The year 2020 saw science thrust into the media limelight as world over people sought news about the COVID-19 pandemic. The year has been marked by frustration and weariness for us all. Nevertheless, science and its people have carried on the quest of figuring out the ways of the world. So here are the science updates that caught our eye in 2020, in no particular order.

Footsteps of history

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how we do things, set new normals and left its mark on this year, 2020. Through difficulties and challenges, people kept working, and scientists and researchers were no exception. Here is a small list of significant happenings in science in India, presented in no particular order.

India makes COVID-19 testing kits

An interesting year this one, with the world locked in and a virus reigning our lives. Nevertheless, there was no dearth of news in science. There was a considerable quantum of studies being reported even outside the realm of the rampant COVID-19 research. At Research Matters, we have tried our best to cover the most interesting stories in the Indian scene and listed below are our most popular stories this year. Take a look.

Study evaluates regional factors that play a vital role in reducing conflicts between people and wild animals in the Ladakh region.

Some fantastic relationships between some animals and their or others’ dung.

Researchers survey eighty-one river sites in Arunachal Pradesh and sight only seven White-bellied Herons.

^{An aerial view of the Tungabhadra dam in Karnataka [Image Credits: Bishnu Sarangi from Pixabay]}

Powered by citizen science, the State of India’s Birds report calls for conservation efforts to save India’s aves.

^{Noctiluca blooms in the Arabian Sea, as seen from space. [Image Credits: Norman Kuring/NASA]}

Black-eared kites take journeys of an astounding 3300–4800 kilometres each year across the Himalayas into Central Asia, and back.