Thursday, December 26, 2019

Genetic Engineering and Our Food - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2683 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2019/02/14 Category Health Essay Level High school Tags: GMO Essay Did you like this example? Farmers are passionate about growing food to them its more than a job its a way of life filled with hard work and uncertainty one of the many tools growers use to reduce risk and help their farm succeed is GMOs. Some GMO seeds help plants defend themselves against certain harmful insects using these seeds allows farmers to spray insecticide less often. Some GMO seeds allow farmers to consider a range of farming methods like no-till under the right circumstances no-till helps prevent erosion conserves water and gives time back to farmers when drought occurs farmers can suffer huge crop loss some drought tolerant GMOs use water more efficiently. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Genetic Engineering and Our Food" essay for you Create order Consensus by the vast vast majority of scientists and medical professionals is that the GMOs that are currently available on the market have no health problems theyre any different than conventional foods so if you were to look at medical society scientific societies the consensus view from all of these is that there is no specific health risk associated with these genetically modified crops how do we know that GMOs are safe to eat whats the process we go through so GMOs are actually probably the most intensively studied new foods that we have introduced over the last 20 years they go through a lot of rigorous evaluation so the first thing is that these are essentially the same as the crop varieties that weve been growing for 50 100 200 years what has been done is that one or two genes have been added to these crops so we know that now there are one or two additional new proteins being made in these crops and so we can follow those proteins we can ask very specific questions these pr oteins toxic do they cause allergic reactions are they in any way dangerous or are they just the same as the vast majority of other proteins that we consume that get digested and then ingested and provide our food so the bottom line is that these have been very well studied we can never say that anything is absolutely safe we dont know that about any food okay but theres tremendous equivalence between whats being grown in the past and whats being grown now with these genetically modified crops by adding one or two genes one or two new proteins yes youre making a change but we know what those changes are and we can study what those changes might do to humans or other animals that consume these plants. So one reason is theres clearly different politics in different different parts of the world theres also different relationships with food in some places food is something that is revered very very highly and people have a different attitude about it and that may be part of the reason as well theres also differences in how the public regards the agencies the the regulatory agencies that lets say whether something is safe and or not and in some European countries the United Kingdom in particular there have been issues about how foods have been regulated whether theyre safe or not and and thats an important factor thats played into the differences between how Europeans and North Americans react to GMOs is it possible that there are long term health risks that we arent aware of that is a possibility yes absolutely I mean theres a theres there are we cannot know all of the risks that are associated with consuming anything okay and in fact I think thats one of the valid concerns that peop le raised about GMOs have we done long term feeding trials and the answer is no we havent but when we introduce any other new food we dont go through long term feeding Trials so when blueberries became a new crop that people started consuming we have 30 years of long-term feeding trials before we said theyre safe no we didnt but people are happily consuming that crop in at far higher levels than they ever did in the past so I think its its unrealistic and frankly unfair to suggest that these crops that have been modified in ways that we understand a tremendous amount of detail about that they should be expected to go through some unrealistic long-term feeding trial that we dont put other new foods through okay and so really you had mentioned something about allergens so how would GMOs affect food allergies could introduce new strain charge absolutely and in fact there there are a couple of examples in research where genes were moved into a plant in the laboratory and then they disco vered oh this protein thats being now made in this in this plan this has the potential to be an allergen of a protein that causes an allergic reaction and so it is possible but the organizations primarily the companies that are involved in doing this go to great lengths to make sure as best they can that they are not introducing a protein thats responsible for for alert that causes allergic reactions in people so for example I think its extremely unlikely that one of these companies would would take a lobster gene just to take it over you know mrs. Doubtfire or something of shrimp gene and that they know people have the potential to have allergic reactions to and put that into a food that everybody consumes and in fact theres actually the potential to remove allergens using genetic modification technology so allergens for the most part are proteins and so theres a possibility have not just a possibility a reality that we could remove some of those proteins to make something that peo ple are allergic to make it less allergic. There are no obvious health benefits that people get there are some products that have been in development for a long time one of those is whats called Golden Rice so this is a rice thats been genetically engineered to produce beta-carotene which humans can convert into vitamin A and thats an important new trigger so theres organizations the International Rice Research Institute is developing varieties that have this trait with the idea then that that will help prevent children especially for from becoming vitamin deficient and that leads to blindness and also to premature death but these products are not on the market at the moment theyre theyre still in development. Golden Rice has been in development for 15 years so whether it will get to the market or not I dont know there are some other traits that I think were likely to see in the near future things that will benefit consumers so one example is is a non browning Apple so the reason the brand that Apples brown when when they get cut is that there is an enzyme released well your ace biotechnologists to figure it out or we can switch off that gene that makes that protein and so when you cut into these apples they dont turn brown and so I can imagine that you can see pre packaged apples out there in the future pre sliced pre packaged apples just like theres little mini carrots people all right gobble them up itll be getting people to eat more veggies more fruits as a result so III think its also important to remember this technology is really in its infancy you know this is something weve been doing for 25-30 years and theres a lot more potential perhaps in the future for what well be able to do in terms of improving the health promoting properties of foods as a result of this and other technologies. Gene editing is a complex process but in concept is very simple you can think of our genome as an encyclopedia with books in it and paragraphs and sentences and gene editing is basically you acting as the sentence is written and youre going here you can change words you can change punctuation you can do nearly anything thats what a bio technologist does with our DNA just goes in there and rewrites it we can insert things remove things or add things and makes it work there when people talk about gene so what is CRISPR well CRISPR also connected with caste 9 is just a method of doing gene editing its like we used to edit manuscripts by whats called cut and paste with scissors and then we moved to using typewriters and with the white out and then we move to word processors well this is just a word processor and later something greater will come out technology moves at its light speed and next year youll be hearing something other than CRISPR 2 or right a totally different name its just a method of gene editing ok all right that makes sense and is gene editing happening right now in the United States. Oh Gina editing is happening everywhere in the world I mean its such an easy although it sounds complex was actually quite easily do and thats actually one of the concerns is that it is so easy to do you can do it almost for a science fair project so its being used by companies is being used by universities its very ubiquitous and where its going on ok so um what it what genes do we edit what might be an example of that well it depends upon the purpose we can literally edit any gene that we want so now you go in and you ask just like any business I need a new product or I want to solve a problem and you say well how can I solve that problem and under problems several problems in genetics that we have many years one example for instances horns in cattle horns are poses risk there theres dangers for for Bulls with horns and cows have horns theyll Gore you to cause injuries and deaths for handlers and also for its fellow cows you know they fight and so corns have to be removed by dehorn ing which is painful and nobody really wants to do it and its costly so we found we the scientists found the gene that causes horns and cattle theres theres a natural gene for whats called pulled its just not in all species so hosting which is a dairy cow doesnt have the polled gene so its cordless well they found the basically how to edit the gene to make it harmless and this was done last year and now we can have hosting born without horns and totally avoid that issue and as a result animal well-being and safety of handling animals is greatly improved and and one example theres many theres a lot of regulatory oversight over all biotechnology particularly in the United States where were looking at how the process more than the product so any any product any gene editing or any other way of making a genetically modified organism is under the if its an animal is under the purview of the FDA there from a drug agency so even before you start making a transgenic organism its the animal you have to apply to the FDA to do this research and if its a food animal you definitely have to worry about containment make sure its not eaten than everything until the FDA passes approval that its not a risk to our health and also that its not a risk to environment ok so you mentioned transgenic what is transgenic name actually well literally the word transgene means that were moving genes between species so a transgenic organism is the when were doing word editing or editing of the genome is literally moving genes from one species to another and because we might find a gem thats in one species that was really useful in another it just doesnt exist there yet so we can do that gene editing however can be also be used for editing within a species so you can have intra genic editing and we people tend to call those transgenic but theyre not really transgenic theyre theyre just editing within the genome so the technology can be used for definitely a wide range application and this ma y be a very simple question but helped me to understand this what is the difference between a GMO so genetically modified organism and then gene editing well are we interchangeable no theyre not interchangeable so a genetically modified organism basically means any any organism thats had its DNA modified in any way its not breeding per se because weve been breeding animals forever evolution works on genetic variations so you could you know call that genetic marker genetically modified organs by evolution so classical animal breeding has been occurring for it since the beginning of time but specifically if we go in and directly modify the DNA of any organism. Denys considered a genetically modified organism or we prefer to call it a genetically engineered organism okay and so gene editing is just one of the ways that you can get genetically modified oh yes gene editing is a very specific way prior to prior to gene editing we use things like micro injection where whereby we took whats called gene construct a word so to speak and we just injected it into the the embryo that they OD embryo and hope can prayed that somehow this gene got inserted someplace in the genome and that it would Express and so this is kind of random insertion you can imagine it had a lot of failures only about 1,000 work and we never knew where the trans gene was going to be inserted so gene editing gives us the way now of saying exactly where we want this gene insert so its a lot more exact and precise way of doing genetic engineering so Ive heard that gene editing is used not just in seeds and food but also in animals but also for health is that true we can we can u se gene editing for any any purpose there there are genes that you have birth defects you can theres a number of known diseases huntings Korea in several of these genes that were that we inherit that caused a lot of suffering and technically we could apply these same technologies to humans for addressing health issues and this is actually one of the things being looked at but now we enter into the realm of ethics is it ethical to modify genes in humans weve definitely done this in pigs for example where pigs were very susceptible to pers poor mine respiratory disease and theres no vaccine for it and theres no way of getting rid of the other than whats once your herd got purrs you had to euthanize all the animals disinfect the building and start over Wow yeah so now we can with gene editing we found out how to remove the receptor for the viruses virus causes this disease but all most viruses require whats called receptor place to land a place to attach to and so they knew what the th e the landing place looked like nascent the ring would of the landing placing but without any place to park the virus is simply said I cant infect this individual so now we have genetically modified pigs that dont get Perez disease but this is just one example that this actually might be the one of the first examples the word gene editing is going to move into production phase because theres already a pig breeding company that has this in the wings and is trying is seeking regulatory approval to produce animals that are resistant Spurs. References: https://ag.purdue.edu/GMOs/Pages/WhatareGMOs.aspx This source tells us about the most common misbeliefs of gmos like how https://www.piedmont.org/living-better/genetically-modified-foods-helpful-or-harmful https://monsanto.com/innovations/biotech-gmos/ (function() { var scribd = document.createElement("script"); scribd.type = "text/javascript"; scribd.async = true; scribd.src = "https://www.scribd.com/javascripts/embed_code/inject.js"; var s = document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(scribd, s); })() https://environmentalscience.oxfordre.com/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199389414.001.0001/acrefore-9780199389414-e-217 https://modernag.org/innovation/gmo-solutions-benefit-environment/ https://www.nature.com/articles/nbt.3680

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Black Women Stereotypes - 763 Words

The stereotypical misrepresentations of African-American women and men in popular culture have influenced societal views of Blacks for centuries. The typical stereotypes about Black women range from the smiling, asexual and often obese Mammy to the promiscuous Jezebel who lures men with her sexual charms. However, the loud, smart mouthed, neck-rolling Black welfare mother is the popular image on reality television. The typical stereotype about Black men is the violent, misogynistic thug, and the ever-enduring pimp. These images portrayed in media and popular culture createpowerful ideology about race and gender, which affects daily experiences of Black women in America. With few healthy relationships portrayed in the media, Black women†¦show more content†¦In other words, the media culture has a salient effect in determining social norms. By presenting the edgy misogynist as the personification of black masculinity, the media sends out two messages. First, impressionable black adolescents, many of whom are surrounded by the violence and abuse glorified byShow MoreRelatedStereotypes And Stereotypes Of Black Women858 Words   |  4 PagesStereotypes are images and ideas, fixed and oversimplified, of particular people or things. Black women tend to encounter the utmost sexual and racial stereotypes. The remarks that I commonly hear are black women emasculate their men and are also sexually inhibited. Media and society have installed these stereotypes in a majority of our minds. Black women hear stereotypes very frequently and begin to believe in them. I encountered an immense amount of stereotypes, but they were only misjudgmentsRead MoreStereotypes Of Black Women And Black Children Essay1775 Words   |  8 Pages and black children more likely to deal with these issues, due to the fact the black women would rather kee p their violence within their families than to bring the outside world involve, especially the police— â€Å"the family secret†. A reason that attributed to black women and the violence committed towards them being a hidden struggle for most of these women is because of â€Å"the lack of cultural competence†. Bent-Goodly then goes to quote Allard and Hill-Collins saying, â€Å"Negative stereotypes or mythsRead MoreEffects Of Stereotypes On Latina And Black Women1245 Words   |  5 Pages The effect of stereotypes on Latina and Black women Stereotypes have been around for a long time affecting the way people are treated. Many people confuse stereotypes with being prejudice but they are two completely different things. Today most stereotypes you hear are targeted to Black and Latina women. These stereotypes affect them in a negative way. There are multiple studies that show the way stereotypes affect the victim in various scenarios Stereotypes The way stereotypes started is not clearlyRead MoreStereotypes: Black Women vs. White Women in the Media983 Words   |  4 Pagesattitudes of Whites toward Blacks. White Americans, they show, learn about African Americans not through personal relationships, but through the images shown by the media. . In short, they conclude that although there are more images of African-Americans on television now than ever, these images are often harmful to the prospect of unity between the races. With the advancement of technology such as advertisement, there has always been a stereotypical view of how women are portrayed in the media.Read MoreAn Inside Look at Melissa Harris-Perry Essay1597 Words   |  7 Pagesmyths surrounding black women and the implication that correlate with these myths. Perry focuses on three main stereotypes of black women that began with slavery and are still prevalent in society today. Perry not only examines the depth and causes of these stereotypes, but she also scru tinizes their role in African Americans lives as citizens today. Black women today are not only separated from society outside of the African American community, but there are also existing stereotypes within the cultureRead MoreComm 3311707 Words   |  7 Pagesso many different stereotypes of black women, both positive and negative. The media plays a role in how black women are seen in society. A stereotype is a commonly held public belief about or types of individuals. The concepts of stereotype and prejudice are often confused with many other different meanings. Stereotypes can be about different age, racial or ethnic groups based on some prior assumptions. (J.F. Healey, Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Class pp33-35). The stereotypes seen in the mediaRead MoreStereotypical Black Women Essay1040 Words   |  5 Pageschild I would hear the term black queen. To my understanding a black women and a black queen are one in the same, but growing up the two words became different meanings . People began to change and no longer were they practicing their queen ways. People were now becoming ignorant and began following the crowd instead of being themselves, setting them apart as just black women. Black women have been around for several centuries and in that time we were vigorously known as black queens all over the worldRead MoreSlavery And The Black Race1526 Words   |  7 PagesSlavery and the black race in America cannot be separated since slavery is a big part of the history of African Americans from the 18th century to early 20th century. There are many issues to consider about slavery and the lives of the slaves at the period. One of those issues is the role played by women slaves in the societies of the time. Deborah White writes about how women slaves had a different life compared to the other white women and compared to the male slaves. However, it is the statementRead MoreStereotypes And Stereotypes Of African Americans Essay1468 Words   |  6 Pagesrepr esented in the media with harmful stereotypes which were founded in the slavery era (Cartier, 2014)(Carpenter, 2012). This negative representation invites bias from those who accept the images, the distortion of which is accentuated by both sexism and racism. Black women are the least represented group in cinema, making it easier to rely on stereotypes which encourage societal bias. From these stereotypes, like the Jezebel and Sapphire, stem the â€Å"real world† stereotypes of the welfare queen and the crackRead MoreIn The United States, Not Only Are Latin Women Being Misunderstood,1508 Words   |  7 PagesIn the United States, not only are Latin women being misunderstood, but African American women are also stereotyped by other people. Latin women are discriminated in their dressing and service occupations, while African American Americans are stereotyped in sexually promiscuous, caregiving role, and â€Å"welfare queens.† Both of them are victims of racial stereot ypes, which affect them negatively on their identities and characteristics. However, the differentiation of their cultures makes them being

Monday, December 9, 2019

Pharmaceutical Mathematics Administering Medication

Question: Discuss about the Pharmaceutical Mathematicsfor Administering Medication. Answer: Definition of Pharmaceutical Mathematics Pharmaceutical Mathematics is the application of measurement and calculation tools for preparing, prescribing and administering medication. The major mathematical approaches considered for application in the field of pharmacy are statistical analysis methods, quantitative analysis and algebraic equations. Pharmaceutical mathematics enables a pharmacist to measure the proportion of ingredient for contributing to a proper medication mix (Prasacu and Mircioiu 2013). History/ Introduction to Pharmaceutical Mathematics One of the most promising areas of study and research for the specialists in pharmacy is the calculations utilised in pharmaceutical sciences. An individual might be having a vast knowledge of pharmacy; however, if the individual does not have the knowledge of mathematical calculations, he is not able to apply the learnt knowledge of pharmaceuticals in practice. Accurately performed calculations in matters of pharmacy is a critical component in the delivery of optimal patient care in all environments of pharmacy practice. It is also the duty of all technicians to carry out this responsibility. Though pharmaceutical calculations are not exaggeratedly critical, they always warrant flawless accuracy. Proper calculations lead to better patient outcomes since the better methods for treatment and prevention can inform best attempts for optimising patient care. For efficiently preparing and dispensing medications, it is desirable that a professional has the ability to perform a wide range o f calculations that are useful int he process of formulating medicines while their production is being considered. One must be continually aware of the scenario of patient harm that is likely to happen if an error occurs in the dosage calculation. It is, therefore, crucial for professionals to have adequate knowledge of calculation methods and to apply them in practice. Learning pharmaceutical is a step-by-step process where one step is dependent to a large extent on another. A good foundation base is necessary to support all the gathered knowledge, which is usually based on a well-rounded understanding of basic mathematical calculations. Technicians are expected to have sound knowledge of basic calculations like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, while emphasising on metric conversions and other similar forms of calculations. This is to include knowledge of a traditional weight system used by apothecaries known as the apothecary system as well as basic household measurements and weights. In a natural progression, the mathematic calculations that are commonly applied are Roman and Arabic Numerals, Fractions and Decimals, Ratios, proportions, and percentages (Rees, Smith and Watson 2015). Application of Pharmaceutical Maths Before 2010 Important characteristics of mathematics have overlapped with other major disciplines of science, including pharmaceutical. A large number of researchers have considered medicine to be a vital area where mathematics is to be applied. Mathematics is being constantly applied in the field of pharmacy for designing the alterations in the targeted therapies. The basic areas where pharmaceutical mathematics were applied before the year 2010 were temperature scale conversions, working with prescriptions, basic medication calculations, basic infusion calculations, calculations for billing compounds, pharmacy business maths and parenteral dosage calculations. Temperature scale conversions were applied for adjusting temperature since temperature is vital for storage of medications owing to the need of maintaining the stability of the medications. The two temperatures that are commonly referred to for this purpose are Fahrenheit and Celcius. Calculations were necessary for decoding the essentia l informations embedded in prescriptions. This was in regards to the communication of information on medication formulation, preparation, dosage regimen as well as administration of medication. The goal was to demystify the drug nomenclature. Basic concepts of mathematics were applied for calculation of dosages while administrating medications in capsule or tablet form and liquid form. Percentage of the strength of the medication of solutions were also carried out. Basic infusion calculations had been considered for dilution of stock solutions, infusion rates, calculation of dosages on the basis of the weight of the body of the patient and paediatric dosing. The ratio-proportion method had been widely used for this purpose. Previously, calculations were done for billing compounds that took into consideration cost of ingredients, dispensing fee and cost of time. Pharmacists were, as a result, able to take part in the financial aspects of pharmacy dispersal and exchange. Pharmacy business maths-enabled the pharmacists to cultivate the art of pharmacy and successfully take care of inventory receiving and purchasing at the time of turnover. Parenteral dosage calculations were done for the administration of medications through routes apart from the GI tract (Langley and Perrie 2014). Advancement of Pharmaceutical Maths Between 2010-2017 It is to be highlighted that pharmaceutical mathematics has witnessed the major transformation in the last seven years. Some drastic advancements have come into limelight within this period in the context of pharmaceutical mathematic that have contributed to prosperity in pharmaceutical science. As one of the most trusted professionals, it is expected at the present times that pharmacists dispense medications accurately by correctly carrying out pharmaceutical calculations. Applications of Mathematics in Industrial Pharmacy and Pharmacokinetics is found to have witnessed major developments in last one decade. Application of mathematics has evolved mainly in the field of institutional pharmacy. Institutional pharmacy refers to the practice of pharmacy for diagnosis and treatment of patients in long-term care facilities, family planning clinics, public health facilities, drug abuse treatment centers, convalescent homes, nursing homes, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, developmental di sability centers, extended care facilities, psychiatric centers, penal institutions, hospice, mental health facilities, and athletic facilities. With the application of mathematics, the technician in the contemporary world is able to handle a wide range of tasks from compounding of sterile products to chemotherapy and calculation of radioactive decay of an isotope used for application in stress tests. Pharmacist technician is making a remarkable improvement in delivering nutritional interventions to patients with diverse needs as they are now able to handle the application of micronutrients and macronutrients, precipitation concerns, calculation of calorie requirements for patients and determination of PN volume. Another area where pharmaceutical calculations are making developments is aliquot. An aliquot is the small amount of medication that is used for a variety of purposes. These include calculation of minimum measurable quantity (MMQ), calculation of desensitisation therapies a nd calculations of solids below the MMQ (Hyma 2017). References Hyma, P. 2017.Pharmaceutical mathematics with application to pharmacy. 1st ed. Langley, C. and Perrie, Y., 2014.Maths Skills for Pharmacy: Unlocking Pharmaceutical Calculations. Oxford University Press. Prasacu, I. and Mircioiu, C., 2013.Elements of Mathematics Applied in Pharmaceutical Sciences. " Carol Davila" University Press. Rees, J.A., Smith, I. and Watson, J., 2015.Introduction to pharmaceutical calculations. Pharmaceutical Press.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Nanotechnology is the engineering of functional sy Essays

Nanotechnology is the engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale. In its original sense, 'nanotechnology' refers to the projected to the INS AT fleet in orbit, including 24 C-band transponders, six extended C-band transponders, two S-band broadcast satellite service transponders and mobile satellite service transponders. The satellite beams commercial television signals to customers in India. Subsequently, an Ariane 5 rocket carried the Indian-built satellite INSAT-3A to space from Kourou on April 9, 2003. The 3,000-lb. satellite carried a communications, weather imaging, and search-and-rescue pay load. It measured about 9 by 6.5 by 6 ft., while its solar panels spanned about 43 ft. RESOURCESAT-1, launched on October 17, 2003, was the tenth satellite of ISRO in IRS series. It was intended to not only continue the remote sensing data services provided by IRS-1C and IRS-1D, both of which have far outlived their designed mission lives, but also to vastly enhance the data quality. Its mission life was five years. GSAT-3, well known as EDUSAT was launched on September 20, 2004. As the first dedicated Educational Satellite, it provided the country with satellite based two way communication to class room for delivering educational materials. This Geo-synchronous satellite was developed on I-2K bus and was co-located with METSAT and INSAT-3C at 74 degree East longitude. CARTOSAT-1, the first India Remote Sensing Satellite capable of providing in-orbit stereo images, was launched on May 5, 2005. The images are used for Cartographic applications meeting the global requirements. Cameras of this satellite have a resolution of 2.5m and can even distinguish a small car. The satellite provides stereo pairs required for generating Digital Elevation Models, Ortho Image products, and Value added products for various applications of Geographical Information System (GIS). INSAT-4A, the first in INSAT-4 Satellites series provides services in Ku and C-band frequency bands. The Ku transponders cover the Indian main land while C-band transponders cover an extended area. This spacecraft was placed at 83 dog Eat along with INSAT-2E and INSAT-3B, by Ariane launch vehicle (ARIANE-5V 169) on December 22, 2005. The life of this satellite is estimated to be twelve years. ISRO conducted a Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-1) to demonstrate the technology of an orbiting platform for performing experiments in microgravity conditions. SRE-1 mission provided a valuable experience in fields like navigation, guidance and control during the re-entry phase, hypersonic aero thermodynamic, development of reusable thermal protection system (TPS), recovery through deceleration The first Indian satellite to be put in space was Aryabhata, which dates back to April 19, 1975. It was followed by the launch of Bhaskara- I, an Earth observation satellite, on June 7, 1979. While these two satellites were launched form sites outside India, India launched its own satellite for the first time on July 18, 1980. It was the Rohini-1 satellite carried aloft on a Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV) rocket from the Sriharikota Island launch site. Since then, India has invested a great deal of its space development work in complex applications satellites. India's two main interests are satellites for remote sensing and communications. These are used for weather pictures, disaster warnings and feeds to 552 television and 164 radio stations on the ground. By the end of 1985, the Rohini-3 communications satellite launched in August 1983 had extended nationwide television coverage from 20 percent to 70 percent of the population. Today it is about 90 percent. One of the satellites in India's Stretched Rohini Satellite Series, SROSS-C, was launched on an Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle (ASLV) on May 20, 1992. It was India's first astrophysics observatory. The 235-lb. satellite had a gamma ray burst detector composed of high voltage scintillation detectors focused on the southern sky. Unfortunately, the satellite fell from orbit after only 55 days. Its replacement, SROSS- C2, was launched on May 4, 1994. One of India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) rockets blasted off on April 18, 2001, from the Sriharikota Island launch site placed a 1.5-ton experimental communications satellite called GSAT-1 into geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above Earth. GSAT- 1 was a communications satellite with digital audio, data and video broadcasting using two S-band, one high power C-band and two indigenous C-band transponders. On October 22, 2001 India launched its Technology Experiment Satellite