Author: Sai Siddarth Murali

Insects on the dinner plate in Southern Africa or Latin America wouldn’t surprise natives of the region – they have been consuming insects since ancestral times – because of both tradition and nutritional value. These natives, however, form a population of only 2 billion. According to experts, if life must continue to sustain Earth, this number requires an increase. Studies suggest that increasing population (expected to hit 9 billion by 2050), coupled with climate change, could lead to a two fold increase in the demand for food. Insects could hold the key to this fresh need for nutrition. They are rich in vitamin, protein and…

The Consumer Electronic Show, popularly known as CES, had the television dominating a significant part of the headlines. Televisions have come a long way since the days they were run by cathode ray tubes and looked like a box. We have since been treated by the magic of High Definition (HD) content on sleek LCD and LED panels. Since the introduction of High Definition, though, there has not been a major improvement. Yes, there are televisions which boast an Ultra HD display. As cool as it may sound, there is only a small improvement to HD panels as only the resolution…

Our ability to harness energy would figure high up on the list of factors helping us dominate the planet as a species. With time, we’ve made expected strides on to more efficient energy utilisation. We’re not burning wood anymore – or at least, most of the planet isn’t. Instead, we’re hopelessly dependant on coal and oil. While fossil fuels have overseen global adoption, they have major drawbacks – one being their finite availability, the other being the pollution it causes to air and water. Almost halfway into the 20th century, we discovered we could extract energy from within the atomic nuclei. Through…

First designed in 2012 by Harvard University, Robobee is a micro-sized robot that is capable of tethered flying. With each weighing 80 milligrams and with a wingspan of 3 centimetres, it is the smallest man-made device to achieve flight. Scientists from Harvard have been working closely with other institutes like Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and University of Florida to add features that could enable it to be used in different environments. Since its inception, it has been made to follow a pre-determined path and more recently made to swim. This was achieved by applying a slick layer…

I fondly remember the days when I used to use a mobile phone for basic tasks like making phone calls and playing light games; this was about a decade ago. Now basic tasks itself include 3G capability, decent dual cameras, multitasking functions and what not. Mobile phones have come a long way. All this was in the market a decade ago too -there were smartphones in the early 21st century that allowed users to check their mail and capture photos but the experience wasn’t the same as it is now – with touchscreen interfaces, and OSes built to take advantage of…

Our planet is a witness to multiple natural phenomena – biological, chemical or optical. Aurora is primarily some gorgeous physics at play – but we’d also classify it as an optical phenomenon. Predominantly observed in high latitude regions, regions possessing a weak magnetic field, auroras are a natural light spectacle in the sky. Imagine it as a colourful sunset swirling across a clear sky. They’re well documented, and space and nature enthusiasts are well versed with them. The colours of an aurora that can be detected by the human eye include red, green, yellow and blue. These colours are observed at different altitude…