Professor Nalin De Silva
Posted on July 19th, 2011
Akila Weerasekera, M.S
Recently 49 academics of the Science faculty of University of Kelaniya have signed a petition against Professor Nalin De Silva, the Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Kelaniya. Also, the Sri Lankan Association for the Advancement of Science (SLAAS) has labeled Professor De Silva as a pseudo scientist and issued a warning to the members of his group regarding their future as Scientists. Apparently the primary reason for this is the methodology which was used to find the cause of Rajarata Kidney disease. They claim that Professor De Silva and his team have challenged the current scientific research principles and therefore the credibility of the University and its scientists is compromised.
In science, observations are made, a hypothesis is formed, data are gathered and testing is done, and if the results of testing support the hypothesis, a theory (provisional conclusion) is formulated. If any evidence comes to light that invalidates the conclusion, the conclusion will be amended or even rejected and a replacement theory is sought.
If one carefully analyze the research conducted by the Kelaniya team, it is clear that they have followed the scientific method. They have made slight changes to the standard method by changing the experimental chemicals (acids/bases) and annealing temperatures but the detection equipments used remained the same. This is in no way of challenging the current scientific principles (although I donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t see anything wrong in challenging scientific principles). Using the current standard methods the researchers were unable to detect any traces of Arsenic in the soil and water samples from Rajarata area. According to novel information they received, changes were made to the standard method and hence they were able to detect Arsenic in the same samples. Further studies have shown that the red soil in the Raja Rata area has a strong affinity to Arsenic (Arsenic is strongly absorbed onto Iron and Aluminum oxides, thereby rendering the mobility of Arsenic) and when Arsenic in the pesticides combined with hard water created highly poisonous carcinogen, Calcium Arsenate, which they believe causes the Kidney disease.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
As I see it the source of the information necessary for detection of Arsenic, whether it came from a deva, a dream, or simply accidental is irrelevant to their findings. So far the team has made presentations on their research at four seminars, including one organized by the World Health Organization. Their findings will be published in due course and anyone interested could request the method and reproduce the results before blindly denying the authenticity of the technique. If the SLAAS or anyone else has any issues regarding the research conducted by Professor De Silva led team, they should address the issues on the basis of a relevant platform rather than irrelevant details because peopleƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s lives are at stake.
Challenging the accepted dogma is often considered a hostile act by the scientific community and such challenges are often fought off with attacks on the critic’s character or motives rather than embraced as a way of testing claims. It is becoming apparent that these groups are busy waging a personal vendetta against Professor De Silva rather than scrutinizing the findings in a scientific manner. I hope these academics would drop their selfish arrogant approach and work towards the common goal of helping the people of Rajarata.
Akila Weerasekera, M.S
July 19th, 2011 at 2:29 pm
Message from London
We know that those who are in the Sri Lankan Association for the Advancement of Science (SLAAS) are computer Illiterate. Can somebody send this article to them with the comments below;
ARSENIC IS AN ESTABLISHED CARCINOGEN
Before the beginning of the century there were 15 countries in the world that had arsenic contamination in water.Four countries,Bangladesh,West Bengal —India, China,and Taiwan, had populations that were suffering seriously.
In fact, in the time span of only two years (2000 –2002) six more nations have found significant ground- water arsenic contamination.These are Cambodia, Lao People Democratic Republic, Pakistan, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Nepal.The International Arsenic Conference at San Diego (July, 2002 ) brought out a new aspect of this debacle. For the first time the serious situation of Bihar (another state of India in Middle Ganga Plain), was confirmed. This new discovery reveals that a good portion of the Ganges Plain,with an area of about 530,831 sq.km.,may be contaminated with arsenic.This area has a population of about 450 million (including Bangladesh) (Chakroborti, 2003)
The largest mass poisoning of a population in history is now underway in Bangladesh. It is a terrible public catastrophe, asserts Allan H. Smith, Professor of Epidemiology at the University of California, Berkeley, and a WHO consultant who has investigated arsenicosis in Bangladesh on several trips. The number of people affected by this arsenic disaster is among the greatest of any disease facing the world today. “By virtue of its sheer size it is pushing the limits of our knowledge and capacity to respond to it,” asserts Professor Hans van Ginkel, Rector of the United Nations University in Tokyo (WHO,Friday 22 March 2002)
ON January 14, 2010, The Daily Star reported an increase in the accumulation of arsenic levels in the topsoil of agricultural lands that are irrigated by arsenic-rich groundwater. The article referred to a recent study by Professor Badruzzaman and Professor Ali (both of Buet). In their study, the professors reported that paddy grown on lands that have been irrigated by arsenic-rich groundwater contain up to 0.3 milligrams (300 micrograms) of arsenic per kilogram of paddy. A relevant but unanswered question is whether this level of arsenic in the grains is a health threat. While the Daily Star article is rather ominous in its tone, some analysis based on WHO and FAO data leads to a less threatening conclusion
PATNA: In the past couple of years, Ojhapatti village in Bhojpur district has seen only a few “baraats” or marriage processions. Nobody wants to marry a woman born and brought up in this village. And families with grown-up daughters are increasingly moving out of the village to get them married. In Bihar’s heartland, Ojhapatti is one of the most affected villages by arsenic. The ground water in this sleepy, impoverished village is said to contain very high amounts of arsenic, about 50 parts per billion (PPB) which is five times more than the permissible 10 PPB (according to WHO and Bureau of Indian Standards).
Arsenic in groundwater above the WHO maximum permissible limit of 0.05 mg l -1 has been found in six districts of West Bengal covering an area of 34 000 km2 with a population of 30 million. At present, 37 administrative blocks by the side of the River Ganga and adjoining areas are affected. Areas affected by arsenic contamination in ground-water are all located in the upper delta plain, and are mostly in the abandoned meander belt. More than 800 000 people from 312 villages/wards are drinking arsenic contaminated water and amongst them at least 175 000 people show arsenical skin lesions. Thousands of tube-well water in these six districts have been analysed for arsenic species. Hair, nails, scales, urine, liver tissue analyses show elevated concentrations of arsenic in people drinking arsenic-contaminated water for a longer period. The source of the arsenic is geological. Bore-hole sediment analyses show high arsenic concentrations in only few soil layers which is found to be associated with iron-pyrites.
NEW DELHI, OCT. 5, 2004: The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) today claimed that it had detected high levels of arsenic in the ground water westward along the Gangetic plains, with the Ballia district in Uttar Pradesh being particularly affected. While the Ballia administration denied this and even sent a legal notice to the CSE saying it was working against “national interest,” the CSE director, Sunita Narain, said she stood by the findings and wants immediate remedial action by the State Government, including better monitoring of ground water.
Inner Mongolian
“The mortality rate is high here”, or “Many people are suffering from cancer in this village”in Inner Mongolia. During the survey, two cases each of Bowen’s disease and stomach cancer were confirmed by pathological diagnosis. In the arsenic affected Shengli village of the Haizhiyan district of Wuyuan county, 40 people passed away during the 11 years from 1986 to 1996 in the sixth, seventh and twelfth hamlets. (Villages consist of hamlets, each hamlet containing around 200-300 people). Among the 40 deaths, 15 were due to cancers. According to the various research reports compiled by the end of 1995, arsenic contamination in Inner Mongolia spreads in 655 villages of 11 counties and 1,774 patients were confirmed (Guo Xiao-juan, 2001).
.
Country Number affected
Taiwan 20 000
Inner Mongolia 50 000
Obuasi Ghana Unknown
Cordoba Argentina 10 000
Antofagasta Chile 20 000
Lagunera Mexico 20 000
Cornwall Britain Effect unknown
W. Bengal, India 38, 000 000
Bangladesh 50, 000 000
July 19th, 2011 at 4:47 pm
Neela,
Thanks for the info. This is what I’ve been saying all along but didn’t post any links.
NDS’s scientific findings are well corroborated by other similar studies. And now arsenic is a cancer causing agent too!
But the selfish idiots at the Kelaniya University who are on a mission to discredit NDS because they cannot stand it and they cannot DO ANYTHING like this will never get it.
No wonder SL is way backward in scientific research despite producing many academics FREE OF CHARGE! Tax payers get nothing in return. They strike work for selfish ends.
July 19th, 2011 at 4:58 pm
Akila,
Good write up.
Someone invented the steam engine by accident!
Someone else invented the “blue pill” by accident. It was clinically tested as a heart disease preventor but failed. Then the accidental discovery that earned billions for the inventor.
Someone invented the theory of relative density by accident followed by naked street dancing!
Which is more scientific as a hunch – accident or god?
They were the real scientists and/or inventors not the fools who wait doing nothing in AC rooms waiting for foreign scholarships to fall. And have the gall to criticise those who do something. Parasites!
Academics, get your act together and work for the good health of the people of Rajarata for the sake of free education you had at the expense of these poor farmers in Rajarata. They invested in you for this. Now is the time.
July 19th, 2011 at 7:55 pm
Mathematicians are not at all scientists and, therefore, should be pesuedo-scientists though, Aresenic story should have some bearing to the truth.
July 20th, 2011 at 5:49 am
Our thanks to Akila Weerasekera for shedding more light on the case of Arsenic poisoning. For sure, there is some sort of poisoning taking place through the ground water, and as such filtered safe water is a must for Rajarata people. One supposes that those who criticize Prof. Nalin de Silva would set about inventing a cheap safe water filter system for Rajarata which can be used on a large scale. They can then gain name & fame, plus patent rights to such an invention. Or perhaps they are waiting for Prof Nalin de Silva to invent such a device, and criticize that too ? !!
Wither scientific research in Sri Lanka ? What is wrong with the people of our Nation ? Why is there so much confusion about the simple matter of loyalty & appreciation of a fellow scientist for good work done – is it that loyalty to this Nation is not properly inculcated at a young age ? Or “westernisation” happens in the wrong way ? Or has politics got at research ?
If the same problem happened in Japan or China, by now they would have solved the problem. Both these are Buddhist countries and both are self sufficient with loyal citizens, even though they had a difficult near history.
Family Planning too is a must in Sri Lanka and the rest of Asia. The results of over crowding will be as bad as Arsenic poisoning, or worse.
July 20th, 2011 at 9:54 am
I have following concerns about Nalin
1) In the past with is action Nalin has proved that he is an Extremist. His major concept (always) is US vs THEM thinking pattern (Eg- Sinhala / Tamil , Sri Lanka / West , Buddhist/ Non Buddhist), even Prhabahakara had the same concept with extreme prejudice. I wish one day Nalin will be able to see the world with Metthha without these petty extremism. I am waiting till that day
2) Nalin criticizes the West and the Western education but he has sent his children to the West to obtain hither education , Obviously it is a double standard and it is depriving ordinary Appuhami’s son to obtain western based education. Is that he wants to send Appuhami’s son to a Pirivena instead of a Western university ?
3) He refused the scientific methodology bringing Divinity to prove scientific research and now the local and foreign scholars are laughing at the University of Kelaniya. The Kelaniya University has become a laughingstock in the academic world thanks to Nalin.
If you still have doubts please read these two articles
http://boondi.nutlk.com/CTRLPannel/BoondiArticles.php?ArtCat=ADAH&ArtID=2003#BM2003
http://boondi.nutlk.com/CTRLPannel/BoondiArticles.php?ArtCat=ADAH&ArtID=2013
Prashantha
July 20th, 2011 at 9:58 am
This is the article I meant , that was written by Supun Perera , pay attention to this paragraph : එසේම දේශීය චින්තන ලේබල් ගසා සරසවි සිසුන් ලිං මැඩියන් කිරීමේ ව්යාපාරයත් ………
Prashantha
ගුණාත්මක බවින් තවත් පහළට වැටෙන ශ්රී ලංකාවේ විශ්ව විද්යාල
වර්තමානයේ මතු වී ඇති සරසවි අර්බුදය සමග ශ්රී ලංකාවේ විශ්ව විද්යාල ගුණාත්මක බවින් තවත් පහළට ඇද වැටී ඇති බව පෙනී යයි. අධ්යාපනික තත්ත්වය, විශ්ව විද්යාල ආචාර්ය මණ්ඩලයේ අධ්යාපන සුදුසුකම්, සිදු කරන ලද පර්යේෂණ සහ විද්යාත්මක ලිපි හා ග්රන්ථ පළකිරීම වැනි කරුණු සමාලෝචනයෙන් සෑම වසරකම ලෝකයේ විශ්ව විද්යාල වල ගුණාත්මකභාවය පිළිබඳව ඇගයීමක් සිදු කරන කරන අතර සෑම විශ්ව විද්යාලයකටම නිශ්චිත ඇගයුම් අංකයක් ලැබේ. එය World University Ranking නමින් හැඳින්වෙන අතර පසුගිය වසර 30 ඇතුලත ශ්රී ලංකාවේ විශ්ව විද්යාල ඉතා අඩු ලකුණු ලබාගනිමින් ක්රම ක්රමයෙන් පහතට ම වැටී තිබේ.
2010 වසරේ ලෝකයේ හොඳම විශ්ව විද්යාලය ලෙස තේරී ඇත්තේ ඇමරිකාවේ හාවර්ඩ් විශ්ව විද්යාලයයි. හාවර්ඩ් විශ්ව විද්යාලය ලබා ඇති දළ ලකුණු ප්රතිශතය 96.1 කි. බ්රිතානයේ සුප්රකට ඔක්ස්ෆර්ඩ් විශ්ව විද්යාලය ලකුණු 91.2 ලබා ගනිමින් හය වන ස්ථානයට පත් වී තිබේ. යුරෝපයේ විශ්ව විද්යාල අතරින් ප්රථම ස්ථානය නියෝජනය කරන ස්විට්සර්ලන්තයේ Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich ලෝක ශ්රේණිගත කිරීම් අනුව ලකුණු 83.4 ලබා 15 වන ස්ථානයට පත් වී ඇත.
ආසියානු විශ්ව විද්යාල අතරින් ප්රථම ස්ථානය ලබාගෙන ඇත්තේ ලෝක ශ්රේණිගත කිරීම් අනුව 21 වන ස්ථානය නියෝජනය කරන University of Hong Kong ය. ලබාගෙන ඇති ලකුණු ප්රමාණය 79.2 කි. ටෝකියෝ විශ්ව විද්යාලයට ලැබී තිබෙන්නේ 26 වන ස්ථානයයි. ටෝකියෝ විශ්ව විද්යාලය ලබාගෙන ඇති ලකුණු ප්රමාණය 75.6 කි. දකුණු කොරියාවේ Pohang University of Science and Technology විශ්ව විද්යාලය ලකුණු 75.1 ලබා 28 වන ස්ථානයට පත් වී තිබේ. 37 වන ස්ථානයට චීනයේ චීනයේ පීකිං විශ්ව විද්යාලය පත් වී තිබෙන්නේ ලකුණු 70.7 ලබා ගනිමින්. අප්රිකානු රටවල් අතර ප්රථම ස්ථානය ලබාගෙන තිබෙන්නේ ඊජිප්තුවේ අලෙක්සැන්ඩේරියා විශ්ව විද්යාලයයි. ලබාගෙන ඇති ලකුණු ප්රමාණය 51.6 කි. ලෝක ශ්රේණිගත කිරීම් අනුව ඊජිප්තුවේ අලෙක්සැන්ඩේරියා විශ්ව විද්යාලය147 වන ස්ථානය නියෝජනය කරයි. 2009 ලෝක ශ්රේණිගත කිරීම් අනුව රුසියාවේ ලොමනසොව් මොස්කව් රාජ්ය විශ්ව විද්යාලය ලෝකයේ හොඳම විශ්ව විද්යාල අතර 155 ස්ථානය නියෝජනය කරයි. යුරෝපිය විශ්ව විද්යාල අතරින් ලොමනසොව් මොස්කව් රාජ්ය විශ්ව විද්යාලය 24 වන ස්ථානය දරයි. ඉන්දියාවේ Indian Institute of Science Bangalore විශ්ව විද්යාලය 2011 ජගත් විශ්ව විද්යාල අතර දරන්නේ 559 වන ස්ථානය යි.
අප්රිකාවේ නොදියුණු රටක් ලෙස සැලකෙන උගන්ඩාවේ මකිරෙරේ විශ්වවිද්යාලය ( Makerere University ) 2011 ලෝක ශ්රේණිගත කිරීම් අනුව 1062 ස්ථානයට පත් වී තිබේ. පනහේ සහ හැටේ දශකයේ ලෝකයේ හොඳම විශ්ව විද්යාල වලින් එකක් ලෙස සලකුණු කොළඹ විශ්ව විද්යාලය අද අර්බුද සහිත අසාර්ථක රාජ්යයක් බවට පත් වී තිබෙන අප්රිකාවේ සිම්බාබ්වේ රාජ්යයේ අධ්යාපනික හා ගුණාත්මක භාවයෙන් අඩු සිම්බාබ්වේ විශ්ව විද්යාලයටත් වඩා පහතට වැටී තිබේ. ලෝක ශ්රේණිගත කිරීම් අනුව සිම්බාබ්වේ විශ්ව විද්යාලයට 2246 වන ස්ථානය ලැබී තිබෙන අතර කොළඹ විශ්ව විද්යාලයට ලැබී තිබෙන්නේ 2690 ස්ථානයයි.( උපුටා ගැනීම webometrics.info ) 2011 ලෝක විශ්ව විද්යාල ශ්රේණිගතකිරීම් අනුව මොරටුව විශ්ව විද්යාලය 2324 ද , පේරාදෙණිය විශ්ව විද්යාලය 2615 ද රුහුණ විශ්ව විද්යාලය 2552 ස්ථානය නියෝජනය කරන අතර ශ්රී ලංකා විවෘත විශ්ව විද්යාලය (Open University of Sri Lanka) ඉතාමත් පහළ 4189 ස්ථානයට පත්ව තිබේ. සාක්ෂරතාවයෙන් ශ්රී ලංකාවට වඩා බොහෝ පහළින් සිටි අප්රිකානු, ආසියානු සහ ලතින් ඇමරිකානු රටවල විශ්ව විද්යාල ශ්රී ලංකාවේ විශ්ව විද්යාල පරාජය කොට තිබෙන අතර ලතින් ඇමරිකාවේ පහතින්ම සිටින වෙනුසිලාවේ Universidad Simón Bolívar Venezuela විශ්ව විද්යාලයද ශ්රී ලංකාවේ විශ්ව විද්යාල වලට වඩා බොහෝ ඉදිරියෙන් සිටියි.
ශ්රී ලංකාවේ විශ්ව විද්යාල ගුණාත්මක බවින් පහළට වැටීම පිළිබඳව අදහස් දක්වන කොළඹ විශ්ව විද්යාලයේ ජ්යෙෂ්ඨ මහාචාර්යවරයෙක් ප්රකාශ කරන පරිදි මේ සඳහා ප්රධාන හේතු වන්නේ විශ්ව විද්යාල ආචාර්ය වරුන් බඳවා ගැනීමේ දී සුදුසුකම් නොව ඥාති සබඳතා, මිත්රකම් බැලීම නිසා දක්ෂයන් විශ්ව විද්යාල වලින් ඉවත් වී යාමත් අදක්ෂයන් කථිකාචාර්යවරුන් වීමත් ය. එසේම දේශීය චින්තන ලේබල් ගසා සරසවි සිසුන් ලිං මැඩියන් කිරීමේ ව්යාපාරයත් ලංකාවේ සරසවි වලට රිංගා ඇති අන්තවාදී දේශපාලනයත් නිසා ශ්රී ලංකාවේ විශ්ව විද්යාලවල ගුණාත්මකභාවය සීඝ්රයෙන් පිරිහී ගිය බව ඔහු වැඩි දුරටත් පවසයි. මෙම තත්වය තව දුරටත් පැවතුනහොත් දේශීය විශ්ව විද්යාල අන්තර්ජාතිකව ගණන් ගැනීමකට ලක් නොවන හා නොසලකා හැරෙන මට්ටමකට පත් විය හැකි බව උක්ත මහාචාර්යවරයා පෙන්වා දෙයි.
සුපුන් පෙරේරා
July 20th, 2011 at 2:13 pm
My dear Prashantha,
Brand name “Academics” is a over advertised, over emphasised, over subscribed commodity in Sri Lanka. In England as in most of the developed world, the academics are confined to their schools and universities where their work is concentrated to strict theoretical or hypothetical investigation and reasearch; not practical or realistic at all. In my 38 years of career as an Engineer in London I never ask help from any academics in London, except in one occasion we used a Russian Academic Institution for model testing for an arctic structure. Since, Prof. Nalin de Silva’s work is not an academic research, and it is considered as an industrial investigation, his study should not be subject to peer group review under any circumstances. Prof Nalin de Silva and his group should have full freedom to publish their results independently and other academics at the same time can conduct their own investigation to verify the validity of the claim if they have basis for criticism. If you have Arsenic problem in Rajarata,then, if you can’t detect it with such simple testing procedures available in Western Countries as house hold items, you universities are nothing more than worthless youth hostels wasting tax payers money . As it stands today, Sri Lankan University degrees are not recognised in the West. Contrary, we get hundreds of Indian graduates coming to UK every year for work, but not a single Sri Lankan among them. Why, what is the reason for that, the problem is not the Jathika Chinthanaya or anything else. But It is because your lecturers are not up to the standard. This fact is well exposed and proven during Arsenic debate.
July 20th, 2011 at 3:12 pm
Dear prashantha,
Don’t you think that you oppose Prof. Nalin de Silva purely on personal ground? We can not take personal animosities into consideration when it is come to a national disaster. We are discussing here about the presence of Arsenic salts in ground water in and Around Rajarata area. We are not discussing about Prof. Nalin de Silva personal character, whether he is an extremist or not. We are not discussing about Prof. Nalin de Silva’s understanding about West or Western education.
By the way, in the modern world, scientists look seriously at divinity. Did you read Prof Stephen Hawking’s the grand design or Prof. Thomas Metzinger’s The Ego tunnel or Dr. Pim Van Lommel’s Consciousness beyond life?. I strongly recommend you to read these books before you discuss divinity. Have you come across work of physicist Hal Puthoff at the Stanford Research Institute where they carry out extensive research into non-local perceptions ( premonitions and remote viewing)? Do you know that CIA financed this research at one time and used them for gathering intelligence about the enemy. Do you know that one of the recent remote viewing successes was the discovery of Sadam Husseins hiding place?. Do you know that well known scientist Kekule formulate the structure of Benzene ring after dreaming about a ring of snakes?. The story goes like this; in 1890, at the 25th anniversary of the benzene structure discovery, Friedrich August Kekulé, a German chemist, reminisced about his major accomplishments and told of two dreams that he had at key moments of his work. In his first dream, in 1865, he saw atoms dance around and link to one another. He awakened and immediately began to sketch what he saw in his dream. Later, Kekulé had another dream, in which he saw atoms dance around, then form themselves into strings, moving about in a snake-like fashion. This vision continued until the snake of atoms formed itself into an image of a snake eating its own tail. This dream gave Kekulé the idea of the cyclic structure of benzene1. So, it is not unusual for an individual like Prof. Nalin de Silva get the first cue about Arsenic in his dream, whether it is God Pathini or God Visvakarma does not matter. I am sure nobody will laugh at him for that
July 20th, 2011 at 4:36 pm
Prashantha:
ශ්රී ලංකාවේ විශ්ව විද්යාල ගුණාත්මක බවින් පහළට වැටීම පිළිබඳව අදහස් දක්වන කොළඹ විශ්ව විද්යාලයේ ජ්යෙෂ්ඨ මහාචාර්යවරයෙක් ප්රකාශ කරන පරිදි මේ සඳහා ප්රධාන හේතු වන්නේ විශ්ව විද්යාල ආචාර්ය වරුන් බඳවා ගැනීමේ දී සුදුසුකම් නොව ඥාති සබඳතා, මිත්රකම් බැලීම නිසා දක්ෂයන් විශ්ව විද්යාල වලින් ඉවත් වී යාමත් අදක්ෂයන් කථිකාචාර්යවරුන් වීමත් ය.
horage ammagen pena ahanawa wage.
The comparison by Supun Perera is misleading.
In the rankings, none of the top universities are free. They are very expensive, fee paying universities. Obviously they can afford to be be the best.
About Sri Lankan universities – this is all the poor taxpayers can afford. Sri Lankan universities rank high among world’s free universities. Open University is a different case because only those who cannot go to free universities go there.
The main reasons for poor quality are
1. Udul premarathne and his brand of hooligans vandalising the university (that is why the Moratuwa University ranks higher than other local free universities)
2. Academics after gaining free university education leave the country for the greed of more money. Or they strike (like now) for more money.
There is another reason behind this ranking. By stating free universities rank low, foreign universities pave their way to establish here which is good for the country.
No one can turn university students into frogs in a well than themselves. If local knowledge, etc. is so bad, get out of the free universities. There are many out there to get in.
July 20th, 2011 at 7:29 pm
Whether it is compatible with the scientific methodlogy or not, Prof Nalin De Silva tried to say something very important.
All over the world, developed countries have cut down pesticide use drastically in order to counter act the environmental and health effects on humans. Now pesticide use on agricultural crops is very minimal and integrated pest management is the custom.
But, in Sri Lanka, what I hear, new weeds are introduced very often with imported seeds and pesticide formulations are changed very often.
All these prestigious scienttist bragging about the scientific methodology, what have they done to protect the environment or the human health ?
Have they talked against the pesticide use.
At least, Prof Nalin De Silva brought some very important issue forward. Instead of getting the best use out of that, just talk about scientific method. but what is the use of that to Sri Lankan people or to the country ?
July 21st, 2011 at 6:09 am
Known and proven knowledge of physical matter (Science) is just the tip of the iceberg. The unknown lies fathoms deep, like the unseen underwater part of the iceberg. How our ancestors in Sri Lanka dealt with the Unknown is through the ‘deities’ and ceremonies such as ‘Thovil’, etc. If Prof. Nalin de Silva cleverly linked our ancient belief system to modern day science through inspiration from the “Natha Deviyo” (the Buddha to be in the future), kudos to him ! I think he has done so quite deliberately as one reader stated earlier. Prof. de Silva said that the ‘matter is now in the Courts of the People’. So it should be in a Democracy, and it is.
He has achieved his many objectives, i.e.
(1) brought the Rajarata Arsenic poisoning matter to public attention
(2) brought into the debate our ancient belief systems
(3) brought us into debating our education system in the Universities
(4) Question our loyalty to our own country
(5) Question our value for Human Life & the Environment in this country (and elsewhere)
(6) Question how much we are tied to ex-Colonial mentality, some positive & some negative
(7) Question what ails our country, etc. etc.
Re the acts of the west, (apart from scientific discoveries about which I have great admiration), Britain’s PM David Cameron stated recently that ‘most of the worlds present day problems were caused by Britain’. The Scientific discoveries of the west were made mostly due to Winters, Disease & the European Wars (WW I&II) – “Necessity is the Mother of Invention”. What is the Necessity for Lankans right now ?
Right now, Sri Lankan politicians, academics, intellectuals, farmers, businessmen, educationalists, should get together within their groups and form strategies to aid the Mahinda Chinthanaya which is so life supportive to all. In times of negativity, when the fiscal systems of the mighty west seems somewhat shaky, it is best that Lankans formulate life supportive policies, and lay aside rampant profiteering and Political Games and other negative acts which are usually allowed in Democracies & under Capitalism.
The Root Cause of downfall of any country are Political greed & greed for Money, and lack of Ethics & Morality. Play by the Life Rules and we will all surely win.
July 21st, 2011 at 6:34 am
I am shocked and horrified that a sizeable group of fellow academics has been led into vilifying one of their own by attempting to stick labels rather than examining the methodology used in the research – in this case by Prof. Nalin de Silva and his team. It is a sad day for Science if instead of debating this in the academic milieu, it is made a political means for hounding someone who has, in point of fact through this research endorsed other researchers on the very subject of As poisoning in villages of developing countries.
When scientists (or for that matter, anyone involved in research) come up with new insights into a problem, these insights and ideas can be traced to other sources of research read and digested, or to insights that come out of truly original analytical thinking and contemplation of the problem. Often, these latter occur after or during times of deep contemplation and even sleep, and sometimes in the form of ‘dreams’ when the subconscious can assert itself. If a person attributes the idea to come out of nowhere or to the “ether”, could another by virtue of culture or belief, think of it as coming through God, or in this case the “devas”, or to some “energy source”? This matter of the “deavs” has been taken out of context and magnified far beyond proportion to divert focus from the credibility of the findings into a semantics-based debate.
I certainly hope that these scientists who put their signatures in this Protest, rethink their role as debunkers of a fellow scientist by hanging on a single word, and instead, analyse Prof. de Silva’s research objectively. It is a shame that they have stooped to using insinuations in dismissing what may be an important finding regarding severe renal failure in the Rajarata region that has puzzled medical researchers for several years.
July 21st, 2011 at 7:19 am
@Fran Diaz
More things will be revealed in the future regarding the knowledge (medicine, engineering, agriculture, military tactics, history, etc) we have obtained from the “deva”. This knowledge will be integrated into western-science to create new knowledge (or at least try to). In Sri Lanka, there are famous movie directors, poets, authors and others who are using this knowledge to some extent but keep it a secret from the public.
July 22nd, 2011 at 10:43 am
Prasantha,
There are only very few Sri LAnkans living in SL has knowledge of outside world ,and what thtreats are faced by Sri Lankans today. LIke you, most Sri Lankan think the bombs are no more and we Safe . He is one who saw what is going outside SL against our people much ahead of time. He predicted West will save Prapha and thats what happened. For some luck of our idiots Prabha became insane and that plan did not work. Do you know our history has been changed and it is said to be the Tamil homeland fraudulantly? He is one who clearly fight against this big fraud. Is that extremism? If you don’t challenge that and fight unjust FRAUD aginst you you are a spineless fools who deserve to be part of Tamil Nadu one day. West is supporting seperatism to thier own benifit and long term stratergic plans and not because they love you. We must take thier technology and all good. But reject all ill they are planning against our idiotic bunch. Only ignorent idiots call Nalin Silva extremist.
July 22nd, 2011 at 7:49 pm
Akila weerasekera as given data for Arsenic in various countries. The picture is also from Bangaladesh.
Why are there NO SUCH PICTURES from Sri lanka? The problem is to get data for Sri lanka.
The analysis of arsenic at the parts per billion level needs very specialized equipment as well as very experienced
researchers. If the kelaniya team modified th4e anlytical procedure they need to show that the new modified method works BEFORE they apply to a controversial prblem. They have NOT DONE IT.
The Registrar of pesticides and a number of other organizations say that their analysis DOES NOT agree
with the results of the Kelaniya University Chemistry department.
Further more, these pesticides and insecticides are used in the upcountry as well as in the Uva/Galoya area
and other areas as much as in the Rajarata. The water is even more hard there.
So WHY IS THERE NO corresponding illness corresponding to the illness found in Rajarata?
The isse of the Natha Deiiyo makes matters worse. When you want to know whether your water is clean or not, you don’t go and ask the deyyio, beause you know that there is NO PREVCIOUS TRACK RECORD of Natha deyyio proving reports of
impurities in water. In ancient books we are told that Nath deyyio DID various acts, and not jus make chemical analyses.
This is trying to reduce chemistry to the level of the Pena kiyana, Saaththara kiynana aandi/kapurala stuff.
people have give up, that stuff because they don’t work.
July 23rd, 2011 at 6:26 am
For such excessive amounts of Arsenic to be present in the water table of Rajarata, could it be due acts of terrorism ? As there was no such poison present in the water before the wars with the ltte, we cannot rule out foul play, can we ?
July 23rd, 2011 at 8:43 am
Oral chelation therapy is one way of getting rid of heavy metals such as Arsenic in the body. See website http://www.oralchelation.com/history/index.html
July 23rd, 2011 at 10:37 am
The Kelaniya research group has found the cure for the kidney disease, they are waiting for the approval.
July 23rd, 2011 at 11:03 am
@Bodhi
The kidney disease is caused by Calcium Arsenate, the symptoms are different than Arsenic poisoning. Most pictures from Bangladesh (or where ever) are arsenic poisoning pictures. So we cannot send you pictures of damaged kidneys yet (may be in the future).
The “other groups” have not used the new technique, therefore they will not detect any arsenic!
Did you even read this article? Three factors!
1. Arsenic (from pesticides)
2. Red soil
3. Hard water
Does up country Uva/Gal Oya area has Red soil?
It seems you have no clue of the Sinhala-buddhist history, even though you are not aware, Natha deva has a pretty good “track record”, far better than the “scientists” you worship.
July 23rd, 2011 at 2:25 pm
@ jasonsociety:
Can you elaborate little more details for the benefit of the readers please?
July 23rd, 2011 at 2:39 pm
Bodhi!
This is the perception that opponents of this research work trying to create. The analyzing part per billion level of concentration, for a layman (or for a Sri Lankan Politician) looks rather very difficult task. But in the industry monitoring concentration down to part per billion level is a quite common practice.
In oil industry, water injection into the oil reservoir requires monitoring of dissolved oxygen down to 4 parts per billion, but on-line analyzers are normally used for control and monitoring of quality of water injected.
Similarly there are digital analyzer kits available now in England, Germany and US, to facilitate field test to be conducted by trained technicians for arsenic analysis. Unfortunately Sri Lankan academics are too academic to appreciate this simple fact. Therefore the analysis of arsenic at the parts per billion levels does not require specialized equipment as well as very experienced researchers.
For example, the UNICEF India Country office recently commissioned a report with the Shriram Institute for Industrial Research in Delhi to validate the performance of the Wagtech Digital Arsenator. UNICEF in India has a Long Tern Agreement (LTA) with the Shriram Institute to evaluate the performance of various products related to water quality monitoring and given the importance of arsenic contaminated drinking water in the region it was decided that the Arsenator should be looked at.
The performance of the Wagtech Arsenator was to be evaluated using certified methodology developed at the Shriram Institute.
Essentially this involved comparison of test results obtained using the Arsenator against results that had been obtained and verified using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS).
Experimental water samples were prepared by spiking HPLC grade water with arsenic and the concentrations verified using AAS. The Wagtech Arsenator was then used to provide additional tests of the same experimental water.
The results were excellent, showing a high correlation between the results obtained using AAS and the Wagtech Arsenator. In fact the correlation co-efficient was 0.998 ( 1 being perfect! ). In terms of an overall performance the Arsenator was classified as “Excellent (A1)”.
UNICEF India has already committed to buying large numbers of the Arsenator for the country and this report was the first step in the process of identifying and validating a cost-effective, field instrument that can measure arsenic in drinking water accurately down to ppb levels. http://www.supply.unicef.dk/catalogue/bulletin8.htm
This level of accuracy is virtually unheard of in a field instrument and goes to demonstrate that the research and development put into this product by Wagtech International has been worthwhile. The results of this report convinced UNICEF in India that the Arsenator was a reliable instrument and suitable for their field monitoring programmes. They subsequently ordered 80 Arsenators.
You can view the full report, with details on the exact methodology used and the experimental procedure by visting the Wagtech website
Results are summarised below.
Combines laboratory accuracy with field portability, accurate down to ppb levels snd in the critical range of 2 to 100ppb
Immediate results in the field ( 20 minutes )
Features a unique tri-filter arsenic trap system, which removes both excess arsine gas as well as Hydrogen Sulphide by-products
Reduces reliance on costly, lab-based analytical techniques
Simple & easy to operate, environmentally friendly
Supplied with reagents for 420 tests
Stable, long shelf-life reagents, available through local Wagtech offices as refill packs