Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of HC Singla Vs State of Punjab dated 31/10/2022. The matter is related to biological pollution by the Susri insect. This pollution is being caused due to decaying grains, due to negligence in storage arrangements of grains by Food Corporation of …
if you are living with lizards in your house, don't crib. Once in a while, one of them might drop on your table, but most of the time they are doing you a favour: free pest control. Beyond common sense, experts say there is a link between biological diversity and …
climate change is forcing plants and animals away from their native habitats to more congenial ones. A recent survey of plants in the uk found that species favouring higher temperature like orchids and ferns that used to be found in southern parts of the country are now flourishing in the …
In the 1960s, two of the world's best-known biologists collaborated to propose a theory that was to revolutionise the world of ecology and, later, conservation. Robert Macarthur, a geographical ecologist, and Edward Wilson, famous for his work on insect societies, wrote a monograph on the theory of island biogeography. This …
healthy milk: Consuming non-fat (skimmed) milk products can halve the risk of hypertension, claims a study by scientists at the University of Navarra, Spain, and Alvaro Alonso, a researcher in the School of Public Health at Harvard University in the US. The study evaluated the relationship between the consumption of …
thevisual system of bees is more sophisticated than believed, claims a study conducted at the University College London (ucl) that showed the insects solved complicated colour puzzles. The study sheds light on how brain resolves one of the most difficult challenges of vision: recognising different surfaces under different colours of …
infinite genomes: Scientists at the Institute for Genomic Research in the US claim researchers might never fully describe some bacteria and viruses because their genomes are infinite. Each strain of a species may yield significant new genes, conclude Herv
mosquito repellent: A bird found in Alaska is believed to emit a natural mosquito repellent, according to Hector Douglas, a researcher at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. The crested auklet gives off a citrus smell that repels mosquitoes and pests such as ticks and lice. An analysis of the chemicals …
a bug that thrives in bogs, ponds and lakes could help reduce the incidence of filariasis, claims a group of researchers from the Entomology and Wildlife Research Unit of the Calcutta University and the Darjeeling Government College. The insect, Sphaerodema annulatum, preys on the immature stages (larva and pupa) of …
A severe locust invasion has destroyed large tracts of cotton and grain crops in Uzbekistan's Kashkadarya province. All attempts by farmers and Uzbek authorities to contain the crisis have proved futile. Insecticides are being sprayed on farmlands from planes and farms are provided with the facility to use a special …
Drought-hit Cameroon is surely heading towards severe food shortage, thanks to a locusts. a recent statement by the country's agriculture and rural development minister Clobert Tchatat said swarms of migratory locusts have invaded all the six divisions of the Far North province. Radio reports from the region said the insects …
the advocates of transgenic crops recently received a big blow from the findings of the largest ever study into the ecological impact of these crops, published recently in Proceedings of the Royal Society B:Biological Sciences . The three-year study commissioned by the uk government suggests that some genetically modified crops …
An alarming plunge in the number of monarch butterflies migrating from the US and Canada to Mexican winter colonies has experts worried. Although masses of sleeping butterflies still hang like clumps of dead leaves from branches in the El Rosario sanctuary in central Mexico, biologists say their population this year …
farthest galaxies: The most distant cluster of galaxies yet has been revealed by astronomers to lie 9 billion light-years away. That beats the 8.5 billion light-years' distance of the previous record holder, says Christopher Mullis, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, US, who led the team. The new …
Termites form an important part of the diet of human beings around the world including India. Many South Indian tribes including 'Kannikaran', 'Paniyan', 'Palliyan', 'Sholaga', 'Irular' and 'Kota' have been using the termite Odontermes formosanus Shiraki for the treatment of ashtma.
Pakistan swarmed: Pakistani crops are facing the risk of widespread locust attack and spread of Leishmaniasis disease. This is because the country's Plant Protection Department (PPD) cannot undertake aerial spraying of crops: all its aircraft are grounded, either due to fund shortage or technical problems. "Out of 20 aircraft, only …
using cotton gin residue: US researchers have found the waste generated when cotton is ginned (seeds separated from fibre) can yield valuable products. They have developed manufacturing processes to extract specific chemicals and make two products
chinese scientists have mapped the genome (genetic make-up) of silkworm (Bombyx mori), a moth economically important to a large number of people in Asia, including about six million in India. The work, by a battery of 93 scientists drawn from several Chinese institutions, appeared in the December 10 issue of …
The grasslands in China are fast depleting and the food habits of the country's insect population are to blame. Nearly 75,000 hectares of grasslands in five counties and cities have been attacked by swarms of locusts, caterpillars and bugs. According to Wang Wei, an official with the local livestock and …
