Lack of data on gut microbes in India a problem
Studies across the globe have linked intestinal microbes with protection from diseases; India may be sitting on a mine of information
Plant non-grata
Book>> Weeds, in defense of nature’s most unloved plants • by Richard Mabey • Harper Collins • US $25
Catch a tiger by its pug
Accurate tiger census methodology assumes significance in the context of the recent controversy over the declining number of tigers in the Indian …
Looking beyond hype and nostalgia
To most modern Indian writers, the environment means trees, birds and animals -- and human beings, in aesthetic or metaphysical communion with them.
Ask the villager before the researcher
Nigerian pastoralists have been found to be a storehouse of valuable information on the value of plants.
Making a start
Ground realities alone will determine the future of Himalayan biodiversity and the people of the area
Farmer's right
A new draft of the Union for Protection of New Plants Varieties protects the rights of the farmers
Review of 'Trees of Delhi', a book by Pradip Krishen
Book>>Trees of Delhi A Field Guide by Pradip Krishen Penguin Books India>> Dorling Kindersley 2006
One-third of Africa's tropical plant species are on the verge of extinction
A large part of western Africa, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Democratic Republic of Congo could lose 40 per cent of their trees, shrubs, herbs and …
The Earth's biodiversity could be much greater than we thought
A widely touted study proposes a total of 8.7 million species, but they could be 10 times more
Mira Behn: A friend of nature
The urge to be close to nature guided Madeleine Slade, who came to be known as Mira Behn, throughout her life
Genetic theft by Kew botanists
An ongoing debate in the UK questions the ethics behind the acquisition by the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew of acquiring tropical plants through …
Notch in the mountains
HIMALAYAN BIODIVERSITY-ACTION PLAN·Edited by Uppeandra Dhar·Himvikas Publication No. 10, published for the G B Pant Institute of …
RNAs online
Scientists discover how molecules travel along a veritable 'information superhighway' inside plants
Secret life of plants
A new book reinforces the fact that plants have intelligence and a complex sensory network
Capturing nature
CHHOBI MELA–2001·exhibition of photographs on nature and wildlife·The Academy of Fine Arts·Kolkata·January 2001
Global Eco Watch: How climate may have helped exacerbate Spanish Flu
Down To Earth brings you the top happenings in the world of global ecology
The seeds of trouble
Privatisation of tea and rubber plantations has endangered the flora and fauna in southern Sri Lanka
Dying repositories of the world's biodiversity
Rich in flora and fauna, rain forests are nevertheless ecologically fragile. Their loss due to human depredation could result in environmental …
The Cherry Blossoms of Japan
Green is the all pervading colour of nature. Beatiful and breathtaking. But not can stir the soul and the mind as the dazziling white of sakura, …
Human reproductive technologies like sperm freezing and IVF could be used to save threatened species
They could solve genetic and cost issues and prevent inbreeding depression among such species
Khar’s experimentation with Himalayan nettle brings recognition
Himalayan nettle, a fibre-yielding plant, has become an important livelihood option for people living in the remote mountainous villages of the …
‘The ship has reached the shore’: The planet finally has a treaty to protect life in the high seas
The high seas are areas of oceans that lies beyond countries’ national waters. These are the largest habitat on Earth and home to …
How the warming world could turn many plants and animals into climate refugees
Almost unprecedented rate of global temperature increase means that species need to migrate at rapid rates
Green power
The seed of a humble tree may be a substitute for diesel and could hasten rural electrification