Q1.
Who was Kamala Sohonie, and what was her contribution to the study of plants?
Answer
Kamala Sohonie (1911–1998) was a woman scientist of India.
- She received a Ph.D. degree from Cambridge University for her remarkable contribution in the area of respiration in plants.
- She returned to India and worked at the Lady Hardinge Medical College, New Delhi, and later at the Nutrition Research Laboratory, Coonoor.
- She then moved to the then Royal Institute of Science, Bombay, where she was eventually appointed Director.
- Much of her work helped improve the nutritive values of plant foods.
- She also worked on the sap of the coconut palm as a nutritive drink called Neera.
Did you know? Neera is tapped from the coconut palm and is rich in vitamins and minerals. Her work showed how it could be used to improve the diet of poor children and pregnant women.
Why her story matters here: the two scientists in this chapter studied the very two processes you have learnt — Rustom Dastur studied photosynthesis, and Kamala Sohonie studied respiration in plants.