1. Leaf-spot disease: Areca growers worried ahead of monsoon
Hundreds of arecanut growers in the Malnad region, badly hit by the leaf-spot disease, are worried that their problem might intensify with the onset of the monsoon. More than 42,000 hectares of areca farms have been affected by fungal infection in Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts.
Following repeated appeals by growers, the Central government had sent a team of experts to assess the situation. Though the farmers followed the instructions from the Horticulture Department and applied medicines, the impact on the ground has been minimal, leaving the growers looking for alternative ways to protect their farms.
2. Archdiocese of Bangalore provides free education, shelter to displaced youth from Manipur
A group of school and college students, and working youth, who were displaced due to escalating ethnic tension and violence in the Manipur valley, have found refuge and support at the archdiocese of Bangalore.
Peter Machado, the Archbishop of Bangalore has extended help to the displaced students by assuring that they can continue their education free of cost in the diocesan and religious educational institutions in the archdiocese. He has also offered free hostel facilities and is helping the displaced find employment in the city.
3. MRPL to help Forest Department restore mangrove near Mangaluru
Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Forest Department to support restoration of a mangrove forest on Kudumburu rivulet between Baggundi lake and Phalguni (Gurupura) river, with a total funding cost of ₹16.8 crore, excluding tax.
Damaged due to accumulation of silt, and dumping of construction and other waste in the rivulet, the mangroves will not only be restored but the Forest Department will also plant more seedlings. The area will be fenced and guarded for a period of seven years.
4. IISc. finds novel method to mass produce microneedles, to help diabetic patients
Microneedle patches can help inject insulin just below the skin surface without pricking deep like normal syringes. However, they are manufactured using complex, time-consuming procedures that require clean rooms, thereby limiting their mass production and self-administration.
To overcome this constraint, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.) and the Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine (inStem) have fabricated polymeric Hollow Microneedle arrays (HMNs) using a novel single-step drop-casting process. This method neither needs clean room facilities nor sophisticated instrumentation.
