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Contents page
Aug 15-31, 1996
Cover Story
Burgeoning populations notwithstanding, humankind seems in danger of being wiped out. This is the inference one draws from Our Stolen Future , which holds chemical pollutants in the environment responsible for declining sperm counts, increasing birth defects and much more. But there are those who disagree
Editor's page
News
The Prime Minister has exposed his political immaturity on a matter as grave as the Sardar Sarovar Project and the bureaucracy has forced his feet into his mouth
A new virus, behaving suspiciously like malaria, has affected more than 5,000 in Haryana, and the local medical community is busy blaming the villagers for it
Indian and Kenyan elephant specialists recently exchanged views on controlling a common problem: man-elephant conflicts
The us ban on exports of shrimp from India reflects a myopic approach and is likely to rebound when India takes the case to the World Trade Organization
At a recent workshop on food processing technologies, African specialists felt they have found a way out of the serialised food crisis
Joint venture deep sea fishing vessels will have a real tough time this season if the government does not implement the Murari committee recommendations
Interview
Twenty seven-year-old chekkoth karian janu has never attended school. But this has not prevented her from becoming a champio...
Science & Technology
A new technique to preserve the giant panda using in vitro fertilisation, has set off a debate. The technique's opponents would rather welcome an improvement in the animal's natural habitat
A new generation of electric cars is moving down the ramp. Running on fuel-cell technology, these are being called the eco-friendliest cars by far
A new technique shall help do away with unwanted, polluting byproducts of certain manufacturing processes
We can live healthy lives well into our hundreds, science claims, but is ageing really a disease that can be cured? Scientist are now looking at the mechanism of the gene that causes the rapid acceleration of ageing
The unfriendly response of the immune system is one of the main problems in pancreas transplant. But researchers have now developed an ingenious way to combat it
The results of a recent research nullifies the evil reputation of the cholera bacterium, and convicts the virus called ctx as responsible for the deadly disease
The age of a newly discovered galaxy defies the predictions of the standard cosmological model, meaning some more work for the theoreticians
A Japanese company has developed blue light-emitting diodes using gallium nitride, thus filling the gap in the spectrum of semiconductor light emitters
For the first time, scientists have combined two complementary imaging techniques to peep inside the human body. Though still in the infant stage, the invention has exciting possibilities
A research group has measured the electric resistance of wires with a single xenon atom and two xenon atoms in series; the results call for some revision in theory
A transgenic sunflower seed not only comes with monetary gains for the farmer but also carries sundry agronomic benefits
Farmers living in the upper reaches of Nepal have developed an ingenious way of maintaining soil fertility
Farmers and agricultural scientists in Australia are having a tough time battling a weed that has suddenly developed resistance to a herbicide
Micromechanics, a field of engineering earlier considered to be fascinating but impractical, is now back with a bang. A host of applications are in the offing
Three new inventions by nasa are sure to make life a little easier in space
The weather may be unpredictable but this new fabric quickly adjusts to its mood swings and maintains a balance between your body temperature and the outside environment
Analysis
Burgeoning populations notwithstanding, humankind seems in danger of being wiped out. This is the inference one draws from Our Stolen Future , which holds chemical pollutants in the environment responsible for declining sperm counts, increasing birth defects and much more. But there are those who disagree
In the story from the great Indian epic, Mahabharat , the legendary hero Arjun was once telling his wife Shubhadra how to penetrate the virtually unassailable ancient battle formation, Chakravyuha , destroy it and get out unscathed. Quietly flowering inside Shubhadra's womb, the future hero, Abhimanyu, was listening. Arjun had completed the description on how to enter the formation, but then, Shubhadra felt sleepy and Arjun put off the narration of how to get out of the formation for another day. Arjun's narration was never completed. Much later, Abhimanyu died in the battle field, where he entered the Chakravyuha , but did not know how to get out.
The womb, our ancients knew, was penetrable. The foetus, they told us, was sensitive and responsive -- to sound, to outside environment, to the mother's metabolism... and that is the threat.
Unfortunately, today's Abhimanyus, flowering in their mother's wombs are taking in pesticides, herbicides and toxins which alter everything: from intelligence to sexuality...even the urge to mate, which is basic to a species' survival. Over-sized babies are being born to anaemic mothers. The 'gender bender' chemicals are playing havoc. Mother's milk is poisoned. Sperm counts are going down. So is the quality of sperm. Spontaneous abortions, birth defects, still-births, womb-deaths and neo-natal deaths are shooting up. All due to the deadly chemicals which humankind has been fooling around with.
This is the story of the Abhimanyus who may never be born...or born and die right away...the story of a possible future teeming with cretins
Special Report
Perhaps for the first time, Indian industry, scientific institutions and public sector agencies have worked together towards a major breakthrough; a green detergent
An emissions trading programme, introduced in the US to provide incentives to companies for emission control, could be an effective instrument in checking air pollution
The Fortnight
Crosscurrent
India's education policy has only sought to alienate the students and also deepen the urban-rural divide
Grassroots
Dharamitra, a Wardha-based organisation, has been working on many projects and, with active participation of the local people, is ensuring a greener future
How come Andhra is left out of the mining loot story ? It is good for the nation if we learn to keep environmental and...
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...