Archives

It’s getting tougher for the Royle’s pikas to survive in the Himalayas. But, these tiny, herbivores wouldn't move as they are particular about where they live. Restricted to rocky, mountainous terrains, they are now facing the wrath of rising temperatures and fluctuating environments. What would become of them in a few more decades? Can these fussy relatives of the rabbit find new homes and thrive? A new study by researchers from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru and the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun tries to find out what the future holds for them, and that the findings are not good news.

Killer whales, also known as killer dolphins or orcas, are toothed-whales belonging to the Delphinidae family. Being the largest of oceanic dolphins, nothing in the sea dares to hunt them. Killer whales are often mistaken to be ferocious enough to kill any whale and human, earning them the name ‘killer' . But, did you know that these ‘sea pandas’ are far less violent? 

হিমালয়ৰ অধিক উচ্চতাত বনৰীয়া আৰু কৃষিজাত উদ্ভিদৰ পৰাগযোগত ভোমোৰাৰ বিভিন্ন প্ৰজাতিয়ে উল্লেখযোগ্য ভূমিকা পালন কৰে। এই অঞ্চলত ইয়াৰ উপস্থিতি অতি মহত্বপূৰ্ণ কাৰণ আন বহু পোক-পতংগ এই ঠাইত বাচি থাকিবলৈ অক্ষম। ভাৰতত ভোমোৰাৰ প্ৰজাতি সমূহৰ বিস্তৃতিৰ বিষয়ে বিষদ গৱেষণা হোৱা নাই। হিমালয়ৰ পশ্চিম আৰু কেন্দ্ৰীয় অংশত ইহঁতৰ বিস্তৃতিৰ বিষয়ে কিছু অধ্যয়ন হৈছে যদিও পূৱ-হিমালয়ৰ কঠোৰ জলবায়ুৰ

We have all heard of the Indus Valley Civilisation.It is well known for its granaries, drainage systems and systematically planned cities like Harappa and Mohenjodaro. However, not much is known about its rise and fall; although there are various theories. In a pair of new studies published in the journals Science and Cell, a consortium of international researchers, including those from India, have tried to decipher the origins of present-day Central and South Asian people. They have used recent advances in genetics to extract and analyse genetic material (DNA) from the remains of several ancient populations, including people from the Indus Valley Civilisation.

Visceral leishmaniasis, or kala-azar, is an insidious disease that affects thousands of people every year. This illness can be fatal, if not diagnosed and treated on time. However, despite best efforts, India still lags behind in eliminating this disease completely. A recent study published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases has investigated the factors that lead to the delayed diagnosis and treatment of kala-azar.

In a country that predominantly depends on rain for irrigation, loss of crops due to disruptive weather continues to be a source of distress to farmers, and approaches to make crops tolerant to the vagaries of weather are necessary. In a recent study, researchers have shown that, by modifying particular genes, rice plants can be kept alive through periods of acute salinity in their water supply. 

“ಬ್ಲಾಕ್ ಗೋಲ್ಡ್” ಅಥವಾ ಕಪ್ಪು ಚಿನ್ನವೆಂದೇ ಕರೆಯಲಾಗುವ ಮೆಣಸು, ಆರ್ಥಿಕವಾಗಿ ಬಹಳಷ್ಟು ಪ್ರಾಮುಖ್ಯತೆ ಹೊಂದಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಲ್ಲದೇ, ಇದರ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಸಂಶೋಧನೆ ನಡೆಸಲು ಸಂಶೋಧಕರಿಗೆ ಇದು ಒಂದು ಒಳ್ಳೆಯ ವಿಷಯ. ಈ ಮೆಣಸಿನ ಭೌಗೋಳಿಕ ಮೂಲವನ್ನು ಪತ್ತೆ ಮಾಡಲು ಸಂಶೋಧಕರು ತೀವ್ರವಾಗಿ ಅಧ್ಯಯನ ನಡೆಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

A specimen of a cuckoo bee  lay in a museum in Austria for decades before Dr Petr Bugosch took a look at it and described it as a new species, Epeolus ladakhensis. 

ৰূপকুণ্ড হৈছে উত্তৰাখণ্ডত অৱস্থিত এটা সৰু বৰফময় হ্ৰদ। হিমালয়ৰ পৰ্বতমালাত ১৬৪৭০ ফুট উচ্চতাত থকা এই হ্ৰদটো ইয়াৰ অনন্য প্ৰাকৃতিক সৌন্দৰ্য্যৰ উপৰিও ইয়াত থকা কেইবাশও পুৰণা নৰ-কংকালৰ বাবে বিখ্যাত যাৰ বাবে ইয়াক ‘কংকাল হ্ৰদ’ বুলিও জনা যায়। শেহতীয়াকৈ প্ৰকাশিত দশক জোৰা এক অধ্যয়নে এই কংকাল সমূহৰ বিষয়ে বহু নতুন তথ্যৰ সন্ধান দিছে।

A team of researchers from the ATREE, Bengaluru, Concordia University, Canada, Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science, Canada, and Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute, Kerala, have traced the biogeographical origins of Piper genus in India.