Wednesday the 27th of July 2016

he Minister of Science, Technology and Research Susil Premajayan- tha met The Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in , TMohammad Zaeri Amirani and Iran’s Representative on Science, Technology and Research Prof. Zeid Mohomed Reza Kaleeli at the Ministry Office recently and at that meeting the Government of Iran expressed its agreement to provide laboratory facilities including oil quality standardiza- tion equipment to . At this meeting, the Minister expressed his willingness to provide the necessary infrastructure facilities to establish these laboratory facilities in the Industrial Technology Institute under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Research.

W.A.S. Nisansala Kumari With the establishment of these facilities, a marked increase in quality s a treatment for kidney patients, the blood m a n N i r o s h a n a P e r e r a , D i r e c t o r G e n e r a l G . A . S . can be expected in oil and related products in Sri Lanka and this will be of of such patients is purified with a solution of Premakumara, Dr. Radhika Samarasekera, A.S. Pan- immense use to eradicate the losses to the consumers of this country by sub-standard oil and allied products. Furthermore, this laboratory will give pure water, electrolytes and salts called a nila, K.A.S.T. Kaluarachchi, W.R.R. Fonseka, Manori A the benefit of importing oil of the correct standards to this country and it is Dialysate Solution and a large amount of money has Wijemanna and M. N. A. Mubharak and Officers of expected that this will be an immense backing to avoid the economic losses to be spent to purchase such electrolytes and salts the Tri - Forces participated in this celebration and caused by importing sub-standard oil and other allied products. from other countries. Successfully providing a solution workshop. to that problem, the Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) Picture by Sankha Waliwita has created a Dialysate Solution that can be used in dialysis.

The celebration of sending this Dialysate Solution cre- ated by the ITI under the Ministry of Science, Technol- ogy and Research to clinical trials was held on the 21st of this month at the Main Auditorium of the ITI at this celebration, this Dialysate Solution was handed over to the Senior Advisor of the Kidney Disease Unit of the Teaching Hospital, Kandy by the Chairman of the ITI Niroshana Perera.

A workshop edifying participants of methodologies of preventing environmentally banned trade was also held in parallel to this celebration to mark the World ITI Chairman Niroshana Perera presenting Dialysate Solution to Environment Day. Former Deputy Director of Customs Dr. Thilak Abeysekera of Kandy Teaching Hospital Samantha Gunasekera delivered a special lecture at this workshop.

A large gathering including Doctors Rathnayake, Samantha Gunasekera and Thilak Abeysekera of the Teaching Hospital, Peradeniya, ITI Chair- Pictures by Gayan Pushpika

Ministry of Science, Technology and Research To read Vidya as an Paper visit www.dailynews.lk /vidya 2 Wednesday, July 27, 2016

The 47th anniversary of humans landing on the moon fell on 20th July 2016. This article is to mark that momentous occasion. that the moon landing was a truth and not a hoax and Lankans by Sir Arthur out of the over 1,000 people who played C. Clarke and its parts in this, at least one person will Sinhala translation was reveal that it was a hoax. He further said done by veteran media that the American Flag was fluttering personality Edwin Ariyadasa. umans stepped on an Geologist Harrison Schmitt examined the because it was fitted with a steel cross The science writer Anura C. Hextraterrestrial body for the geological features of the moon. bar and the flag was made to flutter by Perera wrote a book on the th first time on 20 July 1969. On Unmanned space flights pulling and releasing it by hand. Apollo 11 mission and three that day, Neil Armstrong stepped copies of his book titled “Handata Human habitations on the moon on the surface of the moon from That was the last space mission to the Giya Apooru Gamana” was pre- Apollo 11 Lunar Lander “Eagle.” moon and after that, in 1994, the un- Earth spins around its axis, just as a top sented to the three astronauts. That is written in the annals of history manned spaceflight Clementine conduct- spins around its spindle. This spinning NASA’s gratitude as the most important incident of the ed research on North and South Poles of movement is called Earth’s rotation. At last Millennium. Edwin Aldrin and Mi- the moon. Clementine also investigated the same time that the Earth spins on its NASA sent a letter of thanks to the chael Collins joined Neil Armstrong on the gravity data of the moon. axis, it also orbits, or revolves around the group headed by Anura C. Perers and this historic journey which was launched On 25th October 2008, also sent Sun. This movement is called revolu- copies of that letter are on display at from Kennedy Space Center, California a spacecraft to the moon named Chan- tion. Eclipses of the sun, the moon and the Colombo Public Library. The share and ended by reaching Southwestern drayaan 1 with the objective of obtain- various changes can be observed from of lunar material presented to Dr. Cyril Hawaii Islands in the Pacific Ocean on ing 3D photographs of the moon. Even time to time because of these motions Ponnamperuma who tested those ma- th 24 of July at 12.51 pm. though moon exploration has been and various gravitational relationships. terials was on display along with the Sri carried thus far, still a vast amount of Exploring moon’s deolodical features The gravity of the moon is about one- Lankan flag that was taken to the moon information about the moon remains still sixth of the gravity of the earth. Because and brought back are on display at Na- Spaceflights Apollo 11, 12, 13, 14, hidden. The moon is considered as the of this, today’s scientists are thinking tional Museum, Colombo. When those 15, 16 and 17 were manned space- best natural laboratory to experiment on seriously of establishing human habita- items were exhibited for the first time flights that reached the moon and the birth of the earth. That is the reason tions on the moon. Accordingly, even at in the third week of December 1969, it they brought back 4 Kilogrammes of the moon is so important for us. present, experiments are ongoing such was reported that the pilot of the lunar lunar material to earth. 12 astronauts Explorations on the moon have revealed as constructing cubicles conducive to module Neil Armstrong who was on stepped on the surface of the moon that there are no water or wind on the human habitation, placing them on the his way to Hong Kong spent a few in these spaceflights. A Sri Lankan sun and large craters are still being cre- moon and getting people to live in those hours at the Katunayake Airport. scientist, Dr. Cyril Ponnamperuma, ated by meteor strikes, and that large cubicles. Accordingly, it can be expressed was fortunate to seek life in this caters created as results of explod- A space station proudly that the day people es- lunar material. Another good ing volcanoes are still existing on the tablish habitations on the moon fortune for Sri Lankans was that surface of the moon and furthermore it Plans have been made to establish is not very far away. Then, the he was the Founder Director of had been proved that high and low tides a space station on the moon and elderly and the disabled who the Arthur C. Clarke Centre. result from the influence of the moon. later broaden it to eatablishing hu- have no control over their The last manned spaceflight man habitations. The Director General bodies could live on the Second man to walk on the moon to moon was Apollo 17. of the European Space Agency Prof. moon without any diffi- The astronauts were The second man to walk on the moon, Johann-Dietrich Wörner has said that culty. Let us count the able to drive for 35 Edwin Aldrin, came to Sri Lanka to this International Space Agency will cost days till we achieve Kilometers on the visit Sir Arthur C. Clarke in 2001 and £ 75 million and it will be constructed this objective. moon’s surface there were inquiries made of the moon in the year 2024. At present, a camera Chinthana Wijayawardena and on that landing on that occasion. Are humans capable of observing the final destination Arthur C. Clarke Institute space trip landing on the moon a hoax? How on the moon located 2,38,900 can the American Flag flutter in miles away for the earth cost- for modern technology the moon’s windless environ- ing about US $ 400 has been ment? Is the whole moon landing invented. story something filmed in a set on During the Apollo 11 mission, earth? were some of the ques- the live radio broadcast in tions asked. But, Edwin English was brought Aldrin replied to Sri Wednesday, July 27, 2016 3

Sustainable Development Goals of Sri Lankan forests comes to world attention

special Meeting of Heads of State for World For- Aest Week organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome, , from 17th to 19th July. At that meeting, Sustainable Development Goals and Millennium Development Goals and the proposed themes of the 2015 Paris Climate Conference held last April, “Completely stopping fossil fuel burning by 2050” and “Avoiding global warming and climate change were broadly discussed. More attention was paid to Sri Lanka at this meeting because Dry Zone and Wet Zone special ecosys- tems naturally exist in the country and the Minister of Science, Technology and Research Susil Premajay- antha made the keynote address on behalf of Presi- dent Maithripala Sirisena.

This compendious address, most important to the whole population of the world, will appear in the next issue of ‘Vidya’…

sbestos is a natural mineral and exists in Athe environment in fiber form. This occurs in many shapes and white, blue or brown in colour. Asbestos fibers are resistant to heat, fire and chemical reactions and do not conduct electricity. Furthermore, asbestos is long- lasting. Asbestos is used in many industries due to these qualities. Roofing sheets, floor tiles and ceil- ing raw material are some asbestos products. Other than these, asbestos is used in the manufacture of auto parts, water tanks and septic tanks. Because of its fire-resistant quality asbestos is generally used for covering. Out of these, the asbestos used to cover pipes is very injurious to health. Furthermore, it is used in building ships, battle tanks, airplanes, trucks and in various con- structions of the military sector. The annual production of asbestos in the world exceeds two million metric tons and according to the reports of the World Health Organization about 43,000 deaths occur annually because of its use. or rubbing pieces of asbestos or subjecting around, an essential protective step is refrain- debility and chest pains can result from expo- Even though over 50 countries of the world them to shocks or exposing them to the wind ing from using vacuum. sure to asbestos. have banned the use of asbestos, the problem can make asbestos fibers escape. So, the Do not ever put asbestos into refuse bins at So, people must be edified on avoiding dam- of finding a substitute for it has arisen. harm caused could be minimized by avoiding home. Take the advice of people in the know ages caused by asbestos, other than making The permanent solution to escape the dam- touching the pieces and not going to the place to identify asbestos in your home. If asbestos use of asbestos. ages caused by asbestos is removing asbes- they are laying. If such pieces are accidently products are intact there is no harm and exam- tos products completely but, if it is not carried touched by hand, the hands must be washed ine them for damages from time to time. (Source – various publications) out properly, asbestos fibers can escape to the immediately. If the asbestos pieces have to Some diseases caused by asbestos are lung environment. If there are broken pieces of as- be removed, it is always better to wear gloves. cancer, mesothelioma cancer, asbestosis and bestos around the house or garden, touching M. Priyanka Siriwardana Children should be never entrusted with thickening of lung tissue. In addition, sneez- them should be avoided at all costs. Striking Science and Technology Officer such work and if there is powdered asbestos ing, cough, increase in body weight, general Balapitiya Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org) 6 Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Advice n many occasions, we discuss to us but also a great service to our R. Wijialudchumi about energy conservation. brother countrymen and generally O Secretary The attention of all people is to our country. rear of the refrigera- Ministry of Science, Technology and Research directed towards energy conserva- tor clean and dust-free tion especially in times of increase Methods of wastage of sInspect the rubber H.M.B.C. Herath of electricity bills and in drought household energy beading of the door to see Additional Secretary (Technical & Research Development) conditions when power generation sUsing more energy than neces- whether the door is closing becomes difficult. When energy sary properly Renuka Amarasinghe conservation is discussed, top pri- sUsing energy at unnecessary sNever put anything hot Additional Secretary ority is given to the conservation of times in the refrigerator (Technology Transfer) household electricity as, compared sNot using modern technical appli- sWhen buying a refrigerator, with electricity Clean the burners of gas cookers Nandanie Samarawickrema to day time, more electricity has to ances select one sufficient to your needs s Additional Secretary often generated between 6.00 pm and sUsing inefficient appliances sBe considerate of the refrig- (Administration & Finance) 10.00 PM as a lot of household sUsing efficient appliances inef- erator’s power consumption when sWhen using gas, keep the flame work is attended to during these ficiently selecting below the bottom of the pan not Guidance hours and it directly influences our sKeep frost forming inside the allowing the flame to touch the pan P.M. Dharmatilake lives. refrigerator to a minimum. If an sUse pots and pans with flat bot- Director It is true that conserving of house- excessive amount of frost is form- toms when cooking with electricity (Science and Research Development) hold energy directly influences our ing, defrost or gas Use economical stoves when economy. Considering our country according to a s Himali W.K. Athaudage in general, even though we are time table. using firewood. Director – (Technology and supplied with electricity, another lot International Relations) of Sri Lankans cannot be supplied Using the Boiling water It is more economical to use Nazeema Ahamed with electricity. One of the main sNo proper maintenance television s Director (Planning) reasons of this is that the electricity sLack of knowledge and sSwitch on another fuel (gas, firewood) than generated within our country is not personal attitudes the television electricity when boiling water Nimali Kulathunga sufficient to meet the demand. it when neces- sWhen using electricity to boil Director (Planning) should be mentioned here that, if Methods of conserving sary water, automatic electric kettles are A.K.P. Peiris we can save part of the electric- energy sNever use the television instead more suitable Chief Accountant ity we consume, we can light up Using electric lamps of the radio sHot plates are more efficient in Co-editing another person’s life and ease his sSwitch off unnecessary electric sWhen the television is not in boiling water Mahesh Samarasekera or her workload. Other than this, in lamps use, switch off the power from the sBoil only the required amount of (Media Secretary) our country, electricity is generated sUse efficient electric lamps supply plug. Turning off power water 0112-372288 mainly with imported fuel and if sWhen building houses and build- from the remote control unit is not sUse a thermos flask to keep the Chiranthi Nadeera Chandrapala we consume more electricity, we ings, plan to utilize the maximum enough. leftover hot water Dhammika Rathnayake have to burn more energy. This sunlight (natural light) When buying a new televi- sThe kettle is more suitable when (Technology and Research s Development Division) will cause our valuable foreign ex- sKeep electric lamp shades clean sion, consider its size and power using other fuels such as firewood Official Photographs change to flow to other countries. sUse strip window covers consumption and gas Dulip Nayanapriya Because of this, every unit of elec- Use light-coloured paint on walls s Ministry Media Unit tricity we save is not only of benefit and light-coloured appliances Using electric fans Washing and ironing cloths sWhen using alternate energy sSelect the fan fitting your sWhen loading the washing sources for lighting purposes, necessity (ceiling, table etc.) when machine, load according to its always use the chimney of chimney buying electric fans capacity lamps sUse regulators sWhenever possible, dry cloths in sKeep the chimneys of chimney sUse efficient electric fans sun light (makes cloths easier to Graphics Team lamps always clean sInstall the fan at correct height be ironed) Coordination/ Graphics and Creations Supervision Control operating fans unneces- sIron more cloths at a time Samantha Karunasekera s Managing Editor – Graphics & Layout Using the refrigerator sarily sIron thick cloths first and thin (Lake House) sNever place refrigerators in direct sBe considerate of the electric material last 0112 429297 / 077 3493785 sunlight or close to hot stoves and fan’s power consumption when sElectric steam iron is more Editor fires buying a fan suitable Jayasri Jayakody Creations Pack the refrigerator Design houses so as to be s s Danushka Bandara / Srinath Samarasinghe / methodically cooled naturally Eng. K.T. Jayasinghe Ashani Jayawardana sBefore opening the Sectional Head Photo Editing refrigerator, decide what you want When cooking National Engineering Lake House Production Graphic Department to take out sWhenever possible, limit cooking Research & Development Printing sKeep the condenser coil on the Centre (NERD) Lake House Commercial Press Wednesday, July 27, 2016 7

https://play.google.com/store/apps/ details?id=virajekanayake.com. sciencerays.apps.

sinhalascienceglossary&hl=en or by scanning the above QR code.

Pradeep Piyathilaka, Communication and Media Officer cial Features: Science Education & Dissemination Unit, ational Institute of Fundamental Studies The second mobile app of these projects has . Can search in both Sinhala and English (No National Institute of N(NIFS), Kandy, working under the Ministry been named as “Sinhala-English Science need to install Sinhala fonts in the mobile) Fundamental Studies, Kandy. of Science, Technology and Research has Glossary.” This glossary mobile app con- . Can use while working off-line launched a unique project under the Science tains glossaries that are available at www. . There are word predictions to search Education & Dissemination Unit (SEDU) which vidumanpetha.com the first ever Sinhala web quickly. develops Mobile Apps for Science Students hosted by SEDU, NIFS and Science related . Can look at recently (MASS). The aim of this e-project is to glossaries available at the official web page of searched words easily. facilitate students to learn science more easily the Department of Official Languages. . Can create your while enjoying. In this Sinhala-English Science Glossary App, own list of favorite more than 90,000 words which cover all sci- words. ence disciplines such as Agriculture, Botany, . Can copy Education, IT, Mathematics, Physics, Statis- and share tics, Chemistry, Geology, Library Science, words in the glos- Molecular Biology, Geo Science, sary. Computer Science, Nursing and Zoology are You can download this mobile included. app by following this link Spe-

This has become an enormous prob- lem. But, today, we have the involuntary responsibility of find- ing out how healthy the beauty culture products we use are. Many beauty culture products are based on chemical compounds

those products are not conforming to accepted standards, it can cause them to be rejected. But, in issuing products to the market through the Standardization Certificate issued through e all like to be beautiful. And the Industrial Technology Institute through Wwe all like to preserve our world-recognized analytical methods will youth. Almost all persons prevent the products from being analyzed living in the world are very again and again and from being rejected. At interested in preserving present, over 30 beauty culture products are bodily beauty. At present, its being analyzed using 40 methods of analysis. prevalence is growing further. Furthermore, over 15 products have secured recognized Sri Lanka Standards Institution The field of beauty culture has become a wave standardization. Analysis is being carried out that are not healthy. Realizing this, we have to (SLSI). This laboratory tests beauty culture of much magnitude, embraced by all persons on external applications, varieties of cream, purchase beauty culture products of world- products chemically and microbiologically. Not young and old, men and women irrespective of varieties of shaving cream, oils applied on the recognized standards. only the beauty culture products produced differences. head, varieties of soap and cosmetics, powder In this light, it is important that the Beauty in Sri Lanka but also the products imported But, we should never forget that we have and tooth-paste. Going for correct and healthy Culture Analytical Laboratory of the Industrial to the country are analyzed. This provides inherited a sick society. Not only the food and beauty culture products through products Technology Institute has been established as a great backing for consumer protection and beverages and medicines we consume but with standardization certificates issued by a the first laboratory in Sri Lanka to obtain the to the manufacturer to issue his products also the cloths and ornaments we wear have recognized superior State institution is our ISO 17025 (SLAB - Srilanka Accreditation to market without hindrance. Specially in become reasons for that. The child being born responsibility and the need of the era. Board) standards certificate from the world- distributing products to the overseas market, if today and the child who will be born tomorrow have become prey to diseases such as cancer and heart diseases. When considering the Special thanks to : beauty culture field, we get to hear of cancer Manori Wijemanne and related diseases very often. But, it is a Ruvini Dasanayake problem whether we act with understanding Industrial Technology of its dangers. We are ever ready to pay any Institute amount of money and purchase any product claiming to prevent skin wrinkles, provide long, W.A. Nisansala Kumari black hair or a clear, beautiful complexion. Pictures – Niroshan Batepola 8 Wednesday, July 27, 2016

uberculosis is a bacterial Tdisease caused by organisms belonging to Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, mostly affecting the human lungs. It remains one of the major unresolved global health problem causing high mortality & morbidity with eight million new Tuber- culosis cases and two to three million deaths annually. Mycobacterium tuberculo- Drug resistance is a major barrier in curing this It is difficult to diagnose Tuberculosis by a per- sis organism is performed disease. Multi Drug Resistant Tuberculosis is a son’s symptoms. To a definitive diagnosis evi- by culturing the specimens specific type of Tuberculosis infection. It means dence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacterium on solid media. Major that the organism which a person is infected in the patient’s sample is a necessity. Some of problem with this technique with is resistant to at least two of the most the tests used for diagnosis look directly for the is that the time taken for the important anti Tuberculosis drugs, isoniazid mycobacterium organism. Others such as the growth (two to eight weeks) of and rifampin. If bacteria are resistant to certain chest X-ray look for the effect of the bacteria on the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Tuberculosis drugs that means those drugs the person suspected of having Tuberculosis. bacterium. won’t work with the particular patient and the Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in most developing Direct microscopic technique has a diseased person would not get cured. Such and underdeveloped countries relies on the variable sensitivity. Microscopy cannot alternative drugs should be prescribed to the direct microscopic examination of patients’ identify drug resistance.As Mycobacterium person if they are to be cured of their Multi Drug sputum specimens which is low in sensitivity. tuberculosis is a slow growing organism labo- Resistant Tuberculosis. Generally isolation and identification of the ratories have to use more sensitive and rapid

methods to diagnose and identify the Mycobac- terium tuberculosis bacterium to start early anti Tuberculosis treatment. The best method to speed up the process is the use of molecular techniques; specifically PCR testing. katG & inhA are two genes that mediate isoniazid resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.Rifampin resistance can occur due to mutations on the rpoB gene. Dr.D.N. Maganaarachchi, a Senior Research Fellow, National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Kandy invented a new technique. This enables rapid simultaneous detection of M. tuberculosisalong with RIF or INH resistance of the organism. This was done with the collabora- tion of Dr. Dushyantha Madegedara, Consultant Physician, Respiratory Unit of the Teaching Hospital, Kandy. It is done by detecting rpoB, inhA and katG gene sequences of M. tuberculosis bacteria if present in a biological sample within three days. This invention describes themultiplex PCR as- say process which includes amplifying the rpob, he base source of plastic is petroleum. Ac- are generally called Plasticizers. With time, inha and katg gene sequences in a nucleic acid Tcording to composition, there are several Plasticizers leach into food packaged in plastic mixture which contains specific disclosed primer varieties of plastic. containers. Heat, oils and alcohol acts as a sequences. Using a multiple assay process, 1. PET/PETE – Polyethylene terephthalate catalyst in this process. It has been discov- amplified sequences can be detected. This (Classification Number - #1) ered that PET bottles leach about 19 harmful 2. Bisphenol A invention can detect mutations related to drug 2. HDPE – High Density Polyethylene - chemicals. Out of those, it has been found out 3. Antimony resistance within a specific region of related (Classification Number- #2) that the chemical compounds given below have 4. Various aldehydes including acetaldehyde genes. 3. PVC – Polyvinyl Chloride – most harmful effects on human health. When comparing to conventional methods for (Classification Number - #3) 1. Pthalates Chaminda Lakshman Tuberculosis diagnosis, this inventive assay 4. LDPE – Low Density Polyethylene – Senadheera is more accurate, informative and faster. This (Classification Number #4) Science and Technology Officer discovery has been given the patent license in 5. PP – Polyethylene Panduwasnuwara (West) 2015 and the ultimate aim of the researches is (Classification Number #5) to encourageinitiating appropriate treatments 6. PS – Polyethylene for Tuberculosis patients faster than what is (Classification Number #6) practiced in present. 7. Polyethylene Plastic (Classification Number #7) Out of these, HDPE, LDPE and PP are the plastic varieties approved internationally for Pradeep Piyathilaka, food packaging. Communication & Media Officer, Harmful chemicals in plastic itself and added National Institute of Fundamental to give various physical and chemical qualities Studies, Kandy

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