Yearly Archives: 2024

Ayurveda, Angula & shlokas find mention in new NEP-inspired NCERT Class 6 science textbook

New Delhi: Students of Class 6 are set to study topics based on India’s past scientific marvels as part of their science curriculum. These include Sanskrit shlokas, the ancient measurement system ‘Angula’ (finger breadth), Ayurveda, regional stories associated with stars in constellations, and achievements of Indian scientists, among other facts. 
The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) released this year a new Class 6 science textbook along with books for other subjects. 
The new Class 6 science textbook—Curiosity—has been written keeping in mind the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the new National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023, NCERT director Dinesh Prasad Saklani says in the foreword. 

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Saklani adds, “The content seamlessly weaves together concepts from physics, chemistry, biology, and earth science, along with cross-cutting themes like environmental education, value education, inclusive education, and Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS). The textbook aims to engage learners through an integrated approach by including multiple activities and thoughtful use of technology.”NEP 2020 and NCF-SE 2023 emphasise that the school curriculum should be “rooted in the Indian and local context and ethos”.Curiosity has 12 chapters, three of which begin with Sanskrit teachings on a healthy body, diversity and a Sanskrit treatise on alchemy. One chapter starts with a quote by Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar on water and rainfall, and another begins with a saying by 15th century Indian mystic poet Kabir Das. In the third chapter, annena jātāni jīvanti—a quote from the Taittiriya Upanishad—has been included as the ‘thought of the day’.
A quote from the Taittiriya Upanishad in chapter 3 | By special arrangement
School teachers ThePrint spoke to confirmed that the previous Class 6 science textbook did not delve much on ancient knowledge systems, and were mostly limited to social sciences.“This marks the first time a science book has referenced the ancient Indian knowledge system. And it is good that it has not replaced the modern content. It (ancient knowledge system) has just been incorporated with it (modern content),” said a science teacher at a private school in Delhi who did not wish to be named.
Also Read: Meghalaya university which grew from 6 to 6,000 students sees dip in enrollments after Sarma’s attack
Angula to Ayurveda 
In its fifth chapter, which is on measurements, Curiosity mentions how India has a rich history of measurement systems that dates back to ancient times. It mentions Angula, dhanusa (an ancient Indian measure of length equivalent to four hands), and yojana (a Vedic measure of distance that is exactly equal to 7.64 miles).The chapter also explains how measurement systems were mentioned in ancient Indian  literature and were used in architecture, town planning and to measure artefacts.
“The angula is still used by traditional craftspeople like carpenters and tailors. Several objects with ruled markings which could be scales have been excavated from sites of the Harappan Civilisation,” the book says.Mention of ancient measurement systems in Chapter 5 of NCERT’s new Class 6 science textbook | By special arrangement
At several places, Curiosity carries references to Ayurveda. The ninth chapter—Methods of Separation in Everyday Life—says that in the traditional Indian system of holistic health and medicine called Ayurveda, herbs or parts of plants are prescribed as remedies. “These ingredients like roots, leaves, flowers or seeds of various medicinal plants are often dried in the shade. This practice facilitates the evaporation of excess water, leaving behind the important part of the medicine.”The sixth chapter talks about how a classification system of grouping things was mentioned in Ayurveda, and includes a shloka that explains properties used to describe all physical matters in Ayurveda. The properties include guru (heavy), manda (slow), hima (cold) and mridu (soft), among others.Chapter 6 of Curiosity mentions Ayurveda | By special arrangement
Regional and Sanskrit names of stars and planets
In the 12th chapter—Beyond Earth—the textbook mentions that in Indian astronomy, the term nakshatra is used to denote either a certain star or a group of stars, such as Ardr (Betelgeuse star in Orion constellation) and Krittika (a group of stars called Pleiades in Taurus constellation). Aldebaran, a star in Taurus, is known as Rohini in Sanskrit. 
The chapter also includes ancient names that have been used across India for the planets visible to the naked eye. Examples include Budha (Mercury), Shukra (Venus), Prithvi (Earth), Mangala (Mars), Brihaspati or Guru (Jupiter) and Shani (Saturn).Curiosity’s chapter 6 talks about ancient Indian astronomy | By special arrangement
Regional stories associated with stars in the constellations are also part of the book. “For example, the four stars in the Big Dipper that approximately form a rectangle, are viewed by tribes in Central India as the ‘grandmother’s cot’ with the three thieves (other three stars) stealing it. Fishermen along the Konkan coast imagine the four stars as a boat, with the last three stars as the neck of the boat,” the 12th chapter says.It adds that in Sanskrit and a few other Indian languages, a comet is called Dhumaketu. “Various tribes in India also call it Pucchya-Taro (star with a tail) or Zendya-Taro (star like a flag).”Introducing children to India’s rich knowledge is a welcoming idea, Anand Prakash, assistant professor of chemistry in Delhi University, told ThePrint. “It is good that children should know the language and words used by people in rural India even now. People in the village use Shukra and budha instead of Venus and Mercury, respectively. However, while including Indian context, the accuracy and relevance should also be kept in mind.”
Indian scientists and their contributions 
Curiosity also mentions Indian scientist Coluthur Gopalan, who is credited with initiating nutrition research in India. “He led surveys on the nutritional status of the Indian population, identifying widespread deficiencies in protein, energy, and other food components. This led to the implementation of the Mid Day Meal Programme in 2002, now a PM POSHAN initiative, to provide balanced food in the government-run and government-aided schools of our country,” it reads.The book talks about Indian plant physiologist and physicist Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, explaining his contributions in building a machine known as a crescograph, which records how plants respond to stimuli such as light, heat, electricity and gravity. “With this machine, he could measure how fast plants grow. He also showed that plants can sense and respond to stimuli.”(Edited by Radifah Kabir)
Also read: UK’s University of Southampton is coming to Gurugram, 1st foreign university in India under UGC

A fisherman’s trash, a scientist’s treasure

While most eyes were glued on gargantuan fish during the Boothbay Harbor Tuna Challenge, some were focused on what’s inside. A team of researchers from the UMaine Pelagic Fisheries Laboratory gathered at Atlantic Edge Lobster to collect stomach, inner ear and other donated and discarded parts to better understand the fishery and inform the agencies managing it.  Based in Portland, the lab group samples fish caught across the Gulf of Maine. It’s part of the group’s stated aims to better understand highly migratory species in order to help improve management practices and reduce stock assessment uncertainties. For the scientists, tournaments represent a valuable opportunity to develop relationships with fishermen and collect high-quality samples otherwise unavailable. 
“Being at tournaments, it’s great because, when we’re getting fish that we collect from dealers, which are also really valuable, we lack information like the weight of the fish, the full length of the fish. We’re sometimes lacking stomach samples, liver samples. And being at tournaments, we can collect all of those things on site,” researcher Mackenzie O’Donnell said. 
According to O’Donnell, researchers sample around 1,000 of the up to 6,000 tuna caught in the Gulf of Maine during the summer, including from tournaments and dealers. Like an autopsy, scientists can study different parts of the fish for insight into its life. Using the heads, they conduct genetic analyses and, when the whole fish isn’t available, estimate its size. The inner ear bones, or otoliths, have seasonal bands that can tell age like tree rings. Researchers even can uncover where the fish spawned by using isotope analysis, a laboratory procedure that can match the fish to chemical patterns of water. 
Combined with information from tag tracking, they can better understand fish habits. For example, management agencies accept that tuna hatcheries exist in either the Gulf of Mexico or Mediterranean Ocean according to lab manager Sammie Nadeau. It was once thought the fish didn’t cross a line between the two, but she said scientists discovered that isn’t the case by figuring out where fish came from and where they travel.  
“We now have a better understanding that the two stocks do mingle quite a bit,” she said. “There is a substantial amount, and they’re not to be treated as necessarily independent stocks.” 
In fact, researcher John Carlucci said data suggests tuna may not spawn every year, opening up new lines of discovery. He said some go to either spawning ground, but others will stay in the Gulf of Maine or travel around the eastern seaboard. “I think the next question there is, ‘What are they doing there? Is it possibly a spawning ground?’ There are other proposed spawning grounds that haven’t really been proven.” 
Researchers also look inside fish stomachs to see what they have been eating, and livers to get a long-term picture of their diets. Nadeau said the information also provides insight into the changing foraging ecology in the Gulf of Maine. She said Atlantic herring have traditionally been a primary food, but pogies, or menhaden, are becoming a more prevalent meal. She said it suggests tuna are making use of the Gulf of Maine’s prolific foraging opportunities and adapting by switching to other lipid-rich species.  
A large reason for the work is to inform agencies, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), who manage the fisheries. Although the lab is not involved in management decisions, researchers said their work can help inform those making them. On a smaller scale, the information can be useful to fishermen. O’Donnell said one tuna that happened to be caught using squid had a lot of whiting in its stomach. So, she let the fisherman know he could switch.  
“That’s just a snapshot of what it’s eaten probably within like a one to two-day digestion period. But it gives them an indication of maybe what to use for bait,” she said.  
The anecdote is an example of small interactions that scientists say help build relationships with an industry that isn’t always the most trusting of management or science. Nadeau said providing the samples isn’t mandatory, and researchers have to ask fishermen essentially for their trash. In the process, they can talk about their work, the state of the fisheries and how their research can help. She said it’s led to some long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships.
“A lot of other fisheries, there can be a lot of tension between the science and the fishing, but I think being able to come down too and just casually chat with people about what we’re doing and why we’re taking the samples also really helps because they learn stuff too,” Nadeau said. She later added that trust requires follow up on her end, too. “The fishermen understand that what they’re doing and providing, there’s a point to it and it is going somewhere. They’re not just giving us heads and never hear about anything ever again.” 

A fisherman’s trash, a scientist’s treasure

While most eyes were glued on gargantuan fish during the Boothbay Harbor Tuna Challenge, some were focused on what’s inside. A team of researchers from the UMaine Pelagic Fisheries Laboratory gathered at Atlantic Edge Lobster to collect stomach, inner ear and other donated and discarded parts to better understand the fishery and inform the agencies managing it.  Based in Portland, the lab group samples fish caught across the Gulf of Maine. It’s part of the group’s stated aims to better understand highly migratory species in order to help improve management practices and reduce stock assessment uncertainties. For the scientists, tournaments represent a valuable opportunity to develop relationships with fishermen and collect high-quality samples otherwise unavailable. 
“Being at tournaments, it’s great because, when we’re getting fish that we collect from dealers, which are also really valuable, we lack information like the weight of the fish, the full length of the fish. We’re sometimes lacking stomach samples, liver samples. And being at tournaments, we can collect all of those things on site,” researcher Mackenzie O’Donnell said. 
According to O’Donnell, researchers sample around 1,000 of the up to 6,000 tuna caught in the Gulf of Maine during the summer, including from tournaments and dealers. Like an autopsy, scientists can study different parts of the fish for insight into its life. Using the heads, they conduct genetic analyses and, when the whole fish isn’t available, estimate its size. The inner ear bones, or otoliths, have seasonal bands that can tell age like tree rings. Researchers even can uncover where the fish spawned by using isotope analysis, a laboratory procedure that can match the fish to chemical patterns of water. 
Combined with information from tag tracking, they can better understand fish habits. For example, management agencies accept that tuna hatcheries exist in either the Gulf of Mexico or Mediterranean Ocean according to lab manager Sammie Nadeau. It was once thought the fish didn’t cross a line between the two, but she said scientists discovered that isn’t the case by figuring out where fish came from and where they travel.  
“We now have a better understanding that the two stocks do mingle quite a bit,” she said. “There is a substantial amount, and they’re not to be treated as necessarily independent stocks.” 
In fact, researcher John Carlucci said data suggests tuna may not spawn every year, opening up new lines of discovery. He said some go to either spawning ground, but others will stay in the Gulf of Maine or travel around the eastern seaboard. “I think the next question there is, ‘What are they doing there? Is it possibly a spawning ground?’ There are other proposed spawning grounds that haven’t really been proven.” 
Researchers also look inside fish stomachs to see what they have been eating, and livers to get a long-term picture of their diets. Nadeau said the information also provides insight into the changing foraging ecology in the Gulf of Maine. She said Atlantic herring have traditionally been a primary food, but pogies, or menhaden, are becoming a more prevalent meal. She said it suggests tuna are making use of the Gulf of Maine’s prolific foraging opportunities and adapting by switching to other lipid-rich species.  
A large reason for the work is to inform agencies, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), who manage the fisheries. Although the lab is not involved in management decisions, researchers said their work can help inform those making them. On a smaller scale, the information can be useful to fishermen. O’Donnell said one tuna that happened to be caught using squid had a lot of whiting in its stomach. So, she let the fisherman know he could switch.  
“That’s just a snapshot of what it’s eaten probably within like a one to two-day digestion period. But it gives them an indication of maybe what to use for bait,” she said.  
The anecdote is an example of small interactions that scientists say help build relationships with an industry that isn’t always the most trusting of management or science. Nadeau said providing the samples isn’t mandatory, and researchers have to ask fishermen essentially for their trash. In the process, they can talk about their work, the state of the fisheries and how their research can help. She said it’s led to some long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships.
“A lot of other fisheries, there can be a lot of tension between the science and the fishing, but I think being able to come down too and just casually chat with people about what we’re doing and why we’re taking the samples also really helps because they learn stuff too,” Nadeau said. She later added that trust requires follow up on her end, too. “The fishermen understand that what they’re doing and providing, there’s a point to it and it is going somewhere. They’re not just giving us heads and never hear about anything ever again.” 

Newcastle cancer-fighting scientist aims for Great North Run World Record

A Newcastle chemist, who works to develop new cancer drugs, is aiming to set a new world record at this year’s Great North Run, for the fastest half marathon by a female dressed as a scientist. Dr Hannah Stewart, 32, a senior research associate in the Cancer Research UK Drug Discovery Centre based at Newcastle…

Newcastle cancer-fighting scientist aims for Great North Run World Record

A Newcastle chemist, who works to develop new cancer drugs, is aiming to set a new world record at this year’s Great North Run, for the fastest half marathon by a female dressed as a scientist. Dr Hannah Stewart, 32, a senior research associate in the Cancer Research UK Drug Discovery Centre based at Newcastle…

Scientists Discover Mosquitoes Are Using Infrared to Track Humans Down

There’s something about us that mosquitoes just love. In addition to our smell, and our breath, our exposed skin acts as a kind of neon sign advertising that this blood bar is open for business.

That’s because mosquitoes use infrared sensing in their antennae to track down their prey, a new study has found.

In many parts of the world, mosquito bites are more than an irritation, capable of spreading pathogens like dengue, yellow fever, and Zika virus. Malaria, spread by the Anopheles gambiae mosquito, caused more than 600,000 deaths in 2022, according to World Health Organization statistics.

To avoid serious disease, or even just a case of maddening itchiness, we humans are pretty keen to find ways to prevent mosquito bites.

Research led by scientists from the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) found that mosquitoes use infrared detection – along with other cues we already knew about, like a nose for the CO2 in our breath, and certain body odors, to seek out hosts.

“The mosquito we study, Aedes aegypti, is exceptionally skilled at finding human hosts,” says UCSB molecular biologist Nicholas Debeaubien.

But mosquitoes’ vision isn’t too good, and smells can be unreliable if it’s windy or the host is moving. So the team suspected infrared detection might offer the insects a reliable aid in finding food.

Only female mosquitoes drink blood, so the researchers presented cages each containing 80 female mosquitoes (around 1-3 weeks old) with a variety of dummy ‘hosts’ represented by combinations of thermoelectric plates, CO2 at the concentration of human breath, and human odors, and recorded five minute videos to observe their host-seeking behaviors.

They defined these as “a mosquito landing, walking and extending its proboscis through the mesh of the cage, which is reminiscent of a female landing on a human and then walking while sampling the skin surface with its labellum.”

Some of the mosquitoes were presented with a thermoelectric plate set to the average temperature of human skin of 34 degrees Celsius (93 °F), which also served as a source of infrared radiation. Others were set to an ambient temperature of 29.5 °C – a temperature mosquitoes are known to enjoy, but emits no infrared.

Each cue on its own – CO2 , odor, or infrared – failed to pique the mosquitoes’ interest. But the insect’s apparent thirst for blood increased twofold when a setup with just CO2 and odor had the infrared factor added.

“Any single cue alone doesn’t stimulate host-seeking activity. It’s only in the context of other cues, such as elevated CO2 and human odor that IR makes a difference,” says UCSB neurobiologist Craig Montell.

The team also confirmed the mosquitoes’ infrared sensors lie in their antennae, where they have a temperature-sensitive protein, TRPA1. When the team removed the gene for this protein, mosquitos were unable to detect infrared. Loose fitting clothing lets through less IR. (DeBeaubien and Chandel et al.)The findings help explain why mosquitoes seem particularly drawn to exposed skin, and why loose-fitting clothing – through which infrared is dissipated – is such an effective invisibility cloak against them.

It might also lead to some slightly more high-tech defenses against mosquitoes, like the potential to create traps that employ skin-temperature thermal radiation as a lure.

“Despite their diminutive size, mosquitoes are responsible for more human deaths than any other animal,” DeBeaubien says.

“Our research enhances the understanding of how mosquitoes target humans and offers new possibilities for controlling the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases.”This research is published in Nature.

Scientists Discover Mosquitoes Are Using Infrared to Track Humans Down

There’s something about us that mosquitoes just love. In addition to our smell, and our breath, our exposed skin acts as a kind of neon sign advertising that this blood bar is open for business.

That’s because mosquitoes use infrared sensing in their antennae to track down their prey, a new study has found.

In many parts of the world, mosquito bites are more than an irritation, capable of spreading pathogens like dengue, yellow fever, and Zika virus. Malaria, spread by the Anopheles gambiae mosquito, caused more than 600,000 deaths in 2022, according to World Health Organization statistics.

To avoid serious disease, or even just a case of maddening itchiness, we humans are pretty keen to find ways to prevent mosquito bites.

Research led by scientists from the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) found that mosquitoes use infrared detection – along with other cues we already knew about, like a nose for the CO2 in our breath, and certain body odors, to seek out hosts.

“The mosquito we study, Aedes aegypti, is exceptionally skilled at finding human hosts,” says UCSB molecular biologist Nicholas Debeaubien.

But mosquitoes’ vision isn’t too good, and smells can be unreliable if it’s windy or the host is moving. So the team suspected infrared detection might offer the insects a reliable aid in finding food.

Only female mosquitoes drink blood, so the researchers presented cages each containing 80 female mosquitoes (around 1-3 weeks old) with a variety of dummy ‘hosts’ represented by combinations of thermoelectric plates, CO2 at the concentration of human breath, and human odors, and recorded five minute videos to observe their host-seeking behaviors.

They defined these as “a mosquito landing, walking and extending its proboscis through the mesh of the cage, which is reminiscent of a female landing on a human and then walking while sampling the skin surface with its labellum.”

Some of the mosquitoes were presented with a thermoelectric plate set to the average temperature of human skin of 34 degrees Celsius (93 °F), which also served as a source of infrared radiation. Others were set to an ambient temperature of 29.5 °C – a temperature mosquitoes are known to enjoy, but emits no infrared.

Each cue on its own – CO2 , odor, or infrared – failed to pique the mosquitoes’ interest. But the insect’s apparent thirst for blood increased twofold when a setup with just CO2 and odor had the infrared factor added.

“Any single cue alone doesn’t stimulate host-seeking activity. It’s only in the context of other cues, such as elevated CO2 and human odor that IR makes a difference,” says UCSB neurobiologist Craig Montell.

The team also confirmed the mosquitoes’ infrared sensors lie in their antennae, where they have a temperature-sensitive protein, TRPA1. When the team removed the gene for this protein, mosquitos were unable to detect infrared. Loose fitting clothing lets through less IR. (DeBeaubien and Chandel et al.)The findings help explain why mosquitoes seem particularly drawn to exposed skin, and why loose-fitting clothing – through which infrared is dissipated – is such an effective invisibility cloak against them.

It might also lead to some slightly more high-tech defenses against mosquitoes, like the potential to create traps that employ skin-temperature thermal radiation as a lure.

“Despite their diminutive size, mosquitoes are responsible for more human deaths than any other animal,” DeBeaubien says.

“Our research enhances the understanding of how mosquitoes target humans and offers new possibilities for controlling the transmission of mosquito-borne diseases.”This research is published in Nature.