SHEAR DESPERATION

India's once thriving wool economy now depends on imports to sustain demand. Will the recent import of Australian Merino sheep for crossbreeding be enough to revive the sector?

युरोपीय लोगों के आगमन से पर्यावरण को नुकसान

लगभग पांच सौ वर्ष पूर्व युरोपीय खोजकर्ताओं ने न केवल कैरेबिया के मूल निवासियों के जीवन को तहस-नहस किया बल्कि पूरे पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र को भी काफी नुकसान पहुंचाया था। एक नए अध्ययन से पता चला है कि इस द्वीप पर रहने वाले लगभग 70 प्रतिशत सांप और छिपकलियां खत्म हो चुके हैं। इसके पीछे उपनिवेशकों के साथ आए बिल्ली, चूहों और रैकून को ज़िम्मेदार बताया जा रहा है।

टीकाः जोखिम बेहतर ढंग से समझाने की ज़रूरत

हज़ारों-लाखों वालंटियर्स पर किसी नई दवा या टीके को कारगर और सुरक्षित पाए जाने के बाद जब वही दवा या टीका करोड़ों को दिया जाता है तो सुरक्षा सम्बंधी कई मुद्दे सामने आते हैं।

क्या सार्स-कोव-2 हवा से फैलता है?

मार्च 2021 में डबल्यूएचओ द्वारा वित्तपोषित एक समीक्षा (कार्ल हेनेगन और साथी) के आधार पर निष्कर्ष निकाला गया है कि कोविड वायरस हवा के माध्यम से नहीं फैलता। यह निष्कर्ष जन स्वास्थ्य की दृष्टि से महत्वपूर्ण है।

सुंदरलाल बहुगुणाः पर्यावरण व वन संरक्षक

वयोवृद्ध पर्यावरणविद और चिपको आंदोलन के अग्रणी सुंदरलाल बहुगुणा का 21 मई को 94 वर्ष की उम्र में निधन हो गया। इसके दो हफ्ते पहले उन्हें कोविड-19 के चलते ऋषिकेश के एक अस्पताल में भर्ती किया गया था।

कोविड-19 के उपचार में नई दवाओं से उम्मीद

कोविड-19 के उपचार के लिए कई औषधियों के विकास पर काम चल रहा है। हाल ही में भारत में दो औषधियों को इलाज में आपातकालीन उपयोग की मंजूरी मिली है, व एक औषधि को क्लीनिकल परीक्षण की मंजूरी मिली है।

अमेरिकी शहद में परमाणु बमों के अवशेष

हाल ही में हुए एक अध्ययन के अनुसार लगभग पांच दशक पूर्व किए परमाणु बम परीक्षणों के अवशेष आज भी दिखाई दे रहे हैं। शोधकर्ताओं ने शहद में रेडियोधर्मी तत्व मौजूद पाया है। हालांकि शहद में रेडियोधर्मी तत्व का स्तर खतरनाक नहीं है, लेकिन अंदाज़ है कि 1970-80 के दशक में यह स्तर काफी अधिक रहा होगा।

SEED EXTRAORDINAIRE

SABJA ARE RICH IN FIBRE AND LEND THEMSELVES TO A VARIETY OF RECIPES

TRIPS waiver caught in WTO labyrinth

There is little change in the position of countries opposing the waiver, and the India-South Africa proposal is being made to go through the hoops at WTO

WEIGHT OF THE DEAD

TURNING THE GANGA INTO A GRAVEYARD FOR COVID-19 VICTIMS WILL BE DETRIMENTAL TO ITS AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM

FAMILIAL TIES

A few recently discovered early human fossils further complicate our evolutionary timeline

THE HEAT IS ON

The world is witnessing intense heatwaves on a global scale. Even cooler countries have reported heatrelated deaths and wildfires by the hundreds, and temperatures have broken all records. Scientists suspect the jet streams that control day-to-day weather have gone astray. An analysis by Down To Earth

Inefficient as always

In violation of guidelines, most coal power plants guzzle massive amounts of freshwater, even in water-stressed areas

NOT ONE TO BUDGE OR HIDE

More than a priest, Father Stan Swamy was a fearless activist

A POOR REPLICA

Hailed as Patna’s Marine Drive, the 20 km-Ganga Pathway Project will only make the capital city prone to flash floods and render the riverfront project redundant

Accidental protagonist

JANE JACOBS’ FIRST CITY IS A BEAUTIFUL DESCRIPTION OF THE EVOLUTION AND SURVIVAL OF THE SMALL INDUSTRIAL TOWN OF SCRANTON, MAKING THE CITY THE REAL PROTAGONIST IN THIS OTHERWISE HAGIOGRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF JANE JACOBS’ LIFE

Covaxin Data Silent On Protocol Breach

INDIA-MADE Covaxin shows 77.8 per cent effectiveness in symptomatic infections of sars-cov-2, as per the phase-3 clinical trial data released by the vaccine's manufacturer, Bharat Biotech. The preprint paper, uploaded to the online archive and distribution server medRxiv on July 2, says Covaxin has an efficacy of 93.4 per cent against severe covid-19 infections and 65.2 per cent against the Delta variant.

Development of Food grade Edible Growth Media Using Food processing by-products: Production and Delivery of Probiotics

Vegetarian probiotic foods by meaning must be free from all animal-derived ingredients. This not only includes the product ingredients but the probiotic inoculum as well.

Role of Backyard Poultry in Sustainable Rural Livelihood under Indian Perspectives

It is fact that people are becoming much health-conscious and they are incorporating more animal protein in their diet due to its beneficial effects.

Life span of the host increased by the parasite

Worker ants live longer if they are infected with parasite tapeworm. Tapeworm (Anomotaenia brevis) infected ant (Temnothorax nylanderi) workers have a longer life span than uninfected workers in the same ant colony.

Researchers identified the molecular basis of soybean seed coat color

Gene silencing is the process by which the activity of the genes is regulated so that a particular gene's expression can be prevented.

CANDIDIASIS: Management Through Probiotics

Candida yeast is a normal inhabitant of our skin, gastrointestinal tract, and mucous membranes, including the vagina, mouth, and nasal passages. These eukaryotes naturally live in the vagina but they are only problematic when the bacterial balance is exasperated.

Host range of SARS-CoV-2 holds the clue for prediction of future outbreaks

The pandemic- COVID-19, has completed its one year since its inception from the seafood market of Wuhan, China. Till to date this has taken 2.75 million human lives all over the world. Scientists are working round the clock to come with an effective vaccine.

Canadian geologist found the oldest water on earth

Dr Barbara Sherwood Lollar of the University of Toronto has extracted from a Canadian mine water that is 1.6 billion years old.

Zombie Genes: Genes That Come To Life In The Brain After Death

In the hours after we die, certain cells in the human brain are still active. Some cells even increase their activity and grow to gargantuan proportions, according to new research from the University of Illinois Chicago.

Monoclonal Antibody Cocktail – An Exceptional Game Changer For Covid Treatment In India

Immunity against a pathogen occurs either naturally or as a result of exposure to it. Vaccination is a biological procedure that stimulates the immune system of a person.

COVID-19. MAD SCRAMBLE

Inequitable distribution amid acute shortage has derailed the global vaccination drive against We need to act fast to win the race against emerging virus variants

Why is India afraid of compulsory licences?

While rich nations are discovering virtues of CLs, India has turned its back on this tool despite nudges from the court

‘Vapour on Venus will tell us if it's alive'

More than two-and-a-half decades after its last missions to Venus, NASA has planned a trip to Earth’s nearest neighbour. On June 2, the US space agency announced DAVINCI+ and VERITAS missions to the planet in 2028-30 under its Discovery Program, going on since 1992. Space agencies have explored Venus since the 1960s, but focus shifted around mid-1990s. Venus regained interest after researchers from the UK detected phosphine, a gas released through organic processes, in the Venusian atmosphere. A week after NASA, the European Space Agency announced a Venus mission later this decade. India and Russia, too, have been planning Venus probes. Described as Earth’s twin due to its similar size and density, Venus’s atmosphere is full of carbon dioxide and clouds of sulphuric acid with a surface temperature hot enough to melt lead. NASA’s DAVINCI+ (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging) will drop a descent sphere to measure the gases in Venus’ air, while VERITAS (Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy) will orbit the planet to map its geological features. We’ll also learn about phosphine, THOMAS P WAGNER, who leads the Discovery Program, tells DAKSHIANI PALICHA in an interview. Excerpts:

WAGING CHANGE

Guaranteed employment is an effective poverty alleviation tool. But it works only when governments know how to use it