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HealthMany families give honey for coughs and colds, but Dr Ismat Zerin Surovi says children under 12 months must not have it, on its own or mixed into anything, because bacterial spores in honey can cause infant botulism.
HealthTiny electrodes in the brain and AI that decodes their signals are being tested to give speech back to people silenced by paralysis or stroke; the technology is still in early trials, not routine care.
AgribusinessGovernment sources estimate that turning half of the roughly 3 million tonnes of jute sticks produced each year into charcoal would yield 250,000 tonnes and large export earnings; producers in the industry, begun in 2012, want a dedicated policy.
EnvironmentA verditer flycatcher, a winter migrant, has been seen on remote Char Bijoy off Kuakata; the Forest Department says the 230-acre island hosts 8-10 bird species and red crabs but lacks staff and boats to patrol it.
Rooftop farmingWhen balcony or rooftop pot plants stall, look at soil and nutrition, not just water: well-rotted manure or vermicompost and seaweed at the labelled dose can help, but extra fertiliser without knowing the cause can do harm.
IslamBy astronomical calculation, Ramadan 2027 may start on 8 February and Eid al-Fitr fall on 10 March, Gulf News reports, though the final dates depend on moon sighting.
CropsWith flour up at least 13 per cent in four months and about 60 per cent in a year, Pakistan has approved its first large state wheat import since 2024; the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service says 1.5 million tonnes may be needed.
CookingWinter brings more soups, khichuri and pitha; Ajker Patrika suggests heavy pots, organised spice jars, multi-purpose cookers and reusable containers to prepare the kitchen in advance.
EnvironmentScientists have described Liolaemus archipensis, a 6-8 centimetre lizard found above 4,800 metres in Peru's Arequipa region; the study is published in the journal Diversity.
AgrotechTwenty onion growers in Chuadanga Sadar received air flow machines that ventilate storage rooms; each costs Tk 21,000, with Tk 7,000 more for building a store, and one machine can keep 20-25 tonnes of onions.
Daily lifeAt the Mirpur-1 kitchen market on Monday, beans sold at Tk 200 a kilo, green chillies at Tk 140 and tomatoes at Tk 120-130; potatoes, onions, ginger and garlic gave some relief, but eggs, chicken, fish and groceries did not.
HealthBreast surgeon Dr Sifat Tanzila writes that a lump is not always cancer and the absence of pain is no reassurance; a new lump, a change in shape or nipple changes call for a doctor without delay.
LivestockAt a World's Poultry Science Association Bangladesh seminar, speakers said breeder farms lost about Tk 1,706 crore in 20 months while profits shifted to middlemen.
EnvironmentClosing the Bay of Bengal Conversation, former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed said his country spends about 30 per cent of national income on adaptation, and that coral and mangrove restoration cost far less than sea walls.
HealthKarl Deisseroth of the United States and Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel of Germany share this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for light-gated ion channels and optogenetics.
CookingWhen onion cells are cut, sulphur compounds and enzymes combine into a pungent gas called the lachrymatory factor; chilling the onion, soaking it and using a sharp knife all reduce it.
OpinionIn a column for Samakal, chef Zahed Ahmed argues that processed food is not the problem; the trouble starts when profit from cheaper ingredients matters more than quality and safety.
HealthGrooves and traces of arecoline in the teeth of two hunter-gatherers from Sulawesi, Indonesia, suggest areca nut chewing began long before farming, a study in Science Advances reports.
HealthAt the pre-COP meeting in Fiji, UN climate chief Simon Stiell is set to highlight the dangers of extreme heat in pregnancy; in a Wellcome survey almost every midwife and doctor had treated a mother or newborn made ill by heat.
EnvironmentThe prime minister approved on 3 August a plan to bring in the navy to evict shrimp farms built on cleared mangrove on Sonadia island in Maheshkhali, Cox's Bazar; the Forest Department estimates at least 7,000 acres have been cut.
EnvironmentAgriculturist Mrityunjoy Roy traces the identity of the Chittagong Hill Tracts' fulsumari or chakoya (Terminalia pendula): drooping branches of tiny ball-like flowers, extremely hard wood and a Mro folk tale.
GalleryProthom Alo's 'Glimpse' pictures of 5 October show a day in the fields and orchards: Aus rice being cut and taken to market, date palm sap on sale early, yellow canna in bloom and haritaki fruit in clusters.
GalleryAfter the monsoon, Aman rice now covers Gumai Beel in Rangunia, Chattogram; a photo story by Prothom Alo photographer Sourav Das.
A regional course on hybrid vegetable seed production for SAARC countries runs from 5 to 7 October at Yusipang, Bhutan, with the Dhaka-based SAARC Agriculture Centre; Bangladesh joins online.
Watch
VideoIn the latest AgriView episode, agricultural economist Wandile Sihlobo asks whether the enlarged BRICS bloc is opening real markets for South African produce, or mostly producing talk.
VideoAt Bindhara in Panchbibi, Joypurhat, small dark-skinned Black Baby watermelons hang from bamboo trellises. The 60-day crop needs 50 grams of seed a bigha, yields 1,200 to 1,500 fruits or 4 to 4.5 tonnes, and at Tk 30 a kilo earns far more than other field crops.
VideoShykh Seraj examines the government's first 180 days in agriculture, from farm loan waivers and farmer cards to crop insurance and canal excavation.
In pictures
GalleryGlimpse: Aus harvest in Bogura, early date palm sap in Rangpur, haritaki in Rangamati1 photosGalleryIn pictures: Gumai Beel's green carpet of Aman rice below the Rangunia hills1 photos
GalleryIn pictures: Chalan Beel's fresh koi, shing, boal and puti at a Bogura morning market1 photos
GalleryWood apples by the sackload: a busy dawn market by a Bogura rail crossing1 photos
GalleryPassion flowers, a pair of hornbills and straw by boat: rural Bangladesh on 4 October1 photos
GalleryIn pictures: shy plum-headed parakeets descend on grain fields in Naogaon1 photos
Gallery3 October in pictures: pumpkin greens, a load of taro and bees on touch-me-notsSection
AgribusinessThe scheme launched on 1 October fixes a compressed biogas price until 2036, pays capital aid only as plants reach capacity and makes gas buyers take contracted volumes, but a Down To Earth analysis finds feedstock and manure markets still unresolved.
FAO's satellite-based Agricultural Stress Index System flagged Cambodia as at high risk of severe drought this El Niño, and a FAO project now sends more than 4,000 farmers forecasts with practical advice by phone.
EnvironmentA climate model of the rare Himalayan river bird finds suitable conditions may expand along mid-elevation rivers, but scientists warn that boulder and sand mining, garbage and dogs are degrading its breeding grounds.
CropsGEOGLAM's Crop Monitor reports rainfall deficits of 100 to 300 mm and record heat across parts of East Africa, and a Kenyan forecast puts western maize yields up to 36 percent below average.
EnvironmentUnder the Bhandardah bridge in Domjur, the water of the Saraswati bubbled as if boiling for more than an hour; residents blame factory effluent and gas from rotting sludge.
