Hyderabad, June 30: What do trees and plants have to do with the research output of an institution? Scientists at the National Geophysical Research Institute in Hyderabad believe that greenery on their campus is helping them produce more research papers than their counterparts elsewhere in the world. The NGRI has about 16,400 trees on its campus at Habsiguda. It is going to lose about 300 trees to road widening which the institute plans to compensate by planting 4,000 trees. NGRI director Dr V.P. Dimri argues that his team has produced more research papers than those in other institutes for the simple reason that it has a vast expanse of greenery. And none other than Dr G. Madhavan Nair, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, agrees with Dr Dimri. NGRI has produced 1 per cent of total geo-science research publications worldwide. One of its former directors, Dr Harsh Kumar Gupta, has bagged the prestigious award presented by the American Geophysical Research Institute which has has more than 50,000 scientists on its rolls. The secret behind the success of NGRI team is the unlimited oxygen pumped in by the campus trees. More oxygen means more energy and alertness. And more brain power. The brain, after all, needs more oxygen to function. If we reduce the oxygen supply to the brain, it becomes dull and the intelligence output is relatively low. NGRI is the only research institute in Hyderabad and perhaps in the country which has such a large number of trees on the campus. Talking of oxygen and scientists' intelligence, one is reminded of the oxygen chambers the Hyderabad police had once set up to provide pure oxygen to its personnel who work amidst vehicular emissions. The oxygen chambers did not work well with the police for obvious reasons, and there's no news about them now. In the initial days, the policemen were directed to spend at least half an hour in the chambers to get a fresh whiff of oxygen. Then the department shifted to pollution masks and later to goggles. And yet the traffic snarls in Hyderabad continue and people suffer because of poor traffic management. Perhaps only a scientific study will reveal the secret behind the paradox: oxygen helping scientists produce more research papers and the same oxygen failing to yield the desired results when it comes to traffic cops!