10th Feb

Completed morning program. Spent the day reading magazines and newspapers.
Retired to sleep at 10.15 pm

News of the day :  "NASA's Curiosity rover gets first Mars rock samples"
"NASA's Curiosity rover has become the first spacecraft ever to drill into a Martian rock and collect stone powder samples for further study, NASA said.

The rover, which landed on the red planet in August 2012, used a drill carried at the end of its robotic arm to bore into the rock and collect a sample from its interior.

The rock is believed to hold evidence about long-gone wet environments.

"The most advanced planetary robot ever designed is now a fully operating analytical laboratory on Mars," said John Grunsfeld, NASA associate administrator for the agency's Science Mission Directorate.

"This is the biggest milestone accomplishment for the Curiosity team since the sky-crane landing last August."

Curiosity will soon use its laboratory equipment to analyse rock powder collected by the drill.

Small portions of the sample will be processed by the rover's Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) instrument and the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument.

Curiosity landed safely in the Gale Crater for a two-year mission to determine if life exists now or has in the past, to characterise the climate and geology, and prepare for future human exploration on Mars." The Times of India, dt,10.02.2013 on line

9th Feb.

Completed morning program. Spent the day reading magazines and newspapers. Attended the cremation  of late VP Chaudhury, a resident of the Society.
Retired to sleep at 10.15 pm.
News of the day : "China's economy shows no fear of Year of Snake"

"China bids farewell to the luckiest year of its zodiac, the Dragon, and ushers in the Year of the Snake, associated with fear and bad tidings.

But its economy is starting the new year on an upswing, if last month’s trade data is any indication.

Exports grew a robust 25 per cent year-on-year in January and imports performed similarly well, up 28.8 per cent, according to data released Friday on the last working day before the country’s biggest holiday of the year. The country’s trade surplus is also up, 7.7 per cent year-on-year to $29.2-billion in January." The Globe and Mail dt.09.02.2013 on line

8th Feb

Completed morning program. Visited the Supreme Court. Met Pravesh in his office. In  chamber from 3 to 4.30 pm.
Retired to sleep at 11.15 pm.

7th Feb.

Completed morning program. In chamber from  1.30 to 3.30 pm.
Retired to sleep at 11 pm. 

6th Feb

Could not adhere to morning program..Attended "National Conference on Police Reforms", organized by Foundation for Peace, Harmony and Good Governance"  at India  Habitate Center.from 9.45 am to 6 pm.. In between spent an hour in chamber after  lunch break. Also attended marriage and reception of Dadwals'son, our neighbor, in the block at Silver Oak Resorts on Rohatak road, New Delhi..
Retired to sleep at 1.10 am of 7th Jan.

News of the day :"Link found between pesticides and type-2 diabetes"
"Pesticides in food, air and water may be directly linked with the development of type 2 diabetes, regardless of a person's age, gender or body mass index, a new Spanish research study has found. 

These substances tend to concentrate in body fat, and they might be one of the reasons why obese people are more likely to develop diabetes, since the greater the fat, the higher the pesticide concentrations in the body, researchers from the University of Granada found. 
Researchers demonstrate that people with higher concentrations of DDE - the main metabolite in the pesticide DDT - are four times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than other people, the journal Environmental Research reports. 

In addition, the risk of type 2 diabetes is also associated with exposure to I-HCH (beta-Hexachlorocyclohexane), which is present in the formula of the pesticide Lindano, according to a Granada statement. 

Researchers analyzed concentrations of a specific group of pesticides in the adipose tissue of 386 adult subjects at San Cecilio hospital, Granada, and Santa Ana hospital, Motril, Spain.

Granada researcher Juan Pedro Arrebola said: "Human adipose tissue (fat) acts as an energy reservoir and has an important metabolic function. However, adipose tissue can store potentially harmful substances, such as persistent organic pollutants (COPs-pesticides)." 

COPs are a group of chemicals with diverse characteristics which are present in pesticides, industrial waste and building material. These compounds penetrate the body mainly through food, but also through air or the skin. 

COPs are a group of chemicals with diverse characteristics which are present in pesticides, industrial waste and building material. These compounds penetrate the body mainly through food, but also through air or the skin. 

The prevalence of diabetes in the world has significantly increased in the last decades. It is estimated that by 2030, 4.4 per cent of the world population will live with this metabolic disorder.

COPs are a group of chemicals with diverse characteristics which are present in pesticides, industrial waste and building material. These compounds penetrate the body mainly through food, but also through air or the skin. 

The prevalence of diabetes in the world has significantly increased in the last decades. It is estimated that by 2030, 4.4 per cent of the world population will live with this metabolic disorder."

TOI dt. 06.02.2013 on line

5th Feb

Completed morning program. Visited CGHS and CGO complex. In chamber from 1.15 to 4.45 pm. Venita attended 'Sangeet' in the neighbor's house in connection with their son's marriage.
Retired to sleep at 11 pm.

4th Feb

Completed morning program..It drizzled in the morning. Venita visited RML hospital for consultation. Visited CGHS. In chamber from 1.30 to 3.45 pm.
Retired to sleep at 10 pm

3rd Feb

Completed morning program. Attended cremation of late BD Sharma.
Retired to sleep at 10.45 pm. 

2nd Feb

Completed morning program. Spent the day reading magazines and newspapers. Sh BD Sharma, a retired ACP of Delhi Police, less than 70 years old , died at about 11 am. He was a neighbor. He was otherwise quite well. It happened suddenly.
Retired to sleep at 10.45 pm.

News of the day : "Zebrafish stem cells could heal human retinas"

"Stem cells from zebrafish, the staple of genetic research, could regenerate damaged cones in retinas and restore eyesight to people.

Rods and cones in the eyes are the most important photoreceptors. In humans, rods provide night vision, while cones offer a full-colour look at the world during the day.

It was not known, says University of Alberta researcher Ted Allison, whether stem cells could be instructed to only replace the cones in its retina. This could have important implications for human eyesight, the journal Public Library of Science ONE reports.

Almost all success in regenerating photoreceptor cells to date had been limited to rods, not cones. Most previous experiments were conducted on nocturnal rodents, animals that require good night vision and have far more rods than cones, according to an Alberta statement.

“This is the first time in an animal research model that stem cells have only repaired damaged cones,” said Allison. “For people with damaged eyesight, repairing the cones is most important because it would restore day-time colour vision.

Researchers say this shows some hope for stem cell therapy that could regenerate damaged cones in people, especially in the cone-rich regions of the retina that provide daytime/colour vision.

Allison says the next step for his team is to identify the particular gene in zebrafish that activates repair of damaged cones."The Hindu, dt. 02.02.2013 on line.

1st Feb

Completed morning program. In chamber from 12.30 to 4.30 pm.
Retired  to sleep at 10.45 pm.