Judgment of the Supreme Court in the matter of In Re: Zudpi Jungle Lands. A batch of applications involved a peculiar issue concerning the situation prevailing in the six districts of eastern Vidarbha region namely Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli. The issue pertains to the status of the …
THE BATTLE of wits between the hunter and the hunted calls for increasingly ingenious strategies on the part of each. Recently, two Danish scientists reported that certain species of fish may be evolving the ability to detect sonars -- high-frequency sound signals -- used by whales, dolphins and humans alike …
A RECENTLY developed species of a native Australian tree -- the northern black wattle (Acacia auriculiformis) -- may save the precious tropical teak forests from being wiped out by offering high-quality furniture wood. Already well-established in China, India and south-east Asia, the black wattle is not a favourite for good-quality …
Animal rights activists were outraged when jallikattu, a bloody bull-fighting sport, was displayed at the Republic Day pageant in Madras. Tamil Nadu Governor M Channa Reddy reviewed a series of cultural floats on the Marina seafront, one of which depicted jallikattu as a folk sport. In the sport, prize bulls …
AFTER designer clothes and designer food, will designer babies be next? Are you a black who wants a white baby or a 65-year-old woman who wants to conceive? No problem, except that of ethics. Made-to-order babies are now possible with the rapid development of assisted reproductive technologies (See box). Till …
Setting a global precedent, the Eighth Asian Congress of Paediatrics in the Capital refused to accept financial support from infant formula food companies. The congress president, R D Potdar, claimed this was a principled stand taken by the paediatric community to promote breast-feeding. Paediatric conferences all over the world are …
Artificial insemination by husband When the husband's sperm count is low and moves sluggishly, agile sperm are selected from the husband's stock and placed in the wife's uterus. Artificial insemination through donor When the husband is infertile or suffers from a genetic disorder, sperm is obtained from a donor and …
Pathanamthitta district in Kerala may soon have the unique distinction of achieving zero population growth. A recent UNICEF-sponsored survey revealed the district has a birth rate of 5.3 per thousand and a death rate of 4.1, compared to the state average death rate of 5.6 per thousand and birth rate …
TEN YEARS of sustained research on the properties of composite materials at Delhi's Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) is now bearing fruit. Composites consist of glass fibres, carbon fibres and jute fibres, bound together in a matrix of a polymer like polyester and nylon. Smelling success round the corner, the …
A JAPANESE company has introduced a bathing system that helps conserve water. The Full Time Bath enables the same water to be used for upto a month of body-scrubbing. The computer-controlled system, equipped with double-filtration and anti-bacterial function, keeps the recycled water as sparkling clean as tap water. The company …
Is something wrong with the fish species around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands? So would it seem, going by a recent decision of the environment and fisheries departments of the island to cultivate European bass imported from Denmark in marine cages in the coastal waters. The decision was taken reportedly …
Tribals in Chhotanagpur, living in questionable safety around the 188 sq km Netarhat Firing Range, are preparing to launch a protest movement against the proposed acquisition of their land by the army's 23 Infantry Division. The acquisition would displace about 100,000 inhabitants and periodically uproot another 150,000 during actual test …
Nothing brings more discomfort to modern vice than a scuffing from elderly tradition. Tribal folk performers are now being used by state government-sponsored cultural troupes in rural Andhra Pradesh to campaign against alcoholism. The project was implemented following a statewide ban on the sale of arrack from October 1 last …
High-temperature gas bubbles that dance and emit light have been developed by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, by passing ultrasound through water. These astounding light-emitting bubbles (LEBs) can eventually be applied for inducing ultrafast chemical reactions in liquids and initiating nuclear fusion. The LEBs are generated from distilled …
A LONG-STANDING mystery about how bees -- considered completely deaf -- hear has been solved. Bees are known to convey information about the distance, direction and potential of a new food source or nesting site through a complicated dance language involving the wagging of the abdomen and vibrating the wings …
An ambitious masterplan to tackle Bombay's perennial water-logging problem during its ferocious monsoons will use an innovative, sub-surface "no dig" technology. The new system, part of a Rs 616-crore project drawn up by the Bombay Municipal Corporation, which is up to its neck in public grievances, repairs pipes and stormwater …
The United States has finally conceded India's right to reprocess spent fuel from the Tarapore Atomic Power Station (TAPS). An indication to this effect came recently when the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) cleared India's plan to use the locally produced mixed oxide fuel (MOx). India's Atomic Energy Commission will …
EVEN BEFORE disaster struck the New Kenda coal mines of the Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) in Asansol on January 25, ECL had earned the dubious distinction of running the maximum number of accident-prone mines. As many as 10 of its mines rated high on the accident frequency rating. The company's …
LAST YEAR, the smog-covered industrial township of Panipat in Haryana was accorded the status of an "eco-town". However, a still-to-be-released report by the state department of environment that the Down To Earth team was privy to rudely ridicules a district administration campaign that is flaunting this prestige. The report blandly …
FOR ONCE, Indians can look forward to the sun doing the out-of-character job of cooling them. A new device -- a "suncap fan" that brings visions of a whirligig attached to a dunce"s cap -- that might soon hit the country"s overheated cricket stands will be powered by solar photovoltaic …
ALONG with the decision on July 28, 1993, to grant Panipat the "eco-town" status for the year, the Haryana government similarly declared Ujha an "eco-village". A district environment committee was formed to implement a Rs 25-lakh scheme to provide additional plants, metalled roads and concrete drains for the village in …
