Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
CITIZEN'S groups in Pune monitor their municipal authorities closely to ensure they do not let the city become a concrete jungle. These groups insist on inspecting town plans, on offering alternative building proposals and on never relaxing the pressure on the authorities, whom they hold accountable to the people. Not …
THE LITERACY level of a country both reflects and influences its economic and social status. It also has a close bearing with a country's population growth rate. In India, the Kerala example shows the correlation clearly. Generally speaking, those states that have low female literacy levels have high growth rates, …
A TUSSLE over registration procedures for two new kinds of pesticides that could form the cornerstone of India's malaria eradication programme has ended, but the question of which one will be used is likely to be decided only much later, and this is adversely affecting the malaria eradication programme. The …
RICE AS grown in India is a water-guzzler, because farmers use on an average 15,000 litres to produce one kg of paddy, though water technologists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi say no more than 600 litres is needed if proper water management techniques are followed. Given …
Increasing instances of theft of plant species from Asian countries led delegates at a recent symposium of botanists in New Delhi to stress the need to recognise the importance of taxonomy - the science of classifying organisms. The UNESCO-sponsored meet was organised by Botany 2000-Asia, a network of Asian botanists. …
STAR MOSS, a primitive organism without roots or a vascular system that is common in the forests of North America, contains genes that could be used to engineer drought resistance in crops. Molecular biologist Mel Oliver of the US Department of Agriculture's Plant Stress and Water Conservation Lab in Texas …
Union urban development minister Sheila Kaul has presented Laurie Baker, the innovative architect lauded for his low-cost construction techniques, with the United Nations Habitat Scroll of Honour for 1992. The award was presented to him on World Habitat Day (October 5). Baker has a simple rule-of-thumb for deciding which material …
INDIAN meteorologists are on cloud nine. They had forecast 92 per cent average seasonal rainfall for the country in the 1992 southwest monsoons - and the predictions came true almost to the last drop. The 1992 monsoon was sluggish at the onset after being delayed in most of the country …
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 …
The recently released environmental impact assessment of Chilika Aquatic Farms Ltd (CAFL) by the public sector Water and Power Consultancy Services (WAPCOS) gives a clean chit to the project,owned jointly by the Houses of Tata and the Orissa state government and forest minister Kamal Nath criticised in July the WAPCOS …
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 …
Despite hectic campaigning by the groups opposed to the Narmada dam plus a hefty boost from the anti-dam salvo fired by Bradford Morse and Thomas Berger, who formed a two-member independent review commission, the World Bank has taken a decision to continue funding the Sardar Sarovar project. However, in April …
Can earthquakes be forecast? After investing one billion dollars in a 30-year earthquake prediction programme, Japanese scientists have virtually admitted failure (Nature, Vol 358 No 6835). A recent review of the programme by Japanese officials indicated several abnormal phenomena could not be objectively identified as quake precursors. For instance, earthquake …
A SEXUALLY abused child is more vulnerable to vitimisation as an adult such torture in childhood, said Shodha Srinath, assistant professor at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurological Sciences in Bangalore. Srinath was speaking at a seminar on child rape, organised in New Delhi by the National Commission …
WITH DEPLETION of groundwater heavy in many parts of the country and rich farmers almost monopolising water resources, the Union government is renewing efforts to get states to control groundwater extraction. Last month, the water resources ministry circulated a model bill on groundwater use, making obtaining of permits compulsory and …
Thanks to the foresight of an American plant collector 20 years ago, several bean varieties are today resistant to a pest scientists had given up trying to control. During a trip to southern Mexico, H S Gentry recognised a wild vine considered a useless weed was, in fact, a wild …
IN JUST two years, India's sesame seed exports have fallen dramatically -- by more than 75 per cent. While the government says this is due to higher prices in the domestic market, oilseed exporters contend it is because residues of banned pesticides have been detected in sesame seeds by importing …
The belief that more girls die of diseases because of neglect is not necessarily true, according to a study of measles in rural Senegal. The study suggests the severity of the disease is determined by the nature of infection and the sex of the person who transmitted it (The Lancet, …
Scientists at the US National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory have developed a portable laser scanner than can accurately measure soil roughness, a key determinant of erosion. The laser scans the microscopic ridges in the soil and transmits the data to a computer that produces a microtopographic map of the area. …
AGRICULTURE IN south India has traditionally been based upon small-scale irrigation, using tanks, wells and river water. In this system, temples were not merely places of worship but played a pivotal role in irrigation management. They represented the crystallisation of community efforts, which explains why Tamil Nadu chief minister J …
