Our times

A country of young people lives in denial about scarcity, violence and global warming It was the best of times, Dickens says in the opening lines of A Tale of Two Cities, "it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishnes, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair..."

House rules

No smoking, less oil, less salt and more excercise frisking came as a surprise to the employees of a company in Nagpur. It was not a security check. Cigarettes, gutka and tobacco packets of the employees were confiscated. It was not a blanket ban but the restrictions were as good as a ban. Unhealthy food was taken off the menu following tobacco.

TB part of urban culture

Back to basics

Cooperation is the cornerstone of humanity, some have not forgotten this sometime in mid-2007, the world underwent a major demographic shift. For the first time, the earth's population was more urban than rural. The world had gone to town.

You just got fatter

What is overweight for Caucasians is now obese for Indians

Living on love and fresh air

A family that has little use for cash The morning I went to meet her Anusuyabai Meshram did something she does not usually do--milk one of her cows. It was a special day the Meshrams were having guests. "We do not need milk on a daily basis," she explained cheerfully as she served us tea, "Because we drink our tea black." There are many other things that Anusuyabai, 44, and her 47-year-old husband Pandurang Meshram do not need electricity, piped water, security, a weather-proof house, regular social contact, and for the most part, even money.

Booms are not forever

The recession is a solution, not a problem

Bytes

ANIMAL MAGNETISM: Bats use a magnetic substance in their body called magnetite as an ‘internal compass’ to help them navigate. The researchers monitored movements in bats by using radio transmitters. But such monitoring is limited to short distances only. Magnetite is found in the cells of many birds and mammals, including humans, but humans appear to have lost its use long ago.

Family meals mean sound health

frequent family meals in adolescence contribute to good eating habits as an adult. A new study shows family meals lead to less eating disorders and healthier food intake in adolescents. This habit also helps increase social interactions which strengthens social and psychological character in youngsters.

Global warming can't be fixed without egalitarian ethic

It is difficult to find simple remedies to complex problems, not because such remedies are hard to find but because they are often overlooked. To check global warming, German chancellor Angela Merkel offered an apparently simple solution at the recent G8 summit at Heiligendamn, Germany. She proposed that member nations cut down the 1990 level of greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions by half by 2050 so that the world's average temperature rise due to global warming does not exceed 2c.