Simian Speech: The gift of language is one of the most striking traits that distinguishes man from other animals. Now two scientists from the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center in Atlanta, Georgia, have questioned that assumption. Language, in humans, is closely related to a part of the brain called Brodman's Area 44. The scientists scanned the brains of 20 chimpanzees, five bonobos and two gorillas with magnetic resonance imaging. All three species showed brain regions similar to the human Brodman's Area 44, even though apes can manage only cries and grunts. So apes could have a far more complex communication system than previously anticipated.

Love, The Best Medicine: When pills become redundant, tender loving care works miracles. Now that's been officially acknowledged. Researchers from Harvard Medical School surveyed more than 1,300 heart attack patients and monitored their recovery for more than a year. They found that the non-technical aspects of care, such as doctor-patient communication, emotional support and discharge planning, were as important as the right medication for recovery. Patients with poor hospital experiences were more likely to complain of chest pains after a year.

Modified Debate

The recent furore over genetically modified (GM) BT-cotton grown illegally in Gujarat brought home, literally, the worldwide debate on the issue. Proponents of GM technology insist it is safe, and the only feasible solution to problems like world hunger. They cite the 13 countries that have grown GM crops for over five years with no visible harm and plenty of good in terms of yield and quality. Opponents see GM crops as opening a Pandora's box, irreversibly damaging both human health and the environment.

So far both sides have been high on rhetoric but short on hard evidence. Now the anti-GM crop lobby may stand on slightly stronger ground. A recent paper in Nature reports that DNA from genetically engineered crops has been found in a wild variety of corn grown in rural Mexico. A similar, unpublished study conducted by Mexico's National Institute of Ecology found that up to 10 per cent of kernels of wild maize contained transgenic DNA. It shows, for the first time, that genes from GM crops are less easy to contain than was assumed.

This does not mean that transgenic DNA will harm people. But it does raise a fear that it will. BT-cotton, for example, has a bacterial gene inserted to produce a pesticide. This increases yield as pests die when they try to eat the plant. While its effects can be monitored in the plant in question, such a gene would be impossible to keep track of in wild plants. It may then enter the food chain, with consequences that are yet unknown. Transfer of these genes to wild plants also changes forever the genetic diversity found in nature.

But the benefits of gm crops are tremendous. Besides increasing yields, these crops enhance nutrition and can be grown in various conditions. In Mexico, GM technology overcame high levels of aluminium in the soil, increasing yields by as much as 80 per cent in some areas. In sum, you can't wish away this technology; but neither can you wish away the evidence ...

Supriya Bezbaruah

HEALTH

SYRINGES
Dangerous Pinpricks

Every day, 40 million people across the world are administered an injection. According to the World Health Organisation, re-use of contaminated syringes causes about 10 million new infections every year, and more than one million deaths. In India, eight million people are infected from syringe re-use each year.

"It is a major concern that sterilisation of syringes leads to further infections," says Sobhn Sarkar, assistant commissioner, immunisation programme, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Maybe that will change with a new kind of syringe. Both the types being used in India-the old-fashioned glass syringe and the plastic disposable syringe-have disadvantages. A UNICEF study found that once every three times a glass syringe is used, it is not clean-or safe-enough. The disposable syringe is usually sold sterilised and sealed and is affordable, but bears the risk of being reused.

The latest type is the auto-disabled (AD) syringe which is automatically disabled after being used once-the plunger jams and cannot be pulled up. "They're tamper proof, therefore safer," says Delhi-based paediatrician Anupam Sibal. AD syringes come in various sizes, each designed to take in a specific volume of medicine, thus eliminating dosage errors. WHO, UNICEF and UNFPA have urged all countries to switch to ad syringes.

At Rs 3-5 per imported syringe, these are relatively expensive. Locally-made ones are expected to be cheaper. But plastic ad syringes are non-degradable. That's a point for medical professionals and environmentalists to ponder as India enters the ad era of immunisation.

-Supriya Bezbaruah