Small add-on devices could allow your smartphone to take pregnancy tests or monitor diabetes, scientists say. Researchers at the Hanover Centre for Optical Technologies (HOT), University of Hanover, Germany, have developed a self-contained fibre optic sensor for smartphones with the potential for use in a wide variety of biomolecular tests, including those for detecting pregnancy or monitoring diabetes. According to …

I anxiously waited for the school to begin, so that I take my class and start the work. I was excited to put my new plan into practice: to bring about peace and order in the class,  to make classroom teaching interesting and win over my pupils. My heart was full of excitement and I could feel my pulse throbbing. …

Long ago, in the City of Bagdad, in the land of Persia, there lived a merchant called Ali Cogia. Over the years, Ali Cogia had saved one thousand pieces of gold. He put this gold into a big jar of clay. On top he put some olives. He sealed the jar and took it to a merchant friend who had …

Long ago, in a town not far from Bagdad, in the land of Persia, there lived a poor woodcutter called Ali Baba. One day, Ali Baba was working deep in the forest. Suddenly he heard the noise of many horses. He tied up his two mules behind some high rocks. Then he climbed into a tall tree to hide. From …

Two children from Mumbai spend a year in a small army township in the middle of the Rajasthan desert. Missing the urban sights and sounds, it takes them a while to get used to living in a place where the only excitement is a roll in the dunes. But adventure is just a sandstorm away and all too soon their …

Shashank and Mayank were twins and 10 years old. Every year, their parents would celebrate their birthday with much fanfare. They made it a point to get them new clothes for the party. One evening, on his return from office, their father informed them that he had been transferred to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. So all of them would …

One night Nasruddin was sitting on the street outside his house. He suddenly saw a burglar entering his house from a side window. The burglar did not see Nasruddin in the dark. The Mulla was scared to go and fight the thief. He watched as the thief loaded almost all his possessions onto a donkey and set off. Nasruddin ran …

If only Rohit had been able to come, Nitin thought, as Richa stopped to take a breath for the umpteenth time. To think that he had looked forward to this holiday in Manali so much. His friend Rohit and he had planned so many treks and climbs together. But Rohit’s father had not been able to get away. So here …

There was a young boy named Bakri who lived in a lonely village far in the mountains. It was lonely village, yes, but also very quite and peaceful. A swift-flowing stream tumbled down from the mountains and ran through the village. The villagers could hear the rush of its crystal-clear waters as they lay in their beds at night. And …

On April 24, 1895 Captain Joshua Slocum set to sailing. He was the first man to sail alone in a small boat, ‘spray’ around the world. He repaired the old boat and started on his historical mission. This is the story of Captain Joshua who braved the torrents of sea all alone. Barbarous Red Indians had surrounded the ‘spray’. They …