Interest is growing in tools and innovations that can ease the workload imposed on women farm workers, report M Sreelata and Naomi Antony.

Scientists say that Bangladesh's Nipah virus could be stopped by protecting the date palm sap that its fruit bat carriers enjoy.

A dispute over the HINARI scheme, which gives poor countries free journal access, has exposed the sensitive border between aid and commerce, finds Yojana Sharma.

Hindu-Kush-Himalayan countries need to share data and collaborate better to tackle climate change, Andreas Schild tells SciDev.Net.

Solar power could help alleviate rural poverty. David J. Grimshaw and Sian Lewis shine a light on its progress, potential and pitfalls.

Solar power can light the homes of the off-grid poor, but how can people buy the equipment? Pinaki Roy and Katherine Nightingale report.

Many new technologies have promised to remove arsenic from drinking water but little has changed on the ground, finds T. V. Padma.

Climate change is a reality in developing regions, who say the international community must not neglect better adaptation strategies.

Greg O'Hare explains the what, why, when and how of cyclones, and reviews their effects in South Asia.

Priorities for research into mental illness in the developing world are not the same as those in the West, writes Katherine Nightingale.

Climate change threatens food crops across the world. Now scientists are re-focusing their efforts on crop resilience, rather than yields.

An eminent Indian scientist believes India can close the urban-rural divide with information technology, writes Daemon Fairless.

Many Indians have pinned their hopes on the jatropha plant as a source of biofuel that doesn't harm food security, writes Daemon Fairless.

Current models cannot properly predict monsoon rainfall in Asia — or how it will be affected by global warming, writes Jagadish Shukla.

T. V. Padma takes a look at methods that are helping the developing world's blind people see again, and helping them live more easily.

The Organization of the Islamic Conference is reforming its science programme. But will change lead to better science? Wagdy Sawahel and Ehsan Masood report.

The palm oil industry needs to prove its sustainability and is turning to scientists for ways to minimise harm, reports Richard Stone.

Scientists are finally getting nearer a dengue fever vaccine, as the disease explodes throughout South-East Asia.

Scientists are battling to stop damage and death caused by lightning strikes in the developing world, reports Anuradha Alahakoon.

Priya Shetty looks at the prevalence and distribution of tuberculosis in the developing world, outlining the truths — and myths — about this disease.