Book review: Edison's Eve by Gaby Wood
After he was done with the phonograph and the electric bulb, the American scientist Thomas Alva Edison focused his attention on a living doll …
Unknown agencies behind medical journals
Medical journals are the bibles of the healing profession. They command peer respect, and possess immense reach among doctors. But, as the uk-…
Act of omission
Public institutions do not seek permission from the biodiversity authority before genetically manipulating crops
Let it flow: COVID-19 pandemic underscores need to share research; but how will it work
The scientific community has rolled out plans to remove hurdles in the shift to open access publishing. Will this ensure equitable access?
Child cancer drugs neither available nor accessible to the poor in Delhi
A study reveals that a lowest-paid government employee will have to spend 55 days’ wages to get a child treated for Hodgkin's lymphoma and …
'We are in a much better position than in the past'
With the Zika virus spreading across the Americas, the international community has panicked. Kundan Pandey spoke to Soumya Swaminathan, Director …
Glimpses from the 104th Indian Science Congress
Every year, scientific from across the country gather at the Indian Science Congress to deliberate on a a theme. Down To Earth was present at the …
Celebrated minds
In 2016, many Indian-origin scientists made it big and got international acclaim for their work. From genetics to nanoelectronics, these …
Treated but not cured
Ten years after India declared itself leprosy-free, drug-resistant strains emerge. The environment facilitates the spread of the disease
Split profits
Applying small quantities of fertilisers repeatedly gives a better crop yield than a single large dose
Research row
Controversy erupts as samples for study on genetic mutations are sent outside India without approval
Union Budget 2022-23: Allocation for agricultural education and research reduced
Expenditure on agricultural education, animal science, crop science and management of natural resources reduced in the budget
Indian scientists convert wild legume into edible dal
A recent research shows it is possible to knock off genes that are responsible for the production of a class of anti-nutrients that make the …
Drinking very hot beverages can cause oesophageal cancer, says IARC
The cancer research organisation concluded that high temperatures, rather than specific drinks, are carcinogenic
Tried and tested
Traditional medical and agricultural practices, usually dismissed as unscientific, are regaining favour, with some help from Honeybee -- a …
Burning ice
Ice crystals, known as methane hydrates, found inside the seafloor, have tremendous energy potential. But humans are yet to tap them
Case of missing nitrogen solved: It comes from the bedrock
A study says that the leaching of nitrogen from the bedrock could be the reason for elevated levels of nitrogen in groundwater
Empathy is the secret ingredient that makes cooperation – and civilization – possible
Even initially uncooperative societies in which everyone judged each other based mostly on their own selfish perspectives, eventually discovered …
TIFR Swarnajayanti fellow to study plasticity for better design of materials
Plasticity enables a solid to undergo permanent deformation without rupture under the action of external forces
Indian scientists find a way to enhance fat-burning capacity of chilli
Capsaicin, an active ingredient of chilli, is known to have anti-obesity or fat reducing properties
Researchers convert carbon dioxide in to coal
Researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia have for the first time developed a process to turn CO2 into coal. The new process uses …
Meet Mesentery, the newest occupant of your gut
The anatomic description that had been laid down over 100 years of anatomy was incorrect
Shutting down the particle powerhouse
Even though funds for the Superconducting Super Collider have dried up, particle physicists are determined to prove their theory of, well, everything
Cracking the cancer code
In recent years, scientists have closed in on cancer, pinning down precisely how its hellish manifestations are caused and spread. Their findings …
Antidote to cancer
Scientists have discovered an oestrogen derivative that controls tumours and could be effective against other diseases like arthritis