Author: Shambhavi Krishna

There is an array of things we do not understand about ourselves yet. And maybe we never will. But of course, science tries. Living things sense the world around them in varying manners, and then respond accordingly. Often, we respond with action, voluntary or otherwise. Sometimes we simply feel and emote. It is believed that emotions and their displays are born from a part of the complex brains and therefore, only the higher animals are capable of emoting. Perhaps other life-forms, like plants do as well but not in the terms we understand. We see emotions making the humans, well, human. Related: Synaesthesia -…

Some of the brilliant science technology tools being developed today have found admirers in science fiction and superhero universe for a long time. They are used liberally in this world of heroes well before they make an actual appearance in the world of men. Sometimes, these tools are just around the corner. Take for instance the nanotech demonstrated in recent times in the TV show The Arrow, used on one of the character named Ray Palmer. He is incapacitated by a dangerous, inoperable clot in the brain. But then advanced nanotech (invented by him) is injected into his body. The tiny…

Is synthetic meat on your menu? One of the greatest debates amongst the millennials is not a political, religious or scientific one, yet it brings all of these into its fold. It is the dispute of vegetarianism with the non-vegetarianism with a little side tiff wit vegan philosophy. And it is a multi-fold conversation, involving everything from ethics, nutritional value to cultural differences. And the end of this battle is not in sight. What we seem to forget time and again is the power of food. It doesn’t matter which type of meal revs up your taste buds. Whether plant-based…

To wonder what extra-terrestrial beings look like is presupposing their existence. But as some say – Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Besides, it is hard to fight for or against an abstract idea, much easier if we confine it to a form. Believers in alien life range from fanatics to serious thinkers. It is an idea that has deep roots and is a recognizable concept by many across the globe. And it has huge opposition too. Ancient beliefs and popular culture The belief that creatures exist elsewhere in the universe has been a common theme in our history. ‘People who…

Take an exam – or any equivalent of a pressure situation – presentations at work, project submissions at college. Anything. The nights before deadlines stretch forever. For a large part of the world, the solution is mug of coffee. Nobody minds a performance boost. There used to be a time when mothers thought having capsules of cod liver oil will boost their kids’ performances in exams. And for some, weirdly, a cigarette is the ideal stressbuster, even a temporary performance enhancer. The consumption of such ‘enhancers’ is rampant, but now they are being complemented, or rather replaced by a new class of aides – drugs…

I grew up in a time when families had their own general physicians, who equipped with all the family medical history, were called on to treat every ailment – small and big. This practice gave way to the era of specialists, who had their amazing skill-set that curtailed to a specific organ system or a set of diseases. But a good doctor – the family one or the tech-savvy specialists, has always used extensive personal medical histories, environment, and lifestyles of each patient to achieve medically brilliant results. So in a way, personalized medicine has been around forever. Also Read:…

As the self-proclaimed ‘superior’ species on planet Earth, we’ve always been quick to point that our brain, with its amazing thinking prowess, has given us our edge over other species. Our brain has not only provided us with the ability to ‘sense’ our environment but to think and plan. Anticipation and execution of tasks, movement, growth and even each of our measured breaths have their designated ‘control rooms’ in the brainy office. It is the seat of our consciousness and awareness. Simultaneously, the brain is also the least understood organ of our body. In fact the whole process of neural functioning and thought…

About a hundred thousand years ago, the first ‘modern Humans’ appeared on Earth. We, like all species, have been on an evolutionary roller coaster, and the ride is endless, or so it seems. Left to its own devices, nature imposes selection on all the living organisms and drives them to evolve. And so it has been for time immemorial. And may continue to do so even in the future. But one rebellious species seems to be headed to take over the rein of their fate in their own hands. Humans. Related: What’s next in human evolution? Over the last few decades,…

What lies beyond earth? This question has beguiled us for ages. An interest in the cosmos started developing with the birth of philosophy itself, but there wasn’t much early man could do about it. The curiosity for the space could only be quenched by astute observation and fertile imagination. In the beginning of the 17th century AD, stargazers and great thinkers simultaneously came up with an idea to delve further into the mysteries of space. It was deduced that since it didn’t seem possible to reach out, at least not at the moment, we had to work on viewing techniques…

Our origins on this planet, the workings of the environment and the quirks in nature have been intriguing puzzles for us since time immemorial. There still remain a plethora of unanswered questions but one thing that can be observed surely is Change. Everything on our planet undergoes some degree of change– planned or otherwise. This includes not just the landscape, but life itself. To evolve is to change, which we all do. Our journey so far – When Charles Darwin published the first edition of ‘On Origin of Species’, he fuelled a debate that was vicious and widespread. One of…

We spend about a third of our lives in slumber. Before advances in neuroscience and biology, it was believed that a sleeping person is a passive, dormant being. Now we know that our body, especially our brains work over-time during our sleeping phase, furiously making and breaking neural connections. Sleeping is not just an act of retreat and rest but physical and mental restoration as well. Advancements in science have brought in brain scanning, virtual imaging and other tools to better understand the phenomenon of sleep.