Global Risks Report 2022: What does it mean for the environment
The 17th edition of the Global Risks Perception Survey has ranked ‘climate action failure’ as the number one risk, with potentially …
We are not at peace with nature
What can I wish for in the middle of a pandemic? It is not going to be a “new” year if we continue with our foolish ways of managing …
How effective are vaccines against omicron? An epidemiologist answers 6 questions
Melissa Hawkinsan epidemiologist, explains the way researchers calculate how well a vaccine prevents disease, what influences these numbers and …
COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution: An opportunity to revive the public health sector
The WHO has developed a framework for the production and distribution of vaccines. But the developed countries and their vaccine manufacturers, …
What steps must be taken to secure oxygen – for COVID-19 patients and into the future
COVID-19 is a long-game; the best time to start implementing effective oxygen systems may have been several years ago, but the next best time is now
Air pollution in India has caused losses of up to Rs 7 lakh crore annually
Losses caused by air pollution in India annually are 3% of its 2019 GDP and twice its annual public health expenditure, according to a new report
Is India's public health infrastructure ready to tackle the second COVID-19 wave? Here's what data says
Government hospitals in Maharashtra added just 672 ICU beds between April 2020 and January 2021
‘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
Union Budget 2021-22: Taxing the working class while corporates profit from COVID-19 pandemic
The assumption that the government is making is that we are where we were one year ago. This is a false claim
The Sikh Gurus' service to the sick can be a lesson for today's pandemic
Down To Earth speaks to Mohinder Singh, professor and director of the National Institute of Panjab Studies and Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan,New …
COVID-19: After 2.5 years, Micronesia in the Pacific records its first outbreak
Barely a fortnight before Micronesia had planned to lift its quarantine and travel restrictions on August 1, 42 people have tested positive for …
Coronavirus: The pandemic is changing our brains – here are the remedies
Research suggests that the novel coronavirus may gain access to the brain via the forebrain’s olfactory bulb
Is India's healthcare future ready? What does Economic Survey 2020-21 point at
Failure of the existing healthcare system suggests that there is a need to rethink health policy
The body’s fight against COVID-19 explained using 3D-printed models
Nathan Ahlgren, assistant professor of biology at Clark University, uses 3D-printed models to explain what proteins do in viruses, how they …
One year since we first reported on this coronavirus — what we’ve learned and still need to know
We must identify the origin of SARS-CoV-2 to prevent the continued spill-over of similar viruses into humans
COVID-19 has set in motion an educational crisis. Here is how to prevent it
Reopening schools at 50% capacity, involving teachers only in school work, collaboration with private players are some ways in which India can …
South African scientists on the inside story of discovering omicron – and what their experience offers the world about future variants
The global community needs to make a stance that when countries start reporting data, they’re not going to be penalised for it, say South …
‘COVID-19 could have started 3-4 months before December in China’
Down To Earth speaks to Maureen Miller, infectious disease epidemiologist and medical anthropologist about the possible origins of the novel …
COVID-19: Himachal gears up to meet post-lockdown challenges
From economic relief to different use of premises to regulation of hotels, hoteliers are considering a number of options
State information commissions inactive during COVID-19: Survey
A telephone survey, conducted by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, found that this was in contrast to the Central Information Commission
COVID-19: ‘Wait for field results to call rapid test kits faulty’
Population exposure to virus, time of conducting rapid test important factors, say experts
‘Chinese food is so entrenched in our lives; COVID-19 can’t change that’
Down To Earth talks to Miranda Brown, historian of premodern Chinese food and medicine and University of Michigan professor, about Chinese …
MGNREGA budget cut sends wrong signal, goes against Odisha’s successful policy experiment
Collaborative MGNREGA implementation in Odisha improved livelihoods; such efforts will be discouraged by budget cut
What is Omisure, India’s first RT-PCR kit that identifies omicron in under 4 hours
This kit can identify omicron by targeting two regions of the spike gene, which bears heavy mutations
World unprepared for future pandemics: Global Health Security Index 2021
Countries across all income levels are lacking on finance, logistics and planning when it comes to future pandemics