Almost 150 years ago, Christmas, aboard the SMS Gazelle, a mid-sized German warship that circumnavigated the globe in the late 19th century, was a day of activity. The vessel’s naval…
A new study in the Western Ghats has found that, contrary to popular belief, river drainage boundaries were not strong barriers to the movement of aquatic Kempholey night frog. Instead,…
Known for its black or reddish-brown spots, the Asiatic wildcat (Felis lybica ornata), commonly known as the Indian desert cat, faces a number of anthropogenic threats, which is leading to…
Plastic is pervasive in our lives – now in everything, everywhere, all at once. But plastic’s most sinister avatar is the one that’s barely visible - microplastic. It is less…
The monsoons have arrived at the Western Ghats. The PhD scholars and researchers from Jahnavi Joshi’s group at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad are in Kerala. They…
In a laboratory in Medellín, Colombia, scientists grow about 30 million Aedes aegypti mosquitoes every week. The Aedes mosquitoes are carriers of the dengue virus; paradoxically the ones grown in…
Sitting near her thatched hut, Achikkannu reaches for a set of dried palmyra (Borassus flabellifer) leaves kept on a fence, made of broken fishing nets. She cuts the leaves into…
A popular snack in India, makhana, is the seed of a water lily species, Euryale ferox, found in south and east Asia. When harvested, it is actually a tough blackish…
A citizen science network, created by scientists from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), studied elusive dugongs in the waters of the Andaman Islands in a long-term monitoring stud over…
In 2001, researchers reported sighting the smooth-backed parachute gecko in southern Mizoram. It was the first time that this gecko, identified as Gekko lionotum, was reported to be present in…
A new study highlights the sparse understanding of stork species around the world and recommends a more robust scientific assessment of storks in the International Union for Conservation of Nature…
Every vehicle on the road you can hear outside, the rechargeable battery in your headphones, and the phone or computer you’re reading this article on right now — they all…
Bush crickets, also known as katydids, form an important part of the diet of the insectivorous lesser false vampire bat Megaderma spasma. A new research study by the Centre for…
Recent focus on green building infrastructure could provide an impetus to green or sustainable data centers in India, say experts. Some of the sustainable actions would include reduction in energy…
Microfossils are fossils that need to be studied with the help of a microscope. They are an important feature of our geological record that help scientists reconstruct past climates. They…
Extinction is the termination of all members of a species and it occurs because of environmental forces, overexploitation or evolutionary changes. What can fossils tell us about extinction? They provide…
Asian elephants, despite needing 150 kilograms of wild fodder every day, are picky eaters, suggests a recent study in PLOS One by scientists from the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology…
After two years of fear, illness, deaths and economic loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2022 was a year that brought rays of sunshine. When India, like the rest of…
What can shells tells us about marine paleoclimate? It is essential to collect fresh paleoclimatic data based on past analogues to understand the current climate change. Shells and molluscs store…
In October 2022, two elephants were electrocuted to death in Assam. Further investigation revealed that this accident had occurred while the tuskers were foraging in areas with heavy human habitation.…
