Susruta, the original Indian surgeon Indian doctors and surgeons are the ‘professional descendants of the original Indian surgeon, Susruta, the 4th century BC disciple of Dhanvantri, the first Indian ‘doctor’. The ‘Sushruta Samhita’ describes over one hundred surgical instruments with names of birds or animals,...
Paper clip helps in surgery Most conventional disposable surgical devices that follow international standards are expensive. Not to be daunted by this, Indian surgeons have succeeded in inventing a variety of cheaper, indigenous methods to perform surgeries. According to a paper in the ‘Journal of...
Dua’s layer A new layer of the human cornea, called Dua’s layer, has been discovered by Harminder Dua, a researcher at the University of Nottingham in the UK. The new ‘layer’ is a 15-micron thick layer that sits at the back of the cornea, between...
Paper to detect cancer Sangeeta Bhatia of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, has developed a paper that can detect cancer. The paper test relies on nanoparticles that interact with tumour proteins (proteases) that release hundreds of biomarkers that can be detected in a patient’s...
Heart of the matter Dr. Hemant Thatte, a Mumbai-born senior cardiovascular surgeon at Harvard University, has worked out a 21-chemical solution that could help preserve a donated organ for up to a week prior to a transplant. At present, organs retrieved from brain-dead people can...
Hauz Khas, old and new Hauz Khas in South Delhi – just a stone’s throw from the imposing Qutab Minar – is now mainly a residential colony. Like most of Delhi, it is a fine blend of the really old and the new! Among the...
Mysterious cave paintings in Chhattisgarh In 2014, archaeologist J.R. Bhagat and his team from Chhattisgarh discovered that cave paintings dating back to the same period as the paintings in Bhimbetka, in Kanker district of Bastar, depict what appear to be “aliens” and UFOs. The Chhattisgarh...
Bhimbetka, the earliest known gallery of cave paintings, in India. The rock shelters housing the Bhimbetka cave paintings are a World Heritage Site. The paintings here are the earliest known depiction of human life in India. The Bhimbetka rock shelters are believed to have been...
Shri Chitra Art Gallery The Shri Chitra Art Gallery, housed in the Government Art Museum in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, has a collection of paintings by Raja Ravi Varma, who painted Victorian-style portraits and is best known for his scenes from Indian mythology. The gallery also boasts...
Gold throne The opulence and grandeur of the Mysore palace are legendary. But the one thing that stays indelibly etched in memory is the view of the solid gold throne. Unreal as it seems in today’s world, the jewel-studded, 200 kg gold throne of the...
