The latest PISA assessment presents an unusually stark picture of educational performance. More than 760,000 15-year-old students across 91 participating countries and economies were assessed, producing evidence of broad declines in some
Chinese scientists have revealed the mechanisms underlying the formation of complex color patterns on Nigella orientalis (Ranunculaceae) petals. Researchers from the Institute of Botany under the Chinese Academy of Sciences analyzed the
More
On 20 March 2023, China’s President Xi Jinping and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin spent over four hours in private conversation. According to official statements after the meeting, the two leaders talked about the increasing
More
In a remarkable new study, the broad-brush patterns between how we use and mark public space and our collective well-being were investigated in 2022 by Quynh C. Yue and colleagues who analyzed 164 million
More
A few years ago, a minor medical problem took me to the Hospital Alemán-Nicaragüense in Nicaragua’s capital, Managua. While I was being treated, I asked the doctor, a kindly older man, if
More
Toxic “forever chemicals” are known to cause health problems in humans, and very low doses have been linked to suppression of the immune system. Research also increasingly suggests wildlife could suffer similar
More
Currently, the Sri Lankan education system is struggling to keep pace with the rapid changes happening in the world. Public education is underfunded, and private tuition has become an unregulated, monopolistic industry.
More
Chinese researchers have recently put forward evidence for improving Alzheimer’s disease (AD) with selenium-enriched foods and ingredients, according to the Institute of Microbiology under Guangdong Academy of Sciences. The new study indicates
More
“ChatGPT, the cutting-edge language model developed by OpenAI, has become a worldwide phenomenon. The technology, which uses advanced machine learning algorithms to generate human-like text, has taken the world by storm and
More
Foreign intelligence agencies have long been active in Sri Lanka, engaging in a variety of activities aimed at furthering their respective countries’ interests and goals. These activities have included gathering information and
More
There cannot be any doubt that if Sri Lanka needs to get out of the present mess of economic fallout and political authoritarianism, solutions need to be worked out scientifically and objectively.
More