Quality V Quantity
Daniele Fanelli, a researcher at University of Edinburgh in Scotland is analysing the increasing bias in scientific studies. He did a similar …
A bright crystal
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, crystallographer and Nobel laureate in chemistry, sparkled in a predominantly male preserve
Indian scientists thwart Western embargo on manufacture of carbon composites
An indigenous technique of manufacturing carbon-carbon composites -- state-of-the-art materials of immense commercial and military importance.…
'Sab kuch chalta hai!'
When 4,000 scientists gather for their annual session, there's more than serious academic review that takes place. RUSTAM VANIA records his …
GM Mustard, Joshimath: Gagging scientists is a lousy idea; here’s why
Science needs to be open; the silencing of experts by the Modi regime on critical issues is against the public interest
Seeking many more Hedy Lamarrs
The number of women inventors is finally rising the world over but their percentage is still too small to be celebrated
Know your scientists
BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF SCIENTISTS Edited by Trevor Williams Publisher: Harper Collins Price: L25
Tubelights give more than light to labs
Used tubelights can now be recycled into laboratory apparatus that are cheap and as good as those available in the market.
A gene that follows its own drum-beat
A team of Russian scientists have found in mice a gene, which, unlike others, decides when to express itself
Was the Archaeopteryx: Bird or dinosaur?
An American ornithologist says he has found fresh evidence that the world's oldest bird-like creature, the Archaeopteryx, was undoubtedly a bird. …
New form of carbon opens up exciting possibilities
The discovery of a simple procedure for synthesis of a new crystalline form of carbon has opened up immense possibilities in the field of …
A long step forward in nerve communications
Agrin, a protein released by nerve cells, helps in triggering off the formation of a machinery through which neurons communicate.
Dead brain cells may be replaceable
Certain mouse brain cells have been found to be capable of producing neurons. Scientists say if similar cells are found to exist in the human …
New theory explains the evolution of sexes
An Oxford biologist says sexes exist to prevent chaos within cells during reproduction. And why only two sexes? Because life would get too …
And now, "calculating" babies
Babies less than six months old have the surprising abilities to distinguish shapes, sizes and colours. Now, a study indicates infants can even …
Scientists seek clues to properties of water
A molecular theory is being put forward to explain why water behaves the way it does, but proof still eludes the researchers.
A scientist, a Marxist and a dreamer
Thirty-five years ago, a renowned British biologist branded England "a criminal state" and migrated to India. Today, in the year of his birth …
A life of perseverance
EVERY child has been fed the story of Isaac Newton's discovery of universal gravitation. But what is not told is that this idea did not come to …
Schrodinger's kittens dead or alive
Can a cat be both dead and alive at the same time? If you believe the classic interpretation of quantum physics, it can. But several scientists …
Walking tall
Jonas Salk, the man who humbled the dreaded polio virus, was that rarest of scientists, the "unconventional upstart"
The discovery machine
Ultra-smart software is outdoing humans, making scientific discoveries and helping drivers cope with bad driving
The last fetter
-- involving use of symbolic communication -- there is evidence that our ancestors could speak.
Why we exist
Book>> The grand design • by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow • Random House • Rs 800
An unsung genius
Book>> The Strangest Man, the Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, the Mystic of the Atom • by Graham Farmelo • Faber and Faber, Rs 450
Scientists find probiotic yeast strain to fight phosphorus deficiency
Humans and non-ruminant animals lack an enzyme called phytase that converts phytate into free phosphorus