Published in The Hindu on July 24, 2008 The main vessel of the 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor that is being constructed at Kalpakkam will be installed anytime during the second half of September, according to Dr. Baldev Raj, Director of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR). The main vessel will house … Continue reading PFBR: main vessel to be installed soon
China earthquake: topography can reveal tectonic activity
Published in The Hindu on July24, 2008 The May 12, 2008 earthquake that struck the Sichuan Province in China appears to indicate that topography, or more specifically, changes in landscape gradients can be used to reveal seismic hazards of a region. Geophysical methods have traditionally been used to study tectonic activity and earthquakes. When two … Continue reading China earthquake: topography can reveal tectonic activity
Rice: more silica in soil reduces arsenic uptake
Published in The Hindu on July 17, 2008 Scientists in Japan have cracked the reason why rice is particularly efficient in assimilating arsenic from paddy soils. The findings reported in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal have particular relevance to West Bengal and Bangladesh where arsenic poisoning is … Continue reading Rice: more silica in soil reduces arsenic uptake
Editorial: Precaution is the key
Published in The Hindu on July 15, 2008 Unlike traditional breeding techniques, whereby hybrids are produced by transferring genes within varieties belonging to the same species, genetically modified crops involve transfer of genes across species. Thus in the case of Bt cotton, a gene of a soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), is inserted into cotton varieties … Continue reading Editorial: Precaution is the key
Evaluating a new MDR-TB test
Published in The Hindu on July 3, 2008 If patients failing to complete the treatment, and wrong medication by the medical practitioners often leads to drug resistance in TB patients, diagnosing people who are resistant to the first-line drugs is fraught with long delays. Starting next year, India will have a rapid test capable of … Continue reading Evaluating a new MDR-TB test
GM field trials: leaving no room for assessment
Published in The Hindu on July 3, 2008 The data on heat stability studies carried out on Bt protein in brinjal serve to highlight the serious lapses in the way the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) examines the biosafety data of genetically modified plants, leading to overlooking of key facts. Heat stability study is conducted … Continue reading GM field trials: leaving no room for assessment
GEAC: The truth behind sheep death revealed
Published in The Hindu on June 26, 2008 The Supreme Court nominee to the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), Dr. P.M. Bhargava, has called the bluff of the committee. It had attributed the sheep death in Andhra Pradesh two years ago to nothing connected to the sheep grazing on Bt cotton leaves. The GEAC had … Continue reading GEAC: The truth behind sheep death revealed
Many skeletons tumble out of GEAC’s cupboard
Published in The Hindu on June 26, 2008 The open field trials for various genetically modified crops are being conducted without first undertaking all the tests during the confined field trials. This has been the observation of Dr. P.M. Bhargava who was appointed as a special invitee to the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) in … Continue reading Many skeletons tumble out of GEAC’s cupboard
GM crops’ biosafety testing procedure questioned
Published in The Hindu on June 25, 2008 The way in which the Genetic Engineering and Approval Committee (GEAC) has gone about approving field trials of genetically modified crops, as also the final approval for commercial cultivation, has been questioned by P.M. Bhargava, the former Director of the Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology. … Continue reading GM crops’ biosafety testing procedure questioned
Editorial: Proceed with caution
Published in The Hindu on June 20, 2008 Eight years after starting the programme of providing single-dose nevirapine to cut mother-to-child transmission of HIV, the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) is reassessing the monotherapy strategy. Although hailed as a miracle that reduces the chances of vertical transmission by 45-55 per cent and protects thousands of … Continue reading Editorial: Proceed with caution
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