This gel can protect farmers from toxic pesticides
Researchers at Institute for Stem Cell Science & Regenerative Medicine, Bengaluru, developed poly-Oxime that deactivates toxic chemicals, …
India needs a comprehensive approach to prevent pesticide related suicides
Most persons who engage in suicidal behaviour don't want to die but the government lacks proper data on the incidence of pesticide poisoning …
FAO, WHO pesticide guidelines seek faster phasing out of toxins
Products with acute toxicity account for the high number of poisoning cases, particularly in the developing countries
Toxic truths
A soil bacterium produces a lethal toxin which kills insects as they chew their way into a plant
Cotton conundrum
The powers that be are hanging fire on Bt cotton despite long and intensive research. Indira Khurana delves into the baffling issue
Rules and renegades
Pesticide regulations in India are lax. The industry has exploited the loopholes to corrupt the system. And the government has turned a blind eye …
Industry's Nemesis
A report by the National Institute of Occupational Health nails endosulfan. Is that why the pesticide establishment wants to keep it under wraps?
The age of discovery
Research in rice genomics could be the key to eradicating hunger through environmentally sustainable methods, says Latha Rangan
Don’t touch
Half the toys tested have unsafe phthalate levels
Prominent Indian tea brands contain pesticides: Greenpeace
Study finds 67 per cent of tested samples of packed tea leaves contained banned pesticide DDT; some samples had acutely poisonous monocrotophos
Even the womb does not protect against pesticides
Air pollution is certainly an enemy of health. But there are others that may be even nastier. Chlorpyrifos -- a pesticide that can easily enter …
Microplastics all around: A silent epidemic
All types of sea creatures ingest microplastics; as they move up the food chain, the plastic ends up in the human gut
Why Brazil’s new pesticide rules should worry India
The country’s dilution of rules for pesticides such as glyphosate could spell a health crisis in India, which consumes its beans
Kashmir’s Dal Lake harbours bacteria that can degrade pesticides
The presence of naturally-occurring bacteria that is resistant to an insecticide widely used in the region may help in bioremediation …
Can farming mean a permanent renewal of life?
For the past three decades, the practice of permaculture has found acceptance from not just rural communities in India but also from urbanites …
In the Parliament on March 15, 2016
Here’s a round-up of today’s debates and reports on environmental and developmental issues
World Cancer Day: 'Toxins in the environment are a major problem'
With the rise in the number of cancer cases reported in India every year, prevention and affordable treatment will become critical in battling …
A hurried job
Karnataka government’s survey to estimate the scale of endosulfan tragedy is a half-hearted attempt
‘Policies will infuse objectivity in health research’
Several health and research policies in the country are either in draft stage or just recommendatory in nature. This hampers regulation of …
Smart spraying can help cut pesticide use in orchards
Researchers reported that a sensor-based spraying system saved as much as 26% in the use of pesticides and achieved an efficiency level of 95% in …
Codex adopts stricter food safety standards
The international food standards body has adopted stringent laws on pesticides in food and arsenic residue in rice
‘PESTICIDES’ IN DRUGS
Sharad Pawar’s provision for protecting test data in the Pesticides Bill could spill over into trade agreements and hit the drugs industry, too
Wheels of pollution
No one is tracking the substantial amount of lead that escapes into the environment from car tyres
Centre wants to ban a host of pesticides: Here’s why
Centre proposes banning monocrotophos, methomyl and carbofuran, three Class I pesticides associated with high levels of toxicity that resulted in …
Contaminating millets
There is disquiet over government scheme to wean traditional millet farmers on chemical inputs