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“Catch them young” seems to be the mantra in China for nurturing technical talent, as a recent Financial Times report reveals how the country is running a massive ‘Genius Plan’ to power its ambitions in emerging technology sectors such as AI, robotics, advanced manufacturing and semiconductors. As part of this, more than one lakh talented teenagers are selected through an extremely competitive exam and placed into accelerated modules focused on STEM disciplines. Here, they are not only trained to crack various Olympiads, but the programme also serves as a direct pipeline to China’s elite universities.STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS ADAlthough the…

Prof. LaFrance, Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at Alpert Medical School, Brown University, said that neurobehavioural therapy has demonstrated measurable changes in functional and structural brain connectivity. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto Functional neurological disorders, long dismissed as purely psychogenic conditions, are now understood as disorders of neural network dysfunction shaped by cognition, emotion and behaviour, said US-based neuropsychiatrist Curt LaFrance at a commemorative lecture held in memory of eminent neurologist Krishnamoorthy Srinivas at the Buddhi Clinic on Saturday. Also Read | Tremors, seizures, paralysis: this brain disorder is more common than multiple sclerosis – but often goes undiagnosedThe lecture,…

Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) Vice President Omar Abdullah. File | Photo Credit: ANI National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Thursday (September 26, 2024) said the low voter turnout in Srinagar district during the second phase of voting for Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls was perhaps a people’s reaction to the Centre trying to project normalcy in the Union Territory.His remarks came after the second phase of polling on Wednesday saw a voter turnout of over 56% while the first phase held on September 18 saw an estimated 61.38% voter turnout.”To be honest, I was expecting higher turnout because…

File image for representation | Photo Credit: Reuters The price of petrol sold in India has been reduced 1.9% since June 2022, even as the price of oil has fallen 41.5% since then, an analysis by The Hindu of official data shows. Data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) shows that the price of oil, as captured by the Indian basket of crude oil, rose to over $100 a barrel in the period March-July 2022, soon after Russia invaded Ukraine in February that year. Frozen pricesIn response to this spike, oil marketing companies (OMCs) increased the price of…

Carrying the thrill of a tug-of-war contest, the Ranji Trophy semifinal match at the Bengal Cricket Academy ground here remained nicely balanced on the second day as Jammu & Kashmir relied on Abdul Samad and captain Paras Dogra’s commendable half-centuries to put up a strong fight against Bengal on Monday.Resuming from 249 for five, Bengal was all out for 328 in its first innings.In reply, J & K recovered from 13 for three to close at 198 for five to trail by 130 runs.J & K pace ace Auqib Nabi’s relentlessness and execution of skills earned him three more wickets and his 15th five-for. He scalped overnight centurion Sudip Gharami, who shouldered…

View of Mount Chimborazo (a volcano) from the city Riobamba. | Photo Credit: Photo: Wikimedia Commons Space officially begins about 100 km above the Earth’s surface, a boundary known as the Kármán line. But Earth isn’t a perfect sphere — it’s slightly flattened at the poles and bulged at the equator. Because of this shape, the distance from the centre of the Earth to the surface isn’t the same everywhere. So, being closest to space doesn’t just depend on a mountain’s height — it also depends on where it’s located on the planet.If we went by the simple logic that…

In a world where trade is fragmenting, supply chains are being rewritten, and new technologies are compressing business cycles, the easiest response for any government is to slow down, hedge, and postpone hard decisions. This budget does the opposite. It argues—implicitly and repeatedly—that India’s best hedge against global volatility is domestic capability, competitive openness, and fiscal credibility. This pragmatic triad sits at the heart of the Viksit Bharat journey.The Finance Minister frames the last decade as one of stability, discipline, growth, and moderate inflation, built through “action over ambivalence” and reforms that strengthen jobs, productivity, and household purchasing power. The…

In 1960, when she was studying chimpanzees in Tanzania, the primatologist Jane Goodall observed one chimp strip a stick of its leaves and use it to extract termites from a mound. She telegraphed her observation to her supervisor, the paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey. “Now we must redefine ‘tool,’ redefine ‘man’ or accept chimpanzees as human,” Leakey replied.More than six decades later, another such moment has arrived — this time with an unlikely protagonist: Veronika, a cow in Austria.A cow uses a toolUniversity of Veterinary Medicine, Austria, cognitive biologist and associate professor Alice Auersperg first learnt of Veronika in a video she received.…

A paramilitary person stands guard as the voters queue up to cast their vote for the second phase of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections in Budgam on September 25, 2024. | Photo Credit: ANI Enthusiastic voters swarmed most polling booths since the morning across 26 Assembly segments of Jammu & Kashmir on Wednesday (September 25, 2024) and registered a voter turnout of more than 56% till 7 p.m., according to the Election Commission of India (EC). “There has not been any incident that a repoll is required. There were 3,502 polling stations and no polling booth had a voting percentage…

The new series of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), released on Thursday, has addressed the many shortcomings of the previous series. The new series has a base year of 2024, and is pegged to consumption patterns from the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24. The previous series had a base year of 2012 and was based on consumption patterns of 2011-12. As Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran noted, India has changed markedly over the last decade or so, including consumption behaviour and the composition of household expenditure. For example, 80 crore households receive free foodgrain now, which naturally reduces how…