Tragic potion

Herbal drug stuck in IPR jam, tribal group biggest loser

Book review: Waterlines by Amita Baviskar

Rivers are wellsprings of life. They give birth to civilisations, sustain livelihoods and sometimes even trigger wars. Rivers inspire awe and …

Website on Caribbean Indigenous and endanged languages launched

Dark bean’s bright side

Megha Prakash shares the benefits and recipes of black soybean

Ancient story new discovery

Unravelling science for the lay person

NCSTC-Network, a voluntary organisation, links and helps smaller organisations working to demystify science for the masses and dispelling blind …

Checking population growth through the ages

The concept of family planning control dates back to the ancient Greeks. Though many scientific advances have been made in the field since then, …

Losing jobs in the jungle

Irula tribals are rich in the knowledge of traditional medicine. They used to catch snakes and practise herbal medicine for a living. Today they …

Dying wisdom

Rise and fall of traditional water harvesting systems in India They are called kuhals in Jammu, kuls in Himachal Pradesh and guls in Uttarakhand.…

Cool medicine

The age-old thandai keeps energy levels high and fever and acidity at bay

Uninspired view of culture and development

Culture and Development: Cultural Patterns in Areas of Uneven Development K C Alexander and K P Kumaran Publisher: Sage Publications, New Delhi, …

Ayurveda offers remedy for failing memory

After yielding successful formulations like Liv. 52 and Guglip, Ayurveda now holds out promise of a new range of drugs to treat mental disorders.

Stretching arguments to point of absurdity

SCIENCE, DEVELOPMENT AND VIOLENCE -- THE TWILIGHT OF MODERNITY Claude Alvares Publisher: Oxford University Press, New Delhi Price: Rs 195

"India has lost much to the West"

Lynn Crisanta R Panganiban is a physician in the department of pharmacology at the University of Philippines, Manila. A toxicologist and an …

Innovative registration

Patent solution

Digital library to store data collected from ancient texts on medicinal properties of plants

Keeping up the tradition

Rice delight

A wild food trail

Aparna Pallavi shares a monsoon recipe of Chhattisgarh

A fig for the pain

Bark of the banyan tree cures joint pain and inflammation  

In custody

The zabo is the chosen water harvesting system of the Chakhesang tribals of Nagaland's Kikruma village. Placed by fate in the rain-shadow of a …

Kani vs Kani

Kanis are dragged into bureaucratic wrangling, pitting them against each other

The red tape vs Kanis

The forest department reserves the right to conserve arogyapacha, and prevents Kanis from selling it outside

The miracle-makers

Scientists are only now finding out the Kanis' knowledge of herbal remedies. The most outstanding find so far is arogyapacha

Mughal system stilll supplies water at zero cost

Mughal builders are known the world over for the Taj Mahal. But their water engineers built a supply system in 1615 that still provides water to …