ecology Craft of hovering An African bird has learnt to hover so it can collect nectar from flowers just like hummingbirds, said a study published in the March 31 issue of Oikos. The birds have an unlikely trainer
Study the cow to understand the human system better, 80 per cent of their genes are similar so far all the talk was about how closely humans resemble chimpanzees. Since humans are descendants of the apes, the large amount of research that went into establishing the fact followed quite naturally. As a result, other probable kins had to remain in the shadows. Not anymore though. A
Land purchase deals amid gunshots in Jharkhand village investigations into the murder of four security guards at a proposed power plant in Jharkhand are revealing uncomfortable truths about industrialization in the state. The company that wants to buy land in Chakla village of Latehar district called the guards martyrs and held Maoist rebels responsible for the murders. Sources in the
Industrial town spent Rs 2 crore on flow meters that no one monitors THE industrial units of Pali town in Rajasthan were made to install meters to measure the amount of effluents they discharge. But no one is monitoring them. The Rajasthan high court ordered installation of flow meters in April 2008 to check industrial effluents from entering the Bandi river. It said the effluents
Modernization of Mumbai zoo threatens botanical garden A RS 433-crore zoo modernization plan of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai has come in for criticism. Citizen action groups and non-profits alleged the plan would lead to the destruction of the 21-hectare (ha) Jijamata Udyan where the zoo is located. The corporation denied this. The groups claimed the corporation had
Beneficial and cost effective, says cooperative that introduced feed a milk cooperative in Kolhapur district, Maharashtra, has bagged a patent on one of its products that cuts the cost of calf rearing by half. The cooperative, popularly called Gokul, after its brand of milk products, has launched two calf-rearing products: milk-replacer and calf starter. The group, Kolhapur Zilla Sahakari
No problems with Goa project, Environment Appellate Authority says THE National Environment Appellate Authority last month dismissed an appeal that had challenged environmental clearance to a high-grade iron ore plant in Sanguem taluka in Goa. In September 2008, Sushant Naik, a Sanguem resident, had filed the appeal and alleged discrepancies in the environmental impact assessment report of
Agitation for his release gathers steam ON MAY 4, the Supreme Court issued notice to the Chhattisgarh government seeking its response in two weeks to the petition of Binayak Sen, vice-president of the People
Company chokes water supply of 25 families in Karnataka Kamala Shetty, resident of Kuthethoor village in Mangalore, was distressed when she looked into her well on a sunny April morning. The water, she found, was laced with oil. It
