Tillway Talk

Balbir Singh Dosanjh passed away today at the age of 96. Popularly known as Balbir Singh Senior, he was one of the greatest ever hockey players. He was a  a three-time Olympic gold medalist,  having played a key role in India's wins in the  London (1948), Helsinki (1952) (as Vice Captain), and Melbourne (1956) (as Captain) Olympics. He is regarded as a legend of the sport and is widely considered to be the sport's greatest ever centre-forward. His Olympic record for most goals scored by an individual in an Olympic men's hockey final remains unbeaten. Singh set this record when he scored five goals in India's 6–1 victory over the Netherlands in the gold medal game of the 1952 Olympic Games. Singh was the Manager and Chief Coach of the Indian team for the 1975 Men's Hockey World Cup, which India won. During the London Olympics in 2012, Singh was honoured in the Olympic Museum exhibition, "The Olympic Journey: The Story of the Games”. He was the only Indian amo...

Why is the new coronavirus more dangerous than the mundane flu viruses?  It has to do with RNA sequencing or, more simply, genetics. Seasonal flu is an “all human virus”. The DNA/RNA chains that make up the virus are recognized by the human immune system. This means that your body has some immunity to it before it comes around each year. Novel viruses  come from animals. The WHO tracks novel viruses in animals, (sometimes watching for mutations for years). Usually these viruses only transfer from animal to animal (pigs in the case of H1N1 and  birds in the case of the Spanish flu). But  these animal viruses can  mutate and start transferring  from animals to humans. Then it’s a problem, because we have no natural or acquired immunity.  The RNA sequencing of the genes inside the virus isn't recognized by the human immune system. So, we can’t fight it off. Sometimes, the mutation only allows transfer from animals to humans. For years its only tran...

How Coronavirus affects the body: What is a virus: A virus is a small parasite that cannot reproduce by itself. Once it infects a living s cell, however, a virus can direct the cell machinery to produce more viruses. What is Coronavirus: The name “coronavirus” comes from the crown-like projections on the surfaces of these viruses  “Corona” in Latin means “halo” or “crown.” Among humans, coronavirus infections most often occur during the winter months and early spring. People regularly become ill with a cold due to a coronavirus and may catch the same one about 4 months later. This is because coronavirus antibodies do not last for a long time. Also, the antibodies for one strain of coronavirus may be ineffective against another one. In 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) started monitoring the outbreak of a new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, which causes the respiratory illness now known as COVID-19. Authorities first identified the virus in Wuhan, China...

Pradip Kumar Banerjee ( fondly called P.K.), who passed away today, was one of India's greatest footballers. He was one of the first recipients of Arjuna Award, when the awards were instituted in 1961. He was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri in 1990 and was named Indian Footballer of the 20th century by IFFHS. In 2004, he was awarded the FIFA Order of Merit, the highest honour awarded by FIFA. P.K. was born on 23rd June 1936 in Jalpaiguri in  Bengal Presidency (now West Bengal). At the age of 15, Banerjee represented Bihar in the Santosh Trophy, playing on the right wing. In 1954 he moved on to Kolkata and joined Aryan.  He made his debut for the national team in the 1955 Quadrangular tournament at the age of 19. He made 84 appearances for India, scoring 65 goals during the course of his career. He represented India in three Asian Games -  the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo, the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta, where India clinched the gold medal in football and then the 19...

Scientists and medical researchers have for years have differed over the exact definition of a pandemic, but one thing everyone agrees on is that the word describes the widespread occurrence of disease, in excess of what might normally be expected in a geographical region. Cholera, bubonic plague, smallpox, and influenza are some of the most brutal killers in human history. And outbreaks of these diseases across international borders, are properly defined as pandemic, especially smallpox and plague, which throughout history, have killed around  500 million people. The following are the most series diseases that have afflicted the world during human history: COVID-19 has resulted in 13054  deaths as of 23rd  March 2020. [The toll is over 27000 as of 28th March 2020. In just five days, the number of deaths have more than doubled.] MERS (2015 - Present) has caused 850 deaths.  EBOLA (2014-16) led to 11000 mortalities.   SWINE FLU (2009-10) caused abou...

DOULE CENTURY IN FOURTH INNINGS: There have been five instances of a double century in the fourth innings of a test match: George Headley  223 for West Indies   vs England at Kingston  Jamaica in 1930 Bill Edrich  219 for England  vs South Africa at Durban in 1939 Sunil Gavaskar 221 for India  vs England at the Oval London in 1979 Gordon Greenidge 214 not out for West Indies   vs England at Lords London in 1984 Nathan Astle 222 for New Zealand  vs England at Christchurch in 2002 Four of these feats were achieved against England, and the only time it was not, it was done by an Englishman himself! The first three of these matches ended in draws: George Headley in 1930  single-handedly battled to save the West Indies after they had been set a target of 826. The match lasted seven days,  and became the first test to be drawn by mutual agreement, with the West Indies ending at 408/5. The English had to catch their boat...

Which is healthier -  tea or coffee? The question can be analysed piecemeal. CAFFEINE Both coffee and several types of tea include caffeine, but coffee contains a much higher concentration. For this reason, those apt to drink large quantities are better off sticking to tea so that they don't exceed the daily recommendation of 300 milligrams. Drinking too much coffee can result in a high intake of caffeine which can disrupt sleep and rob calcium from bones (if you consume too little calcium from foods). And some studies suggest that high intakes of caffeine during pregnancy can increase the risk of miscarriage. ANTIOXIDANTS Coffee has its advantages, but tea wins in the war of the antioxidants. While green tea is most commonly associated with antioxidants, white tea actually contains more. Coffee also contains antioxidants, but in a much lower concentration than white tea. Studies have determined that both coffee and tea have health benefits. Providing you don't load y...