The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has published the R&D; Roadmap for Green Hydrogen Ecosystem in India. This document was published on 13th October, 2023. One of the central pillars of the National Green Hydrogen Mission is the establishment of a supportive research and innovation ecosystem for green hydrogen …
SCIENTISTS from the University of Michigan in the US have discovered that stony lumps of calcium carbonate, known as otoliths, found in the ears of most fishes, can offer clues to seasonal temperatures thousands or even millions of years ago (Science, Vol 258 No 5085). The finding has given a …
EVERY year, thousands of industrial workers all over the country fall prey to various occupational diseases. Most of the cases go undiagnosed or fail to get proper treatment, until it is too late. For instance, agricultural workers are susceptible to diseases caused by contact with chemical pesticides, whereas, illnesses such …
MOST OF us at some point of time have stayed up all night. The next day finds us slightly under the weather. Why does this happen? Why do some people cope better with night shifts, while other find it easier to work early in the morning? The world we live …
NEW FORMS of nutritional diseases can appear with environmental change, warns C Gopalan, former ICMR director-general. Increased use of chemical fertilisers with intensive cropping results is steadily depleting the soil of micronutrients such as sulphur, iron, manganese, zinc and cop- per. A majority of soils and crops in Andhra- Pradesh, …
AS INDIA plodded along the road. to world market integration, structural reforms initiated in 1991 resulted in the government's near- total dependence on market forces for price corrections. A study by S P Gupta, research director at the New Delhi-based Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, indicates growth …
AN ENVIRONMENTALLY safe, biotechnological toxin that kills mosquito larvae has been produced by the Centre for Biotechnology (CBT) at Anna University in Tamil Nadu. Named Biocide-S because it is produced from the Bacillus sphaericus bacterium, the pesticide has been successfully field-tested in a yearlong project at Kochi in Kerala. The …
CHINESE science is going the market way. A new policy recommends the withdrawal of state funding for twothirds of the country's research scientists. But scientists protest their work has vital relevance to industry. Researchers fear that the new policy, which may only be a short-term measure to counter recession, will …
SOME PLANTS produce two types of flowers - starninate (males) and bisexual. Scientists thought the role of starninate flowers was more to attract agents of pollination than to donate pollen. But new research shows that while larger floral displays attract more pollinators, staminate flowers are more effective in the dispersal …
SCIENTISTS have enhanced the nutritional value of the potato by inserting a synthetic gene into the plant and are now considering how to use genetic engineering to provide the plant with resistance to pests and disease. The International Potato Centre (CIP) in Peru collaborated with Louisiana State University to produce …
INDIA has shown commendable achievements in health and nutrition in the past 40 years and C Gopalan, former"director-general of the Indian Council of Medical Research, considers the "most outstanding achievement" to be the virtual banishment of large-scale famine. In a study recently released by the World Health Organisation (WHO), entitled …
MANY southeast Asian countries, including India, have been able to control several nutritional diseases such as kwashiorkor, beriberi and pellagra. Kwashiorkor, a form of malnutrition caused by protein deficiency, is especially prevalent among children. Pellagra, a disease caused by a deficiency of vitamins found in milk, liver and yeast, is …
PORTLAND cement may acquire a new, environmentally friendly, chemical composition. Researchers are focussing on how to reduce emissions from cement manufacture and also use less energy. Another area of research that has emerged recently examines the use of bauxite (aluminiuni oxide) and wastes such as fly ash, scrap iron and …
TRANSGENIC fish may soon be served at your favourite restaurant. Indian scientists are trying to genetically engineer certain fish species to make them grow larger faster. In this controversial technique, an organism is injected with genes from a foreign organism and once the transfer is accepted, a transgenic organism is …
WILDLIFE biologists no longer have to risk life and limb to catch a glimpse of elusive animals eager to protect their privacy. Thanks to technology, biologists can now sit back in the comfort of their offices and track the movements of seals and the rapacious foraging of elephants (Science, Vol …
The controversial Human Genome Project -- a collaborative effort to decode and understand the human genetic code in chromosomes -- is already showing results and is likely to be completed ahead of schedule (Nature, Vol 359 No 6394). The first maps of two human chromosomes -- the long arm of …
HOW do we restructure the economy of the rich world so that it can live in harmony with its environment and with that of the rest of the world? The state of North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) in Germany, which includes the cities of Bonn and Cologne, is one of the …
EVERY living thing was born at some time and must die, sooner or later. True, but the traditional assumption is that animals in the wild never live long enough to grow old. And, while old age is a "natural" cause of death for human beings, animals die earlier of "unnatural" …
CERTAIN wasps are inveterate nectar thieves. The wily insects sneak through the back door and loot nectar, damaging the flower and reducing chances of pollination and fruit formation (Current Science, Vol 26 No 10). Insects help in pollination by acting as carriers of pollen grains, picking them up from one …
EN ROUTE to the sun, the spacecraft Ulysses dropped in on planet Jupiter in February this year. Launched on October 6, 1990, by the space shuttle Discovery, Ulysses -- a joint venture of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the European Space Agency -- has sent home valuable information …
SCIENTISTS are discovering that specialised structures in the minute world of cells do not float randomly from place to place but are actively transported along well laid out tracks by a veritable menagerie of motor molecules (Science, Vol 256 No 5065). The motor molecules play a fundamental role in the …
