Earth is seen as human-centric rather than bio chemical, physical organic life-centric.

 Most importantly and unfortunately, earth is seen as human-centric rather than bio chemical, physical organic life-centric.

This has made science not even to have a detailed genome mapping of all flora and fauna which may be one of the most daunting tasks but can deliver immense dividends to all.​

Now, with  Ayur Ministry and its many Ayur conferences and encouragement which makes it evident we as a nation have various advantage from climate - which enables 3 to 4 harvests -to many geographical zones-  to traditional cultivation methods along with traditional use of various herbs and plants for health benefits and  as medicines, I wish some sane big funding group or a nation takes this up on a very large scale for the benefit of human beings and the environment.

Metformin is derived from the plant, Galega officinalis Linn. [Figure 1]. G. officinalis is commonly known as Goat's rue, French lilac, Italian fitch and Professor-weed.

BP from  Rauwolfia Serpentina and the politics and false claims and credits in Science.

I shall give an example for this from one of my articles that I wrote for the Indian Express some 25 years back. At that time there used to be a supplement on every Tuesday called Science Express where I wrote a half page article. Some extracts 

“For example as early as 601 AD in the Vaghbata complied by Indian physicians there is mention about the medicinal herb ‘RAUWOLFIA SERPENTINA’ and only in 1949 in the prestigious British  Heart Journal an Indian physician Rustom Jal Vakil published that powdered root of ‘RAUWOLFIA SERPENTINA  is very effective in lowering blood pressure. Then in 1952 Reserpine was isolated by Swiss chemist employed by CIBA under the direction of Emil Schlitter who produced pure crystals of active ingredient in ‘RAUWOLFIA SERPENTINA and Boston heart specialist Robert Wallace Wilkins observed that Reserpine not only reduced blood pressure but also reduced anxiety. Now to whom will you give the Patents’? Leave alone all the controversies surrounding the product itself.

Unfortunately the things are further complicated, especially in the field of science, by the nexus and fights between industry and academia. While one of them has credibility the other has incredible influence. They generate with the help of media and publicity wings many questions of morality versus utility etc and the ultimate causality is truth.

I am tempted to quote from an article titled GENE DREAM written by NIKKI VAN DER GAAG in the excellent magazine THE NEW INTERNATIONALIST , “ Biotechnology actually reduces the world's biodiversity by promoting certain species over others. Of the world's 220,000 plant species, only 150 are grown commercially and just 20 provide over 90 per cent of the world's dietary energy. We are already massively over-dependent on a fraction of the species available. Genetically-engineered (and transnational-controlled) seeds will reduce this active stock even further. Farmers in countries such as India are setting up their own seed banks in order to preserve the existing variety of seeds rather than having to use those promoted by the biotechnology corporations, for whom the Third World is a huge potential market”.

Lionel Tiger in his work ‘Optimism-The Biology of Hope’, “Private optimism is a public resource. Public optimism is a private facility. When in myth various forces of life escaped from Pandora’s Box, one remained at the bottom-HOPE. Atlas no longer holds up the world…….even if Gods and other forces have fallen, or become slogans, what Pandora rescued maintains its claim on our attention-That is HOPE. So, let us hope humanity takes care

I wish every student of science as well as the educated few who deal with agricultural produce in some way or other is made to read the following:-

1. Books by Peter Tompkins ' The Secret Life of Plants', ' The Secret Life of Nature' and 'Secrets of the Soil'

2. 'The Hidden Life of Trees', Peter Wohlleben

(What they Feel, How they Communicate).

3. Masaru Emoto's ' Secret Life of Water'.

Recent one published in 1999 by the great modern Science writer Matt Ridley " Genome-Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters

PhAs Phenol portrays very well in ‘THE UNWRITTEN COMEDY’

“To be ignorant of many things is expected.

To know that you are ignorant of many things is

The beginning of wisdom.

To know a category of things of which you are ignorant is

The beginning of learning.

To know the details of that category of things of which you were ignorant

Is no longer to be ignorant”.