Boston: Life on Mars may have been snuffed out early on because the water there was too salty, a biologist involved in exploring the red planet said. "Mars has been a very dry place for a very long time,' said Andrew Knoll, an expert member of a team operating two US robots that are currently exploring Mars. "The best place to look for life is in the earliest history,' he added.
Titan, the deep-frozen moon of Saturn, is emerging as the most likely place in the solar system for new life to evolve, according to scientists who have been studying its atmosphere and surface chemistry. They found that Titan's atmosphere is drenched in a wide range of complex organic molecules very similar to those that gave rise to life on Earth billions of years ago. Although it is far too cold for life at present, this is likely to change because stars such as the sun expand and grow far hotter as they reach old age.
Micro-finance is the key to helping India's poorest
Indians just don't quit, especially when it comes to smoking. According to the first nationally representative case control study of smoking and death in India, only 2% of adults were found to have quit smoking in the country. However, almost 90% of them did so after they had developed serious diseases. In comparison, China, which a decade back had similar cessation rate among smokers like India, has greatly improved to almost 10%. India's eastern neighbour Bangladesh too is better off with nearly 8% of smokers giving up smoking annually.
Culling of about 1.50 lakh chickens at Omega Poultry Farm in the city's Badda area continued for the second consecutive day on Sunday. The avian influenza virus was detected at the poultry farm on Friday and the livestock department started culling the chickens of the farm on Saturday. Dhaka district livestock officer Sheikh Saidur Rahman told New Age on Sunday that they culled 95,048 chickens of the farm till 7:00pm, and would kill 54,000 more chickens.
In the man who planted trees, french author Jean Giono
The Influenza Foundation of India (IFI), an advisory body to bring awareness on the disease as also its prevention and control, has issued several recommendations to curb the ill-effects of seasonal influenza, especially during the avian flu outbreak.
Obesity is on its way to being deadlier than smoking as a cause of cancer in the U.S., a leading researcher said. Being obese is currently associated with about 14 per cent of cancer deaths in men and 20 per cent in women, compared with about 30 per cent each for smoking, Dr. Walter C. Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He said research is producing increasing evidence associating obesity with a variety of cancers.
The country's poultry industry continues to be in grave peril with sales already halved due to panic among consumers in the wake of recent bird flu outbreaks, operators said. Many restaurants have already taken chicken off their menus while home consumption too has slumped. "We are going broke. We are selling chicks to poultry farmers at a token price to minimise our losses,' said Shah Habibul Haque, director of Aftab Bahumukhi Farm Ltd, a leading poultry hatchery. He claims their business has incurred on average a loss of Tk 2 crore every month since November last year. "Things look even grimmer for small farm owners. They are losing their capital,' he said adding that currently they charge only Tk 7-8 for a day-old chick, about one third of production cost at Tk 22. The avian influenza, which broke out in Bangladesh early last year, has now reached epidemic proportions sweeping across the poultry industry that accounts for over 1.6 percent of GDP. According to official data, the government has detected bird flu virus in 152 farms in 43 districts and culled 6.42 lakh fowls as of February 16. Operators report a loss of nearly Tk 5,000 crore because of plummeting sales coupled with a steady rise in the prices of poultry feeds. "At a rough estimate, we have made a loss of nearly Tk 5,000 crore,' said Moshiur Rahman, convener of Poultry Industries Co-ordination Committee. Industry sources said thousands of farms have been forced to shut down in a year due to bird flu outbreaks and hike in prices of feed ingredients. Around half a crore people are directly or indirectly employed in the industry involving 1.5 lakh farms. "Our sales have dropped drastically,' said Delwar Hossain, owner of Janata Poultry at the Kaptan Bazar, one of the biggest wholesale-cum-retail markets for poultry products in the capital. He said daily sales in his wholesale store hovered around Tk 1.50 lakh in January. "Now I struggle to have sales of Tk 25,000 a day,' he said. Khokon Mia, a retailer at Kaptan Bazar, said the sales at his shop have dropped 58 percent on point to point basis. In retail outlets, chickens sell at Tk 65-70 a kg, whereas only a month ago they would cost Tk 80-85 a kg. "I sold Tk 67,300 worth of poultry on January 16, but in a month, it dropped to Tk 28,000. We are going through a terrible time. People have incredibly cut down on their poultry intake,' said Khokon who also supplies live chickens and eggs to a number of city restaurants. Restaurants and party centres are having their share of troubles with chicken consumption taking a nosedive. "The consumption has fallen by around 50 percent amid bird flu scare,' said Ali Akbar Badal, general manager of XINXIAN, a Chinese restaurant at Kalabagan. Star Kabab's Karwan Bazar branch Manager Mohammad Shahin said their restaurant too has seen a sharp drop in consumption of chickens and eggs. "It's a serious crisis as the plunging demand for poultry pushes the farmers and hatcheries to huge losses,' said head of Brac Poultry MA Saleque, who believes overall consumption has been slashed by half.
AT LEAST 30 people were injured in a fierce clash between two rival groups at village Shibpasha under Ajmiriganj upazila in Habiganj on Saturday morning. Quoting locals, the police said an altercation ensued between the supporters of former UP chairman Motahar Hossain and Taskir Mia at about 10:00am over irrigating a cropland. At one stage both groups equipped with lethal weapons and sticks attacked each other, leaving 30 people from both sides injured. On information, the police went to the spot and brought the situation under control. They also recovered two firearms from the scene but none was arrested Of the injured Khalek, Abdul Nur, Sabaj Mia, Jewel, Amirul and Angur Mia were admitted to Habiganj General Hospital while others were released after first aid.A case was filed. Another report from Sirajganj said: Seven persons were injured in a clash between sadar hospital staff and some relatives of a patient Saturday morning. The police said some staff members of the hospital locked into an altercation with the relatives of patient Kajoli Parvin over her treatment. Later, at one stage they attacked each other, leaving seven persons from both sides injured. The police later brought the situation under control. The lawmen also picked up Faruk and Harun, relatives of Kajoli from the spot.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad international general secretary Pravin Togadia has warned of a nation-wide popular agitation if the Centre went ahead with the Sethu Samudram Ship Canal Project.
Central Asia is a difficult region, but with the right mix of political and financial capital, India could still make headway. If the great game over the energy resources of the Caspian Sea and Central Asia were to be compared to a five-act Shakespearean play, we might say Act III, Scene I has just begun. On a Venice street, Shylock famously posits to Salarino the metaphorical relationship of intricate counter-balances: "If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?'
Livestock officials culled 95,000 chickens at the bird flu-infected poultry farm at city's Uttar Badda as the culling continued for the second consecutive day yesterday. The government, meantime, decided to set up 16 more laboratories in the country next month for testing and identifying bird flu viruses as more and more areas are coming under avian influenza infestation.
Even if oil prices touch $100 a barrel, the government cannot pass the burden to consumers as it will push them to misery.
Environmental experts on Sunday emphasised the need for taking concerted measures against the adverse effects of climate change and other ecological disasters for protecting the people as well as for ensuring sustainable development.
The Government has allocated Rs. 500 million for livelihood-based development activities in the Eastern Province, Deputy Minister of Nation Building and Development Susantha Punchinilame said yesterday. Deputy Minister Punchinilame is currently in Trincomalee to steer several development programmes in the Eastern Province to benefit those resettling and living in the region. Referring to the funds allocated by the Government, Punchinilame said that Rs. 500 million allocated this year was the biggest amount ever allocated for Grama Seva Divisions. The money will be used to organise livestock development and farming in several selected regions, said the Minister. "The monies will be distributed to each Grama Seva Division through the Province's Development Committee,' he said. Each Grama Division will get Rs. 250,000 to Rs. 300,000 under the programme, he said. Punchinilame said that it was important to employ those who resettle in the East with their usual jobs. The Nation Development Ministry has taken several successful steps in this regard. "People are willing to resettle in the East now. We are providing them with the necessary infrastructure, houses, roads, jobs and safety,' he added.
A rapid increase in mosquito-borne diseases has been observed in the last quarter of the previous year due to poor pest control services following the slashing of overtime for health staff, said Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam, the Colombo Municipal Council's Chief Medical Officer. "Nevertheless the department was able to control the diseases in the Colombo city limits by 57 per cent compared to 2006. Had not the services been interrupted we could have achieved better progress,' Dr. Kariyawasam added. He said the CMC re-activated its pest control services by spraying chemicals and fumigation of high risk areas after allocating adequate funds for the workers' over-time. The Department initiated a public awareness programme yesterday to explain Dengue and Chikungunya prevention measures to face a possible epidemic in the rainy season. Sources revealed that several cases diagnosed as Hepatitis-A in the city are mainly from homes close to the massive garbage dump in Mattakkuliya. Dr. Kariyawasam said the water consumed by residents of Mahawatte, Mattakkuliya and Modera are contaminated with sewerage due to poor sanitary facilities. The Municipality advised the public to consume only boiled water, refrain from eating half-cooked leafy vegetables to prevent Hepatitis - A. The public was educated through leaflets and banners detailing precautions and symptoms regarding Hepatitis-A.
Reiterating his commitment for ensuring equal distribution of canal water, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Sunday assured the people of Ahirwal that canal water of Rivers Ravi-Beas would flow through their fields thanks to the Hansi- Butana Link Canal before the next Parliamentary elections. Addressing a rally organised by Independent MLA Naresh Yadav at Ateli, Mr.Hooda said that the Ahirwal region had remained neglected during the last 40 years but his regime was fully aware of the problems being faced by the people and was taking remedial measures.
Permanent disciplinary board needed: CAG "Budget estimates prepared without any proposals' Encephalitis prone areas not covered by vaccination LUCKNOW: Acute shortage of medical staff, absenteeism among doctors and lack of infrastructure are adversely affecting the delivery of health services to the rural people in Uttar Pradesh, the Comptroller and Auditor General has said.
Scientists and experts urged the Indian Government to table a White Paper in Parliament on the
