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You want to rest and relax during the weekend. But sometimes you get bored of just lazing around and want to do something to entertain yourself. Then again, you don’t want to go out either. So, what can you do? Here are our top five suggestions.

Paint with a friend

Make hay when the sun is shining. By this, we mean take the opportunity to sit out in the feeble sun in between spurts of rain, with a glass of cold beverage, and paint a masterpiece. You can gift the art you make to a friend who has a birthday coming up or display it proudly in your home. You don’t need to know how to paint to be able to have some fun on paper or canvas. Invest in some paint and materials to paint on depending on the medium you prefer and make art. It can be relaxing and therapeutic.

 Put on some music and whip a dish

Regular food—the dal, bhat, tarkari kind—can feel a little mundane on the weekends, when most of us want some finger-licking good food. Rather than opting for takeaway or going out to eat, why not whip up a dish that you can be proud of? What’s more, you are in complete control of the ingredients so your food will be fresh and to your liking. Put on a solid playlist (we recommend upbeat indie pop or jazz), look up the recipe of what you want to make, and have a blast in the kitchen. Take time to slice the veggies and relish the process.

Bake a cake or make a cocktail

Few things can make you feel better than the smell of vanilla essence wafting in your kitchen or a refreshing beverage in hand when there’s a cool breeze blowing in the evening. There are countless recipes to choose from online. Instagram has many easy, accessible recipes for some scrumptious cakes. Bake one for yourself or your family, to enjoy for dessert with some melted ice-cream. Alternatively, learn to make some cocktails. It can be fun and rewarding. And you can impress your friends at the next party.

Pick a project and tackle it with gusto

Everyone has a list of things they have been meaning to do for a while but haven’t gotten around to yet. It could be repainting that childhood bookshelf a bright yellow, making a macramé wall hanging, or tending to your flower beds. Pick something you have been putting off and get on with it. Listen to a podcast or an audiobook while doing it or make it a meditative process by just focusing on the task at hand. You will have crossed something off your to-do list and that will feel just wonderful.

Learn a useless skill

No skill is useless. What we mean to say is when you are bored, learn to do something that your day-to-day life or job doesn’t require you to know. It could be origami, playing the ukulele, learning random phrases in different languages, or mugging up the value of pi, say, up to 25 decimal places. Trust us, it will be both engaging and entertaining. Try to do a handstand, make balloon animals, look up some knock-knock jokes and learn them, or learn some magic tricks—there are many random things you can pick up.

Menopause, a phenomenon observed in humans and a select few mammal species, including some toothed whales, has now been identified in chimpanzees as well. Wood et al. conducted a study on chimpanzees in Uganda, revealing conclusive evidence of menopause in females aged over 50. Interestingly, unlike humans and toothed whales, post-reproductive female chimps in this population do not partake in raising offspring, hinting at unique evolutionary drivers behind this biological process. This discovery sheds new light on our understanding of menopause across species.

Why does evolution favor menopause or the survival of individuals who can no longer reproduce? This perplexing question has intrigued scientists for years. While post-reproductive females are rare among mammals in the wild, they exist in humans and a select few whale species, making them a fascinating yet elusive subject of study. To shed light on this mystery, scientists turn to our closest primate relatives, chimpanzees. By analyzing demographic and hormonal data, scientists aim to unravel the secrets of post-reproductive life spans and their physiological mechanisms in these fascinating creatures. 

Scientists conducted a fascinating study on 185 female chimpanzees living in Uganda’s Kibale National Park. Over 21 years, they closely observed these wild chimpanzees to understand their mortality and fertility rates. One key measure they looked at was PrR (post-reproductive representation), which indicates how much of their adult life the chimpanzees spend in a post-reproductive state. To explore if these chimps experience something similar to human menopause, the scientists analyzed hormone levels in 560 urine samples from 66 females of different ages and reproductive statuses. This research sheds light on the fascinating world of chimpanzee reproductive biology and its potential similarities to our own experiences.

Researchers discovered that, similar to humans, female chimpanzees in the Ngogo population experienced a decline in fertility after age 30, with no births recorded after age 50. Surprisingly, unlike other chimpanzee groups, many Ngogo females lived beyond 50 years old. This longevity meant that approximately one-fifth of their adult lives were spent in a post-reproductive state, a phenomenon resembling human patterns but occurring for a shorter duration. Hormonal analyses revealed parallels between Ngogo females and humans during reproductive transitions, highlighting the intriguing similarities between our species.

While menopause typically ends reproductive capabilities around age 50 in both humans and chimpanzees, significant post-reproductive lifespan (PrR) had never been witnessed in wild primate populations, including chimpanzees. This unexpected finding raises intriguing questions about the evolutionary factors at play. One theory suggests that favorable ecological conditions at Ngogo, such as low predation rates and abundant food, may have triggered this unique response. Alternatively, PrR could be an inherent trait in chimpanzees, obscured by recent human impacts like disease epidemics. Theories such as the grandmother hypothesis, which posits that older females survive past reproductive age to support offspring, may not directly apply to chimpanzees due to their social dynamics. Instead, the reproductive conflict hypothesis, focusing on competition among females for breeding opportunities, may offer a more pertinent explanation. These theories, though not mutually exclusive, provide insight into the complexities of PrR and hint at broader implications for understanding human societies’ higher prevalence of post-reproductive lifespan.

Busy schedules and conflicting priorities can overshadow good health practices. But there are some simple, essential habits that can change your life and ensure good health in the long run. Aaradhana Shrestha spoke to three people to find out what was the one health behavior they swear by and how it impacts their lives.

Anurag Shrestha, 27

I think waking up early in the morning is one of the most important things regarding being healthy. It’s a challenge to wake up early. It’s also a discipline that most people take for granted. Waking up early is underrated in these modern times but it’s a good habit to adopt as there’s something about fresh morning air that’s instantly invigorating. I wake up very early and start my daily routine. I feel like I have more time on my hands and can achieve more on any given day when I wake up early.

Arpit Shrestha, 24

Quitting smoking and restricting alcohol use, as well as regular physical activity, are good health practices that I think everyone should embrace. Quitting smoking lowers the risk of a variety of illnesses and improves respiratory function, whilst limiting alcohol use can help avoid chronic ailments and boost mental health. Regular exercise improves cardiovascular health, helps with weight control, improves mood, strengthens the immune system, and can prolong life. Collectively, these practices lead to considerable improvements in general health and well-being.

Rohit Rai, 21

Taking care of your mental health is just as important for a happy and fulfilled life as your physical health. Gratitude practices, for example, have the power to dramatically improve mental health and happiness. You can tackle stress, build resilience, and cultivate an optimistic outlook in life by consistently recognizing and enjoying life’s positive elements. Being grateful for the little things can make a significant impact in your overall well-being.

Nepal with its diverse geographical and climatic variation can offer habitat for a wide range of migratory birds. Around 212 species of migratory birds visit and spend nearly six months in the different parts of Nepal. Birds like waterfowl, eagles, storks, cranes and other species make this land a temporary habitat during different weather conditions.

Around 150 birds from Russia, Europe, Mongolia and other northern countries migrate to Nepal during winter seasons to avoid the harshest cold. They arrive in Nepal flying thousands of kilometers over the mountains and seas and return following the same route in summer. During this journey, they have to go through difficult conditions like cold weather, harsh wind, predators and also humans, our polluting activities and environmental degradation. Similarly, in search of more pleasant temperatures and breeding sites, around 62 species of summer migratory birds arrive in Nepal from Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and South India.

Migratory birds use different habitats like wetlands around ponds, lakes and rivers, farmlands, grasslands and forests. These habitats are mostly used by the winter visitors and being the destination for winter birds, not only do they provide warmer temperatures but also a habitat with an abundance of food sources. They prefer mostly insects, small fishes, plants, seeds and other organisms.

Insects are abundant in green areas with higher forest biomass and are a good source of protein for migratory birds as well as others for survival and continuation of lineage. Understanding the type of insects they prefer helps in conserving the birds, insects and their habitat. 

Human activities like habitat fragmentation, encroachment, dumping of sewage, using chemical fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides for better crop production decrease the insect population. Birds store fat in their body while starting their journey and ample availability of the food species, such as insects, are vital for this accumulation process. This accumulated fat provides energy while flying for long hours. On the contrary, in the present scenario of decreasing habitat and foraging areas, due to human encroachment and pollution there are threats to declination in the population of insects and birds. Anthropogenic activity in light pollution in urban areas also is a major reason for the decline of insects as they are nocturnal and are easy to trace by predators.

Relationship between birds and insects

Bird migration is one of the crucial components of bird biology. Migration to distant land is in search of suitable temperature, breeding and foraging habitat. In the course of migration and breeding for birds, insects are the main source of diet providing necessary nutrients in non-stop flight as well as safety from predators. There is a complex relationship between birds and insects. It is important that the timing of bird migration and abundance availability of preferred insects coincide. If the birds arrive early or late or when insects are less in number, birds may starve but if birds arrive when the insect numbers are high then the birds can get plenty of nutrients. There is an evolutionary relationship between birds and insects. Birds and insects evolve in response to each other. Birds have specialized beaks in course feeding behavior with time. This evolved specialized beak allows them to catch insects. On the other hand, insects themselves have defensive abilities like camouflage and toxin-producing capacity to protect from predatory birds. Birds are effective pest control as they consume most of the insects preventing the overpopulation of insects. Numbers of certain insect species damage agriculture crops and other plants mis balancing the ecosystem. Sometimes birds act as a vector in transferring certain infectious diseases. Hence it is better to understand the food behavior of those migratory birds.

What can we do?

Being the migratory birds, coordination between countries should be encouraged, protecting the habitats underneath the path of the migration route, controlling illegal hunting, using alternatives of pesticides to minimize its effects on the environment, educating people about the significance of birds and insects, and cleaning up urban gardens. Moreover, restoring the habitats by creating insect’s insect-friendly gardens or urban forests, restoration of grasslands, and wetlands, and planting insect-friendly vegetation can increase insect diversity and population. Not only insects are a good source of nutrients for birds but also help in pollinating crops.

In addition, supporting organic farming and agroforestry, prioritizing diverse crops or plants over monoculture, and using fewer toxic pesticides and insecticides also help in increasing insect numbers. Likewise, maintaining dead leaves on the ground which is used as a habitat, breeding and feeding ground by insects is also a positive marker. Doing so helps in the nutrient cycle. Removing invasive plants and planting native plants is good for the local ecosystem and can be consumed by local insects thus increasing the number. Insect-favoring landscaping gardens and bird-friendly designs are the next better steps where they can find a healthy environment to survive and breed for healthy generations.

For the conservation of migratory species, it is essential to ensure that they are protected in both the habitat and multilateral environmental agreements are vital in that regard. Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), is an important multilateral agreement to protect the migratory species. However, Nepal has only signed the CMS for the birds of prey. Nepal needs to sign and rectify the convention and join the global movement to protect additional migratory species. 

Likewise, public awareness is key for educating bird-insect relationships. World Migratory Bird Day is celebrated twice every year in May and October. This year, World Migratory Bird Day will be celebrated on May 11 and Oct 12, aligning with the cyclical nature of bird migration in different hemispheres. With the slogan of Protect insects, protect birds. Some Insects can be petrifying to look at but it is the source of food for 55 percent of world birds. So, we need to save insects and appreciate them for their helpful qualities to protect many bird species, including migratory birds.