Atom's energy can keep the world powered and the Nature calm

Humanity would never wish to face calamities, at the same time it won't choose to live in darkness either. But, I am afraid we are well on our way to one of these.

4-Fluorouridine is an oral antiviral that blocks SARS-CoV-2 replication

According to a research paper published in science journal, 4′fluorouridine (4′-FlU, EIDD-2749), a ribonucleoside analog that inhibits RSV, related RNA viruses, and SARSCoV-2 with high selectivity index in cells and human airway epithelia organoids.

Top 10 Science Stories Of 2021

Thrilling Science and technology discoveries, hurdles in the fight against Covid and Tadvancements in space exploration defined the past year

VOICE OF SILENT VALLEY

M K Prasad spread environmental consciousness until his last breath

SITTING DUCK

Food inflation is at an unprecedented high across the world. Crop loss due to extreme weather events is behind the spiralling prices. The cycle can be interrupted only if farmers have access to robust weather forecast mechanisms and crop insurance schemes

An unusual contest

Rajasthan's state bird, the great Indian bustard, might lose its last natural habitat to wind and solar power plants

Patchy growth

Forests and trees now cover one-quarter of India's geography. But this is not necessarily good news

HOPE DEFERRED

With the pandemic near endemicity, an effective and widely available treatment for COVID-19 would be a significant breakthrough for managing the viral infection. Are we there yet? TARAN DEOL, NEW DELHI

Good riddance

A firm develops safer devices that use light and sound to reduce human-wildlife conflicts DAKSHIANI PALICHA

AN ETCH IN TIME

Santhali communities of Odisha and Jharkhand re changing their ways of painting Sohrai murals

2021 Was Earth's Sixth-Hottest Year

THE YEAR 2021 was the fifth warmest for India since 1901. The "Climate of India during 2021" report published by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on January 15 says annual mean temperature of the country was 0.44oC above the long period average (LPA).

Viva Cuba For Its Vaccine Revolution

Punching way above its weight, the tiny nation has developed five vaccines, and offers hope of vaccine equity across the world

A GENERATION INTERRUPTED

Children born today might be the next development challenge for the world

RESIDUAL PANDEMIC

There is a huge number of people who have defeated COVID-19, but continue to suffer its debilitating long-term effects RAVLEEN KAUR IN SURAT, GUJARAT

UNPREPARED STILL

World enters an endless loop of disease outbreaks and remains dangerously unprepared for such crises even in third year of the COVID-19 pandemic

RISING MERCURY IS MAKING NEPAL GLACIERS VULNERABLE

Changing nature of glaciers and glacial lakes make the Himalayas one of the most climate vulnerable regions on the planet. RIJAN BHAKTA KAYASTHA, a glaciologist at the Himalayan Cryosphere, Climate and Disaster Research Center, Kathmandu University in Nepal, speaks to AKSHIT SANGOMLA about glaciers in Nepal and the impact of climate change on them

We Are Not At Peace With Nature

What can I wish for in the middle of a pandemic? It is not going to be a “new” year if we continue with our foolish ways of managing the planet

Omicron Unlikely To Increase Threat In Children

Hasty vaccination of healthy young people will have little benefit

SUN, SALT AND SAND

Use of solar-powered pumps for salt manufacturing has not just helped Gujarat's Agariya community fight the rising fuel costs, but also drastically cut their carbon emissions

Protracted struggle

Despite legal win, three tribal villages in Andhra Pradesh are still fighting the state to save their land from mining

Calling out Albert Bourla and Big Pharma

Omicron is the result of leading vaccine makers and rich nations' failure to provide equitable supplies of jabs against COVID-19

On thin ice

Reduced snowfall and high temperatures have upturned the lives of people in the Himalayan cold desert

For A Sustainable Farm Sector

A look at strategies and pathways to make Indian agriculture resilient in a changing climate and help the country fulfil commitments it made at COP26

Some more unequal

The world today is richer than ever, but the wealth gap between the rich and the poor has also widened to levels last seen at the height of imperialism 200 years ago

RAINING FOR 60 DAYS

Incessant heavy rains over south India for the past two months indicate a drastic change in the country’s monsoon system and hint at the new climate extremes of a perpetually warming world

Plant protection authority sets right its potato blunder

A public campaign forced it to revoke registration of PepsiCo’s potato variety, but the agency needs to reset its priorities

Virus' Variant Ways

The third year of the global COVID-19 outbreak begins with a new variant, much like the earlier Delta variant that emerged at the start of the second year. Delta caused deadly waves, but the new variant, named Omicron, is more transmissible and shows signs of breaching acquired immunity. The world should be braced for a prolonged pandemic

Visiting Viruses

Are viruses good or bad? Should we really visit one? AWell, given the present times, the instant answer would be: viruses are bad and there is definitely no need to visit them. There is a reason why we are urgently following social distancing. The evidence? SARS-CoV-2, of course! We all know that this virus causes the novel coronavirus disease, wreaking havoc across the world since the end of 2019. It has turned our lives upside down because of its rapid infection spree. Not only COVID-19, but viruses also cause illnesses like Ebola, smallpox, influenza, SARS, MERS, and dengue. But, did you know that if it was not for some viruses, there would be no humans? They probably played a crucial role in human evolution. For the last few years, scientists around the world have been exploring these agents of change to unravel several mysteries associated with them.

PUSA spray: a breakthrough to reduce air pollution in Delhi NCR

Bengaluru-based firm “nurture.farm” is providing technology to aid farmers to spray decomposers over an unprecedented 5 lakh acres which proves to be a boon to the National Capital Region (NCR). The firm is offering a microbial bioenzyme “Boom spray” developed by Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) to help farmers across India to dispose stubble (crop residue) on their farms responsibly. The company is giving free service to farmers where spraying the bioenzyme, named “Pusa Decomposer”, and gets converted into manure, thereby improving the quality of soil. A technologyled solutions provider for sustainable agriculture, has signed up with more than 25,000 farmers, mostly in Punjab and Haryana, covering an area of over 5,00,000 acres. Thanks to IARI and nurture.farm for this innovative solution to poor air quality index.

Plastic and microplastic in marine environment

Modern lifestyles and Malmost all product categories incorporated plastic. It is one of the most widely used materials on earth. In contrast to metals, plastic is lightweight, strong, malleable material that is cheap. As useful as these characteristics are when plastics are used in everyday life, they can also be very hazardous when they are discarded into the environment. Because plastics are nearly indestructible and contain toxic material, plastic can seriously damage the environment (UNEP, 2005).