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Contents page
Jan 15-31, 1996
Cover Story
The post-GATT liberalisation era has come to India not only with its enchanting platter of economic efficiency, technological treasure trough and fairy-tale promises of 'globalisation' but it has also raised some significant questions regarding its viability altogether. For, socialism is passe and market mechanism has suitably failed, according to some. Now, it is the "swadeshi approach" that can herald a cultural and economic renaissance in India...
But again, this benign concept of swadeshi needs to be amply redefined to be used effectively to flush out that opium called foreign capital and its attendant miseries from the Indian body politic. Then of course, there is the cautious expert who observes that the success of foreign investment lies in negotiating a deal better than Enron
Editor's page
News
A short circuit in consumer acceptance and a punctured technology
compels California to backtrackfiom launching electric cars in the
state
Beyond all that glittering in the congested streets of Calcutta's sex
districts, is defiled environment and morbid health conditions
And now it is the turn for human
cells to be patented on the sly by
scientific vampires', as shows the
bizarre case of a Hagahai tribal
male
A cloud o criticism forms over the proposal to set up a
high-power nuclear plant at Kudangulam in Tamil Nadu
All that may remain of the pristine mangrove forests of coastal Tamil Nadu is degraded forest tracts and plundered biodiversity
Attempts are on to save Goa's
sinking salt industry which has
used traditional production
methods since the 10th century
Interview
Ambassador BO KJELLEN has seen it all, from diplomacy and development to even sports. A "family man", as he describes himself, addicted to music and badminton, th...
Science & Technology
Higher temperatures the world over do not just
result in rising sea
levels. According to a recent report produced
by scientists from
50 countries, global warming has endangered
even human health
Even the tiniest microbes could
help spruce up our foul
environment when let loose on
domestic waste. Researchers in
Delhi are now advocating the use
of this miniscule life form to solve
the huge problem of urban waste.
These tiny do-gooders do not just
clean up the garbage but convert
it into useful products
Findings from a recent study
conducted in Pakistan and Egypt
by researchers from the Imperial
College, London, suggest that a
secondary pollutant, surface
ozone, may well be responsible for
substantial reduction in the yields
of major crops
Three important developments made by cancer
researchers this year
have opened up some exciting new
possibilities for the diagnosis,
therapy andprevention of breast cancer
Patients hooked on to intravenous
drug delivery systems have so far
had to confine themselves to their
beds. But a new portable infusion
pump brings relief to them as
they can now be mobile and
continue with their routine tasks
even as drugs get administered
into their bodies
High levels of cholesterol in the
blood can prove risky. But low
levels could be even more
dangerous. Well, high or low,
cholesterol seems to be
humankind's perpetual enemy
Scientists in the US have
developed a kit designed to mend
torn membranes in heart muscles.
Liposomes or little bundles of fat are coming in handy in achieving
The patch work
A Japanese experiment in thefield of
neutrino detection has come as
manna for physicists and cosmologists,
opening before them immense
possibilities offinally disentangling some
of the most enduringpuzzles
which hamper our understanding of nature
and the universe
Geneva Observatory astronomers
Study spectral lines in the visible
spectrum and detect a planet
thefirst to be observed outside
our own planetary system -
orbiting a sun-like star. The
finding might lead to inflow of
fresh data on planetary evolution
The microchip revolution is
catching up even with thefield of
combinatorial chemistry -
helping in the creation of all
possible combinations of basic
chemicals, thereby enabling a
faster synthesisation of new
compounds
An ingenius magneto-optic trap
using a magnetic mirror
created with audio tapes and
floppy disks - mightfacilitate
the possibility ofstorage and
observation of cold rubidium
atoms
Energy conservation is the bottomline of the latest innovations. A new
light bulb has the combined attractions of less energy, more efficiency
and a longer life. Filled with inert gas and sulphur, the bulb gives an
output equivalent to several hundred mercury lamps. Besides, the light
has sunlight-like radiance and less ultraviolet content which makes it
suitablefor growingplants andfor displaying
works of art. Apparently the bulb can burn on endlessly as it has no
filament to burn out
Power transmission will be done
more smoothly in the future with
the help of a new electronic
device, the thyristor-controlled
series compensator. The new
equipment, using advanced
solid-state switches, can increase
power supply through existing
transmission lines and, at the
same time, improve systems
security and the quality ofpower.
Successful tests have been con-
ducted and the system has been
dedicated to the Slatt substation
in Oregon, USA
Household garbage produces
large quantities of methane
which leaks into the atmosphere
and contributes to the
greenhouse effect. A Swedish
company has come up with an
innovative method to
tap methane from garbage
dumps and use it for heating
purposes. Swedish engineers
overcame the problem of drilling
through layers of garbage
containing all types of
objects by using a hollow
stem auger, which can drill
right through wood, concrete
and stone
Hitachi, the Japanese electronics corporation is admirably manipulating the wonders of science for the much ignored field of telecom for the deaf. A fascinating new technology being developed opens up the world for the deaf by making it possible for them to communicate on a global scale
Fibre optic telephone lines which
would deliver movies directly to
the theatres are all set to stage a
revolution if US movie moghuls'
high-tech plans are to see the light
of the day. A new video
technology which will complement
this mode will radicalise the idea
a theatre by opening it up for
Of various other purposes
A new version of the memory cards could spell a radical shift in our notions of identity cards, passports or quite simply any kind of documentation. YI is this
magic memory material which renders these cards more power and capacity apart from being kinder on the purse
Good news awaits the desk top publishing industry with the development of the FT-S700 image input system. Equipped with a high precision charge-couple device scanner, the new system promises advantages like higher resolution pictures
Analysis
Darwinian sapience takes a beating as the notion of 'punctuated equilibrium' - which postulates that evolution occurred in sudden fits and starts - gathers shape
The grossly inadequate education
as imparted in our schools has to answer for
our general insensitivity towards the environment
An ayurvedic researcher's forays against the dreaded AIDS virus
unmasks a tale of greed and un-Hippocratian behaviour
Special Report
Maharashtra villagers and environmentalists see red as the Radhanagri
Sanctuary becomes yet another victim of industrial onslaught
Overwhelming negative response towards the World Bank-sponsored
Flood management plan to be implemented in Bangladesh, saw the government
and concerned authorities vying with each other to take a
pro-people stand
The Fortnight
With the latest launch of another remote sensing satellite, Indian space scientists aim to carve out a niche in the world market for satellite data... and beat Uncle Sam to it
Leader
Review
Grassroots
Even as protests against the Bakun Dam Project grow more
strident, the Malaysian government remains adamant on
its decision to go ahead with it
The UN environment report states that Ganga would disappear by 2030.There would be no need to train engineers or even Ganga...
A report published in the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology suggests that babies of...
Yes, the happening and looming threat of the loss of Bio-cultural diversity stares us in the face. This is particularly true...