Holistic Management or Livestock Manipulation?

In this captivating talk, Zimbabwean-born Allan Savory, a biologist, an ecologist, an environmentalist, a politician, and an activist, makes a compelling case for reversing the trend of desertification of two-thirds of world's grasslands and the interrelated problems of poverty and climate change by applying the natural principles of holistic management. Desertification is a fancy word for land that is turning into desert. He points out that desertification is responsible for large-scale migration of people, poverty, social breakdown of societies, climate change and this is only occurring in the arid and semi-arid areas of the world. Savory argues that desertification is caused by the livestock, goats, and overgrazing of animals leaving the soil bare and giving off methane to the atmosphere. To arrest this trend, Savory comes up with a solution based on what he calls holistic management or planned grazing, a planning process that does address all of nature’s complexity and our social, environmental, and economic complexity. Take a look! Video Credit: TED

MOOCs: Elements, Ordeals, and Love

MOOCs or "Massive Open Online Courses" had virtually revolutionized the higher education in the recent past. To gain first-hand knowledge of this phenomenon, I decided to enroll in one of Coursera's Writing II: Rhetorical Composing course. The course is being taught by The Ohio State University's Susan Delagrange, Cynthia Selfe, Kay Halasek, Ben McCorkle, and Scott Lloyd DeWitt. This essay was written as part of the assignment, "Getting to know one another," which requires a writer to pick any three essays written by the fellow writers and compose an essay while sharing their own experiences as writer in relation to others.

Elements, Ordeals, and Love

In my previous assignment, “Getting to know you,” I wrote about “English, a universal language of mankind.” I discussed my experiences as a writer and the importance of learning English or any language for that matter in its original and unadulterated form and stressed the need for giving importance to the pronunciation in our classrooms. My commitment towards scientific writing and the importance of taking the latest research findings and discoveries to the common man was also highlighted. 

While searching Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives (DALN) as part of my writing assignment, “Getting to know one another,” I was overawed by the sheer number of essays written by fellow writers. Each is a masterpiece in its own right. Reading a plethora of lifetime experiences written in a wide variety of styles, syntax, semantics, and phonology by native as well as non-native English writers has not only enhanced my knowledge of English writing skills but also enriched various aspects of my life. Choosing only three among them is not an easy task nor would I be doing justice to the heaps of knowledge laid before my eyes on my computer monitor. For constraints of time and space, I limit my discussion to three of them here. 

Firstly, Karim Teresa Rochelle’s “William Strunk taught me how to write,” particularly caught my attention. This essay is more of Karim’s tribute to the great literary legend William Strunk and his book, "The Elements of Style." Indeed I could relate to Karim’s saga of learning English writing in more ways than one. I join her in paying my tribute to this literary gaint through this essay. I came to know of Strunk’s master piece “The Elements of Style,” myself a decade ago when I was just beginning to write my Ph. D. thesis through one of my mentors. Though I have written few research publications for peer-reviewed Journals earlier, most of the writing was supported by my mentors at the university. Like any university setting at the time, my role was more or less limited to doing experiments in the laboratory. I then used to present the results with the help of exotic figures, schemes, and tables and discuss the same with my mentors in weekly group meetings. My mentors did most of the writing part. But when it came to writing my Ph. D. thesis, the onus fell on me. I had to do all the writing part myself, which I did. Thanks to this bible called “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk Jr. It’s not an exaggeration to say that I learned for the first time from this book, the proper usage of simple things like comma, semicolon, or the use of colon after an independent clause, or hyphen etc. My emphasis is to learn the language in its original and unadulterated form. I truly believe in writing simple and yet effective, which I learnt from this book. I must add, I may not be perfect in English writing, but whatever little I could, is because of this book. I could relate to every element of Karim’s journey of English learning.

Hailing from India and a non-native speaker of English, my attention then turned to global Englishes. This led me to pick my Polish counterpart, Mr. Kamil A. Lipinski’s essay “The Gap.” Here, Kamil describes his  ordeals of learning English in a highly Russian-influenced Polish society and how Hollywood movies and video games played a key role in his English learning process during childhood. This is in quite contrast to my personal exposure to English learning. India was largely influenced by the “British Raj,” a euphemism for the British Rule in India, which dates back to the late 16^th century and mid 20^th century. If the colonial past had left an indelible impression on India through English as the official language of governance, the multitude of languages spoken across the length and breadth of the country also solidified English as the unifying force and the preferred medium of choice in India. Having said that, the differences end there. The ordeal of learning to write and speak English remains as such. I fully share and concur with Kamil’s feelings that being a non-native speaker, how hard it is to express inner artistic self on paper or to impress the audience with a vivid narrative. I could empathize with Kamil and how he felt when that coveted prize for his poetry recital went to some influenced son of a jury member. A similar incident occurred in my life when I attended an interview for an assistant professor post at a university. I topped the formal written test and did the oral very well. Despite this, I was shown the door. Later on, I came to know that the job has gone to a more influenced person, who has the blessings of the sate's education minister. This incident did not dampen my spirits in any way. A scientist myself, I knew the importance of writing and publishing in peer-reviewed journals. The only way to do it is through learn how to write and write well in English. The thumb rule of success in scientific world is to "publish or perish" and I couldn’t agree more with Kamil that learning to write in English, the international language of science (may I add, "a universal language of mankind!") is the only way to succeed in the scientific world.

A view of a busy street  in Mumbai's red-light area, Kamathipura,

Finally, my association with social organizations and my interest in social service has prompted me to pick this  touching essay, “Stop Remembering Now” by Kiran Sergeeva. This deals with one of Kiran’s unforgettable experiences in her life. This is a story of a socially ostracized and a HIV-positive woman called Rekha, who is a sex-worker in one of Asia’s largest red-light districts located in India. The story was told in a touching style by Kiran, which captivated my attention. First and foremost, I appreciate the desire and passion displayed by the author to devote the rest of her life for social cause. She chose to work as a project coordinator for an international NGO that deals with mainstreaming sex-workers, their children, and HIV-positive women. The courage shown by the author while choosing to work in such unsafe environments as red-light areas; bearing the brunt of social stigma that comes with it; and even against the wishes of her parents, who opposed her initially; is particularly laudable. The details of her first encounter with a HIV- positive Rekha during a community visit and the drama that unfolded thereafter was described in a compelling manner. Author’s remorse in the end towards Rekha is worth the mention. This story captures the inner beauty of a socially ostracized and HIV-positive woman in the society. Kiran succeeded in bringing out that eternal bond of Love between a daughter and a mother, who is a HIV-positive sex-worker and wasn't even invited to attend her own daughter's marriage because of her illness. Author’s imagination and her ability to convey the inner feelings cannot be understated.

In conclusion, if the essay by Karim Teresa Rochelle’s “William Strunk taught me how to write,” highlights the importance of basic Elements of writing in English; Kamil A. Lipinski’s essay “The Gap.” describes the ordeals of non-native speaker learning English in a highly Russian-influenced Poland, his setbacks in poetry recital, and his experiences as a scientific writer. In the essay, “Stop Remembering Now,” Kiran Sergeeva delineates the eternal bond of Love between a daughter and a HIV-positive mother, who was also a sex-worker. Thus this assignment has brought back my memories and experiences as a writer and sharing the same with all my fellow writers is a great feeling in itself.

Solar flares, beauty and the Sun

This week marks the celebration of Earth Day on April 22. On this occasion,  I would like to share this amazing video, which gives a greater perspective of what is going on in our Sun. Solar flares are nothing but the ejection of superhot clouds of plasma from the Sun's corona at very high speeds even greater than 1 million miles per hour or simply put, Coronal Mass Ejection (CME). This intense radiation of plasma waves could pose threat to the on-board computer electronics of communication satellites and spacecrafts in its path and can affect the power infrastructure on the surface of these satellites and their navigation systems. It has been three years since NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) orbiting our planet started sending the images of the Sun. We have witnessed several things during this period including intense solar flares, planets transiting the solar face and the amazing solar rain. This video compresses these three years of intense activity into little over 3 minutes. The spacecraft SDO captures the shot of the Sun every 12 seconds in 10 different wavelengths and the images shown in this video are based on a wavelength of 171 Angstroms, and then four synchronized wavelengths of 171, 304, 193, and 4500.

The subtle changes seen in apparent size of the Sun during the course of this video are due to the changes in orbiting distance of SDO from the Sun since SDO orbits the Earth at 6,876 miles per hour while the Earth orbits the Sun at 67,062 miles per hour. The four-wavelength view presented at the end of the video shows light at 4500 Angstroms, the visible light view of the Sun, which highlights the material at 6,000 K and reveal the Sun spots and the photosphere of the Sun; light at 193 Angstroms highlights the material at 1 million Kelvin and reveal the features in the corona, the flare plasma, and the dark areas called coronal holes, where the high-speed solar wind originates; light at 304 Angstroms highlights the material at 50,000 Kelvin and show the features in the chromosphere of the Sun; and light at 171 Angstroms highlights the material at 600,000 Kelvin and reveal the features of the quiet corona. Take a look! Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/SDO

Star Streaks, Earth, & Oceans - DSLR time-lapse images from the International Space Station

Here's an amazing short film produced by the Austrian photographer Christopher Malin featuring a time-lapse photography taken by  Dr. Don Pettit, NASA Austronaut and ISS Astrophotographer, who uses Nikon DSLRs to capture the unique perspective of Earth from aboard the ISS. A tribute to the International Space Station Program, this video combines time-lapse footage as well as the lecture by Dr. Pettit in which he discusses the considerable challenges of photographing from space. Everyone must see this incredibly breathtaking video and I am sure you wouldn't complain what with its scintillating sound background and narration! Take a look. Video credit: Vimeo.

Caffeine enhances memory In Bees!

Honey bee extracting nectar from a flower. Image credit: John
Severns via Creative Commons.

We all know what a cup of coffee can do ^__ it instantly stimulates the body and mind and keeps us mentally alert and awake. The anti-oxidant caffeine present in coffee improves the insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism apart from preventing cell damage. Effects of caffeine on human memory are unclear as some studies indicate caffeine impairs the short-term memory and working memory whereas the others contradict these results. Researchers at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom have found that caffeine boosts the memory in bees. In an article published in this week’s Science magazine, Wright et. al have shown that the honeybees, which received a natural dose of caffeine displayed preferential selection for the nectar present in the flowers when pollinating and were three times more likely to remember a learned floral scent than those which received sucrose alone (Science 8 March 2013: Vol. 339  no. 6124  pp. 1202-1204 ).

Gaint Star Makes Waves In Space

This gaint star Zeta Ophiuchi, a relatively young, located about 370 light-years away, makes waves in the surrounding dust clouds of space, according to NASA experts. Zeta Ophiuchi is about twenty times massive, eight times hotter, and thousands of times brighter than the Sun and travels at a speed of 55,000 miles/hour. This infrared image captured by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reveals 'shocking' bow effect produced by this fast moving hot blue star on the surrounding dust clouds seen here as red bow. Credit: NASA.

The ISS and the Spacetalk

The plasma trail of a Russian-built Soyuz TMA-05M space capsule (inset) while re-entering the earth’s atmosphere on Nov’19, 2012. The space capsule landed safely in Arkalyk, a remote town of Kazakhstan bringing back to earth the three astronauts; Commander Sunita Williams, and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko and Aki Hoshide from the International Space Station, ISS. (Right) Astronauts busy constructing the Space Station over New Zealand. Image courtesy: NASA.

November has been the month of space exploration and it was on November 20, 1998 that a first module 'Zarya' was launched into the space and the works began on the assembly of International Space Station (ISS) at an orbital altitude of 350 km; the final assembly of which was only completed last year. The Space Station now enters the fifteenth year of its existence and therefore, it is only appropriate to mark the occasion and comment on what is one of the largest and most complex international projects in the history of mankind. As an outsider looking into the Space and while sifting through the volumes of available information, I was profoundly struck by the enormous progress that has been made in space exploration by the human being and all credit goes to NASA and the Project Team of ISS, which comprises of 16 nations including USA, Russia, Japan, 11 European nations, Canada, and Brazil. Surely, many more surprises are in store as NASA nurtures its ambitious plans to move away from the lower Earth orbit (LEO, an orbit below an altitude of 2000 kms or 1200 miles from Earth) to deep space exploration: Moon,  Mars, and beyond!

Space Station orbits the Earth 16 times a day or once  every 
90 minutes with a speed of  nearly 28,000 km/h. Credit: NASA..

Of late, the project has been mired in a controversy and attracted much criticism from both scientific and political circles alike on the grounds of delays in completion, budgetary overruns, access to the space station and optimal laboratory facilities. This may be untrue because much of the initial phase of ISS has been relegated to the assembly and the research on biomedical, materials science, and the development of space technology for obvious reasons as maintaining the safety, health, and optimum performance of the astronauts and or the space station is of paramount importance and that the human presence in space is vital to any mission success. The achievements cannot be understated as more than 200 research publications have resulted from the direct offshoot of the experiments conducted under microgravity conditions aboard ISS.

Earthrise: Planet Earth rising over the Moon's horizon
captured by the crew of Appollo 8. Image courtesy:NASA

Isn't it high time that the Nobel Committee take a serious look at the unprecedented cooperation between the nations cross continents and the tremendous progress achieved by the multinational Team ISS and award its coveted Peace Prize to the mission. I am sure such a move would send positive signals across the international community and open up new avenues for the exchange of cooperation on a similar scale  between the nations not only in the softer areas of science and technology but also harder aspects of missile defense and guided technologies and in reducing the arsenals of mass destruction thus directly furthering the cause of global peace.

Big Bang Revisited!

This computer animation, created using new software called Arepo, simulates nine billion years of cosmic history. Created by a team at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics (CfA) in collaboration with researchers at the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS), Arepo can accurately follow the birth and evolution of thousands of galaxies over billions of years. Credit: CfA/UCSD/HITS/

Open Access Explained!

Here's an interesting video on open access journals. It is hilarious and raises some interesting questions on this practice of journals drawing rather expensive research material at no cost from the authors while charging exorbitant subscription fees. The original video is from http://www.phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php? comicid=153.  Have a look and draw your own conclusions.

Barack Obama Re-elected As The President Of The United States

Game over! Here's the latest on the US elections. Several leading news channels around the world including "The Big Picture" project Barack Obama's re-election as the  President of the United States. Contrary to predictions, all the talk of a tie, and prolonged election night; even before midnight, it's game over for Mitt Romney.