Dr Syed Zahoor Qasim, who successfully led India’s first Antarctic expedition in 1981, has been commemorated for his contributions to the Indian polar programme in a special issue of Polar Science. A peer-reviewed academic journal, Polar Science aims to inform people about polar science, primarily in Asia. It is published by the National Institute of Polar Research in collaboration with Elsevier and is one of the few comprehensive academic journals in the field of polar science.
A team of researchers have discovered a new species of ginger hidden in the lush, remote Siang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh. Named Parakaempferia alba, the plant was identified by researchers from the CSIR-North East Institute of Science and Technology and local colleges. The discovery, published in the Nordic Journal of Botany, marks a major milestone for the region’s biodiversity, as it is only the second species ever found within its specific genus.