Research Matters

It was a routine practice in India to give infants a sunbath. But now, many kids remain indoors for a major part of their day, owing to a changing lifestyle. A recent study from Delhi has recommended that infants must be given a sunbath for 30 minutes in a week to attain sufficient levels of vitamin D, that is, 20 nanograms per ml. More than 50% of the Indian population is vitamin D deficient, according to some studies, which is a health concern especially for infants. This is because its deficiency leads to rickets, a malformation of leg bones.

Batteries come in all shapes and sizes, and power the modern world, from the tiny hearing aid and gadgets like wrist watches, smartphones, laptops and camera, to large entities like cars and trucks! Irrespective of their shape, size and function, the working principle behind all batteries is pretty much uniform: two electrodes – an ‘anode’ attracting negative ions and a ‘cathode’ attracting positive ions – connected by an electrolyte, undergo redox reactions to help convert other forms of energy into electrical energy.

 Riboflavin or vitamin B2 is a water-soluble vitamin that acts a co-enzyme and is required for cellular respiration. Riboflavin can neither be synthesized by the human body, nor be stored in the body, owing to its water-soluble nature. Thus, we need to regularly supplement the levels of riboflavin in our body through dietary intake. Today, although found in various foods like eggs, green vegetables, milk and meat, there are numerous cases of riboflavin deficiency occurring on a regular basis.

Unicellular microalgae cells living in freshwater sources are constantly exposed to stimuli and stresses of all kinds, be it changes in temperature, salinity, drought or pathogenic attacks. With climate change and rapid diminishing glaciers, these variations of the environment will continue to get worse. Sensing, reacting and mitigating the harmful impacts of such drastic environmental alterations becomes a matter of survival for these algal cells.

India is a country whose population largely depends on agriculture, with 50% of its population being employed in agriculture, and revenue from agriculture and other allied fields contributing 13.7% of our country’s GDP. Most farmers in India face various challenges on a day-to-day basis and disposing off the agricultural residue that remain after a crop is successfully harvested, is one such major issue faced by millions of farmers.