Author Archives: rgeeta

Bt Cotton and Monsanto’s patent

Posted on March 15, 2016 by rgeeta

23 Feb 2016 Monsanto faces challenge from CICR’s Bt cotton varieties ET 18 Feb 2016 Competition Commission of India (CCI) orders investigation against Monsanto on govt complaint Business Standard Complaint by the agriculture ministry and three Indian companies — Nuziveedu Seeds, Prabhat Agri Biotech and Pravardhan Seeds. CCI … Continue reading →

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Caste-blind in India

Posted on March 6, 2016 by rgeeta

The India Human Development Surveys conducted by NCAER and University of Maryland have put out two sets of data based on interviews with over 40,000 households across India. These surveys were conducted in 2004-5 and again in 2011-12. Here are … Continue reading →

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Chilgoza and nutcrackers

Posted on March 5, 2016 by rgeeta

We became familiar with Pinus gerardiana as undergraduates on field trips in the Himalaya in Himachal Pradesh and, of course, knew it as source of the most delicious chilgoza nut. Pinus gerardiana Wall. 1832; Pinus gerardiana               Well, … Continue reading →

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Dilli o Dilli or, The world of MTNL-2

Posted on March 4, 2016 by rgeeta

It’s been nearly FOUR years since I last lost my cell phone. In the meantime, I have rejected Aircel and taken up with Airtel, which is an improvement, and have been managing pretty well with my dual SIM phone. That … Continue reading →

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Lawlessness

Posted on February 24, 2016 by rgeeta

It is overtaking all aspects of life. This one got me all het up this morning. The pavement area outside the Vishva Vidyalaya metro station. Like Dislike

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Pinjra kaise banta hai

Posted on February 12, 2016 by rgeeta

A couple of days ago, I emerged from the small side exit on my way to have some tea, when I noticed a gaggle of bicycles at the main gate, all green–indicating they had been rented at the metro station–and … Continue reading →

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Evolution of multicellularity in animals

Posted on January 12, 2016 by rgeeta

Evolution of an ancient protein function involved in organized multicellularity in animals – Anderson et al. eLife 2016;5:e10147 Very interesting study about the evolution of multicellularity in animals. As has long been known in plants, animal studies conducted within the … Continue reading →

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Rain Havoc in Tamil Nadu

Posted on December 5, 2015 by rgeeta

In the context of the Chennai deluge, All India Radio (AIR) had a discussion on climate change, urban impacts and resilience in its regular feature, Current Affairs. VK Sharma, Professor, Indian Institute of Public Administration Nagraj Adve, Member, India Climate … Continue reading →

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Pink bollworm on (Bt) cotton: Spurious seed? Wrong gene? Evolution? Cultivation practices?

Posted on December 5, 2015 by rgeeta

Keeping track of news on Bt cotton in India Pectinophora gossypiella (pink bollworm) is one of the pests of cotton in India, but in the past >30 years has been less important than Helicoverpa armigera (American bollworm). Following sightings in 2010 on Bt cotton … Continue reading →

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Nectar robbing is not always a bad thing!!

Posted on November 27, 2015 by rgeeta

My colleague, Rajesh Tandon (pdf) and his students Vineet (lead author) and Chandan have found that in Tecomella undulata (Bignoniaceae) in Rajasthan, India, sunbirds “rob” flowers of nectar i.e., do not pollinate the flowers they drink from, because they are too … Continue reading →

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