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CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 90, NO. 9, 10 MAY 20061174

*A report on the National Conference on‘New Developments in Rapeseed Mustard’,organized by the Mustard Research PromotionConsortium, an autonomous organization, andthe Delhi University Botanical Society at the

New Conference Centre, University of Delhi,Delhi on 21 January 2006.

and a review talk on experiments using14 MeV neutron source by T. K. Basu(BARC) showed the involvement andpreparedness of big teams of scientistworld over in the development of several

techniques for studies related to ADS.Besides, S. K. Gupta (University of Raja-sthan) delivered a talk on time-of-flighttechnique for measurement of neutroncross-sections.

(f) Spallation target and technologies(four talks): Development of a spallationtarget for ADS, particularly that in theliquid phase is a matter of developing aspecial technology of Pb + Bi eutectic.

Russians have got expertise in this tech-nology so far. P. Satyamurthy (BARC)delivered two talks on this aspect presen-ting preparations being done by Indianscientists for the eutectic technology. R.

M. Vadjikar (CAT) discussed heat dy-namics of solid targets. K. Kobayashi(Kyoto University, Japan) presented atheoretical talk on the issue of interpreta-tion of sub-criticality coefficient in caseof neutron source-driven systems like theADS.

The workshop ended with a concludingsession emphasizing the need for ex-perimental facilities that should be set up

on priority for data collection and preparingthe Indian database for ADS. The organizershave released powerpoint presentationsof all the speakers in a CD. The AbstractBooklet of the workshop will be avail-

able on a CD. The text of full papers willbe published shortly in Pramana – J. Phys.

P. K. Nema, Nuclear Physics Division,Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai400 085, India; and V. Kumar*, HENPLaboratory, Department of Physics, Uni-versity of Rajasthan, Jaipur 302 004, India*e-mail: kumar-vinod@uniraj.ernet.in

MEETING REPORT

New developments in rapeseed mustard*

Oilseed crops in India account for almost5% of Gross National Product (GNP) and10% of the value of agricultural products.Rapeseed mustard ( Brassica ) contributes32% of the total oilseed production inIndia, and it is the second largest indige-

nous oilseed crop. Despite many changesin the rapeseed mustard sector, such asdevelopment of improved varieties, region-specific production and practices, Indiais not self-sufficient in this crop. Agri-cultural scientists, policy makers, fieldbotanists, biotechnologists and the industryare gearing up to the challenge to bringback the lost glory to this crop by enhancingthe yield per hectare, developing impro-ved hybrids, improved farm mechanizationmethods and post-harvest managementstrategies. In view of recent research car-ried out in the above-mentioned methodsand research in health and dietary aspects, aone-day national conference was organized.The conference received infrastructuraland financial support from NAFED. Theconference was attended by 200 dele-gates from various parts of India. Re-search scholars, teachers from various

colleges, university departments, scientistsworking in NGOs, Indian Council of Agri-cultural Research laboratories and entre-preneurs from the oilseed industryattended the conference.

The one-day deliberations consisted of

four technical sessions and a panel dis-cussion for drafting recommendations tothe Government and various agencies invol-ved with the improvement of this crop.The four technical sessions focused on(a) health and nutritional aspects, (b) cropimprovement, (c) quality and value addi-tion, and (d) processing and storage.

A. K. Bhatnagar (Department of Bot-any, University of Delhi) while deliveringhis welcome address, focused attention onthe uses of mustard and added that ‘thegolden crop with strong aroma needs se-rious attention from all quarters andcross-sections of society associated withthis crop’. He added ‘scientific institu-tions, marketing managers and industryneed to work together and carry out col-laborative research with inputs fromfarming community to make the elusive“Yellow Revolution” a reality’. The semi-nar was inaugurated by Kailash Jyani(Additional Director General, NAFED)who emphasized the need of region-spe-cific research in this crop. He cautionedthe scientific community about loss in yieldof crop due to pests and pathogens in the

field as well as after harvest. He alsostressed on the need of more proactive

research in all frontiers so that aspirations of farmers to gain better market prices fortheir produce are assured.

S. C. Manchanda (All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi)in an interesting lecture on ‘Role of In-

dian mustard in controlling coronaryheart diseases’, stated that the use of mustard oil could contribute significantlyto check increasing epidemic of coronaryheart diseases (CHD), which are theleading cause of death in the developingcountries. Discussing the properties of mustard oil, Manchanda emphasized thatit is a healthy cooking medium becauseof low saturated fatty acids (8%), highmonosaturated fatty acids (70%) and al-pha linolenic acid (10%). According tothe recently published study by the HarvardMedical School of Public Health, USA;AIIMS, New Delhi and St. Johns MedicalCollege, Bangalore, it has been demon-strated that use of mustard oil as a cook-ing medium reduces CHD risk by almost70%. M. S. Ganesh (Fortis Hospital, Delhi)shared his views on anticancer propertiesof mustard oil. He elaborated on the roleof various components of oil, such as cur-cumin, antioxidants, and isothiocyantes inpreventing malignancy. In the secondtechnical session, Deepak Pental (Uni-versity of Delhi) spoke on the recent de-velopments in hybrids and transgenics in

mustard. He stressed on the need of modernbiotechnological innovations vis-à-vis

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conventional breeding for improving thiscrop. He also focused on the role of malesterility, hybrid DMH-II and pollinationcontrol systems developed in variousspecies of Brassica. Addressing the

gathering on the importance of value-added products from mustard and theirapplications in food and industry in thethird technical session, D. K. Bhattacharya(University of Calcutta, Kolkata) gave aninteresting account of many useful value-added products from mustard and its oil.He mentioned that modification of Bras-sica seed oils by chemical and enzymaticreactions provides scope for productionof ‘nutraceuticals’ and functional food

products. Rajeev Churi (SARBI Petroleumand Chemicals Pvt Ltd, Mumbai) dealt withuse of environment-friendly lubricants frommustard, and its properties and advantagesover mineral oils such as superior biode-

gradability and excellent viscosity. S. K.Saxena (Centre for Analysis and Training)made the audience aware of quality stan-dards required for manufacturing and ex-porting food derivatives from mustard andthe importance of quality in trade in theWTO regime.

There was a brainstorming discussionon how to improve the processing of mus-tard at various levels and make mustardoil a better heath choice for the public.

Several measures in various sectors of research and marketing were suggested.

The conference concluded with a voteof thanks from H. B. Singh, MRPC. Hethanked the delegates and speakers for

their valuable inputs and encouraged theresearch scholars to indulge in pro-activeresearch in frontiers areas of mustardsector to meet the future challenges.

Monika Koul Moza, Department of Botany, Hans Raj College, University of Delhi, Delhi 110 007, Indiae-mail: monikabot@rediffmail.com

COMMENTARY

Scientists anonymous

Asha Gopinathan

As I sit down to write this piece, a seminarI attended recently comes to mind. It wasan interesting talk given by a woman ar-chaeologist on evidence collected of trade

between the Roman Empire and India,especially Kerala in the period betweenthe 1st century BC and 5th century AD . Iasked her whether she had thought of anygender dimensions to her work. She re-plied that a few pieces of cloth had beendiscovered in some of the digs which ledthem to conclude that families may havebeen present. I probed her for any evidenceto prove that the boat-builders, sailorsand traders were all men. She had no answerto that. She wanted to know if I was spe-cializing in gender studies. I answered inthe negative and told her that I was a sci-entist who is interested in the workingsof the brain.

As a scientist, I have often tried to locatein the past, women and other underrepre-sented minorities. Often, in a collectionof stories of white men, one can find asprinkling of men of colour and may bean odd white woman thrown in. In thefew collections of biographies of Indianscientists, rarely does one find the storyof even one woman. I have a scrap book in which I enter the names of importantIndian and other women of colour who

have worked in science. Of course, whenone looks at contemporary science as we

think of it today, to fill this book is adaunting task.

Women working in the area of the historyof science and technology have slowly

begun to change this by asking somefundamental questions of what constitutesscience, who the people are whose con-tributions constitute recorded history andhave formulated ways of rewriting thepeople at the margins back into the his-tory books. It is in this connection that Ifind the writings of Patricia Fara, a Fellowof Clare College, Cambridge unique andinteresting. In her book Pandora’s Breeches ,Fara makes the argument that during theEnlightenment, women took part in sci-ence in many roles ranging from beingtranslators of major works to fundingvarious projects 1. In her more recent book 2,Fara takes this, one step further. This is abook written primarily for a younger audi-ence, where Fara describes and lists theachievements of many women in sciencein Europe (though a few from the US arealso mentioned) from the 17th century tothe present. The stories form interestingreading for the range of activities thesewomen engaged in, the obstacles theyfaced and the strategies adopted by themto succeed. It is clear that these anonymouswomen carried out experiments, recorded

observations, created theories, built-upcollections, went on expeditions, illustrated

apparatus, specimens and translated for-eign books. Some of these names havebeen retrieved by Fara and form the con-tent of this very readable book.

Fara begins her story in the 17th centurybecause that is when the first scientificsociety appeared. The Royal Society of London was established in 1660. It wasduring the period 1550 to 1700, referredto as the period of the Scientific Revolu-tion, that reformers campaigned to bringabout a change in methods of learningabout nature. They put forth the viewthat conducting experiments was a betterway to learn about nature than relying onbooks that were centuries old. The newscientific societies were formed to adver-tise this new approach. They supported re-search and its communication. However,no woman was ever a part of these socie-ties. During the 17th century, there wereno scientists as we understand the word to-day. The word was not invented till 1833.Even Isaac Newton was not called a sci-entist, but a natural philosopher. Thesenatural philosophers did not work fromlaboratories, had no research grants andmost oddly, they believed that their work helped them to learn more about God.However, even though these societiesexcluded women, Margaret Cavendish, a

wealthy woman who critiqued the work of Robert Boyle, demanded that she be