Researchers in Virginia found due to pollution the scent of floers, which could travel up to 4,000 feet during the 19th century, now travels not even a quarter of that distance.
Courtesy: Paul Ford, Harper’s Weekly Review, April 15, 2008
--------------------------------
Related
---------------------------------
“Key to Scent of Flowers”, Sci Tech, The Hindu, Nov.27, 2003
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/seta/2003/11/27/stories/2003112701001600.htm
“Pollution ‘dulling the scent of flowers’”, Sci Tech, The Hindu, April 20, 2008
http://www.hindu.com/holnus/008200804201550.htm’
“Pollution dulling the scent of flowers”, Financial Express, April 21, 2008
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/Pollution-dulling-the-scent-of-flowers/299506/
“Scented Flowers and Foliages”, (Fragrances can have an effect on our emotions and wellbeing)
http://www.flowers.org.uk/flowers/trivia/scent.htm
“Pollution dulling the scent of flowers”, Sci Tech, Eco News, www.zeenews.com (Pollution is endangering the most essential cycles of nature.)
http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=437809&sid=ENV&ssid=26
“Pollution stifling flowers’ scents’, Alok Jha, Science Correspondent The Guardian, Monday April 14 2008, (why bees and other pollinating insects are in decline)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/apr/14/pollution.conservation
“Why flowers have lost their scent?”, Wren’s Nest News, Article 19614, posed April 20, 2009 (Pollution is dulling the scent of flowers and impeding some of the most basic processes of nature, disrupting insect life and imperilling food supplies).
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/why-flowers-have-lost-their-scent-812168.html
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
A Thought for Today : April 4, 2008
'Cactus' by Paolo Nao fromPublic-Domain-Photos.com
----------------------------------
You can make a dime dishonestly, but it will cost
you a dollar later on - Unknown
Grateful thanks to Paulo Nao and Public-Domain-Photos.com and the unknown author of the above quotation.
A Thought for Today : April 3, 2008
'Protest' - Photo by Jon Sullivan from
Public-Domain-Photos.com
Manliness should mark man and not faint-heartedness. Determination should reign supreme and not timidity. A good cause should be championed firmly; it should not be shirked with indifference. Man grows in caliber as he utilizes his potentialities for good causes. – Swami Chidbhavananda
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Grateful thanks to Jon Sullivan and Public-Domain-Photos.com
Friday, April 18, 2008
Eyecatchers-66: "Embryo Testing"
Parents in Australia were suing an embryo-testing clinic for allowing their child to carry a cancer gene.
Courtesy: Paul Ford, HARPER'S WEEKLY REVIEW, January 22, 2008
Courtesy: Paul Ford, HARPER'S WEEKLY REVIEW, January 22, 2008
----------
Related
----------
"Embryo test 'offers parents hope" by Caroline Ryan BBC News, Prague
"Should we be able to choose our kids?", By Jeffrey P. Kahn, Ph.D., M.P.H., Director, Center for Bioethics, University of Minnesota, CNN.com/Health, August 20, 2002 -
"Should embryo testing be restricted? " BBC News - Talking Point, November 19, 1999 -
"Embryo test for 200 diseases", Healthcare Today Magazine - http://www.hc2d.co.uk/content.php?contentId=1068
"Genetic Embryo Testing Video Clip", http://www.infertile.com/media_pages/television/2001-04-xx_ktvi_genetest.htm
"Call to scrutinise embryo testing", David Adam, science correspondent, The Guardian, April 26 2005 - http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2005/apr/26/health.science
"Embryo testing could produce babies who might aid sick siblings", News-Medical.Net - http://www.news-medical.net/?id=1220
"Embryo testing prevents rhesus factor disease" by Karen Barlow for The World Today - http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200501/s1285912.htm
Facts & Figures-27 : "Brain-enhancing Drugs!"
A poll by the science journal "Nature" found that 20 percent of its readers use brain-enhancing drugs.
Courtesy: Paul Ford, HARPER'S WEEKLY REVIEW, April 15, 2008.
Courtesy: Paul Ford, HARPER'S WEEKLY REVIEW, April 15, 2008.
-----------
Related:
----------
"One in five admit using brain drugs", James Randerson, The Guardian, Thursday April 10 2008 - http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/apr/10/medicalresearch.health.
"20 Percent of Scientists Admit Using Brain-Enhancing Drugs -- Do You?" by Alexis Madriga, 'Wired Science', April 09, 2008 - http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/04/20-of-scientist.html
"Sharper minds" by Melissa Healy, Times Staff Writer " - http://www.nootropics.com/smartdrugs/sharper-minds.html
"Using Brain Enhancing Drugs: Is This "Cheating" ?", ' Leather Head Matters', March 19, 2008 - http://leatherheadblog.com/2008/03/19/brain-enhancing-drugs-is-this-cheating/
"Brain-enhancing drugs", 'Nascent', Nature's blog on web technology and science, http://blogs.nature.com/wp/nascent/2008/02/brainenhancing_drugs_1.html
"Ethical questions regarding use of brain-enhancing drugs debated", University of Cambridge News and Events, December 20, 2007, http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/news/dp/2007122002
"More professionals, students using brain performance enhancing drugs", The Dallas Morning News, December 20, 2007 http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/122107dnnatbraindoping.3761ad89.html
Letters-15: "Myth Shattered"
1. This refers to the article “Between a rock and a hard place” (The Hindu, April 17, 2008). Clearly, the increase in food prices has falsified the myth that the market can heal all the wounds. That we exported food grain for European cattle in 2002 and 2003, when millions were starving back home is appalling. There cannot a bigger irony than the fact that a country declares food surplus when the people in its backyard are struggling for survival. – Anadi Mitra, Bangalore.
2. The article rightfully points to the fallacy of liberalization and trading in food commodities by big multinationals. Despite the government’s efforts, farmers are more vulnerable today than ever before. There is an immediate need to press the emergency button for some corrective action. – Tarun Kumar Pithode, New Delhi.
3. Inflation has always been a blessing for those who can dictate prices. We should guard against the possible subversion of the economy by interested forces from within and outside the country. Economics has gone beyond conventional wisdom. Strategic calculations now use economic subversion as a means to bring around countries. The clamour to permit FDI in the retail segment is an indication of this. – A.P.Govindan Kutty, Painkulam.
4. The only way in which I can express my admiration for P.Sainath’s article is to quote Eric Gill’s words in a letter to Ananda Coomaraswamy: “You hit the nail on the head bloody right, bloody hard and bloody often.” – Ramaswamy R.Iyer, New Delhi.
Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, April 18, 2008 (“Letters to the Editor)
Grateful thanks to M/s.Anadi Mitra, Bangalore; Tarun Kumar Pithode, New Delhi; A.P.Govindan Kutty, Painkulam; Ramaswamy R.Iyer, New Delhi and The Hindu.
2. The article rightfully points to the fallacy of liberalization and trading in food commodities by big multinationals. Despite the government’s efforts, farmers are more vulnerable today than ever before. There is an immediate need to press the emergency button for some corrective action. – Tarun Kumar Pithode, New Delhi.
3. Inflation has always been a blessing for those who can dictate prices. We should guard against the possible subversion of the economy by interested forces from within and outside the country. Economics has gone beyond conventional wisdom. Strategic calculations now use economic subversion as a means to bring around countries. The clamour to permit FDI in the retail segment is an indication of this. – A.P.Govindan Kutty, Painkulam.
4. The only way in which I can express my admiration for P.Sainath’s article is to quote Eric Gill’s words in a letter to Ananda Coomaraswamy: “You hit the nail on the head bloody right, bloody hard and bloody often.” – Ramaswamy R.Iyer, New Delhi.
Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, April 18, 2008 (“Letters to the Editor)
Grateful thanks to M/s.Anadi Mitra, Bangalore; Tarun Kumar Pithode, New Delhi; A.P.Govindan Kutty, Painkulam; Ramaswamy R.Iyer, New Delhi and The Hindu.
A Thought for Today : April 2, 2008
'Morning Glory Pool' by Jon Sullivan from Public-Domain-Photos.com
It is better to be decisive, even if it means that sometimes you will be wrong - Unknown.
Grateful thanks to Jon Sullivan and Public-Domain-Photos.com
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Eyecatchers-65: "John Wheeler and Black Holes"
John Wheeler, a physicist who coined the term "black hole," died at age 96. In his 1999 autobiography he explained what can be learned by studying black holes: "That space can be crumpled like a piece of paper," he wrote, "into an infinitesimal dot."
Courtesy: Paul Ford, HARPER'S WEEKLY REVIEW, April 15, 2008.
Courtesy: Paul Ford, HARPER'S WEEKLY REVIEW, April 15, 2008.
For more info on John Wheeler and Black Holes:
Science Watch-9: "Coldest brown-dwarf Star"
French and Canadian astronomers announced the discovery of the coldest brown-dwarf star on record, 40 light-years away.
Courtesy: Paul Ford, HARPER'S WEEKLY REVIEW, April 15, 2008.
Courtesy: Paul Ford, HARPER'S WEEKLY REVIEW, April 15, 2008.
For more details:
"Discovery of coldest brown star might bridge the gap between stars and planets" -
Facts & Figures-26 : "8000-year-old Trees!"
Scientists identified a group of 8,000-year-old Norway spruce trees in western Sweden, believed to be the oldest on earth. The trees, which took root after the last Ice Age, stayed at a shrublike size for most of their lives. "The past few decades we have seen a much warmer climate, which has meant that they have popped up," said tree expert Leif Kullman.
Courtesy: Paul Ford, HARPER'S WEEKLY REVIEW, April 15, 2008.
Courtesy: Paul Ford, HARPER'S WEEKLY REVIEW, April 15, 2008.
Also read:
"The tallest, biggest and oldest trees" - http://www.bio.ilstu.edu/armstrong/bigtree/fieldtrip.htm
"Living tree ‘8,000 years older than Christ’ (?)" -
"Oldest Living Tree Found in Sweden" -
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
A Thought for Today : April 1, 2008
All my life I have tried to pluck a thistle and plant a flower wherever the flower would grow in thought and mind - Abraham Lincoln --------------------------
My grateful thanks to Public-Domain-Photos.com (http://www.public-domain-photos.com/) and the author of the photo, Jon Sullivan for the wonderful photo.
Green Books
Publisher Dorling Kindersley claims to have printed the most environmentally conscious series of books in the world. Vegetable inks, 100 per cent recycled card and “environmentally friendly” glues have been used, it claims. Chief Executive Gary June said its Made with Care series represented “a best practice example of how green and clean books can be produced in the future”. The first four titles include a guide to organic gardening and a children’s encyclopedia on the environment. The company, a division of Penguin books, has called their launch “a global publishing first”. By removing the book’s jackets and an energy efficient binding process, the company said it had saved both paper and energy. It has also printed the books on paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), ensuring a tree is planted for each one used.
Courtesy: ‘Young World’, Supplement to The Hindu, April 15, 2008
Courtesy: ‘Young World’, Supplement to The Hindu, April 15, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
A Thought for Today : March 31, 2008
We want infinite energy, infinite zeal, infinite courage, and infinite patience, then only will great things be achieved – Swami Vivekananda------------------------------
Grateful thanks to Public-Domain-Photos.com
A Thought for Today : March 30, 2008
The unfoldment of divinity is the greatest act open to mankind - Vedanta
-----------------
Grateful thanks to Public-Domain-Photos.com
(www.public-domain-photos.com)
and the author of the photo, Magnus Rosendahl
-----------------
Grateful thanks to Public-Domain-Photos.com
(www.public-domain-photos.com)
and the author of the photo, Magnus Rosendahl
A Thought for Today : March 29, 2008
Work which is done inspired by a true ideal is transformed into worship – Swami Vireswarananda
--------------------
Grateful thanks to Public-Domain-Photos.com (www.public-domain-photos.com) and the author of the photo, Magnus Rosendahl
Science of Value Education
Book Review: Philosophy and Science of Value Education in the context of Modern India
Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Gol Park, Kolkata-700029.
E-mail: rmic@vsnl.com
2006
x+332 pp
Rs.50/-
Reviewed by Dr S C Goswami, Former Reader in Chemistry, Dayal Singh College, New Delhi
If by ‘education’ is meant ‘character-building’ and ‘man-making’, then value education is the crying need of the hour. Value education is needed not only for students in various educational institutions but also for all human beings in all stages and walks of life. How to do it constitutes the theme of this book, which contains thoughtful addresses delivered by twenty dignitaries, including educationists, scientists, media persons, monks, and philosophers, at a national seminar held at the Institute of Culture.
The seminar comprised six academic sessions with fourteen papers presented, two panel discussions, and inaugural and valedictory sessions, held over the course of two days in January 2005. In his address of benediction, Swami Ranganathananda, fourteenth president of the Ramakrishna Order, says: “The problem for India in the modern age is the assimilation of the forces released by science, technology, and democracy, which are being grafted on to her traditional tree. The success of this experiment depends upon two factors: one, the vitality of the spiritual sap running in the tree, and two, its hospitality to the new forces contained in the grafts’.
In his inaugural speech, Prof.Kireet Joshi points out that yoga is a valid means for realization of values. Dr Saibal Gupta draws our attention to the daivi sampad, a detailed catalogue of universal values that appears in the Bhagavadgita. He also narrates how Niels Bohr, the famous physicist, had deep interest in some ideas of the Upanishads, an interest that was shared by Erwin Schroedinger. The Indian value system is based on the experience of the unity of existence. The doctrines of innate human divinity and oneness of existence, according to Swami Atmapriyananda, have the potential for ushering in a new world order. According to Prof.J.S.Rajput, the term ‘value education’ implies valuable education, education through which humans are enlightened. An education based on the Upanishads, Gita and yoga is valuable because it enlightens.
The topics covered in the volume range from the plight of family values in modern times, to scientific, genetic, and political aspects of value education, to value-based leadership and the role of the media. Unfortunately, a number of careless typographical errors litter the pages of the book; more careful proof-reading would improve a second edition.
Every participant has contributed to the literary and knowledge content of the book. It is recommended especially to our political leaders as a wide-ranging treatment of a vitally important subject.
Courtesy: ‘Prabuddha Bharata’ (Awakened India), a monthly journal from the Ramakrishna Order, April 2008.
Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Gol Park, Kolkata-700029.
E-mail: rmic@vsnl.com
2006
x+332 pp
Rs.50/-
Reviewed by Dr S C Goswami, Former Reader in Chemistry, Dayal Singh College, New Delhi
If by ‘education’ is meant ‘character-building’ and ‘man-making’, then value education is the crying need of the hour. Value education is needed not only for students in various educational institutions but also for all human beings in all stages and walks of life. How to do it constitutes the theme of this book, which contains thoughtful addresses delivered by twenty dignitaries, including educationists, scientists, media persons, monks, and philosophers, at a national seminar held at the Institute of Culture.
The seminar comprised six academic sessions with fourteen papers presented, two panel discussions, and inaugural and valedictory sessions, held over the course of two days in January 2005. In his address of benediction, Swami Ranganathananda, fourteenth president of the Ramakrishna Order, says: “The problem for India in the modern age is the assimilation of the forces released by science, technology, and democracy, which are being grafted on to her traditional tree. The success of this experiment depends upon two factors: one, the vitality of the spiritual sap running in the tree, and two, its hospitality to the new forces contained in the grafts’.
In his inaugural speech, Prof.Kireet Joshi points out that yoga is a valid means for realization of values. Dr Saibal Gupta draws our attention to the daivi sampad, a detailed catalogue of universal values that appears in the Bhagavadgita. He also narrates how Niels Bohr, the famous physicist, had deep interest in some ideas of the Upanishads, an interest that was shared by Erwin Schroedinger. The Indian value system is based on the experience of the unity of existence. The doctrines of innate human divinity and oneness of existence, according to Swami Atmapriyananda, have the potential for ushering in a new world order. According to Prof.J.S.Rajput, the term ‘value education’ implies valuable education, education through which humans are enlightened. An education based on the Upanishads, Gita and yoga is valuable because it enlightens.
The topics covered in the volume range from the plight of family values in modern times, to scientific, genetic, and political aspects of value education, to value-based leadership and the role of the media. Unfortunately, a number of careless typographical errors litter the pages of the book; more careful proof-reading would improve a second edition.
Every participant has contributed to the literary and knowledge content of the book. It is recommended especially to our political leaders as a wide-ranging treatment of a vitally important subject.
Courtesy: ‘Prabuddha Bharata’ (Awakened India), a monthly journal from the Ramakrishna Order, April 2008.
Grateful thanks to 'Prabuddha Bharata' and Dr.S.C.Goswami.
Letters-14: "Women's Day"
While there is a symbolism in observing a day every year as International Women’s Day, it risks the possibility of falling into a ceremonious mould and ending up as an annual ritual. It already seems to have become so in India. Leaders cutting across the political divide make grandiloquent but empty speeches to a selective and captive audience. The same political class has sabotaged the Women’s Reservation Bill on some pretext or the other for years. It is ironical that the most important and significant legislation that can go a long way in empowering women is removed from cold storage, debated upon and sent right back to the freezer, from one Lok Sabha to another. - Shahabuddin Nadeem, Bangalore
Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, March 15, 2008 (‘Letters to the Editor)
Grateful thanks to Mr Shahabuddin Nadeem and The Hindu.
Courtesy: The Hindu, Madurai, March 15, 2008 (‘Letters to the Editor)
Grateful thanks to Mr Shahabuddin Nadeem and The Hindu.
'Celebrating the Book' by Rachna Chhabria
Celebrating the book
International Children’s Book Day (ICBD) are held on April 2 to honour Hans Christian Andersen
By Rachna Chhabria
There is a day for mothers, for fathers, for children, for friendship and many other such days. A day that is more than welcome, is the International Children’s Book Day sponsored by IBBY (the International Board on Books for Young People), a non-profit organization representing an international network of people. The sole aim of IBBY is to bring books and children together. The first encounter with the world – amusing, delightful and quirky characters are all courtesy books. Today books are pitted against PSP’s, computers, iPods, and cell phones to claim a share of the ever shifting attention.
International Children’s Book Day celebrations are held on April 2 to commemorate one of the greatest children’s writers, Hans Christian Andersen, who was born on the same day in 1805, in Odense, Denmark. After his father’s death, H.C.Andersen as he later came to be known as in his country, worked in factory. He displayed a talent for poetry, publishing a volume of poetry in 1830. H.C.Andersen is famous for his fairtytales, “The Tin Soldier”, “The Tinderbox”, “The Ugly Duckling”, “The Snow Queen”, “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, and “The Little Mermaid”, which gained popularity and delighted children worldwide. These fairytales have been translated into many languages. Hans Christian Andersen died in 1875.
Each year a different national section of IBBY, has the wonderful opportunity to be the international sponsor of the International Children’s Book Day. The host nation decides upon a theme, and invites a prominent author from the host country to create a message for the children of the world, and a well known illustrator is asked to design a poster. These messages are used in many and different ways to promote books and reading.
The host country for the 2008 International Children’s Book Day is Thailand and the theme is ‘BOOKS ENLIGHTEN; KNOWLEDGE DELIGHTS’.
You can pitch in and support the ICBD by disappearing into the pages of a book at least on that day. Not only will you emerge armed with knowledge, you will also get to meet delightful characters that only reside in the world of books.
Courtesy: ‘Young World’, Supplement to The Hindu, March 28, 2008
Grateful thanks to Rachna Chhabria and The Hindu. And sorry readers! sorry for the belated posting.
International Children’s Book Day (ICBD) are held on April 2 to honour Hans Christian Andersen
By Rachna Chhabria
There is a day for mothers, for fathers, for children, for friendship and many other such days. A day that is more than welcome, is the International Children’s Book Day sponsored by IBBY (the International Board on Books for Young People), a non-profit organization representing an international network of people. The sole aim of IBBY is to bring books and children together. The first encounter with the world – amusing, delightful and quirky characters are all courtesy books. Today books are pitted against PSP’s, computers, iPods, and cell phones to claim a share of the ever shifting attention.
International Children’s Book Day celebrations are held on April 2 to commemorate one of the greatest children’s writers, Hans Christian Andersen, who was born on the same day in 1805, in Odense, Denmark. After his father’s death, H.C.Andersen as he later came to be known as in his country, worked in factory. He displayed a talent for poetry, publishing a volume of poetry in 1830. H.C.Andersen is famous for his fairtytales, “The Tin Soldier”, “The Tinderbox”, “The Ugly Duckling”, “The Snow Queen”, “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, and “The Little Mermaid”, which gained popularity and delighted children worldwide. These fairytales have been translated into many languages. Hans Christian Andersen died in 1875.
Each year a different national section of IBBY, has the wonderful opportunity to be the international sponsor of the International Children’s Book Day. The host nation decides upon a theme, and invites a prominent author from the host country to create a message for the children of the world, and a well known illustrator is asked to design a poster. These messages are used in many and different ways to promote books and reading.
The host country for the 2008 International Children’s Book Day is Thailand and the theme is ‘BOOKS ENLIGHTEN; KNOWLEDGE DELIGHTS’.
You can pitch in and support the ICBD by disappearing into the pages of a book at least on that day. Not only will you emerge armed with knowledge, you will also get to meet delightful characters that only reside in the world of books.
Courtesy: ‘Young World’, Supplement to The Hindu, March 28, 2008
Grateful thanks to Rachna Chhabria and The Hindu. And sorry readers! sorry for the belated posting.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
A Thought for Today : March 28, 2008
My grateful thanks to Public-Domain-Photos.com and I have had dreams and I have had nightmares. I overcame the nightmares because of my dreams - Jonas Salk
A Thought for Today : March 27, 2008
My grateful thanks to Public-Domain-Photos.com and author of the photo,
Jon Sullivan, for the wonderful photograph
The secret of inner peace is self-control; not scattering your energies, but holding them in check and directing them usefully.
Courtesy: 'The Secrets of Inner Peace' by J.Donald Waters (My grateful thanks to J.Donald Waters for his excellent booklet)
Courtesy: 'The Secrets of Inner Peace' by J.Donald Waters (My grateful thanks to J.Donald Waters for his excellent booklet)
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