Funds set aside under a 2010 action plan for resolving sanitation and drinking water issues were allegedly misappropriated by the State’s rehabilitation wing It’s 2 a.m., and the stench of sewage wafts in through the only window of Aziza Jawahar’s crumbling house. Taking the cue that she is now long …
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V-P for mother tongue as medium of instruction at primary level
‘There should be no imposition of any language nor should there be opposition to it’ Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu has underlined the importance of mother tongue as a medium of instruction in educational institutions, at least at the primary level. He was delivering the inaugural address of the golden jubilee …
Read More »India builds 250 homes in Myanmar to assist Rohingya
But rebuilding refugees’ trust is tough Two years after more than 700,000 Rohingya fled to camps in Bangladesh alleging ethnic cleansing by Myanmar forces, the Indian government says it is stepping up efforts to help them return to their villages. On July 9, Ambassador to Myanmar Saurabh Kumar handed over …
Read More »High-fibre diet may promote healthy pregnancy: study
Consuming a healthy diet rich in fibre during pregnancy may promote the wellbeing of both the mother and child, and reduce the risk of preeclampsia, according to a study published in the journal Nature Communications. Plant-based fibre is broken down in the gut by bacteria into factors that influence the …
Read More »IIT-M’s model detects cancer with deep learning, microwave
The method offers a portable, low-cost and safe alternative to X-ray and MRI scans Uday Khankhoje’s team at IIT Madras is interested in developing a way of detecting breast cancer using microwaves – or radio frequency (RF) waves, as they are called. While several groups have worked on this in …
Read More »Humans drive all-male elephant grouping
These elephants remained solitary or associated in mixed-age and mixed-sex groups within the forested areas. Environmental and anthropogenic factors have not just degraded elephant habitats and left them stressed, but also changed their social behaviour, notes a recent study conducted by the National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru. The …
Read More »TIFR desalinates seawater without electricity
Alternatively, gold nanoparticles can be used to convert carbon dioxide into methane Using gold nanoparticles that absorb sunlight over the entire visible region and even the near infrared light, researchers at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, have been able to desalinate seawater to produce drinking water. Unlike …
Read More »Russia sends telescope into space
Russia launched a space telescope on Saturday from the cosmodrome in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, in a joint project with Germany. A video posted on the website of the Roskosmos, the Russian space agency, showed a Proton-M rocket carrying the Spektr-RG taking off from the launch pad. The launch was originally scheduled …
Read More »Study suggests virus co-evolved with humans
Will help in studying human evolution In 2014, a virus called crAssphage that infects bacteria was discovered as part of the human body’s intestinal environment. Now, a recent study indicates that it may have co-evolved with human lineage. The study published in the journal Nature Microbiology showed that the virus …
Read More »Egypt reopens two ancient pyramids, unveils new finds
Egypt on Saturday opened two ancient pyramids south of the capital Cairo and unveiled a collection of newly found sarcophagi, some containing well-preserved mummies. Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Anani told reporters that the Bent Pyramid of King Sneferu, the first pharaoh of Egypt’s 4th dynasty, and a nearby pyramid would be …
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