International Translation Day

International Translation Day is observed on September 30, 2016. International Translation Day is celebrated every year on the feast of St. Jerome, the Bible translator who is considered the patron saint of translators. The celebrations have been promoted by FIT (the International Federation of Translators) ever since it was set up in 1953.
In 1991 FIT launched the idea of an officially recognised International Translation Day to show solidarity of the worldwide translation community in an effort to promote the translation profession in different countries. This is an opportunity to display pride in a profession that is becoming increasingly essential in the era of progressing globalisation.
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. A competent translator is not only bilingual but bicultural. A language is not merely a collection of words and of rules of grammar and syntax for generating sentences, but also a vast interconnecting system of connotations and cultural references whose mastery comes close to being a lifetime job.

 

World Heart Day

The World Heart Foundation organizes World Heart Day, an international campaign held on September 29 to inform people about cardiovascular diseases, which are the biggest cause of death. The day promotes preventative measures to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. 

What happens on World Heart Day?

Governments and non-government organizations celebrate and promote World Heart Day with activities such as fun runs, public talks, concerts, and sporting events. The World Heart Federation organizes awareness events in more than 100 countries. They include:

• Health checks.
• Sports events, including walks, runs and fitness sessions.
• Public talks and science forums
• Stage shows and concerts.
• Exhibitions.

These activities are done in partnership with organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), which is the UN’s directing and coordinating authority for health.

About World Heart Day

Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death worldwide and this is projected to remain so, according to WHO. About 17.5 million people died from cardiovascular disease in 2005, representing 30 percent of all global deaths. Risk factors that may lead to heart disease and stroke include:

• Raised blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels.
• Smoking.
• Inadequate intake of fruit and vegetables.
• Obesity.

World Heart Day was created to inform people around the globe that heart disease and stroke are the world’s leading cause of death. Together with organizations such as WHO, the World Heart Federation spreads the news that at least 80 percent of premature deaths from heart disease and stroke could be avoided if the main risk factors – which are tobacco, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity – are controlled. World Heart Day started in 1999 and is held on the last Sunday of September every year.

 

World Rabies Day

Many people around the world observe World Rabies Day (WRD), which raises awareness about the impact of rabies and how the disease can be prevented. It is held on September 28 each year. is an annual event on April 7 to draw attention to particular priorities in global health. 

What Do People Do?

Many communities and organizations around the world, including the World Health Organization (WHO), which is the UN’s directing and coordinating authority for health, and the Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC), actively promote various activities and events that center on World Rabies Day.

Many government agencies and disease control centers that support World Rabies Day produce media kits, including posters, pamphlets, and press releases, to increase awareness about rabies and preventing the disease. Symposiums are also held on or around this time of the year to remember researchers who were pioneers in finding a rabies vaccination. Some associations and clinics offer free pet vaccinations and some organizations host competitions, such as t-shirt design contests to promote the event’s message.

Background

Rabies is widely distributed across the globe. More than 55,000 people die of rabies each year. About 95 percent of human deaths occur in Asia and Africa, according to WHO. Most human deaths follow a bite from an infected dog. About 30 to 60 percent of dog bite victims are children under the age of 15. There are safe and effective vaccines available for people who have been bitten by an animal that might have the disease, but usage in developing countries is low due to the high cost.

World Rabies Day, which is founded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and GARC, aims to unite relevant partners to address rabies prevention and control. With the initial goal of engaging 55,000 people to take action, one for each person who dies each year from rabies, the inaugural campaign saw nearly 400,000 people from at least 74 countries participating on September 8, 2007. The event was held again in 2008, but on September 28 instead of September 8, and September 28 has been used as the date to promote the event from that year onwards.

More than 393,000 people participated and rabies education messages reached more than 50 million people on World Rabies Day in 2008. The result of this event was that there were enough funds to start grass-roots education and control projects in five countries. Various partners, including WHO and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, support World Rabies Day, which highlights the impact of human and animal rabies and promotes how to prevent and stop the disease by combating it in animals.

Symbols

The World Rabies Day logo features a globe in blue and green, and the green shapes in the globe are that of a bat (left), human (center), and dog or canine figure (right).  The words “World Rabies Day” and the event’s date (month, day and year), typed in black, circle the outer part of the globe. These elements are kept within a black ring, completing the logo.

World Tourism Day 2016

World Tourism Day

World Tourism Day

The World Tourism Day celebration was started by the United Nations World Tourism Organization in the year 1980 which is celebrated every year at 27^th September. This particular day was selected as at this day the laws of the UNWTO came into force in the year 1970 which is considered as the big landmark for the global tourism as it aims to aware to people about the significant role of the tourism inside the international community as well as to exhibit how the social, economic, cultural, political values are affected by it globally.

World Tourism Day 2016

World Tourism Day 2016 would be celebrated at Tuesday, on 27^th of September.

This day is celebrated every year having particular theme for making aware the people all over the world.  The theme of 2011 event celebration was Tourism Linking Cultures and of 2012 was Tourism and Energetic Sustainability. May be the theme of year 2013 will be highlighting the tourism role to a brighter energy future. The day is celebrated every year on September 27^th each year aiming to aware the people about the importance of the tourism.

A message is sent to the general public every year by the UNWTO Secretary-General to participate in the occasion. It is celebrated with the great interest by the various tourism enterprises, organizations, government agencies and etc. Varieties of competitions are held at this day such as photo competitions promoting the tourism, tourism award presentations including free entries, discounts/special offers to the general public.

Tourism has become the continuously growing and developing economic sectors worldwide because of the occurrence of various attractive and new destinations for the tourists. So it has become the main source of income ‎for the developing countries.

• The theme of 2015 was “Millions of tourists, millions of opportunities”.
• The theme of 2016 would be “Tourism for All – promoting universal accessibility”.
• The theme of 2017 would be “Sustainable Tourism – a tool for development”

Scientist of the day - Robert Coleman Richardson

Robert Coleman Richardson

Famous as:Physicist

Born on: 26 June 1937 AD 

Died on :19 February 2013 AD

Awards:

1996 - Nobel Prize in Physics ,1975 - Guggenheim Fellowship for Natural SciencesUS & Canada

Robert Coleman Richardson was an American experimental physicist who won a share of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physics. Working as a senior researcher in the Cornell University Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics, he along with David Lee and Douglas Osheroff discovered the property of superfluidity in helium-3 atoms which was a very vital discovery in experimental physics. Born in Washington D.C., he grew up during the World War II. As a young boy, he loved to attend school though he was not a particularly bright student. He was very active in the Boy Scouts and served as a counselor in Camp Letts, a Boy Scout Camp, during his high school years. He joined the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, initially opting for a course in electric engineering. However, he soon became bored and shifted to physics as a major. He furthered his education after his graduation and eventually earned a Ph.D. in physics from Duke University. He moved to Cornell University as a postdoctoral researcher and was promoted to assistant professor. It was during the beginning of his long career at Cornell that he became a part of the research team that discovered superfluidity in the isotope helium-3. 

Childhood & Early Life

• Robert Coleman Richardson was born on June 26, 1937, in Washington, D.C., U.S. to Lois Price Richardson and Robert Franklin Richardson. He had one younger sister. His father worked for a telephone company. The World War II broke out when he was a little boy and his father was called to serve in the army.
• He loved going to school from a young age though it was not until much later that he became genuinely interested in the sciences. He attended Washington-Lee High School before entering Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1954.
• Initially he planned to study electrical engineering but did not find the subject interesting enough to continue. Midway he changed his major to physics and received a B.S. in 1958. He completed his M.S. in 1960. During this time he also served six months of active duty in the US Army Ordnance Corps between November 1959 and May 1960.
• He wanted to pursue his doctorate and entered Duke University in the fall of 1960 as a full-time graduate student. His doctoral advisor was Horst Meyer who guided the young man in his research at the low temperature group at Duke. He received his PhD in 1965 and remained at Duke for another year as a research associate.

Career

• In the mid-1960s Cornell University was looking to expand its effort in low temperature physics. In 1966, Richardson was invited by the university’s Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics to join them and work with David Lee and John Reppy on very low temperature helium research.
• The research team at Cornell was a highly knowledgeable one and the late 1960s and early 1970s marked a period of intense research and discoveries at the lab. In the early 1970s, Richardson and two of his colleagues—David Lee, a senior researcher, and Douglas D. Osheroff, a graduate student working with the team—collaborated to investigate the properties of the isotope helium-3.
• In 1972, Richardson and Lee managed to cool a sample of helium-3 to within a few thousandths of a degree of absolute zero (−273° C) and were studying its internal pressure. Osheroff brought to their notice small fluctuations in the internal pressure which eventually led to the discovery of superfluidity in the isotope helium-3.
• In 1990, he was made the director of the laboratory of atomic and solid-state physics at Cornell, a post he held until 1996. He served as Cornell's vice provost for research from 1998 to 2007, and from 2007 to 2009 as senior science adviser to the president and provost. He no longer operated a laboratory during his later years though he was the Floyd Newman Professor of Physics until his death.

Major Work

• Robert Coleman Richardson, along with his colleague at Cornell, David Lee, and then-graduate student Douglas Osheroff, were performing research in low temperature physics when they discovered superfluidity in helium-3. He was an expert in studying the quantum properties of liquids and solids at extremely low temperatures

Awards & Achievements

• In 1981, Richardson along with David M. Lee, and Douglas D. Osheroff received the Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize, an annual award given by the American Physical Society "to recognize and encourage outstanding theoretical or experimental contributions to condensed matter physics."
• Robert C. Richardson, David M. Lee, and Douglas D. Osheroff were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 1996 "for their discovery of superfluidity in helium-3."

Personal Life & Legacy

• While studying at Duke he met a fellow physics student, Betty McCarthy, who he married in 1962. The couple had two daughters: Jennifer and Pamela, who was born with a heart defect. The family suffered a major tragedy in 1994 when Pamela died of a heart failure.
• Richardson died on February 19, 2013 from complications of a heart attack he suffered three weeks earlier.

World Pharmacist Day 2016

Scientist of the day - Michael Faraday

Michael Faraday

Famous as :Physicist & Chemist,Nationality: British,Born on:22 September 1791 AD,Died on 25 August 1867 AD,father:James Faraday,mother:Margaret Hastwell,Spouse/Partner:Sarah Barnard

discoveries / inventions:Electromagnetic Induction, Plane Of Polarization, Benzene

Michael Faraday was one of the most prolific scientists of the 19th century. A British physicist and chemist, Faraday is best known for his discoveries of electromagnetic induction and the laws of electrolysis. His biggest breakthrough, however, came with his invention of the electric motor. Faraday is also credited with the invention of the most primitive form of Bunsen burner. Since the early days, the concept of energy, specifically force, interested Faraday the most. It was due to this early reading and experiments with the idea of force that he was able to make important discoveries in electricity later in life. To know more about this British chemist and physicist, read through the following lines.

Early Life

Born in Newington Butts (today a part of the London Borough of Southwark), Michael Faraday did not come from a very affluent family. His father, James was a member of the Glassite sect of Christianity. Professionally, James was an apprentice to the village blacksmith. Third of the four children, young Michael Faraday received only basic education. In 1804, he served as an errand boy for the bookseller George Riebau, delivering newspapers among other things, who a year later, indentured Faraday for a period of seven years. It was during these seven years of apprenticeship that Faraday read many books, two amongst which that captured his attention like none others were Isaac Watts', The Improvement of the Mind and Jane Marcet’s, Conversations on Chemistry. Not only did this reading activity improve his knowledge and understanding, it also determined his course of life. Faraday’s keen interest in science, especially in electricity, was developed herein.

In 1812, at the end of his apprenticeship Faraday was presented tickets to attend four lectures to be delivered by the eminent professor of chemistry, Humphry Davy and John Tatum, founder of the City Philosophical Society, at the Royal Institution, by William Dance, who was a regular customer at Riebau’s and one of the founders of the Royal Philharmonic Society. Faraday, in an attempt to thank Davy, sent him a three-hundred pages book which contained notes taken during the lecture. Later, Faraday bagged a temporary job as a secretary to Davy, when the latter damaged his eyesight in an accident with nitrogen trichloride. In March 1813, Davy appointed Faraday as Chemical Assistant at the Royal Institution, after John Payne, one of the Royal Institution's assistants, was sacked.

Things, however, weren’t as smooth for Faraday later as they were until then. In the long tour that Davy had set out on, from 1813 until 1815, his valet did not accompany him. As such, Faraday had to fill up for this vacancy. While the tour did open for Faraday the doors to the scientific elite of Europe and exposed him to a host of stimulating ideas, the journey wasn’t a very pleasant one. Biased by classism, Davy’s wife refused to treat Faraday as an equal and made life hell for Faraday, who, worn out by the torture, even thought of giving up on science altogether. In the year 1821, Faraday was appointed as the acting superintendent of the house of the Royal Institution.

Contribution in the Field of Chemistry

Faraday’s earliest contribution to chemistry was while he was working as an assistant to Davy. He was involved in the study of chlorine. Faraday also conducted experiments on the diffusion of gases. Additionally, he succeeded in liquefying several gases, investigating the alloys of steel, and producing several new kinds of glass intended for optical purposes. One of Faraday’s most notable works was invention of the earliest form of Bunsen burner (as we call it today), which is still in use today in the science laboratories around the world as a most suitable source of heat. His extensive work in the field of chemistry can be found out from the fact that he discovered the chemical substance benzene, a chemical compound of carbon and hydrogen. Faraday also discovered two new compounds in chlorine and carbon. While one is used in smoke grenades, the other is employed in the arena of dry cleaning, and spot removing.Faraday is also credited for discovering the laws of electrolysis, and for popularizing terminology such as anode, cathode, electrode, and ion, for which he took the help of William Whewell. It is said that Faraday first reported what we today know as metallic nanoparticles. In 1847, Faraday researched that the optical properties of gold colloids differed from those of the corresponding bulk metal, and it was this discovery which marked the birth of nanoscience.

Contribution in the Field of Electricity & Magnetism

Faraday created a storm in the field of electricity and magnetism with his work. His research in electricity had an enormous influence on the development of mathematics. Faraday’s first success in the field of electricity came when he successfully built the first electric motor. The experiments and inventions that he undertook then, formed the foundation of modern electromagnetic technology.He continued his laboratory work exploring electromagnetic properties of materials and developing requisite experience. In an attempt to find out whether a magnetic field could regulate the flow of a current in an adjacent wire or not, Faraday had set up a circuit but he found no relationship. The next seven years of Faraday’s life was dedicated in the arena of optical quality (heavy) glass, borosilicate of lead, which he used in his future studies connecting light with magnetism.

Two years following Humphry Davy’s death, Faraday got involved in a series of experiments wherein he discovered electromagnetic induction. However, the pinnacle came only when he wrapped two insulated coils of wire around an iron ring, and found that, upon passing a current through one coil, a momentary current was induced in the other coil, a phenomenon which is today known as mutual induction. In later experiments, Faraday discovered that a changing magnetic field produces an electric field. This relation was used by James Clerk Maxwell later and is today one amongst the four Maxwell equations. Faraday, afterwards, used these principles to construct the electric dynamo, the precursor of modern power generators. In the year 1839, Faraday conducted a series of experiments to examine the fundamental nature of electricity. To produce the phenomena of electrostatic attraction, electrolysis and magnetism, Faraday used "static", batteries, and "animal electricity".

When Faraday worked on the theory that electromagnetism flowed into the empty space around a conductor, a concept at the very base of electromechanics, it was first rejected but later approved. However, Faraday did not live to see its acceptance. It was in 1845 that Faraday researched the notionthat many materials display a weak repulsion from a magnetic field which he termed as diamagnetism. Additionally, he also discovered the fact that the plane of polarization of linearly polarized light could be rotated by the application of an external magnetic field aligned in the direction in which the light moved. This phenomenon is today termed as Faraday Effect. During his work on static electricity, Faraday’s experiment displayed that the charge resided only on the exterior of a charged conductor, and exterior charge had no influence on anything enclosed within a conductor. This was due to the fact that the exterior charges redistributed in such a way that the interior fields due to them cancelled. This protective effect is used in what we now know as a Faraday cage.

Personal Life

The wedding bells for Michael Faraday rang on June 12, 1821. His significant other, Sarah Barnard, was the daughter of the Sandemanian silversmith, Edward Barnard. The couple first met through their families at the Sandemanian church. One month post marriage, Faraday confessed his faith to the Sandemanian congregation. He served as deacon and for two terms, as an elder in the meeting house of his youth. His church was located at Paul's Alley in the Barbican. Later, in 1862, the meeting house was relocated to Barnsbury Grove, Islington which was where Faraday served the final two years of his second term as elder before resigning from that post

Death & Legacy

Michael Faraday breathed his last on August 25, 1867 at his house at Hampton Court. He was buried in the dissenters' (non-Anglican) section of Highgate Cemetery, after turning down the burial in Westminster Abbey. Nevertheless, Faraday has a memorial plaque near Newton’s tomb. In order to pay tribute to the works of this great scientist, a statue of Faraday stands in the Savoy Place, London, outside the Institution of Engineering and Technology. London also houses a memorial in the memory of Faraday, which is situated at the Elephant & Castle gyratory system, near Faraday’s birthplace at Newington Butts. Designed by brutalist architect Rodney Gordon, the memorial commemorates Michael Faraday’s importance as a scientist. Walworth, London not only has a small park by the name Faraday Gardens, but also a school which is known as Michael Faraday Primary school. Located on Trinity Buoy Wharf is the Faraday School, where his workshop stands until today above the Chain and Buoy Store, alongside London's only lighthouse.

South Bank University’s electrical engineering department is named the Faraday Wing, due to its proximity to Faraday’s birthplace in Newington Butts. While at the University of Edinburgh's science & engineering campus, an eight-story building is named after Faraday, at Brunel University a recently built hall of accommodation bears his name and so does the main engineering building at Swansea University, a hall at Loughborough University and the instructional and experimental physics building at Northern Illinois University. There are a number of streets in various countries and cities that have been named after this prolific scientist. From 1991 until 2001, Faraday’s picture featured on the reverse of Series E £20 banknotes issued by the Bank of England. The picture showcased him conducting a lecture at the Royal Institution with the magneto-electric spark apparatus.Faraday grabbed the 22^nd position in the BBC's list of the 100 Greatest Britons, following a UK-wide vote, which was conducted in the year 2002.

World Peace Day & World Alzhemier's Day

Scientist of the day - Bernhard Riemann

Bernhard Riemann

Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann was a prominent German mathematician who bestowed the world with his brilliant contributions to analysis, number theory and differential geometry; some of which aided the later development of general relativity. In his short career—he died at the age of 39—he pioneered in developing ideas of fundamental importance in complex analysis, real analysis, differential geometry and other subjects. His name is connected with what is supposed to be the most important unproved assumption in present-day mathematics, the ‘Riemann Hypothesis’. Most of his journals are genuine masterpieces – filled with innovative methods, insightful ideas and extensive imagination. He studied mathematics under Gauss and physics under Wilhelm Weber. Riemann always suffered from health problems and that proved fatal for his life in the end.

Childhood And Early Life

Riemann was born in Breselenz, a village in the vicinity of Dannenberg in the Kingdom of Hanover (now known as the Federal Republic of Germany). Friedrich Bernhard Riemann, his father, was a poor Lutheran Minister in Breselenz who took part in the Napoleonic Wars. His mother, Charlotte Ebell, died early. Riemann was second among the six children. At an early age, Riemann showcased extraordinary mathematical skills and unbelievable calculation abilities, but he was timid and underwent numerous nervous breakdowns. He also suffered from diffidence and a phobia of public speaking.

In High school, Riemann studied the Bible thoroughly, but was often diverted by mathematics. His teachers were astonished by his proficiency to solve complicated mathematical operations, in which he often exceeded his teacher’s knowledge.

 

In 1846, at the age of 19, he started studying theology and philology with the aim to become a priest but Gauss, his teacher, amazed with Riemann’s mathematical skills, strongly insisted that Riemann discontinue his theological work and concentrate on mathematics.

 

At The Academy

In 1854, Riemann gave his first lectures, which established the field of Riemannian geometry, and laid down the foundation for Einstein's General theory of Relativity. In 1857, at the University of Göttingen, endeavors were made to sponsor Riemann to an extraordinary professor rank. Although this didn’t materialize, this attempt opened doors of regular salary for Riemann. In 1859, at Göttingen, Riemann was promoted as the head of the mathematics department and, the same year, he also got elected as a corresponding member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences. As a freshly elected member, Riemann presented a report on ‘The number of primes less than a given magnitude’, which proved to be of fundamental importance in number theory. Riemann also pioneered in the use of dimensions higher than only three or four, in order to explain physical reality. In 1866, Riemann was forced to flee Göttingen when the armies of Prussia and Hanover collided there during the Austro-Prussian War.

 

Riemann’s Contributions

Riemann's innovative published works constructed the base for what is known as modern mathematics and research areas including analysis and geometry. These works finally proved to be very useful in the theories of algebraic geometry, Riemannian geometry and complex manifold theory. Adolf Hurwitz and Felix Klein comprehensively explained the theory of Riemann surfaces. This aspect of mathematics is the groundwork of topology, and is still extensively applied in modern mathematical physics. Riemann also established some breakthrough milestones in the theory of ‘Real Analysis’. He explained ‘the Riemann integral’ by means of Riemann sums and penned down a theory of trigonometric series that are not Fourier series, a first step in generalized function theory, and also explored the ‘Riemann–Liouville differintegral’.

 

Riemann also made some incredible contributions to the contemporary analytic number theory. He invented the Riemann zeta function and explained its significance in understanding the distribution of prime numbers. He also created a series of conjectures about properties of the zeta function, one of which is the famous ‘Riemann hypotheses’. Riemann was a great source of the inspiration for Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll. Lewis Carroll was a mathematician who authored the famous books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass.

 

Riemannian Geometry

Riemann’s faculty, Gauss, asked him to construct ‘Habilitationsschrift' on the foundations of geometry in 1853. Working over several months, Riemann invented his theory of higher dimensions and gave his lecture at Göttingen in 1854 known as, ‘Über die Hypothesen welche der Geometrie zu Grunde liegen’ (or ‘On the hypotheses which underlie geometry’). This got published in 1868, i.e. two years after Riemann expired, and was received with great fervor by mathematicians worldwide. His theory has proved to one of the most noteworthy attainments in geometry.

 

The Concept Of Higher Dimensions

Riemann was working towards launching a collection of numbers at every point in space (i.e., a tensor) that would aid in analyzing how much was curved or bent. Riemann finally concluded that in four spatial dimensions, one requires a collection of ten numbers at each point to explain the attributes of a manifold, irrespective of how distorted it is. This became a popular fundamental construction in geometry, known now as a ‘Riemannian metric’.

 

 

Personal Life

In June 1862, Riemann married Elise Koch (his sister’s friend). The couple was gifted with one daughter.

 

Death And Legacy

In the autumn of 1862, Riemann caught a severe cold that eventually took form of the fatal tuberculosis. This happened when he was visiting Italy with his wife and three-year-old daughter during the last weeks of his life. He was buried in the cemetery in Biganzolo (Verbania). Meanwhile, in Göttingen, his housekeeper tidied up some of the clutter spread in Riemann’s office. This also consisted of some of his unpublished works. Riemann never allowed anyone to publish his incomplete works, thus some valuable mathematical information may have been lost forever.

World Ozone Day

 

Happy Engineer's Day

Hindi Diwas

Happy Bakrid

World Literacy Day 2016

International Literacy Day

The United Nations' (UN) International Literacy Day annually falls on September 8 to raise people's awareness of and concern for literacy issues in the world. 

What Do People Do?

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and its partners promote the day to underline the significance of literacy for healthy societies, with a strong emphasis on epidemics and communicable diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.
In countries all over the world, including the United States and the United Kingdom, the day raises people's awareness of and concern for literacy problems within their own communities. Activities such as letters to the editor in newspapers, as well as news reports about the concerns for low literacy levels, have occurred as a result of this increased awareness. Other activities include literacy day projects, particularly with regard to technology and literature, which are promoted by various organizations including reading associations.

Background

According to UNESCO, about 774 million adults lack the minimum literacy skills. One in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women. About 75 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out. However, literacy is also a cause for celebration on the day because there are nearly four billion literate people in the world.
The UN General Assembly proclaimed a 10-year period beginning on January 1, 2003, as the United Nations Literacy Decade. The assembly also welcomed the International Plan of Action for the Decade and decided for UNESCO to take a coordinating role in activities at an international level within the decade's framework. On International Literacy Day each year, UNESCO reminds the international community of the status of literacy and adult learning globally. This day was first celebrated on September 8, 1966.

Scientist of the day - John Dalton

John Dalton

Quick Facts

Nationality: British    Famous British Men, Born on : 06 September 1766 AD,Died on: 27 July 1844 AD

Discoveries / inventions: Atomic Theory, Law Of Multiple Proportions, Dalton's Law Of Partial Pressures, Daltonism 

Considered to be the father of ‘modern atomic theory’, John Dalton was also a pioneer of weather forecast and was one of the first scientists to use homemade instruments to make weather observations. Much of his early works and observations using meteorological instruments laid the foundation for the study of weather forecasting. His fascination for the weather and atmosphere lead him to pursue research on ‘the nature of gases’, which in turn laid the ground on which he built the ‘atomic theory’. Today, he is known primarily for his work on atomic theory and although more than two centuries old, his theory still remains valid in the field of modern chemistry. Inquisitive by nature, his diligent research and meddlesome nature led him to make many discoveries in fields other than chemistry. He also made a study on colour-blindness, a condition from which he personally suffered. A non-conformist and ‘dissenter’, Dalton refused to accept much of his deserved fame and recognition and chose to live a simple and modest life. Today, his theories help modern scuba divers gauge oceanic pressure levels and have also facilitated cost-effective manufacturing of chemical compounds. To learn more interesting facts about his personal life and professional achievements, scroll down and continue to read this biography. 

Major Works

• In 1801, he came up with the ‘Dalton Law’ also known as Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures’. This theory is used by scuba divers today to gauge pressure levels at different depths of the ocean and its effect on air and nitrogen levels.
• He coined the term ‘Daltonism’, which is a term for colour blindness and it became synonymous with his name. He elaborated on this topic in his 1798 paper titled ‘Extraordinary facts relating to the vision of colours, with observation’.
• In his 1808 publication ‘A New System of Chemical Philosophy’, he coined the atomic theory and was the first scientist to prepare a table on atomic weights. This theory is considered valid even today and laid the foundation for further studies in this field.

  Awards & Achievements
• In 1794, he was elected as a member of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society.

In 1800, he was appointed as the secretary of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society and became the President of the society in 1817.

Trivia

A large statue of this scientist was erected in the Manchester Town Hall while he was still alive and probably he was the only scientist who got a statue in his lifetime.

Happy Teacher's Day & Happy Vinayaka Chavithi(Ganesh Chaturthi)

Scientist of the day -Frank Macfarlane Burnet

Deemed to be the greatest scientist produced by Australia, Frank Macfarlane Burnet gave sixty years of his life to human science, discovering and researching human infectious diseases. Starting off with microbiology, he branched out into the fields of bacteriology, followed by virology and immunology. He pioneered in the study of autoimmune conditions, where a disease is caused by the immune system attacking the body’s own tissues, and application of ecological principles to viral diseases. His initial experiments and work paved way for developments in various medical areas, such as vaccines, tissue transplantation, and monoclonal antibody and associated therapies. This scientific genius gained recognition globally with several Australian and international awards to his credit, most importantly the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. His work on virus growing processes in hen’s eggs still serves as the basis for producing vaccines for influenza in the modern times. His contributions to Australian science won him the title of the first Australian of the Year. Apart from making great discoveries and performing experiments, he also wrote a large number of books and delivered lectures on various problem areas of human biology and human affairs, cancer and ageing. 

Childhood & Early Life

Frank Macfarlane Burnet was born on September 3, 1899 in Traralgon, eastern Victoria, as the second of seven kids, to Scottish emigrants Frank Burnet and Hadassah Burnet.

Major Discoveries

• In 1934, he discovered the causal organisms of psittacosis and Q fever as Rickettsia burnetii, and performed studies on poliovirus, herpes simplex virus, and epidemiology.
• In 1956, his increased interest in Niels Kaj Jerne’s natural selection hypothesis led to the development of clonal selection, thus forming one of the concepts of immunology, known as Burnet’s clonal selection theory.

  Awards & Achievements

  • The Royal Society honored him with the Royal Medal in 1947 and Copley Medal in 1959, for his contribution in the field of virology.
  • He received the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research, in 1952, and the Order of Merit at the Queen’s Birthday Honors, in 1958.
  • In 1960, he was honored with the prestigious Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine shared with Sir Peter Medawar, for discovering acquired immunological tolerance, a concept which led to the invention of tissue transplantation.
  • He received the Australian of the Year award in 1960 and a Gold and Silver Star from the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun in 1961.
  • At the 1969 New Year Honors, he became a recipient of Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
  • He received the Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal in 1977 and became the fourth person to be knighted by the Order of Australia in 1978.
  • He served as the President at the International Association of Microbiological Societies (1953-57), Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (1957), and Australian Academy of Science (1955-59).
  • He obtained ten honorary degrees from various esteemed universities and colleges, including Oxford, Harvard, Cambridge, Hahnemann Medical College, Medical University of South Carolina, and University of Melbourne.

   

  Trivia

  Under his able guidance, various notable virologists, like Gordon Ada, Stephen Fazekas de St. Groth, Alick Isaacs, and Frank Fenner contributed in different areas, such as Murray Valley encephalitis, poxviruses, influenza and herpes.

World Coconut Day 2016

People across the globe acknowledge the importance of the oft life saving drink by celebrating the World Coconut Day on 2^nd September every year.

In India the Coconut Development Board (CDB) celebrated the World Coconut Day on Friday at NEDFI Convention Centre, Guwahati, Assam. 15 people, who have excelled in coconut farming, industry and other coconut related activities, were awarded by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi during the occasion.

Till last year, World Coconut Day was celebrated in coconut-growing south Indian states. But with Assam emerging as the next major coconut producing state in India, the CDB decided to hold the national-level function on the occasion there this year. About 33,493 hectare in all seven NE states are under coconut cultivation, of which 20,368 hectare is in Assam alone.

The CDB is a statutory body established under the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India for the integrated development of coconut cultivation and industry in the country with focus on productivity increase and product diversification. It is the pioneer organisation for coconut technology development in India. Training Programme for Women Entrepreneurs and Self Help Groups are also conducted by the CDB.