• The Shiv Sena-BJP bigwigs in Bombay have reintroduced the bill banning the slaughter of cows and calves. The new, "improved" bill calls for an imprisonment increased from 2 years to 5 years and a fine upped from Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000.

• The Cauvery river is to be taken for a long overdue trip to the cleaners. Five towns in Tamil Nadu, located along the banks of the river, are to be the sites for Operation Cleanup. Madras' Cooum river is also part of the same programme. The entire project will cost Rs 38 crore.

• The ministry of health and family welfare has set Rs 21.48 crore as grant for research in contraceptive technology for the 1995-96.

• Exnora has organised 400 eco-clubs in Shimla, each of which contains a minimum of 50 households as members, in order to tackle the problem of waste disposal and recycling.

• The National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad, has reported that perilla seed oil obtained from a coarse aromatic herb known as Hansi reduces cholesterol and triglycferides when used in the diet.

• Ayush 64, an Ayurvedic herbal compound developed at the Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha, Vijayawada, has proved effective in controlling malarial fever.

• Dr Ephrat Levy Lahad and colleagues at Veterans Affairs Medical Centre in Seattle have identified a gene linked to the early onset of Alzheimer's disease -- the most common cause of memory loss in the elderly worldwide.