MY PORTFOLIOA creative journey

Susmita Dey

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Magazine: Down To Earth

Magazine: Down To Earth

Books: Oxford University Press India Dorling Kindersley Publishing Pvt. Ltd.

British Council IELTS Award 2015: Essay

Design sampleSFU MPub’15: Book cover redesign

Writing samplesMagazine: Down To Earth

British Council IELTS Award 2015: Essay

Down To Earth • April 16-30, 201036

S C I E N C E & T E C H N O L O G Y

SUSMITA DEY

THE seed giant Monsanto has admittedpests have developed resistance to Btcrops introduced in India. A news storypublished in Science on March 20, wroteMonsanto “detected unusual survival”of pink bollworms that fed on Bt cotton.Pushpa M Bhargava stated “this shouldbe an eye opener”. Bhargava is the for-mer director of the Centre for Cellularand Molecular Biology in Hyderabadand an arch anti-GM rallyist. The mora-torium imposed by environment minis-ter Jairam Ramesh on Bt crops couldnot be better timed.

Here is a study that attempts to con-tinue the debate. Maarten Jongsma atthe Wageningen University andResearch Centre in the Netherlandsanalyzed Monsanto’s discovery:“Despite being a cotton plant specialistthe bollworm does feed on okra. If suchalternative host plants are there besidethe cotton crop this insect could evolvepreference for them, avoiding the Bttoxic species altogether.”

Jongsma and colleagues studiedbehavioural changes of insects in deter-mining host plants for oviposition (lay-ing eggs). Moths and butterflies(Lepidoptera) are cotton and maizecrop pests which means even if it is Bt,the female chooses that crop to lay eggsalthough the offspring dies. Bt cropsthus turn into what is called a “trapcrop”. “Evolution further predicts a trapcrop will eventually be avoided because

the individuals doing that will be fitter,”explained Jongsma.

The scientists constructed a modelwith the physiolgical resistance andbehavioural oviposition choice genes ofinsects. They ran the model through 11field settings that contained the Bt crop,its non-Bt counterpart and an alterna-tive host and found the ovipositiongene’s dominant form and the resis-tance gene’s recessive form were mostfrequently expressed. “Insects choseanother crop (over Bt) in 80, 95 and 99per cent of all cases”, explainedJongsma.

In China, cotton is planted over 3.8million hectares in mixed farms. A studyfound moths took corn, legumes andvegetables as alternative hosts in succes-sive generations between 1997 and 2006reducing rate of oviposition on Bt crops.

“The message is insects are bound toavoid the Bt crop rather than becomingimmune if they have a choice. Besides, arefuge policy on isogenic lines (growingBt crop with its non-Bt counterpart)that India follows is expensive.Alternative hosts, whereas, are plantsthat are usually around,” said Jongsma.

Bhargava disagreed: “A non-iso-genic refuge policy does not make sense.The insects are host-specific. Besides, arefuge policy itself does not work forIndia. Farms are mostly small or mar-ginal with no more than four hectares ofland. Where is the space to grow alter-natives? Only traditional methods offarming can ensure our food security”. ■

LARGE terrestrial mammals are the mostthreatened, with 25 per cent facingextinction and 50 per cent with declin-ing populations globally, wrote environ-mental scientist Krithi Karanth from theColumbia University in New York, USA.

Karanth and colleagues examinedextinction patterns in 25 Indian mam-mal species. They partitioned India’sgeographical space into a grid with1,326 cells. By combining historical dataof the mammals’ geographical locationsfrom hunting and museum records with(accounted up to 2006) from localwildlife experts for each of these grids,they concluded all 25 species were underextinction risk. Some of the museumrecords dated back to 1760.

Mouse deer, blackbuck, nilgai, four-horned antelope, sloth bear, jackal, wolfand wild pig are animals whose habitatslie completely outside protected areas.Others which include the swamp deer,gaur, elephant, lion and tiger have only a

tiny bit of their range under protection.More protected areas need to be con-structed, said the authors.

The wolf and tiger are still aroundbecause of the forest cover which low-ered risk for seven species. High eleva-tion areas lowered risk for eight specieswith the sambar, nilgai. Human popula-tion density increased risk for 13 speciesbut human cultural tolerance bode wellfor seven species including blackbuckand four-horned antelope.

In context of India’s rapid economicgrowth, adverse impacts of proposedprojects such as dams and industries canbe mitigated by integrating our resultsto prevent imminent fragmentation ofrange of vulnerable mammals, said thestudy in Proceedings of the Royal SocietyB on March 10. ■

ECOLOGY: extinction

Protectionwarranted25 mammal species at risk

AGRICULTURE: Bt crops

Something for GM rallyistsBt crops are durable agriculture if the refuge policy is strong

Debate over Bt cotton refuelled

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Researching stories: I started my career in the publishing industry as the sub-editor of India’s leading science and technology fortnightly, Down To Earth. During my stint here, I actively reported on current and relevant environmental issues.

Link to my articles: http://www.downtoearth.org.in/author/susmita-dey-20

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Down To Earth • October 1-15, 200934

� S C I E N C E & T E C H N O L O G Y

HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY: brain

Headbangers’ ballEnter the world of constant buzz and live action

SUSMITA DEY

IT IS one of the most intriguing circuitsthat will ever be studied. It is nothuman-made.

What is now the human brain hasgrown three times in size over the lasttwo million years. Ever-growing socialcompetition forces the brain to evolveand grow larger. It also remains unpar-alleled in functions like intelligencecompared to other animals.

Prelimbic cortex, prefrontal cortex,dorsolateral striatum, dorsomedialstriatum, hippocampus, ventral stria-tum and the right parietal lobe: this isnot Greek, just the brain regions thatmake a Homo sapiens human. Scientistsare yet to map the way they are wiredinto a network of intelligence.

“The human brain is estimated tohave 100 billion neurons or nerve cells.Each neuron can be connected to thou-sands of others. This is a lot of informa-tion to measure and understand,” saidPartha Mitra, a neuroscientist with theCold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA.Mitra and his team are mapping themammalian brain. The details of theambitious project are in the March issueof PLoS Computational Biology.

Recent forays into this complexorchestra of emotions, feelings and cog-nition help put a few pieces of the maptogether: the neural circuits of the braindecide how smart a person is, howwarm-hearted the person will be andhow selfless his or her actions are. It isagain connections in the brain due towhich some take rare chances in lifewhile others look back and sigh. Theintricacies do not end here.

Stress kills brain regions that help aperson take decisions after carefulanalysis. So if the person does not wishto keep pressing the same elevator but-ton for the rest of his or her life, he orshe should try stress-busters. Dancing isgood.

The brain should not be left idleeither. It is the devil’s workshop. It could lead a child to talk, walk and

fidget around restlessly—commonlycalled the attention deficit hyperactivitydisorder (ADHD). A team from OregonHealth and Science University (OHSU) inthe US found several regions actively at work inside the idling brain.Distinguishing the functions of anidling brain from those of an active one will be helpful in detecting this difficult-to-diagnose disorder, saidDamien Fair from the OHSU School ofMedicine (PLoS Computational Biology,May 2009).

But even ADHD does not comparewith the grey menace—the seventhleading cause of death in the world.More commonly called Alzheimer’s, anestimated four million people in Indiasuffer from it. A good bit of researchhas gone into it.

Alzheimer’s affects the hippocam-pus. This region deals with memory. In some people the hippocampus getstired of keeping track of the zillions of things life unfolds everyday. As itgives up overworked, people developAlzheimer’s.

New research says signs of exhaus-tion are shown by the brain decadesbefore the actual symptoms appear. Inan article published by the April issue ofthe Proceedings of the National Academyof Sciences, a team from the Universityof Oxford identified hyperactivity inthe hippocampus of young, healthypeople. These people carried the APOE4gene which has been found in peoplewho had Alzheimer’s. The team is thefirst to show that this gene makes thebrain work even when it is at rest, thusexhausting it.

But the brain even in an Alzheimer’spatient is tougher than was known. Thedamaged nerves still manage to trans-port enough information to keep thepatient alive longer than he or she couldhave stayed. They are almost like electri-cal wires which are frayed and worn outbut can be connected to the main cir-cuit. There is a loss of information buttransmission does take place. In thebrain of an Alzheimer’s patient, the

THE WAY TO NIRVANAPerhaps the biology chapter onbrain ought to be included inpeace studies. The more inactivethe right parietal lobe of thebrain, the more selfless a person is,found researchers from theUniversity of Missouri, USA.

TAKE A CHANCEDaring acts seem unreasonable tomost. George Bernard Shaw hadonce said: “Reasonable peopleadapt to the world. Unreasonablepeople adapt the world to themselves. All progress, therefore,depends on unreasonable people”.

One is daring enough to takerisks, if the connection betweenthe hippocampus and the ventralstriatum is very well developed,found researchers from theUniversity of Bonn, Germany.

The unreasonable person is notso unreasonable, after all. The fea-ture stems from the organ which provides one with all the reasoningabilities.

S C I E N C E & T E C H N O L O G Y

October 1-15, 2009 • Down To Earth 35

wires are frayed to a much larger extent.So if therapy can be devised to improvethe connectivity, the patient can recoverpartially (Brain, December 2008).

“Even though new magnetic reso-nance imaging techniques are here, wewill never understand the brain in everydetail. But we can understand better itsfunctions, how it relates to decision-making in everyday life and brain dis-eases,” said Bernd Weber, doctor from

the University of Bonn, Germany.“What makes the human brain evenmore complex is that it varies from indi-vidual to individual. So it is both hope-less and meaningless to map every detailof an individual brain,” explainedMitra.

But researchers are undeterred bythe difficulties. An injectable gel devel-oped by a team from the ClemsonUniversity, USA, helped a rat recover

from brain injuries. It has hope forhumans. The team presented its find at aresearch forum in Kansas city, USA, onSeptember 2. Henry Markram, neuro-scientist from the Brain Mind Institutein Switzerland, claims a biologicalmodel that can replace the “trillions ofsynapses, billions of neurons and mil-lions of proteins” is possible in 10 years.Markram and his team have named itthe Blue Brain Project. ■

POVERTY DAMAGESChildren living in poverty showedbrainwaves similar to those of damaged brains, as in a stroke victim. The brain region critical inproblem-solving and creativity(prefrontal cortex) in nine to 10 year olds was put under scrutinyby scientists from the Berkeley’sHelen Wills Neuroscience Institute,USA.

COLUMNS OF INTELLIGENCEThe larger the cortex and morethe number of vertical columns ofneurons it has to offer (corticalmodules), the smarter someone isat solving algebra, learning diffi-cult languages and rememberingthe day when Rajiv Gandhi wasassassinated. But these networks ofmemory and cognition developover time. Hence, genetics alonedoes not get to decide. Learningand experiences also contribute.After all, it is ‘only over a long timethat you learn the character ofyour friend,’ says a Chineseproverb. Researchers from theUniversity at Buffalo, The StateUniversity of New York, USA, carried out the experiment.

MUSHY BY NATURENews for Hindi film song writers:feelings do not emanate from theheart. Greater the amount of braintissue just above the eyes(orbitofrontal cortex) and deeper in the brain’s central part(ventral striatum), warmer andmore emotional the person is,found a team from the CambridgeUniversity, UK.

CIRCUIT BREAKERThe regions of the brain thatmake us who we are

HABIT IS A BAD MASTERA tip for smokers trying to kick

the habit: try uncluttering thebrain first. A stressed brain

cannot take the right decisions,dictated as it is, by habit.

Two brain regions help a per-son analyze and decide—the dor-somedial striatum and the prelim-bic cortex. The dorsolateral

striatum helps form habits. Tounderstand how mental stressputs habit in control, scientistssubjected rats to excessive men-tal stress. They were then madeto press levers for rewards. Therats pressed the same leveragain and again; their brains

could not direct them to pressanother one even though thatcould have brought a betterreward. When the team from theUniversity of Coimbra, Portugal,studied the brain, they found thedecision-makers were damaged,the habit zone had expanded.

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LAVANYA RAMAIAH

OVER time the one thing that hasremained common amongst all animalsis sleep. Even the evolutionary forcesdecided to leave this basic physiologicalneed untouched. The various theoriesbehind what makes sleep tick rangefrom conservation of energy to a timefor cell repair. Now experiments on thesleeping mechanism of the fruit fly,Drosophila, make obvious a known butunheeded fact: sleep gives the nervoussystem time to rejuvenate. A goodnight’s sleep leads to an active brain.

Giorgio Gilestro with colleaguesfrom the department of psychiatry,University of Wisconsin, USA, used vari-ous techniques to discover that sleephelps in reducing the levels of bruchpi-lot (the presence of which indicates ahealthy synapse) and four other synap-tic proteins in Drosophila. Synapse is thejunction through which nerves commu-nicate (via protein neurotransmitters)with various parts of the body.

The protein levels built up while theflies were awake but dropped 30 to 40per cent during sleep, thus helping inrenormalizing the synapses. Once theflies awoke the levels picked up. To fur-ther confirm that it is sleep and not anyother parameter that causes this reduc-tion, the team kept one batch of sleep-deprived flies awake and the rest wereallowed to sleep. The batch that wasawake continued producing high levelsof synaptic proteins.

In a second study, Jeffrey Donleaand his team from the department ofanatomy and neurobiology, Washing -

ton University, USA, examined specificneurons controlling sleep patterns inthe fruit fly. “We have identified 16 neu-rons that are required for an increase insleep,” said Paul Shaw, from theWashington University and a memberof the study team.

The studies, published in the April 3issue of Science, also found the longerthe flies were awake, the more hours ofsleep they needed. “Different experi-ences induce different needs for sleep,”added Shaw. In simpler terms, an over-worked brain needs more sleep. ■

Down To Earth • June 1-15, 200944

PHYSIOLOGY: brain

Pillow talkExam tomorrow? Hit the sack early tonight

PATHOLOGY: genetics

A parasite’spantomimeHow the sleeping sicknessprotozoan evades capture

SUSMITA DEY

HISTORY is replete with examples ofrobbers who were masters at disguise. Take Charles Peace of 19th centuryEngland. A scholarly gentleman byday and a burglar by nightfall, he embarrassed the Scotland Yard attheir inability to apprehend him.Science provided him with a rival.

The protozoan Trypanosoma brucei,which causes African sleeping sicknessin humans is good at disguises.Transmitted by the blood-sucking tsetse

fly into a host’s body, everytime thehost’s immune system comes close toapprehending it, the parasite changesits appearance and makes a getaway.Working on the method involved in the escape, a team led by Catharine E Boothroyd from the Rockefeller University, New York, observed that a double-stranded break (DSB) in the parasite’s DNA plays a crucial role.

The parasite has a protective surfacecoat made of proteins attached to car-bohydrates (glycoproteins). It is knownas the variant surface glycoprotein (VSG)coat. The glycoproteins are the surfaceantigens in response to which the immune system releases antibodies.When the parasite modifies this coat bygenetic manipulation, it changes itsantigenic profile. This fools the host’simmune system. The genes responsiblefor the switching are called the VSG genes. At a time only one VSG gene isexpressed while the others are silent.

Earlier studies have proved that abreak in the double-stranded DNA stim-ulates the switching but the exact mech-anism could not be demonstrated. Theteam was able to, for the first time, arti-ficially induce such a break by introduc-ing the enzyme endonuclease into a spe-cific region near the active gene.

The enzyme successfully inducedthe break and roughly half of all the cellsin which a DSB was induced, modifiedtheir coats, said the study reported inthe April 15 issue of Nature. “The para-site clips off its DNA close to the VSG genethat is active. This confuses the replica-tion machinery and to repair itself, itcopies a new gene from another chro-mosome,” explained Boothroyd. Simplyspeaking, the DNA inflicts self-damage toallow for a gene switch which encodesfor a variant surface coat. When thebreak was induced in some other part ofthe DNA, it did not cause switching. Thisproved how crucial the specific regionnear the active gene is.

“Creating free DNA ends can poseproblems to the DNA replicationmachinery,” said Boothroyd. But it canalso be useful, as it is to this parasite.“Some human immune cells break theirDNA at the antigen receptor genes. Thebreaks are repaired in ways that helpincrease antibody diversity,” addedBoothroyd. In other words, this allowsthe immune system to get better atfighting diseases. ■

S C I E N C E & T E C H N O L O G Y

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WRITING I MAGAZINE I SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT I DOWN TO EARTH

S C I E N C E & T E C H N O L O G Y

June 16-30, 2010 • Down To Earth 45

SUSMITA DEY

OPERATION Smallpox Zero was launchedin India in 1975. Around this time, aWHO official has been quoted saying hewould “eat a tyre off a jeep” if smallpoxwas eradicated in India. D AHenderson, the programme’s director,is said to have sent him a jeep tyre.

Smallpox was certified globallyeradicated on December 9, 1979.But relief over the first successstory of modern medicine wasshort-lived. The experts of theimmunization drive did notknow that another virus,lurking in the Africanforests, was as keen forsmallpox to clear out asthey were. Soon, the mys-terious virus ended itslong wait for rapid infec-tion. It came to light inthe 1980s as HIV and isstill counting its victims.

“Assuming the AIDS virus first emerged in a small area in West Africa in the 1930s, give or take 15 years, how did a sexually-transmitted disease spread so rapidly and widely as opposed to airborne ones?” asked Raymond Weinstein from the biodefence pro-gramme at George Mason University in USA. What changed post the 1970s?

The period that marked the eradica-tion of smallpox and merged into therapid spread of AIDS had caughtWeinstein’s eye. Sure, there were socio-economic factors like unprotected sexand drugs but Weinstein’s team couldnot ignore a protein called CCR, essentialto both the viruses.

“CCR5 and CXCR4 are two receptorson cell surfaces that help immune cellsgo to infection sites. HIV uses them toinvade cells as a part of its life-cycle,”said Michael Weinstein, geneticist fromthe University of California at LosAngeles and a member of the study.“Some European people have a mutatedCCR5 gene which makes them HIV-resis-tant,” said Michael Bukrinsky, vice-

chair of microbiology, immunology,tropical medicine at GeorgeWashington University in USA and astudy partner. Earlier research hasshown that the pox virus uses the sameroute for infection. So if one’s immunecells were kept busy by pox, he or shemight be resistant to HIV.

Twenty healthy naval personnelwith ages between 19 and 41 yearswere chosen to prove the theory.All had had their doses of essential

immunizations and had testedHIV-negative. Of the 20, 10

were given a smallpox vac-cination. White blood cellsamples were taken fromthe people and their cul-tures were infected withHIV. Its replication in cellsthat received the small-pox vaccine decreasedconsiderably. When

more serum was added, it boosted HIV

replication only in the non-vaccinatedculture, said the study published inBMC Immunology on May 18.

How does the study explain HIV-positive people who also received thesmallpox vaccine? “Adapted immuneresponse induced by vaccination even-tually decreases. In our case, it is theinnate immunity induced by the vaccinethat conferred protection but it is short-lived usually. So it was exciting to seeprotection even a year later,” saidBukrinsky. Geetha Bansal, at theNational Institute of Allergy andInfectious Diseases in USA, agreed: “Theimplication is noteworthy for use of dif-ferent vectors to deliver HIV immunity.”

Virologist T Jacob John, however,thinks the link made by the study is amere speculation. The doctor from thethe Christian Medical College inVellore, said: “Imagine the smallpoxvaccine continuing into the 1980s andthereafter. Its side-effects were life-threatening in some cases. I think wewere plain lucky that HIV became preva-lent only after smallpox was eradicated.”Henderson concurred: “I think it is aninteresting observation without enoughsubstance to warrant any application.”■

AMY MOOKERJI

UNROASTED coffee beans have it in themto protect crops, found a team ofBrazilian scientists.

Legumin, a compound found incoffee seeds, represents 45 per cent of itstotal protein content. It protects theplant from pests. Paulo Mazzafera fromthe University of Campinas in Braziland his team used the proteinfrom two species—Coffeaarabica and C racemosa—against cowpea weevillarvae.

When the weevil lar-vae fed on the coffeeplant’s seeds, these pro-teins bound to their chitin—a complex carbohydrate that

composes the cell wall of the larval gut.This impeded further growth. Experi -ments showed tiny amounts of the pro-teins could kill up to 50 per cent of theinsects. Weight of the surviving larvaelowered significantly.

“Scientists can insert such genesinto important food crops such as wheatand maize so that the crops can producetheir own insecticides,” said Mazzafera.The proteins appear harmless to peopleand can cheaply be produced in largequantities via microbial cultures.

Dawn Luthe, professor of plantstress biology at Penn State Universityin USA, said if a combination containinga plant protein and a common insecti-

cide is used, it may be morelethal to crop pests than either

used alone. “It will takelonger for the insects todevelop resistance to twomodes of attack,” headded. The Journal of

Agricultural and FoodChemistry reported the

study on May 26. ■

EPIDEMIOLOGY: viral diseases

Billions of dollars, 50 years laterSmall pox vaccine might have countered HIV

AGRICULTURE: crop protection

Killer beverageCoffee beans are pesticides

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WRITING I MAGAZINE I SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT I DOWN TO EARTH

WRITING I SCHOLARSHIP ESSAY I IELTS AWARD 2015 I BRITISH COUNCIL INDIA

Recipient of the British Council IELTS Award 2015

Link: http://indiaeducationdiary.in/Shownews.asp?newsid=35588

TASK A:

By Susmita Dey

2) Technology is making communication easier in today’s world. Given this scenario, what is the value of face-to-face communication and travelling to new countries to learn with students from all over the world?

Humans have come a long way since our ancestors grunted, growled, and adorned cave-walls with paintings to communicate. Postmen replaced pigeons. The telegraph transmitted its string of messages while telephones zapped the spoken word across the world. Computers stepped in to digitalize technology, and with the advent of the Internet, communication was revolutionized.

The very need to survive fuels the need to communicate—hence the tireless development of new technology. However, in this entire buzz, the essence of communication has been lost.

Technology empowers us with effortless, global interactions, yet leaves us lacking personally. Laughing with friends, sharing warmth, empathizing with pain, the impatience in a lover’s wait, the loyalty in a sibling’s grin, the silent tears loved ones perceive, the boundless joys of growing up, the music we create together, the races we cannot run apart, the determination to win life ’s trials, the depth of anguish at our losses—if only replacing humanity with messages on a flat screen were that easy.

With social networking sites taking over the globe, making friends is ridiculously easy. Yet, travelling to different countries and befriending people from all over the world widens our perspective in ways a virtual tête-à-tête cannot. Together we experience the myriad sights and smells, taste ethnic cuisines, encounter diverse cultures, witness complicated mannerisms, create lasting memories, and subsequently, forge deeper bonds of friendship and loyalty. This, the depth of a two-dimensional screen cannot even begin to offer.

Technology arrived to make life easier—and it has, in countless ways. But somewhere the balance tipped and virtual prisons took over—our fingers do their bidding while brains remain captive. The Earth is flat again, undoing years of work of explorers who set out to conquer lands and hearts with little to guide them but curiosity. Bring the curiosity back.

Edit samples

Magazine: Down To Earth

Books: Oxford University Press India Dorling Kindersley Publishing Pvt. Ltd.

Shaping articles: I was responsible for editing the science and technology section of Down To Earth. This began with chasing reporters to file stories, and involved structural edits, checking for factual consistency, copy-editing, and final proofing. Managing the pages in coordination with the science editor and the design team helped me learn to work within deadlines.

The challenge with this section was to make science exciting. For example, in “We, not humans, are natives”, the reporter had provided with all the relevant research on the invasive ant, Tapinoma sessile. Presented that way, it would have been just another scientific article on ants. Together we brainstormed on how to make the story more relatable—referring to the ant in the first person and giving it a more human face did the trick.

Down To Earth • May 16-31, 201042

S C I E N C E & T E C H N O L O G Y

TIASA ADHYA

MY NAME is Tapinoma sessile. I live inWest Lafayette in North America. I wasborn to an ordinary family under ordi-nary circumstances. My skin colour isbrownish black, I am a bit tall for my ageand I emit a foul odour when I am vexedbut that can come later. What I amabout to recount is the classic tale of asmall town boy making it big in the city.

I thrive in a colony alongside 25other colonies all of which have a queento look after them. A while back we wereliving in harmony mostly within hollowacorn and hickory nut shells in forestsand went dormant in winter months.Competition for food and shelter wasintense with the Temnothoraxcurvispinosus and Ponera pennsyl-vanica colonies around. That is whythe sessile colony had the queen lookingafter just 74 individuals.

Days went by and we were hit byurbanization. Forests were replacedwith buildings. We lost our home. Apark was built over the place where ourtrees stood. The crevices of the treeswere inviting. People and children whosauntered into the parks generally leftbehind morsels of food, enough for usto sustain ourselves with. There were nomore fights and the other colonies werenowhere in sight. Maybe they could notadapt. Our colony was flourishing withnearly 500 individuals now.

Soon our colony was so vast we hadto leave the park and migrate to thesmall, cosy houses nearby. I had alwaysbeen curious about those structures.Living in them sounded adventurous.There were as many hiding places asout-of-doors but the food supply wasmost abundant and concentrated in oneplace called the kitchen. We no longerneeded to hibernate in the freezing, coldwinter months, tucked away as we wereunder warm floorboards or in thekitchen cupboard; heaters ran 24 hours.It was the most glorious period. Ourcolony exploded into super-colonieswith 58,000 indiviuals and 238 queens.

People now reckon we are pests. I donot understand why. We do not bite ordestroy. Maybe it is the sight of 50,000of us running to and fro on the floor. Ormaybe it is that smell we emit. Imagine50,000 rushes of pina colada, with itsaromatic blend rum, cream of coconutand pineapple juice.

A paper was published in BiologicalInvasions on April 2 on how well wehave adapted to the city lifestyle.Grzesiek Buczkowski, an entomologist

from the Purdue University in USA, hadbeen observing us for a while. He inves-tigated the effect of urbanization on usin three settings—natural, semi-naturaland urban. He wanted to know whatmade us flourish while once-competi-tive curvispinosus and pennsylvanica col-onies faded away.

He concluded we are monopolizingfood resources and outcompeting oth-ers using a trait called invasiveness. Hemust have us confused with the exoticArgentines and the Pharaohs. SeanMenke, another entomologist from theNorth Carolina State University was alittle less hurtful. He put it down to cer-tain genes in our bodies that helped usgo urban so well.

Is it an extraordinary genetic make-up or simply an evolution forced ontous by humans? I think Buczkowskiwants to understand this so he couldcome up with a way to control us. Butwhy? We are the natives, are we not?

They know us well as the odorousants of North America. We were bornhere. Colonies came and went trying tokeep pace with humans while we sur-vived. We have seen life from high in thealpine meadows of Lake Tahoe to park-ing lots in rural Missouri and from thedesert canyons in Arizona to crowdedsidewalks of suburban New York. ■

RUHI KANDHARI

SCIENTISTS from the InternationalBusiness Machine Corp’s (IBM) andStanford University in the USannounced the discovery of plastics thatcould be biodegradable, biocompatibleand completely recyclable. Organiccatalysis is the new mantra in what isseen as a complete shift towards greenpolymer chemistry.

Three ingredients make plastic: amonomer of the organic molecule, sol-vent and catalyst. Metal oxide or metalhydroxide catalysts are generally used toensure that the monomer readily bindsto other monomers to form chains that

continue to grow. The researchers haveachieved this by using an organic cata-lyst which rivalled metal-based catalystswithout significant impact on the costor the performance of plastics.

When plastics are created usingmetal catalysts, metallic remnants of thecatalyst remain in the final polymer.Their lingering presence weakens therecycled plastic over time. But polymerscreated using a new family of organiccatalysts that are free of metal are fullyrecyclable, said chemist RobertWaymouth from Stanford University.The paper was published inMacromolecules on March 10.

“The development of new families

CHEMISTRY: organic catalysts

Biodegradable at lastUse of organic catalysts to usher in a new range of plastics

ENTOMOLOGY: ant colonies

We, not humans, are nativesAn odorous ant of North America argues its side of the story

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CLEAN HOUSE

How do we keep a house clean?

1 A clean house should have large and airy windows to let the sunlight in. Sunlight keeps the rooms dry and free from germs.Windows should have wire-netting to keep away flies and mosquitoes.

2 You should keep things in their proper places. This makes a house look clean and tidy.

3 All the rooms in a house should be cleaned regularly.

4 Garbage should be collected and removed regularly. Garbage bins should be kept clean and covered.

A. Write T for the correct statement and F for the wrong one. Correct the wrong statement(s).

1. A clean house should have large and airy windows to let the sunlight in.

2. Rooms in a house must be cleaned once a month.

3. Garbage bins must be kept uncovered.

Practice

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Creating layouts:I worked with the school education department at Oxford University Press India, editing science term books for classes 1 to 8. Working on the books from scratch, I learnt to create simple page layouts, which included a balance of text and images.

Finalizing the manuscript involved structural edits to author’s text, creating practice worksheets, fact-checking, copy-editing, final proofing, and image placement. Image selection required online picture research, commissioning photographers, and writing artwork briefs for illustrators.

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Working with picture books:

As an editor at Dorling Kindersley India, I worked closely with designers to bring out heavily illustrated reference books.

Main duties included working on the flatplan, image research, conceptualizing spreads with designers (see sample spread 1), brainstorming visual elements unique to each book (see Stats and Facts, sample spread 2) working with illustrators, editing text, fact-checking, proofreading, and managing projects within deadlines.

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Take apart the nerve system, bit by bit, and you reach its smallest parts – nerve cells, or neurons. They are among the most specialized and long-lasting of all cells. Their job is to receive, process, and send on nerve messages, in the form of tiny pulses of electricity. Each neuron has a complex web-like shape and thousands of delicate connections with other neurons. These shapes are not fi xed. They change as connections grow or shrink, day by day, year after year.

Nerves and nerve cellsINSIDE THE MEGAWEB

MAKING THE LEAPMAKING THE LEAPMAKING THE LEAPMAKING THE LEAPMAKING THE LEAPMAKING THE LEAPMAKING THE LEAPMAKING THE LEAPMAKING THE LEAPMAKING THE LEAPMAKING THE LEAPMAKING THE LEAPMAKING THE LEAPMAKING THE LEAPMAKING THE LEAPMAKING THE LEAPMAKING THE LEAPMAKING THE LEAPMAKING THE LEAPMAKING THE LEAPMAKING THE LEAPMAKING THE LEAPMAKING THE LEAPMAKING THE LEAPAt a link, called a synapse, between At a link, called a synapse, between At a link, called a synapse, between At a link, called a synapse, between At a link, called a synapse, between At a link, called a synapse, between At a link, called a synapse, between At a link, called a synapse, between At a link, called a synapse, between At a link, called a synapse, between At a link, called a synapse, between At a link, called a synapse, between At a link, called a synapse, between At a link, called a synapse, between At a link, called a synapse, between At a link, called a synapse, between At a link, called a synapse, between At a link, called a synapse, between At a link, called a synapse, between At a link, called a synapse, between At a link, called a synapse, between At a link, called a synapse, between At a link, called a synapse, between At a link, called a synapse, between neurons, the two neurons do not neurons, the two neurons do not neurons, the two neurons do not neurons, the two neurons do not neurons, the two neurons do not neurons, the two neurons do not neurons, the two neurons do not neurons, the two neurons do not neurons, the two neurons do not neurons, the two neurons do not neurons, the two neurons do not neurons, the two neurons do not neurons, the two neurons do not neurons, the two neurons do not neurons, the two neurons do not neurons, the two neurons do not neurons, the two neurons do not neurons, the two neurons do not neurons, the two neurons do not neurons, the two neurons do not neurons, the two neurons do not neurons, the two neurons do not neurons, the two neurons do not actually touch. They are separated actually touch. They are separated actually touch. They are separated actually touch. They are separated actually touch. They are separated actually touch. They are separated actually touch. They are separated actually touch. They are separated actually touch. They are separated actually touch. They are separated actually touch. They are separated actually touch. They are separated actually touch. They are separated actually touch. They are separated actually touch. They are separated actually touch. They are separated actually touch. They are separated actually touch. They are separated actually touch. They are separated actually touch. They are separated actually touch. They are separated actually touch. They are separated actually touch. They are separated

by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a by a gap 10,000 times thinner than a strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this strand of hair. Nerve signals cross this

gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then gap in the form of chemicals, then carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.carry on as electrical pulses again.

NERVE IMPULSESEach nerve cell, or neuron, receives signals on its short spider-like arms or its cell body. It constantly combines and processes these incoming signals and sends the resulting messages along a thicker, longer leg – called the nerve fi bre, or axon – to other neurons.

Axon, or nerve fi bre inside

protective sheath

Outgoing signals along axon Incoming

signals from faraway neurons

Nerve

EndEndEndEndEndEnd of of of of of of of of sending axonsending axonsending axonsending axonsending axonsending axonsending axonsending axonsending axonsending axonsending axonsending axonsending axonsending axonsending axonsending axonsending axonsending axonsending axon

NeurotransmittersNeurotransmittersNeurotransmittersNeurotransmittersNeurotransmittersNeurotransmittersNeurotransmittersNeurotransmittersNeurotransmittersNeurotransmittersNeurotransmittersNeurotransmittersNeurotransmittersNeurotransmittersNeurotransmittersNeurotransmittersNeurotransmittersNeurotransmittersNeurotransmittersare chemicals that are chemicals that are chemicals that are chemicals that are chemicals that are chemicals that are chemicals that are chemicals that are chemicals that are chemicals that are chemicals that are chemicals that are chemicals that are chemicals that are chemicals that are chemicals that are chemicals that are chemicals that are chemicals that are chemicals that cross the gapcross the gapcross the gapcross the gapcross the gapcross the gapcross the gapcross the gapcross the gapcross the gapcross the gapcross the gapcross the gapcross the gapcross the gapcross the gap

Nerve fi bre endings connect

with more neurons ReceptorReceptorReceptorReceptorReceptorReceptorReceptorReceptorReceptorReceptorReceptor on on on on on Receptor on ReceptorReceptor on Receptornext neuronnext neuronnext neuronnext neuronnext neuronnext neuronnext neuronnext neuronnext neuronnext neuronnext neuronnext neuronnext neuronnext neuronnext neuronnext neuronnext neuronnext neuronnext neuron

Electrical signal passes

along axon

Dendrite, one of the spider-like arms on the cell body

Fibres at end of axon branch out

Nucleusof neuron

LITTLE HELPERSIn the entire nerve system,

fewer than half the cells are neurons. The rest –

called glial cells – give called glial cells – give neurons physical support, neurons physical support,

nutrients, and protection from nutrients, and protection from damage and germs.damage and germs.

“““If you were a If you were a If you were a If you were a If you were a neuron neuron neuron you you you

would have would have 10,000 arms10,000 arms10,000 arms10,000 arms10,000 arms10,000 arms””””

Myelin sheatharound axon speeds signals and stops them leaking out

Nearby neuron sending a signal

Incomingsignals from

nearby neuron

Star-shaped Star-shaped glial cellsglial cells

NERVE CELLSNERVE CELLSCAN LIVE LONGERCAN LIVE LONGERTHAN OTHERTHAN OTHERBODY CELLSBODY CELLS

SOCCER PITCH

STATS AND FACTS

NEURON CARRY

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SIGNALS/SIGNALS/SIGNALS/SIGNALS/SIGNALS/SIGNALS/SIGNALS/SIGNALS/SECSECSEC

500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500500

NERVE CONNECTIONS

500

4 x

The number of connections in the nervous system

trillion

SURFACE AREA OF ALL NEURONS IN BRAIN

Bundles of nerve fi bres inside nerve

ReceptorReceptorReceptorReceptorReceptorReceptorReceptorReceptorReceptorReceptorReceptor opens its channel opens its channel opens its channel opens its channel opens its channel opens its channel opens its channel opens its channel opens its channel opens its channel opens its channel opens its channel opens its channel opens its channel opens its channel opens its channel Receptor opens its channel ReceptorReceptor opens its channel ReceptorReceptor opens its channel Receptorto allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter to allow neurotransmitter through to pass on signalthrough to pass on signalthrough to pass on signalthrough to pass on signalthrough to pass on signalthrough to pass on signalthrough to pass on signalthrough to pass on signalthrough to pass on signalthrough to pass on signalthrough to pass on signalthrough to pass on signalthrough to pass on signalthrough to pass on signalthrough to pass on signal

NERVRVR E BUNDLE

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Invertebrates ❯ Centipedes and millipedes

Centipedes Centipedes and millipedesand millipedes

Centipedes and millipedes belong to a group of animals called arthropods, which have legs with joints and a hard body case. Millipedes are slow-moving vegetarians, but centipedes are agile predators, with keen senses and poisonous fangs. Yellow earth centipedes 1

hunt underground. With their bendy bodies and short legs, they squeeze between particles of soil. If they are dug

up, they quickly wriggle away. The Indian up, they quickly wriggle away. The Indian tiger gianttiger giant tiger giant centipede 2 is one of the biggest, growing up to 25 cm is one of the biggest, growing up to 25 cm is one of the biggest, growing up to 25 cm is one of the biggest, growing up to 25 cm (10 in) long. It can easily kill small rodents and can give(10 in) long. It can easily kill small rodents and can give (10 in) long. It can easily kill small rodents and can give (10 in) long. It can easily kill small rodents and can give humans an extremely painful bite. Centipedes have two legs humans an extremely painful bite. Centipedes have two legs humans an extremely painful bite. Centipedes have two legs humans an extremely painful bite. Centipedes have two legs on each segment of their body, but millipedes have four. The on each segment of their body, but millipedes have four. The American giant millipedeAmerican giant millipede 3 can have more than 200 legs. Like other millipedes, it grows extra pairs every time it moults, Like other millipedes, it grows extra pairs every time it moults,

or sheds its skin. Pill millipedes are short and stubby, and often have 50 legs or fewer. They get their name because they can tuck in their legs and roll up into a ball. The black giant pill millipedegiant pill millipede 44 comes from Madagascar, while comes from Madagascar, while the white-rimmed pill millipede 5 is found in Europe. The is found in Europe. Thebrown giant pill millipede 6 from the forests of Borneo is one of the biggest pill millipedes. Fully rolled up, it is about

the size of a golf ball. Most centipedes hunt outside, but the house centipede 7 often comes indoors. With its long legs, it is an amazingly fast sprinter, scuttling up walls and ceilings to catch spiders and other prey. With over 300 legs, the to catch spiders and other prey. With over 300 legs, the African giant millipede 8 is one of the largest millipedes. If threatened by predators, it releases a foul-smelling liquid to persuade them it is not nice to eat.

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Design sampleSFU MPub’15: Book cover redesign

Agatha Christie

DEATH on the

NILE

a Poirot mystery

Book cover redesign: A classroom project

Title: Death on the Nile | Author: Agatha Christie

Key selling points: Agatha Christie is one of the most famous mystery writers of all time. Her name and her two most famous creations—the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot and the elderly spinster, Miss Jane Marple—are brands in themselves.

Tying the cover image with the story: A honeymoon cruise for a couple—Simon and Linnet Doyle—goes horribly wrong as Linnet is murdered on board the steamship. Two more murders follow and it turns into a deadly cat-and-mouse game within the confines of a ship on the Nile. Thankfully, Hercule Poirot had decided to take a cruise to Egypt, too.

I chose a 1930s cruise ship artwork for my cover. There is a classic English feel to the visual; the colour palette is warm and cheerful. There is a general air of bonhomie—couples on deck, a tennis court, one can imagine the laughter, the conversations. The feeling of conviviality imparted by the cover image contrasts with the grim title, thus leading to a gradual build-up of intrigue.

Latest book cover1937 book cover

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