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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 1 of 127

CONTENTS
Contents..................................................................................................................... 1 Maturation clock' in tomato....................................................................................... 8 None said there are risks, so let's stop it'...............................................................8 Ocean acidification will hit coral reef diversity.........................................................11 Ocean currents eroding Antarctica ice-shelf.............................................................11 Ocean currents' role in Europe's cold past...............................................................11 Ocean warming, Bay of Bengal cyclones..................................................................11 Oceans flatten warming rate even for a decade.......................................................12 Octopuses make some pretty good moves...............................................................12 Odours can cut salt intake........................................................................................ 13 Of fish and bicycle race............................................................................................ 13 Old paper reveals pollution's history........................................................................14 Oldest African ape fossil found................................................................................. 15 Oldest fossils from an oxygen-free era found...........................................................15 Olympia was destroyed by repeated tsunamis.........................................................15 On the science in making jalebees...........................................................................15 One in 10 species could face extinction...................................................................17 One step closer to dark matter in universe..............................................................17 One-clawed dinosaur belonged to T. rex family........................................................17 Onion variety that yields well and is drought resistant.............................................18 Only a focussed policy can rectify ills plaguing agriculture......................................20 Only an attractive return can keep the youth in farming..........................................21 Open science a transparent and novel way to do research..................................23 Opportunity' on verge of new find about Mars........................................................24 Orbiter catches Mars sand dunes in motion.............................................................25 Orca-inspired sensitive undersea microphone..........................................................25 Organ transplants increase cancer risk....................................................................25 Origins of Saturn's icy rings, moons unravelled........................................................25 Orissa farmers take to Emu bird farming..................................................................25 Ovarian cancer spreads due to abdominal fat..........................................................26

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 2 of 127 Oxidative stress damages DNA................................................................................ 26 Oxygen molecules detected in Orion constellation...................................................26 Oysters can clean up Chesapeake Bay, U.S..............................................................27 Ozone treatment to thwart fungus in fruits..............................................................27 Parsley, celery can halt breast cancer spread..........................................................27 Paving the way for a new age of the Internet...........................................................27 Paving the way for next generation electronics........................................................28 Peering into the future of stem cell biology..............................................................28 People may be learning while they sleep.................................................................28 People with HIV face higher rate of cancer...............................................................28 Pepper thresher, an ideal substitute for manual labour...........................................28 Perfume effect.......................................................................................................... 30 Pesticide use leads to rapid evolution in pests ........................................................30 Petals, driving force behind the lily's bloom ............................................................31 Philosophy of sustainable agriculture ......................................................................31 Piglets can break down and excrete painkillers .......................................................32 Plankton, key to first breathable atmosphere ..........................................................32 Plant biodiversity is key to more biomass ...............................................................32 Plant body clock study for ozone prediction ............................................................32 Plant survival in arid conditions ............................................................................... 32 Plants have fewer pores with rising CO {-2} ...........................................................33 Plastic bottles .......................................................................................................... 33 Plastics leach toxic substances ................................................................................ 34 Plowing smoothly with less fuel consumption ..........................................................34 Pluripotent stem cells generated from horses .........................................................34 Polio still a threat to public health: expert ...............................................................34 Pollinators play a key role in healthy diets ..............................................................35 Pollution monitoring infrastructure inadequate .......................................................35 Potato genome now sequenced, analysed ..............................................................35 Power from waste: Vivekananda Kendra shows the way .........................................35 Predictive breeding for more beneficial crops .........................................................36 Preparing for longer stay in space ...........................................................................37 3D glasses ............................................................................................................... 37

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 3 of 127 Project that brought many farmers out of debts .....................................................38 Project to sequence 1,000 fungal genomes .............................................................39 Protecting an anti-malarial drug from developing resistance ..................................40 Protecting threatened leatherback turtles ...............................................................41 Protein that makes internal organs visible ..............................................................42 Providing early warning against avalanches ............................................................42 Providing water from fog, to the world's poor ..........................................................42 Pruned' chips faster, smaller, more efficient ..........................................................42 PSLV puts 4 satellites in orbit .................................................................................. 42 Pulling mug from water ........................................................................................... 43 Pupfish that evolve at the fastest rates known ........................................................44 Radiation dose limit for eye lens slashed ................................................................44 Radiation effects: suppression of evidence by Nobel Laureate ...............................46 Radioactive decay main source of Earth's heat .......................................................47 Radiometer finds sources of fire ..............................................................................47 Rapid, high-definition chemistry .............................................................................. 47 Rare ancient insect found in Peru ............................................................................47 Rare lake delta spotted by ESA's Mars Express .......................................................48 Rat-study highlights benefits from red wine ............................................................48 Ravens use their beaks to point out objects ............................................................48 Reaching trapped miners first ................................................................................. 48 Real-time info system for trains launched ...............................................................48 Rear seat risk ........................................................................................................... 49 Recognising gibbons by their accents .....................................................................49 Recognition of human individuals by pigeons .........................................................49 Record efficiency of solar cells achieved .................................................................49 Record massive black holes discovered ..................................................................49 Recurring patterns of viruses in open ocean ...........................................................49 Regenix to expand ................................................................................................... 50 Regrowing hair might be possible ........................................................................... 50 Reheated food ......................................................................................................... 51 Reheated food ......................................................................................................... 52 Remote explosion of improvised land mines ...........................................................53

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 4 of 127 Removal of highly radioactive water .......................................................................53 Renewables can power the world, says IPCC ...........................................................53 Replication of OPERA results is the key ...................................................................55 Re-programmable cells, key to new life forms .........................................................56 Reviving traditional methods to protect farm livestock ...........................................56 Rice as a source of foetal arsenic exposure .............................................................57 Rising air pollution worsens drought .......................................................................57 Robot with gecko power climbs walls ......................................................................58 Robotics shaves weeks off chemical production ......................................................59 Rock's 1,000-mile shift ............................................................................................ 59 Role in climate change of middle-level clouds .........................................................59 Role of ocean current in ancient global cooling .......................................................59 Rotating stars that polluted early universe ..............................................................60 Rupee sheds 18 paise .............................................................................................. 60 Rural employment scheme making life miserable for small farmers .......................60 SAIL-led consortium plans $11 b investment in Afghanistan ...................................60 Same brain parts for speech, grasping speech ........................................................61 Satellite data can help protect bluefin tuna .............................................................61 Satellites reveal lost cities of Libya ..........................................................................61 Sauropoda dinosaur found in Antarctica ..................................................................61 Savannah ecosystem encouraged bipedalism .........................................................62 Savannahs and forests in a battle of biomes ...........................................................62 School on low-energy nuclear reactions ..................................................................63 Science comic strip hits the big screen ...................................................................63 Scientists a step closer to finding Higgs boson ........................................................64 Scientists closing in on source of dark matter .........................................................65 Scorpion venom study for better pesticides ............................................................65 Sea circulation system off Iceland discovered .........................................................65 Sea levels much less stable than believed ..............................................................65 Sea levels to continue to rise for 500 years? ...........................................................65 Sea urchins see with their whole body ....................................................................65 Seaweed-eating fish study to protect reefs .............................................................66 Secret to a long life? ................................................................................................ 66

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 5 of 127 Self-cleaning dough machine developed .................................................................66 Semen quality of Finnish people affected ................................................................66 Sensex falls on inflation and growth concerns .........................................................66 Sensex gains 115 points .......................................................................................... 67 Set a bug to kill a bug .............................................................................................. 67 Sex-role reversal in butterflies courtship .................................................................69 Shedding new light on island species' origins ..........................................................69 Shorter days have no impact on human life ............................................................69 Signature of radiation induced thyroid cancer .........................................................70 Simple traditional practices can help control rising prices ......................................72 Sirenians provide new look at ancient climate ........................................................73 Site of first sunflower cultivation affirmed ...............................................................73 Six small planets orbiting a star found ....................................................................74 Sky colour ................................................................................................................ 75 Small power plants for aircraft bodies .....................................................................76 Smart Grid is the energy Internet' of the future .....................................................76 Smoking, birth defects ............................................................................................. 76 Snake locomotion .................................................................................................... 77 Soil-dwelling bacteria successfully kill cancer .........................................................78 Solar power at Rs 5/unit by 2015 ............................................................................. 78 Solar storms could sandblast the moon ...................................................................78 Solar-powered sprayer that solves many problems .................................................78 Some birds sing for pleasure from time to time ......................................................80 Some marine species may go homeless ..................................................................81 Southern ocean served as a CO {-2} sink in past ...................................................82 Space experiments by students to be flown to ISS ..................................................82 Spacing of turbines for cost-efficient power ............................................................83 Spawning success stories with backyard aquaculture .............................................83 Species expansion, exit must both be studied ........................................................85 Spiders' web code cracked ...................................................................................... 85 Spider's web weaving and insight into old age ........................................................85 Sprinkler irrigation using tubes, old razor blade, and a kerosene lamp ...................85 Sprinkling water using Chandraprabha rain gun ......................................................86

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 6 of 127 Sriharikota to be an assembling hub .......................................................................88 Stars' twinkling ........................................................................................................ 88 Still on hunger strike, says Essar accused ...............................................................89 Strange kink in Milky Way galaxy ............................................................................89 Study doubts bacterial role in Gulf oil clean-up .......................................................89 Study explores how fruit bats locate trees ..............................................................90 Studying oyster language' ...................................................................................... 90 Sugarcane cultivation cools local climate ................................................................90 Sun has a solar blast ............................................................................................... 90 Sunda clouded leopard has two sub-species ...........................................................91 Sundaram Home raises deposit rates ......................................................................91 Sunshine vitamin ..................................................................................................... 91 Supercomputer calculates carbon nucleus ..............................................................92 Supercomputer's role in unravelling DVDs ..............................................................92 Superior abilities are not seen in all individuals, but are found at group level ........92 Supernova of a generation' .................................................................................... 92 Swarna Sub1: flood resistant rice variety ................................................................93 Swimming farther to survive climate change ..........................................................93 Swollen lips, eyelids ................................................................................................. 93 Synthetic blood now closer ...................................................................................... 94 Tackling root knot nematode in carrot ....................................................................94 Tackling rural India's problems is the mission of 28 youngsters ..............................95 Tamil Nadu farmers urged to grow Anna 4' paddy .................................................96 Tantalising clues to the moon's thermal history ......................................................97 Tapping into plants to combat climate change ........................................................97 Tarantula nebula glows with infrared, X-rays ..........................................................97 TB in kids: a call to action ........................................................................................ 98 TB is killing women silently ...................................................................................... 99 TB shot promising in animal tests ..........................................................................101 Team work leads to equitable sharing of rewards .................................................101 Tears ...................................................................................................................... 103 Technology for ripening fruits as important as marketing them ............................104 Technology to utilise automobile exhaust .............................................................105

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 7 of 127 The challenge for chemistry .................................................................................. 105 The full-spectrum solar challenge now cracked .....................................................107 The Moon has a core, just like the Earth ................................................................107 The movement of tree sap analysed .....................................................................107 The scars of impacts on Mars ................................................................................107 The trigger for rapid collapse of ice shelves ..........................................................107 The two-mutations factor in chikungunya .............................................................107 There is still hope for Arctic sea ice cover .............................................................109 There is value-addition potential in jackfruit .........................................................109 Three new types of innovative sickles promise better delivery .............................111 Timely crop management, the mantra for success ...............................................112 Tinnitus: new ways to stop ringing in ears .............................................................114 Tiny laser detects, counts nanoparticles ...............................................................114 Tiny teeth indicate ancient shark nurseries ...........................................................114 Titan less geologically active than believed ..........................................................114 TNAU earn while you learn programme .................................................................114 Tomato nutrient can stall vascular diseases ..........................................................115 Tool to select the ideal mouse for experiments .....................................................115 Tool-making animals ............................................................................................. 115 Top 10 breakthroughs of the year 2011 ................................................................116 Toward a green grid' of solar, wind electricity ......................................................118 Tractor operated multipurpose hoist .....................................................................118 Tractor rotovator for weeding in tree crops ...........................................................118 Transhipment terminal .......................................................................................... 118 Transplanted cells repair brain in mice ..................................................................118 Transplanting redgram under rainfed farming ......................................................118 Treating leukaemia with old antibiotic drug ..........................................................118 Tri-Gate: Intel enters the 3-D for transistors ..........................................................119 Tropical forest growth leads to carbon release ......................................................120 Tsunami was observed by radar ............................................................................121 Tube light flicker .................................................................................................... 121 Tube light flicker .................................................................................................... 122 Turmeric as intercrop boosts mango yield .............................................................123

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 8 of 127 Turning didactic concepts into working knowledge ...............................................124 Turtles closer kin to lizards on family tree .............................................................126 Two Earth-size exoplanets discovered ...................................................................126 2-year-old children understand complex grammar ................................................126

MATURATION CLOCK' IN TOMATO


An increase in fruit yield might be achieved by manipulating a molecular timer that determines the number of branches that make flowers.

NONE SAID THERE ARE RISKS, SO LET'S STOP IT'


Genuine fear of genetically modified (GM) crops arising from relatively less studied science combined with the fear of the unknown and lack of transparency of the companies dealing with GM crops made most governments and their citizens in Europe and other countries oppose the technology. Fearing that nanotechnology, another promising technology, may face the same fate, the U.K. Royal Society had published a detailed report on nanotechnology in 2004. The report, made freely accessible to the common man, was published well before society had formed an opinion. It had listed out both the risks and benefits of the technology and the areas that still needed more investigation. The Dutch Government had also initiated a similar exercise and for the same reasons. Wiebe E. Bijker, Professor, Faculty of Arts and Culture, Universiteit Maastricht, The Netherlands, who had chaired the committee formed by the Health Council of Netherlands was in Chennai recently. Professor Bijker spoke to R. Prasad about the challenges and outcome of the exercise. Excerpts: When did the Dutch Government initiate the process of publishing a report on nanotechnology? Was the exercise influenced by the Royal Society's move? The exercise had started before the Royal Society's report was published. Actually, two institutions in The Netherlands with specific roles played a part the Rathenau Institute and the Health Council of Netherlands. The Rathenau Institute had started the process earlier and came out with the report in 2004. It had a narrow mission of looking at the positive and negative aspects of the technology without much scientific analysis as the process was undertaken before much research was done. What prompted the Rathenau Institute to work on such a report? They recognised the potential of nanotechnology well before it became a part of For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 9 of 127 political agenda. It worked on the report well before 99 per cent of our society had heard about nanotechnology. Work was happening only in the laboratories and they brought it out of the agenda for public debate. How did the government respond to the report? The government recognised the huge economic potential of nanotechnology, and was very afraid that it would face the same fate as GM technology. The Royal Society report was at the back of its mind. So when the Rathenau report came, the government asked the Health Council to map the benefits and risks of the technology. What was the composition of the Health Council committee, and when did you start working on the report? The President of the Health Council decided not to have a committee exclusively of nanotechnologists, but decided to have others like me, an engineer, and others to be a part of the committee. [Dr. Bijker had chaired the committee]. It was a sixmember committee, with five professionals involved in nanotechnology and a professional secretary with a PhD in toxicology. We worked for two years from 2004 to 2006, and submitted the report in 2006. How did you approach the problem? We took very great care to balance the report. The crucial thing we did was we brought in the precautionary principle, and we gave an interpretation of the precautionary principle. We applied it to nanotechnology and told the government the benefits and risks, and that the scientists don't have answers for all the risks. What was the main finding of the committee? We found there was no complete understanding of the processes involved, and the toxicity of nanomaterials. And since there is no complete understanding, we cannot map all the risks. So what the society/government is faced with is that there are such huge benefits but there are some risks. So do we go in for a moratorium or stop all nanotechnology development as there are some risks. Or do we invest all our money in toxicology and only continue after we fully understand the toxicology implications? Or do we trust the scientists to fix the problems when they arise? What was your recommendation? Risks are uncertain, and by definition we cannot hand over the responsibility to the scientists as they don't know all the facts. Toxicology is an example of 2 {+n} {+d} class of risk and we need to involve the stakeholders industry, doctors, patient organisations. It is important that the citizens understand that there is uncertainty in nanotechnology, for instance, toxicology. We decided to put a lot of investment in nanotech toxicology. We also said you should broaden the scope to involve the citizens to discuss the broader issues of nanotechnology. Is toxicology the only area of concern now? Everybody agrees on the direction the society has to move. We don't want toxic materials and everybody agrees on that. There is a 3 {+r} {+d} category that the society does not want to promote For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 10 of 127 human enhancement. For example, a chip put in your brain or retina. Many people believe that it is the fundamental identity of human beings; we should never tinker with it. Is human enhancement' a perception problem? That's not true. In the case of toxic materials, everybody agrees we don't want it. But in the case of human enhancement, not everybody agrees. Some want it and some are strongly opposed to it. There we say we should involve the general public in the debate. [Human enhancement] involves the basic values of the society. Did the government accept your recommendations and how did they act on it? The government accepted our advice. They came out with a policy paper signed by eight ministers. This vision translated the Health Council advice into a governmental policy vision. Then it took yet another two years until the end of 2008 to decide on the societal dialogue. The parliamentary agreement came in fall of 2008. My guess is that that long period was partly caused by the need to set aside enough funds (4,000,000 euros). How did the government go about involving the public in the societal dialogue? There was an open call for projects. There were roughly 40 projects in all. There were different kinds of projects TV production, books, teaching materials for schools, theatre played in hospitals and market place, travelling exhibitions, science caf, games that gave information about the technology. The important point is, the public had no clue about the technology. So do we wait till the public knows something? But then it becomes too late. So where do we start? So these projects were meant to educate and create awareness about the technology before the public dialogue. Did the projects end up creating awareness about the technology? Yes. For instance, nearly 99 per cent of the students and 80 per cent of the parents had never heard about nanotechnology before. Students did experiments and reading the Net and produced a kind of thesis/presentation both oral and written. At a conference, I was flabbergasted by the level of knowledge they [students] had gained in six months' time. Awareness level was amazing. Each of the students would be able to give a lecture on nanotechnology. When did the public debate start, and what was the outcome of the debate? The dialogue was held between January and November 2010. The awareness level increased. We measured it both at the beginning and at the end, and there is a very clear increase in awareness. The public understood the benefits and risks, and that there is uncertainty. None of the groups said: there are risks, so let's stop the technology. Scientists know they don't have the answers for all the questions. And the citizens appreciate that scientists don't know everything. How did the scientists end up feeling at the end? In one case, the organiser [of the debate] was the industry. They were disappointed in the end. They thought how did these kids know so much and say we should invest in this technology, but always stress on the risks involved. For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 11 of 127 Most of the scientists reckon that in the end, the public would take an informed choice. Maybe a choice which is not the one they want them to take, but definitely not a totally negative one or a totally silly acceptance of the technology. What did you learn from the public debate? A preliminary report says that they [public] want the government to go ahead with nanotechnology, but as long as the government tells them about the risks. The public is more afraid of a government not telling the truth about the risks of a new technology. The more open you are, the more credible you are as a government when you make up your mind. It is also important that the citizens understand that there is uncertainty in nanotechnology, for instance, the toxicology part. We had a public debate on GM food which went completely wrong. The public perceived that the government had already decided and was trying to push GM technology. The credibility of the debate was eroded and it further eroded the credibility of biotech sciences itself.

OCEAN ACIDIFICATION WILL HIT CORAL REEF DIVERSITY


A new study concludes that ocean acidification, along with increased ocean temperatures, will likely severely reduce the diversity and resilience of coral reef ecosystems within this century.

OCEAN CURRENTS ERODING ANTARCTICA ICE-SHELF


Stronger ocean currents beneath West Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier Ice Shelf are eroding the ice from below, speeding the melting of the glacier as a whole, according to a new study inNature Geoscience.

OCEAN CURRENTS' ROLE IN EUROPE'S COLD PAST


Cold northerly Arctic winds are hitting much of Europe. Scientists have long suspected that far more severe and longer-lasting cold intervals were caused by changes to the circulation of the warm Atlantic ocean currents.

OCEAN WARMING, BAY OF BENGAL CYCLONES


While global warming has resulted in increasing sea-surface temperatures and fears that there will be an increase in frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones, it has been found that atmospheric factors also play an important role. Studies have shown that apart from ocean warming, atmospheric parameters like decreasing vertical wind shear have given rise to the increasing frequency and intensity of tropical Atlantic Ocean cyclones. For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 12 of 127 As far as the Bay of Bengal is concerned, a recent study by National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, scientists led by Dr. M.R. Ramesh Kumar, Senior Scientist, Physical Oceanography Division, and published in the Indian Journal of Geo-Marine Sciences, clearly indicates that warm sea surface temperatures alone are not sufficient for the initiation of convective systems over the Bay of Bengal. According to Dr. Ramesh Kumar, other environmental parameters, such as the lowlevel relative vorticity (the rotational flow of winds), the mid-tropospheric relative humidity (the troposphere extends from sea-level to an altitude of 15 Km) and the vertical wind shear (the resultant of mutually opposing winds one, at 1.5km above sea level and the other, at 12 km above sea level), also play an equally important role in their genesis and intensification. While high values of midtropospheric relative humidity and low-level relative vorticity are conducive to cyclone formation, a high value of vertical wind shear has the opposite effect. In order to focus on the effects of global warming the study period was divided into two parts 1951-1978 (epoch I) and 1979-2007 (epoch II) and the frequency and intensity of cyclones which formed in the Bay of Bengal were examined statistically. Bay of Bengal was chosen because of the higher frequency of convective systems forming in that region. In the study, it was found that mid-tropospheric relative humidity and relative vorticity were decreasing throughout epoch II and were therefore not conducive for cyclone formation. It was found that there is no direct relationship between the intensity of storms or severe cyclonic storms with the sea surface temperatures over the Bay of Bengal. The frequency of storms and severe storms in the two epochs were considered. It was seen that the number of storms and severe storms have decreased largely in the second epoch over the Bay of Bengal. Though the sea surface temperatures were higher in the second epoch, the number of storms decreased in the second epoch leading Dr. Ramesh Kumar to say to this Correspondent: Rising sea-surface temperatures alone cannot give rise to cyclones over the Bay of Bengal. If that were so, we would be having a cyclone every other day, given the present rate of global warming. The atmosphere plays an equally important role.

OCEANS FLATTEN WARMING RATE EVEN FOR A DECADE


The planet's deep oceans at times may absorb enough heat to flatten the rate of global warming for periods of as long as a decade even in the midst of longer-term warming, according to a new analysis.

OCTOPUSES MAKE SOME PRETTY GOOD MOVES


Octopuses, in an experiment, inserted an arm through a central tube, into the correct marked goal compartment to retrieve a food reward. Thus, they were able to translate visual information into a series of coordinated movements.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 13 of 127

ODOURS CAN CUT SALT INTAKE


Certain odours can make the food seem saltier than it is and could help cut down salt consumption which, if not controlled, is a risk factor in heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke. It is possible to reduce the salt intake by more than a fourth by increasing the intensity of certain odours, say researchers. 14 different smells They have identified 14 different smells that can enhance the saltiness of food without addition of salt. Thierry Thomas-Danguin, research fellow at the Centre for Science of Taste and Food, University of Burgundy, France, who led the study, said: In our study we observed an enhancement of salty taste induced by sardine odour but not with carrot odour. Many packaged or fast food meals have high levels of salt added to them to improve flavour and make them more attractive to consumers, the Telegraph reports. The Food Standard's Agency estimates that cutting salt intake to six gram per day could prevent around 20,000 premature deaths a year.Currently the average British adult eats 8.6 gram of salt a day. IANS

OF FISH AND BICYCLE RACE


Fish swimming in schools use the same technique as cyclists riding in the peloton during the Tour de France, taking advantage of the slipstream of the strongest to get ahead with less effort. The fittest fish are to be found up front, enabling them to take the pick of the best food, according to the findings of an international research team reported in theProceedings of the Royal Society B. Until now scientists believed that the position of individual fish within a shoal was largely equal and if anything left to chance. The work was led by Shaun Killen of Montpellier University in France. His team placed eight juvenile golden grey mullet in a transparent swim tunnel and observed their behaviour. After letting them swim freely for 20 minutes, the metabolic rate of the fish was measured by seeing how fast the oxygen levels in the water declined as the animals breathed. The effort each fish was making was calculated by counting the number of beats it made with its tail. In this way the researchers could see which fish regularly held the pole position, and which ones swam in midfield or at the back of the group. The results revealed that the leaders fed on the best plankton, while those further back benefited from huddling together like cyclists in a race. DPA

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 14 of 127

OLD PAPER REVEALS POLLUTION'S HISTORY


A Weizmann Institute scientist has found that the paper in old tomes and newspapers contains a record of atmospheric conditions at the time the trees that went into making them were growing. By analyzing the carbon isotopes in bits of paper clipped from old magazines, Prof. Dan Yakir of the Environmental Sciences and Energy Research Department in the Faculty of Chemistry has traced the rising effects of atmospheric pollution from burning fossil fuel going back to beginnings of the industrial revolution, according to a Weizmann Institute press release. Scientists generally reconstruct the record of past climate change from such sources as ice cores or tree rings. But a reliable tree ring history, says Yakir, requires an analysis of quite a few trees. Rather than going to forests all over the world to sample trees," says Yakir, "we went to the local library. In the Weizmann library's archives, Yakir found issues of the scientific journals Science, Nature and the Journal of the Royal Chemical Society going back over 100 years to the late 19th century. Removing small samples from the margins of successive volumes, he took them back to the lab for analysis. The analysis was based on a finding that the proportion of a carbon isotope carbon 13 (13C) to its lighter counterpart carbon 12 (12C) could provide information on the CO {-2} added to the atmosphere from burning fossil fuel. This is based on a cycle that begins with plants taking up CO {-2} in photosynthesis. All plants prefer to use CO {-2} made with the more common version of carbon, 12C, than the slightly heavier 13C. Plant biomass from millions of years ago was transformed into reservoirs of oil, gas and coal, and so these are naturally low in 13C, as well. When we started to extract from and burn those reservoirs following the industrial revolution, we began returning the 13C-poor CO {-2} to the atmosphere. Now the atmospheric 13C content has become increasingly diluted, and this is reflected in the carbon ratios in the trees milled for pulp and paper. Yakir's work shows that this continuing dilution is, indeed, clearly recorded in the archival paper and, plotted over time, it demonstrates the increasing intensity of our fossil fuel burning in the past 150 years. This project has been ongoing for about 14 years, with figures from new issues added over time. In the process, says Yakir, he has had to learn something about the paper industry. Some early issues, for instance, had been printed on rag paper (made of cotton, flax, etc.) rather than wood pulp, while blips in the data around the time of the second world war led Yakir to suspect that the paper was either recycled, or again supplemented with rag content to make up for wartime shortages. Our Bureau

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 15 of 127

OLDEST AFRICAN APE FOSSIL FOUND


The discovery in Uganda of the oldest known fossil of an African ape will help shed light on how humans evolved, French scientists said Tuesday. The 20-million-yearold skull was discovered at an excavation site called Napak XV, said Martin Pickford, who led the team that found the unique item. The researcher said told the German Press Agency DPA that he believes it belonged to a male hominid that died some 19 million to 20 million years ago at the age of about 11. The fossil will be taken to France for study, then reconstructed, cleaned and returned to Uganda. It will be stored in Uganda's museum, Pickford said. Last year, researchers in Chad unearthed a 6-million-year-old hominid fossil, which was considered one of the great modern discoveries in the field, as it helped clarify the evolutionary chart. DPA

OLDEST FOSSILS FROM AN OXYGEN-FREE ERA FOUND


Earth's oldest fossils have been found in Australia by a joint Australian-British team. The microscopic fossils show convincing evidence for cells and bacteria living in an oxygen-free world over 3.4 billion years ago.

OLYMPIA WAS DESTROYED BY REPEATED TSUNAMIS


Olympia, original venue of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece, was presumably destroyed by repeated tsunamis that travelled considerable distances inland, and not by earthquake and river floods as has been assumed to date.

ON THE SCIENCE IN MAKING JALEBEES


Would you please let me know the principle underlying the making of jalebees by our halwais? Let me quote the answer: Actually it does not follow any special principle, but is a clever discovery, probably made by some inventive grandmother a long time ago!... As the halwai goes on making the jalebee patterns with the outflowing dough pouring into the pre-heated oil (or ghee), the thin tube of dough becomes a little tough on the outside and is expanded by the steam generated inside the tube. The heated surface becomes brown, stiff and a bit porous. Soon after that, prejalebees are transferred into another karhai (vessel) containing hot syrup. The inside of the pre-jalebee is now ready to soak in the syrup and soon we have piping hot jalebees . I am sure there are tricks in making the dough just right, but I would not know much about those. Reading this question and the answer, another set of questions popped in my head. Is this the same with makingrasa-vadai? How aboutdahi-vada?

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 16 of 127 andmurukkuorthenkuzhal(where there is no soaking)? Value for money The jalebee question is Question number 244 in the book Random Curiosity, written by Professor Yash Pal and his biologist son Dr. Rahul Pal. It was released by former President Abdul Kalam in Delhi two weeks ago. Published by the National Book Trust and priced at the affordable Rs. 140/-, it is excellent value for money. You can turn any page in the book and start reading it. There is no starting page, ending page, chapters or a story with a beginning and an end. The title phrase Random is appropriate. It is a collection of 274 questions, posed to Prof. Yash Pal by curious readers, young and old, which he has answered in his inimitable style. They appeared first inMalayala Manoramaand inThe Tribune, and have been collected in a book form. The questioners range from a class 2 student from the Jharkand town of Jhumri Telaiya (a place made famous by All India Radio's Vividh Bharati) the grandfather of a 11-year-old. And the answers are not at all didactic, cut and dry. You cannot commit them to memory and spill out when asked. This is not a guide book for EAMCET or IIT JEE. In fact it is useless for such purposes. Each answer is long-winded in a friendly, inclusive and conversational way. It is a book to be enjoyed. The papa and son Pals have followed what the pop-singer Madonna once sang: Papa, don't preach. What they does is reach. The basis behind the book has been set forth right in the preface. Education is not delivered; it is constructed or created by each child. Observation and curiosity to understand what is observed is an integral component of living and growing up. And our systems with rigidly defined syllabi and fixed ways of transacting only that which is in the syllabus wipe away all natural curiosity. Most of the unconventional questions can be dismissed by saying that they are not school questions or, an over-encompassing dismissal by saying no need to know.' Random curiosity is a subversive book. It cocks a snook at the syllabus. But it does so in a subtle, seductive manner. It reminds us of the manner in which our grandmothers taught us mythology, family values and the like. We lapped it up, since we were soaked in her affection. Grandpa Yash Pal does the same with science, changing himself into a grandma. I have had the pleasure of working with him off and on over the years. One of the most enjoyable was the TV show Turning Point, where we both answered questions and posed some to the audience. We would get postcards filled with questions, answers to which spanned the fields of chemistry, physics, and biology. Some of the best were those which stumped us. Why does the Poori balloon up into a hemisphere while being fried in hot oil? was one that needed considerable thinking, live experimentation and heated arguments before we answered it. I cannot resist quoting another, question number 136, which asks during the winter season, water in the river and water tank feels cold while that from the well is warm. For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 17 of 127 Why? I shall not write the answer here, but ask you to think and find your own. Compare your style and words with those of the Pals. It is this comparison that makes us appreciate and admire Professor Yash Pal. The style It is this style of engaging the questioner as a partner in seeking the answer, and talking not in jargon but in everyday language that makes Random Curiosity must buy. I have two recommendations to make. My first is go, buy the book and enjoy it. My second is that it should be translated into all, not some but all Indian languages, and not in textbook language but conversational informal and inclusive. And that is a tall order. (Indeed, even the colleagues who answer readers' questions in English inThe Hindu might consider such a style). Are there takers? If yes, I am sure Professor Bipan Chandra, Chairman of the National Book Trust, will be just as accommodating as he has been to me (allowing me to quote verbatim from some parts of the book). And I hope the next edition has more on life sciences. D. BALASUBRAMANIAN dbala@lvpei.org

ONE IN 10 SPECIES COULD FACE EXTINCTION


One in 10 species could face extinction by 2100 if current climate change impacts continue. This is the result of University of Exeter research.

ONE STEP CLOSER TO DARK MATTER IN UNIVERSE


As dark matter is invisible, we can only see traces of it by looking at light with extremely high energy gamma radiation. Using the Fermi Large Area Telescope, scientists can now study gamma radiation and look for traces of dark matter.

ONE-CLAWED DINOSAUR BELONGED TO T. REX FAMILY


Researchers in China have unearthed a miniature single-clawed dinosaur that was likely an early relative of the ferocious T. rex and is the only such creature known to have just one finger. Small animal The newly named species of theropod, Linhenykus monodactylus, would have been about a metre (three feet) tall and as heavy as a parrot, said the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Michael Pittman of University College London another member of the team told the BBC: You'd see a very small animal, probably below your hip height, with a very small skull. It's not very threatening because its teeth are very small compared to other carnivorous dinosaurs. Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2011

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 18 of 127 Complex evolution Xu said the discovery showed that the evolution of theropods was more complex than originally thought. Xu is from the Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Paleoanthropology, at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. We think it lived on ants and other small insects. It might also have been the prey of other kinds of dinosaurs in the area, added Xu. Most theropods, which were carnivores that gave rise to modern birds, had three fingers per hand, but this one just had a single large claw that it likely used for digging into insect nests, in an odd but evolutionarily useful adaptation. Non-avian theropods start with five fingers but evolved to have only three fingers in later forms, said study co-author Michael Pittman of the Department of Earth Sciences at University College London. Tyrannosaurs were unusual in having just two fingers but the one-fingered Linhenykus shows how extensive and complex theropod hand modifications really were. Vestigial structures Scientists are not sure why Linhenykus evolved to no longer have his other two digits, but the study theorized that their disappearance may simply reflect the fact that they were no longer being actively maintained by natural selection. Some species had a big finger and two small ones. Experts had surmised that the creatures used the large one to dig with and that it became stronger over time while the smaller ones were not used and were eventually lost. This sort of thing happened all the time in the history of the wild world, explained co-author Jonah Choiniere from the Division of Paleontology at the American Museum of Natural History. Vestigial structures, like legs in whales and snakes, may appear and disappear seemingly randomly in the course of evolution, Choiniere said. The remains of the dinosaur were dug up near the border between Mongolia and China in rocks of the Upper Cretaceous Wulansuhai Formation, which dates to 84-75 million years ago. Researchers found a partial skeleton at the site, including vertebral bones, a forelimb, part of a pelvis and almost complete hind limbs. Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2011 and AFP

ONION VARIETY THAT YIELDS WELL AND IS DROUGHT


RESISTANT
An onion cannot be dismissed as just another vegetable. In fact no other vegetable seems to be backed by a strong lobby like the humble onion. Especially in our country, Governments can be toppled and unseated if the vegetable records a meteoric price rise. When onion price fluctuates it becomes front page news, says Mr. Manaram Chowdhary from Sikar, Rajasthan. Decade of work The farmer developed an onion variety after nearly a decade of trial and error and

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 19 of 127 says these ones yield well, are drought resistant, and fetch a better price compared to the other local varieties. Named Rashidpura, the variety attained wide popularity in the northern states of Rajasthan, Delhi, Punjab, and Haryana for its distinctive taste and strong smell. I tried cooking them and found them delicious. But their shelf life was short. I then preserved some bulbs by drying them and sowed them in the next season. Water scarcity Though I did cultivate the local varieties, acute water shortage made me experiment with a variety, whose requirement of water was less and which could survive the drought conditions that are prevalent in our area, he adds. The three wells in his 10-acre farm were unsuitable for growing wheat, bajra, and other crops in addition to onions. He says that he observed that the plants from this particular variety were maturing earlier (110-115 days ) than the other varieties (125- 135 days) and yielded well 40,000 kg bulbs per hectare than the commercially cultivated varieties (25,00030,000 kg per hectare), even under water-stress and low irrigation conditions. He stabilised the characteristics over a period of ten years (1983 to 1993) by performing repeated selection. Once he was satisfied with the yield stability of the variety, and the drought resistant characteristic of the variety, he named it Rashidpura. Consumer awareness As of now the availability and awareness among consumers for this particular variety are relatively low compared to the other popular ones. This variety can also fetch a good price like the other local ones and farmers should realise this and start cultivating it, says the farmer, adding, this variety is usually used to spice soups, salads and pizzas due to its peculiar taste. Urban consumers seem to prefer these variety and the requirement for this type of onion is also expected to increase. Farmers would definitely benefit from growing this variety of onion. Appreciation Officials from the agriculture extension department in Sikar and research station, Durgapur (Jaipur) appreciated the variety developed by Mr. Choudhary. Several onion farmers end up ploughing their crops back into the soil in frustration as they are not able to get a good price for their produce. The weather also creates problems for us. It suddenly starts raining during peak summer and sometimes there is little rain for years together, says Mr. Sundaram Verma, Honey Bee Network collaborator Rajasthan. False claim The transport cost to the mandis does not even make up for our investment expenditure. The Government's claim of trying to control the rise does not seem to be of much help to poor farmers. The media must also throw light on plight of onion cultivators, their problems, and new methods if any, to increase area of cultivation and encourage other farmers to For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 20 of 127 start cultivating onion, instead of just reporting on price rise and how it affects consumers and the Government's reply and control mechanism to the same, adds Mr. Manaram. For more information readers can contact Mr. Manaram Chowdhary, Village Sanvloda Ladkhana, District Sikar, Rajasthan at 09799237178.

ONLY A FOCUSSED POLICY CAN RECTIFY ILLS PLAGUING


AGRICULTURE
Food producers are said to be at the mercy of others. Right from growing crops, facing the vagaries of weather, paying the high labour costs, to literally going behind the buyers in the end to sell their produce for a not so remunerative price, says Dr. K. Kumarasamy, former head, Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, TNAU, Coimbatore. Former U.S President John Kennedy rightly said about farmers, A farmer buys everything in retail and sells it at wholesale, paying the freight charges both ways. It is a universal statement made nearly five decades back and holds true even now for our farmers, he adds. Short span In five years a trader marketing agricultural produces manages to become rich. But at the same time, the farmers supplying the produce to him continue to languish in poverty and debt. As most of the agricultural produces are of perishable nature, farmers need money immediately after the harvest as they need to repay the loans they borrowed. In many parts of the country it is a common scene to see the moneylender standing on the field bund while the harvest is in progress to take back the money. Disposing off the produce at the earliest, immediately after harvest sometimes right from the threshing floor is a big relief for farmers. For them, selling at a lower rate may be better when compared to the harassment they need to endure at the moneylenders' hands, if they do not repay the interest on time, explains Dr. Kumarasamy. Even the regulated markets created by the Government are not able to serve the intended purpose satisfactorily, due to many political reasons. Most of our land holdings are small and marginal farmers are unable to adopt the improved methods of cultivation due to resource constraints in purchase of inputs of seeds, manures, fertilizers, and agricultural chemicals, and to meet the expenses of improved packages of farming. No benefit Most of the farmers do not benefit by the credit facilities extended by the banks and other government agencies, as they do not have the information and right contacts to get access to such facilities. Especially for getting loans and subsidies today it is very essential for a small farmer to know somebody influential in the village or panchayat, he reasons.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 21 of 127 The self-sufficiency that the country claims to have achieved is not real as onethird of our present population do not have the purchasing power for three meals a day. Stagnant production Further, our production is stagnant for the past few years, compared to the magnitudes of production in 1980s and 1990s, while the population increase continues to gallop in geometric proportions, explains Dr. Kumarasamy. According to him, we are at a critical stage to identify the ills that plague agriculture such as land erosion, water scarcity, sub standard inputs and plan appropriate measures to safeguard the food security of the nation. The Government organisations and agencies must plan and focus their policies and programmes to ensure proper harvest and conservation of the surplus rainfall received during the short monsoons for use during the long, lean seasons. Remunerative price Sufficient production and supply of certified seeds of the important crops under cultivation to the majority of the farmers, supply of quality agricultural inputs of fertilizers, and plant protection chemicals and streamlined regulated marketing facilities to assure reasonable and remunerative prices for the agricultural produces, seems to be his conviction. The Government must remember that, if agriculture is allowed to fail in our country, it will certainly lead to the stagnation of our country's progress, leaving no scope for redemption as we cannot afford to import food materials for our everincreasing population, he emphasises. For more details contact Dr. K. Kumaraswamy, Formerly Professor of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, TNAU, Coimbatore, email: kkkswamy9@yahoo.co.in Mobile: 94436 52332.

ONLY AN ATTRACTIVE RETURN CAN KEEP THE YOUTH IN


FARMING
Most professionals may want their children to follow in their footsteps, and take over the practice, But ask a farmer whether he wants his children to follow him - and the answer will be a firm no.' There are exceptions though: I want my son to become a farmer and take over after me, says Mr. N. Aravindan an organic farmer from Pudukottai district, Tamil Nadu. The farmer says that his father often used to remind him that Agriculture is our life. School and college are only means to improve our knowledge. These words inspired him to stay in agriculture, he claims. Post graduate Mr. Aravindan completed a Masters Degree in Business Administration and is into farming for the last eight years. He says he was inspired by Dr. G. Nammalwar, the organic scientist.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 22 of 127 My tryst in organic farming started from then, he adds and says he started collecting more information about organic farming from books and interacting with other leading organic practitioners. Mr. Aravindam also attended numerous training programmes organised by Kudumbam, an organisation for rural development in Tiruchi at their farm called Kolunji Ecological Farm. I started applying those principles and gradually converted my land from chemical to organic. Now I am cultivating organic paddy, sugarcane, groundnut, pulses, and millets. The success behind my farming is that I am making a crop calendar depending upon the monsoon and climatic condition for various farming activities. I split the land and utilize it according to the soil type and water resource, explains the farmer. In addition he uses enriched farmyard manure and cultivates Daincha (green manure) to apply in the field. He uses bio- control agents and herbal decoctions for pest control. Recycling I recycle the sugarcane leaves by converting them to compost and apply this compost to the soil for 70- 90 days. I am able to get a yield of more than 51 tonnes of sugarcane from an acre, he explains. He now educates other farmers on the need to control expenses during cultivation, and also produces trichogramma egg parasite cards that are bought by a private company. We earn about Rs.15,000 per month as income from selling the cards, he says. Non-remunerative Majority of the people living in my village Kovil veerakudi depend on agriculture. Inspite of that, the youngsters are no more interested in taking up farming as a profession. They see farming as a non-remunerative choice and migrate to nearby urban centres, but do not succeed there as well. Soon they return to the village with a lot of behavioural changes, roaming around lazily in the village, he rues. The future of farming remains a question mark according to Mr. Aravindan. But he envisions some positive signs for a bright future for farming. A youth club in the village for farming, cleaning roads, school premises and health camps, is presently functioning well. We set up an organic farmers club in my village and are planning to produce biofertilizers such as Azospirillum, Rhizobium, pseudomonas, trichograrnme virudi etc, he says. While these are some small initiatives at a higher level The government should also encourage the youth by supporting them and introducing new schemes for young farmers. They should motivate, recognise, and appreciate the youth to pull them towards agriculture through schemes and training, he suggests. No hope Disillusioned by the future prospects of farming and seeing their parents suffering For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 23 of 127 physically and monetarily, the children are naturally inclined to take up even menial jobs in the city. "True, this causes a lot of brain-drain and physical labour shortage in the villages but it cannot be helped. Unless they realise a good income from a field, youngsters cannot be expected to enter farming, says Mrs. J. Pangayavalli, Co- ordinator, Kudumbam. Feeling proud You must practice agriculture like Aravindan.' - When I hear these words from other farmers in my village I feel proud to be a farmer. For many parents in the village, I am a role model. As a farmer, I am happy because I am producing foodgrains for my nation and not polluting the environment, says Mr. Aravindan proudly. For more information contact Mr. Aravindan at Kovil Veerakudi Andakulam (Post),Kulathur (Taluk),Pudukottai district, TamilNadu. Mobile: 9585770011 and Mrs. J. Pangayavalli at 9842833187.

OPEN SCIENCE A TRANSPARENT AND NOVEL WAY TO DO


RESEARCH
At a time when many papers published in reputed journals are being retracted on the grounds of unethical practices like data fabrication and falsification, one scientist is taking a totally different and novel route to do science that gives no room for such practices. She is Rosie Redfield, a microbiologist at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Unlike how other researchers try to replicate in their labs the finding of a scientist, Redfield is trying to replicate the disputed study published in Science journal last year in a totally different way doing her research in full public glare, detailing all the elements of her work in an open lab notebook on her blog. Transparent approach This novel approach is striking at the very foundation of the kind of research carried out in today's world where secrecy and confidentiality are considered paramount. While these are indeed required, they also provide scientists sufficient scope to manipulate and fabricate data. It is such a great opportunity to do open science. I've been doing all my research openly for a while, but nobody pays attention, Dr. Redfield was quoted as saying in Nature . Dr. Redfield is performing the much maligned study of bacterium incorporating arsenic into its DNA backbone. According to the study published in Science in 2010, Felisa Wolfe-Simon, a NASA astrobiology research fellow, and other authors claimed that a particular bacterium isolated from California's Mono Lake was capable of substituting arsenic for a small percentage of phosphorus and still sustain its growth.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 24 of 127 Surprising find This study came under great scrutiny by fellow scientists as it questioned the very basis of our understanding of the necessary ingredients for life. Arsenic is a toxic element and is not one of the six elements carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur, and phosphorus that make up most of the organic molecules in living matter. Redfield herself had criticised the study. She doubted if the arsenic had indeed been incorporated into the bacterium's DNA as claimed, and if contamination of the growth medium with phosphorus had helped the micro-organism to grow and sustain in the presence of arsenic. Redfield's results are already challenging Simon's work. Already exposing For instance, contrary to the original work, Redfield could grow the bacterium in a very low concentration of phosphorus. And the micro-organism died when arsenic was added to phosphorus. Again, the micro-organism being studied by Redfield has not been able to survive in a growth medium containing arsenic. This was the first step that Science authors had performed before transferring the bacterium to different concentrations of arsenic and phosphorus growth mediums. This is not the first time that open science is being done. For instance, Paul Docherty, a chemist, undertook open science in 2009 to debunk a tall claim that sodium hydride could oxidise an alcohol. Different objective But Redfield's work is quite different. She is undertaking this work not to debunk the original work it has already been debunked and dismissed. But she is trying to replicate the experiment despite knowing that it would be impossible to obtain the same findings.' According to Nature , though open science risks the possibility of scooping by fellow scientists, the very fact that it is being done in full public glare would make it difficult for that to happen. Plagiarising would also be difficult for the same reason. On the contrary, a researcher may be corrected or guided if she/he is taking a wrong approach or step. Possibly, more such open science endeavours can be seen in the future. To start with they would be restricted to experiments challenging or debunking a study. But the real open science would be when an original work is done in this transparent manner. It may probably take a long while before researchers mature to reach that point.

OPPORTUNITY' ON VERGE OF NEW FIND ABOUT MARS

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 25 of 127 The Mars rover Opportunity is poised on the rim of the Endeavour Crater, preparing to sample a novel rock type. This new sample promises to reveal clues to the planet's environment when rivers coursed the surface.

ORBITER CATCHES MARS SAND DUNES IN MOTION


Images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show sand dunes and ripples moving across the surface of Mars at many locations, revealing that the planet's sandy surface is more dynamic than previously thought.

ORCA-INSPIRED SENSITIVE UNDERSEA MICROPHONE


A microphone modelled after the highly acute hearing of orcas that can be used at any depth in the ocean, and is sensitive to a wide range of sounds, from a whisper in a library to an explosion of TNT, has been developed.

ORGAN TRANSPLANTS INCREASE CANCER RISK


Patients who have received a solid organ transplant have an overall cancer risk that is double that of the general population.

ORIGINS OF SATURN'S ICY RINGS, MOONS UNRAVELLED


Simulations may explain how Saturn's icy rings formed due to the collision of a Titan-sized satellite with the planet. As dust and debris from rocky meteoroids have polluted the rings, they were pure ice when they formed.

ORISSA FARMERS TAKE TO EMU BIRD FARMING


Farmers in Gajapati District, Orissa have discovered a new way to make money through Emu farming, or golden farming' as it is popularly known in the region. Emu is an Australian bird and now it is being farmed in different countries and also in India. They are very much resistant to diseases, which is the biggest plus point in farming a bird. In other farmings the chances of disease resistance is less, says Mr. Niranjan Patnaik, a farm owner. Medicated bird Emu is a totally medicated bird. The oil, which is produced by them, is also medicated. It has zero percent cholesterol. It is prescribed by the American doctors, says Dr. Lambodhar Mohapatra, veterinary doctor. Emu meat is very healthy and contains low amounts of fat and cholesterol. Emu oil is also estimated to be highly medicinal and is gaining popularity in the

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 26 of 127 pharmaceutical industry priced at around Rupees 4,500 per litre. Disease resistant Emu farming is not labour-intensive and it is compatible with rearing other livestock. The birds are also said to be highly disease-resistant. In winter, female emus lay eggs after a gap of every three days. Using an incubator/hatchery, eggs hatch in 49 to 52 days. Areas with water availability in abundance are appropriate to practice this unique farming. Required area Emus need large space to roam freely and if cornered, they can get aggressive by kicking their feet at the target. An area of 3,000 square feet is considered optimum for raising five pairs of Emus. From a 14 to18-month-old bird, 20 kilogram of flesh and at least four litres of oil can be derived. According to a report published in the American Cardiac Association, emu meat is very healthy and contains very low amounts of fat and cholesterol. Oil Moreover, emu oil estimated to be highly medicinal is gaining its popularity in the pharmaceutical industry and is priced around Rs 4,500 per litre. Emu ( Dromaius novaehollandiae), a flightless bird, is also the largest bird in Australia and the second largest in the world after its distant cousin, the ostrich. The birds can reach up to six feet (2m) in height and 66-100 pounds (30-45 kilograms) in weight. ANI

OVARIAN CANCER SPREADS DUE TO ABDOMINAL FAT


A large pad of fat cells, extending from the stomach and covering the intestines, provides nutrients that promote the spread of ovarian cancer. The fatty tissue, rich in energy-dense lipids, is an energy source for the cancer.

OXIDATIVE STRESS DAMAGES DNA


Researchers have now decoded the mechanism that repairs DNA damaged in this way. This repair mechanism could lead to less invasive approaches in cancer therapy.

OXYGEN MOLECULES DETECTED IN ORION CONSTELLATION


For the first time, molecular variety of Oxygen has been discovered in space in Orion constellation of stars which forms clouds. While atomic oxygen has been long known in warm regions of space, previous missions looking for the molecular variety two atoms of oxygen bonding together came up largely empty-handed.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 27 of 127 NASA's Submillimetre Wave Astronomy Satellite and Sweden's Odin mission have both searched for molecular oxygen and established that its presence is much lower than expected. Paul Goldsmith, NASA's project scientist at Jet Propulsion Lab, California, and an international team of investigators went looking for it with European Space Agency's Herschel project, according to a NASA statement. They used Herschel's HIFI far-infrared instrument and targeted Orion, where they reasoned that the forming stars would heat the surrounding gas and dust. Using three infrared frequencies of the instrument, the Herschel Oxygen Project team was successful. They found one molecule of oxygen for every million hydrogen molecules in Orion. This explains where some of the oxygen might be hiding, said Goldsmith. But we didn't find large amounts of it and still don't understand what is so special about the spots where we found it. The Universe still holds many secrets, he added. Oxygen, in all its forms, is the third most abundant element in the Universe and a major ingredient of our planet. IANS

OYSTERS CAN CLEAN UP CHESAPEAKE BAY, U.S.


Oysters process nutrients while feeding on phytoplankton and then store the nutrients in their shells and tissue. Harvesting them is a solution for nutrient pollution in Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in North America.

OZONE TREATMENT TO THWART FUNGUS IN FRUITS


Storing fruits and vegetables in ozone-enriched environments reduces fungal spoilage. Ozone treatment could be a safe, effective replacement for pesticides as it leaves no residue on foods.

PARSLEY, CELERY CAN HALT BREAST CANCER SPREAD


In a new study, a University of Missouri researcher has found that a compound in parsley and other plant products, including celery, fruits and nuts, can stop breast cancer tumour cells from multiplying and growing.

PAVING THE WAY FOR A NEW AGE OF THE INTERNET


A new laser device, created at the University of Central Florida emits more intense light than those currently used. It could make high-speed computing faster and more reliable, opening the door to a new age of the Internet.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 28 of 127

PAVING THE WAY FOR NEXT GENERATION ELECTRONICS


Nanoscale self-assembly of organic building blocks, is a promising new route towards the next generation of ultra-small electronic devices with potential applications in computing, solar power and display technologies.

PEERING INTO THE FUTURE OF STEM CELL BIOLOGY


One of the worrisome problems in the use of stem cells for the repair of body parts, is whether you are creating cancer. Whether microRNA profiles that look like cancer indicate a propensity toward cancer is being studied.

PEOPLE MAY BE LEARNING WHILE THEY SLEEP


People may be learning while they are sleeping an unconscious form of memory that is still not well understood, according to a new study.

PEOPLE WITH HIV FACE HIGHER RATE OF CANCER


For reasons not yet clear, people with HIV face a higher rate of cancers not usually associated with HIV, a new study suggests. This increasing rate of non-AIDS defining cancers includes lung, head and neck, liver, kidney, and anal cancers, among others, according to the study appearing on the website of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) on Monday. The alarming uptick in cancer rates highlights the critical need to understand how to treat tumors in people taking highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) for HIV, the study noted. Lead author of the study, John Deeken, said the early results of the AIDS-related study have the potential to change the way that cancer is treated in HIV patients. Xinhua

PEPPER THRESHER, AN IDEAL SUBSTITUTE FOR MANUAL


LABOUR
The two biggest problems farmers regularly face are water scarcity and labour shortage. Increasing wages in the last one year alone, thanks to the Government 100 days rural employment scheme, today a situation exists where agricultural labourers no longer need to beg for work. They negotiate and fix the price. In short agriculture is fast turning into a costly proposition and farm owners are finding the going tough, says Dr. S. Prabhukumar, Zonal Project Director, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Hebbal, Bangalore.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 29 of 127 Not possible And complete mechanisation cannot work in our country, because machines are quite costly and may not serve the purpose for a long time. If a land owner decides to sell his lands, then disposing the machine becomes difficult, he says. A pocket friendly machine for any crop that promises to substitute manual labour is sure to find favour among the land owners. That too if the machine is developed by a farmer, then its value appreciates, according to him. Recent meet Recently, a National Farm Innovators Meet was organised at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Suttur, Mysore District, Karnataka. A number of farmers across the country showcased their findings before experts and media persons. Many of them exhibited new, simple and economical innovations developed by them. If these innovations can be popularised among others it could make an impact on the agricultural scenario of the country, explains Dr. Prabhukumar Take the case of a pepper farmer from Kasargod, Mr. Gopala Krishna Sharma, who demonstrated a pepper thresher machine he developed, in front of the experts. The machine promises to be a good substitute for labour shortage among pepper cultivators, he adds. Explaining about this machine the farmer Mr. Gopala Krishna says: Threshing is usually done manually by shearing between the legs. At present there are no machines in the market to do the job. The berries should be threshed immediately after harvesting. Any delay affects the quality of the plucked berries. I used a threshing drum from case pipes (used for tube wells) and ...welded four rods... to the surface of the drum in a curved manner to push the pepper stalk forward for threshing. A half HP, 1440 rpm electric motor provides the energy for the machine. A stationary plate is provided with small holes to facilitate the threshed berries to fall through it. The detached berries fall through the holes onto a stationary plate and get collected in a container kept at the bottom of the machine. Door provision An opening door is provided at the other end of the device to collect the stalk after threshing. A rubber sheet at the bottom of the stationary plate collects the threshed pepper and guides it to a container kept at the bottom of the machine. The remaining residue (stalk) gets collected at the other end of the drum and needs to be removed periodically after threshing 5kg of pepper. Working capacity The machine can thresh 100kg of pepper in an hour. Manually it takes 6 hours to do the same. One person can thresh 100kg per day and the machine can run for six hours. The machine can thresh all varieties of pepper since the pepper size does not vary, says the farmer. For more details contact Mr. Gopala Krishna Sharma, Saravu House, Padre P.O., (Via.) Perla, Kasaragod. Phone number: 04998225100, 09446655218 and Dr. S. Prabhukumar, Zonal Project Director, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, MRS, For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 30 of 127 H.A.farm post, Hebbal, Bangalore- 560 024, email: prabhukumar@gmail.com, phone: 080-23510616 and 23410614 (Extn-30).

PERFUME EFFECT
Why do we not smell the fragrance of our perfume on our body after 10 to 15 minutes of usage, whereas others can smell it for a long time? A. DARWIN Puduchery Smell is something not peculiar to human. In lower animals, it has no apparent appreciations, but there is good amount of identification by the animals. Not only dogs but all animals, have good sense of identification of smell. In humans, it is highly adaptive. The sense of smell is picked up by bare nerve endings from a place called cribriform plate situated at the base of skull and at the roof of nose. From that a cluster of nerves called the olfactory bulb reaches the uncinate gyrus, a place of recognition of smell. The cortex is the highest place, where the type of smell is recognized. Thus volleys of impulses reach this cortex from olfactory nerves. There is a peculiar phenomena for all sensory nerves. When stimulation is continuous, the rate of firing of discharges becomes less from the nerve cells, unless renewed again with different wave length of stimulus. For example we do not realize wearing our shirt or shoes after some time unless it becomes uncomfortable. This phenomenon is called sense of adaptation. The same works with smell also as continuous stimulation of olfactory nerves, reduces the volleys of neuronal stimulation less, and becomes more adaptive. Even the bad smell of rotten food, or animals, death etc may be identified by the new comer to that place, but the residents may not realize. A fisherman does not identify the smell of dry fish, but others can identify it. Likewise, the non realization of perfumes by the person wearing the perfume becomes adaptive, while when others pass by that person they may realize the smell of the perfumes. PROF. V. NAGARAAJAN Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University Madurai, Tamil Nadu

PESTICIDE USE LEADS TO RAPID EVOLUTION IN PESTS


Even without human interference natural selection in pests causes rapid evolution. Even stronger effects might be expected when pesticides are in use. Ignoring this evolution can lead to predictions underestimating pest outbreaks.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 31 of 127

PETALS, DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE LILY'S BLOOM


Now, mathematics has revealed that differential growth and ruffling at the edges of each petal not in the midrib, as commonly suggested provide the driving force behind the lily's bloom. The petals behave like leaves.

PHILOSOPHY OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE


The philosophy of sustainable agriculture is to maximize crop production through scientific methods of farming. Growing high-yielding varieties using optimum inputs without exploiting and polluting the environment. Principles Commercial agriculture at high levels of crop production with high quality produces could become sustainable if the following principles of integrated agriculture were adopted. High-yielding and high-quality varieties of crops must be chosen and grown. Improved agronomic practices from suitable land preparation to efficient harvest technology must be adopted. Integrated soil fertility management practices Efficient soil, crop and water management. Cost effective, environment friendly weed control measures. Integrated and effective pest and disease control measures. Conservation of natural resources like soil and water. We have high-yielding and high-quality varieties of almost all crops. The climate in our country is favourable and conductive for crop growth throughout the year. Natural resources are generally favourable for crop production. Crop production can be maximized and sustained without exhausting the natural resources and avoiding environmental pollution by enhancing and sustaining soil productivity through Integrated Agriculture Practices. Commercial farming Green revolution and commercial agriculture had been possible through development of high-yielding and better quality varieties in almost all crops and adoption of improved packages of practices of cultivation, soil fertility management and plant protection measures. Commercial agriculture is profit-maximizing farming with high-yielding varieties using high qualities of fertilizers and chemicals and adopting improved methods of cultivation aiming high yields and returns. Exploited In commercial agriculture the natural resources are exploited, leading to deterioration in soil health and decline in soil productivity. Commercial agriculture has become hazardous in the long run. It is not in harmony with the environment and soil productivity.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 32 of 127 Dr. K. Kumaraswamy Former Professor Soil Science and Agriculture Chemistry TNAU, Coimbatore

PIGLETS CAN BREAK DOWN AND EXCRETE PAINKILLERS


Piglets of different age groups have a unique ability to break down and excrete painkillers, says a study. The findings are important for the choice of medicine and dosage used in the treatment of pain in piglets.

PLANKTON, KEY TO FIRST BREATHABLE ATMOSPHERE


500 million years ago, Earth's first breathable atmosphere formed after Earth's ancient atmosphere vanished in the Cambrian period. Plankton in the ocean pulled CO {-2} from the atmosphere and released oxygen.

PLANT BIODIVERSITY IS KEY TO MORE BIOMASS


Ecosystems containing several species are more productive than individual species on their own. Biodiversity in the plant kingdom is very efficient in assimilating nutrients and solar energy, resulting in greater biomass.

PLANT BODY CLOCK STUDY FOR OZONE PREDICTION


The rate at which plants emit isoprene is influenced by their body clock (circadian rhythm) which is being studied. Ground level ozone forms when isoprene reacts with nitrogen oxides from car engines or industry.

PLANT SURVIVAL IN ARID CONDITIONS


Plants can naturally control the opening and closing of stomata, pores that take in CO {-2} and release water. During drought, a plant might close its stomata to conserve water. By doing so, however, the plant also reduces the amount of CO {2} it can take in, limiting photosynthesis. Purdue University researchers have found a genetic mutation that allows a plant to better endure drought without losing biomass, reducing the amount of water required and helping plants survive in adverse conditions. Researchers found that a genetic mutation in the research plant Arabidopsis thaliana reduces the number of stomata, but without limiting CO {-2} intake. The plant can only fix so much CO {-2}. The fewer stomata still allow for the same amount of CO {-2} intake as a wild type while conserving water, said a researcher. Our Bureau

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 33 of 127

PLANTS HAVE FEWER PORES WITH RISING CO {-2}


As carbon dioxide levels have risen during the last 150 years, the density of pores that allow plants to breathe has dwindled by 34 per cent, restricting the amount of water vapour the plants release to the atmosphere.

PLASTIC BOTTLES
Why do plastic bottles contract and get deformed (instead of expanding like other substances) when hot water is poured into them? VINAYAK VINOD Kottayam, Kerala The materials of the plastic bottles are long chain and branched polymers. The internal atomic or molecular structure of such materials is in a metastable state where the molecules are in locally stretched and locked-in configurations. Such metastable structures result from the method of preparation of the bottles where a lump of molten plastic is forced into the shape and size of the desired bottle and cooled rapidly. This freezes the disordered entanglement of the polymer molecules along with the associated local strains and forces. The materials with stable structures have no local internal forces on the molecules and the internal energy is at the global minimum. In such systems, any small imposed change in local structure is immediately relieved and the original structure, shape and size, is restored. On the other hand, in the materials in metastable state, like the glasses, polymers and plastics, the internal energy of such materials is not at the minimum and there are locked-in strains which, in turn, are associated with local forces on the molecules. Structure of such materials is not unique, but different possible structures are separated by higher energy configurations, often termed as energy barriers. If the molecules acquire sufficient energy to overcome the barriers, they move to more stable configurations by relaxing the forces and relieving the strains. This also enables the system to minimize its energy. Minimization of energy is an universal tendency of all physical systems. The situation of the plastic bottle is somewhat like a stretched rubber sheet. If a local region of the sheet is cut, the neighbouring molecules relax and move away from the cut, showing a contraction of the sheet. Such relaxations reduce the forces towards zero and also internal energy towards its minimum value. In the case of the plastic bottle, when hot water is poured, the molecules of the polymer get sufficient energy to overcome the barriers between the existing structure and more relaxed structure and hence the material of the bottle relaxes to the new more compact structure. Hence, they are seen to contract as a response to application of heat as by pouring hot water on or into them. PROF. H.K. SAHU Chennai Mathematical Institute, Chennai

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 34 of 127

PLASTICS LEACH TOXIC SUBSTANCES


In studies conducted at the University of Gothenburg, a third of the tested plastic products released toxic substances, including 5 out of 13 products intended for children. Many plastic products contain hazardous chemicals that can leach to the surroundings. The plastic polymers are not regarded as toxic, but there may be toxic residual chemicals, chemical additives and degradation products in the plastic products that can leach out as they are not bound to the plastic polymer. Considering how common plastic products are, how quickly the production of plastic has increased and the amount of chemicals that humans and the environment are exposed to, it is important to replace the most hazardous substances in plastic products with less hazardous alternatives, says Delilah Lithner of the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at the University of Gothenburg. In her research, Lithner studied the toxicity of 83 randomly selected plastic products and synthetic textiles. The newly purchased products were leached in pure (deionised) water. The acute toxicity of the water was then tested using water fleas (Daphnia magna), according to a University of Gothenburg press release. A third of all the 83 plastic products and synthetic chemicals that were tested released substances that were acutely toxic to the water fleas, despite the leaching being mild. The products that resulted in toxic water were soft to semi-soft products made from plasticised PVC or polyurethane, as well as epoxy products and textiles made from various plastic fibres. The toxicity was mainly caused by fat-soluble organic substances. Lithner also studied the chemicals used to make around 50 different plastic polymers and has identified the plastic polymers for which the most hazardous chemicals are used. Our Bureau

PLOWING SMOOTHLY WITH LESS FUEL CONSUMPTION


Plowshares coated with diamond-like carbon (DLC) slide through the soil like a hot knife through butter. As a result, the tractors pulling them experience less friction, and hence need less power and fuel.

PLURIPOTENT STEM CELLS GENERATED FROM HORSES


In a world first, pluripotent stem cells have been generated from horses. The findings will help enable regenerative therapies in veterinary medicine, and aid the development of preclinical models leading to human applications.

POLIO STILL A THREAT TO PUBLIC HEALTH: EXPERT


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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 35 of 127 Despite successful eradication in most countries, there are still four countries where the polio virus is considered endemic and many more in which the virus still lurks, says an expert from Israel.

POLLINATORS PLAY A KEY ROLE IN HEALTHY DIETS


Fruits and vegetables that provide the highest levels of vitamins and minerals to the human diet globally depend heavily on bees and other pollinating animals, according to a new study published inPLoS ONE.

POLLUTION MONITORING INFRASTRUCTURE INADEQUATE POTATO GENOME NOW SEQUENCED, ANALYSED


An international consortium has sequenced and analyzed the potato genome. The consortium's work, turned up more than 39,000 genes and is expected to speed potato research and breeding projects around the globe.

POWER FROM WASTE: VIVEKANANDA KENDRA SHOWS THE


WAY
Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu is an internationally renowned tourist destination. Though the town itself houses a modest population of just 12,345 in about 400 households, it generates a huge volume of waste mainly kitchen waste from various hotels and restaurants. An NGO from Kanyakumari called Vivekananda Kendra (Vk- nardep) built a solid waste management shed at the town panchayat for collecting and processing the entire waste for feeding into a bio-gas plant. The Kendra constructed the biogas plant (of 100 cubic metre volume) a floating drum like device attached to a designed biogas engines that are in turn connected to specially designed control panels. Effective disposing The solid waste management shed of the Panchayat is today powered by the biogas-generated-electricity. Once the plant started functioning, the panchayat disposed a lot of waste in a constructive way using this plant. The hygiene of the surroundings also improved, says the Kendra secretary G.Vasudeo. Scientists from the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore and officials from Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA) visited the project and recommended it for subsidy from the Government. Every kilowatt of energy produced through such renewable energy sources is

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 36 of 127 eligible for subsidy. This village panchayat generates about 10 Kilowatts of electricity from its organic kitchen waste thereby becoming eligible for subsidy worth Rs 4 lakh, says Mr. Vasudeo. Once a small town or village becomes a popular tourist place, almost the entire livelihood of that place starts depending on its tourism industry. Increased waste generation and absence of effective solutions to tackle it affect the health of the people and also hits tourist flow. Sadly, today urban tourist centers as well as cities are becoming a hub of food waste being dumped in the kitchen backyards, he adds. Waste generation A typical major tourist or pilgrimage centre generates 10-35 tonnes of waste per day, higher than the per capita in urban areas. Such a problem needs to be tackled innovatively both technologically and socially, that too on a war footing. Disposing of waste, particularly kitchen waste, poses a big problem everywhere. Often the sight of accumulated garbage heaps at road corners and in open grounds and fields becomes a nuisance for the residents. These rubbish heaps become a breeding ground for many infections and are frequented by stray dogs, he says. Vicious cycle Effectively tackling this problem becomes imperative as it remains a vicious cycle. The challenge of converting the waste into wealth at Mamallapuram is a joint effort of a Chennai based NGO, Hand in Hand', which, along with Vivekananda Kendra set up a large Bio-methanation plant from their Natural resources development project. The Kendra has been doing research and field work in this area for the last 10 years and is credited for developing low volume bio-methanation plants that are suitable for both urban and rural households. In addition to this the Kendra also developed a bio-gas slurry based agro-inputs package and made the dissemination of this technology more efficient. Collection We started collecting kitchen and vegetable wastes from the town Panchayat and collected more than 550 kg to 600 kg of kitchen wastes for feeding the plant, adds Mr. Vasudeo. Thus a unique combination of governmental agencies, voluntary organisations, and sustainable energy technologists made a tourist centre in the present globalised environment more ecologically healthy and economically vibrant. For more details and visit readers can contact Mr. G.Vasudeo, Secretary, Vivekananda Kendra - NARDEP, Kanyakumari - 629 702, Tamil Nadu, e.mail : vknardep@gmail.com, website: vknardep.org, phone 04652- 246296 (office).

PREDICTIVE BREEDING FOR MORE BENEFICIAL CROPS

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 37 of 127 Traditional breeding of crops involves crossing two varieties and selecting the best performing among the progeny. In predictive breeding, specific parts of the genome most likely to contain beneficial genes are identified.

PREPARING FOR LONGER STAY IN SPACE


China is preparing astronauts for long-term missions so that they can carry out manned explorations of deep space in the future, an official said. A five-year programme to ready Chinese astronauts for long-term missions in space has been approved and will begin later this year, Director of the Astronaut Center of China Chen Shanguang said. Chen told the China Daily that the programme aims to establish astronauts' operational and decision-making abilities in space, along with any psychological and physical changes they undergo living in cramped compartments in weightless conditions. The longest period Chinese astronauts remained in space so far was 115.5 hours, or nearly five days, during the mission of Shenzhou VI in 2005. China will build a space station in 10 years and will probably carry out manned explorations of deep space in the future, Chen was quoted as saying. He said that the challenge is to find out how to enable astronauts to remain healthy and work efficiently over long periods in space and added the findings will play a significant role in preparing the selection criteria to recruit future astronauts. Space missions are becoming more difficult, making greater demands on astronauts. We want to find scientific answers to questions like what type of people can work as astronauts on long missions and what capabilities they should have, he said. The research will also be used to decide what a suitable workload is for astronauts on long missions. IANS

3D GLASSES
Why do we use only red, blue and green colours in 3D glasses? SUJI Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu Presence of any object or image on a screen is perceived by the brain from the light reflected by it and received by the eye as stimuli in the human visual (neural) system. The human visual system basically splits the reflected light in to three components corresponding to blue, green and red regions of the visible spectrum. Also it is possible to produce any colour just by mixing/ controlling the relative intensities of these three colors. Hence these three colours are called primary colours and are quantified in terms of tri-stimulus values. In order to generate an illusion or impression of real space (both area and depth) of an object or image in a two dimensional projection, three dimensional (3D) glasses

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 38 of 127 are used which is accomplished with the principle of binocular vision. That is the two eyes of the human visual system placed apart ( about 5 cms ) perceive the object/image from different positions and angles in turn causing response or stimuli as two different images of the same object in the neural- visual system of the brain. Binocular vision in our brain uses the difference to calculate distance/depth and has the ability to correlate the images it sees in its two eyes even though they are slightly different. In the binocular system, the same scene is projected simultaneously from two different angles in two different colors usually red and cyan (or blue or green). In order to see things in 3D each eye must see a slightly different picture. The brain then puts the two pictures together to form one 3D image that has depth eventually generating a three dimensional impression. 3D glasses make use any two of these primary colors ( blue, green and red) one for each eye as the intensity of the third colour can be inferred from difference between total light and the sum of intensities of these two colours to get the complete information on colour of the object or image to be seen through the 3D glass. R. JAGANNATHAN Luminescence Group CECRI Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu

PROJECT THAT BROUGHT MANY FARMERS OUT OF DEBTS


Melaneelithanallur village in Tirunelveli district is bone dry most of the year. Lack of water for crops over the years turned the soil into dry wastelands, considered unfit for use. Until a few years ago, almost all the farmers in the region wallowed in debt and poverty. Many households lacked even proper metal utensils for cooking as the inhabitants used to pawn them for money. If it rained, the men used to work for 2-3 months; for the rest of the year they remained idle. But all this changed after Nellai David's micro economic model was implemented to generate some income for them, says Mr. David Raja Beula, Assistant Director of Horticulture, Kadayam, Tirunelveli, who took on the responsibility to interact with and bring all the farmers under this project. Primary aim We developed the model based on a study of the flora and fauna of the area, water source, ecological balance, environmental soundness, and the market situation. The project primarily aims to relieve the rural poor from the clutches of poverty. says Mr. David. Under the project one hundred bore wells and hand pumps were sunk, several hundred cashew trees planted and farmers encouraged to grow crops such as blackgram, greengram and cowpea (that do not require much water) in addition to

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 39 of 127 rearing some farm animals. In 2-3 years after the implementation almost all the farmers started seeing the benefits in terms of money generation. Says Mr. Sendhil, a 10 acre farmer: I used to get about Rs. 30,000 a year previously, but today I earn Rs. 35,000 from my 100 cashew trees, Rs.32,000 from blackgram, greengram and cowpea in nine acres. The fodder from the crops is used as feed for my three cows which generate Rs.30, 000 as net return annually. Net profit The farmer also maintains ten thousand broiler chicks. The chicks develop into marketable size in two months thereby repeating the process for six times in a year, enabling a net profit of Rs 2,40,000. The farm yard and poultry manure are applied to the fields. The farmer earned a overall profit of Rs. 3,37,000 in a year and also formed a milk producers' cooperative society. Initially we found it a little hard to convince the farmers that this project will benefit them. Many laughed it off. I realized that to convince farmers, more than all the talk, proof is necessary. Farmers in general tend to believe what they see and experience firsthand rather than rely on some body talking. Convincing others And Mr. Sendhil fitted the requirement perfectly. I tried to implement everything in his 10 acre land and also prepared him to interact and convince others. And today several farmers are seeing the benefit themselves, says a smiling Mr. David. He further adds, Income generation alone can sustain our country's agriculture. Unless farmers are assured of getting some good income from crops their interest cannot be sustained in their profession. In terms of production, our farmers can do a good job, but what is required now is getting a good price and an assured market. The recent price rise on several food items, apart from affecting the consumers, also leaves a debilitating impact on the already fragile farming economy. A farmer is just not bothered what the government plans are or what it intends to do for them. Affordability For him it is affordability in terms of raising the crops. A farmer's life is an endless struggle for survival. A farmer finds the financial tides drowning him in debts. Several past and present governments introduced numerous development and financial schemes saying farmers will be benefited but the problems for a small farmer still remain the same. Why? he asks angrily. Interested readers can contact Mr. David over mobile 9486285704 or through email: microeconomicsdavid@yahoo.co.in for visiting the villageand getting a first hand information about the project.

PROJECT TO SEQUENCE 1,000 FUNGAL GENOMES

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 40 of 127 A 79-year-old collection of fungal cultures is helping the U.S. Forest Service in a project that will sequence 1,000 fungal genomes in the next 5 years to help understand not only what they do, but how fungi operate.

PROTECTING AN ANTI-MALARIAL DRUG FROM DEVELOPING


RESISTANCE
It is a drug that has its roots in ancient Chinese medicine. In the fight against malaria, a disease that over 200 million people are estimated to have caught in 2010, some 655,000 of whom died of it, protecting the effectiveness of artemisininbased drugs has become vitally important. A number of Indian pharmaceutical companies have been among those manufacturing and marketing drugs that are likely to foster resistance to artemisinin in the malaria parasite, according to the latest World Malaria Report that was recently released. However, India's Drugs Controller General initiated action earlier this year to stop the production and export of these drugs. Artemisin and its derivatives have saved countless lives after the single-celled parasite, Plasmodium falciparum , that causes the most dangerous forms of the disease became resistant to the drug chloroquine. However, strains that are resistant to even artemisinin have emerged in parts of South-East Asia and could potentially spread, as has happened with earlier antimalarial drugs. A looming threat to malaria control is the emergence of parasites that are resistant to antimalarial medicines, pointed out the World Health Organisation (WHO) in its Global Plan for Artemisinin Resistance Containment' published earlier this year. Resistance had developed to every antimalarial medicine used so far. When that happened, the burden of malaria increased. Child mortality in Africa increased, for instance, as P. falciparum strains that were resistant to chloroquine spread in the 1970s and the 1980s. Although the problem of artemisinin resistance is currently confined to the Mekong river region, there is now early evidence of such resistance in Myanmar and Vietnam, warned Margaret Chan, the WHO's Director-General, in a foreword to the World Malaria Report 2011. Exposure of malaria parasites to suboptimal doses of artemisinin is a primary cause of the spread of resistance, the Global Plan noted. Giving artemisinin and its derivatives alone as 'monotherapies,' instead of as a cocktail with another drug, could create opportunities for resistant forms of the parasite to arise and spread. Although oral artemisinin-based monotherapies could be effective when taken for the full seven-day course, patients often stopped taking them after just a few days when the symptoms generally subsided. Parasites that were sensitive to the drug could get eliminated, allowing drug-resistant strains to proliferate and get transmitted to other people. To prevent that from happening, the global health agency recommends that

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 41 of 127 artemisinin be given in combination with another drug. Such artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) should, it says, be first-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria caused by P. falciparum . The two-drug combination reduced the chances of the parasite developing resistance. Moreover, a three-day course of a recommended ACT generally cleared the parasites from the body. The use of ACT has grown rapidly. Globally, the number of ACT courses procured by the public sector jumped nearly seven-fold between 2005 and 2006, and then more than doubled, reaching 181 million, in 2010, according to the World Malaria Report. The demand for these drugs was expected to reach 287 million treatments this year and touch 295 million courses in 2012. In 2006, the WHO called for a halt to using oral artemisinin monotherapies to treat uncomplicated malaria. This was followed a year later by a resolution adopted by the World Health Assembly, the WHO's apex decision-making body, that urged its member states to cease progressively the provision in both the public and private sectors of such monotherapies and promote the use of ACTs. However, according to the latest World Malaria Report, 25 countries were still allowing the marketing of these products and 28 pharmaceutical companies were making these drugs, down from 39 a year ago. Most of the countries that still allow the marketing of monotherapies are located in the African Region, while most of the manufacturers are located in India. Ten of the 28 manufacturers of monotherapies were in India, according to a spokesperson for the WHO Global Malaria Programme. The WHO has called on all manufacturers to cease the marketing of monotherapies. Besides, greater collaboration and involvement of national regulatory authorities is required to ensure complete withdrawal of oral artemisinin-based monotherapies from all countries, noted the World Malaria Report. Oral artemisinin monotherapy is banned in India, according to the Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Malaria in India' published in 2010 by the National Institute of Malaria Research in Delhi and the Union Health Ministry's National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme. In April this year, DCGI wrote to all State Drugs Controllers requesting them to cancel licenses to manufacture oral artemisinin-based monotherapies with immediate effect. The manufacturing of such monotherapies for export should also be stopped. We have been very encouraged by the steps that the Government of India has taken over the past year, said Robert Newman, director of the Global Malaria Programme at a press conference to mark the release of the World Malaria Report.

PROTECTING THREATENED LEATHERBACK TURTLES


Endangered leatherback sea turtles migrate and forage across vast areas of the Pacific Ocean and Indo Pacific seas and require greater international efforts for their protection, says a study.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 42 of 127

PROTEIN THAT MAKES INTERNAL ORGANS VISIBLE


The first fluorescent protein that enables scientists to clearly see' the internal organs of animals without the need for imaging techniques has been developed.

PROVIDING EARLY WARNING AGAINST AVALANCHES


Researchers have now developed an inexpensive system, which with the help of several technologies can continuously monitor slopes, assess changes, and provide early warnings to communities potentially affected by landslides.

PROVIDING WATER FROM FOG, TO THE WORLD'S POOR


The Namib beetle collects water droplets on its bumpy back, then lets them roll down into its mouth. Fog harvesting deploys devices that, like the beetle, attract water drops and corral the runoff to provide water to the world's poor.

PRUNED' CHIPS FASTER, SMALLER, MORE EFFICIENT


An international team of computing experts has created a breakthrough technique for doubling the efficiency of computer chips simply by trimming away the portions that are rarely used.

PSLV PUTS 4 SATELLITES IN ORBIT


India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C18) demonstrated its reliability and consistency yet again when it put four satellites in orbit with aplomb on Wednesday. The satellites were: Megha-Tropiques, an Indo-French mission to study the weather and climate in the tropical regions of the world; SRMSat, built by students of SRM University, near Chennai; Jugnu, put together by Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur students; and VesselSat from Luxembourg. The fourth stage fired the four in orbit after 21 minutes of a flawless flight, the 19th consecutive success of the PSLV, prompting P.S. Veeraraghavan, Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, to brand it a Perfect Satellite LaunchVehicle. K. Radhakrishnan, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) called the flight a grand success and said the information received from the MeghaTropiques satellite would be useful to the global community for measuring the precipitation in the tropical regions of the world. Twenty-one scientific teams from several countries would use the information for doing research on weather in the tropical countries. S. Ramakrishnan, Director, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, ISRO, describing it as a magnificent mission, said: Today, with the PSLV, we have an assured access to

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 43 of 127 space. This is something that not many countries can boast of. There were patches of clouds above the spaceport as the PSLV-C18 soared from the seaside first launch pad at 11.01 a.m., after a delay of one minute. We shifted the launch by a minute, Dr. Radhakrishnan explained, to preclude the probability of space debris, smashing into the satellites. T.K. Alex, Director, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore, said space debris travelled at a velocity of eight km a second and so the ISRO did not want to take any chances. The vehicle lifting majestically quickly disappeared into a bank of clouds. As it knifed out, it looked spectacular, riding on bright yellow flames and climbing nonchalantly into the sky. Clouds blanketed it again but it emerged, gathering velocity. The engines worked with clock-work precision, erupting into life on the dot and jettisoning into the Bay of Bengal after spending themselves out. After the third stage burn-out, the fourth stage coasted on its own, without any power, that is, without firing. The vehicle was gaining altitude all the time Then, the two engines in the fourth stage started up, and 21 minutes after lift-off, the four satellites were shot into orbit one after the other, at a velocity of 26,000 km an hour. Megha-Tropiques went into orbit at an altitude of 865 km against the targeted 867 km.

PULLING MUG FROM WATER


Why is it hard to pull an empty mug completely immersed upside down in water? A.V.S. Vaishnavi Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh Not only is it hard to pull out any empty mug completely immersed upside down in water but also it is harder to push an empty mug upside down into water.The latter difficulty is mainly due to the buoyancy, the air sac, captured inside the mug, experiences during such operation. However, when we try to pull out the same empty mug or the mug already drowned, in an upside manner, we experience certain difficulty of pulling it out. This difficulty stems from a different cause and owes to the surface tension phenomenon of liquids. The atoms or molecules of a liquid in its bulk regions have their chemical valences fully satisfied in all the six directions (front and rear, left and right and up and down or mathematically, x and x', y and y' and z and z' directions of space) whereas those present on the surface of the liquid have only five of their directions (front and rear, left and right and down) chemically satisfied while leaving the upward connectivity missing (say, z direction). This deficiency has the effect of keeping all the atoms or molecules of the liquids, on their surface, more firmly coherent on their lateral sides enabling the surface of such liquid act like an elastic skin. Hence, it would demand certain amount of force to tear of the surface of the liquids.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 44 of 127 The amount of force required to open apart one unit length of the liquid's surface is defined as the surface tension of the liquid. Its value is unique to the liquid and is highly sensitive to the temperature, pressure and purity of the liquid. For water, its value is about 72 dynes per cm (or 72 milli newtons per meter). When a mug is pulled out upside down, its brim has to tear open the surface of water layer by a length (perimeter) equal to the mug's brim to detach itself from the surface of the water. Say, the mug has a perimeter (brim) of about 12 inches (i.e., about 30 cms) and a mass of about half kilogram with negligible thickness. Then, it is held on its brim by the water surface by a surface force of about 0.02 newtons when the mug is about to detach from the surface. This means, we have to apply this much additional force (besides the force required against gravity) when the mug's brim is pulling out from the liquid's surface besides the usual force of about 5 newtons against the gravity. The 5 newtons against the gravity would have been the only force required had there been no surface tension phenomenon. Hence, we feel it hard to pull out an empty mug, upside down, from water. PROF. A. RAMACHANDRAIAH Department of Chemistry National Institute of Technology Warangal Warangal, Andhra Pradesh

PUPFISH THAT EVOLVE AT THE FASTEST RATES KNOWN


Two groups of small fish, one from a Caribbean island and one from the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, exhibit some of the fastest rates of evolution known. The pupfish evolved changes to their jaws to match their specialized diet.

RADIATION DOSE LIMIT FOR EYE LENS SLASHED


The lens of the eye is one of the most radiation sensitive tissues in the body. If the eye lens which is normally crystal clear receives a high enough radiation dose it may become partly cloudy or totally opaque depending on the dose. Radiation protection agencies have prescribed dose limits to the lens to prevent induction of lens opacity or cataract. On April 21, this year, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) which issues recommendations on radiation protection, slashed the dose limit for the lens of the eye to 20mSv in a year, averaged over defined period of five years, with no single year exceeding 50 mSv. Earlier dose limit The earlier dose limit was 150mSv in a year. (Sv is a unit of biologically effective dose. The radiation energy absorbed in a sievert (Sv) is one Joule per kilogramme of material; since the unit is large, a sub-multiple such as one thousandth of a Sv or

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 45 of 127 milliSv mSv is normally used). Several studies over the past few years led the Commission to reduce the dose limit steeply. There are three main forms of cataract depending on its anatomic location in the eye lens: nuclear, cortical and posterior sub capsular (PSC). Among these, PSC is the least common and is commonly associated with exposure to ionizing radiation. Radiation Effects Research foundation (RERF) describes the formation of radiation cataract thus: There is a transparent layer of cells covering the interior frontal side of the capsule that covers the eye lens. This layer maintains the function of the lens by slowly growing toward the centre, achieved through cell division at the periphery. Because irradiation is especially harmful to dividing cells, exposed cells at the equator are most prone to damage. Unknown reasons For unknown reasons, damaged cells move toward the rear of the lens before converging on the centre. Such cells prevent light from travelling straight forward resulting in opacity. So far, scientists believed that cataract will be formed only after the lens receives a typical radiation dose called the threshold. ICRP assumed that threshold was 2Gy for a single dose and 5 Gy when the exposure occurs in a protracted way. Not any more. Recent studies appear to show the formation of radiation induced cataracts at much lower doses than the current standards. (Gy is the unit of absorbed dose; the dose is said to be one gray Gy when the ionizing radiation energy absorbed per kilogramme of material is one joule). ICRP now considers that the threshold dose for cataract is 0.5Gy. ICRP also stated that although uncertainty remains, medical practitioners must be made aware that the absorbed dose threshold for circulatory disease may be as low as 0.5Gy to the heart or brain. Doses to patients of this magnitude could be reached during some complex interventional procedures, and therefore particular emphasis should be placed on optimization in these circumstances, ICRP cautioned the specialists. The procedures include angioplasty. The June 2010 on-line version ofCatheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions and October 210 issue ofRadiation Researchhave published studies on increased risk of cataracts among interventional cardiology professionals. Though the numbers of professionals monitored in the studies was limited, the results demand urgent action. Chernobyl effect Cataract analysis of 8607 Chernobyl clean up workers,12 and 14 years after exposure, indicated that posterior sub-capsular or cortical cataracts appeared in 25 per cent of the participants(Radiation Research, February 2007). Researchers found evidence of a dose threshold of less than 0.7Gy. The researchers noted that the workloads tend to increase in catheterization suites. This, together with lack of training in radiation protection and unavailability or nonuse of radiation protection accessories may result in doses to the eyes of cardiology For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 46 of 127 professionals sufficient to cause cataracts. Studies show that leaded glass alone reduced the dose to the lens by 5 to 10 times; scatter-shielding drapes alone reduced the dose rate by 5 to 25 times; using both reduced the dose rate by 25 times or more InBioMed Central Public Health(2010), Dr Sophie Jacob from the French Institute of Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) and other specialists listed 14 peer reviewed studies showing evidence for low dose radiation-induced cataracts. The results of their study on occupational cataracts and lens opacities in interventional cardiology involving 1700 interventional cardiologists in France is expected to be available this year. The jury is no more out on radiation induction of cataract. The present ICRP recommendations must serve as a wake up call for interventional cardiology and radiology professionals. K.S. PARTHASARATHY Raja Ramanna Fellow, Department of Atomic Energy (ksparth@yahoo.co.uk)

RADIATION EFFECTS: SUPPRESSION OF EVIDENCE BY NOBEL LAUREATE


One of the fathers of radiation genetics, Hermann Muller, was awarded the 1946 Nobel Prize in medicine for his discovery that X-rays induce genetic mutations. This helped him call attention to his long-time concern over the dangers of atomic testing. The expose University of Massachusetts Amherst environmental toxicologist Edward Calabrese, whose career research shows that low doses of some chemicals and radiation are benign or even helpful, says he has uncovered evidence that Muller knowingly lied when he claimed in 1946 that there is no safe level of radiation exposure. Calabrese's interpretation of this history is supported by letters and other materials he has retrieved, many from formerly classified files. He published key excerpts this month in Archives of Toxicology and Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis. Muller's intentions were good, Calabrese points out, but his decision not to mention key scientific evidence against his position has had a far-reaching impact on our approach to regulating radiation and chemical exposure, according to a University of Massachusetts Amherst press release. Major experiment Calabrese uncovered correspondence from November 1946 between Muller and Curt Stern at the University of Rochester about a major experiment that had recently evaluated fruit fly germ cell mutations in Stern's laboratory. It failed to support the linear dose-response model at low exposure levels, but in Muller's speech in Oslo a few weeks later he insisted there was no escape from the conclusion that there is no threshold.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 47 of 127 To Calabrese, this amounts to deliberate concealment and he says Stern raised no objection. Within a year after Muller and his group persuaded the NAS to accept the linear model for gonadal mutations, the practice was extrapolated to somatic cells and cancer. Twenty years later, NAS adopted the linear approach for chemicals. Soon thereafter, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it would use the linear model for risk assessment, Calabrese points out. Our Bureau

RADIOACTIVE DECAY MAIN SOURCE OF EARTH'S HEAT


Radioactive decay of uranium, thorium, and potassium in Earth's crust and mantle is a principal source of earth's heat some 44 trillion watts that continually flows from Earth's interior into space, according to new research.

RADIOMETER FINDS SOURCES OF FIRE


Fires that produce a lot of smoke are particularly challenging. A new radiometric sensor can pinpoint the heart of the flames, even when visibility is limited.

RAPID, HIGH-DEFINITION CHEMISTRY


A new synchrotron-based imaging technique offers high-resolution pictures of the molecular composition of tissues, with unprecedented speed.

RARE ANCIENT INSECT FOUND IN PERU


Researchers in Peru said recently that they have discovered the remains of ancient insects and sunflower seeds trapped inside amber dating from the Miocene epoch, some 23 million years ago. The rare find was made in the remote mountainous jungle region near Peru's northern border with Ecuador, paleontologist Klaus Honninger told AFP. These new discoveries are very important, because the insects and sunflower seeds confirm the type of climate that existed during the Miocene period, Honninger said in a telephone interview. The paleontologists discovered hundreds of pieces of amber up to 12 centimetres (five inches) large containing several types of insects, Honninger said. The insects trapped in the amber fossilized tree resin are extremely well preserved and include ancient beetles, barklice, flies and spiders. Honninger, director of the Chiclayo-based Meyer-Honninger Paleontology Museum, said that the experts discovered an unknown species of arachnid with a head like a dog and legs four times longer than the body. The discovery was made in April in the Santiago River area of northern Peru. Extreme climate change from the Miocene epoch (twenty-three million years to five For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 48 of 127 million years ago) was likely the reason the insects became extinct, Honninger said. AFP

RARE LAKE DELTA SPOTTED BY ESA'S MARS EXPRESS


The ESA's Mars Express has spotted a rare case of a crater once filled by a lake, revealed by the presence of a delta. The delta, an ancient deposit of sediments, laid down in water is a reminder of Mars' past, wetter climate.

RAT-STUDY HIGHLIGHTS BENEFITS FROM RED WINE


A study in rats found that imbibing red wine polyphenols protected against ageinginduced endothelial dysfunction. Regular intake of RWPs starting at young age prevented ageing-related endothelial dysfunction.

RAVENS USE THEIR BEAKS TO POINT OUT OBJECTS


Pointing to attract attention has been observed in humans and great apes. The first evidence that ravens also use so called deictic gestures (pointing) in order to test the interest of a potential partner has been found.

REACHING TRAPPED MINERS FIRST


A new robot eliminates some of the unknowns of mine rescue operations, arming first responders with the most valuable tool: information.

REAL-TIME INFO SYSTEM FOR TRAINS LAUNCHED


The Indian Railways on Wednesday launched a real-time train information system (RTIS) for a dozen important trains through which passengers can access the accurate train running information. Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi launched the facility at the Economic Editors' Conference here. The facility will not only be available to passengers on these trains but also to the public who are accessing the website http:/www.simran.in, and through SMS from railway enquiry number 139. Passengers will be provided with the information about the location of the train, its running position on time or late, next stop, nearest approaching/crossed station and the speed. This facility has been provided for 12301 Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, 12302 New Delhi-Howrah Rajdhani Express, 12305 Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, 12306 New Delhi-Howrah Rajdhani Express, 12313 Sealdah-New Delhi

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 49 of 127 Rajdhani Express, 12314 New Delhi-Sealdah Rajdhani Express, 12951 Mumbai Central-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, 12952 New Delhi-Mumbai Central Rajdhani Express, 12953 Mumbai Central-Nizamuddin A K Rajdhani Express, 12954 Nizamuddin A.K.-Mumbai Central Rajdhani Express, 12003 Lucknow-Delhi Shatabdi Express and 12004 New Delhi-Lucknow Shatabdi Express. The Railways intends to provide this facility in all passenger and freight trains by December 2012.

REAR SEAT RISK


Rear seat car passengers face a high injury risk with the rear end crumple zone of several cars providing inadequate protection, a German crash test has found. The test conducted by the Auto Bild car magazine and the Dekra testing organisation found that in all cases the dummies used in the test sustained spinal cord fractures and other serious injuries. A station-wagon was used to crash into a small car at a speed of 50 km/h. DPA

RECOGNISING GIBBONS BY THEIR ACCENTS


Both male and female crested gibbons sing to define territory and find a mate. New studies show how gibbon song can be used to identify the species and its habitat.

RECOGNITION OF HUMAN INDIVIDUALS BY PIGEONS


New research has shown that feral, untrained pigeons can recognise individual people and are not fooled by a change of clothes. Pigeons that were never caught or handled could recognise humans, probably by their faces.

RECORD EFFICIENCY OF SOLAR CELLS ACHIEVED


Kesterites combine the low cost of solar cell technologies with very low raw material cost. Loss of tin, a component, limits control of deposition processes. Now, tin loss has been controlled, leading to record efficiency.

RECORD MASSIVE BLACK HOLES DISCOVERED


Astronomers have discovered the largest black holes to date two monsters with masses equivalent to 10 billion suns that are threatening to consume anything, even light, within a region five times the size of our solar system.

RECURRING PATTERNS OF VIRUSES IN OPEN OCEAN


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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 50 of 127 Research reveals striking recurring patterns of marine virioplankton dynamics in the open sea, which have implications for our understanding of their cycling.

REGENIX TO EXPAND REGROWING HAIR MIGHT BE POSSIBLE


A team led by researchers from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the Veterans Administration that was investigating how stress affects gastrointestinal function may have found a chemical compound that induces hair growth by blocking a stress-related hormone associated with hair loss entirely by accident. The serendipitous discovery is described in an article published in the online journal PLoS One. Role of stress It has been long known that stress plays a part not just in the greying of hair but in hair loss as well. Over the years, numerous hair-restoration remedies have emerged, ranging from hucksters' miracle solvents' to legitimate medications such as minoxidil. But even the best of these have shown limited effectiveness. Our findings show that a short-duration treatment with this compound causes an astounding long-term hair regrowth in chronically stressed mutant mice, said Million Mulugeta, an adjunct professor of medicine in the division of digestive diseases at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and a corresponding author of the research. This could open new venues to treat hair loss in humans through the modulation of the stress hormone receptors, particularly hair loss related to chronic stress and aging. Genetically altered For their experiments, the researchers had been using mice that were genetically altered to overproduce a stress hormone called corticotrophin-releasing factor, or CRF. As these mice age, they lose hair and eventually become bald on their backs, making them visually distinct from their unaltered counterparts. Salk Institute researchers who were also involved in the study had developed the chemical compound, a peptide called astressin-B, and described its ability to block the action of CRF. An animal model of chronic stress by altering the mice to overproduce CRF was created. UCLA and VA researchers injected the astressin-B into the bald mice to observe how its CRF-blocking ability affected gastrointestinal tract function. The initial single injection had no effect, so the investigators continued the injections over five days to give the peptide a better chance of blocking the CRF receptors. They measured the inhibitory effects of this regimen on the stressinduced response in the colons of the mice and placed the animals back in their

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 51 of 127 cages with their hairy counterparts, according to a UCLA press release. About three months later, the investigators returned to these mice to conduct further gastrointestinal studies and found they couldn't distinguish them from their unaltered brethren. They had regrown hair on their previously bald backs. When we analyzed the identification number of the mice that had grown hair we found that, indeed, the astressin-B peptide was responsible for the remarkable hair growth in the bald mice, Mulugeta said. Subsequent studies confirmed this unequivocally. Of particular interest was the short duration of the treatments: Just one shot per day for five consecutive days maintained the effects for up to four months. This is a comparatively long time, considering that mice's life span is less than two years, Mulugeta said. Our Bureau

REHEATED FOOD
Why is it said that eating reheated cooked food and taking left over/preserved food are not good for health? HARI NARAYANAN Jammu Except oxygen and water, all other essential chemicals, such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins, etc, are taken in by us through diet for our survival and growth. The raw materials such as rice, pulses, fats etc are in such chemical architecture that we cannot assimilate. That is why, by cooking process, they are chemically converted into smaller molecules that can further be managed by our digestive system, from mouth to intestines, through a series of enzymatic processes (mostly hydrolysis). Long chain carbohydrates are converted into oligosaccharides, long chain proteins in meat, egg or pulses into shorter protein chains and oils into micellar globules during cooking. If the cooked food is left out for a while, a host of microorganisms invade the food stuff and work on the molecules in their own physiological ways because the cooked food stuff is now in a bio-manageable molecular status. These microorganisms leave their own chemical signature on the food stuffs over time. If such a type of food is reheated, not only are the useful remains are warmed or further hydrolyzed but the microorganisms themselves and the chemicals they have excreted are also heated and chemically processed. These alien chemical and biological entities are likely to generate poisonous molecules upon reheating. Similarly, food stuffs, left for long, are also likely to be contaminated by the invisible microorganisms along with their excreta during their regime on this food. Thus, a leftover/preserved food is also a source of possible poisonous content. It is, hence, said that eating reheated cooked food and taking left over/preserved

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 52 of 127 food are not good for health. PROF. A. RAMACHANDRAIAH Department of Chemistry National Institute of Technology Warangal Warangal, Andhra Pradesh

REHEATED FOOD
With reference to last week's (April 7) answer in Question Corner on reheated food, the following may be noted: It is not true that all the processed foods undergo infections by pathogenic organisms. It all depends on what type of natural preservatives are added, like tamarind, salt, oil, sugar etc. It is very practical that puliyodharai tamarind paste used in many houses, is prepared and kept without adding any chemical preservative for more than a month. It never decays. In fact, a bacteriological verification done by me regarding this issue, proved no growth of even normal commensal organisms, which are good for health. It is described in that reply, that all the microorganisms excrete their excreta' as if the microorganisms defecate. Poisonous microorganisms either release exotoxin ( while alive ), or release endotoxin after their death. All the bacterial and fungal toxins are mostly heat labile including the thermolabile botilinum toxin, which is commonly found in canned foods. It is as well suggested that we should heat the canned foods above 60-70 degree C, so that the toxins are destroyed. All foods which are used in our set up, might have been refrigerated, and hence the bacterial growth is inhibited. While in a food column interview in the Pothigai TV, I was asked a question similar to the question asked in Question corner. In response to that I made lots of references, and conducted experiments on bacterial cultures on overnight left over foods. All the foods, like old rice in water, iddlies, dosas , vatral kozalumbu, Puliodhari etc, ( which are common food for many Indian families who may want to use them on the next day ) were not even preserved in refrigerator. All the foods on culture for bacteria showed growth of normal commensal, yeast, and no toxic pathogenic organisms . But on rancid food, there was profuse growth of yeast, fungi, ( mycotoxins )and E Coli. Of course, it is dangerous to consume rancid material, even after heating. But otherwise, food, when reheated, does not cause any harm to human beings. It has been proved by many experiments. Dr. V. NAGARAAJAN Professor Emeritus in Neuro Sciences Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University Madurai, Tamil Nadu

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 53 of 127

REMOTE EXPLOSION OF IMPROVISED LAND MINES


A device enabling the remote explosion of improvised land mines, by using the energy from their electromagnetic impulses has been developed.

REMOVAL OF HIGHLY RADIOACTIVE WATER


The operator of a troubled nuclear power plant in north-eastern Japan started to transfer highly radioactive water to a nearby storage vessel, news reports said Wednesday. A series of strong temblors on Monday and Tuesday caused a delay in the pumping operation, but Tokyo Electric Power Co, which runs the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, started at 7:30 pm (1030 GMT) Tuesday to pump out of a reactor building, where the radiation-contaminated water has hindered workers' efforts to contain the crisis. The plant was crippled by the March 11 earthquake and ensuing tsunami. Some 700 tons are to be moved into a condenser where, in normal operations, steam created from the reactor is cooled down. The pumping is expected to take 40 hours, Kyodo News reported. The operations require considerable time as workers need to transfer some 60,000 tons of contaminated water, collected in the basements of the turbine buildings of reactors 1, 2 and 3, as well as the trenches linked to them. The government decided to ban shipments of shiitake mushrooms grown outdoors in 16 municipalities near the plant as high levels of radioactivity were detected in the produce, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told a news conference. Edano added that all shiitake mushrooms grown indoors in the areas are safe. Japan's Jiji Press reported that Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said the plant was not yet stable. External power sources to water pumps at reactors were lost about 50 minutes after a strong quake on Monday, Jaczko said. Jaczko warned that if the ability to cool the reactor cores is lost, Japan will have to face the possibility of a further degradation in the fuel, which could lead to possibly a greater release (of radioactive substances) than what's going on. DPA

RENEWABLES CAN POWER THE WORLD, SAYS IPCC


The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the body of the world's leading climate scientists convened by the United Nations, said that if the full range of renewable technologies were deployed, the world could keep greenhouse gas concentrations to less than 450 parts per million, the level scientists have predicted will be the limit of safety beyond which climate change becomes catastrophic and irreversible. Investing in renewables to the extent needed would cost only about 1 per cent of global GDP annually, said Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the IPCC. For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 54 of 127 Renewable energy is already growing fast of the 300 gigawatts of new electricity generation capacity added globally between 2008 and 2009, about 140GW came from renewable sources, such as wind and solar power, according to the report. The investment that will be needed to meet the greenhouse gas emissions targets demanded by scientists is likely to amount to about $5trn in the next decade, rising to $7trn from 2021 to 2030. Public policies Ramon Pichs, co-chair of one of the key IPCC working groups, said: The report shows that it is not the availability of [renewable] resources but the public policies that will either expand or constrain renewable energy development over the coming decades. Developing countries have an important stake in the future this is where most of the 1.4 billion people without access to electricity live yet also where some of the best conditions exist for renewable energy deployment. Sven Teske, renewable energy director at Greenpeace International, and a lead author of the report, said: This is an invitation to governments to initiate a radical overhaul of their policies and place renewable energy centre stage. On the run up to the next major climate conference, COP17 in South Africa in December, the onus is clearly on governments to step up to the mark. He added: The IPCC report shows overwhelming scientific evidence that renewable energy can also meet the growing demand of developing countries, where over 2 billion people lack access to basic energy services and can do so at a more costcompetitive and faster rate than conventional energy sources. Governments have to kick start the energy revolution by implementing renewable energy laws across the globe. The 1,000page Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation (SRREN) marks the first time the IPCC has examined lowcarbon energy in depth, and the first interim report since the body's comprehensive 2007 review of the science of climate change. Although the authors are optimistic about the future of renewable energy, they note that many forms of the technology are still more expensive than fossil fuels, and find that the production of renewable energy will have to increase by as much as 20 times in order to avoid dangerous levels of global warming. Renewables will play a greater role than either nuclear or carbon capture and storage by 2050, the scientists predict. Investing in renewables can also help poor countries to develop, particularly where large numbers of people lack access to an electricity grid. About 13 per cent of the world's energy came from renewable sources in 2008, a proportion likely to have risen as countries have built up their capacity since then, with China leading the investment surge, particularly in wind energy. But by far the greatest source of renewable energy used globally at present is burning biomass (about 10 per cent of the total global energy supply), which is problematic because it can cause deforestation, leads to deposits of soot that accelerate global warming, and cooking fires cause indoor air pollution that harms health. There was disappointment for enthusiasts of marine energy, however, as the report For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 55 of 127 found that wave and tidal power were unlikely to significantly contribute to global energy supply before 2020. Wind power, by contrast, met about 2 per cent of global electricity demand in 2009, and could increase to more than 20 per cent by 2050. As with all IPCC reports, the summary for policymakers the synopsis of the report that will be presented to governments and is likely to impact renewable energy policy had to be agreed line by line and word by word unanimously by all countries. This was done at Monday's meeting in Abu Dhabi. This makes the process lengthy, but means that afterwards no government or scientist represented can say that they disagree with the finished findings, which the IPCC sees as a key strength of its operations. Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2011

REPLICATION OF OPERA RESULTS IS THE KEY


What makes science so very different from religion? Quite simple every theory, law and observation in science will be continuously challenged and put to test almost every day. In short, unlike religion, science is not dogmatic. Cross-checked As the OPERA team involved in measuring the speed of neutrinos has already shown, the early arrival was cross-checked for six months and by measuring the speed of more than 15,000 neutrinos before the results were announced. When a possible source of error concerning the longer duration (10.5 microseconds) of the proton pulses was raised, the OPERA team repeated the experiment by producing shorter-duration pulses. And the results were identical neutrinos travelled 60 nanoseconds faster than light. Optical fibre to be used Another possible source of error pointed out by scientists concerns the synchronisation of the clocks located at the point of generation of neutrinos (CERN) and at the detector (Gran Sasso). The clocks were synchronised using GPS signals from a single satellite. The use of GPS for this purpose has never been attempted before in the field of high-energy particle physics. OPERA scientists will soon be cross-checking this by using optical fibre to correctly synchronise the clocks. The litmus test for any law/theory in science lies in replicating the results. In other words, any scientists from any part of the world following the correct procedures should be able to get the same results. Hence the results obtained by the OPERA team should be reproducible at other accelerators. The Minnesota based Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search (MINOS) will be running a preliminary check next year to confirm OPERA's results. In the meanwhile, MINOS is upgrading its timing system to match OPERA's precision. It will take a year for this to be completed. In fact, MINOS had in 2007 observed a similar early arrival of neutrinos. But the

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 56 of 127 scientists downplayed it as the results lacked high levels of confidence. The other one is Japan's T2K accelerator which can send neutrinos 295 km from Tokai to the Super-Kamiokande detector in Kamioka. But it was shut down after the Fukushima accident, and it is not sure when this accelerator will be able to experimentally check the results. In the meanwhile, scientists at both these facilities are having a relook at their data. Reanalysing the existing data should not take time. Rob Plunkett, co-spokesperson for the MINOS was quoted as saying in Nature that the MINOS group might have an answer within a few months.

RE-PROGRAMMABLE CELLS, KEY TO NEW LIFE FORMS


The success of a newly started re-programmable cell' project could revolutionise synthetic biology and pave the way for scientists to create completely new and useful forms of life using a relatively hassle-free approach.

REVIVING TRADITIONAL METHODS TO PROTECT FARM


LIVESTOCK
Apart from lands, animals remain a potential source of investment and income generation for small farmers. And investments are not risk free. They need to be protected. If a low cost and effective protection can be made available, then naturally farmers tend to use it, says Dr. N. Punniamurthy, professor and head, Ethno-Veterinary Herbal Training and Research Unit, Veterinary University Training and Research Centre, Thanjavur. My aim is to popularise the ethno-veterinary system among small farmers, so that it becomes a part of primary health care. Help save money In fact, by popularising it we will only be reviving our culture and system of traditional medicine. Knowledge about local plants and spices available to treat the animals will help the farmer attend to the animal or bird at the earliest. And in most cases it will also help save him money, says Dr. Punniamurthy. There are still many farmers maintaining a few goats, sheep, one or two cattle or some chickens. If an animal falls sick, these people rely first on their conventional knowledge to treat them. If the problem persists they seek the help of qualified veterinarians. Common property The traditional medicinal system does not belong to any single person and is a property of the entire community. We need not be afraid of people patenting medicines that have come down to us from our forefathers, seems to be his conviction. At present Dr. Punniamurthy is engaged in the process of documenting existing medicine, medical practices, and evolving ones based on herbs and locally available For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 57 of 127 materials. Leads to conservation There are so many medicinal plants in a village to make the farmer self-reliant and not wait for the veterinarian. Once ethno-veterinary medicines become popular it leads to conservation of traditional medical knowledge and to conservation of medicinal plants, he says. When the farmer starts realizing that a particular herb finds frequent mention in ethno-veterinary medicine literature, he will start cultivating it. Such remedies are important also because the medicines therein do not have toxicity and are easily available. Decline in knowledge The introduction of synthetic veterinary medicines resulted in a decline in knowledge base traditional knowledge about the medicinal properties of plants and their potential in treating animal diseases, according to Dr. Punniamurthy. Due to excessive use of veterinary pharmaceuticals and a move towards sustainable approaches to livestock production, a growing global need exists today for identification and application of botanicals in veterinary medicinal properties, he adds. Dr. Punniamurthy established the research centre to identify, recognise, validate, document, and propagate such traditional remedies. He sent a proposal to the State Government, which granted Rs. 18 lakh and the Central Government also supported the project by offering Rs. 80 lakh. Simple and dependable With the funding, he plans to offer farmers simple, dependable medicines, based on traditional healing systems for animals. So far he has inspired several thousand farmers in the State to treat their animals. For more details readers can contact Dr. N. Punniamurthy, Prof and Head, Ethno veterinary herbal training and research unit, Nanjikottai road, Thanjavur- 613-006, phone: 04362-255462, email: murthyvcri@hotmail.com, mobile: 98424-55833.

RICE AS A SOURCE OF FOETAL ARSENIC EXPOSURE


A study advances our understanding of the sources of exposure to arsenic and the potential for consuming harmful levels of arsenic via rice. Arsenic exposure during pregnancy has health risks to the foetus.

RISING AIR POLLUTION WORSENS DROUGHT


Increase in air pollution can strongly affect cloud development in ways that reduce precipitation in dry regions and seasons, while increasing rain, snowfall, and intensity of stroms in wet regions or seasons.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 58 of 127

ROBOT WITH GECKO POWER CLIMBS WALLS


Inspired by the gecko, scientists have developed a tank-like robot that can scale vertical walls and crawl over ledges without using suction cups, glue or other liquid bonds to adhere to the surface. The 240-gramme beast has tracks that are covered with dry microfibres modelled on the toe hairs of the gecko, which can famously zip up windows and along walls almost without effort. The lizard does the trick thanks to millions of ultra-fine hairs called setae, which interact with the climbing surface to create a molecular attraction known as the van der Waals force. Described on Tuesday in the British research journal Smart Materials and Structure , the robot's tracks are studded with mushroom-shaped caps of polymer microfibres just 0.017 millimetres (0.00067 inches) wide and 0.01mm (0.0004 inches) high. By comparison, the human hair is around 0.1 mm (0.004 inches) thick. While van der Waals forces are considered to be relatively weak, the thin, flexible overhang provided by the mushroom cap ensures that the area of contact between the robot and the surface is maximised, said researcher Jeff Krahn of the Simon Fraser University at Burnaby, in Canada's British Columbia province. The adhesive pads on geckos follow this same principle by utilising a large number of fibres, each with a very small tip. The more fibres a gecko has in contact, the greater attachment force it has on a surface. The tank-bot has a fore and aft section, each with two tracks, and an articulated joint in the middle to help it move from flat surfaces to corners. A video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tont-BzM1II) shows it being put through its paces, climbing at speeds of up to 3.4 centimetres (1.4 inches) per second. The gadget weighs 240g but tests show that it could take an additional load of 110 g. Still a small experimental design, the robot is attached to an umbilical cord providing power and control signals, but eventually will be kitted out with a battery and a computer brain to give it more autonomy, says the team. If all goes well, dozens of applications lie ahead. Wall-climbing robots could be used to clean windows, inspect buildings, crawl up pipes and help in search-and-rescue operations. Different approach A team at Stanford University in California has been adopting a different approach, using gecko-like fibres on feet, rather than tracks, to help its robot climb. But tracks, driven by belts, are likely to have the advantage because they have a simpler mechanical design, says Krahn. Track power can be easily expanded like adding a locomotive to a train when a bigger load has to be taken, he adds. We unfortunately haven't as of yet calculated a cost for achieving a practical gecko robot as we are still in the prototyping stage, Krahn said in an email exchange. AFP

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 59 of 127

ROBOTICS SHAVES WEEKS OFF CHEMICAL PRODUCTION


Using robotics to perform more than 1,000 chemical reactions a day with molecules never before combined, weeks were shaved off the traditional process in a single day of trials.

ROCK'S 1,000-MILE SHIFT


New research in the Caribbean has found that earthquakes and volcanoes, known for their ability to transform Earth's surface, can also move ancient Earth rock foundations more than 1,000 miles. Until now geologists thought the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, home to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, was relatively young from a geological perspective and rocks there should be no older than the Jurassic period, around 150 million to 160 million years ago. Two University of Florida geologists are part of a team that found lavas on Hispaniola that suggest the area is underlain by rocks almost a billion years older than previously believed. An article published recently on the Nature Geoscience website reports the team found that unusual lavas resulting from relatively recent volcanic activity had occurred in the region of the same fault system that caused the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The existence of this volcanic activity, which probably occurred less than 1 million years ago, postdates the previously known active volcanism in this part of the Caribbean by at least 40 million years. Chemical analyses of the lavas showed compositions similar to lavas found inside stable interior parts of continents. Anss examination of the chemical data suggests that the source for these lavas is derived from mantle rock that originated at least 1,000 miles away, according to a University of Florida press release. Our Bureau

ROLE IN CLIMATE CHANGE OF MIDDLE-LEVEL CLOUDS


NASA satellites launched over the last few years have helped identify height, base, temperature and pressure of mid-level clouds, revolutionising atmospheric studies and helping understand their role in climate change.

ROLE OF OCEAN CURRENT IN ANCIENT GLOBAL COOLING


New research shows that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) played a key role in the shift in the global climate that began about 38 million years ago. Early ACC was vital to the formation of modern ocean structure.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 60 of 127

ROTATING STARS THAT POLLUTED EARLY UNIVERSE


From the analysis of the chemical composition of some oldest stars in our galaxy, it was found that early, fast-rotating spinstars' polluted space with new elements which were incorporated in the succeeding generations of stars.

RUPEE SHEDS 18 PAISE


The rupee declined by 18 paise on Wednesday and closed at 52.20/21 against the dollar on sustained demand from importers amid signs of continued capital outflows. It closed at 52.03 on Tuesday. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 52.03/04 and dropped further to a low of 52.43 following weakness in equities. In tune with a recovery in stocks, the rupee rebounded from the day's low and settled at 52.20/21, still down by 18 paise. The Reserve Bank of India has fixed the reference rate for the dollar at Rs.52.1650 and for the euro at Rs.69.4735. PTI

RURAL EMPLOYMENT SCHEME MAKING LIFE MISERABLE FOR


SMALL FARMERS

SAIL-LED CONSORTIUM PLANS $11 B INVESTMENT IN AFGHANISTAN


The SAIL-led consortium, which has bagged rights for three iron ore mines in Hajigak in Afghanistan, will spend about $11 billion on infrastructure creation, mining and setting up a 6-million tonne steel plant and a 1,000-MW thermal power plant. Establishment of the steel plant, which will be situated about 200 km away from the three Hajigak mines, would depend on the availability of inputs such as coking coal and limestone, which were to be ensured by the Afghan Government, Steel Authority of India Chairman C. S. Verma said here. Now, if we consider everything is in place like we get the coking coal and limestone mines, then the total investment in the entire project would be $11 billion, which would be spent over ten years,'' he added. There were enough reserves for coking coal and limestone in Afghanistan, he added. The immediate plan for the consortium is to carry out a geological study of the mines over three years at an investment of $75 million. The cumulative reserves of the three mines are estimated at around 1.28 billion tonnes. Given the restrictions imposed on Indian financial institutions with respect to

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 61 of 127 providing funds to a venture in Afghanistan, a country that falls in the negative list, the consortium has already written to the government seeking sovereign funds. We need some funds from the government. Afghanistan falls in the negative list and no financial institutions will take the exposure. It will be difficult for the consortium members to put in such an amount on their own from their reserves. So we need government assistance and aid,'' Mr. Verma said. He said the steel plant would be built in two equal phases of three million tonnes each. All the seven consortium members SAIL, JSW Steel, NMDC, JSW Steel, JSW Ispat, Jindal Steel and Power and Monnet Ispat and Energy will make a contribution proportionate to their stake in the venture towards the $75 million investment for detailed exploration of the mines. The members would meet within a week to deliberate on the future course of action and the first round of talks with the Afghan Government would start within a month. The project is expected to provide direct employment to 8,000 people and 40,000 people indirectly. The consortium would also set up a 200-km long railroad, connecting the mines and the proposed steel plant, he said. Six million tonne steel plant and 1,000-MW thermal power plant will be set up about 200 km away from the Hajigak mines

SAME BRAIN PARTS FOR SPEECH, GRASPING SPEECH


Speaking and grasping speech share the same brain parts but we don't need the brain regions that control the movements of lips, teeth, and so on to understand speech.

SATELLITE DATA CAN HELP PROTECT BLUEFIN TUNA


A new model based on satellite remote sensing data allows the potential presence of bluefin tuna to be tracked through daily updated maps, thus helping to protect endangered stocks and fight illegal fishing.

SATELLITES REVEAL LOST CITIES OF LIBYA


Satellite imagery has uncovered new evidence of a lost civilisation of the Sahara in Libya's south-western desert wastes.

SAUROPODA DINOSAUR FOUND IN ANTARCTICA


For the first time, the fossil remains of sauropoda has been recorded in Antarctica. Until now, remains of the herbivorous dinosaurs had been recovered from all other continental landmasses.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 62 of 127

SAVANNAH ECOSYSTEM ENCOURAGED BIPEDALISM


Most of the advanced characteristics of humans were acquired during the last few million years. The Nature paper notes that the savannah environment played a crucial role in this development. Thure E. Cerling from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, U.S., the lead author of the paper, explained to R. Prasad in an email the significance of tropical grasslands in human evolution during the last six million years. In what way was the savannah ecosystem better than wooded cover in human evolution? The savannah environment with riparian corridors of trees provides a wide variety of choices, and it is a stable situation in changing climates. The river corridor would be very important for water; the narrow forest corridor would provide shade and shelter, and perhaps certain food resources. The savannah would provide a different set of food resources. We know that all early ancestors of man had some component of the savannah as part of their diet this is from carbon isotope studies of fossil teeth of the different human ancestors. Do you think the open lands would have forced or accelerated bipedalism? I think it would have a huge impact on the origin of bi-pedalism. It is very different moving in a forest environment where one could conceivably never come down to the ground, whereas in a savannah one must travel on the ground to get from one tree to another. This would also mean that resources, such as food and shelter, would be patchy in a savannah landscape. Hence the movement of primates in an open environment would have been much more efficient on two legs than on four. Was the savannah ecosystem predominantly populated with herbivorous animals, thus making it easy for humans to hunt and kill them? They certainly would have been populated with herbivorous animals but I don't know that it would have been easy hunting. It would take brains to figure out how to catch 4-legged animals that are quicker than the 2-legged primates. Do you think animal flesh constituted a major portion of hominin's diet, with grass being only a supplement? Meat-eating became important sometime around 2 million years ago. We don't know exactly when or what was the driving force. We know that all early ancestors of man had some component of the savannah as part of their diet this is from carbon isotope studies of fossil teeth of the different human ancestors. But from our studies (stable isotopes) we can only tell that savannah resources were important we cannot say if they ate grass directly or if they ate animals that had eaten grass.

SAVANNAHS AND FORESTS IN A BATTLE OF BIOMES


Climate change and other human-driven factors could pit savannahs and forests against each other by altering the elements that stabilise the two. The habitats, or biomes, could increasingly encroach on each other.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 63 of 127

SCHOOL ON LOW-ENERGY NUCLEAR REACTIONS


A school on the science of low-energy nuclear reactions will be held on February 5 at IIT, Chennai. For registration, email to: iccfl6india@gmail.com.

SCIENCE COMIC STRIP HITS THE BIG SCREEN


The creator of the popular online comic strip Piled Higher and Deeper' has turned it into a feature film. The Ph.D. Movie,' which just opened at a handful of U.S. universities, will be screened at campuses worldwide in the coming months. Zoe Corbyn of Nature caught up with former robotics researcher turned cartoonist Jorge Cham to find out more. Why turn the comic strip into a movie? The spark was a spoof of a Lady Gaga video put together by some scientists in Texas. It looked like so much fun. But a lot of things were pointing in that direction for a long time people had been asking me when I would do it, and independent productions are now easier to make and distribute. I just thought it would be a great opportunity. What is the film about? It is a light comedy with a little bit of romance. The plot focuses mainly on two Ph.D. students: a newbie struggling to prove himself to his professor, and another who is trying to finish her Ph.D. and is struggling with what will happen next. As in the comic strip, you never quite find out what they are studying and you never learn the new student's name which is meant to be a kind of metaphor for being the nameless graduate student. How did your background help in writing it? I got my Ph.D. in robotics from Stanford University (in Palo Alto, Calif.), and then I worked in a neuroscience lab at Caltech (California Institute of Technology in Pasadena). I think it helps being someone who has lived through it. I try to be as truthful as possible with the comics and the movie. You wrote the script, but it was produced, directed and acted by actual Caltech Ph.D. students, professors and scientists. Why not use professionals? Part of the theme of the movie is that scientists and academics are multidimensional. They aren't the awkward, geeky, nerdy caricatures that we see in popular-culture stereotypes. They have different passions and talents. I thought it would be cool artistically if the production of the movie also carried that theme. They could also relate to the material and knew how to keep it truthful. Often, people who make movies and television shows about scientists have no sense of what the reality of their lives is like. How did you find the actors and crew? Because I worked at Caltech for a couple of years, I knew they had a theatre department, so I approached them to see if they wanted to collaborate and they said yes. A call went out and people who were interested in all kinds of different

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 64 of 127 aspects of production showed up. It was all filmed on the Caltech campus. Hardly anybody involved in this movie had ever made one before, including me. How are you distributing the film? The first roll-out is to hold screenings at universities. They started this week and we have lots scheduled internationally. But it is not too late campus groups can still contact us to arrange one. There is a screening fee for the movie that depends on institution size. Will people find the film as funny as they find the comics? It is a difficult leap, but I hope they will. A lot of the jokes come from the comics, but there is a little bit more heart and humanity in the movie because it has live actors. Does the film have a message for Ph.D. students? Graduate school and academic institutions in general can be very isolating. People feel alone and then get depressed or drop out. The message of the movie and the comic strip is you are not alone. New York Times News Service

SCIENTISTS A STEP CLOSER TO FINDING HIGGS BOSON


The results announced from CERN on December 13 by the two teams ATLAS and CMC do not provide definite and conclusive evidence of the presence of the elusive Higgs boson, but they have collected sufficient data that is consistent with the possible appearance of the God particle. According to theorists some subatomic particles gain mass by interacting with the Higgs boson. The Higgs boson is the only undiscovered part of the Standard Model of physics, which describes the basic building blocks of matter and their interactions. The combined results presented last month by the two teams provided no room for the Higgs boson to hide in. The results had narrowed down the mass region where the Higgs particle is most likely to be between 114 GeV and 141 GeV (gigaelectoron volt). The latest results have further narrowed the mass range 115-130 GeV range in the case of ATLAS, and 117-127 GeV by CMC. We have not collected enough evidence for a discovery. There is an excess of events compatible with the hypothesis that it could be a Higgs, Guido Tonelli, spokesman for CMC was quoted as saying in Nature . But more confirmatory data is required before its presence can be proved. Possible mass According to the journal, if supported by further data, the results suggest a Higgs particle with a mass of about 125 GeV. This is because the ATLAS results are consistent with a 125-126 GeV Higgs at a statistical level of at most 3.6 standard deviation, while the CMC team found 124 GeV signal of at most 2.6 standard deviation, Nature states. The ATLAS results are well above a standard deviation of 3 which is considered as evidence that a particular particle may exist.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 65 of 127 A statistical significance of 5 standard deviations is considered as proof of a particle's existence. The results are based on nearly 500 trillion high energy proton-proton collisions inside the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. So, by the end of 2012, nearly four times the current data will have been generated. Hence definite answers should be available in a year's time. But for now there is cautious optimism, and the search for the elusive particle has gained greater momentum.

SCIENTISTS CLOSING IN ON SOURCE OF DARK MATTER


Physicists are closing in on the source of the Universe's mysterious dark matter, due to a better than expected year of study at the Compact Muon Solenoid particle detector, part of the Large Hadron Collider, CERN.

SCORPION VENOM STUDY FOR BETTER PESTICIDES


One major target of scorpion toxins is a protein found in nerve and muscle cells used for rapid electrical signalling. Studying the venom's effect on the protein may provide valuable information for designing new insecticides.

SEA CIRCULATION SYSTEM OFF ICELAND DISCOVERED


An international team has confirmed the presence of a deep-reaching ocean circulation system off Iceland that could significantly influence the ocean's response to climate change in previously unforeseen ways.

SEA LEVELS MUCH LESS STABLE THAN BELIEVED


New evidence of sea-level oscillations during a warm period that started about 125,000 years ago raises the possibility of a similar scenario if the planet continues its more recent warming trend, says a study.

SEA LEVELS TO CONTINUE TO RISE FOR 500 YEARS?


Though long-term calculations are subject to uncertainties, the sea will continue to rise in the coming centuries and it will most likely rise by 75 cm by the year 2100. By 2500 the sea will have risen by 2 metres.

SEA URCHINS SEE WITH THEIR WHOLE BODY

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 66 of 127 Sea urchins have several genes that are coded for a widely occurring eye protein, opsin. These photoreceptors located on the tip and base of the tube feet found all over the sea urchin's body and are used to see.

SEAWEED-EATING FISH STUDY TO PROTECT REEFS


Using the Aquarius underwater lab off Florida, researchers are studying how the diversity of seaweed-eating fish affects endangered coral reefs, to gain new information to protect and even restore damaged coral reefs.

SECRET TO A LONG LIFE?


Scientists have claimed to have developed a technique that they say may lead to a longer life. But the treatment is only fit for pets at the moment. The possible cure for age related problems is a drug which protects telomeres, sections of DNA believed to be the key to ageing. However, the treatment is not yet considered safe for humans. Scientists think that ageing is caused by the telomeres in our genes shortening over the course of our lifetime, the Daily Mail reports. Now, a US research team may have found a way to slow or even reverse this shrinkage, which could theoretically lengthen our lifespan by prompting cells to produce telomerase and protect themselves from decay. The new findings suggest that nearly 40 different substances could contribute to the production of this enzyme. IANS

SELF-CLEANING DOUGH MACHINE DEVELOPED


A dough machine that cleans itself after each batch of dough there's no longer any need to disassemble the system to clean it has been developed, making a baker's life more relaxing.

SEMEN QUALITY OF FINNISH PEOPLE AFFECTED


A significant deterioration of semen quality has been seen during the last 10 years in Finland, a country that previously had high sperm counts. An increase in the incidence of testis cancer is also seen.

SENSEX FALLS ON INFLATION AND GROWTH CONCERNS


The Bombay Stock Exchange sensitive index, Sensex, fell 121 points to 15881.14 on Wednesday from 16002.51 on Tuesday on across-the-board selling amid investor concerns over high inflation, rupee slide and weak cues from global markets. The BSE 30-scrip index, Sensex, which had jumped to intra-day high of 16133.41,

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 67 of 127 slipped into the red after the inflation data was released. The NSE 50-share index, Nifty, declined by 37 points to end at 4763.25, down from 4800.60. The overall inflation eased to 9.11 per cent in November from 9.73 per cent in the previous month, but analysts said it was still too high for comfort. It made investors cautious ahead of RBI's monetary policy meet. PTI

SENSEX GAINS 115 POINTS


The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive index, Sensex, gained 115 points on Wednesday in volatile trading and closed at 16123.46 against 16008.34 on Tuesday, as investors shrugged off low GDP growth numbers for the second quarter and bought recently battered stocks despite weak global cues. Refinery, FMCG and technology stocks were in demand. Consumer durables, realty, auto and banking stocks attracted profit-booking. Reliance Industries gained 1.80 per cent at Rs.778.80, adding more than 31 points to the Sensex gains. Other blue chips such as Bharti Airtel, ITC, ONGC, HDFC Bank, TCS, HUL and HDFC were also in demand and aided the uptrend. However, selling in ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp and Sterlite restricted the gains. The BSE 30-share Sensex opened lower on weak Asian cues. Later, it moved erratically before closing at 16123.46, up 115.12 points. On Tuesday, it had fallen by 158.79 points. The 50-share Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also recovered by 26.95 points to 4832.05. Foreign institutional investors, however, continued to sell equities. Foreign funds have pulled out around Rs.6,500 crore (about $1.2 billion) over the past fortnight. Major Asian markets, barring Singapore, fell by up to 3.27 per cent. European markets were also weak in the afternoon trade, with the CAC, the DAX and the FTSE down between 0.3 per cent and 1.0 per cent. Despite the Sensex rise, the total market breadth on the BSE remained negative as second-line counters underperformed. PTI

SET A BUG TO KILL A BUG


We know of human suicide bombers, made infamous by Kamikaze pilots of Japan during World War II, or more recently of the LTTE and Al Qaeda. Now scientists have engineered a suicide E. coli , to help fight the invading pathogen pseudomonas, which causes pneumonia and other illnesses. Yet another approach to our fight against drug-resistant pathogens! The battle between us and infection by germs is not one of wits but one of brains versus genes our brains versus the germ's genes. We use our brains to make drugs and vaccines to beat the bugs. The bugs rely on numbers and chance error in their genes as they divide and generate more and more offspring. Smarter bugs

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 68 of 127 Even as most of them die due to the drug, or are stopped from infecting by the vaccine, a random mutation in their genes allows resistance to the drug or vaccine. And it is also a matter of time. We take years to develop a new drug. But the bug takes just hours to reproduce and before you know it, the maverick outlier' mutant bug multiplies millions of times and becomes the winner against our brains. And it is back to the laboratory for us, in order to generate yet another, new generation drug. But not all bugs are bad. Many of them infect us in our guts, skin and elsewhere, flourishing and in doing so, help us stay healthy. They engage in a mutualism, offering us essential molecules and metabolic help. We in turn allow them the green card' or permanent immigration status, to live in colonies that we call as our microbiome. It is when a foreign or illegal bug that enters us that problems start. One such bad bug has the grandiose (mouthful) name pseudomonas aeruginosa . Pseudomonas means the false unit (or the fake man). Aeruginosa means the colour of rusted copper (some think that ruginosa refers to wrinkled up' or bumpy). It colonizes within us and puts out toxic molecules that harm us (and the microbiome that lives in harmony with us). And we suffer with pneumonia and other severe illnesses. The problem then is how to kill or drive away the intruder while saving us and our microbiome. Any drug or vaccine that we make should be specific against P.aerugionsa and here the brains versus genes tussle plays out. Drugs we use today against Pseudomonas are not quite successful since the bug has developed drug resistance. A novel idea taken up some years ago by scientists, notably Dr. Sankar Adhya of the NIH in America, and by Dr. J. Ramachandran of Gangagen Biotechnologies in Bangalore, is to use viruses that infect bacteria as the bullet. Just as viruses infect us, there is a class of viruses that infect bacteria and kill them. These are called bacteriophages. The approach here is to choose that phage which specifically targets say, Pseudomonas and let them invade and destroy the bug. But here again, when we use this bug- specific virus as our helper, we ourselves could end up generating antibodies against the virus and reject it. If that happens, we are back to square one! It is against this backdrop that a team of biochemical engineers led by Drs. Chueh Loo Poh and Matthew Wook Chang in Singapore's Nanyang Technological University have come out with a novel approach, which appears in the August 16 issue of Molecular Systems Biology (7: 521). They looked at what all Pseudomonas aeruginosa has in its armor. 1: In order to compete and survive against many other microbes, it makes a bacterial toxin or poison called pyocin; 2: But this pyocin must kill other bacteria and not itself. So it makes two chains of pyocin- one to kill others and the second chain that offers itself immunity; and 3: It needs numbers- a contingent or group to work together against the enemy. To do so, it sends out small molecules which signals more P. aerugionosa to come over and aid in the fight. These small molecules are termed For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 69 of 127 poetically as the quorum sensor. The Singapore group decided to hit out at all the three defence mechanisms at one go. In order to do so, they decided to take a strain of the bacterium E. coli that lives harmony within us in our own body, and to engineer three new genes into it. (Why E. coli ? Because the strain chosen is safe and lives within us. And it multiplies fast and makes millions; dosage increases in no time). The first gene is to produce a protein that binds to a quorum sensor of P. aeruginosa . Next in sequence to this, they engineered the gene for the protein pyocin S5 which kills the intruder P. aeruginosa but does no harm to E. coli or humans. And finally in sequence is added the third gene which produces a protein called Lysis E7, which actually bursts open the engineered E. coli itself. As it does all this, it also happily keeps on multiplying, so that in a short time, we have millions of the transgenic E. coli within us to fight the invader. As each of the coli bursts open, it releases the molecules that stop the P. aeruginosa on track and eliminate it. In the process, the E. coli bombs itself out of existence. A cellular Kamikaze bomber! The Singapore research thus paves the way to genetically engineer Kamikaze cells that can fight other invading germs, such as Vibrio Cholerae, and the group says that they will be attempting it. This new approach is termed Synthetic Biology, which this group defines as a new discipline that aims to engineer genetically modified biological systems which can perform novel functions that do not exist in nature, with reusable, standard interchangeable biological parts. And, as we can see, this is akin to what engineers on one hand, and synthetic organic chemists do on the other. D. BALASUBRAMANIAN dbala@lvpei.org

SEX-ROLE REVERSAL IN BUTTERFLIES COURTSHIP


Female butterflies court males after being exposed to cool, dry temperatures as caterpillars. Raised in the moist, warmer season as larvae, males play suitor, displaying wing designs to females who do the choosing.

SHEDDING NEW LIGHT ON ISLAND SPECIES' ORIGINS


Animal and bird species found only on a single island should still be common within that island. This finding by a new model could apply both to islands and isolated areas of habitat on the mainland that are home to unique species.

SHORTER DAYS HAVE NO IMPACT ON HUMAN LIFE


The changes in Earth's rotation and figure axis caused by Japan's 9-magnitude earthquake should not have any impacts on people's daily lives, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said on Monday.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 70 of 127 These changes in Earth's rotation are perfectly natural and happen all the time, JPL scientist Richard Gross said in a press release. Using a U.S. Geological Survey estimate for how the fault responsible for the earthquake slipped, Gross applied a complex model to perform a preliminary theoretical calculation of how the Japan earthquake affected Earth's rotation, according to the release. His calculations indicate that by changing the distribution of Earth's mass, the Japanese earthquake should have caused Earth to rotate a bit faster, shortening the length of the day by about 1.8 microseconds (a microsecond is one millionth of a second). The calculations also show the Japan quake should have shifted the position of Earth's figure axis (the axis about which Earth's mass is balanced) by about 17 cm (6.5 inches), towards 133 degrees east longitude, said JPL in Pasadena, Los Angeles. This shift in Earth's figure axis will cause Earth to wobble a bit differently as it rotates, but it will not cause a shift of Earth's axis in space only external forces such as the gravitational attraction of the sun, moon and planets can do that, according to JPL. Both calculations will likely change as data on the quake are further refined, JPL said. Earth's rotation changes all the time as a result of not only earthquakes, but also the much larger effects of changes in atmospheric winds and oceanic currents, Gross said. Over the course of a year, the length of the day increases and decreases by about a millisecond, or about 550 times larger than the change caused by the Japanese earthquake. The position of Earth's figure axis also changes all the time, by about 3.3 feet over the course of a year, or about six times more than the change that should have been caused by the Japan quake. Gross said that while scientists can measure the effects of the atmosphere and ocean on Earth's rotation, the effects of earthquakes, at least up until now, have been too small to measure. The computed change in the length of day caused by earthquakes is much smaller than the accuracy with which scientists can currently measure the changes. The estimated 17cm shift in the figure axis from the Japan quake may actually be large enough to observe if scientists can adequately remove the larger effects of the atmosphere and ocean from the Earth rotation measurements, Gross added. Xinhua

SIGNATURE OF RADIATION INDUCED THYROID CANCER


Recently, scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen have identified a genetic change in thyroid cancer as a signature or fingerprint that points to a previous exposure of the thyroid to ionizing radiation. They discovered the gene marker in papillary thyroid cancer cases from the victims of Chernobyl; this marker was absent in the thyroid cancers in patients with no history of radiation exposure.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 71 of 127 This breakthrough has profound biological significance. Now, for the first time, scientists have been able to discriminate between the cancers caused by the intake of a radioactive material and those that arise spontaneously. Cancer occurence Most cancers occur spontaneously or when cells get exposed to certain viruses or chemicals or a physical agent such as ionizing radiation. So far, there was no way to identify uniquely a radiation cancer from a naturally occurring cancer. The researchers led by Prof Horast Zitzelsberger and Dr Kristian Unger from the Radiation Genetics Unit of the Helmholtz Zentrums Munchen in collaboration with Prof. Geraldine Thomas, Imperial College London, examined the thyroid cancers from children exposed to the radioiodine fallout from the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station. After decay For comparison, they looked for the same genetic change in thyroid cancers of children born more than one year after the explosion, after all radioiodine decayed away. Iodine-131 has a half life of 8 days. Scientists found that the number of copies of a small fragment of chromosome 7 was increased only in the cancers from the irradiated children. Writing in the May 23, 2011 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences(PNAS), the researchers noted that this is one of the first genetic markers that indicate a radiation aetiology of cancer. Normally, humans have 46 chromosomes. Two copies of chromosome 7, one inherited from each parent are present in every cell. Forty one disorders are associated with genes on chromosome 7. Changes in the number or structure of chromosome 7 occur frequently in human cancers. According to National Institutes of Health (NIH), some genes in chromosome 7 may play critical roles in controlling the growth and division of cells. Without these genes, cells could grow and divide too quickly or in an uncontrolled way resulting in a cancerous tumour, NIH clarified inGenetic Home Reference. According to Professor Zitzelsberger, the availability of the genetic marker will improve both the clinical diagnosis of thyroid cancer and our understanding of how radioiodine causes the disease to develop (Bioscience Technology,May 24, 2011). Researchers will extend the study to determine if the genetic fingerprint is able to indicate the dose required to cause cancer. The study was successful because the researchers had carefully collected, documented and stored samples of thyroid cancer tissues from the Chernobyl region in the Chernobyl tissue bank, a unique venture to establish a collection of biological samples from tumours and normal tissues from patients for whom the cause of their disease is known as exposure to radioiodine in childhood. The unique collection of materials made it possible for the team to compare for the first time tumours from children of the same age and regional background (insciences.org, May 24, 2011) The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station led to contamination of milk with iodine-131, a radioactive isotope of iodine. If authorities administered stable For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 72 of 127 iodine promptly during the early phase, radiation dose to the thyroid would have been negligible. Stable iodine saturates the thyroid so that the gland will not receive radioactive iodine when it arrives. Not implemented Unfortunately, this measure was not implemented at Chernobyl. The exposed population received large doses to their thyroid; this led to a significant fraction of the more than 6,000 thyroid cancers observed to date among people who were children or adolescents at the time of the accident. By 2005, 15 of these patients died. Thyroid cancers will not occur in Fukushima because as per emergency plan the management at Fukushima promptly evacuated the population from the affected regions and supplied stable iodine to the evacuees. K.S. PARTHASARATHY Raja Ramanna Fellow, Department of Atomic Energy (ksparth@yahoo.co.uk)

SIMPLE TRADITIONAL PRACTICES CAN HELP CONTROL RISING


PRICES
In the last few years the prices of almost all agricultural commodities shot up by more than sixty per cent. Prof Anil Gupta, Co-ordinator, Sristi and Honey Bee Network, and Executive Vice Chair, National Innovation Foundation, Ahmedabad in his blog http://www.sristi.org/anilg mentions one clue on why this problem is becoming intractable - we are too focussed entirely on output prices as a balancing exercise. Need more attention We do not pay enough attention to reduction of cost in most commodities. We need to aim at reducing unit cost of all goods and services in manufacturing as well as agriculture sector. Farmers also will not plead for higher prices every year if the cost of their inputs can be controlled and reduced, according to him. He adds that it is alright for the agricultural minister to say that to pay farmers well, society should bear the inflationary burden. But that is not the right or understanding attitude towards the poor who suffer the most, nor towards farmers who do not care about prices as much as profits. Convincing problem He even wonders how to convince the wise people in the planning commission considering the inflation, and adding cost of ten per cent or so to every unit cost. He gives the example of growing cotton. The crop consumes almost forty per cent of the countrys chemical pesticides followed by paddy at 20 per cent. What are we doing? What are we doing to reduce the cultivation cost of cotton? Farmers like Mr. Lakhra Bhai of Surendra Nagar in Gujarat used the idea of growing ladys finger around

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 73 of 127 cotton crops to trap the cotton pests nearly 20 years ago, he says. If that did not work, they sprayed jaggery or sugar solution to attract black ants which controlled the pests. Prof Gupta was requested by the Government to look into the problem of farmers suicides in India. While recommending establishment of village knowledge management systems, I pointed out a great tragedy confronting the children of farmers who committed suicides. I asked them whether they knew about any low cost or non-monetary technologies for reducing pest in cotton, since that is what pushed their fathers to the extreme step with no hope of coming out of their debt. The answer was a loud and repeated NO, he rues. Ironically, farmers from another district of Maharashtra which he visited, shared a traditional practice (also found in many other parts of India) that ladys finger as border crop acts as a good trap crop. It belongs to the same family as cotton and flowers earlier than cotton. Wrong practice Has any experiment been done to prove that the above simple traditional method is wrong in India or Africa or central or West Asia? he asks. But will these practices ever reach the masses? No. because then farmers will become self reliant and sustainable. Will the department of agriculture share this disregarding the pressure from the pesticide lobby, I doubt it, as for twenty years they did not do it, he voices his point emphatically. Free for all These kinds of solutions are available on sristi.org web site in open source for decades. When the cost of failure is low, and chances of success high, only inertia can explain the indifference to such bottom-up grassroots solutions for decades. These solutions will reduce cost, check inflationary pressure, and make the poor better off too as they will not suffer from exposure to chemicals. I hope technocracy will prove that we are wrong, he concludes with a chuckle. For more details readers can contact Prof Anil Gupta, Co-ordinator, SRISTI and Honey Bee Network and Executive Vice Chair, National Innovation Foundation, email at anilgb@gmail.com and anilg@iimahd.ernet.in, phones: 91-79-66324927 and 9179-66324930.

SIRENIANS PROVIDE NEW LOOK AT ANCIENT CLIMATE


While studying the evolutionary ecology of ancient sirenians also known as sea cows scientists stumbled across fossil data that could change the view of climate during the Eocene Epoch, some 50 million years ago.

SITE OF FIRST SUNFLOWER CULTIVATION AFFIRMED


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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 74 of 127 Results of a new genetic study affirm that the eastern United States, probably the Mississippi River Valley was a centre of plant domestication and that all known living cultivated sunflowers shared a common origin there.

SIX SMALL PLANETS ORBITING A STAR FOUND


NASA's Kepler mission has discovered a remarkable planetary system which has six planets around a Sun-like star, including five small planets in tightly packed orbits. Kepler-11, the star Astronomers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and their coauthors analyzed the orbital dynamics of the system, determined the sizes and masses of the planets, and figured out their likely compositions all based on Kepler's measurements of the changing brightness of the host star (called Kepler-11) as the planets passed in front of it. Not only is this an amazing planetary system, it also validates a powerful new method to measure the masses of planets, said Daniel Fabrycky, a Hubble postdoctoral fellow at UC Santa Cruz, who led the orbital dynamics analysis. Fabrycky and Jack Lissauer, a scientist at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, are the lead authors of a paper on Kepler-11 published today (February 3) in Nature. Mass, orbital periods The five inner planets in the Kepler-11 system range in size from 2.3 to 13.5 times the mass of the Earth. Their orbital periods are all less than 50 days, so they orbit within a region that would fit inside the orbit of Mercury in our solar system. The sixth planet is larger and farther out, with an orbital period of 118 days and an undetermined mass. Of the six planets, the most massive are potentially like Neptune and Uranus, but the three lowest mass planets are unlike anything we have in our solar system, said Jonathan Fortney, assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UCSC, who led the work on understanding the structure and composition of the planets, along with UCSC graduate students Eric Lopez and Neil Miller. Detecting the planets The Kepler space telescope detects planets that transit or pass in front of their host star, causing periodic dips in the brightness of the star as measured by the telescope. The amount of the brightness reduction tells scientists how big the planet is in terms of its radius. The time between transits tells them its orbital period. To determine the planets' masses, Fabrycky analyzed slight variations in the orbital periods caused by gravitational interactions among the planets. Using powerful ground-based telescopes to confirm the planet and determine its mass using Doppler spectroscopy is not possible with Kepler-11 as the planets are too small and the star far away 2,000 light-years away. The Kepler-11 system is remarkable in terms of the number of planets, their small

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 75 of 127 sizes, and their closely packed orbits. Before this, astronomers had determined both size and mass for only three exoplanets smaller than Neptune. Now, a single planetary system has added five more. The sixth planet in Kepler-11 is separated enough from the others that the orbital perturbation method can't be used to determine its mass, Fabrycky said. In the same plane As is the case in our solar system, all of the Kepler-11 planets orbit in more or less the same plane. This finding reinforces the idea that planets form in flattened disks of gas and dust spinning around a star, and the disk pattern is conserved after the planets have formed, Fabrycky said. The coplanar orbits in our solar system inspired this theory in the first place, and now we have another good example. But that and the Sun-like star are the only parts of Kepler-11 that are like the solar system, he said. The densities of the planets (derived from mass and radius) provide clues to their compositions. All six planets have densities lower than Earth's. It looks like the inner two could be mostly water, with possibly a thin skin of hydrogen-helium gas on top, like mini-Neptunes, Fortney said. The ones farther out have densities less than water, which seems to indicate significant hydrogenhelium atmospheres. That's surprising, because a small, hot planet should have a hard time holding onto a lightweight atmosphere. These planets are pretty hot because of their close orbits, and the hotter it is the more gravity you need to keep the atmosphere, Fortney said. My students and I are still working on this, but our thoughts are that all these planets probably started with more massive hydrogen-helium atmospheres, and we see the remnants of those atmospheres on the ones farther out. The ones closer in have probably lost most of it. Better understanding One reason a six-planet system is so exciting is that it allows scientists to make these kinds of comparisons among planets within the same system. Comparative planetary science allows in understanding our solar system better. For example, the presence of small planets with hydrogen-helium atmospheres suggests that this system formed relatively quickly, he said. Studies indicate that stellar disks lose their hydrogen and helium gas within about 5 million years. So it tells us how quickly planets can form, Fortney said. The inner planets are so close together that it seems unlikely they formed where they are now, he added. At least some must have formed farther out and migrated inward. University of California, Santa Cruz

SKY COLOUR

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 76 of 127 Why are there different colours in the sky in the evening? R.VIVEK Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh Visible light is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum that our eyes can see. Light from the sun or a light bulb may look white, but it is actually a combination of many colors. We can see the different colors of the spectrum by splitting the light with a prism. The colors have different wavelengths, frequencies, and energies. When the sun's rays enter the atmosphere they collide with particles and gases in the atmosphere. In 1871, Lord Rayleigh derived a formula describing a subset of these interactions, in which atmospheric particles are much smaller than the wavelengths of the radiation striking them. The Rayleigh scattering model showed that, in such systems, the intensity of scattered light varies inversely with the fourth power of its wavelength. In other words, shorter wavelengths, like blue and violet, scatter a lot more than long ones when particles are relatively small. Under these conditions, scattered light also tends to disperse equally in all directions, which is why the sky appears so saturated with blue color. Also the sky does not appear violet because though our eyes are sensitive to all the colors the ranges of the blue and violet overlap. Hence our receptive cones perceive blue color. The sky's color can change based on dust, pollution and water vapor, which affect the absorption and scattering of sunlight differently. The reddish tinge of sunsets is due mostly to the fact that the sunlight travels through more atmosphere to reach our eyes. By the time the light arrives, it's been stripped of shorter wavelengths, which have scattered away, leaving only the longer-wavelength, direct illumination of sunlight's redder tones. T.VISHWARATH Warangal, Andhra Pradesh

SMALL POWER PLANTS FOR AIRCRAFT BODIES


Sensor networks are supposed to pervade the body shell of airplanes in the future. These sensors do not require any external power supply.

SMART GRID IS THE ENERGY INTERNET' OF THE FUTURE SMOKING, BIRTH DEFECTS
The first-ever comprehensive systematic review of all studies over the past 50 years has established clearly that maternal smoking causes a range of serious birth defects including heart defects, missing/deformed limbs, clubfoot, gastrointestinal

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 77 of 127 disorders, and facial disorders (for example, of the eyes and cleft lip/palate). The review dispels any uncertainty about the serious harm caused by smoking to babies and pregnant women. About 20 per cent of women in the United States reported smoking in 2009. Around the world, about 250 million women use tobacco every day and this number is increasing rapidly, according to data presented at the 2009 14th World Conference on Tobacco or Health in Mumbai. Smoking during pregnancy is also a risk factor for premature birth, says Dr. Michael Katz, senior Vice President for Research and Global Programs of the March of Dimes. He says the March of Dimes urges all women planning a pregnancy or who are pregnant to quit smoking now to reduce their chance of having a baby born prematurely or with a serious birth defect. Babies who survive being born prematurely and at low birthweight are at risk of other serious health problems, Dr. Katz notes, including lifelong disabilities such as cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities and learning problems. Smoking also can make it harder to get pregnant, and increases the risk of stillbirth, according to a March of Dimes Foundation press release. Our Bureau

SNAKE LOCOMOTION
Why do snakes crawl from left to right instead of moving straight? M. ARIVALAGAN Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu Unlike mammals which primarily use their legs, snakes and reptiles tend to use their bodies and spine as a major part of locomotion. There are four basic kinds of snake movement: Lateral (horizontal) undulation, concertina movement, side winding and rectilinear. Lateral undulation is the most common form of movement and is used by all snakes. In this style of movement, a snake alternately tightens and relaxes a set of muscles along each side of its body to produce horizontal waves that travel down the body. While doing so, the snake manoeuvres its body so that the rear of each backward moving wave pushes against something resistant. Therefore, the snakes travel best on surfaces with obstructions and some roughness which give their bellies something to grip. The concertina movement is also called earthworm movement. This movement is exhibited by the snake when it is confined within a channel whose walls are either straight or form the arc of a circle. In this movement the snake anchors the fore-part of its body and pulls the rest of its body in the form of horizontal curves of comparatively shorter wavelengths which are in contact at their crests with the walls of the channel. It then extends out the forepart of its body, anchors it, and repeats the process. As

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 78 of 127 motion proceeds, fresh points are established behind existing ones, while the segments which constitute the most anterior of the wave series are drawn away from the walls of the channel and begin to move forward. Side winding movement is employed on soft sand or other surfaces that offer no resistance or slip. In this movement the snake loops its whole body into an S-shape, with only two points of its body coming in contact with the surface of the ground. It then progressively shifts the two contact points back along the body consequently propelling its body forward. Rectilinear or caterpillar movement involves a sliding of the skin back and forth over the body musculature and is therefore possible only in rattlesnakes and boas, which do not have the skin tightly attached to the underlying musculature. S. PALANIAPPAN Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu

SOIL-DWELLING BACTERIA SUCCESSFULLY KILL CANCER


A bacterial strain that is widespread in the soil specifically targets tumours and could soon be used as a vehicle to deliver drugs in frontline cancer therapy. The strain is expected to be tested in cancer patients in 2013.

SOLAR POWER AT RS 5/UNIT BY 2015


Power from solar photovoltaic plants, that may cost not less than Rs 12 a unit from plants set up today, is likely to decline to Rs 5 or less by 2015. Is it only because of the improvement in the efficiency of the solar modules?

SOLAR STORMS COULD SANDBLAST THE MOON


Solar storms and associated Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) can significantly erode the lunar surface according to a new set of computer simulations by NASA scientists. This could also cause atmospheric loss for Mars.

SOLAR-POWERED SPRAYER THAT SOLVES MANY PROBLEMS


One need not be a genius to develop any commonly used devices. Take the case of the humble yet important knapsack manual sprayer (hung on the shoulders). Though many models are available on the shelves, priced at different rates, most of them last for only a few years. Regularly filling them with water, pesticides and fuel (in case of fuel operated ones) makes it difficult to lift and hang them on the shoulder. After an hour of spraying, the weight of the machine creates a backache and shoulder pain for farmers, says Mr. David Raja Beleau, Assistant Director of Horticulture Kadayam, Tamil Nadu, who developed a solar powered battery operated sprayer for farmers. For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 79 of 127 Big effort In the commonly available ones, the user needs to exert a lot of effort to push the lever up and down to create the pressure to spray. Sometimes when the pressure becomes uneven, the nozzle gets blocked and the farmer has to spend time to rectify it. Being a farmer and working among them for long years, I decided to make some alterations in the existing design and fitted solar panels and a battery unit to it., says Mr. David. An electric motor operated by a 12 volt 7 Amp rechargeable battery, powers the sprayer which has a capacity of 16 litres. Once charged during the night, it can be operated for nearly eight hours and there is no need for petrol or any other fuel to operate the device. While spraying in the field, the battery can be further charged by switching on the solar power system attached to the sprayer. The solar panel is attached to a helmet and connected to the battery. Minimizes drudgery The sprayer not only minimizes the drudgery of the work but is also more effective than the conventional ones. Since villages still get electricity for a short time, that too during odd hours, this solar sprayer just might be the answer, explains Mr. David. The solar power system in the sprayer can also facilitate lighting of wireless light traps' that control insect pests and reduces the number of insecticide sprays by fifty per cent, cutting the cost of cultivation for the farmer. This reduces pesticide residue in the products thereby improving the quality of the products. The light traps can also control mosquitoes effectively . While demonstrating to the farmers in Tirunelveli a farm labourer who gets hired by others for spraying said that it was just the equipment he dreamt of when the cost of fuel was increasing everyday. A woman farmer who bought the sprayer said It is easy for me to carry the load on my back and spray easily on my jasmine crops. Seems like a boon Another farmer from Kolli hills who came to see the demonstration of the device remarked that, in a remote area like ours power failures are common occurrence. This device seems to be a boon for us. That the idea of converting existing battery powered knapsack equipment into solar powered one emerged because villages still did not have enough electricity to either run the sprayers or to charge the batteries for any single spraying operation. The solar power system is priced at Rs. 3,500. Farmers can buy it and fit to the existing devices they use, says Mr. David. Those who are interested can contact Mr.David Assistant Director of Horticulture Kadayam through his mobile number 9486285704 or microeconomicsdavid@ yahoo.co.in

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 80 of 127

SOME BIRDS SING FOR PLEASURE FROM TIME TO TIME


This is the season of music and dance in South India, and we have a veritable choice of a great variety of them good and not so good. It is at this time that a debate has arisen in scientific circles about which other animals can sing and do so for their own pleasure. Of all animals on earth, only two sing: us and the songbirds. Not all birds but the group called songbirds. Chickens and doves, for example, do no more than simple vocalization, and their song' repertoire is very limited. But a parrot or a hummingbird learns new songs' from listening to others, as anyone who has a pet parrot knows. Of the 9,000 species of birds, over half of them are songbirds able to sing new and involved phrases that they make on their own. Ms. Vanessa Schipani writes in the 7 January 2011 issue of The Scientist, that Dr. David Rothenberg of the New Jersey Institute of Technology goes to the Pittsburg Aviary, housing 600 different varieties of birds, and plays his clarinet there. One bird in particular, the white-crested laughing thrush, starts singing with him, note for note and phrase for phrase. He says that he can communicate with birds this way because they both share a similar appreciation for music and beauty. Schipani quotes Charles Darwin in this context. He wrote in The Descent of Man thus: why certain bright colours and certain sounds should excite pleasure, when in harmony, cannot, I presume, be explained any more than certain flavours and scents are agreeable; but assuredly the same colours and the same sounds are admired by us and by many of the lower animals. Why do birds sing (or vocalize) at all? Conventional scientific wisdom is that they attract their mates for sex. Simple vocalizations, termed calls, are used to maintain contacts with others and to alert them about food sources or potential danger. Songs are more complex and longer in duration, with involved phrases. These are used to identify individuals, establish territory boundaries and of course for sex. It is becoming increasingly clear that learning is required to produce complex songs. It is here that one separates a chicken from a nightingale. No matter what you play to a chicken, or what all it hears from its own tribe, it has a set of sounds that does not seem to increase. Its music' is limited, primitive and inscribed in its DNA. Vocal patterns are hardwired in animals like chicken and frogs because they do not have to hear to be able to vocalize remarks Dr. Ofer Tcernichovski, a New Yorkbased scientist who is appreciative of what the music teacher David Rothenberg is doing. A nightingale, the Mozart or MS Subbulakshmi among the avians, on the other hand, has over 200 different songs in its repertoire. And it can improvise. First it might sing the note sequence ABCDEF and a while later it might sing BEDF. And when they sing in duets or in chorus, the Jugalbandi or Savaal-Jawab can be quite complex. It is here that science is not clear. While it is believed that a female might prefer a male with a complex and longer lasting song pattern than a duller' one, is it always for mating or is there more to it? This much is clear. Songbirds, just as humans, learn from listening and the younger

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 81 of 127 ones learn and create more music than the older ones. Analysis of the brain circuitry (neuro-anatomy) of some songbirds shows a remarkable similarity with those of we humans. The human brain is bilateral in structure. While the left hemisphere has zones connected with language, analytical processing, time sequencing and so on, the right hemisphere has regions governing musical ability, humour, visuo-spatial skills and so forth. And there is increasing evidence that such bilateralism is shared by songbirds, whales and higher mammals. And among birds, why some can sing while others cannot is explained in part by their vocal anatomy. The sub-organ called the syrinx, its position and complexity set the songbirds apart. While enough research on the whale brain and vocal apparatus is awaited, the apes (gorilla, gibbon, chimp) have similar brain structure as ours but not the vocal apparatus. Thus, while they cannot produce complex sounds and spoken language, they certainly have a sense of rhythm. As the musicologists Carl Sachs and FrancoisBernard Mache note, a group of gorillas can get together and vocalize in unison the gorilla chants. And chimps can play simple beats of rhythm on tree barks. Indeed, Dr. Mache notes that songbirds have a keen sense of rhythm. Some of them can compose songs with varying rhythmic patterns (kala pramanam), including silences' of set duration (Khali as in Tabla playing). Why do they do all this? Not just for mating but for their innate pleasure and in aesthetic pursuit? And what about dancing birds like the peacock? Do they do an avian version of Kathak? There is much that science can analyze on the origin of aesthetics in songbirds, whales and other animals. D. BALASUBRAMANIAN dbala@lvpei.org

SOME MARINE SPECIES MAY GO HOMELESS


Mass migration of animal and plant species, forced by rising temperatures, could leave some marine species virtually homeless. An international team, led by Mike Burrows from the Scottish Association for Marine Science, compared changing temperatures for both land and sea and from place to place over a 50-year period from 1960-2009. Cooler environment When temperatures rise, plants and animals that need a cooler environment move to new regions. The land is warming about three times faster than the ocean so you might simply expect species to move three times faster on land, but that's not the case, Burrows explained. If the land temperature becomes too hot for some species, they can move to higher ground where temperatures are generally cooler. That's not an option for many marine species which live at, or near, the surface of the ocean, he was

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 82 of 127 quoted as saying in a Scottish Association statement. When temperatures rise, species such as fish will be able to move into deeper water to find the cooler environments they prefer but other species, such as marine plants or slow-moving corals, will have to move further to find suitable habitats and could become trapped.... Co-author John Bruno, from the University of North Carolina, agreed that many marine creatures would have a hard time keeping up with climate change. The effects Being stuck in a warming environment can cause reductions in the growth, reproduction and survival of ecologically and economically important ocean life such as fish, corals and sea birds, he said. IANS

SOUTHERN OCEAN SERVED AS A CO {-2} SINK IN PAST


New research data confirms the role of iron in dust in the increase in phytoplankton levels during glacial periods, some 1.25 million years ago, intensifying the function of the southern ocean as a carbon dioxide sink.

SPACE EXPERIMENTS BY STUDENTS TO BE FLOWN TO ISS


Very soon, a few lucky teenagers would get a lifetime opportunity to showcase their experiment in a twominute video and get it flown to International Space Station. YouTube and Lenovo, the computer manufacturer, announced yesterday a science contest called SpaceLab' for students around the world aged between 14 to 18. Students will have to make videos to pitch ideas for experiments that could be conducted in the zero-gravity of the space station. The two winning entries will be selected and performed by astronauts aboard the International Space Station, 240 miles (386 kilometers) above Earth. These experiments will also be streamed live on the video-sharing site YouTube, contest organisers said. The goal is to engage students in science, engineering and maths, and to help them develop their creative and analytical faculties, officials said. The space station really is the greatest science classroom we have, said former astronaut Leland Melvin, associate administrator for education at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., in a statement. This contest will capitalise on students' excitement for space exploration while engaging them in reallife scientific research and experimentation. Top 60 experiments Students must submit a two-minute video application explaining their experiment via YouTube by December 7. The top 60 experiments will be announced on January 3, 2012, at which time final judging will begin. The judges will include many big names in science and space exploration, including

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 83 of 127 renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking and NASA's human exploration and operations chief, Bill Gerstenmaier. Six finalists would meet in Washington, D.C., in March 2012, and get a chance to experience zero-gravity flights on an aircraft and receive other prizes. Two global winners one from the 14 to 16 year-old age group and one other from the 17-18 age group will then be picked from the six finalists. The two winners will get to choose one of two big prizes: a trip to Japan to watch their experiment blast off, or (after they turn 18) a chance to undergo spaceflight training in Star City outside Moscow, the training center for Russian cosmonauts, officials said. These students are being given the opportunity to do real research in orbit, NASA said. PTI

SPACING OF TURBINES FOR COST-EFFICIENT POWER


Wind-farm operators are searching for the most efficient way to arrange the turbines. New research suggests that placing them 15 rotor diameters apart more than twice as in current layouts is cost-efficient.

SPAWNING SUCCESS STORIES WITH BACKYARD


AQUACULTURE
A little care, proper planning and timely technical advice can bring amazing results for any farmer, according to Dr. V.A. Parthasarathy, Director, Indian Institute of Spices Research, Kozhikode, Kerala. In that context, farmer Mr. K.K. Manoj's backyard freshwater prawn hatchery unit at Atholi in Kozhikode district, Kerala is a model worthy of emulation I started with tiger shrimp farming near my house, and later switched over to brackish water breeds such as Pearl Spot, Mullet, and others as these fishes are available aplenty in the lakes near my house. I approached scientists at Peruvannamuzhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) for help, he says. Parent stock Knowing that brood stock (mother prawns) is available in the pond, the scientists put forward the idea of setting up a hatchery for breeding giant fresh water prawn in the farmer's backyard. Even though a huge demand exists for post larvae of prawns, lack of availability, and the need for a huge investment make it difficult for many aspiring prawn farmers. Climate change, and many other contributing factors severely affect the natural breeding of fresh water prawns in many areas. The only solution is to breed them in captivity. So we trained the farmer to breed them in the backyard in small tanks, says Dr. B. Pradeep, Subject Matter Specialist (Fisheries), KVK, Peruvannamuzhi. Last year, Manoj set up a hatchery in his backyard on an experimental basis, the For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 84 of 127 first of its kind in the Malabar area. Though these prawns are grown in fresh water, they require brackish water containing a specific salinity level for eggs to hatch, and grow through the larval period. As per the advice of the scientists, I set up an artificial pool near my house using silpolin sheets and maintained the salinity of water in the tank at optimal level to create an artificial environment for spawning and larval development, says Mr. Manoj. Thin survival rate Around one lakh eggs are produced by a female prawn at a time, but only ten per cent survive to the post larvae stage. In the larval stage, they are fed with Artemia nauplii, a primitive, aquatic species largely found in salt water. Mr. Monoj's determination and hard work plus timely scientific intervention showed good results, says Dr. Pradeep On an experimental basis I sold around 5,000 post larvae prawns in the first stage, says the farmer proudly and adds I am planning to expand the hatchery. According to him, freshwater prawn farming in the state faces a bright future, if the potential of lakes and granite quarries in the area are exploited properly. Felicitation Recently, the Indian Institute of Spices Research felicitated Mr. Manoj at its annual Karshika Sankethika Darshanam 2011, a farmers mela and technology expo for his innovation in developing low cost fibre cages for rearing Pearlspot fishes in captivity. Normally, these fibre cages are made of fibre wire mesh. PVC pipes are used to float these structures on water. Since PVC pipes are very costly, I used empty plastic bottles to replace them. The bottes help the cage to float on the water surface, explains the farmer. The production cost for a standard fish culture cage works out to more than Rs. 3,000 rupees, whereas the low cost model is priced at only Rs.1,000. With a fullfledged Pearlspot hatchery unit, the innovative farmer produces around 20,000 fingerlings each breeding season. There is a good demand for Pearlspot from small scale farmers. I am getting around Rs. 5 for each fingerling, says Mr. Manoj. Feasible According to Mr. Manoj, pearlspot farming in captivity is profitable as it requires minimum investment and harvesting is easy. Even small scale farmers and women can grow them in the backyard. You may find it consuming a lot of time, requiring tremendous care and attention, but more than a livelihood, it is an awesome experience, if you really like the thrill of fish rearing, says a beaming Mr. Manoj. For more details contact Mr. K.K. Manoj, Koodathumkandi House, Velur Post, Atholi (Via), Kozhikode- 673315. mobile: 09387527887 and Dr. B Pradeep, email: kvk@spices.res.in, phone: 0091-496- 2662372.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 85 of 127

SPECIES EXPANSION, EXIT MUST BOTH BE STUDIED


As species disappear or are made extinct, many species expand their range as a result of human introduction and because certain species benefit from climate change. The two phenomena must be studied at the same time.

SPIDERS' WEB CODE CRACKED


Decorative white silk crosses are an ingenious tactic used by orb-weaving spiders to protect their webs from damage, a new study has revealed.

SPIDER'S WEB WEAVING AND INSIGHT INTO OLD AGE


Young spiders weave perfect webs but as they reach old age their webs deteriorate, showing gaping holes. Studying them may provide insight into how age affects behaviour in other organisms, including humans.

SPRINKLER IRRIGATION USING TUBES, OLD RAZOR BLADE,


AND A KEROSENE LAMP
Personal experience remains the best teacher. Today several book experts claim to know the answer for solving agriculture crises. Many officials are interested in pushing their projects in the government than for farmers' welfare. Some are foreign educated and do not seem to know the ground realities, says Mr. Avaran, from Malappuram, Kerala, who developed a low cost new micro sprinkler, from micro tubes, a kerosene lamp, and an old razor blade. Cost effective He developed the cost-effective sprinkler by fusing one end of a 3 cm long micro tube and making an incision just below the fused end. The half circle jets of water produced can be used for any crops, according to him. International talks on improving production in the country hold no significance when there are practically no fields left for cultivation. You cannot compare India with any western countries in terms of crop yield or farmers' income. There are many things lacking for a farmer here, he says. The low yield and income from my two-acre field due to acute water shortage and the high cost of available irrigation products in the market made me think of a costeffective alternative, says the farmer. The biggest obstacle in using drip or sprinkler irrigation by small farmers is the high cost involved in setting them up in the fields, according to him. Though the government promotes irrigation technologies by encouraging private manufacturers, spreading awareness through the Departments of Horticulture and Agriculture by introducing subsidy schemes, they are not popular among the small farmers, according to Mr. Avaran. For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 86 of 127 Require certain skill Farmers need a certain degree of skill to operate and maintain an irrigation system. The dealers, after installing the system, must follow up with the farmer, but this rarely happens. Often after setting up the unit, dealers don't care to even come back to attend to any complaints. The common excuse is that the villages are often remote and inaccessible. But how is it the villages become accessible when a payment for installing the system needs to be collected? asks the farmer. Today, many of the irrigation devices are sophisticated and investments are high for installing them. Big farmers (5-10 acres) can afford to install them but for poor illiterate small farmers such an investment is out of question. A conventional irrigation system requires an expert to install it, leaving most illiterate farmers out of the process, seems to be his view. Whether it is a sprinkler or drip system it should be simple to use and easily operable. It works better if a farmer can set it up and manage it himself. The government must understand that irrigation does not mean a routine task of watering crops. In India and other developing countries, it is a social activity motivating human involvement, stresses Mr. Avaran. Fails to use The government does not make use of the creative mind of a farmer, he alleges. The most glaring flaw is the public distribution system that blindly encourages farmers to take up rice cultivation even in areas where water is scarce. Our policy makers and experts must be willing to learn practical lessons from grassroots farmers instead of following textbook theories, he stresses. Although the government of India promotes drip irrigation, the present system only encourages large-scale operations, leaving small farmers out of the picture. Proper awareness Much of India's cultivable area is fed on rainwater, which leaves farmers vulnerable to drought. Proper irrigation techniques can effectively enable a farmer in dry areas to profit, according to him. For more details readers can contact Mr. M. Avaran, Mannackkara House, Athavanad, Malappuram-676310, mobile: 09446840750.

SPRINKLING WATER USING CHANDRAPRABHA RAIN GUN


Unlike the knowledge and awareness of the present day, about 25 years ago farmers never knew the effectiveness of water conservation and the need for preserving groundwater by using tubes and buckets for irrigating their crops. But in that phase, Annasaheb Udagavi, from Sadala village of Chikkoditaluka in Belgaun district, North Karnataka, developed a sprinkler system that covers as much as 140 feet radius to irrigate sugarcane crops. To save my betel-vine orchard from acute scarcity of water, I fitted PVC pipes used

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 87 of 127 in electrical fittings, after making perforations using nails. I spent Rs. 30,000 to cover two acres of betel-vine two decades ago for irrigation, he says. Poor prices By irrigating it for an hour every day, he successfully maintained the orchard for seven years. But poor prices for betel leaf and labour problems made him switch to other crops. He then started cultivating tobacco for a few years and changed over again to sugarcane for better returns. But the irrigation problem continued, he says. Salinity and difficulty in irrigating the dense crop made me search for an alternative. And then the sprinkler irrigation system started taking shape. According to Mr. Annasahib, washing down aphids and white flies using a highpressure water spray is the best method to save crops from pests. By studying the conventional sprinkler irrigation system, the farmer designed a new one to suit the sugarcane crop. Further improvement After installing it in the field, he further improved the design by providing a groove for nozzles of different sizes to shoot water to different lengths according to the need. Further, he introduced a locking system to prevent the sprinkler head from throwing water into neighbouring fields and named it Chandraprabha. Two Chandraprabha rain gun sprinkler heads are enough to irrigate an acre of sugarcane. The cost of one sprinkler head is priced at Rs. 3,500 and the per acre installation cost comes to Rs. 15,000 inclusive of the installation of three inch PVC main pipeline and riser pipe, he explains. It can irrigate an acre in about one and half hours. Since the system is made using a three inch pipe and a wide nozzle, even composts such as biogas slurry can be applied to the crop through it. It does not even need additional pipelines because of its large coverage, according to him. Three in one Mr. Annasaheb also designed a machine to plant, apply manure, and stubble shave sugarcane crops. Manual methods of operations such as planting, applying manure, and stubble shaving takes about 30-35 man-days/hectare/day for each operation. Tractor drawn rotovators in the market did not give a shaving effect on the ratoon crop and manual cutting failed, he explains. The output of the machine is 0.4 hectare/hour and can apply about 105 kg of fertilizer in the same time. The height of the stubble shaving can be adjusted upto two inches from the ground using a nut-bolt arrangement on the side. Cost It requires one person to operate it and consumes less diesel, thereby reducing operational costs, emissions, and pollution. The current model costs Rs 40,000, according to Mr. Annasaheb. The innovator filed For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 88 of 127 a patent for this innovation and is using it for many years. For more details contact Mr. Annasaheb Bhavu Udagavi, Pattan Modu thotta, Examba Road, Sadalge, Chikodi, Belgaum, Karnataka 591239, mobiles: 08330251676, 09342212732.

SRIHARIKOTA TO BE AN ASSEMBLING HUB


The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is drawing up plans to develop the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota into a centre for assembling satellites and rockets in the near future. Our vision is a quantum jump in satellites and launch vehicles to be dealt with in future years. The space port in Sriharikota should further develop into an area where the industries in India working for space would come together, assemble satellites and rockets there and move to the launch pad, ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan said. He was addressing a meeting after the inauguration of the Oceansat-2 ground station at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) in Hyderabad recently. ISRO and INCOIS were working together in the area of environment and climate monitoring, he said, adding that INCOIS was sending forecast to coastal areas based on inputs received from Oceansat-2 launched two years ago. PTI

STARS' TWINKLING
Why do stars twinkle? Why does light from planets not twinkle? V. HARIHARAN Chennai Twinkling is closely related to what astronomers call seeing' (atmospheric blurring of an image). Both are caused by the turbulent cells in the upper atmosphere: these are little pockets of air that have different density, temperature, humidity etc. than the surrounding air. The density contrast causes refraction, and as different cells move in and out of your line of sight, the image of the star (which is point-like) is seen to move around from one second to the next. This movement is seen as twinkling by the eyes; if you take a photograph over several minutes, as astronomers often do, then the image becomes blurred. The seeing (this blurring) can be as good as 0.5 second of arc at the best astronomical sites on Earth, while the worst seen by two astronomers from NASA at a professional observatory was about 8 seconds of arc (they gave up observing that night; more typically, 2 seconds of arc would be considered bad by today's professional astronomers). 1 second of arc is 1/3600th of a degree. So why don't planets twinkle? This is because, even though they may look point-like to naked eyes, they are actually much bigger than the typical seeing. This means

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 89 of 127 that you observe the combination of light which has passed through different atmospheric cells. Thus, the turbulent effects are averaged out, making the planets look steady. Our Bureau

STILL ON HUNGER STRIKE, SAYS ESSAR ACCUSED


Around noon on Wednesday, a posse of policemen wheeled 36-year-old Adivasi school teacher Soni Sori through the corridors of Raipur's Ambedkar hospital en route to a routine Computed Tomography (CT scan) that no hospital in the five districts of south Chhattisgarh was equipped to handle. As she lay on her stretcher, Ms. Soni said she was on hunger strike to protest against her treatment at the hands of the police. Ms. Soni, accused of serving as a conduit between the Essar company and the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), was referred to Raipur after she said she had a fall while in police custody in Dantewada. Ms. Soni had told this correspondent then that she had been mentally tortured by police interrogators but had not been physically hit during questioning. Treated like criminal On Tuesday night, local television channels played footage of where Ms. Soni announced her hunger strike. Why are the police treating me like a criminal? Why did they shackle my feet? asks Ms. Sori in the clip, adding that the shackles had been removed before the TV cameras were let into the room. I am still on hunger strike to protest against the false cases levelled against me, said Ms. Soni, in a brief exchange with this correspondent, before policemen wheeled her into the hospital's trauma ward. However, hospital doctors and police officers associated with the case refused to comment on the case. Neither the Medical Superintendent of the Ambedkar Hospital Vivek Choudhury nor police spokesperson Vivekananda Sinha returned calls made to their office. NHRC takes cognisance In a related development, news agencies reported that the National Human Rights Commission had taken cognisance of Ms. Soni's case and had directed its officers to look into the allegations of custodial mistreatment.

STRANGE KINK IN MILKY WAY GALAXY


New observations from the Herschel Space Observatory show a bizarre, twisted ring of dense gas at the centre of our Milky Way galaxy.

STUDY DOUBTS BACTERIAL ROLE IN GULF OIL CLEAN-UP

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 90 of 127 A widely publicized study concluded that a bacterial bloom consumed the methane discharged from the Deepwater Horizon well. Now, a recent study has shown low measured rates of methane consumption by bacteria.

STUDY EXPLORES HOW FRUIT BATS LOCATE TREES


Bats flying to distant fruit trees may have a back-up navigational mechanism to help when landmarks are unreliable. This mechanism might involve sensing the magnetic fields or directional odours, says an Israeli study.

STUDYING OYSTER LANGUAGE'


Scientists in Japan have begun studying the language' of oysters in an effort to find out what they are saying about their environment. Researchers are monitoring the opening and closing of the molluscs in response to changes in seawater, such as reduced oxygen or red tide, a suffocating algal bloom, that can lead to mass die-offs. Using a device they have nicknamed the kai-lingual,' scientists from Kagawa University want to see if they can decode oyster movements that might warn of possible problems. The kai-lingual uses a series of sensors and magnets to send information on the opening and closing of shells in response to environmental changes. The technique has never before been used on oysters farmed for food, but has been employed by pearl oyster farmers. With kai-lingual, we can hear the screams', like we are in pain because of insufficient oxygen', said Tsuneo Honjo, director of the Seto Inland Sea Regional Research Center at the university. Pearl oysters have been placed among their food-farmed cousins where they have acted as interpreters,' alerting growers to ocean changes, he said. We have firmly established conversations with pearl oysters through years of research. They should translate into the reactions of the farmed oysters for us in this project, he said. AFP

SUGARCANE CULTIVATION COOLS LOCAL CLIMATE


Besides being an eco-friendly substitute for gasoline, sugar canes in fields reflect sunlight back into space, lowering the temperature of the surrounding air as the plants exhale' cooler water.

SUN HAS A SOLAR BLAST


The Sun unleashed an M-2 (medium-sized) solar flare, an S1-class (minor) radiation storm and a spectacular coronal mass ejection (CME) on June 7, 2011 from sunspot complex 1226-1227. The large cloud of particles mushroomed up and fell back For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 91 of 127 down looking as if it covered an area of almost half the solar surface. The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observed the flare's peak at 1:41a.m. ET (0641 UT). SDO recorded these images (above) in extreme ultraviolet light that show a very large eruption of cool gas. It is somewhat unique because at many places in the eruption there seems to be even cooler material at temperatures less than 80,000 K. When viewed in Solar and Heliospheric Observatory's (SOHO) coronagraphs (right), the event shows bright plasma and high-energy particles roaring from the Sun. This not-squarely Earth-directed CME is moving at 1400 km/s according to NASA models. The CME should deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field during the late hours of June 8th or June 9th. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras when the CME arrives. Our Bureau

SUNDA CLOUDED LEOPARD HAS TWO SUB-SPECIES


A study says clouded leopards from Borneo and Sumatra are distinct from those on the mainland and are a separate species (Sunda). A new study says they come as two sub-species.

SUNDARAM HOME RAISES DEPOSIT RATES


Sundaram BNP Paribas Home Finance, the housing finance subsidiary of Sundaram Finance, has announced an upward revision of interest rates on deposits effective from January 6. The rate has been raised to 8.75 per cent (7.50 per cent) for one year deposits, to 9 per cent (8.25 per cent) for two years and to 9.25 per cent (8.50 per cent) for 3-5 years. The new rates for senior citizens are: 9 per cent (8.25 per cent) for one year, 9.25 per cent (8.50 per cent) for 2 years and 9.50 per cent (9 per cent for 3-5 years, says a release.

SUNSHINE VITAMIN
How does exposure to sun help to produce Vitamin-D in humans? S.M. SIVADHARSHINI Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu Vitamin D, a fat soluble vitamin resembles sterols in structure and functions like a hormone. Ergocalciferol and cholecalciferol, both sterols are the precursor substances for the synthesis of vitamin D and are referred to as provitamins. Ergocalciferol is designated as vitamin D {-2} and cholecalciferol also as vitamin D {-3}. Ergocalciferol is the provitamin found in plants and cholecalciferol is the provitamin present in animals. In man the provitamin cholecalciferol (also called calciol) is synthesized from 7-dehyrocholesterol an intermediate product of cholesterol biosynthesis. The conversion of 7- dehyrocholesterol into provitamin cholecalciferol

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 92 of 127 takes place in the skin (dermis and epidermis) on exposure to sunlight. The provitamins D {-2} and D {-3} as such are not biologically active. They are metabolized identically in the human body and converted into active forms of vitamin D. The active vitamin D is calcitriol. Conversion of provitamins into active calcitriol takes place in two steps. The first step occurs in the liver where the provitamin is converted into hydroxycholecalciferol and in the second step, which occurs in the adrenal cortex of our kidney, the hydroxycholecalciferol is converted into active vitamin called calcitriol. Anyhow, for the synthesis of provitamins from which active vitamin D is formed, sunlight is very essential. The incident UV-rays in the sunlight helps for this. Humans make 90 per cent of their vitamin D naturally from sunlight exposure to their skin specifically, from ultraviolet B exposure to the skin, which naturally initiates the conversion of cholesterol in the skin to vitamin D {-3}. Few foods naturally contain or are fortified with supplemental vitamin D. It is just 10 per cent of what the most we need daily. In contrast, sun exposure to the skin makes thousands of units of vitamin D naturally in a relatively short period of time. Therefore Vitamin D is regarded as Sun Shine Vitamin. S. PALANIAPPAN Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu

SUPERCOMPUTER CALCULATES CARBON NUCLEUS


For carbon, the basis of life, to form in the stars, a certain state of the carbon nucleus plays an essential role. Now, a supercomputer has calculated the carbon nucleus.

SUPERCOMPUTER'S ROLE IN UNRAVELLING DVDS


Some 4000 processors of the Jlich supercomputer JUGENE were used for over four months in order to obtain the necessary precision to provide insight into the read and write processes in a DVD.

SUPERIOR ABILITIES ARE NOT SEEN IN ALL INDIVIDUALS,


BUT ARE FOUND AT GROUP LEVEL

SUPERNOVA OF A GENERATION'
It was the brightest and closest stellar explosion seen from Earth in 25 years, dazzling professional and backyard astronomers alike. Now, thanks to this rare discoverywhich some have called the supernova of a

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 93 of 127 generation astronomers have the most detailed picture yet of how this kind of explosion happens. Known as a Type Ia supernova, this type of blast is an essential tool that allows scientists to measure the expansion of the universe and understand the very nature of the cosmos. On August 24, the Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) team discovered the supernova in one of the arms of the Pinwheel Galaxy (also called M101), 21 million light years away. They caught the supernova just 11 hours after it exploded. Never before have we seen a stellar thermonuclear explosion so soon after it happened, says Lars Bildsten, professor of theoretical astrophysics at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at UC Santa Barbara, and member of the PTF team, which described its supernova findings today (December 15) in Nature . The PTF team uses an automated system to search for supernovae, and because they were able to point their telescopes at SN2011fe so quickly after its detonation, the astronomers were able to put together a blow-by-blow analysis of the explosion, determining that the supernova involves a dense, Earth-sized object called a white dwarf and, most likely, a main-sequence star (a star in the main stage of its life), according to a University of California, Santa Barbara press release. Our Bureau

SWARNA SUB1: FLOOD RESISTANT RICE VARIETY SWIMMING FARTHER TO SURVIVE CLIMATE CHANGE
Sea life, particularly in the Indian Ocean, the Western and Eastern Pacific and the subarctic oceans will face growing pressures to adapt or relocate to escape extinction, according to a new study published in Science .

SWOLLEN LIPS, EYELIDS


When we wake up after a sound sleep our face (lips, eyelids) are swollen. Why? RAJASHEKAR REDDY Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh It is a common phenomenon but at the same time rarely recognized and bothered about. During our wakeful state, we blink (move the eye lids) and squeeze the eye balls frequently due to some movements or other. We also make lots of movements of the facial muscles. We also keep eating, chewing, and closing our mouth frequently. All these muscle movements drain the venous blood to the venous system through external jugular vein, which further drains the major part of blood to a blood tube called superior vena cava. This vein practically sucks all the blood during erect posture, due to negative

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 94 of 127 thoracic respiratory movement which is 17 to 20 times per minute. All these efforts are taken to take away the blood and tissue lymphs, back to blood system during wakeful state. But during sleep , all these movements are absent, no facial movements , no lip movement, no blinking etc, hence the so called muscle pumps are totally absent. If the sleep time is prolonged beyond certain limit, the venous engorgement due to slow respiration with slow suction, and lack of muscle pumps swell the interstitial space and cells, underneath the skin, resulting in accumulation of fluids, which create a swollen eyes and lips. It is also observed that in a healthy person, this returns to normal after a few minutes, but in conditions where there is renal failure, or congestive heart failure, it may remain for hours together. DR. V. NAGARAAJAN Professor Emeritus in Neuro Sciences Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University Madurai, Tamil Nadu

SYNTHETIC BLOOD NOW CLOSER


Scientists have created particles that mimic some key properties of red blood cells, paving the way for the development of synthetic blood. The new discovery could also lead to more potent treatments for life threatening conditions such as cancer. University of North Carolina researchers used technology known as PRINT (Particle Replication in Non-wetting Templates) to produce very soft hydrogel particles that mimic the size, shape and flexibility of red blood cells. The technology allows the particles to circulate in the body for extended periods of time, reports the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. However, researchers believe the findings are significant because red blood cells (RBCs) naturally deform in order to pass through microscopic pores in organs and narrow blood vessels, according to a University of North Carolina press release. Over their 120-day lifespan, the red blood cells become stiffer and are filtered out of circulation after being unable to pass through spleen pores. Treating cancer Beyond moving closer to producing fully synthetic blood, the findings could affect approaches to treating cancer. Cancer cells are softer than healthy cells, enabling them to lodge in different places in the body and spreading the disease. Particles loaded with cancer-fighting medicines that can remain in circulation longer may open the door to more aggressive treatment approaches. IANS

TACKLING ROOT KNOT NEMATODE IN CARROT


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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 95 of 127

TACKLING RURAL INDIA'S PROBLEMS IS THE MISSION OF 28


YOUNGSTERS
Nothing changes' is the cynical reaction to the multitude problems plaguing the country's massive rural sector, from farmer suicides to depleting resources. These issues are debated profusely, triggering circular blame games, with a general conclusion that the responsibility lies in the hands of the country's youth to put things right. Yet, every year we see the educated youth overlooking this sector which is crying out loud for their attention, says Dr. G.N. Hariharan, Principle coordinator, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Chennai Face the challenge This year however, 28 persons with a maverick mindset have decided to stand up to the challenge. These young professionals form the State Bank of India (SBI) Youth for India fellowship a unique platform to enable educated Indian youth to understand the dynamics of the crises and adapt innovative solutions. The program ties up with well-established NGOs like MSSRF, BAIF and Seva Mandir, allowing the fellows to work on various rural projects for a year, in eight states and union territories (namely, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, Orissa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry). Out of about 4,000 applications received, 200 candidates were shortlisted for interviews with 28 fellows including five women, being selected to work with the partner NGOs'. They are all graduates or postgraduates including alumni of eminent institutes such as IITs' and IIMs'. Most of the professionals have an engineering background (15 BE/B.Techs) or management (four fellows), says Dr. Hariharan. However, there are unique profiles with background in biotechnology, urban planning, law, mathematics, and agricultural science. Professionally, almost one out of every four fellows is from the software sector, though there are many from diverse sectors like education, infrastructure, nonprofit, healthcare and others. Seeking solutions The fellows might be professionally and educationally diverse, but the one quality that unites them all, is that they are bored by their restricted cubical lives, and are seeking solutions to the burning issues detrimental to the country's future. Their intention is to do something about concerns most only prefer to talk about, says Dr. Hariharan. The fellows are working on various projects such as agricultural supply chain, education, health awareness, legal rights, rural tourism, tribal development, climate change awareness, etc. and MSSRF being one of the pioneering NGOs in India, provides a platform for the fellows to start off interesting projects for them to work on. Updated information For example Mr. Ankit Walia, a CRM Consultant is piloting an Interactive voice

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 96 of 127 response system in Tamil, to enable farmers to get updated information about markets, farming practices, Government schemes etc. In Vidarbha, a farmers-suicide ridden region, Mr. Shuvajit Payne, an ex-IIM consultant at IBM previously, is implementing a spoken English course to encourage alternative employment. Ms. V. Suhasini, a computer science engineer, is working with women SHGs' in Puducherry to identify and promote sustainable rural livelihoods/enterprises, in the process strengthening the existing biovillage concept. Ms. Anu Jacob, previously managing the HR activities of a startup, is working on making the Every village a knowledge centre' model self-sustainable by trying to increase the earning capacity of the knowledge workers. Scaling up The potential of this batch has encouraged the organization to scale up the program next year and help out more NGOs. Says Mr. Shuvajit Payne: Basically though we might have been financially secure working in big companies, at one point of time, we started developing a feeling that apart from earning money there must be something that as individuals we must achieve and give back to the society especially to the rural poor. This opportunity proved the best platform for us to get a first hand feel of what rural India is really undergoing. At the end of our training, we hope to play a very constructive role in trying to solve the rural problems. Need more But why only 28 fellows? asks Mr. Shamrao Deshmukh, a farmer from Vidarbha, who desires more number of youth to take part in the programme with continued support from SBI.. For interacting with these fellows readers can contact Dr. G.N. Hariharan, Principle co-ordinator, M.S. Swaminthan Research Foundation, Taramani, Chennai, email: gnhariharan@mssrf.res.in, mobile: 9444904765 or Ms Geeta Verghese, SBIYFI coordinator. email chacko5@yahoo.com, Mobile 09620272251.

TAMIL NADU FARMERS URGED TO GROW ANNA 4' PADDY


A two-day national workshop on Dryland Development and Maximising Crop Productivity was recently held at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. Speaking at the function Mr. B. Venkateswaralu, Director of Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) said, Climate change is a major challenge faced by rainfed areas through long spells of drought and followed by heavy rains causing floods. The concept of conservation agriculture and energy efficient pumpsets could help overcome this problem. Zero tillage Conservation agriculture involves minimum or zero tillage with fewer disturbances

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 97 of 127 to the soil and leaving the crop residuals on the soil surface as much as possible. Energy efficient pumpsets reduces the emission of green house gases which contribute to climatic change, he said. According to him, mechanisation of agriculture in dryland areas was a matter of great concern due to the inability of the farmers to buy mechanized equipment. This challenge could be addressed through Operational Research Projects (ORP). In the ORP, the improved machinery was demonstrated in farmers' fields which would enable them to suggest creation of workable institutional mechanisms. CRIDA was currently working on such ORPs on farmers' fields, he added. He drew attention to supplemental irrigational facility through farm ponds during rainy season. New approach A mission mode approach was necessary for water harvesting through farm ponds by ORP for which National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) needed to be merged with activities of the Department of Agricultural Activities. Dr. Murugesa Boopathi, Vice Chancellor of the University said, low productivity in dryland areas was due to frequent droughts, degraded soils, sub-optimal nutrient application, low-nutrient use efficiency and nutrient mining. He urged farmers to grow the ANNA 4 rice variety released by the University. This variety gave a yield of 3.2 tonnes a hectare compared to 1.2 tonnes of other varieties. The state Government provided 50 per cent subsidy tfor procurement of farm machinery. TNAU proposed to establish model farms at Cuddalore and Bhavanisagar where it would demonstrate and educate farmers. For more details contact Dr. P. Murugesa Boopathi at email: vc@tnau.ac.in and phone: 0422-2431788.

TANTALISING CLUES TO THE MOON'S THERMAL HISTORY


New images of a curious hot spot' on the far side of the Moon reveal it to be a small volcanic province created by the upwelling of silicic magma, offering tantalising clues to the Moon's thermal history.

TAPPING INTO PLANTS TO COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE


The photosynthetic antenna of plants absorbs the sunlight used in photosynthesis. It is an incredibly efficient mechanism, which if harnessed, can lead to more efficient solar energy, and fight against climate change.

TARANTULA NEBULA GLOWS WITH INFRARED, X-RAYS


About 2,400 massive stars in the centre of 30 Doradus, also known as the Tarantula Nebula, are producing intense radiation and powerful winds as they blow off material. 30 Doradus, is located close to the Milky Way

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 98 of 127

TB IN KIDS: A CALL TO ACTION


A severely malnourished young girl, about one-and-a-half years old, was brought to the out-patient department of a busy teaching hospital with symptoms of fever, cough and lethargy for about 10 days. Pneumonia was suspected and confirmed by a chest X-ray and she was given a course of antibiotics and asked to return for follow-up after a week. Her frantic mother brought her back to the emergency room after 4 days by then, she was unconscious and despite all efforts, died the next day. Tests done then showed that she had TB meningitis or TB of the brain in addition to the infection in her lung. This incident, which I witnessed, has always served as a grim reminder to me, that TB in children is not only poorly understood and mis-diagnosed, but often has little room for error and can progress very rapidly in the young child leading to long-term disability or death, as it did in this case. Worldwide, at least 1 million TB cases occur each year in children under 15 years of age, 75 per cent of these occur in 22 high burden countries. In 2009, India had the highest number of TB cases in the world (approximately 2 million new patients), suggesting that the prevalence in children is also likely to be high. The true burden of TB in children is unknown because of the lack of child-friendly diagnostic tools and inadequate surveillance and reporting of childhood TB cases. While about half of all Indians have silent or latent TB infection, only a small fraction (10 per cent) develop signs and symptoms in their lifetime, in the rest the bacteria seem to live quietly, in harmony with the host. Whether the infection flares up into disease depends on many things. Notably the body's immunity and if that is defective due to HIV or malnutrition or diabetes, then TB gets the upper hand in the battle with the immune system. Age is another important factor and children below 2 or 3 years old not only have a higher risk of developing disease, it is often more severe and widespread. Pneumonia or infection of the lungs is a leading killer of children, world-wide, accounting for about 20 per cent of deaths in under-five children. Recent studies in Africa showed that TB was a common cause of pneumonia in both HIV infected and uninfected children it was detected only when a special effort was made as part of a research study. It is likely that more children will be correctly diagnosed if TB is considered as a cause of other common childhood infections. However, it is important to note that the correct tests need to be performed and interpreted properly another challenge as X-rays in children are notoriously difficult to read and prone to reader bias. Perhaps due to the lack of a gold standard diagnostic test in children (the sputum test serves as one in adults), a number of unnecessary and useless tests are performed. It has been estimated that in India alone, 15 million dollars are spent annually on serological (ELISA) tests for TB resources that could be better spent, considering there is no evidence that these tests are useful.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 99 of 127 Children with TB infection today represent the reservoir of TB disease tomorrow. If the global goal of eliminating TB by 2050 is to be met, treatment and prevention of TB in children needs as much attention as in adults. Unfortunately, BCG, the only licensed TB vaccine, has limited efficacy against the most common forms of childhood TB and its effect is of limited duration. There are several clinical trials ongoing to test newer vaccines for TB, but it will take 8-10 years for a more efficacious vaccine to be available for wide use. But most clinical trials for new TB drugs do not include children. While there are obvious ethical as well as practical and logistical issues that need to be addressed while conducting trials in children, excluding them only ensures that they do not benefit from advances in diagnostics, new drugs or preventive strategies. Scientists and researchers need to do a better job of raising awareness, educating and engaging with the community about clinical trials in general and trials in children, in particular. The National TB Control Program is one of the largest and most successful public health programs in the world, providing high quality services to over 1.4 million patients every year. However, screening of household contacts of adult TB patients and provision of preventive drugs to young children must receive higher priority. As India moves towards universal access to prevention, diagnosis and treatment of TB, the little ones amongst us must not be forgotten. Dr. SOUMYA SWAMINATHAN Coordinator, Research Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases WHO, Geneva

TB IS KILLING WOMEN SILENTLY


As the sun set over the 2,500 year old stupa in Vaishali, Bihar and in the half-light of dusk, a young woman showed me an X-ray that she brought out of a dark and damp corner of her hut. She weighed less than 30kg, looked anaemic and weak and carried a 10 day old infant in her arms, while two other toddlers tugged at her sari. Even in the poor light, I could see that her X-ray had a cavity and white patches in the right lung, a sure sign of tuberculosis, most likely of the infectious variety. She had taken treatment for TB off and on 8 months ago but after several visits to the health centre that did not have a stock of drugs, had given up. Sputum test She had been to the local primary health centre recently complaining of cough and fever, had been given cough syrup by the pharmacist and she had also taken several courses of antibiotics from local private practitioners. When she finally had a sputum test done, it was heavily positive for TB bacteria and she was advised a fresh course of TB treatment.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 100 of 127 Her 10-day old baby girl was underweight and showed no obvious signs of infection but both her other children were found to be infected with TB. I left with a heavy heart, hoping that she had the common or drug-sensitive form of TB where her chances of cure were high if she completed her full course of treatment. Drug resistant However, I knew that she had a high chance of having drug resistant TB (because of previous irregular treatment), a form that is notoriously difficult to treat and is associated with a high risk of death. It is not widely known that tuberculosis is the third major killer of women aged 1544 years, accounting for approximately 700,000 deaths a year globally and causing illness in millions more. TB is more common during and immediately after pregnancy, possibly due to the changes in immunity that occur during that time. This not only poses a risk to the life of the woman but also increases the chances of death in the newborn baby. Babies born to women with TB are also more underweight and are at high risk of developing the disease themselves due to the close contact with their mother. TB can cause infertility and chronic infections of the reproductive system. Malnutrition and food insecurity can exacerbate the risk of TB disease; other threats such as rising tobacco use and diabetes among women, can also mean an increasing burden of TB. Major impact The AIDS epidemic has had a major impact on TB rates in many countries, affecting more women and at younger ages than previously. Women living with HIV are 10 times more susceptible to TB than HIV uninfected women. A study in Pune found that TB increased the probability of death for HIV-infected pregnant women and their infants. Further, HIV-positive women with TB during pregnancy had a higher risk of transmitting HIV to their babies compared to women without TB. While nationally, HIV infection in pregnant women is rare, there are 156 districts with higher (greater than 1 per cent) HIV prevalence, where extra attention needs to be paid to screening for both HIV and TB in pregnancy. There is another, more indirect, but equally serious consequence way of suffering from TB. A study from Chennai estimated that 15 per cent of women who develop TB faced rejection by their families, highlighting the stigma that TB still has in our society today. TB among women also affects children: they are at risk of infection from their main caregivers and are often pulled out of school to help care for sick family members or to provide additional income for the family. TB is associated with and exacerbated by poverty, overcrowding and malnutrition, conditions commonly faced by women, especially in urban slums. In an attempt to reduce maternal mortality and improve pregnancy outcomes, the government, through the National Rural Health Mission, is making efforts to improve the quality of antenatal care and increase the proportion of institutional deliveries attended by trained personnel. For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 101 of 127 Screening and treatment of common infectious diseases (TB nationally, HIV and malaria in some regions of India) should be integrated into key entry points to the health system for women, notably antenatal care, family planning services and child immunization visits. A simple screening tool with four questions (presence of cough, fever, weight loss or absence of weight gain during pregnancy and night sweats) could be used by health workers (ASHAs or Village health nurses) to exclude TB. Those with any of these symptoms need to be further investigated for TB. All pregnant women should be counselled and offered HIV testing and if found to be HIV positive should be further evaluated for antiretroviral treatment, counselled regarding infant feeding and followed-up closely. Many malaria-endemic countries in Africa use intermittent preventive therapy (IPTp) with anti-malarial drugs during pregnancy to reduce the impact of malaria on mother and child. In the highly malaria endemic regions of India, pregnant women should be counselled to sleep under bednets, screened and treated for malaria if symptomatic and receive preventive therapy if not. In addition to attention to the obstetric causes of maternal mortality, it is time we acted on the less obvious but equally important killers of women. Dr. SOUMYA SWAMINATHAN Coordinator, Research at the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, Geneva

TB SHOT PROMISING IN ANIMAL TESTS TEAM WORK LEADS TO EQUITABLE SHARING OF REWARDS
Does sharing rewards come naturally to humans? A study published today (July 21) in Nature found that humans do share their rewards equitably with others. There is a rider, though. Equitable sharing comes naturally to children as young as two years and three years only when it involves collaborative or collective work. On the other hand, children were less inclined, or rather rarely distributed their rewards to others when it did not involve collective action. Socially governed Previous studies have also shown that sharing of rewards is more commonly seen and to a much greater degree in humans compared with great apes. These studies involving older children showed that human sharing is governed by social norms of fairness and equity. For instance, after a group-hunting session, chimpanzees tend to share the rewards (food) with others only under pressure of harassment or reciprocally with others. Contrast this with very young children. Equitable distribution of rewards came naturally even to these young ones when they worked together. In the first set of experiments, one child always ended up getting more rewards

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 102 of 127 (toys), immaterial of the effort being collective or not. In the team effort experiment, both the children had to pull a board that contained two toys on either end. But the study was so designed that despite both children jointly pulling the board using a rope, one child would always end up getting only one toy and the other getting three toys. The authors found that children with three toys always gave the unlucky child one toy, thus achieving equity in the rewards. The toy was given as if one of the possessions [of the unlucky child] was taken away [by the other], note the authors. In the second experiment, children were allowed to enter a room that already had the board pulled to the end stage and with the toys unequally distributed on the board (three on one side and one on the other end of the board). The result was on expected lines. The lucky child who got more toys gave away the extra toy to the other more often in the collaborative group than in the no-work group. Robust study To make the study more robust, the researchers eliminated the possibility of initial sense of possession by providing all the children of both age groups four toys each. They were then made to work collaboratively, in parallel or no-work. In the parallel work condition, each child worked in parallel to pull separate boards and gain access to the toys attached to the boards. The toys on the board were of unequal numbers (one and three toys respectively). Even in this set of experiments, children of both age groups were more inclined to share the extra toy with the unfortunate child only in the collaborative condition and not in the parallel or no-work conditions. The final set of experiments involved multiple trials. The multiple trial experiment was designed to eliminate the fear factor the supposition that the other child who ended up getting fewer toys would not co-operate in pulling the rope in the successive trials. Even this study showed that equitable distribution of toys happened only when children worked as teams and not when they performed the task in parallel. These studies show that collaborative work encourages equal sharing in children much more than does working in parallel, state the authors. The highlight of the present study is the use of chimpanzees to compare and contrast the reward-sharing attitude. Chimpanzees by nature are not true collaborative foragers. Hence no difference should ideally be seen, be it collaborative or no-work' condition. Though the experimental setup was quite different compared with children, the principle was the same the lucky ones ended up getting more rewards (in this case, food) than the other. In all three conditions, the lucky apes were less likely to equitably share the rewards with the other. Unlike older children who can understand the connection between work and reward, two- and three-year-old children involved in the current study may not fully understand and appreciate the connection between the two. Yet, they consistently showed the tendency to share their unequal rewards with their unlucky partner in For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 103 of 127 all cases involving team work. Is there a bigger lesson to be learnt from this study?

TEARS
Why do tears come when we are in grief? ARUN SINGH New Delhi Tear is a salty fluid, fully filled with protein, water, mucus and oil, released from the lacrimal gland found in the upper, outer region of our eyes. Usually humans produce excessive tears in emotional contexts than other animals. Of course, not all tears are of the emotional variety. In fact, three types of tears exist, all with different purposes. Basal tears are omnipresent in our eyes. These constant tears are what keep our eyes from drying out completely. The human body produces an average of 5 to 10 ounces of basal tears each day. They drain through the nasal cavity, which is the reason so many of us develop runny noses after a good fest. The second type is reflex tears, which serve to protect the human eye from harsh irritants such as smoke, onions or even a very strong, dusty wind. To accomplish this feat, the sensory nerves in our cornea communicate this irritation to our brain stem, which in turn sends hormones to the glands in the eyelids. These hormones cause the eyes to produce tears, effectively ridding the irritating substance. The third type of tears is emotional tears. It all starts in the cerebrum where sadness is registered. The endocrine system is then triggered to release hormones to the ocular area, which then causes tears to form. Emotional tears are common among people who see their mother die or who suffer personal losses. Human emotions induce a physiological stress that does not exist in other mammals and requires tears to cope with it. The physiology of human eyes is somehow different from eyes of other mammals, such that it requires an excessive production of tears at circumstances other than physical or physiological stress. Human emotional tears are a byproduct of the unique evolution of a substantial cranial reduction in subnasal prognathism, and increased encephalization. Hypothetically, these developments may have constrained and sensitized the human tear ducts and sinuses when certain emotions are high. The phrase having a good cry suggests that crying can actually make you feel physically and emotionally better, which many people believe. Some scientists agree with this theory, asserting that chemicals build up in the body during times of elevated stress. They also believe that emotional crying is the body's way of ridding itself of these toxins and waste products. In fact, one study collected both reflex tears and emotional tears (after peeling an onion and watching a sad movie, respectively). When scientists analyzed the content of the tears, they found each type was very

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 104 of 127 different. Reflex tears are generally found to be about 98 per cent water, whereas several chemicals such as a protein called prolactin (precursor of breast milk), adrenocorticotropic hormones (indicator of high stress level) and an endorphin that reduces pain and works to improve mood are commonly present in emotional tears. S. PALANIAPPAN Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu

TECHNOLOGY FOR RIPENING FRUITS AS IMPORTANT AS


MARKETING THEM
How many times, have the bright red colour of the apples or the golden colored mangoes attracted you to buying them from the shelves? For all that gloss and glitter: in reality the bright colour can contain lethal toxins dangerous for human health. The method used for ripening fruits must be given due care by farmers and traders as it decides the end use of the fruits those consuming it, says Dr. M. Selvarajan, Professor and Head, Department of fruit crops, Horticultural college and research institute, Periyakulam, Tamil Nadu. Lack of easier and rapid methods for uniform ripening poses a major problem in the fruit industry. Almost all methods of ripening, either conventional or the modern chemical methods, come with their own merits and demerits, he explains. Technologies There are several technologies and methods available today for farmers for proper ripening. Normally the number of days taken for edible ripening varies for different fruits and prevailing climatic conditions. For instance, it takes about 5 to 6 days for mangoes and 6 to 7 days for sapotas to ripen. Under natural conditions, ethylene, a ripening hormone produced by the plant plays a major physiological role in the ripening process. A simple technology practiced in households to trigger ripening is to keep unripened and ripened fruits together inside an air tight container. Since the already ripened fruits release ethylene, ripening will be faster. Another method is to place the fruits intended for ripening inside an air tight room and induce ripening through smoking inside smoke chambers. Smoking chamber Smoke emanates acetylene gas. Several fruit traders follow this technique to achieve uniform ripening especially in banana and mango. But the major drawback of this method is that the fruits do not attain uniform colour and flavour. In addition the persistence of smoke odour on the product impairs its quality, adds Dr. Selvarajan. In yet another practice some farmers dip unripe mature fruits in 0.1 per cent ethrel solution (1 ml of ethrel solution in 1 litre of water) and wipe it dry. The fruits are then spread over a newspaper without touching each other and a thin cotton cloth is covered over this. The fruits ripen in two days.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 105 of 127 Spreading unripe fruits as layers over paddy husk or wheat straw for a week to ripen is another alternative. But these conventional methods possess some disadvantages like longer duration for ripening, high degree of spoilage due to excessive handling and lack of uniformity in colour development. About one-fourth of the fruits are spoilt by these methods, according to him. In one of the simple and harmless techniques, 10 ml of ethrel and 2 gm of sodium hydroxide pellets are mixed in five litres of water taken in a wide mouthed vessel. Ripening time This vessel is placed inside the ripening chamber near the fruits and the room is sealed air tight. About a third of the room is filled with fruits leaving the remaining area for air circulation. Ripening of fruits takes place in about 12 to 24 hours. In order to reduce the cost of chemical, some ethylene releasing fruits such as papaya and banana can also kept in the same room. Since ethrel is a plant hormone and hastens the ripening process by the release of ethylene in the atmosphere this practice may be the safest method, explains Dr. S.P. Thamaraiselvi, Assistant Professor of the Institute.. Dangerous effect Today many growers and traders use calcium carbide that emits acetylene gas. Fruits ripened using calcium carbide are carcinogenic and should not be consumed. Farmers and traders should become more aware about the dangerous effects in using the chemical. At our institute we are guiding farmers desirous of exporting their products using ethylene gas filled in pressurized cans for fruit ripening in 24-48 hours, says Dr. Selvarajan. For more information contact Dr. M. Selvarajan, Professor and Head, Department of fruit crops, Horticultural college and research institute, Periyakulam, Tamil Nadu, email: smselva8@gmail.com, mobile: 9003027732, phone: 04546-231726.

TECHNOLOGY TO UTILISE AUTOMOBILE EXHAUST


New technology is being developed to capture and use the low-to-medium grade waste heat that is going out the exhaust pipe of automobiles, diesel generators, factories and electrical utilities.

THE CHALLENGE FOR CHEMISTRY


Reinvention is essential for the continuing relevance and survival of chemistry, warn George M. Whitesides from Harvard University, Cambridge and John Deutch from MIT, Cambridge. If chemistry as a discipline is poorly equipped for today's problems, it will wither before the challenges of the future. This is the message of one of the Comment pieces published online today (January 6) in Nature. The warning comes at a time when 2011 is being celebrated as the

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 106 of 127 Year of Chemistry. Newer avenues As the characteristics of most molecules and reactions have become well known, it is time researchers started exploring newer avenues. And these avenues are no longer within its boundary energy, life sciences, material sciences, environmental sciences are the areas where the golden pot lies. These are the areas where chemistry will become highly relevant and where society will stand to gain. The Nobel Prize for chemistry in 2009 and for the last few years has been awarded to researchers who used chemistry to understand biological systems. Interpreting the molecular basis of disease, according to them, depends on understanding the chemistry. Even the management of carbon dioxide to tackle global warming needs chemistry. Another important application lies in fuel cells. Unfortunately, chemistry fundamental and applied has been slow to exploit these research opportunities, Dr. Whitesides and Dr. Deutch note. Magic of graphene One of the areas where chemistry is taking baby steps outside its domain is nanotechnology. And leading the pack is graphene which was first characterised in 1991. A one-atom-thick flat sheet of carbon that is the world's thinnest, strongest and stiffest material and an excellent conductor of heat and electricity, one of the greatest magic materials ever discovered by man, is attracting a lot of industry attention. According to Richard Van Noorden, who has authored another Comment piece in Nature, to be published today (January 6), South Korea is planning to invest $300 million to commercialise graphene. Companies that are into electronics in a major way starting from Samsung to IBM are testing graphene electronics that may one day replace the omnipresent silicon chips. But scientists have to overcome some great challenges for that replacement to happen. For instance, its great ability to conduct electricity proves to be a bane when it comes to making chips. Scientists are yet to find a superior way to cut the flow of current like on-off switches as and when required and put them together to produce chips using commercially available technologies. Another area where graphene will score over others is flexible electonics that can be used as sensors and displays and which can be stuck to walls. It has a potential to replace currently used material as other materials, except organic conducting polymers, cannot be printed on plastic. According to Dr. Noorden, super-capacitors of tomorrow may have graphene. Crumpled sheets of graphene can end up storing more electrical charge per gram than any other material. This is because the crumpled sheets of graphene will have more surface area, and more the surface area the more the potential to store electrical charge. Carbon nanotubes Another promising material is carbon nanotubes. For instance, they can potentially For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 107 of 127 replace 60 miles of copper wires used in aeroplanes. Such replacement can result in enormous savings in terms of fuel and weight. But their actual use commercially is far away. However, nanotube-based conducting films for energy storage or touch screens are much closer to commercialisation, Dr. Noorden writes. Touchscreens If everything works fine, Samsung products may sport touch screens made from nanotube based conducting films in two or three years' time. And that would mean that the magic material has successfully replaced or at least is a threat to currently used materials like plasma and LCDs.

THE FULL-SPECTRUM SOLAR CHALLENGE NOW CRACKED


The first efficient tandem solar cell based on colloidal quantum dots a stack of two layers one tuned to capture the sun's visible rays, the other that harvests the half of the sun's power that lies in the infrared, has been developed.

THE MOON HAS A CORE, JUST LIKE THE EARTH


In an attempt to extract information on the very deep interior of the Moon, Apollo seismic data was reanalyzed using modern methodologies to detect what many scientists have predicted: the Moon has a core.

THE MOVEMENT OF TREE SAP ANALYSED


3D modeling is being used to analyze the mechanisms by which trees transport water in their interior to apply these advances to new hydraulic systems.

THE SCARS OF IMPACTS ON MARS


ESA's Mars Express has returned new images of an elongated impact crater in its southern hemisphere. Located just south of the Huygens basin, it could have been carved out by a train of projectiles striking the planet.

THE TRIGGER FOR RAPID COLLAPSE OF ICE SHELVES


Study of events that happened many thousands of years ago, creating mass discharges of icebergs into the North Atlantic Ocean, show that small amounts of subsurface warming can trigger a rapid collapse of ice shelves.

THE TWO-MUTATIONS FACTOR IN CHIKUNGUNYA


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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 108 of 127 In 2005, a strain of the Chikungunya virus that arose in east Africa spread to the islands of Comoros, Mayotte, Seychelles and Reunion in the south-western Indian Ocean. Later that year, the virus began to cause large-scale outbreaks in India. The following year, some 1.4 million people in various parts of this country fell victim to the virus. Since 2007, this virus belonging to the East, Central and South African (ECSA) lineage has been spreading in South-East Asian countries, replacing a virus of Asian lineage that had been circulating there for the past 60 years. Chikungunya is primarily spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito that breeds in household water containers. However, during the outbreaks on Reunion Island, it was found that the virus had been become adapted for efficient transmission by Aedes albopictus, the Asian tiger mosquito that originated in South-East Asia and is now found in many countries across the globe. The route When the mosquito feeds on an infected person, it draws in the virus along with its blood meal. In order to infect people that the mosquito bites subsequently, the virus must make its way from the insect's digestive tract and get to the salivary glands. The ability of the virus to easily spread via the Ae. albopictus mosquito has been attributed to one particular mutation in its E1 glycoprotein. This molecule gives the virus entry to cells lining the insect's gut. Alanine to valine In separate papers published in 2007, scientists at the Institut Pasteur in France and the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston in the U.S. drew attention to the change in amino acid, from alanine to valine, at position 226 in the E1 glycoprotein. A switch of just one letter' in the genetic sequence that coded for the protein was all that it took to bring about this change. But in further research that is being published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the U.S.A. (PNAS), scientists at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston have taken a closer look at the adaptation to Ae. albopictus. Although Ae. albopictus is native to South-East Asia, there was no evidence that this species had played a major role in transmission in that region of the Chikungunya virus of the Asian lineage, pointed out Konstantin Tsetsarkin and others in the paper. However, the mosquito has been implicated in the recent epidemics involving the introduced ECSA strain. If a single mutation was all that was required, why did it not happen in the Asian lineage of the virus that had been circulating for several decades in South-East Asia where Ae. albopictus is ubiquitous? Complementary In their paper, the scientists point to another complementary modification in the E1 glycoprotein that was necessary for the change of amino acid at position 226 to For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 109 of 127 take effect. The amino acid at position 78 needed to be alanine, not threonine. When a virus of the Asian lineage was engineered in the laboratory with valine at position 226 in its E1 glycoprotein, its infectivity for Ae. albopictus was not significantly different from a similar virus with alanine in that position. When, however, the virus was engineered with alanine at position 78 as well as valine at position 226, its infectivity in the mosquito shot up nearly a 100-fold. The experiments Experiments carried out by the scientists also showed that these adaptive changes in the E1 glycoprotein did not compromise viral fitness for transmission by Ae. aegypti. The virus of east African origin already possessed alanine at position 78 and therefore just one further mutation, at position 226, sufficed to adapt it for efficient transmission through Ae. albopictus. The virus of Asian lineage, on the other hand, needed two mutations to achieve the same goal. The explanation The need for two mutations appears to explain why the virus did not adapt to Ae. albopictus in South-East Asia, and why the strain that spread there from India a few years ago is now displacing the older South-East Asian lineage, remarked Scott Weaver, who holds the John Sealy Distinguished University Chair in Human Infections and Immunity and is senior author of the paper, in an email. Recent outbreaks The recent South-East Asian outbreaks caused by the ECSA strain appeared to be larger and affected regions where Ae. albopictus was more abundant than Ae. aegypti. Some regions, like Bangkok, where the former was less common had been spared. Minor genetic differences among viral lineages can have dramatic and unanticipated effects on their ability to emerge and cause human disease, he pointed out. Had the old Asian lineage been able to adapt to Ae. albopictus via a single mutation, South-East Asia would probably have had much larger epidemics during the past 60 years. The same thing could have happened in India too from the 1950s to the 1970s when the virus of Asian lineage was circulating.

THERE IS STILL HOPE FOR ARCTIC SEA ICE COVER


Arctic sea-ice cover reacts relatively directly to the climatic conditions at any given time. The loss of Arctic sea ice could be slowed down and eventually stopped if global warming slows down and is eventually stopped.

THERE IS VALUE-ADDITION POTENTIAL IN JACKFRUIT

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 110 of 127 Be it a fruit crop or any other food crop, it must offer possibilities of making new products from it. By doing so, the income of the farmers can be considerably raised. Take the example of the jackfruit. One finds it almost in any place in southern parts of India. The fruit is available in large quantities during season and can be effectively processed into many value added products, says Dr. K. Narayana Gowda, Vice Chancellor, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore. Supplementary crop Though till now, the fruit was only grown in marginal areas, wastelands and backyards, the development of rural processing industry may turn it into a commercial crop that can be grown more extensively as a supplementary tree crop, says Dr. B. Ranganna, Emeritus scientist and former head, Division of Agricultural Engineering Sciences. And adds: As scientists, we hope that growers and entrepreneurs would take note of the immense potential of the fruit and work towards exploiting it for generating higher income. Short shelf life In general, the fresh deseeded sweet bulbs are consumed as such by the people and the bulbs cannot keep it for long time because of high perishability and as a result there are huge post harvest losses (30 35 per cent) occuring during the season and also the usefulness of the seeds and rind is not known to the growers and consumers. Several products Researchers at the Post Harvest Technology Scheme, at the University have developed several value-added products from jackfruit bulbs, seeds and the rind. Many value added products like halwa, finger chips, ready-to-serve (RTS) beverage, candy bar, papad, dehydrated flakes, wine, vinegar, dairy based products like srikhand, kulfi, ice-cream and bulb flour have been prepared by the department of post harvest technology department. Several bakery products such as biscuits, muffins masala vada, flour and chapathi were developed from the seed. The rind is also a very good source of pectin which was extracted from it. Also, pickle was developed from the rind, explains Dr. Ranganna. Commercial production The process protocols of these products have been standardized for commercial production and promotion at the University research station. Apart from the above products our team has for the first time made wine from the fruit. The wine has been developed by processing deseeded bulbs through microbial fermentation. Huge demand The developed wine is slightly yellowish in colour, acidic in taste and low in alcohol content. There is a huge demand from consumers for this wine due to its special taste and aroma, says Prof. K.B. Munishamanna. The University has been working on the popularisation and promotion of the For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 111 of 127 developed jack products by organising series of special training programmes, demonstrating in krishimelas organised in the states of Karnataka and Kerala. Further it also organised a National level seminar on Jackfruit and its value added products in Bangalore during May 2010. Proposal We have also submitted a proposal to the Department of Biotechnology, GoI, New Delhi, to fund for promoting thie value addition technology in the North Eastern States since, jack is widely grown in those states and are eagerly awaiting for entrepreneurs to visit us and buy the technologies, sums up Dr. Ranganna. For more information and training readers can contact Dr. B. Ranganna at rangannab@gmail.com at the Post Harvest Technology Scheme (ICAR), University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK, Bangalore 560 065, phone: 080-23330153 extn 345 or Prof. K.B. Munishamanna, at telephone 080-23330153 Extn 346.

THREE NEW TYPES OF INNOVATIVE SICKLES PROMISE


BETTER DELIVERY
Hand tools are particularly important for small farmers and laborers who cannot afford mechanized implements. Even a small improvement in these hand tools can lead to large-scale improvement in productivity or in working conditions across the country. However, de-centralised production and small scale of operations do not allow these hand tools to undergo notable changes over the years, says Prof Anil Gupta, Vice Chairman, National Innovation Foundation (NIF), Ahmedabad. Take the example of the simple sickle that is being used by thousands of farmers across the country for cutting grass, weeding etc.Though a simple tool, its usefulness and efficiency make it an important tool in every farmers household. Regular sharpening But the blade needs to be sharpened at least once every two days. Farmers usually grind the blade against a sharp surface or take it to the ironsmith to sharpen it. This becomes a routine in the villages, says Prof Gupta. But Mr. Kishorebhai Bharadwa from Junagadh thought differently. He developed three different types of sickles that need not be sharpened regularly, and can be used for weeding, inter culturing, and harvesting. These address the problem of wearing out of blades in sickles due to repeated sharpening, as the shearing blades usually become blunt after cutting grass for a period of between eight to ten hours, says Mr. Kishorebhai. In a normal sickle one needs to sharpen the whole blade at regular intervals. Repetitive sharpening makes the base thin and redundant. To avoid this, I developed three different types of sickles, he explains. Thin blade The first type of the improved sickle incorporates two C-shaped, metallic guard plates a thin blade sandwiched between and fastened in position through screws

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 112 of 127 near the wooden handle. The thin blade can be removed and sharpened and then fixed back to the iron base. The user need not go to the workshop for sharpening it. The second is dual type. The two sickles face opposite directions and are joined together at the base near the wooden handle. Mr. Kishorebhai notes that this sickle can cut tough grass, silage or hay. It is fashioned in such a way by using the right grade of steel to retain its sharpness. If the blade on one side gets blunt, the other side can be flipped and used. Concave shape He shaped the third type like a concave shaped edge and attached a small pointed metal piece attached between the sickle and the handle to break soil clods. These sickles are multi-purpose and can perform different functions like harvesting, interculturing, and weeding. They offer easy handling and maintenance to the farmer and labourer, says Mr. Kishorebhai. Furthermore they are cheaper than the combined costs of conventional tools used for these specific processes. Cost The first model costs Rs.90, the second Rs. 65, and the third model is priced at Rs.55. The replacement cost of the blades varies between Rs.15 and Rs. 20. Though these improved sickles receive a satisfactory reception from the villagers, their adoption rate is extremely slow, feels Mr. Kishorebhai. Most villagers find the sickles quite useful but the price is beyond their paying capacity as the normal sickle costs only Rs.30. Only three farmers have purchased the improved sickles; the rest come and borrow these sickles from me, he adds. Mr. Kishorebhai is quite disillusioned that he is unable to muster adequate financial support to popularise the sickles. Economic support He feels that sustaining the innovative spirit needs economic support, a rare commodity he does not possess adequately. The National Innovation Fund, Ahmedabad (NIF) sanctioned a sum of Rs. 8,250 from its Micro Venture Innovation Fund for pilot production and test marketing of these Innovative Sickles. For more details contact Mr. Kishorebhai Bharadwa, Post. Galvav, Manavadar taluk, Junagadh district, Gujarat: 362630, Phone: 02874- 248331.

TIMELY CROP MANAGEMENT, THE MANTRA FOR SUCCESS


In the advertisement industry it is common for film stars to endorse certain products as brand ambassadors. But for farmers to follow a particular technology or grow a specific variety, the best endorsement comes from another farmer already practising it. Mr. P. Chandra Sekhar Azad (70 years) from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, is a brand ambassador for 'Prathibha' turmeric variety in the state. Mr. Azad has been able to convince hundreds of farmers in the region to take up

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 113 of 127 Prathibha cultivation. The Indian Institute of Spices research (IISR), Kozhikode, Kerala developed the variety. Conviction Nothing substitutes determination and hard work for succeeding in agriculture. Forget all other hurdles; if you possess the will to succeed, you can surely make it, says the farmer. Agriculture can never become a loss, if one makes use of new technologies and scientific practices available. Hundred per cent involvement coupled with timely scientific management and usage of modern technologies can definitely increase the productivity many fold, seems to be his strong conviction. Mr. Azad turned to agriculture around two decades ago. Till the age of 50, he was running a small printing press at Vijayawada. Later I turned to agriculture, cultivating turmeric, paddy, maize, banana, etc in my nine acres of land which I inherited from my father, recalls Mr. Azad. Like other farmers in the area, he cultivated turmeric as the main crop, But the crop did not prove to be profitable in the beginning. Low yields and high infestations ruined the yield, he adds. The farmers search for a high yielding and good quality turmeric variety came to an end when he happened to hear about a variety called Prathibha. I came across the variety developed by IISR nearly seven years back, says Azad. New beginning He started growing the variety from 2004 on an experimental basis procuring 50 kgs of rhizomes. I never realized that this could mark a new beginning in my faith on the variety and association with the institute, he adds. During 2007-08 the farmer supplied 12 tonnes of seed rhizomes to the Horticulture Department, Nizamabad, Andhra Pradesh. During the subsequent year he supplied nearly 30 tonnes of rhizomes to Adilabad district, and another 12 tonnes to the Ranga Reddy district in addition to several farmers in and around Guntur district. Secret of success During the last season, he cultivated the variety in 2.75 acres. I am following organic farming methods using minimum chemical fertilizers. Timely crop management is the mantra for success in agriculture, he points out. In his experience, Prathiba is highly resistant to rhizome rot while all local varieties such as Thekurpet and Duggirala are prone to infestation. Harvesting is done with the help of bullocks. He also employs labourers for cleaning the rhizomes. Cleaned turmeric is then boiled using huge turmeric boilers. The boiled rhizomes are then dried in sun for 20 days and polished using mechanical polishers. But still a major chunk of the produce is being sold as seed rhizomes. What makes Azad different from other farmers of his age is his readiness to adopt innovations. Even at this age he is computer friendly. He keeps in constant touch with the scientists at each and every stage of cultivation through phone and internet. Record maintanence For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 114 of 127 He maintains a record of all farm activities; clicks photos of the crop at regular intervals, and sends them to the scientists for their advice, says Dr. V.A. Parthasarathy, Former Director of the institute. You can contact Mr. Chandra Sekhar Azad at T-3, Maruti Pearls, Kunchanapally, NH5, Tadepalle Mandal, Guntur - 522501, Andhra Pradesh, email: pidikitiazad@gmail.com, mobile: 09490878942, .

TINNITUS: NEW WAYS TO STOP RINGING IN EARS


Several new approaches to treatment of tinnitus, including retraining the brain, and new avenues for developing drugs to suppress the ringing offer hope to 10 per cent of the population who suffer from the condition.

TINY LASER DETECTS, COUNTS NANOPARTICLES


A ring-shaped laser no bigger than a pinprick can accurately detect and count individual viruses, atmospheric particles or those that contaminate the air we breathe.

TINY TEETH INDICATE ANCIENT SHARK NURSERIES


The finding of fossil egg capsules and tiny teeth in Kyrgyzstan, suggests that many ancient shark species bred in the shallows of freshwater lakes, more than 200 million years ago, forming nurseries for their hatchlings.

TITAN LESS GEOLOGICALLY ACTIVE THAN BELIEVED


Has Saturn's moon, Titan gone cold? In a new analysis , a pair of NASA scientists analyzing data collected by the Cassini spacecraft suggest Titan may be much less geologically active than some scientists have thought.

TNAU EARN WHILE YOU LEARN PROGRAMME


The Government of Tamil Nadu has expressed keen interest to provide soil health cards to each and every marginal farmers within a period of three years. As per current records, there are about 82 lakh farm holdings in Tamil Nadu, of which 90 per cent are marginal and small farm holdings, with an average size of 0.83 hectare per holding. Therefore, it is proposed to analyze 25 lakh soil samples per year. To achieve this mammoth task, the Government held several discussions with the with the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University officials. Student numbers

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 115 of 127 There are 11 constituent colleges and four affiliated colleges of Tamil Nadu Agriculture University with about 5,000 students spread over in various districts of Tamil Nadu. The students will be shortly engaged during holidays and weekends to collect soil samples and also data on farm holding profile such as, farmers name, survey number, land area, source of irrigation, farm machinery owned by farmers, number of wells, livestock, etc, says Dr. P. Murugesa Boopathi, Vice Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU). About 15 to 20 soil samples can be collected by each student in a day for which they would be given remuneration of Rs. 100 per day., he says. This system is similar to the facilities available to students studying in US and Canada where they can also earn by undertaking curricular oriented work. The students can be engaged during evening hours between 6-10 PM to analyze 500 soil samples per student per month in all the 10 constituent colleges. Necessary facilities required for soil analysis will be provided to them according to Dr. Boopathi. For this, an incentive of Rs. 1,500 will be paid to each student per month to analyze 500 soil samples, which will facilitate them to cover their mess bill and other imminent curricular oriented expenses, thereby reducing the burden of their parents for the education of their children. Vital task The University together with its scientists team and students will actively engage in this enormous and vital task of preparing soil health card for each of the 75 lakh marginal and small farm holdings in Tamil Nadu along with the Department of agriculture. For more details about the programme those inetrested can contact Dr. P. Murugesa BoopathiVice Chancellor, TNAU, Coimbatore, email: vc@tnau.ac.in, Phone: 0422 2431788.

TOMATO NUTRIENT CAN STALL VASCULAR DISEASES


Tomatoes contain a nutrient which could tackle the onset of vascular diseases. Research reveals that an extracted compound, 9-oxo-octadecadienoic, has antidyslipidemic effects.

TOOL TO SELECT THE IDEAL MOUSE FOR EXPERIMENTS


An online tool, enables access to complete genomic data on 162 mouse strains to compare the differences and similarities between strains and select the ones most likely to provide the basis for experimental results.

TOOL-MAKING ANIMALS
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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 116 of 127

TOP 10 BREAKTHROUGHS OF THE YEAR 2011


The journal Science has lauded an eye-opening HIV study, known as HPTN 052, as the most important scientific breakthrough of 2011. This clinical trial demonstrated that people infected with HIV are 96 per cent less likely to transmit the virus to their partners if they take antiretroviral drugs (ARVs). According to a release from Science , the findings end a long-standing debate over whether ARVs could provide a double benefit by treating the virus in individual patients while simultaneously cutting transmission rates. It's now clear that the drugs can provide treatment as well as prevention when it comes to HIV, researchers agree. About 1,800 heterosexual couples from nine different countries: Brazil, India, Thailand, the United States, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe were enrolled for the study. Each participating couple included one partner with an HIV infection. The researchers administered ARVs to half of those HIV-infected individuals immediately and waited for the other half of the infected participants to develop CD4 counts below 250 indicative of severe immune damage before offering treatment. (A CD4 count below 200 indicates AIDS.) Then, earlier this year, four years before the study was officially scheduled to end, an independent monitoring board decided that all infected study participants should receive ARVs at once. The board members had seen the dramatic effects of early ARV treatment on HIV transmission rates, and they recommended that the trial's findings be made public as soon as possible. The results were published on August 11 in the New England Journal of Medicine "This [HPTN 052 trial] does not mean that treating people alone will end an epidemic," said Science news correspondent Jon Cohen, who wrote about the trial for Science's Breakthrough of the Year feature. "But, combined with three other major biomedical preventions that have proven their worth in large clinical studies since 2005, many researchers now believe it is possible to break the back of the epidemic in specific locales with the right package of interventions." "Most everyone expected that reducing the amount of virus in a person would somewhat reduce infectiousness," explained Jon Cohen. "What was surprising was the magnitude of protection and then the impact the results had among HIV/AIDS researchers, advocates and policy-makers." These findings have added important momentum to a movement, already underway, that promotes the ongoing treatment of HIV to reduce viral loads in communities and could possibly eliminate HIV/AIDS epidemics in some countries. But there are many problems in implementing it on a large-scale. Still, some researchers consider HPTN 052 a "game-changer" because of its near100 percent efficacy in reducing HIV transmission rates. And, indeed, it has already sprung many clinicians and policy-makers into action. For all these reasons, Science spotlights the HPTN 052 study as the 2011 Breakthrough of the Year. Science's and its publisher, AAAS, the non-profit science society, have identified

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 117 of 127 nine other groundbreaking scientific accomplishments during 2011. The Hayabusa Mission: After some near-disastrous technical difficulties and a stunningly successful recovery, Japan's Hayabusa spacecraft returned to Earth with dust from the surface of a large, S-type asteroid. This asteroid dust represented the first direct sampling of a planetary body in 35 years, and analysis of the grains confirmed that the most common meteorites found on Earth, known as ordinary chondrules, are born from these much larger, S-type asteroids. Unraveling Human Origins: Studying the genetic code of both ancient and modern human beings, researchers discovered that many humans still carry DNA variants inherited from archaic humans, such as the mysterious Denisovans in Asia and stillunidentified ancestors in Africa. One study this year revealed how archaic humans likely shaped our modern immune systems, and an analysis of Australopithecus sediba fossils in South Africa showed that the ancient hominin possessed both primitive and Homo -like traits. Capturing a Photosynthetic Protein: In vivid detail, researchers in Japan have mapped the structure of the Photosystem II, or PSII, protein that plants use to split water into hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The crystal-clear image shows off the protein's catalytic core and reveals the specific orientation of atoms within. Now, scientists have access to this catalytic structure that is essential for life on Earth one that may also hold the key to a powerful source of clean energy. Pristine Gas in Space: Astronomers using the Keck telescope in Hawaii to probe the faraway universe wound up discovering two clouds of hydrogen gas that seem to have maintained their original chemistry for two billion years after the big bang. Other researchers identified a star that is almost completely devoid of metals, just as the universe's earliest stars must have been, but that formed much later. The discoveries show that pockets of matter persisted unscathed amid eons of cosmic violence. Getting to Know the Microbiome: Research into the countless microbes that dwell in the human gut demonstrated that everyone has a dominant bacterium leading the gang in their digestive tract: Bacteroides , Prevotella or Ruminococcus . Follow-up studies revealed that one of these bacteria thrives on a high-protein diet while another prefers vegetarian fare. These findings and more helped to clarify the interplay between diet and microbes in nutrition and disease. A Promising Malaria Vaccine: Early results of the clinical trial of a malaria vaccine, known as RTS,S, provided a shot in the arm to malaria vaccine research. The ongoing trial, which has enrolled more than 15,000 children from seven African countries, reassured malaria researchers, who are used to bitter disappointment, that discovering a malaria vaccine remains possible. Strange Solar Systems: This year, astronomers got their first good views of several distant planetary systems and discovered that things are pretty weird out there. First, NASA's Kepler observatory helped identify a star system with planets orbiting in ways that today's models cannot explain. Then, researchers discovered a gas giant caught in a rare "retrograde" orbit, a planet circling a binary star system and 10 planets that seem to be freely floating in space all unlike anything found in For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 118 of 127 our own solar system. Designer Zeolites: Zeolites are porous minerals that are used as catalysts and molecular sieves to convert oil into gasoline, purify water, filter air and produce laundry detergents (to name a few uses). This year, chemists really showed off their creativity by designing a range of new zeolites that are cheaper, thinner and better equipped to process larger organic molecules. Clearing Senescent Cells: Experiments have revealed that clearing senescent cells (those that have stopped dividing) from the bodies of mice can delay the onset of age-related symptoms. Mice whose bodies were cleared of these loitering cells didn't live longer than their untreated cage-mates but they did seem to live better, which provided researchers with some hope that banishing senescent cells might also prolong our golden years. Our Bureau

TOWARD A GREEN GRID' OF SOLAR, WIND ELECTRICITY


Scientists and policy makers are focusing more attention on developing technologies to make the so-called green grid' a network to deliver solar and wind-based power from suppliers to consumers possible.

TRACTOR OPERATED MULTIPURPOSE HOIST TRACTOR ROTOVATOR FOR WEEDING IN TREE CROPS TRANSHIPMENT TERMINAL TRANSPLANTED CELLS REPAIR BRAIN IN MICE
Small numbers of properly selected neurons, transplanted into damaged brain areas in mice, are capable of restoring lost functions.

TRANSPLANTING REDGRAM UNDER RAINFED FARMING TREATING LEUKAEMIA WITH OLD ANTIBIOTIC DRUG
Research has found a novel route to fighting cancer. The antibiotic tigecycline targets and destroys leukaemia stem cells by cutting off the cell's energy production. But the drug does not affect the healthy cells.

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 119 of 127

TRI-GATE: INTEL ENTERS THE 3-D FOR TRANSISTORS


Computer chip manufacturer Intel announced that it is preparing to enter a new dimension in transistors literally. Known as Tri-Gate, its new transistor will be the first to go into mass production with a truly three-dimensional (3-D) structure. Intel says that the transistor will offer performance and efficiency benefits over 2-D models when becomes production ready in a new range of microprocessors later this year. But with some industry analysts calling it a risky venture, Jon Cartwrightof Nature explores what the advantages are of 3-D. What do transistors do? Transistors are the building blocks of microprocessors, which are the brains' or computational devices inside PCs, laptops, smartphones and pretty much all modern electronic devices. A transistor is essentially an automated switch that can store information as either a 1' or a 0', depending on whether the switch is on letting electric current through or off. The wiring of several transistors together creates a device called a logic gate, which takes these ones and zeros and performs basic calculations with them. Home computers available today contain billions of transistors wired into logic gates, and have huge processing power as a result. What's the difference between a 2-D and a 3-D transistor? Transistors are usually made from silicon, which is a semiconductor a material that can behave as both an electrical conductor and an insulator. They consist of a straight channel connecting a source to a drain, interrupted half way by a wide gate. The gate is what makes the transistor a switch: apply the right voltage and a conductive pathway known as an inversion layer forms, allowing current to flow from the source to the drain. In this instance, the transistor is on; without the inversion layer, no current flows and the transistor is off. All transistors mass-produced during the past 50 years or so have been 2-D. This means that the source, the drain and the channel connecting them all lie flat on the same plane. In Intel's 3-D transistors, on the other hand, the channel protrudes from the surface in a ridge or fin'. The result is that it has not one, but three sides in contact with the overlapping gate thus its name Tri-Gate.' Why is the 3-D design better? Chip manufactures such as Intel have been progressively shrinking transistors in order to pack more onto each chip and, ultimately, make faster computers. At present, the fastest chips use transistors that are about 32 nanometres in diameter that's on the order of about 100 silicon atoms and manufacturers will soon be producing 22-nanometre versions. But this continued miniaturization has an attendant problem: as the transistor's source and drain get closer together, and as the channel gets smaller, it becomes harder for the gate to control the formation of the inversion layer. Simply put, the

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 120 of 127 distinction between off' and on' becomes fuzzier. Having a 3-D structure solves this problem. Because it is in contact with three sides of the channel, the gate has much greater control over the inversion layer. This means that the on and off states are more distinct even when the transistor is shrunk. What is the benefit for computing? Intel will be incorporating Tri-Gate structures into its next generation of 22nanometer transistors, slated to be production ready by the end of this year. The company says that, compared with its current 32-nanometre, 2-D transistors, TriGate transistors will be up to 37 percent faster. In general, the 3-D design should allow transistors to be packed more closely to one another, and so make it possible to fit more into the same space. There are subtle advantages, too. According to Intel, the structures leak less current than standard 2-D ones when not in use, which will improve the battery life of portable electronic devices such as laptops and smartphones. Moreover, when they are run at relatively low voltages, they should consume less than 50 per cent of the power required by Intel's current transistors which will be a boon for heavy-duty network servers. Did Intel invent the 3-D transistor? The concept of 3-D transistors has been around for well over a decade the difficulty has been how to engineer one that can successfully be mass-produced. Because transistors now comprise just a few dozen atoms, even minor defects can have a huge effect on performance.Having features protrude from the substrate is particularly tricky, and Intel has not disclosed how its engineers have tackled this. The Tri-Gate design is essentially a variant of a FinFET' 3-D structure developed in the late 1990s by Chenming Hu and his colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley. Other chip manufacturers such as IBM, Samsung and TSMC are all working on 3-D designs, but are not expected to put them into production until at least the next generation of miniaturization, after 22 nanometres. What will follow 3-D? Intel thinks the Tri-Gate structure should scale down to transistors of 14 nanometres and smaller. In principle, it should be possible to make transistors, 3-D or otherwise, of just a few atoms, although manufacturing consistency becomes ever more difficult as size diminishes. At some point, manufacturers will be forced to explore yet more dimensions. Perhaps at that stage the answer will be spintronics an emerging technology that makes use of an electron's spin, as well as its charge. Nature News Service/New York Times Service

TROPICAL FOREST GROWTH LEADS TO CARBON RELEASE

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 121 of 127 A new study shows that as climate change enhances tree growth in tropical forests, the resulting increase in litterfall could stimulate soil micro-organisms leading to a release of soil carbon.

TSUNAMI WAS OBSERVED BY RADAR


For the first time a tsunami has been observed by radar, raising the possibility of new early warning systems. As it swept toward their coasts the tsunami that devastated Japan on March 11 was picked up by high-frequency radar in California and Japan according to U.S. and Japanese scientists. Where useful It could be really useful in areas such as south-east Asia where there are huge areas of shallow continental shelf, said Professor John Largier, an oceanographer at the University of California, Davis, Bodega Marine Laboratory, and an author of a new paper describing the work. The paper appears this month in the journal Remote Sensing . Largier and his colleagues have been using a high-frequency radar array at the Bodega Marine Lab to study ocean currents for the last 10 years, according to a University of California, Davis press release. Largier, together with collaborators from Hokkaido and Kyoto universities in Japan and San Francisco State University, used data from radar sites at Bodega Bay, Trinidad, California, and two sites in Hokkaido, Japan, to look for the tsunami offshore. The scientists found that the radar picks up not the actual tsunami wave which is small in height while out at sea but changes in currents as the wave passes. The researchers found they could see the tsunami once it entered shallower coastal waters over the continental shelf. As the waves enter shallower water, they slow down, increase in height and decrease in wavelength until finally hitting the coast. The continental shelf off the California coast is quite narrow, and approaches to the coast are already well-monitored by pressure gauges, Largier noted. But he said radar detection could be useful, for example, on the East Coast or in Southeast Asia, where there are wide expanses of shallow seas. Our Bureau

TUBE LIGHT FLICKER


Why does a tube light not glow immediately on switching on like a CFL bulb? S. PUGAZHENTHI Chennai Flicker start is a very common phenomenon in the conventional tube lights. However, the modern versions of tube lights (TL) and the compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) do not exhibit this, but they start rather immediately on turning them on. Both the tube lights and the CFLs work by the same principle. These lamps consist of a fluorescent phosphor coated glass tube filled with a mixture of the inert gas

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 122 of 127 argon and mercury vapour. This gas is excited by the energetic electrons emitted from the cathodes provided at the ends of the tube. These excited gas atoms interact with the phosphor material coated on the walls and we receive the light from this glowing phosphor material. Once this process is started, it sustains itself because both the excited gas atoms and the accompanying electrons are capable of repeating the excitation process further. However, the initiation of the gas excitation is accomplished by extracting electrons from a heated cathode, by using an instantaneous high voltage pulse generated by a ballast circuit. The conventional TLs use a magnetic ballast circuit which makes use of self inductance of an iron core choke coil along with a discharge lamp type automatic starter switch to trigger the ballast. And an inductance has a longer time constant and a resultant slower voltage build up for extraction of electrons from the cathode. These features of the ballast circuit often require more than one attempt for the gaseous excitation. This leads to slower start and start-up flickering of the tube lights. Because this arrangement has the above problems and also consumes more power, electronic ballasts have been subsequently developed which do not use the magnetic chokes, but employ semiconductor devices in an electronics circuit for the purpose and avoid the use of a discharge lamp type of starter switch. They generate higher voltage to extract high energy electrons from the heated cathodes and so the extracted electrons excite the gas atoms without fail. Thus, these ballasts are called rapid start ballasts and do not exhibit delay or flickers of the lamp. Prof. H. K. SAHU Chennai Mathematical Institute, Chennai

TUBE LIGHT FLICKER


Why does a tube light (conventional fluorescent lamp) have a delayed start-up unlike compact fluorescent lamp (CFL)? S. PUGAZHENTHI Chennai Both conventional fluorescent lamp and compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) produce white light by the process of fluorescence underlying the conversion of invisible ultra-violet (UV) generated from the electrical discharge (passage of electricity) along the column of the tube to visible light occurring on the white coating made of powdery luminescent material coating inside the walls of the tube. The process of generating white light from these lamps is the same although chemical composition of the luminescent materials (phosphors) used in these lamps are different which eventually determine the light output produced. There is slight difference in the process of initiating the electrical discharge between CFL and conventional fluorescent lamp. In a conventional fluorescent lamp, the electrical discharge along the lengthy

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 123 of 127 column of the tube (usually 4 feet long) is struck through a high voltage with the help of a choke (voltage converter) and bi-metallic strip starter combination. Upon switching on, the lamp circuit is closed due to the deflection of bi-metallic strips establishing contact. Also the electrical discharge is initially built along the medium argon/neon-mercury mixture followed by regular discharge through mercury vapours to yield stabilized generation of UV light. These two processes take some time to stabilize. On the other hand in the case of CFL having built-in integrated electronic ballast comprising array of AC-DC-AC converters and oscillators, with the instant generation of high frequency (50 kHz) in the CFL column, the electric discharge is struck instantly without any delay and starts fluorescing facilitating a quick start as high frequency helps to strike electrical discharge faster. R. JAGANNATHAN Luminescence Group CECRI Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu

TURMERIC AS INTERCROP BOOSTS MANGO YIELD


Among the various diseases that attack mango crop, gummosis is of great economic importance since the trees die within a very short time. The fungus responsible for mango decline is a common soil-borne saprophyte or wound parasite, distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics. The trees show abundant gum secretion from branches and main trunk right from the tree base to tree top, wilting, dieback, vascular browning and death of several trees. Trunk borers The observed gummosis in mango trees was often accompanied by damage caused by a new species of trunk borers. The grubs cause severe damage by feeding on the bark inside the trunk, boring upward, making tunnels, thus weakening and causing hindrance to transport of water and nutrients from roots to shoots resulting in wilting and drying of the shoots. Acting as a wounding agent and vector, the trunk borers probably assist in rapid spread of the disease in the orchard. Several chemicals tried to control mango decline show little or no success. Turmeric plantation as intercrop in mango has been found not only to assist in suppressing the population of trunk borers, termites and gummosis causing pathogens in the soil, but also provided additional income from the harvest of the rhizomes, 9 months after planting. Disease suppression Turmeric root exudates or curcumin in rhizomes present in soil probably assisted in disease suppression by reducing the activity and population of trunk borer larvae

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 124 of 127 and soil-borne fungus. Another advantage The orchard was also found to be free from termite attack after planting turmeric as intercrop in mango. Turmeric plantation as intercrop can find application in organic farming systems, to control various soil borne pests and diseases in several fruit orchards. K.Usha Principal scientistDivision of Fruits and Horticultural TechnologyIndian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi

TURNING DIDACTIC CONCEPTS INTO WORKING KNOWLEDGE


Massimo Ramella , internationally renowned expert in astronomy, is the team leader of the outreach and education package of the European project of the Virtual Observatory (EuroVO). In an exclusive interview to G. Krishnakumar in Kochi, Dr. Ramella shares his views on various aspects ranging from virtual observatory to the popularisation programmes related to it among the young students. Could you elaborate on your contributions to astronomy and the Virtual Observatory in particular? My career in astronomy has been mostly devoted to the study of the large-scale structure of the universe and of systems of galaxies. Today we know a lot more but when I started these topics were quite hot. For example, in the Eighties the existence of poor systems of galaxies (i.e. groups including only few galaxies like our Local Group with the Milky Way and Andromeda) was questioned. I have been lucky to be in the right place with the right group when the most exciting results started to appear (I worked with John Huchra and Margaret Geller at the Center for Astrophysics of Cambridge, Massachusetts, from 1987 to 1993 and then kept visiting them until recently). After that, I worked in Europe collaborating with major programmes as new telescopes and instruments were becoming available. Since 2005 a large fraction of my time is devoted to outreach and education and I am the head of the public outreach education office of the Astronomical Observatory of Trieste. My collaboration with the virtual observatory (VO) began in 2007 and still continues. Within the VO, my responsibility has been to lead the group of people that has developed a programme for education based on modified version of the professional VO. Are there any additional benefits in using the Virtual Observatory? The VO in general is very useful since it allows astronomers to forget about problems like formats of the files, exchange of results between different software tools, communication protocols with international databases, manipulation of huge data tables etc. But for the school, the VO is simply outstanding. It puts in their hands some of the

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 125 of 127 best achievements of astronomers. It also allows to replicate on a smaller scale the real' work of an astronomer since our tools have a professional look-and-feel. Teachers can use the VO to make small measurements that are very important to distinguish our products from those that simply allow to admire images without any active involvement. Is the virtual observatory all about working with observatory data alone or are there any implications to theoretical astronomy? The VO is really important for retrieving data from all electronic archives scattered around the world and to display them, cross-correlating with tables of big online catalogues or of published scientific papers. However, there are aspects that are rather relevant to theory. In particular there are tools that have been modified in order to explore theoretical models producing huge simulations. Although the main functionalities are similar to those used with real data, the effort to include big simulations among possible sources has been rather large. Of course theory benefits from an efficient and simple exploration of numerical results. Which are the popularisation programmes of the virtual observatory among school children that you have initiated in your country? In fact, the transfer of some benefits from the professional world to schools and enthusiasts has been my main role within the VO. Our educational tools have been developed in three years with several cycles of interactions with both students and teachers both in high school and at the university. A description of our mission and of our products is available here: http://wwwas.oats.inaf.it/aidawp5. In fact, the simple translation of our tools in some of the main languages in Europe has been a great effort that has brought many schools to contact us in order to develop programmes together. The tools and products that we use have really two main goals to bring the sky to kids who often cannot see it in our light-polluted cities and to show kids that it is possible to make simple measures from what you see in the sky and obtain answers to questions that may seem impossible when they are first read. An example, we measure the angular size of a nebula (extremely easy with our tools) that was first observed by Chinese astronomers in 1054. We search in the big online catalogues a measurement of the expansion velocity of the nebula and from this information we derive the distance between us and the nebula. How do you analyse the future and prospects of the virtual observatory related research in India? I think that to use, develop, and maintain the VO is an important choice for astronomy in India. Such a commitment is evident also from the fact that the week of October 17-21, a large community of astronomers and software engineers will meet at the IUCAA, Pune. I think that to make the best use of very expensive data that are often, or even mostly, underused is a very good strategy. Furthermore, the VO helps distributed research in astronomy which, especially in a huge country like India is not a minor benefit. For More Visit www.mrunal-exam.blogspot.in or www.mrunalpatel.co.nr

The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 126 of 127 You are here to train a group of researchers from across the country on doing science with the virtual observatory. How do you view the scope and importance of the programme? I think that the best way to quickly learn something is to have someone to guide you while you work with your hands on. It happens that some concepts are known by students from textbooks, like celestial coordinates, but when you bring them to the telescope and ask to point in a given direction these textbook concepts do not help. Our VO uses cases that can transform didactic concepts into working knowledge.

TURTLES CLOSER KIN TO LIZARDS ON FAMILY TREE


For decades, palaeontologists and molecular biologists have disagreed about whether turtles are more closely related to crocodiles or to lizards. Now, microRNAs show turtles are closer kin to lizards than crocodiles.

TWO EARTH-SIZE EXOPLANETS DISCOVERED


The Kepler mission has discovered the first Earth-size planets orbiting a sun-like star outside our solar system. The planets, called Kepler-20e and Kepler-20f, are too close to their star to be in the so-called habitable zone where liquid water could exist on a planet's surface, but they are the smallest exoplanets ever confirmed around a star like our sun. The discovery marks the next important milestone in the ultimate search for planets like Earth. According to NASA, the new planets are thought to be rocky. Kepler-20e is slightly smaller than Venus, measuring 0.87 times the radius of Earth. Kepler-20f is a bit larger than Earth, measuring 1.03 times its radius. Both planets reside in a five-planet system called Kepler-20, nearly 1,000 light-years away in the constellation Lyra. Kepler-20e orbits its parent star every 6.1 days and Kepler-20f every 19.6 days. Our Bureau

2-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN UNDERSTAND COMPLEX GRAMMAR


Psychologists at the University of Liverpool have found that children as young as two years old have an understanding of complex grammar even before they have learned to speak in full sentences. Researchers at the University's Child Language Study Centre showed children, aged two, sentences containing made-up verbs, such as the rabbit is glorping the duck,' and asked them to match the sentence with a cartoon picture. Not chance They found that even the youngest two-year-old could identify the correct image with the correct sentence, more often than would be expected by chance. The study suggests that infants know more about language structure than they can

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The Hindu S& T 2011 Page 127 of 127 actually articulate, and at a much earlier age than previously thought. The work also shows that children may use the structure of sentences to understand new words, which may help explain the speed at which infants acquire speech. Dr Caroline Rowland, from the University's Institute of Psychology, Health and Society, said: When acquiring a language, children must learn not only the meaning of words but also how to combine words to convey meaning. Most two year olds rarely combine more than two words together. They may say 'more juice' or 'no hat', but don't know how to form full sentences yet. Studies have suggested that children between the ages of two and three start to build their understanding of grammar gradually from watching and listening to people. Sensitive infants More recent research, however, has suggested that even at 21 months infants are sensitive to the different meanings produced by particular grammatical construction, even if they can't articulate words properly. We tested this theory by showing two-year-old children pictures of a cartoon rabbit and duck. One picture was the rabbit acting on the duck, lifting the duck's leg for example, and the other was an image of the animals acting independently, such as swinging a leg. Correct image We then played sentences with made-up verbs the rabbit is glorping the duck over a loudspeaker and asked them to point to the correct picture. They picked out the correct image more often than we would expect them to by chance. They know more Our work suggests that the words that children say aren't necessarily the extent of what they actually know about language. The beginnings of grammar acquisition start much earlier than previously thought. But more importantly, it demonstrates that children can use grammar to help them work out the meaning of new words, particularly those that don't correspond to concrete objects such as know' and love.' Children can use the grammar of sentence to narrow down possible meanings, making it much easier for them to learn. Our Bureau

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