Penchant for Science, Nature and History

Durbha or Dhuba grass has an important place in Hindu worship. The grass finds the highest position on a deity’s body i.e. the head. This grass belongs to the Poaceae family and botanically known as cynodon dactylon. It is the most sacred plant after Tulsi in India. Since it has most of the body part like a creeper grass on the ground, it symbolizes humility; all living beings tend to walk on the same. This is one of the first reasons why it is placed on a deity’s head during worship. Humility as a virtue is an integral part of Hinduism. A story also does the round that while Sita was asked to go through agni-pareeksha for the second time, she asked Mother Earth to engulf her. She being her daughter, an earthquake took place where she was standing. She stood with hands folded till the earth engulfed her. Lord Ram in grief hurried to the spot in vain. All he could muster to get hold was some of her hair. The Lord in deep anguish threw them on the side earth and was in despair. The hai...

 The simplest definition of “extremophile” is an organism that thrives in extreme biotic environmental condition. To put it simply: it is an organism that is tolerant to environmental extremes and that has evolved to grow optimally under one or more of these extreme conditions, hence the suffix ‘phile’:, meaning “one who loves.” Conditions covered include high or low temperature, pressure, acidity, alkalinity, salinity, or desiccation; or in the presence of organic solvents, heavy metals, normally toxic substances, or radiation. These organisms are dominants in the evolutionary history of our planet. Dating back to more than 40 million years, they have continued to thrive in the most extreme conditions naming them one of the most abundant lifeforms. Earth is graced with such places which exhibit these extremes and surprisingly, we find life in these places; glaciers, volcanic areas, desert, deep water vents, hot water springs, deep sea and the poles. They are available in all forms...

I killed a mammal! We are all being warned of the possible effects of climatic changes. Some visuals run by National Geographic bring stories of horror in a representative fashion and nowadays we have coffee table books showcasing erosion, avalanches and ice-melts. One of them is a case of Bramble Cay melomy (Melomys rubicola). Basically a rat / rodent, this is the first mammal to go extinct due to human-indicted climate change. Its only habitat was a small sandy island in far northern Australia around Eastern Torres Strait of the Great Barrier Reef. It was first seen by Europeans in 1845, and there were several hundred there as of 1978. But since 1998, the part of the island that sits above high tide has shrunk from 9.8 acres to 6.2 acres. Around the world, sea level has risen by almost eight inches between 1901 and 2010, a rate unparalleled in the last 6,000 years. And around the Torres Strait, sea level has risen at almost twice the global average...

Transport yourself to today @ 1903 At 9:30 in the morning of 06-Jun. 1903, Henry and other prospective stockholders meet in Detroit to sign the official paperwork required to create a new corporation. Twelve stockholders were listed on the forms, which were signed, notarized and sent to the office of Michigan’s secretary of state. The company was officially incorporated the following day, when the secretary of state’s office received the articles of association. Henry had buil t his first gasoline-powered vehicle–which he called the Quadricycle in a workshop behind his home in 1896, while he was working as the chief engineer for the main plant of the Edison Illuminating Company in Detroit. He made two unsuccessful attempts to start a company to manufacture automobiles before 1903. The sensational demand for the “Tin Lizzie” led Henry to develop mass-production methods, including large production plants, the use of standardized, interchangeable parts and, in 1913, the world’s fi...

In today’s world, we talk of the economic powers of the Chinese, Americans, the British and some G7 / G8 nations. Like many Indians, I have also been influenced by the political power of the British who ruled the sub-continent; infact, we look upon Britishers to be the biggest colonizers. While doing my research on historical trivia, I came across a strange Treaty which blows up our conventional thinking towards colonialism. More than five centuries ago, the world was divided by an imaginary line between two super-powers of that time i.e Spain and Portugal (represented by King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile for Spain and King John II of Portugal). Yes, On June 7, 1494, the governments of Spain and Portugal agreed to the Treaty of Tordesillas, which divided their spheres of influence in the "New World" of the Americas. Do not go by the size of Portugal as we see on the map today. By size, it is smaller than the state of Bihar. Then, it had infl...

Stockholm syndrome is a  condition  wherein a captive begins to develop a  psychological alliance  with his or her captors. The phrase was reported to have been coined by criminologist and psychiatrist Nils Bejerot. Psychiatrist Dr Frank Ochberg was intrigued by the phenomenon and went on to define the syndrome for the FBI and Scotland Yard in the 1970s. There are four key components that characterize Stockholm syndrome: A hostage's development of positive feelings towards the captor No previous relationship between hostage and captor A refusal by hostages to co-operate with police forces and other government authorities A hostage's belief in the humanity of the captor because they cease to perceive the captor as a threat when the victim holds the same values as the aggressor The name of the syndrome is derived from a botched bank  robbery  in  Stockholm ,  Swe den . In  August 1973 four employees of Sveriges Kreditbank were held ho...