Fungal attack in apple orchards across the valley

WIDESPREAD FUNGAL infection is set to hit apple production in Kashmir this season.

SHRINKING WORLD OF CHANGPAS

The Changpas are trans-Himalayan nomads. For ages, they have roamed the Changthang region of southeastern Ladakh, cut off from the world. Some accounts say they travelled across the Himalayas to arrive here around the 8th century. Located at an altitude of 4,500 metres, life in this arid, vast and rugged plateau is hard. Winters are very long, summers short and vegetation scarce. As a result, the Changpas have led a pastoral life. They rear Changthangi goat, from whose under coat comes the famous pashmina wool. The goats graze on the mountainsides, feeding on seasonal grasses. The weather, however, has changed in the past few decades. The winters and summers are warmer, and there is a perceptive decline in precipitation and snowfall between November and March. This has drastically reduced the size of the grazing grounds and the Changpas now have to shift locations more frequently. RITAYAN MUKHERJEE captures the changing lifestyle of the Changpas

Collateral damage

India’s latest plan to save its vultures from dying due to drugs used on cattle offers little hope

PURE TRASH

THE GOVERNMENT’S NEW PROPOSAL ON EXTENDED PRODUCER’S RESPONSIBILITY ON PLASTIC WASTE IS A MOCKERY OF THE COVID-19 REALITY WE FACE TODAY

Gated farming societies

An agritech startup in Bengaluru is helping city dwellers own and manage farms for long-term wealth benefits

2020 Endless Fallouts

COVID-19 has turned the clock back in terms of global health and development indices. The recovery will be long and arduous for a world facing climate change on an unprecedented scale. Indicators are already there that the year ahead will be turbulent

Question Of Ecological Identity

ISHAN KUKRETI speaks to a legislator, an anthropologist and legal experts to make sense of this simmering debate

How Obesity Leads to Male Infertility

More than 135 million individuals were affected by obesity in India. Prevalence of obesity in India is varying from rural to urban and state-wise.

Fungal co-infection as an aggravated challenge for treatment of Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is a contagious disease caused by bacteria called Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), a serious problem for the whole world. TB is one of the top 10 causes of deaths worldwide.

Mutation in Coronavirus have made it more contagious

Mutation is a change in a DNA sequence. Mutations can result from DNA copying mistakes made during cell division, exposure to ionizing radiation, exposure to chemicals called mutagens, or infection by viruses. Viruses are continuously changing as a result of genetic selection. They undergo subtle genetic changes through mutation and major genetic changes through recombination. Mutation occurs when an error is incorporated in the viral genome. Recombination occurs when coinfecting viruses exchange genetic information, creating a novel virus.-Medical Microbiology

Storage and distribution of coronavirus Vaccines at Subzero Temperatures Will Be Hard in India

The extreme low temperature of minus 70 degrees Celsius required for storing a potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer poses a big challenge for its delivery in a developing nation like India, especially in its smaller towns and rural areas where maintaining such cold chain facilities would be very difficult, AIIMS Director- Dr Randeep Guleria

Plant Micro RNAs - Sustainable Alternatives for Crop Protection

The growth and productivity of crops is highly dependent on several environmental stresses such as soil pH and texture, climate change leading to high rainfall or drought, temperature extremities, insects, several pests and pathogens.

How Does Indian Feluda paper strip COVID-19 Test Work?

The paper-strip uses cutting-edge CRISPR gene-editing technology to identify and target the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in less than an hour. The test has been approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for use in the country.

Collateral impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Tuberculosis burden and management

1. Environmental Pollution and Analysis Lab, Industrial Research and Scientific Innovations, Bhiwadi 2. Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Haryana, Gurugram

Climate Change and Its Impact on the Marine Ecosystems in Tropical Fisheries

Coastal communities mainly depend on fisheries for their food security, livelihood and economic development.

Air Pollution And Covid-19: A Dangerous Mix

Air pollution is a mixture of solid particles and gases in the air. Car emissions, chemicals from factories, dust, pollen and mold spores may be suspended as particles.

We need pure honey

It is time we outwitted the business of adulteration. This requires government to act decisively. It needs industry to be made responsible. It needs consumers to be made aware of the purity of the honey they consume. This demands change

When we spiked honey with Chinese and Indian 'all-pass' syrups

If the samples passed the tests for purity, it would show that such syrups worked

Leads to China

Tracking down the imported syrup being used for honey adulteration

Panchayat Incorporated

Twenty20, which established a corporate panchayat in Kerala in 2015, is expanding its realm during the local body polls this year. How sustainable is the option? JINOY JOSE P KOCHI, KERALA

Indian passage for adulteration

Manufacturing of adulterant syrups has begun closer home

THE HONEY TRAP

INVESTIGATION INTO THE BUSINESS OF ADULTERATION OF HONEY

LABORATORY TESTS OF HONEY WE CONSUME

HONEY WHICH PASSED INDIAN STANDARDS FAILED WHEN TESTED USING EQUIPMENT THAT CAN DETECT MODIFIED SUGAR SYRUP

Immunity booster or buster?

What makes honey special and why honey adulterated with sugar is bad

How we broke honeygate

An undercover operation to contact Chinese sellers of sugar syrup brought to light the shady business

Adulteration business

As tests became more advanced and could detect adulteration, the industry has evolved and found new adulterants

जीवाश्म पर अधिकार भू-स्वामि का

हाल ही में मोन्टाना के सर्वोच्च न्यायालय के एक फैसले ने जीवाश्म विज्ञानियों को राहत दी है।

डॉल्फिन साथियों से सीखती हैं शिकार का नया तरीका

लगभग दस साल पहले पश्चिमी ऑस्ट्रेलिया की शार्क बे में वैज्ञानिकों का ध्यान बॉटलनोज़ डॉल्फिन (Tursiops aduncus) के विचित्र व्यवहार की ओर गया था। उन्होंने देखा कि ये डॉल्फिन किसी मछली को विशाल घोंघों की खाली खोल के अंदर ले जाती हैं।

बकरियों का पालतू गुण

बकरियां सख्तजान होती हैं। इन्होंने कोलंबस के साथ अटलांटिक महासागर की लंबी यात्राएं कीं और मेफ्लावर तीर्थ यात्रियों के साथ रहीं इस दौरान सूखे और परजीवियों का सामना किया। हाल ही में एक शोध ने इनकी सहनशीलता की उत्पत्ति का खुलासा किया है।

एक झींगे की तेज़ गति वाली आंखें

एक मामूली माचिस की तीली जितने बड़े स्नैपिंग झींगे (Alpheus heterochaelis) अपने जबड़ों को झटके से बंद करके ऊंची आवाज़ निकालने के लिए मशहूर हैं। इस आवाज़ के कंपन से उनका शिकार या शत्रु भौंचक्का रह जाता है। इन्हें पिस्तौल झींगा भी कहते हैं। और अब शोधकर्ताओं ने जबड़ों की इस रफ्तार से मेल खाती उनकी दृष्टि की भी खोज की है।