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In Land-Locked Bhutan, Five New Species Of Fish Have Been Discovered https://bhutantimes.com/article/in-land-locked-bhutan-five-new-species-of-fish-are-discovered-recently By Phurpa Lhamo | Kuensel Five new fish species – parachiloglanis drukyulensis, parachiloglanis benjii, parachiloglanis dangmechhuensis, exostoma mangdechhuensis and creteuchiloglanis bumdelingensis which belong to the torrent catfish group, were discovered through a study conducted by Ryan J Thoni, a PhD candidate from Saint Louis University, USA and DB Gurung (PhD) Professor at the College of Natural Resources. Although the new species are endemic to Bhutan today, since many northeast Indian states such as Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh share similar geophysical characteristics, it is possible that some of the species may also be found in the neighbouring states of India as well, DB Gurung said. Reasons behind the names of the five new fish species He said that to celebrate Bhutan’s commitment to nature conse...

For more than three decades, Tashi Wangdi has been fixing fractures and sprained joints in Trashigang. http://www.bhutanjournalist.com/journalist/     By Staff Reporter |Business Bhutan) Yeshi Tsheyang Zam is your typical 11-year-old. She likes to read, watch TV and play video games and basketball in her free time. Her favourite board game is monopoly and she collects currencies from different countries. Yet this young girl already has an achievement which very few can boast of at her age. Yeshi is the author of a charming little book ‘Khakey’. If the neighbour fails to stop the delivery or does not realise that a Khakey has been placed in their house before the child has run away, they owe the child’s family a meal made with the same ingredients as those in the snowball the next day.  However, if the neighbour realises what is happening in time or catches the child as he or she is running away, they smear soot on the child’s face, and the kid’s family then owes the...

https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/news/uric-acid-test-all-you-need-piece-paper-1646680 You may soon be able to check your blood's uric acid level while sitting in the comfort of your own home! One may no longer have go to a pathology laboratory or give a blood sample for the diagnosis. Just a piece of specialised paper is all that would be needed to gauge the level of uric acid in your body or even your kidney condition.  A team of researchers at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology has invented such a paper, making checking uric acid levels much easier. All one needs to do is put a drop of urine on the specialised paper -- a simple, low-cost, instantaneous and user-friendly paper based analytical device (PAD) for the qualitative and quantitative detection of uric acid in urine -- and the colour of the paper will tell the rest. The invention is still in the early development phase but the inventors have already applied for a patent for it. Mohidus Samad Kha...

Workers are combing Fuvahmulah’s beach by hand in an effort to clean up several thousand tonnes of aggregate dumped on the island’s reef in a historic environmental disaster, as the EPA remains tightlipped on the extent of the damage. On the island of Fuvahmulah, along a stretch of pristine beach blackened by construction aggregate, workers are sifting through rocks and sand by hand in an effort to remove several thousands of tonnes of crushed rock dumped by a ship that ran aground on the island’s treacherous reef last August. Since the painstaking task began two weeks ago, some 30 workers have only managed to remove 16 bags of the rock pieces. Nearly 5000 tonnes of rock pieces and river sand were controversially dumped on the southern island’s reef in September with the Environmental Protection Agency’s approval in a desperate bid to save the sinking cargo ship, which had collided with the reef amid stormy weather. With the reef clean up yet to begin, reportedly because of c...

S. Gopikrishna Warrier , January 22, 2016 https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/2016/01/22/indian-scientists-develop-low-cost-arsenic-water-filter/ Visit  also,   http://goodnewspool.blogspot.com/2018/10/cleaning-poisonous-arsenic-in-drinking.html  --Using nanotechnology, scientists at IIT-M have developed an effective and affordable arsenic filter to combat the growing problem of groundwater pollution While historians continue to debate whether arsenic toxicity killed Napoleon Bonaparte,  65 million people in Asia  are facing day-to-day health risks due to arsenic contamination of their drinking water. Of this, an estimated 35 million people are in Bangladesh, five million in India and 550,000 in Nepal. Also emerging is a picture of increasing contamination in the Indus delta in Pakistan. Now, help could be at hand with a team of scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M) developing Amrit, a low-cost arsenic filter using nano-f...

September 17, 2018, 12:00 pm It was wonderful for me to meet India’s Minister for Women and Child Development and internationally acclaimed animal rights activist, Maneka Gandhi, again at her Ministry at the Shastri Bhavan in New Delhi. I met her last in 1998 and travelled with her to her constituency in Pilibhit. A rare opportunity for a writer to see the inside of Indian politics. That too with a Gandhi of India. I lost touch with her thereafter and was able to make connections again thanks to the Editor of the Island, my friend Prabath Sahabandu. I wanted Maneka’s help to Free Bandula the Elephant chained at the Zoo in Dehiwela since he was just three years old. I knew Maneka would help Sri Lankan and other animal lovers all over the world, as an environmentalist and animal rights leader in India who has earned international awards and worldwide acclaim. Maneka started the organisation People for Animals in 1992. It is the largest organisation for anima...

http://www.dailynews.lk/ 2018/09/18/ local/ 162864/ boost-ornamental-fish-breeding An export-oriented countrywide programme to promote ornamental fish breeding will be launched soon. This is because ornamental fish has a big international demand, Fisheries, Aquatic Resources Development and Rural Economy State Minister Dilip Wedaarachchi said. It has also been planned to set up exporters' and ornamental fish export zones at district level to facilitate this programme, he said. The State Minister was addressing a workshop at the National Aquaculture Development Authority, recently, to prepare a strategic plan for the promotion of ornamental fish breeding industry. --

https://en.sun.mv/ 50180 https://maldivesindependent.com/environment/ 3 d-printing-technology-to-aid-coral-growth-in-maldives- 140073 The world’s largest and the Maldives first 3D-printed reef was installed by a resort at the weekend, with the technology being used to help protect coral reefs. The artificial reef, assembled with hundreds of ceramic and concrete modules, was submerged in seven metres of water in a part of the lagoon where Summer Island  Maldives  is building a new coral reef ecosystem. Coral reefs are under threat from climate change. In 2016 a particularly strong El Nino weather event, which caused sea temperatures to spike, devastated coral reefs across large parts of the Maldives. Climate change makes these coral ‘bleaching’ events increasingly likely and severe. The project started in Australia, where industrial designer Alex Goad of Reef Design Lab used computing modelling to design reef structures similar to those found naturally in the Ma...

July 7, 2018 0 A retired colonel, Abdul Alim aged 70 could learn calligraphy and has recently received his certificate.  Retired Col. Abdul Alim told The Kabul Times I had been working as an armed forces officer for forty years. He added I had worked in Nangarhar, Kunar, Laghman and many other provinces as first deputy of the national security department. “I have always worked with pen, that is why my friends have always encouraged me that I have a nice handwriting, a move caused me to professionally and technically start learning calligraphy,” he said. He said I have always thought about getting education and knowledge, adding that is why I got enrolled in Maimanagi Gallery and learned calligraphy in two years. He said nothing was easy if efforts are not made.  He added since I have received my certificates decided to teach calligraphy to my sons, daughters, grandsons and granddaughters as well as to those willing to voluntarily learn this art.  About his wor...

DHAKA:   ( A research team of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) claimed they have developed a technology that can detect cancer by analyzing blood samples just within five minutes. The SUST team also claimed the technology, first of its kind in the world, uses Nonlinear Optics to detect cancer quickly. It is also very cost effective. The revelation was made in a press conference organized by Education Ministry and University Grant Commission (UGC) in city’s International Mother Language Institute on Wednesday (September 5). At the press conference, SUST Physics Department professor and also chief researcher of the team Dr. Yasmeen Haque said using this technology cancer detection will cost only Tk 500. However, it will take a year to finalize the technology for usage.  Under this method, no biomarker will be needed to detect cancer. So cost will be minimized to around Tk 500 from Tk 10,000. Besides, the regular biochemical process takes 7-8 days f...

The government made the use of jute bags compulsory for the packaging of poultry and fish feeds in order to facilitate jute industries and protect the environment. For a total of 19 products, including poultry and fish feed, have been made it compulsory to use jute bags from onwards, says Ministry of Textiles and Jute. A circular, issued on August 6, has been published on Sunday (August 12). Six commodities including paddy, maize, staple rice, wheat, fertilizers and sugar were brought under it, says the Ministry. Besides, 11 agricultural items -- including flour, potato, pulse, onion, also come under it. (banglanews24.com )  --

August 27, 2018   What does a yeti look like? Who has seen one? Is it still around, in this day and age, to spook us in the dark edges of the deep forests? But yeti continues to live on in the collective belief of the mountain people. In the olden days when there weren’t modern motor roads, people had to cross high mountains and deep ravines. While doing so, they did not have to cross path with the dreaded mythical creature. The belief was, and is, that if one saw a yeti that would be the end of one’s life. Because no one has seen a yeti or no one who saw one has lived to tell the tale, the belief is that one must run uphill if one came across a male yeti. That is because yeti’s long and profuse hair would impede his run. If met with a female yeti, running downhill would have her engaged with her huge and sagging breasts. Daniel C Taylor who recently wrote a book about yeti titled Yeti, The Ecology of a Mystery, said that he had been working on the puzzle for over 60 ye...

For students of Baarali village in Udupi district’s Brahmavar taluk, Rajaram is not just their science and mathematics teacher but also the one person, who ensured that they did not drop out of school. The students in Baarali and surrounding villages began dropping out of the Baarali Government Higher Primary School over a year ago as the children had to trek through 3-km of forest area to reach the school. “There are no roads from the houses of the children to the school. There is a mud path through the forest and most of the girl students began dropping out as their families were scared of allowing their children to walk for a total of 6 km to and from school,” Rajaram says. Saddened by the state of affairs, Rajaram reached out to one of the school’s former students – Vijay Hegde, who runs a property management company in Bengaluru. “The children were dropping out quickly and with the head count in our school falling low, we were at the threat of shutting down too. One e...

A fisherman from Faafu Dharanbooddhoo island on Saturday caught a six-foot-long fish not normally found in the Maldives, local media reported. Ahmed Faruhadh said he was shocked when he found the six-foot, three-inch long ribbon fish. It weighed five kilos. “I have never seen this kind of fish. It is very thin and flat. I am completely shocked to see it,” he was quoted as saying by  Mihaaru . Another islander said the fish was tasty but had very thick skin. The creature was displayed to the people of Dharanboodhoo before they all had a bite of it. A marine research centre official told  Mihaaru  that ribbon fish were rare in the Maldives and that they usually lived deep in the ocean. “What we have found in the Maldives is the largest type of ribbon fish in the world,” the official was quoted as saying. Full details are available at the link below: Source URL:    Maldives Independent

https://www.deccanherald.com/content/628663/potential-breast-cancer-drug-identified.html  S cientists, including an Indian-American researcher, have identified a molecule that can help treat breast cancer, giving hope to patients who have become resistant to traditional therapies. The first-in-class molecule shuts down oestrogen-sensitive breast cancer in a new way, PTI reported quoting the researchers said. First-in-class drugs are those that work by a unique mechanism - in this case a molecule that targets a protein on the oestrogen receptor of tumour cells. The potential drug offers hope for patients whose breast cancer has become resistant to traditional therapies. "This is a fundamentally different, new class of agents for oestrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer," said Ganesh Raj, professor at the University of Texas Southwestern (UT Southwestern) Simmons Cancer Center. "Its unique mechanism of action overcomes the limitations of current therapies," Ra...

September 1, 2018 0 http://www.thekabultimes.gov.af/2018/09/01/a-rare-cross-border-alliance-to-save-3-year-old-afghan-girl/ In a heart-warming tale of compassion and cross-border harmony, three-year-old baby Hadia Nesari, an Afghanistan national, was saved by the diligence of Dr. Huma Cheema, a Pakistan-based Paediatric Hepatologist and the liver transplant team at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, comprising of Dr Neerav Goyal, Dr. Anupam Sibal, Dr Shishir Parikh, Dr. Arun Venuthuvimilli, Dr. Vaibhav Kumar, Dr. Namit Jerath, Dr. Vidyut Bhatia, Dr. Hitendra Garg and Dr. Smita Malhotra. Dr. Huma said, “Hadia had been unwell in Afghanistan for some time and was referred to my department at Children’s Hospital, Lahore. We admitted her in a seriously ill condition. She had contracted chronic liver disease of unknown cause and despite our best efforts, her disease became severe and the organ became cirrhotic. Essentially, her liver was failing. In the end, th...

https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/alumnus-to-donate-1-million-to-iit-kharagpur-to-set-up-academy-of-leadership/story-joJ3IE44DOS0biOs4AaBqJ.html Partha S Ghosh, an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT–Kgp) has promised to donate US dollar 1 million to the institute for the setting up of an Academy of Leadership, which will be India’s first of its kind, IIT-Kgp authorities announced on Wednesday. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in this regard on October 2. Ghosh, former partner at McKinsey & Company and a management strategist and philanthropist, is presently professor at Tufts University. The “Partha S Ghosh Academy of Leadership intends to develop innovative programmes combining the core curricula in science and engineering disciplines with philosophy, reasoning, and liberal arts,” IIT–Kgp authorities said. “This is to be based not only on scientific and technical training, but the teachings of ancient philosophies, reasoning, intui...

https://indianexpress.com/article/parenting/learning/indian-prince-bodhidharma-invented-kung-fu-5385830/   (Source: Wikimedia Commons)   By Archana Garodia Gupta and Shruti Garodia In the 5th (or 6th) century AD, a prince lived in South India (perhaps a Pallava?). His brothers conspired against him and took away his throne. This prince then gave up royal life and became a Buddhist monk called Bodhidharma. He went to live with his guru for many years, who commanded him to go north and spread the word of Buddhism. When his teacher died, Bodhidharma dutifully set off, walking right up to China. The legend goes that his nephew, now the king, thoughtfully sent ahead carrier pigeons, asking the people of China to take care of him. When Bodhidharma finally arrived in China, the people, who had been notified by the pigeons, flocked to hear him. Emperor Wu, who ruled over the southern bit of China, invited Bodhidharma to come to his palace and asked him, “I have built many ...