Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
The us Army is about to embark on a landmark mission: to launch a missile fuelled not by the usual solid fuel, but by a toothpaste-like gel. The gel will help them control the missile better, will improve the missile's range and even allow it to attack more than one …
in his last book of the legendary Space Odyssey series, 3001: The Final Odyssey , technoprophet Arthur C Clarke presents several interesting scenarios of the future. These include cities extending heavenwards in delicate pinnacle-shaped structures, a female Pope and, of course, the usual paeans to virtual reality and smart computers. …
AYURVEDIC CONCEPT: The Himalayan Drug Company (HDC) has launched its nternational range of ayurvedic health and personal care products in India. The product is branded as ayurvedic Concept'. According to the company official, the company had already launched the product in the US. "We launched the Ayurvedic Concept in the …
For the first time, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved two drugs intended to help behavioural problems in pets. Clomipramine can now be used to treat canines suffering from separation anxiety
As it turns out, human beings are not the only species sentimental about hair growth. Recent research has revealed that female wolf spiders usually find their male counterparts with hairy legs very attractive. Researchers based in the US think that the tufts of hair on the male spiders' legs may …
US-based researchers have discovered how a swarm of honeybees functions as a single collective brain while choosing a new home. US biologists say scouting bees, after returning from their individual search operations, dance to indicate the location of the prospective site as well as its quality. Gradually, only a single …
going by how easy it has been for scientists to turn adult brain cells to blood, it will not be difficult to use a patient's own tissue and grow replacement organs. Earlier, scientists thought such radical identity swaps involved nuclear transfer, a technique that
scientists have used magnets for everything. Protecting buildings from collapsing during earthquakes, levitating high-speed futuristic trains and for numerous other applications. Now, they are trying to levitate microchips. Engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( mit ), usa , believe that using magnets to suspend these chips will halve …
I s it correct? Can this be done in the name of science? Ever since the Vikings came to Iceland about a thousand years ago the natives have lived in isolation. Scientists refer to their gene pool as fairly undiluted. The family trees of the natives are well documented as …
scientists in the us have called for genetic maps to be made of all the possible pathogens that could be used as biological weapons. Such information could be used to develop quick tests to detect and thwart any attack by other countries or terrorists, they claim. Speaking at a meeting …
Four states in the US have passed laws barring lawsuits against state governments for problems related to the year 2000 bug. These states fear an onslaught of litigations over who is responsible for the Y2K problem. Computers that have not been programmed will confuse the year 2000 with the year …
a critical change to us medical regulations, which allows doctors to test new drugs on some patients without their consent, has been criticised by ethicists after 24 patients died in the first clinical trial performed under the new rules. Researchers are usually required to acquire a patient's informed consent before …
" giving up smoking is easy. I've given it up many times,' Mark Twain had said once about a smoker's predicament. For a smoker, nicotine is not just about a mild kick. Simply looking at a cigarette, or even smelling one induces a craving. But now, they can fight back, …
a pill-sized transmitter, quite similar to the one swallowed by us astronaut-turned-senator-turned-astronaut John Glenn to measure his body temperature on his recent space shuttle mission, could soon help surgeons monitor the progress of foetuses following surgery in the womb. The silicon-coated transmitter, which is 35 millimetres (mm) long and 9mm …
tiny magnetic particles could help prevent buildings and bridges from toppling during earthquakes or hurricanes, say engineers at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, usa . The particles form a part of a switchable magnetic damping system that cuts in before any damage is done. Construction engineers incorporate dampers …
the Trojan horse myth is all about deceit, stealth and camouflaging. If only the Trojan soldiers knew who was inside, the ancient tale would have ended differently. Centuries have passed, but the problem of the Trojan horse still endures. Soldiers hidden inside the wooden structure, over time, have given way …
the Clinton administration is hoping to spend an extra us $4 billion in the year 2000 to combat the threat of global warming. The proposal, which will be included in the president's 2000 budget due to be sent for approval to the Congress in February, is designed to help the …
for readers who came in late into the climate change debate (and have not been reading their previous issues of Down To Earth carefully enough), here is a recap on the equity principle that developing countries such as India and China have asked for in the climate convention (regular readers …
IT is pay back time now. During the Vietnam War, the US sprayed Agent Orange - a chemical mix of herbicides rich in dioxins, that are hormone disrupters - in Vietnam during the 10-year war. Vietnamese government officials say that Agent Orange has deformed around 50,000 children and has claimed …
