What makes us so?

This is no longer a question for philosophers. Evolutionary biologists also dwell upon it. Manuel Massot from Laboratoire Ecologie & Evolution,…

Sergio Canavero: the brain behind first proposed head transplant

Surgeon Sergio Canavero, director of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group in Italy, has been making news for two years after he claimed he …

Science cannot be a minion to wealth

A journalist without the pretensions of a scientist -- that's how JOHN MADDOX, editor of Nature for 15 years, would like to see himself. On his …

Simulating real-life networks

India is a leader in IT. But how do researchers here apply the science to improve people’s lives? Malay Bhattacharyya, assistant professor …

Does science need spiritualism?

At the time of Independence, India saw 'big' science and technology as the only way ahead. Perhaps with good reason. Fifty-odd years later, though,…

Light on India’s fourteenth meteor shower

The Vidarbha region in Maharashtra was hit by a meteor shower on May 22. It was no spectacle—it came between 2 pm and 2.30 pm—in the …

`Remote sensing is being used to predict crop-growing seasons'

Satellite technology is not just being used to monitor and predict climate change events. Its applications are now also accurately estimating crop-…

How to inspire India's youth to take up farming?

Arguably, reviving India's agriculture is the country's most important agenda. But who will carry forward this primary livelihood activity? There …

The grand old man of Kannada

SOME PEOPLE live in years, others in deeds. At 91, Kota Shivarama Karanth has done both. Journalist, litterateur, dramatist, playwright, …

"The name of the game is resource productivity"

Currently chairperson of the Bundestag committee on environment, nature conservation and nuclear safety, Ernst Ulrich von Weizsaecker has …

US embraces nuclear reactors to power spacecrafts

Thirty years after they were abandoned for good, nuclear reactors are making a fatal comeback in the US spacecrafts. In 2003, the US National …

The best of Indian science

In this and the following issue, DOWN TO EARTH presents a review of India's ten best scientific research projects. The selection is based on the …

"Indian science is run by a mafia"

p m bhargava is the founder-director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (ccmb), Hyderabad. He has also been a former fellow of …

Desperately seeking experts

The environmental situation in India is grave -- our natural resources are getting depleted at an alarming rate and there is an acute paucity of …

How enabling is ICT?

In February, 100-odd people got together at the quaint little town of Baramati. All had a common goal: to exchange ideas on the use of …

Africa is heading for trouble

The founding president of African Academy of Science, Thomas R Odhiambo , has been working to evolve a framework necessary for stimulating …

Zeroing in on persistent pollutants

Paints and refrigerants have chemicals like polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons which are difficult to remove …

"The UK has to live by its wits"

DAVID ANTHONY KING has been chief scientific advisor to the United Kingdom government for 3 years now. Prior to this, he was head of the …

Whither liberalisation

The post-GATT liberalisation era has come to India not only with its enchanting platter of economic efficiency, technological treasure trough …

Indian science must stop merely aping West

Cynicism is perhaps the natural fallout of a long career within the government machinery. But when Yash Pal, one of the country's leading …

Atmospheric chemistry shifts blame around

Research in atmospheric sciences is booming because of the impending threat to4he world's climate. Every month there is a new study showing new …

Reconstructing atmospheric history

Old paintings can provide information about the composition of the atmosphere of bygone ages. When a volcano erupted in Indonesia in 1815, …

Beads that can heat water

With fossil reserves fast depleting, new technologies promising more efficient use of renewable energy sources, especially the sun, are flooding …

'In genetics, the ethical choice lies with the people'

A professor of molecular biology and virology at the Salk Institute at La Jolla, USA, Dr Inder M Verma is also the chairperson of the Scientific …

Path lab in a tablet

Kanav Kahol, an expert on biomedical informatics, quit his teaching job in the US and came back to India to create a technology that would …