Raja's read only memories

The breakthrough promises to reduce complexity of cancer treatment (Image: www.brecorder.com)     Chennai: Two alumni of educational institutions from the city are at the forefront of a breakthrough in cancer treatment, which they claim can remove the shroud of inevitable fatality associated with the disease. The breakthrough pertains to the discovery and synthesis of a protein that can be lethal to tumour cells and Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs) – the root causes for the disease and its re-generation. Born in a hamlet in Namakkal, Salem district – the same as that of the Indian mathematical genius Srinivasan Ramanujam – and educated at the Madras Christian College and JIPMER, Puducherry, Prof Arunasalam Dharmarajan claims to have discovered the protein, codenamed SC-201. The professor, who is presently with the School of Biomedical Sciences at Curtin University, Perth, Australia, says that the protein has the potential to lead to the development of a drug that cou...

It is OK to smoke. Yes, you read that right. If you have started pondering over this stupefying declaration, the right side of your brain is functioning well. So raise a toast to yourself. However, before anyone decides to disprove this statement, I urge them to finish reading this piece of literature (if it can be called that). Going by the Supreme Court's not so recent, and much violated, smoking ban in public places, I am supposed to get nothing but clean, fresh air every time I step out. And therein lay the paradox.   I decide to wake up early one day and venture out. However, I realise that I need milk for my morning coffee and head for the nearest shop. “Mornings are ideal to get some fresh air and rejuvenate the respiratory system....” I remember telling myself as I open the door, when cigarette smoke hits my nostrills. I crane my neck to see the offender; it’s my neighbour, his head surrounded by a haze of smoke, just as a halo around a god. Not only has he risen earl...