Science and Technology - Briefs

ARCHAEOLOGY Dino with a horn

Science And Technology - Briefs

TECHNOLOGY LCData

Ignorance is low IQ, cancer

generations of people who live near the Dhapa dumpsite in East Kolkata might have underdeveloped brains and weak immunity. Courtesy: heavy exposure to persistent organic pollutants. This is the claim of a team comprising researchers from India, Japan and the US.

Who are you?

Microorganisms explain more about us and our world than we ever imagined. sumana narayanan courses through rodent brain, feline gut, and the human stomach This is not something you are likely to see in a Tom and Jerry animation. Imagine a cat readying itself to pounce on a mouse. The mouse notes the feline but does not budge. It grooms itself and looks away. Soon, it is cat food.

What was the name again?

Test your memory, detect the presence of Alzheimer's early trouble remembering names and events might simply be a case of forgetfulness. Now if the person were also to have difficulty working with numbers and remembering words and be unable to concentrate, it might not be so simple. Today 24 million people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer's, a disease best characterized by memory loss and the inability to perceive things around.

Pillow talk

Exam tomorrow? Hit the sack early tonight over time the one thing that has remained common amongst all animals is sleep. Even the evolutionary forces decided to leave this basic physiological need untouched. The various theories behind what makes sleep tick range from conservation of energy

Six reasons you should not have trans fats

Heart diseases Trans fats in the hydrogenated oils are worse than saturated fats. They decrease the amount of good cholesterol (hdl). This makes consumption of hydrogenated fats especially bad for the heart. For example, increase of five grammes of trans fats per day could lead to a 25 per cent increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease

Follow-up

Dow in trouble again: The Maharashtra government has ordered setting up of a committee to look into Dow Chemical's proposed research and development centre near Pune. It will examine the facility's impact on environment and the list of hazardous chemicals proposed to be used at the centre (see 'Pune protests Dow research facility', Down To Earth, March 31, 2008). People of Shinde-Vasuli village, about 40 km from Pune, where the Rs 400-crore centre will come up, said the committee was set up to stop

Science & Technology - Briefs

marine sciences Rare corals aplenty According to researchers from James Cook University rare coral species might not be at high risks of extinction due to small population sizes.Their tendency to hybridize saves them. The previous prediction was that small population sizes led to decreased genetic diversity, which

US court indicts vaccines withy mercury for autism

finally, Hannah Poling got justice. A federal court in the us recently asked authorities to compensate the Georgia girl who became autistic after getting vaccine shots in 2002. She was 18 months old then. Many hope the ruling will also influence nearly 5,000 similar cases at the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program in the country.