrients available inside the cell at any given time. Until recently, scientists did not fully understand how those nutrients drive the process of adaptation. A team led by Professor Dr. Thorsten Hoppe from the University of Cologne’s Institute for Genetics and the CECAD Cluster of Excellence on Aging Research has now uncovered a new biological pathway showing how the amino acid leucine strengthens mitochondrial performance. The researchers found that leucine helps stabilize crucial mitochondrial proteins, leading to more efficient energy production. Their study, titled “Leucine inhibits degradation of outer mitochondrial membrane proteins to adapt mitochondrial respiration,” was published in...

  A lonely rover toiling among the sands of  Mars   has now answered an age-old question: If lighting   crackles on the red planet and no one hears it, does it still make a sound? In recordings obtained by NASA's Perseverance   rover scientists have identified, for the first time, electrical discharges captured during Mars's Wild dust   events and whirling   dust devils – not once, but 55 times over two Martian years   of observation. Crucially, the dusty weather in which these events appeared reveals the specific conditions required to generate electricity in the thin, bone-dry atmosphere of Mars – long suspected but never directly demonstrated until now. Website: awardandhonors.com  For Enquiries : support@awardandhonors.com Nominate Now : https://awardandhonors.com/award-nomination/?ecategory=Awards&rcategory=Awardee Get Connected Here : ------------------------------------------ Facebook: www.fa...

  India's average temperature increased by 0.89 degrees Celsius during 2015-2024 compared to the first quarter of the twentieth century, with temperature extremes becoming more frequent across parts of the country, according to a study. An additional warming of 1.2 to 1.3 degrees Celsius is projected by mid-century under a moderate emissions scenario, compared to 1995-2014. Researchers from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune and Krea University in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh, among other institutes, provided an update on observed and projected trends of climate change in the country, analysing datasets from the India Meteorological Department and global climate models. Duration of marine heatwaves — high ocean surface temperatures which can damage coastal ecosystems — could increase from about 20 days per year during 1970-2000 to nearly 200 days per year by mid-century, findings published in the journal PLOS Climate indicate. The team added that compound events — whe...