River Saraswati is believed to have flown through the Thar Desert, as reconstructed by several experts based on critical data gathered by them. A careful observation of the channel shows that in most of the places these are fault-controlled. Studies of palaeochannels in many parts of the world proved successful in identifying high-yielding freshwater zones. Presence of fault system accelerates the recharge process and down-flow of water gets maximized through fault planes during the wet period.

Malaria is an ancient disease in India. Known as the ‘king of diseases’, malaria was estimated to cause 75 million cases and 0.8 million deaths annually. In epidemic years, morbidity and mortality used to increase 2–3 times. Ravages of malaria were so rampant and devastating, that the economic growth of the country remained paralysed.

Dengue is one of the most important mosquito-borne viral diseases in the world, and is endemic in approximately 120 countries. It has been estimated that there are 50–100 million cases of dengue fever and 3.6 billion people are at risk of infection. It is emerging and re-emerging in the tropics and currently poses the most significant arboviral threat to humans.

Energy security has become a national issue and several attempts are being made to seek viable alternatives in the form of renewable energy to meet the futuristic needs. Biofuel production from microalgae is considered as an effective strategy in this endeavour. Seven microalgae, viz. Chlorella, Haematococcus, Ulothrix, Chlorococcum, Scenedesmus, Rivularia and

We studied the waterbird diversity and abundance in a newly constructed wetland in South Bengal for 14 years right from its establishment. Soon after its construction, the wetland began to attract a rich diversity of waterbirds and with the passage of time has proved its potentiality to achieve the status of a wetland of international importance. Since 2005, it continues to support Greylag Goose at populations exceeding 1% threshold, and from 2007 onwards harbours Ruddy Shelduck at populations exceeding 1% threshold.

Most of the research on alpine treeline shift has primarily been based on field data with a limited geographical extent. Due to its synoptic view and historical records for a wide area, remote sensing is an important tool to study alpine treeline and changes in the recent past. This study confirms that there is an upward shift of vegetation in the alpine zone of the Himalayas. The mean upward shift of the treeline is found to be of the order of 388 ± 80 m.

This vaccine policy is more about spending and coverage, than about protecting children. It is not designed to enhance national public capacities for public immunization programmes, but to justify spending public money on public private partnerships (PPPs) or privately produced vaccines in the name of protection from diseases, whose incidence figures and public health statistics are dubious and industry manufactured.

The carcinogenic property of tobacco is well known, even as the production and consumption of tobacco products is popularized worldwide. While the ‘smoking way’ of consumption of tobacco causes high risk of lung carcinoma, the ‘oral way’ primarily poses risk of oral carcinoma in addition to leukoplakia, erythroplakia, submucosal fibrosis, esophageal, hypo-pharyngeal, head and neck cancers.

This note has reference to the correspondence: ‘Bt cotton: refuge in mixed bag’ by Muralimohan and Srinivasa. In fact, their article itself was in response to an earlier correspondence entitled ‘Bt resistance in Helicoverpa species: Indian policy needs urgent revision’ by Hanur, in which the author has advocated ‘refuge in mixed bag’. Since Muralimohan and Srinivasa have raised certain concerns and opined against the use of ‘mixed bag’, I have made an attempt to address their concerns, clarify certain doubts and
also explain the need for this approach.(Correspondence)

In tropical climates, most freshwater reservoirs, dams and lakes are prone to annual summer stratification during which bottom water layers near the bed become hypoxic (