Tag: Kerala

M.P. Parameswaran, former nuclear scientist who later became prominent as a Marxist theorist, people’s science movement activist and writer, passed away in Thrissur, Kerala, on Tuesday (August 11, 2026). He was 92. Mr. Parameswaran was one of the earliest and foremost members of Kerala Sastra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP). His ideas on the ‘fourth world’ had...

M.P. Parameswaran, former nuclear scientist who later became prominent as a CPI(M) theorist, people’s science movement activist and writer, passed away in Thrissur, Kerala, on Tuesday (August 11, 2026). He was 92. Mr. Parameswaran was one of the earliest and foremost members of Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP). His ideas on the ‘fourth world’ had...

From the Arctic, northern Eurasia and wetlands of Central Asia, flocks of migratory birds undertake journeys spanning thousands of kilometres to reach Kerala’s coasts, wetlands and forests every year. Among them are Greater Sand Plover (Anarhynchus leschenaultii) and Tibetan Sand Plover (Anarhynchus atrifrons), which descend on sandy stretches of Vellanathuruthu in Kollam, and Northern Pintail...

A team of odonatologists has discovered a new species of spreadwing damselfly, Lestes paloti, from the Western Ghats in Kerala. The discovery has been published in the International Journal of Odonatology, an internationally reputed peer-reviewed journal dedicated to research on dragonflies and damselflies. The discovery marks a significant addition to odonate taxonomy. Lestes paloti is the first new species...

Around noon on July 4, 2026, local residents found an Indian Ocean humpback dolphin (Sousa plumbea) and an Indo-Pacific finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) dead at separate locations on the Kozhikode beach in Kerala. Alerted by the public, officials recovered the carcasses for a post-mortem examination. The necropsy of the roughly 200-kg dolphin, an endangered species...

Rows of Robusta coffee plants, pepper vines winding around trees and fruit-laden exotic plants lend a picture-postcard charm to Baby John’s 6.5-acre plantation at Ambalavayal in Wayanad, Kerala. But beneath the lush green canopy, the signs of a faltering monsoon are unmistakable. Pepper spikes have emerged but remain underdeveloped, coffee berries are developing unevenly, and...

While drones have emerged as an effective tool for wildlife monitoring and mitigating human-wildlife conflicts, experts caution that their growing use could inadvertently stress wildlife and infringe on people’s privacy. Although unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, in some cases fitted with payloads such as loudspeakers, are used in several Indian States to monitor wild animals...

A team of researchers has discovered a new genus and species of tiger moth from the southern Western Ghats. Published in the internationally renowned, peer-reviewed Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society, the new species has been named Antaram idukki. Belonging to the tiger moth subfamily Arctiinae (Erebidae), the species was discovered in Kerala’s Idukki district. Antaram idukki...

A highly contagious bacterial diarrhoeal disease called shigellosis (bacillary dysentery), caused by shigella, is being reported across the State now While all districts are reporting cases sporadically, these are turning into outbreaks in some locations affecting more people because of contaminated food/ water or due to poor hygiene practices. Cases are now being reported from...

V. Narayanan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), on Saturday described the Artemis II mission of US’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as “a great effort” and expressed confidence that it will lead to future human landings on the moon. “I’m 100% sure that this mission will be a grand success, leading...