NOIDA/DELHI

02 EducationPlus THE HINDU | MONDAY | JANUARY 4, 2016

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SNAPSHOTS
IIT-M: designer alloys Shocking bacteria out of
by chemical reactions their safety zone
MOHIT M. RAO
R. PRASAD More than the pulses of pressure and
energy (around 0.3 calorie
two-thirds for periods of a few hundred

I magine a bacteria bio-film

of the micro-seconds). The process

N
othing whatsoever being vigorously shaken was tested on infections
LET HUNGER will happen if large to make it more pliant when bacterial forming on urinary catheters
chunks of silver and presented with anti-biotics. as well as the Pseudomonas
GUIDE YOU gold kept in proxim- The first-of-its-kind treat- infections chronic pneumonia lung in-
ity even for infinite
The tendency to period. But the same cannot
ment method has been de-
veloped by Scientists from
are biofilms fection and Staphylococcus
skin suture infection model
eat when not be said when the two metals the Indian Institute of Sci- in mice (the shockwaves
hungry might be are at nanoscale. ence (IISc) who have used were generated through a
A path-breaking work by a shock-waves using the tions are biofilms. diaphragm-less shock tube
less advantageous team led by Prof. T. Pradeep, same processes of sonic It is generally very diffi- which is inserted close to the
for health than Department of Chemistry, waves of speeding airplanes cult to disrupt the biofilmIf infection to reduce collateral
eating when IIT Madras has shown that or the sudden jerks of earth- theres a space between the tissue damage).
hungry, according two nanoscale pieces of met- quakes in a much smaller biofilm, only then the anti- Immediately, it was seen
als react spontaneously at scale to effectively tackle biotic can work, says Jaga- that bacteria were released
to a new study. room temperature even in Salmonella, Pseudomonas deesh Gopalan from IIScs out of the bio-film and the
solution to make new alloys and Staphylococcus biofilms. Department of Aerospace colony size decreased. The
of well-defined composition. Bio-films have been per- Engineering and one of the results showed that the use
The study was published re- sistently difficult to treat, as authors of this paper. of shock wave increased the
cently in the Journal of these bacteria embed them- However, the researchers biofilm communitys sensi-
American Chemical Society selves in a secreted frame- have successfully demon- tivity to antibiotic by be-
(JACS). IIT Madras researchers showed metals with well-defined properties may be created in solution work of extracellular strated the use of shock tween 100 to more than
This means that metals at room temperature. PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT polymer matrix on sub- waves to weaken the bacte- 1,000-fold. When tested on
with well-defined properties strates (teeth, medical de- ria. The research involved a mice, it was found that in a
may be created in solution, particles or clusters of gold loys of many different metals
just by chemical reactions. and silver react spontane- Clusters of such as platinum, palladium,
vices, and inner layers of the
heart, among others). This
group of aerospace and ma-
terials engineers and cell
matter of three days, the
mice who were given shock-
From a scientific perspec- ously in solution at room gold and iridium, nickel, etc. and new form makes it difficult to re- biologists from IISc as well wave treatment along with
tive, this study shows that temperature to make alloy materials may be made, all in
nanoparticles are similar to clusters of precise structure silver react solution, at room
move, and is estimated to be
more than 1,000 times more
as an immunologist from
University of Melbourne,
the anti-biotic ciprofloxacin
had started to recover from
molecules and reactions be- and composition. spontaneously temperature. immune to anti-biotics than Australia, and was published the initial weight loss of the
THE NEURON- tween them can be written Metal clusters comprise a
to make alloy The excitement in nano- non-film infections. recently in the journal Scien- infection, while the control
MOTION LINK like chemical reactions:
A + B C + D. This is a big
few atoms of matter and are
very different from their clusters
technology is due to the un-
usual properties of materials
A previous US study has tific Reports. group given just the antibiot-
shown that more than two- A handheld shock-wave ic showed no decrease in
A new step forward in the chemis-
try of nanomaterials, said
bulk powders. Reactions
happen between clusters and
when sizes of particles re-
duce to nanometres. This
thirds of the bacterial infec- generator was used to create bacterial concentration.
instrument Prof. Pradeep. So far we not between bulk powders of tween Au25 and Ag44 in so- happens because of elec-
captures 3-D wrote such reactions only gold and silver. This is be- lution will give rise to alloys tronic confinement an ef-
recordings of with organic and inorganic cause nanomaterials are of AgAu24 and AuAg43 compo- fect when electron motion is
neural activity in
nearly the entire
brain of a free-
molecules, as:
2H2 + O2 2H2O.
Alloys are made mostly by
heating the constituents, of-
metastable and are more re-
active than their bulk coun-
terparts, he said.
As a result, clusters of gold
sition. The reaction can be
represented as:
Au25 + Ag44 AgAu24 +
AuAg43
limited to extremely short
distances, of the order of na-
nometres, he said.
This kind of reactions
A frog faces extinction
moving animal. ten to high temperatures. and silver produce new al- In this case, the reaction would mean that metallurgi- K.S. SUDHI
But in this case, the research- loys when in solution. The products are alloys of precise cal processes may be done Toad-skinned itored, said Arun Kanagavel in
a communication.
ers have been able to make clusters of gold (Au) and sil- composition. The final com- differently tomorrow. Many frogs are in
alloys in solution at room
temperature with precise
ver (Ag) used in the study
were Au25 and Ag44. These
position of the product will
depend on the composition
nanoscale materials have
new properties which are
S pecialists in amphibians
are exploring the shoal
grasslands of Munnar for a frog the Critically
Monitoring the frog popula-
tion would throw light on the
status of the shola-grassland
composition control, to the are precise molecules com- of the reactants. So more of useful in catalysis. They
extent that each atom is con- posed of 25 atoms of gold and Ag44 and less of Au25 will give could be luminescent or
thats more threatened than
the tiger.
Endangered ecosystems of Munnar as am-
phibians are excellent indica-
trolled.
The team of researchers
44 atoms of silver respective-
ly, and are under 2 nano-
rise to an alloy of Ag44 type,
Prof. Pradeep explained.
magnetic. Designer alloys
with new properties may be
A survey for the Toad- List tors of habitat quality, he said.
skinned frog Indirana phryno- The species resembles a toad
led by Prof. Pradeep has metres in diameter. Such reactions may be made by these reactions, he derma, which has been classi- and could be easily identifiable
shown that nanometre-sized A chemical reaction be- made to happen to make al- added. fied as Critically Endangered in of the species is severely frag- with its black, speckled under-
the Red List of the Internation- mented. The terrestrial species belly and elongated finger and
al Union for Conservation of is associated with leaf-litter in toe tips. Though small in size,

Now, a social robot receptionist

Nature began last week. A frog tropical moist forest. It pre- measuring just 4.5cm, the
census, which researchers sumably breeds like other toad-skinned frog is very spe-
THE POWER OF claim as a unique event, was members of the genus, with cialised and has its own, very
launched on December 30 un- larvae being found on wet particular set of habitat re-
TOUCH der the joint auspices of the rocks next to streams, accord- quirements. It is a terrestrial
SHUBASHREE DESIKAN responds in a human voice. manufacturing and logistics. webcam and the controls. Munnar Division of the Kerala ing to the Red List. species found associated with
A new study of She even remembers the As countries worldwide face EDGAR would mimic the Forest Department and the Tigers are in the endangered leaf litter at high elevation
sex-changing snails
shows that when A t Nanyang Technological
University, Singapore,
current research on robotics
conversation when you in-
teract with her the next time.
In a news release, Profes-
challenges of an aging pop-
ulation, social robots can be
one solution to address the
gestures of the person in
front of the webcam, such as
raising and lowering hands,
Conservation Research Group
(CRG).
What makes the species and
category whereas these frogs
are facing further threat of ex-
tinction and are included in the
tropical rainforests, explained
Mr. Kanagavel.
It is estimated that there are
two males are kept has yielded interesting re- sor Nadia Thalman, creator shrinking workforce, become and the face and facial ex- the census important in the Critically Endangered List, ex- 36 species of frogs in Munnar.
at touching sults. The university now has of Nadine from NTUs School personal companions for pression of the person would conservation perspective is plained Sethu Parvathy of the Of these, nearly 50 per cent are
distance, the larger social and telepresence ro- of Computer Engineering children and the elderly at appear on the face of the ro- that it is known only from a group. threatened by extinction. The
one changes to bots that can interact with listed these social robots home, and even serve as a bot. Apart from this, the tele- restricted area in the Anamalai The frog is restricted within Anamalai gliding frog (Rhaco-
people and converse among the media innova- platform for healthcare ser- presence robots can also Hills of the Western Ghats in 100 sq km and is found only in phorus pseudomalabaricus),
female sooner than intelligently. tions that companies can lev- vices in future, explained deliver lectures based on pre- India. It is found at an eleva- small fragments of tropical Green eyed bush frog (Raor-
the smaller one. The latest example of a so- erage for commercialisation. Prof Thalmann in the news pared texts and interact with tion of around 500 metres rainforests of Munnar. This chestes chlorosomma), Raor-
cial robot that has been de- Social robots may have a release. people, and even make witty above sea level, according to census is the first of its kind in chestes griet, Raorchestes
veloped at the university is wide range of applications. EDGAR, on the other comments. the Red List. Though the spe- India to focus on a single am- munnarensis and the Resplen-
Nadine. Being humanoid Robotics technologies hand, is a telepresence robot. The EDGAR represents cies has also been reported phibian species since currently dent Shrub Frog Raorchestes
with soft skin and brown have advanced significantly Such robots can be con- three years of R&D. It is be- from Maharashtra, the re- only the populations of larger- resplendens) are the critically
hair, Nadine looks at you in over the past few decades and trolled by a user sitting in a lieved that such robots can cords require further investi- sized mammals like elephants endangered species in the re-
the eye when speaking and are already being used in remote location in front of a come in useful in education. gation, it said. The population and tigers are annually mon- gion, says the IUCN Red List.

TICKLING
QUESTION CORNER Irradiated papaya has high shelf life
TYPE OF TOY
MATTERS
Why do we laugh when we are tickled?
S. KRISHNAN, CHENNAI
Touch is an extremely powerful thing. Humans clearly respond to
S ome specialists feel that
the terms super fruits
and super foods are used by
The developed product
was found to be microbiolog-
ically safe and showed better
financial viability of papaya
cultivation.
My queries revealed that
Electronic toys touch, both physically and emotionally. Some areas on our bodies are marketing gurus as promo-
tional gimmicks. The topic
nutrient content per unit
mass with respect to the
the most important aspect in
the cost effectiveness of the
for infants were more sensitive than others, however. Laughing when tickled in our
sensitive spots (under the arms, near the throat and under our feet) became so exciting that in Ju- fresh fruit, and therefore en- BARC technology is that it
associated with could be a defensive mechanism. ly 2013, the Food and Agri- hanced functional proper- provides a mechanism to re-
decreased quantity Beneath your skin lie millions of tiny nerve endings that alert the brain culture Organization ties. They added. duce the postharvest losses.
and quality of to all manner of touch. When these nerve endings are lightly stimulated organized an International The authors listed many Secondly, it makes available a
for example, by another person's fingers or by a feather they send a Symposium on Super fruits: interesting facts about pa- convenient ready-to-eat
language compared message through your nervous system to your brain, which analyzes Myth or Truth, to determine paya. Annual production of (RTE), ambient storable, and
with books or the message. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging machines whether there were nutri- the fruit worldwide is about microbiologically safe pa-
traditional toys. (fMRI), researchers have determined that the effect of a light touch tional and agronomical evi- 11 million tons (t). India pro- paya cubes to the consumers.
that results in a tickling sensation is the result of the analysis of two dence to support the claim of duces about 4.7 million tons. Thirdly, the product is of high
regions of the brain. a fruit (species and varieties) BARC scientists have developed processing methods Our export is a measly 18,000 calorific and nutritional val-
The somatosensory cortex is responsible for analysing touch; for exam- being a super fruit and to make papaya a high shelf life super-food. t! According to the scientists, ue on dry weight basis com-
ple, the pressure associated with it. The signal sent from the skin's whether these were adequate PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT the major reason for the mar- pared to the raw ripe papaya.
sensory receptors also passes through the anterior cingulated cortex, to provide a definition. ginal export is the highly per- Evidently, these attributes
which governs pleasant feelings. Together, these two create the tickle One of the papers at the They further hygienised showed nearly 5-fold in- ishable nature of the fruit, can compensate for the
sensation. Therefore, when we are tickled the somatosensory cortex symposium referred to the these cubes after packing crease in calorific value; the which is often susceptible to seemingly non-negligible
picks up the signals to do with pressure, but the anterior cingulated humble papaya as super them and exposing them to a per unit dry weight content fungal attack during storage processing cost. Also, it can
cortex also analyses the signals which leads to pleasurable feelings. food for the skin. Most super gamma radiation dose of 2 of carbohydrate, protein, and transportation. The provide a useful technology
We laugh when were tickled because both tickling and laughing activa- fruits, including papaya have kGy. (Gy, a unit of radiation fibre, and functional bioac- fruits need tender care in which will benefit the papaya
te the Rolandic operculum a part of the brain that controls facial short shelf-lives. Scientists dose, represents energy ab- tives such as ascorbic acid, handling. . The softness that farmers in due course.
movement, vocal, and emotional reactions. Furthermore, the laughter from the Bhabha Atomic Re- sorption of one joule per kg; carotenoids, and phenolics occurs during ripening of the The public unhesitatingly
from being tickled is part of a defence mechanism to signal submis- search Centre (BARC) have kGy is 1000 Gy). In their including flavonoids were fruit further accelerates the buys the insipid noodles, pas-
siveness and the researchers believe that our responses to tickling date developed notable process- study, they packed the inter- found to increase spoilage. Papaya has to be tas and pizzas; they often get
ANCIENT IRISH back to man's earliest evolution and developing self-awareness. ing methods to make papaya mediate moisture (IM) pa- significantly. preserved at the right tem- carried away by telling adver-
DYSHITA DHAVAMANI, ERODE, TAMIL NADU a high shelf life super-food. paya cubes (20 pieces; Researchers quantitatively perature. Storage below 10 tisements and even endlessly
GENOME SEQUENCED They noted that papaya approx. 50 g/packet) in low demonstrated that the func- degree Celsius causes chilling long controversies! It is sur-
THIS WEEKS QUESTIONS fruit is highly perishable re- density polythene packets. tional properties in terms of injury to the fruit. prising that they do not even
The ancient Irish What are carbon capture sequestration technologies and sulting in around 25 per cent Radiation processing helps to antioxidant capacity and an- According to the National look benignly at the genuine-
genome sequence which type of the technologies are available in India? postharvest loss which is fur- reduce the microbial load. timutagenic potential were Horticulture Board, the eco- ly nutritious products such as
is now being used SHASHANK TRIPATHI ther enhanced during storage Believe it or not, the final improved in the final prod- nomic life of the papaya plant the papaya cubes which could
and transportation. They de- product could be stored up to uct. Writing in Food Bio- is only 3 to 4 years. Papaya be produced by the BARC
to answer pivotal If we throw a ball up in a very fast- moving vehicle (like an veloped a novel combination 60 days at ambient temper- science journal (Feb 25, plant needs heavy doses of technology.
questions about the aircraft or a train), why does it come straight back to our hands technology including osmot- ature. The unprocessed 2015) they concluded that manures and fertilizers. In
origins of the and not fall behind us? ic dehydration, blanching freshly cut samples get they could control the post- one estimate, the NHB K.S. PARTHASARATHY
countrys people SAJITH K., KOCHI, KERALA and infrared drying to make spoiled within 2 days! harvest losses of this highly showed that the break-even ksparth@yahoo.co.uk
intermediate moisture (IM) Scientists secured other perishable fruit by trans- point is reached in the 3rd (The writer is former
and their culture. Readers may send their questions/answers to questioncorner@thehindu.co.in papaya cubes to prevent benefits. They demonstrated forming it into a more stable year. Such considerations do Secretary, Atomic Energy
these losses. that processed IM cubes product. come in while evaluating the Regulatory Board)
CM ND-X
YK
 NOIDA/DELHI

02 EducationPlus THE HINDU | MONDAY | JANUARY 11, 2016

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SNAPSHOTS
Several compounds show A star wails at its destruction
promise against MDR-TB SHUBASHREE DESIKAN

T he universe is hardly a
static entity; some
tend up to millions of light
years distance from the
source. Now, a paper pub-
lished recently in Science
has some interesting re-
physics seek to understand
these mechanisms all the
time.
Quasars evolve on very
large timescales. Stellar
Y. MALLIKARJUN processes of building-up or sults. mass black holes, however,
breaking-down keep hap- By observing a Tidal Dis- are guided by timescales
pening in it. Important ruption Flare (TDF) known that are a million times

I
n years to come, a among these processes are as ASASSN-14li, the re- shorter stretching from a
new drug to over- the phenomena of accretion searchers have spotted a few hours to days. The TDFs
A CORAL come the problem of and outow. While accre- transient relativistic jet observed by the research
RESPONSE TO multi-drug resistant
TB (MDR-TB) could
tion is the process by which owing out from a super- group fall in between these
celestial bodies amass mate- massive black hole system ranges. These are events
CLIMATE CHANGE become a reality if the rial and grow, outow proc- that captured and destroyed that happen when a star
promising results ob- esses concern the spewing a star that came close to it. passes close to a supermas-
Some corals may tained at the laboratory out of matter or energy, for This discovery provides a sive black hole and is ripped
cope with climate level remain true in clin- instance, in the form of rela- proof that the processes of apart by the black holes
change by ical trials too. tivistic jets. Such phenom- accretion and outow are gravitational force.
Scientists screening ena are seen, for instance, coupled. Observations of
changing markings thousands of natural and during the formation of the There are many reasons ASASSN-14li have led the
on their DNA to synthetic compounds at rst galaxies in the early for studying accretion and team to conclude that a cer-
modify what the the National Mol Bank at universe or the formation of outow. These mechanisms tain radio luminosity they
DNA produces, says the Indian Institute of stars. fuel some of the most pow- have observed cannot be at-
Chemical Technology, Supermassive black erful astrophysical events; tributed to accretion but is a
a new study. Hyderabad have identied holes, which can be 10 bil- they are convenient labs to result of the formation of a
hits (compounds found to Thanks to the work of Dr S. Prathama Manikar (left), Dr P. Srihari (centre) and Dr. V. Naveen
lion times as massive as our study very high energy relativistic jet owing out.
be active at laboratory lev- Kumar, a new drug to overcome MDR-TB could become a reality. PHOTO: SPECIAL sun, but compressed in a physics and they also regu- The rapid waning of this jet
el) for TB, cancers, asthma ARRANGEMENT small radius, are efficient late life cycle of stellar ob- suggests that it is linked to
and central nervous sys- the right compound, it strengthen neurons in ex- accretors. They also spew jects. Since these are the way the accretion ow
tem disorders. The highly Three would take two to three periments conducted in relativistic jets that can ex- ubiquitously seen, astro- changed.
automated compound years to complete human zebra sh and mice models
storage and retrieval facil- compounds trials, said Dr. Prathama. at the laboratory level. In-
ity can store 1.6 million
samples and has currently
to treat After completing pre-clin-
ical trials, IICT would seek
terestingly, the com-
pounds also passed the
leukaemia
WHEN EXERCISE,
more than 30,000 pure
compounds.
As part of supplement-
acted
collaboration for clinical
trials. In the case of cancer,
three compounds to treat
crucial blood-brain barrier
and further studies were
being carried out in collab-
Aerosols, land-use changes may
ing drug discovery efforts, efficaciously leukaemia acted effica- oration with the Universi-
DIET HELPS the scientists
screened around 10,000
have
in tests ciously in tests conducted
on cancer cell lines in mice.
ty of Texas and ETH,
Zurich. Eventually, these greatly weaken monsoon
Obese older compounds for TB and The scientists now plan to compounds could help in
patients with identied 281 hits. Of
them, 11 compounds,
ing for achieving inhibito-
ry activity, said Dr. P.
repeat the studies in dogs
and take up pre-clinical
developing drugs for treat-
ment of dementia and Alz-
K.S. RAJGOPAL It is difficult 30 per cent and crop cover in-
creased by 45 per cent in the
preserved ejection which are not related to Srihari, Principal Scien- trials. Promising results heimers disease. to explain the past century. But what hap-
fraction heart
failure gained from
any of the existing anti-TB
drugs, have shown prom-
tist, IICT.
Dr. Prathama Mainkar,
were found with two other
molecules in regard to re-
IICT and Indian Insti-
tute of Chemical Biology, T he South Asian Monsoon
has been weakening since net effect of pens to the south Asian mon-
soon if say, both aerosols and
exercise and diet. ising results in experi-
ments at cellular level on
Scientist at IICT, said: We
know it is inhibiting Myco-
nal cancer. We plan to go
for clinical trials in collab-
Kolkata led patents for
two other compounds
the 1950s with an increased in-
cidence of extreme rainfall
green house GHGs are present in the atmo-
sphere and if land-use effect
They could exercise MDR-TB bacteria. We bacterium tuberculosis. oration with another insti- which proved to be effec- events. Now, a paper in the gases, (albedo, cooling of land) is pre-
without shortness will make several ana- We want to nd out the tution in the next two tive against asthma; col- journal Climate Dynamics by aerosols and sent along with say, GHGs?
of breath. logues to these com- pathway. Then we can de- years, Dr. Prathama said. laborative studies were Dr. R. Krishnan, Indian Insti- It would be difficult to ex-
pounds and look at the liver the drug, she added. Another couple of com- conducted by the two tute of Tropical Meteorology, land-use plain the combined effect of
pathway they are follow- After narrowing down to pounds have shown to institutions. Pune, attributes this weaken- any of these forcings, said Dr.
ing to increased greenhouse Deepti Singh, Postdoctoral
gas (GHG) emissions, atmo- cooling on both land and sea Fellow, Lamont Doherty Earth

A green world in Keralas laterite hills spheric aerosols and land-use

changes.
The monsoon is mainly dri-
ven by thermal contrast be-
resulting in a lowered thermal
contrast.
Hence, monsoon winds and
circulation are weakened as
Observatory, Columbia Uni-
versity and the author of a
News & Views article in Nature
Climate Change in an email to
K.S. SUDHI Kanams (Kanayi, Vannathi, tween the Indian subcontinent both land and sea are cooled. this Correspondent. There is
Easwaran, and Vattappoyil) and the adjoining ocean and Evaporation is also sup- still more to do in understand-

U nder their barren look,

the laterite hills in
northern Kerala conceal
patches of biodiversity-rich
A GIFT FROM small groves, known as Ka-
nam in local parlance.
NEANDERTHALS With ecological signi-
cance of these hills remaining
Interbreeding unknown, Kanams are re-
with Neanderthals corded as waste lands in reve-
thousands of years nue records and often
ago enabled assigned to development pro-
jects. Mining too is damaging
modern humans to this system.As the laterite
ward off infections hills are recorded as waste
by instilled gene land since it is not productive
variations from the for agriculture there is the
tendency to allot these areas
hominins. to large-scale projects, which
leads to the destruction of the
unique ecosystem, pointed
out Dr. Sreejith Namboodiri
from the Kerala Forest Re-
search Institute in Thrissur.
Realising the ecological
relevance of the ecosystems
supported by Kanams, which
dont enjoy any legal protec-
tion, a group of scientists of
in the Kavvayi River Basin
caught the researchers by
surprise. They were able to
the resultant moisture-laden
winds from the ocean.
This scenario, however is
pressed. Over South Asia, over
50 per cent of aerosol emis-
sions are caused by biomass
ing how these will individually
affect the monsoon so I can on-
ly really speculate without data
document 452 plant species changed due to the presence of and agricultural burning. about how they would interact.
in these four Kanams. Of greenhouse gases, aerosols in There is mounting evidence of We can turn to models to sim-
these, 56 were endemic to the the atmosphere or if the land the emissions from South Asia ulate the combined effects of
area and 35 were endemic to has been subjected to in- and China in changing the tim- these forcings. Few modelling
Western Ghats. They also re- creased deforestation. GHGs ing, spatial distribution and studies have done so. The net
ported that two endemic spe- trap the heat over land and sea strength of the monsoon. effect of these different forc-
The rich diversity calls for urgent conservation measures. cies recorded from these and result in both the land and However, negative impacts ings depends on their relative
PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
areas were classied as en- sea being warm, that is the of these aerosols can be re- magnitudes.
dangered and ve as vulner- thermal contrast is greatly re- duced quickly as they have a According to her, the study
the Kerala Forest Research system which does not come able to extinction in the Red duced. This leads to a weak- short lifetime of few weeks shows that in the absence of
Institute, Kerala, have taken under the ambit of any of the List of the International ening of the monsoon compared to GHGs which can GHG forcing, the monsoon cir-
a green step to protect them. existing systems. It is dened Union for Conservation of circulation and the result is a stay in the atmosphere for up culation would have strength-
The team including Dr. as man-made or natural sys- Nature. weakened monsoon. to 80 years. ened and some regions would
Namboodiri and V. B. Sree- tems dominated by trees and From Vattappoyil Kanam However, a warmed up at- A third, and nevertheless im- experience enhanced rainfall.
kumar and two research protected by an individual or alone, they recorded the mosphere can hold more mois- portant, contributor to mon- However, since there were
scholars who surveyed and community with or without presence of 155 species of an- ture and this situation can soon weakening is the albedo aerosol, land-use and GHG
mapped some of the Kanams, any rituals or beliefs attached giosperms, 52 species of result in heavy rainfall over effect of deforestation by hu- forcing that have opposite ef-
have suggested a new concept to them or law enforced by birds, 86 species of butter- some regions. mans. Reduced land cover in- fects on the monsoon circula-
known as Eco-Grove as the authorities. ies, 22 species of reptiles, 17 Anthropogenic atmospheric creases the reectivity (albedo tion and rainfall, the overall
rst step towards its classi- It is protected by locals amphibians, and 43 spiders. aerosols, including sulphates, effect) which leads to cooling response of the monsoon has
cation and conservation. The who have realised the ecolog- The presence of the rich di- black carbon, nitrates and dust of land in contrast to the ocean been muted. Just aerosol and
concept was presented in an ical signicances of Kanams versity of ora and fauna in- accumulate over the Indo- and results in a weakened land-use changes would likely
international conference on and services rendered by the dicated the importance of the Gangetic plains. These reduce monsoon circulation. lead to a greater weakening of
biodiversity. system, explained a scientic unique ecosystem and called incoming solar radiation over This could be particularly the monsoon than has been ob-
The team attempted to de- paper by the researchers. for urgent conservation mea- northern India and the north- important over south Asia as served in recent decades, she
ne the newly identied eco- The oral diversity of four sures. ern Indian Ocean and lead to tree fraction has decreased by underlined.

ABORTION RISK
FROM DRUG QUESTION CORNER What the father eats matters to the foetus
Use of the THOUGHT PROCESS
SPEAKING OF SCIENCE diabetes; they had glucose intoler-
antifungal ance and resistance to insulin. The
How do deaf people think? What language do they use for it? ones born out of healthy sperm fa-
medication Arya Mohan
fluconazole during
pregnancy was
In human beings, the thought process is mediated through their
primary language, or the most frequently used language which will
F or long, it used to be thought
that the mother-to-be offers
the baby in the womb much more
through a lot of physical exertion-
and the moment of birth is always
the climax of exertion and pain.
thers had none of these problems.
The researchers concluded that
pre-birth diet of the male affects
be their native language most of the time. There is no facility to than the father. She provides the Traditional culture in the South the health of the future offspring.
linked with an monitor someones thoughts, other than to observe oneself. The egg which is fertilized by the sperm has the phrase Prasava Vaira- About the same time, the group of
increased risk of next feasible method would be to watch how and what a person of father. All he does is to deliver a gyam or the vow taken by the lady Dr Oliver Rando from the Universi-
abortion, according communicates. Because thoughts are what that get converted as lot sperm cells, one of which enters during delivery that she will no The sperm contains the entire ty of Massachusetts Medical
words and actions.
to a study. To understand a communication and deaf person, rst lets look
the egg cell of the woman and fertil- longer allow her husband to come genome of the man. PHOTO: AFP School did a similar set of experi-
izes it. The sperm contains the near her! ments with mice. This time the
into an infants communication process. Initially a new born baby DNA or the entire gene collection Thus, for long the role of the fa- munications in 2013, where she males were fed with low protein
communicates through crying, because it doesnt know a pre (called the genome) of the man. Be- ther has been discounted or given grew male mice with some de- diet. While there was no great dif-
learned set of symbols comprising a language. As time passes baby yond supplying his genome, the fa- the short shrift. But over the last ciency in folic acid (or vitamin B9). ference in weight, or no observable
learns to vary cry patterns to respond for various situations. Later ther-to-be seems to have no other decade or so, the role of the father When these mice mated with changes between the offspring of
child learns to recognize mothers voice and to differentiate it from biological role to play; his job is has been found to be a little more healthy female mice, the baby mice the experimental and control
others. He/she tries to imitate others speech through vocalisations, done. On the other hand, the egg than just a gene provider. A group had problems- some with extra n- groups, the former had differences
vocal play, cooing, babbling etc which progressively ends up in the cell of the mother supplies not only in New Zealand studied, about 15 gers and some with weak bones. in a group of genes responsible for
production of the rst word. Thus, by observing an infants com- her genome to the baby, but also all years ago, over 2000 couples in or- Kimmins wondered whether there cell growth. They also identied
munication evolution, we understand that communication doesn't the nutrition needed for the growth der to look at the connection be- was something epigenetic in the that diet alters the levels of small
always require a pre learned language run on grammatical rules. of the baby. Plus, the egg cell con- tween the health of the father and sperm of the male mice, or some RNA molecules, including transfer
Someone who doesn't know any language, including sign, may think tains mitochondria which are the that of the baby. They found that if factors affecting the DNA of the RNAs (or tRNAs), important in
of images of objects, people, places etc. This poses limitations. power houses for the cell. The the father is obese, there was over male mice in their sperms. protein synthesis. It is clear that
Meta linguistics (higher language skills) allow us the process of mother thus offers the baby more 60 per cent risk that the baby is The answer appears to have the fathers dietary habits tell on
MASS deep thinking which involve perception of grammatical rules, logic, than her DNA. The fathers sperm born with low birth weight. On the come from two recent studies, both the content, composition and
VACCINATION OF rationality and judgement. A severely under developed deaf person
may lack in meta linguistics thus compromising him/her in the area
does not have mitochondria, just other hand, it did not matter if the published together, on line on De- health of his sperms. Sperm is now
POULTRY plain DNA for injection into the mother was overweight or obese. cember 31, 2015 in the journal Sci- realized to carry not just a DNA
where human beings are considered as higher order animals ie, egg. It is the pregnant lady who has What is it then that relates this ence. A Chinese group, led by Dr Qi package of the male genome but
cognitive skills.
A new vaccine Annu Anna Vinoy, Pathanamthitta, Kerala
to take care of the growing fetus
and thus the health of the baby In
connection between the weight of
the father and that of the baby? Is
Chen (of the Chinese Academy of
Sciences and the University of Ne-
also small molecules that subtly
change the health of the offspring.
protects chickens the womb. there something in the sperm of vada), fed one group of mice high So, fathers-to-be, beware! To quote
and other poultry THIS WEEKS QUESTION It is for this reason that a lot of the father that is responsible for fat diet and a control group nor- Dr. Rando: You are eating for
from multiple Why there is fall in boiling point of water and other liquids at
advice is offered to the mother: do this inverse connection? mal diet. They then isolated sperms two. You too must eat right, not
not smoke, dont drink, take vita- Experiments using the mouse as from both groups and used them to smoke nor drink too much- just as
strains of avian hills wherethere is fall in atmospheric pressure? mins, eat this and not that, walk the model have given some clues. impregnate healthy, normal female your wife does. They tell in your
influenza found in Suryapalsingh Jain carefully, so on and so forth. And as Dr Sarah Kimmins from McGill mice (in vitro fertilization). The ba- sperm.
the U.S. Readers may send their questions/answers to questioncorner@thehindu.co.in the baby grows within the womb University in Canada published a by mice born out of the sperm of D. BALASUBRAMANIAN
for over 35 weeks, the mother goes paper in the journal Nature Com- the high-fat-fed males had signs of dbala@lvpei.org
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02 EducationPlus THE HINDU | MONDAY | JANUARY 18, 2016

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SNAPSHOTS Focus on quality at

Jeevan Stem Cell Bank
R. PRASAD forts to collect units from across
the country. This becomes neces-

A
fter setting out a 70:30 sary due to antigen diversity seen
ratio for storing public in the Indian population. Current-
and private cord blood ly, samples are predominantly col-
units when it started col- lected from Chennai in TN and
WORKING MEMORY lecting units in late 2008,
the Chennai-based Jeevan Stem
other southern States. We do get
samples from rest of the country,
SYSTEMS IN ANIMALS Cell Bank has today become a except Kashmir and some parts of The birds could be considered as the health indicators
purely public cord blood bank. NE India, said Dr. Srinivasan. of wetlands of a region. PHOTO: A. SHAIKMOHIDEEN
A new study has confirmed "We stopped collecting private We are consciously trying to get
for the first time that animals
possess multiple 'working
memory' systems, or the
ability to remember more
cord blood units since 2012, said
Dr. Saranya Narayan, Medical Di-
rector of Jeevan Stem Cell Bank.
"Its now a 100 per cent public
samples from the rest of the
country.
Samples are mainly collected
from private practitioners be-
Counting
cord blood bank. cause one of the main require-
information across two
categories versus a single
category.
Though the initial target was to
store 35,000 public cord blood
units in five years time, the Bank
has so far stored 4,241 public cord
ments for issue of a unit from
Jeeven Stem Cell bank for trans-
plantation is that the health of the
donor has to be known before the
wetland birds
blood units and 200 private cord unit is given. Follow-up of pa- K.S. SUDHI
blood units. Till date it has collect- tients is poor if not absent in gov- Nearly 600

E
ed nearly 8,400 units. The collec- ernment hospitals. nthusiastic bird-
tion was very slow between 2008 After 2013 we have been collecting 2,000 samples a year, says Thanks to the Rs.9 crore dona- ers and ornithol- species are
ogists across the
and 2013, due to lack of funding.
But after 2013 we have been col-
Dr. P. Srinivasan, Chairman of Jeevan Blood Bank. PHOTO: V. GANESAN tion by the Tamil Nadu govern-
ment, Jeeven Stem Cell Bank has country are fan- wetland
lecting 2,000 samples a year, said dren, 25 million cells per kilogram cent. The volume of cord blood been able to store more samples ning out to wet-
lands to take stock of the
birds.
Dr. P. Srinivasan, Chairman of of body weight of the patient are collected has become important, after 2013. It has already used the
Jeevan Blood Bank. required. Since the maximum as those with more cord blood first instalment of Rs.3 crore. In bird population. The an-
While only 660 units were weight of children is 30-40 kg, a tend to have higher cell count. April 2014, it received a loan of nual exercise, Asian Wa- holds one per cent or
stored between 2008 and 2013, higher cell count per bag is Cord blood donations less than 50 Rs.15.4 crore at 1 per cent interest terbird Census, which is more of a waterbird pop-
the numbers shot up after 2013. preferred. ml in volume (which includes from Technology Services Revolv- organised as part of the ulation qualifies as a
Currently 4,241 units are stored at Another reason for seeking plasma, platelets, RBCs, etc) are ing Fund managed by ICICI. International Waterbird wetland of international
Jeeven Stem Cell Bank. higher cell count per bag of unit rejected. The focus is on quality Census, is going full importance under the
Explaining the rationale for re- stored is the fact that during stor- rather than quantity, said Dr. Cost to patients steam in most parts of Ramsar Convention on
the country under the Wetlands, according to
NEW LITHIUM-ION jecting nearly half the number of age, which may be for years, there Narayan. Jeevan provides samples free of
behest of the Bombay WI.
samples collected, Dr. Srinivasan is a drop in the number of viable Besides volume of cord blood cost to those whose annual in-
BATTERY said: We now follow the Net- cells. As a result, the number of collected, the cell count depends come is less than Rs.5 lakh; it Natural History Society Of the 1,200 species of
Cord-FACT International Stan- mono nucleated cells per bag now on several factors such the weight charges Rs.50,000 from those who and the Wetlands Inter- birds reported in India,
The battery shuts down dards for cord blood collection. preferred for storage is 1.25 of the baby, size of the placenta, earn Rs.5-10 lakh per annum and national. This is the 30th around 600 are wet-
before overheating, and The Standards demand that there billion. thickness and length of the umbil- Rs.2 lakh for those earning above edition of such an exer- landsbirds. The birds
cise in the country. could be considered as
restarts when the are at least 500 million mono nu- We have taken the minimum ical cord, birth order of the baby Rs.10 lakh a year.
Regional groups of the health indicators of
temperature cools. The new cleated cells per bag of stem cell cell count per bag from 500 mil- and age of the mother. According
stored. lion to 750 million, said Dr. Srini- to them, nearly 60 per cent of cord Since Jeevan Stem Cell Bank birders including the wetlands of a region, ex-
technology could prevent the Since early last year, transplant vasan. The need for higher cell blood units stored in public cord has received funding from the Ta- Natural History socie- plained P.O. Nameer,
kind of fires that have surgeons internationally have count has had it own operational blood banks cannot be used for mil Nadu government, all patients ties and other NGOs are the Kerala coordinator
taking part in the citi- of the census. In the case
prompted recalls and bans on started using cord blood cells on impact. For instance, if as much as transplantation owing to less cell from the State will get samples
zen-science programme of Kerala, one-third of
a wide range of devices. adults and hence prefer those 80 per cent of cord blood dona- count. free of cost. Its our commitment
units which have larger cell tions were accepted earlier, it has Since it is a public cord blood to the Tamil Nadu government, which supports conser- the bird species found
counts. Even in the case of chil- now dropped sharply to 40 per bank, Jeevan is making great ef- Dr. Srinivasan said. vation and management are wetland dependent
of wetlands and water- ones, he said.
birds worldwide. Though the volun-
teers are supposed to
The purpose

Feeding macaques affects forests

MOHIT M. RAO the diet of the troop of monkeys
The information helps
to promote the designa-
tion and management of
internationally impor-
visit the wetlands during
January and wind up the
exercise by the end of
the month, data collect-
ed during February too
during the closed seasons, and tant sites such as nation- would be accounted. In

A
mong the most common barely 29 per cent in the seasons ally protected areas, 2014, the Kerala volun-
experiences in the coun- when the arrival of tourists pro- Ramsar Sites, and Im- teers covered 150 sites.
try, when on a pilgrimage vided the group with other sources portant Bird and Biodi- Last year, it dropped to
or a trip through the for- of food. versity Areas (IBAs) as around 50 sites as in-
ests and hills, is the sight At the height of the closure of well as helps in identify- frastructure support
HOW MOTHER-OF-PEARL IS of rhesus macaque opportunisti- the park (September), nearly 94 ing and protecting new from the authorities was
FORMED cally lined up for a treat or two
from passing tourists.
per cent of the diet of the ma-
caques comprised of fruits, while
sites of importance for missing that time. This
waterbirds, according year, efforts are being
In what can lead to better Videos abound of these clever
primates stealing picnic snacks or
in the height of the tourist season
(April), the primates avoided
to the organisers. made to improve the
understanding of The census data and coverage, he said.
scurrying around for food thrown fruits almost completely. information are essen- Globally, it is estimat-
biomaterials, scientists have by visitors. However, a study on What happens to the forest tially used for promoting ed that the census takes
shown that the mother-of- primate-man interaction shows then? The range of the macaques national waterbird and place every year in over
pearl in clam shells does not that this benign act by tourists is considerably decreased, from 4.7 wetland conservation 100 countries with the
increasingly affecting the ecology km during the off seasons to just and international coop- involvement of around
form in a crystallisation of the region. Macaques that were fed fruits were less effective as seed dispersers. 2.5 km during the tourist season, eration along the Cen- 15,000 counters. Europe
process but by an aggregation Researchers from the School of PHOTO: MOHD ARIF primarily along the roads itself. tral Asian Flyway. predominated with over
of nanoparticles within an Natural Sciences and Engineering, Wetlands Interna- half the effort is concen-
organic matrix. National Institute of Advanced served the effects of seed dispersal
ers turned their focus to a group of This affects the plant dynamics, tional (WI) has defined trated there. The good
Studies in Bengaluru studied the due to a troop of rhesus macaques.
64 macaques who received a ma- which rely on long-distance dis- waterbirds as species of news is that, since 1990,
effects of provisioning food to the Nearly 50 per cent of the seeds jority of their food from visitors at persal of their seeds. One-third of bird that are ecologically there has been remarka-
rhesus macaques on the forests of handled by these primates had a neighbouring highway during the seeds eaten or spat out ended dependent on wetlands. ble increase in involve-
Buxa Tiger Reserve (BTR) in West germinated. the visiting season (October to up on the roads, making the ma- Waterbirds are well- ment in other parts of
Bengal. April), and the forests in the re- caques clearly less effective as
QUESTION CORNER In a previous study at the same The study mainder when the park is shut to seed dispersers than macaque
known indicators of the
quality of certain types
the world too. Between
30 million and 40 mil-
reserve, Asmita Sengupta, Kim R. However, in a study published tourists (May to September). troops that were completely de- of wetlands. Any wet- lion waterbirds are
Is there any effect of neutrinos McConkey, and Sindhu Radhak- recently in the peer-reviewed The results are stark. Fruits ac- pendent on natural resources, land site which regularly counted each year.
when they pass through our rishna from the institute had ob- journal PLOS ONE, the research- counted for nearly 71 per cent of note the researchers.
body?

Carving out a model for enhancing CO2 sinks

Bhanu Jamwal, Jandial, Jammu
and Kashmir.
No. Every minute billions of neu-
trinos must be passing through our
body but we do not get affected by
them. Neutrino is an electrically neu-
tral elementary particle with half-in-
MALTI GOEL & VANDANA MAURYA
Carbon capture Gas Commission has proposed an ex-
periment to test enhanced oil recovery
teger spin. Neutrinos have mass but & sequestration through CO2 injection into a depleted

I
tiny even compared to other sub- n the Paris Summit (United States oil reservoir in Ankleshwar, Gujarat.
atomic particles and they constitute Conference on Climate Change), is an emerging National Thermal Power Corporation
the only identified matter associated
with hot dark matter. They do not
held during December 2015, India
has strongly advocated climate
technology (NTPC) has already pilot tested a pro-
ject to sequester CO2 in open pond us-
carry any electrical charge and hence justice and adhered to the princi- ing algal technology. And National
are not affected by electromagnetic ples of equity and common but differ- pacity development, planning and pre- Aluminium Company (NALCO) has
radiation and they are leptons so do entiated responsibilities (CBDR) on investment and project development. proposed algal sequestration of CO2.
not get affected by strong forces and the issue of climate change actions. In- It is in the phase of identification of the Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. and Tata
not even by the subatomic forces in tended nationally determined contri- full scope of CCS, and there is no major Steel are also actively working towards
the nucleus. They typically pass butions (INDCs) for the period demonstration project. With 30 per clean coal and carbon capture research.
through normal matter unimpeded 2021-30 were presented which aimed cent population yet to get grid supply, We have a long way to go, and al-
and undetected just like light travels at propagation of healthy, green and Indias total electricity installed capac- though initial steps have been taken
through transparent material. The sustainable path to economic develop- ity has a major share of coal-based pow- they need to be sustained to be bene-
neutrinos in our vicinity are mainly ment, reduction of emission intensity er (60.8 per cent) and is expected to ficial in the long term. With the existing
due to the nuclear reactions occur- of its GDP by 33 per cent to 35 per cent continue as dominant energy resource expertise in the country in CO2 capture
ring in the Sun. Stellar phenomena by 2030 from the 2005 level, increasing Initial steps have been taken they need to be sustained to be beneficial in the long for the next two to three decades. To and bio-sequestration methods, the
such as big bang, supernovae, produc- the share of non-fossil-fuel-based ener- term. PHOTO: C.V. SUBRAHMANYAM sustain coal use, clean coal technology cost barrier can be eventually over-
tion of cosmic radiation result in the gy resources to 40 per cent and creation and CO2 sequestration research are come by learning-by-doing as has been
production of neutrinos in of carbon sinks of 2.5-3 billion tones of geological formations have capacity of large scale CCS projects in power sec- now picking up in academic institu- the case with most advanced technol-
abundance. CO2 equivalent. 2,000 gigatonne of likely CO2 storage. tor are getting to be operational in 2016 tions and research and development ogies. To meet the target of creating
Since their mass is negligible and Let us talk about INDC of adding This includes 675-900 gigatonne CO2 and 2017. In the steel industry, CO2 centres. In India, R&D began under the additional carbon sinks of 2.5-3.0 bil-
they are uncharged, neutrinos do not sinks for 2.5-3.0 billion tones of carbon in oil and gas fields, 1,000 to 10,000 capture of 0.8 Mtpa (million tonnes per aegis of ministry of science and tech- lion tonne, it is apt that CCS is replaced
cause any ionizing radiation and do dioxide (CO2) during 2021-30. Among gigatonne of CO2 in saline formations annum) in Abu Dhabi in a DRI plant nology, its first initiative jointly with with CCU, that is, Carbon Capture and
not produce any changes in our bod- other solutions, carbon capture and se- and 3-200 gigatonne in coal beds became the first project and is in oper- ministry of power was the National Utilisation using chemical, biological
ies. Neutrinos are used conveniently questration (CCS) is an emerging tech- worldwide. ation since 2013. Nearly 22 large scale Program on Carbon Sequestration Re- and mineralogical processes to avoid all
in probing the environment wherein nology, which is under development. Globally, CCS after a slow down got CCS projects are in operation or near- search way back in 2006 with major underlying risks involved in CO2 stor-
other radiations such as light, radio This is a three-step process including some impetus in 2015 with the opening ing completion world-wide and would thrust areas identified. Policy develop- age. The time is ripe to start pursuing
waves can not penetrate , in detecting capturing carbon dioxide from its point of Aquistore located south-eastern at store approximately 40 million tones a ment studies started and CO2 capturing CCU in the mission mode and to make
Sun's core conditions and also in source, its transportation and then 2.8 km from Saskatchewan, Canada year. Bio-CCS and catalytic conversion research has been carried out in CSIR the emission reduction affordable as a
probing Supernovae. storage away from the atmosphere. serving as storage site for worlds first for utilisation of captured CO2 (CCU) research laboratories. step towards compliance to Interna-
Dr. T. Bhavani, Bengaluru Storage options in geological forma- commercial, post combustion CO2 cap- into value added products is getting Our Industry sector is majorly de- tional agreements.
Readers may send their questions/ tions are deep saline aquifers, basalt ture, transportation and storage pro- attention. pendent on coal and has to adopt ways Dr. Malti Goel is with the Climate
answers to formations, unmineable coal seams ject from a coal based power plant. It As per global carbon capture and to develop CO2 mitigation and recy- Change Research Institute and is
questioncorner@thehindu.co.in and depleted oil or gas reservoirs. Inter demonstrates storing liquid CO2 at a storage institute, India is one among 24 cling. Then industry has already pro- Former Adviser and CSIR Emeritus
Governmental Panel on Climate depth of 3.4 km underground in the developing countries that are currently posed a few projects and started a few Scientist. Ms Vandana Maurya is
Change (IPCC) report indicates that deep brine and standstone. A few other engaged in CCS activities such as ca- already. For instance, Oil and Natural pursuing her PhD at CSSP, JNU.
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02 EducationPlus THE HINDU | MONDAY | JANUARY 25, 2016

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SNAPSHOTS
IISc: endosulfan induces CCMB: novel drug delivery
for breast and colon cancers
infertility in male mice Y. MALLIKARJUN nanoparticles as the novel
drug delivery system.
Holding the potential for
therapeutic gene targets,
that RNAi technology can be
made an affordable and ame-
R. PRASAD
I n the quest for non-toxic
and targeted cancer ther-
apy with no side effects, sci-
translation from bench to
bedside in cancer therapy,
the biological drugs showed
nable therapy for cancer,
observed the authors of the
study, which was published

I
f an association be- entists have demonstrated effective accumulation to in May, 2015 in Molecular
CARTILAGE tween the widely used the efficacy of a novel drug
delivery system, using a
therapeutic levels, thereby
triggering the inhibition of
Cancer Therapeutics.
According to Dr. Lekha,
pesticide, endosulfan
TISSUE FROM and male infertility combination of RNAi and neo-plastic spread. The ef- Principal Scientist and Pro-
COW KNEES has been found in the nanotechnology for breast
and colon cancers.
fectiveness of the therapy
and the method was validat-
ject Leader, Cancer Biology,
CCMB, unlike the chemo-
case of humans living in ar-
In a new eas where it has been ex-
tensively used, laboratory
With RNAi technology
paving the way for suppres-
ed in vivo by tumour sup-
pression in two knockout
drugs which do not distin-
guish between normal and
approach to studies on mice have now sion of genes implicated in mouse cancer models. cancerous cells, the biolog-
cartilage tissue conrmed that the pesti- many cancers, specic and Following a daily dose of ical drug used by them spe-
engineering, cells cide indeed causes male and effective mode of drug intra-tumour treatment cically shuts down the gene
from cow knees infertility. delivery to the targeted tu- with multimodal nanoparti- implicated in cancer. De-
A signicant reduction mour was essential for a suc- cles conjugated to the RNAi scribing their work as proof
have been in sperm count and sperm cessful therapy. tool (c-Myc shRNA), it was of concept, which could be
successfully used. motility in mice was found The study led by Dr. Lekha found that the tumour applied to different types of
to cause infertility in mice. Dinesh Kumar and her growth was arrested and the cancers, she said this type of
The pesticide-induced in- group from Centre for Cellu- animal survival increased in biological drug is going to be
fertility was found to be lar and Molecular Biology, breast tumour models. Simi- the future for cancer ther-
male specic. The results Hyderabad, in collaboration larly, oral delivery of the apeutics which might even-
were recently published in with The University of West- same drug to colon cancer tually replace chemo-drugs.
the journal Cell Death and ern Australia, European model mice showed that it Dr. Lekha said that her di-
Disease. Cancer Stem Cell Research not only increased the ani- vision would soon start work
Thirty to 33 per cent of Institute, Cardiff University mals survival but also re- on biological drugs for inhib-
male mice treated with en- and Regional Cancer Centre, versed the cancerous state of iting tyrosine kinases which
dosulfan showed clear Thiruvananthapuram, dem- the intestinal tissue to a non- are the targets of the present
signs of infertility. Its im- onstrated the successful in- cancerous state. chemo-drugs. This could
pact on mice is an under- site delivery of an anticancer This study demonstrates, revolutionise cancer therapy
estimation as we used biological drug (c-Myc) through careful design of from general to more specif-
lower doses. People are ex- against breast and colorectal non-viral nanoparticles and ic molecular treatments in
CUCKOO'S BLUE posed to much higher dos- cancers using multimodal appropriate selection of future, she added.
EGG COLOUR es and for a longer
duration, said Prof. Sath-
INHERITED ees Raghavan from the De- The researchers found a significant reduction in sperm count and sperm motility in mice caused
Cuckoos lay
their eggs in other
partment of Biochemisty,
IISc, Bengaluru and the se-
nior author of the paper.
male infertility. PHOTO: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

30-33 per sulfan for a limited peri- is only to be expected as

Bird named after Salim Ali
birds' nests. It is Ten animals per group od, people living in the at 25 days post-treatment,
K.S. SUDHI niferous and mixed forest had a
found that blue were studied and the ex- cent of male areas where the pesticide the sperm count had
rather musical song, those in-
periment was repeated is being used are contin- dropped to its lowest
eggs are inherited three times. mice treated ually exposed and may see point and the sperms had
T wenty-nine years after the
demise Dr. Salim Ali, the
dividuals found in the same re-
gion, but on bare rocky
from the female A dose equivalent of 3
mg/kg of body weight was
with the effect on motility con-
tinuing to be signicant if
the least motility.
Besides fertility, the
birdman of India, an interna- habitats above the tree-line
bird. used in the experiment. endosulfan effects on humans is the pesticide was found to
tional group of ornithologists had a much harsher, scratch-
named a newly discovered spe- ier, unmusical song.
This dose is equivalent to
that seen in places where
showed signs same as seen in mice.
The researchers carried
damage the DNA and in-
crease the levels of error
cies after him, thus paying The studies of specimens
people live. Compared with of infertility out mating experiments prone DNA repair leading
homage to the man who shaped
generations of ornithologists
from 15 museums in seven
countries revealed consistent
20-700 microgram/litre to double check the effect to genomic instability. Re-
and also contributed to the bet- differences in plumage and
serum concentration of en- of lower sperm count and active oxygen species
ter understanding of birds. structure between birds from
dosulfan in humans, the sperms, at the end of 35 less motility in mice. were found to be the
Himalayan Forest Thrush, these two populations. It was
treated mice had a serum days after the latest treat- They allowed the pesti- culprits causing damaging
Zoothera salimalii, thus goes conrmed that the species
concentration of just 40- ment, the number of cide-treated male mice to to DNA and the DNA
the name of the species, which The bird has been described breeding in the forests of the
60 microgram/litre. sperms in treated mice breed with female mice repair mechanism.
has been described from from northeastern India. eastern Himalayas had no sci-
Besides lower serum was far lower compared (in 1:3 ratio of male and The World Health Or-
northeastern India and adja- PHOTO: CRAIG BRELSFORD entic name. Later, the new
concentration, the dura- with mice that were not females) that were not ganization (WHO) has
cent parts. The research team species was named as Hima-
tion of exposure was also treated with the pesticide treated with endosulfan. classied endosulfan as a
that identied the species in- cies of Plain-backed Thrush layan Forest Thrush Zoothera
very short. The animals (control group). The mating experiments Class II pesticide (moder-
cluded scientists from Sweden, breeding in sympathy in Aru- salimalii. The high-elevation
were treated with four dos- Besides lower sperm were carried during three ately toxic) and it is listed
JASON-3 es of endosulfan per day on count, the motility of the periods (5-10 days, 20-25 under the Stockholm con-
India, China, the U.S., and Rus- nachal Pradesh, India. These Plain-backed Thrush is now re-
sia. were completely segregated named as Alpine Thrush while
DELIVERS FIRST every alternative day for sperms was affected. days and 30-35 days after vention as a persistent
Earlier, a bat species Salim by elevation and habitat, one it retains the scientic name of
eight days. In all, each Twenty-ve days after the treatment with the pesti- organic pollutant, given
DATA mouse in the treatment last day of endosulfan cide). About 30 per cent its environmental impact.
Ali's fruit bat that was rst occurring in mostly coniferous Zoothera mollissima, said a
collected from Western Ghats forest up to the upper tree limit communication.
4 days after its group was exposed to 16
doses.
treatment, the motility of
sperms was signicantly
of males did not give any
progeny, he said.
The Stockholm Conven-
tion held in 2011 had
region of Theni district, Tamil and the other in alpine habitats The analysis of plumage,
launch on 17 Detailed studies re- affected. However, at day In all three mating advised the phasing out of
Nadu, was named after the leg- above the tree limit. Their structure, song, DNA and ecol-
endary ornithologist. songs were strikingly different, ogy from throughout the range
January, the vealed that among all orga- 35, the pesticides effect windows, the percentage the pesticide over a ve-
The present study was initi- although no denite morpho- of the Plain-backed Thrush re-
Jason-3 ocean ns, liver, lungs and testes on motility was not signif- of infertile males in- year period and India has
ated in June 2009 by Per Al- logical differences were detect- vealed that a third species was
were maximally affected icant. Thats because creased as opposed to ze- agreed to phase out its
satellite delivered after the very rst day of spermatogenesis [the ro infertile males in use by 2017. Currently,
strm of Uppsala University, ed in the eld. present in central China,
its first sea surface Sweden and Shashank Dalvi of The research ndings were which was already known. This
treatment. Kidney, liver process in which sperma- control groups, indicating Kerala and Karnataka
the Alumnus of the Post Grad- published in Avian Research. was treated as a subspecies of
height data. and brain were not affect- tozoa are produced from that the reduced sperm have banned its use as
uate Program, Wildlife Con- According to the research- Plain-backed Thrush and was
ed. In the testicles, many male germ cells] gets over count and motility con- people in Kasargod dis-
servation Society- National ers, it was realised that what called as Sichuan Forest
seminiferous tubules by 30-35 days. So the tributed towards reduced trict in Kerala had report-
Centre for Biological Sciences, was considered as a single spe- Thrush. The song of the Si-
(where sperms are pro- effect probably wears off fertility in males, notes ed several health
Bangalore, while studying cies, the Plain-backed Thrush chuan Forest Thrush was
duced) were completely after that, said Prof. the paper. problems related to its
birds at high elevations of Zoothera mollissima, was in found to be even more musical
devoid of mother cells that Raghavan. What is indeed signif- use. The pesticide was
Western Arunachal Pradesh. fact two different species in than the song of the Himalayan
become sperms. It is to be remembered icant is that the 20-25- aerially sprayed on cash-
The researchers had discov- northeastern India. While the Forest Thrush, the communi-
Since it takes 30-35 days that unlike mice that day window showed the ew plantations in the dis-
ered that there were two spe- Plain-backed Thrush in the co- cation said.
for mother cells to become were exposed to endo- most infertile males. This trict.

SCIENCE BEHIND
Lies, damned lies and statistics LAW OF INERTIA
QUESTION CORNER
If we throw a ball up in a very fast-moving vehicle (like
SNOW'S SPEAKING OF SCIENCE bypass in order to optimize
his time. Soon enough, the
ment.
Readers may recall the an aircraft or a train), why does it come straight back to
SERENITY bypass road is also crowded case of the murder of Miss our hands and not fall behind us?
SAJITH K., KOCHI, KERALA

A thick blanket
of snow covering
M y friend Professor
Jayakrishna Ambati
of Louisville, KY, USA, alert-
with the following rules: 1.
InGame A, you simply lose
$1 every time you play. 2.
and traffic jammed. Good
intention has led to bad re-
sult! Alas, we see this all too
Jessica Lal in April 1999,
who was shot dead because
she refused to serve drinks
According to Newtons rst law, every material object
continues in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a
straight line, unless it is compelled to change that state by an
streets absorbs ed me about a recent paper InGame B, you count how often in cities across India. to the criminal, stating that unbalanced (net) force impressed upon it.
by Dr Derek Abbott and his much money you have left. This is but one example of it was past the closing time
sound very well group from the University of If it is an even number, you the Braess paradox. of the bar. As many as nine
When a person throws a ball up in a moving vehicle, say, a
train, the ball does come straight back to thrower as though
producing a Adelaide, Australia, with the win $3. Otherwise you lose The paper by Abbott and eyewitnesses to the event, the train were at rest. This is an iron-clad evidence for the
calming effect, says title: Too good to be true: $5. colleagues wants us to imag- all friends and acquaint- law of inertia as the horizontal motion of ball before, during
a new study. when overwhelming evi- Say you begin with $100 ine a court case where wit- ances of the criminal, re- and after the catch is the same. To paraphrase, owing to the
dence fails to convince in your pocket. If you start ness after witness is lined fused to collaborate with the inertia of motion, the horizontal component vector of the
(which appears in <http:// playing Game A exclusively, up, in an identity parade, to trail judge, the police velocity of the ball is equal to the velocity of the train at the
arxiv.org/ you will obviously lose all testify whether the suspect botched up the report and moment the ball leaves the throwers hand. The former
abs/1601.00900>). They ask your money in 100 rounds. defendant is actually the the trial court had to let the remains constant during the balls ight. So if the train
the following: A small Similarly, if you decide to same person as the perpe- culprit free. Too much of a moves with a constant velocity, the ball will exactly return
amount of bad can produce play Game B exclusively, trator of the crime. Now, hu- good thing manipulated to the thrower.
a good outcome. (Inciden- you will also lose all your The Jessica Lal case is an man memory is inherently overwhelming evidence Here, it should be noted that the gravitational force only
tally, this is referred to as money in 100 rounds. How- instance of too much of a uncertain, and thus the (lack of it here) failed to con- pulls the ball down, but not back or forth. This would also
Parrondos Paradox). But, ever, consider playing the good thing leading to a bad process would include ran- vict the murderer leading mean that the ball does not experience any acceleration that
can too much good produce games alternatively, starting result. PHOTO: AFP dom error. The more wit- to a bad result. (The case could change its forward velocity. Hence, the vertical force
a bad outcome? Or, is an with Game B, followed by A, nesses there are the better had to go up to higher courts of gravity affects only the vertical motion of the ball.
inverse Parrandos Paradox then by B, and so on (BABA- (say about 13 of them). If the before he was convicted Therefore, in accordance with the law of inertia, it is
possible? And they show BA...). Now, you will steadily engineering, population dy- identity parade is biased, in- years later). logical to expect the vertically thrown ball return to throw-
that indeed it is possible. earn a total of $2 for every namics,nancial risk and tentionally or not, say, be- The famous line lies, ers hands in a train moving with a constant velocity. How-
This inverse is termed the two games. other areas. cause (i) the suspect is damned lies and statistics
DAZZLING Braess Paradox. In order to Thus, even though each What then is the Braess somehow conspicuous, or was attributed by Mark
ever, if the train accelerates during the ight, the ball will
fall behind the thrower. On the other hand, if the train
DIAMONDS IN understand the whole thing, game is a losing proposition Paradox? Wikipedia states (ii) the staff conducting the Twain to Disraeli, but curi- decelerates during the ight, the ball will fall ahead of the
I went over to Wikipedia if played alone, because the the following. This is the in- parade directs the witness ously even here there is no
THE SKY and found some nuggets. results of Game B are affect- verse of the Parrondo para- towards him, or (iii) the sus- conclusive evidence. Some
thrower.
Dr. P. RAMESH BABU
A new Hubble Parrondo's paradox
(named after its creator
ed by Game A, the sequence
in which the games are
dox, discovered by Dr.
Dietrich Braess, a mathe-
pect by chance resembles
the actual perpetrator, or
say it was Bagehot who said
it, some attribute it to Leo-
Professor of Physics, VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu
telescope image of Juan Parrondo) says that a played can affect how often matician at Ruhr University, (iv) the witness holds a bias, nor Courtney in 1895, but
a star cluster combination of losing strat- Game B earns you money, Germany. He cites the fol- say, they have previously the journal Nature in its No- THIS WEEKS QUESTION
shows that it has egies becomes a winning and subsequently the result lowing example. The traffic seen the suspect, then an in- vember 26, 1885 issue What technique is used to measure the distance of a
strategy. Wikipedia cites an is different from the case police in a city decide to con- nocent suspect may be se- quotes a lawyer as saying
some of the most excellent example of the where either game is played struct a bypass road in order lected with the probability that there are simple liars,
celestial object from Earth and also of its distance from
other celestial objects?
luminous stars in Parrondos Paradox in gam- by itself. Parrondo's paradox to ease the ow of vehicles in greater than chance. The damned liars and experts. K.Srinivasan, Chennai
our galaxy. bling. I quote: consider two is used extensively in game a crowded road. Now, each sheer number of witnesses D. Balasubramanian
gamesGame AandGame B, theory, and its application in driver decides to take the can now inuence the judg- dbala@lvpei.org Readers may send their questions/answers to questioncorner@thehindu.co.in

CM ND-X
YK