Connect with us

Published

on

A species goes extinct when there are none of its kind left. In other words, extinction is about small numbers, so how does big data help us study extinction? Luckily for us, each individual of a species carries with it signatures of its past, information on how connected/ isolated it is today, and other information on what may predict its future, in its genome. The last fifteen years have witnessed a major change in how we can read genomes, and information from genomes of individuals and species can help better plan their conservation. 

All life on Earth harbours genetic material. Often called the blueprint of life, this genetic material could be DNA or RNA. We all know what DNA is, but another way to think of DNA is as data. All mammals, for example harbour between 2 to 3.5 billion bits of data in every one of their cells. The entire string of DNA data is called the whole genome. Recent changes in technology allow us to read whole genomes. We read short 151 letter long information bits many, many times, and piece together the whole genome by comparing it to a known reference. This helps us figure out where each of these 151 letter long pieces go in the 3 billion letter long word. Once we have read each position on an average of 10 or 20 times, we can be confident about it. If each genome is sequenced even ten times and only ten individuals are sampled, for mammals each dataset would consist of 200 to 350 billion bits of data!

Over time, the genome changes because of mutation, or spelling errors that creep in. Such spelling errors create variation, or differences between individual genomes in a population (a set of animals or plants). Similarly, large populations with many individuals will hold a variety of spellings or high genetic variation. Since DNA is the genetic blueprint, changes in the environment can also get reflected in these DNA spellings, with individuals with certain words in their genome surviving better than others under certain conditions. Changes in population size often changes the variety of letters observed at a specific location in the genome, or variation at a specific genomic position. Migration or movement of animals into a population adds new letters and variation. Taking all these together, the history of a population can be understood by comparing the DNA sequences of individuals. The challenge lies in the fact that every population faces all of these effects: changes in population size, environmental selection, migration and mutation, all at once, and it is difficult to separate the effects of different factors. Here, the big data comes to the rescue.

genome wildlife concept genomics

Photo Credit: Dr Anubhab Khan

Genomic data has allowed us to understand how a population has been affected by changes in climate, and whether it has the necessary genomic variation to survive in the face of ongoing climate change. Or how specific human activities have impacted a population in the past. We can understand more about the origins of a population. How susceptible is a population to certain infections? Or whether the individuals in a population are related to each other. Some of these large datasets have helped identify if certain populations are identical and should be managed together or separately. All of these questions help in the management and conservation of a population.

We have worked on such big genomic datasets for tigers, and our research has helped us identify which populations of tigers have high genomic variation and are more connected to other populations. We have identified populations that are small and have low genomic variation, but also seem to have mis-spelled or badly spelled words, or a propensity of ‘bad’ mutations. We have identified unknown relationships between individuals within populations and have suggested strategies that could allow these isolated populations to recover their genomic variation. It has been amazing to peek into animals lives through these big data approaches, and we hope these types of genomic dataset will contribute to understanding how biodiversity can continue to survive on this Earth.


Uma Ramakrishnan is fascinated by unravelling the mysteries of nature using DNA as tool. Along with her lab colleagues, she has spent the last fifteen years studying endangered species in India.She hopes such understanding will contribute to their conservation. Uma is a professor at the National Centre for Biological Sciences.

Dr. Anubhab Khan is a wildlife genomics expert. He has researching genetics of small isolated populations for past several years and has created and analyzed large scale genome sequencing data of tigers, elephants and small cats among others. He keen about population genetics, wildlife conservation and genome sequencing technologies. He is passionate about ending technology disparity in the world by either making advanced technologies and expertise available or by developing techniques that are affordable and accessible to all.

This series is an initiative by the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF), under their programme ‘Nature Communications’ to encourage nature content in all Indian languages. To know more about birds and nature, Join The Flock


Interested in cryptocurrency? We discuss all things crypto with WazirX CEO Nischal Shetty and WeekendInvesting founder Alok Jain on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Continue Reading

Science

Gemini North Telescope Spots Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Racing Through Solar System

Published

on

By

Gemini North Telescope Spots Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Racing Through Solar System

A rare interstellar object has been spotted in our solar system, making it the second known object to cross over from outside our cosmic neighbourhood and arrive near our planet. 3I/ATLAS is seen here while about 290 million miles (465 million kilometres) from Earth, when it was journeying inbound on its trip to our vicinity of the solar system. This icy wanderer, first detected by the ATLAS survey on July 1, marks just the third known object from beyond our solar system to be identified, following in the cosmic footsteps of 1I/’Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov.

Massive Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Offers Rare Glimpse Into Alien Planetary System Origins

As per a statement from the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab, which oversees the International Gemini Observatory, 3I/ATLAS offers a valuable chance to study the building blocks of alien planetary systems. “The sensitivity and scheduling agility of the International Gemini Observatory has provided critical early characterisation of this interstellar wanderer,” mentioned NSF program director Martin Still. At an estimated 12 miles (20 km) in diameter, 3I/ATLAS is much larger than its predecessors, making it easier to analyse.

Images show the comet with a bright, compact coma — the envelope of dust and gas surrounding its core — and other data suggest it could be older than our own solar system. Believed to have originated from the Milky Way’s outer thick disk, 3I/ATLAS may hold clues to the conditions in far-off star systems that once harboured it. Though the discovery is thrilling to some, the comet poses no threat to the Earth as it makes its fleeting visit.

Comet 3I/ATLAS is expected to make its closest pass by the Sun on Oct. 30, when it will fly 130 million miles inside the orbit of Mars. It comes closest to Earth in December, when it is 170 million miles away. Because of its odd orbit, it’s never coming back.

Astronomers around the world are turning toward a piece of an interstellar comet that broke off using a telescope too distant to study, by necessity, as a rare chance to probe the nature of an object from another star and its solar system of origin.

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who’sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.


Redmi 15C Price and Specifications Surface Online Via Online Retailer



Adobe Upgrades Firefly Video Model With New Tools and Improved Motion Generation

Continue Reading

Science

NASA Grounds Boeing Starliner Until 2026 After Test Flight Failures

Published

on

By

NASA Grounds Boeing Starliner Until 2026 After Test Flight Failures

The Boeing CST-100 Starliner, a crew capsule for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, has been plagued by persistent problems. Its first crewed test flight in June 2024 was cut short by technical failures, including helium pressurization leaks and multiple thruster malfunctions. NASA ultimately elected to return Starliner to Earth without its crew, keeping the astronauts aboard the station for safety. With those problems unresolved, NASA now says the capsule will remain grounded until around 2026, and its next mission will likely be uncrewed.

Technical Setbacks and Grounding

According to NASA, During its June 2024 Crew Flight Test, Starliner suffered serious propulsion issues. Multiple helium leaks were detected in the service module’s pressurization system, and five of the capsule’s 28 fine-control thrusters failed during approach to the ISS. NASA and Boeing extended the crew’s station stay while engineers traced the problems to thermal and seal failures in the thruster “doghouse” enclosures.

Ultimately NASA decided to bring Starliner back to Earth empty, concluding the test without its astronauts aboard. Boeing and NASA have since conducted extensive ground testing to validate fixes: engineers at NASA’s White Sands facility are firing thrusters in varied sequences to refine thermal models, and Boeing has added new insulation shunts and thermal barriers in the thruster housings to prevent overheating.

Future of the Starliner Program

Boeing’s delays have reshaped NASA’s Commercial Crew plans. NASA officials say Starliner may even fly one more uncrewed test before carrying astronauts. Starliner development is now billions over budget: its original $4.2 billion contract has grown by roughly $2 billion in extra costs. Meanwhile, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon has flown 11 ISS crew missions and its NASA contract has climbed toward $5 billion amid extra flights added while Starliner lagged. NASA still views Starliner as a critical backup to Dragon and aims to certify it for crew rotations by late 2025 or early 2026.

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who’sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.


Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Said to Offer Slightly Larger Screen and Narrower Bezels



Google’s Veo 3 Video Generation AI Model Debuts on Gemini API, Pricing and Features Announced

Related Stories

Continue Reading

Science

Quantum Leap: Scientists Achieve Magic State Distillation on Logical Qubits for the First Time

Published

on

By

Quantum Leap: Scientists Achieve Magic State Distillation on Logical Qubits for the First Time

Scientists have shown the elusive phenomenon of quantum computing that could create the way for fault-tolerant machines, which are much powerful than any of the supercomputers. Magic state distillation is the process which was proposed 20 years ago; however, the use of logical qubits has puzzled scientists since then. It has long been considered crucial for making high-quality resources, called magic states, required to complete the quantum computer’s potential. It has been possible on plains, till now, by which the high-quality magic states are purified so that the complex algorithms can use them. It has not been possible on the logical qubits.

According to Science Daily, the groups of physical qubits sharing the same data are configured for detecting and correcting the errors which frequently disturb the quantum computing operations. However, the scientists with QuEra said that they have demonstrated magic state distillation for the first time on logical qubits. The findings were published on July 14, 2025, in the journal Nature.

Path to Fault-tolerant Quantum Computing

Quantum computers would not be fulfilling their promise without this process. They use qubits as their building blocks and make use of quantum logic, the set of rules and operations that control how quantum information is processed for running the algorithms and processing data. It is challenging to run the complex algorithms together with maintaining amazingly low error rates.

Physical qubits are noisy, which implies that the calculations are often disrupted by factors such as temperature fluctuations and electromagnetic radiation. This is the reason why so much research has taken place on Quantum Error Correction.

With the distillation process, the faithfulness of the magic state increased for any input. This shows that the fault-tolerant magic state distillation has worked in practice. Further, it implies that the quantum computer uses both logical qubits and magic states of higher quality for running non-Clifford gates.

Scientists say that the shift has been observed for a few years. It was challenging to make the quantum computers, with the detection and correction of errors. However, the scientists have successfully done it.

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who’sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.


Lava Blaze Dragon India Launch Set for July 25; Design and Amazon Availability Confirmed



Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Said to Offer Slightly Larger Screen and Narrower Bezels

Continue Reading

Trending