IITians often joke about the most endangered species on their campus: women. Amidst the ongoing debate about OBC quotas, many would quip, "Girls must be given reservation." This year's JEE result shows that may not be necessary. While their numbers have been steadily rising, this year the percentage has jumped by nearly half. Of the 54,025 girls who appeared for JEE-2007, 587 have qualified, up from 394 who qualified through JEE-2006. The difference is about 200, a rise of almost 50 per cent in the number of successful girl candidates, though this will still remain a small proportion of the overall number of students across the seven IIT campuses. The fact that girls have come a long way is evident when one looks at the data on student composition in the past. Back in 1972, of the 342 seats for the BTech course, IIT-Bombay had merely six girl students. In the intervening decades, the proportion remained more or less the same. In fact, even 30 years later, it had not more than 13 girls studying on its Powai campus. The change has come about in the last five years. The highest-scoring girl candidate this year is Ankita Sharma from Mumbai who is ranked 55th in the overall merit list. Ankita said the secret of her success lay in her "don't-give-up attitude." The 18-year-old had appeared for the JEE last year too, but was placed way down in all-India rankings at 2,366. A student of BARC Junior College, Ankita then packed her bags and joined a residential coaching class for a year. "My focus and concentration has paid off now," Ankita said. Today she's undecided whether to take up a computer science or electrical engineering course. Of course with a rank of 55, Ankita can afford to be choosy. Apart from her, there is just one other girl in the top 100 IIT-JEE rankers: Saloni Khandelwal from the northern zone. Incidentally, there is empirical and qualitative evidence to suggest that a strong gender bias pervades institutions of science in India. A recent decision taken by scientific advisor to the Prime Minister, CNR Rao, to set up a National Task Force on Women in Science is intended to encourage female representation. It was Rao's committee that halved the application price for girls wanting to appear for JEE. While general category students paid Rs 1,000 for JEE application form, girls paid Rs 500

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, May 31, 2007

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Economically and socially backward, they were called 'Super 30' since the day they were chosen to be coached to crack IIT-JEE. And wow, they proved they are worth the name with 28 of them making it to IITs while the remaining two - both Dalits - expected to sail through once the results of SC/ST aspirants are out. It was five years ago that Anand Kumar, a local Maths wizard, along with a senior Bihar IPS officer Abhayanand floated the concept of 'Super 30'. Thirty promising, albeit poor, IIT aspirants were selected and coached rigorously for eight months ahead of JEE in 2003. Eighteen of them cracked the test. In 2004, 22 of the 30 came out with flying colours. The number of successful candidates increased to 26 in 2005 and 28 in 2006. "This year we hope to achieve 100 per cent results," a jubilant Kumar, whose coaching institute in Patna sponsors the 30 aspirants, said and added Alok Kumar and Azad Kumar, the two Dalit aspirants whose names do not figure in the list of successful candidates, will certainly make it when the preparatory results of SC/ST candidates come out. Ten of the 'Super 30' aspirants have secured ranks among the top 1,000 successful candidates.

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, May 31, 2007

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A retired Japanese teacher aged 71 has become the world's oldest person to climb to the top of Mount Everest, mountaineering groups said on Tuesday. Katsusuke Yanagisawa reached the top of the world's highest mountain on May 22, the Japan Mountaineering Association said. Yanagisawa said he enjoyed a sunny breeze at the top for 30 minutes and was so happy, he felt like singing. "I was pretty much at ease mentally at the summit, like I could sing a song," he told Japan's national broadcaster NHK after the descent. "I was glad to reach the summit because, after that, all that was left was to climb down," he told the daily. Yanagisawa, who lives in the central mountain city of Nagano, beat a record set the previous year by a compatriot. "We received an e-mail saying they 'completed the job,' meaning they successfully climbed to the top and from his hotel in Kathmandu. "It was a fantastic feeling," Yanagisawa separately told the Shinano Mainichi Shimbun, his hometown newspaper, from a hotel in Kathmandu returned safely," Syunji Takekawa, a colleague of Yanagisawa's mountain guide Hiroyuki Kuraoka, said. Previously the oldest climber to reach the highest point on the planet was Takao Arayama, who was 70 when he reached the 8,848-metre (29,198 foot) summit in May 2006, the mountaineering association said. Yanagisawa said he went with a team including New Zealanders and Japanese who scaled the mountain from the Tibetan side of Everest. He reached Kathmandu on Monday and will file paperwork to claim his record. The Japanese are renowned for their longevity and a growing number of fit senior citizens have taken to conquering mountains in retirement. A string of Japanese have successively broke the record for the oldest climbers of Everest. One of the most famous Japanese conquerors of Everest was Junko Tabei, who in 1975 became the first woman on top of the peak.

Courtesy: www.zeenews.com, May 30, 2007

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An Indian zoologist says he found a new species of limbless lizard during a recent field study in a forested area in the country's east. The 7-inch long lizard looks like a scaly, small snake, and "It prefers to live in a cool retreat, soft soil and below stones," said Sushil Kumar Dutta, head of the zoology department of the North Orissa University in the eastern Indian town of Baripada. "The lizard is new to science and is an important discovery," Dutta told a news agency on Monday. "It is not found anywhere else in the world."

Modern limbless lizards are not snakes, Dutta said.
For one thing, snakes have evolved skulls that allow them to swallow whole prey that is much larger than their heads. Lizards, in contrast, have to bite and chew their prey. The new lizard was found 10 days ago during a field study in the forested region of Khandadhar near Raurkela in Orissa state, about 625 miles southeast of New Delhi, said Dutta, who led a team of researchers from "Vasundhra," a non-governmental group, and the university. "Preliminary scientific study reveals that the lizard belongs to the genus Sepsophis," he said, adding that "The new species will be scientifically described at a later stage after accumulation of more data." While modern snakes and lizards are derived from a common evolutionary ancestor, they belong today to two entirely separate groups of animals, or orders. Snakes, over millennia, gradually lost their limbs and developed their characteristic forms of locomotion. The limbless lizards have lower eyelids and very small ear openings. They lack the flexibility that allows snakes to coil their bodies. Also, snakes can move in a zigzag manner. However, the lizards move straight, Dutta said. The lizards have small scales around their bodies, but the scale pattern on their heads is different from what the snakes have, Dutta said. Other limbless lizards belonging to different families have been found in India's Nicobar island, in the northeast, and in Orissa and Andhra Pradesh states, he said. The closest relatives of the new species are found in Sri Lanka and South Africa, Dutta said. Another species of the same genus, "Sepsophis punctatus," was found in 1870 from the Golconda hills in Andhra Pradesh, said Varadi Giri, a scientist at the Bombay Natural History Society, who was not part of the team that found the lizard. Giri said Dutta is a reputed zoologist and his claim appears legitimate. "But for an independent confirmation, one has to wait for the publication of the finding in a reputed science magazine," he said.

Courtesy: www.zeenews.com, May 30, 2007

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Kalyan Singh Kothari
The success stories of 'girl stars' - young girls who became role models through education and personal initiatives - are being taken to the masses in Rajasthan through a 32-days road show organised by UNICEF - India. This one-of-a-kind road show, which will highlight the importance of educating the girl child, entered Raisar village in Bikaner in Rajasthan and will cover four districts, i.e., Bikaner, Jodhpur, Udaipur and Tonk. UNICEF India launched this campaign on May 9 from Delhi. Three colorful trucks carrying mobile theaters for screening the powerful 'Girl Stars' series of films will be shown in the three states - Rajasthan, Bihar and Utter Pradesh, where girls education indicators are lagging for behind. These tales of ordinary girls, who have educated themselves despite all odds, will be the main attraction. In all, 180 villages will be covered over 30 days. The girl stars come from ordinary rural settings - 15 young women, aged 17-30 - from some of the most disadvantaged communities in the country, who through education have become successful, self-sufficient empowered individuals. UNICEF has also brought out a beautiful calendar for the year 2007 on success stories of the girl role models in their communities. These star girls inspire younger girls to go to schools and continue their education, and spread awareness on hygiene, health care, environment, etc. They have a varied background: from a beekeeper to an environmentalist, a junkyard dealer, an archer, a village leader, a talk show host, and the list goes on.

Shikha Wadhwa, communication officer at UNICEF - Rajasthan, said that UNICEF, NGOs and other bilateral agencies have partnered government efforts to improve literacy levels in states that have the largest number of out-of-school children or dropouts, with a focus on girls belonging to marginalised and minority communities with the highest levels of illiteracy. The 'Girl Star' project is working to bridge the education gap by showing how - given an opportunity - women and girls can make great strides in education and economically benefit from it. The film series documents stories of girls from the most disadvantaged communities across fire northern states who, by attaining education, have managed to break the shackles of socio-economic constrains to make a success of their lives and become self-sufficient. These girls also motivate parents to ensure that their daughters go to school and do not drop out and influence policy and mobilise resources for the girl child's education. A success story, Durga Bai, 27, is a health worker with Aarth, NGO, in the tribal belt of Udaipur district. She travels on her own by bus to 22 villages to make aware 2,200 women every month. She talks on how to improve their health and that of their children. Durga explains health concepts in local dialects, ensuring that as many children as she meets are vaccinated, visit medical health centres and go to school. Durga says she makes sure that her own daughter and son go to school every day. Another role model - 19 year old Anuradha Rathore - is studying medicine in Jodhpur Medical College. Anu has studied very hard, despite the fact that she contracted polio while young and has affected the way she walks; it has not slowed her in any other way. She won a place at Medical Collage under a reservation for students with physical disabilities. Although she failed once at school and still finds college challenging, Anu wants to be a doctor so that she can prevent other children from contracting polio. She wants to open a medical centre at her village in Jaipur, where medical treatment is free of cost and everyone has to wait in line, where no one, unless it is an emergency, can jump the queue. Bhauri Malawal, 24, is a police constable in Bikaner district, and a great fan of the famous policewoman: Kiran Bedi. Bhauri belongs to the saansi community and she felt they were always treated differently because of their caste. Bhauri grew up having to collect water from a separate well. She was married as a child but still went to school, because her father was a teacher and he wanted to make sure that Bhauri completed her education. Although she failed twice, she continued her education. Inspired by Bedi, she joined the police force and now she works at the women's desk of Panchu police station. Despite a major improvement in literacy rates in India over the past decade, the number of children who fall outside the school system remains high. Gender disparities in education persist with far more girls than boys failing to complete primary school. The national literacy rate of girls over seven years is 54 % against 75% for boys. In the Northern Hindi speaking states of India, girls' literacy rates are particularly low, ranging between 33-50%. Although lower primary schools are within one kilometre of 94% of India's population, at an average every second girl child in India has not been enrolled. The current Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme initiated by the government for universalisation of primary education is among the major initiatives to improve the literacy level.

Courtesy: http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/149526/1/, May 23, 2007

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The celebrated Polish writer and reporter, Ryszard Kapuscinski, today became the latest public figure to be "outed" as a "communist spy" in Poland. Newsweek Poland put the late writer, reckoned to be the greatest east European journalist of his generation, on the cover of this week's issue, unveiling details of his communist-era secret police file and claiming that his global travels in the 1960s and 70s were due to a bargain he struck with the communist regime to collaborate with the secret police. Kapuscinski, who died in January, traversed the globe reporting on 27 revolutions and wrote several acclaimed books on central America, Ethiopia, Iran, and the former Soviet Union. For most of his career in communist Poland he was employed by the state news agency, PAP. He is the latest prominent Pole to be "outed" in what critics call a rightwing witchhunt orchestrated by a paranoid government that sees "reds under the beds" everywhere in Poland. Defenders of the purges of alleged former communist collaborators - particularly among a younger generation of Polish conservatives - see the campaign as an essential, if belated, attempt at moral renewal to cleanse Poland of the invidious influence still wielded by a former communist elite. The rightwing government of the Kaczynski twins, president Lech and prime minister Jaroslaw, has set the country against itself through a draconian law requiring some 700,000 public employees, from politicians and civil servants to teachers and journalists, to declare in writing that they never worked for the communist secret police. Earlier this month, the constitutional court struck down most of the legislation after senior politicians such as Tadeusz Mazowiecki, the Soviet bloc's first non-communist prime minister, and Bronislaw Geremek, MEP, Solidarity founder and former foreign minister, refused to deliver signed statements. The government is now mulling its next move in its "moral revolution" and may opt to throw open the secret police archives, containing millions of files from the communist era.

Courtesy: www.books.guardian.co.uk, May 21, 2007

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Try looking for an incandescent yellow bulb here in all the houses, shops and lanes and you will not find it. This is the first village in India where all the 98 households have replaced incandescent bulbs with energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFL). This village, situated on the side of the Delhi-Jaipur highway is an important landmark in the energy-efficiency story-the calculations are not just on paper but are translating into reduced bills and substantial savings in peak-load demand. The residents are a proud lot. "The bill has been cut by half since we changed three bulbs in our house," says Sarla Narayan Singh who has got used to CFL-tourists accompanied by the local linesmen, with her house being the first in the long row of houses. Her husband has a cycle repair shop but they were among the first to switch over. In most houses, it is only CFL. In affluent houses, there is one tube light and one CFL in every room. It was the local feeder managers and linesmen who convinced the people to change. In the two transformers, the peak load has come down from 115 ampere to 70 ampere. There is a straight reduction in load of nearly 50 per cent. "Every second day, the transformer would crash. Ever since the CFLs have been introduced, the transformers are trouble-free," said Suresh Kumar, the feeder manager. The Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) began this exercise as part of the energy-saving drive. They held meetings with the panchayats. They promised to give one CFL free for every CFL sold after a tie-up with a CFL manufacturer. First, a few families got convinced. When the first bill came, those families who had replaced the bulbs saw a reduction by half in their bills. Within six months, every house had been converted. According to the electricity board officials, in the next few days, all the four villages that get their supply from the 11KV Binola feeder will be fully equipped with CFL. The DHVBN has done a study that shows the potential: Replacement of one conventional bulb by CFL by each of the 18 lakh consumers of DHBVN would translate into saving of 300 MW power. The state is grappling with a power shortage of 400-500 MW. And if they manage to replace three conventional bulbs with CFLs, the saving works out to be 900 MW. Construction of a thermal power plant of this capacity would cost Rs 4,000 crore. "This is why I feel that if I have to supply them free CFL, as a utility we still gain by saving on power at a huge level," said V K Garg, General Manager, DHVBN. He has proposed other innovative means to popularise CFL. He wants to supply the CFLs and then add a nominal installment each month to the bills. He is awaiting decision from higher authorities.

Courtesy: www.indianexpress.com, May 19, 2007

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Six thousand Indians are imprisoned in foreign countries, kept in solitary confinement for years
More than six thousand Indians are languishing in jails in various countries across the world. Most of them are kept in solitary confinement for years in extremely poor conditions. According to the details obtained from the ministry of external affairs, there are 6,277 Indians imprisoned in foreign countries. Out of that 1,116 are jailed in Saudi Arabia, 893 in Bangladesh, 825 in UAE, 791 in Singapore, 655 in Pakistan, 545 in Malaysia, 239 in UK, 194 in the United States, 106 in Kuwait, 101 in Bahrain, 100 in Slovak Republic, 57 in Italy, 50 in Lebanon, 54 in Oman, 40 in Thailand, 59 in Sri Lanka, 35 in Australia, 30 in Poland, 29 in New Zealand, 27 in the Philippines, 24 in Greece, 21 in Canada, 15 in Iran, 12 in Japan, 9 in Israel, 3 in China and 1 each in Finland, Rwanda, Romania, Sweden, Tajakistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Guyana and Kazakhstan. There are no Indian prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Argentina, Armenia, Bulgaria Cambodia, Chile, Hungary, Ireland, Korea, Nepal, Norway, Vietnam, Yemen, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Turkey and South Africa. However, the government of India has no information about the Indians imprisoned in France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Belgium and Austria.

Indians are imprisoned for different crimes in foreign countries but the majority of them have been arrested for forged passports and document-related cases. Last week six Indians were jailed in the UK for using forged passports in a bid to get to Canada. The six, all from Punjab, were about to fly to Canada from Birmingham. All the six pleaded guilty for possessing fake UK passports. A London court recommended their deportation after they had served their sentences. In the Gulf countries the punishment is very harsh. Saudi Arabia, which adheres to strict Sharia law, executes convicted murderers, rapists and drug traffickers usually by public beheading. No official figures of executions are available from the Saudi embassy in Delhi. According to media reports the kingdom executed at least 20 criminals last year. At least 35 people were executed in 2004 and 53 people the year before. Among them 22 were Indians. In South-East Asia countries like Singapore and Malaysia impose a stiff sentence for robbery. Illegal immigrants are punished with fines, a jail term up to five years or both, including caning and whipping. About 791 Indians are jailed in Singapore and 545 in Malaysia, mostly for forged passports or travel-related documents. In Pakistan, 655 Indians excluding 54 prisoners of the 1971 war are jailed, the prisoners often facing torture, forced confessions and unfair trials. The laws in the foreign countries are different from India's, which makes it difficult to deal with the growing number of Indians jailed there. At times the government finds it difficult to find out about Indian prisoners' guilt, location, or health. The MEA, the only agency to act on behalf of Indians imprisoned abroad, often seems unable to rescue the Indian prisoners. "Indian citizens are subject to the laws of the country where they are imprisoned. The government can't overrule the decisions of the local authorities," said a senior official of the ministry of external affairs. He said that the government through its missions abroad is making all possible efforts for the quick release of Indian nationals in foreign jails and is providing the necessary assistance which includes requesting speedy trials, seeking remission of sentence, seeking consular access to the prisoners, providing advice on legal matters and interacting with their relatives in India. "We always try to ensure fair treatment under the local system. But we have no real power to circumvent the local laws and customs," the official said. The problem is also that many Indians who are imprisoned in foreign countries are poor, forgotten or have no desire to publicize their cases which often results in longer terms and harsher treatment.

Courtesy: www.saharatime.com, May 19, 2007

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The impact of breaking news has changed over the years. Thanks to the growing competition among the various news channels, that are concentrating on increasing their TRP ratings rather than focusing on news of National importance.

Breaking News:
Hrithik Roshan got 12 Crores for 3 Films from AdLabs.
Abhishek Wed Aishwarya.
DON makes history in US collections.
59-year-old man was run over by an unknown Vehicle in Mumbai - Live report from our correspondent
5-year-old kid eats glasses for living - Live report from our correspondent.

Special Reports:
Watch live coverage of Hrithik Roshan getting 12 Crores for 3 Films from AdLabs
Watch live coverage of Aishwarya-Abhishek wedding
Watch live coverage of Rani being dumped by Junior AB.
Watch live coverage of Randheer Kapoor's Daughter's wedding.
Watch live coverage of Salman Sneezing in the court.
Watch live coverage of Salman's new shirt with full sleeves.
Watch live coverage of Salman's new undergarments.
Watch live coverage of Ramu makes one more flop.

These are the top headings that you can see in any news channel. Welcome to the new and fast breeding news channels in India. Don't be surprised by the amount of Bollywood masala these channels are loaded with. The channels serve nothing that pertains to the nation's interest.

Of all the news items listed above does any of the section address India, Indian economy, Indian Politics or International Politics? How many of Indians understand International and National Politics? How many of Indians understand US policy towards India? How many of Indians understand Russian Policy towards India or how many understand Chinese Policy towards India or for that matter urban/rural economics of India?

The section that raises hands can be counted with fingers.

Now, the question is why so less a number? It is simply because we Indians have never been fed with the ideal news items from our news-channels. News channels concentrate only on TRP Ratings.

Neither Abhishek Bachchan nor Hrithik Roshan will do things that can transform India. Will Aishwarya Rai do things that can make India proud of itself? News Channels need to understand what has to be fed into the community. Is it a wise decision for a responsible news channel like AajTak to show Randheer Kapoor's daughter's wedding on national news? Star News which shows nothing other than stories based on celebrity gossips is one of the top rated news channel, how?

Indians should change their mindset to make the country a vibrant nation. I am not saying that India is not growing or India is not shining. These words are to be taken on a different note. India's economy is doing well? Who said so? Why don't we list the growth rate of the 9 PSU's in the past decade? The economies of the Indian Private companies are doing well. Now that's a true statement. What happened to the government owned PSU's growth rate? We do not have enough good news reporters to analyse such reports nor are any news channels ready to invest in such research and bring it in front of the nation. Why don't the people of India care for such things?

Since 1986 India's defence sector is pumping in huge amount of money for LCA (Light Combat Aircraft) project. A lot many inventions have also been made during these times and a lot many valuable currencies spent. Any result on patents for these projects? Will the government write any patents? Will the government fund a few more million $'s and get the LCA going in a style to stabilize Indian economy. No news channels or reporters will report it. And even if they do, no one will watch it.

I am not blaming any person. It's for us, the Indians to ponder and think what is important for us. News channels and dailies are the face of a country to the external world. Reporting celebrity status and their movies do not make India shine. Celebrity news can be snippets in after an hour's news. We need to change the way news is reported.

I remember watching Doordarshan prior to the advent of private operators, once in a year breaking news was aired, news that shakes Indian community is breaking news. Breaking news aired in DD as far as I remember are as follows.

1. Indira Gandhi assassinated - (Breaking news came while watching a movie)
2. Rajeev Gandhi hit by a Sri Lankan soldier during a guard of honour ceremony (Breaking news came while watching a soap opera)
3. Mandal Commission riots (news came at night interrupting while "The world this week" was being aired.
4. Rajeev Gandhi assassinated.

News is news that shakes India. I took a cable connection and each time I switch on to watch a news channel, all I can see is BREAKING NEWS. And what does it say? Aishwarya Rai's new diamonds, AB Jr new Movie, Ramu's new Sholey, Farhan's new DON.

Now readers, it is up to you and all of us to ponder over the points mentioned and convey to our news spinners to convey something worthwhile.

Courtesy: www.merinews.com, May 17, 2007

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Yoga can cut down the frequency and lessen the intensity of migraine attacks by over 70%. A three-month study conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Rajasthan have found that a combination of certain yoga postures, breathing exercises and chants helped reduce migraine attacks substantially. At the end of the study period, the team led by Dr P J John found that yoga significantly reduced levels of cortisol (stress hormones) in the 72 subjects enrolled for the study besides improving their heart rate variability (measure of variations in the heart rate). Reduction of HRV is associated with hypertension, hemorrhagic shock and septic shock. The team has reported its findings in the latest edition of the international medical journal Headache. "Scientists have been considering serotonin, a brain chemical, to be a crucial factor for headaches. They think low serotonin levels might cause blood vessels to dilate and cause migraine. And yoga is known to improve levels of serotonin. This made us embark on the study and see whether improving serotonin level could actually reduce migraine attacks," research scholar Neha Sharma told TOI from Jaipur. John's team randomly assigned 72 migraine sufferers to one of two groups. One group received education on managing their pain by avoiding migraine triggers and making diet and lifestyle changes. The other group received yoga therapy, which included gentle yoga postures like ardhakati chakrasana, ardha chakra, shishank asana and ardha matsadrasana, kriyas like jal neti, shatkriya, kripal bharati and pranayam besides breathing practices, relaxation and meditation. Participants practised five days a week for one hour. After three months, the yoga group showed an overall improvement in the frequency and intensity of migraine attacks, whereas the comparison group showed either no change or worsened symptoms. "The average age of the study group was 20-38 years with migraine severity of 7.6 in a scale of 10. Patients who took part in a yoga therapy programme, undertaking breathing exercises, neck and shoulder exercises, sideward and forward bending postures started having headaches less often and endured less pain with each migraine attack. It also significantly improved symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression," John said. According to the team, numerous studies have explored the effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine in the treatment of migraine but there was no documented investigation of the effectiveness of yoga for migraine management.

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, May 18, 2007

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In its campaign against the smuggling of bovines to the Kashmir valley for slaughtering, two more cattle smugglers were arrested by the police this morning at Kud on the Jammu-Srinagar highway with 18 cattle. According to the police, during patrolling on the highway this morning,a police party questioned two persons,Mohammed Hussain and Yakub Din, who were moving with some cattle. During interrogation, they confessed to being bovine smugglers and taking the animals to Kashmir in the guise of nomads.The police also recovered 18 cattle from them. In the past five days, 16 cattle smugglers have been nabbed by the police.

Courtesy: www.tribuneindia.com, May 09, 2007

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Dr Harinder Singh Bedi
Heart attacks and heart failure remain among the nation's most serious health-related challenges . Recent research is providing early evidence that special cells called "stem cells" may be able to replace damaged heart muscle cells and create new vessels to supply blood. Stem cells are nature's blank slates that have the potential to become heart cells or 200 other types of specialised cells. They are one of the most tantalising mysteries in medicine. Stem cells are primitive cells with an extensive capacity for self-renewal and the ability to differentiate into multiple cell types, including heart cells, nerve cells, liver cells , skin cells and pancreatic cells. How can stem cells play a part in repairing the heart? The potential capability of stem cells to develop into new heart cells in the damaged heart is now being explored as part of a strategy to restore heart function among people who have had heart attacks or had heart failure. Researchers now know that under highly specific growth conditions in laboratory culture dishes, stem cells can be coaxed into developing as new heart cells (called CD 34+ cells) . This approach has immense advantages over heart transplant, particularly in the light of the scarcity of donor hearts available to meet the current transplantation needs. Today heart failure - the ineffective pumping of the heart caused by the loss or dysfunction of heart muscle cells -- afflicts 4.8 million people, with 400,000 new cases being reported annually. One of the major contributors to the development of this condition is a heart attack, which occurs in nearly 1.1 million people each year. It is easy to recognise that impairments of the heart and circulatory system represent a major cause of death and disability in India -- which has the dubious distinction of being the World's No 1 in heart disease. Despite advances in interventional procedures, mechanical and electrical assistance devices, drug therapy and organ transplantation, more than half of the patients with heart failure die within five years. Lives can be saved by using replacement cells for dead or impaired cells so that the weakened heart muscle regains its pumping power.

Sources of Stem Cells: Among the cells being evaluated for transplantation are foetal cardiomyocytes, embryonal stem cells and adult autologous stem cells including bone marrow cells and skeletal myoblasts. Stem Cells can yield heart valves: Scientists for the first time have grown human heart valves using stem cells from the fluid that cushions babies in the womb, offering an approach that may be used to repair defective hearts. The idea is to create new valves in the laboratory while a pregnancy progresses and have them ready to implant in a baby with heart defects after it is born. One per cent of all newborns, or more than one million babies born worldwide each year, have heart problems. Such defects kill more babies in the first year of life than any other birth defects. Defects in heart valves can be detected during pregnancy with ultrasound tests. Conventional procedures to fix faulty heart valves have drawbacks. Artificial valves are prone to blood clots, and patients must take anti-clotting drugs for life. Valves from human cadavers or animals can deteriorate, requiring repeated open-heart surgeries to replace them. That is especially true in children because such valves do not grow along with the body. Valves made from the patient's own cells are living tissue and might be able to grow with the patient. Foetal stem cells are isolated from the fluid, cultured in a laboratory dish, then placed on a mold and allowed to grow into a valve in four to six weeks. This research would revolutionise the care for people with valve disease. About 250,000 patients worldwide undergo surgery to replace heart parts each year.

Courtesy: www.tribuneindia.com, May 09, 2007

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A team of doctors at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here have performed what is said to be the world's first successful simultaneous liver and kidney transplant from two live donors on a 15-year-old boy diagnosed with primary hyperoxaluria. The boy, Ganesh Nehru, is now well and ready to be discharged from the hospital just three weeks after the path-breaking surgery. According to medical experts, in primary hyperoxaluria patients the liver lacks an enzyme called alanine-glyoxylate aminotransferase that results in accumulation of (calcium) oxalate crystals in the body resulting in kidney failure and death by the second or third decade of life. A timely dual liver and kidney transplant is the only way to save such patients. Ganesh underwent a marathon 18-hour surgical procedure on April 17. It involved a well-knit multidisciplinary team of more than 50 doctors and paramedical staff from 14 departments of the hospital. Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, transplant surgeon A. S. Soin, the doctor in charge of the case at the hospital, said: "Ganesh's mother Hemlata donated one of her kidneys and her brother Mohan Ram donated half of his liver to Ganesh for this life-saving dual transplant.'' "The first challenge of the operation was to select two suitable donors -- one each for the kidney and liver in a way that Ganesh and both his donors were well matched. We have been lucky to find these donors well in time for our patient. Also, the surgery had to be timed like clockwork since it involved operating on three persons simultaneously in three different operation theatres. Ganesh was first given his new liver and later the kidney,'' said Dr. Soin Ganesh, who wants to become an engineer when he grows up, seemed happy and even chatty on Tuesday afternoon as he answered questions about his life and dreams. Post-surgery now, according to doctors, Ganesh should be able to lead a near normal life, though he will need to be on medicines to prevent rejection of the new organs. Dr. Neelam Mohan, paediatric hepatologist at the hospital, said: "Ganesh, who stays with his parents in California in the U.S., was on a visit to Tirupati last year when he started vomiting and needed medical attention. Later medical examinations showed that he was afflicted with primary hyperoxaluria. The family approached us with the case and we told them that a combined surgery was the boy's only chance at survival.'' Preparations for the surgery - which cost the family Rs. 19 lakh -- began six weeks in advance. "We had to clear the extensive oxalate deposit in his body before putting in the new liver and kidney. If this was not done, the oxalate could have blocked the new kidney and rendered it useless within a day or two of the transplant,'' said Dr. Dinesh Khullar, senior nephrologist at the hospital. Ganesh is now all set to return home. "I plan to go home to the U.S. as soon as I can. I feel great!'' said the teenager sitting alongside his mother and uncle.

Courtesy: www.hindu.com, May 09, 2007

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To bridge the gap between the mighty police and the common man, yoga has turned out to be the medium. The fitness mantra has got the district police chief mingling with common people. Thanks to the efforts of an additional reader to the district police chief, SSP Ram Singh not only attended yoga classes but also told people about the finer details of yoga, terming it as the best medium to interact with people in a very conducive atmosphere. Singh, attending the yoga camp organised by Yadvinder Singh, his additional reader and a disciple of Baba Ramdev at Shishu Vatika, displayed his yoga skills, much to the amusement of the general public. He told the gathering that yoga not only builds high esteem, it is also very useful for policemen as it comes in handy in bringing the disciplined forces closer to the public. Singh said the system could be a great help in weaning policemen away from intoxicants. He called upon the instructor Yadvinder to carry on with his mission and involve all policemen in this endeavour. Apart from the SSP, SP(D) Sukhpal Singh, DSP Baljit Singh Dhillon and Gamdoor Singh and Jaswinder Singh, SHOs of Joga and Bhikhi respectively, along with police hospital doctor Suresh Singhal and Dr Sanjiv Kumar also got tips to keep the body fit even in stressful moments. Trainer Yadwinder, who has been teaching yoga techniques for more than a year, said many residents and policemen have benefited immensely by regularly practising yoga. He said efforts are being made to get Baba Ramdev to visit Mansa soon.

Courtesy: www.zeenews.com, May 7, 2007

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A mini-continent that was formerly joined to India has been discovered deep under the southern oceans by the world's most powerful ice research vessel, said German scientists. They spoke as the ship, the Polarstern, was due to dock on Saturday in its homeport of Bremerhaven, Germany after a 19-month research voyage to Antarctica. The ninth phase of the voyage was a study of the undersea Kerguelen Plateau, which was orphaned after the ancient continents separated, with India drifting away from Antarctica. The findings suggest that the plateau, about the size of Germany and France combined, is just the tip of a bigger piece of lost continental crust, the scientists said on Friday. Geophysicists did seismic and magnetic surveys to explore the gap between the little-understood plateau and East Antarctica, the Alfred Wegener Institute of polar research in Bremerhaven said. "This plateau was created by a massive volcanic eruption shortly after India and Antarctica separated about 120 million years ago to form the Indian Ocean," said geophysicist Karsten Gohl. "For the first time, we have been able to see how the succession of volcanic deposits at the southern side of the Kerguel