Science & Technology - Briefs

ecology Craft of hovering An African bird has learnt to hover so it can collect nectar from flowers just like hummingbirds, said a study published in the March 31 issue of Oikos. The birds have an unlikely trainer the tree tobacco plant. It has yellow tubular flowers and is native to South America where it is

Appearances can be deceptive

Study the cow to understand the human system better, 80 per cent of their genes are similar so far all the talk was about how closely humans resemble chimpanzees. Since humans are descendants of the apes, the large amount of research that went into establishing the fact followed quite naturally. As a result, other probable kins had to remain in

Science and Technology - Briefs

food The secret of cheese

Many want out

A lion-tolerating people, too, are changing Maldharis are former nomads who rear cattle for their livelihood. They are now settled inside and on the outskirts of Gir protected area in small colonies called nesses. At present there are 54 nesses inside the sanctuary. They are still very lion-tolerant. "The lions have always been here, people came later. Our ancestors knew they will have to live with the lions when they first colonized the jungles; we know how to live with them,"

Novel land grab

with protests against land acquisition spreading across the country, state governments have realized that they cannot do without a dialogue with farmers--it's another matter that on most times there is less dialogue and more browbeating. But why does the state acquire land, ostensibly for public good, and then hand it over for private profits. Why cannot the industry directly negotiate with the villagers? Because that is an expensive proposition. So let the government wield its authority and use archaic laws to make way for a convenient entry.

Pune protests Dow research facility

the Maharashtra government has given away about 40 hectares (ha) of grazing land to Dow Chemicals for a research and development facility in Shendi village, 30 km from Pune. Villagers say they were kept in the dark about the Rs 400-crore facility and their dairy business suffered huge losses. Activists say there is no environmental impact assessment report for the project.

Pak army factory pollutes stream, kills livestock

about 50 heads of livestock, mostly cattle, died in the last week of January after drinking water from a stream in the Ghaggar Union Council of Bin Qasim township on the outskirts of Karachi in Pakistan. Effluents from the nearby army-owned Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim Limited has polluted the water.

Toxic feed turns cattle killer in Sindh

High inflation and the absence of certified feed mills in Pakistan's Sindh province is forcing dairy farmers to use stale bread-- bhosi tukra --in cattle feed. This practice has already caused a catastrophe, when 493 animals died in Karachi's Landhi Cattle Colony in November last year. More than 1,200 animals fell sick.

Dairy paradox

Conditions are ripe for an upturn in India's dairy sector. The government has lifted its ban on the export of milk powder at a time when increasing demand is sending prices of dairy products skyrocketing globally. If the market worked on a straightforward play of demand and supply, Indian producers--most of them small-scale operators--would have been cheering.

Himachal villagers resist pine monoculture, reclaim forests for fodder