Take Unani medicines seriously
HAKIM MOHAMMED KHALID SIDDIQUI, director of Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine, New Delhi, tells VIBHA VARSHNEY that …
Genomics could help cure cancer
Eugene W Myers , vice president for informatics research at Celera Genomics, usa , is the brain behind computer applications used to assemble …
Dilip Cherian on lobbying mechanisms
PRADIP SAHA talks to DILIP CHERIAN, founder and consulting partner of image management firm Perfect Relations, about the clash between …
Get a good night's sleep
March 15 is a day to celebrate good sleep and create awareness about lowering sleep problems in society through better prevention and management. …
'Bollywood stars could act in the romances around nuclear contamination'
So says Brazilian environmental journalist Norbert Suchanek who is travelling with his film festival across the world. One of its kind, the …
Treasure and the tricks
Conserving genetic purity of 750 varieties of rice with limited resources like a small piece of land and no workforce is a major challenge. Debal …
Detergents threaten India's waterbodies
Narinder K Kaushik, professor emeritus at the University of Guleph, Ontario, Canada, speaks to Nitin Sethi on the dangers of phosphate content …
Veerbhadra Mishra on Ganga Action Plan
Veerbhadra Mishra heads the Sankat Mochan Foundation, an NGO at the forefront in trying to revive the Ganga's fortunes in Varanasi. A man who …
'Privatisation has increased rural neglect'
The northeast has been badly affected by ethnic strife. DILIP GOGOI of Cotton College, Guwahati, on its vulnerabilit
'NGT must have suo motu powers'
Justice Swatanter Kumar has been chairing the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for nearly two years now. In an interview to Down To Earth, he speaks …
‘Manipulate market, lower drug prices’
In times of rising costs of healthcare compounded by shortage of funds, UNITAID, a UN organisation, was set up in 2006 to improve access to life-…
‘Ganga basin temperatures to rise by 1-2°C by 2050’
Eddy Moors, who heads the Earth System Sciences and Climate Change group at Alterra Wageningen University and Research Center in the Netherlands, …
Toxic Alert
In large doses, cadmium is carcinogenic. A study now shows that even chronic exposure to the heavy metal in low doses causes breast cancer. …
A decentralised system will lead to sustainable water use
S Vishwanath, a Bangalore-based engineer and planner, started the Rainwater Club to help people manage rainwater efficiently. He spoke to Binayak …
Health care should be cheaper and more accessible
N H ANTIA Director of the Foundation for Research in Community Health, Pune, Maharashtra is striving to promote the concept of better health care …
Alternative fuels can reduce air and noise pollution levels
Vialle, a company based in the Netherlands, manufactures customised cars using alternative fuels like compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied …
Restore ecosystems or suffer a lower standard of living
Andre F Clewell , a US-based botanist and plant taxonomist, has for the past 15 years been working on ecological restoration. This relatively new …
Time to act
The Madhya Pradesh government has recently sent a letter to the Prime Minister seeking changes in the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. The …
Sunil Shaunak on ethical medicine, patent laws
Sunil Shaunak of Imperial College, London, is pioneering 'ethical pharmaceuticals'. He talks to Subhra Priyadarshini about his work, evergreening …
Turn on the tap
Why do Americans buy expensive bottled water when they have high quality tap water? That’s been an abiding enquiry for PETER GLEICK. …
‘Let farmers decide the price’
Mani Chinnaswamy’s contract farming model has prompted IIM graduates to study his Appachi formula. After all, it gives farmers the right to …
'Regional climate models must for managing water'
Subimal Ghosh, faculty member of IIT-Bombay, has been working on localised climate change models. He speaks to Dinsa Sachan about extreme …
‘Energy conservation is a moving target’
A decade has passed since the Energy Conservation Act was enacted in 2001. Most provisions of the law are yet to be implemented properly. Ajay …
Vehicular emissions are a cause for concern
Praful B Desai, professor emeritus and former director of the Tata Memorial Cancer Research Institute, Mumbai, spoke to Leena Chakrabarti on …
The rich are enjoying themselves at the expense of poor people's health
Karen E Smoyer of the University of Alberta, Canada, has been working on the impact of poor environment on the weaker sections of society. …