Feature Article

Iceland is set be the first nation to use social media for bringing constitutional change.

Most of us detest weeds. They have a tendency to pop up at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Put simply, entanglement means two things are forever connected no matter the distance between them once they interact.

INDIA’S ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY, VOLUMES 1 AND 2,

A recent paper of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Towards an Emission Trading Scheme for Air Pollutants in India, explores the possibility of introducing a permit and trading system for air pollutants from industrial sources. The scheme operates along the lines of the cap-and-trade mechanism for greenhouse gas emissions. Units that keep pollutants well below stipulated levels can trade their credits with those that pollute in excess of standards.

Recent headlines worldwide reported the US government’s use of a fake vaccination programme in Pakistan for counter-terrorism purposes. Whether the story is true or not, the damage is already done once there is the slightest suspicion that a medical activity like a vaccination campaign may have a motive other than providing healthcare. Impartial humanitarian assistance requires acceptance from all communities and warring parties—whether national governments, armed opposition movements, international forces, or even criminal groups. In all conflicts or in highly politicised environments, access to humanitarian aid can only be achieved and maintained over time by actions that demonstrate humanitarian aid providers are acting only in the interests of those receiving care.

IN SEPTEMBER last year, China halted shipments of rare earth metals, crucial for the manufacture of everything from guided missiles and hybrid cars to flat-screen televisions and BlackBerry phones, to Japan over a territorial dispute. It also cut down its export quota for rare earth by 72 per cent for the second half of 2010. In 2011, the quota was reduced by 35 per cent for the first half.

WHETHER taken for severe ailments like cancer or used occasionally for minor pains, painkillers have side-effects. It can be anything from lethargy and constipation to kidney or liver dysfunction.

IT’S been a couple of years since scientists proposed that graphene, the new rockstar of the nano-world, is capable of revolutionising the healthcare sector.


The one-atom-thick sheet of carbon can be used as an efficient vehicle to deliver drugs precisely to the target tumour or cancer cells. Its intrinsic optical properties can be used for cellular imaging.

IT IS difficult to guage if one is suffering from vitamin B12 deficiency. The problem often remains undiagnosed for years because of inconspicuous symptoms like loss of appetite, fatigue, confusion and memory loss. The vitamin plays a crucial role in the functioning of brain and nervous system and for the formation of red blood cells. Left untreated vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to severe anaemia and neurological disorders like dementia. To compound the situation, most diagnostic tools available today fail to show accurate results. Some are even expensive.