My science stories come in various forms and under various themes! Instead of meandering in the potpourri of my writings, how about choosing the topic that might interest you better? Well, go ahead and do that! [The sub-menu on the left could help too]

  • I love animals and their quirkiness hold a special place in my heart. Is that then surprising that I also write about their behaviour? Here's all my writings on animal behaviour!
  • What's the use of science if it does not help our society? Here are some of my writings that lie at the interface of science and society.
  • The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how important studying public health is. Here are some stories highlighting studies on public health in India. 
  • Climate change, global heating, habitat destruction, and everything in between are changing our environment as we know it. Why not take a deep dive into some specific environment stories?
  • Blue sky research is at the heart of many inventions around us today. Here are my takes on physics, astronomy and technology.
  • Running short of time? Catch some science snippets that I wrote for Deccan Herald's science supplement during my time at Research Matters. 

Don't miss some of my favourite writings featured below.

Audubon •

Climate Change or Habitat Loss? New Study Weighs Which Influences Birds More

In 1900, on Christmas Day, 27 birders in 25 locations across the United States donned winter gear and binoculars, then stepped outside to list all the birds they could see in 24 hours. They didn’t know it then, but they were launching what would become the world's longest-running community science project on birds. Much has changed since that first count: Global temperatures have risen by 1 degree Celsius, or 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit, the U.S. population has more than quadrupled, and 64 percent o
Scientific American •

Secrets of Ultrarare Black Tigers Revealed

Tigers can indeed change their stripes—and in the Similipal Tiger Reserve in India, many have done just that. So-called black tigers, genetic mutants that sport unusually wide and merged stripes, were extremely rare even when tigers were plentiful centuries ago. But in Similipal today, one in three are black. A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA pinpoints the peculiar pattern’s genetic cause and reveals evolution at work among these endangered cats. After seque
Deccan Herald •

What is at stake with India’s first cheetah sanctuary?

If everything goes as planned over the year, the Kuno-Palpur National Park in Madhya Pradesh could become the country’s first-ever cheetah sanctuary. As it awaits the arrival of six to eight cheetahs from Namibia, the authorities are gearing up for the welcome. Although the plan of bringing cheetahs to India was in the works for more than a decade, it came close to a realisation after the Supreme Court’s nod in January 2020. The now-6,800 km2 expanse of the proposed landscape aimed for a bigger
Research Matters •

Partner or perpetrator: Understanding the causes and consequences of intimate partner violence in adolescents

Numb, bruised and in pain, she tried getting up. It was a cold night, and the hallway was dark. The last thing she remembered was she being pushed down the stairs after an argument about who would do the dishes. The dinner was a happy time. There was her special biryani and his most-liked murgh makhani. Their favourite sit-com was running on Netflix—something they enjoyed from their dating days. They were discussing her thesis and his semester exams—both due in a couple of days. But, it soon tur
Research Matters •

Roads pose a roadblock to tiger conservation in South and Southeast Asia

Study finds proposed road construction in the continent could impact tiger populations in 13 countries. At the beginning of the 20th century, the large-scale production of automobiles revolutionised transport and today, most aspects of daily life depend on these wagons on wheels. With an increase in the number of vehicles came an unquenchable thirst for building roads across the world. It is now predicted that by 2050, the planet could see up to 4.7 million kilometres of roads— more than ten ti
Deccan Herald •

Sunny side up

In 2008, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced Aditya-1, India's first solar mission to study the Sun. This ambitious endeavour, with various indigenously-developed instruments on board, holds much promise for our scientific community as they expect to unravel the mysteries of our closest star, the Sun. Now renamed as Aditya L1, the data from the instruments on board are expected to be a treasure-trove of information on the dynamic processes on the Sun's surface and its atmosph
Research Matters •

What flies can teach us about achieving the perfect landing, albeit upside down!

Researchers study the interplay between biology and mechanics to understand how flies land inverted on ceilings. Skilled pilots somersaulting their planes high up in the sky, though awe-inspiring, may come across as a sophisticated act only our complex brains with a hundred billion neurons, can peform. But, can you believe that tiny flies, which have only about a hundred thousand neurons, can do the same? In a new study, researchers from the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Benga
Research Matters •

Too heavy a burden? Onus of farm labour on women may be contributing to malnourishment in India, says study

It's 5 a.m. in a remote village in Koraput district of Odisha. Sima Paroja joins other Paroja women as they walk towards their fields. Like other summer days, today's schedule looks frantic; they have their tasks lined up—transplant paddy, harvest millet and pluck vegetables. The fields look lush green with nutrition-packed crops—rice, maize, pulses, millet and vegetables. A perfectly-balanced, nutritious diet, if cooked! However, here is the irony—these women are famished, and all that is push
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