Keshav jain

Keshav jain

  • Joined: June 4, 2024
  • Articles: 90

What is the Pandemic Accord

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND: When the world was shaken by Covul-19 which shredded economies. Overturned societies, crippled health systems, and killed millions of people-many countries came together and decided to build a framework of binding commitments to stop such such trauma from ever happening again. This happened in 2021

Since then, countries have been holding talks to make this happen but the talks have been caught in many issues. The final round of talks is happening this week, but countries are not even close to maching a deal that is acceptable to all parties.

World Health Organization [3:50 pm, 8/4/2024] IIFL: chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has repeatedly warned nations that “everyone will have to give something, or no one will get anything.”

 

Who wants what?

European countries – who led calls for a pandemic treaty want more money invested in pandemic prevention, while African nations want the knowledge and financing to make that work, plus proper access to pandemic “counter-measures” like vaccines and treatments.

The United States wants to ensure all countries share data and samples from emerging outbreaks quickly and transparently, while developing countries are holding out firm for guaranteed equity to stop them getting left behind.

According to the roadmap, a finalised accord on pandemic preparedness, prevention and response would be adopted at the May 27 to June 1 World Health Assembly of the WHO’S 194 member states

Issues at hand

The main topics still in play include access to emerging pathogens, better prevention and monitoring of disease outbreaks, reliable financing and transferring technology to poorer countries. The talks are being conducted by an Intergovemmental Negotiating Body.

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What is Charles Dickens famous for?

Discover the spellbinding world of Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolvers award-winning novel that echoes Dickens’ timeless themes of poverty, survival, and the transformative power of storytelling.

 

About the author

parban Kingsolver o an American writer and political activist renowned for her powerful novels that delve into the resilience of individuals navigating challenging environments and finding beauty amidst hunh drcumstances in 2000, she founded the Bellwether Prize, a literary award aimed at proinoting works that drive social change. Having grown up in rural Kentucky US, and briefly livest in Africa during her early childhood, Kingsolver draws inspiration from diverse backgrounds

Becoming a writer

Her writing journey began in the mid-1980s when she worked as a science writer for a university, eventually transitioning into freelance feature writing It was a timing point when she won a local Phoenix newspapers short stong contest, leading her to pursue a full-time career in fiction writing.

Throughout her career. Kingsolver has produced influential works that have captivated readers worldwide. Some of her notable novels include The Bean Trees (1988) The Poisonwood Bible (1998). The Laqura (2009), and Demon Copperhead (2022) Vintage engraving of a scene from the Charles Dickens novel David Copperfield llustration by Fred Bamard GETTY IMAGES

Making history

Kingsolver recentlig auded more feathers to her literary cap with Do prestigious awards celebrating her novel Demon Copperhead Notably she became the first author to win the Women’s Prize for Fiction bvice having previously receives the honour in 2010 for her autaimest work. The Lacuna. This modem reimagining of Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield is set in the picturesque Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, where the protagonist. a lroy bom in a trailer park embarks on a journey filled with foster care, labour exploitation, addiction, love. and heartache. Speaking about the book, she shared that much Like Dickens, the crafted her novel to shed light on the hardships of poverty and its impact on children, issues that have plagued our society for centures The Women’s Prize for Fiction recognises outstanding. ambitious original fiction” written in English by female writers from around the world. Continuing her winning streak, Kingsolvers modem reimagining of English author Charles Dickens’s classic won the fiction category of the James Tait Black Prize this year. This illustrious literary award. established in 1919 and presented by the University of Edinburgh, holds the distinction of being one of the UK’s longest-running and most esteemed accolades. What sets this prize apart is its unique judging panel, consisting of literature scholars and students. ensuring a deep appreciation for the art of writing.

When inspiration strikes

During an interview Kingsolver shared the story behind the inception of her Latest novel She recounted a moment four years ago when she had just finished a book tour in the UK for her previous work Unsheltered and had a few days before her return flight home Seizing the opportunity, she and her husband decided to stay at Bleak House, a clifftop retreat perched above Viking Bay in Broadstairs, the very place where Charles Dickens had penned David Copperfield As fate would have it, they arrived during a hailstormy weekend in November, and the location was deserted. As she wandered through the rooms, curiosity led her to explore Dickens’s desk and gaze out over the saune magnificent coastline he once beheld in this atmospheric setting the spint of the great author seemed to reach out to her She recousted “Anil tvars when he said. Look to the child. Let the child tell the Inspired by this serendipitous encounter, the author entbarked on her literary journey, giving life to the novel Demon Copperhead Demon Copperhead Set in the mountains of southern Appaladin, Demon Copperhead follows the gripping story of a boy bom to a struggling teenage single mother facing the harsh realities of foster care, child labour, and heartbreak Written in the protagonists raw and unyielding voice. the novel addresses the invisibility of rural communities in a world fixated on urban glamour. Drawing inspiration from Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield Kingsolver weaves a tale of anger, compassion, and the transformative power of storytelling The journey of this titular character gives voice to a new generation of lost souls born into beautiful yet challenging places they can not fathom leaving behind.

David Copperfield

David Copperficial was first palaketa serial from 1840 to 1850 and later compiled its
it holds the distinction of bring English author Charles Dickens’s favourite anong his works
The novel u nimated in the first person by the protagonist, a Copperfield reflecting on his lifes journey Bons in Blunderstone Suffolk LIK, shortly after his fathers death Davul is raised by his mather and the caring housekeeper, Clara Peggotty. The story takes readers through David’s difficult upbringing under the cruel Mr Edward Mundstone (his stepfather) and his eventual adventures and self-discovery on the path to becoming a successful novelist. It is a poignant coming-of-age tale depicting a young man’s transformation from a challenging childhood to finding his purpose in life.

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What are the 5 types of diaspora according to Cohen?

Get ready to embark on a journey into the world of diasporic writing. What are its origins, influences and themes? Let’s retrace the steps of those who left their homeland for new horizons and contributed significantly to literature.

 

Agenre of literature we wanted become familiar with was sporic writings. We had and the term on several asions but were unsure of its weaning. So, we decided to te a professor from the literature department of a nearby college and what follows is the report on some of the key ideas he presented. He started by explaining the meaning of the term diaspora: it refers to the people who move away from their homeland to live in other Countries- mostly for better prospects. Today, in our Country, many young people wish to leave the country for education, job, and business.” Diaspora is not a new happening: even in the distant past as early as the first Century AD, Indians had migrated to other places primarily for their livelihoods and economic needs. There was also involuntary migration Across the seas due to forced labour, those who were displaced ultimately settled in those areas. However, from the 19th Century onwards. people started voluntarily shifting to other countries in great numbers for multiple reasons.

India’s diaspora is the largest in the world: it is estimated to be about 32 million, and they are settled in almost all the countries around the globe. They are referred to by terms such as NRIS (Non-Resident Indians), PIOS (Persons of Indian Origins), and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI). However, NRI is the term used most commonly. The largest number of members of Indian diasporas in a single city are living in Durban in South Africa for generations, and UAE hosts the maximum number of this community. Many educated youths aspire to settle down in the U.S., where they constitute the second-largest immigrant group, with four million Indians living there.

Interestingly, the Indian diaspora maintains close ties with the country, which cannot be guaranteed in the days to come. The speaker cited the well-known novel, The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, wherein the children of the Ganguli family – Gogol and his sister, Sonali don’t enjoy their visits to India. In their quest for identity, they prefer to be Americans rather than Indians. Gogol’s marriage with Moushumi, an Indian, ends in a disaster, and Sonali marries Ben, a Jewish Chinese. Both, unlike their parents, attempt to delink themselves from their homeland.

The Indian diaspora has made significant contributions to different walks of life, and among them, their writings deserve special mention. The Indian diasporic literature has emerged with its distinctive characteristics from the mid-20th Century onwards from different parts of the globe but centred in English-speaking countries. Some of the established contributors to this genre include Salman Rushdie, Anita Desai, Bharati Mukherjee, Amitav Ghosh, Jhumpa Lahiri, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Uma Parmesvaran, A.K. Ramanujan, Rupi Kaur, and VS. Naipaul Additionally, diasporic writings exist in most of the regional languages as well.

Most of these writers are novelists, who dealt with their own life experiences, exploring the themes like existential anxieties, culture shock, displacement, rootlessness, disorientation, nostalgia for their motherland, search for identity, challenges of integrating with the dominant culture and so on. However, the second and third generations of diasporic writers now portray different perspectives of their life: digressing from the first generation, they are celebrating their double identity and belonging to both cultures. The image of a ‘melting pot is replaced with a ‘salad bowl’ as they retain both of their identities and no longer feel like aliens occupying foreign lands. These writers have become an integral part of Indian Writing in English and the courses taught in our universities include many of them. The professor then proceeded to focus on VS. Naipaul and highlighted two significant details about him he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 2001, the only one to win the honour among the Indian diaspora so far. Three of his non-fiction works, namely, An Area of Darkness: An Experience of India, India: A Wounded Civilization, and India: A Million Mutinies Now. along with the novel A House for Mr Biswas, deal explicitly with the country. Naipaul makes a scathing attack on India in his trilogy: he finds. the unhealable wound in modern India in terms of ignorance, illiteracy, poverty, corruption, low standard of living, unhygienic conditions, and the fall of old values.” The speaker recommended we read these books to find out how far we concur with his portrayal of our country.

He wrapped up his talk stating that his favourite writer is Rohinton Mistry, an Indian-Canadian writer, and he would speak about him in detail the next time.

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Is there anything that people can do to save the planet?

We depend on nature for everything from air, water, food and shelter to sources of energy to run our factories and businesses. So, conserving nature and preserving its biodiversity must be our priority. Here are ten simple tips to do your bit for the planet.

1. Plant trees

Trees are carbon sequesters and increasing the tree cover is perhaps one of the easiest ways to conserve nature. A tree can absorb approximately 25kg of CO2 per year. So, plant a tree to mark this day. Make it a tradition to plant a tree during prominent or celebratory occasions of your life. It can be your birthday or when you finish your academic year or any moment you feel is worth celebrating. If you do not have enough space in your home, see if you can adopt your friend’s yard or make use of the space managed by your area’s residents’ association. Where you do it, make sure that the plant is taken care of Encourage friends and family to take up the practice as well.

2. Conserve energy

 We derive our energy from nature. Everything that is manmade runs on energy obtained from nature. Quite often, a lot of energy also goes to waste. By changing a few habits you can help save energy at home. These include small actions such as turning off the lights (when not in use or when you can depend on daylight), unplugging appliances when not in use, not charging your phone overnight, turning off your faucet when you aren’t using water, taking less time in the shower, reusing waste water in the kitchen gardens and so on. This will help reduce carbon footprint and in turn help in conserving nature. PHOTO: UNSPLASH IMAGES

3.3Rs

The 3Rs of “Reduce”, “Reuse”, “Recycle” is perhaps one of the ultimate mantras for nature conservation. These three small words will help manage waste, save the ecosystem, prevent marine animal casualties and address climate change. The first step is to reduce the waste you generate. This will ensure that less waste ends up in landfills or oceans. Effective waste segregation is the key to this. This helps recover materials for recycling and composting. Reuse articles that you can. And lastly, recycle. This helps prevent soil and water pollution. PHOTO: UNSPLASH IMAGES

4. Use public transport

 One of the major polluters is the global transport sector. It is responsible for approximately one-quarter of greenhouse gas emissions, according to experts. And 95% of the world’s transport energy is still obtained from fossil fuels. Personal transportation adds to the probelm, adding to the greenhouse emissions. The easiest way to avoid this is by switching to public transport. If this is not a practical solution every time, you can still choose public transport twice or thrice a week or during specific hours. This, when done on a regular basis, can significantly help reduce carbon emissions. Alternately, switching to green modes of travel such as a bicycle can help prevent your carbon footprint.

5. Stop using single-use plastics and disposables

 Single-use plastics and disposable cups and utensils have infiltrated our day-to-day life and upended it. Those disposable grocery bags and disposable utensils you use eventually ends up on the earth, polluting our soil. oceans, and marine life. These disposables can easily be replaced with environmentally responsible counterparts. Make a commitment to take out at least one disposable article from your lifestyle. Perhaps. carry a cloth bag to the supermarket instead of asking them for a plastic one. Maybe switch out your lunch box for one made of metal. This can be a good start. And slowly you can make a lifestyle switch by eschewing other disposables. PHOTO: UNSPLASH IMAGES

6. Eat less meat

It is estimated that 80% of forest loss is caused by the conversion of forest land to agricultural land. It leads to habitat destruction and loss of our green cover. Eating less meat can help prevent this and preserve biodiversity and the ecosystem. Since we all have our food preferences, it may not be easy to switch to vegetarianism or veganism. But you can be more aware and mindful of the food on your plate and choose to eat less meat. For instance. you can limit meat consumption to one or two days a week or reduce the number of meals with meat. PHOTO: UNSPLASH IMAGES

7. Use windows and not AC

 Our world is heating up and the surging heat has made us all dependent on air conditioning, the demand for which is increasing by the day. Did you know that air conditioners are also a contributor to the climate crisis? They consume more electricity than any other appliance in your home and consume about 10% of global electricity (along with electric fans). So next time, when possible, open the windows and let the cool breeze in.

8. Explore thrifting

 Fast fashion is one of the greatest threats to the environment. Did you know that it takes about 2,700 litres of water to make just one t-shirt. Or that a pair of jeans requires 7,600 litres of water? With a consumer base that updates its wardrobe according to trends in the fashion industry, the damage to the planet has been exponential. This trend depletes natural resources and harms the planet. This is where thrift shopping comes in. Anyone who has had an older sibling would be no stranger to using their toys, books, or school paraphernalia, thus giving the article a fresh lease of life. This is the concept of thrift shopping. It means using hand-me-downs or second-hand articles. It applies to all forms of merchandise such as clothes, games, toys, shoes, books, appliances, furniture, and so on. It’s time to break the cycle of single-use apparel or appliances and shop at thrift stores. Also, remember to let your friends and family know you are using a thrifted article and the positive impact your move has on nature’s conservation.

9. Embrace minimalism

 Minimalism is a lifestyle choice where you make mindful, deliberate choices of buying only what you truly need. As such you make do with less and avoid overconsumption, which is one of the major contributors to the exploitation and depletion of natural resources. By consuming only what’s essential for your living, your ecological footprint gets reduced. Thereby, the individual environmental impact is limited. Replace consumerism with eco-minimalism. PHOTO: UNSPLASH IMAGES

10. Spend time volunteering

 One way to help conserve nature is to help organisations that are working in the field directly. You can do this by volunteering your time and services at non-profit environmental organisations. These organisations run on donations and they are always on the lookout for people who can help them. Here you may get to actively participate in the community and work on projects aimed at conserving nature and get on-field experience.

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What is the mimicry of nature?

Nature has many sustainable solutions to numerous pressing problems that man is struggling to cope with today. Scientists and engineers study these unique models and systems of nature while designing new technologies. This biologically-inspired engineering, called biomimicry, biomimetics or bionics, is fast gaining popularity in many parts of the world.

American biologist Janine M. Benyus, who wrote the book. Biomimicry Innovation Inspired by Nature was the first to propose that learning from nature would be the perfect tool for eco-design

The leaf of the lotus plant has a way surface that is covered with tiny bumps or ridges. These ridges cause water droplets to roll off carrying away dust and dirt. This unique ability of the plant to clean itself called the Lotus Effect, was the inspiration behind self-cleaning paint coatings

Besides paints, roof tiles and optical sensors in public places like toll bridges also use innovations based on the Lotus Effect Research is also underway to create self-cleaning textiles. plastic and metals.

 

Inspired by insects

The Eastgate Centre, an office complex in Harare. Zimbabwe, has been designed to mimic the mounds of the African tower building termites (Macrotermes Michaelseni) which use a unique system to keep their homes cool. The insects have developed a method which involves opening and closing air vents in the mound in such a way that cool air is drawn inside while hot air escapes through the chimney. The Eastgate Centre uses 10 per cent less energy than conventional structures of the same size. by adopting the design and ventilation system of the termites.

Sportswear manufacturer Speedo’s swimsuit. the Fastskin LZR Racer, has been fashioned from fabric that mimics the shape and rough texture of sharkskin. This ‘sharkskin’ swimsuit reduces drag, enabling competitive swimmers to shave a few crucial seconds off their race timings. This technology is also being used to develop coatings for ship hulls, submarines and aircraft fuselage.

The tropical boxfish, a reef-dwelling amphibian, inspired Daimler Chryslers concept car. The Bionic Car, as the automobile is called, mimics the fish’s aerodynamic shape and the structure of its rigid protective skin. This innovation consumes 20 per cent less fuel and emits 80 per cent less nitrogen oxide than conventional automobiles. Researchers at the University of California have created two prototype glues after studying the way geckos move across ceilings and cling to polished glass. The soles of Tokay geckos have sticky ridges which contain half a million microscopic hairs. These tiny hairs which exert an attractive force on the wall or floor are responsible for the lizard’s superb grip. The stickiness of gecko adhesive never wears off. The scientists cast two sets of imitation gecko toe hairs and then tipped the hairs with silicon rubber or polyester. In the lab, both materials adhered as well to most surfaces as gecko’s feet.

Fire-extinguisher

Scientists at the Leeds University in England have built an experimental contraption that can shoot a spray of chemicals up to a distance of four metres. The device mimics the behaviour of the bombardier beetle, which squirts a hot explosive stream of venom to ward off predators. The chemical concoction is mixed in a sort of ‘combustion chamber in the insect’s abdomen, with inlet and exit valves determining the precise blend.

Researchers are utilising this technology to build pharmaceutical inhalers and long-range fire extinguishers.

Bullet train

The world’s fastest train, the Japanese shinkansen bullet train includes a number of biomimetic innovations. The trains, which zip between cities at a speed of close to 321 km per hour, have serrations similar to those that allow owls to fly stealthily through the night. This feature is incorporated in the overhead wire collectors to reduce noise. The train’s nose, which mimics the aerodynamic beak of the kingfisher, enables the train to exit tunnels without emitting sonic booms.

Velcro plants

It was only recently that man discovered the touch and close tape. Velcro. This discovery was inspired by nature, since seeds, fruits and even whole plants stowaway on the coats of animals by gripping on in the same manner as Velcro: and have been doing so since time immemorial.

It was in the 1950s that George de Mestral of Switzerland observed the burdock fruit which led him to develop Velcro. This fruit has barbed hooks that enable it to fasten itself to an animal’s fur. And when the burr is brushed off the coat of the animal the casing splits open. The seeds of the burdock are thus spread over a wide area and do not have to germinate in one place

Stowaways like the burdock can be counted in the hundreds in the plant world

Froggy tape

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IT) Kanpur, who were working on creating a reusable sticky tape, received inspiration from an unusual source- the humble tree frog.

It was observed that the sticky toe pads of tree frogs have a patter of tiny channels that increase their adhesion to a surface and prevent the spread of cracks when the frog moves away.

Based on this study, scientists designed a novel sticky tape by placing elastic layers embedded with air or fluid-filled micro channels beneath the authesive layer. This new reusable tape is 30 times stickier than other adhesive tapes.

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How old is Portugal in years?

Portugal a country on the west coast of the Iberian peninsula. has a rich history of seafaring and discovery. The name Portugal is derived from the Roman Portus Cale, meaning Port of Cale Cale was an Ancient Celtic town and port in present day northem Portugal Lisbon is one of Europe’s oldest cities (the second oldest capital city after Athens) Let us find out more about this country

History

Portugal was founded in 1143 as part of a treaty signed by D Afonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal and Alphonse the VII of Kingdom of Leon and Castile (now the largest autonomous community in Spain). The treaty recognised Portugal as an independent kingdom. The status was confirmed by Pope Alexander the Ill. then head of the Catholic Church, in 1179.

However, the earliest human remains found in Portugal are Neanderthal-type bones from Furminhas also known as Dominique’s cave. It is a natural cave on the southern slope of the Peniche peninsula in Portugal.

According to national legend. Lisbon was founded not by Celts (early Indo-European people) but by Odysseus, a mythical Greek warrior and king of Ithaca (a small island on the lonian Sea).

Portugal was a global maritime power during the 15th and 16th centuries. In the 15th Century, Portuguese explorers such as Vasco da Gama discovered the maritime route to India. By the 16th Century, they had established a huge empire in Brazil as well as swathes of Africa and Asia.

For almost half of the 20th Century, the country was under the dictatorship in which for decades Antonio de Oliveira Salazar was the key figure. The country lost most of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, and the independence of Brazil, its wealthiest colony, in 1822.

In 1974, the country witnessed a bloodless coup, known as the Revolution of the Carnations, which ushered in a new democracy. Only then, in 1975, it granted independence to all of its African colonies.

Geography

The country occupies one-sixth of the Iberian peninsula in Europe’s southwestern area. It is bound by Spain, the Atlantic Ocean, and Azores and the Madeira Islands. Though it is not a large country, Portugal beholds great diversity in terms of physical geography.

The northern part of the country comprises the mountainous border of the Meseta, which is the block of ancient rock that forms the core of the Iberian Peninsula. Southern Portugal contains extensive areas of limestone. The Estrela Mountains (lying in between the Tagus and Mondego rivers) is the highest point of mainland Portugal. The capital, Lisbon, is on the steep hills situated on the right bank of the Tagus. The city was designated a European City of Culture in 1994.

Flora and fauna

The vegetation here is a mix of Atlantic, or European, and Mediterranean (with some African) species. Over the years, the forests in the country have diminished.

While one-fourth of its area is under woodland, the remaining parts feature two types of Mediterranean scrublands – maquis and matorral, or steppe. Mixed deciduous trees can be found only in the north and northern interior. Around 100 plants are native to Madeira.

Two-thirds of the region is a conservation area. The Laurisilva of Madeira, the largest surviving area of laurel forest, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999. It contains unique plants and animals, including many endemic species such as the Madeiran long-toed pigeon.

The country has a mixture of European and north African types of fauna. Like Spain, wild goats, wild pigs, and deer can be found in the countryside of Portugal. Its far north and northeast are home to wolves, while lynx inhabit the Malcata mountains

A variety of bird species can be found as the peninsula lies on the winter migration route of western and central European species. The highly endangered Mediterranean monk seal is native to Madeira’s Desertas Islands, which were classified as Nature Reserve by the Council of Europe in 1990.

People

Over nine-tenth of the population is ethnic Portuguese; the rest includes small numbers of Brazilians, Han Chinese, and people from Portugal’s former colonised countries in Africa and Asia. The country’s Roma (gypsy) population lives primarily in the Algarve

The country has a long tradition of dancing and singing. Interestingly, almost every village here has its own terreiro, or dance floor. These dance floors are usually constructed of concrete, though in some places, it is still made of beaten earth. Small accordions and gaitas, or bagpipes, are some of the instruments that accompany the dances

Though Portugal gets a good supply of fresh fish, the dried salted codfish known as bacalhau, is considered the national dish.

The country has a rich legacy of archaeological remains such as prehistoric cave paintings at Escoural, the Roman township of Conimbriga, the Roman temple (known as the Temple of Diana) in Evora, and the typical Moorish architecture of southern towns such as Olhao and Tavira

Some of the famous Portuguese explorers were Ferdinand Magellan, the first to circumnavigate the globe, and Vasco da Gama, who opened up the sea route from Western Europe to the East by way of the Cape of Good Hope. These explorations opened the country to Asian influences. The city centres of Evora, Sintra, Porto, and, in the Azores, Angra do Heroismo are listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Politics

During the colonial era, Portugal was the world’s richest country. However, the wealth was not used to develop domestic industrial infrastructure. This resulted in the country becoming one of Western Europe’s poorest countries in the 19th and 20th centuries. In 1986, Portugal joined the European Economic Community (predecessor of the European Union). Now, 21 members of the European Parliament are from Portugal.

Portugal is a semi-presidential republic with the Prime Minister as the head of the government and the President as the head of the State. The President has the power to appoint the PM and other government members.

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What is the importance of handloom in India?

How do plants transport their seeds for propagation? Do you know that they employ different ways to spread their seeds widely? Let’s look at some of them today

Plants have various ways to ensure that their seeds are spread widely and have a chance to grow. Some employ animals and birds, others wind and water, while still others use their own power to transport their seeds.

 

Dodo tree

The tambalacoque tree grows only in Mauritius and is valued for its timber. In the 17th century, all of a sudden, the tambalacoque lost the ability to grow from seeds. Existing trees continued to live, but not one of the seeds they produced would germinate. By the 1970s, there were only 13 sickly trees left.

An American ecologist. Stanley Temple, observed in 1977 that the tree had stopped growing from seed at about the same time that the DID YOU KNOW? The seeds of a type of tomato plant that grows in the Galapagos Island germinate only when they are eaten by a tortoise and pass through its digestive system! flightless bird of Mauritius, the dodo, became extinct. Temple concluded that the seeds, which had a thick hard covering, would germinate only if they were eaten by the dodo and passed through its digestive system! Without the grinding in the dodo’s gizzard, the seed could not break through the tough exterior and sprout.

He force-fed the seeds to wild turkeys and some of them germinated- the first tambalacoque saplings seen in 300 years!

Launch pad

The squirting cucumber of the Mediterranean fills with a slimy juice as it ripens. Soon, the pressure within increases so much that the cucumber is launched off its stalk like a miniature rocket. The seeds stream out from a hole in its base and land as far away as six metres from the parent plant!

The Brazilian hura tree or monkey’s dinner-bell has a more dramatic way of sending off its seeds. It has a detonating seed container. After it dries out fully, it explodes with a deafening bang, hurling its seeds over a distance of 12 metres! The pods of the broom plant become hot and dry and split open down the middle, catapulting is tiny black seeds in all directions.

Wind and water

Some plants fuave seents so tiny, that they are easily carried away by the wind. Kapok trees auf cotton bushes provide their seeds with a convenient tuft of threads that are long and durable. They catch the wind and float many miles before they land in fertile soil and germinate Dandelion seeds have a tiny parachute and are attached to the top of a stem like a fragile globe. The merest breath of wind can cause millions to take off and sail high into the sky.

The coconut palm on the other hand, sends its seed by sen packed in a fibrous waterproof shell containing water and a supply of rich food in the form of the kernel to nourish it on its long journey.

Winging their way

Many tall trees have winged seeds that travel some distance before falling on the ground to germinate, thus avoiding their shade.

The Anisoptera and Alsomitra are two of the tallest trees in Asia. Their seeds come equipped with a pair of wings. Anisoptera seeds are spear-shaped and spin like the rotors of a helicopter when released. Alsomitra seeds are fitted with paper-thin wings. They descend very slowly and travel over nine metres before falling to the ground.

Critters as couriers

Plants use animals as seed carriers. Some have thomy, stick-on seeds which attach to the fur of the animal as it brushes past. The South African grapple plant has seeds with hooks that embed in the soles of a rhino or elephant’s feet and fall off after the animal has walked some distance.

The best advertisement for most plants are their delicious fruits! if the animal swallows the seed with the fruit, the coating ensures the seed passes out undamaged.

It wouldn’t do if the seed is eaten before it matures, so the plant craftily makes the fruit hard and sour. Once the seed is ready, the fruit tums sweet and aromatic inviting animals to have a feast!

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What is fanfiction?

Fanfiction is an outlet for fan engagement, allowing readers to become writers and creators in their own right. This thriving subculture within the literary world, can be understood as a form of fiction created by passionate fans, featuring borrowed characters from popular books, movies, TV shows, or other media. Through this medium fans-turned-storytellers bring their own twists to established narratives, exploring new scenarios, relationships, or adventures.

Origin                                                                                                                                                

The concept of fanfiction may seem contemporary, primarily driven by the internet era, but its roots can be traced back much further. In fact, the origins of fanfiction can be traced to the 18th Century, shortly after the publication of Irish writer Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. Readers, captivated by the titular character’s fantastical journeys, began to write and imagine Gulliver in different, invented circumstances. These early fan-written stories can be seen as precursors to what we now know as fanfiction. With the advent of the internet, fanfiction indeed found its home. Online communities and forums provided a space for fans to connect, share, and explore their creative works. The popularity of this type of fiction multiplied exponentially as fans delved into the worlds they loved, breathing life into characters and relationships that captured their hearts.

 

Authors on fanfiction

However, the phenomenon of fanfiction has not been without controversy some authors, like American author Anne Rice, have expressed concerns over this kind of writing diluting the integrity of the original characters and stories. On the other hand, writer, such as English authors Douglas Adams and JK Rowling, have embraced fanfiction, acknowledging how it can expand the understanding of their universes and foster a deeper connection with their readers.

Rowling’s stance on the subject is particularly noteworthy. While she discourages fanfiction that aims to profit from her creations, she has expressed appreciation for fans desire to write their own stories based on her characters. Fanfiction reflects the deep connection fans have with their favourite characters and universes while providing an avenue for fresh perspectives and alternative narratives. As long as there are beloved characters and captivating narratives, this type of writing will continue to thrive, providing a space where imagination knows no bounds and the possibilities are limitless.

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What is the highest temperature of water in Celsius?

The surface ocean temperature in southern Florida soared in July 2023.    

The surface ocean temperature in Manatee Bay, on the southern tip of Florida, hit an unprecedented 38.4°C on July 24. in what is likely a global record for the hottest seawater ever recorded.
Meteorologists say the record is unofficial (it may be disqualified because the area is shallow, contains sea grasses and may be influenced by warm land in the nearby Everglades), but the initial reading on a buoy maintained by the Everglades National Park in Manatee Bay hit 38.4°C (101.1°F).
National Weather Service meteorologist George Rizzuto believes the buoy is accurate, citing other nearby buoys which measured in the 36.7°C and 37.2°C (98°F and 99°F) range.
Scientists are concerned by prolonged hot waters around Florida’s coastline because they are causing coral bleaching and even in some cases deaths.
A recent study lists a 37.6°C sea surface temperature recorded in Kuwait Bay in July 2020-likely now the former world’s hottest seawater.

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How long does it take the International Space Station to orbit the Earth ______ minutes?

The International Space Station (ISS) is a large spacecraft that orbitis around Earth every 90 minutes. It is not only a science laboratory but also serves as a home to crews of astronauts and Cosmonauts.

Its laboratory has components from the United States, Russia, Japan, and Europe.

The space station is used by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists to learn more about living and working in space. The research here will make it possible to send humans farther into space than ever before.

History                                                                                               

Originally called ‘Freedom’ in the 1980s, then U.S. President Ronald Reagan authorised NASA to build the space station. It was redesigned in the 1990s to reduce costs and expand international involvement, at which time it was renamed.

In 1993, the U.S. and Russia agreed to merge their separate space station plans into a single facility and incorporate contributions from the European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan.

It took 10 years and more than 30 missions to assemble the space station. It was launched in 1998 with the help of the U.S., Russia, Canada, Japan, and the participating countries of the ESA. The first piece of the ISS was launched in November 1998. The ISS is the size of a large five-bedroom house or a football field and is able to support a crew of six people and some visitors

It is made up of several parts that were assembled in space by astronauts. The first crew reached the space station on November 2, 2000. People have lived on the space station ever since.

International Space Station

The space station is equal to a five-bedroom house or the size of a football field and is able to support a crew of six people, plus visitors. The laboratories in the space station help the crew members to do research that could not be done anywhere else.

At the ISS, the scientists also study what happens to the human body when people live in microgravity (place where there is almost no gravity) for a long time.

The space station has solar arrays, which collect energy from the sun to provide electrical power. The arrays are connected to the station with a long truss, which is a beam that is the backbone of the space station.

There are radiators on the truss that control the space station’s temperature. Astronauts reach the space station on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft Operating the space station is more complicated than other space flight programmes as it is an international programme. Each partner is mainly responsible for managing and running the hardware it provides It is the largest space station ever constructed and yet it continues to be assembled in orbit.

Till now, it has been visited by astronauts from 18 countries During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to the U.S.. President Joe Biden said that India and the US. will collaborate to send an Indian astronaut to the ISS in 2024.

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What is Indian ocean Dipole?

With climate change wreaking havoc all across the globe, you must have come across the weather phenomena El Nino and La Nina. But have you heard of the Indian Nino? Come let’s find out what it is and how it impacts the monsoon

A climate phenomenon

El Nino is a naturally occurring climate pattern associated with the abnormal warming of surface waters in the central Pacific Ocean and this will push up global temperatures and bring less-than-normal rainfall to many parts of the world, while La Nina refers to the large-scale cooling of surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. With an El Nino phase now underway, the warm water spreading across the Pacific Ocean releases a large amount of heat into the atmosphere and this results in hot and dry weather conditions in many parts of the world. So what happens climatically in one place will affect weather worldwide. If there is an El Nino developing in the Pacific, it changes the winds and atmospheric circulation over the Indian Ocean.

warming it up. The Indian Ocean Dipole (1OD), which is commonly referred to as the Indian Nino, is a similar climate phenomenon playing out in the Indian Ocean, the world’s third largest ocean after the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The Indian Ocean most of which lies in the tropical region. is bounded by Africa to the west by Asia to the north, by Australia and the islands of indonesia to the east, and by the Southern Ocean to the south. So the IOD plays out between the African coastline in the west and indonesian coastline in the east, that is between the westem and easter parts of the Indian Ocean

Phases of IOD

The IOD is an irregular shift of ocean surface temperatures in which the western Indian Ocean gets alternately wanner and colder than the eastem part. That is if the temperature of the ocean is warmer on the westem side, it is cooler on the opposite side. The Indian Ocean Dipole plays an important role in influencing weather patterns, particularly the monsoon season in India. It is known to have two main phases, positive and negative, which have their distinct impact on the monsoon.

The rainfall tends to move with the warm waters. During a positive phase, warm waters are pushed to the western part of the Indian Ocean resulting in greater-than-average surface sea temperatures and a greater-than-normal rainfall, while cold waters from the deep are brought to the surface in the eastern Indian Ocean. In other words, a positive IOD means a wetter west and a drier east. The IOD is said to be negative when the western Indian Ocean gets cooler. This fluctuation in temperatures leads to changes in atmospheric circulation patterns, affecting the monsoon.

A positive phase of the IOD enhances the monsoon flow to India and causes floods in African countries, while it reduces rainfall and causes drier conditions and droughts in Indonesia and Australia. This pattern gets reversed during the negative phase. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). there is a higher probability for positive IOD conditions this year and this could potentially limit the impact of El Nino on the subcontinent.

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What are the benefits of puzzles in early childhood education?

Puzzles offer a wide array of cognitive educational, and personal benefits. They also help children develop patience persistence, and the ability to approach challenges methodically.

By solving puzzles, children enhance their critical thinking. problem-solving skills, creativity, and analytical abilities. Additionally, beyond their educational and cognitive advantages, mathematical puzzles have practical applications in various fields like cryptography, computer programming. engineering, and scientific research. Give yourself a challenge today and solve the two puzzles provided.

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What parts of when we cease to understand the world are fiction?

Covering a spectrum of genres, from riveting mysteries to hitorical fiction, this article pays homage to the art of co-authorship and the remarkable stories that emerge from such dynamic creative collaborations.

Good Omens Recommended age: 12 and up                                                                        

Good Omens is a remarkable literary collaboration between two exceptional English writers. Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. This imaginative novel is a labour of love that seamlessly blends their distinct narrative styles, humour, and wit into a captivating and unique story. Published in 1990, the story follows the unlikely alliance between an angel. Aziraphale, and a demon. Crowley, who have grown quite accustomed to life on Earth. As the impending apocalypse looms, the duo becomes unlikely allies in their shared goal to avert the end of the world. The novel’s charm lies in its satirical take on the forces of good and evil, exploring the complexities of human nature and the absurdities of divine intervention. Gaiman and Pratchett’s collaboration has yielded a humorous and thought-provoking narrative that delves into morality, friendship, and the cosmic battle between heaven and hell.

The Talisman Recommended age: 9-12

The Talisman stands as a shining example of collaborative literature, co-authored by two accomplished American writers, Stephen King and Peter Straub. This novel unites their distinct voices to create a mesmerising blend of fantasy and horror, offering readers a gripping narrative that showcases their combined storytelling prowess.

Set in a world that bridges reality and fantasy. The book follows the journey of a young boy named Jack Sawyer. Faced with the daunting task of saving his ailing mother. Jack embarks on a perilous quest through parallel worlds to find a magical talisman with healing properties. As he traverses dangerous landscapes and encounters both allies and adversaries, his determination is put to the test. The novel explores themes of loyalty, bravery, and the power of love.

The Personal Librarian Recommended age: 15 and up

The Personal Librarian is an interesting co-authored novel penned by American authors Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. Based on the real-life figure Belle da Costa Greene, the novel delves into her role as the personal librarian to American financier J.P. Morgan. Against the backdrop of the Gilded Age (an era of flashy materialism in the U.S.) and the flourishing world of rare manuscripts and art, Belle navigates a world that is dominated by male power and privilege. As she expertly manages her dual identity as an African American woman passing as white, Belle must confront the complexities of her heritage, personal ambitions, and the price of secrecy.

The Personal Librarian is a rich blend of historical fiction and powerful character exploration, shedding light on a hidden figure whose contributions shaped the literary and artistic landscape of her time.

Beautiful Creatures Recommendedage: 12 and up

Beautiful Creatures authored by American writers Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, is a remarkable co-authored book that emerged from a playful dare. Friends before collaborators. Garcia and Stohl were dared by Stohl’s children to join forces SAMI GARCIA & MARGARET STORIL and write a book together. This casual challenge evolved into the creation of the beloved Beautiful Creatures series.

Set in the Southern Gothic town of Gatlin, the series follows Ethan Wate and Lena Duchannes, two teenagers caught in a web of supernatural secrets. ancient curses, and a haunting history. As their bond deepens, they uncover the mysteries of their families legacies and the magical forces that intertwine their fates. The series explores themes of love, destiny, and the struggle between light and dark. Garcia and Stohl’s collaborative effort has given birth to an engaging saga that keeps readers spellbound across four novels.

Best Night. Ever.: A Story Told From Seven Points of View

Best Night Ever A Story Told From Seven Points of View is a dynamic co-authored book that showcases the creative synergy of seven American authors Rachele Alpine. Ronni Ammo, Alison Cherry. Stephanie Faris, Jen Malone. Gail Nall, and Dee Romito. This collaborative work weaves together their distinct voices to create a multi-perspective narrative that offers readers a vibrant and engaging storytelling experience In this spirited tale, the authors skillfully interconnect the lives of seven characters who fit themselves linked through a seemingly ordinary middle school dance. As the night unfolds, readers gain unique insights into each character’s hopes, fears and aspirations. The diverse viewpoints highlight the complexities of friendship, crushes, and personal growth, all set against the backdrop of a single event that shapes their experiences. This book captures the essence of adolescence showcasing the authors ability to craft a cohesive narrative while honouring the individuality of each character’s voice.

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What is habit 7 of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People?

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teenagers is a tailored guide that offers practical strategies to foster proactive and purpose-driven lives.

                                                                                                                                                                         

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey has been a part of our home library for as long as I can remember. During a recent trip to the bookshop, I came across The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teenagers At first glance. I thought it was the same as Covey’s book. but upon closer inspection. I realised the differences. Since it is tailored for teenagers, I managed to convince my father to purchase it. During the last club meeting, the president shared his personal experience to highlight the importance of reading self-help books. Here are his thoughts as he expressed them

The first thing I did when we got back home was to get the book from the shelf and to look at both of them, as the title was similar. 1, then. noticed that they address two different sets of audiences and are authored by different persons. Opening the first page I saw that the latter is written by Covey’s son. Sean Covey.

Like father, like son was the idiom that crossed my mind and I remembered the fathers-and-sons duos. namely, Charles Dickens and Charles Dickens Jr., H.G. Wells and Antony West. Stephen King and Joseph Hillman King, and a few more, who take after their fathers. In fact, there aren’t many such duos, which puzzled me because we believe writing runs in the genes. If it were true, what happened to the centuries of Shakespeare’s family members or Mulk Raj Anand’s sons? There must have been a huge lineage of writers, but the reality contradicts. So, unique talents such as singing. dancing, drawing, writing. and so on, seem to be individual talents and hardly are they inherited. And even the sons listed did not parallel their fathers popularity.

The duo. Stephen Covey and Sean Covey, however almost matched each other, which compelled me to dig out the reasons for their successes. The obvious reason appears to be the son’s adherence to his father’s footprint. On the contents page. I noticed both of them are dealing with the same seven habits such as ‘Be Proactive. Begin with the End in Mind, Put First Things First. Think Win-Win, Seek First to Understand. Synergise, and Sharpen the Saw.

Sean Covey, finding the overwhelming success of his father’s book published in 1989, realised that teenagers’ life and their challenges are varied from the grownups and decided to write this book ten years later. His father records the variations between them as. “Unlike my book on the 7 Habits, this book, by my son, speaks directly to teens in an entertaining and visually appealing style.”

Though their Paradigms and Principles exhibit similarities, they approach them differently. Let me illustrate their distinctions using Habit 1-Be Proactive as an example. Both stress its significance as it’s foundational, yet the way they explain it varies based on their audiences experiences and cognitive levels. They effectively relate the concept to their respective age groups. Sean Covey highlights the contrast between “two types of individuals in the world: the proactive, who take charge of their lives, and the reactive. who place blame.”

They, obviously, argue for being proactive, “I am the force. I am the captain of my life. I can choose my attitude. I am responsible for my happiness or unhappiness. I am in the drivers seat of my destiny, not just a passenger.” Both of them powerfully argues for becoming proactive, quoting real-life people they had come across Defining the characteristic features of being proactive Sean Covey states taking responsibility for ones own life and having a “can-do” against a “no-can-do” attitude He dismisses the misconception that proactive people are ‘pushy, aggressive, or obnoxious, but they are the ones who are ‘courageous. persistent, and smart

To transform people to become proactive they closely analyse the language that these two categories employ in their communication; the reactive people say, I’ll try and “I have to” but the other category contrarily says. “I’ll do it and choose to”. They persuade the readers to understand the meaningfulness of becoming proactive to craft a meaningful life.

I would without any hesitations state that these two books have a tremendous influence on me.

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What are 3 interesting facts about Enid Blyton?

Enid Blyton’s birth anniversary was observed recently. Though the British author who has penned more than 600 books has been called out for racism in recent years, the magic she wielded over generations of young readers cannot be disputed. Let’s sift through the pages of six of her famous series.

 

The Secret Seven

The Secret Seven constitute a group of seven adventurous duldren who go about solving mysteries. They have their own set of rules. There is a shed with a door that has “SS” marked on it. This is where the children meet. One can access this space only through a password and one needs to wear badges as well. The group comprises Peter, his sister Janet, and their friends Jack, Colin, George, Pam and Barbara. They hunt for clues and solve mysteries and suspicious occurrings in their local community such as burglaries, cases of missing children and so on. All thanks to the Secret Seven, there are such societies all over the world formed by children inspired by the book series. The series consists of 15 books and the first in the series titled “The Secret Seven” was published in 1949. Time to form your own secret society, is it?

St. Clare’s series

The first St. Clare’s book “The Twins at St Clare’s” was published in 1941. Even today, the books are popular among the children. The plot of the book series revolves around the many adventures a group of girls go through as they navigate life in a boarding school. St Clare’s is a boarding-school for girls and our stories follow the twins Pat and Isobel O’Sullivan, who arrive at the school in the first book. The book follows them from first form and upwards and ends at the fifth form. Amidst midnight feasts, sports matches, exams, and fun and friendship, Enid Blyton weaves a bewitching story that can hook the young readers. Another similar series that you can check out is the “Malory Towers”.

Noddy Series

“The Noddy” series by Enid Blyton is famous to a point that Noddy is an icon. For many children. Noddy is the first character that introduces them to the author’s world. Noddy was created in wood by Old Man Carver. He then goes to Toyland and this is where the adventure starts. The many colourful characters in Toyland, a land that brims with towns and villages populated by toys, add charm to the series and makes it a wonderful read for kids. The first title “Noddy Goes To Toyland” was published in 1949.

The Wishing-Chair

Picture this. A chair which will fly you to wonderful places. The stories revolve around the adventures of Peter and Mollie. One fine day, the duo walk into an antique shop to buy a present for their mother’s birthday. But their lives change with just one visit. They acquire a wishing-chair which develops wings and flies them wherever they want to. They travel to many unique lands and interact with a multitude of vibrant characters who take the children as well as the reader on a journey laden with adventures. The first book in the series “The Adventures of the Wishing Chair’ was published in 1937. Pick up the book and traverse the Land of Dreams, Village of Slipperies and Land of Goodies, besides indulging in the exploits with the children.

The Famous Five

 The Famous Five is a mystery-solving gang of five siblings. They go about on a range of adventures. The famous five includes Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy the dog. They embark on an adventure every school holiday. The first book in the series was published in 1942 and the adventure began with the book “Five on a Treasure Island”. The book became a huge hit and Enid Blyton went on to write 20 more books in the series. Their adventures include finding hidden treasures, stumbling upon secret passageways, caves and so on as the children go about to catch the villains. Here, the children have absolute freedom as they solve mysteries, hopping on from one adventure to another.

The Naughtiest Girl series

There is a naughty girl in every classroom. The spoilt and defiant Elizabeth Allen is every bit the naughtiest girl you will encounter. Tired of her antics, her parents decide to send her off to a boarding school. That’s how the Naughtiest Girl series begins. The first book in the series “The Naughtiest Girl in the School” was published in 1940. Elizabeth hatches a plan to be very rude and disobedient so that the she will get kicked out of the school. But Elizabeth is in for a sweet surprise at the boarding school “Whyteleafe” which is unlike any boarding school one comes across. Join Elizabeth as she embarks on a whirl-wind journey and even starts to enjoy life at the school.

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Which plastic plates are microwave safe?

Can you believe that we are swallowing plastic along with the food and drink we consume every day? But how do microplastics infiltrate our food? Read on to fund out..

Did you know that microplastics, tiny bits of plastic invisible to the naked eye are taken up by the roots of plants and eventually end up in the fruits and vegetables we eat?

Microplastics are everywhere. They have been found in Antarctica. buried in the sea ice and in the stomachs of creatures living in the deepest ocean trenches According to a recent study, there are around 24 trillion fragments of microplastics adrift in the world’s oceans.

 

Food front

The unpalatable truth is that not only are microplastics present in Earth’s water bodies they are on land too. in the soil in which we grow our food. In fact, we are swallowing plastic along with the food and drink we consume every day, including tra salt milk honey, sugar, vegetables fruits drut soft strides Tap water contains plastic and bottled water oven m The main reason why food crops airsorb microplastics is the use of sewage sludge as an alternative to chemical fertilizers by farmers. Sewage Since sludge contains sludge is left behind after a number of nutrients beneficial to soil it is used as organic fertilizer. wastewater is cleaned. Since it is costly to dispose of sludge and it contains a number of nutrients beneficial to soil, the sludge is used as organic fertilizer

From soil to food

Microplastics can remain in the soil for a long time. leaching harmful chemicals into it Ploughing also enables the plastic to reach areas where sludge is not applied in fact. scientists say that the amount of microplastic particles in agricultural soil is equal to what is found in surface ocean waters. Rainwater run-off containing topsoil and irrigation run-off also contribute in a big way to microplastic pollution in rivers, seas and in groundwater.

Research shows that crops absorb the particles from surrounding water and soil through tiny cracks in their roots. Most of the plastic collects in the roots with only a tiny amount travelling up to the shoots and leaves. Root vegetables such as carrots, radishes and turips may thus pose a bigger health risk when consumed. In leafy vegetables such as lettuce and cabbage, the concentrations are very low.

A surprising finding is that microplastics can stunt the growth of and lead to weight loss in earthworms! Microplastics may clog up the earthworms digestive tracts, hampering their ability to absorb nutrients. It is a well-known fact that earthworms are important for soil health.

Though the impact is not fully understood yet, studies show that the chemicals added during the manufacture of plastics can disrupt the hormone-producing endocrine system and cause other health problems and diseases.

Some European countries have banned sludge on farmland, but that may not be the best solution. It may force farmers to use synthetic fertilizers. Depositing it in landfills or burning it also poses environmental hazards.

Worth of sludge

Also called biosolids, treated sewage sludge has elements such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, which are essential for plant health. The U.S. and countries in Europe have used sludge for decades on farmland.

In Europe, it is part of an EU (European Union) directive to promote a circular waste economy. Around 10 million tonnes of sludge is produced annually, of which 40 per cent is spread on fields. Researchers estimate that due to this practice, 31.000-42.000 tonnes of microplastics could be contaminating European farmland every year. This works out to 86 million to 720 million particles of microplastics! About 650 million microplastic particles, measuring 1 mm to 5 mm in size. entered one wastewater treatment plant in the UK on a single day and almost all of these ended up in the sewage sludge. forming one per cent of its total weight

In the US, an analysis by an environmental non-profit group in 2022 found that sewage sludge had contaminated 20 million acres of cropland. The contaminants were PFAS in plastic products that don’t break down easily. They are termed forever chemicals

*PFAS is short for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances which are a group of man-made chemicals.

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Is Switzerland known for chocolate or cheese?

From soaring Alps to beautiful lakes, Switzerland has breathtaking scenery. The country has for centuries been a neutral state and is one of the world’s wealthiest countries. Let us find out more about this beautiful country in Europe.

History

The earliest stones discovered in Switzerland are more than 250,000 years old. During the last glacial period in Alpine Europe, the Wurm stage, which began around 70,000 years ago, the region was covered with ice. At about 12,000 BC. Homo sapiens appeared after the melting of the glaciers, Neolithic cultures established com growing and animal breeding in parts of the Rhone and Rhine valleys.

The region that constitutes present-day Switzerland became part of the Roman Empire at the beginning of the 3rd Century BC With the end of the Western Roman Empire. the Roman administration in the region dismantled in the 5th and 6th centuries. In the Middle Ages, the region witnessed migratory flows. Various peoples also settled in Switzerland, bringing with them new ways of life and languages

Switzerland was formed in 1291 and became an independent country in 1815. Though the country faced tensions and armed conflicts like the rest of Europe, it developed its unique characteristic of being neutral in wars. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the country experienced periods of peace and rising prosperity.

Geography

Switzerland is a landlocked country bordered by France, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and Italy. It is the nexus of the diverse physical and cultural geography of Western Europe.

It has deep Alpine lakes and grassy valleys with farms and small villages. Among the snow-covered Swiss Alps, Matterhorn is the most famous peak. The highest among them is Dufourspitze at 15,203 feet.

In the past several decades. the country has faced severe environmental stress, resulting in pollution and debates over the exploitation of natural resources. During the 1970s and 1980s. environmental policies were adopted by the municipalities that led to an impressive progress on pollution abatement. For example, air pollution emissions here are among the lowest in industrialised countries.

Flora and fauna

In the warmer months, Switzerland is graced with a variety of flora. The most beautiful blooms can be found high in the mountains.

The vegetation here is a mix of four European climatic regions that converge in the country. It includes the beeches and oaks of the maritime west; hornbeam and larch trees in the more continental east, predominantly in the Engadin and the dry Valais; extensive spruce forests in the northern subalpine region; and chestnut groves in the south. The most famous flower in the country is the edelweiss (native to alpine areas of Europe and South America).

Though the country’s animal life is primarily Alpine, it has a mixture of species familiar to southern and north-central Europe. Here, one can find ibex, which is a species of mountain goat that was hunted to near extinction in the early 1800s. It was reintroduced and more than 15,000 ibex now live in the Swiss Alps. Besides, one can find marmots in the high meadows, and chamois. The forests of Switzerland are also home to deer, rabbits, foxes, badgers, squirrels, and many bird species.

People

Most of Western Europe’s culture has its presence in Switzerland. The Swiss constitution recognises German, French, Italian and Romansh (a Rhaeto-Romance language with Latin roots) as official languages. Though English is not an official language, most of the country’s official documents are in it.

Most of the citizens live in towns and cities. The cities are international centres of industry and commerce.

Since the beginning of the 20th Century, the population of Switzerland has more than doubled. The foreign-born population here increased in the 1990s as it provided refuge to those fleeing the violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Kosovo.

The country boasts an impressive list of contributors to the arts and sciences. It has won more Nobel Prizes and registered more patents per capita than any other country.

Switzerland’s neutral stance In wars and laws of political asylum have attracted many creative persons during times of unrest or war in Europe. For example, the rise of fascism in the 1930s and 1940s caused a number of German, Austrian, and Italian writers such as Thomas Mann, Stefan George, and Ignazio Silone to seek refuge in Switzerland.

Traditional Swiss cuisine is marked by important cultural and regional variations. Cheese dishes are an integral part of the country’s cuisine. Its famous and national dish is fondue neuchateloise, which is a mixture of melted Emmentaler and Gruyere cheeses and wine into which bread cubes are dipped.

The Swiss chocolate industry is also world-famous. Meanwhile, the western region of the country is influenced by French cuisine and culture, and in Ticino, pasta, polenta, and risotto from Italy are popular.

Typical Swiss folk culture such as yodeling and playing the alphorn is practised in some rural regions. Folk arts here include music, poetry (usually song), dance, wood carving, and embroidery. The traditions can be seen in the country’s many holidays and festivals. For example, Fasnacht is celebrated in late winter throughout the country. It exhibits regional variations such as in some places people wear masks to chase away evil spirits. Masks are also part of Sylvesterklause (New Year) celebrations, particularly in rural Switzerland.

The country has made a significant mark in science. The famous Swiss scientists include Paracelsus, who introduced chemistry into the field of medicine in the 16th Century. Zurich’s Federal Institute of Technology has produced many Nobel Prize winners, among them physicists Albert Einstein, Wolfgang Pauli, and Heinrich Rohrer. The Swiss are well known for their watches and clocks.

Government

The 1848 Constitution of Switzerland, modelled on the United States, was revised in 1874 and then in 2000. It does not allow for troops to be sent to serve in foreign wars. During both World Wars, the country remained neutral.

One of the unique aspects of the Constitution is that it allows citizens to have a direct say in their own affairs under Switzerland’s system of direct democracy. The citizens can also call a national vote on any issue by collecting 100,000 signatures.

The leader of the government is the President. Both the President and Vice-President are elected by the Federal Assembly from the Federal Council. They serve a one-year term and elections are usually held in December. Ruth Dreifuss was the first woman to serve as President, holding the office in 1999.

Though the country has been a member of the United Nations since 2002, it is not a member of the European Union.

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What is the theme of the Teachers Day celebration?

Teaching is one of the noblest professions And a teacher is the biggest cheerleader of a shutent But teaching is also a thankless job. This Teachers Day lets read up on a few ways to make your teachers feel appreciated and values.

Celebrate Teachers Day

This may seem like the most obvious of all the things you ou do to make a teacher feel appreciated Indeed, how else to appreciate teachers than celebrating them? Teachers Day falls on September 5 So go ahead and make them feel special on this day You can write a note, make a cant make a speech, or even hold a small activity where you can share how your teacher has made an impact on your life. A heartfelt thank you will be sufficient for the teachers. Throwing such a surprise celebratory event is sure to make your teacher feel highly appreciated and valued. PHOTO R. RAGU/THE HINDU

Form study groups

Ever thought of helping out your peers? A teacher cannot always give attention to all the children in the class equally. Remember that theorem the maths teacher taught that you could quickly grasp but which turned out to be a tough nut to crack for most of the students? How about helping out the students and teaching them instead of waiting for the teacher to explain it again in the next class? You can easily form a study group and either use a free penod or vase the break to teach the students. If you are academically good, you can also form a study group to help the students who fair poorly in their academics. This will be beneficial for the students as well as the teacher and is one way to help your teacher. By teaching a concept you will also get thorough with it. This is because you have to fully understand something to be able to explain it to someone else. PHOTO: RAD GN

Say Thank You

We often undermine the power of a simple Thank You A heartfelt thank you is sometimes enough to warm the cockles of the heart of another person. So go ahead and say thank you to the teacher. You can share how much you appreciate them by either writing a letter, using a hand-drawn picture or just walking up to them and saying thank you Any small gesture will be appreciated by them. PHOTO: A.M. FARUQUI

Talk proudly about them Every individual needs praise. This helps them know that whatever they are doing is appreciated. While teachers may not necessarily need reassurance and validation, having chosen one of the thankless yet wholly satisfying professions themselves, it will definitely make a difference if you can make them feel appreciated. Talk about your teachers to your parents, friends, and even their parents. Praise their efforts and complement them wherever you can.

Volunteer

Everyone can use a little bit of help. And this includes teachers as well. Be ready to volunteer whenever some extra activity comes up in class. For instance, if there is an activity happening in the class where you can pitch in with your services, make sure you offer to volunteer. It may be as simple as rearranging the desks or washing the beakers in the lab or as taxing as helping with the organising of class programmes. In short, be helpful in class and the extra effort will definitely be appreciated by the teacher.

Be attentive in class

Nothing will make a teacher feel appreciated than a student who is highly attentive and responsive in class. Be a good student and always ask questions if you don’t understand something.

Participating in class means that you are taking extra effort to focus on the topic being taught. Further, you will also have fewer chances of getting distracted or missing out on any topic on account of sitting farther from the chalkboard. Being attentive in class ensures that you understand concepts well and a teacher will surely feel appreciated seeing a class packed with students eager to learn.

Become a good, successful individual

 One of the most heart warming things for a teacher is to see their stulent coming out with flying colours not only during exams but in life as well. That’s the biggest and loudest thank you any student can ever offer to a teacher. So go ahead, be attentive in class, do your best at academics. be good at extracurriculars, and become a goodl human being. Make sure you are consistent, and put in the time and effort to bring: your best self out at eams, extra-curricular, and even otherwise PHOTO ANI PHOTO/SANJAY SHARMA

Be up to date with homework and classwork

Students who finish their homework and assignments on time and who are always ready by bringing specific textbooks or workbooks to class is the dream of any teacher. If you finish all your homework on time, as stipulated by the teacher, not only does it benefit you by being academically up to date with what is being taught in the class but it ensures that you are prepared for the class and eventually, the exams. Further, it also helps the teacher as precious time gets wasted when children come unprepared for the classes. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO

Picture Credit: Google

How are diamonds formed?

Diamonds are the only gems that are made up of a single element- carbon. Natural diamonds take millions of years to form.

The diamonds that we get today were formed millions of years ago about 120-200 km below the earth’s surface.

The rocks in the earth’s upper mantle contain carbon. Due to variations in temperature, this carbon gets pushed deeper down where it melts under high temperature and pressure. When the temperature reduces, the carbon again gets solidified into a new rock.

Under perfect temperature and pressure conditions (a rare phenomenon), the carbon atoms in the molten rock get crystallised to form diamonds. If the temperature rises or the pressure drops, then the diamond crystals may melt partially or completely. Thousands of years after diamonds are formed, they are transported to the surface by volcanic eruptions.

Diamonds may also be formed due to the high pressure and temperature at the site of meteorite impacts.

How and Why do flowers develop their scent?

Flowers produce scent to attract pollinators or to keep harmful insects or animals away.

When a plant grows, it produces certain essential oils that decompose to form volatile oils. These oils are usually present in petals but they can also be found in fruits, leaves, barks and seeds. When the oil evaporates, the flower gives off smell. The type of fragrance depends on the chemical composition of the volatile oils.

No two flower species have the same scent although their colour and petal structure may look quite similar.

The purpose of the scent is to lure pollinators. Plant species pollinated by bees and flies have sweet scents, while those pollinated by beetles have musty or fruity odours. Large flowers such as Rafflesia arnoldii and Titan arum smell like decomposing corpses and the smell attracts their pollinators, the flies.

Flowers give off scent only when their prospective pollinators are most active. Thus plants like the jasmine that are pollinated by moths and bats bloom at night and emit a sweet fragrance.

While some plants emit strong scents to keep animals away, the Venus flytrap uses its scent to attract insects which are then ‘eaten’ by the plant!

 Picture Credit: Google

What is cross-dominance?

Most of us are either right or left-handed. But some people may write with their left hand and throw a ball with their right hand. Such a mixed preference for different activities is called cross dominance.

Well, just like we show natural preference to either of the two hands (exceptions being ambidextrous people), our ears, eyes and feet also have one dominant part. The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and is more dominant in right-handed persons and vice versa. Normally, therefore, a right-handed person would be right-footed, right-eyed and so on. But some right-handed persons may have a more dominant left foot or left eye. This is called mixed laterality and such persons also show traits of cross-dominance.

Hand-eye cross-dominance can be quite problematic for sportspersons especially shooters and athletes.

More than 20% people have some cross-dominance or the other and it can be overcome by training oneself to use the non-dominant part more often.

Many well-known people are cross-dominant. Sachin Tendulkar bats, bowls and throws with his right hand but writes with his left. Rafael Nadal plays tennis with his left-hand but uses his right hand to throw and write. The foot you use normally to kick the ball is your dominant foot.

The ear you naturally turn toward a soft sound is your dominant ear.

Picture Credit: Google

Did the Milky Way shape-shift?

Embark on a journey to Verona and meet the dedicated volunteers preserving the legacy of one of Shakespeares greatest heroines

The House of Juliet also known as Casa di Gillette” is Italian, is more than just an old building in Verona Italy It is believed to have once belonged to the Cappello family which according to the legend inspired the famous Capulet family in English playwright William Shakespeare’s play Romen & haliet This is the very house where Gulietta Capuleti the supposed inspiration behind, the tragic heroine of Shakespeares play, is said to have livest

A global love connection

But the House of Juliet is not just a tounst attraction it is a hub of heartwarming connections from around the world Thousands of people lene letters addressed to Juliet. expressing their deepest feelings about love, relationship and life when they visit this medieval 13th Century palace Some letters are placest in a postbox at the house itself. while others are simply addressed to Juliet, Italy and sent from all corners of the globe

Juliet Club

The Juliet Club, a hidden gem tucked away in the backstreets of Verona since 1972 is a place where the timeless spirit of romance thrives. The dubs heart and soul lie in the dedicated committer of a dozen local women who affectionately call themselves The Secretaries of Juliet These volunteers take on the heartwanning task of responding to the staggering 50.000 letters Juliet receives annually. They diligently strive to answer every letter, even those written in languages beyond Italian or English, seeking local speakers to help bridge the communication gap. Stepping into the workroom fillest with boxes of handwritten letters, the secretaries embark on their mission to provide solace, wisdom, and advice on matters of the heart

This unique experience is not just limited to the dedicated team: anyone can be a part of Juliets legacy A visitor can drop in for a day and become Juliet’s secretary reading and responding to letters that resonate with their hearts. Each response is penned on official Club di Giulietta stationery and signed off as Secretary of Juliet.”

The first secretary of Juliet

The tradition of answering Juliet’s letters has a history dating back to the 1930s when the guardian of Juliets grave in Verona, Ettore Solimani, first began replying to letters left for the literary character. Handwritten letters have retained their allure, despite the prevalence of modem communication methods. The clubs archive stands as a treasure trove of countless love stories and a testament to the enduring power of love expressed through pen and paper

The Juliet Club and its Secretaries carry forward the legacy of Shakespeare’s iconic character, extending love hope, and empathy to countless hearts seeking solace and connection.

 

Did the Milky Way shape-shift?

For the longest time, astronomers have been trying to unlock the mystery surrounding our Milky Way galaxy. Astronomers have known that our galaxy looks like a spiral ever since the 1950s. Galaxies are classified based on their shapes and physical features. activity in their central regions, and so on. The presence of spiral anns in our galaxy has placed it in the category of spiral galaxies

What are spiral galaxies?

Galaxies are generally categorised as spiral (like our Milky Way). elliptical and irregular. Spiral galaxies have winding spiral arms. It makes them look like pinwheels and the cosmic entities comprise stars, gas, and dust.

Their spiral arms are composed of gas and dust from which bright younger stars are born. Stars are actively being formed in the spiral galaxies. The younger stars are formed in the arms that are rich with gas while the older stars occur in the halo, in the disk and within the bulge. And this is happening in our neighbouring galaxies as well The spiral galaxies are further grouped into normal spirals and barred spirals. A barred spiral galaxy has ribbons of stars, gas, and dust running across their centres. Our galaxy as well as Andromeda galaxy belong to the subtype of a barred spiral galaxy But here is a new spin on the story. New observations have shown that our galaxy was not always a spiral Reporting in the scientific journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, astronomer Alister Graham observed that galaxies evolve from one shape to another. He used old and new observations to show how the evolution of galaxies from one shape to another takes place. This process is called galactic speciation. The clashes and subsequent mergers with other galades result in the process of cosmic evolution.

So our galaxy transformed from a dust-poor lenticular galway to the spiral galaxy we know it as today. In future, between 4 billion and 6 billion years, our galaxy is all poised to merge with its neighbouring galaxy, the Andromeda galaxy Following this collision and merger, the daughter galaxy resulted will be a dust rich lenticular galaxy, with an intact disk but without the spiral structure.

Picture Credit: Google

Heatwaves in the ocean?

 

High temperatures and heatwaves across the globe saw records broken in July 2023 on land and in the oceans. The oceans serve as the Earth’s heat reservoir, absorbing substantial amounts of thermal energy as a result of their continuous interaction with the atmosphere. Under specific conditions. prolonged periods of unusually high temperatures in the oceans are called marine heatwaves. much like their atmospheric counterparts.

These higher temperatures could be driven by increased heat input from the atmosphere. decreased heat losses from the ocean or the transfer of warmer water masses through currents Over the past two decades these events have become more prevalent and widespread, having been observed in various areas of the global ocean, in both regional and large scales, at the surface of the ocean and at depth

In particular, recent data shows the occurrence of marine heatwaves surged by 34 percent between 1925 and 2016. While the exact mechanisms triggering marine heatwaves vary from region to region. there are two primary factors. In some instances, the atmospheric conditions themselves play a pivotal role. During such episodes. stagnant air masses and prolonged high temperatures in the atmosphere conspire to heat the ocean’s surface. setting the stage for a marine heatwave event. This pattern was notably evident during a 2012 North Atlantic event, which saw one of the highest sea surface temperatures ever recorded.

In other cases, the main driver is the movement of ocean currents, which transport relatively warm water masses to new areas. When these warm masses converge in specific regions, they cause a rapid and abrupt increase in the sea’s surface temperature. This was witnessed in the 2015 Tasman Sea (situated between Australia and New Zealand) event.

As the impacts of marine heatwaves reverberate across the globe, understanding the complex interplay between the oceans and the atmosphere is crucial for predicting the Occurrence of these extreme events. In the face of climate change, conserving and protecting our oceans becomes ever more critical. Therefore improving marine heatwave predictability is crucial to empower communities and ecosystems alike to adapt and build resilience. By better understanding the science behind marine heatwaves and taking collective action, people can work towards a more resilient and sustainable future for the oceans. (With inputs from agencies)

Picture Credit: Google

What is an FIR ?

If you have followed the news. you must have often read about police making arrests on the basis of an FIR (First Information Report). However, do you know what FIR is?

What is an FIR?

An FIR is a written document prepared by the police in India. Pakistan and Bangladesh. Interestingly, it is not defined in the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, or in any other law, but is part of police regulations or rules.

An FIR is generally a complaint lodged with the police by the victim or by someone on his or her behalf about an offence. The informant is given a copy of the FIR free of cost.

After an FIR is filed, the police start investigating the case and can arrest the alleged persons as per law. If there is sufficient evidence to support the complaint, then a chargesheet is filed. Or else, a Final Report mentioning that no evidence was found is filed in court.

Filing an FIR

The procedure for filing an FIR is mentioned under Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code. 1973. Anyone can file an FIR either orally or in writing to the police.

People can also lodge an FIR online. Following the filing of an FIR, the police are bound to commence investigation into the case.

Here is the process to file an FIR: One has to visit the nearest police station and inform the police of all the details of the offence either verbally or in writing. If it is a verbal statement, the duty officer writes it down and makes an entry in the General Diary or Daily Diary. If it is a written complaint, one must carry two copies – one for the duty officer and the other for one’s personal record.

The police will go through the details after submission of the complaint. Then the information recorded by the police is read over to the complainant.

Then one needs to sign the FIR after verifying that the information recorded by the police is as per the details given.

A free-of-cost copy of the FIR will be given to the complainant with an FIR number, date of FIR and the name of the police station. Both copies of the FIR are stamped bearing a Daily Diary number. It is a proof that the complaint has been received by the police.

These details can be used to access the FIR online for free if the copy is lost.

After an FIR is registered, its contents cannot be changed. However, additional information can be given to the police later on at any point

Zero FIR

The provision of Zero FIR was recommended for the first time in the report of the Justice Verma Committee. It was constituted to make amendments to the Criminal Law in order to speed up trial and enhance punishment for criminals accused of committing sexual assault against women.

The objective of a Zero FIR is to ensure the victim does not have to run to different police stations to get a complaint registered.

A person can even file a Zero FIR which means a police station can receive a complaint regarding an alleged offence that has been committed in the jurisdiction of another police station. The FIR can then be transferred to the concerned police station for further investigation.

If a person is refused by the officer in charge of a police station to register an FIR, he/she can send the complaint to the Superintendent of Police/DCP concerned.

Picture Credit: Google

Does Saturn have a storm spot?

The Great Red Spot is the largest storm in our solar system. An anticyclone that is over 16,000 km wide-large enough to engulf the entire Earth-the Great Red Spot has been on Jupiter’s surface for hundreds of years.

A new study has shown that Satum Jupiters neighbour, also has long-lasting megastorms. While these are less colourful and blander than those on Jupiter, they do have impacts deep in Saturn’s atmosphere that remain for centuries. The study was published on August 11 in the journal Science Advances

Similar to hurricanes

Similar to hurricanes on Earth but much much larger, megastorms on Satum occur every 20 to 30 years. The causes for these megastorms in Saturn’s atmosphere. which is made up mainly of hydrogen and helium along with traces of methane ammonia and water, remains unknown. Based on radio emissions from Satum. astronomers from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, noticed anomalies in the concentration of ammonia gas in the atmosphere. While the concentration of ammonia at mid-altitudes is lower, it was enriched at lower altitudes. 100 to 200 km deeper in the atmosphere.

Precipitation and re-evaporation

The researchers were able to connect this to the past occurrences of megastorms in Satum’s northern hemisphere. According to them, ammonia is being transported from the upper to the lower atmosphere. This effect, which they believe can last for hundreds of years, occurs through the processes of precipitation and re-evaporation.

Additionally, this study reveals that Saturn and Jupiter are very dissimilar despite the fact that both gas giants are made of hydrogen gas. The tropospheric anomalies in Jupiter have been connected to its zones (whitish bands) and belts (darkish bands), while those on Saturn are caused by cyclones.

These differences between Saturn and Jupiter challenge scientists on what they know about the formation of megastorms on gas giants and other planets. Understanding this would not only further our knowledge of terrestrial meteorology, but may also inform us as to how they are formed and studied on exoplanets in the future.

Picture Credit: Google

What was the non-violent movement led by Mahatma Gandhi?

This book tells the story of Arun Gandhi’s experiences growing up as the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, the renowned leader of the Indian independence movement and an advocate of non-violence.

In the book. Arun Gandhi shares his memories of living with his grandfather at the Sevagram ashram in India. He describes the profound lessons he learned from Gandhiji, including the principles of non-violence, love, and truth. The story also explores the challenges young Arun faced as he struggled to understand and embody these principles in his daily life.

Grandfather Gandhi offers young readers a glimpse into the life and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi through the eyes of his grandson.

My Gandhi Story by Nina Sabnani and Ankit Chadha with illustrations by Rajesh Chaitya Vangad

This picture book is a great choice for reading aloud to children. It’s a collaborative effort involving a Warli artist, a storyteller, and an animation film-maker. The book features beautiful traditional Warli paintings by the artist Rajesh Chaitya Vangad, illustrating Gandhiji’s life.

The story is presented through short snippets and questions from a childlike narrator, with Gandhiji providing the answers. For example, when asked if he worked hard in school, Gandhi replied that he was not lazy but found multiplication difficult and was shy.

Three voices tell this story: the narrator, the curious child, and Gandhiji himself. Together, they introduce children to the political leader making him relatable to young readers.

Great Lives: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi by Aditi De and illustrated by Pooja Pottenkulam

This book has a unique style, combining descriptive text with a format similar to graphic novels or comics books, which easily captivates children. Every few pages, the story switches to a comic book format, complementing the text. The first chapter describes Gandhiji’s birth and family, while the comics depict scenes from his childhood, such as his vow to care for his parents inspired by a tale from the Ramayana. It also portrays his first encounter with the injustices of untouchability and the caste system when his mother prohibited him from sharing sweets and playing with his friend Uka, who belonged to an oppressed caste.

When asked why today’s children should read about the leader even more than 150 years after his birth, the author, Aditi De, explains, “Children today have few icons to look up to. barring sports or screen stars. Once high school students realise that young Mohandas had dilemmas and fears like theirs, they identify with him powerfully. During my workshops on this book, whether at Bangalore or Ambala, young readers have often chosen Gandhian tools to resolve our polarised world’s problems. That filled me with wonder.”

Mahatma Gandhi: The Father of the Nation by Subhadra Sen Gupta

Written by an accomplished author who has received the Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Award, this biography of Mahatma Gandhi is an engaging book for readers of all ages. It invites readers to imagine what Gandhiji’s era was like evoking laughter, deep contemplation. and wonder SUBHADRA SE PTA

Throughout the book, Gandhiji’s principles on various topics, such as equality, secularism, humour, kindness, simplicity, non-violence, self-reliance, education, and empowerment, are presented in an engaging manner.

The author even delves into the Mahatma’s dietary habits, noting, “His meals were so plain that people avoided sitting next to him because he would offer them his plain boiled vegetables without salt, oil, or spices, along with bitter neem chutney, which he claimed aided digestion.” Despite his simple lifestyle, Gandhiji’s popularity was immense, as “people would travel for days and then patiently wait under the scorching sun for hours just for a chance to catch a glimpse of him.”

The Mahatma and the Monkeys edited by Anu Kumar

This book brings together the most Captivating moments that shaped Gandhiji’s life and highlights his most significant sayings. It explores his relentless pursuit of truth, equality, and freedom. drawing valuable lessons and powerful words from his remarkable journey. Gandhiji never gave excuses like, “What can I do, I’m only one person.” Instead, he asserted. “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” He proved this to be true. That’s why, even years after his passing, his actions and words hold great significance in our world today.

At the end of each chapter, you will find a collection of thought-provoking quotes from Gandhiji, and there’s also a fun quiz for young readers towards the end of the book.

Picture Credit: Google

How do you draw the wonder flower in Mario Bros Wonder?

Dive into the rich history of Indian comic publishers and creators while uncovering the unique storytelling essence that makes comics an all-time favourite among the young and the old.

Our art teacher, after revisiting a few key ideas from her previous presentation on cartoon books, began discussing comic books. Once again, she delivered her presentation using PowerPoint slides. The first slide displayed five images of popular comic characters and asked us to identify them. Without any difficulty, we recognised them as Spider-Man, Batman. Wonder Woman, Iron Man, and the Hulk

Indian characters

We expected that the teacher would quiz us on iconic Indian comic characters as well, and as anticipated, the second slide featured them. The images shown were Suppandi. Chacha Chaudhary, Bahadur, Super Commando Dhruva, and Nagraj However, we had some difficulty identifying them, as they were not as well-known as their Western counterparts. She also listed a few more popular Indian superheroes She continued the quiz on the following slide. focusing on well-known Indian publishers of comic books. Like the first two slides, this one also featured only images:

Amar Chitra Katha, Raj Comics, Diamond Comics, Lotpot, and Graphic India. With the exception of one or two, we were unable to identify them, as we usually did not pay much attention to publishers. However, she emphasised their significance and briefly discussed each of them, with particular reference to Graphic India. This publishing house is now striving to rekindle interest in the genre to match American and Japanese comics and anime.

The next slide featured famous comic creators, and, fortunately, she did not quiz us. Perhaps she knew we wouldn’t be familiar with them. The slide displayed pictures of Anupam Sinha, Pratap Mulick, Chandu, Sukhwant Kalsi, and Anant Pai.

In addition to naming them, she focused on Anant Pai’s contributions. She emphasised the fact that he founded Amar Chitra Katha and informed us of the frequently cited reason for the establishing of ACK. In 1967, while participating in a quiz programme, Pai noticed that contestants answered questions about Greek myths correctly but struggled with Indian mythology. This discovery became a catalyst for him to start the publishing house.

Immortal stories

Anant Pai named his establishment Amar Chitra Katha, signifying the underlying reason for its creation, which means “immortal picture stories”. It drew its protagonists from Indian mythological gods and goddesses as well as historical leaders. From the beginning, it had a significant impact on young minds, acquainting them with indian cultural heritage and ancient history. Approximately 500 titles have been published, and Pai is rightfully credited as the father of Indian comics”.

The teacher then went on to highlight the differences between cartoons and comics. The first point she made was that comics originated in the West, with India primarily emulating them, so the innovation credit essentially goes to the West. Cartoons are standalone artworks mainly created for newspapers and magazines on a regular basis, whereas comics are like storyboards that narrate a story in the form of illustrations in sequence. The images are drawn horizontally to present the story chronologically, and the story can be short or lengthy The distinction she made clarified things for us, as comics are sometimes referred to as cartoon strips, at least in the U.K.

She brought with her a copy of the current issue of Tinkle, a popular weekly magazine, to inspire us. She explained that it has a 42-year history and is now owned by Amar Chitra Katha. An interesting fact about comic magazines is that although the target audience is children, adults also enjoy reading them, as they offer a visual treat and can be quickly consumed. Additionally, she informed us that besides being published in English, Tinkle is simultaneously published in other Indian languages such as Hindi, Malayalam, and Assamese. ACK has also brought out several comics on great people.

Many advantages

Several surveys have shown that reading comics has certain benefits for everyone, regardless of age. Firstly, they are more engaging than other literary genres. Secondly, they enhance reading comprehension skills. Lastly, they foster a love for reading at a time when the reading habit is on the decline.

She concluded with two suggestions: firstly, comic books can be a great motivator, especially for reluctant or struggling readers. So, club members must take it upon themselves to influence those in their circle who belong to that category. Secondly, they could also submit their entries to a comic magazine, and if accepted, they could see their names in print, which can be quite exciting.

Dive into the rich history of Indian comic publishers and creators while uncovering the unique storytelling essence that makes comics an all-time favourite among the young and the old.

Our art teacher, after revisiting a few key ideas from her previous presentation on cartoon books, began discussing comic books. Once again, she delivered her presentation using PowerPoint slides. The first slide displayed five images of popular comic characters and asked us to identify them. Without any difficulty, we recognised them as Spider-Man, Batman. Wonder Woman, Iron Man, and the Hulk

Indian characters

We expected that the teacher would quiz us on iconic Indian comic characters as well, and as anticipated, the second slide featured them. The images shown were Suppandi. Chacha Chaudhary, Bahadur, Super Commando Dhruva, and Nagraj However, we had some difficulty identifying them, as they were not as well-known as their Western counterparts. She also listed a few more popular Indian superheroes She continued the quiz on the following slide. focusing on well-known Indian publishers of comic books. Like the first two slides, this one also featured only images:

Amar Chitra Katha, Raj Comics, Diamond Comics, Lotpot, and Graphic India. With the exception of one or two, we were unable to identify them, as we usually did not pay much attention to publishers. However, she emphasised their significance and briefly discussed each of them, with particular reference to Graphic India. This publishing house is now striving to rekindle interest in the genre to match American and Japanese comics and anime.

The next slide featured famous comic creators, and, fortunately, she did not quiz us. Perhaps she knew we wouldn’t be familiar with them. The slide displayed pictures of Anupam Sinha, Pratap Mulick, Chandu, Sukhwant Kalsi, and Anant Pai.

In addition to naming them, she focused on Anant Pai’s contributions. She emphasised the fact that he founded Amar Chitra Katha and informed us of the frequently cited reason for the establishing of ACK. In 1967, while participating in a quiz programme, Pai noticed that contestants answered questions about Greek myths correctly but struggled with Indian mythology. This discovery became a catalyst for him to start the publishing house.

Immortal stories

Anant Pai named his establishment Amar Chitra Katha, signifying the underlying reason for its creation, which means “immortal picture stories”. It drew its protagonists from Indian mythological gods and goddesses as well as historical leaders. From the beginning, it had a significant impact on young minds, acquainting them with indian cultural heritage and ancient history. Approximately 500 titles have been published, and Pai is rightfully credited as the father of Indian comics”.

The teacher then went on to highlight the differences between cartoons and comics. The first point she made was that comics originated in the West, with India primarily emulating them, so the innovation credit essentially goes to the West. Cartoons are standalone artworks mainly created for newspapers and magazines on a regular basis, whereas comics are like storyboards that narrate a story in the form of illustrations in sequence. The images are drawn horizontally to present the story chronologically, and the story can be short or lengthy The distinction she made clarified things for us, as comics are sometimes referred to as cartoon strips, at least in the U.K.

She brought with her a copy of the current issue of Tinkle, a popular weekly magazine, to inspire us. She explained that it has a 42-year history and is now owned by Amar Chitra Katha. An interesting fact about comic magazines is that although the target audience is children, adults also enjoy reading them, as they offer a visual treat and can be quickly consumed. Additionally, she informed us that besides being published in English, Tinkle is simultaneously published in other Indian languages such as Hindi, Malayalam, and Assamese. ACK has also brought out several comics on great people.

Many advantages

Several surveys have shown that reading comics has certain benefits for everyone, regardless of age. Firstly, they are more engaging than other literary genres. Secondly, they enhance reading comprehension skills. Lastly, they foster a love for reading at a time when the reading habit is on the decline.

She concluded with two suggestions: firstly, comic books can be a great motivator, especially for reluctant or struggling readers. So, club members must take it upon themselves to influence those in their circle who belong to that category. Secondly, they could also submit their entries to a comic magazine, and if accepted, they could see their names in print, which can be quite exciting.

Picture Credit: Google

What is the carbon footprint of music touring?

Green is the new normal in the music industry. Green touring is a sustainable way to tour and engage with the fans. Musicians such as Neil Young have been doing their bit to make their touring environment friendly for sometime. Now a bevy of artists are embracing the concept of touring in a sustainable fashion by seeking green alternatives. On the occasion of International Music Day which falls on October 1, let’s take a look at some of the musicians who are taking the extra step for the environment.

 

Radiohead

We are of the earth To her we do retum The future is inside us It’s not somewhere else…” so go the lyrics of the song “The Numbers” by the English rock band Radiohead. The band’s frontman Thom Yorke is known for being an eco-friendly rock star. Yorke has often spoken out on the need to change the way touring operates. And he walks the talk. The musician and his band have been Championing environmental activism with their climate-conscious choices and making their tours as eco-friendly as possible. They even bought two lots of equipment which allowed them to keep one in Europe and one in America so that they wouldn’t have to fly their kit around the world. While other musicians use pyrotechnics and a range of lights on the stage. Radiohead went for LED-based lighting solutions. In the mid-2000s, they started touring responsibly, showing up with an all-LED stage lighting during the promotional tour of their album In Rainbows, surprising everyone. They continue to encourage Concertgoers to attend shows by sharing transportation services. The band plays at events with environment-friendly transport systems and opted out of famous music festival because of a conflict over environmental issues. PHOTO: AP

Neil Young

In the song “Heart of Gold Canadian-American musician singer Ned Young w having been to “Hollywood “Redwood and crossing the ocean warching for a Heart of Gold. But did the “miner for a heart of gold eventually get it? We may not know t do know that the veteran rocker has a heart of gold, one that does its init for the environment. He was one of the pioneers who spoke about green sustainable touring for instance, back in 2004, when he was promoting his latest album Grendair he biodiesel to power the tour buses. In fact, he pioneered the use of bodiesel fuel in the rock milieu. After a hiatus of four years, he performest live in public in February this year d an ecology rally in British Columbia, Canada. He had said that he would go on tour in the future only if it could be done sustainably. The foon he had sail was to have a self-sustaining, renewable tour where everything was dean from the food served to the merchandise sold. In 2022, he released his 42nd stuudio LP World Record (along with hacking band Crazy Horse) which was on how to combat climate change PHOTO AP

Adam Gardner and REVERB

Talk about being climate conscious in your actions and then taking it another notch up by launching a non-profit to help other musicians go green. Adam Gardner, the American guitarist and vocalist of the band Guster, has been steadfastly pioneering initiatives for the planet. Adam co-founded the non-profit REVERB which seeks to give the music industry a shot at being environment-friendly by making touring as climate-sensitive and green as possible. The organisation creates programmes to reduce concert and tour footprints. It does this through a variety of activities such as eliminating single-use water bottles, coordinating local farm food, using sustainable biodiesel in tour buses, composting and donating food waste. and so on. Further, Gardner and REVERB set up “action villages” for concertgoers by connecting with local and national non-profit groups and campaigns. Since its launch in 2004. REVERB has worked on over 5,000 concert events and 250 tours and has been helping to reduce the environmental impact of tours. In 2018. Adam and REVERB were named Official Music and Public Engagement Partner to the United Nations Environment Programme. PHOTO: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Dave Matthews Band

In 2019, the United Nations Environment Programme designated Dave Matthews Band as a Goodwill Ambassador. According to the UN body, the band’s “powerful environmental advocacy and large-scale engagement of its fan base to take action for the planet had earned it this status. It was also the first time that a full band received this recognition. An American rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia, Dave Matthews Band had pioneered programmes to lessen environmental impact and also worked towards educating fans on taking simple and positive steps to save the Earth. The band partnered with the non-profit group REVERB for this. During tours, the band has been using a biodiesel-fuelled bus. reducing waste, recycling and composting backstage waste, thereby reducing the carbon footprint. Dave Mathews has given interviews about how he uses his platform to sensitise people about protecting the environment and how small changes can have an impact. PHOTO: DAVID ILIFF/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS.

Picture Credit: Google

What are the endangered animals in Eravikulam National Park?

 

There is a rise in the Nilgiri tahr numbers in Eravikulam National Park. The annual census held in April sighted 803 tahrs inside the park compared to 785 last year

The Nilgiri tahr is an endangered mountain goat found only in the hill ranges of the Western Ghats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

People visiting the Eravikulam National Park (ENP) near Munnar are often amazed to see Nilgiri tahrs grazing nonchalantly in the tourism zone. Most of the park is out of bounds for visitors except for this demarcated area. Here the tahrs are almost tame, even allowing tourists to come close and click pictures!

In stark contrast, the tahrs in the core area of the park, where only park staff and researchers are allowed to go, are extremely shy, fleeing at the sight and sound of humans.

It is said that the tahr in the tourism zone became accustomed to people because of Walter Mackay, the manager of the Rajamalai tea estate in the 1950s. The estate was situated inside the present sanctuary (it was declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1975 and a national park in 1978). Mackay would toot his cars horn while driving through the sanctuary, attracting herds of tahrs. They would mob his car to be rewarded with handfuls of biscuits!

Of course, visitors today are forbidden to feed and pet the tahrs.

The tahr feeds on a variety of herbs, shrubs and grass. Sure-footed and agile like others of its kind, it can negotiate sheer cliffs with amazing ease.

The Nilgiri tahr is endemic to the open grasslands in the upper reaches of the Western Ghats. It is found mainly in the Nilgiri the Anaimalai and Nelliyampathy hill ranges. A mature male tahr has a coat of deep brown and is called a saddleback for the broad swathe of lighter-coloured fur down its back. The females are smaller and lighter in colour. Both have horns that curve straight back.

In the Eravikulam National Park (ENP), the leopard is its only known predator.

The females and juveniles stay close together in a herd. sometimes numbering over a hundred. The males are usually loners and join the herd during breeding time. The females calve from January to February. The park is closed to tourists at this time

There are around 800 tahrs in the ENP and small numbers in the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve and Silent Valley National Park in Kerala. The tahr is also found in Tamil Nadu’s Anaimalai hills. Around 60% of tahr habitat in the Western Ghats could be lost to climate change from the 2030s onwards. There are only around 3,120 tahrs left in the wild.

Back from the brink                                                                                            

In the early 1950s, poachers hunted the tahrs (their meat was a much sought-after delicacy) to the point of extinction. The tea company that then owned the area stepped in and declared it a sanctuary. A check post was set up at the site of the present Forest Department outpost, and all vehicles passing through the area were searched for firearms, snares and tahr carcasses. This went a long way in stamping out poaching.

Munnars High Range Wildlife and Environment Preservation Association is an NGO set up in 1928 by conservation-minded British tea planters.

Even today, tea and coffee planters in south India are actively involved in conservation and the Nilgiri tahr is a symbol of their success.

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How many people are affected by the humanitarian crisis in Yemen?

You must have heard about the humanitarian crisis in Yemen The country has gone through nine years of war. An estimated 4.5 million people-14 percent of the population are currently displaced, according to the United Nations

However, this desert country holds a rich history and vibrant culture that have been influenced by the countrys strategic location at the souther entrance of the Red Sea.

History

For more than two millennia Yemen controlled the supply of important commoilities as frankincense and myrrh and dominated the traite in many other valuable items, such as the spices and armatics of Asia. Over the years, the region was ruled by three famous and large empires the Minaran, the Sabaran, and the Himyante Toallest Homertoe by the Romans) Their time of ascendancy extended from about 1200 BC to 525 AD The last Humyante king was Dhu Nuwas. The region was later ruled by the Aksumites and then Persians before the advent of Islam in 628 AD

During the 16th and 17th Centunes, Yemen and the Red Sea became the centre point of conflict between the Egyptians. the Ottomans and various European powers seeking control over the emerging market for coffee arabica and the long-standing trade in condiments and spices from the East

The country lost its importance and charm when the coffee plant was smuggled out of Yemen and transplanted in other places. With the shift in trade centres, the cities such as Aden and Mocha (once a major coffee centre) shrank to villages The present Republic of Yemen came into being in May 1990.

Geography

Yemen is bounded by the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Oman. It is an arid country with no permanent watercourses. There are evidences of volcanic activity that happened a few hundred years ago.

In the interiors, rugged mountains, including the Sarawat Mountains, can be found. The eastern region is part of the fifth-largest desert in the world, the Rub al-Khali (nicknamed “the Empty Quarter’). It is the longest stretch of continuous sand in the world.

Flora and fauna

 Due to its remoteness, Yemen has great natural beauty and flourishing vegetation in the highlands, unlike elsewhere on the Arabian Peninsula. The country is divided into three regions-coastal plain, middle highlands and the mountains.

In the coastal plains, dry-climate plants such as the date palm, citrus fruits, banana, and cotton as well as spurges (euphorbia), acacia, and tamarisk can be found. In the middle highlands, food crops as melons, nuts, grapes, and grains, as well as various spurges, eucalyptus, sycamore, fig, and carob are found.

Meanwhile, crops such as coffee, the mild stimulant khat, and a variety of woody shrubs and trees can be found in the mountain regions.

While the country had considerable forest cover till the early 20th Century, it diminished by the turn of the century. This was the same case with the country’s wildlife.

People

Arabs make up most of the population in Yemen. The others include those of Somali descent along the coasts and small Egyptian communities. The citizens are extremely proud of their pre-Islamic history, including that of the Saba and Hadramawt kingdoms. The traditional and contemporary Yemeni culture has presence of Greek, Roman, Indian, Indonesian, and Chinese influence.

Though the traditional cuisine is somewhat similar to other areas of the Arabian Peninsula, it is also influenced by the cuisine of eastern Africa and South Asia. A popular dish in Yemen is saltah, a stew of lamb or chicken heavily spiced with fenugreek and other herbs.

The best known cultural artefact is domestic architecture that dates back more than 2,000 years. The city of Sanaa and the towns of Zabid and Shibam are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Government

To understand the form of government in Yemen, it is to be noted that the country was once divided as North Yemen and South Yemen. North Yemen was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire while South Yemen was governed by the British. North Yemen became independent after World War I and South Yemen didn’t gain its independence from the British until 1967. This caused both regions to have contrasting political systems.

North Yemen was a republic governed nominally under a constitution adopted in 1970. South Yemen, also republican in form, had a Marxist regime wherein the Yemen Socialist Party was the only legal political organisation that determined government policy and exercised control over the state administrative system, the legislature, and the military.

A unified political system was created in 1990, which introduced the multiparty representative democracy. The President is the head of state who is responsible for appointing the Vice-President and the Prime Minister (head of the government).

At present, the country is led by Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council after then-President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi transferred his powers to the council in April 2022. The Presidential Leadership Council was formed in 2022. It is responsible for negotiating with the Houthis to agree an a permanent ceasefire and a political solution to the war.

Picture Credit: Google

HOW ABOUT A CUP OF JOE?

Fiternational Coffee Day is more than just a celebration of a popular beverage its a global recognition of the diverse calluns, economies, and sustainability efforts assodant with coffee. This day serves as a reminder of the millions of individuals who work tirelessly to bring coffee from hean to cup. As we raise a toast to this belowe drink on Cictober 1 lets also take a moment to appreciate the traditions ad compitens that male caffee a symbol of connection and community ammoud the world.

While many countries observe national coffee days at different times of the year, the International Coffee Organization (ICO) officially declared October 1st as International Coffee Day in 2015. The ICO, which comprises 77 member states, dedicated the day to celebrating coffee’s diversity, quality, and the millions of people involved in its production and trade.

The day is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy a cup of joe and celebrate with fellow connoisseurs worldwide. The choice of October 1st as the date for this celebration was not arbitrary. It was chosen to coincide with the start of the coffee harvesting season in many coffee-producing countries, Since its inception, this annual event has grown in popularity and significance, highlighting coffee’s global reach and influence.

Though Coffee’s birthplace is considered to be Kefa in Ethiopia, by the 15th century it was placed under cultivation in Arabia. Its popularity grew amongst the Arabs, and became the quintessence of cultural bonding, via the coffeehouse. By the 16th and 17th centuries, coffee slowly got its entry into European countries, which started flourishing by the 17th century across Britain, the British colonies in America, and continental Europe. Before the 17th century ended, Yemen’s southern province was the only source of coffee in the world. However, due to the beverage’s rising popularity, the plant quickly spread to Java and other islands in the Indonesian archipelago during the 17th century, and to the Americas during the 18th century.

In 1825, coffee cultivation was initiated in the Hawaiian Islands. During the 20th century, the highest amount of coffee production was focused in Brazil. Coffee is cultivated in regions near the equator, commonly referred to as the bean belt. Due to their favorable equatorial climates that make them ideal for coffee production, countries like Brazil, Columbia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Vietnam, spread across three continents, are considered coffee capitals.

Brazil stands out as the world’s primary exporter of coffee beans, accounting for 45% of all coffee bean exports globally. On the other hand, the US tops the list as the world’s largest importer of coffee. Finland is considered the coffee capital of the world, though it doesn’t produce any, due to its long-standing relationship with coffee, dating back to the 19th century when the country was under Russian rule. After gaining independence in 1917, Finland embraced Western customs and traditions. In contrast to Russia’s preference for tea, Finns opted to challenge the norm and consume coffee instead.

BREW YOUR COFFEE RIGHT

When it comes to coffee, the type of bean used plays a big role in determining the flavour. For a coffee aficionado or someone who is beginning to explore the specialities of coffee, knowing the differences between types of coffee beans can help in finding the perfect brew to suit the taste.

Growing coffee beans is a complex process that requires significant effort. Unlike crops like corn or soybeans that can be rotated annually, coffee plants can take up to five years to produce fruit and around ten years before they’re ready for commercial harvesting. However, once they begin producing, they can continue to do so for up to 30 years, so choosing the right type of plant is crucial for planters. There are two main types of coffee plants that provide the world’s coffee supply: Coffea arabica and C. canephora. Arabica coffee is known for its mild, flavourful, and aromatic qualities, while Robusta coffee, which comes from the main variety of C. canephora, has a less complex taste.

The Arabica bean is flatter and more elongated, but also more fragile and vulnerable to pests. It requires a cool subtropical climate and grows at higher elevations of 2,000-6,500 feet.

Arabica coffee needs a lot of moisture and specific shade requirements. Arabica plants are currently grown in over 50 equatorial countries, and the beans’ taste and aroma differ significantly between nations and regions. It is commonly produced in Latin America, eastern Africa, Asia, and Arabia.

On the other hand, Robusta coffee has a rounder, more convex bean and is hardier. It can grow at lower altitudes from sea level to 2,000 feet.

Robusta coffee is cheaper to produce and has twice the caffeine content of Arabica. It is often used in commercial coffee brands, ie, the instant coffee that is less expensive. Major producers of Robusta coffee are Western and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and Brazil.

Liberica and Excelsa are the less preferred coffee beans which were in existence earlier. Liberica coffee beans are rare and have a unique “woody” taste. They became popular when a plant disease called “coffee rust’ wiped out Arabica plants worldwide. The Philippines were the first to harvest Liberica, but when they declared independence, the U.S. imposed sanctions, causing the beans to almost disappear from markets.

Excelsa is the newest type of coffee bean and is mostly grown in Southeast Asia. It has a fruity, tart flavour and combines the attributes of both light and dark roast coffees.

Picture Credit: Google

How stars like the Sun generate energy through nuclear fusion?

Stars like our Sun radiate huge quantities of energy because of the nuclear fusion reaction taking place inside their core. Can we use the same idea to generate power that is clean and cheap? Where are scientists around the world working on such projects.

The energy scenario in the world is changing as natural sources conventionally used for generating energy like fossil fuels, oil and coal are fast depleting.

But there are abundant energy sources that cause minimal climate change. Nuclear energy is one such option being used worldwide. In this process, energy is released from the nucleus of an atom either by splitting the heavy atom into two (nuclear fission) or by combining two light atoms into a heavier one (nuclear fusion).

For more than 50 years, energy has been generated in nuclear power plants through fission, a process in which heavy elements such as uranium are bombarded by neutrons, resulting in the splitting of the nuclei and the release of huge amounts of energy in the form of heat.

Nuclear fusion is the opposite process. In fusion reactors, light atomic nuclei are compressed under intense pressure and heat, forcing them to combine together to form heavier nuclei. Fusion also results in the release of huge quantities of energy.

Special conditions Normally, atomic nuclei repel each other if we try to bring them closer; to force them to come close and ultimately fuse together, special conditions have to be generated in the form of very high pressure and extremely high temperatures.

Stars like our Sun radiate huge quantities of energy because of the nuclear fusion reaction taking place inside their core- hydrogen is continuously changing to helium.

The core experiences extremely high pressure because of the gravitational force exerted by the mass of the gigantic star itself, this pressure also leads to the generation of very high temperature inside the star. So, the basic requirement for a fusion reaction is to create a star-like situation inside the reactor in terms of temperature and pressure. To generate such conditions, a lot of energy is needed.

The process must be optimised to generate more energy than it consumes. Fusion could be utilised to generate electricity commercially. The main fuels used in nuclear fusion are deuterium and tritium, both heavy isotopes of hydrogen. Deuterium constitutes a tiny fraction of natural hydrogen, only 0.0153 per cent, and can be extracted inexpensively from seawater. The amount of deuterium present in one litre of water can in theory produce as much energy as the combustion of 300 litres of oil! This means that there is enough deuterium in the oceans to meet human energy needs for millions of years.

Building a fusion power plant that can withstand the immense temperature and pressures produced by this process is one of the century’s greatest engineering challenges. The fuel must be heated to about 100 million degrees Celsius. At that hotter-than-the-sun temperature, a fully ionised gas-plasma is formed. The plasma will then be ignited to create fusion.

Picture Credit: Google

What’s driftwood?

They are pieces of dead wood floating down a stream or river, having broken off from a tree that was growing near the water body. These woody remnants embark on a journey across the waters, creating a new future for them.

Ever seen pieces of dead wood drifting down streams or rivers? These pieces of wood are on a journey, sailing across the waters, carried by the currents as they move to embark on a new life. Driftwood refers to pieces of wood that were either the trunk or the branches of a tree that grew next to a river and which eventually broke off and fell into the water, thereby embarking on an odyssey across the river.

The driftwood that starts off on the journey from the forest can have a multitude of “afterlives”. It can either end up on the ocean bed, get washed up on the beach, or even get refashioned into an artefact!

Once a dead log of wood becomes driftwood, it starts off on an adventure, an adventure dictated by the elements, exploring uncharted waters and eventually reaching its final destination. If you have been to the beach you must have come across driftwood.

Sometimes they may just be twigs, lying like debris on the beach or they can appear like an exquisite piece of wooden art sculpted by an artist. The driftwood always enriches the ecosystem it eventually visits. It might even have inspired us to create our first wooden rafts and boats. Dead trees have even been used as small watercraft or carriers. Sometimes the driftwood is in itself a tiny ecosystem. It feeds and even gives shelter to tiny beings such as insects, birds, etc.

On some occasions, these driftwood pieces that get carried by the waters become tangled in large groups called logjams and can sometimes clog a river. We even have logjams that are hundreds of years old. But in most cases, the driftwood keeps flowing downstream, eventually ending up in a new environment like a lakeshore or beach.

They also become a buffer against erosion in erosion-prone ecosystems such as open beaches. They even carry seeds front the forest to the coast which may germinate. Large pieces of wood are used as shelter by beach-dwelling animals. For instance, some shorebirds nest beside driftwood.

Driftwood also has an aesthetic and artistic value. The many forces of nature that have acted on the driftwood lead to the formation of intricate and ornate swirls and whorls and patterns. Driftwood is sought out by artists who turn it into artefacts.

Picture Credit: Google

 

What is metafiction?

Metafiction is a literary style that invites readers to step into a world where the lines between reality and fiction blur. In this self-conscious narrative approach, the narrator and characters are keenly aware of their existence within a work of fiction. As a result, metafiction often departs from traditional storytelling conventions, offering a unique reading experience that prompts introspection about the nature of storytelling itself.

CHARACTERISTICS OF METAFICTION:

Breaking the fourth wall

 Metafiction boldly shatters the fourth wall that typically separates the creator of a story from its audience. This literary technique involves direct interactions with the reader, with the narrator or characters openly acknowledging their role in a fictional world. This blurring of boundaries invites readers to question the authenticity of the narrative and their own position within it.

 Self-reflexive

A hallmark of metafiction is its self-reflexivity. Authors employ this technique to draw attention away from the storyline and toward the very process of storytelling. By doing so, they encourage readers to contemplate the construction of the text itself. This self-awareness can manifest in various ways, from characters questioning the nature of their existence to authors commenting on their creative process within the narrative.

Examples

• The Canterbury Tales (1387) by Geoffrey Chaucer is an early example of metafiction, using interconnected stories to parody conventional fiction elements. He addresses the audience directly, adding a metafictional layer to the narrative.

• Don Quixote (1605) by Miguel de Cervantes explores the relationship between fiction and reality as the protagonist, Don Quixote, embarks on a quest influenced by his reading. The book invites readers to reflect on the impact of stories on our lives.

Metafiction also appears in children’s literature. Here are a few examples:

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (1992) by Jon Scieszka and illustrated by Lane Smith: This picture book playfully twists classic fairy tales, with characters interacting and the narrator intervening for humour and self-awareness.

• We Are in a Book! (2010) by Mo Willems: Part of the Elephant & Piggie series, this book features characters realising they’re in a book, engaging in a humorous, metafictional conversation that introduces young readers to interactive storytelling.

Through humour, wordplay, and interactive elements, such books make reading an engaging and thought-provoking experience.

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What is so special about flamingos?

Flamingos are wading birds that are known for their long legs and bright pink feathers. The name “flamingo” comes from the Spanish or Portuguese word for “flame-coloured” Interestingly, flamingos are not born with their signature pink colour. Rather, it comes from the beta-carotene pigment found in the algae. brine fly larvae, and brine shrimp that they eat. Flamingos digestive system breaks down these pigments into fats that are deposited in their feathers and skin. As flamingos primarily eat carotenoid-filled foods, they easily colour themselves. However, humans would have to consume large amounts of carotenoid-rich foods to achieve a similar effect.

There are six different species of flamingos worldwide, and their colours vary based on habitat and food sources. Some flamingos are darker or brighter shades of pink, while others are orange, red, or white.

Flamingos are known for their ability to stand on one leg for extended periods, even while sleeping. While this behaviour puzzles scientists, it is a common ability among large wading birds.

Flamingos can measure anywhere from 32 to 51 inches tall and weigh between 2.2 kg and 3.6 kg. They are social creatures, often found in groups while feeding, preening, or sleeping. They feed on algae and small crustaceans by filtering mud and water through their beaks, which have bristles that form a comb-like mechanism.

Flamingos are striking birds, with their pink feathers that come from a diet rich in shrimp, algae, and larvae. They have peculiar behaviours, such as eating with their heads upside down, sleeping with their heads on their backs, and standing on one leg for long periods. Scientists have offered several theories to explain why flamingos stand on one leg. One theory suggests that it helps reduce muscle fatigue and allows them to move more quickly when threatened by predators.

Another theory suggests that it helps regulate their body temperature, as they lose a lot of heat through their legs and feet. Researchers tested these theories by observing a flock of flamingos and found that flamingos were faster when starting on both feet, contradicting the muscle fatigue theory. On the other hand, more flamingos stood on two feet in warmer weather conditions, supporting the body heat theory. Additionally, flamingos spend most of their time in water, which can lower their body temperature fairly quickly, providing another reason for heat conservation. Yet. another theory suggests that flamingos, like whales and dolphins, turn off half their brains when they sleep, and standing on one leg helps them maintain balance and prevent falling. However, ornithologists admit that none of these theories have been confirmed with certainty, and other reasons may exist, such as reducing exposure to waterborne parasites and other hazards.

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Does the name of the account holder matter if IFSC code and account number are entered correctly?

 

In case someone enters an incorrect IFSC while making an online transfer, the funds are credited back to the sender’s bank account.

If you have a bank account, you must have seen an IFSC reference on the passbook. The unique code forms an essential part of the Indian banking infrastructure. Let us find out more about this unique code.

What is IFSC?

The Indian Financial System Code (IFSC) is an 11-character alphanumerical code that is used by banks to identify the branches where people have their bank accounts. Every bank branch has a unique IFSC and no two branches (even of the same bank) will ever have the same code. In an IFSC, the first four digits tell the name of the bank and the last six characters are numbers representing the branch. The fifth character is zero. The IFSC is assigned by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Purpose of IFSC The IFSC is used by electronic payment system applications such as Unified Payment Interfaces (UPI). It is used only to transfer or send funds within India. It is mandatory when transferring money from one bank account to another. Without the IFSC, you cannot make online transfers. The IFSC ensures that the money being transferred reaches the right destination bank without any mishap during the transaction process. It also helps the RBI keep track of all digital banking transactions.

Where to find the IFSC?

The IFSC of a bank’s branch can be found in the cheque book. Besides, it can be found on the first page of the passbook. Another simple way to find out the IFSC is to refer to the official website of the RBI or the bank’s website.

 

Why was Apple forced to switch to USB-C?

Shreyas Sen

Apple recently announced that it plans to adopt the USB-C connector for all four new iPhone 15 models, helping USB-C become the connector of choice of the electronics industry, nine years after its debut. The move puts Apple in compliance with European Union law requiring a single connector type for consumer devices.

USB-C is a small, versatile connector for mobile and portable devices like laptops, tablets and smartphones. It transfers data at high speeds. transmits video signals and delivers power to charge devices batteries. USB stands for Universal Serial Bus. The C refers to the third type, following types A and B.

The USB Implementers Forum, a consortium of over 1,000 companies that promote and support USB technology, developed the USB-C connector to replace the older USB connectors as well as other types of ports like HDMI, DisplayPort and VGA. The aim is to create a single, universal connector for a wide range of devices.

The key features and benefits of USB-C include a reversible connector that you can insert in either orientation. It also allows some cables to have the same connector on both ends for connecting between devices and connecting devices to chargers, unlike most earlier USB and Lightning cables.

USB-C’s widespread adoption in the electronics industry is likely to lead to a universal standard that reduces the need for multiple types of cables and adapters. Also, its slim and compact shape allows manufacturers to make thinner and lighter devices. USB-C refers to the physical connector. Connectors use a variety of data transfer protocols – sets of rules for formatting and handling data – such as the USB and Thunderbolt protocols.

The latest USB protocol, version 4, provides a data transfer rate of up to 40 gigabits per second, depending on the rating of the cable. The latest Thunderbolt, also on version 4, supports up to 40 gigabits-per-second data transfer and 100 watts charging. The newly announced Thunderbolt 5 will support up to 80 and 120 gigabits-per-second transfer and 140 to 240 watts power transfer over a USB-C connector.

Since its introduction in 2014, USB-C has gained widespread popularity and has already become the connector of choice for most non-Apple devices. Apple converted the iPad Pro to USB-C in 2018 and now is doing the same for the best selling Apple device, the iPhone.

Thanks to the industrywide adoption of USB-C, consumers soon won’t have to ask “Is this the right connector?” when they reach for a cable to charge or sync their portable devices. (This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence.)

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How many players can be eligible receivers in football?

The National Football League or NFL is a professional American football league in the U.S. For a long time, NFL rules dictated that wide receivers – a forward pass-catching specialist – wear uniform numbers between 80 to 89. The league changed this restriction in 2004 and since then many pass-catchers have preferred lower jersey numbers.

Perception of size

In 2019, ESPN looked at possible reasons as to why so many wide receivers preferred to wear lower jersey numbers. The story stated that many athletes picked these numbers as they believed it made them look faster and slimmer. A professor of psychology and neuroscience who was quoted in the story offered a psychological explanation for this phenomenon, but clarified that there was no scientific research on the subject.

That has changed now with a new University of California, Los Angeles study published in the journal PLOS ONE in September revealing certain insights. Subjects in the study, which included two experiments, consistently rated images with players in jerseys numbered 10 to 19 as thinner than those in jerseys numbered 80 to 89, even for body sizes that were actually the same.

For their study, the researchers showed respondents computer-generated images of players in the same pose, but different body sizes, skin and jersey colours, and asked to judge slenderness. Each player was seen twice by the subjects, but with different jersey numbers – one high and one low. Regardless of the different factors, players in smaller jersey numbers were perceived as thinner than those wearing bigger jersey numbers.

Learned associations

 In a second experiment, the researchers repeated the process in person. To address concerns that the amount of jersey space occupied by numbers from 80 to 89 (since 8 is wider than 1) could make players look larger, they chose number combinations that used the same numerals, but in different orders: 17 and 71, 18 and 81, 19 and 91. In this experiment too, subjects continued to perceive those with lower jersey numbers as being more slender, even though the effect was smaller than in the first experiment.

This study thus suggests that previously learned statistical associations between numbers and sizes influence even the perception of body size. In our everyday lives, we are used to seeing bigger numbers on bigger versions of similar types of objects. These learned associations usually help our brains thrive, enhancing the chances of survival.

While how viewers perceive the body size of American football players will have minimal effect on their performance, such biases might be harmful in other walks of life – be it when it influences judgement or when behaviour towards certain social groups is affected, a phenomenon known as implicit bias. Being aware might help us reduce implicit bias.

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What is the concept of the first british atomic bomb?

Like it or not, science and technology sees unprecedented growth during dire times. This is probably because funding flows into different branches of science like never before, allowing for progress inconceivable during ordinary times. Just like how the COVID-19 pandemic saw a global collective search for vaccines, there have been other times in the past – mostly during wars – when a number of scientific fields received a tremendous boost.

World War II was one such period when scientific progress was at its pinnacle. The ability to split an atom through nuclear fission was discovered in the 1930s. With its ability to release immense power realised, it wasn’t long before the race to build a bomb with it was on. The Manhattan Project was born early in the 1940s and we all know what happened in Japan’s Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

To retain influence                                           

While the Manhattan Project was led by the U.S., it was done in collaboration with the U.K. along with support from Canada. Following the war, however, the U.S. refused to share atomic information with the U.K. With the objective of avoiding complete dependence on the U.S., and to remain a great power and retain its influence, Britain sought to become a nuclear power.

The prospect was discussed in a secret cabinet committee in October 1946. While Chancellor of the Exchequer Hugh Dalton and President of the Board of Trade Stafford Cripps were opposed to the idea of a British bomb citing the huge costs involved, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Ernest Bevin had his way and work went ahead. By the time the bomb was ready, however, Winston Churchill’s government came to power.

Penney at the helm

Led by British mathematician William Penney, who had worked on the world’s first atomic bomb in the U.S., the project that went on to become Operation Hurricane began with a secret laboratory tasked with developing the trigger device. With the Soviets managing to successfully explode their first atomic bomb in 1949, Penney’s team was under further pressure. Soon enough, the Brits were ready with their bomb.

Early in 1951, the Australian government agreed that the blast could take place at the uninhabited Monte Bello islands, an archipelago of over 100 islands lying off the coast of north-western Australia. The region was declared a prohibited zone and ships and aircraft were later warned to stay clear of an area of 23,500 nautical square miles off the coast.

Plym carries the bomb

 The troops were mobilised, the first set of vessels left for their destination in January 1952 and six months later HMS Plym, carrying the bomb, and the fleet flagship HMS Campania, made their way. The radioactive core, which used British and Canadian plutonium, was flown out later, and installed in the bomb on Plym very close to the scheduled detonation.

On the morning of October 3, 1952, Britain’s first atomic bomb exploded, sending thousands of tonnes of rock, mud, and sea-water blasting into the air. The Plym was instantly vaporised, with scant bits of red-hot metal from the vessel falling on one of the islands even starting a fire.

An eye-witness account of a Reuters correspondent stationed less than 100 miles away mentions a grand flash followed by the appearance of a grey cloud-a zigzag Z-shaped cloud as opposed to the mushroom cloud that we instantly associate with such detonations.

The success of Operation Hurricane resulted in Penney being knighted. Churchill, who was serving as the Prime Minister of the U.K. for a second time, announced to the House of Commons that there had been no casualties and that everything had gone according to plan. While he did congratulate the Labour Party for their role in the whole project, he also did take a dig at them saying that ‘as an old parliamentarian I was rather astonished that something well over £100 million could be disbursed without Parliament being made aware of it.’

Like it or not, science and technology sees unprecedented growth during dire times. This is probably because funding flows into different branches of science like never before, allowing for progress inconceivable during ordinary times. Just like how the COVID-19 pandemic saw a global collective search for vaccines, there have been other times in the past – mostly during wars – when a number of scientific fields received a tremendous boost.

World War II was one such period when scientific progress was at its pinnacle. The ability to split an atom through nuclear fission was discovered in the 1930s. With its ability to release immense power realised, it wasn’t long before the race to build a bomb with it was on. The Manhattan Project was born early in the 1940s and we all know what happened in Japan’s Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

To retain influence                                           

While the Manhattan Project was led by the U.S., it was done in collaboration with the U.K. along with support from Canada. Following the war, however, the U.S. refused to share atomic information with the U.K. With the objective of avoiding complete dependence on the U.S., and to remain a great power and retain its influence, Britain sought to become a nuclear power.

The prospect was discussed in a secret cabinet committee in October 1946. While Chancellor of the Exchequer Hugh Dalton and President of the Board of Trade Stafford Cripps were opposed to the idea of a British bomb citing the huge costs involved, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Ernest Bevin had his way and work went ahead. By the time the bomb was ready, however, Winston Churchill’s government came to power.

Penney at the helm

Led by British mathematician William Penney, who had worked on the world’s first atomic bomb in the U.S., the project that went on to become Operation Hurricane began with a secret laboratory tasked with developing the trigger device. With the Soviets managing to successfully explode their first atomic bomb in 1949, Penney’s team was under further pressure. Soon enough, the Brits were ready with their bomb.

Early in 1951, the Australian government agreed that the blast could take place at the uninhabited Monte Bello islands, an archipelago of over 100 islands lying off the coast of north-western Australia. The region was declared a prohibited zone and ships and aircraft were later warned to stay clear of an area of 23,500 nautical square miles off the coast.

Plym carries the bomb

 The troops were mobilised, the first set of vessels left for their destination in January 1952 and six months later HMS Plym, carrying the bomb, and the fleet flagship HMS Campania, made their way. The radioactive core, which used British and Canadian plutonium, was flown out later, and installed in the bomb on Plym very close to the scheduled detonation.

On the morning of October 3, 1952, Britain’s first atomic bomb exploded, sending thousands of tonnes of rock, mud, and sea-water blasting into the air. The Plym was instantly vaporised, with scant bits of red-hot metal from the vessel falling on one of the islands even starting a fire.

An eye-witness account of a Reuters correspondent stationed less than 100 miles away mentions a grand flash followed by the appearance of a grey cloud-a zigzag Z-shaped cloud as opposed to the mushroom cloud that we instantly associate with such detonations.

The success of Operation Hurricane resulted in Penney being knighted. Churchill, who was serving as the Prime Minister of the U.K. for a second time, announced to the House of Commons that there had been no casualties and that everything had gone according to plan. While he did congratulate the Labour Party for their role in the whole project, he also did take a dig at them saying that ‘as an old parliamentarian I was rather astonished that something well over £100 million could be disbursed without Parliament being made aware of it.’

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What is the inculcation of scientific temper?

Gona are the times when children were expected to remain silent in children were expected to remain silent in classrooms and around elders. Today, the world wants to hear the voices of youngsters. Their questions make leaders, thinkers, and scientists reflect on the path that humanity is trudging along. But to enable youngsters to ask the right questions, it’s pertinent to instill in them the value of scientific temper.

Despite being a Constitutional mandate, few efforts are made by the collective society to include this vital value in the otherwise exhaustive menu of our value systems that we teach children. Why is this so?

 

The concept

We live in an era of deepfakes and fake news. Blindly believing unverified claims and unsourced information has resulted in riots and cost lives around the world, including in India, in recent years. The fine line separating reality from perceived realities has blurred beyond visibility in the digital era. In these troubled times, scientific temper is the only solace that can help us sift and find truth.

 

What

Scientific temper can be explained as a mindset that encourages curiosity. skepticism, and, most importantly, a willingness to question established beliefs. For instance, while encountering new, unheard information, a person with scientific temper would stop to think, ask questions, and seek explanations.

They will not jump into conclusions based on the face value. They will not allow their emotional response overtake logic. Scientific temper helps us actively engage with the world around us and understand it better. It helps us avoid knee-jerk reactions in sensitive situations, thereby preventing any unnecessary consequences.

The history

Indian’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru wrote about the importance of “scientific temper” in his book “Discovery of India” in 1946, stressing its necessity for everyone to think like scientists. This concept of scientific temper found its place in the Constitution, much later, in 1976.

 

It was included under clause (h) of Article 51A through the 42nd amendment. This amendment bestowed upon every citizen the duty to develop scientific temper, humanism, and the spirit of inquiry and reform.” In 2014, the theme for the National Science Day was “Fostering Scientific Temper.”

 

The significance

Developing a scientific temper helps an individual develop as a good citizen, and a good human being. It helps youngsters manage their professional and personal relationships with minimal conflicts, while contributing positively to their immediate society. It is a critical building block for a healthy democracy as well

Scientific temper values the importance of questioning established beliefs and being curious. This practice will make individuals voice their opinions and raise questions, thus facilitating collective input in decision-making processes. When students learn to think scientifically, they learn how to make smart choices and solve problems.

In professional settings, it helps them resolve conflicts. Manage teams, and succeed in large matrix structures.

 

The contribution

Scientific temper has played a significant role in the development of India from a primitive civilization into a modern, emerging global war. Over generations, social reformers worked tirelessly to rid India of many, many social evils that arose from inherent superstitions. During this process, they appealed to the scientific temper of the general populace to shed their blind beliefs through reasoning and verbal articulation.

From human sacrifice to window remarriage, intouchability and religious divide- they addressed many issues. Some of these practices have been abolished from our contemporary society while other continues to haunt us even today. Only, continuous and concerted efforts to inculcate scientific temper will help our country move forward from narrow social constructs to embrace peace, prosperity, and pluralism.

Parents, educational institutions, media, and publishers of content for youngsters have a role to play in this process. As Nehru wrote, ‘’ what is needed is the scientific approach; the adventurous, the search for truth and new knowledge, the refusal to accept anything without testing and trial, the capacity to change previous conclusions in the face of new evidence… (This) should be a way of life.

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Who was a famous chemist and physicist who won the Nobel Prize twice?

Pauling, the (near) perfect man for science

On February 28, 1951, American scientist Linus Pauling, along with his co-workers at Caltech, published their theoretical description of the structure of proteins in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. For Pauling, who spent a lifetime in science, it was the perfect way of turning 50. A.S.Ganesh takes a look at the life of Pauling…

There have been only five scientists who have won two Nobel Prizes – Polish-French physicist and chemist Marie Curie (1903, 1911), American scientist Linus Pauling (1954, 1962), American physicist and electrical engineer John Bardeen (1956, 1972), British biochemist Frederick Sanger (1958, 1980), and American stereo chemist Barry Sharpness (2001, 2022). Additionally, there have been two organisations – the International Committee of the Red Cross (1917, 1944, 1963) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (1954, 1981) – that have won multiple Nobel Peace Prizes.

On top of being part of such an elite group, Pauling has done something that makes this feat extra special. For he is the only person ever to receive two unshared Nobel Prizes! In a lifetime spent as a chemist, biochemist, chemical engineer, peace activist, author, and educator, Pauling was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1954 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962.

Born in Portland, Oregon, on February 28, 1901, Pauling had science running through him right from the start. For he was the son of a pharmacist, Henry Pauling, and Lucy Pauling, a daughter of a pharmacist.

 

Starts with a chemistry set

It was a friend’s chemistry set that aroused his fascination with chemistry though. As his family lacked the wherewithal to buy him a chemistry set, Pauling instead created his own with chemicals that he found in an iron smelter that had been 54, abandoned. He soon taught himself more in the subject than what he was taught at school.

Despite attending the Washington High School in Portland, he didn’t receive his diploma until 1962 owing to a technicality. This meant that Pauling had received his bachelor’s degree from Oregon State College in 1922, his doctorate in 1925 from the California Institute of Technology and even the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, before he got his diploma!

Gifted Teacher

Having enrolled in college aged 16, he was teaching the course he had taken the year before by age 18. A gifted speaker, it was no wonder therefore when he earned the reputation of being a fabulous teacher after he became a member of the professorial staff of California Institute of Technology in 1927. This was following fellowships after his doctorate that enabled him to study with three renowned physicists – Arnold Sommerfeld in Munich, Ervin Schrodinger in Zurich, and Niels Bohr in Copenhagen.

Pauling remained at Caltech from 1927 until 1964. It was here that he spent most of his time researching and teaching. In addition to being enthusiastic with a willingness to engage in controversial topics, he also had the innate ability to simplify, making even mundane subjects suddenly seem interesting, even to those who knew little about the topic.

 

The alpha helix

On the day he turned 50 on February 28, 1951, Pauling, along with his co-workers at Caltech-American biochemist Robert Corey and the African-American physicist and chemist Herman Branson reported the discovery of the alpha helix. The alpha helix was the first discovery of a helical structure for a protein and they published their theoretical description of the structure of proteins in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

While Pauling is best known for working out the nature of the chemical bond, his accomplishments were numerous. In addition to determining the structure of proteins, he also discovered the cause of sickle cell anaemia, helped in the creation of synthetic plasma, and even developed an accurate oxygen detector for submarines, among other contributions. It is worth noting that when he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, it was not for a single contribution, but for his entire body of work.

The only time since childhood when Pauling’s focus shifted from his work was after World War II, when he took a public stance against the war and the use of nuclear weapons. He was even accused of being pro-Soviet or Communist, but it didn’t deter him from his crusade against nuclear weapons testing. It was his advocacy for nuclear arms control and disarmament that eventually led to him winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

 

Share of controversies

Despite being the poster boy for science, Pauling wasn’t without his share of controversies. Most famous among these was how he championed Vitamin C, as he believed that megadoses could ward off the common cold, going to the extent that it could even prevent or treat cancer. Even though much of his later work was mired in controversy and provoked scepticism, Pauling’s contributions and accomplishments ensure that he is celebrated to this day, nearly 30 years after his death in August 1994.

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Where does sunbird live?

Tiny jewels with wings – that would describe sunbirds perfectly. As the bird flies busily, dipping its long, down-curved beak deep into the flowers to suck at the nectar, its feathers glint with a metallic sheen when the light catches it. The amazing thing is that tiny though it is (measuring 10-12 cm), you can count a number of colors – crimson, green, orange, blue, scarlet, yellow and mauve – in a single bird! And it is only the males which sport these colours. The females are generally drab olive green or dull brown. The males are bigger and have longer tails. Sunbirds are distantly related to honeyeaters and hummingbirds. They have the same habit of hovering before a flower, their wings a blur of movement. Sometimes they hang upside-down, pushing their tube-like furry tongues into the centre of flowers which are trumpet-shaped or bell-shaped.

Nests are small, delicate cups, constructed mostly of cobwebs with a few strands of dried grass thrown in. Up to four tiny eggs are laid. Both male and female take turns in feeding the young.

There are 12 species of sunbirds in India and the commonest is the purple sunbird.

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What is the name of the smallest bear in the world?

The sun bear is the smallest bear species in the world. It gets its name from the yellow or creamy white mark on its chest that resembles the rising sun. It is also known as the Malayan bear.

Compared to the biggest bear species – the polar bear and the Kodiak or grizzly bear, which stand almost 3 metres (9.8 feet) tall and weigh around 635 kilos, the sun bear grows to about 1.2 metres (36 cm) in length and weighs around 40 kilos. It has a black coat and a light grey or orange nose. The feet are tipped with long sickle-shaped claws, which are sharper and curvier than in most other bear species. The soles are hairless.

Sun bears build nests in trees by breaking or bending the branches. They spend the day in the nests, sleeping and basking. They hunt only at night.

In 1978, the IUCN included the sun bear in its Red List of endangered species. Although its population has decreased due to hunting, a few thousand can still be found in the forests of the Malay Peninsula, Java, Sumatra, Myanmar, Borneo and Thailand.

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Why are stonefish so poisonous?

Stonefish is perhaps one of the world’s best camouflaged fish. But it is also the most venomous. Found in shallow waters of the tropical Indo-Pacific, stonefish stay in the muddy or rocky bottoms of marine environments, living among rocks or coral. It may look like a stone on the ocean floor and deceptively stays blended with the ocean floor while hunting. The skin covered by wart-like lumps helps it in camouflage. It has venomous spines and when stepped on accidentally or there is a contact, it can sting. The sting is painful and can be fatal. Did you know that the fish is a delicacy in certain parts of Asia after its venomous spines are removed.

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What is a venomous lizard native to parts of the US and Mexico?

Native to the USA and Mexico, the Gila monster is a small, venomous lizard that is known to spend more than 90% of its life below the ground. As such you may not encounter the Gila monsters in the wild but bites are known to occur at times. The venomous lizard is known to use its venom only for defensive purposes. A mild neurotoxin, the venom of the creature is produced in the lizards’ salivary glands. The saliva is toxic and is found to contain the hormone exendin-4 which could be used to treat type 2 diabetes. Although its venom is deadly, it also has potential medicinal use. While the lizard is strictly nocturnal, above-ground sightings of it are also seen during the day.

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Why is the box jellyfish so dangerous?

 

BOX JELLYFISH

The box jellyfish can perhaps be regarded as one of the most dangerous animals in the sea because of the deadly venom produced by some species. They dwell in the warm coastal marine waters. The deadliest species is the Chironex fleckeri or the Australian box jellyfish. It is also the largest species among the box jellyfish. The venom is considered deadly because of the toxins that can attack the nervous system, skin and heart. Death is known to occur quickly. Also called sea wasps and marine stingers, the box jellyfish are pale blue and transparent in colour. One look at the marine creature and you will know why it received the unique name. The distinct cube-like shape of their bell is how the name came about. Another interesting fact about box jellyfish is that they are highly advanced when compared to other jellyfish rather than drifting. They have developed the ability to move.

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Is the inland or western taipan oxyuranus microlepidotus?

Native to central Australia, the Inland Taipan snake usually lives in desert areas. Also called a fierce snake, the Inland Taipan is the world’s most venomous snake. The venom of the snake is very potent with experts noting that a drop of the snake’s venom is enough to kill 100 people. The snake is quite shy and encounters with humans are rare. The venom is so powerful that it could kill the victim within hours if medical treatment is not given.

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What is a mother tongue and why is it called so?

A mother tongue, also known as a native language or first language, is the language that a person learns from birth or infancy within their family or community environment. It is called a mother tongue because it is typically taught by the mother or primary caregivers within the family setting. The term “mother tongue” (although a bit old-fashioned) emphasizes the intimate connection between a person’s language and their familial and cultural background. It represents the language that is passed down from generation to generation within a particular community or cultural group, shaping the individual’s identity, communication skills, and cultural heritage.

When does a language die?                                                                                     According to UNESCO, it is estimated that more than 40% of the approximately 7,000 languages spoken worldwide are endangered or at risk of extinction if no efforts are made to preserve and revitalise them. This means that over 2,800 languages are in danger of disappearing. Languages that have either no native speakers left or are on the verge of extinction, with very few speakers remaining are called dead or dying languages.

Why are languages dying?

The United Nations suggests that several factors influence the status and retention of a language within a community like:

• Poverty: In economically disadvantaged areas, access to education and resources may be limited, leading to lower levels of literacy and language proficiency. As a result speakers of minority or indigenous languages in impoverished regions may face challenges in preserving and transmitting their languages to future generations. Economic disparities can also contribute to language shift, as speakers may prioritise leaming the dominant language of the majority population in order to access opportunities for education, employment, and social mobility.

• Migration: When individuals or groups migrate to new countries or regions, they often encounter linguistic diversity and may need to leam the language(s) of the host society in order to communicate and integrate effectively. This can lead to language shift, particularly among second or thing-generation immigrants who may prioritise the majority language(s) for social, economic, and educational reasons.

• Complexity of language syntax the syntactic complexity of a language can influence its status and retention within a community. In communities facing socio-economic challenges or undergoing rapid socio-cultural changes, languages with difficult syntax may be perceived as barriers to communication, education, and social mobility. As a result, speakers may gradually shift towards simpler or more widely spoken languages that offer greater accessibility and utility in everyday interactions.

A mother tongue is crucial for a child’s all-round development

• Cognitive development: Research suggests that children who are proficient in their mother tongue tend to develop stronger cognitive skills, including problem-solving, critical thinking, and memory retention. This foundation in their first language provides a scaffold for learning additional languages and academic subjects.

• Emotional connection: The mother tongue is closely linked to a child’s sense of identity, culture, and belonging. It forms the basis of communication within the family unit, fostering emotional connections and a sense of security when children are able to express themselves fluently in their mother tongue, they feel validated and understood which contributes to their overall well-being. Moreover, this connection to their cultural heritage instills a sense of pride and appreciation for diversity, fostering cultural continuity and resilience.

• Academic success: Research suggests that kids who receive education in their first language often perform better in school, as they are able to grasp complex concepts more easily and engage more actively in learning activities. Additionally, a strong foundation in the mother tongue provides a smoother transition to learning additional languages.

How Do We Save Our Mother Tongues

To safeguard our mother tongues, it is imperative that we take proactive measures. Parents can play a crucial role by introducing their children to rhymes and stories from their native languages. Teachers should advocate for linguistically appropriate curricula, particularly by prioritizing early education in mother languages. In 1999, countries globally adopted a resolution promoting multilingual education, yet the implementation often falls short. While schools mandate learning three languages, the focus on regional languages is often minimal. Shockingly, 40% of people worldwide lack access to education in their native language, leading to marginalized communities avoiding schools altogether. To address this, we must raise awareness and strive for more inclusive educational policies that honors and preserve our rich linguistic heritage.

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What are the characteristics of a slow loris?

SLOW LORIS

With its big eyes and cute face, slow Loris is perhaps one of the most adorable creatures in the wild. But it is also the world’s only venomous primate. Native to the rainforests of South and Southeast Asia, the slow loris lives in trees. These lethal furballs are known for their bites that are loaded with venom. The animal’s venom gets activated when its saliva mixes with an oil that is secreted by the gland on its upper arm. When threatened, the slow loris raises its arm. It then licks the gland and the saliva and oil mix produces the venom, which then goes to the animal’s canines and is delivered to the victim through a bite. Its venom is said to cause anaphylactic shock and even death in humans...

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What makes the platypus different from most other animals?

PLATYPUS

The platypus has the most distinct features when compared to other marine animals. With a flattened head, a large bill, a paddle-like tail, and webbed feet, the platypus is perhaps one of the most visibly unique animals. And do you know what else is striking about them? They are also one of the few living venomous mammals.

The males among the semi-aquatic mammals are venomous and have a sharp set of spurs on their hind heels. These spurs are connected to the venom glands located over the thighs and are used in defense. Scientists have also found out that the venom contains a hormone that could help treat diabetes.

They are also known to use venom against other males.

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What countries make up Romania?

ROMANIA ~ LAND OF SURPRISES

Romanis is a country at the crossroads southeastern Europe. The country is brimming with natural, architectural and artistic treasures. This lesser known country is the largest of the Balkan countries. Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldova are its neighbours and the Black Sea is on its coastline. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest.

Brief history

The name “Romania” comes from the Latin word “Romanus” which means “citizen of the Roman Empire.” Numerous empires ruled the land, from the Romans and Ottomans to the Austro-Hungarians. Romania was part of both the world wars and got bombed severely in World War II. After the war, the country fell into communist rule for four decades, which ended in 1989 with the execution of the ruler Nicolae Ceauescu. The country went through a difficult phase during this time, transiting from communism to democracy. It signed the NATO treaty along with seven other countries in 2005. Eventually, it became part of the European Union in 2007. Today, Klaus Iohannis is the democratically elected President of Romania.

Geography

Mountains make up around a third of the country. The Carpathian Mountains are divided into three different major ranges – the Eastern, Western and Southern Carpathians (also called the Transylvanian Alps). Forests surround these Alps and the Caras-Severin county is a region full of unique landscapes. It has three national parks to its credit. The Cheile Nerei-Beusnita National Park is the most noted and the Bigar Cascade waterfalls here is a sight to behold. It is listed as the most beautiful waterfalls in the world. These forest regions are protected areas that are home to a variety of biodiversity, including many amphibians, birds, bats, and snakes. More than half of all brown bears in Europe can be found in these forests, accounting for almost 6000 in number.

There are over 3,000 lakes and many rivers. A few of them are glacial. The Scarisoara glacier underneath the Bihor mountains is more than 3,500 years old and is Europe’s second-largest underground glacier. The Danbe River, which starts in Germany, travels through seven countries and flows into the Black Sea in Romania. Before flowing into the sea, it creates a delta, which is the second largest and best-preserved in Europe. The Delta is a UNESCO Biosphere Reservation and a protected natural habitat and wetland for rare species of animals and plants. The Danube to the Black Sea canal is the world’s third-longest navigation route, after the Suez and the Panama canals. The statue of Dacian king Decebal, carved in the rocky bank of the river, is the tallest rock sculpture in Europe (135 feet tall).

Heritage

In total, Romania has to its credit around 8 UNESCO World Heritage sites.

The most iconic landmarks are the churches. Sapanta Peri monastery, carved in wood by the people from Maramure, is the tallest church in the world. The Merry Cemetery is situated in the village of Sapana and is certainly unique. It features painted crosses with satirical epitaphs that reveal the message of the deceased to the living. The Black Church of Braov is another church that got its name after it got destroyed by fire. It has a magnificent Bucholz organ and the biggest collection of oriental carpets in Europe.

Other fascinating sites are the Transfagarasan Highway, Pele’s castle, the Palace of Parliament, Astra Museum of Folk Civilization, Crtureti Carusel bookstore and many more…

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WHO CAN START A COMMUNITY RADIO?

It’s not as challenging or expensive as many people believe to start your radio station-any community can do it. A sense of community awareness and internal unity is an essential requirement for a community to launch its radio station. A radio station might not often be considered a priority in the traditional development structure, which prioritizes support for industries like agriculture, health, education, and more. However, a community that conducts an in-depth needs assessment and addresses the root causes of its challenges and disadvantages will usually discover that it needs communication methods to enable people to contribute towards shared objectives and understanding which are the first step towards starting a community radio.

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What is a real life example of extinction?

We are in the middle of a mass extinction brought about by human activity.

What is mass extinction?                       

A vast number of species going extinct at one period in time is called mass extinction. It is also known as a biotic crisis, as it leads to a decline in the world’s biodiversity. In a mass extinction, species disappear faster than they are replaced by new species.

What are the causes of mass extinction?

Earlier extinctions took place due to natural causes like global climate change, fluctuating sea levels and catastrophic events like volcanic eruptions or asteroid impacts. However, the ongoing extinction is the result of human actions.

How many mass extinction events have occurred on the Earth?

The Ordovician-Silurian extinction, 444 million year ago; the Devonian extinction, 360 million years ago; the  Permian extinction, 250 million years ago; the Triassic-Jurassic extinction, 201 million years ago; and the Cretaceous extinction, 65 million years ago. The first eliminated marine invertebrates, the second, tropical marine species. The third and the largest decimated most of the marine species and many terrestrial vertebrates, and the fourth destroyed all the Triassic reptiles. The fifth last was most likely caused by an asteroid hitting the Earth. It killed off dinosaurs of all species, including the remaining non-avian dinosaurs.

Are we facing a sixth mass extinction?

At present, we are in the middle of the sixth mass extinction, the Holocene extinction, which is entirely caused by the humans. It started 10,000 years ago with the beginning of agriculture and industrialization. Human activities like deforestation, climate change, and pollution have been major contributors.

These events wipe out numerous species, reshaping ecosystems and allowing the evolution of new species. They can disrupt habitats, biodiversity, ecological stru and food chains.

What is the impact of mass extinctions?

These events wipe out numerous species, reshaping ecosystems and allowing the evolution of new species. They can disrupt habitats, biodiversity, ecological structure and food chains.

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What will replace the ISS in 2031?

The International Space Station or ISS is to be deorbited by 2031. Where will it go? Satellites and spacecraft are machines, similar to washing machines and vacuum cleaners. They will not last forever. It doesn’t matter what job they do, whether it’s to observe weather, measure greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, or study the stars. All space machines grow old, wear out and die.

For satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), engineers use the last bit of fuel to slow it down. When the fuel runs out, it falls out of orbit and burns up in the atmosphere. The satellites in very high orbits are sent even further away from Earth, since more fuel is required to bring them down! These satellites are sent into a so-called ‘graveyard orbit, almost 36,000 km above Earth. Space stations and large spacecraft that are in LEO are too large to incinerate entirely on re-entry. So the deorbiting is monitored closely to ensure the debris falls on a remote, uninhabited area. There is an area like this. It’s nicknamed ‘spacecraft cemetery’ and it lies in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean at a spot called Point Nemo. (‘Nemo’ is Latin for ‘nobody’.) Point Nemo is so remote that the ISS will meet its watery grave there. It is considered ideal for dumping space debris as the waters are said to be poor in nutrients and biodiversity. No one has really studied the marine life or lack of it in Point Nemo. Environmentalists fear that in addition to the space junk already present in Point Nemo, the ISS debris will add tons of experimental equipment, materials and even traces of altered human DNA.  

Which church was built by British in Mumbai?

One of Mumbai’s oldest and most iconic church has made headline by announcing plans to become a recycle hub. Let us find out more about it.

St. Michael Church commonly known as Mahim Church – is one of Mumbai’s oldest and most iconic places of worship. Built in 1534, when the city was under the control of the Portuguese, the church now serves about 10,000 people in the Mahim area.

St. Michael’s is more than a sacred place for Catholics. Its special prayer services every Wednesday, called ‘novenas,’ draw people of various faiths who come to seek favours from the divine (e.g. cure for a sick relative, a good job, etc.) Many of the novena devotees bring floral garlands, candles, or other offerings. The candle wax and flowers are recycled.

The church, in fact, has become a recycling hub for a wide variety of wastes: plastic, tetra pak containers, electronics and other items. The Green Cell of the church, in partnership with other local organizations, helps with the recycling. In 2021, St. Michael Church made headlines by announcing plans to become the first place of worship to achieve carbon neutrality in two years. Of considerable importance is the 2 cubic-meter biogas unit set up on the terrace of the church building that is run on flower waste. This is the only biogas unit run on flower waste in the city. Mumbai produces an estimated 200 tons of this waste, most of which winds up in landfills. The church’s weekly feed of 35-50 kg of flowers into the biogas unit is tiny compared to the waste in the city, but it has shown the path for adding value to waste recycling.

Fertiliser production

The biogas that the unit produces is equivalent to three LPG cylinders per year (worth Rs 4.500). However, the real value to the church is not the gas, but the liquid slurry that oozes out of the biogas unit. The slurry arry is used to fertilise over a hundred plants in the church compound.

“We receive a lot of flowers as offerings. Especially on Wednesdays, when around 50,000 people come for novena prayers. Earlier, the flowers used to go to the trash cans and get added to the waste piles in landfills,” says a church spokesman. “We thought of doing something in which the flower wastes could be used to help the environment and so we decided to install a biogas plant,” he adds.

Good example

The Mahim Church’s good example could be followed by other places of worship. Collectively, they can provide an excellent platform for effecting a change in thinking and followed up by action among the millions of devotees. For example, the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirupati Andhra Pradesh generates about seven tones of floral waste, 30-50 tones of food waste, and three tonnes of animal waste from the goshala, daily. It has been estimated that if all of these organic wastes are converted into compressed biogas, this could power some 100 local buses that carry devotees from Tirupati to Tirumala, where the temple is located, a distance of 18 kilometers. The temple authorities have begun to turn cow dung and food wastes into biogas and compost as a first step. In future, they might be able to turn biogas into compressed gas for motor vehicles.

ITC Limited, one of India’s corporate giants headquartered in Kolkata, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tamil Nadu government to provide technical assistance to temples in waste management. As part of its ‘Green Temple Initiative’, ITC is helping 182 temples in the state to turn their flower waste into organic manure. Additionally, around 400 kg of cow dung from goshalas are turned into biogas to fuel the kitchens that prepare prasadam. This also helps the temples remain clean. A management team from ITC visited the Mahim Church to study its waste management system.

Hopefully, other corporate houses will start similar initiatives, as part of their corporate social responsibility, to assist other places of worship in addressing the challenge of managing the growing waste in the country.

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What’s a frilled lizard?

A type of reptile found in Australia and New Guinea, the frilled lizards or “frillnecks,” are members of the dragon family

Remember Dilophosaurus? That dinosaur in the first Jurassic Park movie which would unfurl its extendible neck frill and spit venom when intimidated?

Well, in reality, there is no evidence that the dinosaur had the neck frill. But meet Australian frilled lizard, the closest you will ever get to watching something as bizarre as the Dilophosaurus’ defence strategy.

Any time the frilled lizard feels threatened, it puts on the greatest show in the wild. It is also perhaps the most dramatic sight you will ever witness in the animal kingdom.

When the lizard feels intimidated, the first response is to scare the other creature away. So it will stand on its hind legs, open its mouth wide, and hiss. But this is not all. A bright-red neck frill, a pleated skin flap around its head, would unfurl as it strikes the intimidating pose, giving the creature a very grotesque appearance. This is a potential gimmick to scare off the opponent. (When unopened, the scaly neck frill lies as a cape over the shoulders of the lizard.)

If this stunt fails, and the attacker doesn’t flinch, the lizard has another trick up its sleeve. It will quickly turn, and bolt, running on its hind legs, its yellow mouth wide open, legs flailing, and will not stop until it ambles up a tree for safety.

The frilled lizards or “frillnecks,” are members of the dragon family. It is a type of reptile found in Australia and New Guinea. its size and color may vary from region to region. This creature spends a large part of its life on the trees. It is seen to descend to feed on lizards, small mammals, and ants.

These lizards can be classified into three different genetic groups. The main predators include birds of prey, larger lizards, snakes, and so on. The lizard lives in the tropical and warm temperate forests and savanna woodlands of northern Australia.

The eggs are laid in underground nests and hatchlings are independent, able to hunt as they emerge and adept at using the neck frill. The color of the frill of the lizard varies and is a result of carotenoids, which it acquires from the insect diet.

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WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PHYSICAL COPY OFMARTIN LUTHER KING’S I ‘’HAVE A DREAM’’SPEECH?

African American civil rights activist Martin Luther King’s speech “I Have a Dream” emphasized the unrealised promise of economic freedom for black Americans – and the White House dreaded the consequences. The physical copy of this speech is widely regarded as one of the most influential documents in American history. Read on to discover the surprising journey of this historic document In the annals of history, August 28, 1963, stands as a pivotal moment-a day when Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his timeless oration, “I Have a Dream,” to a crowd of nearly 2,50,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Little did anyone know, amidst the fervor of that day, that the physical copy of this iconic speech would embark on a journey of its own, passing through the hands of an unlikely guardian.

George Raveling’s brush with history As King concluded his speech and stepped away from the podium, he found himself face to face with George Raveling, a former Villanova University basketball player assigned to provide security. In a serendipitous moment, Raveling, moved by the speech, asked King if he could have the folded papers (that had the written oration). Without hesitation, King handed over the speech to the young volunteer, unaware of the significance of this exchange.

The speech finds its voice

For nearly two decades, the speech remained tucked away in a Harry Truman biography, as Raveling pursued his career in NCAA basketball coaching. It wasn’t until 1984, during a conversation with a journalist, that Raveling revealed his possession of the historic document. Prompted by the journalist’s interest, Raveling retrieved the speech and had it professionally framed.

Safeguarding a national treasure As Raveling began to grasp the importance of the speech, he decided to secure it in a bank vault in Los Angeles. Despite receiving lucrative offers from collectors, including a staggering $3 million bid in 2014, Raveling remained steadfast in his decision to preserve the speech’s integrity. Instead, he entrusted Villanova University with the responsibility of safeguarding this invaluable piece of history.

A homecoming

In August 2021, Villanova announced its role as the custodian of King’s speech, which made its public debut at the National Museum of African American History and Culture later that month. Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the march in Washington, the speech returned to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture on August 7, 2023. This temporary exhibition provided an opportunity for visitors to connect with the speech’s profound impact on American history. As the world continues to cherish and commemorate King’s legacy, the physical copy of his iconic speech remains a poignant reminder of the power of words to inspire change and unite humanity.

DID YOU KNOW?

• It was actually gospel singer Mahalia Jaskson’s cry “Tell them about the dream, Martin!” that prompted King to improvise the line I have a dream.

• In 2003 Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous words were inscribed into the spot where he gave the iconic speech.

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What do driverless cars use to determine the best route or course of action when travelling from one location to the next?

From finding the fastest path to a cafe to self-driving cars, modern necessities and benefits rely upon something that many take for granted: the Global Positioning System (GPS). GPS is so deeply ingrained into our daily lives that it’s difficult to picture a world without it, but did you know where it came from?

The origin of GPS

In the middle of the 1960s, the US Navy experimented with satellite navigation to follow U.S. submarines that were carrying nuclear weapons. The Department of Defence (DOD) decided to employ satellites to support their scheduled navigation system in the early 1970s because they wanted to make sure that it was a reliable, stable system, based on previous ideas from navy scientists. In 1978, the Department of Defence launched the first Navigation System with Timing and Ranging (NAVSTAR) satellite which later changed into GPS. In 1993, the 24-satellite constellation went into full functioning. It was initially intended to replace earlier navigation systems and locate military transportation equipment worldwide with accuracy. Over time, the GPS evolved into an easily available, free device that improves daily safety and comfort together

The Pioneers behind GPS

Despite being created by the U.S. Department of Defence, a few scientists have been recognized as having made significant contributions to this ground-breaking technology. Roger L. Easton led the Space Application division of the Naval Research Laboratory. Timing technology and circular orbits are two of the most important aspects of GPS that he specialised in as a Cold War scientist. As the first manager of the Navstar GPS programme, Brad Parkinson contributed to the program’s conception and early to mid-stage implementation. Dr. Ivan Getting was the founding president of The Aerospace Corporation and drove the GPS’s launch. To pinpoint their precise location, Dr. Gladys West first worked at the U.S. Naval Weapons Laboratory, where she calculated equations and analyzed satellite data.

How Does GPS Work?

Satellites, ground stations, and receivers make up the three components of the GPS. 13 satellites transmit radio signals that provide precise time and location derived from onboard atomic clocks. At a speed of 300,000 kilometres per second or the speed of light, these signals travel across space. The precise location of these satellites is verified by ground stations by receiving their signals. A computer, an atomic clock, and a radio are installed on every satellite. It continuously sends its position and time shifts since it recognizes the Earth’s orbit and the clock. The scientific use of the GPS is offering historically beyond-reach data in exceptional amounts and with extraordinary clarity. The movement of the polar ice sheets, the tectonic plates of Earth, and volcanic activity are all being measured by scientists using GPS. Ever wondered how birds find their way?

If you were lost in the middle of the woods and couldn’t see the sun, you might use a compass to figure out which way to go. For more than a thousand years, people have used magnetic compasses to navigate. But how do the other birds find their way?

The Earth’s magnetic field is recognized for shielding the planet and its people from risky cosmic rays and plasma emitted by the sun. However, birds use this magnetic field for navigation in a unique manner, similar to a GPS, and they can turn it on and off with great flexibility. Researchers have discovered two factors that are essential to a bird’s internal GPS: eyesight and scent. The perfume is unusual because we don’t typically associate birds with a sense of smell. The scent, it turns out, plays an important role in helping birds navigate. A bird can identify magnetic fields visually, allowing it to use a visual compass to navigate over long distances. Scientists have discovered a protein called cryptochromes in their retinas that enables signalling and sensing activities, assisting birds in navigating the great distances they travel while migrating.

Researchers detected a little magnetite area on the beaks of several birds. Magnetite is a magnetised rock that functions as a miniature GPS device for birds, providing information about its position relative to the Earth’s poles. Birds are considered to be able to navigate vast distances across places with few landmarks, such as the ocean, by using both beak magnetite and eye sensors.

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How dubbing changed the world of cinema?

Many of us watch foreign and other language movies or series in our own regional language and get the same feel as the original. These movies involve an intricate process called dubbing. Let us find out.

Dubbing is a post-production process of adding sound and dialogues into a media. It also involves replacing the original voice track with a synchronised translation in another language. Unlike voiceovers, dubbing is much more nuanced and complex. It is mostly done for movies and TV series, while it is also needed for animation movies, video games and music at times.

Dubbing helps in reaching a wider audience. It is categorised into three types namely lipsynced dubbing, time-synced dubbing and non-synced dubbing.

Origin of dubbing

With the invention of photograph (a device used to record sound), cinema began transitioning from the silent era to sound. Warner Bros. of Hollywood were pioneers who made new sound movies, called Vitaphone movies. These movies had a recording of an orchestra along with some sound effects that were synchronised perfectly with the moving images. Slowly ‘talkies’ were made, where movies incorporated dialogues as actors started talking to one another.

In 1930, a musical talkie by name ‘Applause’ was made by Rouben Mamoulian that first used dubbing. The director experimented the sound mixing by interlocking 35 mm audio tracks and began the dubbing practice. Eventually, more and more films started to record actors’ dialogue after shooting scenes, then synchronising the sound to the scene. When actor Louise Brooks refused to reshoot their silent scenes in the movie The Canary Murder Case’, the hiring of voice actors began.

Subs Vs Dubs

The debate on subtitles versus dubbing is still on. While there are people who don’t like subtitles due to their pace and complexity, dubbing is preferred as it adds more emotion. But the catch is that, the results of dubbing has to be natural and organic. If the audio is poorly mixed or if any actors’ accent is incomprehensible, subtitles come in handy. They can also be used by those with hearing difficulties.

 Varied perspectives

Though dubbing allows for a deeper understanding and connection to the storyline, it is a time consuming and critical process for filmmakers. Some filmmakers have moved to sync sound which involves reconting the is sound while on the set to make the film more realistic This helped in reducing the post production cost and efforts. But filmmakers continued to rely on dubbing as it enhances the audio quality.

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What is Creative Destruction?

 

The eighties and nineties were the era of VHS tapes. Invented by the Japanese company JVC, Video Home System (VHS) – or the ‘deck’ as it was locally known – was an instant hit around the world. Even in small towns of India, video shops that rented VHS players and cassettes were a lucrative business.

The era, however, did not last long. Along came the Compact Discs. Music, movies, data files – the flashy CDs could store anything. They could be played on TVs (hooked with CD players) and computers. Today, whatever CDs are left behind are used as reflectors on bicycles or for art-from-waste projects.

Streaming and cloud storage have made the CD obsolete, just like its predecessor. Tomorrow, the streaming system could be replaced with something else. This process of evolution of technology – from VHS tapes to streaming platforms or landline phones to smartphones – is called Creative Destruction.

The technological advancements defined above are recent, but the concept of creative destruction has been defined and debated by economists, sociologists, and political thinkers since the 19th century. The industrial revolution and colonialism were the two defining historical events that shaped its definition.

Foundational theories

 Creative Destruction is a critical component of the capitalist system of economics and politics.Yet, a first clear definition for the  process was given by the father of communism –an opposing economic and political throught Karl Marsx. Though he did not use the term Creative Destruction, he defined the concept as a ‘’contant upheaval and change within the capitalist system.’’

In his exhaustive work tirled, ‘capital; Acriyique of Political Economy; published as three volumes in 1867, 1885, and 1894. Marx writes: “The bourgeoisie cannot exist without constantly revolutionizing the instruments of production, and thereby the relations of production, and with them the whole relations of society.”

This encapsulates the process of technological innovations that we see today. Take for instance the case of Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is the new “instrument of production that is replacing older technologies and even humans in some cases. As a result, the “relations of production also changes, with new skills becoming essential for upward mobility in the job market. The “relations of society” has also changed as engineers with Al skills now draw higher pay packages compared to engineers in other sectors.

Much later, in the 20th Century, German economist Joseph Schumpeter popularized the term Creative Destruction, which was coined by another.

German economist Werner Sombart. In his book Capitalism, Socialism and Democraay, published in 1942. Schumpeter extrapolates the Marxist thought to describe the destructive process of a transformation caused by innovation for instance, the slow death of landline phones.

Schumpeter says Capitalism is a method of economic change which can never be stationary. The fundamental impulse that keeps the system running is new consumer goods, new methods of producing or transporting them, new markets to sell them, and new forms of organisations that the system creates. This is a fairly accurate description of how businesses work in our world today.

Modem examples

Schumpeters work is pretty accurate in defining the current startup era. He says innovative entry by entrepreneurs is the disruptive force that sustains economic growth, even as it destroys the value of established companies that enjoyed some degree of monopoly. A classic example for this is the case of social media eating into the market control of mainstream medin

However, Schumpeter was pessimistic about the sustainability of this process. Seeing it as leading eventually to the undermining of capitalism’s own institutional frameworks. The capitalist process in much the same way in which it destroyed the institutional framework of feudal society abo undermines its own, he said.

Today, most technology majors are focussed on continuous innovations that push boundaries of human imagination. As we grapple to get a grasp over the everevolving trends in technology, its important to leam about the great minds that prophesied this era.

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Which Chief Minister was arrested in India?

The Enforcement Directorate arrested the former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on January 31 in connection with a land scam case. The arrest came as soon as he resigned as the Chief Minister. Following his arrest, which has been challenged in the court of law, tribal bodies announced protests across the State.

Meanwhile, Champai Soren took over as the new Chief Minister. He also underwent a floor test to prove his party’s majority in the House. “At present we have 43 MLAs and four are in hospital. We have the support of 47 MLAs. The Governor is yet to give the time to form the government,” Champai Soren told the media ahead of the trust vote last week. To form the government, the ruling alliance needs only 41 MLAs.

The newly formed government passed the confidence motion in the State Assembly. The Jharkhand Mukti CM Champai Soren (left) with Hemant Soren.

Morcha with 29 seats and its ally Congress with 17 were confident of easily sailing through the trust vote. Hemant Soren was also present in the Assembly to attend the floor test. A special court in Ranchi allowed Soren to participate in the trust-vote.

What is a trust vote?

A trust vote, also known as a confidence motion or vote of confidence, is a parliamentary procedure where members of the Legislative Assembly or Parliament vote to express their confidence or lack of confidence in the government. When a government is formed, it needs to prove that it has the support of the majority of the members of the legislative body. If the government loses a trust vote, it typically means that it no longer enjoys the majority support and is expected to resign, leading to either the formation of a new government or fresh elections.

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Who was the first person to float freely in space?

Images from space that show earth as nothing more than a blur of blue tug at our hearts in a way that can’t be put into words. The ones that you see here, while evoking such emotions, are also iconic in their own right. This is because they show the first human ever to walk untethered in space. The subject of these photographs is NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless II.

Born in Boston in 1937, McCandless did his schooling at Long Beach, California and received his Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1958. He then obtained his Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 1965, and eventually also ended up with a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Houston in 1987.

Communicator role

A retired U.S. Navy captain, McCandless was one of 19 astronauts selected by NASA in April 1966. He served as the mission control communicator for Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin during their famous 1969 Apollo 11 mission, which included the first human landing on the moon. McCandless, in fact, famously felt let down by Armstrong as the latter hadn’t revealed ahead what he had planned to say while setting foot on the moon.

McCandless flew as the mission specialist on two space shuttles, STS-41B in 1984 and STS-31 in 1990. While the 1984 mission saw him become the first human to perform an untethered spacewalk, he helped deploy the Hubble Space Telescope during the 1990 mission.

Helps develop MMU

Apart from these, McCandless also served as a member of the astronaut support crew for the Apollo 14 mission and was a backup pilot for the first crewed Skylab mission. For the M-509 astronaut manoeuvring experiment that was flown in the Skylab programme, McCandless was a co-investigator. He collaborated on the development and helped design what came to be known as the MMU – manned manoeuvring unit.

The STS-41B was launched on February 3, 1984. Four days later, on February 7, McCandless stepped out of the space shuttle Challenger into nothingness. As he moved away from the spacecraft, he floated freely without any earthly anchor.

“Heck of a big leap for me”

“It may have been a small step for Neil, but it’s a heck of a big leap for me,” were McCandless’ first words. If the mood at mission control had been apprehensive before, the raucous laughter that followed this comment certainly reduced the tension – a fact that was confirmed by his wife, who was also at mission control. McCandless would later say that his comment was consciously thought out and that it was his way of saying things were going okay, apart from getting back at Armstrong for not revealing his words in 1969.

The images that were shot then, showing McCandless spacewalking without tethers, gained widespread fame. The spacewalk was the first time the MMU that he helped develop was used. These nitrogen-propelled, hand-controlled devices afforded much greater mobility to their users as opposed to restrictive tethers used by previous spacewalkers.

Fellow astronaut Robert L. Stewart later tried out the MMU that McCandless first used. Two days later, both of them tried another similar unit with success. By February 11, the STS-41B mission was complete as the Challenger safely landed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre.

In one of his last interviews, before his death in December 2017, McCandless told National Geographic what he had probably told countless others who wanted to know how it was out there.

Fun, but cold

While he always maintained that it was fun, he also adds that the single thing that disturbed him as he moved away from the shuttle was that he got extremely cold, with shivers and chattering teeth.

The reason for that is pretty straightforward. While he had prepared for that moment for years, he wasn’t prepared for the temperature in the suit. As the suit was designed to keep astronauts comfortable while working hard in a warm environment, even the H (hot) position on the life support system actually provided minimal cooling. Considering that McCandless wasn’t really performing strenuous labour during the first hours of his untethered spacewalk, he felt cold. That’s a small price to pay for becoming the first-ever human to walk freely in space.

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Have you heard of ‘corpse flower’?

When we speak of flowers, we usually think of rose, jasmine, marigold, hibiscus, and the like. And most flowers are less than the size of our palm and sweet-smelling. What if there’s a flower which is neither? Come, let’s find out more about this.

It’s huge and smelly!     

Rafflesia is a genus of flowering plants comprising at least 15 species found in Southeast Asia. Interestingly for a plant it has only flowers – with nothing to show for leaves or roots. Which means there’s no photosynthesis either. Rafflesia is basically a parasite, living off a type of vine. Its body – essentially made of thin filaments – lies inside the stem and the root of its host for years, and the flower bud bursts forth eventually. The bud continues to swell for months before the large flower blooms. For all that wait the flower stays in bloom for just about a week. But when in bloom, it gives off its signature stench – of rotting meat – that attracts flies. These flies ensure pollination and keep the species thriving. Unfortunately, Rafflesia’s forests are disappearing and it is critically endangered. It is “impossible to cultivate and “remains largely ignored”, according to a media report.

The largest

The flowers of Rafflesia usually win the largest flower title, and this year has been no different. The largest single flower ever recorded was found earlier this year in Sumatra, Indonesia, with a diameter of 111 cm – that’s a whopping 3.6 ft! This was a specimen of Rafflesia tuan-mudae, and beat the earlier record of 107 cm set by Rafflesia amoldii, also from the same region.

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How do MRNA vaccines work?

A shot in the arm!

Vaccines have helped control many infectious diseases. But developing them is not easy and also takes years. With researchers working tirelessly for months together, what seemed like an endless wait for a vaccine against COMD-19 has given way to hope with the UK approving the Pfizer/ BioNTech vaccine for the coronavirus. COVID-19 has claimed over 1.5 million lives worldwide

Pfizer’s BNT162b2, which took only 10 months from conception to approval is an MRNA vaccine approved for use in humans for the first time. The vaccine has been shown to be 95% effective in preventing COMD-19. It needs to be stored in bones containing dry ice that are capable of staying at -70 degrees Celsius, the frigid temperature needed to preserve the drug. Besides the U.K., other countries such as Bahrain Canada, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Israel and the U.S. have approved the emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine.

What is an MRNA vaccine?           

Vaccines work by priming the body to recognise and fight the proteins produced by disease-causing organisms. Instead of using an inactivated coronavirus or viral proteins in a vaccine, an MRNA vaccine uses a messenger RNA, or MRNA, to prompt an immune response in the body. An MRNA is a synthetic genetic material, a copy of a natural component of living cells. An mRNA vaccine carries genetic instructions, which direct cells in the body to make viral proteins that prime the immune system to produce protective antibodies. If these antibodies adhere to a virus, it cannot enter the cells to replicate.

Are they safe?

MRNA vaccines are said to be safer than live vaccines, as there is a risk of the virus reverting to a dangerous form with the latter. MRNA vaccines are not likely to produce unwanted reactions. Besides, they can be made much faster than the traditional vaccines.

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What powers a spacecraft?

Scientists send spacecraft to probe objects in space. These spacecraft carry instruments that help them take pictures and collect data in space and send them back to Earth. But to do this, the spacecraft needs electricity So what powers it?

Based on the mission it is assigned, and factors such as where the spacecraft is travelling, what it plans to do there and how long it needs to work engineers choose the best way to power a spacecraft.

The Sun                     

One source of power engineers consider is energy from the Sun, or solar power. Spacecraft that orbit close to Earth are dose enough to the Sun to use solar power. These spacecraft are fitted with solar panels, which convert the Sun’s energy into electricity. The electricity from the panels charges a battery in the spacecraft and can be used even when the spacecraft doesn’t have direct sunlight

Batteries

Sometimes, when the mission is only for a short duration, such as the Huygens probe that landed on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, and meant to work only for a few hours, engineers may power the spacecraft with batteries. These batteries are designed to be tough since they need to withstand the harsh environment of space.

Atoms

An atom is a tiny building block of matter. Atoms need to store a lot of energy to hold themselves together. However, atoms such as radioisotopes are unstable and begin to fall apart. As they fall apart, they release energy as heat. A radioisotope power system uses the temperature difference between the heat from the unstable atoms and the cold of space to produce electricity. This system produces power for a very long time even in harsh environments. That’s why this system has been used to power many of NASA’s missions, including the two Voyager spacecraft that continue to send back information after over four decades in space.

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What is the story of Marvin C. Stone and his straws?

How do you drink your beverages, irrespective of whether they are hot or cold? Do you take swigs directly off the glass or bottle, or do you take your time and sip it slowly, using a straw for good measure? If you draw straws to sip your drinks, or even just for picking lots, you are bound to like this one.

The credit for inventing the first paper straws goes to American Marvin C. Stone. Stone was born in 1842 to Chester Stone, an inventor himself, and Rachel. He started to pursue a degree after high school when the Civil War broke out in 1861.

Serves in Civil War

Stone enlisted into service and fought gallantly, but was wounded and disabled from active duty in the Battle of Lookout Mountain. He enrolled as a music major after the war, but eventually graduated in theology. Following his marriage and years as a newspaper journalist, Stone’s inventive spirit shone through when he took to business.

His business life in the late 1870s began when he invented a machine for making paper cigarette holders. His experience with making these holders and his eye for a solution to an everyday problem, led Stone to the first paper straws.

Not the “rye” way

Stone recognised that even though using natural materials such as rye grass and reeds to make straws were popular, they had serious shortcomings. When consuming beverages using these straws, they not only added an additional flavour or taste, but also some unpleasant odour. To add to this, the grass and reeds were also prone to cracking or growing musty.

By winding strips of paper around a pencil and gluing it together, Stone had his first prototypes ready. What followed was more experimenting to make his straws more conducive for drinking.

Stone used paraffin-coated manila paper to ensure that the straws didn’t become too soggy when drinking. He also settled upon 8.5 inches as the ideal length of a straw with a diameter that was just wide enough to prevent things such as lemon seeds from lodging inside and clogging the tube.

Stone received the patent for his paper straws on January 3, 1888. Within a couple of years, Stone’s factory was producing more straws than cigarette holders. By 1896, he had patents for a machine that made artificial straw from paper. He wasn’t around to see his machines go into production in 1906, however, as he died in 1899. The success of these machines brought an end to the hand-winding process.

A kind boss

Apart from being an inventor and tinkerer, Stone was seen as a benevolent boss. A kind and generous employer, Stone looked after the comfort and moral welfare of his employees, which included female workers. The factory was equipped with a singing room and a dance floor, with a library and a meeting room for debates to boot.

The winding process that Stone pioneered with his straws had implications in other industries as well. When electrical engineers employed spiral-wound tubes for radios as they were mass-produced for the first time in the 1920s, they used a similar process. From electrical motors and apparatus to aerospace, textiles and packaging for medicine and other products, the spiral-wound tubing is now found almost everywhere.

The next time you are sipping your favourite drink, spare a thought for the man who gave us the first paper straws. And in case you are doing it with your friends or family, regale them with the story of Stone.

 

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Is Meghalaya the wettest place on Earth?

Mawsynram in Meghalaya is the wettest place, based on rainfall in the world. Located in the Khasi Hills, it receives about 11,872mm (nearly 467 inches) of average annual rainfall According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the region received 26,000mm of rainfall in 1985. The mountainous terrain of Mawsynram and the nearby Cherrapunji, the second wettest place, are known for their lush greenery and scenic beauty The “living bridges are one of the most beautiful features of this region. These have been created by the local people by training the roots of rubber trees into natural bridges. With the root systems constantly growing, these bridges are self-sustaining.

Primarily due to the high altitude, it seldom gets truly hot in Mawsynram. Average monthly temperatures range from around 11 °C in January to just above 20 °C in August. The village also experiences a brief but noticeably drier season from December until February, when monthly precipitation on average does not exceed 30 millimetres (1.2 in). The little precipitation during the village’s “low sun” season is something that is shared by many areas with this type of climate.

Three reasons can be cited for high rainfall at Mawsynram:

The warm moist winds of the northward-moving air from the Bay of Bengal during the monsoon, which cover an extensive area but are forced to converge into the narrower zone over the Khasi Hills, thus concentrating their moisture.
The alignment of the Khasi Hills (east to west) places them directly in the path of the airflow from the Bay of Bengal, producing a significant uplift (plus cooling, further condensation and thus more rain).
Finally, uplift over the Khasi Hills is virtually continuous in the monsoon period because the lifted air is constantly being pulled up by vigorous winds in the upper atmosphere; hence, the rainfall is more or less continuous.

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Who is the longest-reigning British monarch in world history?

Queen Elizabeth II was the first British sovereign to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee (70 years of service) recently. She is currently the world’s longest reigning monarch, having ascended the throne on February 6, 1952. However, the Queen still has some way to go to achieve the longest recorded reign-that of Louis XIV of France, also known as Louis the Great. Louis XIV was King of France for 72 years and 110 days, from 1643 to until his demise in 1715.

Elizabeth I – the last Tudor monarch – was born at Greenwich on 7 September 1533, the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. Her early life was full of uncertainties, and her chances of succeeding to the throne seemed very slight once her half-brother Edward was born in 1537. She was then third in line behind her Roman Catholic half-sister, Princess Mary. Roman Catholics, indeed, always considered her illegitimate and she only narrowly escaped execution in the wake of a failed rebellion against Queen Mary in 1554.

Elizabeth succeeded to the throne on her half-sister’s death in November 1558. She was very well-educated (fluent in five languages), and had inherited intelligence, determination and shrewdness from both parents. Her 45-year reign is generally considered one of the most glorious in English history. During it a secure Church of England was established. Its doctrines were laid down in the 39 Articles of 1563, a compromise between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Elizabeth herself refused to ‘make windows into men’s souls … there is only one Jesus Christ and all the rest is a dispute over trifles’; she asked for outward uniformity. Most of her subjects accepted the compromise as the basis of their faith, and her church settlement probably saved England from religious wars like those which France suffered in the second half of the 16th century.

Although autocratic and capricious, Elizabeth had astute political judgement and chose her ministers well; these included William Cecil, later Lord Burghley (Secretary of State), Sir Christopher Hatton (Lord Chancellor) and Sir Francis Walsingham (in charge of intelligence and also a Secretary of State).

Overall, Elizabeth’s administration consisted of some 600 officials administering the great offices of state, and a similar number dealing with the Crown lands (which funded the administrative costs). Social and economic regulation and law and order remained in the hands of the sheriffs at local level, supported by unpaid justices of the peace.

 Elizabeth’s reign was one of considerable danger and difficulty for many, with threats of invasion from Spain through Ireland, and from France through Scotland. Much of northern England was in rebellion in 1569-70. A papal bull of 1570 specifically released Elizabeth’s subjects from their allegiance, and she passed harsh laws against Roman Catholics after plots against her life were discovered.

As a likely successor to Elizabeth, Mary spent 19 years as Elizabeth’s prisoner because Mary was the focus for rebellion and possible assassination plots, such as the Babington Plot of 1586.

During Elizabeth’s long reign, the nation also suffered from high prices and severe economic depression, especially in the countryside, during the 1590s. The war against Spain was not very successful after the Armada had been beaten and, together with other campaigns, it was very costly.

Despite the combination of financial strains and prolonged war after 1588, Parliament was not summoned more often. There were only 16 sittings of the Commons during Elizabeth’s reign, five of which were in the period 1588-1601. Although Elizabeth freely used her power to veto legislation, she avoided confrontation and did not attempt to define Parliament’s constitutional position and rights.

Overall, Elizabeth’s always shrewd and, when necessary, decisive leadership brought successes during a period of great danger both at home and abroad. She died at Richmond Palace on 24 March 1603, having become a legend in her lifetime. The date of her accession was a national holiday for two hundred years.

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Who was Emily Jane Bronte?

English novelist, Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights was the author’s first and last novel. It is widely considered by many as one of the most incredible pieces of imaginative literature in the English canon. Let’s find out what makes it a classic.

About the author

Emily Jane Bronte was born on July 30, 1818, in Thornton, Yorkshire, England. She was the fifth of six children, and the fourth daughter of Patrick Bronte and Marie Branwell. Her father was a remarkable man and a minister of the Anglican church. The author lost her mother at the tender age of three. This was the first great loss the family had to come to terms with. In 1825, Emily was sent to join her sisters Maria, Elizabeth, and Charlotte at school. Following the tuberculosis epidemic at the institution that claimed the life of her two elder sisters, Emily and Charlotte returned home. This incident is also mentioned in her sister Charlotte’s magnum opus Jane Eyre. Emily spent the next 10 years of her life at home, where she played, read extensively, and wrote together with her siblings in an inventive creative workshop. During one of such playful workshops, the four participated in fictional world-making, which resulted in Charlotte and their brother Branwell teaming together to create a fictional land called Angria, and Emily with her sister Anne inventing the fictional Pacific Island of Gondol.

Emily was a meticulous reader. Charlotte in her Preface to the 1850 edition of Wuthering Heights elucidated that her sister “always wrote from the impulse of nature”. However, Professor Karen O’Brien from the University of Oxford says that Emily Bronte’s lone novel is a testament to her extensive reading and understanding of the works of English poets and authors such as Sir Walter Scott, William Wordsworth, and Lord Byron. The first edition of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights was written under the pseudonym Ellis Bell and published in 1847.

Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights is a powerful and complex story of love, obsession, and revenge over two generations. It is narrated by housekeeper Nelly Dean and framed from the perspective of a visiting outsider Mr. Lockwood. This narrative revolves around an orphan named Heathcliff, who is taken in by Mr. Earnshaw and brought to live in Wuthering Heights. The story explores the close-knit bond he forms with his patron’s daughter Catherine.

What makes it a classic?

A treatise on women social conventions were extremely important at the time when Bronte wrote this novel. Italian writer and journalist Italo Calvino, in his book The Uses of Literature, said. “A classic is a classic book because it had never finished what it had to say, and Wuthering Heights stands true to this statement. One might think of it as just a love story. Well yes, but it’s also a story of ghosts, obsession, and haunting. Where Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters predecessor, wrote about the purpose of romance and how it was intangibly linked to or ended in marriage, Emily Bronte’s sole novel is a treatise on women and tries to explore what is important to her gender other than the pursuit of marriage.

Making a statement

Through Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte changed what was possible and acceptable for women to write, and how women and men can be portrayed in fiction. Her characters challenged the social expectation that one’s emotions and how they are expressed or dealt with must be dictated by an individual’s gender. It advocated that all the things that we as people feel are not so different just because one is a man or a woman. It broke away from the tradition that dictated that women must only write about acceptable things (such as love and marriage) and elements of the domestic sphere. It objected to the idea that men (especially heroes) are not capable of emoting grief and passion or being allowed to display any negative emotions such as vengeance. Wuthering Heights is not a moralising novel and calls the hypocrisy of the society that divides people on the basis of gender, turns a blind eye to the violence it inflicts in the name of religion, set unrealistic moral expectations, and is more concerned with respectability, than working towards creating an equal society.

Emily Bronte’s exceptional imagination in Wuthering Heights, says English author Kate Mosse, “makes it clear that a woman who is an artist and a man who is an artist have the same mission-to write what we think is true and to write what we think matters, this makes her sole novel one for the ages.”

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Can India experience heat waves beyond human survival?

India could experience heat waves beyond human survival limit, says World Bank report. And this impact would be felt in several ways. A look at the report in five brief points

1. HOTTEST ON RECORD: The World Bank report titled “Climate Investment Opportunities in India’s Cooling Sector” said that the country is experiencing higher temperatures that arrive earlier and stay far longer. “In April 2022, India was plunged into the grip of a punishing early spring heat wave that brought the country to a standstill, with temperatures in the capital. New Delhi, topping 46 degrees Celsius. The month of March, which witnessed extraordinary spikes in temperatures, was the hottest ever recorded,” said the report.

2. INTENSE HEAT WAVES: Predicting that heat waves situation in India could break the human survivability limit, the study noted that the recent heat wave supports what many climate scientists have long cautioned about with reference to rising temperatures across South Asia. It added that in August 2021, the Sixth Assessment Report of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that the Indian subcontinent would suffer more frequent and intense heat waves over the coming decade. The G20 Climate Risk Atlas also warned in 2021 that heat waves across India were likely to last 25 times longer by 2036-65 if carbon emissions remain high, as in the IPCC’s worst-case emission scenario.

3. IMPACT ON ECONOMY: The report warned that rising heat across India can jeopardise economic productivity. “Up to 75 per cent of India’s workforce, or 380 million people, depend on heat-exposed labor, at times working in potentially life-threatening temperatures….By 2030, India may account for 34 million of the projected 80 million global job losses from heat stress associated productivity decline,” the report stated.

4. HEAT AND COLD CHAINS: Transporting food and pharmaceutical goods across India requires a system of cold chain refrigeration that works every step of the way. “A single temperature lapse in the journey can break the cold chain, spoiling fresh produce and weakening the potency of vaccines. With only 4 per cent of fresh produce in India covered by cold chain facilities, annual estimated food losses total USD 13 billion,” it said. It also observed that the third largest producer of pharmaceuticals in the world, pre-COVID-19, India lost approximately 20 per cent of temperature-sensitive medical products and 25 per cent of vaccines due to broken cold chains, leading to losses of USD 313 million a year.

5. THE POOR ARE VULNERABLE: According to analysis presented in the India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP), only eight per cent of Indian households own air-conditioning units. “Indoor and electric fans can help to maintain thermal comfort, but these too are expensive to buy and inefficient. As a result, many poor and marginalised communities across India are more vulnerable to extreme heat, living in inadequately ventilated, hot and crowded homes without proper access to cooling,” the report warned.

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What is the streak of light that shoots across the night sky called?

During Earth’s journey around the Sun, there are times when its orbit crosses the orbit of a comet. It is when the planet moves through the comet debris trail that we witness meteor showers. The showers are named after the star or constellation which is close to where the meteors appear to radiate in the sky.

All of us may have seen streaks of light zip through the sky. We call them shooting stars and we also wish upon them. Well, what are these shooting stars? What are these streams of light? Consider the objects in space. These are lumps of rock or objects in space with sizes ranging from grains to small asteroids. A small piece of a comet or asteroid is called a meteoroid.

Meteoroid

These meteoroids can be considered as space rocks. They orbit the sun and when they enter Earth’s atmosphere at a high speed, they burn because of frictional heating, causing the light. These rays of light are referred to as meteors.

When many meteors appear at once, we call it a meteor shower. During a meteor shower, a number of meteors can be seen radiating or originating from a point in the night sky.

But where do these meteoroids come from? How does Earth come across these? During Earth’s journey around the Sun, there are times when its orbit crosses the orbit of a comet. It is when the planet moves through the comet debris trail that we witness meteor showers.

The meteor showers are named after the star or constellation which is close to where the meteors appear to radiate in the sky. The Perseids meteor shower is the most famous meteor shower and they peak around August 12 every year. Other notable meteor showers include the Leonids, Aquarids and Orionids and Taurids.

Now what happens when meteoroid survives the journey through the Earth’s atmosphere and hits the ground? In that case, it becomes a meteorite.

Did you know that more than 50,000 meteorites have been found on Earth?

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Why medicinal plants are disappearing?

The history of medicine can be traced to prehistoric times. Among the earliest sources of medicines were herbs and various plant parts such as roots, flowers, etc. Across several regions of the world, medicinal plants are in use even today. In fact, research seems to suggest that the demand for these plants could be increasing with people wanting to embrace what are seen as “natural” remedies for ailments. But, how are the populations of medicinal plants faring? Come, let’s find out.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), “between 65% and 80% of the populations of developing countries currently use medicinal plants as remedies”. Apparently, among the few lakh plant species in the world today, “only 15% have been evaluated to determine their pharmacological potential” So, researchers are at work for “demonstrating the efficacy and importance of medicinal plants”. But the truth is that medicinal plants across the globe are facing extinction. An expert has said that “Earth is losing one potential medicinal plant every two years at an extinction rate that is hundred times faster than the natural process.” The situation is no different in our country.

India is among the many countries with known use of medicinal plants. Our country is home to nearly 45,000 plant species, and at least 7,000 of them are medicinal aromatic plants. However, a recent piece of news from experts has become a cause for concern- as much as 10% of 900 major medicinal plant species found in the country fall under the “threatened” category, and “are facing the threat of extinction” What is causing this? The usual suspects – overexploitation, habitat destruction, urbanisation, etc. Another worrisome aspect is that “only 15 per cent of medicinal plants are cultivated while the remaining 85 per cent are collected by the industry from forest ecosystems and other natural habitats”

Conservation strategies such as “field studies, proper documentation, mitigation measures, enactment of special laws…” and recovery programmes are suggested to save the medicinal plants. This is vital because such plants play a crucial role not just in traditional practices but also in treating illnesses such as cancer. It is important to note that “cancer has a long history of depending on natural products for drugs” When medicinal plants disappear, along with them could disappear several chances to better human life.

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What is the Attari-Wagah retreat ceremony?

Do you know that booking for witnessing the Attari-Wagah retreat ceremony on India-Pakistan international border goes online?

If you have been following the news, you might have read that booking for the Attari-Wagah retreat ceremony can be made online. The online booking facility opens on Jan 1, 2023. What is this ceremony and when can it be watched? Let’s find out.

A daily ceremony

The Attari-Wagah front is along the India-Pakistan international border in Punjab. The Attari-Wagah retreat ceremony the daily national flag lowering and retreat ceremony taking place along the border. It is open for viewing by visitors. Symbolising rivalry as well as brotherhood and cooperation between the two nations, the purpose of the Attari-Wagah retreat ceremony is to formally close the gate at the border for the night. The Border Security Force (BSF) that guards the frontier conducts the event. The Attari border front, also called the joint check post or JCP, is located about 26 km from Amritsar city, and hundreds of domestic visitors and foreign tourists watch the daily ceremony conducted in a synchronised manner by smartly-dressed BSF personnel along with their counterparts, the Pakistan Rangers, on their side known as Wagah.

The background

India and Pakistan have been traditionally hosting the evening flag-lowering ceremony on the Attari-Wagah border since 1959 and the event is attended by people from both the countries on their respective sides. The ceremony which starts between 3.30 and 4 every evening lasts 60-120 minutes. The synchronised ceremony involves lowering of the flags of the two countries, foot stomping manoeuvres of the troops and loud shouts with patriotic songs being played in the background on either side. The ceremony ends with a retreat after a brief handshake between the soldiers on both sides.

Web portal launched

At present, people reach the retreat area without prior booking and the BSF allows them to take seats in the gallery on producing an ID card. A web portal for people desiring to witness the joint retreat le ceremony in person – http://attari.bsf.gov.in – has been launched by the BSF.

Online booking can be made from January 1 onwards. The new facility is not chargeable and visitors will be initially allowed to book 12 persons in one group, 48 hours prior to the desired day, after furnishing photo ID card details online. The booking details will be sent through an SMS to the mobile number of the group leader or the first visitor listed.

The BSF has now numbered the seats in the viewing gallery so that it can hold about 20,000-25,000 visitors daily. The online booking will also allow the tourists to visit the BSF museum and border pillar No. 102 that is erected next to the Attari border gate.

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Why did UTC replace Greenwich Mean Time?

The Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) replaced the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) as the world standard of time on January 1, 1972. For 50 years now, UTC has been the standard that is used to set all time zones around the globe.

Time is now an integral part of our lives every day. We wake up at a particular time, go to schools or offices at a set time, have our classes or meetings scheduled to take place at a given time… there is an endless list like this. Every aspect of life is now driven by time.

It wasn’t always like this though. Until some centuries ago, there wasn’t any need to measure time as accurately as we do today. There was basically daytime and nighttime in all the different places on Earth as the sun, moon, and the stars dictated time. But then, as the world grew smaller, and more connected with increasingly better technology, things changed.

Need for standardisation       

When rail and shipping lines started connecting the world, economic activity started requiring standardised timetables to coordinate activities. The idea for a universal time stemmed from this requirement and it was first conceived late in the 1800s.

A way to synchronise clocks across the world was first discussed in 1884 by the members who met at the International Meridian Conference in Washington D.C. While latitudes running east to west had always been measured from the equator, there was no such consensus around longitudes, or lines running north to south around our planet.

The prime meridian

It was at this conference that delegates from 25 countries chose to set the prime meridian or the zero point for longitude lines as that which passes through Greenwich, England. Time standards and time zones were built around this line, and hence came to be known as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

The advent of the atomic clocks after World War II enabled time to be measured with astounding accuracy in the second half of the 20th Century. These atomic clocks were able to show that Earth’s rotational period actually varied ever so slightly on an everyday basis, owing to tectonic movements, melting ice sheets, and natural oscillations in our planet’s movements.

Atomic time vs solar time

The idea behind Coordinated Universal Time or UTC (though it wasn’t yet known by that name) was thus born in the 1960s. It was a way to accommodate the differences in timekeeping that arise between atomic time and solar time. While atomic time refers to the time derived from atomic clocks and is hence extremely accurate, solar time is the time arrived at using astronomical measurements of the rotation of the Earth on its axis relative to the sun, and is hence, variable. UTC is not only kept within an exact number of seconds of International Atomic Time (TAI), but is also kept within 0.9 second of solar time or astronomical time, denoted as UT1.

Result of a compromise

UTC started being used in the 1960s, but it wasn’t until January 1, 1972 that it became the world standard for time, serving as the international basis of civil time as well as scientific time. This meant that UTC had effectively become the successor of GMT, providing for the basis of time worldwide. In case you are wondering how Coordinated Universal Time is abbreviated to UTC, then you will be pleased to learn that it is the result of a compromise. The acronym is a compromise between English and French speakers. While the English name for it, Coordinated Universal Time, would normally be abbreviated as CUT, the French name for it, Temps Universel Coordonne, would have been TUC. Instead of having it as CUT or TUC, a compromise was reached, and the acronym UTC was born.

Every time zone in the world is now given in terms of UTC. The Indian Standard Time (IST), for instance, is UTC+5:30. This means that IST is 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of UTC. Irrespective of where you are on Earth, the time in that region can be given in terms of UTC.

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Is a vegan the same as a vegetarian?

Veganism is a more austere form of vegetarianism. A vegetarian sticks to a plant-based diet and abstains from eating meat. A vegan goes a step further and excludes all animal products from his diet, including eggs, dairy products, honey, gelatin, lard, etc

Soybeans in the form of soy milk and tofu constitute the staple diet of vegans they are considered a complete protein. Cow’s milk is substituted by coconut or almond milk. Vegans also consume nuts, grains and pulses.

The term vegan was coined in 1944 by Donald Watson when he co-founded the Vegan Society in England. He intended the word to represent the ‘the beginning and end of vegetarian’.

Ethical vegans extend the philosophy to their daily lives avoiding any form of animal products for any other purpose. Veganism became popular in the 2000s as vegan food became more easily available in supermarkets.

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What is a speech generating device?

An electronic device, it is of great use to those with difficulty in speaking. How does it work?

A speech generating device (SGD) is an electronic device that creates speech for those who have difficulty in speaking. Most SGDS are connected to a keyboard, eye sensor or other such keyboard input device that allows the user to select the words to be spoken. The user can enter words or phrases with or use a visual display with images to produce speech.

Digitally recorded human voices speaking actual words are stored in the device and played back upon selection. A variety of voices to match a users gender and age are available. Some SGDS also use computer generated speech similar to the ones used in automated telephone systems.

SGDS have certain advantages over sign boards or other communication methods. It enables a person with speech impairment to communicate through spoken words.

This means the user can easily draw the attention of someone at a distance or sitting in another room or even talk on the phone! SGDS are very effective for autistic children with limited speech ability. World renowned scientist Stephen Hawking used speech generating devices for years. He used to prepare his lectures at the Cambridge University in advance and deliver them using the SGD.

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Who pollinated the world’s first flowers?

The first flowering plants in our world evolved only about 140 million years ago, and plants existed without flowers for a long time before that. And what we think of flowering plants it is hard not to think of pollinators. From insects and birds to animals and even wind and water, there’s a long list of pollinators. But among these who pollinated the first flowers? Researchers may have decoded that today nearly 90% of all plant species bear flowers. Most of these rely heavily on insects for pollination because they are effective due to their small size and high mobility in fact flowers have evolved to attract insects, and in return for pollination, gift them with nectar, pollen etc. Making there is a mutually beneficial relationship. A recent research studied more than 1.100 species of plants, and based on when they evolved, it mapped what pollinates a plant in the present to what might have pollinated the ancestor of that plant in the past it showed that insect pollination has been the most common, happening nearly 86% of the time, pointing to the fact that “the first flowers were most likely pollinated by insects Recent research on fossil insects suggests that a few insects may have actually been “pollinating plants even before the first flowers evolved

While it is easy to imagine bees to be the first to pollinate flowers, it is not so because bees did not evolve until after the first flowers Also, since the first flowers were small, they were most likely pollinated by a tiny creature, perhaps a fly or a beetle or some other insect that has long disappeared.

Did you know?

Pollination by vertebrate animals such as birds and bats, small mammals, and even lizards, has evolved at least 39 times- and reverted to insect pollination at least 26 of those times.
Wind pollination has evolved even more often: 42 instances these plants rarely go back to insect pollination.
Wind pollination evolved more often in open habitats at higher latitudes. Animal pollination is more common in closed-canopy rainforests, near the Equator.

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When Abdul Kalam failed?

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam would rarely finish a speech without a quote about failure. “F.A.I.L. stands for the First Attempt In Learning,” he would recite to cheering crowds of students. He has talked about dealing with failure in multiple interviews, with personal anecdotes. He attributed his learning in this regard to his one-time boss and the Indian space legend, Satish Dhawan.

In an interview given in 2008, he narrates an experience from the 1970s. Dr. Kalam took over as the mission director for launching the Rohini series satellites in 1973. After working for six long years, the team – comprising hundreds of technical staff – prepared for the launch in 1979 at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

As the countdown rolled down, the system sent an alert about an impending component failure in the rocket system. “After consulting with my experts, I decided to bypass the system and proceed with a manual launch,” Dr. Kalam said in the 2008 interview. The launch failed.

“So many people had worked hard for years and instead of putting the satellite in orbit, the rocket went into the Bay of Bengal.” Dr. Kalam panicked about breaking this news to his superiors and the media. “National and international media were waiting eagerly at the launch base to hear updates from us. They wanted to know if we had succeeded,” he recalled in the interview.

“And then the great man came to me- Prof. Satish Dhawan, who was then the chairman of ISRO. He took me with him to the press conference. I was tired… our intense work over the past several months had failed. I knew how to handle success but I did not know how to handle failure,” he admits in the interview. The events that happened subsequently would leave a mark on Dr. Kalam for the rest of his life.

“I was really afraid of being blamed for the failure of the mission. After all, I was the mission director. But at the press conference, Prof. Dhawan took the blame on himself. He told the media, “Dear friends, we have failed today. But we will soon return with success.” He assured the media that within a year, the mission would be completed.” The team kept his word. The subsequent launch on July 18, 1980 was successful. The nation was jubilant, celebrating ISRO’s achievement. “But this time, Prof. Dhawan refused to accompany me to the press conference. He told me to handle it,” said Dr. Kalam. “That was the mark of a true leader. When we failed, he came to our rescue and supported us. He took the blame for failure. But when we succeeded, he shared the credit with the team.” The experience helped Dr. Kalam to face failures in future.

 

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What is the importance of wet-bulb temperatures in a warming world?

The summer is here and the heat is upon us. Much of India experiences hot weather, exposing over a billion people to tough conditions. While you might be tracking the daily temperatures of your region that can be seen in weather forecasts, that might not be a fair reflection of the conditions.

The temperatures we see in weather forecasts are called air temperatures, also referred to as dry-bulb temperatures by meteorologists. Humidity, which plays a big role in how we experience heat, is not factored into air temperatures.

What is wet-bulb temperature?

Wet-bulb temperatures, on the other hand, combine the dry air temperature that we can see on a thermometer with humidity. It is for this reason that wet-bulb temperatures are a better measure of heat-stress conditions on humans in direct sunlight.

The name is a reflection of how this temperature is measured. When a wet cloth is slid over the bulb of a thermometer, the thermometer cools down due to water evaporating from the cloth. This lower temperature is the wet-bulb temperature and cannot go above air temperature.

The evaporating water cooling down the thermometer is akin to how our hodu temperature is lowered when we sweat. The sweating helps, however, only when the humidity in the surrounding air is low.

Sweating and humidity

If the humidity is high then it means that the air is already more saturated with water. As a result, less evaporation will occur and the wet-bulb temperature will be closer to the dry temperature. In such a scenario where the humidity is very high, sweating might not cool you as the sweat needs to evaporate off our skin for cooling to occur.

While it was long believed that a wet-bulb temperature of 35 degree Celsius was the maximum a human could endure for extended durations, a study in ?0?? suggested that it could he much lower – around 31 degree Celsius. With the world’s temperatures fast rising, extreme weather events, including heatwaves, are being encountered far more often in a warming world.

When the wet-bulb temperature in your region is high, it is important to take good care of yourself. If you are forced to be outside for a considerable length of time, then it is recommended that you wear a hat and lightweight, loose-fitting, light-coloured clothes. It goes without saying that you should try to take frequent breaks in areas with shade and keep yourself hydrated by taking plenty of fluids.

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What is an underwater forest?

Imagine a forest underwater or a tapestry of green inside the ocean. That’s just what a kelp forest is. Though kelps are considered the forests of the sea and look like plants, they are not plants. Kelps are large brown algae, and together, the different species of kelps form kelp forests.

The kelp forests figure among one of the most dynamic and diverse ecosystems on earth and offer a habitat for marine organisms such as invertebrates, fishes, and other algae and play many key ecological roles.

Kelps cover 25% of the world’s coastlines. They provide food and shelter to marine animals. These can be seen around the world, across polar as well as temperate coastal oceans. They live in cold waters that are rich in nutrients.

While they remain attached to the seafloor, they grow towards the surface of the water and depend on sunlight to generate food. The ideal physical conditions are satisfied, then kelps can grow 45 cm a day. Some of these species are seen to measure up to even 45 m long.

Kelps and climate change

Kelp forests play a highly crucial role in battling climate change as they are good at sequestering carbon, thereby ensuring the health of the coastal environment. They are also capable of absorbing excess nitrogen and phosphorus that nun into the oceans from the land. Studies have shown that a third of the globe’s coastal environments depend on kelp to combat local pollution and sustain fisheries. Apart from helping maintain the health of the marine ecosystem, kelps are also commercially harvested as they find applications in food production, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and so on.

The health of the kelps is dependent largely on oceanographic conditions and as such they can disappear and reappear based on this. For instance, sea urchins can destroy the kelp forests. Moreover, strong individual storms can affect the kelp forests by tearing out the kelps from the floor of the sea.

These dense canopies of algae are also facing many threats. Water pollution, rising sea temperatures, overgrazing, overfishing, and water pollution are some of the reasons for the depletion of kelp forests.

Studies prove that Southern Australia and Northern Califonia have lost 95% of their kelp forests. Their depletion is seen along the coastlines of every continent and this affects the fish, livelihoods and economy that are supported by the kelp forests.

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What’s space weather?

Ever wondered about the weather in space? Before that, let’s think about what dictates the weather on our planet. The Sun, which is our source of energy, plays a titular role in governing the weather on Earth. And so does it create the weather in space! The activities on the Sun’s surface can lead to a type of weather in space and this is called space weather.

Space weather is dependent on activities and changes on the Sun’s surface such as coronal mass ejections (eruptions of plasma and magnetic field structures) and solar flares (sudden bursts of radiation). We are shielded from these bursts of radiation and energy by Earth’s magnetosphere, ionosphere, and atmosphere.

Impact of space weather

The Sun is some 93 million miles away from our Earth. Yet, space weather can affect us and the solar system. The electric power distribution grids, global satellite communication, and navigation systems are all susceptible to conditions in space that are impacted by the Sun.

Space weather can damage satellites, affect astronauts and even cause blackouts on Earth. Such incidents are rare but they have happened before.

CME, solar flare

When a CME reaches Earth, it leads to a geomagnetic storm. This can disrupt services, damage power grids and cause blackouts.

For instance, back in 1989, a powerful geomagnetic storm led to a major power blackout in Canada. As a result, around 6 million people were left in the dark for about 9 hours.

Solar flares can also result in disruption of services. The strongest and most intense geomagnetic storm ever recorded occurred in 1859. This was caused by a solar flare. Called the “Carrington Event and named after England’s solar astronomer Richard Carrington who observed the activity through his telescope, the geomagnetic storm caused damage, disrupting the telegraph system on Earth. It also led to the aurorae, a result of geomagnetic activity, being visible in regions such as Cuba and Hawaii.

While telegraph networks are a thing of the past, our communications system and technologies can still be impacted by space weather. Even as most of the charged particles released by the Sun get shielded away due to Earth’s magnetic field, sometimes space weather can affect us. We need to track the activities on the Sun’s surface and understand them to protect the people and systems.

Any warning regarding bad space weather can help scientists send alerts and lessen the damage caused by it. Space agencies have observatories monitoring the Sun and detecting solar storms. These help in mitigating the effect of bad space weather.

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Which is the longest song ever released?

Music has the power to take us on incredible journeys, transporting us to other worlds and allowing us to experience the full range of human emotions. From soaring anthems to introspective ballads, music has the ability to touch us in ways that nothing else can. And for some musicians, the journey is not limited to a few minutes or even hours – instead, they seek to create epic compositions that stretch on for days.

One such masterpiece is A Quantum Christmas Song, recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest officially released song. Created by English songwriter Mark Christopher Lee in collaboration with the British indie band The Pocket Gods, this 115-hour-45-minute long odyssey is a spiritual exploration of the mysteries of quantum physics and the meaning of life.

Some more examples of astonishingly long songs include Symphony of the Crown (48 hours, 39 minutes, and 35 seconds long) by Canadian artist Earthena; Rise and Fall of Bossnova (13 hours and 32 minutes) by American artist Michael J Bostwick; and Apparente Liberta (76 minutes and 47 seconds) by Italian musician Giancarlo Ferrari.

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What is MRP?

MRP or maximum retail price is the price beyond which a packaged product cannot be sold to a consumer. The maximum price of any commodity in the packaged form includes all taxes local or otherwise, transport charges, and any other costs incurred by the manufacturer or seller.

The Centre regulates MRP to prevent retailers from overcharging customers. The Price Monitoring Division in the Department of Consumer Affairs is responsible for monitoring the prices of 22 essential commodities. It monitors the retail and wholesale prices of essential products on a daily basis.

Why was MRP launched?

The MRP was introduced in 1990 by the Department of Legal Metrology, Ministry of Civil Supplies by making an amendment to the Standards of Weights and Measures Act (Packaged Commodities Rules), 1976. It was meant to prevent tax evasion and protect consumers from profiteering by retailers.

Earlier, manufacturers had the freedom to print either the maximum retail price (inclusive of all taxes) or the retail price (local taxes extra). The latter method allowed the retailers to often charge more than the locally applicable taxes. The amendment mandated the compulsory printing of MRP on all packaged commodities.

Filing a complaint

If a shopkeeper charges more than the printed MRP, consumers can file a complaint with the Legal Metrology Department in the State where the shop is located. Besides, they can also file complaints at the Consumer Forum in their respective districts.

Selling a packaged product at a price higher than the printed MRP can attract a fine of Rs 25,000 or a jail term. India is the only country in the world to have a system wherein it is punishable by law to charge a price higher than the printed MRP.

However, hotels and restaurants are allowed to charge higher than the MRP of packaged food items. According to a Supreme Court ruling, restaurant and hotels are allowed to sell a packaged product at a higher cost as they provide extra services for their customers such as the ambience and cutlery, etc.

Meanwhile, the retailer is free to fluctuate the selling price as long as it is below or equal to the MRP.

Why are products at airports expensive?

The products at airports are expensive primarily because running a store at the airport is an expensive affair. Here, the retailers have to pay a high rent which is then added to the final price of the product. Another reason is that as airports are high-security zones, the workforce have to undergo daily background checks and training in security measures. This leads to a product price surge.

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Is IFSC More than just a code?

In case someone enters an incorrect IFSC while making an online transfer, the funds are credited back to the sender’s bank account.

If you have a bank account, you must have seen an IFSC reference on the passbook. The unique code forms an essential part of the Indian banking infrastructure. Let us find out more about this unique code.

What is IFSC?

The Indian Financial System Code (IFSC) is an 11-character alphanumerical code that is used by banks to identify the branches where people have their bank accounts. Every bank branch has a unique IFSC and no two branches (even of the same bank) will ever have the same code. In an IFSC, the first four digits tell the name of the bank and the last six characters are numbers representing the branch. The fifth character is zero. The IFSC is assigned by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Purpose of IFSC

The IFSC is used by electronic payment system applications such as Unified Payment Interfaces (UPI). It is used only to transfer or send funds within India. It is mandatory when transferring money from one bank account to another. Without the IFSC, you cannot make online transfers. The IFSC ensures that the money being transferred reaches the right destination bank without any mishap during the transaction process. It also helps the RBI keep track of all digital banking transactions.

Where to find the IFSC?

The IFSC of a bank’s branch can be found in the cheque book. Besides, it can be found on the first page of the passbook. Another simple way to find out the IFSC is to refer to the official website of the RBI or the bank’s website.

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Making mendelevium, one atom at a time?

The discovery of mendelevium was announced at the end of April in 1955. It was described by one of its discoverers as “one of the most dramatic in the sequence of syntheses of transuranium elements”.

The search for new elements is something that scientists have been doing for hundreds of years. Once Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev organised the elements known at his time according to a repeating, or periodic (and hence the name periodic table), system in the 1860s, the search became a little easier.

This was because the gaps in Mendeleev’s periodic table pointed to elements that weren’t known yet. The properties of these elements, however, could be predicted based on their place in the table and the neighbours around them, thereby making it easier to discover new elements. Mendeleev’s table has since been expanded, to make space for other new elements

One of those new elements discovered was element number 101, named mendelevium after. Mendeleev. American Nobel Prize winner Glenn Seaborg, who was one of the discoverers of the element, wrote that the discovery of mendelevium was “one of the most dramatic in the sequence of syntheses of transuranium elements”, in a chapter co-written by him for The New Chemistry. Additionally, he also wrote in that chapter that “It was the first case in which a new element was produced and identified one atom at a time.”

Begins with a bang                                                                       

Ivy Mike, the first thermonuclear device, was dropped for testing on the Eniwetok Atoll in the Pacific Ocean in 1952, sending a radioactive cloud into the air, from which samples were collected. The lab reports suggested that two new elements-elements 99 (einsteinium) and 100 (fermium) – were discovered from the debris. The discoveries came at a time when there was a race to discover new elements.

 The leading researchers of the U.S. involved in this race were camped at the Radiation Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, under the direction of physicist Ernest Lawrence A team of scientists which included Albert Ghiorso, Stanley Thompson, Bernard Harvey, Gregory Choppin, and Seaborg, came up with a plan to produce element 101 using a billion atoms of einsteinium-253 that were formed in a reactor.

The idea was to spread the atoms of einsteinium onto a thin gold foil. As its half-life was about three weeks, the researchers effectively had a week to perform their experiments after receiving it. Based on Ghiorso’s calculations, they were aware that only about one atom of the new element 101 would be produced for every three hours the gold foil was bombarded with alpha particles.

Race against time

As the experiment would yield only a very small amount of the new element, the scientists set up a second gold foil behind the first to catch the atoms. It was a race against time as well as the half-life of element 101 was expected to be a few hours only.

With the Radiation Laboratory atop a hill and the cyclotron at its base, there really was a mad rush to get the samples to the lab on time. The samples “were collected in a test tube, which I took and then jumped in a car driven by Ghiorso”, is how Choppin put it in his own words.

On the night of the discovery, the target was irradiated in three-hour intervals for a total of nine hours. By 4 AM on February 19, 1955, they had recorded five decay events characteristic of element 101 and eight from element 100, fermium. With conclusive evidence of element 101’s existence, Choppin mentions that “We left Seaborg a note on the successful identification of Z =101 and went home to sleep on our success.”

At the end of April 1955, the discovery of element 101 was announced to the world. The university’s press release stated that “The atoms of the new element may have been the rarest units of matter that have existed on earth for nearly 5 billion years… The 17 atoms of the new element all decayed, of course, and the ‘new’ element is for the present extinct once again.”

Cold War era

As element 101 marked the beginning of the second hundred elements of the periodic table, the scientists wanted to name it after Mendeleev, the man behind the periodic table.

Despite the discovery happening during the Cold War era, Seaborg was able to pull enough strings to convince the U.S. government to accept the proposal to name the element after a Russian scientist. The International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry approved the name mendelevium and the scientists published their discovery in the June 1955 issue of Physical Review Letters.

While only small quantities of mendelevium have ever been produced, more stable isotopes of the element have since been made. The most stable version known as of now has a half-life of over one-and-a-half months, allowing for better opportunities to further study heavy elements and their properties.

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Are Membrane mirrors for large space-based telescopes?

Researches create lightweight flexible mirrors that can be rolled up during launch and reshaped precisely after deployment.

Mirrors are a significant part of telescopes. When it comes to space telescopes, which have complicated procedures for launching and deploying, the primary mirrors add considerable heft, contributing to packaging difficulties.

Researchers have now come up with a novel way of producing and shaping large, high-quality mirrors. These mirrors are not only thinner than the primary mirrors usually employed in space-based telescopes, but are also flexible enough to be rolled up and stored inside a launch vehicle.

Parabolic membrane mirror

The successful fabrication of such parabolic membrane mirror prototypes up to 30 cm in diameter have been reported in the Optica Publishing Group journal Applied Optics in April. Researchers not only believe that these mirrors could be scaled up to the sizes required in future space telescopes, but have also developed a heat-based method to correct imperfections that will occur during the unfolding process.

Using a chemical vapour deposition process that is commonly used to apply coatings (like the ones that make electronics water-resistant), a parabolic membrane mirror was created for the first time. The mirror was built with the optical qualities required for use in telescopes. A rotating container with a small amount of liquid was added to the inside of a vacuum chamber in order to create the exact shape necessary for a telescope mirror. The liquid forms a perfect parabolic shape onto which a polymer can grow during chemical vapour deposition, forming the mirror base. A reflective metal layer is applied to the top when the polymer is thick enough, and the liquid is then washed away.

Thermal technique

The researchers tested their technique by building a 30-cm-diameter membrane mirror in a vacuum deposition chamber. While the thin and lightweight mirror thus constructed can be folded during the trip to space, it would be nearly impossible to get it into perfect parabolic shape after unpacking. The researchers were able to show that their thermal radiative adaptive shaping method worked well to reshape the membrane mirror.

Future research is aimed at applying more sophisticated adaptive control to find out not only how well the final surface can be shaped, but also how much distortion can be tolerated initially. Additionally, there are also plans to create a metre-sized deposition chamber that would enable studying the surface structure along with packaging unfolding processes for a large-scale primary mirror.

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What is a pictopedia?

A pictopedia is a pictorial encyclopedia that aims at making learning fun. With pages full of interesting pictures and interesting information, these innovatively curated books are designed to ignite wonder and curiosity.

Our club announced on the notice board about a week ago for volunteers to make presentations on “A Book that Liked Very Much” in its regular meetings. We were surprised by the huge response, and we selected a student from the eighth class who wanted to speak on pictopedia. As this was totally a new area, we thought many of us would benefit from his input. The following report sums up some of the key ideas he presented.

He began his presentation, “When I was randomly running my eyes over the books on a shelf in a bookshop which was labelled children’s literature, I found the expression pictopedia, with the title. What About….Great Personalities? I am familiar with encyclopedias but not this, and hence out of curiosity I flipped through the book. As it was a slender one with only 50 pages and priced at just Rs.150, I asked my father to buy it for me.”

This made us realise how visiting libraries and bookshops, rather than merely surfing the net could enable us to identify interesting titles.

As he had brought the book with him, he quoted a few lines from the preface and blurb to emphasise the purpose of this publication: The coinage pictopedia.

indicates a pictorial encyclopaedia…It is meant for young readers who want to open their eyes in wonder to see the world as they see it for the first time; it is also meant for the adult who wishes to recollect what is lost in the corners of the memory…. Making learning fun is the sole aim of the pictopeda’ series.” Going through the book, he said, he found it useful to whoever wanted to know and recall some of the important details of the personalities included in it.

After reading out the names of a few personalities from the content page, namely, aristotle. Thomas Alva Edison. William Shakespeare, Napoleon, zakir hussain, Archimedes, and osho (Rajaneesh), he pointed out that there are 45 personalities included in the book. For each of them, one page was allocated to cover the most significant details – unlike the usual encyclopedias, it gave only the vital information of a personality in about 100 words. To illustrate it, he read out the details of Nelson Mandela and drew our attention to the details such as his birth, the position he held, his education, the years he spent in prison, and his status as a world leader. These factual descriptions gave us a comprehensive view of his personality, instead of being cluttered with too many details leading to confusion and often forgetting them. The page on Mandela also carried two other features, viz., a large circle highlighting his most distinguishing deeds- half of his salary was donated to the welfare of poor children and the other. Did you Know? which in the form of bullets mentioned the awards and the honours he had received. Along with these, two of his pictures were placed to concretise the portrayal. The same format was observed for all the personalities dealt with

The most noteworthy aspect of the book was the selection of personalities, chosen from different periods multiple walks of life and who excelled in their fields: the timeline chosen extended from the ancient time to the present, for instance, from Aristotle of 384 BC to Aryabhatta of 476 AD to Sachin Tendulkar and to A. R. Rahman, including a large number of the contemporary personalities. Further, they were identified from various fields such as politics, philosophy, technology, painting to films, sports, writers, and music and there were at least four of them representing a particular domain, the range of areas covered brought added value to the book.

Reading about any personality, he observed, took a maximum of five minutes which helped to absorb almost all the details. He proudly mentioned that after becoming familiar with these celebrities, he had turned out to be a popular conversationalist as he was able to refer to them on appropriate occasions while interacting with his friends.

The series, What About is published by navneet Education Limited, based in Mumbai and they have brought out several interesting titles. He concluded by acknowledging the claim made in the blurb of the book that the attractive pictures and unique presentation made the book worthy of possession by any.

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What is cross-dominance?

Most of us are either right or left-handed. But some people may write with their left hand and throw a ball with their right hand. Such a mixed preference for different activities is called cross dominance.

Well, just like we show natural preference to either of the two hands (exceptions being ambidextrous people), our ears, eyes and feet also have one dominant part. The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and is more dominant in right-handed persons and vice versa. Normally, therefore, a right-handed person would be right-footed, right-eyed and so on. But some right-handed persons may have a more dominant left foot or left eye. This is called mixed laterality and such persons also show traits of cross-dominance.

Hand-eye cross-dominance can be quite problematic for sportspersons especially shooters and athletes. More than 20% people have some cross-dominance or the other and it can be overcome by training oneself to use the non-dominant part more often.

Many well-known people are cross-dominant. Sachin Tendulkar bats, bowls and throws with his right hand but writes with his left. Rafael Nadal plays tennis with his left-hand but uses his right hand to throw and write. The foot you use normally to kick the ball is your dominant foot. The ear you naturally turn toward a soft sound is your dominant ear.

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Are heatwaves Present in the ocean?

High temperatures and heatwaves across the globe saw records broken in July 2023 on land and in the oceans. The oceans serve as the Earth’s heat reservoir, absorbing substantial amounts of thermal energy as a result of their continuous interaction with the atmosphere. Under specific conditions prolonged periods of unusually high temperatures in the oceans are called marine heatwaves much like their atmospheric counterparts.These higher temperatures could be driven by increased heat input from the atmosphere. decreased heat losses from the ocean or the transfer of warmer water masses through currents Over the past two decades these events have become more prevalent and widespread, having been observed in various areas of the global ocean, in both regional and large scales, at the surface of the ocean and at depth

In particular, recent data shows the occurrence of marine heatwaves surged by 34 percent between 1925 and 2016. While the exact mechanisms triggering marine heatwaves vary from region to region. There are two primary factors. In some instances, the atmospheric conditions themselves play a pivotal role. During such episodes, stagnant air masses and prolonged high temperatures in the atmosphere conspire to heat the ocean’s surface setting the stage for a marine heatwave event. This pattern was notably evident during a 2012 North Atlantic event, which saw one of the highest sea surface temperatures ever recorded.

In other cases, the main driver is the movement of ocean currents, which transport relatively warm water masses to new areas. When these warm masses converge in specific regions, they cause a rapid and abrupt increase in the sea’s surface temperature. This was witnessed in the 2015 Tasman Sea (situated between Australia and New Zealand) event.

As the impacts of marine heatwaves reverberate across the globe, understanding the complex interplay between the oceans and the atmosphere is crucial for predicting the Occurrence of these extreme events. In the face of climate change, conserving and protecting our oceans becomes ever more critical. Therefore improving marine heatwave predictability is crucial to empower communities and ecosystems alike to adapt and build resilience. By better understanding the science behind marine heatwaves and taking collective action, people can work towards a more resilient and sustainable future for the oceans. (With inputs from agencies).

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What is metafiction?

 

Metafiction is a literary style that invites readers to step into a world where the lines between reality and fiction blur. In this self-conscious narrative approach, the narrator and characters are keenly aware of their existence within a work of fiction. As a result, metafiction often departs from traditional storytelling conventions, offering a unique reading experience that prompts introspection about the nature of storytelling itself.

CHARACTERISTICS OF METAFICTION:

Breaking the fourth wall

Metafiction boldly shatters the fourth wall that typically separates the creator of a story from its audience. This literary technique involves direct interactions with the reader, with the narrator or characters openly acknowledging their role in a fictional world. This blurring of boundaries invites readers to question the authenticity of the narrative and their own position within it.

Self-reflexive

A hallmark of metafiction is its self-reflexivity. Authors employ this technique to draw attention away from the storyline and toward the very process of storytelling. By doing so, they encourage readers to contemplate the construction of the text itself. This self-awareness can manifest in various ways, from characters questioning the nature of their existence to authors commenting on their creative process within the narrative.

Examples

• The Canterbury Tales (1387) by Geoffrey Chaucer is an early example of metafiction, using interconnected stories to parody conventional fiction elements. He addresses the audience directly, adding a metafictional layer to the narrative.

• Don Quixote (1605) by Miguel de Cervantes explores the relationship between fiction and reality as the protagonist, Don Quixote, embarks on a quest influenced by his reading. The book invites readers to reflect on the impact of stories on our lives.

Metafiction also appears in children’s literature. Here are a few examples:

The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (1992) by Jon Scieszka and illustrated by Lane Smith: This picture book playfully twists classic fairy tales, with characters interacting and the narrator intervening for humour and self-awareness.

• We Are in a Book! (2010) by Mo Willems: Part of the Elephant & Piggie series, this book features characters realising they’re in a book, engaging in a humorous, metafictional conversation that introduces young readers to interactive storytelling.

Through humour, wordplay, and interactive elements, such books make reading an engaging and thought-provoking experience.

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What is the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act in India?

The new traffic rules under the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019, came into force in many states on September 1. Under the Act, heavy fines are imposed for offences such as over-spreading, driving under the influence of alcohol and driving without states are not happy with the hefty fines and have opted to reduce the quantum of fines as suggested. What is the scope of the penalties imposed under it? Let’s find out in this week’s Five Ws & One H….

The Motor Vehicles Act is an Act of Parliament which regulates all aspects of road transport vehicles. The Motor vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which sought to make changes to the 1988 Act, was passed in the Rajya Sabha in July and in the Lok Sabha in Aught. The new traffic rules with sticker penalties, under the 2019 Act, came into effect on September 1.

How have the penalties been increased under the recently amended Act?

The penalties for breaking traffic rules have gone up multi-fold. For driving without a license, the new fine is ?5000, which is 10 times the earlier fine of ?500.
The maximum penalty for driving under the influence of alcohol has been increased from ?2000 to ?10000.
For speeding or racing, the fine has been increased from ?500 to ?5000.
Not wearing a seatbelt while driving would attract a fine of ? 1000 as against the earlier fine of ?100.
If a vehicle manufacturer fails to comply with motor vehicle standards, the penalty will be a fine of up to ?1Lakh.
The Central government may increase the fines by 10% every year.

Why are the other provisions as per the new Act?

The new Act has extended the period for renewal of driving licenses from one moth to one year after the date of expiry.
The Act also promises to protect those who render emergency medical or non-medical assistance to a victim of an accident, from any civil or criminal liability.
The minimum compensation for death or grievous injury in hit-and-run cases has been increased from ?25000 to ?2- Lakh in case of death, and from ?12500 to ?50000 in case of grievous injury.
The central government will develop a scheme for cashless treatment of road accident victims during the ‘golden hour’ – the time period of up to one hour following a traumatic injury, during which the likelihood of preventing death through prompt medical care is the highest.
The Act requires the Central government to constitute a Motor Vehicle Accident fund, to provide compulsory insurance cover to all road users in the country.

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