For students with disabilities, the pandemic is nothing short of a nightmare. Here’s why Rahul Tiwari is a 19- year-old deaf student from Banaras Hindu University pursuing BA (maths). Amid the pandemic, he is now unable to access online classes due to unavailability of a sign language interpreter. In a video message widely shared on […]

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Animals like leopards and elephants are not killed just in self-defence by communities living near forests – often, it is revenge for a killing that has already occurred In 2018, Thane police arrested a man from Chowk village in Raigad, for killing a leopard because this wild cat killed his livestock. A tigress was also […]

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Fuelling chaos and panic, misinformation makes its way insidiously through our phones amid the global pandemic Last year, public health related misinformation garnered 3.8 billion views on Facebook, according to a US-based NGO  Avaaz. And amid the  global pandemic, viewing of misinformation peaked in April this year. Avaaz claims that misinformation-based content on top 10 […]

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Those who want exams postponed have valid reasons to protest the schedules put out by testing authorities — but so do those who want to get going The nationwide protest against holding NEET UG, JEE exams is growing day by day. Protesters are citing the vulnerability to Covid infection during exams, as many students who […]

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There are now experts dubbed ‘meme scientists’ who are studying the whys and wherefores of memes, as companies and filmmakers want to use them as promotions. Popularity depends on whimsies of netizens and shared experiences  Binod! Heard this before? A seemingly normal, mundane name becomes an interesting talking point on the internet this month. Every […]

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This timely book by an epidemiologist gives fascinating insights into how things spread — not just viruses but ideas and misinformation too The Covid-19 pandemic has brought focus on three fields of studies — epidemiology, virology and immunology. While all three are important to understanding the outbreak, the field that was shown most of the […]

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Even after rulings from the apex court and threat to the lion population in Gir, political drama is preventing their relocation to Kuno National Park On 10 August, the eve of World Lion Day, a webinar was organised by the Central Zoo Authority, in which Chief Wildlife Warden Shyamal Tikadar was a speaker along with […]

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With myths and misconceptions surrounding it, the Indian Monitor lizard often becomes the target of scared locals who see it as a threat  Last week, a Chandan Goira (Indian Monitor lizard) entered a house in Sesaipura village of Madhya Pradesh. Panicked villagers contacted the rescue team which took away the reptile . However, the time […]

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