Daily Archives: October 28, 2018

Well, it’s complicated

A fermented batter of ground rice and lentils, steamed in little circular moulds, served with a vegetable stew. Well, a decade ago, it was simply the idli. That is how fancy we have become. Every little simple thing has been turned into bizarre, out-of-this-world articles, making everyday life more complicated, …

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The sidewalk saga

I heard the first rumblings a decade ago. My siesta was rudely ended by a crash and screech. When I stepped on to the balcony to find the source of the commotion, I came face to face with the gigantic paws of what is called khooni panja in local parlance. …

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Living with grace and dignity, beyond disability

I first recited St. Francis of Assisi’s poignant prayer (a.k.a. the Peace Prayer) sincerely but without much thought as a teenager at the St. Francis Junior College in Secunderabad. It fell to a brave man to bring alive for me its true meaning, over three decades later. The Hindu temple …

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Between the two distinct hemispheres of the brain

Twins. They had their own ways of doing things; at times barely agreeing with each other. Albeit they were identical, intricacies and layers of complexity defined them. One believed in logic. Calculated efforts. “You must trust only the facts!” was a frequent reminder to the wayward sibling. Neat and ordered …

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The Great Indian Exam

Some were sitting under the shade of a huge banyan tree like sages in quest of eternal knowledge, eyes downcast, engrossed in the papers lying on their laps. Some looked like the proverbial rebels, as if any time they might stand up and lead a protest march there itself. Beards …

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World’s smallest optical gyroscope developed

Scientists have developed the world’s smallest optical gyroscope – a device that helps vehicles, drones and handheld electronic devices know their orientation in 3D space. The new gyroscope, described in Nature Photonics, is 500 times smaller than the current best device. Originally, gyroscopes were sets of nested wheels, each spinning …

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Computational studies help decode brain’s GPS

By studying the movement of virtual animals in computer simulation, a research team led by Srinivasa Chakravarthy, Department of Biotechnology, at IIT Madras has unlocked the navigation behaviour in rats moving in two dimensions and bats (3D). They hope to use these clues in engineering autonomous vehicles and drones. Previous …

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India home to two new gecko species

The spot-necked day gecko and the Anaimudi day gecko, both very distinctly-patterned lizards found only in the higher reaches of the Agasthyamalai and Anamalai hill ranges in the Western Ghats, are the latest additions to India’s reptile fauna. Researchers including Vivek Philip Cyriac of the Indian Institute of Science Education …

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