UK report calls for protection of genetic privacy

DNA gathered from a used coffee mug could lead to serious breaches of a person's genetic privacy. The UK government's Human Genetics Commission now recommends making theft of genetic information a criminal offence, writes Michael Gross.     

Adivasis,Communists, and the rise of indigenism in Kerala

Although the notion of the ‘adivasi’ has come under academic scrutiny and the ‘dark side’ of indigeneity discourses is increasingly criticized, there has been relatively little attention to the question of why, under adverse circumstances, activists have nevertheless started articulating their political program in the language of adivasi-ness while surpassing the particularistic politics of earlier tribal movements. Explaining the emergence of indigenist politics as a new democratic force is all the more pertinent for the case of Kerala since this state has the Communist movement as an obvious alternative for the articulation of such a transformative political agenda. This article therefore seeks to explore the forces that gave rise to the politics of indigenism. It begins with a discussion of shifts in the structural power context shaping subaltern activism in Kerala—particularly the impact of neoliberal restructuring and the new ideological environment created with the demise of the Communist block. The paper then moves to consider the political dynamics operating within this structural context that led indigenist activists to form a separate political movement. It looks particularly at the sense of both ideological and material disillusionment these activists feel toward the Communist party in Kerala.     

Self-help medical advice was popular in the 1930s,too

Self-help books proliferate today, but the concept of helping oneself in health matters is certainly not a modern phenomenon, Dr. Mark Clarfield notes. He recently studied a self-help booklet from 1936, What to do until the doctor comes, in which he found not only some sound advice but also some harmless suggestions, useless treatments and dangerous remedies.     

Studies on the spring rise phenomenon in ovine helminthiasis. I. Spring rise in stabled sheep

Serial ova count studies were conducted to determine some of the characteristics of the spring rise in faecal shedding of nematode ova by parasitized sheep in flocks in the Montreal area. It was discovered that substantial spring rises occurred in most ewes following their lambing but that great variation existed in the magnitude, duration, and pattern of the rises. Although rams did not display increased ova counts, a slight but well-defined rise developed in one unbred ewe. Larval studies in ewes parasitized by a variety of nematode species, revealed that Haemonchus contortus was the major contributor to the spring rise in faecal ova output. Preparturient treatment of ewes with thiabendazole(1), at the rate of 100 mg./kg. of body weight, suppressed spring rise but failed to arrest completely the faecal shedding of nematode ova.