This paper examines the factors that affect human–wildlife conflict and its socio-ecological consequences, including impacts on the daily lives of rural people, farming activities, children’s schooling, and livestock rearing. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were employed. Data were collected from secondary sources, primarily the Uttarakhand State Forest Department and the Forest Survey of India, covering 25 years (2000–2025). Information on wildlife species, their populations, and the number of people killed or injured by wildlife was obtained. The author visited some affected areas of human–wildlife conflict in July 2024 and January 2025. A perception study was conducted in which 212 people from five villages were interviewed. A map of human–wildlife conflict hotspots was also prepared. Three districts of Uttarakhand—Pauri, Almora, and Tehri—were identified as human-wildlife conflict hotspots. This study reveals that elephants dominate the plains—namely the Doon Valley and the Tarai region—whereas leopards and bears dominate the middle Himalayan region in terms of human–wildlife conflict. Wild boars and langurs are also found in the same region. Snow leopards are confined to the Greater Himalayan region. Every day, one or more people are killed by wildlife, and the number of injured people is considerably high. Fatalities from leopard attacks are highest, followed by bear attacks, mainly in the middle Himalayan region. The study suggests that both the Forest Department and local communities can play significant roles in managing wildlife through awareness programmes and improved forest management.
Groundwater represents one of the most important freshwater resources in Nigeria and serves as a major source of water for domestic, agricultural, and industrial activities. This scoping review synthesizes existing knowledge on groundwater systems, aquifer characterization, hydrogeophysical investigations, groundwater quality, and sustainability challenges across different hydrogeological environments in Nigeria. The review adopted the PRISMA-ScR framework and analyzed peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2026, retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, and SpringerLink databases. The findings revealed substantial hydrogeological variability associated with the Basement Complex terrains, sedimentary basins, Coastal Plain Sands, and alluvial aquifer systems. Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES), Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT), hydrochemical analysis, GIS integration, and remote sensing emerged as the dominant groundwater investigation techniques. The review further identified increasing groundwater quality deterioration resulting from salinity intrusion, industrial pollution, oil spill contamination, excessive groundwater abstraction, and climate variability. Coastal aquifers within the Niger Delta, Lagos, and Akwa Ibom regions were found to be particularly vulnerable to seawater intrusion and hydrocarbon contamination. Despite increasing groundwater studies, major gaps remain in long-term monitoring, integrated hydrogeophysical investigations, and national groundwater database development. The study emphasizes the need for integrated groundwater management, sustainable policy frameworks, climate-resilient groundwater assessment approaches, and interdisciplinary research strategies to support long-term groundwater sustainability and water security in Nigeria.
Synthetic biology increasingly pursues the construction of engineered biological systems, yet the field lacks operational categories for interpreting claims of “life creation”. Rather than asking whether life has already been created in the laboratory, this article argues that synthetic biology requires a pragmatic framework that distinguishes modification, reconstruction, assembly, and autonomous synthesis of biological systems. Building on a historical analysis of recurring life-creation claims throughout twentieth-century biology, we develop a taxonomy that situates contemporary synthetic biology and xenobiology along a continuum of increasing engineering depth. Current achievements—including genome rewriting, orthogonal translation systems, and expanded genetic codes—represent a deep reconstruction of living systems, but do not yet constitute fully autonomous synthetic life. To clarify these distinctions, we introduce several conceptual tools: the Pasteurian Wall separating living from non-living systems, the Genetic Firewall as a biosafety principle for engineered organisms, and an Expanded Chemoton framework that provides an engineering-oriented operational definition of life based on metabolic autonomy, informational closure, and evolvability. Together, these elements allow experimental systems to be positioned along a functional continuum from sophisticated biochemical artifacts to genuinely alternative living systems. By replacing metaphor-driven narratives with operational categories, this framework aims to strengthen conceptual clarity, experimental comparability, and governance of emerging synthetic life technologies.
The versatile applications of nitrogen-containing heterocycles in different industries have engendered a lot of research. Benzimidazole derivatives, as isostructural pharmacophores of naturally occurring active biomolecules, are popular chemotherapeutic drugs. The present study focuses on a green methodology for the synthesis of NiFe2O4 nanocomposite using Combretum indicum leaf extract, and for the synthesis of 2-aryl benzimidazole derivatives via the condensation of aromatic aldehydes and O-phenylenediamine. The synthesized catalyst was characterized through various analytical techniques, including FT-IR, XRD, SEM, TEM, and BET. It has several advantages, including a rapid reaction at room temperature, easy work-up, high product yield, simple purification, and a reusable catalyst. The catalyst was reused for up to six consecutive cycles, with the yield decreasing only marginally from 95% (fresh catalyst) to 89% (sixth reuse).
