tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16018535861493034042012-02-02T19:42:00.763-08:00madrasinoreply@blogger.comBlogger681100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-70910291292004920532010-10-18T07:54:00.001-07:002010-10-18T07:54:14.798-07:00

One of the biggest perks of living in Cambridge, MA has to be this annual event.

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-77134292594077063942010-10-18T07:43:00.000-07:002010-10-18T07:43:47.076-07:00

So amputees can walk and the blind can see once again thanks to research that happens in these labs. Having witnessed one of these miracles, how could I not be happy to have been part of this birthday bash?

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-42836361884565829922010-09-30T10:22:00.000-07:002010-09-30T10:22:51.962-07:00

Interesting lecture by Dr. Rudolf Jaenisch at MIT yesterday. We might be close to the goal of reprogramming adult stem cells to cure  some human diseases.

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-67981666840884525292010-09-21T13:59:00.000-07:002010-09-21T14:00:20.146-07:00

Ever since I watched the Buena Vista Social Club, I wondered what makes Cuba's citizens lead a long, healthy life despite their obvious poverty. Watch a clip of Candela, Candela and you may get a sense of what I am talking about. The old singers are setting the concert hall on fire with their energy. This documentary gave me an answer to that question. !Salud! -- Spanish toast meaning "your

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-34259935770094871402009-07-28T10:59:00.000-07:002010-07-07T08:55:34.102-07:00

Nexi, the robot, features in articles on MIT Media Lab's Center for Future Storytelling. I am not entirely sure why this should be the case. Anyway, I decided to go meet this robot in Cynthea Brazeal's Personal Robotics Lab . Currently, the humans in the group are training their newest robot to be more personable. Nexi was in a booth-like setup; dark make-shift walls cut us off from the rest of

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-55171159909652883742009-07-22T10:31:00.000-07:002009-07-22T12:44:57.631-07:00

The first model of the rickshaw -- a form of human-powered transport in Asia-- saw the driver function as a beast of burden. In subsequent models, pedals took some of the drudgery out of the pulling.Pedal-power doesn’t lighten the load for the rickshaw-puller but thanks to a simple attachment, the physical exertion could help light his home when the sun goes down. A whimsically named

madrasinoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-50494986182803694232009-06-23T12:57:00.000-07:002009-06-23T14:37:10.704-07:00

And some excellent ones too thus far:0. Squeezed: What you don't know about Orange Juice Alissa Hamilton1. Catching Fire: How Cooking Made Us Human by Harvard's Prof. Richard Wrangham2. The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite again by Harvard's Dr.David KesslerOf the first title, I have this to say. The first time I had O.J. out of a box on a British

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-83962951855487056452009-06-16T11:03:00.000-07:002009-06-18T19:12:48.251-07:00

Cheap is not really cheap as we know from sales where we end up buying stuff we have no use for, but that kind of thoughtless shopping is only a small part of a huge problem. A surfeit of low-priced "stuff" costs the planet. Whatever happened to the good old-fashioned idea of buying good quality products that last a long time? Check out the new non-fiction title Cheap: The High Price of Discount

madrasinoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-6097457587551310712009-05-05T11:23:00.000-07:002009-05-05T15:11:40.409-07:00

Went to a fascinating presentation by a former banker, Ramji Raghavan, whose foundation is working to ignite that creative spark in young minds of rural India. The video Ramji showed us can, at this point, tell you more about their work than I what I learned this afternoon. Watch it, if you have the time. Considering, that the venue was MIT's Media Lab, this has to be the money quote: Some people

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-39296526086727706032009-04-30T16:00:00.000-07:002009-04-30T16:03:03.693-07:00

Take a virtual tour. Here is text for those prefer to read.

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-50081817042090416302009-04-09T11:44:00.000-07:002009-04-10T14:28:27.188-07:00

Old NYT article by Sarita Rai: V. Subhasri regards each pilgrimage she has made to the Hindu temple here as an act of divine deliverance. When she came to the temple three years ago, Ms. Subhasri, 35, offered her waist-length hair to the temple deity, Venkateshwara, in a sign of absolute devotion. She then prayed that her husband, Satyanarayana Raju, be cured of his acute stomach ulcers.

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-32408153331004584442009-03-29T13:42:00.000-07:002009-03-29T13:45:43.949-07:00

Read the entire CSM article. An excerpt:The IBM offer hints at a future where it’s not just skilled Indians who might have to travel halfway around the globe for a job. It’s likely that more American job seekers will have to think globally, say analysts, and the experiences of Americans who have taken jobs with companies here say it’s not something to fear. “I was making six figures when I left

madrasinoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-37627108468097899392009-03-17T12:06:00.000-07:002009-03-17T12:08:48.851-07:00

Another great local story -- this one has to do with role of medical interpreters. It takes the form of an edited Q & A with Izabel Arocha who is the Boston-based president of the International Medical Interpreters Association. Read it here.An excerpt:When a non-English speaker goes to an emergency room or clinic, accurate translation can be as important as quick medical attention. That's where

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-23684029246714012492009-03-13T06:56:00.000-07:002009-03-13T06:59:22.127-07:00

Carey Goldberg wrote this excellent local story in today's Boston Globe:Though recently granted political asylum in America, Yeshi Togden, a Tibetan monk, knew no peace. All his training in meditation could not block the flashbacks from his months as a political prisoner, beaten and wracked by thirst, or stop the obsessive worry about the people he had to leave behind in Tibet.When he tried to

madrasinoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-75810125241264154192009-03-05T15:22:00.000-08:002009-03-29T04:25:35.624-07:00

This book came out last year just as the locavore movement was gaining ground.At MIT's Sloan School today, contributor to Financial Times, gave a great talk about the logistics of transporting that ultimate perishable: food. Yes, the Bombay dabbawallahs are mentioned in the book. She kept calling the box a tiffin tin which sounded a bit strange to me.

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-42793929248670152262009-02-24T05:58:00.000-08:002009-02-24T06:06:01.072-08:00

1. Practical, useable data is hidden underneath and Google can't always grab it for you. Here is the NYT piece on why that is and what can be done about it.The challenges that the major search engines face in penetrating this so-called Deep Web go a long way toward explaining why they still can’t provide satisfying answers to questions like “What’s the best fare from New York to London next

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-67502240173275858342009-02-20T14:00:00.000-08:002009-03-12T14:03:22.315-07:00

Very interesting piece in ScienceMag Feb 20 Issue.Archaeologists have long puzzled over the collapse of the mighty medieval Khmer kingdom in Southeast Asia best known for its resplendent capital, Angkor. New findings suggest that a decades-long drought at about the time the kingdom began fading away in the 14th century may have been a major culprit. Evidence for a megadrought comes from

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-40951943781172176782009-02-03T18:01:00.000-08:002009-02-03T18:04:08.897-08:00

From DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.'s NYT article. The focus is on a topic close to my heart -- the scope of the work is Amy Smithian. An excerpt:There are plenty of charitable foundations and public agencies devoted to helping the world’s poor, many with instantly recognizable names like Unicef or the Gates Foundation. But private companies with that as their sole focus are rare. Even the best-known is

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-79607227650794550522009-01-22T22:57:00.000-08:002009-01-22T22:58:57.630-08:00

Never thought I would post a Natalie Angier column here, but there goes: In ‘Geek Chic’ and Obama, New Hope for Lifting Women in Science By NATALIE ANGIER With the inauguration of an administration avowedly committed to Science as the grand elixir for the nation’s economic, environmental and psycho-reputational woes, a number of scientists say that now is the time to tackle a chronic

madrasinoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-36637268754732218682008-12-31T07:41:00.000-08:002008-12-31T07:52:09.565-08:00

From today's Boston Globe:In China, Ivy League dreams weigh heavily on students"Harvard Girl," written by the parents of one of the first Chinese undergraduates to enter the university on a full scholarship, chronicled Liu Yiting's methodical upbringing that instilled the discipline and diligence necessary for academic success. The tome has a place in many urban households with high school-age

madrasinoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-48850963176305885212008-12-28T15:07:00.000-08:002008-12-28T15:18:27.108-08:00

This is a food-science piece I wish I had written. Reproduced from NPR, author Josh Kurz.Day to Day, December 26, 2008 ·I hate cilantro. As far as I'm concerned, it should be wiped off the face of the planet. And I'm not alone in my extremist views."It has that same sort of acrid sweetness of death," according to my friend Jason. "It's got this evilness to it," my friend Wendy concurs.For people

madrasinoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-39228932115352889812008-12-19T10:44:00.000-08:002008-12-23T08:09:31.702-08:00

An example of a very local and very universal piece. Loved this essay by Georgiana Cohen. Didn't realize the Boston Phoenix carried such pieces. Reproduced verbatim for my, and your, savoring pleasure.Will be looking for more by this author.Breaking news: scientists have eradicated the social malady known as "watch tan." The cure, of course, was the advent of the cell phone. With more and more

madrasinoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-9848088599945053202008-12-18T15:06:00.000-08:002008-12-19T11:35:13.245-08:00

I always check the last page of the New Yorker to see if my friend has won the Caption Cartoon Contest. She says she won't quit till she does. So, week after week, I check to see if she is among the finalists. This has become a habit for me. For a change, today, I also read The Mail (Letters to the Editor) before diving into the articles. And, I came across this absolute gem.It was a comment on

madrasinoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-58932420350815514692008-12-18T07:59:00.000-08:002008-12-31T08:00:12.189-08:00

One of the best talks at Harvard, I missed this year:Ferran Adrià didn’t even need to demonstrate anything to get oohs and ahhs from his audience. During the world-renowned Catalan chef’s speech in a Harvard lecture hall last week, videos of his playful, experimental cooking techniques sufficed. “Caviar” droplets of puréed melon liquid inside a gelatinous shell provoked a subdued murmur. A shot

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-49564510765557486982008-12-12T16:45:00.000-08:002008-12-12T16:56:16.526-08:00

I was too lazy to go to this talk and I seem to have missed a op. to learn firsthand about this novel kind of publishing in biology.One Picture is Worth Thousands of Words or No More SufferingWhat is Jove? Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE) is a peer reviewed, free access, online journal devoted to the publication of biological research in a video format.Another local effort, Somerville's

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-10682062181999170612008-12-06T07:27:00.000-08:002008-12-31T07:41:41.402-08:00

The Lunch With ... is one of my favorite weekend features in FT. Here is a sample: Lunch with the FT: AG LafleyBy Elizabeth Rigby Published: December 6 2008 00:22 | Last updated: December 6 2008 00:22 function floatContent(){var paraNum = "3" paraNum = paraNum - 1;var tb = document.getElementById('floating-con');var nl = document.getElementById('floating-target');if(tb.getElementsByTagName

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-37638030631208467562008-12-03T07:47:00.000-08:002008-12-03T05:08:37.821-08:00

This was the basis for one very interesting narrative in the book.From the Lancet:In the "Dr. Tokugha vs. Apollo Hospital Enterprises" case, the Indian Supreme Court suspended the right to marry of persons who are infected with HIV. Tokugha Yepthomi sued the Apollo Hospital after the hospital revealed his positive HIV status, which was discovered when he donated blood to the hospital; the

madrasinoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-8225220449311247202008-11-19T10:09:00.000-08:002010-06-24T16:54:28.782-07:00

Currently, I am reading a fascinating book of 100, largerly autobiographical, essays by women scientists in India. Some are biographical because the women featured are no longer with us. One of these essays, that of Anandibai, gave me the goosebumps. Traveling by herself to the U.S. in the 19th century this gutsy lady completed her medical degree. Shortly after, she succumbed to T.B. Despite the

madrasinoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-14493837931681341252008-11-15T07:12:00.000-08:002008-11-16T11:17:51.924-08:00

The talk by Craig of Craig's list at MIT's Center for Collective Intelligence, was like this Steven Colbert chat, only longer.For Craig's list users, some of this might be old stuff. But here is Craig Newmark's blog if you want to keep up with all the new things he is doing. This man refuses to sell the company to the highest bidder; he attributes this stance to his "nerd values."May his tribe

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-37617575986242492632008-11-13T11:13:00.000-08:002008-11-15T07:12:30.510-08:00

Usually, there is no danger of NYT travel stories vanishing into online archival (read: to be paid for) vaults.Still, I am taking no chances with this one.Because people often ask me for suggestions on what to do when they are in Boston. So here goes, an entire list. Thanks Ethan Gilsdorf, thanks NYT.A science lover's kind of townBy ETHAN GILSDORFWHEN you run an ice cream parlor down the street

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-28564939168234815672008-11-08T05:58:00.000-08:002008-11-08T10:02:49.621-08:00

"What strength he requires, to climb those tall, branchless trees and to do somuch tending, without any more support than two rings of rope! "Few stop to marvel at the backyard tree-scaler who limbers up palms to pluck coconuts for a living in South India. Considering that the trees reach up to a height of 60 feet, the hazards of this occupation are obvious. Appachan, a tree-climbing professional

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-10658118332603213102008-11-06T11:01:00.000-08:002008-11-06T11:04:08.132-08:00

I am heady and euphoric over the Obama win. Stem cell researchers can move back to the U.S. in peace.From the Vancouver Sun:University of B.C. professor and researcher Dr. Jane Roskams said many scientists have viewed Bush as a foe because of his religious-based opposition to their work on human embryonic cell lines and the vetoes he's used to halt funding for such research.However, Obama has

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-51336416243297817642008-11-01T14:36:00.000-07:002008-11-01T14:41:22.148-07:00

So why do they? I have always wondered but I have never looked it up. This is a special feature for nocturnal creatures apparently.So check out this NPR science segment by Andrea Seabrook. However, I feel an analogy would have helped :"A lot of the animals we see, especially the ones that go out at night, have a special, reflective surface right behind their retinas," says Dr. Cynthia Powell, a

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-44852872293493332702008-10-28T13:39:00.000-07:002008-10-28T13:41:53.541-07:00

From the NYT, an excerpt:CONCORD, Mass. — Henry David Thoreau endorsed civil disobedience, opposed slavery and lived for two years in a hut in the woods here, an experience he described in “Walden.” Now he turns out to have another line in his résumé: climate researcher.He did not realize it, of course. Thoreau died in 1862, when the industrial revolution was just beginning to pump

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-80833478759457223642008-10-27T17:20:00.000-07:002008-10-28T04:38:10.187-07:00

It is not enough to eat locally, long-distance relationships are out too. Frequent flyer miles are not justificaion enough.Check out this cool article from Slate. Excerpt:So let's give it a try. Date Local's message is a simple one, in the best traditions of liberal reform. All you have to do is date here. Date now. Date sustainably. And if you absolutely have to date long-distance, do it via

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-47483246454993080042008-10-26T07:35:00.000-07:002008-10-25T19:21:23.519-07:00

Now here is a CSM article about salvaging junked bikes, I wish I had written particularly because I am familiar with Bikes, not Bombs which has been doing some great work out of Boston. An excerpt:The nuts-and-bolts approach is something Recycle-a-Bicycle has always done particularly well. The organization was founded in 1999 with a straightforward mandate: Repair abused, remaindered, broken, or

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-91910017215246481872008-10-25T16:26:00.000-07:002008-10-30T07:08:25.595-07:00

Ms Palin thinks research on fruit flies, a model organism for lab studies same as mice, is a waste of money. Watch the video if you missed this unintended bit of comedy by veep candidate.To emphasize her disbelief at the fact that researchers could be studying such a lowly creature, instead of looking for solutions to human conditions like autism, Ms Palin folksily added, "I kid you not!" Perhaps

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-59666475404524742962008-10-23T07:26:00.001-07:002008-10-23T08:46:59.008-07:00

Flipping through an old New Yorker, I read an interesting profile of Bill Clinton (post-Presidency) by David Remnick. In that long interview Clinton pronounced oil depletion an opportunity. "But we need to make fixing climate change as politically sexy as putting a man on the moon," he declared.It would be great if the next Democratic administration led by President Barack Obama could do that.

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-38372171659341090312008-10-18T12:36:00.000-07:002008-10-23T07:26:03.342-07:00

This must be one of the saddest stories of a person, of a deserving candidate who did not win the Nobel 2008. From the NYT:In a couple of months, Roger Y. Tsien and Martin Chalfie will head to Stockholm to collect the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and $450,000 in prize money each in recognition of their development of a revolutionary technique that lights up the inner workings of living

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-92011795043431109972008-10-16T09:49:00.000-07:002008-10-29T19:44:10.420-07:00

That old saw about not being able to make silk purses out of sow's ears. Some chemists went out of the way to disprove that one apparently. This was way back in 1921, in the heyday of chemistry.From the MIT website:The chemists' first step was to observe the production of silk by silkworms, analyzing both the process and the product. They found that the viscous liquid emitted from ducts in the

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-84754939834893918362008-10-15T12:55:00.000-07:002008-10-23T05:21:30.702-07:00

The very word green has plenty of connotations: organic, natural, good etc.Yet India's "Green Revolution" that fed the hungry masses was anything but organic. The agrarian transformation was fuelled by an abundance of chemicals: fertilizers, pesticides and plenty of H2O. Even back then, some of the results -- starting with the stupendeous yields --must have seemed unnatural. Few, however,

madrasinoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-60909658826739059432008-10-14T13:51:00.000-07:002008-10-17T05:49:10.624-07:00

Last night, I went to a very interesting talk at Harvard University. Sometimes, you have to be there to drink in the author's every word + pay attention to the responses the writer evokes in the audience. Just reading a book some one's written is not enough.The panelists were:Alice Waters (the Chez Panisse Foundation)Josh Viertel (President of Slow Food USA)Anna Deveare-Smith (Playwright)"We're

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-12153382058053488672008-10-12T18:45:00.000-07:002008-10-25T18:48:56.755-07:00

If the NYT article on the Future of Food was too long for you listen to Terry Gross's Fresh Airinterview with him. Definitelyworth a listen.

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-60052368900827230972008-10-12T14:00:00.000-07:002008-11-19T11:37:17.253-08:00

October 12, 2008The Food Issue ( NYT Sunday magazine)Farmer in ChiefBy MICHAEL POLLANDear Mr. President-Elect,It may surprise you to learn that among the issues that will occupy much of your time in the coming years is one you barely mentioned during the campaign: food. Food policy is not something American presidents have had to give much thought to, at least since the Nixon administration — the

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-4192782166460561942008-10-04T13:28:00.000-07:002008-10-11T14:27:00.520-07:00

At an event to honor scientists whose research "made you laugh and then made you think," the inaugural speaker set the tone for a rollicking afternoon. Kees Moeliker, a former IgNobel laureate recounted how, from his sea-facing office, he saw a mallard mount a dead male duck of the same species. Thus began the Dutch curator's investigation into homosexual avian necrophilia.The mallard's unusual

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-62993146244546552052008-10-03T17:45:00.000-07:002008-10-10T07:58:34.892-07:00

If you have a colleague who fits the clueless bill (incompetent and unaware of it) try sending them this howler of a research finding from, where else, but, the Annals of Improbable Research.That trifecta of inadequacies:Incompetent people don't perform well.They don't realize they are not competent.They don't even recognize competence when they see it.

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-36466148651333577832008-10-02T13:04:00.000-07:002008-10-08T18:59:58.991-07:00

It is great for a scijo to see that scientists don't take themselves seriously all the time! In a few cases one had to wonder why research time and serious money was spent in addressing obviously -- obvious to anyone with common sense -- ridiculous topics/questions.A sampling from the citations from the Annals of Improbable Research.1. NUTRITION PRIZE. Massimiliano Zampini of the University of

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-17438230025870200082008-10-01T19:39:00.000-07:002008-10-10T07:59:41.512-07:00

Ellencyclopedia -- Read the entire article from TechnologyReviewEllen Swallow Richards didn't merely break new ground in a staggering range of scientific fields. MIT's first alumna also made it her life's work to apply science for the public good.

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-42660106163154784792008-09-30T07:14:00.001-07:002008-10-01T18:46:49.985-07:00

From the TIME magazine website:Pipa's Note: Snapshot doesn't answer the question of why someone from a First World Country --albeit an Asian one --goes into the toilet business. What is the motivation?Wednesday, Sep. 17, 2008By HANNAH BEECHJack Sim is not afraid to talk about poop. In fact, the Singaporean wants everyone to think about just how much waste they produce. "I ask people, 'How many

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-81954306212375192952008-09-28T05:35:00.001-07:002008-09-28T14:13:54.179-07:00

At the EmTech Conference hosted by Technology Review, Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla ventures spoke about the coming/ongoing revolution in renewable energy sources.The scalibility of a technology and product cost will determine if the "China + India" price --affordability in the markets of the world's two large, fast-growing economies -- can be met. Will these markets embrace the $25,000 Prius

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-5941188329942418252008-09-24T18:42:00.000-07:002008-10-01T19:41:21.224-07:00

This week's Techtalk had a hastily-written story about an MIT student who spend this summer in Africa. Still, the subject is great:Across Tanzania and elsewhere in Africa, processing the corn harvest is labor intensive: Families and friends gather to spend a day or two filling bags with the dried cobs, beating then to loosen the kernels, and then separating out the kernels from the cobs, or else

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-56860631214424725752008-09-20T05:33:00.000-07:002008-09-27T05:48:26.443-07:00

Listen to this NPR program about an Afghan inventor Hanif Molavizadeh who isn't widely lauded for his odd creations; it seems like he should be. An excerpt:Take, for instance, his homemade burglar alarm.With its urgent ticking, the alarm in a wooden box almost seems to dare someone to try and break into Molavizadeh's one-room home, which doubles as his workshop.A simple wave of the hand outside

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-87071987487532802282008-09-19T05:56:00.000-07:002008-09-28T16:23:23.314-07:00

The only miraculous thing here is how ignorant we can be about things in our own backyard. The tree in question is the Drumstick tree that vedhalam threatens to clamber up/fly off to if the wise king won't deign to answer his questions.In this graveyard visual, the stout, gnarly tree appears dead, but we all know good ol' vedhalam's favorite perch is the moringa tree. Apparently, the moringa's

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-2027842653965197002008-09-04T19:03:00.000-07:002008-09-27T06:09:25.070-07:00

The TechReview talks about a simple device for off-the-grid folks in Africa to get electricity.Here is the lede from the piece by Kristina Grifantini:Microbial fuel cells, which use electrodes in dirt to power a small motor, have long been more or less a laboratory curiosity. Because they generate such a small amount of power, developing them to charge devices would not be practical in places

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-33131349591350995332008-08-18T13:56:00.000-07:002008-09-28T14:10:34.609-07:00

Pic Credit: Dwight Eschliman, NYTRead the NYT magazine article: A Tall, Cool Drink of ....Sewage accompanying this simple and superb visual if you want to find out how sci & tech helps transform waste water into potable water in SoCal.

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-44463724082888289662008-08-06T16:03:00.000-07:002008-10-16T13:23:51.878-07:00

From the Science NYT. The author is Nicholas Bakalar, a woman scijo would have written a better lede.Nostrums that promise to smooth wrinkled skin are a staple of snake-oil salesmen everywhere, but now there is strong evidence that certain kinds of treatment are effective. Over the past decade, researchers have been learning which treatments work, and why.

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-49573333607816064682008-07-15T08:36:00.000-07:002008-10-06T08:38:49.460-07:00

Check out the NYT article by Bina Venkataraman about farming in the city.Country, the City Version: Farms in the Sky Gain New InterestWhat if “eating local” in Shanghai or New York meant getting your fresh produce from five blocks away? And what if skyscrapers grew off the grid, as verdant, self-sustaining towers where city slickers cultivated their own food?Dickson Despommier, a professor of

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-52522573220200278902008-07-08T18:22:00.000-07:002008-10-10T02:08:32.487-07:00

The Nigerian video feature film industry is sometimes colloquially known as Nollywood.This African nation has a US$250 million movie industry, churning out some 200 home videos every month to become the third-largest in the world after the United States and India [2]. In just 13 years, however, Nollywood has grown from nothing into an industry that employs thousands of people.Many of Nollywood

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-51771578262299811212008-06-15T14:57:00.000-07:002008-10-15T14:59:52.035-07:00

One of the best books I read this summer is a non-fiction book by Barbara Kingsolver.Read excerpts of this book on living the vida loca ( short for locavore, in this case grown pretty much in the author's backyard) and see if you want to read it too.

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-86950709496556668262008-05-09T14:26:00.000-07:002008-10-09T14:30:34.227-07:00

10,000 villages is one of my favorite stores. Sometimes, it lifts my heart just to walk past it, window shop and feast my eyes on ethnic crafts from the world over. NYT had done an article on this chain -- don't know how I missed it! But in any case -- here it is now:March 19, 2006THE WAY WE LIVE NOW: 3-19-06: CONSUMED; Values ChainBy ROB WALKERTen Thousand VillagesA few years ago, Dwayne Ball

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-32186779987800522422008-04-28T10:24:00.000-07:002009-01-21T04:42:52.129-08:00

MATHEMATICIAN GIGLIOLA STAFFILANI MEETING THE MINDSA life of unexpected twists takes her from farm to math department'My life should have gone any other way than the way it did.'By Billy Baker, Globe Correspondent April 28, 2008Improbable. That's one way to describe it. Or you could say very lucky. Then again, you might believe in destiny. Gigliola Staffilani's life is the story of one

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-40907937794122245862008-04-26T16:59:00.000-07:002008-10-25T16:51:58.180-07:00

Environmental activist Vandana Shiva discusses her work in seed banks and addresses the issue of suicide among farmers as a result of monopolization of seeds and agriculture in India.

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-89950352395017139742008-03-25T12:52:00.000-07:002008-10-19T09:32:41.573-07:00

The ghost of Ajinomoto, it seems can never be laid to rest. Read the entire article by Julia Moskin from the NYT.IN 1968 a Chinese-American physician wrote a rather lighthearted letter to The New England Journal of Medicine. He had experienced numbness, palpitations and weakness after eating in Chinese restaurants in the United States, and wondered whether the monosodium glutamate used by cooks

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-30035212755737035972008-03-18T13:01:00.000-07:002008-09-28T13:18:13.057-07:00

The complete New York Times article:PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The grunts are no different. The clang of the weights sounds pretty much the same as well. And sweat drips off bodies at both the high-end Gold’s Gym in Port-au-Prince’s priciest suburb and at the far more humble open-air workout joint farther down the hill, known by regulars as the Temple of Pain.But these two gyms might as well be in

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-18656459416940155252008-02-15T15:12:00.000-08:002008-10-15T15:15:46.206-07:00

So that poor fish seems to be gone and I now go to a new place for my translational needs.

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-8356686781890019452008-02-15T15:00:00.000-08:002008-12-15T15:08:59.209-08:00

Newbie reporters, people trying to strike up a conversation at a party etc., note:No of countries in India: 1No of countries in Africa: 54 map

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-63728487244626523882008-01-30T15:53:00.000-08:002008-10-04T18:01:45.759-07:00

Robert Sapolsky's book A Primate's Memoir is one of my all time favorite books.Prof. Sapolsky, who teaches at Stanford, spent time in Kenya studying a troop of wild baboons to identify the sources of stress of their environment (not too many, they live in a plentiful area) and stress-related disease in these animals. More specifically, Sapolsky studied stress levels at all levels in this

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1601853586149303404.post-29893276622404591252008-01-01T13:16:00.000-08:002011-07-21T12:21:44.468-07:00

Business Hippocampus --In India, A New Chapter for Libraries Science Careers Scientist Dads Step Up A Scientific Couple Time To Hire A Housekeeper? Authorship in Science Vocalizing Science Space Cadet Scientist turned Social Entrepreneur Technology & Environment Cosmic Quest   Page80. Interview with Anil Ananthaswamy Contact Lens with Circuitry (New Scientist) Cellphone Optometry (New

madrasinoreply@blogger.com0