Mind your tongue

People in the small Massachusetts town of Middleborough better mind their tongue in public. Else they risk a fine. Last month, the town residents voted, approving a proposal to impose a fine of US $20 on profanity in public. Ironically, the ordinance actually decriminalises public profanity.

The loss of our breeds

In June last year, we visited Malaysia on the invitation of the country’s oldest and most active consumer action group, The Consumer Association of Penang, to study the livestock production systems and to advise on how these can be transformed into more sustainable and less industrial farming systems.

Winds not favourable

OVER the years, wind turbines have been favoured as one of the most promising renewable sources of energy. But it may come at a cost. This pollution-free and environment-friendly source of energy can cause an increase in local temperatures.

Warming bad for rice

What are your key findings? Interviewee:  Lewis H Ziska

Our own microbe catalogue

MICROBES are everywhere—on our skin, inside the nose and in the gut. In fact, each one of us carries more microbes in and on our bodies than cells. But scientists have mostly studied microbes that cause diseases. There are others that do not need to be eliminated and are a fundamental part of what makes us human. Together they constitute the microbiome.

Arsenic just got dirtier

IT IS well-known that prolonged exposure to arsenic causes cancer, diabetes and liver damage. Now it has been found that exposure to this colourless, odourless chemical, which is widely present in the environment, may also lead to hypertension.

Pray before you spray

LOVE to sweeten the air in your room with fresheners? Beware. A study has found that people who use air fresheners or other household cleaning products which contain aerosol propellants, formaldehyde, as little as once a week, experience reduced heart rate variability (HRV)—a condition linked to heart attack and high blood pressure.

In transit

MEMORIES of the 2004 tsunami that hit Andaman islands and Tamil Nadu are still fresh. In a single morning, over 14,000 people died, many went missing and a million lost their livelihood. Reason: they were not warned on time.

The new obesity

Lincoln’s fake Facebook

The blogger community was fervent about the claims made by Illinois blogger, Nate St Pierre. He revealed that Abraham Lincoln had requested for a patent for the visual appendix and concept of what we now call “Facebook” in 1845 but Lincoln’s request had been rejected. The blog was found to be a hoax.