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Young guns: future stars of Indian science

editor@ibnlive.com — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:02:52 +0530

The National Academy of Sciences in India (NASI) and Elsevier, an international publishing firm for scientific literature, have for the past five years, handpicked and honoured outstanding young Indian scientists.

UID, NPR and all that Jazz

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 04:17:28 +0530

Some three months ago, my wife, her sister and their parents drove seven odd kilometers from where we live, to register for a Universal Identity or UID number. They've all

YouTube, school kids and the International Space Station

editor@ibnlive.com — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 04:11:32 +0530

Wonder if you knew about this. YouTube's been running a contest called SPACELAB. Fourteen to eighteen year olds from around the world were asked to dream up an experiment they'd

Antrix-Devas row: Dr Madhavan Nair guilty?

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:24:56 +0530

Was Dr Madhavan Nair guilty of any wrongdoing? I'm neither informed nor qualified enough to comment on that. But should a man who took India to the moon be summarily

Reflections on the 63rd Republic Day

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:18:01 +0530

This December, Jeremy Clarkson of the BBC, flashed an India special edition of his famous motoring show Top Gear. He drove around a Jaguar sports car in our slums. Attached

A visit to the Mclaren F1 Paddocks

editor@ibnlive.com — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 12:21:46 +0530

"Seen Neo in the Matrix? Well, just like Neo is surrounded by all those numbers in the movie trailer, I'm surrounded by numbers - telemetry data. Every second of the

Giving Indian scientists a platform to showcase their work

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 07:22:21 +0530

Like in practically everything else, the Chinese beat us hollow when it comes to publishing their scientific research in international journals like Science, Nature and Lancet. Indian scientists often

A Facebook for Labcoats

editor@ibnlive.com — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:59:14 +0530

Imagine a Facebook for scientists...A place where chemists, physicists, biologists, pharmaceutical experts all hang out. Where they upload notes, photos and detailed simulations from their latest research and invite their

Computers that talk to you

editor@ibnlive.com — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 05:25:52 +0530

Imagine a long day at work. You have a blazing headache. You desperately need to give your eyes some rest but still have a host of emails to go through.

FARO: The science of measurement

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 04:41:24 +0530

This is rather late in the day. But about two months back, I saw something I haven't been able to forget completely. It's a small rectangular gizmo mounted on

Watching TV on your mobile

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 01:20:06 +0530

Many people I've met say they'd never want to watch TV on a tiny cell phone screen. I'm actually quite kicked by the idea. It's somehow - liberating. For a

Indian school kids at the Big Bang experiment

editor@ibnlive.com — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 12:41:30 +0530

Our parents' genes probably decide how intelligent we can be. But our teachers most definitely influence how much we love our studies. Raka Dona Raymandal was an all India

INSPIRE - Awards for a new India

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 01:15:59 +0530

The craze around Anna Hazare's campaign drowned out at least one perhaps more deserving issue. The startling brilliance of our nation's children. A Manasa can't speak English. Or Hindi.

A moon mission, for kids

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 05:35:58 +0530

Just five days left, to register your kids or nephews and nieces for a mission to the moon. Almost. Google Lunar X Prize is an international contest for private,

Shiv Nadar University: for a new breed of knowledge warriors

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 10:33:25 +0530

"Students who join this university won't be ones trying to win a rat race. We won't be churning out automatons for corporate houses. Those activities are far less demanding of

Avoid a headache, use your PC like the blind do

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 06:32:09 +0530

I met Mala Bhargava for the first time on Friday, April 15, 2011. She's rip-roaringly funny, unapologetically direct, in your face. The sort who'd cut you down to size, if

Celestial Dreams - Team Indus

editor@ibnlive.com — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 07:53:11 +0530

"Are great things ever done smoothly? Time, patience, and indomitable will must show." - Swami Vivekananda. They're aiming for the moon. By the year 2014, they plan to land

Why National Science Day isn't really national

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 02:07:48 +0530

Lost in the excitement of the Budget every year, is a little known fact. On February 28, 1928, Sir CV Raman discovered that when light passes through a transparent material,

Shining Faith in Kandhamal

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 06:37:13 +0530

What would you do if your wife was raped, your brother killed or your home burnt. In front of your eyes. A mob holds an axe to your neck and

Send 'Email' from Facebook

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 09:56:17 +0530

Disclaimer: I haven't used Facebook Messages yet. This is merely Gyaan I've gleaned from Google baba and coughed up for a quick read. I've got friends on Facebook. I've

India aboard the International Space Station?

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 01:09:19 +0530

Tucked away somewhere in the middle of the joint statement released by India and the US after President Obama's visit, is a small paragraph. It talks about an intention to

How to make your Adobe Acrobat experience a safe one

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 11:43:57 +0530

How often do you use Adobe Acrobat? Personally, most of my work for the past ten years has been done on Microsoft Word. With the odd excel sheet thrown in

Is India's $ 35 laptop really Indian?

editor@ibnlive.com — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 07:58:32 +0530

"In 2011, the Sun, will rise for the children of India" - HRD Minister Kapil Sibal. July 23, 2010. Give every university student in the country an Apple iPAD

Vikram Sarabhai: Rockets, atomic power & Bharatnatyam

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 11:32:43 +0530

We've found water on the moon and have more remote sensing satellites in space than any other country. But without Vikram Sarabhai, the man who founded ISRO, none of it

Fifty years of IIT Delhi

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 11:26:02 +0530

"We did everything shown in the movie Three Idiots", remarks Mr Lalit Mehra. "Except perhaps, deliver babies." "There used to be a lot of road laying equipment lying

Of Government schools and runaway kids

editor@ibnlive.com — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 10:47:25 +0530

What does a 70-year-old priest who takes care of runaway children at the railway station know about technology? Plenty, as it turns out. Father Anthony runs Don Bosco's Ashalayam

The fake passport blog - part 2

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:17:22 +0530

In a country where Nepali's, Bangladeshis and Pakistani's can practically walk across the border - why should a terrorist bother to fake a biometric passport? It could come useful

Your biometric passport can be hacked

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 06:28:16 +0530

I'd heard of stories selectively leaked to the media. But I never thought I'd be gifted with one. There are roughly thirty thousand biometric passports in India today. The

What's your kid doing online?

editor@ibnlive.com — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 12:58:23 +0530

It was pretty ironic. Not one journalist at the press conference was a parent. Or even had a kid brother or sister. Ironic, because Norton's Online Family Report 2010, is

Fringe benefits of playing the beautiful game

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 04:14:26 +0530

Soccer is for suckers. No, I don't really mean that. But I needed an arresting opening line. I guess it worked, huh? I've been wondering, why people go ooh-and-aah

Of smartphones and Aamir Khan the good son!

editor@ibnlive.com — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 01:28:19 +0530

It must be the taekwondo lessons. Don't just fend off the competition. Keep drilling at them till they're out for the count. The Koreans are efficient all right. And ruthless.

The Kerala Files - Part II

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 07:02:28 +0530

Kottayam city, especially at night, looks a fair bit like Delhi's Connaught Place. It's not laid out in round circles of course, nor are there the lovely white colonial buildings

Why Me?

editor@ibnlive.com — Fri, 28 May 2010 12:49:47 +0530

When space shuttle Atlantis touched down after its final flight on Wednesday, at least one Indian must have silently cheered from the sidelines. Dr Krishen Kumar has worked

The Lost Symbol

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 26 May 2010 08:33:55 +0530

I don't particularly like Dan Brown as an author. His stories read like a Bollywood masala movie. His twists, when he introduces them, almost seem expected. And his books, when

The Kerala Files - Part I

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 24 May 2010 01:43:21 +0530

I was born in a tiny hospital in Kottayam district, Kerala, thirty-two years ago. Electric lights had still not reached my mom's village then. Telephones would arrive years later. I've

The greed of gizmos

editor@ibnlive.com — Sat, 15 May 2010 11:19:59 +0530

It costs about thirty three thousand rupees to buy sixteen grams of gold in Delhi. That's just enough for two thin bangles. The saving grace is, if you don't lose

The first touch screen phone I've ever used

editor@ibnlive.com — Sat, 01 May 2010 06:54:15 +0530

Last night, I didn't have enough money for the metro ride home. I survived last week, mostly on doles from my wife, my parents, and reimbursements on old bills.

Smartphone test: who's the best?

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 04:49:47 +0530

I am not an expert on cell phones. So do take everything here with a pinch of salt. What I can offer you here, is an average user's take after

3G in India and all the fuss about

editor@ibnlive.com — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 02:27:21 +0530

OK. For folks who didn't know, auctions for third generation telephone networks are currently on. Basically, a lot of smart people are together, planning to pay the government, a lot

Has PayPal given you problems yet?

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:09:50 +0530

One lakh seventy thousand Indians regularly receive or send money abroad, through the online banking website PayPal. Actually, about 1.6 million Indians are signed up for the service, though not

Handing your hackers a blank cheque?

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:20:44 +0530

Emails that claim to help you save taxes, or offer you a tax refund, can actually be carefully crafted fakes. They lead to genuine looking sites like this one, that

Coming soon! A smart PC that watches all your moves

editor@ibnlive.com — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 10:02:28 +0530

Spend a single day in London, and you'll be videotaped at least 300 times. More than 11,000 cameras watch every move you make. Thank God India doesn't violate your privacy

A Pen that's mightier than – your PC?

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 04:50:26 +0530

in its electronic brain, and forms the words you've written down. Now, all that's left to do, is connect the pen to your

Get smart! Save 12K on your next laptop

editor@ibnlive.com — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 05:35:34 +0530

Got your attention didn't I? The fact is, when most of us buy a computer at the store, we pay not just for the electronic hardware, but also for the

Are you Radioactive?

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 01:12:04 +0530

What do Amitabh Bachchan, Sonia Gandhi, Kamal Hasan's brother and the King of Jordan have in common? Besides being names guaranteed to grab your attention, they're all HAM radio operators.

Great rings of fire

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 09:13:01 +0530

Last year, everybody crowed about the longest solar eclipse of the 21st century. Now, they're at it again. What's the difference? Well, last year's eclipse was TOTAL, the Sun was

Slash your petrol bills by a third

editor@ibnlive.com — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 09:06:59 +0530

If you've watched Three Idiots - you might have noticed it's zany props. The scooter powered wheat mill, the horse hair clipper and the exercise console cum washing machine are

A super laptop from India: For just 15,000?

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 02:22:40 +0530

It's a laptop, an e-book reader, phone and media player all rolled into one. You can draw on its fingerprint resistant touch screen, take quick notes, or click photos with

Cutting edge tech and the making of Avatar

editor@ibnlive.com — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 08:36:16 +0530

If a movie makes me cry and "feel" for the characters, I usually like it. On that count, Avatar, especially the second half, scored. But it cost me a thousand

Why my mother asked me about an SMS

editor@ibnlive.com — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:23:21 +0530

They were curious. Quite happy of course. And quite curious. It was just an SMS I sent them but - it had them hooked. The message I sent was

Exposed on Facebook

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:06:05 +0530

That's Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's creator. Till last week, only his friends could see those photos. This weekend, any of us who chose to, could suddenly peep into, and laugh at,

Bonjour! Comment allez-vous?

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 08:14:18 +0530

The planet's best scientists are searching for God, in France. Why are we here? What miracle of nature gave us birth? What sustains us? They're asking those questions at the

Surfing Google's latest - Wave

editor@ibnlive.com — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 08:16:05 +0530

Email was invented 40 years ago. What would it be if it was invented in 2010? Google's tag line for anyone interested in their latest - Wave. "Wave =

A Date with a Nobel Winner

editor@ibnlive.com — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:39:06 +0530

Dr Venkatraman Ramakrishnan is among the very few scientists of Indian origin who have won a Nobel Prize. He won it this year for Chemistry. In the most basic terms,

Write a novel in one month

editor@ibnlive.com — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 07:39:39 +0530

There's no prize for the winner, no hope of becoming famous, or rich, or published. Just the satisfation of punching out that story you always wanted to tell. Would you

For whom the bell tolls

editor@ibnlive.com — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 12:49:17 +0530

Yesterday night, I heard a grown man cry. He was right behind me, but i didn't have the guts to turn around and meet his eyes. He tried to hide

Phantoms in my brain

editor@ibnlive.com — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:24:59 +0530

A full second before I decided to type this blog, my muscles twitched and my skin temperature rose mildly. Not a full second after. A full second before - my

Lite - Facebook on a diet

editor@ibnlive.com — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 01:24:16 +0530

Within hours of writing about a cleaner, simpler Facebook - it's already here! I'd love to say - I TOLD YOU SO! But I'd be lying. In case you haven't

Prettying up your Facebook

editor@ibnlive.com — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 05:21:16 +0530

A few newspapers mentioned it, far fewer TV channels. Facebook, (teeny bopper waste of time / absolutely necessary lifeline, depending on which side of thirty you're on J), just ate