Safari Magazine | September 2013 Issue | Views And Reviews

A blue whale coming onto the surface vertically – is what you see on the cover page of September 2013 issue of Safari – science and knowledge magazine.

This time let us start from the “All About” article which starts from the last cover page. (The back cover page also continues dark blue theme as this article is also related to the water). This time the magazine brings in a very detailed article on INS Trikand – the stealth battleship of Indian Navy. This 7 page article is embedded with photos, illustrations and feature table. The comparisons between Yamato – the Japanese battleship and INS Trikand are interesting. The article truly brings a lot of information about INS Trikand and it is an interesting read.

Megapixel – section brings a stunning photo of – The Mexian Pyramid. This well detailed photo of a pyramid build in around 800-900 BC will interest the people love history or sight seeing.

While studying into the school we got to know that the size, the color and other attributes of a species are dependent on a lot of factors. A lot of stuff is changed over the period of time in changing circumstance in order to perform the survival of the fittest and being compatible to the nature; as well. But, then also, a curious child within ourselves often pop up some questions to us that why elephants are so huge and black and the ants are small? Why crows are black and the donkeys are white?…. One such question about blue whales – what made it so big? – is answered in an article by B M Purohit in this issue. Remember that on an average the blue whale is 31 meters long and is about of 175 tonnes! This 5 page article is actually a summarized journey through millions of years on the Earth. The article brings in information about gradual changes in some other species as well. – An article for biology lovers.

You might have read somewhere that American Basketball player Randy Foye has “mirrored image” of internal organs! To make the things simple to understand let us look at it this way. We all are blessed with pairs of organs to keep ourselves symmetrical – one in right side and one is in left side; like hands, eyes, legs, ears etc. And in most cases where a single instance of an organ is given, it is given in the center. However this is correct for the body organs we see from outside, but not fully correct with the internal organs! Take an example of heart – we know that there is one heart inside the body and is usually situated in left hand side! There are so many such organs. Now, there are a lot of cases where the internal organs are found in reverse (or mirrored image); for example the heart in the right side! Scientists are trying to find the answer of “why this happens?” in some cases. However the people with mirrored image of internal organs live a health life like others, there are some situation when it is dangerous for them. For example if a person complains pain in right chest, a doctor may not consider it as serious as the pain in the left chest; if he doesn’t know that the patient has his/her heart in the right in stead of left! This 4 page article is an interesting read.

The following are the minerals used by so many things we use in our day to day lives and without them our life will definitely became a lot harder. And, these minerals are rare to be found.

1. Scandium
2. Yttrium
3. Lanthanum
4. Cerium
5. Praseodymium
6. Neodymium
7. Promethium
8. Samarium
9. Europium
10. Gadolinium
11. Terbium
12. Dysprosium
13. Holmium
14. Erbium
15. Thulium
16. Ytterbium
17. Lutetium

China has monopoly on some of the essential rare to found minerals; making the country enjoy a key position in a lot of markets. Many countries are searching for these minerals in different way to overcome the artificial shortage of them. Read an article to get the detailed information about – for which devices, these minerals are essential?, how China have control over the world economy in terms of these minerals? and more… inside a must read article.

Do you know that the Dung beetles can use stars as their GPS? Yes, you read it right, till today we are familiar about the fact that many birds, aquatic seals, and man are amongst those few creatures who can use stars as co-ordinates to find directions, now the list has one more addition – Dung beetles.

The – Fast Facts – segment this time brings in information about the firearms used by India’s special forces. A consolidated and good read.

A Sanskrit daily – Sudharma – is about to be discontinued. There are around 6809 languages in the world and it is said that almost every fortnight one language loses its existence. There is an article about such disappearing languages from India. The article is definitely a good read.

BTW: What do you think about the disappearance of the languages due to the globalization? Do you think having a very few languages to communicate will make the communication very easy across the globe? Do let us know your thoughts via comments below.

The – Q & A – Fact Finder – section brings the answers to the following questions:

• What kind of telescope did Galileo Galilee use to observe the night sky?
• Do viruses get sick or die like all living things?
• Scientists have theorized that life has developed from the inorganic rocks and gases of the early Earth, but have they demonstrated how the threshold from non-living to living matter was crossed over?
• How much carbon dioxide is emitted by a car that travels 15 kilometers on a liter of petrol?
• A motor vehicle’s engine capacity is expressed in CC, though traditionally it is measured by horse-power. What does CC indicate?
• How well-founded is the belief that eating carrots will help you see in the dark?
• How actually far away is space from the surface of our planet?
• Why is kiwi fruit named after New Zealand’s national bird?
• Apart from those which are deemed to be disease-causing agents, are there bacteria which are beneficial to humans?
• Why do children save money in pig-shaped vessels?
• When lightening strikes the sea, what happens to all the fish? Do they die?

The Super Quiz section is focused on: (South) Africa!

Overall, a really nice issue which gives you the best for your money. Just go for it.