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Medical science does not treat death as an independent physiological phenomenon. It believes that disease is the cause of death and treats both as preventable phenomena. Doctors and relatives nurture a guilt complex when death occurs. The moment of natural death is robbed of its poignancy. There is no cause of death. Death of the physical body is an intrinsic, time governed, built-in ontolytic program. It completes the biologic trajectory of the individual organism which begins at conception and ends with death. In this article, the actual built-in mechanism and operation of the physiological process of death is suggested vis-a-vis biology and medicine. The physical body of an individual is like a biological gadget which is constantly charged with life force received from cosmic energy through the subtle body which is an implement that cannot be objectified in the same way as the gross physical body but is experienced only subjectively by one and all, as mind (antahkaran in Sanskrit and Indian languages, meaning inner instrument, a subtler instrument in contrast to external organs of actions like limbs, tongue, etc. of the physical body). This life force keeps the subtle body and the entire physical body live and functioning. It maintains the body's integrity and internal homeostasis throughout life. The physical body like a gadget has a built-in program which decides how much total capacity, pace and quantum of life force it can use. It is often referred to as breath quota and heartbeat quota, however, they are manifestations and not the mechanism and operation of life and death in the physical body. When the quantum of life force of the physical body is exhausted, the subtle body, a connector for life forces departs, leaving behind the physical body. The vital functions stop and the person is declared dead. It is usually referred to as departure of soul (Pran or Jiva in India) from the physical body in common parlance. This phenomenon of predetermined capacity, pace and fixed quota of life force is operational in all the components of the body. Each cell, each organ, each system and the whole body is a packed unit of bioenergy. They are in structural and functional dynamic homeostasis under constant flux resulting in constant change in the body. The rate of expenditure contributes towards deciding the total life span of the cell, organ, systems and individual. It accounts for the phenomena of cell death, progressive diminution in vitality, change in organ and system functions during life and physical death of an individual at the end. Death is a bio-cosmic phenomenon governed by biological laws. There is variation in life span at the interspecies and intraspecies levels because we measure lifespan of an individual in terms of physical time and not in terms of biological time which is an independent entity, not measurable and predictable as physical time. Everyone lives one full unit of life in terms of biological time which begins at conception and ends with death. The normal distribution of each biological feature, including the biological unit of life, is independent of one another making each individual unique. The biological clock runs at its own dynamic unique pace in every individual. The biological timer starts ticking at conception and stops when the life force quantum is over. When the person dies, the physical body stops functioning and is left behind for others to dispose of. The timing of death is beyond the realm of objective perception and cannot be equated with chronological or physical time. It is a trans-science and trans-technique phenomenon beyond the ken of humankind to alter its mechanism and operation. The article explains the impact of extrinsic and intrinsic diseases, various treatments such as organ transplant, as well as the impact of lifestyle on the biological time scale of an individual. It spells out the difference between natural and unnatural death. With this understanding, death can be appreciated, accepted and respected as a built-in operational intrinsic physiological phenomenon for the end of one's life. It is a must for the survival and healthy continuity of all the species in the biological world including mankind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The understanding of the role of genetic factors in phenotypic variation in the emergence of secondary teeth in humans remains is incomplete. Dental emergence data based on a mixed longitudinal study were collected on 111 twin pairs from an urban population of Chandigarh. The observations over time on a single individual varied from one to nine, thus giving a total of 595 entities. Female twins manifested emergence priority over males. The differences between zygosities in mean emergence ages were significant for only 6 of 16 (37%) instances. Magnitude of variations seen between twins and singletons in their mean emergence timings and duration of the hiatus between two dental phases of emergence were of the order observed among different samples from the same population/ethnic group. Heritability estimates for the specified number of the teeth emerged showed age variations. These estimates were highest in the first two age groups (from 5 to 7 years), when the first molars and incisors emerged. Maxilla-mandible differences were seen for tooth emergence timings and sequence patterns. Heritability for tooth emergence timings was higher in maxilla than in mandible. Multifactorial model of inheritance was the best fit model to explain variations observed in dental emergence timings and dental sequence pattern polymorphisms and there were significant genetic components of variation for both of these. There were sex differences in heritability; females had higher estimates than males. Genetic factors accounted for about 60% of the total phenotypic variation in the length of hiatus interval between two active stages of permanent teeth emergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author describes his 'choice' of a Ph.D. dissertation topic in the sixties, the interactions with his advisor, the rhythms of the mole crab and the serendipity of success in research, in a candid and humorous fashion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecologists use a number of techniques to quantify and statistically analyse patterns of spatial distribution. The present study deals with the temporal distribution and nature of the burrows of the crab Barytelphusa cunicularis, found at Maroda Sector, Bhilai, India. All the burrows present in an area of 112 m2 were examined, during a span of 24 consecutive months. The number and pattern of burrows were observed every month in the study area. The data were subjected to nearest neighbour analysis. Rn values were computed to ascertain whether the distributions are clustered, random or regular. The burrows are considered more randomly spaced when Rn gets closer to 1.0. Time series data on Rn values, number of the total, single- and double-mouthed burrows were analysed by cosinor rhythmometry. The pattern of burrow distributions becomes more random in the early September with a spread between the beginnings of July and November. The timing of the peak in the burrows follows the peak in Rn values suggesting a post-reproductive increase in burrowing activities. The chronobiological analyses of Rn values add a new dimension to the interpretation of spatial distribution of crab burrows. This paper documents rhythm as an ecological phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]