It is saddening to read about the closure of the Thamizhosai BBC Tamil Radio service (Tamil Nadu, “After 76 years, BBC Tamil radio to go off air”, May 1). During the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971, BBC Tamil was neutral and extensive in its coverage even though BBC was biased against India. During the 1967 general election, when the Indian National Congress’s popularity declined considerably, BBC was again objective. I recollect programmes such as “Paattondru Ketten”. Whenever an important event took place in India or Tamil Nadu, BBC Tamil was among the first to contact VIPs and air their opinions. The station also played a crucial role in presenting the ground reality in Sri Lanka by interviewing Sri Lankan Tamil politicians.
In a first, a team of researchers has found that high doses of Vitamin C and niacin or Vitamin B3 can kill cancer stem cells. A study published in Cell Biology International showed the opposing effects of low and high dose of vitamin C and vitamin B3 on colon cancer stem cells. Led by Bipasha Bose and Sudheer Shenoy, the team found that while low doses (5-25 micromolar) of Vitamin C and B3 proliferate colon cancer stem cells, high doses (100 to 1,000 micromolar) killed cancer stem cells. Such high doses of vitamins can only be achieved through intravenous injections in colon cancer patients. The third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, colon cancer can be prevented by an intake of dietary fibre and lifestyle changes. While the next step of the researchers is to delineate the mechanisms involved in such opposing effects, they also hope to establish a therapeutic dose of Vitamin C and B3 for colon cancer stem cell therapy. “If the therapeutic dose gets validated under in vivo...