All posts tagged: largest

NPR interviews leader of RSS, world’s largest right-wing group : NPR

NPR interviews leader of RSS, world’s largest right-wing group : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) volunteers take part in the Hindu nationalist organisation’s centenary celebrations at Reshimbagh Ground in Nagpur on October 2, 2025. IDREES MOHAMMED/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption IDREES MOHAMMED/AFP via Getty Images The largest right-wing group in the world is in India. That group is an all-male, Hindu Nationalist organization called the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. It’s better known by its acronym, the RSS. Its goal is to undo the founding fathers’ vision of India as a secular country, home to people with many faiths. Some of its members and those of some of its sister organizations have been implicated in – or accused of – instigating attacks against India’s Muslim and Christian minorities. Famously, a former RSS member assassinated one of the most famous Indians in history, Mohandas Gandhi, in 1948. Critics say Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is hostile to Muslims in particular and borrows from the organization’s Hindu nationalist ideology. The leaders of the movement rarely talk to the Western press, which is why it was surprising when …

Largest ever octopus was great white shark of invertebrate predators

Largest ever octopus was great white shark of invertebrate predators

Published by skeptic

A reconstruction of the giant octopus Yohei Utsuki/Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Hokkaido University While dinosaurs ruled the land, Cretaceous oceans were home to a fierce and enormous octopus species that may have reached up to 19 metres in length, rivalling the size of the largest predators of the time, including sharks and marine reptiles like plesiosaurs and mosasaurs. These octopuses were active predators, says Yasuhiro Iba at Hokkaido University in Japan. “They could be thought of as the orcas or great white sharks of the invertebrate world – large, intelligent and highly effective apex predators,” says Iba. “These were animals over 10 metres long, with long arms, powerful jaws capable of crushing hard structures and probably advanced behaviour.” Iba and his colleagues looked at 27 large, fossilised octopus jaws dating to between 100 million and 72 million years that had been collected in Japan and Vancouver Island, Canada. A dozen of the octopus jaws were new to science and were locked inside rocks, says Iba. They became visible only when the researchers used …

Satellite startup raises m in bid to become Europe’s largest operator

Satellite startup raises $32m in bid to become Europe’s largest operator

Published by skeptic

Univity, a satellite internet startup, has also secured a €31 million contract from the French space agency CNES, totalling €68 million in backing to support efforts to launch over 3000 satellites. A European competitor is seeking to challenge American dominance of telecom satellites, with €68m of French investment. Univity closed a round of Series A funding on Thursday with support from French state-owned investment bank Bpifrance, investment platform Blast and venture capital fund Expansion, among others. The €68m backing will see Univity launch the first two satellites, before transitioning to an infrastructure financing model for large-scale deployment over the next two years, with the support of “deep-pocketed investors” such as infrastructure funds and telecoms operators. Directly connecting with telecoms operators Founded in 2022, Univity aims to challenge industry giants like Starlink and Amazon(who sell connectivity directly to consumers) by instead targeting telecoms operators, sharing infrastructure and selling space-based internet and mobile services. Agreements have already been signed with 16 operators across four continents. The partnerships highlight the growing demand among telecom firms seeking to integrate satellite …

Earth’s largest otters have chocolate bar-sized babies

Earth’s largest otters have chocolate bar-sized babies

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. It turns out that giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) newborns are actually quite small, weighing just around 7.1 ounces. “[That’s] about the same as a decent-sized chocolate bar,” Frazer Walsh, a carnivore keeper at Chester Zoo outside of Liverpool, England, tells Popular Science.  The zoo has just welcomed three of their own decent-sized chocolate bars, the offspring of mother Bonita and father Manu. The three siblings haven’t received names yet. Before the birth, the zoo’s staff cordoned off the giant otter habitat before their birth, and kept a non-invasive eye on the soon-to-be family using cameras. In fact, it was through these cameras that they discovered that the litter had arrived, but they continued giving the family privacy throughout the pups’ time as newborns.  Parents Bonita and Manu welcomed their new litter in relative privacy. Image: Chester Zoo “We like to make sure it’s as natural as possible. That means the parents are allowed to carry on their natural behaviours …

Can you best a math Olympiad? Test your skills with the world’s largest database of problems.

Can you best a math Olympiad? Test your skills with the world’s largest database of problems.

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. In 1959, countries around the world sent their most talented students to Romania to compete in the first-ever International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO). Ever since, the rules have remained simple, even if the problems are not: over two days, each team works to solve a total of six math problems. After nearly 70 years, contenders from the United States, China, and Luxembourg have achieved a perfect score in various years. But while each year’s competition focuses on only six problems, there has long been another side to the IMO. “Every country brings a booklet of its most novel and most creative problems,” explained Shaden Alshammari, a mathematician at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). “They share the booklets with each other, but no one [has] made the effort to collect them, clean them, and upload them online.” Alshammari and her colleagues have finally changed that with MathNet, the world’s largest repository for proof-based math problems. With over 30,000 …

The US’s largest clean energy project is generating power [update]

The US’s largest clean energy project is generating power [update]

Published by skeptic

Photo: Vestas Vestas finished installing its wind turbines at Pattern Energy’s SunZia, the largest clean energy project in the US, last month, and the wind farm has now come online. April 17, 2026: SunZia Wind has begun testing its turbines as it nears the start of commercial operations in Q2 2025, E&E reported yesterday. Grid Status first reported the news. Neither the project developer, Pattern Energy, nor the California grid operator has publicized the milestone, and it’s unclear exactly how much power is being transmitted at this time. On April 13, CAISO, California’s grid, sent a transmission control agreement letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission about Sun Zia. Advertisement – scroll for more content Once SunZia wind is fully online, it will be able to generate enough electricity to supply 3 million people, or roughly 1 million to 1.2 million households in California and Arizona. March 5, 2026: Wind turbine manufacturer Vestas installed 242 V163-4.5 MW wind turbines at the 3.5 GW wind farm, which, with 916 turbines in total, is the largest onshore wind farm in …

Saturn’s largest moon could see 10-foot waves from a tiny breeze

Saturn’s largest moon could see 10-foot waves from a tiny breeze

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Titan is the largest of Saturn’s 292 known moons, by far. It’s also the only other cosmic body apart from Earth confirmed to host standing liquid similar to our oceans in our solar system. But don’t necessarily expect calm conditions. According to a new modeling system detailed in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, the smallest gust of wind on Titan could generate huge, roiling waves across seas of hydrocarbons. While there are an endless amount of fascinating places across our solar system, Titan remains one of the most intriguing. It’s nearly 50 percent larger and 80 percent more massive than Earth’s moon, making it even bigger than the planet Mercury. Titan is also teeming with prebiotic compounds, meaning it’s one of the best contenders for hosting life in oceans beneath its icy shell.  While its average surface temperature of -296.59 degrees Fahrenheit ensures a total lack of flowing water, there are still rivers and seas full of light …

Russia Launches Largest Barrage on Ukrainian Cities in Months

Russia Launches Largest Barrage on Ukrainian Cities in Months

Published by Sam Flores

new video loaded: Russia Launches Largest Barrage on Ukrainian Cities in Months 1:07 At least 15 people died after Russia flew more than 700 drones and missiles across Ukrainian cities, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. By Monika Cvorak April 16, 2026 Frenchman Wins $1.2 Million Picasso Painting 1:33 L.G.B.T.Q. Community Expresses Hesitancy About Hungary’s New Leader 2:03 Hungarian Voters Express Joy and Disbelief After Orban Defeat 2:01 Trump-Ally Orban Trails in Polls Ahead of Hungary’s Election 1:53 Pope Leo Washes Feet of 12 Roman Priests on Holy Thursday 0:34 Artworks Worth Millions of Dollars Stolen From Italian Museum 0:35 Video › Today’s Videos U.S. Politics Immigration NY Region Science Business Culture Books Wellness World Africa Americas Asia South Asia Donald Trump Middle East Crisis Russia-Ukraine Crisis Visual Investigations Opinion Video Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Source link