SOCKS FOR DIABETICS There are silver socks also made of natural silver metal fibers to keep the

the feet warm and cozy. These are ideal for those whose skin has loosened and who suffer from cold feet problem. Diabetics are generally advised to put on densely padded socks. These padded acrylic socks reduce the amount of moisture produced, thus preventing blistering. Diabetics who have jobs that involve frequent outside movement or those taking vigorous exercises should wear padded acrylic socks. Those whose feet perspire excessively are also advised to wear socks of acrylic blending because acrylic fibers are good at wicking the moisture. Comfortable sizes of co& on or wool socks can also be used as these fibers are breathable. Diabetics should wear socks that are comfortable, well-fitting, and with no constricting cuff s or lumps or any kind of uncomfortable seams.

OPPORTUNITY COMPLETES TEN YEARS ON MARS On 7 July 2013, Opportunity celebrated the tenth anniversary of its launch and had spent nine years roving the red sands of Mars and s, ll making discoveries! The milestone occurred on 15 May 2013, when the rover drove 80 metres, bringing its total odometry 35.760 kilometres or 22.220 miles. The previous mark had been held by the Apollo 17 moon rover, which astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmi3 drove for 35.74 km (22.21 miles) across the lunar surface in December 1972. Over the years, Opportunity has been photographing and sampling the Mar, an landscape. The surface of Mars of today is bone dry and hos, le to life as we know it. Opportunitys mission is to hunt for places where it wasnt always so, places where ancient water might have nourished life forms na, ve to Mars. The rover has found abundant evidence that liquid water was once present. For the past 20 months, Opportunity has been working the rim of Endeavour Crater. There, Opportunity found deposits of gypsum probably formed from groundwater seeping up through cracks in Mar, an soil. It has also found signs of clay minerals in a rock named Esperance. The rover is currently en route to Solander Point, a place on the rim of Endurance Crater where a treasure-trove of geological layers is exposed for investigate, on. A visit to Solander Point will be like reading a Mar, an history book. Besides, there are north-facing slopes at Solander Point where the rover can , lt its solar panels toward the sun and ride out the coming winter. The minimum-sunshine days of this sixth Mar, an winter for Opportunity will come in February 2014.

ABEL PRIZE 2013 FOR PIERRE DELIGNE Pierre Deligne of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey, USA has been awarded this years Abel Prize known as the Nobel Prize in mathematics. The prize carries a cash award of 1 million US dollars and a citation. The prize has gone to Deligne for seminal contributions to algebraic geometry and for their transformative impact on number theory, representation theory, and related fields. Pierre Deligne played a crucial role in developing algebraic geometry, which now has deep connections with almost every area of mathematics. However, his most significant contribution is the spectacular solution of the last and deepest of Weil conjectures, namely the analogue of the Riemann hypothesis for algebraic varieties over a finite field.

The issue of the Weil conjectures is the so called zeta functions, which are mathematical constructions that keep track of the number of solutions of an equation, in different number systems. Weil said that the conjectural statements are true for curves meaning that they are true for equations in two unknowns. However, varieties which are referred to as higher dimensions, correspond to equations in three or more unknowns. The Weil conjectures are formulated in four statements. He himself had proved those in case of curves. For more general equations, three of the four statements were proved by other mathematicians. The last statement, analogous to the Riemann hypothesis and considered to be the most difficult one was proved by Pierre Deligne in 1974. Some types of mathematical tools were developed in the 1920s and 1930s to understand and systematize knowledge about geometric structures and shapes. These were called cohomology. When the conjectures were announced it was clear that these would prove to be true if one could find a certain type of cohomology called Weil cohomology. Weil had no suggestion on how to define those. However, he knew what type of cohomology should have proved the Weil conjectures. In 1960, Alexander Grothendieck introduced the concept of etale cohomology. He proposed that it should play the role of the mysterious, unknown but essential Weil cohomology. However, Grothendieck could not prove that etale cohomology can sa tisfy the requirements of Weil cohomology. Pierre Deligne succeeded in this task.

UNDERSTANDING THYROID CANCER There are four main types of thyroid cancer papillary, follicular, anaplastic and medullary thyroid carcinoma. Each tumor type has its own predilection for metastatic spreadPapillary carcinoma, which occurs between second and third decades of life, is most common (70-80%), with a 3:1 female preponderance and is derived from thyroid follicular cells. It t ends t o spread via the lymphatics to the lymph nodes, and is most responsive to treatment and cure. Follicular carcinoma, which tends to occur in older patients, also comes from thyroid follicular cells and makes up 10-15% of thyroid cancers, with a 2:1 female preponderance. Anaplastic carcinoma tends to present in patients in the sixth and seventh decades. It is uncommon, comprising of less than 10% of thyroid cancers, with a slight (1.5:1) male preponderance. Medullary carcinoma makes up 5-10% of all thyroid cancers, and arises from parafollicular or C-cells that produce calcitonin.

Common symptoms of thyroid cancer include: Difficulty in swallowing or breathing Change or hoarseness of voice Lingering cough, unrelated to a cold Sore throat or pain or lump in the neck Swelling or fullness in the neck

Regenerative Medicine The Future of Treatment

Regenerative medicine is an emerging interdisciplinary field of research and clinical applications focused on the repair, replacement or regeneration of cells, tissues, or organs. By using a combination of several technologies, it aims at restoring impaired function resulting from any cause, including congenital defects, disease, and trauma. These approaches may include, but are not limited to, the use of stem cells, soluble molecules, genetic engineering, tissue engineering, and advanced cell therapy. This new field of regenerative medicine encompasses many novel approaches to treatment of disease and restoration of biological function through the following methods: a) Using therapies that prompt the body to autonomously regenerate damaged tissues b) Using tissue-engineered implants to prompt regeneration and c) Direct transplantation of healthy tissues into damaged environments. The main advantage of regenerative medicine over current therapies is that: it is a one-time cure to a particular disease. It saves the patient from recurring treatments and its associated costs. For example, in Diabetes, the popular treatment is insulin therapy. Through regenerative medicine the patients insulin producing cells can be regenerated. Other major contributions of regenerative medicine have been seen in the field of improving myocardial functions and curing of damaged blood vessels. Thus regenerative medicine aims at increasing the quality of life by decreasing the healthcare cost of chronic disorders. Regenerative medicine can also combat end-organ failure. Organ transplant remains a major healthcare issue worldwide. Regenerative medicine also holds promise in transplanting and growing replacement organs. With regenerative medicine, waiting for a tissue or organ transplant will become a worry of the past.

MAJOR INDIAN INSTITUTES ENGAGED IN REGENERATIVE MEDICINE RESEARCH National Center for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bangalore All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi Christian Medical College, Vellore L V Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad. Reliance Life Sciences, Mumbai National Center for Cell Sciences (NCCS), Pune Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chand igarh Nichi-In Centre for Regenerative Medicine (NCRM), Chennai

PROMISING APPLICATIONS OF REGENERATIVE MEDICINE Pancreatic regeneration for Insulin production Regeneration of defective heart muscles Increasing body immunity

 Replacement of burn marks on skin Artificial blood for transfusion Umbilical cord blood banking Curing of joint diseases like Rheumatoid arthritis Gene therapy and stem cell transplant for gene Neural degenerative diseases Liver regeneration c blood disorders

Bluetooth: Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology that allows computers, phones and other devices to talk to each other over short distances (up to 100 meters). Bluetooth uses radio waves (in the 2.4 Gigahertz range) and is designed to be a secure and inexpensive way of connecting and exchanging information between devices without wires. It is also being used for connecting and transferring information between devices such as mobile phones, laptops, PCs, PDAs, printers, digital cameras, mouse and keyboards.

Why the name Bluetooth?: The name comes from the ancient King Harald Blatan of Denmark (Blatan in Danish translates to blue tooth in English). Sweden-based telecom company Ericsson developed the technology and was co-founder in 1998 of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group governing body (www.bluetooth.com). Bluetooth is also standardized as an IEEE wireless personal area network.

ASR: The Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology converts a speech signal into a text message transcription of the spoken words. When a speaker utters a stream of words, usually interspersed with pauses and utterances like uhh and umm, the software produces a speech waveform representing the words of the sentence as well as the extra sounds and pauses in the spoken input.

Global Positioning System: Global Positioning System, or GPS, is one of the most widely used technologies in the communication world. GPS navigational systems are supported by a network of 27 satellites, which orbits the Earth in a cyclic pattern every twenty-four hours. At any given time, signals from a minimum of four satellites are accessible to any one point on Earth. Whenever a receiver device is activated, radio waves are sent out. A receivers exact location is determined through a process called triangulation where three satellites work together to track down possible location points, while a fourth satellite compiles the data and picks out the exact location. Distance calculations are made based on how long it takes the radio signals to travel back and forth between the receiver and the satellites. A GPS tracking system uses the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) network.

This network includes a range of satellites that uses microwave signals that are being transmitted to GPS devices to give information on location, vehicle speed, time and direction. So, a GPS tracking system has a potential to provide the real-time and past navigation data on any kind of journey.

Generations of Telecom Technology Driving Mobile App Innovation G stands for generations of wireless telecom connectivity. These generations are the standards for telecom infrastructure, and are thus linked to the efficiency and functionality that can be derived from associated telecom devices. Generations are also aspirational they are set based on cutting-edge developments in technology and motivate telecom companies and countries to upgrade their technology and infrastructure. For example, 5G standards promise amazing bandwidths and mobile phones that are free of country-based networks. 1G: 1G signifies first-generation wireless analog technology standards that originated in the 1980s, and includes Time Division Multiple Access and Frequency Division Multiple Access. The first commercially automated cellular network 1G was launched in Japan by NTT in 1979. The main technology development that distinguished the First Generation mobile phones from the earlier cellphones was the use of multiple cell sites and the ability to transfer calls from one site to the next as the user travelled between cells during a conversation. In a cellular system, a signal between a base station (cell site) and a terminal (phone) only needs to be strong enough to reach between the two, so the same channel can be used simultaneously for separate conversation in different cells.

2G: 2G signifies wireless digital technology that replaced analog 1G, and includes FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access), TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access). All types have one common feature of multiple access which means that many users are able to use the same number of cells. 2G started working with GSM (Global System for Mobile) standard as a communication medium. In addition to the GSM protocol, 2G also utilizes various other digital protocols including CDMA, TDMA iDEN and PDC. GSM is based on TDMA. 2G technology holds sufficient security for both the sender and the receiver due to digital encryption of messages. The use of 2G technology requires strong digital signals and good network coverage to help mobile phones work.

3G: 3G networks are built to handle the needs of todays wireless users, with faster data transmission speeds, greater network capacity and more advanced network services. 3G technology was also known as CDMA Wireless technology. It is the first wireless technology that provides broadband-speed Internet connection on mobile phones. The main advantage of 3G networks over 2G networks is speed. Technically, the main difference that distinguishes 3G technology from 2G technology is the use of packet switching rather than circuit switching for data transmission. Later 3G technology began to be implemented, namely High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA).

4G:

The objective of 4G is to become a fully IP-based system, much like a modern computer network. The supposed speeds for 4G will be higher that 3G, and can provide Internet speeds up to 1 GBPS! One of the main ways in which 4G differs technologically from 3G is that circuit switching will be eliminated, and an all-IP network will be implemented in its place. 4G will be able to overcome the problems of weak network strength and should provide a much wider network, making sure that the users get high-speed connectivity anytime anywhere.

New Cloud Physics Laboratory in India:

A High Altitude Cloud Physics Laboratory, the first of its kind in India, has been established at the famous hill station of Mahabaleshwar in the Western Ghats range near Pune. It will start collecting data in the current monsoon season.

S.N. Bose Satyendra Nath Bose was a physicist, specializing in mathematical physics and has been in the news recently after the discovery of the Higgs boson was announced. He is best known for his work on quantum mechanics providing the foundation for BoseEinstein statistics and the theory of the Bose-Einstein condensate. A group of particles obeying Bose Einstein statistics are known as Bosons.

Homi Jehangir Bhabha: Homi Jehangir Bhabha was a nuclear physicist who played a major role in the development of the Indian atomic energy programme and is considered to be the father of Indias nuclear programme. After his death, the Atomic Energy Establishment was renamed as the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in his honour. Bhabha also encouraged research in electronics, space science, radio astronomy and microbiology.

Vikram A. Sarabhai Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai was also a physicist. He is considered to be the father of the Indian space programme. Vikram Sarabhai founded the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad. The establishment of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was one of his greatest achievements. Dr. Sarabhai was also a pioneer in science communication; he founded a Community Science Centre at Ahmedabad.

S. Ramanujan Ramanujan was one of the greatest Indian mathematicians. He was a self-taught person. He is known for the Ramanujan prime and Ramanujan theta function.

He made substantial contributions to mathematical analysis, number theory, infinite series and continued fractions. Ramanujans work has profound significance in physics as well. His formulas have applications in crystallography and string theory.

Beavers Play Role in Climate Change A paper published in Geophysical Research Letters describes the role that beavers play in climate change. The lead author Dr. Ellen Wohl, a geology professor at Colorado State University is trying to understand how carbon is sequestered when beavers build dams, and released after the beavers abandon their dams. When trees die and decompose, carbon stored in the wood is released into the atmosphere. In a field study in Colorados Rocky Mountain National Park, Wohl took samples from areas known as beaver meadows, the land that has become submerged or wet due to dams backing up flowing rivers or streams. She collected 29 sediment samples from the wet areas around 27 streams in the park. The sediment was found to be harboring 12% carbon by weight. These results are in stark contrast to sediment samples the collected last year in beaver meadows where the dams had been abandoned allowing the land to dry, which had a carbon content of just 3.3%. Wood buried beneath water and sediment decays more slowly than wood left on dry land. Thus, by building dams, beavers cause the carbon in the wood to be sequestered for a period of time. Wohls data suggests that if all the beaver meadow land now dried due to abandoned dams were still wet, the amount of additional carbon sequestered would add up to 2.7 million metric tons. Much of that carbon was released in the year shortly after the North American continent was colonizedtrappers significantly reduced the population of beavers leaving millions of dams abandoned. Carbon sequestered by beaver dams hardly registers on a global scale of course almost ten billion tons of it is added to the atmosphere worldwide each year. Dr. Wohls study shows that at least some of emissions can come from some surprising places.

Question to Save Endemic Fish Species from Extinction A species of tropical fish, the Mangarahara Cichlids (Ptychochromis insolitus) is facing grave danger of being wiped out from the surface of the Earth. The future of this species is bleak because it is believed to be extinct in the wild, and at present only three members of the critically endangered fish are surviving in captivity. To make matters worse all the three surviving fish are males. Two of these are housed at the Aruarium of the ZSL London Zoo (U.K.) and the other male cichlid is surviving at the Aquarium of the Berlin Zoo (Germany). The Mangarahara Cichlids are endemic to Madagascar and their habitat is known only from the tributaries of the Sofia River, a westward flowing basin in north eastern Madagascar. Bur they are thought to be extinct in the wild due to the introduction of dams drying up its habitat in the Mangarahara River in Madagascar.

Solar Powered Tent A new tent has been jointly developed by Eddie Bauer who specializes in tents and Goal Zero, a solar power company called as Solar Powered Katabatic 2 Tent it has been designed for people who love the outdoors but who have problems finding a way to recharge their electronic gadgets.

The tent 92 inches (2.34 metres) tall covers 36 square feet (3.34 sq metres) of space, and has a small triangular shaped solar panel called Goal Zero Solar charger which can power many devices. The new tend will be useful not only for people who want to camp outdoors but will prove valuable for mountaineers camping on steep mountain sides, for researchers working in the Arctic or Antarctic conditions, deep forests, jungles, swamps, on archaeological sites and other remote locations.

Kombucha The Magical Drink Kombucha is a refreshing beverage obtained by the fermentation of sugared tea with a symbiotic culture of acetic bacteria and yeasts, consumed for its beneficial effects on human health. It is also tea fungus. The first recorded use of kombucha dates back to 221 BC during the Chinese empire of the Tsin dynasty. They called it the remedy for immortality. With the extension of trade routes it spread to Russia and India through travelers and traders. Kombucha resurfaced in Japan after a Japanese visitor to Kargasok (Russia) found this fermented tea drink responsible for their astonishing health, longevity and well-being. It may have been introduced to Japan by a Korean physician by the name of Kombu around 415 AD. Kombucha is the result of a strong symbiotic relationship between bacteria and osmophilic yeast strains. The main acetic acid bacteria found in the tea fungus are: Acetobacter xylinum, A. xylinoides, A. aceti, A. pasteurianus, Bacterium gluconicum. Some of the yeast strains found in Kombucha are Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Saccharomycodes ludwigii, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Koeckera apiculata, Zygosaccharomyces bailii, Brettanomyces bruxellensis, B. lambicus, B. custersii, Candipa sp. And Pichia sp. Fermentation with tea fungus converts the added sugar into organic acids and ethanol. Tea fungus utilizes sugar as is carbon source and forms a membrane-like network during fermentation. The beneficial effects of kombucha tea are attributed to the presence of tea polyphenols, gluconic acid, acetic acid, glucoronic acid, lactic acid, vitamins, amino acids, antibiotics and a variety of ethanol, which classifies it as a nonalcoholic beverage. However, older and more acidic kombucha may contain 1.0% or 1.5% alcohol. Black tea and white sugar are the best substrates for the preparation of kombucha. Tea leaves are added to boiling water and allowed to infuse for about ten minutes, after which the leaves are removed. Sugar is dissolved in to hot tea and the preparation is left to cool. Tea is poured into a wide-mouthed clean vessel and is acidified by the addition of already prepared kombucha. The tea fungus is laid on the tea surface, and the jar is carefully covered with a clean cloth and fastened properly. The preparation is allowed to incubate at room temperature for at least one week. During fermentation, a daughter tea fungus is formed at the tea surface. The tea fungus is removed from the surface and kept in a small volume of fermented tea. The beverage is passed through filter or fine piece of cloth and stored in capped bottles at beverage is passed through filter or fine piece of cloth and stored in capped bottles at 40C. The taste of kombucha changes during fermentation from a pleasant fruit sour-like lightly sparkling flavor after a few days, to a mild vinegar-like taste with prolonged incubation. Kombucha has a strong anti-microbial property along with its antioxidant potential. Most properties of kombucha are attributes to the acidic composition of the beverage. Its detoxifying property is presumably due to the capacity of glucoronic acid to bind to toxin

molecules and to increase their excretion from the organism by the kidneys or the intestine providing relief in gout, rheumatism, arthritis or kidney stones. The cellulosic pollicle formed mainly by Acetobacter xylinum during the fermentation of tea has been used as a temporary skin substitute on burns and in other skin injuries. A recent study reported the antibiotic activity of kombucha against Helicobacter pylori, Eschyerichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Agrobacterium tumefaciens mainly related to the acetic acid produced during the fermentation.

Game Theory Game theory is a classic mathematical model of analyzing real world problems. It was proposed by legendary mathematician Dr. John von Neumann. It is one of the most important tools used by corporations, governments, militaries and computer game designers these days for strategic decision making in real life as well as real life-like situations. Game theory is called into play whenever there are several players whose actions are interdependent. It is the genesis of revolutionary changes in economic theory, the study of evolution and biology and has recently been applied in the automobile industry as well. The fields of sociology and psychology also have dedicated streams for creating datasets using game theory. The key aspects of game theory revolve around identification of process participants, their various quantifiable options (choices), consideration of their preferences and subsequent reactions. If all these factors are carefully thought of, then the task of modeling the problem by game theory along with identifications of all possible situations becomes easier. Think of coalition political parties tussling over power sharing in government. Cooperative Game Theory is often used in politics and international relations because, invariably, power plays a big role in determining the strength of a nation. The neoliberation in international relations has greatly benefitted from game theory.

Brief History of Game Theory The mathematical theory of games was first developed by John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern in the 1940s, but its applicability was limited to parlor games. John Nash, the subject of the 2001 Oscar-winning movie A Beautiful Mind transformed game theory into a more general tool that enabled the analysis of win-win and lose-lose scenarios, as well as win-lose situations. Nash enabled game theory to address a central question: should we compete or cooperate? Game Theory remains at the cutting edge of economic theory, with game theorists winning the Noble Prize in Economics in 1994, 1996, 2005, 2007 and 2012. For his path-breaking dissertation that revolutionized economics and many other disciplines, John Nash won the Nobel in 1994, along with game theorists John Harsanyi and Reinhard Selten. William Vickrey won the Noble in 1996 for his pioneering, work in incentives, asymmetric information, and auction theory, all crucial to the advance of effective strategy in a world of influence like chess, football, military strategy and business. Thomas Schelling and Robert Aumann won the 2005 Nobel for the game-theoretic work in conflict and cooperation, including contributions on credible commitments and repeated games. In the committees worlds, such contributions have made Game Theory the dominant approach to the analysis of conflict and cooperation. Leonid Hurwicz, Eric Maskin and Roger Myerson won the 2007 Nobel prize for their work in mechanism design theory, a branch of game theory that extends the application of game theory to how different types of rules, or institutions, align individual incentives with overall social goals. Their work on allocation mechanisms has had a significant impact on the design of auctions, social welfare systems and many organizations.

Most recently, in 2013, the Nobel was awarded to Lloyd Shapley and Alvin Roth for their work using Game Theory for economic engineering. Both addressed how to match different agents as well as possible. Shapely used cooperative game theory to study and compare different matching methods. Roth built on Shapleys theoretical work by showing empirically the conditions for the functioning of important markets in practice, and he demonstrated that stability is the key to understanding the success of particular market institutions. Another form of Game Theory is the Coalitional model, where the payoffs of a group or coalition take precedence over individual players payoff. Assume a recently concluded election in which no individual political party has majority to form a government. This model can actually analyse and find the best group or coalition so that the payoffs are maximized. This is different from co-operative model in the sense that here even a small individual political party can enjoy more power and influence than a larger party. The only thing that is never disclosed is the process of negotiations by which the individual players formed a group of coalition. Many Public Relation agencies, marketing firms and direct selling firms use elements of Game Theory to narrow down their target consumer base. It improves their focus area by giving a relatively clearer picture of the methods that can be employed to deal with customers. An international program run by the US secret service agencies known a s Prism uses a software model based on Game Theory to ascertain predictability of terrorist activities, identities and their possible locations. The program gathers data from numerous sources such as international Internet gateways, satellites, social networking sites, emails, chats and messengers. The data is then fed into the program to create a spectrum of information about possible terrorist attacks in USA and elsewhere. The Game Theory is criticized for being a limiting factor in expanding ones visi on and intuitiveness. Not to forget the fact that Game Theory largely bases its results in an isolated environment where only the players participating in the game are considered to be solely responsible for the outcome of the game. Evolutionary scientists and many physicists also claim that the Game Theory works largely against the basic principles of human and universal evolution. According to them, the existence of over billion living species of differing characteristics is a classic example which defies rationality at its best. Criticism notwithstanding, the game theory is regarded as extremely useful by researchers in political science. Useful our useless, the debate continues as do developments in this field of applied mathematics. This is also a fairly large group of supporters who claim to have benefitted from Game Theory.

CSIR @ 70 Council of Scientific and Industrial Research was constituted in September 1942 as an autonomous body registered under the Registration of Societies Act XXI of 1860. The Achievements 1950s 1960s The indelible ink, a tool to prevent voting by the same person more than once, has become the mark of elections in India. It was developed in 1952 by the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), and subsequently licensed to the state-run Mysore Paints and Varnish Limited, Mysore, which is the sole supplier of indelible ink to the Election Commission of India. The firm also supplies the indelible ink to countries like Nepal, Cambodia, Turkey, South Africa, Nigeria and others.

Optical glass is used in lenses and prisms in a wide range of scientific, photographic and survey instruments. The manufacture of optical glass was a closely guarded secret and India had to import it at expensive prices. A special assignment given to Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI) by the Planning Commission was to work out the process technology for the production of optical glass. CGCRI succeeded in understanding the design and fabrication of the required equipment without any foreign collaboration. Its 10-tonne capacity pilot plant went into production in 1961. A wind tunnel is used in aircraft design to study the effects of air moving past solid objects. It comprises of a closed tubular passage, in which the aircraft fitted with appropriate sensors is subjected to airflow. National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) established a trisonic wind tunnel in the 1960s to catalyze aerospace research and through its 17 scholarly journals and two abstracting journals; taking science to the people through its three popular science magazines, and providing information on plant, animal and mineral wealth of the country.

1970s Mechanization of agriculture played an important role in making India self sufficient in food grains. Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI) made its contribution to this end with the SWARAJ, a 20 HP tractor, which was first licensed to Punjab Tractor Limited in 1974. CSIRs latest contribution to Indian agriculture is SONALIKA, a 60 HP tractor. In the late 1970s, Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP) developed Nutan, with funding and marketing support from Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). Launched in the Indian market in 1977, Nutan revolutionized smokeless cooking and reduced fuel requirement by 25%. Nutan is still considered an efficient cooking appliance in the kerosene stove market. Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI) came up with a solution to providing water in villages with technology that was simple, easy to operate and maintain with the India Mark II pump. Made of non-corrosive nonmetallic parts, the low-cost pump has been successful not only in rural India, but several other nations too.

1980s In the 1980s India was importing computing power from other nations. In one instance, when the US government refused to supply a Cray supercomputer to India in 1986, scientists from the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) built their own supercomputer. They connected several computers in parallel to create Flosolver, Indias first parallel computer. Flosolver was used to aid research in fluid dynamics and aeronautics, and its success triggered other successful parallel computing projects in the country such as PARAM. National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) pioneered the Nalgonda technique to remove fluoride from water in 1988. The Nalgonda technique is named after the village in India where the method was pioneered and employs the flocculation principle. It involves several unit operations including rapid mixing, chemical interaction, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration, disinfection and sludge concentration to recover water and aluminium salts. Birth control pills based on female hormones progestogen and estrogen had many undesirable effects due to their interference with other actions of the endocrine system. Scientists at Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) tried to develop a safer alternative by developing a clearer understanding of the role of estrogen progesterone balance in the development of fertilized ovum.

 1990s

They came upon a solution by developing an agent that would prevent pregnancy by interfering with implantation of the fertilized ovum in the uterus without disturbing the hypothalamus-pituitary- ovarian hormone axis. The once-a-week pill, Centchroman reached the masses by the end of the 1980s, and is marketed under the brand Saheli.

CSIRs National Aerospace Laboratories designed and developed Hansa, Indias first allcomposite two-seater trainer aircraft. About 10 Hansa aircraft have already taken to the skies. Bamboo flowers only once during its lifetime and that too just once in seven to a hundred years depending on the species the flowering is called gregarious flowering because all the bamboo clumps flower at the same time. The plants die after flowering. In 1990, CSIR scientists created history when they made bamboo flowering within weeks possible by using tissue culture technologies. CSIR challenged the US patent granted to the wound healing properties of turmeric in 1995, which has been known in India for centuries. In 1997, India won the patent battle and turmeric patent was revoked. This became a landmark case, setting a precedent for challenging patents based on traditional knowledge. CSIR also won a patent battle on Basmati rice. Based on these experiences, CSIR developed a digital archive of Indian traditional knowledge the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL). A Traditional Knowledge Resource Classification (TKRC) has already been accepted by 170 member nations of the International Patent Classification (IPC) Union of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

2000s National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) took a bow when the Light Combat aircraft (LCA) soared onto the skies for the first time in 2001. NAL also developed SARAS, the 14-seater twin-engine turboprop aircraft with a maximum speed of over 600 km/hour, which made its maiden flight on 22 August 2004. Project LaCONES is aimed at the conservation of endangered animals through the use of biotechnological intervention. This initiative of unmatched scale anywhere in the world was proposed by CSIR with the help of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Central Zoo Authority of India (CZA) in 1998. Central Glass & Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI) in collaboration with Network Systems Technology (NeST), developed a product called ERBIUM doped Fibre Amplifier (EDFA). The amplifier is a key component of cable TV networks and restores energy loss during transmission and ensures high quality picture, sound and connectivity. EDFA is expected to help in implementing Fibre to the Home technology in future. The EDFA is commercially viable in national and international markets. The Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) achieved completion of the first ever Human Genome Sequencing of an anonymous healthy Indian citizen. India is now in the league of countries that have demonstrated the capability to sequence and assemble complete human genomes like United States, China, Canada, United Kingdom, and Korea. SOLECKSHAW, an eco friendly tricycle, has been developed by a team of scientists at CMERI, Durgapur. Driven partly by pedal and partly by electric power supplied by a battery that is charged from solar energy, this three-wheeler rickshaw requires lesser driving effort than normal rickshaws leading to increased earning for rickshaw pullers.

Just as the INS Vikramaditya defends the nation, technologies developed at the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) feed them. The naval ship is now equipped with six dosa and three idli-making machines. CFTRI is the only R&D institute that has designed dosa and idli making machines in India.

CSIR Firsts XNA Synthetic biologists from MRC laboratory under the leadership of Vitor Pinheiro and Philip Hollinger have developed six alternative polymers called XNAs that can also store genetic information, replicate and evolve like the genetic systems consisting of DNA and RNA. The X in XNA stands for xeno a Latin prefix that means exotic or foreign. Scientists have used this term to indicate the synthetic nature of these molecules that one of the ingredients typically found in the building blocks that make up RNA and DNA has been replaced by something different from what occurs naturally. Strands of DNA and RNA are formed by joining together individual structural units called nucleotides. A nucleotide in turn is made up of two units a nucleoside and a phosphate group. The nucleoside consists of one of 5 nitrogenous bases adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine or uracil and a five-carbon sugar. In case of DNA, chains of 2-deoxyribose sugar (D in DNA) are connected by phosphate groups to form the backbone of a ladderlike structure. In case of RNA the backbone is composed of ribose sugar (R in RNA), rather than 2 deoxyribose sugar. While making the rungs of the ladder-like structure RNA uses uracil (U) instead of thymine (T) and finally unlike the double helix of DNA, RNA forms half a ladder a single helix. In case of XNAs, the sugars in the backbone ladder structure differ from that of four-carbon sugars 2-deoxy ribose and ribose sugar. Designed Indias first ever parallel processing computer Flosolver. First to introduce DNA fingerprinting in India. Designed & developed Indias first all-composite aircraft Hansa. Designed and developed Indias first 14-seater plane SARAS Invented the first ever once a week non-steroidal family planning pill in the world by the name of Saheli. Achieved the first breakthrough of flowering of Bamboo within weeks as against twenty years in nature. Helped India to be the first Pioneer Investor under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. First to analyze genetic diversity of the indigenous tribes of Andaman and to establish their origin out of Africa 60,000 years ago. First ever baby food from buffalo milk. Pioneered convenience food technology for the first time in the country. First to produce the indelible ink used in elections in the country. Developed the first transgenic Drosophila model for drug screening for cancer in humans. Established for the first time anywhere in the world the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library accessible in five international languages English, German, French, Japanese and Spanish. Completed the first complete Genome Sequencing of an Indian. Successfully tested Indias first indigenous civilian aircraft, NAL NM5 made in association with Mahindra Aerospace.

Applications of XNA Synthesis

Synthetic Life: It is believed that XNAs might, in the future, help in the creation of synthetic genetic systems based on alternative chemical latforms, and hence entirely synthetic alternative novel forms of life that will not require DNA or RNA for functioning. Origin of Life: It is also assumed that XNAs and their enzymes might shed light on the origin of life and provide an answer to why life as we know it is based on the dominance of only two molecules DNA and RNA. Medicine and Therapeutics: Medicine, too, could benefit from XNAs because of their nonbiodegradable nature. Generally biomolecules like RNA, DNA, enzymes and antibodies are used as therapeutics, diagnostics and in biosensing applications.

In Vitro Cultured Meat A few years ago, meat and poultry industries were rudely shocked at the outbreaks of mad cow disease and bird flu. At the same time demand for healthy meat is growing. A global survey says that Chinas meat demand is doubling every ten years and consumption of poultry products in India has doubled in the last five years. It is estimated that worlds meat consumption would double by 2050 and there would not be enough livestock to meet this demand. Is there any alternative to the disease-prone, farm-based meat production? Scientists feel that in the long run cultured meat, that is, meat grown in the laboratory may be the answer. The production of cultured meat begins by taking a few satellite cells from a farm animal and multiplying them in a liquid medium that provides glucose, amino acids, minerals, vitamins, etc. They are then attached to a scaffold and grown in stationary or rotating bioreactors for further proliferation and differentiation. Two types of scaffolds, made out of edible material such as collagen, have been designed. One of them is a grooved biofilm and the other comprises of porous micro spheres. This technology has a number of advantages. In theory, cells taken out from a hand full of animals without sacrificing them could produce the worlds meat supply. Currently, farm animals are inhumanly bred for the sole purpose of making them as fat as possible. New born calves are separated from their mothers, deliberately made anemic, denied roughage, kept stacked like mailbags in stalls so narrow that they cannot move. In USA alone 9 billion animals are killed every year to produce meat! In vitro meat production puts an end to all such cruelty. Furthermore, the meat produced will be free from animal infections caused by Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli, and so on. Add to this the direct environmental impact of farming animals for food the cropland, water and pesticides for growing farm feeds, the input required to house, transport and slaughter animals. In fact, breeding animals for meat is considered to be one of the most energy inefficient processes. Farm animals will have skin, legs, bones, digestive organs, etc which are not edible and are thrown out as waste. They also produce a significant amount of greenhouse gases. The nutritional value of the meat can be more easily controlled. Most meats are high in the fatty acid omega-6, which causes high cholesterol and other health problems. With in vitro meat one can replace the fat cells with those that produce omega-3, which is healthy fat. The technology, however, is not ready to place a piece of steak on the dinner plate. Hamburgers and sausages are processed meat. The greater challenge is to produce highly structured meat like steak, chicken breast etc. One of the approaches would be to seed the bioreactor with small tissue explants, like growing crystals in a physics laboratory, to grow thick, structured muscle chunks. Explants have the advantage of containing, in the right proportion, all types of cells composing muscle.

However, the biggest problem is in ensuring constant supply of nutrients to the growing cell mass, without which the cells will die. Another important aspect is cost of production. The organization known as People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has announced a prize of US$ one million for anyone who can develop a commercially viable procedure for in vitro meat production.

Gravitational Waves: Gravitational Waves (GWs) akin to the electro-magnetic waves, have been detected from the Universe. The GWs are emitted by gravitating bodies in motion, such as two black holes spiraling towards each other in a binary orbit in the cosmos. Gravitational Waves are extremely difficult to detect, and although they were predicted about one hundred years ago, till today they have not been seen in experiments, physicists say. The experimental discovery of gravitational waves will open an extraordinary new window in astronomy.

The kilogram is being redefined. In the International System of Units, which is used all over the globe, the base unit of mass is the kilogram. It is defined as the mass of an object known as the International Prototype Kilogram (IKP), which is carefully preserved since 1889 at the International Bureau for Weights and Measures (BIPM in French) in France. The IPK, colloquially known as the Le Grand K, is an alloy of 90% platinum and 10% iridium, machined into a right circular cylinder of 39.17 mm diameter and equal height. India has one such standard, kept at the CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL). One of the most important requirements of a base standard is that it remains stable over time. To check its stability, once every few decades scientists clean it by rubbing lightly with a soft leather cloth soaked in equal parts of ether and ethanol, followed by steam cleaning with distilled water. Then it is put in a precise balance known as a comparator to compare its mass with the Bureaus official copies, which are cleaned the same way. Scientists who have measured the IPK and its official copies say the difference in mass among them is less than that of a grain of sand! There are other compelling reasons for redefining the kilogram on the basis of a fundamental constant of nature. The definitions of a number of other SI Units are directly or indirectly dependent on the stability of the kilogram. For example, newton is defined as the amount of force necessary to accelerate a mass of one kilogram at one meter per second square. Any instability in the kilogram will proportionately destabilize the newton. The SI unit of pressure pascal and joule the SI Unit of energy are defined in terms of newton. The International Committee on Weights and Measures recommended in 2005 that the kilogram be redefined on the basis of a fundamental constant. With these requirements in view, several new definitions have been proposed. Two fundamental constants that have been considered are Avogadro constant and Planck constant. In the redefine the kilogram in terms of Planck constant. Both the National Physical Laboratory, UK and the National Institute of Standards Technology, USA have developed an equipment known as watt balance, capable of delineating kilogram in terms of Planck constant. Rather than weighing one mass against another, such a balance weighs an object against the amount of electromagnetic force needed to balance the object against gravitational pull.

The final decision on redefinition of kilogram will be taken in the next meeting of the General Conference of Weights and Measures scheduled for 2014. The dissemination of kilogram will no longer depend upon the stability of the kilogram prototypes. Instead, close approximation to mass standards would simply be weighed and documented as being equal to one kilogram plus/minus some offset value. It is not just the kilogram, but other units like the ampere, the mole and the kelvin are also likely to be redefined in the coming years.

Base International System (SI) of Units According to the BIPM, The International system of Units is a set of units of measurement comprising of both base and derived units. The base units are a choice of well-defined units, which by convention are regarded as dimensionally independent. Derived units are those formed by combining base units according to algebraic relations linking the corresponding quantities. The seven base units defined by the BIPM are: Unit of Length The meter is the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299 792 458 of a second. Unit of Mass Kilogram The kilogram is the unit of mass; it is equal to the mass of the international prototype of the kilogram. Unit of Time Second The second is the duration of 9 192 631 770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium 133 atom. Unit of Electric Ampere The ampere is that constant current which, if current maintained in two straight parallel conductors of infinite length, of negligible circular cross-section, and placed 1 meter apart in vacuum, would produce between these conductors a force equal to 2 x 10-7 newton per meter of length. Unit of Kelvin The kelvin, unit of thermodynamic is the fraction 1/273.16 of the Thermodynamic thermodynamic temperature of the triple point of water. Temperature Unit of Amount Mole 1. The mole is the amount of substance of a of substance system that contains as many elementary entities as there are atoms in 0.012 kilogram of carbon 12; its symbol is mol. 2. When the mole is used, the elementary entities must be specified and may be atoms, molecules, ions, electrons, other particles, or specified groups of such particles. Unit of Luminous Candela The candela is the luminous intensity, in a given direction, of a Intensity source that emits monochromatic radiation of frequency 540 x 1012 hertz and that has a radiant intensity in that direction of 1/683 watt per steradian. Diffraction When a wave hits an object, they cannot reach the region immediately behind that object. Shadows are formed due to this. Since the waves of light are blocked, the region immediately behind the object is darker. But shadows are sharper close to an object than they are further from it. This is due to diffraction. Waves that pass the object change their direction of travel slightly. The wave that just missed the object spreads in a circle or sphere, into the space behind the object. Meter

This is why shadows become more blurred further away from the object that casts them. Eventually the spherically spreading waves from each edge of the obstacle may even meet up.

Indias First Indigenous AEW&C system Developed by DRDOCABS The indigenous Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) System programme got a boost when a major milestone was achieved when the first aircraft fully modified by M/s EMBRAER with more than 300 mission system items supplied by Centre for Airborne System (CABS), landed in Bangalore at the HAL Airport on 22 August 2012. The indigenous AEW&C System is a multisensory system providing for all aspects of Airborne Early Warning & Control in todays defence scenario.

Global Dimming: Contrasting Global Warming? The Indian subcontinent witnessed about a months delayed arrival of monsoon in 2012. During the first decade of this twenty first century all the species of this globe are suffering from extreme climatic impacts (heat wave, coldest winter, drought, flood, water scarcity etc.). Scientists are explaining these effects as a result of Global Warming caused due uncontrolled burning of fossil fuels. But all the environmental phenomena cannot be explained only by Global Warming. Some of these events can be accounted for by Global Dimming too. In 1985, an English scientist Gerald Stanhill working in the Agricultural Research Organisation, Israel had noticed about 22% drop in sunlight in Israel compared to that in 1950. This made Stanhill coin the term Global Dimming, which contrasts interestingly with the term Global Warming. The amount of average solar energy reaching the earths surface has been observed to have dropped by more than 10% in the last six decades due to blockage by suspended air particulate materials. The effect of Global Dimming varies from place to place; for example, 9% in Antarctica, 10% in the USA, 16% in parts of British Isles, 30% in Russia (formerly Soviet Union) and 37% in Hong Kong from 1950 to 1990. The reasons for Global Dimming are: air pollution, particle-seeded water vapour present in the cloud, contrails (vapour produced by aeroplanes), smog formation, volcanic eruption, meteorite hitting etc. Clouds and suspended nanoparticles in the air block a portion of solar energy before reaching the earths surface. Scientists observed no heat reflection during the aftermath of the U.S. 9/11 attacks, when all the aeroplanes were grounded for three days. This suggests that contrails are responsible for Global Dimming. Temperature rose by about one degree Celsius during those three days. It is to be noted that the visible and infrared radiations seem to be more affected than ultraviolet radiation. A 3% reduction of solar energy every year might cause complete darkness in about 330 years. Global Dimming is now being considered responsible for the droughts in sub-Saharan Africa during the 1970s and 1980s. Darkness due to meteorite impact on earth even caused the extinction of dinosaurs. Ripening of crops may be affected in the cloudy areas and an equal percentage of drop in productivity may take place with the percentage drop of solar radiation. Oceans get shielded from getting full energy from sun and that might affect on the global rainfall pattern. Global Dimming is a surface and near surface phenomena while Global Warming is an entirely atmospheric phenomenon.

Algae to Combat Food Crisis?

Algaculture is a form of aquaculture involving the farming of algae. Most intentionally cultivated fall into the category of microalgae, commonly known as seaweed. Microalgae are microscopic unicellular organisms capable of converting solar energy to chemical energy via photosynthesis. The algal cultivation process requires carbon dioxide, light, water and other nutrients that facilitate the photosynthetic process. Algae are receiving wide attention as a source of biomass protein for use in animal feeds and foods. High oil prices and the competing demands between food crops and other biofuel sources (which are leading to the world food crisis) have ignited interest in algaculture formaking vegetable oil and other biofuels (biodiesel, bioethanol, biogasoline, biomethanol, biobutanol), using land that is not suitable for agriculture. In India, the CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur has developed a technique of cultivating algae in sewage oxidation pond systems.

Methods of Algaculture 1. Batch Culture: A batch culture is used for small volumes of cultivation space, usually upto ten litres. It is a system where the total culture is harvested and used as a food. 2. Semi-Continuous culture: A semicontinuous culture is a system where part of the culture is harvested and used as food and the amount taken is replaced with fresh culture medium. After allowing 2-3 days for the remaining cells to grow and divide, the process is repeated. Semicontinuous cultures may be operated for 7 to 8 weeks. 3. Continuous Culture: A continuous culture is more long term, and is maintained by monitoring and keeping some factor constant. Environments for Algaculture Cultivation of Algae in Open Ponds Open ponds can be categorized into natural waters (lakes, lagoons, ponds) and artificial ponds or containers. The most commonly used systems include shallow big ponds, tanks, circular ponds and raceway ponds. Central Zoo Authority The Government of India took a policy decision in 1988 that the main objective of the management of zoos in India would be conservation. Captive breeding of endangered species and creation of empathy towards wildlife would be the main goals to be achieved. Recreation would be encouraged only to the extent that it is consistent with the conservation objective. Consequently, the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) was set up in 1992 as a statutory body under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. No zoo can operate in India without recognition by this Authority and prior orders from the Supreme Court of India. The main functions of the CZA are: 1. Recognition of zoos and enforcing of the minimum standards and norms of management; 2. Providing financial assistance to zoos in planned development; 3. Coordinating captive breeding programmes for endangered species on scientific lines and organizing frequent exchanges of animals between zoos; 4. Training and education in zoo management; 5. Providing technology for modern aspects of zoo management through international cooperation; 6. Establishing linkages between ex-situ and in-situ conservation.

Giant Tortoise Gone Forever On 24th June 2012, the world lost a species of a Giant tortoise of the famed Galapagos Archipelago, connected with British Naturalist Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution. Lonesome George the male Pinta Giant tortoise or Abingdon Island tortoise ( Chelonoidis abingdonii) belonging to the family Testudinidae was the last surviving member of his species and with his death the species of Pinta Island Giant tortoise has become extinct. Lonesome George passed away in his corral situated at the Galapagos National Park (Ecuador). Pinta tortoise was already listed as Extinct in the Wild on the IUCN Red List of threatened species. Lonesome George was estimated to be about hundred years old. The Galapagos Island Giant tortoises are not only the largest tortoises in the world but also longest living of all vertebrates.

Kawar Lake Bird Sanctuary Under Threat Kawar Tal, a 7,400-hectare lake about 22 km northwest of Begusarai town, is considered one of South Asias largest freshwater lakes. Ecologically, it is one of the most important wetlands in the state, hosting 106 species of resident birds and providing a nesting ground for 59 species of migratory birds. Economically too, the lake is significant because it yields about two tonnes of fish everyday and is the single biggest source of irrigation in the area. The Union Government has notified Kawar Tal as a wetland of national importance, the only one with this designation in Bihar. In 1986, Kawar Tal was declared a protected area. The wetland, despite being a proposed Ramsar site since 1987, was not included among the 13 others declared as wetlands of international importance in 2002. The Kawar Tal has been declared as an IBA (Important Bird Area) site of Bihar because of the large number of birds it harbours. An area of 66.13 sq.km of Kawar Tal was declared as a protected area by the government of Bihar in June 1989. The waters of Kawar Tal are declining at an alarming rate due to sever eutrophication. The depth of the lake is declining rapidly due to infestation of aquatic weeds such as Phragmatis and Hydrilla. Indiscriminate use of boats for fishing and loading fodder grasses is also proving a hindrance for birds to roost on the water surface. Awareness programmes among the local people for the protection of migratory birds and other wildlife are being carried out. But poverty, lack of political will, weak administration and misguided policies weaken the effectiveness of all such measures. It has to be realized that the Kawar Lake can be saved only when all segments of the society come together on a common platform.

Wild Ass National Park Little Rann of Kutch, situated in the Thar Desert of Gujarat, was established in January 1972 as a sanctuary for the last population of Indian wild ass (Equus hemionus khur), locally known as khur. The only other two subspecies of wild asses live in the high arid plateaus of Tibet. One of the three surviving species of the Wild Ass in the world, the khur is high on the list of endangered species. Only 1,800 to 2,000 of the species survive today.

They are slightly bigger than a donkey, and are fast and strong like a horse. Few animals in the animal kingdom can match the wild ass in terms of speed and stamina. Apart from the wild ass, the region is inhabited by other wild animals also such as the chinkara, desert fox, jackal, desert cat, caracal, nilgai, wolf, blackbuck, and striped hyena. One can also get a rare insight into the lifestyles of the numerous ethnic groups and local tribes, which live in and around the Rann. The tribes living in the region are the Kolis, Rabaris, Bajanias, Kutchis, Gujjars and the Bharvads. The main threats to the Khur are overgrazing by livestock; persecution by farmers in retaliation for crop raiding; and contraction of diseases from domestic horses. The Khur was given full legal protection in 1952.

GSAT-10 ISRO completed its 101st mission on 29 September 2012. This geosynchronous satellite is the heaviest of all the satellites launched by ISRO, weighing 3,400 kilograms. Prior to this, ISRO completed its hundredth mission on 9 September 2012 with the help of PSLV-C21the launch of the French satellite Spot-6 weighing 712 kilograms and the Japanese microsatellite Proiteres weighing 15 kilograms. This launch has raised one pertinent question, namely, why should we not fast equip the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) with the indigenous cryogenic engine. The development of Mark-II and Mark-III cryogenic engines is already going on in the country. While Mark-II has a lifting capacity of 2,500 kilograms, the Mark-III engine can launch payloads weighing 4,000-5,000 kilograms in the geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and payloads weighing 10,000 kilograms in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO). A Mark-II engine was even deployed in the sixth flight of GSLV-D3 on 15 April 2012 to launch the GSAT-4 satellite weighing 2,200 kilograms. However, as the engine did not ignite this mission failed. However, ISRO must fast track the development of both these cryogenic engines. In the present scenario, there is hardly any option left. With only one Mark-I (c) engine left out of a total of seven cryogenic engines that we received from Russia, ISRO has to complete the development of cryogenic engines at a faster pace. It is necessary to become self-reliant in the field of space technology; otherwise, we would have to depend on foreign satellites for launching our NSAT/GSAT types of satellites. Faster development of cryogenic engines is also necessary on another count.

Drugs A drug includes all chemicals other than food that affect living processes. Drugs have three or more names, including a chemical name, brand or trade name, and generic or common name. The chemical name is assigned according to rules of nomenclature of chemical compounds. The brand name is always capitalized and is selected by the manufacturer. The generic name refers to a common established name irrespective of its manufacturer.

Types of drugs Depending on the action and effect produced, the drugs are generally classified as: Analgesics/Antipyretics: An analgesic is a drug that relieves pain and an antipyretic lowers body temperature and diminishes fever. Prostaglandins are potent mediators of inflammation and pain, and these drugs act by reducing its production. Paracetamol, Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Ketoprofen, Flurbiprofen, Butorphanol, Carprofen, Nalbuphine, Oxymorphone, Pethidine, Diclofenac Sodium, Indomethacin etc are examples.

Antacids: Antacids relieve indigestion by neutralizing stomach acids. Histamine stimulates the secretion of pepsin and hydrochloric acid in stomach. Anthelmintics: Anthelmintics are drugs that expel parasitic worms from the body by either stunning or killing them. They may also be called vermifuges or vermicides. Albendazole is effective against threadworms, roundworms, whipworms, tapeworms, and hookworms. Antibacterials: An antibacterial is a compound or substance that kills or slows down the growth of bacteria and is used to treat infections. Antibacterial drugs include the penicillins, cephalosporins and the carbapenems. Antibiotics: Chemical substances produced by microorganisms (bacteria, fungi and mould) that inhibit the growth or even destroy other microorganisms are called antibiotic drugs. Antidepressants: An antidepressant is a psychiatric medication used to alleviate mood disorders, such as major depression and anxiety disorders. Some examples are Citalopram, Escitalopram, Fluoxetine, Fluvoxamine, and Paroxetine. Antidiarrhoeals: Drugs used for relief from diarrhoea. A notable drug for the purpose of relief of diarrhea is Loperamide. Antifungals: Antifungal drugs are used to treat fungal infections, the most common of which affect the hair, skin, nails, or mucous membranes, e.g. Terbinafine and Itraconazole. Antihistamines: Antihistamines are drugs used primarily to counteract the effects of histamine, one of the chemicals involved in allergic reactions. The classic antihistamines are represented by chlorpheniramine, brompheniramine, diphenhydramine and dimenhydrinate. Diuretics: Diuretics are drugs that increase the quantity of urine produced by the kidneys and passed out of the body, thus ridding the body of excess fluid. Examples of diuretic drugs include furosemide, ethacrynic acid, torsemide, bumetanide. Hypoglycemics: Hypoglycemics are drugs that lower the level of glucose in the blood.

Sunderbans Mangroves Sunderban is the largest mangrove ecosystem in the world, covering an area of about one million hectares, of which 60% is located in Bangladesh and the remaining in India. The area included in the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1987 is a part of the famous GangesBrahmaputra Delta. The name Sunderban has probably been derived from the Sundari trees ( Heritiera fomes) that once abundantly populated the Sunderban. Mangroves are flowering plants comprising at least three types of floral components true mangroves, back mangroves and mangrove associates. True mangroves are salt-tolerant halophytic plants, growing on tidal swamp habitats. The true mangrove species thrive in high salinity, daily submergence, fine clayey oxygen deficient soil, tidal currents, fresh water flow and strong wind as well. Back mangroves are a bushy, discontinuous type of vegetation. They are not subjected to the same degree of tidal inundations as experienced by true mangroves that grow near mangrove stands towards the landward side. Though able to withstand the high salinity and low nutrient soil associated with coastal areas, these plants generally are not found in the intertidal areas colonized by true mangrove plants. Mangrove associates are not true mangrove plants. They are common mesophytic plants occurring near the human habitation. These plants can grow in nutrient-deficient soil but cannot withstand environmental conditions as encountered by the true mangroves.

Extensive human intervention is considered the main reason behind the rapid degradation of mangrove vegetation in Sunderban. Mangroves act as natural sewage treatment plants and absorb pollutants both from air and water. They possess high percentage of tannins in their bark and leaves that can neutralize some of the industrial pollutants. Mangroves are also an important carbon dioxide sink; among mangrove plants found in Sunderban, Keora is the most efficient species followed by Baen and Genwa. The Sunderban mangrove functions as a wind-breaking barrier and minimizes the intensity of cyclonic storms. It is high time that well thought out environmental protection measures are implemented before this unique biosphere is lost forever.

Kaziranga National Park The Kaziranga National Park in Assam protects the worlds largest Indian rhinoceros population, as well as many other species of tigers, elephants, panthers and birds. In the early nineteenth century, the area around what is now Kaziranga National Park was notorious for wild animals, malaria and frequent floods. Kaziranga was originally designated a reserve forest in 1908 with the primary objective of preserving the rhinoceros and other large mammals. It received the status of a game sanctuary in 1916 and fi nally became a wildlife sanctuary in 1950. It was designated as a World Heritage site in December 1985. Apart from the threatened Indian rhinoceros, Kaziranga also boasts of tigers that are natural enemies of rhinos. Kaziranga is designated as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by Birdlife International. However, it is the Greater Indian rhinoceros, one of the largest rhinoceroses, that Kaziranga is really famous for.

Kinetic Charger The Kinetic Charger is a simple, visually appealing little charger that clips onto your belt to harvest the energy created by your movements. You can plug it into your phone or any other mobile gadget that charges via USB, and the power your make by walking or jogging is fed into your device. Each tiny charger can hold up to 4 watts of stored energy, and they can be linked together to offer a larger capacity.

Registration for New Indian Cattle Breeds The National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources, Karnal (NBAGR) is the nodal agency for the registration of newly identified germplasm of the livestock and poultry of the country. For the first time, indigenous pig and donkey breeds have been registered by NBAGR. The newly registered breeds are: Malnad Gidda: Malnad Gidda cattle breed is native of Western Ghats in Karnataka. The word gidda denotes dwarf and Malnad denotes a place receiving high rainfall. This breed is distributed predominantly in Malnad areas of Shimoga, Hassan, Chikmangalur and adjacent coastal districts of Mangalore, Udupi, North Kanara and parts of Kodagu district of Karnataka. Kalahandi buffaloes: Medium sized, very hardy, dual type breed, well known for longevity, these buffaloes are seen in the Gajapati district and parts of Ganjam and Rayagada district in Orissa, and also the adjoining hilly regions of Andhra Pradesh. Puliculam cattle: The Pulikulam breed or Jallikkattu breed of cattle is found in Madurai, Sivaganga, Virudhunagar, Theni and also the Cumbum valley and the Periyar River. This breed is more resistant to communicable and parasitic diseases as compared to crossbreds under hot and

wet conditions. Famous for their high endurance levels, they are commonly used in the hugely popular Jallikattu (bull taming) sport in South Madurai during Pongal. Konkan Kanyal goat: Konkal Kanyal goat is meat type breed adapted to high rainfall and the hot and humid climate of Konkan region in Maharashtra. Konkan Kanyal goat Berari goat: Found in Nagpur and Wardha district of Maharashtra and Ninar district of Madhya Pradesh. Berari goat is also reared mainly for meat purpose in Vidarbh region of Maharashtra. These are tall and dark coloured breeds. Aunique feature is that animals have light to dark strips on lateral sides from horn base to nostrils of face. Ghungroo pig: Ghungroo an indigenous strain of pig first reported from North Bengal. It is popular among the local people because of its ability to sustain in low input system. Faster growth rate, consumers preference and adaptability to low management are some of the excellent characteristics Niang megha: Niang Megha is a pig breed from Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills of Meghalaya, reared for its pork and hair. Spiti donkey: Spiti donkey is found in Lahaul and Spiti region of Himachal Pradesh. The breed is utilized for transportation at high altitude area with low levels of environmental oxygen. Childrens Science Congress On 3 January 2013, the Prime Minister announced the new Science, Technology and Innovations (STI) policy to a packed audience at the 100th session of the Indian Science Congress held in Kolkata. The policy seeks to increase applications of research and development through new methods of public private participation, increase participation of youth in scientific development of the country and promote the spread of scientific temper among various sections of the society. The platinum jubilee session of the congress had published a special brochure titled Indian Science Congress Association Growth & Activities which talked about the extension of the activities of the Indian Science Congress Association and its further diversification to generate scientific temper and popularize science. In line with this objective, the congress started the Childrens Science Congress and the Science Communicators Meet. The Childrens Science Congress inaugurated this year by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam attracted a large audience. Kalam asked the young buds present on the occasion to take science as a life mission and strive to work to their utmost potential. Recommendations of the Congress The five-day deliberations each year lead to a set of recommendations on what should be done to improve the role of science in shaping the future of the country. The list released this year included: 1) Special efforts to attract talent and develop human resource, encourage youthful leadership in the science sector, 2) Readjust governance system of universities to rejuvenate research in the academic sector, 3) Link discovery processes to problem solving responsibilities, 4) New models for international collaborations, 5) Suitable strategy and roadmap for meeting the challenging needs of food nutrition, energy, environment, water and sanitation. Bharatpur National Park

The Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary or The Keoladeo Ghana National Park as it is officially known, is a bird paradise. The name Keoladeo finds its roots in the name of an ancient Hindu temple devoted to Lord Shiva in the sanctuarys central zone while the Hindi term Ghana means dense, thick areas of forest cover. Bharatpur Wildlife Sanctuary is perhaps the only wildlife habitat created by a maharaja himselfthe Maharaja of Bharatpur. In 1760, an earthen dam called Ajan Dam was constructed to save the town from this annual vagary of nature. The area was deemed a national park in March 1982. In 1985, Bharatpur was recognized as a World Heritage Site. The park was in danger of being removed as a Ramsar Site as well as UNESCO World Heritage Site, due to severe drought and abandoning of the park mid way by nesting birds in the year 2007. Bharatpur is an ornithologists delight. It is best known for the Siberian cranes that flock there every year. Apart from Feredunkenar in Iran, Bharatpur Sanctuary is the only place where the Siberian crane migrates.

Anti-Suicide Nasal Spray The US Army reports that an average of one soldier per day takes his or her own life. Now a nasal spray has been developed to prevent suicides. The spray will release a neurochemical thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), which causes a calm and euphoric feeling that could stave off suicidal thoughts. Pills and intramuscular injections dont allow the chemical to reach the brain where it is needed, so until now spinal cord injections have been the only way to deliver it to the body. The spray is not a substitute for antidepressants and other depression treatment.

Chilka Heaven for Birds The largest lagoon along the east coast of India, Chilika is a unique assemblage of marine, brackish and fresh water ecosystem with estuarine characters. Chilika Lake is the largest wintering ground for migratory birds in the Indian subcontinent. Considered as one of the hotspots of biodiversity, the Chilika shelters a number of endangered species listed in the IUCN red list of threatened species, and is also a designated Ramsar site, that is, a wetland of International Importance. The fauna of this water body includes fishes and several varieties of prawns, crabs and oysters. Endangered Irrawaddy Dolphins are the other attraction. It shelters the largest population of these dolphins. The year 2002 was a landmark year in the recognition of conservation efforts at the Chilika Lake. Chilika was taken out of the Montreux Record, which was a record of Ramsar sites where changes in ecological character have occurred, are occurring or are likely to occur. Due to the improved conditions of the lake, Chilika Lake is the first Ramsar site in Asia to be removed from the Montreux record. In 2002, the Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award was presented to the Chilika Development Authority for outstanding achievements in the field of restoration and wise use of wetlands and effective participation of local communities in these activities. The Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puruskar was also awarded to the Chilika Development Authority in the same year for the outstanding contribution of conservation and restoration of the Chilika lake ecosystem. Environmental and Health Hazards Posed by E-Waste

Substance PCB

Occurrence in E-Waste Halogenated compounds Condensers, transformers

Environmental and Health relevance Cause cancer, effect on immune system, reproductive system, nervous system, endocrine system, and other effects. Combustion of halogenated substances may cause toxic emission. High temperature processing of cables may release chlorine, which is converted to dioxin and furan.

CFC PVC

Cooling unit, insolation foam Cable insulation

Heavy Metals and Other Metals Substance Arsenic Occurrence in E-Waste Halogenated compounds Small quantities in the form of gallium arsenide with light emitting diodes Getters in CRT Power supply boxes which contain silicon controlled rectifiers, beamline components Rechargeable NiCd batteries, printers, photocopying machines Data tapes, floppy disc Environmental and Health relevance Acutely poisonous on a long term perspective and injurious to health May develop explosive gases (hydrogen) if wetted. Harmful if inhaled.

Barium Beryllium

Cadmium

Acutely poisonous and injurious to health on a long term perspective. Acutely poisonous and injurious to health on a long term perspective cause allergic reactions. May develop explosive gases (hydrogen) if wetted.

Chronium VI Gallium arsenide Lead

Light emitting diode (LED)

Lithium Mercury

Nickel

Rare earth elements Selenium Zinc sulfide

Toxic organic substances Radioactive substances

CRT screen, batteries, Cause damage to nervous system, circulatory printed wiring boards system, and kidneys cause learning disabilities in children. Li-batteries May develop explosive gases (hydrogen) if wetted. Fluorescents lamps that Acutely poisonous and injurious to health on a long provide backlight in LCDs, term perspective. in some alkaline batteries and mercury wetted switches Rechargeable NiCd May cause allergic reactions. batteries or NiMH batteries, electron gun in CRT Fluorescent layer (CRT Irritates skin and eyes. screen) Older photocopying Exposure to high level may cause adverse health machies effects. Used in interiors or CRT Toxic when inhaled. screens, mixed with rate earth metals Condensers, liquid crystal display Medical equipments, detectors etc. fire May cause cancer when inhaled.

A notification on E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2010, under EPA 1986 Central Institute of Plastics Engineering & Technology (CIPET), Bhubaneswar. A programme on environment management system for information technology in India has been implemented. A project on development of leadfree X-ray absorbing coating material for CRT TV has been successfully implemented in March 2011.

Sarus Cranes in Jeopardy Poisoning of Sarus Cranes due to extensive use of pesticides in India is an unprecedented menace. Sarus Crane (Grus antigone) is the worlds largest flying bird. It is the tallest bird in India and is the state bird of Uttar Pradesh, where it survives in the largest number. Mainpuri and Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh are home to the largest population (about 70%) of Indian Sarus Crane, probably due to the presence of large wetland complexes (a total of 113 wetlands) and agriculture landscape which supports the breeding ground of this charismatic bird. Sarus Cranes have been documented as symbols of loyalty and fidelity because they pair for life. It is also an indicator species as the presence of this bird implies the good health of a wetland. There is no sexual dimorphism. However, we can differentiate it by its size the adult female is slightly smaller than the adult male. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) and Birdlife International have placed this species under the category Vulnerable. In India, this species is included in Schedule IV of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The distribution and population of Indian Sarus Crane is considered to be on the decline in the country.

Barr body Test Barr body, named after its discoverer Dr Murray L. Barr, a Canadian cytogeneticist, is inactive single sex chromosome of the XX pair of sex chromosomes of females. Since this chromosome is double in number, only one remains active without adversely affecting the individual. The one inactive sex chromosome when stained with a specific dye appears as a black spot adhered to the inside of the nuclear membrane. This is a confirmatory test of femaleness.

Sex Chromosome Abnormalities Some of the prominent sex determination anomalies are as follows: Klinefelter Syndrome (XXY): Klinefelter syndrome occurs when a boy is born with one or more extra X-chromosome. An extra X chromosome causes a male to have some physical traits not usual with males. There are cases when men with an extra X chromosome lead normal lives and are not aware of it. This occurs in about 1 out of 1,000 males. Turner syndrome: It is a genetic condition in which a female does not have the usual pair of two X chromosomes and has a XO confi guration. The most common feature is short stature, which becomes evident by about age 5. Early loss of ovarian function is also very common. The ovaries die prematurely and most ovarian tissue degenerates before birth. Affected ones do not undergo puberty unless they receive hormone therapy and most girls are unable to conceive and remain infertile. Congenital adrenal hyperplasia: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia refers to a category of inherited disorders of the adrenal gland. There are two adrenal glands one located on top of

each of both the kidneys. They secrete cortisol and testosterone hormones. People with congenital adrenal hyperplasia lack an enzyme the adrenal gland needs to make the hormones. At the same time, the body produces more androgen, a type of male sex hormone. This causes male characteristics to appear early or inappropriately. Mullerian duct syndrome: Mullerian duct syndrome is a disorder of sexual development that affects males only. Males with this disorder have normal male reproductive organs, though they also have a uterus and fallopian tubes, the female reproductive organs. Uterus and fallopian tubes are derived from a structure called the Mllerian duct during development of the foetus. Individuals have the normal chromosomes of a male (46, XY) and normal external male genitalia. Swyer syndrome: Swyer syndrome is a condition where individuals have one X chromosome and one Y chromosome in each cell. They have a female appearance. What is a Karyotype? A karyotype is a profile of the chromosomes obtained on photographs with the help of a method employing microphotography of these miniscule structures from fast dividing cells with the help of an inbuilt camera in the microscope. Karyotyping is done using blood cells, fetal skin cells (from amniotic fluid or the placenta) in case of unborn babies and from white blood cells and bone marrow cells taken from patients or players as the case may be. A karyotype is used to confirm chromosomal state (Genotype) of a person including any chromosomal aberrations. A karyotype analysis indicates the total number of chromosomes, the sex of the person in question, and structural abnormalities with the individual chromosomes, if any. Indias Mars Mission Uninterrupted global attention on Mars has induced Indias great interest on the Mars Mission. India has planned an ambitious, short-term programme of Mars exploration Mangalyaan-1 to be launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Mangalyaan meaning Mars-craft is an orbiter. It will not land on the surface of Mars, but encircle the planet. This maiden mission to Mars is a technology demonstrator project aiming at a successful interplanetary mission. ISRO completed 125 crore (US$23 million) of required studies for the orbiter last year. The orbit of Mars is elliptical. Mars happens to be closer to Earth every 26 months. In the near future, there are three windows of opportunity. They are in late 2013, in 2016 and in 2018. Indian scientists are aiming to be ready for the 2013 opportunity. Otherwise we would have to wait another 26 months to launch our Mars-Craft. Indians maiden Mars probe will lift off from ISROs launching pad at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. The space agency will use its trusted warhorse rocket Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-XL) to carry the spacecraft into space. The spacecraft will have bi-propellant system using monomethylhydrazine and di-nitrogen tetroxide as fuel with additional safety and redundancy features for Mars orbit insertion.

Payloads Mangalyaan, with a 1350 kg liftoff mass, will carry payloads with a total weight of 14.49 kg. The mass has been scaled down to less than 15 kg against 25 kg planned originally. The payload consists of five instruments: (a) Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyzer (MENCA) (b) Methane Sensor for Mars (MSM) (c) Mars Colour Camera (MCC) (d) Probe for Infrared Spectroscopy for Mars (PRISM) (e) Lyman-Alpha Photometer (LAP)

Major Goals of Mission Mars (a) To transfer the probe from Earth-centered orbit to heliocentric trajectory (b) To insert the probe finally into Martian orbit (c) To develop force models and algorithms for orbit and attitude computations and analyses (d) To navigate the probe from Earth to Mars in deep space using the Deep Space Network (e) To meet power, communications and payload operation requirements of the probe (f) To re-activate the temporary inactive sub-systems of the probe after a 10-month journey (g) To study Martian atmosphere and explore things not done previously by other countries (h) To know how and why the red planet lost water and carbon dioxide (i) To incorporate autonomous features to handle unforeseen situations (j) Above all, to successfully enter orbit of Mars regardless of any scientific data return

15th Annual LOral-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science 2013 For the past fifteen years, LOreal and UNESCO have supported women researchers throughout the world who contribute to moving science forward. The Laureates of the 2013 LOral -UNESCO Awards are: 1. Prof. Francisca Nneka Okeke, University of Nigeria, Nsukka received this honour for her signifi cant contributions to the understanding of daily variations of the ion currents in the upper atmosphere which may further our understanding of climate change. 2. Prof. Reiko Kuroda, University of Science, Tokyo was honoured for discovering the functional importance of the difference between left handed and right handed molecules, which has wide applications including research onneurode generative diseases such as Alzheimers. 3. Prof. Pratibha Gai, University of York, United Kingdom, ingeniously modified her electron microscope so that she was able to observe chemical reactions occurring at surface atoms of catalysts, which will help scientists in their development of new medicines or new energy sources. 4. Prof. Marcia Barbosa, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, discovered one of the peculiarities of water which may lead to better understanding of how earthquakes occur and how proteins fold which is important for the treatment of diseases. 5. Prof. Deborah Jin, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and University of Colorado, Boulder, USA received the award for having been the first to cool down molecules so much that she can observe chemical reactions in slow motion which may help further understanding of molecular processes which are important for medicine or new energy sources.

Star Flower Healthy Remedy Borago officinalis, also known as a star flower, is a storehouse of vitamins and minerals. Belonging to the Boraginaceae family, it probably originated in Aleppo, northwestern Syria, but is now frequently found in Europe and north parts of America and Africa. In India it is distributed in the north-eastern Himalayas from Kashmir to Kumaon. It is used in a versatile manner in medicinal, culinary and ornamental purposes.

The physicians of the late middle ages recommended this for restoring lifes energy. The farmers grow borago along with tomato, strawberry and squash because it improves their flavour and quality. In the early part of the nineteenth century, the young leaves were used as refreshing summer drinks, body coolants and in salads. Borago contains vitamins such as ascorbic acid (vit-C), -carotene (pro-vit-A), choline, niacin, ribofl avin and thiamine; minerals such as calcium, cobalt, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium and zinc; and macro nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, fibers, and glucose.

World Heritage List The World Heritage List includes 962 properties forming part of the cultural and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having outstanding universal value. These include 745 cultural, 188 natural and 29 mixed properties in 157 States Parties. As of September 2012, 190 States Parties have retified the World Heritage Convention. The World Heritage emblem represents the interdependence of the worlds natural and cultural official World Heritage List, and represents the universal values for which the Convention stands. While the central square world, a symbol of global protection for the heritage of all humankind. From India, 29 properties have been inscribed on the World Heritage List. To be included on the World Heritage List, sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria. These criteria are explained in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention which, besides the text of the Convention, is the main working tool on World Heritage. Selection criteria: 1. To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius: 2. To exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design; 3. To bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared; 4. To be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history; 5. To be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or culture), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change; 6. To be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literacy works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably by used in conjunction with other criteria); 7. To contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance; 8. To be outstanding examples representing major stages of earths history, includ ing the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features. 9. To be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals; 10. To contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of science or conservation.

The protection, management, authenticity and integrity of properties are also important considerations. Since 1992, significant interactions between people and the natural environment have been recognized as cultural landscapes.

List of reference: Science Reporter September 2012 to October 2013

Shri Kant Yadav