The book offers comprehensive coverage of the many essential topics in the subject including: Environmental factors and DNA damage Molecular mechanisms associated to DNA damage by various environmental ( Physical, Chemical and Biological) factors Synergistic effects of environmental factors Phytochemicals acting both as DNA protectants and genotoxicants Experimental models for study of genotoxic potential of environmental factors and protection by phytochemicals

This volume makes available for the first time in English the work of a significant Indian nationalist author, Pandey Bechan Sharma, better known in India as "Ugra," meaning "extreme." His book "Chocolate," a 1927 collection of eight stories, was the first work of Hindi fiction to focus on male same-sex relations, and its publication sparked India's first public debates about homosexuality. Many prominent figures, including Gandhi, weighed in on the debates, which lasted into the 1950s. This edition, translated and with an introduction by Ruth Vanita, includes the full text of "Chocolate" along with an excerpt from Ugra's novel "Letters of Some Beautiful Ones" (also published in 1927). In her introduction, Vanita situates Ugra and his writings in relation to Indian nationalist struggles and Hindi literary movements and feuds, and she analyzes the controversies that surrounded "Chocolate." Those outraged by its titillating portrayal of homosexuality labeled the collection obscene. On the other side, although no one explicitly defended homosexuality in public, some justified Ugra's work by arguing that it was the artist's job to educate through provocation.

The stories depict male homoeroticism in quotidian situations: a man brings a lover to his disapproving friend's house; a good-looking young man becomes the object of desire at his school. The love never ends well, but the depictions are not always unsympathetic. Although Ugra claimed that the stories were aimed at suppressing homosexuality by exposing it, Vanita highlights the ambivalence of his characterizations. Cosmopolitan, educated, and hedonistic, the Hindu and Muslim men he portrayed quote Hindi and Urdu poetry to express their love, and they justify same-sex desire by drawing on literature, philosophy, and world history. Vanita's introduction includes anecdotal evidence that "Chocolate" was enthusiastically received by India's homosexual communities.

The revolution in technology has led to the emergence of biotechnology which is one of the most rapidly moving branches of science and holds a lot of promises and surprises for the present and future. Spread over fourteen chapters, the book starts with ageing followed by application of RNAi and then moves to transcription regulation of plant genes. The book focuses upon the latest research and developments in diverse areas like vaccines, chemistry-biology interphase, application of bioinformatics tools, enzyme technology and mycoremediation, philosophical implication of biotechnology and genetic diversity in Indian populations.

Biotechnology has emerged as an area of activity having tremendous impact on virtually all domains of human welfare and holds a lot of promises and surprises in some of the techniques for the present and future. Spread over fourteen chapters, the book gives an overview of biotechnological means to convert hazardous wastes into useful products, then moves to an important area of biotechnology i.e. proteomics. It touches upon the latest research and developments in diverse areas like bio-informatics, DNA bio-sensors, DNA fingerprinting, mushroom biotechnology, stem cells, bioethics, in vivo induced antigen technology, immobilisation technology, production of 7- aminocephalosporanic acid, therapeutic application of thymic peptides and cyanobacteria as a source of valuable products.