Reply by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in compliance to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order dated January 21, 2024 in the matter of ‘News item titled “Feeling anxious? Toxic air could be to blame” appearing in Times of India dated 10.10.2023’. NGT had directed CPCB to file a …
INSPIRED by the human sense of touch, robotics engineers are trying to build a mechanical hand that can feel, grab and manipulate objects just like the human hand. Ultimately, engineers trying to design sensitive robotic hands picture their research coming full circle to biology -- by restoring tactile sensibility to …
TWO ISRAELI scientists say by pitting fungus against fungus, they have come up with an environmentally benign pesticide. A B Oppenheim and Ilan Chet of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem have found fungal enzymes called chitinases break down newly synthesised chitin, a major component of the cell wall of most …
TWO RECENT climate studies have found that while changes in solar radiation do contribute to global warming, this effect is small as compared to that of human-made greenhouse gases. The increase in the annual average global temperature at the earth's surface was as much as 0.8o C between 1880 and …
SCIENTISTS at the Central Soil and Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI) in Karnal, Haryana, have developed a subsurface drainage system that effectively reduces soil salinity in waterlogged regions, restores the water table and puts such land back under the plough within three years. CSSRI director N T Singh says the new …
KAREN Perremans and her colleagues at the Zoological Institute at Leuven in Belgium have discovered that birds have unique "featherprints," which may make it possible to identify bird species by analysing a small piece of feather (BBC Wildlife, Vol 10, No 12). Feathers from more than 200 species of birds …
IF YOU thought headaches were restricted to reluctant Mills and Boons heroines, think again. After a 14-year follow-up study of 26 patients, scientists John R Ostergaard and Morten Kraft from the University Hospital of Arhus and the Private Clinic of Neurology in Denmark report a number of men and women …
PARTICLE physicists at Fermilab near Chicago may have sighted the elusive "top" quark, one of the smallest constituents of matter (Science, Vol 258, No 5086; New Scientist, Vol 136, No 1851). An experiment at the Tevatron collider -a large particle smasher -yielded a pattern of particle debris that was anticipated …
NEARLY half the world's population depends on rice for food. Yet, it was only i.n the early :980~ thaHhe crop was Included in biotechnology research to enhance yield and quality. Since then, however, while the research has thrown up break-throughs, problems have cropped up that could hinder the development of …
A REVOLUTION is taking place in medical immunology with the discovery of a method to produce monoclonal antibodies, which offer a powerful and less toxic treatment for diverse diseases, from cancer to rheumatoid arthritis, than most available drugs (British Medical Journal, Vol 340, Nos 6864-6). In the mid-1970s, a group …
BUCKYBALLS or fullerenes, a newly discovered form of carbon, have opened up a new field in carbon chemistry and new applications are coming to light in electronics and electrochemistry. Japanese scientists have recently made thin films of fullerene crystals that show the electrical behaviour of semi-conductors such as silicon. Other …
A NEW CONDOM for women that gives them greater sexual freedom has been approved for sale in some European countries (Outlook Vol 10, No 2). The condom consists of a loose-fitting, polyurethane sheath with flexible rings at both ends. The smaller ring at the closed end is inserted into the …
WASPS from the same nest recognise each other by smearing wax from the outside of the nest onto themselves, discovered scientists at the University of Georgia in the US. If the wax is removed, nest-mates fail to recognise a member and drive it out. Poliste wasps (Polistes metricus) coat their …
IN A MAJOR breakthrough, neurobiologists at the Stanford University in USA, led by Jack McMahan, confirmed the protein agrin plays a vital role in communications within the nervous system. The protein, which comprises more than 1,900 amino acids, is released by nerve cells. It helps trigger the establishment of the …
SCIENTISTS at Cambridge University's Department of Pathology have found an effective way of treating patients with long-standing rheumatoid arthritis, using "humanised monoclonal antibodies". Produced from animal cells, monoclonal antibodies are designed to order and can kill unwanted cells. Mainly used to treat cancer, these antibodies are now being used to …
THE CAMPAIGN by astronomers to stop artificial light in cities from affecting stellar views, which prevents them studying stars, is gaining a wider audience. Relentless light from surrounding cities has shut down the largest telescope at Mount Wilson in Southern California. Scientists believe artificial lights should be shielded so that …
SCIENTISTS from the University of Michigan in the US have discovered that stony lumps of calcium carbonate, known as otoliths, found in the ears of most fishes, can offer clues to seasonal temperatures thousands or even millions of years ago (Science, Vol 258 No 5085). The finding has given a …
A SAFE vaccine against dengue and dengue haemorrhagic fever has been developed by scientists at Bangkok's Mahidol University, who have been working on a WHO-sponsored research programme for the last 13 years. Dengue is transmitted by the bite of the infective Aedes aegypti mosquito and is caused by the dengue …
WHEN HARVARD researchers Bruce Yankner and Neil Kowall discovered in 1991 that amyloids -- small proteins -- injected into the brain of rats could destroy nerve cells in the same manner as observed in Alzheimer's patients, there was much excitement. Alzheimer's disease is the fourth largest killer in the developed …
SCIENTISTS say a vaccine for human lung cancers may be ready soon, allowing a therapeutic cure for the disease. Lung cancer is characterised by an abnormal production of hormones, particularly the human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). Malignancy is indicated by high lev els of HCG and successful surgery in lung cancer …
