Fabric filter

ACCESS to safe drinking water is one of the biggest health concerns in the developing world. The humble cotton sari and a little bit of sunshine might provide a simple solution, shows a study.

Double whammy

After killing its lifeline, the Bagmati, Kathmandu valley is extracting its groundwater to the last drop. But the quality of groundwater here is fast deteriorating due to lack of proper sewage disposal system and years of overexploitation, warn analysts.

10-minute typhoid test

@110 km/hr

 

Science and Technology - Briefs

HEALTH Why you puke

Plain talk about crap

The average human spends three years of his or her life in the toilet. The filthy streets of Europe are thought to be the reason for the sudden popularity, in the 17th century, of high heels.

A toilet per second

Even at this rate India might fail to meet the millennium development goal on sanitation

How pure are their claims?

Manoj Lodhiwal is the head salesperson at a household appliance store in south Delhi. Every morning as the storeowner performs puja, he examines how and where to display products. “The facade must remain stacked with home water purifiers; they are the hottest items,” Lodhiwal said. His store is in Mohan Singh market, an electronics and household appliance hub in Delhi. The frontage of most shops here display water purifiers—from low-cost variants priced at Rs 999 to the ones with more attractive features, worth Rs 50,000.

A toilet of one's own

News 360° - Briefs

climate change Poznan talks begin Delegates from 186 nations congregated in the Polish city of Poznan on December 1 to negotiate a new climate change treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol in 2012.