Tips to help your kids to stay at correct weight

One of the best ways to prevent overweight and obesity in your child is to improve the eating and activity levels of your entire family.

Parents are often their children’s most important role model. If you eat right and are physically active, there is a good chance your children will make these choices, too. Plus, getting active and eating healthy as a family will help you spend more quality time together.

Put 1 hour of physical activity into your child's day.
It doesn't have to be 60 minutes all at once – it can be different activities that add up to 1 hour. Fun activities that children do on their own are often the best. Playing tag or hide–and–seek can be great for burning calories.
Be sure your child is doing different types of activity, including:

• Aerobic activities like running, skipping, or dancing
• Muscle–strengthening activities like climbing trees or playground equipment
• Bone–strengthening activities like jumping rope or playing basketball

ISRO’s next mission is to mars

After the challenging mission to moon, ISRO on Wednesday said it has begun preparations for sending a spacecraft to Mars within the next six years.

The Government has sanctioned seed money of Rs 10 crore to carry out various studies on experiments to be conducted, route of the mission and other related details necessary to scale the new frontier, said ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair.

"Already mission studies have been completed. Now we are trying to collect scientific proposals and scientific objectives," he told reporters on the sidelines of a day-long workshop of the Astronautical Society of India in New Delhi.

He said the space agency was looking at launch opportunities between 2013 and 2015.
Chandrayaan-I, the country's maiden unmanned moon mission, appears to have fired the imagination of young scientists who have taken to space sciences and ISRO plans to tap this talent for its mission to Mars.

"A lot of young scientists are being brought into the mission, particularly from the Indian Institute of Space Technology, the Physical Research Laboratory, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and other research laboratories," K Radhakrishnan, Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, said.

He said the space agency would use its Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) to put the satellite in orbit and was considering using ion-thrusters, liquid engines or nuclear power to propel it further towards Mars. (ST-12/08)

Vaccines are necessary to fight against deadly diseases

Disease prevention is the key to public health. It is always better to prevent a disease than to treat it. Vaccines prevent disease in the people who receive them and protect those who come into contact with unvaccinated individuals. Vaccines help prevent infectious diseases and save lives. Vaccines are responsible for the control of many infectious diseases that were once common in this country, including polio, measles, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), rubella (German measles), mumps, tetanus, and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib).

Vaccine-preventable diseases have a costly impact, resulting in doctor's visits, hospitalizations, and premature deaths. Sick children can also cause parents to lose time from work.

Each child is born with a full immune system composed of cells, glands, organs, and fluids that are located throughout his or her body to fight invading bacteria and viruses. The immune system recognizes germs that enter the body as "foreign" invaders, or antigens, and produces protein substances called antibodies to fight them. A normal, healthy immune system has the ability to produce millions of these antibodies to defend against thousands of attacks every day, doing it so naturally that people are not even aware they are being attacked and defended so often (Whitney, 1990). Many antibodies disappear once they have destroyed the invading antigens, but the cells involved in antibody production remain and become "memory cells." Memory cells remember the original antigen and then defend against it when the antigen attempts to re-infect a person, even after many decades. This protection is called immunity.

Vaccines contain the same antigens or parts of antigens that cause diseases, but the antigens in vaccines are either killed or greatly weakened. When they are injected into fatty tissue or muscle, vaccine antigens are not strong enough to produce the symptoms and signs of the disease but are strong enough for the immune system to produce antibodies against them (Tortora and Anagnostakos, 1981). The memory cells that remain prevent re-infection when they encounter that disease in the future. Thus, through vaccination, children develop immunity without suffering from the actual diseases that vaccines prevent.

Planetesimals

For those of you scoring at home," planetesimals" were the first solid objects in our newly minted solar system (also known as the protoplanetary disk). They began life as small grains of dust orbiting an infant sun. These grains would bump into each other, clump together and gradually form larger grains of dust, which eventually became small space rocks.

Now the theory goes that some of these small rock-sized planetesimals aspired for greater things, and continued to gradually grow in size to become asteroids, and that a few of those continued to grow beyond the asteroid stage and become planets.

The problem with this tidy little theory is that when the burgeoning space rocks grew to about one meter (3.3 feet) in size, orbital mechanics tells us the gas comingling with them in the protoplanetary disk should have acted like a brake, slowing their velocity appreciably. Their orbital speed having been cut, these filing cabinet-sized space rocks would have spiraled into the sun. Essentially, the gas would have acted as a celestial "mini-vacuum." The problem is, there are asteroids up there in space. Honest, ask any astronomer. So what happened?

Evidence is now mounting that these small space rocks quickly "jumped" (or grew) in size from below one meter to multi-kilometer in size. Planetesimals that big were big enough to plow through the drag created by the gas in the protoplanetary disk without having their orbits appreciably altered. Hence they did not spiral into the sun.

What data point to a jump in asteroid sizes? Simply, the asteroids available for viewing in the night's sky. Telescopic surveys indicate there is currently a plethora of asteroids less than one kilometer (.62 mile) wide but those over one kilometer drop considerably in number. The authors used computer simulations in an attempt to mimic the impacts and coagulation processes that took place over the millions of years between when the asteroids formed and now. The only way they could arrive at the current asteroid size distribution was to begin these simulations with planetesimals that quickly morphed into asteroids hundreds of kilometers in size. Once their growth spurt was over, these massive celestial bodies began an epoch-sized game of demolition derby as they orbited the sun. Over the eons, and with each extraterrestrial pileup, came fewer and fewer large asteroids - a fragmentation process that continues to this day. Despite the modest sizes of asteroids today, the paper's authors conclude that asteroids must have been born big.

Lightning

Lightning is the MOST UNDERRATED weather hazard. On average, only floods kill more people. Lightning makes every single thunderstorm a potential killer, whether the storm produces one single bolt or ten thousand bolts.

In the United States, lightning routinely kills more people each year than tornadoes or hurricanes. Tornadoes hail, and wind gusts get the most attention, but only lightning can strike outside the storm itself. Lightning is the first thunderstorm hazard to arrive and the last to leave.

Lightning is one of the most capricious and unpredictable characteristics of a thunderstorm. Because of this, no one can guarantee an individual or group absolute protection from lightning. However, knowing and following proven lightning safety guidelines can greatly reduce the risk of injury or death. Remember, YOU are ultimately responsible for your personal safety, and should take appropriate action when threatened by lightning.While no place is 100% safe from lightning, some places are much safer than others.

Where to Go
The safest location during a thunderstorm is inside a large enclosed structure with plumbing and electrical wiring. These include shopping centers, schools, office buildings, and private residences.
If lightning strikes the building, the plumbing and wiring will conduct the electricity more efficiently than a human body. If no buildings are available, then an enclosed metal vehicle such as an automobile, van, or school bus makes a decent alternative.

Where NOT to Go
Not all types of buildings or vehicles are safe during thunderstorms. Buildings which are NOT SAFE (even if they are "grounded") have exposed openings. These include beach shacks, metal sheds, picnic shelters/pavilions, carports, and baseball dugouts. Porches are dangerous as well.
Convertible vehicles offer no safety from lightning, even if the top is "up". Other vehicles which are NOT SAFE during lightning storms are those which have open cabs, such as golf carts, tractors, and construction equipment.

Gas Mileage Tips

Aggressive driving wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town. Sensible driving is also safer for you and others, so you may save more than gas money.

Observe the speed limit, While each vehicle reaches its optimal fuel economy at a different speed, gas mileage usually decreases rapidly at speeds above 60 mph.

Remove Excess Weight, excess weight in your vehicle could reduce your MPG.

Avoid Excessive Idling, idling gets 0 miles per gallon. Cars with larger engines typically waste more gas at idle than do cars with smaller engines.

Keep Your Cars in Shape-Keep Your Engine Properly Tuned, Keep Tires Properly Inflated and Use the Recommended Grade of Motor Oil.

White Water Rafting and Trekking in Darjeeling

White Water Rafting in Darjeeling

"White Water Rafting" is an adventure Hill Sport, which is relatively new in the Darjeeling Hills. Beckon the strong hearted as Darjeeling is also home to the mighty River Teesta and Rangeet whose turbulent currents make a formidable challenge to even the seasoned rafter. There is however a wide range in the intensity of the rapids making it adequate for all, the young and the aged to enjoy the spectacular scenery while leisurely snaking down the river. The Dept. of Tourism, DGHC has successfully promoted this sport and has acquired well trained members and quality equipment ensuring a safe and pleasant ride to all visitors.
Tourist should spare a day during their stay in Darjeeling and take a one and half hour drive down to Teesta Bazar to enjoy this Hill Sport. "Assumption of Risk and Release" bond has to sign before undertaking the trip.

Trekking in Darjeeling

Darjeeling internationally acclaimed as one of the best hill resorts is also a veritable paradise for trekkers and adventure seekers. Trekking in Darjeeling is an experience which no lover of nature should miss. It takes one to places where nature is yet in her premival majesty. It brings one face to face with the sublime grandeur of the Himalayas.

The region abounds in rhododendrons,magnolias,primulas,orchids and ferns of numerous varities. About six hundred different species of birds inhabit the emerald green forests on the slopes of the mountains. The following is a brief description of some of the most popular and most rewarding treks in the region.