Most germs in public toilets spread through hands and air rather than toilet seats, making hygiene far more important than avoiding sitting. If you are a parent or live with a chronic condition that requires frequent or urgent bathroom trips, chances are you already know where the most usable public toilets are nearby. Still, situations […]
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Among adults over 80, diet quality and maintaining a healthy weight matter more for longevity than whether meat is eaten. A recent study suggests that people who avoid meat may be less likely than meat eaters to live to 100. Before viewing this as a warning about plant-based diets, however, the results deserve a closer […]
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Listening to specially designed music for just 24 minutes can meaningfully reduce anxiety levels. A new randomized clinical trial found that listening to specially designed music combined with auditory beat stimulation (ABS) for just 24 minutes can meaningfully lower anxiety levels. The findings point to a practical, non drug option that could help people manage […]
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Stopping Alzheimer’s may begin with dissolving tiny tau protein clusters before damage takes hold. Scientists at Tokyo Metropolitan University have turned to polymer physics to better understand one of the defining features of Alzheimer’s disease: the formation of tau protein fibrils. Their research shows that these fibrils do not form directly. Instead, tau proteins first […]
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What’s the one thing that you — or the elders with you in case you haven’t got your own yet — make sure you carry with you every time you step out of the house? For nine out of ten of us (or maybe even a larger percentage), the answer will likely be our smartphones. Ubiquitous and useful — though there’s no denying their pitfalls — these devices are at the forefront of personal tech at the moment.
The HP-35, a handheld scientific calculator, paved the way and served as a precursor for most of the personal tech devices that we employ on an everyday basis today. But before we head to how the HP-35 came to be, we will first have to look at the 9100 programmable calculator that came from the same stable.
The stable, or company, that we are talking about here is the Hewlett-Packard, started by two Stanford University graduates, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard. Founded in 1939, HP grew into a Fortune 500 company with about 9,000 employees by the mid-1960s.
An original HP calculator on HP founder Bill Hewlett’s desk.
| Photo Credit:
Robert Scoble / flickr
It was under these circumstances that Tom Osborne, an American engineer, brought the Green Machine — an electronic calculator that he had built — to Hewlett in 1965. Even though the Green Machine couldn’t do transcendentals (sine, cosine, tangent, etc.), Osborne said it could when questioned about it. Hewlett was impressed with what he saw and brought on Osborne as a consultant to turn the Green Machine into an actual calculator.
What started as a six-week consultancy turned into six months, then a year, and then another. Working alongside HP engineer Dave Cochran, Osborne finished the typewriter-sized 9100 programmable calculator early in 1968.
Once the 9100 was out in the market, Hewlett placed one of the most famous design briefs before Osborne and Cochran: “I want it to be a tenth of the volume, ten times as fast and cost a tenth as much.” In essence, Hewlett was asking the duo to come up with a device that matched the 9100 in terms of speed and accuracy at executing complicated functions and algorithms, but at the same time fitted in their shirt pockets!
Even though it seemed an impossible ask at the time of asking, it came into the realm of possibility thanks to the progress made in integrated circuits. Work on it informally began in November 1970, but soon ran into a roadblock owing to the costs involved at a time when profits were dwindling.
The printed circuit board (PCB) of the HP-35.
| Photo Credit:
tony_duell / flickr
Hewlett believed he owed shareholders due diligence and roped in Stanford Research Institute for an initial market study. In a market flooded with cheap four-function calculators and $20 slide rulers that had been the standard calculation tool for three centuries, reviewers concluded that the calculator in question would be too expensive, without predicting how many takers might be there for such a costly calculator.
Despite the report pointing in the other direction, Hewlett decided to plough ahead, giving the official go-ahead for the project on February 2, 1971. The months that followed saw the logic, hardware, and design teams come together to build a one-of-a-kind device, the likes of which hadn’t been seen before.
As for the design, industrial graphic designer Ed Liljenwall, who had been with the company for a decade, took the lead. Rather than design an enclosure to fit around the electronics like he’d done till then, he designed a case within which the electronics would fit in. In addition to literally flipping the industry with such an outside-in design approach, he paid attention to smaller details, thereby defining the way scientific calculators looked in the decades that followed.
The main board of the HP-35.
| Photo Credit:
Kucharek / Wikimedia Commons
By November, prototypes were designed in two basic styles, the simpler of which was chosen for production. When Hewlett saw the prototype, he decided that it would be named HP-35, as the calculator had exactly 35 keys. Priced at $395 — 20 times the cost of a slide rule and four times that of a four-function calculator — HP needed to sell 10,000 to break even.
Ditching their traditional sales routes, HP decided to sell this calculator directly to the customers and also at retail stores. Following a press conference in New York on January 4, 1972 when the device was announced, HP-35 was introduced to the world at large on February 1.
The doubts about whether the HP-35 would sell quickly vanished as it almost seemed like every mathematician, engineer, and scientist wanted one in their pockets. If anyone still harboured any doubts, they had to contend with the fact that some students were even selling their cars in order to be able to afford the calculator.
The first models that were sold had a raised dot or bump on the number 5 (you can still see this in physical keyboards and telephone landlines; it is designed to enable users to find the centre of the keypad by touch) and a small hole to the right of the on/off switch that lit up red when the calculator was turned on. While the latter feature was deemed redundant (the display lit up when turned on, didn’t it?) and hence was dropped after about 10,000 units, the former feature wasn’t included after about 80,000 units were produced.
One of the first models of HP-35 produced. Notice the small hole next to the on/off switch, which was removed in later models.
| Photo Credit:
Mister rf / Wikimedia Commons
While they needed 10,000 to break even, they instead sold 1,00,000 in the first year alone and nearly 3,50,000 calculators by 1975. Many of these are still in existence, and even continue to work! The HP-35s with a hole are even considered a collector’s item.
The success of the HP-35 meant that its legacy stays on in the field of handheld devices — be it game consoles or smartphones. The influence of the world’s first handheld scientific calculator can be seen in these devices in many ways, be it the programming, logic, or design.
So, the next time you enter an examination hall where the use of scientific calculators is permitted, spare a thought for these humble gadgets. They might have sounded the death knell for the slide ruler when they made their way, but their own very existence now seems to be only a matter of time. Even if they fade away into oblivion, there’s no denying the fact that the HP-35, and the scientific calculators that came by thereafter, heralded the age of consumer electronics as we know it today.
Published – February 01, 2026 12:42 am IST
The ACC PLI scheme, launched in October 2021, was designed to catalyse a domestic battery manufacturing ecosystem and reduce a near-total reliance on Chinese imports. File image for representation only.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The story so far: An ambitious ₹18,100 crore scheme to facilitate the manufacture of advanced chemistry cell batteries in India, particularly for Electric Vehicles (EVs), is floundering. The Advanced Chemistry Cell Production Linked Incentive (ACC PLI) had a target of making battery cells worth 50 gigawatt-hour (GWh) by 2025, but only 1.4 GWh has been installed; approximately 8.6 GWh is ‘under development’ but delayed, while 20 GWh has seen no progress at all. Additionally, the scheme has generated only 1,118 jobs — just 0.12% of the estimated 1.03 million — and attracted only 25.58% of its targeted investment.
Also Read | Ambitious scheme to spur next-gen battery manufacturing in India stumbles
They represent a new generation of advanced storage technologies that can store electric energy as chemical energy and convert it back to electric energy as and when required. Lithium-ions — the mainstay of cellphone batteries — are the most prominent today among this class of batteries. However, the scheme is “technology agnostic” and is open to other combinations such as nickel manganese cobalt, lithium-ion phosphate and sodium-ion batteries.
EDITORIAL | Falling short: On India’s EV journey
The ACC PLI scheme, launched in October 2021, was designed to catalyse a domestic battery manufacturing ecosystem and reduce a near-total reliance on Chinese imports. However, an analysis by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and JMK Research and Analysis reveals that the policy’s ambitious goals have yet to translate into significant realised capacity. As of October 2025, only 2.8% of the targeted 50 GWh capacity has been commissioned. The 1.4 GWh is from a single beneficiary, Ola Electric. Moreover, despite a targeted incentive disbursement of ₹2,900 crore by this period, zero funds have been paid out because no beneficiary has met the necessary milestones.
Also Read | Government rolls out 100% subsidy for EV charging infrastructure under PM E-Drive
The primary aim of the scheme was to encourage industry into building domestic capacity for essential components like cathodes, anodes, and electrolytes. This was to be done by attracting major private players and global technology partnerships to the sector and in the process lower battery costs to accelerate the adoption of EVs and Energy Storage Systems (ESS). The latter are large blocks of battery cells that can be used to supply solar or wind power, during the night or windless days respectively. Companies were to participate in an auction to commit to a minimum bid size of 5 GWh and have a net worth of at least ₹225 crore per GWh of committed capacity and produce batteries. For every battery sold, they could claim up to ₹2,000 per KWh as subsidy. There were other caveats though: companies had to achieve 25% Domestic Value Addition (DVA) within two years and reach 60% DVA by the fifth year.
Also Read | What is India’s latest approach to localising EV manufacturing?
In the first auction round of the ACC PLI scheme, three companies were selected as beneficiaries: Ola Electric, Reliance New Energy, and Rajesh Exports. Ola Electric was awarded a capacity of 20 GWh; Reliance New Energy initially secured 15 GWh in the first round and subsequently won an additional 10 GWh in the second auction round; and Rajesh Exports was awarded a capacity of 5 GWh.
Also Read | Centre notifies guidelines to boost electric car production
The scheme mandates that beneficiaries commission their facilities within a two-year “gestation period,” a target deemed unrealistic for building complex gigafactories from scratch in a nascent market. Additionally, the DVA requirements have been difficult because India lacks sufficient facilities for processing minerals, lithium, nickel and cobalt. Secondly, the scheme’s evaluation criteria prioritised DVA and subsidy benchmarks over prior manufacturing experience. Thus, established battery players like Exide and Amara Raja did not qualify, leaving the project in the hands of novices who are still building foundational technical competencies. Finally, India’s dependency on China for raw material, technical competency and knowhow has led to sluggish progress. A major bottleneck is the delay in visa approvals for Chinese technical specialists, as India lacks skilled workforce for cell manufacturing.
Also Read | China files complaint against India in World Trade Organisation over EV, battery subsidies
Immediate recommendations include fast-tracking visas for technical experts and extending implementation timelines by at least one year to waive current penalties. Long-term success will require schemes for critical mineral refining and component manufacturing, alongside focused R&D and talent development.
Published – February 01, 2026 02:10 am IST
A hidden immune cascade linking the gut and bone marrow may explain how IBD turns inflammation into colon cancer. Scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine have identified a complex immune process in the gut that may help explain why people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) face a much higher risk of colorectal cancer. The preclinical study […]
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A bacterium best known for causing gum disease may also influence how breast cancer begins and spreads. A team at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy reports that a mouth-dwelling bacterium tied to periodontal disease could help set breast cancer in motion and make it more aggressive. In […]
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A new study suggests that the impact of obesity on the brain may depend not only on total body fat, but also on where that fat is stored. The research, published today in Radiology, the flagship journal of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), highlights the importance of fat distribution in understanding brain health […]
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Meta Platforms is set to face trial next week in a lawsuit brought by the state of New Mexico accusing it of exposing children and teens to sexual exploitation on its platforms and profiting from it, the first case of its kind against the social media giant to reach a jury.
The lawsuit, brought by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, a Democrat, alleges the company promoted illegal content and enabled the sexual exploitation of children on its Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp platforms. The lawsuit claims Meta allowed predators unfettered access to underage users and connected them with victims, often leading to real-world abuse and human trafficking.
The trial, which is set to begin with jury selection on Monday in Santa Fe District Court, is expected to last seven or eight weeks.
Meta denies the allegations and says it has extensive safeguards in place to protect younger users.
The case grew out of an undercover operation, which Torrez, a former prosecutor, and his office ran in 2023. As part of the case, investigators created accounts on Facebook and Instagram posing as users younger than 14. The accounts received sexually explicit material and were contacted by adults seeking similar content, leading to criminal charges against three individuals, according to Torrez’s office.
The state also accuses Meta of designing its platforms to maximize engagement despite evidence they were harming children’s mental health. Features like infinite scroll and auto-play videos keep kids on the site, fostering addictive behavior that can lead to depression, anxiety and self-harm, the lawsuit claims.
According to the complaint, internal company documents acknowledged the problems with sexual exploitation and mental health harms. Yet the company, the state says, did not institute basic safety tools like age verification and misrepresented the safety of using its platforms, according to the complaint.
The state is seeking monetary damages, as well as an order directing Meta to make changes to improve children’s safety while using the platforms.
In a statement ahead of the trial, a Meta spokesperson called New Mexico’s arguments “sensationalist, irrelevant and distracting” and said they were based on cherry-picked documents.
“For over a decade, we’ve listened to parents, worked with experts and law enforcement, and conducted in-depth research to understand the issues that matter most,” the spokesperson said. “We’re proud of the progress we’ve made, and we’re always working to do better.”
Meta has argued that the company is shielded from liability in the case by the free-speech protections of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which generally bars lawsuits against websites over user-generated content. The state’s allegations of harms cannot be separated from the content on the platforms, because its algorithms and design features serve to publish content, the company has said.
A spokesperson for the New Mexico Department of Justice said ahead of the trial that the agency looked forward to presenting the case in court, as it would allow it “to present the jury with documents and testimony gathered over more than two years of litigation.”
Meta has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years over the safety of child and teen users, spurred in part by whistleblower testimony before Congress in 2021 that alleged the company knew its products could be harmful but refused to act. Last year, Reuters reported that an internal policy document allowed the company’s chatbots to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual.”
Meta confirmed the document’s authenticity, but said it removed language permitting flirtation and romantic role-play with minors after Reuters asked questions about it. The report prompted lawmakers to seek data on the platforms’ impact on children and the effectiveness of its parental controls. Evidence about the company’s AI chatbots is expected to be presented at the trial.
Meta is also facing thousands of lawsuits accusing it and other social media companies of intentionally designing their products to be addictive to young people, leading to a nationwide mental health crisis. Some of the lawsuits, which have been filed in both state and federal courts, seek damages in the tens of billions of dollars, according to Meta’s filings with financial regulators.
Meta has denied those claims and also argued that Section 230 shields it from liability in those cases. The company says it has taken many steps that have reduced youth engagement and growth in order to promote safety. The first trial in those cases kicked off in Los Angeles earlier this week. Alphabet’s Google and Meta are the only remaining defendants in that case after TikTok and Snap reached settlements with the plaintiff.
Published – January 31, 2026 03:51 pm IST