Science
Down To Earth
Deal With Delta
The global dominance of the Delta variant shows that mutations have kept SARS-CoV-2 ahead of the game
4 min |
August 01, 2021
Down To Earth
PANDEMIC OF STEROIDS
Steroids are essential in fighting infectious diseases. Used recklessly, they can cause life-threatening side effects like mucormycosis, as was witnessed in the aftermath of the pandemic’s second wave. COVID-19 is a new disease, and its treatments and dosages are constantly evolving. India will find it difficult to contain the disease unless the government can ensure timely dissemination and implementation of treatment protocols. A report by BANJOT KAUR
10+ min |
August 01, 2021
Down To Earth
FADING COLOUR
Establish farmer producer organisations to ensure that growers of the intensely flavourful golden Kandhamal turmeric do not turn away from it
3 min |
August 01, 2021
Down To Earth
OUT IN THE OPEN
Contrary to the government's claim of India being open defecation free, 15 per cent of Indians still go out to relieve themselves, says a WHO-UNICEF report
4 min |
August 01, 2021
Down To Earth
ROLE OF A LIFETIME
Dilip Kumar’s career coincided with a newly Independent India marred by many self-inflicted tragedies, and the roles he played resonated with a large section of people, cutting across classes
5 min |
August 01, 2021
Down To Earth
ON THIN AIR
Agriculture students demonstrate how aeroponics, once a niche and costly cultivation method, can help urban households
4 min |
August 01, 2021
Down To Earth
SHEAR DESPERATION
India's once thriving wool economy now depends on imports to sustain demand. Will the recent import of Australian Merino sheep for crossbreeding be enough to revive the sector?
7 min |
August 01, 2021
Down To Earth
Covaxin Data Silent On Protocol Breach
INDIA-MADE Covaxin shows 77.8 per cent effectiveness in symptomatic infections of sars-cov-2, as per the phase-3 clinical trial data released by the vaccine's manufacturer, Bharat Biotech. The preprint paper, uploaded to the online archive and distribution server medRxiv on July 2, says Covaxin has an efficacy of 93.4 per cent against severe covid-19 infections and 65.2 per cent against the Delta variant.
1 min |
July 16, 2021
Down To Earth
SEED EXTRAORDINAIRE
SABJA ARE RICH IN FIBRE AND LEND THEMSELVES TO A VARIETY OF RECIPES
3 min |
July 16, 2021
Down To Earth
TRIPS waiver caught in WTO labyrinth
There is little change in the position of countries opposing the waiver, and the India-South Africa proposal is being made to go through the hoops at WTO
4 min |
July 16, 2021
Down To Earth
WEIGHT OF THE DEAD
TURNING THE GANGA INTO A GRAVEYARD FOR COVID-19 VICTIMS WILL BE DETRIMENTAL TO ITS AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM
3 min |
July 16, 2021
Down To Earth
FAMILIAL TIES
A few recently discovered early human fossils further complicate our evolutionary timeline
5 min |
July 16, 2021
Down To Earth
THE HEAT IS ON
The world is witnessing intense heatwaves on a global scale. Even cooler countries have reported heatrelated deaths and wildfires by the hundreds, and temperatures have broken all records. Scientists suspect the jet streams that control day-to-day weather have gone astray. An analysis by Down To Earth
10+ min |
July 16, 2021
Down To Earth
Inefficient as always
In violation of guidelines, most coal power plants guzzle massive amounts of freshwater, even in water-stressed areas
5 min |
July 16, 2021
Down To Earth
NOT ONE TO BUDGE OR HIDE
More than a priest, Father Stan Swamy was a fearless activist
2 min |
July 16, 2021
Down To Earth
A POOR REPLICA
Hailed as Patna’s Marine Drive, the 20 km-Ganga Pathway Project will only make the capital city prone to flash floods and render the riverfront project redundant
6 min |
July 16, 2021
Down To Earth
Accidental protagonist
JANE JACOBS’ FIRST CITY IS A BEAUTIFUL DESCRIPTION OF THE EVOLUTION AND SURVIVAL OF THE SMALL INDUSTRIAL TOWN OF SCRANTON, MAKING THE CITY THE REAL PROTAGONIST IN THIS OTHERWISE HAGIOGRAPHIC ACCOUNT OF JANE JACOBS’ LIFE
5 min |
July 16, 2021
Down To Earth
COVID-19. MAD SCRAMBLE
Inequitable distribution amid acute shortage has derailed the global vaccination drive against We need to act fast to win the race against emerging virus variants
10+ min |
June 16, 2021
Down To Earth
Why is India afraid of compulsory licences?
While rich nations are discovering virtues of CLs, India has turned its back on this tool despite nudges from the court
5 min |
June 16, 2021
Down To Earth
‘Vapour on Venus will tell us if it's alive'
More than two-and-a-half decades after its last missions to Venus, NASA has planned a trip to Earth’s nearest neighbour. On June 2, the US space agency announced DAVINCI+ and VERITAS missions to the planet in 2028-30 under its Discovery Program, going on since 1992. Space agencies have explored Venus since the 1960s, but focus shifted around mid-1990s. Venus regained interest after researchers from the UK detected phosphine, a gas released through organic processes, in the Venusian atmosphere. A week after NASA, the European Space Agency announced a Venus mission later this decade. India and Russia, too, have been planning Venus probes. Described as Earth’s twin due to its similar size and density, Venus’s atmosphere is full of carbon dioxide and clouds of sulphuric acid with a surface temperature hot enough to melt lead. NASA’s DAVINCI+ (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging) will drop a descent sphere to measure the gases in Venus’ air, while VERITAS (Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy) will orbit the planet to map its geological features. We’ll also learn about phosphine, THOMAS P WAGNER, who leads the Discovery Program, tells DAKSHIANI PALICHA in an interview. Excerpts:
5 min |
June 16, 2021
Down To Earth
WAGING CHANGE
Guaranteed employment is an effective poverty alleviation tool. But it works only when governments know how to use it
4 min |
June 16, 2021
Down To Earth
PLAN FOR THE WORSE
A slew of administrative and land reforms initiated in Lakshadweep pose an existential threat to the islands and have provoked widespread protests
10+ min |
June 16, 2021
Down To Earth
MAY GET LOST IN DETAILS
That’s the concern among environmentalists as Uttarakhand sets the gross environmental product in motion
8 min |
June 16, 2021
Down To Earth
CAUGHT UNAWARES
Even as India attempts to understand the sudden rise of COVID-related mucormycosis, its treatment throws up a different set of challenges BANJOT KAUR NEW DELHI
7 min |
June 16, 2021
Down To Earth
Talking, thinking trees
Can trees communicate, have consciousness or memories? German forester PETER WOHLLEBEN’S new book explores the latest research in the field. Excerpts from the book:
4 min |
June 16, 2021
Down To Earth
MAY 16-31, 2000 | DROUGHT - A POLITICAL DROUGHT
Drought in India is a human-perpetuated crisis
2 min |
May 01, 2021
Down To Earth
SEPTEMBER 1-15, 2008 | HYDROPOWER - MYTH OF POWER
Nourisher of an ancient civilisation, the Ganga could be gasping for its survival
2 min |
May 01, 2021
Down To Earth
JULY 1-15, 2009 | VACCINE SHORTAGE - GET YOUR OWN VACCINE
How a plan to promote private vaccine makers boomeranged
3 min |
May 01, 2021
Down To Earth
JANUARY 1-15, 1995 | DISEASE RESURGENCE - THE MICROBES STRIKE BACK
Diseases that were cheerfully believed to have been eradicated are inexplicably cropping up again in India
2 min |
May 01, 2021
Down To Earth
NOVEMBER 16-30, 2018 | MOBILITY - DUMPED BY THE RICH
Low-income vehicle importing countries of Africa and South Asia are turning into a scrapyard for old, used and close-to-being-scrapped vehicles of rich nations
2 min |