A group of Indian scientists has decried a Union government agency’s invocation of experiments by physicists at Gujarat’s Saurashtra University to claim cow dung can shield people from radiation.
The experiments purportedly showed that cow-dung cakes partially blocked radiation from radioactive caesium. The Rashtriya Kamadhenu Aayog, a unit under the Union fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying ministry and tasked with cow conservation, has cited these findings to support a claim made last October by its chairman, Vallabhbhai Kathiria, about cow dung being “anti-radiation”.
The scientists said on Monday that the experiments represent a “classic example” of a study designed to reach a predetermined conclusion, and that they are “sad to see” physics teachers in a state university willing to indulge in pseudoscience.
India begins COVID-19 vaccination amid trial allegations thelancet.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thelancet.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
It is these extreme confinement effects that ‘enables us to do chemistry that we can’t do in traditional ways’, says Angela Grommet from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel who recently wrote a review
2 on the topic. After 35 years of research, chemists are now starting to unlock the potential of confinement by designing molecular cages that fold up long molecules into huge macrocycles, or creating cavities that can separate deuterium from hydrogen. In the future, confined spaces could rival enzymes in their ability to catalyse reactions or protect unstable species, turning them into useful reagents.
It all started with the discovery of carcerands more than three decades ago. Donald Cram wanted to take the chemistry of crown ethers – flat, circular molecules that can capture individual metal atoms on their inside – into the third dimension. In 1985, he functionalised big cyclic molecules so pairs of them could be brought together to form a capsule. Cram called the
Tirupati pays tributes to cancer expert
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A file photo of cancer expert Dr. V. Shanta being felicitated by IISER Tirupati Director K.N. Ganesh during her visit to the campus in Tirupati in 2019.
The academic hub of Tirupati paid tributes to veteran cancer expert V. Shanta, who died in Chennai on Tuesday.
Dr. Shanta’s last visit to Tirupati was in 2019, when she came to deliver a special address at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER Tirupati) campus on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
“Extremely hard working and dedicated lady”, IISER Director K.N. Ganesh said while paying tributes to her. Recalling her scintillating and thought-provoking lecture delivered to their students two years back, Dr. Ganesh observed that her talk was the first in the series of lectures planned with famous women scientists on that day every year, as part of the institute’s goal of inspiring Gen-X girls to take up a
A research team from India has developed SkinBug, an artificial intelligence tool which can predict how specific molecules in cosmetics will react to skin microbes and potentially harm the user.