Down To Earth speaks to Saumitra Das, director of the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics in West Bengal about the possible role of a Mexican variant in the second wave of COVID-19 in India
‘Crop residue can boost soil health’
‘SUTRA modellers’ claim of India reaching herd immunity last September was wrong’
Petro to Electro: ‘Energy transition is happening, and it is unstoppable’
‘It will open up a new area of Mars exploration’
As NASA's Ingenuity touched down on Mars, Down To Earth spoke to Ingenuity’s chief engineer J (Bob) Balaram on the significance of the flight attempt and the advantages of a flying probe in the study
‘Lack of adherence to Covid-19 protocol led to spike in Nigeria but cases declining’
Chikwe Ihekweazu, director of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, on the country's efforts to curb the pandemic and access vaccines
‘Second wave more severe in Nigeria; third wave imminent if COVID-19 rules not followed’
Pandemic badly affected basic healthcare delivery; poorly analysed data obstructs clarity on extent of situation, says virologist Oyewole Tomori
‘The difference between Chernobyl and Fukushima wildlife is the wolf is extinct in Japan’
Down To Earth speaks to James Smith from the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom about the proliferation of wildlife in the two accident sites
COVID-19 shouldn’t deter developed countries from Paris Agreement pledges: Bangladesh minister
Cooperation between India and Bangladesh on Sundarbans will lead to win-win situation, says Hasan Mahmud
‘February 7 appears to be what I would call a rock avalanche’
Down To Earth speaks to Daniel Shugar from the University of Calgary in Canada on what exactly could have happened in Chamoli
'Female health workers played a critical role in making Africa wild polio-free'
Tunji Funsho, who led the effort to make Nigeria wild polio-free, says COVID-19 is a setback to the last mile of polio eradication
Sudden stratospheric warmings: Why cold winters may persist
Down To Earth spoke to UK climate researcher Richard Hall about the relationship between the climatic phenomenon and global warming
‘WONDER app can make the difference in improving maternal care’
Down To Earth speaks to gynaecologist and obstetrician Narmadha Kuppuswami about the WONDER app that she has developed
‘We will only wake up when sal trees have been driven to the brink of extinction’
The ‘treeman of Delhi’, Pradip Krishen talks to Down To Earth about the recent decision to cut 2,500 British-era sal trees on the Uttar Pradesh-Uttarakhand border
Tagore’s ideals couldn’t have inspired Modi’s National Education Policy 2020: Veteran educationist Pabitra Sarkar
The PM, also Visva Bharati chancellor, spoke at the inauguration of the university’s centenary celebration and tried hard to associate his government’s agenda with Rabindranath. But how much of a common ground is there?
‘Futures trading can bring efficiency to California’s water sector’
Michael Kiparsky from the University of California tells Down To Earth that fears about futures trading in water commoditising it are overblown
‘One snow leopard gets killed every day’
As India has a sizeable proportion of the global snow leopard distribution range, it has an important role to play in conservation of the world’s wild snow leopard populations, expert Koustubh Sharma tells Down To Earth
Taking farm laws to Supreme Court won’t dampen farmers’ protests: Kerala agriculture minister
Kerala’s decision to move the apex court against Modi government’s new farm laws have sparked discussions. DTE spoke to minister VS Sunil Kumar on the thinking behind the move
‘Others can learn from India’s approach to contain AMR at state level’
Roderico H Ofrin, WHO India’s representative, discusses the role played by his organisation in tackling antimicrobial resistance in India
AMR action plan in MP a satisfying, progressive endeavour: Experts
Only three states in India — Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi — action plans to deal with AMR
Current policy developments to contain AMR not enough: South Centre expert
Viviana Munoz Tellez, coordinator, South Centre, spoke on the gaps and challenges in the ongoing policy interventions to contain antimicrobial resistance
‘Facial recognition technology will hamper people’s right to freedom of expression and privacy’
Anushka Jain of non-profit Internet Freedom Foundation, Delhi, talks about the concerns that surround the use of facial recognition technology for surveillance
Migration crisis wasn’t handled well by Nitish government: Shaibal Gupta
Shaibal Gupta, social scientist at Asian Development Research Institute, spoke to DTE on Bihar polls and its national importance
Importance of lakes not realised enough: Flood control chief
Sharad Chandra, director, flood forecast monitoring division, Central Water Commission, spoke to DTE on increasing instances of urban flooding
‘My method’s an addition to the knowledge about climate change ending the Indus Valley Civilisation’
Down To Earth speaks to Nishant Malik from the Rochester Institute of Technology, United States about the new method he has developed to show that climate change ended the Indus Valley Civilisation