IMAGINE a future when magnetic particles less than 100 nanometers in diameter will target, detect and capture images of cancer cells in your body. A team from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, thinks such a future is possible. Researchers designed nanoparticles that can be used to transport drug …
How does this device work? There is a phenomenon in nature called shockwave. For example, in a volcanic explosion most of the energy is carried away by a shock wave. Whenever such a wave travels through any medium, it increases the pressure and temperature within microseconds. A big Pokhran blast, …
BANANA peels may be notorious for causing slips in daily lives, but they can also prevent harmful chemicals from slipping into the body. Scientists from Brazil have found that the peel of the fruit can act as a filtration medium and pull heavy metals from water. Metals such as lead …
For surfers who like high waves, time holds promise. Researchers from Swinburne University of Technology, Australia, collated satellite data of 23 years and found the wind speed over the ocean has increased substantially. They found that between 1985 and 2008, increased wind speed led to an increased wave height. The …
IN 2004, residents of West Virginia, US, accused a chemical manufacturing company of contaminating drinking water supply in the region with a fluorinated organic compound. Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) are man-made chemicals used to produce teflon, found in countless household products like non-stick cookware, pizza and popcorn boxes. The accumulation of PFC …
A NEW adhesive could make sticking stuff together a little easier in outer space. Most glues become brittle and loose their stickiness when moisture is removed. But this adhesive developed at Kansas State University in the US does the exact opposite, becoming stickier in drier environments. The adhesive was recently …
Forty one years ago, a US senator did something unprecedented in his country's history. Helped by environmental activists from across the country, Gaylord Nelson mobilised more than 20 million people on environmental issues. On April 22, 1970, the streets in the US saw a rare political alignment. Republicans and Democrats, …
If numbers were enough, the case of Organic Seed Growers & Trade Association, et al versus Monsanto would already be won. On March 29, family farmers—in America, this essentially means small farmers; in India it would be redundancy— along with seed dealers and international organic farming organisations, filed an unusual …
The problems associated with the accidents at the Fukushima nuclear reactors continue, weeks after an earthquake and a tsunami struck Japan. On March 27, Japanese officials announced that leaked water sampled from one unit was highly radioactive, exposure to which would cause severe radiation sickness in hours. Estimates of releases …
The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has written to states to include bamboo in the list of minor forest produce (MFP) and to take steps to facilitate its use, sale and management by communities. The letter, dated March 21, is addressed to all chief ministers. It acknowledges the …
John Maynard Keynes, the British economist, once described Issac Newton and physicists of his time as “not the first of the scientists, but the last of the sorcerers”. The British economist, rather uncharacteristically, did not substantiate. But in The Clockwork Universe, Isaac Newton, the Royal Society and the Birth of …
Amid the furore over a book by American historian Joseph Lelyveld that allegedly describes Mahatma Gandhi as a bisexual and a racist, the Centre is contemplating a law that would make showing any disrespect to the Father of the Nation an offence punishable with a jail term. Law ministry officials …
A beaver and a drop of water are “heroes” in a new comic strip that recounts their adventures in protecting the environment. To be published once a week in Honduran newspapers from May, the strip aims at raising environmental awareness among children. It is part of a project developed by …
Ignoring protests by a section of the country’s academia, officials in Russia have announced plans to open a scientific institute to study yetis. “A scientific centre would spur research on the yeti,” the administration of the Russian coal-mining region of Kemerovo in western Siberia said. Popular myth has it that …
On March 25, BBC’s Caribbean Service aired its final programmes, ending 80 years of service. The next day BBC took its Cold Warera Russian Service off the air. Officials said the cuts are because of a 16 per cent reduction in funding from the UK government. BBC World Service is …
INDIA’S tiger habitats may be shrinking but its tiger population has increased, claims the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). On March 28, the ministry announced 295 tigers have been added to the previous estimate—the 2006 count had estimated 1,411 tigers in the wild, spurring corporate-sponsored save-the-tiger campaigns revolving …
WHY would a company with a turnover of Rs 9,712 crore and profits of Rs 933 crore want a research loan of less than Rs 10 crore from the government? Ask the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), which has become venture capitalist to well-heeled industry. In a novel scheme that turns …
THE Planning Commission of India has disowned any responsibility for bringing companies involved in public-private partnership (PPP) projects under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The Commission said individual ministries which have tied up with private companies are responsible for these projects. There were several RTI applications filed seeking information …
GRAIN traders along with farmers are looking forward to the resumption of wheat exports after a gap of four years as India heads for record production of the grain. India, the biggest wheat producer after China, had banned the crop’s export in 2007 to ensure food security. In the last …
A GROUP of activists has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to lift the stop-work order issued by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests on the construction of Maheshwar dam in Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh. It says the stay should remain till the affected people are rehabilitated. On …
