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 …
THE NEXT time you pluck a flower, take care: you could hurt it. And, if you are a plant-lover, stop talking to them and try touching them instead. Researchers say seemingly passive plants can feel and react to touch in their own special way (New Scientist, Vol 136 No 1843). …
VICTIMS of Parkinson's, Huntington's and Alzheimer's diseases have reason to cheer: scientists may soon be able to treat -- if not cure -- their illnesses. Cyto Therapeutics, a US firm that develops cell implants, has signed an agreement with biologists Sam Weiss and Brent Reynolds of the University of Calgary …
A BRITISH laboratory and a US firm are collaborating to produce artificial blood after scientists overcame two obstacles that had hampered this effort. Attempts to use haemoglobin isolated from the red blood cells as "artificial" blood failed because it caused kidney damage and was unable to give up oxygen -- …
ZOOLOGISTS have always wondered why the females of two African antelope species repeatedly mated with only certain males. A further clue was provided by James Deutsch and Rory Nefdt of Cambridge University who discovered female antelopes always chose mates who occupied certain territories in the mating grounds. The researchers then …
NORTHERN donors are being forced to rethink their basics after the Rio conference. Prominent among these are the Swedish Agency for Research Cooperation with developing countries (SAREC) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), both of whom fund research projects in the developing world. Before they can get on with …
THE UZI fly, a dreaded parasite of the valuable silkworm, may soon have to look for other ways to survive because a hyperparasite has been discovered that breeds in its cocoon. Scientists at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) in Hyderabad have identified a wasp-like insect (Trichopria khandalus) that …
ACCORDING to the Book of Genesis in the Bible, God made Adam and then, not wanting him to feel lonely, took one of his ribs and created Eve. A simple explanation of why there are sexes and why there are only two. But try satisfying a scientist, or even a …
SCIENTIFIC research in America is under pressure to perform better -- economically. Despite the yield of Nobel prizes, "smart" weapons and electronic consumer goods after the government's $76-billion annual investment in scientific research, the US has been unable to stop countries like Japan from obtaining the commercial gains. Lasers and …
AFTER discovering that babies are not as passive and helpless as they appear to be, adults are trying to figure out whether infants can do sums. In 20 years of research, it has become known that babies can differentiate and even tell if someone's lip movements match the speech they …
SCIENTISTS D S J Choy and P Altman working at the Investigative Cardiology Laboratory attached to the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, USA, have turned their attention to dinosaur hearts (The Lancet, volume 340, number 8818). Intrigued by the sheer size of the Barosaurus, a long-necked dinosaur that …
A CENTRE for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics has been mooted by scientists at the Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) to help forensic experts establish the identity of criminals beyond reasonable doubt. But the proposal is caught in a tangle between the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), the home …
THE CREDIT for spreading the message of the wondrous properties of the neem goes to Chandrashekhar Mahadeo Ketkar, whose interest in the tree was piqued when he visited the quality control laboratory in Pune of the All India Non-edible Oil Industry Association to get some soil samples analysed. Association secretary …
THERE is widespread belief that global warming will melt the polar ice caps and submerge large areas of inhabited lands. But a review of the latest scientific research published in New Scientist (Vol 135 No 1833) points to a totally opposite possibility. Says Garry Davidson of the geology department at …
BEANS are one of the few crops grown for beauty as well as nutrition. Archaeologists in South America have excavated beautiful, multicoloured bean seeds buried with Indians 10,000 years ago. Analysis showed the Indians ate only fresh, young bean pods and seeds. Pottery, which made boiling beans possible, began only …
A GOOD night's sleep does wonders -- but not because it rests the tired brain as it has been proved that sleep is yet another form of mental activity. Scientists still have to identify the basic brain mechanism that brings about sleep and wakefulness or the real function of sleep, …
THE MEDICINAL and pesticidal properties of neem are beginning to excite interest the world over. In India, medical treatises going back thousands of years indicate that the tree is a rich source of medicinal compounds. The Neem Mission in Pune, set up by the promoter of neem, C M Ketkar, …
C M Ketkar Neem Mission 471 Shanwar Peth Pune 411 030 The Editor Neem Newsletter Division of Agricultural Chemicals Indian Agricultural Research Institute New Delhi 110 012 T S Subramaniam Conference Secretariat World Neem Conference Agricultural Research Centre International Business ITC (Seventh floor) Amrutha Topaz Somajiguda Hyderabad 500 482 Defence …
BELIEVE it or not, water that most people take for granted, is the most researched of liquids and scientists are still trying to determine why it is so fluid and why it has the extraordinary capacity of absorbing heat as its temperature rises. The answer probably lies in water's molecular …
"A plant in the backyard has no value," says an Indian proverb. This attitude, which has been the bane of Indian society -- and that of the nations of the South -- repeatedly tends to overlook the traditional in pursuit of the modern. These societies often forget that modern technology, …
THE DISCOVERY that bird brains call appreciate the finer nuances of music has a learn of scientists harmonising at Rockefeller University in New York. The scientists, led 13, Claudio Mello, have identified a Aile in song- birds that responds to music made by other birds. Scientists studying canaries and zebra …
