Feature Article

Historic it may be—even if watered down. The unanimous adoption of a “political declaration” by the UN on the need to fight the rising tide of non-communicable diseases (NCD) is a singular development and, as analysts have been reminding us, it is only the second time a health issue has been debated at a special meeting of the General Assembly. The first was when it pledged to take on AIDS a decade ago.

USE of insecticides to get rid of mosquitoes is known to be detrimental to the environment and human health. A finding on how larvae of mosquitoes which cause dengue and filariasis can be killed in an eco-friendly way, therefore, holds significance.

SALMON will grant knowledge to whoever eats it. So goes the Irish mythology about the fish intertwined with culture and livelihoods of almost all North Atlantic and Pacific countries since ancient times.

ELKHORN coral looks just like elk antlers. With its complex, large branches, this important reef-building coral in the Caribbean is haven to numerous reef species. But, not any more. The Caribbean has lost 90 per cent of the coral in 15 years. Apart from human activity and warming of seas, a disease called white pox is blamed for making elkhorn coral an endangered species.

Evidence of liquid water on Mars was also found in 2006. How is the latest finding different?

FOR generations scientists have tirelessly been looking for a cure to what appears to be the enemy from within—cancer. Though tremendous progress has been made and multiple avenues of treatment made available, it is apparent that there is never going to be a single golden bullet to cure cancer because it is not one “disease”. Its causes are even more variable than the variety of organs and cell types it affects. So scientists are now exploring how a person’s diet can be modified to lessen the risk of cancer.

Now that “neemania” has gripped scientists in the West and neem (Azadirachta indica) is being hailed as the wonder tree that can solve global problems from locust swarms to AIDS, Indian scientists are jumping onto the bandwagon. After Western scientists proved that neem-based pesticides are safer than synthetic ones such as DDT and can be commercially produced, Indian bureaucrats are pressing manufacturers to get in on the act.

In Kathmandu you can smell the Bagmati before you see it; in Sundarijal you can hear this river as it cascades down from its headwaters to nourish the paddy fields in the plains below the Shivapuri hills before it finds its way into the city, much abused and yet revered.

Are environment and forest clearances a hindrance to development in the country?