Top news of the week…
Field trials cleared for genetically modified rice, wheat, maize, castor and cotton.
It's the future of food.
The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee, under the environment ministry has given clearance to a few companies and research institutes to conduct field trials for genetically modified rice, wheat, maize, castor and cotton. THIS IS A WELCOME DEVELOPMENT AFTER A DREARY PERIOD during which the ministry announced a moratorium on the commercial release of Bt brinjal (eggplant/vaangi/kathirikkai) AFTER it had been cleared via extensive evaluations by around 200 scientists and experts over 15 public and private sector institutions. Unfortunately, the matter has become quite politicized, with opposing parties calling GM crops the latest version of the way East India Company colonized India, and demanding low-cost, toxin-free ecological farming practices as an alternative. Such Rousseausque demands can be quite dangerous: under their spell, India's first Green Revolution would never have taken off because it was accompanied by problems like groundwater exhaustion and pesticide abuse. GM technology has already transformed India into the world's second-largest producer of cotton, via pest-resistant modifications.
Developing countries are now growing more hectares of GM crops than rich countries, where early adopters like the US have been consuming them for over a decade without turning into Frankensteins. Conservative blocks like the EU have also begun to relax their disapproval under pressure from supply shortages and increased prices. It makes no sense for India to forfeit the gains that the whole world is chasing.
(News courtesy: Times of India.)
(Me: This is indeed cause for some celebration for me, because I have been consistently driving home that science, only science, can solve the gigantic food problem that India faces. The Indian lobbies – the very many assorted NGOs - against science in general and GM in particular, are either uninformed ignoramuses, free publicity-seekers or have their own personal agendas. The question is simple: do we let the people die of starvation and malnutrition or give a chance to science to prove its worth, as it indeed always has? It is undeniable that the plethora of vaccines has eradicated much of the then killer or maiming diseases like smallpox, whooping cough, diphtheria, polio etc. and if the longevity of average Indian has increased from 42 in 1947 to 65-67 now, it is in no small measure thanks to modern science/medicines. If these anti-science NGO worthies existed then, they would have effectively and successfully thwarted all attempts to introduce these wonder drugs. Every wonder drug has side-effects on a miniscule number of the population as each individual is unique with varying body constituent. Of course, if these wise guys did exist then and did prevent the wide-spread use of the vaccines, India's population would have remained static at 36 crores (360 million) vs. 1.25 billion now and poverty wouldn't have reached this level!! And thank goodness, too, though there was initially stiff opposition to e-governance/computerization in railways and banking services from interested employees, better sense in the higher echelons prevails and the results are for all to see). It is indeed sad that we Indians don't give due weightage or credit to the opinions of even foremost scientists like Dr. Abdul Kalam on nuclear power and other issues.)
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The teacher of earth science class was lecturing on map reading. After explaining what latitude, longitude, degrees and minutes the teacher asked, "Suppose I asked you to meet me for lunch at 23 degrees, 4 minutes north latitude and 45 degrees, 15 minutes east longitude?"
After a confused silence a voice volunteered, "I guess you'd be eating alone".
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Tongue very much in cheek…
"I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me" – Fred Allen.
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"Disaster management is a disaster in India" – a ToI headline on the Uttarakand tragedy
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Pun fun…
"Floods in HP, storming out in Bihar; one way or the other, we are in a rain of terror" – Bachi Karkaria in ToI
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From the world of science…
Plants do maths calculations to avoid starvation.
London: Plants do complex arithmetic calculations to make sure they have enough food to prevent starvation at night: new study. The calculation allows them to use up their starch reserves at a constant rate so that they run out almost precisely at dawn. This is the first concrete example the first concrete example in a fundamental biological process of such a sophisticated arithmetic calculation.
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Smartphones to warn of heart problems…
Wellington: A new smartphone being developed is set to revolutionise the way we manage healthcare by warning people of impending heart attack.
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Now, a battery that's made out of wood.
Washington: A team of researchers have made a tiny, long-lasting, environmental-friendly battery made of a sliver of wood coated with tin. The battery tested by scientists at the University of Maryland are a thousand times thinner than a piece of paper.
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MP doc invents 'suicide-proof' ceiling fan…
Jabalpur: When German engineer Philip H. Diehl invented the ceiling fan in 1892, he would have hardly imagined that his invention could end up being used as a tool to commit suicide. But there could soon be a remedy. R.S. Sharma, a cardiology professor at the government medical college, Jabalpur, has invented a suicide-proof ceiling fan, which gets pulled down under additional weight leading to a soft landing of the person without stretching his neck or straining the noose. Sharma has applied for a patent and hopes it will be used in all homes and hostels.
Fighting body odour? Pat baking soda onto your underarms to neutralize the smell..
(Me: Cheap n best! Dispense with the expensive Deos..)
**
Sprinkle some salt on a lemon peel and rub it on the greasy areas in your kitchen to make them sparking clean.)
Study: Growth in population could wipe out species…
Washington: The global growth in the human population has the potential to threaten hundreds of species with extinction within 40 years, a new research has shown.
(Me: One would say population explosion is a much bigger menace than global warming which is uncertain)
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Shun the DEOs, hit the gym to get your girl's attention…
A woman's decision on choice of her partner are largely based on traits that reflect fitness or those that help men perform well under the local ecological conditions, a new study has found.
(Me: if you are too lazy to do the workouts to get the desired he-man physique, at least develop a sense of humour… hehehe)
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Now, a perfume that helps you slim down…
Washington: A beauty products company has come out with a perfume which it claims will help get slim.
(Me: if it does work which is a billion-dollar question, it would sound death-knell for all slimming dietary foods of dubious value)
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"A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus" – Martin Luther King, Jr.
(Me: It means he had never come across our kind of politicians…)
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No, not a Nigerian scam…
Don't trust money coz. it gives bed but not sleep; it gives book but not mind; it gives luxuries but not happiness.
So friends, transfer all your money in my account and feel good and relaxed….
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Multi-crorepati (Multi-millionaire) man to wife: "Of course, I love you! That's why you never see me in the tabloids or Mumbai Times with Peecee, Katrina or Karishma."
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Pun fun…
Q: Why is that the picture was sent to jail?
A: Because it was framed.
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Weird world…
Cops arrest elderly robber after he takes too much time to flee..
A robber was arrested in Melbourne, Australia, after taking too much time to fee from the crime spot. The 64-year0old man was extremely slow in putting his walking frame away after robbing a 22-year-old woman at knife-point in a car park.
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The inhabitants of the island of Kitava in Papua New Guinea, don't suffer from heart disease, stroke, diabetes or dementia. Man a time their deaths are the result of falling from coconut trees!
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Tongue in cheek…
Plan to be spontaneous – tomorrow…
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News of the day…
Kejriwal's power was cut as he did not pay his bill..
(Me: Ya, the same anti-corruption crusader who wants to set things right in India - he hasn't exactly covered himself with glory by refusing to pay his energy bills)
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