Sterile measure

Maharashtra and Gujarat propose to sterilise leopards to control their booming population, amid rising conflicts between the animal and humans. Is the plan feasible?

Flood-proof Himalayas

Spatial planning, nature-based solutions can make cities in Hindu Kush Himalaya climate-resilient

Decoding organic

“FOR THE past three years, my tomato crop has not been infested by a single pest. I have got a healthy and sizable yield. My spinach, too, has flourished,” says Kamraj of Govindapuram village in Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu.

Hybrid takeover

DALJIT SINGH usually harvests 10 tonnes of rice from his 1.5-hectare farmland. But in 2022, the yield was just 1.9 tonnes. Most of the crop was dwarfed due to a Fiji virus infection. \"I had used hybrid seeds manufactured by German company Bayer.

How companies got their way on biodiversity

Amendments to the Biodiversity Act let companies off the hook on having to share the benefits of using biological resources

SANITATION CRUSADER

Bindeshwar Pathak's steadfast determination improved the state of public sanitation in India

RAINY RAJASTHAN

The harsh deserts of Rajasthan bear testimony to human adaptability and ingenuity. They receive just 300 mm of annual rain, making Rajasthan India's driest state. Yet they are home to a third of the state's population and, by some estimates, the most populous deserts in the world.

Algae: A Super Future Food For Sustainable Nutrition

Microalgae: That speculative future meal might not sound very appealing, but microalgae are packed with proteins, essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals-including vitamins A, B1, B2, C, and E, iron, calcium and folic acid.

Novel molecules fight viruses by bursting their bubble-like membranes

Antiviral therapies are notoriously difficult to develop, as viruses can quickly mutate to become resistant to drugs. But what if a new generation of antivirals ignores the fast-mutating proteins on the surface of viruses and instead disrupts their protective layers?

Six Foods to Boost Cardiovascular Health

A study led by McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences researchers at the Population Research Health Institute (PHRI) has found that not eating enough of six key foods in combination is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adults.

How Breast Milk Boosts the Brain

A new study by scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University suggests that a micronutrient in human breast milk provides significant benefit to the developing brains of newborns, a finding that further illuminates the link between nutrition and brain health and could help improve infant formulas used in circumstances when breastfeeding isn't possible.

New exoplanet discovery builds better understanding of planet formation

An international team of scientists have discovered an unusual Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a low-mass star called TOI-4860, located in the Corvus constellation.

Grow-your-own households eat more fruit and vegetables and waste less

Household fruit and vegetable production, in allotments and gardens, could be key to a healthy and food-secure population, a new study from the University of Sheffield has found.

Top fish predators could suffer wide loss of suitable habitat by 2100 due to climate change

A study of 12 species of highly migratory fish predators including sharks, tuna, and billfish such as marlin and swordfish finds that most of them will encounter widespread losses of suitable habitat and redistribution from current habitats in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean (NWA) and the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) by 2100. These areas are among the fastest-warming ocean regions and are projected to increase between 1-6°C (+1-10°F) by the end of the century, a sign of climate-driven changes in marine ecosystems.

About 1 in 3 vertebrate species is used, eaten or traded by humans, study finds

A cheetah pouncing on a gazelle. A bear snatching a fish out of the water with its claws.

Mars: new evidence of an environment conducive to the emergence of life

The surface of Mars, unlike the Earth's, is not constantly renewed by plate tectonics.

How to overcome the multi-drug resistance (MDR) in bacteria?

Multi drug resistance (MDR) is a major hurdle faced by medical personals around the globe while treating severe bacterial infections. Such infections may either arise due to some diseased condition or as a result of postsurgical side effects.

Gene therapy hope for children with kidney disease

Researchers at the University of Bristol have made a remarkable step forward in finding a potential cure for a type of childhood kidney disease.

Indian long pepper (Pippali): a wonder plant

Long pepper (Piper longum L.) commonly known as Pippali, Indian or Javanese long pepper is a slender, aromatic plant grown for its small red spikes which are tremendously used in traditional medicine systems.

Using big data on livestock farms could improve antimicrobial resistance surveillance

A new study suggests that using big data and machine learning in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance in livestock production methods could help inform interventions and offer protections against germs that are becoming resistant to antibiotics.

Pig kidney xenotransplantation performing optimally after 32 days in human body

Surgeons at NYU Langone Health have transplanted a genetically engineered pig kidney that continues to function well after 32 days in a man declared dead by neurologic criteria and maintained with a beating heart on ventilator support.

Researchers discovered that various species share a similar mechanism of molecular response to nanoparticles

Researchers at FHAIVE FHAIVE (Finnish Hub for Development and Validation of Integrated Approaches), Tampere University, have discovered a new response mechanism specific to exposure to nanoparticles that is common to multiple species.

Climate Change Behind July Heat

ANTHROPOGENIC EMISSIONS made the heatwaves seen in North America and Europe 1,000 times more likely, according to latest analysis by World Weather Attribution (WWA).

Forests up for grabs?

The amended Forest Conservation Act opens up large swathes of forestland for different non-forest activities

On the precipice

A collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation may put other climate systems at risk

17 MILLION MISSING

India has missed as many as 16.84 million artificial inseminations of cattle and buffaloes during the two years of COVID-19 pandemic, shows an analysis by Down To Earth. This is likely to have a long-lasting impact on the country's milk production. An analysis by SHAGUN

Plastic solutions

India needs robust data, along with recycling infrastructure to curb plastic pollution in rural India

Silent saviour

A single-handed mission to ensure that Kashmir's majestic chinar trees do not disappear from its landscape

HOW ROBUST IS INDIA'S TIGER CENSUS

During the 50th anniversary celebrations of Project Tiger on April 9 this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the animal's population in India had increased to 3,167. Less than four months later, on July 29, a new set of numbers were released that pegged the population at 3,682 tigers; over 500 more than the April estimate. This has sparked debates over the accuracy of tiger census. RAJAT GHAI speaks to government officials and independent experts to decode the riddle of tiger estimation:

Frittering away Nehru's momentous legacy

India initiated production of critical drugs in 1951 with the aid of UN bodies to keep out patent blocks-a model we have forgotten