Must Read News Articles – April 8, 2018

Archives

GS: 1

Society and women related issues:

No more use and throw?(The Hindu  Opinion)

The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2015-16 found that about 57.6% of Indian women use disposable napkins.

GS: 2

International relations:

Nepal for ties based on mutual respect(The Hindu)

Placing barriers on movement of goods and people is incompatible with the modern era, said Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli on Saturday, in an indirect reference to the economic blockade of his country, which lasted for several months during 2015-16.

GS: 3

Environment:

‘Demolish illegal resorts in elephant corridor’(The Hindu)

All hotels and resorts constructed in brazen violation of forest, building and panchayat Acts in the country’s most critical elephant corridor in The Nilgiris should be sealed and demolished, according to a note submitted by A.D.N Rao, amicus curiae, in the Supreme Court.

CSMCRI uses seaweed to remove lead, chromium and dyes from wastewater(The Hindu )

Removing toxic metals such as lead and chromium and certain dyes from industrial wastewater much more effectively has become possible thanks to the work of Indian researchers. Researchers at CSIR-Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavanagar, Gujarat have synthesised a graphene–iron sulphide nanocomposite to remove these toxic materials from wastewater.

Tough terrain saves Sikkim’s high-altitude forests(The  Hindu)

Being higher and out of reach is probably saving Sikkim’s high-altitude tropical forests. Scientists find that land-use patterns changed more drastically in the more-accessible lower regions, causing a staggering 16% decline in primary broadleaved forest cover in the Sikkim Himalaya.

Science and Technology:

Tackling a silent killer(The Hindu Opinion)

The civil administration in Mumbai firmly believes that ‘prevention is better than cure’ and is working on a plan to begin scouting for persons with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). These are people who harbour the TB-causing bacteria within, where it can lie dormant. While most never get sick, it can, without warning, manifest as disease in others.

People-centred health care(The Hindu Opinion)

India adds the most number of TB patients every year — 2.9 million, or 27% of the world’s total. Worse, it is also home to the largest number of TB patients who are resistant to multiple drugs commonly used to treat the disease.

Transforming yeast to become plant-like and produce medicines(The Hindu)

Plants are rich sources of medicines and drugs. This has been known since we humans started living together in communities. (Indeed, it appears that even chimpanzees chose to pick and eat specific plants as medicines).

Initial step to treat breast, prostate cancer(The Hindu)

By using a smartly designed, customised E. coli vector, researchers at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar have successfully produced a large quantity (15 mg/ml) of a biologically active protein (human tousled-like kinase-1b or TLK1b) in pure form.

Healing wounds with leather, meat waste(The Hindu)

Protein extracted from discarded animal tissues can now be put to better use — wound healing and human tissue engineering. This waste-to-wealth feat was demonstrated by researchers from the Chennai-based CSIR-Central Leather Research Institute (CSIR-CLRI).