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. …
PARTICLE accelerators, like the one At fermilab in Illinois, us, have been invaluable Tools in our quest for understanding the nature of the microcosm, e accelerators smash particles her, by analysing the resultant ris', one can gain valuable insights he structure of matter. The higher mergy with which the particles …
YET another clue has been found which might help unravel the mystery surrounding cancer. Three chemists, working at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, us, have discovered how nitrosamines -- normally inert organic compounds found in cigarette smoke, some processed foods, medicines and cosmetics -- could be activated in the …
MUCH speculation has been devoted to the question of what determines the size of animal brains. The reason: relative brain size is the quickest rule-of-the- thumb estimator of mental capacity. However, before comparing brains of different animals, it is important to make an adjustment to the measurements. This is because …
A LIFE history strategy is a set of blueprints according to which a plant or animal regulates its life from birth to death. How long to remain in an embryonic state inside the egg, how to face up to the risks that follow weaning, how to allocate one's time between …
THE lethal human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) may yet be vanquished. Two teams of researchers in the Netherlands and the us have simultaneously unveiled 3-dimensional structures for part of the enzyme that helps the virus infiltrate human dna. The Dutch have also discovered a compound -- hiv integrase -- that can …
BIOLUMINESCENCE detection is changing the face of microbial contamination. A new biotechnology device is now being exploited worldwide to detect microbial contamination in industries ranging from cosmetics, to foodstuffs to pharmaceuticals. According to a report in the Financial Times, London, about 2.5 billion such tests were performed worldwide last year, …
THE British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has made history by broadcasting what are thought to be the first radio programmes to be picked up in deep space. Two 15-minute news-and-current-affairs programmes in Spanish for the Americas, BBC Primera Hora (now BBC International) and Via Libre, were detected by a National Aeronautics …
The UN Educational, Social and Cultural Organization is convinced that the Nepalese are not taking proper care of their national landmarks which feature in the agency's World Heritage Site list. It has threatened to remove 7 of the prestigious sites, including the Pashupatinath temple and the 3 durbar squares of …
SMOKERS enjoy that puff while non- smokers in their vicinity suffer health hazards for no fault of theirs. In recognition of the ill-effects of plumes of smoke emanating from a smouldering cigarette between puffi, smokeless ashtrays were designed. Research into the effectiveness of these supposedly public-friendly ash-trays may give its …
USING one of nature's amazing biological postmen - the harmless sendai virus (discovered in Japan some 50 years ago) - Delhi University biochemists have come up with an injectible system for targeted drug delivery, bringing themselves a step closer to developing a tool for gene therapy. Experimenting with the virus, …
NEW viruses are the order of the day. Scientists at the National Institute of Immunology (under the ministry of science and technology) in New Delhi have uncovered a new hepatitis virus, which they believe could be responsible'for a number of sporadic cases of hepatitis in the country and other parts …
THOUSANDS of people living in the Nigata, Kumamoto and Kagoshima pre- fectures in Japan had contracted the Minamata disease (first detected in the early 1950'5) -a form of organic mer- cury poisoning -when 2 frontrunning chemical companies, Chisso Corp and Showa Denko KK discharged their cont- aminated waste in the …
THE Asian tigers are imperilled; the booming economies of Asia are facing imminent collapse due to the threat of an AIDS epidemic. Medical experts, academics and social workers attending the Third International Conference on AIDS in Asia in the Thai city of Chiang Mai predict that by the end of …
Cadmium,'which is a naturally occurring element, finds considerable use in industry. It, however, gets into the food chain and enters the human body. The exposure to cadmium and its subsequent accumulation in human body causes renal malfunction, leading to damaged kidneys. Scientists in Spain investigated should the influence of factors …
FOR the first time since modern medical practice tried to come to grips with the problem of sickle cell anaemia, a ray of hope has appeared for persons suffering from this inherited genetic disorder of the blood. The disease manifests itself by sudden and excruciating bouts of pain, referred to …
What is the main area of work of the International Joint Commission (IJC) and the purpose behind its creation? The International Joint Commission was created by a treaty between the United States and Canada, who agreed that neither country would pollute the waters on its own side of the lipe, …
Leaves and thorns, a feature film by K P Sasi, will be premiered on Doordarshan on October 1, 1995. The film highlights the unequal status of women in a society. It takes off from a real life incident in Kerala. Three Rebellious women were Ostracised by the community and their …
Are men and women really different? This issue has been examined umpteen times by researchers hailing from various disciplines -- biologists, sociologists, anthropologists, medical practioners, behavioralists, psychologists -- and each has something new, different and invariably controversial to say on biological differences existing between the 2 sexes. Most researchers agree …
For yoghurt lovers there is a good news. A relentless battle for marketshare between uk supermarkets has reached the chilled goods section -- in the pots of fibre-rich yoghurt. uk-based Tesco has recently launched Fibre Hi, a yoghurt enriched with soluble fibre. Another British company, J Sainsbury has responded with …
APES might come to the rescue Oour AfDS-infected planet. After a pro- longed period of deliberations, the us Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given the green signal to a revolutionary experiment that might lead to the discovery of a cure for this deadly disease. The process involves injecting baboon …
