Quick notes: U.R Rao, Dhanush gun...

• U.R. Rao: Genial genius of ISRO. Dr. Rao’s space journey blossomed under the tutelage of Vikram Sarabhai, his doctoral guide and later boss at ISRO: in 1972, Sarabhai tasked the young Rao — fresh from MIT and the only Indian then who had worked on NASA’s Pioneer and Explorer satellite projects — with building an Indian satellite... Scientist who turned sheds into space labs.



• Criminal conspiracy: Chinese fake parts for 'desi Bofors'



• Something weird going on with Western men's sperm: Study finds sharp decline in male fertility in Western Nations from 1973 to 2011. Sperm counts seem to have dropped by more than 50 percent. Research out of China suggests a more recent sperm count decline. Over the past 20 years, China has become more Western in terms of environmental pollutants and dietary habits.



• Marlboro Country: Tobacco MNC Philip Morris takes aim at young people with tactics that break India’s anti-smoking laws.



• One more to the list: UK to ban sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040



• Trees can make or break city weather:Even a single urban tree can help moderate wind speeds and keep pedestrians comfortable as they walk down the street.



• Purifying Sinners: Congregants of the Word of Faith Fellowship were regularly punched, smacked, choked, slammed to the floor or thrown through walls in a violent form of deliverance meant to “purify” sinners by beating out devils. Prosecutors tried to sabotage investigation.