January 2009

Higher education crisis in Pakistan

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By Dr Tariq Rahman

 PAKISTAN inherited a colonial university system created by the British. The cardinal features of this system were that it was under-financed, bureaucratic, mediocre and teaching- (rather than research-) oriented.

The best graduates entered the colonial bureaucracy and the rest took up teaching. The colleges received the worst. The universities, though not much better, did have a couple of good scholars and scientists who were attracted to the job in spite of the system and not because of it.Read More »Higher education crisis in Pakistan

Reduced pollution increases life expectancy: study

Reducing pollution produces measurable health gains, according to a study released Wednesday that found cleaner air had lengthened life expectancy by five months in 51 US cities. Researchers at Brigham Young University and Harvard School of Public Health found that average life expectancy increased by three years between 1980 and 2000 in those cities, and that approximately five months of that gain owed to cleaner air. Read More »Reduced pollution increases life expectancy: study

100,000MW solar energy Resource estimated in Pakistan

By SALMAN ABDUHOO

LAHORE – The solar energy resource has been calculated at 800 million megawatt while its estimation for our country is about 100,000 megawatts, as Pakistan is the 6th luckiest country in the world where sun-availability is up to 16 hours on average.
This was stated by Jawaid Tariq Khan, Chairman Highnoon Group of Companies, while talking to The Nation here on Saturday.
Mr Jawaid asked the govt to pay special attention for launching solar energy projects to overcome the rising energy needs in the country.
He said that the solar energy intensity in the sun belt is approximately 1,800-2,200 KWh per square meter with an annual sunshine duration of 8 to 8.5 hours. Read More »100,000MW solar energy Resource estimated in Pakistan

Apples, juice help sharpen brain

ISLAMABAD: Eating apples and drinking apple juice could keep you mentally sharp despite ageing, researchers say.

Researchers from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell found that there is something in apples and apple juice that protects brain cells in normal aging, reported science portal EurekAlert. Read More »Apples, juice help sharpen brain

Cost of war- Dr Farrukh Saleem

We are 6.7 billion. Of the 6.7 billion, 1.2 billion are extremely poor (at or below $1 a day). Of the 1.2 billion extremely poor citizens of the world, some 550 million live in India and Pakistan combined. Wow; India and Pakistan are home to half of the world’s population that lives at or below $1 a day. The single largest chunk of extremely poor human beings lives in India –some 500 million. Should India and Pakistan be fighting each other or fighting poverty together? Read More »Cost of war- Dr Farrukh Saleem

Rheumatoid Arthritis affects women more often

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) might affect women more often and more severely than men, new research suggests.

In a study of more than 6,000 people from around the world who had RA, about 79 per cent of them were women, Finnish researchers found that women had poorer outcomes in key measures such as symptoms and severity, especially in areas based on their responses to questionnaires.Read More »Rheumatoid Arthritis affects women more often