As the curtain falls on 2018, here is a tribute to those great Indian scientists and innovators who died in the year. These eminent people contributed to various fields of science and helped put India in the frontiers of global scientific advancements. This is in no way an exhaustive list, but it is an effort to bring to the fore the achievers who have left an indelible mark behind. 

Standing a metre tall and weighing up to a whopping 18 kilograms, the Great Indian bustards (GIB) are one of the heaviest flying birds on Earth. Yet, they are unable to ‘throw their weight around’ in this world dominated by us. Their numbers have drastically declined by nearly 90% in the last 50 years, and the future of these charismatic birds look very bleak. They are now in a tight race against time for their survival, and if things don’t change fast, they could be the first species to go extinct in independent India.

Researchers from NIAS, Bengaluru, Kyoto University, Japan, University of Colorado, and the Northwestern University, USA, have tried to understand what causes of the strange preference of  ‘geophagy’, or ‘eating the earth’ in primates. 

Researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India have reported the first photographic evidence for the majestic tiger in the Eastern Himalayas at altitudes as high as 3,630 m.