Packed settlements and common toilets make physical distancing an impossibility in Dharavi. Jyoti Shelar and Ajeet Mahale report on the efforts to stop COVID-19 from spreading in a 2.5-sq km area that has recorded more than 800 cases and 25 deaths

District’s tally now 2,537 with 76 new cases; 7 deaths recorded

Action taken a day after Central team’s visit; Opposition slams government

BMC offices to function with 75% staff

8 more positive at JJ Marg police station

Third-highest single-day surge this month; 25 new fatalities recorded; death toll touches 462

Four-minute video showed song and dance performances in Bandra Gymkhana

TIRUCHI Officials of the district administration in Ariyalur and Thanjavur have announced that the total lockdown enforced on Sundays in the district

Students from the Gulf reaching the State will be given an opportunity to write the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) and higher secondary e

Five-time World champion Viswanathan Anand will lead India's charge at the online Nations Cup beginning on Tuesday, where some of the world's best players will face off amid the coronavirus pandemic which has thrown the sporting calendars out of gear. The six-team event, touted to the richest online team tournament, features all the big names in the game with World champion Magnus Carlsen being the only big gun missing from the line-up.

India went down to Rest of the World 1.5-2.5 in the second round of the FIDE-Chess.com Online Nations Cup. Earlier in the opening round, India split points with USA with Humpy posting a win over Anna Zatonkish while the legendary Anand drew with the highly-rated Hikaru Nakamura.

India suffered a double blow, losing its third and fourth round matches to Europe and top-seeded China by similar 1.5-2.5 margins, on the second day of the FIDE-Chess.com Online Nations Cup on Wednesday. Five-time World champion Viswanathan Anand came up against a strong opponent in Ding Liren and the two agreed to sign peace in 54 moves. P Harikrishna held higher-rated Yu Yangyi to a draw while long-time rivals Koneru Humpy and Hou Yifan drew their game.

Viswanathan Anand was in Germany to play in the Bundesliga chess and before he could return, the travel restrictions came calling in wake of the pandemic.

The seasoned Anand beat Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi in just 17 moves in a fifth round match. But India were held to a 2-2 draw by Russia in the ongoing Online Nations Cup.

India played out a 2-2 draw against Europe in Online Nations Cup chess tournament in the eighth round, a setback after their first win in the event notched up against the Rest of the World. Vidith Gujrathi ended his barren spell with a win over Levon Aronian of Europe with white pieces while Jan-Krystozf Duda beat P Harikrishna to level the scores in the match on Friday.

Australia’s annual dry seasons are known for droughts and wildfires, but the dry season of 2019--2020 was remarkable due to the sheer extent of the devastation. By some estimates, more than 10 million hectares (38,600 square miles, an area slightly larger than the U.S. state of Indiana) burned, killing several million animals (including many of the country’s koalas) and more than 30 people. On a positive note, burned areas will recover from this disturbance, and tree planting and other forms of ecological restoration can help to hasten this process.

Bee populations are declining because of pesticides and other human-generated activities. Some studies estimate that more than 40 percent of insect species' numbers are falling and that the numbers of insects at large decrease by 2.5 percent per year. While best known for their honey and wax, the practical value of bees as pollinators is enormously greater than the value of these products.

Since the International Whaling Commission placed an international moratorium on whaling in 1986, few countries have engaged in the practice. Iceland was one of them, however, and it has hunted whales sporadically since then and has been roundly criticized by many neighboring countries for doing so. There are indications now that a generational shift in consuming whale meat for food is taking place in the country---with younger citizens avoiding whale meat altogether and thus reducing the economic demand for the product.

Service dogs and other assistance animals play important roles in helping people with disabilities interact and function in the modern world. But what happens when people exploit the system, possibly even to the point of blatant fraud?

The connection between washing with clean water and avoiding coronavirus is an important one.

Bats, which make up a group of more than 1,200 species, are the only mammals capable of flight. They are important pollinators and seed dispersers, and they provide pest control by eating insects. A number of species also carry viruses that can sicken livestock and human beings---and they likely played some role in the SARS outbreak in 2002. Although much more evidence needs to be collected, researchers suspect that SARS-CoV-2 (the virus at the center of the coronavirus pandemic) originated in bats, and wildlife officials fear that they may become targets of human persecution. 

Closing wildlife markets within countries, as Dr. Anthony Fauci of the White House coronavirus task force rightly suggests, may be a more effective tool, however. This article examines the prevalence of wildlife markets around the world and notes that the ones in Asia aren’t the only ones worthy of scrutiny.

It was previously reported that lions and tigers in New York’s Bronx Zoo had become infected with SARS-CoV-2, and they were displaying symptoms of COVID-19. Now, it seems that there is evidence that other species, namely cats and dogs, can become infected with the virus, though they respond differently to it than humans do. This week's blog post below discusses the possibility of catching COVID-19 from a dog or a cat.

Location Circulation Collection

Call No. R857.P6 B569 2017

Publisher Bellingham, Wash. : Published by SPIE in cooperation with International Biomedical Optics Society.

Location World Wide Web

Call No. R857.O6

Location Circulation Collection

Call No. R857.M3 B4765 2017