The Black lily is an ornamental species of flowering plant found in the Western Ghats of India. It grows a cluster of beautiful blossoms from a taller, leafless flower stalk and are surrounded by broad bracts. The underground stem tubers of the plant are rich in starch. Continue reading
The New Yorker‘s Dana Goodyear is a foodie’s food writer. She reports on topics you maybe did not know you did not know about; but after, you realize you wanted to know. Her most recent blog post (click the image to the left) describes research asking questions which, in the spirit of science, may leave the non-scientist scratching their head (but read the post to the end to see how the puzzle is put together): Continue reading
A Perfect Moral Storm: The Ethical Tragedy of Climate Change
by Stephen Gardiner, Oxford, 512 pp, £22.50, July 2011, ISBN 978 0 19 537944 0
Click the LRB banner above to go to the review of this important book, which starts:
For the benefit of anyone who has spent the past decade or so on a different planet, the most frequently asked questions about climate change on this one are as follows. Is it getting warmer? Yes, surface temperatures have risen by 0.8°C from pre-industrial levels. Are humans causing it? Almost certainly.
You may or may not have attended university. Maybe you studied science. Or wish you had. Or will. Still, nothing prepares you for the big idea, presented with charisma that is as impressive as the idea. Click to the right (Krulwich wonders) to see this idea laid out courtesy of one of our favorite science communicators:
Here it is, in a nutshell: The logic of science boiled down to one, essential idea. It comes from Richard Feynman, one of the great scientists of the 20th century, who wrote it on the blackboard during a class at Cornell in 1964.
The Guardian‘s Environment section covers the odd spring weather’s effect on one of the rich varied beauties of the animal kingdom (click the image to the left to go to the story). Whether this is just an oddball season or another sampling of climate change impacts, it is disheartening to think of the depletion of color that might result: Continue reading
If you have had the experience of seeing this man on stage, the eight minute clip below will come as no surprise. Live on stage, he owns the interminable fuse and phenomenal explosion, both for comedic and dramatic (and sometimes both) effect. He does something in a theater that film has not captured well. Until, trivially, now. So bravo to the camera, and the person behind it, for finding Alan Rickman’s inner tea party gunpowder and lighting it:
Photo: Mr. Manoj Vasudevan
As several of us prepare to celebrate a couple years of residence in India, and this site approaches its first birthday, a certain theme song (and equally essential accompanying dance) comes to mind. Therefore, a big thanks to The New Yorker‘s James Pomerantz for posting this reminder:
While it may seem like just yesterday that the silent film “Shree Pundalik” was released in Mumbai, May 18th marks the hundredth anniversary of what many consider to be the first Indian film made. The past century has seen India grow to become the world’s largest producer of films…
Click the image to the left for a five minute view into the art of story-telling in the words of one our own age’s Homeric wonders (thanks to Atlantic Monthly). The team tasked with capturing and explaining his craft is thoughtfully artful:His signature style is so well known that Apple’s iMovie has a function — a slow zoom on a still image — called “the Ken Burns effect.” For a documentary filmmaker, it’s hard to imagine a more intimidating project than making a documentary film about Ken Burns.
As usual, thanks to The Guardian’s coverage of important issues we see the above video and comments on an important milestone: Continue reading
Robert Krulwich has more to say on topics we referred to in several links and observations about dwindling fisheries. Is it just a matter of perception?
Yes, there are more and more people on the planet, and yes, there are fewer and fewer fish in the sea, but do we really notice? After all, fish live in water and we live on land; so we don’t mingle that much. If fish were sparrows, we might see a dramatic decline, but who misses what they don’t see in the first place?
Click the image to go to the full line of reasoning.
Photo: Mr. Manoj Vasudevan
In a post last August, Seth referred to the problem of over-fishing as an example of a complex set of challenges constantly facing societies, simply stated as how we cooperate to solve problems. Overfishing is not a new problem, and like many challenging ones seems to be getting more and more daunting, with no solutions in sight no matter how far and wide we search. Click the image below for a well-written documenting of one facet of this problem. It may leave you in need of a lighter treatment of the future of fish…
Harvested by the billions and then processed into various industrial products, menhaden are extruded into feed pellets that make up the staple food product for a booming global aquaculture market, diluted into oil for omega-3 health supplements, and sold in various meals and liquids to companies that make pet food, livestock feed, fertilizer, and cosmetics. We have all consumed menhaden one way or another. Pound for pound, more menhaden are pulled from the sea than any other fish species in the continental United States, and 80 percent of the menhaden netted from the Atlantic are the property of a single company.
Milk weed is a herbaceous, perennial, nectar-rich plant growing up to 3-5 m tall. These can be found in old fields, roadsides, meadows and thorn forests. The oval leaves are velvety on their upper surface and downy underneath. Continue reading
The ever clever science writer, Carl Zimmer, has an item in the new issue of National Geographic, accompanied by a lovely short video illustration, which you can see by clicking the image above (also see a sample of the opening below):
The Common Hand
Humans, of course, have them. So do bats, cats, dolphins, elephants, and frogs. Our artwork takes you inside these useful appendages.
By Carl ZimmerIllustration by Bryan Christie Continue reading
Photo: Mr. Manoj Vasudeva
Photo: Deepthi Pullanikattil Suresh
Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala
Photo: Mr. Manoj Vasudevan
Organikos 